Jacke

Exactly the problem with a complex system like the AH. I think that actually can't quite be done that way, as that's like running two middlewares talking to a backend SQL database (the front-end of the AH can only be part of the problem in its comms with the middlewares) which needs both middlewares to be carefully monitored and the SQL database to take commands from both and talk back without things going wrong. Would need a lot of stuff to work together. Things could go wrong without knowing why or was it the old or the new middleware going wrong. Or go right but not really give a confident feeling that the final system is good and an improvement. What I think needs to be done is below. This is the full process to do changing the AH code as safely as possible. Problem is such an exercise takes months minimum and all this testing could stretch this out longer than Page 7's development of 9 months. And that's not including the time it would take to specify and implement proper AH code. Though if and when we see new AH code in release, I think it will have gone through at least a skeleton of this process. 😺 Do not touch the existing AH code at all. Needs a Tiger Team of HC's good volunteer devs covering the needed skills to shepherd this from proper start to proper conclusion. SPECIFY THE HECK out of what the Auction House is supposed to do for its functions and processes to complete correctly. CAREFUL IMPLEMENT THAT SPECIFICATION in completely new AH code. MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH in the rest of the City code base: Complete the current considered foundation changes. Like moving more of the code to use the very good RNG code. Completed, bug checked in release, and hotfixed as necessary. The rest of City should be a truly solid foundation for a major change like the AH code. TEST THAT IMPLEMENTATION from scratch starting with an empty AH database. Likely a Closed Alpha test with a copy of the current Closed Beta with new AH code and an empty AH database. TEST THAT IMPLEMENTATION AGAIN but on an existing AH database that was run under the OLD AH CODE. Likely an Open Beta test with the new AH code and a copy of the current Live Shards Cluster AH database. FINAL CONFIRMATION PRODUCTION RELEASE and TESTING of the new AH code on the Closed Beta Shard and its existing AH database. Closed Beta has a smaller player population and AH database, so simpler bug-fixing and compensation by manual admin actions. ROLL OUT new AH code on Live Shard Cluster for production release. DUCK AND COVER Find bugs, fix bugs, compensate, etc. Hopeful just a few, even better if none. Hopeful all the Tiger Team devs survived the process. Month off!

It sure ain't the PUG experience we want! 😺

I am not a dev. At times in the past, I have seen really really bad code. Once or twice, I made sense of it. I was lucky to get away with but scars. I have heard tales of the Auction House. Unnamed Dev: "So it seems we (apparently inadvertently?) fixed one bug while causing another. This game, man." Our only hope is these same, brave Devs venturing out into the Shite Storm of Bad Code to see what is possible and attempt what they can. Not all of them return. Some return, but...changed by the experience. I hear some of them are looking forward to a calming river excursion. Up the Congo River. Or was it the Mekong?

There are a lot of sliders all over the UI where we: Don't know what the value is that is being set (like the body sliders in the Character creation screens, example the height of the toon, etc.). Can't easily fine-adjust those sliders (the amount of time I've spent on Options window's tabs' sliders getting them to be a particular value, say 50, not 49, not 51). Know it's UI work and it's a bit of a challenge retrofitting changes to that. But improving these would be a massive QoL improvement.

.... Oh, myyy. 😺

Oh yes indeed, it's annoying. And alas, I think RTD isn't as good now as he was 20 years ago. Will have to see what he's done with the new series when it comes out, but after those specials being a mixed bag, my expectations are rather muted. So, your Avatars are sort-of like the up-to 10 pointers that make up the Attributes Monitor Window. What they point at often gets changed in a major release. Much hilarity ensues. 😺

EDIT: I'd forgotten the details of others' support of City of Data 2, as @UberGuy details in the next post. What @UberGuy does do himself is continually refine that City of Data 2 website to serve up that data in a way we can use to better understand the fiddly bits of the various powers. There's a lot of feedback and suggestions from a number of devs and many other users of CoD2, but @UberGuy is the one who puts them into the website. Didn't do it all alone, but it's still an amazing achievement. 😺 Without @UberGuy, we wouldn't have this vital tool.

I thought all that "mavity" stuff was just idiotic. "Gravity" defined as the attraction of matter to other matter had been in place well before Newton.

And we all know how they ended up, in pieces. 😺 I make most of my Influence at the moment by Marketing. I'm patient and know things. 😺 Any attempt to upset or corner the Market is likely to pass and leave things much as they were, certainly in enough time. I wait until the prices seem to be good for making Influence again. There are long term changes, but I adapt to them.

Having the BadgeReporter Popmenu helps me a lot to quickly check the Day Jobs section for what Badges a toon has earned and needs to earn. BTW, I also maintain BadgeReporter and there's a new version just released for Issue 27 Page 7. See my signature below for the link to the post. Or here. 😺 https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/25091-theunnamedones-badgereporter-popmenu-version-20240220a/ Anyhoo, here's what I do to start new toons down the lightweight Badging path I send all of them on, starting with the Day Job Badges and a few others. I have a field in my toon LibreOffice spreadsheet to note where they're parked on logout to help track Day Job earning. I also note the day (UTC, 'cause that's the time on the City servers 😺) by entering in =TODAY()-DATEVALUE("YYYY-MM-DD") which then shows a value of how many days since I logged out that toon. Just have to update "YYYY-MM-DD" to today's date when I log in a toon. This was very important in the past when it took 21 days to earn each Day Job Badge and...10? days to charge a Day Job Accolade power. Now Day Job Badges only take 100 hours (4 days 4 hours) to earn, but still close to the same amount to charge the powers. Like @Psyonico, I normally go through the Day Jobs for Hospital (often starting in Outbreak Hospital when I park a toon after creation but don't have the time to finish including the Isolator Badge) then University then Midnighter's then park back in a Hospital to charge both the Revive Ally and Vitalize powers. Early on with a new toon, I normally take them to see Null the Gull in Pocket D. Push the conversation to get the Gullible Badge, turn off the Travel popup tray, and always accept Mystic Fortune, then rotate through all Alignments to get most of the Alignment Achievement Badges. Then go Vigilante and pop out Redside to get the "Grass is Meaner::Grass is Greener" Alignment Achievement Badge. Back to the Gull and change to Hero Alignment for the next 10 days to earn the first of the remaining 4 Aliignment Achievement Badges. With Page 7, I will add in quick trips to Studio 55 and the Paragon Dance Party to quickly get the "Party Animal" Badge too (except on Goldside toons, who will have to wait for PDP). Then I normally earn the next 2 Day Jobs at Vault Reserve then either Wentworths or the Black Market if Redside (the Auction House in Imperial City if Goldside). At this point, the toon has likely earned the "Heard the Call" Badge for 10 days as a Hero and the "Fearsome" Badge for 10 days as a Vigilante. So, with the base 5 Day Job Badges (Hospital, University, Midnighter, Vault, Market), some of which are on Accolades with the 6 Redside Day Job Badges, it's off to the Rogue Isles to rotate through them, as well rotate them through the "Frenzied" Badge for 10 days as a Villain and the "Trickster" Badge for 10 days as a Rogue. After the toon gets all 6 Redside Day Job Badges and is now a Rogue, it's back to the Gull to go Vigilante, then to Paragon City to earn the 6 Blueside Day Job Badges. Part way through this, if the toon is on my active play list, I'll play it in a few bursts to get enough Patrol XP to unlock the "Patroller::Criminal" Badge. Gettimg Patrol XP from Exploration Badges will make that easier. At this point, the only Day Job Badges left are accessible to both Blueside and Redside toons, so I then rotate the toon through getting them and charging the various Day Job Accolade powers. I may not use many of them, but all my toons have them, just in case.

New version of the BadgeReporter popmenu now released! Download it here! Change notes in the 2nd post of this thread. Installation and usage covered in the 3rd post of this thread. Version 20240220a release for Homecoming i27p7, 2024 Feb 20 Tue BadgeReporter.20240220a.mnu

I reported this error and this topic on the Gold Standard Testers Discord. It's being looked into by a dev. Please keep posting examples here giving the Contact, the Mission name, your toon's Level and Notoriety settings, and screenshots showing the up-levelled mobs. All that info will help.

It almost sounds like the Bosses are getting levelled to the maximum they can be (max level of the contact + 1), like a Signature Task Force. And with auto-exemplaring now in Page 7, no work-arounds.

The current location of the Silent Sentinel Badge is now in its original location as it was long ago in OG Atlas Park, which is what is appropriate for Echo: Atlas Park. I vaguely remembered where that was, but even with the /loc took me a bit to find it. When you get near the correct building, it's on the lowest of the ledges on the North side of the building.

Just now on the Homecoming Diag client, I could log in, connect to Everlasting, and select and load a character, as normal. Don't know if anything changes in the client. Version shows now for both it and the regular HC client as "27.7.5894.1". I did upgrade my Vidiotmaps install to the current version for Page 7, which now instead of being a bunch of files in "<CoH Root Folder>/data/" (all old Vidiotmaps files and directories removed) is now a single file "hc_vidiotmaps.20240221.1449.pigg" in "<CoH Root Folder>/assets/mods/" (I add the date-time stamp to the .pigg filename) with the client informed of that with a launch option of "-assetpath assets/mods" on all entries in the HC Launcher. Whatever fixed it, the Diag client is now good for me. 😺

Hey @SnoBahr, I've successfully upgraded to the latest Vidiotmaps for HC Issue 27 Page 7, dated 2024 Feb 21 Wed. I went to check all 3 Praetorian Underground maps. Like @Lunar Ronin and @AboveTheChemist, I found Vidiotmap Badges and Plaque markers in all 3 Underground maps. I have 3 suggestions to help you resolve your issues with Vidiotmaps: #1 in all cases. #2 if you installed Vidiotmaps via the City Mod Installer. #3 if you installed Vidiotmaps manually. #1 In all cases, clean up any extra files left over from old Vidiotmaps installs. Exit all City client programs. Go to the first post of this topic: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/37216-vidiotmaps-for-homecoming/ Carefully follow the instructions in the spoilers labelled "Removing/Deleting Old Installations" and "Outdated Files". #2 If you installed Vidiotmaps via the City Mod Installer, I'd suggest you do these steps: Exit all City client programs. In City Mod Installer, remove Vidiotmaps. Start the City client program, log in, and confirm there is no Vidiotmaps Badge and Plaque markers where you previously saw them. Log out and exit the client program. In City Mod Installer, reinstall Vidiotmaps. Start the City client program, log in, and confirm that Vidiotmaps Badge and Plaque markers are back where you previously saw them. Go to the Praetorian Underground zones and see if you can see Vidiotmaps Badge and Plaque markers in all 3 of them. #3 If you installed Vidiotmaps manually, I'd suggest you do these steps. Exit all City client programs. Go to the first post of this topic: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/37216-vidiotmaps-for-homecoming/ Carefully follow the instructions in the spoilers labelled "Installation" including: Re-download the "hc_vidiotmaps.pigg" file. In the install location "<CoH Root Folder>\assets\mods\": Delete any "hc_vidiotmaps.pigg" found there. Copy the "hc_vidiotmaps.pigg" file you just downloaded to this locatioin. In your Launcher for the City client programs, either Tequila or the HC Launcher: Add this game launch parameter to tell the game to check your "<CoH Root Folder>\assets\mods\" folder for mods: -assetpath assets\mods ...by following the instructions in this post by @Michiyo which are very detailed: https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/38272-city-mod-installer-released/?do=findComment&comment=510815 Start the City client program, log in, and confirm that Vidiotmaps Badge and Plaque markers are back where you previously saw them. Go to the Praetorian Underground zones and see if you can see Vidiotmaps Badge and Plaque markers in all 3 of them. If you continue having issues, please report back what happened so we can give further advice.

Here I thought you were reasonable, liking lemons. I love lemons. Cut them open and eat the pulp. I also ate pizza today. With pineapple. I love pineapple on the right pizzas (many of them). I am also trained in defence against fresh fruit. I am prepared for your worst! 😺

I'm used to that iterative process as it's kind of what happens when I'm making IOs to market. Or tweaking a Popmenu, which when changed requires me to exit the game and relaunch the client to get the new Popmenu loaded to see if the changes did what I wanted them to. I think you have a lot of personal experience in actually using AE to make AE maps and arcs. Which is exactly what's needed for a good detailed suggestion on how to improve the current Soundstage B rooms and add an improved one to the Pocket D AE. I can think of 1 improvements for Soundstage B rooms: Make them complete by adding subdued contact holograms and a mission portal so all work to make an AE map and arc can be done without leaving.

Sounds (I did not mean that pun!) like the Pocket D AE needs a quiet Soundstage B for players wanting to work on their AE maps and arcs, like the other AE Buildings have. Perhaps you should make that as a suggestion, as you have the personal context and experience to really make a good and thorough suggestion.

I know enough about Storm Blast that I agree with @WindDemon21's analyses of the changes in Page 7. And those changes make me sad. Storm Blast is already a Blast powerset that has a few powers that need the toon to stay put much more than other powersets, as the pseudo-pets don't really move that fast. This stay-put boosting isn't just needed for major fights but all the time for Storm Blast. Because Storm Blast is already a meh powerset. At least making it slightly less meh is an improvement. Well, until the toon needs to move. Now there's a bigger demand that the player focus on using their Storm Blast powers so much, to the point of ignoring other powers. Herm.... Is is continuous intense focus that can't stand any interrupts? (Like old Brute's Rage.) Or is it tolerant to some interrupts? (Like current Brute's Rage.) Does intense use of feature move the toon from good to better? Or does it move the toon from meh to slightly less meh? I don't have numbers. But my best appreciation of what those numbers would be and their effect is that Storm Blast isn't where it should be. This should soon be apparent in the stats that the devs can gather. But hey, I played an AR/Dev Blaster from 2006 on as my main. I laugh when I play powersets with crappy performance. But I'm a bit tired from laughing so much, so I may be a bit slow to make a build for a Storm Blast toon and creating it. Perhaps when rested, the devs take another serious look at Storm Blast again? Once more! With feeling! (No Jazz Hands!!! 😺)

The changes in Page 7 converting Exploration Badges from giving an amount of immediate XP to now giving a greater amount of Patrol XP is an outright buff in all circumstances, for each individual toon and for a player's whole slate of alts. Like immediate XP, Patrol XP will immediately retire Debt on the toon at 1-for-1 exchange. Immediate XP retires 50% of its value in Debt, the other 50% added to toon's XP progress. While Patrol XP retires its entire value in Debt, clearing Debt faster. The retired Debt then contributes to the progress on the Debt Achievement Badges. Otherwise, the toon needs to defeat mobs to convert the Patrol XP to immediate XP at a 1-for-1 exchange. A given mob's defeat allowing the conversion of an amount of Patrol XP equal to 50% of the mob's defeat XP. Which means to use Patrol XP, either get Debt or defeat mobs. That is, play the toon. The whole point of City of Heroes. Under Page 6 and before, when you run out of Patrol XP on a toon, to continue the play session, you are then forced to either: Continue playing the toon without Patrol XP Use a charge of Experienced (if you have any) to get more Patrol XP. Or swap to another toon. If you swap or stop playing that toon when you want to play it more, that means the lack of Patrol XP is controlling which alt you play when. Under Page 7 and after, you now have another option: Get more Patrol XP by getting more Exploration Badges not yet unlocked on that toon. Consider the impact of the change from Page 6 to Page 7 on each toon. Under Page 6 and before, all the Exploration Badges not yet unlocked represented a reserve of immediate XP. Under Page 7 and after, all the Exploration Badges not yet unlocked represent a reserve of Patrol XP. GREATER than the reserve of immediate XP was on Page 6 and before. Patrol XP is used to either retire Debt or boost XP earned from defeating mobs by 50%. A given amount of Patrol XP is used 1-for-1 to retire Debt or earn that 50% boost of XP from mob defeat. Other earned XP doesn't benefit from Patrol XP but also doesn't use it up. That means each toon now gets more XP from Exploration Badges in the long run. The change encourages getting Exploration Badges on toons. Unlocking more Zones on the Long Range Teleport Power. Toons will also get more Reward Merits (5 RMs for each Zone Exploration Accolade). The Patrol XP that Exploration Badges give is under control of the player when to gain on a toon by when they take that toon out to get more Exploration Badges. I see no downside.

? Okay, I'm not quite getting this and I'd like to understand what you meant. A player defeats their own toon repeatedly to get Debt and eventually the Debt Achievement Badges as that Debt is retired. If they log out and leave the toon idle, when they log back in, there's more Patrol XP. Whenever Patrol XP is earned, whether logged out, getting new Exploration Badges, or using charges of Experienced, it will remove Debt. Players wanting the Debt Badges want this to happen (it's how the Badges are earned). The new Exploration Badges' Patrol XP is more than the previous XP the Badges granted. By defeating mobs, that Patrol XP turns into actual XP, but more than before the change. What's not for everyone to like? I saw what you said there. Remember, consider the original statement you adapted that from was made true in the Third Punic War. Which many Romans thought was the when they crossed a line that doomed them to Fated misery in conflicts that more and more pitted Roman against Roman, killing many Romans and causing much suffering and loss of the freedoms they cherished. Be careful what you wish for. I've got my eye on you! (And so does Regen!)

I do juggle several alts. It is not a net loss when playing that way. All those Exploration Badges a given toon hasn't got yet? They're a VAST reserve of untapped Patrol XP. That YOU control for each toon when to tap. You play a given toon for an extended period (happens quite often), oh well, out of Patrol XP. Don't want to stop playing this toon, really in the groove. Also out of charges of Experienced, or not wanting to use them. Really wish this toon had more Patrol XP. So go get some Patrol XP NOAW!!! Go through a Zone and get all the Exploration Badges! With various guides, takes a few minutes. Now you have more Patrol XP! (And 5 Reward Merits too!!!) Yes, there will be times, like in the middle of a Task Force, you can't grab more Exploration Badges for more Patrol XP. THAT'S when you use Experienced to get more Patrol XP. For EVERY OTHER TIME for EVERY OTHER TOON, all those Exploration Badges not yet taken are Patrol XP on tap. That can be tapped at will when needed. EDIT: It take 240 hours logged out for a toon to maximize its Patrol XP to 10 Bubbles, a Bubble every 24 hours. So the above even applies over successive days' play sessions. A toon played often will eventually drain its Patrol XP completely and only get it back slowly. All those Exploration Badges not yet unlocked are more Patrol XP that can be accessed at will when needed and replenish Patrol XP a lot faster than logging out. EDIT: Also, more exactly, Patrol XP gives a 50% bonus to mob defeat XP only. Other XP doesn't benefit from Patrol XP but also doesn't use it up.

For those not liking the loss of XP for Exploration Badges, THE CHANGE WAS AN OUTRIGHT BUFF. Before, Exploration Badges gave a bit of XP. Okay, mostly meh most the time. Now, Exploration Badges give more but as Patrol XP. WOW!!! Patrol XP means 50% more XP as you defeat mobs and complete missions! Besides applications of the Experienced Power Which every toon gets 5 charges of every year. And more come in Super Packs. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET MORE Patrol XP WITHOUT LOGGING OUT AND LEAVING YOUR TOON IDLE. In other words, use a trickle of getting new Exploration Badges as you play to keep your stock of Patrol XP up and getting 50% more XP for longer!!! EDIT: More exactly, Patrol XP gives a 50% bonus to mob defeat XP only. Other XP doesn't benefit from Patrol XP but also doesn't use it up.

After the Hotfix earlier tonight, tried the Homecoming (Diag) client again, trying to load Everlasting Shard, second time Indomitable Shard, which has only ever had 1 anchor toon. Both times client crashed out immediately when told to load a Shard, similar to the 2 crashes before the Hotfix; sent 2 more memory dump crash reports. Regular Homecoming client still working okay. 4 total memory dump crash reports on the Diag client, @Number Six, 2 before the Hotfix, 2 after.