New review by theHedoren. Thanks!
New review by GahLakTus. Thanks!
New review by PoliceWoman. Thank you.
@GlaziusF
Running this on a mid-40s DB/fire brute, diff 2 for ~goodfights~.
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Ah, Dr. Aeon. Everybody's second-favorite unhinged scientist.
("LAUGH WITH ME!")
Anyway, looks pretty straightforward so far. Dr. n00b is making noises and in time-tested evil science fashion, I'm heading over to peer-destroy his experiments.
Well well well. It's a red goo scenario!
Even though I get batted around some by gravity bosses and their gravity sings, they always manage to stack enough controls to make it a non-issue for most of the fight.
Well, nothing like getting paid twice.
Although, uh, getting on board with self-replicating AI seems a bit dicey. Maybe I could try something safer. Like stealing Mako's teeth. Out of his mouth.
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Hmm. If I'm sending a message to Dr. Creed, maybe make that a "mission start" clue?
Seems to have worked, anyway. HAL's girlfriend is right on time.
I guess I should expect the same powers from HAL as from his duplicate, but still, seems a bit of a boring fight.
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Maybe you can drop in some different-colored text in the briefing to mission 3 about how you're going off script...
Good on you for remembering the difference in Cap Clockwork, *bzzt*zzl*.
Though wow. That's a sudden level drop. Am I "supposed" to be running this arc at level 20? Double-crossing Dr. Aeon doesn't seem very low-level.
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Dr. Aeon's going to be devoured by his own experiments. It must be Thursday! (though again, I'd appreciate some color-text denoting My Villainous Plan)
Haha, and the Mu Strikers mow down the VALs with minimal casualties. Yeah, they're that broken.
Ah, punchin' out Dr. Aeon. Some things never get old.
And then the containment... wait, she's just a boss? Aeon was, I think, an EB... well, the assault bots help a little with difficulty.
I'm kinda torn here. On the one hand I'd kinda like the option of turning her loose anyway, because I THIRST FOR CHAOS. On the other, trying to stop someone with a bunch of robots from running away might not be that possible for some ATs.
...wait, what? VAL is "on the loose"? I just shredded various essential pieces of circuitry. Be nice if I got a clue or, well, something explaining what happened after the enforced shutdown.
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Storyline - ****. I'd rate this higher if it wasn't billed as a "power play". Right now it's just picking somebody to side with, doing what Creed tells me as opposed to what Aeon does.
Design - ****. I'd like the different models of VAL chassis to actually look different - right now they all seem to have the same "red-and-black robot" look to them, which is alright but makes it tough to, say, pick out the bubblers and take them down first.
Gameplay - ****. Dipping down to level 20 in the middle of an otherwise all-levels arc doesn't feel right.
Detail - ****. The incidental detail with clues and interactions and suchlike is pretty nice, but it seems like all the VAL units had the exact same description.
Overall - ****. Not quite the power play I was hoping for, with a custom group that all ran together and an inexplicable level cut right in the middle. Overall a solid arc with a decent idea behind it and some solid fighting, but it needs a few tweaks still.
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)
Thanks for that review Glazius. Most of it is spot on.
A few responses:
The mission 3 bump is good for story (because the Gold Brickers fit so perfectly here), but bad for gameplay. I agree I will need to do something about that.
The VALs have already gone through one complete overhaul (You faced the new ones). Feedback about their first incarnation was that they were too tough.
This arc was made in i14 and was pretty much capped on file size at 97%. In i15, it's only 64%, so I will have room to work with when I revamp for i15 features (custom power selections, mission begin clues).
I appreciate your review of this arc.
Here's a review from Lazarus. Thank you!
[ZQ] Power Play
Arc #187269
A City of Villains story arc uniquely told in the first person.
Story-focused, solo-friendly
Ever since I arrived at these Rogue Isles, they've been lining up. From two-bit punks to fascists to shadowy mystics to total freaking psychos. They all want me to be a part of their next big scheme. The problem is, it's a small part, usually the part where I do most of the work and they sit back, chuckle, and count the loot. I've had enough. When's my time? When do I quit being a lackey and make my own Power Play?
Now.
Prologue
At last, I've made it to his lair. He thought he'd send his goons for me, did he? Well I don't roll over that easily. Not for him. Not for anyone. It's time to teach him some manners....
This will lead you directly into your first chat with the contact.