Test Discussion DoS: Narrative and Cinematic Feedback

Noted. Thanks.

Hey Penryn,

I feel your villain pain. We've been making a conscious effort in new content to especially cater to the villain experience. The fact is Calculator is feeling your pain too. He's sick of his compatriots in crime being labeled "anti-heroes" and always doing pro-bono work for the heroes. Most villain players complain that they don't feel like villains... and we're aiming to fix that moving forward.

So I think you may be misunderstanding his use of the term "anti-hero" in that sentence. There is a oozing swath of sarcasm when he says that... He's asking you to play along until the time is right. Patience is a virtue.

As far as trusting Calculator goes, its a fair point. He has played both sides of the fence on occasion. However, he's been the most consistent villain contact and granted the most profitable missions to villains in game. Generally speaking, most villain players like/trust Calculator more than Lex.

Also important to note, In the comics, even the closest villains back stab each other and their underlings on occasion and then end up working together in the future with lessons learned. Being this is only "Part 1" of a three part content release, I wouldn't go assuming the real payoff is just a few marks and some consumables. Because all the best villains in comics know.... Money and baubles are overrated, but a nasty Reputation goes a very long way. There will be more rewards moving forward and one huge notch for your belt.

Your capitalisation of "Reputation" is making me suspicious...

Question


Should STAR Labs Security Captain Smith be using "STAR" or "S.T.A.R." in this subtitle?

Captain Smith also uses "STAR" when he congratulates the player on completing the mission.

Feedback
There are some horrifying implications if you start thinking about the Hero-side dailies. I'll use the "Affliction Eviction" mission as an example. It is the mission where you have to administer the Probiotic to Civilians infected by the Doomsday Spore plague. Here are some of the subtle implications of the mission:

1. Players receive no formal training on how to administer the Probiotic. Instead, they are sent out into the field with no formal training. The icon above the NPCs head clearly shows a needle being used. What could possibly go wrong?
2. The Probiotic is being administered without the formal permission of the Civilian. The Civilian is still conscious and able to speak. There are usually laws against those types of things.
3. The player is administering a highly experimental drug. As far as I can tell, there was no mention of formal testing. Instead, it is just being rushed out. What happens if the Probiotic behaves differently on Civilians over Exobyte-Infused Heroes?
4. Who is liable if a Civilian has a fatal allergic reaction to the Probiotic?
5. After the Probiotic is administered, the Civilain just runs off further into the city - never to be seen again. Shouldn't they be escorted instead back to a safe area for follow-up examinations? Some of the NPCs have lines like "Thank you. Sincerely. Now do you know where the hospital is?" That type of line indicates the NPC maybe highly confused.
6. On the subject of the previous note, the NPCs mention they picked up the Spore Cloud because they were in the vicinity of Doomsday. Being in the path of such destruction implies there are going to be other injuries like broken bones. Attending to those injuries isn't part of your responsibilities though - just applying the Probiotic. Instead, the Civilian is left to fend for themselves.
7. There are a lot of ambulances driving past the Infected Civilians, but they never stop to help out. Some of them drive right beside Doomsday Spore Clouds. In the worst case, that could represent a vector for further transmission of the Spores.

Some of those points also apply to the Player. Are there any long term side effects to using the Probiotic? Is there any danger in using too much Probiotic trying to fight Doomsday?

I know some concessions have to be made for game mechanics, but Hero-side missions that involve an "injection" mechanic always makes me feel uneasy. Sometimes this is handled a little more elegantly by having the Civilian be "teleported" to a treatment area.

I don’t suppose there’s any chance of convincing Catwoman to take on an apprentice? (that’s more the kind of villain I’d like to play, personally)

On the other hand, I hope any future misdeeds are wholly pragmatic. Levelling to 30, I remember having to do a lot of very stupid things just because eeeeeeeeeevil. Joker literally came across as the sanest mentor, due to lacking the reckless hubris of the other two. No doing things that were going to pretty obviously backfire in spectacular fashion, like messing around with Trigon and implanting Parasite/Doomsday DNA in random people.

You expect sanity from an egomaniac and a goddess so minor she’s turned to villainy just to keep from being completely forgotten?

Well, you make a good point but I just can’t shake the feeling that if The fricking Joker is coming across as the most sane guy in the room, something has gone very, VERY awry.

Look up the ‘Batman: White Knight’ story arc.

GRRR. I can’t even mention the name of a DC Comics storyline without it completely changing it on me? WTH?

White.
Knight.
Is the name of the story arc.

Sorry, it’s a mini-series, not a story arc. Alternate universe, I think.

Thanks was looking up Rational Person and getting zilch