Have to admit it . . . GW2 may replace COH for me
By
Aggelakis,
Posted on: 2012-09-11 01:46 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Honestly, the way NCSoft has handled things so far has left such a bad taste in my mouth that I can't see myself ever playing another game of theirs EVER. (Though I confess if I can't get a cash refund of the six months or so left of my COH sub I will prolly play whatever I can use that on till it's gone.)
I can see how it'd make sense to drop COH from the NCSoft stable, but the way it has been handled strikes me as being so unprofessional that I can't see myself wanting to do business with them in the future.
1) You drop a bombshell on your employees that you are shutting them down the DAY you do it.
2) Nearly two weeks in, and you haven't provided ANY information to your customers about what will happen to their prepaid sub time or their Paragon points? Some people renewed literally DAYS before the announced shutdown ... for a YEAR. Not having information for them about how you are compensating them for that money is NOT good customer service IMO.
My COX Fanfiction:
Blue's Assembled Story Links
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I have not played Mass Effect (I was holding on on it until "i had time" but it is on my game library) but this comic strip sort of delivered the message to me of what was wrong with ME3:|
Originally Posted by JayboH
My understanding is that Bioware makes fantastic games and people's expectations to endings make them hate all the work they put into their products... or is this wrong?
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Originally Posted by American_Knight
With all the talk/reviews on this board lately of how good GW2 is, I had to try it out. Now having played COX since before issue 1 and initally poo-pooing any ideas of playing another MMO, once I actually tried GW2 and went beyond my assumptions that I couldn't find a game that gave me the same satisfaction that COX gave me, I discovered a really fun game.
Thanks for the suggestions all and I encourage others who were in my same mindset to give it a try. |
Not reading the entire thread, amazed you were brave enough to post it here where folks are still rallying to save COH and I don't want to read through the expected negative reactions you've likely gotten. That said, I'm glad you've found a new game you enjoy! It's nice of you to share that but please don't be saddened if a lot of our community isn't ready to hear that yet. You're still one of us too!!!
Liberty!
Black Dawn/Shattered Dawn
Chaos Legion
I love City of Heroes, and I have for a long time. I also love Guild Wars 2. I'm doing everything I'm capable of to give City of Heroes a chance to survive. I don't want to see it die. But I'm not letting that keep me from having fun playing other games. Because that IS what games are about, in the end.
I think we can agree on this much. Not every game is to everyone's taste, and I certainly respect that.
Well, to be fair, a lot of minor points in Mass Effect 3 are tied to the prequels very strongly, especially if you had everyone from the second game survive. Mordin has his moment of glory, Than is being treated for his disease, Wrex has a huge role, Grunt sort of... Shows up, Liara returns and has that whole thing with the Shadow Broker... Dead end, boring plot point, that, there's all that business with Cerberus, Tali plays a HUGE part, as does Garrus. Almost everything that's actually a plot point from a previous game is awesome. The stuff with the Genophage, the stuff with the Quarians and the Geth... I'm trying to avoid spoilers because it's really good stuff. By contrast, all the stuff that gets introduced in Mass Effect 3 is garbage. Vega is pointless and the gay shuttle pilot who exists for the sole reason of being gay is just... It goes nowhere. Plus, there's this reporter woman who Angry Joe identified as what's-her-face from IGN.
Where Mass Effect 3 shines is where it wraps up story points from the original and from Mass Effect 2. where Mass Effect 3's *** falls out from underneath it is in all the places it tries to be "creative," because it feels like someone completely different took over and really, really didn't like Mass Effect. The whole tone of the everything and the everything that's not covered by the everything is different, and now there's a godchild. Like I said, it's like bad fanfiction. It's like if you handed me, say, Dr. Who and told me to just write a new season for it, and all I knew about it came from Nash's reviews of horrible Dr. Who classic episodes. And I hated Dr. Who and time travel and the British... So, kind of like Dr. Who and the Daleks...
Basically what I'm saying is the game would have been better if it didn't try so damn hard to top everything in the previous two games with a ******** final revelation that makes the last two episodes of Neo Genesis Evangelion look logical by comparison.
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Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
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I really wanted to get into TSW, based in large part because the conversations were a lot better than what I've encountered in other games. But... after a couple hours of running around exploring and just finding new conversations to listen to in my home base, I got the point of 'OK, this is going to take a massive time investment just to get to the fun parts, I'll put it off until I have time for it.' And the time never came.|
Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
Specifically, compared to every other MMO I've had recent experience with (including CoH), this is the first time in ages I feels like the game is actually talking to adults. I wasn't expecting that.
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Then I boot up GW2 and after finding taking the walking tutorial to the inn and a short cutscene they want me to go off and fend off a centaur invasion. And it was off and running from there. It was like M.C. Chris's take on Resident Evil 4: 'THIS AIN'T NO CUTSCENE! YOU AIN'T GOT TIME TO SMOKE A BOWL! PRESS A!' You don't get much in the way of talky downtime, there's villainy to thwart and you're our only hope hero and - hey, that reminds me of another game.
But to be honest, maintaining that momentum works. TSW didn't quite grasp that.
Blood Widow Ricki * Tide Shifter * T-34 * Opposite Reaction * Shaolin Midnight * ChernobylCheerleader
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For me the Investigation missions was the make point, but it was overcome by the break point which was the combat. I *loved* the atmosphere of the game, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the puzzley stuff. But I found the combat to be kinda clunky, slow, and a bit too much like a standard holy-trinity affair (just with added dodging). I was kinda disappointed with the character build stuff too, though a lot of that is tied to the combat mechanics, and I may have just had my expectations too high in that area (their marketing didn't help with that).|
Originally Posted by Slaunyeh
Hope you enjoy it. Let us know when you get to your first Investigation mission. That tends to be the make-or-break point for most people.
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Generally I was loving it for the first zone (Kingsmouth), enjoying it for the second (I forget the name, scar coast?), but became really fatigued with it in the third (Blue Mountain) because it seemed like the pure-investigation stuff was maybe 10% of the game, with maybe another 15-20% as quests-with-a-puzzle-in-them, and then the rest was just bog standard fight a bunch of zombies/demons and click some glowies (admittedly preceded by some fairly cool cut scene stuff), and since I wasn't enjoying the combat it just became too much of a slog and really sapped my will to continue through to the good parts. I didn't even make a conscious decision to quit, I just got distracted by other (offline) games and when I realised my "free" month had run out I couldn't build up the motivation to go back and at least finish the story.
(and for full disclosure, I'm currently enjoying GW2 though I don't really see it holding my attention more than two or three months)
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That video was recorded by me, and that was me at the controls. The recommended specs are a quad core cpu with 8 gigs and a 500 series graphics card or higher (Nvidia side, I didn't look up AMD side.)|
Originally Posted by SteelRat
According to that video, it's "powerful enough". Also bear in mind that video was "an early beta" (Again just going on the commentators info) so there could be optimisation that still needs to happen.
My first reaction when I saw the first few seconds of video was "Oh. Battlefield 2143". Not necessarily a bad thing, by the way just not sure it'd be something my other half would want to play. |
The video was recorded in 1080p and rendered down to 720p, all settings maxed except for forced hardware AA. Here are my specs, and naturally any hitching seen (I didn't see any) would be due to recording such vast amounts of data via FRAPS:
i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo)
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3
SAMSUNG 830 Series 256GB SSD
WD VelociRaptor 1 TB
EVGA Superclocked, Signature 2 GTX 680
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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I haven't played any of those, and I'm sure I never will, but thanks anyways.
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Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
BioWare used to make fantastic games. And because we, their fans, are idiots, we didn't spot the decline early enough. So we bought Mass Effect 3 still on an emotional high from the last two games and judged it on that merit. And when you put it up against the other two games, Mass Effect 3 just doesn't live up. It's not JUST the ending. Like your basic soap opera love story, the ending is just the moment of heartbreak that makes you look back with objective eyes on all the thing you sighed and looked past up to that point. No planet exploration? **** characters that don't go anywhere and have no personality *coughvegacough* Sorry, this plague is killing me. Weaker and less interesting combat, fewer supporting characters and no personal missions?
I look back on Mass Effect 3 and realise that the most touching and heart-warming stories, including the one that actually made me cry... Were basically the capstone of stories told in the previous two games. Every single one of the new stories was pretty much garbage, ending in that crowning moment of suck that was the Protean. At first, I didn't get why he spoke with an accent, right up until I placed what his accent was - African. And I know, because I spent six months with a couple of African students in the UK back in 2007. So he's a stereotype - the African tribal warrior who puts skill and viciousness before society. It's almost like I'm watching a bad anime. Mass Effect 3 crashed and burned long before the ending, but I'm a stupid guy who lets faith in a gaming company blind me to obvious flaws. Right up until the very end, I was giving the game a chance and believing this would all add up to something, brushing away awkward exposition and flat character moments. Then the "godchild" happened and I knew exactly what I was playing - bad fanfiction. That's all Mass Effect 3 is. The previous two games were built on a complex political structure, ancient grudges and vastly different cultures. Then in Mass Effect 3, it's all resolved so simply you'd have to wonder why it took the Reapers to do it. And then that **** at the end just sealed it - someone let go of the wheel and the writing went off the road, into a ditch and off a sheer cliff. The ending is not just ****, it serves to undermine everything that was good about the series, ruins the Reapers and, pre the "apology" DLC, completely discarded your actions in the game. The only reason I can enjoy Mass Effect as a "thing" any more is to pretend Mass Effect 3 never happened and the story ended with Mass Effect 2's amazing ending. That game made me care for all of its characters, even girl fanservice character Thane Krios. At least unlike that barefoot elf ******* in Mass Effect 2, Thane was a nice guy. And no Liara. Her voice actress is terrible. Samara may have been weird, but at least she had a more convincing voice. I cared about Grunt, despite his lack of character. I cared about Jack, even if she's the kind of person I'd normally find insufferable. I REALLY cared about Legion as that sort of story is really up my alley. Hell, I might have cared about Thane Krios if the bulk of his character development weren't locked behind a romance path. As for Dragon Age 2, I have only two things to say: I HAAATE Anders and I love Knight Commander Meredith. It's so rare to see a female character in a game who is strong, capable, authoritarian and charismatic without either being slutty or old. Sure, she was battynuggers crazy and evil, sure, but she was still by far the most impressive character in that game. |
My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
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Your explanation of why you disagree doesn't really talk about the subject. At least 3 of us all said the game needs work but I'm glad you are enjoying it. I'll let it cook a good 6 months to a year before I look at it again to see how things are progressing.
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Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
It doesn't really feel "unpolished" to me, at least what I've seen of it so far. It does feel a lot less safety-railed than the WoW/GW model though.
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My new Youtube Channel with CoH info
You might know me as FlintEastwood now on Freedom
You'd have to be insane to purchase GW2 knowing that NCSoft is openly withdrawing from western markets. Unless there's an offline version of the game, everything that company sells is suspect, it might be taken away without warning.
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They aren't openly withdrawing from Western markets. That was a "that must be what this means" interpretation layered on NCSoft's statement.|
Originally Posted by Zemblanity
You'd have to be insane to purchase GW2 knowing that NCSoft is openly withdrawing from western markets. Unless there's an offline version of the game, everything that company sells is suspect, it might be taken away without warning.
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If you have a quote where they say it in that many words, I'd love to see it.
Considering that they're still supporting Anet and they seem to still be developing Wildstar, I don't see how you can say it.
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Read what you will from what just transpired, and I'll do the same.
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Originally Posted by Feycat
Considering that they're still supporting Anet and they seem to still be developing Wildstar, I don't see how you can say it.
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So, you don't actually have a quote where they say that. |
Originally Posted by Zemblanity
Read what you will from what just transpired, and I'll do the same.
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Gotcha.
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Not for the last three games. I loved Mass Effect 2 -- I played through it 4 separate times and bought all the DLC. ME3, by comparison, seemed to be made by the interns. Aside from a couple of cool set pieces it's terrible all the way through.
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Originally Posted by JayboH
My understanding is that Bioware makes fantastic games and people's expectations to endings make them hate all the work they put into their products... or is this wrong?
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The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
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Oh, I do, two actually.|
Originally Posted by Feycat
So, you don't actually have a quote where they say that.
Gotcha. |
"Martian Translator Device: Don't run! We are your friends!"
"Martian Translator Device: We come in peace! We come in peace!"
Both from Mars Attacks (1996).
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Well look, if you're going to call people insane because they don't subscribe to your made-up theory, a cite request is not out of line. |
Originally Posted by Zemblanity
Oh, I do, two actually.
"Martian Translator Device: Don't run! We are your friends!" "Martian Translator Device: We come in peace! We come in peace!" Both from Mars Attacks (1996). |
Back it up or pack it up, bro!
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"Bro", I'm not trying to win an argument, do whatever you want. |
Originally Posted by Feycat
Back it up or pack it up, bro!
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"In a realignment of company focus and publishing support, NCsoft has made the decision to close Paragon Studios."
If you can read this and still buy stuff from them, go nuts. Just don't go crying to the courts when they decide "company realignment" dictates the need to close US and EU servers for Guild Wars II a year from now.
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Nope, apparently just drop into a thread to insult people.|
Originally Posted by Zemblanity
"Bro", I'm not trying to win an argument, do whatever you want.
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BTW, if you're gonna get informal, I prefer "sista." I lack the proper powerset for masculinity.
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Originally Posted by Zemblanity
"In a realignment of company focus and publishing support, NCsoft has made the decision to close Paragon Studios."
If you can read this and still buy stuff from them, go nuts. Just don't go crying to the courts when they decide "company realignment" dictates the need to close US and EU servers for Guild Wars II a year from now. |
Oh, and if they decide to close GWII servers a year from now, I will indeed refrain from crying to the courts. I'm not even crying to the courts about COH. Just a simple protest in the streets.
It would be so nice if people dropping into the tail end of threads would bother to read the previous posts so we don't have to rehash all the nonsense. Alas.
I'm surprised no one really talks about Rift anymore. Well, not "surprised," but no one really talks about it. It reminds me of GW2 powerfully. I wonder if they ever found a way to make their events matter more. I see some potential solutions in GW2, and a lot of the same issues.\
Meanwhile: what is the deal with these next gen MMOs and global character names across all servers? TSW is the major offender here but GW isn't too far behind. Call me crazy but IMO it shouldn't take 50 tries to get an alias you're okay with possibly being stuck with for the next few years.
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That does not mean they are withdrawing from the west. However, they used that same pitch back in 2009 when they laid off forces all over their west studios.|
Originally Posted by Zemblanity
"Bro", I'm not trying to win an argument, do whatever you want.
"In a realignment of company focus and publishing support, NCsoft has made the decision to close Paragon Studios." If you can read this and still buy stuff from them, go nuts. Just don't go crying to the courts when they decide "company realignment" dictates the need to close US and EU servers for Guild Wars II a year from now. |
At that point it was publicly told by ArenaNet they got a lot more budget and support "thanks to the layoffs".
In other words: "realignment of company focus and publishing support" simply means... well it means that.
In more common man words: "we are taking budget and support away from Paragon Studios to give it to another project".
WHAT was that project, may be into question. I still think it was Guild Wars, but there is a possibility it may be Wildstar.
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Originally Posted by Starsman
That does not mean they are withdrawing from the west. However, they used that same pitch back in 2009 when they laid off forces all over their west studios.
At that point it was publicly told by ArenaNet they got a lot more budget and support "thanks to the layoffs". In other words: "realignment of company focus and publishing support" simply means... well it means that. In more common man words: "we are taking budget and support away from Paragon Studios to give it to another project". WHAT was that project, may be into question. I still think it was Guild Wars, but there is a possibility it may be Wildstar. |
IMO it could mean anything. I work in a completely different type of coporation and I'm pretty sure I got the same message from my company one time when they decided to stop working in mortgages and again when they caught two co-workers having an affair.
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In this case I think I'm very warm on the meaning, though. |
Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
IMO it could mean anything. I work in a completely different type of coporation and I'm pretty sure I got the same message from my company one time when they decided to stop working in mortgages and again when they caught two co-workers having an affair.
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I already saw that just a week earlier ArenaNet posted job openings. I have not looked into the studio behind wildcards though.
Now, that may not be the full reason, though. Actually, that's not a reason, that's what they did. The REASON still is in the air. Why did they think they were better off shutting down paragon studios?
- Was it a matter of trust on paragon management? Because CoH underperforming would not justify killing the in-production secret title.
- Was it that they did not believe in the future of the genre of said secret title?
- Did they think the secret title development was taking too long to deliver milestones?
- Did they think CoH income was falling too quickly? Again, still would not justify closing all of Paragon Studios but may be part of it.
- Was it simply they desperately needed more manpower at these other studios but, due to losses in the previous quarter, did not have the budget and considered sacrificing Paragon to increase those teams development support a more viable long term investment?
Note all the above are not exclusive reasons, it may even be all of the above.
Public traded companies tend to keep these announcements worded in a way that is not considered a "lie", they make them ambiguous enough to not upset the audiences, but they also have to make sure investors cant say they were lied to.
I picked it up last night and played 3 hours straight tonight. I am honestly enjoying my tree-people elementalist just learning the game mechanics like dodge and cast times before I jump into pvp(the game auto levels you to 80 for that and it rewards xp for pve!). I only got to level 6 but I've killed a ton of what coh calls GMs and am loving the structure of teaming so far(something no mmo ever got right except coh IMO).
I truthfully wish coh could live forever but the fact that it is dying has given me the push to finally give it up for good. All these years I abandoned so many mmos because this game was comfortable and since the pvp revamp that feeling just got weaker and weaker until 8/31.
If anyone wants to join me I'm on Blackgate server named Matriculated.(cool names are impossible to come by since they're global :/ )
Edit: also you guys need to be less butthurt, this game is 8 years old, get another hobby. NC is a business. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Thanks for the suggestions all and I encourage others who were in my same mindset to give it a try.
Never play another NcSoft game, If you feel pride for our game, then it as well, I Superratz am Proud of all of you Coh people, Love, Friendship will last for a lifetime.
Global:@Greenflame Ratz
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