Tahlana

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I've never seen Buffy but one example that jumps to mind is "12 Monkeys", a movie I very much enjoyed. It is superficially very similar, the contrast of 'reality' with 'hospital' and continually asks the viewer "what is real?"

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Except that 12 Monkeys is clearly real, especially when we get to see events from points of view outside that of the main character. Had the entire movie been seen from the eyes of Bruce Willis's character then you'd have a point.

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The 'fact' that Willis is time traveling isn't at all clear (until perhaps the very end) as there are allusions to it all being a delusion of his memory. That's the point. Is he really traveling through time or is he just a mental patient who has pieced the story together from things he's seen and heard (from the TV, the other patients, etc)? The movie waffles back and forth and at various points can be interpreted both ways. By the end there is enough evidence that he is time traveling and of course the tragedy is that its too late. Similarly by the end of this arc, its clear that you are a mental patient, though there is enough evidence the other way for it to be ambiguous still.

The core idea still is what is real, what is memory, what is perception? If you see your character as real and sacrosanct, then these are themes you probably won't like exploring in a story arc. For similar reasons I basically have a disclaimer in my arc warning that is it a surreal and philosophical story, I figure I'll get less complaints that way.

The most interesting thing about this arc is what the reactions people have to it say about those people. This is a "people-watcher's" dream thread right here. Please, do continue! The insight into everyone's psyche is enlightening and entertaining.

As a side note, I enjoyed the arc immensely. The use of "its a Nemesis plot!" as the delusion of a mentally ill person was perhaps the best use of it ever. Certainly this style of story has been done before and it will be done again because of one very important thing: it challenges our perception of perception. That is an entire branch of philosophy and one very will suited to being explored in an RPG or game setting.

I've never seen Buffy but one example that jumps to mind is "12 Monkeys", a movie I very much enjoyed. It is superficially very similar, the contrast of 'reality' with 'hospital' and continually asks the viewer "what is real?" These kinds of stories challenge the way we perceive the world around us and that is a very scary and difficult idea to tackle. Our responses when faced with these questions can tell us a great deal about ourselves. I think this arc has done an admirable job of bringing up these issues (I offer all the discussion and reviews here as proof) and I wish there were many more arcs like it out there.


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No one accidentally picks a name that anagrams to Lord Nemesis. In fact, if a name completely anagrams (using all the letters) to anything at all it's likely to be significant.


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As a total aside, my RL name ("Tabitha") anagrams perfectly to "Habitat" so what does that say about me? Let us never forget that (though it it not the case here) coincidence does happen and nothing is significant till proven to be so!

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If we want certain content, we have to use it as-is, we can't adjust the level of it--like the Devs did when they added high level Banished Pantheon for Portal Corp missions. There's a group that you only saw in the 20-30 range, but when they added the level 40-50 content they decided to use Banished Pantheon. If a player wanted to do the same thing in MA with say, Warriors, they couldn't, they'd just have to use them as 20-30.

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You have the option of making custom critters. Warriors are pretty easy to do in the critter creator. Of course, you'd have to have a reason for having level 50 Warriors. They are a mid-level gang.

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Right, a reason like the Devs had for taking the Banished Pantheon (once a mid-level gang) to level 50. The reasons are out there, but the willingness to accept it when it comes seems sadly lacking. And sure, its easy to make fake Warriors, but that's not true of many factions and so MA authors just have to make due and hope MA players will understand.

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So you stop and whack every purse-snatching Hellion you see? Level 50s shouldn't be fighting Hellions. If Hellions are showing up in a level 50 arc they should have a very good reason, and they should probably show up as grey-cons. There is a dev arc that does this, it's a Malta mission with level 15 Skulls in it.


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If I'm playing a story arc that compels me to in order to advance the story then "yes". If I see Tsoo playing tug-of-war with a giant green crystal then "no" because they are just going to respawn anyway (ie. there isn't a motivation to). And ya, it would be cool if we could add grey mobs like that to simulate that effect.


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When I can set the search engine to ignore level 1-54 arcs when searching for "my level," I'll stop complaining about them.

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I agree about that, there's a lot of ways I'd like to see the searching improved (what I meant was set the level of your arcs logically and don't complain to an author personally about it).


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I don't have to put up with such nonsense in dev-created arcs (even Oroboros only does it for one short arc) so why is it so excusable in player-created arcs.


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That's because the Devs can make whatever they want for their stories (like ladies in dresses with big blunderbuss guns that come from another dimension and are level 50) and we mere players have to content ourselves with using the MA to tell stories. If we want certain content, we have to use it as-is, we can't adjust the level of it--like the Devs did when they added high level Banished Pantheon for Portal Corp missions. There's a group that you only saw in the 20-30 range, but when they added the level 40-50 content they decided to use Banished Pantheon. If a player wanted to do the same thing in MA with say, Warriors, they couldn't, they'd just have to use them as 20-30.

My point still is, why not just ignore arcs with level ranges you don't like? Or, if the arc is interesting, why not ignore the level?

I've just got to chime in on this because until I read these forums I had no idea that level range consistency was such a hot topic. I can understand the complaints about losing powers or xp but really, if the story merits the range (for whatever reason) then why not just let it go?

Honestly the whole idea of 'level' or a faction having a level is non-immersive and I just ignore it. The concept that "I can't fight that, its 40 levels beneath me!" is seriously laughable. If I'm a hero, I'm going to fight the fights that need winning regardless of who the enemy is.

The player has far more choice about the level range than the author does really. If I'm playing a character 'to get xp' I'll skip an arc that exemps me or come back to it later on a 50. Similarly if I see an arc with Custom Factions and I'm playing a level 8 I'll skip it till I'm at least 18 or 20 because I know it might be too hard. Leave it to the player to make the judgment call on whether or not to play the arc. They have fair warning when selecting the mission and no one is forcing them to play it! (Of course, if a reviewer has an issue with it that is their prerogative, they offer a service and aren't obligated to do anything.)

In short, set the level to what is most logical and if you play an arc with disparate level ranges don't complain because you were the one that chose to play it!

Hi Cap! I would really appreciate a review of "The Fracturing of Time" (arc 171031), it's been updated with i15 changes! Thanks much!

If you'd like, I'd appreciate a review of "The Fracturing of Time" (arc id 171031). It'd probably be best suited for Ultimo Girl. Thanks!

I've finished updating my arc for the changes in i15 so I'd appreciate a review of "The Fracturing of Time" arc id 171031. Thanks in advance!

If you're still taking submissions I'd like to add mine to the list. I've finished updating it for i15 so it's ready for review! "The Fracturing of Time" arc id 171031. Thanks for your time!

I recently finished updating my arc for i15 so if you would like, please give it a shot: "The Fracturing of Time" id 171031. Thanks, I really appreciate all feedback and comments!

Hi, if still have room in your queue for arcs I'd like to toss in "The Fracturing of Time" id 171031. I've just finished all the i15 updates to it and though it is listed as "Final" I appreciate all feedback! Thanks in advance.

I've run several of your arcs and just ran "A Warrior's Journey" last night (hope you got my in-game feedback). As for balance I'll address that here. We played it with my lvl 50 Dual Blades/Willpower tanker and my husband's level 50 Electric/Energy blaster on difficulty setting 4 (so the AVs were EBs still). Being dual blades with all the katanas was a really cool effect! The end mission was the hardest (the blaster almost died) but very manageable and since the story merited it no complaints here (admittedly my tank is very tough so not sure how well a squishy would fare alone).

When an arc doesn't show the rating for me it's most often been for one of several reasons:
C. Arcs rated 5 stars never show the star rating
D. Arcs with faulty @author info (rare but you can tell because your feedback doesn't go through unless you restart the arc)
E. Possibly arcs that the author has "republished"

Generally after a period of 2 weeks (or thereabouts) you can rate an arc again and the author will get the tickets again but the rating "count" will remain unchanged. I don't think it will make the stars show up again for you, but the system is so glitchy who knows? I've found that searching by "completed" is more reliable than by "voted on".

I've gotten to play a lot of arcs lately, here are some highlights!
<ul type="square">[*]Pandas vs. Rikti by @Shadow-Rush Arc ID: 68930
Fun and cute! Really good design.[*]Tales of the PPD: One Hell of a Deal by @Strike Eagle Arc ID: 55669
A great way to level 1-5![*]Freakshow U by @Lethal Guardian Arc ID: 189073
Grab your books and implants, it's time for class![*]A Tangle in Time by @jjac Arc ID: 2622
A dark, well designed and interesting story.[*]The History of Statesman by @jjac Arc ID: 219484
History lessons were never so fun! Completely absurd and hilarious![/list]

Keep in mind too that nothing prevents a level 1 from playing an arc set to minimum level 35, it's just risky for them. I've certainly taken teens level characters into arcs that kick me up to 30 or 40 just because it seemed like an interesting story. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and I come back when I'm higher level.

Keep your arc set to 30 or 35 because that's the power scale of your mobs and it makes sense. Allowing something to be 1-54 doesn't inherently make it lowbie friendly!

The cruelest thing about this all is not the reviews of the arcs being played, its the pain and suffering inflicted upon poor, innocent Crasical. Locked, no doubt, in a dark, dank dungeon, forced to team with TerminusEst13 and run arcs until his eyes and fingers bleed. My only question is, can he still receive care packages in the Dungeon and does he prefer peanut butter or chocolate chip? (no oatmeal, I don't want to further his suffering)

I couldn't find a thread about this anywhere, but after the maintenance this afternoon when I logged back on I suddenly got this message:

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06-23-2009 13:52:56 Leveling Pacts are currently broken due to a technical issue. Until this is resolved you will receive no experience and your pact will not receive their share of your influence. We apologize for the inconvenience.


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I just want to know three things. First, can I continue to play pact characters or do I risk losing the pact or losing anything other than xp? Second, is there a post about this somewhere saying when it will be fixed, or maybe what to do or not do in the mean time? Third, is it a real issue or some weird glitch I got this message (because I don't see anyone talking about it)?

Well I think I've already played your first 2 (3rd is in my To-Play list) so if you want to try my stupid--I mean funny!--arc its mercifully short. But to...uhm...appreciate it fully you have to be familiar with the old CoH "kill skuls" joke. (Here's the Paragon Wiki link with the text of the original posts). It's designed for lowbies so don't expect an epic (that's my other one) but maybe you'll be amused. Enjoy!

Title: Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls
Arc ID: 158877
Creator’s Global Name: @Tahlana
Mission Count: 1
Notes – Kill Skuls

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Also, today, I didn't open my front door to find myself standing there with a longer beard and the keys to a delorean. This means that whatever happens in my future, I will never give myself the keys to a time travel machine, even if I find one and want to. Various accidents may have already happened to my future self that prevented him from meeting me today. It's more likely though that he remembers not meeting himself today and so just hasn't bothered.


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Or maybe you DID but it lead to the end of the Universe and so another future version of yourself had to travel back to today to prevent the first future you from meeting the current you but then you never got the keys to the time travel machine that enabled you to end the Universe so you never had to travel back to stop yourself and the Universe was never in danger and so now you can rest easy knowing that today you saved the Universe!!!

It's great to see people playing and enjoying the arcs listed here. I've tried several of the Arcs other people have listed and they've all been excellent! Keep the suggestions coming!

I haven't gotten to play a much lately, but here's my latest additions. Have fun!

<ul type="square">[*]Batteries Included by @Lazorman (#193760)
A well written, fun, comic book-ish story arc.
[*]Cracking Skulls by @Flame Kitten (#115935)
Good low teens arc with nice mission design.[/list]

I would appreciate any and all feedback on my "epic" arc: "The Fracturing of Time" (171031). Its sort of a Twilight Zone-ish science fiction arc. Thanks in advance!

I'm glad to see these arcs are getting more plays! I'm looking forward to trying the ones everyone else is listing here too

Here's a few additions to my list. No Arc can appeal to everyone, but these are ones that have stood out to me lately:

~~ HEROIC:
<ul type="square">[*]The Audition by @MrCaptainMan (#182289)
I know its hard, but don't die while trying to sing along! (like I did )[*]Turg Fiction: Ghost in the Machine, Act II by @Turgenev
Edit: my apologies, this arc is not yet finished! Final arc ID coming soon! (Go play the first one in the mean time )[*]Astoria in D Minor by @The Cheshire Cat (#41565)
Very dark horror (not for everyone).[*]Fames in Victus by @Copse (#6467)
Humorous with many a pun.[*]Amazon-Avatars by @FemFury (#5909)
Has some great boss fights and interesting use of mythology.[/list]
~~ NEUTRAL:
<ul type="square">[*]Wicked, Wicked Wonderland by @AncientSpirit (#1224)
Alice and the Queen of Hearts![*]Paradox: Crisis on Infinite Girls @Paradox Girl (#97027)
There's so many of them! Amusing arc with some great mission designs.[/list]
~~ VILLAINOUS:
<ul type="square">[*]Assault on Aru Prime by Aisynia (#174586)
Very dark and evil sci-fi (not for everyone).[/list]

Lately I've been very frustrated by good story arcs getting griefed by 1 or 0 stars. I've dwelled on how annoying and wrong it is and ranted about ways it should be fixed. I'm through with all that now and I've decided instead to take a much more positive approach to the AE System!

It's time to counteract the griefers by promoting Arcs that deserve praise and play! So this is it: my own personal hall of fame. My list of all the arcs I enjoyed playing and ones that have qualities that merit experiencing. This is a list of Arcs that I feel people will be interested in playing and ones that should be getting more attention. They are well written and have good or interesting game design features.

This isn't a review thread and I don't want any self-promotion or requests here. But if you have played Arcs by other people that are high quality--have good writing, plot and design--feel free to list them! No spoilers and no reviews please, just the name of the arc, the author and a brief summary of why you liked it or what style it is.

Here's my list of Favorite Arcs. I'll be adding to it as I play more. Give these ones a try, you won't be disappointed!


~~ HEROIC:<ul type="square">[*]Duality by @DK242-B (#84105)
Dark street crime, horror-mystery story.[*]The Best of the Rest of What's Left by @Twoflower (#2539)
Heroic reality TV![*]Trademark Infringement by @Wrong Number (#2220)
Funny story with great custom character design.[*]Kitty Hate Hat - The Catpocalypse by @Kepa (#99831)
Insane, funny writting and story![*]The Dead and the Damned by @Found Boy (#87912)
Great design and writting. Excellent for low levels.[*]Teen Phalanx Forever! by @PW (#67335)
A fun adventure comic book style![/list]~~ NEUTRAL:<ul type="square">[*]Time Loop by @Bubbawheat (#137561)
Very clever mission design. Rewards the player that reads the clues and text closely.[/list]~~ VILLAINOUS:<ul type="square">[*]Gang Land Series by @Jake Summers (#4424 and #123551)
Part 1: The Tesla Fidelity Cannon and Part 2: Army Building for Dummies
Fun and well written arc with much evil world dominating! Great for low levels.[*]Mercytown: The One With All The Fish by @Frija (#6017)
Good atmosphere and creepy final mission.[/list]If you haven't already, join the "MA Arc Finder" channel in-game. Its a great place to learn about good arcs!

First, thank you to everyone who's played and especially thanks to those who sent in typos, bugs, criticism and questions. You've helped me understand exactly how people perceive the story and that's helped me make it even stronger. Thank You!

I've done a bit of work on Fractures this week:
<ul type="square">[*]I reduced the glowies from 5 to 4 in mission 3 to avoid any bugged spawn points.[*]I've fixed some typos (it finally occurred to me how I could use Word to spellcheck without all the meta tags in the way ).[*]I changed the models in mission 4 to tie in with the story better.[*]Added some clarification to mission 1 in regards to the device and the defenders.[*]Ensured text matched map visuals better.[*]I also added a bit of text to mission 3 to clarify what was only implied before and make the emotional reaction clearer and stronger.[/list]I'd love to get some more feedback, comments and criticism on this! Thanks for playing!

I appreciate your comments and I will take them into consideration as I continually refine my arc. I have added some further detail to the description of the arc so as to more explicitly define the nature of the story. Thanks for the review and feedback!

Here is the promo poster for my arc!

The Fracturing of Time is a sci-fi story with custom factions, no defeat all, no EBs and no AVs. It has some surreal elements with an old school science fiction, twilight zone feel. This mission is designed to be solo friendly but since it has custom enemies certain ATs below level 20 may have difficulty. If you have too much trouble soloing it let me know where and why!

I'd appreciate any and all feedback, comments or questions; especially about the story, dialog, clues, and text. Please avoid spoilers!

I've had one person for whom an objective on Mission 3 (the last fracture) could not be found. Though I believe I've adjusted for it, I would appreciate it if this happens to you, let me know.

Thanks for reading and playing!

Arc Name: The Fracturing of Time
Arc ID: 171031
Faction: 3 Custom Factions
Creator Global/Forum Name: @Tahlana
Difficulty Level: 1-54 Medium (solo friendly 20+)
Synopsis: A mysterious entity has sought you out to help save a doomed world. When all goes awry, it is your task to repair the Fractures forming in Time but to do that you must first confront yourself.
Estimated Time to Play: 45-90 minutes (5 missions, medium maps)