City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

AZKinger

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  1. AZKinger
    Hi folks. Long-time player (with lots of breaks) that has only recently managed to get a toon to 50 (plant/storm troller). Been working on a tanker and scrapper but can't really decide what I want to commit to so I'm looking at Defender builds as well.

    So ... Given that I tend to mix solo and team play (probably 50/50) is there a Defender setup that can actually do good damage and run quick missions (hopefully at x8 at some point)? I have literally no experience with Defenders but from what I've read they don't really look to have the damage output necessary.

    Thoughts and suggestions?
  2. AZKinger

    Suggestions needed

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CuppaManga View Post
    I'd like to see the panic log for this if you can find it - I haven't been able to duplicate that issue.
    I'll post it for ya if I can find one.

    Quote:
    Also, WoW has a much different and more simplistic method of rendering characters and scenes than CoH does. CoH makes use of multiple layers of textures, which uses up a lot more memory and requires more precise timing.
    That may be true but it's no excuse for things like memory leaks and such. It really is just a difference in terms of commitment. Blizzard is truly committed to the Mac/OS X platform where here it just seems to be an afterthought that can generate some extra revenue with very little extra support. Please don't take that the wrong way ... I'm not complaining as that's still way more than most game companies do and hence why I am playing the game
  3. AZKinger

    Suggestions needed

    POST-ACTION

    Just an update to this thread on how things have progressed for me. I've gotten to the point where I do actually have what I'd call fairly stable use (little to no crashes). What it has really boiled down to for me is two things:
    • Video settings - Set this at about half way on the scale for detail and particles
    • Cmd-tabbing - Do NOT do this

    I actually do swap to other things from time to time but it does raise the risk of a crash pretty substantially. I've found that the best way to do it is to hit cmd-enter to get out of fullscreen and WAIT to do ANYTHING (including move your mouse) for the video to redraw and stabilize. After that, most of the time you're ok but sometimes it will still crash on ya at some point.

    Also of note for those folks that run a lot of apps like me. NEVER run VMWare and CoH at the same time. Not only will it crash CoH but it will cause a system kernel fault. Very ugly.

    Well ... that's my two cents. I hate running the game at a much lower video quality than I should be able to but I'd rather it be stable than pretty (for now). I hope the new release improves things but I'm not hopeful. Unlike WoW that actually develops their own OS X code CoH is just using a Windows emulator (Wine) and thus I don't think it'll ever be of the same quality or performance. For comparison, WoW runs at absolutely max detail at 2560x1600 with zero slowdown on my system.
  4. AZKinger
    Anyone have a good WM/SD build they can share?
  5. AZKinger
    Good stuff guys. Thanks. I'm considering the idea of Claws/WP now (not sure I can get into SS). However, I've already started to formulate a toon concept for WM/SD and may go that path. How tough you think it will be pre-32 with that setup? I'm assuming it's got to be WAY better than my SD/WM tanker ....
  6. AZKinger
    Good info Exxar, thanks. I'd forgotten about SD and DB/Claws as primary so thanks for reminding me. I think I'd be ok with not much AOE until 32 assuming the overall damage output was still pretty good. I have a SD/WM tanker that is level 24 and staying there .... he's a damage sponge but running solo is painful.

    Also, comparisons to scrapper builds and how they play up through the levels would be appreciated. Highest level scrapper I have is 28 (spines/regen) but I haven't played him in years (literally).
  7. AZKinger
    I am getting pretty close to my first level 50 (plant/storm controller) and am looking forward to the next project. I want to start a melee toon and was thinking about a scrapper but thought I should consider a red side toon as well.

    So ... suggestions? I'd like a toon that I can solo with pretty effectively (preferably good AOE for /x8 missions at some point). I have tried an Ele/SD to the mid teens and I just wasn't all that thrilled with it (yes, I know it was still low in level but the whole feel of the toon wasn't right for me). Thinking either a WM or DB primary and potentially SD as secondary but not sure if they will work out or not.

    Thoughts? Good AOE combo's I should think about? Thanks in advance for any input you guys may have!

    Oh ... I should be pretty well funded so can get all the normal IO's I need and will likely get crafted sets during the leveling process as well.
  8. AZKinger
    Just a note to all the reply's ... thank a ton guys. Very good information and a lot to chew on.
  9. AZKinger

    Suggestions needed

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CuppaManga View Post
    I can give you some general advice, but for more I'd need more info from you, such as: What other applications do you run while you have CoH running?
    I've tried with nothing running and numerous things running with no discernable difference. Generally, just run Chrome and Adium.

    Quote:
    Do you have any USB devices plugged in?
    Yes. iPod or iPhone generally.

    Quote:
    - Try using /reloadgfx *after* every third zone change or so. Using it before has no effect, and usually causes a crash.
    Check. Done/do that and it does tend to prolong time between crashes but I still get at least one an hour.

    Quote:
    - Turn on advanced graphics settings in the game and set all your detail levels no higher than 100%.
    Check. Done that and even tried a lower value but that doesn't seem to help.

    Quote:
    - Play in full-screen rather than windowed mode.
    Check. Always play fullscreen.

    Quote:
    - Complete freezes are very rare - sometimes it takes a while to crash to desktop, though, so be patient. Sometimes using Cmd-Option-Esc (the force-quit key combo) speeds it up a bit.
    Will try the quit sequence to see if that helps but I just had a freeze that remained that way for over 30 minutes. I was able to SSH in from another system to kill the PID this time. However, oftentimes that won't free up the system.

    Quote:
    post the last few lines of your Console log (Applications > Utilities > Console) and maybe I can find a hidden cause.
    Most recent crash:

    Code:
    2/28/10 10:55:12 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	cider(27801,0x74014c00) malloc: *** mmap(size=16777216) failed (error code=12)
2/28/10 10:55:12 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	*** error: can't allocate region
2/28/10 10:55:12 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	*** set a breakpoint in malloc_error_break to debug
2/28/10 10:55:17 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	cider(27801,0xa086b500) malloc: *** mmap(size=331776) failed (error code=12)
2/28/10 10:55:17 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	*** error: can't allocate region
2/28/10 10:55:17 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	*** set a breakpoint in malloc_error_break to debug
2/28/10 10:55:17 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	2010-02-28 10:55:17.314 cider[27801:903] exception occurred while switching video modes: ‡Ëf†å
2/28/10 10:55:17 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	2010-02-28 10:55:17.419 cider[27801:903] Critical failure: the LastResort font is unavailable.
2/28/10 10:55:17 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	2010-02-28 10:55:17.420 cider[27801:903] Critical failure: the LastResort font is unavailable.
2/28/10 10:55:17 AM	[0x0-0x728728].com.transgaming.cityofheroes	2010-02-28 10:55:17.421 cider[27801:903] Critical failure: the LastResort font is unavailable.
    The last line repeats many times.

    Thanks for taking a look at this. Quite frustrating.
  10. AZKinger

    Suggestions needed

    POST-ACTION

    I've recently re-activated my CoX account and am enjoying playing between crashes ... I've read all of the suggestions on settings and tips and still seem to have crashes relatively frequently. Having a crash to desktop every once in awhile is probably something I can live with but what is killing it for me is when it completely locks up my system requiring a hard boot. Frankly, this is something I *NEVER* see with a Mac and if I can't stop it I'll probably have to retire my account once again (don't have a Windows box anymore).

    So ... for all you Mac OS X users that have managed to get stable play time can you help enlighten me on how you're doing it?

    Quick specs on my system:

    - Mac Pro
    - 2x 2.8GHz quad core
    - 10GB RAM
    - Nvidia GTX 285 (1GB RAM)
    - OS X 10.6.2
  11. AZKinger

    Plant/Storm Build?

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sterling View Post
    It is an extremely fun combo of power sets to play. Enjoy! and I hope I helped some.
    Thanks a ton for this Sterling. It really does help quite a bit. Last question ... If I were to begin weaving in set IO's where should I be focusing and what would that start to look like?
  12. AZKinger

    LF for SG

    POST-ACTION

    Hi folks.

    I recently re-activated my account and am enjoying re-learning CoX. I've got a number of toons (who doesn't?) up to about 40. Planning to try and focus on one toon for this upcoming double XP weekend to see if I can't actually make it to 50!

    Would love to get into a SG with a number of folks who play regularly and experience some of the things that I never have over the years. Thanks for reading!
  13. AZKinger

    Plant/Storm Build?

    POST-ACTION

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sterling View Post
    Are you looking for a DO/SO build for leveling or are you looking for an IO build. Cause those are entirely two different animals.
    Undecided. I've recently re-activated my account and the last time I played was prior to IO's so I'm still learning

    So ... given that I'll probably focus on SO's and normal crafted IO's but I would very much like to hear recommendations on that. Still need to get into figuring out how to build up toons with some of the IO sets.
  14. AZKinger

    Plant/Storm Build?

    POST-ACTION

    Anyone have a good Plant/Storm build that will perform well solo? I think this will be my double XP weekend project ...
  15. AZKinger
    Returning player that last played prior to crafted IO's. I've got a number of toons ranging from 1 up to about level 40. As with most folks I'm a chronic altaholic so tend to bounce around but I'd really like to focus on one toon to get up to 50 and experience CoX endgame before moving on to something else

    So, my question is ... Should I be trying to slot crafted (normal) IO's or just stick with stacking SO's up to 50? Is it worth it to craft/purchase the IO's every 5 levels or will SO's generally do just about as well and save me the time?

    While I'm asking ... What about set enhancements? At what point does it really become beneficial to begin looking into some sets? Should that wait until level 50 or begin in the 40's or ???

    Thanks a ton for any insight you guys may have. Hopefully, with the double XP weekend coming up I can maybe power out my first level 50 toon!