Tonight's arc: Verminator's Fancy Plans (379787). Verdict - **. Review lower in this thread.
Other random arcs I hit up trying to find one I hadn't played before:
To Dream of Nothing (374644). Verdict - ***
My current queue:
- A scoreless review of Nothing Else Remains (486856)
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 one on a level 20 Peacebringer, +0/x1 with bosses on.
---
Hmm. Looking at this level range its pretty uneven. I realize its intended from 1-20, but you can actually hard-lock the levels now so you can present a fixed level range.
While every briefing with a contact is in some senses a conversation, briefings also serve a notable game function -- they set the stage for the mission. Ideally the first part of the briefing, before I accept the mission, should leave me with some idea of what the mission is about.
In a very tiny mission map, I take out a single Gardvord and a small troll spawn guarding Verminator. He bolts for the exit as more Trolls ambush me.
Apparently the proportionate strength of a cockroach isnt much match for the proportional strength of a troll.
---
Oh. The strength bit was just a guess of his. Other people might have tried actually lifting heavy things first.
But anyway, hes got a plan - break up the storage crates of Superadine and his bugs will make off with the rest.
...that cant possibly end badly, but alright, lets give it a go.
A boss shows up behind us as the last crate gets broken, and Verminator and his baseball bat and his enhanced perception are off to get pulped.
Seriously, enhanced perception and a melee powerset are kind of a bad combination for a dude whos supposed to be a bit of a coward.
---
Well, that didnt take much. Dude has decided to curse the darkness rather than keep his single candle going.
Hmm. Well, the meter maid costumings good, and I guess youve got a nice custom combo of devices and truncheon with AR backup.
---
Apparently Im cool with taking money from corrupt cops. Might want to tag this Vigilante.
Anyway, a small -time crime family has decided to hold his furniture hostage. I take it back and... dont actually look in any bit of it. (The destructibles still have their default description.)
Aw, I thought he was going to be setting himself up as a drug lord in his new digs and Id have to stop him and Id get some foreshadowing.
...or, like, a clue, at least.
---
Ah! Well, he was planning something underhanded. Lets see, lets see.
Ah. The old standby. Chug a bunch of Superadine, go mad insane with rage and power, beat uselessly on a white dwarf carapace, get relocated to the Zig.
---
Storyline - ****. In operation the arc is small and poignant: the tale a wannabe hero whos critically deficient in moral fiber and ends up taking the easy way out. The tone smoothly downshifts from optimism to exasperation to desperation. The overall blow is somewhat softened because, lets be frank, the guys a bit of a putz, but theres still the right touch of melancholy hanging around at the end.
Design - **. Breathe, arc! Breathe! I swear, I fought about as many enemies total in this arc as I did in a single, slightly less weeny, warehouse map with a single corridor and a loading dock. While it is useful for stepping the arc speedily from one plot moment to another, its absolutely terrible at lending any sense of time to the intervals between the plot moments. As a result it seems less like Verminator is suffering a gradual breakdown and more like hes just huffing bug spray. The meter maids look pretty reasonable, but they dont occur in the kind of numbers to get any sense of them at all.
Also again I mention the completely uneven level range. Now that you can actually lock it to some intended levels you should get your lock on.
Gameplay - ***. The enemies are easy enough, but I hardly have time to build up a head of steam before the missions over. And as a result, rack up hardly any inspirations to chug for the final boss, though Dwarf Form compensates for a lot.
Detail - **. Teeny little descriptions when there are non-stock descriptions at all, a snippet of a souvenir, and no clues to speak of. It doesnt help the impression that this arc went by too fast when it doesnt leave a trace.
Overall - **. Good plot ideas, but they really need space to work themselves out.
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)
Tonight's arc: Return of the Threefold King (163274). Verdict - ***. Review in MA Forums thread.
Other random arcs I hit up trying to find one I hadn't played before:
Galactic Protectorate 06 (355068). Verdict - **
Assault on Aru Prime (174586). Verdict - ***
My current queue:
- Randoms! (previously queued arc is under revision)
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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)
Tonight's arc: Valkyrian Task Force: Talons Grasp (315541). Verdict - **. Review lower in this thread.
My current queue:
- Randoms!
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 high-test max-level spine/regen scrapper, +1/x2 with bosses on.
---
Ah, high adventure in space.
...hmm. Generally if theres a time limit its good to have it called out or highlighted in the opening text. Even if youre at the text limit, you can still highlight text and give it some preset colors with the right-click menu.
Hmm. Clawfighter lieutenants and ranged-exclusive archer minions. No descriptions on either.
Axe bosses with buildup. Still no descriptions. ...no description on my ally either.
---
Apparently theres a flaw in our portal technology that these lizardmen can come through. Alright. At least this ones not on a stealth timer.
Something in last mission and this one - there are like dozens of patrols all saying the same thing. Thats really just annoying in the long run, and not necessary as NPC dialogue has a big broadcast radius these days. You need one talking patrol per unique line, and some number of silent ones.
Wow, these upload timers are long. No real reason for that, its not like were on a timer or there are patrols wandering around.
The various clues seem to be hinting that Thanagar is about to destroy the world to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
---
Hyperspace bypass, weapon of mass destruction, same thing.
Ah. These archers have Rain of Arrows. As minions.
Also a katana lieut with Build Up.
Apparently my supposed warden was not aware of the plan to destroy Earth, and is instead planning to...
Well, shutting down the drive failed, so shes going to...
Pilot the ship into Portal Corps? ...I guess since theres no other way to shut down the energy cascade. Well, lets see about that.
---
Apparently now my briefings are wiretapping communication? Might want to kick in some static or put it in italics or something.
And this is another timed mission that should be highlighted.
The scientist starts rooting as he freaks out about the starship crash. I think you may want to look into a different animation.
..hmm. These scientists Im rescuing act run off and then act like theyre expecting to be led around, but I dont have any objectives to that effect.
I also see some... axe/shield bosses, I think? No buildup on them, though.
The boss here is a DB/Inv archvillain. No unstoppable, which is a small mercy. Ive got enough lucks stocked up that I can just nosell him long enough to chew through his hit points.
And now that Portal Corp is evacuated...
Down comes the hammer.
---
Apparently Im fighting my contact in... a cavern under Portal Corp? Because there totally is one?
I appreciate wanting to put something nice in the navbar to go with the countdown timer, and honestly I cant think of something off the top of my head, but this is an actual tiny aboveground bit of Portal Corp thats somehow still standing, right?
Hes a broadsworder with buildup who summons death sentinels that drop tar patches and I think Petrifying Gaze on me Either that or Fearsome Stare, cant really tell from the SFX alone. Three waves. Then hes down. Improvement on the SSer with Rage I was expecting from the first mission, anyway!
---
Storyline - **. A warrior race of birdpeople from space are looking to strike a fatal blow against their old adversaries, a race of slaver lizardpeople. Theres just one problem - Earth wont survive the attack.
So did I just describe this arc, or the second-season finale of the Justice League cartoon?
Dont read too much into this. If they purged everything from CoH that had ever been done with superheroes there wouldnt be a lot left. But one of the things that made that finale work is that Hawkgirl had spent two seasons working with the Justice League so we had a stake in her character, kind of a hook and a contrast to the warrior birdpeople. Here its just one batch of space jerks butting heads with another bunch of space jerks, with no investment at all on my part. Theres really no reason to trust him, and no real attachment to the Hawkgirl analogue who acts as my jailer and decides to sacrifice herself.
Design - **. Surprise timed missions are almost as bad as surprise mission failures. It helps to have an idea before you click accept that youll be subject to a timer, so you can make plans to do things like go out and get a Shivan Shard or whatever before you press the button. And it doesnt seem like any of these timers should actually exist in that theyll still present a reasonable course of action if they run out, other than the one on the final mission which is your countdown to give your traitor contact a more violent sendoff.
The enemy designs are visually evocative, but until they pulled out their weapons I couldnt tell the diffference between the various ranks -- if there were differences in costuming they were subsumed under the theme. Telling the difference out of combat isnt quite as crucial as telling the difference within combat, but it does help to have a quick way to distinguish between a single group of three minions and a lieutenant and two groups of one boss and one minion who have gotten close to one another. Id suggest different primary colors - scales for the lizardmen and armor for the birdmen. The common design elements are enough to unify them that you dont need a common color scheme.
The mission settings are all generally reasonable, and I like the idea of turning the last mission into a pure final boss fight and the little wrinkle of the custom ambush.
Gameplay - **. Standard caution: be careful with Build Up and all powers that work like it. Initial burst damage is bad enough, as enemies have recharged all their powers when you first engage. The addition just makes it swingier.
Having ranged minions and melee higher ranks frustrates, especially when the minions can fly. Higher ranks tend to be priority targets because of their damage output and broader powerset, which if you use mostly ranged minions means that every fight ends with a bunch of weak targets who arent bunched up and wont bunch up on their own - instead of the alternative with melee minions, which is a giant scrum that may go down to splash damage before the higher ranks and can easily be blown away at the end in any case. This isnt to say never use ranged minions, but minions should close to melee at least as often than not.
Also, the ludicrous interact times in the second mission dont really do anything but frustrate, and because of the chaining theres a decent amount of backtracking between levels to find these long-delay glowies as well.
Detail - **. Empty descriptions on everybody, dense briefings with no highlighting to pick out the more important things, like time limits, and clues that are a combination of killboard and narration. Aside from maybe the handful I pick up on the space cruiser, they dont really tell me anything that would fill out the plot, such as it is.
Overall - **. Theres no particular destructive feedback at work here, aside from maybe the bit where a bunch of descriptionless mooks dont have much character to latch onto. The easiest thing to fix would be either explicitly warning about the time limits or eliminating the ones where it doesnt make sense for the timer to expire but the plot to move on.
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)
Tonight's arc: Blitzkrieg (3416). Verdict - *****. Review lower in this thread.
My current queue:
- Randoms!
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 max-level spine/regen scrapper, +1/x2 with bosses on.
---
Ah, Malta doesnt look like theyre up to anything, which by process of elimination means they could be up to EVERYTHING.
To find out whether or not thats the case, I go hit a new base in the hopes of finding something lightly secured.
Got a black Knight and a black Bishop in here. Looks like we got a mini-chess scheme for names, maybe? Cool enough.
I get a single clue for dropping Bishop, which assumes that I know I have to get some kind of cipher off of him from investigating the computer that hes 20 feet away from. Im pretty sure those things will probably happen in the opposite order. Otherwise its the usual paranoid ranting.
---
Royal blue and purple autocolors dont show up well, because they have a low contrast with their black borders. Just keep that in mind.
Anyway, on the way to raid what was apparently the general supply base for the hastily-abandoned outpost from mission 1.
Rogue Arachnos! With toxic kaboominite!
More paranoid ranting and a message from Marshall Blitz about a hero his forces have captured. Hmm. Wonder if theyre going to do the old Doom Patrol scenario.
---
Ah, no. Looks like Sirens Call, round 2: Even More Populated Area Edition - a showdown between the hero Fallout and the villain Isotope that unbeknownst to either of them is going to spiral out of control. Time to try and forestall it, but I have a feeling I wont quite be on time.
Nope. Isotopes already clear of the Zig. Theres still an ice guy and a fire swordsguy, with a Knives boss. All outside, which is just fine by me. Just a note, ice/storm can stack a redonkulous amount of slows on a body. You might want to pare his powers down a little if youre going to leave him with a Jack Frost.
---
So now were infiltrating the Warburg base to try and spring the hero theyre using as a patsy. Crimsons given us a target of opportunity too, just in case.
Not much of a just in case here; shes right in the way when I get inside. EM/Inv archvillain, scaled down. Hard-hitting, but not much else.
And the hero is rad/rad, with his fair share of slows and debuffs. Malta have his family, which is a pretty standard kind of thing for them.
---
So now were going to invade the center base, headbutt the villain, take out the hostages, and rage on the guy in charge of this whole thing. Indigos coming with.
Malta just waved a wad of cash in front of Isotope (rad/energy), apparently. Never play an ace when a two will do.
The leader is a grav/psiblast custom, pretty nicely trenchcoated, Psychic Wail at low health but thats pretty reasonable considering.
Apparently this mysterious substance would overheat a nuclear reaction, letting all the destructive power out at once without leaving any fallout. The Black King says that hes trying to provoke a public reaction before heroes and villains start beating each other in the face with ICBMs. Well, thats a bit sensible. But the horrendous atomic kablooie is less so.
Job done. Fallouts dropped out now that hes been compromised, but I figure incaps are about ten-to-one in favor of the heroes and thems pretty good odds.
---
Storyline - *****. Yeah, I can definitely buy this as a Malta plot, right down to the acceptable casualties. I dunno how much development Warburg and the Malta/Rogue Arachnos alliance gets villainside but it certainly doesnt get enough heroside, and this is a decent integration of new world developments into an existing contacts interests.
About the only thing that doesnt necessarily sit well is Fallouts withdrawal from heroics at the end. There has to be some sort of Hero Protection Program given how many villain groups may be trying to discover a heros identity.
Design - *****. Some good variety in the mission maps. Feature customs are notable for their power auras on the overworld map and their unique visual effects when mixed in with Malta in tight quarters.
Gameplay - ***. A couple of things more down to bad luck than any choice of yours necessarily, but even so I thought I should bring them up. The AV in the Warburg mission spawned in a narrow corridor up on a high shelf, so rather than being something I see and avoid she drops out of the blue with really nowhere to run. I suppose placement turns out pretty random on that map regardless so shed just have been outside otherwise.
The last map, the tech lab, is prone to mingling spawns together at the best of times. Throwing in patrols and larger-than-usual hostage spawns makes it possible to encounter huge knots of Malta at a time, potentially with multiple sappers.
Lastly, the ice/storm boss on the Zig map does some crazy slowdown, to the point that I ran out of powers to hit. He doesnt necessarily have a good damage output, so the fight is more of a bore than a challenge.
Detail - *****. Some good use of clues to tell the story without spelling everything out. Crimson isnt the sort to go over his notes with you, after all. The Malta codenames are a good example of a nonstandard scheme that still seems sensible and unified.
Overall - *****. I wouldnt have been surprised to see this arc show up shortly after CoV launched. Its a shame they never did anything with the PvP zones in the game at large, even to talk about them, so its nice to see something done with them in the Architect.
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)
Any chance of a feedback on mine?
It's mostly finished 99.9%, but I'm just playing the tweaking game where players I've coerced (sorry), and friends have given me direct feedback on it.
I would like to get some community feedback when the final tweaks are in place (Mostly textual.)
But since you do reviews it will help me figure out if any details need a tweak/fix.
Tips/Spoilers available via PM, Arc id as per sig below...
Nuff Said...
Coolio Wolfus leader of Coolio�s Crusaders on Union.
Tekna Logik leader of Tekna�s Tormentors on Defiant.
Creator of: Coolio's Tech Beacon Replacements
AE arc 402506, 'The Rise and Demise or Otherwise of Tekna Logik...'.
Tonight's arc: a scoreless review of Tekna Logik (402506). Review lower in this thread.
My current queue:
- Randoms!
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 mid-40s ice/axe tanker, +0/x2 with bosses on.
(Yeah, I know the real title was longer. Not going to type it out though.)
---
I’d appreciate a little more intel on what’s happening than just an alarm. I mean, I get more intel than that from a scanner mission.
I mean, not even intel about what’s going on, intel about what this factory makes.
Humanoid robots, apparently. Also a suit of armor and a stompass axe for my ally, who can solo this entire map by himself and because of his phenomenal perception often does.
Little note on the 5th - individuals may adopt German names but what their name means and how they function is a group of Nazi sympathizers recruited from Americans. They don’t have to speak German or take on German titles.
The raid has captured several robot models, most of which evacuate but one of which is malfunctioning and tries to electrocute me. It’s headed up by a mercs/storm mastermind who says jack, and also squat.
The navbar mentions something about a security computer but I don’t see one on my way up. I guess it’s optional as the mission completes when the last soldier goes down.
Oh. It was an optional click in the first room. Those are easy to miss because for some reason the tech door sounds like a glowie. It just dumps a bit of system text, not even a clue, or interaction bit.
I don’t really learn anything, aside from maybe getting a preview of an upcoming enemy group? Basically this is a radio mission that I’m racing to complete with an NPC.
---
Hmm. These mission open clues seem to be... briefing summaries?
Anyway, there’s apparently an Outcast riot in north Steel Canyon that I’m helping with because... of a reason? Ah, due to it possibly being related two Tekbots that are still missing. That were mentioned away from the briefings. And the actual “relation” is more of a hunch on my contact’s part that he never elaborates on.
Anyway, this place is full of Outcast patrols who are all saying the same thing over and over. I drop down to find a thugstermind with all his pets and posse in the little bit of this map by the science store where nobody ever thinks to look.
...and he chains into something else.
The Outcast mentions “Zeus”, and I think that Zeus is some kind of Warrior with a thunder dealybob. But no. Zeus Titan. At level 20. Destroys your regeneration, spits out hold gas.
At level 20.
Apparently this whole affair was an illusion and a trap devist by one of the escaped robots.
---
And now it’s warehouse time. Another defeat all with a wrecking machine of an ally. The escaped robot has bent all other forms of robotic villainy to her whims, including the dream reflections of robots conjured by Rularuu’s wandering psyche.
You, uh, might want to take those out. You can’t take the tendrils off.
Anyway, these robots are doing the same nasty thing that about 90% of the villains in door missions are doing, which is standing around waiting to get punched. I get some briefing summaries but not really an explanation of what ultimate purpose this aggregation is going to serve.
“Kill all humans” is just so overdone at this point, you know?
---
So there’s a robot and some cataphracts just standing around in Skyway City and possibly being a threat? My contact seems to think they’ll come in peaceably for whatever reason.
Something you should be aware of is that the system thinks it’s okay to break lines when you change colors, so the first letter of one of the words in that acronym is on a seperate line from the rest of the word.
...aw no. This Skyway City map. You should know that this Skyway City map likes to hide its objectives down under the freeway in the slums.
Wow. Actual elite boss cataphracts. Guess I’ll need the wolf after all.
...ha! They’re not even worth any XP. Ain’t that a kick in the teeth.
So after I run all over this map hunting down Cataphracts, it chains into the supposed real boss with no rationale.
He’s back pretty much exactly where one of the Cataphracts was. AR/dev custom, so it doesn’t really matter that the wolf has fallen down into the slums and gotten lost.
---
So, end boss time. I hear my ally sound off but perhaps in keeping with his line about stealth powers I can’t find him anywhere.
Oh! There he is, on... the top floor inside the building?
Wow, NPC dialog really has a huge radius these days.
This mission is a bit easy because despite what you may have learned in the early days of Architect, mission pacing actually works but only in a downward direction, putting you against what in my case are blues and greens.
Anyway, reunited just in time for a boss fight with a... robotstermind/elec armor EB. Less of a threat than the Cataphracts, all told.
---
Storyline - So an experimental robot is flushed from a test facility during a raid, after which point it assembles a hodgepodge army of robots to threaten humanity.
But I’m a little fuzzy on the details. I mean... this was a research facility owned by a legitimate businessman. How does a robot run that far out of control? Did it go into emergency self-defense mode and now can’t come out of it? Did the lab techs initialize its learning algorithm but forget to properly set the thisAlgorithmKillingAllHumansCost? (That’ll get you every time.) And now that the robot has snapped, what exactly is this ad hoc robot army planning? If it’s the emergency self-defense mode going nuts there is no plan, but otherwise I’ve got no lead as to her motivation.
I don’t have leads to a lot of things, because this arc likes to hide information fairly pointlessly. I’ve got no idea what piece of information tipped my cop contact off to these escaped robots behind a riot in Steel Canyon. I don’t know until the mission where one shows up what robots have even gone missing from this research facility or what their capabilities are, which would seem to be kind of important.
Design - There’s a pretty huge missed opportunity here. We rescue a wide selection of robots in the first mission, and then they never appear again. I was figuring they’d at least show up in the last mission with the earlier robotic hodgepodge as kind of an intro group, but nope, stock robot enemies all the way down.
The level range issue, though explicitly called out, is nonetheless jarring in terms of lost powers, unless you’re going into this arc with a level 25 character. The high levels are admittedly without a group that would really fit as a rampaging gang. Well, unless you want to go with the Freakshow. I think they’re still valid from their initial appearance to max level. But having an arc’s maximum level range jog up and down so drastically is forcing people to remember how they played their character without X powers, and then just when they’ve got the hang of it, giving them the powers back anyway. It’s just not a lot of fun. Pick a level range. If necessary, pick a new but still appropriate stock enemy group.
Also, NPC dialogue radius is huge now. You don’t need to have a bunch of patrols and battles with the same dialogue - it just makes me less likely to pay attention to dialogue that shows up since I’m likely to have seen it before. One patrol/battle per unique pair. The rest can be silent.
Also also, the group of assorted enemy robots could probably stand to be without the Reflections versions of robots, and I’d advise using the Rogue Arachnos robots instead of the main Arachnos ones, not because they’re statistically different but because the names fit better. The Malta Titans are a bit of an odd choice, however, in that they’re not actually autonomous robots but cyborgs run by a brain in a jar.
Gameplay - There isn’t anywhere that the cruel tyranny of matthematics raises its ugly head. Well, if you’re not a strong low-level soloing archetype trying to solo a Zeus Titan at level 20 is a recipe for frustration, since they can put out so many badstats that high-level characters can deal with but low-level characters may not have the tools for. if you’re trying to solo mission 4, the cataphracts are pretty much designed to be a daunting challenge for any given hero or villain operating alone. This is mitigated someone by the wrecking machine of an ally you get, though the lack of any reward for dropping the cataphracts is a kick in the teeth either way.
But the ally’s made quite a lot worse by the terrible geometry of mission 4. You may remember it from canon missions where it was effectively just a big corridor of highway, but in the hands of the architect objectives can show up on the slightly lower stretch of highway, on the southern stretch of road and into where the train station is now, and on the many and varied slum streets and warehouses under the highway proper. Trying to lead an ally through all that in search of fights is a bit trying. Trying to find whatever strange corner a chained objective spawned in is even worse.
It’s bad to a lesser extent in the Steel Canyon mission, since objectives can hide themselves under the construction scaffolding or, as was my experience, down in that little corner by the science store. I’ve played that map a lot and seen the weird places things can end up. Somebody else could be depowered and searching for ages.
While my ally in mission 4 is a good help against the cataphracts, all other missions with allies in them feel like the allies are a bit of overkill. They have such high damage output and in the case of the first mission such high perception that every battle is a race to tag everything so I don’t get entirely kill-stolen.
Detail - Most of the clues read like summaries of briefings and debriefings, which I suppose is a good thing to have when you’re in a team running an arc, as individual team members can miss out pretty easily. But since a problem I had with the story was that I wasn’t really getting enough information to adequately paint a picture of what was going on, having the clues largely reiterate what I already knew just reinforces that.
Overall - Pick a level range ad stick with it. Tone down the allies a little. Consider getting rid of the cataphracts and replacing them with enemies who actually award XP.
And it’d be nice to have some idea of what Tekna was actually planning. She was a prototype being developed by a lab, and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t a prototype for a metal boot stamping on a human face forever. What was she intended for? How did that go so wrong after a routine evacuation?
You probably have some idea of what the answers to those questions, but the answers don’t really seem to inform the actions I get to see in the storyarc, let alone come out in the actual clues or dialogue.
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)
Tonight's arc: The Golden Age Secret of the Paragon Society (344596). Verdict - *****. Review in MA Forums thread.
My current queue:
- Randoms!
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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)
Now I have one for you to review. It's still in the tweaking stages, so I'd prefer a scoreless review, but you can post it publicly.
#491402 Everything Falls Apart.
It's intended to be solable. I haven't had too much trouble, though you'll want to keep your ally alive during the boss fight in mission 3.
Thanks in advance.
Tonight's arc: Forged by the Heart (1355). Verdict - ***. Review lower in this thread.
My current queue:
- A scoreless review of Everything Falls Apart (491402)
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 max-level ice/stone tanker, +1/x2 with bosses on.
---
Hmm. Contacts got no description. Then again this is a four-digit arc, so it probably wasnt available at the time.
Hes got... a hero girlfriend, or at least a girlfriend with a codename, who works for Crey?
Hmm. Maybe a nickname, judging by the phonetics? The highlighting makes it seem like its more than just that, though.
Anyhow. Office building full of tank suits.
Did I say hero? At the top of this four-floor office building, I find a single computer with an apparent appointment with the CoT on it. Makes me wonder.
---
Apparently my contacts a hero too? Or at least thinks he can take on some Circle.
Anyway, I search an entire graveyard for a random group of CoT with no distinguishing marks, whose boss is an archmage, a prototype elite boss who is basically a boss with maxed resistances. Not fun.
Anyway, he says that Andrea was looking to vanish for some reason. Im sure the CoT would have been happy to oblige by hiding her inside a tiny crystal forever.
And apparently my contacts been compromised, or mind controlled, or replaced with some manner of artificial duplicate, as he gives his girlfriend a formal title and asks me to give up.
---
Unsurprisingly, I dont. I lift a little note from his employers and trace it back to source.
Well, who else would send telegrams? IT WAS ALL A NEMESIS PLOT!
...maybe. Ill see.
Nemesis seem to have kidnapped Dean and replaced him for some reason. I cant quite figure out why, as the clue I get from him ends abruptly at Anyway, I'm grateful for the help, and I think I know where to go from
It may just be here?
---
Yes, it seems so. Apparently Nemesis is going to pay a visit to some facility where shes stored. ...well, maybe Nemesis. He comes in six-packs these days.
I rescue her, and... shes a lieutenant with enhanced perception who I have to lead out. I do alright up until she gets a whiff of Nemesis Gas and bolts off somewhere. Wherever it is, its lethal. Maybe she gets caught up in the ambush that shows up?
Anyhow, mission failed, and the debrief acts like I let the timer expire. Apparently Andrea was a prototype intelligent automaton, and like any intelligent being, got fed up with Nemesis. Things went from there.
---
Storyline - ****. So there are about three rough spheres of heroic activity. Street-level heroics, which run about level 1-25; cosmic-level heroics, which run 40+; and global-level heroics, which occupy the space in between and overlap the ends a bit. This is basically a street-level story freaturing global-level villains, but set in the cosmic-level band.
And that presents a bit of a problem as far as finding a good guest villain, though. Well, guest enemy group. I can appreciate trying to find a rather dodgy enemy group whos got some magical chops to them, but about all youve got at the cosmic level are the immortal mages from the beneathiverse, the mad servants of the cannibal gods from outside time, and the crazy clowns. And maybe the Mu mystics. None of them make all that much sense for an apparent civilian to just be walking up to.
This might be a hint that Andrea is more than she seems, but my contact certainly doesnt sell it that way. Id suggest kicking this down a bit in levels and using the Tsoo, or keeping it steady and using the Carnies, who are at least not opposed to the idea of human life as it currently exists.
Design - ***. The first three missions have one required objective, but only the third one is really the right length for exactly one objective. Four floors of office building and a single giant overworld map with no indication where the end boss is are just a lot of fighting without a lot of real feeling of progression.
Ive got a problem with the objective spread in the last mission, too - I have no idea if it was even intended to be failed by the allys death, since the failure message doesnt seem to mention it at all. But Ill talk more about that later.
Gameplay - **. Circle of Thorns Archmages are an anomaly in enemy group design. Ive called them prototype elite bosses before, but Ive never really explained that tag. Back when the Shadow Shard was first released, in issue 2, they featured as the enemy leaders in the Augustine task force. They conned as bosses, but were more resilient to accommodate the reality that entire groups of heroes carve through bosses like so much chaff. Im pretty sure this is the same conceit that would lead to the creation of the elite boss rank much later, around the time Faultline showed up if Im not mistaken.
Anyway, CoT Archmages are basically the normal boss-types they represent except they have tremendous resistances. They show up in Architect as normal bosses, so a lot of people use them when they might not mean to. The problem is that while they were a neat idea for large numbers of heroes, you cant assume anything about team size in the Mission Architect. A solo boss fight against an Archmage is rather like fighting an ordinary CoT boss except that the fight goes on much longer -- its a lot like an elite boss fight except the elite boss will probably take less damage (before resistances) and dish out more. So basically, more boring. I cant think of a scenario where youd want to use a CoT archmage, except perhaps as a very resilient ally.
And speaking of allies, lets talk about that escort through the last mission. First, a lieutenant-rank ally isnt very sturdy - an enemy group needs only a little uninterrupted time to chew through their hit points. Some boss-class enemies carry attacks powerful enough to one-shot lieutenants even through their resistances. Second, an ally with enhanced perception such as is provided by the willpower armor can run off on their own to engage enemy groups, as I found out to my detriment. They hadnt attacked me, either, so Im not sure if she was set to aggressive for some reason or what. Third, Nemesis is a bad choice for trying to keep an ally safe. Many of their powers do some form of splash damage, so even being the sole target isnt enough to prevent the ally from being hit, and even worse is the Nemesis Gas. Allies will flee more or less blindly away from Nemesis Gas and similar damage area powers, which is basically the enhanced-perception woes except amped up even further.
If the challenge in the last mission is supposed to be the time limit, set the escort to be pacifist. If the challenge in the last mission is supposed to be keeping the ally safe in a room you may not have cleared out with an ambush on the way, rank her up to a boss at least? But honestly Id rather just see the challenge be to get out in time.
Detail - ****. The level of detail is pretty light but serviceable to move the plot along. The only issue I have is that as far as I could tell I wouldnt find out that Andrea was an automaton until she was safely outside the final mission. Id actually suggest that hint be dropped by the required glowie you find on the way up to her, just to build up the anticipation a little.
Overall - ***. The first two missions are long and mostly featureless. The last one pitches you an unexpected challenge thats a little too easy to fail. Under it all the storys worth following, but the mechanics could use some revision.
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)
Tonight's arc: A scoreless review of Everything Falls Apart (491402). Review lower in this thread.
My current queue:
- Randoms!
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 mid-20s Peacebringer, +0/x1 with bosses on.
---
So the Council and 5th are flashing some weird new tech in their streetfights, and Starsky wants a hero to look into things.
I meet a hero the Council have captured, though they’re just standing silent guard on him. I face down the Archon who is apparently negotiating with... intergalactic gun runners? Oh lord.
---
Back at the contact... apparently the alien I was working with in the last case is in the police station and showing me memories of his past.
I’m not sure how this helps track down these intergalactic arms dealers, exactly.
...this interstellar ship looks like an ordinary cargo ship.
I’m a little curious why I’m depowered here. It doesn’t seem like there’s anybody stock among these pirates. Is it to represent it being in the past?
You, uh, might want to check your clue order here. Jackson’s final scene when I activate the console comes before he promises to protect everyone in the clue window.
---
Not really sure why I needed to see that. Anyway, apparently the superior galactic freetraders decided to taunt us with the location of their base, or somesuch.
I enter the base and... I think I hear someone named “Miranda Kane” sounding off? My new alien buddy is just kind of sitting pretty in the entrance room with nothing to say.
Well, that’s interesting. She follows like an ally even during the pitched battle and then silently flips at the end. Jackson doesn’t say anything as his HP drops, and she doesn’t say anything when she flips. I only know something’s going on when I hear my ally’s mind powers.
While there’s kind of an interesting effect with leading my ally to the boss fight with a splotch on the map, you should be aware that Architect currently interprets every single “on arrival” directive as “stand there, do nothing”. Kind of not what the plot demands.
---
Ooooookay. So now I’m inside the melancholy of some alien empath and I’m going to have to somehow find a way out through... myself?
Oh. The Oranbega called “Oranbega”. This isn’t actually a very good map, it’s all made up of corridors with maybe two actual rooms in.
It may be what you’re looking for? But it’s not a lot of fun to maneuver in.
Anyway, the enemies in here are dark mirrors of the arms dealers, up until my doppleganger. Hey! They can replicate Kheldian powers now. Keen.
Anyway, he rants at me about someone being awake and crowns and windows opening.
---
Nobody else seems to have possessed the mental fortitude to get up and about. Peachy. Well, time to go play psychonaut.
More of these phantasms, and then my alien buddy feeling all despondent. When I free him it turns out I was blasting from right in the middle of his nightmare self, who’s largely borrowed Jackson’s powerset save for a psychic wail at low health. And some Shakespeare Manipulation.
With the officer out and everyone else away, the alien ports off. Peachy. And... no souvenir to be had, apparently?
---
Storyline - What is the role of outer space in the comics? It varies title to title but in the general sense, space is the frontier. Like, the Old West frontier. It’s got marshals in the form of, say, the Nova Corps or the Green Lantern Corps, but it’s largely untamed, generally unvisited by us Earthlings and generally not visiting us either. The “aliens” in-game are the Kheldians, who don’t have much in the way of a technology base or an empire, and the Rikti, who aren’t actually aliens. So going from that to an arc where I’m expected to empathize with a space-freighter captain is a bit of a shift.
For that matter, having my alien buddy be some kind of established hero who works with the PPD doesn’t really make a lot of sense either, given his blood oath of vengeance and his ability to pull half a city block into his nightmare. I mean, we’re already running around in a freaky mind dimension later in the arc anyway. Having a separate psychic adventure just seems kind of redundant.
What I think works better here is just introducing him as an unknown. Wearing some kind of uniform - maybe he’s a space cop? - and he just kind of shows up in the first two missions to fight the smugglers, and doesn’t talk much. But if he dies in the raid on the gunrunners’ base, or the raid succeeds and then the civilian goes down begging for her life, his despair zone activates and we get sucked into the flashback and fight through the cave of shadows before going back in to free everybody else.
I’m also not sure exactly why the alien lost his family in the first place, and why the smuggler leader kept up the ruse for so long. What was he really after? I mean, if he was selling organs on the black market or something it’d make sense, but not so much with actually raiding the freighter, given that the self-destruct is operational and the flashback seems to indicate it goes off.
Design - I would have expected something a little techier for the space trawler, Maybe one of the dilapidated tech bases. And the Oranbega map “Oranbega” is all the crampathon fun of the mine caves without any of the visual variety.
But the many new enemy groups that show up are pretty visually reasonable, not very distinct to look at but they don’t necessarily need to be since there aren’t many notable threats.
I’ll mention again the raid on the smuggler base and the bug in Architect that disables escorts when they reach their destination. Even if it is a known bug in Architect, that doesn’t mean it affects people’s gameplay any less. While I appreciate the idea, it may be that what you want to do is too complex for Architect to necessarily handle all the time.
Was something else supposed to happen after the self-destruct went off on the ship? Ally betrayal? The problem is that I don’t think I can get everybody out and trip the self-destruct without also leading the ally to the door.
Gameplay - No problems here. No complicated chains or incoming math hammers. Maybe consider subbing in, say, dark-colored weapons instead of actual darkness for the mind shadows, since in large numbers those sets can render you toothless but not necessarily in a lot of danger.
Detail - The clues in the flashback mission show up out of plot order, with the betrayal one showing up a bit early. You can drag and drop objectives to reorder how clues show up. The alien’s silence in the Council and smuggler missions is kind of a missed chance to introduce him, and the lack of any dialogue from the smuggler or his girlfriend (allies with no escort play their intro and rescue lines simultaneously at about the start of the map) doesn’t help matters there.
No souvenir, either, and for a head trip of an arc like this one having a souvenir is a big help in tying the various events together and establishing causality chains.
Overall - Enemy design in terms of looks and powers works pretty well. Storyline design, in terms of the players and how they’re presented and how the story flows? Not so much.
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)
Okay, I promised I would post a request for a review of an arc that I was likely to (at least at some point) actually use the feedback to make tweaks to the arc. So here goes!
The arc is "The Blue Devils" (Arc ID#468738)
*Crosses fingers*
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
)Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
Thanks for the review! I'll revise the arc based on your advice.
I really wasn't happy with mission 2 either. I was forced to change the events that I had planned for Anathocleos' background to make a playable mission. (The original story had Jackson acting alone. Much more believable). I think the only reason that I included that mission was because I knew my RP group would likely be playing the arc and they would like to see his backstory. I'll probably take it out. Or do you think I should move it later, so that it is part of the nightmare sequence?
Other than that, I need to
- change Cleos to an ally instead of an escort in mission 3
- add more dialogue
- use a different map from Oranbega in mission 4
- add a souvenir
- change some of the shades to something other than dark blast
Did I miss anything? What did you think of the dream dialogue? Too weird, or did it work?
Quote:
That was my suggestion. Either part of the nightmare or part of the psychic dive, since it seems to be a big part of his current identity.|
Originally Posted by Rayonn
Anathocleos' background (...) do you think I should move it later, so that it is part of the nightmare sequence?
|
Quote:
| What did you think of the dream dialogue? Too weird, or did it work? |
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:
Yes. |
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Was it supposed to seem half-maddened and impenetrably vague? If so, mission accomplished.
|
My biggest worry was that the player might not realize it's supposed to be meaningless, and agonize over trying to figure it out. (Actually, it does mean something. But that has no relevance to the current story.)
Tonight's random arc: Origin of the Mad Mummy (439265). Verdict - **. Review lower in this thread.
Other random arcs I hit up trying to find one I hadn't played before:
Spanks for the Memories (21144). Verdict - **
My current queue:
- A review of The Blue Devils (468738)
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 on a mid-40s ice/axe tanker, +0/x2 with bosses on.
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Walk up to a random mystic-lookin guy, get shanghaied into a story. Aint that always the way?
Anyhow, saving a museum from... a grav controller, maybe? Well see.
It seems the mummies are out in force. So not the grav controller variety of using the environment as a weapon. ...it also seems the mummies con green. Might want to look into that, since from my experience the pacing settings work but only downward.
Defeat all on a 5-floor map. At least most of the floors are small.
I spring an ally with... way too long of a bio, compared to the mummies weve been pasting.
The mummies are dark/dark minions, broadsword/something lieutenants, and earth control/storm bosses who can shave a giant amount off your to-hit between earthquake and hurricane.
The free-willed mummy and the end boss are right next to each other in the tiny end room. Coupled with my allys massive perception radius Im in the middle of a mummy mob in short order. The custom boss is a standard necro type, pretty fitting, and the missions not over until I grab a few final minions unfortunate enough to wander into a dead end.
Apparently it was just enough to run the custom boss off, in fine old superhero cartoon fashion, and now hes wreaking havoc outside?
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A defeat all, on an outdoor map, timed, with an end boss who chains off another elite boss.
Said end boss summons an ambush squad made of entirely boss-class enemies with build up and battle axe. Seriously, theres like eight of them.
After several deaths, a lot of pulling, and several Shivans, I manage to take out the end boss and the EIGHT BOSSES WITH BUILD UP and clear the map out with seconds left to spare.
---
Storyline - ***. For a story where you play background character to somebody elses origin story its not bad. Uses the well-worn plot device of some random inscrutable mystic bodily transporting you into the action. Not that its necessarily a good plot device, but for a reason to get involved in some other guys life story its expedient. It avoids a lot of hoop-jumping.
Without what I assume are SG cameos you could pitch it as just a generic bit of action that needs resolving, but it doesnt seem like getting involved in the story is necessarily as important to this arc as getting the story across, and maybe showing off the custom group.
Design - **. But if you were intending to show off the custom group, a single minion/lieutenant/boss mix of enemies is kind of anemic. Its kind of anemic in general since the custom group is really the only enemy group. Its easy enough to tell the ranks apart, no problem there, and even the feature group of mummy brutes looks pretty visually keen, but the fights dont seem that varied.
The closing brawl in the city block is, well, a city block, but the opening office could use some detail to really sell the whole museum angle. Maybe some exhibits to examine or something. You may also want to choose an end room thats slightly larger for the museum if you want to put both the boss and ally in it, as thatll help cut down on the chances of them nigh-on overlapping.
Gameplay - *. A defeat all on an outdoor map. A timed defeat all on an outdoor map. With a boss who chains into another boss who could turn up anywhere on the outdoor map. And the second boss summons a squad of eight boss-class mummies with Battle Axe and Build Up, and Shield at least to Against All Odds, the power that dampens your attack the more copies of it are out there running. The mummies had no trouble landing a few lucky shots through the ice armor with their odds and then just thoroughly dismantling my help, and I had to resort to clever pulling and my remaining Shivans in order to have a chance of clearing the map in a reasonable amount of time.
If you want the brute squad, and theyre certainly very nice, consider adding a copy of them scaled down a bit as a lieutenants. Theyll sub in for the minions instead of the bosses, but the bosses will still show up for a big enough team. And peel off Build Up. Surprise burst damage aint nothing but a heartbreaker. Id also consider either lifting the defeat all requirement or doing away with the time limit, and Id suggest the former. Mobs can get spawned in all kinds of crazy spread-out hidden-away places on that Steel Canyon map, and I didnt notice the helpful arrows that you get when youve got almost all the enemies on a map defeated.
Also you might want to consider taking Earthquake or Hurricane away from the regular boss mummies, because those powers working together take an enormous chunk out of accuracy.
Detail - ***. Nothing jarring, certainly, but theres really just enough to set up the bare bones of this story. The ending trailer seems to indicate that somehow the new hero and the end boss are related somehow, but theres pretty much nothing in the missions that points to that connection. Putting some appropriate hieroglyphic tablets or similar artifacts on display in the museum would be a great way to foreshadow that relationship without seeming too forced about it.
Overall - **. A serviceable somebody elses origin story arc, weighed down by the overblown demands of the last map and the absolutely punishing ambush.
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)
Tonight's arc: The Blue Devils (468738). Verdict - *****. Review lower in this thread.
My current queue:
- Randoms!
Something that isn't in the instructions but could stand to be said: CoH Mission Review isn't my private site. It's not even my site. Anybody's welcome to leave a review on anything, and it hardly has to be as long as the critical monstrosities I find myself putting out now and again.
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 my low-20s Peacebringer, +0/x1 with bosses on for the old-style newbie experience.
---
Little typo in the intro - Altas Park for Atlas. The ideas pretty solid, and this is part of ELITEs parvenu, I imagine. Low-level not-necessarily-powered gangs.
Time for them to say hello to Space Squid.
Alright, decent job of replicating the low-level powers. And it looks like XP is on-par, too.
---
Interesting idea here. I dont think Ill explore it, but I appreciate the nod to the alignment system, as new heroes/villains only find out about it much, much later.
I scoop up advanced tech, body armor, ritual stuff. Looks like these guys are trying to get themselves some power by any means possible.
...theyre planning to hit Crey? I almost feel bad for these guys. Unless Blakes got connections somewhere. Well, lets see what his face has to say after I fill it full of squid rays.
Hmm. Judging from the schedule I lifted from Blake, it seems like the raid took place while I was clearing out this hideout.
---
Yeah, they did hit Crey. Huh. Thats a little strange, since even given Creys history of whitewashing youd figure theyd be more up on things than this.
Well well. Looks like Crey black ops is on the case. (Though again, I have never actually seen a battle kick off when I got there or started firing into it. The battle started when I loaded into the map, and I didnt even see the undercover agent who seems to have noticed me.)
Huh. Seems like Crey is actually getting the better of the Blue Devils, which is surprising considering theyre actually, what, Rippers? Private security?
The Blue Devils have gotten some combat armor and laser rifles, which would make them a little more threatening to most armor sets at least.
Wow. Im not sure how you got the assault bot to spawn in with these guys, but its a pretty spiffy effect.
So apparently the higher-ups in this gang include Hibold, a tech-head, Azul, perhaps the ultimate leader, and SA, who a captured scientist called a stage magician who could summon demons.
---
Ah. SA is Azul. Okay. And it looks like were in a very watered-down version of 20th Century Boys, except theres nobody innocent involved.
Seems like Hibold puts people he doesnt like on duty as ablative armor. I let one of the guys bolt.
Hmm. Looks like a bunch of boxes I cant interact with yet. Wonder what thats about.
Okay, Hibolds a nice acrobatic-shootin cowboy-feelin gentleman. He calls in more ablatives as he goes down, but theyre not much threat. Apparently theres another boss-type Devil guarding something that prevents us from getting out of here?
Yeah. He drops and Im out. And all the crates light up. Theres another vigilante objective here, but since dropping the boss completes the mission, it doesnt really show up in the navbar.
---
Anyway, time to put a good old-fashioned kibosh on the power behind the throne.
I like that we have the option of leading Mind Shadow to the exit and keeping him out the way. Maps small enough as it is, certainly too small to make finding him actually optional.
Azul looks like a summoner with just a Demon Prince to his name, which is an interesting conceit, and its a shame you cant name it.
The demon himself is dressed up like a Behemoth in the end room, and does a nice job of playing the tempter, but Im afraid this little magic soul box has to go boom now.
Predictably, the demon flips, and so ends his last incarnation on the plane of the living.
---
Storyline - ****. Part of this is due to the difference between Hero and Vigilante, as proper nouns. Is Mrs. Davies ordering of a covert mind-scan at the end the act of someone who believes good deeds should be done swiftly, even if it means bucking the system, or someone whos risking her own career and that of a fledgling hero to bring in a defanged villain group just a bit faster?
In a heroic arc, its the latter. In a vigilante arc, its the former. I realize youre offering vigilante options but those can exist even in a vigilante arc, casting the player as someone willing to work outside the system but leaving them the decision whether or not to go full Punisher.
Also I realize it would probably not be practical to actually site a mission tracking the Crey convoy for various reasons, but it kind of bugs me that its presented as something that will inevitably happen rather than something thats already happened but Creys covering it up.
Design - ****. This isnt about enemy design. Thats pretty great, though everybody does tend to look just a little alike. Admittedly youre kinda limited there because this is just a gang of normals with delusions of grandeur.
But when a mission completes the navbar vanishes, replaced by MISSION COMPLETE (exit). In at least one case (the Hibold mission) this clobbers a novel objective, and in the first mission its very easy to complete the mission before you even see any of the optional glowies. In an arc thats about offering various options, having them up in the navbar is by far the easiest way to make players aware of them. Hibolds the only case where it really rankles, though.
The fifth mission has a very nice and fitting map, but not one that makes freeing the ally optional if you dont want to have enemies stabbing you in the back when you run by. I realize the objective may be technically optional, and ditching the ally at the entrance anyway is a nice touch, but in that case its ditching the ally alone that should be explicitly marked as optional.
Gameplay - *****. Pretty reasonable low-level enemy group, and as far as I could tell they all awarded full XP. Their alpha-strike potential seems a bit high but that may just be a function of my squidly fragility. The problem is that genuine lowbies may not have a lot of ways to heal up, but this may not be so much a problem that youre capable of addressing within the constraints youve set for yourself. Missions were generally pretty reasonable and didnt have a lot in the way of backtracking dead time to them.
Detail - *****. The descriptions and dialogue are very well done and paint a good picture of whats going on and whats worth paying attention to.
Overall - *****. My concerns about the storyline and design are pretty minor in the grand scale. The arcs well put together, has some interesting visual elements, and has some nice mechanical tweaks to it as well.
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)
I've got an arc in-progress that I could use feedback on. Nothing Else Remains (#486856).
I haven't yet written descriptions for the custom enemies, but other than that I think it's finished (unless gameplay issues come up), so you can make the review public.