Orisit

Invention system, probably. Also likely to have other level 50 content.

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I'm already of the opinion that this is going to be the new PLz0r! tool.

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2, 4 and a half minute runs got a 17 blaster to 19.

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Wow, you could probably PL someone to 50 in a weekend.

I know that fear and what I called "fear" are entirely seperate, but I couldn't think of a better name. Avoid is probably more accurate.

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Online, I usually gauge someone's maturity/game skills by their typing skills; its the easiest readily available way. Sure, someone could be very mature and 'skilled' and just a poor typist, but I find it unusual. And and in my experience, toon tends to be used more by worse typists and character more by better typists.

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I find that to be as useful as a pre-job interview standarized test...as in virtually worthless.

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Well, YMMV. There are certainly a lot of exceptions, but I think better typists tend to be better players. Given that both are computer skills (gaming ability and typing ability), I don't think its a stretch.

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I just think it's hilarious that some people keep refering to 'right' or 'correct', when there is no right or wrong in using the terms char and toon. I think it's a tad silly to try and infer that your way is the right way. They are just terms used to refer to pixelated in-game persona. It really comes off as snobby that someone thinks their way is the 'right' way.

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Hogwash. I am always correct and others should obey my opinions at all times.

Nethertheless, I do still believe that toon is a slight mislabelling as Co* is based more on comics than cartoons.

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So I don't judge people based on the use of the word toon. I judge them by their overall typing capacity (hay u like my toon vs Hey, do you like my toon?) and in my experience, (which, fair enough, may be skewed) there is a higher usage of toon amongst otherwise lazy typists simply because it is shorter.

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I will concede that I would type character more often if I wasn't using the ol' hunt and peck method. After that, I prefer toon to char, because to me toon has a more upbeat demeanor.

Note: In-game I would compliment you by typing out "Nice character/bio/concept, etc... I would not refer to your character as a toon. Though I may say "I enjoy this toon." in reference to myself, were you to inquire.

Is that more acceptable to folks? I believe referring to my concepts as such shouldn't be a problem to anyone.

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Okay, well, really I don't think I'd be terribly offended if someone were to call my character a toon, I was playing the devil's advocate to a degree. My above exposition isn't really connected to this topic, I just went a bit off topic defending myself. My overall stance is that I agree with Photon just said; for example, I'm also dead set against nicknames. I just like people to call things by the most fitting/correct name (or my idea of what that is).

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I don't think you fully understood what you quoted. Read it again.

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You said:
...more mature players are less likely to use the word toon..

..and that's what I replied to. Uhm, I read it the first time, and I'm reading it again. It clearly reads as if you were using the word toon as a gauge to maturity. I don't know how anyone else would read it even with your disclaimer.

So, now not only is a person immature, but lazy or poor typist? Okay, so what am I if I type char instead of character or toon? Am I lazy or poor typist but mature? Just curious.

Do you still not see why I think this is all so petty?

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Online, I usually gauge someone's maturity/game skills by their typing skills; its the easiest readily available way. Sure, someone could be very mature and 'skilled' and just a poor typist, but I find it unusual. And and in my experience, toon tends to be used more by worse typists and character more by better typists. I do not gauge someone's maturity or typing skills simply by the use of the word. But it would be rare for someone to just say "toon" all on its own; it is likely it would be used in a sentence. So I don't judge people based on the use of the word toon. I judge them by their overall typing capacity (hay u like my toon vs Hey, do you like my toon?) and in my experience, (which, fair enough, may be skewed) there is a higher usage of toon amongst otherwise lazy typists simply because it is shorter.

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People who make assumptions about another's use of legitimate verbiage in a conversation are more suspect of a lack of maturity than those who use an established term. I agree with the whole "neener-neener" description there. Trying to assault another's maturity for lack of a good argument is also suspect. What a foolhardy assumption to make... "People who use the word "toon" are probably immature." People who don't and label people who do "immature" are premature. You rush to judge. You know nothing about people because you have a silly tick that causes you a deep lack of respect for others. Unfortunate.

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You have both misunderstood my words, as I hoped I just explained above. I do not assume someone is immature by the use of the word toon. Online, where I have little to judge people by (and judging people in this context is valid because I don't want to waste my play time dying over and over on a poor team) I judge people by typing capacity. Not by use or lack of use of the term toon. After the fact, I notice a correlation between poor typing capacity and the use of the word toon because those with poor typing capacity are more likely to use the shorter word.

But perhaps it would make more sense if I changed maturity to gameplay ability. I guess I associate the two in an online world, but maturity probably isn't the best word for it.

So, in essence, lots of different people use toon or character. But poor typists favour toon over character. Poor typists are likely to have poor gameplay ability. I really wasn't trying to call people who use the word toon immature.

That all good now?

EDIT: Also, I find it a tad insulting and also slightly ironic that you just rushed to judge me and denounced me as immature. But I'm not looking to start a fight about that; rather we should all be a bit more careful when choosing our words. Perhaps if this language didn't always change we wouldn't have these problems.

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EDIT: Shautru; I wouldn't refuse to team with someone if they were an otherwise intelligent sounding person who used the word toon. However, (I'm not trying to insult anyone here) in my experience, more mature players are less likely to use the word toon. Obviously that varies and I'm not saying that using the term makes you immature, but that is the trend (or stereotype, if you will) that I have noticed.

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I have no idea who posted it, I just saw it a few pages back and laughed. Using the word toon instead of 'whatever' is a gauge of maturity? I disagree completely and think the notion is pure poppycock. Of course that's just my experience with those types of statements and I mean poppycock in the nicest of ways and intend no insult.

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I don't think you fully understood what you quoted. Read it again. I didn't saw that toon indicates the maturity of someone. I said that most of the time I don't team with people who say toon because they are usually otherwise immature, bad typists or do not understand the game very well. E.g. If someone says "hay how u like my toon" my impression is going to be that they're not the most desireable teammate. If somebody says "Hey, how do you like my toon?" the use of toon doesn't really bother me.

My point was that I see far more of the former than the latter, compared to the use of the word 'character.' In retrospect, this is probably because people who are otherwise lazy would use the word toon instead of character (again, doesn't mean someone who says toon is lazy) because it is shorter to type. As as far as I've noticed poor typists *tend to be* less mature as team mates.

Sorry to go into a rant, but I felt that you were completely misunderstanding my statement even though I put a little mini-disclaimer in there specifically to prevent people comprehending it the way you did.

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From now on, I'm going to use the term wordhumper to refer to you. It's not derogatory, so you can't object. It means, "Person who loves words".

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I can object. It is impolite in most conversations to call someone by other then their normal name. No one calls me that so you are trying to rename me. That is rude and can be argued even derogatory.

In comparison the word "Toon" to the general public is considered not derogatory and not rude. It is a word commonly used even by the die hard fans of the very group who it applies to.

Belldandy

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But if you relabel my character a toon, that devalues my hard work.

Indeed, it is unlike that this thread will convince either side to change their minds.

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I find it funny that people can get annoyed by such trivial things

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I find it much funnier that anyone thinks anyone here, at all, on either side, is "annoyed".

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I find it even funnier that you find it funny that no one on the anti toon side is annoyed. Especially when an Anti toon person,Orisit, admitted that they were annoyed just a few posts ago.

Orsit said "Toon is not derrogatory, but it is annoying to me."

Belldandy

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Woah, hey, I think the poster you are replying to has a bit of a different definition of annoyed. They talked about annoyed being a strong feeling, whereas to me it is fairly frivilous. English evolves, you know. I'm not taking this too seriously, but I would prefer if people didn't use the word toon. And no offense, but by your reply there it seems you are getting a tad too serious about this. I'm not trying to have an argument about this, simply a discussion.

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If this seems frivolous, consider that perhaps your exposure to mature animation is more limited than your exposure to gaming or comics.


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Serious animation fans never refer to animated drama as a cartoon. See what the anime crowd thinks of anyone who calls an anime a cartoon. "Cartoon" carries with it the connotation of comedy or frivality. One of the reasons PnP RPGers dislike their characters being referred to by the derogatory-diminutive "toon".

A character has a life of its own in the imagination. It is a person who continues to exist after the game is shut off. A toon is an empty shell which ceaces to exist when the game isn't running, as it is only a stand-in for the player.

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I'd agree with this. Few things other than children's entertainment involving humour are referred to as cartoons. I can't think of anything serious that would be called a cartoon by somebody interested in it. Cartoon just caries an air of friviousness with it, toon morseo as it is slang based on cartoon.

EDIT: Shautru; I wouldn't refuse to team with someone if they were an otherwise intelligent sounding person who used the word toon. However, (I'm not trying to insult anyone here) in my experience, more mature players are less likely to use the word toon. Obviously that varies and I'm not saying that using the term makes you immature, but that is the trend (or stereotype, if you will) that I have noticed.

I'd say comic books are fairly different from cartoons, usually.

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Toon is not being used as a derogatory term and in most cases the user of the term has no way of knowing that a few people might view it as such.

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Does that mean that nobody is allowed to disagree with the words I use? Or find my terms annoying? Lets say the words 'retard' and '[censored].' It annoys me that people use these words in a general derrogatory fashion. But, of course, thats just English evolving and I can't object. Might be a bit of hyperbole, but it is essentially the same thing. The use of the word toon to describe characters also annoys me, and I also object.

Yes, language changes. No, I don't have to agree with all the changes.

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Sorry. Your argument falls apart as the two words you used ARE dirogatory. As I stated, "Toon", to most people is NOT derogatory.

Belldandy

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Uh...yes, I stated that I disliked they were used as derrogatory terms, as originally they were not derrogatory.

Toon is not derrogatory, but it is annoying to me. It also, in my mind, devalues the work I put into my characters and in that sense I do find it the tiniest bit insulting. Just like people saying "Pwned" in real life is kinda annoying to me. I dislike the sound. I disagree with this premise that you must agree with change simply because it is change. If the change is a good change, in your opinion, then try to uphold it. If it is a bad change, in your opinion, try to quash it.

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Words change and evolve.

While some here may claim their characters are not toons, that makes as much sense as claiming that no one "Dials a Number" on their phone. Yes technically and technologically it may be true. But "Dial a Number" is a term used within our society that everyone understands.

Note for those of you to young to remember, Telephones use to have a weird round disks on top with 10 holes in it. A dial. You would rotate the disk with your finger to call someone. NO I AM NOT MAKEING THIS UP! STOP LAUGHING AT ME!

Just Google it and you will see millions of hits including usage by Major Telco Companies. They of all people know that there phones no longer our dialed.

Toon is the same way. It has evolved to include the online characters. While some can stand here and shout "NO IT DOESN'T INCLUDE MINE!" It does. Those around you know exactly what I mean when I say "I saw your toon." The word has evolved to include all the toons in this game weather you like it or not, and yelling that a toon is actually defined as "blah, blah, blah" is about as useful as trying to redefine "Dialing a Number" as "blah blah blah". The public doesn't care and will continue to use the term.

Toon is not being used as a derogatory term and in most cases the user of the term has no way of knowing that a few people might view it as such. But if you wish to try to fight the common usage, complain about those who use it, refuse to team with those who do and try to be an "English Nazi" feel free. It's your time but frankly I feel there's a lot more in life to enjoy, and a lot better things to judge people on.

Belldandy

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Does that mean that nobody is allowed to disagree with the words I use? Or find my terms annoying? Lets say the words 'retard' and '[censored].' It annoys me that people use these words in a general derrogatory fashion. But, of course, thats just English evolving and I can't object. Might be a bit of hyperbole, but it is essentially the same thing. The use of the word toon to describe characters also annoys me, and I also object.

Yes, language changes. No, I don't have to agree with all the changes.

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All kidding aside, it baffles me every time I see someone refer to their character as their "toon"... Maybe it's because I'm a P&P RPGer and not a video gamer, but where in the heck did that originate? I think it sounds pretty silly.

Thanks

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I use the term character my self...because the term toon or alt i feel like it lets others know you could care less.

I take pride in my characters...

I am surprised you have not noticed people saying the other idiotic phrase.. "I rolled up..." as in "I rolled up a toon last night" or "i rolled another alt last night"

I like the terms generated or created.
Since in no way did i roll dice or create a random character...since this game does not have that feature.

But with such a culture as the human race's throw away mentality...and how it has gotten worse over the years...i am not surprised by the term toon or alt.

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Rolled up isn't on the same level as toon. Toon has Loony Toons conotations, rolled up has D&D conotations. And D&D would have more deep characters than Bugs Bunny.

I just dislike toon because it trivilises the character. I spend a lot of times on my theme, power selections and costume. Calling it a cartoon demeans it.

Probably a good idea, however I don't feel like republishing the guide yet (I am writinged-out) and I don't think I can edit it any more (there is a timer or something right? I can't seem to edit it). I hope people reading this will see the information you have there. If there is a great deal of stuff you'd like to see added, PM me with it and I will republish this with reference to you.

Thanks.

Since I was asked.

What is a Control power?

Control powers (also called mezzes, status effects or crowd control) are used to stop an enemy from acting in certain ways. For instance, they can stop an enemy attacking completely or make them move very slowly. Controls are mostly very binary; that is, they are either on or off; there are no half measures.

What types of control powers are there?

There are a variety of control powers. Some controls are referred to as 'soft controls,' because they are less binary methods. Some people might have different definitions of hard and soft controls and may not count sleeps and such as hard controls. However, I am presenting it as which powers operate on a binary method.

Hard Controls

Holds: Holds shut down an enemy completely. They cannot move, they cannot attack. There are some very limited actions that can be taken, such as using a break free inspirations (freeing the player from the hold). If a target is held, all their 'toggle' powers are turned off. This can often be disasterous for players as usually their hold resistance is in toggle powers.

Immobilize: Immobilizes prevent an enemy from moving. However, they can still attack; all enemies have ranged attacks, though they may be weaker than meele attacks.

Disorient/Stun: Much like a hold, but the enemy has a limited capability to move slowly. A player can choose which direction, an enemy will wander randomly. Stuns turn off toggles.

Sleep: Much like a hold, but the sleep is broken if the enemy takes damage. Sleeps turn off toggles.

Fear/Terror: Much like a sleep, but the effect is renewed shortly after breaking, as long as the target is not attacked again.

Soft Controls

"Fear": This is a strange one. Some powers say they cause the enemy to run in fear; this means that the enemy will literally move away from the source of the fear. They can still fight back (seemingly randomly) within range of the fear and will use ranged attacks once out of range. Not to be confused with the above fear/terror. This does not affect players (nor Arch-Villains, I believe)

Knockback: This sends enemies flying away. They then get up and renew attacks instantly. Depending on the level of the target, this may become knockdown.

Knockdown: The target falls flat on their back. It is much like a knockback but with no distance.

Knockup: Much like a knockdown, but the target first flies up in the air.

Slow: These powers slow an enemy's movement speed.

There are a variety of power called 'de-buffs;' while these also reduce incoming damage etc, they are not to be confused with controls. These include things such as powers that slow an enemy's recharge, damage, accuracy, etc.

How does the game decide whether my control works?

The effect of control powers is determined by several factors:

The defence of the target vs the accuracy/to-hit chance of the attack. These two operate just like any other attack, if you miss there is no effect.

Magnitude vs protection. Magnitude is how strong the control is, and protection is how good a target is at resisting it. Sometimes the magnitude can be worked on a different scale called the stength of the control. This system is binary and operates on basic arithmatic. Basically, the protection and the magnitude each have a value. If the magnitude exceeds the protection, the target is effected by the control. The magnitude from multiple controls affecting a target stack. For example, lets say a target has protection 3. If he is hit with a magnitude 2 hold, he will be completely unaffected. If he is hit by two magnitude 2 holds, he will be held. Note that specific powers protect against specific kinds of controls; some may be against holds but not immobilizes, for example. Also note that each type of control will only stack with itslef; using a magnitude 2 hold and a magnitude 2 immobilize will not hold nor immobilize through magnitude 3 protection. Note that the strange "Fear" in the soft controls section does not use a magnitude system, nor does slow. "Fear" usually works against everything, and slows each slow a target by a certain percentage of their speed (this can stack). The magnitude system is unaffected by level.

Resistance vs Duration. In the case of knock powers, duration is replaced by knockback distance. Duration is how long the power lasts. Resistance makes the power last for a shorter period of time. Depending on the target's level, the duration will be longer or shorter (a -5 minion will be held far longer than a +3 boss).

What are these 'Purple Triangles' people talk about?

Arch-Villians, Heroes and Elite Bosses downgraded from one of the former have a system of protection against control powers colloquially referred to as "Purple Triangles." Several small purple triangles (hence the name) flash around the AV's head every two seconds or so. If they point down, the AV can be held as normal. If they point up, the AV receives extremely powerful control protection. This is roughly magnitude 50 protection; it is essentially impossible for one person to hold an AV while this is active. However, several players can indeed hold an Arch-Villain with enough controls. From memory, the purple triangles are inactive roughly 30 seconds in between one minute segments of them being active.

How much magnitude/strength/duration/protection/resistance/etc does power x have?

For specific information on powers, check out the free online Prima Guide to City of *here.

I think how it works is you get a bonus for the first of each object and then again after a set number.

E.g. you get a time bonus for the first car and then another bonus for every 10 cars after that.

My game crashes whenever I try to enter my mayhem mission.

How the alternate dimension fell:

Azuria was last in the building for the night, and agreed to let the "nice new cleaning fellows" into the D.A.T.A. vault. They then took all the portals off for 'special cleaning.'

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So, does this mean that Statesman is no longer associated with the game on a major scale? Because those messages sort of read like a baton passing.

And is that the "State of the Game" that I lobbied for, and that we were promised? - I hope not.

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Positron has been in this new position for at least a month. Statesman explained it a while ago:

Statesman
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Just to be clear...

I assumed the title "Creative Director" to reflect the fact that we had two games in development - City of Heroes and City of Villains...Typically, that's what a "Creative Director" does - it monitor the game design of several projects at once.

However, there's a lot more to game design than the planning...there's the implmentation side, too. In other words, the making sure stuff gets done. The writing. The missions. The rewards. Etc.

Matt Miller is the Lead Designer on the City franchise. On a day to day basis, he makes sure that we're on schedule in the Design dept. He and I together draw up the plans for the future (as we've been doing lately) and jointly assume the design duties. After the docs have been written, Matt coordinates with the designers to make sure that they hit schedules, see the big picture, etc.

In short, you can still PM Positron or myself on issues relating to the game. _Castle_ is one of the Powers team - and a fanatical player, too. I've tasked him with communicating more with the forums on issues specific to his area of expertise. Expect him to keep it up.


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Also, apparently one expansion every two years is making us 'pay extra for everything' and is a "constant stream" of expansions. EQ released an expansion every few months. Positron said in this very adress that they'd redo the CoH zones to match CoV (which obviously can't be part of a box set...) and that they would bring out some new endgame stuff for both sides in Issue 8. Some people are really over reacting.

Also note that since it is not stand alone, it will probably be $25-30.

This is one of the most depressing guides I have ever read. I understand that you may not like the sets, and I do recognise there is a lot of very helpful and well thought out advice in the power selections, but you could really try and be a bit less down if you're going to write a guide. Its just not helpful to have that presented in a guide. Trick Arrows/Archery Defenders are arguably one of the worst builds in the game, but I've seen a few guides around that try to show the virtues of the sets and how they can be used most effectively, not that they're terrible and don't mesh well.

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We aim to please (or misbehave, can't remember which now...).

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Clickie.

There most likely will not be side switching in I7. If there was, Heroes could tranfer over and get all the high level Villain content before villains.