Techbot Alpha

I don't know wether to feel good or bad about the fact I've twice been mistaken for a girl over the net XD
I guess you could say I have a good understanding of the fairer sex? My girlfriend seems to think so

Idiocy =/= AT is bad
Unfortunately, there is no known cure.

Agreed. He was still yabbering while we decked the Honoree.

No disagreement here that Tanks, Fenders and Kheldians lose out on the inherents in that, if your not on a team, you effectively dont get an inherent.

I have an Ex-Nemesis character (thank you Roman armour), a PPD Special Response Unit cop, a Troll, a 5th Column member and a Vanguard Colonel. All work well so far, even though I really have signature group costume envy on Nemesis and 5th Column

Wow....never, ever had this problem on Union. If a sewer team is calling, its all welcome for mash zombie bashing.
I just...yeah. Wow XD

Ok, I'll give a run-down then.

Caves map. We came around the corner and there was a dip down, via which we could see a cloud of fluffies. The map was on track with us, so no one had been 'scouting' or anything idiotic.
We ran in to try and get a lock on the crystal, standard stuff. The combination of masses of fluffies and Tuatha (There was about 3 bosses in that mob) faceplanted us.

We ran through it about four times, until we managed to nuke the cyst itself.
My main problem is that these things spawn a huge ammount of Lts and Bosses as well as minions. They also use AoE attacks. So, the entire team gets munched on by AoE -speed -recharge neg energy attacks from about 3 spawns worth of fluffies.
This was around level 32, I think? Team leader was 30, some of us were 29. So, going from 'capable diff as long as we're careful' to 'lol faceplant'...sorry, but that just seems unreasonable to expect EVERYONE to be able to deal with that sort of thing off the bat. There just doesn't seem to be any cap as to how many of those damn things spawn.

If anyones having any problems downloading either via the Mids updater or the titan network, dont click run, save it to desktop and then run it from there. I was getting a carpload of error messages, before saving to desktop and then running seemed to solve the problems.

Thanks much, Stoney, the work is majorly appreciated =]

They were +2 to the team leader, +3 to me due to being SK'd.
I understand the 'challenge' aspect, but it is not a welcome one. When you are happily dealing with +2 missions are a steady pace, to suddenly run into a roadblock that can two shot you is not fun.

No, Damz. Seriously. Those things were one shotting people. One AoE volley and three team members were dead, stat. Even our Shade in Dwarf form and with some fender shields on was getting chewed up and spat back out in seconds.

Multiple teamwipes beg to differ.

That is the sort of sight you can expect to see on a full team. And no, there was no way to avoid this. We came down the tunnel, and there was the mother of all fluffy swarms jsut waiting for us. It was actually impossible to see the cyst on first glance. We had to have someone with stealth toggle through to actually select the damn thing.

Seriously. The Cysts on the ITF are working better. Use them as a model on how to do things, not have the 'one shot swarm of doom' to penalise people for playing Kheldians.
No, you dont need to get rid of them. I like the flavour stuff as much as anyone. But multiple team wipes are NOT fun.

They do, because I had to have a GM come rescue my Pistolier from random limbo. Crashed out, and then couldnt log back in on her, but I could log in as any other character.

And its happened again, now...Really shite.

OS: Windows 7 64bit
Server: Union

Previously had a problem where I crashed on my Dual Pistols blaster and found it impossible to log back in on that character. I could log in on any other character just fine, but not the Pistolier. Eventually a GM reset the position to Atlas, and all was well.

Alted to do an inf and salvage transfer, this tiem by logging off the pistolier. AGAIN its imppossible to log in, while I can log into other characters just fine.

What the hell?!

Glad it did, it's an interesting thread.
I know both guy and girl players who play both types, and Im a guy that plays both as well. It depends on the character, really. The majority of mine tend to be fully covered, with the odd tank top and whatnot. Theres a few care-free or 'dangerous' types who differ but I tend to prefer 'realistic' clothes and armour to spandex anyway.

Although, when it comes to playing a female character, having to run long distances does at least give you a better view PvPOnline had that in the promo comic they did for CoH Collecters Ed.

Guys, seriously...this is really rather pathetic.
Stop digging at the poor guy like you've got some damn personal grudge against his entire family. Ok, so it wasn't an idea that the Devs will consider, due to it not being part of the tanks role.
What part of that merits a flaming and basting, as if he'd suggested merging all the servers into one uber server and giving everyone flying vehicles and making the only attack power [Whirlwind?]

Vit, if you prefer doing lots of damage, then a Brute'd be a better option, because that's how they are built. If you prefer being able to laugh off huge ammounts of damage, then the Tanks the one to go for. And you don't need to apologise for making suggestions. Stupid is something you could apologise for, but I've yet to see you post any.

The rest of you. Seriously. Contemptable.

Jen Kerringer, cybernetically enhanced PPD officer

It's back up.

Blackness. Sucking, endless blackness. Like tar, dragging, choking...
The horrific sensation seemed to end, and it felt like she was falling, slowly, spiralling with no body. It wasn’t sleep, and it wasn’t...well, it didn’t feel like death...

It felt both like an eternity and mere seconds, before reality seemed to come back, grabbing her and hauling her in fiercely. She winced, as consciousness, or at least what she hoped was consciousness, dragged at her.
Metal. Cold metal, straps, cables, wierd sensations all over her body, inside her body-!

Jen attempted to sit up, but found that her arms and legs were restrained. Her eyes went into overdrive, flicking back and forth, scanning her surroundings. It looked like some sort of laboratory, with only a single spotlight left on, focused on her. The benches and mobile trays seemed to all have been pushed back, finished with. She tried peering closer at one...and her gaze zoomed in, numbers and a reticule fading into her vision.
With a yell she jerked back, blinking furiously until her view returned to normal.
“Hey! Hello? Hey!” she shouted, or tried to, but her throat felt like it had been scraped raw on the inside, and all that came out was ‘Heerr-h”, followed by a fit of coughing. Frustrated, she glanced around, trying to see what damage the fire had done...

Metal. Cold metal. Straps. Cables and wires and metal and oh god, OH GOD!
Her legs were gone from the knee down, replaced with cybernetics. Her left forearm was the same from the elbow down, but the entirety of her right arm was gone, her shoulder practically fused to an entirely mechanical arm.
The fire, the barrel, the scything metal, the dream, Le Jean, Moore, death, dying, ohgodohgodOHGOD!

The fear over-ran her. The walls themselves seemed to bend outwards as she screamed, but the lab itself fared worse; trays were hurled end over end, mobile stations were flunk into the walls like they were made of paper. The straps restraining Jen snapped like they were rubber bands, causing her to stumble upright, before collapsing to her knees, the scream fading.
”So...this...this was why I had the nightmares. It was real...I found out now, and...did it get sent back, or...Oh god...”
“Something like that.”

Jen jerked upright, eyes wide. A figure had stepped into the room silently, but it raised both hands openly as she looked set to run.
“It’s ok...it’s alright,” the voice soothed, as the figure stepped forward. It was female, dressed in a doctors coat and clothes, and the face was human, but the ears looked like those of a fox, and the woman was covered with brick red fur, her hair a more crimson shade. “No one’s going to hurt you here...”
Jen nodded, slowly, before her eyes widened even further, realising the figure wasn’t actually speaking.
“No...but I’m speaking in your mind. Telepathy. It’s how I heard you...that and the scream...”
“You’re in my head?!”
“Only to help. There’s a lot to understand...and I thought it might be best to simply show you, rather than try and give you a de-brief...”
“You...can do that?”
“Yes.”
“...Do it.”

The recovery team barrelled through the door, a figure on the stretcher they carried. Jen watched, realising she was looking through the eyes of the doctor.
“Holy hells...what happened to her?” she heard the woman’s voice again, this time obviously spoken.
“Massive fire. PPD Op gone bad. Medics say they can’t save her, but-”
The doctor ran an eye over the body...her body, Jen realised with a jolt. Her face was mostly intact, except for a bloody scar over her right eye, or what was left of it. Her entire right arm was clearly gone, a huge mess of bandages trying to staunch the bleeding. Her left side and legs were charred and scorched, her left forearm a near melted mess. She heard the Doctor swear.
“I don’t think even I can save her...not now.”
“No need, ma’am. One of the PPD brass was there, and the medics made it clear how close she was to fading...they’ve got Rick from City Hall coming over, though.”
“Rick Davies, from DATA?”
“Yeah. Apparently they’ve got one last trick they can try...”

Jen watched the next hour or so fly by, her broken and burned body taken to the room where it was now, Rick Davies and a small but professional group of techies arriving and setting up shop...her body being repaired and upgraded.
“New eyes, given the damage the old ones had taken,” the doctor narrated, as Jen watched. “We were able to save most of your torso, but not your lower legs or left forearm. Your lungs were nearly gone...it was a miracle your were still alive, after all that smoke and ash, and your previous smoking habit. We had to replace them with a special bit of kit that Rick’s been working on for some time now. That’s one of the first models to go live, as it were. It also means you’ll never have to worry about smoking, breathing underwater or choking again...If only tech like that wasn’t so rare...”
“You’re Doctor Vixen, aren’t you?” Jen interrupted mentally. “I saw you in Atlas and at Galaxy Girl statue a few time while on patrol...and in the news.”
“That’s right,” came the reply. “They specifically requested me on station in Skyway for this. Given the amount of tissue damage you had, I could see why.”
“Thank you...for saving my life.”
“Hey, we both do our jobs, right?” Vix said, and this time it was out loud, as the images faded from Jen’s mind. The PPD officer blinked, before lifting a hand and examining the mechanical fingers.
“I can still feel my right hand...and my left...” she murmured.
“Actually, you’ll be able to feel most things as normal,” Vix explained, holding out her own hand, palm first. Curious, Jen placed her own cybernetic hand against it, blinking as she felt the touch. “Those cybernetics are top of the line. Rick was basically given full green-light access by those two Captains of yours...”
“Two Captains?” Jen repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Vix nodded.
“The middle age one with the moustache and worried look, and the one who looked like he was from the Psi division.”

Jen smiled faintly. She knew who the first figure was; Uncle Robert, Captain Fischer to the rest of the PPD. The Psi Division captain, though...
Wait...
“Psi Division? Why do they need to talk to a...non..psy...”
Jen trailed off, the unstoppable charge of realisation finally catching up with her.
“What happened to me?!”

Doc Vixen grabbed her by the shoulders as she tried to rise, locking eyes with her.
“Listen to me, no! Listen!” she snapped, as Jen started to panic. “Look...the tech they put in your head is really advanced. Like, really advanced. So much so that...well, it was meant to just boost your brain power and ability to multi-task, that sorta thing. Instead, it boosted it into psychic levels.”
“So...that was why everything broke, why I had the nightmares...they were flash-forwards, not flashbacks...and could do the telepathy...” Jen whispered, meeting the doctors eyes.
Vix nodded.
“It’s going to be ok. The guys and girls at Psi div know what they are doing. I had a few courses with them myself, back in the day. You’ll be ok. Ok?”
Jen nodded, standing slowly, feeling the cybernetics whir and click into place.
“Now, come on,” Vix urged, taking her arm. “Your Uncle’s probably having a nervous breakdown over you...”
“Nothing new there, then,” Jen murmured, a faint smile creeping onto her lips. She was alive...battered, but alive. And, whatever else, that was something she was thankful for.

The Devs have never said who is going to be in Closed Betas, with two exceptions;

Going Rogue. Its a big thing, so they are fully vindicated here.
Issue...14? 15? The one where it was basically one long Open Beta.

They have never announced specifically because they dont want hoards of people going 'Waaaah why I no in closed beta?!1' etc. And I dont see that changing anytime soon.

Based on observation, though, Issue CB is usually a few members who do a LOT of testing and number crunching, time and again, and then a random mix of people with different rigs, different playstles and goals, that sort of thing.

You'd need to do new animations for EVERY bow power.
Then you'd need to make them work with Male, Female and Huge models.

Thats 27 new animations just for Archery. Now factor in Trick Arrow, cos you can BET people would want that too.

It could be worse.
My Tank and first 50 was Invul/EM. EM, as it currently is, is not the way it was when I started, and his build seems all over the shop.

So I kept the 50 version at the back of my list, server transfered for a rename, and re-made him as Invul/Elec, so that he can at least do AoE well as well, rather than being a big sack of HP and nothing else thats useful.