New efforts!

[Thunder Glove]

While it's likely that NCSoft still has our characters and other information saved, it's unlikely they'd be sold along with the game IP and/or engine.  That's customer information.  I don't think I'd even want them selling my name and e-mail address to any company that waves money at them.

I don't mind having to start over, as long as I get to play again.   I'd consider it a chance to "fix" or at least reconceptualize some of my old characters.  (Most notably, I'd remake my Stone/Stone/Energy Tanker as a Willpower/Stone/Earth Tanker).

[dwturducken]

Sale of the customer data along with a game must be a thing. It happened when Cryptic went off on their own. It happened when Cryptic went from Atari to PWE. I'm sure there are non-Cryptic examples.

I, for one, don't much care one way or the other. While it would be nice to have all of my stuff back, just having the game back, at this point, is all I really want. I'm completely OK with a clean slate for my altoholism. :)

[Tyger42]

Guys, I think NCSoft is just as interested in bringing back the game as anyone else is, its just that for whatever reason it's not currently an option for them. if they were to strike a deal that suited both parties' wants, They'd probably do it in a heartbeat.

Given NCSoft's proven attitude toward their non-Asian market, I'd say you're dead wrong.

[Ohioknight]

...That's customer information.  I don't think I'd even want them selling my name and e-mail address to any company that waves money at them.

Heh, don't read those user agreement contracts, do you?  :)

[JKPhage]

I, for one, don't much care one way or the other. While it would be nice to have all of my stuff back, just having the game back, at this point, is all I really want. I'm completely OK with a clean slate for my altoholism. :)

This. I'd gladly welcome back all of my beloved toons at lvl 50 with all their shiny unlocks and badges and pretty auras and purpled out builds, but as someone who played on Virtue (though not the most active RP member) and loved the lore of the game and adding my own bit to it, I'd just as gladly welcome a clean-slate Crisis/New 52 universe reset for my characters that would allow me to revamp some of my characters a bit, maybe have them build a new story as a member of a super group from the get-go, instead of someone who joined up when they were already established as heroes. (The Magnificent) Magical Master, the cheesy stage magician turned ACTUAL magician would be a laugh riot as a newbie hero giving his team mates all kinds of headaches (And then healing them with MAGIC!).

[Triage IV]

The hosts of Save CoH Radio (on 4/11...barely over 111 minutes into the broadcast) discussed exactly what I had asked a page or two previously; if all goes well and the deals are made, the game could be up in a day's time.  "All the programs are out there, you just need a server to run it on."

Very cool.

[The Fifth Horseman]

i'd say it's not that unlikely that account data, and possibly character data, was retained. It wouldn't even require servers, just some hard drives for storage, and individual accounts would require a relatively small amount of storage space. Of the two i would say it seems more likely basic game account data was retained rather than the full character data and even then it's probably equally likely that NCsoft just retained the game code. Although it's not uncommon that companies will hang onto customer data for a very long time. After all storage is very cheap and that sort of data can be pretty valuable.

That NCSoft would hold on to said data does NOT mean it would be part of the deal for a potential third party interested in the COH IP, even if they were going to buy the rights to the current client and server and relaunch the original "as was".
Like Thunder Glove said, customer data. That stuff is NOT given out freely, and  usually costs... A LOT!

[Nyx Nought Nothing]

That NCSoft would hold on to said data does NOT mean it would be part of the deal for a potential third party interested in the COH IP, even if they were going to buy the rights to the current client and server and relaunch the original "as was".
Like Thunder Glove said, customer data. That stuff is NOT given out freely, and  usually costs... A LOT!

Point. Not that starting over would be a big deal. Designing and leveling a new character to 50 is most of the fun.

[Tyger42]

Point. Not that starting over would be a big deal. Designing and leveling a new character to 50 is most of the fun.

With as much of an altoholic as I've always been in MMOs, starting over would not inconvenience me in the least. It'd be nice to have my lv 50 SJ/WP inarnate back, but I can easily start from scratch.

[HEATSTROKE]

My issue would be getting over everything that I lost.. the characters I can recreate.. but not having access to everything I had over 8 years as a paying customer.. all the rewards, all the unlocked costumes, all the costume pieces I purchased...

And mostly all of my influence and enhancements..

But if we get the game back.. Ill live with that..

[Super Firebug]

HEATSTROKE, you can re-create your toons' costumes in Icon, and save them for the game's return.

[HEATSTROKE]

 I have the Sentinel files saved.. but since I didnt think to take photos of every toon.. I cannot remember how some of the costumes were made..

[Felderburg]

Regarding data saved... somewhere.... I thought I saw a post somewhere (here?) that the employees in Austin had been given an order to wipe the servers a few months after the shutdown.

i would happily start from scratch creating new versions of favorite characters and completely new characters just like i was constantly doing for the entire time that CoH was runnning.

My thoughts exactly.

[MWRuger]

That doesn't mean the data wasn't backed up and retained. The servers were probably wiped and re-purposed for another game. I'm about 99% positive the data was retained. That doesn't make it accessible, but I'm near certain it exists.

[Solitaire]

Point. Not that starting over would be a big deal. Designing and leveling a new character to 50 is most of the fun.

Agree totally with this statement   :D I know we all put alot of time in to the game for 7-8 years, but I'd be just happy to have the game back, if I had to start over so be it! Just get my game back online please....

[Triage IV]

I have the Sentinel files saved.. but since I didnt think to take photos of every toon.. I cannot remember how some of the costumes were made..

This just gives you the opportunity to make them even MORE awesome then they were!

I have a really bad memory, and I can't even remember half of my 50s...not to mention the lower toons and what any of them looked like.

[HEATSTROKE]

This just gives you the opportunity to make them even MORE awesome then they were!

I have a really bad memory, and I can't even remember half of my 50s...not to mention the lower toons and what any of them looked like.

I remember every 50.. and with the Sentinel files I can make them looks exactly like they did before.. if I had a look.. I liked it...

but again im not going to get all worked up over this.. its news.. lets see how far it goes..

[Thunder Glove]

I made sure to screenshot all my characters and save all my .costume files.  (I had more costume files than characters, actually).

In fact, I spent the last couple of days saving the final versions of of my favorite characters' costumes.  (Sometimes all I had saved was their initial costumes; sometimes I already had the final costume saved, but I made another copy just to be on the safe side - they're small enough).  I e-mailed myself some copies so I'd have them in my Yahoo and Gmail boxes.

Yeah, if the game comes back with no data, I can literally recreate my characters' appearances in seconds.  (Well, except for having to re-earn the auras and sometimes capes)

... I will miss the one-shoulder cape option.

[ShadowMokadara]

Data or not, just glad to have the possibility of getting the game back.

[Brigadine]

What will frustrate me is I will loose my Dual pistols among other things that I had before they were removed then added as a PAY per thing. I will miss my angel/demon wings.  That means my Peacebringer will be uncreatable. Hard to have an angel with no wings. I still think NCsoft is the best mass murderers of all time... MILLIONS of heroes, villains, Praetorians, rouges and vigilantes with the flip of a switch.