Eva Destruction
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:Masochistic people, more likeOriginally Posted by Aisynia
Accepting new people? Perhaps, crazy people?
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You can't have grey-conning hostages in AE. You can't stick hostages in those little corner spots where the grey-conning hostages usually are in dev-created missions either.
As for animations, certain standard critters have a limited range of animations available. The "civilians" are especially limited, but some critters don't have any animations available at all. What are you trying to use for a hostage? -
Quote:None of the threads on the subject in the market forums could come up with a single reason why that slider shouldn't be made to work.Originally Posted by Canine
As to the max level vs mid level question, to me, a lot of the mid level supply crunch could be alleviated by allowing recipe rolls (among other things) to arrive not at your security level (50) but at the level you pick on the slider at the top of the window.
As to how exploitable/abused that sort of tweak would be, I'm not sure, but I'm not so sure it would be a particularly bad thing. Then again, I'm not a game designer.
Not sure how much it would help, as a lot of people would no doubt still seek out max-level shinies, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. -
So after over 100 days offline I've decided to come back to this project.
Why did I stop? Several reasons. For one, I am easily distracted by shiny objects. Like an Archery/Dev Blaster I could finally maintain interest in, and a Brute with enough survivability to tank. And my hero base. And accumulating more shinies for my 50s.
Another reason is I simply burned out. Writing lengthy reviews is more time-consuming than it seems. I was making a point of playing through every arc submitted, some of which frankly didn't appeal to me personally all that much: multi-parters for one, and sweeping epic tale after sweeping epic tale.
So I'm doing things a little differently now. Short reviews, and I'm mostly picking what to play based on forum threads and whatever looks interesting. I'll still take suggestions, I'll still point out spelling errors and such, and leave feedback, but I won't guarantee I'll play them all.
So on to the next batch of arcs. With my new, more relaxed way of doing things I got through three arcs in an afternoon, where before I would be pretty much limited to one, and had more fun doing it.
Suppression: #374481
Why I chose it: The author started the "Excellent arcs" thread, which got me a few plays on my arc, so I decided it was time to pay it back.
It's a CoH adaptation of the Wizard of Oz, perhaps too true to the original in places, but still a neat interpretation of Aeon's challenge. The mission design was a little bare-bones though, could have used some more flavor details.
The Long Road Back: #340454
Why I chose it: I've been meaning to play an arc by this author for a while. This one was the right level.
Prelude to going Rogue? The premise is that I'm sick of the life of a lowbie villain, and would like to make good. A possible Nick Fury tribute offers me the chance, through a shadowy agency that (he claims) is affiliated with the CIA. This is an extremely dark and cynical arc, not that there's anything wrong with that. The final mission was a let-down unfortunately, it felt like a random, forced conclusion to an otherwise excellent arc.
Sibling Rivalry: #118690
Why I chose it: Because I wanted to see what kind of arc an 8-year-old would come up with.
It isn't deep or profound, it doesn't delve into some obscure corner of lore, or try to make you question what it is to be a hero...it's just made to be fun. It's one of those arcs you can tell someone had fun making. It's refreshing. And there are Disco Trolls.
Dawnrazor vs Fodor...in the end the polyester leisure suit was no match for my blade.
These three arcs got me from level 16.9 to 18.5. The first mission of "Suppression" got nailed hard by the ally patch and all the arcs had some small maps ("The Long Road Back" was all small maps), so the leveling wasn't as slow as it might seem. -
Most of your shinies appear to be max level. I personally don't care about those. Enough people do sell them that there is always a supply.
It's the mid-level recipe hoarding that is problematic. Those are worth holding onto because you can't buy them in a timely fashion if it turns out you need them. -
Quote:"Golden Age" is newer and hasn't received as much attention. It wasn't nominated for player's choice awards, and the official contest, and isn't being recommended left right and center, because not as many people have played it. It's an excellent arc, and if it had been published in the early days of MA it might be in the same boat as "Teen Phalanx," but for the purposes of this discussion all it does it highlight the lowered interest in AE.Originally Posted by Jail_Bird
The Golden Age Secret of the Paragon Society is in the same category in my book. I have recommended it for DC in the new thread along with several other people, but I don't think anyone is monitoring that or they don't have the time to play the arcs listed there. That's another good reason to adjust Hall Of Fame down.
I'd settle for the rate of HoF approaching the rate of DC. Now that I think of it though, when was the last time we got a DC that wasn't the winner or runner-up of an Aeon's challenge?Quote:Originally Posted by Coulomb2
All of that assumes having HoF more common than DC is the "way to go" though. -
Quote:Fixed for accuracy.Originally Posted by Aisynia
As for a badge and an extra slot. We DO get an extra slot. On top of that, we HAD a badge.. you know, one we actually earned through talent and hard work and luck. People whined en masse and took it away.
Because there are plenty of arcs that demonstrate talent and hard work that are not Dev's Choice. -
I solo a lot, so I end up with quite a collection by the time I hit 50. I never use the things as I always forget I have them.
I did throw bees at Ms Liberty though, because she annoyed me. *grumble* stupid Unstoppable and Dull Pain makes her take forever to kill *grumble.* -
Quote:Because he wants...Originally Posted by El Bellaco
You can also click the button that says "my level" and press search again.
Which excludes all the 1-54 custom critter arcs that inevitably show up when you click "My level."Quote:Originally Posted by Rubber_Dog
...missions that are tailored to that range that are also good missions and not just a series of Debuff heavy opponents waiting to make my missions about as much fun as standing 10 feet deep in caltrops. -
Quote:This. If this isn't a prime example of an arc that belongs in the Hall of Fame I don't know what is.Originally Posted by Sister_Twelve
As far as the topic is concerned, I largely agree with loosening the standard for HoF status. I've thought for several months now that it's criminal that Teen Phalanx Forever is not a HoF arc and that at the current rate of play, it might be a year before it gets the final 150 or so plays it needs to get there.
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Quote:Ah yes, the "random" button. It would be nice if it were actually random. It would be even nicer if it gave you a whole page of arcs that were actually random so you didn't have to keep clicking it to get the same farm three times in a row.Originally Posted by EU_Damz
I just click the options i want then click the random button until one pops up that i like the sound of. Problem solved then really.
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I started doing this before I got distracted by shiny objects, here are a couple that aren't too tough and are good:
Mercytown #6701: The best lowbie arc I have played so far.
The Lazarus Project #124906: Not too tough if you don't mind Vahz.
Talos Vice #338380: It's like Miami Vice in CoH. Exactly as awesome as it sounds.
Bricked Electronics #2180: Solid story, standard foes.
Dream Paper #1874: Solid story, standard foes.
I really should get back to that project.... -
Quote:They get Overpower, they get criticals (or at least they used to), and they used to get Defiance, until players complained that it was unfair to powersets that relied on control for mitigation.Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
I wonder to what extent they have considered giving critters AT mods and/or Inherents.
I hate these too. Don't tell me what I feel. Give me a reason to feel it.Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Yeah, "you think" and "you feel" are probably my biggest turnoffs in any story arc. I can deal with bad writing, but as soon as I see either of those, I just roll my eyes, specifically because they are never ever necessary. I've never met an instance where they can't be replaced with an equal-meaning, less-assuming alternative. Though, granted, "you think you saw" ought to be acceptable. I'd still avoid it, though, going with something along the lines of "Wasn't that a...?"
As for "You think," you don't need to tell me that either. Your dialogue and clues should be clear enough that I, and therefore my character, can draw any needed conclusions on my own. If you need to describe something in a clue or pop-up, it's better to use "maybe" or "probably" than "you think."
"You crack your knuckles and slick back your hair..." I'm a robot, I don't have any knuckles or hair, HAH!Quote:Again, developer-made content has a LOT of these, and they bug me every time. Say, "It smells like Hellions. You HATE the smell of Hellions!" Um, no I don't. They smell like popcorn. Why couldn't you have said "Don't you hate the smell of Hellions?" instead, guys? I mean, it says basically the same thing, but it presumes a LOT less. Doesn't it, now? -
Quote:I think you might have this backwards...unless you mean it's harder to make an enemy that is difficult to make give full rewards.Originally Posted by Zamuel
Arguably, it's probably rewards. It's harder (but not impossible) to make a difficult enemy give XP than an easy one.
The Hard setting gives 100% XP, and with the new sliders everyone can tell. Of course it also includes some powers that more rightly belong on Extreme, but anyway...Quote:I actually think I17 might have made this worse for some powersets if the arc is designed for lvl 40-50 due to the way it scales XP per power added.
Yes, this is exactly why that setting should be removed. It's too easy to do that.Quote:Plus...it's easy. "Okay this is my final boss so he needs to be harder than everyone else. Hey, I can make him Extreme! These powersets sound cool... Done!" Then they'll jump on something with high defense that can AFK when they test (if they even test...) and figure it's fine and dandy.
As for testing with something with high defense....if by defense you mean "not getting hit"....HAHAHAHAHAHA. Aim and Build Up on Hard pretty much negates that kind of defense. If you mean defensive powersets in general, some of these custom BOSSES hit harder and faster and more often than dev-created Archvillains. I only wish I were kidding. -
Quote:You can go over the limit with HTML tags if you add them after you type in all the text. I'm not sure what your specific issue is (I've never changed the font size, but apparently the 0.8 font size is problematic. I've also never had a problem with deleting anything even in text fields that were over the limit.), but it sounds like you'd just have to redo your HTML.Originally Posted by Jophiel
Speaking of, I went to flag an arc I have as "finished" and when I went to edit it, it was riddled with red flags for HTML "errors". But I couldn't adjust them (it was crabbing because I had the font size set at times to 0.8 and it said the minimum range was 0.8... go figure) because of the charming CoX text editor bug where hitting delete adds another five characters to your count and I was already showing as being over the limit.
So the arc plays just fine but I can't change it to finished due to the buggy editor and refuse to spend the time/effort rewriting entire sections just to have it languish in 4-star limbo forever.
Well that small group of people has custom settings that allow you to give foes any powers you want.Quote:Originally Posted by Kitsune9tails
If you play with a group of RL friends that are all Defenders, it's not hard to be playing in an environment where you are buffed constantly to the cap while all of your foes are debuffed to the floor. So non-purple-patch foes have like a 5% chance to hit you for 10% damage while you are hitting them 95% of the time for x4 damage.
For these people, Extreme settings at max difficulty are the closest the game gets to mechanically challenging. So these people create AV farms in the AE and run "Master of..." challenges and trials all the time.
What is the difference between choosing "custom" and giving the enemy all the powers and just choosing "Extreme"? One requires a deliberate decision, the other requires a click of a button. One is more n00b-friendly than the other. -
Quote:Well it should be in-your-face for everyone, not just the leader. You shouldn't have multiple posts on the forums complaining that no one but the leader can read the dialogue, just because people aren't aware that this isn't entirely true.Originally Posted by The_Killbot_5000
Yep, I realise this is there. But how many others do, or bother to use it? The in-your-face dialog box from the contact that pops-up is what I'm talking about.
That is an awesome concept for an AE toon.Quote:Originally Posted by Decorum
I like the stories, don't give a crap about xp or tickets except for Virtual Lad, who is leveling from 1-50 there the normal way (his mom won't let him fight real criminals...he's only 12!
).
A lot of the replies in this thread just confirm my belief that the Extreme setting should be taken out back somewhere and shot, chopped into pieces, boiled in oil, set on fire and thrown into a black hole. Why do so many people use it? Does the X make it sound cool? -
Quote:I do not believe this is true. The last rating you click should overwrite any previous ratings. The first rating counts for tickets awarded.Originally Posted by Quinch
** unless it has been fixed in the meantime, the arc automatically registers the first rating you clicked, rather the one standing before you close the window. Thus, if you click on three stars, but then change your mind and click on four, only the three-star rating will hold.
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Quote:Ah, so there are only two options then? I guess we'd better disregard everything everybody else has to say on the topic.Originally Posted by Sumericon
I see. So you find it more acceptable to have the interface clogged with farms and the devs practically chasing players out of the MA with their constant nerfs?
I play the game. Dev created content varies from "that's not bad" to "are you kidding?" Since some of the "are you kidding?" content is fairly recent, obviously someone somewhere thinks it's actually good. Hence: what are they looking for?Quote:Do you play this game? At all? Everything you need to know is right in the game. If you have paid any attention to the actual content of the game (other than the part where you punch, shoot, and burn stuff), then you already know all you need to know. You don't actually expect them to spoon feed you some kind of checklist, do you?
Oh yeah, and as for the part where I punch, shoot and burn stuff? Yeah, that also varies from walk-in-the-park easy level 50 content to level 20 content with bosses with Build Up and multiple ambushes of CoT ghosts. Again, what are they looking for? -
You guys do realize that others can see the contact intro and send-off dialogue by clicking the "more" button or the red star in the nav bar right?
Oh wait...some of you probably don't because the game doesn't give you any indication that you should do that. The "more" button should be in a more obvious place, both for AE and regular content (just in case there are still people who read TF dialogue instead of looking it up on ParagonWiki after the fact.)
The only thing your team members can't see is the "still busy" and "return to contact" dialogue, which is why a lot of authors who design for teams don't put any crucial information there. A team leader can copy and paste that dialogue into the chat box for everyone to read. -
Quote:You might find it an acceptable trade-off, others do not.Originally Posted by Sumericon
Don't insinuate that I'm advancing an idea that is good for me while bad for others. Check your facts. I'm one of those perfectionist authors. All of my arcs are marked Looking For Feedback. My idea actually hurts my arcs' chances of being played. Regardless of that, yes, I find it perfectly acceptable when weighed against the benefits.
It's called writing for a specific audience, which is not necessarily representative of the larger audience, and has never made it clear what it does and does not like, or even what it does not find acceptable besides "AVs must be warned about" and a vague "your arc must not be exploitable." Then being noticed by that specific audience, among thousands of potential candidates.Quote:Originally Posted by Sumericon
It's not a lottery, it's a skill. It's called Writing for an Audience. You could try it.
Step 1: Look to your left and sweep that chip off your shoulder.
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If they dropped the requirement to 5 stars over 500 plays there would be two more arcs that meet it right now.
If they dropped it to 250 there would be five more. If they drop it to 200 there would be six more.
If they wiped all ratings from people who hadn't actually completed the arc there would probably be another glut of five-star arcs like there was when they wiped all the 0-star ratings. Some of those might qualify for Hall of Fame if the required number of plays were lower. -
It may also help to remove "Very Short" arcs from your search. Even single-mission arcs are generally at least "Short" unless they are farms. Searching only "Medium" and longer arcs does cut out pretty much all the farms, although it doesn't do anything about outdated missions.
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Quote:You can skip over all the filler missions you don't want to do without wasting a drop on them.Originally Posted by ArwenDarkblade
But I think the bigger question is this - Who wanted an abandon mission feature? And for what? Especially now that we can carry up to 7 missions, is it really needed? And what purpose does it serve? You still can't get out of old arcs with it, or advance the arc along toward completion.
No, but I do expect 3 stacked holds to mez a level 10 boss.Quote:Originally Posted by Ironblade
Well, since they display the animations and graphic effects from the Invulnerability powerset, that seems fine. Would you expect 3 stacked holds to mez a tank? -
Quote:You have yet to demonstrate that it is possible to implement something like this that would actually deter exploiters, not affect legitimate content, and not just be a waste of development resources.Originally Posted by PapaSlade
So knowing your story will under perform the best PVE farms in the game by 10%-15% (because of a mission xp cap) you won't write the story?? It would not stop me from playing it because I don't expect to reach that type performance in most dev created content and I still play that.
If the exploiters new going in that they could do 10%-15% better elsewhere, would they be inclined to go eslewhere?? -
Quote:You don't even need to unpublish anything. Just hide any arc that hasn't been updated/played in X days from the search.Originally Posted by Judgement_Dave
Surely better to state that in x days (maybe x=90) all arcs that haven't been republished between now and then get wiped... and allow devs choice (or similarly locked missions) to be edited for the purposes of meeting current AE rules that may currently invalidate them.