We are Heroes! This is what we do!
By
American_Knight,
Posted on: 2012-09-25 23:00 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Well, they're still developing the emulator. The alpha/stress tests lasted several years. Beta probably won't be over with overnight. I also know people in the RunUO community (or knew, and could maybe get back in touch with--and that doesn't include Ryan, for anyone wondering, but I might know people who know people...who could beg him for a moment of his attention lol). I could probably do some begging and pleading on my end and get some extremely knowledgeable people in touch with Tony--I've already let him know this. I'm actually pretty sure I'm not the only one on these forums who is able to say this. But I wouldn't do it, and other parties probably wouldn't care to do it (we're talking seriously cranky parties in some cases), unless the Titan Network was already organizing plans around this and was already determined to see it through. Emulators have a real shoddy reputation that's mostly deserved, but the noble ones, the professionally run projects out there, they are decked out with top-notch programmers and artists (and yes, community managers) who do this in their spare time between jobs and families. It's not worth it to waste their time for some small talk.
@Captain-Electric � Detective Marvel � The Sapien Spider � Moravec Man � The Old Norseman
Dark-Eyes � Doctor Serpentine � Stonecaster � Skymaiden � The Blue Jaguar
Guide to Altitis � A Comic for New Players � The Lore Project � Intro to extraterrestrials in CoH
Angry Citizen, I hate to break it to you.....but this game has been called City of Heroes for 8 years. Have you had a problem with the name of the game the entire time you've been playing it?
The slogan to me plays on the fact that the game is a game of Heroes. And the characters within the game are a part of us, and so therefore, we are those Heroes, in the game. We've played heroic characters for 8 years. We're not saying we're firefighters, police officers, active military (tho by the way, some of us actually are...)....but we (our characters - an extension of us) are Heroes, and trying to save the game.
And also as a side note to all, this slogan reminded me about a song from back in the day. I have digitally dusted off "This Is What We Do" by MC Hammer from the TMNT movie. 
Thanks for the excuse to do so, TonyV.
Quote:
Clarification: I'm not "with" the Titan Network. The site www.savecoh.com was a request from TonyV (and Altoholic Monkey bought the domain), but other than that, I just throw stuff online and see what sticks. Nothing I say is endorsed by the Titan Network guys and I probably say plenty of things that they don't like.|
Originally Posted by Captain-Electric
Leandro, he's with the Titan Network now
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Captain-Electric
He said it might be possible and he'll look into it after some sleep.
|
www.SaveCOH.com: Calls to Action and Events Calendar
This is what 3700 heroes in a single zone looks like.
Thanks to @EnsonsDeath for the GVE code that made me VIP again!
Quote:
Wha--!!? Who told you that? It wasn't me, and it wasn't the guys who have been working their butts off precisely on this! Granted, this isn't our preferred resolution to this mess, but not only is it on the table, it is very actively being worked on. I said that there are issues to be worked through before it could be publicly released, not that it's not happening. |
Originally Posted by Captain-Electric
...which is why I'm admittedly disappointed by the news that the Titan Network has decided not to get behind a City of Heroes emulator.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Captain-Electric
The Titan Network's Plan Z, on the other hand, is also admirable, and achievable. But it is also extraordinarily awesome in scope, and would be even for an already established studio. The idea that a group of players--some who couldn't agree on the most basic gameplay mechanics during their years on these forums--could get together and...eesh, it's a heavy order, even for an Optimism Incarnate like me.
|
And hey, in what capacity have you been working on the emulator for Earth and Beyond? We might want to tap some of your experience on this front. In any event, I wanted to say that I personally really appreciate your support. I've always enjoyed your posts; they're smart, level-headed, and funny. That kind of positivity is exactly what the community needs right now.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Leandro
Clarification: I'm not "with" the Titan Network. The site www.savecoh.com was a request from TonyV (and Altoholic Monkey bought the domain), but other than that, I just throw stuff online and see what sticks. Nothing I say is endorsed by the Titan Network guys and I probably say plenty of things that they don't like.
|
We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.
(If you love this game as much as I do, please read that post.)
Hundreds of players are exploring the stars at any moment, thanks to two things especially: community and determination. EA hasn't so much as attempted to write a cease and desist letter because they know the Earth and Beyond community will decentralize in response, and just like the Ultima Online emulator community did years before, there would be dozens of professionally run servers (and thousands of, ahem, other sorts) for them to fuss with their lawyers over--something that would cost them much money and effort for very few results as a reward.
A few years ago, a new CEO at EA finally bowed to pressure and bad PR, and publicly admitted that EA's strategy of killing their competition by buying them out and shutting them down over the years had been, perhaps, not well-thought out. Meanwhile, Earth and Beyond's old producer recently said he's amazed and thrilled by what his [destroyed] studio's fans have done. Or rather, what they didn't do: give up.
I'd love to read comments like that from Brian Clayton or Matt Miller some day, years from now, which is why I'm admittedly disappointed by the news that the Titan Network has decided not to get behind a City of Heroes emulator. Bowing to legal fears and concerns doesn't impress someone who's been there, done that, and is still a member of two emulator communities, both very successful for years now, where many MMO players have sworn off big publishers as a matter of principle (and, perhaps, the wisdom of experience).
The Earth and Beyond emulator team is reportedly gearing up to start their own real-deal studio after the emulator hits the "Live" stage and they release all server code to the public. After nearly a decade of surmounting every single speed bump and Mount Everest in their way, they've proven to themselves, to their fans, and to the MMO development community, that they can achieve the seemingly impossible.
The Titan Network's Plan Z, on the other hand, is also admirable, and achievable. But it is also extraordinarily awesome in scope, and would be even for an already established studio. The idea that a group of players--some who couldn't agree on the most basic gameplay mechanics during their years on these forums--could get together and...eesh, it's a heavy order, even for an Optimism Incarnate like me.
You just don't slap an MMO together, not if you want it to deserve the moniker of City of Heroes' spiritual successor. MMO designers who make great games have years of experience behind them, and that's only half of the equation. The other half is the ability to work well together, and working well together ALWAYS, INEVITABLY means saying "yes sir" to the programming lead, or content lead, or art lead, or assistant lead, or team lead, or whoever it is you're under. Even when you hate their idea with all your heart. THAT is what working together truly means, and if you can't do it, you can't make a good game. This is why I brought up the Earth and Beyond team: because they're sitting on a success right now that has earned more respect than ire in their industry, and it's allowed some of them (who previously had little or no experience) to cut their teeth on game design and learn from experience. Some of these guys and gals wouldn't be prepared to start their own studio and make their own game if they hadn't brought their old game back to life first.
Sorry for rambling. Thanks for reading, if you did.
-Female Player-
"Kick Rocks."
I laffed so hard.