Arctic Sun

WarCry interviews Robin Laws - author of the second CoH novel, The Freedom Phalanx, and also a good friend of mine from the Great White North.

Check out the interview here.

(And of course look for the book on shelves towards the end of June / early July).

cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
heh
Criket Avatar

I didnt make this.. I found it

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh. That's terrific.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

Usual, I am not a lawyer, nor am I speaking as an official CoH rep.-type caveat. I am, however, trying to make this clear for players (and do speak as an NCsoft employee, obviously, and was on CoH, and have looked into these issues even before joining the team).

It's a sticky issue. Those of us who are writers and artists (or creatives if you prefer), need to be careful of investing too much into what may be potentially another person's world.

[ QUOTE ]

I 100% disagree with this interpretation. If I have created and instituted the creative template for "Rubberlad' prior to City of Heroes being created and published for a public mass-consumer market, I would argue that I don't have to be "Warren Ellis" to protect my work in the event I then sell it off down the road regardless of whether or not I "recreated" my own copyrighted material in the COX mmorpg universe.

Is the issue of previously created player-owned images specifcally dealt with in the EULA? Is this an "in name only" issue or name and/or image - in which case, isn't Cryptic at risk of assuming Marvel's position in that recent lawsuit where they lost their bid to defend their copyright "images" if not certain trademark names?


[/ QUOTE ]

What Cryptic/NC is concerned with are generally:

1) Image of character -- if you build it in the character generator. I'm not trying to say "we" own blue half capes, and I'm not trying to say we don't. If you build a character in the generator, and then have it drawn, if it's 100% the same character and you are profitting from it, then you might have a problem.

2) Character name & history - technically the character names/history that you create for CoH/CoV are owned by Cryptic/NCsoft. You can use them in fanfiction, etc., but you cannot profit from them.

3) History of Paragon City and all her associated characters (this is the obvious one, of course, and causes least confusion).

Obviously there are many characters with the same names in comic book history. And many that look similar. But if you take a character who exists on one of the servers, and use the same name and same look, and try to use it in a commercial enterprise, you're entering dangerous waters. I'm not going to say if this is right or wrong -- but if you can avoid all potential legal entanglements, why wouldn't you?

Note: in the case of a character that existed *before* being created in CoH, and this can be proven, then Cryptic/NCsoft is obligated to force you to change the name/look of the character. So Rubberlad's character, or let's say I created a character from the old superhero game, Silver Age Sentinels, that I was involved with. In an exceptional case (like the Warren Ellis example I created earlier), Cryptic/NC might be so tickled to have a guest star that they would find a way to allow it. But in most cases the legal mine fields, and lawyer costs, and bad press, etc. is not worth it.

So once again. If you want to write/draw superheroes in a commerical enterprise, make sure they are original and don't exist in CoH/CoV.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
Another twist. I'm a novelist. I'm a writer. I write novels for a living.
What if I want to write a novel of my character, or are in the middle of writing a novel and decide to remake a char in CoH/V?

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't do it.

Basically, Cryptic/NCsoft owns all characters/names/images that appear in CoH/CoV.

If you were a special case (say you were Warren Ellis, and you wanted to make Spider Jerusalem in the game, and you contacted Cryptic, and they gave you the nod), it might work out (and there would probably be lawyers or at least some serious paperwork involved). But those instances are nebulous and so few and far between, it's not worth risking.

Keep your CoH/CoV characters seperate from those you plan to sell, and you should be fine.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

What a great City this is. I have been thrilled to hang out with you in Atlas Park and Galaxy City, patrol the chrome towers and glass canyons, and be ever wary for the dastards from the Rogue Isles.

Yet I am needed elsewhere at the moment. It has been an exciting time, these past months, serving as Manticore’s stalwart assistant, CuppaJo’s partner, Awry’s archnemesis.

I’m off for other projects, and I’m entrusting Awry to continue to narrate the story of Paragon and her heroes. Yes, Awry is technically a villain, but I know there’s more than a sliver of gold in her dark heart. She’ll do you proud … and be sure to treat her nice.

You guys have been a helluva lot of fun to work for and with. Tough on occasion, but more than fair. It has been a real trip to delight and entertain you. This is certainly one of the greatest communities I’ve been a part of, and you folks are truly the reason we make these games. Be good, and have fun.

I don’t imagine I’ll ever be very far from the City – I have too many friends here.

Keep your cape dry!

Cheers,
Arctic Sun / Jesse Scoble

This is not the only change to the CoH/CoV team. Alexa Archer is also transitioning ... you can see her post here.

[ QUOTE ]

Can we get one about the Devouring Earth and Hamidon someday? I'd love to find out when those mushrooms started taking steroids.



[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, but not for awhile.


[ QUOTE ]

Are the villain backgrounders archived somewhere?

[/ QUOTE ]

You can find 'em all here:

Game Info: Villain Groups

cheers,
Arctic Sun

EDIT: Atrocious pun deleted after I had enough coffee to wake up and realize what I had typed.

Where there is smoke, there is always fire, at least as far as a Hellion is concerned. The Hellions are a relatively new gang on the streets of Paragon City, whose ranks have swollen recently to tremendous levels. Their arsonist tendencies threaten to burn the city down, leaving them only rubble and ash in which to wallow – some say that’s exactly what the Hellions would want. Read more here.

Hey guys,

Just want to say it was absolutely terrific to see so many of you in person. I think the event was a great success, and kudos to the Auto Assault gang for getting the game off and running despite some technical difficulties early on.

Thanks for all the kind words and the tremendous support. I think we all agreed we'd definitely do this again - mad props to Tsirin, Nomad, and Pann for doing so much of the leg work.

Wanted to also give a tip of the hat to James, the AEG Bounty Hunter who did a super job demoing the CoH CCG. Heard lots of great things about the game.

And a shout out to DJ Aiyalla who spun some great tunes for SI Radio ... but she also gets a wag of the finger for not having K-OS, Dirty Vegas, Moist (David Usher), or Californication. We eventually compromised on Under the Bridge as my temporary theme song, so it was all good.

Thanks again to everyone for making it such a blast. See you in Paragon City!

cheers,
Arctic Sun

EDIT: Wanted to make sure I got all my props in ... and Colbert? Yeah, I've seen the show once or twice...

The Skulls are one of the many street gangs that operate in Paragon City. They are a death cult, of sorts, who seek personal glory and power through death, no matter whose. Today, their leaders lurk about one corner of Perez Park, called the Boneyard. They vie for control of the park, but are in the midst of a seemingly endless gang war with the Hellions. Read more here.

Hi folks - on the Malaise issue:

The comic’s timeline puts that story well after the in-game events of the Calvin Scott Task Force. Malaise is certainly not a pure villain – let’s say he’s a complicated individual. After those events, Ms. Liberty found him and offered him a place in the Vindicators, for they are all about second chances. Yes, Malaise has done questionable things, but the Vindicators believe he can be one of the good guys.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

We are thrilled to announce a chance for your hero to make a cameo appearance in Issue 12 of the Top Comic City of Heroes comic. David Nakayama, series artist, is giving you a shot to appear in the funny pages.

Timeline:
Submissions can be made by emailing your screenshots (details below) from FRIDAY FEB 10th until 5:00 PM (CST) THURSDAY FEB 16th.

Submissions
* You may only enter 1 hero. If we see multiple entries from you, all entries may be disqualified.

* You MUST submit 2 screenshots of the SAME hero, FRONT and BACK, from the LOGIN PAGE.

****EDIT shots from Icon are acceptable.
******Yes, you may crop the shot.

* At this time, ONLY HEROES may be submitted.

* EMAIL submissions to cohsubmissions@plaync.com

* Screenshots MUST be JPG format, no bigger than 1024 x 768.

* Your submission MUST include:
- Your real name
- Age
- Address
- PlayNC Master Account name
- Game account name
- Character & server name

Winners
* Winners will be selected randomly.

* Approximately two dozen submissions will be selected to appear in Top Cow Issue #12

* Screenshots that are too dark, too small, or otherwise unclear will be disqualified.

For full submission guidelines & legal notice, please click here.

****HAVING TROUBLE TAKING SCREENSHOTS?***

Depending on your system, you should be able to press either Print Screen or Control+Print Screen.

This is what Windows uses to take a screen capture. It puts the image into your clipboard. You can then paste it into an image viewer/editor like IrfanView, Paint, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or whatever.

Some of these programs (like IrfanView) are free.

Thanks to all - Rowr_, Galactiman, Maltese_Knight, Click_Beetle - who explained how to do this in the thread.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, can love truly conquer all in a City of Heroes and Villains? That’s the question being asked in Pocket D. Wyvern is keeping tabs on all active parties, trying to discover what each one wants. See their report here.

DJ Zero hosts two new contacts, Ganymede and Scratch, until the morning of February 22nd.

Come check out the grand re-opening of Pocket D, the hottest night club in both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. DJ Zero spins all night long. Dress code in effect. Check out the Paragon Times advertisement here.

Take 2

[ QUOTE ]


Nope, Arctic isn't up here in W_1's orbital space platform of doom... Maybe he'll visit tomorrow.

[/ QUOTE ]

Orbital space platform of doom, eh? Color me intrigued. I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

Hi folks,

Thank you for your patience. I am in the process of finishing the revised draft of the Galaxy City story. For the record, each piece does go through an approval process, but mistakes do happen. Obviously, I will work harder to double check my facts before posting - but I know you guys will keep me honest.

For your information, these are the key changes/corrections:

* Kelly Graham did get her powers in the 1950s.

* She did not, however, work for Crey. That was an error and the plaque by her statue will be fixed.

* M-1 was a World War II hero, not a World War I hero. It's not a retcon, it's a typo in the Tank badge. It will be fixed. He's named after the rifle (most likely).

* Cassiopeia - all her facts are still true, but she just gets a cameo in this write-up. I'm sure she'll be spotlighted down the road.

* Paragon Heights had neighborhoods named after the stars. Galaxy Girl took her name from being inspired by the neighborhood ... which then gets renamed after her. I like the balance that creates.

* This isn't in the story, per se, but comments such as "mutation" are more than likely correct.

* She had a sidekick, named Dauntless. He died heroically, saving her.

* She retired in the 60s, after Dauntless's death.

* An old woman during the time of the Rikti invasion, Kelly Graham still did her part. She was likely good friends with Miss Liberty, and knew Ms. Liberty well - having acted as a mentor.

* She dies so that Ms. Liberty (and others) can escape.

Anyone see anything that I missed?

cheers,
Arctic Sun

...

Ahem.

...

After a quick discussion with Manticore, a few changes have to be made...

****Please bear with. Revised text will follow soon.

Arctic Sun

Galaxy City is a small, sheltered district near the heart of Paragon City. It is a densely populated region located between Independence Port to the west, and Perez Park to the east. Galaxy is south of the financial towers of Steel Canyon, and north of the industrial warehouses of King’s Row. Tour the zone here.

NOTE: A few people suggested things they would like to see on Galaxy City in another thread (and via PM). While not everything is included here, I will see what I can include when I do the more in-depth Neighborhood Report in the near future.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
I've been playing COH for a year now and reading the boards but haven't made too many posts. I'm wondering what people think of the MMO's if you look at them from the perspective of a popular culture phenomenon. I see a return in many ways to D&D type scenarios with COH/COV, in that people can communicate with one another. Unlike the console based RPG's like Final Fantasy, Zelda, etc on Nintendo, Playstation, and XBOx (the non-online versions). Is this a good thing or does it mean that the genre has been co-opted by mainstream tourists? What do you think?

[/ QUOTE ]

There is, I think, a place for some interesting discussion on MMOs in the game space. Traditionally, games have been social activities - you get together with a bunch of friends and have fun. Pen & paper games, board games, card games, sports, etc. are all about that.

For a number of years, though, computer games have been primarily a single-player experience.

MMOs seem to move us at least one step back towards "games as social activities." A good friend of mine & game designer believes that board games are coming back into the mainstream, and aren't just for kids (and families) anymore.

It certainly seems like they (MMOs and online console games) are becoming an accepted sphere in which to play games (have "meaningful fun") with friends.

I think it's too early to tell whether MMOs will have real long-term endurance in mainstream culture ... or whether they'll be more fad-like ... but then 5.5 million WoW players can't be wrong, can they?

cheers,
Arctic Sun

I'm not sure what this says about me (I mean that I'm playing the forum game. I have no qualms about my musical taste).

(Random list of 10 from 4 and 5 star songs in the office)

----

Run and Hide - The Watchmen

Sail (feat Kate Rogers ) - Aim

House of the Rising Sun - Animals

Spanish Guitar - Antonio Banderas (yes, him) from Desperado

Sister Don't Cry - Collective Soul

F Train - David Usher

Silence (Slow Remix) - Delerium & Sarah MacLachlan

Money for Nothing - Dire Straits

What It's Like - Everlast

Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

----

Bonus 5 stars that didn't make it on the list:


Take Five - Dave Bruceck Quartet

2wicky (Tech Wizard Remix) - Hooverphonic

Stereo - The Watchmen

Fade on Me - Hydrofoil

Crabbuckit - K-OS


cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
So, I finally took the time to read issue #9 of the Top Cow comic, and I really dug it... except for the sudden drop-off at the end (felt like there should have been more to the ending but they ran out of space).

The player fiction was of a really high calibre, too... compliments to Lucien Soulban. His story about the daughter of the fallen hero was wonderful (and RoughTrade, I'll be very interested to see where your hero registration story goes... funny stuff!).

Great job to one and all!

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, thanks for the compliments on the community section. Really nice to hear.

I'm working hard to find the best fan work out there and bring it to your eyes. Keep reading!

cheers,
Arctic Sun

Hi folks,


Last month saw a flood of Origin story pieces. (See this thread) Some good work there! Going to give people a new theme, to get you thinking about next month's Valentine's Day.

Admittedly, these "Love Stories" will probably not be published until March, but, y'know, so it goes.

Love often gives heroes the strength to do what's right, the courage to stand up against the forces of evil, the passion to strive for the loftiest heights. Remember, Love can take many forms and does not have to be "romantic" love.

Please submit fan stories and art to cohsubmissions@plaync.com.

Official guidelines found here:

http://www.cityofheroes.com/community/fansubmission_guidelines.html

(see this link for the fine print and more precise details, please)

To sum up:

Comic Book Fan Fiction:

* Be as creative as you want, but keep it PG-rated.

* Submissions should be in .doc, .rtf., or .txt format

* Suggested length 1000 - 2000 words.
NOTE: If your writing is very good, I will consider longer pieces (or breaking them up). But long pieces will still likely be published in 1000 - 2000 word parts, so some sense of rhythm and dynamic pacing is very important. Likewise, the longer the piece is, honestly, the less chance I'll have to read it thoroughly.

* Screenshots encouraged!

* The by-line can be your real name or a character name (or both)


Comic Book Fan Art:

* Send us your best City of Heroes-inspired artwork. Any original medium is acceptable (pen & ink, digital, oils, etc.) as long as you keep it on a PG level.

* Let us know if you want credit under your real name or a character name.

* Images should be in JPG format. The full image should be between 100 x 100 and 2000 x 2000 pixels and be less than 380KB in size.
NOTE: We may also ask for a higher resolution (300dpi) image in .tiff format – so make sure you save a high-resolution version of your submission!

FAQ

Q: What style to write in?

A: Style -- think short story. I don't want comic scripts, but prose fiction. Usual "rules of good writing apply." If you want to see what stories I've selected, you'll see my first community section in the PDF of comic #8 (available now off the comic page), and also see the short pieces (Clockwork, Outcasts, Carnival of Shadows, etc.) I've written (or that Awry has, for that matter) for the website.

Q: Is there a particular format you prefer?

A: Please send stories in RTF (Rich Text Format), DOC (Word), or TXT format. RTF is preferred.

Use usual good sense - proofread, spell-check, and proofread. And proofread your *cover letter* also! Nothing turns me off faster than obvious mistakes.

Do not embed text in email (yes, lots of people do this, and it won't disqualify you, but it's more of a hassle for me).

Do *not* send in stories in all caps, or with heavy formatting. Stuff like that.

Q: Do the comics have villain stories too or just heroes?

A: Villain stories would also be fine, although will likely be harder to pull off (striking the right balance of sympathy and wicked badness).


Q: If it gets selected, will we be told what Issue and if we are getting a copy mailed to us, or if we still have to purchase (Never say never but if It does get published, I want to know where to get myself a hard copy)

A: If it gets selected you will be notified in advance which issue it is slated for. I am looking into the possibility of a comp copy for contributors, but no promises at this stage.

This doesn't mean you can't submit a different type of story, but Love Stories will receive my foremost attention.

I'll annouce a new theme in roughly a month.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
is there a particular format you prefer? i.e. word or wordperfect etc
i don't have either, and don't really have a good word processor program, well i had one, but it's lost


[/ QUOTE ]

Please send stories in RTF (Rich Text Format), DOC (Word), or TXT format. RTF is preferred.

Use usual good sense - proofread, spell-check, and proofread. And proofread your *cover letter* also! Nothing turns me off faster than obvious mistakes.

Do not embed text in email (yes, lots of people do this, and it won't disqualify you, but it's more of a hassle for me).

Do *not* send in stories in all caps, or with heavy formatting. Stuff like that.
General submission guidelines can be found here.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
CoT. Succubi are female, but some of the mages ought to be too.

[/ QUOTE ]

... when you're using magic for a long time, you grow a beard and lose your bust. Arctic Sun is going to include that tidbit when he redoes the CoT background.

[/ QUOTE ]

Now, now ... be nice.

I don't yet have a theory on why the Circle is male-only, unless it's a fraternity type of thing. And really, when plumbing the depths of orders like the Templars, Golden Dawn, Lovecraftian cultists, and whatnot, my recollections are that they are pretty male-dominated.

Not that we shouldn't have female mages ... but with the fiction I try to support the game, which in turn supports the CoH universe, which in turn leads to the fiction...
Something like that.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
Speaking of which, If it gets selected, will we be told what Issue and if we are getting a copy mailed to us, or if we still have to purchase (Never say never but if It does get published, I want to know where to get myself a hard copy)

[/ QUOTE ]

If it gets selected you will be notified in advance which issue it is slated for. I am looking into the possibility of a comp copy for contributors, but no promises at this stage.

cheers,
Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
Hahahha highlight the blackened out spot and it still says Julius

[/ QUOTE ]

It's supposed to. You guys are super-powered heroes .... if you want to dig deep in your research, that's your choice.