Luminara

This is correct. The problem wasn't the doorways themselves, it was inherent in the Ambush code and the interaction with doorways. A new mechanic had to be created specifically to handle the problem, the AmNotBush code. Now doorways won't be able to appear to be bushes and deceive players any more.

The Stealth nerf to doorways was intentional. Players were expressing difficulty finding them.

I appreciate the mention, but I'm obliged to correct this. My initial character without travel powers wasn't made that way because I couldn't fit one into the build, it was because I envisioned her as a "true" natural origin character. In fact, she didn't have Hurdle at all, originally. I started out trying to make Swift + Sprint work. It was only after stumbling across a post which mentioned base stats on Swift, Hurdle and Sprint that I began experimenting with Hurdle, doing the math and learning how movement mechanics functioned in the game. After making the most direct and fair comparisons I could, at the time, between characters with Hurdle and Fly, equivalently slotted, then I understood that Hurdle could be a viable substitute for a travel power. I made my next character with Hurdle as a travel power in order to test and verify (or dispute) my observations, math and conclusions. And after that, it just became my default choice, partially because I knew the math and mechanics quite well at that point, and partially because I enjoyed it more than any of the actual travel powers. Having made the transition to Hurdle for nearly all of my characters might have unintentionally freed up a couple of power selections on some, but that was never the intended goal or purpose of making that choice. I did it because I liked the way the Hurdle worked mechanically and knew that it was fast enough, even when teamed (yes, i did, in fact, play on teams in those days (no, i was never last to the door (usually third or fourth, sometimes first), and no, i never needed to be TPed to keep up)). Tight builds were never a factor for this decision. They still aren't (most of my characters now are Hurdlers).

Of all things, it's not the thing I thought people would make a thing of, but things happen.

... *chases*

I really wish people would stop referring to me as a "thing".

I'll send you my laundry Wednesday afternoon. I have to rip out a couple of decades of poison ivy growth on an old well. I'm prepared this time, though. It should be cool enough to be comfortable wearing a long-sleeved shirt, and I bought some gloves. I might wear my Cold War gas mask, too, just because.

Fascist - Mind/Darkness controller. Terrorist - Mercenaries/Traps. Other - */* and get the hell out ASAP, before the Loyalists turn you or the Resistance murders you.

The existing solo options are actually a little too quick. But that is better than too slow, and the original design was definitely too slow (I19.5, estimated time to unlock and complete the Alpha slot solo, 4-9 months depending on difficulty setting and RNG). I wouldn't complain if the HC team slowed it down a little, or added some difficulty to it by preconfiguring certain enemies to always con higher even when set to +0 or -1 and no bosses/no AVs. But the original design was a complete mess anyway. Making acquisition of Incarnate abilities part of the end-game content was a mistake because players had to experience that content without Incarnate abilities, and by the time they finished becoming Incarnates, there was no content which could require their newfound power. Unlocking and creating Incarnate abilities should always have been the solo/small team content, and the Incarnate content specifically requiring Incarnate abilities and full teams. As always, though, they had to compromise and try to make it all work as the same content because they couldn't dedicate the resources to doing them separately; and they worried about the possibility of non-Incarnate characters being "excluded" from end-game content, but rather than re-examine the solo route to becoming an Incarnate and adjusting it to make it more viable, they charged ahead with the all-in-one package. The result was the content shortage for Incarnate characters that we're still dealing with today. Had they been left to continue development beyond I24 beta, I don't think Paragon would've fixed this. They would've continued along the path they laid out for themselves and painted themselves into another corner. Again, a large part of that was the lack of personnel and time, but it was also the pencil and paper RPG background that most of them brought to the team. They were accustomed to countering players by making something up on the fly, an approach that isn't remotely applicable to long-term game development and design. There is no on-the-fly when it takes 8-16 weeks to release each update. By the time Paragon could've addressed the problems inherent in the way the Incarnate system and content were designed, they would've been up to their ears in the Coming Storm stuff, obviating any changes they might have considered or made. There was a definite lack of foresight in some of their development decisions.

John Nash carried it further in showing that self interest in cooperation with group interest produced better results for the person and the group. Perhaps marketeer collaboration on winter pack purchasing and item sales could provide some improvement to the economy. Or, at least, some interesting data resulting from the experiment. How much inf* is in a millimeter?

I have to contest that conclusion - this game was never hard, nor designed for the hardcore. The biggest, hardest hitting change was Enhancement Diversification, and it was a joke to hardcore players. I proved that with my Kin/pool melee character. When a player can solo a GM with zero damage enhancements, zero status protection, zero Defense, zero Resistance and attacks which dealt less damage than defender T1 blasts, that early in the game's life and immediately following a massive global nerf, it's not a hard/hardcore game. Hardcore players expecting hardcore content in this game were destined to be disappointed. Co* was never designed to be anything but a casual player game.

Anything subjectively viewable as "better", i.e. "Yay, ShinyThing makes me prettier!/Yay the might of @Jimmy's nipples has made me more fearsome!", don't gate. That's my position. Branches in arcs or missions, temporary powers, accolade powers, whatever, as long as they aren't required to progress, build your gates. Badges and titles are arguable, as titles themselves are subjective improvements to some people, but they don't alter the core of the character, they're extras. Not having a desired title doesn't change how we see a character the way not having a cosmetic item does. As such, I'd lump in with the content safe to gate. People can still make the characters they imagine and play them, and pick up the badge/title whenever without feeling morose or frustrated. I'll also add that gates shouldn't be extraordinary unless the reward is similarly extraordinary. Defeat 500 Skulls is an example of a bad gate. Despite having the option to defeat that many Skulls "quickly" with a level 50, it's still significantly more time than similar badges, and the reward doesn't reflect that. Make the gates accessible by making them organic (meaning, something earned through natural progression and which promotes continued participation, not making them out of the bones of your enemies (unless your enemies really, really deserve it (and you won't be caught (and you don't mind the smell (and there are no wild animals who will eat your gate))))), or make the rewards worth gating if the gate is notable in requiring effort or dedication. You suggested badges for veteran levels in concert with specific other badges having been unlocked. The question that comes to mind immediately is, is an extra badge/title really for grinding veteran levels enough incentive to accomplish the goals? For those who are already invested enough to continue playing the character, the badges/titles are irrelevant. For those who aren't, does that badge/title provide sufficient reason to invest further in that character? Does placing badges/titles behind veteran levels satisfy the crowd who want more gates/grinds, or are they going to look at it decide that these badges/titles aren't actually worth bothering with because the reward doesn't justify the time invested? Essentially, do the gates and rewards meet the goals, or are they just concessions?

I'm telling you what the result of gating cosmetic items really is and how it comes across in this game.

Then you're also saying that it's unreasonable to be an Italian, in the case of the Roman costume options. Clearly Italy exist in the game world, or there'd be no Cimerora, and there are no references in the game which indicate that it was destroyed in any way, such as during the Rikti invasion, or by the Devouring Earth, so there must be Italians, but you're outright saying that it's unreasonable to be an Italian hero/villain by restricting that costume option. You're saying that there are no custom-made armors available because no-one in the game world can make them, yet we walk, run, fly and jump past Icon and Facemaker stores every day, so there obviously are people who can tailor-make something like a lorica segmentata. You're saying that nothing can be inherited, borrowed or stolen, but there are numerous references to NPCs inheriting, borrowing or stealing things. You're saying that nothing can be found archaeologically, in direct contradiction to an entire series of missions in Faultline which involve you participating in archeological excavations to find a buried weapon of immense power. You're saying that these costume options only exist within one specific, narrow framework of explanation and that anything else is wrong, and you're saying that in spite of in-game references and evidence disputing that assertion. Time travel may be the only way for you to obtain Roman costume options, but they're not the only way they can exist within the context of the game, because the game specifically allows them to exist by explaining that existence in a variety of other ways. And this is applicable to all costume options. No-one says someone wearing a Vanguard costume is a member of Vanguard. It could be a reproduction, it could be found, it could be stolen, it could be inherited, it could be a gift, it could be a magical hairpin which makes the character look that way, it could be any of a hundred million things. Cosmetic items should not be gated. It's contrary to the game's established lore, not complimentary, it's arbitrary, it's restrictive and it's discouraging of creativity and diversity. It tells players that they're not allowed to be smart, or rich, or conniving, or creative. And that's just wrong. You might as well lock femininity and colored skin behind cosmetic item gates, too, because that's the message it sends to players. City of Rich White Dudes in Spandex.

Because it's arbitrarily restrictive. Disallowing character concepts because they aren't at X level, or haven't acquired a late game badge, or weren't there for an event, or are of a specific ethnicity (yes, that is the message sent when something like Roman or Greek options are restricted) forces players to either abandon the concept or accept not being allowed to play what they want, or jump through more hoops than other players. Toga and Hellenic sandals - On the original servers, my main's entire theme revolved around having those costume parts, which forced me to wait for Valentine's Day before I could make and start playing that character, and still had do so in a hobo outfit. Roman costume options - I unlocked them on exactly one character on the original servers, a character which was never intended to use them, and I couldn't access those costume options on any other characters unless I leveled them to 35+. So even though the costume options technically existed, they were non-existent for the characters I wanted to create and play. I had to settle for spandex and blue jeans and slog through half (or all) of the game looking nothing like what I envisioned, or abandon the characters entirely. Now put robotic costume options behind those gates. Or plant costume options. Or different skin colors. It's no less arbitrary or restrictive, regardless of which options are gated or how thematic it might be for the gates to exist, and it's discouraging for everyone. It tells players they're not welcome or wanted unless they conform to a specific model or mindset. And it doesn't improve retention by making players more attached to characters they finally unlocked those options on because they're typically unlocking the options on the "wrong" characters. Gating the way we look in-game is a bad reward model, because characters looking the way players envision them shouldn't be a reward. Being Greek isn't a reward. Being a robot isn't a reward. Being blue-skinned isn't a reward. Powers, yes. Bonuses to character attributes, yes. Those are rewards. Upgraded versions of costume options with extra detail or particle effects or shiny metallic surfaces, yes, those are rewards. Waiting until level 40, or 8 months for an event to start, just to look the way we want, that's not a reward, it's a discouragement. We don't all want to wear tights and a cape when we're being a hero/villain. That might be okay for some people, but in a game like Co*, freedom of expression and the ability to probe the depths of our imagination by exploring less ordinary costume options is a strength, one which should be continued and perpetuated, not curtailed with gates.

*uses all of Mac's packs as marshmallows in the hot cocoa*

Wasn't a correction, just an addition for our enthusiastic new friend. 👍

Combat Jumping does improve Fly, though, by removing the friction that makes your character slow to start or stop. With CJ running while Fly is active, you can stop on a dime and give nine cents change. With Hover, there's no other tangible benefit beyond the stacked +Def and slotting options, but the endurance cost is itsy bitsy, so if it fits in a build, there's no reason not to run it.

Try slotting one in Mids'. It's mostly accurate in what can or can't be slotted in various powers, and you're not likely to encounter the inaccuracies yet (things like mastermind ATOs indicating that they can be slotted in powers where they can't actually be slotted, and missing enhancement options for some sentinel powers). If something works in Mids', it's almost always going to work in the game. Note that Mids' doesn't always show the effects, though. Slotting the Performance Shifter unique IO into Stamina doesn't display any change to recovery rate, for instance. The software wasn't designed to account for that. There's a Radiation Armor or Bio Armor power that increases Regen and Recovery on different conditions, that isn't reflected in Mids' because the conditional argument doesn't exist in the software. Stuff like that, you have to rely on in-game numbers (Powers -> Combat Attributes (it's at the top of the Powers window, left side)) or in-game testing and observation. But for set bonuses, proc calculations and everything else, Mids' tells you everything you need to know to build a character before actually building the character. Just be careful... it's addictive. Go too deep into the rabbit hole and you'll find yourself with five thousand build plans and not enough costume parts to go around, and then you'll really be suffering.

NPCs don't have brains. NPCs don't have players controlling them. NPCs have scripts, and those scripts don't contain strategic scenarios with conditional actions based on tactical analysis. A critter can't evaluate a player's actions and determine the best course of action. A critter can't respond to a situation by making an assessment and proceeding based on that assessment. A critter can move, use powers, and respect specific engine triggers (status effects, Avoid, pathing). The only thing that makes them even remotely challenging or threatening is having that small chance to defeat your character before you defeat them. It's not punitive. It's strictly so NPCs aren't completely, laughably non-threatening. You, the player, have every advantage in every fight. You have all of the attributes and capabilities that an NPC controlled by a scripted AI sequence can't replicate. You have two to ten times as many powers, so you're significantly more likely to have another attack available. You can adjust the way your powers function by slotting different types of enhancements. NPCs are fixed. They never level up. They never slot anything. They never improve their powers, they never develop better tactics. They can't even use inspirations. The odds are always in your favor. Allowing misses to occur changes the odds, just a little, to add meaning, context and value to combat. Not to torture the player, but to give the player some semblance of a fight, instead of an endless parade of piñatas. With intellectual capacities just slightly higher than rocks, critters need help, like occasional missed attacks from the player, to be interesting, engaging and potentially capable of defeating the player, because they have none of the benefits that come from sitting on your side of the keyboard. The AI in this game was the product of the greatest minds of a generation working together with the express purpose of building the dumbest moron who ever lived. It's not remotely hard to beat, and a few misses are the only thing giving it any hope of surviving against your superior intellect and adaptability. That's the purpose of missing, at every level. Just to give NPCs a chance to not be completely overwhelmed when you roll your face back and forth on the keyboard. It enhances the experience by adding the remote possibility of defeat in any combat situation. And missing teaches players to pay attention to their hit chances and adjust their approach by slotting for +Acc or using powers which grant +ToHit, so they're less likely to miss in the future. Not guaranteed, but less likely, because regardless of level, critters are just AI and scripts, and dumber than a post.

Maybe they were mind-wiped and kicked out. Maybe the armor was stolen, or found on the battlefield. Maybe they're from an alternate reality where Vanguard takes level 1 recruits. Lots of wiggle room when it comes to explaining why a level 1 character has any costume parts. "Lore" doesn't restrict any costume parts in a world with portals to alternate realities, aliens, advanced science and technology, time travel, and only three small parts of that world even represented (Paragon City, Rogue Isles and Praetoria).

That's an important distinction. We don't all define "work" in the same way. For some, just leveling up is "work". For others, nothing is "work" until it's so grindy and repetitive that even the most dedicated player won't do it. Most of us don't want to work a second job in a digital universe. We put our XX hours in every week, we put up with the real life grind, we just want to kick back when we're playing. Perhaps some people need a job, even in video games? It's... what relaxes them, I suppose? I don't know. But gates represent a job that they can do, and they want that, it seems. Maybe that's the middle ground. Not Day Jobs, that's just a system designed to reward roleplay. Job jobs. Maybe something like appointments to positions. Like... when a player reaches a milestone, having defeated a specific enemy, or acquired a certain collection of souvenirs or badges, the player is appointed as a Watcher or Commander or Investigator or something. And with the appointment comes the responsibility of maintaining the position. Maybe running X radio missions against a certain enemy group, or going to Ouroboros and running an arc to "protect the timeline". As long as they continue to do their "job", they retain the position, and concurrently, the title and whatever benefits it might offer (maybe an alternative means of earning Day Job charges/time?). Something players can opt into or out of at any time, to provide that job for the people who want it, without forcing a job on those who don't.

May went into heat this morning. I'm more than a little angry right now. No, no, not at her. She can't control her biology, after all. And she's very, very affectionate right now, so it's giving us a chance to bond a little more closely. No, I'm angry because this means she either entered her estrous cycle a month before she should have, or it means she was a month older but far smaller than she should have been when I found her. Either of these indicates that she was even more malnourished and closer to dying than I realized at the time. And it has me wondering how many of her siblings starved to death, because some worthless shit stain didn't have his/her cat spayed. Spay or neuter your pets, people. Just fucking do it. Not because your pet is calmer, not because you want to keep your furniture clean, but to prevent baby animals from dying hungry and alone. You have a responsibility, a moral imperative, to do that. You also have my tears and rage to motivate you, if being an adult isn't reason enough. Obviously, I can't take her to the vet now. Even if the state hadn't reversed the relaxation on the pandemic control measures, the vet couldn't spay her until she was back to normal. We'll wait this out and I'll set an appointment, hopefully before her next heat cycle (which should be some time in spring). SPAY! NEUTER!

Again, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that there are levels of challenge that you're not addressing, in sub-optimal character builds. Not SO-only builds, or no purple builds, but actual, real, playable builds which are unique or unusual in some way. I built my sentinel as a dual purpose ranged/melee character. My standard attack chain is Stunning Shot/Fistful of Arrows/Blazing Arrow, and I have Rain of Arrows if I need it. I also have a complete, fully functional melee attack chain, Cross Punch/Air Superiority/Sting of the Wasp, with The Lotus Drops when I want to use it. This is not a normal sentinel build. This is not a +4/x8 build. This build has three purple sets and a Winter set, both ATO sets, more unique IOs than I can shake a stick at... but it's still a sub-optimal build. Do you know what else it is? Rewarding. I made this. I walked the miles, I earned the levels, I made it to 50 and I kitted her out with all of the shiniest enhancements (starting at level 7). She's fun to play, even if she's not a patch on my Staff/Willpower brute, and I feel a great sense of personal gratification when I log in with her. So what if I'll never have all of the badges. So what if I can't solo an AV with her. So what. I still did something that made me feel good. I took a theoretically purely ranged character and added melee combat to it, and I made it work well enough to be enjoyable to play. This is the challenge in the game. This is where the reward is. This is what I want to share with you. You can feel like you've accomplished something with this, even if there's no badge for it. There are potentially dozens, maybe even hundreds of ways to do this. The game has challenge everywhere, and none of it is self-imposed, it's inherent in the little things like archetype modifiers and role expectations, and meeting those challenges, beating them to a bloody pulp with your brain, that's immensely rewarding. I did not say that . 😛 We all find our own modes of gratification, I understand that, but I'm trying to help you find one, not abuse you. And, you should know me well enough by now, I don't accept defeat. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, I accept it, embrace it as a chance to learn something, and move on, but I am never defeated. No power in the 'verse can stop me. And I'm explaining to you that I know where other gates are, if you're willing to explore them. We can explore them together (if you're on in the middle of the night. sorry, but prepaid Verizon data doesn't work for MMORPGs unless it's after 2 a.m.), or we can talk about them, or we can just move on. Up to you. I'm here for you if you want to take that journey, though.

No, I'm arguing that personal fulfillment shouldn't be something one expects from the predefined rewards within the game. Personal fulfillment comes from meeting one's own goals and feeling rewarded for that, not from meeting someone else's goals and being rewarded. Game rewards can never fill the same role as personal rewards. Enjoying what one has accomplished for one's own satisfaction, not for a shiny digital representation of a developer saying "Good job". What we get from the game, intellectually, emotionally, not what the game offers us in rewards. And "new" content is only so new, since it's only new within the context of that specific game, and what newness it offers fades rapidly. This isn't a model for retention, nor for player happiness. Both have to come from giving players more than shinies. They have to come from giving players a sense of personal gratification, from them having more emotional investment in the game and feeling a sense of inner reward when they do things. The fulfillment of in-game rewards is fleeting. The fulfillment of setting our own goals and achieving them is permanent. I know what the topic is, thanks. I did. If you're asking why I'm not discussing pharmaceutical moderation of brain chemistry, or therapeutic methods, or something similar, because I'm not dragging the topic off in that direction. I'm responding to your points and keeping the discussion relevant to the topic, how various game rewards and content are valued and how they might be used. Okay.