Arctic Sun

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, and as far as Arctic Sun fighting Ghost Widow; maybe Light-Speed will need to make an appearance in a piece too...

[/ QUOTE ]

Works for me!

Doug did a fantastic job on this piece. He deserves all the kudos he gets.

I'm still angling for one of Arctic Sun facing off with Ghost Widow and Black Scorpion...hmm...Lighthouse, how's that strike you for the cover of the next Fanzine?

cheers,
JS

No time to read the whole thread, Dr. Jones, but just wanted to say:


Sweet!

I know this is something that has been long in the works, and I think it's the best news I've heard for City of...in a long time.

Brian (the NCsoft Producer) was my ultimate boss while I was at NCsoft, and between him and Matt, I expect fine, fine things for you...hell, for me, too.

(Reminds self to log in and play ASAP!)

Kudos guys - this is bitchin' news!

cheers,
JS

What a great response!

Thanks guys - I'm thrilled that you guys are so tickled with this past edition of the paper.

Now I have to go read Lady Sadako's thread...

cheers,
JS

We have a special double-length edition of the Paragon Times today. From the headlines:

Outbreak Plague Rampant for Four Years.

Today marks the third anniversary of the Outbreak pandemic that has swept the city and devastated hotspots around the globe. Memorial services are being held throughout Paragon and around the country today. It was four years ago that the Outbreak virus was identified by scientists at the Rivera Medical Center – to date, the plague has claimed nearly 1 million lives worldwide.

Read the full paper here.

Discuss it here.

We have a special double-length edition of the Paragon Times today. From the headlines:

Outbreak Plague Rampant for Four Years.

Today marks the third anniversary of the Outbreak pandemic that has swept the city and devastated hotspots around the globe. Memorial services are being held throughout Paragon and around the country today. It was four years ago that the Outbreak virus was identified by scientists at the Rivera Medical Center – to date, the plague has claimed nearly 1 million lives worldwide.

Read the full paper here.

[ QUOTE ]
If I were arctic sun, I would have it say "Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom" in 38 point size, bookman old-style font and color as bright red as the monitor can handle.

This is probably why they don't let me talk to people in my current job...

[/ QUOTE ]

I think posting something as simple and yet as mysterious as this - the day before I leave - is tease enough!

cheers,
JS

Check out the new Issue 11 Wallpaper here!

Comment here.

Check out the new Issue 11 Wallpaper here!

Thanks for the lovely comments, guys & gals. It really means a lot.

A few things:

I've stealthily been in Toronto for (CLASSIFIED) months now, working across the web with Lighthouse and Ex Lib. I was in Austin for a year, but the north called me back. ("Winter is coming," so it has been said).

Some of the PM special requests I failed to answer, and I regret that. But I'm happy that I got to handle as many as I did.

I like to think (finally!) I did a good job of brining the Paragon Times back. Certainly there have been a lot more in recent months than in a long while (And I'm trying to write about the experience on my blog, for the curious).

And speaking of which, there will be a Paragon Times this week...

cheers,
JS

Hi,

I have news. “News” always sounds a bit like “weather” to me, as in “we’re having some weather.” Stormy, though not necessarily bad. Bittersweet perhaps (now I’m mixing metaphors … but bear with me).

So, yes, I have news – I am moving on. I’ve been offered a position as a Senior Writer at a company in Toronto, and I think it’s going to be an excellent challenge and opportunity for me. My last day on City of… is this Friday.

As you may or may not know, I’ve been with City of Heroes since just before the launch of City of Villains, or just shy of two years. In that time I’ve worked with the amazing CuppaJo, learned from Aura and Gilgamesh, and had too brief a time working with Cricket, Alexa and the awesome (and incorrigible) Awry…and welcomed Lighthouse and Ex Libris into the fold.

…and on the Cryptic side, it’s been a real pleasure to work with Sean (Manticore), Brian (Constellation), and the newest content writer, Joe (Hero 1), not to mention Melissa (War Witch), and Thomas Foss (Archon Voss). And of course Jack (Statesman) and Matt (Positron) who guide the course from the highest levels.

Then there’s the whole host of people you guys never see – in Web and Creative Services and QA and the GMs and Marketing and Production, let alone the Cat Herders and Fire Swallowers and Whale Hosts (or is that my dream job in Vegas?). Anyway, suffice it to say it’s been a helluva fun job, and I have worked with a great team.

And in that time I have been constantly impressed and surprised by how awesome the community is. I was reminded of that several times this summer during the launch of Inventions (and the closed beta community), the Rikti event (I died like sooo many times!), and most especially at GenCon. You guys are just a big, warm, lovable bunch. Like a lot of Knuts though not necessarily as cute, Forum Cartel aside). Whether talking at the booth at GenCon, sharing a pizza and coffee in Austin, laughing over mini-burgers at the Indy meet&greet, blasting through missions at Brutal Speed, or asking deep content questions through email and PMs, you guys are terrific.

And creative, too. The amount of high-quality stories and art I’ve seen – and been able to use – in the Top Cow Community Pages has been fantastic. The “fanzine” project I’ve mentioned before is well on its way, and I think will be an even better venue for you to showcase your work. If you enjoy creating in the world of Paragon and the Rogue Isles, keep at it – we want to see it all!

As to where I’m going, I can’t announce it yet, but I start very soon! (Which is a lot sooner than “soon TM” ) In the meantime, please feel free to check out my newfangled web page / blog: www.jscoble.com

You’ll find I spend my time writing about game writing, exploring the Toronto indie-movie scene (from a burgeoning script-writer’s perspective), and hope to post more of my original fiction / projects as time goes on. Check it out and see what I’m up to.

All and all it has been absolutely terrific being part of the City of… team. I hope to be able to submit some of my own stories down the road, or pop in (Justice, Virtue, Champion) and finally get my brute to 50 (yeah, yeah, I’m an altaholic, too). I’m sure our paths will cross again. In fact, Lighthouse and Ex have my hotline # on speed-dial, so maybe “James Stark” will write another Paragon Times article or I’ll get a shot to write-up that Wailers Backgrounder I’ve always been meaning to, or maybe a Gawker-style expose: Who’s Snaptooth Dating Now?…we’ll see what the future holds.

In the meantime, treat Lighthouse and Ex Libris well. They are good people, and capable of great things with and for the community.

Remember to keep your cape dry!

As Stan “the Man” would say:

Excelsior!
JS
Jesse “Arctic Sun” Scoble

Hi guys,

Glad many of you liked it. As for the testimonials - there were something like 80-100 to read over! We tried to boil it down to the ones that worked best. Congrats to those who made it in ... and we'll see if we can do it again, eh?

Oh, and I'll mention to War Witch that she really needs to update the group a bit.

cheers,
JS

Come out and play!

Thank you all for your tremendous patience. "Soon" has arrived.

You can find the full backgrounder here.

The winners are all to be found on the 2nd page - click the link!

Let's get to it boppers!

OK, enough Warriors references!

cheers,
JS

Come out and play!

The Warriors are a fierce street gang in Paragon City. They operate primarily out of the Talos Island and Striga Isle zones. Their membership is wide and varied, and they don’t seem to discriminate based on ethnicity, race, or religion. The one common trait that all members share is the ability to fight and to fight well.

Don’t miss the excellent selection of in-character testimonials and newsclippings from the Paragon Times freelancer corps on page 2!

Read the backgrounder here.

Discuss it here, boppers!

Come out and play!

The Warriors are a fierce street gang in Paragon City. They operate primarily out of the Talos Island and Striga Isle zones. Their membership is wide and varied, and they don’t seem to discriminate based on ethnicity, race, or religion. The one common trait that all members share is the ability to fight and to fight well.

Don’t miss the excellent selection of in-character testimonials and newsclippings from the Paragon Times freelancer corps on page 2!

Read the backgrounder here.

Hey guys,

Sorry for the long silence (here, there, and everywhere). I took the week after GenCon to go to Vancouver for a small vacation / long wedding. Which was great fun, by the by, and while I avoided the GenCon Flu, I was totally wiped out by the time I got home, and it's been a slow week of recovery.

(In terms of avoiding the GenCon flu, I got decent sleep the first day or so of the con - knowing that I'd blow that soon enough - made sure to eat as reasonably as possible; and took a whole bunch of those airborn thingees.)

GenCon 2007 was a blast. I hit the ground running and felt like I never stopped. It was a thrill. And working with the NCsoft booth is a helluva lot of fun - because my colleagues are great, and the players are just absolutely terrific.

GenCon is also a lot of fun for me because I've been going since 1997, and regularly since 2000 - so I have a lot of industry friends (from my long and mysterious past ). It's the best kind of reunion every year.

Highlights for this year include, but are no means limited to:

* Hangin' with Cuppa again.

* Seeing my friend and fellow Canadian Robin Law's 40 Years of GenCon

* Getting some hands-on time with Tabula Rasa

* Revisiting old friends in Dungeon Runners

* Handing out Guild Wars in-game pets

* Seeing the giant Fin Fang Foom Heroclix (I woulda bought 'im if he'd had pants!)

* Playing black jack and poker with Cuppa, Ex "deal me in" Libris, Karen "Con Captain", as well as Casey "I'll raise you 5,000!" and Charlie "L2 is Hardcore!" at the Spybar.

(OK, OK, it was called The House, and a cool speakeasy that was part of a live-action/ARG-style game called Guardian6; but Spybar is a way cooler name).

* Bringing down Wunderbars, Ketchup Chips, Kinder Eggs, and other Canadian delicacies for the crew.

* Going to the White Wolf party and seeing the great energy White Wolf / CCP had this year. (And chillin', if briefly, with DJ Justin Achilli)

* Seeing Bonehead hit level 50!

* Seeing so many great people at the Meet & Greet. The venue was shaped a bit strangely, and was certainly loud (I had a killer headache at the end, and had a quick power nap before the White Wolf party), but it actually was very easy for me to chat with a lot of people. It was cool comparing stories about Justice and Liberty and Virtue, telling people that yes, indeed, I do play (don't know if anyone believed me, mind you, but I really made it to level 12 in Brutal Speed before I had to pack for GenCon), and in general getting to know the community better.

* Renaming Bonehead "Fiddy" at the Meet & Greet.

And lots more! I do have a few pictures from the party - not as many as I would have liked, but so it goes - and I'll see about putting them up in a gallery next week.

Thanks guys. It was a blast!

cheers,
JS

The Paragon Times wraps up the Rikti invasion with two special reports from freelance journalists in the field. See what our special correspondents had to say, and check out the images brought to us by our freelance photographers!

PARAGON CITY, Rhode Island, August 10th – The city is quiet again, as quiet as it ever is in the City of Heroes. Vanguard and Positron reported earlier in the week that our efforts in holding off the Rikti Invasion were a resounding success. Vanguard’s rapid response teams held the line in every at risk city zone, both in Paragon and in the Rogue Isles, as well as around the world.

Read the full article.

Discussion thread.

The Paragon Times wraps up the Rikti invasion with two special reports from freelance journalists in the field. See what our special correspondents had to say, and check out the images brought to us by our freelance photographers!

PARAGON CITY, Rhode Island, August 10th – The city is quiet again, as quiet as it ever is in the City of Heroes. Vanguard and Positron reported earlier in the week that our efforts in holding off the Rikti Invasion were a resounding success. Vanguard’s rapid response teams held the line in every at risk city zone, both in Paragon and in the Rogue Isles, as well as around the world.

Read the full article.

[ QUOTE ]
Arctic Sun will be there as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

With bells on.

Well, maybe at the White Wolf party.

Am excited to see everyone there!

cheers,
JS

Hi guys

Apologize for the short notice. I need a couple of Invasion screenshots (i.e., screens taken during the Invasion event, or from the Rikti War Zone, etc.).

While my immediate window is from NOW until tomorrow noon (EST), if other cool ones trickle in I will contemplate on how I might be able to use them.

Here's the boilerplate:

Focus on the INVASION / RIKTI.

It can be an action shot. It can be an atmospheric shot. It can be a funny or interesting shot. It cannot be a boring shot.

DO turn your UI off. (I don't want to see names floating above people's heads or floating damage).

DO take a crisp, clean, high-res image. (Check your in-game settings!)

DO make sure the focus characters - Rikti, Heroes, Villains, whomever, are very visible.

Normally we say “DO NOT photoshop the picture” and “DO NOT manipulate the picture,” however, this time I’m going to remove this restriction and see if it makes a difference. Don't go crazy - it has to look like CoH/CoV, obviously. Remember the most important element: “An engaging screenshot of the Invasion."

You MAY enter ONLY ONE screenshot, although more than one character can be featured. (For example, if Lighthouse, Ex Libris, and Arctic Sun were all in a Super Group, they could each enter one screenshot. Arctic’s might feature only him, while Ex’s shows both her character and Lighthouse’s, while all three characters might be in Lighthouse’s shot – each player/account can only submit one screenshot … so make it sharp!).


Timeline:
Submissions can be made by emailing your screenshots (details below) from NOW until 12:00 PM (EST) THURSDAY August 9th.

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

* EMAIL submissions to cohsubmissions@plaync.com

* Screenshots MUST be JPG format, the bigger the better (if the file size is huge, please zip or otherwise compress it).

* Your submission MUST include:
- Your real name
- Age
- Address
- PlayNC Master Account name
- Game account name
- Character & server name (for all characters in the shot)

Winners
* Winners will be selected randomly, but with an eye towards dramatic scenes/engaging action.

* If you aren’t selected, it’s likely that it’s because the number of submissions is so high. If this goes well, you will have another opportunity to submit.

* Anywhere from one to four winners will be selected. Winning screenshots will be featured in a web site article.

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

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

We’re pleased to bring you the latest City of Heroes developer diary by lead designer, Matt “Positron” Miller. Matt discusses the inspirations for Issue 10: Invasion, and some of the processes behind the story.

From the diary:

“With the decision made to use the Rikti for Issue 10, and bring Vanguard into the limelight, we knew it was the perfect opportunity to bring Hero 1 back from the Rikti homeworld, albeit a little changed.”

NOTE: The diary contains spoilers for both older City of Heroes high-end content and for the new issue.

Read the dev diary here.

Discuss it here.

We’re pleased to bring you the latest City of Heroes developer diary by lead designer, Matt “Positron” Miller. Matt discusses the inspirations for Issue 10: Invasion, and some of the processes behind the story.

From the diary:

“With the decision made to use the Rikti for Issue 10, and bring Vanguard into the limelight, we knew it was the perfect opportunity to bring Hero 1 back from the Rikti homeworld, albeit a little changed.”

NOTE: The diary contains spoilers for both older City of Heroes high-end content and for the new issue.

Read the dev diary here.

Glad you like 'em!

I'm not too worried about the spoilers. I do realize it's an issue for a few people, but there have been a lot of "teases" about that particular element over the last few weeks, and it will soon be fairly common knowledge. (And I do apologize if I ruin the surprise for anyone, as I can be touchy about that kind of thing, but I don't think we can easily put a "spoiler!" warning over the image. I'll mull it over.)

As for Widescreen variants....hmm. I confess it never crossed my mind. Let me discuss with the graphic design dudes, and see what's possible. Probably won't happen for a little bit, as they are super busy, but I'll certainly bring it up.

cheers,
JS

To celebrate the launch of Issue 10: Invasion for City of Heroes, we had the art department whip up some snazzy new Wallpaper. Thrill to the new images of the Rikti as they invade your desktop! (Too much? )

Check out the new Invasion Wallpaper here!

Discuss 'em here, as you take a breather from the front lines.

To celebrate the launch of Issue 10: Invasion for City of Heroes, we had the art department whip up some snazzy new Wallpaper. Thrill to the new images of the Rikti as they invade your desktop! (Too much? )

Check out the new Invasion Wallpaper here!

cheers,
JS