Rodoan

I don't know that death, whether human or animal, is necessary to motivate. One of my DB, Two Points, and my natural tank, Streetwise Hercules, both got into the business because they were fed up with seeing the kids of the 'hood all starry-eyed over the "powers" gangs, and skipping home in hopes of becoming the next big thing in the Skulls or the Hellions. There were no specific deaths or vengeances to motivate them, just the need to put their neighborhoods to the right, and to show the young people that one could be powerful without resorting to drugs, black magic, and other powers to which the gangs are addicted. Both these heroes consider themselves men of the street, and are willing to fight "the Chicago way" as the Irish cop in The Untouchables put it. Manticore might like their tactics, but Statesman would at least wince.

Come to think of it, Ace Barnstormer's backstory is somewhat like that too. (Though admittedly, he's more the "noble hero") He's a globe hopper that returned home and donned a powered undersuit (under his costume, that is) because restoring his hometown was vital. The tragedy was already there. Ritki War I and the loss of most of the heroes, the rise of the Sky Raiders, 'dyne, etc., all these upset his sense of home, his mental and spiritual anchor as he journied the world.

Isn't one of the Praetorian AV missions set in Moth Cemetery without fog? I want to say it was Black Swan, though I don't recall for certain. I remember the last time I fought there I suddenly realized I was seeing the sum of all the bits and pieces I've seen over the years. I tried to get a good look at the city section outside the temporary barrier, but the team was leaving and I had to get out for the next mission.

With graphics changes, would it be possible to have swirling or rolling fog? That way, larger chunks clear temporarily, but you still have the fog.

A conflagration of Hellions

(or colloquially, a "weenie roast" of Hellions)

A junkpile of Freakshow

A Knox of Goldbrickers

good point mentioning the OS, Bill. I priced a few desktops out recently and to get the version of Windows 7 that I wanted drove up the price $200. If only a free OS was the one for which games were written. I'm already working with Open Office 3 on the side to wean myself off of expensive future MS Office programs.

the operating word there is "gaming".

There are other solid computers out there, for far less, but gaming often requires exceptional performance from just about every part of the computer, possibly most notably the video card, hence the high price.

try googling "custom computers" for a list of sites where you can custom select parts to go in a rig, which helps price out specifically what you need. www.ibuypower.com is but one of these. There's also sites like www.newegg.com and www.tigerdirect.com which might have good deals depending on what you are after.

In-game, as well as superhero portrayals in many venues, ice powers seem to be displayed as being "pushed" from the caster to the target.

Its been decades since high school science, but I seem to recall that cold was an absence of heat, that is, that heat had been drawn away. Is this correct?

If so, would it not be more accurate for a ice power to create cold or ice by "pulling", paracitically drawing heat from the intended target? In essence a ice blaster would be a living, overpowered heat sink. Of course, this could cause issues if there was no easy way to dispel the received heat. An ice/fire blaster would be one solution.

This is not to say that a technological solution could not push a stored, frozen mixture out. My fall in front of a snow-blower on the ski slopes taught me that much.

Thoughts?

I don't have all the stat info like Miladys_Knight so excellently put forth. I can only speak to personal experience, but would like to say that /fire makes a fine match to psi/.

I've recolored fire to thematically appear as an outgrowth of my characters psi abilities. I'm in the mid 20s currently on mine and have beefed up my psi tornado and fire sword circle. I find these tend to compensate for the one-on-one attack limitations of psi. And the knockdown on the tornado, as opposed to knockback, is a blessing so I can use it often without getting yelled at by the melee fighters. Usually, I find I can tear through mobs about as fast as I can with my energy/energy blaster.

oh this is getting good

*unfolds lawn chair next to popcorn vendor. Sits and waves nonchalantly at gathering crowd.*

Carry on, carry on.

*munches popcorn*

I have Ray Gunn on two servers. On Virtue, he's a tech blaster who bought a small old movie serial franchise to get his hero persona. On Freedom, he became a Peacebringer, and skipped the tech but still bought a small old movie serial franchise to get his hero persona.

Together, they fight crime!

I don't play magic characters, with the lone exception of this holiday's "fun" character of the Nutcracker Rat King. Since magic appears to have been a requirement for Omega Team, I'd probably be handed two pom poms and told to cheer.

In addition, Ace Barnstormer, Superfortress, and the other tech members of the Flying Circus SG were given their tech as a retro-engineering from the Ritki War so they truly are the next generation of heroes and could not have participated. Control Tower, the lone mutant among them, was a shy, scared low-level one, and didn't want anyone to see his powers at the time, so no go with him either.

Now a suicide launch like Omega, practically every character would do it. Nearly all my heroes are cut in the cloth of the old radio and pulp heroes: sacrificial and pure to the core, despite any dark appearance. Even my brute, Fightanic, would rise to the challenge. However, my mastermind Bowery Duke would balk at it, and seek a more surreptitious and survivable means of accomplishing the same goal.

Was there never a Alpha Team time capsule or equivalent? Omega Team was suicide, certainly, but Alpha Team had little hope for survival, too.

One of my favorite Star Wars fan films. The full thing is nearly an hour long and has to be downloaded. The story is set in the SW universe but at a different time from the movies.

Reign Of The Fallen

The official website, link found listed at the linked page above, has mysteriously broken links for downloading the film. Fortunately, the link above has working Quicktime downloads.

I think they're already working with specific targetted themes. Science booster was all about mad scientists, Ninja booster was self explanitory. So much so, that some folks still wonder if it was indeed the Natural booster pack or just a targetted theme.

I think it would be Paragon Studios best interests to have blended packs, something for everyone. A cowboy booster pack might not appeal to all, but a Wild West, or a Weird Wild West with cowboys, Indians (yes I said "Indians"), gamblers, gold panners, dude ranchers, and Australian "western" themes, as well as steampunk west and a horse to ride, would have something appealing to a much broader range.

I personally would like to see future efforts themed, such as the western gear, retro-future, steampunk (with Nemesis tie-ins), colonial/patriotic, etc.

But I would like to think that before moving past the archetypes, we get booster packs related to the epic archetypes.