Discussion: NCsoft Acquires City of Heroes!
By
AaronH,
Posted on: 2007-11-06 13:55 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
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Just wow...
1. Devs have lives, homes, and roots in their current communities so there is no guarentees they will move with the project.
2. If enough designers dont move this could mean sad news for the project.
3. The move for cryptic makes perfect sense from a buisness sense to me at least.
4. Depending on how corporate NCSoft makes things and who if any dont come to the new studio will determine if I stay subscribed.
I am patient and can wait but not forever.
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Read closer - the City of Franchise development team has moved with the game in majority (Minus Statesman).
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I will believe it when I see it. I have been with to many software companies that have been gobbled up both other. I am far to pesimistic and know better than believe a press release on its face value.
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I am very excited given the changes i have seen in 07. I can only guess how much better it will get.
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No time to read the whole thread, Dr. Jones, but just wanted to say:
Sweet!
I know this is something that has been long in the works, and I think it's the best news I've heard for City of...in a long time.
Brian (the NCsoft Producer) was my ultimate boss while I was at NCsoft, and between him and Matt, I expect fine, fine things for you...hell, for me, too.
(Reminds self to log in and play ASAP!)
Kudos guys - this is bitchin' news!
cheers,
JS
Come back, AS... come back. It's safe in the light.
Be well, people of CoH.
Oh, hey, Arctic Sun. How the heck are ya? 
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With one exception, everyone who was presented with an offer to stay on the City of Heroes team under the NCsoft banner has accepted and is looking forward to working hard on the future of the franchise! While this includes a good number of people, it also includes many of the familiar “red names” from the forums, such as: Melissa “War Witch” Bianco, Floyd “_Castle_” Grubb, Back Alley Brawler, Ghost Widow and “Sexy” Jay Doherty.
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I was really freaking out until I read this. I'm feeling very positive about this change, especially after hearing that expansions are planned (please don't raise the level cap-- just give us more stuff for 50s to do).
Please try my custom mission arcs!
Legacy of a Rogue (ID 459586, Entry for Dr. Aeon's Third Challenge)
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Win the Past, Own the Future (ID 1429)
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But if I ever once - ONCE - smell "raid"; I quit. End of discussion.
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This is exactly what I'd like to see more of. We just need more stuff to do. The real prob imho with raids in other games has been the loot tables and not everyone getting something. CoX doesn't have that prob. Everyone that participates in a raid gets the payoff. So I say bring more raids please.
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Heres a good one. This ones been bothering me for about a year now.............
When I got my COH beta invite me and my bro were both in school, poor as dirt and only had one computer. NOW im out of school, pretty successful and we are both sitting on rediculously powerful lvl 50 almost maxed out toons....... the only thing we cant do is play together....
NOW most MMOs allow you to port over toons if you buy and activate a second account. SOOO why dont you guys make it so that if I buy a second account I can move a few of my boys over...... that way now that we can afford it, me and my bro can finally have seperate accounts without one of us losing 3 years worth of work.
Pretty please?
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My .02 inf.
I am...confuzzled...on how to take this news.
One hand, we no longer have Jack's "Vision" for the game driving us. I'm sorry Jack, you had some good ideas, but seriously, one hero being equal to three even con minions?
On the other hand, NC's biggest other titles, the Lineages, embody the grind for grind's sake style of play. I don't want to see that creep it's way into CoX. Nor do I want to see WoW-esque Raid crap make it's way into the game. Hamidon is acceptable as it's one thing, but bring in several "We're going to go Raid the Hydra Dimension! We only need 70 more people to do so!" type things and I'll be taking my hat and moseying on out.
And I really hope that all the stuff we've been told is 'too expensive/time consuming/difficult' will now get done.
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Just wow...
1. Devs have lives, homes, and roots in their current communities so there is no guarentees they will move with the project.
2. If enough designers dont move this could mean sad news for the project.
3. The move for cryptic makes perfect sense from a buisness sense to me at least.
4. Depending on how corporate NCSoft makes things and who if any dont come to the new studio will determine if I stay subscribed.
I am patient and can wait but not forever.
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Read closer - the City of Franchise development team has moved with the game in majority (Minus Statesman).
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I will believe it when I see it. I have been with to many software companies that have been gobbled up both other. I am far to pesimistic and know better than believe a press release on its face value.
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Yes but we already have the answers to these questions from Lighthouse and Ex Libris who are right there on site.
1. The new studio is 15 miles from the old one. What moving, angst etc?
2. They both posted a list of named devs who are going with the move. LH mentioned all but one of the current COX staff took the job offer.
3. of course it makes good sense.
4. NCSoft has already been in charge of COX development since the games alpha days. second all but one of the staff appear to have moved to the new office. I'm not seeing the negative side here.
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List of Invention Guides
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Guess we'll see how the wheels turn on this whether it's good for the community or were headed down the road of SWG, EQ or *gasp* MXO. (do people even play that anymore?)
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Anyone notice that those 3 are all SOE games, and that 2 of the 3 were bought out by Sony from the original developers? I suspect Vanguard to be added to this list soon enough.
Part of the problem with SWG is that the entire development team was replaced at one point, thus causing the game to go in an entirely different direction. Since the original team from Cryptic is moving to NCSoft, I don't see this as very likely of happening.
"And yes, it worries me that people know how many pipelines their graphics cards have and the bus speed of a PCIe-16x, yet don't know how to convert between bordering time zones."
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But if I ever once - ONCE - smell "raid"; I quit. End of discussion.
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This is exactly what I'd like to see more of. We just need more stuff to do. The real prob imho with raids in other games has been the loot tables and not everyone getting something. CoX doesn't have that prob. Everyone that participates in a raid gets the payoff. So I say bring more raids please.
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Why? What % of the population is doing Hami raids? What about the LRSF and STF? I'm betting the % is even smaller than even I expect.
Why waste time on events that the majority don't find fun?
Be well, people of CoH.
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Does this have a significant impact for us users? Will we still keep the same dev team?
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I don't think I can stand to lose any of the devs.
I'm still not quite over the loss of Cuppa 
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My thoughts as well.
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Just wow...
1. Devs have lives, homes, and roots in their current communities so there is no guarentees they will move with the project.
2. If enough designers dont move this could mean sad news for the project.
3. The move for cryptic makes perfect sense from a buisness sense to me at least.
4. Depending on how corporate NCSoft makes things and who if any dont come to the new studio will determine if I stay subscribed.
I am patient and can wait but not forever.
[/ QUOTE ]
Read closer - the City of Franchise development team has moved with the game in majority (Minus Statesman).
[/ QUOTE ]
I will believe it when I see it. I have been with to many software companies that have been gobbled up both other. I am far to pesimistic and know better than believe a press release on its face value.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes but we already have the answers to these questions from Lighthouse and Ex Libris who are right there on site.
1. The new studio is 15 miles from the old one. What moving, angst etc?
2. They both posted a list of named devs who are going with the move. LH mentioned all but one of the current COX staff took the job offer.
3. of course it makes good sense.
4. NCSoft has already been in charge of COX development since the games alpha days. second all but one of the staff appear to have moved to the new office. I'm not seeing the negative side here.
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Basically, change is scary!
Heroes
Dysmal
Lumynous
Sam Steele
Pluck
Wile
Slagheap
Pressure Wave
Rhiannon Bel
Verified
Stellaric
Syd Mallorn
Villains
Jotunheim Skald
Saer Maen
Jen Corbae
Illuminance
Venator Arawn
Taiga Dryad
Tarranos
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But if I ever once - ONCE - smell "raid"; I quit. End of discussion.
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This is exactly what I'd like to see more of. We just need more stuff to do. The real prob imho with raids in other games has been the loot tables and not everyone getting something. CoX doesn't have that prob. Everyone that participates in a raid gets the payoff. So I say bring more raids please.
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Why? What % of the population is doing Hami raids? What about the LRSF and STF? I'm betting the % is even smaller than even I expect.
Why waste time on events that the majority don't find fun?
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How about making them fun?
Improving the Raid experience is only one of many things they could add to the game to increase it's overall appeal. I see no reason to torch the "Raids" idea to the ground because they aren't as popular as fairy wings, renewable temp powers or yet another alt.
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Just wow...
1. Devs have lives, homes, and roots in their current communities so there is no guarentees they will move with the project.
2. If enough designers dont move this could mean sad news for the project.
3. The move for cryptic makes perfect sense from a buisness sense to me at least.
4. Depending on how corporate NCSoft makes things and who if any dont come to the new studio will determine if I stay subscribed.
I am patient and can wait but not forever.
[/ QUOTE ]
Read closer - the City of Franchise development team has moved with the game in majority (Minus Statesman).
[/ QUOTE ]
I will believe it when I see it. I have been with to many software companies that have been gobbled up both other. I am far to pesimistic and know better than believe a press release on its face value.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes but we already have the answers to these questions from Lighthouse and Ex Libris who are right there on site.
1. The new studio is 15 miles from the old one. What moving, angst etc?
2. They both posted a list of named devs who are going with the move. LH mentioned all but one of the current COX staff took the job offer.
3. of course it makes good sense.
4. NCSoft has already been in charge of COX development since the games alpha days. second all but one of the staff appear to have moved to the new office. I'm not seeing the negative side here.
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Basically, change is scary!
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I agree.
Gimme your quarters. Nickels and dimes too. I'll save you!
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Well I agree with Muad_Dib, for the long timers that have paid for this game over the last three years, whining about a refund now is superficial at best. Sheesh, I've got 3 50's and 5 in the mid 30's. Together thats a doctoral discertation on quantum mechanics, and I'm not even one of the real hardcore players. Do you think I care about a stupid refund for CoV? Your vision is tainted, go back to playing some hacked version of a free MMO.
However, I think the common spirit that it is worth the "new" owners drawing their attention to, is that we don't want a star wars galaxies marketing nerf! You have a product that works and has a strong following. Be happy with that and keep those updates and special events coming.
I don't much care about the bonuses. At this point in the game, I use um or ignore um.
IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTENT BABY!!!
Thanks guys and gals for listening.
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QFT
'Understanding that you still have a lot to learn is key to the path to wisdom' - (Some guy somewhere, or maybe I just made it up, I don't know.)
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1. Devs have lives, homes, and roots in their current communities so there is no guarentees they will move with the project.
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They're moving from Los Gatos to Mountain View. For some of them, the commute is getting shorter.
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Why? What % of the population is doing Hami raids? What about the LRSF and STF? I'm betting the % is even smaller than even I expect.
Why waste time on events that the majority don't find fun?
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There were Hami raids several times per week on Liberty before he was changed; now, not so much, a logical consequence of interrupted momentum and alternative availability of the rewards. These days, I see numerous LGTFs, STFs, various other TFs, and the occasional mothership raid. All of these raid-type things work within the City, and there are plenty of people running them, even just on Liberty with our smallish population.
In fairness, I'm not a veteran of any WoW raid-type events, so I don't know if that's a totally appropriate comparison. However, it seems to me like there's enough of an audience for new TFs, Trials, and raid activities like RWZ. If anything, I'd like to see more Really Big Things to do at the highest levels, since 11 of my 12 heroes on Liberty are level 50. Maybe now, with a bigger development staff, it will happen. 
Please try MA arc ID 351455, "Shard Stories: Scavenger's Hunt." Originally created for the Dr. Aeon contest, it explores the wild potential of one of the City's most concept-rich but content-poor settings: the Shadow Shard.
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But if I ever once - ONCE - smell "raid"; I quit. End of discussion.
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This is exactly what I'd like to see more of. We just need more stuff to do. The real prob imho with raids in other games has been the loot tables and not everyone getting something. CoX doesn't have that prob. Everyone that participates in a raid gets the payoff. So I say bring more raids please.
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Why? What % of the population is doing Hami raids? What about the LRSF and STF? I'm betting the % is even smaller than even I expect.
Why waste time on events that the majority don't find fun?
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How about making them fun?
Improving the Raid experience is only one of many things they could add to the game to increase it's overall appeal. I see no reason to torch the "Raids" idea to the ground because they aren't as popular as fairy wings, renewable temp powers or yet another alt.
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I'll compromise with ya. If they can make the 3 end game raids remotely fun, I'll back future new raids. Fair enough?
Be well, people of CoH.
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this just yet.
On the one hand, we have all the key developers staying aboard with the exception of Statesman (and who could blame him? CoX is just as much his baby as it is any other dev, but he's both a founding member of Cryptic Studios and holds an senior position there), promises of more development resources, what should be a much more streamlined and efficient QA process, and an assurance that it'll be business as usual as far as the game content and overall development go.
On the other hand, there's the general history of how well MMOs fare after being bought out by another company. Granted, NCSoft has been part of the picture since day one, and CoX is by no means a struggling property as is usually the case when an MMO changes ownership. But even with all that, I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic until such a time when I believe that things are going to remain just as good as they are now, if not better.
Positron: "There are no bugs [in City of Heroes], just varying degrees of features."
I'm assuming this means that Marvel Online Universe and CoH will be more competetive than they otherwise would? Developed technically seperately now, but same essential niche?
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I'm assuming this means that Marvel Online Universe and CoH will be more competetive than they otherwise would? Developed technically seperately now, but same essential niche?
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You would be correct. And there really isn't any sort of technicality to it. From now on, NCSoft will be both developer and publisher for CoX, while Cryptic will develop MUO and Microsoft will be publishing it.
Positron: "There are no bugs [in City of Heroes], just varying degrees of features."
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I'll compromise with ya. If they can make the 3 end game raids remotely fun, I'll back future new raids. Fair enough?
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Bill,
You are entitled to your opinion on what is fun and what is not. Just remember that what is fun for one isn't fun for someone else. They try to make things so that more people will have fun in their own ways with this game, and it looks like the will continue to do so.
That being said, I don't do a lot of raids, have never completed an STF, and don't have anyone high enough to try a Recluse TF. I don't normally PvP either, nor do I do a lot with the whole IO system, but I enjoy the game, and have found that things like PvP, raids and TFs are a lot more fun when you are doing them with people you like.
Defcon 0 - (D4 lvl 50),DJ Shecky Cape Radio
@Shecky
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When you air your dirty laundry out on a clothesline above the street, everyone is allowed to snicker at the skid marks in your underoos. - Lemur_Lad
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With the people playing either CoH or CoV being able to play both for free now(meaning, not having to purchase the other half of the game), how about giving all the people with more than one account full vet rewards and bonuses to match their account that has been established the longest?
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Now this I could get behind. Tie vet rewards to the NCSoft account, not just the game account.
Be well, people of CoH.