Before we deal with the other possible sources of fuss, Squid, would you say these arcs are soloable by, say, a Bane? An SO'd scrapper? And what's their level range?
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Before we deal with the other possible sources of fuss, Squid, would you say these arcs are soloable by, say, a Bane? An SO'd scrapper? And what's their level range?
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Ah yes, thanks for the reminder. The majority of the arc is pretty easy, but the final AV can be quite tricky. I give you a fair amount of help with it though, so as long as you keep your purples handy I think you'll be okay. As for level range, its intended for 45+, but I think you could get away with 30+, seeing as how auto SKing works.
*nod* 32 and 38 can often be very big difference 'flash points.' But good to know.
Hey Talen...
I asked for a review all the way back on page 9... though i did concede you probably wouldn't like it. If it helps, i removed the defeat-all portion of the last mission =)
Just so you don't have to go hunting for it, its the one in my sig *points down*
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
Due to my reviewer mood being thrown so hard, I was actually going to go through the whole thread and pick up numbers once more. Today I got nothing to do so I was figuring I'd get some arc on once I'd done some roleplayin' with friends.
Arc 12285 - Small Fears
Rating: ***, with caveats
I really agonised about this arc review, and its rating. As I write this, the 'submit a rating' window is still open.
Giving a rating for me, is not a simple matter of weighing pros and cons. There are factors. Silly as it sounds, a reasonable author is a factor in itself. If I've spoken to the author about problems in the arc beforehand, and then played a (fixed?) arc, it weighs on my mind. In that case, it means small problems will wind up going away. It means that, for the most part, the author will take quickly to improve things. In the sense of due diligence, I'd go through and re-play the arc to bring its rating back up. Good and admirable sentiment, but when I'm doing this for fun, that level of journalistic integrity means I have to play through something again only to find I might not like it much at the end?
This means that an arc's author is a factor to me. If I feel I can trust the author to make good changes based on feedback, or at least to have a well-reasoned attitude regarding the rating I offered and principled reasons for why they choose what they do what they do. If the author comes across as needing a lot of guidance, then I'm willing to offer it and try again later. If they're a jerk, chances are they're not going to care one way or another about my opinion. I guess this is basically another point indicating that my personal application of the rating system is bad.
This makes it hard to rate. There's some stuff that I wouldn't do in this arc, but that doesn't make it flawed. So let's set some stuff on the table outright. The arc doesn't do anything with level ranges beyond what I'd call an agnostic treatment; that is, nothing in this arc cares about your level range except the stuff that has to. While I could pick this arc as being important, being of a particular range, there's nothing that anchors it there. The compass text gets all mankey, and there are some typos and bugbears drifting through the arc. So, the arc has problems - as you can probably affirm with the 3 star rating.
The arc is a horror arc, a genre that I think doesn't form a solid pastiche with superhero stories. Superhero stories are generally about an empowered individual taking on odds that are beyond the scale of mortals. Horror stories are generally about a feeling of helplessness and weakness, a sensation of facing down a threat that disempowers. These two elements might sound like they should contrast well, but they tend not to, in my mind; rather, one overwhelms the other. In this arc, the horror elements are all directed towards a third party, a third party who, while interesting, I didn't find empathetic. Basically, the person you should be scared for is someone you might not like. Well, I didn't like him all that much. So it was something of a wash there. I felt this is a shame, because, much like in I Know What You Did Last Summer, everything else was well-phrased and well-handled. The bad guy was menacing, the settings were well-done, the scenes were well-acted, I just happened in that case to hate every single person I was supposed to fear for. This arc had the same problem: The suffering party was just humdrum to me, which meant the other elements of the arc suffered.
The custom enemy group is well designed. The maps are well chosen. The dialogue is, for the most part, solid, and most of the improper English feels appropriate because it comes from the mouth of unnatural elements. So why the agony about the arc?
Because there's a line as a reviewer you have to draw between 'I liked the arc' and 'I didn't.' I didn't like the arc much. There are elements that are, as I have come to consider them, stylistic choices, that I simply don't enjoy. So yes, I give the arc three stars, but I think that a lot of its problems that are anything but stylistic are going to be worked out in time. The author gives me the impression he cares enough about the elements that make this arc that, maddening as they are, he's going to make what's technically wrong right, and will hone what he has, rather than discard it to move on to other projects.
So, the short list: Good maps, good mission variety, good use of triggered events, good custom enemies, good monster info. Unforunate choice of plot type, surprise EBs, and the compass text needs a lot of work.
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So, the short list: Good maps, good mission variety, good use of triggered events, good custom enemies, good monster info. Unforunate choice of plot type, surprise EBs, and the compass text needs a lot of work.
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Thanks for the review, Talen- I'd actually been looking forward to this one.
Kind of a shame that you didn't enjoy it, but, well, can't be all things to all people, unfortunately- the 'unfortunate choice of plot type' isn't something I can do a lot about without discarding the entire arc, after all 
The EBs are no longer a surprise- I took out the 'tough to solo' caveat and altered it to 'contains EB/AVs', which also just barely fits. The 300 word descriptive text is rather painful sometimes, especially when you want to actually... y'know, describe your arc >.<
The compass text has me to the point where I'd like to bludgeon it with a mallet, and maybe the guy who designed it, as well. It simply does not want to cooperate with chained objectives. I've tried tweaking it yet again, but, for the first mission at least, I'm on the edge of giving up >.<
Any suggestions as to how to make you actually care about the contact? I've actually gotten some good feedback on him as well- one friend commented that he'd actually gone and gotten his 'kid friendly sentai costume' rather than his more usual 'grimdark' one for that character.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
I really am sorry about the rating. It's clearly not a badly done arc, a bad arc or features bad themes. I just don't enjoy that kind of theme and I think that the reason I find a problem with it is because well, as I said, horror and superhero don't blend together well because they play on utterly different fundamental bases.
As far as caring more about the contact, I really think the first step is going to be in giving him more of a name, making him more than just what he does.
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I really am sorry about the rating. It's clearly not a badly done arc, a bad arc or features bad themes. I just don't enjoy that kind of theme and I think that the reason I find a problem with it is because well, as I said, horror and superhero don't blend together well because they play on utterly different fundamental bases.
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... okay, seriously? Don't apologize. You gave an honest review, and an honest rating (well, at least I hope you did, if you agonized that much over it 
), which is all I wanted. You also helped my dig up some of the more niggling bugs (like the contact's bloody name being mispelled!), and made me think through why I had done what I had done once more. In my books, that's a good critique.
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As far as caring more about the contact, I really think the first step is going to be in giving him more of a name, making him more than just what he does.
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Hmm... see, as I said in the PMs, would you really care more about him if he came up as "Jake"? This may just come down to a stylistic thing- I feel that calling simply "Oracular Urchin' holds with the overall mood.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
Arc 36861 - Heroes No More?
Rating: ****
I'm just diving in this time.
The hitlist from my notes runs as follow: There are custom NPCs, there are dialogue problems and a few elements of typo. The enemy groupes are known, predictable and honestly kinda boring. There are some holy-[censored] rooms where everything goes wrong. This arc is, using my experience as a baseline, difficult. It's also got a plot that will probably leave some really smart or psychic characters frustrated, and the level range isn't fixed. Plus, the crescendo of the arc, due to the nature of the Mission Architect is basically a no-XP zone.
I ran this arc on Saxon Valiant, a level 29 Shield/Super Strength tanker. He has only SOs in his powers. He is, in my opinion, a good example of a solo character. His damage is best focused in single targets, which means smaller spawns are good. He doesn't have a travel power, he's quite survivable, and he moves at his own pace. I play him on the second or third difficulty, because that gives me latitude to turn it down if it's a problem. The arc recommends being played on difficulty 2 or more. There is your field of comparison. Using just Sos, on a solo tanker, solo difficulty, I found this arc difficult. I did die a few times.
The nature of the mission architect is to hand to a storytelling public the means to tell stories. Some of those stories are going to be determined as good or bad based on individual tastes, and some are going to be determined as good or bad based on arbitary techincal guidelines. Sometimes those ratings can be weird, or arbitary, and this rating is no different.
This is a hard arc that's a well-done example of something I didn't enjoy. That's weird to say, since I four-starred it, right? The thing is, the arc has a lot of good elements to it. There are a lot of bosses to fight. There's a difficulty modifier for an arc element that is, by definition, over an individual's head. While I'm not a fan of that element, certainly not for solo play, it's still there, and still handled well. Some of the difficulty was coincidental, I know. A slow on a shield tanker with just SOs can lead to mez protection being dropped. That's just a fact I deal with, and that hole leads to a chance to be mezzed. If I'd known I was facing that, I'd have packed Break Frees. And the arc does, properly, build to a crescendo.
Due to the arc being a Mission Architect arc, there's an unfortunate twist, though. Without giving too much away, this arc has a lot of stuff I like that would, conventionally get a lot of XP, that unfortunately, doesn't. Saxon was not great at getting in quickly enough to get 'his share' of the XP, which meant that for the last mission, I really did feel like I was carting things around and watching them unfold. There was nonetheless, a feeling of drama, a feeling of tension.
Despite all this, it was easy to feel the arc had worn me out - I did actually take hours at it, discussing minor things with the author. Nonetheless, a fun arc with clear characters that suffers some power issues and focuses in a design mindset that's not bad, just different. If you want a challenge and a plot at the same time, with a big, dramatic conclusion? This is a great place to go.
(QR)
Hey Talen, how's your queue looking? Juuuust curious.
What shall claim a Sky Kings' Ransom?
PPD & Resistance Epic Archetypes
I don't have a queue. I have a heap. A little heap right now.
Ah, what the heck...
/e throws his arc on the heap...
36984 - V'kta A'cha Vox'm.
Disclaimer: Yes, the NPC contact is my main character and is an active participant in the arc (though by no means essential to its completion) Yes, there is a custom group - but there is also a reason for them to be there.
Hope you enjoy it. 
-Escher
"I swear you could fling a man hole cover across the street and hit more notes than 90% of those idiots on American Idol" -Desmodos
"Every time you post I feel like I been hit with a fist full of smart! Thanks." - Volken re: Sucker Punch
Arc #36984 V'kta A'cha Vox'm
Hey T_L, thanks for the review =) I'll have to hunt down the typos (was "groupes" really one of them? Oy...). As for dialog problems, I'll re-read what I have, see if i can shorten anything or make it flow easier, if that's the problem.
Anyway, this part:
If you want a challenge and a plot at the same time, with a big, dramatic conclusion? This is a great place to go.
...is exactly what I was going for. There are things in the arc that will annoy people and prevent a 5-star rating. I can live with that, but as long as they get to the end and say "Damn, that was pretty good!", then I did my job right =) In fact, I think I'll put that in my sig, if you don't mind =)
In the meantime, I'd like to remind folks that this arc will be tweaked and finalized come I15. Thanks to the ability to select whatever powers I want (or leave out ones I don't want), I can hopefully make the arc just tough enough to satisfy both my internal difficulty barometer and keep it fun for people who haven't exactly IO'd out their toons =)
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
Due to an accident on my part, and the forced unpublishing of my Arc thanks to certain Rikti not being appropriate any longer (Rikti Magus, which is a shame because I liked him), my Arc: Romio and J'Let is no longer in existence.
And so I took some time to mourn the loss, then promptly made:
Arc Name: The Clockwork Crusade
Arc ID: 126073
Faction: Arachnos, Vahzilok, Council, Clockwork
Creator Global/Forum Name: @YanYan
Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate, designed to be solo able by any AT
Mission Levels: 1-20
Synopsis: Hero Corps has asked you for some unique help. Seems the Clockwork are making some strange attacks against other villains. They've asked you to 'assist' them under cover.
Estimated Time to Play: 30 Minutes to an Hour.
This Arc actually has a few things that many people hate. The Defeat Alls, both of them, are purposefully on small maps, both one floor (I think, the office one might be on two), so they're not hard to navigate. I hope the story makes up for it though.
You know, I'm honestly surprised, looking over it, how many of the review arcs have the caveat 'If you play my arc.'
Anyone else have an opinion on that? I'm kinda curious about the impact.
Honestly, I look at it the other way around. As someone who was trying to get good feedback on my own arc, I offered reviews to anyone that would give honest feedback to my arc. And I've gotten some of the best feedback that way, I've also gotten many people that didn't post any feedback, but I still reviewed their arc. For my personal caveat, feedback only gets priority over posting order.
But yeah, looking at the reviewers thread, 11 quid pro quo, rate mine I'll review yours vs. 6 plain ol' reviews threads.
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You know, I'm honestly surprised, looking over it, how many of the review arcs have the caveat 'If you play my arc.'
Anyone else have an opinion on that? I'm kinda curious about the impact.
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It has two impacts:
1) It gets us more feedback on our own arcs as well.
2) It keeps our queues smaller as people essentially have to pay for their review rather than going around trying to get as many freebies as possible. It also means that once you give me feedback on one of mine your arc review is guaranteed to happen and won't get lost in a flood of submissions.
And even with the QPQ requirement I still have over a dozen arcs in my queue at a time. That doesn't include the list I'm building of arcs that were never requested but I might decide to review anyway if I think its great or could be great with some improvements.
Anyone else have an opinion on that? I'm kinda curious about the impact.
I don't ask that people play my arcs in exchange for my reviews of theirs. It would be nice if they did, but I don't ask it.
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"
Also throwing my newest onto the heap!
Arc Name: Kiss Hello Goodbye
Arc ID: 156389
Faction: Heroic (But could easily be run by a villain who can be hired to un-kidnap somebody)
Creator Global/Forum Name: Kitsune9tails
Difficulty Level: Tested with a soloing L25 Inv/Fire Tanker primarily
Synopsis: Kiss your usual inner monologue goodbye! This mission is narrated by the whiskey-and-cigarette kissed voice of Film Noir and hard boiled detective stories. When a beautiful dame with a missing sister rolled into your City, the nights got hot and the action got wild! Can you figure out the mystery before the end? Can you save yourself from a terrible trap? If not, Kiss Hello Goodbye!
Estimated Time to Play: 1 hour (more if you clear all)
This should be soloable by most skilled players if they are careful and pick their battles.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
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You know, I'm honestly surprised, looking over it, how many of the review arcs have the caveat 'If you play my arc.'
Anyone else have an opinion on that? I'm kinda curious about the impact.
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It has two impacts:
1) It gets us more feedback on our own arcs as well.
2) It keeps our queues smaller as people essentially have to pay for their review rather than going around trying to get as many freebies as possible. It also means that once you give me feedback on one of mine your arc review is guaranteed to happen and won't get lost in a flood of submissions.
And even with the QPQ requirement I still have over a dozen arcs in my queue at a time. That doesn't include the list I'm building of arcs that were never requested but I might decide to review anyway if I think its great or could be great with some improvements.
[/ QUOTE ]I don't have to worry about my queue being large - I've noticed that after I called Vandem's arc a pile of self-indulgent [censored] people have been quietly reluctant to actually ask my opinion on things, and the Circuit Boy malarkey compounded that.
The QPQ seems like a kind of automatic quality reassurant, but then, so does the Queue system. I don't review as much as others because a lot of the time when I use MA I jump into an arc I haven't had thrown at my feet, and then decide if it can be useful to bring to people's attentions either how good or how awful it is. More often than not I find there's an incredible about of utter [censored] piled up in the tubes and that there's pretty much no reason to tell people that it's [censored] because to anyone but the nine utter idiots who 5-starred the arc it should be obvious. What do you do?
I'm opinionated and happy to be so, but I just as much have come to be of the opinion that an audience has to be considered when you spout, because as much as I want to tear apart certain arcs in what I think of as a wholly reasonable way - like, say, the two missions of Circuit Boy's I played, or that terrible (not Mr Squid's) religious arc which was all about rescuing satan from angels (heroic arc, no less) - it just doesn't seem the kind of thing that's worth bringing to people's attentions. In turn, I haven't been aggressively advertising any of my stuff - I've two arcs up right now, one because I haven't been arsed to take it down, the other because I like playing it - so I can hardly be surprised when they go un-run.
What that convinces me is that the rating system is completely useless for naturally supporting good arcs, since there is a lot of [censored] that's high-rated, and even DC'd or HoF'd. What is important in getting yourself at the top of the ladder, getting badges and tickets and a big fat ego, is just how shameless you want to be in pimping your arc to people.
I may just be in a bad mood right now.
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The QPQ seems like a kind of automatic quality reassurant,
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I don't know what you're trying to imply there. No one has gotten an automatic 5-star just because they gave me one. In fact, I've largely gotten 4-stars from people and giving me 5-stars didn't save some people from getting 2-starred by me. All it means is "you played through my arc and gave me feedback, therefore I will play all the way through yours and review it." It's been painful on occasions when I received a really bad arc, but I'm a man of my word and I'll follow through.
On the whole, the QPQ system seems to make people think twice before submitting an arc as since some extra effort is involved they're not likely to go through with it just to submit a half-finished arc. They only do it if they really want a review, rather than simply shotgunning the non-QPQ threads and hoping to get lucky.
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The QPQ seems like a kind of automatic quality reassurant,
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I don't know what you're trying to imply there.
[/ QUOTE ]That you're only going to get people submitting their arc for trial who actually want to put forth the effort of doing YOUR arc, so you're going to get fewer trials from people who care more.
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The QPQ seems like a kind of automatic quality reassurant,
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I don't know what you're trying to imply there.
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That you're only going to get people submitting their arc for trial who actually want to put forth the effort of doing YOUR arc, so you're going to get fewer trials from people who care more.
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Exactly which person cares more about getting feedback? If they can't be bothered to play one arc (anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes depending on which one and AT) and give a few comments in exchange for an in-depth review that usually takes me an hour and a half to compile, then they don't deserve one. They're getting a friggin' deal as far as I'm concerned.
Not that I don't give free reviews as well, but those are done by my choosing. Often they repay me with feedback as well after the fact but I didn't ask for it in those cases.
Whoa... this will be interesting.
*puts up lawn chairs, pops popcorn, starts selling tickets*
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522