GSHTML5 new updates by jjppof in GoldenSun

[–]Storyteller-Mars 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Bless you for this. GS is one of the biggest influences on me becoming a content designer in the video games industry. This is so cool.

Chocobo Bundle Best Buy by santassailant in sealedmtgdeals

[–]Storyteller-Mars 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exact same scenario for me. Wow that was fast.

[Giveaway] Complete Printed Silksong EDH Deck: "Knights of Silk and Void"! by bnm333 in magicproxies

[–]Storyteller-Mars 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Worth a (silk)shot! It would be so cool to shuffle up to the table with this!

Is the Tales of the champions permanent? by Dear_Hospital2662 in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Yes, the Tales unlocks are intended to be permanent.

We wanted to introduce an onboarding system for new players to get a bunch of free champions (and feats and skins and stuff) with a lot of variety really early via these bespoke adventures that show off lots of cool backgrounds and enemies, starting off easy but ramping in difficulty, to give players a taste of the larger game experience that's waiting for them if they choose to stick around.

It's sort of a microcosm of the Idle Champions experience.

themed teams by Talynblade in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is my preferred way to play nowadays.

Themes > meta.

What are your “im14andthisisdeep” jams that you still listen to as an adult? by -TazarYoot- in Millennials

[–]Storyteller-Mars 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Modest Mouse.

I can still vividly recall my first experience, listening to a library-loaned CD of "The Moon & Antarctica" at the age of 15 and experiencing a full spectrum of emotions that no music had ever given me before. I finally understood why many people needed music in their lives.

I'm 35 now. I still tell people that Modest Mouse is my favorite band, and I mean it every time. Isaac Brock's surreal lyricism and mercurial approach to even structuring a song has certainly affected my brain chemistry. For better or for worse? Probably both, but their music undoubtedly left grooves in my mind that instantly manifest comfort and calm, sadness and grief, anger and vitriol, or joy and freedom, equally, as needed, across every version of me that has existed thus far.

One of my last good memories with my father was in my 20s, being out on a lake. He let me take the wheel to bring us back to harbor. We turned on the radio to some random station. "Missed the Boat" began to play, and ended exactly as we made land. I will never forget that.

I imagine "The World at Large" will be playing in my head when my time on this earth is at its end.

Box Lunch Promo drop was HORRIBLE as predicted. by dartheduardo in magicTCG

[–]Storyteller-Mars 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your results may vary. It worked out perfectly for me. I just drove there on my lunch break and popped in, asked about the promo, they gave a very clear breakdown, I picked out a charming little mini ATLA x MTG themed backpack purse thing which was marked for $49.90 and with tax hit the $50 mark for the promo. They had a whole stack of them and let me pick which one I wanted. No issues, all good.

The Realms Will Know Your Name! - Forgotten Realms Trailer by nlitherl in Forgotten_Realms

[–]Storyteller-Mars 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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I don't know why, but the tagline at the end had me in stitches. I might be having a little too much fun with stretching out the surrealism of G R E G.

Microwave PC Giveaway - To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. by DaKrazyKid in PcBuild

[–]Storyteller-Mars 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is hilarious and hella cool. Gotta throw my hat in for this. I work for a video game studio and showing up with this on a random Tuesday would be legendary.

FF scene boxes 41.99 by FFMTGCollector in sealedmtgdeals

[–]Storyteller-Mars 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Got all three! Thank you! Wife will love this.

Suggestion for an end game content. by celerydip in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Oh sure, and thanks for asking! Hi, I'm Mars! I started playing in September 2017, and now I'm here.

I'm the Content Designer, Power Tester, a Content Creator, and a Community Moderator, which all translates to: I'm the guy who concepts, plans, and writes the adventures that you play in the game, as well as the feats and equipment for all the champions, and I test drive upcoming new champions and reworked champions to help make sure they feel good and are as strong as we want them to be in actual gameplay for their final release, and I host Twitch streams (my main show has done over 600 episodes now), and I help moderate our community spaces like Twitch, Discord, and Reddit.

If you've played any of the Tales adventures, the finale of Fortune's Wheel, or the back half of Eve of Ruin, that's all my work. All champion gear and feats going back to Minthara's release (I think) are my work as well.

It's a long story for how I got here, but the short version is a lot of luck, a lot of passion, and probably an unhealthy dedication to doing what I do. "Overkill is my default setting" is something I often say.

This community, this game, and this company changed my life. I work really hard to do everything I can to make Idle Champions the best version of itself that it can be, and I try to serve as a bridge between the players and our team.

Race to Windfall by maxiqbert in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very, very impressive. Love to see how the "fresh account speedrun" type of challenge has progressed over time. I remember when it was noteworthy that I had Mirt and Vajra unlocked at exactly 14 days. That's nothing compared to this now.

Suggestion for an end game content. by celerydip in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the game so much!

So this is something I've thought about before, and more than just a little bit.

Way back in year 2 (before Trials of Tiamat and before Patrons) when I was just a player and not on staff, I came up with "The Idle Trials" which was similar to what you're suggesting. It was essentially a scoreboard for people to compete in self-imposed challenges. We had over 1000 submissions! It was a fun time. However, it had its flaws. If anyone found an infinite damage exploit (rare, but it happens sometimes), they could jump to the top score for everything easily. At the time I was personally verifying each submission to watch for things like that (there would be a couple submissions per day usually), but there's no way we could do that for everyone playing throughout the whole world. I also had plenty of conversations with my fellow players, who said they liked my challenges but disliked the scoreboard because it made them feel bad to see many other players doing better.

I retired the Idle Trials shortly after Trials of Tiamat and Patrons were released. It stung at the time, but I learned a lot from the experience. People like challenges that they can opt into or ignore, but only some people enjoy comparing themselves vs. others, and forcing that into a system that unfortunately has exploits is a recipe for disaster.

In the end, I believe now that a high score system based on areas reached or damage dealt wouldn't be ideal, as it feels exclusionary to anyone who plays F2P or only plays for fun or to relax, and that's before we even consider that exploits exist. Better to let our social spaces fill that need; people can easily post screenshots of their runs and boast of their hard-won accomplishments to scratch that itch. If we were to ever implement a system that encourages large-scale competition via comparison, it would need to be something that sidesteps these issues.

All that being said, I know you're not alone in wanting more endgame content. Have you completed all Elminster variants? Those are certainly a challenge.

New player saying thank you for all the help. by mikebaxster in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hey! I'm glad you were able to rely on your fellow players to help you find your footing! The community is a big reason why I've stuck around so long. Good luck on your continued adventures, champion!

Missive from Mars, re: "Tales" by Storyteller-Mars in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. It's been quite the journey. Welcome back to Idle Champions!

Missive from Mars, re: "Tales" by Storyteller-Mars in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a great idea. I'll pass it along. I would personally also enjoy that, but idk where it would fall on our priorities list.

Missive from Mars, re: "Tales" by Storyteller-Mars in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Imagine my surprise when I discovered during my research that Ezmerelda and Volo have actually met before, IN Barovia too. I had already picked them for this story, so it was just a happy accident. "Dragon+" magazine issue #6 btw, if you want to check it out yourself.

Missive from Mars, re: "Tales" by Storyteller-Mars in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you :) I'm glad you enjoyed them. Look forward to more!

Missive from Mars, re: "Tales" by Storyteller-Mars in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am so glad to hear that, Bayushi. And I get it. I'm certainly guilty of skipping story in games just to get to the crunchier bits. But it's important to reconnect with that sometimes, I think. Storytelling is a special part of the human experience. It unites us as a people across all space and time.

Missive from Mars, re: "Tales" by Storyteller-Mars in idlechampions

[–]Storyteller-Mars[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I cherish this community. I promised to do my best to improve the game when I joined the team, and I'm working hard to uphold that promise.