Acyl

* * *

"Lucy, I'm home," Alec announced, as he came through the door. Even as he said it, he knew the effect was somewhat ruined by the fact he had absolutely no ability to mimic a Latin accent. Between that and the fact he was so tired, he didn't have high hopes for the joke.

"Who's Lucy? Are you calling me Lucy now?"

And, Alec reflected, the fun was even more ruined when the intended audience clearly had no familiarity with the source material he was referencing.

"It's what this guy in an old sitcom says to his wife when he gets home," Alec explained half-heartedly, as he closed and locked the front door behind him. "Because she's Lucy. It's one of those things."

Alec didn't bother with the light switch, as he started to remove the outer layers of his costume. The floating ball of energy in the hallway gave him enough illumination to see by.

"Waitaminute...I don't remember a proposal. You didn't even get me a ring. I feel cheated here!"

Alec stopped midway through hanging up his cloak in the hall closet. He turned round, arching an eyebrow. "I'm not even sure you're female."

The sphere of light bobbed up and down in feigned indignation. "Come on, do I look male to you?"

"You look like a ball of incorporeal spiritual stuff," Alec said, didactically, "besides, why would you need a ring? You don't even have hands."

"Principle of the thing? Besides," the presumably-female wisp added, "I could always sell it for money!"

"You know my card numbers," Alec said. "Hell, you probably know more of the bank passwords than I do. Lord knows I can never remember that Internet one. I'm not keeping you in poverty here."

"It's not the same," she complained, with the air of someone making the same case for the umpthteenth time, "that's still your money, not mine."

"Bell...we've gone over this. You could always get a job," Alec offered. With the cloak off, the mage then proceeded to unbutton and remove his tuxedo jacket, working the waiting coathanger's frame into the jacket's shoulders. As he hung the jacket up, he also pulled off his mask and slipped it into one of the coat’s outside pockets.

"I have a job, it's called being your evil minion," Bell the wisp retorted, "you just don't pay me anything because you're cheap!"

"Oh come on," Alec defended himself, "I let you buy anything you want. Even all those Japanese DVDs. I swear, whoever processes our Amazon orders probably has a very strange idea of what goes on in this house. If I get arrested someday, I hope you realise it's because you just had to..."

"I just like to see stories where a strong non-humanoid lead character has meaningful relationships," Bell sniffed, “a young and impressionable wisp like me needs role models.”

"Meaningful relationships don't end in tentacle...oh forget it," Alec said, trying to change the subject. "Look, sorry I'm late. Had to finish gathering samples from the scene before letting the regular lab guys at it."

"You could at least have called ahead," Bell complained.

"I did, your mobile must be off or something," Alec parried, while struggling with his bow-tie, "and you know the landline doesn't work ever since I used the wires to ward the house against...well, doesn't work right, anyway. I guess being able to dial 1880 kind of counts."

"Sorry," Bell said, the wisp's inner light pulsing in mild embarrassment, "I probably left it silent after updating the OS this morning. Um. I thought the house phone wasn't working at all, though? What's an 1880 number?"

"No, 1880," Alec corrected, "like, three years after Alexander Graham Bell started his phone company?"

"Oh, I thought you promised Mender Silos not to do stuff like that anymore."

"It was an accident," Alec grumbled, "and you don't have to tell him. The scary time cop doesn’t need to know, okay? I'll get it fixed, alright? I'm just kinda busy right now."

"You're always busy," Bell noted, bobbing and weaving beside Alec as he made his way down the corridor, "I think after you use that excuse fifty-six times a month it sort of quits being effective."

"It just means I'm still busy," Alec said. "Like this stage magician killer thing. Which is time sensitive, Bell. Do you know what time sensitive means?"

“It means something you’re not capable of doing,” Bell quipped, as she followed Alec up the stairs, staying roughly at shoulder height, “if you’re using our phone line to call people in the 19th century.”

“That’s,” Alec said, raising a finger, “not what I meant and you knew it. You have learned well, my disciple. You have taken your teachings and turned them against your master. But you are not a Jedi yet.”

“Shouldn’t that be Sith?”

“Well, yeah, I guess,” Alec said, as he reached the bathroom, finally flipping on a light switch, followed by the one for the heater. “But I prefer exact quotes where possible, even when taking them completely out of context. It’s good practice, you know.”

“Practice for what?” Bell asked, as the magician began undoing his shirt.

“I’m a costumed hero type,” Alec answered, smoothly. “Witty quips and comebacks are part of the job. Come on, you know this. If I could figure out some way to stick a tiny little cape on you, you’d totally be my sidekick. You could be Wisp Girl. Or maybe Idiot Ball.”

“Pass, thanks,” Bell said, dryly, “strictly support staff here! You don’t pay me enough to put my insubstantial spherical non-body in danger.”

“Yeah, on that note,” Alec said, as he turned the tap on and began to wash his hands and face, “did you look through the files Leon sent over? Tonight’s victim was the third dead stage magician in a week. Unless we have some kind of really aggressive theatre critic on our hands, that kind of thing seems mildly worrying. At least to me.”

If Bell had a face, or indeed any distinguishable features, she would have grimaced. “Uh, yeah.”

“One time could have been, you know, just one of those things. But three dead guys who wore cheap tuxedos and cut ladies in half for a living? That’s pretty freaky. Besides, Halloween’s coming up, and Leon’s worried this has something to do with that,” Alec elaborated. “Maybe he’s right. I don’t know. Not enough data. We’ll have to do some scrying prep tonight, need to have some show and tell for our friends in law enforcement tomorrow.”

“I’ve already set it the table downstairs,” Bell reassured him, weaving up and down in a way that approximated a nod. “Oh, and there’s some casserole in the fridge if you’re hungry. I wasn’t sure if you were getting dinner, so I kinda nuked something.”

“Thanks, I haven’t eaten since breakfast, actually,” Alec said, sounding grateful. Until he stopped, his smile fading. “Wait, casserole? Chicken and mushroom casserole?”

“Yes,” Bell confirmed, a dangerous edge creeping into her tone, “and what’s wrong with my casserole?”

“You used the dried shitake from the kitchen cabinet,” Alec questioned, sounding suspicious, “right? Definitely the shitake, right? From the regular old mundane Chinese grocery? Not the other stuff that you’re not supposed to get into?”

“Come on, gimme some credit here,” Bell said, patiently, “I don’t get some kinda perverse enjoyment from seeing you under the influence of mind-altering substances. Especially since I’m the one who has to clean up after!”

“You did it once,” Alec pointed out.

“Just the one time! And it’s not my fault you totally suck at labeling your psychoactive stuff,” Bell grumbled, “I mean, I didn’t even know you could do that vision trance thing where your brain visits Atlantis or whatever. It’s not like you briefed me that well when you hired me.”

“Well, you can compile a standard operating procedures manual for the next time I get a minion,” Alec suggested, drying his hands on a towel.

“You plan on doing that sometime soon? You’re not replacing me, are you? Because we totally agreed on three to four weeks notice, and...”

“Hey, chill. I was thinking about an intern or something. Someone for you to boss around, you know? Relax,” Alec said.

“Oh, right. Okay then,” Bell gave a small muffled sound as she flickered, the light emanating from her spherical form rising in intensity, “gotcha. I knew that.”

“Good,” Alec said, staring at the wisp.

“I totally knew that,” Bell insisted.

“I’m not questioning you,” Alec said, “I’m just trying to subtly hint you should get out of the bathroom so I can take a shower.”

“I could just turn around,” Bell suggested.

Alec covered his face with a hand as he tried to figure out how to respond to that.

Bell looked innocent, or at least as innocent as an expressionless sphere could be. “What?”

“You’re a floating ball of energy stuff,” Alec said, slowly, “so you don’t have eyes. I’m pretty sure you perceive the world omni-directionally or whatever it is you’re doing. That’s...not the point. And...you know that, don’t you. That was a good one. That was a very good one.”

“Thanks,” Bell laughed, “I’ve been saving it for a while.”

“Applause,” Alec said, dryly, “now get out, before I figure out a way to raise a localised barrier against annoying wisps using toilet paper and toothpaste.”

* * *

A/N: Yes, I named Alec's Blue Wisp buff pet. I can't be the only one that's done this...

“Wannabe”


"Well," Alec observed, "I can definitely tell you one thing about the victim."

"And that is?"

Alec straightened, rising slowly to his feet. He did so extremely carefully, with the slow and deliberate manner of a man aware that the surrounding floor and furniture were liberally coated in substances typically found within the human body.

"He's definitely dead," Alec said, thoughtfully.

Leon did not look amused. Not in the slightest. "I think," the policeman said, glaring at his costumed colleague, "I somehow knew that without your expert opinion."

"Oh," Alec mused, "did you? Yeah, I guess you would be professionally qualified to identify dead people. But you know, I've always figured eyeballing a dead guy really should be more of an art than a science."

"Look, Kazam," Leon said, suppressing the urge to sigh, "if you're not going to be helpful, I can go to MAGI and find a mystic who will. Preferably one who doesn’t think he’s a comedian."

"Wait, wait,” Alec interjected, holding his gloved hands up in a placating manner, ‘I'm not trying to be funny. Well, not more than I usually am, anyway. I meant he’s dead. As opposed to, I don’t know, undead. Hell, I can tell you for sure that’s an actual genuine one-hundred-percent dead guy, not a really good homunculus or something.”

“That’s surprisingly insightful,” Leon admitted, grudgingly. “Fine, sorry. I guess you are taking this seriously.”

The two men spent a long moment in silence, staring at the scene. The room would have been a reasonably pleasant living space, if it wasn’t for the bloody corpse on the sofa. The fact that the apartment’s former resident had suffered copious stab wounds and severe mutilation put a significant dampener on things.

“Wait til you get my bill. I charge extra for seriousness. Or I would, if I actually charged anything,” Alec said, finally.

“You’re a kind and generous soul,” the policeman retorted.

“I try,” Alec shot back, “I try. It’s part of my eternal pledge of service to the community.”

As he spoke, the magician made a few more motions with his fingers, tracing imaginary lines through the air. Combined with the borrowed sunglasses perched on his face, the groping gestures made him look like a politically incorrect caricature of a visually impaired person. Or failing that, a drunken tourist after too many cocktails. The fact he was wearing a small domino mask beneath the sunglasses didn’t help the image.

Then Alec stopped, frozen in mid-gesture.

Leon frowned too, because he’d been around costumed heroes enough to know that sort of thing was rarely a good sign. Cop instincts meant his hand twitched fractionally towards his holstered sidearm, before he forced himself to be calm. “Problem?”

“Maybe,” Alec said, slowly, a frown on his face, “maybe not. Might have to revise that dead verdict. I mean, our victim isn’t moving right now, but the murder weapon was zombies.”

“Zombies,” Leon repeated, in a low tone.

“Right, zombies,” Alec said, “well, I mean, strictly speaking the murder weapon per-se was the dagger over there. And there. And there.”

The magician pointed at the ritual blades littering the apartment, most still stained with blood.

“Probably the ones Pandora’s Box had on clearance back in August,” Alec continued, “I didn’t go down myself, but the tammyarcanus.org forums have review threads for athames, and...”

This time, Leon did actually give a sigh. He knew it wasn’t very professional of him, not the sort of thing a fine upstanding police officer should do. But he couldn’t help it. He could feel his blood pressure climbing in a way that would disappoint his girlfriend. And she was already on his case to cut down on the burgers and eat more fish. “Kazam?”

The magician paused. “Yeah?”

“Focus,” Leon hissed, “please?”

“Right, sorry,” Alec said, though he didn’t sound all that apologetic, “just trying to give some context. You have to realise, you’re not usually supposed to stab people with these things. They’re ceremonial. Consecrated tools, not weapons. Unless you’re really really angry, anyway. But yeah, zombies. Here, see...”

With a swift gesture, Alec lifted the sunglasses from his eyes, spun the frames around, and then placed them on Leon before the detective even registered the mystic hero had invaded his personal space.

Leon scowled, and yanked the glasses off. “Kazam, what the hell?”

“Huh...I could have sworn you had the codec for aura viewing,” the magician muttered, “uh, well, nevermind. Not important. I’ll probably have to stream it to a monitor or something for evidence later, anyway. Though an active scry would probably be better, I guess. Just take my word for it. There were dead people in here. Besides our victim, I mean.”

“So you’re saying,” Leon asked, as he pocketed the sunglasses. They were his to begin with, but considering what he’d just seen, he no longer felt comfortable wearing them. The costumed mage had done...something...to the lenses. “The killers were zombies?”

“No. More like murder weapon part deux was zombies,” Alec explained, folding the glasses and slipping them into a coat pocket, “I’m pretty sure someone was controlling the undead that broke in here. Remotely. Though, you know, with necromancers? A lot of them are kind of zombies themselves. Kind of comes with the territory. That territory being a grave, mostly.”

“Fine, whatever,” Leon pressed, “but they’re gone? If we send the forensics guys in here, they’re not going to be jumped by zombies hiding in the central heating or garbage chute?”

“Pretty sure they’re long gone, yeah. I can try to track them, but...yeah. Anyway, a zombie wouldn’t fit in the radiator pipes. Or even the trash thing. Unless this is a very strange building, or they’re very small zombies,” Alec said, “but downsizing isn’t that bad yet, even in this economy.”

“Okay. And our victim isn’t going to suddenly get up and lurch at us?”

“I...can’t say for certain,” Alec said, after a second, “but, uh, probably not? You said this was the third one, right? Third one this week? The other victims didn’t go zombie, did they?”

Leon scratched his head. “The guys at the morgue haven’t called to complain.”

“Not yet, anyway,” Alec pointed out.

Leon stared. “Are you trying to tempt Murphy, Kazam?”

“I wear a costume and do magic,” Alec replied, “I tempt Murphy just by breathing.”

“So did that guy,” Leon said, “and look where it got him.”

“Yeah,” Alec said, quietly. He glanced round the living room. Beneath the blood and other fluids, most of the space in the apartment was occupied by professional paraphernalia. There was even a box large enough to fit a person sitting in one corner, the sort with hinged doors and slots to insert swords.

Near the broken television, which had likely been knocked over in the violence, a big framed picture hung on the wall. It was a theatrical poster of the hand-painted style, depicting a man just barely recognisable as the apartment’s owner. The resemblance wasn’t that close, partially because the man was obviously a lot younger in the promotional image, but mostly because the face on the poster hadn’t been savaged repeatedly with a knife. The man in the picture wore a top hat and tuxedo with tails, a traditional stage magician’s costume.

“I’m trying not to think about that,” Alec admitted.

* * *

A/N: Just something I'm doing for fun. Figured I'd share here, since my usual group seems to like it thus far. Daily updates until it's finished, probably something like 14-15 parts total. I play Alec Kazam, costumed magician extraordinaire. Leon is a friend's character, a PPD officer somewhat loosely inspired by the Bubblegum Crisis character of the same name.

It's been a day plus, and it doesn't look like many folks are paying attention here. I feel that's a shame; this is a real cool community thing you're doing. C'mon, Virtue. We RP geeks oughta be better than this. =(

So in the hopes of encouraging folks...



You've never heard of me. I know that. Used to be...that would piss me off, yeah? You not knowing who I am and all. These days, I have a little perspective. Age brings wisdom, and all that. There's some folks who age like a fine wine. But me, I'm more like a beer that's been left out too long.

Yeah, I know all about beer. You think this gut grew all by itself? Man's gotta work for a figure like this.

But back in the day, I was one of those guys. You know the kind. Perfect hair, costume so tight it cuts off circulation to vital areas. Yeah, laugh it up. I have the photos to prove it. Magazine covers, newspaper clippings, the whole deal. I was pretty big in my day. I mean fame here, not girth. You heard of Kid Majestic? Yeah, that was me.

And I know the question you wanna ask. What happened? See, it's pretty simple. I made the worst mistake a teen hero can make.

I got old.

Okay, okay. So it's not that simple. Here's the deal. The accident that gave me my powers...well, it had a time limit. An expiration date. As I got older, my powers went poof. Thing is, I wasn't smart enough to get the point. Oh, I knew my powers were going. It was obvious. But I just tried to hide it at first...and that got me into more trouble. All the glory-seeking I did, all the grandstanding...it was fine when I had the powers to back it up. But when that was gone, people used different words for me. Words like reckless. Words like endangerment. Words like liability.

I was through. It just took me a while to admit it. And here's the thing. When the cape was gone...I had nothing. With all the hero stuff taking up my time, I never finished high school. No diploma, no work experience, no career skills, nothing.

I spent the next few years drunk off my stupid @$#.



Then I get this call. From a guy I knew, back in the glory days. Except he'd done what I couldn't. He'd become a proper adult. Now he had a school. He was a principal or headmistress or whatever. And he wanted me.

As the handyman.

He needed a super janitor, a fix-it guy for a super-school, somebody who could fix the toilets, mop the floors...and deal with super-powered kids. He needed someone he could trust, someone who could keep the secret of a school with superhuman students.

I was angry. He thought he was helping me, doing a favour for an old teammate. But he thought janitor was all I was worth, all I could do. Oh, I was angry. But I needed the money, so I ate my pride. I took the job. And...I hated it. I hated the work. And I hated the kids, the damn students. All young, all with powers, reminding me of everything I'd lost. I hated them. I did.

But then things changed. The Rikti came.

I don't know how they knew about the school. But the damn Rikti targeted us, specifically. The ships went overhead, and then wrinkly naked guys were everywhere. Oh, the kids fought. Of course they fought. Right until the first girl caught a blast through her pretty little head, sending bits of smoking brains and bone all over her friends.

They froze. And the Rikti massacred them.

That was it. That was what did it. I couldn't take it. Next thing I knew, I was standing there with one of those big Rikti weapons cutting into me like a cleaver the size of the world. There was blood all over my hands, but I'd stopped the sword. I yelled for the kids to get back in the game, screamed and shouted until they formed up with me.

Then we fought back.



Today, things are a little different. I still work at the school. I'm still the go-to guy for any cleanup or problem. Hey, the showerheads in the gym aren't gonna fix themselves. But I'd like to think my definition of 'cleanup' and 'problem' is...a little bigger.

The kids respect me now. They call me 'mister'.

They're different kids, now. The bunch that survived the Rikti back in '02 have gone on to bigger and better things. You've probably heard of some of 'em. Kitbash, Gecko Girl, Impossibelle...but these new kids, they aren't there yet. They still don't know...they're not invincible. They haven't learnt the cape business is hard. They don't understand that it ain't all fun and glory. Not yet.

I'm no teacher, but I do what I can.

My powers are back. Kind of, anyway. I'm not strong like I used to be, or nearly as tough...but when it really matters, there's just that little spark still left. It's not a lot. But it's enough. I'll tell you this, though. I think I've finally learnt what I should've known all along.

It's not powers that make a hero.

* * *

Name: Mister Fixer
Bio: Once, he was a teen heartthrob superhero. Of course, that was forty years ago. These days, he still spends his time at a school for super-powered teens. But these days he's the handyman, the janitor, the guy who fixes what needs to be fixed. He's not exactly in the best of shape anymore. But there's just that little bit of...something, when and where it counts.
AT: Tanker
Powersets: War Mace (or Battle Axe) / Willpower

Hamidon's a pain if you don't fly. Getting up to the Mothership can be a pain if you don't fly.

In comparison, the Lambda walls aren't really that bad. It is doable (though still annoying) with hurdle and combat jumping, if you know where the access points are.

I'm not surprised that getting up to the turrets is a pain in Lambda for super-speeders. But as someone already posted, it looks like they're making it so travel temp jetpacks will work. So it's kinda a non-issue, I think.

I just tell people "Sorry, but I only do free-range organically farmed inf."

Typically I get a "lol" in response, and they don't ask me again. I find the CoX agricultural community is rather pleasant, really, compared to the cutthroat agrarian industry that one finds in other locales.

Since I speak the language, I used to hang out in Ironforge advertising English-to-Chinese translation services, profanity and insults a speciality...

They don't advertise it, but yeah....they've always done this. See, the list of blocked names is not static. It can't be. It grows and changes as new stuff is added to it. This makes sense, because obviously the GMs can't think of everything. And also...there's always new comics and other entertainment properties. New stuff comes out, new names get added to the list.

When City of Heroes launched in 2004, the GMs didn't police anime and manga stuff. There was even a user-submitted screenshot prominently featuring a clone of Rock Lee from Naruto on the front page of the official website for several months. But try making something from Naruto now - you won't get far.

The devs also block names used by new signature characters and other NPCs, as they're added to the game.

The thing is, changes aren't retroactive. If you already have a certain name, and it was only lately added to the banned list, they usually won't go back and force you to give up your name. This has come up before; folks have been reported to the GMs, and so on. Generally if you had the name beforehand, on that character, GMs will give you a wave.

If you actually went and deleted the character, though, even with the intention to reroll...that's where it gets tricky. Because you don't have the character any more. You just, technically, gave it up.

A sufficiently senior GM might be able to help you, though. If you really want the name, you need to fight for it. Get them to escalate the case until it reaches someone in management. Certainly you can prove that you had the name before - their database records should show you had a character with X name for Y amount of time, and only deleted that character on Z date.

This will take time, but if you manage to get the case escalated, there is a chance.

For Virtue, the Rikti War Zone is where you want to be - precisely because Pocket D is already used by RPers, radio DJs holding events, etc.

The occasional league does form in Virtue Pocket D, Midnighter Club, and so on. That's true, and not inaccurate. But what rowley_NA said is correct, RWZ has more groups forming in comparison. Probably because it's a better hub location than the alternatives, once Pocket D is out of the picture.

So I'd say RWZ is the default go-to location for the general public.

So yeah, I've been here since 2004. Six years. Wow. Why the hell am I still here?

I stay for my supergroup. I stay for the community. I've been with the same SG since 2005, and frankly, without 'em, I'd have been gone a long time ago. And beyond the SG, well. The CoH community at large is first-rate. I've seen better RP communities, I've seen better PvP communities... but the CoH community AS A WHOLE, as in, the entire thing, is cool.

I stay because the developers tell great stories. I mean, look at the tips system and the Praetorian stuff. The storytelling in CoH just keeps getting better and better. And the devs are committed to stories. Mission Architect, yo.

To be frank, by this point, actual combat in CoH doesn't excite me all that much. As a game, there are better ones. But it's not just a game. It's an MMO.

And as an MMO, there's plenty of reasons to stay.

1. Are you male or female?

Male.

2. What ATs do you mostly play, and for what reason(s)?

I prefer Defenders, Corruptors and VEATs. The pattern is: they're all team support oriented, but can still do some damage and debuffs. I'm mostly a support-type player, but I tend to pick the hybrid sets like Dark and Radiation. I hate stuff like Empathy. I'm happiest when I can heal or buff teammates, but I also like having useful tools when I'm solo.

3. Redside, blueside, purpleside, or any combination of the above?

Mostly blueside, though this is more a function of where my group spends most of their time. They play blueside more, so I play blueside more. I am building an increasing stable of purplesiders.

4. What are your favorite story arcs?

I like the ones with creative twists and writing, which really push the boundaries of the MMO text narrative format. The redside arcs from the Radio and Television are probably the best examples. Automatic Villainy from Technician Naylor is brilliant as well, because it plays with your mind and expectations.

5. What makes you like this game?

The storytelling, rich in-game lore, the community, and the folks at Paragon Studios - they succeed pretty well in coming across on the forums like actual people, rather than corporate drones. Frankly I don't really like the actual gameplay in CoH all that much.

6. What other games do you play?

Mostly RPGs and puzzle games on a variety of other platforms. I am currently playing Champions Online and Star Trek Online as other MMOs.

7. How long have you been playing?

A little over five years, since 2004. I realise 2004-2006 is a six year time span, but I have not been subscribed for all that time.

8. How many alts do you have, what is the average level range, and how many are level 50?

26 characters, levels between 8-50. Average level around 32. 7 characters are level 50.

9. Do you bother with softcaps, set bonuses, and all that numerical stuff? What difficulty settings to you normally use?

Yes. I construct IO builds, though I only do this for characters I play frequently (such as my 50s). Not all of them. If solo, I typically play on higher difficulty settings, usually level-bumped a notch or two, spawn sizes between 2 to 4 players. If teamed, I go with whatever the team leader sets. If I am the leader, I ask what people feel comfortable with (though my own preference, as noted, is to crank things up).

This is a persistent headache for me. I understand why the NCsoft store autodetects your region, but the listing of products is simply inconsistent.

I have a NA account, but also live in the EU. I've had similar problems...the option to buy North American versions simply does not appear on the website for many products, though it's there for other stuff (like older game editions). This makes little sense to me because the option to buy NA versions was definitely present for everything in the past, and only changed after the website revamp.

Anyway. I don't know about it autodetecting your account. These are my suggestions:

Previously, I've been able to buy what I needed by getting friends in the US to give me the exact URL for the NA-version purchase page (ie. the https://secure.ncsoft.com path). I logged in to my account, then plugged in the exact URL for the NA-version. This worked before. I will attempt this again later in the week for the GR item pack and possibly the party booster to see if it still works.

Also, I understand that when you get a morality tip drop in game, you get a popup saying that the Going Rogue expansion is required to play this mission...and a button to buy Going Rogue, based on the card you have on file with NCsoft for subscriptions and services like server transfers. Obviously I haven't tried it myself, but apparently it is very reliable.

It's worth noting that the EU store does give us the option to buy the American version of the Going Rogue Complete Collection. That works fine. If you're willing to pay a little bit extra for that version, it's available without needing to jump through any hoops.

What we DON'T have is the option to buy just the regular NA version of Going Rogue, or the Complete Collection item pack separately...and that still vexes me. But the NA Complete Collection should be available as an option to your SGmate. It is for me.

I thought Heavy RP only involved gravity controllers.

Silly me.

Slashdot is definitely a niche thing. It even identifies itself as such. One of the website's taglines is 'News for Nerds'. This interest group is a pretty big niche, but it's still a niche.

Also, even among the techno-centric set, there's now plenty of alternatives to Slashdot. It doesn't have the dominance that it did a few years ago. Things change.

That said, even if you haven't heard of Slashdot, you might be familiar with some of its sister sites. The same people own and operate Thinkgeek and Sourceforge.

Question. Does this thread also cover clipping issues? Because that's WHY we've got most of these problems. There's tons of pieces that were removed or altered because of clipping. There's combinations that were once possible but are now blocked because of clipping.

Now, I understand the policy is to prevent clipping whenever possible. But folks in this thread have already asked for old hairstyles and the old thigh-high boots. The hair changes were made partially so they wouldn't clip with head detail options. I don't think we ever got a dev answer as to why the thigh-high boots were changed, but one player theory was...because the old ones clipped with some skirts.

So. Should costume pieces be blocked because they clip? Should costume pieces be replaced if they clip? I think there needs to be a wider policy ruling here. This needs to be addressed.

There's plenty of current combinations in the creator that clip horribly - try armored pants and a Valkyrie belt, baggy legs with any boots that have a kneepad, or a high-collared cape with any shoulder pads. If those are still permitted to players...well, the policy's inconsistent. And it needs to be reviewed - because again, what we have here are people asking for old pieces that were altered to prevent clipping.

Here's another angle on this. What I have here is a legacy costume that hasn't been edited since auras were introduced:



These are Tech 1 shoulder pads with a Robotic Arm 2 torso. This combination was permitted when I made the character; it's now blocked by the creator. The second screenshot shows why - the two pieces clip. The thing IS, because they're both black, it's hard to tell. So the costume's fine. Arguably, it even benefits from the clipping.

What I'm saying is: don't block costume piece combinations or remove/revamp costume pieces just because they clip. Because you're never going to be able to prevent all the clipping problems anyway - trying to do so is a lost cause. Give us more choices. Don't take them away. You just get unhappy players who want the old stuff back.

If we're looking for a neutral non-specific-reference name, how about 'Citypedia'?

citypedia.com and citypedia.org are taken, but citypedia.net appears to be an open domain name.