Zaloopa
-
Posts
765 -
Joined
-
Hmm, can't believe I haven't posted my arc here already... anyway, here it is:
Arc Name: Crey's Nightmare
Arc ID: 295501
Morality: Hero
Faction: Carnies, Crey, and a Custom group.
Creator Global/Forum Name: Zaloopa
Difficulty Level: I was aiming for average but the custom group can be difficult. I've already toned them down 3 or 4 times but have still gotten reports that they're tough.
Synopsis: Some psychics have gone missing, but this is only a symptom of a much larger problem. A young hero named Yambu has gotten in over her head again and it's up to YOU to save her from herself!
I got some decent feedback from a few folks on the MA Arc Finder global channel, but I'd love to see what my fellow protectorites think of the arc. Any feedback for improving it would be most welcome!
-
Didn't get enough to start tonight, but I'll still be trying again tomorrow. I did have a couple of people say they didn't have time tonight but would tomorrow, so hopefully we'll at least get the minimum needed.
-
For the rest of the week I'll be running the Renault SF every night at 1:30AM Pacific time, since that's the only time I get to play during the week. So if you're interested in joining post here to let me know and I'll save a spot for you! (or just show up at renault around that time, just make sure you're early in the off chance that it fills up fast)
-
Quote:Here is a Link to the Mentor Project thread by the way.Originally Posted by Desi_Nova
I'm surprised no one has mentioned it but The Mentor Project and the "N P C" channel is still alive and well and always looking for New people to help.
My favorite thing about this game has to be customization. Both with costumes and with stats via the invention system. Also I like how a player's skill with the game counts for a lot more than their specific powers (usually
). I can exclusively focus on sets that improve my SR scrapper's run speed so she has passive superspeed and still carry my own weight on a team, even though I've "nerfed" myself by specializing in a stat that doesn't help combat at all.
Edit: Oh yeah, the community is great too, and all that... >.> -
Yeah, my original list was just from Sok's topic, since the end of that one was where I had taken over. I hadn't even thought of searching out the old topic.
-
I've added the average completion times for the entire history of SFS to my list in the first post.
Note: I didn't include that time we came back the next day to finish LRSF, you know the one that was over 27 hours, since it was an aberration. -
Quote:Hmm, I'm certainly up for combining the shorter SFs like we do with the Ouroboros ones. When we finish the first one I'll see if the team is up for doing the next one and we'll take it from there.Originally Posted by Demon_Shell
I think the one time we had the respec trials in the rotation, we just ended up doing them all in one night. We got through them all in about the time it would take to do a single SF.
Just, you know, throwing that out there.
Edit: Found the post, looks like it took a little over 2 hours.
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...&postcount=110
So be advised, we may do the 2nd and 3rd respec trials this week instead of later on!
Edit: Thanks for linking to that Demon, I've now added all of Gothess' times into my SFS records.
-
Another great run this week, when the start time came around we only had 1 spot open on the team, and that quickly filled up! The final mission, which can get pretty messy, was well done with only a few deaths. Also we finished about 30 minutes faster than our last silver mantis run back in January!
Team Size: 8
Time: 1:14:54
Deaths: 5
Visit this week's album for extra screenshots, and see how lemon/lime awesome we were!
I wanted to start mixing the trials into our lineup, so next week we'll be running the first Villain Respec Trial. That one is for level 24+, so if you want to help beat up a tree without immediately wasting the power to beat up Dr. Aeon (I'm looking at YOU Statesman), then meet up in Nerva next Saturday, April 2nd, at 5pm PST/8pm EST!
Edit: I've added a combined list of Strike Forces and Trials to the first post in this thread. Link. -
Oh, I forgot all about this, did it end up happening today? I think I was still asleep when it started but I would have gotten up early had I remembered. :P
-
Quote:I like the sound of this, something non-combat so people can ignore it if they want, but it could fill a gap this game has where other games have various trade skills. (it would also give incarnates something to do while they wait for the trial queue to pop, since they can't go into missions without getting booted from the queue)Originally Posted by Leo_G
That said, I always thought that our 'skills' as characters should be separate from our 'powers'. Our ability to lift heavy objects to help a civilian shouldn't require super strength (although SS would help) or just because we lack empathy powers that instantly bring the dead back to life doesn't mean you don't have first-aide skills or minor healing powers to recover the sprained foot of the injured to escape (but empathy would help too).
IMO, I think it'd be a fun addition to the game if a 'skill set/tree' you develop alongside your powers were added to the game. This skill set would have no direct link to combat and should affect your ability to do other stuff like rescue civilians, aid the injured, stop escalating accidents and maybe even other 'stuff' that would expand the customization of your characters. -
Oh man, I remember that anime. I believe the good guys were the Science Ninja Team and the bad guys were the Jupiter Death Brigade.
-
Well we had a great run this week. We finished the Tarikoss SF in about 36 minutes, which according to my records (yes, I have records, who said I didn't?!) is the fastest Tarikoss we've had on SFS so far! And to top it off we had a zombie invasion waiting for us outside and got some pumpkin heads unlocked!
Team Size: 8
Time: 36:05
Deaths: 4
And some bonus screenshots can be found here, including like 3 or 4 of us waiting for ice shields to wear off.
Next up on the List is the Silver Mantis Strike Force, which is level 20+ and awards the Air Pirate badge. So if you want to beat up Tsoo, Lost, Freakshow, Council, Crey, and a TON of Sky Raiders, meet up in Sharkhead next Saturday, March 26th at 5pm PST/8pm EST! -
Quote:I know for sure that 3 people were around at the originally scheduled time, but when I saw you weren't going to be able to make it I joined another ITF. If you keep it this early (12 PST for me) then I'll be able to make it next week with my WS Wharu.Originally Posted by Santa_Laws
Ok, guys. I did get a chance to log in and tried to get this going, but absolutely no one was interested of those that were on. We'll try to reschedule this.
If we have trouble getting enough Khelds you could always open it up to VEATs as well. -
Noon pacific time? That's 2 hours before I have to leave for work so count me in! Just know that if it runs long I'll have to bail on you guys.
-
I love CiT and ParagonWiki, makes me wish I knew anything about those things you need help with. I'm good with HTML, and I know some vague things about CSS and Javascript, but that's as far as my knowledge goes.
I'll just stick to editing the wiki and hope you find some competent people.
-
I just realized I've been completely forgetting about the respec trials when running this. Do you guys think I should include them in this round?
-
So I decided to start up a new thread for Strike Force Saturdays with a basic rundown for newer players.
Every Saturday at 5pm PST/8pm EST I'll be running a different Strike Force, going down the list posted below. Never run a strike force before? No problem! These are meant to be friendly for new players, so if you can follow basic instructions in team chat then you're welcome to join. Every week I will post the results of the strike force run along with screenshots of the team roster, our time, and our victorious team (preferably standing on the dead bodies of our enemies).
It's first come first serve, so as long as you show up on time you should have a spot. If the team is not full when the start time comes around then I will advertise on the global channels Protector Vigilance, Protector Watch, and Protector TFs to try and fill the team. I'm also a big fan of "bring what you wanna play", meaning I'll avoid asking for one specific AT or powerset whenever possible (exceptions being characters with holds for Lady Grey or a MM/Defender for Barracuda). These are meant to be fun so you should play whatever sounds fun to you at the time! We've even occasionally gotten "Master of..." badges by going with whatever showed up!
We run the strike forces in order of the minimum level required to join. Below is the full list of the SFs and Trials we will run as well as the location of the contact and the level range. (This is a combination of the Strike Force and Trial lists over at ParagonWiki)
Code:Now, we've just finished a round of Strike Forces, which means this Saturday we're going to start over at the beginning with the Tarikoss Strike Force. That's the level 15+ strike force in Cap Au Diable, which awards the Binder of Beasts badge. So if you wanna join us in beating up a huge demon, meet up in Cap next Saturday, March 19th, at 5pm PST/8pm EST!Strike Force Name Location Level Range Avg. SFS Time Tarikoss SF Cap 15-20 1:13:49 Silver Mantis SF Sharkhead 20-25 2:03:15 Mortimer Kal SF Sharkhead 20-40 0:39:59 Tree of Thorns Nerva 24-33 0:35:16 Renault SF Sharkhead 25-30 1:28:17 Tesseract SF Ouroboros 25-34 0:28:50 Lazarus SF Ouroboros 30-39 0:40:35 Tree of Thorns Nerva 34-44 0:35:29 Ice Mistral SF St. Martial 35-40 1:04:09 Imperious SF Cimerora 35-50 1:10:52 Tree of Thorns Nerva 44-50 0:31:50 Lord Recluse SF Grandville 45-50 1:28:49 Lady Grey SF RWZ 45-50 1:36:16 Barracuda SF Grandville 45-50 2:09:56 Mender Silos SF Ouroboros 46-50 0:38:48 Apex SF RWZ 50 1:02:07 Tin Mage SF RWZ 50 1:03:28
Also, if you ever have any questions or comments feel free to post them here so I'm not just talking to myself all the time!
Edit: You can also check the Protector Event Calendar for info on what next week's strike force is! -
And so we finish yet another round of Strike Force Saturdays. The Tin Mage run went well, we didn't get the midnight dodger badge of course, and we also missed out on kitty's got claws because bobcat aggroed too soon, but it was still a fun run and finished at just over 35 minutes.
Here's some action screenshots.
Now that we're about to start over at the beginning of the List again, I decided I'd take this opportunity to start up a fresh thread for Strike Force Saturdays. Check the new thread for next week's info! -
Quote:Yep, Tactical Operatives and Operation Engineers both use web grenades. I know the strategies in beta were to have MM pets take out Director 11's mine layers, but I know they fixed that since then. I'm assuming the Director himself can't be pulled outside, because that would be the standard way of doing it by now. It just seems odd to me that flight would be the only non-luck based way of doing this, even though jet packs are very common now.Originally Posted by EricHough
Well, I am fairly sure that if you click on all the glowies in the 30 second window the warworks ambushes do NOT come, so there would be no reason to stick outside and deal with them. What you could do is designate 1 person as glowie clicker and have everyone one else fly up above trip mine level and then try to kill director 11 with ranged fire. That could work but would still be a lot more iffy than the pet assault + nukem from orbit method as it takes a lot of damage to kill Director 11 and the longer it takes, the more chance of someone getting to close to the ground and hitting a trip mine, or getting hit by something that cancels fly (don't malta throw web nades?).
-
Quote:Thanks again for all the feedback, and I'm glad to see I'm going in the right direction.Originally Posted by Rayonn
Crey's Nightmare
ID: 295501
Follow-up:
I really like the changes you made. Glad I could help you strengthen what was already a good story.
Mission 4
The power changes have the Crey cyborgs challenging but beatable. (The LTs spend the beginning of every fight buffing each other. This is where a lot of the difficulty seems to come from, though I don't think it actually needs changing.)
I really like the way the story turned out. Nothing needs changing here, though I would point out that if you the objective to escort Yambu to the final boss, you can use her arrival dialogue to make a confrontation between the two. This would require her to survive until then, though (she died just before the boss when I played).
At least I think that would work--it's what I'm doing in my arc, but I haven't tested it yet.
I'm still working in changes here and there, like fixing the repeated dialog in the 2nd mission and the computer location on the 3rd. Maybe I'll test out escorting Yambu to the boss and see how that feels, too bad I can't make a cutscene though. -
Quote:Wow, yeah, probably not going to get it then. I try to keep these weekly SFs casual so they're more friendly for people who haven't run them before. If we get it by luck that's great, but the whole pet/nuke thing seems excessive to me. Thanks for the info though, sometime I'm sure I'll form up a team with the specific intent to get this badge and that method is probably what I'll use.Originally Posted by EricHough
You generally have to make a choice between getting the Midnight dodger badge and the hacker badge because getting one makes it extremely difficult to get the other - specfically, if you are running around clicking on the glowies in the warehouse to beat the 30 second timer you are not going to be able to set up so that you can take out director 11 without any deaths to tripmines, so you usually have to pick one or the other.
The only way to be SURE to get the dodger badge is to have a large percentage of the team bring all 3 warburg nukes, shivan shards, a vanguard heavy and everyone have some form of flight. You enter the warehouse and to NOT clear the glowies. Instead, wait for all the ambushes to spawn and clear them. Then you click all the glowies but one on the center and gather there. Summon your shivans + vanguard heavies, buff up the group and all the pets with bio nukes + any group buffs, have everyone hover far enough off the ground so that they won't set off director 11's trip mines and click on the last glowie. Taunt director 11 to the group of pets, drop chem nukes and regular nukes on him and let the pets finish him off - all the players need to stay in the air and only use ranged attacks, if even that.
You can get the dodger badge by luck as well - but you have to be really lucky. The above method is the only way I have done it. Not everyone has to bring nukes+pets - but I would probably want at least half the team to do so. If you are not sure you have what you need to get the dodger badge I would suggest just going for hacker. -
For the Tin Mage run this saturday we're probably going to try for all the master badges like we did with apex, but I'm not really going to worry about midnight dodger. I know many people have already gotten it, but I never have so I don't really know how to go about it. I'll probably still try for it, but not very hard.
-
Quote:And here I thought I caught all the typos! Thanks, these are now fixed.Originally Posted by Rayonn
Nitpicks:
- You should probably capitalize the first letter of each important word in the mission title and subtitle.
- 'agree' is spelt 'aggree' in the player's dialogue.
- In the send-off dialogue, "the Carnie's purpose" should be "the Carnies' purpose".
I'll play these after work, hopefully they'll give me some ideas.Quote:Tips:
One thing you might do to make the arc more memorable is to give the contact more personality. See Talos Vice by @PW and A Wake for Dead 6 by @Clave Dark 5 for examples.
Hmmm, not sure about adding more dialogue since I've already filled up all the captive/captor dialogue fields, but I see what you mean about adding emotional impact... I'll have to think about this one and come up with ideas on what to change.Quote:Try adding more dialogue between the Carnies and the captives. As it is, 'rescuing the captives' just means 'fight those enemies, then watch that guy run off'. (This happens in a lot of the in-game missions as well). Have the Carnies talk about what they do to their 'recruits' (or emphasize it it in a clue), to drive home what I'm saving them from and add emotional impact.
I originally tried to avoid focusing too much on Yambu because I wanted the Player to be the star of the story. But you've made a good point here, so I'm going to rework things a bit to at least give her some more emphasis.Quote:It will increase the emotional impact of the developments in the next mission if the player cares more about Yambu. You should try to make her especially likable. Maybe emphasize how she's so intent on protecting her fellow psychics that she's willing to go into situations she can't really handle.
I'm not sure what caused this either, but I suspect it may be the "battle" details I added. I'll double check that later.Quote:Nice job with the ambush and patrol. However some of the NPC dialogue was repeated several times. I'm not sure what caused this.
I reworked them a lot today, getting rid of some of the meaner illusion powers and replacing /kin with sword attacks on a few of them. Unfortunately I didn't have time to test them before work, so they may still be too much.Quote:On the other hand, the boss fight was extremely tough. Minions with Phantasm? LTs that Fulcrum Shift? Ambush? Remember that the Carnies that summon a phantasm are bosses. These might be a bit overpowered.
The computer used to spawn in the same room as the Chief, but an issue or two back that seemed to change for some reason. I'll see if I can come up with a good plot reason to defeat the Chief, and hopefully it will add more to the story.Quote:Also, I'm not sure why I had to fight the Security Chief. It looks like he was supposed to be trying to block my exit, but he spawned farther back than the computer and I had to chase him down. You should either change that or (perhaps better) have a plot reason why he must be defeated.
At any rate, the toned down custom group is published if you wanted to try it again, or you could wait till I make more of the other changes you suggested. Thanks a ton for all this feedback, it's really helping me flesh out this arc!
-
I've always wanted a two-handed broadsword powerset, but I was thinking what may be easier for the devs would be to add some two-handed broadswords to katana/ninja blade and also some alternate animations that look more broadswordy so the players have the option to make it themselves. Not really less work than a new powerset, but for some reason this seems like it would be more likely to actually happen. At least to me.
-
Here's my arc that I could use some feedback on:
Crey's Nightmare (I'm not thrilled about the title myself)
ID: 295501
Morality: Heroic
Level Range: 40-54
Length: 4 missions
Enemies: Carnies, Crey, and a custom group (the custom group is meant to be hard but not cheap, I may have made them too hard though)
Description: Missing psychics, desperate Carnies, and Crey somehow right in the middle of everything. Help the Conclave of Psychics unravel this mystery. (I'm also thinking of changing the description since it's not much of a mystery story really)
I've been working on this off and on for a while now, but the story just seems to lack that kick that makes it memorable. Any feedback I could get would be appreciated.
