If you could rewrite a dialog exchange in CoX...

[LycraBoy]

 

Usually I think this game is pretty well-crafted, but every once in awhile I run into something and think "who wrote this mess?" There's also some dialogue put into the player character's mouth at times that can be annoying. I'm sure it's not just me...

 

If you could fix something like that, what would you choose and how would you change it?

[_NOPE_]

Pretty much all of Twinshot, I'd completely re characterize her, because she irritates the shit out of me with her patronizing attitude.

[Misguidance]

 

Usually I think this game is pretty well-crafted, but every once in awhile I run into something and think "who wrote this mess?" There's also some dialogue put into the player character's mouth at times that can be annoying. I'm sure it's not just me...

 

If you could fix something like that, what would you choose and how would you change it?

 

As somebody who used to write a metric ton of fan-fiction, this is a dangerous question. ;)

[Dr. Gemini]

Pretty much all of Twinshot, I'd completely re characterize her, because she irritates the shit out of me with her patronizing attitude.

 

She reminds me of a certain frequent forum poster from back in the day. Give her blonde hair and a white costume (IIRC) and I think the resemblance would be uncanny.

[_NOPE_]

Pretty much all of Twinshot, I'd completely re characterize her, because she irritates the shit out of me with her patronizing attitude.

 

She reminds me of a certain frequent forum poster from back in the day. Give her blonde hair and a white costume (IIRC) and I think the resemblance would be uncanny.

 

I wonder how her "Heroes and Villains" MMO is coming along?

 

Oh, wait... it hasn't moved in years? Alrighty then!

[Misguidance]

 

She reminds me of a certain frequent forum poster from back in the day. Give her blonde hair and a white costume (IIRC) and I think the resemblance would be uncanny.

 

I saw somebody in game yesterday with her old username, but the costume was all wrong. ;)

 

I wonder if she'll turn up here eventually...

[Piledriver]

Pretty much all of Twinshot, I'd completely re characterize her, because she irritates the shit out of me with her patronizing attitude.

 

I am so with you on this one. Very specifically, that introduction to Miss liberty godmoding everybody's characters in the interest of a lame cheap-shot cliche.

[Lazarillo]

The Roy Cooling arc in the 20s for heroes.  You end up fighting the Sky Raiders only for it to turn out the Malta Group is using them as a patsy and really the ones pulling the strings, which ticked me off for two reasons: one, Malta is supposed to be suuuuuper seekrit until Crimson and Indigo expose them later on, yet Cooling is like "oh, yeah, those guys, everybody knows those guys", and two, there actually is another high level faction that was already known to be secretly controlling the Sky Raiders and using them as patsies, and that faction would've worked in the arc just as well, just as a sort of alternative reveal of who it is.  So yeah, I'd swap the faction that's secretly behind the arc, because it felt like the person who wrote it wasn't really familiar with previous mission lore.

 

Does that count?

[ryuplaneswalker]

Pretty much all of Twinshot, I'd completely re characterize her, because she irritates the shit out of me with her patronizing attitude.

 

I mean, that is the part of her that makes her Twinshot, I don't think she would work unless she were the patronizing big sister.

[deathevan]

The Roy Cooling arc in the 20s for heroes.  You end up fighting the Sky Raiders only for it to turn out the Malta Group is using them as a patsy and really the ones pulling the strings, which ticked me off for two reasons: one, Malta is supposed to be suuuuuper seekrit until Crimson and Indigo expose them later on

 

my theory is that chronologically Crimson already did expose them. CoX timeline seems to progress based off issues instead of level. I forget what contact it is but there's a contact around level 30 blueside which is post praetorian war despite the player not even being high enough level to have been involved in it

[MetaVileTerror]

As those internet peoples are wont to say:  "Plus one" for Twinshot . . . *shudders*

 

But really, pretty much all of it.  All of the content.  Just to get some goddamn consistency in there for all the nonsensical timeline and continuity issues.  And also to remove any dialogue options which force motivation or personality on a player-character.  That kind of writing is acceptable in a game like Mass Effect, where the player is taking on the role of a predetermined character in the form of Commander Shepard.  But in City of Heroes?  HELL NO!  Give the player the authority to characterize their own character.  Give the player the agency to determine their own motivations.

Early Red-Side content (barring Newspaper missions) seemed to /get it/.  Not everything was perfect, but there is definitely some solid writing that stands the test of time over there.  Otherwise (and ESPECIALLY the newer "Branching Choice" content) needs a serious polishing with a beltsander.

 

So . . . yeah.  I'd probably spend years rewriting every - last - single - bit of text in this game. 

[Redlynne]

AZURIA

 

[Leandro]

Not 100% dialog, but the Laura Lockhart arc in Steel Canyon. Your contact dies no matter what you do. My main is an Empath, and this really pissed me off. I always wanted a way to save her.

 

So I did. If you find out how, you get the badge "Guardian of Forever".

[Lazarillo]

Not 100% dialog, but the Laura Lockhart arc in Steel Canyon. Your contact dies no matter what you do. My main is an Empath, and this really pissed me off. I always wanted a way to save her.

 

So I did. If you find out how, you get the badge "Guardian of Forever".

Very Kobayashi Maru of you there.  But a true hero is someone who finds a way to save the day no matter what, so I approve.

[Dr. Gemini]

The Roy Cooling arc in the 20s for heroes. 

 

I dislike most of the arcs created after Freedom (whatever issue that was). Some because the plotting was atrocious even by MMO standards, some because they were clearly balanced around having good IO sets even on lower level arcs. Not that there aren't a few gems in there, but most I really despise.

[Fatman]

Faultline arc, parts 3 and 4. Not that the plot is bad or anything; I just hate seeing all the CamelCase being thrown around and abused.

[Venture]

Not 100% dialog, but the Laura Lockhart arc in Steel Canyon. Your contact dies no matter what you do. My main is an Empath, and this really pissed me off. I always wanted a way to save her.

 

So I did. If you find out how, you get the badge "Guardian of Forever".

 

:o

[Lady Sadako]

Not 100% dialog, but the Laura Lockhart arc in Steel Canyon. Your contact dies no matter what you do. My main is an Empath, and this really pissed me off. I always wanted a way to save her.

 

So I did. If you find out how, you get the badge "Guardian of Forever".

 

Well, this is now my new obsession. Thanks, Leandro!

 

I think the badge name has to be a subtle Star Trek reference, so I just reran the arc in Ouroboros, wondering if there was some way I could give Laura a warning. No luck so far.

[_NOPE_]

Not 100% dialog, but the Laura Lockhart arc in Steel Canyon. Your contact dies no matter what you do. My main is an Empath, and this really pissed me off. I always wanted a way to save her.

 

So I did. If you find out how, you get the badge "Guardian of Forever".

 

....an AoE rez like Howling Twilight? I would test that theory... but I'm a Bubbler, not a Dark Defender...

[Nericus]

Well what I would love to do is a complete OVERHAUL of the Synapse Taskforce

 

Majority of the missions are clear entire map of clockwork, more clockwork and even more clockwork

 

The Babbage spawn before the last mission is fineladt mission can be ghosted with stealth teleporter.

 

 

But too many of the missions are kill all clockwork

 

After rebuiling that taskforce I'd have to look at Dr Q.  One of the longest if not the longest, I think though it has three or four missions that are the same.....plus one mission where you leave the shadow shard zone then have to go back to o wrap it all up.... A little revamping would be in order.

[Adeon Hawkwood]

Well what I would love to do is a complete OVERHAUL of the Synapse Taskforce

I agree with that. The older TFs are annoying in general but Synapse and the original Positron were the worst. The exemplering changes helped a bit but as you say the fact that Synapse was nothing but Clockwork made it horrible even after those changes. The main reason I keep an empowerment station in my base was to let me get the Endurance Drain Resistance and Increase Recovery buffs for running Synapse, it was still agrind but it helped counter all of the clockwork draining my endurance.

 

After rebuiling that taskforce I'd have to look at Dr Q.  One of the longest if not the longest, I think though it has three or four missions that are the same.....plus one mission where you leave the shadow shard zone then have to go back to o wrap it all up.... A little revamping would be in order.

All of the Shadow Shard Task Forces were pretty bad. It's a pity because the zones themselves were beautiful (and relatively quick to traverse if you used the geysers).

[Nericus]

Well what I would love to do is a complete OVERHAUL of the Synapse Taskforce

I agree with that. The older TFs are annoying in general but Synapse and the original Positron were the worst. The exemplering changes helped a bit but as you say the fact that Synapse was nothing but Clockwork made it horrible even after those changes. The main reason I keep an empowerment station in my base was to let me get the Endurance Drain Resistance and Increase Recovery buffs for running Synapse, it was still agrind but it helped counter all of the clockwork draining my endurance.

 

After rebuiling that taskforce I'd have to look at Dr Q.  One of the longest if not the longest, I think though it has three or four missions that are the same.....plus one mission where you leave the shadow shard zone then have to go back to o wrap it all up.... A little revamping would be in order.

All of the Shadow Shard Task Forces were pretty bad. It's a pity because the zones themselves were beautiful (and relatively quick to traverse if you used the geysers).

 

Yeah geysers are fun, but now with assemble the team, team transporter, self mission teleporter, and the flight power afterburner, the shards are better to travel.

 

But otherwise Dr Q needs a tune up after Synapse.

 

I ran sister psyche the other day. No major gripes about it. In fact I think I like better then Yin TF.

 

Citadel, Manticore and Numina....no major gripes though Numina having the team disperse to multiple zones.....granted they should be quick street sweeps and a base with all teleporters online makes it better, but perhaps that part of Numina TF can be streamlined

[MetaVileTerror]

Have we got an answer on earning this new badge yet?

[Zumberge]

One of Maxwell Christopher's arcs, which didn't sit with me the first time I saw it back in the game's heyday because it was really ham-fisted.  Heavy spoilers incoming, if you're new to the game.

 

So the deal with Nemesis is that he's trying to conquer our world, might have conquered other worlds, and in canon nearly controlled America for a brief time after World War II thanks to a plot involving an attack on US soil where time bombs loaded with nerve gas were deployed in twenty cities.  So yeah, unprovoked warfare spanning decades that includes chemical weapons, that he still uses on heroes if I recall his missions correctly.  On top of that he was directly responsible for provoking the Rikti invasion of Earth along with who knows how many other things, including the abduction of individuals and their replacement with automatons.  He's Doctor Doom, let's not kid ourselves, but he's quite a bit more successful and has a way bigger body count.

 

Case in point: The neurophagic disruptor, which killed SEVENTY PERCENT OF AN ALTERNATE EARTH'S POPULATION.  That's over four and a half billion people.  The human mind's not even equipped to comprehend numbers that big, so we can't even fully process the enormity of the atrocity.  But just imagine if everything below Russia, from Turkey and Saudi Arabia across to Japan and China and ending at the Philippines and Indonesia just disappeared.  Everyone there is gone.  So you're sent out to get it and people are wondering why he picked that world, as if killing and conquering isn't just a thing he does every day after putting on his brass pants and pouring a cup of coffee.  Thankfully, Maxwell Christopher has the answer:

 

I think I figured out why he chose that world too. According to Portal Corporation files, through some twist of fate the population of that world was mostly of African descent. To Nemesis, their skin color alone made the lot of them less than human. That monster probably didn't think twice about murdering them.

 

That's what Nemesis is, Character. That's the kind of evil we're fighting against.

 

Oh.

 

Oh.  You mean Nemesis is a bad guy?  Well thanks, game, I never would have realized that.  I was prepared to overlook OMNICIDE but now that I found out that it was racially motivated, well!  This is just completely unacceptable.

 

_{(Yes, I know that racism is bad - it's judging people based on hereditary characteristics out of their control rather than their actions.  It's just an incredibly trite Aesop to put in a story and a really cheap way of establishing that someone is meant to be disliked, even though you've been doing that since the reader/player/viewer heard their name.)}