cranebump

From the SFMA perspective (bearing in mind I haven't yet done any new scripting with the update): *New maps and additional enemies is always nice. *New usable powersets is GREAT. Access to some things within the sets (like sniper attacks) is also Tony the Tiger great. *I do not plan on using the Advanced Custom Enemies function at the moment. First, players will not get XPs for these (for reasons explained in the patch notes). Now, I'm sure anyone running what I write isn't thinking about XP's, but, seeing as how I can't personally reward anyone in anyway, I'd rather not give them nothing. What I'd still like is the ability to place objectives in specific locations, so that wonky spawns don't move things around. Feel like I spend a bit of time fiddling with #/objectives just to get consistency of placement. When it does happen, if feels like a miracle (esp. if it happens early in testing). All the above stuff is very nice to have. But fine control over where the stuff goes would make life a bit easier if you're doing something other than farm mishes.

Well, gang, there's been some new stuff thanks to the update. And just because of the change to Invul, I'm finally gonna do something I've never done: a plain ol' Inv/SS Tank. Thinking about a different path for this amored weirdo. Maybe doing all the bank mishes this time. Right now, he's on overwatch in The Hollows. I mean, nobody seems to own these towers, so...maybe he'll set up a house there.:-) Oh, yeah...went with the new Blitz stance, so he looks like he's determined to ram his head into everything. Fits. Also switched that yellow to orange. Why? Hell if I know. Maybe he likes shiny, orange briefs.

So THEY don’t get pissy? hoookay… Speaking of, shouldn’t this be a private discussion with them? The general population can’t do much when it comes to responding to what sounds like an official complaint.

Well...it had to happen sometime... That's a well-deserved bow for the Sergeant-Major. First to 50! (had to race the hell outa of Omega Fury, but we did it!):-)

Hey there, posse! If you're looking for a little more oomph for your Rider, we now have a decent selection of IO sets. Your friendly neighborhood Sergeant-Major has been crafting away, and here's a snapshot of what you can grab from IO storage: 5 Tempered readiness (first 2 are L39, last one is 48, so you'd need to add over time). 2 Steadfast protection (these are lowbie recipes, L14/15-+1.5% recovery though!) 2 Exploit Weakness (Ls 38 and 39 - get a 3% movement bump) 2 Efficacy Adapters (these are L21 and 29, so they're spread out. but a good start to the set) 2 Brilliant Leadership (Got Pets? You can slot these L18 and 19 to get +4% Regen) 2 Befuddling Aura (get a small bump to rec [+1%] with your Confuse powers) 2 Analyze Weakness (Ls 36 and 39. +10% regen!) Don't seem like much, I supposed, but we're talking about working with drops, so it's like panning for gold. Assuming I can get some orange Magic salvage, Acro is carrying 2 Perfect Zingers in the 40s for some lucky tank. Get a boost versus toxix, psionic and mez! Now, back to the grind We're 1 bar from 49. Hoping to pop the ultimate today! Vaya Con Carne, all. Crane

One of the dark armor auras will give you a sort of smoky look. Or nix your idea and maybe do a rescue. Or level everything down to fit the pirate. Or just change the rescue target to fit the level. yeah…sometimes AE writes YOU…:-)

a) Millie Dixon (thought I thought the game was "porn star name" [which makes my wife's moniker of Oscar Old Route 30 pretty damned funny]). b) Pretty goddamned rich, man (I'd waste it all on sets for potential toons I'd never make).

Oh, if only that were a reasonable expectation...:-)

I'm thinking someone who is adamantly anti-farm/multibox/whatever-isn't-traditional doesn't see these things as merely using a hypermodern opening, but rather they see such things as analogous to adding pieces to the board prior to play, leading to a much easier checkmate (to the point, I suppose, that playing the entire game is moot). Like a player is breaking the rules to achieve victory or something. The notion seems to be that Coh's "board and pieces" are (or should be) fixed, so that, whether playing trad or 960, it's always the same basic composition. In this context, their argument would be, you're introducing elements that don't belong in the game. Get those extra Queens outta here! Thing is, though, since all that everyone does is doable within the confines of the game (its "rules and board"), and players themselves are simply using what's there, the argument doesn't apply. Further, whatever it is that constitutes checkmate is variable, as well. The engine does what it's designed to do. Players decide what challenges they want to face, at whatever level of difficulty (or ease) they want. The only thing everyone gets is the same passel of rewards, some of which some players never even bother to pursue (while other rewards, some players pursue with laser-like precision). What they're asking, as Ukase and others have pretty much stated, is to enforce one victory condition, independent of the freedom the game allows. My only response to this is careful what you wish for.

Have to agree with this. And it makes sense you should be able to solo (most) everything. Now, I'd prefer to run more things on teams, preferably at a moderate pace, with teams of friends. I even miss the travel from one point to the next. Mish pops up, and everyone heads out, using their various modes of transport (feels cool to see the flyers take off, the speedsters launch down the roadways, and the ground pounders running and leaping along their way). I like seeing the map reveal itself as I/we explore more and more parts of the city. But, as has already been noted, it's entertainment, and that's what entertains me. Not everybody else. I don't get the allure of just farming, or playing the market, or basically just gathering Inf. Then again, I don't have to. There's room enough for people who do get it to do that. So, to each their own. Which means I don't really see a debate here, since no one is going to change anyone's mind on what's subjectively fun for them. I kind of wish this entire thread would just go away, but I guess this type of discussion is also someone's version of fun. Just hoping we don't see some sort of weird turn that makes it to where I (and others like me) can't use AE to script SFMA arcs anymore.

Sure thing. You're still welcome for the invite to full access the base and all, though, if you want. Have a great run!

Jab? Looks like a strong right cross now.:-)

I am indeed in charge of the chaos that is The Long Riders. 🙂 I also was a part of the 2004 Reenactors, but not in charge. As far as SG stuff goes, it's harrrrrrrrrrrrd to get everyone together. My play time throughout the academic year here tends to be in the morning (Fridays). I try to maintain a semi-regular run on Thursday nights, but it doesn't always happen. That said, we're always looking for folks interested in the grind. We have a fairly well-apportioned base (that could stull use a dress-up from someone who likes that stuff, and is good at it [which means, not really me]). It does have the telepads you'd be wanting, bit of storage, crafting bench - all the basics. All the folks in the SG are great - when you run into them. Last event I attempted to organize was Karsis in The Hollows. We had a couple Riders and a couple other stalwarts from the Torch population. Game effort, but we tried to grind it, didn't finish it. Still have the contact, though, so I'm hoping we get another shot at that sucker. Anyhoo, you can hit me up in game for an invite if you want to give it a run. In the meantime, happy trails and H'YAH, MULE! H'YAH!

Well…I guess Crey is sorta A.I.M.

n wKeep the map, for sure. I am thinking someone with a better memory will find it quicker than I did. I sort of knew where it was but for some reason I just couldn’t find the dang thing. I mean it’s not like it moves. Shoot I didn’t catch that the big boss at the end was optional. I will pay more attention to it when I do my second run through. I suspect that will be this week, possibly Friday. The missing description on your custom critters might’ve just been from one of them. Some of them did have them. As far as theywayghey performed, I do know that if I didn’t manage to knock down or stay on one of them that if I drew the group I had to be very careful but I think that’s kind of the way you would want things to be with customs. Shows some surgery and just enough danger. Of course, this wasn’t an incarnate I ran. Anyway, no issues with the critters in general. I just happened to catch that one of them was the default description for minions. As for putting the title coloring red, that’s totally a stylistic decision. You always want to stick with your vision if you’re certain that it fits what you’re shooting for. As with any advice anyone gives you, unless it’s something to do with the mission having problems mechanically, then they’re all just suggestions and should obviously be treated as such. The big thing is that, when you play your arc, it doesn’t look like it was just hacked through. Because it’s very cleanly done, there’s some attention to detail, there’s a very consistent tone all the way through, and a distinct voice and the way you present your material. If this is a first effort I think you should be proud of what you’ve got so far. keep it up!

Stealth doesn't have to mean speed. In fact, it really shouldn't, as far as mishes go. That said, I think you're right in terms of, were such a thing put into the scripting engine, someone somewhere would come up with a way to turn it into shit (and then defend their actions as "part of the game").

Of course, going back to Vigilante means the populace has some issues with you: Hey! I had VERY compelling reasons for all that. Here...take my pamphlet...Vigilante-ism for dummies.

I'm thinking you're right about puzzles. Not that I'd ever even try to design one. Not in my wheelhouse. But rewards come from bashing, so, unless there's another way to reward not bashing, stealthing's only going to be the province of solo play and zippy TF's. You know, since you CAN drop in an over leveled/powered bad guy (I think), stealthing, then running like hell to get out might be interesting. That jibes with your Do not get seen objective.

Yeah...guerilla filmmaking, right?

Wouldn't it be nice to reward stealth?

Getting a start on dem tips. Never know who's gonna show up. In this case Blast Furnace. Thanks, bronnaise. Well, THU eve isn't the awesomest game time for everbody. I mean I have Fridays off, of course.:-) Anyway, the slow path is a rough path, and often a lonesome path. Which can lead you to go a bit, um...semi-crackers? As in: I'm sorry, drone-bro. For some reason you guys can't join SG's. Ain't my fault. Yeah...I'm interacting with a drone. I blame saddle rash. Evidently I was prescient, because, after all the Vig mishes, my morality mish has me freeing Furnace, and fighting my former "buddy" (with their +1):

Riders! I’ll be scouring the city for evil doers this evening. Probably be on around 1830 EST (USA). Tonight? Tips in the Row. It’s all gray area there ain’t it? That means Vig mishes! Hope you can join. H’YAH!

Short run through hero tips tonight with my good buddy Omega Fury! Er...Acrobattle is the little guy..ahem... A bit of Rikti non-lovin'. While he works, I break dance.:-)

Okay, Mish 2 took for-EV-er, bc I couldn't easily see the cave entrance. So I cleared the outside map, then rambled around. Customs were easy...when I stunned them with grenades and such. Got raked a few times, but no deaths. I liked how I got the next clue (G don't talk, yo). Customs were well made. Interesting costumes. It doesn't feel Nemesis-like, but the tone of the arc is pretty light, so...nice change of pace. M3 Formatting: One carriage return is sufficient. And I've got to face ******* (no spoilers)? Shiiiiiit...okay, we'll see if squishy is up to it. If not, it's a reload and finish another night. What the...? Why is M**** here? WHA? Both things are absolutely true, as in None and If you say so, bro.:-) (nice touch) This tells me you want to run L50-54, so if you can skew up that way with all mishes, I would. Variety of foes is interesting, bc the drop chutes space them out. Good spawns. So, anyway, I have a big brawl with the boss. Used Insps to make it interesting, then got canked. Bit out of my league, so will need a rerun with a 50+ I feel. So, reloading... Thus far: *Uses some classic maps. *Light tone. Could be a refreshing change of pace, or a put off, depending on player tastes. Always a gamble with tone, but you have to dance with whut brung ya, so...go with your natural style. *VERY clean. Didn't find a typo. *Some great jokes. *Was a challenge for my itty bitty blaster. I play pretty safe and, I think, smart (unless I'm running with friends, then I screw up and cause them all sorts of pain).:-) I don't know if this is a first effort or not, but it's very well done if it is. Obviously needs a minor polish. I'm going to drag an incarnate through it the 2nd time to actually finish it. Good bones! Well done. Crane

Shadowy form of Rick Sterling, a L27 blaster with no fancy IOs. Why? If he can handle it, the average toon will. He really believes in that statement, above, btw...:-) And we're off Captain Castillo! Nice choice. I mean, I hate the mf'er, but the last thing you want is "meh..." TEXT NOTE: I'd go with sky blue on your Arc title. Resembles in-game mish text. Not a big deal, though. Your arc. I like Castillo's text. Stays pretty true to his arrogance. I'm not sure he'd say bestest, however, without catching himself (Why, yes, 'bestest' IS the correct superlative...(ahem)). Nitpick, though. No typos! Put your mish title in colored text, preferably one that matches the color of the title. Title looks bolded and large, which is the perfect way to distinguish it. I like the euphemisms: Send them my regards, i.e., kick the living shit out of them.:-) Heh..funny joke on entry (dam puns) Nice touch here: Damn right I will...:-) By the way this was just AFTER she put me on my squishy blaster back. Nice dialogue clues to "G's" actual nature. Enjoyed the HAL ref.:-) Wrapped up pretty easily, thanks to my Taser (stun is so nice). Very clean and straightforward. Quick first mishes are nice. Gets me to dive right in. M2 Okay, so you gave directions in the Nav before I even entered. I'm assuming the map I'm on will tell me why. Tbh, I'd rather get the info once in mish, but let's see how this plays out. Oh...THAT map.. Okay I get it. But..I'd use Mission Entry Popup to give the player directions. Latest intel shows that G is located at... You're not currently using it for anything else. It will unclutter your Nav Mish Verbiage, and still push me where you want me to go. Give your customs some sort of write-up. Even if it's a supposition Ex: Well, this Nemesis experiment may explain the local beef shortage Okay I see the "DINO-SAW-ER!" has a write up. Humorous...? But also...weird...We'll see how this fits in, plot-wise. (continued)