theHedoren
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:I wasn't thinking of credits when I wrote it.Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter
Dang, I could so easily see game credits rolling while listening to this.
But now I can't not think of credits scrolling past. It's kinda cool, in a way.
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Well, phoo.
I thought I had moved on. After all, it's been three months. Isn't that enough time to emotionally detach yourself from something that's been six years of your life?
Apparently not.
The problem is that I love this song. I love it, and so it's found it's way into my standard playlist. And every time the big finale sweeps in, I'm stuck remembering why I wrote it in the first place.
Sure, I've distracted myself. I rejoined SWToR for a while, and there've been two Sims 3 expansions in the last three months.
But I'm sure now that, however hard I try, there will always be a part of me on patrol in the skies of Paragon City. -
I can never remember which servers I'm on, but I think Harbinger might be one of them. I'll have to look into this....
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Quote:Apparently not on the Soundclick site. Goody. And I usually avoid download sites like the plague (y'know, because of the viruses <_< ), but if anyone has any suggestions for a safe one?Originally Posted by Black Pebble
This is beautiful. I love how you were able to seamlessly incorporate the Atlas Park theme into it. It really captures the majesty and hope.
Any way to download it without creating an account on that site? -
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In the long run, nothing I say will matter.
City of Heroes was my first ever MMO, and it may have ruined me for other games. CoH continues to be the high standard to which I measure every other game I try. Sometimes I took a leave of absence from Paragon City, but I always came back. Going on six years, I always came back.
I would return for the community, which remains the cleverest, friendliest, most-helpful-est group of people I've encountered online. I returned for the Mission Architect, which held some truly astounding feats of storytelling. I returned for the limitless ways to tell stories of my own, through costumes, interactions, and lore. It was a comfort in times of hardship, as well as a way to pass many idle hours.
I always came back to the game that made so much possible.
And when I first heard that City of Heroes would close, it's only a slight exaggeration to say that something in me died. Not nearly as bad as losing a family member or a pet, but maybe like seeing an old friend move away for good. Something that I could count on would disappear forever.
I haven't been back to CoH since the announcement. It would be too hard to grow attached to the game again with so little time left.
But I've been busy in another way. I've been composing. I've written music for CoH before -- mostly themes for my MArcs -- and a new piece seemed like the perfect way to thank such an excellent community and a stellar Dev team. And so, after so many bouts of writer's block, I've finally finished:
- Now Leaving: Paragon City (4:51)
This piece is one of my most advanced yet, which might not be saying much. It makes heavy use of the Atlas Plaza theme that sometimes shows up in trailers. I've never known the original composer of that theme, but to me it will always be iconic of Paragon City. I hope my own use of it will show my appreciation for City of Heroes.
And so there it is. A lot of words that don't really change anything. In the long run, nothing I say will matter.
At least, not as much as City of Heroes matters to me. -
Lost track of the date! I'd like to resubmit arc #498588: "The Fractured Dreamer", by @theHedoren.
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I recommend "The Fractured Dreamer" (#498588, by @theHedoren). It's by far my best work, and I'm always interested in what the community thinks.
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Thanks for another helpful review! I only have two responses to your comments:
- The plan to travel into Josephine's mind was meant to sound like a collaboration between Mynx and Sister Psyche.
I pictured Mynx saying something like, "Can't we just go into her head and... fix her?"
And then Sister Psyche goes like, "Well, now that you mention it...."
Mynx was hard to write for, because I had no idea what she's supposed to sound like. I settled somewhere near "no-nonsense detective", but I don't think I had a good reason. <_< - The final mission map was very specifically chosen to tie in with the mission where you first rescue Josephine et. al. from Crey. I wanted the finale to take place in an identical (albeit broken) room to the one from which she was rescued. And I also wanted the first lab map to have as few obnoxious rooms as possible (e.g. I hate looking for hostages in the room with the four destructible generator-thingies). A balance between those two factors was hard to find, but I feel the tradeoffs are worth it. Somehow
I'm glad the new changes improve the experience. That said, I won't let myself tweak this arc anymore. Perfectionism is fine and all, but I have to stop myself when enough is enough.
Thanks again! - The plan to travel into Josephine's mind was meant to sound like a collaboration between Mynx and Sister Psyche.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to review "The Fractured Dreamer" again!
I knew this was the second batch of notes for this particular arc, but I'd forgotten that you also reviewed TFD's first incarnation a few years ago. This means I have to thank you even more.
I've had a handful of reviews for my arcs -- less than I would like, but that's AE for you -- and none of them have been more influential than yours. It was partly due to your original feedback that I finally decided to delete the first arc and start again from scratch. It was the details you pointed out that helped me close plot holes and tighten the story of the new arc. And it was a single sentence that inspired me to add one more mission to change the entire tone of the finale.
(Also, the arc's new direction inspired me to compose -- in my opinion -- my best music yet.
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I'm proud of where "The Fractured Dreamer" is now. It's definitely my best work in this game, and probably my favorite work overall. That may or may not be saying much, though.
Reviews and feedback these days are sporadic at best. I know there are some dedicated reviewers still running through the system, but no one keeps it going as thoroughly as you do. You do good work, and I hope you realize how helpful you really are.
. . .
. . .
... I also hope the cornball rhetoric doesn't undercut my intent. <_< -
Bad artists don't know the rules.
Mediocre artists follow all the rules.
Good artists know when to break the rules.
Great artists make their own rules. -
I'd like to submit my favorite arc, The Fractured Dreamer (#498588). It's finally been "Final"ized, and I'm eager to see how it measures up in the community.
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I'm allowing myself this poorly-veiled bump because I finally decided to switch the arc's status to "Final". It's been worked on enough, and I can't imagine being prouder than I already am.
I'm even toying with the idea of adapting the arc into a novella, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that. :P -
I found it extremely bizarre that the filter thinks "nightmar" is a problem. Notice that's not "nightmare", but "nightmar". So by extension, I can't use words like "nightmare", "nightmarish", or even "nightmarianationism".
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As if I didn't have enough hobbies already, I've been wanting to start making "radio skits" for quite a while. I'm a passable writer, so I have scripts covered. I also have bits of score composed already. I even have confidence in myself as an amateur voice-actor.
The problem is that I still haven't invested in a proper microphone. I've had an old headset for years, but it's ratty and worn out. It was never good for anything more than average VoIP quality, anyway.
So for all the voice-actors and podcasters out there: is there a particular microphone you use that you would recommend for some beginner's voiceover?
If it matters, I have access to both Windows 7 and Vista, and I just started using Audacity for my music. I'm tentatively looking at a Logitech mic, but I have no idea what works for my needs.
Suggestions? -
While not precisely what you're looking for, I'm still going chip in, here.
Personally, I use Finale Allegro. It's not really mixing software -- in fact, it's more like writing sheet music than mixing. There's a bit of a learning curve, and the user manual is terrible sometimes, but it gets the job done. It can be kinda pricey for casual usage, but it's definitely cheaper than the premium software the company produces.
The best feature is how easy it is to hear the music as you're working on it. Everything I've written is totally dependent on this feature, because I can't read music. -
Okay, time to finally show what I've been doing with this arc recently!
- Mission 2:
Upgraded two allies from aggressive Lts to defensive Bosses
Added a Malta patrol (for story reasons) - Mission 4:
Changed map from Carnie Steel Canyon to Carnie warehouse - Added Mission 5:
Includes custom enemy group, a new AV, and a (hopefully) conclusive finale to the story - plus various minor text rewrites and mechanical tweaks
I would absolutely love some feedback on all changes, but most especially concerning the new ending!
- Mission 2:
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I am simultaneously awed and dejected by this!
"Awed" because -- well, obviously -- this is some truly epic work.
And "dejected" because I doubt I can ever get to that level of quality. But I can dream.... -
In between bouts of upgrades to my arc, I've also been spending lots of time writing some theme music.
'Cause it's what I do, that's why.
It still has some rough edges, and I doubt I'll ever be satisfied with some of the percussion-y bits. Still, there are parts that I'm severely proud of. It also currently happens to be the longest single piece I've written, clocking in at just over 6 1/2 minutes.
Also, the end of the piece reflects the currently-incomplete finale for the arc. I hope it's as satisfying an ending musically as the arc itself ought to be! -
Quote:This is actually very close to what I have in mind.Originally Posted by GlaziusF
How about 1) psychonauts mind-dive to pull her identity out of the twisted vortex of her psyche, 2) dark tunnel full of custom enemies wearing her face, 3) springing her (soul) from a boss at the end, 4) leading her out again only to run into Malta who've choplifted over one of their psychic operatives with the same idea.
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Quote:But then, who will churn out all the farms?Originally Posted by SupaFreak
We need more authors in A/E who are passionate about creating fun/memorable arcs!
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Thank you for your review of "The Fractured Dreamer"! I had some follow-up responses, which I posted in the arc's forum thread to avoid cluttering up your thread too much. Suffice to say that I now have some (possibly) good ideas for improving my story.
I did have one disappointment, though. As with another arc, I'm in the process of writing some theme music for "Dreamer". I told myself I'd be finished before your review was done, but you beat me to it! Ah,well....
Thanks again for the feedback! -
Firstly, thank you for the review, GlaziusF! I'm naturally disappointed at the number of issues you had with it, but I'm glad I have some concrete feedback to work from.
It sounds like some of the plot wasn't clear. And that's totally on me as the author. Most of the crucial points are stuck in the text, but there's a lot of reading in some places and important words get buried under the rest of it.
Quote:The Crey/Malta relationship was meant to seem mutually beneficial: Malta runs covert ops to spirit away low-key mutant children, and Crey researches how to push these powers to critical level. Crey gets the benefit of these scientific advances, and Malta is rewarded with expendable mutant suicide bombers. I felt this was an important dynamic, and I'll have to do some rewrites to make it more explicit....it seems like the Crey are the drivers here, using the Malta as hired thugs -- instead of the Malta using the Crey as hired brains.
The two pre-hero sidekicks in the Crey mission were originally set to Defensive, but it felt weird how often they just sat back and watched the player do all the work. So I made them Aggressive. After the chaos you experienced, those two are going right back on the sidelines.Quote:(assorted sidekick-related madness)
You're the second person to bring this up, and I'm actively thinking of alternatives for the last mission map. The outdoor map was chosen to create the illusion of a chaotic free-for-all, with Carnies-fighting-Carnies and all that jazz. But I suppose it could just as easily be some kind of fortified warehouse with the battle raging outside. In fact, that might improve the atmosphere somewhat.Quote:...one boss fight is a little too little to do on that map.
Again, you're the second person to mention this. And I'm at a loss as to how to improve this. If the story was in a different medium (like a film), I could throw in a tender epilogue about the girl waking up as a regular person, but that wouldn't translate at all to a MArc mission. My scrapped ideas for a wrap-up include the player enlisting another powerful psychic to reverse the damage, or the player traveling back to the Crey lab for a cure, or even having the condition reverse itself. But none of these seem right. So for now, I'm using the tragic ending.Quote:...having the arc just end on that depressing note feels like those missions were a waste.
And last of all: CBP stands for "Customs and Border Patrol". I thought I was being clever, but it's probably not a good idea to keep throwing around an acronym without anyone knowing what it means.
In closing, I mention elsewhere that this whole arc is a floor-to-ceiling rewrite of an older arc. I'm still confident that the new arc is an improvement, but that's not saying much -- the old arc had plenty of issues, too.
Thanks again for the useful feedback!
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*EDIT: I think just had an apostrophe... er, epiphany... about a potential fifth mission. It sounds really good in my head, so I'll see if it works! -
If you're not too busy, I would greatly appreciate a review of "The Fractured Dreamer" (Arc ID 498588, CoHMR page, forum page)
"Dreamer" is actually based on an arc you reviewed almost two years ago. Based on your review (and a handful of others) I decided to just tear the old arc down and rebuild it from the ground up. I think it's much improved, but I'd love to hear your opinion.
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"The Fractured Dreamer" now has a mission page at City of Heroes Mission Review. Feel free to rate it for their system.