Ghost

What bothers me most about this discussion is the assumptions made by a disgruntled and bored player that wants a cosmetic improvement to the game. Even if he were to get his wishes and the civvies do get an overhaul and look great and act realistically and such... he'd still be bored with the game that's years old.
More so, is the air of this player stating facts and fiction and unrelated topics like he got them from the mountain of truth and wisdom, and that only he is right. Add in the minor insults and the major insults.



Last week I saw a comparison between WoW and Conan, which of course heavily favoured Conan as the new game with nifty graphics, also the quest system was highlighted as a great improvement, while I have found them working almost the same.
That doesn't take away from the fact that WoW is still going strong, while Conan is stuggling to keep it's servers up (last I heard any way)


Also.. what's this ficsation with the NPCs that tell the time, there are 26 letters in the alphabet, and only 2 of those give the time, the one of your computer and the one ingame. It's like "Hey buddy, what's the time" when you click him.. what does clicking one do actually?

Civvies are background scenery. If you take them away the game will still be the game, true, it'll be a lot quieter and the city would seem empty, but for the game itself, they add nothing.

[ QUOTE ]
However, I think that players should be able to design their mission givers, or mission npcs how they like.

[/ QUOTE ]
And you can, within the convines of the game.

The game doesn't have a big 8 eyed spider head you can stick on an NPC. The game doesn't have quad robot legs. The game doesn't have everything. Should everything be added? Of course not.


Overall, it's not a bad suggestion. It's probably in the 'would be nice but probably never going to happen' category.
I wouldn't mind if Wheelchaired NPCs are made possible for mission givers.
But at the end of the day, it's up to NCNC along with NC Soft West to decide whether it's a good idea to spend time (and time is money) on such a feature.

Same for NPCs only. Skeletons would probably not have to be updated, but the animations and models would.
Then they'd have to be fitted with the -jump effect so they can't jump with their wheelchair over a railing or a box or what not. So the player rescueing them would have to lead them with a lot more care about where to go.
Would stairs have to be updated to be inaccessible?

A multitude of players would be rather annoyed to have to do the extra bother for just an other random NPC like any other, mission wise.


So, yes, for players it's likely not possible to have a wheelchaired character and still be fun playable (Rock armour's Rooted is a mobiliy hinderence, I find that I have to teleport or shut it off to get where I want to go). For NPCs it'd be a work for something that might appeal to a minority, but no doubt create a (minor or major) annoyance for the majority of players.


Personally, I'd like dragon mounts, that's be so cool to fly around on. Maybe even just in one zone, where they're used to... play a game like Harry Potter's quiditch. Still, it's not possible in the current game (mounts/vehicles don't excist, the skeleton could probably be fudged). And it'd cost too much to make it possible for the gain it would give.

Oh yes, and before the deadline too

That's three so far, unless there are surprise entries, I guess I'll be splitting the prizes between you three

Monday, Febuary 7th, 2005.

Scara Baracus - Shower contemplation.


Scara Baracus walked away from the group he’s starting to associate with. Walking away more from the sewer access grate. He left wet prints with every step he made, looking rather determined and ready to dispense justice with the large Arabic Scimitar strapped on his back. As such, the two Hellions that were applying graffiti on a wall and saw him coming ran the other way. Scara barely noticed them, instead he turned into the alley they were standing beside. Scara looked around and saw no one, no one to hold up a brave face for.. Ahmose let out a heartfelt cry and kicked his feet to get the sewer muck from his sandaled feet for a few seconds then took a deep breath and stood straight again. Trying to calm himself again, get his mind in ‘the zone’ again to block out such things as physical discomfort as his tutors had taught him. When he shifted his weight a few seconds later a cold chill shivered down his back and he reached into his sandal to get the squishy thing inside… and pulled out a condom. He let out an other outraged and disgusted cry and flung the rubber away.


Ahmose walked away from the alley, once again in his mindset of Scara Baracus. Away from the alley where the rubber made a surprisingly appropriate exclamation point on the graffiti in making. Walking to the Freedom Court to make use of the showers there. It wasn’t long before Ahmose stood under the showers, scrubbing away the smell and residue from the trip into the sewers, letting his mind wander.
Why had he been there? To investigate a suspicious lead their leader Candescent Shield got from Sunfire. No, that was why they were there, but why was HE there? Was he trying to live up to the ‘destiny’ that his parents imprinted on him? Was he trying to fit in with a group that had accepted him without question? Was it because he’s unemployed and wanted to do something?
Earlier that day the group had gotten together after each had decided for his or herself to continue the path of the Hero. Scara Baracus wasn’t there, though. Ahmose was at home ‘looking for jobs’ on the internet while he pretended to have forgotten about the meeting, hiding away from what his parents had called his birthright, his purpose, his destiny. It was after all the reason he was in Paragon rather then in Cairo, running, hiding. From the expectations of parents, from lectures, from responsibility of his strength and training. To his parents and mentors he said he was following his guiding voice to his destiny, to himself he said he was taking a shot at normality. But here, standing naked under the shower, the water washing away all lies, he could not hide from the truth. The water washed away the odd tear as well, keeping his moment of open weakness hidden. The water that muffled the sounds of the world. It was here that Ahmose could be himself truly, his hopes, his dreams, his doubts, his fears, here he had a moment of solitude and freedom.

By the time Ahmose turned the shower off, he had made his decision. For better or worse, for what ever reason, he would stay with the group and see where it would lead. As he towelled himself, he chuckled as he thought of an old proverb: “You usually find your destiny on the path you take to avoid it.”
He got dressed in his civvies and walked out the dressing room.

“You were in the showers a long time.” A Longbow enquired.

Ahmose held up his sandals and simply stated: “Sewers.”

“Aaah, say no more…” the Longbow understood.

“Actually, do you know a good drycleaner?” Ahmose enquired.

[ QUOTE ]
I mean, we have hairy monster legs, we have scaley monster legs, we have naked legs, why not provide the costume options for creating 'no legs' or legs that just dont work as well as other peoples legs.

[/ QUOTE ]
The reason we don't have robes and other costume pieces in the game is because some power animations would look crappy/off/odd with them.
Think Martial Arts if you want some examples.
How would a wheelchair or legs that don't work like humans do with the animations that are used by MA?

Sweet
in that slide show at the bottom, I did notice a fair few of Crimson Archers rolling by... at least 5

And.. for the love of all that is....
Make the 'music' in PD use the MUSIC volume... not the sound effects one.

Oh yes, to order "Statuette of YOUR character"... *drewl*

One naming issue is the abreviation.. MA, Martial Arts or Mission Architect?

inv/ss tankers seem to tend to have more Superman inspired cstumes.

[ QUOTE ]
What worked for me was go in, defeat all in bank except one of the minions in the first room (so the bank robber wouldnt get away) then you can just nip out and do side missions. Once done exit via van and reset. Reselect mish and repeat.

[/ QUOTE ]
That'd work with a safeguard, not a Mayhem

I've had a fair few times that I was in bed, RPing at GG... thinking "I have to log off, to get some sleep", once I even got out of bed and to the door before I realised.. I'm already logged out and the computer is off [censored] am I dreaming!?

The odd thing is, those RP things are always with other people and they make sense... and not always predictable.

I assume they're photo shopped?
if so, I'm very, very impressed.
if it's RL grafitti, then it's still impressive

What I do is:

Common Salvage sells for 250 at any store.
I put it on the market for 300 each.

Uncommon Salvage sells for 1,000.
I put it on for 1,200

Rare salvage sells for 5,000.
I put it on the market for 10,000


This way, I ensure that I make a profit on what I sell, both the placing and the sale fees calculated in (roughly, any way). If something doesn't sell for a day or two, I drop it off at a store, as there's either too much supply, or not enough demand.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Wonder if they could import the anims from Guild Wars?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think No.3 would make the transfer somehow.

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you kidding me?
That one has Jay written all over it (in fine print, especially... there)

Ooh, very nice

great line work!

though some points that come to mind that could perhaps be improved upon:
Araf: Has partial shading, but they don't seem overly consistant, for his torso, yes, but the cape and arms not so.

Captain Fin: lacks shading alltogether, great line work though, good show of anatomy (as far as I can see)

Hymne: my favourite in both costume and finish. I do like the black and white style, though maybe it's a little tooo black and white? Some grey areas might liven him up a bit?

Thank you for replying
I look forward to seeing your interpritations and finished work!

I was hoping for a few more replies, but last time there were surprise entries as well!
(Doc D did state he was too busy with his Christmas List (and checking it twice) to join in.)

oooh, that's great and creative!

I think I've stumbled across it on the internet, probably while browsing for Freedom Force skins and models and such. (though could have been for Daggerfall stuff...) This was back when CoH was still in the design stage, there were no AT's, there were a lot of power pools, though.
I joined up on the forum, read a few of the great stories there. Instead of doing school work, you know?

Then, a year or two later in autumn we finally got a fairly fast and stable internet for a fixed amount a month. That openned up the home use of internet beyond the phone line modem.

I went to my favourite software store and there I saw CoH again. Immediately the old stories and the ideas popped into mind.
They told me the EU version was to be out in Februari, so I waited that long. Eventually got around to picking it up and had to return the next day for a game time card but.. well, that's that and here I am.

Roselin Thorne, AKA RoseThorne (not Rosethorn the NPC hero…)

Roselin is an ex-burglar who worked to become a lady of standing. This mostly worked in her manners and poise. Her love for all things pretty (well, mostly jewels) has eventually turned her into a jewellery store owner, and a sales clerk in that store. Though a bit of a ladies woman, Roselin settled down with Sarah and Sarah Patriot and their daughter Julia.
Read more on Union Wiki (do a search for Sarah Patriot, the links to their pages aren't accepted due to " in the link)

Roselin Thorne also likes to dress up too.
For her business suit, see the combined Roselin and Rosa part a little lower.

Roselin lives with two Sarah’s as said above, here are screenshots of the Sarah that’s native to this dimension.
Lady Patriot and again.
Julia is now one and a half years old, has fair skin and the red hair from Roselin.



Rosalin Thorne, AKA RosaThorne

Rosalin is the clone of Roselin. Brain damage as a result of her creator's control means during her development, as well as a bad batch of accelerated growth her with a somewhat curious personality. She retains much of Roselin's personality, but has gained a carefree ‘life is short, live it’ look on life. Her brain did develop around the damaged areas and her accelerated aging have been stopped, but despite that and having a large family of her own, she still retains her live life attitude.
Read more on Union Wiki

Rosalin Thorne Comment about the top outfit, the black not part of her boots represent her shadow powers she’s using for armour and comfort wear. They are intended to swirl.


Roselin and Rosa are rather close sisters and like to act the twins.
Matching costumes! With Rosa wearing her usual boots and collar being the primary difference in outfit.
Matching suits! again, Rosa has the boots and collar. This is a suit that Roselin can often be seen wearing, she has a few of them as it helps to be fairly uniform in the store.



Dinah Ewers, AKA Alraune

Dinah is the personification of poise, elegance and enticement. As well as maternal care.
Dinah is a close personal friend of both Roselin and Rosa, though a bit closer to Roselin.
Dinah Ewers and Alraune
* For more information about Dinah, contact Zortel on these boards, or PM me and I’ll make sure the message gets across.



Lisa Varis, AKA … um, names that can’t be mentioned here, for security reasons.

Lisa Varis is a rich playgirl shapeshifter with far too much time on her hands. Tends to be carefree, happy and generally very relaxed. As a result there's very little she takes seriously and spends her time looking for excitement and adventure! Lisa can take about any shape she wants, and has a fair degree of size shifting too, she can’t change what she’s made off, though. Lisa and Rosa are engaged.

Baseline image 1 and image 2
* For more information about Lisa, contact Omega Chief on these boards, or PM me and I’ll make sure the message gets across.



Alexandria

Mad scientist, shared head of the Rosalin household. A result of mad science herself, Alexandria is a clone with highly enhanced intelligence. A loving mother, but not someone you’d bring your date to meet without a lot of prepping.
Alexa is delivering on Feb 28 2009 after a 9 month pregnancy, of twins.
Alexa likes orange


The household Rosa lives in counts too many to describe here, but if you want to get that information, PM me and I’ll make sure you’ll get additional information.

Jessica Stoneberg, AKA The Grav Mistress or The Mistress of Gravity

Jessica can be held up as example of a self-taught lady. Manners, graze and poise without the education to do so. She chose to adopt those habits. Luckily, she met and became friends with people that broke her out of that shell and let her have fun and joke around. She now finds a nice mix between her well mannered ladylike side and her fun loving girly side. At home she tends to let the girly side run free, while in public and around unknown people, she hides(?) behind her lady side.
Read more on Union Wiki

Jessica
Grav Mistress
Grav-Mistress
Grav, up to date armour, SG colours included.
A collection of images. *warning: page 3 and 4 contain some images that could be considered NSFW, though there is no nudity.
* For more information about Jessica, contact me on these boards.



Eloise Mary Stoneberg, or rather: Ellie Stoneberg, AKA Tiger White

Ellie is the fun loving and somewhat mischievous wife of Jessica Stoneberg.
Read more on Union Wiki

The images:
Tiger White in armour.
Ellie in casuals.
Some more images, though the Tiger White is outdated, and Kitty Hawk has been removed.
* For more information about Ellie, contact FloatingFatMan on these boards, or PM me and I’ll make sure the message gets across.



Hannah Rolando, AKA Fusebox

Hispanic adoptive daughter of Zorielle and Tessa Rolando.
Her hair is auburn under the hair dye, but the electro-kinetic mutant prefers the blue.
Personality wise, Hannah is a bit in between Ellie and Jessica. More reserved in public then Ellie, more outgoing then Jessica. In private, she does like her hugs.
Hannah is a very close friend of Jessica and Ellie, along with her fiancée Yoko.
Hannah is a computer wiz, her cyberpathy giving her a natural edge and affinity with computers, she’s also an excellent cook and loves to bake things.

Hannah in civvies and her New Vigilants uniform
Hannah in some other civvies
* For more information about Hannah, contact Zortel on these boards, or PM me and I’ll make sure the message gets across.



Yoko Hatori, AKA Tigergirl

Yoko is a muscular woman (akin to Chun Li), her mutation giving her heightened strength and regeneration. She utilize these along with her love of the martial arts mostly in the form of kicking, this has made the muscles in her legs proportionally stronger then her upper body.
Her regeneration needs fuel, though, and this comes in the form of food, lots of food. Her Brazilian/Japanese heritage along with her life style has left Yoko with less tolerance for cold then most of her friends.

Yoko in various outfits.
For more information about Yoko, contact CatKeeper on these boards, or PM me and I’ll make sure the message gets across.



Mileena Lim, AKA Milly, ‘that hot blue demon woman’

Mileena is a visitor that liked it so much she stayed, leaving her queendom back on her home world in the care of capable hands and supervises a bit. With an age of 2000+ and being a basically a Queen, her posturing and expression can only be described as dignified, though friendly. She’s a close friend of Jessica and Ellie, and very good friends with Hannah and Yoko. She has re-found a bit of a mischievous side of herself, coupled with magic, this can only lead to fun, right?

Mileena Lim
For more information about Mileena, contact CatKeeper on these boards, or PM me and I’ll make sure the message gets across.



----------------------------------------

Erik van Steenbergen, AKA Tower of Power

Erik is a sports jock turned businessman. His mutation surfacing during his teens, he was barred from most sporting contests at his school, which didn’t have enough metas to have a both sporting opportunities. This lead him to the more intellectual pursuits and that formed him a bit more then his sporting side.
Today, he’s still a bodybuilder that prefers suits over casual wear.
When her hulks up, he only increases his strength and durability, but stays his normal self: a strategist.
Erik enjoys a good book as much as lounging in front of the TV or just working out.
Erik is the brother of Jessica
Read more on Union Wiki

The Images:
Two sides of the same coin
Tower of Power
Erik van Steenbergen
* For more information about Erik, contact me on these boards, or
PM me and I’ll make sure I get the message



Sara Aegis, AKA … um… Sara Aegis?

Sara is Erik’s girlfriend for some time now.
Read about her on the Unionverse Wiki

* For more information about Sara, contact Gideon on these boards, or PM me and I’ll make sure the message gets across.

I’ve had this idea in my mind for a while now, planning to launch it before Christmas, then before Valentines, but the amount of work that goes into this structuring this was a bit underestimated, but finally, here it is.

A challenge the great artists of these boards.

Draw me something holiday-ish!


Yeah, bold demand, I know.
I’m making it a contest to sweeten the deal.

Though I first thought of this and wanted to make it a Christmas contest, I've decided to expand the original idea a bit.
Draw me something within the following family/loved ones holiday themes:
[u]Christmas[u], [u]New Year[u], [u]Valentine[u] or [u]Easter[u].

The deadline: Monday 30th of March
All entries posted, PMed or emailed to me on or before this day will be reviewed. When using multiple entries, well… only one prize per contender, and the best will be used to determine that, of course.

"Prize!?"
Yes indeed, I offer the following prizes for the top 3 entries.

1st prize: a 60 day gametimecard code
2nd prize: 10 million inf for any Union* alt.
3rd prize: 5 million inf for any Union* alt.

* (I might be able to transfer to other servers via AH, though)

I will be judging it according to a system that FFM and I came up with during out valentine competition of '06.

Every piece will be rated on in no particular order:
- Originality
- Finish
- Accuracy
- Feel

Each of these will get a figure between 1 and 10, and they will be combined to make a final score.



"So? Just something of those themes?" I hear you ask.
The answer is "Yes, but of my characters."


What you make of it, I leave up to you.
Be it Tower of Power in a Santa suit giving presents, Jess/Grav Mistress reading a story to orphans by a Christmas tree, Roselin Thorne unwrapping a gift, Rosalin stealing Santa's cookies… and those are just the Christmas examples I came up with! The possibilities… are limited by your imagination.
- Point of note, many of these characters have families with other player's characters. I have asked permission and it's allowed (encouraged?) to use them in the piece too


In the next few posts will be character information, grouped together by association for ease of reference. There are basically two groups, so two posts.


PS. Post if you’re interested, I might decide to give information over PM at a later date for those competing, rather then posting in the thread.

Oooh, very impressive!
nice level of detail, even on the backgroud that all goes in one direction.