DoctorHugh

There's an issue in a lot of MMORPG game design that 'story' is harder to deliver, with less potential payoff, than more "toolbox" options like new powersets, new animations, new costumes, new zones. A surprisingly high percentage of players literally just hit "Esc/Skip/Continue" on any exposition/talky dialogs that come up. Video cut-scenes are time-intensive to develop, interesting to some and intrusive to others. It takes some pretty talented game-design + storytelling ability to weave story/lore into the game without bogging things down. Usually done as story arcs in CoH and of course the quality there varies and is a fair bit of work. AE is supposed to be the jewel in the crown of CoH for adding story, background and lore without consuming all the developers' time. And even there, it's harder for people to locate the "good" stories and much easier to locate the purely mechanical farms etc. I've also noticed that some people who want 'story' don't really think AE provides it, no matter how good the episode. If it isn't part of the mainstream game with mainstream rewards, then it doesn't feel like "real story" to them. I think a volunteer dev team would have a hard time delivering new story of good quality in a timely fashion. It might be worth looking at something like taking the very best AE arcs, upgrading and tweaking them a bit, and then turning them into main-game mini-arcs.

Catch-22 isn't actually the right phrase to use here. I can think of some better ones.

Alt-itis. It's a hard habit to break. Unless, maybe... if you rolled an empathy alt, you could cure it! Let's try that! For me, it's the seed of a character name, backstory idea, or sometimes costume that pops into mind, and I think "I gotta make that!". Occasionally, it will be some concept of a powerset combo that sticks in my head and the only way to get it out is to create it. There are just so ridiculously many "cool concepts" you can do in CoH - no other game comes close really. I can't recall ever creating a character just to fill a specific in-game niche, though. Once created, I futz about for a while, see how I like it. I don't PL in any way, and take the slow approach on nearly every char so I get a good feel how they develop. (And I like to fill out my contact list and arcs.) Characters generally level until the next new alt-concept comes along, and then drift sadly into the background waiting for me to one day think "Miserable day... I just wanna blow off some steam... hey I bet I have a Fire/Water char somewhere! I'll go play him for a bit!". (Or whatever other stimulus comes along.)

Yeah come to think of it, that was pretty much the hook for me, also. There was definitely a "barely holding the line" feel to the Hollows. It may not be possible to go back to that kind of feel, but that was where I caught the CoH bug. Some of that difference is internal, of course. Hollows doesn't feel quite the same after you've fought Hamidon or the Rikti Mothership. And with what we know now, any content will be easier simply because we're not rookies anymore.

Lots of great nostalgia in this thread, esp. the reference to a pile of bodies being tossed out the respec trial doors! Some funny (and frustrating) memories there. And taxibots! Man, I appreciated those so much some days... Looking back on some of what we had to do to get by "back in the day", I'm feeling less opposed to that one threads idea of a "less easy mode" server. I'm enjoying my time on Homecoming but I do feel that with all the new updates, options, and QoL improvements ... it's kind of easy mode compared to live. Heh... humans: we struggle to make life less of a struggle, and then we miss the "good ol' days" when life was more of a challenge.

TY Luminara, Silly me, I thought 'Vault Reserve' was the title of that window and not an actual button you could click on to open something. Learn something new every day I guess!

Thanks for the replies, guess I never checked it out before. I didn't see any obvious way to access or open it, I didn't see anything for it in the Option menu either. How do you access it?

I was doing some crafting for alts, had my Salvage window open. Went to click it closed, and obviously missed by a bit - an unfamiliar window popped open called "Personal Invention Storage" with 0/80 items in it. Nothing I had just crafted was in it (I'd just made 2 trays of IOs). This might be an overflow window for respecs or something but I haven't respecced yet on Homecoming so it's an unfamiliar window to me. Standing in WW when I did it so not a bank or base window. Nothing in the area I clicked before seems to open it. If anyone knows what this is and how to use it, would be nice to know. I can always use more storage space.

All good ideas. Personally I just alt-tab and stick notes in an open Notepad file. Any time I'm waiting for a zoning screen I can quickly alt-tab and back to see if anything needs action. The macro idea is interesting, but not sure how much text you can put in it. If I did something like that I'd likely leave an open tray in a corner, and maybe try setting up a macro or keybind that would create a 'blank' note-macro template in chat. Then for the note I'd just fill in the 3 letter keyword and the text, and the macro would pop into the note tray.

ZOMG, people! You're overthinking. It's obviously a Nemesis plot.

I chose Hard Pass, No. Not because I'm against it, but because the only other option for 'no' included "I like the idea". I already play without boosts or speedups because I prefer develop my contacts as I level. I'm not against a "stripped-down" server, but on the other hand I see nothing there that wouldn't be as well served by a Supergroup of alts dedicated to not using features X, Y and Z. Maybe if Homecoming was a full commercial game with ten thousand players online, and there weren't easy email/market/character transfer ways around it; it might be interesting. As it is, it would only lead to everyone else with a "Gee I would like a server for my own favorite ruleset and i-edition too" FOTM asking for their own server too.

I like pets, in general. When soloing, they give somewhat of a feeling you're not alone out there. When the press of combat isn't excessive, they give you something to do. When you faceplant ridiculously, they give you something to blame it on (and curse at!). Without hurting anyone's feelings. Combat-wise, they may sometimes offer strategies or styles you wouldn't have another way. In practical terms, if they aren't at least as effective for the number of powers and slots they take as comparable ATs, then I have a hard time justifying them. I mean, I like pets, but I'm not going to gimp myself just to have them. It's fine if they're not as fast or efficient though, since with pets I'm prepared for (sometimes even looking for) a little randomness, chaos and unanticipated mayhem. What don't I like about pets? Intrusive noise, graphics effects, or unwieldy size that interferes with game play. It's one thing to emit a screechy howl when triggering a big attack in combat - it's another thing entirely to emit a screech every 90 seconds regardless of context. As for graphics, I may enjoy pets, but my character is still the star of the show and I still want to see the battle. Truly broken pet AI, like going nuts around a fire, caltrops or a door. Or charging 50% farther than my farthest range to aggro mobs (without being directed to do so). As long as the pets are well-rendered, I don't generally feel a need to customize them. But customization options or even being able to select between 2-4 different "looks" is nice.

Corruptor or Sentinel: DP/Energy Defender: FF/DP Blaster: DP and possibly Energy, Elec or Atomic

Welcome! And also your side-kick, the Toxic Boxer?

Voted. It's still neck-and-neck though. Congrats to Rebirth as well and also some of the other games mentioned. The MMO is dead... long live the MMO!

Sadly my friend, not everyone can recognize genius in the making. Without the visionary thinking of this series, "The Awesome button" app might not even exist. Could you live in a world that lacked The Awesome button? Perhaps. But it would be a sad, drab little world indeed. Thank Rooster Teeth for saving you from that! https://roosterteeth.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_Dynamic

+1 for the thread. I'm playing MMOs with massive dev teams and I can only wish they were this dedicated and effective. Homecoming devs consistently hit home runs, more power(s) to them!

Hmmm, not sure what the character's best costume options would be, other than things that look like they might alter/affect voice, and perhaps be a bit grey and aloof looking. But his nemesis definitely needs to look like a grade 10 English teacher, grey hair, bun, horn-rim glasses, armed with a ruler and a sharp piece of chalk. Battle cry: "The passive voice is weak! Use Active! Use Active!" <whack!>

I often find that the best way to stop the spread of negativity is to not make confrontational posts about it in new locations to spread the drama further. Maybe that's just me, though.

"It's not what you think! I was just getting ready to, uh, polish my sword!"

"Space is limited, so reserve early!"

Just as an aside, currently 4 of my MMOs are running summer events, the sun is shining outside, I've got friends emailing me about visits and weddings and excursions. Except for Christmas this is way busier than the typical fall/winter/spring months from a 'things to do that prevent playing MMOs' perspective. The player numbers on all my other MMOs are down for the summer as well.

Because if it looked like a warehouse, it wouldn't be a Nemesis warehouse.

Captain America picked Scrapper, and you should too!