JKCarrier

Oh right, I had forgotten about that. IIRC, that was John Byrne's idea, to reconcile the two versions ("Doom just has a little scar" vs. "Doom's face is totally messed up").

Yeah, as presented in the original comics, Doom and Luthor have very similar origins. I always thought that was a funny coincidence. At one point, there was a theory floating around that Doom's scars weren't actually that bad -- maybe just a little slash on one cheek or something. But Doom is so colossally vain that he considers that a "hideous disfigurement". It's a cute idea, but there have been too many instances in the comics where someone saw Doom's unmasked face (even if the audience didn't get to see it) and reacted in horror.

More story-arcs, more maps, and maybe even a new villain group or two to bring some novelty back to the leveling-up process. I know, I know, most people just speed through 1-49 anyway. But us die-hards who still do things the old-fashioned way would enjoy it.

Your character name: AI PopStar Your Global handle: @JKCarrier Your base’s name: The Dungeon The shard it is located on: Torchbearer The passcode for entry: DUN-6462 The category your base is entering under: Novice Contributing builders’ names or Global handles: @JKCarrier Any additional information you wish the judges to know beforehand: I like to think of it as simple, but elegant.

Rolled a Huntsman Soldier of Arachnos, a Kinetic Melee/Invulnerability Brute, and a Dual Blades/Ninjitsu Stalker. Since I've played Soldiers and Brutes before, I went with #3: (Random name and costume) I decided on some additional restrictions for myself: 1. Not going to look up builds or advice for these powersets. I'm going in blind and figure it out as I go. 2. Not going to send him any INF or other goodies from my other characters. He's starting from scratch. 3. Not going to invite him to my super group. No teleporters for you! Ride the train, like a regular schmoe! Wish me luck!

Oh God, Apex. I still have nightmares from my one attempt at that fustercluck. Never again.

It's a very cool base, I like the way you incorporated the functional items into the décor. "Branding" your teleporter room as a branch of Portal Corp. was a clever touch. E.B. is right, there are so many eye-popping bases around these days that it's hard for anyone to stand out. But you clearly put a ton of work into this, and I'm very impressed. (But what do I know...my base is literally an entrance, a room full of teleporters, and a third room crammed full of storage/crafting/vendors...)

VERY well-done arc, PW. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Extremely clever how you came up with in-game analogues for the various real-world institutions under attack. I was also very amused that even was calling B.S. on this phony enterprise. 😉 I was a little under-levelled for this one (25), and had some trouble with the Elite Bosses. But nothing a few trays full of Super Inspirations couldn't cure. 😄 Thanks for a fun, cathartic, fascist-smashin' good time!

I've been accused of being a packrat in real life. But in-game, I hate seeing that stuff pile up. Every session, the last thing I do before I log off is pop into my base and vendor anything and everything that can be vendored. I feel you on the IOs...I've got a pile of level 10 Taunt, Confuse, and Sleep IOs (created back when I was chasing the crafting badges) that have been sitting in the Market at rock-bottom prices for like a year. They'll probably never sell.

A boost to Damage Resistance, because you're wearing a hardhat?

I wonder how much of this concern is just because "Sally" is such a cute name? I mean, nobody complains about the unprovoked beat-downs we give to Hamidon on the regular...

"Why did the farmer hit his mule with a 2-by-4?" "Because first, you have to get his attention." Sally is in a place she shouldn't be. She doesn't mean harm, but she's going to be a danger to any civilians she runs across, and vice-versa. You can't explain this to her, because she's a dumb beast. So the easiest, most humane solution is to give her a good smack -- not enough to cause permanent damage, but enough to convince her to turn around and go back where she came from.

Terpsichore is Greek, while Manticore (I just found out) comes from Old Persian. So they wouldn't necessarily be pronounced the same. Although it would be funny if Manticore had a Greek arch-enemy who always called him "Man-tickory", just to get on his nerves.

You could get a pretty interesting movie by positioning a book-accurate, borderline-sociopathic Bond as the villain. MI-6 looks the other way because he's useful and effective, but eventually he goes too far and they decide they have to take him off the board. The story is told from the point of view of the agent sent to take him out, and they wrestle with the fact that this guy is legit a hero who saved the world multiple times, but also a loathsome human being. But yeah, what we'll probably get is some bland, forgettable "Bond-Lite".

It's a fun idea, but risky from the devs' point of view. Allowing players to insert custom characters into regular missions is just begging to be abused. At best, I could maybe see allowing us to pick an existing boss, change their name and costume (but not their powers) and have them turn up randomly.

I want a Softcore Server. It would be exactly like the regular servers, except that all the missions where you have to fight Silver Mantis are removed.

Clark's disguise might not make strict logical sense (as if anything about Superman and his ridiculous powers made logical sense). But it works metaphorically, because we all know from experience how often people will dismiss or underestimate someone based on superficial impressions.

I like to alternate between blue- and red-side, just for the sake of variety. Null the Gull makes it trivially easy to switch back and forth whenever you feel like it. Of course, I know a lot of people take their character concepts and stories very seriously, and switching sides willy-nilly would spoil their immersion. I think a lot of people just don't want to play the bad guy, period. In another thread, someone suggested that there could be special Hero contacts in the red zones, with story arcs that were flavored as "stealth" or "undercover" missions in enemy territory. It's a neat idea, but I'm not sure even that would move the needle much in terms of population.

There was a story in the 1970s where they "revealed' that Clark had been subconsciously hypnotizing everyone all these years into thinking that Clark and Superman didn't look alike. It was widely ridiculed, and almost immediately got swept under the rug and forgotten.

Ironically, Jack Kirby had the same problem. His wife Roz joked that she had to do all the driving, because if Jack got behind the wheel, he'd get distracted thinking about stories and end up running into a tree.

Keep in mind that most Contacts will buy stuff off of you too, so you don't even have to go out of your way. When you're picking up a new mission, just take a moment to click on the "Store" option in the dialogue, and dump your crap right there. If you have a supergroup base, you can place a vendor there for added convenience.

Perhaps, but pretty much any change you make to the game is going to have a domino effect on other systems. If everyone can go everywhere, how does that impact the Alignment system? Badges? Task Forces? And how would Praetoria fit into all of this?

Boy, I would love that. It would be a huge undertaking, though.

Ah, I remembered another time I use Auto-Complete (because I just had to do it): When I get a mission to "Hunt [Faction] in {Zone/Neighborhood]", and when I go there, the only available mobs are 3+ levels higher than I am. Yeah, thanks but no thanks.

I'm stubborn/masochistic enough that I'll usually at least attempt whatever mission falls in my lap, even the notoriously tedious ones. My main use of Auto-Complete is when I run into an Elite Boss I can't handle. Sometimes I'll just let the mission sit and come back once I've leveled up a couple times. But if I'm irritated enough I'll pull the trigger and Auto-Complete.