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MetaVileTerror

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Posts posted by MetaVileTerror

    Statesman is dead.

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    Holy necromancia!
    Hilariously, I had actually just checked this thread earlier today just to see what was on the last few pages of the Suggestion Forum.   . . . wait, do I have special powers to revive ancient threads just by looking at them!?
    I must test this power!

     

     

    But in regard to the topic at hand; I believe you can check to see if the cape is available in Paragon Chat or Icon with the "-n" toggle active.  If the cape and mantle show up there, then it should be available for this server with the Devs flagging it as "enabled" for player use.

    New Forum Feature Idea: Reputation-Post Count Ratio Score

    in Website Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    So, I understand forum Reputation isn't really necessarily a great metric for anything other than how willing people have been to click in the corner of someone's post, and doesn't reflect on the worth of a poster or their content . . . but damned if I don't still sometimes like to just check it out.

    https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topmembers/

     

    But there's a format which I can't seem to get it to sort by, and that's a ratio of total positive reputation averaged against total posts by a user.  Naturally, folks who only posted one or two messages which garnered 10 or more positive reputation points would be at the top of such a list, so I'd also like to see such a leaderboard have an optional "minimum post count" limit option added.  This way individual users can cater the leaderboard to their specific and personal ideal for when a poster has reached a sufficient content count to merit being eligible.

     

    Does this forum software allow for such a change to be made?  Have feasible would that be?

    The Coming Storm

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I believe the Homecoming Devs have already insinuated interest in legitimizing this server with the express purpose of continuing that storyline "officially."  Possibly even with the assistance or blessings of the previous lead writers.
    However, I don't think that anything of that nature can be expressly stated by members of the Dev team, as they do not want to get hopes up on something that is not necessarily in the realm of possibility.  It's a distant dream.

     

    I could also be getting my rumours crossed, and essentially be inventing a new rumour in the process.  It's really hard to say when official word on these sorts of thing aren't clearly documented in any kind of place I can find.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

    Patch Notes for October 1st, 2019

    in Patch Notes Discussion

    Posted

    Your point is also well-received, Number.  I wouldn't advocate lying, but perhaps a slight omission of the specific details would suffice in these uncomfortable scenarios.  

    "New patch attempting to address isolated performance issues."

    Therefore players know a new patch hit, but you can avoid the confirmation bias to a degree, while also ensuring players like Doc_Scorpion and LiquidBandage aren't left fearful that their game was hacked or the manifest tampered with.

     

    I may not be the best at it myself, but working on full disclosure of all patch notes and change logs left a somewhat significant impression on me through my past career.  I still personally prefer it and am quite appreciative of it.  Thank you!

    • Like 2

    New Difficulty Mechanic: Advanced Enemies

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    So, in private, another concern was expressed to me . . . one which I can't reasonably answer, since it contends with the nebulous prospect of the progression of the community cultural standards.

     

    The player didn't like this idea because they feared that, while optional, this more challenging content would become "the norm" for team play, and therefore not /really/ be optional for them personally, as they like to play in teams almost exclusively.  They mentioned that their personal experience presently is already teetering on the edge of unfun since they find that so many other players only want to do +4/x8 missions.  I've not personally had to contend with something that extreme, but I do understand where this player's concerns are coming from.  I'm not a big fan of mucking around with defeating all enemies on an instanced mission after the mission is complete; it feels like a complete waste of time to me.  So, in teams which are determined to pursue that behaviour, I often feel dissatisfied.  

    This prompts me to contemplate if we may need to first address this sort of problem with greater quality of life tools to optimize players' chances of landing a team which has similar difficulty and playstyle interests.  Communication is always ideal and great when it happens, but I can say I certainly know a lot of people seem to assume that their way of playing the game is the only way to play the game.

     

    It's a dilemma which I feel merits further investigation to see if it can be solved, but it's also a bit tangential to this thread's express purpose.  I just felt it had enough merit to bring up, so that we're not blindsided by those concerns on the chance that the Devs approve this Advanced Enemies idea and begin development of it.

     

     

     

     . . . now then!  Back to our regularly scheduled brainstorming of how to make some new, interesting enemies/powers for existing factions!

     

    (Also, DSorrow?  What you propose is what I intended to expressly encourage here.  Not /just/ new enemies, but new powers for existing enemies as well, which could result in new behaviour.)

    • Like 3

    What powersets *look & feel* powerful?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Mercs / Traps on a Natural Origin character.

    Why?  'cause I can take down super-mutants, magical demons, advanced alien technologies, and would-be gods with everyday mundane equipment, some determination, and planning.  THAT is power.

    Sure, Force Field Generator and Triage Beacon are rather futuristic in their own rights, but all the other Powers in the sets have a basis in reality.  Yes, even the Poison Trap and Acid Mortar.

    There's a definite sense of satisfaction in this particular power fantasy.

    • Like 1

    Flavour of the Month: Level 50

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Maining a Mercs/Traps Mastermind, I'll say that personally leaping in to the middle of a large mob and dropping Poison Trap with my Henchpets on Bodyguard and the Force Field Generator on my tail . . . I am damned tanky.  There's this lovely little split second when you jump in to a group of enemies where they just stand around going "Double-ewe tea eff, mate?"  Just enough time to get the Poison Trap out, then follow up with the Acid Mortar in point-blank range.  Once the Poison's initial Hold wears off, the Acid Mortar and Mercs have grabbed all the aggro, and I can drop the Triage if they need that little extra love to stay alive.  

    I've not tried Beasts yet, but if they're melee anyway, I don't see it really negatively impacting my playstyle with Traps any.  I'd give it a try, but I don't like dogs.  (still really irked about Dark Control having a frickin' giant dog as the Tier 9 pet . . . )

    New Difficulty Mechanic: Advanced Enemies

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    So, inspired by a concern expressed in the "merge Bosses" thread ( https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/11735-can-we-get-merge-bosses-for-the-other-factions/ ) as well as the numerous posts and threads of various users expressing a desire for increased difficulty, I came to a conclusion.

    Improving the AI of the NPCs in this game is exceptionally difficult considering the age of the game, the nature of the code, and the spaghettification of said code.  Increasing the raw number of enemies is less of an increase in difficulty, and more of an increase in rewards for defeating them while also negatively impacting the server's load.

     

    So what other solutions are there?  Well, maybe the option to increase the number of Bosses, or even the Damage and Hit Points of those Bosses, but I believe various people expressed an assortment of dissatisfaction with those ideas.

    What else?  Welllllll . . . why not Advanced Enemies?

     

    See, here's the idea:  A number of suggestions were made for some interesting concepts for enemies which have "surprise mechanics" or other Powers.  People expressed concerns that they would not like to see such content added, particularly at the lower levels, since it would mean an increase in the game's difficulty.  That's a very reasonable concern to have.  But we also have all those other people saying they want the game to be MORE challenging.

    Now, we have the existing difficulty menu, and there are options like "Bosses or Lts." and "Elites or Archvillains."  And I get to thinking . . . what if we add another toggle:  "Regular or Advanced Enemies."

     

    But, yeah, I get it.  This would be a HUGE undertaking.  Creating entirely new content, even when it reuses existing assets, isn't as easy as some folks seem to imagine.  But in this case; I think it's worthwhile.  I'll even put my mouth where my fingers are!  Devs; tell me what I've got to do, and I'll do the grunt work of making these new enemies a reality to the best of my ability.

     

    While we're at it, let's have everyone join in!  What sort of theme appropriate mechanics/Powers could you imagine adding to your (least) favourite Villain Groups?

    Here are some of the ideas from that other thread, repeated:

     

    - Mekman and Warwolf in same spawn have a chance of merging in to a Cybervvulf when either is low on health.

    - New Clockwork Boss which destroyed weakened Minions to heal itself, and get larger and more powerful.

    - Face Takers gain the Power to remove a defeated Cadaver corpse to gain a charge of a Revive Eidolon Power.

    - Two Winter Horde Minions merge in to one Winter Horde Lt.  Two Winter Horde Lts. merge in to one Winter Horde Boss.  Et cetera, adding Elite Boss and Archvillain versions too. (Hell, I'd recommend we just add that one to the Winter event in general, and make that the way you "summon" the Giant Monster.)

    - Similarly for Shivans, Slag Golems, and Hydra.

    - Lt. Trolls can take 'Dyne off of defeated Minions for a chance to upgrade to Boss Trolls.

     

    And, of course, the magnum opus which dawned on me as I walked home from work today:  Micro-Weavers!
    Now, I admit, I haven't seen all the endgame content, particularly that which was added after 2009/2010'ish, so if the Orb Weavers have already made an appearance in the game, I'm interested in seeing them.  But last I checked, they're still a very mysterious subfaction within Arachnos ( https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Arachnos and https://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Weaver-1 ).

    This idea would be quite labour intensive and require entirely new assets, but I feel as though it would need to be something which inspires in the players a feeling of "Thanks.  I hate it," both in appearance/theme and in its application in high-end content for Arachnos.  Basically it would be a room-sized spider-like biomechanical entity, with a nexus of severed human heads like a cluster of eggs dangling from cables which keep the brains alive, attached to a grotesque metallic body with many, many narrow and spindly limbs of various sizes which end in sharp points (like the Tarantulas' legs).  You know . . . the sort of thing which would make Cthulhu say "hey, this is crazy, I just met you, but here's my astral sigil."

    But rather than fight directly, this monstrousity would pluck wounded Minions and Lts. from the battlefield, and rapidly convert them in to the various types of Tarantula Bosses (Toxic, Queen, Boss-version of Fire as Inferno Tarantula, maybe a new Cryo Tarantula).

    And, as the feather in the cap . . . emphasize in the description of this creature that it is the MICRO-Weaver:  The smallest of the Orb Weavers.  You know . . . just to wet the appetite for what could come along later.

     

     

    So, yeah, the standard concerns apply:  It's work, and hard work at that.  It'll take time.  It'll not be universally loved.  It poses potential risks to concepts such as "balance."  But hey . . . nothing ventured, nothing gained.  This sounds like the sort of thing which could breath the kind of life in to content at all level ranges which some players are craving, whether it's for the difficulty or just something new and shiny.

    • Like 9
    • Thanks 1

    Body - Huge Female

    in Suggestions & Feedback

    Posted

    Proprietary or not, I've also the impression that it was never built with a lot of future-proofing in the first place.  At the very least, though, I would assume (and I know that makes me an ass) that proliferating existing costume geometry would be a simpler affair then trying to build, rig, and animate material from scratch.  I realize I could be very wrong, of course, as it might be _that_ level of future-un'proofed, but judging by the direction of newer NPC models utilizing the same assets as player models, I have a feeling that inroads were being made close to Sunset.  It would be nice if we could pick up where they left off in that regard.

    Announcing TWO Halloween Costume Contests - October 12th & October 26th!

    in Events & Contests

    Posted

    GM Sijin, I see you are being awesome again.

    Thanks so much!  I'm very grateful for the good news you bear, and yourself.

     

    As for dual-boxing to improve one's own odds of winning; a work around for that could be a declaration of intent, such as what I've provided here.  Once I have someone willing, I can post their name in this thread, and the GMs would be able to determine if they were operating in good faith (likely based on regional login information, hardware profile, and other metrics).

     

    Not that it might matter in the long run; I have someone who is potentially willing to enter on my behalf without entering their own character.  I'll post once I've confirmed.

    • Thanks 1
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