Arilou
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Posts
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Quote:Gaussian is Vanguard. They aren't, per se, heroes. (they also accept villains into their ranks, remember?)Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I haven't really seen much evidence of that, considering what Gaussian had me do to the Rogue Vanguard leaders, but even if we assume killing is frowned upon... My question is "and what of it?" The characters who kill in this game are still tagged as heroes, or at most vigilantes (who are still heroes).
Furthermore, do we have reason to believe that Sister Psyche in particular would look down on killing?
Actually the tip missions generally indicate that vigilantes kill, and heroes don't. -
That the Purple Sleep set is called "Fortunata Hypnosis", yet Fortunatas don't have any sleep powers!
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I'd say taht there's no character that could not use an extra Leadership power... If only for when running teams.
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Quote:That's not really true. The average life expectancy for those who reached adulthood was somewhere in the upper 60's-lower 70's. (Compared to a bit more than 80 today) That's a difference in ten years of *average* life-expectancy (probably more, since infant mortality is counted in the modern figure but not the pre-modern ones)Originally Posted by Ironik
If they're 60 and healthy because of medicinal intervention -- heart or kidney transplant, diabetes treatment, etc. -- then Science. My family would be Natural, because they are mostly ridiculously long-lived.
It's been pretty much disproven that the whole "average life expectancy was 35 years old" thing was an error of statistics. Take out childhood deaths and war and the average life expectancy 200 years ago was roughly the same as it is today. Even the Bible has the years of a man's life as "threescore and ten." (For those unfamiliar with old-timey counting, a score is 20 years, so that's 20+20+20+10... 70 years old, in other words.) -
Quote:The entire thing here is "possibility". It is entirely possible that the number of possible configurations is finite.Originally Posted by Scythus
If I recall my Quantum Theory correctly, just about every possibility can exist in the infinite branching outcomes of human behavior. Some alternate realities are supposed to closely resemble ours where few things are changed and there are other realities where things can be so radically different that we'd likely never be able to recognize it.
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Quote:"Pretty much" infinite and "infinite" are different.Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
Think about what all IS possible in the City of Universe and that's is conceptual basis is that the impossible IS possible, and I think what you have is pretty much infinite impossibility.
Indeed, there's an infinite difference between them
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As mentioned, there's also the possibility that the multiverse isn't infinite.
Ponder: The multiverse consists of every *possible* action.
It is entirely possible that every possible action, every possible event, is a finite set. (it would be a HUMONGOUS set, but it could still theoretically be finite).
That of course assumes that each universe is unique (if only because of the position of a single subatomic particle) which isn't neccessarily true of course... -
Yeah, definitely Spiritual for my Widow.
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Quote:My first LRSF was a total success, admittedly our team was pretty opted (Multiple SOA's) but we basically steamrolled the Phalanx. Didn't even do anything fancy.Originally Posted by Shadowclone
Agreed. Heck, I've run a PuG Abandoned Sewer Trial where only one person had ever run it before, and only once it that. We won.
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Heck, even if you DON'T buy rares with any kind of merits they still drop rather frequently. (My level 18 preatorian has I think 5-6 of them, just from doing regular missions on normal difficulty)
Getting USEFUL ones is a different matter (but most of the rare useful ones can be bought for 2 a-merits, which is trivial to get) -
Where is it confirmed that Mr. G is the Center?
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War Mace/Energy Aura?
Oh so pretty, oh so strong? -
Quote:From what I've heard Cole has some kind of superweapon that attacks non-incarnates. I suspect you'll be subject to some kind of nasty debuff or damage if you don't have your Alpha Slot slotted.Originally Posted by Adeon Hawkwood
We're not questioning the existence of the content, we're questioning the devs claim that the content is balanced around having the incarnate slot. Supposedly it's going to be extremely difficult to do without the Alpha slot and frankly I don't believe it (although if that is the case I will happily eat my words). I just don't see the small bonuses and the level shift making enough of a difference to allow content to be balanced such that it is completable by a decent team that has the Alpha boosts but not by the same team without the boosts.
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Quote:The BAF is in Imperial City actually, not Neutropolis.Originally Posted by warden_de_dios
Behavioral Adjustment Facility, it's in Neruotropolis(sp?). It's were citizens go when they spend too much time thinking non citizen thoughts.
Is Penelope Yin in the BAF? Is Mother's hospital located in the BAF or is it in a seperate location?
I suspect Neuron has a more... Hands-on approach to rewiring the brains of citizens. -
The difference between Magic and Natural is clear:
If it's magic, we don't have to explain it! -
Quote:He was. In FFIX.Originally Posted by Kheldarn
I always knew he'd be back...
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I've been playing it kind of casually, so I still have a lot of content left to try.
Also, I want to know where the story goes. -
I love complex byzantine plots, crisscrossing agendas, unexpected turns of the narrative. I'm way too used to being able to predict where a story goes from pretty much the opening narration, and so I love whenevr a story manages to surprise me (even if in just some minor way) and that chance tends to increase with the complexity of the plot.
And for the record, Planescape: Torment is my favourite CRPG (even if BG2 is probably technically better) and Planescape my favourite setting, for these reasons precisely :P -
Quote:The Rikti Plot always felt more like something he kept thinkering with than his grand Master Plan. Especially since uploading himself into the Rikti Hivemind was his backup-plan.Originally Posted by Terminal Velocity
Like causing the rikti to invade?
It would be interesting if we could get a collection of the tip missions and the info you get from them going, and heck, a chart of the development of arious characters (like Frostfire and Miss Thystle) -
Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
This is the last time I'll respond to this line.
Streets of Rage is also 20 years old, if not more. Beat-em-ups these days have a solid, if vague storyline. Shank, for instance, is nothing more than a Grindhouse style violent slaughterfest focusing on a guy shanking people in a 2D side-scroller, yet that has enough of a story to make for a Hollywood blockbuster worthy of Machete. I understand that's not saying much, but story is very much there. Hell, look at Capcom's all Aliens vs. Predator arcade and you'll notice that has enough story to make up a movie, too, and that's also about 20 years old.
Way to miss my point. It's not that a beat'em'up can't have a story: It's that the game mechanis of a beat'em'up is fundamentally different from COH. (in controls, timing, etc.)
Then that's part of the story.Quote:The mission objective gives me enough information to complete a task. That's not what I'm talking about. Quite a few of the new missions don't give me enough information to understand what's happening, however, beyond the very immediate next objective. However, I can't follow the story without background information which the story doesn't provide.
I *think* that might be bugged. There are a couple of instances where there's alternate dialogue depending on which arc you've done before. I seem to remember Metronome only being described as "Glowball" when I did my Resistance arc.Quote:Easy example: When Praetorian Penelope Yin calls me, I see a picture of Metronome. Erm... Who the hell is Metronome? How do I know what he looks like? Have I met him before? Well... No, actually. Metronome is part of a Loyalist Responsibility arc where his nature is revealed, and Penelope Yin is part of a Resistance Warden arc. What's more, having run the Responsibility arc that had Metronome in it, I understood that he has no physical bodie and instead jumps between the different clockwork, therefore there there wouldn't be a picture of him to see, unless I saw a picture of a random Clockwork.
And even if not, Penny i A) Psychic and B) Insane. And she's sending you this telepathically.
No it does not. Where did you get that idea?Quote:There isn't "one story" because a story assumes a beginning, a linear middle and an end.
Take history, there are millions of stories, but there i also a "a" story of history (however imperfectly we can recreate it) that is, the sum total of human experience. "Was eigentlich gewesen Ist." -
RE; Frostfire: There's actually a (kind of) coherent storylin to him progressing through the tip missions. (Starting out as having escaped to th Rogue Isles after one too many beatings by heroes, and ending with the villain Morality mission where he is apparently, a God in the future, and the greatest champion of justice history will ever know)
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I don't think you understood what I meant. I'll assume the "hadouken" commentary was sarcasm, since no beat-em-up game I'm aware of actually has that, it being restricted to Street Fighter games, all of which are fighters. But even sarcasm aside, you CAN play City of Heroes as a beat-em-up if you wanted to. I actually do want to, and that's what I do. A beat-em-up game very much CAN have a plot. Look at Oni, Soul Reaver, The Force Unleased. All of these games have stories, and pretty interesting and detailed stories, to boot. Sure, they're not very expansive, but that doesn't make them bad stories or, to make a point, non-existent ones.[/QUOTE]
You have a VERY different definition of "beat-em-up" than most. Streets of Rage is a beat'em'up. That has.... Pretty much nothing in common with City of Heroes.
Quote:Baldur's Gate II had an excellent story actually, (even BG1 actually had a couple of pretty nice twists, for it's time, though the game really hasn't aged as well as it's successor) It gets even more complicated since in both BG2 and Dragon AGe the distinction isn't all that clear between side-quest and main quest (and some of those stories are pretty good in their own right, too)Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
However, where more "expansive" RPGs fail me is the fact that free-roaming and lore exploration is literally all they offer. Baldur's Gate doesn't offer much of anything interesting if you just follow the main storyline, and that's if you're strong enough to complete it without levelling up off side quests. Bad guy shows up, find out about bad guy, find bad guy, kill bad guy. The end. It's not an interesting story. What sells this game is its rich, engaging world and wealth of lore scattered about it. It's not an experience so much as it's a place.
Guess what: You don't need to know. The mission tells you everything you need to omplete it. The rest is a bonus for people who like to do that sort of thing. Consider it a narrative version of the difficulty settings.Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
The new stories we're getting these days are not self-contained, thus I fail to understand them because invariably, I've either missed or forgotten what they're referencing and what I'm supposed to know already. I have no idea what the timeline behind tip missions is supposed to be, who starts out where and turns into what, and it isn't helped by the fact that I haven't done Safeguard missions ever and paper missions in a year so I don't know who's supposed to be a villain turning good and who a hero turning bad. And this isn't coming from a new guy who just picked up a large established universe and can't wrap his head around it. I know my lore. I've been here since the start. And even so these new missions take my head for a spin.
At no point are you not give enough information to complete your task.
But there is only one story here: The stoy of City of Heroes. All the arcs are just that, story arcs, within the greater narrative.Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Why I say we have similar tastes is because we both want a story, despite your efforts to convince me I don't want one. Where we disagree, it seems, is how self-contained this story should be. I firmly believe that a story should be told in such a way that I don't need to be running other stories simultaneously in order to follow its plot. I don't mind stories referencing past events, or even concurring events, if they take the time to explain them and their relevance in the actual story, as many of the old ones do, having been built with the assumption that you haven't done the prerequisites.
Again, at NO POINT in the game are you even remotely required to do thatWh. Heck, you're not even required to do that in Baldur's Gate! (because most of the time it is obvious from context what is going on) What you are doing is in fact going beyond demanding that the game be comprehensible: You're demanding that it be dumbed down since you don't want to eal with optional content!Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
What I want is, in fact, a story which exists as a cohesive narrative, and which is structured in such a way that I can enjoy it even if I haven't done my homework, as it were. Relevant backstory should be explained or at least stated as fact, and the story should end on a satisfying conclusion that makes me feel like something is achieved. Extra lore beyond that does not detract from the experience, even if I'm tripping over it just going about my business. Where it runs afoul is when I'm REQUIRED to hunt down this extra lore if I want to know what the flying Dutchman is going on with the plot of this story. -
Quote:It's a villainside tip where you fight the Tsoo, and they mention that they're being sent over to Dark Astoria.Originally Posted by IanTheM1
Rather frustratingly, there are a lot of references to open plot threads in tip missions now. I seem to recall one foreshadowing stuff about Dark Astoria, for example.
If there's a plot thread I really want to get picked back up, it's the Cavern of Transcendence/the Minions of Igneous.
There's also a mission where an Ascendant is plannin a schism and claiming that Dirge of Entropy is plotting something that is going to kill everyone. -
Also, when are we finally going to ge tto FIGHT one of those huge Mech-Men?
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I love expositon. I love details. I love feeling like the game world does not just revolve around my player character and his actons. I love imagining that everyone in the game has their own little story, and that most of the time they are concerned with their own business and not caring much about what my character does.
I love getting information about cultures, societies, economies and religions of the fictional worlds I explore.
Nothing jars me out of a game faster than the feeling that this world, this setting, would not exist were it not to be the setting of a particular plot.