Galactic_Hobo

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Anyways, due to copyright/EULA reasons you can't directly have a JSA homage arc but done right you could match the overall feel.

[/ QUOTE ]

Homages, actually, you're allowed. It's the direct rip off you're not.

Sadly I too can't offer up a true JLA/JSA homage arc myself. My 4th of July arc has the classic "We need to convince them we're on the same team!" theme in it, but not enough spandex I'm afraid.

Hmm... maybe I'll try to write one...

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never been clear on the difference between a homage and a copyright violation. I've seen The Flash turned into Quicksilver and Green Arrow become Hawkeye. I've seen the Fantastic Four become The Incredibles and the Hulk become Solomun Grundy. And I've seen the JLA become the Squadron Supreme.

Does this mean that I can have an arc of the JLA if every character has a different costume and character name? Specifically, can I have a Yellow Bow and Arrow for Green Lantern, a White Dove for Black Canary, and a Powerful Mother for Superman? Can I call them the Gang of Seven (for the original 7 members of the JLA)?

Color me ... clueless.

[ QUOTE ]
We all know that certain super groups in the comic books utilize holographic rooms to train, to perfect their teamwork, and to gain experience without any real threats(not going to cite specific examples for trademark reasons). The point I'm trying to make here is, what happens in the virtual world of Architect Entertainment has no effect whatsoever on the "real" world outside the AE building. It's not until the heroes/villains leave the AE building that they will actually have an effect on the "real" world.

People training their skills in a virtual world should gain experience points, they are training after all, developing new manuevers, etc. They are not, however, doing anything to affect the outside world from their virtual battles, they are simply fighting holograms. As this is the case, why should any characters become more "infamous" or "influential" for doing things that don't affect the "real" world of Paragon City/Rogue Isles? Where is the logic, storywise, for characters gaining infamy/influence from their actions in the virtual world of AE?

Not sure if this question has been posed before or not, so please, discuss...

[/ QUOTE ]

In my opinion, you're beginning with a false assumption. The MA isn't like the Danger Room. And it isn't like the holodecks on Star Trek. In those you don't get hurt unless something goes terribly wrong.

MA is different. You get defeated, you collect debt and wind up in the hospital. If you can amass debt, you should get influence and prestige/infamy.

MA is its own entity. Comparing it to a M*rv*l device would make it ... derivitve, and we know how the devs feel about that. So unless you want to report them and have their jobs gen-ed, you need to agree with me that MA is one-of-a-kind. Nothing on earth like it, no siree!

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Wow - you haven't played in a zone where Freakshow are just hanging out in the streets? let me guess - MA all the way, right? ...

... You may want to go research what is outside the MA a bit - ParagonWiki is your friend. There is lots more to see than the inside of the AE Building in Atlas Park.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get off your high horse, legend.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get off your own.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, you get off your own!

"No, you!"

"No, not me, you"

"Oh, yeah ... "

"yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"yeah!"

Just thought I'd be helpful and continue your posts for you.

By the way, Ad_Asta didn't need your help -- quite articulate without you.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

[ QUOTE ]
If it's worth it to the people paying for it, that's the end of the discussion.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had a response ... I really did. But then I learned that this was the end of the discussion so I had to let it pass.

(Now that we're told its the end of the discussion, I'm confident that there will be absolutely no more posts in this thread.)

[ QUOTE ]
I've been doing feedback posts now for a little while, tacked onto threads as they appear from time to time in this part of the forum. Some involve arcs in their earliest stages, and might be described as editorials. Some are for arcs that have already had comprehensive editing, where hopefully I focus more on my experience of the plot.

I do edit/review according to my preferences (stories only!), and I'll abandon an arc rather than play something I don't like, or can't get through. If an arc can't score a 4+ from me (considering where I see its "potential"), then I give up, without voting. Imagine an amateur publisher, not an amateur critic. If I have any advice up to that point, I PM the author. Some of my previous feedback examples (that weren't purged) are listed below. My style does vary, but where appropriate I now tend to put typos in orange and timestamps in yellow. Other than that I hope I can keep it simple. Starting with my oldest efforts:

Arc 49801: The Prism: @Sooner
Arc 3326: The Portal Service: @Lazarus
Arc 58376: Dark Astoria Unleashed: @Midnight Rider
Arc 4643: Blowback: @Venture
Arc 64859: The Calling of the Cult: @Misho
Arc 69088: Last Caress pt.1: @Fukushu
Arc 195202: A Bad Hand from a Worse Dechs: @Dechskaison
Arc 209473: Standing Within the Mists: @Liberal Conspiracy
Arc 123675: The Lost Choir: @MrSquid
Arc 136959 / 141011: The Lost Choir: @MrSquid
Arc 1709: The Amulet of J'gara: @Lazarus
Arc 195202: A Bad Hand from a Worse Dechs: @DechsKaison (repeat)
Arc 182874: Time's Maelstrom: @Armory1
Arc 191775: How the Other Half Lives: @JKCarrier
Arc 92364: The Shattered Sapphire: @Sapphire Keeper
Arc 210267: To Serve Crey: @SDragon
Arc 221240: The Audition Part One: @MrCaptainMan
Arc 124319: The Shadow Rune of the Warlocks: @RedWarlock
Arc 4643: Blowback: @Venture (repeat)
Arc 4384: The Double-Edged Sword: @theHedoren

I'm currently looking for arcs that are "finished" to the best of the author's ability, and ready for initial editing ("looking for feedback", not "work in progress", not "final"). In most cases this means less than 20 votes so far. PM me with your arc number if you'd like me to take a look. You don't have to play my arcs, particularly if they don't interest you, but I also appreciate feedback. And if this post doesn't keep me utterly busy, then I'll continue to review ad hoc, as before.

Cheers, airhead

[/ QUOTE ]


While I don't have anything for you to review, I did want to take this opportunity to raise a glass and toast anyone who is willing to have their arc reviewed ... by an airhead.

I love the title of your thread: Airheaded Reviews.

I wish, though, that since we have SO many reviewers at this point, that you would actually DO airheaded reviews ... i.e., review these arcs tongue in cheek.

[ QUOTE ]
Judging from the responses so far in this thread, it's no wonder this country is heading down the road of bankruptcy within the next 25 years. So many people expecting free handouts and welfare like it's a birthright. I guess there's just no such thing as paying for services rendered anymore. Ah well, I guess I'll just continue following my own principles and not allow lowbies into my AE teams.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think I'm reading the same thread you're reading.

Mainly I see people who are as disgusted as I am at people trying to charge others for MA missions.

They should all be ashamed.

Well, I would certainly apologize for the post count nastiness on my part. I was trying to comment on the assuptive comment about an MA only player and ... well, came up short and out of line. So you guys called me on that ... and rightly so.

On the other hand ...

wait, there is no other hand

And I WOULD post a link to the wiki page about forum rules except for two things. 1) I don't know how to insert that kind of link in a thread like this; and 2) I don't t think wiki cover anything like that. I just made that up.

BUT IF I HADN"T MADE IT UP AND I DID KNOW HOW TO LINK, I WOULD POST THAT LINK RIGHT HERE.

So there!

[ QUOTE ]
Charging a fellow level 50 or even 40+ characters for MA runs is pretty ridiculous given that they could very well contribute to the team. However, I have no qualms about charging lowbies (level 20 and below) for MA runs *if* I even allow them to get on my team in the first place. To put it bluntly, a level 20 character is not going to bring nearly enough to the table to be worth the spot they're occupying. Of course there are exceptions to the rule such as the lowbie is someone's alt or friend and such. Still, as a general rule of thumb, I don't dish out charity to those who do not need or deserve it.

Edit: As a side note, letting lowbies into any AE farm is a privilege, not a right. Too often I see lowbies screaming and moaning on broadcast about how no one is inviting them to their AE farm. Why should people doing 52+ AE boss invite the lowbies? It's not like they're going to contribute much. They're just there leaching exp/ticket/inf and that's it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Um... am I missing something here? Why doesn a 20 need to join a team of higher levels when he or she will make exactly the same number of tickets (or more) simply by taking on a farm of their own level?

If someone pays you, they should have their toon head examined.

Wow. I thought I had seen a lot of goofy stuff in this game ... but this beats them all. Congrats to whomever did the broadcast on this nutjob.

Pretty long thread ... just to answer the OP with ..."nobody knows."

But I sure admire all the posters who chided those who flamed in response ... and especially to the poster who called it "roleplaying the moderator"

I rate this thread 5 stars just for that single brilliant burst of insight. Well done!

[ QUOTE ]
Wow - you haven't played in a zone where Freakshow are just hanging out in the streets? let me guess - MA all the way, right? ...

... You may want to go research what is outside the MA a bit - ParagonWiki is your friend. There is lots more to see than the inside of the AE Building in Atlas Park.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get off your high horse, legend. The OP asks a polite question and you're all "Mr. Flame In Your Face" with MA-attitude. With so many posts to your name - you being a legend and all that -- maybe you should read Wiki yourself and discover that this kind of post is against forum rules.

How do you know this poster didn't just get the message in game that said "Kill Freaks, you can find them in Crey's Folly."

You made an assumption based on nothing. Then flamed someone based on your assumption.

Let me guess ... Flame Troll all the way, right?

[ QUOTE ]
Your arc is fine.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, you mean his arc is not a farm. Whether his arc is fine or not can't be determined until he publishes it and someone actually plays it.

[ QUOTE ]
Again, if the mission is in the MIDDLE of a non-farm-oriented arc, it's not a farm.

If farmers have to slog (sorry for the perjorative) through a bunch of non-farm content to get to a farmable mission in an MA arc, they'll simply move on to greener pastures.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow! What a great name for a farming arc... "A Farm With Greener Pastures."

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ROTFLMAO!

[/ QUOTE ]

You think that is funny? How about a 50 Stone tank with 8 of his Secondary attacks , no Taunt , no Granite Armor, Stealth and Assault and Tactics? We had this priceless waste of space on our team for 20 minutes and after his 5th death in the first 15, one of the other heroes told us in team chat what his powers were. He only had 3 exploration badges , all of the AP and 44 AE badges ( that’s it )

Why would someone that horribly disfigured even join a high level TF as a main tank? Maybe its because we were mostly villains and he though he was sticking it to us!

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe he was RP-ing a character that because of his tremenous size was feared by all ... but who was actually a terrible coward.

How DARE you tell someone what powers they should have????????

(Kicking him, on the other hand, perfectly acceptable.)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I expect an arc to have a beginning, a middle and an end. There can be a next chapter ... but unless I got satisfied with the first arc, no way I'll hang around for your multi-epic.

[/ QUOTE ]

Could you give me your definition of 'arc'?

Edit: 2 things-I love your sig LOL, and not all multi-arc stories as I see them have to be 'epic'.

Eco

[/ QUOTE ]

I think my definition of an "arc" is pretty much the same as a lot of people here, based on their responses. For me, its a complete story. Like Star Wars. (the original) It can stand alone (not like the sequel, which made me wait a year for the fate of Hans Solo.)

On the other hand, you've made some good arguments as that 100 limit gets eaten up quickly by customs, which are the only types of mobs I enjoy facing in MArcs.

In a perfect world ... and with a story that actually deserved it ... I guess I could see myself going from arc to arc to get one complete story. But I don't hold out much hope ... as I fear that most authors would just be self-indulgent and create the equivelent of a 4 or 5 hour movie that should have been edited down to make a tight, well paced 2 hour movie.

So while I can generalize my dislike for this, I can't say that you yourself couldn't create a good multi-arc story.

What I know I wouldn't want is a continuing story that I'd have to wait for, like a monthly comic book. I'd want it all released at once so I could continue through to completion.

And in the best of all possible worlds - in my opinion -- every arc in the story would be exactly one mission long, with all the space being used up by more custom mobs, more patrols and other dialogue opportunities to advance the story's plot and theme forward, not more chapters.

(Easy for me to say, since I haven't created ANY arcs myself. But I enjoy movies too, and I haven't created any movies either.)

I expect an arc to have a beginning, a middle and an end. There can be a next chapter ... but unless I got satisfied with the first arc, no way I'll hang around for your multi-epic.

[ QUOTE ]
Once again I find it very interesting that individuals refuse to follow Mod08's request related to ALL of these farm related issues whatever they are disguised as.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....0&fpart=303

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry if this appears directed to you - it actually isn't because the problem is pretty global and not specifically related all the times to farms -- but I wish folks would stop getting on their high horse and tell others where to post.

In this example, this post isn't about farming. It's about slot purchasing. And that makes it appropriate for its own thread.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm always looking for more opinions on my arc: Ctrl + Alt + Reset 137561 (previously called Time Loop).

Venture's Review 3 stars: Just a bunch of stuff that happened.

[/ QUOTE ]
INSTANT REVIEW OF
# 13544667 AKA Time Loop Re-Looped

Yup, Venture was right. This is a REAL STINKER!

(The devil made me do it!)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
(I just really, really, REALLY hate the idea of someone getting a bad review there and then getting another bad review here. It would be like going to the doctor who tells you that you're suffering from severe halatosis and you ask for a second opinion, and he tells you that your ugly, too.)

[/ QUOTE ]

No... it'd be like the second doctor saying "Yep, you're suffering from severe halatosis, have a mint already!"

[/ QUOTE ]

In that case, I propose shorter reviews here.

Given that they've already been reviewed by Venture (and the the posters have provided a link to the original review)
how about adopting this format:

[Name of Arc] # 10101011010110101010101010 - Yup, Venture was right. This is a REAL STINKER!

or

[Name of Arc] # 10101011010110101010101010: What was Venture smoking when he rated this a 2????? It is CLEARLY a solid 3.

[ QUOTE ]
<QR>

I believe one of the default search parameters is "Show Only Arcs That I Have Not Rated."

When you clicked "clear" to start your new search, that may have been de-toggled.

[/ QUOTE ]

There are two default parameters: "only show those I haven't rated" and "only show those I haven't completed."

Being aware of these, I always go out of my way to uncheck them before I start my search. That's why this is so confusing to me. I keep wondering if there's a secret "hidden" mode that I'm not aware of.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hmmm. Count me as someone who's confused about this thread. You said you wanted to review arcs that had been poorly rated by Venture ... and then you go on to review a work that had 4 stars.

Since when is 4 stars a bad review?

[/ QUOTE ]

That must have been an oversight. The stated intent was to play and rate only arcs that Venture gave 3 stars or less to. Clearly I didn't double check that submissions were following the rules. Which one was this?

[ QUOTE ]
KD, two questions for you: Did you come up with this idea becasue you played arcs reviewed by Venture and found that your taste in arcs differed greatly from his? How often did you agree with his comments and how often did you disagree?

[/ QUOTE ]

Basically I wanted to try to see how fair Venture's reviews were. He seems at first blush to be overly colored by personal tastes (dislikes for Nemesis and time travel, etc). Overall it seems like I'm a little more generous than he is. Also, it's pretty clear that different reviewers are going to have different likes and dislikes, so it's very possible to get a bad review just because you caught someone the wrong way.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure who was mistake, you or me. I thought that what you listed at the top before your review was the review that Venture gave in stars. Here's what I read:

Arc #84420, "Death to Disco!"
tl;dr: 4 stars
Pros: Sharp humor, Exactly What It Says On The Tin
Cons: 1st mission a bit flat; some costume issues; possible niche audience

Now, of course, if this is your rating, then it was my mistake.

But I have an even bigger question for you based on your original post: If you read things in Venture's review that made his poorly rated arcs sound interesting to you, why didn't you just play a few and find out if you agreed with his reviews or not?

I hope this isn't coming across like a flame or a troll-style question. It just seems to me that there are so many reviewing arcs out there right now -- especially those that detail and arc, point by point, and then get debated by the author point by point -- that I was curious as to why this one?

And if this one, why not just pick and review the ones that sounded interesting to you ... and report back on the ones that played better in your opinion than in Venture's?

(I just really, really, REALLY hate the idea of someone getting a bad review there and then getting another bad review here. It would be like going to the doctor who tells you that you're suffering from severe halatosis and you ask for a second opinion, and he tells you that your ugly, too.)

Thanks. This is really helpful. Wasn't sure of the breaks that MA uses because I'm at work instead of at home playing (like I want to be).

No matter what anyone says about MA, it sure makes getting the salvage you need a LOT easier.

Does anyone know what salvage falls at what levels. Wiki has a list of all common Arcane and Tech levels, but not which ones fall at which levels.

I ask because in MA, when you roll for common salvage you can choose from 1-25, 26-40 or 41-50 (I believe).

I know that the salvage drops line up with what's required in each the same level categories of Recipes, but I'm wondering if anyone knows specifically which common salvage falls within each category.

Would these explanations allow for the fact that the arc continues to be playable if you know its name, but not searchable any other way?

In other words, if I publish something and unpublish it, can people still access it by name? Or if devs ban it and then get overruled by customer service, which makes it unbannable, does it still not appear by key words?

I've looked for and have been able to play this arc for over a week now, yet all week long it has not been available by key word search ... only by exact name of arc or exact name of author. So I'm curious as all get out how this is possible?

Hmmm. Count me as someone who's confused about this thread. You said you wanted to review arcs that had been poorly rated by Venture ... and then you go on to review a work that had 4 stars.

Since when is 4 stars a bad review?

Personally, I don't understand why anyone who got kicked in the pants by Venture now wants to bend over and let you boot them in the butt, too. But it takes all kinds, I guess. (Including me.)

KD, two questions for you: Did you come up with this idea becasue you played arcs reviewed by Venture and found that your taste in arcs differed greatly from his? How often did you agree with his comments and how often did you disagree?