Ice9_

A buddy of mine, a counter-hacker, told me Facebook is crawling with this and other nasty trojans. Users should be particularly aware of high risk when playing the embedded games on Facebook and other similiar sites.

By the way, a status update from this end, I found my previous efforts did not entirely resolve my virus issues. I got rid of Security Essentials 2010, but a browser hijacker persisted in the system. So, I'm starting over from scratch, ah the joys of the interwebs.

My wish for the creators of these jems...

The things I would have befall them are too heinous to put down in print.

Start with Avast! free anti-virus...

add some Spybot Search and Destory anti-spyware/malware...

carefully pour in just a bit of Regedit.exe (don't $%@& around with your registry unless you know what you're doing) or ask someone with the experience necessary to handle it for you.

and finally, throw it all in behind ZoneAlarm's free firewall.

I cannot, and do not, promise this will protect everyone, but it appears to have corrected the issue for me.

I went to Vidiotmaps today, to re-download the latest map pack. They now use Mega Upload has their download host site. Huzzah, when I clicked to download from Mega Upload, I got kicked in my digital crotch.

I am, at this moment, attempting to purge the trojan Security Essentials 2010 from my pc. It appears the trojan piggy-backed the map pack download, and I did not catch it until it was too late. I am supremely pissed off and I'm passing the word in the hope of saving others from this load of #$*@.

I bid 5.

Several people have now chimed in about "rude Veteran Players". This is not so different from an age old drama about "Elitist Players", and just like "n00bs" or "id10ts" or whatever stereotyping label used, none of them apply universally.

I can be an unapologetic ***** on occasion, I'm also one of the oldest Protectorites around, one fact has nothing to do with the other. I can, and do, provide answers, assistance, and guidance to players when asked, but I've made some rather ardent enemies by speaking my mind from time to time too.

I wish we'd focus more on larger, big-picture issues like the impact of AE, PBM/Newspaper missions, Super Sidekicking, etc. than rehashing how this person or that person was rude/mean/inconsiderate.

Just a thought.

I have joined and left JS 3x now, each time for the same basic reason, but highlighted by different parties. I don't care what the Message of the Day says, some topics, having nothing to do with the game, just don't need to dominate the discussion. Time and again I've seen individuals jumped on for speaking their minds when the banter drifts into the realm of the too too weird. Polite consideration for fellow players has been replaced with, at times, an in-your-face hostility. JS is not alone is this aspect by any means, but we're just talking about JS at the moment.

As for "doing", I agree with Kid's observations, and sadly cannot offer any counter-point.

Here again I agree with Kid, by and large Protector is a mixed bag of "camps" who occupy the same space without actually interacting in a meaningful way. We have JS and Protector Vigilance. We have PvP and PvE. We have KJSR and those who $%#@ about it. The list goes on and on, our server is not the only one with this dynamic in place, but we were one of the few servers where those differences didn't seem to matter much, if at all. These days, they seem pretty big.

In part, I think this last observation is amplified by the infamous mid-issue blues. We're rolling up on another new issue, and Going Rogue is just visible on the horizon. Add to this the recent departure of several active, highly vocal players and you have a nice recipe for a general "meh". This is not to say there is not now a very real undertow happening on Protector. Here again, I think I'm as guilty as anyone else when I catch myself thinking, "Well, [insert player name here] left the game yesterday, but I still have all my pals, so everything's okay." Yes, that's over-simplifying the point, but I think that's how most people see it, that is until one of their own dear, good friends leaves too. (Miss ya Elric)



I honestly hope this thread and the frank opinions shared herein help Protector or, more accurately, helps us help our server.

While I cannot say I was ever a fan of Hami raids, I agree they did have their bright spots...

The overwhelming number of heroes on the attack.

The death cuddle.

The occasional yellow death.

I must admit, I miss the original Quantum Flight for Peacebringers. As long as you could handle the endurace cost, which was high, you could travel phased anywhere you liked. You could see the most interesting places.

By the way, to be clear, these shots are from Hami-raids as they used to exist. These do not represent current raids or their successful tactics.

The pieces are moving into position.

The board is nearly set...

The "old days" you say? I remember...

West Coast server crashes (yup, that means Protector)
Cascades of blind PL requests throughout PI
Lag spikes that made bunnies cry
Spending an hour and a half editing my SG base, only to get booted out before I finished



I'm happy with where the game sits today, when one looks back on old times, one tends to only see the good, but in truth CoH's evolution has given us far more than has been "taken away" or "nerfed". As you are such a fan of PvP, I find it ironic that you mourn "nerfs" that were introduced to CoH for the sake of PvP. Based on the observations of others, I understand PvP is not so grand these days, and for those who enjoy it that is a shame. Nevertheless, changes like ED and a long list of power tweaks came along to facilitate PvP capability within a game not originally designed with it in mind.

CoH is more stable, runs faster, and looks better than it ever has before. With the coming of Issue 17 and Going Rogue, the future holds more promise than ever. I've been here longer than Perigrine Island and, through it all, I think the best days are still ahead of us.

So, Conall tells the truth and Ciara still plans to punish him...

$#@% that #$&*@, I cannot wait to see her beaten into a fiery mass of demon goo, blood, and something too foul to name.

Peter Gunn...

had one of the best theme songs.

Of all time!

Mancini, who wrote that song, also created the theme to the Pink Panther.

The light, will still burn.

The door, stands open.

Our eyes, watching the horizon for your return.

Holdout - Blaster
Speed Load - Defender
Lost Faith - Corruptor

Pre-purchase is available in the store, now.

On a hunch...

I just loaded up the game and began creating a new Blaster...

And what do you know, Dual Pistols was a grayed-out option in the list of primary power sets...

I think it is indeed time to grab our credit cards folks.

While running laps in Port Oakes, beatin' on Family, I came upon this. I don't recall seeing it before. It appears to be CoT in origin, but it's in the street (location: -945.9 63.5 -597.6 just South of the building we pay rent) where a manhole cover should be, and it is the only one I could locate. So, anyone know what this is or if it's just a zone decor item I've somehow missed for four and a half years?

Following T's tip, I went to Cap looking for this symbol, I found five of them, set into rocky areas just north of the University. You can find them where you see the swirling white lights along cliff faces.

So, now I'm more inclinded to believe there is some story related connection here. It could be a left over from some plotline never fully developed, or just an obscure element to an existing plotline that I've missed while playing red side.

Ultimately, I do not think we can determine exactly when the symbol was in that location in PO. Regardless, it was an entertaining little mystery, and remains unsolved for now. Maybe the Devs and time will reveal more information about these symbols and the dancing white lights that often accompany them... I wonder... are the lights in Cap and Nerva connected somehow to the dancing white lights found in The Hollows?