Sumericon

This.

History shows that the powers that be in the game have always categorized farming as "aberrant gameplay behavior". Farmers need to just accept this fact and stop hoping for some kind of recognition or legitimization. It's not going to happen.

The only requirement for joining is to survive the trip from the Vanguard Base to the AE building in RWZ, which is where the team meets up. SSK smoothes out the level ranges.

It's deliberate and it's not a slip-up. It's in-canon and it's foreshadowing. Some of the dialogues were comic relief, but this one in particular was by design.

Thanks for noticing the patrol and other dialogues. I squeezed so many nuggets into those boxes, but I have noticed how some of it gets buried under other text. I'll take a look at where I can emphasize the more crucial points.

When you're ready for it, Act Two runs in level range 16-20. No AV, but there are EBs. Drop a line if you want some help, I'll be happy to run it with you.

Another great teaming event last night.

Thank you for running my arc, ZAGMUK Act One: The Herald. I hope it was enjoyable. The run-through gave me a fresh perspective on how some of the mechanics are working in a larger team setting (I'd previously only tested it to a max size team of 3) as well as narrowed down a few places where I could add more polish and clarify certain details.

Big Evil is an arc that has alot of potential but still rough around the edges. Ozzie asked for comments and feedback, and certainly got that! I'll be curious to see how the arc turns out in its next incarnation.

We started out doing Make It Break It, but the first arc was such a let down that we turned to a tried and true author for the second, which turned out great. The third arc was something I've been wanting to play for a while, and I wasn't disappointed at all. As I said in my comment to the author, I can't wait to play the rest.

Great team today. When's the next time? Sunday noon?

Interesting, I did not know that! Good thing I always wait until just before I'm ready to publish before I add the souvenir.

There are some who call me..... Tim.

(couldn't help myself)

ZAGMUK Act One: The Herald
Arc 266123
Level range 10-14

ZAGMUK Act Two: Crusade
Arc 323135
Level range 16-20

ZAGMUK Act Three .... still working on it ....
Maybe I'll have it ready by the time you get to level range 20-24.

My arcs are designed for teams, though you should be able to solo on lowest difficulty, or just tell me what server you're on and I'll be happy to run duo with you.

From personal experience I can tell you Kat/Inv is good fun. It gets tougher against the non-resisted damage types, but carry some inspirations and you make it through.

Have fun!

First of all, thanks to both of you for playing and reviewing The Herald. I'm glad you enjoyed the story and gameplay, as well as the presentation. I appreciate your observations and suggestions. They will be helpful for me when I can go back and make adjustments to this arc.

If I can address a couple of your points directly:

You both expressed a concern about the character Hanish. You are right that his appearance here is a cameo of sorts, but not without good reason. With his dialogue, he not only contributes to the mystery and foreshadows future installments, but also alludes to the theme of this story. It was also important to introduce him here as he takes a more active role later. The only change I could foresee would be to trim him from the final mission completely which would enhance his cameo standing.

Conversely, the Helena character is very important to this story. Londerwost had it dead on when he said it was "like seeing a familiar friend." This was exactly what I was going for. I think it's obvious that she is invested in the outcome of the events and she wants to participate. She's a fun character and I enjoyed creating her.

I know there are slight issues with the chained objectives I used on some of the missions. I will definitely be looking at these when I go back to edit. The addition of "click and drag" re-ordering of objectives with i16 will make this effort much easier, and I will take a closer look at the text and clues as well. Incidentally, anachrodragon, the first boss' dialogue does specifically mention The Inquisitor, but I can see how it could be missed. Thank you for pointing that out, I will clarify.

As for the title, honestly, I'm not sure what else to call it. I will keep that in mind and maybe another "grabbier" title will come to mind.

If you're interested, Act Two is now available and continues the story into the 16-20 level range. Info below.

Actually, no, they can't. This is the fundamental difference between truth and opinion. Surrounding yourself with only those people that share your opinion doesn't make your opinion true.

So, what you're saying here is that an arc is not good from the author's original conception? In order to be good, it has to be modified to conform to other people's ideas about what is good. Gotcha.

Because the DC award locks the arc as is. No changes can be made after that.

No sour grapes here.

Though I was inexperienced with the MA at the time, I had an idea for a story that I wanted to tell. I put some effort into it, told that story, and a dev enjoyed it.

The majority of the feedback I've received since then from other players has been positive. Even Nethergoat enjoyed the story.

I don't begrudge people their negative opinions either. They are entitled to them. You can't please everyone.

But I would stop them at making comparisons. "My arc is better than your arc," or "Arc A is better than your arc," do not interest me in the slightest. I didn't make an arc to be better than anyone else's arc. I made it to tell a story I wanted to tell.

I would agree there are many other great stories in AE that other people have made into great arcs. I would agree there are likely some that deserve recognition. But that is not up to me. It's not up to you. Dev's Choice is simply that. Dev's Choice.

Even if my arc had not been chosen for DC, I wouldn't hold it against those who had or try to run them down in favor of my own or another person's work.

You're splitting hairs, but it remains that, even if a bunch of folks chime in and agree with an opinion, all you have is a consensus of opinion. It only takes one dissenting voice to shatter that illusion.

Incidentally, I don't have any record or recollection of either Dalghryn or FredrikSvanberg ever submitting a comment about my own arc, good or bad, so I would have to question the validity of their opinions on the subject anyway.

Regardless, whether or not an arc deserves DC status is not for the players to decide. Players' opinions are recognized with Hall of Fame status. If players feel that an arc deserves DC status and want to bring it to the attention of the devs, there is a thread for that. Even so, the DC award still ultimately comes down to the devs opinion, not players.

It's not like there is only a limited number of DC awards to go around. It's not an arc vs. arc competition. There is no justification to belittle one person's work and accomplishment in order to praise someone else's. If that were the case, count me out. I wouldn't want an award that would require me to put someone else down, and I don't hold in high regard the opinions of those who would do that.

It's not true. It's an opinion. Opinions are never true.

The list is currently -1. @GadgetDon's The Butterfly Effect is no longer on it. No, I do not know why.

Two issues later and we're still getting these types of comments.