Decorum

[ QUOTE ]
What exactly is the penalty, if any, for "plagiarism" in the AE? I don't mean making my favorite edition of Superman or whatever into a mission. Say I wanted to make an arc based on River City Ransom, though. Would it get deleted? Would I get deleted?

Note that by based on I basically mean I make RCR but it's in COH. Story, characters and all.

[/ QUOTE ]

Homage it. Use the concepts, change them enough so they're not copies. ENOUGH, not like "Wulverine" or the things people use, more like Kurt Busiek's Astro City. People are unlikely to report if you work with it well enough.

You're a game tech mechanics kinda guy...do you think it will be possible we can at least color them, like we can ours in the game (or am I missing something and we already can?)? My Cut-Up looks a little strange to me without his trademark lime green font on a yellow balloon.

Outdoor Croatoa map? Outdoor maps do not currently recognize "front, middle, back". It's all random spawns.

Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE!
By @Decorum
Arc ID: 68429
Length: Long
First Published: 04/15/2009 11:01
Morality: Heroic
Mission 1: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Collection, Battle, Defeat All Enemies
Mission 2: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, Collection, Release Captive
Mission 3: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, patrol, Release Captive, Escort.
Enemy Group: Custom Group
Description: That Krazy Killer Klown with Klaws, Cut-Up has escaped from the Polk and Prodd Sanitarium again (#453 in a series of 5000. Collect them all!). Find out what mischief he's up to and drag him back to his rubber room and rubber ducky! Bad jokes; medium difficulty; Level 25-up recommended, EB.

My first arc, featuring my nutjob clown claws scrapper on an extracurricular adventure. Soloable on Heroic easily enough. Probably anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour, depending on difficulty and AT damage. First map is very small, so don't let the "kill all" throw you.

I tried to make it easy enough to solo on Heroic yet able to be made challenging by using Notoriety.

Feedback very welcome.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Arc #68429: Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE!
By @Decorum
Arc ID: 68429
Length: Long
First Published: 04/15/2009 11:01
Morality: Heroic
Mission 1: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Collection, Battle, Defeat All Enemies
Mission 2: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, Collection, Release Captive
Mission 3: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, patrol, Release Captive, Escort.
Enemy Group: Custom Group
Description: That Krazy Killer Klown with Klaws, Cut-Up has escaped from the Polk and Prodd Sanitarium again (#453 in a series of 5000. Collect them all!). Find out what mischief he's up to and drag him back to his rubber room and rubber ducky! Bad jokes; medium difficulty; Level 25-up recommended.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rating: ****

[/ QUOTE ]

Better than I really expected, given the flaws some have been pointing out to me.

[ QUOTE ]
Likes: Creative custom group, humorous arc, excellent animation choices, chaotic feel, some enemies are a very nice challenge

[/ QUOTE ]

Your words are kind. Thanks!

[ QUOTE ]
Gripes: Disjointed text and objectives, surprise EB

[/ QUOTE ]

Your words are...accurate.

[ QUOTE ]
Synopsis: I do like comedy arcs, but this one's still got some rough edges to work out, though almost entirely in the mission objectives department. The custom critters could use a little more detail in their description, but that may be intentionally ambiguous, so I didn't hold that against you - or your horrid, horrid jokes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hee, well, you WERE warned about the bad jokes. They're Cut-Up's stock and trade (he's one of my toons, has joke binds with over 70 awful jokes and 70 pop culture reference stupid battle cries). I should probably flesh out the group a little more in my head, then onto the mission.

[ QUOTE ]
The arc is fun, attention-keeping, and some enemies are a decent challenge, but with the dynamics set up the way they are now, I just couldn't rate it a 5. Iron (or hammer, if you will) those out, however, and you've got a top-of-the-line arc completely sans argument.

[/ QUOTE ]

I expect honesty, not flattery so the 4 is fine. I do need to do some work and, yes, with a hammer. Something to shoot for, though.

[ QUOTE ]
Details:

[u]Mission 1:[u]

Mission: Certainly intrigued right off the stalagmite,

[/ QUOTE ]

I see the bad jokes are catching.

[ QUOTE ]
and the jokes thus far aren't as bad as I feared. Ah, I see what the contact meant by be ready right away. Nice-looking custom group there, short and sweet descriptions...but why does the Punching Clown have claws?

[/ QUOTE ]

Boxing clown, and BECAUSE it doesn't make sense. He cheats.

[ QUOTE ]
And is it just me, or does Judy have a Redding Rail Rifle?

[/ QUOTE ]

I just picked the goofiest looking one out of the choices.

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I dug through the trash, seems there was something about a device and fighting with Arachnos. Hm, that one must've slipped out from under me due to a lack of battle dialogue.

[/ QUOTE ]

Small amount of battle dialogue IS there, with the Arachnos telling the Crew to get out, as they got what they came for, and the Crew saying they'll teach them to mess with them. It fires so quickly though, even I miss it. Needs work.

[ QUOTE ]
Return dialogue: Dr. Polk seems unusually upset about this device. Don't think the intro dialogue covered that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Got ya. He should be coming off just upset that Cut's getting into more trouble. Noted, needs work.

[ QUOTE ]
What could this mission use? Dialogue for the battles.

[/ QUOTE ]

Or better dialogue. And somehow to make it more "visible".

[ QUOTE ]
[u]Mission 2:[u]

Intro dialogue: This reads a bit choppy and sticky. Consider making a few sentences longer, combining things that relate to the same thought, etc. You know, just stuff to make the flow of reading easier.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had a rough time with that one. I probably went live a little early. Doc Polk has a certain cadence to his "voice" that I didn't hit well. Exasperated statement (grumbly aside). The original writing was like twice the allowable size and got hastily trimmed. Needs a rewrite.

[ QUOTE ]
Mission: Nice map choice there; don't see Lou's too often, and it seems of the appropriate length. So I open the secure storage, and it turns out someone's been in it already (not very secure, this secure storage, is it now?).

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, that was intended to be part of the gag, yes. File it under "not coming off right".

[ QUOTE ]
Kind of a disconnect here, since the note I find is written by Joy-Buzzer, yet the nav text now tells me to defeat Boss Boppo.

[/ QUOTE ]

Noted.

[ QUOTE ]
Well, there he is, and with a Mime...that has sonic powers?

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course! Again, that's part of the gag. I've actually had a lot of positive comments on that bit. Seems to be popular.

[ QUOTE ]
So Boppo goes down (nice fight, enjoyed it), but suddenly I have to save a sidekick withou knowing why. Dynamic mission objectoves are nice and all, but they do need something to tie them into one another.

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably needs a clue. I was trying to avoid having a clue for everything, but I didn't want it at the expense of clarity (such as it is, in an arc like this). And maybe have Boppo yelling "Take care of the sidekick" instead of "take care of the girl". Or should I come right out and say "kill"? It felt....wrong in this context, even if that's what he means.

[ QUOTE ]
Ah, there's the sidekick...oh, so that's Joy-Buzzer. So what was the deal with Boppo then? Well, I'll take a guess and say she went an stole what they were after, and they didn't like that very much. However, the mission text really needs to cover that, especially if you're going to keep those objectives chained like this. This mission's pretty weak on connectivity as it is now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'll admit to shabby writing on that part. The explanation's in the return contact text, and it's lazy over-exposition. The second mish is the weakest, I think. But I DID mention the sidekick in the send-off text, warned in fact that she was hanging around. I just didn't give her a name yet, on purpose, to make you think "Joy-Buzzer? Who the heck is that?" with the note.

[ QUOTE ]
What could this mission use? More connecting text between mission objectives, more elaborate clues, an explanation of how they got away with the device if I beat their boss, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Noted.

[ QUOTE ]
[u]Mission 3[u]

Intro dialogue: Needs a comma after 'what was what'.

Mission: Okay, that mission name sure caught my eye. Might want to make it a little brighter, though. Now then...wait, why am I rescuing Joy-Buzzer? I thought I was here for Dr. Prodd first of all? Well, guess I'll see.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, that's supposed to be a "surprise". Maybe if I fiddle with the event text.

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, there she is already, as a hostage to lead out, and saying her boss has gone crazy. Really now? HIT THE DECK, incoming Idiot Ball! Yeah, you really should make that one less obvious. Yep, soon as I tak her to the entrance, surprise EB fight (you really should warn people about those), and I finally get the objectives I initially expected.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think rather than warn them, I'd like to bring it down a notch. And, yeah, it's a little telegraphed, but I had several folks utterly surprised by that bit on test.

[ QUOTE ]
Hey, there's Dr. Prodd, to be saved, and suddenly it's clone time. Okay, that doesn't sound too-WAUGH, ambush of purely bosses?! That's a little harsh, don't ya think? I thought I was being tough with an all-lt. one in on of my missions, but seriously, this one takes it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Also needs toning down, and maybe fiddling with the powers some. Even I was having a hard time with them.

[ QUOTE ]
Well, I off them, time to find Cut-Up, whose minions are oddly enough a lot funnier than he is.

[/ QUOTE ]



[ QUOTE ]
Makes me wonder who should be in charge here. Oh wait, scratch that, that coke line made it all better.

[/ QUOTE ]



[ QUOTE ]
What could this mission use? Some organization. I realize it's supposed to have a chaotic feel to it, but it'd really flow much better if Joy-Buzzer was just an optional EB and the other objectves listed right away. Also, the standard EB/AV 'you may need a team' warning really should be here.

[/ QUOTE ]

Noted, although, as said, I think I may tone things down some rather than give the warning. I'd rather it were easier for the less powerful ATs.

What it suffers mostly from is being a one mission arc I originally did on test (90% of the last mish) and trying to expand it some, give more details, etc. That's a lot of why it seems disorganized, I think, is that I worked somewhat backwards on it.

Thanks very much for the feedback and suggestions. You've given me quite a bit of helpful info to work with. Very much appreciate the time.

Did you give it a minute (OK, far longer than that). The MA server has a kind of slow response time.

I keep hoping the jerks will get bored with being jerks in MA and go find something new to be jerky at.

But past empirical evidence makes Magic 8 Ball point to "Not likely".

Heh, I see now, with your PM. I didn't mind, though. It was very exciting! Really got the old blood pumping. Gave me a very "Ain't no WAY I'm gonna let this dumb thing do this to me!" feeling.

Case by case, eye of the beholder stuff. I don't think you can give any followable guidelines that wouldn't be seen as draconian.

I sort of get it. Even that explanation is loaded with stuff you have to be "in to" the actual game mechanics to fully "get" though.

Bottom line, you still can't see them "unaided", they're still getting an ungodly bonus and they're broken because of it. However the mechanics work out. So they really shouldn't be used until they're fixed.

I think right now in the MA there's a major disconnect between those who have been involved in critique of creative things and those who haven't in both critiquing and receiving. I'm not exactly sure how to resolve this disconnect, though.

Just curious, does the contact Faathim just come out at "normal" size or really big?

[ QUOTE ]
I prefer it being non-anonymous. It breeds a more civil behavior.

[/ QUOTE ]

Also makes it easier to get further information on the feedback as well. I'm firmly in the "not anonymous" category. Someone's acting like a crap-head to you, just copy it and report them. Enough people like that get smacked down, the others like that won't be so ready to mouth off.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
And it's bugged. It's giving the hide bonus even when they're not in hide.

[/ QUOTE ]No, the Mission Maker Secondary.Ninjutsu.Hide never puts them in the Hidden state in the first place. It just gives them a flat damage buff.

[/ QUOTE ]

That isn't true they do go into Hide whenever they can. I have a Boss/Ally in my mission who is Thugs/Nin who constantly disappears and reappears shooting his two pistols (very reminiscent of Marvel's "The Cloak"). The defense bug is probably due to Hide is supposed to provide some defense even when it is down. Possibly Custom mobs aren't working like players in this respect.

[/ QUOTE ]You're mistaking me talking about the "Hidden" state (Meter = 1) with a stealthed enemy. They aren't the same thing at all, though any time a player Stalker has 1 Meter, they also have stealth.

Mission Maker Scondary.Ninjutsu.Hide doesn't do anything to the critter's Meter value, because in order for the Meter to be useful, every single attack you could give them would have to check Meter when dealing damage, to see if double damage should be dealt.

Instead, Hide has stealth which suppresses for 8s (just like players), defense which suppresses for 3s (unlike players), and +Damage rather than +Meter, which only suppresses for 3 seconds.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think my mistake is easily explained by not having a clue as to what any of that means.

[ QUOTE ]
Arc Name: This is War, Part I - the Revenge of Hro'Dtohz
Arc ID: 1356
Morality: Neutral
Faction: Rikti, Rikti Special Ops.
Creator: @Acid Zero
Difficulty Level: Medium solo, gets harder with team
Synopsis: Do I really need to say it? Okay. Hro'Dtohz is back, and with a vengeance. This arc takes place after the events of the LGTF (so intended for lvl 45+ characters), and presents no less than an all-out attack on Paragon City by the Lineage of War.
Estimated Time to Play: 1 - 2 hours

[/ QUOTE ]

WARNING: Fanboy gushing ahead.

Played with my Level 47 DM/WP speedster scrapper, Headlong, on level 3 difficulty (Rugged).

I LOVED THIS ARC! Fun with a capital F in a "serious" vein. Very well written. Informative contact. Nice working in of canon. Nicely "produced" (only a couple of minor typos, nice use of dialogue and clues, etc.).

All interesting and flowed well, but I think mission 4 was both the best and the worst (only a by a little). I had a heck of a time taking down War. All my allies were wiped almost immediately. I had to run back and forth from hospital to insp vendor to War about four times before I finally took him down. This probably would not have been an issue at all, though, if I hadn't been soloing it. A team wouldn't have found it nearly as hard. But I LOVED the opening chaos! Really threw me, but in a good way. The effect I think you were going for hit it right on the head. Very "GAAAAH!" moment.

Five stars, no question at all, and I eagerly await the next installment.

PS: I didn't take the time to find the "surprise" (was panting at the breakneck pace and didn't want to slow down). Any chance of a PM telling me what it was?

Both currently not available.

I think some people are just keeping track of what tickets they get for ratings to find out, but I don't have that much ambition to do that kind of tracking myself.

And the MA missions just work with normal Notoriety (although custom mobs are tougher, in general, than their "normal" counterparts).

[ QUOTE ]
QR

Adding another to the list:
For collection objectives which are required, never make the interact time longer than 10 seconds.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heck, I've been making them two seconds, just because unless I have a story reason, I don't want folks to even be bothered with being interrupted.

I could put it at 1, I suppose, but I want people to have at least the opportunity to read the stuff I wrote for it, if they want.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I would disagree with this. The AV/EB message should be in the Description as well as possibly in the contact's message. You don't see the contact's message until you start the TF or are part way through it. Even at level 1 AVs will be a problem and many will want to just avoid the mission.

[/ QUOTE ]

The problem with this is they may or may not be there, because of the settings. If you're soloing on Heroic, then even an EB becomes a regular boss.

[/ QUOTE ]

It does still apply. If you're soloing on Heroic, you expect Bosses to be Lts. Seeing a Boss-rank (downgraded EB) or Elite Boss-rank (downgraded AV) when you're capable of soloing mainly Lts (low-levels, for example) is a nasty surprise.

For example, if I see that a mission has an AV, I know that I'll be facing at minimum an EB, and I cannot rely on controls (soft or hard) to mitigate damage due to the anti-mez triangles. That dictates the sort of inspiration loadout I might carry.

[/ QUOTE ]

True enough. Sadly, there's a lot of people out there complaining when they're not thinking about their settings. You, at least, are paying attention.

Even worse. But, yeah, it's still bugged (as far as last patch, anyway...no idea about today).

This may help some.

Notoriety

Thing is, as I say, it's all about Notoriety. With that you get a CHANCE of having bosses, but it's not guaranteed. It would have taken reworking Notoriety or building something entirely separate just to have bosses be there when we want them.

Patience, though. I've seen enough people wanting boss ambushes and one on one boss fights that I can't help but think the devs must've heard by now. But there's lots of things requested and, as you mention, we're not sure how hard or easy it might be. There's lots of room for improvements, but I think we'll see quite a bit of it.

I'll hit "the Revenge of Hro'Dtohz" once the servers come back up, so if and when you might find the time...

Arc #68429: Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE!
By @Decorum
Arc ID: 68429
Length: Long
First Published: 04/15/2009 11:01
Morality: Heroic
Mission 1: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Collection, Battle, Defeat All Enemies
Mission 2: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, Collection, Release Captive
Mission 3: Unique map, level range 1-54. Contains Ambush, Boss, patrol, Release Captive, Escort.
Enemy Group: Custom Group
Description: That Krazy Killer Klown with Klaws, Cut-Up has escaped from the Polk and Prodd Sanitarium again (#453 in a series of 5000. Collect them all!). Find out what mischief he's up to and drag him back to his rubber room and rubber ducky! Bad jokes; medium difficulty; Level 25-up recommended.

Thanks in advance!

[ QUOTE ]
Egos, they've been working on the MA for a LONG time now, and as I said, two boss encounters is not uncommon in CoX already. You already have an option to put a boss in to the mission, so I can't see it as being too much of a stretch to allow that in an ambush, battle, etc. Obviously, I'm not a dev, so I could be way off. But it doesn't seem like too much above and beyond the idea of putting a boss in the mission. *shrugs*

[/ QUOTE ]

It involves the functioning of the difficulty settings when it's with ambushes and "battles". The more things that get messed with by an encounter, the more chance of something buggering up. I'm assuming it's part of their (very wise, IMHO) "starting small" method they seem to be using. Start with a few limited things, make sure they work or debug them if they don't, then ramp things up later.

And I disagree that they've been working on something this complicated a "LONG time". There's a lot going on here. I think they're just getting started.

[ QUOTE ]

1) Give yourself permission to create garbage.
This is maybe the best advice I can give to anyone doing anything creative. No one creates great material on the first try. And expecting that out of yourself is going to frustrate, and limit your creativity.

[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't there some old writer's saw that you have 10,000 bad stories in you that you have to get out of the way until you get to the good ones?

[ QUOTE ]
(by the way, you cannot get one-shot by anything in game, there's code to prevent that, no matter how big the hit you're always left at 1 HP).

[/ QUOTE ]

Doesn't that only apply if you're absolutely at full HP?