Obsidius

<Pyramid truncated>

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Simple! He'll take the System messages out when they're on the live servers so he's not "bothered" by the invasion notices and then will complain that he had to suffer through invasions when he's caught in one that he could have known about if he'd just kept the messages active.

Anyone want to take bets that this is the next complaint from the people who are anti-Invasions?

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To Cap I say "To each his own." I'll agree that the invasions aren't for all, though I disagree that the event has "fallen an its face" as stated by others (read previous posts).

However, since the LGTF only spawns one invasion in any invasion-targeted zone red or blue side, they should be at least easy to avoid.

Annoying as they may be to you and others, Cap, it won't be on the scale that the current wide-scaled random invasion are happening now, which should alleviate some ire I hope.

With that in mind, to anyone who complains about being blindsided by an invasion after removing System chat from your window, I'll have no sympathy.

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oh christ, not again. i was JUST about to get used to not getting spammed by that stupid admin chat...

MAKE US ABLE TO TURN IT OFF!!!!!

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Yes, a perfect example...

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Yes, everyone knows there are some downsides to the invasions. No one really likes the red admin chat, but many players make this out to be a tantamount sin. With the reaction incurred by this, one could assume that the Admin chat ran over their family pet and defiled their loved ones.

Yes, red chat spam is annoying. No, it's not the end of the world, IMHO.

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Well, this should be better:

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Rikti Invasions

* Changed default channel for Rikti Invasion broadcast messages to System instead of Admin

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It's only in one window now (by default), and you can move the System chat out of any window entirely if you wish.

On Test now, probably to Live Tuesday barring any bugs

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I thought 'scenery' civilians did not create lag and 'active' critters (with powers and so forth) did?

Maybe 50 scenery civvies only create as much lag as 3 or 4 combat spawns?

As far as the Heavies go, maybe there were complaints from players about the Heavies that the Devs are addressing? Haven't been on the PvP forums lately, just asking.

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The complaint was about "AFK Farming," where someone would park a heavy in a defensive mode (I think) in the street where there was a regular patrol, and go AFK somewhere safe like the base - the heavy would sit there and just wipe out spawn after spawn.

Making them unhealable doesn't really address this - if someone went AFK in any sort of healing range, they're easy prey to *anyone* from another faction in the zone.

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If the assertion of AFK camping while in your base is correct, a timer on the Heavies would have been much more preferable to this solution, IMHO. I'll agree that changing the regen and healing attributes of the Heavies makes them far less valuable when taking out pillboxes and signature AVs.

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The combative inhabitants in a zone will move off the streets and to safer locations when a Rikti Invasion takes place.

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... but the civilians don't.

Remarkable.

The combat NPCs don't move around much. It's the cars that continue to drive around on the roads, and the couple of hundred NPCs walking around, that are making the lion's share of the network traffic in the zones with the worst lag. And it makes even less sense for them to ignore the Rikti; they're unarmed! That first blast of the alarm siren should trigger the panic emote, then a dash to the door, for every pedestrian non-combat NPC, and every car should stop in its tracks and not move until the all clear signal.

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Actually, the last few invasions I've seen, civilians do head for the hills in panic (Except maybe CoV? Didn't pay attention last raid in CoV).

However, we're still getting hit by cars, and the contact NPCs are rock stead (although it would be a nuisance IMO for contacts to disappear during a raid, albeit a temporary one).

At least make traffic stop or disappear as well, just for lack of another annoyance. Unless they're heading out of town at 90 MPH; now that would be humorous

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Please use this thread to discuss the below announcement:


We wanted to let you know that we added two entries to the Patch Notes for the current live version:
<ul type="square">[*] Longbow and Arachnos Heavies used in Recluse's Victory can no longer be healed. [*] The combative inhabitants in a zone will move off the streets and to safer locations when a Rikti Invasion takes place. [/list]
Our apologies that these changes did not make it into the initial release notes.

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say i'm a fire/sonic, i'm okay cause i can't give the heavy the equivalent of 30% +hp with my resistance buffs and use all the powers of my secondary.
but say i'm a fire/emp, my secondary is 25% gutted, is it?

you guys are ridiculous.
seems almost like a cop-out.
thanks for the h34l0r nerf.

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Gah, you can blame me

When they eliminated their regen (to deter farmers), I asked why this was a good idea when they could still be healed.

I thought it might make them think in the other direction re: Heavy changes, perhaps like adding a timer or such. But then I saw this and I was

Devs, if you want to deter farming in RV, this is not the way to go. IMO, it's an overreaction to some of the things that have been happening in RV since Issue 8. That's not to say nothing is wrong, but nerfing heavies for farmers and casual players alike is a bad design decision.

I sincerely hope this isn't also the plan for Shivans, Vanguard Heavies, and other earnable pets, especially since those are already on a timer and have a long recharge.

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The combative inhabitants in a zone will move off the streets and to safer locations when a Rikti Invasion takes place.

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Although it's a momentary inconvenience for defeat tasks, it always struck me odd that enemy NPCs just chatted it up while the Rikti rained down around them. This will add some immersion to the event, IMO.

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Obsidius, you have just won the Internets!



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Watch what you say - you could become a bootlicker too

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W00T!!! More lag!!!

All I can say is that video is a fake or they did something to it because no one is really getting FPS like that during the zone invasions.

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The FPS hits are caused by "softer" hardware builds when many players and many Rikti in the same location. You wouldn't see much of a hit in the clip with so few avatars and powers rendering.

Besides, don't you think they probably have some top-notch hardware in Los Gatos and/ or Austin?

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That video kicked [censored].

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Completely QFT. IMO, the videos keep incrasing in quality, GJ guys

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If it fell on it's face, why was it brought back "by popular demand"?


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The only "popular demand" is from the forum bootlickers who are more into comic books than games. In the actual game, the invasions are utterly despised.

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Isn't this game based on comic books though? If the devs are appealing to the market from which the game was inspired, isn't that hitting the mark?

But back on topic, being "utterly despised"? Based on the increase in the number of concurrent users in the 2nd quarter, you are aware that the game is almost doing better now than it was right before WoW launched, and definitely better than it was at the same point last year?

You obviously have much hate and vitriol over something so benign as a (mostly) temporal event, or perhaps to me personally. But the NCSoft quarterly numbers are pretty obvious as to the re-sparked interest in the game in the wake of I9 (and probably I10), due to new additions, like Inventions, Invasions, and Advancements (in the storyline). Although the numbers for Q3 aren't out yet, based of of my personal views in-game (no bootlicking, I swear ), that those numbers are still increasing.

Lastly, a common defensive tactic used by a debater with a weak stance is to label someone who disagrees with his/ her opinion a fanboy, bootlicker, etc. to instantly invalidate their argument

I'm not sure of others' opinion of me, but I would like to think of myself as pretty objective in terms of dev feedback. There is such a thing as being critical without being dramatic, condescending, snide, rude, or mean. That doesn't make one a fanboy; that makes one courteous, even when dissatisfied.

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That does, of course, explain 100% why every time there's an invasion, the zone is swarmed with people and requests for teams fill the air, doesn't it.


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About the only thing that gets swarmed on Triumph and Liberty (both hero and villain side) are the trams/ferries as people leave the zone.

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As a Triumphant (my home and sole server, the one I see every time I play), I've seen people on broadcast literally begging for teams to hunt bombs, Rikti, and Battle Suits.

Players aren't going to the trams to run away - they're massing at the trams to have a big group of heroes that will make the EBs spawn

Unfortunately, having 50 characters shooting off powers simultaneously in the same location may have adverse affects on older systems, hence some lag However, this should point to the popularity of the invasions, as that many players would be in the same place, at the same time, just for the invasion.

For many, it's more than just the badges and accolades - it's about Merits too But seriously, it's also about fun. Despite the problems with the current chat warnings, and the lag those with softer systems may experience, it's apparent to "this reporter", based solely on observing player activity (again, no bootlicking involved, I promise ), that the event seems to be a success to a decent majority of players.

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And then I looked at the link in your signature.


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Do you realize how utterly you LOST the argument when you reduced yourself to attacking the game that is linked in my signature? Over 11 years of commercial success is really a foolish thing for you to attack.

Are you that completely unable to stay on topic? Wow. That is really sad.

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Well hey, I was on topic. You're the one who brought "pitifully dull, repetitive, unoriginal, unimaginative (content)" into the mix.

OK, so it is like the #4 best MUD according to www.topmudsites.com, I'll give you that. If MUDs full of wizards, orcs, and trolls floats your boat, captain, go for it. But don't knock the devs for trying something new and technologically hard to pull off, and, in the opinion of many, one of the "neatest" additions (in terms of random events) to happen to the game in a while.

And please, as a favor to all the forumites and I, find some new buzz words; we're bored of the old ones.

For a guy named "Cambios", you sure hate change.

Edit: sp

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oh christ, not again. i was JUST about to get used to not getting spammed by that stupid admin chat...

MAKE US ABLE TO TURN IT OFF!!!!!

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Yes, a perfect example...

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Yes, everyone knows there are some downsides to the invasions. No one really likes the red admin chat, but many players make this out to be a tantamount sin. With the reaction incurred by this, one could assume that the Admin chat ran over their family pet and defiled their loved ones.

Yes, red chat spam is annoying. No, it's not the end of the world, IMHO.

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And how about adding some damaged buildings to the maps if this is going to continue?

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Heh, I couldn't help but notice the staggering amount of no harm whatsoever the terrifying Rikti dropships were inflicting on Kings Row earlier tonight. Ooh scary!

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Personally, I would rather have the devs coding other things. While battle damage in city zones would be uber cool, it would have to involve tech that would be on the scale of Recluse's Victory, except on a bigger scale involving all zones that can be invaded. That would be a huge chunk of dev time that is probably better spent improving QoL or preparing for the next issue, IMHO.

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And yeah, I use extreme language, because sadly that is the only kind of post that has a chance of being noticed. The devs ignore calm, mild, moderate posts.

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Untrue. I talk to the devs like actual people, usually in a friendly, or otherwise sincere, tone. And I've received responses from them too, and &lt;gasp&gt; bug fixes and game enhancements

Shocking I tell you! Just simply shocking.

Edit: Personally sometimes I wonder if you have a contest with yourself to see how many biased, inflated, and inflammatory words you can cram into a single post

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Honestly, nobody with any experience playing MMOs could find this event at all worthy of praise. It is incredibly simplistic, unoriginal, repetitive, lacking in anything unique or interesting, and just plain rots.

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Wait for it...
&lt;Puts on flame-retardant shorts&gt;

You mean, like the game mechanics of WoW?
&lt;rimshot&gt;
Sorry, just had to. Flame all you want - it was pretty bad. Don't forget to tip your waitress

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As an added bonus, it spams the heck out of everyone making chat unbearable (yes chat, one of the main features of any MMO) and slaughters some people's ability to play the normal game due to the performance hit.

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Yes, everyone knows there are some downsides to the invasions. No one really likes the red admin chat, but many players make this out to be a tantamount sin. With the reaction incurred by this, one could assume that the Admin chat ran over their family pet and defiled their loved ones.

Yes, red chat spam is annoying. No, it's not the end of the world, IMHO.

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This "event" is a total and utter failure on numerous levels, and the devs have no business dumping it back on the playerbase after it already fell on its face in an embarrassing fashion.

The invasion event needs a TOTAL recode and redesign. Until it can be made interesting, varied, and exciting, it is just a complete waste. It is worse than a waste, since the spam and the performance hit actually WORSEN the normal game experience for a lot of people.

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If it fell on it's face, why was it brought back "by popular demand"? It shows that may players wanted this event back and were vocal about it. Yes, there is another extremely vocal group of players that constantly touts the problems with this event, but there is obviously a large demand for the return of this event.

And it hardly "woresened" the game. On the contrary, it seems to have brought quite a few players back into the game, as well as sparked interest in new players as well. Despite the flaws of the event, IMHO, it hardly "fell on its face", unless "Fell on its face" is another way of saying "it was pretty popular with a majority of players".

&lt;Considers "falling on his face" to get back in with the cliques - perhaps it will improve my looks? &gt;

As an aside, I remember this from your previous post:

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Any hope of this event being made interesting instead of the pitifully dull, repetitive, unoriginal, unimaginative thing it is currently?

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And then I looked at the link in your signature.

I thoroughly poured over the web page, and forgive me if I'm greatly mistaken, but this looks like something from AD&amp;D (circa 1977). Most of the classes, races, and concepts look like a rehash of any fantasy game I've ever played, except as a MUD (but possibly better than Stormreach )

Although I find it somewhat refreshing that RP is strictly enforced in this game, I just find ironic it that, unless I'm completely mistaken (and I very well may be), that someone who delivers such a harsh critique to the CoX devs regarding dull, repetitive, and unimaginative content would present such a game in comparison.

Just my 2 inf.

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Lenin
Citizen
Reged: 08/09/07
Posts: 1

*****
Thank god they added that feature to ignore the invasion alerts they assured us all they were looking into as far back as the 3rd, so people who would rather hang out in D's and chat can be left in peace.


Oh wait....

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GStorm
Citizen
Reged: 08/09/07
Posts: 1

*****
sorry if im not as excited as everyone else, but this just means more lagville. thanks

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Call me skeptical, but do you two know each other in RL, or are you just using two accounts to be obnoxiously vocal?

If it's the latter, you only need one post on one account to get the point across.

On the plus side, you can always plan around the dates in question - at least the Rikti were kind enough to share their schedule

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As the fix for that bug, we simply removed the option for getting a Hami-O.

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Is this just a temporary fix, like removing the SHOs from the STF for a while? It seems like the real problem is the box not giving you the HO when you select it.

Previously, I could get level 50 Hami-Os when I raided as a 46, say, and it didn't bother me that I would need to wait a level before I could slot it. Heck, I have frequently gotten SO rewards that were a couple of levels above what I could currently slot.

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It may be a side effect of "locking" the reward level of HOs / SHOs to 50. This was previously done to prevent players from using an exemp exploit that rewarded lvl 51+ HOs or SHOs. So what may have worked pre-I9 may no longer be valid as far as HO rewards are concerned.

As an aside, lvl 45s &amp; 46s should still be able to pick a rare recipe as a reward, yes? If this is the case, I don't mind the change personally.

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Any hope of this event being made interesting instead of the pitifully dull, repetitive, unoriginal, unimaginative thing it is currently?

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Any hope of you taking your criticism of an event a lot of people like and taking it elsewhere?

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From him? LOL, GL with that

Just don't start talking about MUDs, you'll never hear the end of it, trust me.

As for me, time to whack more Rikti (see my sig)!

Another great article. Thanks Jesse et al

Trading art, eh? Might be a good excuse to get back into drawing

Anyhow, it was my anniversary tonight, so screenshots of Obs will have to wait until Wednesday (since I also have plans tonight). But in the meantime, I'll take your advice and post in a "free art" thread to get some momentum.

Thanks for the advice Moggie

Hello all,

OK, so I'm a n00b when it comes to this, so I'll let you know what I humbly request, and you all can tell me what needs to be done.

For a long time I've wanted to see the art community's take on my main character, Obsidius. Obsidius was originally a P&amp;P character for VTDA, and later VTM. I've done many sketches of him in the past, but I'm lamentably out of practice, without much free time as of recent.

I would be interested to see what take the art community would have with him. Sadly, due to recent personal events (dental bills, moving, financing a new car for my wife, etc.), I would not be able to pay any real commission on this (if that is usually inferred in requesting services; I have no clue honestly), so the work would have to be "pro bono" (although if you have a toon on Triumph, in-game compensation may be a possibility).

I know that whoever decides to take a shot at this will need screenshots - I'll take some tonight and post them on my PhotoBucket account. I have a few on my SG's web page, but I'll take more so the artist(s) will have a better idea of how Obs looks.

If there's anything else that's required, please let me know. I thank you humbly for your consideration.

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/em Smack!

Also, great art in this issue! Good work everyone!

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QFT. Just got done reading this issue, GJ all Some fantastic asrt work here. May have to consider comisioning some work for myself

He might be posting this for the benefit of any player returning for the account reactivation this weekend, since they probably haven't read/ posted in the previous discussions regarding this issue.

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Please use this thread to discuss the below announcement:



AIR RAID! PARAGON CITY! THIS IS NO DRILL!

Any and all Superpowered individuals are needed immediately to stave off the Rikti Invasion that threatens all of humanity! To support the fight against this ruinous alien invasion, all former players in good standing have their accounts reactivated from Thursday, August 2nd through late Sunday night (August 5th, 8:59PM PST / 11:59PM EST). Anyone who has previously played City of Heroes or City of Villains is able to log in get into the fight! Spread the word to your supergroup or guild mates and online friends who might not be playing CoH that now is the time to come back and check out the great new Issue 10, for FREE!

Welcome back to these Heroes and Villains! Join the fight against the Rikti Invasion Force and have a great "City of" weekend!

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Umm, yeah... Does this mean all those accounts that haven't been active for 90+ days now get reset to this weekend?

I ask this in reference to the new character name policy that's supposed to go into effect soon. If this does reset the timer's on those accounts, it's a bit silly to do this then start a policy that people who haven't had a live account in 90+ days lose their names, eh?

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Already answered

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Welcome to lag city. Well, more so than before.

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lern2upgradeUniqueDragonkthxbai

Edit: nice first post

Good initiative, but how much buzz do you plan to generate with such short notice?

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I'm getting tired of the artwork of characters making out. The occasional husband-and-wife team I can understand, but the pic of a random character smooching Ms Liberty irritated me for some reason. Could we keep our superheroic sex fantasies out of the City Scoop?

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Although I see your point (and thought the same thing), the art piece I really didn't like was Raggedy Anne. I mean, it's almost NSFW IMO. The composition is OK, but the subject matter is a little... skanky... was the first word that came to mind, unfortunately.

In contrast, Turbo's pic and Sulfuric Sugar's mini-comic were much better, IMO.