January 2011 Producer's Letter to the Community
By
Adept,
Posted on: 2011-01-10 11:29 in Developers' Corner
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Did you really reply to yourself seven times?
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Originally Posted by PeerlessGirl
It would be difficult to do that, but here's the link I was directd to that the Cape put up: http://www.thecaperadio.com/forum/vi...php?f=3&t=8297
Speculate and interpret as you will. |
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
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Golden Girl Disease is a serious and tragic affliction. At least this is just Stage 1. If Peerless starts ending every post with winkies and starts seeing every moral question in terms of pure white and black we'll know its getting worse.|
Originally Posted by DumpleBerry
Did you really reply to yourself seven times?
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In the meantime I advise playing Red side a bit, that generally acts to counter mild cases of GGD.
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I hate to agree with Golden Girl, but she is right in this case. |
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
The Incanrate content requires no purples or IOs of any kind - you just need to run Mender Ramiel's arc, then collect 12 Shards of 3 components for the 1st tier Incarnate enhancement, and then you've got access to the 2 new TFs.
The moment you hit 50, you can go to Ouroboros and run the arc, which takes 30-45 minutes, then go to the RWZ and buy one component with 150 Vangaurd Merits, then run an ITF, which will give you a 2nd component, plus several Shards from the enemies you defeat during it, with a good chance of getting 4 or more Shards from it, which chould take 60-90 minutes, and will allow you to craft the 3rd component you need. From the moment you hit 50 to getting your first Incarnate enhancement takes less than 3 hours, requires no IOs of any kind, and only needs you to team once. |
You don't need to have a 10 billion Influence build and be purpled out the wazoo to play Incarnate content, it really IS as simple as she laid it out here.
Unless you routinely hang out with people who will kick you for not having any set bonuses, you can run everything Incarnate related on SOs alone.
It just happens that the characters people tend to do the content with first are their main/favorite characters, who have generally had more time and money invested in them than various alts do. I have 6 level 50 characters, 5 of which have been heavily IOed. 3 of them are my favorite characters to play by far, so it's not surprising that I started Incarnate stuff with them first. I'd imagine that most people in the game play anything new with their favorite character first, then the others later.
Personally, I'm trying to decide which of my 3 favorites I am going to take all the way through the Incarnate stuff. I only have time to do it with one of them, so it's a tough call.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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Error, error, error, error...
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Originally Posted by Eiko-chan
I know you think
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There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
Oh and not that it will do any good (I'm sure it's a corporate directive), but the fact that you put integration with the NCSoft Launcher under "Service with a Smile" says that you and I have different definitions of "service".
That thing is vile and needs to be kept away from sentient life lest it cause irreparable damage.
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You completely and utterly missed the point. If the game spent the next two years adding nothing but 'high end raiding', it would spell a clear and decisive path for the future that was casual-unfriendly. It really doesn't matter what the game has done in the past; we're talking about the game's future. |
Originally Posted by Zombie Man
Please. The Devs could spend the next two years adding nothing but 'high end raiding' and CoH will still be 90% casual. If that's not casual *enough* because it's not 100% casual, then that is the problem of that particular gamer who has created this unrealistic and false dichotomy.
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Telling people that want casual stuff "You've had that for six years, now it's our turn" is completely missing the point. The point we casuals are making is "You have every other MMO in the world, leave ours alone."
Casuals are not the ones being selfish here. Folks wanting this MMO to be like all the others are, because apparently they're not satisfied with the hundreds of other choices they have and want to take away the one choice we have too.
I wish I could use the words that truly describe my feelings about this. It's hard to express such outrage I feel with polite and politic words.
*Casually strolls in*
Whats this? A dev shuffle again? Ok. Grats on the promotion and welcome.
Hmm... A producers letter! Ah! Good show! What would really be interesting: A focus for advertising to go beyond the boundaries of those that already play the game...
Doesn't mention anything about bases...
Wait.. whats this... PlayNC launcher? Hmmm... well... I hope its not anything like EA's, it shall have my support if its quality. If it is not, potential mess...
Looks like things are shaking up in a good way... now that DC is out and about...
Curious to see what comes next, just hope the good stuff isn't kept for too long...
*Casually strolls out*
Ignoring anyone is a mistake. You might miss something viral to your cause.
I like the double exp stuff, and It helps when we get more than a few days notice like last time..lol. But like the others here, I am not encouraged about the launcher news. Please let your boss know that such action being forced on the community would do harm to the community relations you work so hard to build here.
Also, lets keep the monthly thing... monthly.
A few suggestions I hear daily from guildmates are that once something new comes out, the old content gets forgotten, but was recently rectified by helping upgrade the positron tf. We would like it very much if SC, and some of the other zones got a new facelift.
As for PvP concerns, they will never stop complaining about pvp, and you will never make them happy, so let them rot! (mwuhahaha)
GL on your new position, don't screw it up!
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This. There is apparently a militant wing of the casual community with which I'm unfamiliar. Seems pretty clear to me that the dev team understands COH's somewhat unique position in the market as an MMO you can treat as an occasional recreation and not a second job. If the forthcoming Incarnate stuff follows the same basic pattern as what they've already released then I don't see that changing.
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Originally Posted by Dromio
<shrug>
I'm casual. I started in the open beta and have played ever since. In that time I've been in no more than five PuG's. I'm in a very small SG, where only if everyone is on can we field an eight man team, so I solo well over 95% of the time. I have two kids in elementary school, a 50 hour a week job, and responsibilities in two households since my dad passed away. I'm apparently not one of your "we casuals" though because I've enjoyed the Incarnate content and other high level additions to the game. |
Eagle head on facebook page: *explodes from squee*
Double XP Weekend starting on my birthday: *explodes again from squee*
I've put in my PTO request and I'll soon update my CoH Historic Calendar!
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No, I replied to other people several times. Quoting my reply to GG is kind of silly, but then again, just about every post you make these days gets sillier...
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Originally Posted by DumpleBerry
Did you really reply to yourself seven times?
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"Superman died fighting Doomsday because he allowed his toggles to drop, and didn't beat Doomsday before Unstoppable wore off, sad really..."
I just want more Praetorian content... Hopefully they implement that in the next issue or two. Or three...
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Oh don't get me started here. The fact that both the players *and* the devs seemed to not fully understand the principles of the reward system back then is just one of those times when I was pretty much arguing against anyone who managed to find the keyboard.|
Originally Posted by TheUnnamedOne
Right from the BEGINNING, Jack Emmert (a.k.a. "Statesman", the original boss of COH) used every trick and bit of influence he had to force COH into a Risk vs Reward ethic. He absolutely HATED the idea of Time vs. Reward. To Jack, the idea of a Blaster hovering safely outside of the range of enemies' Ranged attacks and using JUST slow-recharging Snipe powers to defeat things in three times the amount of time it would take to just go in with all guns blazing was the worst thing that could happen to COH. And that's not even the worst example. Just about every unpopular power and NPC change in the first couple years was done to appease his draconian RvR mentality and stranglehold on how the game was "supposed to be played." It's really only been since he left that things have been turned around into a more congenial reward system. The only bad thing is that so many of Jack's horrible ideas are still stuck so firmly entrenched in the bedrock of COH that I don't think they'll ever come out.
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Even today when the players accuse Jack of a RvR mentality, I doubt they are thinking what he was thinking, and vice-versa. In fact, I doubt even a handful of people can actually define rigorously what "risk" even means in CoX's reward system. Risk of what?
The obvious answer, "risk of dying," is actually incorrect for the standard game.
[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]
In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)
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This.|
Originally Posted by Denji
I just want more Praetorian content... Hopefully they implement that in the next issue or two. Or three...
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I think it'll happen eventually.
The rest of this seems pretty neat. As a note for future booster packs, a lot of the community seems like they'd benefit from a fashion pack. We just had one for a bunch of emotes, and we're getting some other ones for the animal lovers. I think some new hairstyles for guys and girls would be pretty awesome.
And hair pieces. Hair pieces would be awesome.
Many welcomes to the new producer~ And please, keep up the excellent work and service.
Home of the Following (And about eleven other alts.):
[Agenla Kedair] - 50 :: Magic / Corruptor
[Eli Fresca] - 50 :: Magic / Scrapper
[Marcasite] - 50 :: Technology / Defender
[Xan Trine] - 50 :: Natural / Tanker
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One of the Incarnate Trials is a raid on the BAF - plus, there have been hints that another Trial takes place at Mother Mayhem's asylum.
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Originally Posted by Denji
I just want more Praetorian content... Hopefully they implement that in the next issue or two. Or three...
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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It'd be even more awesome if they moved |
Originally Posted by Esoteric Requiem
And hair pieces. Hair pieces would be awesome.
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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That's understandable - they seem to be a smaller group than the hardcore PvPers |
Originally Posted by TheWeaver
There is apparently a militant wing of the casual community with which I'm unfamiliar.
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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You're one of those angry hobos who shouts at people on the subway, arenät you? |
Originally Posted by Galactic_Hobo
Not impressed.
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| You want to make more money releasing new booster packs with animal graphics? Fine by me. That's the American Way. |
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Thinking on the monthly letter idea.. I haven't been able to go through the entire thread (though I've read most of it, in scattered sections), so it's possible this might have been touched on by someone else..
I think what would help cement these as actual communication for a lot of people is if we regularly get actual information from them. Vague hints to the future are enough to stir up some excitement for a fair number of people, but similarly, a lot of folks need to feel they're being told something they couldn't have known for sure some other way.
The developers over at CCP working on That Space Game are a good example of this. They tell us bits about things they've done in development.. What worked, what didn't, and then they share with us why. Often by sharing datamining results. It'd be interesting if the CoX team could let us know hard facts about things like how the introduction of the Alpha Slot REALLY changed TF activity. We can SEE that it changed, we can speculate on how it changed based on the bits we see, but having the god's eye view on it would do a lot for our ability to usefully discuss it.
They also regularly share random interesting trivia about the world on occasion. I'd find it fascinating to know, for instance, what the most common teaming AT in January was, or which corruptor secondary was the most common for solo players in February.
At the producer level, some of this information may already be available for you in reports, some of it you may be able to get yourself.. Some of it you may have to ask a developer to spend some hours on, but in my experience.. While some developers need to keep in their groove, some folks actually work better when given an occasional chance to mix things up, look at things from a new perspective.
You could get fun things to share with us as a community, help build rapport with us as players, AND increase productivity of employees.
Doesn't this sound like a win?
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Softcapping an Invuln is fantastic. Softcapping a Willpower is amazing. Softcapping SR is kissing your sister.
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Strangely enough, they included some stats like that in Positrons new interview with ten Ton Hammer
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Originally Posted by Void_Huntress
They also regularly share random interesting trivia about the world on occasion. I'd find it fascinating to know, for instance, what the most common teaming AT in January was, or which corruptor secondary was the most common for solo players in February.
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Always remember, we were Heroes.
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Well, awesome. I had no idea that article happened, because I don't read news sites to find out about CoX. :D|
Originally Posted by Dr_Darkspeed
Strangely enough, they included some stats like that in Positrons new interview with ten Ton Hammer
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Thanks for the heads-up.
So, let me say to the thread: More of this. Please?
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Softcapping an Invuln is fantastic. Softcapping a Willpower is amazing. Softcapping SR is kissing your sister.
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51% are Heroes - which is nice |
Originally Posted by Dr_Darkspeed
Strangely enough, they included some stats like that in Positrons new interview with ten Ton Hammer
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Cool interview, and Void_Huntress was right, having little stats like that is fun!
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Originally Posted by Dr_Darkspeed
Strangely enough, they included some stats like that in Positrons new interview with ten Ton Hammer
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In these statistics, some of them are lacking qualifiers.. Like for the alignment stuff..|
Originally Posted by Golden Girl
51% are Heroes - which is nice
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Is this ALL characters? Is it limited to active accounts? Is it limited to characters that have been played since GR launched? Is it limited to characters that have participated in the alignment system?
Which group these stats fall under change the information given drastically.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Softcapping an Invuln is fantastic. Softcapping a Willpower is amazing. Softcapping SR is kissing your sister.
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Bravo Fiery_Redeemer!
It's flawed argumentation.
It's basically saying: "Since 99% of the game has been 'casual' and I'm a 'casual' player, then the thought of adding all this exclusively 'non-casual' content is DOOM."
False dichotomy and false premise.
The false premise is that all this new content is exclusively non-casual. We just had a major game update in Going Rogue of level 1-20 content that continues the casual tradition. Last issue gave us Zone Events that... wait for it... a player can solo! Think about that. A soloable zone event. A freaking zone event (three of them actually, with promises of more to come) that can be solo'd!
This game isn't giving up on being casual friendly.
The false dichotomy is this: You either have a game that is 100% casual, otherwise, IT'S NOT CASUAL AT ALL!!!
Please. The Devs could spend the next two years adding nothing but 'high end raiding' and CoH will still be 90% casual. If that's not casual *enough* because it's not 100% casual, then that is the problem of that particular gamer who has created this unrealistic and false dichotomy.
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