What should we be thinking now?

[sindyr]

NCSoft has just posted a very final notice on their site about the shutdown of City, I'm sure you all saw that.

Is this a sign that the talks and efforts to "reboot" the game under new management have failed?  Can *anyone* confirm if those talks are continuing?  What information is there for us to have any inkling about the future of playing this game?  Or did we finally hit the point where we should be surrendering to the horrible inevitable?

Not looking to lie to myself here, but I would really like some concrete reason to continue to have a little hope.

Anyone got anything?

[DrakeGrimm]

...they did? I'm not finding anything. Link(s)?

[Segev]

Victoria Victorix, who seems to be respected around here as somebody who would be in a position to know, has said there are ongoing talks and that they are still underway. She either has no further information to give us or is not allowed due to her real life positioning to tell us anything more. But it is neither good nor bad news, merely ongoing hope at the moment.

[DrakeGrimm]

Victoria Victorix, who seems to be respected around here as somebody who would be in a position to know, has said there are ongoing talks and that they are still underway. She either has no further information to give us or is not allowed due to her real life positioning to tell us anything more. But it is neither good nor bad news, merely ongoing hope at the moment.

Also, this.

[padathir]

NCSoft has just posted a very final notice on their site about the shutdown of City, I'm sure you all saw that.

I see no such post. Link?

Anyway just read the other threads in this forum to see that there are things going on outside of public announcement.

[sindyr]

Yes, the info about the rumored negotiations is old information at this point.  Much more recently we have had some more negative news, like the one in the OP.  What I am asking is is there any FRESH news to rekindle hope?  Or are we just hoping on fumes here?

[Segev]

Last Victoria post saying "it is still going" was yesterday. Given that business negotiations are not sporting events, "one day" is not "old news" barring actual official news that wholly contradicts it.

[sindyr]

Yesterday?  Good - that *is* news to take a little of the sting out.  Perhaps we will get more soon(tm).

[rathe101]

I still don't see a link posted anywhere..

[EventHorizonMan]

The only link I see on the City of Heroes homepage that could be assumed negative is the refund and subscription handling. In a way, that could be considered negative news because the fact they have implimented this means NCSoft have not changed their minds. They are still go for sunset on November 30th.

In the meantime, the best way to handle this is to participate in the Save Our Paragon City initiative, while at the same time have an open mind to the possibility of a world without City of Heroes on Dec 1st, 2012. For the latter point, you should be making plans on what you want to do with that "free time". For example, do you refocus your efforts in helping get Plan Z of the ground? Go to DCUO or CO?

As I've said many times to people who were upset, the characters we created live in our hearts and minds, and will be with if the servers do go down. All the game did was help give them a physical form in the game's own interpretation.

Event Horizon Man.

[Harermuir]

Hardest hit to the hope is for me Positron disclaiming what they have on their mind for the future ... If there is still hope that the game will continue, would he be doing this ?

[Osborn]

The only link I see on the City of Heroes homepage that could be assumed negative is the refund and subscription handling. In a way, that could be considered negative news because the fact they have implemented this means NCSoft have not changed their minds. They are still go for sunset on November 30th.

I'm not going to try to tell you that the game is saved or anything like that, but the goal was almost never go get NCSoft to keep the game in their portfolio. The goal has been more to get them to release the game to the public or sell the game to somebody else, or something similar.

So, them doing this was going to happen either way. If they decide they're going to shutter the game forever, they're going to drop their investment in the game by the 30th of November and give refunds for time or points left over.

If they decide to sell the game, then they're going to drop their investment in the game by the 30th of November and then whomever gets the game after them will make their own billing schedule or whatever.

At no point is this a surprising or conclusive move.

It's like saying "Anybody capable of shutting the game down has to respire! NCSoft employees are respiring! That means they're shutting down the game!". It's a bit meaningless.

I mean, I'm not trying to get your hopes up too much, and I know the odds are massively stacked against us. But let's save the doom saying for actual news instead of casting fortunes in the little bits of chicken bones we have found.

[Siberian Spring]

[Mold]

"What should we be thinking now?"

Nothing, we should keep fighting and for the love of Pete keep playing. Keep writing people keep tweeting keep moving, keep coming up with ideals to save the game. But don't think about bad news because there is a link on a NCSoft page, and as every hitchhiker knows DON'T PANIC!!!!!

[TheFlea]

Hardest hit to the hope is for me Positron disclaiming what they have on their mind for the future ... If there is still hope that the game will continue, would he be doing this ?

Not so much the case. Read the Lore AMA again. There's a lot of vague answers or 'cannot disclose this' answers. If the game was 100% set to die then why would it be kept hidden away like that?

Also, consider that until it is announced otherwise that the game will be closing down on 30/11/12. As such all the developer, community rep etc posts have to go from this stance and viewpoint. The moment it changes I'm sure they'll be retracting things in a heartbeat. But until that moment comes about they have to put on a brave face and deal with it.

[Vulpy]

"Should" is a very loaded word. In the absence of mental health disturbances, you shouldn't be thinking anything other than what you are thinking (and even then, unless delusions make you likely to injure yourself or others, I probably wouldn't say anything). How you feel carries no implicit moral weight, good or bad. What should we do? That's the better question. No matter what you're thinking or feeling, the most productive course of action continues to be positive effort. No, even that probably won't pay off the way we want it to, but it's still the best chance we have.

[EventHorizonMan]

I'm not going to try to tell you that the game is saved or anything like that, but the goal was almost never go get NCSoft to keep the game in their portfolio. The goal has been more to get them to release the game to the public or sell the game to somebody else, or something similar.

So, them doing this was going to happen either way. If they decide they're going to shutter the game forever, they're going to drop their investment in the game by the 30th of November and give refunds for time or points left over.

If they decide to sell the game, then they're going to drop their investment in the game by the 30th of November and then whomever gets the game after them will make their own billing schedule or whatever.

At no point is this a surprising or conclusive move.

It's like saying "Anybody capable of shutting the game down has to respire! NCSoft employees are respiring! That means they're shutting down the game!". It's a bit meaningless.

I mean, I'm not trying to get your hopes up too much, and I know the odds are massively stacked against us. But let's save the doom saying for actual news instead of casting fortunes in the little bits of chicken bones we have found.

No doom and gloom here. I was actually offering a balanced suggestion to the question asked in the subject line. Of course, have faith and keep on trying but at the same time ask yourselves what you want to do if our best efforts do not produce the results we hope for.

Event Horizon Man

[QuantumHero]

What we should do
is keep hope alive
Fight to survive
Do not roll over and die

It alright to cry
Its alright to scream
What we can notdo
Let go of the dream

We are a community
Let our voices be heard
Please sell to Paragon
Or let us go free

If the lights go out in our city
It won't be because we didn't try
We are city of heroes
Don't let us die

[Luna Eclypse]

Since our goal is ultimately to see NCsoft sell the game to another company to keep it alive, we can only speculate on who, if anyone, will step up with an offer. Would Paragon Studios be able to reform independently with the resources to purchase the game themselves? It's a nice sentiment but might be a lot more work and/or trouble for those involved.

But I would think that ANYONE in the Western market could maintain and handle our game better than NCsoft. Even Electronic Arts. At least we'd have some deep pockets for developer employment and resources then.

I'm doubtful they'll ever release the game code to us. They pay a licensing fee for the game engine from Cryptic so it would have to be cleared by them... and I'm sure Cryptic would rather try to convert us to Champions Online. Screw that.

[Copper Cockroach]

Or did we finally hit the point where we should be surrendering to the horrible inevitable?

We're superheroes. There is no point where we surrender to the inevitable.

A replacement is already in the works. I won't pretend it'll be online right away... no one's tried this before, players pooling their skills to lawfully recreate a game that the publisher tried to kill off... but if NCsoft pulls a full-on "Dog in the Manger", it'll only be a matter of time before a new City appears.

Take heart, people! The absolute worst NCsoft can do to us is bury the IP. They took away our sexy ghost in a PVC bodysuit? We'll just come up with an even sexier ghost in an even shinier bodysuit (though we may have to leave off the butt-cape. Sorry, butt-cape enthusiasts).