Hercules

Latest review - by Police Woman:
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....art=30&vc=1

Plus some more in-game feedback:

[Tell] 2009-07-17 03: 18:42 Message From @<private>: Feedback on Architect Mission Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name....: I loved it I myself used a Halloween themed toon so I fit in perfectly I really loved the story it even made me feel sad for Rose, keep up the good work S, Jack Pumpkin

[Tell] @<private>: Feedback on Architect Mission Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name....: I loved it! it was a haunting story that pulls your heart strings. Very well done.

I'm sloooowly getting close to 100 ratings - hope to get there soon...

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You have found 9 since May 1st 2007. That is 805 days. That's one every 90 days or roughly one every 3 months.

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Yes, but I'm a *casual* player....

Imagine how much more the hardcore TF farmer is earning and turning around for profit at market day after day, week after week, month after month... Given the volume of TF farmers operating on any given day in this game, there's always going to be purple recipes/IO's available at market as a result. All the more reason the pricing should go down...


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If there were absolutely zero purples available at market on any given, then I would say paying millions or even billions for an ultra rare for the rare times one would actually crop up at auction would be worth it.

As it stands now, there's plenty of purples in market inventory to be had - the asking prices for them however is inconsistent with their true value as "ultra rare" items.

But again, that's IMHO...

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I consistently see 50+ bidders per purple item, with 2 or fewer available. In many cases, there are zero for sale. I'm impartial as to what the price should be - just let the market decide it.

What this game really needs is a money sink. The pool of money ( influence ) keeps getting larger and larger. Hence, prices will increase.

Maybe allowing the user to purchase items like extra MA slots, character slots, costume pieces, etc. with influence would help in that regard.

You won the game! Now what are you going to play?

I could always use another play of "178774 - Tales of Croatoa". Should be good once you get your toon to the mid 30s.

Interesting concept. I've been wanting a fur lined cloak for Herc for quite some time - guess I'll have to continue cloakless until Jay decides to add that texture...

I went through about 6 or 7 iterations with Bubbawheat's character before I found something I liked. I was sorely tempted to keep the costume for myself for a future character. Oh well.

Anyway, here are a couple screenshots from Bubbawheat's gallery and the bio provided:


http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...7-18-43-01.jpg

http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii285...21-12-23-34.jpg

Timeshifter

Bio:
Time Shifter started out his current life cycle as an experiment in temporal transference. He was able to more or less syphon time from those around him. From their perspective, they would repeat a few minutes, or a day, and Time Shifter would repeat that time as well, speeding his learning software and upgrading his hardware. The more people around him, the more quickly he would evolve as it were, although the further along in the process, the more power he needed. Now he is at a point where people are of no use for him, he needs to seek out other temporal anomalies to further his advancement. He is now collecting artifacts and travelling to time anomalies everywhere he hears about them.


My version (Praetorian):

Timeripper

Like our world's Timeshifter, Timeripper began as an experiment. Unlike Timeshifter, he went somewhat insane, and his goal is to use his powers to rip apart time and create chaos. His ultimate goal - to rip apart all time streams in ALL dimensions, break down all dimensional barriers, and essentially create Armageddon. His archenemies are the Oroborans, who are continually undoing all of his hard work.

Time Ripper Photo 1
Time Ripper Photo 2
Time Ripper Photo 3
Time Ripper Photo 4
Time Ripper Photo 5
Time Ripper Photo 6
Time Ripper Photo 7

I assume Praetorian swap means make an "Evil" version of your hero? ( or good if you have a villain )

Thank you for the great review. I'm really surprised at the number of typos left. I guess they're right - you are your own worst editor.

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Briefing: Very nicely formatted and written briefing. I like how the caption is a larger font, and the use of different typeface for the "description" versus the contact's dialog. Minor nitpick: for consistency the third paragraph, beginning "You rub your eyes..." should be in italics, to match the descriptive text of the first paragraph starting "Patrolling through Croatoa..."


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I think I'll remove the italics. Straight text is a bit easier to read.

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Mission objectives: I have an objective to "Defeat Fel", but I have no idea who that is, so not sure why this is needed. Perhaps "Defeat redcap leader" would be more appropriate.


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Good idea.

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Found a glowy called "Treasure Chests", but it's just one treasure chest, so shouldn't be plural. Same for "Chests". Probably in the authoring tool it makes sense to create, say, 6 "Chests" but I think you want to name them the singular noun. I do like the various glowies that have been scattered around the mission for the sake of atmosphere, though.


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Good point - I'll make them singular.


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[NPC] Fel Darkwood : Why does the hero trouble us?
[NPC] Fel Darkwood : Hehehe, the hero wants to play!
[NPC] Rascal: Lets play a game! "Whack-the-hero!"
[NPC] Fel Darkwood : Revenge shall be had! Then ol' Fel be glad!
(Note spacing before the colon.) Minor quibble: the first three of these lines don't rhyme at all.


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I briefly considered making everything rhyme, then figured that might take it to the point of annoyance to the player.

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The mission seems filled with level 34 ghosts. Considering I am level 27 and on Heroic difficulty, this seems a probable bug. This looks like a cool mission, but I'm not going to be able to handle +7s.


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Per our discussion in-game, I've set all missions to 33-34. Best compromise, I guess, considering the Devs have the Cabal at 25-34, The Redcaps at 1-53, and the Ghosts at 41-53. I was hoping the new feature allowing me to set the level range for each mission would fix it, but apparently it's not foolproof.

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The third paragraph, beginning with "Spy Girl, I know what you can do!" (where Spy Girl is my character's name) seems like it should belong to the briefing of the next mission, as it is essentially describing a new mission.


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I'll think about this one. Taking this out of the debriefing will make the remaining text rather sparse. Hmmm....


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Having freed Jack, I'm not sure why I still need to free the other 3 Fir Bolg. The mission briefing really only mentions talking to Jack. Perhaps this is needed to gain Jack's trust; it may need to be a little more clear though. The extra hostages DO have nice bits of dialog though.


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I did this for a couple of reasons:
1. To convince the user to hear all of the dialog.
2. To account for Jack's occasional spawning near the front. ( drives me nuts how spawning occurs at times ) I had a couple runs where this mission took just a few seconds to free Jack - forcing me to make all of the captives required objectives.

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Patrick Rescued clue: "Tou tell Patrick" should be "You tell Patrick". This clue also says "I will go to her ... immediately" but he just stands there after being freed. Should run off, if possible (though, I know I've had trouble getting freed hostages to run away on outdoor maps).


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Another MA bug. I've bug reported it - just hope its somewhere on their priority list.

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[NPC] Adriana Callihan: What else can you do to me? You've destroyed almost everyone I care about!

I think you can strike "almost" from that line, to make it a stronger statement. I like how Adriana is portrayed here, including her "Suicidal?" clue.


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Well, I put the almost in there to account for Jack and possibly other family members who are still living.

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I am not sure what the "A Voice from the Shadows" clue means; possibly foreshadowing for a sequel.


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Yep, I'd like to do a series featuring Rhiannon and her conflict with MacComber and the other "good" witches. The Voice is her malavelont spirit - consider her the female version of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter.

Most of my arcs have been out quite a while, but my Starfare and Pirate's Quest arcs have 8 and 6 ratings respectively. I'd appreciate it if you could take a look at either one.

I tried the grounding ray on a run just the other day. No damage taken prior to the gun - I definitely saw some "-1"'s afterward.

Unfortunately, I couldn't convince the group to stay and take him down.

I believe all you need is the ray gun from a prior run of the arc. I would guess they will be fixing this in a future patch? Usually temp powers disappear when an arc is finished.

This sounds interesting, I think I'll give it a go.

Definitely hit refresh on your list or you'll lose your changes when you subsequently edit. Very annoying bug.

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For the record, I did rate "Footsteps" 4 Stars.

[/ QUOTE ]I rated it 1. And it's in the hall of fame. Go figure.

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I rated it 2 stars. The so-called humor didnt cut it for me, nor did I think the mature content was appropriate.

I hope this new graphics engine will allow for easier creation of wireframe models and animations. So many things that have been asked for and denied ... like animals, multiple arms, huge females, etc.

It would also be nice if the wireframe/animation modeler could be extended to MA - to allow creation of our own critters.

Just finished playing it with my 50 Plant/Storm controller. Interesting arc - I enjoyed it. Definitely not a 1 star rating - hard to believe some people - let's hope his rating arc dies away.

Chapter 1:
Typos: "...I just receieved..." - should be received.
".... you can head the sounds of battle...." - should be hear

In the Turbo Starr bio i think "experiments" would sound better than "experimentations".

Grammar: ".... peruse his experimentation..." - perhaps you meant pursue?

When I first enter, Turbo is surrounded by Rikti and holding his walky talky. He should either be a captive or in a combat pose. It just looked odd him standing there and his captives ignoring him.

Suggestion: Vary up the Rikti and Captive dialog if you have room. Too many Rikti were saying "Objective: Something".

Closing Popup: "You have saved the Longbow base". I'd add a "Congratulations" and perhaps a exclamation point.

The Longbow base seemed devoid of anything but Rikti. I'd add a few Longbow patrols and/or battles.

It seemed a bit odd to me, storywise, that someone created a Rikti like virus and somehow influenced the Rikti to attack at the same time. This was never fully explained.

Chapter 2

Typo: " ... in the event any kind of tampering ...." should be "in the event of".

Popup Dialog: "... agents from the Crey..." should be "agents from Crey".

Mission Objectives: "Search the Computer for clues" and "Locate any clues" could be combined together.

Rescue Dialog: The text concerning Crey "robbing banks" seemed odd. I don't remember any arcs with them robbing banks off hand.

Desk Clue: Need periods at the end.

The wall safe text was incorrect. I'm guessing this used to be a desk at some point in time?

At this point, the comedy text kicks in high gear, whereas the opening chapter seemed fairly straightforward. I'd go back and make it more consistent if this is intended to be a comedic arc. If not, I'd change the AV text to be more in character.

Chapter 3

Intro: "the Crey" again. I'd just use "Crey".
".... they all would kidnap her...." - I'd just have "they would kidnap her".
Freak Patrols - I'd either vary up the text with individual patrols or just have 1 patrol with text and the rest silent.

Malta Report Clue Typo: spefics should be specifics.

Debriefing: Carnival of Shadow should be plural.
"Rouge Isles" should be "Rogue Isles".
"... at the Council base there." You don't need "there" at the end. I saw a number of sentences where you did this.

I didn't fully understand why the Malta were helping me...
also, if you're going to have an ambush it needs to come earlier, the mission was over and I had to go find them...

Chapter 4
Typo: "Nerva Archiplelgo" should be "Nerva Archipelago"
"5th column" should be "5th Column" ( case )
The "Capture Bonedog" objective was added with no explanation. Perhaps a clue?
The debriefing mentions a Torque Starr and the Red Hand with no explanation. This is expanded a bit in the next chapter but is confusing at this point.

Chapter 5
If you're going to have a timed mission, there needs to be a reason. Something like time bombs... otherwise I'd not time it.

Torgue Starr bio:
"... his dark past lead him..." - should be led
"...specialty trained assassins...." should be specially
The bio sounded a bit awkward in places and could be tightened up a bit.

The popup needs an exclamation point.

Debriefing:
"We dit it!" should be "We did it!"

".... Jade Starr is a great hero, just like you and I..." - I saw text in a few places like this. Makes your contact seem a bit egotistical...

The arc seemed to be building up to some great cataclysm of monumental proportions that would cause all the villain groups to band together. Torque just didnt seem to fit the bill IMO. Maybe if you had some clue that Torque was working for some higher power ... especially since this arc seems to be a prelude to something.

Overall: A very nice arc, with some great humor. The humor needs to be consistently applied - especially in the first chapter. Quite a few typos - to be expected considering the amount of text.

The contact needs to be toned down. He appeared to have build up which implies a hard setting. Also, he shouldn't be set to aggressive. It makes the player feel like 2nd fiddle as the contact appears to be leading.

Suggestion: Colorizing chapter titles and highlighting main objectives in the intro text help break it up and look less like a "wall of text".

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It's becoming increasingly more aggravating to get into a TF PUG lately. Seems there are becomine more and more "must have" builds - and if you dont have that build - no need to apply. Is this game turning into Guild Wars?

You "must have":
- A stone tanker
- A Kin
- A Rad
- A Cold Fender
etc., etc., the list goes on.

As far as I'm concerned, the only must haves are a good tank and a decent healer

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Epic fail.
You start by ranting about people who say you must have certain AT's, then you help to propagate the narrow-mindedness.

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You obviously havent read the rest of the thread, nor do you seem to be making the correct distinction between archtypes/group roles and specific powersets.

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Given that the Red Caps have no particular aversion to tormenting the civilian populace of Salamanca, and that their aggression against the Cabal is by all appearances entirely voluntary, "leaving the Cabal" is tantamount to "leaving the pirates" when you're on a ship in the middle of shark-infested waters.


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Growing weary of a centuries long war is a definite possibility. Nor is it beyond the realm of possibillity that the Cabal have children. You could definitely interpret the Cabal as a static set of immortal witches - I dont see it that way. I could see them recruiting from the general populace over time - especially if they see someone with magical promise.


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Well, yeah. We've seen a mystic group under siege by a relentless enemy turn to darker arts and strike a Faustian bargain for their survival. Or rather, we see the aftermath all the dang quicksand-lobbing lethal-resisting Chill-of-the-Night-running Behemoth-summoning time.

But their actual process is something we can't get a window into, at least not one that allows for intervention. Exploring the Cabal's progress down that path is certainly a worthwhile effort.

The particular flavor of necromancy you use is just kinda doing it wrong, though, because the Cabal are as physically immortal as the Tuatha and Fir Bolg -- they're only in danger if someone takes a sledge to their spirits. Some of the high-level bosses (though not ones that generally show up in spawns) are actually spirits themselves, the It's-Pronounced-Banshees.

Contradicting the game canon for purposes of extending it is kinda like extending a space station by ramming a cruiser into it. The stability of the "new construction" is, to say the least, compromised, and the old construction isn't exactly reinforced in the process either.


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I haven't seen any reference to MacComber or any of the others being referred to as Spirits or banshees. Sorry, but I haven't violated any canon, at least not by my interpretation of what I've played.

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Something about "placing the amulet into one of the many holes" and that this would be a safe place for it. I thought it meant, like, holes in some monument in the graveyard, but it was actually the teddy, wasn't it? Except leaving it in the care of the ghost child isn't a safe place since the Red Caps already made off with the dang thing once.


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Yep, it was in the Teddie. The bear was in your possession at that point... and you had no clue whether the contact would ever show herself again. The Red Caps had it in their possession and had no idea what was inside and it definitely stymied the Cabal for a year. Seems like as a good place as any, other than digging a hole somewhere in a field.

Again, while you're entitled to your point of view about game canon, 2 starring an arc because it doesnt suit your interpretation is a bit overkill. I'll make a few text changes per your feedback, but major changes to the plot - not happening.

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The wisps are really just kind of annoying since they do that swarm thing where they tag you for 5 seconds then run far away.


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There for atmosphere... I'd set them to neutral if that was an option. Unless you have a taunt aura, they will usually leave you alone after a few seconds if you bypass them.

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The boss and the destructible would both benefit from some custom descriptions, I think.


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Will do.

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I guess Croatoa Ghosts don't go high enough? (bet you're looking forward to editing enemy descriptions, huh?)


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This is the only ghost group that I'm aware of in the editor... the arc will be set to lev 25-34 when the next issue is released.

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Amusing bit of randomness: the corkboard containing the last words of a dying someone was parked on top of a three-tier cargo shelf. I can just imagine what that must have been like.


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Yeah, I've bug reported that. Looks much better when it spawns at ground level. Happens maybe once every 10 runs.

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I can buy the weird splinter sect breaking the treaty, but, uh...
The Cabal want a next generation.
Like, really want.
Like, there's exactly one member of it right now and they keep her dead center in a sacred grove.


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No clue what you're talking about. Katie H is not the sole member of the Cabal.

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...the many holes? The many holes in what? Though the graveyard is definitely henged out from the rest of reality, so there's that for it.


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You lost me.

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Storyline - *. This is a solid, internally consistent story that is entirely, entirely wrong. The Cabal are immortal prisoners of Croatoa, much as the Fir Bolg, Tuatha, and Croatoa Ghosts are. They were just powerful enough for the Red Caps not to twist their bodies into something monstrous. If somebody "left the Cabal" to live a normal life, raise a family, bear a child, the Cabal might be hunting her down, but only so they could ask "HOW DID YOU DO THIS THING AND WHEN CAN I".


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Edit: Given their long war with the Red Caps, I could see them getting angry with someone leaving.

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Gameplay - ****. With an EB and a boss in tow the final boss was hardly a challenge. I hardly did any damage to her because of DN and the occasional blast that landed, but the bosses staying at range and blasting mowed her down right quick. Bit of an anticlimax really. Also the second and third maps had a lot of empty space to them.


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I intentionally toned the AV/EB down for soloability. You can always crank it up to invinc if you want more of a challenge.

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Overall - **. Not an average in this case. It's an arc that uses the imagery of Croatoa extensively but doesn't have much regard for the history of it as presented in-game.


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Guess you're not one for extending the game canon. The possibility of part of the Cabal becomine corrupt is very possible IMO.

Sorry you didnt enjoy it - guess it's not for everyone. We'll have to agree to disagree on consistency with game canon. Thanks for the review.

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You still don't get it. The best "tanks" I've had on the STF were an illusion/radiation controller with near perma PA and a FF defender with provoke. Neither were "healers", neither were "tanks". Heck, I've "tanked" Recluse before with a regen scrapper by using confront, running around a lot and then switching aggro with another scrapper on the team.

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Not sure exactly what I don't get. I recognize there are probably 100 ways of doing most TF's - just pointing out what I've most commonly seen.

Getting back to the main point of the thread though... the requirement of many people who just absolutely have to hold out for that "Kin" or whatever, even with some good players available to go on the TF.

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As far as I'm concerned, the only must haves are a good tank and a decent healer

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Irony. You has it.

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I was gonna' say something, but you beat me to it

And where does this "healer" business come into things, anyway? Is "healer" a generic term for defender, even though not all defenders have heals? Are only defenders with heals worth teaming with?

Blaaargh.

FWIW, my fire tanker, teamed with a FF defender, is borderline unkillable without turning on her toggles. Heals are vastly overrated by waaaaaay too many players.

And, uh, this concludes my rant.

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Touche. I take it back. Let me rephrase:
You have to have some combination of players capable of standing up to the final boss. In the case of STF, that is usually a tank/healer combo, though a skillfully played scrap can probably do the same.

A lot of good points brought up in the thread. I've seen a number of "well built" teams do horribly, and some oddball builds do very well. Really depends on the players skill. I think the best STF I ran on had 5 or 6 trollers, a tank, and I forgot what else. No blasters. Took quite a while to whittle down the final bosses, but we won out.

It would be nice if the devs posted somewhere a short review and WHY they felt the arc deserved selection as a DC.

I haven't seen this arc posted anywhere, so the stated "generating buzz" criteria doesn't seem to apply in this case.

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It's becoming increasingly more aggravating to get into a TF PUG lately. Seems there are becomine more and more "must have" builds - and if you dont have that build - no need to apply. Is this game turning into Guild Wars?

You "must have":
- A stone tanker
- A Kin
- A Rad
- A Cold Fender
etc., etc., the list goes on.

As far as I'm concerned, the only must haves are a good tank and a decent healer (and perhaps 1 controller) - the rest of the party is fairly flexible. Yes, there are team builds that go a lot faster than the random pick up group - but I saw someone spam last night for an hour to get that "perfect" team. I'd be really curious if that team build made up for the hour+ of broadcasting.