Garielle

On deeper thought on this topic I did think of something that may well work very well for WoW. Some sort of "PvP Viewer". A completely separate client which would allow you to look at the action on any of the PvP playfields. It could work either as a romaing viewpoint (like Observer mode in the CoX arena), fixed points of view that the viewer could switch between, or from the point of view of the players, with the viewer able to tab between the players.

This would promote the PvP aspects of the game to those outside the game, and tempt them to come in and play.

There is one SERIOUS issue with this, and it is an issue. They would need to come up with some way to ensure that someone could not be connected from both the game client and the PvP viewer--other than IP address--at the same time. Otherwise, people would use it for rampant cheating. In WSG and can't find the flag carrier, open up the PvP viewer and just tab to the flag carrier's point of view. "Oh! There she is! Quick guys, over here! She's by herself!"

For those that are wondering "Why not just use the IP address?", the answer is simple. In today's WiFi world, an application like this would be wasted if you couldn't get to it from your high end phone. There would be versions for the iPhone and any other phone they could manage one for. The phone would have a different IP address, so a simple IP address check wouldn't work.

Even simpler.... you're playing on your PC. You fire up your laptop and hook up to your NEIGHBOR'S wireless connection. Your neighbor has a different IP address than you. Once again, you're in.

Now, one way this could work is very simple indeed. The viewer is delayed 10 min. What you see happening in the viewer actually happened 10 minutes ago. This would make any information it had useless for the purposes of gaining any advantage on the battlefield.

The only issue is that Blizzard would have no incentive to do this. More targets for PvP isn't enough incentive. They aren't short on PvPers.

On the flip side, a good number of WoW players are there especially for the PvP. If this were done, they would have no need to continue to subscribe. They could simply cancel their subscription, and continue to do what it is they love best for free.

In some games, this may be a viable option. With WoW actually being heavily geared to encourage PvP, they are not one of them.

Level Range: 1-15
Alignment: Villainous
Missions: 5
Length: Very Long (According to MA Terminal)
Groups: Longbow, Paragon Police

Story Summary:
A team of Longbow agents has infiltrated an Arachnos Base. Dukardugos, an Arachnos Crab Spider and leader of a group known as The Alpha Contingency, asks you to go in and reclaim the base. While cleaning out the Longbow trash, you realize they have used a computer terminal to send some sort of transmission. You wisely grab a copy of the security logs and return to Dukardugos.

This begins your journey to learn what the Longbow Agents were after, a journey which takes you into a 2 different Longbow bases, an office building in Atlas Park, and to the very streets of Paragon City, where you must face your final foe, a Corruptor who has switched teams and is now working on becoming the newest member of the Freedom Phalanx.

Author's Notes:

This is a brand new arc that I just released earlier this week. Unlike the hero arc, this one does include a single custom EB in the last mission. In order to keep the arc solo friendly, an ally is provided to aid you in defeating her.

This entire arc can actually be run somewhat quickly because the only mission requriing you to clear all opponents is the first one, which is set on a very small map. Experienced players should easily be able to clear this one in under an hour. Because a couple of the maps used are actually random, the time can vary from run to run due to the location of mission objectives shifting.

Level Range: 1-10
Alignment: Heroic
Missions: 5
Length: Very Long (According to MA Terminal)
Groups: Snakes

Story Summary:
A team of Longbow agents has broken contact after being dispatched to investigate a disturbance at an office in Atlas Park. You are sent in to rescue them. When you get there, you find the Longbow agents have been pinned down by Snakes. You rescue the agents, one by one, and with their help, you manage to dispatch the snakes.

From there, the story takes you to four other locations as you investigate how the snakes came to be in Atlas Park, and what they are up to. In the end, you face the leader of this group of Snakes, a large, ugly, Cobra named Slither.

Authors Notes:

This Arc was the first arc I wrote with the MA system, and has actually been around, in one form or another, since beta. It was originally titled "Snakes on a Train". It has been revamped and improved several times based on comments received from players.

This is meant to be an alternate starting arc for heroes. As such, the difficulty level in most parts is not very high. There are no EBs or AVs. If you are looking for quick, easy, powerlevelling this is not your arc.

While the MA system classifies this arc as very long, the only really time consuming missions are the 3rd and 4th missions in the arc. Each of these probably take 15 to 20 minutes, just because of the nature of the maps and the objectives. Only two missions in the arc (the first and the last) require clearing the map. Neither of these maps are very big at all, and in the first mission you have a significant amount of help.

Still, I would estimate 1.5 to 2 hours to run this arc straight through. Of course, I tend to take things a little slow, so you may be able to finish in an hour or less.

I absolutely devastate the person below me by forcing them to stare at Atlas Park AE Team broadcasts.....for 144 hours straight....



By the way Breakneck, thanks for the cheese curls. I was hungry and they were, indeed, killer.

Okay.... this was not in this game, but it was a funny moment....

I was running missions in another game that also used an instanced mission system similar in some ways to CoH/V. I had just gone in, taken out a group of badies and was about to move on the next when I see this grim reaper loking creature moving towards me. Unprepared at the moment, I turn and run out the door.

I turn around and it has followed me OUT of the mission!! What the.... I start hightailing it.... suddenly I poof back to standing right next to it....OMG...It's gonna...wait...it's not attacking me....what's going on?

It was a GM who had come to respond to a question I had asked.

More Cowbell!?!?!?!?

Oh, Dinos... Darn! Thought I finally had a co-conspirator.

I may be in the minority on this, but I actually consider the business ethics of a company when I am considering where to spend my money. I don't give my money to a certain large well-known store chain because they have decided to back a political initiative that I am very much opposed to. I don't spend money at a certain convenience store (especially for gas) because a large portion of that money is going to go to a communist country which is no friend to the US.

Now, that being said...

A few months ago, Cryptic displayed their own business ethics when they decided to market within the CoX forums and within the game itself. This action put them on the exact same level as the in-game spammers who send endless messages in illegible English advertising cheap money. Their public apology clearly shows that, even after the uproar, they consider it a joke, and fail to comprehend what is wrong with what they did.

I feel, at this point, it is safe to say that Cryptic will never again see one penny from my pocket. I will not buy nor subscribe to CO or any other Cryptic product, ever again. They have shown their true colors, and I say, "Thanks, but no thanks".

Actually, what I predict the whole "pick your team size" feature is going to do is increase the "Pay to farm" incidents.

"[Broadcast] Alt with Infamy Transferred From Main: Lowbie LFF Willing to pay 2.5 mil per run"

Your level 50 with a farming build that can wipe through a 6-man spawn in just a few minutes is then getting MORE of what they are there for in the first place (INF). Your level 50 also doesn't need fillers or door-sitting mentors (no one to split the money with). Yes, the lowbie is only getting the experience as a level 49, instead of a 45 (as with the old bridging method), but considering that the experience is being given out between two people instead of 6, the yield will still be worth the effort of spamming for a bit and then sitting by the door.

I actually have two lowbie arcs published at the moment. One for the heroes, and I recently released one for villains. Both are designed to be used as alternate starting arcs, and they are completely different stories so both could be enjoyed if you can get past the obvious alignment affiliation issues.

ARC ID: 270867 - This City Has Gone to the Snakes (Alternate Hero Starting Arc)
Level Range: 1 - 10

This arc takes place, obviously, within Paragon City. It can be easily soloed by most ATs, in fact I soloed it on my Empath Defender. The only enemy groups are Snakes and a few Skulls in one mission. There are no EBs. The AE system classifies it as "Very Long", but only 2 of the 5 missions requiring killing everything. In one of those you have a substantial amount of help so it goes quickly. In the other, the map is quite small, so it is not a time consuming affair. Still, it may be tight trying to squeeze this into one hour. I would estimate 1.5 hours to 2 hours on this arc.

It saw a bit of traffic early on, and was riding with a 5-star rating up until very recently. It has since stagnated as it fell from the 2nd page of the arc lists to much lower in the pile.


ARC ID: 300379 - A Twist of Destiny (Alternate Villain Starting Arc)
Level Range: 1 - 15

This arc is my favorite of the two, both story wise and playstyle wise. The primary enemy groups used in the arc are Longbow and Paragon Police, which make for some low-level fun. There is one custom EB in the final mission, but there is an ally to help you. She is NOT over powered at all, and I had success soloing this mission from level 1 without having to use the ally. It helps that she only spawns as a "Boss" if you are soloing at difficulty level 1. I ran the entire thing with a friend again last night to get some feedback. Even in a two-man team at Difficulty 1, she spawned as a boss for us, so I feel I can safely say this IS a soloable arc.

Like the hero arc, this one shows as Very Long. In the case of this arc, only the first mission requires clearing the map, and it is a very small map. If you just go in, complete the objective, and move on, this one can probably be done within the one hour time frame.

Note on both missions:

I have noticed that both of these arcs are more difficult in a team. This is because of the mechanics of how team spawn is calculated and not by design. The way the spawn is calculated by the game engine itself, sometimes it overcompensates for teams at the lower level. Bosses routinely spawn even with just a 2-man team. These are random spawns, and not spawns specifically placed into the arcs.