Nowhereman

The pessimist in me says: "I'll believe it when i see it."

The optimist in me says: Nothing really. Just inappropriate schoolgirl squeals.

Luckily i'm a realist, so i'll just wait and see and hope you're right Oz. Thanks for the morale boost anyway.

In the off chance a Dev dusts off this thread and actually reads it, i'd like to add my suggestions. Many of these are probably repeats, and i've already mentioned some of them on another thread, but here we go.

Casino furniture: Slot machines, poker tables with npcs, casino sounds, the works. My gangster themed SG wants a casino as a front for our illict activities.

Nightclub furniture: Full bars with bartenders, velvet ropes to guide or block off foot traffic, stages, maybe even disco lighting. Heck, give us the cage from the cage matches while you're at it.

Tiki furniture: Tiki masks on the walls, Tiki torches, etc.

Doors: Actual doors. Watching the decor abruptly change from room to room with no real doors is kind of a turn off. Disrupts the flow, you know? Always open doorways i can live with, but doors that actually open and close would be cool too.

Windows: It's been an ignored demand for years, but i'll ask for it again anyway. Static would be good, animated would be awesome. Day and night city scapes, post apocalyptic wasteland, desert, outer space, remote island, water surface, undersea, hollowed out volcano, you name it.

No Ceiling option: If we can get windows, then i'd like an option to replace the ceiling with open sky. As an example, the base entrance for my gangster SG is a dark alley. I'd really like to have no ceiling, with just the night sky and maybe a moon overhead. Some mock buildings towering overhead would add to the illusion of a real back alley. Then give us those doors i mentioned earlier, so it looks like you're entering the back of a building.

More symbols: All those new symbols you've added over the years are nice. Be even nicer if we could use those as SG logos.

More natural: More paintings for the walls. Fountains and statuary. Wall and floor textures you could find in your home, an office building or a mansion. Salvage storage that looks like a normal bookcase, cabinet, floor safe or bank vault. That sort of thing.

I realize this isn't The Sims, and i know i'm probably asking for miracles, but i had to throw it out there. Now that i've thrown my suggestions at the Wall of Silence, i'll walk away and hope at least one of them sticks.

Doubt this thread is even being read by the Devs to be brutally honest, but i'll add my suggestion. A simple suggestion really.

Give us casino furniture! The slot machines and poker tables, plus the npcs around them. Sound effects too of course. My Mafia themed SG would really like a casino as a front for their illicit activities.

Pretty please Devs? Otherwise, it's curtains for ya!


PS: We need curtains. Thanks.

Well, they've stated it will be a weekly occurrence. The reality of it will probably be lighter content like costume pieces every week, with the heavier stuff being more of a monthly thing...you know, signature stories, full costume sets, new power sets, etc.

I hope i'm wrong and it's awesome stuff every week, but i'm not getting my hopes up. Still, it's all good.

I get two things from this.

1) Someone has waaaaay too much time on their hands if they frequently re-read the EULA for any insidiously evil changes.

2) This man will never get suckered by Steve Jobs and join the Cent-Ipod.

With the new alignment missions, we now have heroes going vigilante and able to visit the Isles. Villains can go rogue and enter Paragon. This "gray" area really needs fleshing out, because as of now, the only real benefit is acquiring exploration and defeat badges. You can't get contacts or missions until you've totally turned to the other side.

I say we start the revolution with Vigilante and Rogue contacts. Give us a new reason to walk the edge of morality, with uniquely themed story arcs and the odd badge or two. Once we take that step, we continue with Villain contacts in Paragon and Hero contacts in the Isles. Eventually the entire world (Primal Earth anyway) is opened up to everyone, eliminating "red" and "blue" sides forever.

I think John Lennon woulda wanted it that way...okay, maybe minus the supervillains.

When they first announced CoH, my first thought was "I want to be a supervillain!". I was disappointed of course until CoV came out. Been "red" ever since, though lately i've been starting gold side for more AT combinations and newer content. Despite its flaws, i'm still a faithful villain. Having said that, let me add to the criticisms.

The heart of the matter? Imbalance. Both on a content level and a story level. CoV was an optional expansion when it came out, and never really got the attention it deserved due to the majority of "blue" players. Besides, why start all over in a smaller playground with less content after enjoying blue side for a year? New scenery? New ATs? It was enough for some people, like me, but many drifted back to blue side.

As for the overall story, let's face it...it sucked big time. If i play a hero, i get to constantly thwart the plans of evildoers. Growing in power and fame, my hero joins the ranks of the elite, becoming the equal of established heroes like Statesman, Back Alley Brawler, etc. Now if i play villain, the vibe changes drastically. I'm basically some pet project of Recluse. Every faction in the Isles attacks me on sight, from Longbow to Arachnos. Instead of pursuing my own path, i'm essentially a superpowered errand boy/girl. I never got that feeling like i was a true villain. When you finally defeat Recluse, he admits he underestimated you and you're now officially a supervillain...like the first 50 levels of your toon was an Origin Story, only that's it. You hit the level cap and your endgame content is limited.

Now, after 7 years, things are improving. The Architect and alignment missions are a step in the right direction, but it still has a long way to go before there's proper balance. What i feel truly needs to be done, is revamping the central storyline, or at least offer an alternate path. If you want to climb the ranks of Arachnos, fine. Leave that option open. If you want to pursue your own goals of global domination or destruction, then you need a whole new storyline. Add a new series of contacts like aspiring lackeys, temporary allies, temporary rivals, etc. We need a storyline that at least gives the illusion that this is all part of "your plan". In the end of course, you fall short of your goals, but hey...tomorrow's another day.

If you take a look at the upcoming The Old Republic, you'll see they had the right idea from the start. The Republic and the Empire are balanced. Both sides have an equal amount of content from the start, both offer a unique gaming experience, and both allow you to make decisions that affect your overall storyline hours down the road. No side is truly better than the other, and you are the real star of the story. Not Statesman. Not Recluse. You.

Sorry about the long winded post. I just needed to vent after 7+ years of red side angst. Carry on.

I've already mentioned this on another thread, but i'd like some polearm weapons used if they never come out with a Polearm power set. Scythes and executioner axes have already been mentioned, and i totally agree with those. I'd also like naginatas, tetsubos, halberds, telephone poles, light posts, etc.

As for more appropriate bashing/slashing weapons, i'd like to see massive claymores, stop signs, chainsaws, steel girders, dead giraffes (you could grip them from the neck...what? stop staring at me!), etc.

Just some thoughts anyway.

I agree. I just don't have the time or patience for some large task force or raid. Besides, my characters got to 50 primarily through soloing. Seems kind of weak that i have to suddenly rely on others to get even better. That's just me though. /shrugs

Just to expand a little on what Memphis_Bill said, a good number of our Premium and F2P players could be those returning to the game after a lengthy absence. Many of those names unavailable to us may be dusted off and used by the returning players. So a name purge could actually discourage older players from returning.

As for the chain sword debate, why a chain sword? Why not an old rusty chainsaw? Both are good for me.

I was also hoping for a Polearm set in the future, but if it's not to be, then how about adding a scythe, tetsubo and/or naginata?

Yeah, after the release of Going Rogue, i was really hoping they would implement some of these innovative features in the Mission Architect. At the very least, they could add a "faction change" trigger. The next arc i want to create would greatly benefit from being able to talk briefly with a few npcs before they suddenly doublecross everyone on the map. This way, you get slightly more connected to the characters and story, as well as letting you know in advance where your boss fights are going to be located.

I'd also love to customize the power colors of custom mobs. Kind of irritating when you have a color scheme all planned out and then the power set is stuck with the defaults.

And while this really isn't the thread for it, i'd like to ask the Devs to start adding more maps. There are tons of locations in game (oil rigs, industrial parks, the snow covered map from the Baby New Year event, etc) that would really be useful to us designers. Using the same caves, tech bases and office buildings over and over gets pretty old. Layout and graphics variances aside, when you've played in one, you've pretty much played in 'em all.

Ok. I'm done ranting.

Just returning to the game after a lengthy hiatus, and stumbled across this problem in AE as well. I'm afraid to check out my published arcs as i fear they're all unplayable for this and other nerfs over the months. After going over my unpublished arcs however, i can add these words to the "banned" list:

Apocalypse
Chastity
Trinity
Sentinel
Sentry


I realize some might think there's a valid reason for blocking some of these words, but the fact remains that they were all acceptable when i created them. I've made changes in order to get past this problem, but my npc Jenna Blaze sounded much better as Chastity Blaze. I'd appreciate a fix, but until then, i'll go with the flow.

It's a shame to see you leave Castle, but it was only a matter of time. Good luck in your future endeavors, whatever they may be.

Of course, now that you're leaving, maybe we can finally get that Clown Mastermind and Clown Booster Pack. Heh heh heh...

Take care Castle.

This here old-timer is still kicking, though i've been away a few months. I'll probably stick around for awhile once Going Rogue goes live. Server felt like a ghost town last i visited, which doesn't bode well.

At any rate, welcome back!

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The XP reduction is worth it from a good story aspect. But I wouldn't plan on overusing Allies. If ya do folks might not play your Arcs, or Rate you badly.

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You could also try what i've been doing: if i have an EB on the map, i'll have an optional EB Ally you can rescue to help out if you feel the need. That way its the player's choice.