The Shot Heard Around Paragon City - SCORE Public Release

[Tahquitz]

I understand your rage, but everyone deserves a chance to defend themselves. We've already seen Victoria do so and then she was accused of lying by the leaker. The others have yet to respond. I never posted here a lot, honestly talking about the game outside of my min/max circle was frustrating more than it wasn't lol, but it was the go-to this entire time.

For obvious reasons, don't expect to hear from Leandro anytime soon on here.  Even if he wanted to, we're not interested in harboring a discussion that will be akin to public execution, regardless who it is.  TonyV made as official a statement as we're going to make several posts back.  That's all we have to say at the moment from Titan Network.

[Felderburg]

You know as I ponder this - I am curious how much was charged to the select few?

With as they say roughly 2,000 players in the know - what was the fee? I am just doing the math and at $10 a pop that's $20k a month.........

There was a screenshot of the private server's forums with money info... there was $8k in the coffers for a few months worth (or near that, as I recall, the screenshot is on the SEGS discord). So yeah, there was money involved, but the screenshot made it seem to me like the $ was actually being used exclusively for server fees, and not to line pockets.

Edit: Due to the migration of posts from "New Efforts" to this thread, the quote above no longer links properly. But it is unmodified, and the original can be found in this thread (I don't want to put the effort in right now).

[Golden Aurora]

All I have to say is I hope Leandro does the ethical thing and is well. I saw the death threat email screenshot.

[bugzee]

Well, now that NCSoft has been asked for comment, they are fully aware... And with Leandro's name out there, it would be a very bad move for him to make any of the code public at this time. He could have released it into the public domain in the beginning, but chose to keep it for himself and his friends instead. I think it is too late for it to be given out. If he were to do that now, you can bet he would be in some serious legal hot water. I don't know what NCSoft will do now, but I am sure of one thing: Leandro never intended to give the code to anyone else, and now its simply too late to do so. In my opinion, we are no better off than we were before the news broke. We weren't going to be able to play then, and most certainly we will not be allowed to play now.

[Super Atom]

Well, now that NCSoft has been asked for comment, they are fully aware... And with Leandro's name out there, it would be a very bad move for him to make any of the code public at this time. He could have released it into the public domain in the beginning, but chose to keep it for himself and his friends instead. I think it is too late for it to be given out. If he were to do that now, you can bet he would be in some serious legal hot water. I don't know what NCSoft will do now, but I am sure of one thing: Leandro never intended to give the code to anyone else, and now its simply too late to do so. In my opinion, we are no better off than we were before the news broke. We weren't going to be able to play then, and most certainly we will not be allowed to play now.

The only thing this did was cause pain and distrust. I don't think its too late to release code though. They haven't been told anything (yet). Theres also no way to prove anything through VPN's and anon torrents.

[Kistulot]

[Edit: Post removed]

And there's the thread, made back in 2013, of someone inparticular outright saying why we wouldn't have server emulation.

There's a lot of lying going on here.

[Ohioknight]

There was a screenshot of the private server's forums with money info... there was $8k in the coffers for a few months worth (or near that, as I recall, the screenshot is on the SEGS discord). So yeah, there was money involved, but the screenshot made it seem to me like the $ was actually being used exclusively for server fees, and not to line pockets.

Also in that screen shot was a reference to people extending invitations to their entire supergroups who then never signed on or only played a little bit -- which was Leandro complaining that what he needed were quality players... in other words the kinds of complaints a DEVELOPER is making when doing TESTING. 

Long ago I jokingly said in a SCoRE discussion that as soon as they let anybody know they're making progress their reward will be a flood of abuse about how they aren't moving fast enough or developing what THEY want. 

Leandro and others have been running a server that they've been modifying, completing, and (HOPEFULLY) is in a form where you don't need to stitch 5 different servers together with mod authority and deep code knowledge to get it to run. (HOPEFULLY??? since by all accounts damn few experts could get a CoX server system to work).

In that process they've been running a few hundred (a few thousand?) users ... hundreds concurrently while SCoRE did exactly what they've always said they were doing.  They haven't shared earlier versions of their code publicly (we have no idea how many people or institutions are sitting on copies)

Just as I've thanked Codewalker for all his contributions to the community, thank you to Leandro for this MASSIVE gift to the community and thank you to all the SCoRE participants.

An additional thanks to Leandro for being willing to take the heat and unimaginable undeserved abuse on this.  I very much look forward to seeing what you folks have done and will do.

[RGladden]

Once I get started I may not be able to stop.  To say that I have conflicted emotions about this would be an understatement.

Rumors about a rogue server have been floating around for years.  Some, who have indicated that they knew what they were talking about, derided the idea.  Frankly, I always believed that where there was smoke there was fire.

So, finally, six years after the fact, we learn that a copy of the server code was offered to a gamer/administrator or whatever the heck he was.  And he took it.  Set up his own server, and secretly began inviting friends and family members to play on it.

Now, while I can understand why they kept it quiet, namely to keep NCSofts' lawyers off of their backs, I cannot understand their justification of keeping the game all to themselves.

So, the players who signed onto it also agreed to an NDA.  This worked pretty well, until one of the players, Destroyer Stroyer, disturbed by the setup, decided to do the right thing, and blew the whistle.  God Bless Him.

Now, as to Leandro, haven't I seen that name on this forum, and in this thread?  My memory may be playing tricks on me, but if that is the case, that really ticks me off.  A non-sequitur maybe.  His statement that they were set to release the code in two weeks has a distinct odor about it.  For instance, I've watched Destroyer's videos where he was playing the game, and a few things seen in them belies Leandro's claim:  First, there is visual confirmation that the code has already been modified and "upgraded";  Secondly, the people in that video were having a blast;  Thirdly, if he were serious about releasing the code to the community and the public he could have done so years ago.  Way to "hold the torch" fella.

Having said all that, I really can't see how this helps the COH community at large.  Maybe Leandro will release the code.  Once it's out there in the virtual world NCSoft will not ever get control of it back.  If he doesn't we're back to square one.

[weenus]

Also in that screen shot was a reference to people extending invitations to their entire supergroups who then never signed on or only played a little bit -- which was Leandro complaining that what he needed were quality players... in other words the kinds of complaints a DEVELOPER is making when doing TESTING. 

Long ago I jokingly said in a SCoRE discussion that as soon as they let anybody know they're making progress their reward will be a flood of abuse about how they aren't moving fast enough or developing what THEY want. 

Leandro and others have been running a server that they've been modifying, completing, and (HOPEFULLY) is in a form where you don't need to stitch 5 different servers together with mod authority and deep code knowledge to get it to run. (HOPEFULLY??? since by all accounts damn few experts could get a CoX server system to work).

In that process they've been running a few hundred (a few thousand?) users ... hundreds concurrently while SCoRE did exactly what they've always said they were doing.  They haven't shared earlier versions of their code publicly (we have no idea how many people or institutions are sitting on copies)

Just as I've thanked Codewalker for all his contributions to the community, thank you to Leandro for this MASSIVE gift to the community and thank you to all the SCoRE participants.

An additional thanks to Leandro for being willing to take the heat and unimaginable undeserved abuse on this.  I very much look forward to seeing what you folks have done and will do.

^ is this post going to be the new copypasta so we can all hopefully get pity invites from the first class citizens who've been enjoying CoX for the last 6 years?

[DoctorRoboto]

*sigh*

The plot, as it seems, is almost nefarious enough to be one of mine!

[RGladden]

The ultimate Nemesis Plot.

[Super Atom]

Also in that screen shot was a reference to people extending invitations to their entire supergroups who then never signed on or only played a little bit -- which was Leandro complaining that what he needed were quality players... in other words the kinds of complaints a DEVELOPER is making when doing TESTING. 

Long ago I jokingly said in a SCoRE discussion that as soon as they let anybody know they're making progress their reward will be a flood of abuse about how they aren't moving fast enough or developing what THEY want. 

Leandro and others have been running a server that they've been modifying, completing, and (HOPEFULLY) is in a form where you don't need to stitch 5 different servers together with mod authority and deep code knowledge to get it to run. (HOPEFULLY??? since by all accounts damn few experts could get a CoX server system to work).

In that process they've been running a few hundred (a few thousand?) users ... hundreds concurrently while SCoRE did exactly what they've always said they were doing.  They haven't shared earlier versions of their code publicly (we have no idea how many people or institutions are sitting on copies)

Just as I've thanked Codewalker for all his contributions to the community, thank you to Leandro for this MASSIVE gift to the community and thank you to all the SCoRE participants.

An additional thanks to Leandro for being willing to take the heat and unimaginable undeserved abuse on this.  I very much look forward to seeing what you folks have done and will do.

This post seems very misleading or at the very least misinformed. I'll try and break it down.

DEVELOPER is making when doing TESTING. 

When you're still in testing phases to make servers work, you don't create and insert brand new archetypes and zones, abilities, or cash shops. To say that this project is still in development o the point of the servers being "stitched together" would be silly and expecting people to believe it even more so.

Leandro and others have been running a server that they've been modifying, completing, and (HOPEFULLY) is in a form where you don't need to stitch 5 different servers together with mod authority and deep code knowledge to get it to run. (HOPEFULLY??? since by all accounts damn few experts could get a CoX server system to work).

This is a bold claim. A very bold claim that someone who isn't in the forums and on the server couldn't possibly make. From other accounts, leaks etc the server is not stitched together and works perfectly. I'm unsure how or why you've made this claim but again, if you aren't on the team this seems like a very misleading assumption.

An additional thanks to Leandro for being willing to take the heat and unimaginable undeserved abuse on this.  I very much look forward to seeing what you folks have done and will do.

He's getting a lot of unwarranted stuff, death threats and doxing being the worst of it. However from the information provided to us, the lies and misleading campaigns to derail progress have earned him heat. His continued dishonesty and deflecting the blame onto the community as a whole didn't help. I'm not willing to personally attack anybody but I think your post is very misguided.

[Ohioknight]

... I retire in August and would be happy to try hosting a wide open server that could test the limits of NCSofts patience

Really.  You're going to run a wide open server.  And you'll let everybody on.  10,000 users... 50,000 users... nobody turned away?  And you know the servers will handle that?  You're going to set up the servers and keep them running?  You're going to handle support and maintenance? If it can't handle the load you're going to decide when and how to turn people away?

Leandro is an expert who has lived this stuff, and his development system was running a few hundred accounts concurrently (which is DAMN impressive).  How easy do you think it is to run CoX?

[Super Atom]

Really.  You're going to run a wide open server.  And you'll let everybody on.  10,000 users... 50,000 users... nobody turned away?  And you know the servers will handle that?  You're going to set up the servers and keep them running?  You're going to handle support and maintenance? If it can't handle the load you're going to decide when and how to turn people away?

Leandro is an expert who has lived this stuff, and his development system was running a few hundred accounts concurrently (which is DAMN impressive).  How easy do you think it is to run CoX?

Very easy. Do you not know about private servers? Also, in what world would 50k people play on a private server. WoW private servers don't even reach that. People can run private servers from their home PC's, but thats not whats being done here. He's renting server space and running it on that, which most would probably do. Please my man, don't post such misleading stuff.

[Voltixdark]

Also in that screen shot was a reference to people extending invitations to their entire supergroups who then never signed on or only played a little bit -- which was Leandro complaining that what he needed were quality players... in other words the kinds of complaints a DEVELOPER is making when doing TESTING. 

Long ago I jokingly said in a SCoRE discussion that as soon as they let anybody know they're making progress their reward will be a flood of abuse about how they aren't moving fast enough or developing what THEY want. 

Leandro and others have been running a server that they've been modifying, completing, and (HOPEFULLY) is in a form where you don't need to stitch 5 different servers together with mod authority and deep code knowledge to get it to run. (HOPEFULLY??? since by all accounts damn few experts could get a CoX server system to work).

In that process they've been running a few hundred (a few thousand?) users ... hundreds concurrently while SCoRE did exactly what they've always said they were doing.  They haven't shared earlier versions of their code publicly (we have no idea how many people or institutions are sitting on copies)

Just as I've thanked Codewalker for all his contributions to the community, thank you to Leandro for this MASSIVE gift to the community and thank you to all the SCoRE participants.

An additional thanks to Leandro for being willing to take the heat and unimaginable undeserved abuse on this.  I very much look forward to seeing what you folks have done and will do.

I agree, and I also look forward to the progress made.

[saipaman]

Who's going to upgrade the Paragon Wiki to cover all these unofficial modifications to the game?

[Ohioknight]

[Edit: Post removed]

I take it you don't use Tequila

[Zombie Man]

O hai! What's new?

Read the news today. What a disaster. Prayers and thoughts go to the people of France! No wait, the disaster was reddit/cityofheroes. Wow. Take the angriest post here so far in this thread and multiply it by a thousand and you get the average anger level there.

But what really bothers me about this is Leo never invited me!!

Just kidding. What really bothers me is all the anniversary badges I missed.

[Super Atom]

Theres a whole slew of people using terms like "You don't understand" or "You're just trolls" very suddenly. Everyone has the right to their opinion on this matter as long as its kept civil and i think everyone here (except that one guy who said ban him) has done so. This is all starting to feel a lot like another effort to discredit.

[Zombie Man]

Who's going to upgrade the Paragon Wiki to cover all these unofficial modifications to the game?

I volunteer to edit that person's grammar!