Steampunkette

The living incarnation of "I don't care enough to do that" lives in that tunnel!?

1) The dual pistols after-images are pre-defined and tied to a specific animation. They cannot be applied to anything else without just -so- much animation work. 2) I still think they should not have a taunt aura, and should instead have a taunt-pet. So I'm not sure why you tagged my refutation of taunt auras with your suggestion for a taunt-aura.

I still think Ninjutsu tanks should take advantage of the Glittering Column design and have a placeable taunt-pet that temporarily takes the aggro off of them (so they have time to heal or whatever) and then it bursts after a moment to do a tiny amount of damage and redirect threat to the tank, rather than having a simple blanket taunt-aura. Yes, it would make them take more effort to play than "Run in, stand still, don't die"... but it could be really need to bounce aggro between yourself and a clone while popping self-heals and dropping AoE for Pokevoke/Gauntlet.

1) I have no opinion on that matter. I'm a TTRPG designer. Stuff's done when I'm done with it. I don't have a playerbase of 2,000+ people who want more content every 3 months. Believe me, I'd be happier if I -did-. But I would like to point out how you immediately turned it into a judgement position. Where the team is "Weak" because they don't follow your preference for how to resolve this impasse. I recognize that I don't know everything and I accept that sometimes I'm not going to be happy with how someone else resolves issues I see with their material. Then I move on. I spoke out, initially, about Kobold Press' approach to the Warlock, for example, where they bumped the Patron to 3rd level and jumped all up in the "You don't know who your patron is 'til third!" defense for the mechanical weakness of a level 1 and 2 warlock compared to contemporary classes. And then... I moved on. It was clear that balance wasn't the reason they made that choice, but unifying all classes to get their subclasses at level 3 was a mandate from on high that kneecapped the power level of the Warlock. Oh well. I move on. 2) You are literally asking them to make a public statement that they were wrong. Like come the hell on, Wravis. You can't talk out both sides of your mouth, here. "They should, at least, acknowledge that it was a bad decision". Your words, my guy.

And hey, that feedback can be useful NEXT TIME. But right now it's spitting in your palm. You can do it, and the spit had a purpose in your mouth. But now it's just there. As far as acknowledging it or agreeing with it: They -really- shouldn't. Like if this were just an interpersonal dispute and they felt you were right and whatever, sure. But once it hits a company level there are two very good reasons they shouldn't acknowledge or agree publicly off the top of my head: 1) It Might not be Their Decision to Make Captain Powerhouse may not have been the one who decided that Sonic Melee should get such a brief test and have no control over it. Acknowledging or agreeing with you, publicly, results in a mark against the people who made that decision. Both causing friction between members of a very small team of volunteers (risking fracture) and opening themself up for response. Maybe it was a member of the City Council saying "This patch is too small without a powerset. Throw one in!" and Captain Powerhouse responded "Sonic Melee is the closest to ready for launch, but it needs more time" and the Council said "Do it, anyway, you can do some more changes later, just get it out the door!" and left Captain Powerhouse with no alternatives. 2) It Limits Their Options in the Future While they might recognize you're right (assuming you are), internally, making a public statements means making a fixed position for Homecoming that they can't, later, go back on without being targeted with accusations of hypocrisy, lying, or otherwise going back on "Their Word". If they've got a set that really doesn't need extensive testing (say, an assault set made up of powers that already exist in the game that really only needs a short balance pass to make sure the values are accurate) they'd be forced to 'wait' until the start of the next patch cycle to get it briefly tested. So... yeah. Give them some grace, acknowledge that there may be reasons or information you don't know, register your discontent and then move on rather than continuing to focus on the negativity. It's healthier in the long run for you and the community.

Except they heard your opinions. And have stated that while there won't be more changes in the short term, there will be in the next update. It's almost like they have a deadline to meet, and can't do what you're asking -before- the deadline, and intend to do something after the deadline has passed and before the next one comes up. And instead of accepting that very reasonable "Rock and a Hard Place" situation, you're ranting and raving about how they don't listen. Even going so far as to move from the "We want your opinions here" section to the Suggestion forums to continue complaining.

Someone did. Otherwise they wouldn't be releasing another Page right now. It's almost like there's a hierarchy of responsibility within the company where the City Council and other people set out schedules and get editorial purview over what gets released and when. BIZARRE, am I right?

No. I just actually write like that. AI has to copy someone, after all!

MMORPGs, just like any game design role, puts developers in a really rough position. 1) Appeal to the Majority of Players You've got to aim for the masses. If you don't, your product won't sell. Sure, for CoH "Selling" it is less about getting actual return on investment and more about maintaining or growing the established playerbase, but the principle remains. And with an MMORPG in particular you need the widest possible appeal in order to maintain numbers at a level that keeps the game moving since you need a lot of people playing at the same time. 2) Create and Establish Fun Material Whether it's a character class, a new powerset, a mission, or a campaign setting, you've got to create new material and establish it in a world where there's already other material to enjoy. Without new things to do, and new ways to do things, all the balance in the world and all the appeal in the world won't matter: People will get bored. Humans are more complicated than rats, a shock I know, and require a Skinner Box with more buttons to press and different kinds of treats to enjoy. 3) Maintain Balance Without game balance, the game loses its fun quickly. Either it's too hard or time consuming for a significant portion of the playerbase (which is what happened to Wildstar) or it's way too easy and the players lose interest in a game they quickly 'Beat'. There's a reason people love cheat codes but almost immediately lose interest after typing in IDKFA a few times. Power Creep is real. 4) Work Within Budget Constraints This is where Homecoming is absolutely between a rock and a hard place. They have a budget of "However much time people are willing to put in to help." which really isn't a lot. So creating new animations, vfx, costume pieces, model resources, etc is pretty well off the table for most stuff. Recycling what exists is the name of the game as we've all seen. Sonic Melee is a great example of these four issues in play. 1) Mass Appeal. There's 4 archetypes that can use Sonic Melee. 2) Create and Establish Fun Material. Attune is new tech designed to interact with player choice and ramp damage against a hard target encouraging a new playstyle. 3) Maintain Balance. Gotta find the right values to keep it from being as well loved for value as Kinetic Melee and aesthetics as Sonic Blast. 4) Work Within Budget Constraints. Pretty much entirely made of reworked extant assets.

Y'all... look at a Calendar. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving and this is a volunteer project. They're about to go on Winter Break. Which means getting this patch out so people can play it over the next two months before they come back in mid January to pick up where they left off. The Open Beta feedback is being recorded, permanently, for easy access on the forums and stuff so they can reference it after they get back and make additional changes. Could they just entirely cut Sonic Melee out of the page? Sure. But consider the alternative: They release it in its current state, and the MUCH WIDER playerbase gets to play around with it for 2 months and give their feedback. Potentially providing WAY MORE actionable information on the impact. So calm yourself, it's not that serious.

I continue to believe that Fury should also contain some debuff protections for things like -Speed and -Damage. As well as control -resistances-, but not protection, to shorten effective duration based on how much fury you have. It'd be a good solid way to show that brutes, on the whole, are stronger through their fury, and difficult to repress or contain.

I mean... yeeeah that would be a balancing act... But I also kinda like the idea of the Brute rounding up enemies and then 7 other people basically fireballing the brute.

"You want to murder unarmed and unpowered people!" No. I want to -arrest- them. Shocking, I know, but I don't play murderers. You know who else is unarmed and unpowered? Warrior Pankrationists. And they hit like a freight train because "Natural" is a catch-all bucket for people who don't spit laserbeams. Sure. They're not holding a gun to anyone's head, so the arrest should probably be nonviolent or minimally violent, at worst. But they're still criminals working with a terrorist organization whose goal is antithetical to everything the City of Heroes stands for. They do not pose an immediate threat, but a long term one. Every person they recruit will become a member of guerilla army that uses literal brainwashing, evil nazi superscience, and alien technology to try and do harm to the people of Paragon. They should be stopped.

At the end of the day you are a person who values being uninformed and ignorant who is trying to convince someone who has a better grip on the topic at hand that you, somehow, through innocent and simplistic terms, are in a better position to provide a clear understanding of social dynamics... And also do so while trying to dictate my motivations and intentions without knowing fuck-all about me as a person. Is it so blissful to be both willfully ignorant and eager to share it with the world?

Authoritarianism. Fascism is a more complex issue than "Using power and influence to change things" Fascism, specifically, is a hypernationalist right wing authoritarian political philosophy which uses xenophobia and othering to scapegoat minority groups or outgroups for national problems. It protects corporate power while specifically undercutting labor laws and protections, involves rampant cronyism, corruption, and sexism. And works to use the targeting of minority groups to roll back human rights as part of a campaign focused on 'restoring law' by expanding the immediate power of both the military and the police for use by the state to enforce control. It's also marked by a disdain for intellectuals and the arts while doing its best to hearken back to a fictitious 'Golden Age' of art and society. Please. Learn more.

It was meant to be a joke! That said, yeah, it'd be best if they just surrendered into one of several "Hands up" poses or something and then despawned after 5-10 seconds to represent them being arrested.

That part is far more compelling, yeah. So we give them all a pistol attack power...

I would say that the 'difference of opinion' issue is a red herring. Someone can -think- the 5th Column is a good idea and be shunned out of society until they change their opinion, sure. The recruiters aren't doing that. They're hanging out with a known international terrorist army in the streets of Paragon encouraging passerby to sign up for a fresh brainwashing by an army attempting to occupy Paragon City, which openly and flagrantly attacks superheroes, cops, criminals, and passerby. That goes from tacit support to material support, and opens them up to legal action and arrest... Via battle axe to the face.

Did you read the post I was responding to in which kelika2 asked "isnt using power and influence to get your way and force others to think like you fascism?" Which is different from asking "Is the fifth column fascist?" I know reading comprehension isn't a priority for some folks but yikes. Someone proposed a false definition of fascism which amounted to "Is all authoritarianism and use of political power fascism?" and I said "No". Because it isn't.

No. You should probably go read more about fascism from a reputable source if you do not understand what fascism is. I could outline the various characteristics of fascism, but that's not really what this forum is for and would likely result in moderator activity.

Power Pool: X-Treme A riff on 1990s "Extreme" characters and their abilities. Tier 1: Doubletap You draw two pistols and fire two shots at your target. Basically the same power as Dual Wield from the Dual Pistols powerset. Tier 2: Brood Autopower. When you use Rest you get a scaling damage bonus based on how long you rested. Each stack lasts 15 seconds and improves your damage by 10%, maximum of 5 stacks. You gain 1 stack every 2 seconds while resting. This power is modified by your class's damage bonus scalar, so classes that don't get as big of a damage bonus in general will get 8% per stack or whatever. (Great while solo, garbage on teams, perfect for Xtreme heroes!) Tier 3: Hoverboard You get your hoverboard, which is the Rocketboard, Void Skiff, Etc. You do the ice-slide animations on it, and you gain running speed, jumping speed, and jumping height roughly on par with the Infiltration power from the Concealment pool, but with way more slide to it. Tier 3 Sub-Power: Rocket Boost While you have Hoverboard toggled on, you get access to a low-cost click which makes your Hoverboard power also grant a fly speed for 20-30 seconds before the buff falls off. Tier 4: Spinkick You do the Martial Assault Spinning Kick. This is a skillshot power with a short cone. Tier 5: Piercing Shot Long range narrow cone maximum of 3 targets, just like the Piercing Rounds power from Dual Pistols. Unlike the Fighting pool, you do not get a damage bonus to your attacks based on the number of pool powers you have. Instead you get to take Brood. Also no Swap Ammo function for the dual pistols attacks, here.

I'm not reporting it and it doesn't seem like a statement worth a warning, anyhow. Anywho. Yeah. There's ways to make stacking Sentinels on a team better than it is currently, which was all I was looking to highlight.

This is -WHY- I'm saying you're comparing apples to carburetors: None of those archetypes boost the entire team's damage with their inherents. Their inherents are entirely internal, self-contained, and provide benefits only to themselves. Sentinels are the only AT in the game whose inherent applies externally. And that is where the problem lies. Their inherent doesn't stack from multiple Sentinels, so you can only benefit from -one- sentinel on the team. What you're doing, here, is strawmanning the absolute shit out of my position by trying to claim that I'm "Only talking about the inherents of all the classes" which is not what I'm doing. My argument is that the Sentinel's inherent makes it worse to have more than one of them on your team instead of picking up pretty much any other AT there is. That their inherent not stacking with other sentinels makes two sentinels a weaker choice than one sentinel and any other DPS AT in the game.

You are comparing apples to carburetors. Yes. The inherent of a MM or a VEAT or a Blaster or any number of other classes does nothing for the team. The Sentinel's, SPECIFICALLY, does. And only one of them can provide their benefit on a hard target at a time. Which makes additional Sentinels redundant. "But they can do damage!" So can ANY OTHER ARCHETYPE while also bringing Crits, Fury, Domination, or in the case of VEATs their built in AoE buffs to the entire team. A Dominator brings more damage to the fight than a second Sentinel. Which is BIZARRE since Dominators have a lower damage scalar. Sentinel Energy Blast at 50 Power Bolt: 61.17 Power Blast: 100.32 Power Burst: 129.69 Focused Power Bolt: 178.62 Dominator Energy Assault at 50 Power Bolt: 52.83 Power Blast: 103.55 Sniper Blast: 237.74 Power Burst: 236.04 Sure, the Sentinel's secondary makes them more survivable. And if the target is Vulnerable their damage will go up, considerably... but if you've got a Sentinel on the team already: SO WILL THE DOMINATOR'S. For standard content, this isn't highly important. A team of Whip Masterminds with no pets will take down pretty much any mission you throw them at by rolling their face across the keyboard every 4-5 seconds. But at high end there are folks who will refuse a second sentinel 'cause they already have all the debuff they're going to get out of one sentinel, and a scrapper or blaster or stalker or dominator or brute or corruptor or VEAT is going to put out more damage than that sentinel, often while helping the team with their other powerset. Except Blaster, Scrapper, and Stalker, who will instead be dishing out way more damage than anyone else.

This isn't an argument against doing something to allow multiple Sentinels on the same team to benefit the group as a whole with their overtly offensive inherent... Multiple controllers on the same team stacking controls, or dominators, could be useful with their additional stacks of controls from their inherents... if the game weren't specifically designed to give them the middle finger. And there's nothing about a Mastermind that makes having multiple MMs on a team redundant. And not only is having multiple VEATs on the same team not a problem it's actively a benefit to the entire team. But Sentinels, whose inherent is specifically a single target debuff, are by nature less useful to a team if you've already got one, because one can make the hard targets take more damage, but several can only try to snipe the chance to dump Vulnerability on the target before someone else makes the attempt.