TonyV

This needs to be validated. If I'm not mistaken, he said a little later that he got the dates confused, and that people would indeed be able to play on November 30.

Hey all, this is also Cross-posted at the Titan Network forums.

Having access to the reverse engineering crew, I'm almost certain that it will continue in some fashion. The only questions are details around how, and exactly how much functionality it will have. I'm still hopeful that we won't get to the point where this is our only option, though.

Methinks that you're making a lot more of this whole "anyone who disagrees is a troll" attitude than is actually there.

You seem to have seriously mistaken a couple of posts of mine in which I said that it's poor taste and trollish to come here and post that you don't care about the game to mean that anyone that cares about it less than I do isn't doing enough. I've tried to correct that perception a few times, but you seem to have gotten it stuck in your head so firmly that I can't budge it. That's a shame, and I'll say it yet again so that hopefully you'll go back and re-read the posts that you have so grossly misinterpreted and get what I actually said.

Here it is in a nutshell: I have never demanded that anyone has to do X, Y, or Z to be a "loyal enough" fan to join our movement. I have consistently said that we'll take whatever level of dedication you're willing and able to give.

I've also never said that you have to 100% agree with me or what I'm doing. I won't name names, but I've already run into someone who I suspect thinks that I'm just way off track and has decided to pursue their own path. I've sent some messages basically saying, "I don't think that would be productive, I think this other way is the best of course of action," messages I think have pretty much been ignored. But hey, more power to 'em. I don't think they're being particularly destructive, just not particularly effective.

Also, one of the things that I've been really impressed with is how so many people have done things on their own initiative. Right now, I count my main accomplishments as: 1) rallying support for saving City of Heroes and getting people on board with the notion that it can be done, 2) giving them a place not controlled by NCsoft where they can gather and discuss what's going on, 3) helping to organize the Unity Rally, and 4) generating a fair measure of publicity, again with significant help of others. But creating graphic banners? I didn't ask anyone to do that. Creating videos? I didn't ask anyone to do that, either. I also wasn't the one who got retweeted by Neil Gaiman, Sean Astin, or Felicia Day. I didn't reach out to John Kovalic, Mercedes Lackey, or Scott Kurtz. I've used some of those efforts for publicity, but all of that stuff was other people taking initiative and filling in spaces where they saw a gap. If you really think that I perceive myself as the be-all and end-all of the Save City of Heroes movement, I don't know what else I can say to convince you that you are WAY off. I have consistently done my best to ensure that the credit for all of our accomplishments goes where it is due: to the community that is participating in these activities and making their voice heard. If we're successful, years from now I highly doubt that the world will remember my name, but I'm pretty sure that they'll remember the City of Heroes community that stood up and said, "Not like this."

Guys, I'm right here...

Congratulations! Funny enough, I found out earlier today that I'm going to be an uncle again. My little sister is having a baby, her first. Excitement all around!

True story:

I was in the secret focus group a year ago May, in which a small group of players were invited to provide feedback regarding City of Heroes: Freedom, Paragon Points, the Reward Bush, etc. Among the people there, four of us were from WAY out of town, flown in from other regions of the country.

Andy hung out with us a lot during those two days we were in town, including taking us to some local places to eat, hanging out at the hotel until something after 2:00am (that's Pacific time--WOW was I tired but enjoyed the hell out of it), and taxied us around from place to place in his own personal car.

I've seen him posting at all hours of the day, and he's always been incredibly nice and respectful no matter how people were trolling him and the staff of Paragon Studios. Frankly, I don't know how he keeps it all bottled up inside. I like to imagine that he has a room at his house with fist holes all over the walls where he just lets it all out.

But I have never seen anyone so smart, engaging, caring, and dedicated to the community he has watched over. We've always had a fairly interactive bunch, but to borrow a phrase, he really took it to the next level. He championed Paragon Studios and City of Heroes blooming out onto Facebook, Twitter, Ustream/Twitch.tv, and Google+. His Freedom Fridays, Coffee Talks, and other unprecedented looks behind the curtains of our favorite game allowed us to feel more a part of the process than ever.

Andy, man, wherever you end up, I know you're going to be putting the "fan" in fantastic, and for that, you're always going to be a key member of your team and an invaluable asset to your company. Anyone would be lucky to have you, and it's been an honor to talk to you over the years. If you ever need a reference, you could probably shout out to anyone here and they'd step up to the plate for you, and you can certainly count me among the people whose trust and admiration you've earned.

Take it easy, and keep in touch. Let us know where you're going, because that's a community I'll probably definitely want to become a member of. And tell your wife and kids a huge "Thank you!" for letting us borrow you for a while.

I've said all along that this game means different things to different people. I am upset because, as someone above mentioned, 80+ people were laid off. "It happens all the time," you say? Well, that's true, but it's also pretty sad. These people have been busting their butts, some of them for more than 10 years, working all sorts of crazy hours and being really good at what they do. I guess that it always bothers me when someone works really hard, does a great job, and their big fat reward is a swift kick in the a** out the door. You know how your mom always told you that if you work really hard and are really smart that you'll do well? Statistically speaking it might work out that way in aggregate, but this is just evidence that on an individual level, sometimes you're completely at the mercy of people who do not have your best interest at heart, and there's a steep price to pay for it.

Nevertheless...

I get it, I really do. To some people, this is "just a game." It shuts down, you move on to something else, ho hum. I've never demanded anything else from people who really don't care that much.

But even if to you it's "just a game," surely you can empathize with those to whom it is more. Have you ever been in one of those bases that, when you walk in, you think, "Holy sh**, someone spent hundreds of hours designing this"? That's passion. Me, I'm not a base builder, and I've never spent more than a couple of hours or so on a base to make it look at least passable. If some program glitch came along and destroyed any of my bases, I'd be like, "Meh. Whatever, I'll just throw a new one together later, no biggie." That's how you sound about the game in general.

However, if that same glitch destroyed the work of art that some people's bases are, places into which they've poured hundreds of hours of their creative effort (and it shows!), then even though I'm not into base building, that would absolutely rip me apart emotionally. Not because I'm personally affected, but because the product of someone's creative energy has been destroyed, and that's a shame.

I've tried to convey to people that it doesn't really matter much how you feel about the game. It doesn't really matter if you even play the game. I see the detail that some people put into their characters. I see the intricate storylines that people have created in Architect Entertainment. I see the awesome pieces of art that people have commissioned in honor of their characters. And yes, I see how incredibly hard the writers, artists, coders, designers, and other staffers at Paragon Studios have worked to create the framework in which that stuff exists. And when I think about some company flipping a switch and turning it off because of some organizational realignment, it really makes me feel queasy inside.

Do you like football? Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a huge Atlanta Falcons fan. I've followed them for years. I went through the ups of the 1998 Super Bowl season, through the downs of Michael Vick's dog fighting conviction and Bobby Petrino's 4-12 "lost" season. With their schedule and talent this year, I really think they could go all the way. The past four years have been great--after 43 years without back-to-back winning seasons, they've now put together four in a row, started 2-0 in their fifth, and gone to the playoffs three of the last four seasons. In other words, they're doing pretty well.

So what do you think fan reaction would be if all of a sudden Roger Goodell announced that he's really proud of the Falcons, but they're just not in the league's long term goals? Thanks for the support, but the team will be shutting down operations after the November 29 game against the Saints, and the front office staff are all being laid off. They're not going to be selling any more tickets to the games, but if you already have season tickets, you can still go. And don't worry, they'll refund season ticket holders what they paid for the unused tickets. The team isn't moving, it's simply vanishing into oblivion. You might be able to keep watching Matt Ryan when he moves to Oakland or Julio Jones when he moves to Miami, but you'll probably lose track of most of the players as they go their separate ways.

People would at first be stunned, then they'd likely go nuts. Even people who have no interest in football would likely--hopefully--say, "That's just wrong." Does the NFL have the right to do such a thing? I'm pretty sure they do. Do the fans have the right to be upset about it? Oh, hell yeah. Would people saying, "I don't understand what the big deal is, you can always just watch other team" help alleviate the frustration and anger? Not a chance.

How do you think fans would feel when some people say, "Am I the only one not upset by this?" The answer is simple, because it's the same way we feel. We're not asking you to like our game, but please don't trivialize how we feel about it. And even if you don't like our game, please at least have the respect for us to support what we're trying to do, quietly if you prefer, or out in the open by doing things like signing the Save City of Heroes petition. You don't have to be an avid member of a community to have the bare decency to not want to see it go away.

If you're thinking, "I didn't say that I want it to go away," you might think that, but by posting threads like these, hopefully you can understand how demoralizing it is to us who are trying very hard to fight for it to continue. You may not mean to convey that, but that's definitely what is being conveyed. Other people who are fighting but tired see this post, and it might be the one that tips them over from, "I'll support them and see how it plays out" to, "Why am I doing this when other people think it's a waste of time?"

So are you the only one who's not upset? Of course not. But please, I see no purpose in advertising your apathy to us. If you want to go, then go, and let those of us who are continuing to fight continue to fight. If you're right, come December, it's no skin off your teeth. But if you're wrong and there is a way to save this game but you convinced the people we need to stop supporting our effort, then you've needlessly done a heinous disservice to our community.

Ooh, I got pictures! Here are some of mine:

Infinity heroes waiting (mainly on me) to start task force:



My first team. Most of them stuck around for part 2, but there was a little bit of shuffling between parts:



Another shot of my first team, on our way to save Atlas Park:



We took a few screenshots between part 1 and part 2. This seemed appropriate:







And this was my team on Infinity facing off against the big baddie himself. I tried to convince them that maybe Dr. V isn't so bad, that his ideas might have merit, and I think that being an Eidolon wouldn't be so bad, but unfortunately, they wouldn't have any of that.

Hey all, as probably most of you know, I'm one of the administrators at the Titan Network. This post might come off as a little self-serving, but the fact is that this web site and these forums are owned by NCsoft, run on NCsoft equipment, maintained by NCsoft (referring to the back-end, not front-end moderation), and paid for by NCsoft. As such, it's simply inevitable that along with the game, they are going to be sunset--possibly sooner rather than later.

The practical situation is that whatever happens, we need a way to keep in touch if all of a sudden the site goes dark. (Been to Tabula Rasa's old home page lately?) Please don't take away from this that I know something is imminent; I don't. They could be up for months. But they could also be shut down any minute.

Accordingly, you need to bookmark at least these three sites:

• Titan Network forums: Once these forums go dark, this will probably be the primary hub of discussion among the player base. We'll be posting news and information as we have it, as well as asking opinions and engaging in discussions on our next steps in keeping City of Heroes alive. You can register and account on our home page.

• Save City of Heroes and CoH Alumni: A couple of Facebook groups set up for players to connect to each other, post stuff for public consumption, and keep in touch. I know that there are more groups, and at some point we'll probably put a page up dedicated to links to those groups, but those are the two main ones I've been monitoring and posting on.

• @TheTitanNetwork (Twitter): The Titan Network's Twitter feed. Eabrace is doing an awesome job maintaining this. Truth be told, he's doing a lot better job of keeping up with the latest and greatest of everything than I could possibly hope to. You'd do well to add it to your usual rounds of browsing for news and info.

Hopefully at some point we'll all be able to kick back and laugh at that time that we thought the forums might go down. Realistically, I think it's not a matter of if it happens, but when. I just don't want people to be left out in the dark. If they do go down, please be sure you publicize to everyone where they can go to contact us and get the latest (or as much of the latest as we know).

Hey all, Leandro was kind enough to set up a Google event calendar for us to use to coordinate our events. Right now, we have the Positron's Ally even coming up Thursday and Saturday on there, and a few other events he's culled from the forums. I'm going to be getting one of our coordinators to look around the forums and on Twitter for events to add as well. Hopefully this calendar will help you find events that suit your fancy that you'd like to attend and make it easier for you to keep track of what's going on.

If you want, you can browse directly to the calendar using the following URL:
http://tinyurl.com/savecohcal

Alternatively, if you have a Gmail account, you can add the calendar to your personal Google calendar by following these easy steps:

1) On your Google toolbar (which should show up whenever you're logged into Google and on any of their service pages), click Calendar.



2) On the left side of the calendar page, click on the little arrow to the right of "Other Calendars," and on the popup menu, select "Add by URL".



3) Copy and paste this URL into the URL: field, and click Add Calendar: