Talos Vice (arc id 338380)

Changes made:
* Rearranged order of clues to be a little more logical.
* Made a custom group to replace Family. This contains standard Family and Marcone mobs (basically the same mobs as before), but all the Marcones have been relabeled as regular Family.
* Since I was making a custom Family group anyway, I went ahead and pastel-ized and day-glo-ized them. (They might be a little too garish now. After playtesting, I had to change the one in the peach-colored suit back to a normal color because it was just too ugly.)
* Removed Heightened Senses from Croquette, to reduce his aggro radius (at the suggestion of @Most Definitely Skary).
* Removed Tsoo from the Perps group. I originally included them because they are a "Talos" group, but several players have commented that they seem out of theme for the setting/time period. (Wondering if I should remove Freaks for the same reason; but no one has left feedback about having a problem with them, yet.)
* Improved standardization of naming scheme for Perps group (Stunner Chief is now Freak Stunner, Crusher is now Warrior Crusher, etc.).

Thanks a ton for all the feedback so far!

I thought the Freaks looked very much like how "punks" and "rockers" and similar subcultures were portrayed in Miami Vice. The Tsoo are perfectly fine since as you say they are Talos mobs, unless the arc is actually supposed to take place in the 80s. I think the Tsoo are more recent immigrants.

So are we only going to see the Freaks and Warriors if we play at the max level for the arc? I just played it at 18 and only saw Trolls, Outcasts, and Hellions in that group.

It just seems odd that "Talos" Vice features so few of the enemies who naturally occur in Talos Island.

I really loved this arc. I have no heroes who are level 12-20, but I found a level 11 scrapper Sandy Beach, who I created for a beach themed SG that never quite got off the ground.

She was a perfect hero to play this arc and the difficulty level was fine even though she was not level 12 yet.

Below are some notes I made while I played.

Mission 1:
Contact: I loved that the contact interaction was a in a different format!
I enjoyed the still busy dialog.

Loved the troll in the bright pink shirt.

I am not sure if I missed it somehow, but I did not see any text when I lost Croquette or when I went back and got him.

Mission 2:
Contact dialog: The postage stamp comment made me smile

Loved that you recolored the villains to fit the theme.
Kitty was a nice touch – actually sad truth behind her bio
Libby too

The comment about the Statesman doll actually made me laugh.

Mission 3:

Entry pop-up made me smile.
Good level of play.

Overall impression:
For me this was another one of your arcs that was near perfection. The arc was so themed and so full of little details. I love the small bits of humor that are sprinkled throughout it! In my book this is up there with Teen Phalanx. I enjoyed it that much!

Got to say I really liked the arc, being a fan of 80s shows in general and of Miami Vice in partcular (see the full DVD set over there by my tv). The only concerns I'd have had were with the mentioning of "moody 80s song" or some such, but I understand why that had to be--not wanting to risk infringement. Most of them can be found on various "Best of Miami Vice" type CDs, at least, or any good collection of 80s music.

As for the toon I ran through this? It was a level 40 Assault Rifle/Devices Blaster, partnered with a level 37 Dual Blades/Willpower Tank, both exemplared to 20. We had no troubles with it at all. Here's a pic of Pistola, my toon. When I designed Pistola in the first place, I wanted someone that hearkened back to the "bad boy, biker outfit" vibe that hails from sources like The Terminator, Streets of Fire, the Mad Max movies, and other similar shows. I think he was a good fit for this arc, overall.



All in all, an exceptional arc well worth recommending to friends!

Thanks for the kind words!

Glad you liked the 80s-themed villain outfits, ArrowRose!

Your "bad boy biker" outfit looks great, Tubbius!

Yes, Talos Vice is all about having "the look".

Not having read most of the replies already, here are my thoughts...

Regarding the questions you ask in the original post:

I found the final fight a little too easy, however, I didn't have my difficulty set above normal. The "Is it too easy or not" question really depends on what the individual player is looking for. It's easy enough to change the character's difficulty rating if you want it to be harder so, personally, I don't sweat that question. With my level 16 claws scrapper set on normal, though, with Croquette's help, I chewed up the bad guys very easily.

I definitely don't see an infringement issue. It's an homage and it's easily within parameters.

The writing style is different, but enjoyably unique. Again, it's probably going to depend on the individual player with this arc, more than others, as to whether or not he/she liked it. I wasn't a fan of "Miami Vice," but this was kind of interesting.

You did push me a little close to my comfort level regarding putting words in my character's mouth and actions in my character's... um... body? Fortunately, all the words and actions worked for that character. If I was a stickler, however, other characters may have been a bigger issue. If a player's willing to roll with such things then I doubt it'll be a huge problem.

Regarding other observations:

The dancers were cute (though I was disappointed that their bikinis were *far* bigger than postage stamps). I think you could probably increase the "strip joint factor" by adding more of them, though--maybe another rescue set with multiples and little or no dialogue. I've never seen a strip joint with just two dancers... um... that is, if I'd ever seen a strip joint.

So, anyway... Have you considered using the old PDP map instead of the warehouse map you're using? More of a club atmosphere.

I thought the end was a little abrupt. While I understand the trend toward trying to make shorter arcs, I think you're selling yourself short on this one. You're skilled enough to add at least one more mission that could actually have the player-character deal with Wexler's shooting, even if it's set up as a failure. It just seems to me that that would be a prime mission, and you could make it really engaging--but that's just my thought.

Otherwise, it was surprisingly enjoyable (since I don't typically enjoy crime genre arcs). I gave it a 5 rating in-game so as not to damage the 5 star rating it has. Here, I'll give it a 4. I just think you have the skill to do a little better. Hope you think that's fair.

Now... If you could consider adding a re-review of "Casualties of War" (Formerly "Consequences of War II"), I could really use your eyes on all the changes I've made. Yeah, feel free to groan. I can hear it now... "Oh. My. Gawd. Will he NEVER leave me alone about those danged arcs?!"

Played through with my level 22 Dual Pistols/Traps Corruptor, Cory the Chameleon. He's a mobster, but fits perfectly with the visual style of the arc. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity.


White suits are just so damn fashionable!

Loved the screenplay style text in the arc. Especially the flashback with Back Alley Brawler. Something about BaBs being so hard-bitten cracked me right up. I also enjoyed the 80s versions of the classic Paragon City gangs. Hellions in pastel colors... just so wrong!


Chief: You're loose cannons! Both of you! But you get job done, god bless you!

Didn't realize I didn't have bosses on when I went into the arc, but Cavalieri was still tough enough to defeat me twice before I finally went and grabbed Croquette to help. Seems like he could be just a bit easier. Maybe use another secondary besides willpower? That HP boost on top of resistances can be pretty rough. Invulnerability gives comparable resistances, and doesn't have that problem.

However, that wasn't enough to detract from the enjoyment of the arc. It was the final battle after all, and the arc being only 3 missions meant that it didn't get into the zone of frustration. The underlying premise and delivery were excellent enough to make this a 5 star arc easily.

Think of this as a bonus prize for your Player's Choice win... as long as it doesn't get blocked for the music. There's a warning, but no restriction at the moment. I think it doesn't get blocked unless there's a complaint, but not sure.

I enjoyed doing the first half of the intro for my review video that I had to do the full intro as sort of an arc ad. Let me know if you want a hardcopy of the file.