Author Topic: I can, in fact, do this some more.  (Read 37227 times)

Pinnacle Blue

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I can, in fact, do this some more.
« on: September 17, 2013, 01:16:42 PM »
I've completely and utterly lost hope that we're getting our game back.  Simply put, we just don't have the leverage to get NCSoft to do what we want-- whether it's reopen the game or sell it.  I did the math-- 21000+ of us signed a petition.  One year's subscription from each and every person who signed amounts to $3.78 million (assuming $15/mo) in revenues (without taking into account store purchases). 

NCSoft can easily do without that amount.  In two months, they will have.

Also... there aren't 21K of us on the Titan Network.  I'm not sure we even number a thousand.  And too many people-- in general, but also here-- are way too willing to continue to give NCSoft money.  If we don't put up a united front against a ruthless and proven unethical corporate behemoth, the behemoth will win, period, but I digress.

The dearth of good news has me questioning whether there will ever be any good news.  I want a reason to believe, but in the absence of that, I will just have to wait for one of the successor projects to finish.

Thank you to everyone I ever got the chance to team with or otherwise help, especially Victoria Victrix, for the great memories, and thank you to everyone at Titan for providing us with a place to continue our community after the shutdown.

UPDATE:  Please see this post.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2013, 07:58:35 AM by Pinnacle Blue »
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Ironwolf

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #1 on: September 17, 2013, 01:44:43 PM »
I know it is hard to hold hope of a return to play. There is more than one way to veiw this endeavor, it is first a celebration of a game we found noteworthy and second there are many people working on things they just can't tell you about.

I will reference this little clip from Tony V:
Anyway, we definitely still have things in the pipeline.  I know this line gets old, but I still can't talk about them for two main reasons: 1) We don't want NCsoft to get wind of what we're working on.  Not that I think it's illegal or that we'll get in trouble for it, but most of the people working on the stuff are just more comfortable that way.  And 2) experience has taught me that as soon as I say, "We're working on X," that sets expectations and then I and other team members get constantly pinged with "When are you going to be done with X?" messages.

Things are happening - I know it seems some folks are holding secrets but in reality - it has to be that way in some cases. I wish the business was more open but we don't know if anyone has even contacted NCSoft.

Here is a previous post of mine with a timeline:

1. Idea submitted to a company - filtered by secretaries or lower management - 2 weeks before it ever sees a main dudes desk.

2. He likes the idea and wants to explore it - assigns it to a lower manager who then gives it to a team to investigate it - 2-4 weeks

3. Money team investigates it and finds that there is a market for it and the cost could be paid for in 26 months and then it would start making a profit, they also do a cost analysis and find that by advertising X dollars you could gain x dollars back. - 1-2 months

4. Team passes it to legal - legal runs the purchase agreement and looks to see if it infringes or could leave them open to any liabilities - 2-3 months,

5. Report back to CEO or management and give the green light - 1 month

6. Offer tendered to NCSoft for purchase of software IP and account information - NCSoft decides whether to sell or not, says yes and gets their lawyers involved - 1-2 months

7. Game is purchased - server and development team hired game is ported and Alpha is started. 1-2 months

8. Open Beta - 1-2 months.

Game opens about 12-18 months after this all starts.

This is if everyone agrees and no glitches.

Ellscry

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #2 on: September 17, 2013, 01:47:13 PM »
I understand how you feel, I truly do. I wish there was something that I could do for you to re-kindle your hope. I know in my heart that Tony and Codewalker and so many others are doing everything they can, and if it helps to know, on the anniversary of the Unity Rally there were dozens of us who met up in Skype, on CO, in the forum, or in Icon.

I wish I could give you some of my hope. I don't have much now, but I have enough to share. ;)

OzonePrime

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #3 on: September 17, 2013, 03:18:35 PM »
I trust that people, working on the various projects, are just as passionate about City of Heroes, as I am.
We will have our city back!  :)


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Aggelakis

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2013, 04:02:42 PM »
I firmly believe we will never get City out of NCsoft's hands.

I also firmly believe we will get to play City again.

The two are not mutually exclusive.
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LaughingAlex

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2013, 05:12:01 PM »
I don't believe for a second that NCSoft is going to hold onto the city of heroes IP.  Not forever.  Thing is there was alot more then 21,000 people who played city of heroes, and it was far more active that last night then any other day in the games recent history.  City of heroes will be back eventually, especially since there still isn't any good competition for it(when the games survival was because another game that was far more popular shut down you know somethings wrong).

Edit: We also have the spiritual successors to look forward to, which I am hopeful will stomp the current competition considering how repetitive it's become.
Currently; Not doing any streaming, found myself with less time available recently.  Still playing starbound periodically, though I am thinking of trying other games.  Don't tell me to play mmohtg's though please :).  Getting back into participating in VO and the successors again to.

pogoman

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #6 on: September 17, 2013, 05:41:11 PM »
It is in my heart that we WILL get our CITY back!! Just keep believing and keep fighting the good fight!! If I didn't believe this I would not still be doing Save COH Radio! When things look bleak and it's our darkest hour, you have to dig in deep, lift your chin up, raise that torch high and let them know they took our city but they can't stop us from fighting to get it back! We have to have hope that tomorrow will be a better day. We will be in Paragon city, or the Rogue Isles once again!!

goodtime

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2013, 05:46:24 PM »
I sympathize.  I figure I have one angry tirade left in me and I'm saving it for November 30th at midnight.  I don't know what's gonna happen after that, but I'm gonna stay irate for at least a year. 

>:|

Omega Mark V

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2013, 06:36:21 PM »
Keep up hope. There's no reason to quit hoping.

Yes it's been a year. So what? Yes, we didn't get City from NCSoft. So what? Yes, "We don't have it yet." So what?

It doesn't mean we're forever out of options! Yes, it may seem we won't get it back in the near future, but things can change quickly.

I loved playing City of Heroes as much as anyone else did, but quitting and giving up hope won't get us any further. It may seem that we have no chance of getting City Of Heroes/Villains back, but I can assure you that it's a matter of time.

Living in the 'age of instant' can get us into this type of thought, but all we have to realize is that things don't last forever.

We will have City back, and City's closure spawned spiritual successors and spurred a new movement for super hero games. I think that this is just the beginning of something great.

It takes time for a spark to become a roaring fire, it doesn't happen instantly. It requires time, care and patience.

Keep tending to that flame.
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JaguarX

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #9 on: September 17, 2013, 06:40:19 PM »
Keep up hope. There's no reason to quit hoping.

Yes it's been a year. So what? Yes, we didn't get City from NCSoft. So what? Yes, "We don't have it yet." So what?

It doesn't mean we're forever out of options! Yes, it may seem we won't get it back in the near future, but things can change quickly.

I loved playing City of Heroes as much as anyone else did, but quitting and giving up hope won't get us any further. It may seem that we have no chance of getting City Of Heroes/Villains back, but I can assure you that it's a matter of time.

Living in the 'age of instant' can get us into this type of thought, but all we have to realize is that things don't last forever.

We will have City back, and City's closure spawned spiritual successors and spurred a new movement for super hero games. I think that this is just the beginning of something great.

It takes time for a spark to become a roaring fire, it doesn't happen instantly. It requires time, care and patience.

Keep tending to that flame.

yeah.

But not sure if fire fits. Fire tends to be destructive and consume everything it touches leaving it in ash. But I cant think of a better way of putting it :D and it sounds cool and motivational. Keep the fire burning.

TonyV

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2013, 06:50:31 PM »
I'm going to be blunt here and I hope you don't take this personally because you're not the only one who's guilty of this, but I'd rather have a thousand people playing Guild Wars 2 than one person post here that they just don't think that we're ever getting City of Heroes back.

Now to be clear, I'm not saying that I expect no one to ever think that.  There are plenty of good reasons to think it.  I mean, when a game shuts down, it's gone for good, right?  Maybe, but I've never acted like what we're trying to accomplish here isn't a bit unprecedented.  I've never said it would be easy, or promised that it would happen within a year.  And what keeps me working on this stuff isn't how many people play or don't play Guild Wars 2.  I'm not going to give any money to NCosft, but I honestly couldn't care less if other people do.  What keeps me working on this stuff is one thing only: how dedicated the City of Heroes community remains to the game.

Several people have asked me this past year, "Tony, what will it take for you to give up and accept that City of Heroes is dead?"  My answer is that I will continue fighting until I feel like the community simply doesn't care any more.  Posts like this do more damage towards that end--getting the community to not care any more--than anything NCsoft could ever say or do.  (Ironically, even including shutting down the game.)

I know that some people have this wild expectation that the Titan Network is going to swoop in any minute now and say something along the lines of, "BEHOLD!  We have recreated our beloved game, and now everyone can pick up where you left off!"  To some extent, it's our own fault when we release stuff like Icon, because it tends to make people think, "Wow, they're just RIGHT on the edge of making it happen, it will be ANY day now!", no matter how much we say that such expectations are unfounded but that we're making slow and steady progress on it.  And then a few months go by, and we have yet another post or two like this.  And even though it's not explicitly said, I can't help but take as, "You guys aren't working fast enough."

But I will say this yet again:  Write us off at your own peril.  Not that anything bad will happen to you if you do, but I'm telling you that we will have City of Heroes back again at some point.  And when we do, the people who stuck with us through thick and thin, those will be the people who get to bask in the epicness of whatever we manage pull off.  The people who said all along, "Wow, I knew this was going to be hard, but we believe in you guys" are going to be vindicated.  Posts like this, on the other hand, are going to look a bit foolish in hindsight.  (Not that I ever expect us to not get posts that boil down to, "This isn't exactly how it was before, so it doesn't count!"  :roll:)

If you believe that City of Heroes is dead, such is your prerogative, and while I disagree, you're free to believe what you want.  If you're discouraged, then trust me, I've been there, and I know how crushingly demoralizing it can be.  But what exactly do you hope to accomplish by publicly declaring it here to a community of people who are working hard to save this game?  Did it make you feel better after hitting the Post button, as if a weight had been lifted off of your shoulders, that you no longer have to bear this burden of hope?  Because to be honest, that's kind of selfish, don't you think? Doing it at the expense of those of us who are still fighting to see this thing through?

Triplash

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #11 on: September 17, 2013, 07:00:09 PM »
What you do to keep the hope alive is, you don't let the situation consume your every waking thought. Find something to fill up your time, to occupy your mind. Something positive so the time flies by.

And what you definitely don't do is go looking for news every day. (Edit: Cause you'll go crazy getting your hopes up constantly like that.) Whatever does eventually come out of all this, one thing for certain is that it won't be measured in "days after the closure". It'll be measured in "months after the closure". I hate to say that, but it's true. No matter which attempt ends up working, they are all going to take significant amounts of time. So, by all means keep in touch every day if you like. That's great :)  But when it comes to looking for news... well to be honest, just keep in touch and when there's news to share I'm pretty sure it'll find you.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2013, 07:21:16 PM by Triplash »

Ellscry

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #12 on: September 17, 2013, 07:38:07 PM »
*snip*A wall of text you should really have read in the original post*

Seriously Tony, I love you.

Like a brother or weird uncle, but still...  ;D


JWBullfrog

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #13 on: September 17, 2013, 07:45:21 PM »
I have no doubt that, one day, one way or another, we will have our city back. Why do I feel this way? Because I simply cannot bring myself to think that we won't.
 
Now if we travel out into the great gaming universe and look around, I'm sure that we'll find people who still miss games like Dungeon runners, Matrix online, Asherons Call (oh, wait...), Tabula Rasa, and the dozens of other MMO's that have been shuttered. A lot of those may never see the light of day again because not enough people care.
 
Well, I care about at least one game. My resources are limited, my powers are not that vast, and I am just one person, but I will continue to support whatever reasonable efforts come around.
 
Until then, I can always afford hope.
As long as somebody keeps making up stories for it, the City isn't gone.

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #14 on: September 17, 2013, 08:35:57 PM »
Also know that there are quite a few of us who monitor the situation and chip in where we can, to keep the COH spirit alive.  I want to be as encouraging as the other responders to this post, and acknowledge that there are efforts on several fronts to recreate the COH experience in one form or another.  I'm convinced that will happen, and the community will be there to cheer and get back to hero-mongering as we used to. 

Even after so long without the game, I sit down in RL with friends who were fellow players, and we discuss both our wonderful times with COH, and our expectations for a revival, whatever form that takes.  What a remarkable testimony to the game's impression and endurance. 

Tubbius

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #15 on: September 17, 2013, 08:50:00 PM »
I keep thinking about the game on a regular basis.  I keep wanting it back.  I even keep talking about it with friends, reminiscing and making jokes about stuff in City terms.

Good things come to those who wait, as the saying goes.  :)

goodtime

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #16 on: September 17, 2013, 08:55:55 PM »
I'm telling you that we will have City of Heroes back again at some point.
:D

CoyoteSeven

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #17 on: September 17, 2013, 08:57:44 PM »
I understand the OP's despair. We've been forced to play their game, by their rules. And we're not much more than glob flies to them. Like I've said here before, I've already been down this road with certain other communities that formed around a shared interest. I fear what might happen here, years down the line. With people telling the die-hards to give up already and move on with their lives.

There are still lessons to be learned here though. I think an MMO that is built, run and maintained by its own community and embracing the open source model is the future of multiplayer gaming. Getting away from oppressive corporate whim and putting all the power in the hands of the players themselves is the only good way to go! We might not get back City of Heroes but maybe together we could build something even better than it. And then we can show the NCSofts, the EAs and the Activisions of the world that we don't need them anymore.

JanessaVR

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #18 on: September 17, 2013, 09:00:09 PM »
I know it's tough to "keep the faith" at times, but we have to be the most dedicated MMO community ever.  Not quite a year after shutdown, and we're still here, and there are not 1 but 3 successor games in development and, of course, our Secret Cabal of Reverse Engineers continue to make progress on getting our City back.

It's just going to take a while - so hang in there and don't give up hope.

Don't let the bastards at NCLimp win.   ;)

In the meantime - try to keep yourself occupied.  Me, I keep building estates in The Sims 3 (probably should actually get around to playing it one of these days...)   ;D

TonyV

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Re: I can't do this any more.
« Reply #19 on: September 17, 2013, 10:01:27 PM »
...and, of course, our Secret Cabal of Reverse Engineers continue to make progress on getting our City back.

I am forevermore going refer to this effort as SCoRE.