Red_Eye_NA

I'm not sure if this is just my imagination but...

When my thugs show up (without upgrades) they seem a lot brawnier then they used to be. The shirts stick to their abs and their arms seem thicker.

Possible bug: When you place an item it locks the colors and symbol you have when you place it, and doesn't update when you update your settings.

Aeterna Firebrand sighed, the helicopter shifting under him as he left Warburg behind.

Damn Damn Damn Damn Damn

It was bad enough having heroes after him, but he could deal with that. It was a professional hazard, more then anything, and most of them were complete hypocrites anyway. But getting hounded for something he didn't have a hand in, and seeing his organizations good reputations going down the tubes for something he found out about after the fact...two days ago.

Damn. That X-Patriot was the one that did the kidnapping, why don't they go bother them for a while?

Quietly, he pinched the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb. He still needed to catch his sister, Demented's plague was still popping up everytime he had it under control, and now he was going to have to deal with a hero incursion. Something would have to be done.

He'd have to talk to Vice. If they were going to do what she said she needed to, they'd need to do it fast. If they couldn't, maybe simply handing the hero back over would calm things down in the short time.

Yeah, right.

Something told him he was going to need a lot more C4 in the days ahead.

Aeterna Firebrand was not the world's happiest two-bit terrorist right at the moment.

Vice kidnapping a Paragon hero? Not advisible, but if its something that she really needed, it wasn't like he was going back to Paragon any time soon.

Hiring outside help? Someone more trustworthy could certainly have been located, but what's done is done.

Stiffing the bountry hunter and attaching FUTURE's name to the bounced check? He'd be having words with her in the near future. Life and effort could both be replaced, but reputation was a different matter entirely.

He sighed, doing a cursory count of the money in the briefcase. He seperated 30,000 for Operation Blackout, still hardly into the planning stages, and 40,000 for the bounty hunter. He didn't doubt the full amount was in the case, but Banker WAS basically a thief after all.

It was all there.

He snapped the locks shut, and checked the wards keeping them in place magically as well. Everything was looking good.

Time to find a certain bounty hunter, first of all. And second, time to find out exactly how much they'd be willing to give to get their hero back...and how angry they might be at the potential change.

If they'd even notice.

Oh I'm collecting the cards, looks pretty cool...


Now if I could just find someone willing to play in friggan utah...

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
After I5, some people were saying the same thing..."the game is a ghost town"...to which my reply was, "but we're gaining customers..." Naturally, my reply was dismissed.

And yet then good ole' SirBruce posted his MMP numbers - and City of Heroes was shown gaining subscribers. Odd, isn't it?

;-)

[/ QUOTE ]

Then please, I must know this:

1> Why is it when I look on Protector and Justice for teams, I seldom see over 1200 at peak times, where Protector last year was going yellow, with 2-3 clones of the zones? Have the peak hours changed?
2> Why did I hear (just recently) people moving to *gasp* World of Warcraft from CoH, and CoV was just sitting on the shelves, with dust starting to settle? This was at several EB and Gamestop affiliates.
3> Why is CoH $19.99 at the most where WoW & Guild Wars are $49.99, and even Lineage is $29.99? Is it cause the stores are ordering more, or is it cause they aren't selling?
4> Are the concerns voiced even being looked at? What are they?

[/ QUOTE ]

1) Some possibles I can see here. First, you may be misterming 'peak hours' as peak hours to you, and not the majority of the playerbase on those servers. I don't know whether thats true or not. I can tell you, however, with certainty that Virtue server is busier then its been in a long time.
2) My local gamestop ran out of City of Villians. Again, only my personal experience, but it would seem that at least in some places its not just sitting and gathering dust.
3) World of Warcraft and Guild Wars are both substantionally newer games then City of Heroes. Lineage 2 I don't know, except that it seems oddly popular in some area.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I can't think of a reason why the devs would want to "avoid" having level 50's generate extra prestige. It sounds like a perfect reward for maxing out your character, to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why would you want anything other than level 50's in your SG then?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because level 50s, typically, spend a good deal of their time on Alts or villians and aren't around as much?

(Say 'Comrade' darn you! Say it!)

The FUTURE organization

Fighting Until Total and Unilateral Recognition of the Evolved.

We will not let the oppression of the masses of our brothers and sisters continue. To often, we are either shunted to the sidelines of society, or asked to become 'heroes'. Why should we risk our lives just to have one to live? Now, they call us terrorists. The founders of this country were called terrorists too, by the British. Now they're called heroes.

In time, so shall we.

Something very strange was going on. Red-Eye had been a liar, and a damned good one, for long enough to recognize when someone else wasn't being entirely truthful. And Alex Ivonavich was definately not being honest about the sudden diversion of "broomball."

Oh, he had hidden it well no question. But when he first saw the colored cloth, his chilled expression could quite hide the relief. That meant that the broomball tournament WASN'T planned, which in turn meant that he was distracting people away from something.

"Comrade Sasha." He said softly into his mike, "I was you to look in this area for a young girl. Approximately teenage to early adulthood in age, white, Russian. Wearing a very old and formal gown...possibly responsible for the sudden snow. Call me if you find her."

Soviet Shadow would find the girl, if she was to be found. Meanwhile, Aleksei would enjoy the good graces of his host. Rank hath some priveledges, after all. For one thing, broom ball offered more then one occasion for an 'accidental' full body contact.

With that in mind, he overrode his immediate impulse to go for Soviet red and picked up yellow. After all, he was almost certain HEROID would pick red to match his armor, and if there was anyone he would like to send sliding across the ice, it was the infernal machine. Or former machine. Whatever the heck he was now.

Aleksei felt a smile touch his lips. This would be fun.

(A little more bastardy then Red usually is, but its late )

(My apologies for the terrible Sasha. I never have managed to learn how to write the dialect)

Red-Eye sipped his champagne briefly, swirling the cup more then he was actually imbibing any alcohol. Though it was probably an outdated habit from his old days, but he never let himself go at an event held by someone he didn’t trust. And trust took a lot longer to get from Aleksei then it did from most people.

“Comrade Field Commander?” The feminine voice sounded impossibly loud in his ear, but he doubted if anyone around him could hear or see the tiny speaker hooked invisibly over his right ear.

“Da, Comrade Sasha?” Red-Eye pretended to examine the champagne glass as he sub vocalized at the microphone. Years of spy training had made it almost second nature to him, and he had no doubt his microphone would pick it up.

“The report you asked of Sasha is for completeness.” The voice said again, “Analysis of one Mikhail Ivonovitch, father of Alex Ivonovitch.”

“Da?”

“Mikhail Ivonovitch is former KGB agent.” Sasha continued, and Red-Eye perked up abruptly, “Left after short while to embrace capitalist ideas. Is much for ancient Russian art from Keiv and making money in business. Disappeared six months ago with no trace and is now for presuming dead. Suspicions of mafia and old KGB involvement is much for spreading.”

“Ah.” Red-Eye nodded, mulling that over for a bit, “And what do the KGB files indicate?”

“Is much for difficultness in retrieving, Field Commander.” Sasha reported with a touch of a grimace in her voice, “And is very slight. KGB reports says Ivonovitch was to meet in forest, but never appeared. Unless it is much for secretiveness, KGB does not know much mor-“

A commotion suddenly distracted Aleksei’s attention and he spun on his heels, his hands falling to the small of his back. A composite knife, one that would not set off metal detectors, we sheathed at the small of his back, but he soon discovered it wasn’t necessary.

That statue was about to depreciate dramatically though…

But HEROID surprised him. Twice. First by catching the statue on the way down, and second...

Did he just kiss it?

With a sigh, Red-Eye passed his glass off to a waiter and jogged closer to the scene. Leave it to HEROID to act like a COMPLETE idiot at a black tie affair...

"Hey! That statue is a bit smarter then your usual circles, da Comrade?"

Red-Eye felt the tension almost immediatly, feeling the familiar sensation of a block of ice in his stomach that signified that he had a decision to make. A decision that would ultimately multiply, until it overwhelmed all other previous policies and decision.

On the one hand, the shrimp was better. On the other, the cavier appeared more cultured. Was he here primarily to enjoy himself, or impress his host? Either way, he knew he couldn't take both. Rich people, as a whole, had a very strict code of actions.

<Ah, would that be you, officer Aleksei?> The fluent russian gave away the speaker before he turned, but he still affected a pleasantly surprised expression.

<Just Aleksei, Comrade Ivanovich> Red-Eye said quietly, swirling his champagne glass absently. He notes, amusedly, that the reporters that had drawn up nearby had wandered away again when they realized they weren't going to understand a word of the conversation, <I am now part of a hero group, not the classical KGB. Besides, this is not the motherland, yes?>

<Of course, of course.> Ivanovich pretended the look over the spread, though he must have spent hours plotting every detail, <I must say, Comrade, that I was a little surprised to see you answer my invitation considering our...disagreement in economic system?>

<Perhaps Paragon has mellowed my mood a little> Red-Eye flashed a smile diplomatically. He was an infiltration specialist, but he wasn't used to going in as himself, <I'm willing to concede that the system has a few good uses, provided we excercize compassion in its execution. You won't get resistance from us, Comrade.>

<And you have a few bank accounts yourself.> Ivanovich sipped from his glass, a touch of a smile on his lips. Red-Eye shrugged without being phased. He'd been confronted enough times with his money, he had learned to live with it.

<There's that.> He admitted, turning from the spread for a change of conversation, <This is truly an amazing piece you have as a centerpoint, incidentally.>

<Ah, you have some interest in the finer things in life then.> Ivanovich politely turned toward the statue. For a moment, his hand twitched, as if he was denying himself a touch of the icy sculpture, <Possibly one of the finest works I've seen in a long while. It turned out far better then I had hoped.>

<Certainly. I haven't seen its equal.> Red-Eye confirmed, gazing at the sculpture and wishing that he hadn't. Something about it gave him a strange feeling, <I suspect I've delayed you for longer then you intended. I'll release you to greet the rest of your guests, Comrade.>

<Thank you, Comrade Aleksei. I hope to see you again soon.> With that, the playboy slipped off into the crowd to meet and greet. Aleksei, for his part, threw one last look at the statue and turned back to the food. The impression was done, so Shrimp it was.

Not sure if its been pointed out, as this will aleviate those who have an SG but don't want to wear SG colors (As opposed to those that don't have a Supergroup)

You CAN (in the settings) make your supergroup mode costume exactly the same as your normal costume. It does allow you to default to the color it already is.

That is all, thank you

I too believe that Ice tankers need a little help.

Apparently, most ice tanks don't believe this. If they did, they'd spend less time complaining about the word 'crying', and less time complaining that a change a dev said 'should help' isn't specific enough, and more time doing what some forum goers have done and post more of your concerns, for a real change that would help.

I don't think Jack meant that this change would help only Ice Tankers, it doesn't, it IS however, something that Ice and SR need to know, and SR already had its own thread.

That being said, lets come up with some ideas to make ice more playable.

(...Bah! No dying!)

[ QUOTE ]
Every time i see talk about Blood of the Black Stream, my mind wanders off and thinks about the Blood of the Fold in the "Sword of Truth" novels by Terry Goodkind. Maybe Tobias Brogan will be the leader and run around cutting banelings' right nipples off!

I'm soooooo gonna roleplay that! :P

[/ QUOTE ]

You'll have to find your mage some 'pretties' inspirations before you can charm them though =P

I could have SWORN I JUST read an interview where the getting your powers later thing was still in the game, but now I can't find it.

COULD be my imagination, but I was almost sure...Hhmm..

Its seems there are two reasons that some people seem to dislike this appointment system.

1) RP- Setting an appointment ruins immersion for my evil overlord.

Well, that is certainly somewhat true, depending on how they do it. One of the earlier posters (who I can't remember the handle and don't want to go check) made an excellent point about how the 'message' setting down the appointment could just as easily have an RP feel to it, rather then a dull and OOC notification.
However, given that the bases are primarily (If not entirely) SG vs SG, I think this adds MORE to the RPing. I'm part of the KGB Special Section 8. In terms of roleplaying, there is not time they would dare leave their entire base undefended except in the most dire of emergencies. A significant portion of agency lives on base, and would have no excuse not to be present at the start (Or quickly after as the alarms go off). This appointment system allows us what you would find in a real comic world. At least ONE person ready to make a glorious stand in defense of their slice of the world.

2) This appointment system makes it impossible to 'surprise' a supergroup, which is a huge loss to some of the fun.

Yes, that it more or less true. You won't be able to launch a daring raid in the middle of the night, but I think the fun level more or less equals out. Some people just want to surprise other people, which I have no problem with, but let us be honest here. Without an appointment, there WILL be a lot of people who simply want to take that super mega doom cannon without fighting anybody. I apologize to all the honest people that these griefers are forcing mechanics that will reduce your fun, but at least you can be sure of a good fight when and if you get in.
People have mentioned the 3 hour window, which is not a bad compromise, even if I personally don't like it. You would STILL not have surprise on your side, and I would have to hang around in my base for a while every day, rather then roleplaying the park or some such.

To sum up, I think the appointment system could be made to work seemlessly into an rp enviornment, and mourn the loss of surprise but accept that it is a casualty in ensuring the game remains fun for all.

Comrade...Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls, Da?

*A bit of a screech as he dials through several intermediaries*

Comrades.

First off, I would like to remind Vandal that he's a second rate scientist that had to resort to machines because one of his earlier experiments, Me, backfired on him so badly. He should study under Vahz there. Vomit spitting bodies would be a step up.

Anywho, my question.

Why the 'keep out' signs on the wooden doors in front of abandoned mines...does it ever keep anyone out?

Hey, don't lump my blaster in with the scrappers (Couldn't help it)

Anyway, unwelcome as it will be, I'm going to add in my two cents here. First off, for those of you that care, I'm a level 33 AR/Energy blaster (Just for the record, I picked those because it fit the character, and shied away from AR/Dev because it didn't feel heroic to me, not because I ran to consult to Powerleveling Guide to The Next Nerf Target). People continually throw a lot of stuff at me over the AOE damage, and constantly site that blasters are only improved by this upgrade.

Not quite.

First, I'll admit that truly hardcore power-built blasters can probably still do what they used to do, they're better then I am.

However, when people refer to the AOE 'problem' it seems like the problem is 'Blasters can kill mobs quick! But I can't do that! Why should they breeze through so many minions so quickly?'

Because it's fully neccesary. Lowering AOE damage to solve this problem would not hinder blasters, it would destroy them. The ONLY successful strategy for a soloing blaster is offense. An even conned freak minion can hit me for 1/7 of my total hp...at range! I can kill the minions quickly, or they get off a handful of shots and I catch a blaster-nap. If the minions survive any longer then they already do, I'm toast. Hell, I've been killed just waiting for the animation for Full Auto to end. Blasters are supposed to be an offense geared class, and they're turning into dedicated support classes, by virtue of only being somewhat playable in groups...and what happens in groups? They bug everyone for killing the monsters too fast for the other members to get more shots in.

Just my ramble, you don't have to agree with me (In fact, I would be very sad for you if a half-hearted rant changed your mind) but you really do need to think of what would happen to blasters with AOE reduced. We're already half-way useless for a team, tolerated only because we can kill things. Take that away, and we'll be ungroupable AND Unsoloable.

Bah, my .02 influence. Let the tanker/controller/defender/scrapper/fire-energyblaster counter examples begin