Electric-Knight
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:Originally Posted by Residentx10
F2P won't work here because we're too smart. Most of us know this about F2P and will move as soon as they try it...unless it's a whole new game from the ground up!!And his faith in the cleverness of the community is far too optimistic!Quote:Originally Posted by Smersh
Your predictive skills are amazing.
Can I have some winning lottery numbers while you're at it?
Honestly, (not seriously undervaluing the cleverness among the community) people jumping to conclusions would likely be a great negative to a long-lived game going F2P.
If those customers no longer need to spend money (or as much money) to play...
And they see this big change come in...
Their Doom Sense would be tingling like crazy...
And they'd be far less likely to throw more money into the new F2P model.
Now, I'm not one in favor of governing oneself by idiocy... Even if it is the most widely available resource... It is still an aspect to consider and approach cleverly, when/if making the switch to some F2P system.
While it certainly may not be true that the game would tank after 18 months of going F2P, the perception that this could be the case could make that the case. Or, more accurately, negatively impact the money coming in.
(Again, none of this has any agenda attached to it. I'm neither for nor against whatever this game goes ahead and does. I'll either continue enjoying it or not. This is all just for laughs.) -
Well, she was clearly also a rather valuable asset.
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Quote:Explain.Originally Posted by Residentx10
One more thing, this girl is "Handsome" not beautiful.
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The thing is, you have to sweeten the pot enough for the paying side of things...
Otherwise, all you're going to accomplish is making a lot of paying subscribers no longer pay or pay far less.
If I could play this game for free, but just not have, what? What would you gate?
I only play about once a week these days. Sometimes some more, sometimes, I actually miss my one day a week and don't play once... It's still worth the subscription to me, because I do feel like I get my money's worth (I enjoy playing with the costume creator, editing bases, doing this and that, even if I only have 30 minutes). I just don't currently have a lot of down time for my playing (it comes and goes).
I'm not the norm, of course, but you could very easily lose any money from existing customers if the free deal is too good.
So, as per the thread topic, explain what choices you suggest.
And I am genuinely curious. I could be wrong and/or not be thinking of some ways that others will present that I'd agree with. -
Quote:Originally Posted by Serpine
I had a weird thought about using the goggles in the new hat as the actual eyes of a character and came up with this... thing.
I'm figuring Illusion/Sonic Controller with some very vibrant power colors, but can't seem come up with a suitable name.
!!!!
Love it!!!
Don't know about a name. The idea of Barnum is cool, but he looks like he deserves a crazy name.
His face also almost has a look of an oriental dragon to me... really love that.
Maybe even a bit of a muppet...
I approve whole-heartedly.
If you end up not sticking with the character... I think I'd even take it on as writer/player, haha.
(Also, I still need to log on and make some costumes, as I said I would) -
I use [;] and have not run into any bugs with it for myself.
I remember when a patch (accidentally?) removed that keybinding and I re-bound it to start an emote... Some/most of my characters still use the bind that I gave it, so I don't know if anything weird has happened with it again.
I used to use "/em" before I learned that ";" did the job.
I will sometimes use double asterisks as well.
Perhaps rebinding your ; key in-game would clear your problems with it? -
Yeah, Energy Torrent is likely the best bet, but nothing exists that is perfect (or close to) for it (If you don't like the energy blast effects).
I had found a few videos with the Patron Pools on youtube, back when I wanted to make some decisions, but nothing that showed everything I wanted to see in great detail or anything (haven't clicked the links provided yet).
Anyway, this reminded me that, as soon as I began playing this game, I had a project in mind where I was going to put together a series of videos displaying every single power (primaries, secondaries, general, epic and patron pools... just excluding redundancies). While it was entirely to create a user resource, I was using a character of mine to do it as an in-character study of the documented powers that various supers have.
It was a large task. And I didn't get very far before Power Customization came out, which made it pretty much unneeded (and I was glad I hadn't sunk too much time into it... yay for putting off planned projects of silly!).
Of course, I was thinking that General, Epic and Patron Pools would be available to see and customize any day after Power Customization was implemented, hehe...
And now... I find myself wanting to have such full documentation of all of the Incarnate Powers and their effects as well... -
Yes! "Labor of love" and the perfect cast (and crew, it seems) for the show.
In my opinion, I haven't seen a show so perfectly cast and performed since Star Trek: TNG (probably more so in Firefly).
It just has that same feel where each and every actor is so thoroughly inside of their character (as are the writers). That back and forth, between writers and actors is where that can really manifest.
These rare cases of perfect ensembles always make me think of great tabletop role-playing groups I had the fortune to be a part of.
The players all leave the table, still heavily invested in and thinking about their characters. And each session is an amazing push forward in sharing, interacting and expending the characters, their mutual relationships and their adventures in the greater world.
Blah blah blah... good show.
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Yep, if you love it already, go grab the bundle of all the episodes, because you're just going to love it more.
I had a similar experience in learning about Firefly (as have so many!!).
I also passed it on to my family and many others. I have to say... while I think it is a clear case of stupidity and/or some sort of resentment against Whedon (meanwhile, I never cared for any of his other shows) and/or just your typical lame tv decision... I sometimes think we were better off for it being canceled.
It prevented it from possibly taking poor turns, never gave them a chance to get lazy with the writing or string on lesser ideas/plot-developments and/or become just another soap opera that you'd never be able to get into unless you started from the beginning, and who wants to as it seems so sappy now... type of show (not saying it definitely WOULD have).
More importantly... It being canceled led to them making an exceptionally awesome feature FILM!
Mostly, it forced the show to be a series that had a concise beginning and end. Something that American programming rarely accomplishes, as even the best can suffer by continuing on too long and/or stretching things out.
The best of stories have an overall arc and an ending (new beginnings, sometimes, for certain).
Anyway... I don't say this assuming that all or any of those things would have played out to the worst case scenarios, but the way it turned out was pretty flippin' fantastic, so I have no complaints about what happened (not giving credit to Fox for that though... without the movie being made, it would have been a ridiculously sad mistake to cancel that show... and the movie was made years afterward - so, it was a good thing for me that I didn't become a fan until after the movie was out).
Congratulations! -
Quote:My personal feelings would be mixed... sure, I'd be happy to not pay for it, but I'd be worried about how that would affect the game financially, community-wise and what evil plot I was being led into in order to actually get more money out of me than I was already giving.Originally Posted by VoodooGirl
If you could play this game exactly as you play it right now - for free - would you be angry or excited?
Mostly, I'd see this as a bad thing, because it'd mean that the game would suffer for it (unless it was just some miraculous charitable action, but still... the community and the game would likely suffer, so I'd not be happy).
Tough question, because I'm thinking that higher levels (maybe 35 or so) would be a prime candidate for locking behind pay.Quote:Originally Posted by VoodooGirl
If you could play this game for free from levels 1 - 50, with no gating, what do you feel would fall into the appropriate areas of having to be "paid" content/features?
I'm honestly not sure... More advanced systems, content and features... but I see problems arising from such restrictions. Acquiring such content individually, I think... But maybe joining them with others would be okay... but that's not much of a restriction. It's a tricky balance finding restriction that doesn't feel restricting. Meditate on this... I will.
Again, difficult for me to say, offhand, but, let's try... (I know that whatever any of us answers with, people will find major faults with it. I could list valid arguments against each and any thing that I list, myself, hehe. Doesn't make the answers wrong, nor the complaints right. Nor the other way around, of course. Simply put, you have to break eggs to make an omelet).Quote:Originally Posted by VoodooGirl
What do you feel would be areas/features you would "restrict" to having to pay for? Certain zones? Certain QoL features? Certain AT/sPowersets?
Certain Levels (cap at around level 30), AE creation and access, perhaps CoOp Zones (probably not worth limiting), Incarnate Content, Certain Arcs/TFs/Content, the Market... Huh... you could restrict the Tailor... that seems evil (especially to a costume creator addict like myself), but... maybe that;s some good enticement to fork over money.
Again, all under the idea of being able to pay the standard subscription fee to have all of this covered and available, zero extra charge. -
Quote:The first part was just to add to your experiences, nothing more (not saying you were wrong or nuffink of the sort).Originally Posted by VoodooGirl
Which is awesome! What I was saying was, in my experiences, I haven't seen many Trial Accounts go to Full Accounts, and if CoH were to flip to a F2P model, restricting "free" accounts in the same way that Trial Accounts - well - we'd basically have the same model we do right now, and the idea with F2P is to make the base game F2P (ideally) with few restrictions, depending on the F2P model. Add two to the Free Trial turned Subscribers category, hehe!
And, as for the models of Trial Accounts and F2P... I wanted to include TonyV's thoughts on this as well...
I understand what you're saying and agree, of course, about the vibe of being something akin to second citizens would be far less than desirable.Quote:Originally Posted by TonyV
Actually, if CoH went F2P, I think just the opposite. This applies to the whole "put them on their own server" idea, too. I don't like being treated like a Pavlovian dog. "To do anything meaningful, you must pay" isn't my idea of free-to-play. Instead, they should figure out ways to integrate new players into the community, not segregate and ostracize them. I'm not saying there should be no limitations on F2P accounts, only that they should be as transparent as possible. There should be no occurrences of I-can't-get-there-itis that plagues some games.
If I'm looking for team members, ideally, there should be no discernible way for me to tell a player is a F2Per versus a paid player. What difference does it make? Today, do you discriminate who you team with among people you don't know based on who has been playing longer than someone else? If someone doesn't have at least a 3-, 6-, or 12-month badge, do you not invite them? If so, you're in a very small minority, and you don't represent the community as a whole, who I've found is usually very welcoming to new players.
If they do gate missions, it needs to be classes of missions; for example, certain task forces. If I'm a F2Per, I just don't join those task forces. If I join others that aren't gated, nobody is any the wiser. Or have the gating be on features that aren't mission-oriented. That's already being done with the release of the bonus packs; certain emotes, costume pieces, and even powers (jump jet, ninja run, etc.) are only available if you pony up $5 or $10. If someone doesn't have the self-destruct power, do I care? I don't even notice. Yet I see it enough to know that it must have sold pretty well.
I think that one of the recurring problems I'm seeing in threads like this is that people are proceeding from the invalid premise that F2Pers are second-class citizens. In fact, they need to be thought of as any other player; potential future long-time friends and contributors to the game. You can't force them to fork over their money, they need to want to do so.
However, to me, the major sticking point is this:
I think any transition to a F2P model for a 7 year old game should leave the same business structure in place for already existing/paying subscribers (and, thus, for future ones, as well).
I say this, not out of potential angst that others get what they had to pay for for free, rather because you have a good base of paying subscribers with the existing model and any changes you make, you want to keep them happy... but you also are looking to improve things/income by luring new people in with free play (that is less restrictive than the current Free Trials, but more restrictive than the regular subscription) so that a solid amount of those free players decide to fork over cash to get more out of the product and actually benefit the game more by more than just providing a bigger population.
You don't want to make the game free so that all the current subscribers no longer have to fork over the money to play...
And you don't want to change the plan on existing subscribers so that they're now being nickel-and-dimed for what used to just be a simple/single subscription plan.
Thems my thoughts, at least (just for the what-if thought exercise. I am not convinced, at all, that any such changes need be taken... although, I think a better trial account system could become the pseudo F2P model that could benefit things... if/when things should be done to improve things). -
Quote:With all due respect to those responsible, you worded my thoughts and feelings about it perfectly, thanks!Originally Posted by Fomsie
...
What amazes me is when they produce packs like this with some fantastic art and options but then give a seemingly half hearted effort in implementation. Much like not adding certain items/patterns to obvious part selections, or making an effort at color/texture matching. Hopefully by being critical of these decisions during the test phase, instead of just accepting it or blowing smoke and claiming everything is sunshine and roses, things will be changed so that they expand the appeal instead of limiting it.
I do just wonder how/why such awesome work gets implemented within such limited selections. Fine, the gender models have obvious amounts of work attached to spreading the wealth across them... But it is the Standard/Masks w/ Hair/Full Mask options that baffle me when they only pick one... and so on.
I am honestly curious what the reasons are (we simply don't know).
And, yeah, when I express criticism, it's not just about changing this specific case, it's about trying to convey that overall stance for all other future (and past) elements.
Unfortunately... based on the amount of feedback in the past that touched on so many of these same criticisms on this pack... It doesn't appear to be changing anything.
Anyway... not doom and gloom from me in the slightest.
I'll make up for all this stuff from me by providing some other costumes tomorrow... first I'll have to make some!! -
Hey, thanks for popping in and sharing, Zwill! On a Saturday, no less!
I won't harass anyone over any criticism I have about the choices made on this pack like I did about the animal fur on flat feet, hehe... as that seemed like an actual mistake (I just didn't want to see overlooked) and these are design choices. We all have to make choices and sometimes it ain't easy!
Still, this pack is full of a lot of awesome! I just want those belt buckles and those striped gloves for male/huge models because they're awesome (and colorable hair for the hats would be awesome too).
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Quote:But VoodooGirl was just responding to people doing the same exact thing, but for the opposite side of the fence...Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
Exactly. You're starting with a sample size of one (1). A game that, admittedly doesn't have the same longevity, genre, or game structure that CoH does. And you're trying to apply your assumptions about it to CoH.
Simply because it has been characterized as a "success" for F2P.
Exactly.Quote:Originally Posted by VoodooGirl
The same could be said when assuming all of the negatives that have happened with other F2P MMO's would happen with COH if COH went F2P.
Anyway... I truly have no desire to see any such thing and, honestly, have a negative connotation attached to turning such a game into a free to play model.
And Forbin took my first answer...
Well played, sir.Quote:Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Well the first thing I would do is not call them F2P accounts to avoid the stigmata that is associated with them. Instead I would call them Trial Accounts and they would have the following restrictions.
Trial Accounts would last 14 days
Trial Accounts cannot email other players
Trial Accounts may not level past 14
Trial Accounts can only have 50k inf
Trial Accounts may not join global channels
Trial Accounts can only speak in
/local
/hc (the Help channel)
/team
Trial Accounts cannot invite players to team
Trial Accounts may join teams, but not invite other players
Trial Accounts may not join SuperGroups.
Trial Accounts may not create Mission Architect arcs. They can not interface with the Architect Entertainment Stations. However, they can be invited onto a team that is running MA missions.
However... I could see maybe making the Trial Accounts a little less restricted and treat it as a very limited free to play system, while not changing a thing subscription-wise and micro-transaction-wise.
The OP's suggestion seems a bit poor, as it gives a half-price luxury for subscribers... effectively costing the company money they'd be sure to get otherwise. I just don't think that the money you'd get elsewhere would make up for 50% off from the subscriber-base.
Oh, and VoodGirl... Both my wife and I were Trial Account users who enjoyed the game so much, we subscribed.
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I'd rather see the conversations about the coloring limitations in the feedback thread. Not because it is ruining this thread, but because I'd rather see all effort expressing this stuff and pointing it out and opinions and stuff actually put into avenues that are more likely to be read and possibly influence the artists.
And Henri, I thought that real steampunk could be any colored metal.
Nice silver, with a few bits of copper for accents would look terrific for a chap named Silversteam.
I don't think the genre is truly that limited.
And... Is brown hair also a staple of steampunk?
EDIT: To fix an accidental paragraph break and to say that I'm not trying to pick on ya, Henri! (All those other replies weren't there when I hit reply) -
Quote:Originally Posted by Xenophage
How'd you get that flight pose?Sorry I didn't see this yesterday, but yes, Blast Chamber took care of it!Quote:Originally Posted by Blast_Chamber
that is flypose2... maybe flypose3. you trigger it as an emote during flight...
/em flypose2
/em flypose3
(there are 4 total poses...)
And it is Flypose3 -
Quote:Yeah, and his brother, Leaping Lanny Poffo, was always introduced as being from there.Originally Posted by myskatz
I also didn't know he was from Downer's Grove IL.
And yeah, he was quite the athlete. Most seem to be more familiar with him in later years, when he was bigger and a bit stiffer. He was real fit, kinda slim and fast.
I designed a costume a long while ago that was half influenced by Macho Man's old look. I may have to break that out tonight. -
I was a fan of the WWF back when he first came in there.
He was amazing.
For those who understand and enjoy this entertainment aspect of old time pro wrestling, he played such an amazing heel. And, specifically, the character with the better than everyone else attitude, but who ran and hid and cheated and quickly ducked behind his female manager when things got a little too tough for him... he did it wonderfully, but more impressively he leapt and ran around with such agility and courage.
Seriously... He did things, that seemed as simple as a flick of the wrist to him, that were not exactly safe.
Just the way he'd exit the ring - he'd fling himself over the top rope and land on his feet on the cement below (they didn't have pads down there back then).
Even better... he'd place his opponent's neck over the top rope, and hold him down choking him on it... Then (as the referee would scold him and push him back away) Macho Man would race off the far ropes, run across the ring and leap over his opponent (still with his head and neck draped over the top rope), pull his opponent's head down onto the top rope for an extreme clothesline as Macho Man nimbly landed down on the cement outside of the ring.
Often times, he'd scoot back up and climb atop the ropes and leap onto his opponent again.
Most thrillingly, one of his signature maneuvers was to get his opponent outside of the ring... perch himself on the top rope and leap all the way down unto the ringside floor, nailing his opponent with a two-fisted double axe handle to their head (Air Superiority for the win).
And, of course, his trademark finisher...
With his opponent laying prone on their back in the ring, Macho Man would stand poised upon the top rope, arms raised high above his head before leaping higher than I'd seen anyone leap off of those ropes, landing down with his heavy flying elbow drop.
I can't tell you how many times I flew off of a diving board, mimicking that maneuver, haha.
I got to see him, with my Father, at a few live wrestling events in New Jersey and New York's Madison Square Garden.
I haven't watched any wrestling in years, but I always love thinking back on the wild entertainment I enjoyed from some of the more amazing talents back then.
He was my favorite back then... before he turned Good! (boo!)
I'll also never forget his comment after winning the Intercontinental Championship by punching out Tito Santana (via illegal brass knuckles that were hidden in his tights)... (And you may hear me quote it, in my best Macho Man impression, from time to time)...
"One big hand from the Macho Man sent Tito Santana to the promise land... OH YEAHHHHHH!!"
Thanks for the thrills, Randy "Macho Man" Savage.
I still have Macho Madness! -
I'll just share this to add to the collection of examples, but this was really just a sort of generic lemme see the new pieces... then I messed with it to make it a bit of a character.
A bit of a steampunk tinkerer:
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Quote:Great costumes on both!Originally Posted by Blast_Chamber
this one had the "Clunker: Trail" aura on set to blood red... sadly it looked like she was bleeding from under her dress... it was a nice touch of rage to the character, but not the rage I wanted.
And... haha... I noticed something similar with the aura colored brown...
I think there's an option for that aura with just the hands... might work well for her! -
Quote:Nice job and thanks!Originally Posted by Dispari
Dear Devs,
Please add these to the options for Male and Huge models:
Not doing so makes noooooo sense and really is a bit frustrating (And same goes for the coat that Male and Huge did receive).
Seriously though... these three things were things I saw in the trailer that I just cannot believe are female only. -
Quote:Are you the gate keeper?Originally Posted by Zwillinger
There's a known issue at the moment with allowing EU Characters to copy over to the Training Room. My sincere apologies and we do anticipate this being resolved at some point tomorrow.
Also, please note that there is no longer an EU Training Room, nor is there an NA Training Room...there is only Training Room.
...and Zuul.
Thanks!
- Z -
Also, for those looking for pics right away, there are some great shots in this THREAD showing off new costumes using parts of the pack!
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Just want to add my 1.375 cents...
Along with the consensus of being disappointed about the new bolero jacket not being available for females...
The males just have to get that belt buckle option as well... Seriously. I want to use an initialization that does not stand for Weekly Task Force.
Also... male's two hats... hair color... can't be changed... Not good.
I offered my feedback elsewhere, I suppose i could copy and paste it here, but for now I'll just say this:
Some really awesome and great looking stuff in this (the wings, the backpack and the auras are super fantastic and all of the artwork is very well done), but some extreme lack of customization really hurts this pack.
Still more pluses than minuses, but so much of this pack would be left to rust (get it?) for me, as I wouldn't be able to alter it to fit the character I'd use it for. -
Sure... we all know having 5 million dollars for humanitarian donations means you have 100k laying around for whatever business development a tiny segment of customers wishes for!
100k for base lovers, 100k for PvP, 100k for one of NCSofts BIGGER titles...
What a bunch of rotten "liars"...
Sorry, AA. You're adding A and X and insisting it equals Y.
I, for one, don't agree.
EDIT:
And to the rest of your post...
I get the disappointment. I do.
You're letting it frustrate you a bit much though (as I'm sure you know).
And yeah... it seems like base development is always on the list of future development, but always stays too far down on the list.
One of these days... the time may be right and it may get focused on.
Maybe not.
My situation is very similar, in regards to my logging in and finding enjoyment in base editing, as a wind-down from my hectic days/nights in a creative industry (musician).
I'd suggest that you relax about it, but I know that never comes off as right or friendly.
I've just decided to embrace the idea that we're never going to see any base development...
If/when we do... that'll be bonus/surprise.