SteelRat

Aah OK, my bad - although it was second hand info that I didn't research any further. I have to admit that the amount of data required for 8,000 characters to any level of detail would make the game a HUGE download!

Bravo. First sensible attitude I've seen to GW2 in ages. I'm currently playing SW:TOR, (as well as COH, obviously) but can't see me playing it for long. Most of my old SG mates have been banging on about how great GW2 is and the more I read about it, the more I'm probably going to take the plunge if the worst happens at the end of November.

You know this really sums up how I feel about CoH as well. It's not any particular thing that you can put your finger on, it just "works". I've not played DCUO, but despite the things it has that on paper should make it "better", that magical, intangible "something" that makes CoH so great just isn't there in CO.

Coupled with that CoH is also a template for our imagination. As it's set in a comic universe, there are no boundaries that our characters have to conform to. No limits. We have the freedom to come up with literally anything and make it fit in the scope of the world we're playing in.

What I really don't understand is why is CoH the ONLY game that really allows us to do that? How has someone else not thought that for an RPG it's a no brainer winning formula?

I'll remember that when I see someone say "your" instead of "you're" (which happens fairly often on these boards, and yet I rarely see anyone leap in to point out the error)

Petty much?

My attitude being "actually, there's a very strong possibility after November 30th none of our efforts would have made any difference at all, and in fact NCSoft may even have provisioned for a strong reaction to it which is why they're not saying anything". And you think that's the the same as an anti-Save-Paragon heckler?



Because that's not the attitude I'm having at all. My point is, that just because I'm offering a different point of view, or perhaps trying to keep feet on the ground instead of getting carried away with "Yay look at us and the difference we're making", then I'm pigeon holed as a naysayer or a heckler. Polarised because it's very easy to lose sight of the effect outside the walls of these forums or the game itself. To us, the difference we're making might seem huge - outside of the game, probably not so much.

Again, you're just as guilty as taking all of this personally as you think I am. In the grander scheme of things, the "Wonderful Community of CoH" really doesn't have that much clout. Really. It doesn't. It's too small. You can beat the "We're Heroes" thing all you like. It's wonderful imagery, and is obviously poignant given the nature of the game, but I honestly think it's nothing more than a fantasy that people are clinging on to. Am I a bad guy for thinking that? For attempting to see the bigger picture to try and see if our efforts have a real chance of success?

Everyone is bashing on about the petition having 20,000 signatures. I read an article a week or two ago that said SW:TOR was in decline because its player base had dropped below a MILLION subscribers. 20,000 might seem huge, but in relative terms its a drop in the ocean. That might seem harsh, or heckling, or naysaying, but really, isn't it just true?

Of course not. I was PART of that unity rally, in actual fact. Again, I'm not KNOCKING the efforts. Far from it, I'm just trying to get a bit of perspective, that's all. What's wrong with that? If I came across as haughty, it was only in response to the haughty response that I got for DARING to not think like a lemming and just blindly agree with everyone else.

There is EVERY need to get used to something when it's the only choice you are presented with. More and more companies are working towards a model that is based around making all of our "stuff" stored on line. Microsoft, for example are encouraging that business migrate to a hosted on line solution meaning that instead of paying for an Exchange server that processes and stores all of your emails locally, it's done via Office 365. You pay for a virtual server which they host on a monthly basis. More and more companies are moving towards that, because all they have to do is pay a monthly fee without any worries about maintenance or having to fork out for capital expenditure.

Granted, its not the norm at the moment, but its the direction things are going. It won't be long before we no longer pay for a game and have a hard copy of it installed on our hard drives, we'll just have a thin client and license to play a game on a remote server. The kind of thing that we're complaining that NCSoft are doing NOW is going to rapidly become the norm as more and more services become hosted and not locally available.

I think it's short sighted and idiotic because in the grand scheme of things it achieves nothing. There is another thread where it's reported GW2 has already sold 2 million copies. Do you honestly think in light of that news, NCSoft really give two stuffs about people childishly crossing their arms saying "NO. I'm not buying your stuff".

If GW2 is a good game, the only people losing out are the people refusing to play it on that basis.

*sigh*. I'm labelled haughty because I have my own mind. *shrug*.. sticks and stones.


Nope. Wrong. Again, just perspective. Pull back on the scope and see the bigger picture. Sure it's important to us, I'm not denying that. What I AM saying though is that what's important to us, might not be as important to the people who make the kinds of decisions that will matter, irrespective of the amount of noise we make.

Ironically, that is exactly the point. Or at least it has a very real possibility that after all is said and done that's what we're all going to be left with.

Well I'm doubly glad I'm not a heckler or a naysayer then.

"Spend more of my time belittling people"? Seriously? You've obviously not read all my posts then. Or perhaps you've only chosen to read the posts that I've made which back up that remark?

This is the thing that gets me about these boards. All the time you make encouraging noises, or recount positive things; in other words "tow the line" no one notices. The very MOMENT you say something that's just a bit contrary to that idea, you're pounced on and demonised.

There's a lot of truth in what you're saying here. Partly because of piracy and partly because that the PC platform is such a difficult one to develop on because every single machine out there is subtley different to the next one, PC games are going to become a niche market. Games for less varied platforms like phones, browsers and consoles are going to become more and more popular because they're more mainstream, more throwaway and fit with todays society.

You're spot on about the "have a hook and will draw people like crack" in the environment of todays consumerism. If you make something that appeals to someone enough for them to think "Hey it's only a few bucks, what have I got to lose", if they only play it for a week then junk it, from a business point of view, everybody wins.

I had a look on MMORPG.com this afternoon and it saddened me to see that every Super Hero "MMO" in development is browser based and looked like just another tacky, throw away bit of tat.

CoH is THE best MMO there has ever been in terms of its depth, lore and customisation possibilities, but it's unfortunate that it represents what is becoming a bygone era. Just like the music and film business, it's a timeless classic that is being replaced with shallow, quick buck rubbish designed to make money rather than really entertain for any length of time.

Well done, you demonstrated to me that you didn't read any of what I wrote, apart from the bits you chose to take personal issue with.

I'm not insulting the efforts made to save the game, I applaud them.

I'm not insulting the people who poured their hearts and souls into the game, I have been equally touched by them, and to some degree or another have been affected by it the same way myself.

Why are you on the offensive, claiming that just because I am suggesting people keep their feet on the ground about this that I'm some kind of twisted idiot who takes delight in other peoples misery? Why do you make snide little "We don't care about what you say" remarks in attempt to belittle my view point? If that isn't a classic case of denial, I don't know what is.

Yes it's bull. Yes it's a travesty of fairness. Thing is chum, that's life. Crying about it doesn't change anything. The point is, you can justify this game as a support network for people that are disabled or socially inept, but the internet has plenty of other mediums designed for that purpose. This, despite what you want to believe to the contrary, is a computer game. A computer game that has its centre in a space controlled by the purse strings of a company whose only interest is how much money it makes them. If it doesn't make enough money for them, or they want to change the portfolio of which games they want to offer to people, then it gets pulled.

It might be more than a game to the people that play it, unfortunately to the people that we buy it from, it's a product. Products have a life span. This ones life span is up (at least according to them). That's the simple fact of it. That will not change. Shouting and screaming about it, or directing your anger about the unfairness of it at someone who is merely pointing that situation to someone who cannot or will not accept it won't change it either.

So what are you left with? Taking the positive from it, enjoying the memories of the time you had with it and moving on.

TL;DR - I get it's more than a game to some. Point is, the people who make the decision don't, and even if they did still wouldn't care. Like it or not, "getting over it" is what we're going to have to do sooner or later.

I take issue with being labelled as a "heckler". Here is precisely the kind of attitude that irks me about this so called "community". Sure everyone stands shoulder to shoulder until someone even thinks about coming up with an idea or point of view that dares to be contrary to the established norm. I spent a lot of time, and a lot of money on this game. I introduced my girlfriend to it and at one time was paying for THREE separate VIP accounts. It was listed as one of the reasons for the break up of my first marriage because I spent so much time playing it. I've shed tears over its closure and have been utterly awestruck by the attempts people have made to keep it afloat, and also the passion which people have poured in to it.

So let's get things quite clear: I don't want this game to close any more than anyone else.

The facts of the matter, despite the polarised attitude of people like you is that not very many people in the grand scheme of things still played it and still put money in to it. Less than 1% of the total revenue of NCSoft, and of that we regularly hear that less than 5% of THOSE people even visit and / or post on these forums. It doesn't matter how big, important or earth shattering you are, in terms of the real world, you're a small voice.

I'm don't have a cavalier attitude to the games demise, I have a realistic one. It's dead and frankly unlikely to be saved. That's not a hard and fast fact, sure, but it's very real possibility. The longer you try and ignore that, the worse its going to be for you when it happens. That's why people say "get over it". All the campaigns and shouting, jumping and name calling isn't going to change the bottom line. Ultimately, "Getting over it" is going to be your only option come November 30th.

Such is the nature of a game that lives in a medium that an individual user has no direct control of. With the way cloud computing is going, get used to it, because that's the way the world is heading. You may not LIKE it, but again, there's not an awful lot you can do about it.

It doesn't have to be this way with games, granted, but unfortunately in this case it is. That's the simple fact of the matter. I don't welcome it any more than you do. I have no wish to play any of NCSofts new shineys either; not because of some idiotic and rather short sighted belief that I'm "sticking it to the man" by not doing so, but simply because I don't like the look of them very much.

This so called shoulder shrugging as you call it is just me simply accepting what is (and I'm sure there will be some barrel related jibes that come from that). From a different point of view there are some philosophies that say "all things are transient and putting your faith in those things lasting forever will always lead away from true happiness". Things. Don't. Last. Forever. Sooner or later the things you love will be taken away from you. Most of those things are generally a damn sight more important than a computer game.

Dear City of Heroes community.

NCSoft are not concerned about the opinions of 1% of their customer base.

I honestly believe that they expected this when they pulled the plug and the simple reason they're not replying to or even acknowledging the efforts that are being made is simply because they know it makes far more sense just to sit it out. You can complain all you like, make all the pleas and efforts to change things that you like, it's not going to change a thing.

I would dearly love to be wrong about this, but the longer it goes on without any response at all, the more likely I think this is the reality of the situation.

I played CoH, I loved every moment of it, but nothing lasts for ever.

Who's to say I can't play both?

I'll probably think of a concept, see if it ties in with an existing Marvel character, and then see if that character is included in the game. Just because it's a Marvel game with Marvel characters doesn't automatically mean I'm going to play one of the popular or obvious ones. Additionally if I have a character concept in mind that's a nod to an established character, I have the opportunity to play that character instead of having to think of ways to make that character sufficiently different to the official one so as to avoid it being generic-ed or reported.

Trolling / flaming whatever you want to call it I still dont think it applies here. This is obviously and quite rightly a very emotive subject for all of us and its therefore very easy to get carried away with the passion that we have for saving it. Just because someone else comes along that doesnt share that and points out sonething that is a perfectly valid point doesnt make them flamers or trolls. If anything by us angrily lambasting them for pointing out the obvious were far more guilty of what were accusing them for than they are!