Doc_Wormwood

Shadowstepper: Agreed.

Started? It's been true since CoV first came out.

A few months ago, I was in one mission and my robots had to be resummoned 5 or 6 times.

And let me tell you, it's a bit of a shock when you head into an engagement, watch robots start loosing health fast, turn around in confusion and realize your protectors are nowhere in sight.

What makes me nervous is that I'm not sure you can stop unbalanced farms without removing significant creative tools to players.

No, I didn't, but just pointing it to an example of a pervasive design element. Which is hardly unique to MMOs, but encourages (IMO) the farming issues.

'As much as people hate PosiTF, it's great for racking up prestige and influence for high levels, and helps a lot in getting level-pacted avatars up past their travel powers. '

I think there is an issue here that is important. If you set up the premise that 'this mission is annoying and slow and has lots of boring or obnoxious obstacles, so it's worth lots,' then you have created the farming problem; you have introduced the idea that the rewards are far more important than actually having fun.

So when you make people jump through annoying hoops to get at goodies, it's no wonder that, conditioned for this, when there is an easier path people go for it.

Here's a novel idea:
Make content fun. Enjoyable. Thrilling. Make the rewards a cherry on top, not the only reason to put up with obnoxious eye-shriveling content.

Maybe then people will see AE as a source of potential cool, rather than an engine for more efficiently acquiring arbitrary virtual rewards.

I hope they don't eliminate xp from AE missions. I don't farm at all, my interest has been reignited by AE, and doing that would pretty much kill the game for me.

Shuckins:
Not everyone does it.

Among other things, I think the whole standard/hard/extreme tier thing is just insufficient.

What I'd like to see is 'variant' forms, like Dark Armor optimized for stealth and neg resistance, Dark Armor optimized for damage aura and control, etc.

(I'd also like a pony)

Personally, MA is the best thing ever. The ability to share player content is <bleep>ing awesome. I mean, seriously awesome.

It's become my favorite thing about CoX, and has completely revived my flagging interest in the game.

Sure, farming is a problem, and it's annoying that the majority of players apparently really want to play ProgressQuest. But even if they don't enact any further controls on farms? MA is the best thing, ever.

Farming vaguely annoys me, but I love what MA offers; I will be very unhappy if, motivated to stop farming, MA looses functions or cool elements I enjoy.

rmthornton:
You could name one group 'Blargle' and the other group 'Blargle '.

Yes, the perceptive player will notice that <Blargle> and <Blargle > are different, but it'll work for now.

Though I agree it'd be nice to handle it like character names (which can be identical).

Aside: it'd be nice to be able to set default 'standing around' animations for specific custom enemies, and also default flypose.

I'd like to be able to unpublish and retain ratings simply so I can do a lot of revamp/testing without worrying about constantly republishing (and some of the problems that can arise from that).

Getting false circular dependency warning when goals created in a certain order.

Repro:
1) Create a mission.
2) Add an ally goal, name it A
3) Add an ally goal, name it B
4) Add an ally goal, name it C
5) Have goal B only appear when A is complete.
6) Have goal C only appear when B is complete.

Now change the goals so B appears after C, and A appears after B.

Actual behavior:
In the second set of goals, there is a warning about circular dependency.

Expected behavior:
Circular dependency warning only appears when it is valid, and order of goal creation has no impact on how events are chained.

It'd be nice if there was a way to add things like 'pistols' or whatnot to mostly melee characters. Having to have two powersets focused on attack is limiting (and hard to justify sometimes), and Dominator Assault sets (which mix range/melee) lacks weapon sets.

Honestly, I wish they'd just decide farm missions are ok, so long as they have a certain tag and let us exclude the tag in search terms.

In Mission Architect, adding Hydra (random minion) to a custom group doesn't allow adding Tuatha (random minion).

Repro steps:
1) Create a new custom group
2) Add Hydra random minion
3) Open Tuatha standard enemies

Actual behavior:
Tuatha minions show 'added,' but there is no Tuatha in the custom group.
Removing the Hydra random then frees you to add Tuatha, but the reverse also applies (once you add Tuatha random, can't add Hydra)

Expected behavior:
Players can add Hydra and Tuatha random minions to a custom group freely.

(Other random groups I've tried work fine)

That last bit you potentially can, if I understand it right; create a custom group, put standard enemies in it.

(I've done that to slice up Devouring Earth into Earth Elementals, Fungus Men, etc.)

(Possible) Bug:
For boss encounter, can't select standard enemies from a custom group.

Repro:
1) Create a custom group in MA (Mission Architect), add in a variety of standard enemies and one or two custom enemies. Save.
2) Create a mission in MA, create a boss goal.
3) Select custom group tab, select custom group.

Actual behavior:
None of the standard enemies are offered from the custom group as a boss. (And if your custom group only contains standard enemies, the custom group isn't listed)

Expected behavior:
Custom groups behave the same, whether filled with custom enemies or standard enemies or some mix.


If this is intended:
The big reason why this can be a problem is if you've recast a group as part of a different faction. For example, if you have the rock creatures of the Devouring Earth as part of 'Earth Elemental' faction for an arc, you want to put in a rock creature as a boss with the proper faction; it doesn't make sense to the story to see Devouring Earth faction for your boss.

Operating System (Vista, XP, OS X version): Vista
User Client (Mac, PC, Linux):PC
Server:All
Zone:Any MA zone
Character name: Ghosthunter Gil, Brachyura Shest
Time:
Location:
Archetype:
Level:
Power:
Badge:
Mission:MA architect
Mission Contact:
Mission ID #:all applicable
Bug Description:

Repro:
1) In a mission architect mission, create a Boss goal.
2) Set Boss settings/Boss animation to Captured (Fire cage) (also other animations, but haven't tested every one)
3) Test the mission, observe Boss.

Actual behavior:
Boss is displaying default animation, not the customized animation.

Expected behavior:
Boss displays selected animation until the boss notices a player (or other enemy, if rogue).

Using Mission Architect to create custom characters, the Face sliders do nothing; if you set them, save, and come back, they've all reset to center.
I tried using the Shape tab, figuring at least I could get in the ballpark of what I wanted, but that also resets to Average1.

It'd be nice, for both contacts and custom enemies, to be able to actually set these values.

Well, comments to author shouldn't be terribly hard even if they don't make a system for it.

Use mail, include mission title.

I've done well assuming griefers will stop at nothing to grief. It's in their nature.

But fair enough; it's arguable that the number of 'casual griefing' that is curtailed would be worth the inconvenience. I don't agree, but I can see the argument.

How's investment of time going to stop griefers?

They'll just play, get the XP from killing enemies, and then give you 1 star.

While I disagree with some of Scholarman's ideas, I will 'what he said' that last post.

To do a solid to the next person, who can pass on something that looks like crap and spend their fun time having, well, fun?

I'd want others to do the same.

And as a designer/writer... well, it's on me to encourage people to enjoy my stuff. If I can't, if I can't spell, can't find a spellchecker or someone to look over my stuff?

Tough.

Because this isn't my job?