Ankylosaur

A few months ago I completed another post-praetoria series - All That Glimmers. This one focused on the magic fallout of Praetorian refugees. It's a 9 arc series / campaign broken into three major chunks that grow in levels. 2.1-2.3 20sish, 3.1 - 3.3 30sish, 4.1 - 4.3 40sish. It starts from the premise that the First Warders are relocated from Refugee Island to the newly, post-Mot Astoria in an effort to reclaim that neighborhood. What follows explores a hook that was going to be core content in future releases (though I take a very different path in pursing that hook) and even brings in Neo Tokyo eventually. If you are looking for something Praetorianesque, it could be something new to try. And though it may not look like it from the outside, Police vs Aliens 1 is definitely a Kheldian / Praetorian story. I've been playing around with ideas for a series about the post-Mr. G primal story (All That Glints?) but making slow headway.

Here is how I think I will fit what I have already written with the ASF... This is all spoiler - just putting this here to explain it and in the hopes it inspires someone to go through all this madness of a campaign once I get all this fixed... 🙂

Ooops! @Darmian shared this with me ... Does not quite jive with the original lore that Aeon had no idea who King Midas was, but that was hard for me to justify too, so I get it. 🙂 Regardless, making King Midas and Lawrence Langston one and the same upsets a few key premises in my Glitters campaign series so will have to retconn that all in. I have a strong idea of how to make that work though, so will be busily updating things and will share the results here. If anyone happens to be doing the new Strike Force and can grab the same descriptions for Princess Zoe and Mr. Rodney that would be much appreciated. I doubt I will have a chance to play it any time soon, and don't have a toon strong enough to solo the whole thing.

Reposting here from Help & Support… BUG?: When opening large AE files I consistently get a Mapserver timeout. So I noticed this issue first on a PC with a VERY large arc I created. Every time I tried to edit it online, it would time out. In the end I simply edited my local copy until I was ready to publish - resigned to the fact that I would never be able to edit it once it was live. More recently, I am on a much older (ancient) Mac, so it is slower to process everything (running on minimal graphics). When I open smaller arcs, it works just fine, allowing me to edit and update them. However, when I open some arcs that are not as big as the one above, but still larger than a typical one, I get the mapserver time out. This makes me think it is all about how long it takes to open a large arc. The game freezes during the opening process as it downloads and digests the arc. I presume, during that time, it is no longer communicating with the mapserver and as a result - kicks me out. Any ideas on how to fix / workaround this? (I put here instead of under Bugs since I realize the mapserver bit is working as intended - it can't talk to my client so I'm dropped - but still, maybe there is some way to extend the time when someone clicks on the Edit button in a published arc or while they are in the AE no powers editing room or something? if it is better to be under bugs please feel to move it.)

BUG?: When opening large AE files I consistently get a Mapserver timeout. So I noticed this issue first on a PC with a VERY large arc I created. Every time I tried to edit it online, it would time out. In the end I simply edited my local copy until I was ready to publish - resigned to the fact that I would never be able to edit it once it was live. More recently, I am on a much older (ancient) Mac, so it is slower to process everything (running on minimal graphics). When I open smaller arcs, it works just fine, allowing me to edit and update them. However, when I open some arcs that are not as big as the one above, but still larger than a typical one, I get the mapserver time out. This makes me think it is all about how long it takes to open a large arc. The game freezes during the opening process as it downloads and digests the arc. I presume, during that time, it is no longer communicating with the mapserver and as a result - kicks me out. Any ideas on how to fix / workaround this? (I put here instead of under Bugs since I realize the mapserver bit is working as intended - it can't talk to my client so I'm dropped - but still, maybe there is some way to extend the time when someone clicks on the Edit button in a published arc or while they are in the AE no powers editing room or something? if it is better to be under bugs please feel to move it.)

After going through it all and reviewing the story myself, I realized that ConDev is far too integrated to bother with swapping it out. it would be just WAY too much work to affect that change, with minimal benefit. So, instead, I am going with a bit more of a Minimum Viable Product approach to this. I applied it to work for today - the series is updated - and have ideas about how I will integrate the new Gold Brickers IF they become available in the AE. The changes for this phase were simple in the end.

Updated Gold Brickers = Updated Series? I soloed through much of the new Aeon Strike Force, until it was too tough, and watched the rest in a Youtube video and it has big implications for All That Glitters. In many ways it might make it simpler. I had introduced a group, ConDev, late in the series as I realized my original ending didn't fit and inter-dimensional tech scavenging Gold Brickers seemed a stretch. (No longer true!) ConDev is a hook in the lore that was never used, and I think essentially eliminated. (The original write-up for Cap Au Diable mentions them, and their logo on a building, but I sure can't find it.) The same fate for ConDev may happen here. With interdimensional Gold Brickers + a host of interesting AVs to take the place of some of the ones I created, plus high level Gold Brickers now, I could re-work this to replace ConDev with Gold Brickers which tightens things up significantly. I was able to update the Custom Gold Brickers I had created with all the new costume pieces, and they look great. If we get all the Gold Bricker new mobs in the AE, I will likely update the whole series to eliminate ConDev. -- Complicated Rename for Clarity? The other thing I am considering is renaming it all. All That Glitters 1.x is an intro, establishing the Gold Brickers as a key threat, but also introducing some post praetorian magic. So then All That Glitters 2.x follows the Gold Bricker tech thread while All That Glimmers 2.x follows the magic thread - both related, in that they address post praetoria, but independent paths that conclude in world changing events. And I think the names are just vague and unhelpful... So I am considering calling it something else and breaking it down in a convention like this: Post-Praetorian Campaign - signifies what its about, Post Praetoria, and the fact that is like an RPG campaign - that it levels from 1 - 54. Makes it easy to search for too. #.# - to break it up into it's "books" each arc (e.g. 1.1) reveals major chunks, but they conclude with a big finale at the end of the book (e.g. 1.3). intro, Tech, Magic, or Epilogue - if the numbers tell you where you are sequentially, these do too, but also tell you which path you are in. (Considering a third parallel MUCH shorter path around the Mr. G. / Aurora story) Title - teases what will be happening and where. Post Praetoria Campaign 1.1 - Intro: Missing in Mercy Post Praetoria Campaign 1.2 - Intro: Pirates in Port Oakes Post Praetoria Campaign 1.3 - Intro: Capitalism in Cap Au Diable Post Praetoria Campaign 2.1 - Tech: Boom Time in Boomtown Post Praetoria Campaign 2.1 - Magic: Death in Light Astoria Post Praetoria Campaign 2.2 - Tech: Fortunes in Faultline Post Praetoria Campaign 2.2 - Magic: Drowning in the Vigilant Isles Post Praetoria Campaign 2.3 - Tech: Terawatts in Terra Volta Post Praetoria Campaign 2.3 - Magic: Destruction in the Shadow Shard Post Praetoria Campaign 3.1 - Tech: Nervy Acquisitions in Nerva Archipelago Post Praetoria Campaign 3.1 - Magic: Shunting in Croatoa Post Praetoria Campaign 3.2 - Tech: Suspicious Maneuvering in St. Martial Post Praetoria Campaign 3.2 - Magic: Banished in the Spirit Realm Post Praetoria Campaign 3.3 - Tech: Calamity in Kallisti Wharf Post Praetoria Campaign 3.3 - Magic: Incursion in Oranbega Post Praetoria Campaign 4.1 - Tech: Risky War GameZ in the Rikti War Zone Post Praetoria Campaign 4.1 - Magic: Summonings in Nerva Archipelago Post Praetoria Campaign 4.2 - Tech: Privateers in Praetoria Post Praetoria Campaign 4.2 - Magic: Ninjas in The Wind Post Praetoria Campaign 4.3 - Tech: Grand Designs in Grandville Post Praetoria Campaign 4.3 - Magic: Gods in The Planes Post Praetoria Campaign 5.0 - Epilogue: Redemption in Neo Tokyo I know its so much that no one will play it - but will casting it as a campaign help maybe entice a few more? (Since the arcs level with it feels like a RPG campaign in that sense.) Does the naming help reveal what to expect and the two paths? Is it way too cumbersome? I put the series name first as a way to help people find them, but then the mission titles get lost - would it be better reversed?

Also, if memory serves, defendable objects can be surrounded by friendlies. The map and the attacking mob (if thats an option) must be set to empty. This could mean SWAT vans surrounded by police with SWAT shields, or cargo trucks with people carrying crates, or mainframes with lab techs with clipboards - some nice window dressing options...

Yeah, usually you just have to shoehorn in a solution with creative writing... Make the terminal dual control, or hacked to be unlockable by you even though the escort does the downloading, or some other conceit to the mechanics.

I drove by this the other day - if you have played this series you'll get why it made me feel like I might be in a simulation... If I ever get a computer to get back online again, I have some serious updating to do to incorporate the new Gold Brickers, and the new Midas AV. I have a plan for how to swap in a different character into the existing role my King Midas plays in the story and can try to work in the new "official" Midas elsewhere.

Congrats all! And thanks for running the contest, @Take One

I have thought of ways to make it more difficult, (e.g. all boss mobs surrounding them) but decided in the end it is not important. If you can take em on, well why not? 🙂 You have to take on many Arachnos leaders in the Glitters after all.

Serves me right for trying to kludge a "cutscene" - you killed the actors! 🙂

So, I finished All That Gleams above, but it is not my submission. While it does visit a reborn Praetoria, it is built upon so much story scaffolding as to not really stand on its own. I intended it as a bit of an epilogue, so it is a bit more expositional in how it unfolds - which makes it a bit less of a contender. Instead, I'll submit Ninjas in The Wind, which was originally written as a standalone and really is where I introduce the notion of a Praetoria reborn. So...

The level cap is somewhat mechanical. A mob that is designed to be challenging at level 20 is just not going to be challenging at level 50 if it has the exact same powersets. So unless they are planning on using Trolls at level 50 and want to make high level versions (like they did with any number of the mobs - look inside to see how they evolve) your only route is customs or forcing players to jump levels in an arc. To me, the former is the better end user experience. I think you will find most players are pretty accommodating about customs in AE so will overlook the faces. Spawn points are such an ancient wish-list item we have to assume that its just not easy to implement. There are some ways to do some creative things with escorts and conversations, but have their own quirks and limitations. Having an actual dialog type character in missions would be nice to have.

I'm working on one... All That Gleams 5.0: Redemption in Praetoria The Epilogue to the All That Glitters, All That Glimmers and even Police vs. Aliens, series it pulls the three together and is sort of the inverse of what you have been through. While those series all explore the impact of Praetoria on Primal, all the stories above have an impact on the post-Cole Praetoria. This explores that landscape and the impact you have had on the "reborn" Praetoria by participating in those arcs - just to put a bow on the various series. Two other "rebirths" in there too. Coming soon...

If you are looking for some custom trolls and skulls for higher levels - this should jump start you.

@Yomo Kimyata Thanks for this! I took a run at a build based on this and another I found and am loving it. Love the Force feedback proc idea. Some of my changes I ended up without an Epic PP and just SS and SJ so I could get more slots. I did take Spring Attack for fun, a slight splash of Knockdown crowd control, and for just one more Force Feedback that actually does trigger occasionally. I couldn't fund the whole thing yet, but looking among the unbuilt recipes from other toons I ended up with three each of Panacea and Preventative for now - both sets in Ablative I am using Touch of the Nictus for the Accuracy on DNA and Parasitic It's been loads of fun. Also - was it you who did the TO contest recently? If so - it was that that helped fund me as I leveled a new toon!

@Xandyr Thanks! I have a WP/Titan tank stalled at around lvl 40 - the animations are just SO SLOWWW. Have seen an Invuln/Staff in action and she seems pretty strong too (in that it is also set and forget). Maybe I will dust him off my old tank again too. On my first respec experimenting with this, I don't have maneuvers, or an epic pool. I ended up working in Spring Attack for fun and a proc. With that and the 3 staff KB powers I have 4 Force Feedback recharge procs going which helps a little to keep those healing powers up and available.

@Yomo Kimyata - liking the look of this build! I recently reached 50 with my staff/bio brute and went Leviathan for thematic reasons, but I see you make good use of the Artic Breath debuffs. I'm looking to start investing in some enhancement sets, and this looks right up my ally. A few questions though... no slotting in health or stamina - that works? hasten is two slotted because of the IOs? do you miss mercurial blow as a fast attack? do you actually ever use kick or spirit shark to trigger the force feedbacks? how survivable is this build? have you tweaked it since it was shared?

@Xandyr I recently got a Staff/Bio Brute to 50 and am trying to pull together a build from what was shared above. Would you be willing to share yours? I'm loving the combo - thematically I so want to keep spirit Shark instead of Serpent's reach, but not sure its worth it. 🙂

Congrats to all the winners! Thrilled to be selected and excited for the extra plays it may bring. So glad to hear that you all enjoyed Police vs. Aliens 2. (For more very different Nictusy goodness, give Police vs. Aliens 1 a spin too.) Also, thanks to all who tested and played - I am sure judging these is a very time consuming process.

@GM Impervium I am sure I will! (Though I am also fairly confident that I will have a hundred things to edit to make them gel with the "new canon" introduced by Page 3. 🙂 ) Said another way - I've answered all those questions in my own way, and if my answers are different than yours I either have to parallel universe mine or rework them to make them fit in. (e.g. I saw you shared a Goldbricker screenshot, and if my answer for "what's King Midas' story" / "what does Langston do" is different - which I can't imagine its not - I will have to figure out how to fit it in. And am already planning for that change.) But such is the risk of authoring!

@Darmian thanks for the vote of confidence as well! The most "outside the lore" of mine is Adventures in Wonderland, and even it has an anchor in the in game reality (as much as the books do). My arc list is long, and a bit daunting, but if you ever want details about the areas of the lore the arcs explore let me know. Like @cranebump I often have questions that inspire me to explore an answer How did people end up in the Shadow Shard? Where did the snakes in the isles come from? What if people wanted to embrace Eden / DE as a return to nature / paradise? Who is gathering and supplying Arachnos, Longbow, the Family, and the Council with Praetorian Tech? How come Marshall has not tried to weaponize the Arachnoids? What is King Midas' story? Where are the Carnival of Light, Forlorn, and other evacuees calling home now? How come Arachnos is not trying to get new magic from Croatoa? Why isn't the Order of the Winds coming down on Scirocco and Ice Mistral? What does Langston Corp. do? (never did work in Gold Brick candy into that though I meant to. 🙂 ) Why does Port Oakes still not have a governor named by Recluse? What is Astoria like after Mot is defeated? Why did the Circle stop making appearances in Faultline and Dark Astoria (after they were revamped)? Why are the Nictus still hanging out on earth after thousands of years of not conquering it? And sometimes I just have an idea for a fun use of a mob or custom mob or map I have never used before that I try to shoehorn in. 😉