cranebump

I have to stick with my original "gold" statement because, despite people receiving reviews, they don't receive multiples from different people,. Getting several reviews/perspectives is usually better than just 1. Of course, we might be getting “reviews" from players via the rating system, but they only drop a few words (and not always useful). As far as how people review, I would say that, while I appreciate the compliment, we should remember that "better" is subjective. What I do is different from Kyksie. I'm mainly looking to provide usable feedback. Kyksie's looking to entertain. Or rather, he was, back when he was more invested in reviewing. The snarky tone is part of the schtick. If you can find any of his older, lengthier reviews, you'll see it. You might not like it, but it'll provide context for his shorter, off-the-cuff review we're talking about here. Lastly, "feel honored," again, is just a saying, meaning, in this case, "welcome to the club." I've had some of my flubs aired for everyone to see. That's part and parcel of putting your work on public display. It means someone might peruse it. And maybe they'll talk about it with others. That's the deal. I can either be thin-skinned about it, or parse my way through the uncomfortable part, and try to find a useful nugget. It's been said that any publicity is better than no publicity. Don't know if that's 100% true, but one could say that any mention is better than silence. Whether one agrees with the tone or not. In any case, it's not my job to tell someone how to review my piece, or what to look for in it. If anything, a review shows me what others look for. If I pay attention, I'll know more about how to address a wider audience. It behooves me not to turn it into an argument, since, as already mentioned, a review is subjective. I don't have to agree with it. Doesn't mean it's not worth me listening to it.

So, um, just to be clear, @huang3721, "feel honored" relates to those of us who have been reviewed (and occasionally skewered by Kyks). It was more of a"welcome to the club" thing. That said, anytime you get anyone taking the time to actually give you feedback, that's typically gold, because it happens so infrequently.

At one point today, all shards had 2 yellow dots on the login. After I got on, I was doing my usual slow play solo on Torch and there were teams forming consistently (I’m not on much on Sundays, though, so I’m not sure this is unusual?). That said I played for stretches over the entire weekend, and Torch did seem busier. If the idea was to shift population, it seems to have worked.

If you run without optimizing -- say, sticking to, at best IO's -- increase your settings, and avoid the incarnate system altogether, it ought to be naturally challenging enough. Or more challenging, at least. Perhaps consider avoiding all the XP buffs. Use only DOs, SOs or IOs (for a bigger challenge, only craft IOs based on what drops). Don't grab your usual secondary pools (Fighting, for ex). Of course, you may not find that fun, but it’s technically not handicapping.

Suggest opening your map, then detaching it, and moving to one side, so you can see contacts, stores, and trainers (like Ms Lib):-)

Echoing playthrough of Twinshot after you Run Habashy. You could also do the Outbreak tutorial prior to entering Atlas.

I can't manage it. Which is why I recently did a mass deletion/consolidation. This includes a couple who'd reached 40+. I just knew I wouldn't "finish" them.

Hard to answer because, if I loved it, I'd likely use it. But I'm guessing it's due to the types of characters I play. I think all the magical stuff, including the witch's peak, and things like jester hats and such are cool, but I'm always running tech/natural origin, and most of the time semi-serious. The mime-turned-vigilante just won't work for me (although...if I ran as a villain, all bets are off).:-) I'll go with wings as something I'm impressed with, but don't use much. I think I have exactly one toon with them, and he's a sort of armored paladin-type, and one of my very few magic origin characters. I'm always wishing I could fold them away, though, when not in use.

Okay, let's see how it goes:

One thing I’ve learned from experience when it comes to hearing criticism of my writing: if I’m having to “explain” my logic to the reader, they’re not the problem. I am. Failure to fulfill basic expectations of clarity and entertainment is my job, not theirs. I can even fail on the second part, which is sometimes inevitable, since what entertains is often subjective. But I have no excuse for not being clear, and adhering to a very basic level of professionalism, if I’m sharing my work in the public sphere. Since you are sharing it, you can expect criticism. How you react to it will dictate whether you learn anything from the experience. Lesson one is to try not to be defensive about what people say. If your immediate urge is to make excuses (I.e. “explain” your mistakes, rather than admitting you may have made them), you’ll learn absolutely nothing, because you’ve justified what you’ve done [to yourself], and therefore see no flaws or avenues for growth. I know this, because I’ve done it before, and gotten nowhere. When you get feedback, consider it. Whether you initially agree with it or not. This is a skill that goes far outside of just trying to write a silly superhero story. Sometimes, people are just trying to help us. It’s our job to know when this is happening, and to know how to use it. On that: (1) Interact text: You should put verbiage in every search bar because it’s an expectation derived from the actual game missions, which you are trying to emulate. Players expect it, so they notice it when it’s missing. They shouldn’t be thinking about why it’s not there. You’ll have to show me, by the way, the “some people” who don’t care for interact text. I’m betting it’s not many, and that none of them script. (2j Basic grammar, spelling, punctuation: You want this to be tight as possible, so that you aren’t perceived as lazy (or worse, illiterate/stupid). Chalking off a failure to edit because you don’t get paid to write is a cop out that only harms your efforts. If a player is noticing the errors in my writing more than the story details, it’s a hindrance, plain and simple. Is it time consuming to, you know, edit the thing? Hell yes, it is. Its a pain in the ass, and the worst part of writing. It’s also the difference between doing a half-assed versus a stellar job. You can have the best idea in the world. Execute it with lazy writing, riddled with noticeable errors? You’ll hear about it, maybe even as the first thing. This isn’t just in AE scripting. It applies to all written communication, outside informal texting (well…for some of us…I personally maintain a modicum of proper execution. Habit, I guess). (3) Annoying your players: if you get a comment concerning something a player didn’t like, you might chalk it off as a single instance, depending on who it is, and the nature of the complaint. If you hear the same thing from multiple sources, however, take it to heart. I’ve had critiques from single sources that I initially didn’t agree with, but later realized they were right (using timers, for example). As for latter, multiple instances, here’s one case in point: both Kyks and myself pointed out your blank interact bars, in two different arcs. It’s pervasive. We noticed. Your explanation for leaving them blank feels like an excuse to not go back and fix them. It’s lazy. I’d also suggest taking Kyksie’s advice about the running bosses being almost impossible to defeat, and change that, as well. Regardless of your intent, you’re actively diminishing a player’s enjoyment. Multiple times. He may have a point about that (especially when I think about how many “boss running away” missions there are in the actual game, and how I can’t recall really liking any of them). You just don’t want arbitrary player frustration, if you can help it. They’re your audience. You owe them a good time. Be honored, by the way, that Kyksie reviewed your stuff. It’s been a good while, and you were chosen to break the silence. You even got a compliment. Kyks won’t give you that unless you actually earn it. Other than that, I strongly suggest doing some clean up of easily fixable errors. Yeah, you’re not getting paid for your work (and frankly, intimating that we should only care about quality when one gets paid for it doesn’t reflect well—it sounds like an excuse I’d hear from one of the many HS students I’ve taught over the decades). But that’s immaterial. Because you do get “paid” by eliciting a basic level of respect from your audience by giving them a good effort. As with any paycheck, if you don’t put the time in, you won’t get jack.

I shoehorned Tendaji into Dark Chamber. Lore wise, it takes place between his first appearance and his death. Mollymauk commented that he was dead while running both parts, indicating he’d seen others use him even though he was gone. I knew he was, too, which drove how I used him in the story. That said, Tendaji’s career could exist outside the RWZ arcs. Just indicate the time by adjusting his contact verbiage (“Sefu Tendaji is an up and comer in the Longbow ranks…” Then make him something lower than a ballista to indicate his previous status). or, if you’re Darm, use a clone.:-)

I’ve been on somewhat infrequently, but will work in your finale asap.

If my stable is any indication, somewhere in the 20s. No rhyme or reason outside that. Stuff I've dumped early on: Kheldians (didn't even reach 10), various trollers and defenders I tried to solo with subpar powersets for soloing (because I am smarrrrrrrt).:-) i recently deleted a slew of abandoned characters. Stripped and sold everything, pooled about 500 mill then gave it to a single “sugar daddy” character to dole out as small parcels of seed money for my trad solo play toons. That’s what I’ve been running lately. Solo, story-arc, slow play.

Big enough to tea bag the entire Magnificent Seven (and the cast of all subsequent remakes). And he’ll throw in fake cowboy Kevin Costner.

Outside, on the 3-season porch, usually smoking a cigar (which is why I'm outside). Chair is an antique, beat up office thing, with a bit of extra padding put down, because, er...age.:-)

Even adding the Power Pools would be nice.

A nice Chianti?

Rarely do flashbacks on my own. I team with Blapperella every time I see them advertising for OG TFs, though.

And we did not listen, because his name was Smedley Darlington.:-) (hmmmm...there's a toon name)

Alright, I'll bite (apologies in advance for my typos--I know I have some...I always do):-)

Damn, Monk. You been busy.:-)

Oh, man...That takes me back into some of the lore dives I've done, looking for fertile ground to AE script. Couldn't really figure out how to work in some sort of Spanky arc (legacy, most likely). There's just so much there, honestly. I ended up with an arc that involved a time travel run-in with the Sand Kings, one in which the player meets M1, but can't do anything to stop his death (for reasons similar to Edith Keeler in Trek: ToS). The arc's gone now (good thing-looks like I shoehorned M1 into a group he didn't belong to), but it was fun to envision the team. Had a Brit bowman (Eagle Eye). Can't recall the others. In the end, it didn't fit what I was trying to do in the bigger, metastory, so I dropped it, and found a way to work the Storm Korps into what I was doing (the Leviathan story, below). Worked out better in the end, but always wished I'd taken another stab at the Sandies. In any case, that list of historical heros and vills is just a goldmine of ideas. Maybe when I get back on the ever-bucking scripthorse I'll do some homages to those bygone ages. I got into comics during their Bronze Age. But I've read enough Silver Age stuff to take a shot at some epic, cheesy dialogue, in a world less gray. Yay bo, indeed...:-)

Eisenhower warned us, didn't he?

Now, now, Ozzie. You don't really remember all those lyrics.:-)

I forgot. I used the Storm Korps in my Leviathan arc.