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Here's an issue...
Why are wings not listed in the first 12 months worth of veteran rewards???
Hello?? Did we forget about them? You only spent 6 slagging months working on them!! You qued them ahead of Villain epics & other things we desperately need...like new contacts & new zones.
Who gets to use the wings?? The 25 players who have been here since Day 1 CoH has been live? Wow..that'll be cool...a piece of content no one can have.
Awesome job Devs...once again you're about to completely alienate your entire client base.
Somebody PLEASE tell me the devs aren't actually this ignorant, and this is some kind of big oversight.
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while his post topic matter may not be the greatest choice it's a typical trend that villians are behind and staying behind and they keep doing things to greatly increase the appeal for heroes and slightly boost or completely iignore villians. Villians are in fact a client base while many may have both a vast amound only play one or the other.
The thing that kills is when there is nothing in an issue for heroes or very little, heroes cry and since they have been here longer and have a bigger client base they get heard first, things are like that everywhere.
When we got epic powers heroes screamed no fair whats for us? Um heroes already had epic powers a more balanced pvp fight is whats for heroes. I am sure when they give us nictus it will be similar situation.
Tough cookie to crack gotta keep both sides not only happy but balanced and heroes have a huge head start so balance is way way way in the future, the info being released is not promising thus far, but I myself have not lost faith that it will eventually come into sight.
If there ever is an equal content accross the board for both sides I will die in shock, right now I would just be happy with more options to improve my enhancements *cough* 1 SHOE every 24 hours aint cutting it (not to mention some may never see them Thank you cookie cutter teams designing). A heroe who has nearly a 2 year head start 3 times as many ways to get them and only an 8 hour wait between possible attempts to get them, this is a huge oversight.
oh btw fix the fusion generator badge please, thanks
I can understand the complaint about villains not getting the new content update that the heroes are getting in the coming few months but we've got to understand that the H base vs. the V base has been around for so much longer without a great amount of change and that bores people.
I know that once I get bored with a game, I tend to quit it and if I hadn't met the love of my life I would have left this game long ago due to extreme lack of content. Much as I loved CoH when it began, not having new stuff for us to do will eventually be the downfall (should it drag on much longer).
Just wait until the Marvel MMO releases and there's only a finite amount of things to do in that universe (which I'm sure there will be considering the story-driven Marvel world). Then you'll really see how badly replay value is demanded in MMO's. All considering how long some of us have been playing (don't mind my forum date... I was a late forum bloomer), there's not much left as far as go-juice for the machine. I already have an entire server full of toons, more than half of which are already 50 and only one toon under 30.
I'm just sad that it's taking this long to get enough new content where I will actually bring my 50's out of the closet to play... really the only time that I do it now is with Hami raids and that's a moot point as only 2 of my toons are strict pvp builds. PvE does not require Hami's :P
Other than the lack of updated content for us older CoH players, I think they're doing a fairly good job of throwing in things for the Villains as they hit the table. Until CoH gets a heftier boost on the content end, I'll have to resign to playing the content on my Mastermind.
We'll see what happens in the future but I honestly think it's about time for the Medic to find a new MMO to tinker with 
The real TOP ISSUE is still this:
Stop shafting your morning customers with your maintenance schedule.
You are averaging 2-4 days a week lately that your morning customers lose out on their entire playing time.
That is patently unfair.
Cycle it a bit.
Move it to a less populated time.
Seriously, it is long overdue that you re-examine your maintenance schedule and do something a little more equitable and less onerous to your paying customers.
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The real TOP ISSUE is still this:
Stop shafting your morning customers with your maintenance schedule.
You are averaging 2-4 days a week lately that your morning customers lose out on their entire playing time.
That is patently unfair.
Cycle it a bit.
Move it to a less populated time.
Seriously, it is long overdue that you re-examine your maintenance schedule and do something a little more equitable and less onerous to your paying customers.
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Let me spell this out real simple for you.
NCSoft (the publisher) set the maintenance schedule. Remember, they own the server hardware, they pay for the bandwidth, and you pay them to play.
They are not here for your benefit, nor are they here for mine. They are here for the benefit of their sockholders (if they're public) or their owners / investors (if they're private). Never ever forget this. Because of this, they make decisions based on one thing, and one thing only. That being what gets them the biggest profit.
They have chosen the current time to do maintenance because it has the least impact on their bottom line. The reason for this is very likely as follows. They have to balance between the cost of doing the maintenance (which goes way up if they do it any time outside normal working hours), and the lost revenue when people like you cancel.
They have determined that the lowest number of people online when maintenance time is cheap for them happens at the current maintenance timeframe.
Cambios, you are in the minority. There's hardly anyone else here that complains about the maintenance time. NCSoft have it dead right. They ARE htting the fewest customers they can, while still keeping it within "normal" business hours, and hence keeping the cost down.
It would hurt the game if they were to change the time. Make it earlier and the maintenance cost goes up. Make it later and they interrupt more people. It's not going to change, you cannot cause anything to happen with your absolutely pointless personal crusade.
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one" -- Spock, from Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan.
How much more clear can I make it to you?
Scrappers are just like chainsaws. Somewhat hard to handle, EXTREMELY dangerous, and by far the most fun when wielded by the slightly insane.
@Alissara - an Angry Angel
The Angry Angels. When it absolutely positively has to be spanked today.
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Alissara wrote:
Let me spell this out real simple for you.
NCSoft (the publisher) set the maintenance schedule. Remember, they own the server hardware, they pay for the bandwidth, and you pay them to play.
....
How much more clear can I make it to you?
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It is highly unlikely that NCSoft sets the maintenance schedule. They don't even know what to do or when to do it. Cryptic sets the schedule because it is their people who know what actually has to be done during the maintenance.
This isn't just rebooting servers.
If it was all up to NCSoft, and they wanted it during business hours, it would be during business hours for Asia, not Central US. NCSoft is not even based in the US.
The fact that they delete threads about this issue and refuse to explain themself is a severe embarassment to Cryptic. This is not a "personal crusade." They just squelch the issue at every turn, ban people, delete threads, etc. They are doing everything they can to just ignore the issue.
Why would they do that?
Because they *know* what they are doing is wrong and unfair.
Wrong.
NCSoft has an American branch, and they own the servers. Yes, Cryptic operates them, but NCSoft is the one that determines the operational downtimes.
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If it was all up to NCSoft, and they wanted it during business hours, it would be during business hours for Asia, not Central US. NCSoft is not even based in the US.
[/ QUOTE ]NCSoft owns the servers. The SERVERS are in the States (California, Virginia.) Therefore, the costs to do the maintenance during early morning hours would increase due to having to pay a time-difference compensation for those who maintain and babysit the servers. Our rednames live in the States. NCSoft has a branch in TX (and one in WA?) All of these run on American time, not Asian time. WHY would they operate on Asian time???
Please put a little thought into things before posting. 
Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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Well, on the issue of when the Server maintanace occurs, I do get a bit of a difference. I don't like the winter, when it happens at 11:00 pm (East Coast Time), but during the summer, at 1:00 AM it is a bit manageable. Looking foward to the time change coming up, since spring is here in full bloom.
Too bad the US is staying on Daylight savings time for more of the year. I guess part of the time, us Aussies will be getting our restarts at midnight. Since they don't do it on the weekends, I guess it isn't all that bad. I aught to be getting ready for bed by midnight so that I can work compentently the next day anyway.
I am pretty sure if they did the reboots at 8 or 9 AM my time, I would never notice.
Definately, but until they open an AU server, you're stuck on the NA or EU timing.
Ya should get your friends to play and their friends and many more Auzzies and then maybe they will open an AU server 
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Just wait until the Marvel MMO releases and there's only a finite amount of things to do in that universe (which I'm sure there will be considering the story-driven Marvel world). Then you'll really see how badly replay value is demanded in MMO's.
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There's only a finite amount of things to do in ANY game universe. However, there are many of us who play COx because of the superhero/comic book aspect of it and some of us have been immersed in the marvel (and DC) universe storylines for decades (over 35 years for me). And having the opportunity to play a part in those universes and weave our imaginations into those storylines would be loads of fun, methinks.
The backstory of the COx universe has never done anything for me. I've read some of the comic book, tried to follow the storylines (in the comics and in-game) and they just don't compare to the comics I've been reading for ages. They have never drawn me in. I think i would enjoy the Marvel/Cryptic MMO more and longer if they do it right.
It's hard for any purely fictional storyline to draw people in, especially as it gets older and older. COx, IMHO, would have more interesting storylines and content opportunities if they had woven in some real-world and historical aspects like setting it in a certain time period (WWII or Cold-War Europe, for example), included some real world places like exotic cities and tied it in with familiar geopolitical scenarios.
Without these familiar cues, the storyline has to do all the work and become the main compelling reason for immersion, and the writing must be absolutely top notch, and so far it hasn't done anything for me.
Consider Faultline (yes, I know an fresh update is coming for it, but I suspect it'll really be more stuff we've seen in other zones). It appears to be an earthquake ravaged zone that for most of us is just a pain in the butt to get around in. It would have been more fun to me if Faultline was a portal to a pre-earthquake San Francisco or L.A., replete with landmarks, and I was placed into a story arc where I had to complete a series of missions knowing that the Big One could hit at any minute, killing everything possibly including me.
50 Fire/Dev | 50 AR/Dev | 50 Ninjas/FF MM | 50 Bots/Dark | 50 Kin/Rad |
44 EM/Regen | 39 BS/Regen | 38 Kin/Elec | 27 Thugs/Pain
"Rare is the man so noble that he will always give thanks for that which is freely given." -Jock_Tamson
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The backstory of the COx universe has never done anything for me. I've read some of the comic book, tried to follow the storylines (in the comics and in-game) and they just don't compare to the comics I've been reading for ages. They have never drawn me in. I think i would enjoy the Marvel/Cryptic MMO more and longer if they do it right.
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I'd agree and disagree with this one. The CoX story is a little bland overall, but for me it is enough to keep me playing missions through from 1-50 a couple times over.
I'm a Marvel fan personally, specifically anything having to do with X-Men. Have been for 20+ years. What you say regarding Marvel stories are true, but for me, that is in the past. In the past 5 years or so, I feel the storyboards at Marvel have taken a huge turn for the worse and the absolutely ludicrous. The current state of the Marvel universe is just shambles, and that is most likely where a Marvel MMO would reside (though the Ultimate Universe would be a great place to do a game actually).
CoH definitely has an overall backstory that is growing. For a universe that is only 2 years old compared to one that is decades on top of decades old..... of course Marvel/DC is more in-depth. Heck, read some of the original X-Men, FF and Avengers comics. Their storylines were terribly cheesy and contrived (taken at face value). They grew overtime though, which is what CoX overall does as well.
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Therefore, the costs to do the maintenance during early morning hours would increase due to having to pay a time-difference compensation for those who maintain and babysit the servers.
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1) Too bad. That's called the cost of doing business. $2.4 million a month in subscription fees is enough to do maintance in the wee hours of the morning.
2) They have to have staff on duty 24/7/365 anyway. They are already paying people to be there at 5-7am. If they need a few coder types to be there also, then they have to be there. The gaming business has so many people desperate to work in it, the employees can't exactly complain.
The customer comes first, and that means if they want to do maintenance, a few employees have to wake up early. Too bad.
What is worse? A couple of employees waking up a few hours earlier, or thousands of customers getting screwed?
Do the math.
Cam.....I was with you like 10 posts ago, but now your just being annoying. We understand you don't like the downtime and so do the devs if they read this. Point taken, you can quit now.
So how is cryptic making Marvel's MMO? Isn't that gonna be kinda wierd seeing as it will be direct competiton with COX? Seems to me one game will suffer because of this. Personally I think this should have been a Marvel/DC game in the first place. I think Marvel was angry they didn't think of it first, which had alot to do with the lawsuit. I would think Cryptic has alot of expience and worked out all the bugs with COH and then COV, so the Marvel MMO should be great fun. However, any game microsoft touches turns to crap. So I geuss we will just have to wait and see.
My question is this, If Marvel MMO is as good as COX or better, COX will lose loads of customers....So why would Cryptic make the Marvel MMO? and because they are both Cryptic games...any chance of them intermingling?
While I'm completely unrelated to this discussion, I've got to disagree on a couple of previous points.
Firstly, The City of Heroes storyline has loose ties with the "real" world, especially regarding World War II, though I emphasize the word "loose".
Secondly, using the "real" world as a standard to which a compelling story or world is compared to completely defeats the purpose of video games in general. People play video games to explore new worlds, new possibilities. While a number of people are content to see a rehash of reality, many more people want to immerse themselves in a totally new world, something that takes real effort.
If you want to claim it's difficult for a totally fictional work to bring in a loyal audience, millions of creative minds, and their fans, would like to have a word with you. Not everyone wants the latest retake on World War II. I know I got bored with it six million times ago.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
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While I'm completely unrelated to this discussion, I've got to disagree on a couple of previous points.
Firstly, The City of Heroes storyline has loose ties with the "real" world, especially regarding World War II, though I emphasize the word "loose".
Secondly, using the "real" world as a standard to which a compelling story or world is compared to completely defeats the purpose of video games in general. People play video games to explore new worlds, new possibilities. While a number of people are content to see a rehash of reality, many more people want to immerse themselves in a totally new world, something that takes real effort.
If you want to claim it's difficult for a totally fictional work to bring in a loyal audience, millions of creative minds, and their fans, would like to have a word with you. Not everyone wants the latest retake on World War II. I know I got bored with it six million times ago.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
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The MArvel and DC comic universes are based on "real world" history too. To paraphraze you:
If you want to claim it's difficult for a real world based story work to bring in a loyal audience, millions of comic writers, and their fans, would like to have a word with you. Not everyone wants a world they can in no way relate to.
Fantasies ar always more gripping when you insert something outlandish into a normal setting. (ET anyone?)
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So how is cryptic making Marvel's MMO? Isn't that gonna be kinda wierd seeing as it will be direct competiton with COX? Seems to me one game will suffer because of this.
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Actually, both games will suffer don't you think? I am sure that people will have plenty of "constructive criticism" about the Marvel game as well. So thier attention will be divided anyways, it is just a matter of how divided. If it is 80% focus on the Marvel game then it will only be 80% as good as it could be. Or vice versa.
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So how is cryptic making Marvel's MMO? Isn't that gonna be kinda wierd seeing as it will be direct competiton with COX? Seems to me one game will suffer because of this. Personally I think this should have been a Marvel/DC game in the first place. I think Marvel was angry they didn't think of it first, which had alot to do with the lawsuit. I would think Cryptic has alot of expience and worked out all the bugs with COH and then COV, so the Marvel MMO should be great fun. However, any game microsoft touches turns to crap. So I geuss we will just have to wait and see.
My question is this, If Marvel MMO is as good as COX or better, COX will lose loads of customers....So why would Cryptic make the Marvel MMO? and because they are both Cryptic games...any chance of them intermingling?
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With Cryptic making both games all they can do is GAIN customers, not lose them. It doesnt matter which title the subscribers choose, all the money ends up in Cryptic's pockets.
And as for Microsoft turning games to crap, I think you have them confused with Sony.
Rikti Inquistition: Unexpected. Chief Weapon: Fear and Surprise. Chief WeaponS: Fear and Surprise and Uniforms: Snappy Red. Exclamation: Profanity! Declaration: Restarting.
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And as for Microsoft turning games to crap, I think you have them confused with Sony.
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*sneeze* Planetside *sneeze*
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And as for Microsoft turning games to crap, I think you have them confused with Sony.
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*sneeze* Planetside *sneeze*
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The Core Combat expansion, anyone? 
Honestly I can't wait to see how the Marvel game will turn out. I just want to know how to find out about the beta testing so I can see it before it goes live.
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And as for Microsoft turning games to crap, I think you have them confused with Sony.
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*sneeze* Planetside *sneeze*
[/ QUOTE ]
The Core Combat expansion, anyone?
[/ QUOTE ]
CCE Sucked too - BETA was great - paying for it tho is less than a desirable effort - more so because it's too linear and repetitive.
[ QUOTE ]
So how is cryptic making Marvel's MMO? Isn't that gonna be kinda wierd seeing as it will be direct competiton with COX? Seems to me one game will suffer because of this. Personally I think this should have been a Marvel/DC game in the first place. I think Marvel was angry they didn't think of it first, which had alot to do with the lawsuit. I would think Cryptic has alot of expience and worked out all the bugs with COH and then COV, so the Marvel MMO should be great fun. However, any game microsoft touches turns to crap. So I geuss we will just have to wait and see.
My question is this, If Marvel MMO is as good as COX or better, COX will lose loads of customers....So why would Cryptic make the Marvel MMO? and because they are both Cryptic games...any chance of them intermingling?
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm going to try the Marvel MMO. If I like it, I'll keep playing it. That certainly doesn't mean I'll stop playing CoX. I'll very simply play both.
"His Imperial Majesty's Minister of Restraints and Leather" -LHF
Two naughty acronym teams / Ascension / Convenient / Artic and the Chillz / Fap / Other teams I can't remember (sorry.. mind is goin')
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With Cryptic making both games all they can do is GAIN customers, not lose them. It doesnt matter which title the subscribers choose, all the money ends up in Cryptic's pockets.
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Actually, in the case of the Marvel game, I'm sure that as owners of the "intellectual property" of the content, Marvel will be taking a heft bite out of the profits on that one.
Meanwhile, as personal preference, I'd rather take part in a world of original characters and story-lines rather then retread the same old material that I've been reading for the last 30-40 years (can't remember at what age I started reading Marvel).
Wow, it's hard to believe that people would actually call or insinuate that the devs are ignorant for following the instructions they are given. Imagine, if you will, how the corporate structure ACTUALLY works. Do you truly think that the devs(the ones who do the actual work aside from the coders) are responsible for these decisions? I guarantee that it DOES NOT work that way. A small group would NOT have autonomous control of a game with this many subscribers. I have worked in the thick of, and on the tail end of, many projects like this. I can assure you that although it seems like these folks are responsible for the changes you see in front of you it is not so. A talking head, a corporate committee, and a PR crew all get together to decide the best and most profitable way to move forward. If they decided to make wings a long-term veteran reward it is likely that concensus came from TONS of datamining to determine what would keep people here the longest. Right or wrong it's not the devs who truly decide these things. If I were to hazard a guess I would bet good money that the people you are maligning are the same people who WANT to give these things earlier. The thing is that although the squeaky wheel gets the oil it could also just be replaced with a new wheel. These guys probably make decent money. It would make no sense to piss off the talking heads. It's just not worth causing a huge stink and lose the job. I have SEEN this happen with my own two eyes on many games. The guy or group of guys(and a gal on one ocassion) were canned because they thought the game was being cheesed out. They said thier piece to the heads(and offered GREAT suggestions I may add) and were summarily dropped from the payroll for not being a "team player". That is one of the reasons I no longer work in this field. So, please lay off the devs a bit. They have a job that I doubt you would envy. They get it from all angles. Well, as Johnny Storm would say.. FLAME ON!