Techwright

Episode 14 "The Summit" and Episode 15 "Plan 99", or as I like to think of them: "Why can't all episodes be this good?" These... hit hard. I truly hope this invigorates the series in people's thinking. Looking forward to season 3, and hate that it is going to probably be a year or more until then.

Interesting. I wonder if that bad CGI was produced by the same studio that was criticized (rightly so) for the flat look of Bruce Banner in the Hulkbuster outfit and other things during the two Infinity War movies. My understanding is that Marvel put at least 2 CGI studios to work on those movies due to the massive number of special effects needed. And as of this weekend, this may be something of a moot point, due to an arrest of actor Jonathan Majors. Personally, I think the charges will be dropped. The defense attorney has already stated some pretty solid evidence that Mr. Majors is not guilty of the charges, including two signed confessions by the accuser, but we'll see. It does raise an interesting point, though: When the MCU puts so much into one character: Thanos, now Kang, what do they do if the actor is suddenly unavailable due to any number of circumstances? Recasting Kang sounds like it would be hard, but then, he is a multiversal character. I suppose they could whack this Kang and have another, played by a different actor, take his place.

Bear with me please...by "high rez" are you referring to the OP's suggestion of using A.I. or of the faces that were brought into the game later? I've heard of negative reactions to A.I. clarified faces. Trying to recall where, though. Warcraft? As to the latter, I thought the faces brought in on the gold side Praetorian robots were clearer and pretty good. They didn't seem jarring in context of the whole. I realize Going Rogue wasn't near the end of the game, but by example, if the oldest faces could be improved to that standard, I'd be agreeable to seeing that. However, @TheZag is right, best to mark improvements as a second option, or tag old looks as a legacy option. @Snarkyis also spot on: removing pieces stirs ire. I've seen that recently first hand in another game I play.

Multiple questions regarding the choice to destroy Galaxy City: Why was it done? Yes I know the story had to show the Battalion vanguard in action, but what made the development team pick Galaxy City for the chopping block? Was it seen as really bad or really useless, or some other negative characteristic? Or was it possibly chosen because it was good and they wanted to create emotional impact? In your opinion, was Galaxy City the right choice for the zone to be destroyed? Would you have considered another zone a better choice? Lastly, lore-wise, what's currently going on in the spot that used to be Galaxy City? I don't recall. Is the vanguard still roaming the ruins? If so, are there missions to purge them from the planet? If not, why not. --- In answering that second question, personally, I'm not sure GC was the best choice (keep in mind I lack an answer as to why the devs chose it). At the time, computers were still draggy when too many entered Atlas Park, and with it being a major hub zone (and invasions still being a thing in AP, if I recall correctly), we really needed a lesser populated starting zone. At least, that was my opinion. Removing GC increased the traffic to Atlas Park. Nowadays its not so much a problem since most have newer computers. As to what zone I'd like to have seen destruction rained down upon instead, I'd have picked Skyway City. That place is a mess of useless road systems, and confusing understreet sections. Even the NPCs get confused where they need to be. Destroying it might have allowed for a complete rebuild/redesign, possibly faster than other zones due to its multiple connections, unlike say, Boomtown.

Apparently you've never been near Batesville, IN, USA. The Batesville Casket Company has trucks out on the adjacent interstate all the time. It might just be the perfect job for @Snarky. While I'd agree about the mission design, the idea of leaving one portal and going to another makes a bit of sense from a role-playing standpoint. Presumably these things need precision tuning. I could see loading the second portal in the building and having it on standby to move a team as quickly as possible to another dimension while they're still filing out of the former portal. But yeah, having them leapfrog around the complex is not good game design.

Now imaging a stretchy with arms that far out, animated over the tornado effect already in game, but with more damage dealing. Knockdown, say minor damage, aoe effect with both a winding twist, then unwinding twist.

Question: Is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as bad as the bloodthirsty are saying it is? It's a little hard to tell which trashers are taking delight in doomsaying and which are trying to give a genuine report. Trying to decide if I should go to one of the few remaining, oddly-timed showings in my region or save my money and just wait many months until Disney+ puts it in their queue. Mostly I'm interested in making certain that I'm not left behind on the main story arc of the MCU when whatever is next roles around. Knowing that the next Big Bad was introduced in this movie has me wondering if I need to go see it. (And yeah, I'm aware a different version of him was in Loki.)

I've only had a moment to skim the comments. I'll probably come back later with a deep read and probably a more detailed answer. I'd not want to continue the story, nor replay it. Portal Corp. has revealed a multi-verse. I'd want to set 2.0 in an undiscovered dimension. Build the lore from the distant past forward. What would that look like? Not sure, except that certain things would have a familiarity to them. Would there even be a Well? I realize The Well is a multi-dimensional entity, but does it extend to all dimensions or just a great many? Would the Prussian who indefinitely extended his life through incredible mechanical means even be a megalomaniac villain, or would he possibly be the long-lived hero, taking Statesman's place as leader of the world's champions? Would characters we know as normal people be superheroes there, and vice versa? I find the idea of a fresh start within a slightly familiar situation would deliver a lot of delighted surprises to players of 1.0. No war walls, as others have said. A new game could have a more expansive city, possibly with different neighborhoods in places (or parts of places) where familiar ones exist in 1.0, but also with an eye toward the broader state, region, and yes, world. An airport or city-to-city technology should be a necessity to explain trips to Europe, some Pacific islands, Antarctica, or the Congo. For that matter, we need trains. I don't mean the elevated commuter system (which I think we should still have), but tracks and switch yards representing freight hauling as well as passenger systems hopefully a bit more like European or Japanese models rather than real-world Amtrak. I'd want instance settings in more than just non-descript open spaces and half-empty or deserted warehouses and office buildings in the Brutalist style. Where are the junk yards, the ballfields, the museums? If we must fight in closer quarters, why not through an apartment building or a deserted school? Oh, and as I think of it, do so with breakable walls, possibly even a challenge of bringing a building down if there's too much damage done. One other point I always think about (and have occasionally mentioned): ethnic neighborhoods. I want to see the Czech Village, and the "Littles" for cultures like Italy, Greece, and China (or since we have the Tsoo, something reflecting Hmong culture). Show their bodegas, their restaurants, their fruit stands, trinket stores, and urban temples. Maybe even set missions within some of them.

Yep! I suspect they'll drop the last two episodes of the season as a 2-for-1, and if last season is an indication, these last two will be strong as well. Speaking of this episode, what's up with...

Children of the Watch are weird...

Carl Weathers is indeed showing he is a formidable Star Wars director. I do like some of the others as well, though. Dave Filoni and Bryce Dallas Howard spring to mind. As to the spoiler comment, it is an excellent point, but if I may note... I've been forced to assume... I've watched some reactions and read others, and some have made a comment that I'm kicking myself for not considering (good for them!):

Season 3, Episode 4 - The Foundling, or as I like to say: the completely opposite level of interest from last episode.

The things you forget... 🙄 I started reading the OP and was like, this guy has some crazy thoughts. Who wrote th...why is my avatar here? 🤪

That or to phase out the Incarnate mess, a fair exchange that increases our thematic powers, like unlocking a 7th or even eventually 8th slot on a limited number of powers. Just the 7th alone could create some interesting possibilities with sets. I don't recall what they were, but over a year back, I'd figured out a few other possibilities that could be used besides just slots.

Energy Conversion, for lack of a better term. Think X-man Dazzler, who converts sound to light, X-Factor's former teammate Strong Guy, who absorbed energy and redirected it as powerful punches and kicks, or Marvel's Sebastian Shaw who absorbs kinetic energy of all kinds but can redirect it into his own attacks. In a COH context this could be expressed as a character that can ramp up their attacks depending on how much energy surrounds them or targets them. For example: In solo play, the character would have weaker attacks if initiating fights, suggesting the idea of using the ambient sound in the room for energy. The character would gain stronger attacks when the enemy initiates attacks creating more sound. The character creates very strong attacks when hit by the enemy, redirecting a notable portion of the energies into the character's own energy attacks (or energy shielding). Any damaging attack to the character would suffer a degree of mitigation (due to the absorption and redirection of a portion of the energy), so the Energy Converter would be naturally a bit tanky. An early ability gained would be to drop a sound-making device that delivers notable sound for a limited time, boosting their solo ability. Think sub-woofer, as an example. Such device would appear in a look/animation showing to the character's origin (one for tech/natural, one for science/mutation, and one for magic). In team play, there'd be the added opportunity for team effort. The team could direct their energies at their Energy Conversion teammate who could then deliver powerful single-target blasts greater than any single character could, or diffuse for still potent AoE and cone attacks. I'm kind of surprised that I've not read anything about a Speed Assault, or words to that effect. It's definitely a power set I'd like to see, but its just not practical. It would be hard to implement properly at anything that looked authentic to blazing speed. Were it to be done at faster levels than speedy things we have now, it would be impossible to control. Even if the player's hand-eye coordination were superb for such a task, you'd forever be running into problems with technology not keeping up: slow computers, network issues, etc. Elastic Attack - this one I can actually see as doable, I actually sat down one time and looked at most of the current powers and attacks and found several that I thought could be reskinned to an elastic power set. But the sad truth is, that would be a major redo on look and animation, so I just don't see it happening. (May I eat my words someday).

Card King very much looks like a shoo-in for the Batman Rogues Gallery group The Royal Flush gang. Impressive. Most impressive.

You had me at Miles Davis! Classic and classy jazz kind of guy here.

Is this turning into a west-side-of-The-Pond vs. east-side-of-The-Pond thing? Because I refuse to discuss chips, crisps, and fries while a population cannot even figure out what a "pudding" is. At least we on the western shores have it figured out. We can even turn it into a pie: ( 😉 ♥️ ✌️ )

Actor Lance Reddick died suddenly Friday March 17 at age 60. He was the voice and facial model for the manipulative ally Sylens in video games Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. He also voiced Commander Zavala in the Destiny game series, and was in other game works. You may know his as Charon from the John Wick movies. I understand he played the role in a video game as well. He was a main cast member in The Wire, a show I've not seen, and had numerous guest roles in prominent TV shows. Reading down the list of his accomplishments, In the realm of superheroes and villains I see he also had a chance to voice Ras Al Ghoul and Avengers' Falcon. I first encountered him as the no-nonsense Phillip Broyles on JJ Abrams TV Show Fringe, and though I'd tuned in to watch John Noble play Walter Bishop, I found myself captivated by Lance's performance. Lance had a distinctive piercing gaze and a baritone rumble in his precise speech. Truly sorry to hear of his passing. He was always fascinating to watch. The silver lining is that there are 4 movies and 1 TV series in post that he was involved with. The TV one is the upcoming first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, where Reddick will play Zeus. I'm particularly interested in The Caine Mutiny Court-Trial, which apparently is a filmed version of Herman Wouk's stage play of the same name, itself based on Wouk's book The Caine Mutiny. You may recall that the book was also turned into a movie of the same name starring Humphrey Bogart and other big-name stars. Reddick is playing the captain presiding over the court in this new version.

OOOOHhhhhh...NOW I see what caused the issue with this episode...

Season 3, Episode 3 - The Convert I'll not lie. The first viewing of this, I liked the bookends but not the middle. However, with the benefit of hindsight and a repeated viewing, I've come to better appreciate the whole. This almost felt like two distinct episodes, but I now feel there's a common thread. More on that down in the Spoilers. EDIT: I forgot to add that Elia Kane's actress, Katy M. O'Brian, in appearance strikes me as having an almost sibling-like resemblance to actor Steve Bacic from back in his Andromeda days about 20 years ago (playing two members of the Rhade family). Looking forward by reviewing the season trailer, I have a thought where this story is going, though probably not the last episode:

Ah, yes! Gotcha!

The year Scooby Doo and gang met Batman, the whole season was about bumping into famous people. Some of the guests included the Three Stooges as well as Jonathan Williams playing a dual role as a cartoon version of himself and a for-kids version of Maude Frickert. How about Predator vs. Na'vi (Avatar)? Seems like the wilds of Pandora would be just the place for a predator hunt. Adding in the size difference and the hostile atmosphere just makes it interesting.

Sorry for the second post, but I just had a thought: can we include historical as an option? I've long wished for a shared Napoleonic War universe of Horatio Hornblower (C.S. Forester's novels, different actors onscreen), Captain Jack Aubrey (Patrick O'brien's Aubry-Maturin series, onscreen as Master and Commander with Russell Crowe), and Richard Sharpe (Bernard Cornwell's series, portrayed on British TV by Sean Bean)