El D

Expanding the various color palettes is a pretty regular request - one of the things that's pretty much universally wanted (no matter what subset of player someone is or what type of content they prefer, they can always make use of more costume options!). Expanding the existing palettes or making one all-encompassing palette and applying it in-place of all the existing different ones would open up so many creative opportunities.

So I did a bit of amusing math on this. 4-Star Hard Mode rewards 20 PAP, which (using the suggested rate of 50 merits for 1 PAP) converts to 1,000 Merits. 1,000 Merits gets 10 Winter IOs, which each sell for roughly 20 million (or 200 million influence total). With PAPs settling at roughly 10 million, that's enough to buy... 20 Prismatic Aether. Even with the minor quibble of 'This technically allows a method for buying/selling reward merits in the auction house' it just seems like a giant circle, reward level-wise. And if someone has enough influence to just buy PAPs to make reward merits out of them... Sounds like they found a way to win CoH's in-game economy a long time ago anyway. <.< I like the idea. It'd give PAPs an extra use for folks who would run Hard Mode but aren't interested in the costumes and doesn't seem like it'd break anything with them still being on the AH.

If they do it, they should go all the way. Get Tarantino to direct it. Or David Fincher. Not like Disney doesn't have the money. I wouldn't mind a completely new story either. Lots of angles to go with - Miami Vice-style Buddy Cop Rebels who infiltrate the criminal-side of a scenic, Empire-controlled planet. Band of Brothers-esque retelling of the Clone Wars, showcasing battles from the clones' perspectives. Star Wars Sopranos/Goodfellas, following a family of smugglers making deals and running drugs, going up against other syndicates/the Hutts. Captured Sith inquisitor being interrogated by a Jedi intending to hunt down other Sith, a la Silence of the Lambs. Star Wars got its start by adopting the stylings of other types of cinema, so why not keep going?

An alternate stance (like Blitz, Parkour, etc.) that plays the animation after jumping could possibly work. Though, it could also be done through emotes. Make a bind or a macro, hit it when you land from a jump. Granted, this would require that we have a suitable 'superhero landing' emote to use (the Rest stance could definitely work in a pinch). Of the two, I figure emotes are more likely. Puts the activation directly in the player's control of when it happens and how long they stay in the position, rather than superhero landing every single time they jumped. Given how quickly it'd have to happen then bounce them back to 'default standing/ready for combat' with an alternate stance, that seems like it might get a bit silly (not that CoH doesn't readily allow for silly). Either way, it'd be fun to mess around with! I'm here for it.

You're not wrong that they're positioned differently - some Broad Sword models are definitely set higher/lower than others. From a quick comparison, in-general it seems like most of the models with shorter hilts are moved up higher. The interesting part is that the drawing animation actually lines up more naturally with the higher positioned swords. If you test it in the Power Customization tab, there's a subtle-yet-noticeable difference in where the character grabs the hilt. With sword models positioned higher, the character's grip while wielding them is in the same spot they're drawn from - while with the sword models positioned lower, the hand grasps the hilt noticeably farther from the blade/more towards the pommel. Then, in the split-second when the sword model actually appears in character's hand it's in the proper position again. The positioning differences might be a compromise between the way the animation already worked (which was grabbing really high, given that it was never designed with the intention of drawing an actual costume-linked weapon - just faking it) and the aesthetics of where some blades would look best when situated on the character model. The larger blades with longer hilts probably needed to be positioned lower, otherwise they'd look even more jarring than the lighter blades with shorter hilts (as they'd stick out even farther).

That's interesting. Just hopped back on the same character and confirmed the broken macro is still giving me the error message. I also tried the same thing - making a new version of the same macro specifically with that Power-Missing icon - but it worked as-normal and was fully maneuverable around the tray with no errors. I guess it could just be a fluke with my client, or perhaps with that character specifically. Which is fine, as that means the solution is just 'spend a few seconds to remake the macro.' >.>

That's an incredibly easy stance to take when you ignore the literal mechanics of the game. If only I'd included any of those in my post. Shame all I wrote were those first five sentences. To shift focus back on-topic to the point of this thread, the logic of 'CoH is a game with content that can be soloed, therefore it was primarily intended to be soloed' doesn't even apply to Prismatic Aether. Let's try anyway, though. Teaming up is optional, so that means any rewards earned by teaming are done so via 'the optional path.' Even when the game forces you to team for certain content/drops, that's still the optional path - because after all, you don't have to team to get them. This means the new End Game currency's intended method of being gained, the one that earns them from solo play, is... buying them from the auction house. Can't even pin that on the HC devs either, as the Summer Blockbuster IOs follow the exact same set up. They only drop via content that requires teaming, but since players don't have to team to get them obviously that's still the optional route and the intended way is to spend in-game money. Does this mean soloing is technically pay to win? Stepping aside from that (and back to the central point of this thread), I can understand why folks have an issue with the introduction of a new currency - starting from nothing and having to build up a new amount of something, especially from such intense content, can easily be frustrating. However, the point was to put everyone on the same starting line. This way nobody could instantly get a massive stockpile of the new shiny, spend them on all the bells and whistles, play with them for a week before getting bored, and then gripe about how the game has no new incentives to offer them for playing. Players who have been playing a long time and have fully kitted-out characters with expensive builds absolutely have an advantage when it comes to gaining Prismatic Aether, but that's a deliberately designed advantage given the placement of the currency. It's an extra to give folks more of a reason to play characters who, as far as prior content/badges/builds go, were otherwise finished. Of course, players who have hoarded mountains of influence also have an advantage to earning Prismatic Aether, but that's a deliberate design decision too. If a player has the influence to shell out for a ton of the new salvage, they are free to spend it that way at the cost of not buying something else with said influence. Which is not insubstantial, given that paying for a significant amount of Prismatic Aether can cost as much if not more a full End Game build at their current market price (20 mil.). At the core of it though, Prismatic Aether was designed to reward prior player investment - in either time, money, or both - and give an extra reason to continue playing at 50+. Whether or not that reason is sufficient, no matter how a player wishes to attain them, is up to individual determination. Also, in-regards to the 'locked costumes' thing, all of these NPC costumes were completely locked beforehand. None of them were available to be earned at all, let alone as permanent options, and the vast majority of them didn't even exist as options. For some of the hologram costumes, they can still be gained as temp. powers from the Halloween Vendors if you're willing to buy Halloween salvage every two weeks (which, for some folks, might absolutely be worth it). That said, I think the 'slippery slope, this bodes poorly' point of view is overstating things. These are 'NPC model replacement' toggles gained solely from gameplay as an end game expansion of another, pre-existing 'also earned via gameplay only' system. It's not like the devs resurrected the Paragon Market and are selling actual Costume Creator options for real money (or even fake in-game money). Besides, none of these were ever going to be default options for players anyway (as the only way for many of them to even be used is as a whole model replacement, since they don't exist as individual pieces), and the vast majority of them are relatively easy to earn once someone has a fifty or two under their belt. Which, given how their specific currency up as an end game loot drop, I'd say is fully intended too. I do think the Deluxe Tier could stand to be lowered cost-wise (as could the Accolade, or at least have every Aether spent on a costume count toward reducing its overall cost for that specific character) but time and data will tell how many players attained those options. Who knows, maybe the Baby New Year missions will offer an earnable discount coupon for the Mini-Mode. That'd actually be an interesting addition to the system. Doing content relevant to the hologram costumes' specific enemy group offering discount drops toward earning their costumes. It'd allow some minor benefit outside of the WST/Hard Mode while still incentivizing folks to run them for actual progression (since the discount is useless without the Prismatic Aether).

Given the recent changes to the targeting window (the adding of 'distance from target'), adjusting the buff/debuff indicators to show up there rather than float around character models could be an option? When it comes to most player-side buffs/debuffs (be it on their character, their pets, or their teammates), players can already track all of that from the Status, Team, and Pet windows as is anyway. The only time the 'float around the model' visual indicators really make a difference is for enemy mobs, as it's the only visual indication we've got to run off of for some power buffs/debuffs after their initial animation is done (or in this specific instance, MM pets subjected to a constant auto-buff) - but having them show up in the target window, or perhaps aligned with the targeting reticle, seems like a much easier way to track 'X has been applied to the target.' Definitely a lot more direct than trying to find small floaty FX that phase in and out amid what can easily become a massive screen-wide mishmash of particle FX and enemy mobs. Especially considering that a hefty amount of said screen-wide mishmash of power FX comes from the actual power FX that applies those minor buff/debuff icons anyway. Plus, as @AxerJ posted, there's the fact that the MM knows what buffs their pets have because they activated the powers/slotted the IOs. With the markers in the status window, if they still aren't sure they can just click on a lion or a robot and immediately know 'These are the specific buffs this pet has' rather than trying to figure out which floaty icons are being applied from which source (or be permanently stuck with said floaty icons obscuring their pet models because they used a certain part of the IO system).

Yeah, it got added with the latest update - it's something the Nitcus-ified Surgeons do in the new Incarnate-level Cimeroran arc and the Hard Mode ITF. Normal Cimerora surgeons in the classic arcs/ITF are still just regular buff dudes in red capes and leather underwear.

Nope - no icon or cursor mods. The only mod I've ever had installed is VidiotMaps. All my regular power icons move around just fine, as do the few other macros I've got on other characters (like the same 'location_target' macro for Shield Charge on my /Shield brute - though hers is set up to display the actual Shield Charge icon in the tray).

Yeah, the HC devs opted to patch the psi hole with the latest update - long overdue, IMO, considering that Invulnerability was the only Resistance set with a deliberate lack of any damage resistance against its 'thematic weakness.'

So, I attempted to move an old macro around in my power tray ('powexec_location target Lightning Rod') by clicking and dragging it and got kicked out of my windowed client and given these prompts. I couldn't return to the game until clicking through both of them. The macro was still effectively being dragged although it didn't show up with the cursor - it did show up when I moused over an empty slot and was put back in the tray. It also still worked as normal when clicked on. Testing it outside of the mission I was doing gave me a third, different-yet-similar error prompt. I made a new Lightning Rod macro, and it works just fine - no broken icons and is fully draggable throughout the power tray. Opting to drag another power icon overtop of the broken macro icon has them shift places normally, with no error prompts. Seems like the prompt is something specific to the power missing icon when it's directly interacted with.

I'm down for any new content for the game, much as I think the 'In Praetoria' side of CoH's overarching story has basically run its course by this point. Still, there's enough wiggle-room plot-wise to have some 'beyond the sonic fences' exploration as 40+ Goldside content. It won't change the progression of the iTrials or past follow-up arcs, but it could introduce other things. Finding some vault of magical relics that Emperor Cole hid away somewhere. Investigating a sort of proto-Portal Corporation run by a Devouring Earth-ified Dr. Brian Webb (and showcase Praetorian Hamidon slowly investigating interdimensional travel...). Discover a hidden bunker used by Chimera to dispose of political dissidents... Maybe a 'Fallout' style mini-zone themed around killing high level DE and recovering gear from dead superheroes/supervillains as a stockpile for the war with Primal Earth - one that never got used and gets recovered by some of the surviving Praetorians who make the jump to Primal Earth (so it can be introduced later Blue/Redside). There are enough dangling threads on Goldside to make something with to finish off 1 to 50 with.

You're right. CoH is not a 'teaming required' game outside of a few select bits of content. If you go back and read my posts, you'll notice that I never said teaming was required outside of those specific bits of content. I emphasized that multiple times. It is, however, a game mechanically designed around teaming, which is a completely different concept. To provide another example (and one actually based around the specifics of the game we're actively discussing), CoH being designed around teaming is the entire basis of the archetype system. That's why Tankers have the innate survivability to herd but not deal high damage or mezz, why Controllers/Defenders can mass mezz/debuff mobs and mass buff other players but lack survivability and damage, and why Scrappers/Blasters deal high damage and survive well but lack team buffs/mezz. They weren't given those specific differences in powerset functions on a whim. Those differences directly enforce the roles each archetype is designed to play on teams and were done specifically to bridge the gaps that the other archetypes had in functionality. Those deliberate 'this is how this archetype plays on a team' design decisions are also what directly informs how well each archetype can inherently solo. That's why Scrappers, for example, have a much easier time soloing content than Defenders or Controllers. The role they were designed to perform on a team inherently alters how well they perform when not playing with one (and how much build work and IO investment is required to break them free of those innate mechanical limitations). The Redside archetypes were deliberately designed to more readily adapt to solo play, but how they perform while soloing is still determined by the roles they were meant to fulfil on teams. A Brute is going to have a much easier time out of the gate than a Corruptor, because a Brute gets the full function of both their powersets on a team or while soloing. Meanwhile, a Corruptor could still get benefits from their secondary while soloing, but the amount of benefit depends on what secondary they picked. Let's hope they didn't pick any of the secondaries with multiple powers designed to only be usable on teammates. After all, it's not like they're a Mastermind, where their primary is built around summoning AI-controlled allies, so their buffing secondary always has something to do. ... Nah. Soloing on a character when almost half of their powerset options are designed for buffing allies? Without pets or anything? That'd be silly. Even sillier would be making multiple powersets built primarily around buffing allies and putting them on multiple archetypes in a game not designed around teaming up and having allies.

I never said the design philosophy meant that teaming was required in every instance of content. I said that the basis of CoH's design is, first and foremost, set up as a team-based game. The fact that you can earn everything on a solo path (usually not by earning it from the intended content) was a deliberate choice by the devs to account for folks who prefer to solo in a multiplayer game built around promoting teaming. That does not mean that the default, core design is not centered around team-based gameplay. Likewise, End Game content flat-out requiring teaming up - and thus the primary, most effective path to its rewards requiring teaming - is a deliberate choice to recapture the classic task force set up that you're saying the game has moved beyond. So much content in this game can be accomplished solo, either by deliberate expansion of difficulty options or IOs/power creep, that the fact that said content was meant to promote or require teaming in the first place has been obfuscated. The game never stopped being about teaming up, soloing was just made so readily available that when given objectives that did require teaming, people complained. Said complaining is why the solo path to Incarnate powers exists at all - which is, like every other method of soloing in this entire game, deliberately slower than the promoted, team-based path. CoH, at its core mechanics, is a game built around teaming up. Those mechanics can be measured, tweaked, and accounted for to allow solo play, but when they get difficult enough, that means you cannot play as effectively without a team as you would with one. That's how the game has always worked.

We're not discussing leveling teams? Running story arcs at level 25 to level up =/= End Game requirements. As for not being able to find a team, can't help you there. Excelsior looks like it's got a hefty number of regular players (which makes sense, as the shard with the biggest population). Stands to reason it shouldn't be that difficult, but if it is then that sucks. Proclaiming someone's point moot on a nonexistent supposition of 'I bet there's a ton more solo players than people who like to team! So that means you're wrong!' isn't an argument, nor does it counter any point that City of Heroes is designed around team-based play. Also, all those other listed games are great, but we're not talking about them. CoH's brand of MMO design is not just 'play at the same time as other people' - it's specifically designed as 'play with other people.' That's the entire basis of the archetype system, the basis of task/strike forces, and the basis of most of the end game content. The ATs were designed to support each other and fill gaps in team composition, task/strike forces had to have their minimum team size requirements removed to even allow solo play to be attempted, zone raids and events require teaming, and end game content (especially at the higher tiers) is literally impossible to solo. Hell, it's the basis for the Notoriety system. If your character is capable of soloing as effectively as a full team, you can tell the game the provide that same level of challenge (and thereby earn the same level of XP/Inf/etc.) - meanwhile the full team is blowing through the same Notoriety settings much, much faster because they've actually got the multiple characters that the game anticipates will be active given that difficulty level/team size.

'Does not require a team' does not mean 'not designed around being played by a team' - especially so in the case of the primary progression path and vast majority of end game content, which outright requires a team or a league. Aether, being an extension of said end game content, is going to run off of those end game requirements. IE 'to progress in the most ideal fashion, you will need to team up.' That players can choose to solo rather than team for most of the game's content doesn't mean that teaming was never the focus on how the game's content was expected to be played or how it should be played for best progression, and at a certain point as difficulty ramps up (such as iTrials and Hard Mode) the sheer scaling numbers and mechanics will require teaming for success to even be possible. It's a 'massively multiplayer' game, not a 'massively lone wolf with option of teaming up' game. Teaming has always been the default, expected playstyle, with allowances made for solo progression for players that choose not to engage with the game that way. That doesn't mean that they think soloing is bad or wrong, but that it's not the primary way they want the content to be run (which is to be expected for an MMO).

Solo Friendly =/= Solo Everything. Never has, never did. Especially in-regard to end game-level content. iTrials weren't designed to be soloed. Hard Mode, likewise, is not designed to be soloed. That's not 'late in the game,' that's how CoH has always worked under the various Live devs and the HC devs <points to above comments on End Game content> Yes, there are ways to progress solo on Incarnate content via Dark Astoria (and now earning Incarnate XP via all content at level 50) - but it's much slower than the intended, default method of 'gather a team/league and run trials.' That's the exact same design philosophy behind story arcs and task forces going by faster with a full team. You want a solo path to Prismatic Aether? There is one! WST rewards or inf purchases. It's just going to take longer, like soloing does for every other piece of content in this game that allows for it.

CoH is a massively multiplayer game. The default orientation for content for MMOs is team-based and the rewards are set up accordingly. The 'position' that solo and small-team players are in is one they put themselves in, by choosing to go through content solo or with a small, select group and refusing to engage with the core team-based content. Not all content can be soloed or easily managed by a small team. Not all ATs/powerset combos are even capable of soloing. That's not a misstep, that's the core framework of how the game operates. The further you venture outside of the team-based set up that game runs on, the longer things take - if they're possible at all - and the more rewards players miss out on because they're choosing to try and earn them in ways the game does not inherently incentivize.

If they don't spur you to do Hard Mode content - or spend the Influence on them - then that means you can readily live without them. Which is precisely the other half of what the PAP/Hologram Costumes are designed to serve as, given that they're basically just 'extremely visible bonus badges.' There are no numerical advantages, no 'If I don't get these, my character isn't as good as they could be' like with the Incarnate system. The PAP stuff isn't the innate goal of the Hard Mode content like those powers are for iTrials, they're just an extra goodie bag folks can earn. Some players certainly will run HM content solely because they want the PAP/costumes, but that's a personal choice at that point - their own determination of 'Do I want this purely optional extra enough for it to become my primary motivation.' Also, as @arcane and others have said, you can still buy them for Influence and skip Hard Mode altogether. Yes, they're expensive, but if they were cheap that'd just undermining what status they had as 'extra investment bonus' from the HM content to begin with. 'You pay more for the convenience' has been Rule #1 in the Auction House from the get-go (well, Rule #2. Rule #1 is 'Always double-check for extra zeros when making a purchase').

The core decision behind Prismatic Aether being a reward from Hard Mode content is that Hard Mode needed an incentive beyond standard rewards (badges, merits, etc.) to get folks to run them more than once. There's no point to designing content that ends up as a 'one and done' and then sits there not being engaged with, which is what would have happened if all Hard Mode gave was stuff players could more easily get via standard task forces. NPC Costume powers fall precisely into the niche of 'Doesn't lock Costume Creator pieces behind any walls' and 'Isn't locking actual numerical boosts behind any walls.' They're a purely cosmetic reward to showcase personal investment, either through running Hard Mode content or having a bunch of Inf. Either way they reward long-term playtime and the investments players made leading up to Hard Mode content (having fully IO'ed out builds, fully finished Incarnate stuff, experience with game mechanics, etc.). It's a fun extra to incentivize trying the challenge (or serve as a money sink for folks who otherwise have nothing to dent their Scrooge McDuck-esque swimming pools of influence with).

Much as I think Talos Island could embrace the Greek theme a bit more strongly, as far as 'blueside zones to put a Tiki Bar' go it was definitely the best choice. The other zone options with beaches were Peregrine Island (which has the 'max level' issue to contend with) and that small patch of beach in Croatoa (where it would have been even more jarring, not to mention probably not fit anyway). Frankly, I always wished that the boardwalk in Talos had more 'stuff' to it, rather than just being a dreary expanse of beach where the Tsoo and Warriors have gang fights. This sort of RP attraction/hangout spot is a nice change. Still wish we could go into the Golden Fleece, though. <.< Come on, it's a restaurant that was owned by Statesman and is run by the Furies. I want to eat baklava and hear them shit-talk Prometheus.

It definitely captures that 'early GoT' feel - which is absolutely deliberate. 'Remember when the show was good? This is just like that! Please don't link this with the final seasons!' A pretty good start, considering. Now just need to see if they can keep it up and stop themselves from Stephen King-ing a second series (which I hope they can, given that D&D aren't involved with this one). Also, Matt Smith as a vindictive, petty villain alone has my interest, Elric Expy or no. xD

...You know, my SG has meme'd that task force so hard as 'Positron just throws jetpacks at everyone and tells them to f**k off' that I completely forgot he's not actually the one who gives them to you. So fair point! xD

As much as I think the explanations in the patch notes are all that's needed for the removal of the two buildings (during the Live days, these sorts of explanations and lore-posts for events got pushed pretty often after all <.<), if this had involved something active in-game I would have gone for something small and simple; a 'Personal Story Arc' where you play as Dr. Aeon getting absolutely destroyed in a short legal trial after having been caught using AE to spy on countless heroes. Once the verdict is reached (guilty, obviously) have another organization come in and take over the AE buildings in Paragon, while the Rogue Isles ones remain under Aeon's influence because Rogue Isles/jurisdiction issues. Why Paragon City allowed a corporation run by one of Arachnos' top scientists and globally known key associates (not to mention also funded by Crey) to continually record and analyze the fighting abilities of its heroes is beyond me. IMO, the Blueside version should have been run by Hero Corps from the get-go - their whole schtick since launch was assessing and promoting the capabilities of heroes and vigilantes. Bonus points, it'd give their organization actual substance in-game, which they've lacked ever since we got the ability to adjust Notoriety Levels from the chat window (seriously, when's the last time anyone ever spoken to a Field Analyst?).