Techwright

As one who sometimes has to use ignore due to others' behavior in chat functions, I'm liking this thought. Nine times out of ten, I just am trying to get past a problem, not trying to silence them forever, and the pop-up might just serve as a good reminder that I left someone in a time-out that I should have cancelled anyway. I've only had two problems necessitating more serious action in the past. One, back in the original game, was essentially a stalker, and one in Homecoming made a point of logging into a second account to confront me about my choice to mute them on their primary account. The rest I'd consider as temporary time outs. Were I to receive such a pop-up in a league, I'd immediately check my ignored list to see if I could remove the ignore. If I need to use ignore still, I might just negate it for the duration of the league, then renew it.

First, apologies. Yesterday was not a good day and this bizarre incident capped it off. I made my statement and left without considering that I'd not given enough information. I'd not mentioned the TF involved, but yes, it was a Yin TF. The character I was using was a level 50 Sentinel Energy Blast/Energy Aura. The powers that all dropped simultaneously were: Kinetic Shield Entropy Shield Power Shield Maneuvers (from Leadership pool) Nothing else dropped at the same time. For example, I use hover a lot on this character, and it remained functioning. I keep tabs on my endurance at all times and it was not discharged. In fact, I was watching every control like a hawk the last half of the TF trying to figure out if I could match the power shut-off to some visual of a teammate's power being activated. This problem occurred only when standing next to the team (I'd moved far away towards the end), and occurred in areas where no Freaks were, such as the Council sections of the task force. At least one person was using some sort of team bubble, and possible other domes/bubbles. Hard to tell in all the fireworks going on, and they were using a coloring that made it almost invisible (I'm actually grateful for that). I'm not saying they were the one at fault, it was just the most obvious possibility, and as I've not played characters that do a lot of that, it increased the likelihood in my perception. If I understand the description presented for Dimensional Shift, that one can only hit opponents locked in the "bubble" by entering it first, that does sound like the weirdness I encountered, at least in part. Does it give one an error message if on the other side of the bubble and swinging at an opponent within? It says nothing about de-toggling player powers, though, and the two effects always seemed simultaneous.

I played the game for a while, but it felt off. Like making Mom's legendary coffee cake using a synthetic sweetener instead of sugar. I was also not a fan of the "spam a minor power to eventually charge greater powers". I much prefer our delivery system. Oh, and as much as our "mitts" get derided, they appear far better than those ugly claws that game calls "hands". YMMV. I did look at the opening several minutes of the video, but at over 40 minutes, I'll need to see the rest later. It does look interesting however.

Had a TF today that I encountered something I'd never seen before. Not sure why I've never encountered it in all this time (not like this anyway), and honestly, I'm not sure what the power was. Clearly I've never played it. I think it has something to do with domes or bubbles. In the chaos of battle it was never clear. I just know two things immediately happened: 1. I suddenly couldn't hit anyone. Not that I had bad aim, the game was telling me there was no target though I was standing right next to them. 2. All my defensive toggles went down simultaneously. All. Of. Them. This happened repeatedly throughout the entire TF and when I asked courteously that whomever was using it, if they could not use it in close quarters combat, I got silence...and several more rounds of it. I ended up fighting far on the edge to keep my defense toggles active, notably reducing my effectiveness for the team. A. What is this monstrosity thing, and why does it affect teammates drastically? Honestly, the way it was used on this TF, I'd rather face a mission of Malta Sappers. At least it's the enemy de-powering me, rather than an ally. B. Why does it not come with a required course, test, and 20 hours of range practice time before allowing operation?

That looks Kraken-like, which might fit with the seas around Chimerora. I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at some point after I saw the Disney movie. I was surprised to learn that Verne didn't create a single giant squid, he created a giant cuttlefish swarm. Slightly smaller in physical size than Disney's creation, but many more of them. Perhaps the challenge could be to create a Swarm Giant Monster, where (unlike the multiple Titan Robots) the members of the swarm cover each other, rather than fight independently. I'd find it upping the challenge if I'd not hit just one but have to watch my back and sides for the others. I don't know if it would be possible to have a creature grab and throw a hero/villain, but it would change things up if they had a chance to snag any within arm's reach and fling them away for distance and smashing damage, maybe even lethal.

It's too bad they didn't make the curtains toss-able like the items grav powers throw. It might get a little visually confusing then, but less of a navigation hazard. If you're referring to the ones that are mostly black, I'd not been thinking of these, but yeah, I actively avoid them. The dark-on-dark is just ridiculous. Even my Dr. Nightlight can't illuminate them, and I tried to tune his look for bright white light.

I had a returning member of my SG ask me the other night why "that guy" was constantly kneeling in Orobouros. He was talking about Sovereign, of course. I've actually never heard the reason. I assume it is some kind of recruiting tactic, but maybe he's place saving his memorial spot? 😉

I'm surprised no one has pitched "Headless Barbie". I can't tell you how many plastic Barbie dolls I saw without their plastic heads. It's like a rite of passage for little girls (or maybe their little brothers). We do have a headless costume option after all... (And no, I never liked the Barbie franchise, so I won't be making one.)

That's a great line, and while I was specific to the game (at least I hope it came across that way), it's a positive thought for moving forward in the real world, too. 1) You make an excellent point about research posted to underground websites. While I'm not sure there's a way to completely eradicate the research as a result, there would be a way to routinely purge and prune heavily to try to keep the information to a minimum. 2) The viability of the Dr. V's research - while it is not complete, and you give good evidence of that, it is advancement (if I can use such a word in this ghoulish instance), which could help others to understand and advance the areas of science. While an organ replacement without maintenance might not be possible today, it might in the future, in part based on the research, and that is where it touches on the "needs of the living". 3) Law enforcement condemning the Doctor is a good start, but it needs to be greater. There should be some sort of address by the medical community and society in general, especially since not all society perceives law enforcement in a positive light. 4) Consider the in comparison the victims of a serial killer. Should their names and the record of their lives be forever a sub-point to the killer? Perhaps I overstep in this discussion. I don't wish to bring the real world fully into this topic, but the parallels are unmistakable. Art (in this case a video game) does imitate life after all. 5) Not any singular name, though I'd be for a memorial in the city with a list of the names. More like "Victims Memorial Research" with "victim" being substituted for something more positive in a group sense. Perhaps something like "Candle Vigil Memorial Research", or something like that. Stupid name, I couldn't come up with something better than referencing the oft-done candle vigils, but hopefully it makes the idea understood. Personally, as a player in this virtual world, I think I'd favor @cranebump's thought: ...but I do like seeing the alternate viewpoints and hopefully the underlying reasons.

SPOILERS Just finished the Agent Watkins arc, and the ending reminded me of something. Watkins notes that medical advancements sometimes happen due to tragedies. He's in part referring to the Vahzilok research which in the arc is said to be nearly complete, though halted due to heroic "interference". The situation reminded me of an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, where a holographic reconstruction of an alien war-crimes doctor is utilized, very reluctantly, to save the life of one of the crew. When the "doctor" points out that the computer has all the research the original collected through horrific, criminal research on those enslaved, and states that the work is done and therefore should be utilized to save lives, the hologram and the research are instead erased, and a decision is made to never again use the research. Which brings me back to this arc. If you've played the game, you know how horrific the doctor and his disciples have been to those they've kidnapped. But the fact remains that the research has been documented. Is it better to: A) destroy the research as an outgrowth of a horrific series of tortures and events, or B) recognize that the research results are viable and needed by the living, condemn the doctor and his cult, wipe their names from ever receiving credit, and rename the research to something that memorializes the victims? (I'm making the assumption here that the research will be reviewed to make certain of it's validity, before using it in future, legitimate research and treatments.) I'll offer a "C" option here, in case someone comes up with a notable third option.

It's at this point, when you realize you're not going to receive Super Trolls to tackle due to his jerk behavior, that one should switch to "If that's the way it's going to be..." mode, and have the team wipe away any chance he has of getting a standard Rave Troll. Might make him think a bit more next time. Probably not, but that and inviting everyone to pelt him with snowballs for 10 minutes might ease the pain.

I'm sure someone out there has a 20 Mule Train. 😛

After several false starts, I'm finally on my way to making changes to the bare-bones bases of both of my small supergroups, Men Of Action, and Action Heroes. I'm nowhere near the skill level of others I see here (yet), and I can already see things I should have done better, but the results of our custom teleporter room had me excited enough that I had to share. Thanks to @Dacy for all those helpful videos, and to so many others of you who have posted all those helpful base-building reads in the forum. I'll probably have a lot of questions in days to come. Short vids to show the kinetic elements of the build: Portals Sign

I'm generally not one to spread out my communications for a game between multiple social links. In the case of CoH, the forums have been sufficient. That said, I've seen a few recent forum references to the Discord site for things CoH, so two questions: 1. What is a dyed-in-the-wool forumite missing by not also hanging out at the Discord canteen? 2. Is it exclusive to Homecoming, or do the other CoH knockof emulators share the discussion?

I'm just confused why people are slotting these at levels 7-10. Nowadays we outlevel so fast. I'm guessing they turn off XP gain for some reason? Clearly a corner of Paragon City I don't frequent. Y'all fighting in the monkey cage or something?

Well, this discussion went in a different direction than I'd anticipated and has been very interesting. I was so sure I was not thinking through established process somehow, figuring someone would point out my mistake and instead I find it was likely a very problematic bug. I suppose that's both a relief for me and a shared headache.

Screen Rant has dug up more information...

@ThaOGDreamWeaver: you've said much new to me there. Taking it in order: 1. Ray Parks - I was not aware. Ouch. 2. Ming Qiu - I watched the video, and she definitely can perform spectacular fights. Impressive. Most impressive. If she can choreograph and teach as well, this could be interesting. (As as side note, I've watched Ming Na Wen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. If Ming Qiu is the stunt person there, I've seen her work before, and just didn't realize it. Melinda "The Cavalry" Mae was a favorite character from that show, partially because she could fight. ) Addressing the spoiler box:

Serious answer speculation: In Greek mythology, Proteus was associated with the sea. One of the heroes (Hercules?) found him on a beach. It's possible the creators of the CoH character were trying to reflect this giving him a scaly look like a fish. That, or they're reptilian scales and the creators were trying to show just what a snake he is. Or he just really liked those bizarre Skittle commercials. Your choice.

How is this not the name of a soda pop company yet?

Sorry to derail, but that just reminded me of a funny story my late father used to tell. In his college days (1950s), the university he attended was a bit formal, and served a family-style dinner several times a week. A faculty member was assigned to oversee each table. It was their duty to see the trays were passed around, and they received the final portion. One faculty lady was known for selfish behavior. When the wait staff brought the dessert tray around, she'd lick her finger, place it on the biggest piece and say "That's mine", obviously intending for everyone to leave it alone. The students eventually had enough. When a nice cake was brought around one day, and the ritual concluded, the student receiving the cake tray from her licked his finger, stabbed it in the cake slice she'd marked and declared "That's hers!". All the others at the table followed suit, reducing the piece to rubble. It fixed the problem.

Regarding Mando series/season 3: There were two problematic episodes, which at 1/4 the season doesn't really mark the season well. On an American school grading scale, 75% is a solid "C", passing, but not much else. Besides the Jack Black episode, I also mean the long, drawn-out episode with Dr. Pershing. I can't immediately tell you how to fix the Black episode. The Pershing one, though, was directed by one of the cinematographers who were being given a chance to share their vision. What it should have had is someone higher up with more experience and a critical eye reviewing it and saying: "trim the Pershing portion by 50%, and give that bit to the Mandalorians." I did enjoy the rest of the season, and the end bits of those two shows. Actually, I enjoyed the Jack Black-related storyline to some degree. Seen the Clone Wars droids again in live action was fascinating, and the city was interesting. Someone just needed to work with the dialog and overall goofiness. It's like JarJar: he would have made a great character if Lucas had reigned him in about 50%. Naive, klutzy, but a bit more gravitas. Enough gravitas at least to make it believable that he'd become the Gungan representative to the Senate, while remaining naive enough to nominate Palpatine. But I digress. Andor is a real gem with one exception: Gilroy seems determined not to use the aliens and droids that already exist and are ubiquitous in Star Wars. (K-2SO units being the exception.) He has droids. He has aliens. Now let us see the new creations seemlessly blended with what has been the foundation of the franchise. I have said for years that Rebels would have been better accepted initially had there been two changes: 1) use the same or similar animation style to The Clone Wars. The Rebels animation style immediately brought many to the conclusion that it was a goofy kids show. 2) Reign in Ezra's off-the-wall behavior. I can't tell you the number of times over the full show that I heard him say "trust me" or "I know what I'm doing" and the entire crew just sighs and gives in, despite him having not done his homework before making the statement. His immediate trust of everyone, and some of those repeatedly, only to learn of betrayal was off-point as well. You don't survive as a street rat for 8 years by blindly trusting everyone. That may sound like I don't like Rebels. I actually do. I've seen it through 3 times, and watch an untold number of bits of it while viewing others reactions. But what I like might have been improved a bit. As to the upcoming Ahsoka: Dave will do a good job. He has only a little previous experience with live action, but no one knows Star Wars better at this point, not even George. And Dave is surrounded by a great team of fan-directors who surely will lend him their skill, especially Jon Favreau. This will NOT be Obi-Wan Kenobi, though doubtless there are already those preparing their doom-and-gloom YouTube videos to state otherwise, sight unseen. I've only one concern: that the lightsaber fighting look polished. Ahsoka's live-action premier had, well, less than a speedy performance in that category. I realize animation exaggerates somewhat in speed, but it resembled more of Episode IV fighting rather than Episode I or Episode III, which it should resemble. Ahsoka two decades before fought with a ballet dancer's grace and speed. Hopefully, they brought in Ray Parks to improve that. Dave is definitely going to show us a sense of wonder. Don't forget, he's the one in both The Clone Wars and in Rebels that deliberately expanded on the mystic side of the force stories giving us things like the Mordis Family, the Lothal Jedi Temple, lothwolves, and of course, the World Between Worlds.

Let me guess: his real first name is Tripp, and his last name is something like Overstone, Overhill, Overturf, Overshot, Overmass, Overall, or even Overcat (all of which I've confirmed are real surnames). 😁

More "hmm...."" The small 3-town southeast section of Talos: does it have/should it have a name? Like an office park or something? It seems so isolated from everything else, that it doesn't really feel like it's Talos.

I've never really had a problem working the AH before. This one kind of threw me for a loop though. Background: I was buying a bunch of 40s, and ran into a higher-than-expected pricing for Recharge. Most common ones (damage, accuracy, etc.) were going for between 100k and 150k. Recharge was running around 250k. I opted to put in a bid at 151k, and wait it out. Finished collecting my others, double-checked it before I signed out of the AH, went away a while to run a Manticore TF, then leveled and put in all my new 40s. When I checked back in after that, this is what I found (below). So my puzzlement: I understand losing to the higher 155,555 bid, but why did my 151k bid lose to three 503 bids and a 150,000? Market reporting delays doesn't seem like the thing here. I was gone for a notable period of time and I'd checked on it once after completing my other shopping. None of this was on the board at the time.