Deathbug

Thanks for playing and thanks very much for the review. This was the first arc I wrote and I haven't revisited it in ages. Sounds like it really needs some polish, I appreciate the feedback.

Except this was faster. So you are our friend too.

I must've missed something, but I can't figure it out.

Level 6 Resistance Dom, I have only 2 contacts, both inactive: Calvin Scott and Praetor White. Neither will give me a mish. White tells me to get out there and beat on thugs (not an actual mission, that's just his text), Scott tells me to come back at Level 8. The only contact icon on my map is White.

So, what did I miss?

Running a lvl 50 tanker to get some flashback badges. Unfortunately I choose the lvl 15-19 arc that gives you the Vahzilok wasting disease.

At the point I'm given the disease, I decide I don't want to run the arc while debuffed AND with the wasting disease. So I quit the Task Force.

I went back to Ouroboros, started another flashback arc in the same level range, and suddenly noticed that I still have the little flies buzzing around me. So I quit that task force too, and even outside of a flashback arc, back to full lvl 50 glory, I still have the wasting disease.

I filed a bug report and got a stock answer about confirming bugs and their priorities. Has anybody else seen this happen?

EDIT: I just logged on, 12 hours later, and confirmed that I'm not on a flashback Task Force, don't have any missions at all in fact, and I still have the disease.

Okay, I've seen 4 new badges... are there more? And are these from the Supernatural events, or new ToT badges for the bosses which are (apparently) spawning more frequently?

[ QUOTE ]
Critical Review

Arc ID: 182874
Arc Title: Time's Maelstrom
Author: @Armory1

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the review, I don't want to belabor this but I did want to respond to a couple of points.

[ QUOTE ]

Bug: you have several customs who are in the All Custom Characters group.

[/ QUOTE ]
As far as I can tell they're fine when I edit the arc, so this one is stumping me right now.

[ QUOTE ]

Ok, so there is one more mission? What would have happened if I had failed mission 4? This one assumes that I suceeded, so why was mission 4 timed anyways if failing it would be ignored?

[/ QUOTE ]
Because even if you fail, there's mish 5 to put everything right. I used the timer more to convey that the launch countdown has begun than anything else.

[ QUOTE ]
Ok, this makes no damn sense. Why did I even bother with this arc if now I'm being asked to go all the way back and prevent this entire arc from happening in the first place? This is the worst use of a reboot button I have ever seen, if it's so necessary then why didn't I do it 3 missions ago?

[/ QUOTE ]
Because as was stated several times, the 'time rupture' effectively disabled their ability to fine-tune the Pillar for time travel. They simply couldn't do it 3 missions ago, not before the disturbance in the time streams had settled. Perhaps I need to clarify that.

As far as the EBs go...yeah, they're designed to be difficult. I will go in and remove Rage, that is a bit much.

[ QUOTE ]
Otherwise any inconsistencies in the setting can be handwaved with "it's just a simulation".

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I do agree that it shouldn't be used as a blanket excuse for any and all inconsistencies, I'm just saying the reverse is also true: it shouldn't be automatically dismissed as an invalid reason for everything.

[ QUOTE ]
Treating everything as "just a simulation" when many arcs could easily fit into the game world lessens the impact of those arcs, IMO.

[/ QUOTE ]

I understand that, and you're free to look at them that way if you want. Two of my three arcs fit into canon, or so I like to think. But canon also describes every single arc in the AE as a simulation. So that can't really be called a cop-out, because according to canon of the game itself, it's the truth.

Canonically, every arc is non-canon.

I mean the entire AE is a simulation, that's how it's explained in the game. Which means yes, every single arc is a simulation, even those that present themselves as "real". That's how I see it.

I think Ultimo Girl might like one of mine, Time's Maelstrom (see sig). Save the world, save Time itself, then decide the fate of two worlds!

And Sila Silkskin might enjoy Daytime Divas (also in sig). A light-comedy parody of daytime TV, with magical hijinks.

You can review either (or both, or all three) here. Thanks!

[ QUOTE ]
Witch Engine never advertised the arc and never asked the forums for the critiques. He only asked his friends. So just keep that in mind when you're deconstructing his work as if you're some famous literary or film critic, and then posting personal attacks on him.

(All "you" are a generalized you, not directed at the poster I quoted.))

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm glad Witch Engine created this thread, else I might never have played the arc. And I enjoyed it very much.

Someone said that responding to some criticism with, "it's a simulation" was a dodge, but it's not at all (depending on the criticism, of course) It is considered a simulation. It's not really happening to my character, it's my character going on a carnival ride, or acting in a play. It's role-playing for a character in a role-playing game.

I have run arcs where the author constantly told my character how he felt about certain things, and I agree with most, that's something to be avoided. But it's also different than what Witch Engine did here, as I see it anyway. The whole point of this story is disorientation and mystery.

I mean...I've run my main hero through several villainous arcs. How is that any different than running him through this one? I role-play a villain in the villainous simulations, and I role-play a possibly deranged weirdo in this one. Yes there might be a couple of problems with it (primarily that nobody notices for 24 hours that AP is under assault), but again, that can be explained as part of the delusion (although that means the ending isn't as mysterious as it might appear, you really ARE nuts).

Is destroying the canisters by blasting them, instead of clicking on blinkies, really that big a problem? I don't think so. The text says you're incinerating the stuff, and he can't very well give you a temp power with the perfext sfx.

The problem with doing this kind of story in the MA is that it's best told about a third person. Making it into a first-person story in this medium is a challenge, and I admire people taking on challenges, even if they don't completely pull them off.

I understand mocking really horrible, sloppy, stupid arcs. Arcs that treat your character like he's an idiot. I don't understand calling an arc horrible just because it places your character into a 'non-canon' position or mind-set. Many villain arcs assume that your character kills with wild abandon. Well, some of mine don't, should I post about how wretched the arc is because it doesn't take that into account?

I wasn't going to comment on this thread, but I just thought that some of the criticism of the arc itself was missing the point, IMO.

Yeah, I don't get Venture's opinion of it at all. I've played several arcs that he reviewed and generally agreed with him, but this time he's way off base IMO. I did start out thinking the anagram was kinda lame, but toward the end of the arc I thought it made perfect sense.

I thought it was a great take on a classic idea, definitely one of the better arcs I've played.

Haven't seen the veggie one. I did play the chocolate arc, it was tasty.

Now to work on my arc featuring evil world-beating children eating chocolate-covered veggies while riding unicorns. Oh, and saying cheesy things.

[ QUOTE ]
I demand an arc with evil children attempting to take over the world...

[/ QUOTE ]

Really?

Sidekicks Can Be A Pain In The Cape #28430. They actually start by trying to take over Paragon City, but the world is on the list...

Thanks Xanatos, and everyone who's left comments. Always appreciated.

This arc should be queued up with Bubbawheat and Lazarus, but why wait for their reviews? Play an @Armory1 arc today (see siggy)!

Still waiting for the update to apply so I don't have the number in front of me, but I just played "The Pick Up Group From Heck" again, and it still made me laugh.

[ QUOTE ]
Pff. As long as it's a small map it's no big deal.

[/ QUOTE ]

This.

I have one kill-all mish in one of my arcs, but it's on a small map. And it's a good reason (they're all duplicates of one villain, so if you don't get them all, you didn't defeat him).

If you see a defeat all, play it or don't play it. But reflexively deducting a star for it doesn't seem right.

I just ran "MacGuffin Delivery Service". Villainous arc, but I ran it with my main, a 50 inv/ss tanker.

I always enjoy seeing a unique way to narrate the story, and this one has it: you're sitting at your desk, ruminating over the adventure that you just undertook. So basically, you're playing through your memory of the events. This is a tricky device, as you almost have to tell the character what he or she is feeling at any given time, but the author pulls it off very well.

Another always welcome feature is to see different villain groups. The final mish features Tsoo, Freakshow, Carnies, Council, and PPD (apologies to any villains I neglected to mention) in a free-for-all, through which you have to fight to get to the objective.

The writing and dialogue are done well, with humor that draws from the admittedly bizarre circumstances of the story.

The only issue I noticed was that the nav text for the penultimate mission said I had 6 books to find, but after just the second one, the mish completed. Not that it was a problem, it's a big map and I was trying to ghost it (as well as one can without a stealth power, which means flying like hell until I hear a glowie. Speaking of which, the 'extra' glowies in this mish were rather irritating. When I heard one I stopped and fought the baddies only to discover it wasn't a bookcase I heard. But that's just a hazard inherent in the way I was trying to complete the mish, not a design flaw.)

One of the most interesting arcs I've played so far. 5 stars.

I'm running "MacGuffin Delivery Service" right now. Please add this one to the critical queue:

Arc ID: 182874
Arc Title: Time's Maelstrom
Author: @Armory1
Morality: Heroic
Number of Missions: 5
Description: A well meaning hero punches a hole between timestreams, threatening the future. Head off a nuclear holocaust, save Time itself, and after all that, decide the fate of billions. A story-focused arc (read everything!) with a player-determined outcome.

You mentioned you don't like kill-alls, well this has one, but it's a really good reason, trust me! (Time travel, a kill-all... is it any wonder I haven't put this in Venture's sights?) Mishes 4 and 5 are timed, the last one allowing a decision by you: accomplish the objective or let the time run out, either is a valid choice.

All three arcs in my sig have had I15 min-makeovers. The most structural changes occurred to "Sidekicks", and "Divas" was overhauled to increase teh funnay (read those descriptions!). So if you've played either of those before (all 50 or so of you), don't hesitate to try them again.

I'll second what Venture said, the story should be the determining factor.

Not sure these count, but one of the first people to play my "Sidekicks" arc said it had a classic comic book feel to it, but not really Silver Age like the JSA. And the only arc of mine with a thread (check sig below) is pretty much old-school "travel through time and save the world", with a couple of twists.

You've give me an idea for my next arc though, one set back in the Silver Age.

[ QUOTE ]
Guess there's not a lot of interest in old school comics here. Shame.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nah, there's a few of us out here. The old guys.

[ QUOTE ]
I agree. It's great for farming.


[/ QUOTE ]

Kinda like saying an easel and an expensive set of oils are great for fingerpainting, but whatever. It's about enjoying the experience, whatever that might mean. I love the storytellers.

[ QUOTE ]

I only hope that whoever complained about the word S.E.X. never gets any in RL.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it's pretty much a given that's the reason why they complain about seeing the word.

[ QUOTE ]
And for the rest of you who have played my arc and have left such positive and supportive comments for me, I APPRECIATE YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER ... because you guys are what makes authoring these things worthwhile.

[/ QUOTE ]

Played it before and now I'll play it again. I like the word S.E.X.

I'll also take this opportunity to point to the arcs in my sig, none of which contain the word S.E.X. Although the contact in Daytime Divas does have, um, features similar to what you mentioned earlier...