Yet Another MA Review Thread?

Reviewing The Coldest of Wars (299972, @Celestial Nemesis)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old heroic setting

~ Level sync to 40 per arc restrictions

~*~

My apologies in advance; I wanted to do an arc today, but tempus fugit, so my overall opinions (aka the stop-every-10-seconds-to-write jumble) will be omitted. I'll be sure to include overall opinions before the ratings, as well as anything which sticks out as questionable/bad/whatever.

~*~

First mission was fairly quiet overall. Clues were basic but fleshed out the story a bit... fairly standard, being that all the mobs were stock. Good play on existing canon.

Second mission sendoff makes this sound like it should be a timer... is this a misunderstanding? Was this originally a timer but it was changed?

Very interesting twist, which makes the title make a lot of sense, on both levels.

Interesting choice to use snowmen as guardians of the machines; I generally like it, it gives the map a sense of cold which doesn't really work otherwise. (We, alas, don't have access to any snowy maps... the Winter Lord GM map or the Baby New Year map would be nice if they'd give them to us.

The final mission is a pretty straight-forward fight against the mostly-unknown threat. I like the group; they have the feel of something I'd expect from Russia during (the CoX alternate-universe version of) the Cold War.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

Good, strong story with a nice nod to the existing Revenant Hero Project arc, though I think that was from the previous Crey contact, not Kellum -- pretty sure Kellum's arc is the one in which you investigate Ghost Falcon's disappearance and find out the truth about the Countess.

My only minus for this arc is, the entire thing (once you find out about the Soviets) was pretty straightforward. Fighting Crey for info about their Revenant Hero doings, then investigating the tech (and the Soviets) -- from the time I got the blueprint, I could see the "eternal winter" aspect. And a nuclear payload as Plan B, plus cleaning them out after stopping their plan, is very formulaic.

Strong, yes. But formulaic. I do so like a good twist... and that's all this arc was missing.

Design:: * * * *

Your enemy group doesn't have any glaring errors, and overall they're a solid group that I can fully expect to have emerged from Soviet Russia. I question your choice of marking the text as Russian and spelling it out, rather than using Russian (by knowledge, or by Googling an English/Russian translator and using the gibberish output it's bound to give you) -- I can't speak for everyone, but my heroes don't know any Russian, and while I suppose I could pick up a translator from FBSA, if it came to that, I wouldn't have had any reason to do so before mission 2.

The map choice was spot-on, and the clues worked well within the story. The maps, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, since I was short on time for my run), were a bit quiet.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

The arc was definitely fun to play, even as rushed as I was. I regretted not being able to take more time with the arc, which for me is a sure sign that I was having fun with it. Would've liked (ideally) to see a bit more exposition, but what you have here works very well.

Detail:: * * * *

The detail, overall, was quite good. The descriptions for the customs seemed a bit short (I seem to be saying this quite often... perhaps I'm a little jaded on that?); the clues were good, but the missions were often fairly plain and simple. Not a huge thing, but enough that I felt it warranted docking a point.

One thing that would've helped both detail and storyline, at least in my case: what if there was an additional mission, say in the #3 position, where you see the Soviets turn their backs on the Crey? Up until I found the security chief in the last mission, being held captive by the Soviet bots, I thought Crey was supporting the Soviet effort to freeze over the city. I didn't see any info leading away from that point of view; I guess, if you meant that as a half-hearted twist, it'll work that way, but fleshing it out gives you a stronger twist, as well as the chance to add a bit more detail.

Overall:: * * * *

I appreciated the arc, and truly did enjoy playing it. I cannot in all honesty say it's the best arc I've ever played, but it's a strong showing, and I'd look forward to see what it could become if you add just a hint more to it.

Sorry guys, that's it for today, have a fundraiser event to get to.

I'll be back tomorrow morning. Depending on how timing works out, I'll get either one or two arcs then... then it's back to my "weekend" Monday morning.

I'm sure we all remember what hectic fun that can be. :3

One way to do the ally to make everyone happy... make it clear it's optional.

In several of my arcs I make a point of saying 'if you need help, find so-and-so.' If you need the help? Grab the ally. If you don't want kill-stealing? Don't.

Reviewing:: Challenge of the Dwarves (91044, @WillT)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~Level sync to 41 per arc parameters (41-41... interestingly arbitrary number, I'm sure there's a reason)

~*~

OK, so in the medieval realm this guy is from, the dwarves need to show up and help fend off VOlde... I mean, the Nameless One... and this guy needs me to go get the troops moving, because he can't... he's outcaste.

Realistically, if they won't listen to their own blood, why would they listen to someone from another world? But I digress. Saving other worlds isn't this character's speciality, but maybe there's a handsome reward. Gold, jewels, magical items, the standard medieval-world-spoils fare. We'll see.

~*~

Hmm, so the spawns of the deep look like a who's-who of various groups. I've already fought an eyeball (gotta love the Rularuu), some reclaimed DE (with their original names... if they're actually trolls, why not swap the name as well?), a vine (I'm assuming part of the CoT villspec, not sure since I've never done one), a couple Tuatha, and whatever the Edderwode were again... I somehow spaced that already. (The Warriors don't necessarily need to be renamed, unless you want to name them Unseelie Warrior or something similar.)

And then a small group of dwarves. Very convincing, although since they're normally more stout, perhaps taking Huge and shrinking them down would portray that better?

Just noticed... dunno if this has come up before, but the vines you used give gimped XP/shinies. Which might be an annoyance, since they seem to be the predominant enemy so far (aside from the opening patrols and the dwarves). Roughly 1/3, so I'm assuming these used to be farmer stock. MA cheatfarms have a lot to answer for, in my opinion... a lot of stock stuff was nerfed badly to offset for people cheating with them. >.>

Ah yes, now I remember, the Edderwodes are Arachnoids. Interesting choice, since they make me think of driders more than anything.

On the goblins (or at least the 'gobling stickers'), I like the look a lot, but they look more like gnolls than goblins to me. Perhaps it's more of a RPG system debate, but I expect my goblins to be green and not furry. So I was thrown for a moment.

The closing clue reads almost like a copy from the D&D 2nd edition rulebook on dwarves, minus the reference to rune wizards.

OK, so I'm attuned. Back to the contact to see what's next.

~*~

So, step 2 is beat the King and all his liegemen into submission, so that they listen. I guess force of strength will make them respect me... maybe? And then read to them the documents Sidus gave me. Let's have a look... No clue? How am I supposed to read papers that don't exist?

Ah well, perhaps I'll make something convincing up. I'll just rant on about the Undying One and they'll believe me.

~*~

A minor note: Usually, when setting a custom name, try to capitalize all important words, like you would the title of a book. "Disgruntled miner", for example.

Just to see, I skated the mission, and it cleared when I took out the King and his entourage. The wording in the briefing makes it sound like this would be a clear-all, however; perhaps either change the wording to make it sound more like his immediate group, or make it a clear-all, to resolve that.

No clue for the entire mission... so I have no idea what I told him, just that he didn't feel like listening.

In either case, I beat the king up, so back to the contact.

~*~

Wording issue... "can apprehend the truth" should be comprehend, not apprehend. Or is the King going to arrest the concept of truth?

Now, off to recover the looted weapons and armor from the goblins. And take out their leader. Feels a bit like busywork, but I'll go with it. Saving their world is starting to feel like it's more work than it's worth.

~*~

Why am I smelling sewage? Have they discovered the architectural secret of running water (a prerequisite for sewers) in this world already? Or are the caves simply befouled with goblin waste? If the latter, perhaps there's a better way to word that while still getting the intent across.

Found a couple new minions of the deep, one of the being a Hydra spawn as a fungusman (why not use the DE fungoids?) and the other being a Naga (still called Cobra Hatchling -- why not Naga, or Naga Hatchling?).

And then I find the Goblin treasury. Nicely done, confining the spawns to one place, so that it looks like an actual treasury, rather than simply letting them scatter. Shows the supposed intellect of the leader, keeping them in a single location. No clues for the weapons and armor, alas.

Note about Blacktooth's description: The 'H' on Hobgoblins (right at the beginning) is cut off. That aside, nice job as well on the Hobgoblin look (I'm assuming, from his description, that him and other hobgoblins -- which I've not yet seen, likely due to my difficulty -- are identical in appearance.

OK, I beat him up, then I beat up his mysterious sidekick, who... looks like a lich. And then summons zombies. Fun.

Back to the contact with the results.

~*~

Czarodziej? Gezhundeit. Also: So there's more of this Valentin? How fun.

OK, time to save the temple from the advancing goblin-and-Russian army. Off I go.

~*~

And this group has managed to summon a bunch of BNP zombies. Which die as easily as the originals, of course. No summoner to be found? Have they mastered the ability to create zombies without having to guard them and spurn them into action? That's pretty impressive.

Found another Russian, and this one was looking for artifacts. In a temple full of magic. There's a good chance he's on the right track... but I cut his exploration a bit short.

OK, found an actual Fungoid-style enemy. I see now that you were using both in the group... I'm still not 100% about using the Hydra spawn as a fungus, but... if it works for you. >.>

OHAI Minotaur. Nice to meet you, fancy seeing you here.

I just realized, I don't think I've ever tried to solo a Mino as /Regen before. Those hits HURT. A LOT. Was -- only slightly -- tempted to quit and swap to my MA/SR instead... Elude means never having to say owwie.

They were waking up Balt? But... wouldn't they want Balt to stay stuck asleep? Balt is the god of their enemy... Oho, they thought to bind it. Bind an avatar. Of a god. Sure... that'll happen without divine power.

Anyways, this gambit is played out. Back to find out what's next on the laundry list.

~*~

OK, now I go do that magic thing to close off the tunnels. Oh, and destroy the leaders. Sounds like a picnic... although hopefully this one doesn't have a Minotaur Warlord too. One of those was enough. ^^;

~*~

Aha, I see the King. Normally, I'd treat him as a potential kill stealer, but on the off chance I have to deal with another Mino, I'll keep him.

Yup, called it. Total kill stealer. Ah well, it means I'll be done sooner, and able to possibly fit another arc in. So I'll go with it.

Minor note: Dispel only has one 'l'.

Slow-mo dwarf running towards the entrance. Weird.

......Not sure what I think of squall elementals being infused with darkness and set loose on the caves.

OHAI CYCL... *garbled battle*

Too bad that the King got lost way back wherever, but the Cyclops was much easier for me. Probably because he stayed -ACC, as opposed to the Mino. Either way, it's over, so time to press on.

Somehow, on the way in, I missed the Russian, so I had to backtrack, in which case I picked the King back up... and didn't get to abandon him before I found the last general. So now it's over.

OK, back out to finish the arc. Overall... well, I'll get to that in a minute.

~*~

Storyline:: * * *

It's half of the RPGs of the last 20 years, thrown in the blender and set to frappe.

Which is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. However, in the retelling, I feel it lost a good chunk of its integrity. This arc is exceptionally text-light... the busy text is almost all (or was it all?) one-liners. As were one or two debriefs. And not many clues at all. This means a lot of opportunities to expand on the story, as far as what's actually going on, are lost. Yes, we've all played certain RPGs and MMOs with dwarves and trolls and goblins. However, there's a lot of expansion on the individual story that could've been done.

Design:: * * * *

While I made a few references to things that could've worked differently, those weren't necessarily to say the existing setup didn't work.

I feel you created a couple of nice, strong groups of stock recycles. It worked well, overall.

The Rune Maiden I fought didn't leave much of an impression on me... partly because she died before she got more than a couple attacks in, and there was only the one. (That's likely a flaw in me playing on easymode.) She was an earth controller in part, I got that much from fighting her... she tried to immob me, but the nice thing about scrappers is, they almost all get anti-mez powers.

Using the Mino and Cyclops serve to reinforce the fantasy feel, although (not discounting the explanations given in clues and descriptions) they did feel a bit out of place. That was probably a personal thing, though.

The Red Wizards... not much for me to say about them. Necro/Dark Assault was a pretty safe combo, though it probably would get nasty on the -ACC on higher settings... my saving grace being that THEY couldn't hit ME, because as a dark/regen, I have my own -ACC.

Gameplay:: * * * *

Overall, it was entertaining enough that I never felt bored. The story (what I got of it) flowed well between the maps, the monsters, and the battles. (As I mentioned above, though, the supposed kill-all on map 2 isn't really. Might be well to change one or t'other.) I'm strongly hoping that the second part of the story has a lot more story to it, because if it's a case of "second verse, same as the first", it'll be old hat when I do it, in fairness.

Detail:: * * *

I had to dock for the lack of documents (be it just a notice that I got them, but can't understand them, or actually some real info about the danger the Undying One poses), and further for the multiple one-liners. If you were running low on space, I completely empathize, and hopefully once i17 releases you'll be able to pad this with some more text.

A lot more text. I like to swim in the text like some sort of literary Scrooge McDuck. Just jump in there and do a backstroke.

OK, enough punishing that metaphor. But you get the point.

Overall:: * * * *

It's entertaining, and I'd love to replay it once it gets more text/story/detail to it. More meat on its bones, "Doctor's" orders. I believe it has the capability to become a truly great arc... if only it didn't feel like someone tried to turn D&D into a hack-and-slash with a hint of roleplaying added to pacify the nerdy player.

The original campaign this is (very loosely) based on was a bit more original, but one of the major races were centaurs and, well.

I figure hydra work as part of the fungal race because they are more like 'slime molds,' vs. the mushrooms of fungoids. But I can understand the iffiness.

I've changed czarodziej to be necro/fire armor after a lot of tinkering.

I debated Huge dwarves of small stature, but they come off a little goofy looking and it then sticks me with 'female dwarves?' (I could make them Huge but beardless... eh)

Yes, I need to write-up the documents. Glazius made the same point. I AM jammed against the size limit, but I should be able to put SOMETHING in. Still thinking on what to do. Originally it was somewhat of a McGuffin, but it should be more of an opportunity to explain what is going on.

The Vines being low XP is because they are underlings. They are there almost entirely for atmosphere, and I hope folks are willing to indulge me.

Apprehend the truth. One of the definitions of 'apprehend' is:
to grasp with the understanding : recognize the meaning of
(Merriam-Webster)

But I've seen this complaint leveled at the word usage in other arcs other folks have done, so I suppose that being right isn't worth being confusing.

I thought the boulder and cobra hatchling names, and a few others, were appropriate enough, but a few folks have said otherwise, so I'll work on that.

Blacktooth: H is cut off? Son of a ... yeah, I'll fix that.

Text: Is I17 going to have larger size allotments? Excellent. All of my arcs are jammed at the 97-99% mark, so that'd be a great help.

Side-note: Screyan names/titles are Polish.

Oh, and Arc 2 is rather different from Arc 1 (for one thing, only one of the missions is in a cave), and Arc 3 is pretty different from Arc 1. And the subsequent arcs have no goblins.

The reason for the level 41 thing:
Fungoids are found in the 20s and then 30s-41.
BP zombie guys are 40-54
Minotaur/cyclops is 35-54
Rularuu are 41-54

41 is pretty much the only level I can have all that stuff, and eliminating one group doesn't really expand the window all that much. In addition, having a fixed level makes for less redundant repurposed mobs (I don't have to have low-level boulders or whatnot because they will never appear), which saves vital space.

That's why. Yes, it looks weird.

Reviewing:: The Galactic Protectorate - 01 (47143, @Unknown Hero)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~Level sync to 40 per arc parameters

~*~

Synapse -- well, an alternate Synapse -- needs some very mysterious help. Provided this isn't some Praetorian-style trick.

Well, let's find out. Off to rescue people.

~*~

OK, so I saved some members of the "Resistance" from a bunch of very interesting enemies. Kudos on the customs so far; they don't seem overpowered (which is too often the case), and they fit well together.

And apparently Recluse was defeated in that reality... but sad? I wonder...

~*~

OK, apparently a lot of heroes died taking down Recluse. Hence sad.

And it looks like they got the location of some comm base out of the hostages. (I wonder if I should read very far into Synapse almost calling them prisoners.) Guess it's time to go check it out.

I'm starting to seriously get a Praetorian vibe off of this arc. I wonder if it's just me...

~*~

OK, a note about the custom group. Overall, I still like them, and they aren't that painful -- to this character. However, you have two different healers, which means they can (and, on this map, often do) spawn in the same groups. Also, grav/kin is an entirely nasty amount of -spd... I have resist slow, but not everyone will, so this might be very dangerous for some. Also, having to deal with Drain Psyche (not 100% sure who was doing that) is pretty vicious... my /regen was suffering, so I can imagine what that would do to other builds.

So, it looks like the Rikti aren't the only ones out there interested in conquering Earth... and we lost the battle, but Statesman got them to agree to a cease-fire while he negotiates on our behalf. I wonder where in the timeline we are, compared to the "dates" given on the invasion records.

And then the important info, which leads me to another base. Time to take the info to their Synapse.

~*~

And, of course, villain stereotype #3, they never stick to their promises. Manti is gonna be executed, so I need to rescue him *and* plant disinformation that the execution was completed. Interesting.

~*~

I take back what I said before: there's 3 different healer minions, not 2. Mind Medic, Nebula, and Hydro Healer. Potentially 4 if Equator can use Transfusion... I haven't had one do so yet, thankfully... but I have to assume it's possible, since they're worth XP -- and thus must have all their standard powers available.

What I said above, about stacked -spd and overmuch healing? Yeah. Took me about 5 minutes to clear the room Manticore was in... just because I had multiple stacked Siphon Speed and gravity debuffs on me, and there were 4 healers in the room. (And when I entered, I managed to aggro all three groups, hence all the fun.)

OK, Manti's safe, so time to head back to Synapse and see what's next.

~*~

Um... nothing's next. Well, not until the next arc, at any rate. That was kinda unexpected... I expected some kind of plot hook to end the arc, but since it's an ongoing story... I dunno.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

An interesting story, one I wish didn't end without warning. I truly expected to talk to Synapse, maybe for him to have me and Manti work together to take on one of the 12 generals. There's a common storytelling approach which is known as in medias res, or in the middle of things, but I promise that they mean for the beginning and not the ending. It's like a cliffhanger... except cliffhangers mean something's going on when it dead-ends and says "stay tuned next week" or something similar. I guess it works... it'll make people want to play the next piece so they can see what next, since there's no closure from the first arc. Possibly.

Design:: * * * *

I mentioned a couple cautions about super-combining healing pools, and I also mentioned the pains of grav/kin as an enemy setup.

That being said, it'll provide a higher challenge for those seeking it... or a light challenge for those prepared (as my character *mostly* was, since I had no serious issues til the last room).

Overall, though, I feel there's a definite solidarity in the Galactic costume, and I liked the fact that everything had a well-defined place and purpose in the overall story and the alternate universe.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

Aside from the Room of Time (as I'll now be calling that final room, since I spent more time there than anywhere else in the arc -- not necessarily by choice), the arc was very fun to play, and quite interesting. I find myself looking forward to the next installation in the series, if only because it doesn't feel complete -- I feel like I've made a small difference, but I don't feel like I'm done there.

Which is, in effect, appropriate. Since I'm not done there.

Detail:: * * * * *

The clues, the descriptions, everything shows that you've given thought and effort to setting up this alternate universe. I have a feeling that I understand the timeline and what has happened thus far, and am excited to see what's coming next as a result.

Overall:: * * * *

I rounded down because, as a standalone arc (which it partly is, even though it's only the first chapter of something bigger), it doesn't feel complete... and that bothers me. I know logically that it will continue, that it's only part of an ongoing saga... but just the same, having it dead-end where it did feels off, and it's off-putting.

That being said, as I mentioned before, I'm still looking forward to the next chapter, when I get to it.

Thanks for your review of the first arc in my "Galactic Protectorate" series, Mychyl I'm glad to see you enjoyed it (for the most part, at least)

There are 8 different minions in the "0 Division" of the Galactic Protectorate, so I'm a bit surprised you kept running into Equator Engineers. And no, the Equator Engineers don't have Transfusion (it's not a required power for minions with Kinetics, fortunately)

I'm glad to hear you're eager to play the next "chapter" of the Galactic Protectorate series, and it seems you've hit the plot of the next arc right on the head

I hope "The Galactic Protectorate - 02" lives up to your expectations once you've gotten to it!

Reviewing:: Matchstick Women (3369, @Bubbawheat)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~*~

Quite an interesting way to open an arc... rather than using the contact traditionally, using it as a portal of sorts. Quite interesting, and very unusual. Overall, I like the effect.

Not that I'm sure what I'm supposed to be doing once I 'step through', though I'm guessing it has something to do with a bomb, but I like the effect.

~*~

I'm not certain why I would be destroying "fire control valves" in order to get the sprinklers working. Maybe they could be glowies instead?

Anyways, I beat up a bunch of pyros (both some cult, and random pyros that flocked to the scene just to cause chaos) and some superhero (I assume) who thought I was there to cause it. So back out to find out what that was all about...

~*~

Oh, that's right. I don't find out things from the contact in this case.

But now it's showing me a building and the cultists welcoming me? OK, I guess we'll find out what's going on there. Maybe.

~*~

Um. OK, so this lady thinks I'm on her side, because I took out the hero when she attacked me? Sorry, I'm into darkness, not fire. But whatever, let's see what we can learn.

I'm... in their compound? Wow. These guys invited me in with open arms, like that? They'll never survive in this city that way.

Fatal error: I'm stuck at the "meet someone" objective. The only NPCs that react to me are Burnt Match (talks when I move into or out of range, pathed into a corner after first contact and does not move from there) and Emily Metzer (follows me -- except past the Igneous mobs -- and has text for into/out of range). Got all the glowies.

Relogged to see if the last person just loaded inside the wall or something... I tried literally everything else first.

Same results. I'm gonna withhold rating on this arc for now, and give you a chance to fix whatever is going on in the 2nd mission. (You may wish to check the others, as well, to make sure it's playable.) Let me know when it's figured out and I'll complete my review.

Since this review wasn't complete, your other arc will remain in the secondary queue, at the top of the list.

Finished review below.

Hmm... never had that problem that I know of. The meet someone is the woman surrounded by the Igneous mobs - they are attackable even though they are sub-level. She should have said something along the lines of "the summoning didn't work, would you mind cleaning these up for me?" defeat them and she shows you around and leads you out (escort to entrance).

2nd Review:: Duplicity (85847, @Soul Storm)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~sync'd to L45 per arc parameters

~*~

Time for a re-review. I'll focus mainly on my initial comments, and I'll skip a lot of the minor sidenotes. (This will be my modus operandi for any future re-reviews, as well.)

~*~

First mission, the only thing I noticed different (I think, maybe) was that the patrols had dialog. (Did they originally? I don't recall.) Their wandering around, saying "What are you doing here?" seemed a little weird... since I was nowhere near them when they said it. An ambush running at me, I could see... or something like "There's an intruder" or "$name was spotted in the area". More of a nitpick than anything.

Not seeing any change on missions 2 or 3.

I like the debrief from 3/briefing into 4 better this way. It makes better sense overall, as well as solidifying the logical leap of consciousness.

Definitely prefer not having the spoilers in the navbar.

The clues were useful, and a lot better than the old spoilers.

The only other thing I really have to say would be to update the souvenir to match. (It still says you are in hiding for 3 weeks in the souvenir synopsis.)

Aside from the clues from the first two forms of the Shapeshifter, I didn't see too much additional flesh really.

New ratings::

Storyline:: * * * *

Design:: * * * * *

Gameplay:: * * * * *

Detail:: * * * *

Overall:: * * * * *

Definitely a strong improvement over the original.

Reviewing:: Matchstick Women (3369, @Bubbawheat)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting.

~*~

Quite an interesting way to open an arc... rather than using the contact traditionally, using it as a portal of sorts. Quite interesting, and very unusual. Overall, I like the effect.

Not that I'm sure what I'm supposed to be doing once I 'step through', though I'm guessing it has something to do with a bomb, but I like the effect.

~*~

I'm not certain why I would be destroying "fire control valves" in order to get the sprinklers working. Maybe they could be glowies instead?

Anyways, I beat up a bunch of pyros (both some cult, and random pyros that flocked to the scene just to cause chaos) and some superhero (I assume) who thought I was there to cause it. So back out to find out what that was all about...

~*~

Oh, that's right. I don't find out things from the contact in this case.

But now it's showing me a building and the cultists welcoming me? OK, I guess we'll find out what's going on there. Maybe.

~*~

Um. OK, so this lady thinks I'm on her side, because I took out the hero when she attacked me? Sorry, I'm into darkness, not fire. But whatever, let's see what we can learn.

I'm... in their compound? Wow. These guys invited me in with open arms, like that? They'll never survive in this city that way.

Fatal error: I'm stuck at the "meet someone" objective. The only NPCs that react to me are Burnt Match (talks when I move into or out of range, pathed into a corner after first contact and does not move from there) and Emily Metzer (follows me -- except past the Igneous mobs -- and has text for into/out of range). Got all the glowies.

*Reset after fatal error... retrying with author's suggestion to kill the Igneous. Provided it lets me this time.*

OK, that did it. She didn't talk until I attacked the Igneous (not certain why it didn't let me last time), but once I took them out, I was able to escort her to the door. So that's figured out.

~*~

So, from the book, it sounds like the Match women are... somehow baptized in flame to form the beings which I've seen. And now there's some to save... so off I go.

~*~

The repurposed Seneschals are a nice touch.

The premise is getting... odd. They're burned to increase their powers... and theories about their increased powers being from a demon dimension.

~*~

And now, their leader wishes to purge them all with fire to cleanse them. Bad idea?

~*~

I defeat Emily, but apparently fail to save her. And the flames do cleanse her, in a manner of speaking...

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

An interesting premise, though I feel the story cut itself short. It almost feels like there should've been more to the actual arc, length-wise. (That might be since there's only 3 missions with real combat in them.)

Design:: * * * * *

It helps that you've been using a lot of these looks and ideas in your actual characters as well, if (mainly) heroic versions thereof. The descriptions were strong, the costumes worked well for the concept and as a set. The choices of maps were all very strong, and went well not only with the story but with the overall flow.

Strangely, the only person who seemed out of place through the entire arc was the heroine from the first and third missions. What was her real purpose in this?

Gameplay:: * * * *

Quite fun, my issues with the second mission nonwithstanding. Perhaps use the Matchbook Collector's unaware dialog instead of the second option, for the clue about defeating the Igneous. That, or make the "meet someone" a little more clear.

I especially like the fact that the 2nd map is effectively combat-free... I wasn't even aware you could actually do that for an entire map.

Detail:: * * * * *

You've definitely put time and effort into this arc; the detail is excellent. The semi-hidden contexts ("The Hunchback of Notre Dame", using the seneschals) either give it a subtle balance (for those who aren't as quick to pick up little clues) or broaden the concept and balance significantly.

Overall:: * * * * *

For a short arc, this takes an interesting idea and turns it into a quick (but fun) bit of MA.

I have another arc for you.

Suppression - 374481 - @Gypsy Rose

Thanks

Sorry gang, realized this morning that I had three separate programs I'd been putting off, and that all three were due today. So I had to take some time to plan, write and test them all.

Now then, my homework is out of the way (until tomorrow, at least), so I'm gonna fire up City and take Sable on a tour of today's arcs to be reviewed. ^^b

Reviewing:: The Warburg Connection (364832, @FredrikSvanberg)

Playing as... not Sable, actually. Villain arc.

Playing as L37 Mercs/Pain MM.

~*~

Desslock, that sleazeball. He wants me to go make money for him in Warburg. Well, as long as he actually pays up this time, instead of foisting me off on more of his mentally-challenged cohorts...

~*~

Arachnoid caves. Why, of all places... well, I guess it *could* be worse.

Fortunata Hamilton is doing double-agent stuff with the Rogues? That's interesting. I would've expected Brick, except he's too much an idiot to stick to plan.

Blitz wants to sell this stuff? That isn't gonna make him too popular with Recluse, once Hamilton gets back to him. Not that he was popular before, what with leading the rogue units.

Either way, back to Desslock. Time for some small, unmarked bills.

~*~

Yea, just rob Hopkins, get the loot and go. Sure, easy.

Easy like my boot to your face, Desslock. Whatever, money's money.

~*~

Hopkins thought he could handle me... but when it got rough, he turned tail and ran. Typical Crey for ya.

Crey's trying to give up Revenant Hero data? In exchange for the ability to make Arachnoids? The Countess is slipping.

Anyways, got what I came for. Time to see how much Desslock is willing to offer me for these.

~*~

(Note: I know this is designed for VEAT play, but two errors of logic. One, superheroes and supervillains of Natural origin are, by Malta definition, still metas. Two, assuming your player is a Natural works well if the arc were VEAT-only. When my Magic-origin MM is told "Naturals like us [don't] need to worry", it's a bit... well, inaccurate.)

And now he wants me to go bust his buddy outta Longbow's "protective custody"?

Well, I guess it's gonna take a while for him to get the cash together for this stuff. Still, he better step on it... I'm not plannin' on running his errands all day.

~*~

Friend seems nice enough, for a wannabe Malta. Whatever, that's his business, not mine... if he wants to be the next gunslinger on some hero's chopping block, more power to him.

Just to be safe though, when I get word about the Ballista, I dump him off a couple rooms away. He looks kinda fragile. I don't think Desslock is gonna be too happy if I bring him back in more than one piece.

Easily enough done, get the kid out and back to Alan. Where's my money?

~*~

Oh, so we're gonna take this stuff and give it away, in some harebrained plan for revenge? Hamilton'd better be right; if this doesn't pay off bigtime, Desslock won't be helping any other recruits anytime soon.

~*~

Nice and quiet, all the way down to the glowie. Then Crey decides to show up.

And Hopkins came back. Too bad for him the hospital's too far away from here; he won't be back before we're gone.

Piece of cake. Back to tell Desslock to break out the champagne; this job's done.

~*~

Wait, what? No no, that wasn't in the script.

OK, time to go see the inside of an Arbiter's office. Something tells me I'm not gonna have much time to appreciate the decor, though.

~*~

I love the way Arachnos works... if you defeat someone who accused you of treachery, their accusations must be false; if they defeat you, the accusations stand. In this case, my "honor" is defended by taking her out. Back to let Desslock know the outcome.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

I do love an arc with twists and turns... but the problem is, the story of this arc felt a little flat to me. Desslock came up with this whole brilliant scheme... and then threw the whole lot away for a different sort of revenge. Sacrificing an old friend in the meantime. Even for a villain, even for Desslock, this seemed a bit off.

That being said, I liked the premise overall, and I liked how it flowed smoothly. Even the final twist (the end result, at least) was very well received by me.

Design:: * * * * *

I honestly couldn't tell if the Scorpion Gang guys were palette-swapped Gunslingers or custom DPs... either works, although of course Gunslingers would be more apropos, given. The map choices were inspired (which map was it that you used for the Scorpion hideout? I don't seem to recall ever seeing that one), and helped make the story tie together well.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

For all of my character's grumblings about wasted effort and wasted money (which is typical for him), the story was fun to play and kept me wanting to see what was next. The fact that (and yes, I didn't pay attention to how many missions there were, or which mission I was on) there was another mission after the point I'd expected to be the ending made this even more fun to play, because just when I think it's time for the wrapup... the final twist appears.

Detail:: * * * *

The clues, the information, everything about this arc shows that you put time and thought into it. Everything fit well, and there was just the right amount of flesh to the missions: not too little, but no WALLOFTEXT to overcome.

The only gripe I remember having is when Desslock mentions that you're both Naturals. As I said before, if this was one of the canon VEAT arcs, or somehow otherwise locked to VEAT-only, that would certainly work. However, with my character's origin being Magic, it was a bit off-putting.

Overall:: * * * * *

A good, strong arc, one that I'd just as soon see as an actual VEAT arc, instead of the current fare. (Though I shudder to think what my Executioner would've went through if I'd brought him, instead of the MM I chose. I haven't yet tried to solo EBs as any of my VEATs.)

Thanks for the review, glad you liked it!

Maybe if you play as anything other than a Natural origin you can just pretend that Desslock doesn't really know what your origin is? *shrug*

Anyway, good to hear that you enjoyed it.

Reviewing:: The Casualities of War (241496, @Dalghryn)

Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper

~*~

When we last left this storyline, there was much sadness, and Sable had pledged herself to help SOLUS in the process of rebuilding... but without joining their SG.

Looks like Cap called in on that promise.

Traitors within Vanguard? In the modern storyline, there's certainly Rogue Vanguard, but they're driven by a desire for power; they're not directly allying themselves with the Rikti. Something's very wrong here. Time to find out what.

(Sidenote: minor typo in the M1 busy text.)

~*~

I finally got a chance to look at the Vanguard look. I like it; it's similar (in essence) and manages to portray that it's the oldschool look without being too understated.

I half expected the traitor to try and run, but instead he called a double-strength ambush. Good fun, that, but they dropped pretty easily, and from there it was academic.

Back to Cap, now that we're done here.

(As an aside, I'm just barely geeky enough that I had to take your lat/long coordinates and pin them down. It's definite bonus points that you not only selected coordinates that match Rhode Island, but that actually point to an area with similar enough geography to actually be Paragon City... were it not for another city already sitting there. XD)

~*~

Next, sounds like a good chance to beat up some Rikti. I'm all for that.

~*~

Lots of Rikti... one of those battle-on-the-Bulge concepts that always goes a little off in execution.

In this case, the pylons... erm, jamming towers... were taken out by the turrets before I got the chance to worry about them. The Raid Leader almost ran himself into turrets as well, but I dealt with him... and saved the SOLUS members on the ground. Time to go see what's next on the hit list.

~*~

Aha, that's convenient... looks like I was right, and the communicator came through in this arc, since it started in the previous one. Nice touch, keeping that detail alive.

Plus side: That means I shouldn't have to deal with the squigglies anymore. It was a nice concept at first, but it became annoying eventually.

Interesting, tying the Midnighters in with the war efforts. I have no doubt that they helped during the 1st Invasion, but there really isn't much documentation on Midnighter efforts at that time, and they didn't become such an open group until Castanella started recruiting heroes (the Lost Savior arc).

~*~

Hooray for collecting living SOLUS members, though from their new descriptions, they're all the worse for wear. Not so shocking.

Oh no. Not more bodies... surely there aren't...

OK, they're Rikti bodies. *sighs with relief*

Pretty straightforward mission. Collect all the heroes, collect Alistair McKnight, and defend the obelisk... I think. I just killed a bunch of Rikti that appeared, and it completed.

(Major qualm: Alistair looks nothing at all like the Alistair McKnight from canon. I couldn't find a picture reference for him, but if you run a villain through the Thief of Midnight arc, you meet him there, and you get a temp power -- Midnight Visage -- which gives you his appearance for 15 minutes. After I complete this arc, I'll swap to a toon with the temp power and screenshot the look for you.)

Back to find out what's next... I think, from the briefings so far, we use Alistair's magic to sneak into the hospital.

~*~

We apparently split up... Cap and the rest of the kids I met up with are fighting off the Rikti out in the city, while I'm heading to the hospital to free Empathy and crew there. Let's hope this all works out... sounds like Cap has some big "friends" to play with.

~*~

Even doctors have superpowers. Only in Paragon. (Well, and the Isles, of course.)

Empathy flies off to go help her husband et al, and I stick behind to find the rest of the people inside, and to destroy Dro'Vidt.

And then the building tries to collapse on me. Good fun, that.

~*~

And now, time for the final assault on the Rikti shock troops. Off to link up with any SOLUS heroes I can find, and beat on Hro'Dath once more.

~*~

OK, found (and defeated) Hro'Dath easily enough, but... I don't see any heroes. Are we sure there's heroes on this map?

Wait... glowie? Oh no... please, no...

I found... not what I came for, but I found it anyways.

~*~

I guess that's the end... I'd make a second comment about SOLUS and rebuilding, but... who's left to rebuild?

~*~

Storyline:: * * * * *

Gripping, just like the first. The continuing story of heroes fighting insurmountable odds... but not quite making it. They gave their lives to stop the Rikti from winning... that's worth something, at least.

Design:: * * * *

Very strong sense of design, as with the first. The only issue I found with the design was Alistair McKnight... he looked nothing like the Alistair you encounter in canon, so when I came around the corner and found him, I'd thought there was a hidden optional goal.

As I said above, I took screenshots to help (if you wish) to make Alistair look more like... well, himself, actually.

Here, here, and here.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

If you proceed to make any more of these sob stories, I'm gonna start docking you points for making me sob so much.

Seriously though, just like the first arc, it hurt to see so much death among the heroes of SOLUS, this time even moreso, since I've had the chance to get a little more familiar with the five in question.

Detail:: * * * * *

The clues, the maps, the missions, everything was well-choreographed and led smoothly from one piece to the next. This arc was as poignant, and as clear a memoir of what was lost, as the first one. Taken together, they paint a very vivid picture of just what was lost.

Overall:: * * * * *

Well, I know before I offered Sable's assistance in rebuilding SOLUS, but... it looks like that task will fall to (Brandon, was it?) when he's older and develops his taste for vengeance -- and the skills to back it up.

Until then, if he needs a place to crash, the Brotherhood of Fatesse always has some safe space.

OK, before I created the mission, I Googled Alistair McKnight until my fingers were bleeding and couldn't find a picture of him. After I read your review, I went back in to try to find something closer (I don't have enough memory until I17 to make an exact representation). I guess what I found could be seen as a younger version, but it's still not nearly close enough. Rather than remove McKnight, however, I'll leave it until I can create a custom. It drives me nuts they don't have him in the MA characters somewhere.

I tried to find the typo you mentioned. Either I just can't spell whatever the word was, or I looked in the wrong place.

Plus points back at you for looking up the coordinates. You're the first one to do that.

BTW, I originally had the traitor running, but got called down on it so many times (given the small map), I decided to remove that.

Thanks a bunch for all the nice comments. As before, I really appreciate the time you took to give the arc a run.

I'm officially taking tomorrow away from people as much as possible. (Why? Because I hate April Fool's Day, because it's too silly even for me. :P)

When I get home from work on 2 April, reviews shall continue.

Until then, stay safe and don't let yourself get pranked too harshly (and/or violently).

Sorry about the delay, all. Life has a funny way of telling me what I'm going to do, no matter what I intend to do.

That being said...

Reviewing:: The Galactic Protectorate - 02 (117281, @Unknown Hero)

Playing as L40 Dark/Regen Scrapper

~*~

So, when we last left off, Sable saved altSynapse's proverbial bacon by doing some basic recon and rescuing altManticore. Then, the arc came down with terminal shortness and died. So, now let's go back and see what's next on the hit list. (I'm assuming I'm picking up roughly where I left off.)

Nope, never mind. Apparently my breaking altManti out means that he's scheduled to show up as my new contact. That works too. (And explains a little bit more the brevity of the first arc.)

So, there's three bases. Sounds like I'm gonna spend this arc hunting a single general. ...Nope, never mind, altSyn's taking one, altManti's got the second, and I'm stuck in altFaultline. That works too... let's see what these guys think of the phrase "Take me to your leader."

~*~

Minor note: The mainframe (right at the entrance, for some reason) had a typo in its description.

So far, I like Division 12 better than the first arc (Div 0, wasn't it?). No kins, only 1 healer... might get harder as I go, but for now, it's not a big problem.

From the 'history' clues, it sounds like the Galactic Protectorate is supposed to function like space police, since the Peace Accord sounds almost like the charter of the United Federation of Worlds (Star Trek reference, that). So why is Earth under siege, if that's the case? Did the Kheldians break some interstellar law or something?

My princess is in another castle? Lame, but it happens.

The base commander actually hurt a bit. Probably because he popped Build Up and charged me when I was taking out the first group in his room.

Anyways, I got what I came for (I think?), so back to altManti.

~*~

Silly altSyn, running off without backup and getting caught. That's supposed to be altManti's job, y'know. XD

Ah well, off to save him from a fate worse than death.

~*~

Silly GP, posting a sign that this is Rendezvous Point Theta.

Not that this is a huge shock, but why would you put a sign like that up?

~*~

I saved altSyn, and found out that the general wasn't here either. But apparently altPsyche is in trouble elsewhere, so time to go save her too.

~*~

Guinevere was pretty rough, but I persevered (solo... should've gotten an ally first, I guess) and now we're 1 general down. (The pacing prolly needs to pick up if I'm gonna take out all 12 before the end of the sixth arc.)

~*~

Again, the arc ended as soon as I rescue Psyche. I'm assuming, by recent history, that this means arc 3 will begin with my contact being Psyche. At least this time I took out one of the generals before it ended.

~*~

Storyline:: * * * *

The story is progressing nicely, though now there's more pieces of the puzzle that feel like they're missing. The main piece of the puzzle missing for me now is what I mentioned back in mission 1... if GP is supposed to be guardians of the universe, why on Earth (pun not intended) are they seeking to destroy/take over Earth? What is their motivation? I can only assume this will come out later... but...

Design:: * * * * *

Again, a very good job with the customs. I can only assume this is going to continue being the case, and it's very impressive that each of the arcs have had unique, separate enemy group "divisions". It'll be even more impressive as this goes, of course, provided that it keeps going this way.

Gameplay:: * * * * *

The story is truly fun and interesting, and it's keeping me wanting to play more. That's pretty much the definition of good gameplay. This arc was even more fun, because I didn't suffer any kinetic enemies, and because the EB (in my case) General was challenging, but by no means impossible. A bit maddening for all her flying off, but it worked out.

Detail:: * * * * *

Again, very good detail. Everything works out well, and while there's some things that don't quite make sense together, I expect that time (and playing later arcs in the series) will change that.

Overall:: * * * * *

I admit that I graded on a scale for this arc, but that's because this arc -- as a standalone -- makes little sense, and I'm hanging some of the vote on the previous arc, and a lot of the difference on the future arcs.