SilverAgeFan

Right on.

One of my favorite spectator sports is going out and cheering on the NYC marathon runners from our special little spot along the course. Be ye plodder or pro, I get a huge rush out of the inspiration.

Meh. Big is for wusses. I'm all about the tiny this year.





The results will be huge I tell ya!

I am.






oh.












you said nm.














ok. nm.

Great concept on the storm aura, but yeah, it does look like it would benefit from two colors, one for the clouds the other for the lightning.

Superheroes. Classic spandex wearing superheroes.

My MA/SS scrapper serves is also in the Superman (hybridized with Wonder Woman) pastiche. She sports the moniker Amethyst Avenger.

I briefly used to team with a similarly cast character called Solar Man.

If I get you right, you are looking for that character type that bridges from the Golden Age through the Silver Age and in the now almost feels timeless. But essentially you want a GA name that feels like it can stand the test of time. And despite a majority of obvious ones being long since taken, there are still good names out there.

In the past two years, I and a friend made a themed speedster teen duo with a golden age feel and were able to score Turbo Lad and Turbo Lass (together as the Turbo Teens) on one of our favored servers for our already established super group.

Similarly, I created a character called the Crimson Edict (an early GA pulpy sort of Zorro/Phantom dual blade hero). With the free server transfers last Xmas, he got moved to Virtue with no need for a name change. In time, I felt he really belonged with most my GA/SA roster over on Triumph. Again was able to move him, with no name change or character substitutions. So again, there are still some GOOD classic sounding names out there to be had. (All said, I am in the long term an advocate for revisions to current naming systems or loosening of how and when names get freed up--but that's a whole 'nother thread.)

Anyways, back to your name and a few thoughts to maybe help guide your creative process:

- I think Star Guardian Alpha is too much of a mouthful. The three words break the two noun modifier combo common to most classic western hero names.

- Related: Correctly spelled English is a must for this name IMO. Don't use Japanese, French or whatever on this one. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to GA type characters. It was mostly an English speaking western phenomenon, American in particular, back in the 1920' & '30s. Characters that directly evoke a sense of multiculturalism didn't start showing up in large numbers till the Silver and Diamond Ages. (Yes there are some notable exceptions, BUT if you go with a non English named hero, he or she will likely feel more 1960's and forward right off the bat.)

- Definitely brainstorm some good descriptive classic nouns. This can be as much of simply taking inventory as it can be getting deeply creative. You don't need something ALTOGETHER new, just a novel combination. If the ingredients are familiar enough, your name will have that classic timeless long lived Golden Age feel ring to it. A few suggestions off the top of my head: Man/Woman, Boy/Girl, Lad/Lass, Captain, Avenger, Guardian, Protector, Patriot, Vengeance... given some more time to think on it, I'm sure you can extend that list by at least another dozen classic candidates.

- Then think about modifiers.

• Colors are always good, and not just simple names like Red, Blue or Green. Go for exotic but immediately recognizable names or bright colors that speak to the four-color roots of comics. As you can see, I've made what I think is good use of both Amethyst (a purple) and Crimson (a red). About a year and a half ago, I also nabbed Amberhawk (for my alien psi blaster loosely inspired by a hybrid of Hawk Girl and Martian Manhunter).
  
• Super attributes. Are you speedy? Are you solid? Think about how you might describe this sort of character in a work. Steel? Titanium? Stone? Adamant? Granite? Brilliant? Radiant? Who cares if it is already a potential name modifier that you get to pick later in game or connected to the name of a power. Just list a few of these too.
  
• Citizenship. One of my favorite GA type names of another players is Proud Citizen. This sums up aptly a longstanding GA naming trope: that of the good citizen. Captain America, The Patriot, Minuteman, Statesman. All of these speak to this trope. Russian and Soviet themed SGs made by other players twist this trope, playing with state-created heroes as instruments of propaganda and recall early soviet communist poster propaganda. So modifiers along the lines of Proud, Upstanding or mentions of Justice or Law can be a good thing. But there are also other names and this is an exception to the multicultural rule of thumb I describe above: you can harken back to the Mediterranean roots of democracy (it's no mistake that the game has us going back to a fictional version of Greece!). Anything that evokes the classics, Latin or Greek, could be fair game. Spartan? Plebeian? Aristotelian? With some fishing and research you may find something with a nice ring to it.
  
• Cosmic but not high tech. Some of the longest lasting cosmic heroes have had nice general names. I think that was why my friend's Solar Man sounded so timeless to me versus my now defunct and admittedly too obscure Lagrange Man. So your instincts to go with something like Star are good. But if you hit a thesaurus and see a similar word that sounds very much like contemporary science or start thinking of mentions of nano-circuitry or something like that, you're going to miss the mark. Long time ago I had a character on Freedom called Meteor Man. Earth/Fire tanker with the intention of getting both superspeed and superjump on him at the same time. Had a big M on his chest. But he got the fed to the Alt Axe. Anyways: Comet, Star, Sun, Solar, Meteor, Moon, Lunar should all be considered fair game. Some are for your modifiers column. Some for your nouns.

Mixing it up:

- Then start combining items from your list, but keep it to two word combinations.

- Alliterations are your friend. It's pretty common for classic superheroes to have two word names that begin with the same letter. See what matches up in this way.

- Keep scrambling them and hit a few combos. If you get one you are OKAY with but want to sleep on it some more, see if it is available and at least camp it for a week. And if you find a better name, be kind and release the camped one back into the wild. Someone else may have an even better use for it.

Good luck and let us all know what you end up naming him/her!

As an addendum to my prior assessment:

Ocho's latest announcement regarding the two new auras is a bit more in line with where things used to be and what I think fostered my loyalty: a steady stream of small treats. Similar to your favorite coffee house offering up a few samples here and there or spotting you a free cup of coffee now and then as a surprise.

Mostly these things have come in the form of costume pieces. In my opinion, CoX lives and dies by it's character creator. Honestly, if we were to get more costume bits more often: as in DEFINITELY in each issue, DEFINITELY in ALL booster packs (die, party pack, die! *stab stab*) and occasionally as a rare once a year or two mini release either timed with events or just cuz (remember how AWESOME you thought the devs were when they just released for free as a big THANK YOU to the fans and subscribers the jester costume set by then newbie artist Sexy J? THAT stood out amongst all other MMO titles IMO)--maybe then I think I'd find my sense of loyalty re-flourishing.

But since this is a business, I guess somebody there at Paragon and/or NC Soft needs to do the math and decide the value of our loyalty, calculate how it may or may not affect subscriber rates and if it offsets the sort of profits that come from a strip mining nickle and dime strategy (that in my mind releases like the party pack represents).

But back to Ocho's announcement: that is the sort of thing I'd like to see more of and something that would likely win me back. Though I'm only one customer.

Edit: There was also a better sense of tease and tickle about what was coming up in terms of future releases before. And that tease was less about mission content or game systems and more of showing off little costume bits that are in the coming releases. As dumb as it may sound, excitement over those little teases, sometimes six or four weeks from release, would be enough to make me want to log in a character who would likely use that costume later. This kept me subscribed, even during my lulls. It generated buzz and excitement amongst many folks I'd play with. And this contributed to a communal sense of excitement and well being within the game itself. All of this helped contribute to a fun, enjoyable and exciting escape from the day to day and kept me a satisfied customer.

I think this sort of buzz is exactly what has been missing for me from CoX. I miss it. I enjoyed it. It added to the overall entertainment value of being involved with the game.

So marketing, if you're reading, don't underestimate the power of a steady stream of small costume bits (or more generally, character customization features including auras, alternate power animations AND EVEN *free* emotes...)

I'd say keep the fires burning with at least one character in each. Don't kick any of the vets. Don't worry about recruiting more unless you WANT to revive and reinvigorate the groups.

I have done similar with a couple groups myself. It's always a treat when an old member drops in once a year or so. Also, you can always coalition with other groups if need be or move a few alts over that way. Just keep a few of the formerly more active members on your global list so you can spot them should they ever happen to drop in on a whim.

As a bonus, you get to play with base building a little for what that is worth.

I have a DM/Shield brute called Sludgemouth. Uses the manhole cover for his shield. And I've recolored dark melee with greens and oranges for a lovely approximation of toxic melee.

Edit: not sure if this fits the OP's definition of "repurpose" but I also have an Osage ill/storm controller. The phantom army is explained as the spirits of his ancestors, with dark colors to differentiate them from the other pets. And the phantasm colors are tweaked to bring out the twinkling constellation of his particle effect. He's supposed to be a spirit of the sky people.

May be a stupid suggestion as you are likely already subscribed: but you do use the Virtue badge and/or TF channels, yes?

I've been on at odd times and seen recruitment and even scheduling for MS raids on those channels quite regularly.

Just hit me, and haven't followed the whole thread, so this may be a repeat:

Complex raid mechanics related to the new end game content that the want the player base to puzzle through instead of approach with rote guides. The signed NDA likely includes outlines of penalties including banning for divulging such mechanics in chat or to guide and wiki sites even AFTER the release of i20.

The god modding and mary sueing of signature characters has always been one of my major beefs with the writing in most of this game. Lord Recluse is highest on my list personally.

I understand the desire for common framework and story based play. But I think my preference in this sort of game has always leaned more towards sandbox environments with open narrative created between players as they navigate the gamespace.

Exploding cowboys! Yeeeehaw!

About four blocks from me, 7 roofs torn off of brownstones--5 in a row, skipped two roofs and a gap--then got 2 more. Dumped em on some poor saps truck a block and a half away.

4 FDNY trucks outside checking the structural integrity of all 7 buildings and getting them ready for tarps. All evacuated for the night from the chatter on the street.

Eager to see helicopter images tomorrow to see if there is a clear discernible path.

If I ever catch the rogue storm 'troller that did this... /fistpalm

...would make a great character name.

Shouts out to any one else here in the BK that lived through this tonight. Crazy mess out on those streets. Be safe, y'all.

Edit: Oh and props to the FDNY for digging us out of this roof ripper.