Captain-Electric

Isn't it against the TOS to sell game codes?

I don't want to see any of the Freedom Phalanx die.

I even started to understand Statesman's attitude, while reading the comics. There's a reason why a few of the Phalanx members sometimes display petty attitudes and behavior (especially in Statesman's case), they are kind of like the Greek pantheon of Primal Earth, and Paragon City is like their Olympus. It's not an exact analogy, but it's not far from the mark either.

On a side note, see how I wrote that without spoiling any details, maybe just hinting? And I figure EVERYONE should know "THAT" by now. But I'm practicing keeping my lips sealed for all the innocent new arrivals who are soon to come! Come to think of it, I didn't know much about Statesman's origin for the first six months I played. I kind of saw him as a Captain America/Superman amalgam, but boy was I wrong. Anyway, I read about it in Top Cow's first City of Heroes issue, as opposed to reading a spoiler on the forum. Made it much cooler.

More on topic, sometimes heroes in the comics have to die. It reminds us that they have really been putting their lives on the line all this time. It also reminds us that their enemies are serious about getting rid of them. All good fiction builds tension. Comics are no different. You can't have tension without conflict, sometimes dangerous conflict.

When heroes and villains are brought back from the dead, people traditionally grumble and moan, but those have been some of the most interesting and entertaining stories in comics history. You might say, "well, comics AREN'T good for building tension, because they always bring the characters back." This is a popular meme. But it's not true for those of us who've been emotionally gripped by a story arc that was well-written, one that threatened a super hero's life, or the lives of civilians they're protecting.

A good story makes you forget about Fourth Wall concepts like comics traditions, and places you right in the context of the story. This is the pinnacle of "pretend". Good stories encourage us to turn all of our real world biases off at the door, like you would your cell phone at a movie. There will always be people who can't seem to do either of these things. But most of us can sympathize with a hero in danger, who wouldn't be aware they'd just be conveniently written back into existence some day if they die.

When a character dies, you don't know when they'll return, or how they'll have changed. Sometimes, a character might not come back for years. The possibility that one of your favorite characters might not be around for years can build tension. And sometimes, they don't return.

I play for 168 hours every week, is that too much?

This isn't aimed at anyone in particular in this thread. There's a sentiment I've noticed across a lot of threads. To be honest, I kind of think people are overreacting when they worry about Arachnos (and Lord Recluse in particular) being "displaced" by other, shinier villains. For a long time, Statesman and Recluse have enjoyed a classic Saturday morning cartoon tug-of-war that dwarfed the legitimacy of other threats, and made Primal Earth less complicated on its face. But this is an area where it's better to be more complicated.

Most of us are adults here, many of us read comics where Doctor Doom isn't the only villain to worry about. Dark Reign is a perfect example, look at how Norman Osborn literally stole the show. Meanwhile, heroes like Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four have their own signature villains to contend with. The Joker is as much a concern for Batman as Magneto is to the X-Men. Magneto could smash the Joker, but that makes the Joker no less threatening to the citizens that Batman has sworn to protect. Similarly, the Hellions and the Skulls are no less a threat to my "street-level" character Time's Arrow, than Lord Recluse is to Captain-Electric. Because of the game's built-in graduation to higher levels of villains, I had no way of expressing this reality for Time's Arrow until Mission Architect came along.

The point I'm making is-- well, to put it a better way, the hope I'm expressing is that the signature story arcs will give Paragon Studios an opportunity to flesh out ALL KINDS of underdeveloped villains, and give them much-deserved attention.

Some enemies (like the Trolls) may not need to be unnecessarily overcomplicated. But on the same token, many people I've teamed with in-game seem to view the Council and the 5th Column as uncoordinated goons who pose no substantial threat to Paragon City. This is absolutely not the case according to the fiction, so I'm hoping the signature story arcs will allow these villain groups to teach our characters a valuable lesson about the consequences of complacency.

Don't even get me started on Nemesis. He's jokingly been reduced to an in-game meme (though perhaps this is by his design LOL). But go read this bit of history on the official website, and you'll see why I think this villain is capable of doing more harm to Paragon City than Lord Recluse.

On top of all this, I'm hoping that the signature story arcs will introduce us occasionally to smaller threats, "villains of the week", the kind you see in comics in-between standard arcs, or who sometimes serve to kick-start bigger plots (think of Tracer). And as I said previously in this thread, I think the signature arcs pose an opportunity for well-known comic authors to do guest work for Paragon Studios. It would be neat. Maybe an IP cross-over could even happen. Hey, I can dream. Certainly not between CoH and "the big two" publishers, but maybe other franchises like Top Cow, who have a positive history with Paragon Studios.

I started playing City of X in March of 2009. That's how I think about it, anyway. But ACTUALLY, way back in December of 2004, I bought City of Heroes and played it for a month. I haven't touched that old account since, but it is still tied to my master account. I remember thinking this game was AWESOME, but I was invested heavily in another MMORPG at the time. This was also a few years before I started reading comic books again, so maybe I wasn't feeling it as much as I do now. The only character I remember making was a classic fedora-wearing detective with radiation powers. Don't ask me why. That experience was a long time ago and short-lived, so I don't really consider it to be part of my CoH experience. But it will be interesting to log into that account with City of Heroes Freedom and see what happens.

As far as my "real" account goes, VIP all the way.

Some cool links, good reading below (thanks to TonyV's CoH wiki). I know this isn't all official stuff, but it's a lot of things all in one place, in case some of you didn't know.

Paragon Times Archived
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Category:Paragon_Times

Lore, includes everything from Durakken's dead/abandoned City of Lore website
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Category:Lore

Check out Durakken's freaking awesome timeline!
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/In-game_timeline

General Background
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Category:Lore

( Also, Manticore and company's Canon Fodder: Official CoH Lore Q&A is here for anyone who's been living under a rock: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=133915 )

I have a LOT that I could add to this discussion, opinion-wise. (I know, I know, who am I, right?) Fortunately for all of you, I have to sleep for work tomorrow/today. I sympathize massively-hugely-enormously with the OP. But (BUT!!!), people in our camp would do well to learn our lesson, and realize that the Incarnate "WE'LL TELL YOU WHERE YOUR POWERS COME FROM, WE'RE IN CONTROL OF OUR LORE, YOUR LORE AND YOUR MOM'S LORE" fiasco is what happens when writers, overeager, step on the imaginative portion of their audience's toes instead of meeting us halfway. This game is all about creative freedom, but Incarnates is a flop in exactly this category; though it is impressive and wildly successful in other ways.

If you're posting vehement arguments and rebuttals in this thread, you're dorking out bigtime. That's bad coming from me. I'm one of those "internal RPers", often cognizant of the way my characters fit into this world as if it were real. But on the same token, it is a comic book inspired world. It's far more enjoyable if you can separate serious story content from brief comic relief.

Those two characters make a funny joke and punchline. The first time I overheard them was in the Ski Chalet, I'm guilty of chuckling. Maybe it'd be funnier if she actually punched him one of these days. Like, on Valentine's Day. In the face.

It's true that today's adult-oriented comic books handle hot-button topics occasionally. True to form, some of City of X's story arcs are surprising jewels in this regard. But Turndown Girl and Desperate Guy aren't meant to be representatives of anything substantial. Those who see something more are only here as representatives of their own experiences (and biases or frustrations), not Turndown Girl's or Desperate Guy's.

Maybe the only thing that separates Desperate Guy from romance (with someone other than Turndown Girl) is a better shirt and a better attitude. He may need a completely new personality too, and body and face. It's pretty hopeless, but who knows? Turnup Girl, a plant controller, could be waiting right around the corner. Actually IN the corner, talking to the plant. She's so shy! Wait, where was I going with this...? Oh yeah. Deep psychoanalysis of two punny NPCs.

Are you crazy? That dude needs a freaking scarf! With flames. Actual real flames. Put a fiery aura around your head. Tell people it's coming from your scarf. Make sure your helmet is fire-proof. Write it in your bio, otherwise people won't know.

"Serving Independence Port since 2002"

You can see this one right out of the tram station.



Detective Marvel in his hover bubble, wondering if he's hungry enough to eat a kraken.