CuppaJo visits Unmasked on Split Infinity Radio!
By
0zymandous,
Posted on: 2006-07-05 19:23 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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Wow, this game is really turning into a "cult of personality". With ALL the stuff that is defective, broken, unexplained, unfixed, and just downright wrong in this game, it's hardly the time for a press op and back-patting.
If you guys think way-way-WAY back - to like....last week, the same group of people who went "Old Yeller" on 70 employees, left us paying customers high and dry, and unable to login, for the better part of a day.
So, before any "unmasking" is done, let's see if we can get some TOUGH questions answered, instead of a bunch of "Larry King" softballs.
Let's see if there's anything worth listening to.
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So, tell me - how is Cuppa responsible for the "defective, broken, unexplained, unfixed, and just downright wrong in this game"?
Like a previous post said - if there are questions you want answered - post them here. If they are good questions, we'll ask her. But if their just going to be agressive scapegoating, then I guess we can just pass on each other.
Cuppa is a huge asset to the community - while she can certainly answer questions about player concerns, martyring her does no one any good. Comparing the immense respect the community as a whole has for Cuppa and all she's done on our behalf to mindless adulation of a leader of a totalitarian regime . . . um, yeah. Get some perspective, man.
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Exactly where did I say she was responsible? So watch the accusations please. She IS however, and PR person for NCSoft, which last time I checked, has something to do with how COH/COV interfaces with it's paying customers. So to that extent, I believe she is responsible for providing information about not only the positive aspects of the game, but the negative issues, especially the status of long term, ongoing problems with the game.
Second, I'm not going to do your job. It's your show, try to pretend for a couple of minutes the show isn't totally in the bag and provide some due diligence. If you read these boards, at all, you'll be able to find more good questions than you'll have time for. As for posting them here, I did post a couple, and they have mysteriously disappeared....????
Cuppa is an asset to the community, no doubt. But that being said, there is serious lack of flow through and response about certain aspects of this game that simply can't be overlooked, no matter how much you (or I) enjoy playing the game. If I was in the lunch line with her, I'd be more than happy to press to get some solid answers, or at least the names of the people who do have some solid answers. But since she's going to be on YOUR show, why not take the time to do it yourself?
The truth is, as anyone who's done PR work knows, is that Cuppa is a gatekeeper, and sometimes watchdog, no disrespect intended. A very professional one, and a very friendly one to be sure, but that is the role of the position. If good will can be fostered by that, so much the better, but it's not the positions primary responsibility.
So perspective is EXACTLY what I'm hoping to get from your interview. Have some fun, have some laughs (it's still a game, right?), but don't loose sight of the fact that all is NOT well in COV/COH land, and since Cuppa is one of the doors to information, put some "umph" in it when you knock.
Lastly, as to questions, one that has talked about, buried, given luke warm lip service to, buried, dug up, and ignored is When will costumers be able to transfer characters between servers? And please don't just ask that and walk away from it. Are there technical problems with it? What are they? Would users have to pay a fee? What about duplicate names inside the same server? Why can virtually every other MMO do this, and yet COV/COH can't.
The answer to the first part is almost meaningless without the required specific responses that go with it. And if Cuppa can't answer the question, can she get those answers? If she can't who can provide those answers - Specifically; someone that we can follow up with and who will respond.
Hey Cuppa's job is a tough job. But it is a job. And while it's great to make friends on the boards and have fun, there is another part that quite frankly, is probably more important.
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Show cancelled 
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Nothing on the SI radio site about the show being cancelled.
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Lastly, as to questions, one that has talked about, buried, given luke warm lip service to, buried, dug up, and ignored is When will costumers be able to transfer characters between servers? And please don't just ask that and walk away from it. Are there technical problems with it? What are they? Would users have to pay a fee? What about duplicate names inside the same server? Why can virtually every other MMO do this, and yet COV/COH can't.
The answer to the first part is almost meaningless without the required specific responses that go with it. And if Cuppa can't answer the question, can she get those answers? If she can't who can provide those answers - Specifically; someone that we can follow up with and who will respond.
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This is perfect. Exactly what I was looking for. I'm not asking anyone to do my job - my /job/ has nothing to do with CoH. I'm going to be lucky enough to be on air with Cuppa (it's not MY show either), and I'm trying to spread the love by asking people to submit questions. The issues that burn my mind are not neccessarily the ones that burn yours. Trying to find a question or complaint for Cuppa to address by browsing the fora is like trying to find a needle in a needle stack. 
But if you have a question you really want answered, post it here, or PM it to me, and I'll do my best to get it on air.
Very cool and much appreciated Sapph. Like I said, I had posted that Q last night, but it "disappeared".
Ok, another one for ya (since you've got your catchers mitt out), What the heck happened last weekend with the update server that prevented players from logging in for the better part of the day? Why was there no follow up explanation after the problem was resolved? What has been done to make sure it won't happen again?
Just for the record, yah I'm yappin about some problems with the game, but I'm no hater. I love the game, been playing it almost since it came out, talk it up to friends all the time, and most important, I though my $$$ at it every month.
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lol, i know i probably missed a diff refference, but to call the candyman, you gotta call his name 5 times in a mirrior, lol.
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Yes, that was just Candyman. The reference I was making was to an urban legend in the Chicago-land area concerning a figure named Bloody Mary. -Shivers.- Scary stuff when you're a kid.
But that Nerf bat man...
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I think I saw an episode of Supernatural about Bloody Mary. I really don't like that show but my wife will watch it and sometimes I can't help myself and want to see if the ep is based on some cool old lore. Which that time it was and wasn't too bad.
Ok, I'm on a role (toilet paper?) ;-)
When is the issue 7 Prima Guide update coming out IN PRINT as promised?
A couple of sites were showing it as available on 6/30. Now EB Games is showing it available 8/1. I called Prima, and got Random House (who owns Prima) and they didn't know squat about it, what it even was.
Now, as a guy who's spend $70 dollars on both guides, and being told that updates would be sold for these guides, some of us would like to know when we can get printed copies of it to update what we've ALREADY paid for.
And for the record, printing a color page from a .pdf file at Fedex Kinko's is 89 cents a page. With 251 pages in the online update, you do the math and see that option is not viable. So please ask that question, and please don't accept I don't know as an answer, without some kind of indication that an answer, A DATE, will be forthcoming. Speaking for those of us who have already made the investment, I don't think that's too much to ask of her.
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But if you have a question you really want answered, post it here, or PM it to me, and I'll do my best to get it on air.
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Any hints from dev-HQ about what's in I8. Anything that she knows the devs are looking into changing. Any plans for more rednames popping onto the live servers to participate in player run events. Any plans for an international forum section, where players from the different communities could interact, probably have to be seperated for different languages and such.
I'm going to join in on the question fray #1 because I truly am curious about something and #2, I noticed how i was so way off topic on my last post I thought I should make it up by having one with some related substance.
Issue releases. Last release was very tilted towards Villains for obvious reasons, to make up the missing gaps like Issue 2 did for Heroes when it was the only game out. I have a 'feeling' that the next release will tilt back more towards the heroes to make up for a low amount of new content for heroes in I7 (at least low amount of PvE content for sure) which I agree with and look forward too, however I am curious if Issue 9 and beyond will have a more even keel content for both sides or if the 'make it up to the other side' game will continually have to be played. Or is Issue 8 going to be the great equalizer. x1.5 content for heroes and x1 more content villains? If the latter is true, will this take a longer amount of time to release? I know Stateman is saying "Ack, No!" to 8 months like last time but realistically, what are the projections (holding no feet to fire)?
edited: for spelling that SpellBound didn't catch.. silly me
First of all, congrats to CuppaJo for keeping her job! 
What does CuppaJo think about the idea of a Forum Section for Designer's Notes...a SPECIFIC place where the designers can say, "This is what we were thinking when we designed this power, zone, mission..." and where the players can ask, "But what about this?" or "We'd like to see this!"
What does CuppaJo think of the idea of a Develpoment Cue being publically posted, where we can see things like: Skills have vanished from 'in development' and gone back to 'in design' or even to 'back burner', while 'Underwater Physics' has gone from 'Design' to 'Internal Testing', that sort of thing.
Does she see datamined info on Server Population, the popularity of powersets, that sort of thing? Are there methods of tracking how popular or unpopular a specific change in the game is that she can mention or describe (such as exit polls) and applying that to future plans?
What new Forum Hardware/Software is she campaigning for in her spare time?
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
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lol, i know i probably missed a diff refference, but to call the candyman, you gotta call his name 5 times in a mirrior, lol.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, that was just Candyman. The reference I was making was to an urban legend in the Chicago-land area concerning a figure named Bloody Mary. -Shivers.- Scary stuff when you're a kid.
But that Nerf bat man...
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I think I saw an episode of Supernatural about Bloody Mary. I really don't like that show but my wife will watch it and sometimes I can't help myself and want to see if the ep is based on some cool old lore. Which that time it was and wasn't too bad.
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OFF TOPIC
'Bloody Mary' is known in a number of cultures around the world, but especially throughout the US. I heard about her when I was a kid in the Midwest, so it's not just a Chicago thing.
Story Arcs I created:
Every Rose: (#17702) Villainous vs Legacy Chain. Forget Arachnos, join the CoT!
Cosplay Madness!: (#3643) Neutral vs Custom Foes. Heroes at a pop culture convention!
Kiss Hello Goodbye: (#156389) Heroic vs Custom Foes. Film Noir/Hardboiled detective adventure!
There are about a million questions that are already listed for tonights show - and some of the ones asked here may not appeal to SI radio's more general audience. So I'll answer some here - heck - I don't think we have ever had an "Ask Cuppa"
1. Prima Guide in Print. Not happening. EB site is incorrect. You could go to the prima guide site and post in their forums that if they made a hardcopy available that you would purchase it - and if they get a large enough response they might do it - but for now we are giving it out for free digitally.
2. Character Transfer Service (from one server to another) - we are closer than we have ever been with this. I hope we see it around I8.
3. Issue Release "balance" - I8 and beyond should be more balanced between Hero and Villain content - though I8 may be slanted somewhat towards the heroic side.
4. International Forums - we have international players here and they post all the time. I don't feel like we need to segregate them with special areas. If you mean will our European/Asian player forums be consolidated with ours? Nope. Not at this time.
5. Rednames in game - It's already happening. Seems like every weekend I get an email from some redname saying they are playing as a sig character in game somewhere. Keep an eye out!
6. This weekends outage - One of our service providers had a hardware failure that precipitated the outage. I wasn't aware of the issue as I was on vacation - and Cricket didn't receive notification of the outage for some time due to human error internally. I apologize that you guys were not updated as per usual. We have reviewed the escalation process and had some retraining to ensure the issue does not occur again. I also apologize for how long it took us to give you this explanation - it took some time for me to figure out what happened and report back to you after I got back from vacation.
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2. Character Transfer Service (from one server to another) - I8.
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There, that'll make your life easier. 
Seriously, good to hear that it's even on the plate, much less that close.
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3. Issue Release "balance" - I8 and beyond should be more balanced between Hero and Villain content - though I8 may be slanted somewhat towards the heroic side.
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That's good to hear. I just can't get into being a bad guy very often, although I hear a couple other folks certainly like it...
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3. Issue Release "balance" - I8 and beyond should be more balanced between Hero and Villain content - though I8 may be slanted somewhat towards the heroic side.
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*ahem*
YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!
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Are you really gonna' unmask her? I heard she has a wicked-huge scar, like... Dr. Doom huge.
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Dr. Doom does NOT have a huge scar. It's a small scar which he (in his evil vanity) could only percieve as disfiguring. It's when he put on the scalding hot mask fresh from the forge that his face got...well...let's just say "not pretty."
This is an unofficial message without the support or consent of Doctor Doom or Marvel Comics Official Continuity (since the writers of Doom actually seem to be debating this issue as time goes on). Thank you, and remember: anything you do advances the plans of Doom, whose benevolent rule has been proven to be the most secure and prosperous the world has ever known. All you must do is admit the superiority of Doom.
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That was part of a What If... ? issue. I like the idea that Doom is so narcissistic that a simple scar on his chin would ruin his image. However, I like the idea that the devil scratched the [censored] out of his face when he looked into Hell to find his mother a lot more. 
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There are about a million questions that are already listed for tonights show - and some of the ones asked here may not appeal to SI radio's more general audience. So I'll answer some here - heck - I don't think we have ever had an "Ask Cuppa"
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We do now.
Thanks for answering stuff.
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2. Character Transfer Service (from one server to another) - we are closer than we have ever been with this. I hope we see it around I8.
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What about purchasing additional character slots on a server?
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1. Prima Guide in Print. Not happening. EB site is incorrect. You could go to the prima guide site and post in their forums that if they made a hardcopy available that you would purchase it - and if they get a large enough response they might do it - but for now we are giving it out for free digitally.
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Then why did I buy that stupid binder? Prima sucks. And they lie.
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5. Rednames in game - It's already happening. Seems like every weekend I get an email from some redname saying they are playing as a sig character in game somewhere. Keep an eye out!
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Um.....FREAKING AWSOME!
p.s. always do it on champion.
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2. Character Transfer Service (from one server to another) - we are closer than we have ever been with this. I hope we see it around I8.
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What about purchasing additional character slots on a server?
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Ooooo, yes please! I'd love more slots on Champion.
Good Guys (on Champion)- Starglow, Shining Hope, Dreamheart, Gaelic Rose, Polar Angel, Starlit Knight, Lady Cavalier, Alouette, Sunsoul, Evensong
Bad Guys (on Triumph)- Ms Hap, Pretty-Poison, Wicked Wench, Woe, Technowitch, Grim Fairy, Cryonuclear, Fissionary, Lady Scorned
*does a little happy dance*
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Dr. Doom does NOT have a huge scar. It's a small scar which he (in his evil vanity) could only percieve as disfiguring. It's when he put on the scalding hot mask fresh from the forge that his face got...well...let's just say "not pretty."
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That was part of a What If... ? issue.
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That was done in Byrne's run on the FF, way more legit than a What-If. It annoyed me at first, then he got to the part where the red-hot mask burns his face (and he runs outside and shoves his face in the snow, loved that). But as long as he's good and ugly under there, I'm ok.
.
Check... and Mate (poster) - Arc ID# 15095 (comments)
Invasion on Earth BX1132! (poster 1) - (poster 2) - Arc ID# 98943 (comments)
Global @ARH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/07...ureBanner2.jpg
I like that i8 is slanted more for the heroes. We have been left out of the non-PvP fun for so long . I can't wait for i8!!!
Hmmm... If i8 does have the character transfers, maybe I should stop leveling the virtue Tundara, and just wait to transfer my beloved freedom Tundara... Na!
Only sad thing is I cant be on the show till later on, if at all.
Darn, PR rules..
:-)
Guess ill have to bow out of this show this week.
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Are you really gonna' unmask her? I heard she has a wicked-huge scar, like... Dr. Doom huge.
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Dr. Doom does NOT have a huge scar. It's a small scar which he (in his evil vanity) could only percieve as disfiguring. It's when he put on the scalding hot mask fresh from the forge that his face got...well...let's just say "not pretty."
This is an unofficial message without the support or consent of Doctor Doom or Marvel Comics Official Continuity (since the writers of Doom actually seem to be debating this issue as time goes on). Thank you, and remember: anything you do advances the plans of Doom, whose benevolent rule has been proven to be the most secure and prosperous the world has ever known. All you must do is admit the superiority of Doom.