More trying to contact NCSoft and other stuff

[JWBullfrog]

Actually, TR93, one of the strongest messages City offers is positive empowerment and equality for women.

Think about it for a moment. If we leave the players aside for a moment, every female character we see in the game is strong (some physically like Doc Delilah), confident (except Flambeaux), competant (some, like Lady Grey, very much so), rarely need rescuing (with one notable exception), and are more than capable of competing with the male characters in the game.

Women in City are not objectified. Yes, they may be somewhat lacking in fashion sense (Silver Mantis) but they are not there solely to be eye candy. They are there because they have goals and ambitions and plots all of their own. And some of those storylines have become absolute favorites (how many times have you replayed 'O Wretched Man'?)

Now lets add the players back into this arguement. Some of the most respected members of our community are women. We do not respect them because of their sex, we respect them because they are skilled players and active members of our community. They post regularly on the forums (quite often more intelligently than the men) offering reasonable advice and holding their own in debates. They are some of our greatest artists, bringing us pictures and videos, stuffed dolls and t-shirts, and stories of their adventures (not to mention rumors of a certain famous author who might be a player ...)

In short, we love the women of our game. Not because of their looks, but because of their character. And if that isn't a positive message for women, I don't know what is.

[Manga]

I watched the video.  Everything about it was terrible.  The dances were terrible, the body structure of the characters AND the bones/joints are all wrong (from a 3D character perspective).  Speaking of perspective, that's wrong too.  And the clothing is basically pajamas.  Who goes fighting in pajamas?

Wait, I take that last part back.  Groucho Marx shot an elephant in his pajamas.  What that elephant was doing in his pajamas is anyone's guess.

[The White Rager]

GREAT use of a Marx Brothers quote there TheManga  ;D

I often find the ferocity with which feminists and similar liberals pursue their agendas off-putting...but there are some causes that demand exception, where I'm glad someone is willing to get fierce about it. Blade and Soul is one of them, and I thought so before you showed us that video VV (I keep having to resist the urge to call you Misty. I read your Valdemar books back in high school long before I ever heard of this game, let alone your involvement in it). I question the sanity and/or initiative of any women who is not absolutely furious with it's existence. I question the taste of any men who enjoy it. There, see, no virtues at all.

Lord. And my search for some kind of game, somewhere, that I can possibly enjoy after having played CoH is still going absolutely nowhere. Is there no other light in the MMO universe at all? Everything may depend on that Plan Z, ultimately. In the meantime, maybe I'll just get more done in terms of homework. It's a good thing...really....*not convinced*.

[Stormy Weathermaker]

I saw one of the dance videos from one of the links posted above, is this their new version of playboy channel?  Instead of paying $30 a night, you can pay $15 a month and you watch and play all night?  Umm......ewwwwwwww!!

If a legitimate offered is ignored by a corporation, those behind the offer have the right to approach the stockholders of that corporation. I can name three different occasions this happened, and none of them turned out well for the CEO.

Downix, I have a question for you, because I'm not knowledgeable in this area.  Where did these different occasions take place?  Generally meaning: which country?  Can this instance be applied to a Korean company, if these occasions did not take place here?  Or does Korea have a different set of rules, in general?  Yes I know what most, if not all, think of NCSoft and that is a given.  I am more curious about the country business style as a whole. 

[downix]

I saw one of the dance videos from one of the links posted above, is this their new version of playboy channel?  Instead of paying $30 a night, you can pay $15 a month and you watch and play all night?  Umm......ewwwwwwww!!

Downix, I have a question for you, because I'm not knowledgeable in this area.  Where did these different occasions take place?  Generally meaning: which country?  Can this instance be applied to a Korean company, if these occasions did not take place here?  Or does Korea have a different set of rules, in general?  Yes I know what most, if not all, think of NCSoft and that is a given.  I am more curious about the country business style as a whole.

One I do not know if it was in their home country or NCSoft's, the other I know of as happening within the US.

Korea until 15 years ago had shareholder rights, but the culture had few of them exercising that right. That all changed in 1998 with the successful lawsuit against Samsung by Jang Hasung. As a result of the litigation against large corporations, there is a general concern among Korean shareholders on their vested interest. It is a situation of cultural change.

Why didn't I think of this sooner. Contacting Mr. Hasung?

Sent an email. Cannot hurt.

[Victoria Victrix]

GREAT use of a Marx Brothers quote there TheManga  ;D

I often find the ferocity with which feminists and similar liberals pursue their agendas off-putting...but there are some causes that demand exception, where I'm glad someone is willing to get fierce about it. Blade and Soul is one of them, and I thought so before you showed us that video VV (I keep having to resist the urge to call you Misty. I read your Valdemar books back in high school long before I ever heard of this game, let alone your involvement in it). I question the sanity and/or initiative of any women who is not absolutely furious with it's existence. I question the taste of any men who enjoy it. There, see, no virtues at all.

Lord. And my search for some kind of game, somewhere, that I can possibly enjoy after having played CoH is still going absolutely nowhere. Is there no other light in the MMO universe at all? Everything may depend on that Plan Z, ultimately. In the meantime, maybe I'll just get more done in terms of homework. It's a good thing...really....*not convinced*.

Oh some feminists (and I do consider myself a feminist) scare me too.  But the depiction of women in Boobs and Shame sent my blood pressure up about fifty points, and I am perfectly willing to unleash the Kindly Ones on the perpetrators of that sad excuse for soft core porn.

I've had the same lack of luck finding a substitute MMO, or even a substitute solo game.

I cannot use twitch (console) controls.  I've been stuck in the early levels of Portal for that reason ("Here!" said a friend, "Try this, it's relaxing and fun!"  Uh, no.  Spending three hours trying and failing to get the timing right on a move is neither relaxing nor fun.  I do NOT have the hand/eye coordination for it and at 62 said hand/eye coordination is probably no longer possible to acquire.)

I loath grinds.  I don't care how pretty they are.  When in order to have a decently equipped character that doesn't faceplant on the first Lt or group of 3 minions you have to kill ten million rats (or pay a gold farmer), that is by definition, a grind.  I'm looking at you, LotR and WoW.

I require good story.  Without good story, it's just another grind.

I am not an accountant, and a game that requires me to spend half or more of my gaming time sorting through equipment, crafting equipment, farming for equipment, and trading equipment is not a game, it's a glorified accounting program.  I'm looking at you, LotR and WoW.

I refuse to play a game where you can't be good.  Sorry, I got over "edgy anti-hero" a long time ago.  I'm looking at you, Secret World (and you also fail on twitch controls).

So far, every single game I have looked at fails on one or more of those.

[Segev]

This won't be a permanent substitute and is entirely a different game feel, but I'm with you on a lot of those concerns re: videogames, and one game I really enjoyed that manages to be very casual and fun is "Plants vs. Zombies."

Another one unusual for how much I played it (I actually beat it!) is Psychonauts, but it IS a platformer and DOES require some twitch reflexes. I'm not a good twitch gamer, but I don't know how well you'd compare to me on it.

[Victoria Victrix]

This won't be a permanent substitute and is entirely a different game feel, but I'm with you on a lot of those concerns re: videogames, and one game I really enjoyed that manages to be very casual and fun is "Plants vs. Zombies."

Another one unusual for how much I played it (I actually beat it!) is Psychonauts, but it IS a platformer and DOES require some twitch reflexes. I'm not a good twitch gamer, but I don't know how well you'd compare to me on it.

I'm stuck in the lower levels on Psychonauts too.  The Bouncy Ball section.  I suck.

[DrakeGrimm]

I'm stuck in the lower levels on Psychonauts too.  The Bouncy Ball section.  I suck.

...accursed bouncy balls...

* DrakeGrimm shakes fist

[NecrotechMaster]

the game i been playing lately is borderlands 2, great story which very well ties to the first game and at the end allows for further room to expand

the only drawback is that you need be good at a first person shooter to play it (its 99.9% PVE but its still set in first person perspective)

[Victoria Victrix]

Larry loves Borderlands 1 and 2, looked at me and said, sadly, "It will only make you insanely frustrated."

No, I am no good at first person shooters either.

[Knightslayer]

Larry loves Borderlands 1 and 2, looked at me and said, sadly, "It will only make you insanely frustrated."

No, I am no good at first person shooters either.

Yeah, they tend to be the kings of twitch gaming =P
How about Xcom: Enemy Unknown? It's a turnbased strategy game.

[Segev]

I'm stuck in the lower levels on Psychonauts too.  The Bouncy Ball section.  I suck.

That's not sucking! That's the first truly difficult level. (Though you should have seen how frustrated I got on the cube-shaped level before it...)

With the exception of the race at the end, the bouncy-ball dungeon is, ironically, best played with patience and care. There is precision required, but I found the way to achieve it was simply to allow yourself to fail in a different way each time until you get a good idea how the level is laid out, because it's a 3D mess in there.

[JWBullfrog]

No, I am no good at first person shooters either.

There is always the option of the annoyingly addicting Civilization series of games. Zero twitch, turn based, the computer is a cheating so-and -so, the ability to conquer the world ...
It's a thought.

[Merana]

Same here, I hate grinding, and I suck at jump and run stuff. I did play WOW, but I hated the grinding needed for good equip. Mostly I was just lucky that I was a good healer and people wanted me to come with them so they helped me. But when somebody wanted to give me stuff just because I´m a girl i denied. I wanted to at least try and earn it.
But I must agree, COH is still the only game that is purely fun for me. It is also the game where I met quite some playing girls beside myself, and i loved to have them to play and chat with. I like to play with guys, but sometimes it needs a girl to have a good chat. (of course while healing a group, and my husband always wondered how I could do that without letting everyone die.)
Oh, and, Victoria Victrix, I must say this now. I adore you, and your engagement here. You have a new fan now, even though I first met your name some time ago when I read all of Marion Zimmer Bradley´s Books that i could get my hands on. 

[Heroette]

Ok, I am at work and clicked on that youtube link and had to close it down after about 5 seconds.  I would get in so much trouble at work with that playing on my computer.  That is soooo inappropriate!!!!

[The White Rager]

Actually, a game I really enjoyed playing before coming to CoH was Mabinogi. I left because of the combat system - I actually intended to come back but just wanted someplace where I could play fast, fierce, and dramatic. CoH scratched not only that itch, but a dozen others I hadn't even known I had...to the point that when I heard about the shutdown, I abruptly realized I'd been sold on it entirely, and never wanted to have to give it up.

But...I do recommend Mabinogi. Yes, it's anime style animation, but the world is fairly realistic, beautiful, extensive. You have to buy a pet for decent travel but it's a permanent purchase and comes with other perks as well (storage space, and many are just plain cool - tigers and dragons for instance. And griffons, but those were timed only. I got one). And the storytelling is absolutely magnificent. People make new toons to replay the first storyline because of how much they loved it and have fond memories of it, but they are ALL good, intricate, fulfilling. You truly feel like the main character of a novel, except its happening - simply superb. Unfortunately translation is not always the best, but really, it rarely gets in the way. None of this equipment nonsense - pretty much all weapons perform equally, FROM THE BEGINNING. It's all in how you use it, what skills you take. No classes, you figure out your ideal hybrid (or pure) build, but different races do some things better. It's the combat itself that will make or break you on it. Yes, it's truly different, and I loved it at first, but timing is so important and a little lag means your skill doesn't load fast enough...but since I left, there was some kind of major combat system change, I don't really understand what it involved yet, but I've been meaning to go back and find out. It may or may no be relevant anymore. But it's a game I'd be happy to go back to. Long term, you really can create unique character looks - to the extent that they have fashion shows and contests. Really is worth trying.

There's also Vindictus, which is heavily associated with Mabinogi, and I believe the storytelling is on par. But I haven't really played it a lot. Also, little roleplaying leeway. Maybe it's more flexible now. But in Mabinogi at least, you definitely don't have the clones thing - you even have a pretty wide range of looks available. And Pets storage make keeping more than one suit more practical.

[The White Rager]

By the way...you should try googling 'NCSoft stock chart, and clicking the first link you get. Yahoo finance, it's nice and accurate and up to date, and pretty interesting...let's just say if they were hoping for recovery, it didn't work  ;D

[Hyperstrike]

Oh some feminists (and I do consider myself a feminist) scare me too.  But the depiction of women in Boobs and Shame sent my blood pressure up about fifty points, and I am perfectly willing to unleash the Kindly Ones on the perpetrators of that sad excuse for soft core porn.

I've had the same lack of luck finding a substitute MMO, or even a substitute solo game.

I cannot use twitch (console) controls.  I've been stuck in the early levels of Portal for that reason ("Here!" said a friend, "Try this, it's relaxing and fun!"  Uh, no.  Spending three hours trying and failing to get the timing right on a move is neither relaxing nor fun.  I do NOT have the hand/eye coordination for it and at 62 said hand/eye coordination is probably no longer possible to acquire.)

I loath grinds.  I don't care how pretty they are.  When in order to have a decently equipped character that doesn't faceplant on the first Lt or group of 3 minions you have to kill ten million rats (or pay a gold farmer), that is by definition, a grind.  I'm looking at you, LotR and WoW.

I require good story.  Without good story, it's just another grind.

I am not an accountant, and a game that requires me to spend half or more of my gaming time sorting through equipment, crafting equipment, farming for equipment, and trading equipment is not a game, it's a glorified accounting program.  I'm looking at you, LotR and WoW.

I refuse to play a game where you can't be good.  Sorry, I got over "edgy anti-hero" a long time ago.  I'm looking at you, Secret World (and you also fail on twitch controls).

So far, every single game I have looked at fails on one or more of those.

Question.  What's your current opinion of Champions Online?
The writing's a bit...corny and a bit too stuck in "tongue and cheek comic book homage".  Frankly, I'm glad Cryptic wasn't able to get the Champions IP when they were originally building CoH, the game and the lore benefited MIGHTILY by a fresh approach. 

And yeah, the art style isn't to everyone's taste.

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.cox-supergroups.com%2FHyperstrike.MainCostume.png vs https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.cox-supergroups.com%2FHyperstrike-CO.png

The missions, unfortunately, are fairly hunt-heavy and the phone-number-less structure means you have to either grab multiple missions from a contact simultaneously or you are running back and forth a lot.  Also, some of their comic-arc content (Looking at the Whiteout arcs) are buggy as hell (though they're slowly being fixed).

I'm going there because I already had a lifetime sub from way back (vendor comps at conventions are so convenient sometimes) so it's really hard to argue with "free".  It was just never enough to actually distract me from City of Heroes.

Still, I'd like to hear others' opinions of the game.

[NecrotechMaster]

ive posted elsewhere that ive had 0 interest in trying CO, the graphics make my eyes hurt, even with the no lines option and stuff and makes me think they have a 10 year old as their graphic designer

gameplay wise ive also had 0 interest in it, mostly because it would just feel like a cheap cheap knockoff of coh thus making me sad coh was gone, and because i had that style (no easy way to talk with your contacts, a bazillion "go here, hunt *****" type of mishs just isnt fun