Techwright

forgot to add "WW" for Wentworth's, the blue-side auction house, though I rarely see this used anymore. It's more likely to just be called the "AH". also "WW": War Witch, the trainer at the center of Croatoa, but also represented in the Pocket-D zone. War Walls (rare), the massive glowing forcefield-on-top-of-concrete walls that frame most city zones. And... "+2", "+4", etc. when in context with recruiting a team refers to the adjustable difficulty settings the leader has set for the mission or task force. MSR = Mother Ship Raid = mid- and upper-level league raid taking place in the Ritki War Zone. "RWZ" = the Ritki War Zone "AP" = Atlas Park, the first major zone of the game. "KR" = Kings Row zone. Often the first zone new characters venture to after Atlas Park. "team" = 2 to 8 players "league" = a collection of teams "sg" = a Supergroup, this game's version of a guild "star" = leadership of a team (based on its icon) "Icon" = blue-side tailor shop chain

Might as well start with some of the first things they see in chatter upon arriving in Atlas: TO = training-origin enhancements DO = dual-origin enhancements SO = single-origin enhancements IO = invention-origin enhancements HO = Hamidon-origin enhancements, aka "Hami-O" DFB = "Death From Below", an instanced "dungeon" for beginning players with faster than normal experience gains. DIB = "Drowning In Blood", a mid-teen level instanced "dungeon". Posi-1 & Posi-2 = The two halves of the Positron Task Force Yin = the Penelope Yin Task Force BM = "Black Market", the auction house for villain-side play "blue", "blue side" = the hero city, Paragon City, and progression system "red", "red side" = the villain city, the Rogue Islands, and related progression system "gold", "gold side" = the Praetorian (parallel universe) city, and related progression system "purple" = sometimes used to describe zones or events that mix both hero and villain characters for a common goal. "Inf" = the game's main currency. Though there's only one currency, sides apply different names to it: "Influence" (blue side), "Infamy" (red side), or "Information" (gold side) "P2W" = a special vendor marketing both free and inf-currency purchased goods. Some of these are vanity items, while others have some very important benefits. "badger" = someone focused on collecting as many badges as they can. "NPC" = non-playable character. A server controlled character. (Stated just in case we get a true rookie player) "GM" = Giant Monster (usually the toughest enemy to fight) or Game Manager, a person guiding the game. Context will decide which GM (though some would argue they can be one and the same.) "AV" = arch-villain, the toughest enemies to face except for Giant Monsters. "EB" = elite-boss. A step down from AV "TF" = a task force. A bit like a blue side story-arc "dungeon" "SF" = a strike force, the red side version of a task force "door mish" = an instanced mission one enters via a marked door "radio mish" = blue-side missions select from a police-band radio. You'll need to find your police contact in each zone to activate this feature per zone. Note: there is an NPC contact on red side known as "the Radio" that issues missions. There's no relation, though it might be confusing if a newcomer sees this in chat. "newspaper" or "paper" = red-side mission version of the blue-side radio missions. You'll need to find your villain contact to activate this feature per zone. "tip" = a mission that comes to you via random drop. These alter or reenforce your morality rankings. "COT" = the Circle of Thorns NPC villain group "Vahz" or "Vaz" = the Vahzilok NPC villain group, or possibly a reference to their top dog, the arch-villain, Dr. Vazhilok. "BP" = the Banished Pantheon NPC villain group "PP" = Perez Park, one of the earliest hazard zones in the game.

I'm curbing my original-game habit a little, but in the open, my flyers run, take a leap then kick in the flight at the top of the leap. I do this both at ground level and off tall buildings. For the latter, I leap off the building's side, and let the flyer drop a bit below the level before kicking in flight. I think I developed the ground routine because 15 years ago, when I started, I still remembered The Greatest American Hero show, and how Ralph always struggled to get airborne. Off the buildings, though, that came about when I remembered watching video of jets dipping below the runway level before gaining altitude as they left aircraft carriers.

None of you previous have really brought up the Resistance side of things. Isn't Calvin Scott's story a good chunk of the lore as well? I've only caught snippets, but I kind of thought it was.

Besides the drawing & painting arts, physical or digital, what other media for COH/V characters has been utilized, or is currently utilized? For example, has anyone tried interpreting their characters through embroidery, like say on the back of a jacket or a backpack? I seem to recall sculpture and plushies at some point in the game's history, though memory of that is dim and I may have that confused with some other games in my past.

You need to visit more Highland Games, smiling kitty! They even have workmen kilts now. 😄 Honestly, though, I'm surprised at least cargo shorts were never done. They'd have fit well to jungle and desert adventurer types, like Doc Savage. Though now that I bring him up, why did we never get proper jodhpurs?

*Looks at OP forum name* *Looks at thread title*

1. No. The only time I duplicated both power sets on a character was back in the original game when I made a redside doppelganger of my blueside main. That said, I do reuse one or the other of the power sets, but mix them with something different, which may or may not be a power set I've used on another character. 2. I'll never completely duplicate costumes, but I've been known to reuse costume elements. I've a few characters as part of my theme of 1930's-style movie serial "space rangers". As such, they have very similar costumes, as uniforms of the organization, but slight variations to make each unique. Color scheme definitely changes among their ranks (Think original Star Trek). I've done something similar with another set of characters from an original game supergroup. The one element I do use far, far too often, is the fingerless gloves. So much so, it's almost a signature of my design style, like repetition for Worhol, or "almighty mountains" for Bob Ross.

There's a couple of things I've not seen in Homecoming, that I saw fairly often in the original game. 1. Random Shadow Cysts in door missions where a Kheldian is on the team. 2. Kronos Titan loosed on the street of Talos. I didn't play the original game into the final year, so the explanation might be in one of the Issues that was released. Can anyone clarify what happened to these two? I always loved the adrenaline rush of sheer panic when a team got cocky plowing through enemies, only to round a corner and straight into a cyst. Also, wasn't Kronos released on the Talos streets as a result of a story arc, like how Babbage is released in Skyway? I don't remember which one. I'm guessing Crimson or one of the other color-coded agents' missions.

It's not so much a new costume piece as it is a retooling of two current elements to deliver a new result. I'd like there to be, on masks covering the lower half or the full face, the option to use most of the over-the-pocket chest icons (not the military awards, though). Something like Green Hornet is wearing here:

Seconded! I've been wanting this type of collar for a while now:

Oh, he's appreciated. He's tremendously appreciated. The problem is, it is the guy in his mirror who's doing the talking. (Wonderfully done, btw. Being a fan of 30's & 40's radio, pulp, and dieselpunk heroes, I really like your Hour Thief artwork.)

I'm no developer, but I'm reasonably sure the radio missions, at least, use a shuffling system (for lack of the proper term) to randomly connect stock rooms and halls together and placing glowies. But we still recognize the rooms. Currently we have the same Brutalist architecture hallways that are reskinned to appear somewhat different. What I'm suggesting is something more granular where each building has its own unique interior layout, AI-designed from the ground up including architecture, decorative styling and furniture, and function such as a hotel or Union station.

Though I really like your zone idea, the fly in the ointment is that, should oneside ever become far more populated than the other, such as currently exists, then the less populated side will have little to no opportunity to to dominate the area. As to "new city", actually I'd prefer to see a "World of Heroes", using the original city (with modifications for a new game), but with an all new airport or military airport zone available at a select level. That allows for stories all across the globe, and expansions covering complete other cities or environments. Actually, with my thought towards a "World of Heroes" rather than see an anti-hero sentiment within the hometown, I'd rather place it in another part of the globe, something that will have repercussions in Paragon City if not addressed. Basically a reverse of Geonosis from X-men stories. As to my thoughts: 1). Fighting on the street that is actually meaningful, not something everyone rushes past on the way to the next door. 2.) NPC opponents that do not cluster in static positions on the street, but instead move around in a more natural way. The defunct Everquest Next was designing something like this. Opponents were given a list of things they liked and disliked, and once turned loose would seek pathing and areas that appealed to them. 3.) More mini events on the street to make it feel more spontaneous. For example, when you enter a neighborhood, the local patrolman flags you down and says he's received word that a tough gang boss just moved into the area and he'd appreciate it if you'd look into the matter while there. Find the boss, fight off his elite guard, bring him in for praise and a stack of XP/Inf. Basically a "Hogger" field quest, if you know WOW, but not a static area where the boss might appear. 4.) A better balance advancement-wise between task forces and other forms of advancement (street fighting, door missions, giant monster fighting, etc.) That way the patterned create a situation where the bulk of players level from running repeated task forces, but feel comfortable doing door missions. 5.) Greater variety in the city. Ethnic sections of the city: Chinatown, Little Italy, Czech Village, etc. Also more variety of shops. Where are all the grocery stores, fruit stands, hair salons, tattoo parlors, pre-college schools, etc? 6.) Underground areas big enough that I'm not running into a wall every few feet. 7.) This one is crazy out there, but rather than have a few developers create each and every building and interior, and thereby get a lot of repetition, maybe perhaps use...I think it's called "procedural generation"? Basically the same kind of tool that No Man's Sky used to create a galaxy of planets, and instead have it create the city. Plug in the details of a host of architectural styles, set parameters such as height limits and variable, how many coffee shops to have in a 5 block area, etc, and let the computer create most of the city. Likewise, use procedural generation handle the interiors. If doable, that should allow for a much greater variety of interior environments and a lot less "oh THIS room" statements. 8.) Also crazy out there, but again taking a page from the aborted Everquest Next, develop the world using particles. This means that a fight will have destructive consequences for a limited time. You can (if powerful enough) smash anything, giving you the perfect opportunity to put Reichmann through the wall, literally. It should also make ship fighting more interesting, as putting a hole through the bulkhead might just flood the ship.

Really? All those guesses and no one thought of witty... Not even the monkey?

The statue is pretty much it, at least from what I've found. There's a suggestion in-game...I want to say it's on a plaque in Echo Galaxy City...that stated that Jade Serpent released a toxin across a zone and Atlas scooped up the people of the zone (not just those close to him, it sounds like) and placed them on his shoulders above the ground-hugging gas. The implication being that Atlas apparently could grow to absolutely massive size, even bigger than the bridge where he fought the 5th Column. I've longed hope for a time-travel mission where our characters must return to Dec 7, 1941 and perform a mission circumventing the chaos of the 5th Column invasion, complete with a bridge-tall NPC Atlas fighting in the background.

I can't seem to find any info on this. I know it gives a rested bonus up to 5 times per character before removal. But it only appeared in the trays of some of my characters, and not all of them. Was it something I was rewarded by a mission, or something assigned by the game, and if so why only a few of my characters? If possible, I'd like to get one for each character.

Pretty much this. Within things "negative" I'd add exceptionally "colorful" language. I hear it all day long at work, and I'd rather have an enjoyable conversation that isn't just a daisy-chain of four-letter words or innuendo jokes. I realize there are opposites to me that thrive on that stuff. YMMV. That's not to say I don't have fun, and once I warm up to others, I'm wisecrackin' with the best of them. I also need a completely casual approach. Some days I can be online for hours, and some I can barely spare 15 minutes to check the auction house and move my toons to new Day Jobs. I never know which version a day will bring. "Casual" also means being on my own time a lot when in the game, to focus on detail work like crafting, AH buying, enhancement upgrades, hunting an elusive badge, etc. I suppose I might work best in one of those "auxiliary corp" SG's that use to be linked by coalition to hardcore SG's. I'd also add that whatever the character I'm signed in as, at the moment, is the character I'm playing. I don't drop everything to grab my tank because someone else decides they need it. If I see the need, and I decide I can spare the time to switch characters, sure, I'll tank for ya. I guess that is another point under "casual", but having encountered this issue over a decade ago, SG's, or guilds in general, kind of tarnished their image with me.

Rehashing my old Costume Art thread pic to demonstrate Spectrum skin "water", sans Stealth. Also, I recall back in the original game, someone used a flat costume with a circle pattern to create a look that seemed like carbonated water. In fact, I think that was the name of the character: The Carbonated Man. I saw him around a few times and folks were always saying how cool he looked.

Yu da Man! (Well, sort of...)

That...actually would be awesome! Cumbersome to wield, mind you, unless you have it automatically come with a telekinetic effect...or drill 3 bowling ball holes.

Respectfully, and noting this is entirely my opinion, I'd personally never recommend Dell. I'm 20 years into IT Desktop Support, and the stuff I've seen in regard to Dell, both technological failings and cover-up practices in their customer service, has made me decidedly anti-Dell. I know from multiple talks with many of my peers that they share my sentiments. I'm not overly crazy about HP either, (it's the second major name that keeps surfacing) but I've never seen the level of problems from them that I've seen with Dell. YMMV. I accept that there's quite probably smarter IT people on the forums than I am, and they may hold another viewpoint. I'm just stating mine In those multiple talks with my IT colleagues the last couple of years, I've learned we tend to be interested in Lenovo, ASUS, and MSI. There's some other brands I could mention, but the discussion was highly polarized: you loved it or hated it. Of course, this all comes from the perspective of business computing. We do consider some graphics heavy applications, like digital X-rays, but otherwise, high-quality movies or marketing department projects are usually our biggest stresses to test. If you're after a true gaming computer, there may be information with which I'm not familiar.

Y'all have clearly never seen the hospital where I work. I'd swear it was designed for Paragon City hero missions. I'm forever stopping to help out poor souls stopped at intersections looking around desperately for a directional sign or map. The bizarre pathing came about because of numerous building projects over the last 100 years. Rather than take the effort to build a true integration into what already existed, they continually tacked on new structures, hallways, etc. We actually have a wing called "2 1/2" because the designers couldn't be bothered to level the construction with the current floor, so the stairwell has an odd-angled ramp leading to an offset level. Last year, they bricked in the internal access to one set of elevators, requiring the workers to now exit the building and turn around and enter a new door to access the elevators. Then, in the same elevator lobby they'd created (one which is never full), they went to the other side of the 20' room from the two elevators that go up all 6 floors, and added...an elevator that goes up one floor. Yes, it exists! We also have things like 2 long halls that follow the exact same path with only a thin wall between them, and doors connecting both halls at each end. I could fill a small book with the odd stuff in the place. If only the AE was sophisticated enough to mirror the real life structure.

Just finished a blaster-heavy Citadel TF, with 2 team spots empty, and we did move pretty quickly. My beef with Citadel is both the repetition (shoot, the first two cave missions are always at the same door!) and the seesaw back and forth between IP and Talos, always at distant corners of the maps. Quarterfield is, so far, the worst for me. I ran one last night for the first time in ages, and it seems to be a torture made for Tantalus: basically the same scenario over and over and over...for 3 hours (and change). The last hour, the team had basically shut up, no joking, nothing. That's not what gaming should be about. I'm in the minority, it seems because I actually like Numina's TF. That "go there kill that" stuff, each time I've run it, has been a race of sorts, to see who can snag what assignment first, and how fast can they clear the board. Guess I just was lucky to have some fun teams. Synapse would be "fine" if they'd have carved it in two, like they did Posi's. I personally hate the 10x attack start of the Katie Hannon TF.

Why reroll, and lose what you've started? With the current setup, just port the current character over to one of the other servers then start his ESS doppelganger. Make sure you start it right away though, so no one snags the name. Oh, and thanks for the heads up. I normally don't focus on the test server, but these creations sound fantastic.