Discussion: Comic Con Articles
By
Amarsir,
Posted on: 2008-07-24 18:12 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
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Let's be honest here...when the new games come out, you're gonna check them out. You may in fact, even like them more and stop playing our beloved game to go play that game. Threatening us with something that's most likely inevitable anyway isn't really going to accomplish anything. We're going to continue doing what we think is best for this game, to the best of our abilities, and in whatever time it takes to accomplish all of that.
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*thunderous round of applause"
BaB's you are seriously an idol of mine. Every post of yours i read is ether funny as hell or just plain informative.You da Man
lol. It's Because of DEV's like yourself and the commitment to this game that keeps me coming back. Sure theres a *HUGE* list of things about this game i can talk about that p's me off every time i log on, But none of it matters when i think of the 10's of thousands of hours, thousands of days, and many weeks i have enjoyed and played this game.
As some one who has worked on makinga game b4 i understand how the pipeline of adding new content can be a pain. Sure i would love it if we could get 1 new issue every month or two. But i would rather get two new ones a year and be good top quality content, then 3-4 a year and just be random "look at this !!! its shiny!!! eh!... eh!... ahhh.... 
"
Any who. Keep up the great work everyone at the studios. Because even if this games doesn't survive long past the new rush of Hero MMO's,*which i know it will. cuss the hero ALWAYS comes back when ya think hes down for the count.* i will always be able to look back at the amazing 4 years i had with this game. And i cant thank you guys enough for keeping this great game great, and allowing me a place to escape from my crappy life for a few hours a day. Best of luck.
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If you've really blown through every bit of content this game has to offer, on both sides, in 7 months...I think I can safely say you can forget about us ever being able to keep your appetite for new content sated.
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BaB is always so much nicer about these kinds of things than I would be. Of course he probably has to, given his position. Luckily I'm just a player and don't have to be nearly so cordial.
If you don't like the game, if you're bored with it, if it no longer entertains you: by all means, leave. Come back in a few months when there's more new content, reactivate your account for a while, and then when you get bored again? Leave. Unless there's someone holding a gun to your head forcing you to play the game, there's no reason you should play a game that you're not enjoying. (And if there IS someone holding a gun to your head, let us know so we can send the police in to rescue you!) There are plenty of people who have been around for a very, very long time and still find it quite enjoyable, new content and old. We'll keep the seat warm for when you want to come back.
Edited for grammar! Yay grammar!
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What do you think bases are?
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confined spaces with roofs that forces you to have to lose inf because you have to earn prestige and join some vg/sg.
As mentioned above, I'd really like some "Globle" maps. Most of the maps in CoH are pretty similar. Same goes for CoV. Cimeroa is really a good example of a map with an entire different feel to it. You actually feel like you've left Paragon/Rogue Isles. I would love to get some more maps that feel unique and "AWAY" from Paragon.
It might be nice to start a Midnighters stroy that takes you around the world to maps like:
Africa - City would look way different than Paragon, plus villages, jungle, dessert, and besides the usual enemies you could have WIld animals and Bushmen/tribesmen.
London - Totally different look for sure. Rainign all the time, do battle on Big Ben or any other famous landmarks. The police would look different too. NPCs walking around would dress difefrently.
Russia - Snow covered land with Russian arcitecture. Council werewolfs and snow beasts already exists.
Austrailia, Ireland, Iraq, Japan....the possibilies are endless. I think this would be a great direction for the game.
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What do you think bases are?
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confined spaces with roofs that forces you to have to lose inf because you have to earn prestige and join some vg/sg.
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Just like Corona Light is the only Light Beer that is also a Corona, Bases are the only thing that are all that and also Player made PvP maps!
I don't really have anything to add to the topic at hand, but just wanted to say how much I appreciate the candor our devs show to the community while not stooping to pandering.
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As mentioned above, I'd really like some "Globle" maps. Most of the maps in CoH are pretty similar. Same goes for CoV. Cimeroa is really a good example of a map with an entire different feel to it. You actually feel like you've left Paragon/Rogue Isles. I would love to get some more maps that feel unique and "AWAY" from Paragon.
It might be nice to start a Midnighters stroy that takes you around the world to maps like:
Africa - City would look way different than Paragon, plus villages, jungle, dessert, and besides the usual enemies you could have WIld animals and Bushmen/tribesmen.
London - Totally different look for sure. Rainign all the time, do battle on Big Ben or any other famous landmarks. The police would look different too. NPCs walking around would dress difefrently.
Russia - Snow covered land with Russian arcitecture. Council werewolfs and snow beasts already exists.
Austrailia, Ireland, Iraq, Japan....the possibilies are endless. I think this would be a great direction for the game.
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I'd love to see new maps, environments and mission maps. I'd like to see that before many other items including creating your own mission. 
The only real problem with this game in keeping subscribers is if you were persistent you could experience it all in 4 or 5 months save for playing through it with different ATs and really I don't like the fact that to experience said content you have to make 4 characters. You play a char for a month... then another then another then another...the 5th month is just so you can go back and finish up the lil odds and ends...once you've done that you've played all the content in the game...
Of course this is much the same length of time as other MMOs 3-6 months of lots of play time, but then they do that with ONE character and this game also divides that content up between good and evil sides and some people don't like playing the other side so for one character it's more like 1.25 months of content and that's mehish...
Also, assuming there are 100,000 subscribers at $15 that's a 1.5mil income per month or 18mil income a year... The average worker in any area of gaming make an average of 60k (testers usually make less but and devs make more but it all averages to about 60k) assumeing there are about 100 or so people running this game since the expansion that's 6mil minimum right there. Assuming there are 2 buildings and renting a building can be pretty expensive up to a 100k a month so that's 2.4mil... that leaves 10.6mil for servers which there are what? 11? I know that to run a private server with a 100 or so users that costs around 1k a month so assuming 3k per server that's 30x1k per server per month so 330k... or roughly 4mil...6mil maximum profit. I'm sure i'm off on these numbers as i'm just rounding from what i know. More than like the numbers are higher and the profit is lower.
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If you've really blown through every bit of content this game has to offer, on both sides, in 7 months...I think I can safely say you can forget about us ever being able to keep your appetite for new content sated.
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Also depends on how you define content. I mean, storylines aside, most missions in the game PLAY the same way from level 1 to 50. Granted, later on you have more powers to play with, but the essential formula is the same:
Recycled, unmodified, unpersonalized tileset
Random layout
Clumps of braindead mobs
Glowy to click to baddies to kill
..repeat until all you want to do if farm.
We've seen some customization and enhancements, but not enough and certainly not in the low level game, where it is in dire need. Why not impress all the potential new players?
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If you've really blown through every bit of content this game has to offer, on both sides, in 7 months...I think I can safely say you can forget about us ever being able to keep your appetite for new content sated.
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Also depends on how you define content. I mean, storylines aside, most missions in the game PLAY the same way from level 1 to 50. Granted, later on you have more powers to play with, but the essential formula is the same:
Recycled, unmodified, unpersonalized tileset
Random layout
Clumps of braindead mobs
Glowy to click to baddies to kill
..repeat until all you want to do if farm.
We've seen some customization and enhancements, but not enough and certainly not in the low level game, where it is in dire need. Why not impress all the potential new players?
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Bravo. Well put. I have been stating the same thing before on various boards and glad I am not alone.
The new ITF is fun and it provided some new maps, looks, tile sets etc so good work on that. Like I've said many times I'd rather see new environments, missions maps, one server and/or the ability to cross faction sides than anything else including a create your own mission option.
The game is still fun but as far as I'm concerned I have done most of the content. Different reasons for venturing through the exact same looking mission map, environment is not new content. By no means is this game dull or anything like that but it is losing it's shine...
The costume creator is still decent and I do like trying out various items, combos etc.
Anyway, it sounds like i13 should be big and I'm looking forward to it. Any additional news from the Con?!
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Ahem... while it may not "speak volumes" why are there less subscibers now than a year ago?
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The animated breasts in AoC probably cost us 35% of the under-21 market in the blink of an eye.
[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
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Having more people on the team is kind of a double-edged sword. We've found ourselves setting out to do things that we would have never considered before because we simply didn't have the people to do it. Now that we do, we're really reaching for some pretty high hanging fruit. Player created missions is only one of the things you guys have heard about...but there are some other big things also being worked on as well. Things that haven't been announced yet.
Chew on that for a while. We've announced player created missions. What do you think we might be working on that we didn't feel comfortable announcing yet?
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You might feel comfortable about it, but every time I ask pohsyb when he's going to be done with the player-created mission editor already he keeps saying "shut-up shut-up shut-up shut-up SHUT-UP!" So maybe you should give us a hint about something you're working on, just in case he blows a fuse before I13 and you have to take all the sharp objects out of his cubicle.
Tell them about that thing. You know, the thing with those things. That thing.
[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
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I'm new to MMOs and games. Do most of them not provide free new content like CoX does with its issues? I note that many DEVS state we're getting FREE new issues etc etc. However, without these free issues I am willing to bet big $ that this game would perish. Also, why is each issue thought of as free? Does our $15/month not help pay for this? It seems CoX has approx 180 000 subscibers and you multiply that by $15...seems like NC Soft is getting a good chunk of change from us and needs to do a bit more than they have this year. Lots of competition on the horizon. I do enjoy this game and will likely stay unless I am overwhelmed with the new games
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One, we don't have 180,000 subscribers. I don't know the exact number right now, but it's not that high.
Two, monthly subscription fees go toward many things. Running the servers. Hardware, IT support, bandwidth, etc. Technical Suport and CSR ( Hopefully you never have to deal with them, but they still account for a portion of the costs associated with running this game). Community support for the forums here. Lighthouse, Ex Libris, moderators, forum software, domain name hosting, more bandwidth for the forums, etc. All these people that don't actually create content for the game have ridiculous demands as well...such as a place to work, electricity, computers, software, insurance, etc. Guvment wants their cut of everything. There are also costs that I can't discuss and costs that I'm sure I'm not aware of right now. Bottom line is, it ain't cheap to make and run an MMO. It ain't cheap to just run one.
As for the actual developer studio side of things, I have no idea what percentage of subscription fees get funneled back into developing the 'free' issues, but I can assure you there aren't any high dollar sports cars sitting in our parking lot. Our new studio is nice, but nothing in it is gold plated. Hower, this is a business, and the point of business is to make a profit. So in all honesty, every penny of your subscription fee isn't actually going directly back into the game. That said, if you think for one second that any MMO with a subscription fee is any different, you are sadly mistaken. Sadly. Here's a sad face for you.
To put this in a a different perspective, we have less subscribers than we did a year ago, and we have a lot more people working on 'free' content for you. I personally think that's a pretty good deal, and it should speak volumes about the commitment to this game and this franchise.
Let's be honest here...when the new games come out, you're gonna check them out. You may in fact, even like them more and stop playing our beloved game to go play that game. Threatening us with something that's most likely inevitable anyway isn't really going to accomplish anything. We're going to continue doing what we think is best for this game, to the best of our abilities, and in whatever time it takes to accomplish all of that.
Would you really want developers who get all panicky and spastic because there's impending competition? Competion is good. We look forward to having other MMOs in the same genre. It'll most likely be good for us and this game in the long run.
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I just couldnt read anymore after seeing this post from BaB. So if someone else states what I about to state I apologize for reiterating their wonderful opinion. . .
BaB this, right here, is part of why i stay and play this game. You help to make this virtual world a better place and I for one appreciate it. Especially as a business owner myself (past and future) and a head of an entire division now, I can applaud your PC interpretation of consumerism at its worst. Yes, customers will complain, they will threaten, they "may" even leave and try out the competition. But when they realize the level of service they get from their current company. . . Well, all I can say is most of my clients have come back. . . And I gladly welcomed them back because that is what we do.
Bravo, my man. . . Bravo. You have a wonderful way of putting such dynamics into a very positive, unoffensive couple of paragraphs. I hope I can only do so well each time I hear this from one of my clients!
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Ahem... while it may not "speak volumes" why are there less subscibers now than a year ago?
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The animated breasts in AoC probably cost us 35% of the under-21 market in the blink of an eye.
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ANIMATED BREASTS?!11!!!!!!!!!
*runs off to buy AoC*
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I completely agree. Keeping us in the dark is annoying. I'm also losing interest with the game. I started played in Jan 2008 so learning the game kept my interest for a while and then i12 hit so it was ok. Now that I have a good chunk of the game down I am wanting the next issue
I see the mish creator is a hot topic but I think they should have dealt with other areas first. Going server-less is a big one. Also give each faction the ability to venture to the other side would be more important. As it stands the game divides the players way too much - spread over its numerous servers and then split between heroes or villains. Anyway, I hope this is being looked at
Any more info available for the future of this game in that address??
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If you've really blown through every bit of content this game has to offer, on both sides, in 7 months...I think I can safely say you can forget about us ever being able to keep your appetite for new content sated.
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I've got to wholeheartedly agree with this. I've been playing for over 4 years, I have no job (on permanent disability), no life, and City of Heroes is my predominant hobby (as well as outlet for personal interaction with most of the human race), and there's a ton of stuff in the game that I still haven't done even once, much less mastered...
Dear NCsoft, if you go through with this shutdown you've guaranteed you'll not see another dime from me on any project you put out, ever.
http://xx-starhammer-xx.deviantart.com/
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Seems the devs are trying to un-confirm what was posted in the IGN article about the mission creator. Notice that they made no effort to cover up the statement about powerset proliferation.
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As was previously stated, regarding those articles, we have not officially confirmed any information regarding what was reported.
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Can you give us a time when Posi and the COX crew will be making any announcements at Comic Con??
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The Pocket D party Saturday night would be a good bet...
"But in our enthusiasm, we could not resist a radical overhaul of the system, in which all of its major weaknesses have been exposed, analyzed, and replaced with new weaknesses."
-- Bruce Leverett, Register Allocation in Optimizing Compilers
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BAB saying a buncha stuff
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That should be stickied.
Be well, people of CoH.
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Ahem... while it may not "speak volumes" why are there less subscibers now than a year ago?
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The animated breasts in AoC probably cost us 35% of the under-21 market in the blink of an eye.
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There's animated breasts in AoC?
<.<
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Hmmmmm.
Be well, people of CoH.
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Ahem... while it may not "speak volumes" why are there less subscibers now than a year ago?
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The animated breasts in AoC probably cost us 35% of the under-21 market in the blink of an eye.
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There's animated breasts in AoC?
<.<
>.>
Hmmmmm.
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Guess we now know why we can't talk about other MMOs anymore...
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Also, assuming there are 100,000 subscribers at $15 that's a 1.5mil income per month or 18mil income a year...
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Not that it makes a huge dent in your math, but there are a large number of us that pay yearly, and so pay less than $15 per month. It's more like $11.95 if I remember correctly. Still a lot of money per month, but like BaB already said: They have a lot to pay for. Businesses are expensive to run. I know this, I pay the bills for the company I work for.
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Ahem... while it may not "speak volumes" why are there less subscibers now than a year ago?
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The animated breasts in AoC probably cost us 35% of the under-21 market in the blink of an eye.
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There's animated breasts in AoC?
<.<
>.>
Hmmmmm.
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The playerbase has spoken.
Look out for I14: Bouncy bouncy
Always remember, we were Heroes.
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The playerbase has spoken.
Look out for I14: Bouncy bouncy
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I do keep track of the gaming world, and this is one of the very few that doesnt charge for new content (if not the only one that does so if you consider the manner in which it is done and amount of content added).
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Only other one I can think of is Turbine's Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach, which updates similarly to CoX - large "Modules" every few months of free content upgrades.
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Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online also has "free" perodic content expansion and updates.
With a retail expansion due out in the fall/winter.
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Chew on that for a while. We've announced player created missions. What do you think we might be working on that we didn't feel comfortable announcing yet?
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Player created zones. Player created pvp maps.