Scarlet Shocker

[ QUOTE ]
I'm sitting here in Cologne, visiting friends who are going to be wed this weekend (I will be back in the office on Monday)...

I want to thank you all for your wonderful words and your votes for me. Saxtus: It is overwhelming - I have tears in my eyes. Thank you all!

Alas, this is the way of the world. I have a couple of days left until the final decision will be made and until then I will still be here for the City of Heroes Community.

However, if Fate decides that I have to take a different way, so be it.

Thank you all - over and over - I know now for sure that it this is something worth fighting for.

[/ QUOTE ]

K

Personally I have loved your passion and love for the community you watch over. I was amazed by it when we met at Omega Sektor. Whatever the future holds for you, I sincerely hope it's a prosperous one for you and that it makes you happy, and your unique brand of zany eccentricity will be sadly missed if you're no longer part of the Boss Team

Riff

Happy wossname

Have a beer on us

I used to be against it but once I got a couple of 50s under my belt and I was kitting out Scarlet with IO sets etc, but still playing other toons it became the only feasable way of doing things.

I used to be kind of against it but I had something of an epiphany on the subject and I would love to be able to shovel at least inf between toons.

I do however see an issue wtih rare salvage and recipes being stored longer term and wonder if we have that facility how it might affect the game economy

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
a possibility that Kerensky may be leaving us.

[/ QUOTE ]

NOOOOOOOOOOoooooo!

[/ QUOTE ]

KHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]



DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM (alt 0153)

I think that cold day in hell just arrived

Spandex

There's nothing else comes close!

Just wanted to add my condolences to those who're facing uncertain (or certain, but difficult) times ahead.

I guess it's never easy getting the proverbial spanish archer (nor, as a former employer myself) having to tell somebody their services are no longer required, but bodies are a businesses most expensive (and most valuable) resource and with news of credit crunches, recessions and economic depression abounding I can totally see why NCSoft as a body have looked to drive cost out of their businesses.

Yes it's tough on those concerned but in all my dealings with people from here I've nothing but the utmost respect for them personally and professionally and I'm pretty sure none of them will have any trouble getting a new gig. For them it may be considered a chance to find a new opportunity and perhaps prosper

Guys, I sincerely wish you all the best and it's been great to know you here

What FFM said

and to add, it would be entirely possible for somebody to start a thread with a bad suggestion, get all their friends to chime in with support for said suggestion, then lock it before any counter arguments could be put.

They could then use that as "evidence" to back up their point in other threads

That's before you even begin to think about petulance: "Right you lot disagree with me so I'm locking this thread."

So a months sub to play for a couple of hours on a new Server?

I think I'd just remake my toon on that server and in a month could be almost lvl 50 anyhow.

/unsigned

I struggle to see the benefits of your suggestions.

Trial accounts are certainly not an issue now. The measure already in place have been very effective

I appreciate the sentiment of allowing non-subscribed members to be able to at least have a Q&A type forum but I think that can open a huge can of worms and as has to be so heavily moderated it'd be a huge white elephant - and could seriously impact on subscription fees.

Adult boards? No way!!!!! Vehemently no way!!!! If I need to discuss non-game issues relating to me and mine, the absolute last place I'd bring them is here. I play CoX to get away from reality.

Thread derailments? Well clearly the current policy is working ok up til now. Banning people for a month? You'd end up with tumbleweed within about 23.76 seconds. It would totally derail the entire forum

Brown Nosers? You've been thanked by a red name huh? So, people who actually attempt to follow the rules and politely point them out when they perceive a breach should be censured? And actually something is gained from it, because it does point out to less experienced posters that a rule breach has taken place and there may be a consequence. So, I suggest you learn to live with that particular aspect of the rules.

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe (or hopefully) the next forum software (vBulletin, right?) will have a karma system so we can promote users that are helpful to the community?

I will stretch it a bit further: Maybe put in place a post rating system at the new forum that will auto-hide posts that many people rated thumbs down after reaching a certain "rating floor" configurable by each user (like slashdot is doing for example).

It will make your job easier and our reaction to bad posts better and faster.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, sorry too subjective and able to be manipulated by those with malicious intent.

Like it! I approve of this suggestion

Ok I've already expressed my opinion in the other thread but just for the couple who are shouting loudly for a server merge I repeat the following points:


Happy as things are. I would NOT support in any way shape or form a transfer to the US servers unless I were able to transfer all my toons, my SG, and my friends could do likewise so that we could continue to play as we have been.

I also wouldn't support the deletion/transfer of the German and French servers since those players are entited to servers in their language and I strongly supsect that were foreign language versions to be hosted in the USA, there would be something of an outcry especially amongst any hispanic players who would then demand their own server(s) in the name of equality.


I'd also add that in a merged server environment (or when server populations get to a certain point, such as DXP weekends etc) there are a number of posters decrying the amount of lag they are experiencing and how difficult the game becomes to play during heavy server load.

I have yet to read one post in these threads addressing that issue from those who advocate server merges.

/UNSIGNED (again)

Yes indeed folks

We'll have some of your favourite cool and swingingest theme tunes so get ready to rumble

Gonna be a bit more Mid-Level Mayhem this week so we're looking at 25-30 toons for much of this week.

As ever tho, bring your favourite lowbie and if you've got a 50 or two, make sure they are parked and ready towards the end of the night!

[ QUOTE ]
it was just an example i would like somewhere tween 5-15% increase for a few hrs if this is the way

or starting at 1.5x and gradually decresing to 1.0x over a few hrs

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't see that being of benefit to the game, the casual players could be tempted to play for their 2 hours of XP bonus time and then log out to play WoW, CO, et al until their XP bonus has increased.

Not a sensible proposition IMO and I doubt I'm the only one who'd think that

[ QUOTE ]
I'm going to answer the questions regarding "why the heck are NC starting a marketing campaign?" with a question of my own. (I know they were a few pages back, but this is something I've considered a little bit this evening).

Why would any company run a marketing campaign for an existing product?

I have some answers, but I'm interested in other people's thoughts - but here's a little question to get you pondering: When was the last marketing campaign for CoX?

[/ QUOTE ]

See Above.

Can't think of any more but... just cuz the product is out there doesn't mean it can't do better wiht some skillful marketing tools

[ QUOTE ]
If, just an "if" mind, "if" there wasn't an issue with player numbers in the EU - why would there be plans for a marketing campaign?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because: Until now, NCNC have not had the financial resources to market the game as effectively as they might

Because: Champions Online will be arriving soon as will DCU. It's therefore a sensible time to get the biggest and best Superhero MMO smack bang in front of the punters eyes.

Because: When you can do the marketing, you should because it will generate additional revenue, strengthening your business and product lifespan.

Because: NCNC is not a charitable organisation and have invested a considerable amount in the game recently, including purchasing the IP, releasing I12 and developing I13, where these costs were previously split between NCSoft and Cryptic. They are fully entitled to look to increase the revenue the game generates for them.

Because: Marketing the game is far preferable to increasing the cost of subscription fees.

My personal feeling here is giving NCNC the benefit of the doubt here. They could well have brought this in with other reasons that are not yet apparent, and we don't actually know what it's gonna do, so I'd advise you to wait and see.

Sure it's not sounding like the best thing they have ever done but nor is it the worst

Complete lack of structured argument to support OPs original demand/suggestion.

No evidence of any weight.

Happy as things are. I would NOT support in any way shape or form a transfer to the US servers unless I were able to transfer all my toons, my SG, and my friends could do likewise so that we could continue to play as we have been.

I also wouldn't support the deletion/transfer of the German and French servers since those players are entited to servers in their language and I strongly supsect that were foreign language versions to be hosted in the USA, there would be something of an outcry especially amongst any hispanic players who would then demand their own server(s) in the name of equality.

An ill conceived and poorly thought out request/statement IMO

/Not Signed

[ QUOTE ]
I don't understand the objections to Blue Steel. The situation is unrealistic in that he didn't immediately kill the Clockwork King at the earliest opportunity anyway.

The man had already murdered a police officer with his little toys, and engaged the raid team with the intention to kill. And they did, three more police died. If he had been caught up to by any member of the police force, he would have been shot dead on sight. No if, no but, dead. Blue Steel should have rammed the edge of his shield into that mans neck at his earliest possible chance, and gone to lunch with a conscience like a baby. The Clockwork King is a cold blooded murderer and used lethal force to evade justice, he's lucky the SWAT team didn't give him a decidedly more fatal 5.56mm enema.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you're missing my fundamental point. Sure, somebody pulls a gun and police should be empowered to open fire and if the suspect dies in the process, so be it. But then do not kick said suspect unconcious. Render them harmless, give them appropriate medical treatment and then put them through the proper judicial process. If said suspect is then found guilty, punish accordingly.

To my mind, one benchmark of a civilised society is how it deals with criminals. To sanction wanton brutality is not acceptable (even in a game.)

Your opinion differs I guess, and you're entitled, but I just can't accept your PoV

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for your responses

I'm glad the first few were positive.

I suppose you are right - the 'wait and see' period does seem a bit long. I have faith that the game will live on, of course I suppose I'm just so used to seeing WoW on shelves in game stores, and thinking - why the hell isn't CoH there? Then when I begin to over-analyse it, I started picking holes However, you raise good points, so again, thank you.

I hope you are right, Shocker. I remember seeing ads for CoH in the comics that I bought, and that was good. However, an billboard/bus stop ad? Maybe even *gasp* a TV ad? I just feel as though it's not that the masses don't want to play - it's that the masses don't know we're here having fun without them! LoL

I'm going on a mass photo-expedition around the city, and I'll submit some to the website. Maybe we'll get lucky and see the homepage change.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think NCNC has that kind of budget. Sure it would be nice, but CoX can't compete head to head with WoW (but then who else can? Second Life maybe but that's apples and oranges.)

What we do know is that CoX makes money. It's profitable. Sure it could do more, but because it's profitable we get free updates and that always brings a surge of income and player created content would almost certain keep people coming back.

Keep smiling. It's all good really

I kind of agree and disagree with the OP

I do think the marketing team within NCSoft responsible for CoX isn't as dynamic as it could be, but I do feel the community is still here and thrives well as an independent, autonomous body, and it works well. It's articulate, dedicated and generally let's the devs know what the fans want from the game pretty well. What it doesn't necessarily do well is grow the fan base and so the game's growth is restricted. (I'm not actually saying it's the job of the fans to generate more players but there's nothing better than word of mouth for generating sales.)

The community is pretty healthy. The game is healthy too and I think that I13 is going to bring something else to the game that few others have even dreamt of of. I am also pretty certain that NCNC have something even bigger up their sleeves to roll out as Champions Online and DCU come online. I know how I'd handle that strategy and the guys in charge do seem to have a knack of pulling rabbits out of hats when the situation merits.

Yes, we're in a period of enforced "wait and see" mode. That's part of the marketing strategy too but with a healthy dose of Dev time added.

I think your critique about the lack of general updates to teh website are pretty justified. The player generated content isn't updated nearly frequently enough which in turn means it doesn't encourage new submissions.

But if there's not a new website revamp to coincide with I13 I'll be a tad surprised. (Also expect a new box to hit the shelves at that time, getting it back int eh shops with a few tasty prezzies in to encourage seasoned players to buy it too )

But by and large, don't stress. Give it a month to 6 weeks and there'll be a lot more buzz around CoX

My objection to Blue Steel is perhaps simpler than many of the valid points made above. The senence that does it for me is: "Blue Steel beat the man nearly to death and left him for dead. This man's body was never recovered, and was beaten beyond repair."

(Now, there is a bit of a dichotomy in that sentence but, that's not heroic. In fact if any law enforcement officer in the real world was caught having done that they'd be facing jail time themselves. Rodney King anyone?

Yes, in a violent society such as Paragon City, there will be serious collateral damage and lives will be lost (notice however that heroes NEVER kill anyone outside of RP.) The use of deadly force would obviously be sanctioned against people who are controlling giant monsters that roam the city, such as the Clockwork etc but, once that person had been brought to book, where they alive, then the judicial process should take over. Should the suspect be killed during the course of such an event, then an inquiry would need to take place to determine if the arresting forces acted within their jurisdiction.

I cannot see anything in BS's story that shows that he acted within his authority nor can I see any sign of repercussion or remorse in his actions.

Personally I think that either he needs to be moved to CoV as some kind of Vigilante NPC/Trainer or at the very least needs to be rebooted by the powers that be.

(edited to add that I fully agree with Standoff that Frostfire got a really tough deal and I think he needs to be rehabilitated.)

[ QUOTE ]
Blue Steel is responsible for the 'birth' of the villainous Clockwork King. After tracking down a suspect involved in a police homicide committed by robots controlled via telekinesis, Blue Steel beat the man nearly to death and left him for dead. This man's body was never recovered, and was beaten beyond repair. However, the Clockwork King's brain survived the encounter, and he used his powerful telekinetic powers to build himself a clockwork body, leading to the rise of the Clockwork King.

[/ QUOTE ]

Source

I've never liked this guy since I read that. In a game that celebrates heroes he seems anything but heroic, more like a fascist bully-boy thug and personally I don't think he has any right to be blue side. Even some of the darker mainstream comicbook heroes don't go that far when apprehending suspects.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE an opportunity for heroes to take him down and boot him out of Hero Corps - he's got no place being there IMO

[ QUOTE ]
well if anyone else has better ideas for GM's im always willing to listen. dont anyone ever fight GM's just for fun anymore??

[/ QUOTE ]

Plenty of people have had great ideas for GMs in the past but this is one of the few areas where the Devs have apparent deafness