Captain-Electric
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Posts
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Quote:This.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
That wouldn't be a real superhero game if it was mixed in with that sutff.
People, it has nothing to do with cultural disdain. I love me some Asian culture, art, history, food, women, alcho--errr, I'll stop there.
If anyone wants to take this and run away with some kind of "WHY U NOT LIKE ASIAN IN UR GAME", feel free to do so but you won't be having the same discussion I am.
I don't hate many things, but I hate it when people take offense with me after I say "no thanks" to their offer to insert as much <insert culture> as possible into largely western cultural artifacts in order to "improve things". This is how you LOSE something great, not how you GAIN something great. Imagine if I had enough money to buy out all the Asian-themed MMOs out there and systematically began marginalizing Asian aspects with tons of American-style patriotism, spandex, capes and masks, cowboys and indians. Would that be cool? (Hint: no, it would make me a huge d-bag.) You know, as an American, I'm well aware of the mistakes my country and culture has made in the misguided notion that it would only be helping the world to leave the American "brand" stamped all over it. It does not please me to see people falling into the same ignorant and arrogant mindsets on the behalf of other cultures. There is a difference between celebrating our differences, and the assimilation of anything different. Just ask the Borg.
Since the 1930s, the comic book super hero ethos has been primarily western in scope, and has only recently began incorporating multicultural flares to the extent that we see today. That's a good thing, but for goodness sake, with only four (soon to be three) MMO games covering the genre, it can be considered to be on the endangered species list compared to the hundreds of Asian-themed MMOs out there.
I'm not saying "keep Asian influences out of comic book MMOs"--after all, the comics don't do this. But you'll please forgive me when I scrutinize those who seem to think my western culture can't stand on its own two legs without "help" from Asian subscriber numbers. This kind of thinking is what leads to homogeneous cultural artifacts in whatever forms of art you enjoy, and ten years from now when you log into the new "Cowboys in the Old West" MMO and find it filled to the brim with ninjas, samurais, katanas, throwing stars, a kibun meter and maybe two or three actual cowboy NPCs in the corner of an out-of-the-way zone, you'll finally be forced to agree with my point here. Unless, of course, you're loving the game too much to care what your fan-demands have accomplished to stamp out of existence. -
Heroes and heroines, thank you so much to those who replied here and via PMs. And sorry for getting back to you so late, but it was a long day and an even longer night for Captain Weekend, and I'm just now checking the forums and downloading the game as I type this. And--Electric-Knight--you're a lifesaver for making this thread. I saw your post early this morning (yesterday morning at this point I guess) on my Android and it made me really happy, but I've never been able to log into the forums via my phone.
For everyone's information, currently (until December 1 at least) the most simple way to get the game is through the launcher, which is here:
http://us.ncsoft.com/en/launcher/ncsoft-launcher.html
The launcher only takes a couple of minutes to install, then you can download and install the game straight from there.
If you're wondering why I didn't make this assumption to begin with, it is because I was sure I remembered reading posts several weeks ago by players who said NCSoft had stripped away methods for getting into the game for those who didn't already have it installed. I wasn't too worried about it because I assumed this community is full of players who believe in preparedness (i.e. backups and mirrors)--an assumption that was proven correct based on PMs received today. I'm pretty sure, now, that I misunderstood what I read or that over time things got garbled in my head based on NCSoft removing download links from the City of Heroes website.
Also, just in case some intended viewers missed what I typed in that other thread, I'll cut and paste something I wanted some people to see.
Quote:I actually considered using my Going Rogue CD to install the game (which I doubt would have worked owing to the new launcher), but I ran into a problem the other night when I realized my trusty old DVD drive is IDE and my computer is now fully SATA. It was too late to hit the store for a new drive or IDE to SATA device, so my roommate had the bright idea to load a bootable Windows 7 image onto a flash drive and stick it in my motherboard's fancy USB 3 port. It worked and I installed Windows off a little thumb drive hahaha. It was fast too.Originally Posted by Captain-ElectricP.S. A few people have sent PMs in the past week and I'm sorry and apologize that I haven't answered back. My computer spent a few nights in pieces, while I cannibalized my computer case and fans to build an entirely new system, then a bad cold, then work, then a couple new games to test the new rig out on, have majorly distracted me during this week. I have been reading these forums and the Titan forums every night on my Android so I'm not out of the loop on anything, but I can't log into the forums via my Android for some reason. I did not mean to blow anyone off, especially two of my biggest Paragon heroes who asked for some feedback about things.
City of Heroes is now downloaded and installed and it's time to crank up those Ultramode settings like I never have before (actually I have to go to bed now
...well maybe just a peek 
).
Here's what I put together for about $700 between Cookes--errr Frys Electronics and Microcenter. I was planning on only spending $400 or $500 or so and wasn't going to upgrade my GPU yet, but...it called to me from the shelf
Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 motherboard
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti video card
700 watt power supply
My first quad core CPU, AMD Phenom II
8 GB of RAM
My first terabyte HDD -
Quote:Headline seen on my Google News page this morning:Originally Posted by Black Pebble
It's like believing that Twinkies will be with us forever, then finding out that nope, they're gone for good! (See what I did there?)
Telegraph.co.uk
Twinkies Manufacturer Hostess Plans To Liquidate; Twinkies Will Probably Go On -
Someone answer my question before the thread gets locked?
When I posted that last night, there were at least a dozen people eyeballing and posting in this thread including rednames.
*Gives helpful forum community a stern look*
Help the Captain play City of Heroes tonight!
Please? (Not a lot of time to search ATM and I KNOW one of you has to already know the answer.) -
Quote:I don't know, do I? Hostess is offering to sell its popular assets, like the Twinkies brand, to other manufacturers. To keep the Twinkies alive.Originally Posted by Black Pebble
It's like believing that Twinkies will be with us forever, then finding out that nope, they're gone for good! (See what I did there?)
I'd love this. But it will never happen here because the negative ninnies would hate nothing more. Have you read IBTT's forum sig lately? Getting along for the sake of getting along is just way too My Little Pony for some people.Quote:Originally Posted by Black Pebble
We've all got different ways to deal with our grief. But for now, lets not take it out on each other. Unfortunately, we'll have a lot if time to be angry, but we shouldn't take the time we do have to be angry with each other.
I also suspect that a few of the most prolifically negative and unlikable forum posters are using this situation as a coping mechanism for some grave losses they've hinted at in the rare post here and there over the past couple of months. I'm basing this off the realization that none of this has ever made me want to frame my posts with details about the friends and family members I've mournfully buried, think of often and miss dearly. For the negative posters, despite all of their nasty and negative posts, I pity them and hope this has at least been helpful for them in some way, and not just another avenue for them to deal with the root of their pain by not dealing with the root of their pain, letting anger and apathy infest them a little more with every post.
P.S. A few people have sent PMs in the past week and I'm sorry and apologize that I haven't answered back. My computer spent a few nights in pieces, while I cannibalized my computer case and fans to build an entirely new system, then a bad cold, then work, then a couple new games to test the new rig out on, have majorly distracted me during this week. I have been reading these forums and the Titan forums every night on my Android so I'm not out of the loop on anything, but I can't log into the forums via my Android for some reason. I did not mean to blow anyone off, especially two of my biggest Paragon heroes who asked for some feedback about things.
P.P.S. This also means I need to know where to download the most recent client for City of Heroes. -
This isn't over.
After the disappearance of the game and these forums, we will keep doing what we do. We will still have a forum and community. We will still have the ears and mouths of the gaming press. We will still have a voice. We will still have passion. We will still have loyalty to each other and to Paragon's vision. A vision that NCSoft's management was never sharp or soulful enough to completely understand.
Dev studios may fall, but thousands of fans want this vision to stand again. And, damn you NCSoft, damn you and your narrow-minded corporation to the sands of time, our vision will stand again. -
*Salutes*
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Quote:I bet he was just insinuating that NCSoft's management doesn't stand by their developers, that they kill MMOs left and right, and that they don't communicate often or very well with their customers, or even attempt to understand their multinational demographics very well, for that matter.Originally Posted by Evil_Legacy
If you were not calling them the devil, then what exactly were you trying to insinuate?
Let's point the finger where it belongs. This is a conversation about competence, communication, confidence, loyalty, betrayal, and perhaps greed, not the devil. People are perfectly capable of stabbing each other in the back with no help from otherworldly monsters. And bringing the term 'evil' into it is just a way to deflect and distract discussion from the true culprit: NCSoft's management.
I was born and raised to stand by those who stand by me. Trust and loyalty are sacred. What NCSoft did to Paragon Studios and their fans cannot be glossed over by me, and many others here. At the end of the day on November 30, my loyalty will stand with those who stood by me, those at Paragon Studios and the friendships I forged here.
You cannot convince those of us with this principle, this viewpoint, to examine NCSoft in the spirit of making excuses for them. All of the charts and graphs and quarterly reports cannot explain away their handling of Paragon Studios, one of the finest dev teams ever to grace the industry by the opinions of many, many of their fans.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get back to my week-long Champions Online test drive. The CoX channel there has almost a thousand members, and the Cape Radio channel is approaching a hundred members already. After that, it'll be back to City of Heroes for the remainder of November, but I do have to admit, it's been very refreshing to surround myself the past few nights with a community of CoX refugees who are actually focusing on the positive and not filling the air with the stench of death. In COH's final few weeks, it's likely that I'll spend a lot less time on these forums, and a lot more time in COH with my friends in the Virtue community. -
Quote:You know, I'm familiar with your posting style by now, and I know you're just asking an honest question. Nevertheless, as someone who has "City of Heroes" and "MMORPG" sections in his custom Google News page, and as someone who regularly keeps up with sites like MMORPG.com, Massively, Ten Ton Hammer and Blue's News, my initial reaction to reading this question was simple shock and surprise, and ya'know, the thought did enter my mind, "Does this guy READ the news?"Originally Posted by Pebblebrook
Which gaming magazines/sites described the closure as premature?
My second reaction (beyond, "Okay, so many articles, where do I start?") was the desire to fire up Google, my browser's bookmarks, and the Titan Network's Thank the Media thread and set aside two or three hours or so, and then just dump a MEGA EXPLOSION of proof in a reply here and be like, YO DAWG I HERD YOU LIKE ARTICLES--and, actually, on some other night, I'd probably be up for this and may do it later (unless someone beats me to the punch). Though I'll admit, I'm slightly disincentivized (I made that word up) because we're nearing the 300th post in a quickly moving, wildly meandering thread and I'm suspicious my proof would be just be glossed over. Your request is also, essentially, a request for me to go and spend my night collecting news articles so that I can make a point because someone is wrong on the Internet--and I'm sure someone would still find a counterargument. Normally I try not to get sucked into that sort of thing, but on the other hand, I'm extremely impressed by all of the insight I've gained by watching people I agree and disagree with alike, people like you, Gangrel, Arcanaville, Codewalker and Tony actually go and dig out old PDFs, statements, archived websites and copyright laws to debunk or hold up claims that have been made around here. So I don't really feel like the whole "You're still a unicorn even if you win..." phrase about arguments on the Internet strictly applies in this thread.
This also is one of those debates that makes me think that in highly polarized debates, our human brains work against the evidence by focusing our vision on articles and statements that agree with our conscious or subconscious biases, and encouraging us to disregard the specific significance and weight of evidence to the contrary. I mean, in my mind, it's like, "Geez Pebblebrook, that's all I see is articles talking about how City of Heroes is being cut down while it's still profitable, dozens and dozens over the past few weeks!" But, collecting some articles actually sounds very easy compared to proving this other suspicion of mine. -
Quote:And those assumptions shriveled up and died within a few weeks. Like I said, gaming magazines and websites are calling COH a trailblazing success and they're calling the closure premature, and they'll be saying the same thing five years from now.Originally Posted by Liquid
I don't think Starsman is talking about anyone here. I think he's talking about everyone else in the world, like the people in the gaming press that all (wrongly) assumed that it was shut down because it wasn't bringing in profit anymore.
Edit: Hell, he said it in the sentence before the one you quoted. He's talking about the general market. -
Happy 13th birthday, AC!
/emote scowls at NCSoft.
I was still heavy into Ultima Online when AC launched. UO's Age of Shadows expansion launched that year and it ROCKED SO MUCH that I wasn't about to take a break from my first MMO home. But I remember having friends who left for AC or were playing it alongside UO, and I heard great things.
P.S. I did leave UO before the Samurai Empire or Mondain's Legacy expansions, to go play Eve Online. Fifteen years later, as someone who still plays UO occasionally, I've still only visited that silly tree elf city "Heartwood" twice. -
Quote:On this point, I don't think you'll find many supporters, either among the anti-NCSoft crowd or the pro-NCSoft crowd, or the much more numerous in-between crowd who know better than to post their thoughts here. Few here are associating City of Heroes with failure. Even those who don't blame NCSoft for closing City of Heroes aren't calling it a failure; on the contrary, they're speaking in admiration for the long, 8 year-run the game had under NCSoft (of all companies).Originally Posted by Starsman
Most people out there will forever associate the City of Heroes label with failure.
One thing most of us actually have in common is praise for City of Heroes as a success--and when I say most of us, I don't just mean the COH community (such as it is, these days), but the industry and gaming media as well. No one is in the dark about what happened, only about how and why it happened. Gaming magazines and websites are calling COH a trailblazing success and they're calling the closure premature, and they'll be saying the same thing five years from now. Super hero MMOs weaknesses will continue to be compared to COH's strengths for many years to come. So, to the contrary, I think most people out there will forever associate the City of Heroes label with success. COH forged a new sub-genre within the industry, and did it with class and originality, and had a long life jam-packed with awesome updates--and it was cut woefully short.
Based on what we know about Issue 24 and plans for successive issues, I would have liked to have seen a couple more years at least, a resolution to the Coming Storm storyline, followed by a COH 2 announcement for a game where we'd all enter into it with characters that felt more powerful in the early levels (of course, now I know that NCSoft cancelled COH 2 before it even got off the ground). Even then, I would have preferred to see COH put into an EQ-style low development priority mode (this is different from saying maintenance mode; EQ still receives updates) for many years to come, but I would have never really expected NCSoft to go the Sony Station route (and I wouldn't have held it against them--it's not everyone's business model).
I also think people here are underestimating the value of the IP. I hold a pretty different suspicion than most of you (maybe all of you), regarding the likelihood that we'll see a COH 2 anytime [relatively] soon. I'm paraphrasing, but in some recent emails to fans who continued to write in to NCSoft (yes, someone in NCSoft actually sent out a few replies to fans--the exact response is on the Titan Forums somewhere), they hinted at plans for something they were sure COH fans would be pleased with, along with a rather heavy-handed assurance that they were sure they would not regret their decision to close City of Heroes down in the future. But hold on to your hats--no, really, hold on to your hats. And your pants, especially around the backside. Because while I actually expect there might be a COH 2 in the planning stages somewhere, I also suspect there's a likely reason why they wouldn't have green-lighted Paragon's plans for a more realistic, more mature COH 2 (and partly why they've now fired Paragon to boot). Two words: "grind fest."
Probably aimed at a less mature audience. And given what I suspect some stuffy suits "statistical market analyses" might have turned up about more profitable demographics, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd long considered bringing in "new blood" in the form of an entirely new studio to continue the IP, sacrifice our community for a larger more profitable one, and set afire Paragon Studios' design vision. -
I'm bringing this thread back, because the current popular CO thread is too negative in scope.
"Despite what many of us might feel, the world is not ending when City of Heroes shuts down. Just our world. But the sun will continue shining, other games will continue running, and most likely your interest in video games will not evaporate. So after an appropriate period of mourning, it's going to be time to think about getting together with another game.
The problem, of course, is that nothing else can ever be City of Heroes. Like Benjamin Franklin, nothing can serve as its replacement, merely as its successor. But it's worth examining some of the more reasonable and likely destinations for the community." -- Massively's Mild Mannered Reporter (emphasis mine)
That quote has been bouncing around my head ever since the article went up.
I'll be in CO for the next week, 10th at the latest, running around, setting up my friends list, making sure this will work for me.
Why now? Because after midnight on November 30 when our world is shut down, I want to be able to immediately meet my friends and fellow heroes elsewhere, without having to download, install, jack with options and settings and figure out menus, and wade through Champion Online's (or any game's) tutorial first. I wanted to get all of that out of the way before November 30, so that I can get right to the good part within the hour after COH shuts down--friends, and some missions, or just hanging out and chatting.
For those like myself who originally planned to hold off on anything besides COH until December 1, I encourage you to consider the reasoning above. Fiddling with settings and stumbling through your first tutorial on that first night wouldn't be nearly as fun and memorable as having some sort of community event to dovetail into.
Why Champions Online? On the night of Paragon's closure announcement, I had already decided I didn't want to let NCSoft take everything away from me. Things like Captain Electric and several other characters, created when I was a kid, all of which could potentially be moved into CO; many other characters created inside City of Heroes; friendships created in my three short years in City of Heroes, many who are moving to CO; storylines and shared histories created in Virtue's rich role-playing atmosphere.
These were always some of the most important things, and I'm not going to throw them away just because NCSoft is throwing City of Heroes away. I've decided that I care enough about these things to examine my options for keeping my characters and friendships in a non-dormant state while Plan Z develops.
Wish me luck, and if you're in the Champions Universe, look me up.
My new global is the same on CO as in COH: @Captain-Electric
After the 10th I'll be back in Paragon City to plan a multi-server RP event for some of the last days, for players of comic book super hero genre characters who want to role-play some of their characters leaving Paragon City together for the last time-- for destinations like Champions Online, DC Universe Online, Marvel Heroes Online, The Secret World, and others. Captain Electric (the character) is working with Portal Corp as we speak to secure the necessary dimensional gateway frequencies.
Characters who will be staying in Paragon RP-wise can also show up to wave goodbye. It won't be for characters who you'll be playing right when the server shuts down, unless they're waving goodbye for now. This is just a fun way to park a few of your characters for the last time, in a very symbolic way, together with other supers, in front of a dimensional gate for wherever you're going next. DJ Zero is expected to cooperate for the use of Pocket D's gates as well (Portal Corp's gates aren't equipped with furball filters). -
I hope no one doubts my excellent paraphrasing skills after this!
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I would love to have some art done of Captain Electric or one of my other characters. I got to be in one of Golden Girl's comics (link in my sig), which was awesome and an honor, but that has been Cap's only art appearance in the years since I brought him to Paragon City.
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You know, I generally put some thought into my thread titles. They're statements, written to say everything you'd need to know, even without clicking. And you folks have consistently kept my various statements about NCSoft toward the top of the forum for days on end. I don't honestly care much about what's being talked about by the 100th post.
By the way, that graph came off some random Twitter feed. I've never been to that site.
Thanks in advance for your continued cooperation. -
Quote:I was just feeling playful.Originally Posted by I Burnt The Toast
So what exactly is the point of your graph?
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Quote:It's cool, I'll allow that. (Not like I could stop you, but thanks for being considerate. UNLIKE SOME OTHERS.)Originally Posted by Scythus
I could cite a few examples in our current society that have seen the continued erosion of human and civil rights in western civilization that should have everyone up in arms and yet everyone is still worried about the Kardashians or some other nonsense, but that would be derailing this thread even more. Suffice to say, people are sheep and they run away.
For the record, when I was reading Marvel's Civil War, I was firmly on Captain America's side the WHOLE FREAKING TIME.
P.S. Electric-Knight always has permission to go off-topic in my threads because it's kind of his M.O., but it's always entertaining and he always brings it back around to the topic in some weird way. (Saw your apology in advance up-thread, E-K.)
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I never mentioned #SaveCOH or the Titan Network or Plan Z or emulators in the OP. The same people are making the same negative, off-topic posts again and again, just like they do in every thread. It's funny how ya'll can accuse others of temper tantrums and mud-slinging while making every effort to deflect reasonable discussion away from so many thread topics. Most of you can't stop accusing the Titan Network of being a club or cult, while simultaneously all it seems like you're doing lately is stroking each others egos, coming to each others rescue, and comparing all the NCSoft Apologist/Employee trophies you've racked up around here.
You know, I've remained a loyal member of these forums and haven't even registered on the Titan forums--not because I don't support Tony's hub of websites (quite the opposite--I've pressed many others to sign up); but because I wanted to answer more Calls to Action, make my own heroic efforts to save City of Heroes, spend more time with friends in the game and less time writing on Internet forums. (Sorry?)
Also because THESE are my forums, dammit. I'll be damned if I'm going to let a bunch of spoiled rotten brats stick their flags in it and call it all theirs in these final weeks. You'll see a farewell post from me on or near the last day, you contrary, difficult, insensitive, unsympathetic, anti-social, unicorn pancake roach-licking, self-serving, space herpes-carrying trolls who probably don't have great personalities. Oh, did I say something mean?
Okay, let's derail this and discuss all the same crap all over again, one more time.
1) I absolutely agree with those of you who wanted to see more aggressive tactics and negative press two months ago. I said it on several occasions: these behemoth corporations do not have ears or hearts to appeal to; they only have PR departments who monitor for negative press and want to avoid it as much as possible. It was strategically unsound to play nice and quiet and appeal to NCSoft management in a peaceful tone in the gaming press, and #SaveCOH and the Titan Network absolutely squandered an opportunity that not too many snuffed-out communities get: the undivided attention and heartfelt support of the gaming media at large.
2) Unlike some of you, I actually think the Titan Network is capable of making NCSoft "sorry" after November 30. But it won't be #SaveCOH. It will be #AvengeCOH. And it will only be heroic if they say it, loud and clear, and if they choose to avenge City of Heroes in the right ways. I don't believe we can save City of Heroes, but I do think it can be avenged without everyone turning into bad guys. You know what they say, the best form of revenge is success. The people who truly deserve success now are Paragon Studios, and all of their fans, and fans of the super hero MMO genre. I hope we can ALL make a comeback in some way that allows us to say, with pride and guiltless vindication, that we avenged City of Heroes--like heroes.
3) I support an emulator, but I don't view it as "saving City of Heroes." I support an emulator for the same reason that I support organizations like the EFF. I also think the Rebellion is cooler than the Empire and Zion is a better place than the Matrix. Go figure.
4) I view Plan Z as an extremely interesting world-building project. I don't view it as "saving City of Heroes," but a successor in memoriam sounds more heroic to me anyhow. Will they really make all of that stuff into a game? Who knows? I have been playing MMOs a long time and I remember, long ago, when the Cryptic guys got laughed at for their idea to create an exciting super hero MMO. I'll be right over there after November 30, but...
5) Right now, all I want to do in these final weeks, as the fan that I've been these past three years, is play and enjoy City of Heroes while I can; and make preparations for wherever my characters are going next.
Now, back on topic.
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Quote:Few others are in a better position to claim this. Positron is not going to reply to you about specific data he had access to within his position at Paragon Studios, and the data you're asking for just isn't available to the general public. As consumers, we can only triangulate reports and other thingymabobs and speculate from there.Originally Posted by I Burnt The Toast
I would however like to see a citation for "largest" MMO to be shut down. Without hard facts regarding subscription numbers makes me wonder how one can claim this.
On the other hand, when Positron states a fact about COH, that is and always has been adequate citation. The only way you can do better is direct information from NCSoft, and you're not going to get that. So this is what you've got. -
Quote:On the contrary, Positron has stated that he'd love to make another super hero MMO and he's not the only Paragon member who has given it some thought. But you can't just go make a game in the MMO industry. These are hugely expensive undertakings and require investors and the right talent (not just a capable lead designer--lots of working pieces here).Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
Sounds like he's got zero plans about starting a new studio to crank out a CoH spiritual successor.
If you had watched Posi's latest Twitch appearance from a couple weeks ago, you'd know that your "zero plans" comment is inaccurate. SO, on that note, cheer up!
On a less-cheerful note, remember that Posi seems to be in the market for a design job FIRST, and in the market for a new super hero MMO project SECOND.
Gotta put bread on that table. -
I was scooped after I started gathering notes on Analog Hole Gaming's latest podcast guest-starring Matt "Positron" Miller, but I'm sure you'll come back here after reading Johnny Butane's post. Skip to this post's twelfth paragraph if you want to know why Johnny Butane's interpretation is lacking context. Especially relevant COH posts, and posts that ought to be especially relevant to Paragon's fans, are enlargened and emboldened. My own notes are italicized and in parentheses.
Points of interest will generally be spaced apart by paragraphs. I'm in a rush, but I type pretty fast.
In the first 20 minutes of the podcast, Positron mentions what are arguably the three most salient points for City of Heroes fans. Firstly, they (Paragon Studios) tried everything, and anything that wasn't tried was at least thought about and brought up in a meeting. In every case, when reading the forums, Facebook, Twitter, PMs or Twitch commentary by COH fans saying things like, "Why haven't you tried this?" Or, "Have you thought of that?" Or "Please do this before it's too late," the first thought to go through Matt's head was "Yes, yes, and yes," it's been on the table and either thought through or actually tried. Paragon Studios was just as caught off-guard by NCSoft's surprise realignment of focus as their fans, and just like many of their fans, they worked their tails off on their end to try and save the game.
Secondly, as a matter of fact, City of Heroes is the largest and most active MMO ever to be shut down. Specifically, it had more active and average concurrent daily users than any MMO ever to be shut down.
Thirdly, the SaveCOH effort took NCSoft by surprise. They were not prepared for the public outcry, fan support for the game, and the level of dissatisfaction with NCSoft for the closure.
By the 30-minute mark, Positron and the podcast crew had drifted into some tangents. Just a general heads up, Positron was a classy guest but the podcast crew can be very frank and probably isn't family friendly.
The WARN Act in California ensured at least 60 days of employment for Positron after the shutdown notice. He was no longer required (i.e. invited) to show up for work, but he's still been getting checks, insurance, and will receive a severance package for staying on the payroll through that 60 days.
This comes to a screeching halt sometime around this Wednesday (or next Wednesday?), at which point he will be an extremely senior-level designer in search of employment. Most companies don't hire at his level. Most promote to his level. So he may have a harder time searching for a job than any of us might have expected. He would like to stay in the Bay area, because his family has settled down there, his wife is in the PTA, Posi is involved in Cub Scouts, and so on.
For the past couple of months, Positron has been saving the world from alien invasions, flying FTL spaceships across the galaxy, and playing Pokemon in WOW.
A lot of talk about WOW. The podcast crew seem to be in the same guild. One of the hosts (the female) is either Posi's guild leader in WOW, or Posi has at least raided with their guild. Since WOW's latest expansion, only 32 guild members have logged in and completed at least one quest, out of a little over 300 guild members total. (Note: I have read elsewhere that Mists of Pandaria pushed WOW back over the 10 million mark, though--and no, I don't play WOW.)
A host mentions that Positron looks great. Turns out, Positron has lost 87 pounds on Weight Watchers. He explains how. Weight Watcher's points system seems almost like a game to the hosts. Positron did it for his family. They are going to Disney World for Christmas and Posi decided to get in better shape.
Paragraph 12: By the 45-minute mark: The character "Positron" is now owned by NCSoft, even though Matt Miller created the character for the Champions pen-and-paper RPG when he was a teenager. Matt could fight it if he wanted, but he just doesn't want to. He spent 9 and 1/2 years working on City of Heroes, and its loss was a complete surprise, but COH is in the past now, and Matt has moved on. (Note: In Matt's most recent Twitch appearance, he did say he would consider working on another Super Hero MMO and it sounded like he had given it some thought, as there would be many concepts, mechanics, and features that could be improved on when building from scratch.)
By the 50-minute mark, the crew and guest have discussed Torchlight 2's mechanics, story, and general features and generally feel it's a great game. (Not much feedback from Posi on TL2.)
Borderlands 2 is better online, everyone agrees. Posi wouldn't even install it until he knew friends had begun playing. A podcast co-host describes single-player in both Borderland games as repetitive, and describes the story as "not great". (Note: I haven't played Borderlands 2 but I actually highly enjoy single player mode in Borderlands.)
A co-host has been sucked into Tale Tell Games' game, The Walking Dead. Says it is a great game. (Note: I haven't played, but I can vouch for Tale Tell Games, they make great adventure games. The Wallace and Grommet games were hilarious.)
At this point, I had heard about 1/3 of the entire show and had to stop listening. Anyone feel like taking notes on some more minutes?
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Quote:I think this goes much deeper than politics. It's actually all about corporate greed and mismanagement. When NCSoft turns off the servers at the end of November, we won't just be losing a game. We'll be losing one of the most amazing, spectacular, astonishing, uncanny zombie apocalypse simulators known to man. Magic zombies, science zombies, technology zombies-- you name it, City of Heroes has it. But City of Heroes doesn't just illustrate how a zombie apocalypse might happen; no, it takes it one step further, and teaches us what you need to fight such a threat.Originally Posted by I Burnt The Toast
Well that didn't take long at all.
That's right. Super heroes.
NCSoft isn't just taking our game away. They're taking away an educational tool and in so doing, they're putting the real world in danger when the zombies come. -
Dated Saturday, October 27, 2012 [full link here]
Quote:[Read the full story here]A group of virtual superheroes helped to raise over $8,500 in a 24-hour gaming marathon over the weekend.
Dedicated gamers from the soon-to-be-sunsetted City of Heroes community took to their PCs to raise funds for a variety of hospitals who support very ill children.
By Monday morning the 49-strong team from City of Heroes had raised $8,618 as part of the Extra Life charity drive.
Each member raised money for their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital, a network of 170 hospitals where thousands of children are treated each year, regardless of their family's ability to pay.
Those who were unable to take part in the gameathon made sure they were in game to support their allies, supporting them by joining teams, running task-forces and occasionally shouting at them to keep them awake as tiredness started to kick in. There was also support from the games many in-server radio stations, including The Cape and AFK Radio.
Although hugely successful, it was a bitter sweet event for the community who are still reeling from NC Soft's decision to close the game on November 30.
Despite a spirited campaign to dissuade NC Soft from wiping out eight years of history and creativity, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
There's a component underlying this story that I find truly heart-wrenching: if things were different, we would have had more participants, more focus, and could have done so much more. I don't want to make this about NCSoft's actions--that would be in bad taste. But I just have to say it--this was a truly irreplaceable thing we had. What other MMO community has been this giving? We're not just losing a game and community. We're witnessing the loss of the brightest candle I think an MMORPG community has ever provided the real world with.
Grats for a job well done, heroes.
Every single one of you deserves a statue, or a plaque, or a badge. Maybe someday, in some virtual universe, someone will honor what the heroes of Primal Earth and Praetorian Earth did for Earth.
/emote salutes. -
But it would be nicer if they didn't discuss other NCSoft games.
You've pointed out how these forums were never all that sunshiney to begin with. You know, I actually agree. But within Virtue, I did have a bunch of really nice friends and those friendships were years long. Believe me, there are people around here who are losing something. Well, everyone deals with loss in their own way. Not everyone is like you. You shouldn't just have an objective understanding of that--you should feel a responsibility toward consideration. And you're swinging that big "DEALWITHIT" banner of yours around in a place that has been special to City of Heroes fans for eight long years.
People will be coming here in these final days to commiserate over the loss of everything they found worthwhile here, whether it was a link the game provided to far away loved ones, or the new friendships they made, or some rough times the game helped them through. What you're doing is in bad form, plain and simple. Even if you're not pouring salt in these peoples wounds maliciously, you're still exhibiting antisocial behavior.
I can guarantee you that even if I were playing GW2, I would not parade my happy pretendy fun times around this eight year-old community for the same reasons I wouldn't try to hook someone up with a date at their departed wife's funeral. You might think that's an exaggerated analogy, but if you do, it only tells me you haven't been reading many of the personal stories of our community members here.
You've sought to justify your behavior in previous posts and I don't expect you to stop, but if you can shove your point of view down our necks in post after post, I'm sure you can stomach a little bit of the same in return from me. And before you bring the Titan Network up as some kind of justification for your own bad form, please recognize that there are many different people here. Like you, I do NOT support generating negative press purely as a vengeance tactic (I supported it when it could have been used to save City of Heroes). The difference here is that I didn't become hugely inconsiderate just because someone somewhere started doing something that I don't wholly approve of.
I'm glad people are having fun in GW2, and I wish Arenanet all the best. But it doesn't mean that I don't recognize thread titles containing "GW2>CoH" as unfair and unfriendly to many readers of these forums.
