CoH applications

I'd suggest just making it a basic web app. Since 'net access is necessary for the realtime data, you really don't need an offline-available app. iPhone Safari/android browsers should be able to manage it just fine that way... and if someone DOES want to create an unofficial app that accesses the web, they can.



Oh yeah... the vault. Still disappointed it never came to be, though wasn't thrilled with the "friends" list social network part. Best I can figure-- and this is only a guess-- the Vault was announced and even demo'ed before the NCSoft buyout from Cryptic... and the vault bears very similar featuresets to what we see in CO's site-- character profiles, item wikis, an app that lets you access ingame mail, etc. I'm wondering if something wasn't included in the buyout, and redeveloping from scratch wasn't a viable option...


EDIT: My preferred list, for both web/mobile. No particular order:

1) send email to ingame players
2) see/manage supergroup list, based on your sg rights.
3) supergroup/coalition chat, (IIRC, EQ2 offered that at one time via web app, but was buggy)
4) market activity, status, and management
5) Feeds of CoH announcements, dev & community trackers.
6) Character profiles, complete with picture & bio (optional build details, optional social details, optional souvineer list, badge list, etc.
7) Optional character RSS feeds that track notable events (dinging, badge earning, etc)

This is the big one I'd like. It'd make 'I want to play with [X] but I don't know when they log in today' a lot easier to manage.

heh... I was thinking of that myself.

For me, I'd be happy if they just made something that published raw RSS feeds. I could have an RSS reader subscribe to it and inform me... or enthusiastic players could make entire apps dedicated to doing more with the raw data (texts, twitter feeds, social network, a player-driven Vault like Virtueverse, etc)

With what they tried with the vault, it impacted server performance *badly.* Between that and a bit of feature creep, they decided IF they'd do it,t hey'd have to start from scratch.

Just going over your list, though...

... ugh. I can just imagine the spammers finding a way to get into and abuse this.

See 1. (And... why would you need to do that when not in game?)

They don't even do that on one website.... "See ZAM here! See MMORPG here! See the site here! Hey, Twitter!"
With plenty of "Don't show info," tyvm.... Don't want my social details exposed, for instance. I don't even give out a global very often.
... this is also one that makes me go "Huh? why?" My characters aren't leveling when I'm not playing, and why would I need an RSS feed that @someotherguy has reached level 17?

Seriously curious at the reasoning for some of the stuff on your list.

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You can get feeds of all of these.

CoH News http://www.cityofheroes.com.webdev.n.../news/atom.xml

Dev Digest (all languages, all users) - http://boards.cityofheroes.com/track...3337&language=

Community Tracker (all languages, all users) - http://boards.cityofheroes.com/track...3347&language=

All of these were found from the standard RSS icons on the appropriate pages.

You already have these hooks in the options, that were put there originally for the City Vault

Some people like to have an out-of-game record of what things are happening with their characters. This is the core reason that sites like CIT or Badge-Hunter exist.

A standardized feed would be something that would allow people to customize the appearance of that data for something like their own website, or to import into a Facebook app or possibly advertising them to their Twitter feed.

It'd be nice to have APIs (either web or client-based) that are all official and reliable from ParagonStudios, instead of having to use completely third-party tools (HeroStats) that can be broken after any given patch. However, I have this feeling that we aren't going to get them anytime soon.

Thats actually a feature of the CO iphone app... and something several other MMO's have been able to successfully install into web services. Realistically, as it requires a legitimate username/password, it'd only be as easy to bot as the current system is for spammers.

Again, a feature that EQ2 offered two years ago (as part of their fee service) and it was a bit spotty, but popular. People that can't get online for a guild meeting could follow along there. People that want to check in with online friends while, away from the gaming PC, people that are connected at the level my neice is- texting or facebook updating constantly- would love the chance to connect with their online friends through the medium they're most used to finding them in.

Heh, I know... but as others have mentioned, they do have the feeds to the places that go elsewhere. A good app center would put those rss feeds in an easy-to-use location (and adjust their feed code a bit so the devtracker doesn't CONSTANTLY re-list all the old dev messages as new in things like google reader). It could also embed twitter feeds & do similar mashups.


Exactly... still got a minor tick that globals aren't private anymore, myself. Again, I waver on whether they should make a full Vault or just periodically publish batches of XML data that a dedicated fansite could build a Vault around. You could go ingame and choose what data to make public, and the XML would start publishing, for example.


Again, not necessarily for the account owner. If you opt to publish that data, then (for badging) badghunter could use that rather than a third party app. A supergroup hosting site could pull the supergroup members' feeds in for community purposes. The VirtueVerse writers could add the feeds to their profile there. Heck, I see TWITTER users that send updates about their dinging for games. I don't give a crap, but all it would take is an RSS monitor app checking that feed and posting it to whatever social network they want to bother with.




The idea is simple-

If you give people the choice to share the feeds (and default them to OFF), then THEY can choose to share them, and fansite creators, rather than being marginalized by a dev app that did something they tried to do, but with more exclusive features, can make these feeds part of the services that they offer.

The forums are an extension of the game, in a way- the users here are able to connect with other CoH players regardless of their ability to log into the game. Some people prefer realtime chat. Some prefer private email. Adding both of these allows more people to interact more often, and THROUGH the game's services... not some third party. if your network is using a third party app, all of you can just hop over to the next MMO, keeping the app as you go. If you're USING the game's services to stay connected, there's more friction in such a move.

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