[Staff Running & Lunge]

1 minute ago, Rudra said:

Which Lunge? Blood Widow or Spines?

 

Spines, I have not checked Blood Widow.

[Staff Running & Lunge]

For Staff Fighting, I would just like to toss the idea out there to have an animation option or stance option in which you carry the staff in one hand, much like how you do so with other hand held weapons, instead of held in front of you making your run look very awkward. Nothing fancy.

Second, with Lunge, it appears that Lunge roots you in place long after the animation has finished. It also (counting in my head here, nothing verifiable) counts out longer than the activating time says it should. Can anyone verify?

That's it, appreciate it.

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

10 minutes ago, Koopak said:

Alright pointless flame war aside I have to ask, why bother tracking where it came from. To date OP is the only one to report this, and all versions for the last several years have been proven clear of silly tampering. Aside from giving the mood over to ensure nothing else is tapered with seems pretty case closed.

 

Wild goose chasing this seems a huge waste but hey it's y'all's time.

 

So do you think that I am the only person in the entire game that has downloaded that version? I mean, if that were true I would agree, this thread is pointless. However, what are the odds if actually calculated that this would be true? I am going to take a wild guess and say that I am not the only one, since not everyone who downloads mods uses the current iteration of the mod tool, I don't....at least not yet, since almost all mods (the vidiotmaps mods aside) I have are mods that I myself have created, that just so happen to be on the current mod tool. However, since I am the creator of my mods and already have the vidiotmaps mod, I have no need to download another mod tool...yet.

 

I mean, if everyone wants it locked, nothing I can do about that. I also can't control other people in what they post on this thread, regardless if it attacks my character (which it has) or not. Why those posts that attack my moral character are allowed to stay up, I don't understand, but it's not my job to understand otherwise they would be removed and reprimanded. However, since I cannot control other people derailing the thread or prevent them from behaving badly, I leave locking this thread to a GM's decision.

In the meantime, I will continue to attempt to figure out where this mod came from so that if others also have this version of the mod, they will know that they need to remove those files as indicated.

 

I do find it interesting though how I am attempting to help the community by first bringing awareness and then taking time out of my day to gather info and spread more awareness on how to remove it, for the community, yet I am dealing with this nonsense instead. It most certainly feels like it is unappreciated and if that is true, then please, by all means, continue the requests to lock my thread and I will be sure to stop trying to help the community from here on out and any future mods that I create for the community...well, I'll just keep those for myself.

 

It stings after everything I have done for this community and yet we have people shitting on me. I'm about done being shit on.

Also, it is not proven that it has not been tampered with for the past "several years." @AboveTheChemist is going to take a stab at it and see if this is indeed true. Right now, "the past several years" has not been determined to be fact...yet. This is why we are trying to be sure. But as said before, if you don't want my help in figuring this out, then by all means, continue to request a thread lock. After the flack I have gotten, I am just about done with these forums anyway. I am clearly not appreciated and I sure as hell will not continue to be a part of something in which I am continuously disrespected.

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

Just now, Etched said:

@Solarverse You think i'm singlin you out cause I don't agree you, well there is nothing stoppin you from givin me every thumbs doown you want.

I have an opinion and there is nothing you can do or say to change my opinion any more than if it was reversed.

 

I careless about my rep on this forum, it is just a forum after all, a conjunction of like minded people that have  opinions.

 

I dropped it, honestly I did but if someone quotes me and it's funny and you don't like it then that is on you.

 

You do what you need to do. It's funny to me you are cryin cause I don't agree with you.

 

@Etched

 

I see. Crying. Interesting choice of words, but okay, it's dropped.

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

12 minutes ago, Arc-Mage said:

This has been resolved. A GM should prolly lock the post before it goes down hill.

 

Except we are still trying to learn where it came from. Once we figure out if that can be achieved, then it will be resolved. Thanks for volunteering my thread to be locked though when we are still working on it. The only way it goes down hill is through personal attacks...the logical course, if I were a GM (which I am not to be clear) is to reprimand those who are attacking others for no other reason than their moral standards, since this all started because I have an issue with my kids seeing nudity...imagine that...a parent who has an issue with their kids seeing nudity in a video game. However, if a Dev does deem the post needs to be locked, I'll respect that. However, I don't appreciate you volunteering my thread being locked.

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

@Etched And you can stick your thumb down all you want to, you knew damn well I didn't mean that as being serious, you wanted to gaslight and make a mountain out of a mole hill because you got your wittle feewings hurt by me because I am a parent who actually...parents. You don't like the fact that I take issue with my kids seeing nudity in a video game, oh the horror!  You're just going to have to get over it there, big boy. They are my kids and I will raise them as I see fit.

 

Incoming disgruntled thumbs down in 3...2...1...

 

 

 

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

2 hours ago, Zenith Mech Man said:

Even the snakes in city of villains don't wear any clothes LOL

 

Except I don't give a shit like he was thinking I did. Dare I say it went right over his head when it was painfully obvious to everyone else. He is disgruntled towards me for his personal reasons; so because he has disdain for me, it blocked his higher reasoning when he read that post and he actually believed that it was being serious and responded to it as such. So because of that, when people don't read the entire posts in their context, they think what he said has actual relevance when it has absolutely zero. Just to put things in to perspective.

 

 

 

 

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

2 hours ago, Luminara said:

 

Silence of the Lambs.

 

For the record, my wife said there was an actual slit. Even though the scientific side of me wanted to see for myself, let's just say I knew better, so I took her word on it, lol.

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

Update: As of right now, we don't know exactly where the mod came from since I cannot remember for certain if I downloaded it off the original CoH Modder Tool or if I had downloaded it prior to the Mod Tool's invention off of another website. I think I know where I downloaded it from, but where I think I downloaded it from contradicts what others are saying on these forums. So until I know for sure, I am going to keep speculation to a minimal. @AboveTheChemist is going to take a look at the Mod version that I personally had and see if he can help shed some light on the subject, but unless he comes up with some definitive answers, I suggest just for caution, it doesn't hurt to check your character creation and make sure your Eden Top and Bikini 3 bottoms are...normal. If they are not normal, then you have inadvertently downloaded your mod at the same time that I did and from the same place that I did. However, if you downloaded the newer version on the most recent mod tool, you're safe; @Michiyo has verified that the rogue mod is not a part of the version on their mod tool and that they are also very diligent to make sure all mods uploaded to their tool are free of shenanigans such as this one, heh. I'll update one last time if we discover the origin of the mod that I downloaded so that you can compare dates and what-not, but even without that info, it's easy to find out if you have the rogue mod or not by simply checking your character creation options mentioned above.

Also, please remember, this rogue mod is not harmful in any way to your game or your computer, it's simply somebody's practical joke is my best guess. So if you happen to have the mod running and you did not knowingly install it, no worries, it's very easy to remove. Just follow the steps provided and poof...no more nude mod. Hope I did not panic anyone, that was not my intention. My only intention was to spread awareness. My apologies. Also, no accusations are being made, I have simply tried keeping the information up to date and if any information turns out to be wrong, I will update.

[Speedy vs Regular (Players forcing Speedy Runs on Regular Teams Needs to End)]

23 minutes ago, macskull said:

Nah, it's human nature to find a way to get the results you want with the least amount of effort. The original intent of the developers is kind of irrelevant since players almost always end up doing things in a way the developers didn't foresee. Hami raids are a great example of this - both the old style and current raids were "solved" by players in ways the developers hadn't intended. Task force rewards are another example - originally with Issue 9 every TF gave a chance at a random drop out of the same pool so the rewards were the same regardless of whether you did a Katie Hannon that took 10 minutes or a Dr. Q that took 3 hours. Guess what option people chose? So the reward merit system was implemented, with a nominal formula of "x merits per minute" to encourage people to run a wider variety of content. It worked, but people quickly figured out what content was more "worth it" from a merits per minute standpoint.

 

TL;DR: As long as there are completion rewards for content players are going to game out ways of maximizing those rewards while minimizing time spent.

 

If the Devs were concerned with the current system (big if) then it would seem the obvious logical choice is to tie those to NPCs killed rather than length of Task Force. A system that calculates how many NPCs the team wiped out in the Task Force and hands out Merits accordingly?

[Speedy vs Regular (Players forcing Speedy Runs on Regular Teams Needs to End)]

5 hours ago, GastlyGibus said:

Figure I should chime in, because it's something I've noticed as well, and it really is starting to aggravate me. I don't like to run my own TF's anymore because of this, since it's an attitude I run into quite frequently, and I'm here to play a game, not babysit a bunch of hyperactive players who can't read or follow simple instructions.

 

The rare times I do run a TF, I very clearly advertise what it's about. I always advertise it as a kill-most, state the difficulty we're running at, and even put at the end of my little recruitment ad, in all caps, "THIS IS NOT A SPEEDRUN." When I have my whole team gathered and we're about to start, I reiterate for the whole team "THIS IS A KILL-MOST RUN. WE ARE FIGHTING THROUGH MOBS TO THE OBJECTIVE. THIS IS NOT A SPEEDRUN." Yet, even after that, there's always at least one player, sometimes more, who decides "fuck that" and runs off to the end and then impatiently says "where are you guys?" or tries to take on the boss by themselves and faceplants.

 

I'm very much of the same mind as Solarverse here. If you want to speedrun on your own teams? Go for it, my dude. It's your team, do whatever you like. I'm not going to sit here and demand that every player in the game must play according to my preferred playstyle. However, when it's my team, I have clearly and succinctly laid out the rules, and you still insist on doing it your way instead? That's a /kick for you. If you didn't want to fight through the mobs, then don't join the team. The issue isn't that people are speedrunning; the issue is that people are deliberately ignoring a team leader's request for a normal run and demanding that their way be done instead.

 

I'd be more than happy to join a TF with you whenever you're on, Solar.

 

 

 

Sent you a global. Same goes for you. Always looking for like-minded players to run with.

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

5 hours ago, Snarky said:

that sounds....hard....

 

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

1 hour ago, AboveTheChemist said:

 

If you can include them easily, then that's fine, otherwise I am not too worried about those two files as I don't think much info would come from them. I'd love to see everything else that was in there, though, including any non-texture files. There may be some clues in the metadata somewhere that help narrow down a window for when a tampered file might have potentially been available.

 

I'm going to send this to you in private chat.

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

15 minutes ago, AboveTheChemist said:

 

The Philotic Knight (PK) contacted me via private message (PM) on August 6, 2020, to let me know about the launch of the CoH Modder tool, as he wanted to include a couple of my early mods within it. So I think CoH Modder was launched sometime in August of 2020 and looking at the dates on your folders, it's possible that your version might have come from PK's CoH Modder tool.

 

Unfortunately, PK himself told me later in the same PM conversation that the CoH Modder tool was not secure from tampering. Here's a screenshot from that conversation wherein I raised the question about tampering. This was about a day or two after I began actively using the CoH Modder tool to update and maintain my own mods (but before I became involved with vidiotmaps). Note for general readers that PK has since changed his username to _NOPE_.

 

I would not have posted this while CoH Modder was still available, but since the tool is defunct and no longer available, I don't think there is any danger in revealing this info.

 

The most likely cause of the nude costume texture issue seems to be perhaps vidiotmaps was tampered with, and perhaps there was a tampered version available on the CoH Modder tool for a brief time, but when I took vidiotmaps over, I overwrote the tampered version with a clean version. It's just a working theory but it seems to fit the facts as I am aware of them.

 

@Solarverse (apologies for the ping, just wanted to make sure you saw this part), I've got a couple of questions that might help provide further info. In one of your screenshots you show the contents of a file called vidiotmaps_i26_coh_modder.zip.

1. Can you please check the modified date for that zip file? That will pin down at least one date when the tampered mod could have potentially been available on CoH Modder. I assume it's roughly the same date as that shown on your mod folders (12/22/2020) but just want to be sure.
2. If possible, can you please make that zip file and its contents available via Google drive or Dropbox or something? I've got some older archives of the mod, but there are certainly gaps in my library. If it does turn out that a tampered vidiotmaps was uploaded, I'd like to run some checks against known good maps to make sure that there weren't map texture files that were possibly tampered with on a more subtle level that are still kicking around in the current version of vidiotmaps.

Thanks for the help, and sorry you went through this. Mod tampering is something that I've been concerned with for a while so I take this type of thing quite seriously. It makes me a tad sick to my stomach to think that someone might take something meant as a gesture of good will to the community and hijack it for nefarious purposes.

 

Do you want files that I deleted as well? I would have to put them back in to do that. The unwanted files have been removed.

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

8 minutes ago, AboveTheChemist said:

 

The Philotic Knight (PK) contacted me via private message (PM) on August 6, 2020, to let me know about the launch of the CoH Modder tool, as he wanted to include a couple of my early mods within it. So I think CoH Modder was launched sometime in August of 2020 and looking at the dates on your folders, it's possible that your version might have come from PK's CoH Modder tool.

 

Unfortunately, PK himself told me later in the same PM conversation that the CoH Modder tool was not secure from tampering. Here's a screenshot from that conversation wherein I raised the question about tampering. This was about a day or two after I began actively using the CoH Modder tool to update and maintain my own mods (but before I became involved with vidiotmaps). Note for general readers that PK has since changed his username to _NOPE_.

 

I would not have posted this while CoH Modder was still available, but since the tool is defunct and no longer available, I don't think there is any danger in revealing this info.

 

The most likely cause of the nude costume texture issue seems to be perhaps vidiotmaps was tampered with, and perhaps there was a tampered version available on the CoH Modder tool for a brief time, but when I took vidiotmaps over, I overwrote the tampered version with a clean version. It's just a working theory but it seems to fit the facts as I am aware of them.

 

@Solarverse (apologies for the ping, just wanted to make sure you saw this part), I've got a couple of questions that might help provide further info. In one of your screenshots you show the contents of a file called vidiotmaps_i26_coh_modder.zip.

1. Can you please check the modified date for that zip file? That will pin down at least one date when the tampered mod could have potentially been available on CoH Modder. I assume it's roughly the same date as that shown on your mod folders (12/22/2020) but just want to be sure.
2. If possible, can you please make that zip file and its contents available via Google drive or Dropbox or something? I've got some older archives of the mod, but there are certainly gaps in my library. If it does turn out that a tampered vidiotmaps was uploaded, I'd like to run some checks against known good maps to make sure that there weren't map texture files that were possibly tampered with on a more subtle level that are still kicking around in the current version of vidiotmaps.

Thanks for the help, and sorry you went through this. Mod tampering is something that I've been concerned with for a while so I take this type of thing quite seriously. It makes me a tad sick to my stomach to think that someone might take something meant as a gesture of good will to the community and hijack it for nefarious purposes.

 

Sure thing, it might be a bit before I can though, in the middle of a Synapse run and have to work after that, but I will for sure do that for ya. Appreciate you.

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

1 minute ago, Luminara said:

 

I misread that as "taken down a crotch" when I was skimming the thread.

 

Apropos.

 

It would seem all this talk of nudity has everyone's minds in the gutter.  😛

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

7 minutes ago, GM Crumpet said:

Just to add to what GM Widower has said, never download mods (or indeed anything) from anywhere other than official Homecoming sources. We have an excellent modding tool written By Michiyo and they check all the mods to make sure they are good and don't contain hidden nasties, and AbovetheChemist works hard to make sure Vidiotmaps is up to date, bug free and also free from anything that shouldn't be there. The people involved try their very best to make sure nothing slips past, and while it's a possibility it's a remote one. Unfortunately we can't vouch for third party mods and it's very much a buyer beware situation. If something goes horribly wrong we will try to help, but our abilities are limited.

 

Just wanted to be clear, that looking at my files, I had downloaded that mod before any such mod tool was created. Luckily, I have pretty good knowledge on Mods, so it didn't take me long to figure out where it was and delete it once I was able to determine that the costume was not added my the Dev team. Back then, we all took that risk who downloaded mods. However, that is very sound advice and it is very enlightening that you all go through so much to make sure the mods are safe. Thank you, GM Crumpet.

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

3 minutes ago, GM Widower said:

If the temperature in this thread could be taken down a notch, that would be swell. (Actually, since the problem has been solved, I don't necessarily see the point in continuing, but I'll leave that one up to you all.)

 

The mystery has been solved, thank you, GM Widower. You can lock this if you like since somehow it became an ethics attack rather than a thread about the mod. The issue was found and the education on how to remove it was found and we also determined that the mod did not come from the mod tool, I don't think there is anything left to talk about. This thread can only go downhill from here...as you have already seen. I appreciate you, GM Widower, thank you.

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

1 hour ago, Greycat said:

Yyyeeeeaaahhhh.... used Vidiotmaps since live. Eden's always been Eden (and fairly niche use, for me.) It's only modified the map, not a costume piece. No idea what *you* found, but I've never had Vidiotmaps turn characters - well, as close to nude as blocks and pixels can be.

 

As you can see up above, those files were made back in 2004 and as you can see from the screen shot that I took before removing those files, it was indeed part of the vidiotmaps I had downloaded. I wish I could remember where I downloaded it from, but unfortunately I cannot. I thought it was from the Mod Tool, however, the date that shows when I downloaded it was before the Mod Tool, so it would have been from a web site, either the original or a mirror site or some other method.

[Be Aware, VideotMaps Mod Tampered With]

6 hours ago, Luminara said:

That was never integrated into Vidiotmaps.  Neither the version @Blondeshell maintained nor the one @AboveTheChemist is currently maintaining.  I installed @Blondeshell's five minutes after I finished installing the game, and switched to @AboveTheChemist's when he picked it up.  I installed both manually and updated them manually and the nude mod was never there.

 

I don't use the mod installer tools, never have, so I can't say whether something else automatically installed that mod when you were installing something else via one of those tools.  But I can say that I know for a fact that Vidiotmaps was never compromised.  Eden is one of the tops I check when I'm creating or adjusting a costume, so I would've seen it within hours of installation.  I've been keeping my copy of Vidiotmaps up to date with every release since June 2020, not once did I see boobies.

 

After lots of discussion on the Tools section of the forums, it was discovered that my version either came from the original site or a mirror site. I got my version before the original CoH Modder Tool was created by Philotic Knight. I'm sure I am not the only person who downloaded this version, anyone who had file knowledge could have done so.

 

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

2 hours ago, AboveTheChemist said:

I (unofficially) took over maintenance of vidiotmaps in February 2021. I can assure any user of vidiotmaps that no such files that modify costume parts have been included in the vidiotmaps mod during my tenure as curator of vidiotmaps.

 

Further, I've checked my fairly extensive library of older vidiotmap installs and can find no trace of any files which modify costume parts. I've spent a good bit of time digging around in the files that make up the vidiotmaps mod and if any such files were in there, I would have noticed them long before now.

 

Okay, searched through my folders and yes, I got this mod before you took it over, so my deepest apologies.

 

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

1 hour ago, bophed said:

 

 

I understand, and agree to a certain extent, but as suspected you either over reacted, downloaded the mod yourself, your wife downloaded the mod or.........  your kids downloaded said mod. So from my point of view, because I play with stock install, there is zero nudity in this game.  So again from my point of view it was more of a ..........................jeez calm down Karen it isn't that bad.

 

Dude, all I asked for was a mod to cover it up because at the time I thought it was something added in to the game...I didn't freak the hell out over it, I didn't make posts that protested it or anything else. If anyone here is acting like a Karen it is you. You need to seriously relax and stop being so offensive. You have already tread on thin Ice with me, I suggest you let this go.

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

2 hours ago, AboveTheChemist said:

I (unofficially) took over maintenance of vidiotmaps in February 2021. I can assure any user of vidiotmaps that no such files that modify costume parts have been included in the vidiotmaps mod during my tenure as curator of vidiotmaps.

 

Further, I've checked my fairly extensive library of older vidiotmap installs and can find no trace of any files which modify costume parts. I've spent a good bit of time digging around in the files that make up the vidiotmaps mod and if any such files were in there, I would have noticed them long before now.

 

Then it is possible that I downloaded the mod from another web site. I will have to check the date the mod was added. I was adding/removing mods from this game before PhiloticKnight's Mod Tool, so it is very possible this mod was installed before the Mod Tool from the original web site. I'll get back to you if I can get a definitive answer on this. In hind sight, I think it is far more likely that I downloaded the original from the original web site (or a mirror site) and then updated it when the CoH Mod Tool came out.

 

 

[Nudity in Game Removal Mod?]

4 hours ago, Etched said:

 

So, you say that is nudity? Where? That is bout offensive as seein your own toe. You and I have a different view as to what nudity is. There is no detail indicatin nudity. You see a lot of snakes wearin shirts where you live cause the ones around here don't.

 

I understand you're makin sure your kids are not expossed to harmful game play but it sounds like YOU are the one that installed a mod (knowin or not) into the game not the devs or anyone else. Nor did anyone force you to do so.

 

@Etched

 

 

 

Dude, relax, I wasn't being serious. I figured me saying, "I'll take my prize now!" kind of indicated that, but no, was not being serious.

[Speedy vs Regular (Players forcing Speedy Runs on Regular Teams Needs to End)]

1 hour ago, vibal said:

Pretty sure this is a reciprocal issue. I play fast and always advertise such. Also clarify before locking in what's happening. The amount of players who get sticker shock once the mayhem starts is pretty discouraging. I don't form up to ruin anyone's fun. The reward system for the majority of game content disproportionately incentivizes fast play. While I play for fun, I also enjoy maximizing my rewards for doing so. 

 

>shrug< Make the team you want. Play the game how you like, but a better title might be "Lets please focus on communicating team intent". As I could just as easily thread up with "We didn't all agree to PL you slowpokes". I'll happily hop on a sweep through Cit for a chuckle. I'm less inclined to presume that's what's cooking without some input from the team/lead. Nor do I think it's reasonable to presume there's a "correct" baseline play.

 

You can say pace is set by the slowest, but it's just as easy to justify saying the pace is set by the fastest player on the team.

 

 

 

No, no no. I really like, "We didn't all agree to PL you slowpokes with our mighty -1 to +0 mobs"

Please, keep going with that. I want to hear more. 😉   (Being facetious, totally tongue in cheek, lol)