You really need to rethink this as at the very least the removal of (at least certain) looping sounds is necessary by many for their enjoyment of the game. That is, unless your policy is to tell your customers to suck it up or just turn all their in-game sounds off.
This is a serious over-reaction for something that doesn't actually change game files in any way, isn't it?
Hmm not happy about this.. but here's what I'm thinking...
I'm thinking this might be Cryptic's way of saying. "We don't support/condone mods and as such we delete all threads about this, but we're not disabling the override feature." Limiting liability. If it's seen here it could be considered "official" and cause problems. By deleting the threads and not disabling the ability to use mods they could still leave it in that "gray area." I only guesstimate that because of the way CuppaJo is only talking about deleting threads.
I'd think if Cryptic was taking a hard line on this, they'd blatantly says stop, and we'd see a patch very quickly to disable the override. I can't see as to why they wouldn't anounce it, if people are going to quit over this, they'll do it when it's anounced or when it's "fixed." They're still going to lose customers over this.
I will not be happy, however, if they disable the override without updating the in game maps with store locations and at the very least cutting the volume of looping sounds in half. (disable would be nice too)
There are really 2 possibilities:
#1) Turn a blind eye: Keep people from talking about it in such "open" quarters but keep the over-ride functionality.
#2) Actually disable over-ride that allows mods to happen.
This reminds me of Sony/Everquest when they went draconian on "third party utilities" and were banning peeps for quality of life mods -- like being able to run the game in a window.
IMO, a wiser course of action would be to encourage unofficial modding but emphasize the fact that such changes are entirely unsupported.
I really don't see how modding impacts the game for others in any signficiant way. It's not like Quake where painting your opponent bright orange gives you a significant advantage. The only person that a mod impacts is the person who modded the game to begin with.
Lastly, as someone earlier pointed out: the "mods" have made absolutely no modifications to the client. They have used client-supported mechanisms to change graphics, along the same lines as changing your screen resolution or gamma settings.
I'm in total agreement with paintedskies.
This is moderator power-abuse in it's most ugliest form if I've ever seen it. You think the people that made Unreal Tournament are this close-minded? Their entire success of UT99, UT2003, and UT2004 are all due to client-side mods and customer imagination... 'nuff said.
To add to this:
I was very happy with the game and the overall mechanics, community and such but as soon as I found out that CuppaJo was abusing his power as a moderator, I've become quite furious. Don't think I'm overreacting, because I'm not. I just read some posts about how moderator and dev communication were the best around for any MMORPG. This has totally turned that idea 180°.
exactly what I'm thinking, Baaric. I seriously hope that's the stance Cryptic is making ... Mods make the game that much more fun, and they don't impact/harm anyone ... at least in this environment.
They would only get a handful of cancellations from this change, so I don't see that as a threat for them when you talk of subscriptions in the range of thousands.
The reason for the success of many games, and the continued success of many games, was modability. Of particular note is Doom, and to a lesser degree StarCraft.
Any game reviewer will tell you that the ability to customize, even if only client side, is a very good thing. Games with these features always get extra points from reviewers, because they like them.
Making announcements claiming that it is contrary to the ToS is bad marketing. It's also a lie, as most mods don't modify any game files at all. Good day.
This is really sad.
A lively mod community is the sign of a healthy game. Some games have mods that allow the player to cheat, but those are few and far between and the vast majority of mods (for any game) are benign. The TOS needs to be modified to reflect that there is a difference between a map patch and a cheat program.
Even if Cryptic adds new maps that show store locations, and a slider to control the volume of looped sounds, that's missing the point. New quality of life mods come out every few months for really popular games and stomping them down in advance is only going to hurt the game in the long run.
I was going to try to mod the Force Field particle effects so they didn't obscure my entire field of view... but I guess not anymore. Oh, well.
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exactly what I'm thinking, Baaric. I seriously hope that's the stance Cryptic is making ... Mods make the game that much more fun, and they don't impact/harm anyone ... at least in this environment.
They would only get a handful of cancellations from this change, so I don't see that as a threat for them when you talk of subscriptions in the range of thousands.
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Well, I guess that puts them in the category of Gods then, eh? Nothing we do will affect them now since they have so many "followers". Just a few of us quitting won't do any significant damage to their pocketbooks. Truthfully, I think a great more many customers that don't post on these forums but just read them like I did a few days ago will just follow suit.
I think what may be among the problems are the changes to hero textures and such. I remember seeing a thread about enabling fishnet stockings, and another texture of somesort..
Personally, I don't care about the looping sounds, etc. I do, however like the map patch 
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umm...you guys realize that they are adding controls for loops/particle effect..as well as stores on maps in patches soon right?
..or am I stil lthe only one who listens to what the devs say 
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Everything is coming 'soon' for CoH. There is a mountain of goodies coming 'soon'. That is just how it is with Cryptic. Nothing has been delivered yet, but just pay that next months subscription because it will all be here 'soon'.
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I'm in total agreement with paintedskies.
This is moderator power-abuse in it's most ugliest form if I've ever seen it. You think the people that made Unreal Tournament are this close-minded? Their entire success of UT99, UT2003, and UT2004 are all due to client-side mods and customer imagination... 'nuff said.
To add to this:
I was very happy with the game and the overall mechanics, community and such but as soon as I found out that CuppaJo was abusing his power as a moderator, I've become quite furious. Don't think I'm overreacting, because I'm not. I just read some posts about how moderator and dev communication were the best around for any MMORPG. This has totally turned that idea 180°.
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ok listen:
1. FPS are different than MMORPGs
2. CuppaJo is the messenger. Its was probably some at exec at NCsoft who told her to post that. And how the hell is CuppaJo abusing her power by enforcing the ToS that you agreed to?
3. It IS still good communication.
4. They are probably doing this beca usse they are adding most of the quality of life changes at a patch into the main game. once found, stores are added to player maps and such. that would move the map patch over the line from harmless mod to minor cheat.
5. give it a rest already, its not a big deal.. chances are the overide won't be removed, this is just a way to limit the liability. they probably get support calls from people who messed up their game client doing this somehow.
give it a rest allready.
/shug
ToS doesn't do anything but cover their butt when they want to beat a user.
Sad really...
Take a hint from Ulitma Online. Start using all the programming skills that are going to tear your client apart and allow sets of tools etc.
UOA anyone? (last target, etc)
If I have to hear one more target drone loop!!! Regen scrappers as well... HORRID/Overwhelming sounds.
I'll just play on mute, and listen to metal all day. Its not like the sound in this game is important anyway... You don't have to hear bad guys walking up behind you. Sneaking around corners or anything.
For Levels = 1 to 50
with attack
.smoke
.fireball
.fireblast
.flares
end with
Next
Fine, I'll "give it a rest", but I'm still very upset. 
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I'm rather disappointed
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Don't be Spyder, you're a hero to many.
...& don't pull that tired "soon" stuff Sive 
Big_Rig, he's a she, and quite professional from what I've seen considering the environment.
The question I've not seen asked is: Is this decision from NCSoft, Cryptic, or both?
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umm...you guys realize that they are adding controls for loops/particle effect..as well as stores on maps in patches soon right?
..or am I stil lthe only one who listens to what the devs say
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Where did they say this? I always remembered the devs as saying that the reason they didn't put the stores on the map for a reason.
and I just posted my mods....**sigh** oh well, maybe we can petition :/
I have to agree with the majority of those posting here that the looping and loud sound fx are extraordinarily and extremely [censored] ANNOYING!
Im really dissappointed by this. The mods have helped me to enjoy this game much more. Also, there has been some extrordinary work by the community on some of these, (stores on the map, looping sounds). This seems like a ham fisted action IMO.
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umm...you guys realize that they are adding controls for loops/particle effect..as well as stores on maps in patches soon right?
..or am I stil lthe only one who listens to what the devs say
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Where did they say this? I always remembered the devs as saying that the reason they didn't put the stores on the map for a reason.
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It was in one of the interviews I read, when they were asked why they didnt put stores or SO contacts on the maps because they are making so that they show up only after they'd been discovered.
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I don't get it. If this is a problem now, then it's always been a problem. The ToS hasn't changed. So why is it that it was allowed to go on for this long without anyone saying anything? It certainly wasn't because it wasn't known about and it's only served to get more people interested. I know of many occasions where players tried to get an official response on this and were not told anything.
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I'm guessing they finally came to an agreement as to how to interpret the ToS regarding map patches.
My personal take on the ToS was my map patches weren't EDITING any of the game files. It was ADDING items outside these files.
Furthermore I suspect that, in the 2nd update, they will fix the method of how CoH attempts to access the in-game maps. Currently it's overrideable by creating an external directory structure, identical to the directory structure internal to the pigg file packets. I'll bet that CoH will implement an internal only search in regards to maps.
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If they do that, I'll definitely cancel my subscription. I'm hoping there's another type of modification they intend to block here. I can get the same effect with printed maps, but its the principle of the thing. If it's going to be THAT draconian, I'll find something else to do with my time.
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I don't get it. If this is a problem now, then it's always been a problem. The ToS hasn't changed. So why is it that it was allowed to go on for this long without anyone saying anything? It certainly wasn't because it wasn't known about and it's only served to get more people interested. I know of many occasions where players tried to get an official response on this and were not told anything.
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I'm guessing they finally came to an agreement as to how to interpret the ToS regarding map patches.
My personal take on the ToS was my map patches weren't EDITING any of the game files. It was ADDING items outside these files.
Furthermore I suspect that, in the 2nd update, they will fix the method of how CoH attempts to access the in-game maps. Currently it's overrideable by creating an external directory structure, identical to the directory structure internal to the pigg file packets. I'll bet that CoH will implement an internal only search in regards to maps.
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If they do that, I'll definitely cancel my subscription. I'm hoping there's another type of modification they intend to block here. I can get the same effect with printed maps, but its the principle of the thing. If it's going to be THAT draconian, I'll find something else to do with my time.
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Im guessing it is somthing other than changing clothes they want to stop.
As mods a re getting moe and more advanced, from sounds to clothes to effects to maps or whatever, peopel are getting a better grasp of the en gine and the coding behind it. You can already see that with the mod that made the xp "bubbles" fill in randomly.
My guess is they are stopping it before it gets out of hand and REALLY becomes a a cheating problem, which is unfortunatly, very likely.
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Client modifications are against the Coh Terms of Service agreement found here.
I will be removing all posts/threads about client modification as a result.
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CuppaJo, don't take this the wrong way, as I know your name shows up in all red and everything. But this seems like a pretty sweeping announcement to be coming from the board moderator. Can we get something official from Statesman, Gaffer, or one of the other people in charge of development? I mean to just come on here out of the blue and make a blanket statement that all mods are against the TOS after months of people using them and sharing their tips on your official boards is a bit obnoxious.
Does this mean that all sound and map mods are now verboten? Even though they don't modify the game data at all and sit in separate, user-created folders? I think we'd all appreciate some clarification "from above" on this one. Up until now the dev posts have said they don't officially condone mods like the map mod, but they also haven't explicitly banned it. I think we were all living under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy...
I'm curious about all the other posts that still remain which contain mods and hackz. Why arn't they being deleted also?
no, I dont think cuppajo is wrong here, he's enforcing the rules as he should, he's saying the same thing statesman wouls say as well. I've sent in a nice eamil with some suggestion and hopefully there can be a discussion about this. I think the community would only thrive from it.
umm...you guys realize that they are adding controls for loops/particle effect..as well as stores on maps in patches soon right?
..or am I stil lthe only one who listens to what the devs say