bluedarky

hmm, I came up with something similar with my brother a while back, IIRC it involved Excaliber going missing and appearing in a random place like the One Ring in the Battle for Middle Earth series, I think the four factions we decided on were Arachnos, Longbow and Hero Corps, Vanguard and the Rikti, I'll try to find the notes we made on it.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2-3 months

[/ QUOTE ]

Considering how long the timespace between I11-I12 and now I12-I13, I wouldn't guess so.

[/ QUOTE ]

We already know i14 is coming out in the first quarter of 2009. In case you didn't know, there are 3 months in a quarter, so 2-3 months is likely correct. Personally, I'd expect to get it on test sometime in February.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh huh...and we knew I13 was coming out before December!

[/ QUOTE ]

From a financial standpoint November ends this coming Friday, not to mention we were warned it could be held back until they were satisfied with the PvP changes (Don't go there anyone, there's already a thread for that), besides it'll be 2 days, allow me to repeat that, 2 days late. It's not the end of the world because they were two days late dude, they've got a lot of work to do in the next six months to combat the competition, cut them some slack.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
this is the best i could find it just says early 09 which i guess is Q1 but i did read something else that said Q1 so there could be another interview out there

[/ QUOTE ] I think you're misreading the interview slightly. When Positron mentions next year, he's talking about when I13 WOULD have been released if the Mission Architect had been kept in the issue.

This is the part which mentions dates:

We had always wanted to do this, but the development time needed to accomplish this would have pushed the entire Issue 13 into 2009, which we didn't want to do. In the end we took everything else that was in Issue 13 (and added a few new features) and are releasing that this Fall, and in early 2009 we will release an issue devoted to Mission Architect, complete with "customize the boss" and other features that the players felt so passionate about.

[/ QUOTE ]

just re-read my post and i was referring to the release of I14, which is supposedly releasing in Q1 but my guesses are MA will be the main feature with more base stuff and smaller QoL issues addressed

[/ QUOTE ]

This would be correct, we already know that they work on two issues at a time, the MA was nearly finished for I13 but they were planning on releasing the additions it was held back for at a later date.

Most of the work that would have gone on I14 will still be in I14, about all that the MA will be replacing is a few missions that will be released 2-3 months later in issue 15 (Which I'm willing to bet they're working on now.)

Where are we losing out?

Happy birthday FFM

[ QUOTE ]
i demand to know when issue 13 is being released its been in open beta since the 5th! how many more bugs can there be! surly it will be live before december! please just give us a date or even a week!

[/ QUOTE ]

Current favorite estimate is the 25th November,

and before you complain about how many bugs can there be, remember the last patch had a bug which applied trial restrictions to full accounts, had to be rolled back, and a new version tested,


and that patch was nowhere near the scale of this issue, if the issue patch screws up we could lose accounts, characters, inf, salvage, or even the whole server, so be patient.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
PRAF, tell him!

You'd have to dig around in the posts the devs made prior to the Invention release issue. And why are there pre-50 IOs... have you actually bothered looking at the values they give?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, and it's not too bright. It still has a effect though.

Also, PRAF isn't here, so you're on your own for now.

Invention System is also a case of FARM FOR IT!!! and that just is pratically farming at level 50. So in reality terms it can't really be called the 50 progressing, since you already enhance your stats, which could be done with enhancements before level 50.

[/ QUOTE ]

*Yawn*

Inventions is what the original Post-50 upgrade content (Designed and shelved during the Emmeret Era) was turned into, the original intention of the system was to allow characters to upgrade their characters past the standard SO and HO combinations.

The system was implemented across the 10 - 50 level range as the Devs decided to allow all mobs a chance to drop invention salvage, but if levels 10 - 49 couldn't use it, what point would they have in using the system. And also because it was the main feature of the issue and they didn't want to drive away people who didn't have a 50.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
As for moderation, I can't see why NC can't authorise specific people to be moderators for a sub-forum? Sections such as Badges aren't going to cause much in the way of arguing so a badge section with someone who knows badges well and is a respectable poster (Shades or BlueRabbit for instance) would be good moderators for it.


[/ QUOTE ]

God no. No player mods, ever ever ever ever EVER! BAAAAAAAAAD idea. Terminally bad idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed, agreed and agreed again for emphasis.

For reasons why take a look at the WoW board where they give certain posters VIP status including certain moderator powers.

Very, very bad idea.

[ QUOTE ]
Okay, I just noticed the little tidbit in some of the old Mission Architect info posts that the game engine can't handle stuff like AI versions of Masterminds with pets.

...isn't this wrong? Off the top of my head I can think of about 3 AVs who summon pets. Granted, two of those are Infernal - who summons about 5 minion-level demons - and The Slinger - who summons an endless wave of ambushes (though these are all from the MM Robotics primary).
However, the Woodsman summons 1 Boss, 2 Lieutenants, and 3 Minions from the Tuatha faction. Can't the engine let us give abilities like that to our customized Bosses when i14 comes out?

[/ QUOTE ]

IIRC Castle said that these "powers" were just programming scripts that place paticular mobs when the mobs's health reaches a certain level, a bit like how the AVs give comments at 75%, 50%, 25% and 0%.

It may be possible to do this in the updated MA but we won't know until early next year.

Considering that I13 has only been in open beta for a week, and that WOTLK is out on thursday this is highly unlikely.

In fact I'd say 25th as well as Issues are generally released on a Tuesday so they have the rest of the week to iron out the major bug that inevitably appears once it hits the live servers.

[ QUOTE ]
Hmm... can't really bring many overly rude tells up. And tho i do get i kinda provoke up sometimes...

Like on monday in Warhammer, guy named Jarlaxle was following me saying "Town of Berhassa?" over and over and trying to invite me. So which point i tire of him and say, "Yes, this is the Town of Berhassa, it shows clearly on the map, but you might be as inept at reading the user interface as you are with coming up with an original name."
Then he called me a B*tch... ME? but but...


There's been a fair share of stupid tells or so tho. Here's an example:
Random person: Can i jion ur taem plz?
me: Sorry on a TF.
Random person: Wat 1?
me: ITF
RP: can i jion pls????
me: we've started.
RP: cmon i wanna join!!!!!111
me: uh yea... hang on i'll send an invite.
RP: koooool!!11

(10 mins pass)

RP: invite?
me: oh i sent one, didn't you get it?
RP: nope.
me: you must be bugged, best log out and wait 15 mins before logging back on. Happens sometimes.

(here i take the opportunity to actually see what level he is... lvl 26 blaster, great)
(12 mins pass, yes i timed him )

RP: bak, invite?
me: you didn't stay off for 15 mins, you're totally bugged now, better stay off for 30 mins to be sure!
RP: f**k this f**king gme!!!!111

never heard from him again... perhaps i was mean, but hey, couldn't help myself. But people like that kinda tick me off... alot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Personally I would've told him to delete and reinstall his entire game by downloading it.

You could have easily finished the ITF 3 times over in that time.

Hmm, worst one,

I logged on for a few hours before work, towards the end of the session I went AFK for a few minutes, I came back to a team invite, checking the clock I clicked no and went to reply to the tell that came with it.

I promptly recieved a tell saying "Right, I'm going to log onto my other character and boot you from the SG if you don't join, SG members need to help each other out."

He didn't get chance to boot me from the SG, as far as I know the SG is now dead.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Ack!

Macs are not "just" PCs. While the hardware is now pretty much the same since the switch to intel, the Mac motherboards use EFI instead of a BIOS for initialising the hardware. There are a few PC motherboards that are starting to add support for EFI (And Vista is EFI-aware) but it's still pretty rare (And why you can't just run OSX on a PC without some tweaking).

CoX Mac will not be running under any kind of emulation either - as I said in my earlier post, it will be using Cedega, which is based on WINE, which is a reimplementation of the Windows API, not emulation of it, which means it runs as fast (and often faster) than the native Windows version.

That all being said, make an offical Linux version damn you!

[/ QUOTE ]

Better suggestion: Put it on 360 and PS3, so we can have the infamous community of WoW but nobody complains about not getting teams and low server population!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Because porting it to a console would involve a hell of a lot more work than is being done for this.

They'd have to completely rewrite the base code to allow for control pads (Which IIRC are not supported by the game currently), as well as rewrite the UI and various other features which in the current state of people demanding bigger updates is not feasible.

This on the other hand is a relatively simple process which will provide a boost to the playerbase.

Just to make sure, I mean relatively simple compared to porting it to a console.

3am

1048

halfway through my minimum target for today.

[ QUOTE ]
call me evil but would rather see NC putting efforts into getting COX more publicity and more players than making a mac working version , afterall who uses that little toy called a Mac muhahahah

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, lets see.

I use a MacBook to write, my mates store is managed with an imac, 25% of his sales and repairs are for Macs, most of my mates are mac exclusives.

In fact, with this news I may start to move more towards macs as CoH was the main reason I was hesitant to start using Macs exclusively.

[ QUOTE ]
On the discussion of Villian types I think the only two mobs that are available throughout the entire level range are Arachnos and Council.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whilst true for heroes, on villains Longbow and PPD are seen throughout the entire 1-50 as well. Just thought I'd point it out,

[ QUOTE ]
Starting up the comics and graphic novels again to coincide with this Masterplan™ post-Issue 15 NorCal supposedly have?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cackles and prepares to spam "I told you so" to everyone who doubts NCSofts plans for CoX.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
But..... It's NORTON!

[/ QUOTE ]

so what. some like, some dont. It works, its free, does the job it says. cant please everyone....clearly....

[/ QUOTE ]

It doesn't work (Norton AV has a 60%-70% success rate compared to Avast or AVG's 90%+, their Internet Security package delights in throwing up false positives and breaking online games).

It isn't free (Have you SEEN those annual subscription rates? The only time you'll see a free version of Norton is when it's packaged with something else you've bought so they can rope you into subscription)

It doesn't do the job is claims to (You're generally quite lucky if your copy of Norton AV detects anything but false positives and their Internet Security service has a number of documented backdoors)

It's also obscenely bloated, takes up a sizable chunk of memory when it's running and slows your PC's file access times down to a crawl compared to other brands. Look at this link for a quick comparison.

Finally, Norton is one of those programs that burrows very deep into your Windows installation, replacing DLLs and commandeering background services to wriggle itself in. When it comes to trying to get rid of it, it's virtually impossible to completely cleanse your Hard Drive of it other than via reinstalling windows.

It's a Piece of Steaming Pig Manure, and as a long-time ICT tech I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Except possibly for that woman from our Art Dept who has astoundingly selective memory and a Divinity complex.

[/ QUOTE ]

My mate runs a pc shop, he gets roughly 5-10 people in asking about Norton a week, and still refuses to stock it.

I've seen machines running at a crawl only to go as new once Norton was fully removed.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If the continually following you and doing it as you aproaching a door I think then you have a case for harrasment

[/ QUOTE ]

Bingo. That's exactly it. With one of them lots of taunts about how "we're not doing anything wrong. You can't petition us for this." Repeatedly, over broadcast.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you've got your chatlog saved then add it to the petition on the NCSoft support site as this is clearly harassment, or better yet, a screenshot showing the UI and the broadcasts.

Ooooooooooooo.

Very nice.

I am exceptionally nervous,

I've been an aspiring writer for years, but never really managed to stick with anything original or publishable.

So I've promised myself that if I can hit the 50,000 word target, I'll do everything I can to get my NaNoWriMo story published.

So big pressure here.

[ QUOTE ]
Alternatively corrupt those in power

[/ QUOTE ]

Considering the one with the most power in uncorruptable I wouldn't try it.

Epilogue – The way things are.

5 Months Later

Mel worked at the device on the desk in front of her, Vanguard had recovered it from a Rikti warrior and had sent it for analysis. She carefully used a screwdriver to lever the device apart at the join making a note of the action on the report.

She looked at the interior for a moment before reaching for her visor and putting it on. “Magnification x12.0,” she muttered as the visor complied and allowed her a closer look at the device.

She continued muttering for several minutes changing the magnification and tint of the visor and making notes of her discoveries until a pair of arms grabbed her from behind and a small voice cried “Mummy!”

“Laura,” cried Mel as she turned her head to look at her daughter, she had spent hours in conversation with Positron over Laura's appearance eventually opting to have Catherine's red hair and her mother's eyes. She smiled and stroked her daughters hair before looking around and back at her daughter. “Who's down here with you?” she asked.

“No one,” replied Laura, “I borrowed Auntie Mandy's key.”

“You've been naughty Laura,” chided Mel, “You know you're not allowed down here alone.”

“I'm not alone,” replied Laura, “I'm with my mummy.”

Mel smiled as she put down her tools, she recalled she'd been busy the last few weeks as the Rikti had been showing new more advanced equipment and Vanguard had sent a lot of it her way. She stood up and turned to Laura.

“Let's go upstairs and play Laura,” she said holding out her hand, Laura grabbed it and pulled Mel towards the elevator laughing.

In the apartment Stephan sat at the desk, finally getting around to filing the reports for the last five months. He picked up the report of the entire LOCA incident and stared at it, after a few moments of deliberation he lifted up the sheet and placed it inside a thin folder marked “Nemesis Failures?”

The End?

I'd like to point out four things,

1. NCSoft have created an entire development site in NCNC devoted to City of Heroes/Villains.

2. Competition is good, if NCNC play their cards right then Champions Online and DCUO will actually increase awareness of CoX, thus bringing more people into the game.

3. The current MMO trend, especially amongst big labels like DC is to produce a game quickly meaning that the game that hits the shelves is really still beta and thus is terribly bad, (look at AoC), again, if NCNC play this one right then they can attract more customers.

4. Both CO and DCUO are primarily console based games, console based games don't tend to translate well to pc format.

Knowing that two new Superhero MMOs would come out within the next few years, (Champions Online was still MUO when CoX was brought), why would NCSoft buy out and expand the dev team for what you call a dying game on it's last legs?

I forgot to mention LOCA, the name comes from an old Paranoia game a while back where I named a rogue AI LOCA as an acronym for Loco and Orignally Called Alan (The character was based on an old friend of mine named Alan) and I've been using it for AI's ever since.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Check the third post down in this thread:


[ QUOTE ]
An offline costume creator was available for City of Hero (the defunct Korean version), but by best guesses it can't be made available in the US due to issues with Marvel by total [censored].

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not the US. If it was possible in Korea perhaps its possible in EU? Imagine the fun to find out in every EU country if it is allowed

[/ QUOTE ]

Even if it doesn't extend to the EU (and I think it does because the agreement was said to cover areas where Marvel comics were sold) they wouldn't in case the same think as happened with the korean version happened and copies of it got over to the US.