Use NPCs To Put Strike Target Announcements In-Game
I have a feeling that the NPCs for this may already be placed in-game and are simply waiting to be activated. In Sharkhead there's an Operative Luong standing by the Arbiter at the foot of the Arachnos base; when you talk to him, a blank dialog window opens. I also came across a female NPC in a Train Station in Paragon who seems to serve no purpose, but when I talked to her she just said something in a chat bubble, no dialog window popped up. (Unfortunately I forget her name and what she said.)
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I have a feeling that the NPCs for this may already be placed in-game and are simply waiting to be activated. In Sharkhead there's an Operative Luong standing by the Arbiter at the foot of the Arachnos base; when you talk to him, a blank dialog window opens. I also came across a female NPC in a Train Station in Paragon who seems to serve no purpose, but when I talked to her she just said something in a chat bubble, no dialog window popped up. (Unfortunately I forget her name and what she said.)
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I think actually being able to call the contact I've mentioned in the OP is better for being able to check the calendar anywhere you like.
An alternative to having another contact in a player's list is to make the calendar accessible from the ingame main menu.
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2260 - The Burning of Hearts - A green-eyed monster holds the match.
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If those NPC's aren't their for that purpose, how about adding it to the paper/scanner mission interface? I think that is a very fluid and immersive way to distribute data. I'm not saying you have to do the missions to find out the strike target, just that it is listed there. It's also a bit more interesting than typing /strike_target or having it blast through a chat channel.
You could also add a strike target flag to the teamfinder interface. Though the standard TF flag should suffice.
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You could also add a strike target flag to the teamfinder interface. Though the standard TF flag should suffice.
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The only people that I know of who still use that thing are folks checking the number of players in The Hive before or during raids.
61866 - A Series of Unfortunate Kidnappings - More than a coincidence?
2260 - The Burning of Hearts - A green-eyed monster holds the match.
379248 - The Spider Without Fangs - NEW - Some lessons learned (more or less.)
I don't even know what Strike Targets are.
So yes, I'd definitely approve of some character in game telling me about it.
I don't even know what Strike Targets are.
So yes, I'd definitely approve of some character in game telling me about it. |
I think the abbreviation of that phrase says it all.

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I don't really know how the developers intend to announce the different Strike Targets coming up with the Strike Pack / I19.5, but not having an in-game announcement, and/or reasons why these Targets are selected/who is doing the selection, is sort of an immersion break and also not as effective as it could be without a little assistance.
So, here's my idea, not knowing if something like this is already being implemented. Each player gets a new contact that they can phone, much like Redemption and Pit. Let's call them Longbow Threat Assessor and Arachnos Strike Coordinator for the hero contact and villain contact, respectively. We now have ingame entities doing the selection.
When you call the LTA or ASC, there's of course the introduction text. There should be two options for further dialogue: One for discourse on Strike Targets, and one for showing a calendar for current/upcoming strikes.
The chain of discourse ought to go something like
What the role of the LTA/ASC is, and why Strike Targets are being chosen -> Why you should participate in dealing with Strike Targets (i.e. rewards, or spooky-ingame danger, etc.) -> When Strike Targets change, and an explanation of a redside/blueside target or a co-op target -> GOTO 10. Insert as many other links in the chain as you like.
The player should always have the option of viewing the calendar, no matter what point in the chain above they're in. Why a calendar, you ask? Well, why not a calendar? Players like to know what's coming up; maybe they need to have time to make plans to participate, who knows?
(To be honest, an ingame calendar for all major events would be good as well, such as holiday events, Rikti raids, 2xXP weekends, contest deadlines, all sorts of things. That's for another thread perhaps, though.)
Assuming that you don't want the Strike Target 'calendar' to be very complicated, text should suffice; just a few lines in the format of "[Start Date] - [End Date]: [Strike Target Name] - [Level Range] ([Co-Op / Not Co-Op]) - [Rewards?]" should do.
There should be a pop-up on login whenever the Strike Targets have been updated (the pop-up should explain how to call the LTA/ASC.) This isn't to say that you shouldn't announce the Targets on the board; the more notification you make available, the more people may take notice. That's a practical reason for implementing this suggestion.
61866 - A Series of Unfortunate Kidnappings - More than a coincidence?
2260 - The Burning of Hearts - A green-eyed monster holds the match.
379248 - The Spider Without Fangs - NEW - Some lessons learned (more or less.)