Soul Train

I believe that dominators don't get access to AoE damage because this would actually interfere with their AoE control powers (mass sleeps, at the very least).

These AoE crowd control abilities are also why they don't NEED AoE damage - you have time to pick things off one by one, because the rest of the spawn is, in a word, helpless.

It's an asus laptop. They're known for providing crippled versions of the vid drivers, which means certain functions (such as OpenGL which is what CoH uses to render the game world) will not function using those drivers.

as for your download time, if you have a friend with:

A) a broadband connection (cable, dsl, or sat)
B) a USB stick or a CD/DVD burner

Have them download what you need, and then copy it all to the USB stick or burn it to CD(s) or DVD, then send it to you or deliver it via sneakernet.

Or, if your laptop has WiFi built in, go visit a bookstore or coffeeshop that offers WiFi access, and DL it while there. Last resort? Download the file to a work computer over their network connection (assuming you have computer at work you can use in that fashion AND that they have Internet access that isn't restricted/closely watched). Then copy the file via one of the methods above.

This makes sense, especially after the "hour of playing" and the fact that hits have to render FX on the target(s) as well as damage ticks and so forth. We could be looking at an overheating card.

Since Villains tends to be more 'crowded' object-wise (all the clutter in the zones, the semitransparent textures in the Arachnos maps) it makes sense that symptoms would appear here first.

Also check to see what else is running on your system - HijackThis is a good program to use. You don't need to change anything with it - just save the report and cut/paste it in a reply. We can then scan it and see if there's perhaps some things you don't use while gaming (or use at all) that can be shut down, disabled, or uninstalled.

I agree that the variety of things to do needs to be kicked up a notch. Our 'door' missions are pretty much the same thing: enter an area, defeat mobs, collect glowies, occasionally guard/escort someone or fend off attacks. Street sweeping = just that, pummel everyone you run across.

One thing I LIKE about WoW is the different kinds of things you're tasked to do.

For example: One of the rogue-specific quests is to get a shipping manifest. If you try and take it by force, you get curbstomped. If you try and insta-kill the person carrying it, the item can't be found on the body, and ... you get curbstomped by the guards. You have to figure out how to get the item without being seen or heard. Another quest involves a bar brawl - you're told to take the drunk dude's lucky beer mug.

Granted, most of WoW is grind-y, especially at higher levels. But the Blizzard devs know that occasionally mixing up the things you're supposed to do is a good thing. We could use a bit more of that in CoH. I for one would love a 'burning building' scenario where you have to run in and save someone, rather than put the fire out or beat up the arsonists. I would love a destructable-environment Mission Map, where you can cause secondary damage by knocking your opponents through things. I'd love a "protect a vehicle or convoy" map. Or a puzzle mission where you have to locate/procure something vital before the timer runs out (over the course of several missions).

I'm kind of sad about the Succubi being so constrained as well. It'd be nice if they showed up with lesser or greater power spreads, along with the lashers and other beasts that eventually culminate in Hellfrosts.

I have a mission in one of my arcs where you encounter a den full of succubi and nothing else. I may end up having to create my own versions of them as a custom group, just to make things more interesting.

The Office would actually be on my Worst list. Just... don't find it funny.

And I'm surprised that Criminal Minds isn't on your top 10. I absolutely love that show. 24, too.

But then again, I'm a La Femme Nikita fan. Always liked edgy spy drama.

Yaaaah. I'd say CAIS has fubared not only your network stack but probably a few other services.

That's the problem with nannyware. In order to protect itself from young geniuses hacking their way around it, it has to pre-empt a LOT of the operating system. You're better off just not letting the kids on the computer unless you're in the room with them.

I think what you're needing is something to drive the guy to fight crime.

It sounds as if he's from the tough part of town, lot of gang activity, drugs, muggings, et cetera.

An overall 'plot' for his origin might be:

Mutant reflexes get him 'in the door' with a few fight clubs, maybe even recruited as muscle for a dealer or a pimp. This lasts until he sees an atrocity committed, or he intercedes and kicks some deserving tail.

Problem is, he did it in his civvie guise, and he comes home to his sis/mom/dad/favorite cousin beat up/at death's door/cut up and stuffed in the fridge.

At that point, he decides he's NOT backing down, but adopts the costume as a way to build a fearsome rep and protect his family at the same time.

Another possibility is "engineered error correction" - introducing bits of data into a datastream that is meant to appear as random (and is bracketed by the appropriate "ignore that, it failed checksumming and is bogus" error correction packets) but when properly reassembled instead of thrown away, forms a coherent message.

A "message in the mistakes", so to speak.

Also, steganography (where a message is encrypted into an innocuous file, such as a picture, and then sent) and codephrases.

Not sure how technologically dependent Emperor Cole's regime is, but the more advanced the communication infrastructure, the more automated it is. This means that going "old school" is actually MORE likely to succeed, because it is more likely to make an end run around the existing system.

Something as simple as fluctuating the power to a skyscraper aircraft beacon can turn it into a morse-code or digital broadcast node. Same goes for flexing a mirrored surface to reflect sunlight in pulses (a Heliograph) and hanging different colors/types/patterns of clothing on a clothesline (borrowed from naval flag communications).

I'd say, time to check inside the case, ensure your fans are all working, the dust bunnies are cleaned out, and that you've no loose power connectors. It's definitely hardware related, and by the way it came on like it did (first heavy-duty apps like games and then the simple stuff) it may be an overheat problem.

Grab a copy of SpeedFan and run it, see if it detects any temperature or fan speed or voltage problems.

If yu've recently re-activated your account, then you may not be able to make other ncsoft purchases on that same card/paypal acct for a certain amount of time (1-3 days, I think it is.)

I think I recall something a few years back, about NCSOFT putting in a per-account purchase limit to keep people from 'harvesting' a stolen CC by buying a bunch of game accounts on it.

If you're being redirected to a specific site for all internet access, then you've probably had your HOSTS file rewritten, or your DNS addresses have been rewritten. These are both methods of "address resolution" much like a phone book - when you type in www.website.com, the system looks that address up (first in HOSTS, then using Domain Name Resolution or DNS). Then it sends the page request to the IP address that was returned from the lookup, just as you dial the telephone number in someone's phone book listing.

Now, imagine someone coming along and putting in the SAME PHONE NUMBER for every listing in the phone book. That's a HOSTS file hack - your system is told everything can be found at a specific IP.

Or, imagine someone impersonating the directory assistance, and giving you a bogus number when you call. That's a DNS redirect hack.

What you need to do is, call your internet provider (or look this info up on your wife's comp) and get the DNS Resolver Addresses (usually two addresses) for your internet service. If they have a guide on resetting your DNS addresses, save it locally (thumb drive) or print it. Then use that guide to go onto your system, and reset your DNS addresses.

As for the HOSTS file, HiJackThis can fix it. It can also install a service that will block any attempt to change your HOSTS file.

That's name resolution hacks and fixes in general. Not sure how this malware pre-empts your connection, but in most cases, it'll be a variant of these two methods.

The "clipboard not copying" bit worries me.

Start | Run | Services.msc >> check to see if your clipboard service is running (and set to auto). If it is not, right-click it, change properties to Automatic, and Start it. Then see how things go with copy/paste with the CoHHelper scan.

And yes, I'd run a malwarebytes scan. When you can't copy/paste AND you're logged in as admin? one starts to suspect digital wee beasties messing with your system.

Sounds as if you're not receiving data that you need on the new character in a timely fashion.

CoHHelper report would be good. Also, how do you connect to Internet (DSL/cable/sat/dialup) and who is your provider?

Check to see if your firewall is allowing FTP transfers.

Also, browsers make lousy ftp transfer clients - they tend to want to grab the entire file before displaying ANYTHING. so, download an FTP client program (Filezilla is my fave) and login to the ftp site itself. It should allow anon access - if not, try your forum login/pwd.

Having grown up in the boonies (get your TV from a UHF repeater and your radio over AM cos it'll skip off the ozone layer) I know full well what the problem is in regards to rural broadband.

Market Density.


Put simply, there's just not enough people per square mile to make the 'investment' worth it. So the only way this will happen is if someone hands the broadband provider a grant, and even then it'll be a lowball job.

Back in the 80's and 90's Qwest (the company that used to be known as US West) sunk a TON of money into laying fiber across their entire service area. It bankrupted them. The reason wasn't that there wasn't enough data capacity. People just weren't willing to pay premium rates for all the new 'features' that digital phone service would bring, because all they needed was a phone. This was years before Fiber-to-Premise VDSL (which would be the answer for all the rural folks in Qwest territory).

Not sure if anyone will pick that ball up anytime soon, because again, there's that Return On Investment problem - not enough customers per square mile to justify the upgrade expense.

These days, it seems that satellite is the leading source of media/data access in rural areas, because amazingly enough, it's cheaper to put a bird into orbit and cover ten to twenty states, than it is to run cable to all the potential customers in those states. The issue then is latency - that sat is WAY up there, and it takes a few seconds for your data to be sent from the uplink farm, to the bird, and then back down to the receiver in your dish.