TerroirNoir's "Cable Channel of AE!" Reviews. Part 1.

[Zhym]

2 minutes ago, Darmian said:

 

Well, there's always the small prequel, The Meteors (in my signature) to tide you over.  As for a sequel?  I was waiting for some proposed additions to the AE that haven't arrived yet, but when they do...we will see.

 

As a dedicated fan of Gold side I started writing pre Praetorian War arcs (Loyalist and Resistance) that fit into the canon storyline as best as I could make them.  But I do have notes on a return to Maven and her team.  

Awesome!  I have those other arcs on my to-do list.  As for The Meteors, I actually did that one first, not having noticed the publication order.

Edited October 20, 2022 by Zhym

[TerroirNoir]

6 minutes ago, Zhym said:

I'll be honest, the timed missions are putting me off of @cranebump's arc.  I'm just not a fan of timed missions.

 

Ok, that's a fair point but let me just say, that screenshotting as I go along is really helpful with that!  I can get through the mission and then when I'm done have a good read rather than run down the clock at the start.  They are totally worth a look after you've done @Ankylosaur's stuff.

[Darmian]

1 minute ago, Zhym said:

Awesome!  I have those other arcs on my to-do list.  As for The Meteors, I actually did that one first, not having noticed the publication order.

The Meteors was me wanting to write more Maven & Co, but not having worked out a way forward from the end of Darkest Before Dawn 3 yet.  I was also attempting to do a sort of quasi tip mission thing, but the AE is borky and it didn't really work out that way.  I was still reasonably pleased with the end result though.

[Zhym]

3 hours ago, TerroirNoir said:

We may have to hire Chris Jenkins! 

Oh, BTW?  I love that Chris Jenkins is part of this arc. 

[Darmian]

Just now, Zhym said:

Oh, BTW?  I love that Chris Jenkins is part of this arc. 

Well, his face is LITERALLY everywhere!

[TerroirNoir]

7 minutes ago, Zhym said:

I have those other arcs on my to-do list

I have done those myself but it's been awhile.  Might add them to this and give them a proper review, especially since the All That Glitters series is well over 100 missions in total! Just for balance!

[Zhym]

A quick note on "All That Glitters" by @Ankylosaur, as I just started it.  The description says, "Best played in the Mercy AE so you feel like you're there."  I actually took that advice, went to Mercy, looked around for AE, checked the map...then remembered that Mercy AE went aspode in Page 4.  No Mercy AE anymore.  So maybe the description could use a small edit.

[TerroirNoir]

41 minutes ago, Zhym said:

A quick note on "All That Glitters" by @Ankylosaur, as I just started it.  The description says, "Best played in the Mercy AE so you feel like you're there."  I actually took that advice, went to Mercy, looked around for AE, checked the map...then remembered that Mercy AE went aspode in Page 4.  No Mercy AE anymore.  So maybe the description could use a small edit.

Oh man!  You could just stand in the ruins and shout!  LOL.

[cranebump]

2 hours ago, Darmian said:

 

Well, there's always the small prequel, The Meteors (in my signature) to tide you over.  As for a sequel?  I was waiting for some proposed additions to the AE that haven't arrived yet, but when they do...we will see.

Come on now, Salinger. We're freakin' waiting, man. And this time? Timers, damnit. Quit coddling us!:-)

[Darmian]

@TerroirNoir, great pics, as @cranebump mentioned earlier.  I like the set of Spectra in the air, particularly this one:

 

 

Keep at it and thanks!

[Zhym]

I'm starting to worry that @TerroirNoir is going to hit the image upload limit...

[TerroirNoir]

Arc 6 from our first writer on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is, @Ankylosaur's All that Glitters 2.3: Terawatts in Terra Volta.

 

Engineria is back in Delia Huntley's office again.  She's majorly pleased with the results coming in from Faultline, what with the removal of all that tech.  She's even informed Vanguard of the rogue Rikti stuff that we found.

 

In the meantime ConDev/Langston is buying up undeveloped land and buildings across Paragon. Seems the Mayor likes all this renewal that's going on. Now they've muscled their way into Terra Volta and Delia wants me to have a looksee at something there. Seems our shiny gold friends are guarding a building in the Old Coroman district. Delia thinks they're manufacturing Robopals there.  And I still think those things are one mistake away from being ED-209!

 

Let's go investigate!

 

Mission 1: Handy Helpers. Stepping into the Coroman district you can immediately tell it is not a friendly place.  I mean, there's work going on and all, but that's dragged a lot of unsavory types out of the shadows.  Case in point.

 

 

And of course I'm spotted.  So I get in there and start blasting!

These guys have the numbers on me, and there's something hitting me from one of the walkways!

 

 

OOF.  Bit of a dent to the old pride so soon after entering the zone.  I'll be back in a minute or two.

 

 

Ok, back again.  Now where was I?  Yeah.  There's 3 prototype Robos I need to "deactivate".  That's a technical term used by us "deactivators".  You're not in the union, you're not cleared to know this stuff.

 

Hell, there are a LOT of Goldbrickers around.  Plus I've seen Freakshow, Sky Raiders and other things.

 

 

Of course the Freakshow, being the Freakshow, have taken a dislike to the other things, and the Goldbrickers.  Me too if I get any closer I bet!

 

 

Although this could be used to my advantage.  This Tank Smasher took out one of the Robopals I was looking for.  I didn't get near it!  May have to induct him into the Deactivators Union, if he doesn't try killing me first.

 

 

2 more of these bots to find. And it is a BIG place!  Oh well, on we go.  Next I run afoul of some Sky Raiders.  Of course in the middle of dealing with them, well see for yourself!  Electricity Attack From Above!

Booya!

 

 

I pull free of that attack and fly up, and that's handy because what do I see but the NEXT bot I need to take out.  He IS heavily surrounded though, by his own assistants and by plenty who will join the free for all.  Nothing for it though.

 

 

I manage to tag him and his buddies and drop a Smoke Flash, blinding pursuers and make a hasty getaway.  There's just too many of them!  And they're in a near constant battle with each other. Langston might be rebuilding here, but these guys are taking it back down.

 

 

HEY!  I see the last bot.  Although this is going to be tricky.  So the plan is I fly around, land on the walkway and approach on its level, hoping the ones above and below don't spot me.  What have I to lose?

 

 

Sorta like this if you see what I mean.

You are here?  Well, so am I and that is not good for YOU.  Bye bye botsy!

 

 

Ok Delia, that's the last of them.  Heading back to Wyvern Central, or wherever the meeting place is!

 

Delia informs us that a hacker has been in touch.  There are as far as is known, 4 main types of these robots. Handy, Servant, Professional and Hazard.  And all of them have some sort of combat capability.  Yeah, I know that first hand thank you very much!

 

This hacker calls themself "The Doctor", and has supplied Wyvern with the address of Langston's distribution warehouse, if we want to have a looksee that is.  So, that's next on the agenda.

After a nice bath.

 

[Mission 1 = Find and Destroy.  A simple mission but the zone is very well populated and if you want a fight then you're definitely going to get one.  The targets can be tricky to spot but they all say things so that's useful.  Nice.]

 

Mission 2: Handy Distribution. Delia tells us that Wyvern's main benefactor received gifts of several Robopals.  Ahead of their official sale date.  Seems he is finding them useful. At the very least Delia thinks that Langston will have spies in every house.  I mean the conspiracy theorists say that our phones are spying on us, but these ones will be able to actually do stuff too!

 

So following the lead to the distribution warehouse provided by this "Doctor" person, Engineria heads to investigate.  Straight in the door of the building, avoiding the constant fighting outside.  

 

So look for clues.  There's a Doctor of some kind in here, along with a Boomer leader...ah, there he is!

 

 

Well, let's see what you have to say for yourself, shall we?  I mean one of these guys has to know something, right?  I can't be getting my ribs cracked every second day for nothing.

 

Oops! Wrong target!  Oh well.  Here comes Mr. Peace.

 

 

And Mr. Handy! GOD DAMN CLEANERS!  I mean is it too much to ask not to be beaten over the head with a broom?  I'll take getting shot over that anyday.  Ok, hyperbole but seriously, brooms hurt!

 

 

They REALLY hurt!  

 

 

Right right.  Don't worry, I can actually handle cleaners.  Just.  NOW, let's go see that Boomer guy and have a chat. Oh my back. Think I cracked the plate there.

 

 

Came to play?  Oh I'll do more than play.  That cleaner got my dander up!  And as for sound...I'll let you know when I land.

 

 

A minute later I stagger up and catch my breath.  No, you go on without me, I'll only slow you down.  Course saying things like that when you're on a solo mission could get you locked away or sedated.  Ah sedated.  Lovely.

But never mind.  Let's keep moving.

 

Hmm. Lots of crates, all filled with Robopal parts.  Well, it is the distribution center so I suppose you'd expect that here.

 

 

Well well, if it isn't my old pal, Chatty Mainframe Esq.  Wonder what he'll have to say for himself today.  And there's that Doctor!  Dr. Zygonsky.

 

 

The Doc first I think.  The Mainframe is guarded by Gold Brickers and the Boomer nearly deafened me.  I'll just take it easier here.

 

 

Yep, functional and error free.  Although the ones I met earlier might have some...hardware issues.  Yeah, let's call it hardware issues.  

A few quick blasts and Zygonsky is down, but he appears to have his own mediporter! 

 

 

Well, that's him gone. Nothing I can do about that I reckon.  Mainframe time!

 

 

AW!  He remembers me!  It's like some sort of weird dating app that I cannot delete from my phone!  A violent and armed dating app.  

Now what did he mean by that?  Ok, I've started calling the Mainframe "he".  Just ignore me.  It's a thing.  

 

 

Where exactly am I not supposed to be?  I mean I'm obviously not supposed to be here yet I am and you're fine with that.  Soooo, that means there's somewhere MORE important to you that I need to find.  On the list, put a pin in it.

 

Moving to the upper walkway offices I deal with some more Robopals, including a rather angry Ms. Zen.  Quite odd.  Not as vicious as the cleaner guy but still pretty odd.

 

 

After that I find two desks and finally some intel for Delia.

One is a manifest along with notes on AI that allows Robopals to sift what they hear for key phrases and words.  Looks like Delia was right.

The other piece of intel is a little more curious.

Spoiler

 

And then it's time to leave the warehouse and report in.

Delia starts breaking down the intel but doesn't get very far when alarms go off!

The Wyvern base is under attack! Robopals given to the benefactor let the Gold Brickers in, and some of them were manhandling a Mainframe!  Engineria is needed on deck to repel boarders!

 

[Mission 2 = More investigation. Slowly whittling down the tree until we get what we want.  This feels a bit police procedural/Colombo-ish.  We KNOW they're villains, we just have to prove it and find out what they are actually up to.  Nice!]

 

Mission 3: Unhand Our Base. So Delia Huntley fills Engineria in on who their mysterious benefactor really is.  (That's probably an open secret but just in case I'll spoiler it here:

Spoiler

Justin Sinclair AKA Manticore.

 

Matthew Burke, who I rescued way back should be in the building, fighting off the attack.  Link up with him then find Delia.

 

Ok, in we go!

 

Ah, there's Burke, and the Gold Brickers have him in some sort of energy cage.  

 

 

Well, Matt, my boy, time to get you out of that and then we can do some damage! Plan? Plan!

 

 

Not as many of them here as outside in Terra Volta, so not getting hit in the back by sonic weapons is a bonus, definitely!  Ok Burke, let's get you out of that thing, whatever it is.

 

 

Yep, let's grab Delia and clear these Gold Bricker bozos out of the mansion.  Lead on, MacBurke!

"There is no need for violence"?  Then STOP attacking me, you stupid Mr. Head Butler bot!  Oh, Burke drops him with a very heavy punch.  

 

 

Now, there's a secret door here.  In fact lots of old mansions seem to have secret doors.  I'd like to find one that isn't in a bookcase someday, just for a change!

Aha, Wyvern getting attacked by Robopals. Come on, Burke!  Let's help them out.

 

 

Unfortunately our Wyvern compatriots are down when we reach the fight but we wade in anyway.  Has to be done.  They have to be taken down and the base cleared out.

 

 

Burke has spotted someone else and run off.  I follow and there's a Gold Brickster.  Princess Zoe?  I've no idea who she is. A relation of King Midas maybe.  Either way, I've just been threatened with some form of smelter weapon! (I think).

 

 

Pick and pick and pick at you?  (Pikachu!) Well, if you don't want us to pick at you, STOP BEING CRIMINALS.  It's very simple.

 

 

Oh you got what you came for?  So you guys are just a delaying team to let the others get away?  Also, what the hell is a nimeith?  Burke, do you know?

 

 

Still not found Delia.  Hopefully she'll be up ahead somewhere.  Ok, on we go.  Another bout of the Hi Ho song about to happen.  Burke doesn't seem pleased by that.

 

Delia!  Ok, let's get her, Matt!  

 

 

We drop her guards and free her.  She's intent on getting to that Mainframe and solving this thing as well as cleaning house.  Burke stays to mop up some stray Gold Brickers. Well, I say "mop", more "punch until they stop moving, and then maybe a few more punches". He's got a very simple technique but it seems to work for him.

 

 

Ok, Ms. Huntley, there's our boys in mid combat with a whole passel of Gold Brickers.  Let's not sit this one out, yeah?

 

 

HOOBOY.  This turned into a great fight!  Wyvern and Delia and Engineria just taking on the Gold Brickers!  Delia is there somewhere doing her stealthy/invisible thing.  And pretty soon we have them down and are heading into the lab area under the mansion.

 

 

Oh, looks like Chatty Mainframe was expecting me!  Well, these dates of ours are getting so cosy of late.  I mean I'd hate to stand him up or anything.  Food's not the best though but since he's paying can I really complain?  Of course I can!  

 

 

Got it in one, Delia.  That's the guy/thing/it whatever that has been plaguing me across all the missions I've done with Ollerus and Hornet and you.  And frankly it's about time we sorted his electronic butt out.  Also, nice bow work!  I see you're not a boss who skips leg day!  (Or bow day, whatever the approved Wyvern exercise class is)

 

 

We disconnect him from whatever network he's attached to and the physical mainframe bit goes dead.  Unfortunately he does appear to have got what he came for.

 

 

Delia regroups with Engineria and discusses what happened.  The base has been cleared but these guys now have vital intel on Wyvern, including the identity of their backer. But nothing has been revealed yet.  Stalemate. One side waiting for the other to make a mistake it looks like. 

 

In the meantime other Wyvern forces are assaulting a Goldbricker/Langston/ConDev operation, an energy plant, in the old Carter Engineering district.  Engineria however has a different job in front of her.  Looks like the attack by the others is a diversion.

 

[Mission 3 = Good rescue and release mission.  The plot moves forward and @Ankylosaur's use of allies to lead you to things/other allies is as usual spot on. Good stuff]

 

Mission 4: Out of Hand Aeronautics. So, our hacker friend, the "Doctor", has informed us that there's an as yet unknown reason why Langston (insert all other name variants here) are trying to generate an enormous amount of power.  And there's a way into the plant.  A Gold Bricker by the name of Fort Knoxxer has access.  So Engineria is to liaise with Hornet and Ollerus and persuade him to let us in.  

 

There's a lot of Gold Brickers here.  Not to mention the usual Sky Raiders and Freakshow.  And I spotted some of our Wyvern buddies on the way here.

 

 

A lot of Gold Brickers!  Looking down I can see another squad of them below me.  I'll have to be careful not to get caught in a sonic weapon crossfire in this place.

 

 

Ok there's Ollerus.  He's got himself captured.  Again.  You know, for a competent Wyvern agent he does that a lot (yeah, I know, AE is tricky).  Luckily for Engineria that far group of Gold Brickers is busy dealing with a Sky Raider Skiff AND some Wyvern.  

 

 

Ok, having dealt with those Gold Brickers I free Ollerus and he's all intel today!  Excellent. 

 

 

On the way to the spot we have to clear a path (or 3) and hooboy, that's a LOT of arrows!  Ollerus really lets loose in these fights.  All to the better though because these sonic weapons are hammering me.

 

 

Are you sure he was here, Ollerus?  Yes, we need that key card from him to get in the plant but he's not here now.  Ok, I'm gonna go find Hornet and see if he knows.

 

(@Ankylosaur, little glitch on the thumbtack location here.  But from what little I know of the AE mechanically, that can happen)

 

 

Ha ha! Old Hornet is literally around the corner!  If I'd gone left instead of right I'd have found him faster first.  And no guards around him either.  Looks like one of the other enemy groups took them out.  All the better for me!

 

 

It takes us a few minutes, going up and down and around, this place is a maze of steel and pipes and walkways, to find our elusive Fort Knoxxer.  So the next plan is jump to the walkway below and down the slope!

 

 

Well, we've been seen.  Nothing for it but to get into the fight and take them down as fast as we can.  Time's a wastin'!

 

 

Oh! This is a ROUGH fight.  So many around us blasting away and Knoxxer himself is giving as good as he gets.  But in the end he hits the walkway face first and Hornet and Engineria remove a vital key card from him.  Next stop, back to Delia to debrief.

 

 

Delia is pleased.  So that's good.  She's wondering why the Gold Brickers are doing all this in Paragon and not back in the Rogue Isles, though they did have a "difference of opinion" with Dr. Aeon over the PTS thing, demons and so on.  So staying out of his hair I suppose.  Time to get into that energy plant then!

 

[Mission 4 = Plenty of roving fights, plenty to do! Unfortunately the AE went awry with the escort mechanism here but that happens.  Worked around it.  Overall a thumbs up]

 

Mission 5: Handy Wiped. Right, time to lay siege (or sneak in, I'm good with sneaking in) to Langston's energy plant in Terra Volta. Further intel (from the Doctor?) suggests that all that power is possibly needed to open portals to Praetoria!  What now?  Isn't Praetoria a Devouring Earth infested hellhole after the war?  Or did I mishear the news reports?  Anyway, we need to stop them whatever they're at. Which might also include transferring human consciousness into the bots! Like human minds in a machine body.  Sort of uber cyborgs?  I dunno. I just blast stuff and hope, mostly. Ollerus and Hornet will be assisting and we have to plant bombs tactically so as to collapse the place without, you know, taking out all of Terra Volta like some sort of mid city volcano.  So NO PRESSURE.

 

In I go!

 

There's Hornet, doing his Hornety thing.  Time to collect the team and blow this place skyhigh!  Or not, since that's 100 percent contrary to Delia's instructions.  Implode it?  Whatever.  There's explosives.

 

 

You too, old buddy, old pal o' mine.  Let's go find Ollerus.  He's probably got caught again.  Remind me again why YOU'RE not the lead agent, Hornet?

 

 

HOLD UP!  We've been spotted!  Ollerus will have to wait a few minutes while we deal with...Bamboozle?  Is there like a Spin the Bottle thing where Gold Brickers get to pick their names?  Never mind.  Hit him!

 

 

Hornet perforated that guy with arrows!  I mean I used Radiation Blast on him and a few Kinetics drains but he's a damn pincushion now!

Hey, see who I see, Hornet?

Let's go help him out.

 

 

Think nothing of it.  Force fields?  OF COURSE. Of course of course of course. Must have been.  What say you, Hornet?  Silent now, huh?  Ok team, let's move on.  bombs to plant.  

 

 

Now, surely there must be a reason why these guys drag an entire MAINFRAME around with them all the time?  Have they never heard of the Cloud?  Or does that need to be air gapped and free of any other influence?  Perhaps.

 

 

Oh wow!  Nice piece of work, guys!  He REALLY blew up!  Wonder what he meant by common enemy though.  Expensive power?  Welcome to reality my former AI suitor, it's always expensive unless you're off grid.  

 

 

As well as planting the bombs there's a Dr. Prodan here.  And Mr. Rodney of the Gold Brickers!  He's one of the more important ones I hear.  So he'll probably be well guarded and tough.

Ok, let's get these bombs placed then. 

 

Moving around the corner we spy Dr. Prodan, with some sort of protective shield around her and her assistants.  

 

 

Whoa indeed!  And before we get into the weeds about human minds embedded in Clockwork bodies, how do you NOT know who I am?  Maybe I should have a calling card or something?  Business cards maybe?  Never mind. Time to whack the weeds!

 

 

You know, these people keep talking like they are trying to save the world.  Not the uniformed Gold Brickers, they seem intent on kicking my teeth in, but the scientists in general.  So what do they know that we don't?  Is this the common enemy that Mainframe was talking about?

 

A few more bombs planted along the way, some along the walls, a few on those big reactor thingies.  And then we come face to face with Mr. Rodney. He seems a little put out that we're here.  Talk of Warworks?  And showing Dr. Aeon what's what?  Are they building an army here out of sight of Arachnos so they can go back and take out Aeon?  Hell, Wyvern would probably have HELPED!!

 

 

As to what Engineria and the Wyvern boys are doing here?  I'll give you three guesses.  And he seems intent on getting out of here as fast as possible.  Well, there he goes!  Not much we can do about that.

 

 

With Rodney gone we plant the rest of the bombs and retrieve some data from terminals before exploding the entire plant so as for it to collapse in on itself.  Cleverly waiting until we are OUTSIDE to set off the detonations.

 

Back with Delia. 

 

That put paid to any possible attempt, at least from Terra Volta, to engineer a portal to ruined Praetoria.  And as for the digital mind thing?  Well, we will have to wait and see.  Delia is in contact with this mysterious hacker Doctor, so she'll be in touch with me ASAP.

 

[Mission 5 = Great little mission.  Doesn't feel like a finale to an arc, but that's obviously due to the bigger picture plot we discovered along the way.  Looking forward to finding out what is actually going on.  Nice!]

 

Verdict: Good stuff here.  The plot grows and grows by increments.  A jigsaw puzzle with no picture! Anyway, our next episode will be All that Glitters 3.1: Extractions in Eden.

 

Next up on TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is, after the commercials, @cranebump's Leviathan 3: Hollow Victory.

Edited November 5, 2022 by TerroirNoir

[Ankylosaur]

On 10/20/2022 at 5:52 PM, Zhym said:

A quick note on "All That Glitters" by @Ankylosaur, as I just started it.  The description says, "Best played in the Mercy AE so you feel like you're there."  I actually took that advice, went to Mercy, looked around for AE, checked the map...then remembered that Mercy AE went aspode in Page 4.  No Mercy AE anymore.  So maybe the description could use a small edit.

 

 

Officially updated to...

 

Wyvern has a proposition for you: Extract someone from Mercy Island. Up for the task? (Begins a long Vigilante campaign exploring the impact & power-shifts in a Post-Praetoria Primal Earth. Progresses from levels 1-54. Best played in the Mercy AE so you feel like you're there. Oh wait...) [SFMA]

 

---

 

The only reason I suggest it really is for the mission loading screens. Since each arc is mostly anchored in a zone, if you do get to play in that zone, it kind of feels like a real arc, sorta, for a moment, while waiting for it to load.

[TerroirNoir]

3 minutes ago, Ankylosaur said:

The only reason I suggest it really is for the mission loading screens. Since each arc is mostly anchored in a zone, if you do get to play in that zone, it kind of feels like a real arc, sorta, for a moment, while waiting for it to load.

 

Currently in Independence Port doing that exact thing!  Well, after Real Life has finished with me!

[Ankylosaur]

Nice! It's as close as you can get to Terra Volta - which is a very one-dimensional, but neat zone with lots of different interesting buildings. Unfortunately, they are pretty much a flyover on the way to a Respec. When putting this together, I explored the neighborhoods and locations to position the different outdoor maps. Originally was going to try to use these industrial maps as Crey's Folly, but they are missing that yellow glow - then Terra Volta occurred to me, and the plot started coming together.

 

With how they redid RWZ, Faultline, Dark Astoria, and a hint to it at the entrance of Boomtown, I had hoped the hazard zone redos were going to become a regular thing. But, since that never happened - this series is the best I can do with what we have. 🙂 It's nice they give us a chance to contribute In ways we want.

 

If these dev's wanted to do it,

• Eden is ripe for some cool DE zone stuff using all the DE stuff from Praetoria - but that may be too well-trodden ground already. Maybe a zone event facing Hamidon's avatar?
• Crey's Folly with the whole Freaklok thing maybe? The often-forgotten Freaktown is there after all, and strange chemicals in the water is very Vahz. Plus of course Crey. (I'd take Nemesis out of there - they're kind of pointless - and put in the Freaklok stuff.)
• Shadow-shard -just throwing in some other groups with their outdoor building-types on existing islands - like in the new plaza would bring some life to this place.  Seems like many groups would have special projects trying to leverage this place and the creatures here.
  • Firebase Zulu - groups supported by the main base but out on their own islands
    • Longbow could have a dup of the isle in Nerva
    • Crey a dup of the building in Nerva with Shard creatures in cages
    • Pocket D - put it out here as its own zone in a zone, like Terra Volta in Independence Port
  • Cascade Archipelago - groups out here on their own
    • Nemesis - they already have a base designed for the shard.
    • The Council with a few buildings from Striga. 
    • Arachnos, with any reused fort from the isles - or several smaller ones
    • Gold brickers - Langston HQ dup or some other building with some gold brickers since they have the D-rifter
    • High level sky raiders with a dup of the striga warehouse and an oil rig <--ok maybe too far with this one 🙂 
    • Circle - with a reskinned Flying Ziggurat map base that has Shard plants and no fog
• Boomtown - I reimagined a Mot-free Dark Astoria in Glimmers as the new home for the Praetorian refugees but, Boomtown could serve nicely for that since Dark Astoria will remain as is. Bump it to the low 20s - Loads of mobs at that level already they could just reuse to bring life to the place, with plenty of room for the mob types that are out there already.

 

But obviously populating Khalisti is already a challenge so suspecting redoing a zone is a bridge too far. 🙂

 

Spoiler

Also interesting to me with Terra Volta was that the mobs there all have some mobs that can fly, and one of the maps is pretty vertical. With Wyvern, Sky Raiders, Freakshow, and Gold Brickers - I tried to leverage that too.

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Ankylosaur

[Darmian]

Hell, @TerroirNoir, that's 78 missions so far!  SEVENTY EIGHT!  And you're still going!  Kudos! 

[TerroirNoir]

10 minutes ago, Darmian said:

Hell, @TerroirNoir, that's 78 missions so far!  SEVENTY EIGHT!  And you're still going!  Kudos! 

 

Going to be going for a while!  And later I'll be adding MORE to this, including @Take One's stuff you recommended and @Getaways's set of arcs.

[TerroirNoir]

Arc 6 from the second writer on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is, @cranebump's Leviathan 3: Hollow Victory.

 

It appears that Tucker Hannity, NewsAnons's main presenter, is still stirring up all the misery in the world and throwing it at the screen. Rogue Isles criminals infiltrating Paragon at every level and the powers that be do nothing but let it happen.  Our great institutions hobbled and unable to respond and so on.  All in garish technicolor.  Trouble is there's a grain of truth in there, and that's the issue.

 

And then Freitag calls.  Comrade, yeah that guy, wants to talk.  He's in the Rogue Isles though and will only talk to Engineria.  Oh joy.  I'm going back to one of my favorite places. To talk to one of my favorite people. Well, it's the only lead Freitag has right now so...yeah.

 

Mission 1: The Noise Before Defeat. And here we go. After spending the day visiting the Museums in Mercy(!) I'm told where the meet is on and I head there.  And wouldn't you know it, my old pal Hollow Point is ahead of me.  Chh. Well, win some lose some.  Hey HP.

 

I make some space around us and we catch up on old times.

 

 

Me?  I should pay more?  Which one of us needed helping just there?  Was it me?  I think not.

 

 

Still, we round the corner and get jumped by Kugelwhatsits, and it's a mite painful, but lookee here!  Hollow Point has other uses besides shooting people in the head.

 

 

Well, HP, this I appreciate.  I'll just stand here beside you for a minute or two and bathe in the healing.

Of course no sooner do we round the NEXT corner than we get fired on!  Look!  I'm flattened again!  I'd almost forgotten what that felt like. Almost. And now I never will.

 

 

And Hollow Point goes down!  Muttering something about Retrograding?  I dunno what the hell that is.  Wait, was he another fake?  No, that can't be right because he'd be on the other side surely?  Never mind.  Busy now!  

And it's all ambushes on corners tonight!  I get around a corner and Comrade comes out of the shadows, along with the Kugel Elves, who really hate my guts.  Not sure what Comrade is shouting there but he appears to be helping me.

 

 

Comrade wades into the fight!  Giving me some needed breathing space but he's taking heavy hits now from all around him. Those Gun Drones are lethal.

 

 

And Comrade is also down!  Well this went south fast!  What the hell?!

 

 

The last thing Comrade says to me before he dies is this:

 

 

And then I'm staggering out of that hellhole and making my way back across Mercy to make a phone call.  And get some Advil.  And bandages. And maybe a new career in dog walking.

 

Freitag is livid.  Well, more so that usual, what with the NewsAnon thing contributing to his high blood pressure and all.  He'll be in touch and he and Pep Becktrees will search for mentions of this Schturmivol whatevers.

 

[Mission 1 = Hardcore crazy!  This mission is insanely deadly.  Everything and everyone (apart from HP and Comrade) wants you dead at 100 percent and will stop at nothing to do it.  Great but bring inspirations.  Lots of them!]

 

(Little typo on Becktrees' name in the end text, @cranebump)

 

Mission 2: Know Thy Enemy. So, News Anon, purveyoe of the finest news to the gentry, have banners scrolling across the screen about how Comrade's death was Hollow Point's fault.  Seems they had a "beef".  Or something.  Best not to delve too deeply into that morass of crazy.

 

And then Engineria's temp phone goes off.

 

I'm to watch my back with HP.  Yeah, we know he seems on our side but he's still a gun for hire.  As for the other thing, Becktrees thinks it's Storm Korps.  Not heard from since World War 2. Actual old timey Nazis.  Well great.  Anyways, tracking Comrade's movements and retracing his steps, turns out he was in a place owned/used by Doc Buzzsaw just prior to the meet.  Time to see the Doctor.  I'll bring "apples".  The explosive type.

 

Hello!  Hollow Point is here. Again.  Well, let's see how he is today.

 

 

He's got some of Doc Buzzsaw's "friend" with him.  Oh, apparently, he's just waiting for a friend.  Me.  Ha.  Ok then, HP.  Time to tidy up.

Oh it's Janitors!  I forgot those sumbeeches rez themselves!  Here I am stunned and the other one is racing towards me while the one I just downed is busy upping again.  Oh my!

 

 

People will talk?  About what exactly?  About me wringing your neck because nooo, Engineria is fine and doesn't need help from the rezzing Frankenmonster?  C'mon, let's get this done.  I know you want revenge but I need answers.

 

 

Right, whatta we got here?  The Doc's logs.  Interesting.  She's got fingers in every major pie.  Well, every pie that might want new fingers at least.  You know where I'm going with this.  More Frankenmonsters.  They seem happy in themselves though.  One of them, Clawe, likes to sing. Oh, two cryptic notes here too. Lotan and Tiamat.  A job for Pep I feel.

 

 

Further looking around nets me access to some of her experimental data.  I've met and killed most of these.  She just makes more.  And some antiquated stuff marked "NG-original".  On the list for Pep.

 

And there's a Warrior!  He's run off! Babbling about being at a meeting and hearing a hissing sound and then everything went dark, and now he's here.  So that's where the Doc is getting her "subjects".  Could be worse.  Could be Vahzilok.  At least the Doc prefers them alive!

 

What else?  A genetic resequencer, with a print that looks like the NG-original schematic.  Oh look, a body!  Wonder who it is?

 

 

Hmm, tagged as a failed experiment.  It's a long dead Death Doll.  Well, I dunno. You have to feel sorry for some vills when bad things befall them.  They didn't ask to be experiments.  Well, apart from the Freakshow I suppose.

 

Oh Doc, say it ain't so. Crey too Brutus?  Shut up HP.  I'll explain that later.  I suppose she has to get lab stuff from somewhere.

 

 

She had BETTER be talking about you, Hollow Point, or me and the Doc are gonna have words.  Nope, words are being had anyway, but there may be shouting too!

 

 

Our definitions of progress are not the same!  I like a microwaved dinner, you like resurrecting killer janitors.  See the difference?

 

 

Oh save it.  You'll have plenty of time to talk afterwards.  Oh yes.  Peon!  Peon?  Anyway, see you later HP.

 

 

Freitag's debrief is in fact brief and bullet pointy.  Doc Buzzsaw, as per her MO, is a chatty Cathy when she wants to be.  Lotan and Tiamat and Leviathan are all like mythical sea beasts.  (I say mythical, but I've seen Lusca in IP so...)  So, Crey provides the lab stuff (got that right!), Leviathan provides the subjects (like that Warrior I met) and Doc does some resequencing on them, keeps what she likes and returns the rest to Leviathan.  Shares tech updates with her Crey suppliers.  All cosy.

 

And Freitag has info on the Dr. Gressmann that Buzzsaw mentioned, connected with the "NG-original".  Well, I'm agog, Joe. Let's hear it!

 

[Mission 2= Simple capture and retrieve clues but really drives some plot home.  Gets across Buzzsaw's odd personality too!  Nice!]

 

Mission 3: Opportunities Multiply. Ok then, with Doc Buzzsaw's help a meet has been set up between Crey and Leviathan.  Buzzsaw has promised to deliver something special and they're salivating.  Ick.  As for a mole inside the PPD?  That's being dealt with without Engineria.  Seems ok to me. And I'll have some special back up on this mission.  Cage Consortium.  Kirk Cage is unhappy with his rep being "tainted".  Whatever.  I'll take the help.

Off to Sharkhead to a clandestine Crey facility then! We're entering at different points so I'll need to collect the others.

 

Well, definitely Crey.  No sign of my allies yet though.  Time for a scout around I think. Stealth on and...ok, it was already on.

 

 

Well that didn't take too long.  Here's the first, Savage Siren.  So based on previous experience I should be seeing Pyrelord and Critical Mass around too,  Ok, let's get Siren and do this thing.

 

 

Oh excellent!  Savage Siren gets into the fight as fast as she can.  Go girl!  (Takes a quick breather)

 

 

Several Crey agents later, plus a Crisis Unit...

 

 

That's a floor cleared.  I was stealthing my way along but Siren seems so happy to be inflicting high levels of damage on those Mr. Smith clones Crey uses as agents.  Oho!  Look who I see!

 

 

Yes yes, we know.  You want to raid the Crisis Units for their tech and...what do you mean Pyrelord's in trouble?

 

 

And there's Pyrelord.  With a bullet through his head and his body stuffed behind this generator.  Did he have any family? You don't know. Just as a matter of interest, Critical Mass, WHICH Pyrelord was he?  There was like 3 of them at one point.  You don't know?  Well, now we need to proceed with a reducted team. Careful out there!

 

 

Right, next up is hacking their system.  Which turns out to be locked.  So we need to find someone who can unlock it.  I hate my life.  I should do the Jessica Jones thing and take off the suit and just take low level detective work, divorces, all that thing.  Yeah, it'd be dull but the perks are not being left stuffed behind a generator.

 

 

Oh for the love of...you do know you've got a Crey employee standing right next to you while you rant?  No?  Well, it won't matter soon anyway, Me and these two are not going to bother to sort out the differences between you around a table or anything.  Just sort you out.

 

 

Every time!  Well, nearly every time!  Damn zealots!  That's what I liked about Hollow Point, he's a ruthless merc but he's never ranting about "the cause" and so on.

 

 

Damn it.  Savage Siren is down!  Last I heard from her was something about never working with Redcaps and then it trailed off.  In the meantime where the hell did this globe thing come from?

 

 

Ok, Critical Mass finishes off his foe and comes to help me smash this very very annoying person in the face. And this very very annoying person is hella tough, pushing us back into the next room!  Critical keeps on the pressure but it looks like his armor is starting to overheat!  Not that I have time to worry about that since I'm thrown clear of any explosion.

 

 

By the time I stagger up, Critical Mass has joined Savage Siren on the ground.  Out for the count.  Ok, I have one trick up my sleeve here (or somewhere in my tray!)  Quick scrabble through the old utility belt for it...ah yes!  Envenomed Daggers!  Take that!

 

 

One sec.  Maybe more than one sec.  Ok, time to find someone else to chat to about the security console.

That's so much better.  See?  Reasonable.  And no one gets hurt.  Apart from some fingers.  Whatever. Your orders were just to take Buzzsaw prisoner, you don't know any more than that.  Hmmm. I have to talk to the Chief Scientist do I?  Well, I will.

 

 

 

Mr. Chief Scientist I presume.  Ignore the prone bodies of your guards, or you'll be joining them  Yes, I am threatening you.  So spill.

 

 

Him?  What now for the love of Recluse!  Ok, I finally get the console running and start uploading stuff to Pep's data directory.  Let him sort that out.  Oho!  I spy company.  Now, that's just not right.  Ok, I used grenades on you the last time, so let's tool up again.

 

Except THAT one knows me!  That one IS Hollow point!  Oh it's just business is it?  Well I was asking for that I suppose.  However, I'm still going to kick your verdamnt head in.

 

 

There's too much going on here for me to play dead, HP.  How about YOU play dead.  As soon as I dispose of your cosplayer minions here.

 

Ok, got him.  He's moaning.  But we have the data and the alarms are screaming and I'm outta here.

 

Back with Freitag. He's not surprised really that HP took a bigger pay check to work against us.  If it really WAS HP.  I dunno.  Some good news, one of the scientists has willingly turned themselves in, not a fan of the entire enterprise.  And Pep's working on that data now.  

 

[Mission 3 = A tough mission!  Crey can be tough at times but you know what you're getting.  The zealot was brutal!  Great fight though.  Nice]

 

Mission 4: Formless Subtlety. And several weeks pass with no sign of Leviathan, outside of their minions causing havoc here and there across the city. All the while the hate spews from NewsAnon.  And then I get called out.  WTH?

 

 

"Like Engineria".  Right.  Ok, I'm pissed now.  And there's the phone.  Oh look, someone else who is pissed.  Hi Freitag, whatcha got for me?

Nothing, huh?  Apart from some info on Dr. Gressmann.  Taken in by us after WW2 in Operation Paperclip.  Got a medal for scientific whatevers in 1954, died a few years later in an auto accident.  But...I knew there was gonna be a "but", Joe.  But all her files are missing. If there's anything on her then it's in a government safe site.  And Joe says he's going to put in the paperwork to request it.  It will probably take a long time to get any reply.  And that's just unfortunate.  If only there were another way.  Sadly as an officer of the law he just can't think of one.

 

Me neither, Joe.  Let's just give up. 

Just give me the damn address.  

 

Ok, a normal sort of building.  Office-y looking. Some security.  Willie Sullivan has given me a backpack to stick files in.  Just disable the security system and go find stuff.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

If only.

 

 

Ok, security guard dealt with, and the terminal is up there.

 

 

Right. With that done I can check that PC I walked by a minute ago.  Let's go see what's where and so on.

Hmm, all data on Storm Korps is locked in a wall safe.  It needs the thumbprint and keycard of the Site Security Chief.  The guard I just knocked out was not the chief.  Let's go find him then.

 

Oh well done, guards.  Let's just hang around the elevator and chat.  Out of sight of your boss no doubt.  Well, I'm just going to stealth by you (remembering to take Repel OFF this time!)

 

 

So, if I don't punch out any more of your guys then you'll show me to the safe and open it?  That seems suspiciously easy, but sure.  Let's try that plan for now.  What have I got to lose anyway? (Dignity mainly)

 

 

There we go.  Now wasn't that easy.  Apologies for misgendering you earlier, ma'am.

 

 

Oh come on!  And we were getting along so well!  Right.  I knock you out and get the hell outta Dodge, files intact.

 

 

Back with Joe Freitag He and Pep start going through the files.

Story so far kiddies. Gressmann didn't die in an auto accident. She was recruited into a covert team for Roger Vrabel, the Might for Right Act guy. Working on Project Augeoides.  Yes, met someone with that Augie name. Someone got Gressmann's notes and gave them to Buzzsaw, and abracadabra, new versions of Augie. Freitag's next plan is to feed false intel to the mole inside the PPD and draw people out.

 

[Mission 4 = Actually a deceptive mission.  Absolutely needed, and no extra clutter.  No cramming main villains into a place they shouldn't be just for the sake of it. Good narrative there. Nice]

 

Mission 5: To Win Without War. So, Freitag's theory is our mole has close connections with NewsAnon. He'll announce that the PPD are going to investigate their lead reporter/presenter.  They're not because they can't legally do it, but they're going to say it.  And the reporter is going to react to that and break cover hopefully.  And wouldn't you know it, Freitag happens to know a supe not a million miles away that isn't actually a member of the PPD and who knows what they might do. Like even follow the reporter.  Funny how these things can happen.

 

So a couple of days later I have a conversation between T. Hannity Esquire and X (no idea who X is yet) and he's all squirelly.  Really starting to lose it.

 

 

Argsosy. Ok, let's tail our guy and see where in Argosy he goes.

 

Oh fer the love of ...it's Hollow Point.  I mean c'mon man, you're busting my chops here.

And he has Sacco-Vanzettis for company.  Great.  As soon as he looks iffy I'm dropping him.

 

 

Oh, it was all a ruse to get on the inside to shut down their operations.  And the new togs were just a bonus.  Sure, why not?  It's a lot more reasonable than "For the cause!"

 

 

Time to do the needful and shut off the security system.  Gotta be around here somewhere.  AHA.  Excellent.

 

 

And now, now Hollow Point and Engineria venture into the sewers below the building.  Because of course we do.  Some day I'd like to be more than a mid level super, and you know, fight vills that live in penthouses and have helicopters and swimming pools.  Ah, a girl has to have her dreams.  In the meantime, watch where you're stepping HP.

 

 

We run into a few more of the Sacco-Vanzettis along the way.  And wade through them (as well as other things), until we find T. Hannity himself.  Of course, he has company.  And lookee here!  Hannity is a super himself!  Well there's a turn up for the books.  Ok, grab him HP.

 

 

Having disposed of his guards/friends, we get a loudspeaker announcement (in the sewer? Sanitation dept is well funded!) telling us that Hannity is to be considered a traitor and to take him out.  And a Collection Team arrives toot sweet to, well, collect him.

 

And a few minutes later, because Hollow Point is seriously dangerous (yeah, I know I've beaten him, but let's not rub that in right now) we have the weasel of a reporter in our hands and Collection Team 1 is cooling in sewer water.

 

 

Time to get out of here.  But we have 2 more Collection Teams to get by along the way.  Well, watch your 6 boys.  

 

Here's the next set of idiots.  Serve the Disir?  What in the blue blazes are you talking about?  HP, shoot that man.  Repeatedly if you please.

 

 

So after dusting those, we make our way back to the main building and run into the final Collection Team, led by some dickwad named Sturm.  He's a bit...he's a bit. I'll leave it at that.

 

 

Refuse of prof...nope.  Not going there.  I'm just going to hit you until you STOP TALKING.  Plan?  Plan.  HP approves too.  I reckon Hannity does as well, since we're the only things keeping him alive right now.

 

With Sturm down the others flee.  And then there's a noise of an incoming signal on a nearby terminal.

 

 

And Freitag knew it.  There's always someone else at the end of the line.  Someone pulling strings.

 

 

We get out and go home. Time to report back. We've made some advances and the enemy have seemingly retreated for now.  Prop 86, a bid for a new Super Hero Draft law, has failed.  And thanks to my heroics (and HP's shooting people through the eyes) I appear to be on the good side (ha!) of NewsAnon.  This just in from Tucker Hannity:

 

 

[Mission 5= A great mid season wrap up.  Plenty of tough fights and intel acquired and looking forward to the next move. Nice]

 

Verdict: Loved it.  We're tracing our plot back through the decades and finding out more and more. Our next episode will be Leviathan 4: Origins.

 

Next up on TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is, after the commercials, @Darmian's Darker Deeds: Part Three.

Edited November 5, 2022 by TerroirNoir

[Ankylosaur]

I remember loving Hollow Point as an ally on that one. Super cool to have a traps buddy. (So many little treasures buried in AE 🙂  and well used by @cranebump).

Edited October 23, 2022 by Ankylosaur

[TerroirNoir]

Arc 6 from our third writer on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is, @Darmian's Darker Deeds: Part Three.

 

Mission 1: Busman's Holiday. We're still in the Meteors' makeshift HQ in a set of suites in the Hotel Geneva in Atlas Park.  Madame Maven has convened the team to recap what we know and how to move forward, especially since Arachnos have a copy of all our intel now. We're in the weird position of now trying to prevent an internal civil war in Arachnos!  Madame Maven says normally she's let them fight it out but we don't know how that will end. Paragon has enough trouble with Warburg and the Marshal Blitz faction already.

 

The only clue we have is what Elliott Burgh said about the Renegades' mad plan, whatever that is.  So we need to get Burgh back from Arachnos somehow. Burgh's been seen and a Longbow agent has that intel.  Longbow can't be trusted completely but this guy wasn't one of the Red+Whites, he's undercover.  Meet him and get out.

 

Sure, how hard could it be?

 

Well, first of all I'm going to avoid you lot.  Seems the sensible thing to do.

 

 

And this is where Colin Dreyfuss, the undercover Longbow agent, is waiting for me.  Let's have a chat with the man.  Hopefully it's not a trap.

 

 

Well, there's no one lying in wait here.  But Dreyfus won't have much to say for himself.  Damn. 

 

 

He's got blood on his hands though, and there's a trail...which leads to here.  A bookshelf. 

 

 

A paperback novel has bloodstains on it, and there's a computer disk slid between the pages.  That has to get back to Madame Maven and the team.  But who killed Dreyfus?  And then from outside there's a voice shouting "COME OUT LITTLE HERO!"

 

Well, I think I just will.  If for no other reason than Colin Dreyfus deserves some justice for his murder.  Ok, here I come, ready or not!

Webmaster Fallon, is it?  Well, I plan on kicking your spidery ass until you can't get your helmet off ever again!

 

 

Ok, in one sense that's a relief.  This team of spiders have no idea who I am or the mission.  On the other hand they ARE trying to kill me right now, so fighting back is the right option.  Oh yes!

 

 

OHO! Fallon is smarter than I thought!  Now we're going to have Arachnos looking into Dreyfus' movements and possibly getting in our way.

 

 

Not his lucky day!  Local Longbow troops show up and back me up! He always hated spiders? You joined the wrong team my friend!

 

 

With that Engineria accompanies the Longbow troops back to their HQ in a converted Dirty Duck restaurant not far from here.

At their HQ Engineria uses their comms to contact the Meteors.  Madame Maven is saddened to hear Dreyfus is dead. She wants the disk uploaded to her ASAP, and to find out who Dreyfus' associates were.  Someone gave that to him and we need to find that someone. Axios is also in the Rogue Isles searching for the missing Chris Jenkins.

 

[Mission 1 = Short and simple but instantly setting off on a course to solve a bigger mystery.  Everything loops back around.  Nice!]

 

Mission 2: We're Not in Kansas. Next morning Engineria speaks to Bennett, the local Longbow commander.  She seems reasonable and helpful and lets me know of two associates of Dreyfus that still aren't accounted for.  Then it's on the comms to Madame Maven. She and the team worked all night decoding the disk data and Dreyfus had a mole inside Arachnos.  That mole saw Burgh being taken to a black site.  Bullet Streak has been working on this and provides a location to check, and that matches one of the associates of Dreyfus.

 

Time to check that out then.  Off I go.

 

Stepping in there's local Infected and Arachnos patrols.  And the patrols seem all squirelly, like they're afraid for some reason.  Can't be the Infected, those sad people are a minimal threat to a power armor clad Arachnos trooper.

 

And there's the elevator at the far end.  I'll just ignore the Infected and stealth by the Arachnos patrols.

 

 

Oh boy!  I just found out why the Arachnos patrols were acting all weird!  I can't say I blame them actually.  These...things...are dangerous as hell.  And if I want Calhoun then I have to take them down.  Wish me luck!

 

 

Right, let's see how they respond to some Radiation.  Plus I've put Kinetics Repel up to keep them away from me!  It's bad enough that they spit!  And it is toxic!

 

 

Ok!  One done already and the other two bounced over the railing.  Follow them down and keep hammering them with Proton Blast.  

Oh man but these guys are ugly!  A face only a mother could love. Not that they have any. Mothers I mean, they obviously have faces.

 

 

But the Radiation does it for them, that and stealing Health/Power/Speed via Kinetics!

Then it's upstairs again to grab Calhoun.  He does not seem well.  At all.  Hang on, PRIMUS?  What's a Primus?  Another of these damn things?  Oh boy.

 

 

Back down we go then, Mr. Calhoun.  Ah, looks like we have intermediate trouble BEFORE we hit that Primus you mentioned. One down and another one coming our way.

 

 

WTH?  I just got hit in head!  Calhoun?  No, a damn sneaky Fortunata came around behind us!  Clever.  Well, she's still getting a face full of rads for her trouble.

 

 

Ok, now Calhoun, can we please get out of here?  That would be oh so lovely.  Come on!

Yes yes yes yes YES!  Just get in the damn car!  I have a Primus to deal with!

 

 

Ok ok, he's a big one but there's only one of him, so same tactic as before and voila, toasty giant spider...thing.

 

 

Right, I'm outta here.  Run like blazes back to the exit!  OH WHAT NOW?

Vinny's Boys? Big Vinny from the Zig who nearly broke my neck?  THAT Vinny?  I do not have time for this!  Blasty blast and goobyeee!

 

 

Ok, back to the Longbow base.  And catch my breath.  Calhoun is there getting medical treatment and promises to tell me everything when he gets himself settled. A quick call to Madame Maven and Engineria gets instructions to question Calhoun.  She and the gang in Paragon are still working on translations. Axios thinks he's found Chris Jenkins in St. Martial, and Longbow have taken custody of Tessitore.

And Maven's best news?  Chis Jenkins' law firm is bringing a case against the Meteors.  Busy day.  In fact, Engineria might have gotten off light in this one.

 

[Mission 2 = Another fast mission to move the plot along.  It feels like pieces are being pulled into place for a bigger reveal later.  Good stuff]

 

Mission 3: The Winds of Change. So, it's a video call to Madame Maven on the Longbow comms.  Calhoun spills that Burgh was seen leaving Ghost Widow's place and he decided to see who this prisoner was.  Burgh was transferred to Kodal's unit.  Location included, so that's where Engineria is going. On a good news front, Axios has retrieved Chris Jenkins.  Well, hurray!  I suppose. And she wants to know who Vinny is!  Too weird to explain. LOL.

 

Anyway, time to visit Kodal's base of operations in Port Oakes.

 

Off I go.  On stepping in there's that greasy air feel I got before when I came across time generators and so on.  So, this is the right place, or at least Burgh WAS here.

 

So, Wolf Spider Marius.  Who might you be?  Shall we have a little talk?  Let's talk.

 

 

Oh, Fallon was far too lax, was he?  Looks like the old camaraderie and esprit de corpse is strong in Arachnos.  Well, time to stomp spider!

 

 

Well that's more like it!  Why don't I meet more people like you, Marius?  I mean you just want to patrol your warehouse or whatever and get on with your life.  Amirite?  Yeah, course I am.  C'mon then.  Let's find Burgh.

 

 

Oh hell, got a little bit cocky there and walked around the corner straight into this one.  Bit groggy but I got her.  And I see you're no help, Marius.  Then again I suppose I can't expect you to fight any of your Arachnos friends, suppose they survive and file a report?

 

 

Damn it.  Lost Marius.  Have to go get him again.  Ah, there you are!  Really?  Well, I suppose I'm off your Christmas card list then.  (Do people still do those?)

 

 

To be honest, this is not so bad.  The only other Arachnos person I've spoken to was Ghost Widow, and Marius is downright lovely compared to her. Now, my friendly Arachnos buddy, pal, friend o' mine, what in the blue blazes is that thing?

 

 

Never mind, I'm here for Burgh.  Ah, there you are Elliott.  Not seen you since the ship.  Hope Ghost Widow was nice to you.  

 

 

Oh Marius.  And we were getting on sooo well.  Oh, didn't stay to fight.  Run off to "get help" maybe?  Anyway, stuff to do. Boppity bop, spiders!

 

 

I owe you?  Maybe I do at that.  Well, spilt milk and crying over it, Burgh.  We are where we are.  Now, I have a Kodal to deal with before I get out of here.

 

 

OW! Caught in an ambush!  And Marius is for the chop, poor guy.  Maybe Longbow could take...no, that won't happen.  Poor guy.  Anyway, greetings Kodal!

 

 

Looks like they already picked old Burgh's brain clean.  But at least we'll find out what they found out, as soon as I get out of here alive that is.

 

 

Ok, you are seriously blocking my exit here, Monsieur Kodal, if that IS your name...what are talking about now?

 

 

No, I'm not falling for that!  "Look behind you!" Do you think I'm a child?!  And down you go Kodal.

Oh hell, it was the Spectra Arachnos he was talking about.  They look a bit peculiar, sort of zombie-like!

 

 

 

 

I blast them with radiation and retreat.

 

Kodal had a strange key on him labeled "Master Engine Control". It's for that giant machine thing I saw earlier.  One last thing to do then before I get outta Dodge.

 

 

Chrono Engine is shut down apparently.  It was enormous and looked nothing like the previous time generators I found.  Ok, time to hightail it out of here.  

 

Back the LB base where a revived Burgh is set up in front of a screen where Madam Maven questions him over a videolink.  He spends a bit raving about Ghost Widow and her obsession with her bones. And she didn't listen to a word he said.  THEN he informs us that the Arachnos here plan on infusing the Arachonoids with Spectra DNA.  And that's not a pleasant idea at all. Burgh's temporal knowledge was used to speed up the cloning procedure. And if you think that's insane, apparently it's not as crazy as the plan the actual Spectra Arachnos are hatching!

 

Madame Maven prioritzes.  The Arachnoid lab has to be taken out.  Then we get back to the main Spectra hunt.  Looks like I'm going into the spider's web!

 

[Mission 3 = I love this map (even though the elevator door is broken) and while a simple rescue, there's so much layered into this.  Good stuff indeed]

 

Mission 4: Slash & Burn. Burgh gets questioned some more, including about if he knows why the Spectra guys look like zombies now. He figures they were caught in a time trip when a generator was destroyed.  And Madame Maven then says that was our fault, when we blew up the travel device back in Steel Canyon. Oh, they love us now. 

And then he tells us THEIR plan.  Richter plans to detonate a chronal bomb in the Rikti war zone. Burgh thinks it could wipe out Paragon if it interacts with the Mothership shields!  Jeez Louise! They're going to blame it on Recluse and instigate a full on invasion of the Rogue Isles.  Okaaay.  That's like insane.  Completely insane.

Maven says "One thing at a time" and orders Engineria to shut down the clone lab.

 

And that's where I'm going now.  

I'm in.  And there's an intercom announcement.

 

 

Great. They know I'm coming.  Patrols and ambushes all the way then!  Grenades in the utility belt?  Check.  Let's gooo!

I'm stealthing my way though this place, but sometimes you just can't sneak by people and have to take them down.

 

 

I'm just gonna scoot around the corner here into a quiet spot and get my breath back before moving on.  No, no. I'm FINE. 

 

 

WHAT?  Who patrols this stairs?  I mean why?  Ok, more spiders to get smashed!  It's like they're deliberately blocking all routes where my Stealth power won't help.

 

 

That's right! KABOOM!  Oh, I wonder did anyone hear that?  Back to stealthing!

 

 

Allow me to present Exhibit A.  One clone lab, to be destroyed.  Also, patrolled by Arachnoids.  Horrible spitting toxic Arachnoids.  Ok, I have to find the main control and then eliminate the gestating Spectra/Arachnoid hybrids.  Easy!  

 

 

Ok, master control is down, now the pods with the hybrids.  There's the first one.  Carefully does it.

 

 

And where the hell is the last one?  AHA! down there!  

 

 

Well, that didn't take long.  However I have caused quite a lot of noise and Commander Allan has found me.  Well, I do so hate leaving a job unfinished.  And, you know, he DID order bad things to happen to me, so it's only right that I go kick his head in.

 

Allan is not in the best of moods.  Then I suppose that's a mite understandable since I have just destroyed his cloning operation and done quite a bit more damage along the way.

 

 

Lower base?  There's like a sub basement under all this? And someone called Vodat.  File that away for later, Madame Maven will want to know.

 

 

Hell, those back arm things are dangerous! And over he goes!  Nice knowing you, Allan. 

 

 

And then...and then...sometimes the bad guy is right.  Not morally right but correct in what he says.

And then this.

 

 

Now Engineria can leave, OR (following @Darmian's advice)  check out the voice while running through a collapsing building.  

So, I do.

OH NO.  I've been saying for ages that I'm a mid level super in a city of supers much more powerful than me, and I actually meant that!  OH CRAP. HE'S SEEN ME!

RUN AWAY!

RUN AWAY!

 

I run away!  And he hits me in the back.  I make it to the elevator and get away.

 

(Embarrassed mode:  Because I tend to hide my Nav bar so as to take better screenshots, I hadn't noticed that the blue button to just exit was right there all along)

 

 

[Mission 4 = This gets sold to us narratively as a thing to get done before we get back to the "main plot", but that's deceptive.  There's plenty of action and adventure in here.  And that Easter Egg!  @Darmian, were you TRYING to kill me?  LOL.  Good stuff]

 

Mission 5: Resistance.  No returning out the way I came.  Lord Recluse(!) is back that way, though thankfully separated from me by a building on fire.  Small mercies are still mercies I suppose.  Allan said there was no signal and he was right, so it's down into this sub lab place and watch out for Vodat.  Whoever she /he/it might be.  I say "it" because I've already run into the Arachnoids and so on, so...cough cough!  Down down down!

 

Well there's Vodat. Waiting for me.  I'm not surprised since Allan DID warn him about me so, yeah.  Gonna have to tackle that guy.  And there are lots of troops down here.  I suppose some came down to get away from the upper levels exploding.  HEY!  Don't blame me!  That was Allan!

 

 

So you know when you have a bright idea?  Like, hey, I'll just stealth by these guys and get the drop on them from the rear?  That sort of an idea.  And then you nearly walk straight into an Arachnoid patrol!  This place is also FULL of Arachnoids.  Just sayin'.

 

 

Ok, here goes nothing!

I keep saying it!  It wasn't ME who blew up the upstairs building!  And who are these fools you keep facing?  Well, they must be fools because no sane person in their right mind would come down here.  Shut up.  Extenuating circumstances.  Staying upstairs was detrimental to my continued existence.  And that's all the reason I need!

 

 

Blinded!  But I keep targeting Vodat.  Although the Arachnos Mistress keeps targeting me!  I hope I can kill him before she kills me!

 

 

I do manage it!  Mainly by taking s stupid risk and turning on the Arachnos Mistress and flaying her with Radiation.  I pop my last greens and blues and turn to take out Vodat. Unleash Termagant?  That doesn't sound good at all.  Dollars to donuts it's a King Spider of those Arachnoids.  I betcha.  

 

 

These guys are all over this place!  Thankful there weren't as many upstairs!

 

 

OHO!  Found Termagant.  And all their friends.  Oh this is really going to be painful, I just know it.

 

 

Using a clever combination of hit and run, meaning I hit and run while keeping Kinetics Repel up and flinging grenades over my shoulder, plus Smoke Flash to lose line of sight with them, I feebly whittle down the foot soldiers of Termagant until there's only him and one subspiderthing left.  And then I heroically wade in!

 

Ahem, not.  I was "heroically" webbed and couldn't move!  I drop Vodat and concentrate on his minion, and while you can't see it, Engineria's own health bar is hovering about the same level as the Arachnoid's.  I'm staying alive by pulling health from him with Kinetics!

 

 

And then he's down and I can escape this building.

 

 

Getting outside Engineria manages to get through to Madame Maven.  Super Charger is on the way in their reclaimed flyer to pick her and Burgh up. The team has isolated what they need from all those translations and the data disk and then Maven says: 

 

 

THAT'S the boss!  She is taking the fight to them!  

 

[Mission 5 = Small mission that effectively acts as an epilogue to both the last mission and the entire arc.  Simple but deadly. Fun.  Good stuff]

 

Verdict: Interesting arc. Liked it a lot.  Pulling back in plot strands from across previous arcs to build (well my assumption) to the final trilogy.  Okay, our next episode will be Darkest Before Dawn: Part One.

 

Next up on TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is, after the commercials, @Ankylosaur's All that Glitters 3.1: Extractions in Eden.

Edited November 5, 2022 by TerroirNoir

[TerroirNoir]

@Darmian, still laughing at the "I've always hated spiders" line!  😄

[Zhym]

On 10/20/2022 at 9:27 PM, TerroirNoir said:

I have done those myself but it's been awhile.  Might add them to this and give them a proper review, especially since the All That Glitters series is well over 100 missions in total! Just for balance!

I just did @Darmian's Loyalist Praetorian arc, and I hope you do review it.  It's great, IMO.  Although, now that I've done this one and the "Dark" series..

Spoiler

What is it with @Darmian and clones? ;)

 

[Darmian]

@Zhym I was confused by your reference to the ITF map since I have never used it. So went through the missions. One of the last AE updates caused the correct map to change. I returned it to the proper one. 

[Darmian]

19 hours ago, Zhym said:

I just did @Darmian's Loyalist Praetorian arc, and I hope you do review it.  It's great, IMO.  Although, now that I've done this one and the "Dark" series..

  Reveal hidden contents

What is it with @Darmian and clones? 😉

 

Well, the Praetorian ones have a definite reason!!

[Zhym]

3 minutes ago, Darmian said:

@Zhym I was confused by your reference to the ITF map since I have never used it. So went through the missions. One of the last AE updates caused the correct map to change. I returned it to the proper one. 

Aha!  That makes some sense.  I remember that map being surprising, but figured it was just because I'd seen it in ITF so many times. 

 

What's the correct map?