Captain-Electric

I made a less-than-serious reply, but then deleted it (I actually do that a lot, it's like, "Well, felt good getting that off my chest, but who really needs to read it?") I was only trying to be funny, but I didn't want you to think I was openly mocking you. I may be a stranger to most here, but I have a lot of respect for both yours and Golden Girl's creative talents (Your fiction in the Virtue forum was a fracking good read), and it's a shame when I see people listening to everything others type as if they're etching it into stone. From my perspective (a guy who reads a lot more than he posts), you're both charismatic people in your own rights. The degree of serious-face on these forums is surreal. I get into some knock-out, drag-down, geeky arguments with my friends, but not even that compares to this.

A lot of people are looking forward to the Praetorian content. Back away from the particulars of this argument and this thread, and think about all the people you come across in-game who tend to be pretty excited about all the content that comes out. I can only speak from my limited experience, but to me it always looks like the forum is full of critics but the game is full of fans. Most of my pals have been around about as long as I have, give or take (a couple of years). But I check bios and badges a lot and the retention in this game always amazes me. Something is working. You've been around since the beginning and if most of your in-game friends have been too (and are feeling grumpy about it), then maybe you don't see what I see every time I log in. I'm not sure how I can fully separate "this is the game I see" from "I'm making a claim about the game." If I've done a poor job, I apologize, but I'm not even sure why we (meaning people in general) have to argue about such small things.

Woo-hoo! Captain-Electric has been a part of my imagination since childhood, and I'm very excited to see him in a well-drawn comic book--instead of one poorly drawn by me!

(Man I wanted to show people that first mock-up picture you showed me SO MANY TIMES. But I resisted. )

That is why I think it is up to us to fill Statesman's shoes, in fact I think this is necessary [for our heroes, as participants in the story]. Or maybe in Manticore we are left with the symbol Paragon deserves (a cookie to anyone who knows where I got that )? This is just like when Britannia lost the Avatar. Britannia had to step up when Minax attacked. Okay most of you will have no idea what I'm talking about, but my point is that Statesman is kind of like the Avatar of his universe, long-illustrating the traditional qualities that define many of its heroes. It's up to us now! I was never a Statesman hater, but I believe this is may be a necessary step in the (our?) story.

But I'm aerodynamic!


CAPTAIN-ELECTRIC RACES AGAINST ALL ODDS TOWARD his favorite ice cream parlor at the speed of sound of one hand clapping.

I just want to posit, Tron (your name is Tron now, OK?), that I think I would make a FINE replacement for Statesman. I would do my best every day to get the Freedom Phalanx all CHARGED UP for great justice! In our ELECTRIFYING ADVENTURES against villainy, tyranny, fascism, and high electricity bills, I would do my part and then some to bring peace of mind to Paragon's Paragonians. Lord Recluse, Tyrant, and evil-doers everywhere would be SHOCKED to find themselves all cooling their heels in the Zig just ONE WEEK after I took over!


CAPTAIN-ELECTRIC, POSING HEROICALLY, AND overlooking his favorite ice cream parlor in Atlas Park, thinking about buying some ice cream.

If it were up to me, (A), because, well, did you miss the thread we already did for this?

But I honestly think you'd get more sales from doing (B), even though I'm not an Ultimate universe reader, I've enjoyed its influence on the movies and I think more people would like that stuff.

Really, if you just did (B) with key parts of (A) thrown in (like real eye masks with white eyes, as in the comic books, please see the linked thread!), you'd probably make us all want to tell you to SHUT UP AND TAKE OUR MONEY!!!

I promise not to derail the thread any further but I just want to say, well, yeah--but see, I have ZERO problems with femme fatales, succubuses, dominatrixes, etc, etc, buuuuuuut I also can't blame someone for wanting different things in a game like this. Heck, this game is like one big excuse to do lots of different themes. Our newest Big Bad Villain is an awesome looking character, and I think she belongs in Dark Astoria, so I think they did this right (and unlike others I do think she looks sufficiently sexy but also evil and creepy). But I wouldn't complain if our next female villain was something different. The devs should do a contest like what happened for Numina.

Well, I was really just responding to Tony's call for adoption/support of the broadening LFG system, to let him know why some people might be unable to show much excitement for it. It's not because I'm a spoiled sport or anything, but rather the opposite: I have put some effort into community-building in my little corner of the Virtueverse. I've also persuaded a handful of shyer players to get to know each other and it's paid off for me and them. I've heard more than one player admit that the game was getting boring for them, but they weren't very good at reaching out, so they probably weren't long for City of Heroes. It's great to log in, months later, and see these folks already in a team with each other without me having to organize.

I know that these types of players are going to attempt to use the LFG system as a crutch as it broadens in scope, but based on feedback I've heard from players on the subject of teaming mechanics, I'm not sure it will give them what they're looking for.

I quoted this because, even though you're looking forward to forced teaming and I'm not, you've encapsulated my expectations for the system better than I've been able to describe in my own words. As someone who solos AND socializes, I respect your playstyle Sam (heck, Captain-Electric is on /hideall right now, doing the Howard Zaine Trilogy in peace and quiet ). I'm not against this LFG stuff, or trying to tell anybody what they should or shouldn't like. I'm just saying, to any readers here with naive notions about what LFG queues in MMOs mean, that you shouldn't expect any MORE than what Sam has described in his expectations for the system. This is why auto-teaming in World of Warcraft receives such lackluster sentiments: it's as warm and inviting to players as Chernobyl on a cold winter's day. But for those who have enjoyed "soloing in a team" in other games, then this is a plus.

Y'know, I've seen this claimed by two or three forum posters lately (I think one of them was you, in the Gunslinger debacle), but I honestly run into way more comic book readers as an adult than I did as a kid. Bringing up comic books in public is starting to become as casual as talking about the weather, something I wouldn't have expected until the first time I let it slip that I read comic books as an adult. It was like I'd turned a key to the floodgates. "Oh, you too?" The biggest surprise was when one of my serious-face bosses saw my Comixology app on my Android and started talking about her collection, and I stopped her so I could pinch myself. Now it almost seems like all the cool smart people at my work and at college are readers (and happy to talk about it), or just now picking up comics, or at least letting go of a long-lived social stigma and not harping on their friends and S.O.s for doing so.

First, I laughed.

Second (even though I know you were joking), Dark Astoria is a place not only for mythological creatures, but for living nightmares. Figures in mythology (as well as figures in many of our nightmares) are quite often walking piles of symbolism; whether that symbolism is vague or concrete depends upon the artist (and sometimes the artist's culture). Doing this has been a part of the collective consciousness for so long that it wouldn't surprise me if our wonderful artists did all of this and never consciously thought about or discussed the topic of symbolism.

So the only question then, is what the HECK THAT FIREPLACE ON HER HEAD IS SUPPOSED TO SYMBOLIZE???

First time I couldn't really get behind an idea of yours.

Not because I think a queuing system is bad (or good). But the month I spent in World of Warcraft introduced me to random queuing. I have also used it at weird hours in Dungeon Defenders. Those were the least engaging teams I have ever experienced in any game in my life. In most cases no one ever said a word, ever. Even after much goading, bad jokes and rather clever (IMO) monster-bashing one-liners from myself.

This detracts from your experience in more ways than one if you need to communicate to form successful strategies. But these people wouldn't care if you were simply an NPC ally, and will actually probably see you as such. Queued teams are the most non-social social experiences you'll ever experience. Familiar teammates, on the other hand, work better together, think better together, cover each other better, have more fun together. There is a psychological investment, however small, and it helps. I am aware that queuing is an inevitable feature of the modern MMO, so there's no point in "being against" their arrival here. But, just trust me on this, you won't be as excited about them after you've seen a few (unless the above illustration excites you). They sound better on paper. In practice, they're soulless experiences.

I didn't begin to enjoy teaming in City of Heroes until I made a few global friends. With that realization under my belt, I began building a larger list of global friends. Two years and a lot of "Feel free to add me if you enjoyed tonight's team!" later, I rarely need to team up with complete strangers. I may not be close to all of them, but after two years of playing together, I am at least familiar with all of them (and familiar with their playstyles). I can see the desire for a "social experience in a can," and every great once in a while, a random team will turn out to be just that. But after a few dozen teams, you'll recognize them as exceptions. To really have fun in a social game (when not soloing, I mean), you have got to be social yourself, and that's work--not much work, but some.

If the above sounds appealing or just fine to some of you (as I'm sure it will--different strokes for different folks ), then I'm honestly happy for you. But I'm not personally excited about it, and in some ways, it's the antithesis of my social playstyle--it's how to be all by yourself in the middle of a group of people.

To be honest, I've used these kinds of self-engineered re-definitions for my own sake in my own writing projects (I'm the kind of guy who starts out messy, but who eventually categorizes and compartmentalizes all the parts of a story, and it helps to see it in whatever way, y'know, helps), but I know from experience that it can induce much face-palming when said out loud to someone who Knows The Rules.

It is a common "What the--?" for beginning writers, but think of plot devices as stepping stones, and primary characters as those leaping forward (through the story) across the stones. In City of Heroes, a defeated enemy mob who drops a tip is a kind of clunky plot device: much like the reluctant tipster caught by Your Friendly Neighborhood Batman at the dead end of a dark alley in a comic book, his only real purpose is easy purchase to the next leg of the story. Your Friendly Neighborhood Batman (and any friends who figure prominently in the story) are not plot devices. While it may be tempting to lob any literary whatsit into that category, it would be no help to dorks who like to sit around and discuss literature, and because they tend to be the ones grading the papers, it's a no-no!

Edit: What's funny though, is I remember, after reading Nausea (Jean-Paul Sartre) a few years ago, I pretty much went around for months seeing the world exactly like your quoted paragraph. I actually got a pass from my English teacher for breaking a few rules--she must have known what I was going through!

Your lack of differentiating differentiation disappoints me, grasshopper!

More seriously (though it pains me ), characters make fine plot devices, but you won't pass many exams by confusing or mistaking central characters for plot devices.

I have shelves and stacks of writers references, English textbooks, Writer's Markets and a box of Writer's Digests issues that would disagree with you.

Take your pick.

Yes, some gods in mythology (like the Asgardian gods) are extremely powerful and long lived, but they are not immortal like the Olympian gods. And even mortals have felled titans. But this is nitpicking. Sam is referring to the feel of the Incarnate system, which should be godlike enough for its namesake; something many players are hoping will improve with future issues.

I, too, sorely want attention to be given to solo Incarnates. But at the same time, remember, we've all been basically told from the beginning that the whole point of the Incarnates will be to rise up against impending threats that will be more dangerous than anything all the world's super heroes have ever faced. I want solo Incarnate content more than anything (even if it's just a well-sized collection of Incarnate "side stories"), but I know the most crucial, central Incarnate content will probably always involve numbers of Incarnates.

Played Call of Cthulhu in my PnP days, would love it if some inspiration slipped in. Did you ever see movie, The Mist?

The Council.

I can't argue with any of this, and especially regarding Incarnates, I'd like to see more freedom put in our freedom (I heard you liked freedom); But at the same time, I've been taking my first break from City of Heroes since I subscribed two years ago, to check out other games, including gifts given to me via Steam (I made it a whole MONTH without logging into CoH, until last night, when I logged in to buy the holiday stuff). Believe you me, I have got my mitts on some new and shiny games. And I am here to remind you that, warts and all, City of Heroes is still THE BEST FRACKING GAME ON THE PLANET.

And possibly the universe.

So you better recognize.