Armsman

I know you're currently swamped with arc review requests; but if/when you have a chance, I'd like to get a review of my first arc:

My Arc info (Works all the way through Level 54 so no auto-exemplaring whatsoever ):

Title: Is it Live or is it Memory-X
-------------------------------------
Story Arc ID: 70210
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Armsman
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Alignment: Heroic
Story Description: The 5th Column is building a device to control the world. Can you save the world from TOTAL DOMINATION?! (Hey it worked to get my Villians and Vigilantes pen and paper RPG group interested back in the day.)

Designer Notes: The Arc can actually be soloed by most Scrapper, Tank and Matermind builds (I tested my characters through it). In testing, my Gravity/Force Field Controller made it through mission 3 solo with no issues, but starting getting defeats in mission 4; so if you’re a support class or a blaster, you probably need a team-mate as I got feedback a Tanker/Defender duo made it through fine.

This arc is actually based on an adventure I ran players through in the “Villians & Vigilantes” pen and paper RPG a number of years back. I was surprised at how much of the original ‘flavor’ I was able to keep in adapting it to fit in the CoX universe. There was only really one element I couldn’t include due to MA limitations.

Title: Is it Live or is it Memory-X
-------------------------------------
Story Arc ID: 70210
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Armsman
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Alignment: Heroic

Story Description: The 5th Column is building a device to control the world. Can you save the world from TOTAL DOMINATION?! (Hey it worked to get my Villians and Vigilantes pen and paper RPG group interested back in the day.)

Designer Notes: The Arc can actually be soloed by most Scrapper, Tank and MasterMind builds. In testing, my Gravity/Force Field Controller made it through mission 3 solo with no issues, but starting getting defeats in mission 4; so if you’re a support class or a blaster, you probably need a team-mate. This arc is actually based on an adventure I ran players through in the “Villians & Vigilantes” pen and paper RPG a number of years back. I was surprised at how much of the original ‘flavor’ I was able to keep in adapting it to fit in the CoX universe. There was only really one element I couldn’t include due to MA limitations.

I'd like to offer my arc up for a review when you have a chance (and I'm sure you're now utterly swamped) as I'm looking for feedback (only had 3 plays so far as of yesterday; and two comments - one for a spelling error I had missed, now fixed; and another who said she liked it a lot and found it fun).

Title: Is it Live or is it Memory-X
-------------------------------------

Story Arc ID: 70210
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Armsman
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Alignment: Heroic

Story Description: The 5th Column is building a device to control the world. Can you save the world from TOTAL DOMINATION?! (Hey it worked to get my Villians and Vigilantes pen and paper RPG group interested back in the day.)

Designer Notes: The Arc can actually be soloed by most Scrapper, Tank and MasterMind builds. In testing, my Gravity/Force Field Controller made it through mission 3 solo with no issues, but starting getting defeats in mission 4; so if you’re a support class or a blaster, you probably need a team-mate. This arc is actually based on an adventure I ran players through in the “Villians & Vigilantes” pen and paper RPG a number of years back. I was surprised at how much of the original ‘flavor’ I was able to keep in adapting it to fit in the CoX universe. There was only really one element I couldn’t include due to MA limitations.

AE System
--------
Welcome to Architect Entertainment -- Neutral
Death for Dollars! -- Neutral
Bare Knuckles of Rage (9304)
Signal to Noise -- Neutral -- 67277
*

Allegory
---------
Who is Kidnapping the World's Great Philosophers? -- Neutral -- 86347
*

Character/Supergroup Origins
--------
Birth of a Fossil -- Heroic
Secret Origins(Tech) The Snake Women of Epsilon V (42221) - Heroic
Noah Reborn -- Heroic (2370)
Polar Emergence Neutral Government User Interface Network (PENGUIN) #29205 - Heroic
Jumping in Feet First - Heroic - 1345
Midnight Bells Toll ----Villanious
A hero is made, not born. -- Heroic 20863
*

Classic Super-Hero/Super-Villain
--------
THE BOMBER --- Heroic --- Arc 16607
In The Shadow of Statesman --Neutral--1160
A Show to Die For! --- Heroic --- 30645
Check... and Mate #15095 - Heroic - Mini Task Force
Teen Phalanx Forever! -- Heroic (67335)
This Life Immortal - (5756) Heroic
Paradox Paradox - (69221) Heroic Stop yourself and Stellar from being erased!
Sidekicks Can Be A Pain In The Cape - (28430)
'Tis Nobler in the Mind - Heroic
*

Comedy
--------
The Extadine Lab -- Heroic (2595)
MacGuffin Delivery Service (1567) -- Villainous
ParaCon -- Heroic (1684)
The new and improved Lord Recluse Strike Force -- Villainous (though I wouldn't recommend against a hero )
The Fire Bunnies - Neutral, They are only bunnies after all...
You Say It's Your Birthday! (3630) - Neutral
Trademark Infringement -- Heroic (2220)
Hail to the King Neutral (34640)
Walk On the Wild Side - Neutral - 3580
Shirley You Jest (25474) -- Neutral
The Invasion of the Bikini Clad Samurai Vampiresses from Outer Space! - Heroic - 61013
Gnomish Madness (30204) - Heroic
Doctor Nadir and the Hellion Heist (49661) - Heroic
Laugh? I Thought I'd DIE! - Heroic
The P.U.G. Strike force (arc 35585) -Villian
A Translator is the Wind or the Thunder in Turns -- (2936) - Heroic
What's in a Name? - Villainous
None More Black, Dude! (#86312) Neutral
Rise of the Drakule - Neutral
Return of the Revenge of the Son of Drakule Part 2: First Blood - Neutral
*

Comedy/Drama
--------
Fashion Apocalypse - Neutral - 14840
The Running of the Bulls -- Heroic 29973
A Super Team is Born -- Heroic
Cause of How Some Silly Stealed My Wings #1481 -- Neutral
How to Survive a Robot Uprising -- Heroic (12669)
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare -- Neutral
It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding (9059) -- Neutral
TURG FICTION: Ghost in the Machine, Act I - Heroic (althoughs romantic villains could try this too )
Rum Runners of Bloody Bay (3691) - Heroic
Have a Blap, Blap, Blappy Day Kids! (2019)
The Toypocalypse! (49280) - Heroic
Fishing for Fame with Red Herring - Heroic (66861)
Putting Out Fires: A Corporate Satire (20100) - Villainous
The Rise and Refall of Pets'n'Things.com - Heroic - 1061
*

Crime/Gangs
--------
Bricked Electronics -- Heroic (LIVE! 2180)
The Bravuran Jobs -- Villainous (16809)
The Black Flag Is On The Rise (Pirates!) - Villainous
The Monstrous Regiment of Lesbian Hellions -- Heroic (27178)
Win the 2009 Freak-Lympics (2150) - Villainous
Ninja Crimewave! (2142) - Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
The Internet is for Crime (53385) - Villains
Plastic Pistol Peril (1135) - Heroic
Friends in Need (Of Body Parts) - Villainous (31005)
A Little RnR - Heroic (17523) click for Promotional Poster
*

Drama
--------
The Conciliators: Simone -- Heroic (4010)
The Fan Club -- Heroic
Matchstick Women -- Heroic -- 3369
Of Mentors and Legacy - Heroic - 1589
Digital Love -- Neutral -- 3571
*

Global Domination
--------
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
*

Heist
--------
Celebrity Kidnapping -- Villainous (1388)
Easy Money -- Villainous (31490)
The Great Diamond Heist -- Villainous (96169)
*

Historical (Realistic)
--------
Wrinkle in Time -- Heroic(68920)
*

Historical (CoH Lore)
--------
The War on Superadine - The Regulators in their 1980's drug war (Heroic) (Arc 7959)
Origins - Volume 1 (57077) -- Heroic
The Once and Future King (#71601) - Heroic
*

Holiday
--------
City of Ho Ho Ho #18775 - Heroic
Hectic Holidays -- Heroic (36999) also comedy
Santa's Missing List - 34961
*

Horror
--------
Astoria in D Minor (41565) -- Heroic
Dark Dreams (3615)
D!E BLACKULA D!E! (10619) -- Heroic
Don't Play With The Dead (31813) -- Neutral
The Amulet of J'gara (1709) -- Heroic
Project: Perilous - Into the Chthonian Pit (#3586) - Neutral (Unless you happen to be a mad cultist, in which case, go nuts!)
Small Fears -- Heroic
Lights, Camera, Scream! (#68627) - 3 Mission arc that get's you into the B-Horror film circuit.
Duality --Heroic -- 84105
Hunting the Hunters --Villainous -- 93362 - Help a vampire find out who is hunting his people
*

Large-Scale Crisis
--------
Is it Live or is it Memory-X - Arc ID #70210 - Heroic
This Is War, Part I - the Revenge of Hro'Dtohz -- Neutral
Win the Past, Own the Future - Heroic
A Warrior's Friend - Heroic
The Clockwork War -- Heroic (18672)
Flight of the Valkyries - Precursor (20272) -- Neutral
The Human Hive (#1632) - Neutral
War of the Worlds - The Anakim Invasion - Part 1, Neutral (15006)
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat....ue#Post13304513
War of the Worlds - The Anakim Invasion - Part 2, The Terran Revolt, Neutral (46711)
url=http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13304455&an=0&am p;page=0#Post13304455
Bleed the Freak - Arc ID #6919 - Heroic
*

Magic
--------
The Magical Miss Fitz (5079) -- Heroic
Chains of Blood (5492) -- Heroic
A Deal with Destiny -- Heroic
The Broken Chain (82378) -- heroic
Croatoa's Great War: The Parfait Family Reunion -- Neutral -- 71880
Rex is Missing! - Heroic - 51702
The Tannhäuser Gate (Arc 96322)
*

Military
--------
Redoubt Operations #1: Fires over Kalago -- Heroic
Red Storm Rising (Arc 4912) -- Heroic
Whitehawks (Arc 49364) -- Heroic
Axis and Allies -- Villainous (1379)
Vanguard AQUA (58475) -- Neutral
*

Misc. Adventure
--------
The Portal Bandits (3326) -- Heroic
A Glitch in the Wyre- Arc 73197-- Neutral (Fun for both the good kids and the bad kids too!)

Mystery
--------
Blowback (18575) -- Heroic
Dream Paper -- Heroic (13030)
Dream Paper 2: Restless Sleep -- Heroic (16797)
Dream Paper 3: Broken Dreams -- Heroic (13064)
*

Mythology
--------
Atlantis Attacks! -- Neutral (30898) -- Click for Promotional Poster
The Seelie War -- Heroic
The Unseelie War -- Villainous
Tales of Cimerora, volume 1 : Of feathers and fur -- Heroic
The Aegis Affair - Heroic - ****
Witches and Warriors (53006)- Heroic
The War of Fate(12220,46722)- Heroic
Rites of the Maenads (61159) - Heroic
The Parable of the Fruit Salad -- Heroic -- 65369
The Eye of Balor (88176) - Heroic
*

Nemesis Plots
--------
Brass Reaver: Part 1 -- Neutral
The Handbag Plot -- Heroicish -- 36414
*

Player-Chosen Outcome
--------
Hunting the Dark Dragon -- Heroic
Playing Gods -- Heroic (51106)
*

Sci-Fi
--------
Above Mars - Part 1: The Wellington -- Neutral (13215)
Adventures of the Space Marines -- Neutral
Adventures of the Space Marines 2 -- Neutral
The Adventures of the United Earth Rangers -- Neutral (29549)
The Continuing Adventures of the United Earth Rangers -- Neutral (70237)
The Final Nemesis
The Knights of Rularuu -- Heroic (75386)
[color= #bbff88]Reach for the Stars -- Neutral (78904) [/color]
Spaced Invaders --Heroic(56856)
That Mysterious Buzzing Sound - 12774
The Balance of Power - 26931 - Neutral
*

Un-themed Survival/AV/Time Challenges
--------
The Meatgrinder -- Neutral
*

Puzzles/Riddles
--------
Grim Riddles (#1396) - Heroic

Title: Is it Live or is it Memory-X
-------------------------------------
Story Description: The 5th Column is building a device to control the world. Can you save the world from TOTAL DOMINATION?! (Hey it worked to get my Villians and Vigilantes pen and paper RPG group interested back in the day.)


Story Arc ID: 70210
Author’s Global Chat Handle: @Armsman
Length: Very Long (5 missions)
Alignment: Heroic

Designer Notes: The Arc can actually be soloed by most Scrapper and Tank builds. In testing, my Gravity/Force Field Controller made it through mission 3 solo with no issues, but starting getting defeats in mission 4; so if you’re a support class or a blaster, you probably need a team. This arc is actually based on an adventure I ran players through in the “Villians & Vigilantes” pen and paper RPG a number of years back. I was surprised at how much of the original ‘flavor’ I was able to keep in adapting it to fit in the CoX universe. There was only really one element I couldn’t include due to MA limitations

Yeah, I too hate that the word 'Nazi(s)' is banned. Had to use 'World War II rejects' in my arc - definitely not the same impact.

[ QUOTE ]
I have a bad feeling that this issue is going to go live on 4/28 just in time for CoH five year mark. It would make sense. The best issue ever going live on the day CoH went live. just my 2 cents

[/ QUOTE ]

Considering the new CoH DVD (it has everything up to an including the new Issue 14 files) hits stores on 4/14/09; I'd say 4/14/09 will be the 'push to live date'.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Wanted to have a hostage say "Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap" while being held by the villain group, but the MA blocked it.

[/ QUOTE ]Inspector Zenigata?

[/ QUOTE ]

Y'know, I haven't really watched much Lupin. No, the hostage in question is the one in my published arc, "The Other Side of the Screen" (no Arc ID right now, I'm at work so I can't get to the game). And really he would've been using stronger language than "crap" but the four-letter word for excrement that I wanted to use is definitely blocked by the filter, so I wasn't going to bother trying to use it.

[/ QUOTE ]

**** is blocked?

(No, I KNOW what word you would have used, I hjust couldn't resist the opening).

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
*looks around for Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon*

[/ QUOTE ]
Personally I was expecting Dennis Miller.

[/ QUOTE ]

This.

[/ QUOTE ]

True dat, course that was my era.

Of the others that argued between Dan and Chevy... come on guys obviously the real pro there was Jane!

[/ QUOTE ]

All I can think of in regard to that last line is:

"Jane! You ignorant sl*t!"

[ QUOTE ]
So is has there been any talk of eventually increasing the amount of published mission-arcs a person can make beyond 3? I can understand the server capacity issues. But still I have so many ideas I'd like to try and if I don't want to erase anything I've put so much work into, one of my prior mission-arcs, then I could see my interest in Architect waning rather fast.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just because you 'unpublish' something, it doesn't mean it's erased; you'll still have the files on your hard drive (and I'm sure you can back them up to any other media as well if you like); and publish, unpublish, re-publish at will.

[ QUOTE ]
Congratulations on the good press!

Although to be honest, I was kind of hoping it would have ended with a quote from Ex Lib, Niv or Jay.. I'd have found that funny.

Maybe I just have an odd sense of humor.

Congratulations on the good press!

J!
*goes back to trying to write out some NPC bios for when it hits open test yay!*

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, the current press on CoX's Issue 14 seems better then the latest press on soon its to be competitor Champions On-Line as with the MA not only can you design your own Arch-Nemesis if you're so inclined - you can design tailored schemes for him and run these for yourself and friends.

[ QUOTE ]
The ideal solution would be some sort of personal mode: you can write an arc, play it yourself (maybe with a team), but it can't be seen by the general public.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, the Devs have already stated that this is already in, and called 'Test Mode' where the server loads/runs the file from your local PC; and only you (or you and your team at the time) will play it. HOWEVER, in this mode, no XP, Skeeball Tickets, nor any other kinds of rewards are given - that's why they call it 'Test Mode'.

[ QUOTE ]
Just for fun, here are some numbers.

The devs said you need to average 5 stars, but they will round up. So if you get one 4 star and one 5 star, that would be 9 stars over two ratings, for an average of 4.5. Rounded up, that's 5. So...

For each 4 star rating, you need ONE 5 star rating to keep your 5 star average.
For each 3 star rating, you need THREE 5 star ratings.
For each 2 star rating, you need FIVE 5 star ratings.
For each 1 star rating, you need SEVEN 5 star ratings to keep your 5 star average.

Unless people are feeling very generous, I don't think we're going to see all that many arcs in the Hall of Fame. Any rating other than 5 is a vote against Hall of Fame status.

[/ QUOTE ]

And as someone who plans top make a lot of use of the MA to create arcs (I used to GM V&V and Champions in years past and will be trying to translate some of my adventures my players enjoyed); I don't have a problem with that.

the 'Hall of Fame' and 'Dev Choice' arcs should be the real 'cream of the crop' stuff, not the 'better than average stuff'. I DO hope:

1) In addition to overall 'star' ratings the system will allow for comments so that the Arc Author can get some feedback from those willing to provide it.

2) There will be a system in place so that Devs can attempt to idendify 'grief raters' (ie those who rating something one star just to mess with the system; out of some sort of jelousy, etc.).

But overall, if a arc is 'Hall of Fame' worthy, it SHOULD be really exceptional. Everyone has 3 publish slots; and that should be enough to get the gambit of 'above average' missions out there.

I don't envy the Devs. While I think that the interface and idea of all this is amazing; wading through the sheer crap that WILL be produced by those who instantly think they can do better than the Devs; or can write "The Ultimate Arc that EVERYONE Will Love (tm)" get toasted by the 'unwashed masses' that is the CoX playerbase. I been involved in a few actual productions (either in a writing, directing and producing capacity) that have made it to an audience; and overall, I can say that the reaction EVERY audience I've been there to watch one with has surprised me in some way.

There's NO story you can create that will please and enthrall everyone. You'll always have those who absolutely love it; those who utterly hate it; with the rest somewhere in between. The stuff that 'wins' is the stuff that gets an overall more positive than negative reaction with the 'in-between' crowd.

However, given the type of folks who play MMOs in general, those with more fragile egos should probably stay away from publishing in the MA - or only play their published mission arcs with close friends. If you do publish something with high hopes, be prepared for the full range of responses and don't take the negative comments personally.

[ QUOTE ]
I just updated my nVidia driver for my 9600 GT to 180.48, and I get crashes now on a regular basis. My system is Vista Ultimate 64-bit, 4GB RAM, 1.5TB HDD, Quad Core 2.4GHz, P5ND ASUS motherboard. I don't see why I should be crashing so often. Is there some setting to alter to get the game to stop crashing? I lost 2 badges already because of this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, upgrade to WinXP Proffessional (64-bit).

[ QUOTE ]
(Quick Reply)
I remember MacAllen charging into a full spawn the one time he grouped with us in Beta...and promptly getting killed because the entire group was unprepared for it.

I remember the Cows.

I remember playing in Freak Force, which I believe was the second or third SG made in Beta.

I remember someone on the original forums had a character whose sole ability was to be able to summon Cheerleaders. Great stories!

I remember Qlop (actually, I remember him from the Anarchy Online Beta, too. I argued with him there just as much!)

I remember shelving my first Live character because his attack chain wasn't good enough.

I remember when Invisibility (now Superior Invisibility) + Hover took me 10 minutes to get to the top of the trees in Perez Park because it had the built in Slow that Stealth had.

I remember having a characters costume reset because she looked too naked (in beta...I was trying to prove a point!)

I remember how disappointed I was that I couldn't catch the Rikti attack ship during the Rikti Invasion...despite having 6 slotted Flight.

I remember writing a post asking Cryptic and NCSoft to have some sort of memorial for Coyote -- the first ever fan to post on the old forums, and writer of the "Welcome to City Of Heroes FAQ." (I'd "known" him online for quite some time over on the Safehouse.)

I remember my first encounter with the Knives of Artemis, and the numerous "Ow, my feet!" jokes afterwards.

That's enough for now...back to the spreadsheets!

[/ QUOTE ]

I too remember the Insane CoW Posse and some of the better screenshots they had in the closed beta when there were only 300 players. I loved the one where they posed in front of the Steakhouse in Steel Canyon.

Of course the funniest thiong I saw was the guys who did "Ace and Gary" of the "Ambiguously [censored] Duo" (from Saturday Night Live) once we got letters and Numbers as costume pieces - yes, when I jouned beta you couldn't have a letter on your chest; and the trams only went to specific zones, so you had to ride them from point a to point b and zone multiple times.

[Just here for the weekend; NCSoft sent an e-mail my account was re-activated 'free of charge' through Sunday; so I thought I'd come see what if anything changed - so far, not much ]

[ QUOTE ]
Couple clarifications.

By critter, I mean anything run by the AI. Your pets, Skuls, exploding crates and everything in between. If it can activate a power, the streak breaker will help make it a tad more accurate.

In the note about AE attacks, I forgot to specify that the hit guarantee is only in the case that you don't have an existing miss steak with a lower to-hit. That should have been clear from the rest of the post, but I wanted to make sure no one was confused by that omission.

I did locate a small bug, which is now fixed internally. Essentially the streak breaker would not become active until you landed your first hit (so you have to do it yourself, no freebies). Pretty minor in the grand scheme of all things accuracy-related, but it's fixed now regardless. Note that this bug affected players and non-players alike.

[/ QUOTE ]

Great, so that means Super Reflexes has a further achilles heal (not mentioned before) in that every fourth attack from NPCs will effectively 'auto-hit'. Sorry, but I gotta then ask in light of all this why Devs consider 'Elude' to be so powerful.

Hell, had I known the above from the start and been allowed the 'informed decision' Statesman likes to tout regarding how players should be able to make one; I probably would have gone with either Invun or Regen on my main, since they at least offer more inheirent mitigation of the fact that NPCs ALSO take advantage of teh streak breaker.

I'm sorry, but to me, that's an insane way to do it, and it just means good Healing Defenders will be able to exploit this in game for both PvP and PvE content. Hell, I play an SR scrapper as my main so I'm as prone to one shots as anyone, but to artificially introduce a game mechanic because some whiners and supposedly 'l33t' PvPers hate the fact that sometimes one-shots happen (and I dislike PvP so it's not like I care what the CoV ATs can do); and don't think it's 'fair'.

Sheesh, what's next? A confirmation box where a PvE MOB needs to have your consent before dropping yuou to zero HP?

[ QUOTE ]
<ul type="square">[*]What this has to do enjoying/not enjoying the game is beyond me.[*]Why armsman feels that the devs are obligated to provide financial data about the game above NCSoft's legally-required obligations is beyond me.[*]Why armsman blames the devs entirely for the subscription drop last fall when EVERY other NorthAm/Euro-only MMO suffered the same drop and has yet to recover their pre-Fall 2004 numbers is beyond me.[/list]
[/ QUOTE ]

In all honesty, the points I was attempting to make:

1) I honestly just found it interesting that Statesman (Jack) is HIS earlier posts talking about CoH's numbers would point to a 3rd party site instead of NCSoft's own site. I was not in any way saying that the Devs need or should provide other sources; Jack did that before I EVER even posted in this thread. I just found it interesting he would link to a 3rd party site as opossed toi NCSoft's OWN hard numbers. That's all

2) MY second point is - with what I see of server load (and in my own opinion); it looks to me that CoV isn't selling as well as it could and my personal opinion as to why was two fold:

i) Enhancement Diversification itself.

and

ii) The WAY ED was announced and introduced into the overall game itself.

And third, the numbers don't lie. Again, if you look at UO and EQ; they both started small and grew their subscriber base for the first few years. Now it's very possibe that teh MMORPG market has changed, BUT from all accounts (And this was from statements made back during May after the CoH launch):

CoH sold about 210,000 units. About 190,000 subscribed past the first 'free' month.

Since then the game seems to have been bleeding subscribers; and the low point (in the U.S.) seems to have been 120,000. Since then it's fluctuated, and now stands at 150,000 in the U.S. and Europe.

If I were a Dev, and the game was my brainchild, I would think that you would want to find a way to increase subscribers; but with the way ED was handled, I don't know what the Dev Team is thinking; but I was just trying to point out that (again) in my opinion, what they are doing and have done isn't helping either CoV's release, or subscriber retention or growth.

Now, Jack seemingly wants to come out and refutew all this and say that this claim/opinion of mine is both baseless and incorrect. To me, that's fine, and if the post I5/CoV numbers show that, then again, I'd hapily eat crow.

What do I explicitly think:

1) I think the Playerbase deserved to be treated better it did in regards to ED. That's how I honestly feel. It's not like they came up with it 6 weeks ago and announced it two weeks before it went live; both Positron, and hell, the patch notes stated it's been a part of testing since March 2005; and that goes against what the Devs said at CoH launch that they would just throw stuff out there without player feedback; and that's what the test server was for. And yes, ED was in fact on the test server for two weeks; but given it was 'internal' for 8 months, while accurate to the 'letter' of the statement; (agian imo) that violated the 'spirit' of the statement in that most of the playerbase thought it meant we would have time to voice our opinions and have a fair chance a being heard.

2) That this change in Jack's (and in effect the Dev Team's attitude (at least what was stated back then); has negatively affected the game, and sales of the CoV expansion. I also think the Devs aree too focused on power balance and not focused enough on adding new and interesting contenty to the game.

What would I like?

I'd like to see more focus on new content as opposed to the overfocus on power balance. Now, I thought I5 WAS need, and did and still do support what was done in and with it; and my main (the MA/SR Scrapper that is my account namesake) was DEFINITELY affected by I5 too. I think ED was a step too far (but that's me).

I think all the above has indeed HURT CoH overall, and I am upset because it IS a game I like and did enjoy a lot. I guess I'm just surprised that the Devs did what I consider a complete 180 in that they used to listen to the Playerbase, but really no longer feel it's the thing to do.

But again, I don't see how not being able to grow beyond your initial launch numbers, even after the release of an Expansion that's been in the works sinxce before the original game was released can be viewed as 'positive' for the game; AND I think the recent actions by the Dev team before the launch of CoV did also have a very negative effect.

So, again, if the 4Q 2005 numbers show a big reversal of the'bleeding subcriber' trend; and show a groundswell of retained subscribers, I will as I've said before, hapily eat crow.

BUT - I do wish Jack and the Dev Team wpuld go back to giving the playerbase some chance to give more input then what we had for ED. I personally don't like that attitude shift, but again that's me.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I DO find it Interesting that Statesman always refers to MMORPGchart.com's numbers, but never the actual numbers posted by NCSoft itself where you CAN see subscrber actual hard subscription and usage number (just look at the MX-Excel spreadsheet they have - on opening it, while the tabs are in Korean; the info is tabulated and in English). My point is: The numbers ARE EASILY available to Jack and Co; yet he likes to refer to Sir Bruce's numbers, which even Sir Bruce himself admits are often speculation on his part because many games DO NOT publically publish numbers.

[/ QUOTE ]

Where do you think SirBruce gets his numbers?

Yeesh.

What's great is that people have been saying we're ddddoooommmeeedd since launch, and yet surprisingly, here we are.

[/ QUOTE ]

And yet again, Jack pops up to take another popshot when I said that if after all this is said and done if the posted numbers showed CoH was groing beyond it's original 190,000 subscribers that it staeted with, I'd happily eat crow.

Unless Jack want's to actually come out and post the current subscription numbers, show that it's grown since April 2004; and REALLY put me in my place.

But hey, it's the Internet, people often like to just quote snippets for a quick drive by (myself included on occassion).

[ QUOTE ]
You should apply for a position at a fortune 500 company Armsman, since you can make such amazing deductions with anecdotal numbers and such.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks, again, the numbers are easy for people to see for themselves using the 'Find Team Member' function; and AGAIN I was just reporting what I've seen; so take that as you will.

I DO find it Interesting that Statesman always refers to MMORPGchart.com's numbers, but never the actual numbers posted by NCSoft itself where you CAN see subscrber actual hard subscription and usage number (just look at the MX-Excel spreadsheet they have - on opening it, while the tabs are in Korean; the info is tabulated and in English). My point is: The numbers ARE EASILY available to Jack and Co; yet he likes to refer to Sir Bruce's numbers, which even Sir Bruce himself admits are often speculation on his part because many games DO NOT publically publish numbers.

Again, I'm just saying that for such a major ealease (and I've been through all SoE expansion releases through 2004); the subscriber 'jump' in numbers that I've seen so far with CoV is modest to non-exsistent, meaning that they seem to have brought in a number of folks to replace those that have left, or ARE planing on leaving.

Look, I myself am still listed as a paying/active subscriber because you can't post here on this BBS WITHOUT an active CoH or CoV subscription. I know the date my subscription runs out, and I plan to cancel a few days before to be certain there's no 'billing mixup' where I get charged again for another 3 months.

I've certainly made no secret of how I feel, and if you look at the full text of what I posted here (and not just the portion Statesman quoted); I fully admit that once NCSoft post the actual 4th quarter 2005 number to December (which should appear in Feb. 2006); everyone can see for themselves what effect I5 and I6 and ED had an the overall subscriber base).

It may in fact turn out that CoV will be considered a huge success and such; I'm just saying that from where I stand, the fact that CoH started with about 190,000 subscriptions at launch in the US only; and has dropped to about 140 COMBINED (128,000 US/ 12,000 UK) at the last posted report in March 2005) doesn't seem to be a raging success. There's reports that it jumped to 167,000 total US/UK subscribers as of last June 2005.

But still, all this points to a shrinking subscriber base when compared to the game's launch in April 2004; and given all the duscussion going on, I havbe my doubts that the subscriber base will GROW as one woul expect aftyer a major expansion release - it may turn over (ie you get about the same number in new players to replace players leaving); but for a MMORPG to be a success; that's not the pattern you want to see during/after an expansions release.

But again, the actual numbers should be available in a few months. Jack COULD BE right; but sorry, with what I'm seeing currently, I kinda doubt that the numbers will hold.

But, I've said it before and I'll say it again. if this is something that interests you; go see for yoruself and draw your own conclusions. The tools and info are out there.

If Jack ends up being right, good for him. I'm voicing my opinion simply becaue I don't like the change brought to the game via ED; nor the (in my opinion) underhanded way it was announced.

The successful MMORPGs GROW their subscriber base in the first 2 years and then either seem to maintain it, or shed it and die/close (AC2 anyone?). All the curent PUBLISHED numbers to date show that CoH has so far failed to grow beyond the numbers it had at launch in April 2004.

If after all the dust settles, future published numbers show that that all the recent changes (including ED); and the release of CoV show that's no longer the case and CoH has in fact expanded it's subscriber base beyond what it had at Launch, I'll happily eat crow.

[ QUOTE ]
After I5, some people were saying the same thing..."the game is a ghost town"...to which my reply was, "but we're gaining customers..." Naturally, my reply was dismissed.

And yet then good ole' SirBruce posted his MMP numbers - and City of Heroes was shown gaining subscribers. Odd, isn't it?

;-)

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, as I recall, the I5 release coincided with a 'free trial' promotion too; and because of that, for a week, I was seeing 1800+ on line right after I5 on Guardian. BUT, even then the numbers soon dropped back to 'normal' meaning (I assume) plenty of people tried the game but not a lot stayed.

I just recall (from the days of EQ and the first day of 'Ruins of Kunak' - EQ's first expansion); their server across the board showed a 500 user increase on average for each server) - and I can tell you, as someone who did global CoH searches because I used to be interested in seeing if then subscriber base was growing/stable/declining; for all the hype CoV received, the server number at the time I play certainly have not jumped.

Oh, and with a global search (whjether by design of not) you do see all the villain zones. While in Talos on Armsman, the Global search windows showed greyed out names next to the zone name 'Mercy Island'; and last I checked, that wasn't a PvP zone.

If anything, it just shows the game turning over one user base for another, but not growing or declining appriciably at this time (of course after the free month, I guess we'll know for sure); but I have to say, their (even now does seem to be much if any overall increase in the Playerbase; which right after the release of a new expansion is sad, and perhaps somewhat telling.

But spin it anyway you like States the numbers NCSoft publishes for the 4th quarter 2005 will tell the ultimate tale.

As for all my posts stating numbers, I don't know if it's 'peak' or not, but I've always included when I play, and what I've personally seen via the global settings in the 'Find Teammember' search that gives you the total number on non-'hidden' players on the server whether they are in a mission instance or not. Again, it's easy to use, and given the resuts and zone names goes across the entire server pop; not just CoH and CoV seperately depending on which 'side' of the game you're palying at that moment.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The servers aren't yellow because they had their capacity increased before CoV was added to the existing servers, unlike companies like SOE they don't like to see the servers buckle under the pressure of players before they decide to fork out the cash to upgrade them.

If there was actually a number counter for the active population you'd find that the number of players has actually risen quite sharply.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ding! We've got a winner!

We substantively increased the number of CPU's in our servers to account for new players....We've hit new highs in active concurrent in the past 24 hours.

[/ QUOTE ]

To bad when you use the search window to look at the number of players on the server though, the number seems to have gone stayed about the same; or gone down a bit after the CoV release.

Usually, one sees an big influx of players when an expansion hits. Not so for CoV it seems.

before CoV; Guardian hovered between 1400+ to 1000+ from 8:00 - 10:00 PM. Right after the Enhancement Diversifiction release; that number DROPPED to 900 - 600 for the same time frame. Now, right after CoV; it's back up to the first levels, but I'll be curious what the player levels are at after the first 30 days are up.

But, overall, I guess congratulations are in order because it looks like you just swapped on set of players for another, and at least for now maintained whatever you current subscriber rate is.

Funny thing tough: I always thought the point of a new Expansion was to INCREASE your subscriber base numbers dramatically. Guess not in Cryptic and NCSoft's case, eh?

Staeman Spins :
[ QUOTE ]
As some players have pointed out, Defense builds (Super Reflexes, Ice Armor, Stone Armor to a degree) have an inherent weakness in that there are a plethora of powers that debuff Defense in PvE and PvP.

In order to rectify this situation, we will be adding a Resistance to Defense Debuffs to a number of powers. This Resistance will not be enhanceable, but it will increase over level.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, heaven forbid you all us to Diversively Enhance other aspects that you add to defense powers as a band-aid to a system that Postitron already stated has been part of your internal builds since March 2005; yet in those 7 months you never (until this outcry) bothered to consider Super Reflexes or powers in other sets that ONLY are allowed ONE and only one Enhancement type.

Gee, what was/is the point of Enhancement Diversification again? If it is to in fact diversify builds, wouldn't it be more logical to ALLOW Super Reflexes to now Enhance the other power aspects you're adding?

Like the changes. Have encountered the following issues (which I have /bugged in game as well):

1) I do not see any of the arrows or 'dotted lines' that are supposed to be part of the new SS zone maps for the Gravity Geysers (Note: This char never used the Geysers beyond the one 'get aquanted with Geysers' mission because he has personal TP as a travel power).

2) The 'Kora Fruit' graphics are all invisible in all Kora Fruit missions. You can still hear the audio portion that tells you a glowing object is near; and th invisible Kora Fruit can still be clicked on; but they are a [censored] to find with just the audio cues alone.

[ QUOTE ]
((Looks into WoW and EQ2))

[/ QUOTE ]

And sees that the actual Devs for BOTH those games post LESS often with LESS actual information regarding those games.