cranebump

Thanks for the run! Some comments/explanations: The “black is your color” comment is because you and your team are “holo’ed up” in Arachnos garb. It’s mentioned in the entry pop. It might need to be somewhere else, too (maybe enemy text). Level range is chosen based on where a character would start in Ordinary People. That one was driven by Skulls and Helliona mixed with customs. Subsequent arcs are just guesstimations by me about where the same character would be over the course of time. Some of the arcs are level-locked due to actual in game foes though (Crey, for example). Other than that, it’s just a preference (though ultimately the character level will have narrative significance in the finale [well, maybe]). Galen, Aaron text: yeah, I must’ve dropped the ball on that. Shoot. Alright is technically incorrect, but informally correct. In any case, it saves me 2 characters against text limit, so it ain’t goin’ nowhere.:-) I can’t believe those bombs spawned lower! They were in the last room every single test run. They should not be able to spawn anywhere else. Wonder what happened? Hmm. Clear the top floor is the Defeat All last room text. I made it that way to ensure the player saw the shadow supers, and also caught Dis’s long speech. I’ll have to check why it’s so wonky. Might just need to lower bomb count to 2. Rezzing LTs: can’t recall which one of them has that. For the mobs, I basically brought over base minions of Fawkes Brigade, Saccos, and Chalikar. I then gave them a standard costume, and changed save file. I checked to make sure each have 100% XP at arc lvl cap. I’m wondering which one has the power now, since they look the same (except for Sacco-Vanzettis, who don’t all have helms). Rank structure is actually misleading. “Sergeants” are equivalent to LTs. LTs are Bosses. Captains are elite bosses. Maybe that’s sneaky? Anyway I didn’t have any rezzers in tests (that I recall) but at x8, the chances must be very high to get one. ”See your clues”: I need to fix those, for sure. Dropping in the Mobius info was a bit tough to do in a way that integrated well. Shadow Supers text: oh, I suspect you’ll see them again.:-) I’m due for some vacation time, so hopefully I can clean up all of the arcs various issues. On the whole, I thought this one was pretty solid for a first draft. It’s hard staying ahead of you guys! thanks again

Welcome home, hero. Or villain. Or something in between. 🙂

That one seemed consistent. Everytime I finished the chest-click, it seemed to be right there, then it was off to Zoria. Don't want to miss his gloating, do we?:-) One thing I do need to check is population. Since it's essentially an "empty" map I had to populate it by objectives (ex: patrols). I was sort of in a hurry to get it back up and running, so I'll likely need to check #'s. It felt a little empty during tests.

It really is a neat map. Floating base or something. The old map for that one was an open Croatoa map. Wasn't bad, but felt a bit boring for some sort of pocket dimension holding "one thorn to rule them all." I feel like this map feels less grindy because it's unique. I was also lucky enough to have my Key Holders pop in in places that weren't too hard to find. All that said, I'm still wondering whether an Oranbega-type map maps the most sense. It'd still have some of the same issues, but grouping might be easier (and no chance of falling off the map into oblivion on multiple occasions).:-) Speaking of this mish, I used a black speech of Mordor translator to get Azh Gaddur (one ring is Azh Nazg, I think?).

Not quite where no one has gone. I went there during tests (but not as often, nor with as much vigor).:-)

Yeah that Zoria mish is probably going to be shifted into a cave or something. The Midnighter map would be great for a “repository,” but there’s no way to hide its origin and backdrop. So that one still needs work. On a more positive note, Mobius 4 finally answers the questions about The Strip and The Five. Mulling finale right now, so unsure when that gets done.

Notes: I'd call this the penultimate arc in the whole, damned thing. This assumes I'm smart enough to finish it in one more arc.:-) 4-mishes, rather than 5 (just fell out that way). Tried using an End Clue for last reading on The Mobius Strip (player finally gets the skinny on its nature). But mish ends, and it didn't pop, so I moved it to Mish Begin clue, which is weird, but preferred that to Souvenir (though souvenir makes mention of what the player reads in the mish). Callbacks to NPCs of earlier arcs (and one noteworthy boss).:-) Tried to keep objectives reasonable, thus made allies more or less optional, save where I needed them to trigger other things. Careful on the top floor of the finale (which, now that I think about it, I have to label as Finale). derrr

Westbrush reminds them to check the overpasses. I guess I need to tell them to check in with Westbrush specifically, though you can't access a battle. Then again, it's probably a bad idea to assume everyone knos who Westbrush is.

I'm in final test of first draft of Mobius 4, so that should be there for ya, if you get to it. Interested to see what you think of the stripped down version. Feels much easier to follow and less fragmented to me (but then, I know the scenario, so...).:-)

Absolutely. Nothing has changed, textually. Had an open map in a later mish, and wanted to make it less of a runaround, using Anky's escort tip. Plus, there's a cool new map to use there. it will need some fine tuning, I'm sure. I keep forgetting, I only just did these things. Your runs and @Zhym are the first player tests outside me.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Mish 4 is a work in progress, but the basics are there. New info:

Ugh...I did some work on Mobius 4, and 3 (to make an open map easier to find stuff). In the process, I accidentally used the wrong skin for one of the good guys in M3-2. Should be fixed within an hour of posting this (doing a test run). So, @TerroirNoir, if you're planning a run, sometime after that the mish should be fixed. Need tp pull this arc down to work on it. Will announce when Mobius 3 is back up.

The overpass. Yup. Westbrush pops in the square, below, about 3/4s of the time in tests. I think the simplest thing is just say “check in with Lt. Westbrush,” if PPD is confusing. That will specify who the player is looking for, if they don’t feel like fighting spawns.

if that’s the skyway map, it’s pretty easy. Any halfway patient player should get through that quickly enough. Now, there’s a Croatoa map in a later mish that would actually be helpful for.

Task Force Algernon is on it!

Where the hell did you get that, @Ankylosaur? Never even seen that.

Maybe focus on red or gold side?

Yeah, it fixes the original issues by relocating to a different map that's pristine. There's a base on fire map from the Lockhart mission in there somewhere that might've been better as far as atmosphere, but I want that first mish to be quick and to establish some clue to the bigger devastation. Objective spawn points are easy peazy (though I limited them to 2 required ones, 2 optional ones, and the 1 triggered objective). Wasn't sure how hard to make the first Boss. Just wanted to intimate what they can do, so that the end mish text has an in-game referent. For my incarnate blaster, it all depended on whether a mez landed. Since I was in test mode, and not running in invulnerable mode, I could held and ganked. If I'd had Insps, I think the initial boss would be pretty easy. I'll have to see how it is with a plain ol' non-IO'ed toon. So, I'd say it's...it's okay, I guess. Gets to the next mish. Players won't get lost, etc. I DO wish the map had more body bags I could spread around, though.:-)

Ended up going with something else already. But that escort trick might come in handy in other circumstances. Thanks for the tip!

P.S. Updated Comrade text in Hollow Victory to account for actually rescuing him. Rather than him being dead, he's in a coma. Small victories...:-) Mobius 4 is about halfway done (mishes 1-3 done and tested). Opening seems solid. Just mulling over options for 4-5. It's possible to end this one at 4, with something of a cliffhanger, but not sure about that yet. Speaking of what awaits in 4: *The return of characters from Ordinary People (mainly as background characters). *The first onscreen appearance of The Five. *The story of the Mobius Strip. And maybe more. I'm still mulling. Thanks to those who've stuck with it thus far.

Mish #1=removed burning AP map. Went for something smaller and simpler. No timer. Scaredy-cats everywhere may now rejoice.:-) Seems to be okay, but you'll have to let me know.

They did! For example, Maven was solid and inspirational. Axios was imposing. HvH was a moron...(kidding).:-) I remember these guys more than I do the mishes - which speaks (less to) my shitty memory and (more so) the memorable nature of the team. Well, I remember them and "carriage return.":-)

I don't think I have a definite process. But the one I keep returning to is just a simple AR/Tac Arrow blaster (with Presence and Munitions as [hardly-used] secondaries). He's not going to outshine anyone, but can always find a way to contribute something to a team (slows, stuns, knockdown [through slotting], flash arrow, etc.). Plus, he moves quick (within the bounds of concept, so Athletics+Sprint+Infiltration), has fast recharge, and never runs out of endurance (and rarely runs low). I like my staff scrapper, as well. He's fairly tough, quick and fun. It's probably easier for me to name what won't be on my "you're the one list," which includes: anything where I have to actively monitor teammates so I can buff/boost/heal them (I'm just no good at tracking this - I want to shoot/hit stuff) ; any powerset that has multiple area-target AoE's (the ones where you have to choose the spot on the ground, which is problematic if you're on a speeding bullet team, and you have 60-year old reflexes); and Masterminds (I don't like pet management). So, arrows, guns, and sticks -- I guess I'm just an unimaginative, lazy ass player.:-)

Speaking or thinking for the character. Like instead of accept text, Listen to Positron, you have the character speak (Just tell me where to go!). I'm not sure where he got the term.

It's also waaaaay out of my comfort zone. I've used a few outdoor maps here and there, but, most of the time, it's just not in my wheelhouse (and it shows). All of them strike me as pretty good for "Gather X/# of ___________," or "Close the Portals! (54 to go)." Multiple copies of single items (MCSI). Reminds me: early on, when I tried to do these MCSI's (4 Computers to go!), @Kyksie (who used to review these things regularly) hammered me on needless glowies. He was right, so I amended that practice, to the point where I haven't done many since (if at all). I still haven't completely gotten away from breaking the ocelot rule, though.:-)