Samuel_Tow
-
Posts
14730 -
Joined
-
Quote:I couldn't disagree more. I'm beyond pissed off at Booster packs with ever more unbalancing powers, giving people who fork out an ever greater advantage over people who don't, segregating people into haves and have nots based on money spent. If no Booster pack ever added another power to the game, I would be perfectly happy.Originally Posted by Invisobill
I couldn't agree more. At this point they're just ripping off players dumb enough to buy everything thrown at them. In my mind a booster pack should provide options and powers that go way beyond the bounds and needs of normal players. Costume change emotes: yes. Possible jetpack costume options: yes. Regular emotes, auras and regular not so special costume pieces: no. Those costume pieces and auras should be free for everyone. The microtransaction crap with this game is beginning to get out of hand. -
Quote:Oh, I'm not trying to pick a fight, eitherOriginally Posted by UberGuy
PS: I'm being derriere-puckeringly technical about terms here just to clarify what I meant. There's no real argument going on here from my perspective.
Just wanted to reinforce that, other circumstances notwithstanding, veteran and temporary powers ignore AT modifiers and use their own static ones. Hence why they're comparatively more useful to, say, a Defender than a Blaster - a Blaster's own damage overshadows the power, whereas a Defender's low damage mod makes it seem stronger.
-
Quote:I'm reminded of Top Cat who was holding some kind of a party with "Free soda at 20 cents per bottle."Originally Posted by Obsidius
Hey! I just remembered... Vanguard outfits. Free with the RWZ issue and earnable Merits.
-
Personally, I feel this booster is a good ideas. Our auras are OLD, and the selection is VERY sparse. Sure, we can always use more costumes, but it's auras where the game really hurts, and the auras that come in this pack seem to open up at least a few new concepts for me. That's always a plus.
-
Something occurs to me that I should post. With the announcement of the I19 Blast animation changes, there's something I've wanted to be able to do:
Fire all blasts from either just the left hand or just the right hand.
I would actually accept using the same animation six or seven times with different power effects if that's what it takes. I'd even accept using the already existing "cast" animations, as we have one for each hand, though I'd prefer something with a closed fist. Say, Sniper Blast's animation seven times over for Energy Blast.
The reason I ask for this is because I have a Blaster who uses one of those big robotic right arms, and it would REALLY make the character shine if I could have her powers come out of that. -
Quote:That reminds me of a logical puzzle like that, where several shapes make up a triangle, then when you rearrange them, they make up the same triangle but with one square chunk removed from it. As it shouldn't be possible that the sum of the areas of all shapes should change when they're rearranged, the question was why this happened. The answer was that one thing which looked like a straight line really wasn't, and was in fact an angle.Originally Posted by GuyPerfect
I just counted the squares.
The reason I'm saying this is because while it looks like the line is passing through the square's edges on the graph, I'm not sure that's actually true, especially since the graph is squashed and out of scale. -
Quote:Well, of course, I can always do thatOriginally Posted by Megajoule
Sam:
Okay, I agree, that would be nice to have. But until it's added, I suggest that you keep doing what I have for years, long before conversation options were added to the game: use some imagination.
The scene should have played out differently for your character than what was written/assumed by the devs? Fine! Imagine it. Write it up, if you like, or just keep it in your own head, since you're the person to whom it matters. It's not like anyone else was there to witness it either way. After all, these things didn't make me log out and delete the character. But I can solve a lot of problems that way that I'd ideally really want to see solved for real. I can deal with the problems, yes, but that doesn't make them any less problematic or any less worthy of addressing, or at the very least bringing up.
I just feel the game can give us a LOT more choice without breaking framework than it already does, and once again, it's a question of writing, rather than technology. -
It's such a pity we can't gift each other Booster Pack codes, really.
-
Quote:I've always wanted to have instances like that, myself. UT2004's Convoy is a good idea, along with UT's Train. We need more missions aboard vehicles and vessels of different kinds in general. Trains, planes, even ocean liners (which don't consist of nothing but giant empty holds) would be a start.Originally Posted by Dr_Mechano
The tech for this is beyond ancient in gaming terms.
The game Blood did the 'fight on the train towards the engine' level with exactly that kind of tech is the first I can remember seeing it used, it was used later in the 1st Unreal Tournament for an 'assault' map (assault and stop the train).
The terrain itself was basically a conveyor belt, the train didn't move but the level itself moved giving the impression of speed where there was none.
It also worked if you feel from the train and died as your head would be carried along on the conveyor belt making it look like the train was speeding off into the distance.
Now the question comes wether they could do that in THIS game using that sly illusional technique. -
Quote:Actually, that's not true. Your character is immediately auto-booted from the game if you try to log in from one game while you're logged into another game. I'm running two machines here (a PC and a Laptop) and I've done that a few times by accident. As soon as you hit Log in on one machine, your other machine freezes and starts loading the log-in menu, while the other is told "This account is already logged in." However, if you click Log in again immediately thereafter, you will be able to log in just fine.Originally Posted by Aett_Thorn
Yup, this would really do nothing for you. Your character stays in-game for 30 seconds anyways, to prevent you from both griefing and trying to get out of a death by logging out. Because of that, if you tried to log in before the 30 seconds was up anyways, you couldn't, because you'd already be logged in. So a "log out now" button would functionally have no effect.
The reason we don't have a "Log out now" button is because it would allow you to bypass the counter by typing your password in fast enough and yanking your character from out of the game. Again, I've seen this done and done it myself a few times. -
Quote:Only if you want to NOT be able to use any powers with them because none of your powers have animations for the animal rig. That has always been and will always be the problem.Originally Posted by JACKSONofSPADES
How about entire animal bodies as different body-types (as in male, female, huge, animal).
-
Quote:Round 2Originally Posted by Lothic
Yeah pretty much every time someone suggests adding a "Kryptonite" concept to this game the pure MMO players come out of the woodwork claiming the idea that anyone would ever want to willing gimp themselves is borderline insane. Most people who play MMOs are always trying to do anything they can to min/max their characters into god-like Tankmages. The fact that a cornerstone of the comic book genre rests on the concepts of "vulnerabilities" seem to be totally lost on them.
FIGHT!
I will always be against system of disadvantages and associated advantage. That's the kind of micromanagement of character builds I do not want. Don't have to use it? Well, we "don't have to use" Inventions, and you tell me how well that's worked out for you. Every time you put a tangible, obtainable benefit in the game, you put people in the no-win situation of either pursuing it against their will, or ignoring it and feeling like they're gimping themselves, which is the complete opposite of what you're suggesting.
Once min-maxing figures out exactly what's a good disadvantage to have and which advantage gives the most benefits, you essentially just move the bottom line. For instance, can I be weak to ice, please? Because I happen to know that almost nothing in the game does strong Ice damage.
To nip it in the bud, a system of JUST disadvantages with no associated advantages to them, becomes a gimmick. It's not something I can make a case against because, really - who does it bother? But as a gimmick, its development priority is pretty much rock bottom, and my stance on it is "eh." -
Quote:Why? What's the point in spending thousands of years to essentially be jerks?Originally Posted by FredrikSvanberg
You thought Rikti were bad? They are bunny-rabbits compared to these Nictus I have in mind. Conquering earth and enslaving humanity? Waste of time for the Nictus. Possess as many as necessary and then just kill everyone. Blot out the sun while you're at it. Wipe out all evidence of Earth ever having had life, and wipe the entire history of humanity away forever. Then do it again on the next world.
Then I vote bust. You're suggesting the complete and utter removal of what is a perfectly decent enemy group, essentially the same travesty that they did with the 5th Column back in the day. If you want to suggest a brand new enemy faction like that, go ahead, though I think the Battalion may have you beat in that regard. But there's no reason to REMOVE an enemy faction if you're going to replace it with something completely different, especially when it's the mechanically superior of the two copycats.Quote:Originally Posted by FredrikSvanberg
Nihilism or bust. Nihilism all the way. Make them the suckers who really are going to destroy the world if they get a chance. Make them REALLY alien (that kind of nihilism is quite inhuman - real-world nihilists probably wouldn't bother trying to actively destroy the world), and give us a reason to REALLY hate them.
That's like saying Ken and Ryu aren't distinct enough and suggesting we turn Ken into a space alien. Because CyberAkuma went over so well. -
I still think that Praetorian morality missions should be handled more like the other Morality missions we have, which is to say you should be allowed to pick your side BEFORE you start the mission, as part of a dialogue tree or a tip alignment selector.
The reason I say this is because of how these missions are presented. Aside from the tutorial, Praetorian alignment missions are not, in fact, missions in the traditional sense. There isn't a whole mission you have to fight through to make a decision at the end. You enter the mission, walk through some empty hallways and are presented with a choice with slight narration.
Why can this not be done in the contact window beforehand? It's not like the mission shows you anything unusual. Blowing up the Enriche plant just puts you in a stock Resistance room with bombs stacked around, and you're asked what to do. Why could I not have made that choice beforehand? Say in the following manner:
---
You were more or less ordered to destroy Praetoria's Enriche plant in an effort to free people from the drug's mind control effect. The Dark Watcher was very specific that neither Vanguard nor Longbow have the resources to fight a public relations war. Given their performance so far, you wouldn't want them to try, anyway. However, the Enriche plant is built into the Praetora City main water treatment centre and only source of drinkable, non-polluting water. Yes, the citizens would be free from control, but they would have no drinkable water for months.
On the one hand, the Enriche plant HAS to be destroyed in order for this war to be won. Open rebellion is the only way to topple Cole's regime, and this will never happen as long as people's minds are clouded and their will suppressed. So what if they have to subsist on toxic water for a while? We all have to make sacrifices, and Vanguard will set up a fresh water system for them within a few months, anyway. This war cannot be won by shying away from the dangerous decisions.
On the other hand, the war effort is going well enough at present. The Resistance are winning over people's hearts even despite Enriche's control. Perhaps this is going too far. There is no question that Cole's regime must go down, but you must also ensure that there is a Praetoria left to save at the end of the day. Further sacrifices, especially on this scale, aren't necessary right now. The people's will can wait until their survival is first ensured.
Resistance: Destroy the Enriche plant.
Loyalists: Betray Calvin Scott and stop him from destroying the Enriche plant.
---
Other than Calvin's little soliloquy, what difference does it make whether this is written to you in caption boxes with emblems on them, or whether it's given to you in the pre-mission briefing? What do we stand to benefit from having these choices done in the actual instances? -
Quote:Yup. I wouldn't have take up applied mathematics if it weren'tOriginally Posted by Dechs Kaison
Isn't math fun? It's one of the few things in life that manages to always be consistently fun no matter what new side of it I learn about.
-
Quote:Let me put it like that - do veteran attacks always do the same damage for all ATs or do they not?Originally Posted by UberGuy
I.. don't think you're using those terms the same way I am.
"Mods" in the context of "AT mods" has a specific meaning. While I probably see what you were going for there, a "buff" is not a "mod" in that context. A "buff" (or any effect) usually obeys (AT) mods. The fact that vet attacks work normally during a rage crash is not a function of the fact that they ignore "mods" in this context. It's because they ignore "(de)buffs". -
Quote:This is a circular argument. "It's written like that because it's written like that." Yes, I'm aware of how the situation is pegged. I'm saying it doesn't have to be. I'm saying the game ALLOWED me to talk down Praetor Duncan, yet does not allow me to hold my own in conversation with Cole... When it actually does in another arc? I'm not making things up here. Loyalists who go to Primal Earth CAN very much talk down Emperor Cole, and his response is basically "I disagree with your idealism, but you go work on that. Just make sure you know better when the Walkers walk in." Why can't that take place on the Power arc in Praetoria?Originally Posted by Noxilicious
You were able to talk down Praetor Duncan because she took a solid hit to her influence and popularity while you're Praetoria's new favorite hero. She couldn't possibly retaliate in broad daylight without the populace regarding her as a psychopath and possibly even Resistance sympathiser. At that point Emperor Cole would be forced to decide between helping out his granddaughter but risking losing the populace's love and respect, or take Duncan's Praetorship away and maybe even have her killed to show that nobody's allowed to go against Praetoria.
I'm not asking for alignment switches here. Just a conversation option. Like how I can choose to hi-five D-Mac or choose not to hi-five him. Why can't I get a choice between "I am at your service, my lord." and "You need to keep better control of your henchmen, Markus." Tyrant doesn't exactly come off as a high-strung guy who's likely to explode on you. In fact, I'd half expect him to say something along the lines of "You're pretty bold with me. I can respect that, as long as you know your place at the end of the day."
You can write the dialogue such that it gives me a chance to be stubborn and arrogant and still lead it to the same place at the end. That's what conversation trees are for.
And again - the exact same thing happened with Anti-Matter, and I didn't get a Game Over screen. The difference between a +23 EB and a + 37 AV is academic. If Cole was going to kill me, Anti-Matter would have killed me long before, if for no reason other than because his words to me were "You will die for trespassing!" Shocker of shockers, when he took me down, I didn't die. In fact, I popped an awaken and ran my *** out of his lab because he'd lost aggro. No, I can't beat Anti-Matter at level 18. Obviously. But that doesn't mean I can't FIGHT him. Because I can, and the game as it is right now features that as one of its actual missions.Quote:Meanwhile, in your encounter with Cole you're in someplace secret. Cole would just tear you apart in combat if he thought you were threatening him and his regime. On the public, political stage, Emperor Cole is still the beloved saviour of the world. He would just need to say that you're a Resistance member and that you orchestrated the events prior to the morality mission to destroy Cole's image and everyone would believe him.
I wouldn't be opposed to Cole taking one of my comments badly, turning hostile and one-shotting me, exactly like Anti-Matter did. Maybe he thinks it'll teach me a lesson, not knowing I'm stubborn to the point of stupidity. I wake up in the hospital fuming, he goes back to his office satisfied in the beating he laid down and he effectively wins, but I still had the choice to defy him. If it even comes to that, considering Emperor Marcus Cole does not come off as the sort of guy who would beat others up over what they say. He may be a ruthless dictator, but he's not a petty bully, largely because he has nothing to compensate for.
---
What I'm talking about is IN THE GAME ALREADY, it's just not always in the right place. -
Quote:It looks like a pack of five capes, one per origin, and what looks like 10 auras, two per origin. The more noteworty are Magic, which gets an aura of floating magical runes around the character, and another which looks like floating magical... Books? Something like that. Tech gets an aura that periodically shoots steam from your joints like Self Destruct, and another one which shoots sparks from your joints.Originally Posted by Thaumator
Some of us can't watch it from work.
Can you give us a brief description? I don't see it in the store, or the announcements section.
Thanks.
The two capes I found remarkable are the Nature cape which looks like a blanket of leaves and the Tech cape, which looks like it's shiny and like it has a pretty sophisticated texture. It's hard to explain.
---
As for getting another Booster so soon after Party? Well... Are we actually COUNTING Party? Seriously? I mean, sure, I got it, but even I wouldn't count that one. This seems a bit light on content, but even right now, I know of at least two characters I can upgrade with them, and that alone is worth the $10 to me. Plus, hey, more capes and auras at character creation is always good. All the better to make the cape and aura missions pointless. -
Quote:Well, I originally thought so, but here's the thing - every mission before where I'd worked with an NPC despite plotting to sell them out, the briefings have given me orange text to tell me that I have an agenda behind the words. For instance, I accept Neuron's mission to [redacted] and the last paragraph of that one is "You don't really want to do that. Instead, go speak with Anti-Matter and see how you can turn this around."Originally Posted by Lazarillo
To which he responded "Dude. Quit that. We're cool." Perhaps your Power Loyalist was simply making the effort to worm their way into Cole's good graces through a touch of sugar.
The conversation with Cole had none of that. Assuming I'd accepted that my "reservations" will be written out for me in brown text, not having them told me I HAD no reservations to speak of. Granted, I flipped him the birdie and went to the Rogue Isles (temporarily) at the end, but that's unique to the Power arc. All Loyalists get to make that choice.
The thing is, I don't appreciate being buddies with Tyrant. People like Riptide and Aria, these I can easily accept being friends with, because for the most part, I'm clearly and immediately better than them. My friendship with them is not a threat - it is one-sided in my direction. Cole is better than me. He has an empire and I don't. I shouldn't be trying to kiss his ***, I should be trying to be better than him. I managed to talk down Praetor Duncan by basically telling her off, why not Cole? You know, like I got to do when I went to Primal Earth with my other Loyalist.
So why not go to Paragon City and talk Cole down, instead? Because Paragon City is the idealist path. My other Loyalist talked Cole down basically by being a better patriot than Cole was. So why can't I talk him down by being more ambitious?
I don't mind the choices themselves, but it's what the choices are BETWEEN that makes me raise an eyebrow. -
Quote:No, actually, it's damage modifiers that they ignore. Veteran powers, along with many temporary powers, have a set amount of damage that does not vary from AT to AT. Therefore, they ignore damage modifiers, at the very least. I'm pretty sure they ignore control, heal and so forth modifiers, as well.Originally Posted by UberGuy
Nitpicky of me, but that's them not observing buffs.
-
Quote:I agree. To my surprise, I was unable to peg the two integrals by eye, as the linear function's parameters are non-obvious (I'm thinking -5/2 and 100-something, but I'd need to write it down). Definitely not necessary to integrate.Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
I agree, and that's how I would calculate that integral. I guess I was using the word to represent the function of "finding the area under a curve," not actually writing out the equation of that curve, then integrating that curve.
At the same time, however, this gives me good methodology to calculate other things of this nature, more specifically Super Reflexes passives, which work in a similar fashion. -
Quote:So? Anti-Matter is showed up as a level 41 elite boss in my level 18 mission and I didn't address him as "my lord." In fact, I took a swing at him and he one-shotted me. But at least the game didn't "protect" me from encountering him by making such an encounter impossible.Originally Posted by EU_Damz
More than likely because he's a level 50 incarnate and your only level 20
The general point was that I don't like how my agenda went from "It's all about me, me, me!" to "I must be a good boy for the higher ups." This is Arachnos all over again. -
The only thing I have is "Pandala," as a melding of Panda and Koala, naturally.
-
Quote:Those are actually the same one piece.Originally Posted by mauk2
3) Airlea's necklace.
4) Airlea's armbands. -
Quote:A team that wants a challenge, however, must exit the mission and reset in order to force the AV to respawn, which is the crux of the problem. I'm looking for team content that scales to teams in real time, rather than before the mission even starts.Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
It's a bad idea to scale AVs to team size, and here's why: A team that wants a challenge can turn up their difficulty. A +4 AV isn't trivial. Whereas if they scaled up, a team that was having difficulty couldn't just call in whichever of their friends happened to be online at the time to help, or the AV would just get tougher to compensate. It would heavily skew all AV encounters in favor of optimized teams.
To alleviate the problem, I can see this "scaling with the team" happen only under certain difficulty settings, such as if you set the level very high, or even if you toggle on a specific setting.
Mostly what I'm against is battles with static parameters that different numbers of characters of different levels of power must be balanced against. As long as your enemies are static, then you will ALWAYS have some teams which are too weak and some teams which are far too strong, all at the same time.