Arctic_Princess

Pointless argument is pointless.

Bill's points are all worthy solutions.

I've cocked up a respec (or several...) before now. The grace period - why does it need to be changed exactly? If it's a QoL issue for one person then certainly it doesn't. If it's a QoL issue for many people then perhaps the idea will be listened to.

At this point in time I just see one person who mucked up their respec. Next time, write stuff down.

That be BaBs then.

He is the trainer in a zone about to go kablooey, he doesn't have a task force, hopefully someone will remember to rewrite the Terra Conspiracy arc with the visiting various NPCs to 'deliver' the vaccine (was he even one of them?), and he appears Villainside.


Actually... does he appear in the LRSF?

And if so and it is him, how much handwaving are we going to have to do?

Bodyshop and Stardiver both say 'Mastermind' to me, out of the ATs you're playing.

And to be honest both of them say Robotics to me. Stardiver could possibly be a Mace/Broadsword Tank/Scrapper/Brute, I suppose.

As for the secondary, I'm not entirely sure.

If MMs had Thermal I'd go with that for Stardiver. Maybe Dark with a bit of recolouring.

Bodyshop would be Pain I guess, but again there's a leaning towards Traps.

But then why have the same AT and powers for two concepts?

((My bad - the Grind Monster had possessed me - anywho, an excerpt from Babel's journal should follow...))

Babel's Journal

I made it as far as the library today - no mean feat as it is ten steps from my chamber door! Still, it felt better being able to walk and read at the same time, and so I did, reading several books on the matter of unified thought as I walked back to my bed.

The principals seem sound: According to various accounts, I need to gather my friends around me and begin a session of deep meditation lasting between ten minutes and half an hour. We must have some kind of physical focus - a candle is oft-cited - and I need to keep my power centred whilst allowing my teammates to use a portion of it.

It all seems rather easy but then some books are written that way. At least there's no magic involved. I just hope that those gathered for the confrontation that awaits us are open to the thought of having psychic power, albeit for a short time. Well, when I say psychic power, I mean the means to defend themselves.

Despite my doubts, I must remember that I was instrumental in restoring Iron.

I just hope that this Dominic does not return to disrupt my plan.

Babel's Journal

I'm sitting here in bed, thankfully not in the cold medbay, writing my journal with a smile on my face. Despite it all.

My head feels like it's on fire. I was attacked by an unknown assailant in the base and, thankfully, Andrew showed up. Apparently he had to pull a stone block off of me!

His spirits seem to have returned. That's why I am smiling.

Sol arrived to look at my wounds. Kheldian energy should be bottled, if that's what it feels like to be healed by it. I am still very much confined to sitting in my room all day, but considering the damage done to me in the attack I am grateful.

The name Dominic is playing on my mind. My attacker told me that was his name. So why can't I picture him? And why does my head hurt more when I try to think about it?

My thoughts are still with the Pseudonym matter. We're not working very well as a team. Not well at all. I think it may be time to extend my protection to my teammates, although I'll need more recuperation. I will raise it at the next meeting.

Puns.

Quite often my character names are puns. I'll be talking rubbish in Global Chat and then someone will say something, then I'll go roll it.

Maiden Voyage has, so far, been my most successful pun character. I purposefully chose sets which are intended to destroy things (Sonic/Mental Blaster...) in large quantities.

Strangely since dinging her 50 over a year ago, I haven't touched her owing to RP, game developments, and being a social butterfly (life can be so tough sometimes ). Her costumes were designed to provoke comments such as: "Aaaargh!" and "Kill it with FIRE!".

I have RPed with her twice. Once dressed as a robotic Pamela Anderson (complete with wooden peg leg and bionic skeletal arm...) and the other time in a bizarre assortment of ill-fitting and horribly bright-coloured costume parts.

My main's name, Arctic Princess, was a sort of 60s pastiche of femme fatale characters. She's Russian and cold and strong and deadly. She also became my first proper RP character here and I find I have a much better time playing characters when I am also RPing them.

I do have a lot of ideas for characters and some of them even make it past level 6. Those that don't more often than not are currently sitting in my AE tab of characters, waiting to be cast in a story should I ever get round to writing one.

And costumes depend on the Era I'm creating the character in. Some start off with the classic unitard, with occasional additions. Others are complex creations of as many big parts as possible to create different-size looking avatars, others still often use a few items from the latest pack.

And finally, I do like to try powersets that are unfamiliar to me. I still can't get into a rhythm with Warshades and Peacebringers, and Dominators are the next on the list of ATs I find frustrating to play. Lore-wise, I try to stay away from the Hero Epics. I was proud to get a Claws/WP Brute to 50 because it had only just come out (a Double XP weekend plus being able to solo on higher difficulty helped here). He also had a background and I RP'd with him a couple of times.

Arctic Princess, Tier 3 in Alpha, Tier 2 in everything else. I'm dreading the start of the next bit...

Two characters who I have since stopped playing around with were at the Police station when the First Rikti War broke out:

Ionos - a young, African American, electrokinetic mutant who had made Galaxy City his neighbourhood of choice (his mother and sister lived in Founders Falls, where he was born). He wore a yellow unitard with a mask. He had just delivered a Skull gang member (below) to jail after busting a warehouse raid in Perez Park. He was last seen hovering above Galaxy, watching as his adopted home burned.

Rose Adams - an even younger, white, middle class mutant, who had been arrested by Ionos and was trapped in the PPD jail when the invasion began. She had the power to hide herself in plain sight but no other powers. She was last seen running for her life through Perez Park, in a desperate search for her boyfriend Danny. The couple lived together amongst a commune of Skulls in Kings Row (she too was originally from Founders Falls).

I littered the short story what I wrote a few years ago with minor alts of mine who have since been deleted. I won't bore you any longer.

My experience of Equalisers is... go for them first. In the same way that, unless you're after the badge, down the Raider Engineer first. Or the Comms Officer, or the Dark Servant and Phantasm from a Master Illusionist.

Equalisers do serve a purpose in slowing down Villainous ATs that they were originally designed to go up against (and only them). So a Brute would lose its Fury, A MM would find itself alone as its pets are gunned down (depending on the pets of course), and...

Well Stalkers have the benefit of taking them out in one hit, Domis can mez (and they're minions, remember, so only one hold required), and Corruptors can keep out of range/buff/debuff.

And has been said before, certain powersets have certain inbuilt ways of dealing with -recharge and/or -slow.

Even your TA/Psi Defender would be able to turn the Equalizer's recharge to putty whilst also destroying its ToHit. Of course, it might take you longer to defeat it, and in the meantime a Sergeant will run at you and down you in three hits, but still...

Also the point raised earlier about Melee toons and Cimerorans - what planet was the Poster on? They're blinking easy with a /SR Scrapper. Or at least I find them easy with my /SR scrapper. Sure they have a higher ToHit but so what? Just means that defence-based toons need to work harder but not really by much at all.

Rikti are also hilariously easy. Yes, running on +4 x8 will make them tricky, but you changes your rep, you takes your choice.

And finally, SWAT exist for 2 Mayhems. If Mayhems were the only way of levelling and/or earning other rewards then fine, reconsider the powers of the critters. But as it stands, Equalisers provide a challenge in the same way that lots of other mobs in different factions provide a challenge.

(PS I personally try to avoid Bane Spider Scouts AND Tarantula Mistresses in the same mish because I always seem to end up KOd. Same goes for too many Gunslingers, or too many Dark Ring Mistresses. But sometimes one must suffer a slower run through because of these obstacles.)

I feel I have to jump in here: I run CoH on an Intel Graphics card and it's fine. Just don't expect awesomesauce performance and trials are somewhat... of an ordeal...

You can do far much more than just moving things around.

But don't expect to play the latest games on them!

Dear All,

I have a Toshiba Satellite C650 with an Intel Graphics processor.

Okay, you can all stop laughing now...

... seriously.

I no longer have the time to partake in hours of gaming, but I would like to keep my hand in with Trials.

I have a slight problem however: My laptop just ain't up to it. At least, it's definitely not up to LAMBDA, and I haven't attempted Keyes yet. For some reason BAF is okay but doing BAF over and over (even if there's a break of a couple of weeks between actual trials) is anathema to me.

So, does anyone have any knowledge of how I might be able to get my laptop (short of buying a new one - which I can't, because I simply don't have the money for a new one) to deal with LAMBDA and, I'm assuming, Keyes?

The 'regular' game runs fine, even a MSR is doable, and I have done everything in game to lower the graphics etc and make my laptop happier for running the graphics-intensive map of LAMBDA but I am faced with constant glitches, a virtually non-existent framerate, and more to the point I feel like I'm leeching because 9 times out of 10 my attacks don't even fire.

I've checked my internet connection too, as sometimes that can be the real culprit, but that's working well.

I've also attempted (rather unsuccessfully) to update the drivers on my card but because it is modified (by Toshiba, I presume) then I can't seem to find the right update as all the ones I've downloaded have not been compatible.

I run Windows 7 - 64 bit (not my choice, was pre-loaded - no desire to go through the rigmarole of changing this...)
The graphics card is the Mobile Intel 4 Express Chipset Family.
Processor is Celeron Dual-Core CPU (@2gHz) - 2Gb of RAM (about 854 MB actually available, maybe I need some help to free this up too?)

I know my laptop is far from being optimal for the game but, as I said, it runs the regular stuff fine. I can live without Ultra Mode (I did before Ultra Mode ). I just want to reliably attempt trials more when I do get the chance to do so.

Help and advice very much appreciated.

There are also many ways to combat repetitiveness:

Global Channels - Join a Global Channel dedicated to badge-hunting, or some other common goal. More often than not, you'll find the right sort of task to do that fits your mood. Whether it be straight up badge-hunting, or teaching some newer players how to get the most out of inventions/enhancements, or even going on a City/Isle-wide GM hunt for laughs, you're bound to wind up doing something fun.

Take a break - go play another game or do something non computer-based. It works.

Avoid Keeping Up With The Joneses - So the person you play regularly with has had some time off and has ground their way to unlocking T4 Incarnate Powers. So what? Tag along with them or start your own 'regular' mission team for drops and rewards.

Do stuff that isn't WST - Trials (Eden, Sewers, etc), Mothership Raids, Hamidon, Cathedral of Pain, an OB TF (such as Jade Spider). It's still fun. It may not drop 10 million shards, but it's still enjoyable.

However, Anti-Matter has a space station orbiting Praetorian Earth...

Who said space was for Primals?

Let's hope future stuff includes a Moon Zone or something similar.

Is Time Manipulation going to be this?

It seems quite... time manipulation-y

Partly serious, partly not

Imagine a 'Sale of the Century' gameshow-style delivery:


Vomit Blast! - a lot of knockdown, choke, and -res/-def

Whips/Chains - who cares if they take ages to animate? /whipsthedevs

Metal Control - Silver Mantis-style 'trops, and, uh, more chains??

Illusion/Decoy MMs - Every pet summons a decoy pet and a Phantasm! Servers die of lag

Illusory Melee - high burst psionic damage, even higher enemy heal recovery! Are YOU quick enough to defeat an enemy before their HP bar resets to full?

Rocket Launchers! - fire high-FX clouds of missiles to confuse your friends and make the battlefield nigh impossible to see!

Sonic Mastery (Scrappers/Tankers/Brutes) - no need to team ever again past level 41, with powerful -res attacks!

Planet Busters! (REALLY BIG GUNS!) - feel like your favourite cartoon sociopaths with these gigantic firearms, capable of blasting holes in Emperor Cole!

Babel's Journal

Last night something unexpected and unpleasant happened: I sensed my sister in this timestream!

Most people welcome relations with open arms, but my sister and I are not the best of friends. Quite the opposite in fact.

It happened late last night: I was between dreaming and awake when a flash of her face lit up my mind. At first I thought it was a nightmare, but then I heard her voice and felt her touch my arm. I remembered our last exchange, shortly before the flash of light which heralded my arrival in the future. We were fighting, Anita shouting abuse at me, threatening my very life, accusing me of betraying her and attempting to kill her. She was a mad, foaming-at-the-mouth creature.

But it didn't stop me from stepping in front of her before the light hit her. She is my sister, after all.

I take it has been confirmed that Galaxy will be out of bounds from i21 then?

If it is then that's very sad news. I started out RPing there 5 years ago.

But like the original reason for meeting there, and indeed the spirit of GG herself, we move on and find a new place to call home.

As for 'moving' I think the VIP server might be a handy place to put my non-RP characters, especially the 50s that I hardly play now. But my RP characters will stay on Union. And let's face it, VIPs will have even more server slots. WHich is good news for those of us with altitis. Silver linings and all that.

EDIT: Even though it's sad, think of the potential for even more RP...

Babel's Journal

I spent a portion of my time back with Liberty Force apologising and being unhelpful. I was shocked to see Civil in his undead state, although he's determined to hang on to his humanity. Mainly by being more cynical and defeatist than he's ever been since I've known him.

He asked me where I had been and I couldn't very well tell him that I'd, for want of a better phrase, had a better offer. Although I did tell him that Monty had theorised the possible return to my time. Typically, Civil used this revelation to reflect even more on his own predicament. I'm choosing to believe he would rather I stay than go.

Dana has been made our leader in Jack's absence. She's a tough character, faced with a myriad of difficult decisions. And I've no cause for complaint, seeing as I abandoned my teammates to venture off into the dark halls of the Midnighter Club... and beyond.

Andrew has apparently returned at much the same time as me. And Q, formerly our adversary Tyrannix, is some kind of father. Although I can only guess at what his children are like.

Monty has mentioned Peacebringers and Warshades to me. He thinks I can't read them due to the duality of their situation. That and they were not present in my time. I seem able to adapt to many things, but alien lifeforms are not my forte.

I am willing myself to take up active duties again. I will need some funds to try and carve out a normal existence, beyond the fights with villains and, dare I say, Liberty Force itself. But what can I do? Everything in the City requires documents to prove who I am and I simply don't have them. Forgery is illegal. But I'm not a stranger to going against the state. I'll have to see if my teammates have any ideas.

It's an interesting idea. And you just know there's going to be a 'but...' after that

But
I think it would change certain missions into another kind of game, not necessarily a bad one, but a different game nonetheless.

Bad guys can attack civilians - so why don't they just kill the hostage you've been sent in to save the minute you enter the mission?
Unless the civilians are super-resistant (they're already more resistant than your average defender or petless Mastermind), they'll be downed by a Boss quicker than you can fire two holds on them to stop it from happening. So there would need to be a change there to make the civilian stronger than a Tank, which for me breaks the immersion.

My alternative would be to have special content that measures 'collateral damage'. Kind of the same as the TF/SF/Trial MO requirements. It also makes this kind of 'gently, gently' approach to being a superhero/villain optional for those who really just want to obliterate everything in their path (miraculously avoiding hitting the civilian they're meant to rescue/kidnap) rather than make sure the building doesn't collapse before everyone's out.

When we got the big shiny in the form of Ultra Mode, the way sounds were attached to mission maps changed a little bit.

Going Rogue then introduced us to the battle theme music which I'll admit I only realised was a much-loved and absent feature when I heard it, if you know what I mean.

T'other day I was jumping around with a Praetorian Corruptor, a boy on the verge of adolescence, yet he sounded like a backing vocalist for an 80s hip-hop band.

In short, deep basso voice doesn't fit well with Male character model when said character is a young boy. Similarly, my Controller is an older woman and not a chest-slider-set-to-11 super heroine.

I wondered if there would/could be a chance of adding some more customisation to 'character voice' by changing things like the jumping noise and perhaps even the 'KO' noise.

So maybe 1 or 2 robotic voices, a handful of young female, female, and older female voices, etc.

I'm not asking for a change to powerset noises (especially sonic) or adding voiceovers to cutscenes. I'm just concerned by the voices attached to our in-game avatars.

Mystery Meat... *suppresses giggle*

I like these sets. They should definitely be used on April 1st. City of Sidekicks, Freem!, and now Mystery Meat

Ah yes... Maiden Voyage. Haven't roleplayed with her, bar a bizarre episode involving Beet's scientist character, and definitely not with anyone from the SSPs... expect weirdness and uncomfortable silences.