Smurch

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I hear its very time consuming, VERY...Almost sounds to me like it almost wont be worth really using unless you have a LOAD of time to put into making missions/arcs.

The person said it was like waiting forever for a 3 minute ride

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I imagine it's like anything else that involves a creative endeavor. Some people will go with more generic options and pop a new mission out quickly (especially as they become proficient with the editor) and some will agonize over every detail spending hours upon hours tweaking it until it's *just right*. Like the costume creator and base editor before it.

I already expected to put alot of time into each mission I would create, so this is not really news to me.

However, as I understand it, you can save your mission or mission arc at any point in it's creation, so you do not need to create a mission that requires 3+ hours of work all in one sitting. You could put in 30 minutes a day until it's done.

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I haven't played in a month or so.
Fired up the game today.
I've tried full screen (what it was before), and forced it to windowed with TweakCoh. All the characters I've tried so far crash on attempting to log in, I don't have the patience for any more tonight:

Server: Pinnacle
Hero: King Lobster
Villain: Endrenor, Psifreeze, Mud Dragon, Nebula Seed, Ninstormu
When I crash: After character selection screen, when trying to load the initial zone.

I tried turning all the settings down with TweakCOH (since I can't get into the game to change them), and nothing seems to help. I suspect I may have updated my graphics drivers since last I played.

Using a GeForce 9600GT with Nvidia driver version 6.14.11.8122 dated 1/14/09.

I've never had a problem like this before, nor have I ever tried a version of the drivers that caused the game to crash this bad. I can't roll back because another game I play needs the newer ones.

[EDIT: Bummer of a 2000th post eh? :P]

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NVIDIA released 182.08 version of Forceware on March 3rd. Perhaps try upgrading to the latest drivers?

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ATI issue possible huh? have to check those options...

Anyway it seems it's not just villains that crash on me. Hero side I tried logging into a scrapper named Vice of Justice.

Server: Protector
Character Name: Vice of Justice
SG/VG name: Don't have a SG
When do you crash: Upon trying to log into the character
Does affect all your characters: So far every villain is unable to log in

Server: Protector
Character Name: Madam Enigma
SG/VG Name: Enigma Files
When do you crash: upon trying to log into character
Does it Affect all character: yes
Does it affect only characters in one or more SG/VGs: no

PLEASE fix this! I can't play the game because all my characters now crash upon logging in. I am not gonna renew if this isn't fixed when my renew date comes up. Why pay for a game I can't play? Seriously, this is annoying. The valentines day patch seems to have broken the game in the worst way I can imagine.

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The game crashing on you in this fashion is most likely due to a graphic driver issue on your computer. I am guessing the characters who crash, or the regions they are in, have textures that your video card is choking on. I advise updating to the latest drivers for your video card, or if you have done this and the crashing began AFTER you updated, roll back to the previous version.

If that doesn't work, I would suggest doing a verify of your game client files. But nine times out of ten issues like this are driver related.

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The Family hitmen are the worst. They usually run the second you draw aggro on them, and they have an insane range on their weapons and will snipe you from two spawns away. Whenever I fight family, I desperately try to knockdown/hold/whatever hitmen so they don't go running off and make me chase them all over the map.

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The Hitmen are actually programmed to do this. They have no melee attack to speak of and have been programmed to stay at range to the player.

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That doesn't make it any less annoying.

The Family hitmen are the worst. They usually run the second you draw aggro on them, and they have an insane range on their weapons and will snipe you from two spawns away. Whenever I fight family, I desperately try to knockdown/hold/whatever hitmen so they don't go running off and make me chase them all over the map.

I was solo'ing the rikti Wargod mission, and that AV just kept running all over the place. I had rescued all the NPC allies and intended to use them to help with damage output and aggro management, but when the AV started running all over the multi-tiered map, the AI for my NPC allies wasn't smart enough to follow him or I and it was just impossible. He'd take a few hundred points which didn't even visibly dent his health, and then run all over like a kangaroo on speed jumping from tier to tier and running all over the room. I just quit the mission.

The enemy AI being "run all over like a crazed monkey" is really high on my list of Most Annoying Things In This Game.

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the run away AI is annoying, but as much as it pains me to say it.....


ISNT THAT WHAT WE DO?

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Um... no. At least not me.
I'm pretty much a "do or die" kinda player. If I know I'm going to lose a fight, I trigger Self Destruct and take as many of them with me as I can!

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(I'm kidding about the pet Hamidon. Hamidon can't move. The Kronos Titan would be a better choice.)

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Come on, Arcanaville, rookie mistake. A giant, unstoppable robotic death machine as your loyal servant? That thing will turn on you faster than you can say "I am Nomad!"

Meanwhile, I recall hearing that Mastermind sets would not be available in the MA character builder: something about pet summoning powers making the AI weep. Does anyone know if that has changed? It would be nice to make custom MM opponents.

-D

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Well, one of the screen shots on the I-14 overview page clearly shows a Ninja/FF MM EB being created. http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/gam..._overview.html

Take that for what it's worth.

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True, I said before that there's a good chance it's a different bug with the same results. Either way, it's those same results that I'd like to see gone.

It probably won't happen though.

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I spec'd out of it on my claw/regen stalker around 30 because of the bug making it situational at best and worthless at worst around that level. Haven't missed it. Those low levels are still tough without it tho.

I am not happy about the Black Market drying up with no real inventory. If Merits truely are to blame for that, then something needs to be done to breathe some more life back into the BM. The black market is a life saver for casual players like myself who almost never have time to run Strike Forces. Driving the prices up and the inventory down has pretty much ruined that for me.

If it wasn't for the brainstorm idea stash we have in our SGs, I'd never get a recipe made.

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Before i13, I had tried PvPing a few times and ran through the different zones only occasionally, and as such, I guess I could be considered a casual PvPer at best. But getting into fight's in RV was nothing but a lesson in frustration. Dying repeatedly is not so bad, but being dropped in 2 hits no matter what I did was aggravating. (And this was only farther exasperated by the childish taunting that some players insist on doing, take what you want from that...)
Post i13 has seemingly changed things a lot. I was hesitant to venture out into the seemingly unending sea of hostility that always seemed to accompany going out into RV, but I braved it, if only to say that I at least tried it. Lo and behold, it wasn't so bad. Much to my surprise, I was actually surviving longer then 15 seconds once I got outside of the hero's base!
I'll be the first to admit, I'm not one to sit here and measure the hard numbers difference between i12 and i13. But for me, the changes were pretty positive. This isn't to say that I went out there and started dominating every PvP fight that happened. I still have lost more times then I have won overall, but it just seems more fun and balanced (and anyone who said that there were not any balancing issues before is just outright lying.)

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I agree with this post. I don't have a billion hours of free time to grind infamy and tweak a build to compete in pvp that lasts for 5 seconds until someone's dead. So I just ignored PVP.

Now, I'm not new to PVP and I PVP all the time in other games, from the RVR of Warhammer Online to the twitch deathmatches of Exteel. The one thing those games had that CoX never did was their PVP was FUN right out of the gate, with a fresh new character, even if you were a new player.

The learning curve for Exteel is pretty steep, but even as a new player, it's not too hard to join a team death match and perform decently and feel like you've got a shot at winning.

I12 PVP here was the opposite. It was all about knowing the right "tricks" and had actually very little wiggle room for new players to grab onto that learning curve and have fun, win or lose.

Fights should last more than 5 to 10 seconds. The learning curve should not be too steep, the bare-minimum entry requirements to compete should not hinge on having the "right" build. Good PVP games know this

CoX still has a way to go to make their PVP on par with other PVP games, but it's on the right path. I am sure PVP will continue to be tweaked over time and I am very hopeful that it will become a much more fun and rewarding experience all the time.

Overall, good job with the changes. Keep em coming.

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Everyone says capt america.....other than Cap, there's like what? Maybe 10 obscure comic book charcters that use a shield?

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I could say the same thing about Ice Blasts. Other than Iceman who does this?

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Blizzard, Ice, SubZero, Kopaka, Capt Cold, Storm, Sylar, Ice MAiden, Frost, Tempest, Yamir, Killer Frost, Celsius, Katara, Aspen, Capt. Planet, Mr. Freeze, Avatar Roku, Coldsnap, Frostbite and like a million more here.

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*clicks link*
*reads list*

WTF? Donald Duck is on this list!
No kidding! Look and see.

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The thing is the announcement clearly says that the Day Job system will provide real, tangible, in-game benefits. How good an idea is it, really, if in order to complete a tough mission it's recommended to first log off and get the Regen boost for Caregiving before attempting it? Or if one of the accolades for getting multiple Day Job badges is just the perfect title for your favorite character, only you can't play them while you're earning it? I just think it's not a good road to travel down. In fact, didn't Positron once say that WoW's "rested XP" system was rewarding players for not playing?

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Give someone a silver lining, and they'll find a dark cloud to tack it onto.

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You know..most people think the white marks mean violence..that couldn't be further from the truth.

You see what Really happened was Back Alley Brawler when he got toasty decided he was an artist and drew those there, and DJ Zero, who may not have been quite right in the head after playing the same techno song all day, was all like "Whoa dude that is AWESOME!!" and so they both decided it should stay as it is now.

Violence, bah, where do you kids get these crazy ideas

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The funny thing is, I always assumed the chalk outlines and such were really actually just there for decoration. I went a night club once some years back that had a similar decor in one part. It never crossed my mind until this thread that someone would think it was a real crime scene.

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Thoughts

It sounds like some bad rp is going on. Nobody should say, "I pickpocket you."

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Any RPing that infers (or flat out states) that the player you're RPing with somehow just loses in some sort of conflict (i.e. keep his stuff vs. you pick pocketing, has a secret vs. your mental telepathy powers, etc) is bad RP. This is called "Power Posing" and its generally a sign that the person doing it needs to be added to my ignore list.

For RP conflicts, the best way is to tell the other player (not character) your intent, then either decide between you what happens or play Paper Scissors Stone or flip a coin or roll a die (hey why do you think we have those emotes anyways?) to see who wins, as long as everyone is happy with the possible outcomes. If someone says "NO" to anything in RP, then that means "NO" and the RPer must alter their RP accordingly or find someone else to play with. Period.

Grrr. Sorry, this just hit a sore spot with me.

Attention to all roleplayers on Protector! We have a coalition of FIVE all roleplaying Supergroups in City of Villains! Any heavy Role Players (those much more concerned about who their character *is* than what level they are) may wish to look up these groups:

N.E.M.E.S.I.S. - Greek god, titan, hero, monster themed group. The rebirth of the ancient Greek pantheon in the rogue islands. Must have the name of, or derrivative of, a figure in Greek Mythology. May or may not be an actual deity, but should be definitely playing the part! These are modern incarnations of the gods, but only some have embraced technology and modern ways.
Contacts: Megaera, Phospheros, Lady Persephone, or Aphroditie

Eidolon - Mad science! Monsters! Aliens! Creations of man's ignorance! Things man was not meant to know! Dark sorcerers! Infernal pacts! Eidolon has it all! From the frigid halls of Fort Fear, the members of Eidolon seek to combine magic and technology in powerful, and dangerous! Insane!, ways. Eidolon plots and plans it's quest for world domination through fear and terror!
Contacts: Doctor Fear., Hei Feng, Flesh Sculptor, Doctor Positronic, Le Fantome, Harmonia, Diabolist

Insurgency - A small group of dedicated ...errr... freedom fighters seeking to put an end to government - ALL government - once and for all. Their numbers are few, as they must be, for their cell-like structure to work. But don't let that fool you! Each member is an army unto themselves. Anyone dedicated to Anarchy as a cause to the point of zealotry may apply for membership.
Contacts: Insurrectionist, Commander Carnage

The Knaves of Spades - The Demoness Chaldra has usurped this group from it's original owners. Now it serves as her private domain and it's members her unwitting servants. While Chaldra has a strict arcane theme for her lair, the Knaves' members hail from many paths.
Contacts: Chaldra, Treadstone

The Legion of Shadows - Even their allies know little about this group of assassins and thugs. Their membership is a mystery, their goals, unknown. But those dedicated to perfecting the art of assassination or brutality may find a place here.
Contacts: Kunochi., Jade Fang, Hooligan Hyde, Belfast Banshee.

Please be sure to be in character if you contact these groups! We look for good roleplaying as the most important criteria!

Seek us in game, on Protector, if you're interested!

Have an ALL Roleplaying SG of your own? Join our coaltion! Contact the same individuals above and we'll hold a summit of our leaders!

Name's Matt Hayden. Guess you could say I was always a bit of a troublemaker. When I was a kid, I was always gettin' in scrapes, and fights. One day I guess this one punk got me extra P-O'd 'cause I put him in a wheelchair. Judge was one o' dem Bleedin' Hearts and offered me a stint in the Army for Rehabilitation over doin' jail time. I may not be the sharpest tack in the box, but I grabbed that offer up quick.

I was kinda surprised that Army life wasn't so bad. Three squares, warm bunk, combat trainin' and the chicks dig the uniform. Sure had to deal with the brass bustin' my balls all the time about one little thing or another, an' always threatenin' to boot me back to the hoosgow, but it that weren't nuttin I couldn't handle.

So anyways, after a tour of duty in Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Iraqi Freedom (yeah... whatever) they decide I'm the man for some project the eggheads at HQ came up with. I dunno if they were Mil Intel or AMARID or what. Anywho, the fact that I'm "Independed Minded", meaning I mouth off alot I guess, and that I have some good genes means I am a prime candidate. The deal is pretty sweet: go through some tests and take some vitamins and some weird tests, and I get full pension and a promotion of two ranks, retired at 30. Not a bad deal, so I sign on the X, and get assigned to something called "Project Achilles"

So, they ship me and the other guinea pigs off to some base. No, don't know where it is, exactly. They didn't let us see on the way in, and on the way out, I had other things on my mind.

So, the next 18 weeks are utter Hell. They pump us full of pills, stick us with needles, and dump us in big tubes of goo with tubes down our gullets. All of it hurt like Hell or made us sick or both. Most of the guys die 10 weeks in. Me and 6 others live another 6 weeks. At the end of eight weeks, it's me and two other grunts, but I'm the only one they call a "success".

I dunno what they did to us, but my skin is now some kind of metal. Shiny, too. Only thing left that looks human are my eyes, which are the same as always. Bullets bounce off my skin, and I barely feel 'em. Other fellas didn't change for some reason. I think the eggheads don't know why. They seemed might puzzled by my lovely bod. Eventually, they start callin' ME "Project Achilles" since I'm the only one who lived up to what they were tryin' to do.

There's another thing, too, that started happenin' to me and the two other non-metallic fellas about this time. I guess I never been much of a calm character. Always had a bit o' a temper. But after our little ordeal, it's different somehow. When things get me P-O'd, it hurts. It hurts real bad. When I hit someone, it don't hurt as bad. And most things get me P-O'd. I guess I killed two fellas for lookin' at me funny, but I don't really remember. They looked like they been hit by a truck.

So the Eggheads and the Brass have a secret squirell meeting and decide that Project Achilles, meanin' me, is to be "terminated". I don't much like the sound o' that, so I bust the CO's door down with one punch and demand to know what the frick is happenin'. He assures me that I'm to be given the deal I signed up for... 'cept my "retirement" is to be on a military "relocation resort" in an "undisclosed location". They wanted to moth-ball me.

When I heard this, that familiar rage/pain was back again. When it was over, the CO and about a half dozen MPs were drippin' from my hams, so I high-tailed it out of there.

I don't know how I got to Paragon City, but I arrived with my military issue khakis on, and my gorgeous skin shinin' in the sun. I was hungry, so I grabbed some food from a local street cart. The jerk demanded money and wouldn't leave me be when I told him to buzz off, so I beat him into a little puddle. Before I knew what happened, I was nabbed and landed in the Zig.

I spend some time in the can, sure the military would find out where I was and ship me off to who knows where to be dissected by eggheads when Arachnos broke me out. I dunno why, babbling something about "Project Destiny" (I'll be damned if I'm gonna change my moniker again!) but I figure, hey the spiders are the closest the Rogue Islands have to an army, right? Might as well sign up.

Turns out it weren't that easy. They were more than happy to bust me out and give me a few jobs, but then it was a "thanks, see ya around metal dude" kind of reception. It was then I met Meg.

First impressions were this flyin' chick swoopin' down and callin' me Achilles. I said ya, thats what they called the whole schebang and she said "Then you ARE Achilles". I shrugged. Whadda I care what she calls me? So I find out this chick is about two pears short of a fruitbasket and thinks she's some greek god or somethin'. But she's offerin' three squares, warm cot, and a chance to bust some heads. Best deal I head since landin' on Mercy, so I figure sure why not.

So here I am. What's *yer* story, anyways?

I agree with others who say you really need to have some idea of how many more of X item you need to get more time. I've done the Bank Robbery Mayhem Mission three times now, and twice I completely ran out of time. First time, was two players level 12, and we never made it past the lobby. Second time, I ran solo, and got lots of extra time from destroying stuff. Robbed the bank when I got bored of blowing things up, died twice, but still finished the mission. Third time, had three players, level 13, and we were blowing things up left and right and didn't ever seem to get any time bonuses. We had to have destroyed a dozen cars and never got a bonus for any of them. Some sort of guide to "You need THIS many of THIS item to get THIS bonus" would really, really help.