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Basics of Using AE Again


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So back in the day I wrote some AE stories and should still have their files around somewhere, so hey, I thought to myself, maybe I should load them up!  But then I came up with a few questions about doing so.

 

1)  Can one just somehow magically upload one of the old files?  I can't imagine everyone's just retyped everything in again by hand like a barbarian or anything.  How's this done?

 

2)  I had an arc or two that I had to give up on late in the day as AE becamet buggier and buggier with every new patch; one such arc was brokened by how when a player first entered the map, every spawn with dialogue would spout it off, all at once there, instead of when the player got near them.  Are all these bugs gone now?

 

I'm sure I'll come up with more annoying questions later, or - worse yet - publish something.

 

Thanks! for your consideration!

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

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Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
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Cool, thanks leese.  I guess I can always load up the unfinished arc (I'm pretty sure I saved that too anyway) and see what happens.  Once the move to Canada's been done anyway.

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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Yeah, your old arc files should work; the only thing I had to change was set a contact category for some of them.

 

Basically copy over the Custom_Critter (.critter), CustomVillainGroup (.cvg) and Missions (.storyarc) directories and you should be good to go!

 

Unfortunately those bugs are still there -- whenever you enter a mission, all captives will immediately yell their first two lines (+ their captors will say their thing as well). Boss text works fine, though.

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Well that's too bad, that really hampers your ability to tell a story.  I mean, there are ways to write around such things, but it's restricting what can be done. Or maybe I just make my NPCs too talky.

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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Yeah, your old arc files should work; the only thing I had to change was set a contact category for some of them.

 

Basically copy over the Custom_Critter (.critter), CustomVillainGroup (.cvg) and Missions (.storyarc) directories and you should be good to go!

 

Unfortunately those bugs are still there -- whenever you enter a mission, all captives will immediately yell their first two lines (+ their captors will say their thing as well). Boss text works fine, though.

 

Same.  Overall, I got the files working and publishable with minimal effort.  In particular: mission contacts tended to lose their factions and backstory for some reason.  Also some of my "boss fights" that used a custom mob that was minion-class as the "boss" and a standard faction as the boss' associates suddenly reverted to ONLY using the custom mobs for both the boss and the boss' associates.  Both were pretty easy to fix.

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Clave! It’s MrCaptainMan!

 

We’re back!!!

 

I downloaded the client today and after doing Outbreak and getting to Atlas, I actually cried lol.

 

Looking forward to playing all the MA goodness again!

 

So good to be home.

 

Eco

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Ha!  I was right in your other thread, that is you!  WB!

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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Yeah, your old arc files should work; the only thing I had to change was set a contact category for some of them.

 

Basically copy over the Custom_Critter (.critter), CustomVillainGroup (.cvg) and Missions (.storyarc) directories and you should be good to go!

 

So just drop them into the "City of Heroes" folder that everything else for the game resides in?

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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Clave? Wow, those whole time I've been reading that name as "Clark Dave 5"... My brain is broken.

It's a confusing name, I've gotten that before on the old forums iirc.  I kind of wish I had gone with something else way back when, but the die is cast.  And he was the best stalker ever, and I will hear no words otherwise.

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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So today I went and tried to upload a file.  First I got an error telling me one villain group was invalid.  It was published fine back in the day but OK, I went in and took a look, tried to edit the group, but had real trouble when I tried to save any change; it wouldn't save and wouldn't exit from that window until I clicked exit without saving.  So I left that arc alone, loaded upo a second one (no erros, yay!) tried to tes it and hit "Can't find map" on the second mission.  This is going to take me some serious time trying to refigure out where the bug lay and what to do about them, isn't it? 

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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Hey guys, I have a solo server setup (I also play on Homecoming) and would like to know if there is a way to export people's arcs to play on my solo server.  AE is a lonely place on a solo server, and it would be great to have a steady source of new content to play.  Is there an archive where people can upload their arcs?

 

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"Ask creators nicely to mail you the files" is all I can think of.  Even back before closing I don't think there was any site like that, probably because no one was running other servers.

 

Tim "Black Scorpion" Sweeney: Matt (Posi) used to say that players would find the shortest path to the rewards even if it was a completely terrible play experience that would push them away from the game...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗

Clave's Sure-Fire Secrets to Enjoying City Of Heroes
Ignore those farming chores, skip your market homework, play any power sets that you want, and ignore anyone who says otherwise.
This game isn't hard work, it's easy!
Go have fun!
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
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