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Well, here's an interesting moment. My arc was mentioned as an example when discussing issues of plot and theme.
In this post, KeepDistance wonders why "Escalation" doesn't qualify as JABOSTH (Just A Bunch of Stuff Then Happens). Which is a fair question, if you look at "Esclation" as just a series of fights against a villainess.
KeepDistance asks a question about "Escalation"
And in this post, Venture answers:
Venture discusses the Themes of "Escalation"
Best thing about this for me, is I definitely know for sure that I expressed the theme I intended in my story. At the very least, Venture nailed it. Exactly what I was going for.
Interersting to have my mission arc used in an example in what is arguably an academic discussion about the emerging artform of Mission Architecting. 
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
I'll have to try this arc out when I get home today. I'll give a thorough review as well :-)
@Mojo-
Proud Member of Fusion Force.
[ QUOTE ]
I'll have to try this arc out when I get home today. I'll give a thorough review as well :-)
[/ QUOTE ]
Hope you like it!
And make sure you have your A-game ready for that last mission, it's a toughie! (you have been warned. bring a team or lots of inspiriations or temp powers)
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
changes made 6/8/09
-apparently, a typo edit during the weekend had caused a change in the faction file. The "Escalation" faction had lost it's robots again!
apologies to anyone who played the arc over the weekend, and ran into crazy amounts of clones in Mission 4, instead of the clone / robot mix I intended.
fixed now!
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
Recent Changes in "Escalation"
6/8/09
*Changed map used in Mission 4 to a different "tech lab"
This will both spread out the optional collection goals a bit more, and also eliminate a rare thing where final boss spawned too close to an optional boss, causing possibly tougher fight than intended.
6/9/09
*Added navigation text for optional goals in mission four. With more spread out objects to click, a list to let player know they were out there seemed fair
*color coded missions goals in Mission One. should make it visually clearer when the goal changes due to chained goals.
6/10/09
*added a new type of robot in Mission Four. This will help dilute the number of web-gernade using clones in general spawns on that map.
*removed captive rescue optional goal from mission 4, to make enough memory room for additional custom critter.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
@GlaziusF
Running this on a high-30s ice/axe tank, on diff 2 so bosses is bosses. I really wish Mission Engineer was global.
---
Hmm. I guess she sticks a cyanide capsule in the mouth or something so she doesn't get juked into a caged body with no way out.
There's a nice amount of incidental detail on this map (the destructible especially) but eventually I tire of punching robots and start jumping around in search of the boss.
And again...
And again...
And again...
There really is a lot of ground to cover in this map.
...you know, I have to wonder what feeling the pain of death but not dying does to somebody.
I also wonder how the doc knew she had this power. It's not the sort of thing that you try out, you know?
Hmm. It's not that the robots aren't interesting to fight, but you might want to make them a little more battle drone-y. Huge model, tiny stature, just so the walk matches?
---
Wow, yeah. She'd make a great suicide bomber. Except for the part where she'd feel a bomb go off strapped to her ribcage, anyway.
Seems like she's something of a household word for underperformance, even the bank staff are ribbing her.
Size isn't exactly an obstacle to using technology, but then again you can only miniatiurize so far down.
---
Ooh, yeah, that's something else she can do. Destroy a body with performance-enhancing drugs.
...of course she fails to take into account that the Family also lose to heroes all the dang time.
And I thought she was running low on cash after the first excursion. Where's the money coming from?
---
Well, it certainly was an interesting way to introduce a new enemy group.
...wow. Psychic fragmentation?
Hmm. "It isn't even top of the line" (from the talking mark 3) doesn't make much sense. "Top of the line" is the best you can get.
...I'm drawing conclusions from a serial number? Maybe a faceplate with the designate "tube 00105" or something but serial numbers are just facerolls on keypads for all they mean about how many things there are.
Oh, so she actually does have an income stream now. Okay, makes sense.
Awful lot of things to click in one tiny, tiny boss room. Probably a random lab map, I imagine in a proper room they'd be all spread out.
They do a good job of showing just how far she's going with this whole thing, and a gradual descent into self-obsession.
---
Man, with all the stuff I grabbed from the last lab, wouldn't DATA or SERAPH have something to work on already?
Ah well.
Man, the cop is the only one worried about the threat level. Everybody else is all "where does she work out"? If she's mishmashing a crapton of different technologies together to create awesome, shouldn't she be getting more and more monstrous?
Final boss succumbs to the old tricks. Trigger rage, run and wait, trigger unstoppable, trigger rage, run and wait, and then it's over, with a little assist from my squishy pal who's rad to be with.
---
Storyline - ****. Needs a little, at least, speculation early on about how the villain who's scraping up pennies in the first mission gets the funding to embark on a massive program of self improvement. As it was that was nagging at me until after I beat the boss of mission 4. Also the ending's a little unsatisfying. It makes it seem like I dodged a bullet, that it just so happened she wasn't able to bail. (If nothing else you'd think she'd get rather uncomfortable in the Zig and eventually jump ship.) I can see two opposite ways for it to go:
- Dr. Lashion's psychojump power is fueled in part by her revulsion at her current body and its current predicament. The final showdown is the fight, and the body, she's always wanted to have, or at least near enough as makes no nevermind. So she can't leave, but on some level she doesn't really want to. While she's writing you hate letters from the Zig, most of the rancor is gone. Like most people in what the cops are calling "the $name wing", she hates you because you kicked her [censored] in her moment of triumph, not because you represent everything the world has ever dumped on her.
- Dr. Lashion's new bodies are less and less psychically capable. She realizes this is a design flaw but goes into the final form knowing it's almost certainly going to be a one-way trip, because it's her best work and surely it can take you down. But her best just isn't good enough. The hate letters are increasingly irrational and paranoid.
Design - *****. The customs are nice visuals, one and all, and the last map is a pretty nice restatement of the first.
Gameplay - ****. Mostly for having to boing back and forth across the first map so many dang times trying to figure out where she'd gotten off to this time.
Detail - *****. Despite the little quibbles I had above the detail is fairly solid and does a nice job of fleshing out the central story.
Overall - ****. The ending strikes a bit of a sour note, and while the boss for Mission 4 was a pretty good fight, the end boss was basically that same fight with two intervals where I jumped away and stared at a wall for a few minutes. It needs a little more of a wrinkle than that.
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)
Here's some selected feedback recieved on Escalation
please note, some changes to the arc since the earlier feedback.
[Tell] 2009-05-02 13: 33:35 Message From @Logrus : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: I couldn't finish it (since it's challenging to get a team to take down an AV for the last mission). I like the story, but perhaps put in a useful ally (e.g., something to slow regeneration rate a la /Rad defender) to help out. I did like how she got bigger. I wonder if you could change her outfit slightly as well, perhaps to more ominous colors etc. Good work though.
[Tell] 2009-05-03 15: 14:08 Message From @Daz'Ender : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Nice, i love this arc that the story is well worth finishing to the end. Kinda wish i could have taken the final by myself but i got my lit bro and after dieing almost ten times we killed (captured) her good. gotta say nice power picks on the minions, i attacked my fisrt grp and they kicked my [censored], had to start pulling after that. you most diffenently get a thumbs up from me.
[Tell] 2009-05-03 19: 43:54 Message From @Canuck : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Run and balaned, exactly as described. I really liked it.
[Tell] 2009-05-18 21: 25:57 Message From @Paula : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Yikes, I'm glad I brought my Mastermind! Thanks for the warning, it was exactly as advertised! 5 stars. Anyway, thanks again for playing the Tutorial arc. I've got two others you actually might enjoy - 1481 for shorter and silly, 3586 for more serious. Have fun!
[Tell] 2009-05-18 13: 01:28 Message From @Beanstalk1 : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Exellent story, nicely told, the text from the doc during the mishes was great, made me smile no end. The power progression was nice, good difficulty throughout, thought she was gonna have me in the final mish, despite being a wp scrapper with qr and stam, almost ran out of end against her. Good fun if ya get a chacne please try arc 91644
[Tell] 2009-05-19 17: 30:14 Message From @Mountie : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Fun arc. I enjoyed how it felt like the villain had an arc that was counter to the player's. Wouldn't mind seeing Escalation reappear in another arc sometime.
[Tell] 2009-05-20 17: 13:02 Message From @Mr Squid : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: A fun arc with a nice gimmick that doesent overplay itself. Honestly though, I can find hardly anything wrong with it. Every time I began to wonder about something it would be answered, every time I began to get bored, the mission ended. Its pretty much airtight all around. Five Stars.
[Tell] 2009-05-22 01: 45:39 Message From @Night-Girl : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Great story and concept
[Tell] 2009-05-22 20: 24:55 Message From @Sister Jeanne : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Just ran this, Very VERY well done. Well plotted, great clues. 5/5 stars.
[Tell] 2009-05-22 11: 38:59 Message From @Modern Myth : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Just finished 'Escalation'. Excellent arc, very nicely done. 5 stars.
[Tell] 2009-05-23 13: 12:58 Message From @PW : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Dragged a 4 player team through love the improvements. Thanks and good luck!
[Tell] 2009-05-23 14: 36:16 Message From @Zubenelgenubi : it's been clear from the start where this was going to go, but it's been well-executed. Writing is clear, tight, and free of typos.
[Tell] 2009-05-23 15: 20:10 Message From @Zubenelgenubi : VERY nice arc. long, but that's necessary for the story. EB at end required 2 trys with a full-on compliment of tier III insps and presents, but my blaster soloed her. very nice job. 5 stars for joo!
[Tell] 2009-05-23 15: 42:28 Message From @Dark Ignis : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Well done. I like the concept and you did a good job escalating.
[Tell] 2009-05-25 15: 13:34 Message From @ICSpark : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Thank you for the story arc. I enjoyed watching the Dr. slowly lose it. Your warning about the last version is very fair. She is tough! One note, I thought that the first mission would be better with 3 defeats (doing something 3 times is funnier than 4). I look forward to your next arc. Good hunting!
[Tell] @Zereck Goldmoon: Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: A thoroughly enjoyable arc. Very minor nits concerning punctuation (2 spaces after periods in NPC chatter even though contact has 1) and a small mispell in the /info for the Wounded Strike Force Member ("safelty"), but those nits aside, this was a quality arc. I guess I can buy she became too attached to the new body because she's gotten so crazy and powerful. 5 stars.
[Tell] 2009-06-06 08: 19:51 Message From @BOLT 3 : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Nice story. I liked the dialog particularly, the fight
at the end was just right (solo'd with an inv/em tanker on level 2, lots of defense IO sets). The warning is appropriate though! Good job.
[Tell] 2009-06-06 11: 35:39 Message From @ShadowTarget : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Great, great job! I hope the developers notice this one because it is very well written, original and fun to play!
[Tell] 2009-06-08 17: 03:43 Message From @Most Definitely Skary : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Mmm. Love it. Have some tickets and a spot on my SG's reccomendation list. Ice/SS vs Inv/SS = much fun. And running away from Rage.
[Tell] 2009-06-09 02: 18:51 Message From @Crasical : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Good arc! Enjoyed playing through it, although the EB pounded my poor Archery blaster into mush until I deployed a Shivan.
[Tell] 2009-06-11 00: 55:32 Message From @Lock0n : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: This arc was tons of fun. Great work, and terrific boss fight at the finale! Top notch all the way around. Thanks for the great writing.
[Tell] 2009-06-12 17: 03:18 Message From @Nebs : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: LOVED it. Personal fan of self-improvement villain characters, loved the transition from silly to serious. Thumbs up!
[Tell] 2009-06-14 01: 23:08 Message From @Tahlana : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: That was fun, really like the way the fights scaled up, really good design!
[Tell] 2009-06-14 01: 23:50 Message From @Lazorman : Feedback on Architect Mission Escalation: Fun mission! My wife and I had really enjoyed your Amazon story, so we were looking forward to playing this one. I really enjoyed the building rivalry and growing obsession of Dr. Lashion... it unfolded very nicely. The missions were all fast-paced, the enemies well balanced, and the arc never dragged. Very enjoyable. 5 stars!
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
Changes made to Escalation today 6/29
starting to take advantage of the Issue 15 new functions
- slight modifications to final boss fight, tweaking powers using the new Custom option. Careful! She's still nasty!
-added emotes to various bosses in all missions now that emotes actually work on bosses
More changes to come as I fiddle with Issue 15
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
new Issue 15 things added on 6/29/09:
chosen Keywords: Challenging, Custom Characters, Canon Related
Changed status from "Work in Progress" to "Looking for Feedback"
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
Changes made 6/30/09
The post-Issue-15 tweaking continues!
-tweaked the Sounvenir clue, including multiple reasons WHY the last fight ended the way it did, based on Dr. Lashion's actions and motivations.
-tweaked mission 2 briefing, clarifying that Dr. Lashion had already gotten some cash out of the bank, which helps fund her activities in future missions
-changed the "serial number" on cloning tube clue to a number on the side of the tube, showing it to be part of a larger production lot. better terminology use, basically.
-changed level range of all the missions to Start at level 20. The maps are all custom mobs, and technically, any level could run it, but there are both story and game mechanic concerns. Story wise: Detective Becktrees is supposed to be asking the help of a fairly experienced hero to deal with what appears to be an easy problem... at first. Game Mechanics: I can't see very many pre-SO characters taking on the later missions, so I might need to "warn away" lower level characters.
-added contact description for Detective Becktrees.
-added URL in the sounvenir, linking to the promo poster for this arc.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
changes made 7/7/09
-removed "Challenging" from keywords. Since this isn't specificially made to be a challenge arc, I'd prefer the text warnings in the Description.
-modified arc Description, including adding a URL to the promotional poster
-slight change to send-off briefing of Mission One. Dectective Becktrees gives a hint on how to find Dr. Lashion faster.
-added a new captive to rescue in Mission Five. This one reacts less calmly, and explains the calmness of the other hostages a bit in his dialogue.
-Major modifications to the spawns in Mission One.
Should be much easier to track down Dr. Lashion now, as the map's default group is now "Empty", and all spawns aside from Dr. Lashion are scripted optional objectives.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
"Escalation" got mentioned on the Arc Reccomendation.
Thanks to EvaDestruction for listing my arc among a list of very good arcs.
EvaDestruction reccomends "Escalation" in MA thread
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
GlaziusF, thanks for a very detailed review.
I've made several changes based on your feedback, so I appreciate your helping to make my arc better.
To avoid a huge wall of text response, I'll focus mostly on your summary at the end.
[ QUOTE ]
Man, the cop is the only one worried about the threat level. Everybody else is all "where does she work out"?
[/ QUOTE ]
This gave me the idea for another hostage in the final map. This guy notes that everyone else is calm because they assume the heroes will handle, like always. He's the one who got a good look at Escalation's eyes, and knows how serious she is, and he's scared.
I was shooting for a contrast between the urgency of the situation, and the blase' assumption of some typical Atlas Park citizens that the heroes will fix everything.
[ QUOTE ]
Storyline - ****. Needs a little, at least, speculation early on about how the villain who's scraping up pennies in the first mission gets the funding to embark on a massive program of self improvement. As it was that was nagging at me until after I beat the boss of mission 4.
[/ QUOTE ]
Mission 2 briefing now explains that she got a bunch of cash out of the bank before the confrontation. Gives her plenty of seed capital to make it to Mission 4.
[ QUOTE ]
Also the ending's a little unsatisfying. It makes it seem like I dodged a bullet, that it just so happened she wasn't able to bail. (If nothing else you'd think she'd get rather uncomfortable in the Zig and eventually jump ship.)
[/ QUOTE ]
The clue now has more text on why she can't jump out of the end body. Allows for a mix of factors: her pride in the final clone, the psychic strain of animating so many clones in Mission 4, and the extreme modifications to the final body.
[ QUOTE ]
Design - *****. The customs are nice visuals, one and all, and the last map is a pretty nice restatement of the first.
Gameplay - ****. Mostly for having to boing back and forth across the first map so many dang times trying to figure out where she'd gotten off to this time.
[/ QUOTE ]
First map is now somewhat improved, I think. I set the main group to "Empty" and now all the spawns are scripted optional objectives, with the various types of robots, all executing crimes in support of Dr. Lashion's overall scheme. With the less dense spawning pattern, should let players find Dr. Lashion much faster.
Also, added a part to the briefing for Mission 1, pointing out that the robots by Dr. Lashion will have a red glow (story reason: Dr. Lashion is using the nearby robots as message and command relays).
My goal was to make hunting down Dr. Lashion *slightly* annoying, but not frustrating, to establish the "annoyance factor" of her "escape power". And it's important to the rest of the story to hammer in that she always seems to have a backup clone.
[ QUOTE ]
Detail - *****. Despite the little quibbles I had above the detail is fairly solid and does a nice job of fleshing out the central story.
Overall - ****. The ending strikes a bit of a sour note, and while the boss for Mission 4 was a pretty good fight, the end boss was basically that same fight with two intervals where I jumped away and stared at a wall for a few minutes. It needs a little more of a wrinkle than that.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hopefully, the improvements in Mission One spawning setup, and the plotline text additions have at least a chance to up your ratings in the Storyline and Gameplay categories.
As to the final fight, any suggestions to "add a wrinkle"? I'm not eager to add ambushes, given how tough Escalation Extreme is for most players. And I don't neccesarily want to add allies, since the plot and theme is supposed to make it more "hero vs. villain grudge match".
I suppose I could add a post-defeat ambush of robots trying to retrieve Escalation's unconscious form. Could even follow that with a Crey extraction team shouting "the Countess wants that woman analyzed!". Or Arachnos troops saying that the mad scientists want to see the results of the supplies they sent.
Thing is, that could end up being anti-climactic, after the big fight...
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
[ QUOTE ]
As to the final fight, any suggestions to "add a wrinkle"? I'm not eager to add ambushes, given how tough Escalation Extreme is for most players. And I don't neccesarily want to add allies, since the plot and theme is supposed to make it more "hero vs. villain grudge match".
I suppose I could add a post-defeat ambush of robots trying to retrieve Escalation's unconscious form. Could even follow that with a Crey extraction team shouting "the Countess wants that woman analyzed!". Or Arachnos troops saying that the mad scientists want to see the results of the supplies they sent.
Thing is, that could end up being anti-climactic, after the big fight...
[/ QUOTE ]
Why after? An ordinary small ambush of Rogue-aligned whatever researchers won't exactly make much of a dent in the player and Extreme E is just going to mulch them like so many dandelions. She's a big enough player that other people want a piece of her action, so to speak.
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 ]
[ QUOTE ]
As to the final fight, any suggestions to "add a wrinkle"? I'm not eager to add ambushes, given how tough Escalation Extreme is for most players. And I don't neccesarily want to add allies, since the plot and theme is supposed to make it more "hero vs. villain grudge match".
I suppose I could add a post-defeat ambush of robots trying to retrieve Escalation's unconscious form. Could even follow that with a Crey extraction team shouting "the Countess wants that woman analyzed!". Or Arachnos troops saying that the mad scientists want to see the results of the supplies they sent.
Thing is, that could end up being anti-climactic, after the big fight...
[/ QUOTE ]
Why after? An ordinary small ambush of Rogue-aligned whatever researchers won't exactly make much of a dent in the player and Extreme E is just going to mulch them like so many dandelions. She's a big enough player that other people want a piece of her action, so to speak.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hm. Good point. Some mobs during the fight that go after both Escalation and the hero could be fun. And doesn't really increase the difficulty because the player can just back off and let her do all the work if wanted....
thanks!
em: goes off to ponder and plan.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
[ QUOTE ]
Hm. Good point. Some mobs during the fight that go after both Escalation and the hero could be fun. And doesn't really increase the difficulty because the player can just back off and let her do all the work if wanted....
thanks!
em: goes off to ponder and plan.
[/ QUOTE ]
Be careful with this option. I'm pretty sure even an ambush set to "rogue" will target the player by default. And getting ganked by a surprise ambush while already engaged in a pretty tough fight could lead players to ragequitting before they realize that the ambush is attacking Escalation as well.
On the other hand, if the ambush was set to ally ... hmm ... okay, here's an idea.
One criticism I have of this arc is that the player's role is highly reactive. Escalation shows up wreaking havoc, you kick her [censored], but you never actually do anything proactive to stop her spree. I thought the story started moving in this direction when you raided her lab, but no such luck. In the end, she defeated herself. A classic villain downfall, but one that can still leave the player feeling powerless.
Another thing I was wondering about were the clones. They were full-bodied human beings, right? Complete with their own nervous systems? But wouldn't they have their own consciousnesses, when Escalation isn't occupying them? How would the clones feel about getting used this way by their big sister?
Here's a plot line you might develop: Maybe the clones resent being used like disposable flesh suits, and your intrusion into Escalation's lab involves a couple of "free captive" objectives that provide you with an opportunity to liberate the clones.
Studying the clones allows you to develop a way to shield or "inoculate" them from having their minds overridden by Escalation. Then, in the final battle, when Escalation tries to flee her body, she discovers that the other clones are resisting her attempts to take them over. For the grand finale, an ambush of ally-aligned clones rushes to your side and helps you take their former master down for good.
Just one possibility. Do with it what you will.
Ally ambushes don't currently work, FWIW. Only one critter will leave the ambush spawn point; everything else stays put.
And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
[ QUOTE ]
Ally ambushes don't currently work, FWIW. Only one critter will leave the ambush spawn point; everything else stays put.
[/ QUOTE ]
Nuts.
Honestly, Shagster, I think you should put the "Final" stamp on this one and ship it. It doesn't need changes.
The final fight works because it plays into the secondary theme. Escalation Extreme's defeat doesn't need to be foreshadowed any more than it already is. It doesn't really matter that it's pretty much a deus ex machina because it wouldn't play into the theme if it didn't.
Some players are going to balk at stories in which events are out of their hands, but that's a perfectly valid type of story and a theme in itself. I have the same issue with "Two Households Alike": if you consider the primary problem of the story to be the fate of Nicia and Darren, then the player is marginalized because the arc actually lampshades the fact that there's nothing you can do about that. But that was part of the point of the arc: sometimes solutions come from unlikely places. Stories like this will work for some people and not others, and all you can do is hope you get more of the former than the latter.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Well I would definitely NOT add any further complications to what is already a tough end fight. Also from a story perspective, the story does set up a rivalry that could become personal for some characters. Adding "help" or "oh, we're after her too" would make the final showdown kinda cheap.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
I fiddled with some Rogue / Ally ambushes in the final fight, just to see how it felt.
Spent a while making it work on my test version of the arc, throwing in Crey and Arachnos ambushes coming to collect their "return on investment" from Escalation. Had dialogue from the ambushes making it clear they'd attack Escalation if the hero got out of the way.
In the end, I decided it took away from the "it's personal" feel of Escalation versus the hero or heroes. Plus, it seemed to easy for the Rogue ambushes to end up making the fight tougher by hitting the hero. So, changes dropped.
(I'm reminded of that anecdote about the author who was asked what he did for work in the morning. "I put in a comma." Shocked friend: "That's all? What about the afternoon?" Author: "I took it back out.")
GlaziusF and Found Boy, thanks for the suggestions, I did playtest out the idea of spicing up the last fight with ambushes, but it didn't work for me.
EvaDestruction, thanks for speaking up. I agree with you. It needs to be personal in the last fight. Bringing in third parties weakens the plot and character development of the "big grudge".
In the end, I think I should take Venture's advice. Mark this arc as Final, and move on. About time I stopped obsessing over my two curent arcs so far and starting writing more. I've only written two arcs so far, I've got 6 more slots to fill!
Thanks to GlaziusF and Found Boy for their thought-provoking feedback. And thanks to EvaDestruction and Venture for the encouragement in favor of the current version of the arc. Was good to hear both sides, and I appreciate the time spent by all of you.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
Changes made on 7/15/09
-fixed invalid arc due to patch. Destructible objects in missions one and four needed to be re-selected
-name change of hostage in mission five
-slight change to debrief text in mission five. Becktrees says a bit more spectulation on Escalation's problems in final mission.
-added a couple more scripted minion spawns in mission one. my playtesting showed it was a little sparse on such a big map
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
With luck, Escalation is in it's final mode, and I won't have to edit anymore unless a patch breaks it.
One more edit I *will* make sometime is to add an extra URL ot the souvenir clue. Remember when you would beat those old-school video games and you'd get a special end-screen graphic?
Well, I've commissioned Rob Banbury, the artist who did the promo poster to Escalation, to draw another art piece or two. Links to the new art will be in the Souvenir, so as to be a "reward" for completing the arc.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)
considering tweaking the power level of final character in arc. However, will probably wait until Issue 15, and custom power choices hopefully will give more flexibility.
changes made 6/3/09
-fixed the "Escalation" faction. All the robots had disappeared from the faction in a previous edit! This caused problems with spawning patterns in mission 4. Fixed now.
-changed emote used by some robots in Mission one, to make searching for objective spawns easier.
I'm a published amateur comic book author: www.ericjohnsoncomics.com
******MA Arcs****
Arc 5909: "Amazon-Avatars"
Arc 6143: "Escalation" (Nominee: Architect Awards, Nominee: Player Awards, and Dev's Choice!)