Irresponsible
-
Posts
379 -
Joined
-
We didn't even get to the most difficult part of FMD! if you wanna try it again next time. I mean I've soloed it but there are lots of non-required bosses that can slow you down if you stop and fight every one.
-
Quote:Don't they require teaming on every TF/SF? I don't think they've admitted to any such thing and it seems counter the whole point of a MMO. I usually have maybe half TOs & half DOs in the 15 level range at most and the real big shift doesn't happen until SOs anyway, imho. I think I understand now some of the harsh reviews I've read on these forums if you guys really expect amateur mission creators to do better than the people who've trained to do this stuff for years and/or do it for a living.Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
Anything that forces teaming is bad. The devs admitted as much when they allowed AVs to downgrade to EBs for soloers.
An arc should be playable by characters within the level range to which the arc is set.
If we're going to use "the devs do it" as a defense, the devs also "spoil the surprise" by including warnings on AV missions.
By the way, there are no AVs in TO-range dev-created content. Players don't encounter AVs in dev-created content until level 15.
And finally, the devs also create defeat alls on giant maps, "find 20 hostages and 30 blinkies in Oranbega," high-end villainous content that forces players to face AVs with nukes, mezzes, massive damage and tier 9s no matter which contact they choose, and many other examples of poor design decisions. Player architects should be learning from these mistakes, not imitating them.
As for the warning about AVs the Devs give in their content outside the MA, they don't have the advantage of the arc story description that all of a party can read beforehand that can let you know there's AVs in an arc so having to put that information in twice just seems redundant and too restrictive for me. -
Quote:Having read your longer review of this arc I understand you had issues with it being too difficult for low level toons, aside from just not liking the admittedly Scooby Doo type plot.Originally Posted by Venture
"The Marconeville Horror" shouldn't have been nominated in the first place.
Personally that's the reason I liked it. To beat it you just about have to team at low levels and you also get the satisfaction of being able to come back to the arc later once you get to higher levels if you want to try soloing it. I like this kind of arc cause it has replayability built right into it rather than forcing me to adjust my difficulty slider every time I want more of a challenge.
I know some have said that there shouldn't be an EB/AV in a TO range arc but since the Dev's don't follow that rule why should players? And I don't need to be spoon-fed the knowledge that there's a hidden AV in a mission every single time in a way that destroy any possibility of even a mild surprise. -
Human Only PBs have more flexibility than either Tankers or Scrappers in that that can also can heal others a bit especially with the Medicine Pool and certain useful Day Jobs. It's also possible to make one that can have an effective ranged attack chain at lower levels than you can with either of those two non-epic melee based ATs. Personally I just look at it as a chance to have a Melee character of different flavor than the Tank or Scrapper power sets allow for rather than being better than them.
-
Thanks for putting the Crey Hero Lab map back in and for all the recent new additions. This is huge for us who love that map. Anyway we could get a full list of the rew ones and their locations? I saw one map of Atlas with one of the huge statues being repaired cause of a meteor strike that I just can't seem to find in the editor.
-
Twice as many ugly custom mobs for my sucky arcs that are no fun to play for anybody but me? I'll take that and be grateful for it.
-
I was really blown away by the SO Range Honorable Mentions (25-40):
Old Dog, New Trick #81318 @Wrong Bird
Fun arc. Loved the last mission and the custom mobs. The K-9 to K10 rebrand was very funny. Lead out of a hostage on one mission was kind of boring. Could have used an ambush or two or three. Still gave it 5 stars just because it had a lot of heart.
Pro Patria Mori #1173 @WhatRoughBeast
Nice to finally see somebody use the $origin tag for something. Awesome zombie mobs! Great tragic storytelling about the price often paid for being a hero the likes of which this game could use more of. 5 stars
The Horrible Mr. Caractacus #10721 @Lady Sadako
The Seraphim custom group is simply fantastic. Very cool EB in second mission. 3rd mission is absolutely amazing. I love having all of those magical mobs in the perfect map for it. Seriously, why didn't this arc get nominated based on this mission alone? T'was so much fun. Ending was a challenge but not of the impossible head banging into keyboard variety. My only complaint was that it was only 4 missions instead of five but then I am a mission hog. Besides which one more mission and I'd have had to find a way to give this one that ever elusive 6th star! -
This is truly awesome. I may have to redo every single one of my arcs without all the painful compromises. 200K will seem like heaven although I wonder if even that much would have felt cramped if they had relased MA that amount of memory?
P.S. Way to live the dream of the Last Starfighter Dr. Aeon. -
Thanks for starting this thread. I was so inspired by all the posts that I decided to make my own monster arc although it may be too tough for a lower level scrapper to solo. Maybe try it out sometime if you get to higher levels. Monster's Gauntlet # 342100
-
Looks like I'll have to wait to play all of these until after Halloween but I will get around to it. Just finished another one that nobody will play (I dare you!). A heroic tale for the scary season that will most likely require a team to finsh.
Monster's Gauntlet # 342100 -
I try to play a variety of origins and it's almost even among the five except that I have twice as many Naturals as any other type because of Peacebringers and VEATS being forced into that category. It is worth noting that Naturals seem to get the most benefit from the Black Wand/Nemesis Staff veteran powers.
-
This just keeps getting harder and harder. All the nominated arcs for SO Range (25-40) were fantastic.
Teen Phalanx Forever! #67335 @PW--5/5 Stars. Very good job on the custom characters of the Teen Phalanx team and the Vahzilok Brides. Hard to find something to say that hasn't already been said about this arc which is just so perfect. Still can't believe this one didn't win the Hero Con contest.
Polar Emergence neutral Government User Interface Network (PENGUIN) #29205 @Tubbius--5/5 Stars. Deeply enjoyed all the deadpan silliness. Reminded me a bit of the old Batman tv series for some reason. Love anything involving the Winter Horde and we do not get to see them enough in game.
Astoria in D Minor # 41565 @The Cheshire Cat--5/5 Stars. Freakiest horror type story ever! Gave me chills more than once. Just a brutal story. One person I played it with made the comment that one should never have to lead an escort out without fighting something as happens in one of the earlier missions. Not sure I completely agree with that as I have a similar thing in one of my missions that involves a kidnapping on a small map but you might want to throw in an ambush to go with it if possible. This is another one for which I was shocked when it didn't win its category in the Dev contest.
Escalation #6143 @FemFury--4/5 Stars. A very fun arc. The body jumping idea is a brilliant one and well executed. The bot dialog was excellent and fun to read. It comes so close to my idea of a perfect arc with its extremely challenging minions and an archvillian or hero that requires a real effort to defeat. Not to mention that the AV was just a plain unforgettable character. The last map is truly awesome and I can't believe I never noticed that one in the mission editor! If I had to give one negative criticism it would be that there wasn't more of a variety of different types of minions to fight. Maybe the author could throw in some random villainous looters or something?
Also found this arc impossible to finish with full team of mid to low level toons (Super Sk'ed to 26) because the boss showed up as a +4 AV when the team leader's difficulty was set to +0 and a lot of us were still on TO or DO enhancements. When I later soloed it the final boss was only a +1 EB (which is what my difficulty was set too) and so while very hard was just barely doable for my un-purpled out level 50 PB and I wouldn't want her to be any weaker because of what an enjoyable challenge it was. So I don't know what if anything can be done about this.
Twisted Tongue #1444 @Days--4/5 Stars. Going in I was afraid with only Freakshow to fight that it would be a bit monotonous and also suffer in comparison to OMG! It's Lolbat, the recent guest author arc with a similar plot, which I greatly enjoyed playing but it turned out to be different enough to deserve to be evaluated on its own merits. I really liked the long-winded professor contact and the contact's text throughout the arc.
Nice choice of an unusual map for first mission that the Devs should really expand a bit to have some more room as well as some spawn points on upper floor. The mission entry pop for the 2nd mission is a nice little touch and an excellent example of the high quality of the text present through the whole arc as it establishes that you've been searching for the students for a while with just a couple of lines. Final map is also one of my favorites. Thought I saw an inapropriate X-rated joke in one part of it but who can tell really? Damn the author for actually making me understand Leet speak!
Typo alert: Second mission Contact's still busy text need to be redone as part of it makes no sense. The final description text for the Genius boss should end in a question mark, no?
Now for the impossible choices.
BEST SO LEVEL ARC (25-40)
1st Place--Astoria in D Minor # 41565 @The Cheshire Cat
2nd Place--Polar Emergence neutral Government User Interface Network (PENGUIN) #29205 @Tubbius -
I don't even care who won the thing as long as all the nominees get their respective arcs promoted to Dev Choice. That's the real prize and they all seem worthy of it.
-
I just played Astoria in D Minor and that's got to be the creepiest and most distrubing arc ever. If it don't qualify as a Halloween arc then nothing does.
-
Love Halloween Stuff! Gonna play all of these. My Halloween arc is Witch's Brew # 330099. Being that it's a villainous arc you get to play a bit of an evil monster yourself.
-
And of course after the rest of the team wiped Lt. Mary Sue finished the Vampiresses off single-handedly and without even breaking a nail.
-
The name of the SG is MA-Arc-2. I'll be on Saturday (today) and hope to do some of the SO range nominees from the Player awards.
-
Quote:I'm not crazy about this rule and break it on a regular basis. I've one arc where the contact doesn't know there's a not required for mision completion EB waiting to attack the player so having it revealed in the mission accept text would undermine the whole story. I always give warning in the mission description text about EBs/AVs and almost always put a warning somewhere in the contact's dialog that the player sees before a mission about the need for having a team when going up against an EB but being restricted to doing it every time in the mission accept dialog feels too restrictive.
Especially since even though the devs have said over and over that you can't have an EB in a mission without describing it in the mission accept text and said arc commits that sin, too. -
Quote:
Someone did. It's called "Teen Phalanx Forever!" and it uses varying level ranges to mirror the ranges of the Freedom Phalanx task forces. If you can use varying level ranges as effectively, more power to you. Again, statistical probability says don't push your luck. I just made an arc where you can fight every Safeguard Hero and Mayhem Villain in the game and it ranges from around level 9 all the way up to 54, just because I thought it would be fun, and there are lots of mobs that are placed lower than design intent, like fighting Reflections at level 10, and so on. Of the arcs I've made it is my favorite and I've had no trouble so far soloing it on any of my toons. While having a consistent level range might be good advice for writing an arc that will be of the same type as what the Dev's do, some of us like the MA specifically because it allows us to do crazy stuff that the Devs never would. I don't think we are even that small of a minority either.Quote:There will always be limitations to your creativity when you're publishing something for public consumption. Of course you can just ignore them, but don't be surprised when nobody plays your arc, and those that do rate it poorly. If you want unlimited creativity, you can have as many local arcs as you want. -
Voting for best DO range arc sure was tough. Glad I didn't have to select the nominees
I really enjoyed Ctrl + Alt + Reset #137561 by @Bubbawheat and have ever since I played it through with the author on one of my alts and then learned to my surprise that it was featured in the City Scoop. My favorite part is all the pop culture references in the clues. It does have a typo in the first mission--First time you fight Agent Marx one of his when injured lines of dialog goes "But this in this city..." so has an extra this in it. 5/5 stars.
PUG Hell #7415 by @Beach Lifeguard was a bit too far beyond the 4th wall for my taste but is chalk full of very funny depictions of bad PuG clichés. Has one very cool map on last mission. Arc could have been longer in my opinion although many will perhaps consider it the perfect length. Typo alert: Mystery Solved clue "It was Living Monumnet the Whole Time!" obviously name of boss is misspelled. 4/5 stars.
Cutthroat Competition #10171 by @Frozen Northman is very challenging and I'm all about the challenge level being as high as reasonably possible. Lead out on huge map on second to last mission (why not just have mission end with rescuing hostage?) and another huge map with hostages to find on final mission are not my favorites although they didn't bother me as much as they did a couple of other people on the team I ran it through with. This arc has really great custom mobs that put up a tough fight. 4/5 stars.
The Invasion of the Bikini-Clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space! #61013 by @Aliana Blue was a real surprise. Should have expected the Ed Wood parody from the title but somehow didn't. Best contact ever and I don't see how anybody will be able to top that one. Very nifty how it managed to turn Ed from a zero into a hero so deftly.
Only two words need be said about Sibling Rivalry #118690 by @Sister Flame and they are--Disco Trolls! Okay, maybe a few more words. I very much liked the abandoned warehouse maps and the Clockwork are fun to fight as always. Also gave extra points just for having War Witch as a contact as she's my favorite signature hero. This is another arc that I think I've played through once with the author coincidentally enough. 4/5 stars.
My votes for Best DO Range Arc (15-25)
1st place--Ctrl + Alt + Reset #137561 @Bubbawheat
2nd place--Sibling Rivalry #118690 @Sister Flame
Hope I didn't let the fact that I've met both authors of the arcs I voted for in game affect my vote but I've played both arcs through more than once now and think they deserve to win. -
Quote:Congratulations Bubbawheat! Couldn't have happened to a nicer person after all you have done and are doing to help out your fellow MA authors. I don't know about the other nominees but your arc was really well done and you handled the time travel aspect pretty ingeniously.Originally Posted by Bubbawheat
Only 9? That's actually lower than I would have expected.
Wait a second, you're talking about the official architect awards. I've been spending way too much time and thought on my own awards I almost forgot about those.
*checks announcments*
*sees name*
*squee!*
And gratz PW on your own nom too, as well as those other 7 regulars who are also nominated in the player awards. It goes to show that the devs and players do share some good taste. -
Quote:Just a quick word about the Honorable Mentions for TO range arcs. I played all three of them and can in good conscience recommend all three for anybody who wants to experience some heart-warming nostalgia for their lowbie days of fighting Hellions and Skulls.Originally Posted by Bubbawheat
TO range arc finalists posted. Thanks to Wrong Number and GrinningSpade to help narrow down the finalists.
And congratulations to those arcs nominated that didn't make the cut. They're great arcs as well, check out the Honorable Mentions:
Poi, Demonology, and Everything I Learned From Hellions #164235 @londerwost
The Fireside Poet #189439 @MutaJenn
Soul Train: Origins #9590 @Soul Train
Londerwost's arc has one of my favorite outdoor maps in the first mission that it is refreshing to see used for something else besides power-leveling farms. Also Ms. Liberty seemed to be channeling Dominatrix at one point which was pretty funny and you even get a chance to rescue a Signature Hero. Not bad managing to cram so much into an arc that only has two missions.
Mutajenn's is a great story told well, with an antagonist that is both creepy and sad at the same time. One typo I did notice is in the Contact's still busy dialog for the first mission. "There" should be their. Liked the way patrols and ambushes were used together to increase the action.
Soul Train's arc is of course part of that much maligned genre of Origin stories but was actually quite good *gasp!* if you don't mind that kind of thing and some of my favorite comic book arcs are origin stories.
Still working my way through the DO arc stories and I'm starting to think there's no way I'll be able to play all the nominees before the deadline for voting but it's sure fun trying. -
As far as I can tell none of the guest authors have even made an arc before using the MA system. I kind of get the feeling people are holding them to a higher standard because they are somewhat famous when maybe we should be cutting them some slack because they are newbies. It's all subjective and I can understand not liking an arc but some of the more critical comments really leave me wondering if people aren't taking this all too seriously. If you hold all player made arcs and dev generated content to these same almost ridiculously high standards then you must think the game stinks and is a waste of time to play.
-
I wasn't able to justify anything other than a five star rating for any of the best TO range arc nominees so picking my favorites was really tough. I actually learned a thing or two from 15+ Minute Tutorial - Knowledge is Power #28470 @Paula which I didn't expect having been using the MA for a while now. It always pays to brush up on the basic and the arc is just chalk full of useful info presented in a enjoyable an imaginative way and employs clever use of objects to collect. Nuclear in 90: The Fusionette Task Force #58363 @Cavatina has the alliterative named heroes to fight, which is one of my favorite comic book conventions, and deserves extra points for making fun of Fusionette. Day Job Hell: A Villain’s First Day Job # 322480 @Clave Dark 5 was just super fun to play. Very inventive use of recolored standard mobs and I loved the Guano Beast and the Sewer Workers and the cake! The humor was decidedly blue or should I say brown? And the groan factor is off the charts in a good way. Extra points for referencing one of my favorite episodes of MST3K and the colorful contact.
Best TO Range Arc (1-15)
1st Place -Mercytown, the one with the fish #6017 @Tangler
2nd Place-The Marconeville Horror #178278 @Footloose
In the end I had to go with the ones that were the most challenging to finish cause they had the toughest final fights, at least for me, and therefore were the ones I'd most likely replay often. The Marconeville Horror has some great dialog from its critters and a very cool time travel theme that lets us get a feel for the bloody heyday of Manuel Marcone. Extra points for the Scooby Doo reference. Mercytown had great maps and like I said the final fight with the ambushes proved very challenging for a lowbie character and I loved that. Extra points for the very cool Chinatown reference and the whole gothic feel of the piece. -
Well, for what it's worth I really like Apples of Contention - 3184, but then I'm a sucker for anything involving Greek mythology. Haven't had time to play any of your others yet. I'm curious what you think about the arcs nominated for the 2009 Player Awards over in the MA Stories & Lore sub forum? Seems like some pretty good ones to me.