SuperOz

Whilst I'm not a base builder myself, I would like to reassure the base lovers here that all hope is indeed not lost. There are numerous sources (not the least of which have been the Ustream casts) that have directly confirmed there is base love for this year. They haven't said what precisely, but it's supposed to be amazing and a radical overhaul of the base system. I believe the last direct mention of this was the big twelve-hour downtime just in the last few days.

Additionally, Positron himself is putting personal player housing on the design list. This was as of this last maitenance round and has had three to four goes at it so far. But it is going on the list. Zwillinger did however say that personal housing is one of the biggest server resource drains in any game. Make of that what you will.

But don't give up hope!


S.

I can't wait to hear what Stephen Hawkings thinks about all this, considering he doesn't believe you can break the lightspeed barrier, though you can go really close....


S.

I agree with Arcanaville here. 'Cool' does not equal 'continuity change', and nor should it. The very fact that DC Comics is making a move whereby they are changing their continuity wholesale and is being met with widespread resistance from the existing audience should tell any casual observer that.

I'd add to Arcanaville's point, however: continuity from a writing point of view serves two major purposes: the first is to allow a first-time reader to be introduced to a short form of said continuity for purposes of firstly understanding that there is a larger story going on, but secondly to facilitate an anchor point in the reader's experience; and the second is to provide any writer that would work in a shared universe a grounding in the material from which to work on.

Noone reading these forums would disagree that some of the most seminal works in superhero fiction have been or were direct influences from the very continuity on which they were based. Yes, they may have expanded upon them or even deconstructed them, but the point remains that without them these stories would have no point of inspiration or reference to draw upon.

In a game, where admittedly the format is by its very nature fluid and non-static, this must also apply. A player's core anchor in a game is an understanding (however deep or shallow they wish to participate in it) of the world and type of genre in which they exist. Therefore, it's a necessity to have characters around them that inform them of the story as it stands when they first encounter it. Any character after that point that they encounter will expand upon that knowledge or present them with a viewpoint that they may have already encountered. A very obvious example here is the heroic experience of Atlas Park and the stories that this experience takes into the world of Praetoria.

Any writer who therefore comes onto the story of Praetoria would a) look to the existing continuity that's been written and b) want to expand upon or detail the information or viewpoint that has been given already. Continuity is best seen as the mortar that holds the walls of a story together; when you stand back and look at the finished structure, you can see then the process in how it came about. The new story arcs of Atlas Park in the wake of the Galaxy City disaster bear this out; by the time a player comes to a point where they've fended off villains and learned the story of Matthew Hashaby, they can then look back and see how that story has come about to its climax. None of that can be casually discarded and changed for the sake of some new idea.

The only way a new idea or a new way of looking at a continuity is by looking at the continuity itself. Continuity is by definition continuous; you can see how and why one event has come out of another. Or how an expansion or redefinition of an event has come out of the unconsidered or in some cases unthought of aspects of the original. One of the seminal comics events (if I may be so indulged) of my youth was the invention of the Nightwing character of DC Comics. It was by necessity that Dick Grayson was put into a position whereby he would no longer be the Robin character, and the writers were put in a unique situation where they could redefine and expand the character. In doing this, they made an explicit point of delving into the character's own continuity and drawing a new identity (Nightwing) from the various influences it gave. When readers saw this, it was very well-recieved and thought of as an intelligent piece of writing that not only respected the character's present tense, but also the prior history and continuity of that character whilst preserving it.

This then must be the basis for any considered change to a story in an MMO. To make a change 'just because' will leave any player scratching their heads and wondering 'why is it so?' If you cannot answer the cardinal writers questions of Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How, then the readers will know.

Positron mentions the playground of the game. In fact, the playground is a sandbox, and the sandbox is only defined by your imagination. If we didn't have imaginations, there would be no spin-off Star Trek novels. There would be no Expanded Universe for Star Wars. There would be no Justice League cartoon. By all means, look at your characters, look at your stories and ask 'what more can they do? Is there more they can do? Can I bring them to an end?' But never, ever say 'this story deserves to go. That story doesn't mean anything. That story never will.' Because then you invalidate your mortar, and the structure falls apart. At that point, your sandbox has become a jigsaw puzzle where in order to form a picture, you're willing to throw away pieces.



S.

C'mon, noone has any thoughts/responses to this other than one person? At least I thought I had some good points....


S.

No, I think he's Ascended to Incarnate Levels that are far cooler than any we can have.


S.

Hi all!

As the title says, this is not a rant as such, but more thoughts and conclusions I've come to especially in light of the launch of this issue. Whilst I think and believe that the game has pushed itself beyond its own boundaries in regards to its own look (Praetoria, First Ward and Atlas Park all spring to mind here, along with the stunning art of the Underground Trial), and mechanically with the Incarnate System and the genuine raft of alternative and replacement abilities in Temporary Powers, there's still a couple of issues I feel are unaddressed and I wonder as to their future. And they are:

• Costuming: I think it's fair to say that whilst CoH is probably one of the leading games for sheer variety and creativity for costuming, I think it's also fair to say the game shows its age in some areas. Most other games take back items as passe, as a given, but there's been genuine issues in getting them to any point in this game. For me, a long standing issue has been complimentary back pieces to the Chest Details that we so often get. An armored vest often has two pieces; to me that's just common logic. We have a sense of layering here, but probably not as well-rounded as the most direct competition this game has.

Admittedly, this game has had the advantage of a more recent game engine and learned from CoH's, but I am wondering the absolute limits of what can be coded in have been reached. I know at least the option to go with assymetrical costume parts would be one that I'd enjoy for a variety of looks and the recent update suggests a good merging and updating of parts. Even body texturing seems to be getting better; I'm reasonably sure the legs on the Male Barbarian 'pants' seem smoother and better defined than their other counterparts. Can this go further? And if so, how much further? I'm curious to know.

• Bases. This has to be one of the last bastions of customisation out there for this game along with Pool and Patron/Epic Powers. Don't get me wrong; I think what base builders can do these days is nothing short of miraculous, but every base builder I've spoken to speaks of the juggling acts they have to pull off and the sometimes horrendous lag the results of said juggling acts bring about.

Another thing they continually say is the lack of parts they have to work with. Just simple items require a lot of other simple items to make. Again, referring to another similar game, I feel CoH has been outshone and deservedly so in this area. Modern coding allows for a broader variety of effects. Animations, lighting, 'mechanical' effects and arguably cleverer instancing for any kind of housing, which is essentially what bases are, even if that wasn't their original intent. Housing today is either a dedicated space with an illusion of being attached to the world around it, or is part of a greater series of housing objects in a shared instance. The idea of freeform placement of any kind of housing in a game world is probably not the best idea, unless the game's making some sort of dedicated effort to give players room to spread out.

This is being said bearing in mind that the Devs have recently said and confirmed that something big is in the works for bases this year (unless I have misheard and am happy to be corrected). I think the things bases lack (at least for me) are a sense of connectedness to the greater game world around them (be it windows to 'see' the world or mimicking perhaps a building players fancy as 'theirs') and personal touches. Showers, tables, a sense of place, for wont of a better term. It's often been argued that personal housing isn't available for players here, because of Prestige and Super Group issues. I'd like to think that could be overcome by means of using Influence in a manner as Prestige, and access perhaps as a bought space with dedicated teleporter ala base teleporters?

I talked to several friends of mine whom I showed around the new Atlas Park and they agreed that in terms of spaces, it was now replete with many many areas (parks, movie theaters, even apartment complexes) that leant to a sense of both immersion and roleplaying, as well as concept. It'd be hard for me to imagine some form of personal space not being a part of that connectedness or at least the ability to have that within a base.

Anyways, those are my thoughts on these matters....I'd love to hear yours, as always.



S.

My oldest blueside character, Burnum, is the embodiment of the Rainbow Serpent of Australian Aboriginal mythology, and named after a warrior-hero from the Dreamtime. Thus far, his only significant power is Pyronic Judgement which is symbolic of the 'heart of the earth', and is for him a reclamation of his former power as a shaper of the Australian continent and one of the Wandjina (the sky-people).


S.

Thanks Geko. Nice to be back reading and posting again.


S.

I'm very sad to read this.

As someone who is also a passionate Doctor Who fan, I had occasion to PM and publicly discuss with him Doctor Who stuff, but he was singly one of the most knowledgable people about the show I'd ever known. And his deep, deep appreciation for the history of the actors, and the show itself shone through.

I will definitely and did definitely miss his presence from the forums.

I saw what others said about his probably enjoying the River Song arc...if the Untempered Schism and the Time Vortex and all the stars and wheels of the galaxy turn the right way, our resident Lord of Time will get to see it all, in all the glory and all the majesty that he knew Time itself to be.

May the High Lords and even the Great Omega himself guide your way, Time Lord. We will see you again, in this guise or another. Time Lords never truly die....


S.

This Australian won't ever forget your pain. It was 10:40pm in Australia and the first I heard was the initial stuff about a plane hitting the World Trade center. It was thought to be a horrible accident.

And then it kept getting worse.

I stayed up the entire night watching things unfold and wondering if this really was World War III in my lifetime. At the time I was playing a text-only online game and logged on to find panic, fear and anxiety amongst the American players. Some of them lived only just across the river in New Jersey, and they were watching the plumes of smoke rise from Manhatten.

I stayed up all night reassuring, calming, doing what I could with a dialup modem and the objectivity that only comes from being a continent away from a horrendous act. A tv documentary over there is going to dub this the decade of Terror, and I agree. People became distrusting, fearful of others, and terrorism had achieved its aim. They created terror.

And yet...there was a newfound desire to understand the East, Islam. To reassure that they were just like us, and that they were as appalled as us, because Islam embraced everyone, regardless of color or background. And being the lifelong superhero fan I am, this reassured me most of all:





But I still wish they'd been there.

I will never forget.


S.

Can someone contact Westley and tell him to seriously stop overreacting? That stuff's probably been in the EULA for some time without him even noticing....these are terms and conditions we accept constantly and other people have said are questionable.

Westley, you previously agreed to all this stuff. Some testicular fortitude would be required, sir.


S.

It wouldn't...until you saw it on screen. A scalemail vest with essentially just...clothes? No way will a modern audience raised on X-suits up through to Iron Man armors swallow that look, no matter how faithful. I refer you to the Matt Salinger 1990 movie that looks authentic yet absolutely horrendous at the same time.


S.

I'll back people up to a point on the original Clash of the Titans, but in every way it's superior to the piece of tripe remake that even my staunchest 'I won't watch a movie made before CGI' friend told me not to go and see.

But my votes for 'great cast, bad movie' goes to....

Armageddon: Coming out the same year as the remarkably character-driven and thoughtful Deep Impact (ironically directed by Roland Emmerich, whose subsequent career consists of nothing else but terrible films with star-studded casts, and in my opinion has become the new Irwin Allen, master of disaster), this had Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck (super-hot off the back of Good Will Hunting), Liv Tyler, Billy Bob Thorton, Steve Buscemi and a bunch of up and coming actors...and threw it all away for ridiculous hokum complete with Willis sacrificing himself in all his squinty-eyed 'no, I'm not John McClane, honest' glory. Are we surprised that this is a Micheal Bay production?

Stealth: How can people overlook this? Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel and Josh Lucas, and 'Stealth, the Killer Plane'. It's like someone watched Christine, the old Stephen King 'killer car' idea and thought 'wouldn't it be cool if the car was a plane? And the plane was a fighter plane? And the fighter plane was a stealth plane? OMG!' Just sit back and watch the CGI...because at least the plane looks nice.

Add my vote to In the name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Story...or whatever that drivel was. You have some accomplished actors in Burt Reynolds (who's a remarkably good character actor now), John Rhys Davies and Ray Liotta...a decent enough and tremendous physical actor in Jason Statham...the understated and frankly very talented Matthew Lilliard (Scooby-Doo, in case you're wondering), Ron Perlman and Claire Forlani...and it's totally and utterly wasted.

Uwe Boll couldn't direct air in a paper bag. The first half of the film meanders along with the the major protagonist in Liotta being revealed in the first ten minutes of the movie (and Rhys Davies, who is apparently his teacher, unable to notice the guy has been sleeping with his daughter in Leelee Sobeiski for years) and next to no establishment of the world, the story or any backstory whatsoever. The Dungeon Siege games apparently have a very good backstory and character development, and this is all thrown out the window in poorly staged fight scenes with extras who seem to be thinking if they over-act enough, they might score a decent gig as an orc in the next Peter Jackson production. The only remotely saving graces are Statham's fight choreography, and Lilliard's simpering and scheming character. But otherwise, it's junk.


S.

I see what you did there.

There's even an RPG sourcebook that posits that Earth isn't that far away at all from the Star Wars galaxy and the Empire turns up. Interesting to see the clash between modern technology and Star Wars technology.


S.

My only advice is to go and talk to the people who have very successfully done Mothership Raids to the point of making them feel like a tourst run, and I mean that in the most positive sense. Virtue has Mothership Mondays, and I did a bunch of them when Vanguard costume parts still could be earned with Merits.

Not only did the experienced leaders have their instructions macro'd and concisely directed at the Request channel so everyone could see without distraction, they also were incredibly gracious and welcoming (a welcome message also being macro'd and showing a ton of class) and were able to answer any question that came along.

At this point on Virtue, I've only seen one or two people I'd trust on Trials (Paladin from Virtue being one of them) and these are the people you want. We've been so very good in this game in offering the helping hand to those learning the game or experiencing TF's or the like, we could do worse in bringing that same level of courtesy, professionalism and fun to Trials.


S.

Hi guys.

I have a friend who'd like to become a Premium player on the game, but has been interested in the Praetorian side of the game, so I advised them to buy the Going Rogue expansion and take the free month of game play. I still get confused about this stuff, so when his free month expires, does he lose access to the Incarnate portion of the game even though that is included in the system (as I recall)?

I just want to clarify things for my friend so I'm not giving him the bum steer.


S.

Very sweet.


S.

Foreshadow for Best Male. He has a clean and unique look, and he's got that Asian hair that really sets him off and that many, many people want.


S.

So the entirety of CoH can like Coalition with her guild, right?


S.

Ah, the grand old days of Marvel where they were allowed to run rampant with their imaginations....I remember one of the old early issues where they had the Fantastic Five (or what if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four, which he almost did early on) and also included Reed Richards being in Doom's body....don't ask.

Conan in the 20th century was a hoot, because they actually did a story where his spirit came through and was there briefly, and he became this fearsome member of the Avengers...and then they reversed the format and had 'What If Thor were trapped in Conan's time' with the pair fighting it out and eventually deciding the only way for Thor to get home was to go and speak to Crom...to never be seen again.

Really interesting and offbeat stories back then.



S.