Gangrel_EU
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Posts
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Joined
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Quote:I have all of the GLM files extracted out, so I have everything backed up. Also, i have the most recent PTS installer backed up as well as the last "installer" file... and the actual game install all zipped up.Originally Posted by Cardiff_Giant
You know I had TR installed on my Computer for a LONG time after it was shutdown, just starting up the client & watching the intro was somehow comforting... Or maybe cathartic?
IDK, but that alien drone-thing busting thru the billboard/advertising sign, and that whole intro clip are still awesome = I almost feel like going & hooking up the hard drive of that old computer and see if what I have left or TR on it! I know I kept what I could especially the all "Base 'loudspeaker' Announcements"... they were released together as a collection of audio files separate from the game - and maybe some of the notable NPC chatter too?
It's been 4+ years or so = I can't recall precisely. But they were one of the better parts that was salvageable and still funny long after i couldn't log-in anymore. *sigh*
Oh, and also the fansite packages (did you know that there was a difference between the EU and US fansite packages?)
Yeah.. i might have a bit laying around here. -
Quote:For TR they went F2P (as it were) so you could create an account and just play in the last couple of months of life in the game. Subscriptions were stopped being taken and so forth. With there being no Premium/VIP status it was easier to do as well (I would imagine), seeing as VIP status here actually confers as well VIP forum access.Originally Posted by Starsman
I think (but not sure) that Tabula Rasa opened up the game for everyone. CoH locked everything down so unless you had an account you cant do much.
Also, for Tabula Rasa the dev team was there till the end to craft an event. Here best we will get may be some lingering mod with powers not stripped away spawning lots of stuff on various zones.
And the lack of official TR forums helped on that side as well.
In terms of the end of game event, you are correct on this one... And the TR dev team had former devs come back to help out as well. Which is totally different to Paragon Studios where there is no one around to work on it. -
Quote:I thought you would be referring to that article however it is *slightly* incorrect.Originally Posted by Starsman
City of heroes is actually number 7. I would still make a case for 8 due to the us version of Lineage 1, but figured some would nitpick about that.
Dragonica (Known as Dragon Saga in the US) and Point Blank (Project Blackout in the US) are *still* running...
So how did NCsoft close down those 2 MMO's and yet they are still running? The only thing that they did, was similar to what they did with the US version of Lineage 1... closed down the servers in the region that they were dealing with.
And yes, in those 2 games as well, NCsoft were *not* exclusive world wide publishers for the game.
Side note: Dragonica has re-opened in the Korean market.
Above information is taken from the wikipedia entries for the relevant games. -
Quote:City of Heroes, Dungeon Runners, Exteel, Auto Assault, Tabula Rasa...Originally Posted by Starsman
It's the only company to have closed 6.
What is the 6th one?
And by closed, i mean *fully* shut down in all regions, and not just closed off in a region. -
Quote:Check on the Titan network forums, poster by the name of Ammon chucked something up concerning it.Originally Posted by Pebblebrook
Oooh, can you throw a link to that?
And dang, you sure only $3mil? Even if that's just the IP and not IP+studio, that seems too low to be worth the work to transfer ownership.
Only last year, Atari sold Cryptic to PWE for about $50mil but that's with 3 IPs and studio...but still even a third of that is over $16mil.
Cant remember the thread, but I know you can search by poster. -
Quote:Dont play games from Take 2, Electronic Arts, NCsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, CCP... basically any publisher that has dropped/Closed games studio's for any reason.Originally Posted by Quinch
The problem with this proposition is that NCsoft essentially puts ArenaNet in the role of a hostage, with a track record of killing its hostages anyway whether or not its demands are met. Supporting ArenaNet means supporting NCsoft - there's no way around it. As things stand, being under NCsoft's control means that regardless of their passion, creativity and dedication, in the end whatever support I want to give ArenaNet will only feed the vulture on top of it, until it decides it's time to rip its victim's throat out and move on to the next.
Oh, and 2K Games are on that list, as they are a subsidary of Take 2, so that is X-Com out of the window as well. -
Quote:It depends... NCsoft themselves have a lot of funds available in cash and cash equivalent reserves, so a crash in the stock value doesn't affect that.Originally Posted by DarkCurrent
If it doesn't pick up soon and continues the slide, would NCSoft cut off additional projects? Should Carbine Studios polishing their resumes?
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Quote:The reason why I brought this up, is because it is something to consider. Now the "TTD" anagram i picked up from the Eve Online developers, as to why they were not (at least at that point in time) not allowing automatic Corp Logo submissions.Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
Then it will be dealt with the same way that inappropriate characters, rude names and zone chat profanity that gets around the filters is now; via GM intervention.
In APB, there is no "submission". Custom overlay textures are downloaded/uploaded automatically when you enter the zone with someone. They're tiny, but granted they could be an issue in a raid/trial situation.
Also note APB is rated M.
I have no strong feelings either way if Theoretical New Superhero MMO is rated M or T, beyond that if M would more easily allow for player created logos etc I am in favor of that; I never felt our devs were restricted by the game being T for teen(beyond the Bodily Blast powerset we never got).
I ultimately side with player expression and allowing customization and creativity over an outdated and largely pointless ratings system. I feel it's down to parents to judge and enforce on their own where their children go. The 'T' on the box never stopped children from potentially seeing or reading something in CoH that their parents didn't want them to and ultimately it is still up to GMs to enforce 'good taste' no matter what letter they stick on the box.
.
Sure, you can get Alliance logo's, but they do have to get approved by CCP, and it can be several months before you get yours approved.
I do find it funny in that *those* developers of one of the most interesting/abusive/evil/thrown a rubicks cube and told to go "F yourself"/boring/not interesting/learning curve like a vertical cliff (delete as applicable) MMO's actually *thought* about the TTD problem. -
Quote:Good to know that you realised that your statement was kinda stupidOriginally Posted by Anti_Proton
Not arguing the absurdity of it.
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Quote:Then in that case, City of Heroes is Korean, Auto Assault is Korean....Originally Posted by Anti_Proton
I would say the association came from the NCsoft being based in Korea.
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Quote:Careful, because unless you want lots of complaining, you have to consider TTP.Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
I expect the next great super hero MMO have a costume creator on par with or surpassing APB's, only with a greater number and variety of costume parts.
Meaning we get to paint our own tights patterns, create our own tattoos and chest logos, all with extensive body and face sliders.
.
Time To *****
How long will it take before someone draws a dick or something else rude/explicit.
Unless of course, you want to police *every* single submission, or make it M/18 rated -
Heard about this when it was 1st announced (which was actually a few months ago!).
Have liked the cyberpunk setting (both the game *AND* what William Gibson et al have come up with ) for many years. Am intrigued by how it will work out as well as its "similar setting in crime" partner in crime (Shadowrun Returns/Online) as well. -
Quote:UK here... The last boxed set that was released that I am aware of was the Good Vs Evil one.Originally Posted by Defcon_Kid
I can't speak for other European countries, but I've been claiming for the situation here in Spain for years.
Lets put an example... while in other countries Issue 14 (Architect) had a boxed version, here we could be consider ourselves lucky if we could find a dusted box of City of Villains... release version! which means Issue 6!... meanwhile shelves got crowded with all the new games from Blizzard, Activision and EA. We had no Good vs. Evil edition, nor Architect Edition, and barely a few Going Rogue boxes.
And that's about boxes, you can imagine having hours (so to speak) of Blizzard, Activision and EA games advertisements on TV, while no reference at all was made about CoH not even in PC games magazines like PC Games or Micromania... lets add these magazines are not "n00b", are being published since 1994 or so, so they should know the ropes already, my guess is if they didn't say anything it's because NCSoft Brighton or NCSoft main offices didn't move a single finger regarding spreading word about the mere existence of this gorgeous game, at least here.
What was the situation in other EU countries?
Architect Edition and Going Rogue were never released as a boxed set for EU accounts.
I know that it was *incredibly* hard to find *any* of the CoX boxes soon after release (although strangely enough, at events that the EU offices attended and they had a merchandising stall, you could still pick up the CoV Collectors edition).
Apart from that, very very thin on the ground for several years. -
Quote:The last time i Worked in a game store was August 2005... and even then, i think my company had *30* in stock in over 300 branches. I know this, because I tried to get some transferred over internally for friends.Originally Posted by Father Xmas
They weren't widely available in US stores either. Last I saw some were two or three years ago during the holidays and only at one of the two Best Buys near me, they other couldn't find them even though their inventory system said they had them in stock.
And the ones that did have them had them in a locked display case with Wii controllers and Nintendo DS units, unlike WoW time cards that were in those lock plastic boxes but at least they were on the shelves where the PC games were located.
I do know that the EU office had some, because at the Omega Sektor 2008 EU event, the winners of Taskforce Omega (start at level 1, do all the Heroside signature TF's before the event ended) ended up with a years worth of GTC's *each* (amongst other stuff).
Any left after that? Dunno... but i wouldn't be surprised if they were thin in the ground with the company themselves. -
Quote:Agreed...Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
an alternate use for time cards would have been perfect
And even better would have been Time Cards being widely available in EU stores.
Haven't seen one for *years* -
Tannim, just wondering but is the file that you are referring to?
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Oh I do have problem with NCsoft and Paragon Studios...
Namely how their involvement with this years EU CoX playermeet, almost ended up in it being a catastrophy and being cancelled.
Kallandra and I started planning this years player meet between us in November of 2011. A few months later, we did the post up on the forums.
Zwillinger then got interested and suggested that Paragon Studios might be able to send over a developer or 2. We agreed to this plan, and started looking at larger venues, as the one that we had used for the previous 2 years was struggling to cope with the number of players that we already had, and if a developer showed up, it would have been overflowing.
So whilst we were looking at other venues, we got in touch with the marketing bods down in Brighton to see what they can offer to help out (maybe the hire of a larger venue, PC supplying if need be... generally just a feel out). We discover that the person who had *very* nicely helped us out for the previous 2 events, had since moved over to Carbine Studios.
Fair enough we thought, the person who replaced him could at least be brought up to speed, and might be able to suggest other things.
We waited.
We waited some more.
In April/May time, whilst we have been looking around at larger venues, we were told by the venue that we had used *last* year that they were moving to larger premises so they would be unable to host us this year...
We send more emails, asking what is happening. In june/july of 2012, we are starting to get worried. We have no venue booked, we have no idea what Ncsoft/Paragon Studios are planning to do, and we start to think about cancelling the event. We tell Zwillinger/Bod down in Brighton about this, and we receive an email a couple of week later, telling us not to do an announcement concerning the cancelling of the event.
Ok, maybe we might be able to salvage this. If they are telling us this, they have something in the works. A week or so later (mid july), we receive another email from Zwill saying that PS will not be able to send anyone over.
Great! At least we now know where we stand... time to look at another venue. We know we cannot use our regular haunt, because they were changing premises... hmm, this is getting shakey now... we *might* actually have to cancel.
Bugger.
Anyways, we receive an email at the end of *July* from the bod down in Brighton, that he was enquiring with the old venue about hosting us. *blinks* Now, this wouldn't normally be surprising but we had already mentioned in a previous email to them, that they were moving locations.
We wait for more info.
We wait a bit more.
In the end, we get in touch with the venue and ask "what the hell is happening? Has Ncsoft gotten in contact with you about the event". We receive the reply of "yes, we have told them how much it was, but we are waiting ot hear back from NCsoft as to what they want".
Hmm, interesting, this was something that we were not notified about.
Anyways, we try to find out the situation from NCsoft... no answer. In the end, we managed to use the old venue (thank god for them having problems getting the contracts signed so they could start moving).
To be fair, Ncsoft *did* send over a lot of posters, tshirts, pin badges, stickers, and Logitech dontated a few prizes as well, but we were only notified about this 1 week before the playermeet.
But, for christs sake, we (the organisers) were kept so out of the loop our stress levels were raising impressively. The delays in getting replies from Zwill or NCsoft were embaressing, especially as we were getting players asking us "What is happening, is the event still on?"
So yeah, I do have an axe to grind. It is that they (both parties) are *CRAP* at communication skills, especially when they initially say that they want to help out, and then don't tell you what the hell is happening.
And leave you waiting.
/derail -
Quote:No problem with this part, because this is how I am viewing it myself.
I suspect that Garriott's position regarding the open letter at trial was that it was a press release designed to present the departure in its most amicable light, but that he disagreed with its content and only signed off on it because he felt it was only marketing fluff.
I do feel that you are making a *wild* conjecture here. The full preceeding part of the complaint goes:Quote:Its obvious Garriott's position on the letter was that it was not an accurate representation of his position, and while he may have initially signed off on it, he clearly asked for its content to be clarified and not repeated as to his voluntary departure:
(from the original complaint).Quote:Though Mr. Garriott told NCsoft that it was mischaracterizing his departure and told NCsoft about the problems that the mischaracterization could cause, NCsoft refused to correct the misstatements.
(source: Pages 1-2 of complaint letter)Quote:In or about November 2008, Chris Chung, President of NCsoft's North American operations, informed Mr. Garriott that NCsoft had decided to "part company." Although Mr. Garriott objected to his dismissal, Mr. Chung insisted that the decision was final - Mr. Garriott had to go.
As Mr. Garriott prepared to leave NCsoft, however, Mr. Garriott learned that Ncsoft had internally re-characterized his termination by Mr. Chung as a "voluntary" resignation from the company. This mischaracterization had potentially profound and detrimental effects on Mr. Garriott's stock option: If NCsoft terminated Mr. Garriott's employment (which it did), then the option -worth tens of millions of dollars - would remain in effect until June 2011; but if Mr. Garriott resigned voluntarily (which he did not), then NCsoft might have terminated those option -worth tens of millions of dollars - unless Mr. Garriott exercised the options within ninety days of his departure.
Though Mr. Garriott told Ncsoft that it was mischaracterizing his departure and told NCsoft about the problems that the mischaracterization could cause, Ncsoft refused to correct the misstatements
Having read *all* of the documents, I cannot see any mention of them using the letter to mischaracterize his resignation... in fact, in the complaint letter, it looks like Mr Chung is being responsible all by himself.Quote:The case documents make clear that while Garriott may have initially signed off on the press release, his refusal to sign a voluntary resignation letter and his assertions that he repeatedly over time requested that NCSoft not characterize his departure as "voluntary" make it clear that letter did not represent his intent. The fact that NCsoft apparently used it to attempt to show intent when they had overwhelming evidence it did not represent his intent makes it at least a component of an attempt to defraud. Whether its a forgery in the legal sense of the word is a technical issue. It was clearly a) not written by Garriott, b) characterized as being written by Garriott, c) misrepresents his intentions, and d) misrepresents them in a manner that has been legally determined to be fraudulent.
1) Ms Powers (HR Manager) had also never told him that his departure was being classified as "voluntary" even when he enquired.
2) The CFO didn't know that Garriott was leaving when Garriott enquired about his stock options still being valid for 10 years.. in contradiction to Mr Chung saying that NCsofts upper management had approved his termination.
3) When Garriott asked Ms. Powers *again* about the classification of his termination she said she viewed it to be part of the involuntary reduction in force for the TR team. Infact, she hadn't classified it like that, and had instead put it down as "voluntary" after speaking with Mr Chung.
Ok, granted that was from the complaint letter (pages 9-10)... but it still doesn't mention the fact that the letter was used as a method of representing his resignation as voluntary.
by the way here is the full text of the leaving letter to the players of Tabula Rasa:
Source: Tabula Rasa website via wayback machineQuote:Fellow Soldiers of the AFS,
I am happy to finally be able to write the players and community of Tabula Rasa. We've been on quite a journey together. First in creating a game unlike any other on the MMO market, then growing a loyal community and finally launching the game and its players into space with Operation Immortality. It has been quite an unforgettable journey, one that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
I am very grateful to you loyal players for sticking around through what I think we can all honestly say was a rough launch. I thank the development team for pushing hard to get polish, updates and new content out every month since launch...a feat that I think is unusual in MMO development. They have a lot to be proud of.
Many of you probably wonder what my plans are, now that I have achieved the lifelong dream of going to space. Well, that unforgettable experience has sparked some new interests that I would like to devote my time and resources to. As such, I am leaving NCsoft to pursue those interests.
This news is difficult for me to deliver. I am honored to have worked with the team I've had and I'm grateful to the community who makes this game so unique and fun.
Thank you and farewell.
Richard "General British" Garriott -
Quote:The court case with Richard Garriott was *never* about the closure of the game though. It was over how his dismissal was classified and therefore being forced to sell his stock earlier than he personally wanted to.Originally Posted by LadyGrimrose
Basically, we move forward by educating people about NcSoft's track record. Facts are facts:
1) Tabula Rasa's closure was so horrid it went to court and Garriot was awarded $28 million.
Actually, going from what the developer himself saidQuote:2) The staff on Dungeon Runners had plans to save the game, but were ignored. (source: Dungeon Runners Website)Quote:We've been trying to figure out how to fix things for some time now. And, that's where things get sticky. We've got some ideas that could work. But, they're expensive to implement and pretty risky. Those two facts, coupled with the recent loss of some key developers, make achieving the success we seek pretty much out of the question.
Errr, City of Heroes is number 5 in the Western Market that they have shuttered.Quote:3) Paragon Studios and City of Heroes were given zero time to prep.
4) Five MMOs down the drain, City of Heroes will be number six.
Their track record is horrid. The fudge the truth. If you're thinking of buying a NcSoft game (with a monthly fee, one they don't even support properly overseas) be ready hear these words when they decide to pull the plug, "I told you so."
They have although closed down the *korean* server for Point Blank and Dragonica (the latter has since re-opened in that region). But as those games have multiple publishers per region, it is hard to know why they decided to shutter the service (revoke of license possibly?)
Dragonica is actually open in the Western Market (AFAIK, NCsoft *never* released it in this market) it has different publishers depending on where it is released, and it has also re-opened in the Korean market. -
Quote:There is a open world raid boss with 261million hit points.Originally Posted by Neuronia
WoW is a world of its own. That being said, friend that plays WoW told me they made a Kung-Fu Panda raid that needs 40 people because it has over a hundred million hit points...yeah. It's great that they have millions of monkeys pressing 12345 but when you're reaching the point of self-parody, might be time to take a step back and look at the game and see where it needs to go.
To be fair, there is a *severe* upgrade in quality of gear for the players, so you are dealing more damage as well... welcome to the world of player power inflation (like we have had as well). -
Quote:Would This be the file you are looking for?Originally Posted by JayboH
The PDF has been deleted - prob due to how much time has passed, but I remember it.
In that PDF file, it says:
And what he said during the appeals case supports this as well. In fact, it clarifies his side a bit more.Quote:Shortly after the "quarantine call," NCsoft prepared and present an "open letter" to Mr. Garriott, announcing Mr. Garriott's departure from the company. That letter was drafted by NCsoft but purported to be from Mr. Garriott to the Tabula Rasa players. The letter announced that Mr. Garriott was "leaving Ncsoft to pursue [new] interests." Though NCsoft's letter omitted details about the circumstances surrounding Mr. Garriott's departure, Mr. Garriott saw no reason at the time to object to those omissions, and he did not object to NCsoft posting the letter on the Tabula Rasa website.
Thankfully, I have now gained *another* link that I was originally looking for.Quote:Later that day, NCsoft sent Garriott a press release announcing his departure to Tabula Rasa fans. Garriott reviewed and signed the announcement, which stated that “I am leaving NCsoft to pursue [other] interests.” NCsoft subsequently prepared a resignation letter for Garriott's signature addressed from him to the company, but Garriott did not sign the letter. -
Quote:Errr, can you provide a link please. Because in the *actual court* documentation (which i have linked to), it doesn't mention that the letter was faked.Originally Posted by JayboH
Garriot made the forgery claims - not some news site.
((And which letter are you talking about here? The letter to the players, or the letter to the management)).
And link please to where he said that... my google-fu is weak right now
I can find references to articles on the web saying that (at the time of the court case) that the letter to the players was faked, but yet, in the court documents *HE HIMSELF* states that the letter was approved and signed off by himself. -
It is based on an article written by one of the posters over on the Titan Network forums (Downix I believe wrote the Addicting Info article).
So, how accurate that is, make up your own mind.
I have problems with *this* article in the 1st place.
Quote:I have posted about the validity of the rumor of NCsoft forging RG's letter... I find it unlikely.But with NCSoft, even a simple notice on the Main page is suspect, thanks to the precedent set just a couple years back with the forging of Richard Garriots resignation. Sorry, fool me once shame on you.
Ok, I am assuming that we are referring to the letter to NCsoft management and *NOT* to the "Letter to the players" correct?Quote:Originally Posted by Kosmos
NCSoft wrote the resignation letter, not Garriott. When Garriott refused to sign and accept it as his own, that meant it could not be legally attributed to him. NCSoft did so anyway (it was their first line of attack in the court case). That's one of the primary definitions of forgery: To write a document to pass off as being authored by another.
Can you provide a link for that information? Or is it all dependent on how you read the documents that I have been able to find?
Original court ruling
Appeals Ruling and information
The reason why I am asking for this, is to at least build upon the information i have to hand.
I have found this article from the attorneys who worked on the case.
Ok, the other reason why I believe that this has been viewed as "faked/forged" by other people is because of what NCsoft also said in the court case in that:Quote:Because NCsoft mischaracterized his termination as voluntary Now, once again, even if he *didn't* sign it, it would have (in their eyes) still been classified as voluntary[1].Quote:At the close of trial, NCsoft objected because the district court did not include a proposed jury instruction that, under Korean law, an employee's resignation is deemed voluntary unless obtained through coercion or intimidation
Now granted from Ulimaaiera it does say
But not once does it say that they forged or faked the letter. It does say that he approved it. What it does imply if *anything* is that NCsoft tried to use the letter as evidence that he was leaving of his own free will. Not that it was faked or forged.Quote:At the time of his departure, a letter was posted on the Tabula Rasa website saying he was leaving the company due to his interest in spaceflight (Garriott spent 12 days in space as a space tourist). In his legal complaint letter, Garriott said that although he approved the letter, in hindsight (after conversations with NCsofts head of North American studios, Chris Chung) he felt the letter was actually a set-up to try and prove that Garriott left of his own free will.
[1]The Korean Supreme Court explained the legal standard: When an employer terminates a labor contract relationship ․ by receiving a letter of resignation from an employee and if the employee had no choice but to prepare and submit the letter of resignation even though the employee had no intent to resign, such termination corresponds to a forced dismissal since the termination of the employment contract relationship is based on the employer's unilateral intent. Supreme Court, 2005Da38270, Nov. 25, 2005 (S.Kor.). In the present case, the district court's instruction stated if an employer has a unilateral intent to terminate the employee and gave the employee no option but to resign, then his resignation is not of his own free [sic] and involuntary. Source
So, with that in mind, what can we draw from this? That NCsoft *lied* about how dismissal/letters of resignation can be interpreted over in South Korea.
Sure, they might have tried to use his "Letter to the TR players" as proof of "hey this guy is leaving willingly". But doesn't mean that it was forged. The same with the resignation letter (which RG has stated that he never signed). -
Quote:*rolls up newspaper*Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
And a little blast from the past. Just for a much needed giggle.
And yes.
THREAD NECRO BABY!
Bad Hyperstrike... bad Hyperstrike -
QR: Just wondering, but what the maximum number of reward merits you can get ingame, by running everything just *once*.
side switching is allowable for so you can get all story arcs. Assume you are at the correct level for everything (so you will not outlevel contacts)
*edit* I think i broke my finger working it all out.
According to Paraogn wiki, doing *everything* just once (all the Gm's once, every story arc just once), all the task forces... 3566 Reward merits.
I believe that is enough to slot out one character (although not purple out), because those are not available via Reward Merits.