Starhammer

Yeah, temp powers are great for some characters where it's just for practical use or the particular temp happens to fit well with the costume. But they aren't enhanceable, so they can be a bit sluggish for a character that's supposed to be flight oriented.

Yeah, me too. Electrical bursts would also be nice.

I'd love if we had a "None" option for the cape under the High Collar option. The collar & shoulder covering would look excellent on many trenchcoat costumes without having the cape itself hanging below them.

I'd like if the Costume Change cooldown were to be shortened a bit more. One of the things I like using it for is switching a jetpack or wings on/off on an otherwise same costume with the same bind that activates/deactivates Flight. Optimally, it'd be preferable to have some sort of checkbox on "Back Options" to only display while airborne instead, because that'd make it easier to enable/disable jetpacks or wings across different costumes without having to make different binds for each, but that's a lot more work for not much more effect. The limit isn't too bad currently, but it's still too easy for the pattern to become desynchronized and end up running with a jetpack and flying without 😕

Super Strength is definitely among my least favorite melee sets, because of the Rage crash and the activation time on Hurl, but I'm curious how it is "unplayable"?

I can't really speak to Dominators, as they're not really my thing. I have some, even at 50, but they don't come naturally to me. What I can say is that if I'm filling out a level 50 character with 50+5 enhancements, I'm usually not dependent on set bonuses to handle 46- content. I'll admit, I don't like losing my global Endredux from Unbreakable Guard on toggle heavy characters, but if I'm doing low-level content with these characters, it's for a badge or a sense of completionism, or experiencing a story line... in any of those cases, I probably also don't need to be playing at +4x8.

"Themes" may not have been the best term, but I couldn't think of a better one and you seem to have understood what I meant. And as for the difficulty/unlikelihood of making one for all the different "themes" at once, I did specifically address that right in the same paragraph... As for how it would be implemented in the unlikely event that it was? Yeah, probably best to create new categories altogether for such things. A "Fire" set would thereby act as a Universal Damage set in regard to positional damage, but be limited to only powers that cause fire damage inherently (Not counting other powers or procs that add fire damage to a non-fire power).

So if you want to play a Shield Wielder without using the Shield powerset, so as to have something in that off hand, it's not perfect but on the Left Glove only, use a Black Knight gauntlet, it's almost a spiked shield in it's own right, and helps with that off hand emptiness on single handed weapon sets. It also shows that it wouldn't "break the animation" to have Shield available to Two-Handed weapon sets. What it would do is create clipping issues with some combinations of shields and weapons. Some of the devs seem allergic to potentially sub-optimal clipping, but if they could move past that, we could add many of the shield options as a Left Glove choice (or even mirrored for Right Glove... I'd love to make a dual shields Super Strength/Shield brute )

I think that the enhancement system of IOs and sets could benefit from a significant overhaul, but the kind of work necessary to make low-level non-procs/uniques relevant seems like it might be more effort than it's worth without overhauling the rest of it, which would be a major project for the developers. Like others, aside from procs/uniques, I never bother with IOs before lev 22 (IO lev 25), and often don't bother with readily available SOs before 12 or 17, even with enough inf to make the expense irrelevant. Aside from the Damage/Recharge/Proc freebies we get from P2W (On a side note, getting another 5 comparable that are Acc/Endredux with a defensive or maintenance proc like rec/heal would be lovely). The foremost value 10/15/20 IOs seems to have is crafting them for the crafting badge 😞 As much as I'd like to see that subsystem of the game relevant at low levels, if I'm actively playing a character (not even farming or even using 2XP) they won't stay low level long enough to really justify that investment. If anything would make the subsystem more interesting and useful for me, it would be the addition of some new 10-50 rare sets (or universal damage, like maybe a Halloween themed set to give out in the Halloween trial similar to SBB, which we could make available year round also... hint hint) with a wider variety of set bonuses. Or like PvP sets, other themed sets that have themed set bonuses... imagine a universal damage set that has secondary set bonuses similar to PvP but that are based on giving bonus effects to fire damage or guns powersets. Probably too much work to make something for everyone right off the bat, and if they tried it, it'd probably start with one or two sets and get forgotten on the back burner like Jet Pack back options, but it's an idea I think, if it could be followed through on would make for better variety and interest at (almost) all levels. A note on boosters and catalysts. I find that the only worthwhile use of catalysts is for things like ATOs or to but on the proc in a set to remind me not to waste boosters on it. Any set worth having at endgame (or those spots where a level 50 basic IO is the only viable choice, like Leadership>Assault) is best used boosted to +5. If you catalyzed something earlier and you're now trying to optimize the build, you just have to sell the catalyzed and rebuy it along with boosters 😞 As much as I don't want boosters nerfed to improve the comparative value of Catalysts, I would like to see Cats have more value along the way. I know if I could add boosters to a Catalyzed enhancement, I would probably be more likely to invest in various orange sets in the 20-40s instead of just settling for 25+ basic IOs until I swap out for purples at 50 😕 There's no value in boosting something you're just going to outlevel. (Yes, I know you don't "outlevel" sub-50 IO sets in the manner that they stop working like SOs, but you do in that they stop being the most effective they can be after you move into a new level range) For instance, the LoTG proc with the global recharge buff is also a +defense enhancement. These things are expensive enough it's kind of a shame to buy 2 and cat one for early use and boost the other at 50.

So /noparticles has it's uses, but it's very suboptimal, because it's too all or nothing. The only combat aspects you have left are weapons, attack animations, and damage number floaties. It can be advantageous at times. I can see it being useful in the Hami Raid of course. But losing ALL power effects, at least for me, takes away a little too much from the game experience. kinda like going back to playing in ICON without having powers to activate. I'll likely use it for some characters... some Flame armor or Rad armor types that use a melee weapon or unarmed attack set exclusively would find it tolerable. But too often, the cost is too high for the benefit. For instance, I have a flamethrower guy. He's an Assault Rifle/Fire Armor Sentinel. The idea is to take fire armor because he should be thematically especially resistant to fire, but thematically, he really shouldn't have to look like he's on fire to accomplish that, so he's a mixed bag. using /noparticles would be wonderful in hiding the fire armor, but it then undermines the primary joy of the character, because I can no longer revel in spraying streams of burning plasma as my enemies. Sure, they'll take the damage, but if all I cared about was doing damage, I wouldn't be playing an AR Sent 😞 Obviously it would never happen, but "If I had a genie that would only grant me CoH related wishes" having the ability to easily apply /noparticles on a power specific basis to my client would be high on the list. Sadly, modding is well beyond my skillset, or I would have looked into that route to accomplish the same thing. Don't get me wrong though, I do appreciate the effort. I could swear I've used it in the past, but forgotten, most likely because it doesn't really meet my needs without costing other desirable effects.

I go into it in a bit more detail in my last post if you scroll up a bit, but it's admittedly a long post that covers a few other subjects first so it's understandable if you missed it. Short version, it's usually (not always) not any one thing but a combination of contributing factors. In the context of this game, most often it is 2 or more different power effects, likely taking up a lot of screen space, that flash or pulse at different rates/speeds from each other, and are different colors. Increasing likelihood may (but not always) come from extremely bright effects (like a lightning bolt at close range) or especially vibrant different colors. It's almost never just one thing. For instance, I have an elec/elec tank who's powers (and parts of the costume) are all a very vibrant pink, and by herself, she never causes me trouble. Throw in an orange Singularity, a Freakshow Super Stunner, a bright gold Force Field, and a green/purple Storm Blast set, and I'm gonna be taking a break one way or another.

I think this falls under geometry errors, but it's not a specific /loc. I've had this happen before, but not often. I entered the Peregrine Island Police Station, and upon entering the building, my perspective was dropped to a "worm's eye view". If I look up, I see above the world from floor level, if I look down, I see below the geometry from floor level. I cannot zoom my perspective out to 3rd person either (I almost never use 1st person view, so the change was instantly noticeable). I can still move around, click on doors and portals, and engage surface enemies. Moving to another zone via base portal doesn't fix anything, nor does dying and going to hospital. Same for logging out and relogging. I was able to fix the problem by closing the client, restarting, and (this step may not have been necessary) logging in a different character before relogging the one who experienced the bug. There's something wrong with the door to enter the Peregrine Island PD. Like I said, this doesn't happen often but it has happened a few times, and only there.

Excuse me, Darrel from Accounting has been trademarked by Baron Blockchain, who demands One Billion inf as recompense for illegal mention of the IP. Expect a subpoena from Chris Jenkins.

Arachnophidians are really more of a subfaction of The Snakes rather than Arachnos... An Arachnos mad scientist merely Frankensteined them (We don't know if this was authorized or not... permission isn't really a thing in the Rogue Isles) so it's not just a giant snake, it's a Giant Monster from The Snakes.

And the last one immediately rattling around in my brain is Cloudy Cove, originally an idea I suggested for City of Titans, that would work fine here with minimal alteration...(Technically, Cloudy Cove would be a collection of related zones, almost like Praetoria. We could even make it "Green Side" and give it a starting location and tutorial mission): So I was wondering to myself, how is it that the Aethyr Pirates can keep fleets of airships in operation over a US city and not fall prey to sorties from Air Force strike fighters, or any other form of organized assault. I would like to suggest a zone, "Cloudy Cove" that is more or less the Opal Room of the skies. A floating city built on a combination of magic and technology, shielded from scrying and satellite surveillance, that functions as a freeport for airship captains and other aeroadventurers... maybe even a pitstop for extraterrestrials visiting Earth, like a Stuckey's in the sky. It would have a style patched together from the Caribbean islands from the golden age of piracy, a healthy mix of steam/diesel punk, and some ultra-futuristic high technology. It should only be accessible by air travel or teleportation, but more importantly, even through those travel powers you can't get there without access to "The Beacon". The Beacon would be a simple thing, similar in functionality to the exploration badge in Ouroboros, but the general rule is that if you don't know how to find it, we can't tell you how to find it. Those without access to The Beacon might find a way to fly into the giant cloud formation that is rumored to contain Cloudy Cove, but they'll never find the actual zone. Perhaps if they stow away on and Aether Pirate airship (a daunting task in it's own right) or find a magical portal located within the base of a secret society, they can reach this mysterious hideaway, and convince the Governor to allow them to return so long as they swear not to betray the secret (after of course, convincing the Governor to allow them to leave). Just to clear up some confusion, the mix of magic and technology is to make the zone have something for players of either bent (or both). While the intent is that the Aether Pirates are one of the groups that get the most out of it, it's not "their" zone. They just give the Governor a portion of their loot as tribute in return for a safe harbor, as should most others who show up there. Players would be most likely to give "tribute" by performing some service or favor that earns them the Governor's respect and/or appreciation (Or maybe they just took down a Chaser transaction, and have a *Bag of Cash* in their inventory). The zone, like the rest of the game, is for the players. It just happens to be my preferred answer to "Where do they hide all those airships?" I'm sure that as a zone, it would be functionally broken up into a few neighborhoods... EDIT: added some more fleshing out, because sometimes the words get free of their cells, and stuff happens. The Aetherhood - a Caribbean Steampunk shantytown. Unlike most of the other islands in the chain, Aethyrhood and Ptera Peak are the same landmass, and the second largest in the bunch. If game technology allows, Aetherhood should be infested with steampunk cyborg monkeys and parrots, who when clicked on, will reach into your inventory and steal a random boost, or deposit one. Ptera Peak - Where the flying dinofolks hang out. Also a popular getaway for climbers that are neither shiny nor tasty. The Black Block - a subdued set of warehouses and runways used by modern military and espionage forces. Unlike other neighborhoods, an exclusive contract has been arranged that makes everyone else unwelcome in The Black Block, except by explicit invitation from its administration. Don't come looking for them. If they think you should be here, they'll let you know. Area 53 - a parking garage, spaceship wash, and interstellar Stuckey's, also functioning as a "no questions asked" drop off point for alien abductees. Repairs to nearly any form of conveyance can be arranged here at any time of day. It's the intent for Area 53 to take some of the most horrifying tropes about alien abduction and invasion, and turn them on their head to make this a friendly, maybe even a little campy, location. A little less goofy than the diner in Spaceballs, but kinda leaning that direction. New Old Kabal - a neutral zone for angels, demons, wizards, witches, and anyone else who can burn the right candles and speak the wrong words to find it. Undertown - A mysterious subterranean section that has been colonized mostly by mole men. Even though there are no physical tunnels connecting the separate islands, Undertown manages to connect to all of them. Zzen - A high tech hacker hotspot. Unlimited free wifi. 12G speeds. Also popular with cyborgs and robots. The premier market for bleeding edge tech overnight express from Japan. The Fort - The centerpiece of the zone, and largest island in the group is a semi-active volcano with a military fort built around it. It is here that The Governor is rumored to reside and command his forces, a cosmopolitan group of volunteers representing the larger factions of the island. Like the Wizard of Oz, The Governor is a mysterious figure. If anyone is ever in direct contact with him (or her, or it?) nobody knows for certain who that is. Some theorize that The Governor doesn't even exist, and is just a fictional figurehead allowing the faction leaders to act with authority. Others claim to have been entertained personally by The Governor, but are unwilling, or unable, to give details of the meeting. Cloudy Cove itself is an island chain that makes pun of the phrase, being a number of smaller floating islands literally chained together by gigantic rusty anchor chains. Some of the islands have springs and pools and waterfalls, some have bubbling lakes of lava. The sky varies from clear and sunny and blue to cloudy and thunderstorms, following a day and night cycle close, but not perfectly aligned, with it's external geographical location. The weather seems to be independent of local weather patterns and seasons, though once a major hurricane did have an effect on the islands as well. To the best of anyone's reasoning, the overall phenomena is the result of a nexus between other dimensions commonly associated with the 4 primary "elements" of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, but nobody seems to know exactly how it all works, or if they do, they aren't telling. Some suspect magic, some suspect technology, others suspect both or neither. One way or another, it works. Conceptually it is somewhat similar to a TARDIS, having as much interior space as it needs without regard to how much external space it covers. It might be connected to The Bermuda Triangle, with things that disappear there ending up here. Cloudy Cove isn't just for people on the run or needing to hide out, but also for those willing to work for or with such people, or even those who just need to live someplace a little more free of authority. Like The Opal Room, it's something of a neutral zone for those who can reach it, but not quite so strict. Many of it's residents and visitors are violent people who react violently to other violent people. The occasional brawl or even murder is accepted, but if things get too out of hand, the major factions put a stop to it so that it doesn't become a problem for them.

I also want to add "Snake Mountain" which is not an actual mountain, but rather an Underdark-like series of caverns and tunnels deep underground connecting the Rogue Isles similarly to (though not exactly the same as) the Paragon Sewer Network (Snake Mountain was originally a translation error, but it stuck so that's just what everyone calls it). Snake Mountain has a variety of regions where locals can be hostile or even downright personable, with many in Sssnake Ssscity (their Capital) being courteous and diplomatic as well as having merchants, politicians, and even a few mission contacts. Within Snake Mountain is an ongoing crisis however, as some ambitious Arachnos mad scientist has decided to go a-tinkering with the snakes and making a genetic hybrid of spider-snakes called "Arachnophidians". Graphically, these are simply Snakes with Arachnoid spider arms on their backs, colored Arachnos black & red for the most part (Inspired largely by the internet meme of the Tarantula-Rattlesnake hybrid). Though fewer in number, the Arachnophidians are stronger and more ambitious... also more hungry, and so begins the Snake Civil War. Players can participate in the war, favoring either side (ala Gold zone loyalty choice mechanisms), or just screwing over everyone to pursue their own goals. Completing the final mission of the series triggers an invasion style event with Snakes, Arachnos, and Arachnophidians fighting a three-way war in the streets, ending in a climax with a massive Arachnophidian Giant Monster spawning to go on a Godzilla-esque rampage.

I I were to add a zone, it would be Saiba City, a Pratorian Earth zone that through extensive use of phasing exists simultaneously in 3 major temporal eras, Modern (About to be destroyed by their Hamidon), Futuristic (High tech cyberpunk/shadowrun style, far enough in the future that the Hamidon problem has been "dealt with", mostly), and Medieval (Generic medieval, I'm not enough of a historian to pick a distinct era like Baroque, Dark Ages, whatever... just mostly pre-gunpowder, when swords ruled the universe). Saiba city is "indistinctly Asian" in having a bit of a melting pot of various Asian cultures... a bit of a "something for everybody" and also an excuse to not get bogged down in real life historical culture issues. We're in a mirror universe of a fictional reality after all. W.I.S.D.O.M. is the primary representation of supers here, and they have a task force that requires working as heroes and villains across various temporal periods in order to save one of them, be betrayed by one of them, and steal the seeds of Hamidon's defeat from the future to plant in the past. Also there's some other contacts, missions, and time travel shenanigans.

My most pressing issue is Other: I wish I could apply "No/Minimal FX" to other people's powers (only from my perspective, I don't want to mess with how anyone else sees the game) to cut down on photosensitivity issues... but Super Strength wielding a Motorcycle is pretty compelling. But I voted for Whips, because that seems more viable, and I hate needing to run a Petless MM to get them (I really don't like Demon pets visually, they just rub me the wrong way... and I'm not that fond of MMs for the most part anyway... of course that might change if I could customize my pet's appearance)

I've never seen anyone I thought was a bot in game. Dualboxing sure, but always a player somewhere at the helm. I have seen too many jerks though in recent years. I blame antisocial media for the cultural decline in general kindness and manners. For all the fear and drama around AIs though now, I would be curious to see someone teach an AI to play CoH, and would definitely be interested to see how they play and interact with everyone.

So, my lament regarding the "Old Community has nothing to do with technical capabilities of the game or efforts to make it more photosensitive friendly, but rather the human social reaction to me trying to politely bow out of a Task Force rather than just logging and ghosting the team, only to have some respond with (like many in this thread) what they think are helpful solutions but don't really work, and more to the point, others making it seem like I'm out of line for putting my health over the good of the TF. I ended up having a minor seizure not long after, so I'm glad I quit when I did, and I'm sure they steamrolled the Manti just fine without me. It's just annoying that in trying to politely leave, I opened myself up to some unnecessary hostility. And in all fairness, this is nothing specific to this community or game, but rather what seems to be a general phenomena across our culture over the past decade or so... Many people are just meaner. I think social media has caused a shift in how many of us behave towards one another online, even when not in those formats of social media. I just remember in the days of Live, the reaction would not have included hostility 😞 So, rant about the decline of cultural norms aside... I have seizures, and a few types of them at that (There's quite that variety, and I seem to have gotten the buffet table of seizure disorders). I also suffered a mild stroke when I was about 20. I've recovered very well, but nothing ever gets back to 100%. Obviously, common sense should dictate "I have seizures, maybe I shouldn't play video games" Well yeah, but they've been a part of my lifestyle since my early childhood and Pong and Atari becoming a thing. It's a little late to quit now 😛 They really aren't as bad with many modern PC games as the good ol/bad ol' days of Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis (when many of my favorite games are from. Sadly emulators just don't scratch the nostalgia itch)...those systems used a very flashy graphics format that makes it obvious in hindsight what I had so many more seizures back then. Now days, I have the benefit of being better aware of whether something is likely to trigger and just don't get attached to those games. City of Heroes is, for the most part, pretty safe for me. Most of the time, there is little or no effect (though there's something in the game graphics that consistently makes me sleepy... and if I shut the game down to get some rest, the effect subsides immediately upon shutting down the game, or even looking away from the screen for a minute or two... weird, huh? Any Neurologists in the crowd want to talk about that?) But for me at least, particle density/effects doesn't seem to make any difference. Same for garish colors (on their own, more on that in a moment). But there are certain power effects that, more often when combined with other particular effects, increase the likelihood of triggering a seizure. The new Storm powerset is bad for me. Not any one of them, but the ones most commonly used at the same time... that cloudy aura, the rain, the snowflake attack, and the lightning pet all work together to create a visual cacophony that is problematic for me. It wasn't a big deal before the new sets. Those effects all existed previously, I even use some on some characters. But they weren't popular or bunched together quite the same. Add in a bright force/sonic defense aura or that electric heal support set, especially that field you can click to move to a new spot... those all together get really bad. There's also a Freakshow Super Stunner power that leaves a lightning field at ground level with is especially problematic even just on it's own sometimes. It's not so much about particle density, but rather visual patterns that don't mesh well together, especially if they have different frequency of intermittence or vividly differing colors. I can stare at a single strobe light and all is fine, but if you wrap a Christmas tree with 2-3 different brands of lights that have different blink patterns, it's dramatically more visually disruptive. There's just too many combinations for there to be many effective avenues to address this on the development or modding side of things. The best I could hope for is a setting that would hide all ongoing effects from other players... so like armor, disruption field, anything with a significant duration just not showing up. Be nice if all the armor sets that don't also had a "Minimal/No FX" custom option. The orbiting balls of light for Radiation Armor are cool thematically, but at this point if I never saw them again I wouldn't be sad... but I like the power itself 😛 . There was an instance with an Archery Support power where apparently I wasn't the only one having trouble with it... it created a hemisphere of lightning on the ground and I guess it was giving lots of folks headaches. It was one of those that could trigger a seizure in me after just seeing it for a split second at close range... But they changed that to something much easier to look at. Like I said, there's too many, and I'm not a big enough demographic to make a lot of these changes for, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if either a Dev or Modder was able to make a workaround for some of them. Sadly, mods seem to be mostly limited to audio files and maybe some few costuming or UI things. I guess animated graphics like power FX are a lot harder to tweak. In the meantime, I'm fine. People are disappointing, but they're still better here than Facebook or Twitter. That said, if you could try to remember, if someone is having trouble, they don't need pity, they don't need a lecture, and they don't need to be made to feel like the bad guy for failure to conform. Kind/Polite acceptance is generally sufficient. If anyone is legitimately curious about the seizure stuff, I have no problem answering questions.

It is my theory that Paragon City and associated regions are trapped in a temporal loop approximating one year. Some individuals are able to experience limited progression, but are still subject to recurrence of the same events. Most people are trapped in a tighter range, often just reliving a particularly traumatic event, such as a purse-snatching, or that time a few loiterers got incinerated by some alien. Nemesis probably tried to flashpoint something and broke it.

We need a low-ish level (Positron equivalent?) Chris Jenkins SF where the objective is to acquire, manufacture, destroy, and manipulate evidence to benefit his upcoming "Trial of the Millennium" and at the end, they have to screw over a major villain group and to avoid accountability they hang him out to dry. In the followup TF (maybe a Synapse alternative, a bit shorter, not such a slog?) he needs an intrepid band of heroes to get him out of hot water with the Villain Group he screwed over in the SF. After succeeding the heroes should receive a subpoena because he's suing them for some slight or another.

Won't be everyone's cup o' tea, but I use this: /bind LEFTDOUBLECLICK "interact$$request_exit_mission 1" It's also helpful when trying to click on a door or glowie or whatever that isn't quite where it seems it should be.

I use an XBOX 360 controller. I have extensive, dynamic keybinds that cycle attacks and auto attacks, sometimes buffs & heals through the AXBY buttons on the controller. Left stick is movement, left trigger is jump/up, and also toggles on all toggles. D-Pad is mostly targeting. Right stick is cursor control, and left trigger is right mouse button. It's a bit of setup work, and then some more for each character once they have enough powers they should be customized, but it means I don't have to reach for the keyboard at all during combat, except to chat. I type 2 ways, slow & bad, so this is of course preferable.

It's very disheartening to tell a team I can't continue because the combination of some of the power FX are probably gonna trigger a seizure, only to be told things like "turn the graphics down" (graphics settings won't disable basic power effects), or "Just don't use them" (It's not my powers.) It's not everyone, but more and more, the prevailing opinions seems to be that I have an obligation not to have a disability that is incompatible with other people's characters. Just venting. Ignore me and move along.