New efforts!

[Triage IV]

I LOVED Emping!

I would frequently find myself alone in a room because I would be watching the health bars so closely, the team would run off and I'd have to open my map to figure out which way they went.

Aaaah, those were the days.

[MWRuger]

I tried to do healers, but I guess i played way too many shooters over the last 20 years.

My favorite toon was a DP/mental blaster who was softcapped (when he dropped a small purple) on positional defense. He would hit build-up and leap  (literally) into a large mob, hit endurance drain and then unload his T9 PBAOE attack. They would drop like flies and he would still be standing. Usually, not too badly hurt.

I had a few people say "You're a blaster! Why are you doing that? Blasters don't do that!" I usually just said "T9 PBAOE" But more often someone would say "Holy Sh*t! How are you doing that?" It was especially pleasing on that toon because there was so much talk about Dual Pistols being underpowered or crap. (I would send them a tell and give them the general run down on set bonuses, combat power pool and so forth)

But man, I loved Defenders on a team, even more than a Tank. I also had a great fondness for a well played Kinetic defender. So incredibly useful when played correctly (not that I could).

I might never be able to do what you great defenders do, but I loved teaming with you. I can't wait until we can do it again.

I'll be @mwruger and I love to blast stuff to rubble. Then blast the rubble to bits. Then melt the bits into street paving. Any defender is always welcome on my team Emp or not. Let's aim to misbehave!

[Goddangit]

Loved playing healers.  Had two of them that I ran up to 50.  First was former faith healer, Reverend R.T. Bogue aka Knight Paladin, (I liked making backgrounds for my guys, even if I didn't strictly roleplay them.) an Emp/Sonic.  He had a hotkey heal/cry "You shall not fall!" for use when someone was close to dropping and needed special attention.  I was usually too busy at a time like that to remember to use it though.

My very first 50 was a Mind Controller/Empath.  Late one night a couple of guys were running some Council mission and needed anybody to help them.  They found out I was a secondary Empath and they were ecstatic.

"Now if only we had someone that could rez..."

Me: "Oh, I can resurrect.  And I have recall too."

"I love you."
 

I really hope things work out because I'm getting very nostalgic and more than a little antsy and I really want to play again...

[Triage IV]

I think I might just roll up an Emp Troller...just to see how I like it.  It might be kind of interesting to see how I like playing Empathy as a secondary power set for a character.

Now, to decide on a primary...hmmmmm...

[TonyV]

Stage 1 dead in the middle - got the guy got the basic price now details.

Again I am also getting this in such a way that is cautiously positive. Think about it not long ago it was dead - now we have a price and are talking.

Well, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know.  I still maintain that it's not a question of if NCsoft will eventually let the game go, but when.  You never know when just the right thread is pulled at just the right time.

[JKPhage]

I know what you mean. I always ran dedicated healers, only attacking when the team was having an easy time of it, and I didn't have much healing to do. My healers' motto was, "Keeping you on your feet and in the fight".

Of course, I couldn't live up to that perfectly. During one particular teamwipe, I retreated down the hall, and started teleporting and rezzing them. As I did, one teammate's bar turned orange, and then red. I ended up getting him out with just a handful of hit points left. When he appeared, his reaction was, "I love you." It's nice to be appreciated; my blasters never got that reaction.

One of my proudest moments came late in the game when my first empathy toon, Magical Master (who was an Ill/Emp troller) got invited along to an ITF with a pick up team. I invis'd, dropped both RA, used Group Invisibility, Summoned my Phantasm then dropped all my buffs on the lead tank, and proceeded to follow in the middle of the team between the rangers and the meelee, kept both alive with Healing Aura, had Phantasm helping out, kept using blind, spectral wounds and deceive, summoned Phantom Army whenever it was up, and used group invisibility on the meelee toons whenever I could for the added defense for them. Dropped RAs as quickly as I could after they were up when we were between mobs and the team was running as a so I didn't have to cause a hiccup and make the team stop sporadically. We made it through the whole thing without a single death until the final mission where the nictus gave us some issues, at which point I managed to use my phantoms to tank Rommy while the team took out one of the nictus and I kept them healed.

Afterwards I was told that I was the perfect healer because I'd kept the whole team safe, buffed and healed, been immensely helpful in battle, and could even tank. Proudest moment of my life right there. Haha.

[AlabasterKnight]

Well, if there's anything I can do to help, let me know.  I still maintain that it's not a question of if NCsoft will eventually let the game go, but when.  You never know when just the right thread is pulled at just the right time.

For the record:
When I left the City of Titans project due to conflicts of vision with others, I reorganized my game design company (established 3/2010).
We have been steadily working on a superhero concept, which I am not prepared to discuss at this time.
We aren't asking for volunteers and such, and although we appreciate there being a community, we don't feel it's fair to build a community presence at this time.
After this writing I intend to stay below the radar and not release information until we have something to give.

We had made inquiries to the sale of CoH last fall.
We hit some walls in our effort to purchase CoH.
Our obstacles weren't/aren't money and structure.
It was a lack of NCSoft's people being receptive to negotiate or even be reached.
Through contacts, it is like pulling teeth.
From what our sources gathered, NCSoft did not want to sell at the time, they had other plans.
So we stopped pursuing that avenue.

If it's really what the community wants:
Our company has acquired enough traction to create resources and infrastructure to support such an acquisition.
If I tell my contacts that's part of the plan, all I have to do is write a document that says how it fits into a development and they go get the money. Done.
If people want to seriously communicate with us and put us in contact with those folks (NCSoft), awesome.

In the meantime, I am returning to our cave to work on a game of superheroes worthy to succeed CoH's spirit, but evolved in so many new ways, just like I told the audience at the Phoenix Comicon last year.
Good to see y'all again.
Have a nice day!

Jim, AlabasterKnight

[Nyx Nought Nothing]

I was actually being facetious, meaning it as a joke.

Oh, i knew you were being humorous about it in that no one who makes a promise like ever really means it seriously, but i actually recall many people on the CoX forums who would actually have serious arguments over the morality of AE farms and powerleveling, and would actually make similar posts. My response was always more or less the whole "let players do whatever they think is fun as long as it doesn't hurt others."

My personal playstyle was usually to be gregariously solo about half the time. i would be running around solo doing whatever caught my attention while chatting on various global channels. If someone started recruiting for a TF/SF/Trial/Raid and it interested me i'd join in, but otherwise there was a good chance i'd spend most of the time solo unless someone asked me (politely/intelligently) to join their team because they were looking for help or company.

Although i did get a fair bit of amusement from occasionally accepting blind invites just to see what would happen. i found some great teams and hilariously awful train wrecks that way.

[Kaos Arcanna]

And because I think it needs saying ...

Even if something happens to bring COH back-- and yeah, I'd play it if it does-- I hope that all three successor games Valiance Online, City of Titans, and Heroes and Villains, keep plugging away on their own projects.

You're all doing something very special, and you owe it to yourselves-- and the community-- to do your best to make your own visions come true.

[Ironwolf]

For the record:
When I left the City of Titans project due to conflicts of vision with others, I reorganized my game design company (established 3/2010).
We have been steadily working on a superhero concept, which I am not prepared to discuss at this time.
We aren't asking for volunteers and such, and although we appreciate there being a community, we don't feel it's fair to build a community presence at this time.
After this writing I intend to stay below the radar and not release information until we have something to give.

We had made inquiries to the sale of CoH last fall.
We hit some walls in our effort to purchase CoH.
Our obstacles weren't/aren't money and structure.
It was a lack of NCSoft's people being receptive to negotiate or even be reached.
Through contacts, it is like pulling teeth.
From what our sources gathered, NCSoft did not want to sell at the time, they had other plans.
So we stopped pursuing that avenue.

If it's really what the community wants:
Our company has acquired enough traction to create resources and infrastructure to support such an acquisition.
If I tell my contacts that's part of the plan, all I have to do is write a document that says how it fits into a development and they go get the money. Done.
If people want to seriously communicate with us and put us in contact with those folks (NCSoft), awesome.

In the meantime, I am returning to our cave to work on a game of superheroes worthy to succeed CoH's spirit, but evolved in so many new ways, just like I told the audience at the Phoenix Comicon last year.
Good to see y'all again.
Have a nice day!

Jim, AlabasterKnight

A group is making a run at it right now and it appears the management to contact changed. The folks involved will doubtless read this and may contact you I can't speak for them except to relay what they share with me. Options are good and hopefully the research we did will pay off, either with this offer or yours
- I personally was very happy to hear of a price, that makes a certain willingness to deal more hopeful.

Thank you Jim and if this falls short I will let you know everything I have no question, it will be announced either way in the forums at some point. I tink when the Paragon Studio buy out failed NCSoft honestly did move on to other things and with the Nexon merger they didn't have the time to waste from their point of view. New folks and a year later it may be a complete change now - we will find out - soon - as a man once said.

[HEATSTROKE]

 I hope that things dont get too complex.. One thing I have learned recently when doing business deals.. you need the right people involved.. and the fewer people involved the better

[Ironwolf]

That is why I just pass info on and stay out of the way. I have since we got the info together for them asked a grand total of 4 questions. I let them proceed in their own time.

[hejtmane]

I am so in if you guys get the game back online even at ground zero if I have to rebuild my 8 level 50 scrappers from scratch and re-purple them out so freakin be it right now there is not much out there I am rotating game play between diablo III and path of exile and that is just to have something to do every so often.

Crazy after playing COH for so long everything else is kind of blah. I mean I go back to UO, DAOC, Horizons, War Hammer, Rift and several other in between. I been around the block on MMO's and I keep coming back here hoping by some miracle it restarts back up. I played COH from I2+ I got several other people to play it again when i change jobs or try it.

[AlienOne]

I just have one question for Ironwolf:

You mentioned earlier that "talks were for the IP"... Does that mean they're not really interested in re-publishing City of Heroes, and they're more interested in just buying the rights to make a different game labeled "City of Heroes?" Because, if that's the case, that's something that people need to prepare themselves for--instead of expecting to play City of Heroes again.

I'm very excited that there's some movement on this issue, and I REALLY appreciate you putting us in the loop. After so long, I'm just...a little cautious.

Thanks again!

"Alien" (Human-form Warshade master...haha)

[BenshowSly]

I just have one question for Ironwolf:

You mentioned earlier that "talks were for the IP"... Does that mean they're not really interested in re-publishing City of Heroes, and they're more interested in just buying the rights to make a different game labeled "City of Heroes?" Because, if that's the case, that's something that people need to prepare themselves for--instead of expecting to play City of Heroes again.

I'm very excited that there's some movement on this issue, and I REALLY appreciate you putting us in the loop. After so long, I'm just...a little cautious.

Thanks again!

"Alien" (Human-form Warshade master...haha)

Here we go again... Sorry, nothing personal against you Alien. Just that this topic went for almost 10 pages where we tried to get things cleared and we never ended up doing so   

I hope this question won't go for another 10 pages again lol

EDIT: I just realized it wasn't about IP vs Engine. My bad! But still, since we know nothing about the deal, it's kinda a similar debate

[Zombie Hustler]

This is all exciting news; thank you Ironwolf, for keeping us updated.

Does anyone think that it might be helpful if the community were to put on a public show of support for the game, something akin to what we did back in the early days after the announcement of the game's closure, to let folks know that there is still a sizable community out here who love CoH and are still very much interested in its revival?

Could that be productive or counter-productive to these ongoing efforts?

[Ironwolf]

Making a show of support for a game that was closed a long time ago now might raise the price! I won't tell you what to do but I am just going to hunker down and wait.

Getting everything would be a bonus but I honestly don't know what NCSoft is offering or for what price. I am trying to stay out of the way for the folks working on it and I didn't ask the price because after all it is a business deal we don't want a bidding war. Money saved on the purchase is money spent on development.

For example we now have Jim and his folks who also have an interest in the game. So we say yes, it is this guy and they want this much - now they make an offer too - it muddies the water and causes delay and the price increases. I would do the same if it were Jim's group making the offer and I was in the same position. Ethics and business acumen mean - I tell you what I can without giving away the deal!

[Triage IV]

Ooops, sorry gang.  I'm going to keep my mouth shut, then.  When anyone on FaceBook expresses discouragement over the game being gone or never coming back, I pipe in with the efforts here...I'll stop doing that...at least until things are wrapped more officially.

Thank you, once again, Ironwolf.

[AlienOne]

Here we go again... Sorry, nothing personal against you Alien. Just that this topic went for almost 10 pages where we tried to get things cleared and we never ended up doing so   

I hope this question won't go for another 10 pages again lol

EDIT: I just realized it wasn't about IP vs Engine. My bad! But still, since we know nothing about the deal, it's kinda a similar debate

Yeah, I don't really care about IP vs Engine (and I read the entire topic--every page)... What I was interested in was clarifying if "being interested in an IP" just means they're interested in acquiring the NAME "City of Heroes," which means essentially that they are "buying an audience/fanbase".... So, if they stick that name on a NEW game, they have a "guaranteed buy" from a certain segment of people. It's the same as Disney buying the "Star Wars" franchise... They bought the name, so they could create NEW things--not re-publish the old stuff.

I'm just afraid that's probably what's happening here, and everyone here is just interpreting what IronWolf says as "yay! they're going to bring our old game back just like it was!" when that may not be the case at all.

I don't want to be the "party crasher" here--I freaking LOVE this game, and would want nothing more than to see it back in action... My analytic personality just dictates that we bring a little realism and levity to the discussion, so people don't start frothing at the mouth with excitement, only to be disappointed.

EDIT:
I would highly encourage the people on this forum who have "media contacts" to encourage those media contacts to NOT publish this information--even though it seems to be spreading like wildfire on Facebook among all my former CoH friends... Like Ironwolf said, a sudden surge of publicity and support for the game might be what causes the price to go up, and by extension the deal to fall through.

[Triage IV]

I just have one question for Ironwolf:

You mentioned earlier that "talks were for the IP"... Does that mean they're not really interested in re-publishing City of Heroes, and they're more interested in just buying the rights to make a different game labeled "City of Heroes?" Because, if that's the case, that's something that people need to prepare themselves for--instead of expecting to play City of Heroes again.

I'm very excited that there's some movement on this issue, and I REALLY appreciate you putting us in the loop. After so long, I'm just...a little cautious.

Thanks again!

"Alien" (Human-form Warshade master...haha)

Post 371 on page 19 of the thread, Ironwolf posts that they are in talks to purchase the game...and stated he wasn't sure what "the game" entails.  It could very well be EVERYTHING...but it could also be just the IP.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that, since it's an old, cobbled together mess (as it has been described), it's EVERYTHING!!!

Reach for the moon...and if you miss, you'll still find yourself among the stars (or something like that).