SteelRat

3 bits of anti Malware software I'd use and would recommend, partly because they're really thorough and seem to get rid of most things, mainly cos they're free.

AVG Anti Virus v8.0 http://free.grisoft.com
Spybot Search & Destroy http://www.safer-networking.org
Malwarebytes http://malwarebytes.org

I'd also suggest going through add /remove programs and uninstalling any and all Toolbar plugins for IE that you've managed to acquire. Google, Windows Live, Yahoo are the most common culprits and I've seen these cause all sorts of weirdness in IE.

And on a positive note...

Looks rather nice, and if the meat n tatties of it match up to the presentation and garnish, I think it'll be pretty good.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
...How many of us live in Stevenage, now? I can count at least four

[/ QUOTE ]

Me, you, Stasis and Captain Txtspk. Anyone else? Hopefully someone I don't like, I never get to fight anymore.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can categorically state that I don't live there. I don't even know where it is. Does it have any redeeming features (besides your august presences I mean)?

[/ QUOTE ]

One notable news item about Stevenage caught my eye a while back, and that was about a plane crashing into it's city centre and causing 100s of thousands of pounds worth of structural improvements

[ QUOTE ]
It's just that occasionally you need a really well placed c**k!

[/ QUOTE ]

Some people more than others, I feel

I think there's a difference between using the f word almost like punctuation and saving it up for when you're really upset.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
However there are some who still think it's big and clever to swear to excess or for comedic effect. Bless 'em.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sneaky.

[/ QUOTE ]

Erm. Riiiight

[ QUOTE ]
And the funny thing is, Khorak, that someone who expresses themself as eloquently as you just did obviously doesn't need to pepper their conversation with Acute Anglo-Saxon.

[/ QUOTE ]

^^This. I think that's why I almost feel pity for those that do need to

I rarely swear in game, unless I'm teaming with people I know, but equally I'm generally not offended by people that do. However there are some who still think it's big and clever to swear to excess or for comedic effect. Bless 'em.

[ QUOTE ]
And whoever mentioned doing to PvE what was done to PvP, well-SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAMMM!!- ...-nods-

[/ QUOTE ]

The real irony of this Tech (and I realise it wasn't you that made the original statement) is that PVE players have had to put up with changes to PVE under the guise of PVP balance for too long, so the point is moot.

I've always wondered why the bank customers in mayhem missions are level 2. My brand new fire spitting beast from hell who's just broken out from the Zig, could infact get his backside handed to him by Old Missus Jones going to draw from her savings?

Mind you I suppose in todays financial climate, when Mrs Jones finds out her savings have disappeared through her banks inappropriate investments, the ensuing old lady rage means anything is possible

[ QUOTE ]
Have you seen how many people walk around in a valkarie cossie? Why? Because it is new and shiny. Everybody loves getting fun stuff. Even if it is just one cossie part.

[/ QUOTE ]

^^ This - which is why if you were going to make them available from level 1, do it as a veteran reward. Remember when wings first came out? It was City of Seagulls! Now you rarely see them (unless on a Valkyrie)

or maybe instead of shoulder capes at 21 months, just make all capes available at level 1 including shoulder capes.

[ QUOTE ]
Removing capes from the milestone process also doesn't mean that they can't be replaced by something else. The eroding milestone argument never seams to take that in to consideration.

[/ QUOTE ]

Perhaps because capes are so central to super hero "lore" that getting one should be seen as an achievement. Or to put it another way, it's something to look forward to, to generate anticipation, and therefore feels like a "reward". If there is something that can generate that same kind of anticipation, and be something people will want as much, then sure, move capes to lvl 1 and replace them with something else.

I have a feeling though you'd struggle to find something that would fit the bill as well.

[ QUOTE ]
(QR)

While anything that leaks out as this costume piece has is fair game, please remember that decompiling the game files and looking through what you find by doing so is not allowed under the EULA.

[/ QUOTE ]

Other than people bragging about it on forums, how else are you going to know people do it or not?

*shrug*.. I guess that's another example of the disparity between "you must be level 20" and what actually happens, and perhaps further illustrates the need for capes to be available from level 1 to make things more consistant across the board.

Ultimately, I don't really give two hoots whether capes are available at 1 or 20, but equally I don't like the idea of making things available from the get go that we used to have to work towards. It just strikes me as the start of a slippery slope.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It makes sense that you don't get allowed to wear THE item that is so special as the cape. Just as commando's aren't allowed to wear their green beret before they have proven themself. The cape is a badge of honor. An honor you will have to earn. This in honor of Hero 1.


[/ QUOTE ]

And this also explains the villain side of it too. Given that the lowest level a hero is going to be is 20, it makes sense that as a villain you're going to need to be the same level to have the slightest chance of pinching it off him.

[/ QUOTE ]

...-headscratch-
How does that even come anywhere near explaining the Villain side of it?

[/ QUOTE ]

If a hero has to be level 20 to earn a cape, then logicially any hero isn't going to have a cape less than level 20, right?

The villain cape mission is all about stealing a cape from a hero. Therefore, a lvl 1 villain isn't going to be able to get a cape, because he's going to be a greasy spot on the wall if tries to pinch it from a lvl 20 hero.

Capische?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
See, when you justify game mechanics IICly, we get into a whole load of trickyness.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's why I tend to dismiss conceptual counter arguments

[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't it fair to say though, that conceptually you can make what seem to be limiting game mechanics fit however you like, without the need to change those mechanics?

[ QUOTE ]
It makes sense that you don't get allowed to wear THE item that is so special as the cape. Just as commando's aren't allowed to wear their green beret before they have proven themself. The cape is a badge of honor. An honor you will have to earn. This in honor of Hero 1.


[/ QUOTE ]

And this also explains the villain side of it too. Given that the lowest level a hero is going to be is 20, it makes sense that as a villain you're going to need to be the same level to have the slightest chance of pinching it off him.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There is a reason why the trainers are called trainers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Because Back Alley Brawler can teach Zortel how to install a new circuit system into her suit to let her fly, fire larger beams or let her move quicker. Or that she can only do this once she has the 'security levels'.

"You're SL 6 now, you can run faster if you want." "You can run faster now, so I'll grant you SL 6."

See, when you justify game mechanics IICly, we get into a whole load of trickyness.

[/ QUOTE ]

I tend to see it this way:

"Your power has grown and this allows you to run faster. This additional power therefore grants you additional security clearance"

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I strongly disagree. If a hero isn't a "trainee" before lvl 20, why are things like travel powers not available until lvl 14? (And let's face it, flight is just as much as an entrenched part of superhero lore as the cape is) Why do they start off with 1 attack power? Even the start off enhancements are called "Training Origin".

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, so Zortel, my energy blaster, puts exploding ammunition rounds in her suit that doesn't fire bullets for more damage? Azure Arrow learns how do to fancy martial arts dragon strikes to make his arrows do more damage? My Psychic psychology student uses magical items and genetic alteration to become more adept at his powers?

I may be a roleplayer, but I don't let the game mechanic driven system dictate my characters.

[/ QUOTE ]

Forgive me if I'm being thick, but whilst I understand the point your're making, I don't understand the relevance to the quote.

[ QUOTE ]
Well, there always has been a game mechanic behind that though. It was to force first time players to run around, thus learning there agro distances. That's what we've been told when this has come up before at least.

The same is true for having only one attack power. It is a clear game mechanic and that is the same in many games.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm quite aware of the reason from the pov of game mechanics; that wasn't what I asked. I realise your dismissal of thematic questions, and I daresay this would fall under that category.

[ QUOTE ]
I think it's always been a problem. There were several suggestion threads "back in the day"™ that I remember. I think this new situation though has just compounded the issue.

[/ QUOTE ]

First time I've ever seen it mentioned.. but hey ho

[ QUOTE ]
Well it does currently look like all of the expansions are having costume bits added. The Magic one seams to (as one of the bits has been leaked). I'm not sure there would be that much of a take-up of them if they didn't actually. What would the Tech pack have included apart from costume options? three character emotes and a special power would be very little for £5.99.

[/ QUOTE ]

Again, not what I asked. I didn't ask if booster packs would come with new costume options, I asked would new major costume options would only come with booster packs? I suppose some of the day job civilian costume options would come under that banner, but perhaps they "slipped under the radar" to use an oft coined term because they don't have the same visual impact as sets like Enforcer, Stealth etc..

[ QUOTE ]
Was anything added in the last few patches?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, there's the day job cossies in i13, we've had Vanguard from i10(?), Stealth and Enforcer were in there somewhere, and the Roman options from i12.. Hmm.. now I actually come think about it, probably more than I initially gave Jay credit for

How do you envisage dealing with difficulty levels? Increasing the baseline stats by a notch per every other level and maybe increasing the group spawn size, in a similar vein to what happens now?

[ QUOTE ]
As you see it, perhaps, but not as the game its self describes it. We've had this argument before, you can't justify this on thematic grounds. It doesn't hold up on either side. That is why no conceptual argument can be valid in terms of decisions that aren't purely based on gamelore.

[/ QUOTE ]

I strongly disagree. If a hero isn't a "trainee" before lvl 20, why are things like travel powers not available until lvl 14? (And let's face it, flight is just as much as an entrenched part of superhero lore as the cape is) Why do they start off with 1 attack power? Even the start off enhancements are called "Training Origin".

As someone said earlier, I think it's really only become a problem since the seeming double standards of introducing capes as part of bought booster packs and allowing them to be worn before the cape mission has been completed. No one complained about "stifling creativity" before then.

Incidentally, and slightly OT - are new major costume options only now going to be available as booster packs or vet rewards? Last free one we got afaicr was the Enforcer set.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


Whilst nice in theory, I'm not entirely sure such a system would work in a Super hero game. By definition, a character is pretty much defined by their abilities and how they came by them, so I can't imagine why a fire blaster would want to forget how to shoot fire and suddenly shoot electricity instead.

[/ QUOTE ]

I never said change the powersets in respeccing. As is now, once chosen, sets should be permanant. Only power choices shouldnt have to be. And its not so much about forgetting an ability as utilising a power in a different way.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry Tech, I didn't make myself very clear. That paragraph was more of a criticism of my take on a levelless implementation than yours.

I actually like the idea of a levelless game, always have done.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
One other point about it "stifling creativity", is if anything it promotes a different kind of creativity in thinking of a reason why your character has to wait 'til 20 and 30 for capes and auras.


[/ QUOTE ]

Y'know... That there sentence is quite possibly the most stupid collection of words ever assembled into a sentence EVER.

A limit is a LIMIT. ANY limit, by the very definition, limits something. In this case, it's limiting what someone wants to do with a character concept. Sure they can adjust, and have too, but that's NOT WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, so their creativity is being limited, restricted, stifled.

[/ QUOTE ]


that's pretty rude and I'm kinda surprised at you for that FFM

I can see perfectly well what SR was saying - the Devs & game, partly through necessity, place constraints on us. Therefore we should use our collective imaginations to explain, to ourselves, if not others, why those limits are placed upon us.

Everything has limits. Even this game. How we deal with them reflects on us I feel

[/ QUOTE ]

Spot on. Surely a mind that can come up with a roaming sun beast, 1940s Cold War veteran or a half rock half fire half radioactive furnace thing from Mars can come up with a reason why he / she / it doesn't have a cape till a bit further on in his / her / it's career?

Games like EvE and the upcoming Darkfall are levelless, and rely on "skills" rather than a finite number of moves or abilities. Perhaps something to Darkfalls system might be nice whereby you can train in whatever skill you like, and the more you use it, the more powerful it becomes. If you don't like the skill, you just don't use it until you forget it, freeing up the points used to train it, so that you can train in something else.

Whilst nice in theory, I'm not entirely sure such a system would work in a Super hero game. By definition, a character is pretty much defined by their abilities and how they came by them, so I can't imagine why a fire blaster would want to forget how to shoot fire and suddenly shoot electricity instead.