[Rogue] [46-54] The Atlas of the Multiverse - Arc ID: 27055

[Ankylosaur]

 Mender Lazarus knows the entire multiverse has ended before and believes only you can prevent it from happening again. Help him prevent the end of the multiverse! SFMA

 

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This was a combo of a few ideas I already had in the back of my head with one someone mentioned around when Homecoming went live. Its a little cheesy but feels good to have done.

 

As always eagerly open to any and all feedback.  Here's some things on my mind:

1. Tips: I put in tips to help players. Do I have too many tips in there? Are they making the player not think? 
2. Balance: Worried about the balance of the mobs in mission 4. I did some testing and though you have many AV allies, it was not the breeze I expected.  Are the custom mobs too tough?
3. Optional Fights: There are LOADS of AVs in here but most are optional fights. Most missions only require a glowie / destructible object but give you an option to fight lots of mobs/AVs if you want to with support. Is there enough challenge to be fun?
4. Morality: Is Vigilante the right morality setting? Felt like neutral was not right but not sure what is...

 

I think I squashed the most obvious issues, but if you run into any, please let me know.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Ankylosaur

[Ankylosaur]

Dug up the post that got me thinking about this... Mine took a different direction, but the post got me thinking this direction so thanks Marine X!

 

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Ankylosaur

[Ankylosaur]

Made some modifications that have made the mission 4 mobs more manageable. I realized I had done something of a bad practice and made many of them all defense (Super Reflexes or Energy Armor) based.

 

In addition to adding another ally, I also tweaked one of the custom named AVs a bit.

 

A little worried they are not enough of a challenge now - but think I am closer to getting the balance right.  

[Kyksie]

This is a fun joke-ish arc, chronicling the shutdown of the original game. The player goes after "Soften Sea", recovering the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom or something. The foes are a custom group with at least a dozen types, all of whom have funny bios. The joke density is high, and all of them hit the mark, making this a must play. The only downside is that people who weren't there for the shutdown won't get it.

 

Incidentally, does anyone with a long memory recall an AE called "Your final Mission", which was released about a month before Live shutdown? It was designed to provide a way to retire your favorite character or something.

[Ankylosaur]

Occasionally you lose sight of your own vision for something. Such was the case with this arc - I made a decision that took a bit of the life out of this when I published it. After some feedback from someone who played through it, I finally had the gumption to go back and dust this off and correct that. It remains a pretty simple and not very serious arc - but hopefully is a bit more fun now too.

 

Anyway still tidying up but made some significant changes to this arc that I will share if you don't mind spoilers.

 

Spoiler

 

The changes

• Fighting over Glowies - The core idea for the first three missions was to travel to Atlas Parks in alternate dimensions where things were different. Each was tied to an expansion of the game, but because they were alternate dimensions they didn't have to be too rigorously tied. In each - you fight a defining figure - Statesman, Lord Recluse, Tyrant. I ended up replacing that fight with glowies/destructible objects to make it easier on players and so that each mission did not feel like it was the same formula (a) gather allies then (b) fight the boss. But then I really just replaced one formula with another and made it a little dull because you weren't using your powers to solve anything.
• Added time in Atlas - by removing those fights, you also spent less time in each Atlas. You don't spend long there now, but you really could breeze through before which meant you got little feel for it - and you feel like your actions don't impact it even slightly.
• Dial-a-challenge - In each mission, you could probably gather enough allies to just kite them into the boss, but you decide how many you bring along by how much of challenge you want. You clearly know you are facing tough bosses from the get-go, and the number of allies available to help.
• The Archvillain - The enemy was a corporation, and exclusively fighting its staff felt a little odd - there was no defining villain to punch. You can't fight corporations in CoH with legal proceedings, so without punching someone - or having a clear mastermind behind a plot - well it took the satisfaction out of the win. Without totally spoiling it, I found a very obvious villain who worked well in a corporate office and solved that. It also gave a dash of hope that the corp could reform - that it was being manipulated.

 

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So in the end

1. The first few mission goals change.
2. The combat became more frequent/exciting.
3. The sense of accomplishment defeating a final villain is better. (I hope.) 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Ankylosaur

[Darmian]

I'll get at this version as soon as I can.

[Ankylosaur]

Thanks for wanting to give it a go.  It is by no means wildly different - the same core plot and text are there - but now it has more to engage with in the first few maps and more fight - more pow, zap, blammo and kablooey!