Venture

Renowned
  • Posts

    2357
  • Joined

  1. Quote:
    And what does Television think of all this?
    Who do you think thought of it?
  2. Quote:
    What we have in Lore for Rularuu.
    You mean, "what the wiki says about Rularuu". Things aren't true just because they're in the wiki. A lot of what's there would get a "needs citation" tag on the Other Wiki.
  3. Quote:
    How can the request that people warn before they give spoilers be unrealistic when it has been explicitly realised numerous times on multiple different discussion boards by multiple different people?
    Because not everyone agrees on what a "spoiler" is.

    Quote:
    You just basically can't be arsed, and want an excuse for your inconsiderate behaviour.
    And you can't be "arsed" to start a new thread instead of hijacking someone else's. Which do you want to be, the pot or the kettle? At least my stance is consistent: the entire world does not have to measure its words with coffee spoons to avoid injuring someone's delicate sensibilities. If someone says something you don't want to hear, shove your delicate sensibilities where the sun doesn't shine and get over it.

    Quote:
    So, like others, I'd like to get back on topic, because this information really interests me (the Shard, not the threadjacking).
    Over the years, different developers have given different answers about the Shadow Shard. It was created a long time ago by people who aren't at the company any more. It would not surprise me at all to find out that no one left at Paragon Studios actually knows what the deal was with it. Earlier remarks vacillated between claiming the Circle of Thorns was responsible for trapping Rularuu and stating Rularuu trapped himself thanks to the whole split-personality thing. Now the Midnighters are getting wrapped up in it, further obfuscating matters.
  4. Quote:
    Some people don't like spoilers and get upset by them.
    If you post spoilers in a careless fashion, you are not considering those people.
    That is, one-hundred percent, inconsiderate.
    No, because the expectation is unrealistic. Any given piece of information about a fictional work can be considered a potential spoiler. People who are "upset by spoilers" are thus essentially asking that no one discuss fiction with them. In such cases it is easier for them to remove themselves from the conversation than for those having the conversation to cease, especially when (again) the conversation is taking place in an area designated for it.
  5. Quote:
    Fair enough, but does that absolve the rest of us from practicing behavior that attempts to be considerate for others?
    Yes.

    More seriously: spoilers are not inconsiderate. They do not impugn anyone's race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual identity, etc. They're just a fact someone, somewhere, might not already know. A relatively inconsequential fact, in the grand scheme of things, for that matter. Mangling a line from a dead white guy, it neither picks anyone's pocket nor breaks anyone's leg if they unexpectedly learn Snape kills Dumbledore (but is really a tragic hero), Rosebud is a sled, Norman Bates did it, Newhart is all a dream, etc. What's inconsiderate and, to me, more than a little silly is expecting the entire world to walk on eggs when discussing fiction because someone might hear something they didn't already know, and doubly so when in a forum designated for discussing a particular work.
  6. Quote:
    I know you're aiming for blunt, but you're telling me what I've been pointing out about your community.
    It's not my community; I just hang out here. </berra>

    Quote:
    I play for the stories.
    I play for...well, I used to play for the stories. Now I'm Just Here For Godzilla.
  7. Quote:
    There are actually people on these forums who think spoilers don't apply to any content that's been out for a while.
    False. Spoilers don't apply to any content at all. If you don't want to find out things about the game before you encounter them, don't go where people talk about the game.
  8. Quote:
    Also on a related note, will we learn what became of the shining stars?
    They show up...again...in the latest SSA installment. They're getting shilled right along with the other Wesleys (Desdemona and Maelstrom).
  9. Quote:
    If the developers are so out of touch with the fanbase that they are surprised that we would want to solo Incarnate content, or play a TW Stalker, or make a tough female gunslinger, then we need to find a way to communicate.
    Isn't it funny, though, how we have more "communication" than ever, with Facebook Fridays and uStream chats and whatnot, and so little actual understanding taking place?
  10. I'm off to Atlanta for a bit and the laptop doesn't handle City well (and mungs up my settings when I get back to the desktop -- what moron decided to store client settings on the server?) so I won't see these for a bit.

    But if they're as bad as being made out to be, I'll pass, and I'll continue to pass on costume sets until it looks like the devs are actually listening to the feedback they ask for.
  11. As someone in the beta forums put it, the Resistance leadership is now in the hands of:
    • someone whose judgement is so poor she actually thought Mother Cleavage (sic) was a force for good
    • someone who has pretended to be off her rocker for so long she is now, actually, off her rocker
    • someone who can't figure out how pants work


    Not feeling the happiness here, nope.
  12. Quote:
    Original lore, by the way, explained "surges" of power by having an item ("Pandora's box")
    Not original -- got shoehorned into the game around i6. It was a bad idea and led to many more bad ideas.
  13. Quote:
    Regarding the "going straight" at the end, the arc was created (in only two weeks, while usually it takes me at least a month) for Dr Aeon's third challenge. Some people recommended I changed the end since the challenge is over.
    You might want to consider instead changing the description to mention that the arc offers an unexpected opportunity to "go straight". That would warn off people who would be bothered by it.
  14. Quote:
    I'll wear that badge with pride, TY. I saw David Lynch's movie Mulholland Drive when it came out. After it was over, a guy near the front stood up, turned to face the theater and asked "Can anyone tell me what I just watched?" I loved it of course - felt the same way, but loved it. These days I can read it like headlines on a newspaper.
    It wasn't a compliment. As for Lynch, his work doesn't actually mean anything; he just throws random crap at the screen and lets the audience try to make sense of it. (He was "outed" during the making of Twin Peaks.)

    Quote:
    Rather than hopping out and stating straight up "This story is about cats... with cheeseburgers!"
    It was?

    Quote:
    I'm not sure how symbolism can be "all over the map", except if there's lots of it going after the same feline&foodstuff from a number of different angles.
    Because things that are "obvious" to you from the privledged position of having written the arc and knowing the answers in advance are not obvious to the player.

    Quote:
    You're a smart guy, I'm guessing you probably "got" the cat and the cheeseburger.
    Nope, but then about halfway through I realized what I was dealing with and stopped trying to make sense out of it.
  15. Arc #381565, "A Favor For Liberty (The Megan Duncan Task Force)
    tl;dr: 4 stars. Offenses: weak theme, poor dialog, spelling/grammatical errors

    Reviewed on: 11/27/2011
    Level Range: 12-15
    Morality: Heroic
    Factions: Generic, Hellions, Hydra
    Architect's Keywords: Solo Friendly, Custom Characters, Canon Related
    Character used: The Philosoraptor/Freedom
    Difficulty: +0x2+B-AV

    When you report for training, Ms. Liberty asks you to check out increase Hellion activity. Perfectly routine...and Elvis will be here any minute. Turns out the Longbow agent she's already sent is late checking in and said agent is Ms. Liberty's closest childhood friend. But hey, no pressure.

    The opening briefing is cute; Ms. Liberty starts out giving her usual click-on text. There are a lot of carefully-crafted side encounters that convey the impression of things a world larger than the story. There is a theme but it's pretty weak, narrated by the contact as if it was an afterthought.

    The dialog has some grammar and spelling errors ("lets" for "let's", others, too many to list). Worse, the quality ranges from awkward and stilted at the high end to nails-on-chalkboard grating at its worst. Some of the spawns were turned up higher than they should be in a "solo friendly" arc at pre-SO levels. There's a use of $name in the main description field which doesn't expand those variables.

    There are a few "tribute clues" that contain pointers to arcs by other architects, which is a nice touch. The architect obviously put a lot of work into this, but the writing needs to be cleaned up a lot to make this top-drawer.
  16. First Ward takes everything that's wrong with Praetoria and dials it up to 11. I haven't run it on live and probably won't.
  17. Quote:
    That's kind of implying the new content holds up any better, which is quite misleading. Rather than replacing and improving, they're simply trading old problems for new.
    That's a separate issue. At least the new stuff is shinier.

    Quote:
    I wonder how well all this inferentially non-embarrassing replacement content will hold up seven years hence...
    I don't expect the game to be here in seven years, but if it is I'm sure the stuff done now will need replacing then, too.

    Quote:
    If I may draw an imperfect analogy: The old automobile does not have as much power as before. It needs new spark plugs and wires; it is, however, a classic automobile.

    The new 2012 Speedmobile will blow the doors off anything on the road.
    Yes, if you replace the old car with the 2012 Speedmobile, you have stepped up.

    But is it necessary to replace the old car?
    Yes, because the old car is just taking up space in my driveway as it rusts into pieces.

    Quote:
    Even in the newest of zones this game's 'art assets' don't feel very 2011 when it is not uncommon for MMO 'toons' these days to have hands with fingers instead of ham hocks at the ends of their arms.
    Exactly how much time do you spend looking at your character's hands?

    Quote:
    All this other stuff... who cares if you can see your toon's reflection in a window when that reflection has the same 2004 body/face/limitations as it had in 2004?
    Given that characters are usually obscured by FX or zipping around the screen, the environment is probably a lot more noticeable than the characters.

    Quote:
    I'll express my opinion once again: all Dark Astoria needed was a series of story arcs and a TF or two to put it on par with Croatoa and Striga.
    Great, two other zones no one goes to except maybe for a TF.
  18. Quote:
    why are you removing old content instead of just adding new content?
    Because the old content doesn't hold up any more and leaving it where people can see it is just an embarrassment.
  19. Quote:
    You're stretching to pretend you have a point.
    No, I actually do have a point. The zone is chronically underutilized. That means it needs to stop being what it is and start being something else.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by The Closer
    Taylor: My team has been on this case for eleven months!
    Pope: Are you seriously arguing that eleven months of failure is a justification for you to keep the case?
    They tried it your way for seven years. It didn't work. It's time to try something else, like maybe letting people see what the freak they're doing.

    Quote:
    I know you won't like this and won't accept it, given your usual attitudes, but believe it or not, our opinion - and feedback, and disappointment - is JUST as valid as yours.
    Actually it isn't, since you're wrong.
  20. I'll consider spending time on Beta or Test again when I hear something's being done about the insane MA filter.
  21. Quote:
    Why did people not go to DA much? Because there was nothing to DO there.
    "Nothing to do there" includes "admiring the so-called 'atmosphere'". Obviously the zone's aesthetics (or lack thereof) weren't much of a draw.
  22. The fog in DA is cute the first time you see it, annoying the tenth and makes you want to reach through the monitor and strangle the zone designer the fiftieth. Lose it.
  23. Quote:
    I really wish they would not make it a 50+ zone; we really have a dearth of 40-50 material.
    No, we don't. We don't have enough 40-50 material and we never will. The endgame is where everyone ends up and we will always want more things to do at it.
  24. Quote:
    I've... seen people with powers colored in a way that makes them look like it's a rainbow assaulting your eyes. Does that count?
    I re-rolled my Dark/Psy Defender Mr. Pagliacci as a Psy/Dark Blaster...and colored every one of his Psy blasts a different color....