I find it kind of funny that Shane Hensley has been a supervillain before he came to City of Villains... in the webcomic Gaming Guardians, he's described as 'the most evil game designer on Earth', ruling over his own pocket dimension of the Deadlands.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
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Fixed for you.
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This is why BAB has such a cult following.
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BAB's got a cult. That's frikkin' awesome.
The First Temple of BAB has a nice ring to it. Where do I get some robes?
This post brought to you by the Thunderfire Campaign to Out-Weird the Internet.
Score so far: Thunderfire-0, Internet-157893678
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Admittedly, noticing their recent posting times, I think BAB and Castle might be a little insane, but I am very thankful that they do share with us what they can.
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I can attest that it's almost 100% true that, generally speaking for the entertainment industry, much of the best work on every game or movie that you have ever loved, love, or are eagerly anticipating was, is, or will be performed between the hours of 8pm and 4am. Usually desperately close to deadline. 
Everybody enjoy Speed Racer next month while I try to readjust my sleep schedule, and I feel your pain up at NCNC while y'all try to horse 12 out the door. Thanks for the only MMO that's even come close to holding my interest.
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Fixed for you.
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This is why BAB has such a cult following.
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BAB's got a cult. That's frikkin' awesome.
The First Temple of BAB has a nice ring to it. Where do I get some robes?
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Cap Au Diable, the Luddites sell them to the CoT there.
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5. Captain Mako (Shane Hensley)
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I thought Shane was no longer with Cryptic as well, having moved on to his own development studio to work on a super sekrit MMO of his own (Deadlands! *crosses fingers*).
Gothika (Grav/Kin) Marionette (Ill/Rad) Terra Firma (Earth/Storm) Alana Dale (Arch/Nrg)
Iceblink (Ice/Dark) Fantasia (Mind/Fire) Shadow Minx (Claws/Nin)
--Virtue
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At the same time, I'm a little irritated. I seem to recall being told over and over that no resources were being taken away from CoH to develop CoV, and that no resources were being taken away from CoX to develop MUO. I don't remember the exact quotes, but I can't help but feel that I was lied to.
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How were you lied to, exactly? The team was 60 (or so) strong when they were developing CoV, and we don't know how the work was split then. Shortly after CoV launched, the team was gutted to the skeleton crew of 15. It sounds like anyone who was moved off the project to work on something else in Cryptic was replaced with someone else. They maintained the 15 strong team until the NCNC buyout.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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Ian and Ravenstorm were moved to MUO. The last bit of work Ian did for CoH was the Justice armor pieces for the GvE edition. Ravenstorm's last major contribution were Safeguard missions, but he came back on every once in a while to help out. He was responsible for setting up Hamidon(s) and GM spawn placements in the Hive and Abyss, as well as pathing for the Rikti Invasion ships.
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Of course i dont have a link or quote but... wasnt it Mr. Statesman that said resources were not being pulled for MUO, or Co* wasnt going to be affected by MUO, yet they actually were? Not that I believed it because well im kinda in the development business and thats the nature of the beast is one thing, but wow, to flat out lie to the community is another thing.
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Nice list.
Now if someone would refresh my memory, please. There was a large developer interview that (I think) used to be on the Cryptic website. In it, there was a picture of one of the dev staff sleeping on the job, except that he wasn't sleeping--he was in full-on recline mode while working at his station. Who was that guy?
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Has to be Richard. The poor guy has fallen asleep during team meetings.
He does a lot of overnight build-sitting
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Hehe! Richard used to fall asleep during our weekend D&D sessions as well.
I knew he worked as a CoX engineer, but always wondered why he was so tired, and now I know.
68 Level 50s, all made the old-fashioned way.
Original: Quasar Lad - Fire/Kin troller. Latest: Asp Kicker - Grav/Poison troller.
Completed the "Full Alty Challenge" - level 50 in every archetype, and "Alty's Ultimate Power Challenge" - level 50 in every available powerset in the game.
Member of the Repeat Offenders
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Gilgamesh?
Wonder where he is now?
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Tabula Rasa.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
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Geko was put onto the MUO project, but from what I heard he's still with Cryptic (not sure if he got promoted from the position he had at the time).
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MUO has a new powers guy. I believe Geko is working on one of their secret projects.
Speeding Through New DA Repeatables || Spreadsheet o' Enhancements || Zombie Skins: better skins for these forums || Guide to Guides
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Ian and Ravenstorm were moved to MUO. The last bit of work Ian did for CoH was the Justice armor pieces for the GvE edition. Ravenstorm's last major contribution were Safeguard missions, but he came back on every once in a while to help out. He was responsible for setting up Hamidon(s) and GM spawn placements in the Hive and Abyss, as well as pathing for the Rikti Invasion ships.
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Of course i dont have a link or quote but... wasnt it Mr. Statesman that said resources were not being pulled for MUO, or Co* wasnt going to be affected by MUO, yet they actually were? Not that I believed it because well im kinda in the development business and thats the nature of the beast is one thing, but wow, to flat out lie to the community is another thing.
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As long as it did not affect the total Dev team size, then it did not affect the development of CoX. Remember, NC made the call to reduce the Development team by 75%.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
lol, this thread got locked by accident.
hmmmmm
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Ian and Ravenstorm were moved to MUO. The last bit of work Ian did for CoH was the Justice armor pieces for the GvE edition. Ravenstorm's last major contribution were Safeguard missions, but he came back on every once in a while to help out. He was responsible for setting up Hamidon(s) and GM spawn placements in the Hive and Abyss, as well as pathing for the Rikti Invasion ships.
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Of course i dont have a link or quote but... wasnt it Mr. Statesman that said resources were not being pulled for MUO, or Co* wasnt going to be affected by MUO, yet they actually were? Not that I believed it because well im kinda in the development business and thats the nature of the beast is one thing, but wow, to flat out lie to the community is another thing.
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He actually never said that. In classic Jack fashion, his words were both technically correct, and totally misleading. What he said was, "they are separate teams" and "they are the same size as <insert one specific point in CoH development time where it also was incredibly small>".
It was very similar to "no more large-scale changes to powersets" and other such weasels.
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Thanks, BAB, you've been so gracious with your time. But please indulge me with just one more confirmation:
SuperMartin (Martin Simpson)... with ye or nay?
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We need Shane back behind the helm of Synapse, he played that character like a mufa during CoV Beta's closing event.
I notice your lists include Moderator11 as a new hire. I am wondering if you mean to imply Moderator11 is a person, or have revealed that you did in fact hire a terrifying robot texthunter from the future?
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Makes videos & podcasts about reviewing toys, covering conventions, and more at Vangelus.ca
Wow... simply.... wow. I'm astounded, and will be telling my husband that the last three issues were carried on the backs of 15 people. I knew it was bad after the support layoff and seeing people being tapped for other projects, but I never knew it was that bad!
Now where is that Temple to BABs again? Does it have little statues to the others too? I have some of my old EQ and my husbands old WOW games to go make offerings with.... a copy of Morrowind... and some AD&D 2nd ed: Skills and Powers books... Some CCG cards (But you absolutely cannot have my Doomtowns) and lastly, some high sugar and high caffeine snack foods to keep you strong.
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
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Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
Wow.
I never thought I would get into an MMO, but a friend talked me into trying this one about six months back. I don't even play computer games, as a rule, much less MMos, so I sorta figured I'd play two or three times and that'd be it and they'd leave me be.
Obvioulsy, that's not what happened. 
The game was completely engaging and enjoyable and has become an absolute love of mine.
And I am deeply, deeply impressed that that all happened while so few people were working on the project. The devs here are, downright amazing!
HIP HIP HUZZAH!!!
HIP HIP HUZZAH!!!
HIP HIP HUZZAH!!!
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What perplexes me is what others have mentioned, as well - the content the Surviving 15 came up with was superior in every way to the all the content that came before.
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I saw several posts reflecting upon this topic, so I'll share some of my insight. The other team members may not agree, so remember this is just my "take" on things.
Since the team was so small, we had a lot of flexibility. With few people, there was little time lost due to infrastructure and bureaucracy. If I had an idea, I'd run it by Hero1 or Positron and, after a few minutes discussion we'd go back to our desks and "do it." A lot of "let's try it and see if it works" development took place.
Additionally, since we had such stringent constraints, we had to really stretch our creative muscles to come up with things that *could* be done with the limited resources we had. Nothing stirs the imagination like a challenge, and between time constraints, commitment to our release schedule and a genuine desire to make the coolest things we could, we were quite challenged. "Under the gun" might be a better term, since you lot aren't a terribly forgiving group as a whole (and as much as I grit my teeth about that now and again, that is entirely how it *should* be!)
Ultimately, we shipped some very good work. There was definitely room for improvement -- things were not as polished as we'd have liked in many cases, for instance. Still, I'm proud of what we did, and know that the rest of the group feels the same. Anyway, thanks for your continued support! Here's hoping the next couple of years see even better things!
Hurrah, Castle sounds happy!
Let's try not to change that. 
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Hurrah, Castle sounds happy!
Let's try not to change that.
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Happy Castle?
I smell DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Castle may be happy now, but I await the day he starts laying mushroom clouds.
I like him because he speaks what he feels, even if it is not politically correct. Reminds of George C. Scott's "Patton"
@Blood Beret(2)Twitter
I am a bad speeler, use poorer grammar, and am a frequent typoist.
MA ArcID: 1197
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. Winston Churchill
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Castle may be happy now, but I await the day he starts laying mushroom clouds.
I like him because he speaks what he feels, even if it is not politically correct. Reminds of George C. Scott's "Patton"
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Reminds me of Jack "Statesman" Emmert. 
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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BAB was leading probably only one or two people in looking after animations (he'd need someone else to hold the camera while he swung his sword around - bow wow chicka chicka bow wow! ;-), SexyJay probably had costume design all to himself or as part of a small art team (two or three people).
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I've actually been the sole animator and FX artist since Issue 8. So glad to say that's no longer the case XD
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That's completely insane. I am really impressed with the incredible work you guys have done. I mean, all the dual blades stuff was just one guy? Crazy. I can see why a graphics-light set like willpower was more appealing than shields.
At the same time, I'm a little irritated. I seem to recall being told over and over that no resources were being taken away from CoH to develop CoV, and that no resources were being taken away from CoX to develop MUO. I don't remember the exact quotes, but I can't help but feel that I was lied to.
Mostly, though, I'm very impressed by and grateful to the Fantastic Fifteen for getting out some great issues under ridiculous circumstances.
Avatar: "Cheeky Jack O Lantern" by dimarie