Bubbawheat

Re: Kheldarn - pshh, semantics.

Also, did you see the new forum section for Going Rogue? Just above the For Fun! section.

Come on now, 2 nominations guarantees its spot in the finals. Any more than that just robs other good arcs of nominations. Arrow Rose and Dalghryn are welcome to change your nominations. Also, if any arc later becomes a Dev's Choice, you are free to change your nomination, or leave it stand. As it was nominated before becoming a Dev's Choice.

Like the subject says, I'm looking for a good map that has tightly clustered boss spawns *and* has a fantasy type feel to it. I'm making a mad tea party themed mission and I'd like to get some good screenshots from it. I've tried the Katie Hannon witch's cave and Johnny's Hell, but they spawned spread way out from each other. Thanks for the help.

I was going to do this in honor of February being a short month, but I decided to have a little bit of a buffer between the contests to hopefully not lose too much interest. This month's contest honors the short arcs, with a category for one mission, two missions, and three missions. So bring on the short arcs!

Best Short Arc

• You may not nominate your own arc.
• You may nominate one arc for any or all categories - those with one mission, two missions, or three missions.
• Please do not nominate an arc with: A Dev Choice arc, A Hall of Fame Arc, a previous Player's Choice win.
• In your nomination, provide the arc ID#, the title, author's Global name, and a short (50 words or less) explanation why you're nominating the arc.
• You may use your nomination to "second" any previous nomination. This will guarantee the arc's spot in the final voting. Nominations past the second are not needed.
• Nominations will be accepted until March 19th at 11:59pm EST.
• Nominations will be narrowed down to five entries, or every nomination with a "second", whichever is larger. This will be done by myself, and at least one other judge - to be named later.
• Voting will be held in a new thread posted as soon as possible and will be open until April 12th at 11:59pm EST.

One Mission Arcs

*Finalist* Storming Citadel #379488 by @MrCaptainMan
The Extadine Lab #2595 by @Vanden
Jabberwocky #1573 by @Rodion
Don't Freak (Customs Version): 384769 - @Gypsy Rose
Eagor to Please - 169260 @Gno Man


Two Mission Arcs

*Finalist* Becky's Revenge #60197 by @New Age Ronin
Death to Disco Arc ID 84420 @Wrong Number
Poi, Demonology, and Everything I learned from Hellions #164235 by @londerwost

Three Mission Arcs

*Finalist* Drakule vs. The Werewolf Bikers From Hell #340316 by @LaserJesus
PENGUIN #29205 by @Tubbius
The Missing #37636 by @Shadow-Rush

Undeterred by February's competition-

Well, I was a little deterred.

*Ahem* Only slightly deterred by February's competition, I have persevered-

I suppose I didn't really perservere through anything, just continued on as normal.

Slightly deterred, but continuing on after February's competition, I give you a sneak peek at my March entry. Prepare to be awed-

I don't think they're really going to be awed.

Prepare to be mildly entertained.

That's better...you know, if I keep talking to myself, people are going to think I'm crazy.

Wait, who am I talking to?

(most images removed due to better shots a few posts down)

I was disappointed that the I17 UI upgrades did not include the team search function, though I still hold hope that it will arrive with Going Rogue (gotta have a different way to search for vigilantes and rogues)

honestly, I think this would be a perfect situation for a contest. Prize? costume codes and/or character titles. I'm sure great stuff would result.

Forgot that I meant to give this a new post, but I also recently made my fourth costume slot for my Blaster. Her third costume slot got rid of Fat Stripe 2 in favor of a total body wooden match style costume. This fourth slot goes the same direction, but more fitting with the Burnt Matchstick name.

Now that the voting's over, I feel the want to share my opinions of all the entries. (note: these are my personal opinions, and as such, reflect my random and arbitrary tastes. (order comes from how they are listed in the DA section.))

Christopher Robin: Generally, I really love his style. He does amazing work with just a pencil. But this is not his best work, admittedly (coming off a fever, I don't blame him, but I gotta vote for the work) Pros: nudity - always a plus. Cons: the blushing in pencil looked more like a rash to me.

U-Naught: I really liked the concept - a Zig pin-up calendar, and I thought the character was well drawn, and I have used that top on a couple of my favorite characters. Pros: concept, details. Cons: Wasn't much of a pin-up pose, and the character herself is more quirky than sexy.

Crestent: I won't say much about this because it was a super-rush to avoid elimination, and it shows. Hope you're able to put more time into it next time.

Drunkfu/Toxic Shia: Love the pose, concept and style. I'm glad Shia's humor made it in, even if it the suggestion came from someone else. This was definitely a close contender for my vote. Pros: most everything. Cons: Um... I guess I didn't really like the gun at the bottom.

Caemgen: I'll be honest, I didn't read it other than the first couple lines, which I thought were funny. And I feel for him, being art-handicapped myself. Pros: original concept Cons: not visual.

Derango/Frost: Another contestant sharing my own art-handicap and going with a different style. Pros: It's very professional looking and quite funny. Cons: The silhouette wasn't quite suggestive enough to say pin-up for me personally.

Eddy Swan: And another contestant doing a rush-job. Again, it shows as I really like a lot of Eddy's other works, but this one really feels rushed to me. Pros: Great job of making the concept work, and making it hot. Cons: Lacks the detail and polish of your other works.

HeozArt/Lousy Day: Another great work from a lousy artist Pros: Really captured the classic pin-up feel and had a lot of whimsy to it. Cons: You couldn't give any panty-love to the pin-up? And more randomly, the cloud looked (unintentionally) like a FArt cloud.

ImplicitBookcarrier/Tartyrsauce: Another fun entry from Tartyr. Pros: really liked the Ono/Lennon recreation, and love the look on Mako's face. Cons: But didn't like the expression on Ghost Widow's face. Also, looked a little like Mako was trying to hump her.

JohnnyKat: (My 1st place vote) I love the look of the Carnies and I'm glad to see them represented. Also loved the wordplay of Carnival Cruises, and it's an art style I really like, along with the parrot and pirate hat which seem random, but somehow fit perfectly. Pros: Art style, Carnie, pose, concept. Cons: The winking eye looks a little odd when I look more closely.

BattleWraith/FrozenDeath: Great piece of art with a lot of fun humor in it. Pros: loved all the touches of humor, even the random clockwork hula hoops, the pose is really great and it's a shame he dropped out of the competition. Cons: I just couldn't get past the creepy look on the kid's face. *shiver*

PyroNympho: I hope I'm not sounding repetitive when I say this, but I like the style of this piece. Pros: I like the clean lines and the look on her face. Oh, and nudity... Cons: ...Though I thought the breasts might be a little *too* big. And I wasn't a big fan of the overall pose.

HappyDan/Bindweed: Another really great concept with the classic WWII pin-up style poster. Pros: love the look on her face and the overall concept. Cons: I agree with Caemgen, I thought the way the legs were cutoff was a little off-putting for me. There's nothing wrong with it per-se, but it was just a little off for me.

brthieme/Clutch: (My 2nd place vote) The hands-down winner of the competition and it shows. From the style, to the concept, to the technical skill, it's an all around great piece. Pros: Everything, the colors, the look on Dominatrix's face, the extra pair of panties. Cons: The only thing I can really find (and I hate to do this because I did it before on another fantastic piece by Clutch) is Dominatrix's breasts seem a little mismatched.

Juggertha: Another amazing piece with a great concept and great artwork to go with it. Pros: very funny concept which brings up a lot of fun questions. Cons: Lib's panties are missing the crotch, and the letter seems like it should be handwritten, but it's obviously a font.

Bubbawheat: I thought this was a big step up from last month's entry, and I really liked how the pose in the lower left shot looked like a stripper act starting up. I won't say I'm not a little disappointed that I didn't get hardly any notice at all in the competition. A couple comments and one third place vote (thanks again Johnny) Pros: A bit of humor and what I thought was a decent concept. Cons: Not enough "art" for a fan art competition I guess, and could use more variety in the costumes or characters.

ScooterTwo: I thought this was another big step up from an upcoming artist. I thought this is his best work yet. Pros: really loved the pose on this one, very unique but still sexy. Cons: The couch seems a little flat, could maybe use a slight angle to show it off better.

There's still time! I'm only 75 points away from first place!

Update: Got a new poster for my Matchstick Women arc from Soul Storm. Love it!

Got a new poster for my Matchstick Women arc from Soul Storm, check it out!



Also, adding a few costume pics in a couple of my character posts.

If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.



And *this* is how you do the cabbage patch!

Today's review is an unofficial runner up from the first Aeon's Challenge. I say this because even though it didn't win, it did snag itself a Dev Choice a few weeks later. This is the first review I'm writing after writing a twitter review. Well, I guess it's more like the notes I write anyway, along with funny comments (glad you liked the Longbow one). Anyway, partly because of the dev choice, and his Pro Payne project running all of my arcs, and the fact that he requested a review, I ran Coulomb2's

Purification # 352381 by @ Flame Kitten

My contact today is a scientist who sends me off to investigate a Devouring Earth attack. There's also a note that this ties into an official arc which I either haven't played, or don't remember. Didn't hamper my enjoyment in the least though. The map is the green fog map and the popup says the DE have already released a toxin into the air. I rescue three hostages, the last one I find in a body bag, though she's only injured, not entirely dead. I also run into a group of Crey all wearing hazmat suits and talking about containment. I compromise the leader's suit and he completely freaks out and warns about an outbreak. Afterward, I find something signed by Countess Crey about an N4 virus.

Long story short, I find out that the Crey have been bioengineering basically a Rikti flu virus into something more deadly to the Rikti. Unfortunately, they found out that it has also become deadly to about 1% of the human population as well, ones with the blahblah protein. I find this out by first going to a secret Crey facility to find the research on this Rikti flu and to hopefully find an antigen. I do, but I'm not sure if it works so I take it to a very well respected scientist (in a mission with well done non-combat elements in the beginning - which I love) to find out it it will work on the version that the DE released (and are calling "Purification"). He tells me that it should work, so my next mission is to test it out on the sick and rioting prisoners in the Zig which have been infected by the captured Crey from the first mission. Unfortunately, the ones that seemed to have no symptoms to begin with got very sick and died. They realize that the 1% of humans with the blahblah protein who were susceptible to the Crey rikti flu are the ones immune to the DE rikti flu. And on top of that, they are deathly allergic to the Crey rikti flu cure.

Evil for the greater good: So the final mission comes the choice, the lesser of two evils. We can release the cure into the water supply to cure everyone that is infected by the DE rikti flu, but kill everyone who would naturally survive. Or I can let the hostage (a hero mentioned in mission 3) be defeated and ported to the hospital where she will tell everyone what the cure really does. I chose the needs of the many and rescued her (into Crey hands) I still have to complete a few minor tasks to release the "cure" into the water supply, and feel the weight of millions of people who will die - which is put into perspective in a very well done mission complete clue, be sure to read it before talking to the contact the final time. It honestly hit me in the gut, and that speaks volumes for a mission to do that.

Congratulations on the Dev's Choice, this is a fantastic arc.

I've started on my first idea. I'm not sure how well it's going to turn out though. And I'm also not sure how many people are going to jump on the mad tea party. We'll just see how it goes...

Sounds interesting, I meant to post in your last thread, but forgot about it. You can take a stab and most any of my Burnt Matchsticks except the blaster. Link's in the sig.

Started Purification a couple days ago and finished tonight. Retweeting my as-I-go thoughts while playing, mostly my attempts at funny comments about what's in the arc, will write a formal review within the next few days. Posted in reverse order since I just copy/pasted.

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M5: Wow. Absolutely read the mission complete clue before clicking the contact. Really hits it home.
about 1 hour ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M5: I went with the needs of the many, but still have to find the sluice computer.
about 1 hour ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M5: heh, she said "fellows"
about 1 hour ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M5: Decision is spelled out in hostage bio. She dies (failure) and tells what the cure does. You give her to Crey, and serve the cure
about 1 hour ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M5: Dilemma - pour cure into water supply - save 90k, kill 1k? Or refuse to act, leaving 90k to die?
about 1 hour ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M5: breakdown- Crey Rikti-flu (Z3N4) kills 1%, DE Z3N4 kills 99% but 1% immune, Crey Z3N4 cure saves 99% but kills the immune 1%
about 1 hour ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Jimmy was a preacher, and the leader of the riot.
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Apparently, while I'm tweeting, Longbow are "treating" the sick prisoners with the antidote: their rifles.
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: reminder - if you use the Zig map in your arc, inform people of the sewer grates in the back. Theres someone that's never seen it
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Halt! In the name of love! I mean Longbow!
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: Objective - Defeat Jimmy. Jimmy Olsen? Jimmy Smitts? Jimmy Johns? Slim Jimmy?
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: so I'm testing the cure on the rioting prisoners. Wonder how "sick" they'll look?
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M4: What? Riot in the Zig? You must be joking! When does that ever happen? ... oh wait, nevermind.
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA *cue exciting music*
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Me- so what's the good news? DS- the antigen works and we have enough to treat everyone in the area, but we must act quickly!
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Doc Sheridan- I've got good news and bad news. Me-Gimme the bad news first doc. DS- The virus is lethal and spreading quickly.
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Crey and DE are both attacking the lab! Must defeat Sanchez and the Herald, their respective leaders.
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA wall of ambush/patrol text!
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: Ooh, non-combat doctors are roaming around, though the popup warns of possible DE activity.
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: And now I take our antigen research to Dr. Sheridan. Who wants to guess that he's being attacked by DE?
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M3: So - Crey got the Rikti Flu, turned it into Rikti killer flu and mini-human killer flu, DE got that flu and we may have killerflu
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Apparently, Crey were engineering a virus to use on the Rikti, and ended up making one that worked on a small percent of humans.
about 2 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: He also told me that the hostages released, and the containment team captured might have infected... lots of people.
about 3 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Hmm... found Dr. Blithe, he gave me a code: 273174, sounds like an arc ID.
about 3 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: Apparently I have to have the password that was given to me last mission "dawn on me" instead of merely typing it in right away.
about 3 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA resuming where I left off - Purification by Coulomb2
about 3 hours ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Time to check out the Crey's Folly lead in Dr. Steven's clue. Apparently it's a Crey base no one but Crey knows about at the moment.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M2: the injured hostage and their nurses are now in Quarantine and the two other hostages probably should be as well.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: found an encrypted disk on Dr. Stevens (Crey Boss) signed by Countess Crey herself, talking about some N4 and a DE attack.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: fought the boss (Crey in a hazmat suit), destroyed 2 containers, now to find the elusive 3rd container.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Nice, three hostages. Ground level I led out, Second level went out on their own, and third hostage was in a body bag, badly wounded.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Defeated the Harbinger (not, of sorrow) who spouted lots of doom and gloom about the coming Purification.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: Map is the green fog map, and first mob had Blackroses disguised as trees and untargettable. I didn't know they did that.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA M1: recovering some mutagens from mobilized DE, and I only have 1 1/2 hours, which I wasn't warned until accepting the mission.
2 days ago from web

Bubbawheat #CoHMA Purification # 352381 by @ Flame Kitten, aka Coulomb2 on the boards. From Aeon's Challenge # 1 and recent Dev Choice.
2 days ago from web

I'm surprised, I didn't miss any on my list, though I didn't have the full details on all of them. Seems this contest is a little bit less popular than the last one. Still a little time for a few entries. And of course, however many entries were made and not advertised for either contest.

No one said we're "losing" legacy tails, just that you would have to reselect them under "lower body" instead of "belt" the next time you do a costume change.

I appreciate Caemgen sharing his thoughts on all the participants. But I can see why no one else does.

BTW, is there any way we can get the February entries on the front page of #CityofHeroes instead of the January ones?

Some statistics so far, through Larissa's votes (just keeping score at home, and I like statistics. These are not official, I won't be revealing any early results, and I only counted Scooter's first set of votes)

Total points so far: 222
Point difference between first and second: 35 points
Point difference between second and third: 3 points
Total points from the lower half of the participants: 11 points, or 5% of the total votes.
If we only had one vote? Every place from 2nd through 9th place would be different

I compiled a shortlist in my Aeon's Challenge review thread, but this one is a lot more detailed and nicely formatted.

Quick review time!

Clan Destiny ID# 349053

I ran this with the MA superteam earlier today, so I lost a lot more details due to the speed that we end up running them. We have time to read the briefings and they copy the return texts, but it still moves pretty briskly.

Our contact is a member of an elusive group of seers and precognatives called Clan Destiny. They see a future where the Rikti completely overtake our planet. And instead of trying to fight against this future, they resign themselves to it and are working with the Rikti, getting a portion of the US to themselves in return. Of course, you don't find this out until mission 4 I believe.

Evil for the greater good: Before this, we go on a few fetch quests for some components that the DE are stealing to create a bomb, which we steal ultimately for Clan Destiny to use as insurance against the Rikti. Unfortunately, this act of evil is immediately superseded by the fact that we then go after Clan Destiny themselves in retaliation. I forget how it ultimately plays out, as the arc we played are running together a bit now, though I do believe that the contact does get away at the end.