Xaphan

Honestly, a mission filled with nothing but sappers would be a pretty easy farm. I remember one mission like that redside, and it was one of the easiest things I've ever done in game.

(qr)
I love threads like this. There's no way anyone could make such an obvious farm arc and actually be surprised when it's banned. I mean, an arc about Farming with Freakshow as the enemy group? How would that even make sense from a story perspective?! Obvious prank. With that in mind, a lot of these replies are great.

Good show OP, good show.

I would assume that was added in later. Also, still doesn't seem like irony to me at all...

All speculation on my part, but let's try this...

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When switching sides, will we lose all infamy/influence? I would think we will, since it doesn't really make sense otherwise. The cost of switching sides.

[/ QUOTE ]I'm actually speculating no on this one. Though there may be a cost involved, I don't see you losing ALL your inf. From a story perspective, it's not really that hard to argue that the more influence you have as a hero, the more infamy you have as a villain. Superman and some random D-list hero both go evil at the same time... which one makes the news more with their now villainous exploits? The villain to hero explanation is a lot more stretched, but it can still work. Still, gameplay is more important than the story behind it in the end... I'm just saying the story can still work.

In addition to that, I don't see the devs removing all your enhancements when you switch sides, either (unless they really don't want anyone to do it). As such, if they DID remove inf, it would just be common practice to convert all your inf on hand to enhancements, carrying the best ones over with you, and giving the rest of your inf and loot away (or storing it in the SG) before transferring over. If we're thinking about blocking inf transferring from side to side because of the "potential harm" it could do the markets... I wonder which of the two options is really more harmful in the end? (Believe me, if I need to somehow waste a billion influence before my hero can "safely" transfer over to redside, the market is going to KNOW it!)


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If you have a level 50 hero or villain and switch sides, will you also automatically unlock the Epic AT for that faction? I would hope so, but I have my doubts. I think maybe with Going Rogue we should unlock all 4 epic ATs with your first 50 of either hero or villain.

[/ QUOTE ]I can see this one going either way. It'd probably be better if just getting to 50 on any character regardless of AT unlocked it all... but I've thought that since the beginning, before Side Switching was even announced, so...

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If we choose to make a morally "grey" character and tread the line between good and evil, will we be able to visit both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in addition to Praetoria? I very much doubt this will be allowed, but it really should. If you're "grey", you should be able to visit any zone. Though I'm uncertain how you would go from Paragon to the Isles, or vice versa, without stopping in Praetoria first. It would be nice though, experience both sides at the same time with the same character.

[/ QUOTE ]It's been indicated that if you side switch once, it's not a one-way trip. You can always switch back again later (too lazy to find the quote on this one). So experiencing both sides will be open to everyone (that buys the expansion)... but whether or not morally gray characters can do it at will is unknown. It really depends on a few factors.

First, how do characters that start out neutral work? Do they just play through Praetoria until they're forced to pick a side (and thus conform to playing the game in the way it's currently set up), or can they come and go as they please?

If they can access any zone they want, hero or villain, than what's the trade-off? What do full heroes or villains, who have to side switch the hard way (and HOW hard is it, anyway?) get out of it? Is there any benefit to being full hero or villain (even if you DO switch sides now and then), rather than being morally gray?

I can see it working out in dozens of different ways. There's too many factors to make an accurate guess at this point, I think. So... we'll have to wait and see.

People still think Sappers are scary?

(qr)
I don't see what's so bad about the Fifth and Council story. Yes, it was handled horribly at the time, and we STILL see some of the effects of it... but the story itself isn't that twisted.

A powerful group (that's existed for quite some time. The fact that they weren't in the game until that point really has no bearing on the story) comes into the light, and challenges an equally powerful existing group. The catch is, the leader of the old group is REALLY working for the new group, and hands over the reigns (even though he still has his own plans, and doesn't do it happily). Many of the troops don't like it, there's some open fighting in the streets, but overall it's a quick and easy takeover. With that threat out of the way, the new group picks up where the old one left off... while adding in their own projects and evil twists along the way.


It's a pretty basic story, and not the first of it's kind, when you break it down to the basics. The problems were with how it was implemented, and how some game mechanics didn't work so well with an evolving story (ie the devs didn't want to throw away all the old missions, so they just changed them to Council missions, etc..). But none of those problems have anything to do with the story. It's all game mechanics issues.


IMHO, trying to make a story to explain some perceived errors caused by the game mechanics, even though the story itself is sound... and when said problems aren't even relevant anymore (and haven't been for a little while, even BEFORE i15!)... just seems like a bad idea. IMHO, again.

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*Cries* Why isn't it out yet?!!

I'd be surprised, and disappointed, if they held it for several more weeks. I kinda figured it could be any day now since they no longer have it on the test server and they said it would be right with i15.

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Did they?

[/ QUOTE ]Yes, they did (assuming "they" is referring to other players, and not the devs who never said anything of the sort).

I REALLY doubt the devs would think "people are farming fast enough already, no need for any more 2x XP". This may come as a shock to some people, but 2x XP wasn't implemented because the devs thought people weren't leveling fast enough. It was implemented as a marketing strategy. And it's one that works, because a LOT of people resubscribe for it, and the servers are always busy the entire weekend (one of the reasons some of the people here hate it, but that's not the point).

2x XP has always been successful from a marketing point of view. The new leveling methods added since the last weekend, if they have have any effect, will only serve to increase the 2x weekend popularity, since there are so many more farming options now.

Really, the only reason we only get it twice a year is because it raises anticipation. Any more, and people would get bored of it. As it is now, people want to know when it'll happen ahead of time, so they can schedule time off!



I would be very surprised if the devs decided not to do any more. It'd be like saying "Who wants free money, anyway?"

I think the "best" solution, as mentioned, would just have the badges work the same both sides, don't lose any for switching over (because that would REALLY deter some people from using the feature), but make some accolades mutually exclusive with each other.

For instance, if you have the "Task Force Commander" accolade already, then you can't get the "Invader" accolade, even if you have all the necessary badges.

Or, they could let you earn the accolade, but only get the power once. So you may have both Task Force Commander and Invader, but you only get the 5% HP boost once.


But really, stripping badges, inf, or anything else from the characters when they switch sides is probably a bad idea. Assuming the devs actually WANT anyone using the system, of course...

I think two in total is a good number, personally. You can have a max of 5 purchased story slots, added with the 3 you start with, giving you a total of 8. With another 2 from Vet Rewards that would bring you to a maximum of 10, which is a pretty good number all around.

Yeah, I know it's a little finicky, but I'd much prefer to have 10 be the max, rather than the 8 we have now. Or 9 or 11, or how many adding them to Vet rewards might bring it to.

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And here they are:

Colormaiden
Hro gets a makeover
I wish stone tankers could do this.
The colorwolf

[/ QUOTE ]I suddenly see the downside of this new feature.

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I love it. Four people have responded to this thread and two of them have said "I've never had any problems with communication; everyone I know uses it for [x]" and they're using different meanings.

[/ QUOTE ]Really? Looking at said posts, I read:

mob = one enemy
mobs/MOBs = more than one enemy.
and also: group/a spawn = more than one enemy.

But almost every post (other than the OP) seems to agree that mob = one enemy.


Perhaps this is the real problem behind the (apparent) misunderstandings in the game. Some people just don't seem to read...

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I'm still annoyed about the removal of the burning forest map because it was an integral part of one of my arcs and now I have to rewrite the entire middle section so it will still make sense. Taking away maps because people were using them for farm missions was one of the worst ideas they've had with MA yet.

[/ QUOTE ]Wow. And here I thought that they were taking out maps because they had buggy parts or bad item/spawn locations. Glad to know it was all because of farming.

Guess that means the Dreck map, Demon farm map, and Atta Cave map were the first ones to go, right? I haven't checked in a while, so... I'll just take your word for it. I mean, if they were taking out the most common farm maps, those ones would HAVE to be gone!

/unsigned. I quite like having it close by with easy access for whatever new character I create. Since I've taken to leveling new characters mostly on MA, it's quite convenient.

I'd rather not have to wander around more than I have to in the pre-travel power levels.

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How do you know they didn't use him, eh?

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Because there are story arcs that specifically tell us that Nemesis is responsible for it from multiple positions and vantage points. Claiming that the Rikti are the masterminds behind the mastermind even though it completely ignores the in-game canon is like suggesting that the Skulls are actually responsible for Statesman getting all of his powers.

[/ QUOTE ]Actually, that one's real. They decided to use time travel to go back and defeat Statesman before he got his super powers, and are responsible for the mustard gas poisoning he received. As a result of this, he and Stephan set out on their quest for the Well of Furies, and eventually got their powers. If they didn't interfere at all, he'd just be a normal man.

Only if it's also made possible to turn said filters off in my options. Those things could get really annoying, really fast. Especially if they're misused by authors (which we all know they will be).

Guys, calm down, there's a very obvious and valid explanation for the lack of patch notes.

We know that the devs don't put exploit fixes in the patch notes, and they also decide what is and isn't considered an exploit (though we'll know it when we see it). Thus, it's easy to guess that i15 is comprised of NOTHING but exploit fixes! And by exploit fixes, I mean nerfs.

And now you know.

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Pity this won't fix a thing.

Griefing wont stop, Steele. if you honestly think it will, no offense buddy, but you're full of [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]I see this position every now and then, when there's a change intended to reduce griefing, farming, or any other undesirable (from the devs' point of view) aspect from a system. People seem to think that if it doesn't completely remove the problem, it's not worth doing.

Personally, since it's COMPLETELY impossible to remove said negative aspects completely, I feel it's a bad position to take. It becomes a catch all for "never make any negative change ever", even if those changes become a net positive for the game. For example, none of the changes to farming the devs had made have been able to completely stop it... but just imagine if we had all the old farming methods and abilities with the current reward system. It'd be completely broken! Even more so than it is now. So, without fixing the problem completely, the devs still managed to enact a net positive gain.
That's probably what they're trying to do here. They KNOW they can't remove griefing and farming and such. That doesn't mean they shouldn't try.


That being said, I don't see why they can't keep the virtual badges. Since those missions don't need to be published to be farmed, it doesn't hurt the system. And it's the ideal closed environment for people who LIKE farming for the sake of farming, since it has no regular rewards. I'd be happy with them keeping the virtual badges, and even adding a bunch more, though I'd really like them to reduce the virtual kills badges. Those ones were just ridiculous.

Not that it stopped me from getting them, but still...

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Arc #2050, 'The Outcast Outcasts"
tl;dr: 4 stars. Offenses: weak theme, telegraphed trap

Reviewed on: 5/20/2009
Level Range: 5-20/5-20/15-20/5-20
Character used: Amarantia/Virtue

<snip>

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Thanks for the review. Always glad to get a bit of negative feedback that can help me improve things. Most of the comments I get ingame just say how good the arc was, but doesn't give much criticism (though I'm VERY grateful for the people who have pointed out problems, and tend to make corrections as soon as I get them).

Anyway, based on this review, I'll be changing mission 3 a bit. Actually, I was ALREADY planning on doing this, since I felt it was the weakest mission in the arc, but I was waiting for the MA improvements in the next issue to do so (depending on what those improvements may be). But after reading the review and giving some deep thought what I could improve... I realized there wasn't too much out of it I'd be salvaging anyway. So, the new version of mission 3 will go in a bit of a different direction.

There are also a few other things I'll be changing, but nothing big. Just added flavor and maybe ramp the plot up a tad.

SPOILERS IN THIS POST, though not giving too much away.




It's also worth noting that by the end of the Rikti story currently ingame, Hro'Dtohz (the leader of the Rikti war movement) is actively trying to prevent people from getting back to the homeworld, and trying to handle damage control... since if the leaders on Rikti-Earth find out about the TRUTH behind the war, they'll be a lot more open to peace talks, and that will take away all of his power.

Given that it'd be endgame content, the game would assume that by that point your character knows the truth, too.

So any mission to the Rikti Homeworld (I know it's Rikti-Earth, but I like the sound of Homeworld more) would be more along the lines of a peace mission designed to out Hro'Dtohz as the war-mongering criminal he is, rather than an actual raid.



Of course, there are plenty of other dimensions/worlds we could raid... Praetoria comes to mind. (See: Going Rogue).

(qr) My opinions/suggestions.

Play the mission normally and record that, don't worry about the commentary until post-production. This will allow you to focus more on the mission on hand and not have to worry about thinking of filler commentary on the fly.

Skip longer parts of the mission, but still spend some time fighting the random mobs, since it gives a good baseline of what the mission plays like, as well as how strong the reviewing character is, so we can compare it to boss fights or other missions.

Show all boss fights as well as the moments leading up to it (unless it's a mission with a bazillion bosses, in which case a cheesy clip show routine may be in order).

When skipping around the mission, the minimap is a good tool, because it can help you show how much time has passed between a skip. Show a shot of the minimap with only the first room done, then fade to a shot of the entire map revealed. Voice over with something like: "five minutes later, still no sign of the glowie..." Of course, speeding up the action works too. Also gives you an excuse to throw some Yakety Sax in there.

Loading screens and mission descriptions (which we have a hard time reading ourselves due to the video compression) should definitely be skipped. But for the mission intros, I suggest you give a summary and a commentary as you're fighting through the start of the mission (which you should show to give the baseline mission playability, as I mentioned above). The summary can be as long or as short as you want, but it means you can avoid having to fill dead air with things that don't matter (such as your character's performance).

On the note above... your character's level and general ability level is worth noting, but don't elaborate so much on it. Near the start (or at some point, anyway) mention what your character is, since it gives the viewer an explanation for how good - or how poorly - you're performing. An example of a short description (using one of my own characters) would be something like "The character I'm running this on is a level 50 blaster, with more IOs than anyone really needs. He's a little overpowered, but this mission drops him down to 30, so let's see how that works out..."

How about this. An upgrading accolade that changes every 100 badges. Capping out at 1000, just for the sake of a round number. It's a mallet that you make by gluing all your badges together... each 100 badge milestone, it gets bigger and more potent.
100 badges, it's like a fancy brawl. 200, a bit stronger... ...going all the way up to 1000 badges, where it's Assassin Strike level damage, without needing to be cloaked or a Stalker.

We can call the accolade "See? They ARE good for something!"

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This isn't a bad idea, but I don't think this alone would be appropriate. And that is if they don't stop at 60 months like everyone suspects.

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Bah, as one of the many, many, many people who will never catch up to the latest vet reward, I'd hate to see such a QoL improvement be tied into something I can't do for another 33 months. I'd love to have the full list of origin-specific titles available to all my characters, but I'd hate to see it restricted.

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Well for something like this it shouldn't just be handed out, maybe once you hit 50 you talk to a special trainer (Maybe War Witch in Pocket D) and she gives an arc or TF to do?

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Why make it so complicated? Titles don't do anything to anyone. They're just a cute little addition to the game. It's a quality of life feature to have more of them available to a character. It would be incredibly silly to make you wait until 50 and have to do an arc or task force just to add a name over your head that literally doesn't do anything.

[/ QUOTE ]Right. Just like badges. And we don't have to do anything silly-complicated for THOSE...

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Nothing to do with badges... but I think we're getting snowjobbed with the xpac. Praetorian earth is all the same maps we already have, so it's not looking like we're actually getting any new content at all... just the same recycled stuff witha new spin.

[/ QUOTE ]Out of curiosity, what makes you think Praetoria is anything like the main Earth's Paragon City? The small glimpse we got in the trailer looks unlike anything we have in the game at the moment.

Or are you basing it on the small amount of standard map types that are supposed to be on Praetorian Earth, that was released in Issue 1 (I think)?

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Can we get the ability to remove enhancements and move them around at free will, it sucks that I have to delete one enhancement to replace it.

[/ QUOTE ]I'll give this one the benefit of the doubt, because the wording is a bit vague. "Remove" may be used in the wrong sense here, given the "move them around" part. So, I'll ask for clarification.

Question:
OP, are you suggesting that we be able to REMOVE enhancements from the character entirely, and then do whatever we want with them (reslot, trade, sell, etc?)

Or are you suggesting that we be able to MOVE enhancements around within our build, transferring them from power to power, but not actually taking them out and "recovering" them?


The first option is often brought up and shot down, though the second one may have some merit...