Statesman's and Positron's 2nd Anniversary Address
By
8_Ball,
Posted on: 2006-04-28 08:03 in Developers' Corner
tounge in cheek
I've been playing CoH for almost two years. And I am also mad.
As a paying customer, I'm mad that NCSoft lets people who constantly complain without constructive criticism or contribution continue to play. These people continue to grief me and begrudge my enjoyment of the game. And yet NCSoft does nothing to stop these players from hijacking threads, make life miserable for players trying to enjoy the game, and overall just ruin the fun for half of the community.
As a paying customer, why should I be forced to endure the endless griping and moaning of thread jackers? How fair is it for me to read through a celebratory forum only to find somoene's rant about the inequity of life or how they are going to move to another game (and yet still post here to make everyone else miserable)? When, NCSoft, will you realize that we paying customers want to enjoy the forums and the game without these people who greif us with their unending whining?
Darn it, I want to have my cake and eat it to. When will you take all of these bickerers and move them to their own server and forums, NCSoft, so us paying customers no longer have to endure this griefing and live in peace?
If the situation doesn't change soon, I'm going to rant a dozen or so more times, threaten to cancel my account, complain about how much money I'm spending on this game, demand my money back, and continue to play regardless of the outcome.
ARRRRGGHHHHH!!!
/toungue in cheek
Happy 2nd Anniversary City of Heroes. 
I've played too many concepts to reach level 50 but I've enjoyed every character I've been distracted by. I love this game and I look forward to more.
Crowskull
Tank
Ares Wolf
Blaster
Jackal Kane
Mastermind
I wish there was more spacing in Zombie-man's posts. They're so cramped. 
Y'know, I WAS going to take a moment and write about what a great time my wife and I had last night...and we DID...but I'm so ganked up from reading all these empassioned posts I'm gonna go PLAY!
Wanna find me? Tell Commander Stronghold on Guardian that you know his secret identity, or be brave enough to tell Infinity's Johnny Lightning that the War Gods have a lousy base! 
See you around the city, heroes! AWAY!!
- Green Lantern
"Say, Jim...woo! That's a bad out-FIT!" - Superman: The Movie
Me 'n my posse: http://www.citygametracker.com/site/....php?user=5608
Try letting your tongue breathe once in a while. It can't get the oxygen and exercise it needs if you keep it planted in cheek all the time. You might feel better if you set it loose once in a while.
Oh ... wait a minute ... you meant ... 
Nevermind.
well well well.. congratz on the level there Posi.. i know it must be well deserved.
and now onto business...
after being in pocket d for 3 hours last night and no show of ANY vips.. may i make a suggestion that you hire more people to play the incarnates to come to these events? There were 4 shards of pocket D on victory and there was one reported sighting of Positron in D1 ( no WAY to get in there!!!) so for future events please... get more gms to play an ViP or something...
oh and to some of my critics....
Yes i yell, scream , moan , beyatch... but I point out flaws so that maybe someone will listen and tackle the problems that are so glaring and blatant that need addressing. If you want people to be kicked off for showing the democratic other point of view...
then give ME my money back. I enjoy and love this game too, and think that it is far from being over, but without people to shout shanagans when they see what is wrong... then why bother to have a forum to post such things???
so when you read a negative posting, think to yourself for one second and consider WHY someone may be posting a negative posting... are they doing it for a better good???
just food for thought and blood for the gears...
again congraz on the ding posi... i DO NOT envy yer position now.
"Lokk, you have a powersuit that is self-contained, can withstand any atmosphere, it can fly and shoot out energy beams. BUT you cant open the helmet to have coffee and doughnts??? Sad man.... just... sad" PatriotPrime asking me why I am angry all the time.
Yea I agree, I spent 1 hour in Pocket D-1 and 2 hours in Pocket D -3 on Infinity server. There was 1 posted sighting of Miss Liberity on PD-2 while I was on. Come on, if your gonna have VIP's have alot of them!
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Issue 8 will also bring with it the Veterans' Reward system. This will allow us to give out special thank-you gifts to our players based on the number of months they have been subscribed. These gifts will range from costume pieces to powers to base items and beyond. You don't even have to do anything to get them, other than keeping an active account.
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Heh, is this an attempt to get people to stop quitting between issues?
~P~
I am still very excited to play this game and enjoy myself immensely. The Developers have done a good job and structured the power and enhancement system so as to easily implement new power sets.
With Issue 7 coming out "Soon(tm)" and Issue 8 likely out in the fall, we should all have something to do to keep us busy.
The Veteran's Reward system is something I am thankful for. I have not been on this game for a long long time, but endgame content is something I've yearned for and am glad to see it get implemented.
Concerning the next box: am I correct in understanding the content will be available via patch, but the retail box will add extra bells and whistles?
Or will we have to obtain the retail box contain all the new content individually?
Either way, I look forward to see what you all have planned for us.
Cheers and Happy 2nd!
Questions about the game, either side? /t @Neuronia or @Neuronium, with your queries!
168760: A Death in the Gish. 3 missions, 1-14. Easy to solo.
Infinity Villains
Champion, Pinnacle, Virtue Heroes
I said for awhile that the farther they got apart the closer we were to having to buy expansions instead of getting free updates...
I said 6 months between them now and by next year (2007) they'd be releasing them as expansions an charging us...
Did anyone listen? No.
Was I called a troll and paranoid among other things? Yes.
Now...
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Beyond that, we are looking to release another Issue building up the story towards our next retail box, due in 2007. This will include going back and revamping some of the zones from City of Heroes, using everything we've learned from making City of Villains and Issue 7, plus a bunch of other cool stuff including new powersets and an epic archetype. Of course for the retail box we will be creating all-new zones and content based on the results of the forum poll we posted last month. The retail box will be an expansion to both City of Heroes and City of Villains.
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See! I'm not crazy! The voices were spot on!
Kidding by the way though I would like to know seriously what a retail expansion box means in regards to Updates, as in do we get them anymore once they start to release these expansion boxes with a price tag? As in content not just patches and bug fixes.
Or will we have to pay for everything starting in 2007? And if so will they make somewhat important features (ie SG Base access) impossible w/o purchasing them?
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Issue #6 was pretty much concurrent to CoV Retail. (Yes, I know it wasn't laden with CoH goodies, esp. for those who don't like PvP, but there was something).
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Just curious, honestly asking not patronizing, what was in Issue 6 that wasn't a PvP zone to bring CoH into connection with CoV? I don't remember any new powers or any of that jazz. Well prestige and Salvage, but they're only good if you have a base, and can only access a base if you own CoV....
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well well well.. congratz on the level there Posi.. i know it must be well deserved.
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Either that or they're kicking Emmert to the curb like Dakan and Recluse before him...
My only worry now is that I8 comes out probably around October at this rate...I'll be getting my 7 seasons of Macgyver around then and I'd hate for something good to come out in-game while I'm learning to make amazing devices using a turkey baster, toothpicks, chewing gum, and shoe laces...
Frankly I'm not worried about them announcing another retail box expansion. They have said that they will continue to provide new content with the free issues.
Put this in perspective... Heroes was brought live two years ago. How many issues have we had since then? Six solid issues - good, bad, or otherwise - of free content. Now, how long do you think they were working on Villains? Even though most of the development was already in place from the Heroes side, it still took a while to get all the artwork, powers, zones, sories, etc, together before CoV was released - I wouldn't be surprised if they started right after Heroes went live. That means 18 months of development - during which time we were still getting our free updates.
Now, I'm a little disappointed that we won't get a few more issues in before the next retail box, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Free updates is a new concept to the MMO genre. I'm thankful for all the new stuff thrown our way.
If you have that much of a problem with retail box updates, then don't buy them. You'll still be able to play your Hero/Villain. It may sound harsh, and I don't mean for it to sound that way. But let's set aside wants/desires/expectations/whatever, and look at what's relevant here.
Free issue updates can only do so much. The amount of work that went into CoV dictated the need to make it a retail box, because of the advanced coding - compared to CoH - that went into it. The advances they made in the development will eventually be applied to CoH... without having to buy CoV. (I'm thinking Newspaper missions, simultaneous mission completion,etc.) The same will be true, I'm sure, when it comes to the next retail box. Granted you won't get the content, but even someone with just the original >basic< CoH will still eventually reap the benefits from these retail boxes, without buying more.
Besides, with the generous administration by NCSoft of allowing the playing of any and all NCSoft games with one subscription cost, along with a free month for adding...err, well, upgrading with each additional game, makes me wonder how much you expect for the price you are paying.
Well, I have rambled far too long here... All I have to say is TITANS ASSEMBLE! 
Time to hit the virtual streets of Paragon!
Test Subject 42 - lvl 50 Sp/DA Scrapper
Oku No Te - lvl 50 MA/SR Scrapper
Borg Master - lvl 24 Bots/traps MM
Pinnacle
Nyghtfyre - lvl 50 DM/SR Scrapper
Champion
Nice job guys! I'm glad the game made it this far. I started last year, and I intend to stay for another 2 years!
As for the expansion, I'm kinda excited. If they price it well, I will buy it. Now, that price depends on content. If it's like EQ, adn we get mabye 1 zone and a couple new powers, it better be around $10.
If it's a full expansion, I'd be willing to pay $50 for it.
Oh, and, the party was AWESOME! My toon on Guardian, CrippleCommando, was there. Thanks for teh sweet title Positron: "Promised to Leave the Devs Alone"
Anyway, happy 2nd anniversary Cryptic!
Paid expansion pricing will have tobe very specific to the contect it includes. If it included a 1-10 zone, for example, it wouldn't be very worthwhile, since you rocket through those levels very quickly. A 40-50 zone, or even 30-40 zone woudl be more worthwhile, since you spend a decent chunk of time in those level ranges. But, tbh, I'd rather more mission tilesets, more powersets & ATs, EATs, or "free-agent" PPPs.
I'd also NOT like to have anymore EATs that are locked into 1primary & 1 secondary. As cool and novel as kheldians are, if you've made 1 PB, you've made them all. All I really have left is to roll a WS. It's different with the regular ATs, as a kin/ defender plays much differently than a dark/ defender...
But... 1 more AT for $10 - I'd pay that. 2 more powersets per existing AT (1 primary, 1 secondary) - I'd pay $20 for that...
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This is a disturbing trend to start... if they're going to have additional content that you have to pay for, I will become worried. I can write-off buying CoV since it's essentially a new game, but to pay for a new powerset, or a new AT, just bothers me. I mean, should we expect such "premium" ATs to be better than the regular ones? I'd also be worried if pay-per-content expansions became the norm, and the free content took a backseat...
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I think its inevitable that you're going to see regular paid expansions over the life of the CoX universe. New retail box expansions give the game presence on store-shelves that it would not otherwise get, which brings in more cash for Cryptic, and helps attract new players to the game. I think the game needs semi-regular injections of new and shiny above and beyond the regular Issue Updates to stay healthy, and to grow (and I think we should all want the game to grow, as more growth could mean more staff to work on things)
It would be unfortunate if the paid expansions come at the expense of the regular Issue updates that are partially funded by our monthly fees (as per the Knowledge Base), but in some respects this is a horse that fled the barn six months ago.
I think we should remember that you wouldn't just be paying for one new powerset, or a new EAT. I suspect that a new expansion may very well feature a new group of zones in an area that is neither Pargon or the Rouge Isles. Space and Underwater themes quite handily lead themselves to this sort of thing in my opinion.
I'd pay for a Galaxy of Heroes, or Ocean of Heroes expansion with a new, optional group of zones and a related EAT(Coralax for Ocean obviously) assuming a reasonable price and some other packaged benefits (free month of play, an extra four slots per server like CoV gave us). Also, given that this paid expansion is not going to be a stand-alone game, the cost is going to be lower than a full game I would assume. Well, at least lower than the official Cryptic price. Best Buy has CoV on for $9.99 right now.
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Paid expansions also let them do such things as get more people, design more tech, etc to do things that are normally not allowable / take excessive amounts of time based on the income from monthly subscriptions.
Want new animations? Either wait forever and a day via the monthly subscription angle or put out a new expansion (which comes with funding) and hire some to take care of the animation needs. This also allows them to get more writers, designers, etc to add more to the game that the normal crew simply can't create in the normal amount of time per publish cycle allotted to current Issues.
In a nutshell, a paid expansion lets them bring in more content above and beyond the amount that we can get via monthly subscriptions.
I do have to admit though... it is somewhat distressing in that we've gone from 4 updates/year to 2/year and we are looking at Issue 9 possibly being the paid expansion. Looking at that, one could legitimately say that we are getting less and paying more for it.
Virtue: multiple characters.
CoH/V: Woot! Maybe Fun is to be had once again.
Ack! RUN! Regen is glowing mean & green!
If it reduces you, it's a nerf.
If it buffs the mobs, it's challenge.
They are not the same.
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I do have to admit though... it is somewhat distressing in that we've gone from 4 updates/year to 2/year and we are looking at Issue 9 possibly being the paid expansion. Looking at that, one could legitimately say that we are getting less and paying more for it.
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here here
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Free updates is a new concept to the MMO genre. I'm thankful for all the new stuff thrown our way.
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Free updates are as old as MMOGs. Heck, Asheron's Call has had a free update every single month since it was released back in 2000 or so...and these are updates full of art, quests, items, content, etc.
Actually, for my money CoH is only about middle of the road for free content. in 2 years they've given what...2 new ATs, 2 new powersets and 3 new PVE zones? Sorry, but that really isn't much when put into perspective.
Bah, next retail box!!! Pad out the games you already have before milking us for more money. Jesus this is starting to sound just like SWG. When is the CoV NGE coming?
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Beyond that, we are looking to release another Issue building up the story towards our next retail box, due in 2007. This will include going back and revamping some of the zones from City of Heroes, using everything we've learned from making City of Villains and Issue 7, plus a bunch of other cool stuff including new powersets and an epic archetype. Of course for the retail box we will be creating all-new zones and content based on the results of the forum poll we posted last month. The retail box will be an expansion to both City of Heroes and City of Villains.
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One question, will the next retail box be an Stand-a-lone Expansion or an Expansion pack that one has to have either City of Heroes or City of Villains to use, or has that been determined as of yet?
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It will NOT be a stand alone.
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a boxed expansion?..
for CoX?
joy..
thats sarcasem by the way..
what a sell out, 
one of the MAIN reasons i like NCsoft and CoX is that you DON'T charge for expansions.
you can try and say an issue isnt an expansion and they are different ect, but its not fooling anyone.
with the exception of guildwars, which doesnt have a sub fee, i was under the impression that NCsoft was an either/or stance regarding "pay for" expansions.
either you pay for a sub OR you pay for expansions, not both.
so much for you guys being "better" than SoE.
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Comparing Cryptic to SoE? WHat else did they do, kill a kitten... Uh, litter?
Seriously, in >MY< view of the retail box expansion/issue/ets, I see it as a good business move. Not only does it act upon as an Issue, but usually compared to usual large patches (Issues in CoH/V and "Patches" in WoW), retail expansions tend to hold alot of substance toward the game (as well as get some more exposure to the retail community that hasn't been pulled much into the game with just CoH and CoV on the shelf). Some people don't hop into MMOs that they're interested in right of fthe bat, some don't even wanna bother digging deep into the itnernet for imformation about the game and it's free expansions. Some will actually just read a retail expansion's box back and find out whats been added, what the expansion will add and so forth, and eventually have some content that will catch the eye of the gamer and ultimately get him hooked.
Although I personally would prefer just free expansions, this, in a business perspective, is a good move.
PS: At least they have the dignity to give us tons of free content that several other MMOs refused to do.
Yep, I don't mind at all paying for expansions.
Use the money to pay for some art/animation time and give us the ability to customize our powers!
Hell, use the money for just time - gimme more powersets, EATs, whatever.
I like this game and I will definitely be buying any expansion they put out.
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Yep, I don't mind at all paying for expansions.
Use the money to pay for some art/animation time and give us the ability to customize our powers!
Hell, use the money for just time - gimme more powersets, EATs, whatever.
I like this game and I will definitely be buying any expansion they put out.
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That's why I'm in the middle of the road on this... On one side, I understand why they are pursuing a paid expansion and support that... On the other side, a legitimate case can be made that we're getting far less than we used to and are paying more for it.
The paid expansion will sit well with some due to what it'll bring... while it'll sit very poorly with others due to getting less, paying more, and seeing much slower overall Issue Content (when compared to the past).
I'm taking a wait and see position personally. If they go the route of paid expansion after paid expansion and Issues become bleh, I'll be one of the first to go.
BTW, to a previous poster... Asheron's Call came out in 1998 I thought... or was that beta? I played from Jan 01 until Nov 05.
Virtue: multiple characters.
CoH/V: Woot! Maybe Fun is to be had once again.
Ack! RUN! Regen is glowing mean & green!
If it reduces you, it's a nerf.
If it buffs the mobs, it's challenge.
They are not the same.
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I'm taking a wait and see position personally. If they go the route of paid expansion after paid expansion and Issues become bleh, I'll be one of the first to go.
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Well, yeah, I mean that's a different issue. If the expansions are teh suxxorz, that's a problem. If the expansions are just like the issues we all know and love, except bigger (as I would expect, with the new cash infusion) then all's well.
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2 years and I still don't have a level 50 character, lol. Thank you alt-iholism! 
Oh yeah, and Happy 2-years!
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Yay, so i am not the only one
PS: WWOOOOTTT Two years...where has time gone
Congrats Cryptic
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Happy Anniversary! Thanks for a great 2 years. Playing CoX is a family affair at my house. My wife and 2 kids all play as well as my brother and his girlfriend who are in another state.
Wanted to send a special thanks to States, Posi, _castle_, cuppa, awry and everyone else who helps to make Paragon and The Isles such interesting and entertaining places to reside.
Thanks for the ride and me and mine are ready for more!
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yeah, what's up bro?
:P
see you are talking about me again
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2 years and I still don't have a level 50 character, lol. Thank you alt-iholism!
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Yay, so i am not the only one
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Add me to the list as well. My highest is a level 46 Scrapper and I've been around since CoH's head start (and beta), atlhough with a few small breaks.
Congrats on 2 years, it has been fun and from the sounds of things, the next year+ should be even more fun.
I personally like knowing that there is a retail expansion coming. It will get more people to notice the game since there will be another box in stores new release section and it also means the devs will get more money to develop the game with, which will hopefully mean content is released faster or maybe more content or better content or some combination of those. I don't think they will stop the free issues after the expansion and almost definatly not be like EQ where you get 2 expansions every year you have to buy if you want new content.
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Baka means stupied.
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Baka means idiot (also fool, trivial matter), not stupid or "stupied." Futsutsuka or bakabakashii would be better if you wanted to call someone stupid or bakamono for stupid person. Only commenting on this to correct the quote, not so anyone can start using them on other people here. If you want to call someone a fool, do it in english, or better yet, don't bother and say something that is actually constructive.
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Why do I get the feeling the new retail box will NOT be a new add-on (in CoV terms) but will instead hold an AT, new powers, a badge, and some other goodies that will only be available to the players who get the add-on code?
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Because... that's exactly what they said? In addition to what you mentioned, there will be a whole new... realm. That's why there was a poll on whether we wanted arctic or desert or underwater zones. I don't know how ambitious this new retail expansion will be... a few zones, or maybe something to rival CoV. I'm sure it will be priced accordingly, e.g., if it's just two zones and some goodies, you're not looking at $50 US, but maybe $20 US (wild spec on my part).
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This would coincide with the fact that they said the new EAT's would not be unlocked by reaching a level goal and it'd be easier to do this than to code a TF or something in the game that could be abused to get this AT.
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I'm having trouble parsing that. Sure, you may have to buy the 2007 Retail Expansion to unlock an EAT, but keep in mind we've been promised at least one new EAT for free in Issue #9, according to Positron's address.
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In general to the thread: Keep in mind that Issue #6 was pretty much concurrent to CoV Retail. (Yes, I know it wasn't laden with CoH goodies, esp. for those who don't like PvP, but there was something). So, between CoV Retail and the 2007 Retail Expansion, inclusively, you have 4 free issue updates (#6, #7, #8, #9). Both #8 and #9 and all future ones should be addressing new CoH content as well as CoV content now that #7 will be 'completing' CoV.
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Actually, I'm surprised that the Retail Expansion of 2007 isn't already announced to be an Asian themed realm considering CoH/V's entrance into the Korean market.... Kingdom of Super!
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