BackFire

This year's Underground Mad Science Fair featured an array of interesting new "green" technologies, like the Chomp-o-tronic® mastermind pet: made of 100% biodegradable evil.

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.

Welcome aboard...or I guess welcome to the boards!

So, what are you doing with the AE powersets? Please tell me this means you'll be removing those annoying powers like smoke grenade, flash & build-up from the lower tiers.

Another fun saturday with the MA crew today!

This time we picked some 'challenging' arcs to run thru, and despite a few face-plants had a great time.

First up was @Zamuel's Smurphy challenge arc:
The End of Saturday Mornings, ID #391934 by @Zamuel

Zam's been itching to get a group to test this for a while and we finally had a strong enough team to give it a run. I'd played about half of an earlier version of the arc and Zam had already made improvements on that. I think the feedback from this run will help make it a true contender for the Smurph challenge.

Next up was one somebody had on their 'to-do' list:
Agent Thunder Task Force: The Cracked Mirror, ID #159922 by Ozzie Arcane

This was a very action-oriented challenge arc filled with very creative characters. It could still use a bit of editing on the grammar and typos, but the story is solid and was a good challenge for our team without being a debt-fest.

Hope to see more of you back next week!

A note on the door reads, "Your princess is in another castle."


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.

Y'know, you could always beat them at their own game:

Make your own hotkey that says "Spam during a cutscene?!? THAT'S original."

Maybe follow it up with, "Okay, I get it, you're 12 years old. Enough spam, already." or such.*

*Use of these suggestions may result in being kicked from team, receiving rude tells, or generally being shunned by teammates. Do not use suggestions if you are are taking other silly ideas seriously. If you are pregnant or nursing, please see a doctor before trying suggestions. It's all a Nemesis Plot.

That's right, the MA Superteam is still alive and kickin'! Okay, maybe it's on a respirator, but we drummed up enough for an afternoon of fun today.

First up was:
Ashley Porter and the Gorilla War, ID #130809 by @suedenim

It was a fun action-adventure arc with a retro "Blackhawks" feel. Costumes were great, dialogue was smooth, the contact had her own 'voice', and the story was solid. Of particular note was the interesting concept of the first mission: essentially it was an optional team warm-up. Also, the unique colloquialisms and puns were very rewarding.

The drawbacks were mostly technical: unique bosses were still auto-spawning with normal enemy groups, contact had no bio, and custom bios were hit and miss. It was obvious this arc was made early on and hasn't been updated to reflect changes in AE. Also, the optional first mission could have used some more story elements to make it less obvious it's just a warm-up. Just a tweak to the dialogue to maybe flesh out the custom group more and make you WANT to test your skill instead of gong on to the story.

Overall, a solid **** 4 STARS. Like my grandpappy always said, "with a little bit of ear wax and whale oil that baby could shine like a wolverine in a butter churner!" Or something like that...

We also started:
The End of Saturday Morning, ID #391934 by @Zamuel

Unfortunately, we ran out of time about halfway thru but hope to run thru it again soon.

Popeye's got his spinach. Ocho, on the other hand, requires a much more potent power source...

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.

TV/Movie People:

1. Kevin Smith
2. Seth Green
3. Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, & Alan Burnett
4. Robert Rodriquez
5. Quentin Tarantino
6. Olivia Munn
7. George Lucas
8. John Favreau
9. Sam Raimi & Rob Tappert
10. JMS
11. Ron Howard
12. Trey Parker & Matt Stone (South Park)
13. Jackson Publick/Christopher McCulloch (Venture Bros.)
14. Genndy Tartakovsky

Comic Book Writers:

1. Bendis
2. Warren Ellis
3. Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise)
4. Mark Waid
5. Kurt Busiek
6. Ed Brubaker
7. John Byrne
8. The team from Red 5 Comics (Atomic Robo)
9. Judd Winnick
10. Jhonen Vasquez
11. Zeb Wells
12. Stan Lee
13. Frank Miller

Novelists:

1. Christopher Moore (Bloodsucking Fiends series)
2. Timothy Zahn (Star Wars: Thrawn series)
3. George RR Martin (Wild Cards series)
4. JK Rowling (Harry Potter series)
5. Stephenie Meyer (Twilight series)
6. Robert Weinberg (Web of Arachnos)
7. Robin D. Laws (Freedom Phalanx)

Web creators:

1. Strongbad
2. Penny Arcade

In answer to your question: yes, there's a lot of tribute or homage arcs out there. If you're looking for Star Wars arcs, simply put "Star Wars" in the search bar and you'll find plenty. Now I'm not saying they're any GOOD, but they exist

If you're a fan of anime, check out my 1 mission homage to Azu Manga Daioh, ID #21391 "Enter the Father Hat Gang"

It's got cute anime schools girls with big guns and lots of inside-joke humor for the Azu Manga fan. If you're not a fan, you'll probably still find it somewhat amusing

An homage I would recommend, but isn't my own, is: A Voyage Fantastic, ID #81829 by @Stalemate. I haven't played it in a while but it was creative at the time it was made.

Also, Talos Vice (mentioned above) is pure win in a Dixie cup!!

Good luck and have fun.

• AT & Origin logo shirts
• AT and Origin button sets
• Pint glasses
• Costume codes
• Vet pet plushies or PVCs
• CoH Mousepad & computer accessories

Hands down, the worst: "Runny Feces Pee"

Unfortunately, I ran into him on my first day playing the game and didn't know how to read bios yet. I'm sure there was a literary nugget in there, somewhere.

I've always wanted to see more Civic Squad from Westin Phipps' arc. I always thought they should have crafted them to pop up thru your whole villainous career. And Heroside, they should totally have a contact and arc where they try to recruit you!

As for those of you clamoring for more Becky, there's some great AE arcs that continue her adventures in well-written style.

Becky's Revenge, ID #60197 by New Age Ronin

And the follow-up Becky and Mandy: A Tale of Two Mistresses, ID #175000 by New Age Ronin

I haven't checked for any Penny Preston arcs, but I'm sure they're out there, too.

We had another great turnout saturday with a full or near-full team for the runs.

After a misfire playing Mission Roulette (someday I'll learn) we reset and ran an arc from a returning MA Superteam member who joined us for the day, Teh Hippeh:

More Tsoo Shenanigans -Part 3, ID #316576 by Teh Hippeh

Then we had a quick round of High Roller and Bubbawheat chose an old favorite that has actually held up quite well over the updates:

Wicked, Wicked Wonderland, ID #1224 by Ancient Spirit

Just a heads up: I'll be busy next weekend at Wondercon so someone needs to take the horns if WN doesn't show.

Okay kids, party's over. Let's see some IDs...

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.

What can I say, I'm an overachiever!!

My votes for Best Three Mission Arc:

1: Drakule vs. The Werewolf Bikers From Hell #340316 by @LaserJesus
2: The Missing #37636 by @Shadow-Rush

My votes for Best Two Mission Arc:

1: Becky's Revenge #60197 by @New Age Ronin
2: Death to Disco Arc ID 84420 @Wrong Number

Sorry WN, but, like OMG! Becky totally rocks and stuff y'know?

My votes for Best One Mission Arc:

1: Don't Freak #384769 by @Gypsy Rose
2: Jabberwocky #1573 by @Rodion

Side note: I nominated Extadine Lab for the competition but hadn't played it since early AE...unfortunately, it hasn't aged well. The newer 1 mission arcs really outshine it, it's amazing how much story and concept can fit into 1 simple mission.

Luckily "stop escaping EB" missions are very rare. Don't let that one get you too down, he gets away from almost everyone.

After a couple false starts we gathered a near full team and ran some High Roller missions...they both happened to be LaserJesus'.

The Rise of Drakule, ID #51357 by @LaserJesus

and LJ's Dr A Challenge arc:
Holding Down the Fort, ID #379065 by @LaserJesus

Apologies to Army General who was a random invitee while we were waiting for everyone to show up. Honestly, we don't normally die that much >.<

I thought you said you were gonna pull...

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.

Rather than face yet another "Defeat all CoT" on the cave-map-o-doom, Strahd took the easy way out.

This week's Concert in the Plaza headliners: the Ungrateful Dead.

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.