Techwright

Just saw the first episode of The Bad Batch, and it did not disappoint! Graphics are improved yet again, this time over season 7 of the Clone Wars. Thoughts

If it is possible, I'd take it further. I was thinking about it yesterday when I logged in only to find a message pop up after several minutes announcing an end to a zone event. Had I been informed at the moment I could start moving of any events currently happening, I might have been able to super speed over to it and caught the last half. So, having a current events messaging system that alerts an inbound player (or for that matter a player coming out of an instance) as to any current events might allow them to contribute. I'd not complain if also the LFG channel were to broadcast the previous 1 minute of message at login. That way, we might know about that rare Sister Psyche task force recruiting before it fills.

Where would you put "Light" in that lineup, before or after "Minor"? I've been seeing both on some recent toons.

Yep, it's Malwarebytes. Caught me offguard because I never see it do anything like that. I take it false positives are common with it's browser function? I really need to remove it anyway, and put it to USB drive. I'd always intended it as a secondary AV software in case the first was compromised for any reason.

I went to midsreborn.com, or at least tried to, but my anti-malware flagged the site as trojan infested and warned me off. I'm guessing that's a false positive, but I'm just double-checking before I continue to site and download anything. Anyone else seen this? Has there been a past problem with it that may have flagged the site long-term in anti-malware programs? Maybe I'm going to the wrong site for the program?

Yeah, I didn't get the whole "Karli was just misunderstood and was a patriot" spiel. The car/building bomb alone should have ended that discussion. The continuing name of The Winter Soldier is a more complex issue. Technically, the title The White Wolf was given to T'Challa's adopted white brother: a child adopted by King T'Chaka, after he was the sole survivor of a plane crash into Wakanda. But the MCU has been referencing Bucky this way. Which leaves the question of whether they'll ever bring the white brother story to the screen. If so, that may be why they're reserving the name. The character was something of a wanderer/rogue, and in the MCU the Black Panther may have taken the name back when his brother left the country. He may yet return to claim his title. There's also a fan theory I read that Bucky may go through his own process of coming fully into a new identity, and they've held back the name for that reason. It doesn't help that Chad's real life tragic death threw the whole Wakanda storyline future into chaos. Who knows what happens now?

And that means Star Wars: The Bad Batch, aka The Continuing Saga of the Clone Wars, is set to appear! I'm mightily stoked! More so knowing the Ming-Na Wen (Mulan, Agents of SHIELD, The Mandalorian) will be part of the cast. Dee Bradley Baker is going to do a phenomenal job with the roles, I'm sure.

Dual computer usage is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be... unnatural. (Those movies are far too quotable in a COH context.) 😁

Just sayin'... (Yes, I'm aware that its a reference to a Marvel character, but its also THE store in Wandavision.)

Somehow Ryan has managed to voice all my concerns about The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, while doing so in a very funny way. I loved the show, but was really surprised about how viewers glossed over some pretty big implications. And then there's the whole helmet, or lack thereof, bit.

Never heard them called the "Rue B Rue gang", but that's hilarious. Yeah, DA or maybe Croatoa would be great for a Mystery, Inc. homage. Not sure how you'd work them as a duo detective setup though, unless they were divided into the classic teamups: Fred & Daphne as one "detective" (with probably Fred "talking"), and Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby as the other "detective", with Velma talking. Hmm, maybe, instead of putting them in a building, stand them next to an aqua & green van. That said, I think they'd be more flexible as a standard set of mission givers on the street. Still want to see the homage, though!

Ugh, I feel your pain, several times over. There's a reason I won't run Posi 1 more than once per character, and you just named it. You remember it is said some people just want to watch the world burn? Well, some people just want to let the CoT out. I would add a sub point to that "pulling everything" line: charging in all macho-like to deal with the shadow copies with no game plan, and completely forgetting they have everything in their powers that your team has.

As @Oubliette_Red pointed out, multiple accounts can be run on one computer, assuming yours has the power needed. You'll need to go into the settings of the starter window (green box with cog symbol) and check the box "Allow multiple instances" under General Settings.

@OTGWraith - providing which side you'd like to work on (blue, red, gold) might help those who would help you. Sounds like you've got a fun idea.

Okay, that's an interesting statement. Is it meant to say that the Dr. Q TF has "tendrils" into other materials that would have to be fixed, too, or that it is perceived as one piece in a major production (but with no game-breaking "tendrils") I realize you may not be able to talk details, just curious whether there's a cascade effect to tweaking Dr. Q TF

Just curious. Has anyone attempted to create a refined version of one or more of the oft-complained about task forces? I realize it would be the instanced missions only, not any travel or street-level events like Babbage, but I'd be up for seeing how people creatively refine these. I've not done any architect work since the original game, but I seem to recall a limitation on missions? So maybe an alt-TF would need to be broken up into parts?

You're now my favorite Dev! Oh, looky there! Is that an empty line on that kill sheet? *Slips Piecemeal a ton of Infamy and a picture of Dr. Quarterfield*

Schrödinger, is that you? 😉

I'm pretty sure that Stella the Mouth is based in part on Stella Payne, played by Angela Bassett in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Her description even says she "never lost her groove". The movie Stella was also a broker: a stockbroker. (Is that the hook? That the characters are in movies that have brokers? If so, where are the Wall Street references?) I've never seen the movie, only heard of it, so I'm not sure where "the Mouth" comes from. I'm guessing the same movie might also be a source for Winston the Gent, as the male lead character in How Stella... was a Winston Shakespeare. Both Stella and Winston are in Nerva Archipelago, so it adds up, at least as far as I was able to take it. I was really hoping Mikey the Ear was a reference to Mickey Blue Eyes, but nothing else matches up.

Can you breed 'em for certain traits? Faster service, blue wings, better food cart...that sort of thing.

I'm not sure we're thinking along the same line. I wasn't fielding a concern that people spread out. I was voicing a concern that so many of these when triggered anywhere but a few zones would result in a wasted opportunity, because no team/league will assemble. Further, I was voicing a concern that multiple events triggering at once does indeed thin the ranks if we try to address both or all of them. So we congregate on the ones we've an established comfort with. In other words, why even have events in places like Perez Park if they're not utilized? But if we have an acceptable rewards arrangement (and in my scenario I'd suggested badges and a temp buff) that encourages players to participate in a one-at-a-time event in Perez Park or other currently ignored places, then we've gained a greater efficiency. Right. You've filled in some of the point I may have been expressing poorly. I see Rikti and zombie event teams in Skyway, for example, that want to assemble but are not entirely sure where. They're usually in proximity to Synapse, but run the risks of hospital security drones and the additional risk of being at a level and location where the Rikti ships use the team for target practice. Based in part on your comment @Marine X, I think what might be needed is a scouting and publishing of ideal sites in each zone for teams and leagues to gather. Something clear of the ships' energy blasts and also of any security drones, and preferably somewhere where battle drift doesn't take us into one of them. If the site is close to transportation, so much the better.

Probably taking the thread in a new direction here, but what TV or movie detectives would make a good fit for Khallisti Wharf? "Wharf" makes me think of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, and that suggests the Karl Malden / Michael Douglas TV show The Streets of San Francisco. Their characters were Mike Stone & Steve Keller, respectively. I could see Simon & Simon working in that spot as well, as they were based in another port city, San Diego. Ah, why not go all in: of any zones not housing a police station currently, whom might you put into them? I'm thinking Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle & Buddy "Cloudy" Russo from The French Connection, probably in Perez Park due to the significant presence of the Skulls there (drug trade). Maybe Jack Traven from Speed for Boomtown/Baumtown, should the rebuilt section ever finish. I really want to work Hill Street Blues and maybe Knight Rider in somehow, but I've not thought of a fit for either yet. But those are my ideas. Yours may be better.

Thanks for the clarification! 😊

Faultline is actually not Dudley Do-Right. The zone's cops are a reference to the TV series "Due South", where a Canadian Mountie is given special assignment with the Chicago police. Frasenbaker = Benton Fraser, the Mountie Kowaccio = Ray Veccio, the Chicago partner Founders Falls is themed to sci-fi cops therefore... Junkers = Rick Deckard, Harrison Ford's replicant-hunting detective in Blade Runner. NOTE: I was puzzled at the name, not seeing the comparison (is there a "junker" reference that I've forgotten in the movie?) However, I then learned about "Snatcher" a 1988 video game which was apparently a knockoff of Blade Runner. In the game, the equivalent to runners (Decker's job) are "Junkers". Looks to me like someone was a fan of that game, too. Peregrine Island is themed to "island", specifically Hawaii TV detectives... McLord (not McKing) = Steve McGarrett, played by Jack Lord in the original Hawaii 5-0 You've not got Brickstown listed, which is themed to the 1970's TV cop sitcom "Barney Miller", but also, cleverly, to the original development team Miller = Barney Miller. Seems straightforward, eh? His looks, though, are modeled on Matt Miller, aka "Positron" from the original game's development team. Fish = Phil Fish, Abe Vigoda's character on TV. His look, however, comes from Sean Fish, a former writer for COH. To the best of my recollection, that is it. Which is unfortunate, as we have at least 2 zones that might qualify for cops: Striga Island, and Croatoa. While you might say that each has a small village in ratio to the rest of the zone, well, so does Faultline, and Faultline was a hazard zone as well. Perhaps it needs to be added to the Suggestions section, but I'd really like to see radio mission cops added to Croatoa at least, and Striga if possible. Maybe have a single contact at each, if you think the size doesn't merit two contacts.

The Rikti invasions this week have brought to the forefront something that's been on the back burner of my mind for some time. Regardless of whether it is Rikti, zombie, or Nemesis invading: why are so many zones ignored when an event triggers? I understand if the alerts go off simultaneously on several zones, but when it is one at a time, and normally infrequent, why would say, a zombie event in Croatoa go ignored? Is it confusion on where the group should assemble? I know folks usually move into Talos or Peregrine Island pretty quickly when an invasion sounds, but sometimes seem confused in Skyway or Kings Row, and assembling a team seems much more challenging in these locations. Then there's other locations which never have a team assemble. Second thought: why not create a badge or two covering those zones? I don't recall how many blue-side zones get any of these invasions, but lets say 16 for purposes of discussion. Badge 1 I'll call "Not In My City", and might issue after participating in repulsing invasions in 8 zones. Badge 2 (I'll call it "I Can Do This All Day") issues when you've participated in repulsing an invasion in every blue-side zone, and maybe throw in a nice temporary power or effect as icing on the cake. Redside would have their counterparts. "Participation" would have to be defined: staying to the end? 5 minutes of fighting? other? Seemingly, this might encourage participation in more of the off-the-beat locations, and possibly help hold a bit of interest for some who quickly experience invasion fatigue at annual events. Third thought: considering the comments I've seen this week about invasion fatigue, might it not work better to set the invasion to 1 zone per side at a time? Two or more practically guarantees one will be either understaffed or not staffed by resistance. Fourth thought: Why do Ritki (and presumably others) always land a distance from the players? If you've done an event, then you know the complaint: Melee to connect has to move to the Rikti, which means the next batch lands farther away, forcing the melee folk to move again, rinse and repeat. Pretty soon, you've got Rikti beaming into the path of the security drones (or down the hill and into the woods and shops), and people "yelling" at others to back it up, which melee are reluctant to do because if they move and another doesn't, they've just lost several hits. Can there be a redress to this? Maybe get the next batch to teleport in 180 degrees in the other direction of the players from the first batch?