Paula

A note to players on other servers: If you make a character on Virtue to participate in some of the Virtue-hosted events, I'll be running DFBs and DiBs after the CC to help level you up if you'd like to Play & Stay for a while!

I made the Twitter handle @PhoenixOfHeroes to tweet my small share in our story of City of Heroes rising again (also, I'm originally from Phoenix!) Then I made a /Fire Brute Phoenix of Heroes so I can tank for folks coming together to play, and I'd love for you to join me!

Thanks times ten billion for the events calendar! Since I live by memorable TinyURLs, here's one I made for the events calendar:

tinyurl.com/SaveCOHCal

And the one I did for the CC thread on the Titan forums for my /afk message in AP33:
tinyurl.com/UnityCC

I will absolutely keep you posted should anything disrupt the CCs. I'll also start recruiting for more helpers to keep this alive.... into 2013!

And to Electric-Knight: Yeah, people can be too quick to gauging whether numbers are higher or lower than a previous high-water mark. But schedules and life is such that there will be ebbs and flows. The primary thing is keeping the overall momentum with persistence to the end -- and in this case, persistence to the postponed-and-rescinded end!

UNITY RALLY COSTUME CONTEST
DATE: Saturday (Starting September 15th, then weekly as possible)
TIME: 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific
WHERE: Virtue Server Winter Chalet (via Pocket D)
Should the chalet be closed on Virtue again, we'll plan for "regular" Pocket D

PRIZES:
3rd Prize: 25 million INF
2nd Prize: 50 million INF
1st Prize: 100 million INF

THEMES:
9/15/12: Favorite NPC Hero/Hero Group
9/22/12: Favorite NPC Villain/Villain Group
9/29/12: Historic Heroes
Future week themes TBA...

I received some generous donations for costume contests the night of the original rally, but people were so caught up in the Rally etc. that turnout was minimal for my first one as well as the "major/scheduled" one later that night, so I decided to do just the one and schedule more later as a weekly event! So this Saturday night will be the first weekly CC, to be held for as many weeks as I have prizes to hand out, after which time the contest will continue but the prizes will have to be adjusted. (At this rate I'm good at these prizes through Sept 29th.) If you would like to donate prize INF I will happily accept it at @Paula. Please let me know what you would like me to announce as "Sponsored by", or if you'd like to remain anonymous.

Other volunteers to judge and give prizes are VERY welcome! This isn't my costume contest, this is OUR costume contest!

Please spread the word on your respective servers. People keep asking for regular get-togethers to keep engaged, so all are welcome to come over to participate or even just observe. Thanks, and see you ingame!

Cross-posted to Titan Network forums here

From the other thread (http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=296768.....

I only got into about 2/3 of the zones, but below are the Unity Rally screenshots I got when the following zones filled up after we recovered from the server crash: Atlas 8-12, 14-15, 17-19 (plus a bonus shot where Hit Streak's tushie blocked the shot for 19), 20-30, and 32!

Notes: the "8" held up in one of them was accompanied by a chant of "8 More Years!, the Hot Streak candid shot was completely accidental when he floated in as I was hitting PrtSc, and the last shot of Atlas Park 32 shows my "CuppaPaula" look front and center, in honor of our very own CuppaJo who logged in to join the rally!

Thanks a hundred billion to everyone who logged on, this was awesome!

I only got into about 2/3 of the zones, but below are the Unity Rally screenshots I got when the following zones filled up after we recovered from the server crash: Atlas 8-12, 14-15, 17-19 (plus a bonus shot where Hit Streak's tushie blocked the shot for 19), 20-30, and 32!

Notes: the "8" held up in one of them was accompanied by a chant of "8 More Years!, the Hot Streak candid shot was completely accidental when he floated in as I was hitting PrtSc, and the last shot of Atlas Park 32 shows my "CuppaPaula" look front and center, in honor of our very own CuppaJo who logged in to join the rally!

Thanks a hundred billion to everyone who logged on, this was awesome!

To everybody who's posted that you may not be able to make it ontime - Please pop in when you're able! We need as many people as possible zoning into a Virtue Server Atlas Park and showing support in positive, engaged ways. I'm hoping to be able to continually recruit folks who can lead activities such as "Unity DFB: Devoted Fan Base" runs, maybe even "Save Paragon DiBs: Dedicated Instigators of Benefactory", or even "Architects of saving our Entertainment: Set the World on Fire Farms"... all based out of a Virtue Atlas Park instance. When the Hydra head on the right starts to shoot off its light-beams, I want the group leaders to say "Exit to Atlas Park 11".

[Edit: It was also pointed out that Villainous characters may want to participate, so hopefully we can also have spillover into Pocket D for a Save Paragon Dance Party, and Solidarity Incarnate Trial runs!]

Anyway, I'm going to be there instigating Random Acts of Solidarity for hours after things wrap up, for as long as I'm able to stay coherent. Make that conscious. For as long as I'm able to stay conscious. If nobody else volunteers to help out with costume contests every hour on the hour after the "official TonyV-instigated Titan Network-promoted Dress as your Favorite Paragon Staff" one at 6pm eastern... I'll host them myself.

So please, hope other people volunteer, cause my tastes run... Odd.

That said, I will definitely accept donations of INF to @Paula on Virtue, with the guarantee that they would go 100% to costume contest prizes. I'm a waaaay casual player and can only offer so much, so even if you can't help host anything, sponsoring would be welcome! If so, lemme know if you'd like to be announced as a sponsor of the contest I use your gift to help fund.

Thanks a billion to everyone reading this. This means you haven't given up on the game, packed up your bytes and gone off to Farmville. Because of people like you, City of Heroes has become a digital home worth saving. And save it, we will.

CAN'T MAKE IT UNTIL AFTER 7PM EASTERN OR EVEN MUCH, MUCH LATER? COME ON OVER WHEN YOU GET HOME TO HELP KEEP THE PARTY GOING!

We need people to keep the Unity going as far into the night as people are able to keep it going. Ideas so far are:

• Costume contests every hour on the hour.
• AE, DFB and other insta-port Trials for powerleveling visiting toons
• Cape and other radio station boosting
• Taxibot exploration badge tours

And by "we", I mean "everybody who wants to save Paragon"! I'll be trying to help out with whatever I can for as long as I can, but I can only be in one zone at once. This is an All-Hands-On-Deck scenario here, so every positive, polite, patient and persistent effort is exactly what we need!

THANK YOU!!

To the Virtue Mega-SGs I know there's a few that host regular costume contests, or otherwise have been great at supporting the Virtue community in ways like this. I just... am a recluse and never kept track of who did what when! (Yes, I'm shy. :P )

I would LOVE to see a costume contest every hour on the hour after the "official Unity Rally" one at 6pm Eastern, with the next general-fun one starting at 7pm, then one at 8pm, and so on. What I suggest is that SGs or individuals can start calling dibs on times and then those wanting to help at the same times will connect with one another to coordinate efforts (I will be happy to volunteer to help y'all coordinate). Not everyone can make it at 5-6ish EST so I'd like to see us keep the party going all night long so everyone can participate.

Post here or in the cross-posted thread if you would like to help keep the hourly Atlas CC's going, with what -o'clock you want to participate in! We might want to come up with streamlined CC procedures to keep things from bogging down, and to keep the use of the major channels for CC purposes down to a minimum... There's going to be Positively Perfect Paragon-Proponenting bedlam.

Dangit, I forgot my one, non-tiny-minority request for male avatars that would go a huge way toward good will vs the investment required -

Widow capes for male avatars already, please! It was an extremely unfortunate oversight when hipcapes were finally released for player ues. This has to be infinitely easier and less time-consuming than retooling entire jackets.

PS ~ Pretty pretty please with baby giggles on it?

Real quick notes...

1) I remember an upcoming costume pack being held up as a promise that female avatars finally have a decent jacket option on the way. When I heard how that pack was being made available, this issue was the one thing that made me annoyed. So when I came here looking to see what people were saying about it and found this thread, I thought "Oh, I see what you did, making good on the jackets options another way. Good Show!" If this wasn't specifically why you found the time, Dink, then it's a happy side effect.

2) I really understand why there is annoyance at female avatars now having numerically more options than standard-male avatars in those packs (not counting the Male and Huge as two options for men because usually it's one of the other). However, the issue was that female characters who didn't want to have to run around in corsets and flesh didn't have much by way of options to begin with. Now we do. It's not just a raw costume part count issue to me, it's "True Options". For what little that opinion's worth.

3) People have been really, really good in this thread, accounting for "the usual suspects"! Good show to y'all, too!

(PS - To clarify #2, I know some people were saying "Give me corsets for females and non-corsets for both males and females", but that wasn't me or even most people from what I saw. It's more an issue of "Some big population wants corsets & flesh for females, and some big population wants non-corsets and flesh for females, and some big population wants non-corsets and flesh for males." So this is prolly the broadest marketable solution that doesn't force a big population to choose between participation and having to wear what they don't want. Personally, I'd love to see corsets and flesh for males, but I accept I'm not in the majority...)

Not to use the pool power Raise the Thread, but I just barely found this. (As seen from my Join Date vs Post Count, I'm just not someone who can come to the forums much, so please forgive.)

Samuel, yours I like. I mean it, it was like watching a scientist do an analytical breakdown of guided meditation and making sense of it.

Scarlet, yours I Love. I wanted to post to thank you for this, and honestly a little bumping will help others find it. I find the hope and personal responsibility of self-empowerment truly inspiring. This is really a beautiful way to see any world, especially one I spend so much time in.

So much so, it's managed to touch a bit on how I see the "real" one too, to a surprisingly personal level. In a way, sitting here in the afterthoughts, I'm wondering whether I might do good to spend a few moments finding my own well inside me, and be a little bit more of a hero to those in my tiny corner of life. It's just the way you wrote the thoughts and feelings, it was easy to feel them internally, I suppose.

Regardless... to both of you: Thank you, sincerely.

I was just putting this out there, but if that's the first reply...

Seriously? You look at beating up sex trade victims and say "moustache twirler"?

Mr. Caldoun. A villainous "paper mission" contact in First Ward. He's evil, I get it. Go start a protection racket on a tough person running a tough place, fine. People trying to make some downtime in a rough piece of crater and you go in to extort, yeah, that's evil. Destroy their supplies and leaving them hungry in a war zone? That would take it "too far" enough for villainous purposes.

But then it crosses a line. Given the very real, very horrific kidnapping and forced sexual servitude trade going on in the world, especially in war zones, I have a very hard time accepting that a 'paper mission' is the right place for treating this topic so... so...

I'll just record it and see if other people have their own adjectives.

I'll bet a lot of people are voting for B because of the glow. C with Glow! C WITH GLOW!!!

(Awesome, awesome job on this set. I am quite pleased with how you're going with the feedback, been following the threads)

Wow, such a feature-rich thread. ONE more then I go back to work...

Because the post below got longer than I meant, I wanted to post first a quick "Oooh!" to the "reverse spectral wounds self-heal" suggestion someone posted above. That would be verrah nahz. Make it so that it can help cinch the odd "whoa this boss is kicking my" fight, but not replace regular healing.

[ QUOTE ]
I swear I'm going t odrown in the tears of the rightously wronged players.

Jebus people.. shell out $10 and buy the damn booster if you want to change the height and model of your toon.

Gah..

[/ QUOTE ]

...? Well that wasn't any help. Which is a first for this thread - thanks everyone!

I'm all for the MicroTransactions. I think this game does a great job in offering things that are bennies worth buying, without being so awesome that the game is lesser without buying them. (Exception: I'm addicted to the $5/mo jetpack. I'm not sure that's really not a game-changer, but then that touches on a whole other topic for me.)

I disagree that even a large % of new features are turning into microtransactions. I was really stoked by the things out in I13, I14 and I15. I am in love with Mission Architect and what it offers people, and every innovative plot or even lovingly presented "Origin Story" I play by a dedicated (though perhaps inexperienced) architect just reinforces that. (pst: spend 15-30 minutes on the Tutorial from my sig to see MA's potential through my eyes). And I am on pins and needles waiting for the sliders since I've been talking about it at least twice a month since September when I came up with a really cool character idea (okay, cool to ME!). I just wish that was "Yay for all players!" and not just "Yay for all players who can easily foot a $10 purchase per account!"

I am deeply grateful that I can easily afford all of the microtransactions without having to sacrifice more than one sandwich at home rather than a weekend lunch out. And that I can keep supporting a game that has, in my opinion, earned that support. That also makes me very aware that not everybody can, so I try to look out for them. Other players are also part of this game, and what strengthens their experience, by extension, strenghtens mine.

I never forget that. As a rule, I'm very grateful that the Devs remember, too.

[ QUOTE ]
If you (developers) are truly trying to avoid the "haves and have nots"...this is not the way to go.

[/ QUOTE ]

THAT is what I was trying to say! That very well captures the feeling I'm getting. I've got more background on why I feel that way, but the main point is - this game does a very good job in people not feeling so much the have/have not. The sliders thing might truly compromise that.

I've been thinking about it, and I realized I feel very strongly that the ability to change bodytype and sliders really needs to be something available to all players, and not just those who buy a booster pack. I've been wanting that since Day One, as it didn't make sense to me that you could change everything except for height, and perhaps even do the full "Banner/Hulk" thing.

While I'm not sure all players want to be able to make those changes to their costume slots, I think players deserve it. Because it's just that freaking neat. I can't explain it more than that -- but I suppose it's like comedy: if you have to explain it, the point is likely already lost.

That said, as Castle said the enhanced tailor was chosen because he was stumped on what power to make, I would like to earnestly offer suggestions on other Super Science powers!

<ul type="square">[*]Serum: A self-only random temporary power. You could use most of the animation for the costume change emote for the injection. The effects could be the same as the Magic random effects, but reduced by half (since it's a self-activated power, as opposed to a buff to another). This really wouldn't be seen as repetition, I believe.
[*]Revivatrol: A self-reviving "concoction". The Tech booster pack allows you to blow yourself up in a blaze of glory. The Science pack could allow you to revive yourself! I'm not sure what timer this would have to be on to be balanced against what's currently out there. Two hours? This would not require animations to be created.
[*]Unleash Rage: A single-target ranged enemy buff/debuff. Throw a dart (can use the animation in the existing Science origin starter power) at one target enemy. If you hit, the enemy receives an increased recharge and movement speed, but reduced To Hit and Defense. Alternatively, it could be an ally boost that adds to recharge and damage, perhaps with a crash.[/list]
I figure three's a magic number, so I'll just start with that. I hope there's a chance they may be considered, and that there's still development time that can be allocated.

Thank you very much!

Update: The Tutorial now shows off all the great new features with Issue 15! If you've already checked it out, run through it again to get up to speed. If you haven't, now's your chance!