Discussion: Issue 14: Mission Architect - FAQ
By
8_Ball,
Posted on: 2009-02-26 13:02 in Developers' Corner
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Can an arc be both HoF and Devs Choice?
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I don't see why it can't be. If anything, a Dev's Choice award might even make an arc more likely to be entered into the Hall of Fame, since that would give it more exposure.
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I assumed the samething, but I don't like to assume anything 
@Blood Beret(2)Twitter
I am a bad speeler, use poorer grammar, and am a frequent typoist.
MA ArcID: 1197
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. Winston Churchill
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As for ratings: I don't believe that players should be allowed to rate an arc without playing through all of it. Ordinary-seeming arcs might have a killer ending and the reality is that a player's work should be evaluated on the whole, not on the "I didn't like the uniform of the boss in the first mission so I quit".
However, to avoid players having to play through every mission to rate it - that's unreasonable punishment - at least one more measurement criteria can be added: drop out rate (or completion rate, which is the inverse of drop out rate). After a reasonable number (say: 50) of players have started an MA arc, the proportion of players who have dropped out prior to completing it (or the proportion of players who have successfully completed it) is shown. An arc with a high drop out rate / low completion rate is a big warning sign to players that the content might not be up to scratch.
Now, if an arc has a low completion rate but a high rating, it tells players 1) the arc might not be for everyone, 2) it might have been artificially boosted by friends, and / or 3) it might have a great final mission.
The flaw with weighting the rating of those who quit early is that if there are enough of them then they still will be a problem. It could work both ways - quit the first mission but rate it a 5. If enough people do that, it could make MA mission ratings meaningless.
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I like this idea UnSub
I also want to re-iterate what MW said (and possibly others)...is there a way to "warn" people that a specific mission/arc is intended for x amount of people on a team or something?
Leader of The LEGION/Fallen LEGION on the Liberty server!
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MKW FC: 4167-4891-5991
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For me personally, I would rather they DO count towards defeat badges, would make life so much easier if I could say stick BP Masks and Ghosts in a mish Kill 2 "birds" with one stone. I do hope they rethink this part and make the baddies count toward defeat badges.
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Which is exactly why they don't count in the first place....
See: All Trophy missions in LBP.
I had to laugh at http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/gam..._overview.html
'The First MMORPG to Offer User Created Content!'
Yeah. Way to do your homework. 
That's why I was wondering about the whole player review system and how it will be implemented. That way even if the creator doesn't want to warn the hapless solo'r about the upcoming AV smorgasbord being served up, at least we can warn each other.
13
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I had to laugh at http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/gam..._overview.html
'The First MMORPG to Offer User Created Content!'
Yeah. Way to do your homework.
[/ QUOTE ]Not to be snarky, nor to challenge your assertion, but because I am ignorant of MMORPGs in general, who else has done so? CoH is my first and only.
Saga of Ryzom, Ryzom Ring, released October 3, 2006. Let's people create instanced missions, with their own maps and enemy scripting.
Mind you, I hear it's buggy and I'm not fond of the game, and I'd probably judge MA as 'better' in a lot of ways, but still.
There may be other examples, but there's at least one.
i've read thrugh most of the thread andmight have missed it. Will there be an in game comment part to the MA so either praise, scorn or suggestions can be directed toward the arc creator?
When men are full of envy they disparage everything,
whether it be good or bad.
Tacitus
Ego sum pro alll vicis fossor astrun proclul sol solis nunouam seeing vorago pro mihi.
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I'm quite certain it will be possible to make a mission where you're guaranteed to fail. Making a mission that cannot be completed, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.
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So you're saying "escort Cardboard Box to safety" is probably out of the question?
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Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
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So, apropos of nothing... who else has spent the weekend making costumes and saving them against Closed Beta Acceptance/Open Beta/Launch?
I've got a nice 'central cast' of heroes and villains going, plus three enemy groups from multiple minions (since the implication is you can have more than one costume/model for a given 'minion,' a la the Skulls or Longbow) through Elite Bosses. I'm canting more towards City of Villains content right now -- I'm looking forward to giving Supervillains some good old fashioned comic book evil -- but I have some hero-side stuff too. And of course, once it's all built in MA, there's no reason I can't use it all over and over again.
Honestly, I feel like I'm fourteen years old again, riffling through Champions or Villains and Vigilantes, cheerfully spending my day rolling up characters and speccing out designs.
My wife, it is worth noting, is a very patient woman.
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So, apropos of nothing... who else has spent the weekend making costumes and saving them against Closed Beta Acceptance/Open Beta/Launch?
I've got a nice 'central cast' of heroes and villains going, plus three enemy groups from multiple minions (since the implication is you can have more than one costume/model for a given 'minion,' a la the Skulls or Longbow) through Elite Bosses. I'm canting more towards City of Villains content right now -- I'm looking forward to giving Supervillains some good old fashioned comic book evil -- but I have some hero-side stuff too. And of course, once it's all built in MA, there's no reason I can't use it all over and over again.
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I've only done one costume per minion type, but since my factions have "uniforms" that fits conceptually. If we can have multiple models per minion type, then I may go back and indivualize faces, add LT and Boss versions, etc.
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I've only done one costume per minion type, but since my factions have "uniforms" that fits conceptually. If we can have multiple models per minion type, then I may go back and indivualize faces, add LT and Boss versions, etc.
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I've been working under the multiple model assumption, so I'm generally going for diversity -- race, sex, face, hair color, in some cases body shape/physique. But it's worth noting I haven't done a group with covered face/hair as yet, so....
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So, apropos of nothing... who else has spent the weekend making costumes and saving them against Closed Beta Acceptance/Open Beta/Launch?
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My friend and I have been slowly ironing out a storyline, and I've been busy creating units for an enemy gang that's going to be included. We're trying to make it as believable as part of the CoH universe as possible. Needless to say, some of the new units have some unique and interesting powerset combinations.
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Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU
Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.
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My friend and I have been slowly ironing out a storyline, and I've been busy creating units for an enemy gang that's going to be included. We're trying to make it as believable as part of the CoH universe as possible. Needless to say, some of the new units have some unique and interesting powerset combinations.
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Veeeeeery cool.
The 'integrate well into CoH' has been a priority for me, too. While I'm not counting on Dev's Choice (there's going to be a billion good arcs out there), I figure you design as if the Devs will fall in love with your arc and want to make it Canon, and then publish expecting 2-3 stars on your average rating and then take it down after a month. Shoot for the moon, but bank on missing.
Sort of like sending short stories to magazines, really.
On the topic of rating without completing, would it be possible for said ratings to have less weight than ratings upon completion? Perhaps contributing only 1/4 as much as a completion rating. That way if there are only noncompletion ratings, they will have full force, but noncompletion ratings won't affect as much an arc which is being rated by players completing it.
Sermon
@sermon
One of Six, Cannibal 6
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On the topic of rating without completing, would it be possible for said ratings to have less weight than ratings upon completion? Perhaps contributing only 1/4 as much as a completion rating. That way if there are only noncompletion ratings, they will have full force, but noncompletion ratings won't affect as much an arc which is being rated by players completing it.
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Or perhaps a rating counts more for the more missions started. If someone has published a 5 mission arc, someone who drops the first mission and rates the arc gets 1/5th the vote of someone who at least starts the fifth mission. That way, someone can drop out immediately if it's a stinker, but someone who really plays the arc can judge it as a whole and have it count more.
This means, of course, that someone who quits an 'arc' with only one mission would get to rate it fully, but that's appropriate. They've given 'the whole thing' a chance, after all. Someone who makes it to mission 2 of a 4 mission arc would have a 50% 'vote.' And so on.
The problem is that sometimes it really is clear the mission is an absolute turd from minute one.
'You are gon to git Princes Amdidala from gingun raiders on.
The world is real big, and you find the shiney box. Click on it.
Ha ha! Just kidding. You open box (click is what player do)'
And then you see Warriors and Devoured Earth for no apparent reason.
Yeah. 1 star, bye.
How'd you get a copy of my first arc's transcript?
Liberty
My 50s:
Hero: Armor Assassin (scrapper), Cross Dresser (scrapper), Surly Seaman (blaster), Defensive End (Tank), Rad Rhino (Cont)
Villain: Beast Infection (Corr), Sweet Zombie Jesus (MM), Milk Weasel (Stalker), Orgullo (MM), Agent Eris (Crab)
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So, apropos of nothing... who else has spent the weekend making costumes and saving them against Closed Beta Acceptance/Open Beta/Launch?
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That's so funny. I had this thread open in the background while I was doing costumes for one big-boss and 2 each of minions, lt's, and bosses for an enemy group I will be using in my first arc. Then I scrolled down and saw your posting.
My postings to this forum are not to be used as data in any research study without my express written consent.
Lol would be funny to use the MA to make a "rescue puhsyb" where we have to break him out of that box
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I'm quite certain it will be possible to make a mission where you're guaranteed to fail. Making a mission that cannot be completed, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.
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So you're saying "escort Cardboard Box to safety" is probably out of the question?
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NPC AI may disagree...
On my Merc MM, my Spec Ops guys web gernade them so they cannot runaway.
When my Mind Dom, confuses PPD Equalizers, he uses his glue gernade to slow their escape. When he confuses the PPD Ghosts, they try to hold and blind said "Cardboard Box".
@Blood Beret(2)Twitter
I am a bad speeler, use poorer grammar, and am a frequent typoist.
MA ArcID: 1197
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. Winston Churchill
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Positron, I am a little concerned about the possible rate griefing involved with being able to rate an arc that hasn't been played. Especially when there are badges involved in rating unrated arcs or ones that don't have many ratings. A lot of people will probably get their badges simply by going down the line of unrated arcs, slapping a 1 star rating on them, and getting their badge in the process. I've seen rating systems on web-published content experience things like that, and that's WITHOUT the enticing badge. Please reconsider allowing someone to rate an unfinished arc.
*EDIT* Been here since CoH beta, and this is the first time I've posted after a redname.
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I'm willing to listen to ideas on how truly horrible content can get rated without having to endure all of it.
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For starters, you could put a block feature in to curb the horrifically vomitous amount of "Nemesis Plot" arcs we are about to suffer with it...
"I never said thank you." - Lt. Gordon
"And you'll never have to." - the Dark Knight
will we be able to change the order of the missions or what mission comes next if a specific event that was unintended takes place?
for example, if i'm running a mission where i have to rescue a hostage, can i make it so if the hostage dies, i would have to go on another mission to get some artifact to bring the hostage back to life?
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The problem is that sometimes it really is clear the mission is an absolute turd from minute one.
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And you should be able to one-star it and drop the arc.
The thing is, if it really is that bad? Most of the ratings will be from people who saw the first bit, didn't like it, one-starred it and dropped the arc. And that means that even if they only counted 1/4 to 1/5 (say) what a person who played the whole arc counted as, the volume would more than make up for it.
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Can an arc be both HoF and Devs Choice?
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I don't see why it can't be. If anything, a Dev's Choice award might even make an arc more likely to be entered into the Hall of Fame, since that would give it more exposure.
Justice Hunter, 50 Inv/SS Tank
Slenszic, 50 Sword/Energy Stalker
MA Arc IDs: 1355, 2341, 2350