Captain-Electric

What is the story behind that? I love hearing about these historic recognitions. I've only been around for a short while, so I wasn't here for most of this stuff. I remember when I learned the stories behind Ascendent, and behind Coyote (I think about that every time I talk to the Coyote character). But I knew exactly what I'd found when I came across an old, half-buried, weed-covered statue of the Avatar somewhere in Perez Park. Now THAT was a character who got around! He was also the reason why, upon subscribing, I chose the Virtue server.

I'm going to pick up on this snippet too, but to tie it in with a wish I've had ever since I joined the game (a year and a half ago, I'm a newbie). It's really cool how the beginning missions are related to characters origins. I wish a few of the big important arcs were written in origin-specific variants too, just the big ones that get a lot of replay, like the cape, aura, and Incarnate arcs.

If we had several variants of the Incarnate arc, each tied to an origin (or whatever, really), there would be a variety of choices. People prefer a variety of choices. I read that on the Internet. Uh. Somewhere.

For the record, this is coming from a guy who doesn't mind replaying an arc have a million times. For me, a different character can make the same arc "feel new" again. But not everyone is like me. And I've only been playing a year and a half. Will the same missions feel new next year? Or two years from now? Maybe, but maybe not.

Just want to say "yep." I have never power-leveled a character, for instance, but I fully support those for whom that is their playstyle (as long as it doesn't involve cheating). It's a huge game with room for everyone.

For which I'm surprised you're not getting more support. Almost all of the players I regularly run with in the game have an assortment of characters that range from gumshoe detectives and street-level vigilantes to super science accidents, cosmic entities, demi-gods and beyond. This is partly a reflection of comic book universes. After eighty years of comic book universes, this shouldn't seem that strange.

My street-level vigilantes aren't going to become godlike just because new mechanics have been inserted into the game. My godlike characters, on the other hand, will be re-affirmed in a sense by these mechanics.

Less than a quarter of my characters will become incarnates, and I know a lot of people who can relate with this. All of Samuel Tow's characters will become Incarnates, and Samuel knows a lot of people who can relate with him. This variety in playstyles does not hurt anyone.

But don't get me wrong. People should feel free to argue about this over the Internet, if that's what they're into.

Psychic Guardian, are you really suggesting that participating in a leveling treadmill or exploit "with a goal in mind" differentiates a player from a cheater?

Major_Control, are you suggesting that rule-breaking behavior should no longer be considered cheating once there is a wide consensus among those players who chose to participate in such behaviors?

You're both of the opinion that abusing exploits isn't and shouldn't be considered cheating. Do you think the devs would agree with your perception of the issue? And does this mean you disagree (with Paragon Studios and NCSoft) about the importance of the risk/reward ratio that has taken them years to achieve and balance? Also, what do you think SHOULD be considered cheating?

You both seem to think exploit abusers (I'll respectfully avoid the term "cheaters" as you requested) should be left alone by "Purity Police", a derogatory term that applies to some players at least. When you use that term, are you also referring to Paragon Studios? Also, do you believe using such terminology is the best, most mature way to present your arguments to Paragon Studios?

Major_Control, you suggested implementing a farming label for mission arcs in AE that are intended to be used as leveling treadmills or exploit abuses. The overall tone of both yours and Psychic Guardian's posts implies that exploit abusers actually feel VICTIMIZED by subscribers who play by the rules and avoid abusing exploits (this is where the term "Purity Police" comes in). This is interesting, because I doubt many of us would have suspected that. But let me turn that around: do you think people who play by the rules may feel similarly victimized by players who DON'T play by the rules and enjoy abusing exploits?

I don't frown on playstyles that are different from mine, but cheating for in-game rewards is extreme enough to peak my curiosity. Major_Control, what motivates you to take these sorts of risks with your account? Experience points or other in-game rewards?

Also, are you suggesting that groups of cheaters, like the one you're a member of, are large (and by extension influential) enough to break the Terms of Service and Code of Conduct with fewer worries than individual cheaters?

If you and your super group (or some other super group) suffered minimal consequences or no consequences after cheating, do you think large groups of cheaters might begin to feel as though they could keep Paragon Studios and NCSoft at a disadvantage? No one's saying it, but that seems to be one of the implications I'm reading between the lines here.

People on both sides of this argument have some points. But this quote of yours is a bit of a misrepresentation of the side opposite your argument. It would have been more accurate to say "..for anyone who does not use AE as it was intended to be used." Paragon Studios has been clear from the start about AE's purpose as a content creation tool. It was never intended to be used as a leveling treadmill, and in fact, such use of AE is counter to the stated goal of Paragon Studios to maintain a risk/reward ratio that has taken years to achieve.

So instead of debating on whether some forumites are overreacting, maybe the REAL question here is whether you think Paragon Studios should revise its stance regarding leveling treadmills (farms).

The introduction of AE and subsequent farms never impacted my playstyle. Such is my stubbornness that I continued to play my way irrespective of any changes to the game. Therefore I'm quite distanced from all of this. And being a neutral party with an unformed opinion, I'd appreciate seeing reasonable arguments rather than misrepresentations.

I remember when I was grappling with all this stuff. Not to sound like "oh, that was just a phase." These are important things to ask oneself about. Not sure if arguing on the Internet will accomplish as much, though I never tried. I didn't necessarily come to any conclusions anyway. I got burned out somewhere halfway through Being and Nothingness (I'm talking about the book by Jean-Paul Sartre, not the Concealment power pool).

Something funny. I wouldn't let machines find dates for me (as many do nowadays) because I want there to be some magic in things like that. And yet, I don't believe in magic. That's humans for ya. And whatever constitutes a human soul, I recognize that my belief in one has precedents. People have believed all sorts of "certainties" which placed us front and center in the universe, only to be informed by meddling science and technology origin contacts that the universe likely HAS no center, and if it does we're certainly off to one side. Our minds, "sufficiently advanced", seem labyrinthine, unsolvable, magical. This is (paradoxically) why I suspect sentient artificial intelligence may be possible some day. It will be those meddling science and technology origin contacts. Our arrogance--er, I mean majesty--is always undone by those fools!

As a lover of fictional universes (including those I create), I've had to contend with surprisingly feisty attitudes, sometimes even from friends and family. So without embittering myself or developing a sour attitude of my own, I've learned how not to keep myself in the firing line of those who can't (or won't) understand these kinds of emotional attachments.

Some people can't embrace attachments to stuff they can't smell or throw a beer can at. It doesn't mean they're rotten people. They're not always JUST getting their ya-yas off by poking your emotional investments with a stick. Some of these folks are genuinely frustrated that you can do something with your imagination that they can't with theirs-- so, best for them to believe there's something wrong with you.

There's great relief in learning to ignore input from these people.

My global name is Captain-Electric on Virtue. Would be glad to have you along!

True stories below.

Sometimes on a slow night, I'll join a team full of d00ds with one of my more personable characters. I'll stay IC, but really give the mission my full effort. And more often than being poked fun at (way more often), I'll receive tells expressing some kind of interest in "some RPs".

The result can be awesome. Two of the most talented roleplayers I run with are reformed powergamers who previously had no idea you could, ya'know, play the game while roleplaying. I've watched one of them go from reluctant and awkward to fully immersed. (I'm not just being nice, here. You wouldn't suspect anything unless they told you about it.)

Our rag-tag group isn't a super group or a static team. We're a few players with a bunch of characters whose friendships and stories are gradually intertwining, usually within the context of the story arcs we fight through.

*Pushes button, trap door opens beneath Blueruckus.*

Yeah, before posting I worried for a second whether he might take it as an insult rather than a compliment.

Seriously though. If I had a nickel for every time someone posted "wiki.cohtitan.com" in broadcast as an answer to someone's question, well, I'd have A WHOLE LOTTA NICKELS, PAL! I use TonyV's site frequently, usually looking up level ranges for contacts or catching up on Task Forces or story arc team-ups I did the previous night.

Durakken also deserves a mention for his work on Cityoflore.com, a lesser-known wiki but just as valuable if you're a roleplayer or just enjoy reading the fictional history. Durakken's contributions seem to have tapered off these past few months and the wiki could use some love, but his Primal Earth timeline already provides a near-complete history in great detail.

I tend to look down my nose at PUGs who solicit me from far-away zones. If someone solicits you from across the city, and doesn't give a good reason why, then they either don't know what they're doing, or are up to something that has got everything to do with their interests, and nothing to do with yours.

Saving other characters from harm is a delicate matter, but one for which I've never been spat upon, and often thanked. How so? Well, I always take the time to look at a few things, those being the character's archetype, powers, level, health and endurance. You can see all of these at a glance. A scrapper with Super Reflexes can have a lot of fight left in him, even (if not especially) with his health bar in the red. Any "rescue" will likely be perceived as an arrogant blunder, and they may even call you names, up to and including "Longbow recruit!". Same for many tanks.

Most blasters and controllers in the red, on the other hand, may just be thankful for the rescue. I always throw out a "Close one!" afterward, and launch briefly into some RP if they're receptive to that (I play on Virtue), and maybe even offer to help them with a mission if they need it and I've got time.

Instead of asking for something in return, I almost always gift them with one or two of the largest inspirations I have on hand. Yeah, eventually I'll come across someone (like yourself) who would have rather perished than receive any help. And my response will probably just be an honest apology. But to date, a few of my best in-game friends have been met in this way.

All of my characters are RP characters, but some of this made me chuckle (because it's true). I often do a kind of impromptu game-mastering with my team-ups. I run with a small, loose-knit group of butt-kicking RPers (no, not the A-team), and most of our RP originates from the missions we're taking and the villain groups we're fighting. Lots of action, but it's not always "RP lite". When I'm the team leader, I'll often pick one or two teammates to focus on for the night, finding ways to work their characters into the story-lines we're fighting through, creating dramatic tensions within (or even outside) the established context of the game's story arcs. So I CAN'T understand HOW we could POSSIBLY hope to push any of our stories forward by standing around in Pocket D for hours on end! Look, to each their own. All the soap opera stars can go have a super group meeting and talk about their feelings, but I'll take some butt-kicking with my RP!

I'll take seconds-- er, I mean, I second this!

(Sorry, was day dreaming about turkey n' stuffing!)

In a shared comic book universe like this, around every corner lies not only a different player's hero or villain, but each player's own internal consistency (or inconsistency, as the case may be), universes within a universe full of ridiculous contradictions. Tying it all together are physical and immaterial laws which I couldn't possibly care to understand, as I'm having way too much fun to care.

Wish you could all be here, but for those of you stuck out there in a more sensible universe, I'll be sure to send a postcard.

P.S. Excellent post, Samuel_Tow. Sensible, but not too sensible.

You wouldn't have bothered me in the least. Are you breaking any of the rules or the code of conduct? No. None of these arguments about spam and politeness are all that important to me. It's about quality versus quantity, it's about whether or not I think our play-styles are a match. You'd be on my ignore list for your benefit as well as mine.

Quote:

I am how ever glad that you restrain yourself from acting like a jerk to SG recruiters.

You should expect to make some enemies. You should expect to be ignored. If you're cool with that, have at it. But with all the troll-baiting and whatever, I don't think many of these posters attitudes are any better than yours. I also don't think unsolicited offers should be a big surprise for anyone. I got over it sometime during my subscription to Ultima Online. Thirteen years ago. And ignore lists weren't even that effective back then (I just couldn't HEAR them while they were stealing from me. Or stabbing me.)

Mmhm. And it's not an extreme thing to do. In fact, it may be the NICEST thing to do for everyone involved. I'm looking for quality, and Hot Head Mike's looking for quantity. And that's fine. Mike and I don't have anything to offer each other, and we'll never have to have an uncomfortable conversation about it.

So if Hot Head Mike is on Virtue, I imagine he's on my ignore list. But not because I have any kind of opinion about him. Certain MMORPG realities were not new to me, long even before I came here a year and a half ago. None of this ever chaps my hide anymore. My ignore filter takes care of everything. It's a knee jerk reaction.

I'll lament your trailer-making absence. I had hoped Paragon Studios would take some inspiration from you, and begin injecting some story-telling flavor into their trailers. Then the Going Rogue trailer launched, seemingly with a randomly stitched reel, besides the classic pan from Cole's speech to the underground (which was epic).

To be fair, your Going Rogue launch trailer was heavy on features, also at the expense of story. But upon a broad comparison (which is hard to avoid making), I feel like you "get it" when it comes to the fusion of comic book drama-action and our MMO here. I mean, those three opening scenes in your Issue 19 trailer, just wow. Drool. Yes. More of that.

No seriously. Please. More of that. People have OODLES of avenues to learn about upcoming features in issues. Where can we go for some true cinematic magic, the kind that gives you the itch to take the blue pill and log in again? So far, you're our only source, Dark Respite!

Hax!!!