Current State of CoX

It more that I hate outleveling a mission I have and having to go back and clean it up.

I play on Virtue and on Infinity-I can't say I have noticed any real drop in the number of folks either teaming or looking for teams. I HAVE noticed a sharp drop in AE teams,though.

I HAVE noticed a sharp drop in AE teams,though.

So have I. I've actually noticed a decline in population from just six months ago, but teaming is not an issue because its been compensated by the ease of teaming with the new SK feature. I still believe the population is thinning across the game as a whole. Certainly in my immediate circle, many people are leaving CoH for the new stuff. It is entirely possible they will return. New games tend to surge in the first 90 days, and very often drop quickly after that. Certainly LOTRO, Conan and WAR experienced that situation.

To go back to AE, I am actually thrilled with the utility. It could have numerous improvements of course, but it is a wondrous tool - and I use it every week. I'd say 80% of my RP now revolves around AE missions catered to our group. The episodic nature of comics, lends itself so well to the tool, I find. We've literally written one part of a story, created a cliff-hanger, then had someone else write the next chapter of it, and we each take turns moving the stories in new directions. Wonderful stuff, because it means each chapter can adapt a different style/personality.

For me, it is thoroughly more enjoyable than the generic content, by a very large factor.

The base editor is also a triumph. I want more features here. I'd even pay more subscription money to get them. I'd love it if an expansion pack somehow incorporated new pieces for base designs etc. Most of the stuff I want, is stuff I see in generic missions all the time anyway.

I see the fusion of the base editor and AE as the ultimate triumph. Where a simple base editor could create custom maps for AE, or as a start, an AE mission could take place in your base. I'd also like to see you be able to populate your base with NPCs from your missions, with very basic animation and dialog.

I find the only reason COH really lingers for me, and the only reason why AION and Champions have no appeal to me, is they lack this kind of customization. My time is limited, my play-time is precious. The more I can cater my experience to my exact taste, and personalize the experience - to make it uniquely different, the more I value what the game offers.

Sadly, the gaming culture, isn't particularly keen on this. The lack of traffic in AE seems to demonstrate, people want simple, easy, fast content - and when they find it, are more than happy to repeat it, over and over again. I don't blame them, but the fast-food culture we live in, doesn't seem to want to bother too much, with the very tools that I believe make this game a real gem. I hope I am wrong in that assessment, and that game customization does, in fact, catch on enough, that it is provided in other MMOs as well.

Right now, the lack of AE interest, might mean the devs don't spend anymore time augmenting it. If that becomes the case, I will be a very sad panda indeed.