SupaFreak's Arcs (w/tributes to others)
By
Bleak_Wanderer,
Posted on: 2011-05-29 12:35 in Mission Architect
Contact
(you can trust a man in black, right?)
(you can trust a man in black, right?)
Allies
(each Ally shown will be a contact in upcoming sequels)
(each Ally shown will be a contact in upcoming sequels)
Appearances
(need to be voluntarily triggered to be discovered)
(need to be voluntarily triggered to be discovered)
Enemy Zombies
Enemy Spectres
Enemy Summons
Death's Head Order
Key Enemy
(and 10 other enemies not shown)
(and 10 other enemies not shown)
Patch Notes
- 10/19/11: Revamped as a 1 mission arc targetted for Incarnates, though suitable at standard settings for lower levels.
- 10/26/11: Added more details in Clues, Final Dialog and Souvenir.
- 11/14/11: Added more details in Clues, added new lieutentant rank to Deaths Head Order.
- 12/09/11: Revamp of Deaths Head Order costumes and bios. Minor text changes to Souvenir.
Contact
(you can trust a man in a suit, right?)
(you can trust a man in a suit, right?)
Allies
Enemy Unit
Enemy Mages
Main Enemy Group
Key Named Enemies
(Can any survive your wrath?)
(Can any survive your wrath?)
Updates
- 12/10/11: Revamped as 1 mission arc targetted for Incarnates, though suitable at standard setting for lower levels for strong builds.
Reserved for Hero 2 Arc
Reserved for Vigilante Arc
Reserved for Villain 2 Arc
Reserved for Rogue Arc
Reserved for Hero Finale Arc
Reserved for Villain Finale Arc
@Apolinus reviews...
Black as Midnight
TL;DR: Excellent. Top 5% of arcs in the game. Five stars.
Introduction and General Comments
The level range for this arc is listed as 22-27 according to @SupaFreak, so I brought my level 24 Warshade, Shadowjackal. He's a minor toon of mine - I play him for fun, so he's primarily slotted with SOs and I haven't paid tremendous amounts of attention to his build. It's tough to get a low level MA team together these days, so I soloed this one. I ran it on +1 x 0 difficulty.
I did not read any of the other reviews of the arc before typing my own so as not to bias myself - so if my comments echo those of another review, @SupaFreak can rest assured that's an independent confirmation of the other reviewer's idea. As a result, I may ask some questions that @SupaFreak has already answered somewhere - I don't necessarily expect a response to any redundant questions I may have asked (or any questions I've asked, period.) Everything here is for SupaFreak's benefit.
I like the contact, Xeronyx, because he's distinctive enough to be interesting - the shades + mask effect (not sure if this is actually shades + mask or a trick to suggest a glasses shape that doesn't exist in the character editor) makes him unique, and his wardrobe contributes to and helps to anchor the atmosphere of the arc - which is a tough thing to do because you keep popping into this AE building that isn't involved in the story at all. (My point: @SupaFreak does a good job trying to overcome the narrative-shredding effect of being pulled into the AE building again and again, and uses Xeronyx to weave as immersive a story as one can using the AE system.)
The hard work and attention to detail put into this arc are evident from the first click. The mission objectives are all color coded. The maps for mission one (and each subsequent mission) appear to have been hand-picked - carefully chosen for their specific layout, and it seems @SupaFreak has even gone to the effort to choose maps that will reliably spawn mission elements in the same place so that he can have a predictable gameplay experience. (In one mission, you are told that sounds are coming from somewhere "ahead and to the left" - very nice.
There are also lots of custom enemies with appearances that correspond roughly to the challenge they present - and plenty of custom allies and cleverly scripted events (exploitation of "rescue" mechanics to make nearby characters say lines of dialog at story-relevant points in time during the mission).
He also makes extensive use of clues to provide regular missions summaries so that the player does not get lost in the arc and so that players who are not the team leader can try to keep up with the story.
Mission One
Right from the get-go, @SupaFreak starts weaving a unique story. He's got named characters who are referenced by the contact as if they are known personally to him and have their own traits - being referred to as the "less experienced" heroes. I really liked the idea of being called in to rescue these neophytes who may have gotten in over their heads. He also tries hard to give each character his or her own voice.
I was very impressed with the game mechanics exploited to create mission target waypoints on the map - Ravessence essentially escorts the player to Deadfall's location in a refreshing reversal of the intended use of the game mechanic.
I liked the allied spirits floating around - they looked cool.
Mission one closed with a boss battle against Phantom Strike. He was not maddeningly difficult, and it was a fun fight. He was very believable as a Tsoo boss.
He and Shadowjackal traded blows.
And Shadowjackal learned important lessons about not letting your foe get behind you...
Before Shadowjackal put Phantom Strike down for the count and finished the mission.
Mission One: Constructive Criticism
1. Minor concern:
The text, "Xeronyx joins his teammates in what appears to be their combined magic and failing tech efforts to track or combat something unseen," was confusing to me. I went in and then read the clues and it made more sense - my impression now is that Xeronyx and his crew are engaged in some sort of continuous struggle in this graveyard, and that you keep returning to their position to interact with them while they're fending off whatever unseen forces are there.
I may just be dense, but it took me a while to put that together.
Then more questions come to mind:
- Why is this fight going on? Who are they fighting? Why are the attackers motivated to come after them? I can take guesses, but that story isn't really gone into much throughout the rest of the arc - my character gets engrossed in his own endeavors.
- From a story construction perspective, what is the narrative purpose of having the team engaged in battle in the graveyard?
- Why do they have time to stand/sit/lay around and chat with me if they're under constant siege?
Perhaps some of these will be answered in sequel arcs.
2. Possible minor correction:
"Xeronyx's cell phone makes what seems to be a 'powering on' signal."
Very nitpicky issue here. 'Signal' reads kind of funny in this line. Made me stop and spend a few seconds thinking about whether that word fits. You 'get signal' with your cell phone. Cell phones could be said to 'send and receive' signals'.
Devices can make audible tones which people could refer to as a 'signal'.
But the more common usage here (that would keep me from thinking about this for five minutes) would be 'sound'. This would avoid confusion with all of the other meanings of the word 'signal'.
"Xeronyx's cell phone makes what seems to be a 'powering on' sound."
Wouldn't have thought twice if I had seen that. Did think twice when I saw 'signal'.
Mission Two
Can't say enough good things about the map entrance for mission two, which I am confident @SupaFreak chose on purpose. Created just the right ambiance for the mission - I was impressed. No screen shot or detailed description because I want players to experience that nice suprise for themselves.
Brother Dayless got nailed by a low level minion (a Death Mass) early on while I was concentrating on other mobs, so I ran most of the mission alone. I do like Dayless' dialect though - though it's not entirely clear to me (even after reading his description) as to why he's from the 1920s. Does the entire arc take place in the 20s? Is he a time traveler? Am I a time traveler?
Maybe this will be answered in a sequel arc.
The ambush after Tormas got me, but I came back from the hospital and went straight to the final mission objective with no problems (and no sign of that ambush).
Mission Two: Constructive Criticism
1. Possible minor correction:
"You have the tenacity to call me a liar" - Tenacity might be better rendered as 'audacity' or 'temerity'. If you're interested, check the definitions of all three words to see what I mean.
2. Possible minor correction:
"Midnight....
Oh, let me give him the old Broderick, X."
For consistent formatting, there probably needs to be another space between those lines.
3. Story related question:
If Black Maverick died of a stroke as Xeronyx seems to believe, and if Xeronyx is in charge of the investigation (as he seems to be), why are we investigating Black Maverick's death in this manner? Isn't this more of a medical, rather than supernatural question? Sounds to me like this problem calls for an autopsy, not the Midnight Squad.
Perhaps Xeronyx noticed something else unusual about the circumstances of Maverick's death, but if he did it's not mentioned that I saw. Sounds to me like Black Maverick was in a graveyard (not an unusual place for someone in the Midnight Squad to be) and dropped dead of a stroke. It happens. Why are we here?
Mission Three
There are some very nice suprises here, and some very aesthetically pleasing elements. This mission was short, but almost cinematic in its appearance.
The natural light effects combine very nicely with the mobs in this mission.
Mission Three: Constructive Criticism
1. General comment:
Ravenessence says "hon" a lot. I think it would be possible to give her a unique voice using more than just one or two words - her manner of speech begins to grate on my nerves by the time mission three rolls around. Couldn't imagine having her as a contact for a whole arc unless I got to fight her at the end.
2. Mob navigation error(?):
The spectral servants got stuck in the doorway. I have no idea how you would go about fixing this or if you would even want to - the text within the mission suggests to me @SupaFreak might be aware of the problem and might have incorporated it into the story of the mission. Very well.
Mission Four
Not much to say here. Solid gameplay experience, but little to comment on that I haven't said already or won't say below. Very nice custom mobs - it's clear a lot of effort went into choosing them. Everything has a description of some sort or another, which is nice.
Mission Four: Constructive Criticism
1. Gameplay:
I had a Shadowcaster and Disciple of the Mind pretty near camping the entrance door. Combination of psi damage, mez, and heals made this a very frustrating gameplay experience. I eventually managed to take them down, but not until I got held and murdered a few times and had a couple of frustrating near-wins until one of them healed the other or itself (not sure which).
2. Minor clue text issue:
Plural of Shaman is "Shamans" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shaman).
Mission Five
The handy warning and the inspirtation tips in the mission five intro were appreciated - and are definitely appropriate. The fog inside the mission creates a very spooky feeling - especially with the glow of shadowmancers in the distance.
I knew I had problems though when Shadowjackal faceplanted three times on a lone Mastermind powerset mob in the beginning of the stage.
I got sufficiently frustrated that I phase-shifted to squid form and ghosted the map to find the final boss. Travelling around, I found that the mobs were equipped with hold/mez (I think) effects that locked me up quite a few times - and any fights I got engaged in were frustrating due to the extensive use of Dark Powers, which make it pretty hard to hit anything.
I eventually found the final boss, fought him, and died.
So I ghosted to him again, fought him, and died.
So then I developed a strategy, ghosted to him, fought him, and died.
Just didn't have the damage output to overcome his regeneration and other abilities. So I logged onto my main, transferred some inf around, flew to the Black Market, and gleemailed some inf and recipes over to Shadowjackal.
Then Shadowjackal crafted every temporary power in the game except the crappy common attack ones.
(If this image had a sound to go with it, that sound would be insane, maniacal laughter.)
Then I had him go to Wentworth's and buy a bunch of large insps. Four purples, two blues, a green, two reds, and I had a small purple on hand.
Blew the small purple on the way back to the final boss (got held in the cavern).
Final battle was epic. I summoned a PPD ally, buffed up like crazy, and charged in there like Gandalf at Helm's Deep. (I think it was Helm's deep, anyway).
The final boss didn't stand a chance. Stomp stomp stomp with all of my temporary powers and such. Very gratifying after earlier frustrations.
Conclusion
This is an extremely well crafted arc with tremendous attention to detail. The color coding, the architect's knowledge of the maps, and the clever usage of architect mechanics makes this a tremendously entertaining arc to experience, generally.
The strongest negative feelings I had about the arc came in the later levels, when it became significantly less solo-friendly. One could argue in the new AE climate of today that solo-friendliness is (sadly) pretty integral to player-friendliness.
In later levels, I kept flashing back to Kidou's "Guide to Making a Balanced Enemy Group" thread. I felt as though there were a lot of holds, mezzes, and -tohit powers flying around on minions, and eventually this drove me to just ghost to the objectives in the later missions, because each fight was a slog to get through if I could make it at all. I was reminded of the suggestion to substitue "Dark" powersets for something else like "Fire" in order to minimize player rage.
This could have to do with me using a Kheld I rarely usely to solo the mission.
This could have to do with me having the difficulty set at +1.
I recognize that mission difficulty is a philosophical consideration up to each author - but the frustrating experience I had in the later levels of this arc made me think about going back and altering my own arc a bit. I don't have any holds and not much -ToHit in my arc, but I have a few "challenging" ambush spawns that were fun to make and made me feel good when I made them... but which may just not be right for the player experience.
I also kept having questions. Some of them are listed above. Another question that kept coming to mind was: Who are these benevolent spirits? Where are they coming from? What are they doing here? What is their purpose? Perhaps this will be explored in future content. If so, nice tease.
I look forward to seeing more from @SupaFreak - and I believe some of his innovative approaches to mission design may become the standard for the construction of quality missions. I may try to apply some of what I've learned from playing his arc in my own mission design.
Ultimately, summing together the entire experience: The detailed narrative, the high-quality color-coded objectives, the intricate and clear description of the storyline through the use of clues, the clever use of game mechanics, and the detailed cahracters and costume designs, I believe this arc to be among the best 5% in the AE system. It is clear that a tremendous amount of hard work and storytelling elbow grease went into the contruction of this arc. Therefore, I give it a rating of Five Stars.
Black as Midnight
TL;DR: Excellent. Top 5% of arcs in the game. Five stars.
Introduction and General Comments
The level range for this arc is listed as 22-27 according to @SupaFreak, so I brought my level 24 Warshade, Shadowjackal. He's a minor toon of mine - I play him for fun, so he's primarily slotted with SOs and I haven't paid tremendous amounts of attention to his build. It's tough to get a low level MA team together these days, so I soloed this one. I ran it on +1 x 0 difficulty.
I did not read any of the other reviews of the arc before typing my own so as not to bias myself - so if my comments echo those of another review, @SupaFreak can rest assured that's an independent confirmation of the other reviewer's idea. As a result, I may ask some questions that @SupaFreak has already answered somewhere - I don't necessarily expect a response to any redundant questions I may have asked (or any questions I've asked, period.) Everything here is for SupaFreak's benefit.
I like the contact, Xeronyx, because he's distinctive enough to be interesting - the shades + mask effect (not sure if this is actually shades + mask or a trick to suggest a glasses shape that doesn't exist in the character editor) makes him unique, and his wardrobe contributes to and helps to anchor the atmosphere of the arc - which is a tough thing to do because you keep popping into this AE building that isn't involved in the story at all. (My point: @SupaFreak does a good job trying to overcome the narrative-shredding effect of being pulled into the AE building again and again, and uses Xeronyx to weave as immersive a story as one can using the AE system.)
The hard work and attention to detail put into this arc are evident from the first click. The mission objectives are all color coded. The maps for mission one (and each subsequent mission) appear to have been hand-picked - carefully chosen for their specific layout, and it seems @SupaFreak has even gone to the effort to choose maps that will reliably spawn mission elements in the same place so that he can have a predictable gameplay experience. (In one mission, you are told that sounds are coming from somewhere "ahead and to the left" - very nice.
There are also lots of custom enemies with appearances that correspond roughly to the challenge they present - and plenty of custom allies and cleverly scripted events (exploitation of "rescue" mechanics to make nearby characters say lines of dialog at story-relevant points in time during the mission).
He also makes extensive use of clues to provide regular missions summaries so that the player does not get lost in the arc and so that players who are not the team leader can try to keep up with the story.
Mission One
Right from the get-go, @SupaFreak starts weaving a unique story. He's got named characters who are referenced by the contact as if they are known personally to him and have their own traits - being referred to as the "less experienced" heroes. I really liked the idea of being called in to rescue these neophytes who may have gotten in over their heads. He also tries hard to give each character his or her own voice.
I was very impressed with the game mechanics exploited to create mission target waypoints on the map - Ravessence essentially escorts the player to Deadfall's location in a refreshing reversal of the intended use of the game mechanic.
I liked the allied spirits floating around - they looked cool.
Mission one closed with a boss battle against Phantom Strike. He was not maddeningly difficult, and it was a fun fight. He was very believable as a Tsoo boss.
He and Shadowjackal traded blows.
And Shadowjackal learned important lessons about not letting your foe get behind you...
Before Shadowjackal put Phantom Strike down for the count and finished the mission.
Mission One: Constructive Criticism
1. Minor concern:
The text, "Xeronyx joins his teammates in what appears to be their combined magic and failing tech efforts to track or combat something unseen," was confusing to me. I went in and then read the clues and it made more sense - my impression now is that Xeronyx and his crew are engaged in some sort of continuous struggle in this graveyard, and that you keep returning to their position to interact with them while they're fending off whatever unseen forces are there.
I may just be dense, but it took me a while to put that together.
Then more questions come to mind:
- Why is this fight going on? Who are they fighting? Why are the attackers motivated to come after them? I can take guesses, but that story isn't really gone into much throughout the rest of the arc - my character gets engrossed in his own endeavors.
- From a story construction perspective, what is the narrative purpose of having the team engaged in battle in the graveyard?
- Why do they have time to stand/sit/lay around and chat with me if they're under constant siege?
Perhaps some of these will be answered in sequel arcs.
2. Possible minor correction:
"Xeronyx's cell phone makes what seems to be a 'powering on' signal."
Very nitpicky issue here. 'Signal' reads kind of funny in this line. Made me stop and spend a few seconds thinking about whether that word fits. You 'get signal' with your cell phone. Cell phones could be said to 'send and receive' signals'.
Devices can make audible tones which people could refer to as a 'signal'.
But the more common usage here (that would keep me from thinking about this for five minutes) would be 'sound'. This would avoid confusion with all of the other meanings of the word 'signal'.
"Xeronyx's cell phone makes what seems to be a 'powering on' sound."
Wouldn't have thought twice if I had seen that. Did think twice when I saw 'signal'.
Mission Two
Can't say enough good things about the map entrance for mission two, which I am confident @SupaFreak chose on purpose. Created just the right ambiance for the mission - I was impressed. No screen shot or detailed description because I want players to experience that nice suprise for themselves.
Brother Dayless got nailed by a low level minion (a Death Mass) early on while I was concentrating on other mobs, so I ran most of the mission alone. I do like Dayless' dialect though - though it's not entirely clear to me (even after reading his description) as to why he's from the 1920s. Does the entire arc take place in the 20s? Is he a time traveler? Am I a time traveler?
Maybe this will be answered in a sequel arc.
The ambush after Tormas got me, but I came back from the hospital and went straight to the final mission objective with no problems (and no sign of that ambush).
Mission Two: Constructive Criticism
1. Possible minor correction:
"You have the tenacity to call me a liar" - Tenacity might be better rendered as 'audacity' or 'temerity'. If you're interested, check the definitions of all three words to see what I mean.
2. Possible minor correction:
"Midnight....
Oh, let me give him the old Broderick, X."
For consistent formatting, there probably needs to be another space between those lines.
3. Story related question:
If Black Maverick died of a stroke as Xeronyx seems to believe, and if Xeronyx is in charge of the investigation (as he seems to be), why are we investigating Black Maverick's death in this manner? Isn't this more of a medical, rather than supernatural question? Sounds to me like this problem calls for an autopsy, not the Midnight Squad.
Perhaps Xeronyx noticed something else unusual about the circumstances of Maverick's death, but if he did it's not mentioned that I saw. Sounds to me like Black Maverick was in a graveyard (not an unusual place for someone in the Midnight Squad to be) and dropped dead of a stroke. It happens. Why are we here?
Mission Three
There are some very nice suprises here, and some very aesthetically pleasing elements. This mission was short, but almost cinematic in its appearance.
The natural light effects combine very nicely with the mobs in this mission.
Mission Three: Constructive Criticism
1. General comment:
Ravenessence says "hon" a lot. I think it would be possible to give her a unique voice using more than just one or two words - her manner of speech begins to grate on my nerves by the time mission three rolls around. Couldn't imagine having her as a contact for a whole arc unless I got to fight her at the end.
2. Mob navigation error(?):
The spectral servants got stuck in the doorway. I have no idea how you would go about fixing this or if you would even want to - the text within the mission suggests to me @SupaFreak might be aware of the problem and might have incorporated it into the story of the mission. Very well.
Mission Four
Not much to say here. Solid gameplay experience, but little to comment on that I haven't said already or won't say below. Very nice custom mobs - it's clear a lot of effort went into choosing them. Everything has a description of some sort or another, which is nice.
Mission Four: Constructive Criticism
1. Gameplay:
I had a Shadowcaster and Disciple of the Mind pretty near camping the entrance door. Combination of psi damage, mez, and heals made this a very frustrating gameplay experience. I eventually managed to take them down, but not until I got held and murdered a few times and had a couple of frustrating near-wins until one of them healed the other or itself (not sure which).
2. Minor clue text issue:
Plural of Shaman is "Shamans" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shaman).
Mission Five
The handy warning and the inspirtation tips in the mission five intro were appreciated - and are definitely appropriate. The fog inside the mission creates a very spooky feeling - especially with the glow of shadowmancers in the distance.
I knew I had problems though when Shadowjackal faceplanted three times on a lone Mastermind powerset mob in the beginning of the stage.
I got sufficiently frustrated that I phase-shifted to squid form and ghosted the map to find the final boss. Travelling around, I found that the mobs were equipped with hold/mez (I think) effects that locked me up quite a few times - and any fights I got engaged in were frustrating due to the extensive use of Dark Powers, which make it pretty hard to hit anything.
I eventually found the final boss, fought him, and died.
So I ghosted to him again, fought him, and died.
So then I developed a strategy, ghosted to him, fought him, and died.
Just didn't have the damage output to overcome his regeneration and other abilities. So I logged onto my main, transferred some inf around, flew to the Black Market, and gleemailed some inf and recipes over to Shadowjackal.
Then Shadowjackal crafted every temporary power in the game except the crappy common attack ones.
(If this image had a sound to go with it, that sound would be insane, maniacal laughter.)
Then I had him go to Wentworth's and buy a bunch of large insps. Four purples, two blues, a green, two reds, and I had a small purple on hand.
Blew the small purple on the way back to the final boss (got held in the cavern).
Final battle was epic. I summoned a PPD ally, buffed up like crazy, and charged in there like Gandalf at Helm's Deep. (I think it was Helm's deep, anyway).
The final boss didn't stand a chance. Stomp stomp stomp with all of my temporary powers and such. Very gratifying after earlier frustrations.
Conclusion
This is an extremely well crafted arc with tremendous attention to detail. The color coding, the architect's knowledge of the maps, and the clever usage of architect mechanics makes this a tremendously entertaining arc to experience, generally.
The strongest negative feelings I had about the arc came in the later levels, when it became significantly less solo-friendly. One could argue in the new AE climate of today that solo-friendliness is (sadly) pretty integral to player-friendliness.
In later levels, I kept flashing back to Kidou's "Guide to Making a Balanced Enemy Group" thread. I felt as though there were a lot of holds, mezzes, and -tohit powers flying around on minions, and eventually this drove me to just ghost to the objectives in the later missions, because each fight was a slog to get through if I could make it at all. I was reminded of the suggestion to substitue "Dark" powersets for something else like "Fire" in order to minimize player rage.
This could have to do with me using a Kheld I rarely usely to solo the mission.
This could have to do with me having the difficulty set at +1.
I recognize that mission difficulty is a philosophical consideration up to each author - but the frustrating experience I had in the later levels of this arc made me think about going back and altering my own arc a bit. I don't have any holds and not much -ToHit in my arc, but I have a few "challenging" ambush spawns that were fun to make and made me feel good when I made them... but which may just not be right for the player experience.
I also kept having questions. Some of them are listed above. Another question that kept coming to mind was: Who are these benevolent spirits? Where are they coming from? What are they doing here? What is their purpose? Perhaps this will be explored in future content. If so, nice tease.
I look forward to seeing more from @SupaFreak - and I believe some of his innovative approaches to mission design may become the standard for the construction of quality missions. I may try to apply some of what I've learned from playing his arc in my own mission design.
Ultimately, summing together the entire experience: The detailed narrative, the high-quality color-coded objectives, the intricate and clear description of the storyline through the use of clues, the clever use of game mechanics, and the detailed cahracters and costume designs, I believe this arc to be among the best 5% in the AE system. It is clear that a tremendous amount of hard work and storytelling elbow grease went into the contruction of this arc. Therefore, I give it a rating of Five Stars.
My debut arc: "Nothing to Worry About Nothing to Worry About [SFMA][HLMA][CFMA][HGMA] ID # 500325
My second arc: An Epic Tale: Clown Capers ID # 501562 Arc Forum Thread (Feedback/Reviews/Constructive Criticism Welcome)
Wow... what a very nice review. I don't feel the arc deserves that long a review, but I thank you nonetheless.
Also, while I appreciate the comment about this arc in the "Top 5%"... I fully realize this is just "your opinion" and some may find it in the "Bottom 5%"... I realize we all have different tastes. I just hope people realize the effort put into it and can appreciate it for that alone.
The first thing that comes to mind... and I will add it to my notes up top. +0/x1 with Bosses off is suggested if you are below or in the level range. IO'd 50s can push the limits higher and I capped it at 27 by design so EX'd get to keep pets and tier 9 Primary Power.
Also, I do not try to answer all things for the ones that read and try to make sense of everything, but here are some "suggestions" pertaining to some questions you and PW presented.
Maybe the interference in Dark Astoria is "fluctuating" in different areas at different times?
Maybe that's why different teams cannot get on same wave of communication?
Maybe Xeronyx was able to get a short request for help to the Midnighter's Club since they're not in Dark Astoria?
Again, there's going to be a lot of elements I "want" to leave up to anyone reading.
Especially in an intro arc with a mysterious group and occuring in Dark Astoria.
Now, on to Bleak_Wanderer's feedback on issues I may need to address.
1) Signal - I agree, though I never thought about the wording being that off. Will go into a update later today. (I have AEnvasion to attend)
2) Tenacity - Yea, that went in first re-write of NPC dialogue and been meaning to change that to "audacity" as you mentioned... just other things stood out more in need of attention to me.
3) Brother Dayless' interjection - I'm not too keen on how I have it written and like your suggestion better and with spacing. (that page is at 980ish characters, so...)
4) Ravenessence - I'll hafta double check to see if I overuse her use of "hon". This NPC I created is loosely based off a real-life acquaintance and a word she does tend to use a lot. I often find it endearing.
5) Mobs stuck in doorway? - Odd, never ever had that happen to me yet. Guessing it's a unique error.
6) Mission 4 Gameplay Comment - If you were indeed on +1, things can get out of hand quick for pretty much all archetypes. This is not really a +1 friendly level range, especially combined with a custom group who have some dark (-to hit) powers. Turns them into +2s or worse if not dealt with quickly. And I'll argue Kheldians (IMO) are the least epic AT and seriously need looked into. Probably not the best AT to try this arc with unless IO'd and EX'd.
I spent more hours than I care to imagine (maybe 40ish) to get the dark custom critters as balanced as I could for all ATs and mix and matching them for different encounters. Keep in mind, no enemies within have any form of status protection.
The main boss enemies, anyone with KB is going to walk all over them.
I've tested them against over 25 powerset combinations and various ATs at +0/x2 with Bosses on with me EX'd (sometimes on second build with 0 enhancements). Kheldians I've found to be the most frustrating... especially Peacebringers. The limited Terror & Confuse does not turn off "offensive" toggles, which IMO helps and gave me the okay to add that challenge.
Getting the jump on certain ones can turn the battle in your favor quickly. As the player progresses through, they should determine which one gives them the greatest fits and get them under control as fast as they can.
Thank you so much for taking the time to give the arc a try and the "above and beyond" review. Giving reviews are one of my weak points, but returning the favor in playing your arcs will not be.
PEACE!
Added: Questions related that I can answer or my hopes the dialogue "should have" been more clear on.
Q: If Black Maverick died of a stroke as Xeronyx seems to believe, and if Xeronyx is in charge of the investigation (as he seems to be), why are we investigating Black Maverick's death in this manner? Isn't this more of a medical, rather than supernatural question? Sounds to me like this problem calls for an autopsy, not the Midnight Squad.
A: Taken from the unaltered Mission 1 Intro Dialogue:
"I'm heading up an investigations effort to gather evidence on recent paranormal activities here and any possible link to the death of one of our members, Black Maverick."
So, yes... some Midnighters who knew him suspect something paranormal or extra-ordinary.
Q: Another question that kept coming to mind was: Who are these benevolent spirits? Where are they coming from? What are they doing here? What is their purpose? Perhaps this will be explored in future content. If so, nice tease.
A: Yea, they are mysterious aren't they? It's probably one of those elements that will be discovered later or left totally up to the reader. The #1 goal of this arc was this: Uncover the mystery of Black Maverick's death. Now you know the "who" and "why" they did it... my guess is Villainside arc will gain more insight on their motives as they seek out those sympathetic to their cause.
Updating that the first Villainside arc (which happens after Black as Midnight) is now Published and Looking for Feedback...
Arc - "Dead by Midnight" #502584
PEACE!
Note: Not looking for reviews at this time, please. But if you try it and something stands out as needing attention or lacking in story... I'm all ears.
Regarding "Dead by Midnight" #502584 by @SupaFreak
There's now a password on final mission pop-up to leave in comments.
From now until July 3rd, 2011 at midnight EST:
1 lucky winner will receive a Respec Recipe
Up to 4 will receive 20 million INF each
Up to 5 will receive 10 million INF each
As my way of saying thanx for taking the time to give it a try.
Hey, if the system can't reward you properly... I will! (or at least up to 10 of ya)
Be warned... it is Villainous!
(and it shouldn't take more than an hour even if you read)
Quote:
When servers come back up, I will do this, probably with Cinderwatt my Fire/Elec Brute. If it is a good mix of XP/Tickets/Challenge, and, to me, most importantly, interesting story, I will probably end up wanting to give you a reward |
Originally Posted by SupaFreak
Regarding "Dead by Midnight" #502584 by @SupaFreak
There's now a password on final mission pop-up to leave in comments. From now until July 3rd, 2011 at midnight EST: 1 lucky winner will receive a Respec Recipe Up to 4 will receive 20 million INF each Up to 5 will receive 10 million INF each As my way of saying thanx for taking the time to give it a try. Hey, if the system can't reward you properly... I will! (or at least up to 10 of ya) Be warned... it is Villainous! (and it shouldn't take more than an hour even if you read) |
Lisa
So don't wait for heroes, do it yourself
You've got the power
winners are losers
who got up and gave it just one more try
***Dennis DeYoung
Author's Update: 10/19/11
Personal notes: I haved been extremely busy at work as we are gaining major ground in our business partnership and I've been busy relocating / moving over the last 6 weeks (had limited CoH time), but I have been thinking over the approach I had planned for this series of arcs and decided to simplify it even more than I initially planned.
I asked myself, "Aside from me, who are these arcs for?"
I answered, "Duh, stoopid... Incarnates!"
So, I've decided to scrap the initial format...
Initial Plan
(10 missions per line / new contact per part):
Part 1s: 5 missions (level ranges 22-27 / 35-40)
Part 2s: 3 missions (levels 45- 50 / guest appearances)
Part 3s: 2 missions (levels 50-54 / guest appearances)
For a much more intense combat format...
New Plan
(5 missions per line / new contact per part):
Part 1s: 1 mission (level 50-54 / guest appearances)
Part 2s: 2 missions (level 50-54 / guest appearances)
Part 3s: 2 missions (level 50-54 / guest appearances)
Sweet, so I've raised the bar there. So, where else am I raising it?
Enemy Group Difficulties
Old Skool = Easy to keep it solo-friendly.
New Skool = Medium - Hard (with the exception of some Front locations and ambushes during combat) to make it Incarnate-friendly.
Required Combat Allies w/Follow
Old Skool = Balance them at @100% rewards
New Skool = 2-3 attacks max to reduce reward hit, yet still give them flavor and purpose.
Arch-Villain Ranks
Old Skool = Save 1 for each finale.
New Skool = At least 1 per arc.
Q & A
Q: Why the changes?
A: Simple. Architect Entertainment isn't widely popular for text-heavy story arcs. It's in my opinion that a large amount of people want action and challenge in the driver's seat, including me.
Q: Does that mean your missions will be farms?
A: Not that there's anything wrong with "themed enemies" for your superpowered characters to fight, but these will not be easy in the sense of what I've encountered. I mean, you may be able to "farm" the revamped "Black as Midnight: Team Spirit" arc if you aren't put off by certain powers stacking and the occassional Confuse and Fear... but no, I'm not guaranteeing "max tix" or designing the arcs for any certain builds.
Q: How much of a story is there going to be for those who enjoy that?
A: Enough for any one person to understand it all that they will need to read bios, clues and NPC text throughout all 14 missions spanning all alignments. Play just the 5 Hero missions, you'll only know what the Hero knows at the end. Play just the middle 2-mission Rogue arc, and it'll probably feel like you jumped on a PuG. Regardless, I hope to present both a challenge and enjoyable mission experience that feels like it's part of something more grand than what you've just experienced.
The Current Revamps
The redo of "Black as Midnight: Team Spirit" (Hero) as a 1-mission arc is now in Feedback stages. It's basically mission 1 of old with expanded map and elements of missions 2 & 3 in the mix. Old missions 4 & 5 will be reflected in upcoming arcs, since the overall planned story is still the same... just to be presented in a quicker manner. (Yes, I still have old arc saved to file)
I've ran it solo at +0/x8 with the following level 50 (+1)s:
Ice/Axe Tanker
Plant/Storm Controller
Shield/Mace Brute
Ice/Energy Blaster
Ice/Earth Dominator
Spines/Nin Stalker
Traps/DP Defender
FF/Elec Defender
Soldier of Arachnos
Merc/TA Mastermind
Illusion/Emp Controller
Elec/Psy Dominator
Thugs/Pain Mastermind...
Tested with these Non-Incarnates at standard settings:
Level 15 Energy/Time Corruptor
Level 24 Beam/Poison Corruptor
Level 30 Fire/Fire Corruptor
Guest Appearances
"Black as Midnight: Team Spirit" is currently hosting 2 guest appearances.
BrandX as Ally in Front who is after the same Circle of Thorns mage as you. (triggered via glowie)
Aniketos Pium as an Ally in Back who is following a lead on an assassin you're about to encounter. (triggered via glowie)
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't want Tips & Tributes forced upon you... so... if the Collection "Glowie" doesn't seem relevent to what's in Navigation... then you may not want to click it if you don't want to risk gaining an EB Ally or EB Foe.
"Dead by Midnight" (Villain) is going to be redone and renamed shortly.
PEACE!
Author's Update: 11/14/11
Will no longer be editing "Black as Midnight: Team Spirit" unless the name filter bug or something strikes again. (still have 2 enemy names borked due to filter)
I am extremely happy with where it is now, due to extensive testing results:
1) Can be followed as a story through Clues, NPC Dialogue, etc.
2) Can be ran at any level and any AT on standard settings fairly well.
3) Map is linear, no side-tracking or back-tracking.
4) NPC Allies (non-required) help take alpha but not too much rewards.
5) The amount of different encounters makes for a unique experience each time.
6) It's very fast paced after initial room.
7) It's not a complete cake-walk, nor is it overly challenging.
8) I don't have to be */Fire or Melee at x8, just Incarnate.
9) It takes 15 minutes or less, depending on build.
10) That equals a slight challenge, with mucho rewards and a story. Mission accomplished.
And so now I can move on to writing and designing the next one... and playing arcs by others in the mix of the everyday fun in CoH.
What I'm about: Positivity. Please keep overly negative comments away.
A/E Attitude: I play others arcs quite a lot. If someone plays mine and replies and rates nicely, they will get the same in return - guaranteed. My belief is 3 or 4 stars is discouraging during the "shaping your arc" phase. You make a valid story attempt and I'll give you 5 stars and my feedback. My challenge to you is not to "earn" that 5 stars, but for you to "live up to it". I don't find joy in discouraging others.
Other than that, I have no desire or ambition to reach HoF or DC status personally because I want the ability to update my creations at any given time if new features are added.
My other A/E Threads:
Mission: Æxcellence: Sessions with the authors and their creations, including yours if you participate!
Operation: Integration (Tip & Tributes): Listing of arc suggestions within arcs.
Additional Text Colors Screenshots of all the available text colors against the A/E background.
Okay, enough...
The main reason I started this thread was to display what you are in for if you do ever try my series of arcs.
The rest is explained in the picture.
Tasks are color-coded to mimic the way enemies "con"sider.