CuppaJo_NA

Introducing the 2nd Annual Paragon City Film Festival! This year it’s bigger and better, and we challenge you to demonstrate your cinematic skills by creating a City of Heroes short film to be judged in the following 5 categories: Best Action, Best Comedy, Best Animated, Best Live Action and Best Overall.

Last year you dazzled us with short films that showcased your ingenuity, ability to entertain, and most of all…your love for City of Heroes. Who will be the next great CoH auteur to walk away with exciting prizes like a Toshiba RS-TX20 TiVo®/DVD-R, an Apple iPod 4 GB Mini, a coveted City of Villains Beta Test spot, and more! For complete submission details, please visit our Official Contest Page.

Croatoa. It’s a name that conjures up images both mysterious and fantastical. In Issue 5, be prepared to enter a new enchanted realm of supernatural danger, where myth becomes reality and ancient legends walk the earth. Croatoa is a place steeped in old magic, ruled and contested by witches, Red Caps, Fir Bolgs and the Tuatha de Dannan. Any hero who faces these creatures in the wooded depths of Croatoa will know the true meaning behind the title, “Forest of Dread.”

For complete details on what Issue 5 will bring to City of Heroes, including a new Croatoa Task Force, new power sets, mission customization, new zone events and much more, please visit our Issue 5 Preview Page.

Croatoa. It’s a name that conjures up images both mysterious and fantastical. In Issue 5, be prepared to enter a new enchanted realm of supernatural danger, where myth becomes reality and ancient legends walk the earth. Croatoa is a place steeped in old magic, ruled and contested by witches, Red Caps, Fir Bolgs and the Tuatha de Dannan. Any hero who faces these creatures in the wooded depths of Croatoa will know the true meaning behind the title, “Forest of Dread.”

For complete details on what Issue 5 will bring to City of Heroes, including a new Croatoa Task Force, new power sets, mission customization, new zone events and much more, please visit our Issue 5 Preview Page.

The pop phrase of the moment is “That’s Hot!” And that’s what Serge, the head Icon tailor is looking for—female hero fashions that are hot, stylish and so very chic. We will choose several models to walk the runway for Serge in a swank fashion show to be featured in Issue 5 of the City of Heroes Comic Book You know your hero meets and surpasses those modeling standards, so why not grab a screenshot and make believers out of us? Or if you need to, give your hero a makeover at your local Icon store and have her come on out. We know you’ll be tempted to send in more than one hero, but we can only accept one per forum account—so make sure you take the time and get that outfit just right!

Post a link to your screenshot(s) in this thread to submit your entry. Please include the hero name and server name in your post. If you need somewhere to host your image, try imageshack.us – a free image hosting service. Again, only one entry per forum account. Please do not post comments to this thread. This thread is for submissions only. All duplicate entries, multiple entries, and comments will be removed. The closing date for entering is 6/30/05 at 11:59 pm Central time. Be fabulous darling!

Legal Info -

You acknowledge that NCI, Cryptic and their Game Content providers have rights in their respective Game Content under copyright and other applicable laws, and that you accept full responsibility and liability for your use of any Game Content in violation of any such rights. NCI, Cryptic and their Game Content providers grant you the right to use the Game Content for noncommercial, personal purposes, including in connection with creating fan fiction or fan web sites regarding the same. However, you acknowledge and agree that you shall not reproduce, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, publicly perform, or transmit any Game Content for commercial
uses without first obtaining the express written consent of NCI. For
clarification purposes only, ³derivative works based upon² Game Content are works that are substantially similar, both in ideas and expression, to the
Game Content. If a work created by you or someone other than NCI or
Cryptic (or their Game Content providers) is likely to bring to mind the Game Content, then it is likely that such work is a derivative work of the Game Content, which may not be used for commercial purposes.

You can upload to and create content on our servers in various forms, such as in selections you make and characters and items you create for City of Heroes, and in bulletin boards or similar user-to-user areas (³Member Content²). By submitting Member Content to or creating Member Content on any area of the Service and/or throughout the world, you (a) warrant that your Member Content is your own original work, which does not violate any rights of any third party (including, without limitation, any patent, copyright, trademark or other intellectual property right, or any privacy, publicity or publishing rights), and (b) acknowledge and agree that such Member Content is the sole property of NCI and Cryptic Studios and assign to NCI and Cryptic Studios all right, title and interest, including copyright, in and to the Member Content. NCI or Cryptic, in their sole discretion, may edit and modify the Member Content. To the extent that NCI cannot claim exclusive rights in Member Content by operation of law, you hereby grant (or you warrant that the owner of such Member Content has expressly granted) to NCI and its related Game Content providers a non-exclusive, universal, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicenseable right to exercise all rights of any kind or nature associated with such Member Content, and all ancillary and subsidiary rights thereto, in any languages and media now known or not currently known.

The pop phrase of the moment is “That’s Hot!” And that’s what Serge, the head Icon tailor is looking for—female hero fashions that are hot, stylish and so very chic. We will choose several models to walk the runway for Serge in a swank fashion show to be featured in Issue 5 of the City of Heroes Comic Book You know your hero meets and surpasses those modeling standards, so why not grab a screenshot and make believers out of us? Or if you need to, give your hero a makeover at your local Icon store and have her come on out. We know you’ll be tempted to send in more than one hero, but we can only accept one per forum account—so make sure you take the time and get that outfit just right!

Post a link to your screenshot(s) in this thread to submit your entry. Please include the hero name and server name in your post. If you need somewhere to host your image, try imageshack.us – a free image hosting service. Again, only one entry per forum account - only one costume per hero. Please do not post comments to this thread. This thread is for submissions only. All duplicate entries, multiple entries, and comments will be removed. The closing date for entering is 6/30/05 at 11:59 pm Central time. Be fabulous darling!

Legal Info -

See announcement post here.

Our friendly hero FrostByghte at Coldfront got a chance to ask Positron a few great questions about City of Heroes and City of Villains.

Check the interview out here and read a few juicy tidbits on playstyles, PvE vs PvP, and base tech in CoV.

Thanks Coldfront!

There’s a new blockbuster movie in town and it’s set to break all box office records this summer. Fresh from his victory in last March’s City of Heroes Marquee Contest, director and writer Zemeron brings his award-winning epic story of war and betrayal, Rise of the Council: The Broken Column, to theatres across Paragon City.

To quote the Paragon Times: “A new blockbuster film makes its worldwide premiere in Paragon City. This is THE movie of the summer! Prepare yourself for the epic Rise of the Council: The Broken Column, a chilling tale of betrayal, war and crime. Written and directed by Texas native Zemeron, and starring the legendary Fractured Dawn, this powerful drama is no ordinary summer flick. While it has its share of stunning action sequences, it also brings a sweeping epic feel and uncommon depth to the subject at hand. An extraordinary achievement!”

“It’s an absolutely magnificent work. Not since a young Scorsese have I seen such blazing talent in front and behind the camera. Forget bats, dark lords and alien invaders—Zemeron’s Rise of the Council: The Broken Column is the real blockbuster of the summer!” – Paragon Entertainment Magazine

“Rise of the Council: The Broken Column is a masterful epic that chronicles the emergence of a truly evil organization. It’s absolutely riveting. Major kudos to Zemeron and his star Fractured Dawn for producing such fine work.” – Film Spotlight Starred Review

“Congratulations to Zemeron for creating the definitive Paragon City crime drama. It’s a timely cautionary tale that both entertains and informs. It’s Fractured Dawn’s best role to date. Four stars!” –Roger Kael Hunter, Paragon Times Film Critic

Looking for more information about the game or the developers? These two recent interviews should help!

Our beloved Melissa Bianco (Designer - CoV) delivers a great interview with Gameinatrix.com in their "Women Who've Got Game" interview series.

Up All Night Gaming has an eight part interview with Jack "Statesman" Emmert from Wizard World covering a multitude of topics including CoV and upcoming City of Heroes changes.

Enjoy!

NCsoft and Cryptic Studios are pleased to be taking City of Heroes on the road to one of the oldest and largest gaming conventions in the world — Origins International Game Expo 2005!

The show runs from Thursday, June 30 to Sunday, July 3 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, in downtown Columbus, OH. Cryptic Studio’s Creative Director and an Origins Guest of Honor, Jack "Statesman" Emmert, will be on hand to give a sneak preview and run “Play with a Creator” game sessions of our upcoming City of Heroes tabletop RPG from Eden Studios. Also included in the four-day event will be various panels, discussions, game sessions, exhibitors and much more.

Schedule:

Thursday, June 30

11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

“Superhero Campaigns: The Villainous Mystique”

Game Designers will be discussing the challenges of creating a campaign based on roleplaying villains, rather than heroes.

1:00-5:00 p.m.

“Play with a Creator”

City of Heroes RPG game session with Jack Emmert


Friday, July 1

2:00-4:00 p.m.

“Play with a Creator”

City of Heroes “Live from Origins” LAN Event, featuring Jack Emmert as “Statesman”

5:00-6:30 p.m.

“Superhero Campaigns: Grand Cosmic Adventure vs. Gritty Street-Level Justice”

This panel will discuss the differences between these very different superhero campaigns and ways to successfully implement each.

7:00-11:00 p.m.

“Play with a Creator”

City of Heroes RPG game session with Jack Emmert



Saturday, July 2

9:00-10:30 a.m.

“Just Cause: Superheroes and Social Relevance”

This panel will discuss the use of superhero comics to shed light on social issues, the impact of these efforts, and where to draw the line between editorial content and entertainment.

2:00-4:00 p.m.

“Play with a Creator”

City of Heroes “Live from Origins” LAN Event, featuring Jack Emmert as “Statesman”


Sunday, July 3

12:00-1:30 p.m.

“Superhero Campaigns: The ‘Just Us’ League, or Having Fun with Ineptitude”

From the Legion of Substitute Heroes, through several incarnations of the Justice League and beyond, slightly silly heroes are fun to read about and fun to play. This panel will seriously discuss the lighter side of heroic RPGs. Can anyone say “Ambush Bug?”

1:30-3:00 p.m.

Guest of Honor Presentation, featuring a moderated Q&A, a forum for honorees to talk about their interests, and an opportunity to field questions from the audience.



What is Origins?

From the Origins web site: Origins International Game Expo is one of the largest and longest-running game conventions in the world. Started in 1975, the show celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2004, and it continues to grow in both size and importance. Players of any kind of game will find a place at our game tables. Manufacturers and publishers come to Origins to show their best and newest wares. Tournament organizers host their finals and championships at Origins. Most importantly, the finest players in the world come to Origins to compete and to share their love of games with a fellowship of players the likes of which they simply won't find anywhere else.

For complete show times and more information about Origins 2005, please visit the Origins 2005 Official site .

We hope to see you there!

There is an ancient conflict being waged all around us—an invisible psychic war being fought for our very survival. At the forefront of humanity’s defense are the paranormal warriors of the Modern Arcane Guild of Investigation (MAGI). In a continuation of the “Beyond Contact” series, the Paragon Times features the MAGI liaison Azuria and her agency’s role in the great struggle. To read the full article, please visit this week’s ParagonTimes.

Villainy is more than the mindless pursuit of chaos and evil. When undertaken with ruthless perfection, it is grand art of an exquisitely dark and seductive nature …do you have what it takes to conjure up brilliantly wicked prose? Can you peel back layers of grammar and extract those sanguine jewels of pure menace? Can you do Lord Recluse’s bidding in a manner befitting his evil grandeur? Exalt his cruel ambitions? If you can, NCsoft wants to hear from you. We’re looking for a talented writer and editor to fill the position of Web Content Editor for City of Villains. For a full description of the job, please visit our jobs page. Good luck minion!

*thwack*

Walks away whistling "Don't fear the reaper..."

Please use this thread to post details regarding your Supergroup on the Virtue server.

Include the following information:

* Supergroup Name:
* Website (if any):
* Leader or Recruiting Officers:
* Preferred Method of contact: (ingame email, regular email, Forum PM, SG website, this forum, etc. Be specific)
* Guild Description: (Motto, membership requirements/guidelines, and any other information that might help a hero decide whether or not to apply to your group.

The servers will be brought down at 2pm central time to apply a patch that fixes the game server crash issue. Thank you for your patience!

In a world of villainy, who can be trusted to maintain order among the anarchy? In her latest journal entry, Ghost Widow contemplates the role of Lord Recluse’s mediators, the mysterious Arbiters.

We have a solution for you!

You can use the following link:

https://secure.plaync.com/cgi-bin/pl...mo_coh_mday.pl

to login to your account and get the buddy serial code tied to your account for the buddy promotion.

Send the following link to your buddy with the serial code from your account -

Buddy Link

Here is a link to the contest rules. You knew you could win a CoV beta slot right?

Contest Rules

Hope this helps!

For this ongoing special feature about the various governmental, law enforcement, civil, and military contacts that heroes encounter throughout the city, the Paragon Times received unprecedented access to personnel files, official records, and extensive candid interviews. To read the first article in this series, please head on over to the current Paragon Times.

Join NCsoft and Cryptic Studios at the 2005 Wizard World Philly Convention June 3 – 5.

The Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia will host a variety of exciting events and activities featuring the City of Heroes universe—including the new Top Cow CoH comic book series, live CoH play, a preview of the character creator from the upcoming City of Villains, and trivia contests offering a variety of cool prizes.

Cryptic Studio’s Creative Director Jack “Statesman” Emmert will also be conducting a talk on Friday from 2:00 to 3:00PM (EDT) in room 105. Entitled “Designing MMO Games for the Modern Gamer,” Jack will be detailing the challenges of bringing a Massively Multiplayer Online Game to life for today’s demanding (and discerning) gamer.

The convention hours are as follows (all times are Eastern Daylight Time):

Friday 10AM – 6PM
Saturday 10AM – 6PM
Sunday 10AM – 5PM

Wizard World Philadelphia, June 3 - 5, is part of the Wizard World nation-wide comic book and comic book related convention world tour, hosted by Wizard Entertainment Group, publisher of Wizard, ToyFare, Inquest Gamer and other fine entertainment and hobbyist magazines. For more information about Wizard World Philadelphia, please visit WizardUniverse.com.

We hope to see you there!

Excited about Expansion #5 coming to CoH? Want more in-depth info on the recently released Expansion #4? Here’s your chance to ask Jack "Statesman" Emmert, Cryptic Studios’ Creative Director and CoH Lead Designer, all about CoH’s present and future. Jack will be front and center in Stratics IRC chat on Tuesday, June 7th (3pm PDT/5pm CDT/6pm EDT) to discuss Expansion 4 and the upcoming Expansion 5. This chat is for CoH related questions--sorry, Jack won’t be entertaining questions about City of Villains at this time.

Just tune into #StraticsHoC on Stratics IRC. For those with Java installed, Stratics’ IRC HoC Java Chat applet will allow you to automatically join #StraticsHoC by entering a nickname and clicking on the Chat! button. Otherwise, you can connect to the servers by using either mIRC, pirch, Ircle, one of your favorite Linux chat clients, or one of the Java applets listed on the Stratics site and entering one of the following servers:

Stratics.frws.com 6668

irc.glowfish.de 6668

Stratics.afraidyet.net 6668

irc.stratics.com 6668 (re-routing to one of the above servers)

The critics have spoken! The nominees for the prestigious Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2005 have been announced, and City of Villains has received not one, but two, nominations for Best Role Playing Game and Best Online Multiplayer Game. Click here to view a list of all nominees. Congrats, Cryptic Studios!

Computer Gaming World (CGW), which describes itself as “The PC gaming authority”, is featuring NCsoft’s City of Villains on the cover of the soon to be released July/August issue. The cover story takes up 10 pages and includes game play images, concept art and exclusive from Cryptic Studios’ Creative Director Jack Emmert.

City of Villains, slated for release in the second half of 2005, is a stand-alone sequel to City of Heroes, which was CGW’s massively multiplayer game of the year for 2004. The cover story, authored by Ryan Scott, reveals much of the fiction behind the Rogue Isles -- the game’s setting, and the back stories of the signature villains, including Lord Recluse, the leader of villain group Arachnos and ruler of the Rogue Isles. The story also includes as yet unknown details of the villain archetypes and base building and customization.

In addition readers will see an exclusive interview with Mark Waid, the writer of the new City of Heroes comic book as well as an overview of how City of Heroes has transformed itself beyond a virtual game to the tangible world of licensed games such as Heroclix miniatures, cards and pen-and-paper role playing games.

Attention Heroes Choice Award Winners

If you have not already sent me your mailing address (postal) and name for your certificate - please send me a PM with the info.

If your SG won an award, your founder will need to send their address.

Thanks!

The sinister shadow of Shane Hensley was captured briefly by Xequted in an exclusive E3 interview. Who is Shane Hensley? Behold the evil mastermind (lead writer) behind the wicked splendor that is City of Villains. Head on over to the CoV media site and witness true villainy in the making.

The villainy is spreading…and everyone is noticing. Thanks to Gamespy for naming City of Villains™ Best MMO of E3 2005 after experiencing first-hand the Villain vs. Hero combat and amazing base/lair building functionality showcased at the Expo. As one of the reviewers stated “The whole base-building element of this game is what rockets it onto our list… Combine this with player-vs.-player super battles taking place within these player-built dungeons and you have something wildly different than what's available on most massively multiplayer games today.” For the full story, visit Game Spy's The Annual E3 Awards: 2005 article.

[ QUOTE ]
I'd like to be the first one to say..

Can I have your stuff?

Good luck Vyvyanne! We'll miss you!

[/ QUOTE ]

Heck no - those uber powers are MINE!! Mine I say!

Thanks Vyvyanne for always being there to answer questions and test things out. Most of the time when I told a player I was "checking with QA" that meant I was checking with you.

Paragon will miss you, the PCC will miss you, and I will miss you on my team.

You have truly made this a better game, one bug at a time.

And, of course - DING! Gratz!