I think there is a decrease in numbers but there was one last year at Sept. as well for a while. Who knows if they'll be back. This is my only MMO and would like to see it do well. However, it is a dated game and there hasn't been a ton of innovation or new things to keep the game exciting. Hopefully GR is good enough to bring back a lot of people. Either way, I am here until GR at least. 
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Originally Posted by TheJazMan
I think there is a decrease in numbers but there was one last year at Sept. as well for a while. Who knows if they'll be back. This is my only MMO and would like to see it do well.
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It isn't a decrease in numbers. Every year in September peoples schedules change as they start college, return to school, end summer vacation. They haven't canceled their subs they just have to reschedule their play time as real life issues take priority.
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However, it is a dated game and there hasn't been a ton of innovation or new things to keep the game exciting. Hopefully GR is good enough to bring back a lot of people. Either way, I am here until GR at least.
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To be truly honest, only a few of those issues have 'innovations' in them. All of them have new stuff to do, play with, see... but only a few have 'innovative' stuff to do/play/see.
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Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I don't know what game you've been playing, but I've seen 16 issues of innovation added to the game over the past five years which has kept the game fresh and exciting.
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Paragon Wiki: http://www.paragonwiki.com
City Info Terminal: http://cit.cohtitan.com
Mids Hero Designer: http://www.cohplanner.com
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Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
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I've got a gym bag full of computer games that I've lost interest in after a month or two, and this is the only one I've played for 5 years. So they must be doing something right.|
Originally Posted by Aggelakis
To be truly honest, only a few of those issues have 'innovations' in them. All of them have new stuff to do, play with, see... but only a few have 'innovative' stuff to do/play/see.
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Edit: I do get where you're coming from tho Agg.
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Yeah, hi, I'm playing CoX..that is why I am posting on their boards. That might be hard for you to figure out so I'll help ya out there.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
It isn't a decrease in numbers. Every year in September peoples schedules change as they start college, return to school, end summer vacation. They haven't canceled their subs they just have to reschedule their play time as real life issues take priority.
I don't know what game you've been playing, but I've seen 16 issues of innovation added to the game over the past five years which has kept the game fresh and exciting. |
Yep, 16 issues. I got on board just after i11. It was a very long wait to i12 which was a light issue but very cool. I13 really didn't add to the game - QoL, power set, PvP issues, day jobs (day jobs...lol...weak!). I14 was a cool innovation but very poorly implemented into the game. I15 - not a real issue. I16 - good add but nothing new for us to do.
This game is a lot of fun and has a decent system. We do have a lot of things to do but unfortunately a lot of that is quantity and NOT quality. The same mission over and over with a few tweeks to it is not my idea of fun or innovation. Hopefully they stop doing that
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Bill? I thought you got the memo. Everyone's playing on Freedom or Virtue, thus contributing to the "this game is in trouble, there's too many players for the hardware" spammage.|
Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
I think "no signs of waning" is a bit overstated. For several months now, I've not seen Pinnacle's pop hit 1000. That's considering both sides. Granted, I have no idea what percentage of players run around hidden from searches like I always do.
But I do know it's been damn quiet in every zone. All the time. I would hate to be a new player right now. EDIT: Just logged in. 89 matches found blueside. 2 to 1 ratio has been mostly true forever. That means ~45 redside. 6PM on a night before many are off for 5 days. And Pinn's got less than 150 players not hidden. |
/em sarcasm
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
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Originally Posted by Panzerwaffen
Recent join date: Check
Low post count: Check 'OMG! The game is dying!' doom post: Check Conclusion:?? |
Is actually able to notice the naked emperor ?
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And here i thought it was just a particularly useless and silly-looking codpiece.
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Originally Posted by Another_Fan
Is actually able to notice the naked emperor ?
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Dr. Todt's theme.
i make stuff...
I actually saw NCSoft time cards today while going to different GameStops with my friend, $30 for 60 days and could be used with any of their games...was contemplating buying one, but Aion doesn't have any free trials >.>
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Sounds about right, I wouldn't give it a decade but yeah sounds about right.
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Originally Posted by Bill Z Bubba
No. Eventually they will shut the servers down. I give this game a decade. Tops.
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Originally Posted by TheJazMan
We do have a lot of things to do but unfortunately a lot of that is quantity and NOT quality. The same mission over and over with a few tweeks to it is not my idea of fun or innovation. Hopefully they stop doing that
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Don't know if you've noticed but all missions in every MMO are the same.
"Go there, do that, get reward."
They just change up the graphics to give you the illusion that the missions are different.
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Actually not true. Some other MMO's include minigames. Runescape has sodoku, Emote contests, math puzzles, quizzes, treasure maps, and a fishing trawler game that's unlike anything I've seen elsewhere. At the extreme end there is one MMO where the only mechanic is walking and all the rest are user-developed minigames everything from Tetris and Pacman to crosswords, board games, pong, sodoku again, etc. WoW has the Simon Memory Game on the Ogrilla Plateau and a few others.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Don't know if you've noticed but all missions in every MMO are the same.
"Go there, do that, get reward." They just change up the graphics to give you the illusion that the missions are different. |
But the majority of the content in all games is: Kill enemies. Gather Drops. Click on quest item.
It's just that there are a few extras that other games throw in as well.
And there is something to be said for the enjoyment value of more unique/custom maps rather than the identical templates. Eye candy is still tasty. I know I love doing the Frostfire mission in the hollows specifically because of the unique map. Now if the Devs would add voiceovers and animated "glowies" I'll be really happy on the eye candy side. =)
"Hmm, I guess I'm not as omniscient as I thought" -Gavin Runeblade.
I can be found, outside of paragon city here.
Thank you everyone at Paragon and on Virtue. When the lights go out in November, you'll find me on Razor Bunny.
Well, to be fair, I think CoX's storylines are usually more interesting and worthwhile than other games. There are a lot of fun characters and storylines to go with the whole "drop x amount of foes."
I do agree that the devs need to get more content in the game now, after focusing on adding more varied systems for so long (I14 and I16 are fun, but they were light on adding map types, missions, etc.). I like all the customization, but I want more new content to run through.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
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Originally Posted by GavinRuneblade
Actually not true. Some other MMO's include minigames. Runescape has sodoku, Emote contests, math puzzles, quizzes, treasure maps, and a fishing trawler game that's unlike anything I've seen elsewhere. At the extreme end there is one MMO where the only mechanic is walking and all the rest are user-developed minigames everything from Tetris and Pacman to crosswords, board games, pong, sodoku again, etc. WoW has the Simon Memory Game on the Ogrilla Plateau and a few others.
But the majority of the content in all games is: Kill enemies. Gather Drops. Click on quest item. It's just that there are a few extras that other games throw in as well. And there is something to be said for the enjoyment value of more unique/custom maps rather than the identical templates. Eye candy is still tasty. I know I love doing the Frostfire mission in the hollows specifically because of the unique map. Now if the Devs would add voiceovers and animated "glowies" I'll be really happy on the eye candy side. =) |
You are absolutely right Gavin, and I agree that certain types of mini games would be fun. (not gambling games tho) I see tho you do acknowledge that the example I made is pretty much universal to all MMO's to some extent.
It's impossible for the devs of any game to create content that is fresh and new every single time you play it. Even CO follows the same mission formula.
Get the cat. Take the cat to it's owner. Get reward.
Go over there. Defuse the bombs. Get reward.
Go to the tv station. Defeat Foxbat. Get reward.
Go to the lost guy. Lead him to safety. Get reward.
It's standard formula for filler content for the industry.
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Again, I think you're 110% wrong. Couldn't disagree more.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Don't know if you've noticed but all missions in every MMO are the same.
"Go there, do that, get reward." They just change up the graphics to give you the illusion that the missions are different. |
Even if a lot of MMOs are doing the same old why should CoX? It's not too late to add some unique angles.
Oh, and the graphics are very repetitive in CoX - that's the main thing that makes this game look repetitive and redundant. Same few varied mission maps; the various villain groups are used over and over and over; a lot of the bosses in a mish look just like the mobs/minions and the look is tired.
GR might make the game seem shiny but blueside will have the same design - tired old building with a lot of really bad 'architecture'. Who designs some of these buildings??? lol
Anyway, we don't know all of GR so here's hoping it really makes the game fresh again!!!
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You can believe whatever you want it's not going to change the facts.|
Originally Posted by TheJazMan
Again, I think you're 110% wrong. Couldn't disagree more.
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| Even if a lot of MMOs are doing the same old why should CoX? |
2. Because this isn't fantasyland or Sci-Fi land where we can wave a wand or tell the holodeck computer that we never want to repeat anything. No MMO has an infinite number of maps, opponents, and objectives.
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| It's not too late to add some unique angles. |
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| Oh, and the graphics are very repetitive in CoX - that's the main thing that makes this game look repetitive and redundant. Same few varied mission maps; the various villain groups are used over and over and over; a lot of the bosses in a mish look just like the mobs/minions and the look is tired. |
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| GR might make the game seem shiny but blueside will have the same design - tired old building with a lot of really bad 'architecture'. Who designs some of these buildings??? lol |
Yeah let's have maps that are accurate to the buildings floorplan.
lol - great response FP 
37 lvl 50s: 3 Brutes, 2 Stalkers, 2 Tankers, 7 Masterminds, 2 Scrappers, 3 Blasters, 3 Controllers, 3 Corruptors, Peacebringer, 2 SoA (Crab, Bane), 3 Defenders, Widow, 3 Dominators, Warshade, Fortunata
Gemstone is still running. I haven't had an account in years, but the last time I played it that was text based. They have accounts, they make money, they keep the game open. They did move from Gemstone II to Gemstone III to Gemstone IV, but I suspect the players migrated along with them. I know I did, from Gem II to Gem III, and so did the majority of my in-game friends.
Will you have as much fun, when the people you added to friends when you first started move on? No. On the other hand, you in your turn will help hook new players, and so on.
I was worried about the game with champions online coming out, but after playing co, I'm not as worried, lol. Having compared coh with a brand new game actually pleasantly surprised me. I knew the new game would be light on content, but I didn't expect coh to compete favorably with the new game in terms of graphics and gameplay, yet it did.
COH has a good hold on the superhero market right now (that of course could change with dco and marvel mmos down the road...), so if they keep updating the game, they can maintain that hold. There has been a recent drop in activity, no doubt about it. But as others have pointed out, that's because there's been a lot of quality (and not so quality...) competition in the game market. I think another thing that has hurt this game during this period is sparce updates in terms of things to do, probably because they've been focusing on going rogue. The game is starving for new content, missions and new/unique activities. I think going rogue will provide a lot of that, but the devs need to work on getting stuff out on a more regular basis to keep things fresh, imo.
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City of Heroes and its endless cityscapes is a weakness of the genre, not the game. Superheroes belong in a city, not out in the countryside. Superman may have been a farmboy from Kansas, but he didn't stay on the farm, or in Kansas.| Welcome to the computer gaming industry. All game graphics are repetitive and redundant. See above for why. |
Fantasy genre games can vary the wilderness settings with deserts, mountains, swamps, etc. So there is more visual variety. City of Heroes did the best it could in trying to provide zones with different city styles, such as gritty Kings Row and Steel Canyon's skyscrapers. But its all still city. No weather effects, night and day are barely distinguishable, the War Walls block the horizon. Parklike zones are all hazard zones, meant for street sweeping groups, with no missions.
Visually it seems a little dull compared to all the distinctly different terrains I saw in Everquest and World of Warcraft. I can see why people get a little tired of it. The Roman Zone was a nice change, but I wish it didn't have to involve time travel and Romans.
It would be nice if the Going Rogue expansion would include something like Champions' desert and arctic zones, just for a little more variety. Still, this game is built around instanced missions, so in most cases we would still end up in a cave somewhere. I would be happy enough if they would just design some fresh textures for the existing maps.
>.>
<.<
>.>
...Leave CoH ALOOOOOOONE!!! 
hehehee
Global: @MomentaryGrace
Servers (to date): Liberty (primary), Infinity, Protector, Virtue, Justice, Pinnacle
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Fixed.
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Originally Posted by momentary_grace
>.>
<.< >.>  ...Leave CoH ALOOOOOOONE!!! hehehee |
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Originally Posted by Afterimage
City of Heroes and its endless cityscapes is a weakness of the genre, not the game. Superheroes belong in a city, not out in the countryside. Superman may have been a farmboy from Kansas, but he didn't stay on the farm, or in Kansas.
Fantasy genre games can vary the wilderness settings with deserts, mountains, swamps, etc. So there is more visual variety. City of Heroes did the best it could in trying to provide zones with different city styles, such as gritty Kings Row and Steel Canyon's skyscrapers. But its all still city. No weather effects, night and day are barely distinguishable, the War Walls block the horizon. Parklike zones are all hazard zones, meant for street sweeping groups, with no missions. Visually it seems a little dull compared to all the distinctly different terrains I saw in Everquest and World of Warcraft. I can see why people get a little tired of it. The Roman Zone was a nice change, but I wish it didn't have to involve time travel and Romans. It would be nice if the Going Rogue expansion would include something like Champions' desert and arctic zones, just for a little more variety. Still, this game is built around instanced missions, so in most cases we would still end up in a cave somewhere. I would be happy enough if they would just design some fresh textures for the existing maps. |
No offense intended, but people get just as bored, just as fast with those zones as they do with urban city zones. Vast streches of empty desert with the occasional patch of buildings isn't very exciting after the first time you explore the zone. The same goes for vast stretches of wooded wilderness. And there's nothing very special about the terrain. Mountains, lakes, and rivers are nice to look at the first time around but quickly fade into the background just as easily as skyscrapers, sewers, and parks.
As to the open world content that game has, nothing irritated people more than having hundreds of people fighting over the same mission objectives at the same time.
The game is doing so well that after only three months their own players are voicing concerns.
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| Is Anyone Else Getting Worried/Nervous About the Subscriber-base/Population? |
also, lets nto forget that there is a very visually distinct zone, the shadow shard, it just needs a bit more fleshing out, which, if we go by the text of the darrin wade storyline, it may well get post going rogue. I dont think anyone will say that they wouldnt like more content, but likely soon a lot of us will see how much content is coming with going rogue, and while this all is guessing, since we havent had new areas since issue 12, one can assume that gr will have a lot of stuff. If anything i'd like to see us get away from the new zones idea and get to fleshing out existing zones, we simply dont and never have had the populations to support so many zones across multiple servers. faultlining zones really would be a smarter use of resources unless the zone is really distinct, like a space station or somewhere.
It's fallacious to pick a MMO with a higher playerbase and then say, "Look, it has a higher playerbase, therefore, CoH might be in trouble!!"
Out of dozens and dozens of MMOs (and with dozens and dozens more that have failed), CoH is at least the seventh most subscribed to MMO in the West.
There's a successful metric for you.
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