Community-Built COH Style MMORPG

[Rae]

See, that's a very good point. After reading your post, I started thinking why I never joined the forums and instead, I just lurked and never bothered checking back when I saw where it was heading. I guess the answer, in my particular case, is that I don't feel that either project is a community driven one but I'm not sure why that is. On one side, I think it's partly because of the split, let me see if I can explain myself (not so easy for me in English):

The fact that a community driven effort by a group of people who had such disagreements that made said project split in two kinda set up the tone of what was in store, see, I have no game developing skills whatsoever, I can't help either writing or even proof reading since English is not my native language so the way I saw it was "how the heck are they going to listen to anything I might suggest if they couldn't get in agreement among themselves in the first place?".

I know what I'm saying is not fair to any of the teams, specially not knowing any of you in person, however, that's the way I felt it and that's why I just lurked in TPP forums without voicing an opinion, I just thought there was little point to it.

I can understand that, I was also nervous about getting involved. Even after I did get involved, I think it took a month for me to post anything :-)

The split was obviously not an ideal situation, but from my experience with TPP, the group has a solid core and foundation who have been together for 6 months now and has a growing community springing up around us which keeps us in line and have been incredibly supportive.

Please remember that there are probably hundreds of fantasy games and fps on the market, each appealing to a huge variety of players, who choose 'their' game because they like how it looks/plays/feels over others. I love L4D, but I hate CS and TF. I can lose myself in DA for hours, but WOW leaves me cold.

But please don't think you have nothing to offer - outside of the obvious writers/artists/programmers, all of the projects need the people to support them - business guys, finance guys, web guys, convention goers, social media addicts, legal minds, HR guys, accountants, TRANSLATORS :-) , and just people with cool ideas who go: "it'd be so cool if..." or "for the love of god, no!"

I honestly can't think of a single skill set that couldn't be put to use, should you be inclined to stick your head in to any of the projects. Don't sell yourself short :-)

[Rae]

Nightmarer answered it pretty well.   I guess the best way to sum it up would be to say  they see some one come in, talking a good game, offering something they want that both TPP and VaH both say isn't going to happen...it does tend to give hope.  False hope, maybe...but none the less.

(I am going to have to change my Sig to add a statement that clarifies the point that I am NOT attempting to be disrespectful to either TPP or VaH,  Just showing friendly disagreement and enjoying the conversation.)

(my fiance is making me add this...she says I would argue with a stump if I could LOL)

All feedback is good feedback. No offense taken :-)

[Rotten Luck]

Another thing I must ask for a Clone is... a clone of what Issue of City of heroes.  The game has had some major changes over the years, even if we made a full copy with just some art and name changes.  We still have people going "Couldn't you have done a pre-Issue 13 it so the PVP WORKED!"  or those who would want Pre-Issue 6 so they wouldn't have to have "Enhancement Diversification".

With focusing on what City of Heroes does rather then How City of Heroes does it we can build from the ground up for PVP instead of having to shoe horn it in as it seemed with City of Heroes/City of Villains. 

Like you said no one going to get what we really want.  That's our home back with all it's flaws and it's greatness.  We can however get something that works if we work together it might not be City of Heroes...  But we can strive to make it a Home.

[Golden Girl]

they had already been informed that, no, you will not get the game that Plan Z was formed to give you in the first place.

As the person who got the whole Plan Z ball rolling back at the start of September last year, I can safely say that the intention was never to clone CoH, for one simple reason - it's legally a non-starter - we can't copy CoH feature for feature, system for system, design choice for design choice and hope to end up with something that could get past copyrigth lawyers - it's just not possible.

There has to be a selective and creative approach to making a true spiritual successor to CoH, which is why the design process for HaV has been broekn down into 3 steps:

1 - What parts of CoH are so common to games/MMOs in general that a direct copy is ok?

2 - What parts of CoH are more unique to CoH, and will require a creative recreation to deliver the same end results, even if the route to those results is changed in some way?

3 - What were the longest/most frequest feature requests/design choice complaints made about CoH that were never fully implemented or addressed during its 8 year run that we will now have the freedom to look at as we're starting from scratch?

This template has been applied to every design choice made in HaV so far, to guide the project towards its goal of creating a comic book MMO that's a true and legally safe spiritual successor to CoH.

[Nebularian]

With focusing on what City of Heroes does rather then How City of Heroes does it we can build from the ground up for PVP instead of having to shoe horn it in as it seemed with City of Heroes/City of Villains. 

Like you said no one going to get what we really want.  That's our home back with all it's flaws and it's greatness.  We can however get something that works if we work together it might not be City of Heroes...  But we can strive to make it a Home.

Just one comment on the PVP aspect....UGH.  I hate PVP    But I would have been bothered if COH had dropped it....because a lot of my friends DID like PVP and it was kept completely separate from my desired type of play (ie Co-op).  That would be a make or break for me concerning a new game.  If the two styles of play were not kept separate, I would have no interest.

But Let's focus on the second part of the above quote.  This is a stand I admit I cannot understand. If all we wanted to do was make a new home, why bother going through the effort of creating new games that may or may not be the equal of the two games already out there (CO and DCUO)?

It is not the desire to "play a game" that is the central point of this community (unless I am greatly mistaken)...But rather continue what we had AND evolving forward.  Without that first part, what is the sense?   Why not just move to CO or DCUO lock, stock, and barrel if all we wanted was a game to play?

Even with "all it's flaws", the community is ABOUT City of Heroes. It is not about TPP Game or HaV Game or Team 3 Game or Team 4 Game (ugh....horrid vision of people with t-shirts proclaiming their team loyalty....I will never forgive my fiance for making me watch Twilight......).

So....we've been told that a clone is not feasible.....(still not convinced but......) So if we are ditching COH (and that is exactly what is happening)....what is going to set either project (TPP or HaV) apart from CO and DCUO?  And I am not talking game mechanics here. What will it be that encourages people to choose TPP or HaV or both over CO or DCUO?

Saying "a place to make a new home" really won't work.  We could do that now with CO or DCUO.  Why don't we?  Because it is COH "with all it's flaws" that keeps us together. (one encouraging thing I have seen was a statement from GG that basically said "if it ain't broke, don't fix it") .

I should point out, again, that I am not advocating a full blown clone of COH...but rather a scaled down version that will just be there to play...maintained...but not updated. (In other words, new material should not be expected).  Does that seem like a useless endeavor?  The way I see it, it would be just as useless as putting mortar between stones when building a wall.  It could well turn out to be the cement that keeps the community together while TPP and HaV move forward in their own directions to give the community NEW and Exciting experiences with two new games  Both teams would find a handy community waiting for what they have to offer....giving the players a choice...and yet maintaining that cement that would keep us altogether....whether we chose to go with one, or the other...or CO or DCUO.  (Though seriously, Both TPP and HaV would already have an advantage over those other two).

(Edited to remove a statement that, on seeing it after posting, promoted a tone I do not wish in my posts....I am enjoying the conversation and have no wish to disrespect people involved with either team.)

(Edited again to change all the VaH to HaV....I probably made the same typo i previous posts...but this is the one in which my mistake was caught LOL)

[no hero]

VaH

Sorry, if this is an inside joke that I fail to get, but is it not HaV ?

[JaguarX]

3 - What were the longest/most frequest feature requests/design choice complaints made about CoH that were never fully implemented or addressed during its 8 year run that we will now have the freedom to look at as we're starting from scratch?

Smarter MM pets.

[JaguarX]

Just one comment on the PVP aspect....UGH.  I hate PVP    But I would have been bothered if COH had dropped it....because a lot of my friends DID like PVP and it was kept completely separate from my desired type of play (ie Co-op).  That would be a make or break for me concerning a new game.  If the two styles of play were not kept separate, I would have no interest.

But Let's focus on the second part of the above quote.  This is a stand I admit I cannot understand. If all we wanted to do was make a new home, why bother going through the effort of creating new games that may or may not be the equal of the two games already out there (CO and DCUO)?

It is not the desire to "play a game" that is the central point of this community (unless I am greatly mistaken)...But rather continue what we had AND evolving forward.  Without that first part, what is the sense?   Why not just move to CO or DCUO lock, stock, and barrel if all we wanted was a game to play?

Even with "all it's flaws", the community is ABOUT City of Heroes. It is not about TPP Game or VaH Game or Team 3 Game or Team 4 Game (ugh....horrid vision of people with t-shirts proclaiming their team loyalty....I will never forgive my fiance for making me watch Twilight......).

So....we've been told that a clone is not feasible.....(still not convinced but......) So if we are ditching COH (and that is exactly what is happening)....what is going to set either project (TPP or VaH) apart from CO and DCUO?  And I am not talking game mechanics here. What will it be that encourages people to choose TPP or VaH or both over CO or DCUO?

Saying "a place to make a new home" really won't work.  We could do that now with CO or DCUO.  Why don't we?  Because it is COH "with all it's flaws" that keeps us together. (one encouraging thing I have seen was a statement from GG that basically said "if it ain't broke, don't fix it") .

I should point out, again, that I am not advocating a full blown clone of COH...but rather a scaled down version that will just be there to play...maintained...but not updated. (In other words, new material should not be expected).  Does that seem like a useless endeavor?  The way I see it, it would be just as useless as putting mortar between stones when building a wall.  It could well turn out to be the cement that keeps the community together while TPP and VaH move forward in their own directions to give the community NEW and Exciting experiences with two new games  Both teams would find a handy community waiting for what they have to offer....giving the players a choice...and yet maintaining that cement that would keep us altogether....whether we chose to go with one, or the other...or CO or DCUO.  (Though seriously, Both TPP and VaH would already have an advantage over those other two).

hmm pretty interesting questions contained in that post that I'm curious of the answer myself.

[Nebularian]

Sorry, if this is an inside joke that I fail to get, but is it not HaV ?

Oooops...Nope...just a redundant typo LOL

[Aviticus Gladius]

I really appreciate Dylan making it a point to say that he meant no offense by sharing his opinions. However, this is earth, and people have to be ready to take on every type of feedback accordingly. I've seen a few comments where people have suggested that I or my associates/partner developers haven't played or been truly involved with City of Heroes; this is absurd due to the simple fact that those individuals don't even know me. That's like someone saying, "I never saw you on the Virtue server and I played on that server religiously". People will feel they way they feel, and you have to accept that. I've seen a lot of post where people are speaking as if they are educated on subjects that they have absolutely no idea about, yet I just have to excuse it. I've seen countless posts here where people concern themselves with worries of copyright infringement when that would have to entail the absolutely direct replication of copyright properties; intellectual property and trademark infringement is a completely different elements of the legal enforcement spectrum. Every element of City of Heroes has been borrowed for it's predecessors: tab targeting, hotkeys, character creation, client-to-server communication, specific types of damage, the entire role-playing element, the comic book game theme, the entire MMO aspect, even the majority of its costumes and powers. Research Marvel's attempt at suing Cryptic Studios. Thoroughly read the public documentation and you will see that in an attempt to incite trademark infringement Marvel went as far as to have their legal team created infringing characters and admitted it during the court case; their law team had those statements stricken from the records, however. These claims were supported by trademark laws, mainly a specific "indirect infringement" law that protects companies trademarks from third-party elements of some businesses. In CoH's case, that would be the players. It was also included in that massive Terms of Usage Agreement that I'm sure a lot of people didn't even read -- this is in no way directed towards any specific individual withing these forums, but players in general. A good example would show a company like Activision being held responsible for Blizzards illegal infringement of an EA Games IP in inadvertently. They'd still work together to settle the issue I'm sure, but the law still applies to Activision regardless of whether they were aware. This is something City of Heroes was well aware of when they created City of Heroes.

When I first joined City of Heroes during its beta phase, I remember attempting to put in Batman just to see if the name was taken and I received and invalid name error. However, if the name was taken, I received an error that specified that the name was already in use. My research further showed that they did implement a blocklist, but Marvel took special care to create infringing characters. That alone shows they are actively attempting to take action against anything that potentially threatens their trademarks/intellectual properties. Being a business major, I'm well aware of the laws that apply to cerain elements of a business, and a company must take all measures to defend a trademark and an IP. It's a lot different than a copyright (especially the intricacies of how it's documented), and this is something that can be researched more by anyone curious enough to do some investigating. It's also something you never take someone's "word for". Don't quote me on this because I seem to remember this faintly and I'm not sure who it was, but I believe I remember some highly regarded marketing analyst making comments "on the record" about Marvel "HAVING" to take those action. It wasn't even a matter of winning or losing, but more along the lines of insuring the public that they were close monitoring the operations of potentially infringing properties; even to the point that they would take actions in a case they would surely us. An example of this would be the recent case of Bethesda vs. Mojang. A lot of people viewed it as, "Big bad Bethesda targeting the little ole Mojang studio..." In reality they had no choice, because Mojang could potentially pose a threat to their trademark/IP. So creating any "super hero themed" product should generate the interest and concern of owners of like products. This is something that all teams should be aware of and be thoroughly prepared for. We already have a system used to filter profanity that we would use at the database/storage level to prevent such issues at all costs. I think it would just require a few dedicated staff members or a single dedicated staff member to professional contact each major comic book publisher and ask for a formatted document with a list of all the names of their intellectual properties "on the record". This way we have proof that not only did we make internal efforts to block potentially infringing naming conventions, but that we made an aggressive effort to involve parties that we are most likely to infringe upon.

Another thing I noticed was someone questioning another individual as to what their idea of "hope" was; they also made a note that they meant no offense by their post. No offense taken on my part. However, in my honest opinion (no disrespect or offense intended), feel that each project is currently equal. What more is the other teams' concepts, content, and lore than the ideas that our small gathering has come up with behind the public vale? Ultimately it doesn't matter what ideas, images, or visual content is presented if the game isn't available... or so it appears in the eyes of most consumers and rightfully so. They also went on to talk about interviews and public recognition. Please turn your attention to games like Project D; a project that my company researched for sometime prior to launching our first title into development. The title was a widely popular MMO developed in Korea with a staggering initial budget well into the 8 figured, that had funding pulled towards the middle of development. The project was later cancelled and hasn't resurfaced. It received lots of "GLOBAL" press as well as further investments during the peak of its development. By press I mean: multiple headlines on popularly MMO and standard game sites/news networks, large articles on most globally expansive MMO sites/networks, interviews on MMO sites/networks, and established a massive Youtube presence. The point -- what did that ultimately do for the project? The same applies to assumption/suggestion that "we never released any titles". Between myself and other programmers on the team we've worked on various commercial releases: Everquest, Unreal 2, Asheron's Call, Word, and many other applications/software solutions for a large array of companies both major and independent. So, the entire idea that just because we haven't released a titled under the SilverHelm Studios banner means we don't retain the capacity to complete a title is factually "incorrect". That's like saying, "This group of people programmed a nuclear missle, but because they didn't do it for a particular government, it doesn't count. I'm pulling a quote from a scene in LoE here, so  I'm about to sound really medieval. However, I must say this:

"My brothers and sisters, let us not allow our perception be twisted and tangled by the disguises of life, but let us allow ourselves to pier through that mangled imagery to see life in its true form..." -Santel Merdan (Legends of Etherell)

I'm sure people have heard the phrase, "... things are never quite what they seem." Saying such as those did not just arise, they were shared and carried down for ages. I once read an article based on a poll by Computer Digest Magazine that suggested that every 4 minutes a game idea commences development. Compare the amount of games that would be available if all these games led to a public release, to the amount of games available and the results are staggering. Until a game is released in some form to the public, it's often just a figment of their imagination as far as they are concerned. I conclude that we will pick what game we choose to play, regardless of the combative opinions we all have about "what we want". Hell, if I enjoy one of the other projects I'll still play them and contribute both financially and cooperatively to the development. It's not even about how it feels in relations to City of Heroes, but more about "what it represents to me", and that's something that I feel a lot of people here hasn't quite embraced yet. A few of us just loved the game the way it was, it's not that we hate the idea of change. To some of us it just represents more and modifying it too much will ruin that for us. If we could merge one day under a common banner, I believe we'd perform as a more efficient and affective development team. But everyone needs to take into account what could be compromised in the transition as well. Observe many of these post were some people like HaV over TTP, while some like Valiance Online's improved cloning ideals. It still funnels into a pool of wanderers that all seem to want something different. I know members of my supergroup that feel that it just needs to be a super hero MMO made in honor of CoH with no like features. Some feel cloning it would be offensive in a way. While a few of us feel cloning and redefining the aesthetics are the key to rebuilding the city. I guess we'll all just see what happens in the end. As negotiations continue, development continues on all sides. 

That's my 2 cents on the latest discussions, I'll be sharing some screens of the UI soon. Thanks for all the interest and sharing of opinions everyone.

[r00tb0ySlim]

Nostalgia is a cruel thing. We remember fondly cartoons or movies of our past, but when watching them again... did you know the Transformers animation sucked? The point is no matter how good a game is if it's to much like the Original it would trigger nostalgia and comparing the new game to our Memories of City of Heroes filtered through nostalgia it would have no hope at all. At worst we end up with a Superboy-Prime effect where we end up angry that things are so much alike and yet so wrong we end up hating the new game. Even if the new game is good.

Two things strike me as being the heart of City of heroes. Stories that make you want to read and do them over and over, and the community that makes you enjoy helping a new player experience the City for the first time.

This is so true.  Any new successor will not be the same and the brain will do what the brain does best in this case (see nostalgia).  We will be fortunate if it "feels" anywhere near the same as CoH.  I realize lore will be new as well as maps, graphics, audio, etc...  I hope that things like tray power activation, travel, and mouse/keys functions are comparable.  I will curb nostalgia and hope that key functions of CoH can be realized in any successor so that little "deja vu" moments can be experienced in a positive way.  I am a realist, so bring on the successor and may the best team win.

[Segev]

So if we are ditching COH (and that is exactly what is happening)....what is going to set either project (TPP or HaV) apart from CO and DCUO?  And I am not talking game mechanics here. What will it be that encourages people to choose TPP or HaV or both over CO or DCUO?

Let me turn this around on you, because the answer may help us make the game more "CoH" for you than otherwise: Mechanics aside, what was it about CoH that made you choose it over CO or DCUO?

Saying "a place to make a new home" really won't work.  We could do that now with CO or DCUO.  Why don't we?  Because it is COH "with all it's flaws" that keeps us together. (one encouraging thing I have seen was a statement from GG that basically said "if it ain't broke, don't fix it") .

There's ultimately no answer to this; it's a personal thing for each individual player and member of the community. It is a design goal of the Phoenix Project to make something that at least feels familiar to those who made their home in CoH. No, we're not deliberately cloning CoH "with all its flaws," but we are trying very hard to analyze what made CoH's "feel" and take all the good things we can identify, examine them thoroughly for what made them "good," and then emphasize those aspects.

What made CoH a positive, defined experience for its players will thus be there in the Phoenix Project, to the best of our ability to achieve it. It may not have exactly the same creaky floorboard, and the odd join in the ceiling where you used to keep your secret stash of trading cards may be gone, but if that secret stashing place was a feature, we are trying to build in hidden areas people can find to store their stuff, and more of them TO find and make use of.

If that rambling metaphor makes sense, anyway.

[mrultimate]

This is so true.  Any new successor will not be the same and the brain will do what the brain does best in this case (see nostalgia).  We will be fortunate if it "feels" anywhere near the same as CoH.  I realize lore will be new as well as maps, graphics, audio, etc...  I hope that things like tray power activation, travel, and mouse/keys functions are comparable.  I will curb nostalgia and hope that key functions of CoH can be realized in any successor so that little "deja vu" moments can be experienced in a positive way.  I am a realist, so bring on the successor and may the best team win.

This hits extremely close to how I feel. I want the general gameplay to feel as close to CoH as legally possible. One last thing I loved the map system in CoH. CO is bad. SWTOR is horrible. DCUO is the least offensive but still not up to par with CoH. The chat system in CoH work s better than the afore mentioned games as well. All in all though I look forward to having a new City to defend, explore, plunder in the future. I'm wishing all of you the best of luck.

[Nightmarer]

Let me turn this around on you, because the answer may help us make the game more "CoH" for you than otherwise: Mechanics aside, what was it about CoH that made you choose it over CO or DCUO?

Why mechanics aside? What if it was because of the mechanics?

There's ultimately no answer to this; it's a personal thing for each individual player and member of the community. It is a design goal of the Phoenix Project to make something that at least feels familiar to those who made their home in CoH. No, we're not deliberately cloning CoH "with all its flaws," but we are trying very hard to analyze what made CoH's "feel" and take all the good things we can identify, examine them thoroughly for what made them "good," and then emphasize those aspects.

So, besides TPP being developed by former CoH players, which now seems just anecdotical, is there any significant link between TPP and CoH? Any link that should make former CoH players think about TPP differently than when thinking about CO or DCUO or Marvel or even Wildstar? I mean, something tangible not the ethereal "CoH feeling" or "CoH spirit" because that's been already established as personal to each player.

What made CoH a positive, defined experience for its players will thus be there in the Phoenix Project

How do you know that? As you said, it's a personal thing.

I honestly apologize in advance if I sound blunt but I'm genuinely curious about the above and not being English my native language is impairing both my understanding of the subject and also my ability to express my thoughts the way I'd like to.-

[Segev]

Why mechanics aside? What if it was because of the mechanics?

Because this is the post to which I was replying:

So if we are ditching COH (and that is exactly what is happening)....what is going to set either project (TPP or HaV) apart from CO and DCUO?  And I am not talking game mechanics here. What will it be that encourages people to choose TPP or HaV or both over CO or DCUO?

You'll note that he said "and I'm not talking game mechanics here." Therefore, he wants something other than mechanics to harken unto CoH in a way that CO and DCUO do not. I would like to at least be able to analyze whether we're offering something of what he's looking for, and if not, see if we can.

So, besides TPP being developed by former CoH players, which now seems just anecdotical, is there any significant link between TPP and CoH? Any link that should make former CoH players think about TPP differently than when thinking about CO or DCUO or Marvel or even Wildstar? I mean, something tangible not the ethereal "CoH feeling" or "CoH spirit" because that's been already established as personal to each player.

We are taking steps and pains to make the gameplay experience familiar. It won't be identical, but the interface, the way powers are chosen, the way you play the game...these are all things we're working from CoH-style inspiration to create. It's in a thousand little details and how they all fit together; really, I encourage you to come to the MWM forums and read them; ask these questions there, and see what those working on the individual aspects of the project are doing.

Visually, we're going for the level of realism and serious look that CoH had, overall. We are avoiding CO aesthetics, and we're not making DC heroes so it won't be DCUO in that sense, either.

What is the link? It's mostly in that we are veterans of CoH and it is our primary inspiration for how an MMO should be designed.

How do you know that? As you said, it's a personal thing.

I honestly apologize in advance if I sound blunt but I'm genuinely curious about the above and not being English my native language is impairing both my understanding of the subject and also my ability to express my thoughts the way I'd like to.-

It's a bit blunt and negative, but the concerns are legitimate and likely not unique to you. Unfortunately, demanding specifics without having specific questions necessarily gets frustratingly vague answers. There's a lot that is not set in stone, and so giving a pages-long treatis on the plans we have in minute detail will be in some places contradictory and overall a frustrating read.

So the best I can probably do is again encourage you to visit the forums, read around a little, and ask questions about specific elements in the sub-forums. Name things you feel ARE part of the CoH experience and ask how they're being integrated or reflected in the Phoenix Project. It's easier to give thorough answers to specific questions.

[Nightmarer]

Because this is the post to which I was replying:You'll note that he said "and I'm not talking game mechanics here."

Sorry, what I meant was something along the lines of "what's in for whoever was in CoH mainly because of the mechanics?"
I'm asking because I know a few fellow spaniards who, because of their poor English, don't really enjoy the stories or the lore, for them it's mainly about the game mechanics

It's a bit blunt and negative,

Again, I apologize because I was not trying to. Believe me I rephrased that post (and pretty much every post I write) a few times because, as I said, it's not that easy to translate things the way I meant them.


We've had CoH substitutes that... are not meant to be like CoH, long term CoH players who also developed MMO games then turning to be be neither CoH players nor having any games developed, the perspective of all that joining forces... unfortunately, one can't help wondering, if a CoH substitute is not meant to be CoH plus someone who lied and tried to take advantage of this community is becoming a part of it... where exactly does the CoH community fit in that equation? It's all I'm trying to figure out.

[Segev]

I know that the Phoenix Project very much draws its volunteers - and therefore its ideas - from the CoH community. We were founded out of this community and we really do care what our community thinks. Without this community, there would be no MWM; without this community, the Phoenix Project won't ever succeed.



Mechanically, we have game designers who are familiar with CoH and how it played, and we're looking at developing our game-play to be familiar to those who played CoH. I won't make promises of identicalness for reasons stated before, but the goal really is to capture the gameplay that people loved. So if there's an aspect of gameplay you want to see in the Phoenix Project, hop on over and let us know! We may already be doing it, or it may spark an idea that makes us smack our foreheads and look into adding it.

Power trays, power selection methods, and even combat flow (we hope!) should provide some nostalgia. There is a whole lot that went into making CoH uniquely itself; again, specific questions are the best way to get specific answers. (I'm not trying to harp on that, but it's just very difficult to answer a broad, general question with anything but a broad, general answer.)

[Rotten Luck]

Even before CoH closed players been posting ideas of Powers/stories/ and mechanics ideas.  I remember reading ideas for CoH2 four years ago.  Those if I'm not mistaken are being taken into account as well.

From what I read the mechanics are being set up to play the same but have new inner workings.  Much like redesigning a sports car.  New suspension and such but it's still a sports car.  I read more then once the idea is to meet CoH feel as in game play mechanics.  A Knockback acts like a Knockback, Tankers get taunt, scrappers can act like insane nuts in scrapper lock.  You get to choose Offensive and Defensive powers like CoH did.  You can choose non AT power pool powers.  Like the first aid powers and travel powers.

That the starting line for TPP not the finishing line.  Some of the talk is Advance Power Customization.  Like a Fire Blaster type that a mage.  Instead of the animation that has him throwing fireballs you can have animation of him casting spells.  The fireball the result of the spell.  But it's still be a Fire Blaster character and play as one.  On top of this new AT types.  A range Tanker would be possible.

As said before at this point Everything up for grabs or scrap.  There a whole lot of Alpha and Beta testing before launch.  We aren't even at Proto Alpha stage.  When we speak of the Feel of Coh it's along the lines of the Mechanics.  Many folks (Including myself) have stated how CO game play is ... lacking.  The Blocking system for example.  The few power choices (still having trouble with that). 

Every mechanic will be tested hard by the Quality Assurance group.  Perhaps like Segev said you should join up and sign up for the QA so you can voice your concerns.  The whole point of QA team is to voice the concerns you seem to have.  You will be heard because that's the point of that group.  (Last time I looked it was also the largest).

I will discontinue my internet connection and unplug my computers donate it to a school if the goal of TPP is not to make sure the game play (As in mechanics) is as fun and engaging as CoH.     

[downix]

From what I read the mechanics are being set up to play the same but have new inner workings.  Much like redesigning a sports car.  New suspension and such but it's still a sports car.

A very good analogy. Using a real-world example:

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=atalaytugel.files.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fhist_park_08_cjtb-12.jpg%3Fw%3D450

Enjoy the Dodge Challenger.

[Segev]

Is it challenging to dodge?