*** Dave said:

[In clearing out some comment spam, I managed to delete a whole bunch of legit comments. Dagnabbit. Here's the reconstruction:]

Boulder Dude:

I think there might have been a problem last night on CoH.

While teamed up with Jackie, Doyce, and Avocet doing Roben's Frosty adventure (11-1), the xp stopped after the first floor, and did not kick back in until after the end of mission xp was rewarded. Then I was getting xp for the rest of the time we took to kill the rest of the badies. xp Stopped again for a couple of kills (4 white/yellow trolls) so that I could test out Haymaker, and see what it did damage wise after leveling.

Yeah I noticed that you were up late. I thought that it was odd that Doyce said he was going to bed at 10:15 and that you were still on a mission map.

Doyce:

Actually, what I said was "I'm going to turn into a pumpkin..." and that was actually a mistell that should have gone to Rose's SG channel -- I was just switching to another character.

Dave: Yeah... doing Doctor V wasn't probably a great idea for either of us. The only reason I even logged into it was to exemp Mac down from level 27 :P... don't know why I bothered.

I got almost no XP for stuff, except, to be sure, a 300XP/300INFL mission success bonus at the end. That seems to have been because, even SKed, there was an 8-level difference between my character (the lightest weight, SKed to 16) and the highest (24).

Actually, the problem, now that I think of it, is that we didn't do all the sidekicking and stuff until we went inside the mission. And 8-level spread isn't a problem, but when we went inside, it was a 27 level chick still unexemped and you still showing up as 13th cuz you hadn't been sidekicked yet... so, a 14-level spread.

Also, the mission geared for that level of power. :P

Group Invisibility is a wonderful thing, but, esp. combined with bubbles and a bunch of other combatants, it is almost frelling impossible to tell WTF is going on, or what you’re hitting, etc.

Don't forget the darkness of the setting that screwed with effects. I imagine it's a lot worse on a laptop screen also, but yeah, it can be hard to keep track of. Ironically, Tanks have an easy time seeing themselves becuase they tend to glow and glitter. Fire tanks are particularly funky to see.

We killed the Good Doctor, but decided to clear his chamber in order to take a group pic for the FP. That’s when things went horribly, horribly wrong

Actually, no... that's when a certain warrior of Asgard did what he ALWAYS does in that situation and cowboyed his way into killing a couple people. That guy is a menace... it's a subtle thing and, if you don't know what you're looking for, you won't see it (I didn't until Lee pointed it out), but he is, quite frankly, faking his way through by picking huge fights and then avoiding the actual tough opponents. He's very very good at camoflaging it (I've since seen guys who are a lot more obvious about it), but if it weren't for having a couple good tanks along (Macrolass and yourself, which I define as 'willing to step up and face the music'), lots more people would have died.

But make no mistake: you went down because Ulric's a threat to his own teammates (remind me to tell you about the missions of 14 deaths sometime).

Lee and I both agreed we unreservedly owe you a debt-clearing party.

***Dave:

Well, that was about the time I was going to hit the hay, too -- but then Doyce pinged me with a Whazzup, and then Lee showed up in the SG and suggested a mission.

And being an inveterate follower, I just *had* to go along ...

It occurs to me that I'm going to wake up just outside that sewer, which is (fortunately) near a gateway into Perez Park. Joy.

Avocet:

At least the massacre wasn't your fault, Dave. I almost got our group wiped out last night. I had decided that the best key to bind Autorun to was the tilde key (easy to hit as I run/fly around the streets hitting Tab to find targets), and just as Doyce opened a door, but before he cast Invis on the group, I missed the Escape key I meant to hit and instead hit them autorun key. Avocet ran into the room, I panicked and got him back out, with about 15 Hellions on his tail. He stood frozen in a lump of ice while Doyce, Jackie, Stan wondered what the bleep this blankety-blank idiot thought he was doing. Fortunately, nobody went down, and after an explanation and a couple of sincere apologies, they were kind enough to forgive me. (That's another reason I prefer to game with people I know. A group of strangers would probably have added me to their list of Morons to Avoid at All Costs. The reaction I actually got was "No harm, no foul." Thanks again, guys!)

*** Dave said:

[More comment reconstruction:]

Boulder Dude:

Avo...

No problem.

Really.

It's not like my hand moves over a key, from being centered on the "w" to being center on the "e" (Look at the keyboard to see what might happen in that circumstance) at least once a session.

Mostly it was comic value since nobody died.

"Hmmm...Avo is pulling a Han Solo and charging down the hallway..."

"Now, in an even more Han Solo Moment he is charging back down the hallway with a bunch of aggro'd Outcast's on his tail."

"Whoops, and now he is a bird on ice with hellova lota Outcast's treating him like a ten year-old with a new drum set"

Still more fun then the 1000 gears from hell on the mission prior to that.;->

Doyce:

Yeah... that Gear mission was like getting your ass kicked by neeker-breekers.

Boulder Dude:

P.S.

Avo.

Finally looked at on of my bird books, last night prior to going to bed and you did do a good job of matching the colors of the adult male Avocet for the Avocet.

I am assuming that the males head/neck colors grow darker in the breeding season (compared to the picture shown in the book for the male), and I am amused by your use of the pointy beard for the substitute beak.

***Dave:

Lee and I both agreed we unreservedly owe you a debt-clearing party.

I'm not proud -- I'll take you up on that.

I did a bit of running around earlier today on a Hollows mish and was at the other end -- the biggest gun on the mish, so that everyone was blues and greens and, on occasion, white. Was sort of fun, even if it was relatively low-XP. But it was enough to erase the debt. :-)

I was a bit confused, because folks seemed to be looking to Ullric to take point, but he wasn't really being very ... organized.

Anyway, the death at the end was sort of my fault -- I jumped into a trio of Bad'uns, on my own, and didn't jump away quickly enough.

I was more irked by the cable modem thang.

I missed the Escape key I meant to hit and instead hit them autorun key.

Damn. I think the Autorun key is probably the most dangerous thing going. Can't tell you the number of times it's gotten me in trouble (usjually in conjunction with thinking I was typing something in Chat). I plan on remapping it sometime RSN.

Avocet said:

Today started out well. Had a 20 Skull & 20 Hellion mission and a 10 Vahzilok mission, which meshed nicely in Perez park. Then I went afetr a Vahzilok base. Thanks to lag ("Activate Power Blast, click on healing Inspiration, now... wait, nothing's happening... and they're still pounding on... Dang. Hospital again.") and my own carelessness (Darn. Two of 'em on me. Better move... What!?! Health is red already??? Uh-oh!), I managed to get taken down four times without completeing the mission. Well, maybe after work tonight.

I'm wondering now about my choice of a bind for autorun. Maybe using the tilde wasn't the best idea.

BD, thanks for the costume praise! The mask color is to simulate the rusty coloration of the male's face and neck during the breeding season. The rest of the year, he's all b&w. I hadn't actually thought of the beard as a substitute beak! I saw it as I was clicking through the facial features, and as I had already decided on an Egyptian mythological origin, thought the Pharaoh's beard would fit nicely. It's good to know it serves a double purpose!

There's a picture of an American Avocet here. Not the most imposing of birds, but it's been my internet handle for a long time ("Penguin" was always taken. Sometimes "Avocet" is too, and I have to use "AmAvocet.").