SokMunki

Thanks for the link! I'll check it out.

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I've played a ton of MMOs. I've yet to play one I couldn't take some ideas from. I think you short change the concept of street sweeping in other games a bit -- if all you do is instance missions, an MMO can begin to feel awfully empty and lonely! I like seeing other player wander by doing whatever it is they are doing while I'm gathering the whatsits for my collection quest. I even like competing for resource nodes despite the fact that it often makes me want to slap my fellow players. I definitely get where you are coming from; but I do think there is room for this style of play.

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NOW I understand what that's all about....

Outcast Chopper: Sheesh, capes are quiet tonight. Let's see if they got any new axes at the PWN Shop.

Outcast Slugger: All righty... wait. Hang on a sec.

OC: You just took a leak. "Gotta go gotta go, gotta go right n--"

OS: No, man. I'm seeing an Aluminium Vein on my map. It's... it's in that bustop over there.

OC: OK, get to mining. I'll watch yer back.

Does anyone here have a text-based MUSH (or MUX or what-have-you) game that you can recommend? I miss the early 90's, where my "toon" was only as good as the text description I wrote for it. Given the MMO onslaught, do such things still exist?

Must... resist... urge to kick... SWG.... well, OK, I'll cave a little.

I've always thought that the developers here must've had as a prime directive: "How can we make a Superhero setting into an MMOG?" Whenever they came to a design decision, they apparently chose whatever made the most sense for a superhero game. SWG seemed to be an attempt to take several (often new and creative) MMO ideas and wrap SWG around it. It wound up like trying to wrap an octopus in a cardigan -- even when it fit, it didn't fit well.

I have to quibble a bit with your first point; while I agree that the lack of attribute points was a good thing, I believe CoH's simplicity is (was) both a blessing and a curse. It makes CoH really easy to pick up, but it lacked the number-tweaking aspect that a lot of people find engaging in the long-term. Enhancements just didn't do the trick, especially considering that a lot of them just weren't very useful and/or had their benefits obscured without hard numbers. The IO system has apparently filled this gap.

Otherwise, I completely agree with your post, particularly regarding the Sidekick/Exemplar system. Not only does it make sense given the genre, it solves so many problems with teaming that I'm baffled no one ever thought of it before.

Various (random?) thoughts:

The player base voted for Dual Blades, and that's what we're getting. Given that the word from PAX is that they're "scimitars" (allegedly from Posi, who has neither confirmed nor denied this in writing, near as I can tell), I know I'm a bit disappointed. However, when you consider that this set is supposed to be new for ALL melee ATs -- Scrappers, Tankers, Brutes, and Stalkers -- I admit it makes a fair amount of sense. They work for the more OG SMASH concepts of Tanks and Brutes as well as the finesse (or a vague semblance thereof) of Scrappers and Stalkers. Yes, it's Yet Another Quasi-Medieval Weapon Set... but I think it's more universal than many other ideas. I was gunning for a rapier/dagger set... but I think that may be a bit strange in the hands of a Tank.

How that's going to work with the allegedly upcoming Shield defense... that I don't know. I suppose you could have a buckler and a sword in the same hand.

Regarding the "Armor" concept, I can see that wedged in as another Epic AT. Vanguard Soldier, perhaps. Given that both heroes and villains have Vanguard access, it'd work on both sides of the game, and making it an Epic would help with the "good with all things" aspect.

EDIT: ...and that cover with Taskmaster reminds me of the Munchkin card game...

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OMG how did this one resurface?!?

*methinks I killed it*

*checks*

*nope there it is in all its flamey goodness*

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Try a stake of mistletoe. Or is it holly?

Formica, maybe.

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I like Harley, but my girlfriend dosen't like when I talk about it.

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And lo, SokMunki has new desktop wallpaper. Thanks!

I'm just impressed someone else seems to use "Strange Stories, Amazing Facts" as a reference book.

Must... have... Star Destroyer... NOW!

You had me up to this point:

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Don't drink. You will make bad decisions.

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I'm doomed.


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Now, back to the design grind... anyone know a good way to pick a handcuff with a mechanical pencil, a Hero Clix, and a poker chip?

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1) Snap the poker chip at the person holding the keys, much like you'd snap a bottle cap. Practice with pennies, then work your way up to quarters until you're sure you can nail your target in the forehead. Bonus points if you get a great buzzing noise when the chip zips away.

2) When the person comes over to give you a smackaround for hitting them, stab them in the eye with the pencil.

3) Unlock and scram, leaving the Hero Clix as a jaunty calling card.

Posi, I read somewhere you were a fan of Pai Gow poker. Any tips?

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Yeah, admittedly I haven't been in beta (closed or open either one) half as long as Athyna...but really, in a lot of ways? It's running around with guns, grinding by shooting bugs, and zapping things with your magic--excuse me, Logos--powers. Been done, heck, I was in a game like that for too long...called Star Wars Galaxies.

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I've wondered for a while if I would've liked SWG a lot more had it been an original setting rather than a Star Wars title. I may have to try TR out just to see.

Also, does anyone else recall way, way back when that Tabula Rasa was going to be far more "sandbox" like? I vaguely recall some sort of hype about virtual societies and extremely non-directed gameplay... and then it sounds like they scrapped all that and went for this FPS/MMO hybrid. Did I just hallucinate that version of TR..?

EDIT: Sorry, Lighthouse -- missed your missive. Erm... so, how 'bout them Defenders, huh?

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Issue 11 has them all changed to their desks, sorry!

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Shapeshifting in I-11. You heard it here first.

And to preempt post deletion:

THAT IS A JOKE. I AM KIDDING.

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I've already lined up one replacement voice, and I just need another — female, both of them, or I'd just do it myself.

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My wife volunteers.

I'll let her know when she gets home.

In related news, the photos of the Giger wedding are still missing.

Happy birthday, Hobo!

I still don't like PvP!

Or threadomancy!

Or heifermancy, either!

But mostly threadomancy!

Wetuhn to you gwave!

I'd like to see something like this for bases. I've never tried to start my own base, and a little primer guide would be appreciated.

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if everyone has it then its not special anymore.

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I don't think non-setting costume options should be special. (TF witches' hat vs. 'standard' witches hat, say.) I can buy the in-game story reason for capes, I can tolerate the vet-reward wings, but the "win the lotto or pay through the nose" situation with the wing irritates me. I'm not frothing or apoplectically upset about the current state, merely irritated.

Anyhow, it boils down to some people think it's all right to have to loot/craft/buy them and some don't, I'm in the latter camp, and I'll let it rest there while I go make some Enhancements.

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don't hold your breath expecting drop rate changes for anything mere days after the issue goes live.

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While I'm on Mr. (?) MOO's side regarding costume bits, I agree with Nethergoat here. Maybe a month's good to ask (via PM, probably) the developers if they're thinking about redoing the costume drop implimentation. WAY too soon right now.

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Yes, I played a long time without them. But, now that they're here and most likely unavailable to me...

Also, I chose CoH/V as my second MMORPG to play because it didn't have the need to farm/grind for "loot". It was my casual, time-limited MMORPG. Seems like that will no longer be the case.



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Clear your mind... realize there is no wings. There is only your perception of wings.

Seriously, I feel somewhat the same way, but I just don't worry with it. They're strictly cosmetic. If they appear (you randomly get the drops needed) -- great, your character will look more like your desired mental image. If they don't, it's all right. Heck, one of my characters is "supposed to have" a motorcycle.

If you do not make it a goal to strive for the loot, then you don't get that feel of a grind.

Now excuse me, I have to go check my Recipe window. Again.

Absolutely nothing to add to any of the current threads of conversation except I find these audio files sophmoric, trite--

Oh, who am I kidding, they're [bahleeted]ing hysterical. Fantastic work, Hertz.

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Something to wonder about: if wings were available from the start, would that reduce the incentive to use them, as compared to keeping them rare?

As you might guess, I've seen way too many bad costumes with wings stuck on the back for no apparent reason other than the player feels that he or she has to tell everyone, "Look! I got wings!" (Yeah, I'm a snob. Haul me off to Snob Court.) It's gotten so I was actually feeling a little embarrassed when I put wings on one of my characters.

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I think you'd see more winged characters if they were available straight out of the chute, but I also think those costumes would be more consistent.

Lady_Athyna brought up capes earlier. Based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever, I suspect I see a lot of crappy cape costumes not because there's a wad of people out there who don't care about their costumes per se (there are), but because the cape's a Visible Thing To Strut What I Won to The Other Players. It's a reward, and as a reward people are going to show it off regardless of how well it goes with the costume.

So while making them more common would create an influx of dragons, fairies and bugs, at least until the novelty wore off, you'd see a lot fewer people with tank tops, karate pants, and bug wings... worn because the player just won the recipe drop lottery and he wants to show off.

Just my guess.

Neat! Some random thoughts:

"Why a robot would need wings is beyond me, but the people wanted them so they got Tech wings."

I figure there's two reasons: one, you've got people who liked the look of Archangel's metal wings and just wanted to replicate that (in a non-infringement sort of way, naturally), and you've also got people like my character The Grey Owl, who's an inventor. He made his claw-gauntlets, he made his Blackfield generator belt, and he made his wing backpack to keep with the whole avian theme. Tech: it's not just for robots anymore!

"Oh, and I made the Fairy wings for all the really good little girls out there in CoH land."

Such as... the dude with the full beard and the green headkerchief. Someone needs to take the "Random" button away from Jay.

"The Insect wings turned out pretty bad-[censored] because our animators made them look like real buzzing wings."

So. Very. Cool. Any vids of this out there?

"And what better way to give these new wing sets to our players than through our new Invention system!"

Well... off the cuff I'd say, "as part of the regular Vet reward package," but I've promised to refrain from grousing (too much) about Costume Inventions until I get to play with the system. So I'll let this serve as a microgrouse.

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My reasoning behind the maybe was because I wanted to see how people are with the current system, but if they could possibly do without the ***eholes that plague the zones as they are. The idea behind the 'instanced zones' was that if you could get 2 entire SGs into it by invite you could really possibly enjoy the zone PvP...

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In light of this, I'm not sure if you want to keep my "Maybe" in the Maybe column. I couldn't care less about smacktalkers and poor sports in the zone -- I learned long ago to ignore anything that wasn't prefaced by "Tell" or "Team", and to ignore half of communication prefaced by "Tell." My issue with PvP is primarily with the game's lack of "fair fight" enforcement and skewed motivation system.

Put simply, I enjoy Arena matches far more than Zone chaosfests, but no one goes to the Arena, at least on an ad hoc basis. With some changes made to the current PvP system (some feasible, some probably not so feasible) I'd enjoy PvP a lot more. People acting like posterior headgarments doesn't really enter into that.

Must resist urge to ramble, prate, and prattle... to clarify and qualify... arrrrrrgh...

*choke*

M-m-mmm-- Maybe.