Roughtrade

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The player fiction was of a really high calibre, too... compliments to Lucien Soulban. His story about the daughter of the fallen hero was wonderful (and RoughTrade, I'll be very interested to see where your hero registration story goes... funny stuff!).

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>blush<

Thanks. Gonna have to give at least some of the kudos to Artic Sun for next month, the second act was kind'a falling flat until he gave me a nudge.

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Let me clarify this. I was invited to a team twice. I declined the invites because I don't believe I should be forced to team just to get a badge.

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You wanna get Hammi you will be "forced" to team. Get over yourself. They offered twice to let you be on their team and you turned them down. You got what you deserved.

I mean, I hate most Pick Up Groups and I despise Blind Team Invites, but not grouping to go after things that sometimes take two or three eight person teams to vanquish is just plain silly.

I love the giant monster fights. I didn’t like the WL madness, only because of how much hate it seemed to generate as King’s Row turned into everyone’s favorite hunting zone. But I love the giant monster fights. I try to help with Lusca every time she spawns because I think it is one of the most fun things to do in the game.

Stop worrying about the points and if you should be healing or not. If you don’t think you should be healing or buffing then you should play a different AT. But either way, you probably won’t get the badge staying solo unless you’re the highest level in the fight by ten levels or so.

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Couldn't tell you, I'm afraid.

At least one of the many GenCon reports quoted Zeb as saying that prestige was already being recorded since X time.

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Okay, I would like to go on record as saying that anything said at a convention should be taken as rumor. Solidly backed rumor, but rumor nonetheless. What they want to do and what they think they can do and what they try to do and what actually gets done can all be very different things.

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It's not datamining. They've simply been actively recording it since Issue 4, or whenever it was.

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Case in point. I have been told by someone I trust a good deal that Positron has come out and said exactly the opposite. That no one’s past performance in or out of SG mode was going to be used to determine how much Prestige already existent SGs started with. Are either of them wrong? Possibly. Are either of them lying, I highly doubt it. What one person wants to see in the game or thinks might work for the game might be over ruled by trying out on the test server and getting player reaction as well as what they are actually capable of doing when everything is said and done.

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At least once on the Test server, somebody noticed in their global window that they had earned "prestige".

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So they are testing the ability of a person to earn Prestige. This in no way has any impact at all on what is going on in the live servers. I tested out six slotting hover for fly on my electicity/devices blaster on the Test Server. It didn’t change my character on Liberty at all. Not until I implemented it.

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Several(?) SGs have begun asking members to play in SG mode if possible, so they can build up prestige.

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A truthful statement, but again it is completely unrelated to what is going on. Due to the rumors going around I asked my SG to run in SG mode. Not that I had to, we tend to run in SG mode if there are at least two of us together in a group. But I did it based on complete rumor, not on any known fact. Lots of folks were getting angry over the thought of datamining. My thought was, well it won’t hurt us to make a conscious effort to use SG mode more often. If the rumor is true, we get a leg up on our Prestige. If it’s false, we played in our colors a little more than we had to, but we still got the same Influence and Experience. No blood, no foul.

So until you can provide a link to an actual statement saying things one way or the other, it is just a rumor. Does it hurt to hedge your bets and run in SG Mode? No. Will it help? Maybe. Until I see something to make it certain, I am going to continue to encourage my SG to use their colors. But I certainly won’t consider kicking those who do not. It’s just rumors for now.

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It's already been confirmed that they have been actively recording SG mode usage and prestige aquisitions, since probably Issue 4.

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They have been? Sez who?

Admittedly, I can only offer what someone said that someone said but I was told Poz has flat out stated that datamining the history of every character in an SG is too difficult and has never been considered as a means of determining initial Prestige.

They are obviously going to have to do some sort of checking current SGs, unless the plan is to assign random amounts. But the wild threads that go on about datamining for how long everyone has or has not been in SG mode are without purpose.

My own guess? They will just check how long an SG has been around. Your starting Prestige will be based on a number multiplies by how many months your SG has existed.

YMMV.

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So we have someone reporting something that someone they know posted on a website after attending a conference.

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It was later confirmed by the guy who heard it.
Linked for your convenience.

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Lord recluse also responded to the post without denying anything. I'd call that confirmation If any of this wasn't true, I'd imagine they'd want to put out the firestorm it created.

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Thank you for pointing out where the person at Gen Con responded. I have also read Lord Recluse’s response about this matter. Neither one convinces me that data mining for how long each and every specific character in the Super Groups has spent in Super Group Mode will occur.

This is what was written: “He also said that they had every intention of datamining for it (Prestige) so that when bases go live SGs can immediately start building them.”

Nothing in that sentence declares that they will be datamining for how much time all members have previously spent actually in SG Mode, which is what so many people here are upset over.

Lord Recluse only confirmed that you do not earn Prestige for just standing around in your SG Mode costume, but rather (Like earning Influence) you actually have to be doing something.

Datamining will occur. All of my previous examples could fall under the intent of this quote from Gen Con. They may datamine for how long a SG has existed, they may datamine for how much time members of the SG have been playing. They may datamine for which character in the SG has the longest amount of time playing. They may do any of the above or an average of all of the above.

Color me still skeptical, but I see nothing that says that they may actually have a way to find out how long everyone has been in SG Mode and “screw” the others.

There is still far too much we do NOT know about this supposed datamining to be getting upset over it or threatening to quit the game.

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It is entirely possible that after initial Prestige is established that further Prestige will be received only while in SG Mode. So there is still a more than probable cause for that debate to continue.
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This decision to use prestige is going to hurt my supergroup a lot, because sporting the supergroup colors simply isn't an option for many of the members:

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{snipping very cool character mini-bios}

It is wonderful that you are so very much into your characters. I love the Role Play aspects of this game and try to submerge myself into them as much as possible.

That being said, why cut off your nose despite your face?

For that matter, you seem to be a bit inflexible in your choice of using imagination. (Not saying unimaginative, saying you choose to not use imagination at this juncture)

I have an Alt that I like a lot. An Electricity/Devices Tech character who’s powers come from her suit of armor. I dislike many of the SFX, especially on the devices side of the issue. I consider that all her powers emanate from the suit.

She doesn’t throw caltrops. She deploys a electro-gravitic density field. This field slows opponents and causes localized high pressure damage.

She doesn’t throw web grenades. She deploys high mass magnetic anchor bolos. This is just a higher power version of the previous device, but localized and designed to cause no damage for soft take downs.

She doesn’t throw smoke bombs. She deploys a charged ionic screen of weighted magnetic particles. Invisible to the naked eye, they distort vision on persons without proper eye protection (which my teammates are given) and causes malfunctions in photoreceptors of electronic nature.

And I use the word “deploys” repetitively because I mostly abhor the throwing grenades thing. I do like the shoulder mounted turret system, like Freakshow has. That’s what my gal does, fires them off from a shoulder turret.

It all actually started as I tried to decide why bad guys didn’t become suspicious when the room filled up with smoke and started writing the narrative in my head as to why smoke grenades didn’t get everyone to turn and shoot at her. The Targeting Drone is my only “external sfx” that I consider intact, and I choose to believe that her ball lighting buddy is actually the drone using it’s own attack/defense mechanism.

So while I can respect that you are deeply involved in the background and mental image of your characters, I find your current position to be faulty. You perhaps may wish to unbend a little from your cherished ideals.

If in fact datamining will occur, or if it will only be an “after it goes live” sort of accounting for being in SG Mode, each and every person with an issue over this will have to decide what is more important. The tiny amount of “lost individuality” that comes from using SG Mode, or Prestige for your SG Base. If you choose to not use SG Mode, then you will get less Prestige. If you feel that this is a reason to leave the game, well… I won’t miss you.

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There has been talk about "datamining" for determination of begining Prestige for existing SGs. Is anyone able to point where a Red Name has said this?

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Lord Recluse is reported as having said so at GenCon. See the very first post in the thread.

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Here is a repeat of that.

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This was posted on my SG boards this morning by someone who attended GenCon this last weekend:
Quote:


Other news from GenCon...

SG bases will not be purchased with Influence, they'll be purchased with something called 'Prestige', and you'll earn Prestige for the SG while you are in SuperGroup Mode.

Zeb said they'd be datamining for this so that once Prestige is implemented, already active SGs will have lots of it.

So, if we want to have a rockin' SG base as soon as we can, we should all start playing our X characters in SuperGroup Mode, pretty much all the time.

So sayeth the devs.



Personally, I think the datamining of time spent in SG mode stinks. I don't know of a single SG out there that uses SG mode over an official SG costume and think it's a bad idea. I would rather have my SG dump 100 million a month in Influence into a base than be obligated to log in my character, enter a door mission, put him in SG mode, then go to bed just so I can build 'prestige' to pay base rent.

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So we have someone reporting something that someone they know posted on a website after attending a conference. Third hand information blooming into full scale bewilderment. Short of someone getting a hold of an actual transcript of the conversation, I will choose to remain skeptical.

I do not doubt the OP saw this on his SG Website. I do not doubt that the person posted it believes it to be true. I would, however, like to know the exact context of the conversation. The difficulties mentioned by other Devs on the subject of datamining still makes it seem an unlikely solution for determining initial Prestige.

They may only “datamine” as far as looking to see when an SG was established. It may go no further than that.

Perhaps they will simply look at current SG rosters and determine Prestige based on the character with the largest amount of time played. Or perhaps a percentage taken from a cumulative amount of time played by all characters.

I do not know and I think without further clarification on the matter no one should start making claims about leaving the game because of it.

On the other hand, I am urging all my SG’s members to use SG mode when they are playing these days. It doesn’t hurt to hedge your bets.

Almost asked this buried in my above post, but I think it requires a more stand alone view to keep from becoming entwined in the costume color debate.

There has been talk about "datamining" for determination of begining Prestige for existing SGs. Is anyone able to point where a Red Name has said this?

In a different debate that I cannot find, someone mentions the fact that they had enough trouble datamining for badge info and claim datamining the Task Forces to award badges was impossible. So, considering how much trouble it appears datamining has, will they even be able to determine how much time has been spent in and out of SG mode?

Much of the discussion here may be invalid. Can anyone direct us to the place where Data Mining is mentioned by someone on Staff?

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With nearly everyone is in a SG but hardly anyone actually using the SG mode, I can fully understand why the Devs would wish to encourage people to use it.

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I think you're off the mark here. The more appropriate response in my opinion is:

"With nearly everyone is in a SG but hardly anyone actually using the SG mode, I can fully understand why the Devs would wish to determine why people don't like it, and implement changes to make SG mode more desirable to players."

BB

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Good call.

There are, however, many of us that do not mind being in SG mode. Well considered, well designed and well planned Super Groups don't look silly in their costumes. And if the colors do not go along with your current scheme, you can chose to not change the colors at all, which only leaves the chest emblem.

Okay, very little you can do there without some serious planning. If you have the foresight to create your character and choose chest emblem colors that do not clash with the rest of your colors, or match your normal chest colors, then you can go a long way towards hiding your SG Emblem. It isn't perfect, because it intersects with other designs and does little for "bare chested" types, but it's fairly easy to make the emblems unobtrusive.

So go to Icon and spend a fraction of that influence you've been saving and change your chest emblem colors to something you can fade out with reasonable success, and then chose "no chest symbol" so that you have the color options you desire.

It's really about that simple. Is it perfect? Probably not. But it is a solution. You do have the option to look almost exactly the same in SG mode or not in SG mode.

I am in support of the Prestige idea for bases and I am in support of data mining for information to assist current SGs that do use their colors often in the game. The information has been leaked well in advance of becoming implemented so there is time for those who feel “cheated” to do some time in their SG colors and build up a bank account of Prestige.

And as for those who have so many toons as to need an entirely separate SG to contain them? What is your problem? You certainly have had the time and ability to design an “SG Mode” uniform that is suitable for your group. Pick some neutral colors, and an unobtrusive symbol and take some pride in your SG. And, as it is fairly simple to get around the “SG Colors are Hateful” argument, why not do so?

Certainly everyone will not like SG mode. Shirtless men are probably the most obvious, as it is hard to explain a huge tattoo and steps were taken to keep folks from making their clothing match their skin color. Nothing is perfect. But if the ONLY thing different on your toon between SG mode and not SG mode is the chest symbol, how annoying can it really be?

Yes, yes, yes. You lose bandoleers too, and there are other shirt choices, both male and female, that do not lend themselves well to emblems. Sad but true, and I see nothing for that becoming implemented anytime soon. So pick one costume slot and put a decent shirt on.

Really, my point is that getting around the color and emblem limits on SG mode is not impossible, and in fact is rather simple. Using Prestige instead of Influence (which most of us expected before now) is a smart move. The inflation level of Influence for higher toons and the amount of Influence larger SGs could gain would be impossible to control. Starting SGs would be utterly unable to catch up with old, established groups. The larger SGs would overwhelm the smaller ones made of close friends. Worst of all, you’d have another huge storm of blindly inviting anyone and everyone into SGs so folks could inflate their numbers.

My opinion. Prestige = Good. Your Mileage May Vary.

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I sincerely hope that the Devs read these postings and determine that deciding prestige based on time in SG mode is not the way to go.

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Yeah, just like they listened to feedback on Instant Healing.

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Feedback is not only from threads that complain about a particular change. Most important feedback very likely comes in threads about other topics which the power impacts on. Threads about how easy certain things are, threads on how one AT impacts on another. There is also a very simple matter of checking out the “information kiosks” and finding out which AT and build is consistently topping the lists. Data mining and play testing against new options becoming available on the Test Server.

I’d have to say, were I a Dev, that I’d only take account less than ten percent of what folks say on the forums. Every change is greeted with a huge wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth and cries of “I’m leaving” and then … Nothing. The game doesn’t end. The world doesn’t crack in half and swallow the Devs wholesale.

It is very rare that a “Here’s a change coming and I really like it” thread is started. Most threads which are about the powers are complaints.

As my mom says, your prayers are always answered. Sometimes, however, the answer is no. The Devs in this game have shown what appears to be a remarkable willingness to listen to the forums and fans and canvass for feedback. They have also showed remarkable restraint and do not appease the winging and complaining.

And when they do listen, how happy have the player base really been? When the arena started, Super Speed and Super Running received the same ACC debuff that Flight already had. The forums went ballistic and they got their change. How happy is everyone with the speed suppression on all powers which was the result? I don’t know of any Defenders or Controllers who are.

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Bravo! Great post Roughtrade.

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Wow!

No one's ever liked me before... What do I say?

Uhh.... MORE COWBELL!


Actually, thanks but I think I was just restating what some other had said, I just sort'a put it in one place. Except for that "my opinion" stuff.

I'd like to see more rewards of this nature. Reward people who play the game according to the theme, the genre, the heart of CoH instead of those who view it as just another MMORPG to conquer and pillage.

Tho I will admit that maybe they should do something about letting Influence buy Prestige. Maybe something like a ten to one ratio, or hundred to one. I mean, all my jibes at loner Batman aside, he does have the best "headquarters" of anyone in the genre. The Fortress of Solitude only happened because Clark had cape envy.

Finally got through most of these messages. I will restate my position: I like the thought that Prestige will only be gathered in SG mode and then only for doing things like missions and fighting crime, not for standing in Atlas spamming your powers and holding costume contests. I like that they might data-mine back to gather info on how much you've done in SG mode in the past. And I like that Headquarters will be based on Prestige.

Your Mileage May Vary. I'm not telling anyone how to have fun.

On the other hand.....

Except for a quote from Lord Recluse, which is being taken wildly out of context, there is no proof that any of the things I like are true. The quote used indicates that Prestige will not be granted for doing nothing. Well, Influence doesn't come in unless you do something so I think we all could have figured that one out on our own.

For people who shout "This is unfair, they should have told us earlier"... Well maybe they just finally nailed down the mechanics for it. Where ever this rumor started, perhaps they told you as soon as they could. Is there any indication that every detail of CoH was codified in a bible somewhere, immutable and unchanging, and they were just releasing updates slowly because they found it entertaining? Or is the game constantly expanding and changing and perhaps they are listening to the forums and making decisions based on what they see as the game grows?

Maybe they were going to have Influence be used to build SG headquarters and decided that the current inflation at higher levels made that no longer an option. Maybe they decided that since Headquarters were something only SGs could do that they would reward the people who not only are in one, but actually use their SG.

Face it, if you are not in an SG by fifth level, it's only because you've been turning invites down. Being in an SG for some folks can happen within seconds of finishing Outbreak. Can you send an SG invite to someone inside Outbreak? I've never tried but it seems like I have sent an invite to someone King's Row when I was in Atlas. Maybe I am misremembering.

With nearly everyone is in a SG but hardly anyone actually using the SG mode, I can fully understand why the Devs would wish to encourage people to use it. Do I wish they allowed an option to not use the symbol? Yes. Rather, I wish they let us put it elsewhere. I personally favor allowing the choice of chest, vest pocket, belt buckle or shoulder insignia. But since the game didn't come out of the box in perfect stasis, unchanging and impervious to improvement, I am willing to wait for the time when those options are implemented.

In the meantime, actually having a base is a much more "wanted" feature from what I have seen. Possibly even easier. I do not know how difficult it is to make changes to costume options, but we already know they can plop down new maps pretty easy. Create a door coding that only allows members of a particular SG to enter sounds like it's probably easier.

Wandering off topic. Sorry.

Just wait for a bit. Until Cuppajoe says it, I won't believe it anyways. So far as I've seen, none of the Devs has been as reliable a source for rumor correction. Just in case it is true, try using your SG colors for a while. Does the chest symbol bother you? Ignore it. You don't see the front of your toon that often anyways. I hate that my armored devices blaster throws her smoke grenades instead of having cool shoulder mounts like the Freakshow do. Guess what, I pretend she does and even added it as notes on my Crey File. My friend hates that his Fire tank has a flaming sword. He pretends it's just a firey aura around his fist.

These are strictly cosmetic features of the game. The symbol on (or not on) your chest does not alter how your toon operates. If it grants you a bonus that you can use to enhance your fun, and help your friends, then frelling who cares if it doesn't look good? Superman, the Manhunter, Flash, Booster Gold... any of them would take one for the team.

And if it really destroys your verisimilitude that greatly then... Well I guess being a solo hero is more important to you than being part of the group. That makes you Batman. Or Guy Gardner.

Too many messages here to read. Has there been an actual answer on this or is it just rumors and griping?

Far as data-mining goes, sounds good to me. My SG mostly wear our colors when working together. I sometimes wear mine when solo because I like the color accent choices. In my mind, taking an SG on was just like adding more color choices to my current set of costumes.

For those who are against data-mining.... HUH???

Okay, so maybe you wish it were Influence based, but you'd rather have none of the SG time you've spent so far count at all? If that's the way it's going to work I'd think you'd want every bit of credit you have.

Will some folks (like me) who have always used thier SG colors get a head start on you? Yeh. Will it matter? Probably not. I'm getting a small reward for playing the game in a way that goes along with the thematic element but those power gamers out there who want the biggest-bestest headquarters will find a way to buff their SG time soon enough.

Since I'm more interested in having fun than having loot, I won't be ahead of you for that long.

YMMV.

Too many messages here to read. Has there been an actual answer on this or is it just rumors and griping?

Far as data-mining goes, sounds good to me. My SG mostly wear our colors when working together. I sometimes wear mine when solo because I like the color accent choices. In my mind, taking an SG on was just like adding more color choices to my current set of costumes.

For those who are against data-mining.... HUH???

Okay, so maybe you wish it were Influence based, but you'd rather have none of the SG time you've spent so far count at all? If that's the way it's going to work I'd think you'd want every bit of credit you have.

I could go either way on this. I've got bookoo influence and all, but my SG all swap into costume if one or the other of us is on together. I kind'a like it but I also made sure to use two primary colors for the SG, so they are good for making little tweak additions to uniforms, switch out your belt or gloves or the alt color on your boots... anyways... we do stuff in SG mode a lot.

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Or by trying to work together in PMs. There shouldn't EVER be an argument between writers, even if their characters are dueling to the death with deep seated rage for one another that overrides their own sense of self preservation.


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I did take this into private e-mail first. He ignored it.

And as long as I am leaving... This sort of BS "I'm sorry it's not my fault but I have to know all of your secrets" is the worst sort of writing I've encountered. Sadly, it's encountered too often.

The sheer amount of utter drivel that goes through the minds of a person on a moment by moment basis is bad enough. Strangly, all these "accidental psychics" never pick up what someone had for dinner the night before or if they feel like they have to go to the rest room. No, they always pick up important private thoughts.

Never mind the fact that constantly picking up the thoughts of every being within sight would drive a person insane. Re-Read the Phoenix Saga and recall what happened to Mastermind when Jean opened his mind to real telepathy without the ability to control the input.

It's hack writing, a way for someone to "know all about" everyone's characters without any of the risk or the actual weaknesses of having no control over something. It's being l33t and every other bad gamer etiquette.

It's crap writing. I tried to be polite about it and I tried to be direct about it. Now I'm just done with it. If this is the preferred method of interaction, then you can have fun with it. I won't stand for it.

Sorry Abe. You said this was a good group, and reading back it seemed that you were right. But like all "open" shared writing endavors it suffers from lack of quality control. If his defense of [censored] Zot's mind is "Oh... I can't help it" then Zot's response is going to be to kill him.

Because yes, when I stated to you three times that you cannot casually read Zot's mind and she can tell you are at her shields and doesn't want you in her mind and you go inside anyways and read anything, even if it's just her thinking "I'm going to shoot that clock" then it's still forcing your way into her mind.

Forcing your way. Violating her private thoughts. If that's not [censored], then you have a poor grasp of the subject.

I seem to be the minority. Everyone else seems to be okay with your design. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to have fun, after all, Your Mileage May Vary in how you play.

Here's my exits:

Halo, after twice being insulted and several times being ignored, goes looking for Abe.

Zot, takes careful note of Eilodon and goes to report him to the athourities for mental assualt. If there is any decent quality control over things, someone with control over their abilities should arrive to lobotomize his abilities. Or he can continue to [censored] every person he passes.

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2 minds? No one...? Dissociative Personality Disorder? Internalized Imaginary companion? Alien , Beta, Elisbeta, 2 minds?
All of these things leaked from Zot's mind and Eric turned away from her towards Halo.


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Okay. Because you've been so polite in e-mail and have admitted to feeling ill, I will give you a day to retract this. I told you in e-mail and you repsonded you understood. Zot has mental shielding. Eilodon is certainly capable of breaking through but ONLY IF HE FORCES HIS WAY IN.

And I told you that Zot will notice if you do.

If you are prepared for my character to react as if you have just violated her against her will, then we can go with this.

There is no way you can "accidentally" know the private name that only her father calls her from "casual surface contact" Knowing that sort of thing requires you digging around. No one thinks of their own name constantly.

I am very serious about this. Zot will react as if you had sexually assualted her. My personal feelings are that what you do is actually worse. If you want to have an uncontrolled psychic ability, that's your choice. But I will NOT react to a complete mind reaming as if it were nothing.

Halo can't stop you. Halo doesn't know you're there, and may not understand if someone explained it to her. Zot, on the other hand, I informed you knows exactly what is happening and will react acordingly.

Zot has mental defenses, augmented by her suit and her AI. If you push past those defenses, she will know and consider it an attack. I warned you in e-mail and I am warning you again now.


I do not feel I can properly respond without giving you the chance to retract your "inner thoughts".

Zot hovered down to the floor to land after the battle was over. Halo also came lower to the ground, but did not actually land.

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“In the last three days, we’ve been attacked by Skulls and Tsoo and now Clockwork in our home.”

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"Zzoundzz like you have your work cutz outz for you around here.” Zot quipped.

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Newton thought for a moment. “Oh, yes, and the whole building was taken to Hell.”

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Difficult as it is to read the expressions of a person in a metal helmet, there was a definite double take from Zot as he casually mentioned this.

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Sting walked over and picked up the parts of the large clock. “So, now that he has been rebuilt and re-defeated, any chance we can still find out where he sent Abrahms and the boss?”


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“Abe Rams?” Halo Jones, who had been quietly following the others suddenly became agitated. “Where is the Abe Rams?”

However the conversation turned towards introductions and clockworks, so she simply followed along, fidgeting in mid-air and trying to discover what had happened to her friend.

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Sting looked over at Zot. “So I guess that you are now our tech genius. Any chance you can figure it out? And are you just here for a visit or are you staying?” Sting asked rather abruptly.


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“I don’t know, zzince you hazz already told me to ignore you, I do not zzink I will be zzaying. Rough Juzztizz might have rough edgezz, but he at leazz hazzz mannezz.”

She then turned towards Newton; her blank faceplate with it’s single red line of a sensor dimly glowing gave no indication as to if she were truly upset with Sting, or just copping an attitude to match him. But it didn’t matter since she focused on the Clocks. She did somehow alter her voder unit, and cut back some of the static crackle in her conversation.

“Reanimating zem iz impossible.” Zot said to the assembly, without the static, her voice had a recognizable feminine tone and a faintly European accent. “I am no expert on zem, nobody iz but zee King himself. Rebuilding one has never been zuccessfully accomplished. Clockwork Constructs appear to not function by means of logic which are currently understood. Zum of the folks at D.A.T.A. argue zat zey operate by means of an undiscovered loophole in quantum particle physics.” She sighed. “If one of you has a Nobel Prize in mathematics, maybe you can explain zat to me. I’ve never gotten a straight answer out of zem on zee subject.”

“But I do know a lot about zem.” She nodded towards Rough Trade, acknowledging his praise of her abilities. “I’ve made a habit of zeeking them out. They have certain predictable patterns, though like zee weather, zese predictions can be incorrect if applied to every situation.”

“Always go for zee big ones first. Especially if zey make claims to a name.” Zot instructed. “Current best theory is zat zee Clocks have a hive mind mentality. Zee more of zem zat zere are, zee smarter zey are. And zey eventually realize zat bigger means more dangerous, so zee smart ones get zee little ones to build zem bigger.”

“If zey call themselves by a name, then zey are finally getting smart enough to be self aware. This makes zem even more dangerous, and might even be zee source of zee true identity of zee Clockwork King. Perhaps whatever started zese things made itself big enough to take over all of zem.” Zot shrugged.

“On zee other hand, zat Babbage thing keeps rebuilding itself from time to time, and it acts about as mindless as one of zose play dough monsters in zee Perez Park lake. I have a theory zat zee King himself is in zee driver seat when Babbage is on a rampage, but I’ve never been close enough to monitor zee signals and test zat out.”

“I have managed to adapt my zenzors to monitor for what I call control signals. I could tell zat Bombard was zee main source for zee ones we just defeated, but what his control source was eluded me, as always. Zee mind of zee King is not as simple as it’s subjects.”

“HIE!” Halo interrupted, swooping down to face the armored woman. “Too much the talking! What is done with the Abe Rams?” She looked at the others. “Where is the Abe Rams?”

Startled, Zot stepped back. Halo glowered at the room, her eyes beginning to give off sparks of blue plasma.

“Calm down, Halo.” Zot cautioned the other woman. “I’m zorry if I got off track.”

“You said zat zee clockworks here created a teleportational effect?” Zot asked Newton. “To my knowlege, zey have never done zis before. But it might have simply been something zey were carrying with zem, some weapon zey found or modified. If you destroyed zee original, zee smaller ones may not have been smart enough to recognize it’s importance.”

“Did zee teleporting one call itself anything? Was it a Prince?” Zot asked, not just Newton, but everyone in the room. “If you have all zee pieces here, I might be able to figure out how it was done.”

[ QUOTE ]
OOC [ QUOTE ]
Teach me to spend time with my family. Ya’ll sure write fast when ya wanna.

[/ QUOTE ] /OOC

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As chaos reigned in the basement, the clockwork assemblers strove to complete their function. The myriad whirring and buzzing machines fought back; filling the room with the smell of ozone. So great was the level of static that lights began to glow as free electricity in the air found paths to ground out, giving the impression that the cars and even the building itself might be coming to life in assistance to the metallic threat. Saint Elmo’s fire danced on metal, lighting some of the Oscillators with ghostly fire.

And then the heroes rallied.

Bombard was crippled by the “puny human” that it had intended to crush. Worker cogs tried to rebuild their master faster than Rough Justice could destroy him, but gravitic waves first crumpled them and then scattered them to the corners of the room. By chance or design the clocks turned upon Eidolon, nearly shattering his protective field. His response was to connect the minds of all present.

The mind of the woman clad in blue metal was protected. Artificially amplified, but defended none the less. Zot’s abilities were not strong but they were enough that he would have to choose if he delved in further.

The other woman, Halo Jones, was not defended, but entering her mind was like entering into a raw wound. Chaotic, disjointed, fractured. If a person’s mind were to be described as parts of Paragon City, Eidolon had just stepped into Faultline. Nothing made sense and to bring her completely into a link with the rest would infect everyone with the confusion within.

But the ladies were not truly needed. The members of the Two Six rallied, striking at the little foes before redoubling their efforts against the master. Zot did accept the offering of a hand up, and then hovered up further to get a good view of the room. She generated massive bolts of energy that kept Bombard reeling as Rough Justice got into position.

“Zaa big onezz!” Zot shouted as spines began to fly, skewering and smashing the Cogs and Gears. “He izz controzzing zaa ozzerzz!”

Halo Jones recovered her senses, and began firing off blasts of pure plasma, shattering little Cogs and bouncing Oscillators off the walls as if they were ping pong balls. She darted overhead like a dragonfly, and was heedless of the damage falling metal and glancing plasma strikes did to the remains of the tools in the garage.

Rough Justice surged forward, body slamming Bombard into the concrete wall. He crushed it’s electronic heart, silencing it’s menace forever. Or, at least until the enigmatic Clockwork King chose to rebuild it. As the light dimmed in their master’s ocular receptors, the myriad gears and smaller sprockets suddenly dropped as one. A few of the stronger remaining Cogs tried to flee, but were unable to escape before the Two Six ran them down.

[ QUOTE ]

((OOC: Actually, since Ion left I have been assuming the FF as no longer functioning – however I believe that the explanation that it is only partially functioning is reasonable for the time being. This would allow the clocks as well as some of the new folks to gain entry.))

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My bad entirely. Ya'll mentioned it was at the door a few times, but not elsewhere. I thought it was a bubble Neg Ion had left behind.

Regular "Defender made" force fields can be walked through by enemies, but not the War Walls. Personal Opinion, War Wall Force Fields require huge generators and stuff or they'd be a lot more commonplace. Or at least, if they were capable of building sized ones, the previous cops would'a had better defenses. But maybe they can be done, just not cheaply, and the taxes wouldn't cover it.

Maybe a cross between the two types. Have a building sized FF generator that stops TP and phase shifted, but not physical bodies. Allows for my having Zot sneaking in, as well as clocks getting into the woodwork. And, it can be upgraded/tweaked to become a "detector" as well.

Though I don't plan on keeping Zot in the 26 longer than to handle the current situation, I did feel I could have her become a technical advisor/security guru for the 26. Every SG needs a twidget.

Now to read the rest of the stuff and get some answers done. Was my B-day yesterday and I had family over.

[ QUOTE ]
OOC [ QUOTE ]
“How are these things getting in through the force field – unless…some gear or another shut down the force field.

[/ QUOTE ]

Apologies if I misread some posts while catching up. My reading of things was: The force field at the door was from Negative Ion, who is MIA, and did not extend over the entire building. Your Force Field is down below, and only recently brought up.



Thanks for releasing Zot (grin) I was kind'a having fun with the "damsel in distress" shtick. But I guess it is time for her to help.



But back to my point, if there is a force field around the entire building then someone needs to explain it more clearly and really, it should be faded by now unless Neg Ion is sticking around. If it is still up, I guess the clocks came in from the cracks in the foundation.

/OOC

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[ QUOTE ]
"Halo there you are can you let her in." Rough Justice said, just moments before the floor shook from the impact of the bench smashing the wall below. "Told you we’d hear it escape. Hurry we might want her help" With that Rough Justice headed to the stairs, his movement a blur.


Newton leapt nimbly over the desk past Eric and to the door. “Halo, welcome aboard,” he said as he grabbed the bluish woman by the shoulder. “I think that we have clockwork downstairs. We’ll cover the administrative bull-crap later.” Newton ran down to the fight just in time to see RJ crash into the prince.

[/ QUOTE ]

“Hie??” The blue skin’d woman blinked in confusion. “Clock and board crap down in the stairs?”

Halo had barely hovered in past the force field when strangers began talking far to fast for her to follow what they said. She allowed herself to be towed quite speedily down a hallway and a stair case, finding a full scale battle in progress.

[ QUOTE ]

With a moment of concentration, Newton spread an intense gravity field around the armored figure, and the cogs and sprockets that had been getting up from their encounter with RJ were being crushed back down again.


[/ QUOTE ]

“Toys!” Halo called out, flexing her arms and jetting up towards the ceiling. “Time to break Toys!”

“Flesh cannot break metal.” The large, and only complete, Prince pressed Rough Justice back a single step, it's overwhelming mass granting a small advantage in shoving matches. “Flesh is weak. Metal is strong. Flesh can feel pain, Bombard does not!” It raised a hand, power crackling along the length of it.

Electric fire spewed forth, Halo twisted, but the close confines of the garage hampered her normally free flying tactics and she was caught in the edges of the blast of power. Before she could recover to return fire, the Prince turned it’s attention onto Rough Justice. Bombard’s massive arms ended in hands as thick as the front end of a pick up truck, and each was driven by pistons that gave a kenetic force equal to such a vehicle moving at sixty miles per hour. The impact drove Sean so strongly into the ground that the concrete floor beneath his feet cracked.

And for the rest, the Prince’s court, for every cog that was destroyed, ten gears scampered out to collect the pieces and reassemble them. Cogs clambered out of the oil pit beneath the remains of a squad car. Oscillators clanked and fell out of the ventilation ducts overhead, their whirly-bird blades unfolding and buzzing in the air. Multiple lighting strikes crackled across the room. In the dark corners of the garage the construction continued on four more Princes, each to the same specifications as Bombard.

“ZZWARRMINGSS” Zot shouted to the room, the electric cage that still prevented her from moving creating a greater static to the normal crackle of her broadcast. “Dizzreguarzz zzah dronezzz, dezzroy zzah puppezz mazzer!”

"Puppies?" Coming out of her dazed state, Halo looked around and said. "Am see no puppies?"


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OOC: [ QUOTE ]

Abe could’a told’ja I wouldn’t keep completely quiet. Up to everyone to decide how hurt ya are, but the Clocks ain’t out of the picture yet, the cogs and stuff are still fighting, shooting at anything that moves and isn’t metal. RJ, if you don’t wanna be knocked down, you’re unstoppable, right? But the floor beneath you ain’t, so that’s why I cracked it.


I don't know the rest of you well enough to take equal liberties without more direct permission.

[/ QUOTE ] /OOC


[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, a crash, a crackle, a crunch and a thunderclap, boom, bang and so on…. About ten seconds or so I figure. Should be more than enough time for surprise at the noise to clear and someone from the lobby come running to investigate. I hope the reactivation isn’t a problem. One Prince level thing shouldn’t be a real problem if several of ya’ll come running, even with his court. And there should still be the original “mystery pieces” you captured from the others. But I figure the King knows where all his parts are, and so he could easily send some cogs to retrieve the things you stole. Beat them easy, beat them with difficulty. Zot is out of the combat for at least one “round” of posts from ya’ll. Though if someone let’s Halo in first, it would be nice to me. I leave all the timing of when the fight starts up to ya’ll to fit in as many as wish to participate. There’s enough Cogs for everyone, the more the merrier.

I just like starting with a bang. And once I am actually with others, I won’t have the luxury of writing so much of what happens. Should certainly shorten my novels here.

Zot was halfway down to the main floor when the warning came.

[[Beta!]] Her computer warned her. [[Power spike. Clockwork! A big one just became active!]]

[“Big? How big?”]

[[Prince. Duke. Perhaps one of the Archdukes we’ve heard reports of.]]

[“Where? Jaunt me!”] She demanded, releasing control of her teleportational unit to the computer.

There was a crackle of static and Zot found herself in the basement. A massive brass and iron form filled the back corner of what appeared to be a garage. A rack of tools was completely demolished, absorbed into the building of the hulking brute of metal. Smaller cogs and gears were in the process of building more in three other places within the room. For the moment, they did not detect any living presence.

[“They brought clockwork pieces back here? To their home?’] Zot gasped. [“Idiots!”]

[[Now now, Beta.]] Her computer chided. [[Not everyone is as familiar with the workings of the clocks as you. Be polite.]]

Zot responded, but not to her computer. First things first, soft “whumps” of air pressure were the only sound made as she deployed smoke and chaff bombs. Billowing into the room, the simple minds of the clockwork constructs did not register the threat; they simply registered failing in their sensor units. One or two of the most strongly effected detached their own heads to more easily clean the ocular monitors. The big one was the threat though. More sophisticated, it shifted, searching. It had not quite registered the threat but it did react with more suspicion to the sudden dimness of it's sight.

Getting it’s attention was not going to be the problem, Elisabeta reflected. Surviving the result was. The cogs and smaller sprockets were not too great a threat, even in these numbers. But should they be allowed to complete the three… no four Prince sized units already under construction, then things were going to be very, very nasty. Elisabeta considered the time required to return to the lobby, convince everyone she was a friend and then convince them of the threat in the garage, it would take too long.

Sparks crackled about her in the air and high voltage arced from her outstretched hand towards the hulking monster. Circuits sizzled and pieces of metal blasted off it’s side, but it was too big to be destroyed in a single stroke. The few smaller constructs nearby turned slowly and watched, as if fascinated by their leader suddenly become assaulted by empty air. Most simply continued with their work.

In preparation for a sudden charge, whenever the rest became aware of her, Zot discharged a packet of cluster spikes, scattering across the floor in front of her. The high tech caltrops splayed about her in a semi-circle. Zot then turned to face the big one again, fully braced for it to charge or try to electrocute her. She was completely shocked when it ripped a wooden workbench free and hurled it through the air. The building shook with the resounding crash as she sailed through the air and slammed into the far wall.

“Bombard smash you!”

The grating clash of gears made the thing’s voice almost incomprehensible, but Zot didn’t need to understand the words to know she was in trouble. Clocks didn’t name themselves, their names came from heroes not wanting to keep saying “that one” all the time. The Clocks that could think enough to develop a sense of identity were the truly dangerous ones. She struggled to break free of the heavy workbench and barely managed the feat before he struck again. Powerful bolts of energy arced through the air and slammed her again into the wall. Purple and blue lights flashed on her HUD as the internal computer shored up her internal systems and routed more power to her defensive shielding.

[“Gimmie more power.”] She demanded. [“I am gonna fry his circuits!”]

Red lights flickered on her HUD. The targeting drone locked on Bombard, a yellow light coming on next to the two reds. Elisabeta smiled inside her mask and released a bolt of energy that resounded like a thunderclap. Bombard staggerd into the nearest pile of clocks, knocking over their construction and flattening one of the cogs with his heavy foot. Unphased, two of them turned from their ruined project and began repairing their master. The other three turned their attention to Zot, firing blasts of energy at her position. Gears began scrambling to rebuild the squashed cog.

Smoke billowed out of a stack on Bombard’s side, and it staggerd off balance as Zot followed up with another blast of energy. In return, purple energies crackled along it’s arm, which reached out almost as if trying to grasp Zot, who hung some forty feet away. A ball of energy spewed out and encased the metal clad woman.

[[Elisabeta! Move!]]

The computer warned her too late. Trapped in an expanding sphere of power, termed a “tesla cage” by a public that didn’t really know it’s electromagnetic physics. Ill suited the name or not, the field had a debilitating effect; all of Zot’s systems shut down and her armor locked up completely. The external sensor dropped, bouncing off the wreckage beneath her. Zot’s hover field was cut off and she fell to the floor. More importantly, the ECM field completely failed. She rebounded off the floor, fully visible. As one the entire room of clockwork constructs turned and fired upon her. Stunned, she writhed helplessly as the electrical cage crackled and spat sparks.

The Prelate retreated back to the sewers, unwilling to be found in such an open place as King’s Row. Too much attention would be caused, too many of the more powerful heroes would come to investigate. Better that they think only the lesser brethren were capable of coming out into the light. He scurried along, to return to his cavern in Terra Volta. Psychic inspiration had called him to dare discovery and haunt the south end of King’s Row, and it had gifted him with a sight of a prize much sought after within the ranks of The Lost. If he were the one to return the Blue Marauder to duty, if he were to recapture the living weapon, then maybe he could gather enough to his personal guard to unify the Lost under his command. If he could manage that, then even the Rikti would tremble before him. He had a mental tag on her now. So long as she did not exit this dimension, he would know every move the Blue Marauder made.

Unaware of his monitoring of her location, Halo Jones flew towards the location of the Two Six. A blue streak of light against the sky, though the omnipresent smog from the factories obscured her passage. She arrived at the front, landing on the street and looking in puzzlement at the doorway.

“Field of Force?” She frowned, walking up to the doorway. “Am to enter, how?”