BackFire

edit: bah! just scrolled up.

nm, nothing to see here.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm antisocial about social networking sites <<

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Hmm...is there such a thing as an antisocial networking site?

I smell profit!!

How could you leave out:
<ul type="square">[*]FREEM! it[*]Jerk Hack it[*]Deth Kick it[/list]Great entries all!

I prefer the Bank map for a controlled environment. Not too large, not too much extra aggro waiting in the wings.

Check my sig for a fun short arc that's NOT on a boat!

I love to read the bios and read them on every new enemy I come across. It's nice to be rewarded with additional content when I click for info

That said:

<ul type="square">[*]If the first few I click on have the default bios then I will stop checking minions &amp; lts and only click on named bosses.
[*]I don't normally check to see if standard group bios have been changed except on named bosses.
[*]Once I've read the bio for a custom enemy I do not continue to click in later instances unless their appearance has changed.[/list]
Unique bios really add a lot to the immersion of a MA arc and I've noticed some authors use them as a chance to tell a whole other story within the arc.

For lots more badge hunting info check out badge-hunter.com

Use the drop down menu to find the badge you're looking for. Then click on the badge you want. It will display all the details on the badge, including the text of the mission which rewards it and the contacts who give it.

Man, this sounds fun. Too bad it'll probably be wiped before I get around to playing it.

If you're making an homage or parody, be sure to make it different enough from the original to not infringe on the source material's copyright.

Using direct character names and the series title, "Battlestar Galactica" is going to get this thing flagged fast.

Maybe rename it Galactic Wars: Daybreak Part 3.

And rename the characters to something original. They can still have similarities to the source material so people 'in the know' can figure out who they are, but give them your own twist so they are definitely different.

Good luck!


edit: also, be up-front in your description that this is an homage or parody.
Players should be more forgiving that way and will likely give you proper feedback on areas that may infringe too closely on the copyright, thus allowing you a chance to edit and save your arc from being flagged.

Here's some "Leaving Feedback" tips to add to the list:

<ul type="square">[*]Take notes while you play, not just after the mish[*]Keep feedback short &amp; direct[*]Break up your feedback into sections[/list]

Take notes while you play, not just after the mish
Once you start an AE arc you will find a button in your Nav bar labelled "Architect Options." Clicking this button pulls up the feedback form and you can begin jotting down notes before you even talk to the contact!

Did the author have a typo in his description? Did you already have a comment on the contact? Pop open the Architect Options and jot down a few notes then close it. Pop it back open and voila! Your previous notes are still there so you can add more to them.

This is really handy for jotting down typos, quick notes you want to remember later, and basically forming your feedback on the fly. It's tough to remember all those little things you liked in mission 1 when you've played 3 more missions between it.

Keep feedback short &amp; direct
The feedback form has a very small character count and you will find that leaving feedback for long arcs is difficult due to running out of feedback space.

Keep your feedback short and sweet. Speak in fragmented sentences if needed. Find ways of using intuitive shorthand and abbreviations.

Examples:<ul type="square">
Too long version: "In the first mission your custom bad guy, Darkity Darklighter has a typo in his bio. '...from debts of Hads' should read, '...from depths of Hades'"

Short &amp; Sweet version: typos M1: DD bio: depths, Hades[/list]
By keeping your notes short and using shorthand/abbreviations, you give yourself a lot more room to give feedback on other aspects of the arc.

Break up your feedback into sections
There's so many aspects of a mission you can comment on it's often difficult to organize your thoughts, much less your notes. So simply break down your feedback into common sections.

There's 3 basic sections to comment on. You may have more sections, but these three pretty much cover it:<ul type="square">
[*]Overall review[*]Notes &amp; suggestions[*]Typos[/list]
I like to start with a short, snappy review up front. I try to highlight the strong points first, what made an impression, then point out any weak spots. Treat this review as if you were making a quote for a movie poster. If you only had 10-15 words to describe this mission arc, what would you say?

Next is a section for notes &amp; suggestions. These can contain subjective AND objective comments. Each of these is prefaced by which mission I'm commenting on ie. M1, M2, M3, etc. I keep updating these as I run the mishes.

Finally, a section for typos. Again, prefacing which mission I'm referring to before each one. I also use abbreviations for which part of the content I'm referring to, ie. mish txt, return txt, enter txt, bio, clue txt, etc.

Example:<ul type="square">
Fun mish with sharp dialogue and colorful characters, really liked the twist in M3! Last mish felt too easy, beef up Boss. notes: M1-lol'd at BD's defeat txt, too many blinkies, great map!, M2: why does DD have fly-doesn't fit bkg, clues have duplicated txt, M3: LOVE the twist-genius! Enter txt is in 1st person? M4: Boss too easy, tone down allies or up diff of boss, typos M2: Box clue: their, DD bio: depth, M3: mish txt: than, Kings (no apostrophe)[/list]

On long mission arcs the typo section can easily dominate the feedback. In those cases I simply send a follow up global tell to the author to give the rest of my notes. Of course, since I wasn't able to jot them all down they're not as detailed, so missions with less typos usually get a lot better/more constructive feedback.

[ QUOTE ]
Okay, so now that the craze has died down a bit, can someone tell me...

Just what's meow? The best I can tell, it features level 42 city maps full of non-combat allies guarded by tons and tons of Rikti ComOffs. Why 42? Why does it (did it) work? Why meow?

[/ QUOTE ]

Why 42? Only Douglas Adams would know...

Just got word that:

<ul type="square">It does require charging to work

The charge counter is bugged and should be fixed in i15 Beta

The power is going to be called "Invigorate" not "Vitalize"[/list]
Guess I can stop killing myself in MA mishes trying to find new ways to make this work

Great move and a bold decision. While it may be unpopular I am glad to finally see a push towards casual play and away from grind.

I hope to see less "defeat 50-100 X" badges in future Holiday events, too!

No love from support. They can't even tell me the requirements on charging it, or if it does indeed need charging.

I PM'd Posi cause I don't know any other redname that covers badges. With i15 beta on the way I don't expect a reply any time soon.

Finally got around to playing this mish and it was fun-tastic!

Good humor, nice balance, sharp dialogue and characters. I loved that you added extra jokes and fun if you explore the maps past the mish goals. Bonus content is always good

The only change I'd suggest is to trim down the duplicate clues, they're just adding more file size. Either delete one of each dupe or come up with something different for the Mish end clue vs the Objective clue. (I'm pretty sure the mish end clue is optional.)

5 stars

PS- Devs: I want a Laser Shark as a Vet reward pet!

Just /bugged this in game today. I have the accolade and not the power. If it requires a charge that text needs to be fixed asap.

Will update if I get any word from support.

I've been meaning to play this arc since it was first posted in the Announcement thread...I'm so glad I finally got to it! You made my weekend.

Here's my review (reposted and updated from CoH Mission Review &amp; City of Guides)

Wow. An absolutely wonderful modern fantasy, akin to movies like the Mummy and Indiana Jones! Even Harryhausen would be proud!

Although this arc is 5 missions long, they breeze by with small maps and helpful allies. It never felt like a grind, as a matter of fact, I was having so much fun on one mission I defeated all when I didn't have to...and loved it!

The characters are well developed with their own, unique personalities and detailed backgrounds. It's fun to watch them change and progress thru the arc.

The unique enemy group is one you’re going to ask yourself, “Why didn’t the Devs make these already!?!” (well, the Devs kind of did, but you’d have to be a villain Midnighter to fight ‘em. And the Dev versions are nowhere near as detailed)

The only thing holding this arc back is it’s title. "Dr. Dave &amp; the Copper Legion?!?"…Sounds like a jazz club band.

Don’t let the title fool ya, this arc is fantastic adventure on par with classic movie serials and summer blockbusters! And a perfect fit into existing CoH lore.

Definitely Dev Choice or Hall of Fame quality.

Nice site, but are we allowed to post US arcs on it?

Here's a quickie for ya. Just 1 mish with 5 cute Anime school-girl bosses and bunch of in-jokes. If you've heard of Azumanga Daioh you'll enjoy the in-jokes, but if not, it should still be amusing:

Enter the Father Hat Gang arc ID 21391 (click link for teaser Poster)

Have fun and good luck. Should be pretty breezy with either of your level 50s, you may want to bump it to at least Rugged.

I'd love to see those features, too.

But it would also need to save the arcs by name and creator in case the author unpublishes and it gets renumbered. Or if the author unpublishes and has someone else post it for them to free up a slot.

I've noticed a few missions that I had jotted down as favorites have "shuffled" since I played them. The system would need a way to give you enough info to track them back down if they get switched.

Another alternative is to simply rotate your arcs.

Every week or so, pull 'em down and put up others. Just keep cycling them over and over.

Obviously, this will hurt your chances of getting Hall of Fame, but it would keep your stories out there, fresh, and you have no limit to the number of arcs you can make!

Plus, you could still get Dev Choiced! Esp. if you have people all over the boards asking "where did XXXX arc go? It was awesome!"


[see Fearghas' arcs]

The one I keep running into is "Your contact is actually the bad guy."

Other than that, I've seen a great variety!

Another update:

So, Friday the Scoop came out with my little poster in it. Got a few plays off and continue to see some more trickle in.

Saturday I Human BB'd again and things have slowed down a bit on Virtue, Justice and Freedom. So I branched out to some lower pop servers. The big surprise was Triumph!

Triumph was somewhere in the middle on population at the time so I figured I may get 1 or 2, but was amazed at the response. It could have just been good timing, but I had 6 rates right on top of each other within the first 15 minutes.

The players on Triumph were fun, had good feedback, and even helped me advertise with their own AFK bubbles, dancing beside me I've gotta roll up an alt to play on that server -they know how to have fun! Plus, there seemed to be a big anime crowd there.

Guardian and Pinnacle were okay and Inifinty (which is often in the top 3 for population) was a complete dud.

I think I'll spend some more time on the lower pop servers to reach an audience I haven't hit yet. And it may be time to try villain-side later this week.

Edit: While I was on Justice, my arc hit 100 plays with 82 rates averaging at 4 stars! Not bad for a niche story.

Thanks Bubbawheat, I left comments in-game and we chatted a bit so I'll try to expand a bit more, here.

I think you have an interesting story to tell, and your writing has a very poetic feel to it. You're also trying to tell it in a creative manner, much different than a straightforward mission...unfortunately, I think this is what's holding your story back.

<ul type="square">[*]The meat of your story is currently told in clues and bios as opposed to dialogue, exit mish txt, and contact text. Unfortunately, notices for clues don't always pop up, esp in the heat of battle, so many players may not be aware they even have a clue throughout the arc.

I didn't realize I had any until the final mish when the contact referred to something and I scratched my head, thinking, "What is this thing talking about?" Then I checked my clue tab and found a ton of them!
[*]The contact is a very creative idea -BUT- its detailed, poetic imagery, does not move the story forward. It's essentially flavor text and completely skippable. It doesn't explain what you've just accomplished in case you missed the clues, and the story of how you happened upon the contact is never fleshed out. So, from the get-go, I'm wondering..."What is this thing?" "How did it get here?" "Why am I doing this?"
[*]Even with all the clues and such, I really had no idea what was going on until I read the final Boss' bio. Take that bio and turn THAT into the story.

I didn't realize, until then, what the Matchstick Women looked like under their masks! That should have been set up earlier so all the pieces come together at the end.[/list]
One last tip: update your mission description that shows up at the AE computer. Set up what the mission is about and be sure to use keywords in your sentences so people can find it.

Something like, "A haunting vision sends you on a journey of discovery to save the soul of a tortured child. Who is behind a sudden rash of kidnappings...of both citizens and villains, alike? Why are they taking young girls and leaving a wake of fiery destruction behind? Can you solve the mystery and put out the fires before Paragon City burns to the ground? Features a unique enemy group: the Matchstick Women. No defeat alls! Solo-friendly! (note: some enemies have Fire Resistance, but they are all minion or lt class. Fire based characters bring insps or a friend!)"

Okay, that's probably a bit long for the description, but you get the idea.

Good luck on the update, hope this helps.

Here's a quickie for ya. Just 1 mish with 5 cute bosses and bunch of in-jokes. It's Anime, not Fables/Storybook, so, you'll probably miss the in-jokes, but it should still be amusing:

Enter the Father Hat Gang arc ID 21391

Have fun and good luck! I'll add Matchstick Women to the list!

I prefer it being non-anonymous. It breeds a more civil behavior.

You will be missed Ex. It was great meeting you at Hero Con and your leadership on the forums was fantastic.

Hugs

PS- now what am I going to do with those blackmail tattoo photos I took at Hero Con? They're worthless!!