Doctor Roswell

It allows people to rate you as a good or trusted (or a bad or untrusted) poster. When someone makes a post you find informative, entertaining, or otherwise worthwhile, you can click it to add to their reputation, which will in turn tell others (by way of the little "light" under a person's post count, I assume) who may not be as active on the forums which posters are generally thought of by the community as the most informed or trusted members. For example, someone who consitstantly posts good information, clearly states what the mean in a way others can understand, and helps new players might have a very high reputation, while someone who purposely makes their posts look like they're written in yellow crayon would probably not have a very good reputation.

It's worth mentioning that yes, I've tried clearing out my cookies, and I'm coming in through the boards.cityofheroes.com address.

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If the worry is people deleting other people's characters, why not just replace the "type the character's name to confirm" form with a password entry?

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I don't mind having to log back in, but I do wish we could skip the countdown, or at least let us use alt-tab without interrupting the countdown. That way you could do something else while it exits.

I play with mids and the wiki open in the background and often would like to check those while the countdown runs, but can't without interrupting it.

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I'd love it if we could do this. Yes, I know there are work-arounds, but working around a problem isn't the same as solving it.

What, nothing about how they hate PvP?

Stormy hit me up in-game last night and we ended up trading quite a bit of salvage; Thanks, Stormy!

So I no longer "need" any sets of Halloween salvage. However, I'm still sitting on about 20 or so sets of the stuff, so if anyone needs some for their villain, let me know. We can probably work something out.

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How many set heroside, total, do you need?

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Not many. I've got a half-dozen alts that don't have the extra slot, but of those, only about three or four are something I "need" the set for.

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What server Doc?

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Virtue. 'swhy I posted to this forum and not some other.

I was just looking through the salvage inventory of a level 50 villain I hadn't dusted off in a while, and realized she was carrying around no less than thirty-three(!) complete sets of Halloween event salvage. I'm honestly not sure how that happened, but it's there.

Obviously, I could just toss it up on the market and make some decent money. And I may do that before too long. But before I do, I thought I'd check here and see if there's anyone who'd be willing to work out a mutually beneficial arrangement.

You see, I've got a half-dozen or so heroic alts who could use a second costume slot. But the salvage is a little out of their price range, as it tends to get this long after the last Halloween event. When I checked this evening, there were only 77 Statesman Masks up for sale at Wentworth's!

What I'm offering is a straight-up trade. A set of salvage for a set of salvage. Get in touch with me by replying here, sending a PM, or in-game at @Doctor Roswell and we'll set up a time and a place to meet; I'll give you a set of Halloween salvage from my villain's stash in exchange for your giving one of my heroes a set of the same.

There have been a lot of threads going on about customization in a lot of posts for a lot of pages, so maybe this has been brought up somewhere. But I haven't seen it.

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Super Strength and Martial Arts will each receive an alternate animation for their powers, and Stone Armor and Necromancy will include limited customization.

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"Limited customization?" Limited how?

Maybe that just means that only the non-pet powers in Necromancy are customizable. All the other MM primaries have had weapon customization for a while now; that would explain why they're not listed as customizable, and why Necro is "limited." But what if swings the other way and this is a reference to color-tinting or otherwise customizing the zombies or something. I doubt it (mean, I really doubt it), but one could take it that way.

And what's "limited customization" of Stone Armor? Does this mean that only certain powers are tintable, or does this mean that, on some limited basis, actual customization can happen here -- maybe a way to actually make your Granite Armor look different from everyone else's Granite Armor? Again, I think it probably means that only certain powers within the set can be altered, but who knows?

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They would be shooting themselves in more feet than they have on the whole team if the customizing wasn't about the banana geometry.

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I know more than a few of us (myself included) have though for a long time that Spines should have been included when weapon customization was introduced.

It would be a pretty big oversight not to include the spines themselves in the powers customization issue.

I endorse this thread.

Generic (non-set) level 30 IOs have a slightly smaller bonus than a +3 SO. Level 35 IOs have a slightly bigger one.

They actually sort of continue the pattern of switching to the next, better type of enhancements at levels ending in 2... TOs to DOs at 12, DOs to SOs at 22, SOs to IOs at 32.

EDIT: Never mind, I just double-checked all four enhancement schedules on Paragonwiki...

Level 35 IOs are slightly (generally 1% or less) worse than a +3 SO, and slightly (again about 1%) better than a +2 one.

Level 40 is where IOs actually cross over the threshold and provide a better bonus than maxed-out SOs (with the added benefit of not losing that bonus over time). But again, it's pretty minor at that point.

Unless you're running a particularly Endurance-heavy build, people have been getting by with three EndMod SOs for years. IOs will, of course, be even better, assuming they're level 35 or higher (before that, the bonuses from IOs are actually slightly less than from +3 SOs). Usually that's what I go with.

Without knowing more about your build than what you posted, I'd say three level 50 EndMod IOs and, since you've got a fourth slot to play with, a Performance Shifter: Chance for +End, should do you.

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ohhh I seeee...
Thanks for the info. Looks kind of useless though, unless like you said - you were into PvP:

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It's a lot more useful for some than for others. Scrappers, for example, don't tend to get a whole lot out of it (usually).

My empathy defender, however, can now solo, and I didn't have to respec her into in-team uselessness to do it. I just created a second build without all of the stuff that only affects others (but kept the stuff that affects the user) and focused more on her secondary.

It also allows people who want petless masterminds (say, those people who really, really love the dual pistols you get with Thugs and want to make a character focused on those) to have a second build, one with pets, that doesn't make them dead weight on a team like the petless one usually does.

Plus, it's nice for trying out a new build before you respec, though the fact that you have to re-enhance the second build means this is really only good as far as trying out the powers themselves. For slotting, you're still more or less on your own.

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Because it's a Costume Contest, not a Costume with Power Accents Contest. Your character can "look cool" when their costume and powers are combined, but that was never the point in the CCs I ran. I frequently design a costume around the powers of the set while simultaneously making sure that the costume itself can stand alone on its own merits. Powers can make nice accessories, but they're no substitute for a good costume.

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So it's a semantic hang-up? The term is "costume contest," so only actual clothing elements count? Skin color, choice of face, hair, horns, ears, beard, build, scaling, tails, wings, and any other element that's not a "costume" doesn't factor in?

Look at a real-world fashion show. Yes, the point is to show off the clothes. But the models are chosen based on their own appearance, on what's going to present those clothes in the most appealing way. Moreover, those models have their hair and make-up done in certain ways so as to accent the clothes in the most interesting, complementary or memorable way possible. Music and lighting and set decoration are even factored into the presentation. The way the model walks, the look on her face as she does...
The idea is to present a total package that makes everything look better. Otherwise, why not just have the designer bring the dress out on a hanger?

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Besides, when I'm judging a CC, I don't want to have to try to find a costume under a myriad of power effects and auto-cast aura spams. Allowing powers just opens the door for far too many headaches to be worth it.

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This has more merit, but again, I think this just comes down to disruptive behavior more than powers themselves. People feel the need to call out powers as a whole for this kind of thing, but nobody feels like they need to make a "no emotes" rule or a "no acting like a disruptive jackass in Local while everyone else is waiting to be judged" rule. Why? Because disruptive behavior in any form is rightfully just assumed to be unacceptable, and people who can use tools like emotes and chat responsibly shouldn't have to suffer for the one or two idiots who can't.

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Running any power aura is also unfair to the contestants you're standing next to. Lineups in CCs can get shoulder-to-shoulder tight and a person who's worked hard on a detailed or delicately coloured costume is washed out, clashes or otherwise ends up not showing to best effect when they're standing a foot away from Captain Glowie McFirebulb. The whole point of a good, contest-winning costume is that it shouldn't require an aura as a prop to bring it together.

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This makes some sense, I suppose, though I hardly think it's an issue with every contest. As I said before, I understand not wanting disruptive area effects like Shadow Fall or Steamy Mist that are going to affect others' appearances. However, if things are so tightly-packed that a personal-effect power is hampering the judges' ability to see someone else's design, then maybe that person could just be asked to step out of line for a second while they look at the people next to him?

I don't really consider a well-placed energy effect to be a "prop," though. Plenty of characters have energy effects integrated right into their visual design. I hate to keep harping on the Human Torch, but he's not memorable for the way he looks when he's not using his powers. Nor is Firestorm or Chamber or Iceman or any number of characters for whom a power effect is a primary element of their visual design. If those elements are "props," what about Archangel's wings? Thor's hammer? Green Arrow's bow? Wolverine's claws?

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This seems as good a place to ask as any...

Why do so many contest organizers insist on a "no powers" rule? I mean, I understand not wanting some jerk to disrupt everything by having Shadow Fall running the whole time, but telling, for example, a low-level fire tank that he can't have Fire Shield running seems unfair, especially when stuff like weapons or combat auras are usually considered okay. A lot of the time, powers are just as much a part of a character's visual element as their costume is; you think the Human Torch was designed to look cool when he's not on fire?

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And...a CC is usually for the best costume, not how many/few powers you have. Lots of powers detract from the look of a costume anyway and also give mid/high levels an advantage over lower levels. So the 'no power' rules is usually one that makes for fairness.

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I'd disagree, again using personal shield/armor powers as an example. Characters who have those tend to get access to them pretty early -- level four or so. On the other hand, a true "costume part" that creates a similar visual effect doesn't open up until level 30. So again, a Human Torch-like design, where a power or energy effectively is the costume, is sort of left out of the fun. So if anything, such a rule places more weight on high-level elements for characters like that.

Besides, if having an element in a design that others don't have access to for whatever reason is some kind of unfair advantage, does that mean shields or weapons should be disqualified too? What about vet rewards, or unlockable items, or items from booster packs?

If it really detracts from the costume's look, fine -- I guess that character won't be winning, then, just like if they had an awesome costume with a dumb-looking hat or something.

This seems as good a place to ask as any...

Why do so many contest organizers insist on a "no powers" rule? I mean, I understand not wanting some jerk to disrupt everything by having Shadow Fall running the whole time, but telling, for example, a low-level fire tank that he can't have Fire Shield running seems unfair, especially when stuff like weapons or combat auras are usually considered okay. A lot of the time, powers are just as much a part of a character's visual element as their costume is; you think the Human Torch was designed to look cool when he's not on fire?

The vast majority of e-mails I get are spam.

But I do occasionally send and receive some real ones.

It's actually not that different from regular, non-CoH e-mail.

I'm confused; do you want an inker or a colorist? Because those are two different things, and you seem to be using them interchangeably.

Because I know a decent colorist who might (no promises) be available, but I can't help you on the inking front. Though if you're okay with colors but no black lines like the one she did for me, maybe that's not a problem.

I've got a character who uses a stealth IO in Sprint for a translucent appearance. And I'm with Bill, it seems he's less so than with a stealth power.

Also, I second the idea of per-part translucency (or even invisibility, if a way to avoid turning it into an exploit could be worked out); the prospect of making animated armor with nothing inside or an invisible character with a visible suit and tie are pretty tempting.

I see no reason not to make it an aura, though.

Yes, as I said, there are two issues: the texture no longer matches robotic arms, and it clips through itself.

My point was that they're two separate problems; the clipping isn't exclusive to the robotic arms.

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Is it really that difficult to make some friends in the game?

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Keep in mind this is the person who said this:

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(have you never been flagged for cussing out someone? Duh.)

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As if it's a normal thing that happens all the time. So I'm thinking, yes, for this person, it probably is that difficult. But the problem most likely isn't everybody else.

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And yes, the GMs do have a way of finding out. It's called the chat and they can search for chats and agreements between two people

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It's not quite that simple. Looking for certain words or phrases is pretty easy; interpreting an agreement between two people is more complex. If I ask you, "Can you help me transfer some inf?" and you say, "Sure," that seems pretty cut and dried, but if you log off in-between, you could claim that you'd helped me transfer it to a third party, or to a character on another account, or to a character on a different server, or to a friend, or to an SG-mate who wasn't online at the time, or to me at a later time, or to any number of other people/characters. Unless people are extraordinarily careful about the way they word things, there are a lot of ways to weasel out of an agreement. That's why legal contracts are so complicated, and why it's often a good idea to have someone who went to college specifically to learn that special terminology there to make sure everyone's getting exactly what they're agreeing to, and that everyone understands what they're agreeing to. To ask that of the GMs is a bit unfair.

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(have you never been flagged for cussing out someone? Duh.)

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Can't say that I have, since I don't tend to act like a jerk in-game. Duh.

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And even then, let's say you do find someone and that person happens to keep the money or log off, do the GMs even help you out with anything in reimbursements??

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If they reimbursed people because other players ripped them off, what would prevent anyone from coming to them with a made-up story and scoring free influence? Fine, so yours was stolen by an unscrupulous sort. Mine wasn't. But the GMs don't have any way of knowing that, do they?