Paula

Unfortunately, what I think you're asking... No, you can't have different guards on the same objective doing a different thing.

[ QUOTE ]
...Is the kind of person that doesn't want a thank you tell, going to be likely to reply to this thread? : >

[/ QUOTE ]
... doh!


[ QUOTE ]
Personally, I don't care if I get a mere thank-you or not. If the builder is online at the time, it's nice to get a real-time happy fuzzy. But I'd just as soon not log back in and find a passing thank-you tell (or five).

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, that's the ones I'm really asking about -- a bunch of "Nice work!" or "Great job!" where really the only thing to say is a variation on "Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment" (only less snarky). But the Tutorial specifically encourages people to leave feedback, so by default it's my habit to want to support ANY feedback...

Plus, I have the compulsive "thank you note" reflex... thanks, gramma!


[ QUOTE ]
I'd MUCH rather get a reply elaborating on my feedback, such as "You mentioned this, I was trying to do this, could you clarify?" or "You mentioned this, did you notice this also and what did you think of it?" I live for those.

[/ QUOTE ]
Awesome, because those are the comments that I really do presume invite back-and-forth. Complimentary or complaint, specific feedback I think should always get a specific reply... unless the people who hate that actually reply to this thread en masse...

Aside from Regen, are there any other secondary powersets that people recommend as "minimal"? I have a couple minions I'd like to make sure are MINION level (after the accidental Super Reflexes debacle), but I'd like variety!

Not to judge books by their covers, but the title and description are what draw me to a mission as a likely story.

I've found that the more writing goes into the description, the more writing probably goes into the actual story. I don't always have time for the 5-mappers, but 3-maps have generally been some good story - sometimes GREAT story!

I like returning the global feedback tell to everybody thanking them for their comments (even a couple pretty harsh ones where I think they didn't realize the Tutorial isn't all 'RP'). However, I'm just assuming people at worst won't mind the Thank You tell, and at best it might encourage them to keep leaving feedback to others.

It just barely occurred to me that this may be a bad assumption. So I'm taking a straw poll -- When you leave feedback, would you:

A) Hate getting a thank you note
B) Like getting a thank you
C) Not care either way, generally

It's actually getting time-consuming with all the comments I'm getting on the Tutorial, but seriously, people are giving me some great tips so I want people to know that feedback DOES make a difference to other players... But if people say they hate it, I'll stop (unless the comments imply they're open)!

I'm stuck in a situation where I have to go soon and know I won't be able to finish an arc, but I'm not sure yet what exactly I'll want to rate it if I get the chance to play it again. I don't want to give a bogus rating, but I also don't want to lower their rating with 0 stars!

I haven't picked a star ranking, but it says You rated 0 stars!

If I don't pick stars, PLEASE tell me I just won't be registered with a vote! Thanks!

Be careful with Blaster Fire as a primary. Super Reflexes I had to replace because lower-damage teams didn't have a prayer on one.

... Wow, that would be awesome. I've dropped Aeon in missions where he fell down and said "One to teleport...", but I have seen when he actually had a kind of teleport graphic.

... Now I want to at least have that in a mission text at some point. Even if we don't get the graphic... which I would love.

I've had a bug with Republish not saving changes. Try changing it in the Boss Text entry box again, and see if it saves. If it doesn't, then you probably need to report that as a bug! :\

Yeah, there's a reason I tried to emphasize the "random spawning... sometimes in STRANGE places!" in the Tutorial... I haven't heard any question/complaint more often than this one. I've gotten feedback telling me there's a bug with a boss spawning far away from a Collection!

Unfortunately, I'll bet this would require some major coding on the Dev's end, so maybe we'll see it in a year or three...

Now that's an excellent idea!

I think the late teens/early 20's are missing some love. That's in part because there aren't many groups that are restricted to that range!

The only way I can think of here is to set up a timed mission. Make it short enough it won't slow the player down, but long enough there's plenty of time to complete the objective if they want to. (Assume things will go wrong and slow them down!)

Yes. My Project: Perilous arc (see sig) includes Perilous Paula, a spinoff character from my old comic from... 2006 I think was when it stopped. (Also, see sig)

Two things came out of this:
Now I have a particular "voice" for the character that came out of the comic, and I tried to use that to flesh her out as a "sidekick" support role for the player. This means that, yes, she gets humorously snarky. On the fourth map, I kept losing her and I actually got annoyed! Below is the conversation with a friend who teams with the "live" Perilous Paula a lot:

Me: Whoa, Perilous is SNARKY!
Teammate: Yes. Yes she is.
Me: She's getting on my NERVES!
Teammate: You think? It's your fault, I don't know why you're complaining to ME about it!

But the really insulting thing...?

On the last mission, even though she's set to Hard/Standard and doesn't have the full powers range as my character...

... she used her powers better than I did.

Unfortunately, no - the MA is pretty simplistic in that regard. There's some tricky ways to still make story points work, but not directly like that...

Hm, you know, I need to add that to the tutorial if I can find a good guideline. There's a temptation to put in a large map so players will have lots of space to play around in (plus it feels so grandiose)...

What would you say the ideal should be? Small Maps - quick task, Medium Maps - Default, Large Maps - You want players to feel the burn ...?

MA Playable Quick-Start Tutorial (Arc ID#28470)

Want to dive right in and get a feel for all that the Architect Entertainment and Mission Architect has to offer? Got 15-30 minutes? Then I've got the Story Arc for you!

#28470 Knowledge Is Power - Architect Entertainment & YOU! A Quick-Start Tutorial

Let a S.E.R.V.E. Representative walk you through the basics of what you can and can't earn by playing missions, whether regular AE missions, Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame. Then, she'll briefly show you some expert tips on how to work with the Mission Architect constraints to build your own mission.

At the end, you'll be presented with a handy-dandy list of tips readily available under your Architect Souvenirs. This list is repeated in the forum for easy of reading/printing, along with a list of all the other tips in the Tutorial.

This Tutorial is thanks to all of the players in Test who posted help and feedback, both to me and on the forums. If you can think of anything you think every new player/creator should know, please drop me a line!

Thank you for helping make Mission Architect such a great MMORPG first!

Below is a reference guide of all of the tips included in the Tutorial, for those who either want to just browse here, or would like to remember what the Tutorial taught them!


*** OVERALL TIPS ***

Leaving a Story, Ratings, Feedback
[ QUOTE ]
You've completed your first mission! You can leave a story arc at any time by going to a terminal and interacting with a different story arc, or by using the Architect Options button on your Nav Bar and selecting Quit Story.


When the popup comes up to leave feedback, please put any questions or feedback you have, and click Send Feedback. This will send a global tell to the arc creator. If you are giving a negative rating, please tell the creator why you didn't like it so they may improve.


Then, select the star rating, if you feel you have enough information to rate it. The star farthest to the right is a 5-star rating. This will help others know that the story arc is one you enjoyed playing and recommend to others! 4 stars says it was fun, but you're not sure it was that great. 3 stars is 'so-so', 2 is 'bad', and 1 is 'REALLY bad'!


Be sure to click Finished to submit your rating. Don't close the window!

[/ QUOTE ]

Remember: It's All About the Player
[ QUOTE ]
Let's be honest, creators create because it brings them pleasure and fun. However, when it comes to missions, the end goal of creating content to share with others is so they can be a part of that fun. In City of Heroes/Villains, people want to be heroes and villains! Even if you use NPCs you care a lot about, please remember to make sure the action is centered around the star of the show -- the player!

[/ QUOTE ]



*** TIPS FOR PLAYING ***

Inspirations and the Hospital
[ QUOTE ]
Gain inspirations as you play AE missions, earning you credit towards the Activated line of badges. You can also buy inspirations from the vendor to the right as you exit this mission. The hospital door is next to the vendor! You will accrue debt as normal in playing missions, but not in testing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Tickets and Ticket Vendors
[ QUOTE ]
You will get only experience, influence and prestige rewards in an AE mission (unless it's a Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame mission). Instead you get tickets, which let you purchase enhancements, recipes, salvage or even unlockable content to use in your own story arcs! See Ticket Vendors for more.

[/ QUOTE ]

Badges
[ QUOTE ]
You will not earn credit towards 'normal' badges in an AE mission. However, almost everything you do in AE missions earns credit towards AE badges. See the Architect Entertainment section under Badges for your progress! Earn even more badges through creating, testing and publishing your own.

[/ QUOTE ]

Captives, Escorts and Allies
[ QUOTE ]
When rescuing someone is a required objective to complete a mission, you will gain credit towards the Extractor line of badges. If they aren't, then the rescue will gain you credit towards the Workaholic badge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Collections (Glowies)
[ QUOTE ]
If a collection objective (a glowie) is required to complete a mission, doing so will gain you credit towards the Poor Impulse Control line of badges.

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Destructible Items
[ QUOTE ]
Destroying items will gain you credit towards the Destructive line of badges.

[/ QUOTE ]

Custom Characters - Defeating
[ QUOTE ]
Defeating Custom Characters earns you credit towards the Eliminator line of badges. Creating a mission with a Custom Boss will also get you a badge! Start all of your characters with all black applied across a Plain costume, and then only add colors and costume pieces as required. Don't add too many details, because most players will never see them. This will all save space for your mission filesize!

[/ QUOTE ]


*** TIPS FOR CREATING ***

Custom Characters - Creating
[ QUOTE ]
Creating a mission with a Custom Boss will also get you a badge! Start all of your characters with all black applied across a Plain costume, and then only add colors and costume pieces as required. Don't add too many details, because most players will never see them. This will all save space for your mission filesize!

[/ QUOTE ]

My Groups
[ QUOTE ]
You can create or add to a Custom Group by making it the group for a Custom Character, or on the My Groups tab. Custom Characters take up space in your story file, so add variety by choosing Standard characters and clicking "Add" under My Groups. Remember to add characters for a wide level range!

[/ QUOTE ]

Objectives: Same but Different
[ QUOTE ]
You can have multiples of one objective, but any difference at all requires you to create a separate objective. You can then have the two be the same (including the Nav bar text) except for the name. You can make it look like the same name though by adding a space, such as 'Hostage' and 'Hostage '.

[/ QUOTE ]

Defeat All
[ QUOTE ]
Make sure that your mission doesn't have things you or other players hate to play. Defeat All should only be used on a small map, when it makes logical sense for your objective, and if the mission wouldn't work otherwise

[/ QUOTE ]

Setting Mission Level Ranges
[ QUOTE ]
Mission level ranges are controlled by the NPCs you put in it. All of the NPCs' levels must overlap, and that overlap is the level range. Example: A mission includes Family (5-54), and a Wolf Spider Huntsman (1-5), so you will be playing this mission at level 5!

[/ QUOTE ]


*** WRITING TIPS ***

Mission Introduction Dialog
[ QUOTE ]
Make sure players have an idea what they're getting into here, before they accept the mission. Put warnings about difficulty, time limits, Elite Bosses or Arch Villains.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mission Send Off Dialog
[ QUOTE ]
Anything else players need to know to succeed can go here, but keep it short and sweet! Further story and background can go in clues and NPC text.

[/ QUOTE ]

Return Success Dialog
[ QUOTE ]
used to give a wrap-up and any final message the character may have about this mission. It can also hint at the next mission to come!

[/ QUOTE ]

Mission Entry Popup
[ QUOTE ]
It's optional to use, but when you do, try to describe the scene without using the word 'you'. Every character has different abilities and motivations, and might object if you pretend to tell them how they feel!

[/ QUOTE ]


Adding a Little Color
[ QUOTE ]
In the Dialog text windows, select text and right-click on it to see a menu of options! Please use colors sparingly, to enhance rather than clutter.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mission Success Popup
[ QUOTE ]
It won't always be appropriate, but it can help add flavor. Make sure not to assume that the player has done something that isn't required to complete the mission! If the player can fail, you'll have a different Mission Fail text when the player fails the mission.

[/ QUOTE ]

Mission Fail Popup
[ QUOTE ]
This popup will come up when the player fails a mission. As tempting as it might be to rub it in, try to be a little compassionate if you think the player will likely be very disappointed or frustrated with failing.

[/ QUOTE ]

Want to dive right in and get a feel for all that the Architect Entertainment and Mission Architect has to offer? Got 15-30 minutes? Then I've got the Story Arc for you!

#28470 Knowledge Is Power - Architect Entertainment & YOU! A Quick-Start Tutorial

Let a S.E.R.V.E. Representative walk you through the basics of what you can and can't earn by playing missions, whether regular AE missions, Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame. Then, she'll briefly show you some expert tips on how to work with the Mission Architect constraints to build your own mission.

At the end, you'll be presented with a handy-dandy list of tips readily available under your Architect Souvenirs.

--------------------------------------

AE & Mission Architect Quick-Reference

This handy guide came with the diploma for Knowledge Is Power: Architect Entertainment & YOU! A Quick-Start Tutorial:

Tickets: Earned in missions instead of regular reward drops. Use them at a Ticket Vendor to buy recipes, enhancements, salvage or unlockable story arc content! Visit a Ticket Vendor to browse.

Dev's Choice & Hall of Fame: An icon in the browser marks Dev or Player Favorites. Do not award tickets, but instead give rewards like a regular 'real' mission. You will earn AE badges though, and special badges are earned by the number of DC and/or HoF arcs you play.

Badges: You will only get credit toward Architect Entertainment badges while in an AE mission. However, most things you do will earn you AE badge credit! Look under Badges, Architect Entertainment to see what progress you've made.

Creator Badges: There are more badges for players who create, playtest, and publish their own stories. Most of the regular AE badges have Virtual versions earned through testing. Also, earn badges as people play your published content.

Creating Missions: Don't be shy in the Mission Architect creation system! To learn more, visit the Instructors, click on every ? icon, and experiment. Take your time at first and start with a small test mission to explore the options. Nobody will see it until you publish it, and you can always unpublish if you change your mind.

Errors & Help: There will be a big orange ? in the upper-right if there is an error. Click on it to see what is wrong, and click on an error message to go right to where you can fix it.

WYSIWYG: The panel to the right of your entry boxes show what things look like. Click on something there to go right to the entry box that controls it. Playtest everything, to catch unexpected results!

Character-specific text: The following tags can be used with a $ in front of them to show the text that applies to the character selected: name, origin, supergroup, level, heshe, himher, hisher, sirmam. The last four can be Capitalized. Warning! If the NPC has no target, it will just show the $tag.

Special Text Formatting: Select text in a text-box and right-click to see what your options are. Use these sparingly! Example: Make the one important objective sentence orange, or make a red warning that an Elite Boss or an Arch Villain will be in the next mission.

Short, Sweet & Clear: Keep your text as short as possible so it's easy for players to read. Add extra clues and a little NPC text to help build the story, so players can live the adventure rather than just read about it. Make the objectives very clear so a player knows what to do next! (And almost never use Defeat All)

Have Fun: Create missions you enjoy playing, and are fun for others. Play others' missions and give them helpful feedback. Above all, have a great time!

[ QUOTE ]
QR
Can I set "Rescue Soandso" in the Nav window and later remove it based on a clue?

I've seen regular contact missions do this, like when your objective is to rescue someone and you later find out they've been moved.

Just wondering how to get the MA to do this. (Forget the Boss part then, I'll make that a separate objective.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Under the Navigation Text for the collection, put "Rescue the Captive!" (or whatever) - the clue they get from the collection can tell them the person has been moved. Then, you can set up a Boss and have "This Mission Goal is created when..." set to "Collection: Clue is completed" (or whatever you call your collection)!

As of last I checked, Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 has only had a few playthroughs in live. I've just finished some additional revamps based on Live feedback, so I'm quite interested in more!

It's got wingless fairies, presumptuous red caps, mad Hellion cultists and Ice Caps - beautiful fae who will take your breath away, literally! It's campy, goofy and about a half-hour or less unless you want to spend more time. Based on comments, you won't want to miss the Ice Caps.

My other arc, #3586 Project: Perilous - Into the Chthonian Pit has been more popular and is longer. I've been told it's worth it just to see the arch villain at the end, but I don't want to spoil it... Just try to keep your allies alive to back you up against that one and it should be 'easy enough'! (I had no trouble with my Mastermind, but needed backup with my Dominator.)

If you've got a great tip, I recommend adding it to Mission Architect Tips: Got Any?

That said, is there anything you wish you knew about the MA system, whether making arcs or playing them? Whether you know them now or are still figuring it out, I'm trying to gather together what people didn't think was obvious, and wish they knew when they started.

Thanks muchly!!

Unfortunately, what you're talking about, I don't believe is possible in the MA. However, I have a vague idea...

Create a new Custom Group and put the two bosses into it. Create a Patrol and set it on Easy. Or, you could create two different groups, one for each boss. Honestly though, it works best if you don't need it to be a particular boss (just any from a villain group would do) because there's no guarantee there wouldn't be more than one of a boss, or none at all...

Anyway, those two options would let you have dialogue, AND have them attack the player. Unfortunately, with Battle, they might kill each other off first. (I wish they had a "Don't make them fight each other" setting, but I know of none.)

There's a way to do it in the MA interface.

If you put the Custom Group as the Group name on your critter's "ID Card" (where you typed in the name and description for the critter), you will have to go in there and change the Group to a different one.

If you added it in the My Groups interface, you can click on it in the My Groups interface and remove it from there.

Good luck!

AE System
--------
Welcome to Architect Entertainment -- Neutral
Death for Dollars! -- Neutral
Bare Knuckles of Rage (9304)
*

Character/Supergroup Origins
--------
Birth of a Fossil -- Heroic
*

Classic Super-Hero/Super-Villain
--------
*

Comedy
--------
The Extadine Lab -- Heroic
The Great Chicken Caper of '09 -- Heroic
ParaCon -- Heroic
The new and improved Lord Recluse Strike Force -- Villainous (though I wouldn't recommend against a hero )
The Fire Bunnies - Neutral, They are only bunnies after all...
You Say It's Your Birthday! (3630) - Neutral
*

Comedy/Drama
--------
A Super Team is Born -- Heroic
Attack of the Space Clowns (18749) -- Neutral
Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 -- Neutral
Lawyers of Ghastly Horror -- Heroic
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -- Heroic
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare -- Neutral
It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding (9059) -- Neutral
TURG FICTION: Ghost in the Machine, Act I - Heroic (althoughs romantic villains could try this too )
Rum Runners of Bloody Bay (3691) - Heroic
*

Crime/Gangs
--------
The Bravuran Jobs -- Villainous (16809)
*

Drama
--------
*

Global Domination
--------
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (10597)
*

Heist
--------
Celebrity Kidnapping -- Villainous (20161)
*

Historical (Realistic)
--------
*

Historical (CoH Lore)
--------
The War on Superadine - The Regulators in their 1980's drug war (Heroic) (Arc 7959)
*

Holiday
--------
*

Horror
--------
Dark Dreams -- Heroic (18914)
Project: Perilous - Into the Chthonian Pit (#3586) - Neutral (Unless you happen to be a mad cultist, in which case, go nuts!)
Small Fears -- Heroic
*

Large-Scale Crisis
--------
A Hero's Halo -- Heroic
This Is War, Part I - the Revenge of Hro'Dtohz -- Neutral
Win the Past, Own the Future - Heroic
*

Magic
--------
The Amulet of J'gara -- Heroic
Chains of Blood (5492) -- Heroic
The Magical Miss Fitz (5079) -- Heroic
*

Military
--------
Redoubt Operations #1: Fires over Kalago -- Heroic

Red Storm Rising Arc 4912 Heroic
*
Misc. Adventure
--------
The Portal Bandits -- Heroic
*

Mystery
--------
Blowback (18575) -- Heroic
Dream Paper -- Heroic (13030)
Dream Paper 2: Restless Sleep -- Heroic (16797)
Dream Paper 3: Broken Dreams -- Heroic (13064)
*

Mythology
--------
Anactoria's Descent Into the Underworld -- Villainous
The War of Fate: Betrayal (19698) -- Neutral
The Seelie War -- Heroic
The Unseelie War -- Villainous
Tales of Cimerora, volume 1 : Of feathers and fur -- Heroic
*

Nemesis Plots
--------
Brass Reaver: Part 1 -- Neutral
*

Player-Chosen Outcome
--------
Hunting the Dark Dragon -- Heroic
*

Sci-Fi
--------
Adventures of the Space Marines -- Neutral
Adventures of the Space Marines 2 -- Neutral
Netrunner -- Heroic (14434)
Above Mars - Part 1: The Wellington -- Neutral
*

Un-themed Survival/AV/Time Challenges
--------
The Meatgrinder -- Neutral
*

---------
I'd screwed up Witty Librarian's