Marut

Legend
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  1. Quote:
    Originally Posted by CriticalKat View Post
    I was serious. He is the only leader who had enough sense to know hami needed to be immobilized. The rest of us idiots just let hami wander around, roaming the Hive jeopardizing the lives of many heroes.

    P.S.

    Hi Marut!
    He was also responsible for uniting the sea of daytime raiders that has long been forgotten and ignored against the greedy evening players, and swearing a solemn vow to cause any raid that he didn't schedule on their behalf to fail. And when he vowed to do something, you better believe it was going to happen.

    Cause if you didn't believe it, you got put on the black list, and no one wanted to risk that.


    Hi Kat .
  2. We did that one twice the first time it was out too (all 48 hoiurs of it, or however long it was). If it's anything like it was, it'll be a good time but not so much of a puzzle as it is a coordinated mobbing of multiple targets
  3. Need new puzzle. This one's broken.
  4. Marut

    Master of STF

    I'll try to be there for this; last time was too close to not give it a shot again.
  5. Quote:
    Originally Posted by ZanderCross View Post
    it's just proof that his statement is incorrect lol!
    Bingo
  6. Quote:
    Originally Posted by ZanderCross View Post
    Not if you're the same level as the leader or higher! Sorry but you're WRONG!!!
    From the Issue 16 Announcement and information post, bolded for emphasis:

    "Sidekicking Changes: Super-Sidekicking! One player can now sidekick or exemplar the whole team, everyone can always play together!

    Each player in the group's level is set to the level of the owner of the active team task. If no team task is selected, everyone in the group's level will be set to the level of the team leader.

    When the team level changes, players will be notified via a dialog and have the option to quit the team or immediately accept. The dialog will time out after 30 seconds at which point acceptance is implied.

    While in the pending state, players cannot receive rewards and any critters they damage will be worth no experience.

    Players can choose to auto-accept team level changes 0 to 50 levels above or below their current level.

    Exemplars will now earn XP and a level capped person will get XP converted into influence like exemplars used to."
  7. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Diggis View Post
    See, I'm still not sure where you are getting broken from. Posi's post implies that the testers aren't getting any use out of the Alpha Slot, not that it's broken.
    Apologies if there is confusion - I was not saying that the slot or the mechanics are broken, but that the model is broken; as in "We had a model of the playerbase responding THIS way to this implementation, but instead they are responding THAT way." The expected model encompasses everything from the design and implementation to the way the players receive it. One piece of that model breaking changes the whole way it works.

    RL example = The Edsel. Famous in common knowledge for being a terrible car, to the point of the name being synonomous with failure. In fact was not really a bad car, but a marketing disaster made worse by poor implementation. Perception of purpose is just as important to a consumer model as the actual functionality.
  8. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Diggis View Post
    Except the Dev's are saying that the Beta testers dissagree with you.
    Consider the possibility that as previous posters have said, the problem may lie in how the feature has been perceived by beta testers vs. Dev expectations. The system/mechanics may be perfectly working as intended, but they're not being reacted to in the predicted fashion. If the Devs can see the whole iceberg from the drawing board up, they might not have really been able to see how the populace would react to seeing just the tip.

    Personally, I can't help but be disappointed in having to wait longer for something further to do with my high level characters. I really don't like alting - I tend to prefer sticking to something and making it better. That said, after having time to really evaluate the decision, I have to support it, if for no other reason than because it reminds me that this Dev team really is working for us, not just the bottom line.

    I base this on an example from way back when I had the mixed blessing of talking to good ol' Statesman at an event, and I asked about Hamidon and raid content (this was just after Hami had started getting farmed nightly on almost every server). Before I could even get the question out, he got this look on his face of sheer frustration, and said he didn't want to talk about that, that that was NOT what raiding was supposed to be about. I was a bit confused, until a month or two later when they nerfed the effectiveness of HO enhancements. The problem was that the playerbase had broken the system - States, in all his omniscience, had never foreseen any way to defeat that encounter outside of his own, and had therefore released it confident in it's epicness. Only to find that soon enough, raids were running frequently in the 30-45 minute range, with zero deaths at times. Milk runs, not epic. Arrogant design philosophy. Course, this is the same guy who repeatedly told some of the most skilled players I've ever seen "Once you learn how to play the game more, you'll understand why it's better this way" to almost every suggestion they had...

    This team, on the other hand, is effectively saying "It's epic, but you can't see the whole yet, and you've already broken the model we had envisioned. Broken model = bad. Let's give you the whole picture so you can see it the way we do. Hang on for a bit longer please" Maybe we'll still see it differently, but at least they're willing to take the rather nasty hit now for the sake of being able to show us what they see, rather than trying to crowbar in a lens shift for us after we establish the wrong impression based on limited info.

    I'd love some new epic level 50 content right now. I'll settle for a design team that actually wants to give it to me, as opposed to one that wants to tell me that what they have given me is epic, but that I just don't understand why.
  9. A friend of mine described the Twilight series in a way that has never left me - in just two words:

    "Abstinence Porn"
  10. Marut

    Master of STF

    I'm in on my FF Fender, if you'll take me
  11. Quote:
    Originally Posted by The_Bronx View Post
    .


    EDIT: Don't censor me, forums. You can still get wrecked.

    I for one have definitely missed your commentary, and look forward to shopping at Bronxmart again in the future.

    -M
  12. And another welcome back. Good to see you, FM
  13. Quote:
    Originally Posted by halimaw View Post
    once apon a time there was a toon Called XPP01.

    well removing all the dust and debris he may have reinstalled this old thing and he may have come back.
    may have


    under no circumstances am i claiming to be him, know him, or even heard of him,


    P.S. do you miss me err him ahhhhh hell who ever
    Welcome home. I mean it.
  14. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mighty View Post
    Someone call me? In August?
    Dude, get back here. You can put the Mask of Gilgamesh on AFTER we all watch Matlock... You know the rules at Shady Pines...
  15. Marut

    Server therapy?

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Decoy Carbomb View Post
    Kinda looking around for a new home. Can anyone tell me a little bit about this server?


    The forum seems populated and friendly enough, but it always seems a ghost town when I pop in game.
    Welcome to Champion. Here you will find friendliness, experience, fair play, and the occasional large dose of drama, like anywhere else What you won't find anywhere else is a community that despite serious dysfunction, always is doing it's best to work together to make each others gameplay better and better. I know that's one of the big reasons I call it home. That, and all my stuff is here...

    Oh, and watch out for the penguins... They're friendly sorts, but next thing you know, your lunch money's gone, and you're waking up in a bathtub full of ice in Tiajuana... *%&#ing penguins...

    -M
  16. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Infernal_Jester View Post
    Wait . . . . what?


    Oh and i love seeing Pingus in these lists . . . . considering we have maybe 10 active players at any given time.
    Ever read "The Mouse that Roared"?

    I haven't been around nearly enough recently to comment at length on just about anything - new jobs are wonderful, but they tend to take a toll on free time... That said, one thing that I think appears to be relevant here is something that a fairly well known guy named Plato said about two thousand years ago, and that is, to paraphrase, that anyone who is actually qualified to do the job of leading is almost certain to have to be pushed into doing it, either by neccessity or by force. Why? Because anyone that has the qualities really needed for it is probably smart enough to realize that doing it right is more misery for themselves than it is fun. In short, they aren't likely to want the job because they actually understand the job, and the job sucks.

    This is how you can generally tell when you can trust someone to lead you as true as they can: They aren't the first person to stand up and take the job, and when they do take the job, it's frequently more "I'll do my best to get you through this, or die trying" than it is "WE'RE AWESOME! NO ONE CAN STOP US! KOOL AID AND SNACKS TO THE LEFT!" Sure, everyone loves a pat on the back after a job well done, but if you take the job seriously, the satisfaction gotten from it isn't from that pat, it's from seeing everyone ELSE happy to get it done.

    And that's I think why people hold up folks like Amygdala, Kat, and Ping as exemplary leaders. They don't demand that others follow them, merely step forward and offer to go first into whatever challenge is there - if you want to come with them, they will do all they can to help you. If you don't, peace to you, and via con Dios. Leadership doesn't flow from how much cash you drop, or how much you can earn, or even how much effort you can get others to output. It comes not only from the trust you instill in the people around you, but the humility to understand that that trust not only must be earned, but returned with interest, and that's a tall order.

    And now, back to work...

    -M
  17. [ QUOTE ]
    I don't think there's any validity in his "it's legal" argument. Those drones are there for player protection. What he's doing is one step away from an exploit as far as i'm concerned. Not to mention, being a jerk just isn't cool.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Even with all the positive descriptions from the author of the article, what the dear professor did was isolate and underline the fact that any sociopath, even a functioning one, tends to be abhorred by the community around them. And that's pretty much what he was/is, at least as Twixt. What's the difference between an armed robber shooting a housewife and a police officer who's had to kill in the line of duty? At the instant of the taboo action, one is justified by social acceptance - the other is in every violation of it. Both take a life, both violate the social abhorrance of intentional murder. One, however, does so for the protection of the community around them, while the other does so for personal gain. One is approved of as a guardian of his family, friends, and neighbors; the other is reviled for being a criminal.

    Two families just lost someone though. And there's plenty of evidence that shows that those families often don't care if one of those people was following the rules or not - it still hurts. Point here is that following the rules, like Professor Myers, and claiming to not understand why people hated his actions despite "not doing anything wrong" is a failure on his part to understand humanity as a whole. The response to Twixt is nothing to despair over - I'd actually say it indicates something to be hopeful about, that even in a digital medium, we as people still insist on custom and "the Golden Rule" even when it's not enforced by authorities. That's a good sign, I'd say. I'd instead despair for his kids growing experience... I don't know that Dad's going to prepare them so well for team sports, to say the least... Anyway, just my $.02

    Oh, and hi again

    -M
  18. Belated grats on your one year, LH Thanks for all the good work you've done for us, and for putting up with the truckload of griping, blame, and vitriol that our forumites can toss at a community rep. Don't let em fool you; we appreciate what you do for us

    -M
  19. Things I learned at the Hard Rock meet and greet:

    1. My definiton of "Hard Rock" is apparantly woefully insufficient, considering some of the things on the monitors there.

    2. Virtue, Champion wants those players back. Don't make me get the hose...

    3. The brownie sundae is less expensive and noticeably larger than the average sandwich.

    4. Herostats runs just fine; your computer is what needs the upgrade

    5. ExL cheats at cards

    Thanks for making it a fun night, all. Hopefully next year will be bigger and better

    -M
  20. Look at it this way, Sheema. Right now, the PvP community really is a small portion of the playerbase, however vocal. As a result, the interests of that community, on the grand scale, don't get a lot of attention from developers that have to justify to the finance guys where the budget is going. That's a problem, because their interests are important.

    So, what to do? Well, there's the flail incessantly against the brick wall method, which doesn't seem to work too well, because, as mentioned, the percentage of the entire playerbase involved is rather small. Needs more force. More force would require a bigger slice of the playerbase. And THAT'S where the PvPEC comes in. We're looking to do everything we can to get more people PvPing and participating in player-generated content. From a logistics standpoint with regards to making desired changes, we're looking to swell the ranks of the people involved in PvP, which would neccessitate that developers pay more attention to that portion of the game. Get people involved, and a thousand more voices get added to the cries of "Fix the arena!" and "Give us more options!".

    We're an event committee, not lobbyists. That said, if this goes off well, gets player support, and makes enough noise to rattle the windows in the programming office a bit, maybe it can be more than that. Gotta do one before the other though

    -M
  21. [ QUOTE ]
    Give the hardcores stuff to do on Test and here.
    Give the 'every now and thens' something to do as well.
    Make some events that involve non-50s...not everyone has a stable of 50s to choose from.


    [/ QUOTE ]

    WARNING: Over three paragraphs! Clearly this post doesn't matter!

    Nia, that's the whole point. It's to give every level of PvP some representation here. That's also why these damned PvE nobodys are involved at even the highest levels: because the goal is to get as many of the OTHER PvP nobodys and PvE players out there PvPing as possible.

    Some will come if there's PvP of any kind, period. That's a given. We want more than that. We want everyone from the hardcore to the pure RPers showing up to learn and participate. That's why there's a subcommittee on fiction - to create a storyline that people might want to be a part of, because that might be enough for a lot of casual players to show up for, even if they don't like PvP for the most part. The rewards subcommittee is out there to try and not only create some incentive for the hardcore to get something for the efforts they've made to get where they are, but also to get more material-minded players into the show. And, as has been mentioned so many times before, we have some of the hardest of the hardcore working their tails off to make sure that the core of the actual PvP events that take place within the overarching structure of this "super-event" appeals to the consistent PvP community that has arisen on Test, as well as those that are just dipping their toes in.

    And I would like to ask one thing of some of the people here that seem so hell-bent on painting this as not representing PvP interests, and I mean this sincerely...

    Why is your PvP more important/valid/imperative than mine?

    That's not a flippant remark, I really want to know what the deal is. This event is supposed to be for everyone that PvPs, or ever wanted to PvP, or even those that NEVER wanted to PvP. I ask about "my" PvP, because while I'm no elite badass that has anything resembling a rep in the Test server arena, I still love PvP. Love it. I run around in the zones frequently, I love base raids, and I even enjoy the arena on a good team. It's FUN; and there are a lot of other people like me on my server, and I can't imagine it's different on the others. And that's why I play the game, that's why I want to see these events succeed.

    But there seem to be some of you who are effectively telling me that I don't count as a PvPer. Why not? Do I have to kill a certain number of predominantly Test server players to get that title? Does anyone without the Disruptor badge not count? Test certainly has the best of the best playing on it, there's no doubt of that. It's not all the people that PvP in the game though. In fact, like most high-level competetive environments, I'd be willing to put money on the idea that it's a minority population, the cream of the crop. And that leads to two very large points:

    1) The cream of the crop does not represent anything close to a "standard" or a "normal sample". Saying that they best represent PvP as a whole is like saying that Michael Jordan is an excellent example for a standard basketball player - It's ludicrous. If they NBA based their player selection on that sort of model, there would be some unbelieveable teams... about two of them, and the season would be REAL short. It's not about Test being elitist, or NOT the best example of what PvP CAN be, but the simple fact that it's still a very small pond. We're going for the big haul here, and it takes all kinds of bait to do that.

    2) Your PvP is not more important than mine. My PvP is not more important than yours. They are both important parts of having fun in the game. I can no more represent Psypunk's desires for PvP than he can mine, but Rift and Incursion can. I know from a long friendship with Incursion that he thinks radically differently than I do when it comes to fun at times, and vice versa. I do, however, always trust him to look out for my best interests when given that responsibility. Likewise, I'd like to think he and others know that I do the same. Without ALL flavors, styles, and interests in PvP getting pretty equal attention here, attendance will be skewed in favor of... gasp... the area getting the most attention And we don't WANT that.

    I would suggest that some of those waving flags at the moment take a bit and register that the committee as it stands hasn't enslaved and mind controlled a handful of the best PvPers around into pursuing some wrong agenda... They're there, working, and working hard, because they believe in it. Even if YOU don't trust the people they're working with, clearly, they do so enough that they're sticking it out where others decided to leave. That should say something.

    Also, keep your eyes peeled for a mission statement from the PvPEC. Please keep in mind that half the problem with the lack of information is that the committee doesn't yet know where our limits are, because we haven't had any feedback yet. Once the proposal as it stands gets returned, with whatever potential changes may be in it, expect a LOT of information. A deluge, an absolute outpouring. We want to share, we have LOTS to share. But for the love of god, BE PATIENT UNTIL WE ACTUALLY CAN GIVE YOU SOMETHING SOLID!

    Hang in there guys. We're not out to dictate your game to you. We're out to try and create something that you'd want to participate in, but that, like anything else, isn't going to be thrust upon you. There's no danger here, nothing to lose, and a lot of potential for gain.

    -M
  22. I'm the Hero Representative for the PvPEC; similar to Darque's role, I'm here to make sure that proposals, ideas, events and the like are equitable towards the heroic side of things, and don't favor those dirty villains too much...

    I run a medium-sized sg on Champion that does a little of everything. I'm a Test server PvP nobody, but I do fairly well for myself in the minors on Champ. I've got a special interest in base raiding, as that was one of the ideas that attracted me to the game in the first place, ages ago, and one of the most fun activities available in the game now, imo.

    Most of my contributions to the Committee so far have been storyline development and research into player-generated content in the game industry, so that we aren't working in a vacuum. Player-developed ideas and volunteer work are increasingly being viewed as a valuable asset to game developers all over. We're hoping to get a little more of that kickstarted here

    Please feel free to PM me if I can help you with anything

    -M
  23. They spawn exactly the same as the initial spawn. Identical.