Chase_Arcanum

At one point, a dev implied that the AI behavior was somehow tied to their endurance as well- like some powers wouldn't be used if endurance was below a certain point. The statement stuck with me because I never really noticed it. I know you're the powers guru, but know anything about the AI here?

I'd planned to respond to this in a detailed way- this statement is just ridiculous.
... but that's the norm for you, I guess. Nothing anyone has ever said on any topic has ever had any effect on you, so I won't waste any more time with you.

You just don't know Jack.

PvPing with a (known) dev is always fun.

If you win, you can gloat forever.
If you lose, you just accuse them of "hax"

Agreed, but if (made up numbers) only 50% of a recharge time is reduced by a recharge-reduction item that claims to be 30%, why not just call it a 15% reduction?

The problem *I* had with "real numbers" were that... well, they weren't "real".

Take, for example, a recharge enhancement that says it reduces the recharge rate by 33%. Anyone with even a basic understanding of math soon realizes that even before ED, this isn't *really* taking off 33% of the recharge rate of a power. It reduces much, much less than that because only PART of the recharge rate is affected by the enhancement.

That part, though, isn't really communicated clearly. Not in the power. Not in the description. Not in the enhancement. You're left to discover it on your own.

What seemed like a straightforward percentage system-- heck, what was EXPLAINED to them as a straightforward percentage system-- wasn't. This leads to some significant backtracking for any new user "discovering the game mechanics on its own." The numbers mislead in a way that alternate power rating methods wouldn't.

Then, of course, you'd still see some confusion when they encounter ED, since my 3 +33% recharges don't add up to a +99%. ... and since there are enhancements & effects that "are applied after ED" you get the bizzarro world where something that claims to give a +3% bonus to something can be more powerful than something whose description gives a +33% bonus.

All of this is easier for those of us that "lived through" the changes, but for new players, learning the difference between "what's the game SAYS" and "how it is actually APPLIED" can turn the learning curve into a brick wall unless you have a guide explaining it all to you.


Take the percentages away- give a rating system, for example- and much of that incorrect expectation goes away. The final numbers as they're applied to the character could still be visible, but any expectation for a direct-percentage match would be gone, and with it, the frustration of learning a system that says one thing, but does another.

but enough of that rant.

Back on topic:

Confessions:

- How I got "Bug Hunter"

While tracking down a persistent but difficult-to-reproduce bug during one of the betas, I joked that I'd let them remote into my PC (which always encountered the bug) or even mail it out to them. I got back an "if you're serious..." PM and so I FedEx'ed my PC out to Paragon Studios.

So while others reported exploits that could have made them virtual millionaires had they kept silent... or gave detailed analysis of the code.... or really really hammered hard in testing to break things... I got it for licking a stamp.

I always liked the "Amalgam comics" idea- a collision of universes.

- Back with the first Praetorian Invasion event, the fiction explained that ever since the Rikti invasion the barriers between the worlds have been weakening.
- We even had an issue dedicated to alternate-universe versions of our selves getting mixed up in our universe.
- The worlds are colliding, and as we fought the war against the Battalion, more and more of these barriers came down- they became closer and closer.
- That moment when the incarnate-you sent back the memory fragment with Mender Ramiel was when you realized the end was approaching, when all the universes were coming crashing together. If only you had started down the incarnate path sooner, you may have had the power necessary to set things straight.... but it wasn't enough.
- The universes merge, and you find ourselves not-ourselves, in a universe that's familiar to us yet vastly different. We know that this world is reality yet it doesn't feel entirely real to us anymore... and echos of our past lives visit us as we sleep.

I'd originally seen this as the way to end CoH to begin CoH2... but I guess it could equally apply there...




I won't be going to CO anytime soon, if at all. Cinder Flame and I will be here and only here until the moment the servers shut down and then we'll probably take a hiatus from MMO's for a bit. If I do try out CoH's little cousin, I don't think I'll be bringing any of these charactes over, though. I've tied them too tightly to this world, so I think they'll stay here.

A few months ago, I gave a copy of Leandro's poser to Rian_Frostdrake's younger brother as a programming challenge. He was hot on his way to reverse-engineering it and addressing the issue the poser had with arm positioning.... then one night he got lost in the costume creator, rediscovered a love for the game, and that project went on hiatus-- I guess permanently, now...

Given the brief time that devs drop by to chat, it isn't much productivity lost. If anything, an argument can be made that this improves your experience in-game:

1) maintaining a connection to the clients helps developers keep a grasp on what participating players see as important and get immediate feedback on processes under development. This can lead to a product that better fits the players' needs.

2) this can serve as a useful and necessary break from the grind. Programmers and artists often encounter things similar to "writer's block" where simply sitting at a desk and staring at a screen isn't going to help them create good material in a timely manner. Several studies have shown that these professionals feel free to get up, walk around, have a change of venue, even play a few rounds of ping-pong, and return to code often have fewer errors introduced into their code while still meeting deadlines as well as those forced to sit and stare at the screen.

In fact, these employees also rate their job satisfaction as higher and their stress levels lower... contributing to less overall costs in the workplace. Attrition is lower in places where job satisfaction is high (recruitment costs money) and the use of unscheduled leave (sickdays) is greater in workplaces that report high stress levels, leading to lost productivity.

3) One frequent point of dissatisfaction that MMO players often have is that the "devs don't listen to us" or "devs don't communicate enough." Novel methods of communication, like a video chat, give visible evidence to players of other dev-silent MMO's that things are different here. This positive value can contribute to a new player's decision to try this game or for a "free" player to convert to a "paying" one. Video is especially valuable for this, as it gives a face and personality much better than a webpage post does- retail companies have known for decades that people are more willing to part with their money when they can relate to the salesperson, and in many ways, the dev & community managers serve that role in the chats.

Granted, we may be getting closer to a solution.

We've now seen tech where a power has a different effect depending on whether the target is a friend or foe. If they remove the "target self" limitation, they could theoretically have a different effect for 'friend, foe, or self.' Then you could have empathy buffs that are less effective when used on "self" but better than the 'nothing' we have now.

Man, that just sent me down memory lane. I really miss doing the comic guides. I've even tried to start doing them again before every issue since Going Rogue, but never have the time.

I tried to slip a reference to Troy Hickman in them whenever possible. I'm a huge fan of Common Grounds and (later on) Twilight Guardian and I can honestly say that I never would have tried my hand at writing if it wasn't for Troy. I'm not a writer- in my life I've dealt with software, servers, troubled teens and explosives-- all things that tend to blow up in various ways. I figured any writing endeavor would follow that trend and bomb.

When I met Troy on the boards and realized he was THAT Troy Hickman everything changed. I mean... I realized that if THAT pantsless schlub could write, then *I* certainly could.....

Seconded.

Though, Oz, remember: contrary to popular belief, tradition does not dictate that TroyHickman-related arcs be run pantsless and intoxicated.

One of the two is sufficient.

This is the part that interests me. Perhaps this will help make the prior selections more useful.

I don't find the two attacks useless. Having the extra attacks available in alternate-builds often adds a bit to a support class like a controller or defender when soloing.

Ah, you beat me to it. I always try to poke fun at that phrase.

I used to have great fun harassing our HR folk about their poorly-worded "So-and-so has been Terminated" emails. I'd constantly correct them, pointing out that so-and-so's employment was terminated, not the person.

Then they told me to re-read my contract.

O.O
<.<
>.>

So...I'm keeping my head low for now...


....but they're so getting it during our annual "Sexual Harassment Training."

1) As we've seen, the martial-artsy secondary isn't a direct port of melee attacks. They included a blend of powers that reflects the thematic "support" elements of a support set. They'd likely require the same forethought and adjustments for the others.

It doesn't help that with the fact that Blaster secondaries are different from any other archetype's set.... much more different than the minor changes we see in (for example) stalker primaries and secondaries compared to other melee archetypes. That means that developing a blaster secondary only benefits blasters, whereas developing a new defense set can potentially affect several.

2) From a technical standpoint, you'd have two separate weapons for customization (pistols / assault rifle / beam rifle primaries vs dual blade, staff, etc secondaries). I don't think we've seen this before in a set (though i may be mistaken)--- closest thing may be the shield secondary. The UI may not be set to handle custom elements for both- heck, the GAME may not.

3) I disagree with the principle of "make it available and let us decide if its lame." That's a bad development precedent and bound to land them into even more grief with the 'buff Blaster SS NAO" customer cries. You may be satisfied with a gimped-but-at-least-available set, but many others many not. (And then they're also limited by the "cottage rule" on how they fix their gimpy-ness.) Better to wait and do it right.

Agreed. Some of the most enjoyment I get from blaster types is due to their mix of ranged and melee. Sure, they have more ranged attacks, but the melee options that are available to them are extremely enjoyable to those that know how to use them judiciously.

IIRC, not only did that giant elephant of an MMO have a development budget that was over 4x CoH's reported cost to bring it to market, but the elephant reported spending that much again in their first year for marketing, advertising, paying frontage fees at game shops, etc.

When you spend like that, you often HAVE TO go big or go home.

---

Remember, when budgeting, both companies looked at the first generation MMO's and saw subscriptions hitting 100,000 to a 600,000 peak.

A small indie studio making its first game on an unknown IP said "if we peak at 100,000 subscribers and stay at this budget we'll be a great financial success!"

A large, established studio with a huge fanbase and established IP said "if we peak at 600,000 subscribers and stay at this budget, we'll be a great financial success!"

Both were right.

1: None
2: Two
3: None
4: Virtually all (time constraints, general disinterest in high-level game and easily distracted by alts.)