Active players still unaware of the shutdown?

[TimtheEnchanter]

Yes, when I am standing vigil, I'm usually the only one there (except once, yay!), but I only do it when I'm not playing the game and can leave the game running (not as much as I'd like at the moment because I've only got the laptop for the foreseeable future).  But I have had people broadcast or pm a response (they'll join me, they hadn't heard, etc.), so it's definitely worth doing.  To me, if only one player who didn't know about the shut down learns of it and signs the petition that's a win.

I saw this in the main vigil thread and felt it needed a bit more discussion.

It never occurred to me before that there could actually still be people who play this game every day but have no clue it's being shut down. AFAIK, neither the game nor the NC launcher ever give you a clue about it. So for those players, if they don't surf the web about the CoH or go to the forums, the shutdown is a total sniper attack that they might never see coming.  So perhaps a 1-day rally on each of the other servers during peak playing time would be in order?

Another thing that perhaps should be considered, is to borrow one from the spambots' playbook, browse for online players and send them an in-game mail about it, possibly even a /tell?

Just some thoughts. There could be a slew of active players who still have no idea.

[Victoria Victrix]

In fact there are.  In my extremely intermittent checking of my vigil toon on Pinnacle tonight I ran into 2, one who had just downloaded the game the Thursday before Black Friday and was a brand new player, and one an old and very active player who just hadn't been on in two week due to RL.  There are probably a lot more out there.

[Osborn]

In fact there are.  In my extremely intermittent checking of my vigil toon on Pinnacle tonight I ran into 2, one who had just downloaded the game the Thursday before Black Friday and was a brand new player, and one an old and very active player who just hadn't been on in two week due to RL.  There are probably a lot more out there.

I personally didn't know as while I was sort of idly VIP, I was on a temp break due to real life drama. Had a friend of mine not asked me if it "the rumor" was true or not and had I not checked it out myself (I about dismissed it offhand!) I probably wouldn't had known till things calmed down in real life or until I went to try to buy the Fire/Ice reward weapons and found out I couldn't reapply for VIP.

Heck, as it was sort of released like a fart in an elevator I thought some /b/tard had broken in and posted it. I was like "Nah, this is too clownish, a professional would had taken down the ads from the launcher or sent a press release... nobody's so amateurish to do it like this". Heck I didn't even believe the first news outlet that covered it. I thought they'd jumped on a hoax to be the "First!" poster, as being first or loudest is way more important than accuracy anymore.

I had to log in the game to hear people talking about Zwill confirming it on the forums (then reading that post) to even believe it.

I can totally see a 5 year on-off Premium vet who doesn't VIP anymore but has dumped thousands into the game in Premium content not hearing about it till November 30th.

[Mantic]

The folks who are busy but subscribing, definitely I can see that. I was pretty much in background mode for the last two months and would still be, but that I had been checking in to catch the latest patches and market updates every Tuesday. Who ever expected City of Heroes would not be around for another 9 years? It seems every time I went on the official forums someone was being chided for their impatience -- after all, City of Heroes wasn't going to go anywhere.

Now there are players popping up to admit that in eight years, there are numerous events they've never gotten around to. I guess it was wrong to assume we had all the time in the world, but some just didn't have a lot of time to spare.

[Vulpy]

Now there are players popping up to admit that in eight years, there are numerous events they've never gotten around to. I guess it was wrong to assume we had all the time in the world, but some just didn't have a lot of time to spare.

My "real life" keeps me very busy--which is one reason I normally keep to myself--but I do have stories to share with my friends before December, just in case.

Also, come December 1, I fully plan to be completely and utterly exhausted.

[Tahliah]

I saw this in the main vigil thread and felt it needed a bit more discussion.

It never occurred to me before that there could actually still be people who play this game every day but have no clue it's being shut down. AFAIK, neither the game nor the NC launcher ever give you a clue about it. So for those players, if they don't surf the web about the CoH or go to the forums, the shutdown is a total sniper attack that they might never see coming.  So perhaps a 1-day rally on each of the other servers during peak playing time would be in order?

Another thing that perhaps should be considered, is to borrow one from the spambots' playbook, browse for online players and send them an in-game mail about it, possibly even a /tell?

Just some thoughts. There could be a slew of active players who still have no idea.

I was actually surprised at the number of people who didn't know, too.  I'm not sure we should spam emails (though am open to the idea, anything to #SaveCOH), but maybe even just randomly broadcasting on our home servers the news will help get the word out.  I also like the idea of a peak time "get the word out" rally on all servers.  The Virtue vigil was (and still is! #AP33Forever) fantastic, but unless a player who doesn't follow the forums or Titan happened to be on Virtue, they wouldn't know about it at all. 

The vigil bind is fantastic, btw, and that's what people noticed while I was standing vigil

[Tahliah]

The folks who are busy but subscribing, definitely I can see that. I was pretty much in background mode for the last two months and would still be, but that I had been checking in to catch the latest patches and market updates every Tuesday. Who ever expected City of Heroes would not be around for another 9 years? It seems every time I went on the official forums someone was being chided for their impatience -- after all, City of Heroes wasn't going to go anywhere.

Now there are players popping up to admit that in eight years, there are numerous events they've never gotten around to. I guess it was wrong to assume we had all the time in the world, but some just didn't have a lot of time to spare.

So much fantastic content has been released so quickly (YAY!!!!) that I didn't get a (take the) chance to jump on, too.  I've got a long long list of things that I want to do and just assumed I'd have years and years to do it.  *Sigh*  My heart breaks a little every time I think about it.

[The-Hunter-JLJ]

The vigil bind is fantastic, btw, and that's what people noticed while I was standing vigil

Thanks for the reminder, need to update that with the new and easier to remember redirects.

[emu265]

Discussion about the shutdown seems to dominate any conversation I try to have.  There was a simply -lovely- debate about paid farming on Virtue today, and it even worked itself in there. 

Still, I'm glad the vigil is helping people realize what's going on.  I've found that not that many people know about what Titan Network is doing.  Some people don't even know what Titan Network is until I mention Paragon Wiki or Mids.  So keep those AFK messages going!

[LT. Couper]

Undoubtedly, there are still people that dont know. I only found out about it this past tuesday. Luckily, shortly after I found this forum (as I had an account but rarely paid attention to forums from Any website)

[Aquashock]

Someone asked in Help on Virtue tonight about regaining VIP -- the player didn't know and attempted to pay their sub and came on to ask about it. It's very easy for a casual player, or even one that's generally active but was away for the past two weeks, to not know. As far as I know, the only evidence outside of the forums/media is the link to the closure statement in the NC Launcher... which is easily missed, especially since it's also advertising Nature Affinity and Water Blast as "Buy Now!" items.

Answering them when they ask about it, generally keeping the topic alive and running events in-game  would probably be the best ways to spread awareness among the players who might not know. I know that I rarely if ever check my in-game e-mail unless I'm moving items between toons -- a casual player could easily be in a similar boat.

[WanderingAries]

I made it a point to post about it in the SG/VG MOTD (like many probably have), but I'm sure there are alot of players that either don't pay attention to that or plain don't join groups besides teams, if that even so there's no wonder many wouldn't know about it.

[Lydiastar]

Someone asked in Help on Virtue tonight about regaining VIP -- the player didn't know and attempted to pay their sub and came on to ask about it. It's very easy for a casual player, or even one that's generally active but was away for the past two weeks, to not know. As far as I know, the only evidence outside of the forums/media is the link to the closure statement in the NC Launcher... which is easily missed, especially since it's also advertising Nature Affinity and Water Blast as "Buy Now!" items.

Answering them when they ask about it, generally keeping the topic alive and running events in-game  would probably be the best ways to spread awareness among the players who might not know. I know that I rarely if ever check my in-game e-mail unless I'm moving items between toons -- a casual player could easily be in a similar boat.

The thing my friends and I who hadn't played in awhile are most upset about. We don't have VIP active, and now never can. Sigh. I don't know anyone who was still active that didn't know, but vigils seem like a great idea.

[castorcorvus]

lol, its too bad we can't log into several  accounts at one time (one the main, and the others f2p). Each one running at minimum and you have a population boom in paragon. Can you imagine the look on the faces of the executives at NC, watching a "dying" game become more popular? I know, its impractical, but its equaly funny.

[Osborn]

lol, its too bad we can't log into several  accounts at one time (one the main, and the others f2p). Each one running at minimum and you have a population boom in paragon. Can you imagine the look on the faces of the executives at NC, watching a "dying" game become more popular? I know, its impractical, but its equaly funny.

Unless you'd have a bunch of Premium accounts hanging around, or some array of IP spoofs or something like that, they'd know it was 1) a bunch of free accounts and 2) they were all from the same address.

I'm not really convinced that would fake anybody out very long.

[eabrace]

lol, its too bad we can't log into several  accounts at one time (one the main, and the others f2p). Each one running at minimum and you have a population boom in paragon. Can you imagine the look on the faces of the executives at NC, watching a "dying" game become more popular? I know, its impractical, but its equaly funny.

What are you talking about?  I'm logged into two accounts on one PC right now.

[dwturducken]

Unless you'd have a bunch of Premium accounts hanging around, or some array of IP spoofs or something like that, they'd know it was 1) a bunch of free accounts and 2) they were all from the same address.

I'm not really convinced that would fake anybody out very long.

LAN party?  People still have those.

[emu265]

LAN party?  People still have those.

All I can think of is people collectively screaming at each other over kills in Halo >.<
Not something I tend to associate with CoH.

[Teege]

I'm in AP1 on Virtue and have informed a few players of the situation and gave them links for more information and ways to help. Everybody should be on the look out for those wanting or needing information - it'll help increase our numbers! Remember to be courteous when representing our community. If you have free time, hit up the less populated servers to help spread the word. Wouldn't it be nice to have every City Hall represented? I think so.

[Rae]

Just came across someone in the L4G channel who didn't seem to realise that the shutdown meant he couldn't play after November 30. Bless 'im.

Battle Reaper:  so wait you mean to say that this shutdown that i am hearing about means that...we won tbe able to play the game at all?
Jerrybuilt:  *sigh* Yes.
Dirty Toe:  yes..yes it does.
Jerrybuilt:  Game over, man, game over.
Battle Reaper:  So like...afte ri spent the time and money..i cant even continue to play?
Airdancer:  Everything and everyone gets deleted into nothingness
Battle Reaper:  man..that really sucks...
Sacredstrike:  http://www.savecoh.com/
Battle Reaper:  bes tbetter beleive i signed that petition!!!!

[TimtheEnchanter]

All I can think of is people collectively screaming at each other over kills in Halo >.< Not something I tend to associate with CoH.

Depends on the game really. Some games attract more easy-going communities than others.

Went to a Descent LAN once. Upstairs was a Quake one. At Descent, we were all ribbing each other and laughing at random misfortune and such.

Upstairs? Every loud thud meant another fist fight had started.

[Knightslayer]

I hopped into game today to do the Summer Blockbuster (I missed it when it originally came out), and there are still people who think the shutdown is a "rumor".
Perhaps it'd be a good idea for those that play frequently to share some links (Savecoh, cohtitan and the petition) on LFG & Help every now and then to raise awareness?

[Knightslayer]

Just came across someone in the L4G channel who didn't seem to realise that the shutdown meant he couldn't play after November 30. Bless 'im.

Battle Reaper:  so wait you mean to say that this shutdown that i am hearing about means that...we won tbe able to play the game at all?
Jerrybuilt:  *sigh* Yes.
Dirty Toe:  yes..yes it does.
Jerrybuilt:  Game over, man, game over.
Battle Reaper:  So like...afte ri spent the time and money..i cant even continue to play?
Airdancer:  Everything and everyone gets deleted into nothingness
Battle Reaper:  man..that really sucks...
Sacredstrike:  http://www.savecoh.com/
Battle Reaper:  bes tbetter beleive i signed that petition!!!!

LOL! I should've read your post before posting!
I was doing my part to share there. ^^

[Rae]

Ah, you're sacredstrike? Between globals/twitter and Titan forum accounts I can't keep track of people

[Knightslayer]

Ah, you're sacredstrike? Between globals/twitter and Titan forum accounts I can't keep track of people

Yep, that'd be one of the many me's! Global's the same as here though.

[RedWolfeXR]

I hadn't logged on for a month or so (probably played a few days before the announcement) and have been busy with a new job plus I had been playing a few offline games.

The only reason that I knew was that there was a posting on the MOTD on the serverwide channel that I monitor.  (Guardian)
   
The only thing that points to the fact on the launcher is the "Sunset FAQ"

[Patribot]

EVERY TIME I talk about the shutdown in LFG, Help or Global there is STILL someone who either didn't know about the shutdown at all or doesn't understand what it means. I'm guessing many people just do not pay attention to the Launcher Screen at all. (I know sometimes even I bio and grab a beverage while it's loading.)

I don't know how big a percentage it actually is, but we need to keep getting the word out about this. I'm not suggesting we SPAM the global channels, but we certainly need to step-up to answer people's questions (Gently), make sure they understand that there is a movement to sace the game that they can help with and, if there hasn't been any "SaveCoH" traffic for an hour or more, put something out on the Help Channel regarding it. (Just my two cents worth)

[SithRose]

EVERY TIME I talk about the shutdown in LFG, Help or Global there is STILL someone who either didn't know about the shutdown at all or doesn't understand what it means. I'm guessing many people just do not pay attention to the Launcher Screen at all. (I know sometimes even I bio and grab a beverage while it's loading.)

I don't know how big a percentage it actually is, but we need to keep getting the word out about this. I'm not suggesting we SPAM the global channels, but we certainly need to step-up to answer people's questions (Gently), make sure they understand that there is a movement to sace the game that they can help with and, if there hasn't been any "SaveCoH" traffic for an hour or more, put something out on the Help Channel regarding it. (Just my two cents worth)

The splash screen on the Launcher still displays Nature Affinity. Most people skim past the news text below that. There's no active reach out to TELL people that the game is shutting down. Which means that there ARE going to be surprised players come November 30th...which means that they will be ANGRY players.

[Aquashock]

The fact that there isn't a pop-up when you log in about the shutdown still bothers me. It really showcases how poorly NCSoft planned this.

[Blackbird71]

LAN party?  People still have those.

Are you kidding? My friends and I made our first CoH characters at a LAN party!

[freakazoid]

The vigil bind is fantastic, btw, and that's what people noticed while I was standing vigil

Would you post how to do the vigil bind please? I'd do that on Champion and Pinnacle.
Thanks 

[Golden Girl]

I've run into quite a few players who have no idea about the threat to the game - I always send them here to help get them invovled.

[Patribot]

My Vigil Macro is: maxinactivefps 1$$e HoldTorch$$afk Standing vigil: http://tiny.cc/SaveCoH

So it does these things for me:

1) Reduces the Frames Per Second to 1 so doesn't use much processor clock time or energy while running in the background, but will pop back to normal settings when you have it in the foreground.
2) Has my character lift the iconic torch of the struggle.
3) Pops "Standing vigil: http://tiny.cc/SaveCoH" in a "thought balloon" above my character's head.

Hope that helps.

[Teege]

If you're able to keep a character logged in overnight, create one of those macros and place a link in your profile. It also doesn't hurt to toss savecoh.com in Help or Broadcast, just be mindful now to spam it.

[Flying Code Monkey]

The down side: of the persons who still don't realize that City is closing, upon finding out, some substantial percentage of them will shrug, say "oh well, it was fun," and be gone.

I've been astounded by the number of people on Liberty who I thought were pretty hard-core about City, who I just assumed would be running trials or killing Hamidon with me on November 29th because what else would we be doing, who were among the first to bid their fond farewell.  I assumed the desire to finish the last few alts, as with me, would be very strong.  Our trialing population is still sufficient to finish anything, but now we really need to all be online at the same time.

Anyway, it's probably an issue of basic fairness that anyone who doesn't already know deserves to be made aware, and of that group some number might join up to fight the good fight, but don't be surprised if a majority of them are logged out for good a week later.  Unintended consequences, and all.