Creole Ned

Some things that come to mind from a technical standpoint:

- the aforementioned ragdoll physics. It seems to be a bit better currently but enemies still twitch and twirl in ways they never used to after being defeated.
- NPC dialog that is spoken by an offscreen character. There are times where I've been unable to ascertain who is even speaking thanks to this:

[CAPTION]: Hey there, $playername, you'll find that secret lock of Manticore's hair in his shrine room.

And any new player that runs Death From Below or the Mathew Habashy starting arc will see [CAPTION] almost immediately and repeatedly. I can't believe QA hasn't reported the bug and don't understand why it hasn't been fixed yet. It may be small but it's right in your face, mission after mission and it diminishes the experience (unless every CAPTION is secretly Nemesis. I would accept this as a Nemesis plot).
- jagged, low poly rocks in caves. This is an old bug that has been fixed before but it got bugged again. In any cave mission look at the rocks (exception: rocks that are specifically placed for a particular mission, like SSA 1.2) along the ground and you'll notice that they are all very low-poly -- because a lot of the polys that *should* be there aren't. Again, not a critical, game-affecting bug but it looks sloppy.

And not so technical:

- reducing the number of options when starting the game. You get one path or Death From Below and that's it.
- the bog standard end game system of raids to get slightly better powers (effectively, gear) in order to do more raids to get more slightly better powers. I was hoping that CoH would do something different but the design philosophy has hewed extremely closely to the established EQ/WoW formula.
- the new insta-spawns that materialize in front of you. CoH used to always hide this, unlike other MMOs. It helped immersion and made for a less annoying experience. This, along with tethering and phasing are examples of the game failing to innovate and instead simply following the lead of other games.

(I see Electric-Knight shares my dislike on a few of these things. EK, you don't need to practically apologize for not liking some aspects of the game. They're not going to send a GM to personally slap each of your characters in the face!)

The original beginner missions (the ones you get from your first contact) are a little too innocuous to be derided as 'garbage', I think. Once you get beyond them and start seeing more deliveries, defeat alls and other less than stellar missions (check out any contact in Kings Row, for instance) that's where you get to the heart of clunky old mission design.

Skyway City is like many old zones in that it could use a re-do of some sort but it certainly doesn't need to be removed. I'd probably put Kings Row as a higher priority for a revamp or new contacts, though, simply because that's the next logical progression for characters heroside after finishing Atlas.

You define MMO too narrowly, Nethergoat. There is room to expand and innovate in the genre. Not everyone is interested in the fastest and most efficient loot chase.

As an optional system, skills may have been interesting. That the devs didn't find it fun was addressed and ignored by you in favor of more snark. Not very useful for a productive discussion.

The CGW Museum has PDFs of most issues of the magazine. December 2004's issue says this about Issue 3 and the skill system:

The info on Paragon Wiki says Kheldians take 3-4 times the damage from Quantum gunners compared to other ATs:

What about the actual problem in the OP? Has anyone else experienced it? I've not run the new content yet but generally dislike mechanics that take control away from a player character, so I was leery about hearing it being added to CoH.

This event has dragged on too long and pops up too often. It's hard for lowbies in appropriate level zones (Kings Row, for example), interrupts a lot of basic functionality (training, going to contacts, hunting in a zone) and it's uninspired. The other invasions had some neat twists -- the Rikti taking down the war walls and the bombing phase, for example or the zombies popping out of the ground and the creepy atmosphere for that one. This one seems utterly phoned in.

If they never run it again, I won't complain.

I was hoping Retro would be ready with I23's launch. Nice!

I agree with Memphis Bill, two weeks would have been fine for this event. A full month makes it feel like it's just dragging on.

The next Freebie Friday should be the /slap emote. Just for the reaction.

Hold onto your hats because this week it's a...

DUAL INSPIRATION!

Woo!

Anyway, slap in the face, etc. etc.

One thing Paragon could do with IOs is perhaps add an option to purchase a permanent license for them in addition to the monthly 'rental' option that exists now. It would obviously cost more but it might persuade some vets (or new players) to pony up and pay where the idea of the monthly fee might put them off (as small as it is).

I'd also agree that the current F2P implementation is basically an open-ended trial and the majority of content you get access to is old and often pretty bad. At least Atlas Park is shiny now. Without vet powers and bonus enhancements I still find the very early levels too slow. I can see a lot of people trying the game (and have heard from some that I know) who simply give up before they get a variety of powers to use because the initial damage and recharge is so low (it varies based on AT and powersets, of course). That's why I think the starter enhancements that were folded into the Paragon Rewards system should be standard for any new character made. It vastly improves the new player experience and would probably entice more people to stick with the game.

Conversely, if Paragon and NCsoft are more interested in retaining vets than getting new players (which may make sense given the age of the game) none of this matters as much.

Mostly I think the hybrid system is meant to keep players subscribed while also enticing them to spend more above and beyond the sub. In other words, they may expect fewer VIPs (subscribers) but are hoping, on average, that they spend more than the $15 a month subscription fee. Given the bazillion Super Packs sold, this may not be a bad expectation!

If the next freebie is a giant wooden horse wheeled into my yard I promise to look into its mouth before claiming it.

I didn't realize posting an announcement for the freebie a few days ahead of time constituted it being 'built up so dramatically'. The threshold for drama seems lower than I remember.

Also, I claimed the XP Booster then slapped myself in the face for liking it.