imported_CrazyCorsaire

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Cramming a decent arc desc into a limited number of characters is an art unto itself.

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Very true, and they should provide a little action and excitement. Fire up someone's imagination.

To the OP, here is one of your arcs (107020) and my reaction/thoughts on it as prospective player:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>Take on Dr. Gravito and his Uberbot series of robotic guardians.</pre><hr />
My take: Sounds like a small to mid-size single mission arc, but it is for a four mission arc? What are the stakes, what great good or evil am I to do?

Digging a little further I look at the mission intro... So this guy's blown into the Rogue Isles and caused some chaos for me to clean up?

Not saying to do it this way (look inside your mission for some tantalizing bit of story or reward or whatever you can tease with), but to me something more along the lines of:
<font class="small">Code:[/color]<hr /><pre>The Rogue Isles are in chaos, and not the opportunity factory type chaos
you've come to know and love. Take matters into your own hands, "make it your way,"
and take out the upstart Dr. Gravito and his "Uber" bots in the process. [Medium challenge][SFMA]</pre><hr />

Would catch my eye, oh, that is if I played any villains.
Another place to see what is working is search on 4 star arcs, look at ones with a 100+ plays, read their descriptions. If one got completely ambitious, then find some screenwriting sites. Descriptions for arcs are very similar to pitches for movies in what should work, etc.

By "give you any contacts to talk to" do you mean add them to your contact list?

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I think it would be really cool if the devs could publish a list of targetted features for an MA 2.0 version. That would hopefully reduce the tribbling of ideas.

I would like to see the favorites and shareable favorites, but if they were making hard choices on what to include, I'd rather have a more robust search.

A todo list would be convenient, but I could imagine many things I'd rather see first. Such as a general purpose ingame note system for all sorts of things that I alt-tab notepad or paper pencil track now.

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What the [censored] is 'Steam'?

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lol, I went to their website link and went to the "What is Steam" and still had no idea what it was. Luckily Wikipedia has an entry Steam on Wikipedia

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well one person did play it last week, gave me 1 star, i republished later, now someone just played again and gave me 3.

neither left comments soo no idea what they didnt like. I could care less about ratings, id rather have comments.. Though i really dont put much in a low rating if no comment is left, Perhaps they just dont like me

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There was a thread in a section that disappeared, and I had a list of things that may keep people from playing an arc (or at least keeps me from playing.)

Your arc hits quite a few. First the title says Origin of, that's a turnoff right away. When I query and get a few thousand hits, I skip certain things in titles right away. I don't really want to play someone's personal favorite hero's origin story. That may not be what yours is, but that's what my brain filter thinks.

Another one is a very long arc with careless spelling and grammar errors in the description. I skip those because I think that the whole thing will be sloppy. A short arc with a few errors I may take for a spin. Questions in a description sound exciting when one writes them, but when reading them they aren't nearly as exciting as good action sentences.

I'm intentionally playing low end arcs and search for Hellions. A custom group as the main in a low end arc is discouraging. Again, I may sample it if it is a short arc, but I don't want to start playing an arc with the first two missions being standard mobs only to be floored by ninjas in the third.

Btw, your contact "Enrika" is a girl's name; Enriko or Enrico would be the masculine version.

Just some thoughts that may help you repackage it to get more people in the door and perhaps better feedback down the line.

There's something goofy going on with it. However, if you add the two ambushes first, then the two collections it doesn't error.

Smells like a bug.

I introduced the damage slotting in my variant. Still not sure if you are teaming or not. I put it together as I would for solo hazard spawn levelling. Time and again I've found pulling Siphon Power out of my cast cycle did more for end management than anything else but YMMV.

Even with a plan to 50, I would use the free respec and make a plan only to 24, then respec off of that one into your 50 plan.

If you are solo missioning, it's a different build. I would then slot Fire Cages pre-24 only for accuracy and immoblize to establish group containment, and I would add Ring of Fire primary slotted for damage (Acc/End(2)/Dmg(3)) because of its 4 sec recharge with Char slotted for Acc/Hold.

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Here is her build so far:

01 =&gt; Transfusion - ACC/HEAL(2)
01 =&gt; Char - ACC(1)/HOLD(3)/END-R
02 =&gt; Fire Cages - ACC(1)/END-R(2)
04 =&gt; Siphon Power - ACC/END-R
06 =&gt; Combat Jumping - Karma -KB Protection
08 =&gt; Hover - Winter's Gift Slow Resistance
10 =&gt; Siphon Speed - ACC(1)/RCH(3)
12 =&gt; Flashfire - ACC(1)/RCH(1)
14 =&gt; Fly - Flight Speed(2)

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I'm just not sure what else I could do to manage her endurance any more than I already have.

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Shelve a few powers for now: Siphon power and Flashfire. If you are soloing, adding dmg IOs is going to have a better payoff than other options.

So without removing skills:
01 =&gt; Transfusion - ACC(1)
01 =&gt; Char - ACC(1)/HOLD(1)/END-R(1)/DMG(3)
02 =&gt; Fire Cages - ACC(1)/END-R(2)/DMG(3)
04 =&gt; Siphon Power - ACC(1)
06 =&gt; Combat Jumping - Karma -KB Protection
08 =&gt; Hover - Winter's Gift Slow Resistance
10 =&gt; Siphon Speed - ACC(1)/RCH(3)/END(1)
12 =&gt; Flashfire - ACC(1)
14 =&gt; Fly - Flight Speed(1)

But I'd replace Siphon Power with Hasten and move a RCH from Siphon Speed over to Hasten. Of course it really depends on what role you have for your character (team vs. solo; if team then buff vs. control vs. dmg.) and what environment you like to play (TFs, missions, hazard zones, etc.)

Nice work on 95788!

I played it through on a level 14 scrapper, a lvl 10 blaster, and a lvl 1 controller. All were successful. The pacing was right on, and I threw the lvl 1 at it thinking it would break on the warehouse piece, but nope.

Especially nice touch on the destructibles giving the call for backup as a heads up to be ready for an ambush.

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I think custom costumes and names attached to existing mobs would be the coolest way to open up balanced and low level groups. For the enemy listing, then it could show Modded Group for ones strictly following that rather than Custom Group.

Though I like the idea of reduced rest because I run a ton of alts and on those that really feel the end crunch or lack self healing would love it. However, I can propose a couple of arguments against:

1) Rest provides a punitive function in the game, sloppy health and/or endurance management is never "beaten" out of new players and will eventually catch up with them.

2) An easy out for endurance issues early devalues tough decisions on slotting (should I take dmg or recharge or end redux.)

3) If rest recharge were shortened, I'd never get my wife to stop using brawl on every fight.

4) The change would overly favor high damage oriented archetypes, because they can play as fast at a higher level of risk for more reward if they have constant easy out for damage taken and endurance spent.

Example on #4: I've started a fire/mind blaster. He runs about as fast as my claws/wp new character. If he had rest after each encounter, he would open with fireball and firebreath every time and likely raise his notoriety and still move through mobs faster than the claws/wp character.

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I play a ton of alts, and I had played twenty characters past 10 before I had one hit 20. I never hit end problems except when scrambling in a life or death situation. Then when I got my first character to 20 and got stamina, all my other alts started having end problems.

Stamina and EndRdx SOs let you button mash continuously. Most any other MMO I've played, I had to pace attacks to manage mana or stamina or whatnot. I did that here until I learned it could be better. A half second or so delay before mashing the next button would make a huge difference.

Now I'm back to fine (barring a few ATs that have poor End early attacks, like tankers seem awful for DPE) I just pace the attacks, take a small breather between fights and save the blues for LT fights. And I aggressively manage toggles, almost never sprint between fights, if minions aren't hurting me much I turn off defense toggles, etc.

However, I could totally see rest being on a much shorter recharge. It has enough other burdens built into it.

As a variation, I always picture the Voodoo Priestess as coming from a point of view so far beyond anything and lowering herself to share it. The excercise of power is as much from magic as it is from personal command. In that vein (thinkin Cajunesque):

Hah, $name, so you what the spirits challenge me to use?

Fear is fine, hon, I am as you suspect. You no meet a more mighty mambo. *snap*

But listen well now, you no hero, you no see what lies before that nose. We no talkin' some hookie $origin work. You do good there, I do good here with'un the voodoo, yessee?

Now a bocor he no do good. One, Grave Dancer, dun shove voodoo's face in da mud. Yessee? Him and his pathetic Skulls with them's ghouls out taken folk to make them some zombies.

You fix that, yessee?

ContactSendOff:
You no dawdlin' on me, don't make me spirits wrong, yessee?

When I go to a book store and I see a book marked as the first of a trilogy, I check to see if they have the other two. If they don't (unless it is a favorite author), then I move onto something.

I would say, publish it without saying it is part 1 and make sure it is a self-contained story.

When you add the second one, add its reference to the first one's description and call it part 2.

On the closing text for the first arc, you could add a teaser text implying there is more to come.

Depends on theme and size for what you want. But the big thing is to look for the maps with 1 or 2 back.

I haven't tried these, other than encountering them and they may all work:

Caves[*]5th Column HQ[*]Council Giant Robot 01

Office[*]Skulls

Unique[*]Circle of Thorns - Spider City (huge)[*]Widow Tower (the most linear)

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Was looking for this thread and just noticed it got stickied, cool!

There is no need to resolve the critique skills of people. An honest response is what matters. Yes, movies have critics and the writers et al know who they are. But before it gets to critics it goes to test audiences, and they fill out their forms and leave anonymous feedback and walk out of the theater. They have an option to participate in Q&amp;A, but it is an option and that dialog is not connnected directly to their anonymous responses.

If people want critical review and tuning and a dialog with their critics, they should take it to friends and review areas. If people can't take and don't want critique they can wallow in their mediocrity and decide whether they ever want better ratings.

Kudos to those who can handle both sides well.

The simple truth is there are a large number of reviews not being given because the feedback structure is non-anonymous.

I've been seeing so much long "flavor" dialog in missions that I've added an "NPC Yap" tab and ripped it to it's own window.

Here's one I've died to a few times, kinda like the oriignal Firday the 13th movie. I've done the last objective and received the mission complete and exit option. So I decide to nap in the rowboat and catch up on the clue novels I didn't get around to reading while my end and health refill, and blammo Jason and his two buds jump me.

If the map has a clear finale', don't add an ambush to it. That's my last impression of the mission; I'm gonna bet it effects the rating I give.

I played an MA arc that was in plain Atlas Park. I was able to attack the boss, but he fled like 30' away into a Rikti ship and left. I got a Mission Failed big red popup, but received full bonus tickets; I was able to advance in the arc.

So my level 17 wanders over to the ticket vendor in need of replacing some enhancements. And wow, right there level 20 SOs for 75 tickets.

Thought it might be worth mentioning in case anyone else overlooked that they stuck those in there.

I decided to move to very long missions and just played one already mentioned here: #6017 Mercytown...

The context is villainous, but it is neutral if not heroic actions. First definite 5 I've played.

Here's another mess with them:
Use a five story building type setup, then have collection objects each triggered by another, alternate front and back with the first one back and only the first and last are required for completion you'd have like 20 clickies but only 1 or 2 is showing on the status bar.

That way they have fought through the whole building and have their ticket count when they hit the first one, and won't want to lose their bonus. So for the next 18 it is still showing Find Last Clickie.

It can work in a linear map, if you restrict the first set to the front/midde and the last one and the triggered to the back. Unfortunately doesn't work outside.

The arc I was close to publishing, but I can't pin this bit of the play experience, it's basically the Hellions are sick of all of the million inf costume contests (when they are scraping by on 50 inf a pop from stealing purses.) so they've stolen the costume of the to be winner. The other contestants steal them back but are taken hostage.

The Atlas maps don't have floor objects so I was already on a hack using the hostages to have the items. So the sequence would be rescue all the hostages including the unclad winner, then rescue the winner back in costume then take out the boss.

I've shelved it until either a more flexible Atlas map comes out or they enhance the grouped object dependencies.

Awesome screenshot.

Very cool, I have a need for grouping hostages too. After setting up a grouping like that is there any way to restrict another objective to only show once all of the people are rescued?

I know in a linear map I could place them front or middle and the boss in the back, but in an outside map that isn't an option. And chaining them (each hostage triggers the next hostage makes for an unpleasant play experience.)

Thanks!