General Babble

[Aether]

Dealing with the Mysteries You Are Too Afraid Of ™
http://www.tricksyrealm.com/sgi/images/sgiprints.gif
"For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so"


We're a roleplaying group based around the concept of gifted detectives who solve mysteries in a noirish atmosphere.

Always looking for more members. So anyone with a deep character looking to become an investigator, sign up now.

There are also spots available for work in the team's nightclub, Nocturne Crossing. It's a 1940s themed club featuring swing and jazz music. We need bouncers, servers, and a piano man.

Roster (http://www.cohguru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1529)

Official site (http://shades.duck-soup.net)

Shades of Grey plays on Pinnacle.

If you're interested in joining this team, either post here or send a message to @Aether in-game.

[the_starcrosser]

Awesome~! :rock:

Suede reportin' in, sah! Jolly good! :box:

[Elemento]

Well I'm here. My whole depressing self. :(

[Nyx]

*plucks the coffee cup out of Aether's hand*

Er... that's mine. And, hi fearless.

[Gaia]

Dusty reporting in as usual. *hugs Suede. Then looks at Aether* "You are a brave person to try Nyx's coffee. Mind if I check the chemical composition of that?"

[Aether]

Dusty reporting in as usual. *hugs Suede. Then looks at Aether* "You are a brave person to try Nyx's coffee. Mind if I check the chemical composition of that?"
/me does not respond on account of being comatose

[the_starcrosser]

*Prods fearless leader*
"uhh.... this could be a problem." 0_0*

[Nyx]

Well..... he should know better than to drink the coffee!!

[the_starcrosser]

Umm... where did i put that link on "how to dispose bodies" by Batjew....

Hey look! now we can fight! http://img191.echo.cx/img191/5580/nyxmega3cl.gif http://img191.echo.cx/img191/246/suedemega8jj.gif

waiit.... you're gonna stabbity me in the back...
here we go: http://img191.echo.cx/img191/5580/nyxmega3cl.gif http://img191.echo.cx/img191/4964/suedemega26or.gif
Dangit. you're still gonna stabbity me.

[Liv]

You guys killed the boss?

Before I could even figure out how to get over here?

Yikes....

So should we put him in a glass coffin ringed with dwarves, now, and wait for Prince Charming to come along?

<whistles and looks for her pickaxe>

[the_starcrosser]

Prince charming is gonna be in for SOME SURPRISE...

So, out of curiosity, does anyone think they might be up for a little bit of RP if we start the NocX up again? Just as a bit of open roleplay to fool around in. :)

[Aether]

Um... can someone look into maybe getting me a Princess Charming. I think i'd prefer not to be awaken by a man. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Glass coffins are so gaudy. It's like "Hey, look at me! I'm dead/in an enchanted slumber! Pay attention to me!"

OH! OH! I would like to roleplay Suede, count me in. :)
We used to roleplay all the time... before the "incident"

[the_starcrosser]

Heh, there's been a few incidents. But yeah ;) *Gives Aether a sparkly RP hat*

[Liv]

I'm up for that, as long as I don't have to wear a sparkly hat. ;) How about a gardenia?

But how will we be sure they are real Princesses? Princes are supposed to be easier to sucker... I mean, find.

[the_starcrosser]

You know, that's my very favorite flower.
...
How about a sparkly hat WITH a gardenia?

Hmm. well, there are several tried and true princess tests, involving peas and small woodland animals, i think.

[Liv]

You can have the sparkly hat with the gardenia... I'll just take the flower. ;)

Ok, I guess we should start interviewing princesses, then. We might need him back for Noc X, don't you think? Unless Nyx already has a good way to un-poison him?

Oh, but I just thought of something... if we can't wake him up in time, we could use him as the centerpiece in our decor. Nobody else has a poisoned detective in a glass coffin....

[Gaia]

*looks up from lab table full of bubbling beakers, test tubes and a flaming bunsin burner* I'm working on an anti-dote. Could take a bit. Found a recipe for some lip gloss for the ladies that may work.

[Liv]

Does that mean we may not need a real princess after all, just somebody who wears lip gloss?

[the_starcrosser]

Meh, that counts me out. I hate lipgloss.
I wonder, how many preservatives are in his bloodsystem right now? Or is the poison just kind of like Shelob's (the big spider in LotR) and just makes 'em pseudo-dead?
Hmm. As fun as a taxidermied aether might be, i think we'll probably need him. He writes the checks after all.... ;)

[Aether]

Yes... you... need me

(Aether reminds himself never to mention the fact that he once programmed Noirbot to sign the checks for him. The stunningly accurate signature however got him into lots of trouble when Noirbot started making credit cards in his name as well as adopting children from third world countries, in the hope that they'd be delivered to him. Aether deleted that program, at least he's pretty sure he did. Noirbot's tech never made much sense to him.)

[Gaia]

*eyes Noirbot* "Dammit stop looking at me with that menacing red eye of yours! For the last time I am not a snack!"

[the_starcrosser]

(Aether reminds himself never to mention the fact that he once programmed Noirbot to sign the checks for him.
:o BAD IDEA, very bad! ..... wait.... i wonder if i can get Noirbot to.... hehehh.... *goes to get some tools*

*eyes Noirbot* "Dammit stop looking at me with that menacing red eye of yours! For the last time I am not a snack!"
I think he's needing more silicon in his diet, maybe for some chip replacement... look out. O_o

[Nyx]

*Looks around for which of the girls would make the tastiest snack for Noirbot...* "Oh wait... he likes silicon, not silicone...

[the_starcrosser]

*Smacks nyx* :P
Well, if not, then i vote we you to him first.

[Aether]

An elf is pretty close to a little child, I'm sure he'd enjoy it.

[the_starcrosser]

I think he already at the word "feed" out of my sentance. :grr:
Would it help if we called nyx "Babe"?

[Nyx]

*grumble* I'm not an elf, and I'm nothing like a little child. :grr:

Noirbot wouldnt like me. I'm toxic.

[Liv]

He wouldn't like to eat me either! Trying to eat me generally sets off a series of unf... err... a quest for the... no....

Let's just say that bad things happen to people/objects that try to eat me.

<nods>

[the_starcrosser]

*Makes a note: Liv not tasty. Nope. Nuh uh.*

[Aether]

Aw c'mon, I think you're all selling yourselves short.
I'm sure you're all fine tasting young women.

[Nyx]

:P I'll bet he's just dying to know, too... O_o

[Aether]

Dying is a strong word, but curious

[the_starcrosser]

Hmm. Well, nyx tastes like sugar, spice, and arsenic. Suede tastes like leftover chinese food, bubblegum, and movie popcorn, with a shoeleather aftertaste.. :notme:

[Aether]

For those interested I taste like cheeries. True story

Anyone know any good mystery games or riddles?
I think we need to work on our detective skills to keep our minds active in between our (lack of) RPs...

Here's a riddle

No legs have I to dance,
No lungs have I to breathe,
No life have I to live or die
And yet I do all three.
What am I?

[Elemento]

Cheeries??
Didn't know General Mills came out with a cherry flavored cereal.

One answer I can give to your riddle is my imagination which neither needs to live or die yet dances and walks without legs. Does not need breath to breathe either. Of course so do my dreams.

[Liv]

After using my mad detective skills (sadly not just my riddle-solving brains), I submit to you:

Fire.

Watch out, it burns stuff.

[the_starcrosser]

*Smacks head* OF COURSE! I been sittin' here puzzlin' that (ought to have googled it, silly brains).... good job Liv!! :)

[Aether]

It was indeed Fire.

I would say that google makes solving these things a bit easier, but it also made finding one easier so I guess I shouldn't talk. Maybe I'm clever enough to make up one of my own, I'll work on it.

In the meantime, you gotta put up a riddle or some short mystery, Liv.

[Liv]

Hmm... ok.

Why do I need you to reinvite me to the supergroup? ;)

And... translate this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/celandrin/Cypher6.bmp

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v700/celandrin/Cypher4.bmp

[RAGNARöK]

*Rushes in with a quick glance of the Funny looking Stick figures*

"People waiting in line to use the rest room?"

*Darts out*

[the_starcrosser]

Hee hee hee... that's a good idea...
they're kinda like runes, so maybe they're vikings waiting for the restroom?

Hmm. i'll just keep staring at them. :think:

[RAGNARöK]

"Sorry if this is a members only thread Aether. But it's good to know your doing well, it's been a long while. But that Glyph has peeked my curiousity now. Really this time."

[the_starcrosser]

(feel free to wander in, hijack, join in the fun. really. we've got an open door, as far as i know. ;) )

[RAGNARöK]

"Cool, I'm a sucker for difficult mind boggling challenges like Mystries, Puzzles, Riddles and Women." :chuckle:

[the_starcrosser]

Hehehhh... we aim to boggle with our labyrinthine ways of perplexment!

[Liv]

<grins> People are drawn to our mysterious mysteries like flies into a trap....? Aha.

maybe they're vikings waiting for the restroom?
That's a good guess, but no. :D

[Aether]

Why Liv, that's elementary.

It states :

Come here at once

Never


I won't reveal how to solve it however, so some of you can still have some fun. It's a simple substitution, which was my first guess. I had some of it figured out before I stumbled upon the key online.

I'll let someone else pick the next puzzle, so we all get a chance.

"Cool, I'm a sucker for difficult mind boggling challenges like Mystries, Puzzles, Riddles and Women." :chuckle:
That must be why you like Nyx. She's a puzzle, mystery, riddle, woman and a challenge.

[Aether]

One more thing of note before I pass out for an undetermined period of time:

Liv and I discussed a schedule for a play time session each week.
We decided to make it two times a week, so that if someone can't make it on one day they can hopefully make it on the second day. You don't have to come to both but you will have to come to at least one, under penalty of Tiger.

We picked a time for one of them. If you can't make that one, make a suggestion for when the 2nd play session will be:


THRILLER TUESDAYS
9-12 EDT (8-11 CDT, 7-10 MDT, 6-9 PDT)

Duration will flux depending on what we're doing. Also if some of you in other time zones would like to stay later, feel free.

I'll be playing Noirbot more often in order to stay within the level range of most of you. We'll be trying our best to keep everyone within a reasonable ranges.

[Liv]

Why Liv, that's elementary.
You... did... not...

You did! :chuckle:

THRILLER TUESDAYS
<happy dance!>

As long as we don't have to do the "Thriller" dance...

[the_starcrosser]

AAAOOOHH! *busts out creepy michael jackson moves*
Sounds great :) Though, probably i'll be using one play date and nyx the other, so i'll let her decide which she likes better, this one or whenever.

*scratches head* Hurrr.... *beats puzzle with rock* I'm still gonna figure out how that thing works..... *scowl*

[Gaia]

You don't have to come to both but you will have to come to at least one, under penalty of Tiger.

We picked a time for one of them. If you can't make that one, make a suggestion for when the 2nd play session will be:


THRILLER TUESDAYS
9-12 EDT (8-11 CDT, 7-10 MDT, 6-9 PDT)

Well good luck with it. You will never see me. I don't play primetime hours due to my living situation. I play M-W-F 9:30am to 11:00am, 1:30pm-4:00pm; T 8:00am-9:30am, 1:30-4:00pm; Th 8:00am-4:00pm; all evenings after 11:00pm until I get tired. All times pacific. If you want to get ahold of me in game either broadcast via PCity.com or send a tell to @gaia1

[the_starcrosser]

Maybe we could have the other playtime during one of Gaia's times? There a night that the Easties can stay up really late?

[Aether]

My weekday schedule fluctuates so there's really no reliable weekday where I could stay up that late. Maybe Saturday nights. Personally that's still a bit late for me to function.

That doesn't mean you west coasters, and anyone else who would wish, can't pick a time that would fit gaia's sched. I really want to be inclusive of everyone.

[the_starcrosser]

True enough.

next coming week, things'll be really kind of chaotic with finals, and the week after, i'll probably be vacationing on catalina island with family before heading home. No idea what schedules will be like once i get some sort of occupation going, but it'll probably be a bit of searching until then (unemployment=free time?). ;)

[Liv]

Are we really meeting tonight? I'm leaving myself logged into IRC, but I'm in CoH.

[the_starcrosser]

I was in IRC for about 45 min, but logged out to save memory while nyx was using photoshop over here. Up for doin' anything ya like ;) (though, i ought to be doing homework... rather badly.. :grr: yay procrastination)

[Liv]

<chuckles> I must be in the wrong IRC channel, because I've left myself logged in there and seen nobody. I'm on Pinnacle as Rose, at level 5, if you guys get bored and want to play. :)

[Aether]

I went on for 10 mins or so and saw no one was there.
I'll head in game too.

[Liv]

I must totally be in the wrong channel... weird.

Edit:
You are so not here, boss. You get jumped?

[the_starcrosser]

*wonders if she can go so far in her procrastination as to go in-game...*

[Liv]

Don't procrastinate.... have a Happy Birthday today! :chuckle:


http://s04.imagehost.org/1700/10cakecp.gif

[the_starcrosser]

Woo! Thanks Livvie! :D
uuuunnnnfortunately, i may not get much time to think about my birthday today, but we had a little celebration on saturday. Too. Many. Things. To do. Today... :cry:

But you've made my birthday just that little bit happier ;)

[Elemento]

well I wished you HB back on the birthday thread they have going here. :P

Excuse me while I put down Obsidian. He's eyeing the cake. LOL

[Aether]

Happy Birthday Starcrosser.

Hope you do have time to actually celebrate, that's what birthdays are for.

Also cause to celebrate : Tonight is the begining of our weekly play dates.

Thriller Tuesdays*!!
9-12 EDT
8-11 C
7-10 M

(may have to be renamed if we eventually pick Thursday as the other play day. Thriller just goes better with Thursday. It's alliterrific.)

I'll be showing up around 9:30, feel free to start without me. I'll be able to stay up a little late too tonight, so I'll make up for it.

[the_starcrosser]

Thanks again, 'mento. ;) We don't actually have any cake, but Obsidian can have a cupcake.

No time to celebrate for me. :( Take some screenshots for me, i'd much, much rather be there with you guys.

[Elemento]

Aether: First week of the month is impossible for me, but perhaps next week.
This is the week for paying bills and doing the shopping with the wife. Sorry about that but I'd catch holy hell if I were to skip this.

Starcrosser:Thx but Obsidian just got greedy and took about 20 of them dar cupcakes. :chuckle:

On another note, I did get my supergroup renamed and was promised by Statesman that he would pursue the other groups who use related names in game. The group is now called The Unwanted

[Aether]

A brief synopsis Thriller Tuesday's Events

Briar Rose searched out for the Circle of Thorns after a contact told her he needed information about their base. Not only did she have to find these inscupulous magicians but her misfortunate increased when the Noirbot, following one of his recently install sub-routines asked if she needed help.
She agreed, curious to fight alongside the bot in her efforts to understand him better.

The took out a couple of CoT when they found them under a bridge in King's Row. Seeing their awesome might, another hero* wishes to team up with them. She agrees to join after Noirbot promises not to eat her. In the past Noirbot had lured many victims with that lie, unfortunately (fortunately for her) this time he was actually incapable of harming the poor heroine.

After tracking the Circle through many parts of Kings Row, and a Split up and search tactic goes desperately wrong for poor Rose, they find the info they're looking for.

Rose's contact dismisses the gathered information and asks them to beat some hellions. This was accomplished in roughly a minute and the Hellions didn't even know what hit them.

They accomplish a couple more missions easily before Noirbot is told by a contact that the Circle had stolen a jewel. He reluctantly agrees and the team is off on another grand adventure. If only Rose's contact had followed through on the information on the CoT base, this robbery could have been avoided.

Through dirty caverns full of "demon corals" and exploding mages they searched for the jewel. They find it in an unguarded glowing box after hopping around a multilevel cavern.

Briar got sleepy and had to rest. Weak Humans. Noirbot decided to hibernate for a while as well, so he could indulge in his base-level-runtime showing memories of helpless babies and past snacks.

The End

*I forget heroes' names instantly after the team breaks up. Nimmy? something like that.

[the_starcrosser]

Woohoo! Case closed... or is it? Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun! Sorry i had to miss it - when's the next date? I've got all my finals out of the way, so it just depends on packing and whatnot for times and whatnot.
Bwahah... Noirbot and Rose vs. the Demon Corals! (or, for a western, Demon Corral? *insert dust-in-the-wind whistle*

[Aether]

Next date will be on the 10th. Same time.

It was a bit short but we still had some fun. Hopefully next time we'll have more folks together. We tried to RP the whole time too, so that was fun.

Oh and I did mean corral, I typo'd. Briar said that the wooden frames and such in the CoT caves look like corrals. Noirbot suggested they may be for demons.

[the_starcrosser]

GAHAAaaa, ride 'em demon-boy!.... except... err... yeah. Fiend-wranger? :notme:

Awesome. I'll be on Catalina Island, i think, but maybe i can still snag some time on the computer. Muahah.

[Aether]

anyone coming to Thriller Tuesday tomorrow?

Hope you're having a great time Suede.

[Liv]

Woooo Suede, have fun on Catalina! :)

I'll be there, for as long as I can stay awake. I've had the flu since waking up last Wednesday morning until this morning, so I'm still a bit of a zombie, but I'll try.

Edit:
In this week's exciting news:
Rose searched for the Lost, but didn't find them!
She read a plaque about the heroic deeds of the lost colossus, Atlas.
And she became so sleepy that she lost track of how long she was supposed to stay on the beat, and instead curled up and went back to napping.

[Aether]

didn't think anyone was going to show, so I decided to watch the season finale of Veronica Mars (pretty good show btw) Sorry I missed ya Liv.

I'll be on most of tonight though if anyone wants to join.

[Aether]

Have to vent for a moment...

No skills for issue 5, that sucks. The skill system was announced like 6 months ago. I figured I could deal with all this PVP focus as long as we got skills for Ish 5. So since I4 just came out, and giving an average of 3 months per issue, that means we won't have skills until yet another 6 months at least. That's pretty disappointing.

Since this team isn't exactly combat oriented, I figurd this was something that'd really benfit us. So we could RP and actually get around to doing some detective work in the actual game!

I hope Statesman has a really good reason. In my opinion the game really suffers the longer it goes without a non-combat system. Action's great but a comic book isn't complete without all the stuff that goes on inbetween the fights.


On to other things:
I'm going to be on vacation in Florida for the next two weeks starting saturday. I hope in my absence you all continue to give just a bit of your free time to the team, including the weekly play session(s). That'd be appreciated, so thanks in advance.

[Liv]

Hrm... non-combat skills would be nice. It does seem kind of odd to announce them and then take forever and ever to actually do them...

Have fun in Florida! If you wind up in the Keys, remember not to let any mysterious strangers into your hotel!

[Aether]

Oh, I did get around to seeing Key Largo. It was pretty good. It really makes you think about how much movies have changed. The ending in particular. If they were to remake it these days it'd end in some kind of fist fight or standard shoot out, instead of the main character outthinking the bad guy.

Probably won't be heading to the Keys this time around (long drive) but I love the Keys. It's almost like another world there. I guess I'm not accustomed to island life. It feels very isolated, you almost don't feel like you're in America at all, which has it's pluses and minuses. I'm not sure I could live there, knowing there's only really one road back to the "main land", but I'm sure after some time you don't care (or just forget) that there's a main land at all. That said, they're some really beautiful islands.

[the_starcrosser]

Gaha! I am back. aaaaand it turns out i was highly not-bright in thinking that i could get internet access at all while on vacation. Sorry 'bout that :( Now that i'm home, it may be a little while before i can get the laptop (therefore: COH) hooked up to the network here - we need to get some handy dandy technical support, since i haven't been so good at figuring it out myself thus far. :grr: Nurrr....

Hope you're having/had a good vacation, aeth! Florida, wow.... guess that's a little shorter drive from over there. Don't get too burnt or step on any stingrays/irate tourists!

Skills: Dangit. Well, we'll have to wait, but it would be nice if they put out the good stuff first... meh. well, not like i'm going anywhere. What's this i hear about archery in the next issue? Anything else?

Gaia: *waves* Heyya! :D

[Elemento]

Seems to me that supergroups are choosing to get their own forum here.
Aether. If you want to do this, just ask Poison.

[Liv]

Iiiinteresting...

But I think we must wait for the fearless leader to return from his "vacation."

Anyone else wonder what he's really doing down there?
Do you think it involves aliens, or disrupting any foreign governments? Or maybe ice cream smuggling?

[Elemento]

Think he has something to do with smuggling ice cream to gators or was it smuggling gators to aliens >:]

[the_starcrosser]

Actually, more like smuggling ice cream in gators to aliens. Kinda like you can't get gelato very much here in the states, aliens have a rather hard time getting icecream past the beaurocratic red tape out there, but they abduct creatures all the time, so that's easier. and gators are cold blooded, so... yeah. easier.. uh huh..

[Liv]

Gator-shaped ice cream cake? Hmm...

Hey, what do you guys think about tonight?

[the_starcrosser]

Bahaa.... i completely "lost" the recruitment center forum for a while when i switched computers, have no idea why.... just musta missed it somewhere. But unfortunately i'm still out of CoH. We finally did get the laptop connected (a very messy prosses that the tech friend needed to take home and clean out on his own network), but as soon as we did that i was informed that we were going to be shipping it to get the burner finally fixed. Which will take at least two more weeks. And there's a 50% chance that they'll randomly wipe the hard drive. :mad: Yeah, i'm just thrilled.
Hope the vacation's going well and everybody's up to their armpits in jolly good fun. Nyx and i just got back from an overnight camping at a Pirate Gathering.... arrrr matey. Lots and lots of (somewhat drunk) pirates, a really awesome firedancing, swordswallowing, and firebreathing show, and some nifty combat "raids" on other pirate "ships". Avast ye! :D

[Aether]

An oblong shape rockets through the Paragon sky. Hurtling through the air which feeds the flames jumping from the supersonic capsule, it oddly burns through the sky making no sound. A few onlookers scream in terror. A figure appears just below the alien shape. He falls rapidly then a bright yellow shape blooms above him; a parachute with a big smiley face. He makes it to the ground and his feet plant gently on the city's concrete.

Just then the saucer disappears into the blue sky, leaving no trace of it's brief existence. The smiling chute does the same. His brown hair no worse for wear, its strands actually slightly less messy than usual.

"You gonna make a grand entrance, you gotta do it the whole way. If you need me, I'll be in the club dodging phone calls from from the FAA, Dept of Homeland Security and probably the Statesman for the next few weeks."

___


Florida was great. Weather was pretty perfect, none too hot. Beach was marvelous. Went every day. Hope you all had a great past couple of weeks, too and a memory-filled memorial day weekend.

Dunno if you guys have been having play sessions or meetings (seems like no), but I'll be on tonight if anyone wants to play. It'll be a semi-official Thriller Tuesday. (tension tuesday?)

[the_starcrosser]

WOO!! Welcome back, fearless! The sofa's been briefly set on fire and the refridgerator was left unplugged for a few days, but glad to see you're in prime condition.... err, none of it was my fault, of course.... :look:

And, as of today, i have my computer back, they didn't wipe the hard drive, AND i have a brand spanking new card for my account, so i'm ready for action!
Dadgummit! It's wednesday now, not tuesday.... i missed it. durrrrn. Oh well, it's, err, Wild Wacky Wednesday for me, then....

Hey, Gaia, i've still got that fortune teller mission if ya wanna do it with me at any time, dusty needs that spelunker badge. I keep draggin' that mission around with me ;)

[Elemento]

WB
The fridge had to be unplugged to save energy. NO food unless you count that molded cheese way in the back. :chuckle:

[Poison]

((Moved you guys over. Welcome to your new home. Carry on. :cool: ))

[the_starcrosser]

Awesome, poi! Thanks a billion! ^_^ :singdance

[Gaia]

Hey, Gaia, i've still got that fortune teller mission if ya wanna do it with me at any time, dusty needs that spelunker badge. I keep draggin' that mission around with me ;)

Name a date and time (except weekends). Most afternoons are free until June 24 when I disappear into the night due to the evil cousin of Noirbot entrenching itself for the summer. Yes I am talking about The Mombot! dun dun duuuuuun!

Btw you guys didn't torment poor Dusty while I wasn't looking did you? On that note feel free to auto him in any RP's

[Liv]

I didn't torment Dusty... but I cannot vouch for anyone else....

Yay for our new forum! :)
And welcome back fearless leader! Thanks for the random romp on Tuesday. And for not bringing me an alligator.

Oooh... ooh.. and yay for the health of Suede's computer!

[Aether]

Thanks for the forum, Poison.

And thanks for the welcome backs to everyone.

I think we should just bury the fridge and get a new one. There's a fluctuating smell coming from it that is not unlike the evil undead.

[Nyx]

I agree whole heartedly.

Also, Aether... I had a pic of you up in my art show... I was wondering if you wanted it. I do ship, and it's not prohibitively large...

[Elemento]

Thanks for the forum, Poison.

And thanks for the welcome backs to everyone.

I think we should just bury the fridge and get a new one. There's a fluctuating smell coming from it that is not unlike the evil undead.

Like I said, it's the old cheese left behind in there.
Just don't put it out back. Obsidian might take it as a porta-potty. :lol: :chuckle:

[Aether]

Also, Aether... I had a pic of you up in my art show... I was wondering if you wanted it. I do ship, and it's not prohibitively large...
First of all i'm honored that you had a pic of Aeth up at the show, that's pretty cool.

um... I'd feel kinda bad accepting it I think. I know how I am with the things I create, and I tend to grow attached to them. It's a piece of art you worked (probably very hard) on, so it really should belong to you. If you're going to throw it out otherwise, I'll consider it.

I am curious what it looks like though, do you have a pic?


So now that we have a whole forum to ourselves, feel free to expand into all the new space. Any good ideas for other threads? (coughroleplayingcough) An art thread maybe?

[Nyx]

Actually, since I don't have even remotely close to the wall space to display my artwork, odds are he'll just sit in a portfolio with the rest of my show pieces for who knows how long... I don't have a picture of him right now, but it's a fairly small (9" x 12") piece on Bristol board, in kind of sketchy marker work, but it looks cool... comes with the accompanying preliminary face pencil sketches... ;)

[the_starcrosser]

Roleplaying thread(s), definitely! then i wouldn't have to worry about where the heck they are.... and art would be nice, but we could make do without if we needed.

Can we have a thriller tuesday tomorrow? 9_9 and if so, what time?

*torments dusty*
(I'll have to think of a good time, pretty much anytime, but i'll have to scrape up a couple of braincells to suggest something.)

[Aether]

I'm free tonight so any time is good.

The scheduled time is 9 eastern, but that's flexible if need be.

[Liv]

If we are having a play date, does that mean I should bring sandbox toys for everyone?

I need one of those buckets that is shaped like a castle...

[Elemento]

If any of you have the Transcendance Trial to do, let me know.
I have 2 characters who haven't done that yet on Pinnacle.
Don't think anyone is high enough to attempt the first respec trial cause that's where FT stands now.
Not too happy that they removed souvenirs from all TFs now and that some TFs just aren't worth the time til Issue 5 when they get badges. Even so, the badges should have attached text to them if they're not going to have souvenirs. Those of us who like to follow storyline feel dumped on right now.

[Gaia]

If we are having a play date, does that mean I should bring sandbox toys for everyone?

I need one of those buckets that is shaped like a castle...

"Wait just a cotton pickin' minute! Suede! She's being mean! I'm so hurt." :cry: "We silicon based lifeforms are sensitive you know"

Anyways uh um Hi Aether and welcome back. You guys have fun with your playtime I'll be out in the RL dealing with screaming kids, burnt food, and my anti-computer gaming parents until after 11pm Pacific. Unless people want to play Wednesday afternoon with me. . .

[Liv]

I'm... sorry....

<gives Dusty her cookies and slinks away>



Aww. I wish we could. I'll be at work Wednesday.

[Aether]

I might be around on Wednesday, what time in the afternoon Dusty?

[the_starcrosser]

"Wait just a cotton pickin' minute! Suede! She's being mean! I'm so hurt." :cry: "We silicon based lifeforms are sensitive you know" Aww, you don't wanna be played with? We were just gonna, you know, rearrange you a little bit... wouldn't hurt.... Poor dustbunny, we'll be nice. *Grins evilly and leans over to give Dusty a peck on the top of the head.*


Anyways uh um Hi Aether and welcome back. You guys have fun with your playtime I'll be out in the RL dealing with screaming kids, burnt food, and my anti-computer gaming parents until after 11pm Pacific. Unless people want to play Wednesday afternoon with me. . .
Aw man! well.... i missed that. sorry. ;(

[Gaia]

As it turned out I wasn't able to play yesterday afternoon. See we (Talia, Quinn and I) went to the zoo. Had a good time till 3 then came home. 217 traffic hell and several alternitive city streets later we arrived. Talia saw her best friend who was visiting his grammy across the street. So I sent her over there to play. A half hour later I had a dripping wet kid on my door step. I the proceeded to put her into a Violet Incredible swimsuit and send her back across the street. She and her buddy had a waterfight going till around 6pm when dinner was called.

Today she has a dental appointment. Which means having to go downtown. ugh rose festival traffic. Hope to be home by 2 at the latest. Maybe play more then.

[Gaia]

In game right now 3:00pm Pacific

Edit: OR not! All servers are offline :( :cry:

[the_starcrosser]

Servers all very offline :( :cry:
.... going on an "outdoors women" trip.... be back sunday. ;)

[Tarkenchi]

Servers all very offline :( :cry:
.... going on an "outdoors women" trip.... be back sunday. ;)
(((sorry to intrude!))) Have fun star! :D

[Liv]

Sooo....

Ooh, have fun camping!

Sooo.... are we having any of these meetings we keep getting spammed about? ;)

[Aether]

I think there's a few things we need to overhaul.

Is the yahoo group still useful? The only thing it's really been doing is sending reminders for the meetings and since our meetings are way off schedule that's become none too useful. I also feel that the weekly playtime has kinda removed the necessity of meetings. Or do you feel that an IRC chat would still be useful now and again? The reminders are a little annoying. I can turn them off but then the yahoo group really serves no purpose. I guess it's a way to keep in touch in case every board is destroyed by a nuclear device.

The forums on our web site are pretty worthless too. There's some archives of old cases but that's about it. The web page itself has grown kinda stagnant. I hardly have the time or really the skill to do with the web page all the things I'd like it to be.

Membership-wise I'd still like to see some recruiting going on. I know a couple of you have told me about friends who would like to join, bring 'em all in. Show them this thread and let them get to know us and us them. Anyone know what happened to Jack Stone? Is he still around?

[the_starcrosser]

(((sorry to intrude!))) Have fun star! :D *hugs tark* aye aye!
Actually, it was quite a lot of fun. went canoeing, which is nothing new but still a nice opportunity, and got to learn a lot about falconry. And petted baby gyrfalcon/prariefalcon hybrids.... it's like a dandelion puff with a beak and feet bigger than it's body. dawwww... so cute.... ;)


I think there's a few things we need to overhaul. *nod*
Is there anything you'd like to delegate? We can probably help out.
Haven't heard from Jack Stone... who was his player, again? Maybe he's still at the previous boards.

[Nyx]

Jack Stone belonged to Emerald Shadow... who, while he is a fairly good RPer when he's around, is... how shall we say... intermittent at best. Until recently, the last time I'd had contact with him was the pre-beta era.

[Aether]

Is there anything you'd like to delegate? We can probably help out.
I don't think there's really much that needs to be delegating. I'm just trying to trim off the excess stuff that we don't need.

Ideally, it would be nice to delegate the web site to someone, but I know none of us are web designers. Maybe we could find someone to outsource it to (We'll keep it in the country though ;) )

We could think up some positions I suppose if you're all keen on it. Like Director of Human Resources (recruiting), Event Organizer. Someone could keep track of meetings, then we won't need Yahoo. I'll be in charge of sitting in my chair and seeing how many times I can make it spin without touching anything else.

We'll keep Jack around for now, hopefully he'll come on back. We have plenty of spots still open so no rush.

[Liv]

I don't know about y'all (except Elemento, yay!), but *I* had fun on Tuesday....

:)

[the_starcrosser]

Hmm. I can also contribute chair-spinning abilities if you get sick and fall off.

Ah, crap, are we having a Thriller Tuesday? I'm stuck here working on my resume/portfolio.... :grr: Wonder if i can sneak any time off.

[Aether]

man, I am so out of it.
Apparently I can't even keep track of what day of the week it is.

I can hop on real quick now if anyones around. Otherwise we could have a "play date" some other night this week.

Whodunnit Wednesday?
Forbidden Friday?

[the_starcrosser]

^_^ I vote for whodunnit wednesday! unless that's not free. Friday probably will be snatched up by RL, unfortunately.. *shakes fist*

[Aether]

I just realized I have plans to see Batman tonight (I TOLD you I can keep track of day.) I got ticks for my b-day. The show's at 6:45 so I could try to get on if it's not too late when I get back. Don't know if we're going out to eat afterwards.

Thursday's probably no good... Weekend is up in the air. Sun is Father's day but I might be able to squeeze something in there.

[Elemento]

Well Father Thomas will pray for you Aether. (darn ticks. LOL):D
Want you all to know however I will be taking a month away from this. Hopefully some things get fixed in the meantime with the devs. I'll still be around the forums though.

Incidentally, anyone seen Marlowe as of late?

[Liv]

We forgot to birthday you? Uh oh...

<looks around for the cake>

Thursday won't work for me, even if I get my cable modem fixed. It's been having sporadic problems, and after I posted last night it just quit responding. I've been waiting for the repairman all day...

<growls>

... and trying it periodically. Just now it's in the mood to cooperate. We shall see.

But anyway, I have an appointment on Virtue tomorrow with the venerable best friend, provided she isn't too ill with the flu, so it's a no-go for me.

Hey, look!

http://s04.imagehost.org/1700/10cakecp.gif
Happy birthday, fearless leader!

[Aether]

aw thanks Liv. You shan't have. Some cookies would have done just fine.

We'll see if we can work out some play for mayhaps the weekend. If not we'll just do it next Tuesday.
I'm on now if anyone happens to recieve this message...
that I'm transmitting from space! (The space between the four walls of my room)

[the_starcrosser]

Aw, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I'll bake the cookies to go with Liv's cake...

And... actually.... i'm kinda glad today doesn't work, since i'm not gonna be able to do it tonight... at least until a bit later, maybe. Hope you enjoy batman, i was wondering if anyone was going to see it. :)

Have a good one until we see ya, Mento, come back soon, we love you.

[Elemento]

Thx Starcrosser. :)
My birthday wishes for Aether were posted on the birthday thread already.
Saw your pin on my map, Liv.;) You live near Maveric.

I have an even more important reason for this short departure. Finally my second hearing for SS is coming up the 29th of this month. Hopefully everything turns out better than the first time around.

[Aether]

Hope the hearing goes well El.
We'll miss you in game, but as long as you still hang around here it won't be too bad.

Thanks for the birthday wishes Starcrosser, and thanks again to you El.

[the_starcrosser]

Wow.... apparently my laptop is really not feeling well. When i turned it on, it started spewing "L", lowercase L's, into any text-compatible thing i opened. Rebooting didn't help. Even opening the "start" bar, it speed-cycles through anything starting with L. The key doesn't look like it's stuck.... anyone have any ideas? Maybe i'll just feel better on it's own later...... :look:

[Aether]

Even if the key isn't stuck it does sound like there's something up with the keyboard. Has anyone, perhaps a stealthy assassin, been dropping liquids into it? Could just be acting funny for some other random reason.

[the_starcrosser]

Ahhhhhh, i bet it was geek ninjas. They DID repace the keyboard when i took it to Best Buy for fixing the CD drive, but....
Anyhow, it's officially stopped spewing L's, but now it won't.... uh... well, i was going to say it won't type L's now at all, but it seems during the course of typing this, they've come back. Hallelluja. My "prescious" loves me. *pats the computer and gives it a biscuit* llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll NO.... okay that wlas scary. maybe i better not use it for a whie? *afraid*

[Nyx]

Even if the key isn't stuck it does sound like there's something up with the keyboard. Has anyone, perhaps a stealthy assassin, been dropping liquids into it? Could just be acting funny for some other random reason.


Don't you EVEN drag me into this!!

[Elemento]

Heh heh LOL

[the_starcrosser]

computer update: well, it's working, but does sporadically spew l's or not type any at all. currently i just paste a copied l wherever i need one, or i'd be talking in an interesting japanese accent.
anyway. HOW ARE YOU GENTLEMEN!

[Aether]

Someone set us up the keyboard!

I'll be in game for the next hour or so if anyone wants in

[the_starcrosser]

Ah, crappity! it's getting to be more and more levels to find the supergroup forum. I missed the message, or i'da joined you. ;p bah.

[Aether]

I'll try to forgive you. I'll try really hard.


You can make it up to me by coming to...

Twisted Tuesdays!!! (9pm eastern)

I promise I'll be there too. No, for real this time.

[the_starcrosser]

Yeah, right, it'll just be your evil clone again... i swear, you make him do all the dirty work. Lazy-arse masterminds.... ;)

*meditates* ... tuesday at 6.... tuuuuueesday at 6....

[Liv]

You mean it won't just be me and the mysterious stranger?
<waits for scary theme music to die out>

Sweet!

[Elemento]

heh heh think Suede meditated so long she fell asleep. LOL

[the_starcrosser]

ZZzzzz... *cough* I mean.... "omm"...

We had a great teamup tonight, Rose and Noirbot and I. Next playdate is same shady time, same shady server: Tuesday at 9 easten.

If anybody sees Jade Dragon wander in, give him a hello ;)

[Jade_Dragon]

If anybody sees Jade Dragon wander in, give him a hello ;)

[waves]

I will try and drop by tonight with Alan Midnight, and we will see what we will see. I should have no problem showing up for the Tuesday teamups. However, I should probably try to level Alan quite a bit first. You know, I forgot to mention he's only about level 2 or 3. ;)

Oh, and if the receptionist job is still open, Rachel is perfect for it. She's Alan's receptionist, after all, as well as helpful in a whole bunch of other ways.

[the_starcrosser]

;) Might want to explain the character(s) a bit, i think we've got an application or two lying on Aether's desk.. *goes to rummage in the mess*

Level isn't too much of a worry, but i think our current operating level is around ten... or between 8 and 16? Aeth's higher.

[Jade_Dragon]

;) Might want to explain the character(s) a bit, i think we've got an application or two lying on Aether's desk.. *goes to rummage in the mess*

Level isn't too much of a worry, but i think our current operating level is around ten... or between 8 and 16? Aeth's higher.

Well, the 8-16 level helps enourmously. I've been catching up on the bios on the site. I'd love to do one in that style for Alan, I'll just post it here unless you want me to email it to Aether. (Or you) Also, you will probably only need one entry for both Alan and Rachel, although I will obviously play the two as alts.

[Aether]

Welcome Jade.

You can just post the application here. It doesn't have to be exactly like the ones on the website, something similar would be fine.

ooooh... a receptionist. We'll be like a real, snazzy detective agency. Rachel can tell people who show up in the office that we're really busy but value their patience and will get to them soon, even when we're just sitting in our offices throwing playing cards into our fedoras. I'm sure we'll find lots of other interesting uses for her too.

Curious to learn about Alan as well.

As Suede said, Level's really not a problem. Through creative use of SKing and Exemp'ing we make due. I have a few alts on Pinnacle and I try to keep them evenly distributed levelwise so I can team up more easily with a number of level ranges.

[Jade_Dragon]

Here you go. I typed this up real quick, so I need somewhere to store it anyway. :D

Alan and Rachel are based on my stories of Alan Midnight, Matrix Investigator, which are found on my site here (http://www.phan.org/ryley/alan.htm). So far there's only one episode, but if I can ever get back writing again...

Alan Midnight

Names:
Hero Name: Alan Midnight
Real Name: Alan Midnight

Aliases: None

Physical Attributes:
Sex: Male
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 165
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Blue (L)/Red (R)

Dress: Typically, a long sleeve shirt and jeans. Wears a fedora hat and trenchcoat, usually black. Clothes tend to be faded and grungy looking, and allow him to slip into shadows. In combat, he has a jet black bulletproof vest, and leg guards, which are extremely light for the amount of protection they afford.

Physical Description: Extremely tall and lanky, with a wiry, not muscular build. His most distinctive feature is a plate of steel which covers the right half of his face. His right eye has been replaced with an artificial eye, which glows red when its special features are activated. Voice is rough and gravelly, and Alan can be extremely imposing when he wants to be. He is usually clean shaven, although he can develop stubble when obsessed with a case. Smokes cigarettes.

Abilities:

Powers:

SENSORY IMPLANTS: Alan has extraordinary perception, and can see in all spectrums, and up to 200 yards. His implants are able to analyze an image and detect concealed weapons, other implants, energy signatures and other signs that may give away hidden powers. He is able to track a target and predict its movements, and compute the trajectory of counterfire, including tracing the trajectory of shots back to a hidden sniper. In combat, he can estimate the most likely action of an opponent and counter it, giving him extraordinary reflexes. In extreme situations, such as to dodge bullets, the module will actually take over Alan's muscles, and force him to move. Unfortunately, even with this reaction time, he is unable to change the impact point of a shot by more than a few inches. Alan's modules also give him perfect recall, and allow him to store vast amounts of data and images.

ADVANCED WEAPONRY: Alan has a machine gun, and a number of advanced devices that are brought from his own time. (See HISTORY) He also has an antique sawed off shotgun, that he keeps for personal reasons. The body armor, also brought from his own time, was mentioned above.

RACHEL: Alan's partner and AI, who has been downloaded into an android body for their trip into the past. Rachel's stats will be detailed below. If a wireless network interface is available at both their locations, Alan and Rachel can communicate across it.

Skills: Good detective, photographic memory from implants. Alan has a lot of knowledge of computer systems of the present (his past) and is an expert hacker. He has a number of codebreakers and other programs that he can use to crack security. Although the interfaces of today's computers are primitive compared to what he is used to, there is very little he cannot do, given enough time. Alan can also link directly to any wireless network, and although today's networks can't support his virtual reality interface, he can send messages or download information without an external computer.

Weaknesses: Although Alan's sensory implants give him a response time that is superhuman, he refuses to use any other implants, insisting that human abilities are superior to machines in every way. Thus, his reflexes, while faster than a normal human's, cannot MOVE him any faster than a normal human. His strength is only moderate, and he usually uses weapons in hand to hand combat, using his gun as a club, for instance. He has an extreme dislike of any AIs other than Rachel, and will distrust any robot, whether hero or villain. He can be extraordinarily stubborn, and can put his life at risk by pushing himself when wounded.

History:

Age: Unknown. Born some time previous to 2276.

Summary of History: In 2276, the world is controlled by a technocracy, centered around a virtual reality network called the Matrix. In this anarchy, freelance investigators called Admins are the only law, with their ability to police the Matrix using AIs and programs. Alan Midnight, one of these Admins, discovered an anomaly that seemed to indicate that their past was being changed. Tracking down the anomaly, he emerged from one of Portal Corps' portals in the present.

After a quick trip back to his own time, to arm himself and provide Rachel with a body, he returned to the present to investigate the source of the anomaly. He could be away from his own time for several years, while he searches for leads in this mystery, but Alan has always been a bit of a throwback anyway, and feels quite comfortable in his past. He's quite willing to put up stakes in Paragon City, and solve some cases, while he waits to uncover clues as to who is changing his future.

Internal:

Motivations:

Alan is very much a cynic, and regards little as important outside of finding those who commit crimes and punishing them. He has his own sense of right and wrong, and isn't above killing to get the job done. He is very much a hard-boiled detective in the tradition of the old pulp novels, the world is a dark, ugly, dangerous place to him, and he can get just as dark, ugly and dangerous in order to get to the bottom of things. He has a strong belief in the human spirit, however, and believes there is more to a person than just data and figures. In a world where people interact with artificial personalities every day, and project their minds into virtual realities, he continues to believe that the human spirit is greater than any technology.

Personality:

Although most of the time he is gruff and threatening, among friends Alan can actually be joking and likable. He is very thoughtful and secretive, and rarely shares his thoughts with friends, even when they are working together on a case. If he decides he doesn't like someone, he lets them know, although he can have a great deal of respect even for enemies.

Rachel

Names:
Hero Name: R4-CHL
Real Name: R4-CHL (Rachel)

Aliases: None

Sex: Female
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 195
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown

Dress: Long, flowing silky blue dresses, with large glasses. She often looks very businesslike, as she serves as Alan's secretary and interacts with customers for him.

Physical Description: Exaggerated eyes and figure make her look much like an Anime character. Although her android body has been crafted to appear mostly human, she still has an "unreal" look. Her hair is extremely long and full, and surrounds her face in a thick mane. Glasses make her look studious, but not mousy. Her movements are very sensual, and she tends to draw the attention of male observers.

Powers:

CLAWS/ROBOTIC BODY: Although she appears human, Rachel is actually extremely resiliant, and can resist large amounts of damage. At will, she can extend metallic claws that she uses to fight. In her time, she was built to combat other AIs, and here, she particularly enjoys fighting other robots. Although she cannot currently transform, she was originally able to go into a "Battle Mode", in which she transformed into a half-raccoon creature. She hopes eventually to be able to recreate this ability in her new body.

COMPUTER INTERFACE: Like Alan, Rachel has perfect recall and the ability to store data in her cybernetic brain. She can also project herself into computer systems, although again they are primitive compared to her technology. She can use the ability to bypass security, however, or download information. Like Alan, she can connect directly through a wireless interface, or use adapters built into her body to connect to 20th century networks.

History: Shared with Alan

Internal:

Motivations:

Although an AI, Rachel is very much an independent, self-reliant woman. Although AIs are not supposed to have free will in her time, Rachel shows definate signs of it. She trusts Alan implicitly, and cares about him a great deal, although it is not exactly a romantic relationship. She was programmed by Alan to act as a "femme fatale", and serve as a distraction, or help him interrogate gang punks. (Most of them male) She has a lot of leeway to interpret her programming, however, and often experiments with new ideas or techniques. She is very driven to impress Alan, and will even take flattery from other folks to heart. Rachel is capable of emotions, and does not seem to be concerned about whether or not they are simulated. She takes her existance at face value, she is what she feels herself to be.

Personality:

Most of the time, Rachel appears very sweet and innocent, as in many ways, she is still a child. She can be extremely sexy, and often uses her sexuality as a weapon, to distract or to get information out of people, as mentioned above. She can be mischeivous, and also very thoughtful and concerned. Unlike Alan, who is an introvert, she is extroverted, and often shares her thoughts with people. Unfortunately, she is not nearly as perceptive as Alan, although she can be insightful about other peoples' personalities. In battle, however, Rachel becomes very violent, almost animal-like.

[the_starcrosser]

Really good stuff on the website too ^_^ - did you say you were using the matrix concept before the Matrix movies?

Hmm, funny, i've used the android girl with claws theme myself, 'xept Tenjo's japanese. She and Rachel should do luch... or, well... whatever androids consume.

[Jade_Dragon]

Really good stuff on the website too ^_^ - did you say you were using the matrix concept before the Matrix movies?

Hmm, funny, i've used the android girl with claws theme myself, 'xept Tenjo's japanese. She and Rachel should do luch... or, well... whatever androids consume.

Yeah. I took the name "Matrix" from Neuromancer, or at least a video game version of it I played when I was a kid. The main thing I wanted to do with the story, outside of the film noir take on the main character, was to approach Gibson's virtual reality from the standpoint of a programmer. Thus, for instance you get a visual representation of Alan "cracking" the database at Morgan, and replacing code modules to reprogram it.

As for Rachel, she's based on an obscure character created by an Amiga artist. The claws followed naturally from the "raccoon" form, so they aren't really the blade type, but fingertip claws. She would use claws because that's what she's most comfortable with, though, and since in the android body her claws are real and not virtual, then retractible blades would make sense.

Also, I couldn't really figure out how to work this in the bio, but in the world she is used to, Rachel appears in Realspace as a hologram. Since holo emitters are as common as electric lights or telephones, she can pretty much appear anywhere. Rachel is actually not used to being able to touch and be touched by people in Realspace, and is actually pretty excited about it.

[Aether]

That all sounds pretty great Jade, great work. Alan's tech abilities, detective skills and future prespective should add some interesting variety to the team. I'm looking forward to reading the story on the website to get a larger sense of his character. I can already tell Aeth might have a conflict with his willingness to kill to get the job done, but that's something they're going to have to resolve amongst themselves.

I'm also very interested in what kind of dynamic may develop between Noirbot and Rachel.

So I see no reason not to welcome you aboard the team. Welcome Jade Dragon and welcome to Alan and Rachel.

[the_starcrosser]

Huzzah, and the people rejoiced. BWAHAHAAAA.... do we have any initiations? I think they threw rotten fruit at me, but that was.... well, back in the day.

As long as Rachel has an effect on Noirbot and not Noirbot on Rachel, that's great. I don't think despising humans, "eating babies", and general diabolicalness are habits she wants to pick up. Or we'd like her to pick up.

If i see Alan on i'll invite, or if anyone does so first that's good.

[Jade_Dragon]

Rachel has a fairly strong personality (plus, she is constantly looking for Alan's approval) so it's unlikely she would pick up Noirbot's bad tendencies. The one that will likely be antagonistic towards Noirbot is Alan, he hates AIs to start with, and if he is as negative a character as he seems, then Alan will probably instantly develop an intense dislike for him. That could definately lead to some fun roleplay.

Alan is likely to respect Aether's authority to an extent, but if they start off on a confrontational position, it's likely to last. The relationship between Alan and Frank Parker, the Setex Security Admin in the story is a good example. The truth is, while he and Parker argue constantly, Alan actually has a great deal of respect for his ability. He just doesn't like the guy. :D Of course, every Mike Hammer has got to have his Barrington...

[the_starcrosser]

Aether's good sticks. I don't think that's a phrase, but i'll use it anyway. ;) though, whether you two want to have a friendly animosity is up to you.

Suede is somewhat immature and unstable, but not too hard to get along with. Pretty good to have at your back in a pinch, but that's my opinion. :D

[Jade_Dragon]

I'll probably just play it by ear.

[Aether]

Yeah, we'll just see how it goes. Aether doesn't really try to be antagonistic but he's got a set of morals he tries real hard not to stray from and expects similar traits in investigators, Nyx has bumped against this side of him on numerous occassions. He's killed before in self defense and the guilt from that alone weighs him down. I do have some arc possibilities that might move Matthew into a ... ahem.. greyer area.
We can't be a detective agency based in film noir if we're all goody goodies. ;)

I'll be on a this afternoon/early evening if anyone wants to play.

[the_starcrosser]

I can try to be on for a bit, but i'm gonna try to bake something for the "graduation" party of... well... a friend's little sister. That's this evening, so, we'll see. :grr: If not, then maybe monday and definitely tuesday.

[Jade_Dragon]

Well, I was playing on Champion all weekend, and I didn't spot you on the friends list or the COHGuru channel. But if you don't catch me tonight, then definately Tuesday.

[the_starcrosser]

Beh, didn't happen yesterday. (we had a nice party, though. except for the part where we watched Team America. >_< ) So tonight and/or Tuesday. :box:

[Aether]

oh yeck... yeah Team America was vastly disappointing. So many oppurtunities to actually make fun of the war on terror. Mainly they just tried to mock action movies, which didn't seem to work cause it was trying so hard to be one.

TwIstEd tWisTed TWiSted
tUEsdAy TueSDaY tUeSdAy


'nuff said

at 9pm eastern... now 'nuff said

well actually...
nah, nah, I'm good.

'nuff said

[the_starcrosser]

*reconsiders the wisdom of giving Aether that echo-enhancing megaphone for christmas* ;)

[Liv]

Yeah, we'll just see how it goes. Aether doesn't really try to be antagonistic but he's got a set of morals he tries real hard not to stray from and expects similar traits in investigators, Nyx has bumped against this side of him on numerous occassions. He's killed before in self defense and the guilt from that alone weighs him down. I do have some arc possibilities that might move Matthew into a ... ahem.. greyer area.
We can't be a detective agency based in film noir if we're all goody goodies. ;)

I'll be on a this afternoon/early evening if anyone wants to play.Can I be a goody goody, boss? Huh, can I?

If Noirbot is the only foil provided, it's darn sure going to happen in self-defense....

<evil laughter and running away>

[Liv]

Nice roster!

But... umm... you misspelled "collaborate." ;)
<gives Aether an echo-enhancing dictionary for the 4th of July>

And who is Oneroi's Knight? Is that Marlowe?

Rose gets to be in the middle... <sing song>

Is that because she's so little when she's on the whole "I can't eat anything" trip, so she doesn't need a real seatbelt?

That's not gonna work during the "I eat everything, what's it to ya?" phase....

[the_starcrosser]

Woo! Suede gets shotgun! .... or is that in the traditional western "on the roof" style? Just don't stick her in the trunk, she'll probably bust the rear lights out trying to escape.



Edit: um, i have a pretty good idea that, due to some sort of really strange drama that went on, Roulette probably won't be around. :think:

[Elemento]

Liv
yes Oneroi'sKnight is Marlowe. He used to be two other characters before becoming this one.

Starcrosser
Huh! What happened to Roulette aka Naked Dwarf?? Does this also mean no Jane Doe as well?? I know he took over for Stefy.

[Aether]

Nice roster!

But... umm... you misspelled "collaborate." ;)
<gives Aether an echo-enhancing dictionary for the 4th of July>

woah, i didn't even notice that. I cringed when I saw it. The sentenced I used wasn't even a coherent one. My mind must have been somwhere else.

The roster order is just the order in which you joined, so it's not really a favoritism thing. If you want to pretend it is, go ahead. You're all my favorites anyway.

What drama was Naked Dwarf involved in?
I'm not sure Marlowe or Liberation will be back either, last I heard they were playing World of Warcraft.

So we're hemorrhaging. Time to revive that in-game recruiting event idea perhaps.

[the_starcrosser]

Could be so. We should also try to contact emerald shadow to see if Jack Stone is still around.

I don't know all the details and therefore shouldn't say much, but apparently there never was a Stefy, she doesn't exist. Along with some other personal problems, i guess.

[Elemento]

Could be so. We should also try to contact emerald shadow to see if Jack Stone is still around.

I don't know all the details and therefore shouldn't say much, but apparently there never was a Stefy, she doesn't exist. Along with some other personal problems, i guess.

Stefy doesn't exist?? I heard she was Naked Dwarf's sister who got married to a fireman and had a baby. Now I'm confused.

[Jade_Dragon]

Well, I was kind of enjoying being lucky #13, but I suppose that happens. :D

I did want to say thanks for the welcome and I enjoyed teaming with you guys. Next week I will have to bring Rachel in, although as I said to Aether, with all the female Scrappers in the group, she's not really going to stand out any. :D She should have a bit more expressive personality, though, I already have her taunts set up. (I needed to do the same with Alan, but never got around to it)

[Aether]

I'm not too worried about archetype balance for the team. There's only a limited amount of varieties of power possibilities. If we need a certain one for a particular mission, then we invite one. It'd be nice for SGI to meet other folks anyway :)
Where we each stand out in our roleplaying.


As for the Stefy and ND "drama":
Not sure on the complete story but I can say I didn't see it coming, 'cause honestly it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I really wasn't expecting to see "Stefy" again anyway. Why pretend to be someone else who is in turn roleplaying some other character?

Kinda wish we saw more of his roleplaying abilities on the team :)

EDIT: Put Roulette and the rest of our MIAs in the FIN for now.

I also wanted to add a section to the Roster for other previous members who are no longer with us... eh, I mean they're still alive... probably, they've just moved onto other things. I'm not going to put everyone who ever joined the team, 'cause a number of those just disappeared right after joining.

So far I've got: Nightrunner, Psiker, Pigeon, Phantoman, Impadivus

any other nominations?

[Jade_Dragon]

As for the Stefy and ND "drama":
Not sure on the complete story but I can say I didn't see it coming, 'cause honestly it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I really wasn't expecting to see "Stefy" again anyway. Why pretend to be someone else who is in turn roleplaying some other character?

Well, I can't say this is the case, but one possible explanation was that he was creating a female persona to play a female character. There are people for whom the issue is big enough that I can see that happening. Of course, it's still possible that he was playing a female character for the supposed advantages, and created the female persona to led more credibility to it.

Then again, I don't know if "Stefy" was playing female characters.

Typically, I try to play a female character as if it doesn't MATTER who the person is who is playing her. I've never been asked, but I do try to avoid switching character genders if the person isn't someone I've talked to before.

[the_starcrosser]

Heh. I play either, it doesn't bother me. I guess writers might have it easier, since we're used to writing characters of either persuasion... usually. When i first started gaming online, non-roleplaying, i'd never play female avatars, and just let people assume i was male. It cut a lot of the crappy comments and made "the guys" treat me like an equal instead of like a 13-year-old girl. Always felt both bad and good about hiding it. With roleplaying games, especially nowadays, there's much less of a problem with male vs. female.
Sometimes, it's just a lot of fun to play the other gender. I probably don't do it WELL, but still, fun.

[Jade_Dragon]

I guess writers might have it easier, since we're used to writing characters of either persuasion... usually.

Yeah, I can agree with that. Especially since both of my female characters in CoH so far have been taken directly from one of my stories. I already have their personalities well established, so I'm not trying to sort that out while answering questions of "r u relly a gurl???!!!!1111oneoneone"

Plus, as no one ever hits on Sandy, I think the mechanical parts scare the guys off. :D

[the_starcrosser]

Heheh, yeah. you'd think the fanboys would dig cyborg (or robotic/android mix) women.

I think i'm doing better about being hit on, someone even made a sly comment - in not too horrible bad taste - about my badge, and i didn't rip bodyparts off him! I even laughed. Yes, we are improving.... *evil grin*

[RAGNARöK]

I know I might seem out'a place to post here, but since we are on the subject. As a Game Master/Player of basic Table Top Role-playing going on 18yrs now, I see no difference in playing either gender as long as it's purely a role-playing experience and that others players are on the same page with me on it. I just lean towards the male gender in MMORPG's because I don't care to have some predatory guy who doesn't separate themselves from real world when in a game world, playing his Guy Toon as he REALLY hits on me in a no class manner thinking I'm a girl who digs pig talk only to disappoint him with a "Dude! I'm a guy role-playing, buzz off perv." and him flaming the hell out'a me as if I lead him on. It does happen, lol, but I digress, I guess playing either gender would depend on the person and their environment. I will say it's fun to try and play the other gender and actually get complemented on how well you do.

[Elemento]

I'm not too worried about archetype balance for the team. There's only a limited amount of varieties of power possibilities. If we need a certain one for a particular mission, then we invite one. It'd be nice for SGI to meet other folks anyway :)
Where we each stand out in our roleplaying.


As for the Stefy and ND "drama":
Not sure on the complete story but I can say I didn't see it coming, 'cause honestly it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I really wasn't expecting to see "Stefy" again anyway. Why pretend to be someone else who is in turn roleplaying some other character?

Kinda wish we saw more of his roleplaying abilities on the team :)

EDIT: Put Roulette and the rest of our MIAs in the FIN for now.

I also wanted to add a section to the Roster for other previous members who are no longer with us... eh, I mean they're still alive... probably, they've just moved onto other things. I'm not going to put everyone who ever joined the team, 'cause a number of those just disappeared right after joining.

So far I've got: Nightrunner, Psiker, Pigeon, Phantoman, Impadivus

any other nominations?
Well there was also Liberation, Marlowe's brother.
We had applicants but never got in.
Then there was that one member who never really posted much and disappeared. Forgot his name now.
Razordragoon was sort of an associate of ours as Curse.

[Elemento]

Of the 16 characters I've created in-game, 13 are male and 3 are female.
I was and still consider myself a gamemaster from the seventies. I had to create worlds from scratch because unlike its sister game AD&D, Gamma World was like: do it yourself.
Most everyone knows me from the old forums and if they don't I have my pic on my website so that stuff never bothered me. Besides at my age, ask me if I care. :rolleyes: :p :gday:

[the_starcrosser]

I'm not too worried about archetype balance for the team. There's only a limited amount of varieties of power possibilities. If we need a certain one for a particular mission, then we invite one. It'd be nice for SGI to meet other folks anyway :)
(though, i might say for now no additional martial arts ;) )


As for the Stefy and ND "drama":
Not sure on the complete story but I can say I didn't see it coming, 'cause honestly it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I really wasn't expecting to see "Stefy" again anyway. Why pretend to be someone else who is in turn roleplaying some other character?
*shrug* O_o beats me.


I also wanted to add a section to the Roster for other previous members who are no longer with us... eh, I mean they're still alive... probably, they've just moved onto other things. I'm not going to put everyone who ever joined the team, 'cause a number of those just disappeared right after joining.
So far I've got: Nightrunner, Psiker, Pigeon, Phantoman, Impadivus
any other nominations?
I think when i joined there was also Nighthunter... and... some girl named Rafifi that i didn't understand. Janus Lade was around just long enough to reprogram Noirbot. I think there was some sort of archeologist who came along, but i don't remember. We had spade for a little bit.
Jane Doe should probably go on the list, despite the weird goings on.

Hehee.... Guess what i have?

[Aether]

Maybe Janus, even though he was around for very little. Riffi pretty much came and went.

I have Roulette as a FIN, dunno if I should include Jane too


May I say Suede that that is one of the most kickass pictures... ever.

Nitpicker moment: maybe a little darker blue with the trenchcoat. I imagine it as almost a black with just a tinge of blue. And his hair looks to be blue too, should be brown.

Once again, that is very awesome. Great work. Sometimes I forgot how damn cool we look together.


I have a new computer!!! As soon as I'm done getting it put together, hopefully later tonight, it's time for some new and improved CoH action. Woohoo for framerates greater than 30!

[the_starcrosser]

Thank you most kindly. *big wide grin of happy*

Hee... that pic was made back... well, in the middle between when i joined and now. Back before beta. I never was sure why Aeth's trench was blue, i figure it to be grey or maybe black leather. I was sure his hair was brown in that pic, but i guess maybe not.
Maybe i should make a new one, i think i still have all the old Timms i saved. :D

YAY FOR NEW COMPUTER!!

[Elemento]

Yeah almost forgot good old Mike (Spade). :chuckle:
I still talk with him on AIM sometimes.
Don't forget maybe place Liberation along with Marlowe's character Oneroi.

That person I keep forgetting I believe was something like Ice Knight?

[Jade_Dragon]

(though, i might say for now no additional martial arts ;) )

Martial Arts is way too subtle for Rachel. :D

[the_starcrosser]

Hee, well, for the most part i'd say martial arts would be way too subtle for suede - but if you interpret it loosely as streetfighting, it's perfect for her. She kicks it, it falls down, the world is as it should be. Especially with the superjump set added. ^_^

[Aether]

Would be nice if there was some more variety in fighting styles. I picked MA for Wolf's Grin and it fits okay to a point but what's a Cherokee doing pulling off mainly asian-influenced moves? And no I'm not going to work into his storyline how he went to Tibet to train after his parents were killed. Though that would make an excellent movie.

Have a happy 7/4 everyone

[the_starcrosser]

*scuttles off to get firecrackers and bottlerockets and whizzymagigpoppers*

[Gaia]

*bounds over to friend''s house* "you got the STUFF?" "Yeah." "Where'd you buy it?" "The Reservation, up north" *sets up skyrockets and morters" "Fire in the hole!" *BOOM! KRACKLE*

Happy 4th!

[Aether]

Anyone able to make it to Twisted Tuesday tonight?

[Liv]

(though, i might say for now no additional martial arts

Actually, Rose isn't really MA either... there just isn't anything that really *fits*. And she has to have Super Reflexes somewhere, so I'm attempting to make her MA/SR, and heavily stacked to her power pools. We'll see.

I'm so sorry I missed last night! I came home sick from work and was dead to the world until about an hour ago.

[Elemento]

Because of important RL issues, I'm for the present out of game.

[Jade_Dragon]

Actually, Rose isn't really MA either... there just isn't anything that really *fits*. And she has to have Super Reflexes somewhere, so I'm attempting to make her MA/SR, and heavily stacked to her power pools. We'll see.

I'm so sorry I missed last night! I came home sick from work and was dead to the world until about an hour ago.

Well, my MA/SR Scrapper Bloodwolf concentrates a lot on Stealth and Intimidate, and for me they work pretty well. Stealth allows me to divide up my foes and keep down ranged attacks, and Intimidate not only further locks down enemies I don't want to deal with yet, it also serves as a backup defense against the foe I am fighting. (Because of the Acc debuff and fire rate reduction) In fact, I only run Focused Fighting as my other toggle, (with Stealth) and only have the passives otherwise.

The only problem is, with Concealment, Presence, Fitness AND Fighting, I don't have any Pools left for a travel power. I may respec out of Fighting and into Teleport someday, but that means I have to give up my one punching attack, and I DON'T want that.

I'm with you, MA isn't really right for Bloodwolf, either. He really should be Quarterstaff/SR, that's the way he was originally envisioned. (His leaping ability - Hurdle, that is - is supposed to be pole vaulting) Without that, or at least a punching set, it's hard to give up that one punch from the Power Pool.

[the_starcrosser]

Oh, right. In answer to the Twisted Tuesday question... Yes! ;) Glad to see Marlowe again, and be introduced to R4-CHL. :D

[Jade_Dragon]

She had fun, too. :D

I gotta get her and Alan caught up with the rest of you, though. Not that I mind sidekicking, but prior to 14 there's just not enough Powers. Not to mention no travel Powers. :D

[Gaia]

Well there is one character you could play with if you are in the level 7 range. . .I always need someone with me because EC massively sucks playing solo.

[the_starcrosser]

*flex* Huzzah! ^_^ We shall uberify Dustbunny yet!

[Gaia]

:lol: :D

[Aether]

Had a good time playing on Tuesday, once again a thanks to those who came.

El, hope it's not anything tooo serious. I expect we'll still see you around the board. Who's going to keep Nocturne Crossing blessed? We've got the holiest mixed drinks in the city.

Dusty, we can definitely PL you to maybe 7.5 , even 8!!!

I expect Noirbot will get superspeed tonight. God help us all.

[Jade_Dragon]

I expect Noirbot will get superspeed tonight. God help us all.

Along the same lines, Rachel got Recall Friend. Alan should get it also at 10, but he has about half a level to go.

Of course, Recall Friend isn't quite useful as a group travel power until the user has a travel power of his/her own, but there you go. :D

[Elemento]

El, hope it's not anything tooo serious. I expect we'll still see you around the board. Who's going to keep Nocturne Crossing blessed? We've got the holiest mixed drinks in the city.
I'll still be around here on the forums.
Have you moved Nocturnal Crossing to here? Because I'm out of game, I have no access to CoH forums.

[the_starcrosser]

Yeah. I haven't seen Noc turn up here. is it still on the other forum? i keep forgetting to check back there....

[Liv]

Travel powers... hmm... probably not....

[Aether]

Should we restart the Noc X grand opening story again, or just have a general social RP thread for it?

[Liv]

Well, would you like to run it as directed storytelling, where you tell the story of your so-far-unrevealed diabolical plan, and we help?

Or would you like just a general open-ended thread?

Or would you like to have one of each? ;)

[Aether]

I could do it either way. I'd like to go with whichever would be more sucessful.
My original idea was somewhat like a Murder Mystery performance, where there's a main story going on but folks are encouraged to roleplay their own thing if they choose. If we want to go even more murdery mystery, I'll see if I can structure it to be a more solvable mystery, rather than just an unraveling story.

However, something more open would be inviting to newcomers.

[Elemento]

I've created a sig for myself for both KoP and The Shades of Grey.
Only here it's better I place all my characters grouped in my sig.

[Aether]

El, nice looking icons.

Twisted Tuesday tomorrow night. I was thinking we should try to do a task force or mess around in the arena a little, just as a change of pace from mission hopping.

Nocturne crossing, still considering what to do with it.

[Jade_Dragon]

Well, Alan is now level 12 (actually, level 11, but only because I haven't decided what to take at 12 yet) but I'd kind of like to get him to 14 so I can get Teleport. So I'd prefer the TF for XP, but if you want to do the arena I'm up for that, too.

[Aether]

I lost an aunt yesterday and need to go visit my cousin, her son, tonight. I'll probably be back before 9, but if I'm a little late that's way.

[Jade_Dragon]

I lost an aunt yesterday and need to go visit my cousin, her son, tonight. I'll probably be back before 9, but if I'm a little late that's way.

My condolences. No need to rush, man, take all the time you need.

[the_starcrosser]

So sorry to hear, Aeth! :( Do whatever you need to do and take as much time as you need. I hope you and your family are doing alright.

As for RP, I agree, something more open might be good for general stuff, new people, and recruits. We can start with that. The old pre-beta office ramble was fun, and some interesting things happened there.. felt like the oldschool noir private eye office stuff.

As for Tonight..... well, this morning my laptop woke up in 4-bit color and has been officially borked all day. I can't figure out what happened to it, but it's stuck tight on 640x480 4-color and isn't recognizing it's monitor setting. I am not a Happy User. :grr: Not the end of the world, but i doubt i'll be able to play like this, not sure it would be good for the compy anyway. We're calling in our "family doctor" of the computers who should be here tomorrow to give both my badly malfunctioning desktop and now fritzing laptop a checkup. :P yay for technology.

[Liv]

I lost an aunt yesterday and need to go visit my cousin, her son, tonight. I'll probably be back before 9, but if I'm a little late that's way.

Boy howdy, I am a big meaniehead.
I'm sorry to hear that, boss. <hugs>

It was nice to see some of you last night, although we missed you, Suede.

[Jade_Dragon]

Actually, I'm sorry Liv, I suppose I could have said WHY no one was around. :D

But I tried to fill in as best I could. After I finished defining my keybinds, anyway. :D (I shouldn't wait until the last minute to do things like that...)

[Aether]

Thanks for the kind words all.

Had a good time last night. Thanks to Jade, Liv, and Marlowe for being able to make it. We spent some time having Noirbot make empty threats against the team and vowing vengeance once his new programming broke. Then we tried some Arena action, which didn't agree with Liv apparently since it booted her on the first try. And boy do they not want people in Arena matches talking freely, Liv had a hard time getting back in touch with us once the game started. Then Alan, Oneroi's Knight and Nori spent some time bonking each other on the head.

Some thoughts on PVP:
I really thought the maps would be bigger. Maybe you get bigger ones if there's more folks, but they should give you the option for a bigger map anyway.

One on one, it's actually pretty boring. The archetypes aren't exactly balanced for that kind of thing so you just sit around punching buttons for a while until one side wins.

Needs more variety. They need some interesting variations. Everything there now is basically a small deviation from deathmatch. I'd like some capture the flag, defend an area, etc.

[Jade_Dragon]

Another thing I should have mentioned, but didn't. As I've done the arena a few times, I'm so used to that bugged "teleport to the door", that I didn't think to warn you. It's possible Liv stepped out the door or otherwise that was the cause of her being dropped from the match. That's the first time that's ever happened in a match I've been in, so most likely she'll get her chance next time.

It's actually a lot more interesting if you have a mix of archetypes. Blasters and Controllers have to keep moving, and if the Tankers and Scrappers want to follow them, they have to keep moving too. It's only when you have nothing but Tankers and Scrappers that you get into a "stand there and mash buttons" mode. (And personally, I try to hit and run with my Scrappers, just to keep it interesting. That really only works if there are a LOT of other targets, though, and they can distract each other)

One on one combat, I'm guessing is pretty boring.

The maps I've seen so far are the central area of Atlas Park, Outbreak, an office map, a place that looks similar to King's Row, and one that looks like Blyne Square without the statue. This was the first time I've seen the Striga Isle freight ship layout we got this time. The map may have looked small, but we only fought in that one area. I'm guessing it's a chain of open areas separated by bulkheads, like in the mission maps. All the maps I've seen so far are fairly large, although the indoor ones do seem a bit more cramped.

I definately would like to see more goal oriented matches, other than just "beat up the other guy". Even just a football-style "grab a glowie, and get it into your goal before someone takes it from you". The attacks that drop toggles, like Brawl, would be a great way to make you drop a glowie.

[the_starcrosser]

I've actually found the action to be pretty interesting in PVP, but i've only done it with the Thursday Night Tussle. We usually get a good mix of archetypes, and some pretty big, even HUGE maps. I think we just need more people on ours to get bigger maps. And mixed range/melee.... *definitely* mixed range/melee.... i've found that defenders and controllers work rather well in pvp.

Computer is still kaputzky, the tech guy had to cancel for yesterday but is coming today.... hopefully he can fix things. I've tried opening CoH, and i can't even get to the "okay, next" button on the loader. It just doesn't fit on the screen, no matter what i do. I doubt the program would run anyway, though it sadly *wouldn't* be the WORST graphics i've had playing CoH! ;)

[Liv]

Another thing I should have mentioned, but didn't. As I've done the arena a few times, I'm so used to that bugged "teleport to the door", that I didn't think to warn you. It's possible Liv stepped out the door or otherwise that was the cause of her being dropped from the match. I think that was probably what happened. It was odd, because I've been in the arena before, and that has never happened to me. <shrugs>

I've gotten some really big maps, and if you have large teams they are really fun. Especially large mixed teams. It's been great to be the flying stealth blaster chain-killing the other team's defenders and controllers and watching my tanks and scrappers trying to keep their tanks and scrappers from chasing me down and mashing me....

One on one is excruciatingly boring, though.

[the_starcrosser]

It's been great to be the flying stealth blaster chain-killing the other team's defenders and controllers and watching my tanks and scrappers trying to keep their tanks and scrappers from chasing me down and mashing me....
Whoa, that sounds awesome... much more involved than the lowbie fights... :D

[Aether]

We're getting our wooden floors redone at home. The place stinks like sealant so we're probably going to head to my sister's condo tonight.

I'll try to get a copy of CoH on her comp if she lets me for tonight's Twisted Tuesday. If not, then you'll know why I'm not there. If that's the case, then we can try one later this week Thursday at the earliest, after things are back to normal.

[the_starcrosser]

Sorry i wasn't there for most of it - i completely forgot what day it was and had my head buried in a sewing project, it was about two hours late when i realized :( I got a chance to do a mission with R4-CHL, at least :)

I might be up for a thursday playdate, after the Tussle gets out.... ^_^

[Jade_Dragon]

Actually, no one else was around either, although Oneroi'sKnight logged on for a short time earlier to see if anyone was on. If we want to regroup Thursday or later, R4-CHL will be happy to show up again. I could use to catch her up to Alan since I got her to 12, but Alan is 14 already. (BTW, I got Confront, so her taunts now actually work, as well as spam the chat channel. :D)

[Aether]

I did try to install the game, but apparenty my sis's video card isn't supported. Oh well. Thursday's as good a night as any. Hope to see you all there for...

Thriller Thursday!

You know it's thriller, Thriller Night
You're fighting for your life inside of
KILLER
THRILLER
TONIGHT

[Gaia]

I miss you guys.

I won't be there as usual since I can't be in game until after 11pm Pacific. Have a good time getting down and dirty with the bad guys.

[Aether]

Thriller Thursday in half an hour...

We miss you too Dusty. Wish we could work out a schedule that would fit you in.
If all the west coasties want to pick a second play night and time, I encourage y'all to do it.

[Nyx]

*needs a better computer and copy of the game...* >_<

[Jade_Dragon]

Sorry, guys, but the Thursday Tussle ran REALLY late. (It finally broke up around 1am Central...) So that's where Star and I were. I'm up for another meet any old time if we want to squeeze on in before next Tuesday.

[Aether]

I'll see if I can fit a play time amongst this weekend. I'll keep you posted.
I wiled away the time last night doing the sewer trial again. Twas a brilliant success.
How was the Tussle?

[the_starcrosser]

:( sorry about the tussle running late, i tried to keep tabs on if any of us showed up but it was kind of chaotic...

Over the weekend nyx and i will be armpit-deep in pirates.... we'll be back sunday night. :grr:

*hugs Gaia and gives her a cookie* *hugs dusty and tries not to disintegrate him...*

[Jade_Dragon]

Actually, the Tussle was pretty fun, if chaotic as Star said. But we probably wouldn't have been staying up so late if it wasn't fun. :D

[the_starcrosser]

Yaayyy, we're back now.... We had lots of fun pirating. Said "Arrr" alot. I did rather well in a swordfighting tournament and got rather burnt. Nyx had some complaints about trying to sleep over the noise of rowdy drunk pirates, but it was fun. We got to sing some pirate chanties. We passed on the pirate skinnydipping though... some things you just don't wanna see.

[Aether]

Arrr, welcome back to ye piratesses. Good call on the skinnydipping, pirate bodies tend to be horribly scarred.


Tonight is yet another timely twist to Tuesdays.
A team of talented touchstones throng together to tend to a tumultous territory and thrash its transgressors.

Three times three in the atlantic timezone

[Liv]

How many paces away from the tree are we meeting again?

[the_starcrosser]

I might be a little late, since the tech doctor is bringing back our desktop at 6 (9:00 eastern), but i should be there :box:

*realizes she's holding the treasure map upside down* :grr:

[Aether]

Thanks to Star and Jade for being able to make it on Tuesday.

Might you guys want to arrange some time on the Test server trying out the new powersets? I'm sure some of you have already tried them out but it'd be fun for us all to make a team of archers and sonics and go to town.

[the_starcrosser]

Hah, definitely up for that. My archer/healer over there is Styx, i could use a reason to try her out more....

[Aether]

I was thinking that we should do the Positron Task Force tonight for Twisted Tuesday.
We'll start an half-hour earlier so we can get everyone gathered and ready.

So 8:30 eastern time, meet in Steel Canyon by Pos

[the_starcrosser]

Hello! I just got off my first day of work - i'll be there in just a sec, need to input more timecardness so i don't run out ;)

[Nyx]

A general note to SGI: I finally got that blasted comic I did LAST YEAR up... it's on the most recent page of my art thread for those who are interested...

[the_starcrosser]

Yayyyyy.... and thusly, don't drink the coffee.... >_>

[Aether]

Comic looks great Nyx, nice job. honored to have Aether be in it.

Twisted Tuesday tonight for those who can make it.
Won't be able to make it to one next week if we have one.

[Jade_Dragon]

Sorry, I didn't realize until just now what day it was. The good news is, I'm now off the graveyard shift, so I should be able to operate back in normal reality from now on. :D

[the_starcrosser]

:( I didn't show, i'm sorry - i worked a bit late today, and then had to run and pick up some things and didn't get back until just now - is there any other day this week we can have one?


Cheers, jade! That's great ^_^

[Aether]

is there any other day this week we can have one?
I might be free on Saturday night

[the_starcrosser]

Ran into some trouble, saturday, :grr: Things are really chaotic right now, probably until the 27th, but i'll definitely be there tomorrow - after work, which should be 7 or 7:30 (10, 10:30 eastern). ;p Ah the joys of (finally) being employed.
Still wouldn't mind a day to test out archery, if we haven't done that, maybe.

[the_starcrosser]

1: Yay, 2000th view!
2: Hey, i'm a moderator 0_0 *boggle*
3: *remembers* Oh, right, Aeth can't make it. Crappity. Oh well, i'll be there, hopefully some more can come hang out. ;)

[Aether]

Hey
Sorry I haven't been around much, have been awfully busy this past week.
Would like to have a Twisted Tuesday tomorrow if y'all are up to it.

Yes, Suede you are a moderator. Have been since we got the forum actually. Picked you 'cause you're the oldest active member, other than me o' course. And yes Suede, there is a Santy Claus

[the_starcrosser]

Santy Claus! ^_^

Arr, for i am prebetastoric. Prebetastoric Rex, even.

Hmm. With everyone's blessing, I think next week i'd like to start an open "Office" RP - out in the RP section where there's more traffic, i think - with a link to it from here. Just to play around in and whatnot. NEXT week being the key, since this week is still horribly chaotic.

Great teamup tonight! ^_^ Had lots of fun ;3

[Jade_Dragon]

I think it was fairly obvious, but just to say it, I ended our conversation so abruptly yesterday because I lost connection. I'd actually been losing connection off and on over the past several minutes, although not long enough to throw me out, so I saw it coming. I saw it as a sign that we'd been on long enough, so I didn't try to log back in. :D

Anyway, great fun, and with luck I'll be able to make it next week, too.

[Aether]

Hmm. With everyone's blessing, I think next week i'd like to start an open "Office" RP - out in the RP section where there's more traffic


You have my blessing. I should inform you that I am not a registered leader of any official religion, so take it with a grain of salt. Don't go challenging demons to duels or anything.

I really would like to get back to writing/RPing. I think a little focus would do me some good. Next week sounds fine to me. I feel we should reintroduce our IRC (or any other chat system of choice) meetings again. I find those are helpful in brainstorming and keeping organized when we write.

Was indeed a good play session last night. Thanks to Star and Jade for being able to make it.

[the_starcrosser]

Ah, rats. Not even a little duel? Come on.......
Actually, i found a large list of apocryphal and medieval angelic/demonic names, ranks, and areas of dominion if anyone ever needs to research that.

Hmm. I'd just been thinking of the IRC meetings. That would be a good idea. I'll have to figure out of Mirc is still functional on this computer...

[Aether]

Reminder, Twisted Tuesday tonight at 9pm Eastern.

Edit: Realized I put 8 instead of 9pm. I'll probably be on around 8 also if anyone wants to mess around.

[Jade_Dragon]

Well, at least Noir and Rachel got to team, and sorry, Suede, for not having any more time. On the good side, I got Rachel to 15, so now Alan needs to play catch up. Also, I played around with the keybinds that I was talking about, and I think I have some good ones. I saw a post on the official board about a teleport bind that keeps the aiming cursor up as long as you're in that "mode", which works better than just clicking blind. It works with Alan's Caltrops, too.

I think I will have to stop using the random taunts, though. That same one was just coming up too often. I think it works better to have them just "play" in sequence, even though I did kind of like having them random. About the third time Rachel struck that "seductive pose", though, I thought, that's just not random enough.

[Aether]

Really didn't seem too bad hearing the same one now and again, it's better than the folks who have the same phrase every time they taunt... ick.

Going through them one by one won't be a bad idea. If you have a sufficient number of them it'll almost appear random anyway.

Was fun having Noir and Rachel talk about some things when there weren't any humans around. No, I'm not telling what.

[Jade_Dragon]

Really didn't seem too bad hearing the same one now and again, it's better than the folks who have the same phrase every time they taunt... ick.

You know, I never really thought of it that way. :D

The thing is, I think rotating them will highlight more of the ones that haven't been showing up that often. I actually have 10. (My original design used 5, but when I redesigned them to use macros, I went with 10, because of the way I laid out the macros in my tool bar)

Was fun having Noir and Rachel talk about some things when there weren't any humans around. No, I'm not telling what.

All we need is Noirbot corrupting Rachel... but then it could be even worse if Rache corrupts Noir. :D

[the_starcrosser]

Bah, you blasted robots get off my lawn!! :oldman:
;) I really ought to make some macros for suede, now that i have a little bit of an idea how, but that rotating macro thing is a bit beyond me.
Can you bind macros to particular keys?

Will be there tonight, though after work (7:30p/10:30e) as usual. :p

[Jade_Dragon]

That reminds me, I need to SET UP my new macros. I've been so busy trying out my characters in I5 I forgot...

Anyway, no, you can't bind macros to particular keys, but you can bind keys to power slots. So if you know what slot your macros are in, you can bind a key to it, and it'll execute the macro.

Here's what I'm going to use. All my macros are in tray 5, and I use F12 to execute them. (I used to use F10, the battlecry key, but I found myself hitting F9 or F11 by accident. So I just switched to F12) I use bindfiles in the top directory of C:\ and use bind_load_file to load them.

taunt1.txt
F12 powexec_tray 5 1$$bind_load_file taunt2.txt

taunt2.txt
F12 powexec_tray 5 2$$bind_load_file taunt3.txt

and so on up to the ninth file, which rolls back to one. (Actually there are ten slots, but apparently you can't access it though powexec_tray, so I'll just skip it)

taunt9.txt
F12 powexec_tray 5 9$$bind_load_file taunt1.txt

All you have to do is put those 9 files in your C:\ directory, and put taunts in the slots in tray 5. That's as simple as:

/macro Taunt "local Hey, over here!$$powexec_name Confront"

Select tray 5, and then type that in nine times (or use up arrow to bring back up the last line you entered and edit it) changing the quote each time. Assuming tray 5 is empty, each macro should be created in the first available slot in the tray. You don't have to name them differently, they can all be named "Taunt".

You can leave off the powexec_name Confront if you don't want to actually use a taunt power or don't have one. Or substitute Taunt or Warrior's Challenge or whatever. Since I put the power in the macro, and not the bindfile, I can set different macros for different characters, and use the same bindfiles. So Blue Diamond uses Taunt when he taunts, Rachel uses Confront, Alan doesn't use a power at all, (he just says something) and Joe Everyman actually uses Siphon Power, which "pulls" bad guys to him.

I suppose it could use a different power in addition to saying a different quote, but then I might not get the power I wanted when I needed it.

As for the way it used to work, it used a script to generate a new bindfile every second. The bind would execute one of the macros in its slot, and then reload the file. Since the file changed every second, when I executed it it would load a new macro based on how long it had been since the last load, which was effectively random. I got tired of constantly having to remember to start the script every time I ran CoH, though.

[Jade_Dragon]

Anyone want to offer some build advice?

When Rache gets to 16, there is no question of what Power she will get, Unyielding, definately. However, I've been so concerned with getting her to 16 and finally getting that Power, that I hadn't put any thought into Alan. The only Power that I do know I will be getting is Cloaking Device, and I won't be getting it exactly, but exchanging it for Stealth. Alan without stealth just isn't Alan, so I went ahead and took it at 6, figuring I'd use a respec to trade it in at 20.

So here Alan is at 16, and I have no idea what Power I want to select yet. I don't want Sniper Shot, as Alan is a close in fighter, more of a gun Scrapper, in his original concept, than a Blaster. I figure with Shotgun (which was his original weapon) and Flamethrower, it'll be more convenient for him to stay at moderate range. However, this still leaves me with a large number of possibilities:

1) Slug - This is my first choice, as I skipped it at level 1, taking Burst instead. I figured a spray of bullets was more in character than a single shot, even though it only hits one target. However, I am planning to take this in place of Stealth when I hit level 20, so if I take it now, I'll have to take something else. One good point is that I seem to be a little weak on damage, and if I start building it up now, it won't be weak when I take it at 20.

2) Smoke Grenade - This is the second main choice I'm considering as it is, again, very in character with the shadowy, sneaking around detective. It should also improve his defense, over and above the cloaking device. However, as I'm hearing horror stories about the Power not working in conjunction with Stealth, revealing the hero so that he is spotted even as he tries to use the grenade, I'm worried about it. I think that I can extend the range so I can be out of sight when I throw it, but if this is going to be a bugged power, perhaps I should wait and see if it changes.

3) Tactics, eventually - Last Tuesday I noticed a lot of folks mentioning, "I sure wish I could hit", and wished that I could make my Targetting Drone benefit you guys, as well. (When I could remember to turn it on, that is...) Of course, accuracy is Alan's specialty, he has implants which allow him to calculate trajectories, and he can even download that information to Rachel, if need be. (Although her system is also equipped with targetting computers) So he would certainly be able to provide tactical advice in a battle, or even heads-up displays if his allies have the proper recievers. Plus, the secondary abilities of Tactics, like increasing perception, fit him as well.

The problem is, I can't take Tactics yet. I would have to take either Manuevers or Assault first. While Manuevers would make a certain amount of sense (again, Alan's implant tracks incoming attacks, as well as making calculations for outgoing ones) I am concerned about spending additional Endurance. And Assault... well, Assault just isn't very popular. (Although it would help with my lack of damage)

4) Fighting - I'd like to eventually add Tough (body armor) and Weave (the defensive aspect of Alan's implant) to the mix eventually. This means taking Boxing or Kick first. However, I'm in no hurry to add either, and neither would be used any more than Brawl is right now. That is, not at all. So I don't want to jump on Fighting yet, at least not until I've gotten Cloaking Device, and everything else I really want.

5) Beanbag - I don't really think this fits concept, as Alan's got Shotgun as a status effect (and it's AoE at that) and he's not exactly "into" non-lethal weaponry. As he likes to say, "I leave bodies behind because it keeps people off my back." I can see it being useful if he's overwhelmed, but with Web Grenade and Caltrops he's pretty much got better control than most Blasters. So this would just be space-up-take.

6) Intimidate, eventually - This could be cool. However, I'll have to take Challenge first. (It should be useful for pulling, but that's about it. Provoke would be too dangerous to use) And I already have a "scary dark knight of vengeance" character in Bloodwolf, I don't know if I want to go that far with Alan. He IS scary, but is he really that scary? Maybe this should be a power that waits for later, like Fighting.

One thing I do NOT want to take is Stamina, which is why I want to be careful not to grab something which is going to drain End. Rachel may have Stamina, as an android, but Alan is neither fit nor, particularly, healthy. Swift and Hurdle wouldn't fit him at all, and neither would Health, so I'm not taking Stamina just for Endurance. I would rather count on number of attacks to generate as much damage as possible, instead of focusing on one or two. (So not Hasten, either) So by that logic, Slug would seem to be the best choice, with my respec'ing into Smoke Grenade when Cloaking Device becomes available.

I did want to bring up the Tactics option, though, since Alan is definately going to be a group-oriented character, pretty much played exclusively in the Supergroup. Intimidate, and later Invoke Panic could also be useful. Then again, so could Smoke Grenade, as it will provide an accuracy debuff, even if the stealth component fails. So if you guys have any suggestions or insight, I'd like to hear it before I decide.

I should also mention that although I am planning on taking Teleport Foe, I plan on taking it with Rachel, not Alan. Alan may take Team Teleport, but then again that Power seems pretty useless when Recall Friend works just as well.

[the_starcrosser]

Wow.... i'm really not sure on Assault Rifle builds, myself... Though, i'd think one of the first three - slug, grenade, or tactics. I know i can use and appreciate any of the team-buffs. :D

[Aether]

Well I don't have an assault blaster either, but I'll try to offer some helpful advice:

1) Slug - Since this is one of the first powers in the set, it's probably a "bread and butter" power. It's something you'll use very often. If you are concerned about damage output, go for this. I don't know exactly how much it does, but I'm guessing it refreshes pretty quick.

2) Smoke Grenade - I know smoke grenade used to be really good, exploitable good. I've heard it's been toned down since then, and if you've heard it's "broke", then it very well could be. Don't let that stop you taking it if it really fits your concept though. Chances are it'll be fixed somewhere down the line.

3) Tactics, eventually - I'll just talk about the Leadership pool on the whole. Aether used to have it. I respec'd out of it cause it just didn't seem to help a whole lot. It used a noticeable amount of endurance and the boosts didn't seem to make a huge difference. However, the power was boosted in I5 so it might be a little better now. As long as you're comfortable with running a bunch of toggles most of the time, you could give it a shot.

4) Fighting - Depends on your play style. Some blasters like to stay out of the way, some like to get up close and throw in a few hits. Just a warning though, in the higher levels it's pretty dangerous to put a blaster in melee. Many mobs have strong holds, so they'll hold you and leave you susceptible to getting beat by everything in melee range.

5) Beanbag - If it don't fit the concept, it don't fit the concept :)

6) Intimidate + Challenge: Not very familiar with intimidate. A fear power , no? Might be helpful for holding. Challenge comes with the same caveats of fighting I guess; a blaster generally wants to keep bad guys from noticing him. Particularly if you're focused on a group play, there's usually someone else who'll have a taunt and can manage the aggro*. If you want to take it for concept, it couldn't hurt and may help out for soloing.
*Your playstyle may vary.

So I'd say Slug is definitely one you should take at some point soon. Smoke grenade and intimidate may help at mob managing. Leadership may be helpful, but give it a try on the Test server first to see how much of a boost you feel it's doing. I'm sure if you slot the Leaderships heavily, and can afford to do so, the difference is very noticeable. Fighting? depends on your playstyle and your concept.