Techwright

So you've finally upgraded from the Magic 8-Ball?

I decided to revisit/overhaul two characters, one was my Christmas character with seismic powers, the other was my gold-side kinetic scrapper from the original game (as pictured above in a July 3, 2020 post). As mentioned in said post, he was an early attempt to show a neon-based character, when there really weren't any such options. Lumineon, my "neon knight" was brought to blue side and reforged as a rad/energy sentinel. I've replaced certain costume pieces, changed colors around, and added auras and effects for more neon look. I finally found a biographical story "use" for those pipes off the back of his shoulders. They're now conceptually the generation mechanism for hard-light aurora wings. A still picture doesn't really do the look justice, so I've got a GIF. As was true when he was a kinetic scrapper, Lumineon's powers are each tuned to colors giving them a neon-like effect. LumineonGIF1.mp4 Crystalion (say "Kris-TAL-ee-on), was a complete concept overhaul of my Christmas seismic/earth blaster. Now with a new name and a crystalline body, he's ended up with two fantasy face concepts, neither of which I could settle solely upon. Perhaps the viewers can suggest which is preferred. I retain both on his costumes list.

That's some Buster Keaton-level stuff right there.

Ah, thanks! I was playing beta on Firefall (sigh) at the time, so that explains why they seem fresh to me. Last I'd known, "Rise of the Fifth Column" or something like that, was playing.

Now THAT would have been interesting!

Much appreciated for the offer, but no thanks. I'm already far too strung out managing a multi-page menagerie. 🤪 I really should check in with real life once in a while.

I realize one cannot sell CoH merchandise, but could one, say, buy a mug, and then ask that it be customized with that wrap for free? Asking for a friend, of course.

That is pretty amazing. And terrifying.

Probably a sentinel, with something along the lines of sonic/willpower.

Like the title says: how would you rank the various works of the MCU to date? For this comparison, consider all movies to the date that you post this, as well as the Disney+ miniseries (including the animated "What If...?"). I'm choosing not to include the various "Marvel One Shot" works, nor any of the other TV series outside of Disney+. (There's strong circumstantial evidence that Marvel has retained TV show "Agent Carter" as part of the MCU, but I'll still keep it aside.) Note any works you're not including because you've not seen them yet. As to ranking, I've gone with a double ranking system: 1) I've listed all the works, most-favored up top to least-favored on the bottom. 2) Because I find difficulty in picking the first due to nuances between the works, I've also ranked them on a 5-point grouping system, with 5 being the collective of the greatest, and 1 being the least. Feel free to offer any explanation as to your rankings. _________________________________ I actually found this harder than I'd anticipated. I would rewatch pretty much any MCU work, though some I'd only watch every 10 years or so. I also realized my list is probably going to generate a lot of backlash. I'm not including "The Eternals" because I've not yet seen it. 5-Captain America: The Winter Soldier 5-Avengers: Endgame 5-Avengers: Infinity War 5-Marvel's The Avengers 5-Captain America: The First Avenger 5-Black Panther 5-Captain America: Civil War 5-Spider-Man: No Way Home 4-Hawkeye 4-Iron Man 4-Ant-Man and the Wasp 4-What If...? 4-Spider-Man: Far From Home 4-The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 4-Spider-Man: Homecoming 4-Ant-Man 4-Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 3-Avengers: Age of Ultron 3-Black Widow 3-Doctor Strange 3-WandaVision 3-Thor 3-Guardians of the Galaxy 3-Iron Man 2 3-The Incredible Hulk 2-Iron Man 3 2-Thor: Ragnarok 2-Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 1-Thor: The Dark World 1-Captain Marvel

I'm aware of the Doc Aphra character, but only from descriptions by others, so I cannot speak pro or con for wanting a series, but I'd certainly like to see the character canonized with a live appearance. Not to get all politicky but you do realize Tem Morrison, though he has British ancestry is actually of mixed ancestry and has deep ties to his Maori tribal roots, yes? The episode was crafted around his dual heritage. The choice of weapon alone should reveal that. Also, Star Wars has a long history of homage pieces to other genres or works. They even did a Godzilla/kaiju movie homage in The Clone Wars. Magnificent Seven, one of the greatest western movies, has been reference multiple time in different works under the SW umbrella, and western film concepts are often present even if an homage episode is note. Take bounty hunter Cad Bane, for example, whose outfit and mannerisms show a strong "spaghetti western" influence. I see this episode as an homage to yet another western "A Man Called Horse" though others tend to compare it to "Dances with Wolves", probably because it was more recently made. That's two popular western movies, not to mention any western train movies. To me, it doesn't feel forced. More like a continuation of theme from Mandalorian. YMMV, and I respect that. Just wish to politely state another viewpoint.

I've largely ignored the movie theaters scattered across the various zones, so I missed when someone changed the posters. What that this last page released or earlier? There's some clever puns in the text. Kudos to whomever made those. I hope we'll see more in the future. Might I suggest a perma-death guild spoof of Suicide Squad?

It was observed in beta but still made it to the main game? 😕

OG game players: anyone still have screenshots/vids of the freakishly distorted, often giant player's characters the original game occasionally spawned because of a bug/glitch/gremlin? I was just remembering those Dali-esque days, and thought our new players might get a kick out of any old pictures or videos related to that.

That color scheme really exalts the costume elements! Very nice! Another excellent color scheme complimentary of the costume. Just make sure Aphid stays clear of anyone wearing a Lady Beetle costume!

When I see that head gear, someone's normally put it in a metallic color. I like your choice it works well. The name is really great, too!

We've crushed our opponents, driven them before us, and now we get to hear the "my choice was the really deserving one" lamentation of their women. Congrats to the Homecoming devs, and to the players who've supported them!

You just described every user trying to bypass the established contact methods on every IT support desk for which I've ever worked. 🙄

I've personally tried many different configurations, and will continue to do so, but I have one rule of thumb: never overlay or crowd the character. That is where the action is and that is what I want to see, not a UI arrangement, no matter how cleverly designed.

That's actually an intriguing thought...

That works.

Just a thought: On the character login screen, might we get a listing/icons showing which Incarnate slots have been unlocked on a level 50 character? Maybe place small, recognizable icons or letters (A, J, I, L, D, H) next to the "X days offline". (See image for one mock up example.) I suggest this because when a call goes out saying "Recruiting...must have Incarnate slot X unlocked" I'd rather not fumble around logging in and out among dozens of level 50 characters looking for one I want to work on who also has that slot unlocked.

Excellent idea. I could only suggest adding Incarnate unlocks to that, though I admit that might be better handled with icons. Hmm...suggestion time.

Hero or otherwise, I freely admit after seeing the name I've never wanted to punch a Goldbricker in the face harder.