6 Responses

1. cruise Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   I cannot recommend this arc enough for anyone looking for good storytelling. The two arcs that make up the full story are amazingly moving, full of good characters that you do get to know through the course of the ten missions.

   This is challenging as well as just a story - several EB/AV fights with ambushes, often with no allies. It is soloable on a high level character (I did with my illusion/storm controller), but be warned if you’re on a squishy character - it won’t be easy.

   The only problem is much of the detail and characterisation is told via clues - there are a /lot/ of clues - so it’s easy to miss much of what happens, especially if you’re not the team leader. Take the time to read the clues, or you’ll miss out on most of what makes this so good - especially in the very last mission.

   Posted on July 7th, 2009 at 5:00 pm

2. Glazius Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   @GlaziusF

   Playing on a high 40s spine/regen scrapper, diff 2 for ~goodfights~.

   Given all the warnings about EXTREME I may have to go grab a Shivan. We’ll see.

   —

   Sup Pyron. Slummin’? That’s cool, that’s cool.

   Okay, time for some historiffical fundutainment.

   Interesting effect on the Rikti. I guess they haven’t bothered fitting their troops with translators yet. But it plays hell with how the engine tries to work linebreaks.

   I am continually amazed by how freakin’ far a plasma bomb explosion can push you.

   Something about the mission complete clue seems a little weird - aren’t the Rikti winning BECAUSE they can do things like plant bombs under targets of opportunity? It’s also odd to hear about how bad something will be after I’ve already stopped it.

   —

   Ah well, next crazy war mission.

   …you know, I get the point just fine that we can’t understand the Rikti language yet without being hammered by twelve bubbles of extended character set. If the patrols have to vocalize, can it just be one of them?

   So the intro text seems to indicate that these people are working together, but of course they’re contained and separated by the time I actually get to them.

   Gnnn. They have a kid. Well, both these guys just signed on to the redshirt brigade.

   Weirdly enough the computer that takes the key is surface-side in the office. The mission completes after I free the second ally. Is there some way to force it to the back of the mission?

   —

   a simple courier run. what could go wrong?

   Man, how many people keep doing this? Battles Can Start While Heroes Aren’t There. Pretending they are just doesn’t fly.

   Ah, that’s why the Vanguard are getting their butts handed to them by the Rikti. They’re customs. Nice look, plausibly retro.

   You should be aware that the “jeering” animation loop has a part in it where the character jumps up and down like a monkey. I’m seeing the doc’s guards doing it.

   —

   Lazon’s briefing in the final mission needs some damn paragraph breaks. I realize he’s in a bit of a hurry but I still need to understand him.

   More jeering from the Rikti in the base.

   So the navbar goes “5 Heroes to Find, find Heroname, find Heroname, find Heroname, 1 Hero to Find”. I think you want to consolidate ‘em a little more.

   Escort dude should probably have a different group name than “Cimeroran”. He ain’t, is he?

   The mind controller’s find clue seems to indicate she’s going off on her own, like Mr. Shine did, but she follows me around.

   Kinda ruins the impact of the multi-click clue here when you get it after the first objective you interact with.

   Ggh. Experimental laboratory. I hate this room enough as it is without having an ally aggro the other side.

   Huh. Okay, judging from the ally clues the mind controller and Gordon are supposed to run off and Mr. Shine is supposed to stick with me. But this isn’t what’s actually happening.

   EB takes out the minder with splash damage. Oh well, this is what insps are for. Fight gets nice and crazy with the ambush.

   —

   Ah. Looks like I just hit a save point.

   Hmm. Nice work on the ice hero, really looks like just a pile of see-through polygons.

   But, uh, this office has Hellion trappings all over the place. Yeah, I know, there’s a terrible dearth of buildings on fire that don’t have a bunch of Hellion stuff or low-level gang graffiti laying around.

   Godspeed, Mr. Shine. Hope you got to a warship before you went nova.

   The boss is something I’ve fought before, pretty much just a big chief soldier, and the fight is easier than it might be since his help can’t actually get past him in the tiny doorway.

   —

   Storyline - ****. The only thing I really take issue here with is the whole “translator” plotline. Rather than them being a Paragon product, the Rikti seem to have developed them on their own, to communicate with the Lost in the years after the war if nothing else. Just having it kind of activate when I hit the right panel on a battlesuit seems a bit weird. Maybe the subplot that gets me distracted can be about some other side-effect of the psionic communications?

   Design - ***. The fourth mission was rather a confusing mess as I’ve documented. The clues looked to be at odds with who was actually following me and who was running for the nearest exit-like substance. Completing the second mission without even going “inside the Rikti base” as it were also seems off.

   Gameplay - *****. No real frustrations here.

   Detail - ****. Solid all-round, a couple little minor glitches like enemy group assignment and briefing text running together.

   Overall - ****. I’m not sure what to do about mission 4, source of my animosity. Obviously there are upper floors that I can’t get into for… some reason, but just listening to the hostages and reading the clues gives me the impression that entirely the wrong people are staying behind to help me.

   Posted on July 9th, 2009 at 10:30 pm

3. @PW Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   This arc did a good job of portraying the brutal violence of the Rikti War and the sacrifices made by the people who fought in it. The final two missions were particularly compelling, as they depicted a desperate struggle as you rescue who you can, but you find many have given their lives in defense against the Rikti.

   The first three missions seemed rather generic fights against the Rikti by comparison, however. There was a good introduction to the arc, but it seemed like the plot thread about researching the translator never really went anywhere.

   Countless heroes that were SOLUS members made brief cameos in this arc, appearing for one mission and then never being seen again; I felt this really made it impossible for any of them to get enough character development, except for Lazon himself, who was handled pretty well. It occurred to me that these may be guest appearances from members of the author’s SG. For sake of the story, though, you might consider reducing the cast size, and instead focus on developing the story for a few recurring characters. Perhaps one could be one of the rookie heroes who works with the player in the early missions, but ends up dying against hopeless odds in the later missions. This would give you a stronger connection to what happens in missions 4 and 5, where you find a LOT of body bags, but they’re (as currently presented) mostly nameless statistics. Even the one that IS named isn’t anyone you “know”.

   I did really like Lazon’s final scenes, though, which I thought gave him a pretty heroic ending.

   I was rather disappointed that even though I beat the final boss, he “teleports away” so you don’t really win against him. Despite beating back the Rikti attack, due to the enormous loss of life the final mission has a sense of failure. Considering some of the final clues and debriefing, this may be your design intent. I might suggest you let the final boss get “really” defeated, though, to partly balance the deaths of Lazon and the others, and allow the player to have some sense that she accomplished something beyond survival.

   Anyway, I did like the arc overall, but thought there were a few things that could be improved.

   Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 2:21 pm

4. SRS Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   Storyline - The first of two arcs, this one works fine by itself, though I was very pleased to see it continued since there were a few questions left hanging. The arc has been improved a lot since it was first written, with the writer taking earlier crits (including a couple from this forum) to heart. It’s a very moving portrayal of what one of the “not quite ‘A-team” heroe groups went through during the war.

   Design - A very tight arc, with strong map choices. My only criticism is that (as noted before) some small things are carried into the second arc. It’s necessary in order to link the two arcs, but I have to dob the design a star somewhere.

   Gameplay - The gameplay is really good, especially if you like Rikti. Map choice worked fine, though it wasn’t quite as varied as the secod arc.

   Detail - The writer definitely did his homework, both in reading about the war as well as in how to write. One of the better detailed arcs in the MA IMHO.

   Posted on March 14th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

5. Mychyl Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   @Mychyl

   Playing as L38 Dark/Regen scrapper, old Heroic setting

   ~L40 due to arc sync

   ~*~

   Yay, reliving Rikti Invasion 1.0 history. (I wasn’t around when it went down the first time… I showed up in the time when the Crash Site was a desolate place full of nastiness and little else.)

   So, Fireball’s SG needs some backup. Whatever, the Brotherhood can lend me out for a few… we’ve got people to spare right now. Let’s get underground and figure out what to do while Toasty works on the signal unjamming.

   (Sorry, my first time dealing with a being made of pure flame. I’ll lay off the jokes any time now… :P)

   Also, nice summary of the War’s start — is this taken largely from the website, I wonder? As an FYI, assuming you were trying to do military time in the clue, it would be 0730 (or 1930, if it’s PM) — otherwise, including AM/PM would be useful. ^.~

   As for the plug for the website, I doubt there’s many who aren’t familiar with the events, at least secondhand, but good plug for those few who need it.

   ~*~

   …Is this before we could understand Rikti-speak? I zone in and see something in a combination of different character sets. I see Cyrillic, basic accented (almost any non-English Roman-alphabet language), even a couple Greek characters.

   Oh goodie. And a UXB. Love those… sorta.

   Hm… apparently Captain Superior heard the way to win a girl over is complimenting her. Works for my character. Too bad he looks like a kill stealer.

   Weird… I read his briefing after I abandon him, and it looks like he was planning on taking off… but instead opted to stay? He’s sitting at the entrance, either way.

   In the middle of the battle, the chief starts randomly speaking English. Good… maybe that means they’ll stop speaking their native language soon… so I can actually understand what they’re saying.

   I rescue Billy, who badmouths me… then apologizes… then loafs about, finally throwing a shuriken just in time to miss the last enemy on the map. Maybe I was overestimating his kill-stealing abilities?

   And then Lazon called… and not exactly home… while I’m still down here. To tell me that they’re trying to take out SG groups their way: bombs in the sewer. Well, these bombs won’t be hurting any SG’s ego anytime soon, so back to the surface to shower and check in. Wonder if SOLUS lets their associates use their showers, or if I should head back to the Brotherhood?

   ~*~

   And now, I get to be a superhero hacker. Technology isn’t precisely Sable’s strong suit, but whatever, sounds simple enough. Find computers and upload until it eventually works.

   And I get new backup this time. One of them even sounds like someone who won’t steal my kills. We’ll see.

   ~*~

   I’m… not certain why I know so much about how well-suited Emp and Energy are suited personally. Though the audible clues sound like an example of professional compatibility.

   It’s VERY weird seeing a Rikti computer sitting around inside a damaged office building. Were they moving some of their tech to the surface, for a closer base to the action?

   Seeing three of them, practically on top of each other, with a bunch of patrols nearby further confirms this possibility, at least in my mind.

   I find Energy down in the tunnels, right next to the computer that actually works. During the ensuing ambush, I found him to be a very effective kill stealer. So I took him topside and abandoned him there. He seemed to take well to that, funnily enough.

   I then find Empathy quickly, and it’s time to head back to the surface.

   In retrospect, now I know how well they get along personally.

   ~*~

   And now I’m off to protect a lab under attack. Nothing too new about that, aside from the fact that THE ENTIRE WAR could hinge on my success. No pressure.

   ~*~

   Save the girl, get the info, get her started on a prototype translator, and get a phone call. Bell Atlantic must love this guy.

   SOLUS is under attack… that’s exciting. Except for the part where it’s not, because that’s bad. Time to go help out with the base.

   ~*~

   A whole slew of names just flew past me. I… go in, kick butt, save baby heroes, etc. Got that much.

   ~*~

   I saved the maintenance guy, who wasn’t a hero at all. Things go different in the SOLUS base, apparently… I don’t think my base has any mundanes that do maintenance. Interesting.

   Although that might explain why this map looks like any generic Crey lab. Seriously though, it’d be awesome if you actually could either build a custom map like with the base editor, or at least copy over your SG/VG base as a small map.

   I find a… prince? OK, now I’ve seen it all. He’s had enough… time to show him the door.

   As an aside, in his description, you use the phrase “fighting on is a ball you should carry”… I understand what you mean, but perhaps the phrase is a bit awkward. Maybe replace “ball” with “burden”… see how that tickles you.

   And the body count begins to mount… from the fact they share a tracker in the navbar, I’ll assume that there’s 5 more corpses somewhere in the base. Looks like SOLUS is gonna be recruiting, if enough of them survive to rebuild.

   And then I find Commissioner G. He wants revenge on behalf of his rookies.

   I pat him on the head and park him out of harm’s way, of course.

   I successfully drive off the attack, or at least I clear the map. According to the clues, the numbers are mounting and everyone’s either dropping or escaping to fight another day. It looks like the Rikti have officially taken the base.

   ~*~

   And now for the big finale. Joining the head honcho as he battles off their leader, whose name is a little too close to Hro’Dahz for my comfort.

   Ah well. Let’s do this.

   ~*~

   I swear I’ve seen this map in the canon somewhere. Wish I could remember where…

   More corpses. Gods, so many dead heroes…

   I find Commissioner G again, and this time I don’t have the heart to refuse him his vengeance. There’s just so much carnage…

   And then Lazon… Lazon… explodes? I save him, he flies off, and explodes? I… don’t know what just happened, or rather, why he had trouble stabilizing his form.

   We defeat the bos, watch Lazon’s vidchip, and… well… I’m at a loss for words.

   With a heavy heart, I return to the “contact” to complete the arc.

   ~*~

   Storyline:: * * * * *

   The story starts fairly basic, rehashing a known moment in history and trying to thwart the inevitable. Somewhere along the line, however, it becomes less about rehashing the past and actually becomes reliving the past. In the last two missions, every fallen hero was a personal failure, and when I rescued Commissioner G in the 5th mission, I actually felt his vengeance in me… which is why I couldn’t deny him and just abandon him like I usually do with NPCs. I wanted him to get his revenge for every one of those fallen heroes. I actually started tearing up when Lazon died. It pulled me in, it held me close to the story, and it didn’t let go.

   Design:: * * * *

   Everything fit so well together, especially using the blasted lab for the final mission. I think the only thing that could’ve made the design even better is if you could create a true base-like map for the last two missions. The heroes were compelling, even if Billy and the couple were a bit silly compared to the latter. All the clues, all the NPCs, everything fit well together.

   The only thing that seemed off was the communicator subplot. (Perhaps the second arc addresses this, since it was a very quick real-time jump from giving the doctor the tech to saving [or trying to] the SOLUS base from half the Rikti fleet.) I also didn’t get a chance to see your Vanguard, since they all died before I could reach them. I’m assuming you did a custom job on them, since the modern (stock) Vanguard weren’t around as such back then?

   Gameplay:: * * * * *

   As I said under storyline, this arc brought me closer to the action of the 1st War than I’d been before, and made me feel the loss and failure of every single dead hero, even though I’d never met any of them before. I’ve never played through a story that made me feel quite so emotional towards the events and eventual outcome than I did with this one.

   Detail:: * * * * *

   You very clearly put a lot of time and attention into every little nook and cranny of this arc. It shows, and shows beautifully. Something tells me I’ll be very glad to get to the second arc in this series, because I’ll be waiting to see where the story goes from here.

   Overall:: * * * * *

   While SOLUS needs to start rebuilding, it’ll have to look for heroes other than Sable for members. However, she’d be honored to help out, any chance she gets. Beautifully written, masterfully executed, with no flaws I could find to mar te masterpiece.

   Posted on March 26th, 2010 at 12:15 pm

6. PW Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   The author has made considerable improvements to this arc since my first play-through. I have a higher opinion of the story now, and would recommend it without reservations.
   (Feel free to replace my earlier ratings.)

   Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 10:20 am