New efforts!

[Cinnder]

Any possibilities or someone reverse engineering the game?  I'm not quite sure what that is, but my kids talk about it a lot...and, it seems like it could be a possibility...???

As far as I understand, there are efforts underway, but they want to get the legalities sorted before going public so that it's safe.

Not sure how new you are to the forums; are you aware that you can at least access the costume creator and the zones via Titan Icon?
http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/board,174.0.html

[Triage IV]

Yes, I tried that and had a lot of fun with the costume creator.  If I remember correctly, I think my computer did some wonky things when I tried getting into the game...or maybe I couldn't figure out how...since then, I've had to system restore...I'll download and try it again, sometime.

About three years ago, I had saved and saved to get a kicking Alienware computer...just to run CoH on.  Since then, the machine has proven to be more of a nightmare than anything else.  It was AMAZING for the first three or four months I had it (that is, after I finally got it...I had ordered it in October and didn't get it until January).  A lot of money for too many tech problems.  The technical problems began exactly one day after the warranty wore off.  When I called, they wouldn't talk to me, or give me advice where I might go next, until I paid for a new warranty.

And, stupid me, I paid it...then, again the next year.   >:(

[Stratoburst]

Give me my Peacebringer back!  gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme

OK, I'll be patient....

[AlphaFerret]

Give me may Warshade back!   

I guess I'll try and be patient too.....

[Azrael]

As far as I understand, there are efforts underway, but they want to get the legalities sorted before going public so that it's safe.

Not sure how new you are to the forums; are you aware that you can at least access the costume creator and the zones via Titan Icon?
http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/board,174.0.html

That's the million dollar question.

It's only code.  So it has to be a matter of time.  But the legal question hovers somewhat.  Not just for the emulators...but the fans who'd want to play it too.

Personally, most fans probably still have the client.  And a private server from the Titan community?  I could live with that.

Legal whack a mole.

Fans just want the game back.  If CoH had just gone to a start up skeleton crew (i.e. a paired down Paragon Studios...) and gone into maintenance mode and just collected profits for a while to see how issue 24 went...they'd have increased return. 

It's never over.

Either someone will one day buy the IP and engine.  OR NC will bring the game back themselves.  Or the emulators will strike.

It's too good to stay dead.

Azrael.

Yes, I tried that and had a lot of fun with the costume creator.  If I remember correctly, I think my computer did some wonky things when I tried getting into the game...or maybe I couldn't figure out how...since then, I've had to system restore...I'll download and try it again, sometime.

About three years ago, I had saved and saved to get a kicking Alienware computer...just to run CoH on.  Since then, the machine has proven to be more of a nightmare than anything else.  It was AMAZING for the first three or four months I had it (that is, after I finally got it...I had ordered it in October and didn't get it until January).  A lot of money for too many tech problems.  The technical problems began exactly one day after the warranty wore off.  When I called, they wouldn't talk to me, or give me advice where I might go next, until I paid for a new warranty.

And, stupid me, I paid it...then, again the next year.   >:(

My old Mac ran it beautifully.  And I can play the windows version (or could... :/)

Shame the CoH got cancelled before I got my new rig, two months before I got it. :/  ...I can run Icon in either Mac or boot camp into Win 7.  My new flagship iMac runs iCon brilliantly.  Even with high end features on at 2560 by 1440.  Wish I could have run the game in all it's glory two years ago... bah.

[The Fifth Horseman]

I'm not tech savvy, but if the game can come back, would that also mean all the saved characters would as well?  I've read posts in this thread how it could go either way.  Would the chances be fairly good that everything could be just as it was left?

The IP, the game itself and the account data are separate things. It would almost certainly be significantly harder (not to mention more expensive) to cut a deal where the old customer data come included.

Any possibilities or someone reverse engineering the game?  I'm not quite sure what that is, but my kids talk about it a lot...and, it seems like it could be a possibility...???

It is, but these things take a lot of time and skill. In this case, there are two such projects. SEGS is out in public, SCORE is not going to be releasing any information or progress reports until they're done.

[Triage IV]

Wow...awesome.  SEGS being "public"...as in, there's a site that the community can go to to see/check out the progress and offer encouragement/support?

I wish I were more tech minded; getting involved with projects like this sounds like it would be fascinating...like building the universe's most complex jigsaw puzzle.

In people's professional opinions, when might the community begin to see some of these ventures becoming available?  Like, not possible in the next year or more, or do some of these sound like possibilities (reason for hope) for the relatively near future?

Even the IMAGINING of the possibility is enough for now...it's like being 7 again, trying to get to sleep on Christmas Eve.

Thank you to each and everyone who have helped to revive these dreams and hopes for our community.

[Drauger9]

In people's professional opinions, when might the community begin to see some of these ventures becoming available?  Like, not possible in the next year or more, or do some of these sound like possibilities (reason for hope) for the relatively near future?

I'm not a professional but as far as SCORE goes, there's no telling cause we don't know what stage their in. SEGS is a one man show, so it's slow going. I know they had a downloadable client but it was issue 4 or somewhere around there. It didn't work too well for me though but it's something.

The three spiritual successors are a year or two away, IIRC.

Bringing City of Hereos back, depends on what, if anything NCSoft gives us.

There's also Icon, which you can create characters and move around on different maps, you can't level up or fight enemies though.

[MWRuger]

Again, please be patient now for a bit!

Oh we'll try try. But when you toss a drowning person a rope you have to expect them to grab and hold on as tight as they can.

I know lots of people are working on things like successors, emulators and restoration but we hear little to nothing except that they exist. It's hard not to get excited when we get a little news. For many this crumb is a veritable feast set before a starving man.

Just try to be patient with us. We don't mean to hound and hector and advise, but many of us would do far worse if we though it would bring the city back.

[Ironwolf]

I know you folks are excited and efforts to consolidate the information and talk to a few other people prior to approaching NCSoft is where we are.

We want to get it right :)

I really do know how it is and I also keep checking my messages and this thread - way too often lol.

[Triage IV]

Thank you, a MILLION times, thank you, Ironwolf. 

So, just curious, what toon did you play most, Ironwolf?  AND, what do you look forward to most if this comes to fruition?

[hejtmane]

If you get it to kickstarter I am in even at level zero and if it is I24 code even better.

[Triplash]

Wow, I thought I'd already said this, but I must've closed the tab before posting or something. Weird. Anyway.

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about your plan, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized something. If a shot in the dark to a completely unrelated third party like Disney was worth a chance, then I'm pretty sure this is too. And I don't know if it could work or not, but hey, you're not promising it'll work are you? You're only promising that you're willing to try.

Well I appreciate that you're putting in the effort, Ironwolf, and thank you very much for trying! I sincerely hope it does work. There wouldn't be words for how amazing that would be.

/e holdtorch

[Ironwolf]

It isn't just me. I will say that much but can't and won't speak for the other folks unless they say it is ok.

I lit the torch and some other folks have picked it up. Now we can only hope they will speak to us and that we can find common ground.

If that effort fails and we can keep talking and on a friendly basis who knows where we can go.

[Triplash]

Well, I'm grateful to anyone who is willing to try something on behalf of the rest of us, and I don't mind if it's anonymously. So thank you to those people as well!

[Harpospoke]

Keeping hope alive is a good thing even if this falls through.   We get to see the passion for the game either way...and that can only mean CoH will return at some point if this many people want it to happen.

[Nyx Nought Nothing]

i haven't been around much lately and missed this until now, but this whole thread has sparked a glimmering ember of hope for a game that i still like more than any i've tried since it closed down. i don't care if the all the old account data is lost; i will happily and easily start from zero. Although i would miss some of the perks i'd accumulated since May '04...

i would probably still happily play the version that was live at shutdown for years; but a working i24 would be brilliant. (Also LUA scripting for creating events and new content would be sort of useful for a revived dev team.) In any event i would love to play CoH again just so i could once again play a support character who could enable teams to kick ass without having to play health bar whack-a-mole for every fight.

As long as it doesn't require large amounts of cash i'm willing to do what i can to help bring City of Heroes back.

[Magus Prime]

I always thought a key selling point would be to talk about how this is a great opportunity to capitalize on the comic book/ superhero craze.  Put out a couple ads highlighting the ability to customize a hero or villain from the ground up. Something NCSoft never really took advantage of for the obvious reason that marketing is an expensive undertaking.  But if the point is driven home the right way, might be able to net a buyer and who knows how many new subscribers.

[Thunder Glove]

Yeah, I still find it crazy that CoH was shut down in the Year Of The Avengers, a time when they should have been playing up having the #1 superhero MMO on the market.  (Or were they afraid that Marvel would turn its Disney-fied gaze back towards them?)

Fortunately, superhero movies are still going strong two years later, so there's still something to build a marketing campaign on.

[Taceus Jiwede]

Yeah, I still find it crazy that CoH was shut down in the Year Of The Avengers, a time when they should have been playing up having the #1 superhero MMO on the market.  (Or were they afraid that Marvel would turn its Disney-fied gaze back towards them?)

Fortunately, superhero movies are still going strong two years later, so there's still something to build a marketing campaign on.

Everytime I saw a superhero movie preCoH shut down.  It made me want to play CoH.  Now it just makes me miss CoH when I see one.  I agree that it is strange that CoH got closed when Superheroes are getting so big again.