Robotech_Master

Interesting thought...

What the notes seem to be saying is that now holds won't go through the shields without taking out the generators first.

I wonder if, if you take out the generators and then spam holds on the Hydra head, and keep it held, if it will prevent the shield from coming back up again when the generators revive?

[ QUOTE ]
You can only change your handle once EVER?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yep. Only one single time ever, to prevent people from being able to abuse it by constantly changing their name. Annoying, but what can you do.

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Thank you for the listing of powers things are useful in. I'm still not convinced that there is anything that can really use all three powers in Membrane Exposure (ToHit, DEF, Recharge).

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, let's see. What power do you know of that buffs Accuracy and Defense?

I'll give you a hint...it's in the Empathy set...

[ QUOTE ]
Is there a /command that I can use to talk in the global channel the same as I can with /g for team or /l for local?

[/ QUOTE ]
Nope. Just /send channelname message.

However, you can set up a system of global chat tabs to make things easier.

Is it just Victory, or has global chat gone down again?

[ QUOTE ]
and with the option on their message would look like

handle(charname): msg

[/ QUOTE ]
What about handle(charname@servername)?

I think it might actually be better for this to show up in the User List window--give it a couple of character/server columns and let the user choose whether to allow them to be shown or not. After all, you don't need to be told who a player is on as every time he says something; it's just more clutter.

I've just posted a pictorial tutorial on the way I have my global chat channels set up, over in the LJ City of Heroes community. Hope it helps some people out.

What I've done is detached Window #4 from my chat panel and dragged it over to the right-hand side of the screen, where it fits in nicely between the bottom of my map window and the top of my Inspiration tray. Split it into two panes, dragged some tabs into each one; each tab = 1 chat channel.

I set my Default Channel for my main chat tab as being "team", which is what I usually have my chat on anyway, then I clicked the "A" icon above the text entry pane, to switch my text entry to the currently Active tab.

This means I can simply click on a chat tab, hit enter, and type to send text to a given channel--then click back into my main chat pane and I'm on team send again. (Whenever I need to say something locally, I usually just type /l comment.)

[ QUOTE ]
Operators IIRC
@Satanic_Hamster
@Eye234
@Krole
@Tyrr
@Charles Langely
@TexasLonghorne
@Chadly
@PolarisOne
@Peppercat

[/ QUOTE ]
@Purramedic

One thing I discovered is that global chat is currently limited to five channels. This is seriously not a lot of channels; if someone plays 2 or 3 characters on 2 or 3 servers and is in multiple supergroups, the chat channels could be used up very quickly.

We have the ability to put up to 10 tabs in a particular text window...why only five channels?

[ QUOTE ]
What's even more disturbing is that my two accounts are used by multiple family members. Since some are minors this makes this system a game breaker. Mature language can be sent innocently to the minors by other users thinking that the mature user in ingame. Have the developers thought about this aspect of the game?

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Given that the EULA that you click "agree" to every time you enter the game says clearly that only one person may use each account (and also says that players should be at least 18, or else have their parents' permission to play), I wouldn't expect them to take into account behavior that is explicitly prohibited. You can always use /ghide when you aren't playing and forbid your kids to take it off, I suppose.

[ QUOTE ]
How does this bridging of account charachters benefit the game?

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It allows folks who are abiding by the terms NCSoft sets down, and have multiple characters of their own, to be accessible to their friends (and vice versa) no matter which character or server they're playing on. If I'm on Pinnacle and a member of my SG on Victory needs help, now they'll be able to give me a buzz instead of having no way to get in touch with me.

Has anybody else noticed the Global Friends list not noticing when people log off? I have a friend being shown as logged on right now when I know for a fact (by talking to him in another chat venue) that he's not been logged on since last night.

Yes, I did /bug it.

For what it's worth, I took the time to rip the PDF into text and then go through and re-format it for UBB; I've posted it in the Guides board, here.

Enjoy.

I had a spare half hour at work, so I went ahead and ran the guide PDF through a PDF-to-text program then went through and marked it up as the PDF had been. I did remove the section numbers, as they weren't really necessary in a non-paginated medium, but I made no changes to grammar or formatting beyond what were necessary to convert it for the board. (Well, OK, I removed one unnecessary dash and bolded a couple of command names that weren't bolded in the original, but that's all.) The contents of this are, of course, copyright NCSoft/Cryptic; I make no claim on the content; they can take this post and do whatever they want with it. I just marked it up as a public service to those people who can't easily use PDF files.

[/ QUOTE ]
Global Chat Player Guide

Overview

Global Chat is an in-game cross server chat system and friends list.


Global "handle"

Every player selects a name which they are universally known by; this "handle" is what they can be referred to regardless of what character they happen to be playing at the moment or what server they are on.

When you log into the live servers for the first time after Global Chat has been implemented you will be presented with a pop up window that shows your global chat handle. It will be your current character name.

If the global handle is already taken, then a number is added to the end of the name (starting with "1"). When the number exceeds the character limit (16), the last letter of the handle is removed and the number one is added to the end.

NOTE: For the Global Chat beta on the test server and live servers, you must first enable the global chat function by using the command:

/chatbeta 1

To turn off global chat beta type the command:

/chatbeta 0

When you activate the Global Chat Beta, a message will appear notifying you that Global Chat is on and the message will tell you what your handle is. You may use the command

/myhandle to check your global handle at any time.

The live version of global chat will eventually always be on; however you can use the hide button to appear offline. Any messages sent to you while offline or hidden will appear at your next log in. You can also use the command

/ghide to hide from your Global Friends or

/gunhide to unhide.


Changing Handles

A player can change his handle ONLY once. The command is as follows:

/changehandle <user name>

If the handle is already taken, you will be prompted to try again until you successfully enter a handle that has not been used. Conversely, you can use the Change Handle option from the in-game menu option.


Friends List

A Friends List keeps track of other players that a particular person would like to monitor. A player manages his Friends list by clicking on the "Friends" in the Chat Window.

The old Friends list remains active in the "server" tab; this lists the character name on the same server, etc. The new system is on another tab: "global." This keeps tracks of a universal handles of other players; it tracks them across ALL servers. There is also a new tab labeled "Global Ignore" for managing your global ignore list.

A player can view his Friends list in one of two ways. He can either enter the slash command /friends or he can click on "Friends" in the chat window. This brings up all the Global Handles of players added to the Friends list. It tracks the following information:
<ul type="square">[*]Status
* Offline
* If online, the player's current character name[*]Server name [*]Team Size
* Solo, if unteamed
* If on a team, the number of players on the team[*]Level [*]Archetype [*]Origin [*]Map Name (example: Atlas Park, Steel Canyon, etc.)[/list]
Hide Button

A player may occasionally want to play without his "Friends" knowing about it. When a person wants to be anonymous, they can click on the Hide button in the global friends window. A system message appears in the Chat Window notifying the player that he is now invisible to his Friends (meaning that he will not appear as online on other Friends windows). You can also use the command

/ghide to hide from your Global Friends or

/gunhide to unhide.


Adding Friends

A player can add another player to his friends list by the following command:

/gfriend &lt;user&gt;

Or a player can click on the "Add" button in the Friends window on the "Global" Tab. This brings up the Add Window. The player has the option of adding a player's global handle OR another player's character. If a person enters a player name, the global handle is automatically tracked (DN: This way a player doesn't need to ask another player his global handle; he can just enter the name of a character). A player chooses either method by selecting the appropriate button in the Add Friend Window. The "cancel" button closes the "Add" window.

Clicking on the "OK" button or entering the slash command sends a request to another player to add him to your friend list. He must then "friend" you in return. Each person must get on each other's list.


"Unfriending"

If a player does not wish to be on another person's Friends list, or if a player wants to remove someone from his Friend's list, the following command is used:

/gunfriend &lt;user&gt;

A player can view his entire Friends list with the following command:

/gfriends


Sending Messages

A player can send another player a message with the following command:

/tell @&lt;handle&gt;, &lt;msg&gt;

A player can also use a /t command or right click on the player's global handle in the Friend's List and select "send message." The message is sent, unless the sender is on the receiver's Ignore List. If the receiver isn't online, he will receive the message the next time he logs in.


Chat Window

The Chat window, by default, contains three panes: a "top," a "bottom," and an input pane. The input is where a player's typing appears. The top and bottom panes are identified by tabs with the respective names.

A fourth pane, above the top one, can be opened by clicking on the "1," "2," "3," or "4" along the top of the Chat Window (henceforth called numerical panes). Each of these "tabs" opens up a window with an "add tab" button in the center.


Tabs

A player can place different communication channels onto different tabs in the panes Chat Window.

On the Top and Bottom panes of the Chat Window, a player can create a Tab by clicking on "Tab" and selecting "add Tab." This window also appears when a player selects the Edit Tab option. A screen appears with the following options down the middle:
<ul type="square">[*]Add/Remove [*]Set Default [*]Create Channel [*]Join Channel [*]Leave Channel [*]OK [*]Cancel[/list]The following channel options occur along the right hand side:
<ul type="square">[*]Broadcast [*]Combat [*]Damage [*]Emote [*]Errors [*]Friends [*]Local [*]NPC Dialogue [*]Private Messaging [*]Request/Auction [*]Supergroup[*]System[*]Team[/list]The channels selected for the current tab appear in the selected channels column.

Once a player selects a channel option (at least one), he can then create a Tab. The Tab may start with a default name (usually the name of the channel selected), or a player can click on the Tab name box at the top and enter a different name. Anything falling in those categories now appears in that Tab.

A Tab can be added to the "1," "2," "3," "4," "top," or "bottom" panes. The Tab on the numerical panes is added by clicking on the "Tab" at the top of the pane and selecting "add Tab." The new tab will appear in that pane number.

To add a Tab in the top or bottom panes, a player clicks on "Tab" and selects "add Tab." The difference between these panes and the numerical ones is that the Tab appears in whichever window is selected. A player can tell when a top or bottom pane is selected by the fact that one of its Tabs is green. To select the top or bottom panes, a player need only click on it.

There is a maximum of 10 tabs that can be added to a Chat Window. Left and right arrows allow the player to scroll through the tabs if they exceed the size of the window.


Tab Manipulation

Tabs can be dragged and dropped into various panes. A player left clicks, holds, and moves the tab to a desired destination.

If a player right clicks on a tab, he sees the following options:
<ul type="square">[*]Edit Tab [*]Delete Tab [*]Clear History [*](If the Tab is in a numerical pane or the top pane) Move to Bottom [*](If the Tab is in the bottom pane) Move to Top[/list]Chat channels

Players can create their own personal chat channels. Channels are persistent, as long as at least one person remains a member of it. To view channels you belong to and their members go to menu and select channels. This will bring up the channels window.


Creating a Channel

To create a Chat Channel, a player needs either to enter the command /chancreate &lt;channel name&gt; OR click on "Tab" on the top, bottom, or numerical panes and select the Edit Tab option.

A player enters a name for this channel along the top of the Edit Tab option.

By default, the channel is assigned to the currently selected tab. In other words, it appears in the selected channels column along the right side of the window.

Channel names are limited to 15 characters.

To make the channel private enter the command:

/ChanMode &lt;channel&gt; -join


Default Chat Channels

Each Tab possesses a Default channel so that when the Tab is Active, a player communicates on that particular channel of the Tab.

If there is only one channel on a Tab, it is the default channel.

If there are two or more channels on a Tab, the first channel added to the Tab is the Default Channel (note: if there are two or more channels, and only one channel is for player communication, then that channel becomes the Default. In other words, if Combat and Broadcast are put on the same tab, Broadcast is the default, because there is no player communication on the Combat channel).

A player can select a Default Channel by entering the Edit/Add Tab Window, clicking on a channel in the selected channels column, and clicking the Set Default button along the middle.


Joining a channel

To add a pre-existing channel, a player clicks on the Join Channel button in the Edit Tab window. The player enters the name of a channel. By default, this channel appears in the Selected Channels column of the window. A player can click on this channel and move it over to the Channels column along the left hand side. The player is still considered a "member" of the channel; its messages just won't appear on that tab.

You may also use the command

/chanjoin &lt;channelname&gt;


Inviting Others to a Channel

To invite other players to a channel use the "invite" button loced in the lower left of the channel window. From here you can invite a user, all of your global friends, your entire team, or your entire SuperGroup. You may also use the command:

/chaninvite &lt;channel&gt; &lt;playername&gt;


Remove Channel

This permanently removes a player from a channel's membership. He can rejoin at a later time, but if a channel has NO members, it is immediately closed down. You may also use the command

/chanleave &lt;channelname&gt;

If every member of a channel leaves, the channel is removed from the game. However, if you are in a channel and log off, you are still a member of that channel and it will NOT be removed from the game.


Channel communication

To enter the Chat Entry pane, a player hits the Enter button. Hitting the Enter button again exits the Chat entry pane; if the player had typed anything it is broadcast on the selected channel. By default, a player begins the game with the ability to chat on the following channels:
<ul type="square">[*]Local [*]Broadcast [*]Team[*]Supergroup [*]Request [*]Friends[/list]A player can select any of these channels by either clicking on the icons along the top of the Chat Entry pane. Each icon is identified by the capital first letter of each default chat channel (indicated bold above). When the Chat Entry pane is set to one of these channels, its name is along the left hand side of the Chat Entry pane.

A player can also communicate on the default channel of an Active Tab.

To select an Active Tab, a player needs to click on the Tab (so that it's indicated green). The name of the tab appears along the left hand side of the chat entry pane. A player can also right click on a Tab and select the "Active Tab" option.

A player can also send a message on a given channel--regardless of what's currently active in the Chat Entry pane--with the following command:

/Send &lt;channel&gt; &lt;msg&gt;


Other commands
<ul type="square">[*]/ChanMode &lt;channel&gt; [mode...] Changes default
access rights for new user who join the channel. If you set -join, no
one can join (private channel). +join lets players join the channel
(public channel). [*]/Watching Lists all channels you are in.[*]/chan_user_mode &lt;channel&gt; &lt;playername&gt; [mode...] Sets user
permissions for specified user on channel. You must have operator
status to set permissions. Modes:

-join kicks user from channel
+send / -send gives/removes user ability to send messages to channel
+operator / -operator gives/removes operator status from another user
in the channel[/list]
FAQs

What's Global Chat?

Global Chat is an in-game cross server chat system and friends list.

How do I enter the Global Chat Beta?

Use the command /chatbeta 1 to turn on Global Chat, and /chatbeta 0 to turn it off. You must turn global chat on every time you login to the game until this feature is out of Beta. Once beta is over, this feature will always be on.

What is a Global Chat Handle?

Every player selects a name which they are universally known by; this "handle" is what they can be referred to regardless of what character they happen to be playing at the moment or what server they are on.

How do I choose my global chat handle?

Default is your character name (if possible). You may then change your handle one time (via the main menu's "Handle" option).

How do I send a private message to someone's chat handle?

Prefix the "@" symbol before the player's handle and then use the /tell command as usual:

/tell @&lt;handle&gt;, hello

Can I send a message to an offline player?

Yes. Your message will be stored and sent to the player when they next login.

Can just anyone add me to their friends list without my permission?

No, when someone tries to global friend you, a dialog box will appear asking if you want this person as a global friend. You can decline.

What if I don't want anyone to know I am playing?

Use the hide button or /ghide command to appear offline.

What is a Channel?

Players can create their own personal chat channels. This is a channel that other players can join so that players can chat with each other in a group, similar to team chat or supergroup chat.

What is the difference between a Public and a Private channel?

Anyone may join a public channel (so long as it is not at maximum member capacity). Private channels require an invitation to join.

How do I invite someone to a chat channel?

Use the "invite" button to invite a single player, your global friends list, your supergroup, or your team to a global chat channel.

What is the Channel Window?

Found in the main Menu, it displays a list of channel members and allows channel administration. What is a channel Operator? Channel administrator. A channel administrator can invite players to a private channel, change channel settings, and change channel user settings.

How do I make a channel?

To create a Chat Channel, a player needs either to enter the command /chancreate OR click on "Tab" on the top, bottom or numerical panes and select the Edit Tab option.

A player enters a name for this channel along the top of the Edit Tab option.

By default, the channel is assigned to the currently selected tab. In other words, it appears in the selected channels column along the right side of the window.

Channel names are limited to 16 characters.

Do I still have my old Friends lists?

Yes. Your old friends list is found under the "Server" tab of the Friends List window. This list behaves identically to the old Friends list, and may only contain friends on your current server. The "Global" tab contains the new Global Friends List functionality.

Are there any known bugs?

Yes, the "Channel Members" window does not have a button to close the window. To close it, you have to go to the main menu and re-select that window.

Can we please have a way to change the text color of individual channels? It would be useful to me to be able to differentiate them by color; that way I could combine them all together in a single window and be able to follow multiple different channels easily in the same space.

(If there is such a way already, I haven't been able to find it.)

Note that if you were to use a character who had Phase Shift for this sort of testing, you could probably do it faster--at least some portions of it. Don't bother fighting the mobs, just wander through the mission and take census, then leave and reset.

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No, it hasn't been removed on Live yet. The changes are in a Build in the pipeline.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't think we've seen this get removed yet, even with all the other changes made by recent patches, and it's been almost a month. Is it coming any time soon?

[ QUOTE ]
Well, looks like the train has left the station, but I agree with MintCondition. Once you have several trays full of powers -- e.g., once you have a shape-shifting Kheldian -- cntrl-# is very useful for switching between pre-arranged trays and keeping the proper powers readily accessible with a single (left) hand while the right hand continues to work the mouse.

Custom binds might retain such a design, but custom binds are always cumbersome, neither understood well nor implemented often by the majority of player population, and still somewhat unpredictable as to when and where they will function properly.

[/ QUOTE ]
Odd, I find binding C, V, and B to switch to Nova form/tray 9, switch to Dwarf form/tray 8, and switch to human form/activate shield/tray 1 respectively to be substantially less cumbersome than changing the tray separately. (Note that if you get mezzed back into human form, all you need to do is hit the switch-to-human-form macro and tray 1 pops right up.) Single keytouch selecting, no messing around with control keys.

[ QUOTE ]
Frankly, when i wish to target a team-mate, I have always found clicking on their name in the team list to be more efficient than shift-#, since a single mouse-click requires less coordination than a simultaneous double keystroke, which often forces your attention from screen to keyboard.

[/ QUOTE ]
But if you're a touch-typist, your attention should be halfway on your keyboad anyway. I find it a simple matter to stab the shift with my pinky and hit 1-8 with some other finger on my left hand as necessary. I may not even have my mouse pointer on the screen when I need to select a teammate for some reason; I steer around battle by mouselook and target with tab and mouse button 4 (bound to select_enemy_nearest). (I hardly ever use my trays for clicking on, either; I put my most-used powers in the bottom tray and /bind some, then use numbers and bind keystrokes as necessary.)

Now granted, I don't need to select teammates with the shift keys all that often, as I tend to have heals and buffs bound to the keypad or control/alt/shift plus keypad. But there are only four keypad/chord-keypad options available, which means that my Emp Defender has to use shift-number to select someone for less-often-used powers like Adrenaline Boost or Recall Friend; likewise, if I want to use the "give to target" dialogue or hit comma for "/tell $target", I need to make the selection first.

Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!

/signed: We need a third power tray. This becomes particularly obvious once you get to the late 30s, and especially when you're in the late 40s. There just aren't enough slots for all the powers.

/signed: Control+number makes a good keystroke to select on that tray. Anyone who needs to hop to multiple trays on the fly right now probably has already set up macros to do it anyway.

/signed: Adding little numbers to the team member list screen is one of the best ideas you guys have had since adding 10 more levels onto the game. Take the guesswork out of hitting the right slot.

Do it to it!

Supergroup "calendar" -- something to make it easy for supergroups to schedule group events like task forces and things. Something where we could fill in dates of upcoming events and they would show up as sort of a second MoTD as the time approached.

There needs to be more stuff to make Supergroups something more than just people who hang together in a chat channel. I had one member quit my SG the other day because she never did anything with any of its other members. There should be group content especially for SGs that can be enjoyed by two, three, twenty, or all 75 people at once, regardless of their level. I know that the base raid things in City of Villains will address this, but I think there should be supergroup content for PVE, not just PVP...and Hamidon doesn't count.

[ QUOTE ]
Why is playing an opposite gender any different?

[/ QUOTE ]
I always look at it kind of like male authors writing female characters. David Weber doesn't get called a pervert for writing stories that feature the female Honor Harrington as a protagonist; I don't see why I should catch flak for playing out my own "stories" with a female protagonist.

The problem is some people's tendancy to assume that one's character in some way represents how they are in the real world....

You know, I would love to see a sitcom episode, romantic comedy movie, or perhaps a webcomic plotline where a male character and a female character meet online, become good friends, and want to meet in real life...only neither one has told the other that they're actually playing cross-gender. So they both get to worry and angst over the odd romantic attraction they feel for each other "...but I'm really a {guy|girl}, it couldn't work out..."

[ QUOTE ]
I've been going through all my alts, fixing the ones that needed it with the free respec, and it seems to me that hover is significantly faster than it used to be. It's been awhile since I used hover, so maybe I'm just imagining it. Has anyone else noticed a difference?

[/ QUOTE ]
Heh...I can't remember the last time I actually needed to move in Hover. With Gnarly's Speed-On-Demand, the only time I'm in hover is when I'm standing (well, OK, floating) still.

Unless you're really trying to squeeze every last drop of Defense out that you can, there's really no point in slotting Hover with anything. Use it for the beneficial effect of sitting still in mid-air without using much End or incurring an Acc penalty, accept the 5% (6% if you slot one Defense SO in it, and you really might as well) Defense bonus as a freebie, use G's SOD for maneuverability, and spend those slots elsewhere. Remember, the more "doesn't need slotting" powers you have, the higher the average number of slots among your other powers can be...

Just curious...anybody out there planning to update Gnarly's speed-on-demand (since the original author/maintainer has apparently given it up and moved on to other games) to take full advantage of the Kheldian form? It would be kind of cool to be able to choose keys for Kheldian human, nova, and dwarf forms, and to have the flight powers associated with the particular forms kick in on demand. (Though this becomes less of an issue if the Lightbringer's human and nova form flight powers have the same names...do they?)

SOD might also need to be updated to take full advantage of the new toggleon/toggleoff commands, too...

[ QUOTE ]
You guys said before the HOlidays "balance and bug issues make i3 not ready before jan 1." Then nothing. You guys come back, say nothing, change nothing... then BAM release it. SO if nothing changed, nothing was said... why didn't you release it BEFORE the holidays. You released the same version on the Live servers, that 10 days before "wasn't ready" on the Test server.

[/ QUOTE ]
Presumably, they did this so that devs would actually be around and working at full capacity when the bug reports started to come in, rather than letting all the bugs simmer while they were away for the holidays. It's rational and logical and it makes a lot more sense than kicking it out the day before Christmas and everyone having to live with the glitches for two more weeks because nobody was there to fix them.

[ QUOTE ]
I wish I could come up with a good descriptive name for this tactic. I'll have to think about it.

[/ QUOTE ]
How about "exemplarbitrage"? I think I'll use that term in my next revision of my Rapid XP Gain/Debt Loss (i.e. Powerlevelling) Guide.

Oh, and the unsidekick trick also works in "reverse"--if you can't get any hunt missions, then invite an 8-9 levels lower fellow to sidekick with you, then at the end of the mission you exemplar to him and then wait a minute before clicking the blinkie.