Venture's Reviews IV: The Search for Part III
By
Aces_High,
Posted on: 2009-07-01 15:15 in Mission Architect
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How come nobody seems to want to follow that logic when I say that I think Venture is the worst reviewer I've seen and want to compare others to him (or vice versa)? A true question for the ages . . .
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Originally Posted by SkarmoryThePG
It's, in his opinion, the single worst arc he played. It's his opinion, and his right to compare others to it.
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I read the thread because I was linked to it by a coalition-mate. |
Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
If he's making your play experience that miserable, click his name, go to his profile, click "User lists" and put him on ignore. Then go in-game and /gignore @Venture. There. Now you can enjoy the free publicity his slamming of your arc has given it and never again have to read another word he says about you.
Although if he makes you that miserable, I have to wonder why you read his thread. |
Regarding ignoring him - if only it were that easy. He personally doesn't have to do anything any more aside from stir the pot like this, and he doesn't talk to me directly in game. It's the ripple effect that creates the drama. Every time this happens, I get another wave of people raging on BOTH sides of the arugment - either tearing me a new one about how horrible my arc was, venture was right, etc., or trumpeting that Venture was wrong and they will avenge my honor or whatever...by constantly bringing it to the forefront over and over, he's ensured others will do his dirty work pesterng me, it seems.
Ignoring Venture using game tools would literally do nothing to stop this and how it affects me when in the game, since that's not how the miserably is spread. As I said, this is the first time I've ever even responded in one of his threads - attempting to ignore him entirely has done literally squat to stop the problem.
The best solution, at least for the rest of us, is to simply ignore both of you.
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Seriously, nothing would make me happier in the world. Venture knows that just mentioning this arc now creates a dramastorm, so why do it? If the arc was never mentioned again I would be utterly ecstatic because then maybe the drama about it would finally END.|
Originally Posted by Lazarus
The best solution, at least for the rest of us, is to simply ignore both of you.
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Of course, a call to stop the drama by outside forces that I'm stuck in the middle of will probably just get called an attempt to keep the drama so that people can appear 'neutral' by taking the exact middle stance between us, but seriously now. Venture's beef isn't with me, it's with the people who liked the arc, and vice versa, and now I'm caught in the middle of it and things like what he's done in this thread aren't helping.
Yes, I came to post here, because once again, someone on the boards has done something that has created a headache for ME in game, outside of my control. Asking for people to stop fuelling the drama that any sane person would have already given up on a long time ago shouldn't make me a villain.
I tried shutting up about it, for three months, even. It did nothing. If being silent about it doesn't work, then what other options do I have?
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QFT. Seriously, is this arc really that big of a deal? It's not like all the other content in the game has to follow suit or anything. I direct you to my sig. Now. Lets all calm down, and read some reviews.
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Originally Posted by Witch_Engine
Seriously, nothing would make me happier in the world. Venture knows that just mentioning this arc now creates a dramastorm, so why do it? If the arc was never mentioned again I would be utterly ecstatic because then maybe the drama about it would finally END.
Of course, a call to stop the drama by outside forces that I'm stuck in the middle of will probably just get called an attempt to keep the drama so that people can appear 'neutral' by taking the exact middle stance between us, but seriously now. Venture's beef isn't with me, it's with the people who liked the arc, and vice versa, and now I'm caught in the middle of it and things like what he's done in this thread aren't helping. Yes, I came to post here, because once again, someone on the boards has done something that has created a headache for ME in game, outside of my control. Asking for people to stop fuelling the drama that any sane person would have already given up on a long time ago shouldn't make me a villain. I tried shutting up about it, for three months, even. It did nothing. If being silent about it doesn't work, then what other options do I have? |
Arc #77311, "The Ballad of Murky Thecat"
tl;dr: 2 stars. Offenses: plot issues, balance issues, overpowered Big Bad
Reviewed on: 10/24/2009
Level Range: 30-54/25-54/25-54/25-54/25-54
Architect's Keywords: Custom Characters, Non-Canon Story, Origin Story
My Keywords: Challenging, Non-Canon Story
Character used: Agent Cerulean
Difficulty: +1x2+B-AV
Either hammer down the one sticking up, or bring the others up to meet it....
Kaysa Thecat (an aggravating name convention used several times; no surname or just "Cat" would have been better, I think) wants you to experience the story of her predecessor Murky. The story begins with carnies breeding kittens for use as prizes in the goldfish toss. This is described as a "horrible fate". To me, it seems that being the prizes isn't too bad, with the only real risk being that the kitten might be won by someone not entirely serious about adopting a pet. Now, if the kittens were the projectiles in the goldfish toss.... But anyway, you're to put an end to this, find Murky and "adopt" her by finding some adoption papers. The mission takes place on one of the outdoor Carnie maps full of Carnies and their "dogs" (Warwolves). You have to find the papers in a chest and rescue three kittens (catgirl customs), which triggers the spawn of Murky as another hostage. You get to take Murky home to your apartment.
Unfortunately, it turns out there was a no-pets clause in the fine print. You have to beat back the security guards to keep from being evicted, and find the rental agreement. Um...yeah. You have to search the apartment offices for the agreement, getting past a mix of Crey and PPD. Murky is along as an ally, which neatly threw off my attempt to stealth the map as I blundered into her and she autoreleased. She's also a psycho, thanks to her Super Reflexes-boosted perception distance. There are a number of safes to search, one of which has the contract. For some reason, you having the contract lets you get out of its terms...don't try that at home, kids. Anyway...you're now able to get your down payment back and get out of your lease at favorable terms, which leaves you with enough money for a down payment on a suburban house. I'm guessing this part of the arc took place before 2008....
Act III involves a trip to the park for Murky, who's a bit bored. The park (Croatoa map) turns out to be infested with "Suburban Park Imps", a mix of Redcaps and Tuatha. You have to rescue Murky from them, then destroy the "Suburban Talisman", which is evidently responsible for the boredom in the 'burbs.
Act IV, a few years later, has you taking Murky to the doctor. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Well, for starters, the doctor's office could be on Council Empire Earth. At least that's the map used. And Murky has run away, because she doesn't like going to the doctor, and the place is overrun with "Backalley Nurses" with a variety of annoying powers (Electric Blast, Sonics, Poisons....). Once you rescue Murky you trigger the spawn of the Doctor, who must be defeated (skyrocketing cost of medical care and such....) The Doctor was a Dual Blades /Radiation Blast EB with an ambush wave of nurses and fairly nasty. On defeat he says it's too late for Murky, and you get a Clue saying he must have done something to her because she feels tired.
Time for the Fight Scene: you have to save Murky from the Disease. Yes, we're on the hospital map. The nurses are back. You have to find three Clean Bills of Health and defeat "Cancerous Sarcoma", a Spines/Willpower Elite Boss on full Extreme difficulty. On my first try I dropped the pet spiders next to him, he hit Build Up and Impaled me for about 1700 (out of my 1250) hit points. Forty minutes and nearly a full tray of mostly-large inspirations later I finally brought him down.
Then he rezzed.
The last of the glowies was right next to his spawn point. The mission would have completed if I'd had all three done, but there was no way to click it without agroing him, and I simply wasn't going through that fight again in any case. I abandoned the arc.
This was heading for three stars due to a number of dubious plot elements, mostly discussed above. It fell to two because of the overpowered Big Bad. The point of a tribute arc is supposed to be to get people to experience the story and leave them feeling good about it afterward. Given that, there is simply no reason to throw something at them as difficult as an Extreme EB, never mind a Willpower one that rezzes. People playing this arc aren't going to be thinking about the real-life Murky and what a great pet she was. There's going to be thinking about what a pain the last mission was. This one needs a lot of help.
(On an unrelated point, I miscounted; this is only my 141st review. Ah well.)
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Thanks for the Review Venture.
I wanted the Big Baddy to be hard at the end... And I wanted him to be able to Rez. Due to the Nature of what he is. I was trying to capture the idea of Cancer.... Maybe I can look at trying to cut it back... Especially since I can now pick what powers he has... When I created him and the Arc that didn't exist (and in the numerous edits I've done since forgot all about that affect - since I touched most everything else but him)... That way I can tone him down and still keep the Rez effect I want... That actually might work.
BTW Thecat as a Last name is actually what Murky and such were called in real life and when used in things 
. Kinda of a joke on it.
The Council Earth Map was swapped in for one of the normal outdoor building maps due to how HUGE that map was, and how annoying it was. The Council Earth Map was smaller and gave the concept... Not sure if any new map has been added that would fit better and still give the idea I wanted.
If anyone has a suggestion for that Map - please let me know.
And thanks again Venture - I think I have some ideas of what to do to the Big Baddy at the end to tone him down slightly
Take Care,
BinkDeBook
Virtue: CaptainMayhem-50 Inv/SS Tank; NaomiArmitage-50 DM/Inv Scrap; Captn Randomizer-50 MC/Kin Cntrller; Murky Thecat-50 Claws/SR Scrap; Professor Junk-50 Bots/Traps MM; +Others Arc Id #77311, #227436
Arc #81043, "The Invasion of the Space Ape Armada"
tl;dr: 4 stars. Offenses: short, minor balance issues
Reviewed on: 10/24/2009
Level Range: 21-54
Architect's Keywords: Save the World, Comedy, Sci-Fi
My Keywords: Challenging, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Character used: Agent Cerulean/Justice
Difficulty: +1x2+B-AV
The President (whose info says he is "President Man, America's newest superhero) wants your help defeating the forces of the extra-terrestrial Dr.^H^H^HAdmiral Silverback. Silverback has issued an ultimatum (in several ways, some amusing) but Earth's leaders have taken too long to surrender. Paragon City is ground zero for the invasion. You're to take out the invasion leaders and find the teleporter co-ordinates for Silverback's mothership. The invaders are actually apes of various types (well-done customs, though Robotics is overused, probably for the laser rifle, and having both Aim and Targeting Drone on Baboons is a bit much). The two leaders are Captains Kurgh and Packardt, whose dialog sounds exactly what you think it sounds like. Finding the teleport co-ords means destroying a "Teleport Homer" and retrieving its memory core.
Once tech support is done with the core, The President asks you to teleport to the ape mothership behind the moon. Your goals are to take out Silverback, and optionally to retrieve some of the ape's technology and plant a few bombs (at the request of the military). Once on the mothership, you get to fight your way through an expanded selection of apes, two more captains (Janewa and Cisquo), and the Admiral himself. The Admiral's info reveals he's actually an Earth gorilla captured and experimented on by aliens. He was a pretty tough nut to crack, too, as a Super Strength/Energy Blast Elite Boss.
I found this one to be funny but too short. Maybe have some Starship Troopers apes for the ground battle, then a teleport up to an ape space station used as the staging area (Cisquo), then the mothership with the rest of the captains. There are also a few points where the mobs could probably stand to be turned down a notch. Still, it's a good play and recommended.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
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You know, for the sake of your review count, I'd willingly sacrifice my peace of mind by letting you review The Consequences of War II. Really, don't mention it, Venture. Always glad to help. |
Originally Posted by Venture
(On an unrelated point, I miscounted; this is only my 141st review. Ah well.)
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The SOLUS Foundation - a Liberty and Pinnacle SG
"The Consequences of War" - Arcs # 227331 and 241496
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Writing a short arc is a negative? I find "too long" can more often be an offense. I personally prefer authors don't follow the "it has to be five missions" paradigm as I have played a lot of arcs that were clearly "stretched" to fill the five mission available. |
Originally Posted by Venture
Offenses: short, |
WN
Check out one of my most recent arcs:
457506 - A Very Special Episode - An abandoned TV, a missing kid's TV show host and more
416951 - The Ms. Manners Task Force - More wacky villains, Wannabes. things in poor taste
or one of my other arcs including two 2010 Player's Choice Winners and an2009 Official AE Awards Nominee for Best Original Story
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I think the thing is more about pacing then it is about length. The ideal arc should never make you say "ugh, when is this going to end" or "Wait, it's over already?". It should end right when you feel it should.
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Originally Posted by Wrong_Number
Writing a short arc is a negative? I find "too long" can more often be an offense. I personally prefer authors don't follow the "it has to be five missions" paradigm as I have played a lot of arcs that were clearly "stretched" to fill the five mission available.
WN |
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Originally Posted by Venture
Arc #81043, "The Invasion of the Space Ape Armada"
tl;dr: 4 stars. Offenses: short, minor balance issues Reviewed on: 10/24/2009 Level Range: 21-54 Architect's Keywords: Save the World, Comedy, Sci-Fi My Keywords: Challenging, Comedy, Sci-Fi Character used: Agent Cerulean/Justice Difficulty: +1x2+B-AV [SNIPping concise and fair review...] ...it's a good play and recommended. |
I second that, and if anyone would like an alternative, In-Character review, there's one here.
Eco.
MArcs:
The Echo, Arc ID 1688 (5mish, easy, drama)
The Audition, Arc ID 221240 (6 mish, complex mech, comedy)
Storming Citadel, Arc ID 379488 (lowbie, 1mish, 10-min timed)
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
[The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."
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Arc #67087, "Through the Looking Glass Part I"
tl;dr: 2 stars. Offenses: many
Reviewed on: 10/26/2009
Level Range: 50-54
Architect's Keywords: Ideal for Teams, Canon Related, Save the World
My Keywords: Challenging, Sci-Fi, Save the World
Character used: Vector Alpha/Virtue
Difficulty: +1x2+B-AV
I don't have a lot to say about this. The arc seems to start either in media res or with a very bad opening briefing that sounds like you missed the first reel. In a nutshell, Mirror Spirit wants you to intervene in the Rikti invasion of "Earth X", which is going much better for them than their invasion of our world. Because all the heroes are dead or converted you have to hook up with Arachnos, specifically Lord Recluse, and free a bunch of characters that appear to be the architect's SGmates or alts. You are on the trail of "The Herald", which is consistently misspelled "Harald" (I kept thinking "Harald of Norway? Harold the Saxon?"). You end up on the under-the-mothership map facing the chicks from the LGTF and Lady Jane, all converted, and the Honoree. You get Recluse and Requiem as allies and if you've lost them by this point you're probably hosed. Taking down the Honoree triggers the Vassal (Ms. Liberty) and The Herald (Statesman). Taking them down gets you the setup for part II, the end.
There is no theme, balance is a joke and the writing is rife with spelling and grammatical errors. Skip it.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
So, that was the last arc in my queue. I'll be starting a new thread for the next batch, for which I will not be taking requests. (I already have over twenty arcs listed just from the Players' Awards thread and there's no way I'm going to cover all of them before the deadline.)
Closing out the old business:
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Basically, because I mentioned the arc, you got some extra plays. Some of those people liked it and the rest have good taste.| Every time this happens, I get another wave of people raging on BOTH sides of the arugment - either tearing me a new one about how horrible my arc was, venture was right, etc., or trumpeting that Venture was wrong and they will avenge my honor or whatever...by constantly bringing it to the forefront over and over, he's ensured others will do his dirty work pesterng me, it seems. |
I am not responsible for what other people do. I don't have legions of followers waiting to do my unspoken bidding. If I do, I didn't get the memo. If these people exist and are congregating somewhere let me know so I can drop the Life of Brian quote on them. I am not a supervillain and I am not yours or anyone else's arch-enemy. I do not need any more attention; I am still turning people who want reviews away. (I turned someone away while running the last review.) If I wanted attention I would get considerably more by writing reviews filled with flattery and fluff, handing out five-star reviews like Halloween candy. I write what I write (in general, not just these posts) because I think something is true and needs to be said. It doesn't matter if people agree with it or even read it. I have no control over that. There is a chasm between popularity and correctness, which is really the crux of the issue.
I have discussed "Blight" in the past. I will probably have occasion to do so in the future. It is an egregious example of bad writing exacerbated by pretentious false profundity. If people (some of them with red names) want to turn it into the Sanjaya of the MA system that's their prerogative but popularity is no metric of quality. Neither is it uniform. Publishing your work means people are going to talk about it and some of them aren't going to like it. People have given some of my arcs bad reviews too (to say nothing of the vengeance ratings but I knew that would happen when I decided to post reviews). I haven't accused them of trying to ruin my life. Even the most critically acclaimed works in human history, a class "Blight" is most assuredly not a member of, have their detractors. The real world is not like these newfangled (and useless) schools that don't allow teachers to say anything negative about a student no matter how true it is. People who can't deal with negative comments about their work need to not publish it. If this forum will not permit negative comments about work -- the work, not the architect -- then it should be closed as it would be completely devoid of purpose or meaning. So too should the entire rating system be removed.
To swipe a line from Rita Rudner, if this is how you intend to behave when people don't like your work, I respectfully suggest that you learn to pace yourself. I'd hate to hear the noise you make when you get audited.
You can get the thread locked now, if you like.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Dude, seriously...let it go.
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Seriously.
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Originally Posted by Witch_Engine
Dude, seriously...let it go.
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...Why are you here?|
Originally Posted by Witch_Engine
Dude, seriously...let it go.
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You've got a guy who absolutely despises your arc and uses it as a baseline example of the worst excesses of MA, and you're reading his thread and replying to his posts just like his fanboyish hangers-on.
He has a right to an opinion. You have a right to respond to it... but posting something every time he mentions it doesn't make you any more mature than he, and in fact it shows an alarming lack of emotional self-sufficiency on your part that ONE person thinking your arc is bad has gotten this much of your attention. I mean, your arc won a freakin award for heavens sake but you're STILL jeering at Venture? Really?
Ok, I got an idea. Hey Venture, remember how you hated my arc? Use THAT as a baseline for crap. I could use the publicity!
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
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Good God, dude. He posted five words. Five. One, two, three, four, five.
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Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
words
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Are you serious? Wow. This string of replies is the first time I've ever posted in one of his review threads, ever. The only other time I've ever directly responded to anything he's said about blight was in the blight thread...OVER THREE MONTHS AGO. |
Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
...Why are you here?
You've got a guy who absolutely despises your arc and uses it as a baseline example of the worst excesses of MA, and you're reading his thread and replying to his posts just like his fanboyish hangers-on. He has a right to an opinion. You have a right to respond to it... but posting something every time he mentions it doesn't make you any more mature than he, and in fact it shows an alarming lack of emotional self-sufficiency on your part that ONE person thinking your arc is bad has gotten this much of your attention. I mean, your arc won a freakin award for heavens sake but you're STILL jeering at Venture? Really? Ok, I got an idea. Hey Venture, remember how you hated my arc? Use THAT as a baseline for crap. I could use the publicity! |
I have LITERALLY ignored him, refused to respond to him, and stayed the hell away from him for over three months, and it's him, not me, him, that keeps bringing it up again and again. The only reason, as I've stated, I bothered posting anything at all, is because I am still being harassed in game because of the drama, and asked him to STOP provoking people.
Apparently though, trying to completely ignore him and having it make the problem perpetuate, then, asking him to stop because it only creates drama, which I am NOT EVEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN, but filters to me as owner of the arc, after IGNORING HIM FOR THREE MONTHS, is 'jeering at him and hanging on like some kind of fanboy'.
It's pretty disgusting when someone can try to ignore the problem, but when it doesn't work and they make a plea for the other side to stop perpetuating this idiocy, they're now the bad guy. That's pretty twisted.
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I guess you're not counting his four or five other entire posts?|
Originally Posted by Geek_Boy
Good God, dude. He posted five words. Five. One, two, three, four, five.
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That's more than five words. Now bugger off! Anyway...
Look W_E, Venture attacked your arc, NOT you. If other people are harassing YOU in-game over this, write up a support ticket and let the GMs deal with it. Coming into Venture's thread to chew him out is not impressive to your detractors; in fact, it only serves to fuel their twisted desire to see how far they can push you.
Not that I condone the behavior. However, I think it was Lemur_Lad who said something like "If you hang your underwear out to dry, don't expect people not to laugh at your skidmarks". And that's EXACTLY what you're doing every time you post in this thread: showing off the undies. In that last case, you're showing weakness. And like most cowardly predators, those who attack you wouldn't strike unless they detect that you're already wounded. It's really a bit problematic: The more you defend yourself, the more likely people are to attack you. Kinda sucks, don't it? =/
See, I don't think you're "the bad guy". That's a persecution complex talking. No, I think you simply need to find a better copping mechanism for all of this. Developing a careless attitude over the fact that it's just a bunch of jerks on the flippin INTERNET might be a good start.
-STEELE =)
Allied to all sides so that no matter what, I'll come out on top!
Oh, and Crimson demands you play this arc-> Twisted Knives (MA Arc #397769)
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What a load. Venture's criticisms have gone way beyond the arc in this case, as they did with the earlier beer arc whose marketing was better than Venture's. There's a clear difference between these reviews and his other diatribes that stick to the material. Hopefully Venture Part V will skip the paparazzi antics as his reviews are a good read, even when disagreeable.
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Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
Look W_E, Venture attacked your arc, NOT you.
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Arc: 379017: Outbroken See all your old friends in the Outbreak Tutorial sequel!
Arc: Coming Soon: The Incarnate Shadow Shard of Fire and Ice Mender Rednem needs you!
Massively.com opinion poll: Please Help Save CoH!
I guess I was just lucky to have been gutted by Talen Lee's Simon Cowell impression well before I started reading Venture's stuff. I've never been able to see Venture through the same critical eyes some of you have since then. Sure, he's a bit outspoken, and his "Blight" fetish does get painful to watch, but at least he maintains a steady intelligence behind what he writes, whether you agree or disagree with him.
Trust me, there have been worse.
The SOLUS Foundation - a Liberty and Pinnacle SG
"The Consequences of War" - Arcs # 227331 and 241496
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While he usually skirts the edge on that, this last statement of his clearly shows otherwise:|
Originally Posted by EmperorSteele
Venture attacked your arc, NOT you.
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Originally Posted by Venture
Some of those people liked it and the rest have good taste.
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If you don't think so, go out sometime and tell the next person wearing something you don't like that they have no taste. See if they take it as an attack on the article of clothing or their person.
"If I had Force powers, vacuum or not my cape/clothes/hair would always be blowing in the Dramatic Wind." - Tenzhi
Characters
If you think that's a flame, you haven't even seen the pilot light.
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
It's, in his opinion, the single worst arc he played. It's his opinion, and his right to compare others to it.
What shall claim a Sky Kings' Ransom?
PPD & Resistance Epic Archetypes