Does anyone use AE anymore?


Another_Fan

 

Posted

I actually have stopped working on my AE arcs until further notice because I got fed up with things being glitchy and changing all the time and never knowing if or how something works now nor if that is a bug or a feature nor being told so or being told what changed and why.
Its like there's noone left responsible or caring for MA and the rest just pushes nerf buttons on it.
So basically, I think I'm taking a break until they make up their mind.

Oh, and I dont mind if custom stuffs gives 75% XP. I'd love to have my custom stuff give that much but right now my Elite Boss gives nothing because I removed the 2nd power to make him a more even challenge for both melee and ranged characters. Although I added every other power. So do all the lowbies that have laser rifles but dont spam robots. And when I put the bosses into another group so I can have only troopers and sergeants at first and then the bosses later, I am called a cheater and have to be nerf-hammered. Hooray.
Although I could just change the difficulty setting and get lots of bosses per spawn or none at all solo.

And that:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smash_Zone View Post
The problem isn't that nobody is playing AE, it's the fact the since there's an AE building in every friggin' zone that all the players are spread out. This gives the illusion that all the AE buildings are empty.

Plus, what do you mainly do in the AE buildings? Play missions. People are still using AE, but you just can't see them.

I really don't like how spread out the buildings are, though. I would say have only a few for both sides.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smash_Zone View Post
I will agree they nerfed Mission Architect way too hard for a futile mission against farmers. Farming can be lessened, sure, but it can never be truly stopped.

I think the biggest problem was simply the amount of nerfs piled onto the Mission Architect.
Right now I think they can take some of them back.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smash_Zone View Post
The badge nerf was just ridiculous. You got one inspiration! Here's your badge! Please... next thing you know there will be a badge for logging into the game for the first time, they can call it the n00b badge.


 

Posted

Just a quick note - I was standing around in the MA on Freedom's Cap this morning up to about 11 AM mountain time, working on my latest epic arc. During that time I kept seeing the chat stream by in broadcast and there were definitly a few people broadcasting for AE stuff (even if one was just a brute looking for a 'tiket[sic] farm').

When I closed my MA window to log, I saw about 6 to 8 other players standing around in there as well.

This is not the first time I've seen that.


 

Posted

I am in awe of just how good some of the AE missions are, but then I am probably still a bit naive when it comes to hardcore gameplay issues.


 

Posted

As a followup, since moving to Freedom, I have to say that AE is quite popular in Atlas. A lot of it is AE farms and an alternative to sewer teams. But, AE is being used. Just not as much for the original intention.

So, I guess I find it hard to believe that PvP is more popular than AE given that the chat in Freedom atlas is consistently filled with AE spam.


 

Posted

I just spent like 3 days working on a new story (3 mishs), so I still use it alot but probably more so as a creative outlet. I still think the original purpose has so much potential that most are overlooking in their deference to purely farming. In the beginning, you really wanted people to play your arcs, and of course, still do, but the reality seems to be that its a minority that will play for the different types of missions out there vs. just for farms it seems.


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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by DeathSentry View Post
I just spent like 3 days working on a new story (3 mishs), so I still use it alot but probably more so as a creative outlet. I still think the original purpose has so much potential that most are overlooking in their deference to purely farming. In the beginning, you really wanted people to play your arcs, and of course, still do, but the reality seems to be that its a minority that will play for the different types of missions out there vs. just for farms it seems.
There's also the issue of misinformation that the hysteria spread when the changes took place, "ZOMG NO XP AT ALL AND YOU CAN'T LEVEL TO 50 IN A DAY SO IT'S NO GOOD ANYMORE, WHY BOTHER"-type stuff. The extreme farmers raged and continue to badmouth MA to this day and players who don't know any better take this received wisdom as factual.

That said, I think that's been wearing off a little, I see some people playing MA arcs when I go into the buildings. Even if they're doing (less extreme) farms, it's still a start.


 

Posted

Not long ago I did an AE farm for a few rounds. It was still pretty lucrative in terms of both XP and tickets (I was able to ticket cap myself pretty easily). I don't know how this compares to pre-nerf farm productivity, but I'm beginning to wonder if all the hullaboo over the nerf was just a tad exaggerated.


 

Posted

When AE first came out I looked at a couple of ways...

1. A great way to be creative and do your own thing...
it still has that aspect
2. A great Farm Pl tool
Not so much but it still can be used for that somewhat you just have to work harder

I know many people think it sucks and it's useless! I don't agree it's still a great way to tell a story "YOUR" story, and you still can make farm arcs but NO you are not going to get a toon to 50 in 4 days and i'm sure there are still people saying good!!! "we don't want noobs getting to 50 fast and having no clue how to play.. yeah whatever... I still see vets that have 50's that have no clue... and for the record I have played more than a few arcs that rock! arcs that people put a lot of time into and have done a great job... in fact I still love the Macvillain arc... still cracks me up!!!


The botton line with AE is, it still has kept the personal aspect.. you can make an arc that is yours something YOU created and other people can partake in... and to me that is still really cool


It's better to save the Mystery, than surrender to the secret...

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Laevateinn View Post
Not long ago I did an AE farm for a few rounds. It was still pretty lucrative in terms of both XP and tickets (I was able to ticket cap myself pretty easily). I don't know how this compares to pre-nerf farm productivity, but I'm beginning to wonder if all the hullaboo over the nerf was just a tad exaggerated.
Pre-nerf it was amazingly exploitative, if that's a word. People could get PLed to 50 in like hours or something, NOTHING like it is today. The hullabaloo was the fact that it went from being an insta-PL-to-50 machine to... well, once that was stopped, a lot of people just plain left and have no idea what it's like today.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Laevateinn View Post
Not long ago I did an AE farm for a few rounds. It was still pretty lucrative in terms of both XP and tickets (I was able to ticket cap myself pretty easily). I don't know how this compares to pre-nerf farm productivity, but I'm beginning to wonder if all the hullaboo over the nerf was just a tad exaggerated.
Which hullaboo? The main current complaint about it is that if you include custom critters, which can be almost incomparably hard compared to canon, dev-created mobs, they are worth less XP/inf than canon, dev-created mobs even at their maximum reward.

The only other meaningful "hullaboo" I know of was that you used to be able to make factions that didn't include all three standard ranks (minion, LT and boss). Apparently the standalone reward for these critters in the regular game is out of whack in ways that mean the reward/time for them is broken unless their ranks are suitably diluted the way we meet them in the standard game.

Everything else was pretty much outright abuse of outright broken aspects of the system. For example, despite a clear dev statement in about the 1st week of the AE's existence that there was supposed to be a limit on the number of combined ambushes and defendable objectives, there was no limit on the latter, so you could fill large maps with dozens of them an have practically infinite supplies of mobs pour on your head. Then people had that happen in small rooms, where you could inexplicably cram bunches of those objectives on one another. Then you could choose objectives that would buff your endurance and recovery. You could include objectives that exploded and damaged foes, but didn't deduct any XP when they did so. You could make the mobs that poured out be all bosses who only had a few lethal/smashing attacks. Before that you could make them all mobs with no major attacks, like all Cimeroran Surgeons. Or you could make them mobs with XP rewards all kinds of out of whack with their rank, like Rikti Communications Officers.

People got characters from 1-50 in four hours and less using stuff that combined the various broken things like that.


Blue
American Steele: 50 BS/Inv
Nightfall: 50 DDD
Sable Slayer: 50 DM/Rgn
Fortune's Shadow: 50 Dark/Psi
WinterStrike: 47 Ice/Dev
Quantum Well: 43 Inv/EM
Twilit Destiny: 43 MA/DA
Red
Shadowslip: 50 DDC
Final Rest: 50 MA/Rgn
Abyssal Frost: 50 Ice/Dark
Golden Ember: 50 SM/FA

 

Posted

Im going to change my view on this a little

After being told some things, Im going to say, thte only thing AE is good for now is farming. Ive now seen some farming arcs as bad as they ever have been.

But if we view Radio/News as the standard for which other content should be judged by. And Im not saying its right or wrong, just in my experiance, the most common method of leveling for pugs in news/radio.

If you write a story arc, chances are your rewards are going to fall under this bar, if you use custom mobs, way under this bar.

So exactly what are the devs trying to accomplish at this point. They havent put much of a dent in farming arcs, and now the general populace is unhappy with AE.

So what to do, fix custom mobs, find a way to make it more balanced all for customs. And yes I still do think it is fair to ding an arc 2 stars for using custom mobs.

One more point after more research Im also coming to the opinion tickets might be slightly better as a reward over random drops unless you are level 50 in which case they are markedly inferior. I honestly cant find any good reason a level 50 should ever do AE, for the most part the devs choice and guest, and players choice that do have the ability to drop purples are very poor rewards compared to even news/radio and this doesnt even account for farming maps.

Im starting to think it might be a deeper problem than just AE stinks.


Boycott Ncsoft if they close down Coh.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shubbie View Post
Im going to change my view on this a little

After being told some things, Im going to say, thte only thing AE is good for now is farming. Ive now seen some farming arcs as bad as they ever have been.
People will always farm. It will never stop. You could take away all rewards entirely, and people would still find something to farm for. (Okay, not literally, but you get my point.)

Quote:
But if we view Radio/News as the standard for which other content should be judged by. And Im not saying its right or wrong, just in my experiance, the most common method of leveling for pugs in news/radio.
Simply because it's easy and convenient. Some people want their mission NAO. Instead of trekking back to the contact to get another mission that could possibly lead you to another zone, why not have a quick-and-easy mission in the same zone you're in?

Of course, radio/news missions aren't worth as much XP as regular missions, due to them being short, but they're are very useful for PuGs.

Quote:
If you write a story arc, chances are your rewards are going to fall under this bar, if you use custom mobs, way under this bar.
Boo-hoo, you don't get uber XP NAOS! It is entirely possible to write a good story with a custom group and still receive decent Experience.

Quote:
So exactly what are the devs trying to accomplish at this point. They havent put much of a dent in farming arcs, and now the general populace is unhappy with AE.
You tell us that "They haven't put a dent in farming arcs" yet you're here complaining
and whining about how AE gives no XP. You're contradicting yourself with your comments here.

And also, what are you basing your so-called facts on? The way I see it, AE is getting more and more popular each day. We have our very own developer Dr. Aeon making new contests for us and picking new dev choice arcs for us to enjoy! I've been seeing more people in AE lately. Just because the room isn't a lag-fast like it was in beta doesn't mean nobody is using it.

Quote:
Im starting to think it might be a deeper problem than just AE stinks.
I think that stink is just you hanging out in the building with all of your whining. Would you like some cheese with that wine?


Arc ID: 348998 - Becoming a villain
Arc ID: 373341 - To Save a Hero

Got Inf?

 

Posted

It is a contradiction but that doesnt mean its not true.

You can both not put a dent in farming and still give poor rewards.

Standard mobs still give the same reward they always did, and there are some stupidly weak standard mobs that are good for farming. But Ill just use council for this example, Council come in large packs, pack tightly together and are generally just good for farming.

But give me more than one good reason why custom mobs have to be both much harder and worth 75% of the experiance of council.

This creates a situation where if you write an interesting story with your own mobs, your rewards are going in the toilet, but if you write a boring one with council packed in a map like sardines, the rewards are great.

And yes it is getting more popular, as people are discovering farming maps still exist as much as they ever did.

They have done even better than Ive thought, they created a situation that rewards farmers and punnishes Rp'ers and story tellers.


Boycott Ncsoft if they close down Coh.

 

Posted

Also news missions, though they are shorter and give less reward per mission they give more over time due to not having to find those hidden doors hidden in perez park, and not having to switch zones.

Its not whining, if players never speak up, things never get changed, 75% for custom mobs is a stupid and unneeded change that needs to be fixed, if they intend MA to be used for anything other than farming.


Boycott Ncsoft if they close down Coh.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shubbie View Post
Also news missions, though they are shorter and give less reward per mission they give more over time due to not having to find those hidden doors hidden in perez park, and not having to switch zones.

Its not whining, if players never speak up, things never get changed, 75% for custom mobs is a stupid and unneeded change that needs to be fixed, if they intend MA to be used for anything other than farming.
As someone who just purchased 5 more slots for $19.99, I have to agree that I would like to see them do something about the the 75% rule for custom. In telling a story, and keeping it interesting, it tends to be a mix of custom and standard mobs though I have some arcs that are all custom. Now I do include the minion, LT, and boss ranks to hopefully get closer to normal xp, and as someone else stated earlier, some of my mobs tend to be tougher than standard minions for example. So I for one would like to see them more adequately address how to resolve the 75% issue.


Arc: 378122 "Tales of the Terran Space Marines -The Apocalypse Initiative" 5stars!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rgl4...687B0FC89F142C
Arc: 481545 "Twilight of the Gods - The Praetorian conflict"8000+ hits!
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Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by UberGuy View Post
People got characters from 1-50 in four hours and less using stuff that combined the various broken things like that.
The changes were not meant to "put a dent in farming", they were meant to fix the above situation described by UberGuy - and they did, which is what got so many of the exploiters, not farmers, upset.

If I recall, the devs have stated outright in one place or another that they don't mind farming one little bit as long as ye olde legynd about "risk vs. reward" isn't violated.

Sure is short-term memory loss around here.


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by DeathSentry View Post
As someone who just purchased 5 more slots for $19.99, I have to agree that I would like to see them do something about the the 75% rule for custom. In telling a story, and keeping it interesting, it tends to be a mix of custom and standard mobs though I have some arcs that are all custom. Now I do include the minion, LT, and boss ranks to hopefully get closer to normal xp, and as someone else stated earlier, some of my mobs tend to be tougher than standard minions for example. So I for one would like to see them more adequately address how to resolve the 75% issue.
I'll second this because I too bought the extra slots, slightly against my better judgement and wouldn't mind a few more people taking a look at my work (oooh, look at Clave's sig listing all of his arcs, they sound so exciting!). On the other hand I have fun putting them together and even if I'm only getting a few reviews, those are fun too (getting decent ones helps I'll admit).

Additionally, I have been seeing a slow but steady uptick in traffic in the AE - hopefully a harbinger of things to come.


 

Posted

Ive been enjoying AE before and after the changes. I know people rant about XP..but many of my lowbie characters seem to level up faster in AE (solo) than it seems they do on story arcs. Maybe its the time I save running from mission door-to-contact-to-mission door.

Also, the tickets are nice. I can buy enhancements, roll for recipes, and get rare salvage with them. Whats to complain about?


My level 50 Dominators:
Madame Mindbender 50 Mind/Energy
Fly Agaric 50 Plant/Thorn
Nate Nitro 50 Fire/Psi

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by RiverOcean View Post
Ive been enjoying AE before and after the changes. I know people rant about XP..but many of my lowbie characters seem to level up faster in AE (solo) than it seems they do on story arcs. Maybe its the time I save running from mission door-to-contact-to-mission door.

Also, the tickets are nice. I can buy enhancements, roll for recipes, and get rare salvage with them. Whats to complain about?
Standard mob missions are almost as good as news missions, and tickets do seem slightly better than normal drops.

Whats to complain about is custom mobs, they are both much harder and have cut experiance.


Boycott Ncsoft if they close down Coh.

 

Posted

Point being as such,there will ALWAYS be farming, either through MA,News/Paper,TV Contact,etc etc. The Dev's seem to hear the cries of the few,ignore the rants of the many. You all talk about how busy the AE buildings are,and you mention Freedom Server. What about the smaller populaced servers,like Triumph or Protector? Those buildings are ghost towns due to the "nerfs" specified. Hell, sometimes the entire server's a ghost town. Tonight a grand total of 27 people on villain-side today.Are the Dev's nerfing too much? Possibly. The "Kill Ants" theory works for me. We have 2 incomplete zones Vil-Side (Monster Island and The Abyss) with one for the purpose of Hami. God knows what the hell Monster Island's for.
If I try to round up a team to do AE mishs, the only people I'll get are lowbies (under lvl 10) that are new and have yet to experience the nerfs of AE.Everyone else I get the same answer,"no thx,AE's nerfed"...
It seems after reading alot of what people are writing tonight,it appears that while the Dev's have a clear-cut idea on something,Tunnel-Vision takes effect and they rush the product into gameplay.
Errors,sometimes exploits,are discovered, and instead of gently easing things back like a doctor's scale, they drop a "3-ton weight" on it, killing much of the idea's purpose to begin with.
When Ouro 1st came into effect,there was the "exploit" with the Merits. Fixed. Instead of crashing it completely,they eased it back and forth.Do we like the Merit Rewards? I don't see much about it so far since they used the "ease" theory.
Maybe the Dev's should consider a more easeful approach to handling exploits/programming errors rather than simply trying to "kill all the ants" with a "3-ton weight"..


 

Posted

Maybe the Dev's should consider a more easeful approach to handling exploits/programming errors rather than simply trying to "kill all the ants" with a "3-ton weight"..


were you there on the test server when players kept on reporting ALL of the exploits to AE? Did you see how all those horrible exploits were reported weeks ahead of release and STILL made it to live? did you see Posi's rant over how players were "abusing" a system that the devs had complete control over? this is their track record. Build it, ignore the playerbase, publish it, ignore the playerbase, nerf it, blame the playerbase, rinse and repeat.

the whole of AE was ... A wonderful idea ruined by horrible execution.

Our dev team needs better communication.

oh, and a BIG pay raise.


Ignoring anyone is a mistake. You might miss something viral to your cause.

 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clave_Dark_5 View Post
There's also the issue of misinformation that the hysteria spread when the changes took place, "ZOMG NO XP AT ALL AND YOU CAN'T LEVEL TO 50 IN A DAY SO IT'S NO GOOD ANYMORE, WHY BOTHER"-type stuff. The extreme farmers raged and continue to badmouth MA to this day and players who don't know any better take this received wisdom as factual.

That said, I think that's been wearing off a little, I see some people playing MA arcs when I go into the buildings. Even if they're doing (less extreme) farms, it's still a start.

Unless you optimize the arc, or run one that someone optimized its slower than paper/radio missions. The flipside is that it is more profitable up to level 47 or so. The profitability advantage is most pronounced at the lower levels. That said it is nowhere near as nice, as logging onto a level 50 farm is now and even less so than it used to be with the right bridge.


 

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Heismann View Post
What about the smaller populaced servers,like Triumph or Protector?
Triumph actually has a dedicated MA SG on both sides and we've seen people come and go including what looked like an entirely different MA SG.


 

Posted

I love AE.

I love making full story arcs with intricate plots.

But it was disappointing that my custom mobs’ exp got cut so dramatically. Although I take care not to overpower them, they are more deadly than “normal” mobs of the same level.

I find myself avoiding my own arcs that I love if they’re mostly custom enemies now. Doesn’t seem worth the hassle.

For this reason alone, I’d call it “broken.”


 

Posted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Another_Fan View Post
Unless you optimize the arc, or run one that someone optimized its slower than paper/radio missions. The flipside is that it is more profitable up to level 47 or so. The profitability advantage is most pronounced at the lower levels. That said it is nowhere near as nice, as logging onto a level 50 farm is now and even less so than it used to be with the right bridge.
That's your opinion. "A farm will never be as nice as a decently conceived and written mission." That's my opinion. Some of us play for something other than just DPS or XPpS or whatever. I'm not saying the system is perfect or doesn't need work to balance out both styles of play however.