ClawsandEffect
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Posts
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Quote:You still don't get my point.Originally Posted by Twigman
B in this case ... so would ebay, craig's list, etc. Sale or trade of a product automatically makes the maker of the product copable ... every company that allows online sale should be worried.
Ebay and Craigslist are not the owners of the products being sold on their sites. They are nothing more than glorified classified ads. They have no IP or trademark rights involving the products sold on their sites. And they have measures in place to prevent people from being scammed on their sites.
It is entirely different for City of Heroes, because the product being sold by a third party is actually something owned by them. If they said it was okay for a third party to make a profit selling something they own and fraud results from that, they are responsible for it.
The point is hammered home even more when you think about the fact that the product being sold by these third parties is something that can be used within their IP and ONLY within their IP. You can't buy influence and take it to a different game, and you can't have it shipped to you so you can stockpile it in your hall closet. It only exists as a number within an online game.
Now, you've already outed yourself as someone who buys from RMT sellers. No one who doesn't would be this strongly in favor of it being allowed.
I'm pretty much done with this argument. It's pointless because you keep arguing against perfectly valid reasons why NCSoft and Paragon Studios will never embrace RMT sellers.
It has nothing to do with "fear", and everything to do with the fact that NCSoft and Paragon Studios have absolutely nothing to gain from doing it, and the potential to lose quite a bit. It makes no sense for them to do it. -
Quote:Pretty basic point of trademark law.Originally Posted by Twigman
Again, answer F pls
If you do not defend your trademark when people infringe upon it, you risk losing the rights to that trademark.
Allowing a third party to profit from something you own the trademark on, without giving them express permission to do so falls into the category of "not defending their trademark"
If they look the other way and let the goldsellers operate, they are neither permitting them or actively fighting them.
If they come out and explicitly say it is okay to do, they are effectively allowing fraud to occur within their IP. IF even ONE case of credit card fraud can be traced back to a goldseller that operates in the game, they could be in deep.
Their current stance is the ONLY stance that protects them from the negative repercussions of this issue. -
Quote:It's the reverse for me. The character came first, then the forum handle. The character Claws and Effect predates my forum registration by a couple months.Originally Posted by Leo_G
Lol am I the only guy that didn't make a character named after their forum handle?
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Quote:My main and namesake is in semi-retirement these days. I still dust him off when new content comes out so he can run it first, but I usually focus on other characters.Originally Posted by shaggy5
Did anyone completely switch their main? Go from a tank to a defender or whatever?
For a while my BS/DA scrapper was my de-facto main since I played him more, but the Claws/Regen is still my #1. -
The guy writing that article seems kinda like a doofus.
He can't beat an EB with one of the most overpowered ATs in the game?
He wants the ability to have 2 primaries added to the store? Yes, let's have our tanks circumventing the things that are supposed to be weaknesses in their armor sets. Let's have the ability to have a blaster with nothing but AoE attacks. The potential for brokenness goes through the roof with that idea.
Yep, he's a doofus. -
Quote:Please explain to me how a company risking serious charges by allowing a third party to sell pieces of their intellectual property they have no rights to can possibly be "a positive step in a good direction". Because that's the situation.Originally Posted by Twigman
I don't remember dismissing it. Or stating it couldn't happen, I said that if the FBI went after a company that tried to make a, I believe, positive step in a good direction. I'm disappointed. It would also show how much fear is in the hearts of the United States.
At bare minimum the servers would be shut down for the duration of any investigation, regardless of the end result. That's because it is standard procedure to shut down any site when the owners are being charged with internet fraud. They're hardly going to let a company continue to commit fraud while they're being investigated for it.
Do you know why the Marvel lawsuit of a few years back happened? It happened because Marvel HAD to pursue legal action in order to defend their trademark rights.
By allowing a third party company to use their intellectual property to profit from, without any rights or royalties being paid to he owner of that property, the owners of said property are essentially forfeiting their rights to it.
Marvel had no choice but to sue, regardless of the outcome, or their ownership of their trademark rights would have been called into question.
Same thing here.
Not only would Paragon Studios, and by extension NCSoft, be risking their game being forcibly shut down, they would also be running the risk of losing their rights to it if they allow a third party to sell pieces of it for profit without making any attempt to stop them.
Are any of those things especially likely to happen? Not really. But they'd have to be insane to risk it just so other people can illegally profit from their game.
It's murky and difficult to follow, but what it boils down to is that it will NEVER be a good idea for Paragon Studios to embrace and/or encourage gold farmers. Your belief to the contrary is, I hate to say it, completely irrelevant to the issue.
No, that's not true. I didn't hate saying that at all. -
Quote:Every time you respond to me, you make it very clear that you do not fully understand how serious things could get for the developers of CoH if they allowed those companies to do business within their game.Originally Posted by Twigman
Letting us talk about bad and GOOD sites would stifle the scammers and bring the companies that just perform a service to the surface.
If the FBI did that, I would be sorely worried about the intellegance of the people of the nation. Making changes for long term good shouldn't be stifled. Letting evil be hidden in the shadows, doesn't protect anyone.
Me: a dark alley that many people get mugged in ... lets put a street light down there.
Community(it seems): NO!!! Just tell your kids not to go down there.
Me: Wouldn't a light scare the scum away?
Community(it seems): Why change things? A few a month are no big deal.
That sounds more like a "I don't care if you're scamed" approach to me.
You keep talking about gold selling being legal or illegal, but that isn't the issue at all.
The fact of the matter is it isn't about whether goldselling is illegal or just against the ToS of the MMos involved. It's about the fact that a number of the RMT sites are KNOWN to engage in credit card fraud. Now, you may be unaware of this, but credit card fraud is a serious and very punishable crime if you are caught doing it.
If the developers said "Go ahead and sell stuff in our game", they are willingly and knowingly enabling people in a foreign country to commit credit card fraud against their own customers.
The Internet Crime Division of the FBI takes a very serious stance on things like that. As far as they (and US law in general) are concerned, allowing the goldsellers to do business unopposed makes Paragon Studios just as responsible for any credit card fraud that occurs.
Since they can't go after the goldsellers themselves, they are left with the choice to A) Do nothing and allow the crimes to occur unchecked, or B) go after the responsible party they CAN go after....namely, Paragon Studios. Now, since this is the FBI we're talking about here, which option do you think they'll choose?
It is a situation that, at bare minimum, will lead to the game being shut down for being the tool through which the fraud occurred. It also has the very real possibility of the developers being sent to prison for it.
For the record, this is NOT me just making crap up to try and prove you wrong. This is what can, and more than likely WILL happen if the devs decide that goldsellers should be allowed to do business within the game that THEY own. -
More to the point, and explanation of exactly why gold sellers will never be welcomed by the developers of the games they peddle their "wares" in:
I guarantee you that the Internet Crime Division of the FBI is aware of exactly how much credit card fraud is perpetrated by these companies on a daily basis. But, since the physical location of he person committing the crime is outside their jursidiction, there is nothing they can do about it.
Now, if Paragon Studios took leave of their senses and said "Sure! Go ahead and sell stuff in our game!", what happens next?
It does not take a rocket surgeon (or law student) to figure that out.
Since the companies selling the stuff in the game are known to the IC Division of the FBI to be committing credit card fraud, suddenly Paragon Studios is willingly and knowingly enabling them to commit a crime. That makes them an accessory to credit card fraud on a massive scale. Since Paragon Studios is physically located in Northern California, they DO fall into the IC Division's jurisdiction, who will probably jump at the chance to punish someone for all this crime they are helpless to stop.
End result? The FBI forcibly shuts down the servers the very next day pending a full investigation. Knowing how long those things take, it is likely NCSoft will cut their losses and leave them shut down for good. Additionally, it is also possible that our favorite dev team will spend some time in jail, possibly a significant amount if it can be proved that they were knowingly engaging in credit card fraud.
Not good for the game in any instance. Even if the FBI allows them to bring the servers back up, how many people are going to trust them with their credit card information from that point forward?
So, in spite of how "harmless" you keep claiming it is, allowing these companies to operate in the game stands a very good chance of killing the game, practically immediately.
Why do you think the online sale of in-game items is prohibited by the ToS of every single MMO on the market that caters to an American playerbase? The scenario I just gave you is exactly why. -
Quote:I would bet a week's pay that the "good experiences" you refer to are simply cases where the company hasn't sold that credit card number YET.Originally Posted by Twigman
Again, You only hear about the bad because the good expiriences won't be talked about for fear of being banned.
It's just common sense to wait before you start screwing with someone's credit card. If they used it to purchase in-game items from you, chances are they've used it on other online purchases. If you wait 6 months or a year before you sell the number, they will be much less able to pinpoint who ripped them off, because they will have used that card dozens of times since then.
NCSoft allowing RMT sellers to do business in their games is essentially telling their customers "We don't care if you get ripped off and thrown into a mountain of debt you can't do anything about"
Not the best business policy. -
Quote:When I was running trials regularly, I converted them all into threads so I could unlock abilities in as few trials as possible.
What do you usually spend your Emp merits on?
I'll probably do the same with any future ones I obtain until the character in question has everything I want, then I'll spend them on whatever looks like a good idea at the time. -
Quote:Good to remember.Originally Posted by StarGeek
One thing to remember is that the actual difference between the level 25 and the level 50 is only 3.9%. That's not 3.9% defense, that's 3.9% of whatever defense the power gives. If, for example, the power gives 10 points of defense, the difference between the two IOs is 0.39 points of defense.
What I would do is: make any other LotGs in that power level 50s, so you can get the maximum amount of defense out of it, and make the +Recharge a level 25 so it will function while exemped (this assumes you don't care about the rest of LotG's bonuses below level 47) -
Quote:Willpower or SR paired with anything but Electric Melee or Super Strength.Originally Posted by eth_Nargy
I can't think of a single powerset combination that wouldn't benefit from hasten.
Once you acquire enough global recharge to run the chain you want Hasten is literally useless to those characters. The only time Hasten would even be useful for them is if you cannot achieve your desired attack chain without it.
Willpower only has 2 click powers, one of them is unaffected by recharge, and the other is the most universally skipped power in the set.
SR gives you Quickness to aid in getting a good attack chain, and once you're soft-capped Elude is redundant. Its only other click power is Practiced Brawler, and if you can't perma that without Hasten you have bigger problems with your build.
I only have a couple characters that have Hasten: My Claws/Regen scrapper and my Rad/Sonic defender. I have a lowbie Regen brute that will bet getting it, and my Fire/Kin controller might get it at some point if I don't see anything else I want at a later level. -
Quote:Incorrect.Originally Posted by Smiling_Joe
Shadow Maul/Pendulum/Cleave/Eviscerate/whatever are all cone-based powers that are targeted around the target of an attack and not a player-based cone (like Vorpal Judgement). They take PBAoE sets.
Spinning Strike is NOT a cone. It is a circular AoE that is centered around the target of the attack. Unlike a cone, if you target is close enough to you, you can indeed hit something behind you.
It works just like Fireball or Ball Lightning, just with a much shorter range. -
Quote:No, it stays unlocked forever.Originally Posted by Congelateur
and if you are premium, unlock mastermind, go VIP, and go premium again... will you have to unlock Mastermind one more time? XD
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Quote:Yes, unless the VIP account is of a high enough tier to have lifetime access to it. If you then purchase access to masterminds, you will retain access to them no matter what status your account is in.Originally Posted by Goatrider
Ok so lets say I have a VIP account with a mastermind that I drop to premium. Do I lose access to the mastermind? I'm assuming yes...but that seems extremely stupid...anyways...
I would assume you get everything associated with being a VIP for 1 month. I think it is dependent on the friend you refer purchasing at least one month of VIP service as well, but I'm not sure.Quote:When you refer a friend what exactly do you get? Do you get 1 month VIP, 400 points, server transfer, and 1 reward? I'm confused on that part for sure...
Yes, if you have more characters than you have available slots, as in the situation of being VIP and making 6 characters, but only having 4 slots as a Premium. Every time you drop to Premium after having been VIP you will get the chance to re-allocate your slots.Quote:If I was premium, went VIP, went premium again are my unlockable slots reset so I can redistribute them? -
Quote:This.Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
The simple fact that the devs let you play at all when you don't have a subscription is reward enough.
You get to play, for free, the same game I've been paying $15 a month to play for a little over 6 years now.
And you think you're entitled to get something I DON'T get on top of that?
I don't think so, chief.
This is the worst case of entitlement I've seen on the forums lately.
"We get to play for free, but that isn't enough. Give us MORE stuff for free!!!"
Pathetic really. -
Quote:See my post immediately above this one.Originally Posted by Phynixx
Furthermore, what crime is being committed here?
Selling credit card numbers on the black market is a crime. And why wouldn't they? They'll never be punished for it, and they don't make any guarantees to the people they sell the numbers to.
The only person that loses is the one who was dumb enough to give them the card number in the first place. Most of them will not accept PayPal because PayPal can track the transaction and block all future transactions to that account. -
Quote:True.Originally Posted by Hopeling
Gold sellers aren't businessmen, they are criminals. These sites don't do legitimate business, they should not be supported in any way. I'm not sure how they operate here, but in many games they don't even earn the stuff they sell, they mostly take it from stolen accounts and/or manipulating the economy on a large scale.
They do have farmers, but a lot of what they sell is stripped off of accounts that paid them to PL their characters. Which are then used to spam other people until they get banned.
They also engage in the practice of selling the credit card numbers they get on the black market to Russian or East European criminals.
And as I previously mentioned, the vast majority of them are in China, which makes it impossible to prosecute them. Basically, once you've been dumb enough to let yourself become a victim, there is nothing anyone can do to help you.
Buying from RMTers is just stupid, but plenty of people do it anyway, which is why they're still here.
Hilarious how people will spend more buying influence than they would have spent unlocking the features they could use to earn it themselves. And then get their accounts banned when they get hijacked to spam people with.
The funniest part? When that happens they blame the GAME for it instead of their own stupidity. -
Quote:Which, ironically, also means they have nothing to spend the influence on in the first place.Originally Posted by Dr_MechanoEU
However, F2P people don't get access to that unless they buy it, hell they don't get access to the Auction House unless they pay for it.
And they can only carry 25 million at a time. 50 million between both characters. -
Quote:It's impossible.Originally Posted by OMGMOREDEBT
I do believe in the past with some game service that they actually drag people into court for this type of thing. Because they're selling what technically is not theirs to begin with.
The overwhelming majority of the RMT spammers are in China, which means you have to get permission from China before you can prosecute them.
And China isn't going to allow them to be prosecuted because it's a lucrative business. -
Quote:You shouldn't feel cheated.Originally Posted by Soul_Bender
Thank you all for your responses. I guess it breaks down to me being misinformed. I'll give the GR expansion a try and see if I like it (have no choice, can't return it). I do feel a little cheated.
It is clearly spelled out in the official game information that buying Going Rogue on a Premium account does not grant you access to Incarnate content.
You being misinformed by another player is in no way the game's fault.
You can do things like side switch and acquire Alignment merits (which is one of the best ways of getting expensive IOs available) You also get access to 4 new power sets with the purchase (I think), which are: Kinetic Melee, Demon Summoning, Dual Pistols, and Electric Control. If you only have one or two characters that you play, it also effectively doubles the amount of content available to you. -
The driteria is pretty much based on:
A) Finding a game breaking bug that the dev team had never seen before.
and
B) A dev deciding whether the bug was serious and obscure enough to warrant the badge. -
Another issue you are probably having without realizing it is you are attempting to use Ultra mode settings on a rig that says it can handle it, but really can't. I ran into the same problem with my old rig. It was running an Nvidia 8600GS and it told me in the log in screen that I could run Ultra mode settings, and I tried it and found that I couldn't get much past slightly better than default settings before running into lag issues.
Ultra mode is intended for people with extremely high end gaming rigs, it gives mid-range models fits, even if it says you can do it. -
It's 10 Charged Bolts that fire independently of you and cost you no endurance after the initial casting. Not as useful when there are many enemies distracting it, but it's a great DPS boost when you have a single target.
Sure, it takes 3.1 seconds to cast, but how much cast time is 10 Charged Bolts? 10 seconds? Because that's what you get for the 3.1 seconds you spent casting it.
So, 6.9 seconds worth of cast time you don't have to spend to get 10 attacks, and you get 10 attacks that are completely unconnected to anything else you may be doing. If you fire your own Charged Bolts along with the Sentinal you are effectively doubling your damage output.
It's actually a great power for an Empathy defender, they can focus on healing and buffing the team and still get to contribute damage via the Sentinal doing it for them.
What's the problem again? -
Hawk and Jade both leaving at once?!
This upsets me
Upsets me even more that I'm just now finding this out and wasn't able to say good bye in person.