Doctor_Gemini
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:Fatman is already a copyrighted characterOriginally Posted by Golden Girl
If devs give players a Batman style outfit and a huge Hulk style body type, then someone's going to combine them to make Fatman.
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Quote:True, but there were westernized equivalents. One could argue the Blackhawks are the equivalent of sentai, for example. I'm not sure what tokusatsu is, but the wiki entry mentions Ultraman, which is from when I was a kid. In my mind as a kid, Ultraman was as much a super-hero as Superman.Originally Posted by Bosstone
Arguably the Asian-influenced concepts could be, especially if you accept Johnny's limitation of Western superheroes. Still, magical girls, sentai, and tokusatsu are pretty much Japan's version of superheroes, so I don't see why they shouldn't count.
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Quote:Besides, we all know there are no females on the internet.Originally Posted by Silver Gale
Using "he" as the default means that a man will never have to experience being referred to with a pronoun he is uncomfortable with, while a woman who is referred to as "he" has to choose between shouldering the discomfort or go "actually, I'm not a 'he' " and risk the discussion being derailed.
Using "he" as the default, you're not using "a gender neutral 'he' ", you're assuming everyone to be male unless they say otherwise.
I absolutely refuse to use those two so-called gender neutral words that have been bandied about in this thread. I'll use "qa" and "hulirtuyurtliyarmienyrotruhrohtumizsluezorf'abaty ". After all, if I'm going to use made-up words that 90% of all English speakers have never heard of, so others have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, I may as well make up my own.
But only today, I'll make up new words tomorrow, because I won't even remember the 2 letter one by then. Either that or I can choose to communicate in a manner that most others will also understand. -
Quote:Yeah....because before Thor you did not have heroes inspired by fantasy, horror, and mythology. There never were super-heroes such as Dr. Fate, the Spectre, the Shining Knight, the Gay Ghost (in modern times referred to as the Grim Ghost since "gay" has a different meaning than in the 40's), Ibis the Invincible, Kid Eternity, and....need I really go on? These are just popular heroes from the 40's (other than the Gay Ghost, who I know lasted awhile but may not have been especially popular) I could think of in 1 minute off the top of my head. I didn't even get into the obscure, usually one or two-shot, stable of appropriate themed heroes from Marvel's 40's comics.Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
That is an outlier. Marvel's Thor was specifically created as an experiment in meshing super hero and fantasy/myth....
Also, one of the main draws of Thor was that he was such a fish out of water and unique being a fantasy hero in a super hero world.
Fantasy, horror, and mythology have been prominent staples of comic-book super heroes since the inception of the comic-book super-hero, as well as things we now associate with FRPGs. Thor wasn't even the first god-turned-super-hero, though no others became popular. The greek gods played a prominent part in Wonder Woman's early adventures as well, the god Mars was a frequent "super-villain" in her stories.
There is very, very little I have seen in this game in the way of player-created characters that was not a part of the super-hero genre in the very beginning. -
Quote:So, you're asking her to learn to play the game in a way that is both uncomfortable and draining for her? Let me tell you something. An introvert can "learn" as you claim. What they cannot ever "learn" is how to be comfortable in those situations. I'm both shy and an introvert, and at work I'm the boss. I've "learned" how to overcome both to do my job, however, it is still stressful and draining. Years of doing it does not change that fact.Originally Posted by Bronze Knight
I'm not asking you to "unlearn" anything. I'm asking you to learn.
Learn as in acquire new skills or compensations for situations. Something every one is capable of. You as an introvert may have difficulty with that, but you can do it. Continually placing yourself in situations were you need those skills was simply the fastest way I could think of for you to acquire them.
Now, I don't agree with Eiko's view on the incarnate content and what she perceives as the direction of the game, although I do think there needs to be soloable incarnate content. However, she is spot on about how introverts in general are in this kind of environment. We're all here to have fun and relax, and teaming is OFTEN, not relaxing for us.
To respond to another poster earlier in the thread who said "If you don't want to deal with other people play a single player game" or something to that effect... well, it's hard not to make the kind of comment that actually deserves since the answer is so patently obvious. How many single player games evolve over time? Does CoH play the same way today it did 7 years ago? No. An MMO evolves, is added to, gains new content, and so on. A solo-friendly MMO is far more fun than a single-player game even if you play the MMO mostly solo. -
Quote:Yep, that just shows that they need to stop developing everything because they could make better use of those resources by getting me pie.Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
Funny how that comes up in almost everything.
"Bases? Nobody uses them much any more. Development would be better elsewhere."
"PVP? Nobody does that any more. Development would be better spent elsewhere."
See also hazard zones, new zones, revamping old zones, revamping old missions, emotes, and other costume pieces that don't for the poster's personal interest. -
Quote:Then you can afford to send me a post-card from Aruba.Originally Posted by Arcanaville
For example, I heard the other day that this whole thing is Castle's fault. One day Castle decided to redesign Fireball so that every time someone used it, the game servers deposited a penny into his retirement account (ever wondered why fireball has such a short cast time? now you know). Castle figured in a few years he could have retired sitting pretty. But then datamining showed that blasters were dying too quickly and not using fireball enough. The ones that were not dying had such high defiance buffs that they were one-shotting everything and not using fireball enough. So he reduced the damage buff of defiance, and made blasters partially mez-immune. This helped greatly, but then blasters starting doing so well that blasters were using hundreds of thousands of fireballs. Pretty soon NCSoft didn't even have enough money to pay BaB and had to let him go, much to his surprise. At that point Castle knew the game was up and by year's end the auditors would catch up with him. Knowing that his finances were being monitored he transferred his ill-gotten gains to an offshore account under the name of an accomplice. Castle would then leave Paragon Studios and his accomplice, citing new opportunities out of state, would leave California and meet up with him in Aruba a few weeks later where they would split all that perk pack money.
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"Finding Atlas' lost cigarette stash was the easy part, but lugging them back to base is a killer!"
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Quote:Am I the only one who likes Fusionette? When most of my highly played characters team up with her the bad guys are usually too busy bouncing off the walls to even know who their fighting...and then they're dead. Fun times!Originally Posted by Infernus_Hades
So my only question is..........is Lady Jane - Fusionettes mother?
They both exhibit the same lemming style battle choices. -
I'd like to see the ski slopes stay up year-round. The rest of it, especially the Winter Lord spawns and no one wanting to get together to take him down, I've had my fill of. (Although I do like farming presents for summon snow beasts....)
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Quote:Don't worry, those that jump ship will be back in a month when they've finished the other game.Originally Posted by ThePill
They should say something soon though, with the eminent release of the distinguished competitor's game coming online, some words would be better than no words at all. Maybe not a full-on 'state of game' post, but something for us to try to parse for any smidgens/gnaw on the bones of possibilities and to placate the handful of players that might jump otherwise.
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Casualties of War
Run by Doctor Gemini L44 Inv/SS Tank
General Pros: Overall, this was one of the best story arcs I've ever run. It gave me a definite feel of being in the middle of a war (although running it at 0/x4 also added to the flavor in that area). A very strong story, and getting to know the NPCs through it creates (at least for me) the proper effect for the ending.
For me to love this story says alot given that, up to now, I HATE (and that's not even strong enough of word for it) missions on outdoor maps. In this case, however, instead of my usual getting to the objectives and getting it over with as quickly as possible, I was compelled to run the maps and take out everything on them, simply because the atmosphere of fighting a war was so well crafted.
General Cons: While I have a few personal nitpicks with some of the missions I'll run down below, I only have one overall con. I like the missions to be numbered. People don't always have time to complete a story arc in one sitting (or at least, I don't, so I assume others have the same issue at times). Since it's easy to lose track, knowing if I have one mission left or 3 is a big deal.
Mission 2: I did not understand why every one of the Vanguard on the map were enemies and fighting the Rikti. The traitor Vanguard would not be fighting Rikti, and the loyal ones (unless I missed something) should not be fighting me. In fact, at one point some off-screen Vanguard said something about giving me cover or something similar. As far as I could tell, they wanted to give me cover so they could blow me away themselves.
When you rescue Captain Superior, his clue makes it sound like he is going to investigate the hospital immediately not go with you first.
Mission 3: This mission I both liked and disliked. One has to, IMO, strike a balance between telling a story and telling a story within the context of this being a game. While rescuing the heroes is a necessary part of the story, having them as allies afterwards hurts the game part, especially in AE. I believe it would be far better for most of them to have some excuse not to accompany you.
Also, on the same subject of story vs. game balance, the body bags are a problem. They set a great atmosphere. They get incredibly annoying after opening the first few. When I walked into a room with 4 of them visible, and I could see a glow of another just around the next corner, that was very cool. A feeling which went away as I clicked on the first one, which was the 1 millionth bag in this mission I had checked. The first time you go through this, the player has no clue he does not need to check each bag. I think you need a clue when you open the first bag that basically tells the player all body bags in the mission are burned Rikti bodies and need not be checked.
Overall: IMO, this rates among the top ten arcs in the entire game (which includes dev content, although my "top 10" list actually has far more than 10 arcs). This rates a Thumbs Up (5 stars).
Edit: Having read through the other reviews (I generally avoid doing so until I've written my own) I wanted add...
Mission 4: I also thought the EB in the hospital is just too big for the map. When I ran it, he ended up in a tiny room, with his helpers spilling out into the corridor. This made it relatively easy for me, actually, since I was able to take down his minions without worrying about him. With the extreme knockback my powers have, he spent most of his time in the wall and hardly got any shots on me. That was the only EB I've ever fought that I didn't have to click on Unstoppable until the fight was more than half over. -
Best Short Arc: 1 - 3 missions
1: Murders in the RWZ Morgue #452144 by @FredrikSvanberg
2: Talos Vice #338380 by @PW aka PoliceWoman
Best Lowbie Arc: designed for levels 20 or lower
1: Talos Vice #338380 by @PW aka PoliceWoman
2: A Hero in Need...is a Friend Indeed! #375018 by @Wrong Number -
Best Arc - Heroic or Vigilante
1: The Golden Age Secret of the Paragon Society
2: Made to Wave the Flag
Best Original Group Design
1: The Wickerwork from Against the Wickerwork Khan
2: Evolve or Die -
I like it so far, and I think it compares well to the 1st season of JL. The only thing I don't like is that the wasp looks like a Japanese school girl.
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Marvel, and DC, both need to just shut down everything every 10 years or so and completely reboot their universes.
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Quote:You just have to hire a good zombie wrangler...Originally Posted by Schismatrix
Only in the last several centuries, and were hardly the only ones to be forging chains even then. And before that they were far, far more likely to be in the chains than the ones forging them. Well, the live European males. Most of the time the chains are removed from the dead ones. They also do a lousy job at forging them when dead. Dead people, regardless of origin or gender, are terrible workers.
Just sayin'... -
Quote:I think just "Find Bright Angel" would work. Her dialogue makes it clear when you meet why she has a new name.Originally Posted by Wrong_Number
Maybe something like "Defeat New ILRecruit" or something. I have to think on it a bit. Again, thank you!
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Quote:I'm glad of this too, I may finally be able to put up some votes before it's over.Originally Posted by Bubbawheat
Yep! This is the final extension though. I'm glad votes are finally starting to come in, and I'm sure there will be enough votes by the 3rd. Keep 'em coming!
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Quote:Sorry, but I don't see where you are coming from in any of these statements. New players may complain about not being able to afford anything on the market, but that is simply because they're new. By the same token, they can complain about not being able to solo an AV, too, but that does not mean there is a problem. Rather than complain, they can educate themselves. Every single aspect of the game requires some level of knowledge to succeed. They can either discover it on their own or they can come to the forums and learn. If they refuse to do either, then they're not frustrated because they're new, they're frustrated because they feel entitled.Originally Posted by Bright Shadow
The issue is that I realize and understand that there are people who either do not have the knowledge, or they simply don't want to spend the time and effort to do what the more experienced market users do.
During this inflation, the only methods introduced to help the poor get more inf. without having to invest in the market were the introduction of Reward Merits, AE Tickets and Hero/Villain Merits. Sadly, the rich ones began taking advantage of those too, which only made the process worse!
Until then, the prices will continue to rise. Experienced and/or determined players will keep getting larger sums of cash. And finally, the new and/or not-so-determined players will continue to complain about not being able to afford anything on the market.
Not-so-determined players do not exist in this context. It may have meant something a few years ago, when you needed to either farm or do marketeering to afford many of the good items available, but, the introduction of reward merits, AE tickets, and hero merits have made it easy to become rich while playing the game as a super-hero and not as a commodities broker.
I'm a prime example. I've no interest in farming so I don't. I've no interest in spending my time on the market flipping anything, or hunting down niches, or what have you. I use the market for two things: buying salvage and recipes for my use, and selling (usually) crafted IOs I've gotten as drops/random rolls that have some worth to them.
This alone has let me afford to keep my characters outfitted in set IOs. I can't afford purples or PvP sets, and some procs (then again, there are few I even want, I sell most procs the RNG grants me). Other than that, the only set pieces any character I have lacks are those nobody has listed. I've not had to pass up a set or an IO due to price since merits were introduced.
I should also mention that not only do I start outfitting with sets at level 7 (and upgrade the sets every 10 levels), but I also craft every drop I get. If it doesn't sell for several million more than it costs to craft, I stick it in my alts only SG bin. So I'm spending like a drunken sailor.
Many times I feel like I'm getting ripped off when I buy something. Then I look and notice that my 20-something level character who typically had 1 million or less 2 years ago now typically has 1 or 2 hundred million.
The game gives me the tools to play this game for what I play it for, to be a super-hero, and still make loads of money with no effort required. Some small amount of knowledge, mainly not paying "buy it nao" prices on relatively expensive items, is required.
Bottom line, if people complain because they are unwilling to use the tools that don't require you to do anything but play the game, too bad. I could complain that I can't beat a boss with brawl. Should I be taken seriously for doing so? People can complain about not being able to afford purples and PvP IO's without being willing to play the market game. I could complain that my gimped character who only took concept-based powers can't solo an EB. Should I be taken seriously for doing so? -
Quote:It might not be an MA bug, actually. Thinking about the fight, near the end I'd knocked Blappy well out of the 100 ft. range of my blasts, and Berle grabbed aggro from me so I stayed where I was and hit her with a snipe which knocked her below 1/4 health. She came running back to me and Berle just stood where he was, probably because I was stealthed and so far away when he switched sides. So I think it was just the luck of positioning when the betrayal kicked in.Originally Posted by Wrong_Number
This must be part of the known betrayal MA BUG. I've never had it happen to me or even heard of this happening in this arc before (you must be "lucky" I guess). Berle is set to turn when Blappy is at 1/4 health which is in line with what you thought and of course makes stopping Blappy tougher.
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A Very Special Episode
Run by Mr. Doome Eng/Eng Blaster
General Cons: The humor at the start was, for the most part, not to my taste. Overall I think it detracted from the arc rather than added to it. More on that below.
General Pros: A good story and very well-written arc with enjoyable enemies. Also a good job using the Television, even if I really don't like it as a contact in general. Most of the humor later in the arc did fit into my taste and that much I did enjoy.
Mission 1: Not sure why Berle was following me around as he never did anything. I did like his agent line when I finally lost him. Overall I very much disliked this mission.
Mission 2: I liked the henchmen club. The humor in this mission is an example of what works for me.
Mission 4: I actually found Blappy to be the easiest of the 3 bosses. Berle just about owned me since I was in the middle of fighting another spawn and didn't realize he was the one hitting me until they went down. Where I'm left confused, however, is why is he attacking me? I could understand it if he turned when I fight Blappy, although that would make it one hell of a tough fight. I'm left scratching my head when he attacks me after Blappy is dealt with.
(By the way, at one point Blappy says "I'm really like the injustice legion so far", which sounds like a typo to me.)
Ummmm...Blappy is...ummm....mind controlled....yeah, mind controlled, that's the ticket. Obviously Blappy is a bad guy and now he's going back to his children's show? Shouldn't I be doing something about that?
I also didn't get the way caps were used on certain letters in Blight Angel's speech. It didn't look like it worked as emphasis so I kept looking for a code. Couldn't figure it out if it was, though.
Overall: As I've been writing the mission by mission feedback, I realized that my initial reaction to the humor was actually only to the humor in the first mission. With it's "Nemesis' kid tries to collect Blappy as a new toy" theme (which is what I got out of it) I think it really hurt the rest of the story. It put me into a poor frame of mind because it sets a tone that the arc is meant to be a farce. I didn't find the humor in the rest of the arc to be farcical, at least not in the context of the super-hero world of Paragon City.
Despite not being to my personal taste, I give it a thumbs up (which equals 5 stars in my new resolution to only rate 5 stars to any arc that I think is good). -
Quote:This is the point where I'd have said "Don't bother, slick, call me when you learn how to play the game."Originally Posted by Rowdy
Him:"Hmm okay, I'll let you join us, but please make sure that you don't slow us down."
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No, they're adding birds. They decided it's not fair that heroes standing on the ground get pushed around by pedestrians and fliers can avoid this...
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I burned myself out at one point as well because I would force myself to finish an arc unless I got frustrated or bored to the point of not even wanting to play anymore that night. I had an attitude that I had to give the author a chance, and finish an arc if I was going to rate it.
What has made it fun again has been shedding those attitudes. It's my game time, I don't have to give the author a chance. You can usually tell whether an arc is going to have much or any story to it by what the first contact says (as well as whether the author has better than 5th grade English skills). If it is something like "Skulls robbing bank. Stop them.", then I quit right there.
If the mission passes the first contact test, then you usually only need to get to the first encounter to find out if the author actually thought about the powers to give custom enemies, or just used what he thought was cool. I don't care how good the story is, I'm not fighting a minion group that mezzes me, slows me, and knocks me down so I end up attacking 1 time for every 5 of theirs.
I still don't rate arcs I don't finish, but, I only find myself frustrated with random AE arcs I end up playing about 1 in 5. The fact is, I may end up starting and stopping 3 or 4 arcs before finding one to play through, but given that most dev missions are so full of hunts, fed-ex, and run to a not easily accessible zone, the total time spent finding and playing an arc is far less than standard content.
I also make far more from random bronze rolls (which I get several of after every AE mission arc) than I do from random drops and merit recipe rolls (at least under level 30). The lack of mission complete xp is more than made up for (in terms of xp/time involved) by the lack of time sinks. A dev story arc may reward more xp overall for time invested due to the huge xp reward for completing the entire arc, but given the time it takes me to complete a dev arc, compared to the time to find and complete a decent AE arc, I'm not sure that's even true.
Then again, I'm not that hard to please. I'm not looking for high art or 5-star entertainment. Just a cohesive story that doesn't jar me out of my comic book universe immersion, and something at least as fun as the dev content. That's not a very high bar given that the majority of dev content I'd rate as 3 stars if it were in the AE, which means I wouldn't even be playing this game if I cared that every mission was a masterpiece.