cranebump
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Posts posted by cranebump
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And the chess match moves into the endgame:-)
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One of the Faultline crew said come back at 40? That’s strange.
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25 minutes ago, ImperialZombie7 said:
Hi! Does it matter which order i do the arcs in?
Yes. The order they provided, above, should do it. You get introduced to key players that you run into again later on.
Gonna chime in with @Zhym by suggesting actually playing through the arcs as you level (perhaps in the future). The story will then unfold for you in order. You don’t really need a “good build” for most story content (though the FL arcs do have some tough bosses who could be an issue, depending on AT/experience).
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11 hours ago, Kyksie said:
Anyway if this was a user-submitted AE I'd be rating it three kicks out of five or something like that.
If this were somehow accomplished with the AE tools we currently, I'd give it a 50.:-)
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The middle and finale arcs are complete:
Part 2: A Vendetta for V (63158)
Part 3: Veillance (63459)
STILL having issues when I add a 4th mish to any arc I do, but I DID manage to shoehorn it in in the finale.
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Lord Recluse welcomes your feedback. Our customer support team will be in touch. REAL soon...*
(*obviously, I have nothing worthwhile to offer):-)
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Ran with an actual L20, an AR/TA blaster with no IO sets. Comments and suggestions in spoilers section, below:
Spoiler*I'd advise you to construct a full arc before asking for reviews. That way you get story feedback. It's hard to provide much feedback if there isn't much there to being with.
*What's here is solidly constructed, albeit very basic. This is a good thing. A basic mission, with few and simple objectives is the best place to start in AE. As is keeping your customs to a minimum early on. Saves you work and time, and avoids balance issues that come when you start fiddling with custom power choices. Overall, this is a very solid mission, with a few minor issues (see below).
TWEAKS AND STUFF:
*Color Code your title and sub titles. Since this is a heroic arc, I'd suggest bold-faced Sky Blue for the arc title, and plain sky blue for the sub title. Sets it apart.
*Any particular reason why this needs to be set in a completely different universe? Just curious, since we're fighting Outcasts. Why is my character in the "Hobokenverse?"
*Sherminator: "You're really starting.." rather than "Your really starting..." Also the dec text about his eyes being empty of empathy is awkward. Simplify it a bit. Something like, "His eyes are as devoid of empathy as his body is devoid of humanity." Or just "His cold, dead, unempathetic mien is accentuated by his inhuman, mechanical appearance." Also: "Time wont stop with me Fleshbag"=should be "won't" and "fleshbag" (since it's not a proper name). Also, I'm not sure what his "mouse" comment was about there (??)
*Defeat all: typically not the best objective to use, since players don't like to have to hunt down everything. But I feel like it's okay on this map, since it's fairly open and straighforward. Narratively, we've been asked to clear it, so it makes sense.
*End text: "hope she got out of there ok"=should be "okay." They're grammatically interchangeable (or so I've read), but usually "OK" (all caps) is something someone says as an acknowledgement, whereas "okay" tends to be used as a status description. Plus "OK" just looks weird in this context, because it's all caps and just jumps out.
That's about all I could find. You have a good setup on Mish 2, wince the captain kept the hero's info to call on them again. You'll now want to think about story. What's the next step? Are we just carrying the bags for the cops here? Is there a more sinister game afoot? Whatever you decided, keep it clear and simple.
And make sure to edit closely.:-)'
Good luck,
Crane
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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).
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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).
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Mogwai’s been captured.
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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.
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4 hours ago, pawstruck said:
What we get are generic white kids with weird hair that shoot guns... And a Bruiser that looks like Back-Alley Brawler's preemie brother.
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.:-)
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Are the street mobs in Talos retrofitted?
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4 hours ago, Snarky said:
Why does Atlas smell like seawater?
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).
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6 hours ago, lemming said:
Yes, but alignment credits don't count toward the badge. Tip Missions completed count toward the badge
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.
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You can gain Vigilante credits in the new Steel mish by doing the optional objectives. Just found that out today.
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I’ve used them as enemy bosses. They worked.
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Spike Lee?
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Petrapine for stone/spines.
master of disguise: maybe do a bit of googling mythology.
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12 hours ago, UltraAlt said:
With Null the Gull, the main point of the Tips missions is more or less null and void.
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?
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19 minutes ago, lemming said:
Not a coincidence that he's the flip side to the OP fight. Both fights are terrible for the wrong characters. Or not well built up. First time fighting Calvin was awful and now I'll go in with a char that is equipped, and I still have a twinge of eek.
With my weaker toons, I can usually insp him to death. Provided I can avoid flying across the map. (BOOM!)
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Calvin Scott. Mines everywhere. Nowhere. To. Run!
(sorry…the sentiment expressed here activated my PTSD):-)
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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.
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Got a jump on the follow-up to Stalking the Detectives. I will say the story is taking a strange turn, mainly due to:
Spoilerme failing to consider WHY the kidnappers kept Detective Rogers.
Where are the Rogue Islands?
in General Discussion
Posted · Edited by cranebump
So, rather than Longbow, we need to send in Longshanks.:-)