Mindscythe

@zoom_toastem: It's called "Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material Via Text-Based Virtual Reality" and it's undergoing the inevitable final revisions atm, so it'll likely be available through OhioLink sometime toward the middle/end of next month.

@Hawkeye: Heh, actually, that's my NEXT project to complete, the MMO documentary. But, since I've now completed my dissertation, I get to be an "expert" in the documentary itself, which will be bothersome, but maybe a little fun, we'll see. I hate being on camera.

As some of you may know, I've been working on my doctoral dissertation for as long as I've been a part of CoH, and on Monday, November 16th, 2009, I successfully defended it, which means I am now a Doctor of Telecommunications.

Soooo... if you see a mind/kinetics troller named "Doctor Mindscythe" running around Paragon City on Pinnacle, that's just my geeky little way of celebrating.

Welcome! We always enjoy getting urbanites out here in the suburbs.

While the whole "last server to come back from Maintenance" thing is true, nowadays we've attached to the nickname more for our laid-back attitude and fun-loving spirit. We're the fun drunks at the party, the ones who are entertaining without being stupid.

There's even an SG or two dedicated to that drunkeness (I'm in one) if you're interested.

*sips his tattoo and coke* So have a cold one of your choice, sit back, relax, whomp on things, and be welcome, new Pinnaclite!

I hope to see Goddess of Poison/Flame Enchantress, Ancient Tree, and Evie make their triumphant return to Paragon.

Welcome back, K! We kept a few dozen beers cold for ya.

My first L50 is a stone/stone tanker with invisibility and teleport (among other tertiary powers). His favorite tactic when working with a team is to granite/mud pots up, go invisible, teleport to the dead center of a group, and when the team indicates they're ready, drop the invis.

My SG began to refer to this character as the "stealthbrick."

http://w00tradio.net/ is cross-server, cross-game, MMORPG-centric streaming radio.

We have DJs in WoW, in CoH, in Champions, in Eve... and the only work-week TV & Movie Soundtrack & Score program of any of the gaming stations: The Theatre of the Mind, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

There's also the live broadcast of the popular "Jester's Court" podcast every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

All shows have request pages so listeners can browse their libraries and make requests from the website at any time.

Observations on ToTing:

1) Trick to Treat ratio appears to be weighted very heavily in favor of trick. Feels like a 5-1 ratio.

2) Halloween salvage drops from an hour of ToTing:

• Back Ally Brawler Gloves: 4
• Lord Recluse Mask: 6
• Statesman Mask: 3
• Hamidon: 1

Are the Trick/Treat and salvage ratios even, or are they weighted one direction or another?

I do like the fact that you're required to defeat the monsters to gain the salvage (when it drops), but in some cases, the higher-rank monster (lt or boss) drops the salvage whether or not the entire spawn has been defeated. This may result in some knock-and-run behavior, although it will be less than before.

And the Comic and Hero/Villain Culture forum.

Right around the time the servers come back up, I'll be stepping in front of my first class for the day. I should have time to play a bit over lunch, then it'll be meetings & my second class. Maybe tonight I'll have time, but I wouldn't count on it. This is a very busy week.

I've recently been playing a new MM, a zombies/FF, and something that I've obviously noticed before, but just overlooked, finally clicked.

Scenario: My MM and his two un-upgraded zombie henchmen approach 2 even-conning minions. I instruct the zombies to attack 1 of the minions, and use force bolt to blast the other away. The zombies finish off the first minion about the time I force bolt the second, knocking it down and back.

BUG: The zombies will stand there, even if given a new instruction to close and attack, until the target starts rising to their feet. They will not close on, and engage, a target that is prone (i.e. knocked down).

I tested this with my Bots/FF MM, and even un-upgraded, they will engage using their distance attacks regardless of whether the target is knocked down or not, so this appears to be solely a hand-to-hand attack vs. knocked down target issue.

Regardless, this means that pets will not use certain attacks or engage, or even approach, knocked-down targets until they rise, thus negating much of the advantage of having a knock-down/knock-back attack in the first place.

New this week on The Theatre of the Mind, music from:

• 9
• Inglorious Basterds
• Band of Brothers
• Commando
• Nick of Time
• Project X
• Torchwood: Children of Earth
• Willow

Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern, on http://www.w00tradio.net/

Location: Mid-Michigan
ISP: Charter
Server: Pinnacle
Problems: Repeated and persistent red spikes in /netgraph. Huge red blocks during zoning. Power delays, animation delays, etc.

Answer: 6 1/2 minutes, the last two trying to cover the last 50 yards and get through the door.

I think I'll experiment with colors and force fields later.

And interestingly... no red spikes in my netgraph at all, but a LOT of very low green areas.

Took me five minutes to walk from the terminals to the balcony doors in AE in Cap, then another three to get it to take the "click" on the doors to let me out onto the balcony. I'm now waiting for it to recognize me turning flight on (2 minutes and counting).

Something is well and truly borked.

Ah, flight just kicked on. Wonder how long it'll take me to get to the Facemaker...

Tried it during open beta. Played a bit, lost interest quickly. Felt "meh."

'Nuff said.

The latest new music on The Theatre of the Mind:

• The Final Destination
• The Time Traveler's Wife
• The Holiday
• The American President
• Dave
• Creepshow
• Renaissance Man

Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern, on http://www.w00tradio.net/

Greetings everyone,

For those of you who don't know me... Hi, I'm Mindscythe, and I'm a DJ. ("Hi Mindscythe"... oh wait, this isn't broadcaster's anonymous...)

Four years ago, DJ Jester started an online radio station dedicated to the players of City of Heroes and other MMORPG's. During the station's run, w00t helped organize some of the biggest and most unique in-game events here in City of Heroes.

First there was the 2nd Anniversary Party, co-hosted with the Babes of War SG which ended up being the same night the Official Party was held and the first time anyone ever saw the Devs in-game for an event.

Then there was the Cuppathon, the official farewell party for CuppaJo, one of CoH's first Community Managers. That 12 hour-long live event saw DJ Jester and Cuppa on air giving out tons of prizes, running lots of events and generally causing mayhem on the test server (anyone remember the arrival of a "Leashed" Hamidon that later resulted in a Mito Spawn in Pocket D 7?)

There were also countless smaller parties for individual SG's, in-game contests, and general hijinxery.

2 years ago during w00t's 2nd Anniversary, w00t switched over to an all podcasting format due to financial and time restraints by Jester and others involved with w00t.

But now, on the fourth anniversary, something wonderful has happened...

I'm pleased to announce that w00t Radio has been officially reborn! The new launch includes a brand new website focused on providing the best radio experience we can to the players of City of Heroes and ANY MMORPG.

Several of our old staffers are back to do live shows and we're looking to bring some more on air in the coming months. So I invite you to come check out our new site, new stream, and see what you think.

You can find us at http://www.w00tradio.net

Listen links, automated request pages for the DJ currently on the air, a DJ schedule, podcast episodes of the Jester's Court, and more, can be found on our site.

If you have an event in game you'd like to have a w00t DJ attend or want to join our staff of volunteer DJ's, send an e-mail or PM to me (mindscythe@w00tradio.net). DJ Jester has placed me in charge of handling all new staff recruitment and event planning.

Also join up with the "w00t Radio" global channel to chat with DJ's who are in game as well as other listeners! Or, join us on Raptr (Free download at http://raptr.com/), w00t Radio's chosen instant messaging program, which can interact with all other major IM programs!

On a personal note, it's been my pleasure to be Pinnacle's official "Slave DJ" for the last couple years, and I'm happy to be able to continue in that role. My personal show is in my signature, and you can send me requests by global tell as well (@Mindscythe). Thanks for listening, and tell your friends: w00t Radio is reborn!