Clintonian

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Ok, some Dvd questions...
If I purcahse the dvd version, can my current characters on my current account get the new effects?
Can I buy the dvd and get the effects if my computer doesnt have a dvd drive? IE is it an account number? or do I actually need to reinstall CoH completely over from the dvd?

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The short answer is that there is a serial number that you input on your current account, making the new effects apply to existing and new characters.

But Flux is right, Dev Digest is a place you should check every couple of days for a few minutes. It would have taken less time to type your questions to get your answers.

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We're going to be dipping into missions of ALL levels and improving the art, AI, etc. with every Expansion. There's a bunch in Expansion 3.

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Just improve the exp.

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I have to laugh as well.
I have been working with Photoshop for over a decade, I can't create new tile sets in 10 mins. Give me a week or more...maybe, MAYBE.

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Just because you are bad doesn't mean everybody is, no?
And it does seem annoying that some things are not fixed for ever while they add other things. Of course one would assume the graphic people are not programmers.

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*sigh*
With all the threads picking this game apart fairly and unfairly, you feel compelled to sternly naysay in an obviously fluffy 'kudos' thread?

Hope you have a better day tomorrow.

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Was I an idiot when doing the first respec? Well, it's been known to happen...

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I don't think people are idiots for using up their Respec's. I'm just surprised at how people are using up a finite option so cavalierly when the game is going to evolve so much over the next year. Maybe I'm one of the few who plans on still playing my main ocassionally year from now.

(Wincing slightly as I imagine still playing one game for so long that isn't a Sid Meier strategy game. This is the first time I've stuck with an MMO for more than 6 months.)

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(I'm about to use my 3rd respec at lvl 44, but will wait for issue 3 if required...)

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[censored]? I'm baffled. This is the second or third post I've seen today saying, "I've used up (or about to use up) all my respec's. Or you going to raise the level cap or add more more Respec's?"

Why are people using up all their Respec's in quick succession? The feature has been existant on the Live servers for less than 2 months and players have rebooted their builds 2 and 3 times? I Respec'd my character once to familiarize the process and swap out a power. I'm actually having buyer's remorse because he wasn't gimped originally by any means.

Are people just getting lazy when they are building their characters, now that there is Respec to correct sloppiness?

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i am however tired of being a second rate citizen of paragon in terms of availability of new content.

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If you haven't raced to 50 yet, you have reams of new content already.

to bhamnite1:
The dev's have been talking about Epic Power Pools since July. It's not as if they were springing them on you all of a sudden. Train up or don't. More than few people I know are holding off training until Issue 3 comes out, or playing with alts and are just fine with the evolving nature of MMO's.

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I've used my lvl 24 and 34 respecs so, guess I'd be SOL.

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What was going on with your scrapper that required 2 respec's in less than 2 months?

It seems like the hiccup in Update 2's implementation of lower-level content has completely soured it for you forever. The higher-level stuff has had it's problems as well.

Bad day?

edit:
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It's looking more and more like the developers don't care about anyone under level 20 that plays.

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By the way, that's a false exaggeration.

In other news, Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE symbol: TIN) declared a new dividend of $1 per share, payable to shareholders of record Dec. 1, despite concerns over reports of tin foil poisoning.
Link

The CEO stated today, "Tin is safe. I eat a little tin everyday for my colon. Anyone who says tin is unhealthy is crazy."

"All your base belong to us," he added.

Paranoid and defensive much, Karon?

(They should warn people about tin-foil poisoning.)

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odd, when i checked that screenshot of the V.I.P badge it said something different to me.. or am i crazy

VIP BADGE

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Brilliance.

Nice. I'm sensing that the Update is nearly ready for the test Server...

Maybe. or not. or $5 extra. or $7.50 extra. or (pinky up) "ONE MILLION DOLLARS!".

We just don't know, and likely won't know until some time after the holidays.

Just a correction:
CoV is playable as a standalone. It will link up with CoH and share certain zones. CoV will definitely cost $15/mo if you are not currently subscribed to CoH. It has NOT been determined whether one will pay $15/mo or more than that to subscribe to CoV simultaneously with CoH.

(Pushing any past static aside)

Hey, any notes from talking to the Cryptic folks? There were juicy pearls dropped during the summer conventions during panels and whatnot...

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Might have been mentioned in another place but I am curious. City of Villians is going to be a seperate game, not an expansion of City of Heroes? I've read little about it but I was under the assumption that this was going to be an addition to what we are already playing, i.e. same servers, same characters just new selections to choose from.

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I compiled a set of links to articles/interviews where CoV comes up and also pulled salient quotes for people who don't want to go click-click-click-insane.
Read here.

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I heard it gives you 30% resistance to untyped and psionic damage. Also, it makes pie.

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Holy crap, before this starts any rumors, I posted that AS A JOKE. Please please please don't believe that it actually does that. The VIP badge does nothing.

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You can't take it back now! Now, now we have hopes! Dreams! Hopes and dreams centered around resistances! And oh so glorious pie! It's the Age of Aquarius!
(strips clothes off and runs away to dance and sing in the park)

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Fizban, please cease this mindless trolling and reserve comments for when you have something constructive to say (if that ever happens).

We have legitimate complaints about endgame content. This is not baseless whining. We have nothing to do, and cannot be expected to have to reroll 7 times and slowly trudge through the same missions repeatedly. There needs to be more reason to play a level 50 character.

Instead of the this knee-jerk blind advocacy of the doctrine of "the devs can do no wrong," why not try to see if maybe the high level gamers can maybe have some content added to make our experience more enjoyable.

Responses such as "You are playing too fast," "You are playing too much," "Quit whining and enjoy content," "Play another game," etc, are worthless.

Has anyone once tried to sympathize with people who want to continue to play their level 50 characters? Why are powergamers and end-gamers so despised by so many people? We like to play a lot and we like to be rewarded for it. What is so bad about this?

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Sometimes, trying to explain something to someone who wont listen is very difficult. Rest assured, sooner or later those who state that there is no problem will reach lvl 50, get bored, come here and post numerous complaints.

Eventually, they'll see. Might take a while, but it will happen. Unless they get bored and quit sooner.

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No, really, we get it. We just don't remember when they promised us something to do when we maxed out our characters. Some people think the "I'm 50 and bored" complainers are whining because there is no broken contract between you and the company. They have not promised any new content once you've maxed out your character. Statesman has stated that level 50 is the cap for the time being - no plans to raise it.

I'm sure they will continue to gradually add stuff to the ENDGAME (that word has 'end' in it - could it mean something?), but nothing radical until CoV comes out this time next year.

"NEXT YEAR?!?"
(sound of self-inflicted head wound)

I have since made a post that pulled pertinent quotes from several sources and the links to the original articles/interviews where a dev let slip some of their thoughts on how CoV is going to work.
Read here.

I think they have good numbers-crunchers. Literally hundreds of people in beta submitted posts about themselves and all their friends not signing up for the game at launch because of the UNTHINKABLE monthly fee of $15/mo. Anything more than $7 - $9 was price-gouging and would amount most people not re-upping their subscription after the free month.
(steps to the left to avoid a piece of sky falling)
Yet the game is wildly successful, and filled with content customers.

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on top of charging the standard $39.99-$49.99 for the software to play what is essentially the same game with new goodies in it?

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How do most FPS get away with it is a better question. At least with CoV, we're getting new game mechanics, new powers, a whole new city to adventure in...

But I see your and everyone else's point about not getting crazy with upping the fees. There are few games out there that charge as much per month (there are other games out there that charge as much, mortiana), and I think the bean-counters will come to the right decision for the company and the players.

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Let's just hope I3 is tested a LOT more than I2 was before official release.

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Issue 3 is in internal test already. QA reports suggest that it is already better than sucktastic. Your mileage may vary.

-jg

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Gaffer for teh win! All your Issue belong to him!

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Difficulty sliders wont mean anything to the lvl 50s, dont look forward to lvl 50 guys there is no raid content or actually ANYTHING to do after you have all the badges/accolades which is basiclly just going back and killing grey mobs over and over.

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Listen, Balron, you've been complaining about no content for your maxed-out buddies, 'carebears', the lack of PvP since June or July. Give up the ghost, man!

PvP in MMORPG's isn't as popular as you think and certainly isn't that popular with the majority of CoH players. In fact, it's even less in demand now than at release because most of the hard-core PvPers have already moved on. The 'Arena' module won't be available until Spring '05 for Hero vs. Hero PvP. Epic ATs and Epic Power Pools are just more non-PvP content, so it's dead content to your crowd. Beta for CoV - the holy grail for the PvPers - isn't going to start until April/May '05 with Live release around Fall '05. You are scr ewed. Totally scr ewed.

{Note: I started this hours ago, but got interrupted by RL and I don't want to have to cut and paste this again if someone else hasn't stepped up with links and quotes. If this is repetitious, please don't think I intend to be pedantic. }

It is my understanding (looking around for the quotes) that Hero bases and Hero vs. Villain PvP will be available to CoH without purchase of CoV - the purchase of CoV opening access to Villain PvE adventuring in The Fallen Isles and Villain vs. Hero PvP, with Villain bases and likely some sort of Villain vs. Villain PvP as well.

I realize that the confusion as what "expansion" means in relation to CoV is where a lot of confusion and misunderstandings are coming from.
An early design blurb for E3 dated 5/17/04
pertinent quote:
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City of Villains, the first pay expansion slated for a 2005 release (there are unconfirmed rumors are circulating that October 2005 is the date), brings a brand new style of play to the table and some exciting twists to the current CoH formula. As is obvious from the title, players now get to experience how the other half lives. Player villains don’t start out with fully functional power sets as their heroic counterparts, but instead must work their way up from being a common thug in order to prove their worth as a criminal and be recruited by a member of an NPC villain organization. An example of one such organization that players can be a part of is S.P.I.D.E.R. (Second Phase Infiltration to Destroy Empires’ Resistance). All villains start out on Fallen Isle, a remote island similar to Bermuda. Once the player villain proves his worth and becomes part of a NPC villain group, the villain group “empowers” the thug with superhuman powers. The player then is able to choose an archetype/origin. The available powersets for villains are planned to be similar to those available to heroes currently. City of Villains also introduces optional PvP elements to the game. Jack firmly believes that players should never be forced to do anything in the game that they don’t want to do. He feels the method by which PvP is incorporated in the expansion is a “fun, fair choice.” Additionally, headquarters functionality will been added for both hero and villain groups, and an even more interesting feature that Jack shared with me was the addition of great cosmic and supernatural power items that supergroups can acquire to either protect or use for more sinister purposes. Groups that have these items leave themselves open to attack from opposing forces who wish to relocate the item.

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CoV quotes from a pre-Update 2 interview
pertinent quote:
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GD: There's also the City of Villains expansion...

JE: That's due out next year. Obviously, you get to be the bad guy, and it's going to be when we introduce PvP (player versus player) on a large scale in the city. We'll probably be introducing it in an arena sooner than you think... but basically, it's where players get to be a supervillain.

GD: Is it an entirely different game?

JE: This is one for the business guys, but let me tell you how I want to design it: It's going to be a standalone game, so you can buy City of Villains and play it and interact with the players in City of Heroes, but you just can't be a hero -- you can't build a hero and you can't go through the hero track. It's one subscription fee -- $14.95 a month regardless of whether you have City of Heroes, City of Villains, or both.

GD: And that'll all be in the same world?

JE: We'll be opening up new areas of the world that you won't be able to get to unless you own City of Villains.

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Here's the quote that people will use to correct me when I said somewhat confidently that Hero bases will be available even if one doesn't buy CoV:
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Highlights from Statesman Radio interveiw at this web site.
http://mmoradio.gameamp.com/news/viewNews/390.php
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[Inhibitor] And you're not fooling me, you just wanted to make sure the Infinity Gauntlet ended up in the game. But, and I've got a million questions coming in, but I do want to clarify something you just said there. You did say that starting with City of Villains, we would have the Supergroup headquarters, which sound like they're going to be a very integral part. Is that going to be specifically associated with City of Villains? In other words, are you going to have to buy the box in order to get an HQ?
[Statesman] That's kind of a business question, which I'm not sure I can answer at this moment. But certainly it's a feature that we know that we want in that box set. As for whether it would be available to heroes even if they never bought City of Villains, I couldn't tell you right now. I just don't know the answer to that.
{snip}

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So I may be overreaching on the bases being available to Heroes sans CoV, but you've got some info that demonstrates where several of us are coming from when we seem unjustifiably trollish to wild suppositions and doomsayers. There is a record of the dribs and drabs of info. It just gets harder to find as time goes by.

So even though you would continue getting the free regular 'expansions' to CoH that would not be available to villains, be able to set up SG bases and indulge in Hero vs. Villian PvP, and you (I assume) enjoy playing CoH, You would still dump CoH on principle if they wanted to charge an extra $5/mo to run CoV concurrently with CoH? I can see electing to NOT buy CoV, but to wash your hands entirely of it all? Interesting.

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Besides, $30 a month usually isn't in the budget of most people who play this game. .(those that get their parents to pay or young working people paying for themselves.)

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Who commissioned the poll that told you that?

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It's called common sense. The age range for most people that play this game are kids to young adults, with a minority in adult customers. Parents aren't going to pay $30 a month just so their kids could waste their time playing some time consuming MMO when they could be studying or doing something else constructive to their development. I certainly wouldn't even pay the $15 for my kids to play MMOs, knowing the addictive qualities and detrimental side effects of it firsthand, if I had kids that is.

If you really want to be anal about it we could find online polls for this I'm sure. There are many studies done on the nature of MMOs and its subscribers.

Either way the point of this post is moot, it has been explicitly stated that you won't have to pay extra for CoV, end of discussion.

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Heh. The average age may be trending lower now, but the biggest demographic that bought into the game at launch was comic book fans and they trend much older than most MMO's. You'll find that the majority of first-round CoV beta invites go to a 24 to 54 age range.

I agree that discussion of the monthly fee is moot at this early date, but there is nothing more than an 'intent' stated by Statesman to not raise the fee to play both CoH and CoV. There's a lot of wiggle room there, and when the time is right people should express themselves rationally.

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Good point, Clintonian, and thanks for clarifying.

This begs the question then, will CoH be around $30 mark in the spring or shortly thereafter? And, if so, will CoV be the same amount? SWG hasn't been out that long and it's been downgraded in price. Since it has been then that explains why the new Lightspeed expansion is the same price.

Any thoughts on this anyone?

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CoH is already down to US$40 from 49.95. It might come down more in December or January after the special dvd edition boxset has been out. CoV might come down in price before release, but it's still being pre-order solicited at 49.95. Remember, CoV is standalone-playable, which is different from SWG: Jump to Lightspeed. I'm wondering about some sort of rebate for current CoH players, but we really won't get financial details until well into beta next year.

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On a similar note, CoH is almost twice as much to purchase than other MMORPG's. Just today I saw SWG ( original and Lightspeed ) and UO for $29, while CoH was $59 ( Canadian prices ). They already get basically a free month out of us compared to those other 2 games with similar monthly fees.

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Current SWG and UO prices now do not reflect their prices at release. All MMO's are discounted after month's and years as they offset the initial development costs. CoH's current price is not demonstrably more than SWG and UO in the first 6 months of release.