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The_One_and_Only_NA

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  1. The_One_and_Only_NA
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I Burnt The Toast View Post
    Not trying to be a pessimist but....

    Won't any "future" version of CoH be MONTHS away??? I'm not a huge techy person, but it seems to me that if/when the servers shut down - trying to rebuild everything is going to take lots of time? yes? no?

    Don't get me wrong...I LOVE CoH and all of my friends here, but is saving CoH going to also mean a huge amount of time between Nove 30th and a restart? Or is a simple reboot to new server/servers something that can be done quickly if all things fall into place?
    I think we can all agree that a solution months away is better than no solution at all. It does not hurt to have a plan prepared in case the worst happens by Nov 30th.

    And as GG stated above, for the players it might not be that long if that rumor holds true.
  2. The_One_and_Only_NA
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dragon_Shadow View Post
    Kind of hard for Paragon Studios to work on anything when they don't exist as a unit anymore. The Studio is gone...kaput...finished....Not a functional device....The instruments are there but the band isn't around to play them. Any posts you see here now from a Redname are them showing up on their own time to try and help their fans and perhaps even themselves through the coming shutdown. And actually tell you the truth I neither needed or desired a sequel. Cith of Heroes as it was and how it was going was good enough for me....and good enough for my girlfriend too. We are going to miss it when/if it is gone. Yeah I said if.....Hope might prolong the pain but hope is eternal also.
    Hope may be eternal, but City of Heroes as we know it certainly is not. You may have noticed, but IT COULD ALL COME TO AN END IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS. And while it was good enough for you and your girlfriend, it was obviously not good enough for the people in charge of the money nor for new players to stay and pay.

    I have absolutely no desire to see the entire franchise end in November. We NEED a plan for the future. If it requires changing City of Heroes 1 into City of Heroes 2, then so be it.

    As for Paragon Studios, the studio may be kaput, but the people behind it are not. They have many ways to get together and communicate and to begin planning. Plans like these are not made in a vacuum, there must always be someone behind it. It is only after an initial plan is drafted that the team members are then assembled, not the other way around.
  3. The_One_and_Only_NA
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Golden Girl View Post
    There are several options available, but right now, the focus is on getting NCSoft to release the IP and the server code to allow us to continue the current game.
    If we're only able to get the IP, but not the engine, then an attempt would be made to rebuild the game in a new engine.
    If we don't even get the IP, then an attempt would be made to set up a player funded and run superhero MMO that would follow the same design goals and spirt as CoH, and with a new IP that was as close to the CoH IP as possible without attracting any lawyers.
    IF NCSoft were to release the IP and code, that would be great but then we would be in the same pickle as before: great game with loyal fanbase but not enough new income to stay afloat. Only this time we will have a big black X of having almost shutdown on us. We would still need changes to attract new players and retain them.

    If we get the IP but not the engine and have to rebuild the game in a new engine or get neither and have to build a new superhero MMO that would follow the same design goals and spirit as CoX, then why not make the necessary changes to be able to attract new players as well as fix the shortcomings of the current engine? We would have to rebuild from scratch anyway.

    No matter which of these comes to pass we would still need a plan for the future, and even if it is not a sequel, changes will still have to be made.
  4. The_One_and_Only_NA
    It has been over two days since the announcement of the closure of City of Heroes and hopefully by now most of you have vented your anger and/or sadness over this news. So if you are done your raging and weeping, I believe it is now time we analyze and find a solution to our common problem. Have a seat, grab a drink, and get comfortable.



    THE PROBLEM

    The problem is of course that NCSoft is shutting down City of Heroes. This is a blow to all of us, that our favorite MMO game will be no longer available after November 30th, 2012. The reason for this shutdown has not been explicitly stated, however one rumor has it that NCSoft is running out of cash and decided to axe City of Heroes as a cost-cutting measure. Another popular rumor has it that NCSoft was unable to renew the license of the game engine, thus unable allow City of Heroes to be available. And if Paragon Studios could afford to keep City of Heroes going without NCSoft, it would have.

    Regardless of the real reason for the shutdown, the real problem is this: MONEY. Neither NCSoft nor Paragon Studios have enough of it, so City of Heroes is being shutdown because no one can afford to keep it going.

    Unfortunately money is a Real World problem that can only be solved in the Real World.
    What we need is a Real World solution.

    What we need is City of Heroes 2.



    CITY OF HEROES 1 and 2

    Let's face it: City of Heroes was in a rut. It is an old game, well over 8 years now. It's game engine is as old if not older. Paragon Studios does not even own the game engine, instead it is licensing it from another company. It is difficult to work with, with some parts simply too complex and/or time-consuming to fix (see bases). The playerbase is slowly and steadily shrinking, being sustained mainly by long-time loyal veterans such as you and I. It is not getting enough new players despite City of Villains and Freedom. The gameplay mechanics can be argued as outdated and while the game is (supposedly) profitable, it obviously not enough profitable enough to keep it from being shut down. At the current rate, these profits will cease to be and instead become a loss, so business-wise it makes sense for NCSoft to give Paragon Studios and City of Heroes the axe early (especially if the cash from cutting employee salary and benefits > returned company profits).

    City of Heroes had a good run despite all its problems, 8+ years is a long time. We've had our fun and we all knew deep down that it had to end someday. All good things must come to an end, they say, and they were, of course, right. It might have happened sooner than we expected, nor in the manner we wanted, but it has, and we have to move on.

    So what does that leave us? It leaves us with the future. Good things end so that we can have another good thing. This is an opportunity for a big change, bigger than the Battalion, bigger than the blaster updates, bigger than issue 24 and 25.

    It is now time for the sequel of our favorite MMOG to surface. It is now time for City of Heroes 2.



    THE HOW

    Has any of you read PVPonline? It is a webcomic starring Cole and his crew who run a video game related magazine. During one arc (http://pvponline.com/archive/2010/11/01), Cole has a problem: his company is running out of cash and will soon be bankrupt. To prevent this, he needs money. He needs an investor.

    So Cole goes to his millionaire friend Rob and asks him to invest into the company. Rob, who used to work under Cole, refuses. Due to bad economic times and several bad investments, Rob has become cautious of spending his money on risky ventures. Stating that it would be unwise to invest in a magazine that is constantly losing money, Rob request that Cole submit a new business plan, one that makes drastic changes to the current business model.

    Hopefully you see where I'm going with this. Right now, the City of Heroes franchise is in trouble. With not enough money to go around, the game is shutting down. If the franchise is to continue in the future, we will need an investor, someone (or several someones) with lots of cash. However asking them to invest into something than has already failed is sheer business lunacy. We will need a new business plan (i.e. game) to convince them to invest in the City of Heroes franchise.

    Here's what I propose we do:

    To the developers Paragon Studios:
    I sincerely hope your super-secret project is City of Heroes 2. If so, then you will already have a head start on building up that business plan. Now that the end has come, you will need to really gear up and build that plan. It will have to be a plan focusing on the future, using newer technologies and game engine as well as the knowledge and experience you have earned from the first City of Heroes to build and create the sequel we all need and desire.

    To the players, you and I:
    What we need to do is spread the word. Spread the word that, yes we want a new City of Heroes game and that, yes we are willing to pay for it. We need to constantly do this for a long time over and over until they get the message that the City of Heroes franchise is worth investing into. Several of you have already proposed that some other company/entity acquire the franchise, be it Valve, crowd-funded or even Blizzard. While I applaud these efforts and would be happy to see any of them come to pass, I sincerely doubt they will without a new business plan (it just does not make financial sense). I am not asking that you cease these efforts, rather I ask that you also tell these companies that you would are willing to pay for any future game in the franchise, that investing into the City of Heroes franchise is a wise business move.



    SCREW THE END

    I will admit that I am a lurker. I almost never post anything on the forums, but I do read them, and I understand that we all feel the same pain, sadness and anger over the shutdown. The City of Heroes franchise is one that I adore, and I do not wish for it to end. If City of Heroes 1 must close, then let there be a City of Heroes 2. My proposal is for this eventuality, that we may now focus on the future of the franchise. I apologize for any inconsistencies or mistakes with the above or if I just did not make any sense. I sincerely hope you understand my message. Feel free to reply with suggestions and other ideas to flesh out the plan or just flames if you like, and hopefully we will never have to see the end of City of Heroes.



    You can find me in game on the Virtue server @SpinalBunnii.
  5. The_One_and_Only_NA

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