Captain-Electric

To answer you briefly, yes, my stake burning comment was a metaphor. But "frothing at the mouth" is hardly an accurate description of what I imagine fuels runaway threads like this. I rather think it's the opposite. Calling people outright liars or accusing them of sexploitation, to the contrary, is often posted thoughtlessly and there is no room for metaphor there (have you read this thread?); and yet these things seem perfectly socially acceptable here. I'm not so much defending the devs here, as I am defending maturity, and the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned: I still think empathy is cool.

There are some technical suggestions in my last post which you seem to have glossed over. I'd much rather turn our attention back in that direction, as this little aside of ours isn't likely to cover any new ground. You are welcome to PM me with any further grievances over my exceedingly dramatic use of metaphor.

I'd like to see an official contest held, for players to submit short history pop-ups for every statue and associated plaque in City Hall's entry hall. Plaques in Paragon City are supposed to be clickable, and every new player clicks those plaques too, I'm sure, and I think after all these years, it's time for those mysterious memorials to have stories. A hero memorialized by City Hall is a hero who put the safety of the people above their own. What better way is there to tell their stories, than to let us help tell them?

I'm sure this idea has been suggested before, but I don't remember seeing anything in the couple of years I've been around. I was going to post this in the suggestions forum, but it's more than just a game design suggestion. It's something for role-players, lore hounds, writers and would-be writers, and just plain old fans. When's the last time Paragon Studios had a contest that involved creative writing? Not since I've been here. What kind of fictional hero would you memorialize, if you had the opportunity? What qualities would their memorial celebrate?

City Hall and the FBSA offices downstairs are the heart of government in Paragon City and together they represent the titanic level of trust that Primal Earth's American government places in the hands of its heroes. But the memorial to Cassiopeia also shows a recognition by Paragon City that heroism transcends national boundaries and governments. It's something more.

With everything coming down the pipeline, I think we could use a few more reminders of that in the heart of the city.

I'd like to see that too. I think a lot of us would. I'll take Golden Girl's winky as a hint that she's heard something positive in that department.

You need to dust Manticore off.

No worries, tanstaafl.

For what it's worth, I would be happier if they found a way to get the majority vote up above the forums, my personal preference means squat here. I think they should widen the margins on either side of the forums, so that the full images that ya'll voted on can be placed on either side. Zwillinger has expressed reluctance to change the user experience we're all used to, but to be honest (from a widescreen perspective, especially), usability experts recommend wide margins to cut down on side-to-side eye movement anyway. The mockup is a great example of a design that's easier on the eyes, Zwillinger.

(Edit: I'll add that I often resize my browser window narrowly to read these forums on my 23" monitor instead of maximizing the browser window like I normally do elsewhere. It's not awesome to read whole paragraphs that stretch into single thin lines across my monitor.)

I meant everything I typed.

Whenever I suspect I'm with a newer player (and a badge check confirms it), I'll often not explain or inquire about anything at all. I'll simply restrain myself a bit and play a more supportive role, offering to answer any questions, and doling out my attacks sparsely, and allowing the player to feel like they're contributing in a more than minor way. I've never stopped to ask myself if this was the best way to do things. I think it's quite obvious that people want their new digital creations to feel like super heroes, and every single new player I've accompanied in this manner has expressed their enjoyment of the game and a desire to team up again sometime.

The only thing that smacks as disingenuous is the collectively spoiled rotten tantrum in this thread. Yes, the requirements illustrated by the mockups should have been checked (I still think Zwillinger is jumping on someone else's grenade). But after all of the victories we've had in community participation recently (Edit: "we've" as in, us and the devs together) (hello and hello and hello), I find it remarkably petty that ya'll are ready to burn whoever's responsible for this minor goof at the stake. Good luck with that. If the community here wants to be all Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when plans hit a snag, that's fine if all you're wanting is to send Paragon Studios a message that community participation can be perilous.

Bless the mind too small for doubt.

I can visit the forums just fine on my Android phone, except for some side-scrolling and the inability to log in--I can only read. When I try to log in, it thanks me for logging in, but then returns me to the forum without actually having logged me in. But as far as load times, it's already very impressive and pops right up (even when there's no WiFi around!). I was pretty surprised by that. But yeah, a cosmetically simpler design without the need to scroll would be even more awesome.

And, I just want to say, that I absolutely love the banner design that we ended up with. I understand and respect that it's not the community's first choice. But those of us who do like it, we do exist, even if we've been drowned out. As someone who still reads super hero comic books in the modern era, I assure you that the action-oriented imagery above is more representative of the genre and more like something you'd see on the cover of a Marvel comic book. I've noticed many of the people who are complaining, and remember many of them from David's "What costume next?" threads, and I know many of them have emphatically stated they're not fans of the comic book super hero genre. It's something I've been scratching my chin over.

Whether it's the image above, or issues supposedly related to sexism, I've noticed a vocal group here who've got a problem with the comic book genre, a genre that me and many of my friends and co-workers are fans of. I appreciate the emotion ya'll are pumping into what you see as the good fight, but I also think there are more productive channels for what you're doing, which, basically, is activism. Maybe you should be marching outside of Disney's or Warner Bro's offices, or posting on their forums. I'm not sure if it should even be considered appropriate for you to "march against comic book themes" here, for the same reason you probably wouldn't appreciate angry parents marching right inside your video game store while you were trying to shop. I'm a patient person, but honestly, this is starting to grate on me. Even if members of Paragon Studios are sympathetic to your concerns, we'll never know, because their publisher, NCSoft, expects a profit and an artistic direction that is sympathetic toward fans of the genre as it actually exists, and certainly not its detractors.

I had strolled past the theater in King's Row before logging out the night before, so I saw them a few hours after they appeared. My roommate and I were checking them out a week ago and we've been wondering how long it would take for a thread to pop up.

My roommate plays the Atlantic Titan, a character that is supposed to be a water elemental.

(Yes. Joke. )

And you are correct, Doctor Who is produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The Doctor first appeared in 1963, the same year the X-Men first appeared.

Coincidence?

COINCIDENCE???

(Sorry. Joke.)

Doctor Who originated from Gallifrey.

Edit: Also, boy does he ever get around. (Look at the release date on that, kids! )

If you want a direct answer from the devs regarding this, watch the Google+ Hangouts recording where one of the fans brought it up and was answered very plainly.

Unfortunately, you'll discover that it doesn't really add anything to have it explained in excruciating detail. This is a wink-wink in-joke that lots of sci-fi properties have slipped into their shows and comic books.

Edit: To answer the burning question, yes, they consulted the legal department before placing this asset into the game.

Short and sweet and full of CRIME FIGHTING AWESOME.

Was on a full RP team on Virtue, and we really enjoyed the interaction with the Freedom Phalanx and witnessing the interaction between Penny and Clocky. It was awesome how the Freedom Phalanx genuinely needed our help and worked with us to figure things out.

The only snag we hit was when BAB got stuck inside the geometry of a hill in Atlas Park. Everyone was bummed, until I enabled Super Speed and pressed F for follow at full speed and super-twirled around him until he came unstuck.

Hey. It's what I do. I'm a super hero.

LEMONADE LAUNCHER MAN and PUNCH POURING MAN are COMING SOON to a HORRIBLY PUNNY MISUSE of the WATER BLASTER power set and THINK TANK costume set NEAR YOU.

"What's that yellow--OH THE HORROR IS THAT...?"

"It's lemonade! Mmm! Lemonade shooting EVERYWHERE!"

"Are...are you sure that's lemonade?"

"This game is T for Teen!"

*Sigh of relief.* "Whew! MUST be lemonade!"

Well, I'm not arguing against your sentiment, Sam, I'm arguing against the likelihood that your sentiment is worth its weight in profit by comparison to what we're getting now.

You don't like the way they're experimenting with the Market at the moment, and you hope they'll stop. But they have to weigh that dissatisfaction against even harder data, like, "Did we make a profit?" If they make a profit, then people are buying it. In which case your ire might be better directed toward your fellow player-consumers.

If you don't like the style of marketing used by Paragon Studios, definitely let them know. But definitely get other people who don't like it to let them know, too, because (and this isn't meant as a dig) the same faces who complain about every issue's features aren't ever going to have as much impact as the player base at large.

And I don't recommend throwing the "I can never have it ever?" line around, because Paragon Studios never says never anymore, and they have reiterated this with every limited time deal (such as tier 9 sets and holiday-themed costume powers) in recent history. You know why.

This isn't EA style marketing. I can tell you horror stories.

Awesome!

(But not looking forward to seeing really gross color selections. )