cranebump

I can say with a good degree of certainty that pretty much everyone here shares those annoyances.:-)

Yep. innocuous strikes is so blatantly not innocuous it’s funny.:-)

It’s like being a low budget film director. Forces you to be creative due to limitations. I can’t imagine AE plotters will ever have the same tools as original scrollers, or the Devs. Considering those limits, though, what some people accomplish is amazing.

Brawl:-) Actually the staff power Aoe (Eye of the Storm, I think?), where, if you miss, at least you did some cool Break Dancing.

Thanks for taking the time to go through everyone's arcs. And, of course, thanks for the nod, above.:-)

tl;dr *best bet with Allies/Rescues it to use the "When rescued" and "clue" texts as your main mules (sometimes "when they become aware works," but not always) *try placing NPCs far apart, perhaps using multi-level maps, where they appear on different floors. There's no easy way to fix it. They all seem to activate on the "unaware" setting. I've had slightly better luck with Ally dialogue, using the "when they become aware of the player." It's still dicey. You can cut down on the "super pop" thing by using multi-level maps, and placing your NPCs on different floors. If they're far enough away, that will sometimes give you more flexibility. Only way to know is to run tests. And hope the spawns are consistently placed (another thing altogether). One thing I've taken to doing to spread the Clue love in dialogue boxes: If you want to deliver some sort of ancillary clue, spawn a single patrol after an initial objective. EX: After Ally Rescue, patrol spawns, says, "Did you hear something?" "Not now, Burt. We have to get these munitions moved, or Zapshug will kills us!" Next objective might spawn at the same time, saying, "Defeat the site boss" (which the player now knows as Zapshug). Funny thing about dialogue. I was working on a boss string, where boss, when aware says, "Hello," and when takes damage, says "And goodbye," meaning Goodbye to YOU, hero. The boss got one-shot by my sniper and blurted out, "Hello. And goodbye."then fell over :-)

Much appreciated for the recognition and your efforts. And I should add that part of the reason that particular ARC went the way it did was directly due to the comment you made concerning the previous ARC, and whether or not you were still a vigilante. So thanks for providing me with the springboard. 🙂 And, of course, congratulations to our winner.

True, though some coordination and acknowledgement of such when you're ostensibly a team is always helpful. Even if it's something like the leader of the last Synapse team I was on offered when they said, "Solo, if you can handle it." We had several missions featuring various pods - duos, trios, a group of 5 - and maybe a soloist running here or there (taking out Long Tom, while the rest fought some mobs). It was a small thing, but it set the expectation, and everyone followed it without complaint or comment.

Movers & shakers behind the scenes, with vast resources, who are smart and calculating. But, oh that Achilles Heel-they have a blind spot, because it’s personal. Basically, Kingpin when he set out to bring down Murdoch, had him shattered, but then:

I’ve been running Regen as a second set for my Sentinels lately, along with Leadership. Limited in the number of attacks, but great buffs and endless recovery. You can also run, say, fighting with DP/Regen to get some melee in there.

I think you’re right that Haley is likely an EMP Defender. She’d be some form of buffer or protector, which means she could also be a bubbler (though soloing with that...erg). She might be some form of sonic. And I haven’t played the new electric sets at all, nor do I have a water toon. Maybe something unusual like that. She’s a contact for a magic origin, so maybe her own origin is magic, as well? Maybe Kord outfits her with relics discovered...somewhere.

That is an awesome concept for Peebles. What server did you run on? Feels like an themed SG might be in order. The Alter Egos? The Contact Tracers? 🙂

I run primarily on Excelsior on THU evenings. I get in some play on the weekends, usually morning or afternoon. The tribute characters are all on Torchbearer, though., simply because it’s quieter, and I was soloing. So far, I have: Goldenward: Tony Kord, a play on IM as the Golden Avenger. Ran to L8 or 9, I think. Street Angel: Rachel Torres. Ran to L5 or so. Ivory Leopard: Nandelu. Just gathered explore badges. Omnibus: Jon SJ-Smythe. Logged him in. Didn’t play him. If there were enough interest, it’d be nice to run these guys as a team, along with Haley.

Little background: One of my Incarnates (and a toon I run fairly regularly on Excel) is KR Devil, who is basically Juan Jiminez from King's Row (note: I've seen his last name spelled two ways - this one appears to be correct). Yesterday, ran a new version of an old character idea on Torch. Running solo, so smaller pop was preferable. Running without 2XP, I picked up every AP contact that would allow me to do their mishes, and continued this into KR. As I went through Tony Kord's mish, I got to thinking, What (where) is this guy's super ID? I mean he IS Tony Stark/Ted Kord, so where is Iron Beetle, or Beetle Man, or Steel Scarab or something? So, then I thought, well, since I ran "Juan Jiminez" as a super hero, why not do the same with this guy? Which led to, I wonder what other contacts might lead the ol' super double life? This led me to consider creating and playing the following contacts, all as part of a team (maybe an irregular one, but a team nevertheless). Worse case, I might develop a series of AE arcs around them (since I'm looking for my next project). With that, I'm looking for ideas from the talented community to go with the ones I've already got, below (all in various stages of conception/development): Tony Kord: Some conglomeration of Iron Man/Blue Beetle (or other techie guy with $$). I figure this is an Energy/Energy Sentinel, though could work as a blaster for the KB melee (since I'll be soloing, that could come in handy). Rachel Torres: I managed to work up a basic character and get her in game as Street Angel (an homage to the Astro City character, though I am thinking she needs to be KR Angel, as bookend to Juan). Her detective BG and vendetta with the Lost has me picturing her last tussle was worse than the previous (says she was nearly killed early in her career by them, and lost her partner). So, I thought maybe ol' Tony might've provided her some minor augmentation (maybe a reticle or something for night sight; perhaps a cybernetic arm?). Currently have her as a Stalker, MA/SR. Jonathan St. John-Smythe: Seems like a support guy that works the lab, but thought of him as Omnibus (the guy who does the research, provides the designs and such, which Kord funds). Could be some sort of Mastermind? Kiros Nandelu: He already has minor powers (ability to see into the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums). And it sure seems easy enough to imagine him as some version of Black Panther, so probably a scrapper? Rebecca Brinell: Fits a similar niche as JSJ Smythe (and might be a better choice than him for a super dude [-ette?]), but I do not have a concept for her yet, but likely a Troller (urgh...would not be a fun solo). Haley Philips: It'd be interesting to do something with this contact, considering her backstory feels like a really interesting cover for her alt job: As an inspector for the Health Department, Haley investigates health hazards associated with super-powered, super-natural and alien events. Her group is dedicated to making sure the city´s residents live in safety, and that their homes protect them from Paragon City´s exotic threats. No concept just yet, but sure seems like a Defender. That's all I have spitballed at the present. I'll be running contacts on Torch for a bit to see what else comes up (and who else I've forgotten). Look forward to hearing any ideas folks may have. Thanks in advaance, Crane

Looks like our group sorta went pffffft...BUT... I am usually on THU. You can always hit me up for STUFF (whatever "stuff" may be). Like tonight, I just logged on Acrobattle just to check out rolls. We're still small and nimble.:-)

Might have to make it a quarterly thing?

KW-the exclusive home of AE content.:-)

I would so a "Save As" first, then bring it down to work on it locally. Other stuff: *USING ALLIES INSTEAD OF ESCORTS: I sort of like the Escort function, since it gives me the orange nav point. When I played it, I didn't really depend on the adds for support, outside named NPCs. *FIGURING OUT WHAT TO TARGET: When you're being mobbed, you may not have time to be selective about whom you target. My AR blaster was spraying AoE's everywhere so that I wouldn't be killed. I did start to target those force KB guys later on. Of course, while I did - END drain. Lady or the tiger (or rather, tiger or the tiger). *STORY VERSUS CHALLENGE: You're trying to combine a clue-driven mystery, while at the same time presenting a challenge arc. It might be that these two goals are mutually exclusive. The challenge aspects in the combat (esp. ambush waves) do not allow me to concentrate much on the clue-driven mystery. As a result, both goals suffer (well, at the moment). Finally, I want to specifically comment on this: I don't want to make the puzzle in M3 easier because there is a hidden but better way to solve it. Sadly, since nobody ever sees the connection, they think the mission is brutal or unwinnable. Easy to spot the fixes here: *If multiple players aren't seeing the connection, then make it easier/clearer to see. *If multiple players think my mission is "X," then it's "X," regardless of what I think about it. I imagine you can tinker with this to find the right balance between Challenge and Story. But, given my druthers, I'd rather your AE treat me to a story first. If all I want is a challenge, I'll try to find one of those farm mission thingies, or run an in-game TF at higher settings. If it's a Choose the right glowie challenge, that's fine. But it needs to be easier to figure out. Further, if you can fool the player, even as clues are in plain sight? Even better. Right now, this part is akin to the tabletop GM who keeps waiting for the players to ask the right question, rather than adjusting the campaign to make acquisition of what they need a tad easier (so that the campaign can move ahead, and everyone can have fun). My 3 and a half cents again. Good luck with the changes. Hope the refit isn't too excruciating. I do know how the editing process is, believe me. I applaud you for sticking with it.

Sticking with it. The character (Whipsmart, 2nd version) is a BR/Regen sentinel. With the extra END buff (in addition to Stamina) can run the 3 leadership buffs without a hitch. He can bring a bit of support to the group.

I can also throw in Zero G + Prestige Jet pack for some nice jump. This makes the pack seem like it's a sort of catch-all device. Yeah, we'll keep that.:-)

Well, I was going to eventually pick up flight, but notice this when I used a plain ol' jet pack: Dat's a lotta rocketry.:-) Tempted to just keep using jetpack as my flight travel, since my aux set is going to be Leadership. (wonder how the small jetpack looks, or the Brickers?)

Agh! That GD truck! I ran that with 2 other maps, which I exchanged for the map I finally used, then tested it multiple times for that stupid truck in the air spawn. Didn’t happen so I thought, “Good-finally got it.” But noooooooi!:-) (it is funny though) (and yeah it’s Daredevil all over it. And KRD is a nod to vanity-I used Juan in Ordinary People. Then I drew up an AR/TA blaster who is one of my Incarnates now. Juan is actually in the KR zone (I think on a rooftop not far from WW’s) and his official NPC backstory (which I pasted straight out of the wiki), plus my use of him in Ordinary People, I felt, allowed me to push his story forward a bit (to fit with my running of him as one of my PCs). Beyond that, What can I say? I like callbacks.:-)) thanks for the run and the kind words.

Well...out of curiosity, I played this. And here's what I think. Kyksie's right about M3. Full stop. Other stuff: Timers are uniformly long and slow (and not just this mish, either, though this one is heinously long, and obviously geared to make me fail). Case in point? In M2 (not M3), I clicked on one, hopped to a separate window to type the sentence, above, and when I got back, it was still counting down. As for M3: Screw this mission. I clicked on a Rikti computer, since those ostensibly contain what I need (I assume). And here I am, typing what you're reading right now, waiting, hoping I got the right one. Well, I DID summon an Elite Ambish, which basically cleaned my clock, despite me popping Insps and everything. So, here's my inescapable conslusion: you made me stand around for nearly 2 minutes, then ambushed me with a very tough mob, just so I would die. I therefore stood outside and let the timer wind down. I guess I learned my lesson. And, yes, I did reread your clues - not for long, though, because I only had 5 minutes to actually get into and complete the mission - LESS, when you count the ridiculous use of timers. My suggestion is to reduce the timer length. If this hurts your soul for some reason, increase the timer to at least 10 minutes, especially if it's a tough mob, and you'd like me to go back in if I faceplant (or maybe just so I have time to review the previous clues, as you suggest). Otherwise, I'm just going to stand outside and wait (while you, no doubt, blame me for my own demise, as you did Kyksie, above). M4 (finale) I got END drained and KB'ed constantly. Defended one of the mainframes, but not the other. Mish failed, and that was it - because I could not get back in there to save the 2nd mainframe. Btw, I was running an exemplared L50 with loads of IO sets and a ton of Insps. It's not like I had a chump toon. Plus, I know how to run blasters (especially this one). For this one, I'd limit it to one mainframe. You want to keep the ambushes and everything, I think that's fine. But you did this to me twice, and, frankly, I'm not sure why. It felt like it a bit anti-player. Verdict: I don't have any issues with your main idea. The elements are competently executed. You know what you're doing with AE. However, you seemed out to make sure I failed, which I inevitably did. And in such a way that I don't want to try again, because I know the deck is stacked against me. It's player-unfriendly there, as is. I can't imagine how I'd fare with a L20. Maybe it would be easier, I dunno. Main thing was all the END-sapping, coupled with KB. And I was popping large Def and DR Insps - against normal mobs. Beyond that, I'll add this: your response, above, is a primer in how not to take criticism (you complained that Kyks didn't complete your optional objectives, which evidently means they shouldn't be optional, thereby making that your fault, not his). You disagree with the commentary about your premise, well and good. Premise is subjective. But when you get told by the reviewer who's #1 thing is time wasters that you have time wasters, you should sit up and take notice. That's a mechanical thing that you have control over that inhibits enjoyment of your arc. I'm a REALLY nice reviewer, and I did not like M3 AT ALL. The long timer ruins any chance I have of bouncing back if I screw up. It's punitive. Put M4 on top of that, and I'm left with a sour taste at the end. Which is too bad, because the overall execution of it is clean and competent (though I don't like being so directly coached on how to play it - I'd rather get hints from the contact or something, so it least it looks organic). As for criticism, take what you can use from it, and move on. None of us is perfect. I've had some comments about my material that I didn't like and/or didn't agree with at first. I've found, though, that when someone bothers to comment on something I designed, and points out a flaw, they're almost always correct in their assessment (or at least they have a point). Anytime you put something in the public sphere, you have to resolve yourself to not blaming the audience if they don't respond the way you thought they should. As the writer, it's my fault if what I want to happened didn't. Just saying "the audience didn't get it," or some such, is an ego-driven waste of time, and a barrier to improvement. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to write the mish. I'd do a bit of work on it, were it mine. Either way, keep on scripting. Original content is always welcome. Crane

Okay. Managed to make the Cage Series finale fit the theme: You had remarked after the first two that you wondered if you're still a vigilante. I took that as a starting point for the finale.:-)

Rather than write a pair of disparate arcs, I chose to close out the cage series with a single, vigilante story. Think it fits the whole feel better. Tested with a pretty tough blaster. The last boss took me awhile to bring down, but that may have to do with dmg type and its resistances. Is is just me or are bosses really running around more? My end boss dragged all the adds in the last room right into the fray...Sorta liked that, actually.:-)