Obsidius

Right, I think I mentioned that in my OP

I guess, mechanically, it would do Smashing and/or Lethal, especially since high-pressure water is used to cut things like granite.

As far as combos go, it could be interesting to see if Water attacks could combo with Electric attacks, similar to Oil Slick in Fire attacks. However, I know Castle had a PITA with doing that for Oil Slick, so I'm not optimistic about that, although I'm supportive.

Today I was thinking about weapon-based ATs, how many of them we've had introduced since launch (Archery, Trick Arrow, Dual Blades, Shields, and the Axe/ Mace port to Brutes), and the common request that developers create new ATs not based on weapons.

I got to thinking about the oft-requested Water Blast set. There have been a few suggestions about powers in this set, etc. However, my thoughts have been on the look & feel of such a set.

Originally, Energy Blast was supposed to be Water Blaster, back in the days of CoH alpha/ beta testing. They changed the title of this set since the FX didn't really look much like water. So what to do in order to make a water-based set?

Then I thought about Bile Spray, a power that uses FX that look like a jet of water. So could the same type of particle FX be used for an entire set? I think it seems plausible.

In the same vein as Energy Blast, Water Blast could be created around a similar template, with some Knockback (which is typically what happens when one gets hit by water traveling at a high velocity). An FX could even be made around the Bile Spray particle FX to splash off an opponent when hit (similar to other blast FX), causing the knockback at the end of the animation, similar to Energy Blast.

Like most Blast sets, it would be a Primary for Blasters and Corruptors, and a secondary set for Defenders. It could tie into Weatherby_Goode's idea for Water Control.

That's just my 2 inf. Thoughts?

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Phase Shift was never required to get Heart of the Hamidon because Hami didn't respawn immediately after being defeated. 12 or more hours (sometimes several days, until the next server maintenance) could lapse between Hami spawns. Anyone could waltz into the Hive and pick up the badge with zero risk of encountering Hami.

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Hell, the first time I got that badge I flew (very high) over the approximate spot (as far as I could discern from the Vidiotmaps plugin) and just dropped into Hami. Died, of course, but got the badge without fighting the Hamidon

Damn, I must get cracking on my 2nd arc!

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That would result in up to a 50% increase in server CPU time in the Powers computations, though and that simply isn't a workable solution.

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Ouch, that would be a doosy on the servers. Understandable that some would be miffed at the current change, but the alternative sounds far worse.

As a MM player, I've never had a need to have my pets cycle attacks faster. So long as they're still getting movement bonuses form things like Speed Boost, I'll be happy. I'd rather have them keep up with me than have the AI get hung up on a power because it keeps recharging in time for the next attack cycle.

Arc Name: The Rule of Three (Abridged)
Arc ID: 7461
Faction: Hero
Creator Global/Forum Name: @Obsidius
Difficulty Level: Medium (overall)
Synopsis: This retelling of the Positron Task Force, "The Rule of Three" is truncated into five convenient mission in a Task Force style arc. No Delivery or Patrol missions, new content, and new maps! Kept in-line with the TF's normal minimum limit of 3 heroes. This is my first attempt, so enjoy!
Estimated Time to Play: 1-2 hours
Link to More Details or Feedback: This thread!

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Can I take this as an implicit thumbs up that this behavior is intended and not going away? If so, huzzah! I was afraid that empty maps would be frowned upon.

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I don't know if "intended" is the right word. "Unavoidable" is the right word: they really couldn't change it much even if they wanted to.

Given that we're only rewarded for killing things, empty maps have limited exploit potential, so I don't think they are worried about it too much.

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Agreed. Since the end-of-mission ticket bonus is directly based upon he number of tickets accrued from defeating enemies during the mission, it will be more beneficial to actually defeat enemies during the mission than to ghost to an objective.

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Are maps customizable, say like building a base or able to remove sections to add newer depth, like removing some grates from a boat, so you can go one more lvl down into the skeleton of it?

JJ

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No. There is no way to customize a map, or make custom maps, at this time. Part of the stated problem is spawn points.

The devs have already been having enough issues with their own maps and spawn points. Map construction doesn't seem to be at the point where a system could be created be allowed players to make custom maps with non-exploitable spawn point placement - not yet at least.

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I'm pretty sure it would take you two missions for this.

Mission 1: Talk to Contact, be sent to outdoor map populated with assorted groups. Mission Goal: Defeat all of X Group. Have Clue drop on final defeat.

Return to Contact

Mission 2: Indoor mish, Mission Goals: Defeat Boss and Find Clue

I haven't had the chance to play with this too much, myself. I'll delve into it a bit more tonight. I'll let you know if I figure out how to do what you are thinking of.

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That sounds about right. Currently, there's no way to chain objectives to directly lead into another mission without first talking to the contact.

Also, no cutscenes in this version. AFAWK, it's a tricky system to program as a dev, and they haven't developed an easy-to-use interface for it yet. Wish list item.

You chain events under the objectives themselves. I could igve you more info, but I'm not online. Admittedly, I'm at work

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A warning about this: if you make an objective "not-required" like a blinkie, if you want to chain another blinkie to it that blinkie must *also* be not-required. Chaining a required objective onto a non-required one generates an error (for obvious reasons).

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Ah yes, thanks for that addendum. Required objectives MUST be linked to other required objectives (or vice versa). Without this check, it was previously possible to create non-completable missions, which are no fun for the average player.

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It seems you can't make basic mission objectives trigger from something happening - like having a find object objective trigger when you find another object (going from clue to clue).

Is there a way to do this, or can we just not do it?

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You can do this. Once you make your objectives, you can edit them to occur when certain conditions apply. For example, you can create an ambush to occur when a particular boss reaches 50% HP. Or, in order for that boss to appear at all, you can have him spawn when a certain click object in the mission is activated. Or have another clue spawn when the first clue is clicked.

The key is to create objectives in the mission first. Once they're set, you can go to the drop-down menu (can't remember the specific one off the top of my head), where you'll be able to select from other objectives, in order to create an event chain.

Two tips: try not to use chaining in every mission, and be careful how you use chaining. For example, it might be good to chain a clue near the front of the mission to spawn another clue near the middle or back, especially on bigger maps. No team wants to clear a map or ghost to a clue only to have to backtrack several times as each clue is clicked. Unless you like torturing players and/ or want low ratings

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Depends. You can still make more than three arcs, but only three can be published at a time. If one of your missions isn't getting good ratings, you can republish it after an edit, or pull it down entirely (and loose ratings) in favor of something that's hopefully better.

Additionally, if a mish makes it to Hall of Fame or Dev's Choice, you get a slot back for more publishing.

But if you just want to make a mish that you only want to run with your friends or SG, don't publish it. Just save it locally and run it in Test Mode whenever you want.

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This is like being given $100Million to make a movie, then just before filming you find out you can hire no more than 10 actors, and no wardrobe changes either. Doesn't make it impossible, but you just eliminated the vast majority of stories ....

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That's a false analogy. In addition, even if it was a truer analogy, the amount of custom creatures to be placed into an arc was never exactly quantified in any of the press releases, only the ability to create custom creatures. Ergo, the budget in your analogy was never specified.

I would be in favor of a file size increase, but I'm not sure about the impact on the MA Server, especially if the file size doubled. It all depends on back end storage capacity, server hardware or visualization, file access speed, etc. Doubling file size could slow down load times, lead to lag in searching the mission database, etc.

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14 per arc.

That is why some people have split their story up between two or three mini-arcs.

Hey, movie makers only get 2-3 hours to tell a story, and, if the story doesn't fit, they make sequels or trilogies.

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Unless they've lifted the 3 arc cap, that seems like a very serious problem.

-D

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Depends. You can still make more than three arcs, but only three can be published at a time. If one of your missions isn't getting good ratings, you can republish it after an edit, or pull it down entirely (and loose ratings) in favor of something that's hopefully better.

Additionally, if a mish makes it to Hall of Fame or Dev's Choice, you get a slot back for more publishing.

But if you just want to make a mish that you only want to run with your friends or SG, don't publish it. Just save it locally and run it in Test Mode whenever you want.

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I haven't read anywhere about giving Epics to NPCs. Is this possible or still on the shelf?

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Not currently possible. You can select Primary and Secondary Power Pools, plus add Flight to a mob, but no APPs or PPPs, at least not at present. Also, currently no other travel powers like Hover, TP, SJ, SS, CJ, etc.

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Hm, is there a way to rename/rewrite the description for the currently existing NPCs?

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Not unless you make a new custom group and simply drop all of an existing group into it.

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Could I make a few unique monsters for my "Killer Tomato" group, and then drag/drop some DE into it. THEN give them all the same background info and theme names?

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Yes.

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Oh, wierd, what happened here?



Avatar version, if desired.

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Haw! GJ! And gratz Manoa

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Here is the last winner, as voted by you!



Here's the teeny-tiny avatar size.

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Darn, been so busy in RL I missed my vote for Manoa

Bah, midterms!

But that's a damn fine piece of art. Congrats!

Reminds me of Legend

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Another winner! Here's the always-popular avatar version.

Turns out this one's a virgin, too, so I don't have to do an extra one for another virgin, right? Right!?




FINE, I'll do another one. Buncha jerks.

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I've never had any art made for me that wasn't by me <puppy dog eyes>

Congrats Fireforged The avatar is boss!

<- Envious

Another good piece Foo Makes me want to pick up the pencil again and start sketching.

Delicious Foo

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So I guess being forced to play as limited a pool of characters as possible if you want anything more expensive than a random roll is Working As Intended?

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... I may be misremembering/misunderstanding, but don't you typically get Merits only from situations where previously the only option was random rolls..?

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That's true, but entirely irrelevant to my point.

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Your supposition is a false dilemma. There are still other ways to get desired recipes and enhancements, such as the market. There will also be a way to purchase them through Tickets.

I'm actually kind of excited to see who's next! Even if it's not me, I want to see what the Foo can do