Redbone

It is not "Custom Critters" that will keep your arc from being played. It is not the "XP is the greatest thing since slice bread" players who will keep your arc from being played. It is not the "Story-schmorie, bring on the phat lootz" people who will keep your arc from being played. What will keep your arc being played is the sheer number of competing arcs involved combined with the very likely problem that your arc, regardless of quality, will settle into the 4-Star Doldrums and be so hard to find even you won't know where it is.

If you want your arc to have a chance at more than a few dozen plays over the course of years, you will have to constantly play agent and publisher for yourself, always promoting it to friends and strangers. You will have to host "arc parties" where you lead teams through it, or create teams specifically to play it before handing over the star to a new leader who wants to read the story. You will have to post about it on the boards, get feedback from other arc writers, and basicaly work on it regularly for months, tweaking and tinkering.

Yes, the XP nerfs to customs were severe. Yes, the severe punishments handed out early in the AE's life were damaging. Yes, it all hurt the AE in general. But none of that is the root reason an arc has trouble finding legs merely minor contributing factors.

To give you an idea what you'll be facing, the three arcs in my sig were loaded on day 1 to day 7 of the AE going live (two on day 1, one on day 7). They had the advantage of having a much smaller pool of arcs competing with them. They all, with a single notable exception, have under 150 ratings (plays are higher but unknown since they don't give us that info) and, until recently all three were in the 4-Star Doldrums despite good reviews from most people who commented when rating. They were all heavily promoted by me and some by others who like particular arcs. The single exception is "Sabrina's Tale" which was nominated for Best Original Story and Arc of the Year last year by the devs, won both, and was upgraded to Dev's Choice plus was nominated in the board's Player's Choice Awards (and took second place for Serious Arc). Even with those advantages, it has picked up 450 ratings and still doesn't have enough to be a contender (rating is difficult to say, since all DCs have a locked in 5 stars showing) for Hall of Fame and I still promote it fairly heavily.

Custom critters are, honestly, the least of your concerns when it comes to an arc's success. Making them interesting and balanced is A concern, but pales in comparison to the other factors that will effect the arc getting played. Build good, interesting, balanced (yeah, it's difficult but can be done) bad guys and don't worry about the XP they're worth. The story and your own promotion of it is what will keep your arc going.

Just remember: Flap your arms really hard and really fast. Really hard and really fast....

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If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

Okay, I give up, I've tinkered and my search-fu has failed....

How in the world are you making those stairs?

My big, A-Number 1, top of my personal list hope for any end-game content they add is that is is solo-friendly. Note, that doesn't mean soloable in this case. It's my hope that they make it open enough that if you aren't part of some gigantic SG (or even in a SG at all) you still have a reasonable chance of being able to get in on the end-game content either via coalitions, pick-up teams or running it with friends. The level of difficulty doesn't matter (well, it does, but only to the point of a reasonable chance of success while being difficult enough to be a challenge) just how open the admittance is.

This was my same problem with the CoP. I was concerned that my small SGs and unaligned characters would have zero chance to run it. None of us had all that great an interest in IoPs (we wouldn't have turned one down, but had no active interest in havign one either) we just wanted to run the CoP for the enjoyment of doing it. In the case of the CoP this became a moot point with it being borked from before the start and lasting about 12 seconds on live, but it is a good example of what I (and others I am sure), personally, wouldn't want to see in end-game content, not that others would have a problem with it.

The Ocho knew that if he didn't talk, and soon, they'd take him from the cage and torture him for information. But he would never, ever, give up the secrets of Going Rogue.

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If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

Did I really see the words "end game" in that interview? And the word "content" a LOT?

WooHoo!

Congrats to all the promotions and all hail our new lead developer overlord... overlady... Empress of the Cities.

Well, there's a darn good explination for the info blackout. An internal reshuffle.

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...07#post2552407

The number one problem with suggesting anything be added that pertains to PvP is ismply the fact that few people do it. If 95% of the players avoid PvP like the plague, then it is extremely difficult to justify putting many resources towards it. Even ideas that have the potential to boost PvP numbers are a hard sell because they're not guaranteed to do so and may be viewed as a poor use of time and money by the bean counters.

Take a look at the rather disaterous pass at PvP last time. They put considerable resources into altering PvP to make it more appealing to a larger audience and ended up lowering the PvP numbers and losing some subscribers. The investement wasn't just a bad one, but a losing one. Worse, it means the PvP community is smaller now making it even more difficult to justify the expendature.

The sad fast is, the fewer people who PvP the less business sense it makes to do anything with or for PvP (including more rewards). The second sad fact is, the more they have done with PvP has had a negative or neutral impact on PvP population in general, meaning they have a second reason to simply let PvP sit there as is.

After the earlier and expensive failures, any idea to deal with PvP will pretty much have to be a near guaranteed winner for increasing the population, and enticing PvEers into PvP via rewards isn't a guaranteed winner. Odds are the PvEers will do what they've always done, go in low population times for the rewards (such as Nukes and Shivs) or set up farms that split up the second someone actually tries to PvP (like Rep Badges and Rep Gladiators). The end result will be a short term spike in zone population followed by more doldrums and PvEers more convinced PvP sucks and more PvPers convinced the zones are too dead.

While there is nothing expressly bad or wrong with the original idea (though it would likely be severely tweaked before implimentation) it simply fails to "work" from a business standpoint. It doesn't appear to have the potential to increase PvP populations long term and would be viewed as a waste of time and money in the long run.

What I'm hearing from the people I regularly associate with in-game is a growing sense of unease and boredom. Either one by itself is bad, but both together ratchet up their personal doom-con settings.

From my talking with them, they seem to feel (in general) that the servers are a little more empty and teams are harder to find/put together (note: it doesn't matter if it is quatifiably true, the perception is what matters to the player). The ones who frequent the boards tend to feel that the CS team is trying their damnedest to keep us distracted (the code giveaways, the contests, the hyping up what so far appears to be a non-event event with the Rikti) from the lack of information and new content/additions outside of the for-pay packs, which is a whole different kettle of fish depending on each one's personal take on mictotransactions. Add in the perceived drain and "ohhh new shiney" of CO and other MMOs coming out and they become a little uneasy that they're aboard a ship that may be slowly sinking and the captain and crew are keeping quiet about it.

Now, all of this may be true or just their perception of events, but in the sense of just the player, all that matters is that perception. Some fresh GR info, or an actual event (the Winter Event seemed to distract them for about a week hopefully the V-Day event will do much the same and have some new stuff) would go a long way to alleviating some of the growing boredom and uneasiness.

I can sympathize with them to a large degree. I would love to see some new info, something substantial on GR, or even a peek at the new "pay pack" or a special, new in-game event even if it used elements we've already seen (this Rikti thing with motherships like in the end-of-beta event). Anything to keep the interest/anticipation level high in the game itself rather than in side elements (like the contests and code giveaways).

Ironically, while protesting that the toboggan run was "too difficult" to achieve a top speed run, moments after this photograph was snapped, the two protesters pictured here accidentally took one step backwards, tumbled down the slope and achieved record times.

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If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

From: Redbone
Position: Star Strider Irregular representing Big Daddy Redbone and the Redlights
Regarding: First Hand Account of Kings Row Rikti Invasion - 01/14/2010

I was one of the early responders to the initial Kings Row attack.

During the early stages of the attack, I was able to track two different drop ship routes. Both were following their typical attack pattern. They made an initial strafing run, followed by a bombing run and the strategy employed was typical of the recent Rikti activities. However during their bombing run, the first alteration in their previous patters became apparent, a foot patrol appeared several hundred yards from the tram station slowly making their way towards it. This particular patrol consisted of three invasion trained drones (Minion Threat Designation), a Headman Gunner (Lieutenant Designation) and a Rikti Priest (Boss Designation). I engaged and eliminated that patrol before moving to the invasion rally point. That was when the second public report of a roaming Rikti foot patrol came in via the zone broadcast system. From the given account, that patrol contained at least two Rikti Priests classified as a "Boss" threat designation.

That is when the second apparent difference between their apparent new MO and the old became apparent. The bombing run appeared shorter in duration that previous runs. Unfortunately, this is a qualitative statement not a quantitative one as I was unable to time the events with any accuracy.

When I arrived at the Rally point, Rikti forces were already beaming in against a large defense force. Due to the size of the defending force, it is impossible to say if the Rikti forcers were there in larger numbers than is typical. Taking advantage of earlier intel indicating the Rikti tend to modulate their invasion numbers by scanning the area and beaming in what they consider to be an appropriate number of combatants, our recent counterstrategies have focused on smaller defense forces working against smaller Rikti forces. Today's response for Heroes in Kings Row was considerably larger than our typical response. As such, Rikti forces were far larger than typical, but possibly no larger than they would have been a month ago given the same number of defenders.

Expecting a possible increase in Rikti hostility, I broke off from the main defensive forces and made a quick aerial patrol of Kings Row. No different ship classes were in evidence, and I spotted and assisted in dispatching a second foot patrol near the Tram Station on my return towards the rally point.

The remainder of the invasion appears to continue as normal. Eventually, the Rikti forces retreated and Kings Row returned to normal. After a quick round of congratulations we began moving to Atlas Park, which had just come under attack. That's when the game really changed.

Clear skys, war walls active, no sign of Rikti. And then it changed. No alteration to the skies or war wall status and no sign of Rikti drop shops, but suddenly the Rikti began beaming in again in force. Most of the defensive teams had broken up so there was a scramble to reassemble the forces and rally up a second time. The invasion forces were heavier this time around, Priests (again, "Boss" Threat Designations) were more common. The fighting continued as normal with our forces in some disarray initially but quickly recovering.

During sneak attack, the Rikti pulled a second new trick out of their bag. They beamed in one of their Master At Arms (GM Threat Designation) with a number of priests. Rather than following their standard pattern of a generically trained invasion force, the Master At Arms registered as having a numeric Threat Level. While he was far more trouble than their standard forces, he was quickly dispatched despite the efforts of their priests to keep him on his feet.

It is theorized that the Rikti were able to target their portals during this stage and possibly have a longer range for the portals (as evidence by their not having ships in the area to beam forces from) via "Redname Turncoats," one of the common designations for high profile Rikti spies, assisting them. It is likely they were directing the portal placement and Rikti force strengths "on the fly" while among or near the defending forces.

Upon beating back this second Surprise Attack, many of the Kings Row defenders moved to Atlas Park. In Atlas Park, the invasion forces used the exact same strategies as they have previously. This was likely due to the lack of suspected Redname Turncoats in Atlas Park at the time.

The evidence points to this being a regular cycle of Rikti Attacks at this point. However, the presence of suspected Redname Turncoats means Defense forces should be aware than the Rikti may alter their tactics and force deployment on the fly based on intelligence supplied by their spies.

Note that this assessment does not preclude a larger move by the enemy at a later time, but for the moment, all reports from "in the trenches" indicate that the only major alteration to their tactical situation is the presence of their Spies. Should their Spies be present, then their tactics and deployment will likely alter dramatically.

Star Strider Forces Registry:

Name - Redbone
Global Contact - @Redbone1
Level of Classification- Security Rating 50 Tanker
Origin - Technology
Super Group & Rank - Big Daddy Redbone and the Redlights

The Redlights stand ready for the Rikti. We're not leaders, we're not commanders, we're closer to mercs, working with any SG or team that needs us.

Just a guess but....

I believe that the Devs have realized that with some actual market competition from That Other Game In Tights an issue delay is a "bad thing." Realizing that GR is going to be a ways off still and with no "real" issue content to launch, they've come up with a long term event using older assets that aren't often (or ever) used to keep players in the game. With the popularity and good memories of the previous First Invasion, they're banking on it to sate the player fickleness for "new stuffz" when they can't provide a new issue for quite a while thanks to the brain and time drains of finishing Going Rogue.

That said, I'm betting on a repeat with mild modifications (from the current invasions mostly) of the First Invasion. All the assets are there, very little work needs to be done on it and they can get it into our hot little hands fairly quickly with a minimum of testing or disruption of normal play. For most of us, it will be an entirely new experience since we came along when the First Invasion was just a memory.

Also, given the comment that it is just "days away" leads me to believe it is slated for next week and will run until the new VDay event (which may or may not be new) possibly to restart after the 2 week window for that event.

Basically, I think this will not be anything "big" like an issue or even the release of the Invasion Events (which were part of an issue) but it will be something very cool. This is to keep us form leaving and/or eating one another while we wait for I17/GR.

The fastest and most effective ways for the Devs to cap market prices woudl be so easy to impliment that if they were unhappy with market prices as they stand (and that position could change at any time) they would have done it already. There are already three insanely effective ways to cap market prices in the game:

1. Stores - Sell the recipes for a "market cap price." They would always be avaliable at that price, meaning no one in their right mind would buy one from the markets for more than that.

2. Merits - Sell the recipes via merits. The supply would go up and it would give an alternate method of aquisition, meaning lower demand on the markets and higher supply, especially if the merit price was set low (think 200 merits or less). This is less effective than selling them outright in stores, but still effective. I know many people who haven't bought a "100 Million Inf IO" from the markets since merits were introduced except for purples.

3. Tickets. Same as merits, except they would have to remove the randomized selection tickets are currently locked into, but that's a fairly simple change. Again, if ticket prices were set insanely low (think 2,000 or less for purples), the ability to quickly acquire them without marketing woes would lower demand and boost supply.

With just those three in mind, it's easy to see that shou'd the Devs ever decide "the market is just out of control" they can quickly slam the door on it in a variety of insanely effective ways (and that's ignoring just bumping up drop rates by a few percent) using one or all of the methods. Because the Devs can conjure these high-demand/high-price items out of thin air at will, If they wanted to put regulation into the markets, they already have the tools to do so, since they have not, they don't view it as a problem or at least not a large enough problem to do anything with at the moment.

All it takes is one or two low ratings to knock a arc WAY down the list, even if it has a signifigant number of 5 star ratings especially if the "ratings pack" it is in is fairly tight. If you have an arc with 100 5 star ratings and one 1 star ratings, it drops to 4.96. No, that .04 isn't huge, but it becomes huge if the 100 (5 pages of listings) or so arcs "below" you on the list are running at 4.97-5. Drop in another 1 star rating and you lose another .04 and several more pages.

Mathmatically, to have a "5 star" rating you have to have a rating of 4.5 or up. This means that every rating below 5 stars requires a specific number of 5 star ratings to "bring it up" to 5 again:

For every 1 Star rating you need 10 5 Star rating to get above 4.5
For every 2 Star rating you need 8 5 Star ratings.
For every 3 Star rating you need 5 5 Star ratings.
For every 4 Star rating you need 3 5 star ratings.

However, ONLY 5 star ratings help you with this. Anything under that actually increases the number of ratings you need to "recoup" the loss and harms your chances of getting back to showing a 5 star average.

This means if an entire team of 8 pans your arc, you need 80 5 star ratings to get back into the 5 star range.

That's one reason it is so difficult to get an arc out of the "4 star doldrums," and insanely difficult to get one up out of the 3 Star range, much less even thinkign of getting a 1 or 2 star arc anywhere. It may be a good arc, it may be a great one, but the combination of lack of exposure (it's lost in the middle) and the sheer volume of 5 star ratings required to offset the lower ratings make it very difficult for it to climb out. When you add in "ratings momentum," the phenomenon where people tend to rate something exactly what it is already rated thanks to expectation bias caused by the rating and seeing the ratings of other people as being "accurate" though popularity, and the climb gets even harder.