Tannim222

I had the pleasure of sitting in at a writer's panel to which George R.R. Martin was a part. One of the things he said about how he writes a novel rang so true to me that when looking back on his works, makes a whole lot of sense when there are issues like some of the meanderings that happened in book 3 (though I'll agree it wasn't as bad as Jordan at all).

Basically, he said that there were two types of writers, one is like an architect. He lays out plans, designs blue prints, and makes adjustments prior to even laying his foundation and putting up walls. Others, like him, aren't planners, but planters. Throwing seeds out to land wherever they may and dealing with the weeds as they come. Sometimes you end up with some plants that choke out others, so you have to decide which to cut down later.

Basically, he doesn't plan out his books, or what happens to the characters, but lets the book come alive as he writes. That's a pretty difficult skill to master, and while he can be masterful, unless his editors take the hard line with him, it can be a bit irritating when its evident that he has no clue what he's doing. Especially when it comes down to continuing this particular series.

Hi David, thanks for looking out for everyone's interests. With a game where its difficult if not impossible to please everyone, you're doing a great job at trying to make as many players happy as possible. That's quite a feat!

A thought did occur to me though, if the recommendation is going to be an update the costume creator UI, and add new, updated art pieces, then would it be possible to create another option as well?

I was thinking how great it would be to have some of the "skin-type" costume pieces be moved from the costume setting and changed to an actual Skin category. The Skin category would include such pieces as Stone, Metallic, Monstrous, Plant, Zombie, etc...

This way, more costume pieces can be chosen to go over this new skin type, instead of the skin type just being the costume piece itself.

Another possibility that may in part be what he intended to get across is that certain features should be designed within the core of the game instead of added as features later on. That's not to say that new features should never be implemented.

Take his two examples of PvP and crafting. PvP can be a huge undertaking with many, many ramifications for a game, particularly an MMO that isn't designed around a FPS model. So, if something like that is going to be in your game, the game should be designed with that feature in mind from the beginning.

When CoH was first being developed, yes they had PvP in mind, as is mentioned in the first dev video. But it appears that was more of a talking point as the system was not live at launch, nor was the game designed with the the balance of PvP at its core. So when PvP as added (read shoe-horned) into the game, it was (is) horribly unbalanced and even after it went live with the arenas, players basically became extended Q&A beta testers of a broken system.

Then there were a bunch of changes for both the live game and pvp game. Still, the system remained horribly broken. Its no wonder that he says that they never gained many subs from adding pvp, as it was pretty much a disaster from the start. Those loyal to the pvp of this game learned to navigate the horrid system and essentially, make pvp work for them. It was (and still isn't) an inviting system to partake in.

Crafting is a different beast altogether. Within the context of this game, I'd say it was done well. However, I'd venture to guess that the reason those subs dropped from the game after time may not necessarily have to do with the crafting system altogether, but for a variety of other factors. After all, 10k lost subs isn't that much of a drop for a game that had been out as long as CoH was at the time, with the amount of MMO competition out there, considering the size it was at.

The only reason I could think of that if it was the same subs that came on board when crafting was implemented, were near the same subs that left later, is because crafting in CoH isn't much like crafting and loot for other games. In other games, loot becomes a necessity at one (or many) points to proceed within the game. So, if you want or character to proceed, it needs to (or its expected by the player base at large) for it to perform within a certain range of expectations. Obtaining loot, or crafting, and purchasing loot is a necessity.

CoH doesn't require that necessity, and even now, with talk of the Alpha slot, end game system, or what-have-you, the devs have mentioned there will be a more casual path to obtaining the same things that more hardcore (while not a termed used by the devs, the inclusion of a casual system gives way to the indication of such), players will be able to access, albeit, more slowly compared to the main hardcore system.

I've been thinking about this since the Beta changes went in and while my initial suggestion for changing a power into a cone was welcomed by few, it was proven to me that it would indeed make the sent more inferior to its single target attack chains. However, those tend to not include Thunder Kick, but I seriously doubt that the devs would change a tier 1 melee attack into a cone.

After reading multiple threads about Martial Arts, it appears that by and large most are quite happy with the sets performance, barring one oft repeated issue: the lack of focus of secondary effects. I've been starring at the powers list and secondary effects for days now and then it dawned on me. Martial Arts needs a pseudo-combo system.

Now, I don't mean combos that dual blades utilizes where it takes multiple attacks to pull off a secondary effect. The inspiration came from the change to Scrapper's Eagles Claw. If other attacks were given a similar treatment, yet instead of additional crit chances, they provided a short duration period where the next attack would apply the original attack's secondary effect. The it would end up looking along these lines:

Thunder Kick: adds a buff window for a mag 2 disorient proc to the next attack.

Storm Kick (currently has no secondary effect): adds a buff window for a mag 2 immobilize, foe - spd, - fly, and a -7.5% defense debuff proc (this is to match it up with the secondary effects from Crane Kick).

Cobra Strike: retains its mag 3 disorient, but adds a buff window for a mag 2 disorient proc.

Crane Kick: retains its knock back, but adds a buff window for a 0.67 knock back (knock down) proc.

CAK: adds a buff window for a immobilize, - spd, - fly, and -7.5% defense debuff proc.

Dragons Tail: adds a .67 knock back (knock down) proc.

Eagles Claw: adds a +20% chance for crit, and a mag 2 disorient proc.

Let's see, where to begin...

Broadsword: alternate animations for the entire set, that are less "forceful" looking and more elegant, or at least, have a more swashbuckler style.

Elemental Melee sets (such as Fire Melee, Ice Melee, Stone Melee): alternate animations for each that have a weapon animations for non-weapon powers (scorch, combustion, etc...) and non-weapon animations for powers animated with weapons (fire sword, fire sword circle, etc...).

Along with the elemental melee sets, more weapon choices to choose from would be great. Like a Gladius or Katana instead of a scimitar.

Martial Arts: Crippling Axe Kick - while not necessarily an alternate animation request (since it has one) but a change to the current animation that makes it look more like a regular axe kick and not a leg-lift (or kick-feint I guess) into an axe-kick animation.

Martial Arts: Dragon's Tail - a punch animation such as a spinning back fist.

Dark Melee: Siphon Life - needs an animation that performs an actual attack.
Dark Melee: Kick animations for some of the punches would be great.

Control Powers - I would say many, if not almost all of the control powers (that both controllers and Dominators have access to) should have alternate animations that are more "dynamic" in nature, to make the avatar appear to be fighting via their control powers.

Example: Gravity Control - Lift - instead of the slow, both arms extended, hands up-turned and slowly lifted. Change it to a single hand, raised as a fist - timed with the upward thrust of the lift used on the target.

Many of the single target holds would look really cool using the Siphon Life animation - arm bends upward at the elbow, and the hand clenches into a fist.

Archery / Trick-Arrows: animations that use two-handed crossbows (both modern, high-tech, and medieval crossbows).

Blast Sets: This is where a lot of stuff can be done. I'd say that these sets need something really special for alternating animations: choosing the point of origin for the attack.

The locations should be: Head, Eyes, Hands, and Wrist Mounted Weapons.

Head animations would utilize many from the psychic type attack powers.
Eyes: self explanatory.
Hands: current animations that use hands as an starting point.
Wrist Mounted Weapons: this would tie the animations to attacks that are chosen from wrist mounted weapons that would be selected in the costume creator. Weapon types could be:
Steam Punk, Wrist Mounted Crossbow, Modern Gun, Modern Gun w/ scope, High-Tech.

I'm not sure whether I should thank or curse you

That trailer is like visual crack for my brain...can't get enough...must have more...

I like what one someone posted in their comments section, a series based on young Bruce Wayne. Where we see is progression through adolescence or late teens as he travels throughout the world, learning about crime and honing his skills in both mental and physical skills.

If written properly, such a series could show how much Bruce is haunted by the death of his family, and the progression of that moment, over several years, to how it is used to mold his view of society and his own personal agenda for justice.

Thanks for the link. Its been book marked and will join my weekly comic reading.

The only changes that need to happen are the following:

Automatic crit for the assassin strikes (outside of hide), and increased chance to crit for tier 8 and 9 attacks. Add an additional crit (triple damage aside from any necessary adjustments for certain powers like ET) from hide.

I don't copy discs much, but I do it several times a year, like making discs of family films to send out to family members.

Thanks for the help. I have another question though. The mobo has a built in graphics that says it can accelerate graphics performance, but its dx 10. Win 7 and the graphics card I'm purchasing are dx11. Will the onboard card actually do anything, or worse cause a conflict due to the dx issue?

Ok, so after a headache or 2 I think I may have something to work with. If anyone could take a look at this and pass along their 2 Inf, I'd appreciate it. This was done with Cyberpower, total cost, after discount and mail in rebates is $930.45.

CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: 16X DVD ROM [+21] (BLACK COLOR)
CAS: * CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Mid-Tower Gaming Case
CPU: AMD Phenom™II X4 955 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
FAN: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan
HDD: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
MOTHERBOARD: * GigaByte GA-880GM-USB3 AMD 880G Chipset Support DDR3 Ultra Durable™3 Socket AM3 mATX Mainboard w/ Built-in ATI HD4200 Video, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, HDMI, USB3.0, SATA-II, RAID, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1, & 2 PCI [+15]
# MB_ADDON: None
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module(Corsair)
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: 700 Watts - XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card

My old rig is on its way out, its 6 years old and I'm being forced to upgrade. My budget is roughly $850 - $1000 (give or take a $100 for shipping + tax).

I've been going through Newegg and ibuypower and my skull is about to split. I'd like to have a new rig that can run CoX in Ultra Mode, if possible.

My current case is liquid cooled for the cpu because my apartment gets really hot. It also has 2 80 mm fans in the front and 2 in the back with a 3 fan top mounted radiator. The case and cooling system are old, so if I were to keep that, I'm limited in socket choice, basically AMD AM3 mobos.

I know how to build my own rig (or used to, I've been out of the upgrade / hardware game for 6 years). However, my wife would like to avoid the entire mess of me working around our 2 little kids, so a pre-built system may be in order (if I can get a decent one for that price range).

I'll continue to use my old monitor (17" flat screen so no lovely high res for me), but I'd like to think that some day that would get upgraded too, but for now, it still works well enough.

My only other caveat is that any non-prebuilt rig would need to have all new fans, cables (im using old ide cables), and new thermal paste.

Thanks for any help that can be provided.

Logged on a level 36 character and went to the Tailor to check out the costume pieces. I went under auras and found the Alpha / Omega auras from GR are showing. Unsure if it was an intentional leak to give a sneak peek, but if it wasn't...

Oh my, where to start.

Power Pool Emotes: setting alternate emotes for power pools, especially to align with magic / tech themes.
Medicine: the current tri-corder gizmo animation can suit tech, but alternate magic themed animations such as reading out of a book / casting would be great. Also something with a Serum dart gun would be great for alternate tech / and or science. Simple animations even borrowed from Empathy to cover Mutants using the medicine pool as an extension of their mutant ability to heal for example.

Teleport: Tech theme: using a tri-corder from medicine pool, or even wrist band like the Ouroboros portal summons would be great. Magic: again reading from a book and casting, or simple rune casting.

Flight: this is one of the harder issues to tackle because flight can be tied into costume pieces like wings or rocket boots. So, perhaps more jet / rocket packs should be made available. For Magic: riding a magic carpet (standing on it surf-style using the slide animations might be possible)

Alternate Animations:
Movement: different animal gaits such as using all four limbs to crawl / walk / run.
Toggles: different alternate animations to set toggle powers upon activation.
Melee (non-weapon): Any melee attack that uses fists (such as Dark Melee or Energy Melee) should have alternate kick-style animations - either martial arts style or "heroic themed styles"
Melee (weapon): 1. Broadsword: flashier fighting animations would be great.
2. Archery: Crossbows instead of standard bows, wrist mounted crossbows instead of standard bows.
3. Fire Melee, Ice Melee: both sword and non-sword style animations made available for each power.
4. Stone Melee: both hammer and non-hammer style animations made available for each power.
Blast Sets: setting a location for the origin of the blast, such as single / dual fists, or eyes. Wrist mounted weapons. Alternate magic style animations.

Does anyone know with certainty if reserving a copy at Gamestop for $5 counts towards this pre-order deal or not?

I can't get an accurate answer out of Gamestop. The store manager says yes and if not they'll switch it over, the customer service dept. seems to think it doesn't as they said they haven't released promotion codes to the stores yet as they can't without an official release date.

I reserved a copy on 5/28 which is after the announcement for the promotion came out.

Finally got to make sense of everything. For anyone that wants to get the pre-order goodies from their local Gamestop, the reason retail stores don't yet have the promotional codes is because Gamestop does not have an official release date yet for the GR Collectors box.

Once they have that date, then the retail stores will obtain the codes. So, this is a headsup to you in the marketing dept, the main page states that this is a limited time offer. For those that want to purchase the box in stores and take advantage of this offer, Gamestop / EB games needs a release date.

Okay, this is pretty frustrating. I went to the Gamestop that's less than a half-mile away. They had no clue what I was talking about. Their system showed the GR: Complete Collectors edition, but no special pre-purchase offer. I put down the typical $5 to reserve a copy with a promise from the store manager that once the offer shows up in their system, I could change my reservation over to their special pre-purchase offer.

So according to the website, the only way to take advantage of the pre-purchase offer is to buy it on-line, have it shipped to my house, and wait for the e-mail offer to be sent to me. Even though the website has information box for in-store pick up.

My one wish for Tankers would be the ability to do more situational damage. I like the role Tankers were designed for, I hate that the very same design brings the ability to solo to a crawl (all be it a safe crawl at that).

I understand the entire balance issue with regards to the safety that a Tanker has (for most of the leveling experience) and that its designed to keep the attention of difficult targets, be it one or many. Still, I think there is room for the Tanker to have a little more damage than it currently has, and in my own humble opinion, the lower damage a Tanker has is probably a factor in its reduced presence in game (I realize that there are many aspects to the reasons behind this though).

So, I would like a system that works with the current Tanker inherent, gauntlet, and as part of that, Taunt itself. For every mob affected by gauntlet and taunt, the Tanker would do an additional X percent of damage. There would have to be a cap as to how many taunt-damage affects on an npc can be stacked, as well as the exact percentage boost to damage would need to be delicately balanced.

When a Tanker first engages without the use of Taunt, it would have almost no boost, but while attacking the same targets, or switching to targets affected by its taunt aura or aoe of taunt, there would be an additional boost. Teams with multiple tankers would also boost each others damage through this effect as well.

Incarnate Levels are sooo going to be called ILs (eye-ellz). Its the shortest, easiest way to type it which seems how most word combos end up on these forums.

Well, here are a couple of names and concepts that came to mind when I read the OP:

Mr. Molotov: go with a mad scientist look.
Health Hazard: power suit wearing assault specialist
Disasteroid: cybernetic and / or android kill bot

Or depending on your tastes in characters here a few on the more fun side:

Toxic Ox: a Crey Industries experiment on a mutated, cybernetic ox / bull themed character that now uses traps to hunt down humans for his restaurant Big Man Burger.

Monkey Wrench: a cybernetic monkey that remembers he was once normal and now uses his enhanced brain to hunt down humans for revenge.

Ok, so it seems the big votes lean toward a rad / sonic defender, a illu / rad controller, and possibly a sonic / rad corruptor. I had also thought that a traps / sonic defender might be up there as well, if a bit tricky to pull off the gm part.

I assume that to make the defender up to the task, the build would have to concentrate on both ranged defense and recharge. Whereas the controller build leans more toward recharge so as to have perma-PA / hasten / AM. Then just stealth in to drop PA and back out to apply all the debuffs. Is this near the mark or am I off?