ShadowsBetween

I have my characters on my main server sorted, with the heroes at one end, and the villains at the other. Or I did. It appears that if I change servers, there is a good chance that when I switch back, they'll have reset to the default, the order in which they were created. Once it deletes the custom order, I have to move them back manually. And it might reset them again anyway when I change servers. I don't switch servers often, just if one of my few global friends is on that server and would like to team up. But it is really aggravating to have the order reset at all.

I've also had problems with the friends list - if I open it, sometimes there is no dropdown bar (to swich between server, global, global ignore, and whatever channels I might be in.) It displays the Server list, but there's no bar. This also only seems to happen after switching to another server and back again, but is much more random. Exiting the game completely and restarting doesn't always correct this, either. Last night, I shut down and rebooted the computer entirely, and when I restarted CoH, the friends tab was still acting strange. When I started it again today, it was working normally. Until I just switched servers again.

My computer
Intel 3.0 Ghz Core 2 Duo
Windows XP SP3
4 GB of hardware RAM (XP sees about 3 GB of that)
Nvidia 9800 GT with 1 GB RAM
2 x 250 GB HDD
DVD RAM drive

Other than Media Player, my firewall, and sometimes Firefox, I do not run other programs in the background. No IM or voice chat or anything else. I've only noticed this happening recently, within the last few days.

My apologies if this has been detailed somewhere else. But I've seen pictures of bases with what appear to be built-in mazes and interior walls. Is there a decorative item that allows this, or are the bases in question simply so massive that they can use the small decorative rooms and doors to achieve this effect?

Don't get your hopes up. Even if we get power customization, we might not get anything like selectable pets. And if (by some miracle) we get customizable pets, I'd guess that it'll be more like choosing from one of a small selection of preset uniforms. I doubt we'd get anything as fully featured as the MA NPC customization.

I was also told that the devs long ago said that there's a whole list of reasons why female mastermind pets would be a bad idea, from a theme and marketing standpoint. (Given how brainless some media people can be, I can just imagine the "OMG, MMO promotes female slavery!" articles. People got on national TV by making outright lies about Mass Effect, and when it was *proved* that they had no idea what they were talking about, the shows involved didn't even bother with a public "oops.") But I have no idea if that was on the forums, or whether that post still exists.

I personally loathe speed boost. None of my characters are /kin, and none ever will be. Generally speaking, Speed Boost is less than useless to me. I don't care about recharge - I've either slotted my powers to handle it already, or I've *avoided* it because I'm dealing with endurance issues. Out of nearly thirty characters, I believe I have two with Hasten or Superspeed, and well probably burn a freespec to get rid of it from them, in favor of a power I'll actually use.

Personally, I wish there was a way to dismiss "beneficial" buffs, like in the "evil" MMO with the orcs and humans. And to those self-righteous /kin players who shout "I'm doing you a favor, take it and be happy!" No, you're not. I'll ask nicely once. And then you're costing the team whatever buffs/debuffs/dps I was bringing, because I'll have sent a /tell to the leader saying "Thanks for the team, but I gone." And then I will be.

Well, aside from Spawn, there's a few variations on Ghost Rider that used hellfire and damnation powers for good. The animated version of Raven from the Teen Titans is the half daughter of a demon lord. And Hellboy and Etrigan, of course, who both are actual demons who happen to like humans. (As something other than light snacks.) Also Blade (half vampire.) Morbius the Living Vampire has joined the good guys at least once, although he's more of a specialized kind of mutant than a true vampire.

So even from just my limited knowledge of comics, and excluding horror/mature titles like Vertigo, there's still probably lots of examples. And that's not counting all the other fiction where characters attempt to harness darkness as a force for good. (Such as the various manga/anime where a main character is a demon/half demon or the victim of a failed possession where the human ends up in control of a demon's power, like Devilman.)

What be the effect of putting one of the +regen/+recovery proc IOs in one of the healing pets like Triage Beacon or Spirit Tree? I believe I've read that with normal pet sets, most of the procs only apply to the pet that the power is slotted in. So for the purple +Chance for Build Up, it would only boost the Imp or Assault Bot that was carrying it. But I'm not sure how this would translate to the stationary healer objects.

I believe that someone found mention of a Spy AT. No guess how they'd work (stealthy Blasters?) but if they are coming, then they'll either be available to both Red and Blue, or be a Praetorian only AT.

One thing to consider, while we're speculating - with the systems already in-game, the devs have the means to include "retroactive" morality points when the expansion starts. Missions/task forces that provide certain badges, like Soul Taker and the villain Patron arcs, will almost certainly end up having Moral Points. So everyone that already has those badges could end up being credited the appropriate amount. This would also be one way to handle the Villain Patron Pools - they're available to any suitably villainous character, and you get to keep the powers once you've earned them. But you'd better be prepared to stay on the Isles for a while after you get them.

And for the cries of "No, they should take the patron powers away from redeemed characters. Dooom!" - aside from all the out-of-game reasons that it would be a bad idea to take powers away from a character, consider this: many of those powers summon pets. Maybe they represent characters who decided they were loyal to you above Arachnos. Or maybe Lord Recluse feels that if someone wants to betray him, and then use an ability that lets him know exactly where they are, what they're doing, and who is helping them do it, they can go right ahead.

Also, as far as thugs becoming PPD if you switch sides - my immersion would be a lot more strained by this than most anything else. "Hey there, former criminal! Despite any crimes you may have commited, (including but not limited to: breaking and entering, assault, theft, grand theft, bank robbery, kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking, and murder) we'd like to extend you the honor of joining the Paragon City Police department! Just promise not to take things from the evidence or armory lockers without permission, OK?"

Again, it all comes down to theme and backstory. And Thugs lend themselves pretty well to a group of "normal" people who get fed up with their friends and neighbors being kidnapped by pretty much every group on the planet to be be used as guinea pigs/possession hosts/sacrifices/fertilizer. The Mastermind is the one with the resources and planning skills, and the others are the ones that get things done. "Hank the Hammer may be the one that can lay the hurt down, but I'm the Man with the Plan!"

What about if you put a +end/+recovery proc in a pet-like power? I'm specifically thinking of the Miracle or Numina procs in Triage Beacon or Spirit Tree. I believe I read somewhere that if you put a proc IO in a normal pet, the proc only affects the pet - the Chance for Build Up on Fire Imps or Assault Bot has a chance to boost their attacks, not yours. So would the proc just boost the beacon/tree's recovery, or would it affect the pet's healing aura?

Or do they just revamp the epic ATs as a perk for people who buy the expansion? "Congratulations on level fifty. Here's four new ATs to play with, thanks for hanging in there."

Personally, I'm hoping the Epic ATs aren't excluded from the side switching - VEATS are just really well trained soldiers, so I don't see why they couldn't have a change of heart.

For Kheldians, Warshades were already evil once. And maybe some Peacebringers think that their race isn't going far enough to wipe out the scourge of the Nictus, or resent the alliance with the Warshades, or they've been to Ouroboros and the knowledge that their entire race may be on the edge of annihilation has driven them insane.

Also, Peacebringers are still bonded with a human host, and would be strongly influenced by them. So you can have PBs who, being unfamiliar with human thought processes, were already bonded before it became clear that they'd picked a nutter. Maybe the PB sticks around to try to heal them, maybe their madness is contagious. Plus you have all the events that could normally inspire a hero to go darkside - friends and family killed in a crossfire with "the good guys," finding out about some evil plot that the authorities can't, or won't deal with (like that Crey are mostly a bunch of evil scum who kidnap, blackmail, or flat out murder anyone who gets in their way, and corrupt officials protect them.)

And then there's all the "Evil Kirk" options - maybe the Kheldian is from an alternate reality where Peacebringers are actually heartless tyrants, bringing "peace" to other races by conquering them and crushing anything anything that could lead to disorder.

From a thematic standpoint, I don't see "good" Demon/Necro Masterminds as being any more silly or implausible than all the heroes who "arrest" people by setting them on fire, bathing them in lethal radiation, or just hauling out an assault rifle and rocket launcher. Personally, I think it's a little early for everyone to be screaming Doom about the new expansion. There's pages of speculation, and we know slightly more than exactly nothing about it.

Earthdragon, as far as your immersion being ruined by a demon-summoning hero - I guess you've never encountered Infernal then?

Even excluding the anti-heroes (psychos with badges) era of comics, such as Spawn, there's a long history of characters in fiction that either come from an evil background or simply feel that the best way to fight evil is to turn it against itself. As far as demons turning into angels - read the source material again. Angels weren't always portrayed as chubby kids with fluffy wings - their original job description included laying waste to cities, scourging the populace, delivering plagues, bad news, and death, and generally bringing a short, unpleasant future to anyone who attracted the attention of their patron.

I just checked on the Justice server, and can't duplicate it. I switched back to Virtue, and once again, the game instantly died when I opened the market window. I don't have characters on any other server that are high level enough to have anything to sell. But it seems to only do this to me on Virtue.

Same. I just noticed this as of this afternoon. Only in my case, the game pretty much instantly dies as soon as the window opens, never mind 5 to 10 minutes. I'm also on Virtue. I'm off to test it on Justice, as soon as the launcher gets done checking all the files. Again.

I've been looking at the different IO sets, and I'm curious - how do some of the proc IOs, like the +regen and +recovery pieces, work in a passive power? I know the intent is that they are supposed to activate each time you use a power. So how does that function with a power that's always active? Or does it work at all?

Honestly, I don't see a heroic Zombie or Demon Mastermind as being any more silly or implausible than a hero who "arrests" people by bathing them in lethal radiation. Or by using an assault rifle or gigantic axe, for that matter. "I arrested him." "No, you chopped his head off. Where is it, by the way? Maybe if we find it quickly enough, the med techs can revive him. Do you have any idea how much paperwork these little stunts cause me?"

I'm just curious if there is *any* chance that they may add more slots. Three per account is very limiting. I thought at one point that I read it was going to be three per character, but if that was ever true, I guess it changed when they switched the system to use tells and the global chat handle. I don't claim to know the pros and cons or coding difficulties. But as a user, I have lots of stories that I'd like to work on. And I don't see it as a realistic option that I could hope to get Dev's Choice or Hall of Fame status to free up a slot. It would be nice, but with thousands of MA missions already up, and more flooding in all the time, it would be a long shot at best. (And that's not counting any issues with the rating system.)

I'm curious why the list of female parts doesn't include the skull mask. It seems like it would be a useful option for certain themes - not everyone who wears a skull is the Grim Reaper or Jack the Ripper.