Gromar

I feel comfortable building arcs with my lev 50 wp/fire tank on level 2. That's what I usually play him at.

Once I have a mission or custom group where I want then I experiment with my alts: Blasters. Controllers, Scrappers, etc at various levels. I test them at the level I normally play them.

I found that custom mobs are hard to plan for. They seem to scale drastically from standard to hard and when used at higher difficulty levels.

This event was a disappointment. I log in around 3pm pst and ask what's up. People say GMs and AVs are spawning. I think cool. Eochai and Jack spawn in Talos and my character gets the badges. (We had a full team. No lag).

I switch to my badger and things seem to have stopped in Talos. People camp out on the hill by the tram but nothing is happening. I check a few zones, do a mission, and nothing in broadcast.

There are zombies and I fought rikti so things look better. I don't feel like sitting around Miss Liberty waiting so I quit my team and do a mission.

I come out of my mission and Atlas has that Rikti Invasion look. Lots of people by Miss Liberty but nothing happening.

I go to Steel Canyon and, whoa, there's 3 Winterlords near the Mutant store. I join a team and we defeat them and get merits and badges. Cool. We defeat Babbage and don't get a badge.

The team goes to Atlas and things pick up and then slow down due to horrendous lag. For 90 minutes or so we stand around waiting for our attacks to fire. We help defeat 7 plus GMs/Avs and get credit/badges for 2! (Part of the problem was the team split into two fights that were close by).

I finally get the badges for Scirrocco and Ghost Widow and the "thank you/goodnight" message from Ghost Falcon comes on.

Some balance would have been nice. Hours of nothing followed by lag wasn't nice. It would have been better if GMs/AVs were reported in the events channel.

Some people will be raving about the event. I'll just go back to playing in the MA and doing missions. If you see a GM/AV send it my way...sans lag.

Thanks for the feedback!

You picked up on the feelings I was trying to convey. Finding things out as you went along seemed very important when I was writing it.

The 'stock' creatures are only familiar if you have played both sides of COX to level 50. My highest villain is 40 so some aspects are still new.

I tested placement of encounters extensively. Due to the map and my wishes only two of them are set. The rest appear around the map When I ran it with one of my blasters 3 were at the front. Encounter locations will be different for each player.

I'll check out your arc when I can.

Examples. The main group could just as easy be "Bugs"; the ally/enemy: "exterminators boss" for his group; his minions: "exterminators"; the other boss: "others" group. So basically:

Bugs - main group mostly with themselves.

Exterminator boss appears with Exterminator guards. (another group guards an object).

Other boss has to have minions so he's paired with the bugs - although it doesn't quite fit.

If I could make the two bosses be beside themselves it might fix the problem. I tried making them rogue but that didn't work.

I'll also try another map (sigh) and see if that works. I added a bug report to the i14 bug thread too.

Operating System: XP
User Client: PC
Server: Champion
Zone: IP/Atlas/MA missions: Croatoa unique 1(?) outdoor map.
Character name: Mickey Fist/Witan Nurdi
Time: last night - early this morning

If my characters accidentally step on the contact pedestal my camera view drops to the floor. This gets confusing.

Operating System: XP
User Client: PC
Server: Champion
Zone: IP/Atlas/MA missions: Croatoa unique 1(?) outdoor map.
Character name: Mickey Fist/Witan Nurdi
Time: last night - early this morning


Bug Description: Custom groups: minor factions on a map take on names of major faction based on proximity to members of main faction. Happened several annoying times - still a pain.
Link to Forum Discussions: here

Fun and Frustration 2

The fun continues. As I said before: adding second mission messed with my groups in Mission 1. I fixed Mission 2 checked it over and it seemed okay. Mission 1 still had the name issue. I change the boss setting to "single" for the enemies so he is alone. Voila, both missions seem okay. Save/backup files and exit for the night.

Character: wp/fire tank level 50 on tenacious.

Last night/this morning: I tested with my level 31 Plant/Storm controller on heroic.

The good news is that the main custom group was manageable. (They can be tough for melee types on tenacious). Also the group names in mission 1 were right.

Mission 2 was ... interesting. The minor groups/bosses took on the faction name of the main group if the map spawned them close to each other.
-----------
Mission 1

Two groups

Group1 main enemy group used in all missions. Minions, Lts, Bosses.

Group2 Lt is ally. After I added the same boss to the second mission as an enemy this boss took on Group1 as his group name. Setting him to "single" ie: no guards fixed the name problem.

Mission 1 seems fine now.

----------

Mission 2

Group1 is the same minus any bosses.

Group2 the ally from the previous mission is now an enemy. His guards are Group2a and guard an object also.

Group3 consists of one boss.

Problems:

Sometimes Lts from Group1 take on the other group names.

Consistantly mobs in groups 2, 2a, and 3 will take on the Group1 name if the map spawns the groups close to each other. The map is an outdoor unique.
-----
The objectives and sequences seem fine. It's just the name bug that is annoying.

One things I can try is using another non-unique outdoor map.

Yes these would be nice features. You could have a queue tab with stars (like gmail) to fave/save an arc.

Cut and paste is something they need to improve. I got a "invalid blank space before x" type of message. That's what lead me to editing in Wordpad and losing the whole test file.

Now I just type and patiently putter as I don't trust cutting/pasting in MA yet.

Being able to check the html would be nice too. We don't need to see MA specific code - just the parts that effect how text appears in a mission.

Decorum - yes I should have taken a break but I didn't want to leave a mess to come back to. When I got it fixed I saved a backup and moved it to a separate folder. (I'm not paranoid. Nope )

Optanite - Yeah, it was weird. It may have been due to editing too quickly. It was fine later.

DeviousMe - I think that's what I clued in on. I had read about the bug with "all custom enemies" but never dealt with it. I eventually went from the character file for the boss, and the two group files, to the actual mission/storyarc file and made the changes. (I did this all from the MA of course).

I would like to see tags separate from the text too.

Eventually weighted tagclouds (more popular tags appear larger or higher up in a list) could help with searches.

Whatever system we use there has to be a balance between what the player expects and what the author intends. We also have to consider how the MA labels bosses, play times, and map sizes.

For example: last night I wanted to play a short solo friendly but challenging mission. The first mission was fun until I came to an unkillable EB. (My tank normal can handle EBs.)

I tried again: mission length was short (1 mission), no kill all, boss, collection, unique map. I thought the map would be deciding factor. I enter the mission and find the map is fine, and the ton of glowies is fine. The problem was that the 25 bosses to defeat were guarded by bosses, and the top boss was a Carnie AV. So much for a short mission.

Some type of tag for time limit would be nice too.

I wish there was a way to lock certain parts of a mission or other parts of an arc. I'm working on a new arc with two missions - so far. Things are coming together but I found a MA glitch that made over an hours work for me.

I had just edited some text and rechecked one boss and his cronies. I had to give the boss his own group (call it G1) or he would spawn multiple times in the missions. Call his men "Group1" and the main group "Main".

First of all the main group took on the other group's names. The minions Group1 and the Lts G1. I rechecked and resaved. The main group had the correct name but the other two were also "Main". Recheck and save. Group1 is then fine but G1 is still Main. I fix that and then the problem reverses.

I think part of the problem is "Group1". They guard an object by themselves but also spawn to guard the boss. Either the MA saw the two spawns as seperate or else I kept over correcting one or both.

What a pain anyway.

TESTTESTTESTTEST and TEST your arc again.

It has been interesting for me in many ways. I had really slowed down playing one character when he hit 50 but now I use him to play MArcs and to test ideas. A second effect is that I am back WRITING again (at least in COX).

Working with the MA interface can be a pain sometimes. Cut and paste doesn't work or things refuse to update. Also some maps can be a pain. I tried to get around this by working on the .storyarc file in Wordpad but that is too dicey. (One of my test files got corrupted).

I love making custom critters but find making them balanced difficult. I test with many of my alts and making things challenging for one AT or Notoriety makes it impossible for another. Balance is important for me because I solo a lot.

So far: 2 arcs, 27 plays, 15 ratings (4 stars each), and around 8 feedback comments.

As I experiment with the MA my creative juices get flowing and ideas keep coming to me. I have already published two short arcs and the ideas keep on coming. Soon I'll have to unpublish something when I present a new story.

The limits on story arcs are there for a reason but I think they can be modified a bit.

Each story arc can have five missions and a player can publish three arcs. That's 15 missions.

What if we didn't have a 3 arc limit but a 15 mission limit? Each person's file-size limit (server space) should be approximately the same but people would have more flexibility.

For example: I have two arcs published. The first is three missions long and the other is one mission. Working with missions rather than arcs I could publish 11 more times instead of once - as long as the material fit the 100k(?)/5 mission limits.

What do you think?

[ QUOTE ]
By and large I'm not in this for challenge. I'm looking for story, for narrative, and for character.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I saw this comment I thought you may like my arc. If you're not taking submissions let me know and I will remove this post. Thank you.

Arc Name: Creepy Crawlers
Arc ID: 82553

Faction: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: Gromar
Difficulty Level: Lv: 41 - 52. Solo friendly;some ATs may have a tough time with the custom group; due to the map used large teams aren't recommended.
Synopsis: "This episode of Paragon Theater is a horror story. Watch it ALONE or with a few friends. (The emphasis is on story and atmosphere.)"
Keywords: story, ghost story, horror
Number of missions: 1
Estimated Time to Play: 1 hour at most.

Defeat alls have their uses just as "layer cake" cave maps do. If one of my high damage types is on a small map he may clean everything out. Sometimes doing so fits the character and situation.

I tend to stick to objectives on larger outdoor maps because I want to enjoy playing not grind away working on kills. I'm not that much of an XP slave.

I have used defeat all missions in my arcs. I will do so again if it fits the story. I will limit them to small easy maps.

Partial sets would be nice or some way to select which powers are used. I've seen Troll and Hellion Masterminds that work but stretch things a bit because of the odd Punk pets. What's even worse is that the punks costume changes when they are defeated.

I have an idea for pistol toting cowboys but don't want gangsta punks included.

My SG and Coalition friends are still playing normal arcs. We check the MA content for interesting arcs we have heard about or for quick missions.

I like the MA because it allows me to experiment and see whether my story ideas work or not. It has revitalized my old writing bug.

These are good ideas but...

you're introducing a whole codeset that people have to learn, and the only place they can pick it up is in the forums. I agree that searches for "story" in a keyword type search will allow stuff like: "this is my farm mish it has no real story". However, the searcher can filter these things out.

I have used tags in blogs for years and I learned to keep things simple. I also learned that tags/keywords lists will grow with every user.

For English searches I would suggest tags like these:

solofriendly
lowlevel
storybased
defeatall
eliteboss

...and so on. If a person types in "story" the search engine in the MA will pick up on "story" and should pick up anything you label as storybased.

[ QUOTE ]
AE System
--------
Welcome to Architect Entertainment -- Neutral
Death for Dollars! -- Neutral
Bare Knuckles of Rage (9304)
Signal to Noise -- Neutral -- 67277
*

Allegory
---------
Who is Kidnapping the World's Great Philosophers? -- Neutral -- 86347
*

Character/Supergroup Origins
--------
Birth of a Fossil -- Heroic
Secret Origins(Tech) The Snake Women of Epsilon V (42221) - Heroic
Noah Reborn -- Heroic (2370)
Polar Emergence Neutral Government User Interface Network (PENGUIN) #29205 - Heroic
Jumping in Feet First - Heroic - 1345
Midnight Bells Toll ----Villanious
A hero is made, not born. -- Heroic 20863
*

Classic Super-Hero/Super-Villain
--------
THE BOMBER --- Heroic --- Arc 16607
In The Shadow of Statesman --Neutral--1160
A Show to Die For! --- Heroic --- 30645
Check... and Mate #15095 - Heroic - Mini Task Force
Teen Phalanx Forever! -- Heroic (67335)
This Life Immortal - (5756) Heroic
Paradox Paradox - (69221) Heroic Stop yourself and Stellar from being erased!
Sidekicks Can Be A Pain In The Cape - (28430)
'Tis Nobler in the Mind - Heroic
*

Comedy
--------
The Extadine Lab -- Heroic (2595)
MacGuffin Delivery Service (1567) -- Villainous
ParaCon -- Heroic (1684)
The new and improved Lord Recluse Strike Force -- Villainous (though I wouldn't recommend against a hero )
The Fire Bunnies - Neutral, They are only bunnies after all...
You Say It's Your Birthday! (3630) - Neutral
Trademark Infringement -- Heroic (2220)
Hail to the King Neutral (34640)
Walk On the Wild Side - Neutral - 3580
Shirley You Jest (25474) -- Neutral
The Invasion of the Bikini Clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space! - Heroic - 61013
Gnomish Madness (30204) - Heroic
Doctor Nadir and the Hellion Heist (49661) - Heroic
Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE! - Heroic
The P.U.G. Strike force (arc 35585) -Villian
A Translator is the Wind or the Thunder in Turns -- (2936) - Heroic
What's in a Name? - Villainous
None More Black, Dude! (#86312) Neutral
Rise of the Drakule - Neutral
Return of the Revenge of the Son of Drakule Part 2: First Blood - Neutral
*

Comedy/Drama
--------
Fashion Apocalypse - Neutral - 14840
The Running of the Bulls -- Heroic 29973
A Super Team is Born -- Heroic
Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 -- Neutral
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -- Heroic (12669)
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare -- Neutral
It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding (9059) -- Neutral
TURG FICTION: Ghost in the Machine, Act I - Heroic (althoughs romantic villains could try this too )
Rum Runners of Bloody Bay (3691) - Heroic
Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day Kids! (2019)
The Toypocalypse! (49280) - Heroic
Fishing for Fame with Red Herring - Heroic (66861)
Putting Out Fires: A Corporate Satire (20100) - Villainous
The Rise and Refall of Pets'n'Things.com - Heroic - 1061
The Cat's in the Cradle (8776) - Villainous
*

Crime/Gangs
--------
Bricked Electronics -- Heroic (LIVE! 2180)
The Bravuran Jobs -- Villainous (16809)
The Black Flag Is On The Rise (Pirates!) - Villainous
The Monstrous Regiment of Lesbian Hellions -- Heroic (27178)
Win the 2009 Freak-Lympics (2150) - Villainous
Ninja Crimewave! (2142) - Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
The Internet is for Crime (53385) - Villains
Plastic Pistol Peril (1135) - Heroic
Friends in Need (Of Body Parts) - Villainous (31005)
A Little RnR - Heroic (17523) click for Promotional Poster
Mechanical Mayhem - Villainous (76721)
*

Drama
--------
The Conciliators: Simone -- Heroic (4010)
The Fan Club -- Heroic
Matchstick Women -- Heroic -- 3369
Of Mentors and Legacy - Heroic - 1589
Digital Love -- Neutral -- 3571
*

Global Domination
--------
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
*

Heist
--------
Celebrity Kidnapping -- Villainous (1388)
Easy Money -- Villainous (31490)
The Great Diamond Heist -- Villainous (96169)
*

Historical (Realistic)
--------
Wrinkle in Time -- Heroic(68920)
*

Historical (CoH Lore)
--------
The War on Superadine - The Regulators in their 1980's drug war (Heroic) (Arc 7959)
Origins - Volume 1 (57077) -- Heroic
The Once and Future King (#71601) - Heroic
*

Holiday
--------
City of Ho Ho Ho #18775 - Heroic
Hectic Holidays -- Heroic (36999) also comedy
Santa's Missing List - 34961
*

Horror
--------
Astoria in D Minor (41565) -- Heroic
Dark Dreams (3615)
D!E COUNT DADDY MACULA D!E! (10619) -- Heroic (1970's Action/Horror)
Don't Play With The Dead (31813) -- Neutral
The Amulet of J'gara (1709) -- Heroic
Project: Perilous - Into the Chthonian Pit (#3586) - Neutral (Unless you happen to be a mad cultist, in which case, go nuts!)
Small Fears -- Heroic
Lights, Camera, Scream! (#68627) - 3 Mission arc that get's you into the B-Horror film circuit.
Duality --Heroic -- 84105
Hunting the Hunters --Villainous -- 93362 - Help a vampire find out who is hunting his people
Creepy Crawlers - Arc ID: 82553 (Lv 41 - 52, a short, solo-friendly ghost story. Best played alone.)
*
Large-Scale Crisis
--------
Alpha and Omega (100400) -- Heroic
Is it Live or is it Memory-X - Arc ID #70210 - Heroic
This Is War, Part I - the Revenge of Hro'Dtohz -- Neutral
Win the Past, Own the Future - Heroic
A Warrior's Friend - Heroic
The Clockwork War -- Heroic (18672)
Flight of the Valkyries - Precursor (20272) -- Neutral
The Human Hive (#1632) - Neutral
War of the Worlds - The Anakim Invasion - Part 1, Neutral (15006)
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....ue#Post13304513
War of the Worlds - The Anakim Invasion - Part 2, The Terran Revolt, Neutral (46711)
url=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13304455&an=0&am p;page=0#Post13304455
Bleed the Freak - Arc ID #6919 - Heroic
*

Magic
--------
The Magical Miss Fitz (5079) -- Heroic
Chains of Blood (5492) -- Heroic
A Deal with Destiny -- Heroic
The Broken Chain (82378) -- heroic
Croatoa's Great War: The Parfait Family Reunion -- Neutral -- 71880
Rex is Missing! - Heroic - 51702
The Tannhäuser Gate (Arc 96322)
*

Military
--------
Redoubt Operations #1: Fires over Kalago -- Heroic
Red Storm Rising (Arc 4912) -- Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
Vanguard AQUA (58475) -- Neutral
*

Misc. Adventure
--------
The Portal Bandits (3326) -- Heroic
A Glitch in the Wyre- Arc 73197-- Neutral (Fun for both the good kids and the bad kids too!)
The Council Cargo - Arc ID: 36951 (Heroic, Lv 26 - 31, solo or team)


Mystery
--------
Blowback (18575) -- Heroic
Dream Paper -- Heroic (13030)
Dream Paper 2: Restless Sleep -- Heroic (16797)
Dream Paper 3: Broken Dreams -- Heroic (13064)
*

Mythology
--------
Atlantis Attacks! -- Neutral (30898) -- Click for Promotional Poster
The Seelie War -- Heroic
The Unseelie War -- Villainous
Tales of Cimerora, volume 1 : Of feathers and fur -- Heroic
The Aegis Affair - Heroic - ****
Witches and Warriors (53006)- Heroic
The War of Fate(12220,46722)- Heroic
Rites of the Maenads (61159) - Heroic
The Parable of the Fruit Salad -- Heroic -- 65369
The Eye of Balor (88176) - Heroic
*

Nemesis Plots
--------
Brass Reaver: Part 1 -- Neutral
The Handbag Plot -- Heroicish -- 36414
*

Player-Chosen Outcome
--------
Hunting the Dark Dragon -- Heroic
Playing Gods -- Heroic (51106)
*

Sci-Fi
--------
Above Mars - Part 1: The Wellington -- Neutral (13215)
Adventures of the Space Marines -- Neutral
Adventures of the Space Marines 2 -- Neutral
The Adventures of the United Earth Rangers -- Neutral (29549)
The Continuing Adventures of the United Earth Rangers -- Neutral (70237)
The Final Nemesis
The Knights of Rularuu -- Heroic (75386)
[color= #bbff88]Reach for the Stars -- Neutral (78904) [/color]
Spaced Invaders --Heroic(56856)
That Mysterious Buzzing Sound - 12774
The Balance of Power - 26931 - Neutral
*

Un-themed Survival/AV/Time Challenges
--------
The Meatgrinder -- Neutral
*

Puzzles/Riddles
--------
Grim Riddles (#1396) - Heroic

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Arc Name: The Oblivion Lens
Arc ID: 91897
Faction: Heroic
Time: 45 minutes.
Synopsis: What starts out as a battle against the Circle of Thorns turns into something far more dire when a mysterious artifact is recovered. (Does contain an arch villain in the last mission.)

[/ QUOTE ]

I played this last night with my level 31 plant/storm controller. The arc was solo friendly except for the EB at the end (which you are warned about). I had to use a warwolf and a snowman but defeated him.

The custom group is interesting and well thought out. They are defeatable and seemed balanced.

The biggest issues are minor typos and spelling errors. Overall this is a fun arc that's playable in one sitting.
---
I have two arcs published. This one may be the more interesting:

[ QUOTE ]
Arc Name: Creepy Crawlers
Arc ID: 82553

Faction: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: Gromar
Difficulty Level: Moderate (one encounter can be rough for squishies).
Level: 41 - 52.
Solo or team?: Solo friendly. Due to the map used large teams aren't recommended.
Synopsis: "This episode of Paragon Theater is a horror story. Watch it ALONE or with a few friends. (The emphasis is on story and atmosphere.)"
Keywords: story, ghost story, horror
Number of missions: 1
Estimated Time to Play: 1 hour at most.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Arc Name: Creepy Crawlers
Arc ID: 82553

Faction: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: Gromar
Difficulty Level: Lv: 41 - 52. Solo friendly; teams on Rugged+ may have a tough time with the custom group; due to the map used large teams aren't recommended.
Synopsis: "This episode of Paragon Theater is a horror story. Watch it ALONE or with a few friends. (The emphasis is on story and atmosphere.)" A big part of the fun is interacting with the contact. There are clues to find and a few fights. This is not a kill all or farm mission.
Keywords: story, ghost story, horror
Number of missions: 1
Estimated Time to Play: 1 hour at most.
---
Edit: I toned down the custom group a little and touched up the navigation bar clues.

[/ QUOTE ]

Creating MA arcs is fun but it can be frustrating when it comes to villain groups with exotic creatures.

Sometimes the villain group doesn't have any creatures in a certain range. I had to stop using snakes in a 40-50 arc because of the 40 to 45 gap. The MA allowed me to use Snakes because they are Lv 1-52, however my level 40 test toon faced level 46 Snakes.

You can mimic many creatures using custom costumes but they have to be humanoid based. Non humanoid costumes are not an option.

I had an idea for some exotic costumes. The MA interface would look something like this:

Humanoid/Custom
Humanoid/Generic (The premade costume templates)
Exotic/Sphere
Exotic/Vine

Exotic/Sphere

Exotic/Sphere would allow us to mimic the look of Will-o-the-wisps, Rularuu 'Eyes',and Lunaruu Storm Elementals. Basically it's a sphere model that has textures and colours applied. Textures could be basic (spines/horns/different colours), or animated (auras,or something like the exotic shields).

Powersets would be ranged or "melee(?)" like the will-o-the-wisp attack or swarms.

The only movement power would be flight.

Exotic/Vine

Exotic/Vine would mimic Carrion Creeper Vines. Textures would be similar to the ones mentioned for spheres (if possible). A glowing vine with a lightning aura would be cool!

All forms would have the "strike" animation.

Powersets could be combinations like lethal/smashing/toxic, smashing/energy,and so on.

The movement power would be based on Carrion Creepers. Alternately it could be set to "none".

---
So what do you think?

This would be cool too. I wonder if the non-custom powersets would have to be level limited. Otherwise there would be the problem we faced before: ie easy high level groups nerfed due to being too easy and exploitable. (The Family comes to mind).

For example: Hellion traditional powersets could be limited to arcs between levels 1-14.