Zhym

June 3

That sounds really cool, and I like that you have a "zone" concept. Shame there's no way to implement the zone, but AE is what AE is.

However...I have to admit that I started "New Earth Rising" and then quit before finishing the first mission, because:

Spoiler

It turned out to be an escort mission on a rather large map.

My advice on escort missions in AE:

Don't.
If you really, really have to, warn the player clearly in advance that it's going to be an escort mission. "Rescue <Wossname>" isn't enough of a clue. "Find <Wossname> and bring her back safely out of the caves" is better. "Warning: This is an escort mission" in bright, bold letters at the bottom of the dialog window is even better, IMO, but that might be a bit over the top. 🙂
Keep escort mission maps as small as you can.
But really: don't.

I'd suggest asking yourself if having to escort an NPC out of the map really adds anything to the story that a rescue (without escort) does not.

At least it wasn't timed. 😉 (Hi, @cranebump!)

June 2

1 minute ago, GM Manga said:

It probably self-updated because I forgot something and added it just now. The self-update drops it into the last known application folder setting rather than the current folder like Island Rum does. I might change that in the future because I didn't anticipate the sheer number of people who throw it on the desktop and then wonder why it self-updates every time (they don't look in the Applications folder).

One thing about that—it seemed like LaunchCat the installer automatically put LaunchCat the launcher in /Applications (unless I misunderstand the various LaunchCats, which I might). Is there a way to have the installer ask where to put the launcher?

Not that it matters for me personally—as long as IslandRum keeps working, I'll probably use that.

June 2

5 minutes ago, GM Manga said:

I added a new toy, though! If you download and launch LaunchCat once it will create a LaunchCat.plist file in your user Documents folder. Then you can alter that to change your Applications and coh folder paths, and whether or not it auto-launches. It's now somewhat hackable!

Thanks!

One thing that confused me about this, though. When I extracted the .zip file, it had a LaunchCat app. Running that seemed to install a LaunchCat app in /Applications. It wasn't really clear to me what was the installer and what was the launcher. Are there they different apps, both named LaunchCat? Or is it one that ends up in two different locations?

June 2

1 hour ago, GM Manga said:

I'm looking info the launch path issue.

Where your setup gets tricky though is that when you're using limited users, Apple expects that apps are only able to write to the user folder. But it also doesn't allow detection of whether it's a limited user or not. So in order to support limited users, Island Rum and LaunchCat would have to be stored in ~/Applications (your user Application folder) in order for it to be able to self-update, and the game files would have to be in either ~/Application Support (user Application Support) or ~/Documents (user Documents).

That would be a major change, and would inconvenience a lot of people if it doesn't work right or if they're used to the current coh folder location and like to be able to find their screenshots and demos there.

Yeah, I've struggled to figure out what the "right" way to install IslandRum under limited permissions would be. What's worked for me is having it in a subfolder of Applications (which, incidentally, doesn't seem to have quite the full set of restrictions that /Applications has) with permissions set to have my non-admin account as owner of the folder. The subfolder approach also works well since IslandRum seems to create other folders as part of the update process (e.g., "__MACOS", "old"), so having it in a subfolder reduces clutter in Applications.

If I were installing this fresh, I might try putting it in ~/Applications instead of /Applications, to see if that helped.

Ideally, IMO, anything other than the application itself would go in Application Support. That seems to be the model MacOS uses. But I realize that cross-platform software can't always adhere to the Official Apple Way of Doing Things. And the whole thing about CoH being a WINE application complicates matters further.

Thanks for the fix!

June 1

10 minutes ago, uninventive said:

Both IslandRum and LaunchCat expect the game files to be in /Applications/coh

IslandRum actually has a configuration option for where the game files live (it's under Options > "Install Path"). @GM Manga can say for sure, but I suspect there's just a slight bug in the last update that affects what IslandRum does with that setting.

June 1

Update for @GM Manga:

I installed the IslandRum update manually by unzipping the islandrum-mac-signed.zip file and moving the new IslandRum.app over the old one. Still no joy in launching the game, but:

Aha! Looks like the installer is putting the install path in there twice. Here are the contents of islandrum.sh:

#/bin/sh
export PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin
export WINEARCH=win64
export WINEPREFIX=/Users/<xxxxx>/.privatewine
USE="-cups"
cd "/Applications/Games/CoH"
/Applications/Games/CoH//Applications/Games/CoH/wine.app/Contents/Resources/wine/bin/wine64 "/Applications/Games/CoH/hc-bin64\cityofheroes.exe" -assetpath piggs -assetpath homecoming -auth 51.161.76.201 -legacylayout

Check out that last line—the path /Applications/Games/CoH/ (which I have set in IslandRum as the game path) is prepended twice.

When I edit that script manually to remove the extra path prefix, CoH runs. But when I try to launch the game through IslandRum, it re-writes that script with the wrong path.

June 1

46 minutes ago, GM Manga said:

open Terminal and use “sudo open /Applications/LaunchCat.app” to get around it.

No joy from this method, alas. I get the message "Self Update Download failed or canceled."

When I tried to install LaunchCat from an administrator account, it installed, but it put the WINE installation somewhere in the administrator account's folders, which doesn't help me run it from my user account.

What files does LaunchCat put where? Is there a way I can do a manual update for IslandRum, or an install of LaunchCat, from the command line?

BTW, just to make my setup more non-standard, Island Rum doesn't run from /Applications. I have subfolder, /Application/Games, which is where Island Rum and the CoH folder both live.

So far today, I've just been playing CoH by opening it from from the command line via the islandrum.sh script. But that will stop working the next time there's a patch.

My next attempt will be to temporarily grant my user account admin privileges, try to update Island Rum (and maybe install LaunchCat), then revoke the admin privileges again. We'll see how that goes.

June 1

When I tried to log into CoH this evening, Island Rum downloaded updates...and then crashed with an error about not being able to extract the zip file. When I tried to run Island Rum again, it just crashed. So I installed an old version of Island Rum, and let it update everything. This one at least loads and says it's on version 053120241, but crashes if I try to launch the game.

So I thought I'd finally install the official launcher. I unzip and get LaunchCat, which downloads wine9.zip then says "Mac Client Download failed or canceled."

Note: to avoid malware getting to do whatever the heck it wants, my everyday user account doesn't have admin privileges. With almost all software, that's not a problem: something (MacOS? The installer? I dunno!) realizes that admin credentials are needed for the install, and gives me a prompt to enter them. I don't get that prompt when I try to install using LaunchCat. I don't know if that's because LaunchCat just assumes the current user has admin rights and freaks right out if they don't, or if there's some other problem going on tonight.

May 31

On 5/29/2024 at 9:46 PM, Ukase said:

So, in the spirit of transparency, I suppose it depends on what you're doing, but I did ensure my character had the best it could afford - which because of an affinity for buying low and selling high, was as good as I could get.
And I didn't raise the difficulty until 24. And even then it was just +1. But by 28, it was +2, and at 31 it was +3. I waited until 38, I think and found I could survive +4, but it took too long. But it was nice not to whiff like many of my characters do - with an ability to boost accuracy AND ToHit.

The "immediate" respec, it was annoying, like every other respec. Mainly because of the timing. There was a TF I'd wanted to get in on, but I didn't want to run around untrained.
Still, it was a lot of fun, the bane.

I tend not to start kitting out my characters until level 27, when the enhancement sets that scale to level 50 are available. Plus, I try to make most of my characters self-supporting (more or less), which limits how much I'm able (well, okay, willing) to invest at early levels. Until level 27, my characters have to get by on SOs.

In the case of my Arachnos Soldier, I started slotting with IO sets right after the level 24 respec, because as long as I had to reslot all those enhancements, why not? So that could definitely be part of the drastic jump in fun level.

But I've had some characters who were fun from level 1 (hi, ninja blade stalker and DP/MC blaster!), and some characters who were weak at early levels and gradually got better as they leveled (and I started adding IO set enhancements), and a few characters who were so bad that they never got the chance to level to 24 (I'm looking at you, kinetic combat/regen brute), but I don't think I can remember a character that was painfully weak at level 22 and really quite fun, actually, at level 24. And in the case of a SoA, I think it's because the character at level 24 is actually a completely different character than the one at level 22.

May 29

I mean, okay, he's kind of a sexist creep with the women. But the bros? Man, he just wants to hang out, help a dude out, and party and/or bond over drinks.

I kind of want a Mission Architect arc where all you do is get drinks at a bar with Dean MacArthur. Kind of a "My Dinner with Dean" kind of thing.

(Seriously, though. If you haven't played red side, you're missing out on the Dean MacArthur arc. It's fun and well-written.)

May 29

On 5/27/2024 at 2:25 AM, Zhym said:

I started up a Soldier of Arachnos based on this post. So far, he's made it to level 22, so not yet a Bane, and...well, he dies. A lot. It's sort of becoming his thing.

Maybe things get better at 24, but 22 is painful.

Okay. As they say these days: it gets better.

I don't think I've ever seen a character shift so much from tedious at level 23 to fun at level 24.

May 27

I started up a Soldier of Arachnos based on this post. So far, he's made it to level 22, so not yet a Bane, and...well, he dies. A lot. It's sort of becoming his thing.

Maybe things get better at 24, but 22 is painful.

May 16

10 minutes ago, Oklahoman said:

A tanker, or potentially another character with incan. My early Hami runs have a pretty steady group now, but the overflow runs are still very much a work in progress and probably where I would need the help the most. If you are in league, don't hesitate to shoot me a tell saying you have taunt or incan if needed - that helps me a lot. After I fill my 3 taunter and 3 incanner roles I sometimes have an extra space in team 1 for someone to just be there and observe and see the chatter that goes on, so even if I can't use you that day I may have you on team 1 to get a feel for how we work so you are better equipped to step in when needed later.

Roger that. I tend to play my 50s enough that most of them either have Incan or can build it pretty quickly. Taunting, though, is usually just the tankers.

May 16

16 minutes ago, Oklahoman said:

I recently started a channel just for those who've helped on Team 1 for my early or overflow Hamis. Since I don't have a lot of "regulars" on those just yet, it's a way for me to advertise to that group that I need a taunter or an incanner from the group who's done it before. If I can't get what I need that way, I get it from the league that does show up and then they get added to the channel afterwards. It's terribly exclusive.

So if I want into the club, I need to bring out my tanker to a Hami. I usually go with the Nature/Sonic defender, because Overgrowth FTW (and because there are few things more boring than playing a tanker in a Hami that already has a full Team 1), but if I can get into a special club...

May 16

Hold on a sec. The important question here is—@Oklahoman has a chat channel?

May 10

Here's my layout, FWIW. This is on a 24" monitor; the UI elements are fairly large because I have old person eyes. It's a pretty basic layout—the only "major" change is putting the nav menu and map in the corner because it gets in the way too much in the top center.

May 2

8 minutes ago, Trickshooter said:

It might require higher graphics setting being enabled, but I couldn't tell you which, I didn't think it could be N/A. Could just be a limitation with running the game on a Mac, but I'm not sure. I would say turn up the graphics settings as high as you reasonably can and see if it becomes an option, and if it does, then roll your settings back to where you're comfortable and see what disables it as an option as you go.

I tried maxing everything I could, but nothing enabled the Desaturation effects option. Could be WINE, could be my Mac Mini's Intel 630 graphics card.

May 2

26 minutes ago, Trickshooter said:

There is an option in the game settings to allow for full-screen effects like that, called Desaturation effects I think? Make sure you have it enabled. The new vision temp powers use that effect; it was previously only used for flashback/ouroboros missions where you go back in time.

That seems likely. Mine is currently set to "N/A" and I don't see a way to change it. Is there a different option I need to set to enable this?

May 2

5 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

What are your current graphics settings?

From what I can tell, my graphics settings don't seem to make a difference in whether Old School Vision or Retro Vision work. I normally run around with various Advanced Mode settings set mostly for performance that doesn't look too bad. But I tried disabling Advanced Graphics Settings and setting the graphics quality everywhere from Performance to Ultra, and still, Old School Vision and Retro Vision didn't do anything.

May 2

The "Old School Vision" and "Retro Vision" powers don't seem to do anything when I activate them. Is that happening for anyone else?

I'm on a Mac, FWIW. I assume that's the reason (probably something related to WINE).

April 27

On 1/26/2024 at 5:28 PM, cranebump said:

Love and Robots (ID: 58834) (Author sig: @Wonder Knight; Board sig: @d4everman)

The intro text reads: Queen Cyborg has been turning ordinary citizens into her robotic slaves. Now she's seeking the scientist that created her. But is she seeking his knowledge to transform more people into cyborgs or something more unsettling. That sounds creepy. But then you hop in the mish, and you get face-punched with some silver age goodness in tone and tenor (ably represented by the contact CAPTAIN EAGLE!). You’ve got a boss who thinks you’re a flyspeck (YOU! Can you believe it? [I can...(sigh)], and custom minions who accentuate the effect as they chatter about their superiority (even as you send them to the mat. Lots of fun. Reminds me of the comics I first read way back in…er…a LONG TIME AGO! (one of them’s civvie ID is Dwayne Dibley – that’s a name ol’ Stan would be proud of). Arc includes some excellent design using the bank map, great NPCs (with intertwining relationships and motivations that shape the plot, brisk pace (thanks to well-placed objectives), and a cool themed minion group. Plus, it’s got bots. And guns…Crane sorta likes Bots and guns…ahem. Verdict: VERY well done. Add a sterling seal, to go with Kyksie’s recommendation (which has to be worth…well, something, right?).:-) PLAY THIS IF: You enjoy some silver aged bombascity (but not overdone), coupled with a twisty relationship-based narrative throughline

I just finished running this with one of the more silver-age toons I have (at least the one who isn't a tanker, because running arcs solo on a tanker is sooooo slow), and I agree—this is a great arc. There are a few typos or grammar/style issues in the text, but the story is top notch.

March 18

22 hours ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

And I'm back albeit intermittently, like a slightly out of tune TV from the past..!

Woot! Glad you're back.

BTW, I noticed something when editing the top post. In the "All That Glimmers" 3.x series, here are the mission numbers:

All That Glimmers 3.1: Summonings in Nerva Archipelago [43022]
All That Glimmers 3.2: Ninjas in the Wind [40394]
All That Glimmers 3.3: Gods in the Planes [43537]

Part 3.2 was published before the other two—May 2021 as opposed to August and September for 3.1 and 3.2, respectively. @Ankylosaur, what's the story there?

March 4

2 hours ago, Lunar Ronin said:

Wait. Wait, wait, wait. People are seriously demanding people with both Destiny and Lore Incarnate abilities slotted for the Hero's Epic story arc?!

Right? If I'm on with my +3 Incarnate, it's almost certain that he's not only already done the MJ arc and met the Praetorians, but also saved the world from Mot and gone quite a ways toward thwarting Emperor Cole's invasion of Primal Earth.

March 4

29 minutes ago, Oklahoman said:

Very helpful when people do that. As a leader, if you want, get their global before they leave (as @tidge suggested above) and then obsessively do /i @global or /li @global to reinvite them with whatever character they log back on with. You can hit enter, then the up arrow, to do that command a few times and maybe catch them before they have to send you a message at all.

Also, if you are alting, I ain't waiting more than a couple minutes. Hurry it up, we're burnin' daylight.

BTW, this thread linked in Oklahoman's signature is directly relevant here:

March 2

I ran an 8-member blaster team tonight and got it, so it seems to be fixed now.

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