CoHMR Aggregator (a review thread)

GlaziusF · 06-03-2009 09:04 PM

@GlaziusF

Running this arc on a low 40's Fire/DB brute. Mission Engineer will not elude me forever!

---

If there isn't much time, why not run a timer?

Ah, because there really is all the time in the world. The clue's kind of vague HOW I learn this was a feint. I doubt these guys are the talkative type, as they don't actually say anything or appear to be doing anything inside the lab besides pacing about. Maybe get a radio message from Ms. Liberty?

I can see I'll need to keep some break frees around for these confu lieuts. Fortunately they only have one confuse power.

Uh, exit text? Maybe you should speak to the mission complete clue, he told me what these people were really after. Makes you look bad.

Oh. They actually were trying to destroy something. And the contact has no idea about the other thing I learned where they were STEALING ENRICHED PLUTONIUM.

As an afternote, this was a quite tolerable defeat all. On a tech map with minimal crannies and a very straightforward layout.

---

And in the second mission the contact is back in the loop! It's apparently payback time, though really I was not the one who got jacked around by the feint. I just went to the place and knocked people down until there weren't no more to knock.

...this mission has problems. The map is a giant sprawling office-to-cave-to-sewer affair and the only glowie, the one that completes the mission, is right in the first room. The only enemies to say anything are the ambush that shows up after the mission's already complete.

Apparently I have the chance to interrogate some mercs after a mission I can complete without killing anyone. What?

---

And now I get to trawl, apparently, the entire sewer system looking for a base entrance, because the same group that was introduced to us with a feint surely won't feint again.

Well, whatever it takes to advance the plot, I guess.

I get a boss name in the HUD and... I guess I have to fight the guy? For some reason.

Yes, there he is. Oozing arrogance and contempt, which are oddly blue and translucent.

He sets bombs and... I believe tries to run off? Or maybe it's panic from being knocked down too much. Anyway, for a moment I worry this mission is going to be uncompletable - the demo charges are reporting they're invalid targets - but once their guard is aggroed they show up as they should.

And we get no lead on whatever their base is, but I do capture a comlink. So... apparently what this guy added to sewer operations was a communications leak to the people trying to find them. That seems a bit counterproductive.

---

...the next mission sets me to max level 34. For no reason I can discern. I don't complain much about an uneven level range, but the one thing that'll get me is a mission that takes away powers I had at the start of the arc for no apparent reason.

I lose access to Fiery Embrace, Mu Lightning, and Rise of the Phoenix, and I deeply miss the last two (the ally rescue spawns right in the middle of two other groups) and wouldn't mind the first either.

Taking the ally to the door isn't much of a challenge. Maybe if it was more than one ambush she could take out with her pinky.

---

So... Liberty gets to fight the nameless mooks and I get to fight the ancient supervillain. While she is a wreckin' machine and would probably trivialize the fight I think I would still miss her.

...and I not only fight the archvillain but his entire crew of crime. That's just swell. Good thing I tank-stealthed here, otherwise I'd have nowhere to fill up on insps for the next round.

Heading deeper into the base I chug my accumulated break frees to not get confused and practice my knockaround since none of the enemies except the downgraded AV seem to resist it, not that I'm complaining.

But I have to run all the way back to the entrance to mop up the last boss?

That seems to all have happened in entirely the wrong order. Maybe fight some warmup clone of the end boss right up front, then work through his inner circle to take him down at the very end of it?

---

Storyline - **. This is one of those "individual good missions, incoherent whole" things. The clues I get during a mission, the debriefing I get after the mission, and the briefing to kick off the next mission seem to be deciding what happens by majority vote instead of actually agreeing with one another. This really, really needs a pass for consistency. As it is I have no idea what I should be taking as true.

Design - ****. The two major shortfalls are the giant sprawling map that completes with a glowie in the first room and the end mission, which starts with the toughest fight and then moves into the lesser mop-ups. But the missions themselves are also completely empty of everything but required objectives. A little incidental detail would work very nicely indeed. I'm marking this up a star because of the frankly excellent visual design on the custom enemies.

Gameplay - ***. The main serious frustration was suddenly losing access to some powers I'd been using in the fourth mission. There was no reason that I could see to do this.

Detail - ***. The only real attempt to provide any atmosphere happened in the last mission, and while it did make the encounters fell appropriately climactic, every other mission was just bare minimum generic text.

Overall - ***. A pass for continuity, another pass to put in some incidental detail, and a reworking of that fourth mission to cap at the same level the others cap at would improve this arc greatly. As it is it's flawed.

GlaziusF · 06-04-2009 08:26 PM

Tonight's leadoff arc is from someone with another extant arc I happened to random into. I figure since if I do a leadoff first I can do a random it should work the other way around.

Tonight's leadoff arc: Fighting Freedom (177930). Verdict: ****. Commentary below.
Tonight's first random CoHMR arc: Parts Unknown (78964). Verdict: ***. Commentary below in this thread. (not actually random as it got the playability fix since yesterday.)
Tonight's second random CoHMR arc: Time Loop (137561). Verdict: ****. Commentary on MA Forums Thread.
(Tonight's not-third random arc: CoHMR coughs up "Escalation". What is this, night of the living double-plays?)

GlaziusF · 06-04-2009 08:27 PM

@GlaziusF

Playing as a low 40s DB/Fire brute on diff 2, so bosses is bosses. Mission Engineer draws closer with every passing moment.

---

Ah, smacking down homegrown justice. One of the most satisfying parts of the late game. Let's see how this goes.

Hmm. The first two-three sentences of the custom enemy description aren't really necessary, except for the boss. Nice power design, interesting objectives (is saving the destructibles optional?)

I'm not sure about some photos and a manifest meaning outside help. I mean, there was probably a manifest in the warehouse and cameras aren't a controlled technology.

---

Hey, I'd probably enjoy smacking around a leader just for the hell of it, at this point.

Intro text, these guys may be young but it's not like none of them had a voice drop yet.

So it was supposed to be a trap set by the puny men with bows. Works out about as well as anything else they do.

Really this sounds more like a Longbow thing. Wyvern are just Manti's private army, and spending money funding guerillas... actually, never mind.

---

And we're going to discourage them with total destruction. I can get behind that.

The two terminals I have to access are literally right next to each other. Random placement weirdness? The interact text for the second one is "access the last terminal".

Short little base all in all. I was expecting more actual destruction but I guess the aftermath is nice.

And I guess we get to put some guy's girlfriend in a refrigerator now or something?

---

You'd think LS would take his girlfriend with him, wherever he was going.

Interesting presence though. I would have expected a boss, but she's just behind two of them from the custom group as an effective noncombatant. ...why not just an "ally" following you around, though? I guess you'd have to knock her out to stop her calling for help or somesuch.

---

And now it's the end. Please don't be on fire, base, you do my framerate an awful turn.

Ah, dear, you are. At least you don't have the obvious geometry hole you used to have.

The Huntsman is good help doing enough damage to him though he does shrug off a lot of it being as S/L tolerant.

---

Storyline - ***. Ordinarily this'd be a bit higher but I was struck by something near the end of the Wyvern base - this is a gender-swapped version of Lorenz Ansaldo's Sea Witch arc. Chop off the first two setup missions and it's pretty much the same structure, and the first two setup missions don't really establish much of a link to the "helper group" within the missions.

Design - ****. The customs are very "street" looking, with more specialized attire for the one-off bosses. The missions take place in generally appropriate and modestly full settings, though I kinda lament the lack of stuff to break when I'm invading enemy bases.

Gameplay - *****. No problems working through, but I'm glad I saved up inspirations for the end boss. Also thank you from the bottom of my withered little heart for not giving him Rage.

Detail - ***. I didn't really get much of a sense of personality from the customs aside from "generic do-gooder". We don't get any real background on Liberty's Son so whatever he says about his oath or whatever doesn't really have much impact to it.

Overall - ****. It's pretty much a competently executed canon mission with the names changed, and a decently-realized new custom group.

GlaziusF · 06-04-2009 09:35 PM

@GlaziusF.

Running on a low-40s DB/fire brute, diff 2 so bosses is bosses, in search of mission engineer.

As a prelude, I wonder how many arcs in the system are just silently broken, with their authors wondering why no one ever comes to play them.

AE players, if you hit play and the contact remains a pulsing hologram and there is no "architect options" button in your HUD, please send a global tell to the author and let them know their arc is broken. Most people don't think to check after every little patch.

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...uh. You don't need to warn me in the first mission that things are going to explode out of control, arc. I'm a big boy. I can punch things.

I wonder why this isn't a shop, then I find out there's a hostage rescue, then I wonder why, when there are radio missions on the pawn shop maps with captives to rescue, the game won't let you put any captives on them.

Joe's rescue dialogue tells me that he's pointed me to a stash, which I guess is this glowing whiteboard, but it would be nice to get a little clue or something to that effect.

Also there's an entire other floor to the little office. I guess that's just map weirdness, I remember radios on this plot being a bit off too.

Also the glowie that triggers Joe can spawn in little nooks on the bottom floor so you just miss it, as I did on my second try at this. Maybe just make it optional and put him there to start?

---

Looks like more classic Crey blame-pushing. A lab doing something weird... with another empty last floor. I find an informative glowie on floor 1, the spawner glowie on floor 2, and back to floor 1 to fight the boss.

Magical artifact - oh, the runed thumb drive. I don't consider it so much a magical artifact as a piece of technology with some magic painted on top of it. Maybe describe it as a piece of rock about the size of a thumb drive that's been filed to fit in a standard slot or something?

---

Hmm. I'm not sure exactly what motivation Silverball has to be giving me this information. Ah well, we'll see how it lies.

Maybe if he mentioned his buddy was captured by Arachnos first, and then brought up how it could help you out a bit later?

A few notable side investigables here, nothing major.

Rescue objective right in the middle of two other spawns. To the hospital I go. Coming back and springing the captive the system text says something about a forcefield, but he's just hands-on-head kneeling.

...a thick data packet? Sounds weird, considering data packets aren't actually physical objects.

---

Ah, now a demon's after me. Not like that's new, but at least I'm not a floating soul.

Oh. The drive was powering a portal to a spirit realm. Let's see what it looks like!

...heh. Oh, that's a nice justification.

I say the same thing to you as I have said before: battles can currently start without characters present. Do not assume they are when writing dialogue!

I say the same thing to you as I have said before: multiples of a given objective will display their complete text after every objective is completed! Do not assume complete text only displays once all the objectives are finished!

Oh. So it was a different demon that had the whammy on me than the demon I actually fought in the lab? Uh, alright.

Not so alright: THEY ALL USE MIND CONTROL WHAT THE HELL. Except, blessedly, the boss, so when I run out of break frees at least the confuse doesn't get perma-applied.

Get juggled a bunch with stacked levitates, though.

---

Storyline - ***. My main complaints are that Silverball doesn't have much incentive to be helping you after the second arc - what's in it for him? - and the final boss and his enemy group just kinda come out of nowhere.

Design - ***. The "lines" of customs look pretty much identical, and the tendrils make it hard to pick out the different body shape of the brawler line. And do they all have to be spamming mind control?

Gameplay - ****. Seriously, do they all have to be spamming mind control? I can get confuse stacked even through a single break free and then I can't do much of anything but watch as the psi damage takes its toll. I don't actually die in the last mission but it comes close in a couple places.

Detail - ***. Notably missing from this arc is any kind of explanation as to the true nature of the drive before you dive inside it. Common mistakes also ruin the atmosphere details try to set up in the last mission.

Overall - ***. Figure out something for the customs to have that isn't Mind Control, foreshadow the end mission a little bit, and fix the problems with text not fitting the events of the mission, and this goes up a bit.

LaserJesus · 06-05-2009 05:09 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Really this sounds more like a Longbow thing. Wyvern are just Manti's private army, and spending money funding guerillas... actually, never mind.

[/ QUOTE ]
You mean, as opposed to Ms. Liberty's private army?

You know, I wasn't even thinking about Lorenz Ansaldo's arc when I was making this. I have a hard time remembering the specifics of a lot of CoV story arcs, as there's just so many of them, and a lot of them just aren't very memorable.

Jophiel · 06-05-2009 06:24 AM

I'd like for you to take a gander at Standing Within the Mists (209473) as described in this thread.

I'm not 100% on what a CoHMR is so if I needed to post elsewhere, let me know.

Edit to the above: I found the CoH mission Review site by following your other links. Gonna submit it now.

GlaziusF · 06-05-2009 10:25 PM

Whaddaya know, I got arcs in on a Friday.

Tonight's leadoff: Premium Quality Mission (148476). Verdict - ****. Review below in this thread as the provided one was dropped from the boards.

"Tonight"'s first random CoHMR arc: A Glimpse Into Eternity (38604). Verdict - ***. Review below in this thread. Actually one I looked at last night, thought was interesting, and have been running off and on today.

Another "leadoff" from this thread a bit later tonight!

GlaziusF · 06-05-2009 10:26 PM

(yeah, like I'm gonna try to type out that monstrosity of a title)

@GlaziusF

Running on a low 40s DB/Fire brute. Diff 2: bosses is bosses. Engineer draws closer.

---

Okay, looks like somebody didn't finish coding some things and just left a bunch of placeholder crap in. Dummied out bosses, missing objective text...

Of course it's all deliberate.

---

Second mission, looks like I've been routed to some kind of test server?

The bugs' descriptions are too common sensical. Needs more IT jargon. "This file is created by: when:"

...dude, Ted. No porn on the network drive. How many times do we have to say it?

(though can you make minions out of 'em too? Having a dual blast/assault lieutenant is kind of a pain.)

What garbled text leaks through seems to indicate the server farm has various unique and bloodthirsty elements. And it's gone rampant. Peachy.

---

The cornball slogans are getting more ball-shaped and full of corn as time goes on.

Um... I'm not sure I WANT to fill out a pile of forms on a bloodstained ancient desk. Oh well, anything for a few cents of refund, right?

Gack. In modest numbers these elec blasts drain me dry, and that's just one spawn.

Heh. I wouldn't push it, complete clue. "Problem? WHAT problem? This burning building is completely natural!" seemed to be more the tenor of my interactions.

---

Storyline - ***. No, I'm not marking down for humor. I'm marking down for "I just signed a blood contract, meddled with stuff I don't understand, fought crazy manifestations of system files, and now it's just OVER?" C'mon! I signed a document legally binding me to undertake a mission in compensation and the entry popup is I AM THE DREAD DAEMON ROBERTS AND I AM HERE FOR YOUR SOUL. Everybody was acting like the system had a mind of its own, so let's SEE it!

Design - *****. But the crazy random stuff that occurs as a result of corrupted missions is suitably over the top.

Gameplay - ***. But getting hammered by twin blast lieutenants isn't much fun, and neither is waiting around after every spawn in the last mission to recover from the severe, severe sapping elec blasts dish out. Ted's porn folder needs minions, and the system bugs need some more enemies with non-sappy power sets for variety. Energy melee/assault, maybe?

Detail - ****. Not so much for the terrible spelling, because it was deliberate terrible spelling. But the "log files" need a more techie description on them, and the "affronted British gentleman" style of the accept text didn't really work for me. Just make the accept text a quick objective summary of the mission goals, such as they are. There's nothing wrong with that.

Overall - ****. A well-realized idea with some difficulty hangups whose main flaw is that it doesn't go far enough.

Clave_Dark_5 · 06-06-2009 07:53 AM

Thanks for playing and the review, GlaziusF.

You hit points about the custom mobs (Ted's PRIVATE files, the elec bugs) that I have been trying to play around with. This mish has been giving me fits of all sorts (including MA bugs, yes) since it's inception and those foes are the last thing I know I really need to revisit (again) - so thanks for the tap-tap on my shoulder about them.

As for the "it just ended, I wanna see the system-evil-mind itself"... hm! I hadn't considered that angle. I might just have to add a fourth mish - depends on what I can come up with. I'm going on vacation soon and will be without CoH for like a week and a half (I may die!), so I'll have all sorts of time to think about it (or it might occur to me five minutes from now and I'll have it up before I go).

Again, thanks for the good and thoughtful review, they're the lifeblood of this system I feel.

Geek_Boy · 06-06-2009 08:34 AM

GlaziusF here helped me a lot with Speeding Through Time way back when, so I'm just saying this is a great thread by a cool guy.

I may have to try and wiggle my way into a review here. Pretty sure I've played all your arcs at some point, but that's just because I'm awesome and ahead of the curve.

GlaziusF · 06-06-2009 06:20 PM

@GlaziusF

Playing on a low 40s DB/Fire brute, diff 2 so I fight bosses as bosses. Mission Engineer draws ever closer.

---

Lumps of crystal sitting around giving out missions is no basis for a system of justice! How would it sound if I said a piece of jasper told me to rob a bank?

But more seriously, the second person contactery doesn't work. Drop it into first-person, wrap some italics around it, and call it good. It turns into a headtrip instead of somebody awkwardly puppeting me and telling me how to feel.

It's kind of sad that the knockoff reflections of Crey are more fun to fight than actual Crey in this level range.

"permeate" is active, not passive. You can't just substitute it for "fill". And, uh, giant hunks of rock don't have emotions. Emotions are evoked, not projected.

---

Passive-aggressive little hunk of shiny, this crystal. First it decides I'm offended, then it decides it's apologized. Look, buddy, just give it to me straight, alright?

...

HATE THIS MAP.

Only one layout, terrible pain to navigate, have to click on a "dead end" to progress making it impenetrable for first-timers, can't freaking see anything. It works in its original context because most if not all of the Rularuu glow. This is not my beautiful 1800s cattle town! I was expecting like that one Croatoa village map or something!

And there are little internal demons that let me know I've found them by popping build up.

...wonderful. The terrible thing about these caves in general, and this map's use of them in specific, is that you can knock something into a wall and then it can hit you from anywhere on the map but you can never hit it.

GUESS WHAT I DID TO A BOSS.

Quitting game, coming back, planning the knockaround a little better this time. And that fight was going so well until the Sapper stepped in, too.

Speaking of sappers, aim and short circuit put together can take out about 2/3 of an end bar pretty inerrantly. Good thing the AI doesn't understand the range of the latter or I'd really be screwed.

Man. This is gonna turn out to be another arc about playing psychotherapist to some codependent nutjob who thinks the best way to honor the dead is by destroying everything else they ever loved. At least this time I'm taking my frustrations out on the twisted little twisters inside his brain.

Also now that I don't knock a boss into a wall, "prevades" is probably a typo for "pervades", and it means "to be everywhere", meaning using it as a contrast doesn't work either. (Yes, I'm being a little anal about this when I overlook other grammar mistakes in other arcs. If you're going to use ten-dollar words don't put 'em on paper plates.)

...also, random boss placement REALLY doesn't work in this cave, because there are side passages that you can just completely ignore on your first pass.

---

Yeah. First-person narrative would really work a lot better here. You're trying to express sensations that don't really work when all there are is a wall of text.

Huh. Okay, so is this in an alternate dimension (as Neuron's bots would seem to suggest) or are the Portal Corp labs just falling apart now?

(also, PX4837 isn't consistent with Portal Corp nomenclature. All the dimensions heroes visit have the pattern "greek letter greek letter number-number" and the numbers seem to be two digits at most. For example, the Psychic Clockwork dimension is Epsilon Tau 27-2.)

---

Why yes, intro text, I do wonder why the Circle is here in this graveyard.

It would be nice if one of them would tell me.

....okay, one of them does! But exactly how brushing some moss off a tombstone and getting interrupted notifies him I have no idea. (seriously it just seems like that objective bugs out. Also the stone vanishes but that may be deliberate.)

...uh, dude, I know Diviner Maros. I've done missions for Diviner Maros. And you, sir, are no Diviner Maros. I appreciate the paucity of the models but with the arcane pack out you can probably whip up a custom that looks pretty close.

---

And now it's time to fight somebody's emotions come to life in a freaky alternate dimension.

...uh, I think I did this already and it was called mission 2.

Still the same 3 EBs with an AV friend to help 'em. Can a brotha get that greatest of all treasures, which is Hope? Or some kind of assist.

I mean, from what I understand the dude locked himself in a room and paced his thoughts around so much they wore through the floor of his mind, turning him into a psychopath with a private army of neuroses.

There's got to be something left that wants to actually go on living.

---

Storyline - ***. This is another mission that tries to get cute with the contact. The problem is that, while I have no doubt the author has a clear picture in mind while writing, that picture has to transmit, and the more stylized the text gets, the less likely it is to actually happen. I have no idea what distinguishes mission 1 from mission 3, or mission 2 from mission 5, other than that 2 and 3 are more boring than their counterparts - 2 because of the map, 3 because Crey provide a lot more variety than Neuron's wall o' robots.

Design - ****. The maps at least make sense with what they're supposed to be, and the use of custom enemies and custom groups is generally well-done. I do question giving the lieuts and EBs access to Aim/Build Up, if possible Maros needs a model that actually looks more like him, and given that all the psychos are supposed to be manifestations of one guy's heartbreak shouldn't they all be one gender? I mean, Despair comes off as a heartbroken lesbian, which I am pretty sure a guy from the 1800s would spontaneously combust on encountering.

Gameplay - ****. The EBs with their occasional short-circuiting help are a pain, and the final boss opens the fight with Instant Healing. I wore most of it out taking out his mook squad and his singy, but we were still ineffectually flailing at each other for quite some time.

Detail - **. The main fault in the storyline is how terribly the contact text expresses what's actually going on. It feels like someone trying to communicate with sign language in a mascot costume - there are shapes under the surface moving but it's very hard to tell what they mean. Eventually I just gave up. Which is exactly the opposite of what you want to happen.

Overall - ***. An arc that needs a pass for balance, and whose storytelling style attempts to do something new but ends up obscuring the story. Not the overall shape of what's going on, but the reason why each mission is happening.

GlaziusF · 06-06-2009 06:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
GlaziusF here helped me a lot with Speeding Through Time way back when, so I'm just saying this is a great thread by a cool guy.

I may have to try and wiggle my way into a review here. Pretty sure I've played all your arcs at some point, but that's just because I'm awesome and ahead of the curve.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, you don't need to play my stuff or anything. Just post your mission on www.cohmissionreview.com and say you want me, baby. I'm easy that way.

GlaziusF · 06-06-2009 08:00 PM

Tonight's leadoff mission was going to be "standing within the mists" but it hasn't popped up on CoHMR yet. Maybe tomorrow.

So tonight's ACTUAL leadoff will be The Echo (1688). Verdict: ****. Commentary on MA Forums Thread.

First random CoHMR arc: Saving the Haven Children (4102). Verdict: ***. (old review, commentary not reposted).
Second random CoHMR arc: Idol Hands (141376). Verdict: *****. Review below in this thread.

Geek_Boy · 06-06-2009 08:01 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
GlaziusF here helped me a lot with Speeding Through Time way back when, so I'm just saying this is a great thread by a cool guy.

I may have to try and wiggle my way into a review here. Pretty sure I've played all your arcs at some point, but that's just because I'm awesome and ahead of the curve.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, you don't need to play my stuff or anything. Just post your mission on www.cohmissionreview.com and say you want me, baby. I'm easy that way.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was just saying I'd already played them to point out how cool I am.

Jophiel · 06-06-2009 08:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Tonight's leadoff mission was going to be "standing within the mists" but it hasn't popped up on CoHMR yet. Maybe tomorrow.

[/ QUOTE ]Yeah, I saw that CoHMR additions were slowed down for the weekend due to real life stuff.

I should note that, according to one feedback I received, my "Boss" is an EB higher difficulty levels. I had marked the mission as no EB/AVs not knowing that it would upgrade the boss mobs. I didn't want to change & republish since I had already submitted it under that arc number.

Hellguard · 06-06-2009 08:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Tonight's leadoff mission was going to be "standing within the mists" but it hasn't popped up on CoHMR yet. Maybe tomorrow.

[/ QUOTE ]Yeah, I saw that CoHMR additions were slowed down for the weekend due to real life stuff.

I should note that, according to one feedback I received, my "Boss" is an EB higher difficulty levels. I had marked the mission as no EB/AVs not knowing that it would upgrade the boss mobs. I didn't want to change & republish since I had already submitted it under that arc number.

[/ QUOTE ]

Republishing an arc doesn't change its arc number. Just make sure you don't "Unpublish" it. But you can edit and then "Republish" to keep your number and your ratings.

EDIT: Also, bosses don't get "upgraded" to EBs. If a mob was an EB in your arc, then that's simply what they were. Now, on lower difficulty settings, a custom EB will downgrade to a boss, but a normal boss will NOT "upgrade" to an EB.

Jophiel · 06-06-2009 10:17 PM

I'll have to take a look at that, then. I just made the critter in question as a boss and someone sent me feedback saying "LOL @ No EBs.. you mean except for [mob name]! But I was playing at [something] level so maybe that's it."

I'll doublecheck it. It's not intended to be an EB.

GlaziusF · 06-06-2009 11:39 PM

@GlaziusF

Running on a low-40s DB/Fire brute, diff 2 so bosses is bosses, in search of Mission Engineer.

---

Ah, low-level gangbustin'. Good stuff.

Mr. Runner lives up to his name. Good thing I still have my Nemesis staff.

The police ally goes down to what are effectively dual ambushes - Runner's guards and the actual ambushes. Thank goodness for inspirations. But I don't think the second ambush is needed here.

Ah, time to pull up a chair for storytime. Cops have secrets and all that.

---

....wait wait wait wait wait. Dude cold murdered 20 people and he's already out on parole? I mean, okay, maybe the Zig's full up with people who tear down city blocks for jollies, but still.

Bzuh? The Button Men are on my side? Not that I'm complaining about help as lowbie as I am now.

Ah, okay. Looks like there IS a secret about them 20 murders. Thanks, enemy description!

The HUD seems to think this is a defeat all but there are still Hellions running around when the mission completes.

Ah, a dumbfire burnination machine from an ancient civilization, or whatever.

---

Man. Somehow running Circle on diff 2 gives me spawns with twin spectral demon lords.

Not surprised I got beaten to the punch there, really. Wouldn't be much of an arc if I just came back safe and sound.

---

Hmm. Final map's nice but really a bit too small. The detective shows up within spitting distance of the end boss. Ah well, chug insps and charge has worked before, it'll work again.

Heh, this guy's made of ally keep-away. Hot Feet AND Rain of Fire. Not that I'm complaining about them not being in range to get shredded.

Also the description of what happens to Kindle would fit perfectly well as an end-of-mission clue, especially since there may still be some mopup to do so the system text gets scrolled off.

But... if the idol was this easy to break why didn't they just do it in the first place?

---

Storyline - ****. The story overall is great, but there are a couple of things right at the end that bug me - the last area is set up to be some kind of leyline focus, but exactly how the Hellions tie into it is never explained. And why not just destroy a statue that turns its possessor into a dumbfire magical inferno, if it was easy enough for a little dude like myself to do it?

Design - ****. Great work on the small number of custom "guest stars", and on using a map (the speakeasy) that I hadn't seen used before to very good effect. But I am just a little bit weirded out by the last map with the ally so close to the boss spawn. He had Targeting Drone up too, so I was almost certain he'd start attacking as soon as he was free.

Gameplay - *****. Circle Spectrals are a giant pain, but they're not YOUR giant pain, so it all works out.

Detail - *****. Very nice detailing job on pretty much everything. Just a couple tiny things I'd correct that I already noted in the main review.

Overall - *****. Solid lowbie arc with a decent storyline and some nice guest stars. Needs a little more polish but brother, don't we all?

MrCaptainMan · 06-07-2009 12:44 AM

QR - Thanks for running my arc The Echo and for your review. I've sent you a response to your PM about the ending. 4 stars - thanks very much! I'm a little disappointed that you chose to play it on your Brute rather than on a hero as I requested, but thanks v much for taking the time to play, review and rate it.

Eco.

MArcs:

The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow

[The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

GlaziusF · 06-07-2009 06:39 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
GlaziusF here helped me a lot with Speeding Through Time way back when, so I'm just saying this is a great thread by a cool guy.

I may have to try and wiggle my way into a review here. Pretty sure I've played all your arcs at some point, but that's just because I'm awesome and ahead of the curve.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, you don't need to play my stuff or anything. Just post your mission on www.cohmissionreview.com and say you want me, baby. I'm easy that way.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was just saying I'd already played them to point out how cool I am.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, put the arc on CoHMR, it'll go in the bingo draw with all the others.

GlaziusF · 06-07-2009 09:17 PM

Tonight's leadoff and only mission (I need to start playing earlier so I can get to bed earlier): Small Fears (12285). Verdict: ***. Review below in this thread.

GlaziusF · 06-07-2009 09:19 PM

The review's going here because the thread went defunct in the great thread defunctening.

@GlaziusF

Running on a low-40s DB/Fire brute. Diff 2 to fight bosses as bosses. Mission Engineer just keeps coming closer.

---

...good lord that kid's got a freaky face. The combination of the angled eyes and the hair make it look like someone grabbed the top of his head and pulled.

"The other two"? Kid, you and the HUD need to have a little chat.

...wait, is that one custom lieut using Psychic Wail? There's this "end recovery debuff" icon that shows up after the PBAoE.

...and the HUD goes from "Get the last kid out" to "2 children to find and lead to safety"?

Oh, I see. That other kid... showed up as a chained objective? Why isn't he just on the map to start with? (also the system message checks assumes he's spawning on escort complete but he really spawns on rescue)

...and the custom minions are using Shockwave and Pendulum? Lordy. That explains why I'm getting shot full of more holes than a sponge at an augur convention.

---

...um, kid? How exactly am I supposed to go diving into the psychic plane? I don't exactly keep a portal under my bed next to the questionable magazines.

This office is, I'm pretty sure, not in psychic space.

...yeah, it's psychic wail. Lieutenants with a tier 9 psychic blast that stuns.

I search the upper offices for a "strange feeling above"... after I'm halfway through the caves and realize there should be something upstairs. It's hidden behind a wall, and...

Oh. Hi, AV. Good thing I made my own luck.

...wait, I'm inside Mother Mayhem's mind? How the baloney sandwiches did that happen?

---

I guess given that this kid can rip open portals to the asylum like it ain't no thang, I shouldn't have been surprised.

But I do dislike the asylum, there's only one variation on the map and it's frustrating to navigate because of all the tiny walls.

OH COME ON NOW. Lietuenants with rage! They always hit me and do double damage and seem to gain resistance to lethal for some inexplicable reason and IT DOESN'T WEAR OFF in anything like a reasonable timeframe!

And the tier 9 psychic blaster lieuts also get confuse now, and there's another one with Deceive and buildup.

Yeah, uh... why exactly am I bothering with fighting Mother Mayhem? And what's with this whole puppet business? You'd think she'd be able to, y'know, READ MY MIND AND KNOW WHY I'M HERE?

Anyway, after burning all my insps trying to survive the final boss's... ESCORT... I am in no shape to fight another AV. Good thing they sell inspirations right outside the hospital.

---

Storyline - ***. I have no idea how I managed to find the second mission or what it really represents, and the SECOND fight with Mother Mayhem in as many missions just feels glued-on and unnecessary.

Design - *****. Visually the custom enemies are very distinct and definitely built to look scary and otherworldly.

Gameplay - *. But their power selection is unnecessarily brutal. Rage? Psychic wail? Two confuses? Tier 9 melee powers on minions? And the second AV fight shows up as a surprise when I'm tapped out from the first.

Detail - ****. I'm betting that space issues kept the missions pretty sparse - there were an awful lot of customs. But sparse is sparse, though everything certainly fit.

Overall - ***. Leave Mama M out of the third mission or give her a really, really GOOD reason to be there, and for cryin' out loud psychic wail on a lieutenant is murder.

TeChameleon · 06-08-2009 01:02 AM

Thanks for the run, Glazius- some quick responses-

[ QUOTE ]
...wait, is that one custom lieut using Psychic Wail? There's this "end recovery debuff" icon that shows up after the PBAoE.

[/ QUOTE ]
Uhm... they really shouldn't have it. Not sure if it's a mistake I made or just something that got buggered up with the last patch >.<

Anyways, it's removed now.

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, I see. That other kid... showed up as a chained objective? Why isn't he just on the map to start with? (also the system message checks assumes he's spawning on escort complete but he really spawns on rescue)

[/ QUOTE ]
The other kid is a chained objective because he's got plot-critical info, and that's the only way I can make sure you rescue him last (yes, even setting them to front, middle, and back often screws up... also, that guarantees that you'll be schlepping off the backside fo that stupidly oversized map... and it doesn't necessarily work. I really wish they'd put in the real Green Fog map in... y'know, the one with the actual green fog? It's smaller and fits the mood even better :/)

[ QUOTE ]
This office is, I'm pretty sure, not in psychic space.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's not- poor phrasing on my part. That was mostly just intended to be a warning that there was something large, nasty, and psychic running around in the area. Rephrased things slightly so that it's clearer what's going on- you're just headed to an office building that apparently has something to do with the Fears, and whoever summoned them (as far as your contact can tell, anyways). No psychic plane, not inside Mother Mayhem's mind, or anything like that.

[ QUOTE ]
...wait, I'm inside Mother Mayhem's mind? How the baloney sandwiches did that happen?

[/ QUOTE ]
You're not. Like I said, poor phrasing on my part.

[ QUOTE ]
I guess given that this kid can rip open portals to the asylum like it ain't no thang, I shouldn't have been surprised.

[/ QUOTE ]
He's not. You're using the portal Mother Mayhem 'accidentally' left to her asylum.

[ QUOTE ]
And the tier 9 psychic blaster lieuts also get confuse now, and there's another one with Deceive and buildup.

[/ QUOTE ]
Like I said, the tier 9 was a glitch or an oops (really don't know which at this stage, I've had to tweak things so often after patches or because I made a mistake)

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, uh... why exactly am I bothering with fighting Mother Mayhem? And what's with this whole puppet business? You'd think she'd be able to, y'know, READ MY MIND AND KNOW WHY I'M HERE?

[/ QUOTE ]
Uhm... didn't you read the clue that dropped once you killed MM? She was trying to manipulate you into attacking her hospital so that she could gank you and the end boss while you were busy with each other.

Of course, you were going after Phobia for your own reasons, so her attempts at manipulation really didn't accomplish much (other than getting her head kicked in again). *shrug*

I really wish I had a bit more space to fill in the edges of the story. Ah, well... come issue 15, I guess. Things, I promise, will definitely be somewhat clearer.

[ QUOTE ]
But their power selection is unnecessarily brutal. Rage? Psychic wail? Two confuses? Tier 9 melee powers on minions?

[/ QUOTE ]
All the tier 9s are gone- they weren't in there deliberately. Author fail, sorry (or maybe patch glitch, I have no [censored] idea anymore -_-. The confuses are gone the second I have that option (friggin' stupid decision on the devs part, to be honest)- they weren't in there originally, but then one of the patches forced them on Mind and Illusion Control sets. Rage is staying- the lieuts are supposed to be more dangerous on the final mission.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm betting that space issues kept the missions pretty sparse - there were an awful lot of customs. But sparse is sparse, though everything certainly fit.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm five characters from the limit. Yup.

[ QUOTE ]
Leave Mama M out of the third mission or give her a really, really GOOD reason to be there, and for cryin' out loud psychic wail on a lieutenant is murder.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, sorry about the Psychic Wail thing... not sure how that happened (and I'm now going through all my customs to figure out what the hell is going on with that... thanks for finding the problem, anyways >.O). Mother Mayhem has a fairly good reason for being there the second time, I thought- it's her frickin' house, after all...

Anyways, thanks again for the run. I look forward to the day I don't have to fix things every patch, *sigh*

"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates

MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"

GlaziusF · 06-08-2009 07:25 PM

More arcs come tonight!

Tonight's leadoff: Standing Within the Mists (209473). Verdict - ***. Feedback on MA Forums Thread.
Tonight's random CoHMR arc: Tale of the Creatures from Another Forbidden Planet! (97983). Verdict - ***. Feedback below in this thread.

GlaziusF · 06-08-2009 09:34 PM

There was a wondrous attempt to type the title of this mission arc, but the subject field was too small to contain it.

@GlaziusF

Running this on a low-40s DB/Fire brute. Diff 2, so bosses is bosses. Mission Engineer is so close now.

---

NO ONE will be admitted during the THRILLING contact scene!

...the army. Oh, I have bad omens about this map.

Oh good! It's not red Atlas Park with a million low walls and no minimap!

It's the Galaxy-like map with the parking garage. The boss is modestly easy to find on these, and nice work on the green helmets, even if they are three to a pack.

---

Mysterious alien radiation! Is there nothing you can't make grow to tremendous sizes, or at least place distressingly close to the camera lens?

Hmm. "2 civilians to save, rescue last civilian"? Somethin' wrong there.

...why are the giant ants using sonic attacks? Ants don't even have lungs! (you might be able to work it if you gave them wings and called it vibrations or something)

Nice work on giving the queen a non-mammalian model, though. I wasn't expecting an EB around now but it's nothing I didn't have the insps for.

---

Welp, normal mission in Croatoa i WHY HELLO THERE OPTIONAL BOSSES! Man, those things blend right into the trees.

The breakable objects are easy enough to find though, important in a map like this.

...man, if it ain't the reds in these movies, it's the greens.

Little problem at the end where a destructible spawns right in front of a giant monster, but some tactical Sir Robin and I manage to get enough time alone with it to destroy it.

---

...uh, whoa.

Energy Drain takes off like half the blue bar regardless of rank. And it's autohit. Having two minions pop it when I go in to melee with them, as you do, means I'm basically tapped out.

...and there's a jail.

And there are four patrols that somehow all found their way INTO the jail.

Fortunately after half a dozen deaths I don't show up behind doors anymore.

Voltaic Sentinel is its own tiny permasapper, and Short Circuit is another end bar killer.

Dying because you have no end to do anything and are getting permajuggled in a corner by force bolt is ten kinds of frustrating.

And it happens four times. BECAUSE AIM HITS THROUGH LUCKS.

So that's forty kinds of frustrating. That's as many as four tens. And that's horrible.

...and the last glowie spawns in a wall. Peachy.

---

Well, I'm reviewing anyway, because it's late and I haven't the time to restart this.

Storyline - *****. Even though I didn't see how this ended, it's a great pastiche of various B-movie plots, all joined together with everyone's favorite time-traveling alien National Socialist vampires.

Design - ****. Great visual work on the customs, though the sonic bugs seem a little off and dodging around a giant monster standing right on top of a destructible objective probably wasn't in the original parameters.

Gameplay - *. Not for the bug. For the terrible, terrible Martians. Whenever any of the minions touched me they'd fire off Energy Drain, which is half my blue bar unavoidably gone. The lieuts popped aim, dropped a sentinel, and spammed elec powers. I was helpless to do anything as I died, over and over and over and over. And don't even get me started on the general who tanks your recovery rate AND base defense. It's like fighting a group of nothing but Malta Sappers except they can deal real damage as well.

Detail - ****. The customs and the bosses really needed more overblown descriptions, to fit with the tenor of the arc. As it was they were pretty pedestrian.

Overall - ***. I was having a lot of fun with this arc and its cheesy B-Movie aesthetic, but the Martians proceeded to experiment on that fun in unspeakable ways and it became a rampaging monster that I could only escape because it got stuck in a wall.