Todogut

Jack Emmert was quoted in a Gamasutra interview (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=11496) about lessons learned from City of Heroes/Villains, and he cited bases:

“We spent more time developing [bases] than any other feature in City of Heroes or City of Villains.

“What happened was players hated it. It’s the most underused facet of the game. It received almost no coverage in the press.”

Arc Name: "For the People"
Arc ID: 530574
Alignment: Heroic
Creator Global/Forum Name: Todogut
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Keywords: Canon Related, Save the World, Kid Friendly
Link to More Details or Feedback: http://cohmissionreview.com/2011/12/for-the-people/

Synopsis: No villain has ultimately defeated the Freedom Phalanx--alone. Now their arch-foes gang up to destroy the heroes and take over Paragon City--then the world! Join the signature heroes to face... the Challenge of the Freedom Phalanx!

When City of Heroes launched, my first character was... well, a martial arts/super reflexes scrapper because he had been my main character in pencil-and-paper Champions roleplaying campaigns. But, my second character was a flying energy/energy blaster.

Back then, flying in three dimensions in an MMO was innovative--a big deal. I was inspired by images drawn by Lou Fine of the golden age hero, the Ray, who wore a gold and yellow costume and flew in graceful, lighter-than-air poses.

My blaster wore a yellow and gold costume; but, unlike the Ray, he didn't wear a mask... his spiky blond hair and smiling face were uncovered.

Upon reaching level 6, he trained in Hover and took to the skies. Slowly ascending the city skylines was thrilling.

Combat, however, was often not so fun. Rooftop mobs of Skulls and Circle of Thorns shot him down with dismaying regularity.

Learning to play more successfully as a blaster required new strategies, mostly learned by reading advice by other players on the forums.

Will one judging criterion be "Most Creative Use of the Biohazard Emblem"?

CMA, if you had visited my base before I21, I could have shown you the elegant, efficient sorting system used in the storage racks.

Now, alas, I cannot. Because I21 ruined it.

In addition to the biohazard logo, I also noticed this bizarre bug:

- In storage containers (salvage racks and enhancement tables), the order in which items were listed was changed. And, the order can no longer be specified by the player.

You see, I like to organize the items in my storage containers. (In particular, I like to group IO sets.) After I21, that order was re-arranged automatically, jumbling the items in a haphazard way.

I tried to re-arrange the items and restore my preferred ordering... but, nooooooooo! The items automatically snapped back into the post-I21 order! There was nothing I could do to change the haphazard, automatic ordering!

So, not only did I21 come into my house and mess with all the logos; but it also entered all my storage containers and messed with the careful ordering I had specified for the items!

I reported the storage container bug. But, no reply and no correction--yet.

According to Paragon Wiki, Prestige Power Slide could be obtained by purchasing the City of Heroes Collector DVD/Hero Kit.

For those of us who did not purchase this kit, is there another way we can obtain prestige power slide? I would like to add it to my ice-powered heroes, so they look like they are ice-sliding (with the frost path aura).

I looked for prestige power slide in the Paragon Market but did not spot it. If it's not currently available in the Market, maybe Paragon Studios can add it?

Your guide may be "Unnecessary" as you titled it, but it was very articulate and entertaining. Thanks for creating and sharing it.

I noticed a few typoes:

- Under "Controllers" in the phrase "...But, I can still here you complaining", the homophone should be "hear".

- Under "Warshades" in the phrase "Again, Warshades vary to much to be quantified", the homophone should be "too".

- Again under "Warshades" in the phrase "What you can do is dependent on your form, team, and how many targets around their are to drain buffs off of", the homophone should be "there".

Here is a screenshot of my high-flying hero, the Hornet, electrical blasting Dr. Vahzilok.

I have seven level 50 characters. They all have their Alpha slot maximized.

I've done each of the Incarnate trials at least once. They were fun. Except for playing with folks who want to show off and rush to process content before I can enjoy it.

Haven't felt compelled to do the two and now three trials over and over and over again to gain Incarnate salvage for the other slots. Don't find those Incarnate powers appealing. Pets and a nuke blast for every character? No, thank you.

I liked earning Incarnate shards for defeating any level 50 foe (or lower level Weekly Strike Target foes) and using them to boost abilities. But, doing two or three trials dozens of times (per character)? For bewilderingly complex rewards that don't fit my character concept? No, thank you.

Going Premium sounds like a good option. I'm sure it will be good enough/fun enough to justify its cost--free!

While we're discussing removing AE buildings from zones, I suggest the AE building should be removed from Rikti War Zone because:

- It's a hazard zone with a war going on.
- Surrounding buildings are besieged by villains/partially demolished.

How does it make sense that, in the middle of a war zone, a new, high-tech entertainment skyscraper was constructed, requiring complex infrastructure to maintain operation, and it remains pristine, untouched, while surrounded by warring villains and partially demolished terrain?

A roleplay rationale could be devised, something like:

- That's why Dr. Aeon is a super-genius; he devised some way to keep his building safe.
- It's like a USO show for troops in real-world war zones. Vanguard and the other troops in RWZ need entertainment to keep up morale.
- The Rikti and other villain groups, for some reason, support the AE building in the zone.

However, none of these rationales ring true.

The AE building does not belong in Rikti War Zone and should be removed.

So, Hal Jordan is summoned by otherworldly technology to encounter a dying alien being, transported across the universe, and awakens on another planet clad in a wondrous energy uniform. And how does he react to these awe-inspiring experiences?

Well, as played by former standup comedian, Ryan Reynolds, he playfully struts and poses, watching himself in a reflective crystal surface. Argh!

Warner Bros., you are the same studio that served as reverential caretakers of the Harry Potter property; why did you desecrate Green Lantern?!

Just saw a midnight screening. Ugh. Very, very bad.

Nobody involved in the production of this $150-million movie could be bothered to present story elements in ways that make sense. For example:
- In the sequence where Green Lantern first battles the Parallax-infected Dr. Hammond, the battle ends when GL touches his power ring to Hammond, resulting in an explosion of green energy;
- Soon, we are shown Hal Jordan in his home, talking with Carol Ferris and Hal's tech buddy from Ferris Aerospace;
- Intercut is a shot of Hammond in bed in his home, receiving communication from Parallax.

Huh? GL survives a life-or-death battle with Hammond, and both combatants wind up in their respective homes? How did that happen? We aren't shown, and it isn't explained why this supposedly makes sense.

Storytelling leaps in logic, like this, insult the viewer's intelligence throughout the movie. The script, the directing, the editing... nobody could be bothered to make an intelligent, mature, sensical, appealing presentation.

[Reminds me of a quote I read by a comic book writer who complained about the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies by noting: it bothered him that writers of $200-million movies could get away with storytelling cheats (such as Superman making time go backwards, Lex Luthor and associates traveling to Superman's Fortress of Solitude via hot-air balloon, Superman's kiss wiping out Lois' memory, etc.) that his editor wouldn't let him get away with in a 20-cent comic book.]

Alas, there are moments that show the promise that the GL movie held but was wasted. For example, when Parallax talks trash to GL about how his world will be destroyed because he has fear, and GL resolutely recites the Green Lantern oath, I thought, "You know, this could be a dramatic, fulfilling resolution if only the presentation leading up to it was better."

Sadly, the GL movie reminded me of the "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" movie. Both of these movies adapted storylines from source comics that comic book fans regarded as classic, epic, profound, beloved tales; yet, the movie versions presented the stories in such a short-thrift, juvenile, disjointed fashion that any redeeming quality was lost.

TIME magazine recently ranked "The Impossibles" as the best super-hero movie ever. What made that movie great was planning. Each second of that computer-animated movie was painstakingly, intelligently planned to present an entertaining story that made sense.

Too often, live-action superhero movies seem to skip over the planning stage in the haste to get other aspects--such as CGI special effects and marketing tie-ins--in place.

I can just imagine, studio honchos scheming about the tone of their Green Lantern movie: "He's gotta be a flawed character, who changes and grows over the course of the movie. And we gotta make him witty and irreverent--you know, like Robert Downey, Jr. in "Iron Man"--to appeal to today's audience."

Actually, I would have preferred if Hal Jordan was presented as a test pilot with "the right stuff"... a mature, self-actualized hero who displayed admirable responsibility and morality. At least, that's the way I've perceived the character from the comics and animated TV shows.

I haven't kept up with comics in recent years, so I don't know how the character has been presented lately. But, to my mind, the movie's characterization of Hal Jordan--as a young, emotionally damaged, immature, irresponsible cad who, nonetheless, is really good at his job--is just wrong.

I would like to add these two energy auxiliary items (arcane and tech versions, respectively):

http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Crystal_Ward
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Generator_Energy_Curtain

But, I do not see these items available on my advanced forge/workshop table. The Wiki page provides this explanation:

Here are links to some guides that may be helpful:

Single-member and/or Starter Base Building Guide
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=116844

Guide to base building for the small SG
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=118591

Building a fully functional base
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=126773