Snow Globe

Have you tried to buy anything from other web based markets? I'm not even talking about stuff like Amazon, but other games' stores. The Paragon Market is the most retarded (and I use the term deliberately because it slows the purchase process) game store I've ever had the misfortune to come across. If I was a web development teacher, I'd be sorely tempted to fail a student that handed me this market.

It does not:

• Accurately reflect purchases (despite promises otherwise), even items bought less than a minute before.
• Has no purchase history.
• Can't tell you, even after you agree to purchase something, what item is causing the transaction to fail.

The list goes on, but those three are completely inexcusable and whoever did such a lousy job should be replaced with someone that knows what they are doing.

Doesn't work on a team, only solo.

Missed meme opportunity:

Highly doubtful.

The web-devs in this case would be NCsoft's, not Paragon Studios. They have to cost things separately.

Two (at least) different groups responsible for global chat (which didn't need to be changed much) as compared with messing with the forum software + the market.

I am a programmer and anytime a non-programmer says that something is "trivial to implement", I politely tell them that is like saying that a full engine overhaul for a car is likewise "trivial to implement". Or painting a good portrait is "trivial".

I'm sure that people that don't program have completely unreasonable expectations as to time frames involved in creating what they ask for.

What? They sleep at night? Okay, I take back everything I've said in this post! Every programmer knows that sleep should be reserved for 10 am to 5 pm. Why do you think caffeinated soda is a food group to programmers and that they have pasty-white skin?

I'd say grossly low balled the cost, but I'd agree with you that Paragon Studios could likely see a few thousand "new shiny" folk.

And you are assuming that the code can be reused, and that is with the big "IF" that it can be done with one person. I'm also including testing time (which you aren't), rollout time (again, you're not), various meetings (logistics is a pain in the butt) with other departments (billing and web deployment come to mind), or anything else that might be needed.

You're assuming that code can be reused, I'm not assuming that. Additionally an item would have to be made on the market, art assets (store icon) would have to be made for the market item. And again, on top of all that is the web staff needed to deploy the change.

Go look up web development salaries sometime. You'll see that I'm actually understating the numbers (for competent staff, that is). For Aggelakis' $500, you'll get staff that is actually worse than the current NCsoft web staff.

Funny you should mention character slots...

Character Slot x1 - 240 PP
Character Slot x2 - 400 PP
Character Slot x5 - 800 PP

Respec Token x1 - 600 PP

Server Transfer Token x1 - 600 PP

Unslotter x1 - 90 PP
Unslotter x3 - 225 PP
Unslotter x5 - 338 PP

XP Booster x1 - 90 PP
XP Booster x3 - 225 PP
XP Booster x5 - 338 PP

Revival x1 - 30 PP
Revival x3 - 75 PP
Revival x5 - 100 PP

Precise Dual Inspiration (Large) x5 - 25 PP (+Acc/+Dam)
Invigorate Dual Inspiration (Large) x5 - 25 PP (+End/+Health)

SBE - Travel Enhancement sets:

Blessing of the Zephyr

• Set - 378 PP
• Universal Travel: +Run/+Jump/+Fly/+Range(Level 10-50) - 128 PP
• Universal Travel:+Run/+Jump/+Fly/+Range/+End(Level 10-50) - 150 PP
• Universal Travel:+KB Reduction(Level 10-50) - 195 PP

Celerity

• Set - 342 PP
• Run:+End (Level 15-50) - 105 PP
• Run:+Run (Level 15-50) - 128 PP
• Run:+Stealth (Level 15-50) - 195 PP

Freebird

• Set - 342 PP
• Flight:+End(Level 15-50) - 105 PP
• Flight:+Fly(Level 15-50) - 128 PP
• Flight:+Stealth(Level 15-50) - 195 PP

Of course, they might add something if they patch today.

I started programming in 1982. Started. I've probably programmed in a larger variety of languages (ranging from machine language to common modern scripting languages) than you likely have heard about, let alone used. I've probably forgotten more languages than you have used. So while I haven't seen the code itself, I do know coding construction in a variety of programming languages. I am more than qualified to give a general opinion of coding practices even if I can't comment directly on this code.

The IF-THEN-ELSEIF-ELSEIF-ELSEIF-ELSEIF-ELSEIF-ELSEIF-ELSEIF statement uses more processes than a single IF-THEN statement. If I were someone that gambles, I'd put money on the fact that how the Flashback list is made by a single database query, which would be even faster than an IF-THEN statement would be.

Yes, and your suggestion for doing it would render the game unplayable for a large segment, if not noticeable to everyone.

So completely different than what is being discussed as to compare apples with rocks from another planet.

Each Ouroborus is a separate entity. One check: Are you a "hero" or "villain"? If you are a "hero" character, go to Ouroborus-Hero, otherwise go to Ouroborus-Villain. After that, the "Ouroborus-Hero" contacts give hero missions without a check, and the "Ouroborus-Villain" contacts give villain missions without a check. The entities may look the same, but they are different.

Actually, instancing reduces resource use on the client side. Client side, the game needs to render less so the customer experiences less lag. This is why they've lowered zone population caps and why Virtue and Freedom often see multiple copies of Atlas Park.

Yes, that goes without saying. However, you are asking for them to do something that they have done a cost analysis on and came to the conclusion that it would cost more than it would return.

Oh? Like what you are doing? The developers, the people that have seen the code, say that it can't be done without a lot of work. Yet you are expecting that we take your word over their's? Give me a break.

If the developers would have thought the solution was as simple as you are claiming, it would have been already done by now.

Given the current NCsoft web team, I would say that you are giving them far more credit in how much time it would take than can be reasonably assumed.

Not only that, I think that you are grossly underestimating how much it would cost for their pay, not to mention managing them. Web developers are paid around $20-$30/hour. A team of 4 of them, not to mention management and testers (a joke with these guys, I know) would add up to significantly more. Then multiply all those expenses with planning, meeting times, testing, QA, and roll-out. You will get a time that is significantly longer to develop than you are stating. So at least a month. I'd say that this would work out to significantly more than $10,000 for the minimum costs needed.

At $5/month that would take 2,000 subscribers for the first month, or almost two years for those 100 users to pay for the system (if the price tag was $10,000).

All that still doesn't account for the Web Team developing the system for however many players that would potentially buy access. Those costs would also have to be included in any proposal to change how things work currently.

If it really were that simple, they'd have done it already. Given that they haven't done it already means that it is far more complex than you are stating.

Additionally, a pile of IF-THEN statements (or even "CASE" statements) could degrade performance, which is something the developers (and players) would like to avoid.

By checking if the character is a hero or villain, not by checking if they are a rogue or vigilante.

You know this how? Have you seen the code? What makes you qualified to make this assessment.

Again, you know this how?

Oh, I see... Your out of date programming knowledge (which likely didn't get past the amateur level) makes you more qualified than those who have seen the code (the developers) or those with more recent applied programming backgrounds.


This has got to be the most resource heavy way to do it. It would cause more problems than it would solve.

Considering that the opinion you are saying is "badly considered" directly opposes your's, I'll go with "hit a nerve" instead. It is a valid point of view and likely one that you don't want to consider because that would mean that the suggestion will fail.

Most players would balk at paying the true cost of forum moderation, so it would cost resources that Paragon Studios doesn't have to service a few players. This game is already the bottom of the heap of the NCsoft priority for web development, and you are talking about wasting the precious amount of time they do get to appeal to a tiny fraction of 1% of the players.

The European players have a stronger position than you do (after all they are paying for subscriptions), and they are losing complete sections of the forums.

Two words come to mind after reading this: "Yeah, right." The more passionate the player usually means more active moderation is required. Also there have been plenty of examples of long time players that continually need to be moderated over the years. At its most basic level, this quote has no basis in reality.

Whatever. I expressed my feelings about it rather than just /jranger.

No, it wouldn't be a smarter move. A more costly move? Yes, but not smarter. It would also be a more beneficial move for the players that aren't paying for the game. There is little to no benefit for Paragon Studios or NCsoft to do that however. If you want an open access forums, there are several dedicated to the game where you don't have to pay for forum access.

Still likely not to get enough players on smaller servers to participate, so still /unsigned.

To play the game -without the Steam client-, download the NCsoft launcher. You can find a link to it on your NCsoft account page (you had to create one even if you bought it through the Steam client) under your game accounts.

https://secure.ncsoft.com/cgi-bin/plaync_login.pl

Once that is downloaded, run through the update/install process. Save it to the same directory if you want. You need to start the game through the NCsoft launcher, not the Steam Client.

Once the game is loaded, enter your City of Heroes game account and password.

Edit:
If you haven't applied the code you bought from the Steam store:

• Start up the Steam client.
• Click on "Games", pull down to "Games Library".
• Click on "City of Heroes: Going Rogue".
• On the right side of the page, click on "CD Key".
• Copy the CD key (probably onto paper).
• You don't need the Steam client running from this point on.
• Go to your NCsoft Master Account.
• Apply a serial code.
• Enter the CD Key.
• If the page says that the code has been used, you'll need to talk to NCsoft support or Steam Support. Try NCsoft support first.
• If the page then asks for a credit card or game time card enter one in. It will not charge you until your free time expires.

Paid subscriptions pay for forum moderation. Your forum contribution doesn't come close to paying for free access. If you wish to contribute to the forums in the sections for paid subscribers, then you can subscribe. If you choose not to subscribe, then you are limited to the all access sections. The developers could choose to go back to the setup they had before Issue 21 where if you stopped subscribing, you couldn't access the forums except to read them.

/UNSIGNED

Actually, there is. The thing is the reset is (I think) once per 20 hours instead of once every 7 days. So it really doesn't matter if you do the mission pre-50 unless you get to 50 less than 20 real hours after you do the arc.

Official source:
So you just can't do the same arc in a 20 hour period and expect to get the SSA table.

Given how the problem was explained, one of two things would have to happen for that to be done:

• A serious coding effort to change some bedrock principles on how missions work.
• Going through 8 years worth of missions, making sure to not miss a single one, and change the mission requirements. Only then they have to also change every non-cooperative zone in the game, including Ouro and the fragile base system to accept everyone.

Either way there will be countless hours lost to actually doing it and testing to save you a tiny bit of hassle so that you don't have to do a few more tip missions or buy an alignment token for.

Just taking an educated guess here, but are you willing to shell out the few hundred thousand to a few million dollars (admittedly, getting into millions would be an outside possibility) and the potential increased workload it would likely need to have the issue fixed? I don't think they currently have the staff to get it done without sacrificing a couple years without content to get it done.

Give me a break.

I'm pretty sure that the only way to see server load is by logging into the game.