On the Lifetime subscriptions:
I think there is a portion of the calculation is somewhat non-economic. A lifetime subscriber is going to drift in and out of the game: after all, there's never any economic reason to "unsubscribe". They form a (potential) strata of players who will keep the world inhabited for other regularly paying/potential new players.
Also, the time frame the company is concerned with isn't the lifespan of the game, it's the lifespan of the average subscription/account. $200 at the $15/mo is 15-16 months, not including PV/FV considerations or collection costs. The over/under calculation for the company is based on account lifespan, not game/service lifespan. (Player perspective is different, of course.)
Also, remember that there was a limited number of lifetime subscriptions offered (to the point that it created hard feelings amongst some players who were told they couldn't get one, despite the original offer's time frame not having expired). Not sure how that was resolved, but it's not like it was an open-ended, get-it-any-time-you-want-it deal.
Still here. Not often, but still here.
Quote:
Hey Det! When's the next issue of The Defuser coming out? I really like the first one.
|
Originally Posted by Detective2416
Still here. Not often, but still here.
|
Loose --> not tight.
Lose --> Did not win, misplace, cannot find, subtract.
One extra 'o' makes a big difference.
Quote:
Sore Subject.|
Originally Posted by White Hot Flash
Hey Det! When's the next issue of The Defuser coming out? I really like the first one.
|
Read his MySpace Blog for more info.
Member - Pingus, & Legendaries
Angry Sysop 50 BRUTE - Angry Woodsman 50 TANK - Angry Florist 21 CONTROLLER
"Did your Phantom Army just take the Elevator? Imaginary People riding Elevators? *facepalm*
ZOMG a whole server left us!!!!!!!!
Champion server has gone to teh Champions Online now!
Whats next?
and yeah i am still here, lurking on your server 
Member - Pingus, & Legendaries
Angry Sysop 50 BRUTE - Angry Woodsman 50 TANK - Angry Florist 21 CONTROLLER
"Did your Phantom Army just take the Elevator? Imaginary People riding Elevators? *facepalm*
Quote:
get him!
|
Originally Posted by thor's assassin
and yeah i am still here, lurking on your server
... Eating yur bacons! |
Member - Pingus, & Legendaries
Angry Sysop 50 BRUTE - Angry Woodsman 50 TANK - Angry Florist 21 CONTROLLER
"Did your Phantom Army just take the Elevator? Imaginary People riding Elevators? *facepalm*
I've actually started playing one of my other MMOs.. Waiting for i16 o'course, same company 
Guild Wars 
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Thor's Assassin
ZOMG a whole server left us!!!!!!!!
Champion server has gone to teh Champions Online now! Whats next? |
Well after seeing others having so much fun playing it, I broke down and decided to buy it like everyone else.
What really sold me was the stunning, majestic visuals, and the awesome, kick *** combat.
It's the superhero game of the year hands down.
|
I'm here. Ish. Summer is over so activity is on the decline with classes picking up again - waiting for Issue 16 so I can bring out all the characters I have planned.
50s: Silent Spy - MA/Regen Scrapper | Tinkerhell - SS/Inv Brute | Extrasensory - Psi/Men Blaster | Ana Cruz - DP/PD Corruptor | Sara Thunderbird - Elec/Elec Scrapper | Pinstrike - Spines/SR Scrapper | Cold Feet - Cold/Cold Blaster
@Silent Spy, Champion Server
Quote:
I should do that... I haven't played any of my GW toons for months.
|
Originally Posted by GATTACA
I've actually started playing one of my other MMOs.. Waiting for i16 o'course, same company
Guild Wars |
I log in to maintain SG leadership. Does that count as here?
I'm liking CO at launch better than I liked CoH at launch. The "omg dey nerfed us" patch at launch wasn't as bad as the screaming 1st graders on the boards made it out to be. And it was stuff they talked about. And the 2nd patch of the game was simply incredible in terms of improvement.
The thing that really draws me in 'over there' is being able to make ANYTHING. Take any power from any set, color it however you want, and then decide where it's generated from. As a fellow hero said, "You know why this game is full of win? I can shoot lasers from my boobs!"
As for finding teams, I have the same luck in both places. If you try, you'll find one. If you don't, you won't. And like any post-WoW new game - the WoW crowd is heavy at launch acting like total dilholes and then they'll wane off as it becomes clear the game isn't WoW.
I'm enjoying the complexity of the character building system, the customization of the character creator (everything has a body slider, right down to hand thickness), and definitely the breaking of the 4th wall (Big Trouble in Little China and They Live storylines are the *******).
If CoH had offered me a lifetime membership at any point up to CO launch, I would have jumped on it. Now, though, too little too late. After 5 years and dabbling in just about everything to come down the line, I think this might be the one that draws me in.
And since I get to team with Hexer, Ring, Mold, Pep, Cricket, Gravebinder, Draigon, Earthsmasher, and more almost every night...
I *do* have one question, though: I thought DCO was going to be pretty sweet but now I'm hearing it blows like a tornado through a trailer park. Any 1st hand knowledge on this? Is it worth trying?
Quote:
ha
|
Originally Posted by Mighty
The thing that really draws me in 'over there' is being able to make ANYTHING. Take any power from any set, color it however you want, and then decide where it's generated from. As a fellow hero said, "You know why this game is full of win? I can shoot lasers from my boobs!" |
Quote:
Of all things you could quote me on, this is the one you remember?
|
Originally Posted by Mighty
The thing that really draws me in 'over there' is being able to make ANYTHING. Take any power from any set, color it however you want, and then decide where it's generated from. As a fellow hero said, "You know why this game is full of win? I can shoot lasers from my boobs!"
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Mighty
The thing that really draws me in 'over there' is being able to make ANYTHING. Take any power from any set, color it however you want, and then decide where it's generated from. As a fellow hero said, "You know why this game is full of win? I can shoot lasers from my boobs!"
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dinah Might
Of all things you could quote me on, this is the one you remember?
|
Quote:
If it is /anything/ like what they had at Comic Con ..|
Originally Posted by Mighty
I *do* have one question, though: I thought DCO was going to be pretty sweet but now I'm hearing it blows like a tornado through a trailer park. Any 1st hand knowledge on this? Is it worth trying?
|
They need to kill each and every staff member. Right. Now.
"I do it better than anybody you've ever seen do it.
The screams from the haters, it's got a nice ring to it.
I guess every super hero needs his theme music .."
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Mighty
I *do* have one question, though: I thought DCO was going to be pretty sweet but now I'm hearing it blows like a tornado through a trailer park. Any 1st hand knowledge on this? Is it worth trying? |
It hasn't gone to alpha yet, so no one has first hand knowledge of the game, not even the "blows like a tornado" informant[s].
Well some mmo sites have of course, here's a few snippets from the most recent.
"We knew going in that the game was still in the pre-alpha phase; despite this, the level of detail within the title was really quite impressive.If it werent for the fact that the game is clearly not finished, the visuals were looking good enough for it to even release tomorrow." -Gamescom 2009 interview
A few more tidbits, like,
it will be free to play, no subscription fee (which is pretty cocky for a game that's going to blow lol), there'll be Heroes and Villains at launch (you'll choose a path that'll lead you either to the Justice League or the Legion of Doom), there'll be personal/group lairs, it will be available for both pc and ps3 at launch, character creator similar to cox/co with power customization equip-able weapons/loot that will auto configured to match the rest of your outfit.
Their summation of the missions structure:
"the demonstration shown at Gamescom took place in S.T.A.R. Labs with the Joker and Harley Quinn giving the player character a mission to complete. It seemed that a virus had been unleashed during some form of experiment and ended up infecting the scientists who needed to be taken out as a result. As we plow through enemy after enemy, it became clear that DCUO has certainly nailed the combat aspect for an adaptation of the DC Comics license. When Solomon Grundy, Lex Luthor and Bizarro turned up to help his player character take down a large mutant boss, it was certainly an interesting moment. The Joker then gave another mission; to deliver the item to a specific drop off point in whats known as a FedEx mission. Delivery missions in most MMOs are relatively easy, but when Hal Jordan (the Green Lantern) turns up to try and stop you, you know its not going to be a walk in the park."
The visuals of the game are stunning, not like the plastic look of co, but more like what a real coh 2 might look like.
If the game plays remotely like coh, while free to play, with the dc title, locations (metropolis/gotham/atlantis/krypton), and nearly endless characters and stories to develop, hard to see the blows like a tornado thing working out. O-\-<]:
Quote:
I'd say look me up, but there are no globals on GW.. That's the bad part.
|
Originally Posted by Talon_Arsenal
I should do that... I haven't played any of my GW toons for months.
|
Quote:
Uh, I played it. Right there on the center of three consoles set up at the very end of the San Diego Convention Center, right after coming out of Hall H from James Cameron's Avatar screening.|
Originally Posted by Acemace
It hasn't gone to alpha yet, so no one has first hand knowledge of the game, not even the "blows like a tornado" informant[s].
Well some mmo sites have of course, here's a few snippets from the most recent. The visuals of the game are stunning, not like the plastic look of co, but more like what a real coh 2 might look like. If the game plays remotely like coh, while free to play, with the dc title, locations (metropolis/gotham/atlantis/krypton), and nearly endless characters and stories to develop, hard to see the blows like a tornado thing working out. O-\-<]: |
Not being Alpha may explain why it did blow like a tornado.
I did not see any stunning visuals. Not in the positive sense, anyway. So, I'm wondering ..
When did you try the game? Huzzah?
"I do it better than anybody you've ever seen do it.
The screams from the haters, it's got a nice ring to it.
I guess every super hero needs his theme music .."
Quote:
You said boobs.
|
Originally Posted by Dinah Might
Of all things you could quote me on, this is the one you remember?
|
Quote:
I was reading an article out of a gaming mag (I can get the title if I need to, it was at work) and it talked about being able to play Superman, Batman, etc. At that point they totally lost me. How can you play signature characters in an MMO setting? Everyone get their turn in the barrel, so to speak? And the rest of the article talked about various negative (as I took them) points of the game.|
Originally Posted by The_Bronx
Uh, I played it. Right there on the center of three consoles set up at the very end of the San Diego Convention Center, right after coming out of Hall H from James Cameron's Avatar screening.
Not being Alpha may explain why it did blow like a tornado. I did not see any stunning visuals. Not in the positive sense, anyway. So, I'm wondering .. When did you try the game? Huzzah? |
That said, I'll play anything that's free. Hell, I lasted months in Perfect World before the flying elf, panda with a hammer schtick got old for me.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by The_Bronx
Uh, I played it. Right there on the center of three consoles set up at the very end of the San Diego Convention Center, right after coming out of Hall H from James Cameron's Avatar screening.
Not being Alpha may explain why it did blow like a tornado. I did not see any stunning visuals. Not in the positive sense, anyway. So, I'm wondering .. When did you try the game? Huzzah? |
CO in alpha one year ago,
DC the same time one year ago,
People have their preference, but it's yet to start alpha and the game will likely have another year of development.
Doooom? Sure why not, here's some tinfoil for your hat on me. ;]
Quote:
Where did you get a picture of Bert's cat?
|
Originally Posted by Acemace
CO in alpha one year ago,
People have their preference, but it's yet to start alpha and the game will likely have another year of development. Doooom? Sure why not, here's some tinfoil for your hat on me. ;] |
Quote:
From what I understood you would be able to fight alongside of the signature heroes, not as them. Granted, its hard to know which information is real and which is speculation right now.|
Originally Posted by Mighty
I was reading an article out of a gaming mag (I can get the title if I need to, it was at work) and it talked about being able to play Superman, Batman, etc. At that point they totally lost me. How can you play signature characters in an MMO setting? Everyone get their turn in the barrel, so to speak? And the rest of the article talked about various negative (as I took them) points of the game.
That said, I'll play anything that's free. Hell, I lasted months in Perfect World before the flying elf, panda with a hammer schtick got old for me. |
That being said, free to play? This even has me interested after I had decided not to bother with it.
Wow, Ace.
That is seriously a beautiful picture.
A shame what they had as actual gameplay looked nothing like that and felt worse.
Again, I am now giving it the benefit of the doubt since you've mentioned it is in pre-alpha. But, I can probably show you some beautiful pictures of Detroit that might make you want to move there.
Quote:
From what they had at Comic Con, and what was explained to me, you will not be playing as signature heroes and villains, but alongside them. While I was PvP'n, Superman was moving around laser beaming *******.|
Originally Posted by Stray Kitten
From what I understood you would be able to fight alongside of the signature heroes, not as them. Granted, its hard to know which information is real and which is speculation right now.
That being said, free to play? This even has me interested after I had decided not to bother with it. |
And, free is a wonderful price. If that's true, I am sure I'll give it a shot.
"I do it better than anybody you've ever seen do it.
The screams from the haters, it's got a nice ring to it.
I guess every super hero needs his theme music .."
For my part, I'll definitely be maintaining both. They are different enough that they are each interesting in their own way, so depending upon my mood...
My own reactions, riffing off Cherry's list:
HAVING to go through training each time: definite fail, but a typical MMO design oversight/flaw/failure. I'd bet that requirement will go away in a year or so, if not sooner.
Pace of the game until you get travel power: not sure I agree on this one. I am usually able to get my travel power in CO by the time of my first trip to the Power Center. You get it at level 5, after all. By comparison, CoH is the sluggard on this (yes, I'm thinking of _you_, Positron...)
The over the top cartoony/comic-booky nature : Once I turned off the "heavy comic-book outlining" in options, it wasn't nearly as annoying any more for me.
Powersets: missing more than a few things I really want, but there is some good stuff in there, too. I got my spell casting and dual pistols, but lost plants, gravity control, radiation projection, ninja summoning...
Acrobatics travel power: big tub full of WIN for sheer coolness, as far as I'm concerned. I'll be shocked if we don't see some of those animations in CoH in the (hopefully near) future. I spent a full half-hour just back flipping around the desert when I first got that one.
Auto-follow (and melee in general): frustrating, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I just wish, for the sake of Pete, they'd stop having _jumping_ turn off auto-follow. (But auto-follow on a moving NPC while using superspeed is freaking hilarious if you're willing to just sit back and watch.)
Inventory: Meh. I don't mind dealing with "stuff", but the prototypical inventory management sub-game frustrates the &$%! out of me. The crafting is marginally interesting, but out of the gate, I'm not seeing much reason to use it. Random drops are as good or better.
NPCs: I'd agree, some good stuff in there. Some of the movie references/in-jokes are cool, too, which reminds me: I've got to bust out the old Big Trouble in Little China DVD and watch that one again...
All that said, I've been with CoH since release, and I'm not leaving any time soon.