Without your HeroStats program, there would be no City Info Tracker, and almost certainly no Sentinel utility. (As I'm sure Guy is objecting, the truth is that no one probably would have ever thought to go looking to expand functionality that wouldn't have existed.) I remember when I used to use it to know when people's bubbles were wearing off and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Thanks a ton for your work over the years and your invaluable contribution to the community!
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.)
Some final thoughts (saved here for posterity) as the end approaches for City of Heroes.
For the eight years of its life, City of Heroes was more than just an massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It was the dream of a core of hard-working (often over-worked) developers, bringing their vision to life. It was a social club, where people met from around the world. It was a blank canvas, where any character you imagined could come to life.
The City spawned its own mythology and storytellers. Entire communities were built around the exploits of its denizens. It inspired art, and was inspired by art. Families played together, and friendships were formed. In the boundaries of the City you could find any kind of heroics, from stopping a purse-snatching thug to saving the entire expanse of space and time.
During those eight years, when it came to leisure time, my first thought was of City of Heroes. Logging into Paragon City was like taking a loyal pet out for a walk, with the added benefit of pretty costumes and explosions. Every hero had a name, a unique look, and a story to tell. If you felt you'd reached the end of one hero's storyline, you had only to start another. But even more than those heroes that I loved, my City of Heroes experience was about the other players I met along the way.
The Legion of Valor and the Fallen Legion. The Defenders of the Night. The Iron Eagles. Justice Superteamers. The Deckmasters. Groups brought together by our love of the game, but not limited by it. As we made pilgrimage with the rest of the gamer tribe to GenCon, City of Heroes players gathered to discuss the City. When I was in San Francisco on business, I stopped for dinner with fellows from Paragon City. When I had an extra City of Heroes t-shirt, I sent it to my most loyal in-game friend, who lives in Germany. The friendships formed during eight years in Paragon City will outlive it.
Now weve entered the final week for City of Heroes. Though the fight continues to save it, the City will be dark and lifeless in just a few short days...or as the myth (Part 21) would have it, the Endless Winter will come. Yet as long as we remember it, Paragon City shall live on.
Skip Franklin
@Ineffablebob
November 26, 2012
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