cranebump

I’m going to go through it again, just to see if I missed anything. I did look up the title. It’s Brit singer Paloma Faith’s song, I believe? Still makes no sense to me, considering the initial espionage tone and content of the piece (though I gusss it applies to info in the cut scene?). That said the contacts name is Gaelic, and they employ some UK speech patterns (like saying “…,yeah?” at the end of a sentence). Between that and the Faith ref, we got a lot of UK going here. Is our author from there, or are these just character conventions?:-) The next day... AFTER A 3RD RUN AND RECONSIDERATION: Most of my initial impressions still stand. It's a very well constructed arc with a bit of new shiny to it. The lore-grounded story itself isn't anything novel, though the law office ending is, in that the hero does a lot of stuff for nothing (sometimes the bad guys win). Unfortunately, this kind of "cliffhanger" is just not a satisfying payoff. When the story is extended, however, it will be much easier to push that into the background (unless we get another chatty finale, which I doubt). Anyway, the Devs did promise Hero Corps, and that's what we got. At least one person I know got their character included in the story (good for you @Six-Six).:-) (Before I forget: props for sending us to Booms. That zone gets very little love.) ALSO: As noted WAAAAY above by the strikethrough, I'm withdrawing my "weak sister" comment (that belongs to Piecemeal's personal story, a flashy, very well done, but overly long lore dump).

Well, since you asked...:-) [Bear in mind, I think this arc is well constructed, albeit hollow in some ways...and I really hate the title]:-) I felt like THE major features of this arc were the (a) AE "Holodeck" (aka "run to the next cut scene), and (b) the non-finale finale. For (a) it felt - to me - like a test run for future scripting tools (EX: vig merits; in-mish "live" cut scenes). As for (b), I was most definitely let down by the irresolution of the whole thing. I think that, since this is official content, the whole damned story should be there. I'd rather they'd waited and given me the whole thing. I also just didn't give a shit about the NPCs in the hallway (mainly because I was so caught off guard by the last mish being only a cut scene). I chatted with @Darmian about this aspect a couple days ago, and he offered a good, albeit unconfirmed reason why the NPCs are there (which, if Darm's reason isn't the actual reason, then all that talk to the NPC shit is just a vanity exercise). recalled there was a community submissions contest for HC characters, which were promised to be included in forthcoming releases related to a resurgence of the Corps. One of these player submissions is in the room. I'm not sure about the rest of them, though they're obviously guards for the principals in the meeting. But, other than granting a bit of ancillary info and a bit of foreshadowing (for the reintroduction of a relevant Hero Corps, I assume?), I don't think the arc needed them. They're window-dressing, mainly. I'm totally with you @Zhym, on your observation about the needless Defeat All (what was the point there?). I DID like using the chopper as a mish door (good idea there). As for the "talk to," my interest was piqued when I was sent to see the AE tech (that's new!). Then the "holodeck" thing followed, which was cool, except the red stars didn't go away when the cut scene was done (also, when I did this on a team on my 2nd run, I don't think they read anything, or had an NPC box open, or anything -- they were wondering why when they clicked, the next one wasn't active [which I explained for them, having run the thing solo already]). I clicked on the glitch at the behest of my team. Nothing spawned on top of us, so we left (so a bit of letdown, brought about by location). There's also some objective text that needs to be edited (when obj switches from plural to singular -- can't recall the exact wording at this point). So, overall? It's a a decent story (or framework for one), with an interesting, (for now) unique feature in the middle, that leaves you with a tepid cliffhanger. Writing is clean. Main contact is well drawn. Some good jokes! Story is pretty straightforward. SOLIDLY tied into lore (Revenant hero project for one thing). Mechanically solid. Some tough bosses (unless you run your tough tank, like I did on run #3). It also introduces several interesting mechanical effects, but having reflected on it, I get the sense the designer got sidetracked by indulging in too many "Wouldn't it be cool if" ideas they had. (holodeck, big cut scene at end [untraditional, and unsatisfying], a bunch of NPCs to talk to [I didn't talk to all of them so I can't say if they had anything to do with the actual plot], cloned hero corps baddies [that you don't have to fight]).* Now, if the WHOLE story were released, and I could progress to the next mish(es) (and preferably, to a real finale), it would feel a whole lot different, I think. But alas. For all the innovation that's here, there's too much of a dependence on the shiny, making this - for me - the weak sister of the new content. an unsatisfying experience overall. We need the follow-on arc/finale. Then maybe we can more accurately determine the true quality of this unfinished tale. For now, it's (well-constructed) bog standard stuff with some sparkly widgets to set it apart. I wish I knew why we couldn't get the whole story. *In a way, it was like experiencing the work of a competent author who has access to fancy new tools, wanting to use them all, rather than only the tools they needed. I imagine if I had some shiny tools, I might go a little overboard using them, as well. Maybe. (I hope not) That said, if you're gonna have these tools, you better create something as good or better than us amateurs plodding along with videotape, while you've gone digital. If the main thing is the special effects, then I think we missed an opportunity. FYI: I LOVED being able to get Vig credits in mish. That was pretty cool (and was also part of the "we're testing some stuff" impression I got).

Mogwai’s been captured.

In Kyksie's defense, this is posted as a "story arc," not a farm. It's hard to properly critique a story if there's no story. It sounds like what you wanted was feedback on the mechanical aspects of design (and maybe some comments on where it lands, in terms of difficulty)? That said, he did give you feedback from a soloist's perspective, which may prove useful to you, since there are AE soloists out there (more than AE teams, I'd wager). And you did say you welcomed any feedback, so... For me, I'm curious about your aim in creating the arc. You recommend +4/x8. Am I to assume this is a challenge arc (esp since there are multiple EB's/EVs in one location)? If so, that will need to be a part of your arc description. If the main objective of the arc is to be challenging, and players know that going in, you'll hear fewer complaints (if any) from those who play it. And those who avoid arcs simply for challenge's sake (like me), will be warned off from playing it (unless I'm feeling uncharacteristically chippy that day).:-) Beyond all this, I'd say that, when you submit a story for feedback, the more you've completed, the more useful your feedback will be (and the more ground it will cover). Right now, you're asking for reviews of "optimizing gameplay flow." I'm assuming this has to do with spawn placement, objective chains and the like (and difficulty). I would offer here that you can usually self-test most mechanical aspects by simply running and rerunning the arc, using different AT's at different levels (for team play, you'd have to recruit testers). I would say that there's an expectation on the part of the player that the designer has done at least that (made multiple test runs, in varying contexts*) before posting a story arc (farms? who gives a sh*t. things can be anywhere). Kyksie's demands of actually experiencing a full story arc, for one that is advertised as such, isn't an unreasonable expectation, especially if you're wanting feedback. FYI: such things as desc's for custom minions, contact verbiage, dialogue, etc., are minimum expectations for someone experiencing a story arc (as is the assumption on the part of the player that the designer has done due diligence on the mechanical aspects I already mentioned (making multiple run-throughs to check proper objective placement/spawns/flow, etc). The burdens on the writer are enormous. All I can say is, when you shirk any of them, people notice. And they tell you about it.:-) Good Luck! *this is why I design for soloists -- you don't have to get a team to test an arc that's designed for one.

Thugs change appearance with each summons, I think. I just ran my MM this evening, and had different types of Thugs each time they showed up. Think the same thing happened when I changed zones even. They were different. Well...except for that flame blowing guy, who always seems to he a readheaded douche.:-)

Are the street mobs in Talos retrofitted?

No kidding. I ran a couple DFBs with a new Sentinel. Half of each team were Marines. We beat up the bad guys while taking a bubble bath. Our theme song was Rubber Ducky. (Well…it should’ve been).

Well now, that’s a damned shame, since you’re completing a mish while getting the credit. Oh, well.I thought it was sorta cool anyway.

You can gain Vigilante credits in the new Steel mish by doing the optional objectives. Just found that out today.

I’ve used them as enemy bosses. They worked.

Spike Lee?

Petrapine for stone/spines. master of disguise: maybe do a bit of googling mythology.

True. Though playing all the way through the alignment mish grants you merits (and various badges, I think). There's also alignment powers that can be handy, in some instances. I have a troller who has the Duplicity power. She has 2 other confuses, so it got folded into the chain (giving her 3 AoE confuses iirc). That said, I think you get the alignment abilities (over time) pretty much by staying in alignment?

With my weaker toons, I can usually insp him to death. Provided I can avoid flying across the map. (BOOM!)

Calvin Scott. Mines everywhere. Nowhere. To. Run! (sorry…the sentiment expressed here activated my PTSD):-)

It’s because AE kicks me out lately when I build mishes longer than 3. I have regular crashes while in the editor. Don’t know whether it’s due to too many customs or what. The other reason is to switch contacts, though that wasn’t my original intention here.

Got a jump on the follow-up to Stalking the Detectives. I will say the story is taking a strange turn, mainly due to:

I just finished the Unity Plague arc from Pasterelli. At the end, you have to deliver it to various contacts. I used SG portals to hope zone to zone, since they often brought me out right next to the delivery contact, or very close to it. Unfortunately, I did not realize at first that this part of the arc spawns ambushes (I was there and gone that quickly). I must therefore apologize to anyone in AP, KR, Sky, etc., who may have run into the L35 DE/Council I may have left in my wake.:-) ((On the other hand, I'm sure Cit, Pos, Yin, etc. handled them just fine) (fingers crossed)

The Fog Minotaur. Our version of the Kobayashi Maru.

Understood, my friend. We'll be waiting!

I didn't think about the Star entry on a clear. Perhaps I should change the label? (and I still don't know exactly where to go next with this story [in a way that's unexpected]).

Heh. Indeed. Of course, seeing as how folks can self-select their level of challenge, via notoriety and self-imposed limitations (EX: no sets, no temp powers, nothing from START vendor, and so on), I feel like this is pretty much covered. I do wish there were more work done on the low end of the spectrum. By that I mean the 10-30 experience.* But that, too, is addressed in a lot of player-created content (that few people play). Fact is, the options are there. The Devs are focusing on where the majority of the population seems to be, which is the higher level content. This is great if your standard approach is to join the uber-build arms race (which seems to be almost mandatory, if you want any sort of satisfactory play at higher levels). That said, there's just tons of content available for those who want a slower approach. As for challenge, this, too, is mostly in the hands of the players. *though, to be fair, we DO have new content in the 20-30 range, EX's Watkins and the new Striga contacts.

Just finished the Nelson arc with a L35 Archery/WP Sent. Those transforming Vamp-Wolf things are tough. A combo of insps, stuns from arrow and cross punch, and some jousting/position and I was able to take them down without much trouble. But they're definitely tougher than in the past. Pretty sure I got teleported next to one of them, which was a shock.

I wish it was blood mixed with gravy.

I'm in the @tidge camp. Unless I'm running my slowplay toon. And spending a mill on Mish TP is a big hit on a guy whose livelihood depends on crafting and selling dropped recipes for $$. On that: My slow play (primarily) solo, pseudo-old school toon collects all the explore badges when he unlocks a new zone (also does radios in each new zone to get the bank mish). With him, I'll tool around to the explore badges as I head toward the mish. Speaking of: Crey's Folly is much larger than I thought (and the purple Freaks employ grey guards on their watchtowers for some reason [handy, if your mish is to defeat 35 Freaks while you're hopping hither and thither).