Techwright

Specific to those two, I wasn't thrilled to learn Vic had been terminated. Why not have two Questions? Or put another way, why not make the character more questionable to the public by confusing them even more? One could work days, the other nights, but on occasion together, just never more than one face shown in public.

Just a guess, but Lucasfilm's other little project, The Mandalorian had a huge leap in facial de-aging between the last episode of Season 2, and season 2.5 The Book of Boba Fett thanks to their recognizing the talents of one YouTuber and hiring him. I'm going to guess that part of his contract was to teach the others at Industrial Light and Magic, which would lead to the results you observed.

I was wondering the other day when we'd get a second helping of certain Marvel shows. Nice to the see the trailer for this one. Even more excited to see the Chicago World's Fair portrayed. The Devil in the White City is one of my favorite non-fiction books, and I'm very interested to see the fair visualized. This trailer may just have been cut to show the best bits, but this season looks to be a hum-dinger. Any word on when What If...? season 2 drops, or at least the trailer?

That's a reasonable question, but the answer is "no". I thought of it during the TF, it was actually my first thought, so I was monitoring for it. And there was the last time all the defenses dropped. I'd become a bit paranoid by then. We were in the reactor room, I'd moved closer to the team, enough to be under the bubble, but I deliberately only fired off a few shots. Sure enough, the defensive toggles all dropped together, and my endurance was still there. Sadly, I think you're right, but hopefully, it was a one-session glitch. I did take the character and run the Yin TF again (keeping the combat chat up) and nothing happened. I also ran a Sister Psyche TF (lots more Freaks) and again nothing unusual happened. I did have a Super Sapper take out my endurance once during the latter, but I saw it coming. I was just too close to him in the crowd to move off quickly. This I'm used to, and I always try to identify and keep my distance from the Super Saps, but sometimes it's just not possible due to the chaos. There was no one with domes or bubbles on either team. My thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I tested what I could, and could not duplicate the issue beyond that one session's repeated events. I've one other thing to try, and that involves getting a character with the requisite dome and bubble powers to team with me and see if any of them drop the toggles. That's just dotting i's and crossing t's. I think it must have been a glitch, like Snarky suggested.

It was well past the 3-second rule. A Tyrant redemption arc would be interesting, and we'd get "Statesman" back (hopefully with a cooler costume), but if we need someone in the top position again, I'd really like to see a redemption arc for ....spoilers due to new players.......

I would point out that, although Paragon City and the Rogue Islands are nexuses (had to look up the plural form 🙄) of planetary super activity, they are still just two places on a large rock. I see it as entirely possible for other, previously-unknown global groups to eventually see opportunity and either move in or perhaps be utilized as a mercenary force to some group already in the area. That said, I go back to what I stated earlier, which is that the dev team is limited, and, unless additional prospects join their numbers, the design of any TF/SF would be limited by what is currently available, or could be easily made available by their current numbers. This might (and I'm just guessing here) involve residual models never used but left in the code, if such things still exist. Or it might be Frankensteining models together, which I think I'd read was used on one occasion. What might happen, for example, if the Outcasts started using Superdyne? Would we get Super Troll Outcasts? That sort of thing.

I was going to suggest Blue Shield as a TF giver, but then realized he probably made a phone call, and all the bad guys we'd have faced immediately surrendered. Blue Shield jokes live!

Interesting that you bring that up. While we have TF's served up by trainers, I wonder if we could bring the other two members of the South Korean W.I.S.D.O.M. team (Rose Star, Spark Blade) into the game as Task Force givers. They're defined, they may even have models in the files of the game, but were never put into it. Those two do seem like they have room for more story, and Matthew has demonstrated cool and smart thinking in intense situations. Just what you'd want in a credible TF giver. Do you refer to the War Witch in Pocket D? I thought I'd heard she was one from an alternate dimension, though now that I think of it, I think someone suggested she's the Prime Universe War Witch, but can only manifest as alive within Pocket D. I admit my knowledge is lacking for a concrete answer. Hellions; I can't recall ever hearing who their boss is. A TF might emphasize that. Skulls: I don't recall all the dialog, but were there not more relatives or Lords of Chaos than were brought down in the Eagle Eye arc? Seems reasonable some would be out to free/restore the Skulls. Outcasts: Frostfire's story has a resolution, but I'd always thought he was just one of the highest ranks, not necessarily the highest. Also, would love to see a TF, whether before or after Frostfire's resolution, where we learn there's a leader for each powerset, overseeing training in their particular ability, and collectively acting like a war council or joint chiefs of staff. We'd have to take each down for a victory. Freakshow: Although I like them, I'm not really into seeing another with them. There's the Penny Yin TF, and the Sister Psyche TF is still available. Both heavy on Freaks. You even get a bit of them in the Numina TF, and they're the focus of one of the Reactor Trials. I'd rather let another villain group shine. It could be. I'm only asking for the contact to be in-game already. As I think about it, I wonder if inspiration could be had by the original names for some of these groups, names that were discarded. Like "Skeleton Crew". That said, there's material that hasn't been touched much that might make a good TF/SF, and any new character will require designs and models. That's a lot of work. That's an interesting idea. A TF to drive a foothold into recovering Galaxy City, would be a fresh perspective. I wonder if such a thing could be spun into a dual feature: a TF and an SF both hoping to create a foothold into Galaxy City, each for very different purposes, but having to interact with the same characters, items, buildings, and situations.

Which NPC already in game (I'll allow for characters that currently don't have a model, just a text reference to them) should have a task force or strike force that does not already? What might be the focus of their TF/SF?

I've a character in the mid-20s now that I was surprised to discover was squishier than probably any other character I've played. There's not really any defenses in the first and second power sets, at least nothing that provides a designated protection. He's pretty much the "best defense is a strong offense" type. I'd like to know what's probably the strongest minimal choice(s) from the third column: 1. Combat Jumping 2. Tough & Weave together 3. Maneuvers 4. Other? I deliberately didn't mention the archetype or power sets because I'd like to look at this from an any character situation, if possible, just in case I see something like this on a future character.

I hope I didn't imply banning them. That was not my intention when I said "violation status". I agree that making them aware of policies is the way to go. I've mentioned it before on the forums, but back in 2005 I created a flat out duplicate of a favorite hero completely disconnected mentally from how that violated the rules. Someone was kind enough to point out the situation and I'm very grateful they didn't handle it otherwise. I drastically altered the character immediately. That's really all I'm asking here. I'd actually like to see creative homages that don't cross the line. I like creative. It's why I hang out in the "post your costume" section.

I'd never considered Romulans as "gold side", but with Cryptic involved, I see your point, especially since they're not a true side, and you join one or the other main sides part way up the ladder. That was one of my issues with the game. Romulans were not fully developed in the game. I enjoyed the ships, I liked what was there, but I wasn't enthusiastic with "We're a dying species. Divide up and fight one another." The costuming section was also atrocious. Different pallets for different costume pieces, even among pieces that clearly should have the same color pallet. And the costume parts were terribly buggy. I could not get my team's uniforms to match the way I wanted them to look, because some characters lacked components that other characters had. That played heavily against the game for me, as Romulans are some of my favorite characters in Star Trek, and I preferred playing them. I didn't have a problem with ground combat, per se, but I grew annoyed over time at space combat which always in a dragged out fight amounted to the NPC ship moving up next to me and forcing us both into a spiral shooting at each other. No real tactics involved. The lootbox mentality also ruined it for me. I was forever frustrated getting more lootboxes than my inventory could handle, and often replacing real drops. Otherwise, I did enjoy the game, and it had some great looking shots for it's time.

*Psst...guys, hide it! I got a feeling it's not the right time for the reveal.* *Noooo...HIDE it! Don't push it to a corner!*

Am I missing something? What's with the sudden (apparently) uptick of licensed character duplicates tonight? I've seen Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cheetah, Hawkman (and I think I spotted Hawkgirl in a crowd), Sue Storm, and others. I wondered at first if there was a supergroup involved, but no SG listed on those that I checked. None of them except one had a clear knockoff of the character's name, Most had partial references or clever references. I'm all for homage characters, but last I checked, duplicating a costume and powers took it from homage to violation status. I will say one of those had different powers, but an obvious name/costume. I'm used to seeing one or two occasionally, but the unusual volume of them had me puzzled.

Are the owl references on redside? I honestly don't recall owls mentioned anywhere. That's an interesting travel power suggestion, though I would add that, until they allow attacking from a flying carpet, the owl should be given the same limitations as the flying carpet or jet surfboard. Chest symbol seems the best way to go. I suspect it has the least animation needed, if any. (I suspect the animation is handled in other ways and the graphic is just loaded up. I heard a rumor recently that there was only one animator on our volunteer dev team, so the less pressure on them, the better. I'd love to see several new chest symbols, not just an owl. In the case of more costume animation, a couple of the face masks that @UltraAlt posted seem good inspiration, rather than make a full owl head/body. But again: one animator. Honestly, I'd thought you'd ask for swimming dog options first. Not sure why. On this we agree. My very first character (didn't last long) back in 2004-2005 was an attempt at a polar bear look on a hero. The results were less than adequate. I've wanted some decent bear stuff, at least a chest graphic, ever since.

Dollars? So we'll be playing for real money? I can get behind that. Wait, is that US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, East Caribbean, Bahamian, Bermuda, ... Joking aside, I wonder if we ought not develop an INF currency icon.

I'm not even sure it's a "jogger". It doesn't have power jogging action, it has "power stepping action". Wait, it also says "No batteries needed"...so is it really "power"? And how is it a "Villain Chasing Machine"? Just what villain would you chase in a non-powered, non-jogging, stepping machine? The Slug?

Might I ask what is off-putting? I've not played STO in years, and I did leave due to some frustrations with the game, but largely I enjoyed it. I'm curious to know if the problems were similar to what I saw.

I brought another of my Original Game creations back to life: Originally a controller, Thistle Wyld has been reinterpreted as a plant control/thorny assault Dominator, and has had slight adjustments in name and costume. From left to right: Original Game first costume, Original Game last costume, Homecoming modifications

I believe they had something like this for the theater posters. And those were universally changed, not just server changes. So, at least at one point in the OG, the tools existed for changes. Clientside billboard mods shouldn't need to be approved, but then, some folks post videos. Is there a disclaimer if something appears on one of them that may be problematic?

In my experiences, there are speed runs and there are speed runs. By that I mean there's events where everyone knows to take shortcuts, but still fight some of the time. Alternatively, there are those speed runs where one or two know all the extreme shortcuts and don't really allow any fighting. The other 6 or 7 players are relegated to little more than standing inside the door and gain very little XP from the event. I've done many speed runs where we still fight part of the time. The cloaked speedster might be off on level 4 looking for the McGuffin, but we slower, more conspicuous types still manage to drop several of the first floor mobs before the goal is met. I'm fine with this if it is announced ahead of time. I've been on a few of the other kind though. With those, so far, it's never communicated in advance that only one or two will run the show, and no thought is given to XP, just the end rewards. Those I might tolerate on a first run for a character, just to get the badge, but not subsequent runs. This is a game. I log in to play, not to be a token figure. I'd also add that the longer the TF, the more agreeable I am to doing a speed run. The shorter TFs, like Posi 2 or Yin TF, I'm happy to take the KM approach. I'm also agreeable to certain instances being run in speedy fashion even on a kill most TF. For example, the "rescue Dr. Todd" mission during the Moonfire TF: I favor using a team teleport to the exit once we secure Dr. Todd, due to the chance at mission failure as well as the NPC's ability to get stuck or confused.

What about duplicated zone cases? Granted, that would be a rare situation, and nothing different if it is only a location being sought, but if the zone is maxed and they leave (which is essentially the base hospital), "returning" might mean entering the alternate zone. Would specific characters/items that they were hoping to interact with (say, an ambush) still appear in the duplicate zone?

I have never seen a 100 millimeter inf. I'm actually curious now.

It's worth a look. I think I'll run the character again through Yin TF a few times this week to see if I can duplicate the issue. I'll watch the combat logs as @lemming suggested. This discussion has actually made me quite curious if it was a single factor, or multiple just weirdly timed, and of course whether it's player or NPC related. I accept from the discussion that if it is "player" created, it most likely was a bug.

Honestly, I'd pay good INF to a P2W to get a chainsaw or a blow torch. I've been wanting to pollard that forest for decades now. Eden, too.