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Just picked up a ATI Radeon 5770 and it's like a whole new game. Bumped the graphics all the way up and still no lag issues. The controls seem to be more responsive and I can actually see beyond 50 feet.

Re: Rifts HERO? It's also true that any character (above 3rd level IIRC) can learn magic. They wanted to create a flexible world but Rifts lacks any kind of internal balance. When paying for something in points the characters seem to have a greater ownership stake in the item. It becomes part of the character not just something they picked up. I would think in a RIFTS setting everything character defining would be bought with points. While a normal Wilk's Laser Rifle might not cost points 'Ol' Betsy' would even though it may not be more than the stock weapon it's something that will live with the character. One of the shortfalls of this is acquiring gear through game play. Raid a Coalition base and come out with three sets of Samus power armor. The questions to ask would be will the character be keeping the gear or do they plan to sell it. If they plan on keeping it I'd ask that the player devote some portion of any experience gained (likely half) until they have completely payed off the gear. During this time the GM may add in quirks as the players learn how to use the gear and get adjusted to it.

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Bonus Rep for it being the last post on 300.

Re: What if... What if Joe Quesada had never taken over as editor in chief for Marvel? or What if Marvel still had stories worth reading?

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Just thought I would poin out we're at page 300 on this thread. Seems like a milestone and a call for Spartan characters.

Re: 6th edition damage adding Brain hurts... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY-03vYYAjA&feature=related

Re: Champions Online - Cue Dead Parrot Sketch! Doom. Doom! DOOM!

Re: Would you play a game with pre-generated characters? Generally speaking Pre-generated characters are good for short adventures as several people have stated or for introductions to new game systems. In the case of Hero system pre-gens can also serve to set the bar for what the GM expects as a level of power and complexity from characters. I don't think I would mind playing a pre-gen character for a Champions game based on how widely the levels of power can fluctuate. That said as someone who's written multiple convention games that rely on pre-generated characters I think that these characters should do one of two things for the players, either giving them a rich background to draw on that helps to explain the world around them, their motivations and abilities or a blank slate allowing the player to explain how they got to the games starting point. The former I use for convention games to explain the 6th World and Fractured Kingdom settings. The latter can be used in more comfortable space such as a generic fantasy setting.

Re: Sources of inspiration for a game For Metahumans Rising I looked at trying to recapture the golden age of comics, mostly from Marvel. Although in writing the timeline for the campaign I could see it kind of evolve. Right now there are two teams one the Defenders fit into a more Avengers/X-Men mold while the general tone fits with the Bronze Age I try to keep elements from the Golden Age alive with heroes who are heroes and villains who are villains. The second team Project D fall more into the Iron Age a black ops team within a shadow agency the government doesn't publicly acknowledge. This second team was designed to make a clearer delineation of characters and themes. For my other campaign: Heroes of the Silver Age I think the title says it all.

Re: Champions Online - Cue Dead Parrot Sketch! Could we say that this accurately sums up your opinion? So I was a beta tester for CoH and a beta tester for Co. I kept my subscription to City of Heroes until I got a lifetime subscription to Champions. Although I don't have a high opinion of Atari I do believe that Cryptic is capable of a solid game. People like to focus on the places where the game has faltered so I'll try to focus on what they've done right. Although before I get started I'd like to point out that at launch none of the Task Forces worked and were play at your own risk. It wasn't until months afterward that they had most of them working although it would take several more months before the first task force was available. Anywho... CO broke away from the traditional class/role mold of thinking developing an open ended advancement system. Content is for the most part solo friendly and when it is not the missions are clearly marked as such. Game play is fast paced and not as repetitive as other MMOs (yes CO combat can get repetitive but it's not nearly as bad as other games I've played.) Advancement is designed with a try before you buy mechanic so that there is less chance of "screwing up your character" when you level. CO has multiple ways to deliver missions to the character including the traditional contacts, saving people on the street, the Crime Computer and the Nemesis system. This also includes the ease of Respecs. Cryptic continues to work on incorporating things that have worked from other MMOs into CO. Unless it is a bug most powers are enhanced not diminished to bring them in line with others abilities. The holiday events try to incorporate and build on Champions lore. (Granted the Halloween event was far better than the Christmas event but they still had unique encounters and quests.) Yes CO has an unfinished feel to it. So did City of Heroes when it launched. Content can feel repetitive (Again how many Defeat All in the Warehouse have you done for CoH?) Not all the new content is free, I don't think they ever said or even implied all the content would be. People are up in arms about Vibora Bay but has it even been priced? They haven't raised the level cap yet. Overall there is a lack of solid content and strong mission stories. A lot of what you encounter can seem like fluff or puns. At the same time the recent addition of new top level content seems to address this directly. Overall CO isn't a breakout smash hit. It is however a solid game. Cryptic seems to be trying to improve game play and add content. Everything up to Vibora Bay has been free including several major story arcs and a new PVP mode that actually manages to be fun even for people who don't like PVP. Kick and scream the game will continue to evolve. Some choices may be right others wrong. Hopefully Cryptic will learn from their mistakes and despite how some people may feel we wont know if Vibora Bay is a mistake until it's released.

Re: Help finding a Demon We talking 5th or 6th Ed and what kind of a demon are you looking for?

Re: What Are You Listening To Right Now? Shatter (Acoustic Version) - London After Midnight

Re: Wouldnt want to meet that guy. That certainly could change the tone of a campaign.

Re: Thoughts about Vibora bay Vibora Bay, a single zone expansion not required for the game. Designed for levels 37-40. It will "appropriately priced" for its size. So what does all that mean? It sounds to me like they are testing the waters. Cyrptic has done multiple content updates so far including a new PVP arena, 2 holiday events (1 they will be bringing back on every full moon due to it's popularity) a new power set and a new five man raid for top level characters. (I may be forgetting somethings here). The monthly subscription is 15 dollars so they are charging as much as a top tier MMOG. However, their online store although mostly light does seem to be priced lower than WoW or City of Heroes the cost of a full respec is something like 10 dollars compared to if you bought everything needed to do something similar in WoW you're looking at about 25 dollars, I don't think you can buy them in CoH but a Reactor run and 2 hours does the trick then again you can always buy a rull RetCon with in game cash in CO, CoH booster packs are 10 dollars while they come with a power they are mostly premium costume options. Taking this into consideration I would hope that Vibora Bay falls into this same category. It's a micro-expansion I think if they charged 5-10 dollars it wouldn't be too terrible. I would however expect that a lot of people skip this one just as they ignore the rest of the online store. The people who will buy this expansion are those who want additional content at these higher levels. Players who are satisfied with what they have now are not required to purchase Vibora Bay. Of course CoH has spoiled me and I would like to see any content like this as a free expansion. I'd also like to see the costume sets in the store that complete patterns that already existed be free as well. That said so long as this is not the only method of expanding content I think I'm okay with it. I do believe Champions needs about twice to three times the zones it has now as too many characters have the exact same experience progressing through the levels. For whatever reason though I get the feeling that CO does not have the resources CoH did when it was developed nor does it have the same level of support. When I try to look at it objectively I can see the logic of small paid expansions I only hope that the content does not fall flat otherwise they run the risk of increased attrition from people who feel swindled and that's not a good reputation to have.

Re: Wouldnt want to meet that guy. Don;t blame me I didn't come up with s 2222d6 Killing Attack I just retrofitted it for a Star Wars reference.

Re: Wouldnt want to meet that guy.

Re: Mai Shiranui (loosely adapted) Still needs +45 Pre only to Distract Anime fans

Re: A Thread for Random Videos This one may also be a candidate for the Genre crossover nightmares.

Re: I wish I was Grond because... Grond make it easy being green. Grond commute to work always a smash. Grond tops off tanks by taking tops of tanks.

Re: What does a Time Elemental do? Neguentropy maybe...

Re: What does a Time Elemental do? For whatever reason I'm reminded of one of the paradox spirits from Mage: The Ascension named Mr. Wrinkle. When a mage did something truly offending to reality, namely around bending time, and the GM wanted to really screw with the players, this old man in a very wrinkled suit showed up. This may or may not have involved removing them from everything altogether and having a cup of tea with them but ultimately Wrinkle gives them a choice, undo whatever it was they did or be completely removed from the time stream. Bloop, sorry you were never conceived. Don't ask how this more drastic change in the time stream is somehow better than whatever the mage may have done, I think this meant that there had t obe a grand scale to the offending act. However, Wrinkle seemed more often used as the GM reset button on player actions.

Re: Starfall - A Gamma HERO campaign To piggyback on Zac's post I think it would be interesting to have distinct ideologies around Pures and what their nature means. this could run the gambit from Self loathing and feeling left behind by evolution to a radical supremacists or believing that each species exists for a distinct purpose (purpose varying from something like the earth finding a balance to X group is good slave stock). Obviously most people would fall somewhere in the middle but the idea of playing on these ideas could be fun in game.

Re: What can you do with five points? Anyone else have a sudden urge to watch Dragonball Z?

Re: Starfall - A Gamma HERO campaign

Re: Genre-crossover nightmares Nice find!