Lycanus

that sounds rather like the time I left a game of Populous running to go off and see one of the first showings of Batman (Michael Keaton). When we got back home, my followers had conquered the world without me and I had just barely started the game.

That said, while I'm most certainly not an authority on anything scientific, I do try to keep familiar with it as a matter of course. For one thing, it is hard to create a metaphysical system with inherent consistency of operation without having at least a little bit of idea of how the real world operates.

Anyway, the more I learn about science, the more I believe in God. Everything is just so simple and complex at once that I have trouble seeing it happen by circumstance.

I also run into the question of the thermodynamics laws a lot, forget which it is off the top of my head:

"matter and energy can be neither created nor destroyed"

If that's the case...then where did all our matter come from. Even assuming the Big Bang happened, the matter for the Big Bang had to come from somewhere. If you had the concept that perhaps we're not a closed system but actually an open one, then all you've done is said that the energy and matter came from outside and you still haven't answered how it got to the place where it came from. Eventually you have to bump your head around the fact that at some point matter and energy WAS created and now you have the question of whether or not it is still being created.

If matter and energy is still being created, that sort of throws entropy out the window because we're never going to get to the final stagnation if there is a constant source of new energy to stir things up.

Also, no, this doesn't make me feel insignificant, because while I am physically smaller than the vast majority of things, I am capable of comprehending their existence, which makes humanity and any sentience a lot more significant to my mind than simple space.

the cute shoulder pet is also actually cute rather than creepy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oB6D...eature=related

why don't we have training videos like this?

I would note that none of these match the current trend of power pool set ups

as it stands, none of the power pools should really have more than two attacks with the bulk being utility powers

example:

Pistol:

Hip Shot - quick, light damage attack....or quick, low-accuracy, moderate damage attack
Double Tap - moderate recharge moderate DoT
Marksmanship - toggle -rec +tohit, taking your time to hit
Reload - click +10 End, unenhanceable 1 min recharge, essentially taking a moment to breath and refocus

Improvised Weapons: (every time a new weapon has to be drawn, it's a random one)

Quick Strike - quick, light damage
Heavy Strike - slow, moderate damage
Wild - toggle, -tohit, +rec
Amateur - +Def(all)...knows so little about what they're doing, they're unpredictable

Heat:
Embers - quick ranged damage, less efficient than fire blast or flares
Body Heat - click +fire damage to all melee attacks (harder than it sounds given that the way fiery embrace does this is because it seems to be programmed individually into each attack that can be altered by it...as such this power would require recoding all melee attacks)
Tolerance - toggle +res heat/cold
Ash Cloud - single target -tohit, Placate


etc


the problem is that there aren't that many utility powers that aren't already covered somewhere

You can work around this somewhat IF you have access to Bonfire. Placing the bonfire behind the target causes them to be thrown towards you.

I don't know how easy it would be for the devs to tie a very brief and invisible locational to the attack such that the attack is accompanied by the target suddenly flying towards them. It would seem prone to having the locational target the wrong enemy or even knocking them back in the wrong direction.

Once upon a time I would have said I like the idea, but that it wouldn't be a good idea.

However, the primary argument against some of what you're saying is that some ATs would now have access to ranged attacks that they wouldn't otherwise have.

This could have been considered a balance breaker until recently.

I say until recently.

Spring Break has broken the unspoken melee only trend of Power Pool attacks

and the argument that you'd be providing Controllers, Scrappers, Tankers and the like with attacks is made invalid because such ATs already have access to ranged attacks via Revolver, Plasmic Taser, Hand Grenade and Envenomed Dagger...all readily available for rather low costs compared to their effectiveness (though some of the rare ingredients make this expensive)

For a more permanent source of ranged attack, everyone has access to Blackwand and Nemesis Staff eventually, both respectable ranged attacks

That said, this functionality is already somewhat provided by APPs, so you'd have to be careful. They've already allowed APPs to be accessed at the mid 30s. Personally, I don't think the game would suffer if APPs were available from level 2 onward, but I can see where the devs would want to avoid that headache.

Granted some of us think the APPs are what the Power Pools should have been and that the Incarnates are what the APPs were going to be when they were first billed as "Epic Power Pools"

A Power Pool ranged attack would have to be less efficient than the equivalent Blast attacks, and the upper powers would be less attacks and more utility. This is relatively easy to accomplish. Defenders have a ranged damage scale of .65 compared to Stalkers ranged damage scale of .6 and all three other melees at .5.

Having a smaller damage scale than a defender instantly makes a ranged attack less than balance breaking.

Speaking of which, Defenders badly need a damage scale boost. They're supposed to deal moderate damage and yet they're the lowest damage dealers currently out there.

As it stands, you can reason some of the existing Power Pools as psychic abilities (Presence, Concealment and Leadership) but there is no elemental or other exotic damage in any of them.

I want horns with battle damage...like one is whole and the other broken:

http://fav.me/d1rus43

Going to add this to the list:

more asymmetrical costume options

Broken horns (http://fav.me/d1rus43)

options for things being on one shoulder but not the other (if right and left shoulder were separate markers, this would be easy, but as things stand we'd need three versions of each shoulder option: both shoulders, left shoulder, right shoulder...and mixing and matching would be in the practically impossible category)

there are some new pieces coming that will help with this


also:


Scabbards and weapon holsters, I don't care if they stay on during the fight...it doesn't seem to bother Valkyrie or Ms Liberty


also:


Whip Blast - Demon Summoning shows us that whips are a viable blast special effect. Granted, some people will complain why they aren't a melee set and others will complain why a normal whip (which I assume we'll get) can hit someone 80ft away, but I can deal with both of those

I just want whips

Characters who use whips:

Indiana Jones
Simon Belmont
Kodachi Kuno
Ayako Mano
Kiyone Makibi (well, technically, it's a yo-yo)
Catwoman

Skirmisher AT - Assault Primary, Self-Buff/Heal Secondary - basically a slightly more survivable Blapper (partially because I feel Gun/Blade would fit here)

Martial Manipulation Blaster Secondary - mostly self buff, some attacks

the option to use kinetic melee animations for some blasts

Actually, one way I wish customizable animations worked would be that all animations with the appropriate time-length be listed as possibilities for a power, ie, if you have a power with a 1.2 second animation time, then you're able to chose from every 1.2 second animation that exists....but I know that's asking WAY too much

that would certainly be up there

think I'll add "Mastermind minion customization" to the list as well

First: a "Hold the line" command

This would be a root, forcing the minion to remain in its current location. It would be able to fight and turn around, but not shift position.

Purpose: ability to form firing lines and ranged support situations. For example, to set up the minions at about 30-40 feet back from the tank and be able to trust that, even set to aggressive, they would not advance into the line and foul up the team.

This is analogous to the enemy "Sniper" behavior with Nemesis Comets and Crey Snipers....

All it has to be designed for is as an unresistable "Immobilize" power that can only target the player's own pets. This functionality already exists with the "upgrade" powers.

Second: Defend/Follow Target

This one is more difficult.

Basically, I would like to be able to target the team defender and tell one of my pets to "follow and defend" them rather than/as well as me.

If I set them to defensive, I'd like to see the following priorities for defense:

Priority 1: Attack target who attacked "defend" target
Priority 2: Attack target who attacked owning mastermind
Priority 3: Attack target who attacked other minions from same mastermind

For example:

I have two minions and an lt guarding the controller, one minion and an lt guarding the defender and a boss guarding me.

some one attacks the controller and the two minions and lt attack that enemy, the others remain calm and don't fight

one of those two minions and lt get hit by the attacker, now all my pets attack that enemy

someone attacks me, the boss, one minion and one lt come to defend me

someone attacks the defender, one minion and one lt stop defending me and start defending the defender

also, for a case-in-point example....

Everquest and Everquest II

last I heard, and this was quite a while ago, but Everquest II was still less popular than the original

some more impossible than others

Costumes:

Deer-Stalking Cap
Pipe
Mantel with tweed texture option

(yes, all this talk of Bees and Dogs has me thinking Holmes)


Weapons
Stick, Mace and Axe options for DB
Magic Staff options for Beam Rifle

Themes: Multi-Armed Characters (either a new skeleton or a power set)

Powers:

Psychic Melee
Blade/Pistol Assault
Pistol (not dual pistol)

Missions:

Dealing with natural disasters rather than evil villains

hmmm, wish I had seen this before the week was over

Personally, I'd rather not see this. I haven't seen or received a spam message for over a year and I play at least once a week, usually more like once a day....so don't really think its necessary

haven't seen the new movie, but the only thing I'll say about that is that Holmes in the books was prissy about his personal appearance...he always dressed cleanly and clean shaven (I think partially so that he'd be significantly different from his disguises, many of which were dirty)....his slobbishness pretty much just extended to his environment.

other than that, pretty good

I note the Robert Downing Jr has recently been chosen for a couple of roles where he is an eccentric, arrogant genius with addiction troubles

and he portrays it so well.

*snark*I wonder how he steps into that role so easily. *end snark*

seriously though, he's pretty much perfect as Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes (aside from the dressing as a bum thing)