And the mask comes off.

[Angel Phoenix77]

30 minutes without any posts in this thread?  I haven't looked outside my window lately, is the world still there?

/e pokes the anthill...

I think its due to everyone soaking up all of the information we have at the moment

[ivanhedgehog]

Duck tape is made using duck cloth layered between the adhesive and the plastic backing. While it's popularly referred to as "duct tape" in many places it's actually a terrible tape to use on ducts since it doesn't hold up well at all in heat. Actually it's generally not a good tape for any sort of long term use since even in cooler environments it tends to get crumbly over time instead of turning into a gummy mess like in hotter environments.

i'd post more on topic comments and questions, but so far that's been pretty well handled by other people, so i'm mostly reading and offering incidental kvetching.
Kudos to downix, TonyV, Irish Girl, and everyone else on staying on top of things and responding with such clarity and patience.

duck tapes primary purpose it to hold swords together..along with strapping tape

[The Fifth Horseman]

I think its due to everyone soaking up all of the information we have at the moment

No, everyone is several dozen concepts deep into Icon and/or Mid's

[nikitastorm]

I am cautiously optimistic. There's a LOT going on in this announcement, and a lot of work ahead, should a deal come to fruition with NCSoft. One of the things mentioned is still a bit confusing to me, even though someone has tried to explain it, and that is the concept that APR will be using MWM's CoT build. I am SO not getting that. But, you know what? I really probably don't NEED to get it.   The rest of it makes sense.

I would love to offer help to someone out there, but, about the only thing I am really good at that you might need is proofreading. I am pretty good at catching typos, providing examples of better grammar and better ways to word things. If any of the companies or individuals that are working on these projects is in need of those skills from me, please, feel free to contact me.

Oh, and I think I might have an explanation for some of the folks who are confused about the idea of NCSoft licensing the game engine. It is my understanding (and any part of this might be wrong) that NCSoft does not own the game engine. I believe that Cryptic still actually owns the engine. It is also my understanding that Cryptic licensed the game engine to NCSoft "in perpetuity" (as long as they needed it). I further understood that someone from Cryptic (Jack Emmert, perhaps?) made a statement to the effect that Cryptic would not stand in the way of NCSoft selling the game and would allow them to license the game engine to a third party to facilitate that. So, while the game IP (intellectual property) in any acceptable deal would be sold without (too many crazy) strings to our Hail Mary Team, the game engine would require that NCSoft license it, since it is not theirs to sell.

If I am incorrect, please point it out gently.

-- Storm

[Hyperstrike]

Okay I haven't really addressed this directly yet.

Here's how I feel about the proposition put forth in the original thread.

"I wish you luck.  But until it's a Done Deal, I'm not holding my breath.  NC has demonstrated that they'll string someone along and then simply stop communicating."

[Number9]

I would love to offer help to someone out there, but, about the only thing I am really good at that you might need is proofreading. I am pretty good at catching typos, providing examples of better grammar and better ways to word things. If any of the companies or individuals that are working on these projects is in need of those skills from me, please, feel free to contact me.
-- Storm

Let me also throw my hat in that ring.  I've worked as a professional proofreader/editor, written copy, worked on fund raising grants/proposals, and even taught English to confused looking Japanese kids and adults.  Anyone on any of the given teams needs help with writing and editing I'd be glad to lend a hand.

[ivanhedgehog]

I know people have concerns about I23maint being outmoded when win 9 comes out. aslong as you dont upgrade you will continue to be fine for the next 6 years at least. I for one cant wait for a hami raid under unreal4 engine...gonna be awesome

[pinballdave]

I am cautiously optimistic. There's a LOT going on in this announcement, and a lot of work ahead, should a deal come to fruition with NCSoft. One of the things mentioned is still a bit confusing to me, even though someone has tried to explain it, and that is the concept that APR will be using MWM's CoT build. I am SO not getting that. But, you know what? I really probably don't NEED to get it.   The rest of it makes sense.
<snip>
-- Storm

As I understand it, APR has nothing to do with MWM or CoT. Their job will be to get old CoHi23 to work on a newer MMO engine,. a copy that can be edited, and patched, derived from the binary CoHi23 version. This will be referred to as CoH 1.5

[Illusionss]

[Optimus Dex]

Its great to see that Nc Soft is actually talking and open to possibly selling the IP, but we have a long way to go still. I applaud everyone who has worked on this to #SaveCoH.

 I am still hopeful that somehow character data can be rescued. One of my biggest concerns if character data is not available are that many veterans will not return to the game. I was thinking about this last night and im coming from my own personal view and I know the shared views of others.. Its twelve years later since the launch of City of Heroes. I am not the person I was then. I am married now.. with a family.. different responsibilities that require more time. I dont have the time to sit and play hours and hours and hours on end like I did previously. And in all honesty I dont want to play the same content over and over and over AGAIN that I already have. If I had to start over and remake every character and earn and purchase all those enhancements all over again I just dont know if I would want to do that. Would I remake everyone.. no.. but they are some core character that I would and even those are 25-30 plus characters..

 And having no idea what will happen to the maintenance mode long term or if those character will be ported over to CoH 1.5... Its a very challenging situation.. I know several people in my SG that I have remained in contact with feel the same way..

 Everyone of us will ABSOLUTELY play if/when the games comes back. The question is will they support the game like they did in years past.. will they stay long term..

 At this point im taking the Tony V position more seriously.. be patient.. and wait until everything unfolds..

I will be 61 tomorrow . I started playing COH around my birthday in 2004. I am not the same person I was then either. If and when the game comes back I will play it , I will have a subscription or maybe 2. My sons played as did my daughter in law. They plan on playing again. I have a friend and Sg mate who played - he is ready to play again.
 There were things I never did in game , power sets I never tried. So I will support the game and patiently await COH 1.5 or COH 2. I miss the Paragon City - I can redo characters and start new one. I tried DCU Online - hated it , Champions Online was not very good at all. I don't do Elves and Dwarves games. So bring on COH in maintenance mode till something better is finished.

[Frankenstein]

I am stupid-ludicrous excited about this.   And windows 9?  I will build a rig to NEVER UPGRADE to play City.  I will buy outdated parts at marked up prices!  I WILL KILL THIS GO.. wait uh.. nm...

[Harpospoke]

This is something I worry about as well. I could see her getting overwhelmed by offers of help. But hopefully more experienced people will be able to help with this. I hope so anyway.

Interesting point.   This will be a double-edged sword.   Offers to help should increase greatly (I know nothing, and can't help feeling the urge to help as well), but sorting through those offers and putting together a "team" might not be so easy.

[Harpospoke]

My issues are now Irishgirl is about to be thrown to the sharks. I hope she can get some direction on a business manager because in my dealings on the original project 3 or 4 very unscrupulous people tried to get a foot in the door. She will need help in programming but also with business acumen.

If only the programming stuff was the only skill needed!   

The Engine in UR4 is far superior and has many additional features. Features that make developing far faster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvfn1p92_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AMY7I_eHjk

In the Tech Demo look at the Cave section! Wow!

The prospect of running an ITF in UR4 is exciting.   Maybe the "valley of lag" would go away even as the graphics made a huge leap forward.

[Dareon Kale]

It all makes me wish I had an applicable skill set to apply to the effort. Alas, a degree in kinesiology does not lend itself well to graphics development, coding, or negotiating business agreements. I'm left with just being thankful for the efforts of others, and hoping our current Korean overlords find sufficient value in the sale and licensing of our favorite City. However, if any of you technically apt individuals need some help refining your workout regimen, let me know. We can't have you guys running out of energy or falling into disrepair after all. 

[Cailyn Alaynn]

30 minutes without any posts in this thread?  I haven't looked outside my window lately, is the world still there?

/e pokes the anthill...

/e pokes back

I go to sleep, and the thread jumps forward 5 pages! So...many posts I want to reply to. @_@

[Ankhammon]

Since it is based off the Cryptic Engine it is possible that there may be backdoors into existing Cryptic products. Then you could get a snapshot of the game up and running but unwinding the reverse engineering would have you use different solutions to things than the original code did and so the SCoRE folks could potentially be in a very good spot

I'm really finding all of this very fascinating from a technical level. Even though I'm just looking at it from afar.

... I'm still mentally floating out in Oro since I looked at the U4 video. That is way beyond my wildest hopes.
So, even if the worst case happens, I still have this experience.

My opinion guys, enjoy this whole journey while you can. If we get everything we want, we can enjoy the ride. If not, we still had that ride to look back on.

Side note: This forum has given me a lot of info about CoT and it's progress that I don't feel like I'd gotten looking through their website and announcements.

[Safehouse]

I don't have a lot in the way of technical skills that I could offer to help, but I am a very good writer, with a lot of practice at science fiction and fantasy writing. I am also an excellent editor and proofreader, if/when the time comes along. So, if my aid with things like APR is ever needed, I'm right here.

[Cailyn Alaynn]

Look at it this way...  If you don't like the "Update", you'll still have CoH1.0  to play.

Win/Win in my books.

and hopefully you'll send APR an E-Mail saying why you don't like the update, and what you feel we could do to make it more fun.

[Cailyn Alaynn]

As I understand it, APR has nothing to do with MWM or CoT. Their job will be to get old CoHi23 to work on a newer MMO engine,. a copy that can be edited, and patched, derived from the binary CoHi23 version. This will be referred to as CoH 1.5

This is correct. I'm not part of MWM, nor are they involved directly in APR. We do have an agreement in place, where APR will be taking a version of their game code, and modifying it for our needs.

How can I try and explain this... Ok. Think of Unreal Engine 4 as a canvas.
Now, the final product we want is a drawing of Statesman.
What they're going to do, is sketch out the drawing and give us a copy of that sketch.
Then it'll be up to us to fill in the eyes, and nose, and color.

EDIT: This prolly makes no sense, I've been awake for like 10 minutes after sleeping something awful. Apologies.

[Harpospoke]

I can't even name a better MMO, let alone one that closed.

+1