anyone still making MA arcs?
By
Alari_Azure,
Posted on: 2009-06-04 10:24 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Made three arcs, but until it is confirmed that I can get more slots without having to hope for a Dev Choice (which I probably won't want since it locks the arc for editing) there is little point in writing any further ones.
Anyhow, I bet that they're putting off new DC picks until after issue 15 for the reason that it introduces a lot of new improvements to MA and a lot of authors will be annoyed if their arcs were already locked.
I wrote one arc that got good responses from people who have played, so I'm toying with writing another one of a more serious nature. The one I wrote started out as a test of the MA system. I wanted to see what it could do, and what kind of custom villain groups I could create. So I fooled around with creating a custom villain group I thought would look fun and interesting visually. Because of the type of person I am, I didn't want it published unless there was an actual story, so I fudged a story together, and then polished it up and added all the little details to make it seem like a real story. The end result was a light story of little impact to the gameworld, but still proved to be kind of fun. The important thing was that I really enjoyed doing it. And I love it when I suddenly get a message from someone saying that they really enjoyed it. It's barely played, so I barely ever get those messages, but when I do, it's a great feeling. Because of that, I'll try other players' stories that haven't been voted on yet, and send them positive feedback too (if it warrants it).
Seeing as I have a good idea now of what's possible, I'm trying to come up with another. When I do, it'll get created.
I have to say that I've come across some very wonderful stories. What I love about them is that they're so well written, it's impressive to realize that other players can have such creativity and expertise in crafting such fine tales.
Arc ID#30821, A Clean Break
The only problem with defeating the Tsoo is that an hour later, you want to defeat them again!
"Life is just better boosted!" -- LadyMage
"I'm a big believer in Personal Force Field on a blaster. ... It's your happy place." -- Fulmens
you liked something i made >.>
i - um - screenshotted the post
no take backs
I was working on one involving the 5th Column and Council but I wanted to see if Issue 15 caused anything significant to happen with the groups.
I'll replace Requiem with Reichsman I guess.
I've only published one arc ... and have just started on a second.
I like story driven arcs with "twisted" takes on classic fairy tales ... with custom mobs that make sense given the original story ... so I'm still in the research phase.
I must admit that my first story "Wicked, Wicked Wonderland" has gotten a lot more play that I ever thought it would -- and such kind and positive feedback -- that I'm a little fearful that my second story won't "live up to" the first.
I do think the second idea has tremendous potential to deliver fun ... but, of course, the devil is always in the details.
I made one, then realised the entire mechanism for people to play them is based on just how much of a [censored] I want to be to people around me and that the mechanism of the AE had absolutely nothing at all to do with actual quality promoting good arcs, figured I'd never get any recognition unless I found some way to appeal to a dev (and the existing dev choice arcs have shown me that I don't expect them to like my writing), and figured I'd sod the whole idea off.
I made a new, two mission arc on Sunday. I started around 10 AM and finished around 4 PM. Now I'm not that proficient at using MA to create arcs, so I had to keep testing and retesting to make sure everything was working as intended, but that's still a long time to spend on a two-mission arc.
The arc tells a story within the confines of my SG, so while it would be cool if other people played it, I wouldn't expect them to really understand all of it. Now, despite the fact that it took that long, and will probably only be played once, I am excited to use the MA again, because I think it's a really cool way to flesh out some aspects of an RP SG.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
<qr> I am personally done with making MA arcs till we get a few more tools. I'm quite frustrated with custom critters and even more disappointed that the ability to customize their difficulty or powers DOWN for either thematic or level balance reasons was taken out of i15.
I guess I'm an oddball in that I enjoy the early to mid game quite a bit and am interested in making arcs with plenty of Custom Critters for that range. But they are often simply too overpowered for anything other than boss fights.
Just my 2 cents. But I still play MA arcs from time to time, trying to get new stories each time I do. It's usually the need for specific salvage or the desire for a few recipe rolls that will bring me back to the MA. But instead of farming, I like to play stories that are worth reading. Just how I prefer to do things. 
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I have made 2 and stopped. Partly waiting for I15, partly knowing that once I finish my 3rd I'm done.
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I have one almost finished but not published, due to some technical difficulties.
But your second sentence hit the nail on the head; I only have slots...it's making me think twice about putting something up.
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The lack of significant "Dev Choice" missions is definitely an indirect deterrrant to using the MA anymore. Unfortunately, the Devs aren't prioritizing "Dev Choice nominations" right now as they're very busy focusing on producing new content for GR and upcoming Booster packs (which I don't fault them for at all).
That being said... I'm 99.9% sure the lack of Dev Choice picks is also the result of an in-house directive from NCSoft... clearly someone is counting on the players paying for additional MA slots when this retail service becomes available - in which case its [u]really[u] not a good idea for the Devs to go around nominating story arcs which would open up MA slots for free...
Now, if NCSoft says its ok for the Devs to free up MA account slots *after* they've sold additional MA retail slots - well, that's a different matter entirely...
Remember kids, its not important what you do or don't do with your MA arcs, but rather that you're still willing to pay up front for more MA slots which will help the bottom line... This is when I worry that GR is NCSoft's last-ditch effort to pick the loyal subscriber's pocket before letting the bottom drop out on this franchise once and for all.
I don't see much of a future for the COH franchise [u]after[u] GR hits the shelves (although I'm sure private talks regarding COH2 are still ongoing - if they're not, then GR really is "the end") if only because most franchises require a minimum 5-year product(s) lifecycle in the marketplace before the seemingly depthless wells of public interest and investment funding dry out entirely.
And we're just about there...