Author Topic: The Bard is Back!  (Read 47700 times)

P51mus

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #100 on: November 15, 2012, 03:43:25 AM »
Lotta unicorns sniffing around the thread on the main boards. :)

Another_fan has been a huge troll on the main boards for a really really really long time.

Terwyn

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #101 on: November 15, 2012, 03:52:04 AM »
And Angry_Citizen too?
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dwturducken

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #102 on: November 15, 2012, 04:14:37 AM »
Unicorns gonna unicorn, I guess.

(And, yes, I've switched to just typing it as it displays...)
I wouldn't use the word "replace," but there's no word for "take over for you and make everything better almost immediately," so we just say "replace."

Ammon

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #103 on: November 15, 2012, 04:16:40 AM »
You know that the politically correct term is "those of a single-horned visage", right? :)

NecrotechMaster

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #104 on: November 15, 2012, 04:38:32 AM »
thanks VV for the update, both for confirming what fansy was saying, and for giving everyone hope

the news that it is very likely to be able to be sold after it has closed is very good

Victoria Victrix

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #105 on: November 15, 2012, 04:51:58 AM »
thanks VV for the update, both for confirming what fansy was saying, and for giving everyone hope

the news that it is very likely to be able to be sold after it has closed is very good

If it turns out after closing that all it will take is money...well, that's not insurmountable.
I will go down with this ship.  I won't put my hands up in surrender.  There will be no white flag above my door.  I'm in love, and always will be.  Dido

NecrotechMaster

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #106 on: November 15, 2012, 05:19:51 AM »
based on what has been said in this thread, thats what it sounds like, which means any number of poeple may be interested in snatching up the IP

i just hope that whoever gets it basically starts it back up the same as or nearly the same as it was left off

Colette

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #107 on: November 15, 2012, 06:25:58 AM »
"The reason that the game 'must' be shut down before it can be sold is because of perceived legal problems and liabilities on the part of the NCSoft legal department.  (It's not lawsuits or potential lawsuits with Marvel, but other issues regarding ownership).  Apparently dealing with the Garriott case scared the whey out of them, and they are now jumping at imagined shadows.  They won't even consider selling until it is officially 'dead.'"

Extremely useful information.

Now... advice please. In your opinion, should we put the campaign attacking NCSoft on hiatus given this new information?

What other courses of action would you advise we follow?

NecrotechMaster

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #108 on: November 15, 2012, 06:56:20 AM »
right now i think keeping up small stuff like we have been should suffice until we know exactly what ncsoft wants to do with the IP after the game actually closes, cause it could go either way

Victoria Victrix

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #109 on: November 15, 2012, 10:11:00 AM »
Keep up the pressure.  We want them to know in NO uncertain terms that we are not going away.  Let me use a cowboy analogy.  The bull is flailing around the pen, and we need to herd it into the chute.  It needs to go where we want to put it, and the only way to do that is keep up the pressure. 

Remember, they brought this on themselves.
I will go down with this ship.  I won't put my hands up in surrender.  There will be no white flag above my door.  I'm in love, and always will be.  Dido

Artillerie

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #110 on: November 15, 2012, 12:01:33 PM »
There seem to be many reasons to keep the pressure going. Not least that i think NCSoft - even if their motives are purer than they actually seem - could have handled this with a lot more respect for their customers.

Knightslayer

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #111 on: November 15, 2012, 12:18:40 PM »
I, too, cannot reveal my source, but it is solid, and I hope you will accept my credibility at this point.  Let's just say I had an interesting afternoon gathering information.

Fansy's source is correct.  The reason that the game "must" be shut down before it can be sold is because of perceived legal problems and liabilities on the part of the NCSoft legal department.  (It's not lawsuits or potential lawsuits with Marvel, but other issues regarding ownership).  Apparently dealing with the Garriott case scared the whey out of them, and they are now jumping at imagined shadows.  They won't even consider selling until it is officially "dead."

The bad news: the game will close Nov 30.
The good news: it can rise from the ashes.

That is great news! It's still not guaranteed that things will turn out alright after all, but it sure is closer than it was before (AKA the "NCSoft will sit on the IP until the end of times" idea).
Thanks VV, your news helped lift the gloom that's been building more and more as the shut down draws nearer.

OzonePrime

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #112 on: November 15, 2012, 01:19:11 PM »
Sweet! I feel David has Goliath reeling! ;D 
We will get our game back!     Never give up! Never surrender!

Fansy

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #113 on: November 15, 2012, 01:32:01 PM »
Hail!

Now didn't I say I was busy singing songs all across the globe to obtain as much information as I could?
 8)

I was brought into this with a tangled mess and a dreadful woe. May you now relax a little more when Ol'Fansy spins a song of magical proportions to ears most longing. I'm not without my tricks, tips, sources, and superdine!  Not many do I have left, admittedly, but there is much still left to be yearned and as long as there is the smallest stream to drink from I will! Partially because playing instruments and singing can really tire us small folk out.

In any pace!

Thank you much for getting your source to open its clamorous tap-tap so that I know to trust in my own a little more, my good Lackey. Together with our ability to scour the open seas there is nothing that can hide from us.


And to the Community I will let know I shall be returning to silence for I must write new music and tend to grasping for acorns as they fall, plucking fruits from trees and bush. Got quite a bit of work to repay not only a source in kind but to follow up with a couple more interesting details that have come to light. I won't sing of them yet, but when I can..

Always for the Good Team!
Fansy the Famous Bard

Segev

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #114 on: November 15, 2012, 01:47:59 PM »
It is unfortunate that NCSoft couldn't simply state this. I mean, I get that they couldn't say it blatantly, but to not even hint at the possibility of selling it off after it closes being more possible is sad, because it made everybody more anxious than they probably had to be. That said, we absolutely must keep up the pressure. Keep it blue side, keep it something we can turn around and make them friends again if they cooperate. The bull, once in the pen, should be patted down and fed.

But the more pressure we keep on them, the more their PR is continuing to take a hit until they get the game into the hands of somebody who will start it up for its players again, the more desperate they will be to entertain offers, and the more reasonable the price might just be.

avelworldcreator

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #115 on: November 15, 2012, 02:01:18 PM »
Hmm. Seems someone is replying just as start this. I wonder if they will make the same points.

Here are some critical questions:
  • What exactly will NCSoft be selling?
  • Does it include the licensing of the game engine? It belongs to Cryptic Studios, not NCSoft
  • Will the buyer be able to rehire enough of the core development team and support staff to get the game running again?
  • Will it include existing character and player data? Some serious liabilities with that one!
  • Will NCSoft's terms be actually reasonable for the sale?

None of these are absolute show stoppers, but they should be considered and planned for if we want to save the game.

I can't say too much more because I'm not an impartial observer at the moment, even if I'm a supportive one.
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johnrobey

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #116 on: November 15, 2012, 02:39:43 PM »
Hail!

Now didn't I say I was busy singing songs all across the globe to obtain as much information as I could?
 8)

I was brought into this with a tangled mess and a dreadful woe. May you now relax a little more when Ol'Fansy spins a song of magical proportions to ears most longing. I'm not without my tricks, tips, sources, and superdine!  Not many do I have left, admittedly, but there is much still left to be yearned and as long as there is the smallest stream to drink from I will! Partially because playing instruments and singing can really tire us small folk out.

In any pace!

Thank you much for getting your source to open its clamorous tap-tap so that I know to trust in my own a little more, my good Lackey. Together with our ability to scour the open seas there is nothing that can hide from us.


And to the Community I will let know I shall be returning to silence for I must write new music and tend to grasping for acorns as they fall, plucking fruits from trees and bush. Got quite a bit of work to repay not only a source in kind but to follow up with a couple more interesting details that have come to light. I won't sing of them yet, but when I can..

Always for the Good Team!
Fansy the Famous Bard

Thanks and Best to you in your endeavors!
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Segev

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #117 on: November 15, 2012, 02:47:19 PM »
Hmm. Seems someone is replying just as start this. I wonder if they will make the same points.

Here are some critical questions:
  • What exactly will NCSoft be selling?
  • Does it include the licensing of the game engine? It belongs to Cryptic Studios, not NCSoft
  • Will the buyer be able to rehire enough of the core development team and support staff to get the game running again?
  • Will it include existing character and player data? Some serious liabilities with that one!
  • Will NCSoft's terms be actually reasonable for the sale?

None of these are absolute show stoppers, but they should be considered and planned for if we want to save the game.

I can't say too much more because I'm not an impartial observer at the moment, even if I'm a supportive one.
I can't answer the first item, but...

Does it include the licensing of the game engine? It belongs to Cryptic Studios, not NCSoft

More than a month ago, before I got involved in Plan Z, I was looking into the viability of trying to get my employer to buy CoH for my own research and development purposes. I contacted Cryptic's CEO to ask if they would have issue with re-licensing the use of the game engine should we get to that point, and he indicated he did not think it would be a problem at all on Cryptic's end. While that's not a binding legal statement, I am inclined to trust the CEO's instincts on this matter; after all, Cryptic probably doesn't mind effectively free money.

Will the buyer be able to rehire enough of the core development team and support staff to get the game running again?

VV has stated that, after a long conversation with Brian Clayton, if he can get ahold of CoH's rights he thinks he can put the core of the team back together. Take that as you will, but I choose to find it hopeful, at a minimum.

Will NCSoft's terms be actually reasonable for the sale?

That would be what the purpose of keeping up the pressure is: to make them WANT to sell, so they'll take any price they can get.

avelworldcreator

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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #118 on: November 15, 2012, 03:02:43 PM »
Thanks, Segev, I wasn't terribly worried about the license issue, but it would need to be brought up anyways.

You answered 3 of the 5 questions, punted on one, and ignored the last about player accounts. :) But "I don't know" would have probably worked for that one.
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Re: The Bard is Back!
« Reply #119 on: November 15, 2012, 03:05:07 PM »
Remember too our anger not just due to the shut down.  It's the all out kicking the Paragon Studio crew out the door.  This would be without pay if it wasn't for California law that gave them a buffer. 

There is also the Issue 24 sitting in the test server that we were waiting for. 

They could have set all accounts to VIP so everyone could have a final blast rampaging the Incarnate trials.  People like me that was stuck in F2P misses out.

Also issues of money refunds being hard to get.
One way or another... Heroes will fly again!