Memphis_Bill

I hope nobody's holding their breath for this. The reason seems to change monthly. Licensing, Microsoft approval (or lack of,) Live requirements, now technical hurdles - weren't they saying it was "close" months ago?

I'd honestly *like* to see this on consoles. I think it'd fit there. I wouldn't *buy* it, mind you (having no console and having no interest in one,) but I actually thought it'd get there and have its own unique (until DCUO) niche to grow in.

And... it still is.

IOs are 100% *optional.* Useful? Sure. Do they open up other options and abilities? You bet. Should you look into them? If you want. Are you gimp or useless without them? Hell no.

Has the game changed? Sure. Have powersets and ATs changed? Yep. (Especially that last - ask any dom.) Does it require anything more than SOs? Nope. Now, I tend to go for common IOs, sure (Invention: Damage, for instance, as opposed to sets,) solely because they don't "go bad" and need replacing.

As far as PVP - I'm surprised you found anyone to fight, frankly, barring setting something up with friends. If you plan to PVP - plan to learn a lot about how things work. Specifically, how *differently* things work. Wander into the PVP section, look up Macskull (for instance,) read and learn. Then find a group willing to take you in and show you - and prepare to be defeated multiple times as you learn, faster than you expect. But you will learn, if you don't give up.

Then put this in your pipe and smoke it -

We've had over 100,000 active subscriptions - usually a pretty healthy number over - for the entire time the game has been active. COH is profitable. It's profitable enough and its outlook is encouraging enough for NCSoft to purchase the IP, hire almost all the developers over, hire MORE, give them their own office, and reinvest.

That, right there... should tell you not to worry about it. Initial investment: Paid off already. Strong IP ("Strong" does not mean "ZOMG we need WOW numbers," like some companies think, but one that has good retention over time and is a good investment) - check. They wouldn't REinvest in it, as they have, if they didn't feel it was worth it.

GW is not a traditional MMO. They're more like diablo. Expansions get put out and added on. Pretty much "Period."

Aion is not a "wholly new IP." It's been out for over a year in Asia - where it drew fans basically as an evolution of Lineage I and II. They're not getting a "new, improved Aion," they're getting tweaks. And I'm saying that as someone who plays Aion. I'm in there almost every day. Aion's a totally different game - centered around, past the first few levels, the risk of PVP almost *anywhere.* Hunt stuff in Eltnen? Watch for announcements of a Rift, since you may have a horde of Asmodeans jump through and take you out. The game is *centered* around PVPVE.

It's a continuation, really, and more of a traditional fantasy role (need tank, dps, healer for X) than COH.

And it's bot heavy. They've just banned 26,000 confirmed bots - on top of a similar number roughly a month ago.
Wow, where to begin.
1. Cryptic and PS are not the same. GR has nothing to do with CO.
2. Marvel got pulled because of MS and Marvel wanting WoW numbers.
3. Try not rewriting history.

Yay, post count attacks! ZOMG, the Forum Cartel is beating you up! Or maybe you're just full of it, and being called on it all.

You mean the game they restarted, pumped millions of dollars into, only to have the population tank (last numbers I heard were around 25-35,000 before it slowed) to a level so low they'd never get that investment back?

For someone worried about where money's getting invested, you sure haven't been paying attention.

Everyone's effectively anti-dooming this post, but this I have to point out. Yes, people are pointing at GR... but don't forget, we've already HAD visual enhancements to the game, as well. Most notably at COV's introduction.

Short answer to the entire post:

No.

And for the later statement:
Because MMOs are not the same. This isn't a Honda Civic, where the reason that one has a sun roof and CD changer where we don't is that someone else asked for them. Aion was developed from scratch. COH was developed from scratch. As was WoW. And Everquest. EVE online. SW:TOR. SWG. UO. You can't just say "They have it, we can just plug it in to ours."

You're looking at your Civic and someone else's F-350 and asking why you can't stick the same amount of heavy furniture in the back while towing something and actually move anywhere. Or looking at a 747 and asking why your civic can't fly. They're not the same thing (past being "vehicles.")

Because Aion has its own development team, with its own development studio, its own revenue stream, and its own development priorities and timetables.
If COH were still owned by Cryptic and we were comparing COH and CO, then you'd have a point.

Wanting is fine. But you've got an unrealistic view of why X is getting one while Y isn't.

If you're looking for "New mission arcs every single week from the devs," the answer is no, there's no way in hell they can do that. I'd hate to think of the utter mess COH/COVs storylines and such would be.

However, given they HAVE been adding content for the last five (nearly six) years, both new and revamping old, I'd say your question didn't even need to be asked.

Play the other side, as it sounds like you haven't, having only concentrated on one character (purpled out, bunch of badges, etc.) Play through with a different AT - I can guarantee you it'll be a different experience. Enemy groups you hated with one character, you'll triple-check your difficulty because they're so easy. And enemies that were a cakewalk will give you much more trouble.

/this.

I've already been using the heck out of the new robes (fit look concepts I had for some characters *perfectly,*) the shoulder pads have made some serious improvements (as have the boots) to others, Ninja Run, of course, is exceptionally useful - it's been a great pack for me. I think the one I've gotten the least use out of so far is science, but even then, little details here and there have helped.

Still, MA and Magic are probably the ones I've used most.

No problem.




Jerk.



The above post written purely in humor. No insult intended. Insult only valid in New Hampsire due to state laws which do not permit this to not be an insult. No cash value, void where prohibited. No promise, stated or implied, of Jamaican cooking is included in this post. No purchase necessary. See local retailer. Offer expires 12/2/2009. Not to be taken internally. Not a sleep aid. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

Heck, I'd do a clean install regardless, but that's just me.

Oh. Bring a magazine. There's very little to do during the install.

*nod.* I almost hate seeing them call what they sell now "Object desktop." That was the first app I installed on any OS/2 install. (And voice recognition - on a pentium 90. Not just recognition, but control - I surprised a few people with that.)
IBM was just... IBM had no idea what to do with a home market. They were used to dealing with businesses and IT departments, selling "big iron" and business systems. Now you suddenly have people who, instead of rattling off specs, are going "Well, I have this TV looking thing and a box, is that what you need?" Putting in the rudiments of a game SDK, then dropping it. IBM was the worst thing to happen to OS/2, IMHO. What killed it, finally, for me was charging for USB drivers. (Some ridiculous amount, I don't recall what it was at the time.)

Then again, someone's trying to keep that going with eComStation. But I'm somewhat past fiddling with multi-OSes.

Actually, I choose to put them in knowing they fit the storyline I'm working on. I'd put in custom, fitting mobs whether they gave 1 XP or 1,000,000.

... but its easier than the "let me keep zoning to try to string newspaper missions that I get randomly together method while typing my own dialog in /local" method of creating custom arcs in game.

Psst... Ruin. Death are later. Ruin = blue robes, Death = darkish purple or so.

/this.

I *like* the fedex, as far as "This is why you weren't allowed a cape yet (valkyrie pack notwithstanding.) Enjoy some of the lore." And, actually, you get a longer spiel about Justin Greene (Green Justice) in your clues now - not just his comment about losing his powers.

But IP is a *long* zone. Moving Justin Greene closer wouldn't hurt - especially when the enemies you go anywhere *near* at his current spawn location are quite purple if you do the cape mission around 20.

Edit:
Give it two rail stops. North and South IP.

And both of these I had to quote because - again, "AT differences."

For instance, we went down into the Abandoned Sewers (yes, some people go down there!) After going through the just-annoying Hydra, we hit some Rikti (what we were really looking for) and... COT. The oh-so-FUN COT spawns with 3 (I believe one or two even had *four*) Death Mages.

Friend on a scrapper was having a heck of a time just trying to hit them.

Then my confuses kicked in. Talk about an immediate difference. You could tell, even without the confuse graphics. It went from "I hate these things!" to "Wait, they're dead already?" like flipping a switch. Which, I suppose, I did.

Then there's KK and Sigil. Sigil's pretty cut-and-dried. Pull away from the group, since KK's usually close in one of the missions, and have a good old fashioned beat down. KK... ugh. Played heck with my masterminds, IIRC. Dominator? *pop* *hold* *Kadabra Killed.*

Of course, this is part of why I have so many alts - the game can play so *differently* not just with a different AT, but between sets in the SAME AT.

*nods*

Never did find a bebox to play with. It got up to 5.0 and had some nice software- but never took off. And WinFS? Hi, meet Be's database-style filesystem.

That said, someone's working on Haiku (a name that should bring a smile to any Be user.) Binary compatible, same look and feel, should run on modern hardware - but who knows how long it'll take. It is, however, currently in alpha. I'd love for it to take off... but its marketshare would make the MacOS look like Windows times ten by comparison.

Give me BeOS's speed and filesystem. Or even OS/2's desktop - it was so incredibly flexible, and the OS handled shadows (not shortcuts) properly. Move the file, the shadow updated location automatically. Why is it windows doesn't do this?

All that aside, I do like Win7 quite a bit.

... so don't use them that way? I fail to see the issue.

Hmm, point. And it matches the price range he mentioned better. But still, playing the game will net them. Even if it's the TF specific drops (for instance,) getting merits will still allow you to purchase anything but purples.

"Orange sets?" You mean the PVP IOs? They're supposed to be (a) rare, and (b) a reward for PVPing. And some of the individual ones have gone for several hundred million to over a billion INF.

Solution? Still one of "Play the game." If you want PVP sets, get some friends together and PVP. Yes, the drop rate is low. It's meant to be. (I don't know if you were hoping to find them in PVE - if so, it's not going to happen. PVP with some friends for a while. Wander into the server and/or PVP boards and see who PVPs, if there's some PVP event, etc. and go there.)