SSA SPOILERS: He's WHO?!
I must commend the Devs on the reveal, however. Hidden in plain sight all along.
|
They could easily pull the same trick with any other hero or villain that's under a mask and jump suit. Like manticore, if they showed him out of suit without telling us its him we'd be equally as mystified as we were with 'Jean'.
I dunno, it's clever and it isn't. It was only an unknown to *us* because we've never seen him out of his costume.
|
I now will forever think of Malaise as a person who has a life and does things like go buy jewelry or hang out in the back room of a bar in the Rogue Islands. Previously, he was 'that guy in the awful costume whose deal was that he could share his crazy'. Sadly, it humanizes him more than most of the Phalanx.
THAT is a rant for another thread, but only after I go through WWD3 on hero side.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
Which was the point; Shalice recognized him instantly. But I like the fact that someone many of us have seen, fought and teamed with was the 'mystery man'.
I now will forever think of Malaise as a person who has a life and does things like go buy jewelry or hang out in the back room of a bar in the Rogue Islands. Previously, he was 'that guy in the awful costume whose deal was that he could share his crazy'. Sadly, it humanizes him more than most of the Phalanx. THAT is a rant for another thread, but only after I go through WWD3 on hero side. |
It is a nice trick, I admit, but it's a one trick pony, they really can't use this ever again without feeling completely cheap.
I also think the current devs are going to start pushing to use the signature characters more and flesh them out. Manticore has gotten a lot of exposure via the Twinshot arc and now with this episode. I honestly kind of like getting to talk to them more, like with the Origin of Power arc, so we can see them as characters than as just these mythic figures that pop up in important missions for tag-along cameos and boss fights.
At least that's kind of what I assume why they went with the name 'Signature' story arcs, that they involve stuff with the Signature heroes, like how they run the Signature Taskforces, etc.
Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
Which was the point; Shalice recognized him instantly. But I like the fact that someone many of us have seen, fought and teamed with was the 'mystery man'. |
Current Blog Post: "Why I am an Atheist..."
"And I say now these kittens, they do not get trained/As we did in the days when Victoria reigned!" -- T. S. Eliot, "Gus, the Theatre Cat"
Thought for the day:
"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment."
=][=
You know, I was perfectly okay with one of the Phalanx being killed (I'm stilling calling it as BaB), but these arcs are starting to become borderline ridiculous. I'm okay with Villains being villainous and getting away with their schemes, but it makes the Heroes (especially the PC) look sloppy and idiotic.
They're ALWAYS, I repeat, ALWAYS one step behind the Villains in every sense, even when it's clear it's a trap. We still don't even have the slightest idea WHY any of this is happening even though we're over half-way through the arc. Again, I've not a single problem with the idea of Villains winning or someone dying, but it needs to NOT feel like either Stupidity Is The Only Option or Failure Is The Only Option.
And why is it the Villain-side ALWAYS gets the shiny stuff (temp powers and story info)? Is there some reason Heroes can't get a damn thing?
Also, if the end result of this SSA arc is that someone dies because the heroes are one step behind the entire way, then I think it's only fair to demand an SSA where the Heroes can trounce all over the Villains in a similar fashion, Longbow-style if necessary. There's telling a story, and then there's this...
He'll either drive her mad - cue Heroes fighting her and trying to find a way to restore her sanity. Or he'll attempt to override her and then we've got extremely unstable psychic, possibly capable of mindriding (wonder if mindriding would work on States with his 'mind of a god'?) on our hands.
|
And they probably will.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
And why is it the Villain-side ALWAYS gets the shiny stuff (temp powers and story info)? Is there some reason Heroes can't get a damn thing?
|
Also, if the end result of this SSA arc is that someone dies because the heroes are one step behind the entire way, then I think it's only fair to demand an SSA where the Heroes can trounce all over the Villains in a similar fashion, Longbow-style if necessary.
|
I get why the Devs like co-op content. I get why co-op zones need a particular heroic slant. It's easier to justify villains doing heroic stuff than heroes doing villainous stuff, after all. But that doesn't change the fact that it's not really co-op content. It's blue-side content that villains are allowed to play through as well.
I, for one, appreciate that the SSA doesn't make it feel like someone kinda-sorta forgot that the red-side exist and shunted them in at the last minute. The SSAs might not be the hight of storytelling, but at least it acknowledges both sides.
That blue-side players are all up in arms about this, amuses me to no end.
(on a side note, villains SHOULD be ahead of the game for the majority of the run, only to get defeated at the very last second. That's how we like it! Though I guess the very idea of the SSA is that we're not, this time.
![Frown](images/smilies/frown.gif)
Thought for the day:
"Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment."
=][=
The moment Jean said "You are next." is the moment I knew I wouldn't be playing any of the other SSAs, because what you describe is probably what's going to happen. I simply have no interest in seeing that. I've had enough of characters being tortured and dehumanised to pander to the public's bloodlust.
|
Also, anyone who did it Redside. Do we know WHY they wanted Alexis dead? Was there any reason given?
Always? How about 'for once'? Can't we just accept that for once there's a story arc that isn't tailored specifically and exclusively to heroes that maybe villains get to tag along for out of pity even if it makes no dang sense?
|
I get why the Devs like co-op content. I get why co-op zones need a particular heroic slant. It's easier to justify villains doing heroic stuff than heroes doing villainous stuff, after all. But that doesn't change the fact that it's not really co-op content. It's blue-side content that villains are allowed to play through as well.
I, for one, appreciate that the SSA doesn't make it feel like someone kinda-sorta forgot that the red-side exist and shunted them in at the last minute. The SSAs might not be the hight of storytelling, but at least it acknowledges both sides. That blue-side players are all up in arms about this, amuses me to no end. (on a side note, villains SHOULD be ahead of the game for the majority of the run, only to get defeated at the very last second. That's how we like it! Though I guess the very idea of the SSA is that we're not, this time. ![]() |
As I said, I'm not against the idea of Villains getting to win or being ahead of the Heroes, but it's fairly obvious in these arcs that blue-side is forced to be idiots because the plot demanded it so, and we're also getting only half the story too (Villains get all sorts of info dumps, heroes are left scratching their heads and wondering WHY any of this is even happening)
Basically, the devs passed blue-side the Idiot Ball and are forcing us to hold onto it. If the CoX 'Status Quo' of sides not having a distinct advantage over each other is supposed to be maintained, I fully expect an SSA after 'Who Will Die' that would entail the Heroes getting to kick the crap out of the Villains in retaliation for this overly-elaborate plot designed solely to KILL a major character.
Again. I'm not against the arc itself. I want BETTER WRITING FOR IT.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Presumably, because she's an OBJECT of affection for another man, and an OBJECT of responsibility for another man besides that. Alexis is a plot device, essentially, which makes her death extra undignified. I guess the story is shooting for gritty realism, but I'm starting to develop road rash from so much grit in games these days.
|
Yeah, suddenly I have no problems with the way Longbow is written anymore. I saw a few posts in this thread alone about how bad Ms. Liberty and Longbow are. Now I have zero issues with it.
actually I'm fully expecting the next SSA to take place *inside* Sister Psyche's psyche. Think like the Praetorian mission you go inside the Seer's psyche to eliminate the shadow of Tilman.
Really? Who?
Alexis is irrelevant to the 'Who Will Die?' title. They can kill 10 other background characters if they want. One of the 'big name' heroes will die. |
And yeah, I'm pretty concerned about where Psyche's going, considering a lot of her recent portrayls have been pretty unflattering...
I think I'll know if I'm going to hate it as soon as I see the loading art.
Out of curiosity, while playing the Redside version of this episode, did anyone else get a message that they had defeated Proton, after defeating the three Shining Stars in the last mission? Proton wasn't there, but I seem to have defeated him anyway?
-This Space Intentionally Left Blank.-
Play villains. As always their arc explains and features more stuff.
Play villains. As always their arc explains and features more stuff.
|
(That and I suck at writing villains. They all wind up anti-villains)
Yeah, sorry, my terseness was frustration with how much all these blueside arcs look like villain ports.
I think I'll know if I'm going to hate it as soon as I see the loading art.
|
The Shining Stars and whatever Dr. Graves' cadre of idiots is called are in a lot of new content. It was disappointing, but not surprising to see this. Every time a new writer sits down to write, he or she makes new recurring characters that show up everywhere. Take, for instance, Faultline and Fusionette. They showed up in I8's Faultline remake, then they were almost everywhere in I10's Rikti War Zone revamp. Then Praetoria showed up, and for a while everything we got had to involve the Praetorians in some way or another.
Once upon a time, players complained that none of our contacts were memorable and none of the named bosses were meaningful as they didn't show up again after being defeated. This was somewhat rectified as far back as the I1 arcs where Crimson and Indigo have lots of personality, Melvin keeps showing up, Moment keeps showing up, Nemesis makes several appearances, C'Khelkah turns up a few times and so forth. However, it wasn't until Faultline that we had characters who showed up across a huge level range and "levelled up" with players, as it were. For instance, when Fusionette first shows up, she has a regular tights costume, but when she shows up again in the War Zone, she's sporting Vanguard gear.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of this, for the simple fact that if you don't like the characters to begin with - and I don't like any of the Shining Stars beyond Twinshot - it starts to wear on you. It also makes the world feel much, much smaller. Once upon a time, if a hero needed to become involved in a story, that was a hero of the city with his own story and past, but it was a different hero every time. That's to be expected in a City of Heroes. With this many, running into the same one twice should be rare. Even on bank heist, you still had a pool of heroes who could turn up to stop you, it's not always the same one every time.
Now, though, we seem to keep running into the same heroes over and over and over again. Why? What's so important about Twinshot and her wacky miniboss squad that means they have to be in EVERY mission where a non-signature hero is required? You'd think in a city this big with this many heroes, you'd occasionally run into someone you haven't met before. But no, it's always Twinshot and the Shining Stars, because they're the current fad.
I want to point out that this really isn't a big complaint of mine. Recurring characters are not a bad thing. I was happy to see Duke Mordrogar show up as a CoT possessed mage, I'm always happy to see General Aarons show up in missions that concern matters of national security and I appreciate having Akharist turn up again and again to address matters of magic. If the cameo is rare, or it makes sense, it's always pleasant. If it's just for the sake of ramming familiar faces down our throats, though, I'd like to pass. This city should have more heroes in it than just those five.
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
The point is that the trick only works because of the medium, which makes it cheap.
|
My powers of foresight tell me it will have boobs.
Eva Destruction AR/Fire/Munitions Blaster
Darkfire Avenger DM/SD/Body Scrapper
Arc ID#161629 Freaks, Geeks, and Men in Black
Arc ID#431270 Until the End of the World
Am I the only one who had bigger problems with Dillo than with Manticore? Granted I was playing on a Dominator, but he wiped me more than Mr Red Batman.