A way to save your toons for posterity

http://cit.cohtitan.com/sentinelplus/

Titan networks has sentinel plus out. It can download all your characters information to a file you can read.

Thanks

Basic instructions:

1. Log into CoH on the character you want to capture.
2. Open up your Info window so you can capture your badges too.
3. Start up Sentinel Plus, it'll capture your character.
4. Alt
5. Click ENTER to capture the next character.

1. It's essentially a command line app. No buttons. But, all you need to do is click ENTER for each successive capture after the first.
2. If you want to capture the same character again later, simply repeat the process. If you want to keep the original capture, rename it or move it first.
3. It's currently Windows-only. They're trying to come up with options for Mac/*nix players. But given the time-frame, some may need to bite the bullet.
4. Some early reports are saying it gets a bit tetchy after running a few toons back to back to back. Best recommendation is, if you're trying to capture them as seamlessly as possible, every 4-8 characters, shut down both the game AND SentinelPlus, then restart them.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

Not sure how this will work, but I'll give it a shot!

It gives you a nice XML file.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

Finally got some time to play with it and while I don't know if this the recommended method for using it, but it works well.

1. Put Sentinel + in its own folder
2. Leave the folder open on your task bar.
3. Log in to the toon you want to capture.
4. Open the personal information display from the menu
5. Tab over to the folder with Sentinel+ you left open.
6. Double Click Sentinel +
7. Close it.

It will create files with unique names for each of your toons filling up the folder.

The names look like this
global.server.toon.xml

ex.
Black Leather Angel.Protector.Psi Phyre.xml

And here is an excerpt from the file

<character>
<name>Psi Phyre</name>
<server>Protector</server>
<global>@Black Leather Angel</global>
<title></title>
<description> </description>
<origin>Magic</origin>
<archetype>Blaster</archetype>
<alignment>Hero</alignment>
<dimension>Primal</dimension>

Is that all it is, a text file? Why not just take screenies?

well i think it's still nice .. it gives ppl options and you know how girls like options!

::shrugs::

It grabs your badge info, your costume info, your last build, your bio all in a nice easy to manipulate/use format. I thought it was nifty.

Just to clarify, because some people seem to think I'm slamming the program...

I just wanted to check to see what it did. Now I know.

so will sentinel+ save your base info as well? plan b is a rather nice base...and although i could make a new base, (in the event that the game will actually remain playable in the unforeseen future), it would be nice if our bases were preserved as well.

One question.. if the game is picked up by someone else, aren't they likely to adopt an "all or nothing" approach to whether players are able to keep their characters or forced to start again from scratch? Can imagine the community backlash if a prospective saviour says "oh, theres a group of players who can keep their characters because they used a third party tool that maybe not all players know about. They can keep theirs, but sorry, you can't"

Personally, I'd have thought either they'll ensure the character database is part of the transfer so that everyone keeps their characters, or they'll say everyone has to start again.