Dreams of Yesteryear

[Greyfairer]

Greetings, long lost mates!

Disclaimer: long post incoming

I wanted to talk about this game to get some closure.  I have had a weird week.  I haven't played COH in 4 or 5 years, and I was a bit bored the other day.  I thought I would check and see what was happening in Paragon City.  I found out that the servers had been shut down since 2012!  Wow!  I have been in a terribly nostalgic and almost depressed mood ever since, and wanted to tell you my story to get it off my chest. 

I was introduced to COH at a time in my life when things were not going well for me.  I was sleeping on a Papasan chair in my friends' house, working a tough job, and going through a lot of personal problems.  My friends played COH and invited me to watch.  I was a DND player and a MTG player, and had seen some MMORPG's, and was into fantasy.  Never read a comic book, was not into X-men or DC or anything like that.  I was skeptical that it would be a fun game for me, and I thought it might be cool if it was a more fantasy tolken style feel.

I started playing a blaster, Greyfairer, and played a bit on their computers.  It was pretty cool and kept my head up.   Gave me a little to look forward to, but it wasn't that great. 

When Greyfairer was a high enough level, my friend convinced me to do the positron task force.   He led the team and was very good about complimenting the other players and letting them know how vital they were to the success of the team.  About 6 short hours later, we finished the task force and I have never been the same.

Shortly after that, I moved to Kansas City because I needed a change.  I didn't own a computer that would run "modern" games, but I had a job doing landscaping, digging, that kind of thing.   I really missed playing COH. So, I saved up enough money to purchase a computer just so that I could play COH (then I had to purchase additional ram to get it to function... my computer was not top of the line). 

All that Summer, I worked outside doing grueling work, but I had a smile on my face knowing that at night I was going to meet some people for the first or 20th time and embark on a quest to save the city.  Every day, after only a couple hours of sleep, I was ready for work and excited to do some labor while daydreaming about how to slot my abilities, or what archetype I should try next, or what composition of heroes would be the best at tackling a task force.  I sincerely hope that everyone reading this got a chance to run an 8 member group with 2 bubbler/dark defenders and 6 energy/energy blasters.  What a freaking riot.  Anyway...

During the winter, my job prevented me from playing COH at all, as I was working all day and into the evenings, 6:00 am until 10:30 at night often times.  The next summer I picked it up again, exploring new toons and role playing them through every story arc and trial in the game.  Each Day I would come to Paragon City with one of my heroes and immediately start looking to form TF's or trials.  I became that leader that assembled the "perfect team guys!" even when it wasn't, and made certain that all the members felt empowered and necessary.  "Hey blaster, keep sniping those cairns with everything you've got.  We'll never get through unless you take them down.  Defender,  don't let my blasters fall or we are DOOMED" etc. 
During the Day I was a horribly introverted recluse that had a hard time making friends, and at night I was this outspoken champion that never let a team down. 
Now I am a coach, and lead my teams against impossible odds in real life.  I can take on the persona of my supes to some degree, and use the team building skills and trust I developed from COH and translate it on the court. 

The following year I had to give the game up again for work, and the next summer I tried again.  There were much fewer people on the servers.  I could not track down most of my old friends.  It was very hard to form a Task Force or Trial.  The supes informed me that a lot of people left after the advent of build your own bases and raids for invention salvage or recipes.  I played for a while, but eventually I had to give it up again, as my work schedule became a harsh but fun mistress. 

Since then I have never even considered playing. I kept my old CD in my collection and smiled whenever I saw it.  It was only in idle passing interest that I thought to check up and see what new events were going on in Paragon City.  I had no desire to play.  And yet, when I found out that they closed paragon studios and the game was dead it was heart rending!  It was like I lost family.  I can't help but pine that I won't be able to show my daughter, when she is old enough, the mazes of Perez park or the top of Atlas Square.

I have dabbled in other MMORPG's, and they have no luster for me.  Somehow, COH gave me a profound sense of accomplishment and comradery.  The people were all so helpful. The swapping of salvage, the aiding those in distress... it was truly magical.  Of the hours and hours I spent online, there were only two times that people behaved like trolls or tried to mess with newbies.  I think that this was fostered by the game design, but more-so it was the people.  Somehow this game catered to a demographic that was the best community I can imagine.   

And so, my friends, I share this because I need release.  I was sad to hear of the last days of the game and the community that came out in support. I would have been there with you had I known.  I would give anything to take a group of noobs on the Synapse TF just one more time, rattling off clockwork puns and praising them for taking down the "impossible! We did it!" Babbage.  The passing of this game has affected me curiously acutely.  If you are going to be in the Kansas City area and need anything, give Greyfairer a shout.  I owe you.  I owe all of you.  With that, I leave you with a cheesy postlude:


Dreams of Yesteryear
(with apologies to Wordsworth, Poe, and the rest)


Great God, I'd rather be a hero, mighty - suckled on ideals outworn.
So might I, flying o'er this make-believe city, catch glimpses that would make me less forlorn. 

See hopeful heroes hit the streets, and purge the hurtful skulls.
Or watch the Circle's or Freakshow's creeps get drawn by Tankers' pulls.

What wouldn't I give for one more chance to thwart the villains with my peers,
Or meet in Freedom Square to dance and reminisce of Statesman's fears?

Now many years have past me by - those blessed times are gone for good,
But still I think of how we tried to fight for Justice whenever we could.

Now when the stars rise and I close my tired eyes and troubles weigh me down,
I can't help but dream of the Mad Clockwork King and our questing in Paragon Town.

And when the moon beams I slip into sweet dreams of our efforts to save the day. 
But tears fill my eye and I let out a sigh knowing these times have all passed away.

If there is a heaven that waits from on high, and the ending of my earthly life draws nigh,
Perhaps there will be a Paragon City somewhere past the pearly gates.
I'll see my lost friends, then our team-work begins! Lo! The lost rail Greenline awaits!

- The Greyfairer (Task Force Commander)

[MWRuger]

Great post and welcome!

But don't give up just yet, read here: http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9675.0.html

long, but the gist is this. A new group has approached NCSoft and been given a price quote and said it was doable. Now we wait. Pending meetings and everyone agreeing, you might get that chance yet!

But even if this effort fails, we only have to succeed one time. We can fail as many times as we need to, but we only have to win one time, just once, and then we all get to go home.

I Used to sign off from a team with this: "See you on the streets and good hunting" so I say to you now, brothers and sisters:

"I'll see you in Paragon where our fight is every man's fight. Our greatest day is ahead and our struggles for justice and to end tyranny have just started. Welcome back to the fight, this time I know we'll win."


PS  Paragon is also where "To Serve Man" is not a cookbook, but a creed.

[Blondeshell]

There's also Titan Icon if you have an itch to mess around in the character creator or go on a sightseeing tour of the game maps.

[Greyfairer]

Thanks for the link, Devil.  Makes me smile!

Bombshell, I thought that bombshell only worked if you had the latest installation of the game. I stopped playing in 2009 or 2010.  I honestly never thought I would play again until my kid got old enough to appreciate it (and the wife was out of town)

[MWRuger]

No problem!

Regarding ICON, you can download the issue 24 beta along with an installer that does all the work for you.

Helpful Link follows: http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9531.0.html they have a Mac version there as well. It's fun, you should try it!

[Greyfairer]

Ah, Very nice.  Thanks.
Of course, that just makes me all the more nostalgic.  How does one cure that?

[Eoraptor]

Ah, Very nice.  Thanks.
Of course, that just makes me all the more nostalgic.  How does one cure that?

build a time machine...