Shadowe

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As far as I know, the AH recipes from TF/Trial Pools come from people who did TFs or Trials and put them for sale, not from thin air, hence if you don't get more from TFs/Trials, it is a replacement.

In any case, it is not complementary to existing system since under current system, you get a rare recipe reward upon TF/Trial completion and after I13 you won't.

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Okay I will make allowances as you obviously havent been playing for long, but you also get recipes at other times while playing, not only from trials and tfs.

That still stands as far as we know, so therefore it is a complement and NOT a replacement.

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Okay, all insults aside - shazan, please READ what Nighmarer said.

Normal recipe drops will happen as normal, yes. No one is denying that. But there is a pool of recipes that ONLY currently drop if you select the "Random Rare Recipe" option on completion of TF's and Trials. That drop is being abolished. No one will ever get it again. EVER. The ONLY way to get thos recipes, after I13, is to spend merits on them.

Thus, for the Rare TF/Trial Recipes, the method if getting them is being REPLACED.

GG is always interesting. But tonight has a lot of potential for fun

Absolutely love it, Birdy.

Very well written, quite disturbing, and very moving.

Huge thumbs up (you know, like the ones we get in-game )

Inspired by some ongoing RP (and copy-linked to the RP IC Story Thread), as well as Ravenswing's Future Imperfect story, here's another characterisation piece about my main.

WARNING: One passage in this post aludes to an unpleasant and very adult topic. If you are offended by what I can only describe as a singularly evil act, please, do not read this post.

Dark, Darker, Darkest

{Port Oakes, Monday 10 November 2008, 11.30am}

It was cloudy, quite dark, and rather gloomy. Just the sort of weather that Rich Hunter liked, when he was patrolling on the Etoile Islands. Dressed in scuffed motorcycle leathers, his spiky blue hair rigid against the wind as a result of far too much gel. He was currently hunkered in the lea of a building, his collar turned up, trying to ignore the occassional drip of water from the gutter overhead. He'd had a busy morning, hitting up his contacts, piecing together details, and for the last half hour he'd been standing here, getting more and more frustrated.

He was watching a warehouse, dark sunglasses perched on his nose. Dock workers were scurrying about all over, and one enterprising soul had already tried to mug him. The man's unconscious body was currently hidden behind some pallets due to be loaded onto a freighter that afternoon. If he was missed, it didn't matter, and Rich would be long gone before he was discovered.

Some people would probably consider his presence here alone to be the height of arrogance. But Rich was a bounty hunter. Not a particularly well-known one, but he had a reputation, in some circles. He was always very careful to make sure there were no witnesses if he used his powers. So far as Lord Recluse's men knew, he was just a guy who knew some guys, and had a dogged tenacity that gained him grudging respect.

And they also turned a blind eye to the more... questionable... aspects of his presence. Like the fake passport. The multi-million-dollar yacht with the rather lethal alarm system. The top-range, imported motorcycle. The helicopter. And the seemingly limitless quantities of cash he was capable of dishing out when circumstances demanded it. It was an unwritten, never spoken agreement - 'Don't ask, and I won't interfere'.

So he felt comfortable with being there, even with the discomfort of the cold and the dripping guttering overhead. All he needed to do was wait.


* * * * *

Buried deeply beneath the facade of Rich Hunter, Richard Huntington studied and analysed the data streaming across the inside of the sunglasses perched on his nose. The information was far from perfect, but it was sufficient to tell how many people were inside the warehouse, roughly where they were, and even pick up fragments of conversation. If he had full access to Helena's processors, he'd get a lot more, thanks to her sophisticated data-scrubbing tools, audio enhancements and telemetry links, but there was always a lot of interference, and signal lag from the telecommunications satellite he used meant that there was a 3 second delay, which could be lethal in a place like this. Better to go with partial, but current, data.

He didn't dare reach out with his other senses. The ones granted by the singularity nestled in his skull. While they would definitely let him pinpoint his quarry, they left him very vulnerable. And even for a superhero, vulnerable was not a state to be in, if you were out in the Rogue Isles in disguise.

Nothing definite, yet. But his - well, Rich's really - information was good, from a reliable source. So he waited.


* * * * *

"Hello, Dicky."

The words broke through Rich Hunter's concentration, and he span into a crouch, energy pulses welling within him, ready to be unleashed with a thought.

"Psychonova," he snarled as he recognised the blonde-haired man in cream trousers and a white shirt. Built like an athlete, Andrew Martin was an imposing figure, but that wasn't want Rich was worried about. Physical strength didn't matter here. Not one little bit.

"We're not goin' ter go through that tired ol' routine are we, Rich? Yer here in my town, an' Ah'm jus' bein' neighbourly, comin' out ter see what yer doin'." Andrew was standing calmly, ignoring the chill weather, but Rich didn't back down, still allowing an energy blast to bubble beneath the surface of his skin. "After all, it's been a while since yer and meself had a chat, ain't it? In point o' fact, last person Ah spoke ter at yer place was that sweet little Vicky. She was a real firecracker, weren't she? Obviously not enough to light a fire in yer cracker no more, though, cuz Ah hear that yer got yerself engaged ter be married. Sweet sentiment, Dicky 'old bean', but the poor girl don't have a clue, do she?"

Unblinking, Rich shook his head. "She knows everything, Psychonova. Everything there is to know about me, and about you. More than you know, that's for sure."

Andrew shook his head. "Dicky, Dicky, Dicky. Why der yer persist in callin' me that? Ah gave that name up quite a while back, yer know? Ah jus' go by Andrew, now. Or 'Mister Martin', dependin' on who's talkin' ter me. So, yer girl, Cassandra, she knows the whole story, eh? That's kinda brave of yer, Ah must say. Never thought Ah'd see the day that yer were happy with yerself. But yer not, are yer? Yer still ashamed of bein' what yer are. Tsk, that's a real pitty, Dicky. When are yer goin' ter grow up?"

Rich knew that he was at a disadvantage, here. A bad one. He needed to regain his balance, and change the course of the conversation, because otherwise it would go downhill, and very soon... perhaps he should... "When are you going to stop messing around with people's lives, Psychonova? So much for leaving all well and good, hmm? You can't resist the chance to tamper, can you? You said you would stay out of my life, but you're back in it up to your eyeballs, and I'm here to serve you notice - Stop, now, or I will put you down. Permanently."

Andrew quirked his eyebrows. "Oh, yer talkin' about little Julie Slater, ain't yer? Still hates yer, don't she? That little one was fun to mess with, and she were a good lay, too. Always enthusiastic. Screaming, she was, all the time Ah was -"

His words were cut off by an ear-splitting roar as Richard gave in to his fury, and poured the rage into an almighty storm of energy that rent the air asunder. It continued for what seemed an eternity, peaking with a brilliant flash that sent a rolling wave of thunder across the docks.

In the wink of an eye, Richard stopped the maelstrom, and glanced around. There was no sign of Andrew. Not even a pair of smoking boots.

"Keep away from me, Psychonova. And keep away from my friends and family," he said, to the nothingness around him, confident that wherever he was, Andrew could hear his words. "The time is coming when you'll regret everything you've done. And I will be there watching you pay." He turned, and moved at a swift walk away from the building, but he heard a whisper in his mind, that sent a chill through him.

We're the same, yer and Ah, Richard. Embrace it an' join me, an' yer can make the world the place yer always wanted it ter be. Take what you want, by God. Take it an' let tomorrow look out fer itself.

Images flashed through his mind, of a peaceful, tranquil world, full of smiling, happy, content people, with himself seated on an Impervium throne, smiling beneficiently down on those who pleased him.

"Never," he growled, and wrapped himself in his love for his friends. Cassandra, who thought she was a monster for the things she had done in the past. Annette, whose abiding love for her brother had almost turned her into a psychotic killer, but who he had helped pull back from the brink. Kit, whom he loved dearly, if somewhat distantly, now. His sister, Sam, who could be the most infuriating sibling ever to grace the world, but whom he would never stop loving, never stop needing. His mother, once dead, and somehow mysteriously returned to the world of the living, whose unconditional love for him made him see that he was a good man. Linda, who was the one of the few people he could open his heart and fears to. Dinah, who loved who and what she was and had become, and whose soft and tender words were making him realise that maybe Shadowe wasn't such a bad person to be. He loved them all, and he needed them all, and he would not allow himself to become the monster he feared. Because... because...

It was almost an epiphany. A brilliant searing light across his mind, as the threads of his life wove around him in a blanket, and he saw the paths open before him.

"Because I am not that monster, Andrew. The man, the monster, I am neither of these things. I'm simply me. Call me hero. Call me villain. Call me human. Call me alien. Call me whatever you want to call me, because I am none of those, and words mean nothing."

He thought for a moment, and twisted the dial on his wristwatch, revelling in the satisfying feel of black leather settling around him as it was teleported from the beacon on his yacht.

"I am me."

He launched himself into the air.

"I am Richard Huntington."

He aimed a blast of energy at the roof of the warehouse he had been watching all morning, ripping the roof from it, and sending the dozen people inside scurrying for cover.

"I am Shadowe."

I've lost track of how many times I get /tells on one particular character on my second account, and every time I get one, it makes me shake my head in wonder.

The search comment reads: "Dual-boxing. This character will NOT answer tells."

I have not once replied to a single team invite tell to that character. Unfortunately (for this thread), neither have I had any rude comments.

Thanks, Donna.

Appreciated.

I'm not saying that I know one way or another if the changes are enjoyable - for me they might be. I simply DO NOT KNOW. And on the basis of that ignorance, I have to consider the following:

I currently do not enjoy PvP.
There are a number of players who do currently enjoy PvP (for whatever reason).

CONLCUSION: My tastes and those of the current PvP crowd differ.

These changes are being made with an eye toward encouraging people like me to try PvP.
The players who currently enjoy PvP are being (to use a word my wife invented that is now used in government documentation) disencouraged (the real word is probably disincentivised, but she forgot it :S) from PvPing under the new system.
I intend to try the new PvP system when it goes live.

CONCLUSION: My tastes and those of the current PvP crowd differ.

Assumption: There are far more people who PvE in CoX than there are who PvP.

I PvE for my fun in CoX.

Hypothesis: People like me are more likely to try PvP with the new system.

Because of the greater number of PvEers, if that hypothesis is true, then the number of people who try PvP will increase.

I can't say how many will enjoy it. I hope that a number will. I'd LOVE it if I did. It would mean that the whole game becomes accessible to me, rather than the bits I currently know about.

I think the devs would rather have 200 people who occassionally PvP than 30 people who do it more often than not and 170 people who won't touch it with a barge pole.

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The changes in i13 are to attract the non PvPers to Zones to try it out.

I am personally angry about this because they have in effect screw'd us over for the players that dont care about PvP.

Good Move Castle.
*Slow Clap*

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Got to ask... how has this screwed you over? If you're a good PvPer, you'll still BE a good PvPer.

Or have these changes suddenly made you into a BAD PvPer? In which case I would question how much of your (generic you, not you specifically, btw) 'skill' is based on your pimped build.

Now, I haven't been keeping all up on the changes, so I don't know every tittle and jot of them, but if these changes encourage more people to try PvP... perhaps more of them will stay... so perhaps there will be more PvPers... which will encourage more people to try PvP... more of whom might stay...

See where I'm going with this?

[Edit: Oh, and the changes were applied with an eye to Arena/Base Raid PvP, not Zone PvP. So there's a basic flaw in your reasoning.]

Regarding the 'drip-feed' option on Merit awarding, to avoid (as much as possible) exploits around "everyone log off until the final mish to get the merits"

They've said that the rewards are roughly based on 1 merit per 5 minutes, with a jigger-factor applied.

I have no idea how hard the code for this would be to do, but it's a thought.

Every 5 minutes:

Game checks if character is on a merit-awarding mission
AND
Game checks if character has earned XP, inf or prestige in last 5 minutes

If both return TRUE, then game awards 1 merit.

On mission complete of the "Award" mish (end of story arc/TF/Trial) jigger-factor award is granted.

*shrug*

Probably adds loads of extra tasks server-side, but it would a) reduce that final reward and so give an incentive to go through the mishes, and b) prevent 'parking' tactics, because *someone* has to be earning XP/inf/prestige on the team for anyone to get these merits.

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Miss Liberty is cool, but has she finally vanquished the lovely Ghost Widow?

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To be fair, I don't even play GW and I think I prefer Reyna the Ranger. Sorry Ms L, I have a thing for brunettes...

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*Wonders if Birdy's only saying that to keep the missus happy*

Sorry... can't help myself...

It takes a big man to own up when he's wrong.

yep. Go past the tunnel entrance (which is on the right iirc) and into the deadens room. It's always been in there for me.

Hehehe. Well, he's a tad arrogant, and he once intended to do it himself, so he knows how dehumanizing the effort would be.

Most of my characters are disenfranchised, being non-US citizens... In fact, the only one who CAN vote is a psychopath. Richard raised the point that Obama is likely to be good for the US, as he would be the first black president. He also pointed out, regarding the prospect of Zorielle running for office, that he would do everything he could to stop her, because he firmly believes that she would be a tyrant - simply because she has the resources to make the world a better place, and he doesn't believe that the world is ready for that.

NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo...........! [/Darth]

Those poor Plant Doms and 'trollers.

Okay, I'm not likely to be too bothered, really. Just a couple more days. I can last just a couple more days.

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More seriously though, empty air emoting very rarely brings dividends. Five minutes of saying hello and introducing himself to people are worth an hour of sharpening a sword/smoking a cigarette/watching the sky.

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Which is not to say that empty air emoting is a bad way to start. Consider the following scenes.

[u]Scene 1[u]

New Character stands casually by the wall, sparking up a smoke, then looks around at everyone, blowing smoke rings.

Established character glances at new character, then returns to her conversation.

New character notices the glance, but says nothing, continuing to blow smoke rings.

...20 minutes later...

New character stubs out his third cigarette, and stalks off, muttering about unsociable people in the world today.


[u]Scene 2[u]

New Character stands casually by the wall, sparking up a smoke, then looks around at everyone, blowing smoke rings.

Established Character glances at new character, then returns to her conversation.

New character notices the glance. "Hey there, Miss. Nice weather we're having, huh? Glad the sun came back since those zombie-things left town."

Established Character looks at New character. "Sorry, were you talking to me?"

New Character: Sure was, Miss. Sorry to interupt.

Established Character: Hey, no problem.

... 20 minutes later...

New Character: Nice to have met you, Established Character. See you around.

Established Character: You too, New Character. See you soon! *waves*


At the end of the day, the important thing is to use opportunities that are presented, without squandering them, and step forward when you can. It's not always easy, but it does work.

I had the devil of a time with Richard, to be frank. I knew he was a friendly, sociable chap, but his first trips to Galaxy Girl were for a very specific reason, and he was scared of being there. So he was pretty quiet, to start with, but as soon as anyone showed him any attention, he perked right up into being the person he's meant to be.

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Oh, my PC is definitely way up there in the "good" classification.

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But your double-quotes are way up there in the "amusing" classification.

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Seems like I Killed a n00b will be the winner cos its got 2 votes (me and Soul_Storm)...

Wait, GR, come back, pwease!

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They're not votes. This has been said again and again and again. Read the rules and UNDERSTAND them. 1 nomination, or 1 billion nominations, it's all the same. Only the FIRST one counts.

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votes, nominations, whatever!

Wait, your saying if 1000 nominations were made for this, then 999 of them wouldn't count?

Edit: Thats the rule for nominating more than once for yourself, I nominated once and so did Soul_Storm.

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Utterly beside the point, anyway...

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Examples of the kind of things that don't qualify are re-touching or modifying artwork created by someone else, or recording a version of a popular song with modified lyrics. In addition, movies using music to which the creator does not have the rights are also included. (If you wish your movies to qualify for the Creative Genius award, the best idea is to use in-game music. You can find several examples from CoH and CoV at ftp://ftp.coh.com/music/ - feel free to use these tracks in your movies.)

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I would contend that a tribute song using lyrics to be sung to a tune by a popular recording artist counts as recording a version of a popular song with modified lyrics and may well disqualify that particular entry from the contest, anyway. Which is a shame, because I was laughing my head off when I read it.

But everyone else is right - all any particular piece needs is a single nomination. You're not voting like on X-Factor - you're drawing the judges attention to the piece. Any one person can do that, just as well as a thousand.

This is basically an attempt to stop the hijacking of CD's latest plotline thread that seems to have started, regarding character introcudion and plot introduction.

Everyone has a pet idea regarding how to introduce a new character or plotline to the RP scene, and sometimes they fall flat.

This thread is intended to be a hints and tips thread for people who have experienced difficulty in the past with either of these ideas, from those of us who seem to find it easy.

Here goes with a few from me:

Don't force the issue: Under no circumstance should a plot demand that any other players get involved. If their characters would be interested, they'll find their own way to get involved.

Don't demand attention: A character who appears to be demanding attention will be ignored by a lot of people. I'd rather see someone limp around quietly, muttering to themselves, than have them drop out of the sky and break their legs. The first entices attention, the latter demands it.

Do be sociable: I know that the "hard-nosed loner who don't need nobody" is a wonderful character concept for a comic-book or novel character. But it doesn't work in RP. Sorry. If your character is open to conversation, then people will talk to them. If they're not, they won't.

I suspect it's a game code, rather than an addon code, so you would get a whole new account to pay for if you do that, Ghostie.

Wait until they release the pack, and fork out a tiny amount for it is my advice.

Oooh, darn. That's a bit of a pain. I'm sure we can fudge Linda somehow (okay, that sounds really dodgy, now I read it back).

And you have one of those 'family' thingies, don't you? They control everything. Luckily for me, my wife plays CoX.

Could have sworn it was Annette Barrington...

But yes, Birdy has a toon in my SG, so we can easily accommodate 14 non-coalition/SG members now.

Sarah's welcome along as security, or as a guest (I think Helena can handle security at the manor well enough on her own... with one minor exception...)

I need to spend a little time before the party sorting out a few bits of the base to make them more how I want them to appear - notably the entrance chamber (I'm now sick of the green) and tidying up the conservatory (home to The World's Largest Hot Tub™).

I will again point out that the party is on Sunday (to accommodate Cass and Z's availability), starting at 7.00. I'll undoubtedly be around for a lot longer than that.

I have a moderately strict timetable of events planned for the evening (and I'd quite like to free everyone up to be able to go to GG - perhaps a bit late), and may well be dual-boxing, too, which I'm only mentioning because it will mean that there's every possibility that I (and by extension Richard) will seem distracted. It's not intentional.

Oh, and try to avoid being the one who has to go to Faultline. It's a pain.

Try HERE.

As I said earlier, I leave it up to you to decide which of your characters got an invite - I'm pretty much happy any which way, and I don't want to veto anyone. If you have a toon you want to come along, then bring them and assume they got an invite. To be honest I can think of only two people that Richard absolutely wouldn't invite, and of those two, one is another of my characters, and the other's player has left the game.

Dan, where are you travelling from? I know that I personally am unlikely to be able to help in any transportation issue (see earlier post re: Full Car), but there may be someone around your area who can help.