Dalghryn

You know, I've never chuckled so much while being eviscerated...

This goes to show one thing. You can't win. You have no clue how many people griped when the SOLUS characters *did* help... "They take away my tickets..." "They make me feel less heroic" (Sound familiar)...

There *is* no happy medium, but I'll look at scaling them up or something, depending on whether or not I'm eviscerated by another reviewer or two.

I had a bit of exposition about exactly who the SOLUS Collective are, and another reviewer shot me down for it. I remove it... Bring on the evisceration...

"It doesn't make me feel heroic enough." ::insert heavy sigh here:: You should see it when the NPCs help. Unfortunately, this story doesn't have a happy ending - at least not if I keep it historically accurate. According to the people that count (read: NCSoft and Cryptic) over 200 heroes dies that day. It just doesn't make for a touchy-feely story. Boy, am I looking forward to logging in and seeing *this* star rating...

I'll take suggestions... or maybe I should start reading up on self-evisceration. The Japanese call it sepuku, right?

Edit: For the record, I went ahead and addressed some of this. Rather than bore people silly with some forced exposition about what the SOLUS Collective is, I added info in the first mission brief about not only where to find the CoH story about the Rikti Invasion, but where to find the SOLUS information. I also ramped up one NPC per mission. If I get griped at, I'm pointing them to you. For those that didn't get that Hro'Dath would present a problem, I added a little text to make damned sure everyone understands he is a bad A/V with lots of help.

Oh, and I added text where Lazon tells the player character that the third mission may seem like it's a "'coffee boy' mission," (and I quote) but it's really important, as well as shoring up some other text that may help players feel like they're heroes.

It's a war story, there just isn't a happy ending.

Just for the record, Venture, I may be in the minority, but I understood why you put the decoy bodies in Act IV and thought they were an appropriate touch. I've found that, if you try to satisfy every critique, even if there are more than one with the same point, there are always folks on the opposite side of the table.

After a couple of very insightfull critiques, I've completely revamped the first arc. It is now published under arc #227331.

Also, the following links provide much more detail about the story narrated in "Consequences of War":

Paragon City: Alien Invasion (Official CoH Website)

"The Fall" (SOLUS Foundation Website)

"A Brief History of the SOLUS Foundation" (SOLUS Foundation Website)

Just a few comments re. "Consequences of War."

I unpublished and republished "Consequences... Part 1" as arc #224933 after making sweeping changes based on your comments.

Collaborators are gone in this arc. The Rikti dialogue is toned down (and if anyone has an example of what CoH has as their native dialect - if an example exists - please let me know where I can find it), I've tightened much of the rest of the dialogue and text. There is, at most, only one hero actually accompanying player characters in any given mission, and even then it's limited. Lazon's powers have been toned down. I saved enough space to add some patrols and extra ambushes for realism's sake.

I did remove the reference to slavery because my argument for leaving it would be too much trouble to explain in the arc, however... Soldiers sometimes do ugly things. Our soldiers do, and our enemies' soldiers have done so in the past. There is nothing to say that Rikti soldiers would be any different, especially after capturing a former model in a gossamer suit... for what it's worth.

While I removed some redundancies, I have deliberately left the NPCs as larger than life heroes. That is the point - even they lose in times of war. I have never believed that the Freedom Phalanx, the Dawn Patrol, or other similar CoH cannon groups were the only larger than life heroes in this universe. Besides, it would have been impossible to use them in this situation. Even though the Collective includes some of my characters, the point of the dual arc story is to hammer home the consequences of war - thus the name. Hopefully my technical "tone downs" will allow your characters to feel like they're as much a part of the larger than life experience, while still allowing the NPCs to be what they need to be for the story.

Excellent review, LJ. Hopefully I can address those points before any of the other reviewers I've cajoled... um... asked... to look at my arcs dig in.

And now from the "Give them an inch..." camp...

If you get time to run the second arc, I'd really be interested in hearing your opinion on the totality of the story. You're accurate in noting that the first is a build to the second, and that I did make a strong effort to make sure there was a climax for those that didn't head straight in to Part 2. Getting an opinion on the overall content - especially as it relates to the characters - would be a bonus.

Regardless, thanks very much. Your review was quite fair, and equally helpful.

[ QUOTE ]
...I just wanted to offer a balance to the 'ventures great at spelling, grrammar and syntax therefore he is God of Reviewers' gushing post before mine...

[/ QUOTE ]

[gush] For the record, I ran Police Woman's "Axis and Allies" arc last night and found it just as good as Venture's. Her grammar, spelling, and syntax were spot on, as was her grasp of the technical aspects of the MA, her story-telling ability, and her research -- making her just as qualified to give her opinion on other arcs. [/gush]

See, I'm an equal-opportunity gusher. Now we have both a god and a goddess of reviewers!

Seriously, I wasn't elevating anyone to deity status. Feel free to exaggerate as much as you like if it soothes your bruised ego. Again, just pointing out qualifications that he has, and many others do, that may make his (and their) points a tad more credible.

The MA is far from perfect. The fact is, even the "Official" CoH arcs are full of things that require you to suspend disbelief far worse than the "problems" Eco picked nits about in "Blowback."

When I first read Eco's alleged review of Venture's arc, I'd fashioned a rather lengthy rebuttal that included most every point later made by others. Then I stopped and decided to assume he was being deliberately snarky - parodying Venture's reviews by being unbelievably critical of small points. In my opinion it was a poorly done parody, but a parody nevertheless.

Then came the inane rebuttals to the people that *did* choose to reply to him. I'd love to believe that even those rebuttals are part of some misguided attempt to continue parodying Venture, but even I'm not that gullible.

This simply goes to show that one man's treasure is another man's trash, and it hammers home how bad the five star rating system is. With people like Eco, the farmers, and the griefers making up a large part of the rating public, good material is doomed to suffer from unfair or deliberately malicious rating. You can't tell me that Venture's "3 star" rating on "Blowback" isn't a result of that.

The system still has a long way to go, not only in fixing the rating system, but in adding MA content and technology that will give us the tools to create missions that don't require so much suspension of disbelief - such as the ability to actually create bodies that stay down or ways of giving multiple descriptions to multiple objects created in a single collection event.

For now, we have neither, so we do the best we can. Those of us with a fair understanding of that willingly suspend disbelief when a creator does his best. Others write bad reviews on someone else's review thread.

My wife and I just ran Axis and Allies, so you got two five stars for the price of one. You were on when I commented, and I meant every word. Very well researched, both in actual historical context and in the universe of Paragon City. My wife is a history nut and loved it. I'm an alternate universe buff and loved it.

When time permits, if you could add "The Consequences of War," arc #212069 (and 212073 if it piques your interest), I'd be interested to see your review. In the mean time, review or not, my wife demands we run more of your arcs. I'm never one to let the missus down.

[ QUOTE ]
Um, I don't think anyone's discounting that. Personally, I'm reading your posts as coming across as 'Venture's opinion has more weight than others because...', though. Now, I know that's now what you explicitly wrote, but that's the vibe I'm getting from your wording.

[/ QUOTE ]

Absolutely not. I'm simply saying that his work on his arcs gives him credibility. He doesn't put out trash and he demonstrates certain skills some other reviewers (not all) lack. That's all I'm saying.

[ QUOTE ]
If you really liked his arcs and think they're an example everyone should strive for, great. Do that. However, keep in mind that the MA is being used by a great many people with a great many tastes, many of whom want something entirely different from the system than Venture and/or you. What is a shining example to you may well be the thing to avoid for others.

[/ QUOTE ]

Fine, if some people think it's the thing to avoid, more power to them. It makes me wonder why they play the game, though. After all, since the argument seems to be that Venture's work is *too* similar to stuff we see created by Devs, it stands to reason that they don't like the Dev's work. That being the case, why play the game?

Oh, unless it's simply to either PVP -- in which case I hear WoW is better, or to write arcs that have no resemblence to ones the game's been based on.

It wasn't my intention to become a Venture suck up. But, really, given the similarity of his work to developer-created content, I fail to understand how people can criticize his work while liking the game. Nobody's opinion will make everyone else happy. And, maybe, it's simply that his work and opinion matches mine more closely than *some* other reviewers. The fact remains, since he has been criticized for being *too much* like the devs, there has to be some credibility there.

I know what SFMA means, but what is MLMA?

Wow... I feel like I've suddenly become the lone spokesperson for the Venture fan club, which I fear will bite me on the tucus one way or another -- either branding me a suck up if I get a good review -- or damning me to a sterner review so Venture can prove his objectivity.

Whatever...

For my part, you're right, Jailbird, in that "Blowback" does parallel the Crimson/Indigo arcs. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. As I've tried to point out, the fact that "Blowback" could be substituted for one of CoH's official arcs says that he is competent enough to write CoH quality arcs, which makes him competent enough to review arcs. Most of us would die for a good review from a Dev, a Dev's Choice, so why would an objective reviiew from someone that understands the way CoH does their arcs be a bad thing?

Reviews are free. We all want them so that our arcs will get attention and, thus, more players. One would *think* we'd want them to be somewhat professionally done. Regardless of whether you think is work his somewhat whitebread or not, at least you can say that for him.

Personally, I prefer longer arcs as long as they use their length to tell you more about the characters. I guess it simply depends on what you're looking for in game play. Short stories make their point fast, typically at the expense of characterization. Lengthier stories demand more of your time in order to expand on their ideas and characters. I tend to like long ones. My dad and I used to debate this exact point. He had a huge colletion of short stories. My library consisted of novels. To each his or her own. Actually, my biggest fear in any review is that the reviewer will claim I overdid it. What can I say, I just like more characterization -- something CoH arcs consistently lack.

I think Venture could have fleshed out his characters a little more. I even told him so in my feedback. That would have made the story even longer, which would have been diametrically opposite of what you prefer. Unfortunately, there is seldom a win-win when you create arcs.

Bottom line, as compared with other reviewers, Venture is competent and has proven himself so. His arcs may not be for everyone, but they are solid. That gives him room to voice his opinion with some backing, anyway.

I'm not a big fan of the Malta Group, or of the entire Crimson/Indigo thing. The fact that I actually enjoyed this arc enough to want to see what happened to the characters -- that it was well-written and engaging despite the fact it was Malta -- is what prompted me to write my post. If someone can get me engaged with a group I typically dislike, then it says something for their skill. That's my main point here. And if they demonstrate that kind of skill writing an arc, it gives them credibility reviewing them.

I'm surprised more hasn't been said about griefing. There is a lot of that going on, particularly once you've had several 5 star votes. I'd suggest looking at the fact you're getting primarily 5s and write the rest off to either someone that has really unusual standards, or to griefers.

It's been said a million times, and I'll say it one more -- something needs to be done about the rating system. Unfortunately, I don't have the solution, or I'd be rich... or at least well-liked.

For those of you that may have some criticism of Venture, voicing it either through posts or by rating this thread with fewer than five stars, I strongly suggest you run his arc, "Blowback," before you do. Regardless of whether you're a fan of the Malta Group, the Rikti, Crimson or the other players in his arc, what should strike you is the fact that it is obvious that he is familiar with everything that goes into creating a good story arc. From the use of the various maps and tools available through the creator, to the ability to craft a well-written, engaging story, to a sound grasp of grammar, spelling, and syntax, "Blowback" is a fine example of what people should strive for -- myself included.

There may be some reviewers out there that really have no right to critique others' work. Venture is not one of those.

Oh, and for the record, I don't know Venture from Adam. He has yet to review my arc, and I trust that, when he does, it will not be influenced by these comments. I simply thought it might help everyone trust his judgment a little more to hear from someone outside the box.

AE System to Holiday

I have had to split up the list in order to post a revision, otherwise, I get an error. This is now in two parts.

AE System
--------
[url=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13315151]Mission Architect Playable Tutorial - 28470
Welcome to Architect Entertainment -- Neutral
Death for Dollars! -- Neutral
Bare Knuckles of Rage (9304)
Signal to Noise -- Neutral -- 67277
5th Anniversary Flashback Smackdown -- Neutral -- 126896
*

Allegory
---------
Who is Kidnapping the World's Great Philosophers? -- Neutral -- 86347
*

Character/Supergroup Origins
--------
Birth of a Fossil -- Heroic
Secret Origins(Tech) The Snake Women of Epsilon V (42221) - Heroic
Noah Reborn -- Heroic (2370)
Polar Emergence Neutral Government User Interface Network (PENGUIN) #29205 - Heroic
Jumping in Feet First - Heroic - 1345
Midnight Bells Toll ----Villanious
A Hero is made, Not Born. -- Heroic -- Arc# 20863
A Mother's Nightmare -- Heroic -- #6955
A Rose's Thorns -- Heroic -- 113224
New Flame Rising - #161066. Heroic. 4 missions. Mish 2&3 have 1 EB each, mish 4 has 5 EBs, each encountered separately. Recommended for SG, teams, or strong solo'ers. Origin of a new npc villain organization.
*

Classic Super-Hero/Super-Villain
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THE BOMBER --- Heroic --- Arc 16607
In The Shadow of Statesman --Neutral--1160
A Show to Die For! --- Heroic --- 30645
Check... and Mate #15095 - Heroic - Mini Task Force
Teen Phalanx Forever! -- Heroic (67335)
This Life Immortal - (5756) Heroic
Paradox Paradox - (69221) Heroic Stop yourself and Stellar from being erased!
Sidekicks Can Be A Pain In The Cape - (28430)
'Tis Nobler in the Mind - Heroic
Deadly Sins! - 99366: fairly tough arc, can be solo'd.
Marketing Opportunity - Villainous - 83747
To Save A Single World - Heroic - 83744
A Crusher Crimewave #1 : Crisis at The Citadel (ID 50271)
A Crusher Crimewave #2 : Escape from The Zig! (ID 83458)
A Crusher Crimewave #3 : The Fall of Mocker (ID 123613)
*


Comedy
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The String Thief, Arc ID: 15726 Neutral 1-54
Mean People, Arc ID:16690 Neutral 1-54
The Extadine Lab -- Heroic (2595)
MacGuffin Delivery Service (1567) -- Villainous
ParaCon -- Heroic (1684)
The new and improved Lord Recluse Strike Force -- Villainous (though I wouldn't recommend against a hero )
The Fire Bunnies - Neutral, They are only bunnies after all...
You Say It's Your Birthday! (3630) - Neutral
Trademark Infringement -- Heroic (2220)
Hail to the King Neutral (34640)
Walk On the Wild Side - Neutral - 3580
Shirley You Jest (25474) -- Neutral
The Invasion of the Bikini Clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space! - Heroic - 61013
Gnomish Madness (30204) - Heroic
Doctor Nadir and the Hellion Heist (49661) - Heroic
Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE! - Heroic
The P.U.G. Strike force (arc 35585) -Villian
A Translator is the Wind or the Thunder in Turns -- (2936) - Heroic
What's in a Name? - Villainous
None More Black, Dude! (#86312) Neutral
Rise of the Drakule - Neutral
Return of the Revenge of the Son of Drakule Part 2: First Blood - Neutral
Martian Chimpanzees and the Cyborg Cheerleaders of DOOM! (Arc #69947) - Heroic
Daytime Divas - #94504 Where else can you get a hair extension as a souvenir?
Death to Disco! - (Neutral, 84420) A short arc that has time travel, silk shirts, platform shoes, Jimmy Carter and a chance to save Rock and Roll.
Too Many Bunnygirls! - ID#101165(neutral). Time to stop them once and for all.
Invasion on Earth BX1132! - Neutral - 45+ - #98943
Ee=Ai-Ee-Ai-Oh! - Neutral - 3662
The foul-mouthed Handyman! - Neutral - 1076
City of Norms - Neutral - 132944
Killing The Meow Farm - 141625 - Neutral
Shortbow - Arc ID: 143566 - Heroic Lvl: 30-38
Jerk Hackers! - Heroic (162482)
*
Comedy/Drama
--------
Kidnapping an Idol 136188 Neutral
Fashion Apocalypse - Neutral - 14840
The Running of the Bulls -- Heroic 29973
A Super Team is Born -- Heroic
Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 -- Neutral
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -- Heroic (12669)
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare -- Neutral
It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding (9059) -- Neutral
TURG FICTION: Ghost in the Machine, Act I - Heroic (althoughs romantic villains could try this too )
Rum Runners of Bloody Bay (3691) - Heroic
Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day Kids! (2019)
The Toypocalypse! (49280) - Heroic
Fishing for Fame with Red Herring - Heroic (66861)
Putting Out Fires: A Corporate Satire (20100) - Villainous
The Rise and Refall of Pets'n'Things.com - Heroic - 1061
The Cat's in the Cradle (8776) - Villainous
Females for Hire - Neutral (Heroic and/or Mercenary motivations) (110723)
The Cathedral of Mild Discomfort - Heroic (153712)
Freaks, Geeks and Men in Black - Heroic (161629)
*

Crime/Gangs
--------
Bricked Electronics -- Heroic (LIVE! 2180)
The Bravuran Jobs -- Villainous (16809)
The Black Flag Is On The Rise (Pirates!) - Villainous
Win the 2009 Freak-Lympics (2150) - Villainous
Ninja Crimewave! (2142) - Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
The Internet is for Crime (53385) - Villains
Plastic Pistol Peril (1135) - Heroic
Friends in Need (Of Body Parts) - Villainous (31005)
A Little RnR - Heroic (17523) click for Promotional Poster
Mechanical Mayhem - Villainous (76721)
Females for Hire (about a mercenary gang) - Neutral (Heroic and/or Mercenary motivations) (110723)
Battlin' Tom's Murder Extravaganza! -- Villainous -- 99803
Meet the Demon Spawn Heroic (#151099) {4 missions}
Slash DeMento and the Stolen Weapons Heroic (#100045) {1 mish-teaser for above arc}
[ZQ] Power Play (Arc #187269) - Villainous

*

Drama
--------
The Conciliators: Simone -- Heroic (4010)
The Fan Club -- Heroic
Matchstick Women -- Heroic -- 3369
Of Mentors and Legacy - Heroic - 1589
Digital Love -- Neutral -- 3571
A Flame the Burns Bright- 112548
Clonus, Parts 1 & 2 - Arc ID: 21499 - Heroic Lvl 30-54
*

Global Domination
--------
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
*

Global Destruction
--------
The Twilight of this Blue Orb -- Villainous (98529)
*

Heist
--------
Celebrity Kidnapping -- Villainous (1388)
Easy Money -- Villainous (31490)
The Great Diamond Heist -- Villainous (96169)
*

Historical (Realistic)
--------
Wrinkle in Time -- Heroic(68920)
*

Historical (CoH Lore)
--------
The Consequences of War - Heroic sacrifice during the first Rikti War - Arcs 212069 and 212073
The War on Superadine - The Regulators in their 1980's drug war (Heroic) (Arc 7959)
Origins - Volume 1 (57077) -- Heroic
[ZQ] The Once and Future King (#71601) - Heroic
*

Holiday
--------
City of Ho Ho Ho #18775 - Heroic
Hectic Holidays -- Heroic (36999) also comedy
Santa's Missing List - 34961
Santa's Workshop of Misfit Toys - heroic - 134140
*

THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAR

"Played the CoW and I must say I liked it. Especially the fact that I, a common hero try to do my utmost in those dark horrible days. No glory, no songs will be written, no parades, no speeches, just me and my sorrow, me and my duty, me and that tiny part of the war I fought in." - GrinningSpade 2009

"I loved CoW. Most immersed I've been in an arc in years... Also, why the hell isnt CoW a DC arc by now?" - MrCaptainMan 2009

"Very, very good story - I love tales of sacrifice and hopeless last stands, so for me this is exactly what being a hero is all about." - Ebon Angel 2009

"I've never played through a story that made me feel quite so emotional towards the events and eventual outcome than I did with this one." - Mychyl 2010



Arc IDS: 227331 and 241496

Faction: Primarily Rikti

Creator Global/Forum Name: @dalghryn

Difficulty Level: Depends on your difficulty setting, the number of players, etc. With an EB and a scalable AV per arc, it's moderately difficult on lower difficuty levels. Harder on upper difficulty levels. If you ramp things up, it's just wall-to-wall war.

Synopsis: On May 23, 2002, the Rikti invaded Earth. During the war that followed, tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and heroes sacrificed their lives to save Earth. One group of heroes that made the ultimate sacrifice was The SOLUS Collective. This is the story of the sacrifice made by everyone during times of war, hero and civilian alike. This dual arc was based on the official CoH narrative of the Rikti War and adds greater depth to the time surrounding the Rikti offensive against the heroes that took place about six months after the first war began.

Estimated Time to Play: Again, it varies depending on your difficulty level and the time you spend delving into the story versus simply running through the mechanics.

Since I originally started this thread, both arcs have undergone significant revision and improvement based in large part to a number of reviews by established reviewers in this forum. In fact, these are both actually republications of earlier versions, both of which saw about 40 runs each before they were taken down.

For the benefit of people who might be interested in seeing what others have said about both parts of "The Consequences of War," I'm editing this first post to include basic information about reviews and ratings. For the most part, all criticisms and suggestions for correction or improvement have been addressed, sometimes resulting in minor changes and other times resulting in significant revisions. Those that weren't addressed typically weren't because they conflicted with other suggestions or critiques, leaving me to make a choice between which was best for the arcs.

It goes without saying that the arcs have improved vastly, technically and storywise, both from the days of the first reviews and in some cases from one review to the next.

The Consequences of War

3 Stars - 6/15/2009 LaserJesus ("LaserJesus' Crucible of Unforgiving Criticism")
5 Stars - 6/20/2009 Parkin ("In Your Thread - Stealing Your Reviews")
5 Stars - 6/21/2009 Airhead ("Airheaded Editorials")
2 Stars - 7/7/2009 Talen_Lee ("Arc Reviews 2: The Knockoff")
5 Stars - 7/7/2009 Ebon_Angel (Independent Review)
4 Stars - 7/10/2009 GlaziusF ("CoHMRAggregator")
5 Stars - 7/10/2009 FredrickSvanberg (Independent Reviewer)
4 Stars - 7/20/2009 and 12/12/09 - PoliceWoman ("I'll Play Yours if You'll Play Mine")
5 Stars - 7/25/2009 Lazarus ("Honest Lazarus' Discount Reviews")
5 Stars - 7/25/2009 Citizen_Razor ("Citizen Razor's Attempt at a Review Thread")
5 Stars - 7/26/2009 MrCaptainMan ("MCM's 5-Star Reviews")
5 Stars - 9/17/2009 M_I_Abrahms ("Aentertainment Tonight)
5 Stars - 9/17/2009 Rastafariman ("Aentertainment Tonight")
4 Stars - 10/7/2009 Venture ("Venture's Reviews IV: The Search for Part III")
4 Stars - 10/11/2009 Tangler ("Tangler's Review Thread")
5 Stars - 10/26/2009 Lithrei ("Looking for Arcs to Review")
5 Stars - 03/26/2010 Mychyl ("Yet Another MA Review Thread?")

5 Stars - 10/16/2010 Current MA Rating with 266 runs

The Casualties of War

3 Stars - 6/20/2009 Parkin
5 Stars - 6/30/2009 Airhead
5 Stars - 7/20/2009 FredrickSvanberg
4 Stars - 7/22/2009 re-reviewed 4/29/10 from 3 stars - GlaziusF
4 Stars - 7/26/2009 MrCaptainMan
5 Stars - 8/12/2009 Bubbawheat ("Bubbawheat's Weekly Reviews")
5 Stars - 9/8/2009 re-reviewed 3/31/10 from 4 stars - PoliceWoman
5 Stars - 9/24/2009 M_I_Abrahms
5 Stars - 9/24/2009 Rastafariman
5 Stars - 9/24/2009 WRider ("Aentertainment Tonight")
4 Stars - 10/11/2009 Tangler
5 Stars - 03/31/2010 Mychyl

5 Stars - 10/16/2010 Current MA Rating with 114 Runs

Yeah, I tried that. Still wasn't satisfied. You'd think that'd be something the Devs could fix pretty easily.

How many other builders (particularly those that like to build story-centric arcs) change the character descriptions in the field provided when you're using custom NPCs. For example, I'm creating an extended battle arc, so each time you see an NPC, he or she is more tired, with more injuries, etc. So, each time they appear, their description changes.

My other question is, how many people really make an effort to right click and info NPCs each time they're in a different misison?

Is there any way to make a found ally or rescued captive stay down? I've found animations that make them simulate unconsciousness, but once the rescue is over, they always stand up. I've tried everything I can think of, and nothing's worked (obviously), so I thought I'd ask here. Thanks in advance.

Ah... so if I'm changing the description with each mission, I don't need the description in the character creator at all? The arc details the effects of a prolonged battle on the characters, so each time they show up their description changes. I know not everyone will check the info each time, but some will, and I'm a completist.

If that's correct, in my case I'll save space by leaving the character descriptions in the creator blank, right?

I'll check that, but I thought that was the character descruption we create for each mission we use the character in, not the big 1000 character description in the character creator.

Edit: I checked and I'm right. The description you get when you click on "Info," whether it's from right clicking on the character or from the "Action" drop down is the short description you can create each time you use the character in a mission. I've yet to find a way of accessing the long description that you can write at the end of the character creator. If you can't access other than as a creator, then it makes no sense to waste the memory unless you need to add info that's impiortant for you to remember later. In which case, since I'm familiar enough with all my custom characters thus far, it makes sense for me not to use that field... correct?

It was the Story Description field. Though it showed as having an even 300 characters, and wasn't lighting up the error indicator, when I clicked "Save and Test" while inside the architect, I got a pop up that said something like, "Description Field too long." Of course it didn't say *which* description field. I eventually figured it out which brings me to another question:

Can anyone but the mission creator actually read the Character Description for a custom character? Not the ones that we type in missions, but the long one that we can type after we've created a custom character?

I already tried shrinking the file. Didn't work. I've turned it over to NCSoft, who said they'd have a Senior Support Person try to find out what the problem is.

I took a look at the text file and a couple instances where the html code for a non-breaking space (&nbsp was used where it didn't seem necessary. That may be an issue that they need to look at. In any case, if it *is* in the MA coding, it's hidden and needs to be accounted for so it will show as an error.

Frankly, while there are many aspects of the MA that are great. The coding could use some work.

That doesn't work. I guess I'll petition, though I doubt they'll answer.

I finally got my arc to a point where I'm ready to test it and then publish it. This is the second long arc I've done, so I'm familiar with how to make sure there are no errors, etc. By all accounts, it's ready to go, but the "Test" and "Publish" buttons are still greyed out. If this has been talked about in another thread, I couldn't find it. Any suggestions?