CoHMR Aggregator (a review thread)

GlaziusF · 06-18-2009 11:48 AM

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The 'Fake Citadel' (controlled by Memory-X), enlisted your help to stop the 5th Column from creating a second identical A.I. to (they hope) regain control of the original Memory-X A.I. (And I have the Memoy-X computer modules you're destroying in Mission 5 revealing this fact in the dialog they spout). By the end of the second mission, you're completed this task for Memory-X; and thus on the third mission, it's sending you to a place where it has some of its own forces (and it knows the 5th Column is searching there too); and Memory-X expects you will die at the hands of the 5th Column or it's own minions (hence the ambush too); or you'll be captured and he can substitute a controlled copy of you as well, thus tying up all loose ends.

Again, I realize this is a game and your character should survive the trap, defeat the lackeys 99.99% of the time, (and even if you fail mission 3, I have dialogue in place that allows the story to continue with your character still the 'lead'); but imo, storywise the overconfident Memory-X does believe its lackeys will indeed capture or kill you when you go on that particular misson.

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Well, it doesn't feel particularly trap-like. Ambushes happen in pretty much any normal rescue mission. Maybe you could fight the fake Citadel before the real one shows up or something, but that's a matter for I15 and the great arc resizing.

GlaziusF · 06-18-2009 08:00 PM

Well, I guess I'll be doing one of yours Saturday, PW.

The last of the queue... is going to hang around a little longer. It would have been Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day Kids! (2019), but given the way Snakes work I can't exactly fight the level 45 viper assassins that spawned for my level 39 tanker. WN, can ya get back to me once that's taken care of?

So PW gets her time in the sun tonight, with Axis and Allies (1379). Verdict - ***. Review on MA Forums Thread.

Hercules · 06-18-2009 08:04 PM

I could always use another play on Tales of Croatoa (178774 ).

131430 Starfare: First Contact
178774 Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name ( 2009 MA Best In-Canon Arc ) ( 2009 Player Awards - Best Serious Arc )

Justice Blues · 06-18-2009 08:08 PM

So just Edit your published arc then save it as a local file. Open that file with a text editor, make your changes, then edit your published arc again and do a copy & paste of your changes.

Justice Blues, Tech/Tank, Inv/SS
----------------------
Fighting The Future Trilogy
----------------------

_jjac_ · 06-18-2009 08:56 PM

I just put up a new arc recently, The History of Statesman (219484), you might want to try that.

TeChameleon · 06-18-2009 09:10 PM

Well, Glazius, if you're jonesing for some more arcs (and hopefully they make more sense to you than the first one of mine you reviewed did, *sigh*...), I just put my other two arcs on the CoHMR site, Trollbane and How to Survive a Robot Uprising (see my sig for the numbers).

I can't edit How to Survive a Robot Uprising until they fix that stupid glitch where some of the mobs have a default text that's too long, though >.<

Also, if you have a few, would you be willing to do a quick re-run of Small Fears? I think I've taken care of most of the more egregious bugbears in the arc that you touched on... I don't need a full re-review or anything, but I would be interested to know if your impressions had changed at all.

"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"

Sumericon · 06-19-2009 07:56 AM

I posted my arcs on COHMR. My Dev Choice arc has gotten lots of feedback already, and besides I can't yet make any changes to it, so if you're only doing one, Power Play would be the first priority. I could use more input on it.

Info in my sig. Thanks.

(edited for link to Power Play thread)

Armsman · 06-19-2009 09:17 PM

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I can't edit How to Survive a Robot Uprising until they fix that stupid glitch where some of the mobs have a default text that's too long, though >.<

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Actually, yes you can. make your other changes, then go into the NPC Description text fields that give that error, Blank them completely out so the errors no longer show; and hit republish. You'll need to re-blank them everytime you edit though, but it works for me.

TeChameleon · 06-19-2009 09:28 PM

Oh. Huh. Thanks for the heads-up, Armsman. Good to know.

"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"

Hercules · 06-20-2009 03:30 AM

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I can't edit How to Survive a Robot Uprising until they fix that stupid glitch where some of the mobs have a default text that's too long, though >.<

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Actually, yes you can. make your other changes, then go into the NPC Description text fields that give that error, Blank them completely out so the errors no longer show; and hit republish. You'll need to re-blank them everytime you edit though, but it works for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Put a "..." in there and you wont have to keep reblanking it.

131430 Starfare: First Contact
178774 Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name ( 2009 MA Best In-Canon Arc ) ( 2009 Player Awards - Best Serious Arc )

GlaziusF · 06-21-2009 12:10 PM

Today's leadoff mission: Trollbane (106553). Verdict: ****. Review below in this thread.

GlaziusF · 06-21-2009 12:11 PM

@GlaziusF

Playing on an ice/axe tanker, getting exed down, diff 2 so bosses is bosses.

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The battles are raging as soon as I enter the door.

Standard Battle Disclaimer - heroes don't actually have to be present for any given battle to start. Using text that assumes they're there doesn't fit.

Plenty of superadine labs to wreck, but the cops can take care of that. (also for whatever weird reason, only one is actually glowing and buffing end)

Hmm. Identical battles show up on the second floor. Really I'd only want one battle saying a thing on a map and silent ones for the rest of them.

Ah, and there's what I'm looking for. It's kinda odd how I'm supposed to go in to break up a battle but all I do is frob a glowie and the mission completes?

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Briefing for mission 2, "addresses" should have two Ds.

More battles assuming a hero is in there to break things up.

...ha! Man, these battles are so close to each other the Trolls are juts hauling off and wrecking each other. Don't know how exactly or if you can code things to fix that.

Oh. Hey, foggy man. You're an Elite Boss. I think I'll just let you keep wailing on those Trolls. Interesting description, but I wonder how the Skulls keep him from wrecking THEM too.

Oh. So I DO have to fight you.

Y'know, in the first mission with the Envoy of Shadows heroes didn't have to fight him. Just tossing that out there.

Maybe you could obfuscate this guy's description the first fight with him? The debriefing makes it sound like you're supposed to have Babs tell you who the guy was.

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Ah, a solo ally. They'll say their "you found me" text as soon as you walk in the door, which doesn't make a lot of sense given that this guy was down a giant winding stretch of tunnel when I found him.

Hmm! Sounds like the Circle are also terrified of this ghost.

...igneous? What? Wonder what they're doing here.

Ah. They're attendants. No clue who this yahoo is supposed to be. Guess the Circle actually weren't worried about getting ghostpunked.

Also since the mage said "he's coming for you" I was kinda expecting the boss fight toward the beginning of the map rather than at the end. Ah well, only a little wandering.

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You know, Babsy. If Numina actually created anti-undead wards maybe they'd be useful against the terrible undead things I'm fighting right the hell now.

AGH! Beseiged by dialogue as soon as I enter. Let me see if I can make some SENSE out of this...

Okay, head back to the graveyard and...

Oh.

Hello, boss fight two blocks from the graveyard.

Yeah, confuse is a pain, isn't it? Fortunately I manage to take her down with a minimum of effort.

Though again, the boss seems like somebody who Babs should have to introduce to me and therefore should lack a bio.

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You know, given that I've been fighting Skull bosses when the battles get large enough these past couple of missions, I think I can handle a few more. Why the warning shot, Babs?

It's kind of a shame that the bosses get tripped by the occasional battle, it seems like their opening rants might be pretty interesting.

Oh. Seems like it's not just Skull bosses. Alright then!

Hmm. Bonemason is really just like Baron von Germanoff, Round 2. Same power selections and everything. I'd expect him to be at least a little different. Have dark armor or something.

Ah, and you've run into the old singular/plural bug. When collecting a bunch of singular objectives under a plural umbrella, the one that shows up when you're down to the last one is... man, I can't remember if it's the first one or the last one or a random one, but most of the time it's not going to be the actual last thing the player has to do.

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Storyline - ****. That little throwaway line about Numina making anti-undead devices gets under the skin like a burr, as does BAB's little bit where he takes himself out of the action. I mean, why NOT have him in to prevent part of the city from getting totally wrecked? Heck, in I15 you can even get him to auto-scale down to a mission level but right now you could make a mockup of him and explain away the differences as limiters to prevent the caves from collapsing.

Design - ***. Getting pounded by six copies of the same identical battle dialogue, all of which also assumes I'm there to kick things off, kinda gets repetitive when I zone in or go up a floor. A lot of the boss encounters also get set off early when the battles range too close to them, and I think they even manage to push the boss fights in the last two missions out of the rooms where they "should" happen. I fought all four bosses inside the little twisty tunnels in the last map, not the big open rooms.

Gameplay - ****. The main "challenge" here is keeping up enough endurance to fire off the attacks to whittle down EB hit points. I don't see why you can't just make 'em bosses, with maybe just the Bonemason as an EB. Running out of gas in general is something that does happen a lot before 20, but the giant walls of hit points make it a little worse.

Detail - *****. No complaints here. Everything's in its place and working fine.

Overall - ****. A pretty worthy lowbie Skull-to-Troll transition arc, brought down a bit by Babs bending over backwards to not show up and way too many battles crowding out other objectives and filling up the NPC dialogue window.

TeChameleon · 06-21-2009 09:49 PM

Thanks for the run, Glazius.

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That little throwaway line about Numina making anti-undead devices gets under the skin like a burr, as does BAB's little bit where he takes himself out of the action.

[/ QUOTE ]
I guess I need to clarify that it wasn't Numina that made the anti-Undead stuff (and you're not the first to make that mistake); the Baron gave you that after you stomped him. It's just oozing with such nasty black magic that the average person's going to be reluctant to even touch the scroll, much less cast it (assuming they're able to in the first place).

Also, BABs is kind of reluctant to just annihilate the spirits of his former friends- in fact, the suggestion pissed him right off; that's why he decided to get medieval on the Baron.

Also, once I'm able to scale BABs down, he'll be making a guest appearance on the final mission- that was the original plan, right up until I found out that I couldn't actually do that >.<

[ QUOTE ]
Getting pounded by six copies of the same identical battle dialogue, all of which also assumes I'm there to kick things off, kinda gets repetitive when I zone in or go up a floor.

[/ QUOTE ]
As far as I can tell, that's a bug- I have occasionally had the triggers work correctly, although it's the exception, not the rule. I'm a bit reluctant to rewrite all the dialogue to suit a glitch.

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and I think they even manage to push the boss fights in the last two missions out of the rooms where they "should" happen. I fought all four bosses inside the little twisty tunnels in the last map, not the big open rooms.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's... well, not 'working as intended', really, but it doesn't seem to be a bug or anything, that's just where their spawn points seem to show up. Not sure why. ("You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike")

[ QUOTE ]
The main "challenge" here is keeping up enough endurance to fire off the attacks to whittle down EB hit points. I don't see why you can't just make 'em bosses, with maybe just the Bonemason as an EB. Running out of gas in general is something that does happen a lot before 20, but the giant walls of hit points make it a little worse.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thus "Challenge Level 1 Recommended" in the intro text. I didn't really intend for anybody but the named guys to be bosses in this, and the majority of people (at least, that *I've* dealt with) don't seem to play on higher difficulties until later-game, so I designed towards that.

Anywho, thanks for the run- appreciate it.

"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 · 06-22-2009 04:42 PM

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Getting pounded by six copies of the same identical battle dialogue, all of which also assumes I'm there to kick things off, kinda gets repetitive when I zone in or go up a floor.

[/ QUOTE ]
As far as I can tell, that's a bug- I have occasionally had the triggers work correctly, although it's the exception, not the rule. I'm a bit reluctant to rewrite all the dialogue to suit a glitch.

[/ QUOTE ]

The triggers have never worked "correctly" for me. Not once. There's nothing wrong with coding for the system as it is, instead of the system as you wish it was.

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and I think they even manage to push the boss fights in the last two missions out of the rooms where they "should" happen. I fought all four bosses inside the little twisty tunnels in the last map, not the big open rooms.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's... well, not 'working as intended', really, but it doesn't seem to be a bug or anything, that's just where their spawn points seem to show up. Not sure why. ("You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike")

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you can give the boss fights priority by ordering them higher in the list of objectives. 's why I said that.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The main "challenge" here is keeping up enough endurance to fire off the attacks to whittle down EB hit points. I don't see why you can't just make 'em bosses, with maybe just the Bonemason as an EB. Running out of gas in general is something that does happen a lot before 20, but the giant walls of hit points make it a little worse.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thus "Challenge Level 1 Recommended" in the intro text. I didn't really intend for anybody but the named guys to be bosses in this, and the majority of people (at least, that *I've* dealt with) don't seem to play on higher difficulties until later-game, so I designed towards that.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can actually usually handle diff 2 or 3 pretty early on, depending on whether the AT suits itself to locking down a small number or blowing up a large number. Making them bosses will ensure you don't get a giant unexpected meatwall when a friend tags along to play, among other things.

TeChameleon · 06-22-2009 07:38 PM

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The triggers have never worked "correctly" for me. Not once. There's nothing wrong with coding for the system as it is, instead of the system as you wish it was.

[/ QUOTE ]
I've had it happen for me juuuuuuust often enough to give me false hope :/

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I think you can give the boss fights priority by ordering them higher in the list of objectives. 's why I said that.

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*shakes head* They're at the top of the priority list right now. I think it's just the map.

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I can actually usually handle diff 2 or 3 pretty early on, depending on whether the AT suits itself to locking down a small number or blowing up a large number. Making them bosses will ensure you don't get a giant unexpected meatwall when a friend tags along to play, among other things.

[/ QUOTE ]
I've found I can burn them down at a comfortable pace even with just two people- all I'm really trying to avoid there is the whole "Hey, look, an objecti... wait, it's dead, oh well." bit, which is what happens when I make 'em Bosses.

"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 · 06-22-2009 08:55 PM

Today's leadoff mission: Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day, Kids! (2019). Verdict: ***. Review in MA Forums Thread.
Today's random mission: Enter the Father Hat Gang (21391). Verdict: ***. Review below in this thread.

GlaziusF · 06-22-2009 10:11 PM

@GlaziusF

Running on a high 30s ice/axe brute, diff 2 so bosses is bosses.

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Look, we both know the only thing sensei's worried about is not getting cut in on this.

Or, yes, okay, she's got a loan out from the "shoot out your kneecaps" type of creditors.

Hmm. Okay, you know what, I'm just going to jump to the statblock here, that's where the discussion's going to happen.

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Storyline - **. And here's why. If I take this at face value, there's apparently some Mad Hatter out there who's sending kids into the line of fire and playing with their minds, and I want to feed him my axe, plasma end first. This is probably exactly the wrong thing that you want me to think.

Y'know what'd work better for me as a framing device? "Yeah, uh... they're my class from Ziggursky Reform School. I probably should have mentioned that, huh?"

Design - ****. Yep, that was definitely a bank. It's kinda hard to make out details on min-height customs but I guess everything was alright? (maybe I shouldn't have run on a max height tanker)

Gameplay - *****. Customs not wreckin' hard. Total Focus was the only thing that brought me low on HP but coincidentally I was going into Hibernate at the time so it just healed up.

Detail - ***. Most of this is for how the storyline basically took this terrible dark turn because of a few incidental lines.

Overall - ***. I won't say something as simple as "there was an obvious way to do this well and you didn't do it". AzuDai is at least two-thirds about how its cast play off each other, which is something that just isn't available to you in the tools MA has to offer.

Ashcraft · 06-23-2009 07:54 AM

I'll throw mine onto the fire. It is geared toward a team, hence the Task Force title, but a strong solo character can manage. (It is way more fun on a big team though. :-) )

Arc Name: The Trifecta Task Force
Arc ID:164681

Faction: Heroic

Creator Global/Forum Name: @Ashcraft

Difficulty Level: Medium- Designed for teams or strong solo characters.

Synopsis: A very unique mutant with ties to the Midnighters Has called on you for help. His brain has mutated to the point where he has three separate personalities. Sister Psyche tried to help him but the time he spent with the psychic powerhouse caused another mental mutation.

Trifecta now has three distinct personalities wrecking havoc in the world with uncontrolled psychic power. One shard of his mind has contacted you and asks that you help him before he loses his mind... for good.

Estimated Time to Play: 5 missions, 20-40 minutes

A Guide to Champion Drama
My Videos
Ashcraft been published.

Shard_Warrior · 06-23-2009 08:29 AM

Arc Name: The Hero Who Loved Me
Arc ID: 232417
Levels: 45-50
Faction: Neutral
Creator Global/Forum Name: @Jade-Star
Difficulty Level: Medium

Synopsis: During a Rikti assault on Paragon City, a legendary hero goes missing. You must team up with Turbo Starr and unravel a mystery that may spell the end of Paragon City!

I'd appreciate feedback on this arc. I want to make sure the clues and dialogue are understandable, so any comments on maps/story parts/clues/dialogue is appreciated!

Pay close attention to the clues and dialogue, as well as what transpires throughout the story. It is intended to be a prologue to a much larger story continued in future arcs.

I think you will all have fun with this arc. It has a little bit of everything, and not everything is what it seems

Thanks!

Shard Warrior - 50 MA/Regen/BM Scrapper

Founding Member and Leader : Shadow-Force
Co-Leader: Council of Heroes
"Whatever evils come this way... we will be there to stop them."

BackFire · 06-23-2009 11:15 AM

Thanks for the review Glazius, glad another Azu fan ran it, they give the best suggestions!

I like the reform school idea. I admit, the whole framing seems a bit convoluted since I was planning on adding a couple more missions to hunt down "Father."

The fact that you wanted to teach him a lesson for what he did to the girls means I set that up pretty well, I think!

But the sensei wanting a cut?!!? That's just pure evil. I'd prefer her to stay self-centered and reckless with their safety, not purposely putting them in harm's way.

I'll have to pop in the DVD series again and see if I get hit with inspiration to continue the arc.

Craft your inventions in AE!!

Play "Crafter's Cafe" - Arc #487283. A 1 mission, NON-COMBAT AE arc with workable invention tables!

GlaziusF · 06-23-2009 07:04 PM

Tonight's leadoff was going to be the Trifecta Task Force, but it's not up on CoHMR yet. Read the first post, people!

Tonight's actual leadoff is The History Of Statesman (219484). Verdict - *****. Review in MA Forums Thread.

Hercules · 06-24-2009 04:07 AM

131430 Starfare: First Contact
178774 Tales of Croatoa: A Rose By Any Other Name ( 2009 MA Best In-Canon Arc ) ( 2009 Player Awards - Best Serious Arc )

KemLi · 06-24-2009 11:58 AM

I hope you've got time to review my arcs.
My 1st Arc and yes it shows the inexperience, I think.
Story Arc ID: 198952
Authors Global Chat Handle: @KemLi
Length: Medium (2 missions)
Alignment: Heroic

Designer Notes: Multiple EBs and 1 AV in arc, but all scalable, so change the difficulty to suit your playstyle. I was able to complete it at a different challenge level using the odd 50 and by request, a lvl 4 un-enhanced blaster, on Heroic. [SOMA]

My 2nd Arc , published recently.

Title: A Shadowy Way of Light
Arc ID: 221466
Creators Global Name: @KemLi
Faction : Neutral (Villainous story)
Difficulty Level: Medium-High. Adjust difficulty to suit your playstyle.
Synopsis Purely Villain arc. You've been contacted by a new Religious Sect in the Isles and they've thrust you into dangerous situations. But they've fed your desire to be truly evil and have led you to face some of Paragon's finest. You will be the ultimate victor and rule all that you survey.
Story Type Serious/Dramatic
Mission Count: 4

Note All bosses , EBs and AVs scale.I'd suggest you not go in alone,or at least not without shivans. Also last mission is very soloable and I suggest environmental awareness =]

Feedback appreciated.

Pinnacle & Virtue:
A bunch of Heroes - Alpha Team, Legion of Order.
A bunch of Villains -Black Citadel , Pinnache.

GlaziusF · 06-24-2009 09:42 PM

Tonight's arc - Tales of Croatoa: A Rose by Any Other Name (178774). Verdict - **. Review in MA Forums Thread.

GlaziusF · 06-25-2009 11:00 PM

Tonight's arc - The Hero Who Loved Me (232417). Verdict - *. Review on MA Forums Thread.