Techwright

I grew up watching Adam West's "Bright Knight" campy version of Batman, and among my favorite goofball characters was Vincent Price's Egghead. If you've never seen him, he's obsessive compulsive about eggs: costume, gems and plunder, even speech. Everything had to be about eggs. Price chewed the scenery with him, a real ham with the eggs, and he loved every minute of it, apparently. I wanted to make a homage to him, and I began thinking: what would drive a criminal to obsess about eggs of all things? A suffered trauma, just like so many others of Batman's rogues gallery. Eggsecrable betrayal. Eggscrutiating torture. Though he survived, the reflection from the prison hospital mirror was enough to fry his mind. Forever he will look like a cracked egg. While he often uses stage cosmetics to hide his scars, this former enforcer turned rising mastermind cannot hide his eggsistential angst. Seeking revenge, he scrambled his way out of prison during a jailbreak, gathered the first of his hard-boiled flunkies and began to eggsact his revenge on those who scarred him for life. He became... And if he should poach a few ovoid gems and golden eggs along the way (not to mention Faberge), well, that will be eggscellent.

Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls. King's Row is the best row. /jranger Freeeem! etc. That was the (well-loved) past. Since I don't get to every corner of Homecoming, are there any consistent expressions that have arisen from this current variant of the game? If there are, post an explanation, too, for those of us who've not seen them.

Initially upon joining HC, I'd pointed out the dated technology, which meant I was thinking like Paragon City needed to update to 2021. But after discussion, I settled into the idea that, like the 1989 Batman movie, multiple decades exist in the city around us. I finally felt that reached its best expression by treating the CoH universe like Narnia: time just moves completely differently there to our existence.

Hmm...

Not to derail the main point of the thread, but your comment interests me in the light of playing my elect/elect controller recently. While I thought slotting him for a balance of damage and end drain was a good thing, I've noticed that even with the enemy drained, they still manage to put up a decent fight. Reading your comments now, I wonder if it best to just focus on damage? OP's desire for a sapper aside, of course.

I recognize your concerns, and do believe some of your comments are spot-on. However, in the effort to create a balanced viewpoint, may I point out that there were some significant negatives that have been erased, or at least dampened as well. One that springs to mind is endurance drain. Original players were left with their characters gasping for endurance for 20 to 22 levels before they finally got the opportunity to iron that out. It made the first 20 to 22 levels not fun. Another QoL change is that Rikti Invasions no longer occur in Atlas Park. It was wearying as a new player trying to get your character enhanced, trained, and leveling again when everything was a slide show. I'm sure other things would spring to mind if I thought on it for a while.

Thanks! I wasn't sure if that was correct since it was swift and small on my screen, but glad for confirmation. I actually managed to guess something right! Then I looked back at all my comments and realized I'd failed to write it down. I'd brought it up at water cooler talk at work.

So she's cosplaying as a krayt dragon?

I'm guessing the red zones would be the best places to find rare or undiscovered spots. I don't recall finding any such. I did wonder at first when I found Fort Trident for the first time. When I asked around, I was not surprised to find out it was largely unknown, though eventually I had OG players who recalled it. Same with the southern water boundary in Peregrine Island zone. Many whom I asked didn't know it existed. When you cross it, you somehow end up in the Talos zone on the inside of the war wall. I don't remember gaining an incarnate ability for intangibility.

Yes, looks like you originally posted it about 20 minutes before I posted, likely the time I was struggling with other materials on the subject. Going through it now. Might have a question or two later. Thanks for including it! Thanks to all (so far) who've contributed to it. It feels like I had all the pieces but just like some maddening jigsaw puzzle, I'd not found how they connected. I've a better understanding now.

They say that to get help, you first must admit that you need it. I hate admitting it, but I'm in need of remedial schooling on the subject of Incarnate Shifts. I've gotten hold of some confusing, and just downright wrong, info in the past, and have been playing with it in mind all this time, and now realize I didn't know what I was really doing. I did some reading, but got more confused. 🙄 Maybe my plea for help will aid others. Hope so. First thing I've finally realized is that "Veteran Level" is not the same as "Incarnate Shift". Progress. Yay me. So the little XP dial ticking around and adding another digit to the Veteran Level number on the Personal info window has nothing to do with Incarnate shifting. Other than adding a number to the V-level, what does gaining a Veteran Level really accomplish then? Second thing I've (supposedly) learned is that the first Incarnate Shift is the "(+1)" I currently see when viewing Ray Gunn from another account. (Incidentally, is there a way to see this within the character's UI?) Now if I understand correctly from recent reading, this is not technically an Incarnate Shift, but a "Level Shift"? Is that accurate? If so, what is the difference, and what does this do differently from the Veteran Levels? I gather this unlocks when you complete the third tier of the Alpha slot. Is that accurate? Third thing: I read that Incarnate Shifts 2 and 3 come from the Incarnate Trials and Dark Astoria. What's not been clear in the reading is how they are achieved. Does doing every Incarnate Trial unlock Shift 2, and doing everything in Dark Astoria unlock Shift 3? Or are these temporary shifts only appearing when you're participating in these (some of what I read/heard made it sound temporary), and if so, how do you stack to a +3? Or some third option is the correct one? I've also read that Lore and Destiny slots may be somehow involved, but its unclear how, as Ray Gunn has both of those unlocked and at tier 4, yet only appears as a +1. Any clarification for aging mind getting more simple by the day, apparently, would be appreciated!

Oh, great. I've been searching the lake all this time and you're telling me I should have been searching the land, too?

There were two Tabitha attempts at a Bewitched spinoff. The first was just a pilot episode. Aired once and done. The second lasted 10 episodes, which nowadays would be a season, but back then was a half-season. Dr. Who has spun off Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and Class. There was also a K-9 animated series, but I really know almost nothing of it. With Dr. Who you get the unusual step of much of the new canon material being released by Big Finish in the forms of books and audio productions, so I suppose those should be included. There were also two video games, but I'm unclear if those were considered canonical stories or not. I suppose I should add that Dr. Who also generated a couple of movies with Peter Cushing in the role, but the character was so changed to what we eventually understood the Doctor to be that I can't consider them in the same universe. Another interesting shared universe is actually huge, though it only came together for one movie. The Gambler Returns: Luck of the Draw saw many of the legendary TV cowboys make their final appearances. According to Wikipedia, these included characters from the shows Maverick, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, The Rifleman, Kung Fu, The Westerner, The Virginian, and Cheyenne. So in effect, all those shows now share a universe with The Gambler TV movies. Speaking of Maverick, the 1957 to 1962 series spawned a few others besides its connection to The Gambler. These included a 1978 TV movie, The New Maverick, which led to a 1979 TV show Young Maverick. 1981 was the zenith year for James Garner's popularity, and his face was everywhere including a new TV series Bret Maverick, which continued the story of his gambler as he aged and tried to settle down, with mixed results. I remember that one. Loved the show, and it was poised for a second season, but NBC cut it. There was actually a second season of scripts that had been forwards to other Maverick veteran Jack Kelly, who was to have brought his character back in the second season.

Really? That's rather cool. If anything, that adds to the idea that Psyche could be in the rotation.

What about the alternate sound effects you can download?

I'm hoping to play a sonic character next, but noting a dearth of said characters in the teams I PUG with, I'd like to request some feedback from those who play sonic characters. 1) Is it worth it/fulfilling? Does it just get annoying after a short while? Is it strong in 50+ ranks? 2) What's probably the strongest sonic archetype and secondary powerset? 3) Any other things to consider?

I never use a bio unless I feel it is exceptional. I do tinker with ideas all the time, but few make the grade. I've some of my top favorite characters with still no backstory, even incarnates, and I consider them "still under development". Usually a good bio begins when some element of the costume designing phase breaks away from standard appearances. Commander Ray Gunn began that way, when I realized the D-Visor and color scheme I'd tried on the helmet I was making created an effect like old movie serial space heroes. Polar Cola Man began as an effort to create a look that didn't involve purely blue and white simulating ice and snow. I hit one aqua color, that reminded me of classic aqua-tinged cola bottle glass, leading to the bold colors and patterns of a cola product, This practically wrote the bio as a 1940s radio sales pitch for Polar Cola with PCM as the sponsored hero mascot. I would point out that if someone is bemoaning the lack of bios, they really need to take an active roll in their development. One can sometimes realize another is admiring their costume due to the positioning and "posture" of that player's avatar, but it won't be known that they are looking for a bio, unless something is said. Take a moment and compliment a bio if you read it, and encourage them to write one if you find one missing. "Hey, great costume [or name]! When you get a moment, that beauty really screams for a companion bio."

Ah, but Mom made it... ( 😉 )

Yeah, that fits the Morlock descriptions. Some had some very interesting gifts, though not really battle-quality ones. For example, one of them, I forget the name, had the ability to sculpt flesh like clay. He used it to try to give better appearances to those with distorted faces, but could also use it to disguise a person. More an espionage skill than a battle one.

Fair enough. But also keep in mind that the first appearance of Thanos had people running to the internet going "who is that?" Most had never heard of the big purple Prune of Doom before.

I agree with that last part, and would find the first part interesting. Crazy thought:

Just saw this, and yes, I find Casablanca more enjoyable than Citizen Kane. There's a few of the older classics that everyone fawns over that I've seen and cannot understand the hype. Maltese Falcon was another like that. I thought for sure that would be fantastic, and I ended up feeling bored, and like the movie was lacking something. I'd agree with you on Forbidden Planet. I'd add The Day The Earth Stood Still to that one.

A pair of discoveries regarding episode 4 since I last posted...

Interesting. I'd not heard the story before. Japanese parallel to Greyfriar's Bobby, it seems.

I truly appreciate the input so far, and I'll consider each suggestion, though It's curious that y'all settled for music video takes on COH. I've my favorites in those, but I'm not sure that really gets the game play across to potential players.