Black Talon

Should have done a bit more thinking before I opened my virtual mouth here, but a number of the posters subsequent to my first comment are, in my opinion, dead-on. Any Hero I'm working through the numbers (literally), I make it a point to do both the Faultline quadrology of contacts, as well as the matching fantastic four of Striga Isle. The Ernesto Hess TF is my favourite (really the only one I ever do on a repeated basis) TF in the game, especially with the James Bond The-Bad-Guy's-Base-Blows-Up-After-The-Big-Final-Scrap ending. I make it a point to warn all the TPers, at the start of the final mission, to get ready to mass-teleport everyone to the exit so that we can avoid finishing the TF burdened with stupid debt. Otherwise, has a great, metal-heavy, industrial-themed dramatic setting for the climax, with the only thing missing being the TF members coming into Archon Burkholder's stronghold with him sitting on an oversized, overplush throne-chair, stroking a white cat and explaining how all of our actions have been in vain and have, in fact, helped him move his plans forward. Never get tired of that one, or the Faultline arcs - and all congratulations to the writers and Devs on those. Will probably think of a few more to put in here over the next couple of days.

One arc that stuck out Back In The Day - and which I sent congrats to the Devs for - was the Countess Crey origin arc (levels 42-45 or thereabouts). This one came out as a genuine story-telling tragedy, and the gaining the piece-by-piece knowledge that one of the city's (if not the nation's) premier corporate overlords was a couldn't-make-it-big-otherwise murderer, hiding under a victim's pseudonym, fit the villains' narrative so perfectly. The only thing that would have put a bit extra "oomph" into the You're-now-a-defaced-hero-running-from-the-law bit - getting attacked by various villain groups between missions - would have been if they had managed to get actual PCPD special forces to do the attacking. That one bit aside, I really felt that this one started off with a beautifully faux ho-hum pedestrian opening, leading into a a trip down the Crey rabbit-hole. Every time one of my boys gets the chance to do this one, it's a special remembrance point in the memorabilia book, and one I always enjoy looking over. Give this one a shot if you get a chance, but beware: Countess Crey is a total first-rate Arch-Villain, and you will need a full team to pull this one down if you go the full AV route. Hope this helps.

This is a subject that I expect, for most of us, has come to mind on a number of occasions. While many of the more "character"-evident Paragon City locations do have their draws - Kings Row primary among them - I find that the Rogue Isles' 18th-19th Century architecture is simply too great an aesthetic appeal to resist. Mercy Isle would be my preferred spot, or, if the Rogue Isles were taken out of the equation, Croatoa would be the definite fallback. The most (natural) wildlife-friendly setting in the game, and, were Jack-in-Irons sent to a community college to learn ironsmithing, the place would be a beautiful spot to raise a family. I imagine many of The Cabal would start to turn their magic toward more community-assist and entertainment purposes, especially after the village pubs started running bring-your-broomstick-in-and-it's-first-drinks-free night...

Probably totally gratuitous advice and pointers, but just to note - the population on Homecoming is, quite obviously, a fraction of what CoX was during its heyday in '04-'06. Consequently, team-ups are a somewhat more difficult arrangement than previously, though, with time and effort, you can likely put something together. Another point is that mission that are labelled "necessary for multi-players to complete" are now such in name only - i.e., in the mission descriptions, which remain unchanged; recognizing the difficulty of regular, not to mention ad hoc, team-ups, the HC Devs have reconfigured all of these to be complete-capable by a single player. Finally, the HC Devs hold, on Discord at the end of each month, a volunteer drive to raise the funds to keep this community project alive for another thirty days. I still find it a source of amazement - heroic in its own right - that so many people would be willing to contribute so much time, energy and effort just to keep an online game engine alive. I imagine, Captain Blaze, that you have felt - and still do feel - it yourself, along with the rest of the contributors to this thread and this site: Saving lives, purely virtual as they may be, lets us know we can summon up at least that much good will inside ourselves, and maybe - just maybe - bring it out for a moment's view in real life.

This is taking a total sidetrack off CoX, not to mention superhero stuff in general, but - in my opinion - Polonius is, in fact, one of the most tragic characters in Hamlet...without ever knowing (or considering) he is a tragedy. Polonius speaks words of wisdom on a repeated basis in the play...without ever applying such wisdom to himself, because he's already too intelligent to be subject to all that trifle and pettiness. If the guy had ever bothered to turn a moment's worth of wisdom (knowing the world and others) into enlightenment (knowing oneself), the play would quite likely have had a Scooby-Doo type ending, with Claudius saying (as he's taken away by law enforcement), "And I would have gotten away with it, too...if not for those meddling kids!" Ophelia and Hamlet would have been married in the final scene, with Horatio taking over Denmark's national Intelligence network, bonds formed with Fortinbras (because he and Hamlet were essentially the same guy), Polonius given an advisor's rank, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern told to go back to school and learn something. Sorry to have gone on at such length about this, Safehouse, but your statement did lead to a great deal of inspiration over a story I love. Anyway, back to the CoX stuff...I wonder if Lord Recluse has a daughter that ever considered turning the Rogue Isles into a haven of law and order? Almost Shakespearean...

A subject like this is neat because we get to have a look at the enormously varied set of opinions/priorities players can have, irrespective of being locked into having the same sandbox to play in - take two players with two identical ATs, identical power sets, identical levels...both may have completely oppositional, yet equally effective, strategies and tactics for giving bad guys what for. For myself, I tend to go the same route as Safehouse and biostem; Malta, the Sappers are always first in line to get a generous helping of whup-ass, followed by the Operation Engineers - I hate those stupid automated kill-pods they activate, which never seem to run out of ammo (although, to be fair, neither do we), and which take forever to destroy (even though, alone, they don't seem to do much damage). With Rikti, again, the Communication Officers are first in the slap-upside-the-back-of-the-head line, followed by Guardians. Council and 5th Column have the Rifles/Marksmen going first, as I (again) hate when they hit with that stupid freezing ray, especially more than one at a time. Similarly, the CoT have the Ice Thorn casters being taken out to avoid immobilization/slowdown (exceptions are usually made when a +2 Behemoth Overlord is getting ready to skewer-fry some Hero butt). The choice of first-to-go per villain group probably gives some hints as to a player's likes/dislikes in the game; nonetheless, it's a very individual issue, and could lead to some productive results if the choices were batted back and forth beforehand on teaming missions.

This sort of thing I can express full support and appreciation for: with a 1,023 character limit for the bios - and that includes spaces/punctuation - it's Shakespeare's, "Brevity is the soul of wit" come to life. Will be submitting a couple, and just hoping that the organizers of this shindig see fit to eventually publish the whole darn bunch of them (creators permitting). I love looking at the backstories of a person's favourite invention.

I watched this video last night (and thank you for the inclusion, LegionAlpha), and while I certainly won't claim to have anything but a journeyman's background in (potential) FTL-hyperspace physics/potentials, I did get some red flags coming up while going through it, all of which have been covered very thoroughly by Luminara. The mere fact that so much of the video was packed with filler Star Trek shots indicated, for me, that this was as much an infotainment piece as it was covering genuine theoretical physics territory. Yeah, there are some interesting points that indicate potential - potential - outcomes, but this is something that, in my opinion, stays on the theoretical back burner until there's actual, peer-reviewed evidence of an experiment pulled off with macroscopic material, and over macroscopic distances.

Simply repeating what's already been stated here x-hundred times before, but my standpoint is that any population, who are getting an MMPOG for fricking free, and see fit to complain about it are invited to take their butts over to the other side of the proverbial fence, where they'll understand that the grass being "greener" was just from a greater proliferation of weeds. The Homecoming crew get no end of thanks and congratulations from this end, and any alterations to the game engine - at least the ones I've experienced - are more of cosmetic/background value than as a serious alteration of the game's central functions. I'm just going to keep remembering the December snowfall in Atlas Park, and how I wish it could have been extended into all other zones (CoV included). Little touches like that are what keep me donating month after month and finding absolutely no reason to complain about it. As long as the game engine ensures that the Vahzilok continue to suffer being carved into cold meat cuts by a generous helping of Claws, I'll be humming the CoH anthem all the way to this Sunday's family dinner....

Cancrusher: These look perfect, but the question remains as to where they hell they're located? Which category can they be found under - Arcane Power, Room Details, whatall? Please indicate as I'd like to have something that looks as damn good as you've done. 🙂

As far as in-game content goes, this is about as trivial as it can get, but this is one thing that, for me, set Manticore's mansion over and above anything that players can establish in their own bases. I really like setting the SG base as something with a genuine "home" feel to it - e.g., Avengers mansion or the Justice League's Earthbound headquarters - and as minor the point may be, having a real (as far as "real" goes in this setting) fireplace would be a really nice touch, I think, in allowing SG bases to serve as more than just singular teleporter banks/med bays. If there already is such an option in the SG base construction program which I've missed, I'd very much appreciate getting a look-this-way indicator as to where it might be. Otherwise, very much hoping the Homecoming team could throw something like this into the mix. Appreciations for the time and attention.

This happened to me once as well, back in the pre-shutdown days. I do have all thanks that the Devs presumably anticipated this moment, and rigged it so that there would be a rez superseding death/defeat; yeah, as best I recall I did have the consequential debt to deal with, but this is a relatively small price to pay in the face of hitting the hosp and/or leaving teammates one fist short in a major big-league scrap. Nice to see that this has happened to someone else over the course of the years. 🙂

Your point, Apparition, is something I can much appreciate. And I think it's to the original Devs' credit that this thing has kept going as long and consistently as it has. What's the core of the issue here, at least as far as I'd see it? It ain't real life. There's a very, very hard cap on what sort of actions and interactions can take place here, as is the case in any virtual setting - irrespective of whether that setting was conceived of back in the late '70s (when I first recall seeing people playing a third-person Star Trek starship fight game; the ships were represented by various hard geometric shapes, such as an arrow for Fed ships) or a couple weeks ago. I find that often I'm signing on just to do sight-seeing, and appreciate the various (extraordinarily detailed) settings that have been put together for us. Yet, that being stated, those settings are never going to change; hence my quiet joy at seeing the Christmas season snowfall in Atlas Park that was added on last December. Similarly, it's never going to change for those various archetypes you've mentioned because, again, there's a hard cap on the things they can do to act and interact with their world. As visually wonderful as those things might be. From my admittedly limited perspective here? What I would recommend is give real-life RPGing a try. If you can find a game-group in your area, fantastic; if not, give the FLGand/orCS a shot and see if there's a group that meets on site on a regular basis - I've found that any place that has a bigger than living-room size shop area has at least one group that rents it out on Friday/Saturday afternoons/evenings. CoX, with its fantastic character design engine, is great for arranging how your (and potentially other players') characters look, regardless of game genre; do a screenshot after design completion and you've got an image that you, and they, have got to relate to when throwing the dice. And that leads to the point that, I believe, elevates real life RPGing above what this, or any other MMPOG yet conceived, has to offer: The chance to work with other humans and negotiate the rules. There ain't no such discussion with the CoX engine; the best we can hope for is to get a Mod over to reshuffle the deck for us when the software bugs out. Plus, there's absolutely no substituting the fun one has when, in the middle of a scrap, one player or another starts making jokes and/or stupid comments that leave the gang hammering on the table, weeping with laughter. For all the communication we can indulge in with CoX, the Rikti AV isn't going to hold off on her/his group wipe power just because the heroes had a standup comedian appear after the Rikti monkeys start disintegrating into noxious gas and saying, "Sorry, I had burritos for lunch." The day will come when the taste for the chocolate cake (to use Glacier Peak's metaphor) will come back, at least on a limited scale; I have every expectation that the community here will continue to contribute enough monthly funds to keep it running at least that long. Meanwhile, the best I can suggest is the real life imagination thing: any pen-and-paper RPG is going to be subject to walls dictated by game engine rules as much as CoX, but the player/GM interaction (and player/player) will go a long way to bending those rules, as much of a pause as it might lead to in the game.

I joined up in August, '04, and did get the regular issues throughout the next year; I would argue that the value of the storytelling (and, for me, that means an effective combination of graphics and text) improved on a linear per-issue basis up to the conclusion, which seemed to herald some of the upcoming online developments; basically the printed comic served as an advertisement for changes in '05 and so on. Although the fate of the individual issues has fallen into "back of the closet" status, I do have the Top Cow trade paperback collections that were done, and still pull those out every once in a while to look things over and sink in to Paragon City/Rogue Isles from the "upper tier" hero/villain perspective - and this especially during the "quiet years" of '13-'19. I was especially pleased by the fact that the writers/artists gave each one of the Freedom Phalanx a distinctive personality (often quite a problematic one) and problem-solving style, and also carried across the potentially world-altering powers that Recluse commanded, rather than maintaining the (necessary) online balance that must be preserved in the name of having a real MMPOG, rather than individual player story arcs. When I first joined up here, June 2021, I inquired about the possibility of resuming hardcopy publishing; although the likelihood is rather low, I would like to see even an online effort made, probably through here, and which might be along the lines of the much-appreciated and fondly remembered City of Zeroes that, simultaneously and so effectively, satirized and celebrated CoX and its online expression/restrictions. Would be wonderful to have an online resource for that series...

Luminara: Thank you! I've got a Fire/Fire Blaster over on Excelsior, who's been really hammering on the offensive side of things - being what he is, there's really no other option than, "Take 'em down hard and take 'em down fast" - and I had been wondering as to how he was going to be handling Malta, as an example, when he started hitting the mid-late 30s. Employing Consume offers a wonderful potential out for him in such a circumstance. Please keep these nuggets of wisdom coming our way. 🙂

Although I cannot claim to have anywhere near the in-game experience/technical proficiency of previous posters, I think I can identify at least one thing that's seriously helped with the damn Mata Sappers: Picking up Conserve Power. After hitting this (often prior to scrapping the boss Titans) I beeline straight for the Sapper and hit him with, say, Focus or Knockout Blow. Either of these keep buddy (term applied in the most colloquial sense) from getting up before finishing touches can be applied; nonetheless, the Sappers have hit frequently prior to the knockdown, and, with Conserve Power, are stuck at pulling about 25-30% end. The other methods mentioned here might certainly work; however, I personally have found Conserve Power to be an indispensable Malta-killing tool. Wishing we could have had the wonderful Atlas Park snowfall till March, Black Talon

Appearance is no indicator of inherent strength; I think we all know at least one person whose strength is way, way disproportionate to their physical stature. Some people are just gifted with that stuff. Plus, this is comic book world - Peter Parker was still a skinny buck-o'-five kid when he got the ability to toss a limo across the street, at least as Steve Ditko illustrated him. I'd give Ms Liberty a pass on this one, and if the lady wants to get together for a workout where she can demonstrate her ability to hack-squat a few thousand pounds, followed by a nice burger at the local Shake Shack, hey, let's go for it...be nice to hear some stories about how Statesman gave super-villain memorabilia as birthday gifts before Ms Liberty - all of sixteen years old - blew the birthday cake out the window and gave her mother the, "Sorry, Mom," with a regretful shrug.

All of these are what I would consider valid points, were the Rogue Isles to make the transition from directed, detailed fantasy to reality. And in all truth, I do think that the Rogue Isles Department of Tourism would have to put some serious work into enticing people - especially Paragon City inhabitants, who are the only ones who have a stable depth of income to rely on - to actually spend time and money in a place where being turned into a human sacrifice is an ongoing chance that veers from moderate to overwhelming, depending on the day. I do have a fair background in formal economics, and one of the key points to establishing a workable, ongoing economic system, besides opportunity, is stability. The only determined stability in the Rogue Isles is daily instability; in the smuggler-based American Colonies and the post-Civil War Old West there was still the limitation of human capability: no superpowers determining who's the toughest here, just the biggest gang and guns. I honestly think that Lord Recluse would have to be dedicating some serious thought toward how to establish and foster a system of consistent trade for his kingdom, reaching from top to bottom, left to right and inside out, because otherwise he's looking at the place he's worked on so hard turning into a Hobbesian nightmare where he might - might - end up the one standing on top of a mountain of dead bodies. And where's your fortune going to come from after that, friend...? Ah, right, invading Paragon City.

One point above all other serves as a Rogue Isles attraction: the architecture. The place has such wonderful late-16th/early-18th century ambiance that I'd move there just to be able to wake up, look at the place and know that things had been designed with some sort of human input and intention rather than, "Make this a good place for the machines." Bad guy habitation...well, I'm certain we can reconfigure the tourism office to make it appealing somehow...

This is a subject I can hold great sympathy and agreement with. Part of the reason - and I am obviously not alone in this - I play the game in the first place is to enjoy the pure artistic/audio/atmospheric effects for all they're worth, both intrinsic to the characters and the world they inhabit. I've done a couple of "speed runs" with one group or another, and it ends up becoming a mechanical exercise; everything that was put into the game to emphasize and exemplify the comic book world (definitely more sophisticated and detailed than the "four colour" era) is merely an object to get out of the way in order to hit the next level. While I am unaware as to what server the SG is located on - perfectly possible there's an iteration on each one - I'd love to team my guys up with you, if possible, and, rather than counting the XP till next level, we see what stories we can write with the game, and the possibilities the CoX team conjured for us and which the HC gang devotes themselves to continuing.

Was going to start this up myself if someone hadn't done it already - all thanks, Albion. As other posters have stated, adding my voice to the chorus of all best wishes and confidences for the year to come, and looking forward very much to meeting up with and teaming up along the Paragon City die-hard crew. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy New Year to everyone out there, your families and loved ones, and hoping that some of the generosity and heroism we display here can make an appearance in real life. Best to all, and to all a good night, Black Talon 🙂

All best wishes for a happy birthday and a wonderful year to come. CoX has, after some serious beeyatch-slapping, emerged in what, I suspect, will be a template for MMPOGs in the years/decades to come: a professionally-produced work that has been abandoned as "not profitable" by the originally high-minded and now dismissive studios, and is now maintained, repaired and improved by the do-it-yourself-minded fans. In many respects, the wonder is that Homecoming actually took so fricking long - there were fans enough with enough financial support (as is demonstrated month after month on this site; I wasn't even able to make a donation for December - by the time I was set to do so, the coffers had already filled up), technical wherewithal, and time-blocs available to sustain this game on a likely indefinite basis. Anyway, all that aside - passing on all the happiest thoughts, and hoping to meet you out on those virtual streets and exchange a high-five while giving the Freakshow boss Tanker one upside the head. Hoping you enjoy this and all upcoming birthdays.

Fair point, Techwright! Such a gesture would be, I think, in the category of the least we could do. I recall that, in the shadow of the oncoming shutdown, the CoX Devs at Cryptic Studio were festooned with gifts to indicate the population's loyalty and fervor. Maybe something similar could be arranged through this venue - do a bit of a CoHHC kickstarter at the opening of December, and then - just throwing this out - have a designated representative come to the HC team and say, "Okay, what duz youze want fer Xmas?" I don't think anything totally crazy would be either called for or appropriate; just some stuff like a box of Turtles, some commercially-available toy collections or Cthulhu plushies (nothing says "Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!" like the specter of reality-ending insanity in huggable form). In any event, it's something that the gang here could, arguably, put together. Looking forward to learning what the Our Gang's input is on this casual suggestion...

Pretty much every season - and day, really - indicate that the CoH stewardship could not have been passed on to a more caring, insightful and imaginative group of people. I signed on this morning, ready to start my Invul/SS Tanker on the long, long road to 42, and ended up in the middle of a snowfall in Atlas Park. Yes, it helped that the setting was at night, but I just got such a wonderful feeling that this was a place for heroes to be, and that the unseen virtual families will be that much safer and happier with our lot running around, cleaning house in a remarkably bloodless fashion. I cannot thank the Devs enough for having inserted this timely little bit of atmosphere into the game...sure, it's something we only really get to appreciate when flying or leaping around the city - it's kind of tough to appreciate environmental ambiance when giving Skulls what for - but this little bit of seasonal input just lets Paragon City feel that much more real and homelike. All thanks, and looking forward to Frosty, possessed by the CoTs' Envoy of Shadow, showing up with blood red eyes and shark-teeth and proclaiming, "Bumbles bounce!" before bringing the devastation of Hellfire down the city's chimneys. Ah, to build a snowman outside Atlas Park City Hall...

Honestly, this Halloween has been a great pick-up teaming opportunity. I will be on during Sunday (at least during daylight hours) and do hope very much to be able to get access to the bases you've indicated, Dacy too. Hope to see a good chunk of the gang there. P.S. Punch and pie become irrelevancies when we're dealing with multiple millions of virtual cash floating around. At that point, you can order your punch and pie from random bystanders and expect craven obedience like ordinary citizens faced with Homelander during a rage fit. Yeah, I'm watching The Boys right now and just thankful that such sociopathic abominations are not part of CoX's network. Looking forward to Sunday...