_Wyll_

Sister Flame will be looking forward to taking on this "poser" as she describes her.

I gotta give pops to the Rude Tell thread and "Did You Know...?" thread.

Podcast? Check.
City Of Heroes? Double check.
Fun and informative? Check.

Okay, I am sold.

Keep up the good work.

Well, I might have another answer for why none of the handmailed entries won.

Sister Flame's entry came back today "Attempted Delivery - Not Known".

based upon Sister Flame's anger and ranting, it is safe to say that the post office is now her arch enemy for life.

Sister Flame is turning 9 years old in a few weeks. That means she has been playing CoX for 4 years now. Where has the time gone?

I went back and read some of my older posts to reflect on what dear Sister Flame has done over the years. I also tried to think of anything that I did when I was 9 that lasted more than 4 years. Playing baseball was about the only thing that popped into my head.

Every time Sister Flame celebrates a birthday, I ask myself "Is this the year she stops playing CoX"? I don't expect her to be like her old man and play the same game forever... but it would be nice.

This year, I don't think I have anything to worry about. Many nights, Sister Flame will snag my 17" notebook, struggle to get it on her lap and sit beside me as she plays CoX. I still play with her occasionally, but she's getting to a point now where she feel pretty comfortable to play without her Dad on her team (something about having to give me light blues all the time).

I've noticed a change in her playing style as of late. Over the past few months, Sister Flame has become more serious about gaining levels. Instead of plowing through grays in Atlas Park, she has begun to follow mission story lines and is slowly exploring other zones. As I mentioned before, Sister Flame is chewing her way through Croatoa right now and was proud to hit level 27 this weekend. The good news is that even though she is serious about gaining levels, she doesn't want to "farm" or "power level"; she just wants to play the game as it was meant to be played and experience things as they come.

I've been trying to encourage her to make another AE arc with my help, but she keeps telling me she doesn't have any more good stories. She doesn't mind playing her arc once a week or trying other ones once in a while, but she refuses to make another AE arc "just because". However, I do have her permission to use the Disco Trolls in case I want to make an arc. She still extremely embarrassed by all the comments and pictures she sees about her AE arc. Modesty is still one of her best attributes.

I am very impressed with her "chat smarts". She usually ignores anything that comes across the window that isn't Team Speak and if she gets a Tell, she lets me know. She's pretty shy about replying, so most times she says nothing, but she does what her team leader asks without question and in a pinch, she has a way of communicating with emotes that is quite cute.

I also have to add that both Sister Flame and her little sister Princess S did send War Witch's a fairly large valentine. I got stuck printing off some pictures for them as they spent all week working on each of their cards. I did mention it was a contest with prizes and of course, Sister Flame had her own unique take what could be won:

Wyll: There are some cool prizes you can win if your card is picked.

SF: Really? Like what?

Wyll: A gaming headset is the big prize.

SF: Like head phones?

Wyll: Yep.

SF: That's not very cool. What else is there?

Wyll: um... a t-shirt, pins and a projector pen.

SF: Like a flashlight?

Wyll: Yep. It let`s you shine a symbol on the wall.

SF: Oh, like *insert DC copyrighted symbols*?

Wyll: Uh no. It COX symbols.

SF: This isn`t sounding very cool. Is there a trophy?

Wyll: No trophy.

* SF just wrinkles her face at me and I get a "Dad doesn't know what cool is" look *

See you all when Sister Flame dings level 30!

Ciao.

Wyll

Re-experiencing the game with Sister Flame. It is always fun to listen to her questions about the zones and see her experiencing each of them for the first time.

We ventured into Croatoa this weekend to earn some XP. Sister Flame enjoyed the enemies and even managed to level up to 27. She asked me if there was a trainer in Croatoa and I said yes and showed her who it was.

Hearing her excited voice yipping at me after recognizing the trainer and then watching her run off to get her younger sister to show her as well was priceless.

Has it been three months since I last tossed out an update? Wow... they aren't kidding when they say that time flies when you are a parent.

I am sad to report that Sister Flame's CoX play time has suffered a critical blow. She is down to about an 45 minutes a week since we received a Wii for Christmas and she is determined to master Super Mario Brothers before letting it go.

That's one thing I noticed about my precious middle child: she loves a challenge. When I first let her tackle CoX, she was determined to master all the challenges thrown her way (i.e. controls, powers, finishing mission on her own). Looking back, it would have been smart of me to keep track of each of her accomplishments in CoX and then chart her progress. The good news for all of us is that Sister Flame still feels there are many challenges for her to master in CoX and she gave me a few that she felt she had to put on her "to do" list:

* Lead a pick-up team through two or more missions.

* Get her AE arc to break 500 reviews.

* Unlock a fourth costume slot.

* Reach level 50.

* Reach an age where she is old enough to stay up to finish a task force mission.

Ssiter Flame also has had two things happen CoX wise that she is very rpodu of. The first item shows that Sister Flame still has a very positive attitude towards CoX and the events outside of CoX. She manged to place third in her category for the 2009 Player Choice Awards (run by a" Bubbawheat" ).

Was she disappointed she didn't take first?

Not at all.

She was thrilled by the fact that people other than her dad voted for her arc and I mean really thrilled... and a little bit embarrassed as well.

The second item was a review the Venture did of her arc, Sibling Rivalry (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=197086&page=3). I read it for her and Sister Flame was as pleased as can be to hear it all. She also asked me to make two or three little changes to the arc in response to the review (apparently, she is a bit of a perfectionist) and I realized that not only is Flame humble, she also responds to constructive criticism well. A dad can't ask for much more than that in a child.

And now for a bit of humor or as I call it "Through the eyes of an eight (soon to be nine) year old".

I was reading the CoX news and saw that Sister Flame's favorite "maker" (her term for "dev"), War Witch, was made the lead of the Design team. I thought I would mention this to Flame...

Wyll: Hey princess. I read that War Witch was made the lead of the Design team in City of Heroes.

Flame: What does that mean?

Wyll: Um... she is in charge of on how the gameplay is changed as well as how the game is... made.... shaped.... created? *pause* She gets to figure out what new stuff goes in..

Flame: That is so cool! We should send her an e-mail to congratulate her...

* I smile as I think of how thoughtful my daughter is. *

Flame: ... and then ask her for some real cool stuff in game!

* Cue smile fading as I am brought crashing back to earth by my daughter... the name dropper and leverage girl *

Until next time, keep it fun!

Wyll

If they could format them as knock knock jokes, that would rock.

System: Knock knock.
Me: Who's There?
System: Not playing CoH.
Me: Not playing CoH who?
System: You in about twelve hours.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who time to come and vote for your favorites. A big tip of the hat to Bubbawheat for all the effort he put into this.

Outstanding.

My girls and I decided we needed a big prop for our Halloween display. My eldest noticed we had a large bathtub box left over from our most recent renovation and made a simple suggestion.

"Dad, can you make a Tardis?"

4 hours and 15 dollar later, my girls were happily playing "Doctor Who" with their new toy. We put it out on Halloween night complete with a 5 minute sound loop of various quotes, themes and sounds to complete the illusion.

So, before anyone says "This post is useless without pictures", check it out.

I suspect that this thread is full of mutant who wish to harm the computer.

As a precaution, I would request that I be given permission to test the new mutant killing gun developed by R&D. Guaranteed to kill mutants a millisecond faster than non-mutants.

Way to go! Sister Flame and I plan to play this arc on the weekend once we round up all the candy in the neighbourhood.

After all, pandas rock!

Let it be known that I cast my votes by a PM to "a Bubbawheat".

Unfortunately, I could not get through all the categories, so I had to limit my voting. However, Sister Flame and I have a great list of MA missions to play.

Good luck everyone and keep on creating those stories.

P.S. I forgot to mention thanks from Sister Flame for being nominated in her category. She really appreciates, even though there is no trophy to be won.

I just like to thank Bubbawheat for the picture and the nomination. Not only did I appreacite it, it gave me a hilarious Sister Flame story... or at least I thought it was.

Wyll: Hey, Sister Flame. You have another picture in your thread on the CoH foums. A "Bubbawheat" also left comments on your mission and you got nominated for the Mission Architect Player Awards of 2009

SF: Awards? What's that?

Wyll: People vote from a short list of missions in different categories about which player made stories they like best. Kind of like the Oscars.

SF: Really?! Do you a statue or a trophy?

Wyll: Uh... no. The winner in each category gets influence.

SF: *disappointed* But no trophy?

Wyll: Nope.

SF: What does second get?

Wyll: Nothing.

SF: Really? Cuz even second and third place people in contests get little prizes... and trophies sometimes.

Wyll: There are no trophies.

SF: Oh... how come it isn't like soccer where everyone gets a medal? You know I like medals.

Wyll: It's a fan run contest. There are no trophies or medals. Just influence and pride to be won.

SF: But you said it was like the Oscars and people who win Oscars get trophies.

Wyll: Well, you don't get a trophy for winning this contest.

SF: Then its not like the Oscars.

Wyll: Okay, technically, you are right.


This conversation went on for another five minutes where my choice of words were called into question several times. You know, for only being eight, she feels like she has the concept of a rules lawyer down to a science.

I'm just surprised she isn't a min-maxer with her toons.

Peace!

Obviously, this is just all part of a bigger Nemesis plot...

Greetings, true believers.

I was waiting until I had something interesting to post as an update and I am pleased to say that the time has come, but first.... some thanks are in order.

Thanks to all who has posted images of their characters with Sister Flame. She is still awfully humble about all the attention for arc has gotten, but she does like hearing me read the comments. I think the one that makes her laugh most often is "Boy, Sister Flame is tall".

Undead_Steve, your image really had her giggling. Then, I had to show her how to do even more emotes than what she does now. Let me tell you all, I may be the master of placing enhancements, but Sister Flame rules at using emotes. She tells me it is an easy way to communicate, especially when you are not a good typer.

Now, onto the most interesting part of the update. A co-worker, who is also a very good friend of mine, is also a CoX player. Even more so, the good man is also a pretty sharp writer. Recently, we engaged in an exchange of services and his service was this:



Comic Link (20 pages in a zip file): http://www.whatsupdark.com/resources...e_Issue_01.zip

Yep. A Sister Flame comic. My buddy played through Sister Flame's arc and I provided him a bit more details about her (for example, Sister Flame's ID is public and her job is that she teaches Fire Manipulation at Paragon University). He uses a program called Poser to do the models and I must say, Sister Flame has never looked so good. Needless to say, Sister Flame and I will be cuddling up with the comic tonight to read at bedtime. Maybe it is a sign I need to get moving on that Sister Flame story I have been promising my lovely daughter for ever so long.

A short update, but I hope you enjoy the comic as much as I did.

Until Sister Flame hits 30, keep the peace!

Wow, has it been a month all ready? Seems like time flies when you're not playing a lot of CoX.

Only have a quick update for you all and a little story to tie you over. Once the fall hits, I imagine Sister Flame and I will be playing a lot more CoX instead of doing silly things like playing soccer, swimming and catching frogs.

Once again, I got stuck in the passenger seat as my eldest and Sister Flame decided they wanted to play CoX. Sitting in a little computer chair while watching my daughters play the computer reminded me of the 8 bit NES days, where I would sit behind my cousins, waiting for a turn to play Super Mario Brothers.

It sucked then and it sucks now.

Anyways, my eldest wanted to do something different with Sister Flame and CoX. A lot of ideas were tossed back and forth. Hide and seek? See who can switch on hover closest to the ground after jumping off a building? Running a few AE missions? Visitting the Hollows?

A lot more ideas were tossed out, but they decided upon a little "Mirror Mirror" game. My two darling daughters made two identical toons and called them each Crush 1 and Crush 2. They then proceeded to run around Atlas Park mimicing each other and drew a few stares as well as some choice comments such as:

"You two related?" *my eldest said 'Yes, unfortunately'. Sister Flame never got the joke.*

"Thought my video card was acting up."

"Wow. Deja vu."

"You duo boxing?"

In the end, it was a thirty minute distraction that provided them with a lot of fun and some good sibling bonding.

As for detailed Sister Flame news, she really likes the pictures people take of themselves with Sister Flame in her AE mission. She is a bit embarrassed at all the attention, but she is also a bit proud too. I've been nagging her about doing another AE mission (either a sequal or a Disco Troll arc), but she's not sure if she has a really good idea for another one. I explained to her that power customization is coming and she is pretty keen on that. She's very much in the "every color should match" mindset and I know she would like to tweak a few of the power colors.

I also showed her pics of Miss Liberty at Comic Con. She thought that was quite cool and wondered why I didn't take her to Comic Con. It wasn't until I explained the distance and wait times at the Con that she kind of got discouraged. I didn't dare promise to take her when she was older because she will hold me to it.

That's about it for now. Sister Flame sends her best and hopes you all are having fun.

Wyll

[ QUOTE ]
I played Sibling Rivalry today. Sister's mailbox is full, so I'll post what I was going to say here. It was a very fun arc. Great story, and I like how the Disco Trolls came out. Very good costumes. I solo'd it with my blaster, and it wasn't too hard, nor too easy.

Hope to see another story from the mind of Sister Flame

[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent to hear. Sister Flame wanted the story to be fun and enjoyable and I didn't want it to be a player slaughter house.

I'll have to pop on to check Flame's mailbox. It's hard to drag her away from other things like the pool, Doctor Who, Merlin, biking and boardgaming.

Yes... I just said it was hard to drag my eight year old away from outdoor activities and make her sit in front of a computer to play games.

Kind of erie.