ShardWarrior

You can already have a personal lair to yourself and belong to a super group. You can access and use as many different super group bases as you like whether you are a member or not so long as the codes to enter them are available. That includes the use of utilities like zone transports, vendors, costuming, Ouro and Mission Computer access, crafting and personal vault storage. You are not allowed to use the storage racks and enhancement tables in bases of groups you do not belong to, nor should you be able to. Allowing for that would give every player essentially limitless storage capability. There is also nothing preventing you from participating in super group activities of groups you do not belong to. This is part of what private chat channels are designed for to allow players who may be associated with different groups to communicate and recruit for activities. If anything, the number of coalitions and super group roster size should be increased.

Take it with a very large grain of salt. They admit it is a rumor, but given the state of the property, I would not be surprised if this were true.

Disney or any studio can release whatever numbers they want. There are a great many reasons why they do as has already been reflected here in this thread, along with many other reasons. It strains credibility to believe the budget of this film, with the extensive amount of CGI, all of the extensive script rewrites and re-shoots came in at the reported budget. This is exactly what the reported numbers are - wishful thinking and "creative accounting". This is no different than any Hollywood film. According to Hollywood, films like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that brought in over $942 million in box office against a budget $150 million dollar still lost over $150 million. Admittedly, my knowledge here is on the periphery, however the films I do know about always cost far, far more to produce than is reported.

Kathleen Kennedy, the longtime president of Lucasfilm, is expected to step down at the end of 2025. She intends to retire after her current contract ends, according to a source with knowledge of her plans. https://variety.com/2025/film/news/star-wars-kathleen-kennedy-exit-lucasfilm-1236319794/ There are some reports that contradict this story, however it appears to be legit. Time will tell. Given the current state of the Star Wars IP, this is not a bad thing in my personal opinion.

True. I still think even the Brosnan's Bond is too "male chauvinist" for today. Good point and at least to me, this worked well with Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies and Halle Berry as Jinx in Die Another Day.

Using this as the standard would make just about every action movie hero from Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Bruce Willis up to Indiana Jones and Iron Man a "sociopath". As far as I know, Fleming never expressly stated Bond was a sociopath or a psychopath. He would have to be able to compartmentalize his emotions in order to be an effective spy and do what he needs to do. It is not splitting hairs, it is using the correct words to describe the character. Again, there is a difference between a misogynist and a chauvinist. Bond quite clearly did not have a hatred or loathing of women, so he is not a misogynist. I completely agree with you here.

That is how I read the Bond character. My point was that the definition of misogyny includes "hatred of or contempt of" women. Bond clearly did not hate Vesper Lynd, in both the original novel and Casino Royale film as he fell in love with her. Bond also did get married in both the novel and film adaption of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Describing him as a "misogynistic sociopath" is not accurate. I agree that sticking with the source material is the best route to go as that is what endeared people to these characters in the first place. I very highly doubt this is what Amazon will do unfortunately. What they have done to the Tolkien work is truly an abomination in my opinion. I foresee them doing the same thing with Bond and it is also only a matter of time before the same is done to Stargate and other properties they now own.

I do not think anyone was expecting anything different.

Bond is not a villain and attempting to make him into one does not work. I do not think Bond is a sociopath in the strictest clinical sense. He is like any other solider who is on occasion required to do terrible things in defense of their country. A flawed and dynamic charter, yes. A vile sociopath? I would disagree. Fleming himself also never considered Bond "the bad guy" either. I would also argue he is not a misogynist either as that entails a loathing and hatred of women. I think it very safe to say Bond does not hate women. He is more a male chauvinist than misogynist in my opinion.

Comparing the Green Lantern Corps, which is comprised of a great many different characters, to a singular character like James Bond is a false equivalency.

There has been quite a lot of reports and articles about Amazon using the Bond IP to create a "Bond universe of content" with various films and streaming content. Personally, I think this is a terrible idea and their focus should be on creating quality films focusing on the James Bond character. Supporting characters like M, Q and Moneypenny were just that - supporting characters. There is some reports that Amazon are considering spinoff streaming series for each of them. This is what concerns me about Amazon now having full control over the Bond property. I very much hope Amazon does not treat Bond as they did Tolkien. I find this a horrible idea. It is the same issue as with Sam Wilson (or Bucky) becoming Captain America and the idea of "anyone can be Batman". It reduces the character to a costume or a title or mantle that anyone can inherit. It greatly diminishes the character.

The James Bond film franchise will no longer be controlled by the Broccoli dynasty, after long-serving masterminds Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson announced they are stepping down. The pair will now give creative control to Amazon MGM Studios, which was formed when Amazon bought Bond's parent studio in 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1mn9gz5x3mo I very much hope the Bond franchise receives far better treatment than the Tolkien properties, although I have my doubts about that. Time will tell.

No idea what you are on about and no, I did not miss your point at all.

No one here will ever know the real numbers involved, so you are "armchair quarterbacking" just as much as anyone else. With that said, if you believe Disney only spent only $180 million to make this film, I have a bridge and some swamp land you may be interested in. It has been widely reported and confirmed this film went through multiple re-shoots (at least 3), and it is widely reported now that the budget Disney is sharing publicly is the budget for the re-shoots only, not the entire film or its marketing. Of course studios like Disney can do all kinds of creative things with their bookkeeping to make a film look like it made a lot of money or made very little or lost money. Film studios do this all the time and why many directors and actors dislike the idea of getting a percentage of a films gross because studios use their creative accounting to make a film look like it lost money so they do not have to pay anyone their cut. I have seen many interviews with various actors, directors and producers over the years who have discussed this very topic. As for CA: BNW, I do not see this film doing well. Reviews look to be "meh" at best. I expect we will see a huge drop off in ticket sales for next weekend.

I am not sure people in general are supposed to be fooled by it, rather they are simply oblivious to their surroundings and just not that observant. Not sure anyone remembers this, but Henry Cavill in Times Square wearing a Superman shirt standing beneath the giant billboard for BvS. Not a single person recognized him. I do agree someone like a Lois Lane would be able to figure out his identity though.

Base access is essentially a non-issue. Any character can already access any SG base whether they are a member or not, so long as the SG is sharing the base entry pass code. As far as coalition settings allowing for access permission to salvage storage in any coalition base, I do not see that happening for the numerous reasons already stated in threads on this very topic. I personally do not see it as necessary either. People can already create personal bases for personal storage if they want to store salvage.

Something I like about Empathy is that it does not bury you under layer upon layer of VFX vomit, unlike sets like Ice and Thermal. That has always been a plus for me. I like this suggestion. Most other sets require a good amount of +Recharge too. Nature has some truly ludicrous recharge on some of the powers.

No, I did not and I still do not. While Michael Keaton is a fantastic actor and I think captured the tormented and dark parts of the character, I just cannot take him seriously as a physically imposing and intimidating figure who strikes fear into the hearts of Gotham's criminals. I still love the movies though. I suppose you are going to want to argue about this now, yes?

You can apply this to any role in any play or film or television program. Again, actors are very talented people, but not every actor or actress is the right fit for every role. Well sure, this can work sometimes. Other times, it is a disaster. It worked for Schwarzenegger when he was told he could not do comedic roles. That does not mean Schwarzenegger would make a great King Lear or Richard III or would be the perfect casting choice for a role simply because he really wants the part. For me neither, and yet everyone seems to want to argue about it. I will repeat yet again, I like Pedro Pascal and have enjoyed his work. He is a fine actor. I can repeat that yet again in case anyone missed it. I completely agree. I did not think Gal Gadot was right for Wonder Woman, but I am happy to admit I was wrong. I was in the "Heath Ledger?? Really??" camp when he was cast as the Joker, and was pleasantly surprised by his performance. I hope Pedro Pascal pulls off the part. As of now, I do not feel he was the right choice for it though.

Along these lines, can the SG roster limit be increased? I do not know if there is some technical reason why it is limited, however given that we now have so many character slots and bases no longer have prestige costs, it would be nice if we could get either the SG coalition limit increased or the SG roster limit increased or both.

I am genuinely curious where you found anyone mentioning his appearance or that highly intelligent people must look a certain way? His physical appearance is not the issue. Rather can he as an actor effectively portray the role? I personally do not see it. I simply do not think he is the right actor for the part, nor did I feel John Krasinski right for the role. Not finding an actor or actress right for a part is very common. Directors and casting directors will quite often say they love certain celebrities, but did not think they were right for the required role they are casting for. Many famous actors talk about passing on certain roles because they did not feel they were the right fit for it. Actors and actresses are very talented people, but that does not mean they can portray any role given to them.

Being bummed about others having a different opinion says more about the beholder than the beheld as well. 😉 As I said, and will repeat yet again, I like Pedro Pascal as an actor. I think he is a fine actor and I have enjoyed much of his work over the years. He is fantastic in the Mandalorian. I just do not see him in the role of Reed Richards. That is not an insult of him or his talent.

Me neither. Love him as an actor, but he does not fit Reed Richards to me.

@UltraAlt brings up a good point. There really is more to the game than level 50+ iTrials and TFs. My very first 50 on Live was an Empathy/Rad Blast Defender. I hated the character so much that I never rolled another Empath again, until recently. Every Saturday evening is the Saturday Night Synapse League over on Torchbearer. I like having a stable of different characters to bring for it depending on how I feel. Empathy Defenders are always a welcome addition to the team, so I decided to create a new alt and level it up. I found myself actually having quite a lot of fun on teams, especially running lower level TFs and SFs where Empathy shines. I actually had so much fun playing it that I made another one for me to have on Excelsior. Back to what @UltraAlt touched on, there is more to the game that steamrolling. Not every player is at an advanced skill level and some people really do take advantage of having an Empath on the team. Empathy makes a great partner for duos and small teams. Is Empathy outclassed by other sets? In some ways, sure, but not all sets need to be the same. At least to me, it serves a niche role and does it quite well. With that said, I would not mind seeing some improvements. CM and Absorb Pain being made PBAoE would be spiffy.

Either that or a beacon that lists the available coalition bases to enter, same as the base portals do when you click on them.