Jacke

Back in the day, unlocking the Base Teleport Beacon for a Zone required a Supergroup member running around to all the Badges in the Zone in Supergroup Mode. I'm really glad those Teleport Beacons are now unlocked by default.

"I'm Hans, this is my brother Franz, and we're going to--PUMP--you up! First, get out there and run those laps!!! Six hours should do for a start!" 🙂 The P2W price that the LRT unlock should cost is more tricky. Right now, if it's done by getting an Exploration Accolade, that also gives the toon 5 Reward Merits. 5 Merits can be used to buy Salvage, like Enhancement Converters, that can easily sell on the Auction House for about 2.1million Inf. Or now also spend some Inf at the P2W vendor. How much? @csr is right, the price should be set higher so that any later change would be to reduce it. Consider that purchasing LRT at the P2W vendor gives a power that is equivalent to the other Prestige power Base Transporter, because from P2W it only comes with the ability to teleport the toon to a Base. All other functions require extra effort, the Pocket D Time-in-Zone Acheivement Badge or a single Exploration Badge per Zone. So pricing it the same as Base Transporter, 1 million Inf, sounds good. At most it should be twice that, 2 million Inf, giving a charge for the expansion opportunities.

The Pocket D VIP pass was originally part of the Good Versus Evil Release of City of Heroes in 2006. https://hcwiki.cityofheroes.dev/wiki/Good_Versus_Evil_Edition The extra features of the release could be bought by existing players as a digital addon, which is what I and many others did at the time.

Having the LRT power unlock in P2W means that there's reasonable alternatives for players, especially those with many alts who just happened not to get a single Exploration Accolade or the Pocket D Time-in-Zone Achievement Badge. Or players with more Inf than time who just prefer to do it that way. I see this as a Quality-of-Life option that doesn't have a significant drawback. I'm unlikely to buy the unlock from P2W because I'm in the habit of getting a lot of Badges including some Exploration Accolades on all of my alts, primarily to get those sweet sweet 5 Reward Merits per Zone. I'm already going to run around Atlas Park and get all 8 Badges and read the 7 Plaques--or the equivalent on Mercy Island or in Nova Praetoria--because that's how I play the game. 🙂 Getting all the Nova Badges is kind of challenging, as it needs two burns of the Jump Pack with a ledge rest to get to the "Ambitious" Badge, or spending the Inf to buy a Prestige or Temp flying power. The other Zone Accolades have their tricky bits too, especially for a new player without the knowledge of where the Badges are nor the tools to help like Vidiot Maps (which I do like, but I also understand why they are not stock as well). But at least getting 1 Badge per Zone isn't that hard and often happens just with regular play. Example, because the return point from Ouroboros in Talos Island is on top of the hill just north of the Monorail Station, I bet most toons that use Ouro blueside have the "Last Stand" Badge and thus will unlock Talos Island. Or can happen with a bit of knowledge. Go to Pocket D, visit the Rikti Monkey Fight Club and go upstairs and wander the tables a bit. 🙂 This I agree with. Many, like me, get a lot of Badges on all their alts, certainly close or better than at least 1 per Zone entered. Other players may not plan it but get a number of Zone singleton Badges by shear happenstance, as I mentioned above. I don't see a need to add more Zone unlocks to P2W that would outweigh the trivialization of part of the game, exploring the worlds of Paragon City, the Rogue Isles, and Praetoria. Especially considering reversing a previous trivialization was a big part of doing the i27p1 Travel changes in the way that they were done.

The Second Chance is shown on owned Travel powers that pop up a menu by putting a red ring around the power. If you close the menu without selecting a destination or otherwise changing zone, the original Travel power can't figure it out due to limitation of the current UI which isn't easy to change. So the original Travel power is held up from going on cooldown by Second Chance, another power triggered by the first use of the original Travel power. Second Chance waits for a change in Zone or the cooldown time of the original Travel power to expire. While that red ring is present, the original Travel power can be invoked again because it wasn't used the first time. If the Zone changes, Second Chance puts the original Travel power on cooldown (for I believe the time left as it was keeping track) and goes away. If the cooldown time passes without a change of Zones, Second Chance goes away and leaves the original Travel power ready to use.

Good catch, @Troo. Up to now, in City of Heroes, to target an ally's target with a power that normally only targets the enemy, you target the ally and get the target-of-my-target's effect. Can't do that with a power that can target both allies and enemies. An unforeseen consequence of the change. I think to give the target-of-my-target function in a more general sense would require deeper changes to the UI. Which should be passed as a suggestion to the dev team, say to @Piecemeal or @Number Six or @Jimmy, to get it into the hands of those who can do something about it. There are different ways of doing this, as in games like SWTOR. But that needs to be coded into City properly, so it's going to take time to do it right. For now, I like that the new Teleport Target in one power gives the function of both the old Recall Friend and Teleport Foe. @Troo, you can curse the darkness. Or you can find a way to light a candle. These plans were hashed out over 6 months and more, so they were hardly short-sighted (as much as some, like I, disagree with some parts). But devs are human too and I don't think there's ever been a significant update that hasn't had some sort of unintended issues that got past all the testing and into release. Point them out in post release feedback and I'm sure they'll get fixed as soon as possible.

As @Jimmy pointed out in the Zone Travel Updates topic, be careful putting files in the "<root>/data/" structure that replace stock resources. If the stock resources change or improve, you don't see that unless you remove your replacements. At least for popmenus in "<root>/data/text/English/menus/", better than replacing them, put in alternately named ones (the internal top "Menu <popmenu-name> {...}" names in the angle brackets) and use them. As a bonus, that means you can put version numbers in the file names to make it easier to track what you have. The Fast Travel Icon shouldn't have changed, it just invoked the power "popmenu FastTravel". The stock FastTravel.mnu somewhere in the stock data is what got updated.

@Jimmy, can the order of Skyway City and Steel Canyon be swapped around so Steel Canyon come first, to match their order on the other Zone listings, like for the PTA Monorail. And Skyway is really levels 10 to 19 (check the mobs at the south end of the Zone), same as Steel Canyon and 'Boomtown'.

@AboveTheChemist's and my revision of his are simpler. That version is all @Jimmy's. Because it shows icons it's using the Icon command within its LockedOption's. The one for Pocket D is that of the old command, so...that would be "Icon Teleportation_Pocket_D". I don't have the internal names for the Badge icons. But I did update my popmenu post above. There's a number of things coming with Issue 27 Page 2. If @Jimmy's showing that, I expect there may be an update to the stock FastTravel popmenu.

It's @Blackbird71 that would like this and kept saying they'd posted what they wanted. So I tracked it down and summarized it. @Blackbird71 would help the suggestion if they'd prove use cases that a power like this would satisfy and that the existing powers don't or only do so poorly. But @Blackbird71 may now not have any hope there will be any attention to this matter to the degree they desire. I don't know what went on in the Travel Revamp Feedback topic, because it was one I at most skimmed and only late in the beta. But considering how things went on the Blaster Secondaries Revamp Feedback topic, where @Blackbird71 and I were on the same side of the major issue there (wanting to avoid the nerfing of the ranges on Tactical Arrow) and how everyone felt at the end of beta, I can only imagine it was worse for them with the Travel changes. Without those use cases, I don't know if for example, a power that was such an extension of the existing Mission Transporter with a cooldown in the range of 2.5 to 5 minutes with a P2W price of 4 million Inf would satisfy. Assuming that the devs could be convinced to consider such a power. Because that could be done easily on any alt in under 30 minutes with the Merits from 2 Zone Accolades (say Atlas Park and Echo: Atlas Park), converting them to Enhancement Converters and selling them on the Auction House overnight. Or if more alts, financing them in bulk by playing a level 50 toon.

That sequence of misses at a supposed "95%" chance to hit where the only hits are forced by the Streak Breaker makes me think there are things wrong with the combat mechanics at some times.

@Nerio72, I just editted my post as I found a quote from @Blackbird71 from Wednesday where he specified what he wanted and it isn't quite /ebfp. I'm interested to see what the dev commentary on it is.

I think it's that there's so much being said that the details aren't being recalled by everyone and they're getting a bit too tired to go searching through the many posts already made. Do you have a suggestion that isn't just giving a single power to teleport to a base via its passcode, that starts unlocked on a toon, that needs no prerequisite power used before it, and doesn't have a cooldown? I've actually searched back through your posts and I can't see a suggestion that either isn't specified or is just basically what I said in my previous sentence. EDIT from here down: And I think I found it. So, that's a single power with a reasonable activation time (long enough to be interruptible and prevent mission abuse, etc.) to teleport to a base via its passcode, that I assume starts unlocked on a toon or has a simple unlock (you didn't specifiy that), that needs no prerequisite power used before it, and has a 60s-90s cooldown. Hmmm. Can I get a comment by @Jimmy or someone else on this. I'm a bit too tired to go digging through the Feedback topic to find out what the response was. @Blackbird71, can you give some details on the use cases that requires such a command. I know you likely did in the Feedback topic, but I just don't have the time to search through it. And you giving your use cases would help support this idea being considered.

I usually get badges on all my toons, though have only a few who aim to get all badges. But for the lower zones, I get them on all toons, usually doing a zone at a time, all the badges and history plaques in one pass. But after i27p1 was released, I saw I had 4 toons who didn't have LRT unlocked, so they didn't have all of Atlas Park. So I went through all the toons in succession, without using the minimap. Got all 8 badges as well as the 7 plaques (for 6 different History badges) in under 5 minutes each. It earned them a bit of Inf directly from the badges. As well as 5 Reward Merits each. Which I can exchange for Enhancement Converters and sell on the Auction House for Inf. Which is what is intended for players to do to finance improving their toons. It's the best way to do so (although at times, Enhancement Unslotters have a better return, but Converters will always sell for a good price).

As I mentioned above, I'm working on a Badge popmenu. They work by using the internal badge names in the popmenu file structure. As far as I know, the same can't be done for Souvenirs at least at this moment. I'll make a note and ask about it. However, I think most (all?) Souvenirs are from arcs or important single missions in Ouroboros's Flashback system. Try taking a look at the listing in a Pillar of Ice and Flame. If the arc or important single mission is in gold type, you should have the Souvenir from it, if any.

I've been working on a larger popmenu involving badges for the last while, so I decided to add a few features to yours, @AboveTheChemist. EDIT2: 20201128a version now. Changed internal name to "FastTravelAreas" to be independent of the stock "FastTravel". It also means I can put the version in the filename. EDIT3: 20201128b version now. Thanks again to information from @AboveTheChemist, I added Icons to the rest of the Zones. FastTravelAreas.20201128b.mnu Put the file in: <Homecoming install root>/data/texts/English/Menus/ and use a macro like this, with the mouse moved towards the upper left to leave space for the menus. /macro FTA "popmenu FastTravelAreas" I used LockedOption instead of Title on "LRT Available Zones" with the internal badge name of "Passport", so they are greyed out if the toon doesn't have the LRT power yet. Then I added the badges by zone groups, first Pocket D all by itself (with the old Pocket D power icon), then a submenu for Paragon City, Shadow Shard, Rogue Isles, and Praetoria, all zones in the same order as the LRT listing uses itself.

Oh, damn, that's jinxed it for sure. Places your bets, people, place your bets. Whoever chose "Plague of Locusts Devour Kansas", do remember that 2020 may trump the locust being extinct in North America, it has a harder time warming up a cold season. May I suggest either "Plague of Locusts Devour California" or "Fimbulvetr", both still open. I like the colours too. And the British have a slightly different Fall tradition. I find that processed turkey in a can has better taste than similar chicken. Perhaps they grind up the entire bird for both? Ah yes, nothing like celebrating entrapping a bunch of slightly traitorous discontents with an impossible scheme and then executing them in the finest of the early 17th Century's brutal ways. But a fair number of traditions' origins have their downsides. More seriously, my mum grew up in Devon. Even well into her dementia before she passed, one November 5th I said to her "Do you know what day it is, mum? Remember, remember...." and her face just lite up and she said "Guy Fawkes Day!" 🙂

I had to use a higher-level toon and then a Pillar of Ice and Flame to set the mission arc as a Flashback. But then I can touch the Pillar to teleport to the contact. FBSA NetOps Agent Watkins is in NW Steel Canyon just SW of the lake by a black van with lots of antennas and a whole big pile of boxes all around him.

@Jimmy, when the colour scheme is settled for the best performance including for those colourblind, could it also be used on the other zone popups, for the PTA tram, the Rogue Isles Ferry, the Rogue Isles Black Helicopters, and the Praetorian CTA, but especially for the the Free Fire Zone PvP Helicopters, Smuggler's Submarine, TUNNEL, Ouroboros. and Base Teleporters, as those last ones have multiple destinations in more than one of the groupings. Which means another colour is needed for the PvP Zones.

That's great! Step 2 is actually a bit more complex, as the Midnight Mansion in Night Ward in Praetoria doesn't have the portal to Cimerora, only the Midnighter Club back passages on Primal Earth. And players may not be familiar with the best routes to the Midnighter Club. So, in greater detail: Step 1: Take the TUNNEL system in Atlas Park (at the PTA tram) or Mercy Island (at the docks), or a SG Base teleporter to Night Ward. Enter the Midnight Mansion. Get the "Midnight Squad" Accomplishment Badge, to be able to enter the Midnighter Club. Step 2: Get to a Midnighter Club at a University. Easiest via SG Base teleporter to either Founders' Falls, Croatoa, or Cap Au Diable, as all have a SG portal on the University grounds. Via TUNNEL redside is easy, go to Cap Au Diable, the exit is at the North Docks just south of the University. Via TUNNEL blueside is more complex. Best is likely via TUNNEL to Founders' Falls, then west into the river. Swim in the centre of the river north until you get to the docks just at the SE corner of the University. Then go west tight against the wall until you come to the doors, which go directly into the Midnighter Club. Step 3: Go up the stairs to the back door into the back passages that connect all 4 Midnighter Club front rooms. At the T intersection is the special Pillar of Ice and Flame. Touch it to be sent to Cimerora, which will award the "Entrusted With the Secret" Ouroboros Badge and the Ouroboros Portal power. Step 4: Returning from Cimerora is quickest via Ouroboros. Use the portal power to go there. If adventurous, go to the top of the spire to get the Exploration Badge there. Then back to either Atlas Park (by City Hall) or Cap Au Diable (by the North Docks).

I often used the Steel Canyon Base teleport exit too. I've now switch to Talos Island (which I use as my blueside Ouro exit) as the Base portal is even closer to its PTA Station. Similarly, for the University or the Midnighter Club, Founders' Falls or Croatoa blueside, Cap Au Diable redside.

Oh, @Bopper, there's a bug in the current Mids I've noticed that I should report. When the option: Options>Configuration...>Options window>Updates & Paths tab>Load last build on startup is turned off, when Mids is associated with its files, *.mxd, and I open a saved Mids file, it starts the program, sets the window title, and remembers the path to save to. But it actually doesn't load the file.

I think we can all agree that there's now quite a bit of knowledge new players need to learn to play City of Heroes even middlin'ly well. And that they should be able to get more of that knowledge in the default game as opposed to going outside of it. There's a Tip system being developed to help guide players through a Zone's Badges, but there's so much more. The existing tutorials, Outbreak/Breakout/Destroyed Galaxy City, as well as the initial mission arcs, like the Shooting Stars arcs, do cover some things, but I think they don't quite cover enough. And I don't think they're advertised as a tutorial either. That's important because they aren't required content, so they should have some indication But vital things are not covered. There's no mention of Reward Merits, except briefly when a toon earns them, same as the first Invention Salvage drop and the first time logging in at a Day Job location. I think the Shooting Stars missions cover the Auction House in passing, but it may not be enough. Taking a look at the current tutorial system and improving that is something that needs a greater priority. A new player who's never played or heard of City of Heroes should be offered a good way to get that basic knowledge that will help them play well and better enjoy the game.

I think that's not a good option. It trivializes the Ouro Portal a bit too much, not to mention would overload its menu. It is a knife-edge judgement though, but I think there are better options that should be investigated.

But @Bionic_Flea, you actually posted 15 times yesterday. You got caught in a time loop. Several times. @Jimmy was being nice about it. Friends don't let friends abuse temporal mechanics.