konshu

I've not heard from anybody on those procs (Miracle, Numina's), but I'd assume if Perf Shifter procs like that, they all would.

If anyone can confirm this, a lot of people would like to know.

I don't have a problem with the club hair, though I can understand why players are upset with the male hair options in the game. The female models have better options, even if I only use maybe 10 of them.

Regarding this Skulls revamp, I guess one of the things that happens as you get older is you lose your tolerance for crap. Only you realize you're surrounded with crap, so you get to pick and choose from this crap or that crap.

So I'm picking CoH's crap, but it is still crap.

Out of the last many issues, since the ITF the only content I remember liking is the Kal SF (for its innovative staging), the Ross arc (for the novel use of the library and crystal), and the tips system, which I see as a raising of the bar over the scanner/paper system.

I thought the fire doors in the Cooling arc were a nice addition to the game, but misapplied in that arc. IMO, fire doors like that would be best used in an early TF, where the team has to rescue individuals in a burning building, as it is a game challenge of a clearly heroic nature that doesn't require powers.

The Summer Event was by far the best event the devs have done, even if it had a few rough edges (in that you had to have meta knowledge to get the badges, as even by the end of the event I was still finding players didn't know to select the Disheveled Drifter). I played a lot of the SE while it was being offered.

The art for the final mission of SSA1 was nice.

Aside from those things, I'd throw GR's Praetoria, First Ward, Night Ward, the content revolving around the new tutorial, the iTrials, all of the new extremely talkative contacts, the SSAs, DA, the gimicky doppelgangers, the new Positron and Yin TFs, and all of that into the chum bucket. In my view, the devs should feel free to revise any of this new content to their heart's content.

IMO, all of that is the equivalent of:




EDIT: Oh ... I also like how player characters are now being incorporated into cutscenes.

I know some people may curse at me for saying this, but it's probably best if you don't expect continuity in the game.

Just play it episodically and take it as it comes.

Triumph isn't dead. It's just sleeping.

I've been asking for the devs to be more "lore-wise" since 2005.

Still waiting.

IMO, the problem is that the system being used by the studio isn't allowing time for lore research before content creation, and that's probably because in classic game design there is no research stage after the initial game-creation phase.

In other words, once you have created the game world of Frogger or Pac-Man, there is no need to research before you create a new map, because the assets and rules are already established, you just combine them in new ways.

However, that system fails to take into account the different needs of a RPG style game, where lore is complex and important.

I think this is probably what's going on most of the time, because in general there seems to be a higher degree of consistency any time a new game-creation phase occurs (as happened with CoH, CoV, and GR). Where we see inconsistencies crop up is generally outside of game-creation time, when new material is added to existing material.

Now, if the boss IS asking for research before content creation and the minions just aren't doing it, then the boss doesn't know the game well enough to properly edit the work of the minions.

Don't worry about Lois. I hear she's given up on aliens and has turned to robots. She's keeping the Red Tornado in her dresser drawer.

Yeah, I've not picked up the BM set because it seems so strangely composed. Though I didn't expect it at first, I find I like the swarms of insects and birds the most, and the rest of it to be derpy.

They should make use of the "alt animation" powers in the costume generator to allow players to choose whether a pack animal is going to be a cat or dog type. We know the devs already have enough animals to do this, in that they have dogs, coyotes, and wolves, plus lions, tigers, and ligers (or something to that effect). In fact, I can easily imagine that all these models were originally created for Beast Mastery, but the lead dev elected to not enable alternate animals.

Being able to choose animals would allow huntsman players to run their all-wolf themed toons, and allow catgirls and Frigga / Hecate / Ishtar / Astarte inspired toons to run with their wild cats.

I also do not particularly like the Dire Wolf, though I can see it as an option.

Along the lines of the "wild hunt" concept, I would have preferred the top beast be a player's choice between a white stag or a unicorn. I'm not sure if that can be done with the current four-legged rigging. But if that had been the case, I'm sure there's be a TON of BM/NA MMs out there today. Who could resist?

As for the Umbral Beast in Darkness Control, I was one of the many who was disappointed to see a wolf as the pet. Especially when it doesn't seem to match the earlier pets (shades). Like other players, that has turned me off on the whole set, and if I was ever to make a Darkness Control toon, I'd be strongly inclined to skip the top pet, even if it makes my toon gimpy. It's that bad.

Having said that, I would like an arctic wolf as an option to Jack Frost in Ice Control. Not a giant wolf, necessarily, but a white wolf with arctic powers. This would be an option, as of course it would not fit all player concepts.

Did my requests over the years for an arctic wolf cause the devs to put the Umbral Beast in Dark Control? I hope not. Just because I wanted a wolf - as an alt - in one area, doesn't mean it would fit in just ANY area.

I'd really like an alternate animation for the Umbral Beast. I don't care if it is Dark Servant recycled ... just something different.

As for inserting female henchman into the other pet sets ... I think alternate animations is the key again. Give the player the option for each tier of henchman to pick either option A or B, with B being a new animation. For the mercenaries, thugs, and ninjas, these could be females. This would allow players the option of going all-male, all-female, or mixing the ranks. And for zombies, demons, and robots there could be alternate looks.

If desired, the devs could even significantly change the visual theme. For instance, ninjas could have an alt animation of Amazons, who would have roughly the same powers of swords, caltrops, and so on, with the top Amazon being a fire-wielding priestess. It would be a relatively easy way of refreshing a set, as all that would have to change are the NPC models, the Smoke Flash animation, and the empowerment animation. All the numbers and powers would remain the same.

Likewise, thugs could be reanimated using existing PPD models, or as a "mod squad" of gun and bomb using women, with a look that can work for both redside AND blueside.

Zombies could have an alternate of quasi-medieval warrior mages, using male and female models, with the zombie vomit switching to a "from the hand" type animation. Demons could have alternate female models that look like djinni, and retain the same powers and effects. (And Djinni MMs could fly around on their magic carpets!)

In short ... Masterminds were originally conceived as bad guys. With the ability to start them on blueside and play entirely on blueside, it would be great if there were henchman choices that more clearly reflected blueside.

10. Vahzilok - An incarnate Dr. Vahzilok joins the Freedom Phalanx and replaces Blue Steel as the trainer in Kings Row. The new Dr. Vahzilok looks nothing like the old one, and is an empathic healer.

9. Trolls - Due to a change in the Superadine formula, the Trolls become small and blue with white pajama pants and floppy caps.

8. Legacy Chain - Due to a coding accident, the Chain gets added to the Circle. No one notices.

7. Outcasts - In a graphical update, the Outcasts are given sweater vests, plaid pants, and a pipe smoking animation that players clamor for but never receive.

6. Freakshow - In a graphical update, the Tank Busters receive relief ports at their nether regions. Consequently, the Tank Busters are greatly relieved.

5. Warriors - This group is resoundingly defeated in street encounters by a gang that wears baseball uniforms.

4. Clockwork - In a new tutorial arc, the Clockwork King is revealed to be Penny Yin.

3. Scrapyarders - Overtaken by the Lost, they become mutant dynamite and rock throwers, only to become cured of their "Lost-ness" by a fairy wand and returned to their normal state, which in a surprise twist turns out to be ... Slag Golems.

2. Carnival of Shadows - With so many groups gaining female members, the decision is made to make the Carnival all-male. New ranks include Mimes, Clowns, and the pretzel-like Contortionists.

1. Nemesis - When female recruits are added to his ranks, discipline breaks down. No longer interested in fighting heroes, the Dragoons and Hussies canoodle in corners, and the Jaegers and Warhulks explode with frustration.

I like the concept of the origin missions, but I wouldn't expect to see the devs go that direction ... ever.

In addition to the street hunting and sewers suggestions, there's also AE. I know AE's a mess, but there are low level arcs in there that are fresh content and suitable for experienced players with new toons.

Players can be skilled with their own toon, and that's okay, but what I appreciate in teaming is when a player acknowledges all the powers on the team, and how players are using them, and integrates themselves into the mix in a way that helps members of the team use their powers.

It's like any team sport. You fit in and sacrifice usage of this or that tactic or power, if needed, to improve the abilities of the team.

No matter what powers players have, or how individually skilled they are, I always appreciate it when I'm playing with groups that focus on team play, especially if they don't require much chatter to get organized.

Add several tattoo styles to the Grunge pack.

- faded jeans
- ripped and faded jeans
- denim jacket
- denim jacket, sleeveless
- symbol on back of jacket (leather and denim)
- a variety of tattoo styles, including canon Skulls tats
- clothing options suitable for Lost (trashcan lid chest piece?)

This may be a separate issue, but since last December my computer has been sensitive to Rikti. On mission maps and zones with Rikti I run a chance of program crash. This doesn't seem to relate to my video driver version, as I've updated drivers since then, and it came directly after a patch that fixed a similar problem with 5th Column portals in the Kahn TF.

While I don't crash with every Rikti that appears on the screen, it happens regularly enough that I don't go to RWZ any more, and I automatically reject any missions with Rikti in them.

Now that the devs have nearly cleared their list of things to do with i24, maybe afterward they can give us a "grunge" costume set - for free - featuring jeans with holes in the knees, denim jackets, sleeveless denim jackets, and jacket models that can take a symbol on the back, so the Skulls, Hellions, and Lost can be graphically updated and yet restored to their former grungy glory.

Taste the rainbow!

While we're dreaming ... perhaps one day we could see customizable powers and pool powers for AE NPCs?

Oh ... and yellow-con NPCs?

There's so much that could be added, someone ought to make a list.

One thing you lose with the hard Skull masks is personality. Granted, players rarely pause to look at their targets, and they rarely care what they look like, as so many see the game mainly as streams of reward numbers.

Also, while the founders of the Skulls are Slavic, my impression was that they'd be recruiting from a variety of ethnic groups in Paragon.

Agreed. Need the pix. [EDIT: Okay, I see pix have now been posted, and the main problem is hair. lol]

I understand there's new female Skulls and I believe someone referenced a new Skulls mask, but I've not seen clear shots of these, or at least shots that illustrated why they were bad.

FWIW, while I do in general approve of adding females to some of the all-male foe groups, I think it is best if they're approached in a creative way and not just dropped in. I'm not fond of the Girlfriend from Hell toon that was added to the Hellions. For me, it's a one-off joke that was made into a standard mob character, which a type of practice I don't like.

What I prefer regarding gender representation for the Hellions and Skulls is to keep the non-combat Hellion and Skull girlfriends, with their inane dialogue, and then have a small number of custom, named NPCs that are females. I can see where low level groups like Hellions and Skulls might be mainly groups of grungy guys with the occasional exceptional female; that seems realistic to me.

In my AE arcs, I put forth Teardrop and the Bone Mama as exceptional female Skulls. They're both partial outsiders to the macho, Slavic death cult. While I'd not included any female Hellion characters, per se (I did some alternate reality ones), I would make them along the same lines: outsiders who were for some reason aligned with the Hellions without actually being in the ranks.

Now, if I WAS to include a female model in the ranks of the Hellions, I'd probably make her a standard Slicer, and not try to put women into a totally different power category, like the Girlfriend - unless they're exceedingly rare - because to me in most cases that doesn't make much sense. I realize the current Girlfriends from Hell are supposed to be a form of succubus, but in their presentation to the players they look too blatantly like the usual "here's new content associated with new game features, please enjoy" that are occasionally inserted into the game.

Anyway, that's my view on it.

If you want an obscure Earth-powered hero, there's Slate, a stone tank in the Eden trial.

Another obscure hero is Zenflower, who shows up in a Vernon von Grun mission about the Devouring Earth. I don't remember her power set.

There is also the Magma Master, from the Hollows, who may or may not have been fought as Koago of the Igneous.

Depending on your theme, maybe one of these badges would work ...

Backwoodsman (Hollows)
Seeker of Monsters (Hollows)
Silent Sentinel (Atlas)
Destined for Valhalla (Boomtown)
Shadow Walker (FW)
Nature Lover (Talos)
Explorer, Pathfinder, Trailblazer, Seeker, Adventurer, Questing (Achievement)
Gallant (Morality)
Lone Wolf (DA mission)
The Slayer (vamp defeat)
Warden (prisoners defeat)
Watches the Watchers (knight defeat)
Hunter (Halloween event)
Patroller (dayjob)
Predator (dayjob)
Survivalist (dayjob)
Mercenary (dayjob)
Traveler (dayjob)
Watchman (Rikti event)