Melancton
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:I think you hit the nail on the head, Sam. When you get into "Alternate Dimensions," then "in theory" anything could happen. Young Marcus Cole in the Shadow Shard blew off his parents' warnings to look both ways and got run over in the street at age 5. Well, it "could" have happened, along with lots of other possible reasons, because anything really goes. But is it well-written? The writing is the key.Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That's what makes writing so much fun. Stories don't write themselves and characters don't develop on their own. Each situation and each set of conditions can produce a variety of responses from different people, and it's up to the author to pick what kind of a person the character is. We just happen to have all the Marcus Coles written the same, I'd say either for lack of imagination or for fear of breaking the mould.
That said, every world's Marcus Cole didn't come out the same, if for no reason because not every world HAD a Marcus Cole. I'm pretty sure the Shadow Shard didn't.
I suppose that if one looks inside oneself, one realizes that an "Alternate You" could have made certain choices at certain times that would have greatly affected the outcome of the present. Some possible choices are close calls, and others are simply ludicrous and realistically are just not going to occur. So when you have divergent outcomes as different as being a noble force for justice versus the biggest Nazi of all time (as posed by the OP), the writing has to be up to the task or it will just get silly.
There are heroes that "nobly sacrifice themselves" that we have seen in various venues in which the writing is not up to the task, and the result is Meh, and then there is the very powerful ending of Troy Hickman's "Smoke and Mirrors" arc in the CoH comics, which was so moving to so many that Cyrus Thompson's statue is in Kings Row in the game now. The writing is the key. For all his kidding and modesty, Hickman has the chops to pull those events off, and other folks just make you roll your eyes when presenting identical events and motivations.
An interesting notion was presented, that perhaps every OTHER Marcus Cole was evil, but only the Marcus Cole who became Statesman became a noble hero dedicated to justice. Can that proposition be pulled off successfully by good writing? I think so. Troy Hickman hinted at some complexities in Statesman and it would have been very interesting to see him develop those. (And with Hickman at the helm, "complexities" does not automatically mean "willing to darkly do evil in the name of good" and the like.)
A good perception on your part, Sam. The writing makes or breaks it. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
He's selfish, that's for sure, but not evil. He doesn't care to abide by laws that prevent him from achieving his goals, but that doesn't make him evil, right?Quote:Originally Posted by Seldom
So she doesn't mean to destroy people's eternal souls, she's just hungry.
Is that evil?Quote:Originally Posted by DumpleBerry
None of my characters are evil. I'm sure Hitler didn't think he was evil either.Ricardo Montalban famously said that he played Khan as someone who saw himself as nobly saving the world from itself, and would never consider himself "evil," so I certainly can follow that thought.Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That depends on which of my villains you pick. None of them are evil for evil's sake, though
Very interesting responses! -
I once posed the question as to which group is the "Most Evil" in CoH.
Unofficially, the Circle of Thorns (my personal pick) edged out a couple of others, mostly on the basis of their 1) kidnap and murder of children and 2) being in league with Hell itself. It was a pretty close call, and there were some good arguments for other groups. But a number of folks listed at Number One some groups that I would not have categorized as "Evil" per se, but rather misguided good intentions, such as Malta, who sees itself as combatting fire with fire for a "good" cause. I think the Sky Raiders, who are simply high-tech thieves, albeit well-armed and violent when necessary, even got a vote from someone as Most Evil. It was an interesting thread regarding the meaning of "Evil."
Which leads me to my first question, having never played a villain myself:
How evil is "Evil" for your villain? For example:
Are you simply someone who wants wealth and taking it is the easiest way?
Are you looking to amass local power and rule a small empire?
Do you aim to "take over the world?" (Zort!)
Do you enjoy making people suffer?
Are you CoT level Evil? (Kidnap and murder children, openly torture citizens?)
My second question: Are there lines of Evil your villain will not cross?
I am simply curious, as none of the above Evil Options appeals to me personally, even as a "game." I plan on being here for Going Rogue, and while none of my heroes will be crossing over, I may finally get to play a redeemed Mastermind.
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Melancton goes way back with the folks known on Earth as the "Circle of Thorns." In a war lasting a generation, their analogous organization was annihilated on his home world.
When apprised of their activity on Earth, he volunteered to come out of retirement to terminate their activities with extreme prejudice here as well.
When there are no more green flames with tortured victims writhing in their midst, the job will be done. -
I ran the TF a few times when it first came out. My recollection was that we did not have a Rad the first two times I ran it. First run: success after about a 30 min slog against Reichsie. Second run: Reichsie gets to a whisper of hp, and STAYS THERE FOREVER. We would beat him down, he is at a sliver, he stayed there, would pop back up his hp, we beat him down to a sliver, rinse, repeat. We ultimately gave up.
My third run succeeded, but we had Mucho Debuffo, and my fourth run ran into the Stay at a Sliver of HP Forever Mode and was abandoned. Number Five was actually pretty easy.
I concluded that I would only succeed on odd-numbered runs.
We used the special weapons during each one, and they never had an effect that I could readily ascertain, although they looked very impressive. We also had to fight the other AVs, all four, each run.
There was a long thread at the time on this sort of fun with Reichsie, but there never seemed to be a consensus. There may well could have been bugs that got stamped out as well since that time.
My take on it has been that Run Number One nothwithstanding, you had best bring Debuffs as usual. There may be some damage dealers that especially are effective with Reichsie, but I have not been able to ascertain it. And be prepared to get zonked a few times, regardless.
Folks will run the ITF all the livelong day, but not the Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn! TF. -
Welcome back, Tal!
Like Local Man, I rolled up an Ill/Storm in no small part due to your guide. As I recall, you performed some impressive feats with your Ill/Storm, too. Always good to have a Storm enthusiast. -
Quote:Well, to quote Michael Caine in "Zulu," "Don't bother, old boy, it's true. We need you."Originally Posted by TroyHickman
As always, thanks for your kind words.
If the Chinese Water Torture of player requests eventually got us the "undoable without a huge investment" Power Customization, I will run my tin cup up and down the bars until we get a Hickman/Nakayama CoH comic revival.Quote:Originally Posted by TroyHickman
If such a project ever happened, I'd be more than willing to be a part of it, as I love CoH like Elvis loved fried sammiches. -
Quote:David Nakayama is already hired. Check. Troy Hickman has done the comic in the past, namely the most popular arc of the run that was turned into a popular arc of missions. As long as you pay him at least two dollars, he's on board. Check.Originally Posted by Durakken
Bull. Hire a good artist, writer, colorist, and letter. Get Image on bored. You got yourself a comic. The whole venture costs maybe 2.5 to 5 grand and as long as you sell more than 3000 copies, which is a definite with CoH (and not to mention customary that distributors buy 10k of the first issue), you make profit on every issue even if it sell bad and you break even after 2-4 issues if the entire thing is a flop.
Comics are only difficult to manage when you don't have money and/or a company to back you. You have both.
This would be the All-Star Team of CoH comics. Hickman had the best touch with story and dialogue, not to mention fleshing out the characters, and judging from numerous comments on the board, even the POTENTIAL of another Sister Psyche bathing sequence by Nakayama would ensure enough sales to turn a profit, ie, Bucks. Return on capital invested. If little indie comics can make money, a revived CoH comic with THOSE TWO could certainly make more than a few bucks.
Black Pebble, you guys are most of the way there already. You get those two together and you would have a GREAT comic. Read Troy Hickman's arc in the back issues of the CoH comic, and compare that to the recent Through the Mirror arc, which is a fine arc that simply has some mediocre writing in stretches. There is a REASON why Cyrus Thompson's statue is in front of the train station in Kings Row, and there is a REASON David Nakayama was hired to do art.
Imagine a Going Rogue comic tie-in done by those guys. Make it happen, BP!
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Quote:Lex Luthor: What?? You're ALIVE?? That's impossible! I saw you die with my own eyes!Originally Posted by McNum
But still, this is a comic book based game and I didn't see a corpse. I mean: "Died in an explosion"? Yeah, right. That'll stick.
Superman: *chuckle* That's what you THINK you saw, Lex! Krypto triggered the Phantom Zone projector right at the time the lethal dose of Kryptonite rays would have hit me! I was really in the Phantom Zone!
...or any other of 7,438 instances of this that I have read in various comic books. Gotta also give props to the thoroughly killed villains who don't stay dead, either.
And yes, I had some issues with the exact writing. Only goes to show that if you want a well-written tear-jerking death scene in CoH, lay out the bucks and get Troy Hickman on the case. -
Quote:The Kidnap Victims Union apparently got fed up with all of the inefficiency and took matters into their own hands.Originally Posted by Wicked_Wendy
hehehe I actually amazed a GM a while back on a Radio mission in Talos. I was supposed to rescue a kidnap victim and when I entered the building a bug had replaced all the villains with kidnap victims. THEY were the villain group but none of them was a valid target. Okay I shrug and head upstairs I find the actual kidnap victim I am supposed to rescue being guarded by.. you guessed it KIDNAP victims.
It would have been great if several hundred victims had followed you out to the door, though.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Melancton
Not to mention the precedent in superhero comics that folks that were obviously blown to bits, crushed flatter than a pancake and/or given absolutely lethal doses of the evil serum/ray/gas and pronounced by the Coroner as Not Only Merely Dead, but Really Most Sincerely Dead and turned away by Miracle Max as hopeless cases... show up in a later issue having had an escape more amazing than Prince Herbert's, albeit with less singing, all better and no worse for the wear.Thank you for the kind words, Sirrah.Quote:Originally Posted by Decorum
Nice imagery. Well done!
Quote:Originally Posted by Melancton
Don't get me wrong. I do have some quibbles with the writing and execution, but those are just my subjective preferences. Overall, loved the arc and the story and the dramatic intent.
But this is a superhero comic game. Yeah, yeah, we got a badge saying that the double died. The next badge will be the "I Got Better" badge at the utterly implausible reunion. It is how things work in superhero comics.Oh my goodness, Decorum, that is the very Elephant In The Proverbial Room, isn't it??Quote:Originally Posted by Decorum
I'm surprised it wasn't there already, as that's the riff Protean is playing in the very arc.
Poor Manticore wasted all that angst over whether the murder of his parents justified offing Protean... and it was But A Flesh Wound after all.
And now that you have mentioned it, wouldn't it have been great if while Protean was happily remembering how Dauntless suffered while he killed him if DAUNTLESS had then popped out with the "I Wasn't QUITE Dead" bit??
I had better not joke about it. Such things have been known to happen!
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Quote:*turns radio on*Originally Posted by Durakken
Hrmmm I wonder if there is a system for the names that they have thought of for what each piece means... It's got to be a coordinate system or a registry number...
This Valentine's Day, give your sweetheart the ultimate romantic gift!
NAME AN ALTERNATE DIMENSION AFTER HER!
Her name will be recorded in our registry and she will receive an authentic engraved certificate with a map showing the exact location of her dimension! Act now and we'll
*turns radio off* -
Quote:Originally Posted by Silver Gale
For people who actually build up their own stories on top of what the game offers, this is already an option. Two identical characters enter the lab, the lab explodes, one of the characters survives and you go on playing the survivor - but that survivor can be either one.Not to mention the precedent in superhero comics that folks that were obviously blown to bits, crushed flatter than a pancake and/or given absolutely lethal doses of the evil serum/ray/gas and pronounced by the Coroner as Not Only Merely Dead, but Really Most Sincerely Dead and turned away by Miracle Max as hopeless cases... show up in a later issue having had an escape more amazing than Prince Herbert's, albeit with less singing, all better and no worse for the wear.Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
It can't hurt for the game to support it. It's one thing to go "Yeah, that's what THE GAME says happened, but it actually isn't." and quite another for this to be what the game says actually happened.
Don't get me wrong. I do have some quibbles with the writing and execution, but those are just my subjective preferences. Overall, loved the arc and the story and the dramatic intent.
But this is a superhero comic game. Yeah, yeah, we got a badge saying that the double died. The next badge will be the "I Got Better" badge at the utterly implausible reunion. It is how things work in superhero comics. -
Quote:*gives Dark Ether a commendation for original thinking*Originally Posted by Dark Ether
It's the Kobayashi Maru. You'll have to reprogram the computer to win.
It appears to be a trade-off. In exchange for your double not being a complete aggro-causing idiot, they did not hook up with the medi-porter service, and thus needlessly die.
Or perhaps the idiotic behavior is CAUSED by having the medi-porters? Would Lady Jane and Fusionette suddenly awaken from their AggroStupor if we took away their medi-porters? (There is already a huge group that wants to take away their medi-porters anyway!)
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Quote:Yeah, it is not just that every third civilian is now carrying a single bag of groceries, (WALKING for apparently miles,) but EACH of them gets a couple of those loaves.Originally Posted by Zekiran_Immortal
I'd like a new day job of "baguette maker". Those guys must be freaking rich.
I guess after doing without it for so long, the good citizens cannot get enough of it. And they will still push you easily out of the way, even with their hands full... -
Quote:That is pretty much how a Golden or Silver Age hero would be scripted for Veracious Attacks! Well done!Originally Posted by Ironik
How would you do THAT?
"Son, these are my fists of TRUTH and HONESTY, and they will give you an ACCURATE beating!"
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Quote:Well, that will require Ferrets. Gotta have Ferrets.Originally Posted by flashrains
Shapeshifting is something we don't have because Babs would quickly wear away his teeth animating it, but I would definitely like a Beastmaster set for MMs.
Of course, we already have Fire Imps, who are about as easy to control, but as far as I know, Fire Imps will not steal everything that isn't nailed down, nor bring a claw hammer for what IS nailed down, so it would still be challenging to have Ferrets.
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Quote:Then you open the email you sent to your global handle and replace them when you use them.Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
There's this nagging voice in the back of my head. Every time my mouse goes to the tray, I hear it. "But what if you really need them later?"
And you got the ones you emailed to yourself by placing reasonable bids on Large Reds and Yellows at Wentworths, then combining them into whatever you need.
As for your nagging voice, I quote the wisdom of Captain James T. Kirk:
"We need it NOW, Scotty!"
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Quote:Initially, the thought of villains fleeing in terror from Pink Fairy Bunny was pretty hilarious.Originally Posted by Early Girl
now my kids have made some interesting chars,
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Pink Fairy Bunny
But I got to thinking about an OLD cowboy movie I once saw. The Evil Cowboy Gang was conferring about how they planned to Rob The Bank when one of their members burst in and "Boss! Boss! We gotta run! Do you know who just rode into town??"
The boss pulled the cigar from his teeth and snarled, "No, who just rode into town?"
The lackey was barely able to mouth the words for the overwhelming terror that gripped him. Finally, he spat out, "Singin' Sandy!!!"
A wave of terror and dismay swept over the entire gang, their boss included! The boss, clearly shaken very badly, said that this changed everything and they would have to get help.
Because of... SINGIN' SANDY!
But in all fairness to the bad guys, Singin' Sandy was portrayed by... John Wayne.
And yes, it ended very, very badly for the bad guys, even after they got help. And then John Wayne proceeded to sing. (Fortunately, he was lip-synching to the voice of a then-unknown Gene Autry.)
So for all I know, Pink Fairy Bunny is portrayed by Chuck Norris.
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That is a great story. When you get on a good PUG and things are rocking, you just don't want it to end. For whatever reason, there is a synergy and everyone plays as if they were one. Baddies get defeated, levels are gained and as you say, it is the most fun evar.
It would be nice if it happened more often, but we would not appreciate as much, alas. -
Quote:Well done, NT. Kinda gets you right there, you know?Originally Posted by NuclearToast
Poems are made by fools like me
But nothing stops NPCs like a tree. -
Quote:Quoted for Biblical Proportions Truth!Originally Posted by EvilDeathBee
Never underestimate the power of a girly girl.
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Well, qualify that Yippee!!
I did not realize it, but there was a TREE behind me! When I tried standing in front of NPCs again, after making the above triumphant post, it was back to being a weenie!
I was confused, since I had only moved a short way. So I went back to where it had been happening and realized that the tree had given me my heft. Apparently my PC is considered wider than the tree, which the NPCs would normally walk around.
I was near the Wentworths in Steel. For all I know, that is the only place it will ever work.
So girly girls now shove me out of the way again. *heavy sigh*
Time to take it out on some AVs or EBs then! -
I was watching a line of NPCs walking along, and I was bemused by the rustling sound of the grocery bag one was carrying. So I moved beside them, listening, when I accidently got in front of the civilian.
He politely turned around and walked the other way.
That's right, I was not rudely shoved out of the way. No, this NPC, carrying their humble sack of groceries from the store, presumably walking home, politely decided to go back the way they came rather than push me out of the way.
I then stood in front of a line of NPCs, and they ALL reversed direction!
This awesome power must never be used for evil purposes!
So I am finally stronger than the girly girls who used to shove me out of the way! Yippee!! -
A lot of interesting responses. Being a Standard Guy, I don't really use them unless I am adding a costume slot with a variation, and once that is done, that is that for the duration.
I had not thought of Vet Reward tokens; I did not factor those in.
Back in the day, when it cost a BOATLOAD of Infl to change your costume, I ran with a couple of female super-hero types who changed their costumes A LOT. I marvelled at how they could afford to do that--(there were hardly any costume tokens then, you whippersnappers!) I recall that my first cape cost 30,000 infl... a fortune back in the day. I gave a similar sum from one of my poorer heroes to a Rookie so they could afford to get their new cape, and they were SO proud! But that hero of mine had to wire Uncle Melancton for more funds so he could get new enhancements, heh.
81 is a bunch, but I hardly thought I would have the most; as I said, I imagine there are some Launch folks who have a good deal more, and some folks have responded here who are past 81. It is too bad that you cannot gift your tokens to others, because if those gals I knew are still playing, they have Zero tokens and could use some more, no doubt.