Techwright

Much as I'd love the idea, I'm pretty sure the "growth" part doesn't work with the current engine. If it did, we'd probably have had Atlas as an interactive NPC, if only for a flashback mission to the Fifth Column invasion of Independence Port. I believe the sizing issue came up in old endgame material where targeting (target boxes?) got to be a problem due to the size of a character. Besides, even if you did have a Giant Man, would you really want to fight in the blue cave tunnels using him?

This explains the steady deconstruction of the promising game Firefall after acquisition by The Seven, including a refusal to sell the game back to its creator, and a "promise" that the game would be turned into a mobile game (which was just vaporware to save face). It also explains NCSoft's shutdown of Tabula Rasa, rather than move past its rough points. Restricting existing signature characters might not be a bad thing. It would give opportunity to use the Portal Corp lore to create the game as a parallel Earth where alternative signature heroes, villains, and events arose, perhaps even differences in zones, such as Baumtown.

Sorry for the delayed response. How I missed this for so long I've no idea. I stumbled across it when looking through the older pages for inspiration. Thank you for your kind words. I might have just left a "like" after so long, but the graphics brought a big smile to my face! 😄 Groovy!

From early days of the original game, I kept count of the number of Frostfire teamings I completed covering all my alts and repeats. I stopped counting sometime after 450, but I'm reasonably sure I cleared 500 by quite a bit. It was quite a challenge back then, and often just from the ever-changing PUG dynamic. The ice was always fun.

First, you can do a lot more than I ever could, so kudos to you on your creativity. I'm always interested in finding good superhero themes so, please, keep at it. You're asking for honest opinions, so I will give one. I listened to yours multiple times then went back to listen to what, to me (YMMV), is the current gold standard for COH fan theme scoring: OmniousVoice's "City of Heroes Orchestral: Rise of the Heroes" (see YouTube). I don't know the limitations of the tools you use, but OV's work sounds richer somehow, maybe a little less clipped on notes. I deliberately didn't post it's link because this thread should focus on your work, not his, but perhaps if you listen to it, side by side with yours, my crude attempt to explain will become clear.

I've been researching, asking in-game help, and experimenting, and I still don't have a working solution. I feel I'm missing something obvious. I'm trying to find the way to turn off the visuals of all the healing and damage numbers that appear during combat, especially those done by others. I find in big fights like the Mother Ship Raid, that it just needlessly piles on visual distractions to an already busy field of view. One thing I've tried, at a suggestion from the help chat, was to enable "Hide Buff Numbers" and "Stop Sending All Buffs" on Status Window Buff Display, Group Window Buff Display, and Pet Window Buff Display. I've tried all these, simultaneously, but there was no noticeable different during the next MSR. Can someone direct me to the correct settings?

Any chance your area has a little old tech "junk" shop? We've got such a vendor in a permanent booth at a local flea market. The man buys "old" business equipment, and either refurbishes it to sell for cheap, or cannibalizes it for parts bins. Since manufacturers often like to use the same power brick for multiple models (at least until the wattage is forced to increase), there's every chance a buyer might find a usable replacement for dirt cheap in one of the parts bins. If you find such a place, just be sure to look for nicks in the wiring, and have them test the charger, preferably on another device to protect yours from problems, before selling it to you. Wattage and laptop socket connections (size/shape) tend to be the two things to most consider. There's also an outside chance a charity shop might have what you need. I've a friend who used to be the tech for a well-known charity, and he said they were getting tons of tech coming through the business. And "old" technology may not be so old. Some businesses, like the one I work for, like to unload their equipment as soon as the three year warranty expires, even though the tech is still in good shape.

Yeah, I was really puzzled why it was sending me for instruction to Ms Liberty when I was a level 6 already. A couple of other things I hate about that arc are the pointless dialogs, and the really annoying habit of the characters running up to you and then buzzing around you like pesky bees. The only reason I do the missions is to get the badge for doing all Atlas park story missions.

I don't recall the groups exactly, but I've found a scatter effect pretty useful when the NPCs start showing greater effectiveness when clumped together, like say peeling 25% chunks at a time quickly off the tank, or causing major endurance loss to several of the team. I find it usually better to accept the scatter and use it to heal and regroup your team. Pretty sure the Nems were in that list, like Redlynn mentioned. It's also great when your team is actually overwhelmed, and members start dropping, leaving big holes in your defense. Lastly an AoE or conical knockback is a real joy if you're fighting high up and they've not been noticing that nearby edge that lacks a safety railing. Certainly, they'll find a fire escape staircase and run back up, but the stairs essentially act as a chokepoint, and you'll more easily pick them off one by one.

Good to know. I've not really paid attention to him to this point.

So are you defining "quality" as a lack of "endless patrols and deliveries and defeat alls"? Or is there another defining element?

Ebenezer, is that you? I just want a moon base zone and an airport zone. Where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars! Okay no seriously now (sorry I'm punchy from being up too late), most everyone mentioned a successful NCSoft deal, and I concur. In game, however, I'd love to find out what improvements can be made without having to go to the time and expense of building a new zone. I've no skills in game design, but I'm wondering if they couldn't overhaul the IP zone, for example. There so much real estate already in game that's ripe for redevelopment. Add a third tram station on the middle other side of the zone from the other two. Shuffle the villain clusters around a bit, bring more storylines to that side of the puddle, that sort of thing. Similar overhauls to the hazard zones. give us reasons to go in there again. Find the way to better equalize the xp and rewards system on story missions to encourage people to leave overused scenarios like Death From Below after a first run through and instead do the story missions again as they level. Maybe review some of the story arcs to see if the spread between doors is too awkward, likely prompting a team to switch to radio/paper missions. Done right, this might even encourage players to start in the "gold" side zones again. See if there's a way (hopefully fairly easily) to reward the very best AE story arcs by canonizing them permanently in the game with their own contacts and doors. Not just any stories, only the best. Add a nurse vendor to the Oroboros hospital. QoL stuff like that.

"Arresting" the bullies...not "killing". We don't kill. Remember that the next time you are arresting a character with your 8 inch steel claws or your face-melting radiation. 😉 And welcome back! Now Go. Ki...um, Arrest Skuls.

The earliest comics actually influenced certain parts of the game that were added later. If you want to know the backstory to Ajax and War Witch, it's in there. The Phalanx ones gave a bit more details to the characters, and certain additions to the game came on the heels of information in the comics. It's been a decade since I read them, but if I remember right, the reason Posi doesn't currently wear a helmet constantly in game, but did previously, is addressed in the comics. Certain relationships were fleshed out, too. So yeah, they mostly match up, at least to the release of the game that was available at the time of the comic's issuing.

I'm guessing at the time you wrote this, you'd not encountered a major zone fight yet? 😉 To be fair, they're not as rough as they were 10 years ago, when, during a Ritki raid on Atlas, I'd throw a punch, go to the fridge for a drink, return to my chair and watch the slide show for a few more seconds before throwing my second punch. So yeah, a bit smoother. I'd endure it regardless. Nearly 8 months in, and I'm still loving it.

I just want Isaac the bartender back. I've been unable to find this CoH homage to The Love Boat. I think maybe the AE inclusion took him out? EDIT: nearly 3 years later, and I know Isaac is present, just not a functional store like he used to be.

Good info! Since its original purpose seems to have gone the wayside, I have to wonder what would happen if the Homecoming team changed the alignment requirements. Would everyone start using the base, and ignoring the zones?

A blast from my Christmas past. The villainous Nutcracker Rat King. Made especially for the Christmas season in the original game. Sadly, this can no longer be 100% recreated, as the current costume restrictions do not allow for the wedding tux to coexist with any cape. But I felt it still worth sharing. If the homecoming team ever finds a way for the two costume items to coexist again, I'll be recreating him. (Yes I know the Nutcracker's character was the Mouse King. I couldn't properly fit "Nutcracker Mouse King" into the text field.)

I've been in Homecoming since May, and I'm still discovering things probably added to the original game after I left. One of these appears to be Fort Trident. A casual comment made in Atlas Park today alerted me to Fort Trident, and I went exploring. While I was greatly surprised, and tickled by the whole "secret sub base" idea, after exploring, I'm left wondering why it is there? Every interactive seems to be a duplicate of some other interactive elsewhere in the City. At first I thought this was good, moving all the Phalanx TF's to a single location, and providing a second Atlas Park training location, but then, it's obvious that I was the only player in the fort. Everyone still starts their TF's at the original far-flung locations, and everyone apparently goes to the original trainer in Atlas Park. So why does this exist? And why does it seem everyone wants to start the TF's in the original locations, no matter how distant? My personal feeling is that, since this appears to be abandoned by the player population, this would be a great location to establish a whole new, second set of TF's from the Phalanx crew, if that's even possible down the road.

This guy looks strikingly like an in-game version of actor John de Lancie, aka Star Trek's "Q".

Some would see the name "Snarky" as a challenge, not an invitation to back down.

I'd be fine with a story where a Death Ray from Orbit takes out that city block in Bricktown: you know, that one where the buildings are elevated over an underground area and there are 2 mission doors that account for about 60% of all missions in Bricktown. I really hate that. Then rebuild it and spread the mission doors around the full zone. The "anytime" look is IMHO exactly what Paragon City should be. We've talked earlier in the thread (I think) about the 1989 Batman movie which combined 1939 city elements with 1989 to create their Gotham, and that other movies and TV series did the same. Real cities are a merger of several decades. You'll still see cars from the 1970s around, though most will have notable wear and tear. Architecture will likewise show decades or even centuries of structures. So that would be greatly appreciated in our hypothetical facelift. I see your point, but it is one we have to be careful not to fully buy into. Paragon City is swarmed with hoodlums every few dozen feet because there's a supply need for all the players to fight. Essentially, we are seeing many time slices compressed into one for the sake of gaming. Were we to more properly set the stage (say for the animated series that never developed), I suspect that, except in the darker corners of a zone, you'd not see a constant on-the-street presence by an overwhelming population of villainous scum. Were it just like the game portrays, no one would live in the city, regardless of however many heroes. Bravery and stubborn resistance aside, it just wouldn't be viable, economically and safety-wise.

Fun: Freaks, but...the eventual inclusion of the Super Sappers proved both boring and annoying. Why? Previously, Freak rez was something of a "whack-a-mole": one never knew which Freaks, if any, would rez, or perhaps use their extra life to boost their flagging health instead, leading to a bit of fun anticipating them. With the arrival of the Super Sappers, you are guaranteed strong sapping, and a rez from the character, so long as even one of the players is in his wide AOE range. And you're also guaranteed he'll do significant drain on one of you when rezzing. The result takes all the randomness out of the character, and that leads me, anyway, to feelings of boredom and annoyance. Fun: Fifth Column and Council. I don't see enough of the Fifth Column but I love fighting them. The Council is not as formidable as I remember them from 10 years back, but it's still fun because you never know which will transform to a warwolf. Warwolves totally change my fighting strategies due to their speed coupled with immunity to many holds and debuffs. That is certainly not boring. Nearly fun: Malta, but the sappers hit so hard it's really hard to truly have fun with them. Nearly fun: Nemesis, but for the overwhelming, constant barrage of knockback/damage. A bit less of that, and I'd really enjoy them. Boring: Skulls & Hellions. I frequently get these two confused on the street because they feel so much alike, despite having different power sets and iconic colors. At least the Outcasts have four different power sets. Warriors I'd consider boring except that they have such powerful strikes at times, that I have to stay on my toes more. Annoying: Crey, specifically Protectors. That 1-minute "nothing-can-touch-me" holdout at the end of their health doesn't feel organic to the game. It feels like a major cheat. BEYOND Annoying: Circle of Thorns. Reason: When this game first started, CoT were in a very specific level range, and were limited to certain zones, but it wasn't long before they started showing up in more and more territories and range levels, often pushing out the balance of gangs in a zone as was established at the game's start. Now, it might be possible to fight them in most every level (at least it seems that way). So I'm beyond annoyed because I see them as dominating the game. The irony is that I hear more groaning about trips into Orenbega than any other instance other than perhaps the blue caves, and the CoT are often there as well. If I could, I would reduce them back towards the mid-ranges like they used to be, or to create new interest, stage a civil war like we got with the Fifth Column/Council, and split the territory. Oh, I'd also add that CoT represent another problem I have with the game: that magic-based organizations, locations, and missions are out of proportion with the other four origins, at least for a significant portion of the climb to 50. It was my understanding when I started playing that first winter, that development would attempt to be as balanced as could be between the five origins. If I wanted a magic-dominant game, I'd go play WoW or one of its clones.

Mentally stuck 50 years in the past, it's the Aged of Aquarius! Not my greatest costume creation, but then the designer isn't well stocked on nehru jackets and groovy beaded necklaces. I did like coming up with a color scheme that fit the clash of the late '60s. Regardless, Aged of Aquarius as a water sentinel has been a lot of fun to play.

Primary: Atlas, Steel, Talos, P.I. Secondary: Brickstown, Founders Falls, Rikti War Zone Only for zone events or task forces: Faultline, Independence Point, Skyway (and I use Skyway as a path to Faultline), Croatoa, Striga Island Almost never any hazard zone Never gold-side locations, wards, or Cimerora. I just forget about them most of the time, and when I do remember, it feels tacked on, rather than part of the flow.