Lothic

Because you didn't send NCsoft the money to buy updated server hardware/software that doesn't require weekly maintenance.
So basically this is all YOUR fault... I hope you feel bad about it now that we know who to blame.

It's funny but now that the Posi TF is no longer a generally accepted "bad" TF we can now focus on some of the other oldest TFs like Synapse as being the current "bad" TFs that need to be fixed. It'd be cool if the Devs set in motion a plan to systematically update all the oldest TFs. Maybe they could try to do one every Issue as an ongoing "modernization" effort.

I technically started playing this game on the 25th also. But the Devs wrote the rules on Vet Awards to dismiss the Headstart period as valid time. Who knows why - probably fairer to everyone that way.

Like you say those 3 days don't ultimately matter much either way, especially when game doesn't really strictly follow its own rules regarding Vet dates to begin with...

Well according to the pesky rules the Devs bothered to establish regarding Vet Awards Headstart was never supposed to count toward Vet Award seniority anyway. April 28th, 2004 was the official start of the game, period. Just one of -those- things I guess...

Well for what's it's worth I've never really agreed with the way Vet badges were implemented in this game. I don't think they should have ever been linked to characters and considered "badges" in the first place. It's not like any of my characters know they are in a game to begin with.

And that's coming from someone who's going to have the 78th month badge on the 28th of October - the ACTUAL 78th month anniversary of this game...

And you guys thought I didn't have a sense of humor about this.

Heh... I don't even have to explain why I'm responding to you about this at this point.

Yeah that's a good point. Most of what makes some of those non-50 recipes so hypervaluable is how they fit in when people are exemplared down for PvP and the like. It's pretty critical to be the right level when you roll for those.

That's actually another reason why I stick to level 50 rolls. There's a pretty steady demand for level 50 recipes and you don't have to worry about making sure you're the right level for things. I suppose if you wanted to become a serious marketeer the whole level thing would be important. For my purposes I just use it as a relatively simple way to generate INF at a steady rate while only having to spend a few minutes a day on it.

This reason alone was reason enough that it had to be improved. I've actually run across people who won't try another TF because they got such a relatively bad taste in their mouths over the original version of Posi that it basically ruined them for any others.

I think the new version(s) is popular simply because it's now one of the better ones in the game. It might not be the "best" TF there is, but I'd easily rate it in like the top third of the game now.

It was definitely "thrown" out there. You basically offered "the game is already balanced" as a some kind of justification for why the Devs shouldn't consider adding an optional QoL system. My suggestion wasn't a "fix" for game balance or even something that would "destroy" game balance because it would be absolutely optional. In a nutshell the fundamental balance of this game really had NOTHING to do with this.

It's fine if you don't like this idea. But there are people who consider this game to be (relatively speaking) too easy, regardless of it being "balanced". Like the optional mission difficult settings this idea would provide another layer of challenge for those who want more without affecting anyone else's enjoyment of this game.

I've been playing games with what you call "advantage/disadvantage systems" for decades. I believe I understand the general idea behind them.

Obviously to "sell" a system of Disads to the average MMO player the Devs of this game would indeed likely have to make some kind of advantage/disadvantage system out of it. Frankly I consider it sad that the Devs would have to "trick" people into trying this with a candy coating like that. I'm willing to challenge myself by trying to play this game even with Disads because it would be cool to actually play with ALL the aspects of the comic book universe, not just the ones that make typical MMO players happy. YMMV.

P.S. As you point out we ALREADY have a system in place that lets us take ourselves down a peg (or two...or four) with the mission difficulty settings. All I'm really suggesting is an optional expansion to that. From that point of view it really doesn't seem like it'd be that "tough a sell" to the Devs since they've already come part way there on their own. *shrugs*

I think you basically answered/explained why they are "cutting the event short" this year for yourself.

*Keanu Reeves as Ted Logan* Whoaaa....

Yes I know. But technically your statement wasn't really one either. You were simply stating a logical counterpoint to my idea.
I figured since you fudged your point to try to make it sound like a Catch 22 I'd follow suit just to mess with you.

I already stated the "benefit" of taking an optional Disad as I suggested. A concept like this does not need to work from the point of view of "giving up one thing to get another". I totally understand that countless games over the decades have had game mechanics that work like that but that does not mean something like this in a game MUST work like that.

Please don't get me wrong here: I SERIOUSLY doubt what I'm suggesting will ever happen because far too many people will NEVER want to gimp themselves in a MMO, even if there was some other indirect in-game advantage for doing so. You really didn't have to make a case for your point of view - I already said I know most MMO players' brains aren't wired that way.

I simply believe that an optional Disad system would be appropriate here because it fits the comic book theme of this game. I never said it would be easy to do or even accepted by the majority of the players. But then again can you honestly name a QoL improvement to this game that absolutely EVERYONE thought was a good idea?

I don't doubt any of that.

But I've read where they estimate it takes 250 million years for our solar system to rotate around the galactic center. If we are to accept the scientific age of the Universe that means the Milky Way has only spun around roughly 50 times (give or take) in its lifetime and our solar system has only existed for about 18 of those. Those just seem like remarkably low numbers for something as huge and relatively organized as our galaxy....

I think posts like this only goes to prove that different people who play this game can experience it from vastly different points of view.

I'm not going to bother to tell you to "Learn to Play" or anything like that. I'm sure there are things I could do better in this game myself. All I can say is that I never had the kinds of problems or dissatisfaction with playing Kheldians that you seem to have had. Dealing with the built-in Kheldian weakness at its original level was never a "trivial" thing and sure I got killed by it plenty of times. Ultimately I can't really explain why it didn't bother me as much as others - maybe I just managed to see it as a challenge to figure out and overcome rather than an annoyance to complain about. YMMV.

The 'real' Catch 22: There are some people who might choose to give themselves Disads WITHOUT any expectation of getting strengths in return.

I understand the idea of self-gimping a MMO character is literally a laughably unthinkable notion to some people, maybe even most people. But the idea of having weaknesses without reciprocal advantages is, once again, a cornerstone concept in comic book lore and as such ought to at least be a legitimate OPTIONAL consideration for a superhero MMO game.

I realize it's a hard thing for a MMO like this to try to do that well. Clearly the Kheldian inherent weakness to quants/voids was handled badly and most people hated it because again MMO players don't usually think in terms of things that gimp you as a "good" thing. I can accept the reality of the situation.

Even if such an optional Disad system existed in this game I probably would not use it for every character I have, but I would use it when I wanted to as a justifiable QoL improvement.

Well you did at least jump to the conclusion that I thought there was an issue of game balance in question here and/or that I didn't consider it. I never thought there was a general problem with the current game balance and my suggestion of adding a more robust Disad system to this game was not an attempt to "fix" anything that I perceived to be broken.

My suggestion is more of a "QoL improvement" idea for people who would either like a new optional tool for RP expression or would like the extra challenge of playing this relatively easy game by self-gimping themselves. Obviously not everyone would like it and if you're one of those people you wouldn't have to use it.

I wouldn't have any problem linking these things to badges - just take a quick look at my sig line to see why.

But there are some people out there who'd pitch a major fit over that. These people already loathe the idea of the few "costume items linked to badges" we have already. Any more would likely make them have kittens.

I suppose technically speaking the Devs would end up upsetting someone out there no matter what they did. Can't please everyone I guess. *shrugs*

These aren't embarassing questions to ask at this point. Since these things aren't part of the official live build of the game as of today it's not really 100% certain how they're going to work until they finally go live. I always take anything that's still being tested with a reasonable grain of salt.

We have a pretty good idea (as other posters have pointed out) but basically we're all "noobs" with this right now...

I have nothing against the idea of getting permanent costume codes in ways other than having to be physically present at a Con or buying them from eBay.

But I think we ought to be a bit more clear with our suggestions the way ResidentBaka was. If we just let the Devs run wild with this idea they might decide to link something like this to an upcoming Vet Award or some such. Imagine how many people would whine about it if these became Vet Awards at some point?

Frankly people who believe it's "universally natural" for humans to be moral and do "the right thing" scare me the most. Absolute moral certainty (i.e. believing that there are things that are ALWAYS good and ALWAYS evil coupled with the semi-delusional belief that you as a person KNOW with certainty what those things are) is the classic hallmark of ideologues, dictators and sociopaths.

It's not that I stand against Golden Girl's professed intention to do "good things" if she had superpowers. What worries me about it is that she seems to blindly assume everything would turn out fine and that there'd be no negative consequences because she somehow KNOWS she'd do the "the right thing" given the chance. Pardon me if I doubt ANYONE could handle the responsibility much less the likes of Golden Girl or me for that matter.