Zombra

This is sincerely valuable information, thank you. So the game straight up wasn't built in working order in the first place. I can certainly admit that my memories from 20 years ago of it working well are probably rose-colored. Sad but I'll follow your example and test a lot to 'trick' the game into delivering something close enough. Appreciate the reply.

Mission: To What End for Power Part Two (and countless others, but I just tested this one) When approaching the Keres elite boss, Enemy Unaware dialog does not trigger, even when I enter the room, until combat starts. Then it triggers at the same time as Enemy Attack dialog. This happens all the time in tons of missions (though not always). I am fairly sure this was not the mission behavior on live - when I started playing Homecoming last year, I immediately noticed it in all kidnap missions, and some others, and noticed how wrong it felt.

Seems odd that Enemy Attack Dialog triggers immediately in the room. Isn't there a trigger for when combat starts? If not, is there any difference between Enemy Unaware Dialog and Enemy Attack Dialog?

Architect mission testing. Mission goal: Release captive. Map: City Map 01 Patrol dialogue triggered in chat box, but no word balloons in gameplay space so speakers cannot be located. Seems like they are too far away.

OK, here is one with specific details. Architect mission testing. Mission goal: Release captive. Map: City Map 01 Immediately upon entry, Enemy Unaware Dialog, Captive Inactive Dialog, Enemy Attack Dialog, and Captive Active Dialog all trigger instantly. I am 380yds away from the captive and there is no line of sight. No word balloons appear in game space, def too far away.

THANK YOU. I didn't mean to be vague, just had no idea if this was a big thing everyone just accepted or if it was just me and no one knew there's a problem. I will get together some specifics soon.

Still the best character creator of all time. Not just the looks, but what they can actually do! Top it off with a description section to share my writing of their backstories and you have a system second to none. I've made lots of characters in other RPGs with worse gameplay ... then asked myself, "What if I remade them in COH?" and had far more fun with them. Even games in different genres - fantasy characters, sci-fi characters - they can all have a home here (with liberal use of Portal Corporation in their backstories). Combine my characters my way with actually good MMO combat. So much action, so much movement. Knockback. Line of sight. Cone positioning. Even party formation. Is my character so powerful that combat is getting boring? Crank up the difficulty and now I have to learn how to use their powers all over again, smarter, better. Every other MMO I've played, you stand there and click powers, and watch HP bars go down; there's no reason to move. Here it's ALL about movement. So many factions with mixed enemy types and things to learn. Knock down the Engineer first so he doesn't summon a force field. Ignore the giant mechs - kill the Sappers before they drain your endurance. And lock down those goddamn Nerva Spectral Demon Lords before ANYTHING else. Of course eventually you learn everything, but still, one mission to the next things are going to be different. Keeps me awake and focused. Great teaming, with friends or randoms. Of course my friends also love making intricate characters to their exact concept and specifications, so it's fun to see their dreams realized. Even random strangers in Atlas Park can be fascinating to examine. I've never been in another MMO where I wanted to stop and stare at someone, read their bio, take photos of their costume, and see how they married the whole idea to their power sets. Start talking in character and a decent amount of the time others will join in! Total strangers! Wanting to role-play in an RPG! Amazing stuff.

Seems like Homecoming has always had issues with dialogue triggers. Patrols trigger their dialogue when they're nowhere near the player. Hostages never trigger their 'inactive' dialogue until the player attacks their captors, so 'inactive' and 'active' always happen at the same time. Bosses yell out challenges to the player from 3 floors away. Trying to write Architect dialogue that will trigger at the appropriate times is a huge nightmare - it seems like every dialogue plays out immediately, making any attempt to frame a story with a beginning and an end impossible. I don't remember it being like this back on live.

That's all fine. I don't object to how it works but the text on the IO is definitely misleading. It says it's always instant cast but it does not say it removes the bonus damage.

OK, I couldn't stop thinking about it and I read some of the arguments upthread. Boiled down, I see two basic arguments: 1) Some people enjoy the game as it is. 2) Some people would like to see the game evolve so they can continue to enjoy it. Yes, that's very simplistic but I think it cuts to the heart of it. Since the apparent purpose of Homecoming is to keep the game alive for those who enjoyed it in the day and who continue to enjoy it now (Am I wrong?), I believe that while both arguments have merit, argument #1 has more merit. Dismantling (parts of) the existing game to make it more palatable to those who have played it to death, at the expense of those who appreciate it as is, is, I believe, counter to the spirit of the project. Since shutting down the market would take away something that people are enjoying today, that would be more damaging than not giving new bypass options to players who are getting bored. I don't believe the conclusion is true in every aspect of life, but in this case, to err in favor of preservation is better than to err in favor of innovation.

Just sending up the premise of the thread: It's easy to earn rewards but a lot of people just don't want to. Therefore, let's give everyone infinite rewards and everyone will be happy. PS @battlewraith thanks for your thoughtful and interesting reply. Gives me some things to think about. Looks like the thread may be locked soon but I'll sleep on it and maybe we can explore more later.

Thanks for this thread. I almost started building this set for a sniper concept character. No thank you! I would love to see the text on the enhancement updated because it is misleading. Nowhere do snipe powers say that instant-cast and bonus damage are mutually exclusive. Game rules: 1) Power description: if engaged, then instant-cast 2) Fast Snipe description: if slotted, then always instant-cast 3) Power description: if not engaged, then bonus damage So according to the text, if I have the IO slotted and I am not engaged, rule 1 does not apply but rules 2 and 3 do apply. I should have instant-cast and bonus damage. Not saying the rules should change but the text should be rewritten to accurately reflect them.

Next: all characters should start at level 50 with all badges already awarded.

A buddy of mine hasn't played in a while and says Mids Reborn somehow deleted all his character files. I don't know any details at this time. Anyone know what might have caused this to (apparently) happen? Possible to get the files back you think? Any insight appreciated.

Hi! If you are in a hurry and just want to get to the point, skip down to ** The Mission ** Background: I like to make big banks of 'character barks' on rotating binds. Some characters have rotating battle cries, or "Hello citizen" type lines, and a few other types based on unique concepts. The Difficulty: Usually I use AI to generate a million ideas and I sift through them for inspiration, then edit/write the real lines for use in game. But you know what AI is still terrible at? COMEDY. I have a comic character I need dialogue inspiration for and AI is no help at all. The Solution: ask humans, who can actually be funny. ** The Mission **: I want a library of very short comedy bits for my Robots Mastermind and her wisecracking (?) sidekick Battle Drone. The goal is to have a lot of quick throwaway one-liners or "two-liners". Nothing long that will clog the chat window. Example: K4Z-0: Your <bzt> last shot - missed by 3.7 - centimeters Techno Smith: My next one won't. That's it! All ideas welcomed, but remember these are rotating binds to be spouted randomly, so anything that requires a specific situation probably won't get used. I am still finding "voices" for both characters so anything goes as far as tone: clever, dumb, silly, subtle, slapstick, satire. Ripping off existing jokes encouraged. The only kind of humor that I find automatically boring is pop culture references. Other than that, go ahead and start posting jokes. Optional: further character details in case you want more context:

You get a lot of xp fighting those strawmen?

I want a plaid shirt for a Scrapyarder disguise 😄

@Laucianna @Greycat Thank you both for taking the time to share your perspectives. This all appears consistent, sensible, and most importantly, COOL! My Kheldian characters have gained a lot of dimension because of your help and expertise.

Kind of a "Meet the Pyro" interpretation. I'm into it.

Hi! I have a couple lore type questions about merging/unmerging I'd like some feedback on. 1) Both this thread and @Greycat's excellent Lore and Backstory thread mention that both PBs and WSs can voluntarily separate. Is separation a thunderous, high-effort, stressful process that takes hours (or longer)? Is it as simple as stepping out of a room and stepping back in? Somewhere in between? Do we know of canon on what this looks like? If not, what's your personal take? I'm kind of thinking I like the idea of my character valuing their human perspective, and wanting to spend time apart, perhaps even on a daily or weekly basis. Would this be consistent with what we know? 2) Regarding "duplicates", it's interesting to read that Nova and Dwarf forms are no longer merged with a given Kheldian PC - they were merged at some point in the past but I guess the hosts either died or were separated before the pure energy form came to Earth. And now the Kheldian can turn into a "duplicate" of the former host's body, perhaps using the biomass of the human host. Do I have this right? I guess it makes sense that you can only have one physical host at a time and can't just turn into pure energy while merged. Although wait, Light Form contradicts this. What about the personality? Does a Kheldian still retain memories and personality when separated? I guess it would be kind of weird if they did - imagine separating willingly and then talking to an alien who was still 1/2 your personality. So I feel like they "remember" the bodies but not the minds, which all seems strange - how would a Kheldian even know how to shoot a Gleaming Bolt out of its tentacle if it didn't retain at least some of the mind? Either way it's weird. Also it seems like if the human voluntarily separates (or dies), the Kheldian should now be able to "remember" the human body too - though I guess they wouldn't have the biomass to actually manifest it. I don't really have a question so I guess I'll just ask, does my take on all this stuff make sense to you? Is there lore that says different? Do you have your own take you'd like to share? Thanks in advance for any perspectives. Particularly hoping to hear from @Laucianna and @Greycat but all feedback welcome 🙂

Still wishing that Water Control existed ... 🙂

Oh I've never disagreed that using any of COH's power on people could have all kinds of traumatic effects. Really that's a whole different question and I doubt anyone would argue with you on that. My concern was about the invisible, longer-term environmental impact that is a concern unique to Radiation type powers.

Yes. Because radiation is the unique power type that is popularly understood to leave behind invisible death, which is a good reason to use a different standard for suspension of disbelief. You nailed it buddy! I'm confused but grateful you actually gave a legit answer to the original question. Not a very satisfying one but good enough. Thanks 😄

There are many assumptions about the COH world that come from the real world. The sky is blue, except where something extraordinary is affecting it. People (usually) have two arms and two legs. Streets and buildings are laid out in a reasonably familiar way. While not a perfect replica, Paragon City is built upon the images of real world cities, and our familiarity with the real world gives us some familiarity with the setting. Likewise, if we don't see something on the screen, we assume that things happen "offstage" in a way similar to the real world. For example, although you never see an NPC eating food, it's reasonable to believe that they do. Yes, outlandish, completely fictional things happen in the setting, and we can see with our eyes what those fictional things are and come to an understanding of how they work. If we see someone lift a huge axe, we can intuitively understand that physics-defying super strength is a thing here like in comic books. If we see a Fire Blaster shoot a wall and it doesn't catch on fire, we can intuitively understand that the wall did not catch on fire. What we can't see is whether invisible fallout from weaponized radiation is contaminating the environment, as it can in the real world. It's fine if you want to assume all radiation must be benign, and I'm not trying to yuck your yum; but to me, it is not intuitively obvious and again, I don't agree that there is a universal assumption in comic book settings that all radiation is benign. Again - even in comic books, it's not insane to wonder if weaponized radiation has harmful side effects.

See, this is great. (I love Palladium in general ) They gave radiation characters explicit abilities to use their powers safely, knowing that some of their audience would have reasonable concerns about radiation powers having possible side effects that other powers don't have. Hmmm, but wait - I'm sure some of our friends here will deny that Palladium Heroes Unlimited exists - there's no way a comic book setting could portray radiation as possibly contaminating the environment!