How much hope do you have left?

[JanessaVR]

Don't think you'd need all of the core team.  Just one or two of the lead devs would be enough to bring a lot of us back with high hopes.

I concur.  If we got back War Witch, Positron, and even a few of the other devs, that's enough of a core to rebuild CoH the way it was.  And I bet once they got up and running, at some of the other old devs would want to come back.

[Triplash]

Don't think you'd need all of the core team.  Just one or two of the lead devs would be enough to bring a lot of us back with high hopes.

Yep, that'd be plenty. New blood's fine so long as the leader knows what they're doing.

Wow, perma-hope without hasten?!

Don't even need it. The Patience powerset has "Hurry Up and Wait", which doesn't stack with hasten. So I used the power pick to go with "Internet Surfing" instead, which nearly soft-caps me for Distraction, since that does stack with "Keep Active with Other Things So You Don't Dwell on it and Cry Again, You Big Wussy".

[Twisted Toon]

Don't think you'd need all of the core team.  Just one or two of the lead devs would be enough to bring a lot of us back with high hopes.

Oh, I agree. Matt, Melissa, and a couple of others would be a good start. But, an entire new team of developers who know nothing about the game would probably ruin it faster than NCSoft could imagine.

As for Statesman, his user (Jack) hadn't been a part of the dev team for years. In fact, I think the game started getting better after he decided to work on other things and left Matt in charge.

[johnrobey]

Yep, that'd be plenty. New blood's fine so long as the leader knows what they're doing.

Yep.

Don't even need it. The Patience powerset has "Hurry Up and Wait", which doesn't stack with hasten. So I used the power pick to go with "Internet Surfing" instead, which nearly soft-caps me for Distraction, since that does stack with "Keep Active with Other Things So You Don't Dwell on it and Cry Again, You Big Wussy".

O>O  Ohhhh! SHINEY!!!!  The "Hurry Up and Wait" Patience Powerset!!!!   Does it cost of lot of INF or can I earn it?  And, if I can earn it, how?  I am certainly willing to "grind" for A-merits.   ;D

[Triplash]

O>O  Ohhhh! SHINEY!!!!  The "Hurry Up and Wait" Patience Powerset!!!!   Does it cost of lot of INF or can I earn it?  And, if I can earn it, how?  I am certainly willing to "grind" for A-merits.   ;D

It's an account-wide reward you can unlock by reaching the "Tolerance for Waiting" cap on one of your existing characters. Sorry though, it's not available through Inf or Titan Tokens or any other currency. You can't buy Patience... it has to be earned. ;)

[johnrobey]

It's an account-wide reward you can unlock by reaching the "Tolerance for Waiting" cap on one of your existing characters. Sorry though, it's not available through Inf or Titan Tokens or any other currency. You can't buy Patience... it has to be earned. ;)

I am certain I have the patience to "grind" for Patience.  I bet it's like A Merits.  I just need to practice Patience, like daily, as a skill so as to earn XP and level up in it, right?   ;D

[Nitekilla]

I have been so addicted the last 8 years to City of Heroes, its all I can do now but sit and watch CoH videos on Youtube  :(

[johnrobey]

I have been so addicted the last 8 years to City of Heroes, its all I can do now but sit and watch CoH videos on Youtube  :(

I had gotten to the point of being able to watch them without crying getting something in my eye; however, it's been long enough that when I watch one now, I do indeed get all misty-eyed again!   I haven't moved on to another MMO for a couple of reasons but not least is that I don't want to have to learn a new "system" and set of  gaming reflexes, 'cause dammit it took me over 2 years to learn the ones I have and despite coming up on 4 months of "Server Maintenance" downtime (my current polite fiction to myself) I know I could pick up CoH exactly where I left off.  Besides if all MMO's now have to perform and behave exactly like WoW, not only am I underwhelmed at the lack of that quality known as uniqueness, but I never liked WoW well enough to want to play it -- and LOL friends tried to get me to like it.

If nothing else, there is still party bridge and tournament bridge and if I am very lucky a good game of dominoes with close friends, as well as old board games like Cosmic Encounter and Illuminati etc.   Peace out, Titans!  /em holdtorch.

[Menrva Channel]

Not gonna lie, I've tried other MMOs--even the highly acclaimed WoW, but /nothing/ comes close to my City (World PvP gets old after a while). While I am a realist, I am also an optimist. I will keep the tiniest sliver of Hope alive. And that's all you need. I still miss the game and want to play it--especially after watching some of those excellent fan videos. If I have to wait ten years to play /my/ game again, I will. I'm willing to hold out. The cooperative, unifying nature of the game--and the sense of immersion--was unique. The options were nearly unlimited, both in power choice and costumes. Fans could even create content. And it was the best community EVER. They say good things come to those who wait. I think we'd all agree, the Paragon (and Praetoria and the Rogue Isles) are all worth waiting for. We are a people in exile--but we have not been disbanded.

[antarcticaa]

We are a people in exile--but we have not been disbanded.

We are in exile but we are also in shock and mourning for our lost world.  We cling to the barest of hope, longing for the return of our beloved City and the community that made it so special.  Tonight however I feel like a fox gnawing on my own leg trying to get out of a trap.  CoX got a hold of my heart and won't let go.  I find myself at the oddest times thinking of the game, of my old characters, of what I'd like to do to tweak my builds and my talking to my sg mates.  I want to grind on Incarnate powers or try out another powerset combination.  I can't get this game out of my mind!  This is still such a raw wound.

[Kaos Arcanna]

Oh, I agree. Matt, Melissa, and a couple of others would be a good start. But, an entire new team of developers who know nothing about the game would probably ruin it faster than NCSoft could imagine.

As for Statesman, his user (Jack) hadn't been a part of the dev team for years. In fact, I think the game started getting better after he decided to work on other things and left Matt in charge.

I'd like to think that if a new studio was given the game-- or purchased it from NCSoft-- that I'd be willing to give them a chance to see what they can do. After all, it wouldn't be their fault.

[Illusionss]

We are in exile but we are also in shock and mourning for our lost world.  We cling to the barest of hope, longing for the return of our beloved City and the community that made it so special.  Tonight however I feel like a fox gnawing on my own leg trying to get out of a trap.  CoX got a hold of my heart and won't let go.  I find myself at the oddest times thinking of the game, of my old characters, of what I'd like to do to tweak my builds and my talking to my sg mates.  I want to grind on Incarnate powers or try out another powerset combination.  I can't get this game out of my mind!  This is still such a raw wound.

I keep having dreams about it. I miss my characters so much.

I am very open to the idea of a completely new game, which references this game we so love. Yet at the same time, I'm very torn because without an emulator or the same game run by a different entity, we will lose access to the Epic Archetypes. I can recreate melee characters or support characters, yet a new game is NOT going to allow me access to the Arachnos EA. One of my favorite characters was my Arbiter Bane Spider. I loved him so much, he was such a pain to level up - especially till that level 24 respec - but once I got him right, he was was so much fun to play. I had an ARBITER. How cool is that?!!

Arachnos will not exist in a new game, and this is really upsetting to me. I imagine people who were really fond of Kheldians feel the same way. Where else are you going to play a Kheldian?!  Nowheres.

I miss you, Arbiter Blaylock. As long as I live, you will live inside my heart.  :'(

Watching videos and looking at screenshots is still really painful to me, so I am limiting my exposure.

[Twisted Toon]

I would like to relay to you all a story of hope.

July 25, 2012, I became one of the masses of the unemployed. I filed for unemployment and all the usual stuff that people do when they are dismissed from their jobs. My previous employer appealed my application for Unemployment Insurance. I won the case by default; They never showed up for arbitration. Over the next 6 months, I collected my unemployment checks while looking for work. Only one place called me back. It was a job in the security field. But, they only had a shift comprised of 2 days (16 hours for the week) that they could give me, at minimum wage, I might add. I got more from Unemployment than I would from them, and I had bills I could barely afford as it was. Three Weeks ago, on Thursday, I get a call from a company I had never heard about before. They had seen my resume on the Caljobs website and wanted to know if I was still looking for work. Long story short, I was hired that very day. I now work 9 hours a day, making more than what I was getting on Unemployment. And, they looked for me.

Dum Spero Spiro

[Illusionss]

Gratz on the job, Twisted. The worst thing about unemployment is the worry.... and the attitude you get from friends and relatives. If you are unemployed you are obviously a bad person, and people don't mind letting that attitude towards you show; maybe even unintentionally.

You came out on top, and congrats.  8)

[Triplash]

I would like to relay to you all a story of hope.

Congrats! That's a great way for things to work out in the end :D

You know, sometimes it can be easy to forget that good stories happen too, especially when you hear a bunch of bad stories all in a row. But good things happen every day, and once you realize that hope becomes a lot easier to find.

[LadyVamp]

Got quite a boost today.  NCsoft is continuing restructuring.  While I hate it for the people who lost their jobs, it also means NC is in financial trouble.  It also means that they'll have to eventually liquidate assets.  If we are in the right place at the right time with the cash and an LLC (or some other company/corp structure), we can buy the code, pull the devs and friends back in, and have our game back without NC calling the shots.

[JaguarX]

Got quite a boost today.  NCsoft is continuing restructuring.  While I hate it for the people who lost their jobs, it also means NC is in financial trouble.  It also means that they'll have to eventually liquidate assets.  If we are in the right place at the right time with the cash and an LLC (or some other company/corp structure), we can buy the code, pull the devs and friends back in, and have our game back without NC calling the shots.

I wouldnt go as far as saying this mean they will have to liquidate assests. One they are no where near bankrupt. Two their debt ratio is very low, very very low even compared to big giants that are still around. 

Many corporations have lay offs and never even get anywhere near having to liquidate. Walmart, for one, Microsoft do it on occasions, apple, Ford,  T-moile, many hospitals, the military, HSBC (to save about 1 billion), Cisco (Also to save about 1 billion), JCPenny just cut 1500 not long ago, Vattenfall and countless other corporations and enties that I didnt mention.  And may of these companies have a more dire debt ratio than NCSoft. I wouldnt count the chickens yet before the eggs are even laid.

Not to mention even corporation liquidation sales usually dont consist of any ole' body or entity can just waltz in and buy. Not to mention, Nexxon probably will just absorb those items before it even gets to that point if somehow something do turn for the worse or some bean counter make a very very very crackhead move (and probably will be fired). And there is greater possibility of some game powerhouse like EA grabbing it before some start up LLC even have the chance to put in any bid. And EA may be worse or no better than NCSoft and may just as well dissasemble the parts of the code and IP and use it to make a game and or another established franchise game out of it, which would really spell the end of COX for good as we knew it.  Although it might suck with NCSoft having it, them going bankrupt have a good chance of not being anywhere as ideal or perfect karma as many think. Could it happen with the perfect fairy tell ending of the evil NCSoft going bad and the prisoner which is the COX code and IP is released into a start up company hand of the fans and it gets back up and running and everyone lives happily ever after? Damn right it can! Anything is possible. Some one may hit the lottery here, get on NCSoft good side and make them an offer they cant refuse. Yet, just as likely, it could just mean that NCSoft is shrinking to prevent going bankrupt and focusing on their market that they are good at, Asian style gaming and shifting resources to launch into China.
Sometimes I do similar things with cars. Could I have four or five cars? Sure can. But why? I could sell off one or two, and buy another one that I want and still balance off the expense sheet as if nothing even happened if not coming out actually saving money. Espcially if a car in the garage has diminished purpose it's liable to get sold. To me it just looks like they are living up to their "realignment" announcement and slimming down their presence in the US and Europe.


If laying off mean NCSoft is in dire financial straights, that means about 90% of companies are in the same or worse situation as many layed off a greater percentage of their workers yet still is considered relatively healthy and or layed off multiple times more employees than NCSoft laid off or even have.

[FatherXmas]

Since their NA Aion and Lineage II incomes are small relative to those games total worldwide income all it means is they are adjusting staff to match their customer base in those games.

Or it could be as I suggested here earlier and NCSOFT is looking to license off the NA day to day management to one or more third parties like they did in Europe with those games.

[JaguarX]

Or it could be as I suggested here earlier and NCSOFT is looking to license off the NA day to day management to one or more third parties like they did in Europe with those games.

Probably.

[Illusionss]

... Er, a company liquidating assets is never a good thing. Not when their stock prices are south of heaven, it isn't.