F2P Doom!
Holy drunk posting!
City of Heroes population isn't dying. Perhaps the intelligence of the people playing it, but not the numbers. CoH has a ridiculously high retention rate.
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I suppose it is the same bottom of the internet that gave us you? |
People need to learn the difference between where it is their computer that can handle the trial and when it's the actual servers. I never experience any lag bursts that freeze me. And my computer is outdated. |
AMD 3.2ghz x4
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
4 Gigs RAM
Terrabyte of harddisk
It's not top of the line I suppose, but it doesn't have even a hiccup running the game on ultra mode. Additionally, since I get zero lag and the game runs like glass on Pinnacle than I suppose it *must* therefore be my computer, and not the subpar servers, that are causing the problem. Especially since *everyone* I've played with on Virtue complains about the lag *nonstop*. I suppose that's my computer too. Additionally, I know the difference between server lag and computer lag. It's not obvious in every situation, but when but I mapserve and log back in and hear twelve people asking if everyone else just mapserved it's not rocket science. Now imagine the same situation, only with a hundred more instances of the same running. It's going to be redline city without some major upgrades. I really *hope* they upgrade, because even as it stands now it is unplayable at peak hours. I refer to unplayable as around the 3 fps range, which is where it's at for me. Last note on this issue, I've tried setting my settings to the lowest possible quality and the game still lags my power tray, and there should be no argument that it should run like a gazelle from a lion at those settings.
The hardware is being upgraded from what we know, based on the stress test last month during the Praetorian Invasion. As VIP every month you get a free server transfer. Just one. The VIP server is mostly for the elitist players who can't handle dealing with new players. |
Hey, it's your money. I'm staying on Virtue because I'm not elitist. I'll enjoy playing with the new players. It'll be them experiencing something all new, and for once I'll be the veteran.
Remember, free players CAN'T send tells. They need money to send tells.
The restrictions.
ATs to 50 - TA/A Def, Nrg/Nrg Blaster, EM/EA Brute, WS,ELM/ELA Stalker
As a F2p phobic i was one of the first to rage quit...but then i came back
the good in coh outweighs the bad and best thing to do is see how they implement it.I mean really where are we going the other superhero mmo is F2p and a failure...and the new superhero mmo is yuck console and pc causing headaches on loading and being hack i heard .....
Im really sorry I almost rage quit =)
as Ood Sigma said....We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep. This song is ending. But the story never ends.
As a F2p phobic i was one of the first to rage quit...but then i came back
the good in coh outweighs the bad and best thing to do is see how they implement it.I mean really where are we going the other superhero mmo is F2p and a failure...and the new superhero mmo is yuck console and pc causing headaches on loading and being hack i heard ..... Im really sorry I almost rage quit =) |
It'll just take some patience and a thick skin (Okay, that last one might be hard, this is Virtue after all.)
I would like to issue a plea on behalf of Paragon's diminutive protectors, please watch where you step. We're four feet tall in a six foot tall world, we've been cast adrift in a sea of butts. -Pillbug
I was around to see Champs go F2P and it wasn't that bad. Just wait a month for all the WoW tourists to get bored and leave. Those that like what CoH offers will stay.
It'll just take some patience and a thick skin (Okay, that last one might be hard, this is Virtue after all.) |
The only real concern's I have are latency related in the immediate future, hopefully Voodoo was right about the server upgrades. Even if I have priority over F2P I could still get locked out, unless of course a F2P gets booted every time a VIP wants on ^_-
Even if I have priority over F2P I could still get locked out, unless of course a F2P gets booted every time a VIP wants on ^_-
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I don't wanna play a game where a free player gets the boot every time a member of the VIP Master Race decides to log on and shoot the breeze. I'm just saying, that's all.
im sure theyll get upgraded servers...right they wouldnt do that to us ....right
as Ood Sigma said....We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep. This song is ending. But the story never ends.
Redacted my after midnight drunk post.
If that seriously happened, I would stop giving NCsoft and Paragon Studios all my 2k monies right then and there.
I don't wanna play a game where a free player gets the boot every time a member of the VIP Master Race decides to log on and shoot the breeze. I'm just saying, that's all. |
Heroes : Angrem (50 Stone tank), Exo Inferis (50 Fire blaster), Exo Proteus (50 ill/emp), IceVengance (50 cold defender)
Villains : AtomBomb (50 Rad/Kin corruptor), Aleks (50 SS/Inv brute), StoneLethal (50 EM/Stone brute), Davroz (50 Bots/Dark mastermind)
MFW my single-core pentium 4 runs ultra-mode at 30 FPS |
If that seriously happened, I would stop giving NCsoft and Paragon Studios all my 2k monies right then and there. I don't wanna play a game where a free player gets the boot every time a member of the VIP Master Race decides to log on and shoot the breeze. I'm just saying, that's all. |
Sooo, you would rather be locked out of the game you pay a monthly fee for rather than have some freeloader that's contributing nothing be kicked off the server?
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I dunno about you, but I draw the line at my enjoying the game at the expense of someone else's enjoyment, be they "dirty unwashed freemium peasant scum" or "glorious VIP master race." I believe that with the new Freedom model, the game can--and should--be enjoyed by everyone, no matter their account level.
I dunno, I pay 15$ a month for the 'privilege' of playing City of Heroes. I've done so for four years. I'd like to think I'm worth more than some freebooter.
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By the way, I'd like to put this out in the open right now:
I do share similar concerns over the "freemium" crowd, and that it might--no, will--attract a fair number of the unsavory MMO stereotypes floating around. However, I still believe that they deserve the privilege of enjoying this game, just like you and me, even as "freemium" account holders. Maybe I'm a bit of an idealist, but I still want people to experience the game that I keep going back to when I want my superhero MMO fix despite--or maybe because of--its age and quirks, and deep down, I hope you do too.
At the very least, today's "freemium" players may become tomorrow's (returning) VIPs, so to speak. And again, you can always use your free monthly server transfer to move one of your characters to the VIP server, away from the "unwashed masses."
By the way, you do realize I'm using those terms in jest, right?
Just wanted to make sure.
And without F2P people Virtue currently hits the red-bar of doom pretty often, such as almost every evening. It doesn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to think that lock-outs will be a daily occurance without some serious upgrades. I'm really hoping voodoo was right about those upgrades...anyone know something specific? I didn't get anything from a forum search...
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tl;dr: No, I don't think that VIPs logging on should immediately boot a playing "freemium" player. I also think that you're overreacting a bit, though I do understand where you're coming from in a way.
Being a VIP determines Queue access to log into the server.
I'll put this in big bold caps word for y'all:
IT DOES NOT MEAN A FREE PLAYER WILL BE BOOTED FROM A SERVER WHEN YOU TRY TO LOG IN ON A VIP ACCOUNT. IT SIMPLY MEANS WHEN YOU QUEUE TO LOG IN TO THE SERVER YOU WILL GET PRIORITY IN LOGGING IN. THAT IS ALL.
Being a VIP determines Queue access to log into the server.
I'll put this in big bold caps word for y'all: IT DOES NOT MEAN A FREE PLAYER WILL BE BOOTED FROM A SERVER WHEN YOU TRY TO LOG IN ON A VIP ACCOUNT. IT SIMPLY MEANS WHEN YOU QUEUE TO LOG IN TO THE SERVER YOU WILL GET PRIORITY IN LOGGING IN. THAT IS ALL. |
I know I have had some bad experiences in F2P games, an will be slowly moving characters to the VIP server. With the free transfer each month plus 400 points for extra slots as needed, it should be fairly easy.
However, what has made this game great is the community and the fact that we are willing to help new players. There is a chance that we can show these bums a community that doesn't suck. Silver lining and all that.
Level 50 Heroes: Atomic Twinkie, Muddy McCrush, Master Jolt, Sureshot Jones, Wushubot, Sirenbot, Phantom Warp
Level 50 Villians: Soul Breaker
Urban Renewal SG / Urban Decay VG (Virtue Server)
I know I have had some bad experiences in F2P games, an will be slowly moving characters to the VIP server. With the free transfer each month plus 400 points for extra slots as needed, it should be fairly easy.
However, what has made this game great is the community and the fact that we are willing to help new players. There is a chance that we can show these bums a community that doesn't suck. Silver lining and all that. |
I know I, for one, will spend a lot of that time when the new generation comes in mentoring who I can. Years ago, when I was on Victory (and it still had a population,) I used to spend my evenings in Mercy Island waiting for new new players to log in and would offer to help them.
So I took a break from City of Heroes a while back, about a two year break with occasional relapses. In that time I played a few other MMO's that were, at the time, pay-per-month games. Below is a short list.
Dungeons & Dragons Online
Lord of the Rings Online
Champions
Notice, perhaps, what each has in common? Each of them is, currently, a game with a 'free to play' option. Each one was dying from lack of population and a down-turn in subscription fee's when I started playing them. Perhaps I was on a kick for games that were doing badly, or perhaps I just wanted a fantasy MMO. Either way, I was there for the F2P merge on each of these games. There isn't a whole lot in common between each of the merges, but there were a few things that stood out to me.
Firstly, the player base increased over night. These 'new' people had a lot in common. Namely that they were apparently the bottom of the internet. This doesn't apply to all of them, of course. Nothing can stand up to that absolute, but it was mighty close.
Additionally, since I obviously have many of my characters on virtue this concerns me for another reason. Specifically, the trials as they stand now on one of the most populated servers in the game are almost unplayable. Lag bursts that freeze everything, escaping resistance members in the BAF, and crappy response time on grenades in the Lambda. Sure, you can still complete them but try playing one on, say, Pinnacle at 2am. The difference is amazing. What's going to happen now that the servers are going to be redlined from dawn until dusk? I honestly don't believe the servers can take the strain, and I'll be damned if I'm going to play a turn-based MMO. This isn't because my computer is a relic either, it's a brand new quad core that I bought specifically for ultra mode.
I don't want to move all my characters to some backwater server to run from the lag either. Perhaps it's time to consider a server merge, or to upgrade the server backend, or something in that vein because I don't see this going well. I'm also curious if the VIP server will have the standard number of starting slots, or if I can move ALL of my three servers worth of characters to the VIP server. I'd rather not pick and choose twelve characters, but will if I have to. Also, are these moves to the VIP server free, or are we creating new characters there, or what? How's that mechanic going to work?