MetaVileTerror

Exceeeeept that ParagonWiki /also/ has information which is wrong, incomplete, or not adjusted to meet Homecoming's new content. It's still helpful, by and large, though. So, yeah, check it out! Just remember that it might not be 100% accurate as to what you're looking for either.

Yup. In the interview Matt "Positron" Miller said it: It was a mistake, in his opinion, to have made Archetypes that can't solo (paraphrased).

You asked for it! This is on you! 0 8161 0 2 512 524287 0.548314 0 0 0 0.000000 0 0 0 0.000000 0 0 0 0.000000 0 0 0 0.000000 4554808 307204 "Minor" 0 1 0 0 63799358 311269 "Game" 0 1 0 0 63537166 34785 "System" 0 1 0 0 48 8192 "NPC dialog" 0 1 0 0 4456448 0 "Loot" 0 1 0 0 59244550 1 "Personal" 0 1 0 0 0 2016 "Pet" 0 1 0 0 0 268292 "Event" 0 1 0 0 -1073594432 1196032 "Chat" 0 2 10 1 -469614656 1785856 "All" 6878 2 10 1 536875008 589824 "Server" 0 2 48 1 8320 1064960 "Private" 0 2 13 1 -1073600656 155648 "RP" 0 2 10 1 0 0 "Global" 6878 2 0 0 0 0 "1" 666 2 0 0 0 0 "2" 64 2 0 0 0 0 "3" 6144 2 0 0 0 0 "4" 4 2 0 0 67108864 0 "Help" 0 2 26 1 0 0 "" 0 0 0 0 "[REDACTED]" 0 -855664129 -855664129 "BDSM" 0 -1120974337 772997119 "[REDACTED]" 0 -624441345 1277176063 "[REDACTED]" 0 1948012031 1820908287 "Polyamory" 0 1056997375 2013246207 "[REDACTED]" 0 2013265919 2013265919 "Pride" 0 1828742911 -31175425 "Vile" 0 170984959 -1719451137 "[REDACTED]" 0 2013265919 2013265919 "[REDACTED]" 0 -956301057 -9584641 "[REDACTED]" 0 -1 255 "RP" 0 702207 -17474561 "OOC" 0 -328204801 837887 "Homecoming" 0 -521475841 -741369345 "Homecoming" 0 -521475841 -741369345

Tax brackets based on wealth earnt are a great idea, but regrettably they are also a ship that sailed already when it comes to solving potential inflation issues. With free unlimited accounts, tax evasion would be a simple thing for people willing to put in the little bit of extra effort of making low level characters and transferring the wealth to them. Although, perhaps extra taxation based on exceeding a market balance cost limiter . . . So, for example, if someone lists their Medium-sized Defense Inspiration for 3000 Inf on the market, then they get hit with the standard 5% up-front, and 5% transaction fees. But if they try to list it for 3001 to 5000, they get a scaling taxation of 5.1% to 10% for the up-front (but 5% back-end still stays the same). Then, if they try to list for 5001 to 10,000 it ramps up the same way for the back-end fee. And finally, anything over 10,001 Inf would continue up to an additional 10% front and back. So, hard numbers using the example I propose above. Note: These hard numbers are just for the proposal example, and precise sliding scale values can be tweaked as necessary before implementation. Selling "Good Luck" on the Market as it is now: ☼ List for 1000 Inf, listing fee of 50 (5% of 1000), sold at listed value of 1000, transaction fee of 50 (10% of 1000 minus the 5% of 1000 listing fee). Seller's total gains are 900 Inf. ☼ List for 1000 Inf, listing fee of 50 (5% of 1000), sold at 2000, transaction fee of 150 (10% of 2000 minus the 5% of 1000). Seller gains 1800. ☼ List for 3500 Inf, listing fee of 175 (5% of 3500), sold at 3500, transaction fee of 175 (10% of 3500 minus the 5% of 3500). Seller gains 3150. ☼ List for 3500 Inf, listing fee of 175 (5% of 3500), sold at 5000, transaction fee of 325 (10% of 5000 minus the 5% of 3500). Seller gains 4500. ☼ List for 5000 Inf, listing fee of 250 (5% of 5000), sold at 5000, transaction fee of 250 (10% of 5000 minus the 5% of 5000). Seller gains 4500. ☼ List for 5000 Inf, listing fee of 250 (5% of 5000), sold at 5750, transaction fee of 325 (10% of 5750 minus the 5% of 5000). Seller gains 5175. ☼ List for 7500 Inf, listing fee of 375 (5% of 7500), sold at 7500, transaction fee of 375 (10% of 7500 minus the 5% of 7500). Seller gains 6750. ☼ List for 7500 Inf, listing fee of 375 (5% of 7500), sold at 9750, transaction fee of 600 (10% of 9750 minus the 5% of 7500). Seller gains 8775. ☼ List for 10000 Inf, listing fee of 500 (5% of 10000), sold at 10000, transaction fee of 500 (10% of 10000 minus the 5% of 10000). Seller gains 9000. ☼ List for 10000 Inf, listing fee of 500 (5% of 10000), sold at 13750, transaction fee of 875 (10% of 13750 minus the 5% of 10000). Seller gains 12375. Selling "Good Luck" on the Market under this new tax bracket system: ☼ List for 1000 Inf, listing fee of 50 (5% of 1000), sold at listed value, transaction fee of 50 (10% of 1000 minus the 5% of 1000 listing fee). Seller gains 900 Inf. Same total value and fee. ☼ List for 1000 Inf, listing fee of 50 (5% of 1000), sold at 2000, transaction fee of 150 (10% of 2000 minus the 5% of 1000). Seller gains 1800. Same. ☼ List for 3500 Inf, listing fee of 221 (6.3~% of 3500), sold at 3500, transaction fee of 129 (10% of 3500 minus the 6.3~% of 3500). Seller gains 3150. Same total fee, but more taxation in the front end for Overlisting. ☼ List for 3500 Inf, listing fee of 221 (6.3~% of 3500), sold at 5000, transaction fee of 279 (10% of 5000 minus the 6.3~% of 3500). Seller gains 4500. Same total fee, but more taxation in the front end for Overlisting. ☼ List for 5000 Inf, listing fee of 500 (10% of 5000), sold at 5000, transaction fee of 0 (10% of 5000 minus the 10% of 5000). Seller gains 4500. Same total fee, but ALL taxation is front-loaded for listing at 5000. ☼ List for 5000 Inf, listing fee of 500 (10% of 5000), sold at 5750, transaction fee of 75 (10% of 5750 minus the 10% of 5000). Seller gains 5175. Same total fee, but more taxation in the front end for Overlisting. ☼ List for 7500 Inf, listing fee of 750 (10% of 5000), sold at 7500, transaction fee of 188 (12.5~% of 7500 minus the 10% of 7500). Seller gains 6562. 188 less than under the normal system. That's Inf which is being taken out of circulation. This is where the taxation really kicks in to gear. ☼ List for 7500 Inf, listing fee of 750 (10% of 5000), sold at 9750, transaction fee of 469 (12.5~% of 9750 minus the 10% of 7500). Seller gains 8531. 244 less than normal. ☼ List for 10000 Inf, listing fee of 1000 (10% of 10000), sold at 10000, transaction fee of 500 (15% of 10000 minus the 10% of 10000). Seller gains 8500. 500 less than normal. Note: It's also less than they'd earn if they had listed the item at 7500 instead, but if it still sold for 10000. Basically: Don't get greedy, is the take away here. ☼ List for 10000 Inf, listing fee of 1000 (10% of 10000), sold at 13750, transaction fee of 1063 (15% of 13750 minus the 10% of 10000). Seller gains 11687. 688 less than normal. This would sink a little Inf, but it would also encourage stabilized market prices. The only question, then, becomes: What are fair values to put these tax brackets on? In other words: Where do we draw the lines? I'll admit, though, it's probably more work than necessary, since there is an easier way to stabilize market prices, and there's probably an easier Inf sink that I'm just not thinking of right now. I just personally think if we were building the market from the ground up, this is something that probably should have been investigated from the get-go. . . . extra note: I am tired and didn't proofread my work here. If I made some calculation errors . . . WHOOPS. Idea's still sound, I think, even if I botched my example.

Lucky! . . . say . . . are those coupons tradeable?

Hell, I think all of the Day Job Powers could use some improvements to reward rate. The shortened timespan of 100 Hours for the Badges is great! I know some people who have already completed their collections, and that's fantastic. But maybe . . . maybe it's time to add a second Tier of Day Job Badges? Nothing too crazy; another 200 hours (9'ish more days) just reuse the current art with a little roman numeral 2 (II) added below in a little circle, and have them titled something like "Seasoned blahblahblah." So, "Seasoned Law Enforcer," or "Seasoned Smuggler." Have these Seasoned Badge increase the carry limit and recharge rate of the Day Job Powers associated with them. And can we please look in to changing the Day Job mechanics which are automatic timer Powers? Sometimes I roleplay or chat when I log on, and the Day Job bonus expires before I ever actually get to playing.

There is also the Placate mechanic, which I don't know if any enemies utilize currently. Might be worthwhile adding it to a few individuals.

TEMPORAL ANOMALIES! Looks like the forum is misbehaving due to the change in Day Light Savings.

Well, "bullet" defense not quite, but I think I already mentioned https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/11311-concept-battle-armour-survivaldefense-set/ in this thread. And Shield Melee . . . yes. Just straight up: Yes.

Sooooo . . . Shurikens?

See, that's the thing . . . I'm -not- sure they'd welcome the help. From what I'm seeing, the Homecoming Team is being pretty choosy. I'm not saying that being choosy is inherently a bad thing, mind you. It's just . . . I dunno. Something feels "off" to me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. Stuff that TonyV posted when he separated himself from the ncsoft talks. Reports/rumours from people claiming to have interactions with certain, key figures. I'm probably just being paranoid. If I had more information; a more open line of communication, I think I'd rest easier and stop banging my head against this particular brick wall.

Hell, sure! "Tempest Melee!" Sounds pretty epic and superheroic/villainous to me! Roll with it.

You could say -that- again! <em fingerguns>

Reaching Mars represents the culmination of dozens of years and hundreds of thousands of people's dedication, hard work, and sacrifice. It's an actual milestone for the entire human race. It's an actual accomplishment. Getting an exclusionary and imaginary "belt" in a video game is not. Suggesting that the two have some kind of equivalence for comparison is to subject the aforementioned accomplishment to the banality and insignificance of something which will not better anyone's life in a meaningful way. I play this game as a hobby, but I am deeply passionate about it. It's why I, personally, have been this engaged in this discussion. But my patience is not infinite, and this forum thread is chewing in to time I would much rather spend doing something to kick off a few endorphin rushes. However, I feel it's important to share the information I have. I may be overestimating my own self-worth, and I acknowledge that without reservation. Regardless of that; I still think the information is worthwhile, and so I am spending my time here trying to be informative. So, here's another little tidbit from my time in the industry: It doesn't matter if someone is a whale (codeword for a big spender). As long as someone contributes to a social dynamic of "the haves versus the have-nots," then they are feeding in to the system created to drive those whales in to destructive behaviour. It's all a big, fleshy, messy machine of social interactions. Where one person holds up a pretend sword and says "I am special," and is given tacit permission from an authority to do so, it invariably leads to the destruction of another's sense of self-worth. And it's that destruction which the monsters feed upon. And then, when confronted with this, the same old rhetoric is spouted: That victim should grow thicker skin. A reductionist excuse manufactured as part of an intentionally crafted narrative, with the express purpose of shifting culpability from those who manufactured the system by thrusting the blame on to the victim. Again . . . this isn't new. This shit has been used for years, and years, and years . . . for fuck's sake, it's even featured in Greek Mythology! Say hello to the likes of Io, Medusa, and Echo. I'm tired. So very tired. I feel like I've been subject to a massive trolling here . . . but I just can't let it go. I probably feel too much guilt and shame for what I used to do in the industry. And seeing all the telltale signs of the behaviour I was paid to exploit . . . well, shit. This thread just pushes all my buttons. I think I should step away. For my own sanity, though. I've not committed to doing a professional job of explaining myself here, since I couldn't justify it to myself since I wasn't getting paid to type all this stuff out . . . but when it's your passion, you go to obscene lengths sometimes. Gotta know when to step away, and I think I've passed that point. Good luck, folks!

All I just did was steal the "plot" from Speed. <em shrug>

. . . what would "cutting a team's brake line" even be? Giving the whole team Furylock, and if it runs below 10% after exceeding 40%, then they all explode?

Conflating the actual achievement of someone making it to Mars with digital costumes is pretty insulting, even if you did not mean for it to be. Here. Have some not-so-light reading: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6209642/ This article wears its agenda pretty clearly on its sleeve, and it doesn't address a lot of the significant nuance which exists in social dynamics . . . but it is EXACTLY the sort of documents I was paid to review, compress, and pitch to marketing teams while I worked in the industry. THIS is the sort of research that has been used to "turn players in to payers." And I stress: This article is actually arguing for "your side" in this debate. But it's incomplete, and totally misses some pretty blatant points regarding socially acceptable behaviour in regard to hubris and false elevation of status.

. . . I'm not sure if I should feel insulted . . .

Print pamphlets and post them at your local colleges and universities! If anyone is going to join a free MMO, it'll be youths enrolled in post-secondary schools, heh.

Response to something a little further up the thread: I've seen no evidence of anyone having said that a sense of accomplishment is mental disorder here. The studies in to mental health and conditioning which tackle the subject of a sense of accomplishment (which have been used extensively by video game publishers, might I add) are what are being addressed. A sense of accomplishment is a natural byproduct of the human condition. It's a survival mechanism which helps internally reward behaviour which, historically, allowed for our species to survive. A co-opted sense of accomplishment, however, is dangerous and very easy to turn destructive. This is part of where addiction comes from. And the video game industry, the gambling industry, and socio-political agendas for years and years have exploited that sense of accomplishment to the detriment of regular people. They've done such a good job of it that people misattribute success all the time. It's nothing new, but in video games, it is especially effective. Video games have a lot of great benefits to offer, and they can provide constructive outlets or augment confidence in positive ways. But publishers have long since figured out how to utilize the research that has been done in to this subject to prime audiences in to feeding in to a false sense of accomplishment with the express purpose of financial exploitation.

Except that kind of Inherent would incentivise Controllers to let their Controls lapse on their targets, since that way they would end up getting to deal more damage. This isn't the thread for it, but I've been toying with a new mechanic that I am going to propose once it's a little more fully fleshed out, but the short of it: A change so that DPS is not the only meta; where Control can defeat enemies with enough application. As it stands, though; permadom Dominators have Controllers beat in that department, and this is meant to give Controllers more oomph . . . so I think Controllers should get slightly higher innate Magnitude on their Controls AND that Critical chance for extra Magnitude should scale up as you gain levels.

It's not a binary. There's a lot more nuance to it. I sadly don't have time to go in to full detail, but it's a gradient. Where people put themselves and where they draw the line is different.

Whoops. I think I posted in the wrong thread. Well, this reply could work in either thread, I guess: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/12134-what-play-styles-should-the-dev-team-support-solo-teams-story-powerleveling-etc/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-122179

I think the Homecoming Team shouldn't worry about making content themselves right now so much as mapping out the philosophy and plan for where we want Homecoming to go, so that we can tailor the volunteers' expectations for when they contribute. With volunteers knowing what the Homecoming Team wants, they can step up without confusion and say "Here I am! Ready to help." And then, in turn, inform the community what to expect. Less sitting in the dark, trying to determine what exactly "continued development" means. You know, a sort of business plan, game design document, or (ugh, loathe this term) roadmap. Of course, one which is planned and designed from the beginning with the understanding that this is NOT a published game. It's something special, which needs a special approach to these plans. Something that needs to be flexible, while still being informative. Now, I get that the ncsoft negotiations put a special kind of strain on this whole thing. There are concerns about offending those who hold the authority to dictate the future of the intellectual property. The fear that the plug will be pulled again. But I don't think that fear should prevent us from communicating and establishing the important details in an on-going dialogue. And the threat of legal repercussions is severe, no matter how unjust. And, yes, I get that we're speaking about volunteer work. People have limited time, people have jobs that pay, and what I'm proposing is the sort of thing which people get paid to do (or at least, should get paid to do). And the industry itself is plagued with the exploitation of people who are passionate about making games already, so I do not want to advocate that anyone ends up being abused here in that way. So, without naming names in a way that might put anyone in jeopardy . . . does Homecoming have someone who can fill this role? Someone who can communicate with the various volunteers, gather their thoughts, feelings, and plans, filter them appropriately, and then share them with the community on a regular basis. We have Community Reps and we have Game Moderators, but from what I've been told, they're not being told a lot of the plans, and often they're being told to keep them "hush hush." Threads like https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/9872-a-question-from-the-homecoming-team/ and https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/10784-another-update-from-the-homecoming-team/ are a great start, but there is room for improvement. I can continue to be patient, but I also still want to encourage the Team to communicate at that level. It's not about what anyone deserves or is entitled to; this is just me saying what my experience in the industry tells me is the solid plan for our future.

That's right. We don't want it to be an MMORPG. We want it to be City of Heroes.