jwbullfrog

Already there.

It will be Three AM here when the world ends. Since I've already requested the time off, I'll be able to get a few last pictures, run a mission or two, and, when the lights go out, say goodbye to an old friend.


I fully believe the game can and will be resurrected, but there is one inescapable fact: The game will shut down on November 30.

I intend to be there when it happens.

well, there is always SW:TOR going F2P on the 15th.

Lord of the Rings online F2P options available

Star Trek Online F2P available


notice a trend here?


Cryptic is working up Neverwinter but that might be a while before it's rolling.

but, if you need to know now, follow this link

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm

not everything may be to your liking but something might take the edge off your cravings

And that's that. I did say I was going to try and end this before time ran out. I almost didn't make it.

This will most likely be the last Alexis Alexander story posted on these forums. I wish I had time for more but...

Thanks to all of you who have stuck with these and, again, to those of you who have let me borrow your characters from time to time. It has been my greatest pleasure to be a part of this community. I hope to see you all again in new worlds.

This may be the end of stories but I'll still be around until the end.


Until then Paragonners, good night to you.


---JWB

Hiya Paragonners, Alexis Alexander here from a rather cramped elevator.


How many zombies can you fit in an elevator? I know, it sounds like the opening line of any number of zombie jokes but the Council seemed to be willing to find out. To be honest with you readers, I kind of lost count around fifteen. I will admit that it was a large cargo elevator and Zandra, Caridad and I didn't take up that much space, but every other inch of it was filled with zombie.

You'd think that our captors didn't trust us.

The council soldiers had already gone topside. Probably to stake out a good spot to watch the execution and listen to the glorious speeches that would proceed and follow it. The good thing about my plan was that I would miss most of the opening speeches. The bad part was that, if it all went wrong, I wouldn't be alive to hear the speeches afterward. I didn't plan on being around in any case. Getting back to the top of the hill was just the first part of my plan. Being able to talk was the second.

Yes, being able to talk was my big plan. I'd like to say that I had something dramatic in mind to save the day and, in a way, I did. Like I've said before, the Council have massive egos. I guess it's a way of compensating for their critically withered sense of decency. It's a very rare occasion when the Council thinks that it is even possible for them to lose.

You'd think that after the 100th time or so they'd get the message.

It was just a little before dawn when we stepped out onto the hillside. I could feel a slight chill on the breeze and there was the scent of tropical flowers and the lingering aroma of scorched zombie. I could see maybe a dozen council soldiers, some of whom were sporting bandages from recent medical care, and maybe twenty or so zombies. I was pleased not to see any tikis or floating masks, since that would make things much harder.

I could hear somebody talking as we were herded to the center of the clearing. It sounded like the same soldier that, oh so cleverly, got the drop on us earlier. It was good to hear his voice. I hated to think about how this would work if I had to deal with his superior officer.

"... And although we suffered losses, we, the men of The Council have once again proved ourselves superior. And now, because we are superior, we will execute the traitors to give the world another example of what happens to all those who dare defy the Council. Soldiers! Take Aim!"

"Excuse me," I shouted over the sound of imminent doom. "But it would be better if you lined us up on the cliff side first."

"What, " said Caridad and Zandra together.

"What?" said the soldier in charge.

"The cliff side. It's more poetic that way," I said taking a step toward the soldier. "Look, I'm a writer and I know about proper framing and placement of elements in a scene to convey the right image. If you just kill us here in the middle of the clearing, what does that say? It says, you're no better than common thugs, and I know that's not the image you're trying to convey. Am I right?"

"Well..."

"Am I right?" I countered. Sometimes getting your opponent off balance is just as important in conversation as in martial arts.

"Well, yes..." he sounded unsure. Somewhere in his brain was the thought that she should have shouted 'fire' a few moments ago and gotten back to business but somehow, things weren't quite going to plan.

"Ok, good. Now you just need to line us up on the cliff side...." I walked over to Caridad and Zandra and linked arms with them and walked them to the edge of the cliff. "Ok, now you have us lined up against the sky. That's much much better. It makes a far more dramatic image. Now all you need is the sunrise."

"What," said the soldier, more than a little out his element.

"What," said Zandra, more than a little out of hers as well.

Caridad tried to keep a straight face but I could hear a quiet snort from her. She'd figured out where I was going. All I had to do was give her the time she needed.

"Yes, the sunrise. To symbolize a new dawn for the world under Council leadership. To show the end of the old system and show the world how bright the new day can be..."

By now you're probably wondering, "was he really that dumb?" Actually, I was relying on an old trick. People, even completely deluded ones, hesitate to interrupt a person who is speaking with authority. As long as I could keep talking, he'd wait for me to finish.

I rambled on extolling the virtues of the Council and how it was clear to me how right their worldview was and how wrong I had been. I pushed every button I could think of to keep the Council distracted, and the fools were soaking it up. Behind me the sun was getting higher in the sky and next to me Caridad was standing very still.

Glowing.

"Enough of this," shouted the soldier. He'd either figured out that I was stalling or he'd just gotten tired of listening. Actually readers, I'm surprised I got as much time as I did. He cut me off with a wave of his hand and started to give the traditional orders.

"Ready," twelve rifles pointed at us.

"Aim," a dozen red dots floated over critical points.

"Duck." shouted Caridad as I dove sideways and pulled Zandra to the ground.

For the second time in my life I found myself face down in the dirt while a significant fraction of the sun's heat lashed out overhead courtesy of Caridad. I kept Zandra down as low as I could get her since I knew she could survive sunburn far better than incineration.

I know I heard come of the soldiers start shooting but unless they were using something other than their standard magnetic acceleration rifles, their bullets were melting within moments of leaving the barrels.

I tried very hard not to listen to the other sounds that meant men were dying.

As soon as I felt the wave of heat subside I stood up quickly and grabbed Caridad around the waste before she could fall off the cliff. I propped her up for a few moments and looked over at Zandra. She was already propped up on her elbows with her rifle in her hands, covering the clearing.

"Ok, I know that was taken away from you," I said. "How did you do it?"

Zandra smiled and actually had the good grace to look ashamed. "Recall button. Karl Wunder really was a genius."

I couldn't find fault with that statement as I scanned the clearing for any targets. I didn't see anything moving except for flames. And those were moving far too quickly for my taste. Zandra had climbed to her feet and looked at me.

"I think she overdid it. Any ideas?"

"Not unless you have a fire extinguisher on that gun."

"Sorry, he wasn't that much of a genius."

"I was kind of hoping."

The entire top of the hill was in flames. The word 'overdone' kept running around my head as the grass at our feet began to brown and ignite. I couldn't see a way out and Zandra looked just as lost.

"Alexis, Zandra," said Caridad weakly, "group hug."

Zandra propped up her left shoulder while I got my balance under her right. Caridad wrapped her arms around us tightly and put all her strength into a massive bear hug. I leaned into her and wrapped my own free arm around her waist.

Caridad stepped backward off the cliff and took with her.

I was too shocked to scream. Burning to death was a horrible way to die, but falling of a cliff wasn't much better. I knew that cliff divers had managed to survive these kind of falls but they usually weren't jumping as a trio. A few moments of terror passed before I realized that we were slowing down and that we probably would not hit rock hard water and splat.

I have mentioned that Caridad can fly, haven't I?

She turned our fall into a power dive and swoop above the wave line. All three of us were whooping like fools as she pulled us into a sharp climb which turned into a reverse loop which became a barrel roll. It was the ultimate roller coaster and we were enjoying every second of it as she carried us back to the Katana.

We landed lightly on the deck to the renewed applause of the crew. They had seen the flare from the first time Caridad blasted the hillside but they were too busy repelling their own zombie invasion to come to our rescue. They wrapped us in blankets and gave us glasses of wine and generally made a fuss which, I will admit, I did not mind at all.

An hour later we were showered, changed into clean clothes, and ready to get underway. Most of us were anyway.

"I have to go back there," said Zandra as she checked the contents of her belt pouches. "I can't leave a time portal just sitting around for anyone."

"Need help?" asked Caridad as she dried her hair.

"It's probably better if you don't. In fact, I'll need you to get as far from here as you can."

"What are you planning on doing Ma'am?" asked the captain.

"Time bomb."

"So you set the timer and we run, no big deal," said Caridad.

"Sorry, I forgot that the terminology has shifted." Zandra looked at me, "This island wasn't on your maps because it wasn't there when the maps were made. I plan on overloading that time portal to detach that whole island from the timestream. If you are too close when it goes off you might just be pulled along with it and I don't know if I'll be able to pull you back again."

"How far?" asked the Captain.

"I'm not sure. It's not a precise science even for my era." She reached into one of her pouches and pulled out a small glowing crystal and handed it to me.

"This is an old family heirloom. It was given to my great-grandmother some time ago. Family legend says that, if you do find yourself lost in time, hold this in your hand and concentrate on home. How it smells, how it looks, how it feels, how it tastes. The stronger your memories, the better."

"And what about you?" I asked.

"Not to worry. I still have a few tricks left. Captain, get moving. The faster the better."

Zandra disappeared and the Captain gave the orders to get us underway. Our second turbine was still not functioning so the Katana wasn't quite as nimble as she could be, but she gave us everything she had. I watched the island recede into the distance and waited for... I don't quite know what.

Caridad stepped up beside me. "It's time to go home."

I put my hand into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around Zandra's crystal. If felt almost warm, a bit like both fire and ice together. I closed my eyes and thought about Paragon City. The statue of Atlas, the skyscrapers of Steel Canyon, even the Ghosts of Croatoa. I had to remember them all or else I'd lose my home forever.

The crystal grew warmer and I could feel the world shifting. All I could think about was one word.

Home.

I gave up on giving up long ago. Now I just keep banging my head against walls until either the wall breaks, or I pass out.

Passing out is not giving up. Giving up is voluntary.

Actually the restrictions don't sound that bad. It's really not much worse than you see over at LoTRO or STO or even in our own CoH.

The only one that I cannot find a clear explanation of is DEATH. I understand that I can go to the hospital as often as needed but I dont get the limit of 5 field rezzes. Does anyone know if thats 5 per day or 5 period?

I get the feeling its like a 5 shot temporary power. 5 uses and its gone.

If you're using Windows OS, you should be able to get to them from the screenshots folder inside the COh directory.

Usually that is Crogramfiles (X86), City of heroes, Screenshot

or somewhere in that neighborhood

I think you can safely assume that there will be an audience. We appreciate being kept in the loop. The fact that there there isn't much of a loop left is completely beside the point.

That was great.

Sad.

But great.

And I love the veiled hints of 'watch this space' from just about all of them. I am so looking forward to tomorrow.

I get reminded of an old bit of poetry. I'll have to paraphrase a bit...

They came for exsteel... and I said nothing, becuse I didn't play.
They came for dungeon runners... and I said nothing because I didn't play.
THey came for Auto Assault... and I said nothing because I didn't play.
They came for Tabula Rasa... and I said nothing because I didn't play.
then they came for City of Heroes... and there was nobody left to speak for me.


At this point, barring a miracle or two, this is where we are. Even if we can't save this game, we must continue making noise so that maybe the next game that gets shut down gets treated a little better.

Its not about NC Soft anymore, we know all that we need to know about them, its about the gaming community as a whole. All of those people who play Guild Wars, or Aion, or LoTRO, or STO, or Secret World, or any of the dozens of other games out there, they are listening and they are wondering...

Who will speak for me?

We will. Because we are heroes, this is what we do.

and don't forget self heating coffee. As we found out a few years back, this can be essential when the power goes out and you MUST have coffee.

I was just reminded of a piece of music that is very appropriate to our current situation.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgzXwpePTTU


If you're not familiar where this comes from its from the show 'Man of La Mancha' which follows the story of Don Quixote.


Keep fighting.

Hiya Paragonners. Alexis Alexander here from the trapped like a rat department.


"The plan is for you to die so that Mot may live..."

How do they do that readers? I swear there must be a how-to book for villains titled '101 ominous things to say when you've caught somebody by surprise.' I can just imagine that its full of fill-in-the-blank templates for all occasions so you just have to add the heroes name and a verb.

For example: Once you have the hero strapped to your latest fiendish machine you could taunt them with, No, (add hero's name here) I expect you to (verb). See? Easy.

With minimal preparation, you can have a snappy one-liner for all occasions. And, to be honest readers, most of the villains that have tried to kill me have needed the help. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are some dangerously intelligent villains out there who really don't need the help (they probably write their own material. Or at least hire someone good to do it for them) but for some, like the 80 years out of date fascists of the Council, the book must be indispensible.

What really made that particular line good was the fact that it was said by a floating ceremonial mask that had drifted down the stairwell behind us. Sometimes, style matters and it's really hard not to award style points to a self propelled, glowing, wooden mask.

The mask was another of the manifest spirits of the Banished Pantheon, one of their nastier ones. The masks usually manifested as the sprit of one emotion or another. They embodied, Hate, Anger, Lust, Desire, Envy... you get the picture. I wasn't sure which one that particular mask was supposed to be but it didn't really make a difference. It had the drop on us.

I still wasn't sure who or what Mot was but, since I didn't have any urge to die for it, I classified it as bad and tried not to think about it. Caridad and Zandra, on the other hand, had decided to be a bit more proactive on the subject. As soon as the words had finished echoing, both of them opened fire on the mask.

Caridad swept her hands in front of her and the air around the mask started to glow. Zandra followed up with a set of rapid fire shots from her rifle. The mask was smashed backward through space as the bolts hit home.

"Run," I heard in two part harmony as two hands grabbed me under the shoulders and propelled me down the last few stairs and into the room at the base.

I've made more dignified entrances but I understood the urgency. I did manage to keep my feet under me though, which made delivering a swift side kick to to council soldier that much easier. He sprawled off to my left as I took up a stance and looked for my next target.

Much to my relief, there wasn't one. What was in front of me was a large room with a glowing ring in the center of it. Caridad was right, there was a portal. I remembered one that looked similar from a tour I had taken of Portal Corps a year or two earlier.

I wasn't certain but I thought I could see something through the shimmer at the heart of the portal. It looked like the neighborhood in Astoria where I went to school but that couldn't be right, Astoria was lost to the Banished Pantheon years earlier...

"Importing zombies from the past," I said to myself.

"Looks that way," said Zandra's voice from my right. "I always wondered how they managed to get so many in there so quickly."

"But we can stop it, right? I mean before it all goes.."

"No," she said sadly. "we can't. It's already happened."

"But all those people..."

"I'm sorry, I truly am. Time can be altered in small ways without causing harm but events that big cannot be changed without causing even more disastrous tears in reality."

"So we do nothing?"

"Oh no," she said with a bit more steel in her voice. "That," she said pointing her rifle at the portal, "is going to go boom along with this island."

"And, said a slightly breathless Caridad from my left, "maybe we can get a bit of revenge for Astoria."

It was a truly inspirational thought. One that, if this were a movie, would be accompanied by a massive string section and some special effects. It would have been perfect if it weren't for the sound of a dozen rifle bolts being pulled back at the same time.

I wasn't being exactly honest a little while ago. I told you there weren't any targets but what I should have said was that there weren't any targets within reach. It turns out that the room was full of Council soldiers. It just took them a moment or two to close on us.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender," shouted the lead soldier. "And we might not throw you through the portal to use as they see fit."

That was a death sentence. I figured I'd see how far I could push. "And what will happen if we do?"

"Then we take your friends rifle and other technology, experiment on your other friend, and make sure you have a good view of the proceedings."

Have I mentioned that the Council are not nice people? I'm sure I have. But they had one massive disadvantage I could use. They had egos the size of Texas.

"Fine. You win," I said trying to sound as dejected as possible. "But I have a last request."

"You're not going to ask to be released are you?" Oh, a smart one. Had to happen sooner or later.

"No. You're too smart for me. I just want to ask if we could be executed at sunrise. I'd like to see one last day before I go."

I held my breath at this point. I really had nothing left and I was hoping that the Council were as arrogant as I thought they were. If I could get us outside, there was a chance. All I needed was a break.

"It's almost that time. A few extra minutes won't change anything. Take them to the roof and let them die facing the dawn."



I do so love predictable people.

Absolutely magnificent.

Perhaps some day this could be the intro music for a city 2.

edit: I am now on my fourth playthrough. bravo.

Hey, it's still Jack's baby.

It may have grown up a bit since he was last here but I can't imagine he'd want to see it shut down any more than we do.

Lets face it, there's a lot of simmering dislike of the man which I never understood and I think is a bit silly now, but he was one of the people who gave us this game so, whatever gaming sins he may have committed, I think we can forgive him.

Maybe it's time to let that particular dead horse rest in peace?

Well that is true enough EL but, if this does get to the mainstream press, they will want to do some research and they'll go to the internet and 'lo and behold' there will be all this information out there already telling a different story.

The sad truth is that this will probably never get to the mainstream press.

As you say, it's just not a big enough story what with all of the bigger events going on in the world. This is likely to remain a localized story but, the important thing to remember is that the people who are paying attention to this are the very people that NCSoft would like to have as paying customers.

It may be hard to tell but how many copies of GW2 have not been sold because of this? How many people will not buy Blade and Soul because of this? How many people will not play Wildstar because of this?

Negative press is always negative press despite what PT Barnum might have said and it takes a long time for companies to win back customers. If NCSoft had any chance of damage of damage control, they should have gotten to it long ago. Staying silent just reinforces the image that they just don't care. And how many people really want to buy something from a company that just doesn't care about what they sell?

At this point it would be difficult for an article with a pro-NCSoft slant to be taken seriously. The general internet talk about the shutdown has been very much in the players' favor and even the few dissenting voices have been generally sympathetic (i.e. 'yeah the game sucked, get over it, but it shouldn't have been shut down.)

If NCSoft was going to have a chance to put a more favorable spin on this, it would have had to been done at the beginning. Their silence on the matter has not done them any good and has let those people sympathetic to our cause control the conversation.

The only thing that NCSoft could do now to regain any kind of positive press about this is to issue a statement explaining their reasoning for shutting down the game and closing that statement with an announcement that they have agreed to sell the game to another publisher.

The longer they refuse to talk, the less anyone will want to listen to anything they have to say.

/em popcorn

waiting for Black Pebble's reply.

Well, we know that BaB's is working over at Cryptic now. He was kind enough to provide us with some information about their reaction to the shutdown in the first few days after the announcement.