Arctic_Princess

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I'm sorry, but do you guys really think the Rikti Communication officers or what the hardcore farmers are farming? If that's all they changed on test then the farming will continue.

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lv 42 Rikti are what the unimaginative folks are doing en masse it seems (a lot of the 42 pages were 42-42 maps). It won't stop powerlevelling - I doubt anything would short of threatening people with bans. And seeing as JD pulled out an interesting bit from the EULA in i14, advertising in the MA, over in-game chat, on the forums and somewhere else (or was that it?) are violations of the EULA.

The number of hilarious descriptions (including: this isn't a farm or PL, it's got some story to it - complete with single mission, lv 42-42, Defeat All, Custom Group, Ally) including the word farm saddens me (it makes me giggle too but moreso with the sadness).

I'm sure this has come up before and this is not a request for broom-broom! motorcycles for avatars...

How about a Mission Teleporter function for SG/VG bases in a crafted vehicle of choice? It would be classed as a teleport bay (without the beacon, natch) and I would suggest the following skins:

Longbow Chaser
Arachnos Flyer
Helicopter (Black and Longbow - perhaps even a generic one in SG colours?)
Motorcycle-with-Sidecar (Just for the lulz)
Classic UFO-style jet thingamy
Sports Car with Jet Boosters
Dinosaur with frickin' laser beams (possibly a joke...)

I am also aware that some bases are having a wee bit of difficulty atm, but just thought it might be a nice addition.

Yes, yes it would

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Going by what you've posted it dose very much look like you've been hit by some kind of bug the only way i can see you having a mission that doesn't exist any more is if you have a mission set in either the old fault line or the old rikti war zone.

Petition dose seem to be your best option

tho for future reference when posting such questions give us more specific details and we may have a better chance at giving useful help

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Is one of the missions, by any chance, related to Snaptooth? I only ask as DJ Zero still (randomly) has the option of the 'Defeat Snaptooth until your PC explodes*' on some of my alts that took part in the initial Valentine's (or was it Easter? Or Celebration of Pocket D? Memory is poor) missions roughly 2 years ago.

Just petition a GM to come and clear it if necessary.

Hmm, Ourobouros is too new for 2 years and the Calvin Scott TF is too old.

Just by chance, what are the three missions you have?

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Generally I find if you have space, grab hover. Otherwise, they won't implement a greater 'hover overtime' on T.P. It's been a big discussion but the dev's are adamant that it stays the way it is.

Fury

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The TP keybind is even easier (and will save you a power space). Now I can never remember the darned thing when I want to...

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Two words;
Dark Astoria

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What Tech said. DARK ASTORIA...

But hang on, that would make too much sense.

Naughty Tech! *thwaps tech with an inflatable baseball bat*

Sorudo, have you actually ever teamed with an RPer?

And how is banding RP with people who like stories the same thing?

***

In other news, report farms. It's not griefing as far as I am aware. It's bringing to light the missions which are exploiting the game's levelling system.

Of course, there are currently (or at least last time i checked' 42 pages if you type the word 'farm' in. The obvious ones are easy to spot: generally defeat alls with high levels or 42-42, Custom Group, Ally (i.e. Rikti Comms Officers) which even with reduced xp will still net the player a hefty amount of inf and xp. Especially if they're level 1.

And if powerlevelling is so acceptable then why does everyone make a separate map with Comms Officers/Easy Bosses etc? Why not just keep the one map? Or is it because people understand that it is fundamentally wrong in terms of exploitation that they'd rather create their own which will lead to a mass influx of these missions, making them more difficult to weed out/report?

My tendency would be to go for the latter explanation.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy levelling up. And I have powerlevelled in the past. So I am certainly not 'without sin'.

Too late JD, they're all down and deleted (from Live).

The first challenge is going to take me a lot of time to think up something (plus a lot of Wiki'ing for suggested costumes for certain members of the Phalanx: That Steel Canyon map is huge! No way can I make the final mish a defeat all...) - it may be worth me trying it out on Test first due to the changes on there re: powers.

The other challenege is going to be more interesting and perhaps more doable. Hmmm...

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In terms of money many people have wasted months of subscription, if they knew before that they could of done what people are doing now then are probably gutted and feel somewhat robbed of money and time best spent on other games.

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That is part nature of the game. I konw people spend days, weeks, months to reach a certain lvl in WoW or such, now you do in in hours. All those thus have wasted their money?

Each game does this, if you know so, why play it in the first place?

And serious, read this startpost:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....e=0&fpart=1

The approach on the US is insanely different, hmmm what am i doing here?

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My main problem with posts like that, Sinergy_X, is that they present the same argument but try to make it sound like it is a reasonable one - it always seems to boil down to 'you can't tell me what to do, I pay my subs' etc.

However, I strongly believe that the amount of powerlevelling going on is detrimental to the game. I have done it (!) and managed to get 23 levels in the space of an hour. An hour. It was boring, there was no sense of achievement and so I am deleting the characters (a domi and a Widow and a MM)

Don't tell me that it's okay to farm/PL because everyone does it, because it's not. And not everyone does it - or rather not everyone did it.

I also object to terms such as majority/minority - I don't believe I have suggested so far that anyone is either in a majority/minority, except to say that it seems as though everything (in Atlas at any rate) is PL! Farm!

The article on the US forums suggests that most people getting maximum reward etc are in the majority, probably. I'm sorry, where has this info come from?

And of course, it's never useful to listen to people, especially if they're in the minority... /sarcasm

Add some insp stalls, some enhancement stalls, a WW (Black Market might be out of place, unless it was in the parking lot...), an SG/VG registrar, a respeccer, a temp power seller (i.e. revolver, sledgehammer etc - for that true Romero-feel). Oh and balloons. Must have balloons.

Plus an announcement tannoy - "Civilians are asked to evacuate the Paragon/Rogue Isles Mega Mall due to an outbreak of zombies in the cafeteria" - cue Zombie invasion.
That sort of thing.

Add some contacts for stores such as 'Up N Away Burger' (What do they put in their special sauce?), a jeweller's etc.

And suggestions for enemy factions hanging around?

Carnies, Freakshow, Zombies (natch), Security Guards (level ranges permitting, obviously).

I have completely gone off on that one, aware that the original idea was for maps, rather than a zone/mini-zone. But hey. Great original idea!

/signed.

Oh and Galaxy City has a shopping arcade with Vaz and Hellions hanging around. Not quite the same (especially as no mission doors exist there and, well, there are no proper zombies) - might be an interesting place to have a Mega Mall though (and prevent Atlas Park from being the only zone people visit...). It could even be a hazard zone within a zone (a la Terra Volta) with its own task force... ooh!

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Hmm. An interesting idea.

OK then. Here is your criteria:

Recreate Brass Monday and the events leading up to it.

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I will do my best... *gulps*

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The devs don't care that the old community stalwarts are leaving in droves.

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Droves usually need to be a little higher than a dozen

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the devs inaction in response to the farming deserves nothing but derision

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That inaction would be the constant server downtimes recently to remove exploitable items from the MA, right?

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i16? Sure, it'll be more toys nobody wants instead of fixing/changing old stuff, but who will be here to experience it, I wonder.

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I will be

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GG, are you working for Paragon Studios by any chance?

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Bah, I already can do mine. Our flag is a bit boring but everyone knows who the idiots are dressed in orange at international sport events.

Of course they should give us wooden shoes for the feet and windmills for a valkyrie-style shoulder pad detail, with tulips as a glove and feet pattern.

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Fixed that for you Spade.

P.S. Windmill shoulder pads would be awesomesauce.

Here's a thought - the MA is only available, like Ourobouros, to lvl 25s plus. You need to do the tutorial before you can touch the system.

As it is, new players even if they're not farming/powerlevelling are still seeing a lot of the content for 'later on' (i.e. mobs that appear after certain levels etc). So put a level cap on the MA, that'd be my solution.

Oh and remove it from Kings, Mercy, Atlas and Galaxy. Any other zones? Oh yes, Port Oakes.

Yes, it removes early level heroes/villains from enjoying different content to the starting stuff. Heck, you never know, it might encourage developers to make some more new content for those levels to alleviate the boredom?

*rolls on floor, laughing, clutching stomach*

I know, it's sad to laugh at your own jokes, but...

edit Something has just struck me - when people say 'Why doesit bother you? Let people play how they want to' it always strikes me that plenty of people opposed to powerlevelling en masse as we have seen with the MA come up with lots of reasons for the against, whereas the same argument (with little or no explanation) is touted by those 'defending' the right to do it.

To quote Skunk Anansie (trust me, never a sentence I thought I'd type...): Just because it feels good doesn't make it right...

So, I throw the gauntlet down for those who are just lurking and chucking in the 'let people play how they want to' argument to come up with something that has a little more backbone and actually means something.

Okay, as my idea for an MA challenge thing didn't work out so well, I have decided to take it upon myself to be challenged.

'What does that entail?' I hear you cry...

Well, give me some criteria and perhaps even a theme and I will try my best to make a mission/arc based on the criteria.

Please bear in mind the limits of the current MA system and also my sanity.

I will not be making anything with Catgirls or Farms/Powerlevelling Missions.

I am also going to be taking down all of my currently published missions - I feel I can do better than those I have already put out there. Yes, that means I am sacrificing my ratings etc but as people have given feedback, I've seen a lot of the mistakes glaring at me and, rather than editing bits and pieces, I feel I need to start from scratch.

BTW if no one can be bothered to set me a challenge then I will be deleting the arcs anyway.

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So you are leaving Meh.

Glad you feel so self important about yourself that you must start an entire thread to tell everyone about it. I can just see you refreshing the forums to see how many people are viewing and responding.

Oh damm just noticed on another thread where you claim you will return.

So you will be back, just not SOOON

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Yet another ironic post from someone who thinks they're important enough to make comments like that., thereby showing their own ego needing a massage. Congratulations!

Hmm, ah well - I will definitely be trying RP's arc though!

Of course the deadline is 12th May but I think that, perhaps, until we know more about what's happening with the MA and more time has elapsed then it will be best to try this at a later stage.

Before I notify Avatea of my desire to have this thread locked, to avoid confusion, was anyone else going to give the challenge a go?

A word of advice now that we are 28...

Don't mix champagne, margheritas, vodka and lager...

It's not big and it's not clever (but it tasted damned good!).

Thank you all

*gives a royal wave from his balcony, ciggy hanging out of his mouth*

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Ohhh sounds fun
I'll get started right away! Just need to think on how to elongate the first thing that popped into my head.

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Beware the profanity filter and content violation - oo err

Spade, sounds to me like you should be making one of them! Remember they can always be unpublished when the compo ends. Wacky ideas are fair game!

With a sudden influx of new 50s, thanks to the joys of the MA system (!) it's about time they bothered with the zones that have been broken since i2 - namely the Shadow Shards! I cannot remember who posted something (a red name, I believe - but this was a considerable time ago) saying that until there were a sufficient number of 50s then the SS would stay as is.

i15 is going to have to deliver. There's been no announcement of closed/open beta yet so I'm guessing it will just be a switched on 'invasion' of 5th Column. And a badge and a respec and a costume token. Oh and probably a costume expansion set.

I think it's getting past the point of 'if I'm negative and expect less then I will be surprised and overjoyed'. But there's still a little part of me that wants to be amazed by the next issue. More importantly, however, is that the pitfalls of the past two issues at least be filled and covered - a la the OPs post.

More could be done to flesh out the story there (story arcs, as opposed to stamina-testing TFs, for instance).
Some villain arcs do actually address the Shadow Shards. Giving the reds access to it could, imho, improve things further. And not as a co-op zone!

As an amendment to the prizes:

10,000,00 inf will be awarded as first prize.

A benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous has contributed some more inf to the prize fund.

And no, this does not mean that they will automatically win

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It does have it's own virtual Band, the Banished Pantheon Blues Buskers...they preform in Pocket D every now and again (and yes I totally made that name up).

[/ QUOTE ]The Tiki Lounge Act don't so much perform as stand around kicking their heels. Always thought that was a massive missed opportunity, If they did a song and dance number that really would be worth checking out when broadcast on the channels.

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Well they could change the records in Pocket D - old skool trance is a bit, um, old now...

My own music tastes are probably best not inflicted upon the World, although I quite like the 'restaurant' music in Faultline (near Mirror Spirit).

Perhaps some different songs - on the music setting and not sound effects - could be implemented.

Okay that's me sidetracking a fair bit.

Fascists riding Dinosaurs with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads.

Surely everyone knows it'll be a 5th Column invasion/resurface? If there's a new TF then hurrah, if it's co-op then 'meh' but if there are TWO new TFs (one red, one blue) plus, oh I don't know, a few more promises delivered on rather than 'coming soon' then it's multiple joygasm time for me.

I don't see why they don't just let us have full access to the mobs.

Seeing as nothing in particular is being done about current exploits, apart from removing, for example, key mobs which (for me) make enemy groups (Raider Engineers) then why not just give us all access to the mobs and maps.

And whilst they're at it (although this will undoubtedly take a wee bit more time) why not allow us to select and unselect certain powers from custom mobs?

Assault Rifle for Dominators please

Cold Domination (the shields, etc) for Controllers

And Dual Pistols for Blasters, Corruptors, Dominators and Defenders! And a proliferation of those sets to the MA so that I don't have to make custom MM minions!

I hope people enjoy a challenge because I've had an idea of how to get more out of the MA! I intend to start up a challenge either every month or every other month (depending on how long it all takes!). Details are below. Please feel free to question me about my dark intentions!

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Okay, for the first challenge I would like three cups of creative juice, a dash of inspiration and a pound of flair! (Even I’m cringing so don’t worry)

It’s my birthday soon! 26th April to be precise, and two days before the 5th Anniversary of City of Heroes (We’ll include Villains too, lest they bear a grudge and plot to take over the World out of spite).

So get your thinking caps on please and [/i]come up with at least one mission that has a birthday theme[/i]. You can do anything you like (seeing as this is the first challenge) BUT [/i]it must have a birthday flavour![/i]

And remember, birthdays can mean anything! The birth of a new evil, the birth of Manticore and Sister Psyche’s child – not just cake and jelly (although I like cake and jelly, mmmm)!

So on to the nitty-gritty:

<ul type="square"> Level Range = 1-54
Length = Very Short – Very Long
EBs/AVs = As many as you like!
Custom Faction(s) = Allowed[/list]

When creating a mission/arc, please put MA Challenge One in the description so I can find it! Please also PM me on here with the arc ID – no further information is required because it should all be accessible through the MA!

I will be judging on the following criteria:

<ul type="square"> Presentation – this means general spelling and grammar and the look of the text I’m reading.

Story – is it just a bunch of random stuff that happens? Or is there a consistent thread there? Please bear in mind that if the ‘random stuff’ works in its favour, I will still mark highly!

Characters – whether they be standard groups, custom factions or hybrids I will be judging based on how they fit into the story – please try to stick to consistent level ranges if you can when creating more than one mission. Again, if the characters fit well and there is an inconsistency but the story still makes sense to me then I will judge accordingly.

Difficulty – I shall be using Arctic Princess (lv 50 Kat/SR/BM Scrapper) to run through the missions. She can handle most things although possibly not a room full of AVs![/list]
If anyone would like to help me judge the entries then please feel free to PM me! Of course if you’re judging then you are not allowed to enter the competition yourself – that just seems fair.

The deadline for all entries to be in by is 10th May, 2009 (I will be checking the date published on entries). I will then spend however long is necessary going through the entries and will announce the winner shortly afterwards.
The prizes are as follows:

<ul type="square">5,000,000 influence for the winner

2,500,000 influence for the runner-up[/list]
Not much I know but, hey, free inf! Plus if I’m going to be doing any more of these I’ll need to run a fair few mission teams!

Have fun and get creative!