Cobalt Arachne
-
Posts
484 -
Joined
-
Days Won
18
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Store
Articles
Patch Notes
Posts posted by Cobalt Arachne
-
-
I understand the thinking here, and I see the appeal of a 'I can do anything I want at any time and get rewarded; play my way' style of game but I would argue that outside of AE, the concept is best kept limited to zone events and giant monsters as it is now. I have two reasons for thinking this way:
The first: The thrill and engagement of the new player growth experience. This is often underestimated in importance, but is an element that contributes to the long-term future and health of the game and its player base.
While less important to somebody leveling their hundredth character, the growth and flow of a brand new player starting out as small-time hero/villain and working their way up in the world is part of the joy that helps them grow to love the game. Advancing from beating up lowly street thugs, to thwarting local crime syndicates, to saving the world from super villain legions is part of what makes a player fall in love with City of Heroes and makes curious first-timers into long-term players.
Which plays into the second: Logistics and frame of reference.
It would be difficult to explain in a satisfying way how that Level 1 is going toe-to-toe with the same enemy and having the same relative fight as the Level 50+3 super incarnate. It would also prevent crafting and moving the overall narrative forward as we continue the story. Requiring a villain group to somehow simultaneously (literally here, occupying the same space and time) be small-time and also the next huge threat warranting the response of world's strongest would be troublesome for writing.
Long-time players are eagerly awaiting the next chapter of the City of Heroes world's story, and new endgame is naturally, going to be a part of that; Not to say that the early game isn't important too, but each has it's own purpose, design, and execution; Overlapping them would mean the loss of the granularity that makes them excel at their intended purpose.-
7
-
10
-
-
-
1 minute ago, Xiddo said:
Is that... something to do with the Gold Brickers? I odd really love them.
I've been watching like six different places since this was posted, and you're the first person to actually notice it; Bravo! 👍
-
1
-
-
On 4/25/2021 at 3:00 AM, Cinnder said:
The one thing I'm enjoying more than I expected is the exploration badge tip missions. There's a lot of good writing in there. I'm now playing a mini-game where I try to guess which badge it is from the mish description. 🙂
Appreciate this! 😄
Glad you're enjoying the exploration tips, and I love your idea, that sounds like a fun mini-game! I've been pleased that people are finding them to be a fun addition to the game; Can safely say that everyone can expect more writing work from me in the future! (Additional zone's Tour Guides for Page 3 and beyond)-
2
-
-
8 minutes ago, Piecemeal said:
@Cobalt Arachne loves the pain. It fuels them.
Aaagh! Stop ousting my secrets! >:T 👀
-
5
-
4
-
3
-
-
I have access to totally legit and not at all biased secret knowledge that reveals the long hidden origin of this phrase: 👀
In the beginning (2004) Cryptic created the City of Heroes.
And the game was blue and heroic, and NPCs were upon the face of the zones. And the devs moved upon the maps. (slowly, using OG hover speeds)
And the devs said, Let there be red side: and there was the City of Villains.
And the devs saw the red side, and that it was the best side: and the devs divided the red from the blue.
<cough>-
7
-
-
As somebody with no friends, I sure am relieved there are technological advancements to allow me to pretend like I do! Feeling blue doesn't mean being alone! QvQ (Hint: Say no!)
Thanks GM_Bot! 🤖
-
2
-
-
Fragmentary Veritas - New Release: Chapter 2, Page 16 - 'Handy Solutions':
http://fragmentaryveritas.webcomic.ws/comics/31-
1
-
-
3 minutes ago, chuckv3 said:
How about those of us who have BADGE HUNTER characters who want "Tipped Off", but already have ALL of the exploration badges in ALL of the zones?
Tipped Off was a badge that existed before Tour Guide, it was given for receiving a tip drop; The change added Tour Guide tips to triggering the badge as well.
I would guess your badge hunter already has Tipped Off; If not, any normal alignment tip drop should trigger the badge for them. -
1 hour ago, Black Zot said:
All well and good for that to be the intent. But the histories of various other MMOs have demonstrated that if it's possible to toggle PvP on/off, there is ALWAYS a way to force-flag someone so you can grief them. ALWAYS. The patch notes of those games are littered with instances of closing yet another PvP-grief loophole, only to have still more crop up down the line.
That's a fair thought to have.
Expanding the PvP system to SG bases as an optional tool would likely see it function with nearly identical nuance to how the system operates right now in the PvP zones.
In the context of City of Heroes as it functions today, are there regular occurrences in which non-consensual PvP griefing happens that substantiates these concerns? (Going into a PvP zone and leaving the safe area is consenting to PvP. Being attacked while trying to get badges, Shivans, or Warburg nukes does not constitute griefing.) -
5 hours ago, Andreah said:
This is a cool idea, really awesome in fact, but I hate it.
(Disclaimer: My original post in this thread was written before I became a member of the Homecoming development team, so please don't read into things too deeply! 😅)
I understand your concern! As it has existed in City of Heroes, the idea of PvP causes a lot of players to back away, even worse, the idea of being pulled into PvP unwillingly and griefed.
Player vs. player is not something that will appeal to everyone in the community, and that's totally fine, but the system itself has applications that could see use beyond competitive play. The idea of using the PvP system as a creative tool involving organized players to put towards anything their creativity can think of has value. Roleplaying, mini-games like capture the flag, or player-created boss raids...
The applications I had in mind for the concept are anything but competitive, it's more about giving players more options to work with on the realization of their creative outlet in City of Heroes.
Without even needing to check I can guarantee, if a PvP-enabled SG base system were to be introduced (reminder; there are no current plans!), every precaution would be taken to ensure that griefing was impossible and it always remained 100% opt-in. If this criteria couldn't be met, the system likely would not see implementation.
When I wrote that previous post, my thinking was that you would get the 30-second countdown with a pop-up, (like PvP zones currently have), with an opt-out button to leave the base on it. Both the countdown and the pop-up would be prompted if the base had PvP enabled before you entered, or if the base's owner toggles it on while you are inside.
With these measures in-place my thinking was that it shouldn't be possible grief somebody with this feature unless you AFK in untrustworthy bases.5 hours ago, Andreah said:I wouldn't hate it if there were also a character setting I could set that would prevent me from ever entering a base which has the FFA flag on, and that instantly ejected me if the flag turned on while I was in one.
Obviously some kind of failproof option like this would be good to have; My thinking on suggestions is usually oriented with "What seems reasonably doable using the systems and functions I know exist in-game currently." as anything else usually is either not possible or requires coding and still might not be possible.
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, Myrmidon said:
You know, of everything that is in Page 2, I want to see these hit HC live the most.
1 hour ago, Doc_Scorpion said:
I played some on HC Live last night and started street sweeping for tour guide tips... Then I remembered, "oh, right".
Same!
Haha; The system is fairly minor, but robustly intrusive? These tips will pop-up in players' inventory doing other things and make everything feel more vibrant/alive for it.
Especially new players, given the outdoor mission sections in the starting zones where all those enemies will be eligible to drop the Tour Guide tips. They'll be made aware right away of several systems that will help orient them if they do the whole zone and unlock the Long-Range Teleporter.
So the system naturally introduces new players to:
-Tips and tip missions
-Exploration badges and badges as a system
-Accolade badges and powers with the Long-Range Teleporter-Reward merits from the exploration accolade
-Minor tidbits of the world's lore that rewards them digging in-
6
-
-
On 3/18/2021 at 6:28 AM, Aberrant said:
@Nayreia Very, very minor issue I have: In Skyway City the "Inspect the MedCom's central node" tour mission. This mission text and the Healing Node badge description it leads you to are as far as I'm aware, the ONLY places in game that still call it the "MedCom" system/network (and out of game, I think one Paragon Times article. part of the Peregrine Island description from the story bible, and by extension some guidebooks that use that info). Everywhere else in the game from the tutorial, npc dialogue, souvenirs and even the signs on Hospitals, refers to it as MediCom or Medicom. Was wondering if it was within scope to change the badge description, and by extension the mission text to MediCom to remove this ancient inconsistency?
I can get this fixed in both the original badge and the tip's mentions. 👍
-
1
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Cutter said:
Random non-body-scale idea: give some of the elite named boss types a reskinned Gang War summons.
Perhaps they should all get taunt to make things extra fun. 😈
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, UltraAlt said:
No bosses in Atlas.
I guess I should have guessed.
Onward to King's Row!
The tips will drop off any standard rank enemy, bosses are just optimal if/when they can be found, but in lieu of bosses, lieutenants can work just as well.
-
1
-
-
Fragmentary Veritas - New Release: Chapter 2, Page 15 - 'Freebie':
http://fragmentaryveritas.webcomic.ws/comics/30 -
Huh; Didn't see this thread until just now. Casual stroll through memory lane with a lot of familiar Protector names haha! 👋
On Live I was @Karonax and I played a Stone/Stone Brute of the same name pretty much exclusively for most of my time on live.
I was extremely active primarily on redside, was a leader in C.A.R.E.S.S. and Syndicates of Evil, and led runs of the Lord Recluse Strike Force almost nightly during Issue 7. I also spent a ton of time PvPing in Siren's Call and Recluse's Victory on my Brute up until Issue 13. -
On 3/14/2021 at 9:32 PM, Glacier Peak said:
I wouldn't dare ask for more Tour Guide tips for these zones because this is a brand new feature being tested in 36 zones already. Amazing job as well! So maybe in Page 3 or later could they be added?
I can say odds are looking favorable that those remaining zones will get Tour Guide missions in the future; Page 3 most likely.
-
6
-
-
For me it was finding a character that played in a way that fit my personality and playstyle preference. I like to move into the fray fast and hit hard; my Broad Sword/Willpower Scrapper has been perfect in that regard.
Like an unrelenting ball of hyperactive violence zoomies, she rushes into danger! (which eventually lead to me needing to bulk-up her resistances so she'd stop eating pavement so frequently.) 😅
As long as the character can move fast, and their hits have 'oomph' they're usually keepers in my book. By this same thought I've had a hard time finding a support-type character I've enjoyed, and still haven't loved any Masterminds haha; but the game's ability to provide many flavors is what makes it fun, I know people who live to play support.-
5
-
-
14 hours ago, Killerhawk said:
(Very minor FYI): It appears Peregrine Island "Monster" class NPCs do not appear to be included in the 100% drop rate class after testing.
So after checking again, and doing some in-game testing; Appears to have been a misread on my part, looks like Giant Monsters and Monsters are not in the tip system drop pool. I've updated my earlier post to reflect this.
-
On 3/12/2021 at 2:47 PM, Christopher Robin said:
want any constructive critique when I get some time?
Sure! I'd definitely be open to feedback regarding the comic's layout, flow, and readability. If something is hard to follow, or the pacing feels off, I'd love to know (I'm aware the comic's pacing up until this current scene has been a bit quick). Or things like how I've tailored the extra content like the character/location profiles.
As far as my comic art's quality goes, I'm mostly proceeding with a "It will improve with time / is good enough as long as the reader can follow what is happening" approach, since the amount of time I can dedicate to the comic project isn't very flexible/set hours per week.-
1
-
-
@Replacement Nothing personal to be taken! 😁 Improvements that make this feature better and more vibrant for the game and its community is the goal for the feedback here. I can make the mentioned adjustments; I think those quotes on names are used in a few spots that can be quite easily cleaned up as well.
-
1 hour ago, EmperorSteele said:
If this system IS indeed supposed to supplant Vidiotmaps, the process needs to go a bit faster than this.
This was something that was noted during testing. We're looking into potential means of speeding up the process by obtaining the tips in other ways, such as hunt mission rewards (door missions don't know what zone you are in to reward the corresponding tip). Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as adjusting the drop rates as they're baked into the tip system.
Ultimately, the goal is to make getting that one exploration badge per zone needed for the Long-Range Teleporter destinations reasonably doable in-game without requiring referral to an external source.
Doing all 288 of the Tour Guide missions to get every zone's badges is quite a task (I feel your pain, I ran through all of them for testing 😅 ).-
4
-
-
13 minutes ago, EmperorSteele said:
Gonna check out Echo: Galaxy City next!
Currently, the only zones included in the Tour Guide system are the 36 that are in the Long-Range Teleporter (excluding Pocket D and Kallisti Wharf).
-
1
-
Kallisti Wharf Level Range: Everyone
in Suggestions & Feedback
Posted
I understand where you're coming from, and you're not wrong in that regard. This game was designed to flexibly accommodate as wide a variety of player concepts as possible, and is one of the reason that it is beloved so. Generally, any concept you can think of, with some elbow grease and flexibility can be realized in-game as a playable character. (Obviously there are limits, but imagination tends to cover the difference when it has to.)
However, that being said, the player canon, will always be, the player's own canon. While it can be built off the game's canon, the reverse is not so readily presumable, nor should it be necessarily. The context of the City of Heroes narrative always has what we'll term the nebulous 'Players Identity' that it takes into account where the writing is concerned in terms of the player's role and current relation to the universe they're playing in.
In City of Heroes, at the upper-end of the current writing, the 'Players Identity' is that they are Primal Earth's strongest defenders who, after the war with Praetoria, have siphoned power from the Well to become incarnates and are being meticulously primed by various efforts to face the Coming Storm.
If you're existing strictly through the game's framework (which you don't have to, there is no wrong way to play the game in terms of personal writing!), that is how the game defines a player's character right now in relation to the narrative. Because the game's world operates by the rules the writing has established, it has to define the 'Players Identity' to some degree otherwise it makes it difficult to make consequences matter, and the whole thing gets muddy.
While it's possible for players to create a character with the concept that they, at Level 1, could destroy the Praetorian Hamidon in a single punch (like a certain anime?😄). It's not hard to see why it'd be problematic for the narrative to attempt to officially accommodate that concept, and still have any meaning and weight.
Essentially, the way I see it is this: If the player opts to discard the game's canon, rules, and definition for the 'Players Identity' for their own instead (which is totes cool! Again, City of Heroes thrives on being a medium to fulfill a player's personal creative vision in any way they see fit) then, by the same extension, the game's writing no longer strictly applies to them any longer, so it catering to them isn't viable.