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Mirror_Man

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  1. Mirror_Man
    Been a crazy couple of weeks, but I'm glad I remembered this thread in time.

    Anyway, I guess I'll throw in my second "Galactic Protectorate" arc (since your supergroup has already played my first):

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    Arc Name: The Galactic Protectorate - 02

    Arc ID#: 117281

    Alignment: Neutral

    Level Range: 40-50 Heroes/Villains

    Number of Missions: 3

    -----

    Based on the feedback I've gotten, the second "Galactic Protectorate" arc isn't as difficult as the first, but I don't believe it's ever been run with a large team. I'd be interested in knowing how the experience differs if your supergroup decides to run this arc as a team rather than solo. Either way, I greatly appreciate your feedback, and thanks as always for holding these monthly contests!
  2. Mirror_Man
    Thanks for your critique, Rayonn! I'm glad you enjoyed the storyline of "The Icari", even if you found faults with the gameplay.

    *****

    Quote:
    The chaining objectives are rather annoying. I get that you're trying to prevent the navbar from getting too cluttered, but having them spawn in one-by-one means I can't use the map to see where I've already looked.
    This point kind of surprised me. While I did initially have each member of the Icari chained to each other in the first mission of the arc (thus making the player have to complete each objective in a distinct order), I un-chained all of them some time ago due to the negative feedback I received because of it. I just tested the arc again, and the objectives are still un-chained. Maybe there was a glitch in the AE system?

    Quote:
    I like the story development, but again the gameplay is a little odd. I ended up returning to the exit several times to drop off the Icari. I guess I could have just collected them all and gone back once, but I didn't want the Council killing them. Perhaps you should make them unkillable. (Or use 'Rescue Captive' instead 'Escort', but then there wouldn't be as much time to read their descriptions).
    The powerless Icari in the third mission of the arc are actually non-combat escorts, so the Council shouldn't be able to attack them (or vice-versa). Still, the "backtracking" required to rescue all of the Icari has been mentioned by several other reviewers as a point of frustration, though I still haven't decided on a way to fix it.

    Quote:
    If you're doing the 'fake plural' the way I think you are, then you have control over the order in which the player finds the clues, right? If that's the case, Mental Maiden's #2 and #3 are out of order. Also It would be nice if the clues (i.e. the ones in the 'clues' window) were in the order they were found in. How did you do it, anyway?
    Quote:
    Oh, and in the completion dialogue, Typhoon's accent seems to have disappeared. (After playing Mission 5, I see this wasn't a slip-up, but I'm not still not sure where the accent went)
    Regarding clues, I originally intended for there to be many more clues than the ones that appear in the finished arc. Unfortunately, the MA system limits arc creators to 32 clues per arc. As such, I had to cut out several clues which would have elaborated on certain character and plot points. This is why the clue log appears to go "out of order" in the fourth mission, and why certain smaller details in the arc (like the explanation for Typhoon losing her accent; originally its own clue, is now very briefly mentioned in her second log book in the fourth mission) had to be added to character bios, dialog, or removed entirely.

    Quote:
    Perhaps since Mental Maiden fell the farthest you should put her at the end? Also she was the toughest fight, so she'd make a good climax. And then the last dialogue in the mission would be 'Wait… why are you… sad?" or whatever it was.
    In my test runs, I've found that different archtypes tend to have the most trouble with different members of the Icari. Your Corruptor probably had the most trouble with Mental Maiden because of her status-altering powers, but a melee character (Tanker, Brute, Scrapper) would probably find her the easiest member of the Icari, since she tends to do the least amount of damage in comparison to her teammates.

    Quote:
    and then at the end:
    Sequel!
    Hook!
    (Is there a sequel?)
    No, there isn't a sequel to "The Icari" as of this moment. That's not to say I won't make one in the future, but right now almost all of my (very limited as of late) free time is being spent making the next installment to my "Galactic Protectorate" series of arcs. Part of the reason I wrote "The Icari" was to try my hand at a self-contained story (my "Galactic Protectorate" series is currently six arcs long), which makes me think that making a sequel arc to "The Icari" would be defeating some of its purpose. With that being said, I'm not entirely against the idea of making a sequel to "The Icari"; I've already thought of several potential premises for such a sequel, though I still haven't fleshed them out into anything resembling a complete AE arc yet. Time will tell, I suppose.

    *****

    In any case, I appreciate that you enjoyed the "dark" tone of the ending, since that's what I was aiming for. And thanks for pointing out some of the spelling/grammatical errors in the arc, I'll be sure to correct those once I have the time!
  3. Mirror_Man
    Quote:
    I now have a villain (formerly Praetorian) at 20, so I can do low- to mid-level villain and rogue arcs now.
    Well, "The Icari" is a Heroic arc, so I don't know if you'd want to run it with that character (considering your concerns about "breaking immersion" you mentioned in your first post).

    But it's your project, it's up to you. Like I said before, I've had other reviewers run through "The Icari" with characters much higher than the level cap, so if you decide to run it with your heroic Brute, or your low-level villain, or any other character is your choice.

    Whenever you get around to it, I look forward to your review!
  4. Mirror_Man
    Hey Rayonn, it's nice to see another reviewer in the AE community. Since my own RL schedule is incredibly hectic right now, I appreciate any new player taking the time to do reviews like this.

    Anyway, I guess I'll throw in my latest arc, "The Icari", for your consideration (Arc ID# 458576). The arc caps at Level 24, well below your character's Level 40-ish range, but I've had plenty of other reviewers play the arc with characters above the level limit, so don't feel obliged to use a lower-level character if you don't want to. The arc is five missions long, and features mostly Council and Circle of Thorns, so I don't forsee any problems with your exemplared Brute at your difficult settings.

    I look forward to getting another point of view on "The Icari", if and when you decide to review it. Thanks in advance!
  5. Mirror_Man
    I've been so busy that I completely forgot about this thread, but I'm glad to see I made it just in time! I'll submit the first of my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs, "The Galactic Protectorate - 01", Arc ID#47143.

    It's designed for Level 40-50 Heroes or Villains, and from all of the feedback I've gotten on it I know the arc can be quite challenging. If it's possible, I would greatly appreciate it if your Supergroup could run the arc with a large team rather than solo. I've never really been able to get a large PUG together to run any AE arcs, so I'd really be interested in knowing if the group that appears in the arc is "fun and challenging", "difficult and frustrating", or something in-between for big teams. And of course, I'd like to know what you think of the storyline, too!

    Whatever you decide to do, I look forward to the results of your February contest!
  6. Mirror_Man
    I decided to take a small break today and check out your arc, Elcadar. I figured that since it was only one mission long, I would be able to give some useful feedback. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish the arc for reasons listed below.

    While I think that the concept of the arc is fine, I think there are a lot of problems (most of them common to new AE Arc Creators) that should be addressed. Some of them are simple, like giving the contact for the arc a description or making sure all of the custom characters in the arc itself have descriptions. Other problems involve the map itself (looking for many clues in the large outdoor map chosen for the only mission in this arc is the main reason I was unable to finish it), and the lack of a story-related reason for certain elements in the arc (for example, why am I searching for magical artifacts and weapon caches when my character is already well prepared to fight in this "arena")? The only detail I really liked in the arc was the fact that the bosses had lines of dialog, so I knew when I was close to one.

    Overall, I think that the concept of this arc could work as a starting point for a story, but I think the execution suffers from a lack of experience with the AE system; and that's fine, I know I had to refine and rewrite my first arc many times before I was satisfied with it.

    I would suggest you visit PoliceWoman's Thread and play through some of the arcs listed there. It would go a long way to improving your AE skills, and would help you a lot more than what I could write in this post.

    Whether you decide to take or leave my advice, it's always nice to see new AE authors using the MA system for story-telling purposes. Good luck!
  7. Mirror_Man
    Congratulations to Nebullhym, and thanks to the American Legion for holding this contest!
  8. Mirror_Man
    Hey Trekkin, it's nice to see a supergroup interested enough in the AE system to hold a contest for it; I think I'll throw one of my arcs in for consideration, too.

    -----

    Arc Name: The Icari

    Arc ID#: 458576

    Alignment: Heroic

    Level Range: 20-24

    Number of Missions: 5

    -----

    I'm not sure what level the members of your SG are, or if you plan on running the arcs submitted to this contest in a large group or solo them individually, but I thought I'd just note that if you're going to run my arc with a team, it might help if the team leader reads the text that team members normally don't see to them so they can keep up with the story, if you don't already have a system like this set up already. Just a suggestion, it's your contest!

    Good luck to everyone!
  9. Mirror_Man
    Quote:
    I enjoyed playing the arc; thanks for asking me to review it!
    No problem, Coulomb2! Thanks for the great in-depth review, I really appreciate it!

    Some of your critiques echoed the problems several other reviewers have found with the arc; I'll be sure to address them and update the arc as soon as I get a chance. I'm also glad that you seemed to pick up on certain details of the arc other reviewers missed; I always seem to get various interpretations of my arcs from the different players in the game on the boards.

    -----

    Quote:
    I’ve got another suggestion, but one that you might want to be very careful about, even if you think it’s a good one (and you might not) – one way to make the Icari seem very, very powerful is to actually make them Elite Bosses or even “AVs” – pity you can’t make them “Hero” class. You’ll get complaints about overpowered allies, but it would at least make them far more powerful than you, and, should the player wish to fight Maestro as a full AV (I didn’t), 5 Elite Boss companions greatly improves the odds…
    Actually, in my test runs of the arc, I found that even the five Boss-class Icari members could defeat AV Maestro with minimal help from the player. In fact, in several of my test runs, the Boss-level Icari were able to defeat AV Maestro with NO help from my characters (though a few did go down in the process).

    Quote:
    One significant criticism: I really couldn’t think of a good reason, either story wise, or play style, to have the Icari come in one at a time – given that its an outdoor map, that really leads to a lot of annoying “backtracking” over a largely empty map. I do realize that it may be a way to force the battle with Maestro to be after you rescue the last Icari, but you might accomplish the same thing by putting all the Icari down at once, chaining Maestro to Patriotic Man, and then having Patriotic Man give you some “mentoring advice” when you rescue him: “I know you’re eager to prove yourself, young hero, but Maestro is an extremely powerful foe! We should make sure all of my fellow Icari are rescued before we confront him.”

    Finally, the map seems very, very empty. If there’s a way to add more battles and/or patrols, I’d highly recommend it.
    I've received both of these criticisms before; my original intent with the chaining of events in the first mission was to ensure that the player encountered Maestro last, but I guess it would be for the best if I took your advice and just chained Maestro to Patriotic Man. I actually have the maximum number of battles allowed for the map, but having all of the Icari available to be rescued at the start of the mission would go a long way to making the map feel less "empty".

    Quote:
    He also referred to me as ‘some other novice hero’ – so more than one hero has stumbled across this plot? That doesn’t seem likely: I needed a fragment of the meteor to find this place…
    I believe Minos' dialogue is actually "some novice hero", not "some other novice hero", but I'll have to double-check to make sure; I didn't intend anyone other than the player's character to stumble upon the Circle's plot in the arc.

    Quote:
    Her description refers to her as a pickpocket, yet she breaks into a Crey facility (pickpockets usually don’t practice their profession by breaking into places) – it might be better to call her a burglar.
    When writing Nora Walker's backstory, I actually meant to say that she BEGAN her life on the streets as a pickpocket, and gradually moved on to larger crimes; I can see where the confusion comes from, though, so I'll try to rewrite her description to reflect that.

    Quote:
    Actually, if you’re meaning this to be the drug the Freaks use (which would be a lot more appropriate since it dulls pain, and helps a body accommodate extensive modification – hence its value in allowing the Freaks to cram lots of cyberware into their bodies), it’s excelsior, not superadine.
    You're right; Excelsior is the drug I meant. I made the mistake of using Superadine in the arc since it's mentioned in the lore much more often than Excelsior, but I'll definitely have to change certain clues and dialogue to correct this. Thanks for pointing that out!

    Quote:
    Mental Maiden had murdered her boyfriend, although I wasn’t exactly sure why – or what the circumstances of his death were.
    Actually, Chris Patton wasn't Felicia's boyfriend; more like a very dedicated fan of Mental Maiden who believed Felicia acted as a "contact" for the heroine (at least that's what Felicia told him). This was referenced in the diary the player finds in the previous mission, but I had to cut out a clue which made this point a bit clearer to the player (I'll go into more detail about the clues I had to cut from the arc below).

    Quote:
    I don’t at all object to the fact the base was empty, but if you’ve got the room, you might want to consider designing a custom faction of security robots and seeding the base with a small number of encounters (boss details and patrols, possibly), just to make the mission slightly more action packed.
    The "emptiness" of the fourth mission has actually received the most amount of criticism from the players who've reviewed this arc. Unfortunately, I doubt I have enough file space left in the arc to add even one more custom character, let alone an entire grouop. As it is, I don't think there's much I can do about adding enemies in the fourth mission; it wouldn't make sense for any of the stock enemy groups to be there.

    Quote:
    This one’s just my opinion on it, but David didn’t exactly sound ‘innocent’ as Typhoon’s description suggested. *Of course* he didn’t deserve to me murdered, but basically giving her a chance to stay in the country on the condition that she has a relationship with him is very unethical... (yes, I’m aware it’s actually done in real life – heck they’ve made sitcoms based on the idea – but something about the setup gave me the impression this wasn’t David seeking to do her a favor out of the goodness of his heart…)
    Actually, David didn't intend to stay in the country either; what he meant when he said "run away together" was that both he and Tzuka would flee the country together rather than have her deported. Though, you're definitely correct in assuming that David wanted to have a "relationship" with Tzuka...

    Quote:
    It almost seemed like it was Mental Maiden who’d fallen the furthest. Six years of pent up rage at being seen more as an object than a heroine had finally come to a head. Ironically, I have little doubt Patriotic’s insistence that her costume have a very poor surface area versus body volume ratio just exacerbated the problem. Let’s see … take a *psion* who is sensitive to public opinion, and does *not* want to be a sex object – and who happens to be very attractive – and put in her a costume that is practically guaranteed to make just about every male she rescues have … interesting … thoughts about her. Then, take away her powers so that the males that fall into the scum of the earth category might actually have a chance to act on said fantasies (and, apparently, do act on them). Then give her powers back. Yeah, that’s probably not going to go well.
    This is actually the closest any player who's left me feedback has gotten in regards to understanding my intent with one of the central characters in "The Icari". My goal with this arc in the first place was to re-examine and deconstruct several heroic archetypes, and your interpretation of Felicia's downward spiral sums up my intent regarding her character rather nicely.

    -----

    When I first designed this arc, I originally intended for there to be many more clues than it currently has. I actually wasn't aware of the "clue limit" placed on arcs, which meant that I was restricted to 32 clues total. I was able to remove some of the more redundant clues (that would have nevertheless made certain plot points clearer to the player) and transfer the information from certain clues to character bios or dialogue, but in the end I had to make some tough cuts that would have really helped clear up some of the "confusion" in this arc.

    However, I'm glad that you were able to follow the story and understand the motivations of some of the characters regardless. Thanks again for the great review, Coulomb2!

    Now I guess I should get back to work finishing up "The Galactic Protectorate - 07". I should have enough free time to finish it up by the end of January, I hope...
  10. Mirror_Man
    Hey Bubbawheat! It's nice to see that another reviewer has created a video review thread, especially considering how the last one went...

    Anyway, I've watched both of your audio commentary reviews, and it seems you're off to a strong start in this project! But I'm sure you're looking for more in-depth feedback than that, so I'll list what I thought were the positives first:

    - First of all, I'm glad that the resolution of the videos are high enough that the viewers can read all of the text in the arc. After viewing many CoH videos which were little more than a sea of pixels with music edited in, this was a welcome surprise.

    - Speaking of editing, I like many of the "technical" aspects of the two reviews I watched. The segways from one scene to the next were smooth and felt natural, rather than the sudden, jagged jump-cuts I've seen in many other similar videos. I also found the "Benny Hill" scene in the first review to be well done.

    - Finally, I liked the use of emotes your characters displayed throughout the two reviews, which I think will provide a nice "extra touch" to this project.

    However, I do have some suggestions which I think might help your reviews a bit. As always, these are only suggestions, so feel free to take or leave whatever you want from them; it's your project!

    - First of all, while I think your reviews begin fairly well (though I wonder why you didn't display the AE information at the start of the second arc like you did at the start of the first?), they tend to end kind of abruptly. While your second review did have some "final thoughts" (of sorts) at the end, it still felt kind of rushed (to me, at least). Perhaps it might be worth adding a minute or two at the end of the arc to get your overall impression of the arc? Though, it might be a bit boring if your character just stood around in the AE building during the ending commentary... maybe play some clips of the arc to help accentuate your points? For example, if you felt that an arc had a boss which was too difficult for the level range, show your character fighting/dying to the boss as you discuss it; or, if you felt like an arc had hard-to-find objectives in a large outdoor map, show a sped-up video of your character searching everywhere for said objectives.

    - Also, it might be interesting if you spent some time in your reviews focusing on any custom characters or custom groups which appear. While you haven't reviewed an arc with a custom group in this project yet, my suggestion also applies to custom enemies / allies. Something as simple as showing the enemy description on the screen for several seconds would be fine, but getting your opinion on well-done (or poorly done) characters or groups would go a long way towards helping the creator of the arc, and making your reviews feel more detailed.

    In any case, I look forward to more of your video reviews; it's certainly a nice change of pace from the usual text reviews we have in this section of the forum! If you need more arcs to review, I could probably suggest some of mine. While I would like to see you do a video review of "The Icari", you've already reviewed it, and it's longer than the 3-arc limitation you've placed in this thread.

    However, my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs are always open to feedback, and they all fit the criteria for this arc! If you want to run all of them, or just one, I'd definitely appreciate being involved in this project. They're designed for Level 40-50 characters (All Alignments; the arcs are all labeled "Neutral"), though I would suggest turning down the difficulty from what you've been running in your reviews thusfar, as all of the enemy groups who appear in the arcs can be quite challenging. Also, while the arcs are meant to be more or less standalone, there is an overarching plot, which would probably be best understood if you played them in numerical order (however many you decide to run).

    Good luck with your project, Bubbawheat!
  11. Mirror_Man
    Hey Coulomb2, great to see you're reviewing arcs again! Sure wish I could do the same, but the Holiday Season means I have even less free time than I normally do.

    Anyway, I'd be interested in seeing what you thought of my newest arc, "The Icari". I made it for Dr. Aeon's 3rd Challenge, and it's quite lower than ProPayne's level range, but I designed the arc for solo play, so hopefully it fits your criteria for this thread.

    I know you've enjoyed my "Galactic Protectorate" series of arcs, and while "The Icari" has nothing to do with them, I hope you'll enjoy the story and characters if/when you play through the arc.

    With regards to your OP, I don't really care about the current rating system; I'm more interested in feedback, to be honest. Just rate the arc what you think it deserves. As for the difficulty, unlike my "Galactic Protectorate" series, there are very few custom enemies in "The Icari". You'll mostly be facing off against the Council and the Circle of Thorns, and since the arc caps at Level 24, ProPayne really shouldn't have any problems, even if you've ramped up your difficulty a bit. As long as you haven't set your difficulty to x8 or something like that, you should be fine.

    As an aside, this arc was designed for Level 20 -24 Heroes, and as such the player's character is usually referred to as an "amateur" throughout most of the arc. Perhaps, for the sake of maintaining the RP "style" of your reviews thusfar, ProPayne could treat this arc as more of a "flashback" to his younger days as a hero (the souvenir of this arc could act as a catalyst to trigger ProPayne's "memory" of the events which occurred in this arc, or something to that extent)? Just a suggestion! I look forward to your review.
  12. Mirror_Man
    Thanks for reviewing "The Icari", Bubbawheat! I'm glad you enjoyed the characters, even if you didn't enjoy some of the gameplay.

    Some of the questions you have are actually answered in the arc. Due to the limitation on the number of clues you can have in an AE arc, I had to cut some of the more redundant clues which nonetheless helped clarify some of the plot points to the player. The plot points are still there, but you have to pay attention to the dialogue and character descriptions to catch them all.

    Anyway, I hope to be able to play some of the other entries into the contest if I get the free time, though I know I've already played yours. Good luck in the contest, Bubbawheat!
  13. Mirror_Man
    Thanks for reviewing my sixth "Galactic Protectorate" arc, GlaziusF! I had a feeling you wouldn't be too happy with the enemy group in this arc, but I'm glad you enjoyed the storyline of the arc, at least.

    To be honest, the 7th Division of the Galactic Protectorate has undergone the most changes of any of the divisions I've designed thusfar in part because I know how aggravating the debuffs can be. I've got a few more changes which I'd like to implement to the 7th Division when I revamp the "Galactic Protectorate" arcs which will hopefully help in the "math" regard.

    In any case, thank you for playing though all of my currently published "Galactic Protectorate" arcs, I appreciate the honest feedback! I look forward to your review of my entry into Dr. Aeon's Third Challenge, "The Icari"!
  14. Mirror_Man
    Hey GlaziusF, since you're almost out of arcs to play, maybe you could give me some feedback on my entry into Dr. Aeon's 3rd Architect Challenge, "The Icari" (Arc ID# 458576)?

    I've already submitted it to CoHMR, so hopefully it will be posted on the site soon. Don't worry, it has nothing to do with my "Galactic Protectorate" series; it's my first fully self-contained arc.

    It's designed for Level 20 -24 Heroes, but you can run it with a higher-level character if you don't have one in that level range. The enemies are mostly Council and Circle of Thorns, so it's not nearly as challenging as my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs, but I wouldn't crank up the difficulty too high.

    If you decide to run through it, I look forward to your constructive criticism, as always!
  15. Mirror_Man
    Hey Bubbawheat, I don't know whether you'll be able to get to my arc in time with your queue being what it is, but whether it's before or after the deadline, I'd appreciate your feedback on "The Icari", Arc ID# 458576.

    The alignment for the arc is Heroic, and while it's designed to be soloed by Level 20 -24 Heroes, if you don't have any characters in that level range feel free to run through it with a high-level character.
  16. Mirror_Man

    The Icari

    POST-ACTION



    Finally, my first self-contained, non-Galactic Protectorate AE arc has been completed and published to the live serviers!

    When Dr. Aeon announced his second challenge, I had an idea for an arc which became the "rough draft" of the Icari. Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the arc in time for the deadline of the contest, and the half-finished arc sat in my files, untouched, for months.

    However, when Dr. Aeon announced his third challenge, I knew that it was time to complete what I had started. To be honest, the "rough draft" centered around the concept outlined in this latest challenge to begin with, so I knew that with a little tweaking I could make an arc which might be able to compete in this latest contest.

    It took a lot of work and almost all of my free time, but "The Icari" has been completed and entered in Dr. Aeon's Third Challenge! Here are the specifics of the arc:

    -----

    Arc Name: The Icari

    Arc ID#: 458576

    Alignment: Heroic

    Level Range: 20 - 24 (All Missions)

    Synopsis: A Council attack on Atlas Park leads you to uncover a plot to take away the powers of one of the most renowned supergroups in Paragon City! However, in your attempt to aid the supergroup, you soon discover that there may be much more to the Icari than you are first led to believe...

    -----

    Anyway, whether I come in first or last in the contest, I always appreciate any feedback I can get to improve my arcs, and I have a feeling that "The Icari" could definitely use some outside opinions! Thanks in advance to anyone who decides to run through it and leave their comments, in or out of game!
  17. Mirror_Man
    I barely made it, but I was able to finish "The Icari" in time to submit it for this challenge!

    It looks like I've got some strong competition though, so I hope my arc is good enough to compete!
  18. Mirror_Man
    Thanks for your review of my fifth "Galactic Protectorate" arc, GlaziusF! I'm sorry you didn't like the enemy group which appears in this installment of the series.

    This arc really wasn't designed to be "filler", but I did take a more light-hearted approach with this arc, as kind of a counter-balance to the next arc. But I'll go into more detail about that after you've reviewed "The Galactic Protectorate -06"!

    I understand your frustration with enemy groups who share largely the same powers, but there are certain reasons why I didn't use non-sonic based enemies in the 8th Division. I'm glad you enjoyed the Colonels, though.

    As always, I enjoy your constructive criticism of my arcs, and I'l be sure to consider many of your points when I have enough free time to update my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs. I look forward to your review of "The Galactic Protectorate - 06"!
  19. Mirror_Man
    (Checks date of last post in Thread)

    Well, it's been awhile since I've last done a review, and the break at which I hoped I'd be able to continue doing Quid Pro Quo reviews in this thread never came to pass, unfortunately.

    As it is, I'm still far too busy with RL issues to re-open this thread just yet, and almost all of the free time I have in-game has been devoted to completing "The Galactic Protectorate - 07" (whose "release date" I've had to push back for ANOTHER month). Add in the re-working of my previous "Galactic Protectorate" arcs after I've published "The Galactic Protectorate - 07", and my free time is pretty much booked solid for at least the rest of the month.

    However, I did find enough time today to play an enjoyable AE arc (though it was mostly because I wanted to take a break from working on my own arc), and I decided to write up a review for it. The author of this arc has actually given me some nice feedback on my first two "Galactic Protectorate" arcs, and since I noticed that one of the author's recently published arcs didn't have any ratings at the time, I decided to give it a try.

    -----

    Arc Name: Uranmensch: The Atomic Man

    Author: Stone-Fox

    Character Used: Level 50 Dual Blades / Willpower Scrapper

    Mission 1: Once Upon a Time

    The contact of this arc is a custom character named "Blau Schwann", and right off the bat I can tell that a lot of work went into this arc. The contact has a well-written description, I found the contact's costume design superb, and the liberal use of the German language serves as a prelude to the theme of the arc. Blau Schwann informs the player that she comes from an alternate past where Nazi Germany developed nuclear capabilities before the Allied Powers during World War II. Blau Schwann is forming a small band of individuals with extraordinary powers to combat the Nazis, and she has chosen the player's character to come over to her timeline to help her.

    The first task is to recruit "Hans the Hedgehog", a hero based on the famous Brothers Grimm character. Blau Schwann informs the player's character that Hans can be found in "The Black Forest".

    Unfortunately, it seems that the 5th Column has beaten the player to the punch, as Hans (as well as several Fairy folk) have been taken hostage. Upon freeing Hans, the player and Hans must defeat "Blood Wolf" (a re-colored War Wolf boss) who's dialogue is reminiscent of a certain OTHER wolf from another Grimm Fairy Tale.

    Mission 2: Waking a Sleeping Giant

    With Hans the Hedgehog added to the team, Blau Schwann focuses her attention to the one being destined to be the final member of the Resistance, the Golem. She's tracked the Golem's location to an abandoned warehouse outside of Munich, and wants the player's character to retrieve it. Before leaving, she informs the player that the Golem must be "activated" (a reference to the classic "Golem of Prague" folklore) before it can achieve sentience, and as such must seek out the "Protector" watching over the Golem to learn the method of activation.

    Of course, the 5th Column has once again beaten the player to the punch, with both the Protector and the Golem being held captive. Upon rescuing the Protector, he informs the player that he was forced into telling the 5th Column the method of awakening the Golem in exchange for his family's safety. After instructing the player in how to awaken the Golem as well, the Protector quickly runs to the nearest exit. Fortunately, it seems the 5th Column haven't awakened the Golem by the time the player finds it, and upon rescuing the Golem the mission is completed. Interestingly, an optional boss, "Baron von Cullen", appears at this time, but he has no dialogue, leaves no clue upon defeat, and seems to be just a named Vampyri boss.

    Mission 3: The Uranmensch

    After giving an impressively well-written speech, Blau Schwann informs the player that it is time to take down the titular "Uranmensch", the Uranium Man. She tells the player that the Uranmensch is completely invincible as long as it is in range of one of three "Uranium Cores", which are constantly transmitting energy to the Uranmensch. Once those three cores are taken out, the Uranmensch will have to rely on it's own internal uranium power core, which will allow the Resistance a small window of opportunity to defeat him (though Schwann still expects a tough fight).

    Upon meeting up with Schwann, Hans, and the Golem, and taking out the three power cores, the Uranmensch arrives. Even with three boss-level allies, the Uranmensch is a challenging fight, but not an impossible one. After defeating the Uranmensch, only one last task remained.

    Mission 4: In the Eagle's Nest

    So, Blau Schwann's tracked down the Fuhrer's lair, and is ready to storm the place and take him out with the player's help.

    ...Wait, what?

    OK... the arc seems to be pulling a Quentin Tarantino. Not that perserving the timeline really matters at this point, considering how much has already been altered.

    Inside the mission, the main objective is to track down and defeat the Fuhrer, who's being guarded by still more 5th Column. Upon defeating the Fuhrer, the player finds out via a clue that the Fuhrer was actually just a robot decoy and the whole mission was a trap from the start. This is enforced by having multiple ambushes of 5th Column soldiers appear as the player fights his/her way to the exit.

    ...Again, what?

    In any case, Blau Schwann bids the player's character farewell as he/she is returned to his/her own timeline. Story Arc complete.

    Final Thoughts

    Alright... despite the odd ending (which I'll discuss in greater detail below), I found this to be an incredibly well-written and designed arc. The author obviously knows his/her Germanic mythos, I found the design of all of the custom characters to be incredible, and I couldn't find a single spelling/grammatical error throughout the entire arc. The amount of effort that went into this arc is apparent in every mission, and as a result I'll make the following suggestions to the author which I think will give the arc the "polish" it deserves:

    First of all, the mission headings. Giving each mission a title and sub-title is a great step towards making the arc look "professional", but I think it would help if the author made the mission headings a different font size and/or a different font color than the rest of the mission dialogue; this should help the mission heading stand out from the rest of the text in every mission intro.

    Second, the dialogue. There's a comparatively sparse amount of dialogue throughout the arc, but what little there is I found quite clever (particularly the dialogue in the third mission). It might help to add a few more lines of dialogue to some of the custom allies/bosses in the arc (for example, the optional boss at the end of the second mission, who had NO dialogue when I played through). The author doesn't have to fill in every dialogue box available, but adding some more lines to say, Blau Schwann (who I found to be one of the most interesting characters in the arc) in the third mission might help to characterize her a bit more. Again, just a suggestion.

    Finally, a small nitpick in the third mission: When the player's character destroys the first Uranium Core, a clue pops up which states that the player has destroyed ALL of the Uranium Cores. This is a common problem when creating multiple instances of a destructible object; keep in mind that whenever a clue is attached to those instances it will show up in the player's clue log after the player has destroyed the FIRST instance of that object, not the last. The author might wish to re-word the clue for the Uranium Cores to better reflect this.

    Aside from those nitpicks, there's the matter of the final mission. To be honest, I was surprised there even WAS a fourth mission after the player defeated the titular Uranmensch. To find out that the final mission involved defeating the Fuhrer himself was even more jarring, and then finding out the Fuhrer was actually just a robot decoy was... well, just plain weird. On the other hand, I can honestly say that no other MA arc I've played has allowed the player to fight the Fuhrer himself, and having a robotic Fuhrer decoy is such a comic book cliche that it seems improper to complain about it in a comic book based MMO. So, I'm not really sure what to make of the last mission. Sure, it kind of comes out of left field, but it's such a refreshing change from the other WWII-based MA arcs I've played that I can't really fault the author for adding it.

    Overall, I think this arc definitely deserves more recognition than it currently has. I may have been the first player to play through and rate it, but I sincerely hope I'm not the last. This arc is a must for any player who enjoys World War II based arcs, and even players who aren't as crazy about such arcs (such as myself) should at least give this arc a try. If this is the level of quality we can expect from this author's future MA arcs, I think he/she would be a great addition to the AE community.

    Final Score: 5 Stars
  20. Mirror_Man
    Thanks for reviewing my fourth "Galactic Protectorate" arc, GlaziusF I'm glad to see you enjoyed this installment more than the previous one.

    The general consensus (based on the feedback I've received) is that my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs contain enemies which are much more difficult than the usual enemy groups found in the main game (again, pre-Going Rogue). Some players enjoy the challenge, while others haven't. To be honest, I knew (even before I began working on the first arc in the series) that the difficulty of the Galactic Protectorate Divisions would be one of the most dividing aspects of my arcs. However, I also wanted to make sure that the enemies I was designing, while challenging, were not impossible for the average player. To this end, I made sure to label all of my arcs "Challenging"; I set the intended level range of all of the arcs to be between Levels 40-50 so the players' characters would have the appropriate build to deal with the increased challenge as best as possible; and (after some feedback I received shortly after I published my first arc) I removed the community-designated "unfair powers" from all but the named officers within the Galactic Protectorate.

    Of course, the problem of stacking buffs/debuffs is still a problem, but it's hard to circumvent the issue while still maintaining the themes of the Divisions. Still, I'll see what I can do once I start revamping my arcs.

    And, to answer your questions, the "Eden" map really didn't "fit" the 10th Division thematically, and there IS a flower in the hair of the Astral Azalea lieutenants.

    Anyway, I look forward to your review of "The Galactic Protectorate - 05"!
  21. Mirror_Man
    Crazy day yesterday, but it was nice to come back to the boards today to find your review, GlaziusF. While you may not have enjoyed my third "Galactic Protectorate" arc very much, I thank you for the critical feedback.

    With most of my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs, the feedback I receive (whether positive or negative) tends to focus on either the design of the enemy group and/or the mechanics of the arc equally with the storyline. However, with this particular arc, I've noticed that the majority of the negative feedback tends to focus on the player's uneasiness with their actions in this part of the storyline moreso than anything else.

    When designing "The Galactic Protectorate" saga, I didn't want to follow the usual "black and white" morality which (pre-Going Rogue) the main game focused on. The Galactic Protectorate is not the cliche "evil empire" found in many other stories, nor is the resistance the player leads as saintly as they first appear. The morality on both sides of the conflict is very "gray", which is why all of the arcs are labeled "Neutral" rather than "Heroic" or "Villainous".

    But on the mechanical side of things, I'll definitely consider some of your suggestions when I'm revamping my arcs after "Going Rogue" comes out. I look forward to your review of "The Galactic Protectorate - 04"!
  22. Mirror_Man
    Ah, thanks for clarifying some of your points, GlaziusF. You definitely bring up some nice suggestions which I'll be considering when I'm revamping my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs.

    Concerning your first point, the reason it feels like the Resistance is "lashing out blindly" is because they basically are. At this point in the storyline, the Resistance's intelligence network is almost non-existent, as are their manpower and resources. This is why this section of the story plays out the way it does; at this point Synapse, Manticore, and the player pretty much ARE the Resistance. As such, I felt beginning this arc with the Resistance already having a lead on Sister Psyche's whereabouts would kind of contradict the Resistance's "desperate" situation. Also, having the player discover Sister Psyche's location re-confirms his/her significance to the Resistance as a "hero", something which would be undermined if the Resistance was able to locate Sister Psyche without the player.

    On your second point, you actually (almost) hit the name on the head. Most of the Divisions within the Galactic Protectorate share a distinctive behavioral pattern and theme, which will become much more apparent in the arcs to come. To be honest, I probably failed to convey this piont the most in this arc than any other. Giving Division 12 a more distinctive personality is one of the things on the top of my list when I revamp my arcs, though I'm still trying to decide how (I was originally going to have all of the members of the 12th Division speak in "ye olde english", but that just seemed silly).

    However, while every division and officer may have different personalities, themes, morals, and values, they all share some of the same overarching ideals as the Galactic Protectorate. The reasons they follow those goals and the methods in which they do so may differ greatly, but the central ideology of the Galactic Protectorate is what ultimately unites them.

    Although, I also wanted to give each named officer a distinctive personality and backstory, so keep an eye out for the Colonels and General of the Galactic Protectorate in the arcs to come!
  23. Mirror_Man
    Thanks for reviewing "The Galactic Protectorate - 02", GlaziusF! I'm glad to see that, while you still have some reservations regarding the "Galactic Protectorate" saga, you enjoyed this arc more than the previous one I'll be sure to consider many of the points you brought up when I revamp my arcs after "Going Rogue" is released.

    While it's not uncommon for many players to have some questions regarding the story at this point in the "Galactic Protectorate" saga, I'm a bit perplexed as to how you could be confused regarding certain aspects of the story thusfar:

    *****

    Quote:
    Why go after this general? What are they hoping to accomplish?
    I thought I made the basic "strategy" of the Resistance clear with the introduction to the first mission in this arc, but perhaps I could re-word the contact dialog to help make this point clearer.

    Quote:
    The enemy design still kind of blends together, and now that the pattern’s been established that each enemy group is unique to its own arc, the walls of text are even more puzzling. They won’t inform on this group’s future actions because there aren’t any, and they don’t seem to inform on their present actions either.
    I'm... not sure why you're expecting to learn the future or present actions of an enemy group through their individual bios. I always throught that the information presented there was to establish each individual NPC's backstory and/or hierarchy within their organization. Almost all of the Dev-created enemy groups follow this formula (to the best of my knowledge), as have most of the custom groups I've encountered in AE. I'm sure a talented Dev or MA writer could create an enemy group in the manner you're describing, though. Perhaps you could reference a specific arc (AE or not) which uses the individual enemy information this way?

    Quote:
    ...Synapse performs a conventional distraction maneuver instead of say, Manticore challenging the Gweneral to open combat on the field of honor, army against army (except that his army has two dudes but this is a trivial detail).
    I'm... pretty sure you're joking here, but I think the reason the Resistance chooses to use the former strategy rather than the latter should be obvious. I do like the nickname "Gweneral", though.

    *****

    In any case, I look forward to your review of "The Galactic Protectorate - 03"!
  24. Mirror_Man
    Thanks for running through my first "Galactic Protectorate" arc, GlaziusF! I'm sorry you didn't find it all that enjoyable.

    I've found, based on previous reviews and feedback I've gotten from others, that this first arc has the tendency to be interpreted differently by almost everyone who plays it. You brought up some points in your review that I will definitely consider when I revamp my arcs after "Going Rogue" comes out.

    I'm also glad to hear you plan on reviewing the rest of my "Galactic Protectorate" arcs. I hope you enjoy the rest of the arcs more than the first.

    However, I can assure you that many of the problems you found with this first arc won't be repeated in the arcs to come. Hopefully, some of the questions you have with the storyline will be answered, and with your attention to detail, I'm almost sure you'll pick up on some things no other reviewer has.

    I look forward to your review of "The Galactic Protectorate - 02"!
  25. Mirror_Man
    Quote:
    Will Mod12 be renamed to The Doce?
    I admit "theDoce" would make the most sense, all things considered... but maybe it's time to move on to another language.

    Hmm... if Moderator12 happened to be female, "Juni" would work nicely, I think. But it would kind of be an awkward name for a male moderator to have.