AncientSpirit_NA

Since I don't offer up my MArc for reviews, I logged in to see if anyone had played it recently -- and was stunned to see THREE COMPLAINTS!!!

Now, I don't pretend to be the best writer in the world. But Wicked, Wicked Wonderland (#1224) has been played by 192 people and has a 4 star rating ... and I couldn't imagine what anyone had to complain about.

All three "complaints" were exactly the same.

I used the word ... S.E.X.

Now mind you, the context was in the course of someone's name: The Sex of Diamonds (in my mind it was a silly pun in a silly story regarding the card "the Six of Diamonds"). This custom critter wasn't HAVING s.e.x.; she just had this three letter word in her name.

MIND YOU ... THIS IN A GAME WHERE ANYONE CAN - AND OFTEN DOES! - CREATE WOMEN WITH BARELY ANY CLOTHES ON ...

... WOMEN WHOSE BREASTS SO HUGE THAT THEY WOULD EVEN BREAK THE INVULNERABLE BACK OF "My Super X Girlfriend"!!!

Sex... as in "Please check one:" Sex: [ ] Male [ ] Female

People have asked me about this in-game, and that's fair. But to COMPLAIN ABOUT IT???? I mean, complaints to devs are for grievances that should get an arc banned, aren't they?

Frankly, I don't know if the complaints made were recent because I never checked for complaints before. Yesterday, when I updated my arc for I15 status, I saw the comment bar for the first time and figured - great - they list all the great comments I've received since this was released. But Nooooo! None of those get listed. Only these 3 braindead complaints.

What is wrong with people?

I only hope that whoever complained about the word S.E.X. never gets any in RL.

And for the rest of you who have played my arc and have left such positive and supportive comments for me, I APPRECIATE YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER ... because you guys are what makes authoring these things worthwhile.

If you HAVEN'T yet played "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland" (#1224) yet, I hope you will NOW ... just as a show of solidarity.

But if the word S.E.X. offends you, please DON'T play my arc. You'll save us both some aggrevation.

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Just about the only DC I enjoyed was Butterfly Effect. The rest seem entirely... vanilla to me.

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Hmmmm. Are you including the one in my signature?

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These days, you can make an AE mission consisting of hundreds of Rikti Monkeys and some idiot will report it for being a farm.

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Actually, on an outdoor map, this would not be a farm but rather a sanctuary and rehabilitation center for Rikti Monkeys orphaned by poachers.

A little known fact of CoX cannon is that the Rikti use those monkeys as bushmeat, and the entire species is now endangered. Protecting the wild Rikti monkey population is part of the great work done by the Jane Goodall Institute.

Remember, you heard it here first.

The dev's released a new DC and I wasn't notified????

Outrageous!

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We're supposed to keep our AEs relatively clean I suppose, but what is a clear boundary for what is acceptable and what is not? I'm not suggesting writing pornographic material for instance, but is putting mild suggestions and/or suggestive themes ((including alcohol?)) ok? What line do the mods take with content?

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This is a tricky question because of the response of the players. My arc "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland" is all about adultry - but has never had one negative comment about its content.

On the other hand, it does contain one mob - the "Sex of Diamonds" - and one of the recurring comments I get is of the use of the word SEX.

It must not be a big problem because right now we have 179 players and a 4 star rating ... but it does point to how approach makes a difference. The adultry theme is delivered with sublty and humor. The word sex is ... the word sex. So when you create your arc, be aware of that.

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The thing that bugs me most about it is the fact that they are hooking long time players as well as getting many new players to join in order to try it out. It seems that our monthly fee isn't enough for them, so they have to find other ways to get a few more bucks out of us. I understand capitalism is a great thing, but when it starts to suck money out of us like a vampire sucks blood, IMHO, it goes a bit too far. They want to enjoy the monthly sub fees of a large player-base, but they're not satisfied with just the cash they're making off of that. They seem to want to bleed us dry by charging us for 'perks' that should be bonuses to keep us playing. I'm not so sure I need to keep up with the Joneses that badly.

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I'm glad you agree with me. In my mind, the ONLY reason to invite long term players to "buy" FREE extra arcs on test is to get us create more stuff so we want to transfer it to Live. After all, its not like we don't know how MArcs work.

On the other hand, you have to give the devil his due. It's quite brilliant for a company to get its customers to invest more money into its game BEFORE the competition comes out. The more money you've invested in the game - whether it be from additional MArc slots to booster paks -- the less likely you are to change horses in mid-stream.

So do a line of ... MArcs ... sit back, and feel good ...

This "deal" reminds me of that old saying ...

"Be careful what you wish for."

Imagine if you PAID for extra slots and your arc got complaints and got locked?

Probably not a problem though ... since you'd have to get all three of free slots banned BEFORE they started in with your paid ones.

Actully, $6 bucks for one ... $10 for 2 and $20 for 5.

Does anyone think that they're looking at MA as the new cash cow of CoX?

Personally, given the 8 extra slot limit per account ... I think they're shooting for the whole enchillada ... because 1 + 2 + 5 = COINCIDENCE (I mean, 8).

Will they get us to fork over another $36? (Only time will tell.)

And just like ... um, drug dealers? ... they're offering you your first "taste" FREE ... on test.

Read all about it in the Announcement Section.

This thread is SO behind the times.

Start getting your wallets out, boys and girls!

Can't believe I'm the first that read this!!!

Way to go, devs!

What are you guys waiting for????

More Aggrivation

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In general, I seek out 4-star rated missions, in sympathy with my fellow authors. Do the same, spread the word. Make 4 the new 5.

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Totally off topic (sorry), but as a lifelong Fantastic Four fan, I gotta tell you that I think your name is GREAT!

Now... back to our thread ...

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Be careful if you come across someone who really doesn't know these things. I have a friend with almost 21 months. She has a learning disability. Eveytime she plays, we play with her. Everytime she plays, my husband has to help her lvl up and help her sell and buy. We have to do this virtually everytime she plays because she can't retain the information.

She's almost left the game because of people who talk down to her because she doesn't know something. I know cases like her may be few and far between...just be careful who you talk down to or dis because they don't know something.

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I find it interesting that no one has commented on this post. Is it out of everyone's comfort zone because it doesn't fit neatly into the PL or farmer categories?

It certainly gave me pause. Honestly, I never considered the possibility... and it bothers me that one of my wisecracks or nasty retorts could have possibly landed on someone who has a learning disability.

Even more so now that leveling pacts can be made.

As a 5 year vet who only really goes to Pocket D during the special events, I am still constantly confused as how to get out. (And have, more than once, depended on my base transporter, to end my frustration.) And I NEVER remember how to get to Crey's.

While I have a dozen or so level 50 heroes, my highest villians are 46 and 35, I think, but I rarely play them. They have NEVER been PL'ed, but when I do break them out (and all my villians, which I even keep on a seperate server than my heroes), I CONSTANTLY have to relearn how to use their powers. (I do however tell those teaming with me that I'm very rusty, so that they're warned in advance.)

Don't get me wrong. My intent isn't to defend PL'ers. But I don't think we should always rush to judgment when someone doesn't seem to be playing "up to speed" the way we think they should.

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They also should have 3 MA buildings a side plus RWZ and Pocket D. Too many buildings so people flood to one area. Seems like Vills hit Cap and heroes FLOOD Atlas.



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Er, no. I like my nearly empty buildings in Kings Row, Talos, Port Oakes and St Martial.

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Er, yes. I also like my nearly empty buildings in places other than Atlas. But that doesn't mean that Atlas ISN'T flooded with heroes. It is. (We're just not bothered by it because we're smart enough to go elsewhere.)

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I forgot this command, I seen someone do it before, I honestly can not remember.

Question:
If someone fake dc's, how do you kick them from the TF if they are not signed in?



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How do you know if a DC is a "fake" DC? I have DC'ed at times and its taken forever to get back on. (Sometimes when I get back I find that everybody DC'ed at the same time.)

Sometimes it takes so long to get back because my screen has frozen and I have to reboot the computer in order to log back on ... AND THEN ... I find I'm in verify file hell!!!

Actually, I've been pretty lucky not being kicked from teams. In fact, sometimes when I'm called to dinner, I tell my teammates and they tell me not to quit the TF but to log out, so I can rejoin after I'm finished eating.

I have a kin controller that used Superspeed but not Siphon Speed. Then I learned about the recharge buff and took it for that reason ... and lived happily ever after.

For nice lowbie action you'll also enjoy "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland" #1224. All mobs are custom so it scales to whatever level you're playing; it's never "too hard" and you can't outlevel it.

However, if playing it, please don't review it. It continues to get hits and I don't want to ruin the story for anyone. Thanks.

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My advice is to add a note like "(Story focused [SFMA] arc)" to your arc description. The keyword "SFMA" isn't used by everybody, so searching for it will miss some good arcs - but from the point of view of someone making an arc, adding it in certainly can't hurt.

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Count me in as one of those who didn't know about SFMA, which I should add to my arc.

Information like this is the reason I don't mind when people post questions in the "wrong" thread.

Great thread. I've been around forever and thought I knew how "fill" worked ... but turns out I didn't. I thought you had to not only be in the same zone, but actually enter the mission. So I thought these invites were incredibly rude.

Turns out there were many times I could have said yes (and will in the future), especially when I am in WW in bidding or shopping mod.

One question for those in the know, though: When filling, do I have to be the same level as those wanting to trigger their maps? Does it work if I'm 6+ levels higher or lower?

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According to Paragonwiki:
"As of Issue 11 characters are now able to earn Respec Recipes as rare drops from the enemy defeat recipe pools which, upon crafting the recipe, the character will receive a Free Respec as long as that character currently has no Free Respecs."
Are respec recipes like purple drops (i.e., they have a 1/5000 chance in dropping)? Or are all those respec recipes sold at WW the result of Respec TF completions in Terra Volta?

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Any enemy over level 10 can drop one. They do not come from anywhere else, you can't buy them with tickets or merits, they don't come as random rolls either.

You can either play until one drops, or buy one from WW, they go for anywhere from 10-30 million, averaging around 20.

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You haven't priced these lately have you? I just sold one for 80M, which when I checked, was the lowest of the last 5 transactions (went up to 83ish M). I'm talking hero market here. I haven't priced them vill side lately.

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I recently saw these prices at WW and couldn't figure out what was going on? I mean, respecs are available as Vet rewards and Respec Missions, so they seem plentiful to me. Why would anyone pay so much for a respec?

While I'm not looking for you to review my arc, no discussion of humorous arcs would be complete without mentioning , "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland" - #1224.

In it you'll face custom mobs of Playing Cards like the "Not Playing with a Full Deck" gang and "The Broken Hearts" ... and you'll discover the real reason The Queen of Hearts hates Alice so much.

So come have a wonderful time in Wonderland. All in-game comments welcome ... but posted reviews are not. Do NOT reveal the shock ending.

Thanks.

Count me in as one who believes in 4 star ratings -- and who doesn't think they are limbo. "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland" (#1224) now has 175 plays at 4 stars. I never thought more than a dozen people would find my story. Like you, it had 5 stars at the beginning and I thought it was the kiss of death when it fell to 4. But people keep finding it.

The bulk of five star rated arcs, it seems, have very few plays. The more people try your arcs, the more varied their voting styles ... from generous, to strict, to griefers, to everything in between.

Just keep putting your work out there.