Mna_Grok

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I realize the point your making, but these are bad examples. Ford doesn't ask you to buy an additional full priced car in order to get the optional features, as a matter of fact, you can pick and choose which features you'd like added to your car and pay a little bit more for those.

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The Ford example is a good example. Once you buy the car and drive it, if you want some features that are in a new car, you need to buy the new car.

Once you get into the picky details, then of course the analogy breaks down. No analogy fits perfectly when you get to the smallest details.

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First Class/Coach analogy is similar, depending on the airline, you don't have to pay for another full price coach seat to upgrade to first class.

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This analogy is more applicable to the "traditional" model of the upgrade path of MMORPGs, like EQ.

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So many peole are expecting a game that's totally different b/c they're being told its (CoV) a different game. Its actualy the same game with all new content and AT. While techincally it (CoV) maybe a different game.. its (CoV) really just CoH rewrapped with some new features.

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(I edited my quote of your post to make it clearer to those who have short retention spans.)

I don't think that what you wrote means what you think it thinks. To paraphrase what you wrote:

People think it's different because it's different. While it is different, it is the same because it is different.

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I can have everything if I just buy CoV, or I can continue paying for a game that has less features?
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The City of Villains FAQ is your friend. You should carefully read the statement which I have quoted below:
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How will City of Heroes and City of Villains interface with one another?

City of Heroes and City of Villains will share the same universe. A majority of the new features and zones introduced in City of Villains will be available to City of Villains customers only. Also, many of the existing (and yet-to-be-released) features and zones within City of Heroes will remain exclusive to City of Heroes customers. There will also be “overlapping” zones in which heroes and villains will interact with each other.

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The only way to get everything is to buy both. CoH will have features that CoV won't have, and CoV will have features that CoH will not have.

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COV/COH pvp will be more interesting. Especially the base raids. I'm very curious about these ruluru item that when placed in HQ give your whole group specials powers.

Playing in the arena you know what you are up for and who your up against. PVP areas in COV sound like you can wait someone out and take them out.

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Personally, I think that the PvP during missions will be really cool. Especially if they tell you only that there is a possibility that you might be ambushed/attacked by villians/heroes. The tension throughout the mission would rock, especially if you also have mobs that have powers like heroes/villians in the mission.

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It's both a stand alone game if you just want CoV and do not want CoH or expansion if you already have CoH because if you have both you get things that you can't get with just one. As for account if you have CoH already you don't have to create another account and they stated that the fee for having both will be around 1-5 dollars. Hope that helps.

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Well, not to be picky, but they (the devs) have stated that they would like the fee increase to be between $1-$5 if you have both. However, no decision has been made on that. In addition, the decision will most likely come from NCSoft, not Cryptic.

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I am going to Comment on Mars' post even though I said I wouldn't be posting anymore. Only because he has been complimentary of my posts.

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Looking solely at the method of delivery is, IMO, an incredibly short-sighted way of looking at things. Don't look at how it is delivered, look at the content that is being received. Like I mentioned above, patches do not do the following:

1 - Raise the level cap
2 - Give a new zone (The Hollows)
3 - Give another new zone (Striga)
4 - Implement PvP

In addition, like I mentioned above, Cryptic/NCSoft is trying a new method of delivering major updates to their customers. For free!!


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Okay...sigh..going to try to explain this one more time for the small minded people out there that can't seem to grasp this concept.

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And yet you come back to me with a comment like the above...

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WoW, World of Warcraft if some don't know, Has patch day on Tuesdays. Patch days can consist of anything from updating code, or fixing bugs...to implimenting brand new areas. Yes..this is a "patch" that they put in that can sometimes add brand new areas.

About a month ago, maybe a bit more, it was Battlegrounds and a few more new end-game instances. Instance being zones to anyone who hasn't played it. About a week or two ago, it was another new end game area as well as a new...hmm...reward area is all I can think of to call it. These were all done by patching.

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OK. Having never played WoW (although it is sitting at home, unopened waiting for a better computer) thanks for the explanation. So they are following the same model as CoH (for now). I think that we will have to wait longer before we see if they (WoW) are following the model of CoH (free expansions) or EQ ($$$ for expansion)

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What Dark and I are trying to explain to you all, whom seem to ignore the actual words and in your brain Assume what we are trying to say, is this. And don't get me wrong, this is a failing of anyone online.

CoV is basically an expansion to CoH. Anyone not having CoH can buy it, and still have access to CoH areas, even though their character is a Villian. No..not all areas...but they get most everything. This isn't a 'unique' concept since many online games do the same thing, they just don't try to convince their players that this is unique and different and that it's a totally different game.

If CoV was a different game, then those who purchase CoV and play Villians would not be able to interact with CoH in any form. They would have their own servers. They may have the same maps, but someone playing a Hero will not come face to face with someone playing a Villian. If they came across 'heroes' it would be like us coming across archvillians. They would be NPC's.

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But you and Dark can't get is that previously, there was only black and white. There were games (with expansions) and new games. The new game couldn't interact with the old game. Cryptic/NCSoft is breaking that mold by releasing CoV (which is a new game in that you don't need to have CoH to play CoV) and having players with it be able to interact with players in CoH. The fcat that you don't need to have CoH to play CoV automatically means it isn't an expansion. An expansion, be definition, builds on the foundation game. The foundation game is required to play it. The same way that, for EQ, you need to have EQ installed to play OoW or DoN.

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And the other point that Dark and I have been trying to make...is why make their already paying customers of CoH, not only go and Buy Cov in order to get that content, but also ask them to pay more? UO, FFXI, SWG...you don't go out and buy the big expansion with the new content then have to create Another account and pay an additional fee to play it. You use your already exisiting account your already exisiting dollar amount nothing changes. And all three of them have major new content and could be considered 'stand-alone' games. And they could do as NCSoft/Cryptic want to do to their existing CoH customers, ask them to pay an additional fee just to get to that content and continue to play it.

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Don't forget that CoV will have all of its own servers, support staff, CSR and all of that. It only makes sense to have it be paid for seperately. But I guess this is one of the (many) areas where we will have to agree to disagree. The fact that you see it as an expansion means that your PoV is diametrically opposed to mine. Of course, the fact that my position is the same as that of the developers means that my position has a bit more legitimacy attached to it...

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As for what the big deal is and why it's sad when CoH players will still get updates to their game when CoV comes out...as I've tried to make clear before...is that there are going to be those out there that HAVE CoH that WANT CoV to play as well, and can't afford to purchase it or can't afford the additional fee.
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Have to make priorities. Just because people aren't willing to pay doesn't mean that Cryptic is making a bad decision. But, once again, this comes down to difference of opinions. You think you are right, I think I am. Once again, the devs seem to be leaning towards my side right now.

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That isn't the point...the point is for those of us that have multiple accounts and want CoV, or even multiple CoV's, we shouldn't be asked to create and be charged for new Accounts. Cryptic/NCSoft should have it all linked together, so that my login name for CoH can be used to open CoV. No...the characters won't be the same, but still..one account. And no additional fees.

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As you mention below, there is very little information that has been given out. The devs have said that they would like the increase to be free, but that realistically (to cover additional hardware and HR costs) is likely to be minimal ($1-$5) if you have both. There is also no info on whether getting CoH and CoV will give you a second account name or if it will be the same for both. Personally, it is a small enough detail (to me, obviously it is a big deal for you) that most people won't worry about it at all.

editted to add: I should also point out that your disparaging comments towards Clintonian do him a great disservice. there isn't anybody that has done as much towards educating and gathering information on CoV than he has. The information that he has presented here is information that has been obtained from developer interviews, posts by developers and PMs from developers.

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However, with CoV, you don't need to buy CoH to play CoV.

[/ QUOTE ] As I've stated before If you were to go out and lets say buy Age Of Shadows You did not need to have the first Original Ultima Online to play it, It was all in that ONE CD.

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But you still need the original game to play. Whether you get it in its own seperate CD or bundled with the expansion, you need to have the basic game installed on the computer. With CoV, you will not need CoH to be installed in order to play it. That is the big thing that makes CoV not an expansion.

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Why so sad? Cryptic provides plenty of content updates for no additional charge. CoV is optional for people that enjoy CoH. This is the USA the last time I checked. It's not illegal or immoral to expect compensation for services rendered.

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I think you need to reread what I said. Though you quoted it so you would think you would use your eyes and your brain instead of just reacting like a child.

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Pot. Kettle. Black.

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<snip>As for Leech...decipher it how you will, think how you will. But I know from experience playing many online games, that there are large patches that come out that are just that..patches..and they expand on exisiting content. WoW is a perfect example since they implemented many new areas with a patch. Players weren't asked to go out and Buy a new WoW expansion Pack to get the content.

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Comparison with WoW and EQII are not valid. They have yet to deliver their first major expansion pack (AFAIK) so there is no information upon which to base your claim.

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And with that...I will not be posting again here. I refuse to play back and forth with kiddies. I stated my opinions, you stated yours. Leave it at that. My views, and my opinions and my thoughts are just that ... mine. And yours are yours. Essentially, don't try to change my and I'm not going to try to change yours.

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It is unfortunate you feel that way. Your posts are thoughtful and well written, and while I don't agree with some of your points, I think the discussion of them would be interesting.

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I'm not sure whom said it...I don't feeling like going back up and quoting them..but CoV is NOT the first game to allow a player to play the villian. What about World of Warcraft? I'm sry, but are we not allowed to play either the Alliance *good guy* consisting of Humans, Night Elves, Dwarves, and Gnomes and allow you to PvP the Horde *bad guy* consisting of Orcs, Trolls, Undead, and Taurens....and vice versa? If I'm wrong, then I guess I better go back and relog in *my other fave game* and relook at my Undead Warlock because as far as I or anyone that plays that game or Blizzard is concerned that is good guy v.s bad guy and allows pvp.
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That is all well and good, but there is a very big difference, IMO, between being part of a faction that is competing with another faction, and being a criminal. CoV will be allowing us to play criminals.

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As for UO, FFXI, SWG...they all have the original game...then they have expansions which the subscriber has to go buy and install in order to play in the latest areas get the latest items etc, and not have to pay for a second account. But...someone whos never had the game could go and buy the latest and still get all that. They are as well expansions. A patch is something that is DL'd to update your game before logging in...as in the Issues that CoH has or calls them...no matter how big or small the patch is. An Expansion is something that you can go out and purchase to add extremely new and overly large content to your game. You don't have to go purchase it though to play what you already have.

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Looking solely at the method of delivery is, IMO, an incredibly short-sighted way of looking at things. Don't look at how it is delivered, look at the content that is being received. Like I mentioned above, patches do not do the following:

1 - Raise the level cap
2 - Give a new zone (The Hollows)
3 - Give another new zone (Striga)
4 - Implement PvP

In addition, like I mentioned above, Cryptic/NCSoft is trying a new method of delivering major updates to their customers. For free!!

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CoV is essentially an Expansion Pack, no matter what they wanna call it. If it was a stand alone, they wouldn't be able to interact with the CoH paying customers, the 'Heroes' of their realm would be all npc's just like for us, our 'villians are all npc's. Again, no matter how they wanna call it...Stand Alone, Expansion..or Stand-Alone-Expansion...it's still an Expansion Pack, and their dedicated CoH paying customers should not have to pay for a second monthly fee just to get that content. Pay for the Expansion itself...no way to get around that in any online game..but not another monthly fee.

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By definition, to play an expansion pack, you need to have the original first, correct?? Then how come people will be able to buy City of Villians and play it without installing City of Heroes first?? Then, if they buy City of Heroes and get the interaction with the heroes, does that not then, by your definition, make City of Heroes an expansion to CoV??

CoH and CoV and how they interact do not fit the traditional mold that content updates MMORPGs have provided in the past. Thus, applying the labels attached to those traditional content updates is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

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Now...from my understanding...and I'd sorely love to hear from an actual developer or someone that works for NCSoft that takes care of the boards and answering questions for their players....Players of CoH will still have to go buy CoV if they want that content...sad..but I'm so used to it now with all the online games I play that it doesn't phase me anymore.

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But if you wanted the added content from the expansions to SWG or EQ or UO, you had to pay for them as well, so I am not sure why you are sad.

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But in doing that, they create a new log in name for CoV, because it would be like having the icon for CoH on your computer and having the icon for CoH's training server...they are two different entities...but that your CoH and CoV names would be linked to your billing account, and no added monthly fees will be assesed. You only pay for the one account. On the other hand, you dont' have CoH, you buy CoV, then you of course have the monthly fee.

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Seeing as how no decision has been made on the pricing structure of CoV alone, CoH alone or if you own the two, it is premature to make any statements on how the log-in will work. From what the devs have said they would like to have happen, if you own and play both, you will pay one monthly fee that is lower than what the two would be seperately. However, nothing is set in stone yet.

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But as I said, and as I read through this last page...the only ones answering are players with what they think will happen, or hope will happen, or fear will happen....we need to hear from a person of Authority over this.

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Because no decision has been made yet by NCSoft, there is nothing the devs can say. It is out of their hands, so they are being responsible and not saying anything that could muddy the waters or cause confusion.

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I have to agree with Darklite, that if NCSoft is going to make the CoH player not only pay for CoV, but also a second monthly fee, fulll or otherwise, is absurd and shows that all they care about is getting money...and that is no way to treat your paying customers because they will in turn leave. I've seen it happen one to many times in other online games.

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That is an incredibly short-sighted view. As Clintonian mentioned, we already get a lot of extra content from Cryptic/NCSoft for free, now you want them to give us a second game as well?? Are you going to volunteer to go work for them for free?

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Only my two-cents...and I'll say it again, as noone else has said..I'm not an authority for NCSoft, so nothing I've said is what is actually happening and all we can do is sit and wait...and hopefully our answers will come soon.

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That is kindof understood. No need to state it.

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All of the major updates which have been released so far (Issues 1 to 5) would qualify as expansions in any other MMORPG (like EQ) and we would have had to pay for them

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I dont consider the updates as an exspansion to me if you are buying a CD/DVD that should be an exspansion.

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All of the issues aren't expansions. Right. If they are not expansions, then you must consider them patches, right??

As far as I know, patches don't:
Raise the level cap to 50.
Give you new zones (Hollows, Striga Isle)

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I'm probably being a pain but I've played other MMORPG's and this is the first one thats run this way to me.

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That's fair. What Cryptic and NCSoft are doing is changing the way that new parts of a MMORPG are given out to the customer. Traditionally, you had to buy each expansion. With CoH, you get the expansions for free. That's right, you don't pay for them at all. It is easier for them, as they can ensure that whomever is playing the game all have the same version of the game installed on their computer. It is a paradigm shift away from the traditional way that MMORPGs are run. (See also Guildwars, published also by NCSoft and produced by Arena.net)

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The older Versions gave you "Patches" (Issues 1-5 for COH) that had afew fixes for various things along with some add-ons they gave you.

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Nope, a patch is, by definition, a fix to the problems in the game. They may also gove some small content changes. However, level cap raises and new zones most definately fall under the realm of expansions.

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AFAIK (and I am not an expert) CoV will be the first game that allows you to play the bad guy.

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Only way COV will be the first game that allows you to play a bad guy is because of the New AT's connected with the game. Ultima Online you can be a bad guy in a land called Felucca, To become a bad guy you would "defeat" the good guys. By getting 5 murder counts from killing "Blues"the goodguys you became a badguy untill you workd off those counts. While being a bad guy you were unable to go to any of the good guy lands.

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However, with CoV, you don't need to buy CoH to play CoV.

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Actually, by doing it this way, they are ensuring a much higher subscription base

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So they want higher subscription base and show what? that theres 100people playing the game with 2 accounts each so theres a BIG O'200 Subscribers? That doesnt make sence if you ask me. Bascially that just sounds like they're looking at the $$$$ instead of what they really should be looking at.

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Actually, as a company producing a game, the bottom line ($$$) is exactly what they should be looking at. If they don't look at that, the game goes under and we no longer have CoH to play.

ANd while setting it up as a seperate game will bring more subscriptions into CoV, it will do so at the expense of some CoH subscriptions. I know that I will have to see whether or not I will be playing both, or just choose one. The price reduction if you have both as compared to just one will probably help the decision, but I have to see, timewise, if I have the time to devote to both.

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David “Zeb” Cook - It seemed like a natural idea. In City of Heroes we let you play a hero. In City of Villains, you’re a villain so we wanted to give the full experience from the ground up. We didn’t want to put a barrier to people who might be interested in doing that by saying they must have City of Heroes first. That would be forcing them to buy the game. Instead we would rather people said, “Hey, this is fun! I think I’ll check out City of Heroes too.”

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Ok on that same thing other games like ultima Online you dont need to have the first one to play the Latest exspansion. Its all the Latest Update. Why cant COV be that way too?

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Actually, in all other MMORPGs you do need to have the original game if you want to play the expansions. For example, if you don't have the original Everquest installed on your computer, you are unable to play any of the expansions. The same is true of CoH. If you haven't bought/installed CoH, you can't use any of the Issues that have come out. Further confusing the issue for some people is that Cryptic/NCSoft aren't charging for expansions. All of the major updates which have been released so far (Issues 1 to 5) would qualify as expansions in any other MMORPG (like EQ) and we would have had to pay for them.

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The way that sounds is more like Ya lets rip them off and get more money from our cosumers, mor money more accounts sure we're the game of the year.... Think about it

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Actually, by doing it this way, they are ensuring a much higher subscription base. AFAIK (and I am not an expert) CoV will be the first game that allows you to play the bad guy. That in itself will bring in lots of people. If, however, CoV were tied to CoH, the overall numbers would be a lot less, simply because it would be an expansion, and not a standalone product.

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I may be posting somewhere I probably shouldnt but I'm rather curious about something on COV.
From what I gather COV is going to be completly Seperate from COH, why is that exactly?

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from Gamecloud Interview

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David “Zeb” Cook - It seemed like a natural idea. In City of Heroes we let you play a hero. In City of Villains, you’re a villain so we wanted to give the full experience from the ground up. We didn’t want to put a barrier to people who might be interested in doing that by saying they must have City of Heroes first. That would be forcing them to buy the game. Instead we would rather people said, “Hey, this is fun! I think I’ll check out City of Heroes too.”

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To expand on Clintonian's thoughts. I think (and this is my conjecture) that any missions where Villians go into Paragon City will end up being instanced, similar to train missions.

Imagine a Train mission bringing you into Paragon City, and then you have to stealth/fight your way to the entrance of the building where the actual mission takes place. If you stealth your way there, the heroes have a longer delay before they find out where you are going. If you fight your way there, the heroes have a quick notification and may end up meeting the villian in the streets or shortly after the villians enter the mission.

Imagine, as a hero, accepting this mission, and getting to the mission before the villians, and waiting to set up an ambush inside the mission. Or going invisible and hiding on the roof above the entrance.

re: back-tabbing

I think that Shift-Tab will back-tab. Or at least I seem to remember it working like that...

Havn't seen any of them on the official forums for a while, so I don't know. The SDF forums also haven't been reporting any bad behaviour for a while now, although whether that is due to lack of bad behaviour or lack of people reporting the bad behaviour, I don't know.

Check Infinity, and the Simian Defence Force. Check us out. The forums are currently under repair, but post your questions in the ReEducation Centre or, if you can't get on, PM them to me and I will see that you get an answer from one of the SG Officers.

I don't know if this is possible but...

How difficult would it be for a transcript of the interview to be provided??

((Whew, I thought the thread had died there for a bit.))

lstar wrote:
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“Mother will be happy to hear this news” Unix thought to herself as the last bit of awareness slipped away from her.

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Things were going bad, very bad indeed. Cocotte was stunned and trying to figure out which way was the bad guy, and he thought he just saw Unix thunder face first into the floor. In addition, the rest of the Hellions seemed far too organized for a team of heroes that had just gotten together.

Time to do something about this

With a quick punch to the head, the shotgun-wielding Hellion decided to take advantage of someone that really wasn't interested in fighting back and retreated, loading the shotgun as he backed up.

Cocotte reached into his pockets and pulled out a bunch of yellow capsules. Smashing them in his hands, everything seemed to slow down. He jumped into the middle of the largest group of remaining Hellions and twisted. Time stopped for a moment and an ominous howling seemed to fill the air. All of the hellions froze, their heads tilted back and their mouths open in a silent scream as a part of their soul was stolen from them and drifted towards Cocotte. Mentally twisting again, he re-directed it towards Unix and watched in satisfaction as she rose up into the air, her wounds healing and a re-energized look on her face.

As she dropped to the ground, Cocotte quickly jumped away from the confused Hellions. Throwing a bunch of red capsules at the feet of his team members ((damage insp)), he crushed a couple of blue ones in his hand and rolled to the side, pushing Unix to the other side as he did so, hiding in the shadows once more.

Edit:fixed colors

Steel_Pixie wrote

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...sending him flying across the room to crash into the the kennel cages.

The force of his landing deformed the door, breaking the lock.

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The noise in the room got even louder, if that was possible. The kenneled dogs, which were already barking and yelping, went absolutely bananas as the hellion slammed into the cage. Sliding down the front of the cage, he slumped into a pile on the floor, barely resting against the cage door. The dog that was inside the cage, a large German Shepherd Dog, knew what it liked and didn't like. It knew that it didn't like this lump in front of it's cage and started throwing itself against the door. Each time pushing the Hellion a bit farther away from the door and cracking the cage open a llittle bit.

Cocotte stared around, looking for a way to help. He say Steel Pixie looking around for her next victim, with one arm hanging limply at her side. Noticing the blood starting to coat the front of her outfit, he bent over and started going through the pockets of the closest body. He dumped out a pocket full of shot gun shells, candy bar wrappers and matches. ah-ha!!! Found them.

He pulled out a bunch of pills, green ones, yellow ones and red ones. Yelling to Steel Pixie, he threw her a couple of them. Here, these should help.

Reaching out his hand and twisting, he again made the floor ooze darkness. It chilled the souls of the hellions and, with a shudder, they slowed down.

Looking around, he saw a hellion lining up for a point-blank shotgun blast at Robo-vet. Twisting again, he opened a direct conduit into another dimension and pulled the shotgun wielding fool towards him. With a flash, the hellion appeared, and was not happy at having wasted the pellets on a wall. Turning towards Cocotte, he swung up the butt of the shotgun and nailed him in the chin.

With a thud, Cocotte flipped backwards, landing on his head and shoulders before rolling too his stomach. Getting to his feet, Cocotte weaved a bit, side to side, trying to connect with the Hellion, but missing by quite a bit. With an evil-sounding ka-chunk and a vicious-looking grin, the Hellion re-loaded his shotgun.

Out of nowhere, the violence started. The "vet" as he called himself suddenly turned and fired some radiation at the group. While Cocotte was certain that this vet didn't know exactly where he was hidden, he sudenly felt stronger, and things seemed to slow down and he became almost hyper-aware of his surroundings.

With a quick warning to the group, the suit of armor turned towards the stairwell and fired off a couple of darts. Some funky green and red gases started billowing out of the stairwell as steps could be heard pounding on the floor above them.

Cocotte felt Unix pulling on the same source of darkness that he normally did as the hellions poured out of the stairwell like a flood of rats. Bullets flew, ripping through the air and hitting the walls with a crack and a thud. The hellions seemed to be focussing on Unix and the vet.

lstar wrote:
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Unix readied her next bolt and became aware of a warm wet sensation working it’s way down her left lower leg. Unix didn’t have time to look she just pressed on.

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Cocotte stood back, stunned at the sudden violence.
Let's see. We've got some sort of freaky Robo-vet who I think has watched Apocolypse Now one too many times. Some sort of mutt who really doesn't like being hidden or in that cage. Unix, who I don't think has ever seen a dog in real life before, and some quiet chick who moves like greased lightening and another who likes cheesy teenage music groups. And me, a clumsy hero who can't even talk his way out of a car with an 80 year old grandmother. We're practically the poster children for Bad Groups Anonymous. Oh well, let's get this thing started.

Cocotte heard the bullets pinging off Robovet's armor, some of them coming far too close for comfort. He also saw Unix stumble, and saw a dark red patch blossom on her calf as she drew up and readied her next bolt.

Oh well, if I wanted to stay safe, I woulda become an accountant.

Leaving the cloaking darkness behind, Cocotte jumped into the frey and pulled both Steel Pixie and the quiet girl out of the way of a shotgun blast, grunting as a couple of the pellets ripped into his back.

Turning, he focussed on one of the hellions and reached out, twisting as he did. Feeling the energy of the hellion coming towards him, he twisted once again and distributed the energy out to those around him. With a chill, he could feel some of the pain from the pellets disappear.

Tumbling to the side, he fired a bolt at the closest hellion, watching as his head went back and his mouth opened in a silent scream of pain for several seconds. Reaching inside, he twisted and allowed the cloud to emmenate from him and swirl around the feet and bodies of his teammates, making it more difficult for the Hellions to see them.

Rising from his knees with a groan, he shifted quickly backwards and further to the side, hoping that he hadn't drawn too much attention to himself. He noticed that one of the Hellions, possibly the one that he had attacked earlier, had moved towards him. With a quick punch and a touch of darkness, the Hellion crumpled to the ground. A quick kick to the back of the head ensured that he would not be getting back up any time soon.

Crouching down, Cocotte looked around and saw

SteelMagnolia Wrote
[ QUOTE ]
"Um . . . ah . . . um," the girl stammered sotto voce, "People call me Steel Pixie . . . um . . . can you play Tatu? I think they're really cool."

[/ QUOTE ]

Two thoughts went through Cocotte's head, one right after the other. The first was that this girl, Steel Pixie, had most certainly read the latest version of the Guide to Being a Hero in Paragon City, and decided to do the exact opposite of what it said, just to be difficult. The second was just a flash, and had no real bearing on the situation at all, but couldn't be helped. T.A.T.U.?? I remember them, they're hot.

Just as he thought things couldn't get any worse, they somehow managed to do so with the "help" of Unix. Cocotte sensed her sliding away from him and activating her powers as well.

lstar wrote
[ QUOTE ]
“If either of you hurt Canis lupus familiaris or her I can assure you that you won’t leave this building alive”

[/ QUOTE ]

With a mental groan, Cocotte prepared himself for what would come next. Listening carefully, he tried to tune out the immediate conversation. There was no way the other Hellions n the building could not miss what was going on here.

[ QUOTE ]
This update 3 has totally changed the way the game is played for me. I spent 6 months working on my DM/INV scrapper to where he is now and "you" have taken most of it away in 1 swoop. To boot I just logged on and can not even respec out of it. Can I get a credit for the days I can't play?

[/ QUOTE ]

With all due respect, read the Dev digest, CuppaJo has already addressed the respec here.

MarsBar wrote:
[ QUOTE ]
((Don't worry, you aren't going to get clobbered (yet ) I am hoping that Curie's Dream will join us here. Give him a chance to join before we continue. I have sent him a PM))

[/ QUOTE ]

((Just got a PM back from empty. HE was on vacation and is back. ))

SteelMagnolia wrote
[ QUOTE ]
This must be the one who cast the darkness! Constance accepted the earpiece, inserting it and handing the throat mike back to Cocotte, shaking her head no.

[/ QUOTE ]

Curious, I will have to ask her about that later.

[ QUOTE ]
She readied herself, concentrating on her senses of hearing, balance, and the movement of air currents. Blindfighting was the hardest of the disciplines to master.

[/ QUOTE ]

The heroes listened and waited. Two distinct sets of sounds could be heard.

The first was the one that set them off. It was hard to tell, exactly what it was, but it was definately coming closer, and it moved with a sense of purpose that implied it knew exactly where it was going. The second only recently started. Steps, moving down a nearby staircase that were interrupted all of a sudden.

Steel_Pixie wrote
[ QUOTE ]
"Watch out!" she whipered, "there's another . . . oh dear . . ."

[/ QUOTE ]

The voice in the hall paused.

[ QUOTE ]
She looked around at the swirling dark mist that filled the hallway.

"Well, poo."

[/ QUOTE ]

The silent heroes heard a tumbling sound. The sound a body would make falling down the stairs.

The swirling cloud moved forward and embraced her. A hand touched her arm as a voice whispered urgently.

"In here, be quiet."

((Don't worry, you aren't going to get clobbered (yet ) I am hoping that Curie's Dream will join us here. Give him a chance to join before we continue. I have sent him a PM))

[ QUOTE ]
Sam looked to the friendly girl who had scratched him behind the ear. Rather then trying to stop himself begin pulled into the cage by standing still he tried to move towards her.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sam started with a sharp bark when there was a sudden thud in the hallway. Brushing himself off and rubbing his shoulder, Cocotte walked into the room.

"How *did* you get down without a ladder" he asked Unix.

With a smile that seemd at odds with the situation, he held out his hand to the young girl he helped earlier.

"Hi, I am Cocotte, glad I could help."

With his other hand, he fumbled in some pockets and grabbed two small bits of technology.

"Here, shove this one in your ear, and this one against your throat. It will allow you to hear and communicate with us. It has been developped for people who are much more active than I am, more along the lines of what you do, so shouldn't have any problems staying in. Don't break it, it is my last one and my hero's stipend doesn't cover the cost of replacing them. Do you have any idea what is going on here, and why the Hellions are interested in-"

With a start, he turned around and extended his arms. Darkness flowed from his body, envelopping the three heroes and the dog.

A hissing and clanking could be heard coming from the hallway, along with some muffled sounds.

Quickly indicating positions with his hands, the heroes waited.

((Sorry for disappearring, holidays and all.))