I try to use both color and text attributes in my clues and souvenirs when I write up the story-arc text. I think visual elements that can make something stand-out can leave a better impression in the audience, which is naturally a good thing most of the time.
About the system being capable of handling story-elements, that is totally up to you and the way you choose to integrate the story element in question into your arc. However, there are some story-elements, especially those that require personal choices that will not be very well represented in the AE as it is currently implemented.
You cannot for example create specific rewards for taking certain unrequired mission pathways other than in the form of an Ally or a clue. Even then, some people may choose to ignore the clue altogether, and even worse, complain that they either had to babysit the Ally so it won't die on them, or that the Ally stole their XP because its help in defeating the enemy wasn't necessary.
The situation gets worse when you're trying to make a follow-up arc since there isn't really a way to tie in two arcs other than using the imagination of the player going through the arcs.
I believe that a Kheldian Gold Standard should be based on SO's, and for anything above that... there's Platinum!
Save Ms. Liberty (#5349) � Augmenting Peacebringers � The Umbra Illuminati
Save Ms. Liberty (#5349) � Augmenting Peacebringers � The Umbra Illuminati
The OP is a little vague, but let me mention a rule of thumb I've started to use: When giving a clue of significance, make sure there's a one-line summary of the contents delivered either through NPC chatter or objective-complete text. Then players get a general sense of what's going on and can read the clue for deeper investigation.
It's not always easy to pull off completely satisfactorily, but most of the time it works pretty well.
And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines
to be more clear, the clue was recieved when a player opened up an optional collection object.
The clue simply states something like, ''you sift through the junk and find nothing of interest, yet it seems oddly rewarding"
Clearly, by itself, the clue is useless, but it is meant to provide a heads up on what is coming in the next mission. In the next mission the player gets many many clues hinting that though they are doing mundane stuff, they experience great pleasure.
Is this kind of clue giving acceptable? Or does it just confuse players (like it seemed to do with the reviewer).
The Hero Simulator, Chapter 1, The Beta Tester
The Hero Simulator, Chapter 2, The Robot Mystery
More Info at....
https://boards.cityofheroes.com/show...0#Post13494207
One thing I wonder a bit about, is how to introduce story concepts via clues.
In my story, I use the addiciton angle. By that I mean that the character is becoming addicited as they continue into the arc. In mission 2, I introduce the idea of addiction to the player, and then in Mission 3, I place the idea of addiction right up front. At this time my arcs are realitively unplayed, which I can live with as I brush them up, but I had a reviewer take a look. Unfortunately, during the review of arc 2, the reviewer choose to ignore the clue of addicition, and said that all clues should be relevant to the story.
This got me to thinking, is this system capable of allowing this type of story element, or should I just be more forward about my clues, and deliver them in bold capitals?
The other possibility, is that the reviewer didn't catch on that this clue was meant to open up a new story element that would be introduced later in the Arc.
The Hero Simulator, Chapter 1, The Beta Tester
The Hero Simulator, Chapter 2, The Robot Mystery
More Info at....
https://boards.cityofheroes.com/show...0#Post13494207