Good News from BABs (from the mouth of Jack)


Arcanaville

 

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During Q&A time with Jack, I pont-blank asked him if there was any truth to the rumors about expired licensing agreement with Cryptic's COH engine. He was taken aback about this, unaware of such rumors going around. His response was that NCSoft has the license to use the CoH engine "in perpituity" for both "City of Heroes/City of Villains" as well as a 2nd game.
Hmm, what sort of second game would use the CoH engine? Fair bet that CoH2 was the project in development. Of course, with the studio fired it might never come to fruition, but I think it is a reasonable assumption that CoH2 exists in some unfinished form.


TW/Elec Optimization

 

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Thanks for relaying that. More for the quashing of the licensing thing, I don't think any CoH2 is going to see the light of day.


 

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Thanks for posting this.

The secret project was the 2nd game.
________________


 

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That's what I assumed. Given that NCSoft financed the game's development, I can't see any reason they would have ever agreed to a limited license.


The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.

 

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Thanks for posting this. In the wake of the news, and given that emotions were running high, it seemed like a plausible rumor. Cooler heads should have prevailed, but we're only human. I hope Cryptic/PWE wasn't hurt by this and that people give their games a chance if this rumor was holding them back.


 

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Originally Posted by that_darn_lurker View Post
Thanks for posting this. In the wake of the news, and given that emotions were running high, it seemed like a plausible rumor. Cooler heads should have prevailed, but we're only human. I hope Cryptic/PWE wasn't hurt by this and that people give their games a chance if this rumor was holding them back.
I doubt PWE was hurt very much. Just like I doubt the NCSoft boycott is going to have a noticeable impact.


 

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Originally Posted by Combat View Post
Hmm, what sort of second game would use the CoH engine? Fair bet that CoH2 was the project in development. Of course, with the studio fired it might never come to fruition, but I think it is a reasonable assumption that CoH2 exists in some unfinished form.
That is not news. That just confirms that the other project Paragon Studios was working on was very likely running on the same engine. Star Trek Online also runs on the same engine, and it's nothing like CoH or Champions.

Edit to add:
The real question is how far along that second project was. If the project was far along to a point where it was able to be sold, then there is a chance for Paragon Studios to be aquired by some one that may be interested in the project. That may, by proxie, save CoH.


 

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Originally Posted by that_darn_lurker View Post
Thanks for posting this. In the wake of the news, and given that emotions were running high, it seemed like a plausible rumor. Cooler heads should have prevailed, but we're only human. I hope Cryptic/PWE wasn't hurt by this and that people give their games a chance if this rumor was holding them back.
Knowing this I'd now be willing to give CO or another Cryptic game a try. It won't be COH, but it might be fun and I've got the money to spend. I'll need to find something since it will no longer be COH or Aion if the cancellation holds.


Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
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Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.

 

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Originally Posted by Starsman View Post
That is not news. That just confirms that the other project Paragon Studios was working on was very likely running on the same engine. Star Trek Online also runs on the same engine, and it's nothing like CoH or Champions.
STO uses the same engine as Champions. Only CoH uses the CoH game engine. Cryptics other games all use the new engine they wrote for CO.


@FloatingFatMan

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

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Originally Posted by Brillig View Post
I doubt PWE was hurt very much. Just like I doubt the NCSoft boycott is going to have a noticeable impact.
If they didn’t care about losing the "small" City of Heroes player base, it's very likely they don’t care and actually expect to lose the CoH player base.

Usually this kind of announcement comes with an apologetic email to the players, granting them access to some other new game or title they want to lure players into. Think they did sent a lot of players from Tabula Rasa to Aion when they shut down the studio. I still have not received an email from NCSoft luring me to any other title. That’s enough to make me think they don’t care about us as players at all.


 

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Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan View Post
STO uses the same engine as Champions. Only CoH uses the CoH game engine. Cryptics other games all use the new engine they wrote for CO.
Champions is CoH engine, upgraded. Call it V2. CoH is running a fork of that, since it keept being improved over the years.


 

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Originally Posted by Starsman View Post
That is not news. That just confirms that the other project Paragon Studios was working on was very likely running on the same engine. Star Trek Online also runs on the same engine, and it's nothing like CoH or Champions.

Edit to add:
The real question is how far along that second project was. If the project was far along to a point where it was able to be sold, then there is a chance for Paragon Studios to be aquired by some one that may be interested in the project. That may, by proxie, save CoH.
IF NCSoft will sell.

IF the project is far enough along.

IF the Paragon team doesn't go their separate ways and get absorbed into different development houses.

It would still be great for a last-minute save to come through, don't get me wrong, and the thought of CoH otherwise being gone or becoming private server fodder makes me depressed to say the least. But it gets less and less likely that anything professional and positive will really happen as the days tick by here....


 

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Originally Posted by Combat View Post
He was taken aback about this
I just have visions of him saying "What? They're STILL blaming me for stuff over there?"


Synaesthetix:if your mum wasn't already dead I would go kill her for bringing
you into the world

 

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Well, that's interesting, I suppose.


 

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Originally Posted by Combat View Post
Fair bet that CoH2 was the project in development.
The only thing the Devs have gone on record for on the topic of their secret project is it was not part of an existing IP. It was an entirely new thing, unrelated to CoH/Aion/GW/etc. If there was a CoH2 in development, either Paragon was working on a third MMO (and kept that doubly sekret), or some other entity was working on it, not Paragon). I'm rather doubtful.

Also, do you have a link to where BaBs posted it? It'll be good to be able to post directly to that the next time someone brings it up.


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Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!

 

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NCsoft does hold the trademark on City of Heroes 2, so it could have very well been in the early workings.


WOOOOOOAH! it's like...i just....i can't.....WOW...

 

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Originally Posted by Kitsune Knight View Post
The only thing the Devs have gone on record for on the topic of their secret project is it was not part of an existing IP. It was an entirely new thing, unrelated to CoH/Aion/GW/etc. If there was a CoH2 in development, either Paragon was working on a third MMO (and kept that doubly sekret), or some other entity was working on it, not Paragon). I'm rather doubtful.
I really haven't heard to much about the secret project, even that it isn't CoH2. All I know is that around the time I first heard of it, NCSoft copyrighted CoH2, and that CoH is the lone game with a similar engine (Champions Online had a different engine and STO uses that engine). Sure, it is possible that the project wasn't CoH2, but I'd say it is more likely to be CoH2 or a spiritual successor than anything else. Hopefully, someone will be allowed to squish or confirm the rumor.

On the spiritual successor note, it is completely possible that CoH2 wasn't based on the same universe as CoH. I'll try and find the actual quote to analyze, because it may or may not keep this possibility alive. Or, they could simply have been lying about the project not being CoH2 (which would be smart, because the fanbase never supported the idea of a new game while this one was out).


TW/Elec Optimization

 

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Originally Posted by Light_Petting_EU View Post
I just have visions of him saying "What? They're STILL blaming me for stuff over there?"

Perfect.


 

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Originally Posted by Starsman View Post
Champions is CoH engine, upgraded. Call it V2. CoH is running a fork of that, since it keept being improved over the years.
No it isn't. It was a whole new engine, using cel shading. It shares nothing, code wise, with the spaghetti'd mess that is the CoH engine.


@FloatingFatMan

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

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Originally Posted by Starsman View Post
If they didn’t care about losing the "small" City of Heroes player base, it's very likely they don’t care and actually expect to lose the CoH player base.

Usually this kind of announcement comes with an apologetic email to the players, granting them access to some other new game or title they want to lure players into. Think they did sent a lot of players from Tabula Rasa to Aion when they shut down the studio. I still have not received an email from NCSoft luring me to any other title. That’s enough to make me think they don’t care about us as players at all.
The email didn't come for about month after the announcement (roughly) if i remember correctly. It might have been 2 months, or even in the final month.. but I know that it wasn't instantly.

And they didn't just give out account codes for Aion, they also gave out Lineage 2 and City of Heros account codes.


 

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How about that City of Heroes 2 is in development from an other company and not Paragon Studios? Of course it's stupid, but still possible. It's just like Combat said: The fanbase never supported the idea of a new game while this one is out...

...but when I think about it then I don't think that we will see an City of Heroes 2 from NC-Soft, so I don't know why they want to keep the IP just to make sure no one else will have it...


 

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Originally Posted by FloatingFatMan View Post
No it isn't. It was a whole new engine, using cel shading. It shares nothing, code wise, with the spaghetti'd mess that is the CoH engine.
... you talking the graphic shaders. You don't even need a new engine to add shaders.

The server/client code for Champions, STO and CoH is the same at the core, with many evolutions on each paths after the forks.

But shading, thats just a small text file you pass to the engine along with the material so OpenGL knows how to draw the object on screen.


 

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Originally Posted by Starsman View Post
... you talking the graphic shaders. You don't even need a new engine to add shaders.

The server/client code for Champions, STO and CoH is the same at the core, with many evolutions on each paths after the forks.

But shading, thats just a small text file you pass to the engine along with the material so OpenGL knows how to draw the object on screen.
Believe what you want. Cryptic themselves have stated, numerous times, that's it's a wholly new engine.


@FloatingFatMan

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

 

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Originally Posted by Light_Petting_EU View Post
I just have visions of him saying "What? They're STILL blaming me for stuff over there?"

This made me LOL.

Tic, if you read this, let Jack know that at least one player over here only blames him for withholding fury from tanks, but only because he worked with us so long on developing it in the forums and then gave it to the new shiny. Otherwise, I couldn't be prouder of him for launching as many games as he had and turning the MMO world on it's ear with the launching of COH.


 

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Originally Posted by Brillig View Post
I doubt PWE was hurt very much. Just like I doubt the NCSoft boycott is going to have a noticeable impact.
I don't think anyone expects CoH players boycotting NCSoft to make the company go under. It just gives us personal satisfaction.


"Home is where, when you have to go there, they have to let you in."