Samuel_Tow

I'm sorry if this seems like a mean thing to say, but I just feel it's high time we accepted this and, more importantly, admitted that we need a solution to it. I was just watching the MMOgrinder review of City of Heroes, and it occurs to me that Chaos is not the first person to say our characters look plastic and doll-like. I agree that a lot of our newer, paid-for costume pieces look very good - better than a lot of contemporary games, actually.

But our humans are still ugly. Of all the old costumes in this game, some of by FAR the oldest are the basic human body shape and the human skin texture, and those have never been updated. And that's a problem. Our clothes and our armour are getting better and better, yet our bodies remain very ugly when we take those clothes off. Our necks are atrocious, our feet are cube-like, our hands have no fingers, our women's arms are cylindrical tubes, our skins have no definition, our hair is static and on and on and on.

Obviously, some of those things are too resource-intensive to do. Fingers, for instance, would require the remodelling of all available gloves while moving hair would probably require new tech. But at least some of those things shouldn't be this hard to improve on. Our characters' basic physique is laughable. The old "naked" body modle is severely limited in terms of detailing, essentially the same as it was back in 2004, or 2001 or whenever those were first made. Giving us better BARE feet should not be this hard. Giving us a torso with better shoulders and more realistic physique should not be this hard. Giving us ankles that look like ankles should not be such a problem.

Our costumes look great, but the characters inside those costumes still look blocky, dated and unrefined. But that's just me complaining. I want to turn this into something positive.

Suppose you could change any number of things on the basic character model sans any clothes. What would they be, and in what order of importance would you arrange them?

For me, those would be:
*The skin. Our basic skin texture is far too simplistic and uncustomizable. We can do better.
*The necks. Those double chins have to go.
*The faces. The whole head mesh can do with a LOT more 3D details.
*The arms. For women, these look like sausages more than like arms.
*The feet. This is 2011. Shoes painted with toes on them is not good enough.
*The ankles. There's just something really weird about those.
*The hair. I don't know how other games do it, but having even short hair sway just looks cool.

If we're talking pure gameplay preference, I'll always take Scrappers over Brutes just because of the way Fury works. It's like Magnum Magnumsson: "Pulls like a train, and fast, once it gets going. And once its going, it's not gonna' stop." That, however is a double-edged sword. Once Brutes get going, they're great, but once they stop, they're crap, not to put too fine a point on it. The trick to playing a Brute well is to play to the Brute's strength, which puts a time pressure on me, and I'm a laid-back kind of guy who's easily distracted by TV, other people in the room, exploring the map, chatting over Global and so forth. That doesn't make them a bad AT - far from it, especially since the I18 Fury changes. That said, Fury bugs me, while Scrapper Criticals do not.

If we're talking about concept, however, I see things like this: Any character who is defined first and foremost by being incredibly dangerous becomes a Scrapper. Any character who is defined first and foremost by being hard to kill a Brute. It's somewhat simplistic of an approach, but the simpler the rules, the easier the decisions. I do play Stalkers, too, but Stalkers tend to be characters I'd define as "cheaters." They're the ones who may or may not be able to win in a fair fight, but just don't like fighting fair for whatever reason.

The interesting thing about City of Heroes is that this is a game where distance really doesn't matter. Between the tools that players have from their own powers, the way the game's transportation works and all the many esoteric transportation methods on top of that, there really is no place in the game that you can't get to within about a minute, if your rig loads zones reasonably fast. Yes, that's including the Shadow Shard, if we presume players will use the cop-out teleporters and the cheap jet packs, or just know how to use the geysers.

I remember a friend of mine playing Lineage II and fighting in some cave somewhere. I believe he mentioned needing to return to the nearest town for something, but being unable to. I asked him why he didn't just use the Scroll of Recall that I know he had (which would return him to the last town he's visited nearly instantly) and he replied something to the effect of "Yeah, but do you have any idea how long it would take me to get back here?" I don't recall the eyeball estimate he gave me, but I recall guessing at 15 minutes and him scoffing and shaking his head.

If there's one praise that I can easily and unquestionably give to City of Heroes, it's that this is by FAR the most convenient game I have ever played. Worlds and worlds apart from even its nearest competitors. Yes, part of it is that I'm just so used to this game, but it's still the one game that pisses me off the LEAST

Dreams are what City of Heroes is all about. I'm in this game living the dream of something I've always wanted to have, but that no other game can give me - my own characters by my own design

Also, I tried to present Ramiel as overly-elaborate but reserved, as well as ill-informed. You had the perfect angle in your story, I think - Ramiel is the one who takes us to the Well, but he doesn't fully understand it because he hasn't been chosen. He isn't a leader, but rather a follower.

Rook: Situation contained. And I see you’re already here.

Ramiel: I am. When you defeated the Guardian...

Rook: The temporal frequency distortion cleared up, yes, I’m aware. Prepare your ritual, I’ll be right over.

Ramiel: What is there left to do?

Rook: Security, obviously. Spectral analysis suggests these reflections can phase through solid matters, and I’m not entirely convinced m drones discorporated all of them. I’m still getting conflicting tracker readings.

Ramiel: Be at ease, Steel Rook. The Reflections are defeated, and your destiny is...

Rook: There’s no such thing as ease when you’re dealing with these things. I need shield arrays around the perimeter of the chamber and phase cannon drones covering the all interior surfaces. If this “Well” has been here for an eternity as you say, it can wait another five minutes.

Ramiel: If that is what will put your mind at ease, then so be it, but never forget that it is your destiny that will be decided here.

Rook: I like to think that destiny favours the prepared, Ramiel. And I didn’t bring my entire stock of combat drones to be caught unprepared. I intend to spend some time here, after all.

Ramiel: You do? Do you perhaps have any preconceived notions as to what you will find deeper in this chamber?

Rook: Of course not. I am a scientist first and foremost, and I happen to believe that to approach a new phenomenon with a closed mind is just really bad science. Besides, you and Silos have gone so far out of your way to keep me from researching this “Well” that I have to wonder if you have something to hide.

Ramiel: You misunderstand our intention. We do not seek to hide truths from you, we merely seek to...

Rook: Preserve your precious causality curve, I’m aware.

Ramiel: Stop interrupting me!

Rook: Then stop patronising me. Neither your technology nor your theories are as incomprehensible as you think. I’m more than well aware that I’m not the first person you’ve brought here. I know you’re looking for something to happen by bringing people to this cave, and I’ve agreed that I won’t look into your motivations, but please – don’t insult my intelligence.

Ramiel: You say you have no preconceived notions as to what you will find, yet clearly you have considered the possibilities.

Rook: Of course. While it would be bad science to come with expectations, it would be foolish to not do my homework. As I said – destiny favours the prepared. Speaking of which, my security measures have been taken care of. We should be safe from further incursions for the time being.

Ramiel: Are you prepared to begin, then?

Rook: Yes. I’ve set up my monitoring and recording equipment, temporal transponders are in place and my armour is connected to record all physical and mental activity. If anything transpires here, I will detect it.

Ramiel: What happens in this chamber may be more spiritual than you expect, Steel Rook.

Rook: Spirits leave spectral traces behind, psionics affect certain minerals and magic has a predicable effect on specific electro-magnetic fields. Don’t try to sell me the “open your mind” hocus-pocus.

Ramiel: Have it your way, then. Each must meet his destiny his own ways, for this is the place and this is the time when the strands of fate intertwine with the physical world, and destiny’s course is charted.

Rook: That makes a lot of sense, assuming we’re dealing with the kind of fairy tail science that makes no sense whatsoever.

Ramiel: But doesn’t it, really? Do you not feel it in your heart of hearts?

Rook: Feel what?

Ramiel: Destiny. And, please, resist your urge to argue with me just this once. Look into your heart, feel the sensation and tell me... Is there truly nothing there?

Rook: None of my sensors are reading anything...

Ramiel: Yet you sound less confident in your denials.

Rook: That’s because there really is something here, but I can’t tell what it is. It’s just like you described it... It’s just this feeling, like I’ve forgotten something that I really ought to remember. But why aren’t any of my scanners picking anything up? It feels psychic, but...

Ramiel: Let go of your doubt, Steel Rook. Trust yourself to the Well, and you will hear its voice.

Rook: Like hell I will! Everything has an explanation, and THIS has an explanation, too! I just need to find it.

Ramiel: The Well of the Furies is destiny incarnate. It cannot be explained, it just is.

Rook: Do you even know what you’re talking about? Because to me, it sounds like you’re just stringing words together into things that resemble sentences but don’t make any sense.

Ramiel: Perhaps you are not one of the chosen, after all. Could the timeline have been wrong?

Rook: I’m not done yet!

Ramiel: Yes, you are. You refuse to open your mind to the Well, and thus you cannot hear its voice. You are correct in that I have brought others here, and they have failed just as you have – they simply refuse to listen. You cannot accept that there simply is no explanation for the power of the Well and in so doing, you fail.

Rook: Of course there’s an explanation! Unless... The explanation is that there is no explanation.

Ramiel: Now you are the one not making sense.

Rook: Of course I am. That’s the answer, that’s the key! Look! I’m actually getting a reading now that I know what I’m looking for!

Ramiel: Explain, then.

Rook: If I try to examine this “Well” logically, then I find nothing at all, because no logical energy or being exists here. The well wasn’t moved like I know you suspect, there was never anything here to begin with. There was and still is quite literally nothing here in every sense of the word. But it is in this nothing that the answer lies! That’s what I wasn’t seeing before!

Ramiel: I do not understand.

Rook: No, of course you don’t. How could you? I want to say you weren’t chosen, but that’s not it. You can’t see the Well because there is nothing to see here. That’s the explanation – there is no explanation. There’s nothing here to draw power or knowledge from. “A piece of the world is missing.” That’s what it meant.

Ramiel: I’m not familiar with this quote. Where is it from?

Rook: I don’t remember, but it’s entirely relevant here. The well is “nothing,” in the sense that it is a concept free of substance. It is an idea, a possibility, but with no preconceived notion in it. It is, for lack of a better term, “inspiration.” This is at the root of every great scientific discovery – the inspiration to look at the world in a different way and to see if for how it truly works as opposed to for how you thought it worked.

Ramiel: I cannot say I understand, but I am to assume you have heard the voice?

Rook: No. Not yet, at least, but now I know what to listen for. You were right – there is an intelligence of some sort here. You were also right in that I can’t communicate with it, but I think I have an idea about how I coul. I don’t have the scanning equipment on me, as I didn’t think I would need it, but I can have it delivered soon enough.

Ramiel: Our time is not infinite here. Sooner or later, the Reflections will return, and I cannot keep the portal open indefinitely.

Rook: Well, it’s a good thing I set up a defensive perimeter, then, isn’t it? And don’t worry about the time portal. I have my own way back home. In fact, you can head on back to Silos and tell him to not bother coming down here. He couldn’t comprehend this.

Ramiel: You have access to time portal technology, then?

Rook: Let’s just say I have my own solutions to certain common problems. My own proprietary solutions that you really don’t need to know the specifics about. Company secret, you see.

Ramiel: I see... If we must leave it at this, then may I ask one final question before I leave you to your “science?”

Rook: Of course. Just don’t expect to understand the answer.

Ramiel: Exactly what is it that you think you have found here, and why do you believe you alone are entitled to it?

Rook: What I’ve found here is an abstract concept written into the very shape and state of the matter and energy around me. It is an idea that I alone can see because I alone can wrap my mind around this sort of irrational concept while still keeping it within a rational frame of reference. In the very simplest of terms, I’ve found a phenomenon that’s far too complex for you to understand.

Ramiel: You think this little of me?

Rook: Yes and no. What I’ve found here has intelligence, and it will present a different face to different people who see it. To most, it looks like nothing because they are not ready to comprehend it. To me, it represents an idea, even a set of ideas – all the questions I could never answer, I can solve with the right ideas here. To someone else, it could be a voice, or light, or a feeling of power.

Ramiel: I see.

Rook: No, you don’t. That’s the most fascinating thing. You had me convinced that this “Well” is a source of power, but the way I see it, it’s a source of answers to those who can ask the right questions. What would your questions be, Ramiel?

Ramiel: ...

Rook: Precisely. Go back to Silos and tell him what you’ve found. And keep him out of my cave until I’m done with it. His presence just serves to complicate things. I have a lot of work to do here before I can truly parse the abstraction of these ideas, but I think things are about to get very, very interesting for me.

Ramiel: Very well. But do you truly believe that your machines will give you the answers that have eluded so very many others across the infinite expanse of time?

Rook: “Answers” is precisely what the Well is. That’s what you and the others fail to grasp. It’s not power that you’ll find here, it’s ideas, and right now, I have a pretty good idea how to communicate with this thing. If I can just stop explaining this to you over and over again, this might not take so long!

Ramiel: Point taken. I will inform Silos and relay your request for privacy.

Rook: You can also relay that I have my turrets set to shoot anyone who’s not me.

Ramiel: Noted. Godspeed, Steel Rook. Perhaps you will be our salvation after all.

When I said I was inspired by the story, that wasn't just empty praise. It reminded me about how much fun it was to wrote, and so I wrote my own version. It may not be entirely consistent with the original story here, but I feel it's along the same lines. With permission, here it is:

Doesn't one of the Arsonist's bombs cause burn patches, though?

Masterminds have a problem with enemies running away. It's not just your Arsonist. My Bots/Traps Mastermind can't fight an elite boss without said elite boss taking off running about four times for seemingly no reason. I don't get why this is, but enemies seem to fear Masterminds more than any other AT. It's endlessly infuriating.

Personally, I don't like "run away" powers in general. I would get it if powers like Burn or Caltrops just caused the AI to run our of the patch, then stop and keep fighting as soon as that happened, but that's not the case. The AI starts running and running and running until it runs so far away it loses aggro. I have never been able to comprehend why this was ever considered a good thing in this game.

I really like this story, and that it's a reinterpretation of the Well is only a part of it. I especially like the saying that "it's not a thing." It's such a simple saying, yet says so very much. Yes, if I had a choice, that's how I would interpret the Well, or re-interpret it, as the case may be.

But beyond that, I like this as a story. I like how hopeful it is in some of the simplest things, and how empowering it is not just for heroes with meta-human powers, but for people in general. The greatest power of all is but a mirror which reminds us that the greatest of strength doesn't lie in secrets or objects or other people, but rather it lies in ourselves. And this is an idea I just like.

I admit, read the story in pre-production But I still like it now for the same reasons as then - it's a story from which I walk away smiling. It's a story from which I walk away inspired to make one of my own. And I can't say that very often.

Your insolence amuses me. I'm glad you're spending New Year's Day concocting frankly embarrassing rhetoric for the sole reason of putting me down. It would be interesting if you actually made an argument at opposed to tossing thinly-veiled insults in my direction, but I guess not everyone can put an argument together. That's OK. I still love you. You provide entertainment.

How about this: When Pulse Rifle came out, a lot of weapon models were made for it. So why didn't Pulse Rifle attacks for Robotic Masterminds get them?

I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, I LOOOVE conquest-type gameplay where you slowly take over a whole city. That's the sort of progress that keeps me glued to my keyboard. If I could clean the city out of crime, I definitely would.

On the other hand, I HAAATE the phasing tech because of how it breaks teams apart - and it does, despite official documentation claiming it shouldn't. But if those technical issues could be solved, then I'd clean up all of it. So long as my new characters start out in a city which hasn't been cleaned, I'm all for it.

I'd also like to be able to clean up the city retroactively. If this possibility came out when my character was already 50 for a year, I'd like to be able to go back and do it anyway.