Author Topic: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.  (Read 333373 times)

Adrenalin

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #180 on: December 22, 2012, 06:35:26 PM »
I'm starting to think that all of these posts that are going off topic are really code claiming on how to enter a CoX private server. And the following off-topic posts are actually people discussing how awesome the private server is.

 :o

Lol Kriiden, although this thought has a nice tin foil essence to it, if there were a CoX emu out there, you would never, NEVER find me here posting. ;)

Colette

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #181 on: December 24, 2012, 09:48:05 PM »
Got a relevent article here. If this is old news to y'all, my bad.

Turns out earlier this month, a group of independent fans created a My Little Pony MMO all by themselves, only to have the copyright holders shut them down this month. Well, whether you're a fan of the ponies or not, (and I'm very much not a fan of those irrelevant pony-pics that started popping up on the old CoH board,) it's an interesting case study. Yes, it is possible to set up and run something yourself. It's also possible for the rightful owners to shut you down.

Mind, I personally would revel in playing "keep away" with NCSoft and musical ISPs as an exercise in civil disobedience. Way I see it, the more troublesome we can be, the more eager they'll be to get rid of us. But then, I flirt with "redside" from time to time.

Its an interesting example.

http://gamepolitics.com/2012/12/10/unauthorized-my-little-pony-mmo-shut-down

Illusionss

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #182 on: December 24, 2012, 10:09:51 PM »
[...] Well, whether you're a fan of the ponies or not, (and I'm very much not a fan of those irrelevant pony-pics that started popping up on the old CoH board,) it's an interesting case study.

Those pictures were mind-numbingly annoying, perhaps most of all because these so-called My Little Ponies actually look nothing at all like ponies. They share the trait of four legs, and they also have tails. Otherwise nothing about them says 'pony' to me... or even 'equine.' They most closely resemble dogs.

Quote
Mind, I personally would revel in playing "keep away" with NCSoft and musical ISPs as an exercise in civil disobedience. Way I see it, the more troublesome we can be, the more eager they'll be to get rid of us. But then, I flirt with "redside" from time to time.

Musical ISPs sounds like the way to go. How delicious that would be.

xCain

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #183 on: December 25, 2012, 01:07:34 AM »
Ok im not having fun with any other games out there, anything i can do to help for a emu im down. I have no skills to help do it...but i wanna play!

Waya

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #184 on: December 25, 2012, 07:41:10 PM »
I don't think y'all are gettin' it.  NCSoft is doing something *very* strange, and whatever their plan is, no "oh, that'll be just fine, go ahead and run it!" is going to come until and unless it's

a) resurrected in their possession.
b) sold to another who resurrects it.

Excepting those two, the hacked server method is the only way you'll be able to play the game, as NCSoft is simply uninterested (I would suppose that's the best word?) in the small amount of people who would want this, but very interested in not letting the tech/IP back out into the wild.

And *especially* if it's possible to be sold.  Giving anyone the ingredients to The Drink for free means you can't sell The Drink formula to anyone else, as it becomes worthless.  Or so the thought goes.

Actually, I understand perfectly what you are saying. You see two options. Neither of which NCsoft has shown any REAL interest in doing. Let's look at motivation...

a.) NCSOFT RE-OPENS THE GAME. NCsoft isn't going to resurrect CoH while they are still trying to jumpstart their new projects. The only way they's resurrect CoH is if their new project(s) fail miserably, and they are suddenly caught short in total "survivor" mode, looking to keep the money rolling in.

b.) SELLING IT OFF. The other option, selling the intellectual property in its entirety seems to have been completely canned by NCsoft. They seem to think it's a good idea to keep the IP in a headlock, JUST IN CASE enough interest arrises later to revive the IP. (For example, the original Star Trek was cancelled, but later, they had SEVERAL more series, and a couple series of movies...not to mention all the merchandising.)

I was asking about a completely different third option. Has anyone approached NCsoft about the possibilty of BUYING a "license" to run a server(s), in a maintenance state. NCsoft would not need to put in more money to develop new content, but they'd make money from the licensing fees. NCsoft would still own the IP, so that if interest revived to the point of grand money-making schemes (TV, movies, merchandising, whatever), they'd have the rights to it all...but those of us who love the game would still get to play it, in the meantime.

Blue Pulsar

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #185 on: December 25, 2012, 11:34:21 PM »
...NCSoft is simply uninterested (I would suppose that's the best word?) in the small amount of people who would want this...

I have yet to understand the reason so many people are saying this. There are over 100 people on this forum alone that want their game back and are actively doing something about it. Over 10,000 people were subscribed to the game right before the sunset announcement. Over 20,000 signed the petition. The game was pulling in well over two million per quarter, upwards of 10 million per year.  Given all these things, and the campaigns of the "Save CoH"ers, how can anyone say that not many people want this?
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Perfidus

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #186 on: December 26, 2012, 12:01:10 AM »
Because companies are only interested in WoW-like numbers, is why. And people know this. So they say silly things like that.

Thunder Glove

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #187 on: December 26, 2012, 12:35:26 AM »
Which is ridiculous.  Out of the top ten MMOs, I don't think #2 through #10 combined have as many subscribers as WoW (which is, of course, #1)

Not that companies aren't shooting for that anyway, but I don't think we'll ever see another fluke like WoW.

Victoria Victrix

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #188 on: December 26, 2012, 12:38:02 AM »
Actually, I understand perfectly what you are saying. You see two options. Neither of which NCsoft has shown any REAL interest in doing.

Except that in the recent "reorganization" notice, wherein NCSoft announces it is selling NCSoft Interactive (NCSoft West) to itself, NCSoft made the official statement that "nothing regarding the selling of CoH has been decided yet" or words to that effect.

It is entirely possible they are lying to us again.

It is also possible that someone higher up than the person who issued the statement that "all options have been exhausted" has made an executive decision that they will see if a buyer more to their liking emerges.

Based on the fact that Team Wildcard is dedicated to leaving no stone unturned, we are operating on the basis that possibility number two is true.
I will go down with this ship.  I won't put my hands up in surrender.  There will be no white flag above my door.  I'm in love, and always will be.  Dido

Quinch

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #189 on: December 26, 2012, 02:57:20 AM »
I have yet to understand the reason so many people are saying this.

I see it a lot, and my guess is it's basically an assumption of logic - most games get shut down because of a lack of interest, therefore it's reasonable to assume that CoH did too therefore there weren't many players.

It's when the numbers - verifiable numbers, almost 60K subscribers' worth of revenue* - come to light that the complete lack of rhyme or reason for the shutdown becomes apparent. But without knowing that fact, there's an unspoken assumption that "business knows best", without thinking of the possibility that whoever in NCsoft made the decision to kill off the game was smoking buttcrack.

*our numbers give us around 40K vreems, around 20K preems and around 40K freems - but I've translated the total revenue into $15-a-month for the sake of context.

houtex

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #190 on: December 26, 2012, 04:03:10 AM »
Actually, I understand perfectly what you are saying. You see two options. Neither of which NCsoft has shown any REAL interest in doing. Let's look at motivation...

a.) NCSOFT RE-OPENS THE GAME. NCsoft isn't going to resurrect CoH while they are still trying to jumpstart their new projects. The only way they's resurrect CoH is if their new project(s) fail miserably, and they are suddenly caught short in total "survivor" mode, looking to keep the money rolling in.

b.) SELLING IT OFF. The other option, selling the intellectual property in its entirety seems to have been completely canned by NCsoft. They seem to think it's a good idea to keep the IP in a headlock, JUST IN CASE enough interest arrises later to revive the IP. (For example, the original Star Trek was cancelled, but later, they had SEVERAL more series, and a couple series of movies...not to mention all the merchandising.)

I was asking about a completely different third option. Has anyone approached NCsoft about the possibilty of BUYING a "license" to run a server(s), in a maintenance state. NCsoft would not need to put in more money to develop new content, but they'd make money from the licensing fees. NCsoft would still own the IP, so that if interest revived to the point of grand money-making schemes (TV, movies, merchandising, whatever), they'd have the rights to it all...but those of us who love the game would still get to play it, in the meantime.

The problem with doing the license is that they will be likely asked to do maintenance, or at least support, possibly, and they are already disinterested in this aspect, or the game would be up, and frozen in time, developmentwise.  They want NO part of even running a server... why would they let anyone else do it?  Further, then the bear is in the wild if licensed to, oh, me, for example, because what is to stop someone from making a copy and such for the black market? (and there will be one.  Trust me on that.)  We are therefore back to what I said, then, in that they are not interested in letting it out unless it's fully sold, or they're putting it back out to play.

PLEASE NOTE... as a programmer, I know exactly what I said, and I would NEVER EVER make a copy of the server for any amount of money to sell or give away.  I too (well, the company, anyway) was a victim of the Buy One, Run 10,000 copies problem and we solved it with Dongles back when.  BUT... I am not everyone.  There WILL BE the people who copy and deal it out like so many playing cards... torrent servers... etc.  So NCSoft isn't going to do this.  They just aren't.  Sorry, but that's just logic (even if theirs is messed up, it's still 1+1=2 here.)

---

I have yet to understand the reason so many people are saying this. There are over 100 people on this forum alone that want their game back and are actively doing something about it. Over 10,000 people were subscribed to the game right before the sunset announcement. Over 20,000 signed the petition. The game was pulling in well over two million per quarter, upwards of 10 million per year.  Given all these things, and the campaigns of the "Save CoH"ers, how can anyone say that not many people want this?
100 isn't enough.
10000 isn't enough.
20000 isn't enough.
10 million isn't enough.
If any of that WAS enough... then it'd still be up, I'd say.  And apparently whatever they were asking was too much, or was intentionally so, or they were being just spiteful/ornery, to let anyone else run it either.
 
Now, let's say, they simply fired PS and did the maintenance thing.  Would we still play it, or would we be so incensed as to what they did to the Devs that we would run away in droves?  Hm?  Perhaps that's for another topic, but it's important to mention... because even that, which would have saved them the studio costs and therefore make a static, no longer developed game, pure profit, sans the tiny amount of server farm costs.  THAT wasn't enough. 
 
Therefore, none of the pertinent numbers were enough, apparently, to keep it running, even at bare bones.

Again, simple numbers and their logic.  Doesn't add up for us, but for them. yep.  "<the game what's name shall not be mentioned> numbers."  That's the mark.  And it simply DOES NOT MATTER that #2-#10 combined = <tgwnsnbm> numbers, THIS game didn't get there by itself.  And I'm not sure that's the be all end all argument for their closing it, but... there it is.

---

Business is weird.  Weird people run them sometimes and they make really bad decision from the stand point of of the consumer/outsider.  What we don't, hardly ever see, immediately is the talks that precede the decision.  That comes weeks, months, years later.  Or never. 

Regardless of why CoH was shut down, the idea that anything OTHER than a complete sale of the IP would allow the game to run again...it's just not gonna be happening, from a business point of view.  There's not enough to keep it RUNNING, so licensing/renting it is just... well, if it were possible, it would be ON.  Sure, they'd've still fired the PS staff, but the game would continue, and they'd get their little chunk of change, and we'd all be happy and everything even though it's a sad shame about Posi, WW, and the rest... or would we... I personally don't know.  I can see my emotions running either way on staying/going.  I would probably look to their guidance as to whether it'd be ok if I played or not, and I'm quite serious when I say a PM from those two at least would go a long way to making my decision.

But regardless of my or anyone's personal feelings, emotions >aren't in this.<  If it was, PS would be alive, and CoH would be here, and I'd be hopping Atlas Park getting candy canes.  Politics, money, and desired outcomes/directions of the company are, as far as NCSoft is concerned.  We're not part of the equation anymore except in a sale, and that by the company buying, not NCSoft.  They're done with us, except as a nuisance, apparently.  The IP/game isn't out of reach yet... just... sequestered in Mordor at the moment. 

I sincerely hope that a sale of the IP is made.  But I think the Star Trek reference is perhaps the best one out there... in that they'll horde the IP for the off chance they might resurrect the game in some form later.  But I don't see years passing where this would work, and I don't see a CoH:TNG happening either.  CoH doesn't work for phones or tablets or consoles... and they and it are now... but who knows if there's a plan for a Phone version of CoH that nobody but NCSoft knew about, and in 6 months, BAM!  CoH:Mobile version!
 
Gawd, that'll suck.  But that just MIGHT BE THE REALITY.  Can any of you say For Sure it is not possible?  Nope.  And that's why they horde their crap.  Either that, or they're meany doodie heads.  Maybe some of both right now... :p
 
---
 
I sincerely, every day, hope I see the words "IT'S SOLD!  COMING BACK ONLINE IN MAY 2013!  AND ALL YOUR STUFF WILL >>**BE THERE**<<!!!!" and Team Wildcard has saved the day.  I honestly do.  Well, the exact wording might be different, but you know what I mean.  Even if we had to start over, I'd be all over it.  I would love to run another Brawler, or make Chillsea again, or redo the Sisters Dawn, as well as Thing of Bigness, Homeslicer, Val The Enchantress, Gruenfeld...
 
But TW is the hope.  If they cannot get it pulled off by some company, then there are only three options:  Phoenix, Heroes and Villains, and Hacked Local Servers.  Because, mark my words, as an NCSoft business decision, CoH is dead, and a sale is the only way it itself is coming back online, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about that, except the four things just mentioned.  And for my part... GO TEAM WILDCARD, GET THAT BUYER AND MAKE NCSOFT SELL!!!
 
I'm excited to see how this all works out.  Honest.  Because without these four options, I truly have nothing to play anymore.  And it's killin' me inside.
 
/Yeah, yeah, RL, do stuff... I been sick, and CoH is a great analgesiac... I have not had my medicine lately, and I'm grumpy. :(
//And beyond the sale of CoH... GO TEAM HACK THE SERVERS TOGETHER AND GIMME A COPY SO I CAN AT LEAST STREET SWEEP! ;)

Ice Trix

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #191 on: December 26, 2012, 10:40:34 AM »
I'd like one too :-X

Just pointing out I'd like a pm for super secret servers too. :whistles:

Victoria Victrix

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #192 on: December 26, 2012, 10:52:15 AM »
I sincerely, every day, hope I see the words "IT'S SOLD!  COMING BACK ONLINE IN MAY 2013!  AND ALL YOUR STUFF WILL >>**BE THERE**<<!!!!" and Team Wildcard has saved the day.  I honestly do.  Well, the exact wording might be different, but you know what I mean.  Even if we had to start over, I'd be all over it.  I would love to run another Brawler, or make Chillsea again, or redo the Sisters Dawn, as well as Thing of Bigness, Homeslicer, Val The Enchantress, Gruenfeld...

From your mouth to (Deity of your choice)'s ear.
 
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But TW is the hope.  If they cannot get it pulled off by some company, then there are only three options:  Phoenix, Heroes and Villains, and Hacked Local Servers.  Because, mark my words, as an NCSoft business decision, CoH is dead, and a sale is the only way it itself is coming back online, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about that, except the four things just mentioned.  And for my part... GO TEAM WILDCARD, GET THAT BUYER AND MAKE NCSOFT SELL!!!

We're about to gear up to revise for the next pitch.  We're in this for the long haul.
 
I will go down with this ship.  I won't put my hands up in surrender.  There will be no white flag above my door.  I'm in love, and always will be.  Dido

Ice Trix

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #193 on: December 26, 2012, 11:02:01 AM »
Honestly, I don't care about the old characters. I've mourned them, I'm prepared to recreate them.

Tying the sale of personal data or ability to import of our old stuff seems to me to be complicating it more than needs be.

Kurukaze

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #194 on: December 26, 2012, 01:12:50 PM »
Honestly, I don't care about the old characters. I've mourned them, I'm prepared to recreate them.

Tying the sale of personal data or ability to import of our old stuff seems to me to be complicating it more than needs be.

Highly depending on which country the deal takes place in. Would be highly complicated in most countries of the European Union, complicated in the US and Canada, done in a glimpse in Gibraltar, Zimbabwe or - maybe even South Korea. Selling NC West/Interactice back to the main NC technically moves our personal data from the US to South Korea. We'd need someone with knowledge about laws concerning personal data in South Korea to get to know if the deal would be complicated there - or not.

sindyr

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #195 on: December 26, 2012, 01:18:38 PM »
Honestly, I don't care about the old characters. I've mourned them, I'm prepared to recreate them.

Yes, yes!  I spent 8 years creating more than two dozen level 50+ characters and another dozen somewhere between 1 and 50 - and I would be ecstatic just to be able to start over making all new characters from scratch in issue 24 CoX.

I would spend *thousands* of dollars to get that!

Quinch

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #196 on: December 26, 2012, 01:35:51 PM »
Yes, yes!  I spent 8 years creating more than two dozen level 50+ characters and another dozen somewhere between 1 and 50 - and I would be ecstatic just to be able to start over making all new characters from scratch in issue 24 CoX.

I would spend *thousands* of dollars to get that!

Not sure if sarcastic or not, but then again, I'm on the fanatical end of the "it's the journey" spectrum.

Hotaru

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #197 on: December 26, 2012, 02:00:17 PM »
Issue 24, issue 0, it's all the same to me. Totally willing to restart from scratch. Totally unwilling to accept the idea I'll never play this game again.

Lily Barclay

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #198 on: December 26, 2012, 02:37:01 PM »
Not sure if sarcastic or not, but then again, I'm on the fanatical end of the "it's the journey" spectrum.

I didn't read it as sarcastic. Our family decided not to use sentinel because we are totally fine rerolling everyone. The fun of the game is playing it for us. There'd be more to do again if we had to start over.

sindyr

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Re: OK, what now? I need a private server or the ability to run my own.
« Reply #199 on: December 26, 2012, 08:16:10 PM »
Not at all sarcastic.  I love playing the game, and for me the game is taking one character after another from 1 to 50, over the course of 2-3 months per.