WinterFlare

I understand that creating power buffs and base items counts - but I'm talking about turning 'titanium' (base salvage) into 'tech material' (component salvage). 'Refining salvage', so to speak.

I can do all of those, so put me down as a definite.

There's always Pizza Express, in the forum. I have a load of Buy 1 get 1 free vouchers for main meals, so we could go mad and have nice meals for cheap! Believe me, I've got plenty You get them on the back of cinema tickets here in town, and my crowd go at least once a week, so we have plenty!

Battlenet - at the top of St.Stephen's street, by Iceland?

I live about three roads from there - it's like a ten minute walk. Bliss! (If we're talking about that one!)

Oh! - It got moved *makes adjustments on roadmap!

Well, I've kept a tally, and refined/converted 1,055 pieces of invention/base salvage into component salvage in the last two days. That's 10% of the badge. Here's hoping that I can it if I keep up that pace. I'm keeping a manual tally. If I get to 10k and find it's not there...well, I'll think of something!!!

Count me in, Zortel.

Which establishment did you contact?

Thank you, GhostRaptor, that was perfect. Your original post was a tad vague, but that one was exactly what I was hoping for. And GG's right - if bases are to become a 'feature' in the future, then pushing SGs using the fansite alliance (for example) is perfect.

Well, with GR's comments, I'm happy.

I accept people's viewpoints, and I feel that I probably agree more with those that feel as though new material is being 'dangled' in front of us, rather than clearly indicated.

Sir_Helm, although I appreciate your comments, I feel you have misinterpreted what my OP was in regards to - and also those that followed. Although the costume competition is certainly something for the community to get involved with, the key issues were the maintaining of areas that the community were encouraged to submit work for - not something 'new', such as the costume competition, but with city sights, hall of famers, and the out-of-date fansite alliance.

I appreciate that the community is not dead - but certain aspects have been left to go stale, and we have had no 'solid' announcement of what is to happen to them - just a lot of 'wait and see's' in the vaguest way the RedNames can allow, without crossing the 'red tape' mentioned above.

Perhaps it is this 'red tape' that is the frustrating item? A clear "The website will soon be seeing some changes / updates, and the features that you have highlighted, such as the fansite alliance, are going to be overhauled/updated - either as you all hope, or to a different level".

That's the sort of 'clear' message I am hoping for

QuestionsUK-ML-1094451-ML-

That being said, it seems fair. A contest would keep people happy, forumite or not. However - the issue that continues to get avoided is:

"Even a little sparkly piece of screen on the webpage, saying 'coming soon...'"

Can't we have some kind of official, non-fourm marker, on the website, to tell the masses that they wait is almost over?

For those interested, these make pretty good reading... especially if you're worried about whether you should have the final crafting badge by now...

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showf...;Main=11732213

http://www.badge-hunter.com/boards/i...mp;#entry36410

I just feel as though it's another piece of 'community' entertainment to keep the forumites happy. There are many that *aren't* forumites, who don't see this happening - and who still look at the website and sigh, waiting for some sign of change. Nothing.

I think the community teams need to remember that not every is, and not every *has* to be, a member of the forums to be a member of the community. I know a lot of people in my SG avoid these forums because of how quickly the flaming/madness starts - so I bring them the more important news, and then we discuss it in our own, sane, forum.

Even a little sparkly piece of screen on the webpage, saying 'coming soon...'

Or are we *really* just hiding it all because ofthe competition catching wind of it?

We've heard from the RedNames that goodness is on the way - but only *we* know about it. Why is it not being announced, even 'quietly' on the site? Just to show us, others, and generally the world, that the site may look that same way that is has for months, but patience and loyalty will pay off, if you just wait for the new site. Why keep it a secret?

I'm not sure I can sing any more praise than has already been sung. I loved this games since I started playing it *years* ago. I've badge-hunted, levelled, designed, RP-d, built an SG from the ground up, a base, an SG website, a forum, a 'family' of heroes - the lot.

It's a game that *is* going to spoil you - because you finally get to be WHO you want to be. You really feel as though you are playing 'their' storyline, 'your' way. That's the best part.

Well, it's certainly distracting people from the actual issue...

Well, I think the rednames have provided us with enough of a response. I look forward to (*adds on a couple of months* late November/early December, for the changes.

What I wondering is - would it really be a *massive* problem to simply say 'the website is getting an overhaul, so thank you for your patience', rather than cryptic responses? Would the 'competition' really worry about it? Would it not make the community happy?

Taking this thread back to where it was...

This was *not* a discussion about the activity on the servers. I would appreciate it if those topics were discussed elsewhere, and I am sure that there are many threads where that can be discussed.

My thanks to GhostRaptor for your response. I must agree with Golden Girl though - can we get any more than a vague 'just wait and see', please?

I am glad that our concerns have been notes - but how many of our 'points' have been noted? Will we see the Fansite Alliance being refreshed, with dead applicants being removed and fresh applicants being considered? Will we see 'community' (note, not 'forum', but 'community') contributions (such as city sights, hall of fame, tip of the day') come back, or are these 'changes' so dramatic that they will all vanish?

Personally, if we're looking at an overhaul, I'd like to keep the fansite alliance as it is - just, 'fresher'.

It's possible, Alphane, but I believe that if a new website is on the horizon, knowing that it was coming would re-instill some faith in those that look at the website as a sign of how much care is being taken.

I gotta go with you on that one, GG. The old Rikti raids were far more appealing!

"The reason that recipe storage wasn't added in the first place was to encourage players not to hold on to them, and to keep a steady supply of even rare recipes hitting the market."

You know, I never thought of it like that - it makes sense.

I appreciate what you said, Raven, and yes, CoH and WoW *are* different games. I suppose I was just expressing a desire to see CoH make the same impact - regardless of the difference in game styles.

I will make sure that we stay with my main points (or at least, the ones I was hoping to discuss!) I think my main gripe is the website, overall. As it was said, the news is updated - but nothing else has changed. It's not encouraging people to submit, and 'get involved in the community' (*other* than the forum, obviously). And yes, the list does need the dead links removing.

I don't suppose the community team is recruiting? lol

Thanks for your responses

I'm glad the first few were positive.

I suppose you are right - the 'wait and see' period does seem a bit long. I have faith that the game will live on, of course I suppose I'm just so used to seeing WoW on shelves in game stores, and thinking - why the hell isn't CoH there? Then when I begin to over-analyse it, I started picking holes However, you raise good points, so again, thank you.

I hope you are right, Shocker. I remember seeing ads for CoH in the comics that I bought, and that was good. However, an billboard/bus stop ad? Maybe even *gasp* a TV ad? I just feel as though it's not that the masses don't want to play - it's that the masses don't know we're here having fun without them! LoL

I'm going on a mass photo-expedition around the city, and I'll submit some to the website. Maybe we'll get lucky and see the homepage change.

A topic being discussed by my within my SG's forum at the moment (asides wavering doubt about the success of I13) is about the lack of 'community action and involvement' that seems to be around. I have to say, I've begun to feel the same way, and I am glad that in the last year, the Super Group has given itself a stable online presence (a well turned-out website, a forum) and has made the step from 'group of friends playing online' to 'creative family'. I say 'glad', because I feel as though the 'community' aspects of CoH have become...difficult.

The main CoH website used to be something that I was keen to visit. Not only to keep up with news (which I now use a Yahoo! Widget for - probably the only widget worth using) but also to see whose photograph and funny comment had made it into the 'City Sights', which hero had made it into the Hall Of Fame (it's nice to see clever poses and good costumes - especially from the other server), and whether the 'tip of the

day' would teach me anything. It seems, however, that the website is dying - and it's not clear whether it's due to lack of player input, or because the site is being ignored by the community team.

I was lucky enough to get one of my pictures put into the City Sights, and I was thoroughly chuffed - mainly because I thought that it was a cool photo that wasn't something you saw every day (a shot of the Circus Tents from the Carnie missions where the 'circus comes to paragon'). Some of the others there are honestly beautiful, hilarious, and... odd. Not all of them show first-time visitors to the website the

best 'sights to lure you into the game' (since many of them are in-game jokes), but they are good pics, and worth browsing. However - the same picture has been up on the site for a long time now - is it that no-one is submitting them anymore? If that's the case, I'll grab my camera and my cape, and start snapping! I'm deterred, however, because for all my efforts, the website may remain the way it is for a long time...

The same goes for the 'Hall Of Fame'. Kudos to Empath Angel, for being the most well-known heroine next to every member of the Freedom Phalanx, as that photograph has been on the site for a long time now! I know that it used to change pretty quickly/regularly - I also know that I submitted one or two shots of my character (sticking to the guidelines as best I could to ensure acceptance) but never saw Winter Flare there ( Perhaps one afternoon I'll sit and browse the whole lot - maybe I am in there somewhere. Again - is it worth submitting, if nothing is going to happen?

Tip Of The Day? Same gripe - with a twist. A short while ago, a friend of mine let me know that my tip was on the front page. I was only a little excited however - I had only ever submitted one tip, and that had been up months before. I assume it must have been a REALLY good tip, as it had been deemed worthy of re-publishing. Is it that again, no new material is being submitted? Is it that 'tips' run dry once you've covered the basics? I was under the impression (and feel free to correct me, but please don't flame me if I'm mistaken) that these tips are the same tips that appear during loading screens - so wasn't this addition a 'boost of enthusiasm' to post more tips? Or was it that nobody knew/cared about it?

So - my final whinge - the thing that made me want to post this in the first place - the Fansite Alliance. The CoH community team provide a website kit for you to create your own site - be it a tribute site, fact site, super group website, whatever you like. They then have the 'Fansite Alliance', which is supported by the community's own promise that "...it is our duty to form a steadfast network to support their every move." After spending over a year bringing our website from a simple one-page-news-page to a full site with rosters, creative and artistic character bios, base information, and much more, I believed that I had made it something that would perhaps warrant joining the Fansite Alliance. I followed the application, made the odd change (a link to the CoH description of the game, and a note on how newcomers could apply to join), and then submitted the site. The final note before submition is 'if you don't hear from us in ten days, assume you didn't get it'. Ten days past, and I was sad. I had the typical paranoid response that perhaps I'd entered my email address wrong (it happens) and so I tried again - nothing. Now, the Fansite Alliance list has remained as idle as the City Sights / Hall of Fame sections - and someone with my SG pointed out that the application may not be being turned down - it may just not be being LOOKED at. Have the community team disappeared? Is their office dark, dusty and full of cobwebs? The five listed on the CoH home page are fine, in practice (although the 'Enternal Champions' doesn't strike me as a CoH 'fansite', and more of a 'gaming site'). However, take a look at the full list, and the competition looks a bit questionable. Looking at just the top ones (they're listed alphabetically), I found that many of the links we dead - 'Big On Paragon', 'CoX Hub', 'I game therefore I am', 'Incessant Logic', 'Paragon Crusaders'. Is this a true representation of the game's community? A lot of names down, but very little being delivered?

I would like to see these refreshed - the Fansite Alliance, but also the site. If they're not going to change, maybe consider removing them? Alternatively, how about something different? Maybe people got tired of the 'hall of fame' and 'city sights'? Perhaps the community want to see something different.

The website is an important selling point for the game, and as it goes stale very slowly, it's not hard to add it to the feeling of 'death' that is creeping across people's minds. Although I've not discussed it with many people (so again, please don't flame, as I am aware that there are probably a large number of people with a different view), but I haven't heard much positivity in regards to the mission creator - and I still can't quite understand why the Shield Powerset has been so overshadowed, since it is a BIG thing (from my perspective). Hereos with shields? The recent death of Captain America? A super-hero MMO with shield character types? PUSH THE IDEA! A screenshot would go miles, believe me. It would certainly get my interest!

Keeping the community alive will encourage new people to join, and the veteran players to stay. Currently, the only 'community' feel are these forums, and at times they can be... scary. A PVP thread here, an opinion thread there, and dark-sides and rudeness ensue. I'm glad that I have created my own SG forum, to allow CoH issues to be discussed without the risk of the explosions that occur here. If I was a newbie joining the game, and logging into the forums to read the latest of posts - most of the time I'd be terrified.

I don't believe we need fantastic, player-created content (but I'm glad that those that do want it are going to get it ) ). I believe we need more marketing, ads, pushes to expand the player-base, and finally, a stronger community.

Ok - vented. Please respond sensibly - I have done my best to put across *my* opinions and feelings, and don't want this thread to break down into a flaming mess. I honestly would like to hear people's opinions and views.

The New Guardians stick with just using the SG colour scheme on your costumes when in SG mode, which can make a nice picture, as it allows individuality with shared colours, and you get a nice change to your original costumes.

We tend to stick with personal costumes, however. More of an 'Avengers individuality' than an 'X-Men team look'.

It's touches like this that keeps the game fresh. A simple halo graphic, and you can make so many new characters, with new outfits, concepts and themes. A simple angel-type with a valentine toga and a bow and arrow? Amazing. A flaming sword for an avenging angel? Fantastic.

My thanks to the devs for making the little things that make Xmas worth waiting for.