parkin

Hope the OP doesn't mind me putting in a review on an arc in this thread.

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Arc Name: The Marcovici 7
Arc ID: 113886
Arc Length: 5 missions

I am pretty happy with how this came out. I am worried about how people will feel about mission #3. You just have to play through it and there is a more than reasonable explanation after it. I am interested in feedback good or bad.

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Decided to go from the bottom up!

I rated this arc *** .
Good: The first half.
Bad: The second half.

I don't like to give away much in the way of plot but this arc gives you a nemesis. Albeit a slightly lame one, but with a resonable plan of attack not often taken by your foes.

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I am worried about how people will feel about mission #3.

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This isn't the problem. I loved this concept, especially as the character I was playing had no concern for personal safety. I'm tempted to retry this with 8 stealth machines and see what happens. Only fault is not enough chatter in the mission. I want to know what those freaks are thinking - but they never tell me

Mission 4 is where it goes wrong. Why Arachnos? Who puts their transmitters on the ground in steel canyon? No chatter, at all pretty much from here on in. The missions start to feel dead. The peak of this mission is at the end of mission 3.

Mission 5 is exactly as expected, and adds absolutely nothing and could eaisly have been replaced with a mission 4 pop-up saying "And you catch the villain".

Work on the end and this could be a great arc.

So long as the arc clearly stated at the start that while in the datastream you would be 'someone else' I'm all for it.

AE System
--------
Welcome to Architect Entertainment -- Neutral
Death for Dollars! -- Neutral
Bare Knuckles of Rage (9304)
*

Character/Supergroup Origins
--------
Birth of a Fossil -- Heroic
Secret Origins(Tech) The Snake Women of Epsilon V (42221) - Heroic
Noah Reborn -- Heroic (2370)
*

Classic Super-Hero/Super-Villain
--------
THE BOMBER --- Heroic --- 16607
*

Comedy
--------
The Extadine Lab -- Heroic
MacGuffin Delivery Service (1567) -- Villainous
ParaCon -- Heroic
The new and improved Lord Recluse Strike Force -- Villainous (though I wouldn't recommend against a hero )
The Fire Bunnies - Neutral, They are only bunnies after all...
You Say It's Your Birthday! (3630) - Neutral
Trademark Infringement -- Heroic (2220)
Hail to the King Neutral (34640)
Walk On the Wild Side - Neutral - 3580
Shirley You Jest (25474) -- Neutral
*

Comedy/Drama
--------
A Super Team is Born -- Heroic
Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 -- Neutral
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -- Heroic (12669)
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare -- Neutral
It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding (9059) -- Neutral
TURG FICTION: Ghost in the Machine, Act I - Heroic (althoughs romantic villains could try this too )
Rum Runners of Bloody Bay (3691) - Heroic
Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day Kids! (2019)
The Toypocalypse! (49280) - Heroic
*

Crime/Gangs
--------
The Bravuran Jobs -- Villainous (16809)
The Monstrous Regiment of Lesbian Hellions -- Heroic (27178)
Win the 2009 Freak-Lympics (2150) - Villainous
Ninja Crimewave! (2142) - Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
The Internet is for Crime (53385) - Villains
Plastic Pistol Peril (1135) - Heroic*

Drama
--------
The Conciliators: Simone -- Heroic (4010)
The Fan Club -- Heroic
*

Global Domination
--------
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
*

Heist
--------
Celebrity Kidnapping -- Villainous (1388)
Easy Money -- Villainous (31490)
*

Historical (Realistic)
--------
*

Historical (CoH Lore)
--------
The War on Superadine - The Regulators in their 1980's drug war (Heroic) (Arc 7959)
Origins - Volume 1 (57077) -- Heroic
*

Holiday
--------
*

Horror
--------
Dark Dreams (3615)
The Amulet of J'gara (1709) -- Heroic
Project: Perilous - Into the Chthonian Pit (#3586) - Neutral (Unless you happen to be a mad cultist, in which case, go nuts!)
Small Fears -- Heroic
*

Large-Scale Crisis
--------
A Hero's Halo -- Heroic
This Is War, Part I - the Revenge of Hro'Dtohz -- Neutral
Win the Past, Own the Future - Heroic
A Warrior's Friend - Heroic
The Clockwork War -- Heroic (18672)
Flight of the Valkyries - Precursor (20272) -- Neutral
*

Magic
--------
The Magical Miss Fitz (5079) -- Heroic
Chains of Blood (5492) -- Heroic
A Deal with Destiny -- Heroic
*

Military
--------
Redoubt Operations #1: Fires over Kalago -- Heroic
Red Storm Rising (Arc 4912) -- Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)

*
Misc. Adventure
--------
The Portal Bandits (3326) -- Heroic
*

Mystery
--------
Blowback (18575) -- Heroic
Dream Paper -- Heroic (13030)
Dream Paper 2: Restless Sleep -- Heroic (16797)
Dream Paper 3: Broken Dreams -- Heroic (13064)
*

Mythology
--------
Atlantis Attacks! -- Neutral (30898) -- Click for Promotional Poster
Anactoria's Descent Into the Underworld -- Villainous
The Seelie War -- Heroic
The Unseelie War -- Villainous
Tales of Cimerora, volume 1 : Of feathers and fur -- Heroic
The Aegis Affair - Heroic
Witches and Warriors (53006)- Heroic
The War of Fate(12220,46722)- Heroic
Rites of the Maenads (61159) - Heroic
*

Nemesis Plots
--------
Brass Reaver: Part 1 -- Neutral
*

Player-Chosen Outcome
--------
Hunting the Dark Dragon -- Heroic
Playing Gods -- Heroic (51106)
*

Sci-Fi
--------
Adventures of the Space Marines -- Neutral
Adventures of the Space Marines 2 -- Neutral
Above Mars - Part 1: The Wellington -- Neutral (13215)
The Final Nemesis
*

Un-themed Survival/AV/Time Challenges
--------
The Meatgrinder -- Neutral

To all those people posting their arc's without reviewing a prior arc, from the OP...

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The way this thread works is you're allowed to post ONE of your arcs for people to look at. The next person to reply will post a critique of your arc, then post one of their own arcs. Then the next person will critique their arc and so forth...


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Just in case you didnt see the first bit

However...

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Re-posting mine with Live Arc IDs.

Operation: Black Heart, Acts I and II

Arc IDs: Part 1: 1621, Part 2: 1629

A favor for a friend puts Maxwell Christopher onto an evil plot that could shake the city to its core. Can you crack the conspiracy linking the city's villains to it? What is the "Black Heart"? And how far will they go to protect that secret? Can you help the FBSA agent find out the truth?

Looking for feedback! This arc was written before we knew the specifics of the Architect, and alot of it is a bit awkward due to text limits and mission limits.


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This is serious arc, 10 missions in all, leading up to a very interesting and enjoyable final mission.

The only real problem with this arc is that it is longer than it needs to be, maybe 2 or 3 missions too long. Missions 1 and 2 are interesting and fun and really got me hooked in the story. Missions 3-7 changed the pace and entire angle of the story. It's like sitting down to an action movie, then suddenly it changing into a documentary on finance based investigation. Both could be excellent films, but put together left me a bit confused.

Missions 8-10 put you back into the same "story" as missions 1 and 2 and all the investigation makes sense again, and the pace seems to pick up again. The very very final part left me confused, and I think that the writer falls into a trap that doesn't exist in MA and could have had a better feeling story by just not doing it. I'll let whoever reads this find out what that was on their own, because they definately should run the arc.

My only other large criticism (which probably shows how much I enjoyed the arcs) is that there are no Souvenirs. I plead with the writer to add 2, one at the end of each arc (the first one probably being manually deleted when the second arc is over) because I want to recap on the fine story.

I rated this * * * *.

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My arc (newly done!):

Arc Name: Poaching the Lion
Arc ID: 20623
Length: Long (four missions)
Basic Sypnosis: A gang of weapon sellers, drug dealers and assassins has grown to big for the government not to notice. They've tracked down a senior member, Adam Fong, and they have asked you to help.
Morality: Heroic (although Villains wouldn't feel to out of place)

A big thing for this arc that I'm worried about is having to few custom critters in my group. I only have 6 (3 minions, 2 lt.s, 1 boss) so any feedback would be appreciated.


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Played this arc, and its fairly good. A few minor mistakes and an unessesary defeat all marred it slightly for me.

Mission 1.

Contact mentions "durgs." You probably mean drugs
"We've got an undercover drug bust going on." Possibly "Thanks to some clues from undercover agents we have enough information for a drugs bust." An undercover drugs bust would be going in undercover and busting them for drugs, which isnt what we do in the mission.

Mission 2
Some mention of the drugs contacts not reporting in would be good. Add Rescue or Defeat to the mission goals would also be nice.

The undercover agents arent even wearing the same costumes as the troops they are attempting to impersonate - no wonder they get captured!

Fong...
" His mind is far, far advanced than most humans. "
more advanced probably.
"You scuffed my suit. That costed money, you know..."
That *cost* money (unless you are going for some strange accent on the character)

An Elite boss runner that close to a lift? Initially thought this a bit harsh - but seeing the next mission goal not so sure, maybe a good plot device. On balance by the end of the arc I decided to like this.

Mission 3
Its a defeat all mission - with no good reason. Maybe a bug but there were no Lions in this mission and the clue says ...
"One of the Lions you beat down"
Maybe add a required goal Defeat Freak dealer, Defeat Lions dealer and ditch the defeat all?

Mission 4
Goal "Adam Fong", put the word "Defeat" in front

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big thing for this arc that I'm worried about is having to few custom critters in my group.

[/ QUOTE ]
Certainly not the big problem in the arc, and the faction was definately not obviously lacking because of it. Some in game factions have about this level variation or less so don't worry there. Also "Assassin" has two sets of two s'es.

==========

My (low level) arc below.
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Arc Name: A Deal with Destiny

Arc ID: 16053

Factions: Hellion, Arachnos

Suggested Alignment: Heroic

Creator Global/Forum Name: @Cutlass Lass / Parkin

Difficulty Level: Easy to Medium

Synopsis: "The Hellions are playing with forces they dont understand. But you dont have to understand a bomb to cause a lot of damage."

Estimated Time to Play: 30 - 60 mins

Someone on the suggestion and ideas forums wanted an arc that allowed your character to feel like they put an end to the Hellions in Paragon, rather than just leaving them for someone else to clean up while you go find some other enemies. This is that arc, hopefully by the end you feel like the hellions may have some people on the street but they arent going to be a problem again.

Here is a disscussion thread on this arc.

I'd like to know what people think of the story, what you think about the number of clues I used (a lot, but not all required), the other heroes in the story, and my use of color in the clues. And obviously anything else you would improve.

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Arc Name: That Which Defines Humanity
Arc ID: 16628
Length: Long (4 missions)
Enemies: Custom
Difficulty: Medium-to-High (I tested the arc with a spines/regen scrapper and an ice/rad controller. The controller had more difficulties completing it, but it was still possible. Depending on what you are playing, it might be worth turning the difficulty down a bit. Contains 1 EB)
Alignment: Villainous
Author: @Mother Kicker


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First of all - I quite liked this arc. Info text on the custom mobs is always a good sign I think. I really liked the decision option you managed to create at the end. I may well replay it the other way.

So now for the critical sections.


Valkyries - they nearly all mention they dont use a shield like their sisters. Give more of them shields for an even more cohesive look. Ditch the fire and dark armors as well or give them a better reason for having them.

Mission 1
1> Dont just put names in the mission 'compass' window. Add what you need to do with them.
E.g. [Kidnap] Amy, [Defeat] Valkyrie Warrior

2> Amy's quote at the end doesnt indicate she is anything so the final line of
"<its him> ,not her " doesnt make a lot of sense to me.

Mission 2
1> You managed to make a kill all almost reasonable - well done, it takes a lot of effort for me not to hate a kill all mission. A smaller map wouldnt hurt though.
2> No amy there but she tells you something. Seems a little jarring.

Mission 3
1> "jerk-head" mission accept is silly and not fitting the rest of the arc.
2> part of the mission text says ";from we should" you probably mean "from [there] we should"

Mission 4
No real criticism here. Maybe add a few more things in atlas park, the map seems a bit wasted with a kill a single boss objective and nothing else (that I could find) of interest other than a few mobs.

Was Phipps really that much of an A-hole previously? I know he was always heartless - but I dont remember him being that insulting to villains.

All in all though - well done.

Arc Name: A Deal with Destiny

Arc ID: 16053

Factions: Hellion, Arachnos

Suggested Alignment: Heroic

Creator Global/Forum Name: @Cutlass Lass / Parkin

Difficulty Level: Easy to Medium

Synopsis: "The Hellions are playing with forces they dont understand. But you dont have to understand a bomb to cause a lot of damage."

Estimated Time to Play: 30 - 60 mins

Someone on the suggestion and ideas forums wanted an arc that allowed your character to feel like they put an end to the Hellions in Paragon, rather than just leaving them for someone else to clean up while you go find some other enemies. This is that arc, hopefully by the end you feel like the hellions may have some people on the street but they arent going to be a problem again.

Here is a disscussion thread on this arc.

I'd like to know what people think of the story, what you think about the number of clues I used (a lot, but not all required), the other heroes in the story, and my use of color in the clues. And obviously anything else you would improve.

<QR>
Cool, any vague ETA on this?

Damn You Devs!

I wants it! <Waves fist.>

Ill have to go back to writing the sound effects in marker pen on the screen.

FREEM!

Stop it, you are making everyone else look bad.

Well done.

Also double cool points to the cowboy knight.

Ludicrous suggestion...

What if the Paragon Times are behind it all using their newspaper as a mystic mind control device simply getting everyone to believe they never broke out or prison and that the rest of the world is infected with outbreak? Its all a huge mystic plot to sell sensationalist papers!

Slightly more seriously, what if in the latest paper States has gone bad, and only Manticore stood up to him so States has smeared his good name while Manticore teams up with the only person who can stop the newly nuts states - Lord Recluse.

Definately an Aztec style snake.

My money is also on Dr Aeon being behind it all & Manticore and Recluse both being people who know its all gone nuts and are out to fix it by utilizing aztec mystics.

The 5th are involved too, possibly by helping Aeon in only looking like they took a kicking from the Isles mayor during the war. His armour looks a bit 5th doesnt it?

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Aren't these points mutually exclusive (not nessesarily a problem for suggestions)?

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Care to elaborate on why you think this?


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If all participants are the same level (point 4), then the average is always the same (point 2) so they cant really work together; other than putting the max level against a team member for xp averaging purposes I suppose, but I cant see the advantage in that.
If you base levels on team average (2) then rikti code (3) wont work as that doesn't use levels.
Rikti code (3) and PvP levelling (4) could work together but what would be the gain?

Having had to think about how each one works in detail, PvP levelling seems like a better choice than Rikti Invasion Code as this deals with salvage/recipe drops better.

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The word AND in this case means as well as.


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Fair enough, seemed a bit strange to mention it in that way here.

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2. Make the TF mob levels spawn according to team average and reputation setting.

3. Make the TF work on the Rikti Invasion code.

4. Auto adjust the TF participants levels using PvP code.


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Aren't these points mutually exclusive (not nessesarily a problem for suggestions)? I'm also of the impression that TF's do use reputation of the leader, or is this suggestion to use the average reputation?

Given the choice I'd plumb for the invasion code. With an average you still get a team of 7 20's and a 25 giving an average of 20, the level 25 + 1 24 SK means you can waltz through the task force. with 6 players feeling a bit underused. and two people killing greys a lot of the time.

Task forces need more variation in mission types (all those added since the RSF inclusive are pretty good examples of how it should be done) than normal missions. Also some need more compelling and followable storylines (numina just doesnt make sense until the last two missions). As I say I think these points are being taken into account by dev's but its worth putting on a list of how to improve older ones.

Reccuring enemies in TF's are a good way to make players want to finish them. For example Have a Teleporting AV/hero who teleports out on 1/4 health leaving behind only smack talk. At the end of the TF you track them to their "hospital" teleporter (or break it) and take them down for a big wodge of XP (after all you had to take them down multiple times for no XP to get there).

Choices in TF's would be good too. E.g. The CoT are robbing component X, and at the same time grabbing sacrifice Y. You choose which to go for - and they get the other one, altering later mission choices or content a bit. This gives TF's a little more re-playability. So they may have sent an AV/Monster to collect the component, but if you save the sacrifice they will help you later on or give you a temp power for use against the end villain.

One idea I had that is probably really bad, but would be fun for lunatics like me. Have a mission to defend the Hospital teleporter network. If you fail - you die (or dropped to level 1 and all ench's removed). If you succeed you get something really cool, like a power set respec (e.g. from a fire/fire blaster to an ice/ice blaster). And also the bragging rights from the "Hardcore" badge.