je_saist

I'm pretty sure the devs said they did not take this path of offering an alternative method because they wanted to require some level of tactical strategy to the Incarnate Content.

Unfortunately, creating content that requires teamwork and communication between teams does indeed create more opportunities for griefing, miss-communications, hording, and everything else.

I think another way to put it is this: You cannot have your cake and eat it too. The developers have indicated that they are okay with the Incarnate Content not being something for 'everybody" to play. The developers have indicated they are okay with Incarnate Content being something that players can indeed fail at. The developers have also been very explicit that Incarnate Content is not to be confused with regular content. The developers have made it clear that they are going to try new gameplay methods in Incarnate Content. The developers have also made it clear that the encounter methods that work in regular content probably won't work in Incarnate Content.

Now, in order to make Incarnate Content the developers have had to make some assumptions about the player-base. In the Lambda Trial, for example:

• The developers assume that a level 50 player knows to read the NPC radio chat giving instructions about the event.
• The developers assume that a level 50 player knows what a temporary power is.
• The developers assume that a level 50 player knows where the temporary power list is at in their power bar.
• The developers assume that a level 50 player knows that a temporary power can drop even if a player's visible power-tray has all existing slots filled.
• The developers assume players watching both the cut-scene and reading the NPC text will be able to make the logical conclusion that they should use the molecular acid on the glowing green portals.
• The developers assume players will be able to figure out that charging Maurader probably isn't the best strategy in the world.
• The developers assume players will be able to figure out that leaving the portals up for too long will cause too many battlefield additions, which will make the fight near impossible to clean up or complete.
• The developers assume players will be reading the text on the wall, and thus will be able to identify the training facility and the munitions depot.
• The developers assume that players will figure out that the munitions crates and acid containers are non-random spawns that will always be in the same locations, and that players will be able to remember where containers and crates are located at on subsequent runs.

That is a pretty long list of assumptions on the developers part. Is it too many assumptions about the capabilities of the player-base?

My gut reaction is no. Incarnate Content is supposed to be tough. It's supposed to be challenging. It is supposed to make players think.

Now, that being said, some improvements could alleviate some of the assumption problems in Lambda Trial.

For example, flagging players with Pacifiers and Acids with a visible indicator. I really like that idea, although I'm not sure a shivan type glowy would work very well as some power customization options can get really close to the shivan glowy.

The developers could also have an NPC contact available in the map (say by the hospital door), who repeats the information given out over the radio channel, thus allowing players to go and read what they were supposed to be reading as the event progressed.

Sis P... longest TF in the game?

*bursts out laughing*

Sis P was one of the shortest Freedom Phanlanx TF's to start with. Even P.U.G.'s were already knocking it out in under an hour and half pre-SSK. Teams with scrappers and tanks that knew what to do could easily knock out Sis P's in about an hour.

With SSK players can now bring in their Primary Tier 8 powers and their Secondary Tier 7 powers. You know, things like Sleet for Cold Dom Defenders, and Burn for Fire Aura Scrappers and Brutes? Those advances have also made Sis P one of the quickest of the Freedom Phalanx Task Forces.

Unfortunately, you would be wrong here. No other MMO on the commercial market has the majority of it's gameplay content delivered inside of instanced missions. Most MMO's on the market use the queuing system to gate access / entry from Open-World content into instanced events.

Case in point would be WarHammer Online. You can join a queue for an Instanced PvP event, but all of your questing takes place in an open-world.

To the extent of adding a feature that other games have, Paragon Studios has delivered what other games have.

Unfortunately, what you, and apparently the OP want, goes BEYOND the feature other games offer. No other MMO, that I'm aware of, allows you to queu for one instance, while inside of another instance.

For sake of clarity, we'll call these improvement "Nested Instancing" and "Nested Instancing Queuing"

• Nested: You are inside of a pre-existing instance
• Instancing: You are requesting to go from one instance to another instance
• Queuing: You are willing to submit your character status to wait on an instance that has not yet been created

Now, can Paragon Studios be the first game developer, ever, in the MMO market to delver "Nested Instancing" and "Nested Instancing Queuing" to players?

Actually, there's a very good change Paragon Studios would be the first as no other commercial game available has a need for such tech. Unfortunately, implementing that type of tech is probably going to take more work as it is a considerable step over what other games offer.

There are some other benefits to developing "Nested Instancing" and "Nested Instancing Queuing". One such benefit would be the ability to go ahead and provisionally join teams from inside an existing mission. That would put an end to the "i'm in a mission, join your task force / mission team when I get clear" types of messages. Players could just click a button to queu for a team and then auto-join when they exit the mission.

... you.. do know that Aggro-Cap is not archtype-independent... right?

you do know that the Aggro-cap applies to all players... equally... right?

You do realize that raising the aggro-cap would cause everybody; and that means corrupters, controllers, dominators, defenders, masterminds, v.e.a.t.s, h.e.a.t.s, and blasters as well as tanks, brutes, scrappers, and stalkers; to be able to aggro higher numbers of enemies?

You do realize that the current aggro-cap, which is 17 enemies, is just one over the maximum number of enemies that can be targeted by any single attack: http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Limits#Aggro http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Limits#AoE_target_limits

So... then... you do realize that raising the aggro cap would also require significant changes to the number of enemies any single attack can hit?

I'm sorry, you might not like the aggro cap, but it's designed the way it is for a reason, and it isn't likely that the developers would ever consider changing that balance.

okay.

Answer me three questions:

• Question 1: Would you have accepted a longer period of time between this issue release and the last issue release in order for the developers to have added such things?
  
  
• Question 2: Would you have accepted only 1 trial and 1 task force in order to free up the resources to do such things?
  
  
• Question 3: Do you honestly believe that the developers already have all of that other stuff done, and are just sitting on costume parts, proliferated powers, and etc. items, and that all the developers have to do is just throw a simple switch in order to enable these things because all the work was already done and the developers are just jerks who won't let us have things when things are ready?

My point is fairly simple. The incarnate content being released now is an extension of the incarnate work begun last year in the latter stages of the Going Rogue process. You know, the whole project Matt Miller had to press the pause switch on in order to get Going Rogue out to retail shelfs on time?

All of the work released now was already in development as of last year, BEFORE Going Rogue shipped.

All of the stuff you want was not in the development cycle. In addition, the developers were very, very, very explicit that any work not tied to the Going Rogue release and Matt Miller's Incarnate System was not going to enter production cycles until after Going Rogue was released.

In the past production cycles can easily last 8 to 12 months for existing content, assuming resources are available to work on that content. Production of new content can easily take 18months to 24 months, or in the case or power customization, 28 months to 32months. We don't know what Issue 21 will bring. We don't know what the developers not involved with the incarnate content have been working on. We don't know what the other production cycles are.

We do know that the Incarnate Content project started last year, before anything else, was the project that was ready for production release. It was the project that had already cleared internal Q&A, and was deemed ready for public testing, and then public release. That is all the player base knows.

Oh, and if this sounds familiar. It probably is because this beat down has happened before: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...77&postcount=5

He may not be screwed. Enough people raise enough hell, and NCSoft might actually get the clue to use something other than .NET.

If they do that, then in theory, City of Heroes should still be able to launch against any existing installation that will run City of Heroes right now, since the game executable itself is not (as far as I am aware) undergoing any changes.

Fairly good question in it's own right.

However, as demonstrated, there may be several valid reasons that players may not be able to provide a system that is up-to-date with any one vendor's packages. In addition, Microsoft still sells and supports Windows Xp due to the existing user-base, granted all of the official license sales at this point are for systems in emerging markets or low-end entry netbooks where current Microsoft software is just too bulky in terms of performance and storage to be used.

There are also other considerations to be made here, considerations I've pointed out a couple times already. NCSoft, by using a crapware API effectively places themselves, and their own customers, at the mercy of a single software vendor.

In this case here the user has been punished with having access to the game cut off by a non-available software update, access that would not have been cut off if NCSoft had used any other development-framework or API to make their new launcher (e.g. Java, QT, Ruby on Rails).

That sword can also cut the other way. Since .NET is a closed source API / development-framework, NCSoft is reliant upon Microsoft to patch up any existing holes or security issues. NCSoft is also reliant upon Microsoft to back-port those changes across pre-existing installations. From a security standpoint, that's a bleeding nightmare. Again, if NCSoft had used pretty much any other development-framework / API available that does what .NET can do, NCSoft could roll out security updates in their own packages by pulling from upstream source as that upstream source is patched.

As a software publisher, NCSoft should be well acquainted with the idea that any software security has to be managed internally, rather than depending on the user or another vendor to provide that security.

So, regardless of the underlying problem experienced by the original poster, NCSoft still fails for an exceedingly poor choice in tools used to build their launcher.

yeah. I'm with Sharker on this. It sounds like a lot of trouble that won't do anything.

There's also already several posts on the subject of what a UI update for respecs could contain and the restrictions that any new system would have.

correction: NCSoft wins 5 Fail Points.

And everybody wonders why I get torqued off at major companies (like NCSoft) using Crapware like Microsoft .NET. All it does is hurt customers.

I dunno. trying to separate the "real" information from the vague hints would be difficult at best.

I did find Protean's comment on the Primal's firing first to be interesting, since it was not clear from the video whether or not it was canon fact or it was Cole Propaganda. The commentary surrounding the line that the primal's fired first may have indicated that Protean was giving the Cole version of what happened.

I kind of which I had gotten involved because one of the questions that was covered, I don't think was covered to my liking... that being fighting in the game's past. One of the features I've been looking forward to since Ouroborus was the ability to play along on missions that covered events only told through plaques and location badges... E.G. seeing the fights of Atlas; trying to prevent the attack on the secret base in Terra Volta; or even taking part in the destruction of Hero Corps.

60% defense.

It is intentionally set high enough so that you will not be passively hitting it without team-mates.

Granted, there are some power-set combinations, such as Katana / SR, that can still drive a Melee-Softcap over this amount. Ice Armor is also capable of driving Smashing / Lethal soft-cap with a combination of IO buffs and a high enough recharge on Energy Absorbtion.


Stealth type powers such as the pool power Stealth and Cloak of Darkness generally do not lower threat. Some quasi-stealth powers, such as Super Speed do.

What stealth effects do is decrease the distance at which enemies notice you. This is why enabling stealth can make taking initial aggro harder. Enemies are "more likely" to notice other team-mates. With some armor sets, such as Dark Armor, you can generate repeatable instances when running Cloak of Darkness and/or one of the mez effects where enemies that move outside of the taunt aura and recover from stun or fear will perform a perception check, and attack team-mates.

In a practical effect then, Stealth powers can influence aggro management that does not show up purely in "numbers"

Stealth, as a defense boost, is pretty minimal. Even if you ED cap it for defense you won't be seeing much. Stealth only has around a 2% base, and with the Schedule B enhancements you'll have problems breaking 3% defense even with the Nerve Global Enhancement.

Now, that being said, if you are at 42% defense, an ED capped Stealth will get you really close to 45%.

You'd need to be around 57% defense with an ED capped Stealth to approach the "incarnate stealth cap"

You may be able to get there with the Nerve Global Enhancement and focusing on Smashing / Lethal IO buffs over more useful buffs to granite such as Recharge and Movement speeds.

... I seriously doubt that.

The Mobile 5650 has a shader throughput of 3,600 MTexels.

Given that the starting point for Ultra-Mode support in 1440*900 is around 10,000 Mtexels on AMD hardware, there is no physical way you are running Ultra Mode on Maximum settings.

A list of graphics cards known to be compatible with Ultra Mode is located as a Sticky in the technical support forum: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=251721

Most melee sets are fairly well balanced for recharge versus type of attack.

Correction: Dark Melee with Arctic Mastery:

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Dark_Melee

http://paragonwiki.com/wiki/Arctic_Mastery

As a tank, DPS is largely not going to be a concern.

Yes, you [I]can DO[/I] damage as a tank, but you'd need to take a set other than Stone Armor... or be prepared to invest a chunk of change into expensive IO's.

Well, two things here: First Stone's most powerful armor, [B[Granite][/B], has both a 60% recharge penalty and a 30% damage penalty. So no matter what set you take, you are going to lose damage compared to the same slotting on other Defensive Oriented sets.

Second: most of the Tank attack sets are equalized in terms of total damage per activation time per target. Set's like Energy Melee and Super Strength will give you greater single target damage compared to sets like Fire Melee. Some power sets, such as Ice Melee, trade off outright damage for greater soft-controls, although Ice received a buff to it's Tier 9 Frozen Aura attack bringing damage in line with other sets.

Now me, personally, I've taken Dark Melee, Mace, and Fire Melee with Stone Armor. I prefer Mace since it gives a nice balance between Single Target and Mob Attacks.

That being said, hitting Dark Melee's Soul Drain and then popping Arctic Mastery's will deliver one hell of an AOE attack.

I have but one counter to this.



The thing is, Batman goes beyond what you describe. You have, and I'm going to be very blunt, a bloody limited view of what Batman Is.

So far the Nolan Franchise has dealt with a real batman in a real world. It has treated the franchise as something that could happen "now".

That does not make Christian Bale's Batman any less of a Batman than the Adam West Batman, the George Clooney Batman, the Val Kilmer Batman, the Michael Keaton Batman, or any of the comic or cartoon versions of Batman.

It makes the Christian Bale Batman DIFFERENT.

Is that Wrong? No

Are you wrong in what you think? Well, it's your opinion. I just don't agree with it.

Then Rocksteady Studios said: Screw that, we'll do Ultra-Gritty Batman AND have all that supernatural stuff!

Now that's one halibut of a power-set.

What happens when you make an ultra-small character and kick a normal sized enemy? You'd probably kick them in the balls.

What happens when you make an ultra-small character and kick a giant sized enemy? You'd probably just kick them in the shins.

What happens when you make an ultra-huge character and kick a normal sized enemy? You'd probably smack their chest in.

What happens when you make an ultra-huge character and kick a small sized enemy? You'd either crush their head with the kick or not even hit them at all.

No longer a gut buster is it. It's just a generic kick that changes placement based on the size of the player and the enemy.

Okay, again, Ultra Small Character? Aiming upwards towards the head... from below the belt? Isn't that going to look a little... you know... X-rated?

Or ultra-huge character? Hitting nothing?


Now, you aren't the first person to bring this type of question up, and in relation to this power set. Case in point:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...14&postcount=6

The bubble limitation also prevents other possible things players can do. Case in point:

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showp...32&postcount=7

Alternate animations aren't a solution either, at least not for this problem. Unfortunately, 1 to 1 attacks that account for the player's size and the enemies side aren't possible without massive upgrades to the processing engines, the animation engines, and network engines. Without those 1 to 1 interactions, you just wind up with a series of generic punches and kicks delivered from a distance... which is what the current sets already offer.

Level 50's still continue to earn Patrol EXP, but any earned Patrol EXP will go to removing stored debt, rather than advancing the character or providing an influence bonus.

So yes, if you log out with debt on a level 50, Patrol EXP will remove that debt.