GhostRaptor_EU

Hey guys - just an update, I'll have the winner for this month announced today or tomorrow.

[ QUOTE ]
one thing that really needs to be answered is, what code is this engine based on?
maybe quake, or HL, or the unreal engine, or maybe from a game we know but not the engine.
in all the years playing and modding games, one basic rule is always present, they are based on a certain game engine code.
like AION, the game is stunning, but they said the the basic engine is from the unreal engine, the same thing with spellborn.
but in the last 2 jeti knight games, the basic engine is the quake 3 engine.
so for all i know, this could be based on the Q2/HL engine, or the first unreal engine.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aion uses the Crytek engine, not Unreal. (You may be confused with Lineage 2, which utilises the Unreal 2 engine.)

City of Heroes uses its own engine.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm curious... Considering you need the login credentials and card details to MAKE a purchase, and you only send the emails to the registered address, how is that too easy for fraud?

[/ QUOTE ]

Lighthouse explained it well recently: http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...umber=11982197

[ QUOTE ]
GR? How come harmless posts have gone now? Ones posted AFTER you'd done the pruning, so weren't in the chain?

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably because the posts were made in reply to a post that was in the process of being removed because it was completely off topic and commenting on moderation that was in progress. Because of the way the pruning moderation of this forum works. It was entirely inadvertent - I hadn't seen your post until after it was removed.

[ QUOTE ]
Hang on a minute my comendation post's gone now and wasnt linked to anything!

[/ QUOTE ]

The forum thinks it was linked to a post I removed after the initial prune (see above).

[ QUOTE ]
(and the one I was working on) is gone too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure why this has happened, as your post is not in the either of the chains removed. May be linked to the forum thinking you were replying to a post that was no longer present.

Having gone through all that, I will remind everyone that it is not allowed to discuss moderation decisions on the public forums. Feel free to PM me with any questions / concerns.

As a result of removing a nasty discussion chain within this thread a large number of posts have been lost. Unfortunately there were many posts within the reply chain that were not part of that discussion and they have also been removed due to the clunkiness of the forum moderation tools available to us.

As a general response to the thread: there are no plans for any server mergers or other changes. Please keep all discussion of the topic civil, or the thread will be locked.

[ QUOTE ]
While your passing on feedback, could you also add the ability to buy things from the PlayNC store as gift purchases, and give other people the codes so they can apply them to their accounts?

[/ QUOTE ]

We can't do it the way suggested here (it would make things far too easy for fraud), however the ability to make gift purchases is something under consideration.

There were a few technical glitches last week that should have all been sorted now.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm sorry, but all this is REALLY stupid now. To my knowledge, NO other online retailers that use Maestro have such stupid restrictions on them, so why do PlayNC deem it necessary to make life so difficult for the players?

It's sheer idiocy to stop people giving you money when they WANT to!

[/ QUOTE ]

As has already been explained, this isn't our choice. We are making our systems compliant with MasterCard's new rules for online purchases made with Maestro. MasterCard are enforcing their new policy, and it is only a matter of time before everyone who takes Maestro for online purchases has made the changes we have.

Unfortunately the in-game store will not have the capability to support Maestro once all the changes are complete, as the SecureCode system required for Maestro purchases requires a web browser.

I'll pass along your feedback about accessibility to those items only offered in the in-game store.

So, what are the Union Villains up to currently? Only one way to find out, and that's to keep your eye on the Villainous Union What's On? Calendar, found below!

If you're organising an event, get together, costume contest, raid or anything else you think your fellow Union Villains would be interested in then you should consider getting it listed here. How do you do that? It's simple: Send an email to ghostraptor@ncsoft.com with all the details (date, time, location, event name and everything about what the event is). Then sit back and wait for it to appear below! As a bonus, the more interesting events may even appear on on my community blog on the official website, here.

[u]Villainous Union What's On? Calendar[u]

January 2009

TBA

So, what are the Union Heroes up to currently? Only one way to find out, and that's to keep your eye on the Heroic Union What's On? Calendar, found below!

If you're organising an event, get together, costume contest, raid or anything else you think your fellow Union Heroes would be interested in then you should consider getting it listed here. How do you do that? It's simple: Send an email to ghostraptor@ncsoft.com with all the details (date, time, location, event name and everything about what the event is). Then sit back and wait for it to appear below! As a bonus, the more interesting events may even appear on on my community blog on the official website, here.

[u]Heroic Union What's On? Calendar[u]

January 2009

TBA

So, what are the Defiant Villains up to currently? Only one way to find out, and that's to keep your eye on the Villainous Defiant What's On? Calendar, found below!

If you're organising an event, get together, costume contest, raid or anything else you think your fellow Defiant Villains would be interested in then you should consider getting it listed here. How do you do that? It's simple: Send an email to ghostraptor@ncsoft.com with all the details (date, time, location, event name and everything about what the event is). Then sit back and wait for it to appear below! As a bonus, the more interesting events may even appear on on my community blog on the official website, here.

[u]Villainous Defiant What's On? Calendar[u]

January 2009

TBA

So, what are the Defiant Heroes up to currently? Only one way to find out, and that's to keep your eye on the Heroic Defiant What's On? Calendar, found below!

If you're organising an event, get together, costume contest, raid or anything else you think your fellow Defiant Heroes would be interested in then you should consider getting it listed here. How do you do that? It's simple: Send an email to ghostraptor@ncsoft.com with all the details (date, time, location, event name and everything about what the event is). Then sit back and wait for it to appear below! As a bonus, the more interesting events may even appear on on my community blog on the official website, here.

[u]Heroic Defiant What's On? Calendar[u]

January 2009

TBA

{Thanks to LeighB who wrote and forum coded the below}

What are global channels?

They are chat channels you can use to speak with players across the whole game (Hero and Villain, but EU only) no matter which zone they are in and no matter which server they play on. Generally channels are set up for specific reasons on specific servers.

Putting Channels in Different Tabs

If you find it confusing to have all the channel chat appear in one window you can create different channels in separate tabs and place them around your window. Just click on the little numbers (1-4) at top of your chat windows, edit the tab and detach.

Joining the Channels

Simply type in the chat box:

/chanjoin <channel name goes here>

For example if you want to join the DefiantBadgers channel just type /chanjoin DefiantBadgers

Once you have joined a channel it will work for all your characters.

How Do I Talk in a Channel?

The channel you are going to type in can be picked from the list that appears when you click on the current channel name in the chat entry section.

You can also send text directly to a channel by using the ‘send’ commend followed by the channel name. For example:

/send DefiantBadgers, Anyone badge hunting tonight?

What Are The Channels I Can Join?

All of the channels have miscellaneous chat and banter in them, but try to keep most of the conversation on topic.

DefiantBadgers: Ideal for those looking for help getting different badges or badge hunting teams.

Defiant Events: Look out for regular task forces or just shout up if you are looking for players doing a specific mission or Task Force.

{Thanks to LeighB who wrote and forum coded the below}

For those who have a hero on Defiant and want to show the character off to your fellow players, here’s the place. You’ll have to link pictures via PhotoBucket or elsewhere if you want to put them in. The template is designed to give a standard layout, but you don’t have to use all the fields, just those you want to.

Hero Name:

Hero Picture:

Super Group:

Archetype:

Badge Count:

Primary Power Set:

Secondary Power Set:

Battle Cry:

Character Description:

{Thanks to LeighB who wrote and forum coded the below}

A Super Group (SG) can be great for helping you find people to team with, it can give you access to storage and teleporters, to various zones and can be somewhere to resurrect when you’ve been killed rather than going to the local hospital (very useful in zones that don’t have a hospital). A lot of Super Groups also have links (known as coalitions) with other groups so if there is no one in your group who is online there might be others in the coalition who are interested in teaming with you.

Have a look down the list below and pick one you like the look of, and then make contact.

For those groups who would like to place their details on here, please find below a template you can use. You don’t have to follow it perfectly, but some constancy will help people read the list. Many thanks to Captain_Solaris for the design of the template.

[Super Group Name]

About Us:

[Brief description]

Established:

Website:

Colours:

Original Founding Members:

Leader(s):

Current Coalitions:

Level 50s Past & Present:

Supergroup Privileges:

[If there are any differences between the ranks, what are they and what level of access is granted.]

Supergroup Base:

[What rooms there are.]

Teleporters

[If you have any, where do they go]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry, GR, but you're barking up the wrong tree, in the wrong forest, on the wrong planet.

My post was not responding to anything that NCNC have recently announced, or done, regarding PvP. I was responding to the specific poster to whom I was replying regarding a specific post he made.

He did not ask for PvP to be updated, he asked for it to become something that CoX "was renowned for." In order to achieve that, you're going to have to do a lot more work than has currently been announced, including changing the reward system in the PvP Zones, and marketing CoX (very heavily) as a PvP game. You would need to put a large amount of effort into the PvP side of the game. So much that it would detract from the PvE side.

[/ QUOTE ]

*ahem* No, I knew what you were saying. I believe CoH can become a game in which the PvP can garner a reputation for excellence. Being renowned for having good PvP doesn't mean you need to make your game a PvP-focus game, and it doesn't mean you need to neglect your PvE. And, as I said, if done right a lot of the things that could be done to improve on PvP in CoH could have beneficial effects for the PvE community as well. Likewise, many developments for PvE could be leveraged to help assist the development of PvP.

All it takes is a little thinking beyond the simple boxes of "this is for PvE" and "this is for PvP", because in my experience there is a lot of crossover between the two and that a well designed feature can be beneficial to both communities and thus help drive both PvE and PvP forward.

Edit: Put another way, I do not subscribe to the common perception that PvP and PvE are by necessity parasitic on each other when they coexist in one game. I fully believe that PvP and PvE can coexist in a symbiotic relationship. It just takes a design team that steps away from the 'parasite' mentality and considers whether an improvement for one or the other can be designed in such a way that it becomes useful to both.

[ QUOTE ]
Any chance of being allowed to buy one if possible? will give you 25 pounds for one

[/ QUOTE ]

Not from us, no. Not at the current time.

[ QUOTE ]
So, basically, if you can't attend an event (for whatever reason) and don't fancy doing a PvP based event of any sort then you've got no real chance of getting one? Hmm.

[/ QUOTE ]

The things I listed were all examples of things we plan on doing, or are already doing, to distribute codes to our community. Another example: I've already mentioned I intend to run a contest for the community to build a costume for my redname character. I'd definitely include PPD Codes for the winner and selected runners-up as part of the prize pool.

Also, for the Fight Night folks - how they give out the codes we've supplied is entirely up to them. They could give one to the attendee with the worst costume if they wanted .

Anyone with an idea for an in-game event they want to run can always contact me (via PM or email to ghostraptor(at)ncsoft(dot)com) and ask if I'd be willing to supply codes for prizes. For example, if someone were to run another 'costume' contest like the recent Superhero event then I'd definitely consider supplying some codes for prizes.

[ QUOTE ]
But removing a team from the event for committing a "crime" that other teams had is excessive.

[/ QUOTE ]

For clarity: in all other cases of 2 subs being used, the opponent team was asked before the match and gave their permission. The judges were also notified and gave permission once confirmation from the opposing captain was received. FotM did not seek permission from MME, and they did not explicitly confirm to the match judge before that match that they would be using 2 subs and had been given permission by their opponents. That is why they got the DQ.

[ QUOTE ]
A team leader cannot be expected to inform all 3 judges as the leaders should just communicate with 1 judge. No point in telling all 3, all 3 asking the other team leader what they think, then the other team leader telling all 3 judges their decision, then all 3 judges telling the first team leader their decision. 1 Judge communicates with the team leaders and the other judges.

If questions need to be asked and points raised then the judge who was originally informed should have performed their role correctly.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure you've understood what I said correctly: I never said they needed to tell all of the judges. They needed to tell the opposing team captain and the judge allocated for that specific match. They definitely did not tell MME explicitly, and as far as I'm aware they did not confirm with any of the judges prior to that specific match (their earlier request for a previous match was not applicable for the MME match).

To be honest I personally feel that the team that we, as judges, should be apologising to is PPK. For any sort of future Pentad event I run officially I will not allow a team to play a match without a full 5 team members, and for any unofficial event I assist with I will strongly recommend that rule be followed as well. It hadn't crossed my mind that in some circumstances playing a character short could become an advantage.

It's linked on the official EU sites and also from a thread on the Announcements forum here: http://uk.boards.cityofheroes.com/sh...umber=1216765.

I'm going to leave this thread open for anyone who wants to discuss multi-build itself specifically.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you actually read what I said, I didnt say make it the be all and end all of the game.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, you said, and I'll quote it again:[ QUOTE ]
The thing that could possibly bring people in would be if the PVP was worked on to the extent that it was renowned for being excellent, unlike now which is the opposite, sadly.

[/ QUOTE ]

To create something in this game which would be "renowned for excellence" would require that the focus of the game shifted from gameplay content and PvE experience, to end-game content and PvP experience. Essentially, the whole game focus would need to shift toward PvP.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, how would having good PVP destroy the current player base? If you dont like PVP, you dont go into the zones, its kind of simple to understand.

[/ QUOTE ]

But development would move off PvE and onto PvP. Balance issues would resolve in favour of PvP. More unnecessary nerfs. No new content, unless it's in PvP zones.

Result, the existing playerbase, which is largely PvE-oriented, and only here because of the constant content updates and community, slowly (or rapidly) leaves.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just throwing in my 2p worth, here, so to speak:

Essentially ... I think you've extrapolated too far here, Ravenswing. Updating the existing PvP game in City of heroes does not mean moving a full resource focus to PvP, nor would it mean turning PvP into 'end game' for the entire community. Putting some time into making CoH's PvP game more enjoyable can benefit the entire community - all it takes is a dev team sensitive to their community's needs and desires. I think that NCNC fits that bill nicely .

Further, any development primarily aimed at PvP can have beneficial effects for PvE as well. For example, while the Multi-builds feature is being discussed as a large boon to the PvP community (allowing them to have a full PvP build and a full PvE build on the same character), it will also be of use to pure PvE players (eg solo vs group builds; TF/SF builds vs regular builds etc).

Re: balance, I'd like to point at a semi-recent example of achieving balance separation to solve the "they nerfed skill X for PvP reasons and ruined my PvE fun!" issue. Simply take a look at what ArenaNet have done with Guild Wars in recent months: they have taken a range of skills in the game and separated them into PvP and PvE versions. Take the skill into a PvP zone and it uses one set of values, take it into a PvE zone and it uses the other. They did it precisely because by doing so they could balance skills appropriately for PvE enjoyment and balance those same skills differently for PvP, as needed. Any rebalancing for PvP does not necessarily require that the balance change has an impact on PvE (or as large an impact). In most cases the differences are subtle, however in others they can be quite drastic.

Doh ... the question's been asked before certain answers could be provided. So, here's an update:

* For EU, the official launch of these codes was at Leipzig.
* I handed out codes to those who came to Brighton recently to see Rockjaw etc off in style. As a spur-of-the-moment thing.
* The winners of the recent player-organised X4 event will be receiving codes.
* I'm looking at supplying some codes to a variety of EU based websites to give away in contests (eg Friday Night Fight Club may receive some codes to give out after/during one of their events).
* We'll have codes to give out at Memorabilia and other events we attend in the future.
* [Edit]Palladium took a bundle to an event in Paris over the weekend.[/edit]

In other words ... you'll be seeing them emerge more and more as time goes on .

[ QUOTE ]
Congrats to everyone!

If the leader for PvP iz SRS BZNS could send me a PM with forum names for the 5 team members, I'll get started on issuing the prizes.

I'll let you know what those prizes are tomorrow .

[/ QUOTE ]

A little late, but here's the prize list (one of each for each team member):

* In-game title (Decision on temporary or permanent TBA)
* Forum title (permanent)
* Guaranteed Aion Exclusive Preview Event access (details will be announced later)
* PPD costume power codes
* Signed CoV CE Art Books

[ QUOTE ]
I still think a forcing a rematch would've been a more reasonable action. As you've said yourself, loads of little rule breaks took place but those teams weren't DQ'd. It's not like FoTM tried to sneak these subs in, is it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Given the time and how far over we'd already run, that wasn't really viable.


[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Brute<->Tank, Scrapper<->Stalker, Controller<->Dominator, Corrupter/Mastermind<->Blaster, Mastermind/Corrupter<->Defender (last two are debatable).

[/ QUOTE ]

Totally disagree, i think KS's counter parts would still be spot on.

A stalker can't be compared to anything other than a blaster, yes it's melee but hidden spike damage is far grater than a scrapper. That getting changed puts the rest out of sync too.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's difficult to say, really. With MM's getting access to Pain Domination they move more towards the support roles. It's not something I'd personally decide on until after we see what impact the new powersets have within specific Archetypes. I see what you're saying re: the Stalker, however ... both Blaster's and Stalker's fill the "Glass Cannon" roles. I agree that the X4 equivalents were right for the game as it stands currently ... I just feel that a re-assessment may be warranted once Issue 13 has been released.

______________

Sweet Chilli - I see and understand what you're saying, however at the end of the day (per my previous post) allowing 2 subs was not an official rule. We unofficially sanctioned it on the proviso that both team captains agreed and that the team captains notified the judge assigned for the match before it started. That didn't happen, so regardless of what one judge was told quite some time earlier in the evening FotM failed to seek and obtain a clear acceptance for running two subs before starting that specific match.

It was imperfectly handled all around. That's what we call a learning experience, and is one of the areas I was thinking about when I mentioned that I'd personally be looking at specific rules for improvement for any future event.

With regards the double substitution 'scandal': to make things clear, I suggested the DQ when I was made aware of the situation. The second sub would have been allowed under the stipulation that the opposing team agreed to the sub. However, this was only an unofficial rule that we as judges accepted on the basis of our preference that teams advance based on the results of a played match rather than forfeits.

As the opposing team was not made explicitly aware prior to the match, and were not asked explicitly if they were ok with it, and then lodged a protest following the match being played the only choice we had, per the official posted rules, was to DQ.

It's certainly been a learning experience for all of those involved with running the event, and I have a few rules-related areas I can see need to be tightened up and a few thoughts on better methods. One of the ideas I had during the event, to help with both scheduling and smaller rules breaches, was to implement a handicap penalty. Initially the idea arose simply to ensure matches ran smoothly. We had several cases where matches were started with incorrect settings. For a similar event in future I would suggest that if a team leader incorrectly lists a game and the game needs a restart as a result, the team that made the mistake be issued a 5 kill handicap. A similar system could be used for teams that arrive late for scheduled matches (5 kill handicap added for every 10 minutes, or part thereof, late). We could even have done this for teams requiring subs: 5 kill handicap for the first sub, 10 kill for the second (cumulative with the first, so 15 total).

Further changes I would look at for an X4 repeat, should anyone consider running one, include changing the Hero<->Villain equivalents. With Pain Domination coming in Issue 13, I would suggest the old Mastermind<->Tank no longer stands up and a much more sensible approach is Brute<->Tank, Scrapper<->Stalker, Controller<->Dominator, Corrupter/Mastermind<->Blaster, Mastermind/Corrupter<->Defender (last two are debatable).