William_Valence

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  1. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    Really? With mission completion statements like



    and



    I have something of a hard time seeing how whoever wrote those didn't think comic books and the people who enjoy them were anything but worthy of contempt.
    Honestly, I think it's an attempt at self-depricating humor. Along the same lines as you would see at a comic book convention where they have the guy walking around in a super hero outfit handing out tiny sticks of deodorant. It's funny as hell when they come up and say "Take a Super-stick!" and you look and it has a Superman symbol on it . Keeps the DDR room from being a cess-pit too.

    But when you look at the game as a whole, and keep the original cannon in mind, Champions runs the gamut from self depricating "fat comic book fan" jokes, to the amazingly well written (Don't play it yet it's bugged as hell) Whiteout comic series.

    Imagine John Carpenter's The Thing, with the chance for actual investigative options, and some bitchin' comic book type fights. (Again, it's got two biiiiiig bugs that make progress impossible and incredibly un-fun. Wait till it get's patched -then- play the @#$! out of it.)

    <-General non-targeted commentary on CO->

    The thing about Champions is, it not 8 years old. It just hit three years. Remember how CoH was three years in? With bugs, the ammount of content, and number of powers. It doesn't have the level of content CoH does, but -no- game out there has CoH's level of content.

    It's not CoH, but it's a fun game and worth a try.
  2. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Arcanaville View Post
    Memories! In fact, I think the first person to ever respond to a post I made on the forums was JRanger.

  3. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Schismatrix View Post
    ...Obviously that might not hold up in court, but unless i drastically misread the agreement that's what it claims.
    Adding to the recent theme of the thread, I wouldn't bet money on anything that happens in court.

    I'm personally amazed EULAs have -ever- been upheld, and I think software companies should thank God, whether they believe or not, that they've recieved as much protection as they have from the EULAs.
  4. Just to reiterate. It's not about boycotting NCsoft because "They're meanies and they broke my toys!", it's about where do I, as a consumer, choose to spend my entertainment budget with confidence.

    I don't trust NCsoft anymore. I don't trust their bussiness capabilities, and I don't trust that my investment in their products mean anything to them but $$. I don't think they've shown any loyalty to their players, and because of that I won't be buying from them. I mean, how do I know that the GW2 NA servers and resources won't be shut down due to shifting production support to GW2 Korea, and with my luck it'd be a day after I buy a $10 something or two off the market.

    It's that simple. To me, the smartest decision an MMO consumer can make, right now, is avoid NCsoft.
  5. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    I'm quite the reverse. That screenshot is almost enough to change my mind about giving the game another shot. Ye gads that cop is fugly, and I'm not even looking at the hero on-screen.
    Graphically CO is more Borderlands to our MW3. Not so much bad, but incredibly stylized. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    On point - thank you for the stats breakdown. Truth be told, "stats" tend to be where RPGs make or break for me. I ignore them for a long time, and as soon as I start HAVING to mess with them, I tend to find another game. If it's as simple as picking the stats I need the most and sticking to them, then sure, I can go with that. It should make things easier.
    From my experience, even when you get into the details of stats, it's not messing with stats so much as messing with what gives you stat bonuses. Pick your 3-4 stats, then make items (NON-COSMETIC) that give you the best numbers for them. You really -cant- try and manage all 8 stats, nor would you need to. It's more comprable to power selection than the invention system. You pick stats, then pick items/talents that give stats.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    I still have to say, though - I'm not a big fan of variable critical change percentages. That always seemed like the most "gamey" of RPG meta-game stats, and for what it's worth, I'm glad we can't do that in City of Heroes... Or I can't, don't know about Inventions procs. So is "critical chance" what's supposed to up ranged damage? Isn't there a stat that straight up increases ranged damage directly?
    Ego boosts ranged damage, hold resistance, some stuff with telepathy/telekenisis, and how much damage you do -when- you crit. With a very small bonus in increases your crit rate. The critical strike boost, however, seperate to the boost to damage you get to ranged attacks for having high ego. Dexterity is what pumps crit rate, basically letting anyone spec into the scrapper inherant.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mad Grim View Post
    Main problem I'm seeing with CO is the extremely low amount of powers. Unless I'm missing something, there don't seem to be pools or a secondary, just that one set. And since they are spaced out so much, you'll go most of your time with just a couple of attacks, which sounds like it'd be excruciatingly repetitive.

    It does seem kind of odd that CO was made after CoH, and yet seems so much worse. Hopefully it'll get better, and the influx of CoH refugees will push development along a bit.
    CO has a different approach to powers. Instead of 6 attacks with one animation each, they'd have 3 attacks that cycle 4 animations each. A few attacks in CO represents a powerset here, and it ends up being very different gameplay.

    I personally like CO, I just like CoH better, so in the 1111 days my lifetime sub's been active, I've probably played 11 of them. Without CoH to pull me away, you'll probably find me at CO.

    It's a good game, I just like this home better.

    PS.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow View Post
    Speaking of which, does Champions have such comprehensive status protection as we do here?
    Blocking. If you do get hit, you can escape early by doing the "Tap button to escape thing". Certain stats, such as ego, reduce the effects of mez and thus reduce the ammount of button tapping.
  6. Bah, nada. This whole shutdown thing happened before I could talk Synapse into buffing EM, Sonic Resonance, and Necro.

  7. Mild mannered reporter just dropped his CoH is closing article

    I sent an E-mail linking the various efforts to save the game, the CoH titan forums, and the "Paragon managment is in discussion with NCsoft" bit.

    I invited him to get in contact with you, Tony, and others trying to keep the game alive, as we may find dire need of his position and skills.

  8. Here's what I ended up sending to the Nexon PR E-mail:

    Quote:
    Nexon is currently the largest shareholder of NCsoft. With this I thought it would be important to bring up possible issues with NCsoft's recent decision to terminate the City of Heroes title. NCsoft has an infamous history and reputation for burning titles to the ground that they no longer wish to publish, instead of selling them. In the past this was much less of an issue as the games were pretty much dead, so closing the game didn't really effect a playerbase in a way that would hurt NCsoft. This is not the case with City of Heroes. City of Heroes was a successful western game that, according to NCsoft's own financial release, brought in 50% of the NA/EU income for NCsoft. The NA/EU market was about 4% of the total income for NCsoft, so it would not be unbelievable that they decided to move out of that particular market, however, the decisions they make in the next few days will very much impact their future, and the money Nexon has invested in them. NCsoft needs to sell the City of Heroes IP instead of burying it, and it's in Nexon's best interest as NCsoft's largest shareholder to ensure this happens. I'll explain why:



    1. Burning the game to the ground burns the community. It gets them no revenue, and hurts the relationship between NCsoft and the players. It also makes players of current titles nervous. If City of Heroes was half the NA/EU gross, how can they be sure their favorite NCsoft title isn't on the chopping block. This could cause panic among NCsoft consumers and a steep drop in their willingness to pay for digital items in a game that could be closed down ten days later. This is referencing the fact that our game was shut down ten days after the release of new store items that were incredibly well received, something that would scare the Aion NA or potentially Guild Wars 2 communities into slowing down in-game store purchases, just in case.

    2. CoH is a unique game that attracts a non-standard market. A market that NCsoft no longer targets thanks to the termination of the CoH title. Selling the game does not create unwanted competition. Players attracted to the title, that are willing to play a MMO other than City of Heroes may also be spurred to purchase a copy of Guild Wars 2, due to it's Free to Play nature. Opening the possibility for micro transactions that would have otherwise not occurred.

    3. Selling the game would be a new move for NCsoft. Nexon could show themselves as leaders focused on the players. The Goodwill and press they'd get would be worth more than the money from the sale. People would see Nexon as a company focused on community and support. People would be far more likely to play your games should they feel you care about the investment they put in.

    4. But there'd still be money from a sale. It would help pad NCsoft's numbers and make Nexon look even better with a jump in income right after their becoming the largest shareholder. Right now, City of Heroes would be gone. Imagine a dotted line bar on top of the revenue you have now, that represents was your income could be, should you sell the IP and assets. Right now your revenue is lower than it could be.

    5. The community is making a very large stink about this. Contacting gaming sites, creating petitions, ect... This won't be a quiet end, and Nexon will have a large influence on whether the noise is cheering NCsoft/Nexon, or something a great deal less pleasent.



    Please think about the PR ramifications of NCsoft's actions, and help us convince NCsoft that a sell is the best move for their future. You're money is at stake with this and thank God it's a situation you can influence. Please feel free to contact me if there is anything you need from our community, or the fine people over at the Titan network at http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/ (Who are also putting their time and effort into saving this game)



    I thank you for your time and hope you can help us,



    *Name Redacted* (@William Valence in the CoH community)
    If anyone wants to mirror the e-mail, they're welcome to. Also if anyone has other ideas for contacting Nexon's other departments, that'd be great.
  9. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fridgy_Daiere View Post
    If anyone bothers to check out Mishii's post history, there is an inconsistency in her syntax and voice that should not be ignored...her first post, while lacking in correct punctuation, does not display the ever-the-top ESL tendencies of later posts. Also, the voice of some posts show a certain maturity and depth of understanding of the game only demonstrated by a select few here on the forums, while others are outlandishly flighty...not to mention the freakishly accurate Professor Trelawney nature of two or three of her posts buried in the mixture.

    This may mean something or it may not; I may be grasping at straws in my grief, and she may just be some kid who can occasionally predict the future trying to pass herself off as something she's not.

    But maybe we should listen to her.

    Maybe.
    Or she's a well known member of Virtue's Cape Radio community who has had an observably strong relationship with the development team for a while now. She is outlandishly flighty, but she's still awesome and has been for a while.

    Also the irony of "ever-the-top ESL tendencies" made me giggle a bit. Thanks for that.

    It's not so much about listening to her, if you want to help; then help. If not, well ok then. I'd suggest helping out, going to the titan network forums to see what needs to be done. Maybe writing letters to the various video game news sites as has been suggested in a few threads here, but don't try to find silly things like "Is she faking a lack of fluency in english?" it does no good.

    Do or do not. One has absoultely no chance of getting NCsoft to sell.
  10. A thought occurs. Nexon is now the largest shareholder. That might mean they have some pull in these decisions. They may well have been a contributing factor to the shut down decision, but they might be usefull in attempts to get NCsoft to sell.

    (213) 858-5930137 North Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004

    http://www.nexon.net/corporate/business-opportunities/

    Are the different contacts I could find for the company.

    The goal in contacting them is to convince them that NCsoft selling the IP would be more valuable than just sitting on it. Selling gets them revenue they would not get from a shelved title, as well as goodwill for supporting their most active and dedicated NA/EU community even if it means they are going separate ways.

    If we can get them to apply pressure from within that could be a big help.

    My Idea for the approach:

    1. Burning the game to the ground burns the community. It gets them no revenue, and hurts the relationship between NCsoft and the players

    2. CoH is a unique game that attracts a non-standard market. A market that NCsoft no longer targets thanks to the termination of the CoH title. Selling the game does not create unwanted competition

    3. Selling the game would be a new move for NCsoft. Nexon could show themselves as leaders focused on the players. The Goodwill and press they'd get would be worth more than the money from the sale.

    4. But there'd still be money from a sale. It would help pad NCsoft's numbers and make Nexon look even better with a jump in income right after their becoming the largest shareholder.

    5. The community is making a very large stink about this. Contacting gaming sites, creating petitions, ect... This won't be a quiet end, and Nexon will have a large influence on whether the noise is cheering NCsoft/Nexon, or something a great deal less plesent.
  11. No,

    They were a company that bought a product that had the makings for a successful run.

    That product was still making it's successful run when they decided to cut it and a community that was supporting them.

    If I'm to give them any credit at all, it will be if they decide to support our community and allow CoH to continue development elsewere. Until then I've got nothing for them.
  12. Aion should be nervious. Not the Entire Aion, but the NA version.

    From what I've seen we were a bit over half of what NCsoft pulled out of the NA/EU. For western players of NCsoft games, we gave them the most money. Koreans had us beat 7+:1, but CoH was essentially NCsoft North America/Europe.

    Why would they keep pumping money into a community that did less for them than this one that they're shutting down? I would be unsuprised if Aion NA is shut down, and NCsoft decides to focus all resources toward the Eastern/Asian market.

    It does not appear a good time to be a Western MMO player.
  13. Tried Extra Credits, but it wouldn't let me submit the message. If someone could hit them up instead that would be amazing.
  14. So far I've done Massively, IGN, Kotaku, and PA. I'm going to look up Mr. Yahtzee's stuff and see if he'll make a vid or something. Any others that anyone can think of?
  15. Honestly, a few people dropping the type of tip I showed in their contact field would be a good way to show that this is a community effort. Then should, say, someone representing the titan network shows up and provides the story, there would be a demonstrated intrest.

    My thought on best bet. Do both. Have individuals drop the tip lines these type of messages. Then on tuesday they'll find a lot of interest in the story, and an orginized group they can contact.
  16. One thing I've been doing is heading to the "Give Tip" section of gaming news websites such as Massively and IGN, and writing something to this effect:

    'I'm @William Valence in the City of Heroes community, and as you may be aware NCsoft has decided to shut down the City of Heroes games. This comes as a huge shock to the players of the City of Heroes games as we've been an active and successful part of the NCsoft NA/EU market.

    As NCsoft tends to play it close to the vest with numbers, the best I've been able to come up with over the last few years is that the CoH games makes about 2.5mil per report, and is about 55% of NCsoft's NA/EU gross.

    It is not unreasonable that NCsoft has decided CoH no longer fit's with their future plans and goals, but our community finds it unreasonable that they would bury a successful game and it's community, a community that has supported NCsoft gainfully it's 8+ year tenure, with no regard for the players.

    We, as a community, ask that you write an article voicing our plea

    "Don't kill this community. If you wish to move a new direction, more power to you, but there is nothing like City of Heroes it won't compete with your future plans. It is the only super casual, non-grind, cosmetic based, super-powered MMO in existance. Allow Paragon Studios to develop the game independantly, or let them find a new publisher/parent company to take the IP forward.

    We have supported you untill the moment you announced our termination. Just 10 day's prior we were celebrating yet another new powerset, and the beta forums were alive and giddy with excitement for future balance changes, long awated power sets, and freaking power pool customization. This game has a lot of life left to it. Give us the ability to support you in the future, by showing your support for us now. Let us keep going even if it can't be with you. Don't go scorched earth on our game and forget that player that have supported you will be burned in the process."

    We don't know what to do, we're fighting for our game, community, and developers who have given us all we have asked for and thing's we couldn't imagine. The freedom for 1 in a Gillion+ character customization, and a level of content that beats out any two MMO's you can find on the market today. We are not done with this game and we need a voice.

    Please help us keep our community alive."

    The three goals here.

    1. Explain how this came out of no were and that this is not a failing title being dropped.

    2. Explain how this effects the community and as a result how it could effect other communities should the pattern continue to other NCsoft titles. Most importantly explain the rammifications of this action on the community to NCsoft relationship. If they burn us, we are unlikely to come back for more in the future.

    3. Give them an out that makes them smell like an effing rose. Invite them to support our community. Say it's not unreasonable to want to go a different direction, but state how amazed you are at their level of support should they choose to let us exist outside their umbrella of titles. Build them up as freaking shining heroes compared to lesser faceless and souless competiters who would have killed us off.

    I really don't know if this will help, but I'm still going to do what I can to spread this around as much as possible and invite others to do so as well.

    To those dealing with NCsoft more directly, I hope whatever pressure I can bring this way helps.
  17. I'm not refusing to touch another NCsoft game because I'm mad they cut my favorite one. I'm not boycotting them out of some sense of vengence, I believe I'm making a decision as a smart consumer.

    I'm refusing to touch another one of their games because I don't trust their bussiness strategy. Me supporting their titles ammounted to spit in the end, because instead of letting Paragon Studios go off on their own and develop oustide the NCsoft blanket, they went scorched earth on our game and community and don't show any indication they care that we've been burned in the process.

    It's ok if CoH doesn't fit their future goals, but to take the support we gave them through this game and community and basically tell us, tough nuts play one of these games instead, I'm done with them.

    Unless they decide to repay the support this community showed them, by freeing the IP, assets and development team to continue without them (Either as Paragon Studios or perhaps a development team working for Valve, I don't care we're not done with this game), I'm done with them.
  18. I'm not blaming GW2, I'm blaming NCsoft. Thing is, after this I can't trust NCsoft.

    If I get hooked on GW2 and the community, it's very unlikely I'll have the same 7 years there that I had here. When Lineage 3 or Aion 2 or whatever other game they decide on next is released how can I know that I'm going to be supported as a customer, as I've supported them, when they've done what they have to this community and game.

    I can't take another community I've grown attached to, and invested in this much "No longer fitting with our long term goals" and getting firebombed despite being successful. It wasn't WoW level profit, but we were pulling in more money than we took, when other factors led them to a $6mil hole.

    I don't trust NCsoft, and unless they change course right quick, I wont touch a game they're involved in and I'll recommend to anyone I can manage to tell that they shouldn't trust NCsoft either.
  19. Floodgates:

    My Dark/EM Tank. The living inspiration for every post I've ever made in a thread about fixing EM. A stalker that really didn't make it, is the dead inspiration for the posts, but nothing could kill off Floodgates...

    I thought. He's waded into aggro caps of anything you can think of and made it out. I considered respecing out of Soul Transfer. Since I finished IOing him, he never died once.

    Until a MoKeyes. Ran through the thing, and ET did more damage to me than any of the WWs I wasn't even having issues draggin AM around. Then up came AM in the last phase...Taunt...dafuq! Insta-gibed

    I don't think I had laughed that hard in the game in a long time. I wasn't even mad, just giggling trying to figure out what happened. It is most definitely my best Tanker memory and will be top 5 in my list of CoH memories for sure.
  20. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hit Streak View Post
    Zwillinger was playing around with streaming Google+ hangouts this morning and found that he can add accessories using his camera. Caption this photo!

    "Wheelbarrow? No fair, I never get to be the car!"
  21. Walking through the Pocket D, it hit me! We need the Monkey Fight Club Icon as a chest emblem!

    But it has to be low enough so that it'll fit on the Tank tops
  22. I'm noticing something that was mentioned but I don't see on your list at all. I may have missed if you mentioned.

    Shoulder and back Emblems? Both shoulders, one shoulder, whatever we could get would be amazing!
  23. Quote:
    Originally Posted by Venture View Post
    Honestly, no. I don't control how people choose to respond to what I have to say.
    In a way you do control how people respond. And this thought process is what makes you generally ignorable.

    Take what you said

    "Dude, do you know where Bermuda is? If the Rogue Isles are anywhere near the 50-mile line they are nowhere near Bermuda. And vice-versa."

    Instead you could have chosen a much less aggressive and volitile wording which would have resulted in progressing the discussion instead provoking aggressive and volitile response. For example:

    "That's actually a huge inconsistancy with the portrayal of the Rogue Isles. If they're supposed to be near Bermuda, they can't be near the 50-mile line, and Vice Versa. It's just not possible geographically."

    The fact you described your style of communicating the message as "shrapnel" and "a Bullet" is proof positive that you know full well how you choose to communicate to others and how it's recieved.

    You obviously don't care that you're a mostly ignorable figure on the forums, as you continue choosing to portray yourself in a superior way without regard to courtesy or manners, and act in a condesending fasion to anyone without an identical opinion. And people respond to that in a very consistant way. Just don't act defensive when people respond accordingly, or pretend that it's something outside your control.