City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Arc ID# 98943 "Invasion on Earth BX1132!"

AngryRedHerring

By AngryRedHerring,
Posted on: 2009-04-21 09:57 in Mission Architect

 

Posted





Arc Title: Invasion on Earth BX1132!

Arc ID: 98943

Creator Global/Forum Name: Global @ARH; AngryRedHerring

Suggested V/H/N: Neutral

Faction(s): Vh'kiir (Custom)

Difficulty Level: Hard , 45+ enemies

Synopsis: Dr. Forrester offers the adventure of a lifetime-- just step through his homemade transdimensional portal into an alternate timeline, where Earth is under attack by a heretofore unknown alien species!

Link to More Details or Feedback: Poster linked HERE!, feedback here

This is my second published arc, a science fiction comedy, and definitely less dark than my first arc, Check... and Mate (updated poster!). If you're a Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan, I'd like to say that I've done my best to do justice to the lonely Dr. Forrester, who 'til now has been languishing in Grandville with his hair-pulling Arachnoid arc.

I'm also very happy to finally present the alien race known as the Vh'kiir. Before, my General couldn't even have one flunky. Now he has maps filled with them. General Dra'ath salutes the MA!

This is also a very chatty arc, but if you miss something, don't worry; it's mostly flavor, and I've done my best to isolate the important (i.e., clue-dropping) NPC chat.

So, have some fun, have some laughs; I'm eager to know what you guys think, so post comments here if you like.

Invasion on Earth BX1132! It's more fun than a barrel of hairless apes!

.
Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
Invasion on Earth BX1132! (poster 1) - (poster 2) - Arc ID# 98943 (comments)
Global @ARH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/07...ureBanner2.jpg

 

Posted

Hah!

I posted a somewhat similar arc today (its a few posts down from here atm).

That said, long time no see Angry Red.

TW

My Arcs:
Unbearable Funk #3573
Tale of the Creatures From Another Forbidden Planet #97983

My Deviant Art Page

 

Posted

As an MST3K fan (in case the avatar wasn't a clue), I'll be sure to check it out. Looks like fun!

Nobody "gets" me, Baby! I'm the wind...
Chicks dig Giant Robots!

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Hah!

I posted a somewhat similar arc today (its a few posts down from here atm).

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh. Isn't that always the way. When I was first working on Check... and Mate, I took a break to play a couple of quick missions and the third one I played was chess-themed. I realized then I was going to have to do something different, put a stamp on it that no one else's would likely have; that's how all the Italian stuff got worked in.

...Our similar arc's numbers are eerily similar too. OOOOoooOOOooo!

...But while the forums were down (in the middle of my writing this, actually) I played your arc, and we can both breathe sighs of relief at how different they are. We've both obviously seen a lot of the same obscure 50's sci-fi movies (hey, you ever see The Colossus of New York? Man, I love that one. Aw, we'll talk about that later...). But yeah, I was with you all the way, man.

I'll go into more detail on how cool yours was in your thread.

[ QUOTE ]
That said, long time no see Angry Red.

TW

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah man, I've been meaning to give you guys a holler, but I didn't wanna pop in just to say "play my arcs!" "...Man, that Angry Red, he only comes around when he WANTS somethin'."

The whole MA thing makes me kinda miss working on my Freedom Force mod... which went NOWHERE, 'cuz I never got the hang of Python well enough to really get the ball rolling. How I wish FF had such an idiot proof mod interface!

.
Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
Invasion on Earth BX1132! (poster 1) - (poster 2) - Arc ID# 98943 (comments)
Global @ARH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/07...ureBanner2.jpg

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
As an MST3K fan (in case the avatar wasn't a clue), I'll be sure to check it out. Looks like fun!

[/ QUOTE ]

...It's as MST3K as I could get while only involving Dr. Forrester, who, as a contact in Grandville, I felt was safe to play around with a bit. But I also figured I'd best play it carefully, what with all the work that went into it. So you won't be seeing Jerry, Sylvia, Torgo, Jack Perkins, Gamera, Glenn Manning, or really, any of the myriad of other characters/concepts from the show. That being said, MST3K fans are automatically granted extra jokes for any one (1) play of this arc.

.
Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
Invasion on Earth BX1132! (poster 1) - (poster 2) - Arc ID# 98943 (comments)
Global @ARH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/07...ureBanner2.jpg

 

Posted

I just ran your ark ARH. Lots of fun and good dialog, I'm amazed that I am the first to rate it.

TW

My Arcs:
Unbearable Funk #3573
Tale of the Creatures From Another Forbidden Planet #97983

My Deviant Art Page

 

Posted

Fantastic dialogue! This one had me literally laughing out loud throughout. Great villain groups, fun missions and storyline. Five thumbs up!

 

Posted

The below flier is posted on behalf of the player organization promoting the event.
For more information about having an event flier posted, please see the <a href=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=8952225">Event Posting Rules</a>

<img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0703/angryred/VhkiirPosterSmall2.jpg?t=1240595163>

 

Posted

That's a pretty sweet ad.

There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.

 

Posted

Loved it! I played this solo as Ashley Porter, Archery/Devices Blaster with excellent stealth. The difficulty level was very appropriate - extremely tough when the situation called for it, crazy and chaotic when that was called for, and an easy "stealth assassination mission" when that was called for. The flying aliens add a lot, somewhat to my surprise (didn't expect them to actually fly so much.)

One strange buggish problem almost made me stop, until I puzzled it through.

Escorting the civilian - for some reason, I'd keep going up to him, but he wouldn't follow, would just get mad when I got out of range. Wouldn't move at all.

Eventually, I figured out that my own stealth was preventing him from following. Kind of annoying, because I have stealth in both Cloaking Device and an enhancement in Combat Jumping, and I'd have to wait around for the CJ stealth to wear off before I could escort again.

Is this normal CoH escort behavior? I can't recall ever seeing that happen before, and I almost always have stealth on with Ashley. Maybe it only happens with pure "civilian" escorts? Though I'm pretty sure I've done that a lot too. I know Fusionette and the like have never had difficulty with my stealth.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Is this normal CoH escort behavior? I can't recall ever seeing that happen before, and I almost always have stealth on with Ashley. Maybe it only happens with pure "civilian" escorts? Though I'm pretty sure I've done that a lot too. I know Fusionette and the like have never had difficulty with my stealth.

[/ QUOTE ]

It won't happen with allies like Fusionette, but yeah, with civilian escorts, stealth will cause them to lose you. Two of the characters that I use for testing have stealth IOs in travel powers. I'd be flying around, killing everything to save the guy, then we'd have to camp out two minutes 'til he could see me.

...Otherwise he just kept ranting at me.

.
Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
Invasion on Earth BX1132! (poster 1) - (poster 2) - Arc ID# 98943 (comments)
Global @ARH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/07...ureBanner2.jpg

 

Posted

Really fun arc, but I have to complain about the last mission:

I would consider toning down the final boss' power level. Quadruple stacked smoke and web grenades are not fun!

I feel like the last mission should just be a cake walk for fun. The penultimate mission is the real gem here.

Good job!

bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-
ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenth ur-
nuk!

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
I feel like the last mission should just be a cake walk for fun. The penultimate mission is the real gem here.

Good job!

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks very much, JJ, and sorry about that last mission. That was a pure oversight on my part. You read it right, it's meant to be a cakewalk (compared to the last few, anyway) but I screwed up in how I added the final boss. I only meant for one of him to appear, and I must have forgotten to test that mish on anything other than Unyielding.

That's fixed now. Now do me a favor and edit the final boss's name from your post?

.
Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
Invasion on Earth BX1132! (poster 1) - (poster 2) - Arc ID# 98943 (comments)
Global @ARH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/07...ureBanner2.jpg

 

Posted

Ha, sorry!

Done!

bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-
ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenth ur-
nuk!

 

Posted

Fantastic Ad! It could go up on the wall of my bathroom, where I have a bunch of laminated 50s alien invasion and monster movie ads.

Lewis

Random AT Generation!
"I remember... the Alamo." -- Pee-wee Herman
"Oh don't worry. I always leave things to the last moment." -- The Doctor
"Telescopes are time machines." -- Carl Sagan

 

Posted


I should mention that I ran this with a level 48 fire/SR scrapper, set to... Relentless, I think, mid-range setting. No AVs, but some very tough EBs. I fought my way carefully through mission 3, made use of inspirations and used Elude a few times, and never died.

I did have problems with the escort, because I would exit even when I didn't appear to be standing in the red area. That was annoying. I managed to get him to the right spot on the third attempt.

I never did find the help I was supposed to need to defeat the EBs. I found some police guys hanging around by one of the tents, but they were not inclined to go anywhere. I think they were beating up guys before that, but their help to me was essentially nil. Later on I ran into some of the other "help" that spawned, but it was mostly groups battling each other out in the streets and ignoring me. That, mind you, adds a great deal to the feel of an invasion going on. After I'd killed the final boss, I finally "linked up" with some guys who wanted to follow me around and help, but by then the mission was over.

I didn't mind, I'm a scrapper so I can save the world on my own. I really like that whole 3rd mission though, it's very long but it winds up feeling like a giant chaotic invasion is going on all around you, and that's what makes the whole mission. Aside from some hilarious scripting for the contact as well.


my lil RWZ Challenge vid

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
I did have problems with the escort, because I would exit even when I didn't appear to be standing in the red area.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, bug with the map. That was annoying, and I hope they fix that soon.

[ QUOTE ]
I never did find the help I was supposed to need to defeat the EBs.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, man. That last boss must've been a pain without those dudes. What I did before I found help was to lure the EBs over to the friendly spawns. Worked pretty well.

bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-
ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenth ur-
nuk!

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I did have problems with the escort, because I would exit even when I didn't appear to be standing in the red area.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, bug with the map. That was annoying, and I hope they fix that soon.

[ QUOTE ]
I never did find the help I was supposed to need to defeat the EBs.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, man. That last boss must've been a pain without those dudes. What I did before I found help was to lure the EBs over to the friendly spawns. Worked pretty well.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well actually the final boss was already engaged with one of them when I found him, so I found help at the same time as I found the final boss. All of the other guys were just around the corner or just down the street doing other things I think.


my lil RWZ Challenge vid

 

Posted

Playin' things now.

---

Okay, first mission is... aw man, burning Atlas Park?

I HATE this map. There's no minimap and there are honeycomb walls all over the place blocking targeting.

And there are crazy warbeasts from crazy enemy groups! And a hostage from the Objectivist States of America! I want to go all over this map and find everything!

And I CAN'T.

Because there's no minimap and there are honeycomb walls all over the place blocking targeting.

Exiting. Oh, this will get hilarious.

(also I am a plant person from another dimension, what is this "monkey" you speak of?)

---

Wonderful briefing with the other alternate Earth. Now it's time to go smash aliens again! Woohoo!

ALIENS AND ZOMBIES! I have died and gone to B-movie HEAVEN.

Okay, you seem to have mixed something up there. You have a zombie talking about Hank and Maria, and a trooper going FLEEEEESH.

Loved the boss's dialog. So cornball. Of course that transponder has me worried.

---

Ahaha, the intro to the next mission is wonderful. I do wonder who I'm going to be picking up.

...a carnie? Maybe?

Have I mentioned yet that the tanksuit is absolutely hilarious? What is that, another fine product of the random button?

Whoa. Pyro Terra. Yeah, steering clear of those.

It's kind of sad about the tents, they actually block out that energy beacon so I was still running around trying to find a dude.

Why not just use the tighter Steel Canyon map, the one Bobcat and Mother Mayhem show up on? Even worse problems with an escort?

Now the beacon, now it goes down, and - heh. Oh, that's nice. Hello, tons of reinforcements.

Unfortunately they have a tendency to fly after shock troops and get lost.

Wow, and I needed 'em for that giant rumble at the end. That was great. Dropped him just as the war cavalry showed up.

I think this is why not tighter Steel Canyon. Not enough room for all the epic.

---

Ah, and now the closer. This one's for Joike!

---

Another thoroughly enjoyable ride, ARH.

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)

 

Posted

I loved the arc. My only complaint is with the sheer number of ambushers that spawn while fighting the boss in the third mission. Of course, my experience with this may not be typical, as: a) I fought him before spawning the allies; and b) because of the way the ambushes spawned, both the first and second wave arrived at the same time.

 

Posted

My problem with the ambushes was that I didn't realize they *were* ambushes.

I saw all these red bolts passing over my head as I was peppering the boss with arrows, and thought "Oh, good, more help." Took me a while to figure out that they were just misses....

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
Fantastic Ad! It could go up on the wall of my bathroom, where I have a bunch of laminated 50s alien invasion and monster movie ads.

Lewis

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll take that as high praise. I love paranoid 50's alien stuff.


[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I did have problems with the escort, because I would exit even when I didn't appear to be standing in the red area.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, bug with the map. That was annoying, and I hope they fix that soon.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, those red cubes are so outdated now. How I long for a click-to-exit on those older maps. I bugged this with support, and I hope they fix it-- I hope they fix ALL those maps with red cube doors. I really hate having that escort warning in the sendoff text. Immersion breaking, and I couldn't figure out a good way to explain it in the context of the story.


[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
I never did find the help I was supposed to need to defeat the EBs.

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, man. That last boss must've been a pain without those dudes. What I did before I found help was to lure the EBs over to the friendly spawns. Worked pretty well.

[/ QUOTE ]

We tried it with a big team, and found the the Tu'laari didn't last as long against the larger spawns. All our Tu'laari allies were wiped out by 1/2 health of the AV. We thought we were screwed, then we lured the AV into Tu'laari patrols and were back in business.


[ QUOTE ]

(also I am a plant person from another dimension, what is this "monkey" you speak of?)


[/ QUOTE ]

The Vh'kiir are not known for their political correctness. Earth = monkey, Monkey!


[ QUOTE ]

Okay, you seem to have mixed something up there. You have a zombie talking about Hank and Maria, and a trooper going FLEEEEESH.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think that's a byproduct of the new 'group-switching' bug. The lines are assigned to the correct groups in the editor. I haven't seen this happen, but I've been reading about it lately.


[ QUOTE ]
Have I mentioned yet that the tanksuit is absolutely hilarious? What is that, another fine product of the random button?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have another villain, Overlord of Crime, who's sort of a whimsical Dr. Doom. His third costume is Alien Battle Armor (which he doesn't know the origin of, or even how to turn it on). I was trying to do a take on Lex Luthor's battle armor; that's where the purple and green came from. Beyond that, I just tried to make it 'alien'.

When it came time to make Vh'kiir LT's, I figured I'd make the goofy armor of Vh'kiir origin... and finally see what it can do with somebody who knows how to operate it.


[ QUOTE ]
It's kind of sad about the tents, they actually block out that energy beacon so I was still running around trying to find a dude.

[/ QUOTE ]

If i really hated the player, I would have left it on the original map, City 03 (the one with the parking garage). I was crying during testing.


[ QUOTE ]
Why not just use the tighter Steel Canyon map, the one Bobcat and Mother Mayhem show up on? Even worse problems with an escort?
...
I think this is why not tighter Steel Canyon. Not enough room for all the epic.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bingo. I started out by choosing map possibilities based on number of spawn points, and types of spawns available. The current map allows lots of everything. That, and the tents with the circus music playing added an extra dose of goofy. It does suck when the escort spawns next to a tent though, I've had that happen. Other times he spawns right in your sightline as you enter.

As far as outdoor maps go, though, this one has good sightlines in general, and enough variety in the landscape to keep it from being boring (I'm looking at YOU, Office Park), while avoiding a lot of nooks and crannies that obscure objectives. You still can't make something spawn in the 'perfect' spot, though, no matter how you try.


[ QUOTE ]
Another thoroughly enjoyable ride, ARH.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks man.


[ QUOTE ]
...Of course, my experience with this may not be typical, as: a) I fought him before spawning the allies...

[/ QUOTE ]

...Shine on, you crazy diamond.


[ QUOTE ]
My problem with the ambushes was that I didn't realize they *were* ambushes.

I saw all these red bolts passing over my head as I was peppering the boss with arrows, and thought "Oh, good, more help." Took me a while to figure out that they were just misses....

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm just loving all the different ways this one is playing out. I keep hearing new stories.

.
Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
Invasion on Earth BX1132! (poster 1) - (poster 2) - Arc ID# 98943 (comments)
Global @ARH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/07...ureBanner2.jpg