EMpulse

Hi everyone.

Just wanted to take a moment to let you know that we're currently experiencing some short, intermittent connectivity issues that are requiring a server reset to resolve. We apologize for any loss of connectivity to the game that you might be experiencing as a result of this. Please note that our technical teams are aware and hope to have these issues resolved soon. In the meantime, as always, we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Please be aware that at 1:30pm Central Time on 10/16 the Freedom Server will be reset to address resent map server crashes. Freedom may be unavailable for approximately 30 minutes while this occurs, but we hope to have all issues resolved upon it's return to production. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Hi again.

Here's an update on this morning's game outage:

All effected game servers were in fact restored to service by approximately 1:30am Central Time except for Pinnacle. Pinnacle experienced an extended downtime but should now be functional. Please note, however, that a rollback was necessary in order to resume service, and therefore, players returning to the Pinnacle server will find the game in the 'state' that it was approximately one and a half to two hours prior to the outage. We sincerely apologize for the rollback and any loss of game progression/time that you may have experienced.

Players may also currently be experiencing slow message board performance in association with this morning's issues. Please know that we are aware of this and doing what we can to return board functions to a normal performance level.

Thank you all for your patience on this very rare occasion. Your understanding nature in situations like the one we have experienced this morning, is most appreciated.

Hi there.

We experienced a server outage at approximately 1am Central Time on Thursday morning that may have disconnected a number of players from CoH and caused a 15-30 minute downtime. The issue is now resolved and City of Heroes should be up and running appropriately. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciated your patience while the game was unavailable.

Thank you all for your interest in joining the City of Villains Streetwise Team. Due to an overwhelming response, the available spots went quickly and Streetwise has over- filled their quota for the time being. For this reason, the sign-up link has been removed from this message board. Again, thanks to all of you, and we promise to keep you updated on future opportunities as they become available!

-NCsoft & StreetWise

Greetings!

The first Ask A Developer thread (featuring Manticore) has been posted here. We look forward to receiving your questions!

Click here for more information about the Ask A Developer series.

Thank you all for your interest in our new Ask A Developer series.

Our first issue focuses on the infamous Manticore! Below you will find his bio and we welcome you to post your questions below this initial post. Ask as many as you’d like, but please try not to go overboard…for example, if you start spamming this thread in an obvious attempt to be funny or silly, your posts will be removed and you run the risk of having action taken against you…so please be considerate!

Other than this post, the rest of this thread is intended for questions only! If you post anything other than one or more questions, your post will be removed. Thanks for your cooperation with this – for the Forum Mods need to be able to review all the listed questions quickly and effectively without having to wade through additional text.

We appreciate your participation! Here’s Manticore’s bio. We look forward to seeing your questions!!!
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CODE NAME: Manticore

What is your role in the development of CoH and/or CoV?

I am a Senior Designer here at Cryptic Studies where my primary responsibilities fall under the broad categories of Story Director and IP Manager for City of Heroes and City of Villains.

As Story Director I manage the internal writing team (We call ourselves the Fiction Force) who write the Mission, Story Arc and Task Force content for the games. I am also responsible for the initial designs for many of the Characters, Villain Groups and Zones that you will find in the games. Working with NCsoft, I help coordinate the City of Villains and City of Heroes website updates, including writing Ghost Widow’s journal.

In the role of IP Manager I work on all of our licensed properties. That has included designing the dials for our HeroClix™ figures from WizKids Inc., coming up with the story concepts for our novel Trilogy from CDS Books, helping write and edit our tabletop RPG from Eden Studios, assisting in the design and writing flavor text for our CCG from AEG, and co-plotting and editing our comic from Top Cow– as well as writing a back up piece for Issue #6 that kicks off the story of City of Villains. I have a number of goals for our licensed properties. I want to unify our brand and to make certain that all the products have a high level of quality. We started that process by choosing excellent partners. I also want to find as many ways as possible to tie the products and the game together and for our community to feel involved. To that end characters that our players have created will continue to appear in the comic and eventually our other games.

How do you most affect the games?

I would say the clearest way I impact the game is through fiction. I have been in the industry for a long time and I have always been driven by character and story. Here at Cryptic Studios, I have been dedicated to pushing the story of our games since the first week I was here. When I arrived there was only one gang in Paragon City. I wanted something more even from the low level thugs of the game, so I created the Superadine Connection (The Family, Trolls and Skulls) and Smuggler’s Run (The Warriors, Outcasts, and Hellions) and their rivalry. I view our games as a big tapestry woven out of story threads that start with the player’s first contact and missions. I also locate continuity errors in the game (often with the help of players) and make sure they get fixed. I want the players to feel immersed in the game and its storyline. I am looking forward to our games tying together

Because I am responsible for the overall continuity for both City of Heroes and City of Villains I also end up having input in a lot of other places in the games. I work with the powers team and the artists to make sure the enemy’s look and powers fit their initial concepts, I work with the zone team to make sure the spawns and events support the background of the area, and I work with the systems team to help brainstorm ideas.

What would you like to say to the CoH and future CoV gamers (in general)?

I hope you enjoy the characters and stories of the games as they evolve. This game is a blast to work on and I truly appreciate all our fans. I will continue to do my part to give you all a great experience. Let us know what you think; we listen. We prowl the boards looking for your concerns and questions. We may not always give the answers you want to hear, but we try to provide information whenever we can.

Game on!

Hello Heroes!

Free Expansion Issue #5 ("Forest of Dread") content is now available for download on the Training Room Test Server. While the Issue #5 content is already active at this time, we will still be testing the functionality and content of this patcher prior to any Live Server release. This content will not impact any gameplay elements of City of Heroes at this time, as the content is already active on the Training room.

The download will begin after you exit your play session rather than prior to entering the game, and is purely optional – you can cancel at anytime.

Greetings Heroes!

Today we are starting a new series in the Developer Forum called “Ask a Developer.” This series will be similar to that of “Ask Statesman” except that this time, we will highlight a different developer with each issue. Here is the list of Developers (in order), that will be featured:

Manticore
Geko
Positron
Capt. Mako
War Witch
Statesman
Lord Recluse

Each issue will begin with a thread to solicit questions from you, the players, and will include a short bio of the developer that highlights their job function at Cryptic Studios. This should provide everyone with a better understanding of who does what, and allow you to ask educated questions that relate to that developer’s area of expertise.

A week after the intro thread for a specific developer is posted, the community coordinators from the United States and Europe will each choose 3 questions for the developer to answer (for a total of 6). Once these are answered, they will be posted for all to enjoy!

Look for the first in the series to begin tomorrow, 8/5/05 in a thread posted right here in the Developers Corner containing Manticore’s bio. Get your question-asking caps on, for we look forward to seeing what inquiries you come up with based on the information that’s made available!

Greetings Heroes!

Today we are starting a new series in the Developer Forum called “Ask a Developer.” This series will be similar to that of “Ask Statesman” except that this time, we will highlight a different developer with each issue. Here is the list of Developers (in order), that will be featured:

Manticore
Geko
Positron
Capt. Mako
War Witch
Statesman
Lord Recluse

Each issue will begin with a thread to solicit questions from you, the players, and will include a short bio of the developer that highlights their job function at Cryptic Studios. This should provide everyone with a better understanding of who does what, and allow you to ask educated questions that relate to that developer’s area of expertise.

A week after the intro thread for a specific developer is posted, the community coordinators from the United States and Europe will each choose 3 questions for the developer to answer (for a total of 6). Once these are answered, they will be posted for all to enjoy!

Look for the first in the series to begin tomorrow, 8/5/05 in a thread in the Developers Corner that will be posted containing Manticore’s bio. Get your question-asking caps on, for we look forward to seeing what inquiries you come up with based on the information that’s made available!