Ex_Libris

Renowned
  • Posts

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  • Joined














  1. Base Showcase



    The Omega Force



    Who is your base designer and who are your supergroup
    leaders?


    Mister Power (aka MP) and I (R. Son) are mainly the designers. Leaders? There
    are a few: Mister Power (Co-Founder), R. Son/EMP Anton LeVay (Co-Founder),
    BoltTorch, Grillo, Wave Tsunami, and, although he's not a leader anymore I'd
    still like to give credit, because he did help out a lot during his term as a
    leader, to Heatkin. Each Leader helps in their own way, and it's proved to be a
    harmonious system. You just have to have unconditional trust between each other
    to pull this off.


    Which server is your base on, and is it a Hero or Villain SG?

    Freedom - Hero



    When was your supergroup established?

    Circa 2004.


    How many players are in your supergroup?

    We're past capacity. We have members spilling into minor branches. All-in-all,
    30% are active on the worst day.



    What is the approximate value of your base?

    84,733,616 prestige.


    How much time do you spend working on your base? How much time have you
    invested so far?


    Personally, a few hours a day... if there is a need. I've put over 100 hours
    into it; Mister Powers has put in MUCH more.



    What is your favorite base item? Least favorite?

    Favorite - Scorpion's Surprise. Least Favorite is the Raid Teleporter, for
    obvious reasons.



    What is your favorite thing about base editing? Least favorite?


    I love the system we were given, although obvious tweaks can be made. I'm
    grateful for the opportunity to give our SG their own mark on the game. Don't
    have a least favorite.



    What is the highest thing on your wish-list for new base items?

    None, we have everything.



    If you could give just one piece of advice to a new base editor, what would
    it be?


    Save up, then edit. It's much easier creating a base on a big budget than
    having your plans squashed by insufficient funds. If you have an active SG, try
    to make SG mode mandatory. It helped us a great deal!



    Anything else you'd like to add about your SG, your base or the base system
    in general?


    Expanding the style bases can allow might make for a more unique approach.
    There is pretty much only arcane or tech. Most people don't use the Japanese
    style of decorations, if only because it doesn't really fit any specific GROUP
    of characters.























  2. Market Watch



    The View on Blue


    Career Day Part 2





    In Part 1 of the Career Day series, we talked about vendoring - picking up
    inexpensive items on the market and selling them for a profit to an NPC.
    Vendoring is a fine way to get a brand new character some walking around money,
    but it's hardly a glamorous profession. Vendoring is the CoH equivalent of
    collecting recyclable bottles from other people's trash cans and turning them
    in for a nickel each. This week we'll take a step up in the world and learn a
    little something about crafting.


    Let's start with a very simple, brand-new crafting opportunity. Walk into the
    Consignment House and click on one of your friendly neighborhood Wentworth's
    representatives. Take a look at the large inspirations. Find the cheapest one -
    probably accuracy or damage resistance. Put in bids for three of them. I've
    found that 5,000 influence each is enough, if I let the bid sit overnight. Once
    you have your three large inspirations, take another look at the prices. This
    time, find the most expensive large inspiration. It will probably be defense.
    Right click on one of the large inspirations in your tray, and you will get an
    option to combine those three into one new inspiration of any type. Pick the
    most valuable, and poof! Your three cheap inspirations are now one expensive
    inspiration. Drop it on the market, price it appropriately, and wait for it to
    sell. I've been able to sell them quickly at 50,000 inf. This ability to
    convert inspirations is one of the nice quality of life additions from Issue
    12. It's no get-rich-quick scheme, but you can turn a profit with it.


    When most people think of crafting, they think of Invention Origin Enhancements.
    The first thing you should do, if you haven't already, is run the Invention
    tutorial at the University. The professors will walk you through the mechanics
    of crafting. I'll talk about the economics of it. Like any business, you have
    two numbers to consider: how much will it cost you to create your product, and
    how much can you sell it for? You have three expenses: the recipe, the salvage,
    and the crafting fee. Let's look at Common IOs first.


    The crafting fee is simple - it's printed on the recipe. The cost of the recipe,
    if you buy it from the crafting table, is a function of the crafting fee. Do
    you remember how to calculate the vendor buyback price of a recipe, from the
    last career day article? Well, the table price of a recipe is four times the
    vendor buyback price. You can also buy the recipe from other players on the
    market. I find that it's usually cheaper to buy recipes on the market, but
    faster to buy them on the table. As always,
    Paragon Wiki
    helps. You can see a list of every common IO, at every
    level, showing the crafting cost, the NPC buyback amount, and the crafting
    table sale price.



    If you want to make influence by crafting common IOs, you should memorize some
    of them. Once you memorize a recipe, you never need to buy the recipe again. A
    list of memorized recipes will be added to the usual list of options at the
    crafting table. By using your memorized version, you also get a 50% discount on
    the crafting cost. For high level recipes, that makes a big difference. In
    order to memorize a recipe, you need to craft it over and over... sort of. It
    gets a bit complicated. For example, say you want to memorize the level 35
    Damage recipe. You need to craft 11 level 35 enhancements and 11 level 40
    enhancements. The enhancements can be either damage or knockback. The two are
    grouped together in the badge system. Once you have that badge (the Arms Dealer
    badge) then you can craft both damage and knockback enhancements, at either
    level 35 or 40, with no recipe and at half crafting cost. For the full list,
    say hello to
    ParagonWiki
    again.


    The last piece you need is the salvage. It's inescapable. If you are crafting in
    large quantities, then you have no choice but to get the salvage from the
    market, and prices there vary. If you keep crafting the same things, you will
    get a feel for the prices.







    Which IOs should you craft? Look at your own enhancements. What do you see? A
    lot of damage, a fair bit of accuracy? Maybe some endurance and recharge
    enhancements? Those should be the first ones you consider. Look on the market
    and check the prices. Try putting in a few low bids on crafted IO's and wait
    overnight. If you buy some, list them for high prices and let them sit for a
    spell. This should give you a sense of the high and low swings over the course
    of a day. Compare these prices to the cost of crafting the IO. Some will be
    profitable, and some will not.


    One fact will jump out at you: some enhancements are dirt cheap. They sell for
    far less than it must have cost someone to craft them. What is up with that?
    The answer, in a word, is badges. Some people don't craft to make enhancements.
    They are doing it to make badges. Once they have the IO's, though, they might
    as well dump them on the market and try to make a little something back. If you
    are in it for the money, do not compete with badgers. They will undersell you
    every time.


    Once you find an IO which is worth crafting, and memorize the recipe, how much
    can you expect to earn? Let's look at damage as an example. Everyone needs to
    do some damage, and who wouldn't want to do more? If you buy a level 30 Damage
    recipe from the crafting table, and craft it without the memorization badge, it
    will cost around 75,000 influence, depending on the price of Masterwork Weapons
    that day. If you have memorized the recipe, then you only pay 20,700 in
    crafting fees, plus the cost of the salvage. You can sell that enhancement for
    anything up to 75k, and it will be a bargain for anyone who hasn't memorized
    the recipe. Suppose you split the difference and make a profit of 25k per
    enhancement. With a tray of ten, that's 250k. If you do that every day, twice
    on Saturdays, you could make 2,000,000 inf per week. Of course, if everyone who
    reads this column starts crafting level 30 Damage recipes, the price will drop.
    There are other recipes and other levels, though.



    Remember, most people play CoH because they want to be superheroes, not
    manufacturers. A lot of people will be grateful for the chance to buy crafted
    IO's from you rather than spend the time doing it themselves. Even if you
    ignore the discount for memorizing a recipe, people are willing to overpay for
    an enhancement to avoid the inconvenience of crafting. That's why crafting set
    IOs can be profitable.



    A good way to get started crafting set IO's is to study the recipes you receive
    as drops. Instead of just looking up the recipe when you go to sell it, look up
    the crafted enhancement as well. Sometimes there is no difference between the
    two, but it's not uncommon to see a crafted enhancement selling for hundreds of
    thousands, even millions, more than the recipe. Just be sure to take the other
    costs into account. High level recipes have high crafting costs, and rare
    recipes sometimes have very expensive salvage requirements. Keep your eyes
    open. Sooner or later you will stumble across a situation where you can buy a
    recipe for a small price, scoop up some cheap salvage, craft the enhancement,
    and sell it for a big profit. These niches can close up pretty quickly
    sometimes, so I try not to have a lot of inventory sitting around. There is
    definitely money to be made, but the risks are higher than with crafting
    commons.



    The last form of crafting I want to mention is base salvage. I honestly don't
    know a lot about it, but you can craft base salvage or invention salvage into
    components which can be used for enhancement station buffs or creating base
    objects. Sometimes those can be sold for a profit.
    ParagonWiki
    knows more about it than I do.


    Of course, you may be one of those people who would rather crush than craft. In
    that case, go hunt. Kill Helions!











  3. Community



    Fan Fiction Spotlight





    Seriously,
    Why Doesn't This Ever Happen?



    By
    TeChameleon





    The Blaster ignored the general warning over the Vanguard channels, and put out
    a call of his own. "The Rikti ruined my day off... what say
    we ruin their day in return?
    " he commented over the general
    broadcast channel. "I think if we splatter a few of their
    dropships, they'll get the idea.
    "


    This idea was greeted with general enthusiasm, and in surprisingly short order,
    a tidal wave of violently-conflictingly-coloured spandex was roaring upwards on
    rocket boots, wings, capes and antigravity, as dozens of superhumans and
    friendly super-powered 'visitors' gave the first dropship a... warm...
    welcome. The A-Bombs in its hold detonated spectacularly before a single one
    hit the city, and the brilliant cloud of supers turned their attention to the
    next.


    Five or six of the heavily-armed dropships were disposed of that way, although
    several still got through, dropping their loads of bombs... and then the troops
    started porting in.


    Sort of.


    Energon X frankly stared as the portals wavered, distorted, and started
    disgorging both startled Rikti... and... "Soldiers of
    Rularuu..?!?
    "




    I have to say something from the onset. I was not paying attention to this
    story. I don't know what stopped me, if I was too busy or if I was turned off
    by the material (how I could have been turned off by the source material is
    beyond me), though I recall that, for some odd reason, something in my head
    classified it as a roleplaying thread I didn't think I had the time for.
    However, the fact of the matter is I erred greatly in letting this thread get
    away from me.


    The premise is simple: The Rikti invade, and that happens to be at a moment when
    the Rularuu break through the dimensional barrier as well. Of course, all sorts
    of havoc ensues afterward.


    You may remember TeChameleon. The author of a certain
    Henchman's Diary
    , TeCh has a tendency towards comedic undertones, so of
    course there are laughs to be had while reading how heroes, Rikti and Rularuu
    wage war with each other.


    Now, the story suffers a little from the constant back-and-forth between readers
    and the author throughout the thread. However, one must take into account that
    this was started at a time when a regular Fan Fiction Spotlight wasn't a
    feature in the Scoop. My suggestion is to skim for TeCh's posts.




    Steal This Article


    (Please Don't)





    So I'm going to be as serious as I can, which isn't much at all, regarding a
    recent event. A certain member of the paper who puts recipes into the paper
    might have been accused of infringing on something that may or may not have
    been food related. That's the long, safe version. The short version is that
    someone thought MistressNoire might have illegally borrowed a recipe that she
    used in an article. And in response, we elected one lucky person to write about
    it (me) through the "fair" game of "First to Say 'Ow' Writes the Article". On a
    high note, I got all the way up to "Head in Blender". But here it is, my
    slightly correct response.


    First, aforementioned recipe poster did not steal the recipe, and even if she
    did, it wouldn't be worth it. Most of us remember a certain conflict with a
    comic book distributor. The last thing we need is Martha Stewart's gestapo (in
    matching shoes and waistcoats) throwing stale loaves of bread through our
    window. Second, you can't trademark food. Otherwise most villains would have
    tried to trademark water already and sell it for $15 a bottle. Third, recipes
    are facts. Milk+Cereal = Milk and Cereal (or Cereal and Milk, but semantics).
    Facts can't be copyrighted, or else Newton's ghost might copyright gravity and
    make us pay a dollar per step on sweet, sweet ground.


    Yes, most of us are villains, myself included. But I'd rather face the cops then
    have to deal with a pack of rabid lawyers in the American court system. Most of
    us go out of our way to not get sued. I even have to change things around so I
    can't get sued. Hence why Screw-Loose, MERCS 2 and Lazy Sunday are altered
    parodies and not their original titles. I can use names so long as I'm smart
    enough to get permission, like with the Ascendant movie musical. And all in
    all, most of us would rather steal Manticore's couch or put angry bears in kids
    cereal than plagiarize anything.


    As a final note, I'd like to reference a previous precedent. A certain
    supervillain from a comic series, who I shall refer to as "Giggles", tried to
    trademark fish with smiles carved into their faces. And Giggles' request was
    denied because you can't trademark something that's just a slight alteration of
    a perfectly natural thing, from substitutions in a recipe to drawing a mustache
    on the Mona Lisa. So I guess my final point is this: she didn't steal it
    because she had her own version of it for a very long time, we have no reason
    to infringe and anger organizations into attacking us because we don't get paid
    for this job, and United States copyright and trademark law is incredibly long
    and confusing. That's our official response, and I hope we stick to it. I
    promise, legitimately funny junk next time I write. Or at least my attempt at
    it.














  4. The City Scoop



    Spandex Spotlight


    Sovereign Starlette







    Well, this is a pain. I was told that a “very important” job had to be done, and
    that I was perfect for it! But that “job” turned out to be interviewing other
    heroes for the Scoop!


    What the [expletive deleted] is that all about?! -I’m- the one who took
    out the Clockwork king SOLO. –I- have over 450 badges! I’m the one who [Ed.
    Note: self-important rant removed due to word count limit
    ]


    Okay, now that I’ve vented and calmed down, it's time to find someone who’d like
    to have their mug and dirty secrets plastered all over Page 3, which nobody
    ever reads anyway. Atlas Plaza is usually a good place to find heroes more than
    willing to ignore their jobs to babble on about themselves, so I went there,
    and found the usual assortment of robots, aliens, catgirls, monsters, demons,
    romans, and the occasional “normal” super-hero type who looks like they got
    costume advice from an old 1960’s comic book. I seriously don’t know how or why
    Serge and the other icon staff let people get away with that sort of thing.


    Anyway, I found the leader of the Star Emperium,
    Sovereign Starlette
    , standing in her usual place on top of City Hall,
    looking over all the younger heroes... or Atlas’s butt. I couldn’t tell. I’ve
    had a couple past dealings with her, so I decided to give her a go. It took me
    a while to get her attention, as she seemed to be preoccupied, telepathically
    speaking to her teammates or something, but I managed to get a few answers out
    of her...


    Patty-Sue Ivanova: Excuse me, Miss Starlette?


    Sovereign Starlette: (giving an annoyed sigh) Yes?


    PSI: Sovereign Starlette, I'm here on behalf of The City Scoop,
    and I'd like to ask you some questions. If you don't mind, that is.


    SS: The City Scoop? Very well.


    PSI: Great... I guess. I can tell you're enthused... Anyway,
    let's start with the basics. I hear you're an alien of some sort? Is this true?


    SS: I am, yes.


    PSI: Ah, from whereabouts?


    SS: I was the Empress of the great Democlean empire in the
    Democles system. It was destroyed when our sun went nova during an attack by
    what I now know as the Rikti. Yes, they do indeed traverse the depths of space,
    as well as invading Earth.



    PSI: (Not having the gall to ask what her race did to cheese
    off Nemesis...) Oh, wow, sorry to hear about that... Is that why you've come to
    Earth, to hunt the Rikti down? Or was it because we have pizza?


    SS: Not exactly. My ship crashed here in 1947, followed by a
    Rikti ship. That same Rikti ship is the one that crashed in Roswell, New
    Mexico. I stayed because I had nowhere else to go and, to a point, I feel the
    Earth could use people like myself.


    PSI: Your ship? So, are there more of your race here?


    SS: No. I am the last of my kind, as far as I know. I ordered
    my people to abandon ship before the crash.


    PSI: Ouch, sounds rough, but not too unheard of. So in that
    vein, then, your supergroup, the... Star Empire? Star Emporium... uhm... Shoot,
    my notes aren't very clear, forgive me...


    SS: Emperium...


    PSI: Ah, that's it, thanks! Anyway, I take it that your fellow
    supergroup mates are not members of your own race, obviously, but other aliens?


    SS: Aliens and Earth beings, yes. Originally, the Emperium was
    for aliens only, but we saw need to take heroes of all races, creeds, etc.


    PSI: Let me guess, civil rights and political-correctness
    groups were seeing your "aliens only" club and crying "foul"? Or were you just
    looking to expand to help better serve the people you protect and all that sort
    of thing?


    SS: No, it was more so to get the Vanguard off our backs. While
    they were grateful for my help in the original invasion, they still have
    difficulty trusting aliens.


    PSI: Aaah... Ooh, shoot, I should probably ask about your
    powers or something... My editor will have my head otherwise.


    SS: All my people, like myself, have wings with which to fly.
    Other powers, however, are only passed on through my family's bloodline. My
    heritage innately gives me super strength that dwarfs that of the Statesman ten
    fold; super speed; impenetrable, invulnerable skin; and, like my father, I have
    the Agony Gaze. A powerful searing blast that can be shot from my eyes.


    PSI: Wow, with an assortment of powers like that, it's amazing
    there's still any crime left for anyone else to fight...


    SS: I don't generally waste my efforts on common thugs and
    thieves. Oh yes, and I'm also quite resistance to psionics as well.


    PSI: (At this point, I was starting to feel a bit threatened)
    Resistant to psionics? Remind me never to piss you off, then... On that note,
    you seem like you have other things on your mind so I'll wrap this up real
    quick... You've made a good name for yourself: you run a Supergroup, and I've
    seen you in action... yet you spend a lot of time on this rooftop. Any
    particular reason for that?


    SS: I spend more time on Rikti, giant monsters, and more
    dangerous foes. I like the challenge, and thugs and thieves are something for
    lesser heroes to deal with. Like my praetorian doppleganger, the Sovereign
    Tyrant. Now THERE was a challenge. Though, I did destroy her utterly in the
    end.


    PSI: You destroyed her WHAT? Er, wait, "utterly"? Okay, yeah, I
    misheard you there. (At this point, S.S. smirked... finally, a reaction from
    her, I was beginning to think she was a statue!) Well anyway, what you said

    about thugs and thieves makes sense. So, unless there's anything else you'd
    wish to add, about yourself, your teammates, or anything...


    (…But before I could finish and we could wrap this thing up, the skies turned a
    disgusting greenish gray as sirens and alert klaxons went off, while the
    warwalls’ energy fields dissipated... Yup, You guessed it.)


    SS: Speaking of Rikti...


    (Sovvy powered up to prepare for battle, ready to enact some small vengeance on
    behalf of her people, and ours, while I, uhm, decided, to, uh... “strategically
    withdraw"... Had to get this article finished!)





    This Issue:


    Community





    Market Watch




    Base Showcase




    Food & Recipes




    SuperTeam




    Support Our Troops!


    Comic




    Upcoming Events



    July 5th:







    July 6th:





    July 9th:





    July 11th to 13th:





    July 13th:





    July 18th:









  5. This message is to notify the Community that our East Coast Servers and all public services provided by these services will be down for a period of 1 hour for unexpected maintenance.

    We will be bringing the servers down at 1:00 PM CST, we apologize for any inconvenience.

    Discuss the maintenance here!

    Regards,

    Ex Libris
  6. OP has been updated with the last changes. Thank you for your contributions.

    Ex
  7. Sorry gang the rules aren't in our court. The contest is hosted by Toyota and Gametrailers.com so they will be your rule source and place to go for clarification.

    I hope that helps, at least a little.

    Ex
  8. [ QUOTE ]
    Lighthouse, will this Pocket D VIP Pass be handed out on other days beside Saturday? Saturday is sold out, but I think I can make it there for Friday.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    We will be passing out the VIP passes all days of the show, of course the event is Saturday night so Sunday will be for collectibles if we have any left over by then.

    Regards,

    Ex
  9. Edition 54 of "The City Scoop” a publication for Supers by Supers!

    I’m sure most of you feel the same way: What did we ever do without the weekly Scoop?

    If you have concerns regarding the content of the Scoop please direct your comments via PM to Lighthouse or Ex Libris.

    If you would like to do a feature article, have an event covered, or join "The City Scoop" team please PM Snow_Globe or Pants_Stealer

    If you or someone you know should be considered for ‘Behind the Mask’ Teldon

    If you need some “Advice” contact Lady_Athyna or would like to “Ask The X” contact LiquidX

    Finally if you have a Classified Ad or Recipe you would like included please contact: LadyK or MistressNoire

    Discussion on the latest edition of "The City Scoop" is located here.
  10. Edition 54 of "The City Scoop” a publication for Supers by Supers!

    I’m sure most of you feel the same way: What did we ever do without the weekly Scoop?

    If you have concerns regarding the content of the Scoop please direct your comments via PM to Lighthouse or Ex Libris.

    If you would like to do a feature article, have an event covered, or join "The City Scoop" team please PM Snow_Globe or Pants_Stealer

    If you or someone you know should be considered for ‘Behind the Mask’ Teldon

    If you need some “Advice” contact Lady_Athyna or would like to “Ask The X” contact LiquidX

    Finally if you have a Classified Ad or Recipe you would like included please contact: LadyK or MistressNoire

    Discussion on the latest edition of "The City Scoop" is located here.
































































































































  11. The City Scoop Staff

















































































































































  12. Classifieds






    Do you have an event coming up? Are you going to attend an upcoming event? Do
    you want to see or even write an article for The City Scoop? Drop a line to an
    Editor-in-Chief a week in advance, and you too could be a guest writer for The
    City Scoop.




    Want your character to be interviewed by Scoop Man? Send a PM to HumanMiracle!





    Lost: Paradigm Shift Device. Contact Demented Cynic at Portal Corp. by Friday.
    Remember to bring Hawaiian shirt.




    Introducing Two-for-Tuesday at El Super Mexicano! All regular quesadillas just 2
    for $5 all day Tuesday!




    LOST: My pet Alpha Bomb has been lost. Last time I had him he was on Protector.
    He has been last seen on Champion, but bounces to different places. He is very
    sly and can go by different names, but he always responds to Yo Gamma. If found
    please contact Crimson Betrayal.




    Want to be part of the VEAT Army? Yes we are an offshoot branch of the FUSION
    empire in the Protector dimension loyal only to Ghost Widow. We are destined
    for greatness.



    Ghost Widow has ordered my organization to form a new sect in support of special
    operations. I will recruit within our ranks as well as go outside of our known
    coalition. These chosen members will go to an academy for training as various
    Arachnos soldiers. While I do not like to be told how to run FUSION, Widow
    assures me that I will be rewarded for forming this group.


    My first order of business is to choose villains among my organization that
    display some of the following qualities: Mind control, knowledge of poisons,
    stealth, acrobatics, weapons fighting, and most importantly do not display fear
    and that would die if I ordered them to do such. I have at least 20 in mind
    from my 150 Villain organization that fit this criteria. Over the next few
    weeks I will begin listing them in preparation for training.


    This training will consist of a series of trials and strike forces ordered by
    Ghost Widow. More to follow soon.



    Want to know more?
    Please come to the Veat Army Project.






    Attention: .







    ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT RIBS at InFront
    Steakhouse!



    Thursday night is all-you-can-eat rib night at InFront Steakhouse. Come in after
    4 PM, mention this ad, and get endless plates of our mouthwatering baby back
    ribs for only $14.99!




    The Cooperative Story project is in need of authors. You can locate the current
    work
    here
    . Support, commentary and introductions are located
    here
    . The idea is simple: Find an author you know well and can work

    with, and write a story together. At present, all styles are welcome. We look
    forward to your contributions.





    Help Wanted: Writers for The City Scoop. Please contact Snow_Globe,
    Pants_Stealer, or Marcian_Tobay for submission details.




    "TO: The Sinclair Syndicate. Just a public note of thanks for always being
    there, even when the viewing public doesn't know that it's you. Without your
    help, some of the coolest shots in my videos would never happen (to say nothing
    of me meeting deadlines). And in case you missed it, the I-12 teaser was
    dedicated to you guys. Thank you. - Johanna Sinclair."




    Lost: One sense of humor. If found, please return to Agent Omega.




    Hiram Giovanni's Deli and Pizzeria



    Food, Fence and Forgery


    "Everything's Kosher"





    WANTED: Fan Artist to draw my character. I cannot offer much compensation other
    than any of the wares I would otherwise sell on the Auction House. If you are
    interested, please contact Hakuro de Killer on the Virtue Server




    Head of the Thug Security Task force is looking for new pryotechnic thug. IQ
    required, and tank like urges removed (or supply your own self rez). Thanks Mal
    Boneface





    Lost: Hub of the Wheel of Destruction. If found, please contact Azuria. P.S.
    Please do not use to construct deadly wheel of Destruction. Thanks. -Azuria





    Need to sell something? Post it in The City Scoop Classifieds. Send PM to
    EnnVee while LadyK is on Vacation.

















  13. Base Showcase




    The Defenders of
    Paragon





    Who is your base designer and who are your supergroup leaders?

    The base designer is Bayne. The SG leaders are Bayne, Exodus, Korporshutz,
    Nightclub, Red Switchblade, and Xanatos.



    Which server is your base on, and is it a Hero or Villain SG?


    The SG is on Virtue. It is a hero group. We have 4 hero SGs that make up our
    extended SG, as well as one villain SG.




    When was your supergroup established?


    The Defenders of Paragon was established three years before CoH went live. The
    SG existed on the original CoH forums during development, and was first brought
    to life in the closed beta testing of the original release of CoH. When the
    game went live, the SG was formed within the first few hours of the Head Start.



    How many players are in your supergroup?

    Our group has in excess of 100 players which account for over 400 characters in
    our affiliated TDOP SGs.



    What is the approximate value of your base?


    The base is worth somewhere between 20 to 30 million Influence. I've haven't
    spent the time to add it all up.



    How much time do you spend working on your base? How much time have you
    invested so far?


    I spend maybe four hours a month on the base right now. In total I've spent
    probably 200 hours or more editing the base as we have expanded it from the
    original size to what it is today.



    What is your favorite base item? Least favorite?

    My favorite base item is Autonomous Expert System (AES). My lease favorite base
    item is the Item of Power holder.



    What is the highest thing on your wish-list for new base items?


    My highest wish-list item is not a new item, but an intentionally designed
    method of creating objects using a Z axis (height above the floor).








    If you could give just one piece of advice to a new base editor, what would
    it be?



    My advice for a new base editor is to pay attention to the little things. That
    table with enhancements in it needs to be emptied before you decide to do
    something to it or else you risk loosing what was in it.



    Anything else you'd like to add about your SG, your base or the base system
    in general?


    Preferred Method of contact: Registering at our website and posting on our
    forums. Although meeting up with us in game is just as desirable.



    Description:



    "These guys have been around since the beginning and I'm sure they'll be here
    'till the end!"


    -Paragon city mayor on the subject of the Defenders.



    Paragon City is full of crime and villains. The city cries out desperately for a
    hope, an answer, a defense from the evils that fill it. The Defenders of
    Paragon serve that hope and protect Paragon City. We shall use the powers
    gifted to us to there fullest extent to defeat evil wherever it exists. We
    stand for truth, justice, freedom, and righteousness. We are the ray of hope in
    Paragon City's darkest hour. We are The Defenders.



    It is accurate to say the Defenders are like the JSA of Paragon City. We are
    comprised of the best of the old and boldest of the new. We pay homage to the
    excellance that is the comic book industry through the characters we play. It
    is because of this that we have such a wide variety of members and such a
    brilliant mix of superheroes on the team. We have members at all level ranges,
    and look to promote a roleplay-friendly family spirit in our supergroup.



    We're not a "clan" or "guild." We are Superheroes.



    The Defenders of Paragon are comprised of several in-game supergroups. All of
    The Defenders of Paragon groups function as a branches of a single supergroup
    for most game purposes.



    - Bayne














  14. Encounters


    The People On:




    Arachnos Chosen Ones vs. The Midnight Squad





    As I took a break from my rounds around Kings Row, I stumbled upon the entrance
    to the glorified club, the Pocket D. Thinking it would be easier to corner a
    hero or villain this way since there would be no where for them to run, I
    entered. As I moved, unnoticed, through the crowds, I saw the hero's hero...the
    bartender. He was casually swaying along with the music, not doing his job
    which was being done by the heroes surrounding him. I approached him from the
    side counter, away from most of the heroes, to see what he thought about the
    recent happenings since the re-emergence of the Midnight Squad and the numerous
    amounts of new Arachnos soldiers...


    Scoop Man: Hey there, can I get a bottle of water please?


    Bar-Keep: Yeah I'll--oh!! Scoop Man!



    SM: That's me. Mind if I asked you some questions? He pulls out a pencil and a
    notepad.



    BK: Uh, sure! This...this isn't going to get me in trouble with DJ Zero is it?


    SM: Not unless you have some dirt on him I should know about. He grins
    humorously.




    BK: Oh! Oh no no... What would you like to know?


    SM: I'd like to ask you about all the new Arachnos recruits around here.



    BK: Oh is that all? Whew, well it certainly does create some interesting
    conversation let me tell you. The heroes are all freaking out with the new
    recruits. They're thinking they might get over-run in Bloody Bay or something.


    SM: Have you ever seen any of them or talked to any recruits?


    BK: Oh sure! They pop in and out of the blue side to heckle the heroes, but
    nothing serious. It's like they’ve got a "Free Pass Badge" on or something.
    They think they can do anything now.



    SM: You sound resentful. Any reasons why?


    BK: Resentful! Oh heck no. It's great business! Lots of heroes are buying drinks
    because they're pissed off about one thing or another BECAUSE of the recruits.



    SM: So you support the large consumption of alcohol of heroes on the job? Kind
    of taking advantage of them don't you think?


    BK: What?? I didn't say that! Did...did I say that? I dunno maybe it SOUNDED
    like I said that but I didn't!


    SM: Right right right. How do you feel about the Midnight Squad? Do you think
    that having them come back into the lime-light could help even out the odds for
    the heroes?


    BK: Well I can't say much for that. I don't know too much about them to be
    honest but I have been seeing more and more heroes with Midnight Club badges
    and it kind of makes me feel good.


    SM: Why's that?


    BK: Well, it's like a having one big club looking out for you, you know? Like,
    the unity from friendship and all that jazz makes them stronger than the
    military unity from Arachnos.



    SM: So you think the Arachnos soldiers aren't as strong as the heroes? They just
    have strength in numbers?


    BK: NO! I mean uh, the heroes have powers and all that and the uh the soldiers
    are uh...is- is Lord Recluse going to read this?


    SM: Don't know. I get a lot of circulation.


    BK: Heh... no, uh, no comment.


    SM: I see, well it was nice talking to you. Thanks for the insight from the
    people, I appreciate it. And thank you for the water.


    BK: Yeah...yeah sure thing. The Bar-Keep pours himself a drink nervously as
    Scoop Man leaves, notepad in hand.





    As I left the bar, I knew what my next objective would be...find one of the
    so-called "Chosen Ones," and see what they had to say about this. I didn’t
    think it would take me long to find one, but it would take me a while to find
    the right one to talk to.















  15. Community




    The Fan Fiction Spotlight





    The
    Neighborhood Watch



    By:

    drrmidnight



    Recently, the forums took note of the return of drrmidnight. Along with that
    return, it was brought to our attention that the return of the Neighborhood
    Watch was shortly on his heels.


    As it stands, we're presented with a story going on in the background of the
    general hub-bub of the City of Heroes universe. The main character is a
    newcomer to the city, not even a hero as the story opens, and he is slowly,
    meticulously introduced into the world we, the players, know so well.


    Then the shock kicks in. The character, Doc Midnight, simply doesn't have the
    time to do the job slowly and Ray Danner isn't learning quickly enough to keep
    up. This is currently the theme of the comic, a classic "Passing the Torch"
    scenario that is being stretched out so as we can see the training that is
    usually so oversimplified in normal comics as to be almost a farce.


    The comic seems to be very meticulously developed. Several scenes are cut in
    very novel methods, with locations and characters recognizable as other areas
    seeming much different with only a simple shift in camera angle. To get these
    kinds of images has to be a difficult job for the author, and it's a good yarn
    at the same time.


    In the end, the story works. It's a good read, and with luck, we'll see more of
    it in the future. I know I'm hooked.






    Writing Your Own Fan Fiction


    Developing characters





    A story is something that happens to people.



    Think about your favorite action films. When I think of Armageddon, the moment I
    always remember is the moment when Bruce Willis’s character yanks the air hoses
    off Ben Affleck’s suit to force the decision of who stays and who goes. In The
    Empire Strikes Back I remember “Luke, I am your father,” and “‘I love you,’ ‘I
    know.’” In Terminator, it’s “Come with me if you want to live.” For that
    matter, in Terminator 2 it’s “Come with me if you want to live.”


    Fan fiction for the 'City of' world can take many different genres from
    character driven to action, but always remember: a story is something that
    happens to people. Is anyone going to care what happens to your characters?


    A character that people care about must be distinctive, likable, interesting,
    have realistic flaws (temper, arrogance, stubborn), realistic emotions (fear,
    anger, jealousy), and should be physically appealing but not physically
    perfect. No one is perfect, no one is motivated solely by duty and altruism.
    Your characters will be more likable and more believable if their motivations
    are realistic. Yes, absolutely, real people do have a sense of duty, but we are
    also motivated by fear and reward. Let your character make mistakes and bad
    choices, allow him to be selfish occasionally. Ultimately, it will make people
    care more about him.


    Finally, your character is a hero (or a villain,) but it’s not an interesting
    story if he easily vanquishes all obstacles. The opponent should present a
    challenge, in fact, should probably have an early win over the hero so that
    your main character has to learn and overcome in order to win in the end.


    If your characters are not interesting, believable, and likable, your stories
    will not interest your reader. As you work on your fan fiction, always keep in
    the front of your mind: a story is something that happens to people.












  16. The Original Tank Mages SuperTeam





    Time for another SuperTeam. If you recall from my previous articles, a SuperTeam
    is a carefully crafted themed team designed to roll over mobs quickly and
    easily. The ATs, power sets, and even individual powers are chosen to provide
    maximum team buffs (often including the Leadership pool), plus AoE debuffs and
    damage. This week I'll talk about the Tank Mages, a SuperTeam I ran right after
    Sonic Resonance Defenders came out in
    Update 5 (August 31, 2005)
    .


    What is a Tank Mage? It's a single character with great defense (Tank) and
    offense (Mage) that's often ranged. This is generally viewed as a bad
    combination from a game designer's point of view, but a great combination from
    a player's point of view. Thanks to lots of stacked buffs, this SuperTeam
    turned Defenders into Tank Mages. The ideal Tank Mage team is composed of 2
    Force Field Defenders, 2 Sonic Resonance Defenders, and 4 Kinetics Defenders. I
    started this SuperTeam during the same update as the Global Defense Reduction,
    but we certainly didn't see any problems. This was also before Enhancement
    Diversification. I'll include current numbers for buff stats below, but
    understand that we had higher buffs when we originally did this SuperTeam.


    The Force Field Defenders provide effectively capped defense, meaning mobs only
    hit us 5% of the time. They have two individual bubbles (15% defense to most
    attacks) that last for 4 minutes, plus a PBAoE toggle in Dispersion Bubble (10%
    defense to all attacks). Slotted and double stacked from the 2 Defenders, that
    adds up to 78% defense. Add in stacked Maneuvers for about 44% more, or 122%
    defense total. We rarely got hit. Even without the individual bubbles (when the
    FF Defenders got lazy), we were hard to hit.


    The Sonic Resonance Defenders provide capped damage resistance to all but Psi
    damage. They have two individual bubbles (20% damage resistance to most
    attacks) that last for 4 minutes, plus a PBAoE toggle in Sonic Dispersion (15%
    more). Slotted and double stacked that's 109% damage resistance to all but Psi,
    but Defenders are limited to 75% Resistance. The hits that made it through the
    Force Field bubbles didn't hurt much.



    The Dispersion Bubbles gave us significantly more than Tanker level status
    protection, except to Sleep. Sleep was the biggest hole in our protection as it
    would take down our toggles, and sometimes lead to a cascade failure.






    The Kins add all the usual Kin buffs including Transfusion (Heal), Speed Boost
    (+Recharge, +Recovery, +Movement), Siphon Power and Fulcrum Shift (mob -Damage,
    team +Damage), and Transference (+END). This was before stacking in the buff
    bar, and we'd often have the entire visible bar (55 buffs) filled with Fulcrum
    Shift icons.


    We chose a variety of Secondary power sets, but Electric Blast was pretty
    popular. It added more damage mitigation in that stacked Short Circuit was
    enough to drain mobs of all their endurance. It also had 2 AoEs that could hit
    16 targets, and they worked well when surrounded by massive numbers of mobs. I
    had originally recommended Dark Blast due to the higher damage, but I highly
    recommend going all Electric Blast now. The most effective play style is to sit
    right in the middle of the mobs so you benefit from Transfusion, Transference,
    and Fulcrum Shift, and the most effective secondary for that play style is
    Electric Blast.


    This is the SuperTeam where Blazing Imp started using Team Teleport and Group
    Fly. Team TP kept everyone together inside the Dispersion Bubbles, in range of
    Leadership, and close enough to benefit from Transfusion and Transference on
    nearby mobs. We all ran Tactics, and that let us hit while running on
    Invincible. The SuperTeam ran before aggro caps were introduced, so we were
    able to herd large numbers of mobs. We'd TP into the middle of a spawn and
    unload AoEs, usually defeating most of the minions and Lieutenants, and then
    repeat for several more spawns. Eventually we'd stand still and finish off the
    mass of bosses trailing after us. Group Fly gave us all Knockback protection,
    which was easier to maintain than having the Kins spam Increase Density all the
    time.


    This is also the SuperTeam where I learned that you want as few builds as
    possible. Some people level fast, some level slow, some play early, and some
    play late. It's rare that you'll get a team of 8 people with the right power
    sets and level distribution to actually play together. In the end, a single
    team of 8 stuck together and half hit 50 the same night.


    The biggest problem we had was that mob would run away after we sucked out all
    their Endurance. If I were to do this team again, I'd replace 2 of the Kins
    with Fire/Kin Controllers. Stacked Hot Feet would slow down the runners if Fire
    Cages didn't immobilize them completely. I'd also do just a single team,
    because the power set and level distribution would usually be messed up in a
    large "everyone is invited" style SuperTeam.



    Like the Fire/Rads, slotting was a bit strange. After the Kins got Fulcrum
    Shift, there was no need to slot for damage. Tactics meant no need to slot for
    significant accuracy. Stacked Speed Boost meant no need to slot for endurance,
    since we didn't run out as long as the Kins were paying attention. We mainly
    slotted attacks for recharge and secondary effects, like endurance drain in
    Power Sink.


    Feel free to grab a few friends and try this, and PM me if you have any
    questions on it. I'm currently running a
    VEAT SuperTeam
    on Justice, though it has lost critical mass. Maybe I
    need to start a new SuperTeam.


    Next Week: A New PvP SuperTeam













  17. The City Scoop



    Goin' Green














    I know, you're wondering "Veng, why is such a powerful villain contemplating
    helping the environment?". Well, the freakin' Devouring Earth have set up camp
    outside of my VG's base, and I'm trying to make them leave. It's like every
    time I break one, a couple take its place! But we should try to help the
    environment. Even Aeon is with the totally clean and side-effect-free PTS. So
    here are a few power sources to consider that will help the environment but
    hurt people like nature intended. Now get off our porch!


    Nictus Energy: If the Freakshow realize you can use this stuff to power Tanks,
    why not power appliances? A Nictus power adapter draws dark energy from Nicti
    (or Kheldians if you've beat up enough cops) to power whatever you want.
    ANYTHING. I adapted the toaster the other day, and things haven't been better!
    Now my toast tastes like pure hate and malice covered in butter. Save the
    environment and make the world a more evil place!


    Time Energy: So after an experiment with a coat hanger, a six-pack of energy
    drinks and a bathtub full of duct tape, the leader of my VG adapted our Pillar
    of Ice and Flame into a power source. And after plugging the fridge in, some
    weird stuff has happened. The ketchup bottle is always full, food never expires
    and sometimes when I open it, there's a full breakfast waiting for me.
    Although, he did plug the teleporter into the Pillar, and I haven't seen him
    since. *shrug* Since I don't understand the complex mechanics, I'm just going
    to eat my cereal and not worry about it.


    Mu Blood: Developed by the CoT, this incredibly unstable source is kind of hard
    to power, which is why the few times I've seen it, some Heroes have been using
    them. It's not like us Villains can just harvest some Mu and Recluse will turn
    a blind eye. Bases powered by Mu blood tend to be....odd. Whispers of wars past
    echo down the corridors, the lights are tinted red, and everything is all
    static-y. And Arachnos attacks seem to increase against you. I'm not exactly
    one to get energy through genocide, so I'm just gonna pass.



    Troll Power: This is simple. Go to Skyway, grab a couple dozen Trolls. Put
    sandwiches on strings, put the Trolls on treadmills in front of the sandwiches.
    Duh. It's the villainous way to harness the power of the stupid for evil! Or
    conversely, you Heroes are letting the Trolls vent their anger and are
    preventing them from causing harm and destruction. Plus, you can always party
    with them and harness the power of dance! Note: Dance is not a viable energy
    source ever since the lawsuit M. Jackson v. E. Bunny. Disregard the notion.










    Sapper Tech: Pretty easy to understand. After breaking a bunch of Malta faces,
    they're rather eager to give you anything you want. After modifying a Sapper
    rifle, you basically have a mobile energy source that can power anything you
    want. There is a catch, in that stuff needs to be nearby for you to sap power.
    Modify the antenna of your car, and zoom by as people's engines spontaneously
    fail. Or just move to Cap Au Diable and live under the power lines. Make sure
    to anger the energy demons for extra potency.


    Funny story. The DE are gone, but now there seems to be an angry mob in front of
    our base. I'm not sure whether to make a deal or turn the sprinklers on. Still,
    make sure to help the environment in the most evil/heroic way possible. Or I'll
    gnaw your face off. Save the whales and send me hate mail!





    This Issue:





    Community





    Base Showcase




    Classifieds




    Puzzle Solution





    Comic




    Upcoming Events


    June 28th:






    June 29th:








    June 30th:






    July 5th:



  18. This announcement is to notify the Community that the North American Official Message Boards will be unavailable starting at 8:00 AM- 12:00 PM Central Monday morning.

    The estimated down time will be less than 3 hours.

    If you have threads you would like to be kept through this process please make sure to make a recent post or contact someone on the moderator team to mark the thread to be saved.

    Any questions please don't hesitate to PM Lighthouse or Ex Libris or the moderators Niviene & Koschej.

    Regards,

    Ex Libris
  19. OP has been updated.

    Camo, the html tags happen once I post because I have settings that allow for both.

    It is a good idea to keep a saved file for you to update on your end with new guides that filter in, also I normally remove the portion of the address from url= to /showflat so that the guide will show up as Villain and Hero friendly.

    So effectively putting in an address of url=/showflat(cut at end of first numbers) will net you the guide url in whatever version the other user is logged in and viewing from.

    The only case where this won't work is if you are using the links outside of our boards, in which case you need the boards.cityofheroes or boards.cityofvillains for links like that to work properly.

    Let me know if you have additional questions and thanks for the updates.

    Ex
  20. I gave tons of clues even quoting Shakespeare in the effort. It doesn't get better than this teaser until the real deal shows up to blow your mind.

    Not everything in the Matrix is controlled by us.

    Ex
  21. For all you media fiends we have something planned that we will be officially announcing next week. So get your goggles on and get ready for a wild ride! Stay tuned for more details early next week.

    To discuss this topic please join us here in the multi-media forums!

    Regards,

    Ex Libris
  22. For all you media fiends we have something planned that we will be officially announcing next week. So get your goggles on and get ready for a wild ride! Stay tuned for more details early next week.

    To discuss this topic please join us here in the multi-media forums!

    Regards,

    Ex Libris
  23. And I thought folks would be sad they were missing our party!

    I'm here to clarify a few things that have been brought up in this thread.

    1) You must be an attendee of Comic Con to get a pass.
    2) You do not have to be +21 to get a pass.
    3) You must be +21 to attend the party which is at a local club in San Diego.
    4) There are 1000 passes, so it is first come first serve, although we will allot a certain amount daily.
    5) There are also 1000 passes to the party that do not have an exclusive item for non-subscribers.

    It is always tough in Community Development and building to please everyone. If we had to do this we would ultimately do nothing.

    We understand the concerns, and the unsettled feelings, however we are going to take advantage of the opportunities we have to do fun and dynamic events when we are able. Ultimately growth and success of events like this will mean growth and success for future events and we have to start somewhere.

    Again if anyone has any concerns please feel free to drop me a line at exlibris@ncsoft.com.

    Regards,

    Ex