DoctorDitko

True words! Think of all the nifty uses of Sherlock Holmes over the years. We'll never have Batman like that, partly from bloated copyright duration, and partly because he's trademarked six ways from Sunday. Batarang, Batmobile, even Batcave are registered trademarks. We're lucky we can still name our kids Alfred! It's a shame.

Agreed. But the continuous extension of copyright, long past the life of the author, seems to be a case of redoubling effort while losing sight of the goal!

Well, now you can make that character you've been itching to create, based on Cthulhu, Steamboat Willie, or Tigger!* Yes, it's Public Domain Day 2024! Many cool works came home at last this year. And it only took 95 years (or a century, in the case of music)! https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/ https://publicdomainreview.org/blog/2024/01/public-domain-day-2024/ The tldr is that all published works are part of the public domain. Some countries, like the US, came up with a scheme to detour these works temporarily to benefit the authors/creators, to encourage creation of new works. Over the years, copyright law has been distorted by politicians and lobbyists (*ahem*Disney*ahem*) to the current system. It's a shame, because many works are now lost. It is estimated that over half of early (mostly silent) films rotted in the cans while archivists waited for them to become public domain, and thus legally safe to preserve. At any rate, let's celebrate what we have! * Their first appearances only! And Disney has a trademark on Mickey Mouse that will last till the end of time, so watch those names!

Here's the locations I managed to grab a /loc of: [-556.5 7.6 -1150.2] [03:24] [-110.0 51.0 -1375.3] [03:27] [-2617.7 -1512.7 -1292.7] [03:29] [-3495.3 -595.0 -3025.6] [03:32] [-3405.8 -2000.0 -3198.9] [3393.5 -17.4 -9954.1] [751.8 -2000.0 -3586.0] [807.0 -1079.4 -3601.4] [04:26] [1822.6 173.3 -2116.6] [2409.2 -672.5 -1302.6] (Would have been handier if I'd named them, of course! Sorry!)

Aw! I swear I thought it was fixed this year! Oh, well...

Just noticed -- as of today -- the presents are still around, but Atlas has thawed.

I'm @DoctorDitko, and will be there as Mark Vector, my teleporter. Effing Verizon permitting! (And I love your sig, Scarlet!)

Propel did it, too. "Express Delivery!" I think, as with the Halloween windows, this was a side effect of other changes, unintended, and probably will be fixed by next time.

I think what the OP meant is, you no longer get XP for the portal-spawned demons. In yon Olden Days you could park yourself in that mish and quickly level by not destroying the portals. Devs saw it as an exploit, and thus no XP for summoned critters (Rikti Comms Officer portals, too.)

Here's a bit of a thought: Want to do it on the Beta server? Everyone can get there, grab TT & ATT at will, guaranteed minimal traffic. But I'll transfer my Teleporter to Excelsior just in case.

I haven't tested it, but an easy way to invoke the temp powers tray might be to go to Steel Canyon and help out the firefighters.

"Santa's coming! Look busy!"

Happy Hogswatch to all!

In most modern MMOs, the fun starts at 50. Here, for some of us, that's when the fun starts to end. I'd even say -- for me -- 90% of the fun happens between levels 10 and 49.

Personally, I love the Jingle Jet, which is unlimited use for the month it lasts, and the self-rez, which is on a separate timer from the P2W version. And for certain characters, the Golden Rings can be magnificent! Oh, and you get badges. But rescuing Baby New Year and fighting the Winter Lady offer all of the above as rewards when you finish.

Welcome home! Here's a pro tip: open your Powers window, right-click on Double XP Booster, and select Delete Power. It works for any power you dislike. Now you may buy a 50% XP Booster in its place (which will earn 50% inf) or just ignore the P2W vendor until you can afford niceties such as the Team Transporter, Reveal, or the ever-useful Inner Inspiration. Personally, I like Self-Destruct, which works to dodge debt if you are about to be defeated, and also makes a handy way to get to the Base Rez Ring or the local Hospital. I'm on Torch mostly, and always glad to team with another Vet.

First off, let me say I admire and support the real world Heroes who fight fires, tend the sick, help the troubled, research medicines, and keep us safe. May all the forces of random chance, deities of all stripes, and people of good will bless and take care of them! But this is not about them. This is about the sillier, crazier, or campier Superheroes of our world. They usually wear outfits that could be right out of our beloved costume builder. I find them inordinately fascinating! E.g.: The late Captain Sticky, who seldom wielded his Twinkie bazooka -- but who could park his Stickymobile in front of a nursing home and cause them to frantically clean up their behavior. He also made strides in protecting consumers in a day when there were all too few such advocates. Angle-Grinder Man, a UK hero who rescues motorists whose cars are immobilized by the questionable practice of "booting" or "clamping." (The Lockpicking Lawyer has some advice for a less destructive solution. He would merit an entry merely for his exposure of shoddy gun safes, but curiously refuses to wear a costume.) And Captain Disillusion, a mighty YouTuber indeed who exposes, explains, or debunks so very many misleading or falsified videos. I hope you enjoy learning of these champions! Do you know of any others?

I have a Bots/FF Mastermind, and I was not in any way whelmed. One of my first characters, entirely concept-based, was a Gravity/FF controller, who was little fun solo, but good on teams. Recent buffs, like better/faster Propel, and the finger-saving FF group effect, made him much more fun all 'round. I still don't know if anyone else would enjoy the combo, but if it fits your concept, go for it!

Ah, you are not wrong. The DRM that writes to off-limits areas of your hard drive was the deal-breaker for me.

Probably a false flag endevour by H&R Block!

I find that Storm and Dark don't synergize particularly well, but I don't see the set as gimped. Storm/Ice works very well, as the slows in Ice magnify the effects of Storm nicely. Plus the ever-popular fish-flop! I strongly suggest the TP pool as your travel power set, since being able to pop intro (and out of) a bunch of baddies is nice. Adding Fold Space is great as a way to help Storm really shine. (If you want to feel truly, embarrassingly OP, try a Storm/Storm/Mace Mastery [for Scorpion Shield] Defender with TP/Fold Space. Forecast: nasty weather ahead for the bad guys!) Incidentally, a friend prone to gfx headaches finds that turning off particles makes both Storm Cell and Cat 5 nearly invisible.

You are so right! RTD2 seems to have matured as a writer, but c'mon! Can't he at least live up to "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow?" "Triple-drive the particle manifesto?" "Vindicate the cyberline and roast the hyperfeeds?" "Inculcate the plexidrones?" "Shatterfry the positrons?" C'mon, RTD2! You can up your game! Ask one of many sciencey Whovians out there!

I was surprisingly pleased by the 3 specials. RTD2 seems to have matured as writer, which is nice. He still does the worst technobabble, though! I never thought NPH could outdo his Music Meister, but he certainly did! Ncuti looks amazing, and I'm looking forward to his run.

As Kazran Sardick would say:

I'd suggest a carrot combined with the stick. What if there was a badge for NOT ditching the spawns? And definitely one for cleaning up after other people!