Y'know, if it weren't for threads like this and similar CO-bashing threads, no one would have a reason to ask "who's Jack?"
So I guess the answer to the OP's question is "Jack is a long-departed developer who is the object of a ridiculous self-perpetuating hatred among certain CoX forum-goers."
Jack is the reason I probably won't be playing Champions Online anytime soon.
Even if Matt Miller had a lot to do with ED, I couldn't stand Jack always deciding what's fun for the players.
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I find Nemesis very interesting too - I like the way he's evolved from a standard faction leader into possibly the game's chief villain - although he's got less of an in-game presence than Recluse and his Arachnos, the way he uses clones, automatons, time travel and alternative dimensions makes him much harder to contain. |
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That's more or less what I meant when I talked about Rick. I'm not sure of his skills as a game designer, but all the things he made had heart in them. I know that's a corny, vague thing to say, but when I look at most of the old City of Heroes factions, I see good ideas that have had quite a lot of thought and creativity put into them and that have been well realised. Even something as genericly simple as the Hellions still have interesting sides and their own moments of glory, but we also have truly interesting ideas like the Vahzilok.
And, I know I'll get reamed for this, but I still find Lord Nemesis to be my favourite villain not just in this game, but pretty much my favourite villain in general. It's not so much about what he does or what weapons he as as it is about how he is written. Always planning, always plotting, always with bigger ideas, and he manages to use steam power to produce superior technology than everyone else. AND he is reserved for the upper-level game, because his forces are both too secretive and too deadly to be unleashed on a level 1 enemy. I am not, nor have I ever been, in favour of dumbing down big bads and their minions so that new players can fight them right out the gate. It takes away from their mystique and the sense of power. Rikti Invasions are TERRIBLE for that, because people start fighting "the greatest threat the world has ever seen" as soon as they step into Atlas Park. Even to this day, I still like the old factions the best. |
But I would like to see a few missions involving mysterious automatons at the low levels, just so that you can eventually find out that they were a Nemesis plot later on in the game
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Remember that first Hellion door mission you got in Atlas Park?|
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
I find Nemesis very interesting too - I like the way he's evolved from a standard faction leader into possibly the game's chief villain - although he's got less of an in-game presence than Recluse and his Arachnos, the way he uses clones, automatons, time travel and alternative dimensions makes him much harder to contain.
But I would like to see a few missions involving mysterious automatons at the low levels, just so that you can eventually find out that they were a Nemesis plot later on in the game |
Its all a Nemesis plot.
There I was between a rock and a hard place. Then I thought, "What am I doing on this side of the rock?"
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I disagree that he was ever just a standard faction leader. Check the Paragon History Timeline-- he almost took over the U.S. His involvement in the Rikti War was planned, and revealed in one of Maxwell Christopher's missions that was added in issue 1. I think he was originally intended to be the game's chief villain, and I was glad that Issue 10 brought him back into the limelight after being overshadowed by Recluse, who didn't even get added to the game until Issue 6.
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Originally Posted by Golden Girl
I find Nemesis very interesting too - I like the way he's evolved from a standard faction leader into possibly the game's chief villain
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Please try my custom mission arcs!
Legacy of a Rogue (ID 459586, Entry for Dr. Aeon's Third Challenge)
Death for Dollars! (ID 1050)
Dr. Duplicate's Dastardly Dare (ID 1218)
Win the Past, Own the Future (ID 1429)
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From his Statesman account or under what account?
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Originally Posted by Prof_Backfire
A while ago, a lot of people on this forum got PMs inviting them to the Champions Online beta. Not exactly the most sporting kind of marketing.
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I am Jack's complete lack of caring who a former developer is/was?
Hisnameisrobertpaulsen. Hisnameisrobertpaulsen. Hisnameisrobertpaulsen.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Jack was able to 'direct' the early CoH into the AT class system. He took the various departments who were all working on their pet systems and directed them towards a goal.
CoH is the result of that goal. I do believe that is why Rick left as he wasn't able to get a 'direction' going for CoH.
The man made his share of mistakes and many are more than willing to state them.
I don't think that Jack or even Cryptic is solely responsible for the Dev's downgraded numbers after CoV launch. It seems to be a by-product of post game launching. In order for something like that to happen, NCSoft would have had to agree in or even dictate the reduction in staffing. This was most likely based on the sales numbers and projected cost vs revenue gain of CoV. Had it been a super hit, they would have kept up a larger staff to support it.
Since we have all seen the 'support' CoV has gotten since launch, we know where the dollars come from 'majority wise'.
I somehow doubt that Jack alone caused that or wanted to cut staff.
I would easily believe that Jack took what he could and put that staff to work on the latest cryptic game engine and then MUO ... etc etc etc.
For good or worse, Jack did help to launch CoH, for that.. I consider it a good endeavour on his and Cryptics part.
Member of Team Awesome���
Justice Server
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That's where I am at the moment, too.
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Originally Posted by Calibre_NA
Now, I'm re-evaluating my original dismissal of the Jack Hate----and not in a good way, if you take my meaning. I'm starting to lean more and more in that direction.
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I don't, mostly because I don't get any. EVER.|
Originally Posted by AmazingMOO
How do you reply to questions about Jack?
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Originally Posted by _____
i actually have a twenty page paper exploring jack's alleged merits and failings that i copy & paste every time the subject comes up
it is always met with much excitement because everyone loves to hear my opinions on game designers that they're only dimly aware of |
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Originally Posted by Johnny_Velocity
Y'know, if it weren't for threads like this and similar CO-bashing threads, no one would have a reason to ask "who's Jack?"
So I guess the answer to the OP's question is "Jack is a long-departed developer who is the object of a ridiculous self-perpetuating hatred among certain CoX forum-goers." |
--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
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I'm not saying Rick is a good or bad person to work for, just that he didn't have the management skills to deliver and was basically driven out of the company he helped found as a result. |
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Eh, I didn't know Rick well enough, so I'll take you on your word here. But from what I've heard from him, his heart was at least in the right place, something I can't say for Jack Emmert.
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I'm not going to comment about where someone's heart is because it is an incredibly subjective idea, but I will say that the vast majority of lead developers attract an incredible amount of flack for what they do or don't do.
I am Jack's inflamed sense of rejection.
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I am Jack's smug sense of "beat you to the joke already".|
Originally Posted by D_Faust
I am Jack's inflamed sense of rejection.
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Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Jack?
Isn't Jack that eyeliner-wearing pirate who shot his mutinous first mate and then died and then was rescued from the underworld after making out with that hot skinny British chick?
No?
Oh okay I know. Isn't Jack is that special agent that says DAMNIT! a lot and has saved the world from terrorists like 50-something times, but he still can't maintain a healthy emotional relationship with his own daughter, and everyone he knows and loves either dies or turns against him?
Still no? Dang, I'm gonna have to go mull this over some more.
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Actually, that could be him |
Originally Posted by WingedAvenger
everyone he knows and loves either dies or turns against him?
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Jack threads are best used to measure posters here. The more Jack-rage they spew, the less likely I am to take them seriously. Even if he really, honestly, was the the ebil overlord that killed your puppies, the fact that all these years later some people still obsess over this tells me more about them than it does about Jack.|
Originally Posted by UnSub
Emmert made mistakes, but I find his regular burning-in-effigy events to be fairly hollow affairs.
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Originally Posted by ChaosExMachina
There are also some groups that are not Champions canon as far as I know, that are blatant copies of some of the CoX groups, but far less interesting.
For example, the maniacs are basically freakshow without the cybernetics or the funny or the backstory, so they are just random crazy goths. |
d
When asked that question the proper reply should be "No one of consequence."
Rabbits & Hares:Blue (Mind/Emp Controller)Maroon (Rad/Thermal Corruptor)and one of each AT all at 50
MA Arcs: Apples of Contention - 3184; Zen & Relaxation - 35392; Tears of Leviathan - 121733 | All posts are rated "R" for "R-r-rrrrr, baby!"|Now, and this is very important... do you want a hug? COH Faces @Blue Rabbit
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Yeah, I was asking some guys who had played Champions and they just sort of said the actual lore for the PnP game sucks, but the Hero generation system is *so good* it doesn't matter--you have a dungeon master to write the campaigns, anyway so you don't have to rely on the bland, uninspired factions like Argent (illegal and immoral, but they're no Crey Corp. They're not SUPERVILLAINS) or VIPER (who...I dunno, I guess they're Cobra ripoffs, except without Cobra Commander or a hot evil russian baroness). Jack should've just thrown that dirty dishwater out and let his writers run loose with their own ideas. Rick Dackan's story bible contribution to CoH was immense even if he got chased out of Cryptic. He wrote some good stuff.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
That's more or less what I meant when I talked about Rick. I'm not sure of his skills as a game designer, but all the things he made had heart in them. I know that's a corny, vague thing to say, but when I look at most of the old City of Heroes factions, I see good ideas that have had quite a lot of thought and creativity put into them and that have been well realised. Even something as genericly simple as the Hellions still have interesting sides and their own moments of glory, but we also have truly interesting ideas like the Vahzilok.
And, I know I'll get reamed for this, but I still find Lord Nemesis to be my favourite villain not just in this game, but pretty much my favourite villain in general. It's not so much about what he does or what weapons he as as it is about how he is written. Always planning, always plotting, always with bigger ideas, and he manages to use steam power to produce superior technology than everyone else. AND he is reserved for the upper-level game, because his forces are both too secretive and too deadly to be unleashed on a level 1 enemy. I am not, nor have I ever been, in favour of dumbing down big bads and their minions so that new players can fight them right out the gate. It takes away from their mystique and the sense of power. Rikti Invasions are TERRIBLE for that, because people start fighting "the greatest threat the world has ever seen" as soon as they step into Atlas Park. Even to this day, I still like the old factions the best. |
I like the Lemurians just because their Bleak Ones are such a nod to Lovecraft and Dagon.
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Who Jack is well known to be a high priest of.|
Originally Posted by Iannis
Dagon.
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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On the other hand, after my first experience of Rikti invasions I couldn't wait to get to the RWZ. The taste of fighting them at level 8 or 10 left me very eager to take them on at their natural level.|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
And, I know I'll get reamed for this, but I still find Lord Nemesis to be my favourite villain not just in this game, but pretty much my favourite villain in general. It's not so much about what he does or what weapons he as as it is about how he is written. Always planning, always plotting, always with bigger ideas, and he manages to use steam power to produce superior technology than everyone else. AND he is reserved for the upper-level game, because his forces are both too secretive and too deadly to be unleashed on a level 1 enemy. I am not, nor have I ever been, in favour of dumbing down big bads and their minions so that new players can fight them right out the gate. It takes away from their mystique and the sense of power. Rikti Invasions are TERRIBLE for that, because people start fighting "the greatest threat the world has ever seen" as soon as they step into Atlas Park.
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I've done very very few Nemesis missions - picking the wrong contacts I suppose. The first encounter I did have with them though was the rather brilliant Automatic Villainy, which is one of my favourite arcs in all of CoV.
Generally I'm just not fussed about Champions. I always preferred Villains and Vigilantes
I'll apply a quote to Jack Emmert that Dame Edna originally used to describe John Barrowman....
"I paid [Jack Emmert] some compliments when I met him recently, but you know, there really isn't a compliment that you can give to [Jack] that he hasn't already given to himself."
Arc #1267 The Key of Brass and Flame
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I'm pretty sure the game would be much more expansive than it is now. Trust me, Rick had his own vision for the game and I'm pretty sure he was leading up to something big with the Peregrine Island arcs. PvP might have been a nightmare, but then again Rick may have never introduced it or wanted it. I believe Rick was more a guy who wanted players to experience the fun of the game and the story involved with it. I bet he wasn't so obssessed with fixing powers, balancing things out, and making sure every little detail was kept in line so long as people were just having fun with a game they loved. |
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
As someone who actually had a great deal of respect for Jack back in the day, I can tell you I'm starting to attribute less and less of the game's overall success and merit on him and more and more on Rick Dakan's original vision and the blood, sweat and tears of the rest of the team. Jack had very specific, unyielding ideas about what the game should be and, looking back on it, kept acting like the game was always broken and he always had to fix it. I think the fact that his recent sour grapes attitude and the result of that labour do nothing but confirm that belief.
I love this game, and I cannot deny Jack had a hand in it, but I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Rick Dakan had remained in charge. |
And to answer the thread question: An Evil Genius. There, I said it. I think the man is an evil genius because I have a theory. I believe Jack is merely using CO as a marketting device to jump start Star Trek Online. C'mon, Closed Beta access in both of the subscription plans? Sounds like a TRAP!
But nah, Jack was a dude who felt the game needed to be checked, balanced, re-balanced, re-re-balanced, and then checked again. He wanted people to experience a sometimes overwhelming challenge, and then feel the rush of overcoming that hill (as other people have stated in this thred).
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What's that mean?
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Originally Posted by KithDPine
NIMGYD
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I'm only ladylike when compared to my sister.
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Not In My Game You Don't!|
Originally Posted by Aisynia
What's that mean?
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Old pen and paper term.
Edit Add:
It is basically a code phrase that refers to when a GM makes a unilateral veto of a rule or set of rules to prevent a player action. It is also known as NYMDYD <where the D is dungeon instead of game>
Just say Jack is a hideous monster that fights pumpkins - it'll cover both the Jacks that way.
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork