Made some changes to "The Portal Bandits":
* Kaon no longer summons Dark Servant or uses Petrifying Gaze. She and the Dark Servant were double-stacking their controls and debuffs so much that it was making the EB/AV fight in the first mission much too easy.
* Promoted the Nagan Duelist to Lieutenant rank. The group now stands at 3 Minions, 3 Lieutenants, 2 Bosses, and 1 EB/AV.
Added my arcs to Mission Architect Advanced Search Site. Here are the direct links.
* MacGuffin Delivery Service
* The Amulet of J'gara
* The Portal Bandits
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* The first mission no longer uses a random map. This means that the objectives will always be placed in a rather linear fashion so as to avoid backtracking.
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Various corrections to the briefing and debriefing dialog to keep it consistently in past tense.
Changes made to "The Portal Bandits":
* Nagan Shockfists no longer have Build Up or Chain Induction.
* Vikki Vandal no longer has Build Up or Crowd Control.
* Rewrote much of the dialog to make it more consistent. The plot should make more sense now. Anna has a clue to explain her presence at the safehouse and why she is willing to help you to defeat Vikki.
I played MacGuffin Delivery service, and I have some feedback for you.
Firstly, I think you ought to utilize color more for your mission briefings, especially for the title and subtitles. Second, in several clues you have characters talking, but in others it's just the voice of your character thinking. When the text of the clue is dialog from a character, it should be in quotes, IMO.
The second mission is very well-done, kudos for that. I liked it.
The system text for the bookshelf glowie in the third mission, where you find the book with the "interesting" pictures of succubi; it gave me the impression that my character found it and lost interest in what he was looking for. Sure, slacking off to look at porn is a noble pursuit, but it doesn't seem like something I ought to be doing while invading Oranbega.
I think you used the same model of Carnie boss for all three of the ones that appeared in the arc - mix it up a little!
The enemies using the word MacGuffin in the fourth mission is really immersion-breaking; a MacGuffin is a narrative device, a tool used by a writer for a story, so while the Emerald Parakeet IS a MacGuffin, the characters in the story wouldn't consider it such. When I go to a diner to get a burger, I don't call my sandwich a MacGuffin, even though it's what motivated me to go out and live the story of my trip to the restaurant.
The story was kind of meh. It never really seemed to go anywhere, and I didn't understand why my character didn't keep trying to fence the MacGuffin in order to transfer ownership of it to someone else.
A solid arc, though not without its flaws.
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.
[ QUOTE ]
Firstly, I think you ought to utilize color more for your mission briefings, especially for the title and subtitles. Second, in several clues you have characters talking, but in others it's just the voice of your character thinking. When the text of the clue is dialog from a character, it should be in quotes, IMO.
[/ QUOTE ]
I never used the colors much for various reasons, often that it does eat up space in the file. Though I will consider using some of the formatting suggestions you provided.
[ QUOTE ]
The system text for the bookshelf glowie in the third mission, where you find the book with the "interesting" pictures of succubi; it gave me the impression that my character found it and lost interest in what he was looking for. Sure, slacking off to look at porn is a noble pursuit, but it doesn't seem like something I ought to be doing while invading Oranbega.
[/ QUOTE ]
Wasn't the intention, it was only a joke detail for those players who actually look at those messages when clicking on glowies. I'll probably change the wording.
[ QUOTE ]
I think you used the same model of Carnie boss for all three of the ones that appeared in the arc - mix it up a little!
[/ QUOTE ]
Apparently I forgot that specify the boss also locks the model.
[ QUOTE ]
The enemies using the word MacGuffin in the fourth mission is really immersion-breaking; a MacGuffin is a narrative device, a tool used by a writer for a story, so while the Emerald Parakeet IS a MacGuffin, the characters in the story wouldn't consider it such. When I go to a diner to get a burger, I don't call my sandwich a MacGuffin, even though it's what motivated me to go out and live the story of my trip to the restaurant.
[/ QUOTE ]
That's because MacGuffin was a placeholder when I wrote the story, before I knew what I was going to call the item. You found one that I forgot to replace, thanks.
[ QUOTE ]
The story was kind of meh. It never really seemed to go anywhere, and I didn't understand why my character didn't keep trying to fence the MacGuffin in order to transfer ownership of it to someone else.
[/ QUOTE ]
The briefing for mission 3 mentioned that you attempted that and it didn't work. That's why you go to Oranbega to try to find out what kind of spell it is and found the book that mentioned the box.
[ QUOTE ]
A solid arc, though not without its flaws.
[/ QUOTE ]
If perfection was possible we'd have nothing to strive for. I'll look at some of these issues you brought up.
Just finished "McGuffin Delivery Service". A fun little arc, I gave it four stars. What brought it up from 3 to 4 stars was not only was the arc ENTIRELY self motivated, but it was told IN FLASHBACK. Must have been quite a challenge coming up with a way to pull that off. There were two little things that bugged me though.
1. Could you come up with some better names then "The Emerald Parakeet" and "The Mcguffin"? The Emerald Parakeet is just very hard to take seriously, why not "The Emerald Sparrow" or "The Emerald Avian". Just not parakeet.
2. The ending was... a little anticlimactic. You zoop in, stick the parakeet in the box and boom, arc over. How about placing a few "Protective Obelisks" throughout the mission, which would need to be destroyed before the final glowie would spawn. Each of these destroyable objects would spawn an ambush from one of the various represented villain groups at 50% health. That would at least give the conclusion a frantic feel.
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Minor text formatting changes.
* Replaced misplaced instances of the word "MacGuffin" in character speech in mission 4.
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* Minor text formatting changes.
The Emerald Parakeet was chosen because it sounds so silly and innocent, not the sort of name you'd expect for an object of magical power. Not much in the arc is meant to be taken seriously to begin with.
I ran 1709, The Amulet of J'gara.
I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Short little arc about Midnighters missing through both the Circle of Thorns and another entity, Mindskewer.
Though I had a reflexive white knuckling when I entered the Oranbega map and saw a hostage and glowie find, Lazarus was prescient enough to provide a short map. We find more information about the advancing plot involving an amulet which can be used to mind control people.
As the story progresses, we are introduced to Mindskewer, a powerful Mind/Thorn (Dominator?) who has made a deal with the Circle of Thorns. In the last mission, Lazarus kindly donated three allies (An Emp, a Dark and a Scrapper) to help with the EB.
Good work, short and to the point, I rated four stars.
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes
Review for MacGuffin Delivery Service
Rating: *****
I really enjoyed this arc. I liked that it was told in flashback and that you were your own contact! The story of the arc was also interesting, especially with the inability to get rid of the Emerald Parakeet.
In the first mission send off, it tells you that it all started a few days ago. After accepting, it somewhat repeats itself. Maybe rewrite the second part to make it a little more fresh?
The second mission was nice, but the ambushes were pretty light. I did have difficult with the boss, Mistress Ruby, at the end though. So that was a nice challenge.
The third mission was nice, though I did groan when I first saw the map. It was a little difficult to find the items in at times, but nothing is wrong with a challenge. I loved that when I was searching I found a copy of "Alchemical Treatments of Hair Loss" and some naughty pictures, among other funny items. Those really made me laugh.
The fourth mission was a little long for my tastes and the bosses were pretty difficult, but I also had the difficulty set high. As soon as I got the item I had to exit to avoid imminent death.
Overall I gave it 5 stars for its originality in style (with flashbacks and whatnot) and story.
50s: Silent Spy - MA/Regen Scrapper | Tinkerhell - SS/Inv Brute | Extrasensory - Psi/Men Blaster | Ana Cruz - DP/PD Corruptor | Sara Thunderbird - Elec/Elec Scrapper | Pinstrike - Spines/SR Scrapper | Cold Feet - Cold/Cold Blaster
@Silent Spy, Champion Server
Hey Lazarus, if you slide me the briefing text for 1567 I'll retense it so it operates the right way. PM or mail the .storyarc to the address in my profile.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
[ QUOTE ]
In the first mission send off, it tells you that it all started a few days ago. After accepting, it somewhat repeats itself. Maybe rewrite the second part to make it a little more fresh?
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure what you mean here actually.
Introduction:
"It's been a few days since that whole incident started. All you did was steal one silly little statue and it turned into a big deal involving several major villain groups, all of whom wanted it and were willing to kill you to get it."
Send Off:
"It began when you decided to rob this pawn shop in the middle of the night. There would be very little security, so what could go wrong?"
What exactly is being repeated?
[ QUOTE ]
The second mission was nice, but the ambushes were pretty light. I did have difficult with the boss, Mistress Ruby, at the end though. So that was a nice challenge.
[/ QUOTE ]
I kept them light out of concern for squishy ATs and for the possibility that you might defeat Mr. Wolfe and summon the Carnies before freeing Amanita. I wish MA would allow me to set them to the triggered only after both conditions were met, but alas.
And I didn't want some generic civilian who runs off, so I gave you my Plant/Fire Dom to give you a hand as well as you escape the warehouse. I picked her since I thought she would be a fairly useful ally in this situation.
[ QUOTE ]
The third mission was nice, though I did groan when I first saw the map. It was a little difficult to find the items in at times, but nothing is wrong with a challenge. I loved that when I was searching I found a copy of "Alchemical Treatments of Hair Loss" and some naughty pictures, among other funny items. Those really made me laugh.
[/ QUOTE ]
Unfortunately if I cut out every map that someone found annoying I would eventually run out of maps to use. It's also one of the few CoT maps that didn't give me a hard time with the spawn placements. I don't know if there is a similar one without crystals, annoyingly I'll have to cycle through them all just to see since they're not marked on the map.
Having a Stalker myself, I should have realized earlier how annoying those crystals could be. Doh!
[ QUOTE ]
The fourth mission was a little long for my tastes and the bosses were pretty difficult, but I also had the difficulty set high. As soon as I got the item I had to exit to avoid imminent death.
[/ QUOTE ]
There are no ambushes attached to that glowie. No room for them anyway as the map is maxed out with 5 bosses and 11 battles. Also you don't have to fight anyone, the enemies are so occupied fighting each other that you should be able to run right past most of them, which was the idea I was going for. I supposed I could try to make it more obvious that the glowie is always at the very back room of the map, which by the way has no bosses in it.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
In the first mission send off, it tells you that it all started a few days ago. After accepting, it somewhat repeats itself. Maybe rewrite the second part to make it a little more fresh?
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not sure what you mean here actually.
Introduction:
"It's been a few days since that whole incident started. All you did was steal one silly little statue and it turned into a big deal involving several major villain groups, all of whom wanted it and were willing to kill you to get it."
Send Off:
"It began when you decided to rob this pawn shop in the middle of the night. There would be very little security, so what could go wrong?"
What exactly is being repeated?
[/ QUOTE ]
Its not a repeat of information, just a repeat of "that whole incident started" and "it began." Its no biggie, really. Just something that stuck out to me when I first started.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The fourth mission was a little long for my tastes and the bosses were pretty difficult, but I also had the difficulty set high. As soon as I got the item I had to exit to avoid imminent death.
[/ QUOTE ]
There are no ambushes attached to that glowie. No room for them anyway as the map is maxed out with 5 bosses and 11 battles. Also you don't have to fight anyone, the enemies are so occupied fighting each other that you should be able to run right past most of them, which was the idea I was going for. I supposed I could try to make it more obvious that the glowie is always at the very back room of the map, which by the way has no bosses in it.
[/ QUOTE ]
There was a Freakshow tank and a Carnies mistress in the backroom when I tried for it. It might've been the difficult level that I was on. I had to fight through it since as I was crossing through, I got quite a bit of aggro. I think some of the mobs may have killed each other.
50s: Silent Spy - MA/Regen Scrapper | Tinkerhell - SS/Inv Brute | Extrasensory - Psi/Men Blaster | Ana Cruz - DP/PD Corruptor | Sara Thunderbird - Elec/Elec Scrapper | Pinstrike - Spines/SR Scrapper | Cold Feet - Cold/Cold Blaster
@Silent Spy, Champion Server
Starting: The Amulet of J'gara
Mission 1:
- Minor quibble. "Hello Actin, it's been a while." Well, so much a while that I had no idea who that guy was - this particular character never did Croatoa 
- "I have something I could use some help for" - shouldn't that be "help with"? (I'm honestly asking, it sounded weird but it may be corrent, this is not my first language! ).
- Luis D'Artier's Story: "Jeremial Jones and I came here to investigate reports of artifacts here" Actually, let me suggest the clue to something like this:
[ QUOTE ]
"Jeremiah Jones and I came here to investigate reports on some artifacts, which mach one we have in the Midnight Club Vault. We were hoping to learn more about it, but got ambushed by the Tuatha de Dannon just as we found them. And then these Circle mystics showed up."
[/ QUOTE ]
- I'd replace "in hopes" for the Carved Obelisk clue with "hoping".
- Wow, all I did was nitpick at clues and text, which means the mission is perfectly fine. Pretty straightforward, obviously setting up the rest of the story. I'm interested now.
Mission 2:
- Typo: Polentes' Journal: "and pilfer it's artifacts", should be "its". Also, I think you need a comma somewhere, it's a big run-on sentence
- Good choice of Oranbega map: Small!
- Shouldn't the clues where the characters speak be in quotes? Polentes' and Jeremiah's were both missing them.
- Something doesn't add up (between the journal and Jeremiah's story *Eyeballs Idiot Ball worriedly*).
Mission 3:
- Okay, so I stopped the assault and... The CoT dialog didn't make much sense, or the Mindskewer one for the matter. What plan am I thinking of? So far all I know is that they got the info from Jeremiah and went to get the artifact at the Midnighter's.
- That Living armor was severe overkill Ah well, at least it's optional.
Mission 4:
- Thank you, I shall fight to free my mind. Not entirely unexpected, but it doesn't matter: fits the previously non-fitting clues, and you had the decency of not making an "idiot ball" plot twist - "Hahaha! You played into my hands hero, I, Jeremiah, now have the amulet!" I have to admit I was worried about it for a second or two. Also, the CoT mage from the previous mission now makes sense, but the Mindskewer one is still odd IMO.
- Good fights overall, had no trouble with them at difficulty 4. Lots of help too, should be more than enough for less twinked out characters (this DM/Inv scrapper is seriously packing).
So yes, 5 stars. Solid arc, good story, well presented. Maybe a bit light on contact-text for the first couple of missions (and a few oddities in the text I'm sure you'll change if you agree with me, I may be wrong about them!) but not sure if it really needs more. Maybe I'd suggest making it more clear that you're not going to make the lame plot twist I was dreading, but then again, it may be just me
Players' Choice Awards: Best Dual-Origin Level Range Arc!
It's a new era, the era of the Mission Architect. Can you save the Universe from...
The Invasion of the Bikini-clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space? - Arc ID 61013
[ QUOTE ]
What plan am I thinking of?
[/ QUOTE ]
Which attacks you plan to use next, it's obvious at this point that she can read minds. I guess I need to reword that as well. *Sigh*
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* Minor dialog changes and text reformatting.
* Slightly altered the appearance of the Pain Elementals to make them fit in more with the rest of the Void Demons. Updated descriptions to give a bit more info.
Changes made to "MacGuffin Delivery Service":
* Changed the Circle of Thorns map in mission 3. The new one is slightly bigger but it has no crystals. This is the best map I could find with no crystals, really tall rooms, behemoth portal rooms, prisons, or buggy portals.
Changes made to "The Portal Bandits":
* Minor text fixes in briefings and clues.
* Restored Anna's missing captors in mission 3.
Ok, so MacGuffin Delivery service:
tl;dr: 5 stars! I loved it, and it's basically because of one thing: Using the MA tools to create a good narrative. Unorthodox but effective use of the tools always gets a big plus with me, and this arc just worked.
(Sidenote: I got a "form no longer valid" when I tried to submit and lost the post I was typing as I played the arc >_< So it'll be a bit shorter as I won't remember all the details).
Mission 1:
So a non-standard heist to get started. Not much to add, it's a decent setup and a good way to get the ball rolling, you sneak in and when you thought you had everything solved, bam! Someone saw you. I almost waited at the end of the mission to see if I'd get a Family ambush - it almost sounded like I'd get one, but nope.
Mission 2:
Okay, this mission just made the arc for me (well, the first one too, but this one specially). It's a warehouse map, we all know warehouse maps. But the non-hostile NPCs plus the dialog? F-ing A, well done! It just creates the perfect atmosphere! It does feel like the hideout of a shady fencer.
I do have to agree that the ambushes/patrols feel a bit on the light side, but I understand your caution. Heck, I got a tell that the custom mobs on my Ed Wood arc were "way overpowered" when I've cleared that arc with a level 6 troller and a level 8 defender on separate occasions Carnie bosses are tough on their own, so you still have a decent fight ahead even if the patrols feel light.
One thing, the return text for this mission was in the present tense (I think it was on this mission's return text), it'd probably need to be changed to past for consistency.
Mission 3:
Okay, so with, again, good intro dialog from the "contact", I'm off to try and find a way to get rid of the MacGuffin (I think it still says MacGuffin in this text, but I'm not sure if it's intentional or not). Head to Orangebagel, beat up some mystics, get some answers, all in a day's job.
You do address one of my complaints with some canon (and non-canon MA) arcs: Why do I find exactly what I have to do in the next mission? In this case, I spent some time trying to get rid of that thing and didn't manage, and between missions 2 and 3 it's explained that some time passed with me investigating. Thumbs-up there (I played this absurdly in my Ed Wood arc ).
Mission 4:
Mayhem all around (I love battles, ever since the disappearance of the 5th column "event"). There was still one mob talking about the MacGuffin:
[NPC] Storm Strider: Red Viper may have failed, but I shall secure the MacGuffin for the Tsoo!
Easy enough to fix. I liked the setup, yes, the box I took the MacGuffin from was the kind of box I was looking for! I don't think it's an "idiot ball" moment, the immediate question would have been "well, how did the MacGuffin come to be on its own in the first mission then?" (that was the first thing I asked myself), but, dealing with the arcane, there are possible answers all around (the previous owner died and no one had claimed it yet, a special ritual - not a box - may be required to get rid of it, etc.), so I don't mind that my villain didn't immediately think about the box the MacGuffin was contained in in the first place.
So yes, that arc really set well with me, it's the kind of "different" stuff I like to see, with narrative covering the important points of the plot well, and some creative use of the mechanics to deliver that narrative. Good stuff 
Players' Choice Awards: Best Dual-Origin Level Range Arc!
It's a new era, the era of the Mission Architect. Can you save the Universe from...
The Invasion of the Bikini-clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space? - Arc ID 61013
The Portal Service. #3326 @Lazarus
I understand color titles is a style preference. Perhaps you could still make it scale 1.1 (not 1.2 which is huge) to separate it from your paragraphs?
Good SOLID introduction. I'm in. Not too much to think about. Bad guys, beat em up, additional help will come, yep, got it.
Typo in Nagan Brawler: enschews -> eschew (some...eschew)
Nagan Talon: weilds -> wields
Nice use of patrols, combat doesn't get dull. Enemy group were not particularly intriguing, but well balanced and described.
Portal Corp Scientist: ...I've been hostage... -> ...I've been held hostage...
Portal Schematics Clue: they were downloading (presumably cannot be done remotely? My entrance was by portal activated remotely)
Kaon tends to run in where I fear to tread. So far so good, while I wait for Mass Confuse to recharge, there's a steady stream of defeat messages.
Ooh! The big-bad has spawned in a cool place. Also allowed me to sneak up on her, ensuring Kaon got involved. Fairly long battle. The Die-alogs matched the situation well. Chasing her at the end was fun. Overalll, mish 1 was good classic fun.
Mish 2 intro: embarrasing -> embarrassing
Mish 2 popup: nice atmosphere in so few words!
Mish 2 Nav: Defeat Takala. Why? I don't think I know any Takala yet.
Missed most Crey-Custom battles, but saw one, so the injured baddies along the way made sense.
Takala's surprise was just that, fled, clawed way back. It had seemed a little too easy... Turned out to be a very well balanced battle for my Mind/FF controller.
Mish 2 success: a arms -> an arms ; a expert -> an expert
Mission 2 was fun too.
Good solid Mish 3 dialog, flow and purpose.
Mish 3 intro: smalltime -> small-time
Anna N.: millenia -> millennia
Anna speeds up my combats, keeps it from getting dull. But I expect I'm getting complacent. I dodge a few battles, and find Vikki. With unimagined cunning, I pull the EB while my ally takes on everything else instead... seems to work, and soon we're beating on Vikki. She's a runner too (so much more realistic!) but we catch up to her. Not sure where that hammer came fro- POW. I go down, at the same time as Vikki, and I sorta win!
Oh. Anna's Story - she's Vanguard? Perhaps put a wee little bit of Vanguard paraphernalia in her costume?
Mish 3 success: Anna gave me coordinates? I didn't notice that.
But no problems with mission 3.
Into mish 4, looks like more battles ahead.
I managed to save a bunch of Vanguard! But they won't follow me, pfft for that. I get them involved in a battle with a Nagan Engineer anyway, negating all my efforts to save them.
Nagan engineers make an appearance. After the battle at the end of Mish 3, they're just annoying. Perhaps use it as a boss, just once.
Found my ally. He likes to watch the battle for a while first, presumably some kind of Eastern meditation.
This map is HUGE. I have to rush ahead, which means my ally won't be there at the end. It's okay, he tends to just watch anyway.
Big bad has gotten bigger/badder since I last met her. Not sure why. I battle her for an hour, get her close to gone, using all my Accolades, but eventually run out of inspirations. In the time it takes to get all the way back thru the biggest map in the game, she's half-healed, and it starts all over again (without Accolades). Eventually I give up, take my 200K debt and leave. 1 hour for missions 1-3, and 1 hour for mission 4.
A very solid 4. There's really nothing wrong with it at all, if you're in a team, aside from that over-large map. But without some interesting characters, or other unusual elements, I don't think it's quite ready for a 5.
I know you've got what it takes to add sparkle, reading these other reviews, so I leave it to you!
//airhead
Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
Arc: Coming Soon: The Incarnate Shadow Shard of Fire and Ice Mender Rednem needs you!
Massively.com opinion poll: Please Help Save CoH!
Just finished Portal Bandits (3326)
I didn't see/notice the spelling/grammar errors others noted. As long as it isn't interrupting my 'experience' and I know what you meant, it isn't that big of a deal to me.
Was suprised at how tough the minions were. Playing a Grav/Emp troller I tend to hold and squeeze em til they give up. These guys kept me on my toes, every fight. Skipped the allies most of the time. They pulled too much aggro for my playstyle and I could solo the bosses decently.
It's a good mission arc. Decent story, not over powered or repetitive. Things to improve on? I can't think of any.
4 stars. I liked it better than any radio mish. There wasn't anything wrong with it at all. I'd recommend it to friends if they were looking for a good mission but I doubt I'd run it again just for fun.
I liked the Amulet of J'Gara well enough. The plot wasn't really my cup of tea, but I recognize that it was a good one. The final mission was very well-done, but I thought the allies were pretty overpowering, especially since they were required to win. They did most of the work of beating the final boss for me.
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.
[ QUOTE ]
I understand color titles is a style preference. Perhaps you could still make it scale 1.1 (not 1.2 which is huge) to separate it from your paragraphs?
[/ QUOTE ]
Any kind of text formatting eats file space, especially size and color changes. When you're sitting at 99.91% you have to decide that is more important.
[ QUOTE ]
Portal Schematics Clue: they were downloading (presumably cannot be done remotely? My entrance was by portal activated remotely)
[/ QUOTE ]
Just because it's a computer doesn't mean it's online. A lot of sensitive systems are not connected to the Internet at all. Think of it like that mainframe scene from Mission Impossible.
[ QUOTE ]
Kaon tends to run in where I fear to tread. So far so good, while I wait for Mass Confuse to recharge, there's a steady stream of defeat messages.
Ooh! The big-bad has spawned in a cool place. Also allowed me to sneak up on her, ensuring Kaon got involved. Fairly long battle. The Die-alogs matched the situation well. Chasing her at the end was fun. Overalll, mish 1 was good classic fun.
[/ QUOTE ]
Kaon would be even worse on Aggressive (she's set to Defensive yet snipes people). She used to be worse before I downgraded her to Hard/Hard.
[ QUOTE ]
Mish 2 Nav: Defeat Takala. Why? I don't think I know any Takala yet.
[/ QUOTE ]
Would you have preferred her being called "Raid Leader"? We often get objectives containing the names of bosses we never met in the regular game, so this doesn't seem like an issue to me.
[ QUOTE ]
Missed most Crey-Custom battles, but saw one, so the injured baddies along the way made sense.
[/ QUOTE ]
When you're solo the Crey seem to win half the time. As the team size grows even the Paragon Protectors cannot save them from the Nagan LTs and Bosses. Hence why the contact mentions in the debriefing how Crey got their rear kicked hard.
[ QUOTE ]
Takala's surprise was just that, fled, clawed way back. It had seemed a little too easy... Turned out to be a very well balanced battle for my Mind/FF controller.
[/ QUOTE ]
The ambush was added due to complaints that Takala was too easy. I considered making the purpose of the mission more of a diversion set up by Naga while she hits someplace else. Maybe that would make more sense. Hmm...
[ QUOTE ]
Anna speeds up my combats, keeps it from getting dull. But I expect I'm getting complacent. I dodge a few battles, and find Vikki. With unimagined cunning, I pull the EB while my ally takes on everything else instead... seems to work, and soon we're beating on Vikki. She's a runner too (so much more realistic!) but we catch up to her. Not sure where that hammer came fro- POW. I go down, at the same time as Vikki, and I sorta win!
[/ QUOTE ]
Those two are hard to balance. However it pretty much makes it guaranteed that you will be able to finish mission 3 and not get stuck.
[ QUOTE ]
Oh. Anna's Story - she's Vanguard? Perhaps put a wee little bit of Vanguard paraphernalia in her costume?
[/ QUOTE ]
It's hard to fit all the clues in, since the test-to-live arc bloating bug required removing some stuff to republish the arc, but Naga and Anna are confirmed have Vanguard membership. It got cut out that Cobalt and Vikki are also members, and that Anna is angry because this may all come back to her by association.
Regardless, no vanguard costumes. My villains hate uniforms.
[ QUOTE ]
Mish 3 success: Anna gave me coordinates? I didn't notice that.
But no problems with mission 3.
[/ QUOTE ]
I'll check but those coordinate should have come from Vikki.
[ QUOTE ]
I managed to save a bunch of Vanguard! But they won't follow me, pfft for that. I get them involved in a battle with a Nagan Engineer anyway, negating all my efforts to save them.
[/ QUOTE ]
You can't make friendlies from battles follow the player.
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Nagan engineers make an appearance. After the battle at the end of Mish 3, they're just annoying. Perhaps use it as a boss, just once.
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I needed a way to have groups of Nagans mixed in with the Rikti. Once again details had to be cut thanks to the damn bloating bug. I could replace them with LT spawns if they're really such an issue.
[ QUOTE ]
Found my ally. He likes to watch the battle for a while first, presumably some kind of Eastern meditation.
[/ QUOTE ]
Complain to the Devs and maybe they'll finally patch the damn melee AI bugs. He goes from periods of doing nothing to suddenly soloing entire rooms on his own. It's such a common bug that I didn't mention it's occurrences in my review of "The Descenders when I'd have three melee allies but only 1 or 2 would fight at a time.
[ QUOTE ]
This map is HUGE. I have to rush ahead, which means my ally won't be there at the end. It's okay, he tends to just watch anyway.
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Unfortunately there is no smaller versions of these special Rikti maps.
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Big bad has gotten bigger/badder since I last met her. Not sure why.
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Because you don't have a pet Dark/Rad Defender with you this time.
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I battle her for an hour, get her close to gone, using all my Accolades, but eventually run out of inspirations. In the time it takes to get all the way back thru the biggest map in the game, she's half-healed, and it starts all over again (without Accolades). Eventually I give up, take my 200K debt and leave. 1 hour for missions 1-3, and 1 hour for mission 4.
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I'm sorry she was so tough for you. I honestly have to say it's your build most likely (Mind/FF Controller), especially if you left the ally behind. Several other Controllers have reported soloing this mission fine but they were much more offensively built.
[ QUOTE ]
A very solid 4. There's really nothing wrong with it at all, if you're in a team, aside from that over-large map.
[/ QUOTE ]
It is a more team-oriented arc. The allies are just so soloers won't feel left out entirely.
[ QUOTE ]
But without some interesting characters,
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I don't know what would make them "interesting" to you so nothing I can do about that.
[ QUOTE ]
I liked the Amulet of J'Gara well enough. The plot wasn't really my cup of tea, but I recognize that it was a good one. The final mission was very well-done, but I thought the allies were pretty overpowering, especially since they were required to win. They did most of the work of beating the final boss for me.
[/ QUOTE ]
They're required to be freed as they're aspects of your mind, but you could very well have skipped them all, run right to the AV, and then come back for them later if you wished. I don't know how to make it much clearer without sounding like I'm treating the player like a moron.
Changes made to "The Amulet of J'gara":
* Each Avatar has a clue attached explaining their purpose and significance.
* Mission 4 has a completion clue now.
Sorry, I was aiming for a genius bonus in mission 4 and seemed to have overshot it.
Well I don't know what those clues say, but it seems to me that if you were strong enough to just go straight to Mindskewer and defeat her yourself, the other aspects of your mind would restore themselves automatically. I would've just put in text to the effect of "if you can't stop Mindskewer in your state, you might have to spend some time focusing your mind to regain balance, strength, and initiative."
Issue 16 made me feel like this.
Warning: This poster likes to play Devil's Advocate.
[ QUOTE ]
So a non-standard heist to get started. Not much to add, it's a decent setup and a good way to get the ball rolling, you sneak in and when you thought you had everything solved, bam! Someone saw you. I almost waited at the end of the mission to see if I'd get a Family ambush - it almost sounded like I'd get one, but nope.
[/ QUOTE ]
Right now boss text is still buggy. There is family in the back but they are not saying their idle dialog that would alert you to their arrival. I had to use a boss instead of a patrol otherwise the mission would not have same level range as the rest of the arc. (Yes, I am very adamant about my arcs having consistent level ranges across all missions).
[ QUOTE ]
I do have to agree that the ambushes/patrols feel a bit on the light side, but I understand your caution.
[/ QUOTE ]
I've decided to up them to Medium. Really their purpose as the Ring Mistress up front mentions is to flush you towards the front where she is waiting.
[ QUOTE ]
One thing, the return text for this mission was in the present tense (I think it was on this mission's return text), it'd probably need to be changed to past for consistency.
[/ QUOTE ]
Fixed.
[ QUOTE ]
[NPC] Storm Strider: Red Viper may have failed, but I shall secure the MacGuffin for the Tsoo!
[/ QUOTE ]
Fixed.
[ QUOTE ]
I liked the setup, yes, the box I took the MacGuffin from was the kind of box I was looking for! I don't think it's an "idiot ball" moment, the immediate question would have been "well, how did the MacGuffin come to be on its own in the first mission then?" (that was the first thing I asked myself), but, dealing with the arcane, there are possible answers all around (the previous owner died and no one had claimed it yet, a special ritual - not a box - may be required to get rid of it, etc.), so I don't mind that my villain didn't immediately think about the box the MacGuffin was contained in in the first place.
[/ QUOTE ]
I never intended to answer all of the questions, if I did then it wouldn't be a MacGuffin story anymore. The statue coming back at the end and being the souvenir was played purely for laughs.
Rather than making multiple threads I'm going to use a single one for feedback on all of my arcs. Here they are (all on Live).
Active Arcs
Arc Title: The Curse of the Emerald Parakeet
Arc ID: 1567
Factions: Family, Tsoo, Circle of Thorns, Carnies, Freakshow, Council, Paragon Police
Morality: Rogue
Length: 4 Missions
Level Range: 35-40
Synopsis: A routine late-night pawn shop robbery turns into a major ordeal when you pick up a mysterious little statue that everyone seems to want for themselves. You don't know what it does, why it's so important, or why you can't seem to just get rid of it. Formerly Titled: MacGuffin Delivery Service
Arc Title: The Amulet of J'gara
Arc ID: 1709
Factions: Tuatha de Dannon, Circle of Thorns, Void Demons
Morality: Heroic
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 25-33
Synopsis: A pair of Midnighters have disappeared while on a mission to Croatoa. What begins as a rescue leads to an assault on the Midnight Club itself and a battle for your own mind and soul. (AV present, Allies are provided.)
Arc Title: The Portal Bandits
Arc ID: 3326
Factions: Crey, Rikti, Nagans
Morality: Heroic
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 40-54
Synopsis: A mysterious group has invaded a Portal Corp lab and sealed themselves within. The PPD has been unable to get inside and a hero is needed to enter the lab, defeat the invaders, and discover their intentions. (AV present, Allies are provided. May be challenging.)
Arc ID: 254599
Arc Title: Of Futures Past
Factions: Arachnos, Rikti, Circle of Thorns, Devouring Earth, The Agency
Morality: Rogue
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 40 to 54
Description: Wanted: an enterprising and reliable villain for a series of well paid jobs. Meet otherwordly people, travel through time and the multiverse, and discover some interesting things about your employer. Apply within today! (1 EB present, Allies given)
Arc Title: All Consuming
Arc ID: 261148
Factions: Shivans, Warriors, Banished Pantheon
Morality: Heroic
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 20-25
Description: It began when a derelict ship was detected heading for Paragon City. Who would want to bring the Shivan here and for what purpose?
Arc ID: 347029
Arc Title: Breaking The Barrier (And Putting It Back Together)
Factions:Soldiers of Rularuu, Arachnos, Nagans
Morality: Heroic
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 40-54
Description: A group of aliens may have bit off more than they can chew when an experiment with stolen portal technology threatens the stability of the Universe itself, allowing the soldiers of Rularuu free access to our dimension. (Follows arc #3326, "The Portal Bandits")
Arc ID: 440157
Arc Title: A Fistful of Suziku
Factions:Nemesis, Freakshow, Arachnos, Nagans
Morality: Heroic
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 40-54
Description: While investigating a Nemesis plot to create new automatons leads to you ending up with a mad duplicate of yourself running wild. Things get even worse when your contact ends up being run through the copier herself, and discovers a nasty side-effect of the process. (Follows arc #347029, "Breaking The Barrier (And Putting It Back Together)")
Arc ID: 373846
Arc Title: Unfair Trade
Factions: Paragon Heroes, Paragon Police, Security Guards, Longbow, Strange Officeworkers
Morality: Villainous
Length: 4 Missions
Level Range: 5-10
Description: A friend of yours from the Zig calls in a favor that leads to a quest to pay back some heroes for the powers that he has lost. (Made for Dr. Aeon's 2nd Architect Challenge.)
Inactive Arcs
Arc ID: 296884
Arc Title: The St. Martial Shuffle
Factions: Freakshow, Council, Devouring Earth, Nagans
Morality: Rogue
Length: 4 Missions
Level Range: 40-54
Description: Things go topsy turvy when just a couple of hours before the sale somebody robs your fence. Get the item back in time and teach the thieves a lesson about stealing from the likes of you. (Ambush-heavy, teams or strong soloers recommended. Formerly titled: A Show of Hands.)