Bubbawheat

Alright, this is the last one I can get to before the winner is posted tomorrow. This is probably the last one I do on this challenge other than Glazius's since it was requested, fits the theme, but wasn't entered. Onto:

Kill or Cure # 459581 by @Samuraiko

The Villain's Redemption: In this arc you find and then follow the trail of a villain named Dissolution who was denied by the Alpha team when she was 15 then was captured by Rikti and escaped with their knowledge. She used that info to create a virus she planned on using to destroy the entire Rikti race, and all those with Rikti infections. But when you decide to cure her of her own Rikti virus and her Rikti contagion as well, she enters prison with hope in her heart.

The Arc as an Arc: This was a very well written arc, it covers a lot of great elements. Your own actions uncover the clues that lead to the villain, and your own decisions (even if they're technically made for you, they don't feel like a forced decision, they feel like the right decision) and actions help shape the course of the later missions. I did have a few qualms with some of the gameplay decisions, like a couple of the defeat alls, and there were several repetitive glowies and/or destructibles, and in some cases they were all required when the non-clue ones didn't really need to be. I also wasn't familiar with the SERAPH building map and didn't know I needed to go inside the building. But overall, nothing too major, and easily fixable.

As usual, tweets below.

#CoHMA M1: Playing Kill or Cure # 459581 by @Samuraiko
#CoHMA Contact is Rebecca Brinell, the initial Science hero contact from SERAPH.
#CoHMA M1: Ooh, I have Omega clearance, that must be good... oh wait, the arc says that can't be good.
#CoHMA M1: Up against Knives of Artemis to save some data, SERAPH seems to think it's important to save at least.
#CoHMA M1: KoA presence on this outdoor map feels light, like they're all deliberately placed, though some repeated patrol dialog.
#CoHMA M1: Gone around in two circles, still haven't seen any objectives yet.
#CoHMA M1: I defeat Sister Niobe and everyone else leaves... except that they don't. Too bad, I like the last line- I hate when they do that
#CoHMA M1: Even if I had trouble finding the entrance, this is a great map that's not used enough in MA arcs.
#CoHMA M1: Love the database shudown code.
#CoHMA M1: I don't know who hired them, but KoA were looking for Rikti Lab results and DNA data, but didn't get them.

#CoHMA M2: And Gaussian's got my number on speed dial now, or maybe he just looked it up in the red, white, and blue pages- the hero section
#CoHMA M2: And it's Malta attacking the Vanguard base in Grandville? What's next, Carnies?
#CoHMA M2: A couple repeated patrol dialogs, not a big deal though.
#CoHMA M2: Sounds like the KoA are missing word from a team in Steel (or is SERAPH in Steel? I forget)
#CoHMA M2: Boo! ambush w/sapper, Yay! [Consume]
#CoHMA M2: You know, if you wanted to be super nice, you could always make a custom group called <Malta> with all the Malta but sappers?
#CoHMA M2: Reading is FUNdamental - "Take all Malta Operatives into custody" means "Defeat all. Go me :P
#CoHMA M2: Found a rikti computer with Earth computer tech grafted to it. Also Malta were hired by "Dissolution" for a LOT of money.
#CoHMA M2: The Rikti/Earth hybrid tech was previously stolen from SERAPH (not MAGI?) and contact is worried what Malta got from it.

#CoHMA M3: Dr. Brinell is very worried, and can't find info on "Dissolution", but a weird guy on the streets told me about many missing Lost
#CoHMA M3: And I'm in the sewers looking for clues. Wonder if it's reminiscent of the Icari and the Cave clue missions?
#CoHMA M3: No enemies yet, first glowie was a pile of Rikti bones with no clue attached.
#CoHMA M3: Going on a glowie hunt. Going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day. I'm not scared. #YouRecognizeThisIfYouHaveKids
#CoHMA M3: Whoops. Fiddled with a Rikti comp and summoned an ambush on my butt.
#CoHMA M3: Also found a mainframe with the missing files. Not sure how I know they weren't copied anywhere else though.
#CoHMA M3: I thought this was Dr. Vahz's lab. Wonder if there's any significance?
#CoHMA M3: One of the bodies had an ambush... of a lvl 40 Rikti, and several lvl 29 Lost.
#CoHMA M3: Found the important body, but the other repetitive ones are all required too.
#CoHMA M3: Found a note from Dissolution. She was refused by Alpha team @ age 15, now she's back with a vengeance for Rikti, and Lost too.
#CoHMA M3: As a mostly non-combat glowie hunt, I rate this (mission) better than Icari, but worse than the Cave.

#CoHMA M4: Dissolution wants to eradicate all traces of Rikti, and plans on an air-transmitted bioweapon.
#CoHMA M4: And Nemesis conveniently has a weather control station almost ready to go.
#CoHMA M4: Luckily I'm playing a fire tank, I'm sure I'm hot enough to destroy any traces of the virus.
#CoHMA M4: Another defeat all? Not entirely sure why, though a recorded message popped up from somewhere too.
#CoHMA M4: Aha, found a transparent ally standing around. Still neat though.

#CoHMA M5: Dissolution's plan is to open the portal and kill all the Rikti on their homeworld.
#CoHMA M5: But my plan (and kudos for making it *my* plan) is to cure Dissolution of her Rikti mutation, showing here there's hope still.
#CoHMA M5: Yeah, that wand I used so long ago *checks other active missions, sees "Cured 0 of 20 Lost", whistles and goes on my way*
#CoHMA M5: I defeated Dissolution, but still have to "prevent her from opening the portal." Hmm...
#CoHMA M5: Oh, killed the Rikti over on the side to complete (probably a mistake) and the cure worked on her. Now to see what she says.
#CoHMA M5: She returns to Paragon City with hope, and without the Rikti virus carried inside her own body now that she's no longer partRikti
#CoHMA M5: And it has a nice ending. The virus research can be used to find a mass-cure for the Lost.

You can use the custom characters as:
Your arc contact
Hostages
Allies
Bosses

You probably don't need to bother with buying the maps, unless there's one that you'd really like for your mission, or you just want to spend the tickets on anything.

I'm all for discussions and honest feedback - as well as discussions that can spin off from the current arc. Though I would like to keep this a place for friendly discussion and helpful suggestions and avoid feedback that could be viewed as sarcastic and condescending. I would like to thank those who have already played the arc, I plan on trying it sometime this weekend.

All levels of authors are welcome in this group, from beginners to veteran authors. If an arc doesn't seem like it fits your playstyle, that's why I only ask you play at least 2 arcs a month.

As far as Ramification's comment on how much lore plays a factor in MA arcs. I've run into it myself before. A lot of people couldn't get over the fact that I had Council enemies in an Arachnos map - I liked the map, but didn't like fighting Arachnos. I also really like it when someone fits lore details that I recognize into their arc. It all comes down to a case-by-case basis, some things are ingrained into the game that seeing something different, yet still somehow relating to lore, is jarring to a lot of players. When you're dealing with custom characters and known maps to simulate new settings, just about anything goes, but when you use CoX characters and villains, you have to either get them right, or explain why they're not right. It just goes with the territory.

I was thinking about something slightly off-topic, but still slightly relevant to this. I think it would be helpful to change the ratings into a like/dislike system, but leave the star ratings. 1 and 2 stars would convert to dislike, and 3-5 stars would convert to like. Then the star rating would be based on the percentage of likes to dislikes. Something like 90% like for a 5 star, I was thinking about figuring out some calculations before posting it on its own though.

Alright, now that we're up to 5 members, I used random.org to pick an arc for this week, and the result is:

arc ID: 366083
arc name: Another Nemesis Plot?
arc lvl range: 45+
arc difficulty: medium (has a few AV/EBs in it but i supplied 1-2 allies in the mishs to give aid)
arc length: 5 mishs, very long

Now our goal as a club is to play this arc, rate it, and give feedback to Necrotech Master. It doesn't have to be detailed, but at least mention what you liked the best about the arc, and one thing that you think needs to be improved the most. At the end of the week, I'd like to hear from Necrotech Master how many plays, and whether or not he got any useful feedback. Also, you don't have to play an arc every week, but try to at least play 2 arcs a month.

Also, if this grows as I hope it does, I will be offering different levels of membership, based on how much you participate in the club. I'd be happy to hear what might be good incentives. Let me know what you think, and I'm always open for suggestions to improve the club.

Wow, I just realized this part of the contest: February? That's a long ways away. Good luck with it in any case.

I would like this to be something where everyone participates. If you want your arc played and given feedback, then you should be expected to do the same for others. You don't have to pore over the story, just play it how you would play it and give feedback based on your own personality. If the arc isn't your style, just find something you liked about it, and the thing you liked the least about it, give it as feedback and refrain from rating it.

Gold Level Members:

@Tubbius
Arc ID: 351727
Arc Title: Hammer and Sickle of Paragon City
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 30-54
Description: Two former Soviet agents turned heroes, American Hammer and New York Sickle, have gone missing on what should have been a routine clearing of a 5th Column base. Find out what happened to them, and help your heroic contacts stop a plot by the 5th Column to unleash chemical warfare on the Council.

Silver Level Members:

Bubbawheat: A Clone of Your Own? #453091,...
Coulomb2 / @Lethal Guardian: The Blue Devils #468738....
Dalghryn: The Casualties of War #241496....
Doctor Gemini: Welcome to M.A.G.I. #271637....
Eva Destruction / @Archdemon: Until the End of the World #431270...
FredrikSvanberg: Murders in the RWZ Morgue #452144.....
Hero Prime: A Vague Notion #451725....
The Hound/ @Royal: Spawning Chaos #469020....
Necrotech_Master: Another Nemesis Plot? #366083...
Paladin....

Bronze Level Members:

Lazarus (347029)...
MrCaptainMan.
Bad_Dog.
LaserJesus..
Wrong Number (457506)...
Hercules.
Suspicious Glenn (475777)...
Burning Brawler (475246).

Arc of the week:

Week #13
Arc ID: 477906
Arc Title: One Night Bridge
Factions: Council, Crey, Cult of Stars, Awakened Division
Morality: Vigilante
Length: 5 Missions
Level Range: 30-54
Description: The Peacebringer Tracer Brightstar is looking for Vigilantes to help her bring a rogue Warshade to justice. [SFMA][SLMA]

Week #11 and 12
01-11-11 thru 01-24-11
Hammer and Sickle of Paragon City #351727 by @Tubbius
Level 30+, 5 missions

Week #10
01-04-11 thru 01-10-11
Until the End of the World # 431270 by @Archdemon (aka Eva Destruction)
Level 40+, 4 missions

Week #9
12-28-10 thru 01-03-11
Casualties of War #241496 by @Dalghyrn
Level 40+, 5 missions

Week #8
12-21-10 thru 12-27-10
A Very Special Episode #457506 by @Wrong Number
Level Range: 30-54, 4 missions

Week #6
12-7-10 thru 12-13-10
5 stars 3 -> 9 plays
The Blue Devils #468738 by @Flame Kitten (Coulomb 2)
Level Range: 1-5, 5 missions

Week #5
11-30-10 thru 12-6-10
5 stars -> 4 stars, 1 -> 4 plays
A Vague Notion #451725 by @Hero Prime
Level Range: 46-50, 5 missions, challenge

Week #4
11-23-10 thru 11-29-10
4 stars 15 -> 29 plays
The Murders in the RWZ Morgue #452144 by @FredrikSvanberg
Level Range: 35+, 1 mission

Week #3
11-16-10 thru 11-22-10
4 stars 15 -> 21 plays
A Clone of Your Own? # 453091 by @Bubbawheat
Level 30+, 3 missions

Week #2
11-09-10 thru 11-15-10
4 stars 29 -> 31 plays
Breaking The Barrier (And Putting It Back Together) #347029 by @Lazarus
Level 40+, 5 missions

Week #1
11-02-10 thru 11-08-10
4 stars 10 -> 15 plays
Another Nemesis Plot? #366083 @Necrotech Master
Level 45+, 5 missions

Welcome to the Mission Architect Arc Club. This is a club for players and authors alike to play arcs from within our community and increase the quality of arcs through feedback, and increase the number of plays on newer or just lesser known arcs.

To be a member of the club, then you should be willing to play at least 2 arcs a month and give feedback. There will be a new arc every week, but you don't have to play every arc listed. Also, it doesn't have to be a full fledged review, just put at least one thing you liked most about the arc, and one thing you liked least about the arc, be specific, and try to be constructive. Also, please rate at least 4 stars, or not at all, unless the authors would prefer a 5 star rate, or none at all.

If you are an author, then post the arc you would most like to see played and have feedback given. Each week, I will pick a new arc for the club as a whole to play through and give feedback, both in-game and in this thread. The arc will be chosen from a member of the club, and preference will be given to those who have reached higher levels of membership through giving feedback.

The goal of this club is to build a stronger community of MA authors and players, to allow new authors and new arcs to get rates and feedback to improve the overall quality of the MA arcs. The more you participate, the better chance you will have of your arc getting picked to be next.

Currently the membership levels are:

Bronze Level Members: This is the first level of membership which you gain for leaving feedback on your first arc. This gives you one chance at the random number drawing for the arc of the week.

Silver Level Members: This is the second level of membership which you gain for your third week of participation, typically playing the arc of the week. This gives you one extra chance at the random number drawing for the arc of the week, as well as a free silver ticket recipe roll sent to you through in-game gleemail. If you have any suggestions on other incentives, or other requirements, I would be open to hearing them.

Gold Level Members: This will be the third level of membership which you gain for your tenth week of participation. If you have an eligible arc, it will automatically be the next arc of the week.

The arcs keep coming...

Duplicity #85847 by @Soul Storm

The Hero's Fall From Grace: In this arc, your contact is Romulus the Warshade who has been tracking a villain called the Shapeshifter under the radar for quite some time now. Originally he is guarded at letting you in on the information, but then he tries to set you up as the Shapeshifter, and you find out that he's been working with her for quite a while. And in the end, you manage to defeat the Shapeshifter and send Romulus to the Zig for his involvement.

The Arc as an Arc: My biggest problem with this arc was Ballista and his [Detention Field], which made both of his fights - he shows up twice - very long and drawn out. My suggestion is what others have done and make a custom Ballista who has a very similar costume to the Longbow. As for the story itself, it might just be a mood thing, but it struck me as an average story, not great, not bad, but still head and shoulders above most of what's out there.

As usual, tweets below.

Playing Duplicity #85847 by Soul Storm
#CoHMA Contact is Romulus the Warshade (not ITF Romulus) who is a hard-nosed hero who has yet to get his nemesis Psimon Omega.
#CoHMA M1 "Off the Record": Contact warns me that it's all off the record, and I've only got 30 minutes before Longbow arrives.
#CoHMA M1: All I know is there's 2 pieces of evidence that must be destroyed, as well as all witnesses... in 30 mins.
#CoHMA M1: I enter a cold warehouse filled with Council... and questions.
#CoHMA M1: Following orders, I destroyed the first computer without looking through it.
#CoHMA M1: There's a note from a mysterious T.S. saying to search the hard drive.
#CoHMA M1: Romulus claims that TS stands for The Shapeshifter who has infiltrated the Council and has me on their hitlist.

#CoHMA M2 "Rescue the Informant": I had found out about someone held in a cargo ship, this is someone with info on TS and must be rescued.
#CoHMA M2: Big boat, I'm heading to the back hoping I don't overpass him.
#CoHMA M2: The longbow probably should have showed up after the rescue. Was a boring walk back to the entrance. (or not walk at all)
#CoHMA M2: The Informant says all he knows is some information on where the shapeshifter is, that he found on a computer.
#CoHMA M2: And when I return, Romulus berates me for leading the Longbow there... and why am I working for him again?

#CoHMA M3 "Confront The Shapeshifter": Romulus informed Longbow of our arrangement, they don't like it, he doesn't care. Now for TS.
#CoHMA M3: And it's an ambush. Longbow greet me at the door, feels like Romulus sold me out, but it's too soon to tell.
#CoHMA M3: After a frikken insanely long battle with Ballista (stupid force field cage) followed by an ambush, I pull the info from the safe

#CoHMA M4 "Eye for an Eye": I now don't fully trust Romulus, but decide to go after Council on my own to find out for myself who TS is.
#CoHMA M4: I found some survaillance footage of Romulus and a mysterious stranger.
#CoHMA M4: Faced down Vandal and he thinks the Shapeshifter must be posing as Arakhn.

#CoHMA M5 "Defeat the Shapeshifter": Turns out Romulus isn't there, but I know of a nearby Council base where I might find answers.
#CoHMA M5: Not the frikkin Ballista again. Grrr....
#CoHMA M5: Ballista finally defeated (12 min fight), onto Maestro.
#CoHMA M5: Ballista was possibly Nictus infected, and found the real Arakhn in a fridge.
#CoHMA M5: Bah, this is going to be tough, Maestro is a +1 EB.
#CoHMA M5: Found a Longbow Officer in the back, he thinks I'm cool.
#CoHMA M5: And it was the shapeshifter all along - the informant, the Ballista in the Longbow ambush, and she was working with Romulus.

Managed a quick/creepy two mission submission from Tangler

The Cave # 459590 by @ Frija

The Hero's Fall From Grace: The hero in this case is you, well you from a different dimension, or possibly a clone - things weren't entirely clear. You wake up in the first mission with no memories, and the clues tell about a future for Paragon City where nearly all the heroes have been wiped out from some unknown cause. You were the leader of a 7 man team, but now they are all missing and their likenesses comprise the robots you've been fighting, which you find out you also had created. It ends with you finding these heroes, but they don't speak with you and you fight your doppleganger who has turned evil.

The Arc as an Arc: This arc reminds me very much of The Icari for two reasons: The first reason is The Icari's M4 vs. The Cave M1. They are both trying to accomplish very similar goals - you're in a place with no real people in it and you're trying to figure out what happened by finding a bunch of clues. In The Icari, I clicked superspeed and just grabbed all the clues as fast as I could so I could read through them at the end. In The Cave, I had to fight for the clues, and actually read through them as I got them. Also in the Icari, I wasn't sure how all the pieces fit together exactly. In The Cave, when I had all the pieces, it felt like a more complete picture of what happened. Unfortunately after such a great first mission, I was let down by the second mission that raised many more questions, and didn't answer any of them. The second reason is like The Icari, I liked where this arc was going, but in the end, I didn't like how it got there.

As usual, tweets are below.

Ok, I lied #CoHMA Playing The Cave # 459590 by @ Frija aka Tangler on the forums because it's short. (note: earlier tweeted about not playing MA that night)
#CoHMA Contact is my own thoughts, represented by a pillar of Ice and Flame.
#CoHMA M1 "A Strange Place": Apparently I'm in a strange alien place with high technology and no memory of how I got here or what to do.
#CoHMA M1: There's a big sign right in front of me that says "Portal Corporation" I wonder if that's ironic or accidental?
#CoHMA M1: And that seems like an obvious answer to the objective "Find out where you are"
#CoHMA M1: I'm met by hostile Aegians, silver mechs using a lot of the new clockwork costume pieces.
#CoHMA M1: I have found a computer with a news report from Day 7... refraining from reading it until I know it's correct place in order.
#CoHMA M1: I found someone's personal log that claims I helped design these Aegian units, and made an odd choice for their looks.
#CoHMA M1: This arc reminds me very much of the Icari that I just played, but these clues are drawing me into the story much better.
#CoHMA M1: Ok, now this is a great use of the doppleganger. I used a communicator and a ghostly image of myself (in my SG) started talking.
#CoHMA M1: There were six other heroes that had been missing, and I was searching for. Footage shows them captured by the Aegians.
#CoHMA M1: According to the other clues there was an outbreak in Paragon City and most are dead including my team who look like the Aegians.

#CoHMA M2 "You Find Yourself in a Dark Place": Assumption was slightly wrong, the 6 heroes were completely unrelated to each other-on Earth.
#CoHMA M2: I'm walking down a long long cave, nothing to see yet.
#CoHMA M2: Ahh, Tyrant's lair map, and all of the heroes I've been searching for. Time to get some answers.
#CoHMA M2: None of the heroes say anything as they are rescued, and an alternate version of myself is ready to fight.

Just out of curiosity, did you use the Atlas Park fasion show map?

Hippie b-day!

And now to my last requested arc. If you have an arc on my list on the front page that you would like reviewed, feel free to ask. I plan on also reviewing the arcs by Tangler, Samuraiko, and Wrong Number, and possibly another one or two if they have only a couple plays. But first, an arc by Mirror Man that's not about the Galactic Protectorate

The Icari # 458576 by @ Unknown Hero

The Heroes Fall From Grace: In this arc there is a well known Supergroup called the Icari consisting of five members and led by Patriotic Man. I play a rookie hero (caps at level 25) who is acting on her own, primarily using a website called ParagonNews.com. The Icari have their powers stolen from them from the Circle of Thorns, and some unnamed and unmentioned power gives them back their power in exchange for the body of someone that (I'm guessing here, pick one: was close to them, betrayed them, had power over them) and rescues them after their defeat at my hands. The characters are all fleshed out very well, each with their own personality, motivation, and backstory. Unfortunately with limited text space, there wasn't enough room for an explanation of what was really happening. If I tried to explain the plot, many sentences would end in "for some reason." At the end of the day, it is a tragic story, but it leaves me with a fist full of "why"s.

The Arc as an Arc: The strong point of this arc is the characters. Unfortunately, that is also one of the downsides. With five characters in the story, each with their own voice, motivations, personality, backstory, and text color (which is very helpful at keeping them straight), there is just a little too much to wade through. Like the first mission where you rescue each member in sequence, which involves a lot of running around and backtracking - it would help if maybe one of the characters were removed, and to remove some of the chaining, like rescue the leader first, then the other four (or less) in any order, followed by the boss.

There is also a non-combat mission which consists of 15 glowies on a multi-floor map (the cool demon-destroyed lab, but it also obscures some of the glowies in the final flame-filled room) with nothing else. I can understand that it's an attempt to set a mood of being completely empty and not knowing what happened, but in reality it's me clicking on superspeed and listening for every glowie, clicking like mad until I find them all, hoping I don't miss any and have to backtrack, then reading all of the clues at once at the end. There needs to be something else there, robot sentries, either ones that fight, or even ones that don't fight and just give information. Just something besides glowies.

Finally, while I understood the gist of what was going on, it was through filling in a lot of blanks and just plain guessing. I like the idea of what you were going for: all of the clues told bits and pieces of all of their stories, but in the end there were too many threads and pieces that I just couldn't fully piece together. For example, some of the things you find from Patriotic Man: a wedding photo, a couple other photos of him with other women, and the body of his wife holding their photo. Was he cheating on her? Was she jealous? Why did her death restore his powers. I'm not even sure she died by his hands. Who offered him back his powers? By the end of the arc, I was left with five characters that were very interesting to me, but I wasn't sure what really happened to them.

Sorry if I was a bit long-winded on this one, it's a sign that I liked where the arc was going, but I didn't like how it got there. Tweets below as usual.

#CoHMA Trying to play as much of The Icari # 458576 by @ Unknown Hero aka Mirror Man on the forums before heading to bed.
#CoHMA The contact is my computer, which I use to look up various news sites and whatnot. Always love working for myself.
#CoHMA M1: On the news site I see that Maestro and the Council have attacked Atlas Park, and the hero SG the Icari are there to help. Me too
#CoHMA M1: Hmm... the mission caps at 24, and uses the meteor Atlas map, I wonder if Shivans will come into play?
#CoHMA M1: Map seems awfully empty. Lots of yet-spawned objectives, or just purposefully empty-ish?
#CoHMA M1: The Icari are here, but in trouble. I find Patriotic Man first, the leader. (Who apparently can't handle a little Council attack)
#CoHMA M1: Crap, I'm now off to search for the second member of the Icari who chain-spawned off the first. How many are there going to be?
#CoHMA M1: Four down, this one says it's the last Icari, probably not last objective though.
#CoHMA Not as bad as it could have been - hostages were easily seen, and Maestro was it after 5 hostages.
#CoHMA M1: The Icari got all the credit for the Council's Defeat. When I was brought up, they all responded with varying degrees of dislike.

#CoHMA M2: I had grabbed a meteor fragment off of Maestro, and it's now pulling me off in a direction that has led me to a CoT base.
#CoHMA M2: Somehow I'm supposed to find 5 obelisks and defeat the ritual leader. The first one showed me an image of an Icari by a diff name
#CoHMA M2: Each obelisk is tied to one of the Icari along with their secret identity. And the leader Minos wants to get rid of them for good
#CoHMA M2: Minos claims the ritual is complete and the Icari are now powerless. If not for the level range, I'd think this was the 2nd chal
#CoHMA Just out of curiosity, I typed Paragonnews.com, the source my Hero has been using - completely unused, someone snap that up now!

#CoHMA M3: And now the Council are attacking the Icari where their alter-egos live.
#CoHMA M3: I just love the fact that Patriotic Man's plainclothes come nowhere near to covering up his superhero costume.
#CoHMA M3: And going through the building, it seems all the Icari have done something or other unsavory.
#CoHMA M3: I jumped the gun a little, a couple of the clues aren't something bad.
#CoHMA M3: And I get a high tech device off Council leader that's acting just like the meteor fragment.

#CoHMA M4: The device is actually a remote log-in to the Icari Supergroup base, which is currently on fire.
#CoHMA M4: It's the destroyed tech base with the footprints. Slightly overused since its release, but always fun to hop down the vators.
#CoHMA M4: Holy Shazbot! I just realized there's 15 glowies to find across the whole base. No enemies yet, but only in 2nd room.
#CoHMA M4: Still no enemies and 1 clue to go. Though several bodies were in one room on fire making it hard to find them.
#CoHMA M4: This fills in a lot of story, though it was rather boring. I'm all for non-combat missions, but not empty map + 15 glowies.
#CoHMA M4: Long glowie short - all 5 had demons in their past, they have been removed, and the Icari's powers returned. Sounds bad...

#CoHMA M5: I'm in a warehouse fighting the evil versions of the Icari, it's a nice sectioned off warehouse map so no doubling up.
#CoHMA M5: And if I had any doubts about the Icari being a reference to Icarus, it is removed by the last words "My wings... are melting".

I think I like Acoustic Assault the best so far, all nice work though.

This is the second, and probably last re-playing of an arc for this year's competition. I plan on playing as many of these as I can and posting my final thoughts before the winners are announced, and analyzing what I saw and vs. the winner(s). Anyway, onto

Unfair Trade # 373846 by @ Lazarus

The Heroes Fall From Grace: This arc was originally written for the second challenge, and has your contact without his powers. He has hired your help to discredit and capture a couple low-rent heroines: Flambeaux and Polar Shift, in order to steal their powers. But at the start of the arc, it mentions that Flambeaux has already started down the path of Vigilante, and they have been bickering amongst themselves. But by the end of the arc, nothing has really changed in either of them, other than they are now powerless. There is the possibility of Flambeaux wanting revenge, but it feels like an empty threat.

The Arc as an Arc: Aside from the challenge aspect, this is a solid and well put together arc. I enjoyed the bickering between Flambeaux and Polar Shift, as well as the good use of maps to convey that bickering without having more accurate tools at our disposal. The plot also didn't fall to the contact betrayal cliche I have seen so often in the MA. There was good bits of humor, and just a generally solid arc.

As this was a replay, and there weren't any major changes to the plot, I had a little fun with the tweets, as you will see below.

#CoHMA Replaying Unfair Trade # 373846 by @ Lazarus
#CoHMA Contact is Maxwell Hauser, can't remember if I made a "Good to the last drop" joke last time...
#CoHMA I'm playing my character Afrogator, and I have a feeling his personality is going to seep into the review... at least the tweet half.

#CoHMA M1: It's true the 'Gator spent some time in the Zig, but don't get me wrong, if Maxwell needs some help, the 'Gator is here to help.
#CoHMA M1: Especially if the 'Gator can wet his whistle at the same time. What's one safe deposit box as long as the 'Gator keeps his share.
#CoHMA M1: Ahh, Flambeaux and Polar Shift, the 'Gator remembers them well, and is none too fond of either of them.
#CoHMA M1: Aww, the 'Gator was hoping for a catfight. They did fight, but they spent most of the time hatin' on the 'Gator.

#CoHMA M2: Oh yeah, this is right up Afrogator's alley. The 'Gator needs some footage of the two heroines... leave it to me.
#CoHMA M2: This is the second arc that has a reference to TPS reports - the other? Papers and Paychecks by @ PW
#CoHMA M2: And the footage has been found. They did indeed continue their catfight after the 'Gator left. Must check for torn clothing.

#CoHMA M3: You may not be prettier than Ackbar, but if gator's know one thing, it's a trap, and Flambeaux and Polar Shift ain't gettin' away
#CoHMA M3: Maxwell asks, and the 'Gator delivers. Two hotties out cold... you can't buy lines like that.

#CoHMA M4: Maxwell's havin' a party and the 'Gator's invited. Two hero donors to get back Max's power. Though the 'Gator smells a trap.
#CoHMA M4: He got the power of fire and ice now and picks a name like Maxwell Demon? The 'Gator does not approve.
#CoHMA M4: And everything works out nicely for the 'Gator! I suppose Max did alright too.
#CoHMA looked back and the arc doesn't seem changed much from last time, maybe just tightened up. Still fun.

Geez, you just keep cranking them out, don't ya?

And I'd love to see the Ghost Widow pumpkin lit up.

edit: so *that's* what that little scroll bar on the bottom is for :P

I don't remember any complaints when this aired. Though then again, I don't think I was looking around for it either.

Oh, and I'm not a huge Glee fan - I've enjoyed the few episodes I've seen, but I'm definitely catching this episode - as a fan of RHPS.

Sorry I wasn't able to make it, it was my wife's birthday but I should be there this week.

Hoping no more last minute/unadvertised submissions pop up as I continue with

Papers and Paychecks # 298290 by @ PW

The Player's and Villain's Redemption: In this arc, you decide to give up a life of crime for an honest job at the Crey Corporation. But of course Crey is not a dull job, and you have your share of office fights. The final mission is presented as somewhat of a moral choice, and it also covers an NPC who has followed your career path and made her own moral decision to turn on Crey - who is making Crey-Z glue from people. You can turn her in to Crey, returning to your life of villainy, or let the 15 minute timer run out, siding with Jenny the NPC and cementing your role as a Rogue (I'm guessing, as I chose villainy) Of course, if you do choose villainy which is the "success" choice in the mission, there isn't any redemption at all for the player, and the arc then relies on the redemption of Jenny the NPC. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem like a villain in the first place other than working for Crey, so that's not much of a redemption either. In a way, the entire arc could be looked at as the player's redemption, but there's a chance that it is undercut at the end if you turn in Jenny and get the Villain ending.

The Arc as an Arc: As with most of PW's arcs, this is filled with funny dialog, an interesting story, good mechanics, and just packed to the brim with stuff everywhere you look. I think it's a little bit of a stretch that you keep seeing some of the same people through every promotion, but even though that doesn't work as a story, it works for the arc. Maybe instead of having the same mailroom clerk in every mission, he could have a different name (even though they could all look the same) and just be a different mailroom guy. Aside from that minor quibble, I thought this was a great arc as usual.

Good luck in the contest, tweets below as usual!

#CoHMA Playing Papers and Paychecks # 298290 by @ PW
#CoHMA contact is Crey Agent Manning, a 20 year vet training the new recruits, aka me.
#CoHMA M1: Apparently I've decided to give up a life of crime and go to work at Crey Industries.
#CoHMA M1: And my first job at Crey is to label some boxes. Sounds fun!
#CoHMA M1: Warehouse got raided by Longbow, and a Manticore Task Force led by Fusionette. Time to see if brownnosing pays off.
#CoHMA M1: Shipping labels seem to be references to PW's other arcs, nice touch, but I think I got it because I already knew about them.

#CoHMA M2: Hopkins, my warehouse boss wrote me a letter of recommendation and now I've got an office job shredding documents. Joy!
#CoHMA M2: And this office is being attacked by Paragon Police. Geez, it's like this is a daily occurence or something.
#CoHMA M2: Apparently I'm not the stellar office worker, as I have the need to photocopy my butt.
#CoHMA M2: Found a motivational poster: Your cubicle might not be so great, but it beats being put in jail!

#CoHMA M3: And my path up the fast track continues as I'm promoted to R&D working on some experiments in Brickstown.
#CoHMA M3: The experiments have escaped. Looks like they're working on something with Devoured Earth and/or Hydra DNA.
#CoHMA M3: I "convinced" Dr. Summerfield to include me in the credit for this research.
#CoHMA M3: For some reason, Jenny keeps getting promoted alongside me.
#CoHMA M3: I have a feeling I will end up attacking something I'm not supposed to in mission 5 causing me to get fired.
#CoHMA M3: Even though Dr. Summerfield complained about my actions, I got the notice of Countess Crey, in a positive way.

#CoHMA M4: And now I'm a member of middle management, with an assistant and everything.
#CoHMA M4: Whew, no mayhem running around here... though everyone is suspiciously named "Automaton"...
#CoHMA M4: Status meetings went ok with Ken, but Barbie got a little uppity and had to be taken care of. As well as that pesky Nemesis Plot.

#CoHMA M5: And now I'm all the way up to Executive Vice President... though if I see Jenny again, I'll feel a betrayal coming on.
#CoHMA M5: And my first job as Executive Vice President? Downsizing the Crey-Z glue project, with whatever force is necessary, of course.
#CoHMA M5: I had it backwards, I end up betraying Jenny, who blew the whistle on the Crey-Z glue operation. Crey-Z glue is PEOPLE!
#CoHMA M5: Of course, I could have let the 15 minute timer run out, not giving up Jenny, but what else is a villain supposed to do?
#CoHMA M5: And the mission pop-up is set up to follow like the morality choice missions "Your alignment is now: Villain".

That was kind of a mini-awards, and by March they weren't nearly as popular as the earlier ones, so I didn't see any reason to disallow those previous winners. The 2009 winners and other nominees are pretty much, if not all disallowed due to this year's date published limitation.

The correct ID for that one is:


Repercussions #458165 by TsumijuZero

I remember searching for it.