BackFire

Hey MA enthusiasts! I'm back from vacation, have enjoyed a week of GR and I'm ready to get back into some MA action. Hope to see ya'll back Saturday morning (noon if you're East Coast).

Nobody showed up today so no MA action this week

Bummer, too, cause I'll be missing the next 2 weeks for some RL plans. Hopefully someone will keep the fires burning while I'm gone.

Global channels are down, too. Can't even do my normal pug recruitment

In celebration of Comic Con International, today's theme was 'comicon!'

The few of us that weren't at comicon or testing GR Beta searched the mass of convention-based arcs in the system and played 3:

Escape the Comicon, ID #99187 by @Fanboy

Peril at Para-Con, ID #161318 by @Centenial

Oh no! Everybody has gone to the Comic Con, ID #164999 by @Palas Atena

There were some interesting commonalities between all 3 arcs:

They all had cosplay (parody) characters & bios
They were all short (1-2 missions long)
They were all...a bit unsatisfying

Escape the Comicon would have been a much more fun mission if it wasn't set in the outdoor Carnie map and each hostage you rescued didn't have knockback. Of all 3, this one probably had the best story but the most difficult gameplay with the outdoor danger and lots of mezz.

Peril at Para-Con was technically solid, but it just wasn't very engaging. The story wound up being as deep as a 2 radio missions. It was set up like there'd be a good payoff, but failed to deliver.

And Oh no! Everybody has gone to the Comic Con had an incredible premise but left too many unanswered questions like: why were cosplayers teamed up with Lord Recluse and his gang? And what was Lord Recluse's plan?

All in all, we still had fun and really enjoyed the creative costume & bio homages. I'll try to think up another fun theme for next week!!

I don't play tanks or healing defenders so I have nothing to fear in the way of spam invites.

Oh and I love PuGs! Just don't ask me to fill or farm.

Heh, I'm already thinking the next box will be a Star Wars theme, those case lights have a lot of potential as lightsabers!

I dropped about $1400 on this one, but I had PCI do everything. So I paid markup on some parts plus labor. I'd guess you could put this together for $900-$1200 if you shopped the parts yourself and had some geek friends put it together for ya for Mt Dew & pizza.

With the introduction of Ultra-Mode I figured it was time to finally upgrade my 6+ year old system with something that could handle it. And I'm happy to say, my brand new build slings thru Ultra-Mode like butter!

If you're still wondering what would work for Ultra-Mode, meet the SpideyBox:

AMD Phenom II quad core processor
Gigabyte nVidia GTX465 graphics card
4GB DDR3 memory
Asus M4A88TD-M motherboard
CoolerMaster Centurion 5 computer case
Windows 7 Pro OS

Major thanks to PCI in Chico, CA for helping me spec it out and doing all the heavy lifting

Wooo!! The new rig is running and ready to experience MA...in ULTRA mode!!!

I'm hoping we get a full team cause I want to put it to the test.

Did you guys run any arcs? I just got home with my new rig and I've got about 12 hours of installation and patching before I get to see if it was worth the bucks!!

SG improvements I'd like to see, which would make them much more team-friendly and useful:

• Offline invite capability
• Auto base rent payment option or pay center accessible thru base portal
• Unlimited random Mission Computer missions (ie Radio/Paper mishes, Cim's Marcus, Vanguard's Borea, etc)
• Unlockable content (ie exclusive missions, temp powers, costume parts, base items) via Mission Computer missions
• Personal Space base-building permissions for non-leaders

Don't sweat it, I tease

I'm not even sure of my availability this weekend, but I hope to have a new rig that can handle Ultra Mode by next week. If that happens you can bet I'll rearrange my schedule to play!

This week only me and Zamuel showed up but we didn't let that stop us from some MA fun!

First up was an arc that I'd had on my 'need to try' list for a long time:
A Tale of Two Mistresses, ID #229350 by @New Age Ronin

For those not familiar with New Age's arcs, this is his 2nd Becky the Tarantula Mistress arc. I was a big fan of his first and this one did not dissapoint!

The dialogue and humor were kicked up a notch as Becky enlists your aid in finding her lost BFFs. What ensues is a rollicking adventure chock full of valley girl Fortunatas, fashion challenged Carnies, and like the most epicest team-up evar!

***** like, totally 5 stars y'know!

Continuing the "lighter side of Arachnos" theme, Zam suggested we play:
An Arachnos Slumber Party, ID #335317 by @Zamuel

Just the concept of Arachnos soldiers throwing a slumber party got my creative juices flowing! Kalinda, coincidentally not invited to said party, is having visions of trouble at the gathering and sends you in to make sure everything is above board. Of course, trouble ensues

Join in all the mirth and merriment of a typical slumber party, chock full of Ghost Stories, Gossip, and even a Pillow Fight (was kind of bummed nobody decided to play Spin the Inanimate Carbon Rod) while keeping the revellers on their toes and making sure no boys crash the party on a panty raid!

In the end I felt the concept was a bit bigger than the execution. It would have been nice to make Kalinda a full instigator, set on ruining the revellers' fun, since she didn't get an invite. This would have given the arc a more villainous "feel" but it's still a fun run as it is.

***** 4.5 rounded up to 5 Stars and a 'YOINK!' (...I'm stealing the concept for a future arc!)

I know it's summer and people are having vacations and all, but I hope to see more of you next week. It gets really squishy with just me and Zam >.<

What's the dilly-o?!? I take a week off and the Superteam goes ka-put?!?

It's 10 after..where you all at?

*shakes fist at OP*

Damn you for making me discover something so awesome.

Was a fun run today and we actually had some new blood show up!

First off was Matchstick Women by @Bubbawheat Arc ID: 3369

I remember playing this arc waaaay back in the first days of AE. At the time it only got 3 or 4 stars from me. I remember the story being a bit clunky and having issues with both the concept of the contact and the motivations as a player. I'm glad to say this arc has improved immensely over time!

The arc has an almost poetic feel now and is rich in details, dialogue and character development. The story is easy to follow and has some nice technical flourishes like an entire mission without fighting that fleshes out the custom Matchstick organization in a creative manner.

We ran this arc with a team of 7 so we had a lot of bosses and discovered a couple of them can hit pretty hard. I'm not sure how I would have fared on this solo, but it seemed pretty well balanced if a bit on the tougher side.

All in all, Bubba's kicked this arc up a notch! ***** 5-Stars

Next up was an arc WN had heard some recent buzz about on the boards:
As If You Saved the Entire World by @starjammer05 Arc ID: 416094

Before even starting the first mission I was intrigued with the concept of this arc: each mission was set at a different level range (from low to high) to reflect the progression of this previously untold story of your heroing career. A quick read of the first mission briefing (and associated clue!) set the stage for a funtastic arc!

The missions were well-balanced and fast-paced as we fought thru standard enemies. The author did a great job of tying everything into canon and the dialogue and clues were spot-on. (I loved the Percy humor and clues!)

Just before things get too formulaic you hit a mission with custom enemies and the stakes get higher. The customs look great and can get pretty nasty if you let them start piling on. I actually liked that they weren't pushovers but they weren't overpowered by any means.

The only drawback for me was a Defeat All on the outdoor Cimerora Temple map. A couple groups spawned off a cliff by the water and it took forever to hunt them down. Just making a few bosses required would still satisfy the concept and prevent technical glitches and ragequits.

Luckily, the defeat all was overshadowed by great concept, story and characters...***** 5 Stars! I have some ideas for ways to make it even more effective, but it's a great arc just as it is.

Like I said, it was a fun time and I hope to see more of you there next week!

Woot! I was sure Derangedpolygot had me beat. Thanks Ocho

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Ocho sees his shadow, there will be at least 8 more weeks before Going Rogue beta starts...

Aww, shucks!


If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

This is the last time I go to Mighty Mart on the 2nd Tuesday of the month...


If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

The problem with Manticore's TF isn't travel time, it's the fact that after slogging thru all the buildup you only face off against a boring chump in a 3 piece suit. *Yawn*

It's just so...anti-climatic.

Put me down for a box of these.

edit: could it also have a small LED light that slowly blinks?

Hey! I've been to that shop. That's where Bendis has his pull list.

If I can't troll, I can't troll. It is as simple as that. It ain't about that at all. It's easy to sum it up if you're just talking about trolling.

We're sitting here, and I'm trying to get in the Forum Cartel, and we're talking about trolling. I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about trolling, not a +1, not a /jranger, but we're talking about trolling.

Not the threads that I go out there and die for and post in every time like it's my last, but we're talking about trolling, man. How silly is that?

Got a good Golden Age Nazi-stomper arc?
Maybe a tribute arc to our modern day military heroes?
Heck, a few missions fighting back the Red Coats would work, too!

I'm looking for some patriotic themed arcs to play on Memorial Day (and other patriotic holidays.)

Please post any you've made or noted as play-worthy! I hope to get in a couple on monday and maybe more next weekend.