999,999,999 inf -or- why I can't stand COV

[Ukase]

On 2/13/2022 at 12:57 PM, fancy ketchup said:

Last night I started a patron arc on COV. I haven't played COV since live or ever done the patron arc.. someone red side spotted me and asked if I wanted to do some kind of speed sf that i knew nothing about.  I told them i wasnt interested and we started chatting about how I don't really play cov/ just doing patron arc for the first time, but maybe i should more. He was super nice and told me I should and sent me an email with 999,999,999 influence with a message saying "hope this helps". We didnt talk that long tho. 

 

A few mishes later i realized why i stopped playing cov.. It's just a bit too dreary for me and I've never cared for the design and layout of the archanos characters/maps/mishes.. I remember now when COV came out thinking- why are we not working out of a floating volcano under the ocean surrounded by robot sharks waxing our evil handlebar mustaches with idiot henchmen for crying out loud??!? I guess I had some outlandish expectations..anyway, all that aside, having no real intention of continuing playing once my patron arc is over I feel like I should send this influence back. I've never had that much influence.. is it weird to keep it?.. is it weirder to send it back? Is it not that much for some people? 

First, to answer your questions - wealth in this game is relative. If they sent you practically a billion inf, then they had it to burn. It was of no consequence to them. Still, if you're determined to never play again, send it back. 

I had an in-game chat with someone yesterday who never had more than 20M. But, they'd never played a character over level 31, either. 


Anecdotally, I've sent large amounts to folks who looked like they were enjoying the game and asked good questions about the market, or about blasters. Ice blasters in particular. 
I don't send "that" much, because my experience tells me it has the opposite of my intended effect. Seems to remove any motivation they had to push through the content. So, it's usually a smaller amount. 

Many players agree with you on the dreariness of Red side. Fortunately, with Null the Gull, we're not stuck on red side once we complete the arc - we can change alignments instantly. After a time, the only thing that keeps people engaged in this game is the other people you play with, as it doesn't take long to run the new content to the point where you know the story and will find it a bit of a dull time. 

[Ukase]

19 hours ago, Andreah said:

And send the person a thank you email down the road some time. I really appreciate those when I get them. 

I have to agree with this - I make a note on these folks that do this, and am sure to be generous if I see them in the future. 

[PLVRIZR]

9 minutes ago, Ukase said:

Anecdotally, I've sent large amounts to folks who looked like they were enjoying the game and asked good questions about the market, or about blasters. Ice blasters in particular. 
 

 

And my niche was (is) kinetics.  Back on Live, where infl. was MUCH more difficult to obtain, I'd take Nos and park him under the Atlas statue and send tells (on Champion) for lowbie kinetics to come get some...

[Without_Pause]

1 hour ago, MoonSheep said:

grandville is also quite a dull final zone that doesn’t excite me.

I made a comment in a mission how terrible Grandville looked considering it was named Grandville and where LR essentially hangs out at. I got a laugh back from a teammate. The missions within the fort are honestly a pain to navigate. Mercy I can tolerate although it isn't great. Some of the other areas aren't as bad as their rep even if I wouldn't say their great. The Arachnos maps though. Those are criminally bad, and I don't mean they make sense for villains.

[Snarky]

53 minutes ago, fancy ketchup said:

Now I hadn't even thought about making my own.. I like that and I may try.

 

Yea as I am approaching the end of this arc I am really starting to enjoy some of the mishes/story but half of the mishes are your typical grey/red/black chain link fence/batting cages in the dark. I have a hard time navagating some of these and missing openings in the fences when they go up..might just be me being stupid or my computer screen but its not much to look at either way. I'll take a cave over these any day.

Fair warning, base building at this level is

 

1) difficult from an artistic standpoint.  just because you have oil paint a brush and a canvas does not mean the painting will come out the way you want....

2) Difficult from an engineering standpoint.  To build 'outside' the base you need to learn how.  i got a lesson on it once I half remember.  the second step was taking a chain of the largest objects in the editor and building a bridge down to the bottom limit of the base zone (outside the base) then starting construction there to give yourself the room you need.  a base zone is actually pretty hefty if you count the vertical space.  

3) damned tedious.  a project like this, for me (if I had the skills, and i do not) would probably take me 100s of hours to knock out the bulk of.  The 'finishing touches'....might never be done

[Andreah]

2 hours ago, fancy ketchup said:

Now I hadn't even thought about making my own.. I like that and I may try.

 

Like Snarky said, it's a lot of work.

 

And yet, people make some amazing things in it.

 

I would like to recommend you have a look at "Firebrand Island" at base code "Fortune-13524", and see what possibilities are there.

 

It's more a meeting/social place than a base, but it would not be a stretch to make something fit to your own Nefarious Purpose if one had the talent and time.

 

For reference, here's a link to a post by the creator I found via search. 

 

[fancy ketchup]

4 hours ago, Ukase said:

 I don't send "that" much, because my experience tells me it has the opposite of my intended effect. Seems to remove any motivation they had to push through the content. So, it's usually a smaller amount. 

I could see that.. in fact I already gave away a quarter of it to a very good friend that has helped me a lot in the game.

 

4 hours ago, Snarky said:

Fair warning, base building at this level is

 

1) difficult from an artistic standpoint.  just because you have oil paint a brush and a canvas does not mean the painting will come out the way you want....

2) Difficult from an engineering standpoint.  To build 'outside' the base you need to learn how.  i got a lesson on it once I half remember.  the second step was taking a chain of the largest objects in the editor and building a bridge down to the bottom limit of the base zone (outside the base) then starting construction there to give yourself the room you need.  a base zone is actually pretty hefty if you count the vertical space.  

3) damned tedious.  a project like this, for me (if I had the skills, and i do not) would probably take me 100s of hours to knock out the bulk of.  The 'finishing touches'....might never be done

I dont have ms paint or oil paint but i did get an honerable mention in my third grade art show so I assume I will maybe make something that is significantly slighly better than average if I get lucky.

 

in all honesty tho my plan is to go small. My motto is "go small or give up!" Cuz I definitely dont have spare time or the technical abilities to make it amazing.

 

3 hours ago, Andreah said:

I would like to recommend you have a look at "Firebrand Island" at base code "Fortune-13524", and see what possibilities are there.

 

It's more a meeting/social place than a base, but it would not be a stretch to make something fit to your own Nefarious Purpose if one had the talent and time.

I'm not much for hanging out outside of mishes but I'll have to check that out. And contemplate other ideas... There is something really cozy about the idea of an evil lair in a burning garbage dump on top of a nuclear disaster cleanup site.