Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
I would say let everyone start with the premium at's like controller and mastermind. I would also say give everyone 10 character slots, because some people would buy more slots, I know I would. everything else I agree with what you said :)
I was thinking about it today.
This is what I thought: offer 2 "welcome back start packs", a premium one, with everything (powersets, costumes, signature story arcs etc) post Going Rogue unlocked, and normal one with everything pre Going Rogue unlocked plus ITrials. Of course the premium one would be more expensive (I just hope it is not too expensive, I think that 20% would be fair), I also thought that it would be nice to let people upgrade from normal to premium "start pack" during a period of 6(?) months, since some people might be living a difficult financial situation...
I know that it would be a form of paying again for somethings that we had already bought, but like you said it wasn't paid to this new group, and they will need some cash to keep the game running...
To reach 50 faster, what about a month of 2XP, followed by another month with all weekends 2XP?
Ugh. Some of us (well, at least me :P) do not want to level faster.
Instead, the new owners could sell inspirations for 2x XP and probably make boatloads of money. ;D
Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
Given there was an option to turn off XP I don't have a problem with running 2x XP events for the people who want to level quick. I'll just turn off XP so I don't level too fast. :)
I don't want to turn XP earning off; I just don't want to earn it at gotta-have-it-now rates.
Controller and Mastermind are premium ATs? They came with the basic CoH and CoV games.This is true, however when they went to free to play they became premium At's, they were either unlocked at a certain reward level or had to buy them from the paragon market at 800 each
Not for anything official, no. Sentinel+ data is too incomplete to create a fully functional character from -- at best you can get an approximation. It could be useful for a private server that doesn't mind having slightly broken and buggy characters, but no sane game operator would invite that sort of support nightmare.
Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
I like the second and the third suggestion, especially the second one. I would buy that starter pack in a second. :P However, I believe that not many of us would mind having to level up all our characters to 50. We did it once(and possibly A LOT more than once), we can do it again.That's 8 years of playing for my lvl 50s. :o "Do it again" is a pretty tall order.
Start fresh if there is no way to restore accounts as it will truly be the only equitable solution.
Sentinel data is just an xml file that can be easily hacked and abused if used for anything other than loading costume and power customization.
Giving people or some people level 50s can destabilize the economy from the start, although surely some will powerlevel straight there, so let them.
Emphasize the micro in microtransactions -- make 25cent and 50 cent purchasable inspirations/powerups and keep most pricing down in the ~$1 area and income will come in handily enough, especially from powerlevelers. Make respecs, server transfers, and renaming $5 so they're accessible and people will travel around -- use impulse buy pricing. ( ' :
I would say let everyone start with the premium at's like controller and mastermind. I would also say give everyone 10 character slots, because some people would buy more slots, I know I would. everything else I agree with what you said :)sorry I misread the question, I would go with option 2 and 3, for option 2 I would also add 500 k inf a one time buy to help everyone get off the ground, this would also not cause a imbalance in the market do to everyone starting fresh.
Start fresh if there is no way to restore accounts as it will truly be the only equitable solution.I'm sure that's true....
Sentinel data is just an xml file that can be easily hacked and abused if used for anything other than loading costume and power customization.
I'm sure that's true....
...But how big a problem could that possibly be?
First you have to start with the relatively small group of people interested in playing CoH in the first place.
Now...reduce that number down again to people who know about the Sentinel files.
Now...reduce that number down again to people who would know how to hack into them.
Now...reduce that number down again to people who would want to hack into them.
We are talking about a vanishingly small number of people here. Hardly seems logical to deny the use of something that useful for such a small benefit.
If I have to start completely over from scratch, it would be worth it just to have Coh/cov back.
if I was starving and someone gave me okra which I cant stand.. I would eat them because I was starving.. However if you gave me a choice of that and some thing else I would eat anything else other than okra.
My first priority is the costume packs, then vet powers and then slots.
If for whatever reason the game is unable to start without the previous user data, I would be fine with that. Right now, we have no game at all. I'd rather have a game I have to start over from scratch with than that.
1. I wouldn't give a free level 50 to everyone. I'd hate to try a level 50 TF with people who have no clue how to play.
2. All existing costume pieces are made standard. Going forward, they can sell new costume packs.
3. Not sure what to do with the veteran rewards, maybe give half of them as standard, then continue from there?
4. There would have to be a decent starting number of character slots, not just 2 or 3.
I am fully confident that someone somewhere has a completely fully functioning CoH server with all the account data on it... Im just sayin.. I believe that... someone has our account data somewhere....It generally doesn't work like that in the real world. Not to mention that i hope you're referring to player account data, which would not be stored on a game server anyway. And there's no reason at all to keep an account server for a shut down game running all this time. Now it's very likely that the account database was archived when the servers were turned off, but there's no guarantee it was retained the entire time. NCsoft very rarely sells or reopens games after shutting them down, so it's altogether possible that keeping the data was not a priority.
I agree.. the number of people that would actually do this is small..I opened one of them up once (it opens in Internet Explorer for some reason) and it looked like it had everything there...even the inspirations on your tray if I remember right.
But the question is can the data even be utilized.. for me its not just the level 50's.. Its all the stuff they had on them.
I opened one of them up once (it opens in Internet Explorer for some reason) and it looked like it had everything there...even the inspirations on your tray if I remember right.
City of Heroes is a game that's not really about endgame. It's about leveling new characters. There's an endgame to further improve your favorites, but most people had dozens of heroes and villains.A lot of players say that because they feel that way about their own style of play.
I opened one of them up once (it opens in Internet Explorer for some reason) and it looked like it had everything there...even the inspirations on your tray if I remember right.
A lot of players say that because they feel that way about their own style of play.
And it was that way for me in the beginning until I got a bunch of lvl 50s that I loved playing. Then suddenly I was only logging on to play lvl 50s. I would occasionally create a new character, but the urge to log back out into one of my finished characters was strong.
We have to remember there was more than one way to play CoX and the fact the game was able to be many different things to many different players was one of its strengths.
And as for the sentinel+ files go, even Codewalker has mentioned they won't be that workable in fully restoring the characters. And then from a business and legal standpoint it would be a horrible idea for the new company to use them. Starting with the aforementioned possible exploration of them, it would require them to have someone oversee the usage to look for exploits, which costs money.Would it? Like I mentioned earlier...there would be an incredibly small number of people even trying to do such a thing. Hardly sounds like something worth worrying about. Even for those few people who end up with a fully maxed out character....I'm kinda thinking "meh". What's the big deal?
Then they'd also need to make a way for the files to actually be uploaded, again time and money.I'm wondering how much that could actually cost since someone came up with the way to download them in the first place without needing to spend any "time and money". Whoever came up with Sentinel in the first place could even help them if it turns out they are a super genius or something.
And then there's the legal issue of using something that someone not part of the company made (but if they hired Codewalker that part is moot :) ) the time and money to code, implement and pay thepersonel isn't a great return on their dollar.There is also long term thinking to consider. How many players might get discouraged after the initial thrill of having the game back and just stop playing when the thought of rebuilding 8 years proves too daunting? I'm fearful of that for myself. That's not a great return on the dollar either.
If they got the game back with account data people would have fully maxed out characters anyway.. I believe the number of people who would bother to try and hack the info would be very small.I feel like I was lucky I knew about Sentinel in the first place. I'm thinking we could discount most of the player base right away because most people never even knew about it. And how many of those people are tech-savvy enough to know how to hack into them? I know I'm not! ;D And of those people...how many of them would want to come up with fake characters? By the time all this is factored in, the "problem" would be tiny and certainly not worthy of tossing aside such a nice resource for restoring characters.
Would it? Like I mentioned earlier...there would be an incredibly small number of people even trying to do such a thing. Hardly sounds like something worth worrying about. Even for those few people who end up with a fully maxed out character....I'm kinda thinking "meh". What's the big deal?Just going to address these two points because the other woyld be far to much speculation on both our parts
I'm wondering how much that could actually cost since someone came up with the way to download them in the first place without needing to spend any "time and money". Whoever came up with Sentinel in the first place could even help them if it turns out they are a super genius or something.
Indeed HEAT but seen the same line of thinking from those folks that do mid, IOs and such thinking you are not having fun if you do not partake in that min/max stuff.
There are people who see 50 as an all-but insurmountable hurdle, [...]Jigga what now?
[...]and/or simply wish to recreate a character exactly as it was.Then they should probably play it... when the option exists that is.
If all data is lost and we have no way to validate our past info then I think everyone that subscribes to pay to play should get first 6 months free to play
Don't like the idea of giving everone a lvl 50 we would end up with a bunch of lvl 50s that may or may not even understand the AT they are playing
I think a clean slate everyone starts fresh those that have played will level faster and the new players will learn the way we all did the first time
We will all hunt for badges again and Atlas Park will be a very busy spot like the good old days
I played the game for more than 8 years and thats just my thoughts on the subject
I'm not opposed to the idea of insta-leveling ONE character per player to 50 during like the first week of re-release only, but I am not really for the idea either.Personally i have some reservations about allowing the instant leveling of characters to 50, but if the new teams buys it it's their game. i will admit that it's partially because it might take me a couple weeks, depending on how much free time i have, but i could easily get a character to 50 shortly after relaunch if i need one, so i may not be representative of the average player. But unless the auction house is seeded with a lot of items at launch what will take considerably longer is creating complete builds for characters, and instant leveling to 50 won't help that much since most of my favorite sets were not purple, and quite a few were based in the low and mid levels. Not that an IO build is necessary to enjoy a character, but it does allow me to indulge some of my more atypical concepts and builds.
That doesn't sound particularly fair to the new owners. They're not responsible for the game closing, you know. It's an entirely new company who owe the player base nothing. We should be grateful they're spending a million plus of their own money so we can play a game again.i agree. Expecting a group that just spent millions acquiring the game from the company that shut it down and then getting it running again to give away free time because you feel like you're owed something because the previous owners shut it down is absurd. If the game relaunches it's because a group of people who really wanted it back were willing to put in the time and money to make it happen. Thinking they owe you anything after the work they've already put into reviving it is the very picture of blinkered, self-centered entitlement. No, just no.
Clean slate is the best option IMO, with perhaps some temporary cheap gift packs in the store to get your various vet rewards and time limited badges back.If character data is available and there's a way to verify ownership i personally support allowing old characters and account perks to be restored, but i also recognize that it would probably not be easy to do right away or even in the first several months. i wouldn't be surprised if it would have to be a clean slate at launch and that any character or data restoration would be many months later if at all.
First, I would continue to subscribe to an i23 Maintenance only game, with a clean slate. I didn't do everything I wanted in CoX. I've supported COT and will support COH2, and other successor games. I'd support an off-line game.Ironwolf posted in the new efforts thread earlier today that most likely the only available version of the game will be i24. Which in some ways is the best of all probable outcomes.
That said, of Ironwolf's original options I would support: 2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Naturally, I'm greedy, and of the Vet rewards, I would prefer a percentage of the Vet rewards instead of a flat figure, but I really think this is the way to go, pick-and-choose. I COULD live without my dark fairy...I had a LOT of stuff, ninja run, the nemesis/magic staff, costumes, my black panther! (I am an email hoarder and I just found my new plaync game account number from 2006...)
Even if we can't use the Sentinal+ to fully restore a character I'd like to grab my costumes.
There is actually a utility for that, yep. It's called Senticon.
http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9637.0.html
Older costumes might have some hiccups, due to costume pieces changing categories or whatnot, but from what I've heard it's pretty good overall. Hope that helps! :D
Assuming there is no account data, but there is user data, wouldn't it be tied to the global name? Could we just use our global names to identify ourselves to get our old data back? I'm assuming most people won't remember any one's global name but their own. Or at least use the sentinel files to establish validity of the claim on certain characters?Oh, i can remember at least a dozen global names and the associated major characters used by other players, and i doubt i'm all that unique in that regard, so i would advise against that approach. More likely to be useful is if the screenname and passwords for the game accounts have been retained. Then all you have to do is login using your old credentials. Game accounts and NCsoft master accounts are separate beasts, so if the game account data was retained and available as part of the sale i suspect that would work.
Assuming there is no account data, but there is user data, wouldn't it be tied to the global name? Could we just use our global names to identify ourselves to get our old data back? I'm assuming most people won't remember any one's global name but their own. Or at least use the sentinel files to establish validity of the claim on certain characters?
I agree with this, but I'd also include all veteran and event costumes, even T9 ones, to be included as standard. I'd debate that handing over all the old veteran stuff for free (except badges and one-time use items), and implementing a new veteran system would be beneficial. I'd also suggest giving away the old powersets for free too, as they're a crucial part of some characters.
With I24 and other WIP content around the corner, there's plenty to be sold on the market. There were about 5 new costume sets in development, and about 13 new powersets to be implemented (5 of which are pool powersets), a solid amount to give the market some content to cover all the costume sets and powersets that were previously purchasable.
However, if people see this as too charitable, allowing players to have a pick of about 3 purchasable powersets and 5 or so costume packs for free could also work, then you can purchase anything else you need.
There are people who see 50 as an all-but insurmountable hurdle, and/or simply wish to recreate a character exactly as it was.
The other prestige options can be added to the market. In the case of the alt Sprint you mentioned, it was in fact already in the Vet Rewards/Paragon Rewards.
Open all veteran rewards to everone, and open the VT's. Reasons:
The VT's are not stronger in any way than the other AT's. And rightly so. But blocking them off is pointless. They behave differently, but not in some way that would require someone to go through 50 levels of some other class before they could figure this one out.
The way I see it, everything that was developed under Paragon Studios and earlier would be fair game to sell at discounts for a limited introductory period. My take on it would be to offer everything separately, and also put together four bundles, so individual players can pick and choose what matters more to them.
Bundle 1: The full set of Vet Rewards
Bundle 2: All the previously released power sets
Bundle 3: All the previously released costume pieces
Bundle 4: A large number of "convenience extras" like costume slots, inventory increases, cape and aura unlocks, character slots, and so on. This one can be picked up repeatedly, for folks who really want to trick out their account.
For the first 3 months the price per bundle would be really low, say $15 each. That would allow a player to pick up "the entire game", and a nice little pile of extras, for $60. That's comparable to the price you'd pay to purchase a console title or other computer game outright.
After that the price goes up, and for the next three months the price per bundle would be $25 each. Still a good price, but clearly you get the best value by getting in early. For the six months after that, the price per bundle increases to $40 each. And finally, a year after launch, the bundles remain but the introductory sales are over and they take on their full, long-term prices.
On top of that, selling consumables like Super Packs, XP boosters, dual inspirations, and so on could net them a tidy revenue stream until their own new content is ready to be added into the mix.
Thinking about it, either we ALL get our stuff back or we ALL start fresh. Anything else brings up questions about fairness and derailing the game because player A has to start fresh but player B got all of his stuff back is PANCAKE!
I've read many different opinions of what people considered fun about CoH. That was the beauty of the game. It was so vast with a wide range of stuff to play with that the was something for everyone that loved the game, even if, and especially if those things were unique to each person.
I hope that the account data can be restored because I don't have the time I once did, and because I'd rather create something new to level up that go on a the level 1-50 + incarnate quest that I've already completed once with my mains.
I have several characters, which I fit into the CoH universe. My favorites became my mains, because I enjoyed them so much, both in my head/on paper and in the game. I built them and created them like I wanted them with years of play time. I'd want to play them again more than any other character but to do so again would be somewhat a chore. If I have to re-create what I've already done, would this be like rebuilding a sandcastle at low tide in hopes the high tide stays away?
Maybe it's different for the rest of the the players out there, but anymore, my time investment needs to come with more than a fond memory. I have a family to take care of now, and if my time isn't spent in ways beneficial to more that just me than I'm being selfish with that time.
So, if the character account data is gone, I may not be able to invest in the game as to do so what be a selfish endeavor: and for a game like CoH there needs to be a significant time investment. And my free time at this point is really just parts of weekends. Time when I should be spending with my family ironically becomes un-heroic when I play CoH.
So if there's a way to pay for what I've lost (as long as it's fair and reasonable) I may need to go that route instead of the time investment I made before.
Because If I have 4 hours a week to play I'd consider that the most I could hope for. With that amount of time, it would take me a long time to get back to where I was. I hope there's another way.
This is exactly where I stand.
I was a different person in a different situation with a different amount of time to play back in 2005-2012. Now, I've got a fiance', a wedding to plan, possibly having a baby, a house to pay for, and a job that requires a lot of time commitment.
To me, there is a monetary value to the 7 years' time I put into this game. If I were offered the chance to get even ONE (out of the 25+) of my level 50s back (especially if it were my beloved Warshade) with everything intact (All purple IOs, badges, costumes, vet rewards, and Incarnate content unlocked), then I would gladly pay for that.
Why? Because this is an old game. The audience that started playing this game back in 2004+ is a decade older with a decade's worth of changes to their lives.
Whoever is heading this effort cannot honestly think that the bulk of this community would have the necessary time to invest to get things back to how we had them ourselves.
For most of us (unless you don't have a job or are under house arrest), it's impossible to accomplish 5-8 years' worth of work all over again.
Before someone reads into what I say (again), let me say that I'm not saying "I won't play unless I get everything back!"
I AM saying that I certainly hope that the people getting this game back understand that the community they're dealing with now isn't exactly the same as it was when CoH was released the first time.
We may not have "moved on" (hey, we're all here furiously refreshing Ironwolf's update thread, right?), but we're certainly all a decade older.
That needs to be taken into consideration.
As I have stated earlier in another post I think that NCSoft should work with the new owners of CoX to ensure that all the account data is transferred in some manner.One thing I've been wondering is if legally NCSoft can't provide the account information. This is a technically dead game, not a live product or even apparently one in a complete state with required tools. The login / character data they have may be deeply bound to our personal / financial transaction data. So there may be privacy laws that raise sensitive legal issues to essentially sell personal data to what amounts to a start-up company for use with an incomplete, not-currently-running codebase. Normally sales of MMOs have a level of concurrence in which they are still in a functional state when they are sold so you can justify it being a complete / related transfer. But since we don't have that here they might be required to something crazy/impossible like get discrete permission from every potential user to allow account information to be released to the new owners.
For me it was never about the individual characters or the gear and level anyone had, but rather about the world, the enemies, and most importantly my fellow players.I can't agree with this statement enough, especially the last aspect. Character data is irrelevant to me one way or the other: What made City the game I enjoyed were having the tools to mess with and the people I hung out with. Anything else is just gravy.
Character data needs to happen. Even if account purchase data is lost, character data could be tied back to login names and authentication hashes if you remember the password.
Otherwise, it's not really COH. Paragon City is not just the buildings and the Hellions, it's the combined total of what everyone who has ever played created and added to the common story. I've always said that my characters are still there, doing what they did before, and will continue doing so whether I have contact with them or not.
If a buyout is successful and everything is put back just so to pick up where we left off, then that will be the 'official' server. If it is not and NCsoft manages to put the final nail in the coffin of COH by selling pieces of an incomplete game, then when a community server pops up capable of continuing the story, whether by manually authenticated imports, or activation of project ultra sentinel, that will be the official server.
Sure, I might still subscribe and say hi to people from time to time. But it would never be home.
Someone else mentioned that in the New Efforts thread yesterday. Easy to miss with the way that thread has been zooming by lately though, hehe!
But at least I have shapes and something for everyone and I can use that as a basis to rebuild the rest with a little patience.
As far as I'm concerned, I'd say that starting over from level 1 would be interesting and perfectly acceptable for a game we all thought would never come back.
...
I for one wouldn't mind throwing some money at the folks who have managed to resurrect my favorite game from the ashes of its torturous demise; most especially if those funds will be used to upgrade COH to COH2 in a new engine. I've been hoping for that since well before the game was nuked.
Character data needs to happen. Even if account purchase data is lost, character data could be tied back to login names and authentication hashes if you remember the password.
Otherwise, it's not really COH. Paragon City is not just the buildings and the Hellions, it's the combined total of what everyone who has ever played created and added to the common story. I've always said that my characters are still there, doing what they did before, and will continue doing so whether I have contact with them or not.
If a buyout is successful and everything is put back just so to pick up where we left off, then that will be the 'official' server. If it is not and NCsoft manages to put the final nail in the coffin of COH by selling pieces of an incomplete game, then when a community server pops up capable of continuing the story, whether by manually authenticated imports, or activation of project ultra sentinel, that will be the official server.
Sure, I might still subscribe and say hi to people from time to time. But it would never be home.
I couldn't be more further away from this viewpoint. For me it was the game, the players and friends I made, the people I knew, the people standing under atlas, the look and feel of my character, the ability to fly over Atlas and feel at home..all of that was City to me. I could care less about being level 50, about my numerous high-end IOs, stringing every last bit of performance out of my Inv/SS tank, while fun, wasn't the essence of who she was, she was the people she knew and interacted with. No, character data does *not* have to happen. I'd go so far as to say it probably *should not* happen. That's pretty much my take on it, and it won't change.This. All the characters I have made could be recreated with a little effort (and hell the effort was part of the fun in the first place), it is the group of people I played the game with that made the game what it was, and I hope it is again.
Thanks for the laughs!
*sigh*
I hate you.
;)
One of the things I would like to see is City of Heroes redux on Steam as soon as possible. If it is FTP with a sub option it would fit right in and you could even sell the starter packs through steam. That way you could offer them right away even if you haven't quite worked out all the bugs in a returned paragon market.
It also has a HUGE installed base of users, the perfect place to recruit!
I second this. CoH isn't the first MMO on Steam, so it's certainly doable, and heck, it's a good avenue for advertising.
I second this. CoH isn't the first MMO on Steam, so it's certainly doable, and heck, it's a good avenue for advertising.
Character data needs to happen. Even if account purchase data is lost, character data could be tied back to login names and authentication hashes if you remember the password.
CoX Legacy:
3. At least ten character slots open at launch, with the option to buy more.
4. I would like the option to buy a disk or disks, I know a lot of people like Steam but I despise my computer being monitored by an outside party. I would happily pay for these disks, just like I did all my CoX disks.
4. I would like the option to buy a disk or disks, I know a lot of people like Steam but I despise my computer being monitored by an outside party. I would happily pay for these disks, just like I did all my CoX disks.
All they need is an external launcher.There's always Tequila. Perhaps Leandro would allow it to be re-tooled for the new studio's use? I know it already downloads from a specified repository, verifies all files and replaces them as necessary...
There's always Tequila. Perhaps Leandro would allow it to be re-tooled for the new studio's use? I know it already downloads from a specified repository, verifies all files and replaces them as necessary...
Or Island Rum, or Multipatch, or even the old COH launcher from back before NCSoft forced the use of theirs. There is no shortage of patchers/launchers available (though Tequila/IR lean more toward downloaders rather than patchers).
Or Island Rum, or Multipatch, or even the old COH launcher from back before NCSoft forced the use of theirs. There is no shortage of patchers/launchers available (though Tequila/IR lean more toward downloaders rather than patchers).
You can copy the client to a new disk as-is. It hasn't ever needed to be "installed" per se, except maybe for the NCSoft launcher to work. The old launcher needed a registry key to know where the game was "installed", but it would create it the first time you ran it.
I went through several computers and I can't remember the last time I actually ran the installer from the COH discs. Just copied the files.
Character data needs to happen. Even if account purchase data is lost, character data could be tied back to login names and authentication hashes if you remember the password.
Otherwise, it's not really COH. Paragon City is not just the buildings and the Hellions, it's the combined total of what everyone who has ever played created and added to the common story. I've always said that my characters are still there, doing what they did before, and will continue doing so whether I have contact with them or not.
If a buyout is successful and everything is put back just so to pick up where we left off, then that will be the 'official' server. If it is not and NCsoft manages to put the final nail in the coffin of COH by selling pieces of an incomplete game, then when a community server pops up capable of continuing the story, whether by manually authenticated imports, or activation of project ultra sentinel, that will be the official server.
Sure, I might still subscribe and say hi to people from time to time. But it would never be home.
Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
3. I'll need to buy a lot more! Like 30 or so per account.
Just for the record...
I'l start from scratch if I have to. I did it once, I can do it again. But if I can get my characters back I would be in heaven. I am willing to pay a "restoration fee" to de-mangle-ify the data as necessary. I have my old account name and PW. And a valid credit card. ;D
And thank you for making this effort - no matter how it turns out. (but PLEASE let it work out!)
At game closure I think I had a combined total of about 35 active alts on Virtue server.
I say ten at first, because I am eventually going to want almost every one of those 35 back.... plus, who knows if I might want to roll something new? I might. But when/if CoX relaunches, I am going to start out with my hero main, my villain main, my Stalker and my Bane Spider, if we have access to the EAT/VEAT system. Once I get them rolling pretty well, I will slowly start adding others.
I cant work on seriously leveling 35 alts at once, is what I am saying. I doubt many can. So I wont need all those slots the instant the game goes Live; I doubt many will. [But hey, if they want ot give us 30 open slots on release, I am not complaining!]
I would like for everyone, veteran or not, to log in and get a badge titled "Resurgent" or maybe "Resurrexit" or "Reversus" or something like that. We have toured The Gaming Underworld of Despair, and now we are back, brimming with new life!
i really just want to get the names I already had locked down. I play 'em a few at a time as well. I know it's not likely that someone would grab one of mine, but I'd still like to do it.
If I can afford it, I'll buy 'em on day one!
Now, to the real issue at hand. Yes, I want my characters back. I really, really want them back. Logging into the game and not seeing them waiting for me would be heart-breaking. So on the question of "should the buyers fight to get our characters?", my answer is a resounding YES.
But I'm also a mature adult who knows that you don't always get what you want. So New Guys, fight like hell, but I won't be mad if it just isn't feasible.
1. No retroactive vet rewards (exceptions below).
2. No Sentinal+ data.
3. Unlimited characters slots (or whatever the max can be for the server) for subs. 5 slots for free players.
4. No AT or powerset locks for anything released prior to I24. Subs get access to the I24 powersets.
5. All pre-I24 non-content locked costume pieces available to all (incl. vet reward pieces). Subs get access to the I24 pieces.
6. For the first 3 months of the game coming back online, 2X everything (except Incarnate awards)... XP, Inf, drops, salvage, etc. Six months in, do a 3-month Incarnate award 2X.
This would start everyone off on the same foot, but give the dedicated a chance to move quickly. It also allows folks with subs the chance to re-create their character's appearance exactly like they would have last looked on live.
Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
I can't agree with this statement enough, especially the last aspect. Character data is irrelevant to me one way or the other: What made City the game I enjoyed were having the tools to mess with and the people I hung out with. Anything else is just gravy.Pretty much this. Already making plans with some previous players to run TFs and the like if the game comes back.
The obvious answer is those with sentinel plus files should be allowed to re-import them back into the game.
The people that made that effort are probably the core of the player base.
I think this was addressed earlier by a forum member, but I can't remember which thread or which person, sorry. Their suggestion was that NCSoft send a mass e-mail to previous CoX customers (they still have our info; I've gotten several "Hey, come play ____!" emails from them) asking our permission to release our information to the new company. There was more, with authentication protocols and everything, but it's late, and I don't want to tell you wrong. :)I just got an email from them when I tried to log onto one of my accounts as a test....so they still have my info.
Character data needs to happen. Even if account purchase data is lost, character data could be tied back to login names and authentication hashes if you remember the password.Same here.
Otherwise, it's not really COH. Paragon City is not just the buildings and the Hellions, it's the combined total of what everyone who has ever played created and added to the common story. I've always said that my characters are still there, doing what they did before, and will continue doing so whether I have contact with them or not.
If a buyout is successful and everything is put back just so to pick up where we left off, then that will be the 'official' server. If it is not and NCsoft manages to put the final nail in the coffin of COH by selling pieces of an incomplete game, then when a community server pops up capable of continuing the story, whether by manually authenticated imports, or activation of project ultra sentinel, that will be the official server.
Sure, I might still subscribe and say hi to people from time to time. But it would never be home.
I couldn't be more further away from this viewpoint. For me it was the game, the players and friends I made, the people I knew, the people standing under atlas, the look and feel of my character, the ability to fly over Atlas and feel at home..all of that was City to me. I could care less about being level 50, about my numerous high-end IOs, stringing every last bit of performance out of my Inv/SS tank, while fun, wasn't the essence of who she was, she was the people she knew and interacted with. No, character data does *not* have to happen. I'd go so far as to say it probably *should not* happen. That's pretty much my take on it, and it won't change.I think my view is changing a little. I now think we should just be glad we got Icon and stop asking for things like playing with other players and using powers. I might even say getting those things "should not" happen. After all, Icon is better than nothing and that's all I want.
I would be fine with this. I have all my old account data. The thing that worries me is, I don't have the same debit card that I had back then, because I lost my old one[!] and had to have a reissue. I'd like to be able to use my old account and pay with my new debit card.Yep...same here. I've changed cards since the closure as well.
The important thing to me is, who has the account info? That's most likely the owner. I bet there's quite a few folks who are using new debit/CCs, since game closure. These people should not be locked out of their accounts, but be able to change their payment status.
Yep...same here. I've changed cards since the closure as well.
I am posting this here from another thread because its probably my feelings exactly and I cant say it any betterThat's a good way to put it.
And as I have stated earlier. I would be more than willing of paying a reasonable processing fee (which IMO is in the neighborhood of $50-$75) to be able to access all my characters with their IO's should that data become available. The new owners obviously are not responsible for the shutdown of the game. Yet I do believe that to restore City of Heroes is not just the City.. but the Heroes themselves...
Character data needs to happen. Even if account purchase data is lost, character data could be tied back to login names and authentication hashes if you remember the password.
Otherwise, it's not really COH. Paragon City is not just the buildings and the Hellions, it's the combined total of what everyone who has ever played created and added to the common story. I've always said that my characters are still there, doing what they did before, and will continue doing so whether I have contact with them or not.
If a buyout is successful and everything is put back just so to pick up where we left off, then that will be the 'official' server. If it is not and NCsoft manages to put the final nail in the coffin of COH by selling pieces of an incomplete game, then when a community server pops up capable of continuing the story, whether by manually authenticated imports, or activation of project ultra sentinel, that will be the official server.
Sure, I might still subscribe and say hi to people from time to time. But it would never be home.
Access to I24 without old characters, a store, or vet rewards would still draw money out of my pocket to be able to fly again.
Starting over with all of those years of active experience on the game at its height at close would open up new avenues to explore that I might not have considered the first time around.
I have been giving considerable thought to this topic, and have bounced some ideas off other former players as far as the return goes.
These ideas are acting under the assumption that character/account data will not be available, and our new Freedom Phalanx secure a launchable version of i24, with all the trimming leading up to it (The Paragon Market and all related systems).
Bear in mind that no matter how noble it may seem, bargaining for customer's account and character data is essentially one company SELLING PERSONAL INFORMATION to a third party. I would be flabbergasted if it all goes through that way.
NONETHELESS! When (if) the game is revived from these efforts, whether or not they are to continue development on the current incarnation, or begin development on a "CoH II" a hybrid Free-to-Play/subscription model should be kept in place. This will become clear as I detail the rest.
Upon launch, MUCH FANFARE! EVENTS! FUN! CITY OF HEROES IS BACK WOOOOOOO!!
Free to play will remain as is, as will the perks associated with Premium Accounts of yore. Subscription model will follow 14.99/month with discounts for bulk purchasing (buy more time and SAVE!) but instead of the 400 Paragon Points (hereafter known as PP), supply 800PP with each recurring month subscription. This will encourage people to subscribe, while also allowing people to pick up on the backlog of shinies or gather other perks.
Now I hear you say: "But Ouul? What about all my STUFF!?!"
Now, again acting under the assumption that it is gone, poof, out to pasture, it would be of great disservice to our long term veterans to have them start again from ABSOLUTE scratch, so I propose bundles and packs at a reasonable price to assist! These packs should encourage early adoption, and be available for only a short time after the re-launch (60-90 days) and then again during event weekends and as special promotions.
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
Excellent suggestion.
Then the obvious answer is wrong. The people who wrote the extractor have said on more than one occasion that these files are not useful for a relaunch. they were meant to be used on private servers.
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
I have been giving considerable thought to this topic, and have bounced some ideas off other former players as far as the return goes.
These ideas are acting under the assumption that character/account data will not be available, and our new Freedom Phalanx secure a launchable version of i24, with all the trimming leading up to it (The Paragon Market and all related systems).
Bear in mind that no matter how noble it may seem, bargaining for customer's account and character data is essentially one company SELLING PERSONAL INFORMATION to a third party. I would be flabbergasted if it all goes through that way.
NONETHELESS! When (if) the game is revived from these efforts, whether or not they are to continue development on the current incarnation, or begin development on a "CoH II" a hybrid Free-to-Play/subscription model should be kept in place. This will become clear as I detail the rest.
Upon launch, MUCH FANFARE! EVENTS! FUN! CITY OF HEROES IS BACK WOOOOOOO!!
Free to play will remain as is, as will the perks associated with Premium Accounts of yore. Subscription model will follow 14.99/month with discounts for bulk purchasing (buy more time and SAVE!) but instead of the 400 Paragon Points (hereafter known as PP), supply 800PP with each recurring month subscription. This will encourage people to subscribe, while also allowing people to pick up on the backlog of shinies or gather other perks.
Now I hear you say: "But Ouul? What about all my STUFF!?!"
Now, again acting under the assumption that it is gone, poof, out to pasture, it would be of great disservice to our long term veterans to have them start again from ABSOLUTE scratch, so I propose bundles and packs at a reasonable price to assist! These packs should encourage early adoption, and be available for only a short time after the re-launch (60-90 days) and then again during event weekends and as special promotions.
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
Access to I24 without old characters, a store, or vet rewards would still draw money out of my pocket to be able to fly again.
Starting over with all of those years of active experience on the game at its height at close would open up new avenues to explore that I might not have considered the first time around.
Now, again acting under the assumption that it is gone, poof, out to pasture, it would be of great disservice to our long term veterans to have them start again from ABSOLUTE scratch, so I propose bundles and packs at a reasonable price to assist! These packs should encourage early adoption, and be available for only a short time after the re-launch (60-90 days) and then again during event weekends and as special promotions.
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
I've noticed some B.O.S.S. folks here. I was a member for about a year, but then went on to another (east coast) server and started a low-pressure group of my own. Do you feel like leading again?The Bureau of Occult and Scientific Studies must live again! I'm here to help!
Or for the low low price of $49.95, get the ULTIMATE package... 300 character slots!
Or for the low low price of $49.95, get the ULTIMATE package... 300 character slots!
Ok! Wrap it up! I'll take one for each account!
Or for the low low price of $49.95, get the ULTIMATE package... 300 character slots!
Or for the low low price of $49.95, get the ULTIMATE package... 300 character slots!I'll take two.
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!In for 3. Maybe 4, even though there were only 3 accounts in the household when the game went dark.
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
I look at it like this... if the account data is not recoverable... I would still be content starting over. Know why? Because I'm not an ungrateful schmuck. I'd be grateful just to have the game back. Starting over fresh is a small price to pay to get the game itself back. Characters can always be remade and releveled. Enhancements can always be reacquired. How anyone can say they care about the game and in the same breath say they won't play if they have to start from scratch just makes my head spin.
Bottom line: I'd like to see a limited time launch special "starter pack" for a nominal fee (50$ wouldn't be too much to ask IMO) that basically gives you maxed vet rewards and all the "buyable/nonconsumable" content that existed at the point of shutdown. This would allow vets of the game to come back and have their basic status and previous purchases essentially restored. We'd have all the base elements to work with that we had before the shutdown to rebuild what was lost. Have this limited time special starter pack available for a month or so. Anyone who is truly a fan of COH still will have plenty of time to get back into the game with that special starter pack. I don't think anyone should be given free 50's or be allowed to have sentinel files used to restore characters because frankly sentinel files can be edited and those who don't have those files are outta luck. It's just not fair. Everyone should start on even footing IMO.
Anyone who thinks its too much to ask to actually PLAY THE GAME doesn't actually care enough about bringing the game back. Do you love city of heroes for real? Then you damn well should support this if it happens whether your account info is available or not.
and this is exactly the kinds of mindset we are trying to avoid..
Why? Shouldn't we be grateful to have the game back at all? If it comes down to either having the game back sans character data, or no game at all/game fails because of lack of funding, I'll choose having COH back every single time.Exactly. It's been repeatedly confirmed that if it's possible to acquire the character/game account data then the team currently negotiating wants it, but apparently it's iffy whether it's in a usable state, so it's not a matter of whether they want it, but whether it's available at all. Obviously they want the account data because being able to play your original characters in City of Heroes is a much bigger draw to bring players back than being able to play CoH and having to start everything over.
To not support the game just because the character data is not recoverable is essentially killing the game as surely as NCSoft did the first time. And it's also a huge F-U to the people going through the effort/spending the money to make this deal happen.
You enjoyed leveling those characters once. Why wouldn't you enjoy it again?
Exactly. It's been repeatedly confirmed that if it's possible to acquire the character/game account data then the team currently negotiating wants it, but apparently it's iffy whether it's in a usable state, so it's not a matter of whether they want it, but whether it's available at all. Obviously they want the account data because being able to play your original characters in City of Heroes is a much bigger draw to bring players back than playing CoH and having to start everything over.
Would i prefer to have access to my old characters? Of course. Will i play it even if that's not possible? Also of course.
Why? Shouldn't we be grateful to have the game back at all? If it comes down to either having the game back sans character data, or no game at all/game fails because of lack of funding, I'll choose having COH back every single time.
To not support the game just because the character data is not recoverable is essentially killing the game as surely as NCSoft did the first time. And it's also a huge F-U to the people going through the effort/spending the money to make this deal happen.
You enjoyed leveling those characters once. Why wouldn't you enjoy it again?
Why? Shouldn't we be grateful to have the game back at all? If it comes down to either having the game back sans character data, or no game at all/game fails because of lack of funding, I'll choose having COH back every single time.
To not support the game just because the character data is not recoverable is essentially killing the game as surely as NCSoft did the first time. And it's also a huge F-U to the people going through the effort/spending the money to make this deal happen.
You enjoyed leveling those characters once. Why wouldn't you enjoy it again?
I'm not an ungrateful schmuck.
How anyone can say they care about the game and in the same breath say they won't play if they have to start from scratch just makes my head spin.
Anyone who is truly a fan of COH still will have plenty of time to get back into the game
It's just not fair. Everyone should start on even footing IMO.
Anyone who thinks its too much to ask to actually PLAY THE GAME doesn't actually care enough about bringing the game back.
Do you love city of heroes for real?
Then you damn well should support this if it happens whether your account info is available or not.
Why? Shouldn't we be grateful to have the game back at all?
If it comes down to either having the game back sans character data, or no game at all/game fails because of lack of funding, I'll choose having COH back every single time.
To not support the game just because the character data is not recoverable is essentially killing the game as surely as NCSoft did the first time. And it's also a huge F-U to the people going through the effort/spending the money to make this deal happen.
You enjoyed leveling those characters once. Why wouldn't you enjoy it again?
Well said! But I don't think folks are being intentionally abrasive. They just want it back the way it used to be. Unfortunately, I just don't see it happening.
Sure we all want that... I get that. But we have to be realistic and realize that may not be possible. To that I say: Would rather have nothing but memories? Or the chance to rebuild what was lost? I know I'd want a chance to rebuild what was taken. A chance to do that is far more than we have right now.
Sure we all want that... I get that. But we have to be realistic and realize that may not be possible. To that I say: Would rather have nothing but memories? Or the chance to rebuild what was lost? I know I'd want a chance to rebuild what was taken. A chance to do that is far more than we have right now.
And again. over the course of several threads I have not seen ONE person say they would rather NOT have the game back..
So there is no need to use words like ungrateful, schmuck.. questions peoples love for the game.. question how they choose to play.. etc etc..
So anyone who wants their character data back is ungrateful and a schmuck..
You have a right to your opinion and they have a right to not play if thats THEIR choice. That doesnt mean they dont care. Its just that they have a different value system and requirement to play than you do.
REALLY... you've accounted for how many peoples lives have changed over the ten years since the inception of the game and have decided that if they do not invest the time that they did previously or are able to invest that time that you are able to invest is not TRULY a fan.. gotcha. Forget those people who have new careers and obligations and possible even new spouses and family.. if you were TRULY a fan you would make time to get back into the game..
I'd like to see a limited time launch special "starter pack" for a nominal fee (50$ wouldn't be too much to ask IMO) that basically gives you maxed vet rewards and all the "buyable/nonconsumable" content that existed at the point of shutdown. This would allow vets of the game to come back and have their basic status and previous purchases essentially restored. We'd have all the base elements to work with that we had before the shutdown to rebuild what was lost. Have this limited time special starter pack available for a month or so. Anyone who is truly a fan of COH still will have plenty of time to get back into the game with that special starter pack.
For me this is a truly silly argument.. there are many people who have the time and the ability to get to level 50 within hours.. let alone days and weeks.. the equal footing argument is silly..
All you people hanging out in Pocket D.. your not PLAYING.. hey.. all you people hanging out talking under Atlas.. Your not PLAYING.. Stop running that costume contest.. thats not PLAYING.. or should people just play according to YOUR definition of what is playing.. so if character data was available. and people got back everything they wanted.. they arent PLAYERS apparently.. got it.. and not only that.. not only are they not players.. They dont CARE.. ok.. got it..
By your definition probably not..
and if they choose not to.. thats THEIR choice.. and they have every right to do so..
I think its been said repeatedly on this thread and others.. CONSISTENTLY.. that the most important thing is getting the game back. but if at all possible people would like their data..
How did you even remotely draw a conclusion to lack of funding when we are not being asked to fund anything ??
The few people (and for the record I havent seen any) who might choose not to play will have no ultimate bearing on the game because the number of people who choose to play will FAR outnumber them..
Lets be clear about something as well. The efforts of everyone involved have been applauded consistently.. but lets not think that this is completely altruistic.. Investors invest for one reason and one reason only.. They can make money.. So while restoring the game if successful is admirable and should be celebrated.. Its also a business.. and if you are investing in a business you should know your clientele.. You should know their expectations and demands.. you wont be able to satisfy them all.. but you SHOULD be aware of them...
I could give you a whole list of reasons.. many of which wont meet your standard of approval..
1) I dont have the time I had TEN YEARS AGO.. my life has changed dramatically and there are more things that demand my time and attention.. the chief of them being my FOUR YEAR OLD son..
2) After 8 years of playing I have done the level things.. a great many times.. I dont find the leveling path extremely entertaining anymore.. personally I would rather start every character at Level 35.. I find that part of the game the most intersting..
3) I dont want to sink the time and effort in AGAIN.. whats the long term plan for this venture ?? just 18 months ago it was.. Play for free FOREVER.. expect FOREVER was only 18 months..
4) I enjoy the latter part of the game more than the early part.. but I guess in your opinion thats not playing..
5) I enjoyed builds at the point of shutdown.. I dont have the inclination, the time, or the energy to REINVEST another 8 years..
Now that being said.. If there were no character data.. I would play.. as much as I did before.. probably not.. would i spend the money I did before ( and I spent THOUSANDS playing this game ).. probably not..
DO I want the game back... absolutely..
What I have come to resent is exactly the picture your first post stated.. and mindset that places an erroneous label on people that is divisive and unfair..
Dont foget the DEVELOPER PACK: you would have to be a true dev to have any more constructive powah! Extra AE Mission slots, larger bases with more storage, even your toon gets bigger pockets for up to 100 enhancements more storage at the vaults in the city. Buy and sell like the biggest fish with more inventory at Wentworths and the consignment house plus more room for salvage. Not sold yet? We'll throw in a personal Crafting table so you can make what you want whereever you are (not up as often as field crafter table). $29.99
Someone remind me: did we have the ability to open up a auction house and AE dialogue on the fly? I thought we did as a tiered badge for selling/buying. Could put that in too.
Then buy them all for $159.99 (All packs including mine and Codewalker's)
Offer hard merchandice like copies of the game, back issues of comics, official registered hero and villian cards - especially if things like lifetime subs are offered
Dont foget the DEVELOPER PACK: you would have to be a true dev to have any more constructive powah! Extra AE Mission slots, larger bases with more storage, even your toon gets bigger pockets for up to 100 enhancements more storage at the vaults in the city. Buy and sell like the biggest fish with more inventory at Wentworths and the consignment house plus more room for salvage. Not sold yet? We'll throw in a personal Crafting table so you can make what you want whereever you are (not up as often as field crafter table). $29.99I think that's a horrible idea! We had folks who could rule the market already, I don't think it's a good idea to make it even easier for them to do MORE.
I think that's a horrible idea! We had folks who could rule the market already, I don't think it's a good idea to make it even easier for them to do MORE.
I have been giving considerable thought to this topic, and have bounced some ideas off other former players as far as the return goes.where do I insert my cc? :D awesome idea, I would add a character slot pack 12 character slots for $20.00
These ideas are acting under the assumption that character/account data will not be available, and our new Freedom Phalanx secure a launchable version of i24, with all the trimming leading up to it (The Paragon Market and all related systems).
Bear in mind that no matter how noble it may seem, bargaining for customer's account and character data is essentially one company SELLING PERSONAL INFORMATION to a third party. I would be flabbergasted if it all goes through that way.
NONETHELESS! When (if) the game is revived from these efforts, whether or not they are to continue development on the current incarnation, or begin development on a "CoH II" a hybrid Free-to-Play/subscription model should be kept in place. This will become clear as I detail the rest.
Upon launch, MUCH FANFARE! EVENTS! FUN! CITY OF HEROES IS BACK WOOOOOOO!!
Free to play will remain as is, as will the perks associated with Premium Accounts of yore. Subscription model will follow 14.99/month with discounts for bulk purchasing (buy more time and SAVE!) but instead of the 400 Paragon Points (hereafter known as PP), supply 800PP with each recurring month subscription. This will encourage people to subscribe, while also allowing people to pick up on the backlog of shinies or gather other perks.
Now I hear you say: "But Ouul? What about all my STUFF!?!"
Now, again acting under the assumption that it is gone, poof, out to pasture, it would be of great disservice to our long term veterans to have them start again from ABSOLUTE scratch, so I propose bundles and packs at a reasonable price to assist! These packs should encourage early adoption, and be available for only a short time after the re-launch (60-90 days) and then again during event weekends and as special promotions.
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
I've noticed some B.O.S.S. folks here. I was a member for about a year, but then went on to another (east coast) server and started a low-pressure group of my own. Do you feel like leading again?
I have been giving considerable thought to this topic, and have bounced some ideas off other former players as far as the return goes.
These ideas are acting under the assumption that character/account data will not be available, and our new Freedom Phalanx secure a launchable version of i24, with all the trimming leading up to it (The Paragon Market and all related systems).
Bear in mind that no matter how noble it may seem, bargaining for customer's account and character data is essentially one company SELLING PERSONAL INFORMATION to a third party. I would be flabbergasted if it all goes through that way.
NONETHELESS! When (if) the game is revived from these efforts, whether or not they are to continue development on the current incarnation, or begin development on a "CoH II" a hybrid Free-to-Play/subscription model should be kept in place. This will become clear as I detail the rest.
Upon launch, MUCH FANFARE! EVENTS! FUN! CITY OF HEROES IS BACK WOOOOOOO!!
Free to play will remain as is, as will the perks associated with Premium Accounts of yore. Subscription model will follow 14.99/month with discounts for bulk purchasing (buy more time and SAVE!) but instead of the 400 Paragon Points (hereafter known as PP), supply 800PP with each recurring month subscription. This will encourage people to subscribe, while also allowing people to pick up on the backlog of shinies or gather other perks.
Now I hear you say: "But Ouul? What about all my STUFF!?!"
Now, again acting under the assumption that it is gone, poof, out to pasture, it would be of great disservice to our long term veterans to have them start again from ABSOLUTE scratch, so I propose bundles and packs at a reasonable price to assist! These packs should encourage early adoption, and be available for only a short time after the re-launch (60-90 days) and then again during event weekends and as special promotions.
VETERANS PACK: $49.99 - Return to Paragon City and the Rogue Isles in style! This pack will bestow upon you enough Veteran Rewards Tokens to pin your way to the top! This will allow you to unlock all veterans rewards, plus the limited time costumes at the top tier!
BOOSTER PACK BUNDLE!: 49.99 - INCREDIBLE VALUE! This pack includes all the booster packs released, from the 5 origin packs through Valentine's, Pocket D VIP, Wedding, Mac Edition, Going Rogue Bonus Items, Origins, Steampunk, Party, and Animal Pack!
DELUXE EDITION BUNDLE: 9.99 - This pack includes the items from the CoH AND CoV deluxe collector's editions
And to help with levelling one's characters back to their prime:
CHARACTER BOOST BUNDLE: 4.99 each - This will come with XP Boosters, Team/Dual inspirations, and a 30 day temporary JetPack
Once again, this is just speculation and brainspewing to provide some ideas to go off. What do people think?
I think you should offer packs, starter packs at differing values...maybe the same way RIFT does it.
To answer a question to another posting person....yes we could access the auction house and things remotely....it was a perk for the veteran rewards.
If you are going to control the game more...you need to do a few things....like you need to no longer give exp in the player created missions....instead you simply need to stay with the tickets....the tickets should buy what they used to....but should no longer be able to purchase enhancements or inspirations.
The next thing you need to do...is make it so if a mission or something is repeated multiple times in 12 hour period it should give diminished rewards...like after the 2nd time it should no longer give exp until 12 hours happens.
You should also make contact not sell enhancements...let them buy things....but they should never sell them...if they sell them they should only be specific ones and they should be special...like the low level yins market origins. It always bugged me that my contacts gave me not much in their stores....but I would have tried to find them all and gotten my reputation up if it meant by getting the top reputation I could buy a specific special origin form them.
Leave the enhancements for the actual stores you have all over the city.
Another thing...their was always the three levels of origins that bothered me. because it seamed like once you got to a high level you shouldn't bother with the training origins....so if you are going to do this game....I highly suggest you simply make all the regular origins get he same stats...with the difference being that if you are within certain level ranges those origins give you a bonus like 10%...so training would be for 1 to 20...the next ones would be 21 to 40 and the last ones would be for 41 to maximum level.
If you are going cash shop only....and want to make some bank....you need to redo the exp amounts per level too....like make the amounts greater...like double needed each level you go up.....that way you can conceivably get people to buy exp bonus items in the cash shop.
and no....do not sell automatic level 50 upgrades....don't even think about it....because you will simply have people who buy them and then constantly whine there is no content and ask dumb question like where they can find hellions of skulls.
I had close to a dozen 50s, all incarnated and hours upon hours spent on perfecting their builds, which included purples and PvP IOs. I'd be lying if I said that losing them doesn't make me a little sad, but it turns out I'm actually quite giddy with excitement, too, to recreate them. Better. Stronger. Faster. *laughs* A clean slate means I might actually snag some better names for them, too.
But I do sympathize with those who are demotivated by the thought of not getting their characters. So I have an idea, a sort of compromise regarding the use of Sentinel files. Now, I believe that using the sentinel files would be bad form, because a lot of the community either did not know about it, were locked out of certain characters due to subscription issues and thus couldn't access them to snapshot them, or just plain lost the files in the two years that have passed. Giving some people their characters back, but not others, leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth.
So I propose the following:
Everyone who subscribes in the first month of launch can submit a mids build and create a fully slotted Level 50 character.
Only one per account.
Now I know what you're thinking. "But Kaderie, people will give themselves fully purpled out characters!" And to that I say, yes, they will. And? Consider it a 'Welcome home' gift from the new devs, as well as a form of compensation for the many alts lost. These will still have to be re-leveled and reslotted. For many such as myself it will still be an overall loss, since I had many purple'd characters, and if someone, somewhere might be slightly better off than they were before, well, what's the harm in that? Everyone still starts out on equal footing, and it will significantly take the sting off for the people in this thread who really can't stand losing their 50s.
Now, it could be possible to create multiple accounts to get that level 50 multiple times and strip them of valuables to sell. That's why I recommend locking it behind a pay wall, ie, subscription or perhaps something more pricey (3-month sub, maybe), and to have it be a limited time offer, let's say, the first month after launch. If someone wants to pay for the privilege of increasing the supply of purples/PVP IOs in the game (which will likely be severely lacking for a number of months), well, I actually consider that a win for the game's economy. 'sides, it's not like IOs weren't already for sale in the cash shop anyway, and getting rich in the game is not hard :P
Thoughts?
I doubt the enhancement tray thing can happen. At close you could get extra trays but no where near 100 so that would be new.
I think you should offer packs, starter packs at differing values...maybe the same way RIFT does it.Most of that sounds like it would make the game more tedious and definitely harder to get back the characters we had before if we lose them. I mean...your suggestions would kill the farm maps and make it a longer trip to lvl 50. Yucky!
To answer a question to another posting person....yes we could access the auction house and things remotely....it was a perk for the veteran rewards.
If you are going to control the game more...you need to do a few things....like you need to no longer give exp in the player created missions....instead you simply need to stay with the tickets....the tickets should buy what they used to....but should no longer be able to purchase enhancements or inspirations.
The next thing you need to do...is make it so if a mission or something is repeated multiple times in 12 hour period it should give diminished rewards...like after the 2nd time it should no longer give exp until 12 hours happens.
You should also make contact not sell enhancements...let them buy things....but they should never sell them...if they sell them they should only be specific ones and they should be special...like the low level yins market origins. It always bugged me that my contacts gave me not much in their stores....but I would have tried to find them all and gotten my reputation up if it meant by getting the top reputation I could buy a specific special origin form them.
Leave the enhancements for the actual stores you have all over the city.
Another thing...their was always the three levels of origins that bothered me. because it seamed like once you got to a high level you shouldn't bother with the training origins....so if you are going to do this game....I highly suggest you simply make all the regular origins get he same stats...with the difference being that if you are within certain level ranges those origins give you a bonus like 10%...so training would be for 1 to 20...the next ones would be 21 to 40 and the last ones would be for 41 to maximum level.
If you are going cash shop only....and want to make some bank....you need to redo the exp amounts per level too....like make the amounts greater...like double needed each level you go up.....that way you can conceivably get people to buy exp bonus items in the cash shop.
and no....do not sell automatic level 50 upgrades....don't even think about it....because you will simply have people who buy them and then constantly whine there is no content and ask dumb question like where they can find hellions of skulls.
So I posted this suggestion over in the "New Efforts" thread, but the conversation there moves way too swiftly and I see now that it belongs more here anyway :P So, with apologies for the respost:I like it. Would definitely soften the blow if we lose our characters. I had two accounts too, so right away I would get a portion of that nice "options" feeling at login that I enjoyed so much.
Umm, Devil?
I was specifically referring to the extra Market transaction slots combined with the extra storage that would then be available above and beyond the purchasable slots.
I never really saw the Crafting Table as a money making tool, I suppose it'd cut down on travel for marketeers, but that could be earned anyway.
Inflamatory question warning: would you be against a vet power that would make all badges (and the associated powers etc), earned or granted, *GLOBAL TO CHARACTERS*? What about the ability to purchase that function, i.e. Lifetime sub perk?
Inflamatory question warning: would you be against a vet power that would make all badges (and the associated powers etc), earned or granted, *GLOBAL TO CHARACTERS*? What about the ability to purchase that function, i.e. Lifetime sub perk?
For my part, I would oppose this. It makes badges meanless and valueless. Powers... That's another thing.
Just my 2 influence.
Inflamatory question warning: would you be against a vet power that would make all badges (and the associated powers etc), earned or granted, *GLOBAL TO CHARACTERS*? What about the ability to purchase that function, i.e. Lifetime sub perk?
Maybe some confusion: have to earn it at least once (some toons better in some than others in some cases) before it is granted account-wise.
The accolade powers are based on completion of the badges, unless you make them completely seperate, there is no other way to award them. If you do, some content will never be run again. Who would run Synapse if they didn't need it for Freedom Phalanx accolade.
Katie Hannon only gets run now really for Geas of the Kindly Ones.
What about Master of badges? You certainly aren't master of anything except spending money. Bad idea. How would someone who got master of Statesman by meeting the requirements measure up against someone who bought it?
Just no.
I ran all of those TFs just for fun.
Inflamatory question warning: would you be against a vet power that would make all badges (and the associated powers etc), earned or granted, *GLOBAL TO CHARACTERS*? What about the ability to purchase that function, i.e. Lifetime sub perk?
I would love all my toons back and this thread would be a non-issue, but i am willing to give the new devs hard earned money (define that as u will) to get myself back up to speed faster as long as it would not cap me otherwise.
It would also make bases ridiculously easy to outfit as you would have all the the explore badges that grant the teleport beacons OR or impossible because you weren't in SG mode when you received them.
ALL badges? That I'd be against. But if it were just for time-limited things like anniversaries or holiday events, that I could get behind. Mind you, just the ones that are purely for logging in. If the character has to DO something to get it, it should stay as is.
The accolade powers are based on completion of the badges, unless you make them completely seperate, there is no other way to award them. If you do, some content will never be run again. Who would run Synapse if they didn't need it for Freedom Phalanx accolade.
But if it were just for time-limited things like anniversaries or holiday events, that I could get behind. Mind you, just the ones that are purely for logging in. If the character has to DO something to get it, it should stay as is.I support these sort of badges being global by default.
And that would be bad because...?
Seriously, "players will no longer have to run content they hate" does not strike me as bad :/
Having to regrind the +HP/+Endurance badges was an incredible grind, over and over again, for every character, and especially punitive for PvPers, because they could not be competititve without them. I'd be down for making them a global achievement. In fact, I'd be down with making all powers-attached-to-achievements an account unlock, without locking it behind the paywall, and then offer additional unlocks on a per-badge basis. If someone wants to display their "Master of Statesman"-badge on their Level 1 toon... well, what's the harm in that, if they have done it another toon?
Well, maybe we should just charge 200 dollars and let someone make an immediate level 50, with all badges and any I/O's they want. I don't like grinding so let's throw in incaranate powers as well with enough to salvage to pick whatever you like as well being inf capped. This is a logical extension if you want to make the game as easy and as pointless as possible.
...
The ideas suggested were mainly to allow us to get back what we had when the game closed, not selling us "I Win".
I support these sort of badges being global by default.
All other badges have to be earned, and as few as possible have money transactions involved.
Well, maybe we should just charge 200 dollars and let someone make an immediate level 50, with all badges and any I/O's they want. I don't like grinding so let's throw in incaranate powers as well with enough to salvage to pick whatever you like as well being inf capped. This is a logical extension if you want to make the game as easy and as pointless as possible.
I have no idea what would left for you to do, but there you go. Can't even hunt Giant monsters because already got the badges for it.
Wut
A global unlock =/= getting it handed to you for nothing. You still have to actually do it.
You know, I had almost all these things you describe there. Inf cap, accolades, incarnate powers, all the IOs. And yet, magically, I still played the game, and cared not one bit for badging. I made my own fun and challenges. Why, I even ran the ITF when I already had the badge for it! It's almost like CoH supports many different playstyles and goals!
Tell me, where is the "sense of accomplishment" of grinding out 200 Fake Nemesis? it's certainly not challenging to twoshot bosses several levels below you, only to wait for them to respawn. Over and over again. On dozens of toons.
Getting HP/End accolades was not playing the game. It was pointless busywork that, in the case of PvPers, prevented them from playing the game as they wanted to because it was the cost of entry for participation.
The only thing grinding out these accolades compares to in your poor slippery slope argument is the incarnate grind. And guess what? Lots of people complained about only being able to get incarnate powers via trials, so devs added the solo incarnate content. There is no alternate way to earn accolade powers, and once you've earned them a few times, it gets stale and boring as sin.
Did any badge ever have money associated with it? Other than buying the collector's edition?Mostly just boxed edition based stuff if I recall: Pocket D VIP (GVE Edition), V.I.P / Destined One (COH Collectors Edition). And the Veteran badges of course but those are kind of a special case. :)
Wut
A global unlock =/= getting it handed to you for nothing. You still have to actually do it.
You know, I had almost all these things you describe there. Inf cap, accolades, incarnate powers, all the IOs. And yet, magically, I still played the game, and cared not one bit for badging. I made my own fun and challenges. Why, I even ran the ITF when I already had the badge for it! It's almost like CoH supports many different playstyles and goals!
Tell me, where is the "sense of accomplishment" of grinding out 200 Fake Nemesis? it's certainly not challenging to twoshot bosses several levels below you, only to wait for them to respawn. Over and over again. On dozens of toons.
Getting HP/End accolades was not playing the game. It was pointless busywork that, in the case of PvPers, prevented them from playing the game as they wanted to because it was the cost of entry for participation.
The only thing grinding out these accolades compares to in your poor slippery slope argument is the incarnate grind. And guess what? Lots of people complained about only being able to get incarnate powers via trials, so devs added the solo incarnate content. There is no alternate way to earn accolade powers, and once you've earned them a few times, it gets stale and boring as sin.
Just a suggestion: a cold drink, a couple of hours and 7 friends helps make those grind-y badges a lot more fun, not to mention faster! :D
Just a suggestion: a cold drink, a couple of hours and 7 friends helps make those grind-y badges a lot more fun, not to mention faster! :D
Heck, even a duo can make plowing through some of them a whole lot more tolerable... That's how FlyingCodeMonkey and I used to do things like the Fake Nem and Overseer hunts.
The only one that really remained a massive pain in the rear, even with a few friends coming along for the ride, was getting the carnie Master Illusionists and their pets. THAT was still obnoxious, no matter how you sliced it.
I haven't read all the posts but was going to say something about having a way to pay (or show from City Info Tracker) for all the badges/accolades on a certain character. I had two "mains" getting all the badges that I could get with them. Granted I really stopped doing it with my "main" villain but my "main" (Energizing Ion) had all the badges you get (with a char. that started as a hero and not a praetorian). I would really not want to do the badge hunting thing again for all of those. :| :(
Other thoughts:
* Double or triple XP weeks (not just weekends :p)
* Definitely some sort of 'pack' that you buy that can allow certain things (like access to everything (itrials, etc...) with different "levels" of what you get).
But I didn't realize this was a PvP thing. No point in continuing it PvPer's and PvE'er's seldom see eye to eye.
Example: Badging in a PvP zone. PvE'er - just wants to badge and says so after being killed. PvP'er - You're in the Zone, fair game! They will not agree. I don't see the sense of accomplishment in killing the same schmo over and over again in a PvP zone, but I presume you do. Different strokes.
I wouldn't presume such things - not every PvPer did that.
It would also make bases ridiculously easy to outfit as you would have all the the explore badges that grant the teleport beacons OR or impossible because you weren't in SG mode when you received them.I remember having an issue with that. I went around and got a bunch of exploration badges but had forgotten to turn on SG mode. I just went back and stood on them again in SG and it worked.
Point of order: Guy Perfect wrote Sentinel+. I've done some research into going the opposite direction.
It's not just a PvP thing - it's plenty annoying / boring for anyone who doesn't like high amounts of repetition to grind defeat badges on multiple characters. That's why I only had the one main badge character.
I wouldn't presume such things - not every PvPer did that.
I remember having an issue with that. I went around and got a bunch of exploration badges but had forgotten to turn on SG mode. I just went back and stood on them again in SG and it worked.
The minute you say something like "That's not playing the game" you are automatically incorrect.*applause*
Yeah, about a 3 man team can burn through those defeat badges pretty quick. I was killing Tsoo solo and broadcast if anyone wanted to join and 2 people did. I had to kill a few more to make sure they got it, but we chatted whilst taking down those pesky Tsoo sorcerers. Great funThat was always the way I did the Fake badge. Otherwise you are probably going to be competing with 3 other people/teams for the same spawns.
Probably not, but the ones I met in PvP zones did.
(Not to mention the trash talk. Can't even post it here without it pancaking every other word. Let's say there was a lot of talk about same sex sexual preference, poultry excrement, how you were a British slang word for a cigarette or how everyone was actually a bundle of sticks used for fire starting. Also perhaps some question about how you preferred sexual relations with your mother.) Most of that seems endemic to online gaming, but especially PvP. So many examples on every gaming platform
Like you I didn't do defeats except on my main or if I wanted a particular accolade. 1000 rikiti monkies! Ugh.
But why should that unlock it on every single guy? It's not required to play the game. I had plenty of guys who never got the Atlas Medallion. They played just fine without it It's convenient, but not necessary.
But I'll go this far: Assuming we don't get our data back and if you have the sentinel+ files and they haven't had the checksum jacked with, (or maybe Badgehunter) we could use those to import badges and accolades on a character of the same name. Pay a small processing fee and you are good to go. Right back where you were when the game closed. That seems fair to me rather than global unlocks for everything.
I actually didn't know that. I just used a different character in the same SG to unlock them if I already had them. Mainly, because it was easier to track them as they would appear as you got them and there was less searching for the one you missed because you just didn't have it yet.That's probably better. Getting that badge announcement is a nice confirmation you actually stood on the right spot! :D
It was better at 1000 when it first came out it was 10k talk about ugh
I know! I can't imagine doing that. If we get the game back, I need to figure out how to get the healing badges for non-healing characters. I know it has something to do with the arena, but no details as it seemed tedious.
Well if they do I24 no more interrupt on the heal so that is good
If I remember correctly they do arena fight you and your buddy on one team the other guy against you they hit your buddy you heal him. These use to run heal parties in the arena never joined that is about as much as I remember
Also healing the NPC's in alignment missions when they take damage count fyi
ALL badges? That I'd be against. But if it were just for time-limited things like anniversaries or holiday events, that I could get behind. Mind you, just the ones that are purely for logging in. If the character has to DO something to get it, it should stay as is.Not bad...Me like ;D
I know! I can't imagine doing that. If we get the game back, I need to figure out how to get the healing badges for non-healing characters. I know it has something to do with the arena, but no details as it seemed tedious.
The Gladiator pet battles, I do believe. I think the Longbow Warden gladiator acquired from the 1400 PvP rep badge had a hefty heal, and that it counted when the pet fired it off.
No PvP for me. maybe I can set up enough accounts and run them from my PC's and then just do it that way with autopowers.
Ah...yeah, that would be a problem. No PvP for me. maybe I can set up enough accounts and run them from my PC's and then just do it that way with autopowers.
Healing badges/farming...
There were always options to doing it...the ones I remember:
* Arena Gladiator pet battles. Like someone already said, you (yourself) needed the Longbow Ballista 2 (?) pet which did the PBAoE heal which counted for you and as many as the other little pets that you can get. Then you'd have your friend (or 2nd account) gladiator's pets attack one (or more) of your pets but make sure you set your pets as passive/don't move so that they don't attack back. The Longbow will just continue to spam his heal and wa-la, you'll get your healing badge (after a long time of course). I want to say that even a portion of the heal went to the healing badges even if the pets were 100% healthy but I could be wrong about that.
* Get a few friends/random people who were Fire Controllers (or doms) with the Fire Imps. Get a map that has lava in it (the one I remember being a part of was the "Save Statesman from Tyrant" in the Peregrine Island "hero's hero" story arc I think. At the end, there are two pools of lava. Obviously clear the room/etc, but just have everyone stand in the lava (turning off all accolades/shields, etc...) and summon the imps and other pets. Set PBAoE heal on auto and that's about it.
* Similar thing to #2 but really only need 1 other person (or a 2nd account). Get a mission that has a +4 boss that has a melee attack that does a lot of damage. Get that boss by himself, get the person that does NOT need the healing badges to go into "Rest". This will make the person take 99% damage and have the other person just heal him. It's a bit tricky since you have to make sure you can heal fast enough before the boss takes that next 'big' swing at the target. The boss I used was a Rikti Swordsmen (?) +4 boss. He did that one big sword swing attack and brawl and that was it. By the time he used the big attack, I was fully healed so it worked out. This also works for a person that wants to get the damage received badges.
Personally, I don't see how the loss of the account data something insurmountable. It should be easy,What you're left with is the account ID, and all the CoX information (Characters on which servers, and all purchases, vet rewards, etc.). Then allow people to log into their NCSoft accounts, and get that unique ID. Create an account with the new owners of CoX, and enter that ID and it will transfer your old NCSoft information to your new account, and you have to enter your own Personal Information. If there is any problems (like "Someone stole my account!") the new owners can point at NCSoft and say that the problem is on their end, we had nothing to do with it.
- have NCSoft make a backup of the account data, then edit it as follows:
- Ensure that each account is given a unique and random identification (ID), preferably something like a CD Key (like: WI8WT-B32X9-JYULM-VGM81-1UYVB)
- Purge any account data that has any Personal Information (names, addresses, credit card numbers, etc.)
- Purge any information not related to CoX
P.S. When CoV came out, my friends and I played villains on Virtue (we enjoyed the pun), and mostly heroes on Victory. When Going Rogue came out, we dropped off of Virtue and played almost exclusively on Victory. And as far as the loss of CoX affecting the sales of GW2, I know of 2 copies of GW2 that didn't get bought because it had NCSoft on the box sometime after CoX shutdown was announced.
1. Account Data is more likely not available for legal reasons, not technical ones. NCSoft is a multinational corporation and this game was available in multiple countries. Retention and sale of personal and financial data varies from one jurisdiction to another. It might be legal in one but not another. It is likely, that NCSoft is erring on the side of caution to avoid legal entanglements. Ironwolf has stated on a number of occasions that account data is very unlikely.
I know! I can't imagine doing that. If we get the game back, I need to figure out how to get the healing badges for non-healing characters. I know it has something to do with the arena, but no details as it seemed tedious.Easiest way was to get the Healing Destiny power and stand in Mercy Island in the southernmost Arachnos base where a ton of troops are lined up. Set the power on auto and wait a few hours while you make lunch or something. Each casting did thousands of points of healing.
Easiest way was to get the Healing Destiny power and stand in Mercy Island in the southernmost Arachnos base where a ton of troops are lined up. Set the power on auto and wait a few hours while you make lunch or something. Each casting did thousands of points of healing.
Well, if you are actively in pursuit of Empath on a non-healer I assumed it would be a Badging character. As such, you'd have to switch sides to get all the badges anyway, so I just did it on one of my jaunts through the Rogue Isles.
What does SG Mode have to do with Empath?
There were also a set of SG badges/awards based on the amount of healing done.
Easiest way was to get the Healing Destiny power and stand in Mercy Island in the southernmost Arachnos base where a ton of troops are lined up. Set the power on auto and wait a few hours while you make lunch or something. Each casting did thousands of points of healing.
Yeah the SG Achievement badges let you buy inspires at your base. It could also improve resurrection. For my main badger, that would absolutely work, but I was hoping to combine the two tasks. I can do stuff grindy like this if I have to but I don't enjoy it so I like to get the most bang for my buck.
I never heard of this. I hope to try it out if and when CoX comes back!
If you want to do it for your SG, if I remember correctly, you could be in the Rogue Islands in SG mode as a vigilante (still hero, but falling). IF I remember correctly!
Standard Run I would slot with one -End, and Prestige Power Slide I would slot with one +Run, so I was covered whichever I chose.That's a good idea.
Either way, I would like some of the existing NPC costume parts to become purchasable. PPD powered armor and such.
I don't know... I think there is a certain status to have NPC costume components. the idea that it separates out the players from the NPCs helps to make the game a bit more immersive. you can't just clone your favourite NPC's look makes it more imperitive that the game is about you and your quest to save the city, not the PPD's, or Vanguards, or Arachnos's, etc... besides, if you really want to wear PPD power armor, there was always ToT
Or maybe I'm thinking of another powered armor-y thing?I'm pretty sure what are saying matched the story we were told regarding PPD Shell armor. I'm theorizing these were parts they had working before they gave up because of the arms or some other issue. Though running around in live with the purchased transform power they eventually gave, I really don't see where any significant collision / missing geometry would have been: The "glove" arm components are some bicep armor and the gun bracers and both seem sufficiently broken up from the shoulders and eachother.
I don't know... I think there is a certain status to have NPC costume components. the idea that it separates out the players from the NPCs helps to make the game a bit more immersive.Personally, I think having more components that match those of non-unique entities in the game world available make it *more* immersive. They provide immediate clear hints and questions about your background (be it that the piece is one from your former/current alligience or a trophy from enemies). And they can help solidify your connection to the setting in a concrete way. I give as the ultimate example the villain Arachnos archetypes: Many of those who enjoyed them had a great time acting and looking the part.
I never understood the collision fear anyway. Some collisions can be used for highly interesting looks. And if a part collides or shears in a way that doesn't look good, people simply won't use the combo so they don't look bad (and if they really do want to look bad, the random button generally produces more gruesome results anyway).Indeed. See my avatar - Roman helmet pieces plus Enforcer mask and jaw :)
If you want to do it for your SG, if I remember correctly, you could be in the Rogue Islands in SG mode as a vigilante (still hero, but falling). IF I remember correctly!Correct.
I'm pretty sure what are saying matched the story we were told regarding PPD Shell armor. I'm theorizing these were parts they had working before they gave up because of the arms or some other issue. Though running around in live with the purchased transform power they eventually gave, I really don't see where any significant collision / missing geometry would have been: The "glove" arm components are some bicep armor and the gun bracers and both seem sufficiently broken up from the shoulders and eachother.
I never understood the collision fear anyway. Some collisions can be used for highly interesting looks. And if a part collides or shears in a way that doesn't look good, people simply won't use the combo so they don't look bad (and if they really do want to look bad, the random button generally produces more gruesome results anyway).
Personally, I think having more components that match those of non-unique entities in the game world available make it *more* immersive. They provide immediate clear hints and questions about your background (be it that the piece is one from your former/current alligience or a trophy from enemies). And they can help solidify your connection to the setting in a concrete way. I give as the ultimate example the villain Arachnos archetypes: Many of those who enjoyed them had a great time acting and looking the part.
Been a while since I looked at them, but I seem to remember for example the chest piece just... stopping where the arms are supposed to connect, with exposed invisible backfacing polygons.I studied it a bit more:
Personally I'd be okay with starting from square one since leveling was always fun (and if everyone had to start from square one, that means there would be many people to team with at around the same level at the start of the reboot).here here... I was fine with the way freedm worked, with a mix of totally free items, vet items, and items locked behind paywalls. It presented a ood mix based on what you were prepared to invest into the game in both time and money.
As for CoH products, personally I'd prefer to pay a reasonable price up front and have everything unlocked than to deal with nickle and dime DLC.
As the Evil Emperor of German Chocolate, I will state that if we start with no character data the reason is that I have dipped each of your characters in chocolate, eaten them, and am rolling nude in their influence and enhancements.
I can see them offering some sort of incentive at the beginning to get folks back in game but if the user data is gone then the incentive should just be to play, not what you had before. Honestly I'll play no matter what. User data, no user data, incentive or no incentive I'll just be glad to be back in Paragon City!
I think we'll all be glad to get back to Paragon City. ;Dwhat he said
I think in all fairness to both sides, the new owners and returning players, maybe offer a pre-order deal....one level 50 unlocked at start up, all vet rewards, booster/costume packs unlocked, all pre-shutdown content unlocked. After release, these things with the exception of the level 50, can be sold in their own booster packs as they once were.
There is almost no one who doesn't want the game back before any and all other considerations.
But being human, we want whatever we can get. But, yeah, to have the game back would mean more to me than almost anything.
One concern I have, is that making character builds is likely going to be much harder, with the reduced population and in the case of a data wipe, a clean slate. (None are going to be floating around)
Levels can be gained fairly easily, but the enhancements/ios not-as much, so i'd much rather a measure be taken to make obtaining these somewhat more in the grasp of reality. Perhaps just a crapload of villain/hero merits when we start out?
That and veteran costume pieces would be nice.
Or you could just play without optimized builds until the economics restores everything. I don't think the game was really designed with the intention of everybody instantly having total selection of all possible enhancements -- it just worked out that way over time.
Early restoration will just be kind of like playing in one of those "one-green button" servers ... Liberty, perhaps?
Yes it was all one market, all factions, all servers. Same inventory no matter where you were.
Which was awesome if you played redside where the pop was always low.
Was that always the case? I would have sworn I'd seen barren wastelands in low population servers (maybe I'm just delusional)I believe it was Issue 18 things when all consignment houses on all sides were merged, so the wasteland you are recalling could have just been a flashback to the era before that.
Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
I'd suggest that the new ownership would be better off asking for more money upfront than nickel and diming players. I'd be willing to pay something like a full price box value for total I23 access than a month sub + 5 bucks for this, 5 bucks for that, 10 more for this, and to more to do that.
Furthermore, they could also bump up the monthly fee to 20 and no one would complain if it meant we got all the stuff we had and the team was working toward continuing the game. If they needed more money after that to finish I24 and /or move on to CoX 2, they can just ask. Look at the CoT Kickstarter (or the Zombicide 3) for evidence of what a community is willing to pay / donate to get something they want. Again, don't nickel and dime.
Thing is I will recruit new players, I can assure the new buyers they will get lots of NEW players as well as seasoned vets back cuz I won't relent. :)
I would like to see the following:
City Of Heroes: Basic Edition $25 - This includes the entire game CoH/CoV/Going Rogue. You would start out as a brand new player.. no vet rewards etc + 2000 Paragon points total
City Of Heroes: Revival Edition $45 - This includes everything from Basic Edition plus 50 costume unlock pieces and all the vet rewards + 3,600 Paragon points total
City Of Heroes: Revival Deluxe Edition - $65 Everything from Basic and Revival Editions and... all costumes unlocked + 5,200 Paragon points total
These seem like fair prices to me....shut up and take my $65.
Burnt Toast, I like some of your ideas. However, I don't like the idea that people who are VIP in CoH get advanced perks for CoH2. I'm sure I will purchase at least some time in CoH, and hopefully I'll be able to play for free after that. But assuming that CoH2 is announced fairly soon after CoH is bought, I will likely save money for that. While I understand the idea behind rewarding people who are committed to the franchise as a whole, I don't know that people like me who are committed but want to save money up front to spend on CoH 2 later should be "penalized" (in quotes since I'm not really being penalized, it's just that others are being elevated above me). I just have mixed feelings about it.
I don't know, maybe give nobody nothing.
...there is NO proof (Aside from Mr. Anecdotal stating he spent x amount of money) that free players provided any money to CoH whereas if you are subscribed/VIP that's a guaranteed monthly amount. With CoH1 being stuck in maintenance mode... you need an incentive for people to pay and to continue to pay for 2.5 years...
I thought several devs were quoted saying CoH was MUCH more profitable under F2P than subscription?
This may sound odd or stupid, but here goes.
Do you remember standing in WW, and having a miscellaneous "bot" offering influence at a price? I'm sure you do and I'm sure that company selling the influence made a killing. Maybe this is something they, the new owners or dev team, should do instead of letting these outside non-affiliated companies take money away from the game. Lets say a billion influence is $8.00, and each billion after that the rate drops a little, with a max amount of 20 billion for $120.00. Many of the returning vets will want their maxed out all purple slotted level 50s back ASAP. Using the number that Burnt Toast used of 20,000 returning players, lets say half use this option and buy 20 billion each. That's $1.2 MILLION generated. Now, I'm sure most of, if not all, returning Vets will be VIP or have subscribed accounts at the normal $15 per month. That's another $300,000, if all 20,000 Vets subscribe. Adding in the purchase of the "new" returning game at $65.00 each (this seems to be the average cost of a new game at any retailer). That's $1.3 MILLION. That makes $2.8 MILLION in revenue, not counting the purchase of power packs/costume booster packs. Granted those numbers would "float" each month as not as many people would need 20 billion influence plus what they earn via game play.
A better idea is to just sell the purples in the cash store, make them character bound and let people bypass the hyperinflation you propose.
yeah I proposed that on the CoT site a while back but it was said to will end up being the CAUSE of inflation. Despite that hyperinflation happened as is in COH/COV without it and gave rise to the inf. bots selling inf. so people can afford tot buy the good stuff off the market anytime soon without resorting to farming and or hoping they are fortunate enough to get a good drop to flip. Looks like the census was there is not way to control hyperinflation on a market and any attempts to do so will be labeled as the cause of inflation and thus should not be tried. Guess there is only room on the hill for only one cause of hyperinflation.If you make them character bound and not tradeable they can't end up on the market.
*shrugs*
Desperate for the prices to rise in the market? This is a great way to inflate the price without increasing purchasing power.
First, there will be no purples for them to buy until they drop so they won't have anything to spend the inf they just bought on.
If inf is easily bought, then bids for the most desirable items will all be exceptionally high, probably near the cap.
Also this puts player who just play at a significant disadvantage. Their inf earning rate didn't change but you just made everything inflated in price.
Pumping in extra cash without increasing base supply is a terrible idea.
A better idea is to just sell the purples in the cash store, make them character bound and let people bypass the hyperinflation you propose.
If you make them character bound and not tradeable they can't end up on the market.
I do agree that inflation in the market is inevitable for a number of reasons but starting that way is a bad idea. Overtime people will have inf and be able to deal.
I would prefer that it not be done at all but if the playerbase and the dev's want to change real world money for purples then character bound (first toon who claims it from email) is the least damaging in my opinion.
Would it be too much to ask for 24/7 ski chalet access? :D
I may be the only one who thinks this, but I hope that if the game does get restarted they don't fire up a bunch of 2x xp weeks and toss everyone lvl 50s (unless we get user data back). If there's just an orgy of loot, farming, AE teams, DFB lfm!!!, etc. then I think people would just get burned out in a couple weeks.
I'd rather just have the game on and team with folks happy to be back and get their xp the old-fashioned way. It'd be cool to start fresh and run with I24 the 'we fixt everything' backbone. At least for the first few weeks.
Then, once the honeymoon fervor starts to die down you unload your 2x xp, rikti invasions, summer blockbusters, ToTing, etc (one per week) to carry things through for a few more months. Hopefully, by then there'll be some news released that gets people fired up for more.
I feel that if a 2nd chance is granted, we should be in it for the long haul: CoX2 that might be a couple years away. Not just blowing our loads on trying to purple out our WS by the end of day one.
I hated those "1M inf, 8USD. All best gold from goldfarmers.com" bots (and the inflation they helped create)...
Were those actually for real? How the heck did they work? -- I just assumed it was a universal spam-scam
(not that I would have cared either way -- they just annoyed me like all spamming, but I neither care if people buy inf or don't -- I wasn't interested and wouldn't be)
I was shocked when a friend told me they purchased inf and a power level through one of those services. I asked him if he felt comfortable giving them his credit card...to which he told me he didn't...that it was done through paypal. I found that interesting because the main reason I heard on the boards for not doing it was because they would steal your credit card info etc...
Apparently he had used them for years and just never told anyone. I did some further researching and actually knew quite a few people who used them (most people used them for just inf). $5 for 1000 million (which I find funny they called it that instead of 1 billion hehe)....
I was shocked when a friend told me they purchased inf and a power level through one of those services. I asked him if he felt comfortable giving them his credit card...to which he told me he didn't...that it was done through paypal. I found that interesting because the main reason I heard on the boards for not doing it was because they would steal your credit card info etc...
Apparently he had used them for years and just never told anyone. I did some further researching and actually knew quite a few people who used them (most people used them for just inf). $5 for 1000 million (which I find funny they called it that instead of 1 billion hehe)....
Personally, I never used them either. I earned every influence or level 50 I ever had and I had many. I know MANY who did, including several high ranking SG's....I assume they bought influence and converted it to prestige. When I brought up this topic earlier on, I was merely thinking of away to add revenue for the development/profit of CoH and/or CoH2. Many people just throw money to this type of quick leveling or quick influence....I view this no different than that of the AE Farmers for Hire. Anyway, my point was why not let the game reap the bounty? As far as the inflation in the market place, that will happen regardless. Too many people play the market just to set the prices of IO's or salvage high to pay for their builds. I was told of this by a former SG leader. He would place something on the market, take an alt account and re-buy it for say 999,999,999. Afterward he would re-list it for the same amount.In the PM I was told that, while the mod agreed with me on the principle, I wasn't allowed to make reference to the idea of using gold farming sites in the forums. It was one of the more entertaining modding a that I received over the years. :)
CoX Legacy:
1. Subscription, to fund further efforts and pay the new developers for work on that game.
2. The subscription should include all the bells and whistles, except things you get by unlocking; that stuff should stay the same. The bells and whistles soften the blow given when people's old alts were consigned forever to the dustbin of gaming history. Which, right now, I would guess is 90% probability of what's going to happen.
SoAs and Kheldians should be included in this, definitely.
3. At least ten character slots open at launch, with the option to buy more.
4. I would like the option to buy a disk or disks, I know a lot of people like Steam but I despise my computer being monitored by an outside party. I would happily pay for these disks, just like I did all my CoX disks.
Then while all this goes on and people are happily reunited with their alts, CoX 2 goes into production.
At the risk of going slightly off topic, has it been estimated how long it would take the game to go live, if the image/whatever NCsoft says they have had to be reverse engineered to get everything out?Some of the Save COH threads say as little as six to eight months, though honestly I'd look for it to be closer to 14 to line up bandwidth and server hardware.
Personally, I never used them either. I earned every influence or level 50 I ever had and I had many. I know MANY who did, including several high ranking SG's....I assume they bought influence and converted it to prestige. When I brought up this topic earlier on, I was merely thinking of away to add revenue for the development/profit of CoH and/or CoH2. Many people just throw money to this type of quick leveling or quick influence....I view this no different than that of the AE Farmers for Hire. Anyway, my point was why not let the game reap the bounty? As far as the inflation in the market place, that will happen regardless. Too many people play the market just to set the prices of IO's or salvage high to pay for their builds. I was told of this by a former SG leader. He would place something on the market, take an alt account and re-buy it for say 999,999,999. Afterward he would re-list it for the same amount.
I didnt get burned out in 8 years of constant play... They could throw EVERYTHING at me and I wouldnt get burned out..;D AGREED ;D
There is NO PROOF that CoH Freedom was more profitable BECAUSE of free players... it was simply more profitable. I offer this reasoning:
VIP players made it more profitable... I know I did. I gave myself an allowance of "only" $50 a month to spend on the Paragon Market every month...guess who was bad and over spent most months.. Yep.. Me LOL! I figured it out right after the announcement that my CoH budget went from $45 a month (I had three accounts) to $120 a month. CURSE YOU PARAGON MARKET! :) So do I think it was the freebies bringing the majority of new funds into the game... No I think it was a lot of VIPs wanting more... more.. more :)
Regarding the Premium and VIPs in my proposed plans for the return of CoH1 and bonuses for CoH2.
Let's say "only" 20,000 players come back (Where do I get that number from??? Well CoH1 is a 10 year old game that is going to be stuck in maintenance mode... it doesn't have the star power it once had. I wouldn't be surprised if many ex players have given up on MMOs or that they will be excited...but wait for CoH2.
So 20,000 players... Now let's say this entire deal costs 2 million. I think that's a fair price. So let's look at how this will work:
20,000 players... at $9.99 a month will take 10 months to pay off the PURCHASE cost...this does not include servers...staff..etc. So let's round that up to an even year to call everything paid off WOOHOO!
So 1 year of players...just to break even.
Now let's say HALF of those returning players are VIP... so they are paying $5 more a month...which goes towards CoH2... that's only $600,000... which will not buy you much towards development when you consider staff, computers, an office, etc... Well Poop.
So now we move into year 2 (I am giving them 2.5 years from relaunch of CoH1 to launch of CoH2...which is a tight schedule).
Year 2 allows more sub money to be funneled into CoH2 ... since now we are just maintaining CoH1 and have paid of the purchase price etc.
So yes... it makes complete sense to offer incentives to people who for a year support CoH2 with an extra $5 in their sub..and yes it makes sense to give them even more incentive to continue to do so to help fund CoH2.
Two things to think about:
1. Had CoH never closed... and you wanted to be VIP... there is NO change in the amount you will be spending on your subscription, but a lot to be gained when CoH2 comes.
2, The financial differences over a 2.5 year period:
Premium cost: $299.70
VIP cost: $449.70
$150 more over the course of 2.5 years... $60 per year more. That's 2 nights at a movie btw :) ALSO - There will be no NEED to save for CoH2 if you are VIP from relaunch of CoH1 because you are getting a FREE copy of CoH2.
I think it important to not think about "ohhh they are getting this or that" and focus more on... "Oh I am helping support a game I love...and a game that I will love."
Just to throw a comment out there --
Although the statement is true that "There is NO PROOF that CoH Freedom was more profitable BECAUSE of free players", the reality is that free players gave paying players more people to play with. More people to play with gave more reason to keep paying, if you are so inclined, as many of us were.....
I didnt get burned out in 8 years of constant play... They could throw EVERYTHING at me and I wouldnt get burned out..
I did. There was about a two-month period when I didn't play, because I had gotten to the point where the game just seemed like an endless string of "Go to point A, and beat people up; go to point B, and beat people up; go to point C, and beat people up; etc." I'm looking forward to CoH's return, but I wish these games had more depth than just the combat. It'd be nice to be able to help citizens caught in disasters, or pull them out of burning or collapsed buildings, or something.
I did. There was about a two-month period when I didn't play, because I had gotten to the point where the game just seemed like an endless string of "Go to point A, and beat people up; go to point B, and beat people up; go to point C, and beat people up; etc." I'm looking forward to CoH's return, but I wish these games had more depth than just the combat. It'd be nice to be able to help citizens caught in disasters, or pull them out of burning or collapsed buildings, or something.
I did. There was about a two-month period when I didn't play, because I had gotten to the point where the game just seemed like an endless string of "Go to point A, and beat people up; go to point B, and beat people up; go to point C, and beat people up; etc." I'm looking forward to CoH's return, but I wish these games had more depth than just the combat. It'd be nice to be able to help citizens caught in disasters, or pull them out of burning or collapsed buildings, or something.
Save the plane falling from the sky! That would be pretty cool.
Pretty late to the ball game here, busy work week. All the bogus RL stuff aside so far it seems re-leveling is a none issue. As far as vet rewards go I think a premium pack is an excellent idea, even if it somewhat costly those of us who played from open beta till end know that it is a minor investment all things considered. Please for the love of god offer some sort of name saver special I would pay out the you know what to have my old favorite name back...
If there is anyway you can implement a feature allowing us to re-use names we already hold I'm sure the whole naming fiasco would be much more limited than what happened originally. I dread having to throw an "agent" or "operative" in front of a name I already have again. I'll do it, I swear I'll do it, I just would love not to ;).
The more I think about the entire community actually starting from scratch the more excited I get. I miss the days where people accepted one another. The whole clique mentality would be revived instantly if you offered lvl 50's off the bat leaving new players lost and confused and possibly without guidance. If we all start to rise again I think we'll have a much friendlier and informed community/fan base. Plus GALAXY PARK WILL BE COOL AGAIN! God I miss that being the main RP spot...
Anywho one last final thought, please allow us to reserve names -before- the game is released. Just one. That way the people who do connect first and go on a name saving binge won't totally ruin the parade. I realize this kind of ties into the other name stuff but we all know how crucial names are to our heroes/villains. Nobody wants XxBat_ManxX18939 it really ruins the feel/desire to continue playing.
First, let me state that I almost always play heroes.
Why is my first impulse, on reading this, to make sure I'm first in line for the game and steal all the major player names I can get? Holding them ransom until the player can provide me with a purple set or two. :)
I have the perfect name... you better not steal it...
W0lv3r1n3
HANDS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:P
lmao. I presume he had the burnt toast colored uniform from the 80s.
I was actually rummaging through my old names and I only had maybe a dozen that were decent. I made a lot of characters with crappy names.
I just had a random thought.
If we do start with no user data, how are you guys going to handle the SO to IO conversion?
We won't really have huge sums of inf. to go purchase all the IO placeholders we normally did (or get them from the vast stores we have in our bases). You won't be able to borrow them from another character you have. No transfer of funds either.
Will you farm on SOs until you have enough for basic IOs and then just work drops for the recipes?
Will you AE farm for tickets or find that one mish you can handle solo and farm there for drops?
Or will your first character be a total farmer so that you can build back up your fortune?
Do you PL and trade that for drops/tickets?
Do you try incarnate stuff before finishing IOing out your character?
Starting in 2008 ..snip...it would feel rather awkward.
Yes this game will not revert to sunshine and rainbows, but it is our chance to build the fair and balanced Eutopia this game could have easily been with the right guidance.
I just had a random thought.
If we do start with no user data, how are you guys going to handle the SO to IO conversion?
We won't really have huge sums of inf. to go purchase all the IO placeholders we normally did (or get them from the vast stores we have in our bases). You won't be able to borrow them from another character you have. No transfer of funds either.
Will you farm on SOs until you have enough for basic IOs and then just work drops for the recipes?
Will you AE farm for tickets or find that one mish you can handle solo and farm there for drops?
Or will your first character be a total farmer so that you can build back up your fortune?
Do you PL and trade that for drops/tickets?
Do you try incarnate stuff before finishing IOing out your character?
The more I think about the entire community actually starting from scratch the more excited I get. I miss the days where people accepted one another. The whole clique mentality would be revived instantly if you offered lvl 50's off the bat leaving new players lost and confused and possibly without guidance.
Name theft doesn't really concern me either
I don't know, maybe give nobody nothing.Awww...no one made a joke about the double negative? This means give everyone something! 8)
As I have said before regarding enhancements:The best thing about selling them is that you immediately create a supply to equal a demand. The rule of market is supply and demand. If there is more demand than supply, the price goes up. The further out of balance this is, the higher the price gets. Your fairy wings situation is a great example of this. Once the supply exceeded demand, you couldn't give them away.
In the paragon market I would like to see ALL the previous enhancements offered at a SERIOUSLY reduced rate (Think 20%) as well as the sale of Alignment Merits at a VERY reasonable price. This will allow for an influx of enhancements in the beginning which will help stimulate the economy. Both the Revival Edition and the Revival Deluxe Edition would award your first 10 toons X amount of reward merits (9,999 seems like a fair number to me) this will allow for players to buy recipes to start the market off as well as their toons.
I feel we need to stimulate the economy and supply as much as possible after the relaunch of CoH1...and think deeply discounted enhancements on the Paragon Market as well as the bonus merits offered to the 2 versions of CoH: Revival ... will greatly increase the supply. There is going to be hyper inflated prices in the beginning no matter what we do... remember when WentWorths opened and so did the costume piece drops? I bought a pair of fairy wings for a friend because she wanted them so bad... I paid... 20 million. Before the announcement of closure came...people deleted those recipes because you couldn't even get 100 inf for them. When CoH1 starts back up...it will definitely be a seller's market, but just wait 3 or 4 months and prices will have stabilized.
The best thing about selling them is that you immediately create a supply to equal a demand. The rule of market is supply and demand. If there is more demand than supply, the price goes up. The further out of balance this is, the higher the price gets. Your fairy wings situation is a great example of this. Once the supply exceeded demand, you couldn't give them away.
So immediately satisfying demand can only lower prices by this rule.
Burnt Toast,
I agree with almost everything you said except for your regrettable lack of understanding of how awesome the names i picked for my characters were. I clearly was the NAME WINNER! I forgive your oversight as I am sure you acted in ignorance of my recognized awesomeness in alt-naming. Go forth and sin no more! I magnanimously forgive your slight because of my awesome awesomeness and my general proclivity for amity.
PS. You point is well taken that they may just be awesome to us but that is the only person they need to be awesome to. Like I have said before, if someone uses a name I like/want, I'll come up with another. No big deal.
Everyone is so concerned over their names... and personally I think for very little reason....
I will tell you the name I wanted for my main toon back when CoH was alive.... Burnt Reynolds (Get it.. a play on Burt Reynolds)... Anyways... guess what... someone had that name... #$%*$%*#!!!!!! (That's me swearing). Ooooh I know.... Burnt Ward... taken. Burnt Bacharach....taken. Wait for it... Burnt Ernie...taken.. ARE YOU FU****G KIDDING ME!?!?! Yeah that's what I was thinking too.
So while I was logged in the character creation screen and growing ever so hateful of my fellow CoH players who had taken every fricking Burt name and turned it into Burnt... I decided to make me some breakfast.... toast and hot cocoa MMMM. So I have a toaster oven and not a toaster (I like it better than a toaster). Anyways.. I am heating my water for cocoa...throw the bread in toaster oven and it comes to me..... BURNT LANCASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I run to my computer... type it in... BOOOM!!!!!!!!!!! Name taken.. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I sit there for a few minutes... Burnt Burnt Burnt Burnt Burnt... What name can I use with the word Burnt in it.....
Sniff..sniff..sniff.. what's burning... $%#*%#$!!!! my toast!!!!!
And that is how my main character got his name: I Burnt The Toast
That name alone...set the way for every single character I made after that.
I just had a random thought.
If we do start with no user data, how are you guys going to handle the SO to IO conversion?
We won't really have huge sums of inf. to go purchase all the IO placeholders we normally did (or get them from the vast stores we have in our bases). You won't be able to borrow them from another character you have. No transfer of funds either.
Will you farm on SOs until you have enough for basic IOs and then just work drops for the recipes?
Will you AE farm for tickets or find that one mish you can handle solo and farm there for drops?
Or will your first character be a total farmer so that you can build back up your fortune?
Do you PL and trade that for drops/tickets?
Do you try incarnate stuff before finishing IOing out your character?
Another hint to add to the above is if you have patience you can easily just AE farm and buy up rare salvage. Save it, sell it at a later date for 100x the price you acquired it at. I made close to a billion doing this except ae was not around at the time so I just bought a holy sh*t ton of rare salvage off the market thinking I'd wait a couple weeks for prices to spike and re-sell. Well I forgot about all of it as I bought it all up on alts, a year later and my jaw dropped when I got bored to play them :P obviously with how many players know about proper farming these days you won't have to wait a year, more like a couple months.
I'd like to see some kind of 'head start' period for those of us that can submit valid Sentinel+ files.
If we have to lose everything from the old game, we should at least have a 'first shot' at recreating our stuff before a flood of newbies show up, and then later vanish, tying up good names.
1) Low initial purchase to download the launcher, no more than $15 - This makes everyone a 'Premium' player
2) Discounted purchase of Paragon Points/Tokens/Codes/Etc before launch, then go back to standard prices after launch - maybe 2 to 2.5X the benefit
3) Low VIP subscription - $5 per month
Or just make it a $15 purchase with a $5 monthly subscription with enough points/tokens/etc that you'd start out with at least 30 rewards tokens (ie 72 month veteran)
This all sounds pretty half decent. Another thing really feels like maybe we should reevaluate what is and isn't VIP. For example, I owned Going Rogue and that made the alignment system open even whilst F2P, but no one will own it now so... why not just pretend we're all owners of going rogue? It feels like it's more fair than expecting everyone to have a box, receipt, etc.
Personally I really think IOs as a premium thing is kinda mean when some powersets shine soo much less without them - but if its a low sub, like 5$/mo, then it doesn't feel so prohibitive.
Just to make sure even as I say this nothing gets misunderstood though: game at all back > no game, just preferences. I doubt if it's revived from this effort anyone involved will set up a situation that hurts the vets - after all, all of those involved are part of that same community :)
I'm working off the premise that they can't alter what Premium or VIP provide, so make everyone at least a Premium. Keep the monthly costs low to reflect that this is a static game.
My issue isnt getting names.. or even leveling.. Its getting all 67 slots IO'd all over again.. on 40 plus toons..The best part might be that you won't be alone. Something tells me that there will be huge efforts to get characters back to where they were. This will be invaluable to me. A group effort to get our characters back kinda sounds like the CoH spirit to me actually. I plan to jump right into the middle of it and be a "dirty PL'er" with all my heart. :D
Im really really hoping for character data.. because it will seriously affect my commitment to play going forward.. especially with the long term future unknown.. I would hate to build all that back up again and in a few years.. POOOF gone again.. especially if there is no way for met to host or run my own server.. no way..
The only reason I say Going Rogue more solidly is because it was something that was already disentangled from Premium somewhat. Of course, if you put it in the store for 0 cash moneys, this also works out to be the same :)
But definitely, static game, lower cost, and hopefully some way to recover from losin' loads.
The best part might be that you won't be alone. Something tells me that there will be huge efforts to get characters back to where they were. This will be invaluable to me. A group effort to get our characters back kinda sounds like the CoH spirit to me actually. I plan to jump right into the middle of it and be a "dirty PL'er" with all my heart. :D
Hmm... I was also working from the premise that CoH/CoV/GR were all part of the Premium access package. So access to GR goodies needs a retail code? If so, yeah $0 to no more than $5 for the code would be fine. There's a lot of fun toys in all that.
And what about those of us who played just as much but didn't put our characters on Sentinel, or lost their files to virus/corruption/drive crash?
I'd say that was unfortunate but not a reason to deny those who had better fortune an opportunity.
Sounds to me that what you are saying is that possession of a data file (be it original, copied, modified, or new) is valid reason for a person to start out loaded with everything they had while the 'less fortunate' can go pound sand.
You have my meaning exactly. I see no reason to move us all down to the lowest common denominator.
That said, I'd agree to a reasonable for to import my characters back in. I don't need the salvage, influence, etc. I can earn what I had back in short order. But the characters represent eight and a half years of my life.
The most important thing to me in getting character data is attracting as many Vets to the game as possible...
The overwhelming opinion we have seen so far is that Game > Stuff
I think this is your blind spot. You seem to be more concerned about the older players (and rebuilding the past) than bringing in new players and building a larger playerbase for the future.
After the first month of 'new shiny' wears off, we'll be back down to lower numbers than I23 when it came out.
After the first month of 'new shiny' wears off, we'll be back down to lower numbers than I23 when it came out.
I think this is your blind spot. You seem to be more concerned about the older players (and rebuilding the past) than bringing in new players and building a larger playerbase for the future.
I'm only concerned that players who devoted time and money will be less excited to devote money all over again to something they know won't be around forever, and will have a hard time believing is there to stay if they start as a player would have for the first time in i23.
If nothing else I paid for Going Rogue (alignment system, prae characters) cape and aura access at level 1, and a boatload of costumes. I will be the first to say I respect they cant get our account data, but I would appreciate summat more than just starting my account from scratch.
I'll accept if it's impossible, but I won't be very happy.
Let's assume you are correct. So what?
I'd just like my characters reloaded because some of those costumes cannot be re-created. They contain costume pieces that you can no longer select in the tailor. Beyond that, I want the return of the emotional investment I put into those characters.
I'm only concerned that players who devoted time and money will be less excited to devote money all over again to something they know won't be around forever, and will have a hard time believing is there to stay if they start as a player would have for the first time in i23.
If nothing else I paid for Going Rogue (alignment system, prae characters) cape and aura access at level 1, and a boatload of costumes. I will be the first to say I respect they cant get our account data, but I would appreciate summat more than just starting my account from scratch.
I'll accept if it's impossible, but I won't be very happy.
This. I'm having a hard time justifying why I should put money into this game -again- when they plan to shut it down -again-. I've said it numerous times how little I could care about 1.5, mainly because I have massive doubts you could port all the things veteran CoX players want and expect into a new engine that actually runs properly within a year. I would really appreciate a very detailed plan as to what they are going to achieve and by what date. If I'm going to pay out the wazoo to get all my stuff back into running order and it's not carried into 1.5, what exactly is the point? Not trying to be pessimistic but just a realist. I love this game more than any I've ever played, started at open beta and played to the bitter end. I really don't feel like going through that same situation... Fool me once kinda thing.
I think this is your blind spot. You seem to be more concerned about the older players (and rebuilding the past) than bringing in new players and building a larger playerbase for the future.
This sounds like a job for someone more familiar with icon. If NPC mode can't select the pieces, I would be seriously surprised. barring that, costume files can be edited. Do you have screens? :)
Oh yes, I've got lots of screen shots, videos captured with FRAPS, and of course the Sentinel+ files.
Dont know how you made the leap that far.. how does wanting long term veterans like myself to regain what they played and enjoyed some for 8 years actively prevent bringing in new players and building a larger playerbase for the future..
You game of connect the dots seems to be missing A LOT of dots..
i can see the influence sellers making a mint..
Fair point, I should have said "I think this is your blind spot"... because you seem to have one.
That said, it's not much of a 'leap'. You obsess about your files on any thread that even tangentially mentions this topic. You remind us how much time and emotion you put into them. And honestly, you seem to think you are a champion for veterans, as if we handed you the reigns to give us the game you think we want. Newsflash: there are a lot of veterans who want to get back to the game. I played the game for 8 years too. I have plenty of 50's I spent hundreds if not thousands of hours on. You don't speak for me, or the majority of us. You're not special in that regard. Multiple veterans have come forward to say they would miss their characters, but getting back into the game is more important to them.
As I understand them, Sentinel files were set up by the Titan Network to help save toons for one-way uses into Demorecords and ParagonWiki, not as a revolving door between gaming platforms. I don't recall a mention that they could ever be used to bring toons back into the game. But some people won't let go of that idea.
My biggest problem with the Sentinel files is they are computer files autonomous from the master servers and computers. They are not secure. Several people have posted that they could be manipulated or modified, or reused to generate multiple duplicate IOs and influence assuming they could translate back. The files could be sold to other people. They can be corrupted. I'm not an expert on malware so maybe someone could answer if they could be infected? We only have one mirror of i23, not the master code. If one file were to damage the i23 image, how much damage could that do? Would we have to get new servers? Would we all have to start over again from scratch with a backup i23? Is a single costume piece, or billions in digital currency, or a complete set of purple/PvP IO's worth all that? Not to me.
I forget, are costume details in sentinel plus? If not, screenshots and some patience and someone could prooobably figure it out.
You obsess about your files on any thread that even tangentially mentions this topic.
And honestly, you seem to think you are a champion for veterans, as if we handed you the reigns to give us the game you think we want.
I played the game for 8 years too. I have plenty of 50's I spent hundreds if not thousands of hours on. You don't speak for me, or the majority of us. You're not special in that regard.
Multiple veterans have come forward to say they would miss their characters, but getting back into the game is more important to them.
Yes, Sentinel saved multiple costumes for the character. A quick glance shows that it's not the same format as the game's own save/load costume feature, but it's legible enough that I'm sure someone would attempt to write a converter, if demand for it is high.
I have a feeling, aside from my main which I plan to play to 50, all my other toons will be PLd. I know what I want.. I know what I had...so that whole "You won't know how to play your toons blah blah" crap won't be an issue (Not that it truly ever was for me). I think I have my toons narrowed down to 12... so aside from my farmer and my main... that's only 10 toons I will be PLing. I will prolly just dual box it and farm most of my toons myself.Pretty much the same here with the number. I think I only had about 15 or so lvl 50s I played anyway. (not much of an alt-holic apparently) So I wouldn't be surprised if there are only about 10 of them I would want back right away.
There is NO plan to shut down CoHi23 ...let's make that clear first of all. It has been stated numerous times that the goal is to keep CoHi23 up and running for as long as humanly possible. Heck they are even looking into Windows 9 compatibility because Windows 7 will no longer be supported after 2020... 6 years from now.This should be mentioned more often. I think it is one of the more important points. The people working on this want CoH back...for good. CoHi23 is not a temporary thing.
My biggest problem with the Sentinel files is they are computer files autonomous from the master servers and computers. They are not secure. Several people have posted that they could be manipulated or modified, or reused to generate multiple duplicate IOs and influence assuming they could translate back.That's not really the problem with them. Apparently it is very difficult to alter them without it being detected.
That's not really the problem with them. Apparently it is very difficult to alter them without it being detected.
The problem is more the probability that they would cause big issues in the game.
I agree the discussion has gotten out of hand but I don't recall seeing any threats by anyone to not come back to the game.
I think a paid early bird period might be the answer here. It would help defray the cost of restarting the game and give people a shot at getting their character names back.
Believe me, no matter what happens, I'd go right back to paying that monthly subscription fee.
It has been stated, repeatedly by Codewalker, that the Sentinel files are not useful for importing characters back into the game. They would result in broken characters. They were meant for private servers, not a commercial relaunch and as a last resort at that. For example:I don't mind people saying they want their characters back. If people are allowed to say they want everyone to lose their characters, then it should also work in reverse.
The badge that grants Oroborus (Entrusted with the Secret) creates unlock when you earn it. Importing the character would give you the badge, but not the unlock. Further, since you already have the badge you can't re-earn it. This is the same with the mission unlocks as well. The data was exported since it basically just pulled data from the character info screen in some way and not stuff that was stored server side.
This has been stated multiple times. I'm pretty sure in this thread.
I'd like my characters back as well. But it DOESN'T MATTER WHAT WE WANT. IT MATTERS WHAT IS POSSIBLE.
AT THIS TIME, character data is not available. Sentinel files are not useful.
That means we start from scratch. Until something changes, there is not point in filling threads up with explaining that you want them back. Really. You want them back? Yes, we know.
Telling us how attractive it would be veterans? Pointless. It has been discussed ad nauseam since March. Nate Downes has been reading the threads, he knows what you want.
Telling us you won't play? Well, we'll miss you and you can always come back later if you want.
You want all the stuff back you bought? Me too. But right now we have ZERO information on what offers we will get if any to get all that stuff back. Several ideas were floated earlier in this thread. Maybe that will happen, maybe it won't. We will have to wait.
Really, the bottom line is that we want as much as we can get as cheaply as we can get as fast we can get to get us where we were when the game closed. That is really all you have to say. But I bet they know that already.
I don't mind people saying they want their characters back. If people are allowed to say they want everyone to lose their characters, then it should also work in reverse.
I don't mind people saying they want their characters back. If people are allowed to say they want everyone to lose their characters, then it should also work in reverse.
I would just as soon people realized that it doesn't matter whether some people want a clean slate or their characters back.So it doesn't really matter either way. That's why I don't mind people saying they want their characters back.
I am 100% positive that if they can get them back they will. If they can't, they won't. People who want a clean slate are just as likely to be disappointed as you would be if we can't. At the moment, they are more likely to get what they want, but not because they request it.
Nice strawman. No one has said they want everyone to lose their characters.That's not true. Quite a few people said that in the big thread.
That's not true. Quite a few people said that in the big thread.
Post quotes, or drop it.Well no. You're only saying that because you know that thread is a billion pages long! :P This is kinda the thread to talk about that subject to so it's weird to "drop it" here.
Not a single post I read in the big thread said anything to the effect of "I hope we all lose our characters and have to start over." You might find one, maybe, but you will not find 'quite a few'.You've somehow missed all the "I would prefer we start with a clean slate" posts?
I wouldn't mind if we started with a clean slate... BUT all I care is that we re-start. I just want to play CoH with or without my old toons doesn't matter to me. That is not me saying I hope we start with nothing...that is me saying I am not greedy and will take whatever we can get.We agree. You weren't the type I was talking about.
I'll be thankful for whatever we get...end of story.Me as well. But we are both hoping for more than we have now, yes? Does us not being thankful for Icon and wanting more make us "greedy"? Icon is better than nothing after all.
Well no. You're only saying that because you know that thread is a billion pages long! :P This is kinda the thread to talk about that subject to so it's weird to "drop it" here.You've somehow missed all the "I would prefer we start with a clean slate" posts?
No I'm saying it because I know that is not the general attitude of the players that we want to erase everyone's time and effort they put into CoH1.Agreed. The general attitude is "we'll take what we can get". That's the overwhelming majority. Those aren't who I'm talking about. I'm talking about the ones who openly hope for us all to lose our characters so other people will play a way that makes them happy. Anyone responding to those posts is usually insulted.
What I am responding to (and would like you to drop) are the continual comments about how we all supposedly want to proactively erase all of our stuff, because that is not the reality. I have not seen a single post to that effect, though I have seen plenty of people demonstrate maturity in accepting they will very likely have to start over and/or don't want to get all their stuff back unless everyone can get their stuff back.I never said we all want to erase the characters. Not sure what you are talking about. There really isn't anything for me to "drop" there since I don't say that in the first place.
What I am responding to (and would like you to drop) are the continual comments about how we all supposedly want to proactively erase all of our stuff, because that is not the reality. I have not seen a single post to that effect, though I have seen plenty of people demonstrate maturity in accepting they will very likely have to start over and/or don't want to get all their stuff back unless everyone can get their stuff back.I don't see why a person who is openly hoping for something that would be a huge positive should stop when a person hoping for a negative is allowed to express their opinion.I never said we all want to erase the characters. Not sure what you are talking about. There really isn't anything for me to "drop" there since I don't say that in the first place.
I'm talking about the ones who actually express a hope that we start over with a "clean slate". I.E. ...that we all lose our characters....that's what that means.
Hoping for us to lose our characters is hoping that a great many people will be unhappy in some way.
I doubt they've actually thought about what their wishes would mean to other players who may have been greatly attached to their characters.
...
Hoping for us to lose our characters is hoping that a great many people will be unhappy in some way. I think I have a moral high ground on that one.
I look at it like this... if the account data is not recoverable... I would still be content starting over. Know why? Because I'm not an ungrateful schmuck. I'd be grateful just to have the game back. Starting over fresh is a small price to pay to get the game itself back. Characters can always be remade and releveled. Enhancements can always be reacquired. How anyone can say they care about the game and in the same breath say they won't play if they have to start from scratch just makes my head spin.I want to be able to step back into Paragon City and the heroes/villains that I've spent years with. That said, if the only way to do that is to build them back from their origins, I will. It's not the way I would want it to happen, but that decision isn't in my hands.
With all due respect, Baja, people who started playing this game from 2008, or even later than that, can grow just as attached to the identities they created in CoH and the names that go with them. You don't need to be playing from 2004 just to develop that kind of attachment.And even if you were playing since 2004, you can be just as attached to characters that you created a year or less before shutdown.
Sentinel files were also intended to provide a means to partially recreate characters on private servers. They are not merely text files (if you have one, check the final line...you'll probably see what I mean). As such, they could theoretically be used to verify that a claimant is the true owner of each of their characters. If NCSoft hands over the character data but not the account data, we couldn't verify who's who by using passwords, but Sentinel files would be the next most reliable way to re-verify players to characters. There might be other ways, depending on how flexible the CoH i23 operations team is, and what records each player kept offline - akin to a "tell us the name of your characters' third grade teacher" re-verification process. Heh.Assuming that we do get the server archives with the character data as of the last backup made. Still, it's probably the best way to match people to their game account. Importing the data from the Sentinel+ files themselves would be considerably more complicated:
The badge that grants Oroborus (Entrusted with the Secret) creates unlock when you earn it. Importing the character would give you the badge, but not the unlock. Further, since you already have the badge you can't re-earn it. This is the same with the mission unlocks as well. The data was exported since it basically just pulled data from the character info screen in some way and not stuff that was stored server side.
What Teikiatsu meant is that he/she believes that you (Harpospoke) are saying that there are posters who have said "we all supposedly want to proactively erase all of our stuff". Teikiatsu does not believe that anyone has said this.Yes, that has been said several times. We apparently do not agree that changing the wording means you aren't saying what you are saying.
What Teikiatsu is taking issue with is when you (Harpospoke) say that people who "express a hope that we start over with a 'clean slate' " are actually saying "we all lose our characters". You are putting words in people's mouths - when you say "that's what that means," it is NOT what that means.That's exactly what it means. When you hope we all lose our characters you are hoping we all lose our characters. Wording it as "I hope we have a clean slate" doesn't change what it means. That's how politicians operate.
I think you're much more understanding now (than in your initial posts) that the people who hope for a clean slate are not maliciously hoping that everyone's characters get deleted. But you still appear to be convinced that they actively want to "proactively erase" characters, which is not the case, and is you interpreting their words in a way that I (and apparently Teikiatsu) don't believe is their intent. No one is "hoping for [you] to lose our characters," and I think that's where the disconnect is.Some are malicious about it (unless you truly believe that nerf herders do not exist), some are just naive and not giving any thought to what it means when they hope we lose our characters. They are thinking of things they would enjoy (more people playing in low level zones) and not thinking about the huge negative effect that would have on all the players who lost their characters.
This quote really illustrates very well what I think is the issue. You (Harpospoke) believe that people are "hoping for us to lose our characters." I (and I think Teikiatsu) do not agree that anyone has said or even implied this.We'll just have to disagree on that. When you hope we all lose our characters, you are hoping we all lose our characters. Wording it differently doesn't actually change what you are hoping for. You are most certainly doing more than "implying" it.
I understand that you are "greatly attached" to your characters - so am I to mine. You're right, someone talking about a "clean slate" probably hasn't much considered those of us who have a great attachment to our characters. But no poster has said anything, directly or implied, that they want you or others to be unhappy, or that they actively hope everyone loses characters. Actively hoping for a clean slate and actively wanting characters deleted are two VERY different things. I followed the original argument, and while your understanding that people are not maliciously hoping for you to lose your characters is good, I think that the previous sentence illustrates the key misunderstanding that has led you to believe there is a group of people who want others to be unhappy.Some do. There are people like that in the world. They really wouldn't mind seeing people unhappy.
I would also argue that talking about the benefits of a clean slate is also an optimistic viewpoint. You speak of yours being "positive" - obviously not getting characters is a negative, but spinning it in a positive way is also a good thing. As in: "Sure, we don't get characters, but at least we get the hoped-for benefits of a "clean slate"." Pragmatic, optimistic, positive.I'm in that group. (Who knows....I might actually get good at PL'ing! ;D) These are not the people I'm talking about.
(What I've been trying to say - Teikiatsu)
Harpospoke, you can express whatever you wish. People who want a clean slate and people who want it all back can certainly express that desire.Well that's certainly better than the sentiments expressed before. The "drop it" and "there is no point in filling threads up with explaining that you want them back" things directed at me and at Heatstroke.
It just has been done repeatedly because apparently you seem to believe that we have forgotten your viewpoint. In my mind, no matter what you post ever, I will always associate you with wanting your characters back. Well Done!Well...now you seem to be urging me to shut up again.
Every time some new poster comes along says "Gee! A clean slate would be kinda cool! All the names would be free and the lower level zones would be populated. I would like that!" You are summoned, as if by magic, to tell them that they want you to be unhappy because you don't want to lose your characters.That's what they are saying. Whether they actually know what they are saying is a factor, but it doesn't change the fact that they are openly hoping I don't get my characters back.
The real problem here is that your desire, or theirs, will have ZERO impact on what happens. The group working on the negotiations are going to get the best deal they can for the money they have. That's it.I would say "close to zero". Since they are reading these threads, it does seem like they would take posted opinions into account when they are considering what to ask for. If they read a lot of "I would rather start from nothing" then they may think it's not important to even try to get the account info.
At this point I hope that everyone but Harpospoke gets all their stuff back, and Harpo is not only forced to start with nothing but also has a -50 level penalty, -1,000,000,000 inf, all SOs, only i1 costume pieces, no power colors, no badges, and no prestige.I don't get it, but ok. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. There had to be a reason why you were complaining so much about people expressing a desire for a hugely positive thing for the playerbase.
Yeah, that kind of a day at work :)
There had to be a reason why you were complaining so much about people expressing a desire for a hugely positive thing for the playerbase.
It seems that you can only post false narratives on this topic. Why do you keep saying things that are not true? It's not proving anything except you have a mental block against reality.Wait...aren't you the one who said I post "continual comments about how we all supposedly want to proactively erase all of our stuff"....when I've never said anything like that?
Let's do it in reverse so you can see what I'm saying:
Suppose I post this:
"I hope everyone is issued only lvl 50 characters and are unable to start new ones so there will be more people to play the end-game content with me."
Any problem with that?
Gotta love that great friendly CoH community people are always championing.
Well, if you posted that you I would probably explain to you that since I don't believe they have any way to do that on a regular server, just the test server and that was before they lost all the dev tools they can't. But since it's you, that wouldn't stop you from bringing it up every time someone posts about wanting your characters back or opining over the benefits of a clean start.We have to use a proper analogy. There would need to be a way to do it obviously and it would have to be what we are "probably going to get". Of course many players would be unhappy about it. Then I enter and say, "I prefer it this way" or "it should happen" in the midst of all those unhappy players. I can't imagine that going over very well.
I don't mind people saying they want their characters back. If people are allowed to say they want everyone to lose their characters, then it should also work in reverse.
I think the issue is your insistence those desiring a clean slate are saying "I want you to lose your characters." That is an unintended consequence of their wish just as an unintended consequence of yours is that nobody (but new accounts) would start with a clean slate.
The difference is that are not trying to hang that albatross around your neck as you haunt the forums..
It might be time to let all those others who feel as you do to respond to these requests for clean slates. If no one does perhaps that tells you something about the issue.
But for the sake of amity, I will leave it to you. I think that we are just rehashing the same thing over and over and I don't have the endurance for this right now. (need to slot recovery)
Since this is not a new game - well it is in the sense that it is new management. I was thinking of ways to give players back some of their stuff quickly. I do know that people feel that I paid for it once why pay again and I don't dismiss that. However the new management has never collected anything yet. Sp how do you fairly administer this?
Ideas for the games return:
1. Allow every player to get 1 level 50 at the start.
2. Allow either a starter pack with all the Vet rewards or have a same starting setup as the 50 where you get to pick say any 10 rewards.
3. Open all AT including VT's at creation.
Try posting some ways that would be fair to both the new owners and players!
CM, Fort, RA and AB for you Devil... :D
Back in the Summer of 2012, I went home to Washington D.C. and put COH on my moms laptop. I had to play in basic graphics as well. It wasnt too much of a hit on my eyes, but trust me when your easily able to hit Ultra, you will see the game in a different light .