New efforts!

[gypsyav]

They were called Luck... but I would have accepted "small purple" or the like.  IIRC they didn't even get in the ballpark.

Well we should all keep popping a few of those until everything is final. :)

[Ironwolf]

Added to the timeline:
July 11 - Fifth Studio contacts me and is forwarded on.

When I said we have more friends than you can know - did you miss that now 5 studios want to buy and develop the game :)

Chris Chung while he runs his own studio is a big fan - then there was the whole Convention video where one of the Wildstar guys I think it was said - City of Heroes should never have shut down and all the other Devs agreed - including Jack Emmert. The City is very much appreciated in the gaming world.

[silvers1]

Added to the timeline:
July 11 - Fifth Studio contacts me and is forwarded on.

When I said we have more friends than you can know - did you miss that now 5 studios want to buy and develop the game :)

Chris Chung while he runs his own studio is a big fan - then there was the whole Convention video where one of the Wildstar guys I think it was said - City of Heroes should never have shut down and all the other Devs agreed - including Jack Emmert. The City is very much appreciated in the gaming world.

I hope this doesn't turn into a bidding war, and drag out the whole process....

[Goddangit]

Added to the timeline:
July 11 - Fifth Studio contacts me and is forwarded on.

When I said we have more friends than you can know - did you miss that now 5 studios want to buy and develop the game :)

Chris Chung while he runs his own studio is a big fan - then there was the whole Convention video where one of the Wildstar guys I think it was said - City of Heroes should never have shut down and all the other Devs agreed - including Jack Emmert. The City is very much appreciated in the gaming world.

That many interested parties it can only be a matter of time.  If this effort fails sooner or later someone will succeed.

You certainly stirred the pot!  Thank you!  And I still want an Ironwolf statue.  :)

[Serpine]

I hope this doesn't turn into a bidding war, and drag out the whole process....

I could be wrong, but my understanding was he was forwarding the additional studios to the people making the buyout offer, not to NCSoft. So its more like potential additional resources.

[Dev7on]

Added to the timeline:
July 11 - Fifth Studio contacts me and is forwarded on.

When I said we have more friends than you can know - did you miss that now 5 studios want to buy and develop the game :)

Chris Chung while he runs his own studio is a big fan - then there was the whole Convention video where one of the Wildstar guys I think it was said - City of Heroes should never have shut down and all the other Devs agreed - including Jack Emmert. The City is very much appreciated in the gaming world.

It's unbelievable that there are 5 studios are interested in buying and develop the game. The popularity of City of Heroes is skyrocketing! What other gaming companies is going to join the "NCsoft Auction House"? Sony? Riot Games? Valve?

[Benchpresser]

I hope this doesn't turn into a bidding war, and drag out the whole process....

I doubt it... From the comments IW has said, the group buying the game already has plenty of capital raised, they don't need  another studio to front them the cash to buy.  My guess is a 'bidding war' will start once the sale from NCSoft is finalized and the group looks for a development house/studio.  The only worry is NCSoft seeing the interest in the property and thinking they could get more...

I don't think there's any worry that they might want to keep the game... they are still staying out of North America/Europe and no Asian studio would do Super heroes...

[Dev7on]

I hope this doesn't turn into a bidding war, and drag out the whole process....

They're probably working together to help buy the game. (I could be wrong though.)

[r00tb0ySlim]

My funniest pickup moment was when a couple of junior rednecks in appropriately macho costumes accosted my male toon in pastel pink/blue bike leathers and said "you'll never get any girls with a costume like that". I decided to have some fun with them and indicated that maybe it wasn't girls I was trying to pick up and they ran a mile.

LOL....good stuff!!  I had a fairy winged big brute on Liberty wearing nothing but tighty whities named "Brief Exposure" and peeps asked me the "which direction are you going" thing a few times.  I had no " RP direction" in that regard...I just thought my brute fit the name and looked funny fly'n around :D

[Gamerchamp]

Nice to hear that many people/studios want to buy the game but as someone else said doesn't it impeed on the current negotiations or are they all joining together as one entity to help the other buyers?

[Benchpresser]

Nice to hear that many people/studios want to buy the game but as someone else said doesn't it impeed on the current negotiations or are they all joining together as one entity to help the other buyers?

I would guess neither.  The studios are contacting the buyers (or IW who forwards them to the buyers) inquiring if they need assistance/cash/help with the deal.  They don't seem to be contacting NC directly (likely because no one but the buyers know who exactly to go through and as the previous attempts have shown... go to the wrong person and the deal is DOA).

[Gamerchamp]

I would guess neither.  The studios are contacting the buyers (or IW who forwards them to the buyers) inquiring if they need assistance/cash/help with the deal.  They don't seem to be contacting NC directly (likely because no one but the buyers know who exactly to go through and as the previous attempts have shown... go to the wrong person and the deal is DOA).

Ah ok thanks for summing that up for me wasn't to sure if it would fluff things up on both ends.

But it's also good to know we have other help out there that's what makes this community so amazing.

[Ironwolf]

I forward all of the contacts through to the team.

All the other efforts have never been able to penetrate the huge wall of NCSoft corporate noise. If you don't know who the contact is on the inside then you have an extremely hard time working through all the levels of hell. We do have the inside contact and that is the difference.

I know some have offered developmental help, some financing and development and some have different visions of what to do with the game. I know I stuck my neck out choosing this team - but they seem to understand CoH and its community and have been here the whole time fighting to get the game back. If if goes south you can heap blame on me, but I really think they are the folks who can do it justice.

[hejtmane]

I forward all of the contacts through to the team.

All the other efforts have never been able to penetrate the huge wall of NCSoft corporate noise. If you don't know who the contact is on the inside then you have an extremely hard time working through all the levels of hell. We do have the inside contact and that is the difference.

I know some have offered developmental help, some financing and development and some have different visions of what to do with the game. I know I stuck my neck out choosing this team - but they seem to understand CoH and its community and have been here the whole time fighting to get the game back. If if goes south you can heap blame on me, but I really think they are the folks who can do it justice.

Hey I am with you better to forward it through the team one voice one view is a better chance and hey you never know what allies you can gain that help. Come on NCSoft make the sale to us earn some positive PR.

[AlienOne]

I forward all of the contacts through to the team.

All the other efforts have never been able to penetrate the huge wall of NCSoft corporate noise. If you don't know who the contact is on the inside then you have an extremely hard time working through all the levels of hell. We do have the inside contact and that is the difference.

I know some have offered developmental help, some financing and development and some have different visions of what to do with the game. I know I stuck my neck out choosing this team - but they seem to understand CoH and its community and have been here the whole time fighting to get the game back. If if goes south you can heap blame on me, but I really think they are the folks who can do it justice.

Can't wait! :)

[Ironwolf]

I hope this doesn't turn into a bidding war, and drag out the whole process....

I definitely don't want a bidding war! I want whoever gets it to save the cash for development!

[HEATSTROKE]

Thanks for the update IronWolf..


  Back to Step one: GET THE GAME.

  Figure everything else out. You have to get the IP away from Nc Soft.. I cant imagine them selling the engine.. First off whats a 12 year old engine worth.. Two why would you wan it? IMO and I know zilch about the video game industry..

but to me it seems smart to buy the IP and as much account and character data you could..
I dont know how the code works.. Is that a part of the engine or can you get it separately?
Acquire the rights for CoH2 and beyond.. NC Soft will still probably want a logo on that and a piece of the action...
Lease the engine from NC Soft for CoH. I dont think it would be bought..
Re-Release the game in Issue 24 mode if possible.
Open the same Hybrid Model as before ( maybe a few tweaks )..
Definitely get the cash shop up and running so people can buy stuff.. look at your price model.. make sure there is enough $.50. $1.00, $2.00 whatever in there for impulse buys.. You can still buy them with Paragon Points.. maybe it makes people feel they arent spening MONEY ( even though they are )

Start working on porting CoH original to a new engine.. Unreal.. or whatever developers think is best..

At least thats my thoughts..

[Baaleos]

Hi All,
I've been following this thread now for a week or two.
Are the timeline updates being put somewhere specific - with regards to the developments in getting COH back?

I checked the first post, and it hasnt received any updates in a while.

I am uber keen to get some semblence of COH back.
I miss pretty much everything about the game.

Storm Summoning, Gravity Control etc

These are just powersets you don't see anywhere else!!

I used to love just the physics being applied to the environments etc.
Loved how telekinesis would make them fly backwards, and pick up debris as they past.
Or even the Propel power from Grav Control - nothing like throwing a fork lift at an enemy.

My only concern, and I am sure others have similar concerns : how much will the game change if another studio takes it on.
And if another studio takes it on, are they likely to start changing it or developing it further for a year or two before release?

They might actually take the game from NCSoft, and use it as a starting point for their own mmo.
They could even take just the engine, and apply the engine to a completely non-city of heroes game, leaving city of heroes offline.

These are things to consider - once a studio gets city of heroes, they are under no obligation to actually follow through and revive the game. They might just use the deal to get the code/engine and then develop their own bastardized version?


I would like to suggest that the Paragon Store stuff is removed from the game - as those micro transactions were just introduced when paragon studios was circling the drain, and were looking for extra dosh.

[Benchpresser]

Hi All,
I've been following this thread now for a week or two.
Are the timeline updates being put somewhere specific - with regards to the developments in getting COH back?

I checked the first post, and it hasnt received any updates in a while.

I am uber keen to get some semblence of COH back.
I miss pretty much everything about the game.

Storm Summoning, Gravity Control etc

These are just powersets you don't see anywhere else!!

I used to love just the physics being applied to the environments etc.
Loved how telekinesis would make them fly backwards, and pick up debris as they past.
Or even the Propel power from Grav Control - nothing like throwing a fork lift at an enemy.

My only concern, and I am sure others have similar concerns : how much will the game change if another studio takes it on.
And if another studio takes it on, are they likely to start changing it or developing it further for a year or two before release?

They might actually take the game from NCSoft, and use it as a starting point for their own mmo.
They could even take just the engine, and apply the engine to a completely non-city of heroes game, leaving city of heroes offline.

These are things to consider - once a studio gets city of heroes, they are under no obligation to actually follow through and revive the game. They might just use the deal to get the code/engine and then develop their own bastardized version?


I would like to suggest that the Paragon Store stuff is removed from the game - as those micro transactions were just introduced when paragon studios was circling the drain, and were looking for extra dosh.

2 things... the group talking to NC is unlikely to hand the game over without absolute assurances that it will be relaunched.  Especially after what they have gone through to get it!

2- The store is EESSENTIAL to relaunching/further developing the game.  Stores are the MMO model now, it's what makes a game money, not subs.  Subs may keep the lights on but the microtransactions of a store are what pays everything else.  And CoH's store actually nailed it right fairly out of the gate- every single thing on there was cool but in no way required for game play at any level.  I can't stand stores that are nothing but lockboxes and keys.... that is a true moneysink. 

[Baaleos]

Guess im just concerned that it would resemble a CO (Champions Online) model.

I remember being part of Champions Online during its beta, and it was great, and then that Zen Store came in, and I cannot actually stand CO now.

City of Heroes had alot to offer, and I think it terms of content is superior to CO.

- I may hate microtransactions, but thats not to say I havent used them - tbh, they are addictive and before you know it, your spending your life savings getting +50% xp for 2 hours x 1000.

2 things... the group talking to NC is unlikely to hand the game over without absolute assurances that it will be relaunched.  Especially after what they have gone through to get it!

It would really need to be a contract - otherwise they could just take the code/engine/game, and then do what they want with it.

I know its been discussed with regards to what personal data might be available - eg: characters, toons etc
I think legally companies are meant to delete your details if they are no longer using them, within 2 years of inactivity.
(Data Protection laws )

This may mean - our account information for COH is gone - no mapping to characters
or - Our characters could be gone, and nothing to map to NCAccounts


Is the game going to be kept closed access - eg: a Studio maintaining/buying it?
or is it community driven?
Was a kickstarter considered?