Hercules

I've thought about reordering. I believe he is 2nd or 3rd in the list of objectives. 90% of the time he spawns correctly, so I think I'll leave it alone unless I start getting complaints about it. I compensated a bit by making the other hostages required objectives.

The position of the clue in the 2nd mission though - there is nothing to be done about that, other than submitting a bug report.

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

Nice splash, I'll check this arc out. The "When" at the beginning doesn't look right though...

Edit:
I just ran the arc on my 42 DB/Fire scrapper (on heroic). I gave it four stars. Thoroughly enjoyed the story. Very cute custom npcs and use of emoticons for their language. I'll have to admit though, I had no clue what the majority of the emoticons meant. The rogue pandaras were well balanced in terms of power sets, definitely not overpowered.

Liberal use of clues helped the story along greatly.

Now, for why I didnt give the 5th star:
- There was quite a bit of dialog throughout the arc that seemed awkward ... examples:
"Commander Rottier was pleased with your rescue."
That's nice, considering I rescued him. Sounds like someone rescued me.

"Only me and a few "....

" ... but to be sure we need to protect it."
Maybe you meant " ... but to be sure, we need to protect it."
Sounds like you're questioning whether or not it needs to be guarded.

There were quite a few examples like this throughout the arc. Missing commas or extraneous punctuation, and awkward phrasing.

Other feedback:
- The "Cleric/Monk" class in most fantasy rpgs is associated with healing. I was surprised when he pulled out the gun. I was expecting an empathy defender combination of some sort.

- I expected an ambush when I attacked the ancient device. Personal taste on when to do ambushes though - minor nitpick.

- Panda Prime should have been at least a boss? He spawned as a Lt., just like the other npcs. I was expecting some kind of heavily armored "Optimus Prime" type of character. Oh well.

- I was wondering about the O'Bollard name, it doesn't sound very Panda'ish or Rikti'ish. Sounds Irish to me. He didnt look very Rikti either, maybe a few more subtle costume changes?

- The Rikti don't know about the second device... So, I'm guessing Rottier didn't know about it? That doesn't seem likely, considering he was the last commander.

Nice arc, I enjoyed it.

There have been many, many solutions given which I think would help. A few I've posted:
1) Implement a rating system that drops the top and bottom 10% of the ratings, like they do in some sporting events.
This would eliminate some of the 1-star bandits (i.e. Russia grading an American gymnast) , as well as SG buddies padding your score (i.e. Eastern block country voting on another in whatever sporting event ).
2) Create a separate star rating that includes only those votes from people who have completed the arc, then allow people to also search by that rating. ( i know that's the one I would search by )
3) Show statistics that show the number of people who started the mission vs those who completed it.

Lots of things they could do. Question is, do they really care?

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My awesome critique of this guide. Spell Aweosme right.

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In the time-honored tradition of catching a grammatical mistake in a post that makes a grammatical correction: put a verb in every sentence by using a colon rather than a full stop and put a word to which you are making reference in italics or single quotes to set it apart from the syntax of the sentence itself.

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Fair nuff. Thot I was makin a spelling correction, not a grammer correction.

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Again, if someone wants to fight level 54 bosses, that's their own business.

If they're willing to take the risk, over and over again, then who cares? Seriously. It's not as if they're forcing YOU to do this.

I'm going to cut it off right here. Otherwise this is going to just devolve into yet another silly thread-locker.

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What risk? I've participated in a few farms (very few, because they bore me to tears), and to put it bluntly, the bosses are designed to give minimal risk to the farmers. Bring a few controllers vs melee mobs with no defensive set = zero risk.

The only fixes needed are:
1) Require at least 1 minion and at least 1 lieutenant in a custom group that is used as a map's villain group. Same thing with rescue ally, rescue captive , and destroy object enemy groups.
2) Knock the lev 54 mobs down to 50. ( that are used as allies )

At this point, a farm is going to be no more effective than a regular farm.

My awesome critique of this guide. Spell Aweosme right.

I already have the Mcafee Internet Security suite, which supposedly protects against spyware - I havent had good experiences in the past with having multiple security tools installed.

I'm now inclined to think it's an IE issue. The IE that comes with Vista is a buggy pile of crap. Tends to lock up at times, regardless of the site. Don't even get me started on Vista itself.

Thanks for the help.

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Yup. You've either clicked out of DA, or have some sort of Trojan on your computer already, because I've never had anything of this sort happen!

If this is happening because of DA, you should be able to reproduce it by going back to those pages to confirm that it happens again. If you can, then you should report those pages to DA for them to moderate.

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I tried the "This is all I got" link on the "challenge - Hellions that have gone to Hell" thread twice. Happened both times.
I don't remember where the adobe error occurred, it was several days ago.

I don't think it's my computer or IE, I have never had this issue before on any website. My antivirus software does a good job of keeping itself up to date, and it hasn't detected anything.

I just tried "Kiss Hello Goodbye". I give it high marks for overall narrative. He really needs to make the narrative and dialog text different colors though to differentiate. The story suffered from a couple continuity issues and a chaotic ending map that didn't make much sense. I also didn't appreciate the overpowered trigger spawn in the first mission that sent me to the hospital. I gave it four stars. With a few tweaks, it could be a great arc.

I just started looking at this site a few days ago.

Thus far, I've run into one site that generated an adobe security warning. Today, another page that generated runaway new tab generation in IE - that I could only stop by pulling the plug on my PC.

Any idea how prevalent this crap is, and if deviantart is something to stay away from? I like some of the art on the site, but not so much that I want to risk contamination of my PC....

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Do you really want to use your one and only get-out-of-jail-free card on getting them to accept (e.g.) steam-powered robots that can pass for human beings?

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One last comment and then I'll give this thread back to the reviews: as I understand it the Nemesis automaton faction is something of a joke, with office workers as the butt - the idea being that robots don't have to be passable if all they're impersonating is office workers. IIRC the arc in which they first appear is full of Office Space references ("Where's my TPS report?" etc).

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Is there anywhere in the game that explicitly states the automatons are steam powered? I would think Nemesis would use any technology available... especially considering one of the later arcs in which he's trying to construct an artificial brain - definitely not steam powered - cybernetic.

Several things I'd like to see:

1) Contact animations
I'd like to be able to specify the animation the contact is engaged in on a per-mission level from the list of standard animations.

2) Contact emotes.
I'd also like to be able to specify emotes that the contact can engage in when you click on them. For example, on returning from chapter completion, it would be nice if the contact could show: shock, annoyance, amusement, laughter, crying, etc.

3) Contact Backdrops: It just doesn't look right for the contact to be standing on that little circle. It would be nice if they could be put in an alcove along the wall, and allow the user to select from a list of backdrop scenery ( i.e. brick wall, city skyscrapers, graveyard, Oroboros, etc. ) that would show behind the contact.
I think this would eliminate some of the "artificial" feel to missions.

4) Mission Entrance: Allow the user to replace the big "column of light" with an actual mission entrance, per chapter. ( i.e., building door entrance, cave, etc. )

Yes, I know AE is supposed to be a simulation. So is the holodeck on the Enterprise.

I think the devs have stated that the next issue will allow you to set the level range for the arc - it will be nice not to have to implement little kluges like this.

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I'm with Eva, I hope this feature never gets implemented. Cutscenes don't belong in an MMO, IMHO.

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This

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I don't agree.

I like cutscenes when done appropriately. Guild Wars does them very well. You just need the option to bypass if you don't want to watch it again for the umpteenth time.

I would limit to one cutscene per arc.

Two issues: Disk storage and content monitoring. You can have filters for text - a video can contain anything.

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Trying to think of a different title for this arc. Suggestions welcome!

Some brainstorm ideas to get the ball rolling:

Let's do the Time Loop Again!
Two More Weeks of Wyvern.
A Shift in Time Saves Nine.
Let's Shift Again, Like We Did Last Summer.
It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again.
Back to the Present!

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Change one of the agent's names to Agent Freud, and call it "Freudian Time Slip" or "Freudian Slip in Time".

Just played it. A few comments:

Mission 1: The computer isn't "Mad Scientisty" enough. That comment seemed a little out of place, we aren't dealing with Dr. Aeon.
You have text about the "Evil lab" and "Crazy lab". Labs aren't evil or crazy, they're a place. Maybe an evil scientist in the lab or a crazy lab raid would make more sense.

Agent Marx has "Hey!" before most of his sentences - a little overdone.

Mission 2:
I wouldnt have the computer disappear when clicking it. Why is it not "Mad Scientisy" enough this time around? There needs to be a premise for taking a closer look this time. The patrol is missing until later.
I didnt like having the 2nd computer as a chained objective. Computers usually dont magically appear in an area you've just covered. I'd suggest having two computers in both mission 1 and mission 2.

Mission 3:
The contact should say something like "What do you mean, found it twice?"
Why does the map keep getting bigger? This was never explained in the arc. I could understand if you went back in time a hundred years ago, that maybe the repercussions of your actions might alter architecture - but we're talking minutes or hours - hardly enough time to make that big of a difference.
Now, you have a whole bunch of artifacts - all of them with a separate clue. I'd narrow the clues down to just what advances the story, and change the humorous clues to object feedback. Also maybe narrow down the number of glowies - and make them optional?
The level of humor doesnt seem even throughout the arc. There was a little mild humor in the earlier arcs with Marx's dialog, now I get umpteen funny glowies.
Arachnos equipment clue - "it doesn't look alter-y". I had no clue what that meant.
The computer - why would I rip it up? A villain might do that, but not a hero.
The objectives list was confusing - I think you had the objective for defeat Marx as one of the "Find Item" objectives. I kept clicking glowies and it felt like the list was either not counting down when I got to 2 or got replaced.

Mission 4:
Now I'm on an even bigger map. Again, why is never explained. Go through, find the "Time Shifter" and his "Spawn" companions. Very odd. Why is the villain group called "Devices"?
The device you found clamps onto the villain, they go boom. End of story. Somewhat anti-climactic.

The arc has promise, but could use a bit of polish.

Updated per feedback ... I would greatly appreciate it if I could get a few more viewpoints. Thanks!

Arc Name: Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name...
Arc ID: 178774
Morality: Heroic
Factions: Red Cap, Ghosts, Cabal, Custom
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Hard. Mission 5 has EB/AV.
Synopsis : Patrolling in Croatoa one night, you notice a little girl wandering aimlessly on the edges of a cemetery and decide to stop to help. Experience a ghostly tale of love, sorrow, and betrayal as you attempt to unravel a mystery. (SFMA)

Note: This arc is intended to be played by someone in their low to mid 30s . Has an AV, but you have ally help.

I made a few changes to the Redcap's dialog in chapter 1. If you get time could you run through just that 1 chapter and let me know what you think? I specifically changed: the patrol, Fel (the boss), and the guardian of the chest. I might have made it a little too cute, but I felt the original dialog was too human sounding.

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Ease of creating it. Currently a person has to find the optimal map for the first mission based on what they put on the map, whether it's a custom group of bosses, lts, or a premade group. Then they need to insert a glowie so they can click it to end the mission when they reach around 900 tickets from mob gains. Sure they could use any large size map for the process, but that's not optimal cause then they have to go look for the glowie. I personally won't put the effort into doing that. While I like farming and I like rewards, I don't like guess work to figure out what the optimal maps for a particular group is. If they put it in front of me, I'll do it. Otherwise I won't waste my time (regardless of what many think, I am not a hardcore farmer.) Making a defeat x enemies is putting it in front of me. I can use any size map I want, make the mobs all bosses, and all I need to do is watch my ticket gains once. When I've killed enough enemies to make 900 tickets, I'll set x equal to that amount. Size of map no longer matters and takes out all the guess work and the need to insert glowies to end the mission.


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Make the max possible "Kill X" value 50, 75, whatever. Problem solved. The scheme outlined would probably only work if X was set to some very large value, probably well over 200.

Edit: I could see where a player could continue killing mobs after the exit buttton has appeared until he has met his "quota" for that map. But still there are large maps where you know where a glowie or boss spawn will appear 90% of the time, so I don't think it's really that much of an issue.

The devs could always add logic to make tickets stop dropping after the mission objectives have been met, if they do think it's an issue.

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Problem is that you still can't read the Mission Debriefings, which often have a lot of information as well.

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Definitely needs to be fixed. I usually put as much into the debriefings as I do the intro or sendoff.

What I wish they would do is hire 10 college interns (preferrably English Lit. Majors ) and let them go to town as arc review filters.

Let them weed out the obvious farms, trash arcs, etc., then submit the really good ones to the Devs for review. No, this wouldnt be enough to go through 200k arcs, but definitely an improvement over the devs "We'll look at arcs that generate buzz" approach.

Might as well say "We'll look at arcs of people who belong to large SGs whose members can hype it up...."

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Nice design on the Mission Contact, and you capture the character of a lonely ghost quite well in the initial briefing. I feel that the combination of four different colors in the initial text is a bit too much of a visual distraction, though. I'd be more inclined to switch the orange text to the generic white, but that's my personal taste.


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Regarding the orange color - I wanted something that would stand out as "narrative" text vs the contact speaking to me. The standard white just didnt do it for me. I'll have to think about finding some other less jarring color, perhaps something more pastel.

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The mission itself is straightforward, while faithfully sticking to the wicked vibe of the Red Caps. A minor typo can be found in the text after interacting with one of the piles of bones. The result reads: "You found nothing. The Redcaps didnt leave a shred that would help identify their victim." The word "didn't" should include the apostrophe.


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Thanks for the catch on "didn't". I'ts difficult to find typos in game due to the standard font being so small.

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One of the chests, after interacting with it, states that it is filled with gold and trinkets, and that the player leaves it alone because it's not what he/she is there for. I would typically urge caution in ascribing motive to the character running through the arc. True, this is assuredly a heroic arc, and true heroes don't do good deeds purely in exchange for a paycheck. But there's also a wide spectrum of heroic moralities out there, and I can easily imagine a number of heroes who wouldn't think twice about snatching gold from wicked Red Caps while trying to free a victim. Ultimately, this is simply a cautionary point about saying what the player would do.


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Good point.

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I chose to test a hypothesis, since the objectives on the Mission Header show up in two different colors. Sure enough, the objectives in white are optional, while the one in orange is the crucial objective. Nice planning, there.


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I've sent in a suggestion that the Devs implement separate required vs optional objectives lists. I've seen this scheme used in a number of arcs - seems to work fairly well.


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If I recall correctly, this mission does not have a pop-up window with entry text. Of course, it's not a requirement - especially when running close to the filesize limit, and if you need to make tough choices. But this is one of those instances where I feel like a pop-up entry window would be beneficial to setting the initial mood. The contact, a ghost, has sent me to the warehouse where her dad worked. The warehouse turns out to be inhabited entirely by ghosts, and the clues suggest that it was raided and the workers killed. Hence, the ghostly population. An entry pop-up text window would help set the scene greatly - I suspect that most people would enter a warehouse expecting it to have live workers in it, and sense something to be rather wrong after entering.


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Odd, I have a popup for the warehouse... and you didnt see one?

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The evidence that the Cabal was responsible for the massacre is troubling. It's been a while since I've run the canon Croatoa missions, but the Cabal never struck me as quite that cold-hearted. Still, I should see how the rest of the story develops before leaping to conclusions.


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My overall impression of the Cabal is based on a mission where they are experimenting on ghosts and for all intents and purposes torturing them. I might have to run through another character just to make sure. I could possibly have a rival faction of Witches similar to the Cabal - however, I would prefer to stick to the canon mobs, if possible, since they're already balanced for normal play.

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I believe there is a misspelling in the send-off text for this mission, where the ghost uses the word "lieing." Typically, the gerund form of "to lie" is "lying."


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Second arc I've been caught with that spelling.

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This mission appears to introduce some custom enemies that are blended with existing Cabal enemies. The costuming fits the theme of the Cabal, which is good. However, the nature of these new enemies is that they are undead spirits of former Cabal members, bound to serve the living Cabal leaders. This again makes me question whether this fits in with the in-game canon. My impression has been that the Cabal traditionally practice weather-based magic, and necromancy seems an uncharacteristic step for a group that dedicates itself to fighting the Red Caps.


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I had something of an ulterior motive for adding the new mobs. The constant "zinging" sound of electric powers drives me nuts after a while. I wanted to add a couple of mobs that would dilute that down a bit. Plus, I felt the Cabal needed a melee based unit as opposed to being completely ranged.

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By this point, it seems like this arc was written from the perspective that the Cabal as a whole is evil, with a callous disregard for life. Having also run the Katie Hannon Task Force, that really seems to run contrary to my impression of the Cabal.


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I've never really had a chance to go through this task force and actually sit there and read through all the text. Most groups just want to plow through at breakneck speed. Oh well.

Edit: I just changed Jack's monologue to mention that Rhiannon is the leader of a rogue sect of the Cabal that practices necromancy. I just read a summary of the KHTF on a wiki page, and you appear to be partially correct. But they definitely aren't what you would consider a "heroic" organization.

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Patrick Callihan, I note, has no descriptive flavor text, and ends up getting the default Minion text when I right-click on him.


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I was thinking about that this morning. Still drawing a blank on what to put in his description...

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The map is a bit large, but at least it's outdoors, and you give the enemies highly visible animations so that it's easier to track them down. Still, the four rituals to disrupt all have the same flavor text, which people may find repetitive. I'd personally recommend cutting it down to three. (Especially since three is a common numeric theme amongst witches.)


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I have to agree. I could potentially put 3 or 4 separate collections with different text. I'll have to think about it.


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Ordinarily, I am leery about including an Elite Boss as an ally, especially if it's a Custom Elite Boss. They often can be overpowered, and can overshadow the player's abilities. However, you seem to have chosen a reasonably balanced set of powers that keeps her from just mowing through the opposition.


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I put her on the lowest settings. I agree, I didnt want an ally that would allow me to just sit back and watch her do all the work.

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This arc shines primarily in the written work of its storytelling. The dialogue and characterization is very well crafted. And it tells a solidly entertaining story. It loses points in my personal taste, however, for appearing to diverge from how the Cabal is portrayed in the game itself.


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Thank you for the review. Not sure I agree with your view of the Cabal, they always seemed fairly nasty to me - especially the "10 times a victor" witch you have to fight. I truely wish I could find a group that would slow down in KHTF - but not likely now. That TF is rarely done anymore.