New efforts!

[MWRuger]

CoT has done precisely what it set out to do, build an MMO. No matter how much money is sunk, MMO's take time to develop. While CoT has taken longer than any of us, especially those of us working on it, have wanted, that time would have been needed regardless.

The other thing CoT has done is altered at which stage of development will be released, based on player feedback. When we showed early stage work, the fans simply were vicious in ripping apart greybox material. As a result, the early access plan had to be abandoned. Simply put, had the server with an Alpha gone live at the end of 2015, everyone would have taken it as the final product, rather than a greybox. Look at all the guff Camelot Unchained and Shroud of the Avatar have gotten for their Alpha builds. So now, access will be when it is closer to completion, because that's what the players want. They don't want a playable game with greybox graphics and a stand in player model, they want a finished product and will not accept anything less.

I'm still pulling for you guys to succeed I worked on the project for a little while and this is an amazingly detailed project. Who knew MMO's could be so complicated?


Right now my preferences are (In order)

City of Heroes
City of Titans
Ship of Heroes
Valiance
Heroes and Villians
DC Online
Champions

While I think Ship of Heroes looks like it could be fun, The fact that is on a space ship makes it hard to rationalize the pulp and golden/silver age that I prefer.

[LadyVamp]

after watching that video of the podcast of the 5 guys from mmorpg

im just curious  what it would take and how much money it would take to get everything coh ip the code all of it 
its been few yrs now and like that one guy said they are a business with backers and a board im sure if hit them when the stocks are at lowest
a firm  real offer  they might make them take it so im just curious  what a real $$$$  would be not that  $80m rumor  cuz thats just crazy  as old as game is
id say if i won lotto i would give more then 20-30m at most and that would have to include everything ip source code all of it not just what was rumored to be for sale before if igive them another dime it would be for it all so no strings attached to them what so ever after 

just a thought i had  cuz i had a dream i won the lotto   (it just pooped in there)  as  ray would say

Well, for the extra low price of $29 billion, we could buy 50% of the outstanding shares of NCSoft and then direct the company to put coh back in operation.  Maybe we could get congress to pass a law (aka bill) to buy ncsoft.  It's not like they'd miss $29 Billion and might actually give it a revenue stream.

[LateNights]

If it's true that CoH was still making a profit of $4 million a year at shutdown it isn't hard to see why NC wasn't really interested in selling...

Sadly, that $80 million rumour might be closer to the truth than we'd like to think - considering also any future profits the I.P could generate with sequels & whatnot - it's possible they value it that much.

[switch]

It hasn't been officially declared dead, but at this point it's unlikely that the negotiations are still going on.

Nate hasn't heard from the group in over a year.  More damningly, however, Statesman (actually Tyrant) just debuted as a playable character in NCSoft's new game Master x Master, suggesting that they plan on holding onto the CoH IP for a while.  At the very least, IP negotiations would have just gotten a lot more complicated (because NCSoft can't just cut all ties the IP while simultaneously continuing to use part of it in a new game, so some sort of licensing deal would have to be worked out in addition to the sale).

Look, I've been an optimist about this thing the whole time.  I'm the one who has repeatedly told people that Joel Hodgson took five years to negotiate for the rights to MST3K, and that was something he'd created, so two (going on three) years by a complete third party for CoH rights is nothing.

But there's now enough evidence to suggest that NCSoft was never negotiating in good faith (for example, the guy who put Statesman in MxM said that he started trying to do so at around the same time that The THeM started their negotiations, and we can see which of those two groups won out).

It's possible that the negotiations are still going on, of course, under the World's Strictest NDA, but it's looking less and less likely in the face of what little new information we do have.




ya i know all this i follow the forums closesly

i was just wondering someone with more knowledge of how things work and what not  after being closed as long as it has
what would a realist  $$$$ be  that it be worth  if they were willing to sell in todays market

[downix]

ya i know all this i follow the forums closesly

i was just wondering someone with more knowledge of how things work and what not  after being closed as long as it has
what would a realist  $$$$ be  that it be worth  if they were willing to sell in todays market

Some prices are not measured in dollars.

[Dying Breath]

Its true.  I imagine they use Korean Won.

[Harpospoke]

Our underlying server architecture is designed in such a way that local servers are possible, although "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" and local play will lack the persistence and lore. If we do shut down, the plan is to produce a Lore bundle with all quests and contacts for this local play, so if the lights do go out, people can still play together in smaller groups a la Neverwinter Nights or Conan Exiles.

Now that is more like it!    This is the sort of thing that would make it worth getting hooked on a game.

when you plant a tree, you know it will someday die. dou you just not plant one because of this? do you not sit in its shade with your loved one because of this? no, you take advantage of it while it is alive and you dont quit living because everything dies eventually.

If the tree only lasted 7 years I might not bother, no.   I would opt for a tree that would last my entire life.

[ivanhedgehog]

It hasn't been officially declared dead, but at this point it's unlikely that the negotiations are still going on.

Nate hasn't heard from the group in over a year.  More damningly, however, Statesman (actually Tyrant) just debuted as a playable character in NCSoft's new game Master x Master, suggesting that they plan on holding onto the CoH IP for a while.  At the very least, IP negotiations would have just gotten a lot more complicated (because NCSoft can't just cut all ties the IP while simultaneously continuing to use part of it in a new game, so some sort of licensing deal would have to be worked out in addition to the sale).

Look, I've been an optimist about this thing the whole time.  I'm the one who has repeatedly told people that Joel Hodgson took five years to negotiate for the rights to MST3K, and that was something he'd created, so two (going on three) years by a complete third party for CoH rights is nothing.

But there's now enough evidence to suggest that NCSoft was never negotiating in good faith (for example, the guy who put Statesman in MxM said that he started trying to do so at around the same time that The THeM started their negotiations, and we can see which of those two groups won out).

It's possible that the negotiations are still going on, of course, under the World's Strictest NDA, but it's looking less and less likely in the face of what little new information we do have.

they could easily put a statement in the contract that any characters they are already using they can continue to use. not that hard to write in.

[downix]

Its true.  I imagine they use Korean Won.

that's not actually what I meant.

[Sinistar]

they could easily put a statement in the contract that any characters they are already using they can continue to use. not that hard to write in.

After being killed off, Statesman only appeared in the Flashback mission to get the Statesman's Pal badge.   Just remove that mission and the Statesman is gone.

As to Tyrant, just update the Lore to say he was killed in the final conflict between earth Prime and Praetoria.  Problem solved

[Taceus Jiwede]

After being killed off, Statesman only appeared in the Flashback mission to get the Statesman's Pal badge.   Just remove that mission and the Statesman is gone.

As to Tyrant, just update the Lore to say he was killed in the final conflict between earth Prime and Praetoria.  Problem solved

Or banished to a horrible prison where he is forced to fight daily, nay hourly, in an arena with 3 lanes.

[thunderforce]

If it's true that CoH was still making a profit of $4 million a year at shutdown it isn't hard to see why NC wasn't really interested in selling...

Except that after shutdown they weren't _getting_ that $4 million a year. They haven't seen a penny from it after shutdown. It's not like they could reactivate it later and get the $4 million a year - people will lose interest, the game is older, there's a lot of bad feeling.

[LateNights]

Except that after shutdown they weren't _getting_ that $4 million a year. They haven't seen a penny from it after shutdown. It's not like they could reactivate it later and get the $4 million a year - people will lose interest, the game is older, there's a lot of bad feeling.

Obviously not a huge issue for them if they shut the game down, is it?

Aside from that, rumour has it CoH was being used to fund development of another game - and even that didn't stop them.

Nor did it worry them enough to sell when a serious offer was made - so, they must see some value in keeping it...

[Surelle]

Or banished to a horrible prison where he is forced to fight daily, nay hourly, in an arena with 3 lanes.

Hahahaha.  Thanks for my first really good laugh of the morning.   

[worldweary]

If it's true that CoH was still making a profit of $4 million a year at shutdown it isn't hard to see why NC wasn't really interested in selling...

If this is true I wonder why Nate and the others didn't work together to buy CoH.It would have paid for it's self in time and the development
of the games they are making now.Even at $10 a month with 5000 subs that's $600,000 a year.Even now I'm pretty sure we would have at least
that many.There are some things that stand the test of time like works of art,music and literature.CoH I think would still have players years later.
I know I would still be playing.

when you plant a tree, you know it will someday die. dou you just not plant one because of this? do you not sit in its shade with your loved one because of this? no, you take advantage of it while it is alive and you dont quit living because everything dies eventually.

As long as we have power and internet games,movies,music pretty much anything can live on and on in this digital age.

Just want to add I'm not a computer or business person so I don't know much it would cost to buy or run a game in maintenance mode.

[Azrael]

Some prices are not measured in dollars.

Pride?  A feeling of...  'We won't sell it to you at any price.'

NCSoft.  The abrupt manner and the nature of the shutdown suggests there's some personal about this I.P.  A fellow gamer suggests that somebody upset somebody and 'that's it.'   It's never going to happen.  Cultural honour.

What's the price of freedom?

We still don't seem to be any clearer all these years later. 

Azrael.

[Zombie Hustler]

What's the price of freedom?

I believe the last going rate was a buck o five.

[Taceus Jiwede]

Pride?  A feeling of...  'We won't sell it to you at any price.'

NCSoft.  The abrupt manner and the nature of the shutdown suggests there's some personal about this I.P.  A fellow gamer suggests that somebody upset somebody and 'that's it.'   It's never going to happen.  Cultural honour.

What's the price of freedom?

We still don't seem to be any clearer all these years later. 

Azrael.

I am not sure its personal per say, but I do think it's just NCSofts thing to not sell IP's.  There does seem to be some sort of pride or cultural reasoning for this though.  I mean seeing Tyrant come up in MxM just goes to show why they probably don't sell IP's though.  You never know when you can use them again.  Let's say a million people buy Tyrant in MxM for 3 dollars.  That's a ton of money right there for NCSoft,  do that every few years and you can profit off a dead IP that costs nothing to keep sitting around.  Cool 3 mil off nothing really.   2 Years later release Posi, or Lord Recluse, perhaps even Lord Nemesis with a Mender Silo skin.  The options are kind of limitless for them sadly.  Although I don't know if a million people would buy him or even play the game.

[Arcana]

After being killed off, Statesman only appeared in the Flashback mission to get the Statesman's Pal badge.   Just remove that mission and the Statesman is gone.

As to Tyrant, just update the Lore to say he was killed in the final conflict between earth Prime and Praetoria.  Problem solved

I should point out that from a copyright protection perspective, removing the personas as playable characters and NPCs would not be enough to not infringe.  Just mentioning them in any of the story content in-game or in out of game materials would be a violation.  By definition, another game cannot "remove" Statesman and Tyrant by officially killing them or stating that they are dead.  The act of stating they are dead would still be infringement.

[Vee]

Need 2 more for an $tf?