Gamron

Hmmm..."NCsuck's response to CoX player and fan suggestions" does, indeed, sound like an effort to mollify the masses. "Woe is us! We tried everything! Alas, we were unable to meet the outcries of the denizens of our game. So...F.O." Really, there is only so much BS someone can be fed before they sit up and say, "Y'know, this tastes like BS!" Let's break it down, shall we?

"We wanted to let you know that your voices have been heard and your concerns have been taken into serious consideration. We appreciate the overwhelmingly constructive and positive messages in the emails, notes, and packages you've sent in support of the game." Translation: "You are clogging up our mail and filing systems. For the love of G-d, please shut up! It's just a game. We don't care about it. We don't care about you. We DO, however, care about clutter in our offices, so stop sending us crap." So our response should be...? SEND MORE CRAP! Clog the arteries of the internal works of NCsucks, Korea, and give them a financial myocardial infarction the likes of which they've never seen. (Or would that be considered evil? )

"It has not been an easy decision for us to close Paragon Studios® and prepare to shut down City of Heroes." Yes, the pictures of NCsucks executives in tears over the decision has been quite touching. Oh, wait. There are no such pictures. Passing along messages from Korea to the States and having them posted by a flunky that's been strong-armed to do so, (and the messages certainly read that way), doesn't demonstrate any misgivings about closing down Paragon Studios and CoX. Instead, I feel like we've all become sacrificial lambs to the holy alter of Money, the true deity of executives.

Speaking of which..."We've exhausted all options including the selling of the studio and the rights to the City of Heroes intellectual property, but in the end, efforts to do so were not successful." Translation: "Lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie." It's elsewhere in the thread, but NCsucks didn't even consider any of the offers to buy CoX. That, or it seems they made it legally untenable to do so. They could have sold the entire works for a dollar, which is still a profit over the nothing that they'll get by killing the game. (Someone along the lines mentioned a tax break for killing the game, but I, for one, don't know the tax laws in Korea, so we'll never really be able to account for that one...I don't think. (Key sentence there: "I don't think." Thinking is not truly behind this post. It's fueled by rage.))

"City of Heroes has a special place in all of our hearts, and we want to ensure its reputation and the memories we share for the game end on a high note." You have hearts? Whodda thunk it?!? CoX's reputation is safe in the hearts of those who truly loved the game. What should concern these people more is the reputation of their company, which is being flushed down the cosmic toilet, piece by piece. Their reputation as killing any MMO that doesn't meet their mysterious expectations is getting stronger, and people are starting to realize that buying anything from them is NOT a safe investment. On a much larger scale, its akin to buying a car that's repossessed the moment the manufacturer gets closed down.

As for ending on a high note, the execs at NCsucks have ensured that's not going to happen. So what if they run familiar events again before the game closes? Do they expect us to rush out to earn badges we can boast about until the end of November? Are we supposed to feel excitement during said events, when we know that the game's birth certificate officially has an expiration date? What kind of fond memory are we supposed to have when we say down the road, "I was there when the servers got shut off"? Oh, we'll be proud of showing our solidarity when it comes to the game, playing through to the end. But it will forever be bittersweet.

The rest of the message is fluff that doesn't bear repeating. I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I don't particularly take to being "handled." I have good and bad memories over the seven years I've played CoX. (I came in somewhere around issue 4.) The best, of course, being when I met my future bride via the game. Now, without any true show on conscience, NCsoft is murdering it in cold blood. Thus, I end with that which is becoming my mantra for the executives of NCsoft, Korea: die in a fire...slowly.

I had no idea this topic would be debated as such. As the OP, I feel obligated to respond to some of what's been said.

Jeminiks: Spines may be an AoE beast, but by the time I get into the action on a team, the blasters and trollers have done their jobs a little too well. I'm left to say, "Oh, look...a boss is still standing." *Lunge* "Good thing I was here to make that one attack, eh?"

Fury Flechette: I'm not looking for a buff, per se...Just a shave off some of the animation times. I honestly don't see why it would be debuffed, since most of its damage is "moderate" at best. The toxic DoT is minor, and the slow effects...Well, unless I decide to experiment and slot slow enhancements, I'm only seeing it slow baddies severely underpowered against me. (Those Hellions in AP don't stand a chance against the slowing powers of my 50! Mwahahaha! )

Katten: Quills or no Quills, all of the attacks have a draw. So, as Spines/Regen scrapper, I activate all toggles, including Quills...Target an enemy...the power draws...I attack. It, at some time, I use any other ability along the way...run back to Aid Other, use Body Mastery: Laser Beam Eyes, or Vet Reward: Sands of Miss (Mu)...I have to draw again once I want to use a Spines attack.

When I team, it's not with weak opponents...It's more along the lines of being with skilled players who've slotted their powers properly. Their own AoEs are set in such a way that the two blasters and two trollers on the team can wipe out mobs before I've crossed the distance to the fight. I'm often left to joke, "Hey! Save some for the melee types!"

Frosticus: Let me be clear that I am not looking to see Spines made "an uber set." Remove the draws, and there are still lengthy animations to deal with. Remove the lengthy animations, and there'd still be draws to cope with. My point is that removing the fragmented seconds at some point would be appreciated. I'd like to be a bit more useful to the teams I join. The combat log almost looks like, "So-n-So defeated everyone," followed by, "You receive Rikti Alloy." It's as though I'm getting paid for doing no work. Some might enjoy that, but it's not my style.

Nihilii: I know you weren't addressing me directly, but I'll address something you said to the other poster. No one told me that I was slower; it's an observation I made while on damage heavy teams. I tend to end up on full teams, composed of, say, three scrappers (including myself), two blasters, a tank, a defender, and a troller. The blasters and troller seem to have most mobs wiped out before the tank can even attempt to control aggro. This leaves the four melee players on clean-up duty, and that's if we have the chance to cover the ground between where the team is and where the injured baddies are still standing.

Meanwhile...As for nerfing the set...well, the DoT is minor at best. Three or four ticks of 11 damage are probably not making a world of difference; I still have to make a full attack to finish off fights when I'm solo, because the DoT is half, or less than half, of the damage given by a regular strike. The slow effect? If I could see it without having to slot if, (as with cold attacks, Mudpots, Hotfeet, or Caltrops), I might gripe if it went away...but I don't see it. Not unless I happen to have Quills hit a bunch of level 10 Hellions at a fire in Steel Canyon or something. So, by all means, feel free to nerf the DoTs or the nearly nonexistent slow effects. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they took one and boosted the other...That would make the secondary effects worth having.

But the laborious animations...? Shave SOME, not all, of them down. Please?

And no fighting, folks. I'd like to see this remain a civil discussion. Again: Please?

Be well.

+G

I can't find an appropriate thread in which to discuss my issues with the Spines power set, so here goes...

My first reaction: it's GREAT! I mean, going solo, and I see a runner, my lvl 50 scrapper will use Impale to pin that runner in place, then finish hit off at my leisure. If I find myself surrounded, Spine burst and Quills wears them down until, once I'm done with one guy, I can move on and quickly dispatch the next...and the next...and the next. I'm not necessarily a killing machine (Oh...I'm sorry...we "capture" and "defeat" on CoH, not kill ), but I can handle things when I'm running solo.

But then I find myself on a team, and suddenly I'm not as confident on my power choices from years ago. Watching who is defeating what, I find myself cursing the slow animations of Spines. I mean, first I have to await the redraw of my powers after using a power like Reconstruction. So I save my skin with a quick heal, hit Impale, and...there's the wind-up...the pitch...and it's...GOOD!...after some blaster has reached out a hand and zapped the baddie to unconsciousness. In fact, the blaster has handled it with two attacks while I'm still trying to get that one off.

Using Mid's as a source for my powers...

1: Barb Swipe - 2.43 seconds
2: Lunge - 1.63 seconds
3: Spine Burst - 3 seconds
4: Impale - 2.43 seconds
5: Ripper - 2.17 seconds
6: Throw Spines - 1.63 seconds

I won't include Quills, since it's a toggle that does minor damage continuously.

But now let's look at a couple of other powers...

Claws
1: Swipe - 0.83 seconds
2: Strike - 1.17 seconds
3: Slash - 1.33 seconds
4: Spin - 2.5 seconds
5: Focus - 1.17 seconds
6: Eviscerate - 2.33 seconds
7: Shockwave - 1 second

Spines only has two attacks under 2 seconds, while claws has five.

Martial Arts
1: Thunder Kick - 0.83 seconds
2: Storm Kick - 0.83 seconds
3: Cobra Strike - 1.67 seconds
4: Crane Kick - 1.67 seconds
5: Crippling Axe Kick - 1.6 seconds
6: Dragon's Tail - 1.5 seconds
7: Eagles Claw - 2.53 seconds

*sigh* Only one attack over two seconds for MA, which has greater accuracy, and what seems to be greater damage than Spines. I certainly get the feeling they get more crits than I do whenever I'm teamed with an MA scrapper. And MA has the added advantage of not having a "draw" to its set.

Looking at all other sets, it would seem that they have, at most, three powers that have animations over two seconds. (Katana has NONE over two seconds!) And so it seems that the Spines set is the red-headed step-child of scrapper attacks.

It's distressing to see that while I'm getting attack number three off during a big fight, other ATs are getting off their sixth or seventh. If I happen to take out a large group, it's usually with Spine Burst, and it's well after the rest of the team has whittled the baddies down. Or maybe Quills happens to do the job. But on a full team, once a mission is complete, I often feel as though I was there as a decorative piece. Mind you, this is with various IO sets that have me recharging powers faster than it takes to activate them. (My Lunge recharges in 1.57 seconds, down from four, and takes me 1.63 seconds to use it. )

In the end, I would like to see the activation times of Spines reduced. I'm not sure how this could be done, but this is my beloved main I'm talking about. If it were possible to go back a few years and change his primary powers altogether, I would. But I can't, and I'm feeling a bit "stuck" with him.

Does anyone else feel this way about the set? Or am I alone in thinking Spines takes too long to use? Is there a dev out there willing to respond to my issues? Or am I praying for the impossible?

Here's hoping people won't be throwing flames at me for this seemingly minor complaint.

Be well.

+G

Thanks for taking the time for the review, Venture. It pretty much confirms 50% of the comments. "Wow, it's really great writing, but the story needs help!" I would likely have taken the review just a tad better had I not had every article of clothing I can wear in public having been stolen today...

So...Ummm...I guess I'll take it down until I15 comes out, which may, thought I doubt it, offer new tools to improve the story.

+Gamron (AKA: A-N)

*sigh* Come on, Venture. Hurry up and tear 162898 to pieces so I can make my final decision as to whether it should stay up or not. In fact, I'd like that to be part of the review.

"Well, Gamron, or A-N, or whoever the heck you are...I would leave it up because of reasons A, B & C." Or, "Gods above and below, this tripe shouldn't have seen the light of day, and we are sending the Obvious Plot Police to arrest you! Don't try to run...you'll just be tired when you're caught."

Why do I ask that you give the final word? Well, for the 12 times it's been rated, I've been getting between 5 and 4 stars. Almost no one leaves a comment, and one would think that no news is good news...but then those comments that have come my way - rare thought they may be - have players telling me, "I had it figured out by the first mission...but I loved the writing, so I rated it high." That's great...but did they actually ENJOY PLAYING THE ARC? I have no idea. One would think there's an enherent message in the high ratings, but that message is conflicted when the comments come in. It's kind of like listening to someone critique an Anne Rice novel. "She's a spectacular writer, if you can get through the agonizingly slow pace of her stories." (Of course, the usual non-reading-type-person says, "It had words with more than two syllables, so I hated it." )

So let's move it along, shall we? Arc #162898, "To Be Incarnate."

+Gamron (AKA: A-N)

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Still, the fact that the Plot Twist is so predictable warrants a MEH, but then the writing is quite well done, so 2/3 of a MEH.


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*sigh* This has been my issue all along. I mean, the first version of this tale tried to set up a red herring, but then those who played said, "We knew what was going on." So I took it out and had The Trader say, "You go and confirm the list is the real deal, and you can have the prize this time. Then I'll run off and get my own vial."

In fact, I was ready to throw in the towel on the whole thing, and even delved into Venture's phrasing of the "Idiot Ball." (Look at the "still busy" dialogue for the contact on the last mission.)

I have been complimented on the writing, which I'm starting to think is the only thing that saves the story. But until someone comes along with a suggestion on how to fix it, I'm kinda stuck.

I suppose the give-away is the story concept. "Incarnate" is not an origin option, and therefore makes the ultimate goal impossible. This was more of a "I want to write an entertaining tale" exercise. Alas, while the writing is excellent, (as per the opinions of others), maybe I need to free up an arc slot by putting this one away until we CAN become Incanates.

Oh...The EB you mention should have been an AV if you were playing on a difficulty level higher than level 1. My immediate thought is that MA has decided to allow no one else to ever make an AV...or decided *I* can't make one.

Okay, I'll bite. Let's see what you do with my arc, 162898, "To Be Incarnate." Try not to leave too much blood in your wake. =P

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Well, I asked on a popular global channel for my home server what people would like in an arc. The general response was something villainous and a well-written story. The first part of their requests was easy; just select villainous for the morality. The other part...well, that's where it all falls into the hands of others. I dared to play with CoX canon, and one might say the "idiot ball" is tossed from the get-go. The ultimate goal can't be accomplished...EVER! But this is about story-telling, and I'm hoping folks will have fun with the idea.

Name: To Be Incarnate
Arc ID: 162898
Length: Long
Morality: Villainous
Description: There's an old VEAT in town, and it's your chance to become one! (Note: This arc contains an AV. While it has been "squishy tested," it is not necessarily "solo-squishy approved.") *
Suggested Level Range: 30+
Estimated Difficulty: Moderate

* Please Note: I tested the arc with a level 31 Blaster and a level 31 Mastermind, and both were able to get through the entire arc soloing. The level ranges, however, are 1-54 for three of the missions, and 40-54 for the last - all because of ONE character I added in the finale.

*sigh* Like all computer systems, MA doesn't do what you want it to, just what you tell it to do.

Anyway, I hope folks are entertained by the tale, and constructive feedback would be appreciated.

+Gamron, (AKA: A-N)

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Okay...A few folks have played the above arc, with one person actually handing out a rating...just one...and it was 5 stars, which was VERY nice. Another person that played it gave me the highest praise of telling me it was nice to read a story that wasn't wall-to-wall spelling and grammar errors; this person said it was wonderfully written, and, again, I consider that the highest praise of all...

...but that particular person said that the conclusion of the story was obvious. This comment came after a major rewrite of the story, as Venture would likely have said the old version threw "the idiot ball" after accepting mission 3. As it is, after accepting mission 4 in the rewrite, I used Venture's phrase in the actual narrative to let the player know the idiot ball has been thrown full-force at the player's head. Still, my critic said they had it figured out by mission 2, and...Well, the purpose of the story is to entertain; it's not about the acheivement of the impossible goal that's stated from the very start. But if the story is killed by mission 2, I'm wondering if it's worth keeping it published.

As stated in my original post, I'd appreciate folks giving it a whirl and giving me constructive feedback. Rather than rate it low because you didn't like one aspect or another, send me feedback via this thread or a PM on this site with suggestions as to how it can be improved. Then, should I edit in various suggestions, play it again, and THEN rate it as you see fit. In other words, give me a chance to fix it before you throw me to the rating wolves. (Crazy idea gets the emoticon.)

My advanced thanks to those willing to lend me aid on this tale. And please...Be well.

+Gamron (AKA: A-N)

Well, I asked on a popular global channel for my home server what people would like in an arc. The general response was something villainous and a well-written story. The first part of their requests was easy; just select villainous for the morality. The other part...well, that's where it all falls into the hands of others. I dared to play with CoX canon, and one might say the "idiot ball" is tossed from the get-go. The ultimate goal can't be accomplished...EVER! But this is about story-telling, and I'm hoping folks will have fun with the idea.

Name: To Be Incarnate
Arc ID: 162898
Length: Long
Morality: Villainous
Description: There's an old VEAT in town, and it's your chance to become one! (Note: This arc contains an AV. While it has been "squishy tested," it is not necessarily "solo-squishy approved.") *
Suggested Level Range: 30+
Estimated Difficulty: Moderate

* Please Note: I tested the arc with a level 31 Blaster and a level 31 Mastermind, and both were able to get through the entire arc soloing. The level ranges, however, are 1-54 for three of the missions, and 40-54 for the last - all because of ONE character I added in the finale.

*sigh* Like all computer systems, MA doesn't do what you want it to, just what you tell it to do.

Anyway, I hope folks are entertained by the tale, and constructive feedback would be appreciated.

+Gamron, (AKA: A-N)