City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

[IMG] #1013 - Turg Fiction: Ghost in the Machine

Angry_Citizen

By Angry_Citizen,
Posted on: 2009-04-08 15:29 in Mission Architect

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Heya Luna:

If you can do that on Villainous and Rugged for a back-to-back comparison, I'd be grateful. My access to Doms of 20+ is now restricted (account cancelled). =/

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure Not a problem. It'll probably be tomorrow afternoon by the time I get it ran twice. I'll drop you feedback ingame with my results each time I run it

Luna

46 Toons on Freedom, 1988+ Levels, 17 Level 50's
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Globals: @Luna de Nocturne & @Luna Moone
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Posted

So... I re-ran later with my 50 Psi/Dom and a partner, A'ndromeda a 50 Dark/Kin Corr. Difficulty setting was Malicious.


IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS -- WATCH OUT!







This time no issues with Ginzago... everything was fine up until the last mission and the AV. We couldn't beat him and he killed us 4x each. The waves of ambushes seemed to crush our dreams whenever we seemed to be gettin' him. After realizing it was hopeless in our current setup... jogged outside to the BM (in Mercy Island, we were in Mercy AE) to buy much-needed inspirations... went back in... and the entire defeat all map had reset. O.o.

Had been playing 1-2 missions at a time over several hours... but we couldn't summon the effort to re-clear the map to likely get our [censored] handed to us by the AV -- again. So, had to quit without rating -- again. Did you change something I missed maybe since publishing on Test? I can't shake the feeling that the mobs/missions are tougher.

Rugged / Solo = fail at mission # 1.
Malicious / Duo = fail at Finale.

Looks like the lowest difficulty setting is appropriate for Solo/Duo (at least for me). I feel like my Dom had been faring well in the MA, even against EBs/AVs, though I can't crack this particular nut for some reason. I feel... humbled. I also am sick of running out of Inspirations, sick of being Terrorized, and unhappy that +Recharge from Speed Boost no longer affects my pet Singularity after i14 (Sing used to spam stackable holds/immobilizes that would've really helped with the AV).

I'm still wondering what we did to respawn the entire map, too. That was the dagger in the heart that finished us off. Maybe I'm tired. Maybe I'm unfocused. More likely, I'm just not l337 enough to ignore the Author's Note DB's advice to solo/duo squishy Villain AT's -- play on Villainous. If you're l337 and up for a challenge -- solo with a Dom/Corr on Malicious/Rugged and let us know how it went!

DB background
DB at the bookstore
DB in the movies
DB is wanted by FBI

 

Posted

Umm... to be clear... this is NOT a negative review. Simply feedback on playing with squishy Villains in response to the in-game feedback you received. The text/dialogue is spotless and seems to have been fully edited. I love the story and eagerly await the next parts...

I would definitely describe this as a Story/Plot/Character driven arc... versus the "Scrapper Challenge" types of MA missions designed to test supreme builds, etc. That's exactly why I wanted to leave some feedback because while I'm a casual player... I'm an experienced casual player and I failed on my main toon twice now... so I can clearly envision more casual players who are also unable defeat the EB in the opening and AV in the finale mission. They are officially no joke on anything but the lowest difficulty setting. I'd hate for any players to miss out the excellent fiction just because of the tough boss fights. I'm sure it's a lot easier on teams, but I seem to recall you posting somewhere that as it was story-based you intended to to be solo/duo friendly for those who want to take their time and read, etc.

You could maybe tone it down a smidgeon, though I'm not sure exactly how you'd achieve this while keeping everyone happy... just food for thought. Overall, though, this is still my favorite use of the Hologram Contact and Mission Architect, period. It's ... engaging.

DB background
DB at the bookstore
DB in the movies
DB is wanted by FBI

 

Posted

Hi Turg...

Thanks for proving MA doesn't suck that bad. Your arc was beautifully written and very moving... although, playing the arc with a female character is a little... immersion breaking. That's my only complaint. Now get crackin' on the second and third before I start getting twitchy.

Doom.

Yep.

This is really doom.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Turg...

Thanks for proving MA doesn't suck that bad. Your arc was beautifully written and very moving... although, playing the arc with a female character is a little... immersion breaking. That's my only complaint. Now get crackin' on the second and third before I start getting twitchy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the compliment, AC. On playing with a female character: Bottom line, I tried to make her appealing to both genders, and am intending on writing her that way through the next two arcs. Is the female/female affectation not working? I've gotten mixed results on the feedback, but hey, at least I'm getting mixed.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Is the female/female affectation not working?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it was too clearly written for male/female interaction. Such as the comment regarding her tendency to blush when asking someone out.

Doom.

Yep.

This is really doom.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Is the female/female affectation not working?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it was too clearly written for male/female interaction. Such as the comment regarding her tendency to blush when asking someone out.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh. I thought I PM'd you about this, but guess not... Yeah, one of the things I was frustrated with in random testing of my arc before it went "live" was how much people caught on. I went from subtle to verbal pokes to outright neon signs on certain important plot points (like the popup for the mish enter for #2, where it recants "hey, what did that screen mean with 'CAN YOU READ THIS'").

It's a balancing act. I'm trying harder to smooth it out for Act II, and I think I have something that gets the same msg without too much ball-peen hammer tactics. If you like, I'll ping you once I have something testable up and see if my tact has improved!

 

Posted

Sure! Would be great.

And no, never got a PM... wonder if my PM box is full...

Doom.

Yep.

This is really doom.

 

Posted

I'm quite late to the Turg Admiration Society meeting, but since I only just found this thread, off I go.

This arc was, quite simply and without any exaggeration whatsoever, the frikkin' BEST story that I've ever played in this game. Ever. It started out slow-ish, seeming to be one sort of story, but quickly morphed into another. I went from, "Well, let's see how screwy this Dev's 'Choice' arc really is," to being totally involved and immersed in it.

>SPOILER!<





In the timed mission, I entered and immediately was all, “oh, S#!7!!” when I realized how little time I had. So I ran to the end, bypassed the mobs, drug a couple along with me, and suddenly had the fight of my career on my hands. FORTUNATELY I had a tray stuffed full of high-end inspirations (including a few presents) which I had on me for some reason or another.

I burned through every inspiration in my tray, used all my best temp powers, and was glad to do it, because I... was... NOT... going to fail this young woman who had put her trust in ME, dammit! And by doG, I did not fail! I got her out in plenty of time, and I can honestly say that it’s been a couple of years in this game since I felt so heroic.

Even now, a few weeks later, writing about that particular mission in the arc has me choked up. Talk about immersive.


And yes, I also knew exactly how it was all going to eventually end.

"OK, first of all... Shut Up." - My 13-Year-Old Daughter

29973 "The Running of the Bulls" [SFMA] - WINNER of the Mighty Big Story Arc Contest !
- The Stellar Wind Orbital Space Platform

 

Posted

Heya Zub: I'm glad you dug it enough to play twice, the 2nd time with your daughter. Your experience is exactly what I was hoping for with how I built the arc, so it's nice to hear that it hit home.

The odd thing is, I'm kinda put off by the # of under-12s who've run my arc and enjoyed the storyline... I'm scared by how they'll react to the tone of Act II once I've finished testing it.

 

Posted

... 5:31am ... should probably go to bed before I put others to sleep with my comments... anyway...

I like to see myself as being quite rational, but this arc deserves recognition if only for its romance! I heard people say that the only stories worth telling go along the lines of "boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy finds girl,..." and if this is true, it would spell disaster for the general AE storylines devoit of these more emotional elements. However, I enjoyed several other stories, including MA ones bristling with creativity, and conclude it must be wrong. Emotion is not everything.

But it is important, and this is the first arc I played that effortlessly combines genuine sci-fi with deep emotions. Maybe I am just easily manipulated, but I enjoyed the ride immensely!

Now hurry and publish Act II, Mr. Turgenev!

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Now hurry and publish Act II, Mr. Turgenev!

[/ QUOTE ]

*clicks publish* Okay.

Actually, I'm in open testing now, so expect to hear the "click" sometime over this weekend. Thanks for the kind words, Aregon! I'm glad the romantic side appealed to you, it was one of the goals I had when I was writing Dani: How to make her touching enough where the player got emotionally invested.

Act II, you buy her a milk shake in a virtual diner, and then LORD RECLUSE COMES IN AND ZOMG^H^H^H^H--- nevermind, someone already did that storyline...

Cheers. You'll be hearing from me this weekend.

 

Posted

Just finished act II, loved it. The story line is very smooth, transitions well from one mission to the next. I ran it with my lv 50 kat/reg scrapper set on tenacious had no issues with any mobs or bosses. The main boss at the end spawned as eb, took him down in do order. Going to run it on invincible later today, need to take a nap before I fall asleep at the keyboard.
Again great work turg, can't wait for act III, I am ready to run the whole story arc in one setting.

 

Posted

Yes there is a souvenir, and it does have a huge block of text. That is what it is for to remind you of this dear Feisty young Hero that you are falling for. It is also very poignant in that who here hasn't worn something similar to keep safe in our hearts those we love when they are off in the world?

 

Posted

I’m sorry to say this, Turg, but there’s something seriously wrong with this arc. You know how I feel about Part I, but this sequel is very seriously flawed.


*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*SPOILERS*




The first two missions were fine. Not fantabulous, but I felt you were leading up to something. (You did this in the first arc... start out kinda slow, then BAM! Holy-[censored]!) I was catching a “Serial Experiments Lain” sort of vibe from it. Cyberpunk, hackers, and cyber-stalkers leading into a problem of computer security that would threaten Dani’s own existence. And there was a clue that she herself would turn out to be to blame for it all, by perhaps going places and doing things that she really shouldn’t have. Poking her nose into secret places. Drawing attention to herself. Exposing her own vulnerabilities.

Then SUDDENLY I’m in Croatoa fighting red caps. W. T. F.?

And with them are illuminati minions. Who? (Yes, I know who the illuminati are, in the context of the real world, but in the game world, their existence is not established.) And I come back and Dani is all, “They’re real? really real?” Is WHO really real? These villains that have never been discussed before, ever? Villains who are not part of the cyber-punk mythos upon which your plot is based?

The clue about Dani “being everywhere” was dropped completely.

And all this magic stuff came out of nowhere. It was jarring, odd, and a total non sequitur. We go from “Posi is helping me” and “Manticore is working with me” to Azuria and the Cabal and magic, magic, magic.

And I thought Arachnos was to blame for her “death,” not some odd demonic force.

It’s as if a mission went missing in there somewhere. The mission that made it all make sense. (There *is* only supposed to be 4 missions, right?)




I’m sorry, bro. I did not like it. I hate to sound harsh, but yikes.

"OK, first of all... Shut Up." - My 13-Year-Old Daughter

29973 "The Running of the Bulls" [SFMA] - WINNER of the Mighty Big Story Arc Contest !
- The Stellar Wind Orbital Space Platform

 

Posted

Zub: Partially correct. There was supposed to be five mishes. I'd hit my cap by mish 3, and did a lot of revamping to get it under 101% with 4 mishes. My plan was to have that 4th "tie in" mish, then lead to mish 5, but due to size constraint, I had to rework a lot of it into the mission intro/outro text and side clues.

Guys: Hold off on commentary 'til tomorrow. I'm starting a fresh thread for this new arc to keep the feedback in one place (in fact, Zub, I'd ask you repeat your commentary there tomorrow so it can be discussed).

It's okay to not like, Zub. But let's talk about this tomorrow. I'll put it up late tonight if I can. J-Man said something similar, and we summed it up with the phrase, "middle movie syndrome". Chew on that, and I'll re-open the discussion tomorrow. Thanks for playing, Zub.

 

Posted

Played part 1 and it's great Turg. Tried it on both my blue and red toon and had a blast. Really looking forward to part 2 and 3 asap Keep up the good work you sexy beast.

[IMG]http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/2886/coxboardsig.jpg[/IMG][B][SIZE="3"]
The shining world of the seven systems. On the continent of Wild Endeavour. In the mountains of Solace and Solitude there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords. The oldest and most mightiest race in the Universe. Sworn never to interfere. Only watch...[/SIZE][/B]

 

Posted

Encountered an intermittent boss-spawn bug that affects the final mission for Act II. Reviewing now, may take it down pending debug. (I'm tempted to unpub it for size concerns too, most people who've played it don't understand why I'm capped at 100% with it as-is.) About 10% of players have experienced the bug thus far, and that's too damn high for me to want to keep it up.

 

Posted

Wait, I gotta wait till I am 30ish for this?

BAH!

*grumbles and levels*

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Wait, I gotta wait till I am 30ish for this?

BAH!

*grumbles and levels*

[/ QUOTE ]

You can do it, the powers scale to your level. I had someone who ran Act I in the late teens and, although he had a hard time due to endurance purposes, was able to get through it without much misery.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Encountered an intermittent boss-spawn bug that affects the final mission for Act II. Reviewing now, may take it down pending debug. (I'm tempted to unpub it for size concerns too, most people who've played it don't understand why I'm capped at 100% with it as-is.) About 10% of players have experienced the bug thus far, and that's too damn high for me to want to keep it up.

[/ QUOTE ]

Update: Act II's final boss complaints from my feedback pool have leveled off a bit, but I got two comments last night on the boss for mish 3 (the Croatoa outdoor map) for a potential failure to spawn as well - leads me to think that it's less to do with the map than it is for triggered bosses just not spawning effectively, period, but I'm no QA person... I'm still tossing this around on whether to unpub for now due to filesize problems, or keep it up and fully advertise... the filesize problems are my biggest issue here, which forced me to remove a mish that I'd originally intended as a "wrap up" mish for the varying plot threads and manage it better. Right now, I'm having to condense that into the mission intro/outro hint and clues, and it's not nearly as flowing as I'd like it to be. ;(

 

Posted

Ran through both arcs yesterday, and it is indeed one of the best arcs I've ever played. The ending of Act I was predictable after where you found her hero ID..but besides that..it was great. Only problem I had was with the final boss of act II. Ran through the whole thing as my PB, but for the life of me couldn't do much as he would just regen it all away before blowing me up. Despite that, can't wait for act III.

 

Posted

For some reason, I can't start Act 2. I can start any other arcs but this one, I can't start.... Weird.

In the Arena of Logic, I fight unarmed.