[The Freedom Phalanx: why the hatred?]

13 hours ago, Snarky said:

Positron is an Alpha Male Prick.  Citadel is one of the least imaginative TF I have ever seen, and he has BO.  Manticore is a whiny bitch.  Numina is deeply involved in the Midnight Squad cult, and even villains don't trust those pricks.  P Yin is batshit crazy in EVERY incarnation. Synapse is a Crey operative.  They all put on goody two shoe airs while telling everyone else how to live and by what rules, rules they themselves break.

 

You can take the Snarky out of Redside…

[Compiled Dev Choice Awards for HC. (ongoing)]

Amen my friend

[What is your personal duo/trinity?]

A Tank and damned near anything else. I guess if I had to get specific it'd be a Fiery Aura/Dark Melee, backed up by a Rad/Rad Defender. Why? How the hell should I know?:-)

[How do you feel about 'lone wolfing'?]

53 minutes ago, Krimson said:

That's a byproduct of the society we live in. We are constantly conditioned to view things as either/or or neither/nor, and told that things either have to be good or bad. Human perception is shaped by the illusions of society from birth to the point where we don't even question our existence, we just accept that the view is how it is and how it should be.

No. I'm sorry. You're completely wrong. /jranger and all that shit.

 

(kidding):-)

[Thoughts on Fold Space Etiquette on Leagues and Teams]

Man, am I off topic here, but do any of the enemies port you to them? I figure yes, because TP protection is a thing you can slot for. But I can't recall any foes who actually do it. 

 

On topic: Feel like Fold Space presents more problems than it solves (I'm not sure, actually that it solves anything other than cherrypicking a boss out of a mob, or making it to where people don't have to actually, you know, walk over to the enemy). I know FS can be a HUGE pain in the ass for toons with targeted patches or PB AoE's (unless you're coordinating the timing, or can figure out the user's pattern). For the one toon I have that has something like it (Wormhole), I've decided that, on teams, it's just more trouble than it's worth. Better to just lock down stuff and support the scrum. On the whole, I'd be fine with FS just disappearing as a pool power. Then you'd still see it, but on specific ATs/powersets, where it makes thematic sense.

[How do you feel about 'lone wolfing'?]

3 hours ago, Scarlet Shocker said:

TL/DR: If you're good enough to solo, solo. If you want to team, team.

What? I can't solo on a team?:-)

 

(agreed, btw).:-)

[Passive Aggressive Behavior]

7 hours ago, lemming said:

Yea, that wasn't PA, that was being a jerk.

Beat me to it. 🙂

[Is it rude to suck at CoX?]

The community seems to be pretty forgiving. I know that Cit TF I was on this morning was, while I was trying to figure out how to target wormhole on my Troller.:-)

[Do you pay attention to what your team is doing?]

I pay attention. Especially if, as usual, I’m running a support or ranged toon.

[Discussion: Increase Mission Completion Rewards Significantly]

I approve of these messages.

[Posi 1 - Becoming the PuG]

As previously noted, group composition makes the Dopp fight in Pos1 range from cakewalk to faceplant, depending on composition. However, one thing I am certain of...

 

KILL THE GD MARINE TOONS FIRST! KILLKILLKILLKILL!

 

 

 

[Crane's Short Reviews]

CONTRACT: Indentured Insurgents [ID 54163] by @Dracses

This 2023, 3-mission, L24-30 arc places you in the role of mercenary stepping into a situation involving everyone’s favorite bomb-tossing miners and Arachnos. You start out by “subduing” the Scrappies while rescuing a supervisor. Your services are then retained to look further into things, where, of course, it’s Transformer-ville (er…more than meets the eye).

 

Clever use of: friendly bosses to deliver ambiance; friendly Defend Object as critter spawners; ambushes to keep you on your toes; renaming of supplies as “Protester Barricades” [liked that one a lot]); protester banter; the rivalry between the contact and and an NPC named Milano (Extra points for an American Psycho ref [“fancy business cards”):-); enemy bosses delivering key plot details (so that don’t you don't get massive text pop ups all over the screen (since it triggers by engaging the non-objective boss directly); reskinning objects to fit the story. Just lots of nice little details. 

 

Design issues? Oh, yeah. There’s an incomplete clue in M1 (“Some of the protesters mentioned…” and we never find out who). Repetition of popup and end mish text (both M1 and M2 had this–they end pop and the mish end text is exactly the same). LOOOONG activation timers on final mish glowies (15 seconds. Each). A passel of glowies with no end text (M2). Missing search bar text on the actual M2 glowie objective, followed by Find Mission Exit, but nothing much to fight through (nothing that I saw anyway). Then there’s the past-tense mention of by the contact in M3 of what is ACTUALLY being mined, while I saw no clue of this in the mish preceding it , leading to the exchange: “Remember, we’re mining __________.” (Remember? This is the first I’ve heard of it!). Oh, and…a cake map. Boo.:-)

 

On the whole, I LIKE this story idea. A LOT. I like that the text is clean and clear (edited). I like seeing the Scrapyarders. The plot twist is pretty clever, too. There’s great development of the contact’s personality, and really nice scene setting in M1. But, on the whole, it just not finished yet. Minor design flaws prevent this from shining as bright as it could. As such, we have a Seal of Approval with a very nice sheen on one side, while the other could stand a burnish.

 

PLAY THIS IF: You like to mix it up with Scrapyarders. You're a fan of good character writing. You like glowing green crystals. 

 

NOTE: @Dracses has a dozen stories, many of them created in 2024. Making a note to try another sometime.

[Happy Earth Wind and Fire Day]

Everybody remember?:-)

[Aggravated]

52 minutes ago, Snarky said:

asking people not to use Foldspace is a lost cause

 

asking people not to be stupid using Foldspace is, again, a lost cause

It is, and I’ve seen it used effectively by tanks. But man, when I see it, I still think, “Holy cow…we have now become too lazy to even go to the groups.” 
 

Foldspace=superhero Door Dash?

[Aggravated]

Never ending storrrrrr-eeeeee! (La dadadedada)

 

Sorry. This thread just keeps round round right round. Like a…a…well, a something.

 

(but really, how hard is it to just turn off GF, finish the TF, then move on?)

[TerroirNoir's "Cable Channel of AE!" Reviews. Part 2.]

3 hours ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

Or that teaching position in Hero Corps!

Such a cushy job. You get tenure in 6 minutes. All you have to do is survive the Hami solo run.:-)

[Crane's 50th arc]

Changed Mesmer to Boss Only.

 

Removed $name tag from Knives boss.

[Crane's World]

35 minutes ago, SeraphimKensai said:

 

It was pretty fun, even when facing three groups at once that had bosses either running hurricane and dropping freezing rain/snowstorm or running lightning field and sapping endurance while complimented by minions that shot out swarms of bees and lieutenants stacking trip mines all over.

Heh. "Fun," eh?:-)

 

Team experience is SO much different than solo. I find feedback like that fascinating. What's a bit of a cakewalk on default is suddenly an uh-oh...

 

Priceless stuff. Thanks again!

[Crane's Short Reviews]

Slow on the updates here. My work week expanded from 4 days to 5, and requires a great deal more brainspace than before. Should be back in the swing of it soon.

 

(but man, am I tired of being tired...it's ridiculous).

[Crane's World]

Did an update of the big list to include Thirty Thousand Seconds. 

 

Also got some feedback on a recent team run of Leviathan by @SeraphimKensai. That BEWARE: CUSTOM POWERS warning is, evidently, da truth.:-)  

[Crane's 50th arc]

On 9/8/2024 at 10:32 AM, Clave Dark 5 said:

Damn, and here I am sweating away on like my... seventh?

My stuff is much simpler than what you do, my friend.:-)

[Crane's 50th arc]

Shoot. I thought Mesmer was boss only. Definitely need to fix that.

 

I'll check the $name function. I did notice that, but thought maybe it was just a glitch. I'll put it on the list to fix..

 

Thanks much!

[Adding an ally]

If you set the map enemies to empty, then set the ally surrounding group to empty (and then “single” if it appears), they will be auto-rescued. You’ll then just need to go to them to pick them up and have them follow.

 

as for your map, you can populate with patrols, bosses, destroy object, etc. 

[Crane's 50th arc]

Thirty Thousand Seconds [ID: 64072] L44-50

Trapped in a psychic cage by a powerful villain, you assume the identity of the legendary Aristotle Frost, navigating your way through the last hours leading to his tragic fall.

 

No notes or spoilers or anything for this one. 

Not the usual noir, or intricate semi-real world intrigue. But (perhaps) a veil of tears -- in 4 parts.:-)

It's intended to be soloed.  Hope you like it. (and, uh...lemme know what typos I have THIS time).:-)

 

Thanks for the support,

Crane

[A Common Theme - Contacting [appropriately] new players or old players returning...]

Sure, there can be mitigating factors (like technical ones) for someone on your team just not responding to important communications. But someone hopping on a team, then intentionally choosing not to respond to reasonable comms isn't exercising a "playstyle." This is a behavior called, um, I think the technical term is...Oh, yes!  "Being a dick."

 

Nailed it in one!:-)