Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
I have to say from the start that this arc is flagged as challenging and may not be suitable for some archetypes. It’s pretty clear that if you do this as a lowbie, you’re probably going to get a hiding, because this is not a quick and easy arc. Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Running this on a lowbie Peacebringer, diff 2 for more AoE fun stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
These are deliberate design choices – I didn’t want everyone to be immediately identifiable and I certainly didn’t want the ambushes to announce themselves because a) they’re mimes and b) you never know what’s coming. This is supposed to be a challenge. It may not be something a casual gamer will appreciate, but that’s the way I wanted it.Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
My contact is "the Mystic Lynne", which makes me think that Lynne is some kind of category noun and there's a Martial Arts Lynne and a Robotics Lynne out there somewhere.
Anyway, I get to walk into the Midnight Club because of a something.
...12 Midnighters? Can this map even support 12 Midnighters?
Ah, if they're all inanimate, then yes.
The custom enemies all seem to have the same description, except for their name and rank. It really doesn't help to associate them with their powers at all, which is a bit of a drag as there are some priority targets and some disposable ones.
You know, I respect that the ambush has got to be silent? But it's kind of a death sentence to just get jumped and have no idea whether the first shot came from some straggler or the vanguard of a new assault force.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
The Zig should just be set to the end room, rather than the whole map. I’ll double check that and see if I nudged the wrong setting at some point. As for the name, I pulled it off Paragon wiki - Zigursky Penitentiary is also known as the Zig, the Big Zig, and the Ziggurat. The full name is the proper name, I’ll grant you, but the Ziggurat flows easier in terms of the story.Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Um, the place isn't called "The Ziggurat". "The Zig" is definitely short for it, and there are plenty of Bablyonian references in Brickstown, but it's the Ziggursky Penitentiary.
Wha wha wha wha CLEAR THE ZIG? This place is HUGE!
Okay, dialing this thing back to 1 and reloading the game. Got an unlucky spawn with two controller/healers in it and I can't even dent them.
Wow. Right as I spring the warden he tells me about two other prisoners and it turns out I'm right in the middle of a spawn of one of their guards, because I was fighting the warden's at range. Pop goes the squidly.
Lordy, there are an awful lot of ways to get multiple controls stacked on you. Including those mind mimes, who can do it all on their own.
Lots of fun to get controlled mid-air and drift over another spawn of mimes, let me tell you.
The boss mime objectives don't complete until the entire spawn goes down.
...which is just as well, as I get another hard ambush on me after the last one drops.
And yep, the mission's to clear out the ENTIRE Zig, not just the building itself.
I find the last one parked on top of an outer walkway in the yard. Not on patrol, just coincidentally standing there. Good thing I have innate for fly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
The glowies shouldn’t have been on the objective list, I’ll change that. The Mimes are tough because that’s what I wanted them to be. They do have great perception, they’re not just hit and run enemies, you need to think about what’s going on. It’s not an arc for the ‘I Want It Now’ generation.Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Carnies.
20 Carnies.
On this gigantic sprawling overworld map... and I'm bumped to 30. Well, naturally.
So, battles. Heroside carnies don't natively spawn lower than 40, which can be a problem when a map only brings you up to 30. I have to engage in a little luring and dying... okay, a lot of luring and dying... to get some of the Carnie survivors away from glowies so I can click on them, and escort groups so I can fight them.
Man. These mimes are just lousy with +perception passives. Targeting drone, SR, Willpower... I have no idea if any given group of them is going to spin around and fight me.
That's not a good thing, by the way.
Oh. The glowies were actually completely optional. And so, by extension, were half my deaths. Good to know!
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
I didn’t know the ally was bugged, will tweak that when I get home. I’ve certainly been able to lead him out without problems before. I did know about the mage forting you even though he’s attacking. That’s just damn weird…Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Oranbega.
I SWEAR, if there are 21 freaking CoT mages to rescue...
Oh good! Only ten... destructible objects?
Yes! Destructible objects! ...and they're more vocal than the mimes.
Also I have no idea why the altars would explode or how the mimes would make them do it because they all have a default description.
So I find the high mage, and free him. The navbar says "find the high mage" but it's giving me an escort point to the door.
Now, there's something you should know about Oranbegan crystals. Allies will tend to aggro on them and, since they can't be targeted or destroyed, stay that way FOREVER.
Guess what I have to lead this guy past.
Yeah.
In the hopes that the escort isn't actually required I go off in search of the other bombs.
And die. Again. To a silent patrol that drops from an upper ledge.
Fortunately on my way back I notice that standing just within ally perception range will make an ally run toward you when you rejoin it... for a few steps anyway. So we get to the door.
And then he turns on me.
I have never been so thankful that "fight defensive" allies don't actually fight you on betrayal as I am now.
Oh.
Wait.
They don't attack you of their own volition, but they do assist anything else on the map once it decides to break your face.
This could be a ptoblem.
So yeah, when allies betray you they get enemy ambush "I know where you are through three portals and 100 feet of stone" follow instead of ally "I can't find my way around this pebble" follow. It's only thanks to a lot of flying speed and the high mage's insistence on Fortituding me before launching his attacks that I can actually take out all the altars.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
The boss shouldn’t have spawned there, he’s set to the back of the map. DuBrea was set to middle with the Mastermime set to the back, so that might be it and the map’s placement had a fit. The objectives thing I’ll look in to.Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
The big boss, huh? I slip out to pick up a Shivan. I have a feeling this guy's going to be a downgraded AV.
...10 leaders. Uh... alright then...
Hey! Lucky break, the big boss is... right in the first room of the mission.
Uh.
Was that on purpose?
Anyway. Moving through, beating the same bosses I saw in the Zig, activating the cures (which apparently come out of some kind of vial I was never given?) and... oh lord, it's another defeat all.
Okay, the sorceror supreme who tried to pull this off is on the fourth floor up. He's a decent enough fight straight up.
Huh. The LAST objective up is "defeat DuBrea". Looks like another case of a plural objective picking the wrong singular when it's down to the last. Maybe, if you want them separate, you could have separate objectives for DuBrea, the fire/psy demon guy, and the generic leaders.
And the last thing I do is run back downstairs through an empty map and click on a transparent glowie I couldn't hear because of a nearby waterfall.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
The Zig mission made sense as the Mime’s went after a ready made stock of captives to bolster their forces. Going after the Carnies also made sense as it affects both red and blue side and they have the psychic/mystic connection which would identify them as targets. While the objectives are similar I thought there was a good variance in the missions for it not to be an issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Storyline - ***. Was the excursion to the Zig strictly necessary? The story's told in a rather minimalist fashion (somewhat necessarily so) so the missions don't really have much to distinguish themselves from each other. It's basically OH NO DEMON MIMES ARE LOOSE -- OH NO STOP THEM AT THE ZIG -- OH NO STOP THEM AT THE CARNIES -- OH NO HELP THE THORNS SO WE CAN GET A CURE -- YAY IT'S A CURE BEAT THE BIG BAD. I appreciate that you want to give people a feel for the group outside the tiny tiny Midnight Squad map, but are two repetitions really necessary?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
This was not meant to be an easy arc, this was set as a challenge. The Mimes are brutal because I wanted people to have a challenge as a challenge. Patrols say nothing, ambushes say nothing, you have to be careful, you have to be cautious and I thought the challenge was established in the first mission – a small map, yes, but it sets it up as the mobs are difficult and the ambush is silent. The next mission…. Yes, something isn’t right there, it should be defeat all in the building not out in the yard, but this is where stealth comes in to it. The third mission, I may need to tweak the level settings, but it terms of progression it’s logical – you’ve learned that ambushes are silent, you’ve learned that rescuing hostages isn’t easy, let’s go to work. This leads to the fourth were you have to be on your guard, and the fifth which is a finale. There is progression and maybe some of the numbers have been set too high on the objectives, but if you ignore the warnings you’re going to get a pasting.Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Design - *. This is definitely not an "all levels" storyarc. For some reason (I'm betting the AV) the third mission floors at 35, and really 35-54 is probably a good working range for this arc. The mimes are absolutely brutal. They stack defense debuffs, they stack slows, about half of them have a control power (does Beanbag come standard with AR now or did you add that?) and about half of them can heal the other mimes. Frequently it's the same half, which is a magna pain. Nothing like getting somebody down to a sliver only to be held and have their health just pop right back up in a green/red/blue/black swirl. It doesn't help any that there's no apparent reason for the mimes to have the powers they do, and aside from the big bosses all their descriptions are the same except for a name and rank. And then there's the Carnie mission. Purples, even purple minions, can wreck a day right proper. You can kind of cheat the standard spawner by making a custom group of Carnies and just throwing them all in there to get the 30-40 ones to show up, heroside and villainside. Also, I was not expecting to open the last mission by fighting the evil mastermind and then work my way DOWN through the ranks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
I think you missed the point of the arc. I’ll agree the AV in mission 4 isn’t working as intended, but the point of the gameplay is it’s meant to be hard. You want a quick and dirty arc, play something else. You want to play an arc that makes you think about what you want to do before you do it and has a learning curve, try this one. I had thought all the required objectives of the mission are in the menu and the non-required ones weren’t, I’ll double check that, but this was meant as a challenge and it sounds like it was. The fact didn’t like how much of a challenge it was shouldn’t be an influence because the mission description warns you. The only way I can make it more obvious that this will be hard is to have the opener have a pop-up saying ‘are you sure you want to do this Mr Squishy?’. Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Gameplay - *. Entirely aside from the endless parade of deaths at the hands of the mimes, the missions are frustrating. Objectives that are soetimes required and sometimes not (generally searching the bodies), defeat alls on giant maps, double-digit required objectives pretty much guaranteeing one's going to be crammed in an out-of-the-way crevice somewhere... and then there are the ambushes. The silent ambushes. Except the powers are pretty loud colliding with the back of your skull. I realize they're mimes and they don't talk. Yes, I realize this. But having a hard ambush just kind of pop in unannounced, while it might be funny once, gets to be a serious drain. Here's a thought: invent different ways every mission for the mimes to be silent. One mission they're going "...", one mission they're going “---!", one mission they're going ":walks against the wind:", you get the picture. It'll still be pretty amusing but still serve the same purpose actual dialogue balloons serve, which is to let the player know there's something there. Oh, and the AV in mission 3, who is either a giant sack of hitpoints to wear down or a jagged knife in your back, and whose ally code is bugged anyway. Maybe just have him wander around and wreck things set to Aggressive once you spring him?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
I think that’s a bit harsh as well. The vial thing… I should probably add in a start-up clue for that at the end, but the descriptions say what I wanted them to say. Yes, they might be samey, but that’s what they are. These are an enemy you know little about, your contact is a git and he tells you what you need to know. There are touches in this for the glowies, for the fights, all over that seem to have passed you by, and I suspect that’s because you were getting pasted all over the place. Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Detail - **. So what was with those vials in the last mission? Some beginning clue you revised out but left the click text in for? It's kind of a cool image which was rather spoilt by me going "wait, what vial? When did I get a vial?" The altars in the fourth mission just have their default description - more questions unanswered. And the mimes themselves all have dry, samey descriptions, up until the big bads in the last mission. "Bluman, Demon Mime of Walking Against Wind, possesses keen senses to detect approaching winds and prodigious strength to make futile progress even against hurricanes." That actually helps! "LeQuoi, Demon Mime of Being Pulled by Invisible Pets, can evoke the claws and fangs of a rabid dog and the life-sapping stench of... well... ANY dog."
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
For the first time in the reviews you’ve kindly done, I can’t accept that, and I feel it’s graded wrongly. The level range may be wrong for the Carnies mish, I can fix that and the optional objectives, but the other things are uncalled for. 1 is most definitely an unfair mark, it discounts the fact it was supposed to be a challenge, it discounts the fact there were more design touches in there than were reported on. Yes, I’ll agree there are bits in there that need a touch up, but this arc was not worth a 1 rating. 2 would have been harsh, 3 would have been fair based on what you’ve said, 1 seems to me to come from the fact you’d spent the evening getting your *** kicked - I wouldn't have tried it as a lowbie PB, I'd have fired up my 50 WS. Quote:
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Overall - *. Rethink the level range. Rethink the mime descriptions. Rethink the defeat alls. Rethink the need for the Zig mission. Rethink calling out optional objectives in the nav bar. Rethink the progression through the last mission.
I’ll take due criticism and there’s stuff in here to work with certainly, but the overall review isn’t in context of the way the arc is billed. It's hard, and if you don't apppreciate it going in, you will get a kicking.
You want to play an arc that makes you think about what you want to do before you do it and has a learning curve, try this one.
No one's arc does this. Not even the one I wrote that was intended to kill people. Turning the mobs up to 11 is just killer GMing, not creating some kind of tactical challenge.
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"
Quote:
I don't think the mobs aren't turned up to 11, they have a lot of debuffs and good perception, which makes it difficuly. If they were cranked up I'd say they were 8 or 9, and the description does warn people before playing. |
Originally Posted by Venture
You want to play an arc that makes you think about what you want to do before you do it and has a learning curve, try this one.
No one's arc does this. Not even the one I wrote that was intended to kill people. Turning the mobs up to 11 is just killer GMing, not creating some kind of tactical challenge. |
I've done this arc as a L50 scrapper, a L50 blaster and a L50 WS, and it can be done. These are not pimped up alts either, they have some IO sets but nothing special. Is it hard? Yes. Does it say 'this is hard' on the tin? Yes again. I don't want it to kill people, I want it to test people. Do people want testing? Maybe not, but it's the arc I wanted to create.
Glaz has given me some good pointers in his review of what to fix up and I agree about some of them, I just don't agree with his overall conclusions.
I've done this arc as a L50 scrapper, a L50 blaster and a L50 WS, and it can be done.
I've cleared "Psychophage" too, but it's still a great example of killer GMing.
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"
There are characters and players who require what you would call "killer GMing" in order to be challenged at all. They are as valid an audience for an MA arc as the guy running on Heroic.
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
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
@GlaziusF
Running this on a lowbie Peacebringer, diff 2 for more AoE fun stuff. --- My contact is "the Mystic Lynne",..... |
What are is this a review for?
WN
Check out one of my most recent arcs:
457506 - A Very Special Episode - An abandoned TV, a missing kid's TV show host and more
416951 - The Ms. Manners Task Force - More wacky villains, Wannabes. things in poor taste
or one of my other arcs including two 2010 Player's Choice Winners and an2009 Official AE Awards Nominee for Best Original Story
Quote:
March of the Maniac Mimes - 3007.|
Originally Posted by Wrong_Number
What are is this a review for?
WN |
It's been slightly tweaked based on the review to clarify some of the mission objectives (second mission's defeat all objective was the last room, but the map ignored it, so have dumped that for now) and hopefully sort out enemy placements (knew the first EB was middle placement), but not much other change than that.
There are characters and players who require what you would call "killer GMing" in order to be challenged at all.
I don't agree that anything in MA is challenging at all, Killer GMing or no. Writing something that was an actual challenge, as opposed to just making the numbers bigger, would require tools we don't have and likely never will. The only thing you accomplish by trying to kill the players is to vastly limit the number of people who will actually experience your story. It's a stupid self-limiting thing to do.
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"
Quote:
With respect, I disagree and it will make for an interesting discussion on another thread, so we don't clutter up Glaz's reviews with back and forth about it |
Originally Posted by Venture
There are characters and players who require what you would call "killer GMing" in order to be challenged at all.
I don't agree that anything in MA is challenging at all, Killer GMing or no. Writing something that was an actual challenge, as opposed to just making the numbers bigger, would require tools we don't have and likely never will. The only thing you accomplish by trying to kill the players is to vastly limit the number of people who will actually experience your story. It's a stupid self-limiting thing to do. |
Quote:
Oh no, Br'er Fox, please don't bump me to the top of that forum patch!|
Originally Posted by Escalus
With respect, I disagree and it will make for an interesting discussion on another thread, so we don't clutter up Glaz's reviews with back and forth about it
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Escalus
I have to say from the start that this arc is flagged as challenging and may not be suitable for some archetypes. Its pretty clear that if you do this as a lowbie, youre probably going to get a hiding, because this is not a quick and easy arc.
|
Because I don't know what your sense of difficulty curve is.
And honestly, even the random unannounced ambushes had a tough time doing me in. The mimes were really more annoying than punishing to fight, due to slows, immobs, and the control/heal combos -- at least when I dialed myself back to diff 1. I died the most to assists from the CoT archvillain and +10 minions from the Carnies.
Quote:
| These are deliberate design choices I didnt want everyone to be immediately identifiable and I certainly didnt want the ambushes to announce themselves because a) theyre mimes and b) you never know whats coming. This is supposed to be a challenge. It may not be something a casual gamer will appreciate, but thats the way I wanted it. |
Deliberately or inadvertently withholding information about the challenges you're throwing at the players doesn't always make them feel challenged. It can just as readily make them feel frustrated, or even helpless.
Quote:
| I didnt know the ally was bugged, will tweak that when I get home. Ive certainly been able to lead him out without problems before. |
Quote:
| The Zig mission made sense as the Mimes went after a ready made stock of captives to bolster their forces. Going after the Carnies also made sense as it affects both red and blue side and they have the psychic/mystic connection which would identify them as targets. While the objectives are similar I thought there was a good variance in the missions for it not to be an issue. |
Quote:
| The third mission, I may need to tweak the level settings, but it terms of progression its logical youve learned that ambushes are silent, youve learned that rescuing hostages isnt easy, lets go to work. |
Boss defeat? Ambush. Hostage rescue? Ambush. Single glowie click? Ambush.
Glowie 3 out of 10 with an imperceptibly different name so it counts as a different objective? Ambush. Destructible object with a slightly different name? Ambush at 50% health. Single custom minion set up with an easy boss group in a default pose and no dialogue? Ambush at 75% health. Ridiculously fragile ally set to single/aggressive so he dies before you ever see him? Ambush when he shows up on the map. Which can be while you load.
What can trigger an ambush? Freakin' anything, even stuff you'd never suspect. So when ambushes are silent, what are your choices? Either always be on guard, or never be on guard and await the hospital with a stoic complacency.
After the Midnighter club I either was positioned to see the ambushes spawn in, or the mission was already complete and I didn't stick around.
Quote:
| The only way I can make it more obvious that this will be hard is to have the opener have a pop-up saying are you sure you want to do this Mr Squishy?. |
Quote:
| I think thats a bit harsh as well. The vial thing I should probably add in a start-up clue for that at the end, but the descriptions say what I wanted them to say. Yes, they might be samey, but thats what they are. |
Quote:
| Ill take due criticism and theres stuff in here to work with certainly, but the overall review isnt in context of the way the arc is billed. It's hard, and if you don't apppreciate it going in, you will get a kicking. |
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)
So it looks like weekends are when I go to sleep early, to catch up from the weekdays. Gonna need to block out time, gonna need to block out time.
With tonight's arc:
Psychophage (283197). Verdict - ****. No, really. I was surprised too. Review on MA Forums Thread.
I am out of arcs except for stuff kicking around from Escalus. So it looks like random stuff from CoHMR for the next little while.
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)
'Ey there,
I've revisited my arc, "The Coldest of Wars" (cohmr: http://cohmissionreview.com/2009/08/...ldest-of-wars/ ) and made a few changes to it based on your input and other reviews/comments. I've also made some power changes so that it's hopefully not useless for XP in the post-I16 world - most critters were using custom power combinations before, but now the only 'custom' settings remaining are the end boss's main set and the archer minion's trick arrow set; trick arrow includes a blinding attack even on standard, so that had to go. If you feel bored enough to re-review* it, I'd really appreciate any and all criticism you could toss my way!
thanks again,
-- Z.
* Arc may or may not contain less annoying maps and powers. Shake before using. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
Quote:
You know if something is missing some standard powers it isn't worth any XP at all, right?|
Originally Posted by Zaphir
'Ey there,
I've revisited my arc, "The Coldest of Wars" (cohmr: http://cohmissionreview.com/2009/08/...ldest-of-wars/ ) and made a few changes to it based on your input and other reviews/comments. I've also made some power changes so that it's hopefully not useless for XP in the post-I16 world - most critters were using custom power combinations before, but now the only 'custom' settings remaining are the end boss's main set and the archer minion's trick arrow set; trick arrow includes a blinding attack even on standard, so that had to go. If you feel bored enough to re-review* it, I'd really appreciate any and all criticism you could toss my way! thanks again, -- Z. * Arc may or may not contain less annoying maps and powers. Shake before using. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball. |
Anyway, CoHMR coughs up The Double-Edged Sword (4384) (verdict - ****) and A Tangle In Time (2522) (verdict - *****) before giving me Second Generation Hero (114256), verdict - *. Review lower in this thread. It's got a listed thread on CoHMR but was a casualty of the great purge. So.
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)
@GlaziusF.
Running on a level 49 spine/regen scrapper, diff... uh... 2 heroes, even level, bosses on, AVs off.
Okay, that's going to get a lot more complicated.
Also this arc (Second Generation Hero by @Rampager) is apparently actually ID 114256.
---
Hmm. For an arc that is supposed to be about recovering some stolen stuff, it starts off rather oddly - with me directed to save Statesman from the 5th Column.
And then in the sendoff there's this giant text dump about how the stuff got stolen.
Also if this mission is so important that the sordid details can wait until I get back, why bother with this giant ill-fitting teaser in the sendoff text?
Awwwww, Red Atlas?
...I mean, okay, it actually fits here, but this map is such a pain to dart around in. So many walls blocking line of sight to guys just squattin' in broken-down rooms covered by smoke.
I also get objectives that seem like default text for Statesman and... Frostwolfe.
Extra Es are seldom a good sign.
Okay, there's the boss group, let's check out the new blood.
Hmm. Okay, Ripshock and Trapdoor have no bios at all, Orbweaver is apparently a specific person (who, as a minion, can show up multiple times per spawn) and Frostwolfe's bio ends in the middle of the first sentence, right after his name.
And his only line is to... call a silent ambush for backup right when the battle starts? Apparently?
Trapdoor is an exceedingly annoying LT-rank rad/archer, since radiation is a click power in the AI's hands.
I don't exactly have a lot of time to examine the ambush, but it contains a Protean Fang, also with no bio.
Statesman's escort contains a Shrieker, who -- say it with me -- has no bio.
There's a mission completion clue which is just "You rescued Statesman!", no text, and another one apparently for springing Statesman which runs over the edge of the clue window.
The mission exit popup says "let's get out of here and shut this portal down", but who's the "us" in there? It's an objective system message, not a little shoulder narrator - second-person plural is about as far up as it can go.
---
Okay, the contact has the pattern of a teeny little line before the mission starts and then a giant story dump when I push accept.
It's okay to actually talk about the mission in the pre-mission text. In fact, I encourage it, along with a pale green highlighting of some verb phrase containing a crucial mission objective.
And also, as applies in this case, a warning that the mission is going to be timed and roughly how much time is available. Nothing like looking up at the title bar and realizing that you've lost a couple minutes toward parsing the intro text.
(Paragraph breaks are your friend. Remember to double 'em up or the text will still run together!)
I'm fortunate enough to pick the right branch out of the two and find the journal I'm looking for in the first big room I come to. And then I get a boss defeat objective. Just a name, again, no indication of why it might be a good idea to whack this guy before I walk out the door.
I head for the back to look for him, but he actually spawned down the other branch from the start, and because of the map's pacing setting is a -2 elite boss. Stone melee/war mace, The Man With Two Build Ups. He has, say it with me, no bio.
I get a clue about some kind of data web embedded in him, and also one about the logbook I just found to trigger him, except describing it more generically. (also it needs an apostrophe-s after the hero's name since it's intended to be possessive)
---
And it takes until the third mission until the guy actually starts talking up the mission before it happens.
Unfortunately neither it nor the mission sendoff text are kind enough to tell me where I'll actually be going or who I'll actually be fighting. Is it Oranbega? Some other caves? A warehouse? Is it going to be CoT on-site or these new guys?
Also my contact tells me everybody in this group has a spider name, but I can't google up anything on ripshock or shrieker spiders.
It looks like it is the new guys in Oranbega. I finally get to look at Suntiger's bio, though surprise surprise it doesn't actually have one.
...oh joy, a jail map. With... four identical maces to collect? I guess three of them are decoys or something.
No, I get a clue after the first one, but there are still three showing up as left... and there's no system text telling me if I got the right one or not.
Apparently collecting the last mace glowie... spawned Baphomet in? That's got to be a pain for somebody who just turned around when they got to the jail, which is where I found two of the maces.
The armor doesn't have any kind of interaction text at all to it, either.
So, fighting Baphomet. Let's see, let's see. Not a bad fight all in all. He seems to call for help at low health, but it never arrives, and he gets a death rattle off AND drops some kind of rant about returning to the mortal plane in the system text, where it ought not to go.
---
While en route to Manticore I receive word that he was missing and presumed captured.
That's not the summary of the fourth mission briefing. That IS the fourth mission briefing. I... how does that translate into anything like a goal? Am I out hitting the streets? What does my contact have to do with any of this?
Okay, I AM hitting the streets. But.. didn't I retrieve the dude's gear from the CoT now? Why does the mission popup think I'm still going after it?
Frostwolfe is now a regular part of my balanced mission spawns. This is a reasonable response from MA, which likes to toss bosses in to spawns for 2 heroes, but I wonder if you intended it.
I spring Manticore - no dialog, no system text, no clues. I drop Funnelweb - no dialog, no system text, no clues, though at least they have a perfunctory description. And then the objective chains into finding... some kind of mission mainframe? How? Why?
I search all over for it and finally find it in the graveyard I'd cleared out in hopes of finding the boss. It's being guarded by CoT (what?) in a "being repaired" pose (WHAT?) and still has its default description, which is at least ostensibly true.
It drops an Arachnos DVD. ..maybe the Arachnos should have been guarding it? I don't even know anymore.
There's an exit popup which sounds a lot like what my contact should SAY when I finally get his stuff back to him.
---
...what, guy, you're not going to come in? Apparently Funnelweb's squad has some kind of doomsday weapon, and my confact's sendoff is just a rambling mass of ramble.
I find Funnelweb first in the base, on the bottom floor of that five-floor reactor room with like a jillion catwalks. He has rage! Though he never got to pop it last time and doesn't live long enough to make use of it this time, it's still a terrible terrible power especially if you're supposed to fight him as an AV. Capped to-hit like FOREVER.
As I get janked by a combination of radiation and sonic debuffs and a bane spider's stealth strike, I notice that the navbar title for the mission is entirely in lowercase.
Requiem and... the ghost of Captain Combustion (I've stopped trying to make sense of things at this point) are within spitting distance of each other. Manticore chases him when he runs through the arc, and there's another hospital trip in my future.
And even though the mission said I needed to defeat Requiem, nothing chained off of him. After the ghost was freed from captivity, the mission completed.
Apparently he was the guy who knocked off the guy who killed Manticore's parents? Would have been nice to get some kind of perspective on that from his kid.
The ordering in the mission was all out of whack. Apparently I was supposed to scoop up Manticore, then drop Requiem, then beat Funnelweb, then free the ghost? But really the objectives seemed to shake out very differently than that...
I get clues without titles from Funnelweb, Requiem, and the ghost. And the bomb that I was supposed to worry about was this anemic little glowie. I was expecting like a Rikti UXB or something.
And my souvenir is... Jimmy's mace? I thought he needed this thing to be a hero. Also it gives me a little bit of background on the mace but doesn't say a thing about the storyarc.
---
Storyline - *. Here's what I can kinda piece together. The guy who killed Manticore's family was wiped out by Captain Combustion. But he had a whole bunch of followers, who resurfaced one day and killed Captain Combustion, stealing the legacy intended for his grandson. ...that's about all that I can pull out that makes sense. Rampager (Jimmy?) might have said some of this. He might have said more, but every briefing is a solid block of rambling text. There's a lot of other stuff tacked on - the portal to Axis America, the 5th building a giant robot, Baphomet wanting to possess the relics and get into the real world... somehow, the mainframe sitting in the middle of the street that links to Arachnos, and Requiem thinking he can somehow get the 5th back into action with Captain Combustion's ghost, which he has acquired... somehow. The set pieces in each mission are kinda okay on their own, but I just can't string them together into anything coherent at all.
Design - **. I can't really make sense out of why the enemies have the powers they have. Mercs/Psi Assault? Ice armor over a cheery yellow bodysuit? Rad/archery? Fire/ice? SS/Elec? Stone Melee/War Mace Melee? I don't get any of it because it doesn't exactly follow from the monster names alone, which are all I have to go on as most of them have no descriptions to speak of. Two maps have objectives necessarily placed randomly (missions 1 and 4, outdoor) and two have objectives which may as well be placed randomly for all they can be stumbled across in any order (missions 2 and 5).
Gameplay - **. Wandering around randomly trying to find objectives to complete isn't much fun, and this mission pulls it on 4 maps out of 5, with the last mission having the added bonus of chains that are talked up inside the mission itself but which don't actually exist.
Detail - *. A lot of why the story doesn't make much sense is that Rampager has two modes - single bland line and WALL OF TEXT LANDS A CRITICAL STRIKE ON YOUR ATTENTION SPAN FOR AN EXTRA 9999.99 DAMAGE. There might be some clues in the description of the various members of the villain group, but most of them are blank, and the two that aren't are named people who can still show up in multiple on-screen copies, one of whom (Frostwolfe) has half a sentence of description. System text and dialogue are used in consistently and in the case of at least one mission seem to have been omitted completely.
OVerall - *. This feels really unfinished and sloppily done. Mission 4 has no dialogue at all from anyone. Most of the custom enemies have no description at all. Briefings are just a giant pile of possibly-connected statements piled wherever. I really wonder if this was an early draft uploaded by mistake.
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:
Doh, sorry, I misspoke (well, miswrote).. 'standard' doesn't have the blinding arrow, but 'hard' does. I just set it to 'standard', which is probably a better idea for minions anyway.|
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
You know if something is missing some standard powers it isn't worth any XP at all, right?
|
take care,
-- Z.
Tonight is a night for lowbies. Tonight is a night for a Hellion Smackdown (230866). Review forthcoming.
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)
@GlaziusF
Alright, testing this one's lowbie chops with a single-digit FF/energy defender, standard diff. (1 hero, even level, no solo bosses, no AVs)
Arc ID is apparently really 230866.
---
Okay, I have to say, as far as missions go, we really need more of them that are just some guy on the street saying "Listen, $name, I know you're fightin' for justice and I'll let you finish but there's this building full of Hellions that really needs a hero!"
Unfortunately this is... just a building full of Hellions. No sign of whatever it is they're doing that's so dangerous it needs a hero. I mean, okay, I realize as part of their normal daily life they perform unholy rituals to Baphomet, smuggle ancient and powerful artifacts, and try to establish the largest private purse collection in the tri-country area, but I'm not actually seeing any of that. Just a decayed office full of Hellions. It's not even on fire. Well, most of it's not. Since the default Hellion animation loops include hucking Molotovs there are bits of it that light up briefly.
I get a clue for completing the mission but it's just a generic clue about cleaning the place out.
---
So now the Hellions are in a casino, lighting up the place. And they've brought weapons. No, not arcane weapons. Looks like they lifted this stuff from a SWAT van somewhere.
Sweet fancy Moses it takes a long time to stare at one of these racks before the weapons are collected.
And I finally get a hint of something like plot when the weapons are approximately 156.4% more awesome than the Hellion's usual Sacrifice Night Specials.
But... that's it. It's over.
---
Man, I can't rate this, there's nothing here. It's like two radio missions with less hoofin' it and also less progress toward a raptor pack.
Except radio missions at least try for a funny little bit of boss dialogue or pun-flavored collectible.
I mean, okay, your little explanation in the thread has a reason for why it's so... basic... but just seeing the description here or in-game it doesn't seem that way.
Like, where was anything about this guy being pressed into joining the Hellions? That sounded interesting enough to play but it never shows up!
Any concrete suggestions at this point would be pretty much me writing your arc for you, since it's such a blank slate right now.
So here's an abstract one: think of an awesome moment. Think of the awesome moment you want to put into a story, and go into MA to make it real. Then figure out how to get there, then figure out how to get back to reality, if such term can be said to apply to a place where a dude with a steam boiler strapped to his back nails an alien laser squid to the wall with a forcebolt from his gear staff.
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)
Hey Glazius, can I be cheeky and ask you to check one of my arcs when you have time? I posted it in the mission review site ages ago but nobody ever commented on it there 
http://cohmissionreview.com/2009/04/...rs-and-legacy/
Story Arc ID: 1589
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Aliana Blue
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Alignment: Heroic
Couple of AVs in there but they come with allies for you, stock mobs too. Thanks a bunch!
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:
Man, this thing's been out since April and only 20 people played it? |
Originally Posted by Aliana Blue
Hey Glazius, can I be cheeky and ask you to check one of my arcs when you have time? I posted it in the mission review site ages ago but nobody ever commented on it there
|
It's gettin' played tonight. And finished in two days. Yay, RL distractions. Of Mentors and Legacy (1589), verdict - ****. Review lower in this thread.
Also! I got a new arc out there. Check mah sig.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
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@GlaziusF
Running this on a level 40 ice/axe tank, 3 heroes' worth of even level spawns with bosses but no AVs.
Man, I don't think that's ever gonna stop being a mouthful.
---
So... I'm in what's supposed to be a training exercise against Freakshow with milspec ordnance.
But the glowy column of light just dumped me into... Oranbega?
I encounter a CoT who seems to think the Circle rules the world and heroes are tasty meat snacks. ...how's that happen? The Circle getting stomped by the Mu was the impetus for this whole demon summoning thing.
Nice custom demon, though.
I find a glowie near the middle (looks like Back glowies just show up there now) and it reveals everything. This is the distant future where the Circle rules the world for... some reason... and Ouroboros wants me to make a difference.
Kind of a weird approach there, guy. I mean, odds are I'm cleared for Ouro at this point anyway.
It does save you the trouble of having to make an interesting Ouro contact model, but still.
---
But alright, let's do an end run around causality.
Hmm. I kinda got the point of things after the first CoT death mage leading a DE herd. I've battled through like six of them so far and I've barely gotten above the first floor.
No chance you could cut that down a bit, is there?
I rescue some kind of angel thing from the Circle, who have worked out how to use the DE as heavies. Kinda interesting how it works out all in all -- buffs from DE emanators are coded to work only on DE, so when there's a cairn and a fungus hanging around I can still punk the mage.
I wonder if you could make some kind of custom enemy group that's a mix of DE and like Behemoths and Thorn Casters or something, just to cut down on the pain a quartz emanator can bring on.
---
...I guess Collin's okay with the future turning out this way? I can see where he's coming from, not wanting people to mess with the system, but his viewpoint still seems kinda harsh.
Hmm. I think you need to add the other ranks of ghost to this group you have guarding the hostages. All I'm getting are the other Nevra demons, and they're spawning in at -1. (I dinged 41.)
Freeing the hostages gives me a boss, who tells me I was too late to stop them from capturing the hero.
...uh, I can arrive at any time I want. Nice job on the landing, Mender Kidnap.
Anyway, he comes free and it seems like everything's going to turn out alright now.
I'm not exactly sure why the mission exit pop says I'm so uneasy, Edge's bio makes him sound like a Confidence Elemental.
---
Well, Collin has the portal set for the future again.
It's gonna be Red Atlas, isn't it. We can't have utopian things.
Oh! Not Red Atlas. A tech lab. With an entry pop-up telling me this is unexpected.
For a moment I wonder what's unexpected, and then I round a corner and get a canister full of sniper gas in the face.
NO ONE EXPECTS THE NEMESIS INQUISITION! Our 6,492,312,760 secret plans include...
I've arrived in the far future. And Nemesis won... somehow. Reading through the files it looks like it was just by showing up, playing both sides of a conflict against each other in mutually assured destruction.
But, uh... Baron Zoria was a bit of a froofy nobleman, with great aspirations but no real power. His soul is jammed in a crystal in the Library of Souls. There's an immortal Circle mage currently using his body and possibly alias.
In that one Smoke and Mirrors TF I think he does appear as an end enemy but that seems to be the result of some canon confusion. Weirdly enough its description is Akarist's, and I think the model is the Akarist hostage they added to the Library of Souls arc, in I think I6?
I'm unsure if the Circle even has head honchos. There are the archmages in the Augustine TF who seem to be a sort of leadership council...
Anyway. Just say the kid took out the Thorn Tree or something, that's a pretty major place of power and would be a serious blow to their operations.
Man, this thing better not turn out to have been yet another Nemesis plot.
---
Collin seems awfully concerned about the future for someone who was all possessive about his sim being hijacked not two missions back.
Anyway, on entering I find out this was... a Circle plot? A plant within Ouroboros? Dang.
Mist is running Hurricane, which is on even when she's a captive and tosses the Circle all over the dang place.
Speaking of all over the dang place... yeah. There's a lot of geometry/spawnometry where a misplaced gale can have you fighting three groups at once. Not that I can't handle it, even with the spawn size cranked up, but it's still annoying. Any chance you could make this lady /cold instead of /storm?
I fight a somewhat interesting ice/fire EB demon (but, uh, the Circle kinda has those, they're called Blade Princes) and then fight Paelin, a ninjas/invuln AV who only seems to have rank 1 of the minion summon. Kind of underwhelming.
He talks about the necessity of doin' what he's doin', which makes me wonder if he went rogue or if this is legitimately the way our future is supposed to turn out.
No clues drop on his death that might provide an answer.
Ah. There it is, in the souvie. It looks like this guy was just a n00b at messing with time, which makes me wonder why he was on this duty, or if his botched handling of the whole situation was just part of somebody else's plan for the timestream.
---
Storyline - ****. I'm not a big fan of the framing device. My contact's not really thrilled about this whole thing for like half the arc, which doesn't do a lot for my own motivation. And Paelin is a cipher -- up until the souvenir, anyway, which is kind of a shame as he's one of the big movers in the plot. I'd kinda like to see this with him as a contact in Ouroboros, with you hijacking the Pillar of Ice and Flame for the last two missions and him just being embarrassed and going off somewhere for intense training when you finally return. Or something along those lines anyway.
Design - ****. The second and fifth missions are full to bursting with death mages. Not quite so bad in the fifth mission when you get help more or less right away, but all those boss fights right after the other in mission 2 were just kind of draining. I also find it a bit odd that a couple custom demons get thrown into the mix when the Circle has a lot of serviceable EBs already. Also I have a couple of issues with chained objectives - the hostage rescue and boss fights all hit in about the same 90-degree arc of the same room in mission 5. If I wasn't chasing stragglers down who got galicaned across the map, they would have spawned in surrounding me.
Gameplay - ****. The other issue with chained objectives is that putting two chains on an outdoor map, such as happens in mission 3, is introducing a lot of hunt-and-peck to resolve each chain. And on a map prone to chain aggro like the graveyard map, sproinging around and landing wherever isn't a very good way to search for what you need.
Detail - ****. I'll admit that part of this is probably on the game, and not this arc in specific, but Baron Zoria is really not any kind of Circle leader, and this mission's selected level range puts it beyond the point in "the storyline" where the Circle mage possessing his body is a credible front man. You can probably peel out references to Baron Zoria in specific and replace them with the Circle in general.
Overall - ****. Honestly it probably would have been more impressive if I'd seen it right when MA launched, but it's still a very serviceable arc in need of a little polish to really shine.
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)
And rolling right into tonight's arc, it's The Dreams Of Youth (286607). Verdict - ***. Review lower in this thread.
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)
@GlaziusF
Playing this one on a high 30s archery energy blaster, diff settings 1 hero +1 yes bosses no AVS.
NO WEAPONS NO ITEMS FOX ONLY FINAL DESTINATION
Caveat: I know nothing about Queen, other than that any casette tape left in a car for long enough will become a Queen album.
---
"see the terrible future" is a 75% chance of Red Atlas.
Oh! Marchand's Office!
...the "back" spawn doesn't work in this one though. Just so you know. Since the map is part outdoors it can just drop it anydangwhere.
Huh. Custom Arachnos? Some "Crab Spider LB", which I guess stands for "longbow" archery/SR with stat resists. Kind of an odd choice given Arachnos is pretty techno. Also no crab backpacks. Maybe call them Wolf Spiders?
Ah, wolf spiders are melee, crabs are range. Kinda odd given that the actual ones are capable at both distances.
Missing like crazy because every lieut's SR. Also completely unable to apply any kind of crowd control. I can connect with Total Focus, Bone Smasher, and Energy Punch and they're still up and attacking.
The lottery strikes and Amanda Vines actually shows up on the roof. She tells me what I've picked up from the patrols - someone killed Arachnos from the inside and then took out most of the world's heroes under the pretext of a peace talk.
...but if that's the case, why is the new Arachnos even bothering to use the old one's nomenclature and costuming?
Anyway, this all came to pass because somebody got hold of a dimension-hopping being of pure potential and misused him.
---
So let's go play Child Protective Services, shall we?
Aw. Not much going on in this base aside from one dude who's an investigator. I liked the copious chatter in the first mission and I was kinda expecting it to keep up.
These first two missions have had basically successive clues showing up on complete - there's only one thing to do, so it drops a clue, which completes the mission, which drops ANOTHER clue...
Why bother? It's not like they're separate bits, either. One usually ends up restating the other in part or in whole.
---
So, on to the final boss fight.
Apparently you weren't planning on this to be some kind of rock opera...
But I really have to ask why not.
Anyway, "Youth" is as mustachioed as the guy who's been sending me on these missions, and he has no description at all.
...and I thought he was kneeling, but it turns out he's just very very small.
So about half this map is completely unused, as the boss just shows up right by the portal when I tag back to it. He's Thugs/Fire, and mad enough to sport a giant pumpkin head for no apparent reason.
Fortunately my squishy pal who's rad to be with has things under control there, with an assist from my AoE self. He rezzes, but by that time the mission's complete and I fly the coop.
Unfortunately somebody bugs me to look something up and I misclick and miss the ending text.
---
Storyline - ****. Not that I expected the ending text to be worldshaking. The storyline was pretty straightforward and nothing I haven't seen - madman acquires being with cosmic power, attempts to take over world, you put the kibosh on his plans, sail on star travellers. It seems like this "great power" of Youth was just what Magic was doing for me - Mad Al just had more capacity to take advantage of the visions of the future. The title led me to expect something more, like for Mad Al's troops to actually be created from Youth's imagination, or his own mad scientific perversions thereof.
Design - ***. The last map is 50% unused space - I scooped up Youth right on the first floor down, took him to the portal, and the boss fight was right there. While a nice touch overall, it left me wondering if something hadn't gone wrong somewhere. The custom Arachnos... really aren't "out there" enough. They're basically HK Arachnos - recolors with off-brand armor. I thought this guy was supposed to be MAD.
Gameplay - ***. They are pretty maddening to fight, at least. SR makes the hard to hit and shrugs off crowd control and knockaround. Add the rocket boots and any melee lieutenant is practically guaranteed to be in your face beating... uh... your face in. I could understand if this was one lieutenant's gimmick, but it's the same for all of them.
Detail - ***. No bio on Youth just made me a bit sad. No specific variation on the New Arachnos bios for powersets (or even to explain the difference between Crab and Wolf) was a bit of a letdown too. The restated clues for the first two missions just didn't make any sense to double up on... and while I'm not taking points for this, I really got the hankering to see this done up as a rock opera.
Overall - ***. An arc that doesn't exactly swing for the fences but is fairly solid for what it is, which needs a little more attention to detail, powerset variety, and objective placement to really shine.
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 the feedback! Let's see a couple of things
Quote:
I used to have a custom group with only DE minions, so you can guess what happened there... It made the fight (1 boss + assorted minions) ok without being annoying, and testing on "standard" difficulties (pre-i16) with default full DE seemed ok, just didn't count on added Lts. from higher bodycount difficulties post-patch. I'll see what I can do about it, I'll probably add a replacement Lt. and use standard minion/bosses from the DE, and probably leave 3 boss fights only.|
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Hmm. I kinda got the point of things after the first CoT death mage leading a DE herd. I've battled through like six of them so far and I've barely gotten above the first floor.
No chance you could cut that down a bit, is there? (...) I wonder if you could make some kind of custom enemy group that's a mix of DE and like Behemoths and Thorn Casters or something, just to cut down on the pain a quartz emanator can bring on. |
Quote:
| Hmm. I think you need to add the other ranks of ghost to this group you have guarding the hostages. All I'm getting are the other Nevra demons, and they're spawning in at -1. (I dinged 41.) |
Hm, just checked and the non-CoT do spawn at level 50... But only the boss, wtf? (So I get a level 50 Lost Soul and a bunch of level 40 Nerva greys). This was working fine before! I'll have to check further *grumble*
Quote:
|
But, uh... Baron Zoria was a bit of a froofy nobleman, (Big Snip) Anyway. Just say the kid took out the Thorn Tree or something, that's a pretty major place of power and would be a serious blow to their operations. |
Quote:
|
Mist is running Hurricane, which is on even when she's a captive and tosses the Circle all over the dang place. Speaking of all over the dang place... yeah. There's a lot of geometry/spawnometry where a misplaced gale can have you fighting three groups at once. Not that I can't handle it, even with the spawn size cranked up, but it's still annoying. Any chance you could make this lady /cold instead of /storm? |
Quote:
| I fight a somewhat interesting ice/fire EB demon (but, uh, the Circle kinda has those, they're called Blade Princes) |
Quote:
| and then fight Paelin, a ninjas/invuln AV who only seems to have rank 1 of the minion summon. Kind of underwhelming. |
Quote:
| Ah. There it is, in the souvie. It looks like this guy was just a n00b at messing with time, which makes me wonder why he was on this duty, or if his botched handling of the whole situation was just part of somebody else's plan for the timestream. |
Quote:
| ...uh, I can arrive at any time I want. Nice job on the landing, Mender Kidnap. |
I think the menders are not very good at picking good timings.I'll go get busy, thanks again for the feedback
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:
If you've unlocked Diabolique's ghosts they definitely exist in this level range. But that means bringing Chill of the Night back, so use at your own risk.|
Originally Posted by Aliana Blue
Uh... wha? The group includes the non-CoT ghosts found in portal missions and such (like the spectral passengers of the ghost ship) It's... odd that you got only Nerva demons.
Hm, just checked and the non-CoT do spawn at level 50... But only the boss, wtf? (So I get a level 50 Lost Soul and a bunch of level 40 Nerva greys). This was working fine before! I'll have to check further *grumble* |
Quote:
| Thanks. The CoT lore seems a bit convoluted, so I went with Twilight Son's big bad, since it'd be recognizable for many players. Your suggestion's good, I'll rewrite that part. |
("I will pierce myself with this thorn, and gain the mystic power of an ancient civilization!" he shouted.
The acolyte said, "No, Zoria. You ARE the ancient civilization!"
And then Zoria was a crystal.)
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)
@GlaziusF
Running this on a lowbie Peacebringer, diff 2 for more AoE fun stuff.
---
My contact is "the Mystic Lynne", which makes me think that Lynne is some kind of category noun and there's a Martial Arts Lynne and a Robotics Lynne out there somewhere.
Anyway, I get to walk into the Midnight Club because of a something.
...12 Midnighters? Can this map even support 12 Midnighters?
Ah, if they're all inanimate, then yes.
The custom enemies all seem to have the same description, except for their name and rank. It really doesn't help to associate them with their powers at all, which is a bit of a drag as there are some priority targets and some disposable ones.
You know, I respect that the ambush has got to be silent? But it's kind of a death sentence to just get jumped and have no idea whether the first shot came from some straggler or the vanguard of a new assault force.
---
Um, the place isn't called "The Ziggurat". "The Zig" is definitely short for it, and there are plenty of Bablyonian references in Brickstown, but it's the Ziggursky Penitentiary.
Wha wha wha wha CLEAR THE ZIG? This place is HUGE!
Okay, dialing this thing back to 1 and reloading the game. Got an unlucky spawn with two controller/healers in it and I can't even dent them.
Wow. Right as I spring the warden he tells me about two other prisoners and it turns out I'm right in the middle of a spawn of one of their guards, because I was fighting the warden's at range. Pop goes the squidly.
Lordy, there are an awful lot of ways to get multiple controls stacked on you. Including those mind mimes, who can do it all on their own.
Lots of fun to get controlled mid-air and drift over another spawn of mimes, let me tell you.
The boss mime objectives don't complete until the entire spawn goes down.
...which is just as well, as I get another hard ambush on me after the last one drops.
And yep, the mission's to clear out the ENTIRE Zig, not just the building itself.
I find the last one parked on top of an outer walkway in the yard. Not on patrol, just coincidentally standing there. Good thing I have innate for fly.
---
Carnies.
20 Carnies.
On this gigantic sprawling overworld map... and I'm bumped to 30. Well, naturally.
So, battles. Heroside carnies don't natively spawn lower than 40, which can be a problem when a map only brings you up to 30. I have to engage in a little luring and dying... okay, a lot of luring and dying... to get some of the Carnie survivors away from glowies so I can click on them, and escort groups so I can fight them.
Man. These mimes are just lousy with +perception passives. Targeting drone, SR, Willpower... I have no idea if any given group of them is going to spin around and fight me.
That's not a good thing, by the way.
Oh. The glowies were actually completely optional. And so, by extension, were half my deaths. Good to know!
---
Oranbega.
I SWEAR, if there are 21 freaking CoT mages to rescue...
Oh good! Only ten... destructible objects?
Yes! Destructible objects! ...and they're more vocal than the mimes.
Also I have no idea why the altars would explode or how the mimes would make them do it because they all have a default description.
So I find the high mage, and free him. The navbar says "find the high mage" but it's giving me an escort point to the door.
Now, there's something you should know about Oranbegan crystals. Allies will tend to aggro on them and, since they can't be targeted or destroyed, stay that way FOREVER.
Guess what I have to lead this guy past.
Yeah.
In the hopes that the escort isn't actually required I go off in search of the other bombs.
And die. Again. To a silent patrol that drops from an upper ledge.
Fortunately on my way back I notice that standing just within ally perception range will make an ally run toward you when you rejoin it... for a few steps anyway. So we get to the door.
And then he turns on me.
I have never been so thankful that "fight defensive" allies don't actually fight you on betrayal as I am now.
Oh.
Wait.
They don't attack you of their own volition, but they do assist anything else on the map once it decides to break your face.
This could be a ptoblem.
So yeah, when allies betray you they get enemy ambush "I know where you are through three portals and 100 feet of stone" follow instead of ally "I can't find my way around this pebble" follow. It's only thanks to a lot of flying speed and the high mage's insistence on Fortituding me before launching his attacks that I can actually take out all the altars.
---
The big boss, huh? I slip out to pick up a Shivan. I have a feeling this guy's going to be a downgraded AV.
...10 leaders. Uh... alright then...
Hey! Lucky break, the big boss is... right in the first room of the mission.
Uh.
Was that on purpose?
Anyway. Moving through, beating the same bosses I saw in the Zig, activating the cures (which apparently come out of some kind of vial I was never given?) and... oh lord, it's another defeat all.
Okay, the sorceror supreme who tried to pull this off is on the fourth floor up. He's a decent enough fight straight up.
Huh. The LAST objective up is "defeat DuBrea". Looks like another case of a plural objective picking the wrong singular when it's down to the last. Maybe, if you want them separate, you could have separate objectives for DuBrea, the fire/psy demon guy, and the generic leaders.
And the last thing I do is run back downstairs through an empty map and click on a transparent glowie I couldn't hear because of a nearby waterfall.
---
Storyline - ***. Was the excursion to the Zig strictly necessary? The story's told in a rather minimalist fashion (somewhat necessarily so) so the missions don't really have much to distinguish themselves from each other. It's basically OH NO DEMON MIMES ARE LOOSE -- OH NO STOP THEM AT THE ZIG -- OH NO STOP THEM AT THE CARNIES -- OH NO HELP THE THORNS SO WE CAN GET A CURE -- YAY IT'S A CURE BEAT THE BIG BAD. I appreciate that you want to give people a feel for the group outside the tiny tiny Midnight Squad map, but are two repetitions really necessary?
Design - *. This is definitely not an "all levels" storyarc. For some reason (I'm betting the AV) the third mission floors at 35, and really 35-54 is probably a good working range for this arc. The mimes are absolutely brutal. They stack defense debuffs, they stack slows, about half of them have a control power (does Beanbag come standard with AR now or did you add that?) and about half of them can heal the other mimes. Frequently it's the same half, which is a magna pain. Nothing like getting somebody down to a sliver only to be held and have their health just pop right back up in a green/red/blue/black swirl. It doesn't help any that there's no apparent reason for the mimes to have the powers they do, and aside from the big bosses all their descriptions are the same except for a name and rank. And then there's the Carnie mission. Purples, even purple minions, can wreck a day right proper. You can kind of cheat the standard spawner by making a custom group of Carnies and just throwing them all in there to get the 30-40 ones to show up, heroside and villainside. Also, I was not expecting to open the last mission by fighting the evil mastermind and then work my way DOWN through the ranks.
Gameplay - *. Entirely aside from the endless parade of deaths at the hands of the mimes, the missions are frustrating. Objectives that are soetimes required and sometimes not (generally searching the bodies), defeat alls on giant maps, double-digit required objectives pretty much guaranteeing one's going to be crammed in an out-of-the-way crevice somewhere... and then there are the ambushes. The silent ambushes. Except the powers are pretty loud colliding with the back of your skull. I realize they're mimes and they don't talk. Yes, I realize this. But having a hard ambush just kind of pop in unannounced, while it might be funny once, gets to be a serious drain. Here's a thought: invent different ways every mission for the mimes to be silent. One mission they're going "...", one mission they're going "---!", one mission they're going ":walks against the wind:", you get the picture. It'll still be pretty amusing but still serve the same purpose actual dialogue balloons serve, which is to let the player know there's something there. Oh, and the AV in mission 3, who is either a giant sack of hitpoints to wear down or a jagged knife in your back, and whose ally code is bugged anyway. Maybe just have him wander around and wreck things set to Aggressive once you spring him?
Detail - **. So what was with those vials in the last mission? Some beginning clue you revised out but left the click text in for? It's kind of a cool image which was rather spoilt by me going "wait, what vial? When did I get a vial?" The altars in the fourth mission just have their default description - more questions unanswered. And the mimes themselves all have dry, samey descriptions, up until the big bads in the last mission. "Bluman, Demon Mime of Walking Against Wind, possesses keen senses to detect approaching winds and prodigious strength to make futile progress even against hurricanes." That actually helps! "LeQuoi, Demon Mime of Being Pulled by Invisible Pets, can evoke the claws and fangs of a rabid dog and the life-sapping stench of... well... ANY dog."
Overall - *. Rethink the level range. Rethink the mime descriptions. Rethink the defeat alls. Rethink the need for the Zig mission. Rethink calling out optional objectives in the nav bar. Rethink the progression through the last mission.
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)