The Secret of NutriPaste
Arc ID: 343643
Level: 10-20
Keywords: Canon Related
Description: One of Dr. Aeon's greatest inventions is NutriPaste. Made to the highest standards of nutrition under quality-controlled industrial conditions, Dr. Aeon's NutriPaste is an inexhaustible and inexpensive food-source for the people of the Rogue Isles. At least that's what it says on the tube.
I'm aware that there's another arc with the same name but I didn't know this when I wrote it. After some consideration I decided to not change my arc after all.
This arc has been unpublished.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
343643 The secret of nutripaste
I liked this arc. Bering a grunt on the Rogue Island is hard work and it is about time that we are being appreciated here! Good briefings and debriefings. Amazed that the marshall manages to be so polite to a mere grunt despite all this crisis and many others he is faced with. This shows that Arachnos cares.
Here are some thoughts about the missions. First thing is my response to the briefing. 'Accept' is adequate but a bit boring.
Mission 1
Nice to have the Luddites appearing as an faction here. They are such an underused faction.
Amanda Vines dialogue looks to be a bit of. I thought she was more cheeky like that. More a thing like. “Sigh, couldn't you have waited a few more minutes? I nearly had a scoop here. Yes, yes, I know where to go now, I will wait outside like a good nice reporter.”
Not much dialogue in here. I was expecting the Luddites to preach more. Is it possible to make the hostages more unique or are you running out of space?
Mission 2
Nice little jibe at the blue side here. Striga Island? Isn't that a little rock near the Paragon coast? The appearance of Tommy one Eye was a nice touch as well.
However it was unclear what was happening. Dialogue with the mutiny happened in the last compartment of the ship. It took me awhile to understand what was going on. Especially since I was attacked by both factions despite me having a few friends of one of the factions on my side. That was a bit confusing. The fight with the endboss (missing bio) was a nice one and I really wonder how I managed to survive that one! Clever and plausible use of AE mechanics there. A shame that all the glowies and slave to be freed are just copies. Would be nice if they were unique.
Mission 3
Luddites on a rampage. Lots of secondary optional objectives one of which resulted in me facing the nastiest ambush I can recall when trying to make them stop smashing a containment unit. I hope this is a bug because I was assaulted from multimple sides with what looked like multiple hard ambushes. A bit much on a soloing soldier because despite excellent soldier training I went down fast. And had to visit the hospital to get my revenge.
Mission 4
Me on a rampage. Straight forward mission. No big surprises here. Which was odd after the last two missions but nothing wrong with a change of pace.
Mission 5
Luddites, Gold Brickers, Arachnos, oh my. This one was fun for me, because my toon is a Midas Sponsored Soldier of Arachnos. To show LR that he cares. So the Marshall gave me a nice loyalty test here. Would be a good thing here to show the optional objectives in the header I think, because I was confused that disabling the explosives did not count towards the final objective. It was a tough fight against the endboss and I had to use every inspiration to beat him. It was touch and go there. I would have loved a bit of help from my comrades. Patrols are not the same (btw why no dialogue for my colleagues appearing here?).
This mission was a bit frustrating because one of the objectives was up on one of those ramps and it took me a lot of time to find him. Didn't help that one of the minions spawned 100 yards further away and even more up!
But the debriefing was a bit of a downer. No word about what the secret is. Of course, a grunt like me do not have the need to know. But still, after all the hoopla, the Luddites wanting to destroy it, him wanting that recipe for more control over Arachnos, I would have expecting more. Even if it is a remark like this.
Your contact looks very smug as if he can't wait to confront somebody. When you ask him about the secret he looks at you sternly: 'What recipe? Somethings are better forgotten soldier.'
All in all, I really liked this one. Excellent work.
Quote:
I wasn't entirely pleased with the end debriefing either but that's Marshal Brass for you.|
Originally Posted by GrinningSpade
But the debriefing was a bit of a downer. No word about what the secret is. Of course, a grunt like me do not have the need to know. But still, after all the hoopla, the Luddites wanting to destroy it, him wanting that recipe for more control over Arachnos, I would have expecting more.
|
Quote:
| All in all, I really liked this one. Excellent work. |
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
A Taste For Evil
Arc ID: 349034
Level: 10-20
Keywords: Canon Related, Sci-Fi, Drama
Description: You have been volunteered to try out the new NutriPaste™ flavor before it gets introduced on the market. Enjoy your tasty and nutritious snack. Please report any unexpected side-effects to your superior officer. [Designed for VEAT play.]
Review by Police Woman. 4 stars.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
Fear And Loathing On Striga
Arc ID: 350522
Level: 20-29
Keywords: Ideal for Teams, Canon Related, Drama
Description: The Council is losing its grip on Striga after their giant robot scheme was thwarted by a group of heroes. You have to fill the sudden power vacuum in a manner which pleases Arachnos. [Designed for VEAT play. Contains an AV/EB.]
Finally - Striga for villains. It's not all I wanted it to be but that would be 4 complete arcs by itself. Maybe I'll expand on it if we're allowed to buy more slots some day.
Now nominated for best new arc in the January Player Choice Awards. I'm honored.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
I'm just going to add a little something about what I mean when I say "designed for VEAT play", as I describe all of these arcs.
The VEATs are made for teamwork. They make an ordinary team much stronger (if they use their leadership toggles) and a team made up solely of VEATs is practically unstoppable.
The Kheldians are the complete opposite, behaving as some kind of parasites to draw power from their teammates while giving nothing unique back to the team as a whole. I say this as the player of two level 50 Kheldians so I have nothing against the AT as such except that they don't really serve a purpose on a team.
The arcs are designed for VEAT play not only by assuming that the player is a soldier or widow in the Arachnos army, and expecting them to follow orders (or at least look like they are following orders) in a chain of command, but also and perhaps more importantly I try to include lots of optional allies. An AT based on teamwork is quite pointless without a team and since the MA is easier to use solo I don't want to deny the solo player the pleasure of using those excellent leadership toggles.
So basically: VEAT play = plenty of allies available, if you want them.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
My fourth VEAT arc is basically finished. I have however run into a problem of it not being quite villainous enough. A friend of mine gave it 4 stars and only because he really liked the last two missions. That's not something I would want to expose the rest of the gaming community to so I'm keeping it to myself for a while longer until I figure out what to do about it. I will either think of something to fix it or I'll just publish it anyway and see if it was just my friend who had a problem with it.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
Unpublished "The Secret of NutriPaste".
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
Quote:
Unpublished???|
Originally Posted by FredrikSvanberg
Unpublished "The Secret of NutriPaste".
|
Shame, though I must admit that taste for evil is the better arc of the two.
I didn't realize that this was a thread about a series of Arcs. Since I'm mostly redside anyway and looking for some good arcs to use as alternate levelling, I'll be looking into these.
"...his madness keeps him sane.": My Profile on VirtueVerse
Can You WIN the Internet? MA Arc #85544
Inhuman Resources - At Work with IE #298132
Task Force Mutternacht #349522 <-- 1st AE Challenge
The Warburg Connection
Arc ID: 364832
Level: 30-40
Keywords: Canon Related, Drama
Alan Desslock needs your help to handle some business in Warburg. What at first seems like normal spying and bloody murder turns out to be something much more personal. [Designed for VEAT play; other ATs play at their own risk. Contains EB/AVs.]
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
Played Fear and Loathing on Striga, and it was easily a 5 star arc. Dense with little details, has a good villainous feel to it, and ends with a showdown with superheroes in what is quite possibly the least contrived boat mission I've ever seen in an MA arc.
Since I'm playing the January player's choice nominees straight down the list, this has set a pretty high bar for the other ones. Except for my own, of course. My overwhelming ego puts my own arcs over all others.
Quote:
Review done as part of the CoHMR Aggregator Project.|
Originally Posted by FredrikSvanberg
The Tangled Weave
Arc ID: 338575 |
@GlaziusF
Running this on a necro/dark MM who's long outleveled the mission. I remember she was alright at lowbie levels, so let's see how that holds up.
Two villains at even-level, bosses but no AVs.
---
I guess even as a newbie operative I have to be vigilant against (commie mutant) traitors. Okay, let's infiltrate.
Might be nice to get an opening clue describing whatever thingy the data comes on.
Gee, I wonder why this base is leaking data? Couldn't have anything to do with a low-ranking officer giving out the password to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who comes in the front door.
Anyway, nice NPC base.
...apparently the guys who were going to jump the traitor weren't informed I was planting the data and decide to come after me.
...and the base commander, but he just mows 'em down.
Oh, hi Jenkins. Coffee duty after that mess-up at the Zig? Yeah, I gotcha.
Having offed my fellow Troubleshooters in grand style, I head out.
Ah, okay. Interesting tie-in to the first villain mission.
So what's next?
---
A... Snake temple. Hoo boy. Am I just secretly setting up Kalinda's newbie arcs here?
Three bosses to rescue? Dang. Their damage pretty much overshadows mine, you might want to tone those down a bit.
Yeah. The boss just goes down in no time at all. Was he a custom? The face looked a bit unusual. No clues as to what might have been in the box he was carrying, though.
Kalinda namedrops Syrus, but I never saw him in the temple at all. Broken spawn?
---
And some Infected cleanup duty.
Oh. It's Creed. Looks like he's still got work to do on his serum.
You might want to tweak the custom description on the Advanced Specimen bosses, as it assumes that somebody's got their proper name (Devolved) to look at.
Unless they're your customs. In which case we'd have no idea of their name proper.
Ah, no, I find a couple groups of Infected with Devolved bosses hanging out. This is actually the first time I've ever seen them.
---
So we're back to taking out traitors. ...because that worked so well last time.
Anyway, firebombs and catastrophic mobility impairment are the order of the day.
In a bit of an interesting twist I have to parkour over to one of the glowies - it's up on a high metal crate that I can only get to with a long jump from another one.
The boss, who is apparently a Longbow Officer with a bit of a predilection for gothic costuming, goes down easy. She was a custom, but... dark armor/AR? I didn't get a good look at it.
---
Last mission: recruit Dr. Creed.
Just as an aside, none of these missions have had green highlighted text (or any highlighting) and the default accept text - usually some text in the mission description that provides a statement of the objectives is highlighted, and accept text is an objective restatement of the mission goals.
Ooh. Reskinned Vahzilok. Nice treatment.
Huh. A battle or rogue patrol makes Geist sound off early. Looks like this is how they got started on their rivalry. I don't much like having to track back two floors with him - maybe just make him a noncombat ally.
Creed goes NEVER! when I nicely try to recruit him via zombie puke to the face, so I just wail on him until the teleporter kicks in.
And that's it. Kalinda thanks me for my service and sends me on my way.
---
Storyline - **. There wasn't one.
Okay, there were some self-contained vignettes about basically Kalinda's to-do list, with a little more internal continuity than the handful of hero mission setups Maros sends you on. They weren't bad, with the exception of the Snake bit - as far as I can tell Arachnos thinks of the Snakes as a constant threat that needs to be trimmed whenever possible - witness Mongoose.
But the "arc" this is supposed to be an alternative to has you, an Arachnos functionary, getting your name on the list of Destined Ones. And I saw a path to that from the first mission -- Arachnos is full of conflicting factions which work at cross-purposes, and after a few missions of infighting and failure you'd take a chance to get your name on the list. I was sad to see it turn into just a bunch of setups with no real progression.
Design - *****. The missions are very well done, with interesting use of chaining, fitting customs and nice reskinning of existing enemies. (Are the sewer workers customs or like down-leveled Scrapyarders?) Individually they're very well done.
Gameplay - ****. Generally good low-level enemies here, even the reskinned Vahzilok since they don't swarm with zombies. Couple sticking points - the Snake mission has way, way too many bosses trailing after the player and can be beaten on autopilot, running Geist out in the last mission is just tedious, and the sewer mission is a bit oversprawling and liked to put the required bosses down otherwise useless passages.
Detail - ***. The design work is generally reflected in the specific details of the enemies, except the sewer Infected bosses, but the rather detached nature of the missions from each other isn't much helped by there being absolutely no persistent clues.
Overall - ***. These are five alright missions with rough spots and good spots, but they don't fit together into much of a narrative at all.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
Review done as part of the CoHMR Aggregator Project.
@GlaziusF
Playing this one on a low-20s ice/fire dominator. Old Villainous difficulty (+0, x1) with bosses turned on.
---
Ah, the journey to R&D. Wouldn't be a proper Troubleshooting excursion without one.
I rescue Dr. Aeon from a burning building and head up to where Snakes are trying to defend their eggs. Apparently they've got a Property of Aeon Corp sticker on them, as the system text informs me when I pound on one.
Upstairs is a fridge, with an interesting use of the betrayal mechanic to give Dr. Aeon a line when I pick up the NutriPaste.
Mmm. Chicken.
I guess since the Snakes are just pests in Arachnos' eyes Brass is fine with Aeon messing with them.
---
The bug text for mission 2 is pretty funny, but I guess if, like, the Luddites got their hands on a report about NutriPaste they'd be even more of an annoying nuisance.
Oh hell. Vahzilok have invaded Aeon University. They are doctors, in their own way, so I can see why they might be interested.
Well. Apparently this stuff can induce mutations and super-powers. Is Aeon using recycled water from the Mercy treatment plant?
---
Ah, guard duty. Can't wait to fill out those forms.
Good news: the forms are on fire. Bad news: SO IS EVERYTHING ELSE.
The Luddites have torched the place. Oh boy.
There are three bosses here throwin' crates. I wouldn't put it past that being a default animation for Luddites, but I don't think they'll show up for one villain, so they must be placed.
The raid leader after three bosses is a bit of a yawner, and the end mission clue includes a description of what the Luddites must be doing elsewhere.
You know what else could convey that information? A PAMPHLET. Seriously, the dudes hand out the dang things all the time on the streets, it would make perfect sense to get a Luddite call to action brochure off the raid leader.
Wait, what? Why am I on the hook for this? It wasn't even my shift yet!
---
Hydroponics? Growing things? Why am I expecting DE?
The front room is full of body bags. That's not good.
Ah, defendables. They call ambushes, you know. And for some reason the ambushes seem rather large. Like, five dudes large.
Well, I've got AoE and some lucks to burn, so that's not too bad.
The leader rants about starving everybody in the Rogue Isles, which I guess is a corollary of the Orange Pipes of Doom going down and leaving everybody powerless.
---
I like how Brass hasn't forgotten about the taste-test.
Also, damn. Totally alone at a factory? Well, I guess we'll be seeing lots of battles between security and Luddites, then.
Well, Goldbrickers and Luddites, anyways. I don't hear anything coming from the battles, so I have no idea why the Brickers are there. Looting? Freelancing?
There are two things about this map and the MA that make it a giant slog. First, it likes spawning objectives in obscure locations like on catwalks near the height ceiling, or behind the walls of the power substation.
Second, destructibles don't actually become targetable until their surrounding enemies are aggroed. This is generally not an issue, except that the last destructible spawned its associated Luddite guard two floors up and in a structure enclosed on four sides.
To give you an idea of how obscure these locations can be, I didn't notice the ambush text for destroying the last explosive and tabbed out to write this. Five minutes later I tabbed back in and the ambush had only just managed to get a line of sight on me to start shooting.
Yeah. This map isn't fun when you have to find one thing, let alone when you have to find seven things.
So apparently I got the placebo. I get to not grow bug arms, which is a pity as I need to hold more things. But if it's all the same to Dr. Aeon I think I'll go fishing for my supper. There's good eating on a Coralax.
---
Storyline - ****. Great work actually using the Luddites, who make like one cameo in Themari's arc and that's about it. But the problem is that the last three missions are basically identical - "stop the Luddites from destroying technology". While this is what they're famous for, and while Marshall Brass is more into suppression than investigation, it would be nice to know what set them off down the path of destroying NutriPaste. The Vahz leaked the test results? Luddites were used as test subjects? A high-ranking Brother got really irked that they dropped his favorite flavor (snozzberries 'n' cream) from this re-release?
Design - ****. It didn't really help that mission 3 involved defeating four Luddite bosses on a small map. Compared to that, defeating three Luddite bosses on a big map just doesn't feel as important.
Gameplay - ***. The last map was just frustrating trying to find everything, and it didn't help that the guard on the destructible was just one Luddite minion. The final destructible was probably just the perfect storm of objective and guard placement, but it bugged the hell out of me trying to figure out what to do. Destructibles need more guards to give a greater chance of one actually being in aggro range when you get near it, and if you can find a map that works for the last mission, other than that Cap substation, please use it. Even one of the outdoor factory maps might work.
Also if you can scale back the number of defendables in the fourth map that'd be swell, as they were calling what seemed like out-sized ambushes.
Detail - ****. Pretty solid, with the interesting backing story of my personal trial of NutriPaste(tm) brand food substitute, though the generic bios on the Luddites didn't help with the feelings of saminess over the last three missions.
Overall - ****. Better than the first arc in this series, but then I honestly had different expectations given what your first Arachnos VEAT mission does for you. Needs a little work down the stretch to end uniquely and maybe not be quite as frustrating in the last mission through larger objective guards/a different map.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
Quote:
This made me laugh.|
Originally Posted by GlaziusF
Good news: the forms are on fire. Bad news: SO IS EVERYTHING ELSE.
|
Quote:
| There are three bosses here throwin' crates. I wouldn't put it past that being a default animation for Luddites, but I don't think they'll show up for one villain, so they must be placed. |
Quote:
| You know what else could convey that information? A PAMPHLET. Seriously, the dudes hand out the dang things all the time on the streets, it would make perfect sense to get a Luddite call to action brochure off the raid leader. |
Quote:
| Wait, what? Why am I on the hook for this? It wasn't even my shift yet! |
Quote:
| Hydroponics? Growing things? Why am I expecting DE? |
Quote:
| Ah, defendables. They call ambushes, you know. And for some reason the ambushes seem rather large. Like, five dudes large. |
Quote:
| The leader rants about starving everybody in the Rogue Isles, which I guess is a corollary of the Orange Pipes of Doom going down and leaving everybody powerless. |
Quote:
|
Also, damn. Totally alone at a factory? Well, I guess we'll be seeing lots of battles between security and Luddites, then. Well, Goldbrickers and Luddites, anyways. I don't hear anything coming from the battles, so I have no idea why the Brickers are there. Looting? Freelancing? |
Quote:
| Second, destructibles don't actually become targetable until their surrounding enemies are aggroed. This is generally not an issue, except that the last destructible spawned its associated Luddite guard two floors up and in a structure enclosed on four sides. |
Quote:
| Yeah. This map isn't fun when you have to find one thing, let alone when you have to find seven things. |
Quote:
| So apparently I got the placebo. I get to not grow bug arms, which is a pity as I need to hold more things. But if it's all the same to Dr. Aeon I think I'll go fishing for my supper. There's good eating on a Coralax. |
Quote:
| Storyline - ****. Great work actually using the Luddites, who make like one cameo in Themari's arc and that's about it. But the problem is that the last three missions are basically identical - "stop the Luddites from destroying technology". While this is what they're famous for, and while Marshall Brass is more into suppression than investigation, it would be nice to know what set them off down the path of destroying NutriPaste. The Vahz leaked the test results? Luddites were used as test subjects? A high-ranking Brother got really irked that they dropped his favorite flavor (snozzberries 'n' cream) from this re-release? |
Quote:
| Design - ****. It didn't really help that mission 3 involved defeating four Luddite bosses on a small map. Compared to that, defeating three Luddite bosses on a big map just doesn't feel as important. |
Quote:
| Even one of the outdoor factory maps might work. |
Quote:
| Also if you can scale back the number of defendables in the fourth map that'd be swell, as they were calling what seemed like out-sized ambushes. |
Quote:
| Detail - ****. Pretty solid, with the interesting backing story of my personal trial of NutriPaste(tm) brand food substitute, though the generic bios on the Luddites didn't help with the feelings of saminess over the last three missions. |
Quote:
| Overall - ****. Better than the first arc in this series, but then I honestly had different expectations given what your first Arachnos VEAT mission does for you. Needs a little work down the stretch to end uniquely and maybe not be quite as frustrating in the last mission through larger objective guards/a different map. |
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
Quote:
Review as part of the CoHMR Aggregator project.|
Originally Posted by FredrikSvanberg
Fear And Loathing On Striga
Arc ID: 350522 Level: 20-29 Keywords: Ideal for Teams, Canon Related, Drama Description: The Council is losing its grip on Striga after their giant robot scheme was thwarted by a group of heroes. You have to fill the sudden power vacuum in a manner which pleases Arachnos. [Designed for VEAT play. Contains an AV/EB.] |
@GlaziusF
Playing this as a necro/dark MM. +0 x2 with bosses on.
---
So Arachnos wants a Megamek, and I'm going to have to save it.
I'm not really sure what's so important about it, given that Arachnos has their own giant robot. Or do they cannibalize it for the Jade Spider?
Actually seems to be the MegaMek room. Keen. I find a file and save a scientist (Dr. Stewart), but he doesn't seem to complete the "protect the science team" objective as I might expect.
Deeper in I find another scientist. Science team still not protected.
Weirdly enough, taking out a sky skiff actually completes the objective. I guess as the guy leading the attack dropping him would protect the science team, but the navbar objective should probably be phrased a little differently.
Aw, it's just one of the council caves with a view. Curse you, Reveal! There's a scientist to save in the control room, but the actual boss was in a side passage a little way back. No big deal, really.
The unfortunate thing about mercenaries is they'll defect at the drop of a pocketbook. Fortunately Arachnos has deep pockets so it probably won't be an issue.
---
And now I try to go assert the Council's continued power by proxy. Wonder who's chilling in the tavern?
Family, Warriors, and one of the Mayhem heroes, filling in for a member of the Hess Task Force.
Also a nice Pocket D joke.
(If you want that Mayhem hero to have an escort you need to specify it explicitly; using the default "same as boss" option doesn't work for Paragon Heroes as there aren't any normal enemies in that group.)
Hey, some hero should be carrying this old wedding ring around! Or am I going to find a Warrior boss to plant it on and perpetuate the vicious cycle?
---
So now that there's a power vacuum everybody's going to be angling for a piece of Striga.
I like the way the negotiations are set up here, boss fights with differing escorts. Breaking them all up isn't enough to complete the mission, though; we have to invite the zombies in and then there's a zombie leader to defeat?
Hess's pitch made it sound a little more optional than that. The reaction makes it pretty clear that the zombies start off the old circular firing squad, so maybe you should have him mention that it's going to throw a wrench into everything.
Backtracking to the entrance doesn't find the boss, but I spot some ritual going on at the end of the river and go to investigate.
Oh. Stephanie Peebles. Or a Baen Sidhe, that works too. I guess a storm sorceress would let more people on to her being a Cabal recolor.
There must have been some magic in this old witch hat I found, for when I placed it on my head, I could boss the dead around.
And with everyone thoroughly chastened, it's time to go back to the base for tea and commendations.
Or new harder missions, that's fine too.
---
In the name of asserting Arachnos control, we're going to go stomp Arakhn. I guess another hook in the Council never hurts.
Hess informs me there may be other infiltrators on-site. Keen enough.
I encounter a dark dwarf named Event Horizon. Can't help remember "Astoria in D Minor", though to be fair there are only so many interesting names for cosmological phenomena.
Add another line to the extensive list of things Jenkins has messed up. Lambert and Stone are less familiar names, though.
Arakhn's deep purple clue text doesn't show up well in the clue window against the dark environment, but the fight's pretty interesting. Nice little wrinkle with the Nictus taking over one of my allies -- more of a threat since I didn't realize my heal would still work on him.
---
And now it's all over but the trip home. Looking forward to a last mission of clicking inspection glowies with Rodriguez pacing after me.
Oh. Or Wyvern with a bunch of Paragon Heroes along.
Ms. Shock had buildup as a stock hero? Dang. Brutal.
Nobody else has much of a bag of tricks. The crew conversations are interesting, but one of the problems with the ship is that it can stick a special spawn right next to a normal enemy group, and being a melee mastermind against a bunch of ranged enemies often doesn't work too well.
The heroes do have little Wyvern escorts, but after Ms. Shock they're all pretty tame. Tactics does mean that the Sky Raider grunts sometimes eat a bit of a boss aggro and die horribly, but that's the way it goes.
---
Storyline - *****. Solid, engaging, provides for a varied opposition and makes you feel like you've accomplished something at the end.
Design - ****. Little weirdness in the first and third missions about accomplishing objectives -- it was a little counterintuitive what had to be done in the first mission and smashing the altars sounded more optional than it really was.
Gameplay - ****. The cargo ship started out pretty nightmarish, between the hostage guards, Ms, Shock's buildup, and the two or three normal enemy groups stationed there. Maybe you could push her a bit to the back.
Detail - *****. Interesting text from the contact, fitting descriptions on everything, and lightly humorous dialogue inside the missions. Nothing to complain about here.
Overall - *****. Most solid of the VEAT arcs I've played so far, with an interesting canon tie and a secondary "maintain the dysfunctional status quo" focus that's pretty typical of stock Arachnos missions but not something I've seen in a lot of villain arcs.
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
Quote:
By itself that's no problem. But a mission in intense surroundings with bosses around every corner is a level of heart-pounding luck-popping blue-sucking excitement that doesn't really keep up through the next couple missions.|
Originally Posted by FredrikSvanberg
Yes, I like bosses. They say stuff when they are supposed to as opposed to patrols. Granted, these bosses were quiet, but they are still more reliable "dungeon dressing" than patrols and they can do funny emotes. If people don't think they can handle bosses they would be playing with bosses turned off, right?
|
Quote:
| So... you think the terrorists should pass out handy "Why are we burning your warehouse today?" leaflets? I guess that could pass for humour. |
Quote:
| They are also not required in this mission. Don't want to get xp from the huge amounts of goons? Don't mess with the defendable. |
Quote:
| Dr. Aeon uses the Goldbrickers as his private secret army. I don't see it as a far stretch to use them as security at the NutriPaste factory. In an earlier version the factory was owned by Lawrence Langston and was also used to produce his famous Gold Brick chocolate bars (See the "Sweet Tooth" badge). Lawrence Langston is most likely King Midas, the leader of the Goldbrickers. |
Quote:
| Yeah its a problem. I'll get right on reprogramming the spawn points for that map. Or I'll wait for another good factory map to be added to the MA. Either way it'll probably get fixed "soon". |
Quote:
| I'd think it would be more fun to find seven things than one thing, because with seven things there would be more to do. Just one thing would be frustrating. Seven things... you're bound to run into something. |
The PTS substation is pretty problematic in this regard. I do criticize the use of canon maps that are a bit on the crap side; I'd light into somebody who used that dang layer cake room for instance.
Quote:
| I don't think Luddites need a reason to hate the unnatural NutriPaste beyond the obvious: it's unnatural, and more importantly it's made by Aeon Corp. Luddites are irrational fanatic terrorists who hate Aeon Corp, why would they need a reason to do anything that includes burning Aeon Corp labs and facilities? By using Luddites I didn't feel the need to explain their motivations, since they should be obvious. |
Quote:
| ... So the number of bosses is the deciding factor here? Not what they are supposedly up to or the story in general? I know they are really just a row of numbers in a database but we can at least pretend that their plan to blow up the sole provider of food for millions of people is slightly worse than burning a warehouse full of food. Can't we? |
Quote:
| You know, I had completely missed/forgotten that those were available. This opens up possibilities. Thanks for reminding me. |
Quote:
| I'll look into it, but I kind of like them. The pry-bar and molotov emotes work so well. |
Quote:
| Yes, this story wasn't really all that VEAT-focused but I've been wanting to know more about NutriPaste and Luddites ever since I first read that plaque in Cap Au Diable. Maybe another version of this story won't be a VEAT arc at all. We'll see. |
Up with the overworld! Up with exploration! | Want a review of your arc?
My arcs: Dream Paper (ID: 1874) | Bricked Electronics (ID: 2180) | The Bravuran Jobs (ID: 5073) | Backwards Day (ID: 329000) | Operation Fair Trade (ID: 391172)
Arena
Arc ID: 390921
Level: 40-50
Keywords: Complex Mechanics, Drama, Romance
Description: Arena Gladiator fights have degenerated into mere propaganda in the cold war between the U.S. and the Rogue Isles. Arachnos has assigned you as security during the World Championship in St. Martial's Golden Giza arena. [Contains AV/EBs]
This final VEAT arc is quite experimental. I hope it will still be fun for everyone.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
I played Arena last night (on a completely wrong AT, which is quite rare for me), and it was a work of absolute genius. 50 stars.
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)
Quote:
|
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."
|
I'm planning to make 5 villainous arcs spanning 10 levels each. My intention was to make them all into alternative VEAT arcs to complement the ones in the "real" game, but they can really be played by any villain without suspending too much disbelief. Except maybe the first one - that requires some suspending, or creative thinking.
The first two arcs are pretty much finished (but still looking for feedback):
The Tangled Weave
Arc ID: 338575
Level: 1-10
Keywords: Canon Related, Ideal for Teams, Complex Mechanics
Description: Find out more about how Arachnos works behind the scenes in the Rogue Isles to make Project Destiny come to fruition. Recommended for Widows and Soldiers of Arachnos as an alternative VEAT arc.
This version of the arc has so far been reviewed by MrCaptainMan and received 5 stars.
Review by Eva Destruction. Unknown score.
Review by Police Woman. Rounded up to 5 stars.
Review by Tangler. 3 stars.
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522