Goodbye Paragon Studios. I've loved every minute!

I ain't heard no fat lady!!

There are some great points here.

I haven't heard a thing from anyone at PS regarding the future - if one for this game can be found.

I'm assuming that they will be saying nothing until a deal can worked out for the game - if indeed a deal can be found.

They can say very little. If you want to keep up with the bleeding edge, follow this thread at cohtitan: http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index....,5093.240.html

Victoria Victrix aka Mercedes Lackey seems to be in touch with Brian Clayton and perhaps other bigwigs who occasionally drop a hint about things.

In the end, you have to "look for the best, expect the worst". It's no small thing to take over a studio and a game like this. It takes a lot of money, a lot of drive, and a willingness to assume more risk than a taco van selling to soldiers in the Rikti War Zone.

It's one thing to say that a game doesn't need a big subscriber base to be worth keeping online once it's made back it's initial investment. It's another entirely to be making that initial investment in a game that is already mature and in a steady state or gradual decline. The return on investment in that scenario is not nearly so clear cut.

No matter how angelic the angel, the game still has to be able to show that it can not just turn a profit but generate some growth and show some acceptable returns; somewhere in the 10%/year area. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense to invest in it.

There's also no guarantee that an angel wouldn't decide to invest elsewhere in a couple of years and sell the studio or liquidate it at that time.

As for crowdsourcing, if you have $1000 then I hope you have 2000 friends who also have $1000 to invest. That's the kind of value you're going to be looking at just for the software, customer database, and IP; never mind reopening the studio (and that's probably undervaluing it all but NCSoft is in a cash crunch and might undersell it just to get a quick infusion).

We'll see what happens but the reality is that the odds are against the game's survival at this time. Still, heroes aren't really at their best until the odds are against them. I would not advise anyone to give up or stop trying. Just try and keep the stars out of your eyes.

Thank you for so eloquently and evenhandly putting into words many of the same things I've been thinking about lately too. Interesting times indeed.

I think you need to realize that decision was made in August. Anything that might be happening right now involves reversing that decision, not preventing it. Everything that happens from September 1 to November 30 will happen because the decision has been *made* to shut the game down. That's not theoretical, that's history.

Seeing the process of disconnecting and deleting aspects of City of Heroes should not in any way alter anyone enthusiasm or hope that the game can be changed, since the single largest event short of server shutdown has already happened: (essentially) all the Paragon Studios employees were terminated. I don't know why anyone would be thinking to themselves "I know it was bad when they fired all the developers and shut down the studio, but now that I see them remove us from the website I know its really over."

Most of what you are referring to is speculation and scuttlebutt from the community. While remaining positive may seem like a good idea, that alone is just leading us to follow every tangent anyone mentions with no indication whether anyone at Paragon (or formerly with Paragon/Cryptic) has any interest.

I realize that if core members of the Paragon team would choose to pursue independence, using the acquired City of Heroes game service as a launchpad for the venture, that is a risk. However, it has a more appealing payoff for them than a disinterested outside investor looking at only the ROI of acquiring this service. Considering reports of the bureaucracy they've had to work under these last eight years, it could be worth taking that risk.

But I could be completely misjudging everyone at Paragon. There may be safer paychecks available in the short term, and retirement may seem too close to be taking entrepreneurial risks.

Without knowing what the Paragon devs/staff (not the players) want, it seems most of our efforts are bound to be at odds and without focus.

Even if we are told that nobody at Paragon is up for taking such risks, that would be something. Something we might balk at... but good to know.

If that is not the case, knowing the goal would let us dispense with all the other tangents and put our efforts behind the right things.

I'm starting to think the negotiation would be a lot easier and quicker if COX was actually running in the red. NCSoft probably would have been more than happy to let it go. Since it was making money, that probably weigh heavily into their decision and asking price. And even they don’t want to play the type of ball offered; they still can just keep everything for parts in other games. Then again, there is nothing that is a bigger feeling of making a jackbutt of a corporation than throwing something away and only to see the competitor take it and make it rake in more money than they thought was possible.

Even if NCSoft somehow hold on to the game and remake it later or sequel or whatever most of the dev. team that worked on this one won’t be around. Even if by some every planet and galaxy in the entire universe and the next dimension lined up in a perfect line miracle, the original staff may or may not be itching to come back especially seeing that type of instability to their livelihood and it could end just like that again in the future.

And depending on what resources they are realigning, it may mean some of the IP is being recycled into a new game or across several games and that may also drive up the asking price if any price.

But I'm sure some time in the future, whether one year or ten, there will be another super hero COX like MMO. I think. For super hero MMOs we have CO, DCUO and both of those are totally different animals from COX. But if it do get picked up by third parties, I hope they have the heart to see the project through and not give up and allow it to go to the way side. Although I'm sure they are also talking about how much of the player base will actually stay after this is said and done. Although it's nice to see bunch of heroes online to the point that there is 33 Atlas park instances, but why wasn’t it that many before facing the end? Is it going to go back to normal of two populated servers, dead red and prae side, and rest of the servers mostly low population, even more so as some players move on between now and when it go up live again?

Some people say that you never know how much you cherish (miss) something until it is gone. My philosophy has always been "Cherish things always as if it is the last day. What is here today may be gone tomorrow." Instead of waiting until the end is near to all of sudden go all out showing care while prior it was lax.

Originally Posted by mauk2 Evil_Legacy became one of my favorite posters with two words. "Kick Rocks." I laffed so hard. Never change, E_L!

Thought the Japanese did that.

Originally Posted by mauk2 Evil_Legacy became one of my favorite posters with two words. "Kick Rocks." I laffed so hard. Never change, E_L!

Forget it, he's on a roll

*role

The Electric-Knight ______ Malfaz _____ Zox'Oculox

@Zethustra

"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan

www.pauldamonthomas.com - Original Music

It was actually evil Italian fascists (yes, evil, Italian and fascist. Trifecta!) Otherwise we could never market this game in Europe!

This is known.