cranebump

I can understand and accept your counterpoints to story vs. level design (though, if you get the former right, in addition to the latter, I feel the end product is superior). There are some arcs out there that are design experiments. That's not how I approach it, though, so any advice I give is going to focus on what I think I know, versus what I can't speak to. Anyhoo, that stuff all makes sense to me. On the one above, though? I'm going to have to hold to my original criticism. The boss fight occurs at the tail end of the entire arc. We're talking THE big boss. Yet, to fully defeat them, the designer wants me to chase them through the hallways. While they're speeded buffed. Through Oranbega's twists and turns. And I'd have to detach myself from her mob that's attacking me to go into a tactically disadvantageous position (as they're likely to follow and hit me from behind [which would be a BIG concern if I were running, say, my blaster). THAT's the issue. It isn't like I failed, per se. The boss didn't hurt me at all. And if they'd stayed on the map somewhere, or not turned Barry Allen on me, I'd have tracked them down and finished the job. But they didn't. They just ran like hell to the nearest exit. POOF! I assume the designer wanted to give me some sort of challenge. But it doesn't work that way, as designed, because they're gone before I can catch them. I'm not even sure using an AT with holds would help all that much, since they're a boss, and likely to be immune anyway (or let's say I hold them, but then I can't damage them enough with a control AT to bring them down so...same effect [and anyway, I shouldn't have to switch ATs just to complete the arc). In the end, it felt like the designer just didn't want me to "win," so I didn't. Technically, I succeeded, because I accomplished the mish objectives. But putting a big boss in the mish in the first place signals to me that you want me to battle. So sending them off the map in the finale (the finale) is just, well, it's both a poor story and design choice (bear in mind I'm talking specifically about the Vampire story, not the ninja one -- haven't run that one). And just to be clear about how I run these things: I usually run on default settings. I also don't get all butthurt if I just fail. If I have failed, and it the situation merits it, I'll stock up on big insps before I go back in, just to finish off a tough fight. If I thought I needed help, or needed to reduce settings, I would do so. For this one, though, I was running an exemplared Incarnate Tank at +0/x2. I was never in danger. I wasn't going to fail the boss fight. That said, there was just no way I could navigate the hallways as fast as the boss did when she ran off with her speed buff. I'm just not that good at flying fullspeed through maps (esp. tunnel-type ones). Failure? It's no biggy to me. I'm not so puffed up on superiority that it's an affront to lose. A real challenge is good sometimes (as in the last Pos1 team I was on, when we got wiped by our dupes, our leader bailed out, and the rest of us remained to chip away at it till we were victorious). That said, there's a difference between me just failing and the Kobayashi Maru. I'm generally not running AE mishes to build character (nor are many other players, I believe). While I respect your suggestions, I still think this arc would be better served if the ultimate big bad guy didn't wuss out and run off. Let the wookie man, man.:-)

Alright, who unlocked the high chair again?

I have a Fire/Atomic blaster based on a similar theme that I have enjoyed (when I've played him). Some good secondary powers in there, and you can drop FI-YAHHHHHHH! on everything.

I’ll put it on my agenda:-)

If it’s a typical AE mish, all of the targets’ text pops at once, unless they’re located in different floors (and even then, it no guarantee they won’t). This means that even the text isn’t always helpful, unfortunately. I wouldn’t know how it came out in this one, though.

Sometimes?:-)

Seed gives REALLY valuable advice, when it comes to writing and refining stories. Everything you do is practice that can affect other things you may do. For example, working within the confined space of AE text boxes and 5-chapter arcs is excellent training for plot development. You learn to whittle out the chaff and focus on the throughline. That sort of hyperfocus is essential to building tight plots in other styles/genres. “The Poetics” pushes “plot first” for a good reason. If the story makes no sense, nothing else I do can save it.

Just a shout out to our own @LordRassilon, who runs the "Late Show" on Twitch (keeping Snarky hours).:-) You've got lowbie levelling, viewer's choice, Redside rambling, and weekly TF/SF's and AE plays (speaking of: play Rass's Heart of Words trilogy -- it's outstanding). You'll also see near nightly Yins and Doc Aeons. There's a player's choice night, as well. Plus, various reviews, build discussions, film dives, and dramatic readings of player bios. Best of all, you can hop in and join the mirth and (casual) mayhem with a friendly and knowledgeable team leader. Highly recommended. Go there. Now. https://www.twitch.tv/mollymauk76

No. You’ll always get large insps, even at level 1.

I wanted to respond to some of Kyksie's observations, now that I ran the arc: Kyks sez:...The player is greeted by Van Helsing, who tells the player that vampires have invaded Paragon, check it out pretty please? The player journeys to various locales and battles vampires, who are a custom group with varied powers, and are for some reason obsessed with Maemae van Whooters, a minor character form the Television arc. Honestly, I couldn't figure out why they were obsessed by her, either. The arc's customs are pretty good. There's some nice diversity in maps and such. But the villains motivations eluded me all the way through. I thought maybe I missed a key clue somewhere. That said, if it IS key, I feel like it should be super obvious. Even so, I won't discount the possibility that I just missed it somewhere. Kyks sez: EDIT: also, one mission has several EBs who are set to flee, making them almost impossible to defeat, which I found kinda annoying. Including the big bad end boss. She ZOOMED off. With a burst of speed. The rescue objective was right next to the EB, so I stayed to clear everything and finish the rescue, and the mish. But...I had the boss whittled down and was going to kick her ass when she buzzed off, leaving me feeling unsatisfied as a player. Kyks has a legitimate observation here. Kyks also said the customs were good, and I agree. I just wonder why the designer wants me to chase bosses. It's like I have to "earn" the privilege of defeating them. If a player makes it that far, it feels unfair to snatch victory from them (and for no real reason -- unless the NPC is supposed to survive for a follow-up arc?). P.S. Didn't see a lot of spelling errors. But there was a pervasive lack of carriage returns (no spaces between paragraphs). Easy Fix. It’s mechanically sound, and brisk, and has humor. Good for players looking for a light diversion.

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Clues are important. I have a separate screen open during AE mishes, just for NPC text. I haven't run the mish, so I don't know what the map looks like as far as size (in the "Lake" mish I ran, above, I did have that city map from in-game missions like the one where you have to set or find multiple scanners -- that map is a pain in the ass for searches, though I now know the most common drop points.). That said, if I wanted to make sure the player could spot my NPC on a big map, I'd try to have them captured in the green, floating field, or have the bad guys using the tech scanner. Doesn't look like that would work in a ninja arc, though.:-)

Seconded. I was going to suggest a fire blaster of some kind, but this would be a nice combo, with good defense. Burn, baby, burn!

“Time wasters” include having a bunch of collection glowies just to keep the player clicking stuff. We’re talking something like having a dozen when, say 2-3 will suffice. On the other hand, if the player is searching for something specific, say “Formula 309” hidden in a warehouse, then more than a few is probably justified. For me, a glowie with no text at all is a time waster, because it doesn’t contribute anything to the story. Those are sometimes just errors though. You’re right about people’s expectations being frustrating sometimes. I had 2 comments on a recent play of a mish I saw streamed. The arc was written for soloists (most of my stories are). The team ran on higher settings and got their asses handed to them a couple times. Eventually, they figured it out and won the day. One of the comments said it was hard, but fair, and a good story. The other one said it seemed overly hard for the small number of XPs they got (which tells me what their priorities are [and makes me wonder why they were there, then]). I thanked them for the feedback, agreed it turned out hard, and added that my tests on default settings were much easier. I guess the expectation was that I should test on the highest settings. I’ve decided I’ll do a bit of that in the future. Just to get a gauge of it (even though the default story text warns players when there’s custom enemies). Of course, I can’t plan ahead for players who get butthurt when they die (more than once, evidently).:-)

Not that I recall. The breakout tutorial on redside is sorta like that. You can also rob a bank during redside mayhem mishes, allow yourself to be defeated, then you spawn in a jail cell in the police station, from which you have to fight your way out. There are also certain missions against the Circle of Thorns where defeat lands you in one of their prison cells. Outside that, I can’t think of anything where the scenario is escape. Summer Blockbuster has some complex missions where each player acts out their part separately to advance a team goal. Other than that…no idea. The Marchand arc has you freeing your team from prison, then fighting bosses.

Well…maybe we can do it…I dunno…dirtier?

Also: thanks for the Mobius run.* Caught it after the fact when I did my usual check in with your channel. I actually have this coming Monday off and thought about hopping on when you do your AE runs. I'll have to (a) check the times and (b) decide if my old fartness can handle the early wakeup. I'd also need to swing a toon over to Everlast, but that's not a biggy. Thanks again, man. Hope you get a chance to get to the finale. *Didn't realize how tough the Shadows/Chalikar were with those settings and numbers, since I write for soloists (I knew the wandering mercs were a bear, since I always ran into their overlapping patrols on the second floor, where you can't really see how many of them there are when you enter through the choke point). Will say that, when you pulled the team back and started herding them, I got a big kick out of it. I was like, Oh man...Molly's goin' old school. And down they went.:-)

KR Devil (aka Juan Jiminez? [never been confirmed!]).:-) It's not optimal, but AR/TA. Got a lot better with the changes to Full Auto, but it's really about flexibility from the Arrow set. And I just like spraying lead.:-)

Heh, heh. I see what you did there, Private.:-)

Superspeed coupled with super jump is pretty awesome. For me, though, it’s about what fits conceptually. The toon I play most is a ground bound scrapper. I haven’t picked up any movement pools at all. Did get the free jump pack and purchased flight pack once he had some cash. Also ended up earning an extra flight pack in the KR Bank mish. He’s part of an SG with a base, too, so I use the TPs there, and Ouro (which I got by zoning into the PvP zone via Atlas, behind Rick Davies in City Hall). That said, nothing feels quite so super as flight.

Any publicity is good publicity. Bourne out here, as the initial review spurred additional plays, and different perspectives.

Red side is excellent, overall. It does hew toward I'm going to be the power on the throne here, eventually, though. That whole "Destined Ones" thing. Driving up numbers there as far as teaming goes requires someone really dedicated to running the content, to include drumming up Strike Force teams. I'd include bank mishes in there, because you can just trash everything on the map, which is its own special, special thing.:-)

I’m just going to provide the immediate steps. Number one: play hero side first. Number two: play the hero side tutorial called outbreak before entering the game through Atlas Park. Once you get to Atlas Park, play through the story arcs presented to you beginning with Matt Habashy. When you open up the contact named Twinshot, Play through her ARC as well. This will get you familiar with the basic stuff as you are learning the game. I would honestly avoid running on a large team until you've played the game solo for a while at the lower levels. However, running as a duo or trio, with a couple of friendly veterans might not be bad since they would answer questions for you on the fly. Try to take it in bite sized chunks. Most of all, though, have fun! If you end up on Torchbearer, feel free to look me up. My global is the same as my forum name. In the meantime, have a great run and welcome!

You know...Torch is still searching for an identity. Unofficial bad guys & (misunderstood) douche bag server, anyone?:-)

I'll chime in as an advocate for actually playing the content (starting with Blue), if you've never played CoH before. Actually go straight up old school, to include slow travel, so you can see the city and learn how to get around. Start with an AT/concept you like and go from there. When you run into issues, ask questions. Don't put any pressure on yourself to get straight to 50. You might not bother getting character #1 more than 10-20 levels (I think I rerolled a half dozen times before settling on one that I stubbornly ran to 50). And, by all means, explore some of our player-made content.:-) (I'd do this after running the regular content, though -- the city comes first!). One day, after you've learned the ropes and then some, return the favor by helping out someone just entering the city. Because that's what being a hero is all about.