cranebump

Some really good ideas there. Mish 4 does need some work (starting with making getaway vehicles optional, since that’s easy). My recent issue with fixing any of my older stories was crashing during edits (due to file size, I guess). Putting willie rescue active upon M4 entry is a good idea, though I’d have to tweak the confession and a couple other things. There IS a callback to Willies death in the capstone arc, so the downer ending is entirely intentional, and meant as motivation during the last arc of the story. Really good feedback. I am not sure when I’ll get around to employing any of it, but I’ve put a pin in it for future reference. Thanks again!

I played CoL a bit a long time ago, using the swing line power. It was weird to swing around with nothing to grapnel, but I just didn’t care. If my “natural” toon can run at a speed of 60 MPH (or more), then hooking to a cloud works, too. SWIIIINNNNNNG!

Still waiting for swingline.

I didn't mean that to sound like a negative. Probably should've said what it was: mainly stock vills with a few customs. Sorry about that.

You have boldly gone where no one has gone before, my friend. Thank you for everything you have done. The heroes of The Row are lucky to have Engineria as an ally (and perhaps the Night Ravens could use another strong mentor):-) Many, many thanks. We hope to see you around the city. Godspeed!

Thanks for the run. That’s the very first arc of the 50 I’ve written. Shoulda seen it before I tweaked it. It was rough. Very rough. Still looks like I could work on it, but at some point, you move on. Didn’t realize I was stealing Powers Division from Praetoria though. Sheesh. That’s what I get for not studying up on the lore.:-)

Yeah, Asa Ronan is a real pain for squishies. Pretty sure you can cruise it with a tank (which is true of a lot content). As for him being more powerful later on, there's at least a narrative explanation for that: he lets himself get captured (by you) so that he can get close to his intended target. Once he has access to his old boss, he drops his guise to pull off the hit. I'm fairly certain that's explained somewhere in the arc, either by clues or via NPC verbiage somewhere. PPD: I can't remember what the Stinger's powersets are, but I'm sure they're no joke. They're elite troops. Temp powers help a lot with them (though I probably shouldn't expect most people to have purchased any). I didn't recall Skullia as a mandatory boss, but I guess she was. She's a tie-in to the Ordinary People arc. Not sure what her mez power is. It's been a long time since I've revisited that arc. I thought she was just a gun toter, but maybe she has darkness. I did see that the story was L5-15 originally, so I guess things just got tougher as I bumped it up. Can't recall why. I never overclock anything (critters rate at 100%,XP gain according to the creature creator). I don't think I ever got killed 4 times during any test run of the arc, on any AT. But then, I know what's coming. And I tend to use exemplared toons, so that likely explains that. May have to revisit it with an on-level toon, just to see. Finally, I DID write the hallway glitch into the narrative, even after running it during tests and seeing it woudn't go away, I just kept it, and described it as some sort of security measure used by the Stingers. Thought it was a quirky surprise. I have no idea why it's that way, though. Thanks for the run.

Nearly? (produces moleskin pad, scribbles) This will not go down well with the Committee.

A Contract in Black and Blood [ID64304] by @Jiro Ito This SEP 2024 entry places you in the L45-54 range, in the Isles, where you’re asked by Mr. Black of Gadzul Oil to grab an old tome while offing the inimitable Mr. Bocor (last seen talking [and doing] some nasty ass shite in Port Oakes). Bocor played a major role in my own magic-themed arc, The Bleed (where I offer a perfectly logical explanation for him being such an asshole {a subject for another time, no?}). We jump right in, raid the place, and get an offer to turn on our employer (um, sorry…nope…and anyway, we didn’t finish the job-part of the book — it’s missing). We then are sent after Virgil Tarikoss, and I’m like YEEEAH! -- I don’t like that bastard either! I find Virg hanging out in close proximity with a MM boss with his pets dropped. THAT was a scrum. Having gotten the book, Malta awaits, where I reprogram a Kronos Titan (which shows up as an Ally and starts zotzing people -- MY BUDDY!). I bring back a Soul-Trapped Gem (because my employers have evidently NEVER heard of Wentworth’s). Of course this gem needs a soul to, um, POWER it, so I get sent into the Zig (because every escaped criminal wants to go back to jail to show his progress out there in the real world). After procuring the necessary, er...COMPONENT, I’m asked to pretty-please help with a ritual (that I’m **pretty** sure is going to involve me having my heart devoured, or something of that ilk). Was I right? Well...I’ll just leave you to play it to see. VERDICT: 5/5. Typically well-constructed, cleanly written. A great example of the quality of work this author always presents. There are a lot of objectives, but most of them are optional. So you can delve as far into the bigger story as you see fit. A bit of an “enemies tour,” with some non-standard map selections for at least 1 enemy group (a boon to those who hate caves). Clever bit with the Kronos Titan (Frieeeeeend...), as well as several cameos from the vill side to, er...engage with. All in all, a solidly constructed arc that allows you to choose your pacing. Well done. A Bloody-Black Seal of Shining Approval. PLAY IF: You’re a nasty vill looking to do legwork for fun and profit. OR: if you demand excellently composed missions, with a wide array of choice. A very well-done arc!

I don't know why, but every time I read the title of this thread I envision a period romance TV series. Longbow...in Agincourt (sweeping music plays)

I may have ran Lazarus, as well. Can't recall. In any case, you're doing something I started doing and dropped -- running from l level 1 on up. Inspires me to try to do it again. Keep it up! This is cool stuff! Maybe we should make it a community challenge?

I've created 50 arcs. I don't know where that places me numerically, but I have to figure I'm in the upper quarter somewhere (which is as much a testament to how much free time I used to have versus now). As an exclusively SFMA scripter, I can only comment on my own creation conceits. To wit: Except for a couple of attempts at a Task Force style story, I have scripted only for soloists. That's who I assume is doing most of the AE play. That's what I test for. Which means I'm never 100% certain how things will go when a team gives things a shot. I also assume that the typical soloist (probably with attuned IOs), and is being exemplared down. They've done the game. They're looking for something else. AT matters. Some toons will blast right through a set of customs. Some will fall down before stock enemies. You can never truly know for sure how things will go, unless you get feedback (which I have, and am thankful for). I don't test for every AT. I usually test with a tank and a squishie. Which means some players will have good experiences, and others won't. I can do story all damned day. A lot of scripters can. But the AE can't always execute exactly what I want, however. I don't have tools for fine placement of baddies, or text appearing on the screen, or enemies/allies that TP out. There are no cut scenes. You have a limited amount of text (which, even if you use it, can be more than anyone wants to read). In short, it's really hard to not only tell a good story with memorable NPCs/events, but also to create mechanically clean execution of said story (much less novel execution). So you end up taking the path of water, telling the best story the mechanism can allow. In some ways this is a good thing. In other ways, it's frustrating. Because of the factors above, I find myself being very forgiving when I judge anyone's arc. It's just so damned hard to get things competent, much less excellent. And there's a big gulf between those two (see a LOT of the older in-game hero arcs). A Community Choice award is an excellent idea. If it had some sort of basic criteria, even better (I still don't know what the Devs were looking for when they selected various arcs, including the two I was recognized for). Assuming we agreed to a basic standard, I think a panel would be best to actually judge. There would have to be a reasonable number of nominations for everyone to handle within a given time frame (quarterly, perhaps?). Then there's 2-3 recognized arcs from from the pile. Choices get sent to the Devs. Seal of Approval added. You used to get merits for getting a Dev's Choice, too, back in the day (like 1,000 was it?). So there was incentive beyond just recognition. I don't know how much of this is doable, because, like the Devs, people have lives. I switched employers and lost my cushy 4-day work week. My scripting AND reviewing took a hit. I'm sure others have much tougher schedules, and limited play time. That, to me, is the obstacle. Who wants to dedicate themselves to this aspect of CoH, knowing that a vast majority of folks are there just to bash heads and gain levels? (which is sorta how these games work, right?) It has to be someone (or some someones) who really dig this aspect of the game. That's how you got all the base building support. Question is: who loves SFMA stuff enough to make it one of their primary focuses?

So this retractable thing is a CD reader, and NOT a cup holder?:-)

True. But 34 levels of not being batty would drive me…batty?:-)

Sometimes it’s about going for the weird. I wanted to play a truly Batman type character, which, to me, demanded throwing stars (closest we can get to batarangs and such). This meant I had to play a Dom. Primary? Nothing really fully fits the concept. I tried various builds. Ran them into the 20s,, attempted to rationalize the selections. But it just wasn’t working for me, since the primary set just never truly fit. I finally decided that, whatever I picked for a primary, I’d have to ignore most of the powers and build out using Pools. So I paired Arsenal with Martial Assault. Of course I couldn’t use a gun and be “batty,” so I skipped everything but the sleep dart and the stealth power. Took all the throwing stars as I leveled, two of the kicky powers, and paired all that with Fighting (of course). No fancy travel powers, outside the surfboard thing (though a jet pack might make more sense, I dunno). As I was slowly soloing up, I had to think about what ELSE Bats brings to the table in order to widen my power selections. Which ultimately forced me toward an unusual selection. Presence. That fear factor (2 powers that can actually tap into the Domination buff) plus the ability to “disappear” before their eyes. Between throwing shit, scaring perps, and punching them out, the resulting toon is pretty batty. Now, I DID have to sorta cheat on two things. I actually do use the sleep dart gun power (hey—no actual bullets). And I pretend that big floating cannon is a young sidekick. I also threw a lot of $$ into various set bonuses to overcome some of the gimpiness. Along the way, I have chosen as many natural/tech contacts as I could. He’s soloed all the way to 41, save for a side trip into a Pos1 and a Saturday Night Synapse team on Torch last night. None of this is the point, though. What matters was going in whole hog on concept, rather than set combos. It felt like I was running something brand new because, to me, it was. Of course, he’ll never be a kick ass incarnate or anything. And it really is pretty silly to nerf the Domination effect. But I don’t care. He feels like a batsy guy. Especially when I augment him with some of the various temp powers (but never the revolver!).:-) I guess I’m advising that, if you’ve mastered the traditional, maybe try something outside the box. If it feels weird or gimped, just make that part of the challenge. It may be the “wrong” way to play, but it can be quite a bit of fun.