New efforts!

[Golden Girl]

If this goes through, and they do plan just to put it into maintenance mode while they start working on CoH II, then it probably wouldn't hurt for them to simply make all vet rewards and market items be available for free for everyone.

[jacknomind]

If this goes through, and they do plan just to put it into maintenance mode while they start working on CoH II, then it probably wouldn't hurt for them to simply make all vet rewards and market items be available for free for everyone.

It would kill nearly all of their revenue.  People pay to visit amusement parks, not graveyards.  That being said, giving rewards with no monetary cost to people who involve themselves back into rebuilding the community is just as helpful in both the long- and short- term.

[Ohioknight]

If I were running things and I had the character data but no account data, here's what I'd do.

1. Get the game online and sign folks up.

2. Offer a service -- $5 to look up a character -- $20 total to assign that character to your account if the character can be found -- you would need to give me the exact name, server, and any documentation you might have.  Name allocation would be exactly like a server transfer (which it would, in fact,be) -- your "Amazing.Man" from Infinity would become "Amazing.Man1" or "Amazing.Man2" on the new server and you'd get a free rename (assuming I'm charging for renames).  If somebody gets your guy by mistake and doesn't admit it or if you're claiming some other guy's character by mistake, you get another copy both of you have him on different names (I wouldn't set up a character court to resolve conflicts -- you'd have to agree to live with that rare possibility of someone paying 20 dollars for a copy of your "Amazing.Man").

[Serpine]

I agree that adding the global is a very useful option as a way to solve the naming issue. I believe in Neverwinter there's even an option to hide the global portion of the name which would allow those who dislike that option not to see it.

Yes, the option to not see the global segment of names is pretty standard in games that do things that way. In the case of City, earlier on there was some benefit in not visibly associating globals with characters so you could keep your identities separate, but that was scuttled later on by several functions that made it easy to determine a person's global. So taking the next step and eliminating character name camping problems while things are in a "clean" state seems good to me.

[Peerless Girl]

For one, it's likely way too much, or more than can be done to try to pull a Cryptic and use the Character@Global system, for two, some of us (read: me) hate the bejesus out of it, and would not in any way support it. I live with it in CO and STO, doesn't mean I don't still despise it.

For two, Honestly the the thought of providing documentation, paying to do a lookup, risking someone else getting it before me, and managing to fake together enough "proof" to yank my character out from under me. Worse yet, ending up as "Peerless Girl1", is practically unthinkable. (I had to rename her once thanks to Cryptic's Draconian policies at the time, I'll be damned if I go through it again, in a  "new" game).

Honestly, just  nuke it and start over. No one gets anything, everyone starts at equal footing. It's also going to be the cleanest and easiest on any new database (just like a fresh install of Windows, as much as it sucks, is better for your machine).

It's better to be happy to have the game at all than worry about what you used to have, and the money you spent before, IMNSHO.

[Illusionss]

It would kill nearly all of their revenue.  People pay to visit amusement parks, not graveyards.  That being said, giving rewards with no monetary cost to people who involve themselves back into rebuilding the community is just as helpful in both the long- and short- term.

I bet people pay to get into Pere Lachaise, or however you spell it. But.... This game is not a "graveyard." Its more like an amusement park.... regardless, all rewards for free, concerning a game in maintenance mode sounds peachy to me.

Why cant they give us the freebies for free, and charge us a sub to play? I'd totally be down for that.

[Golden Girl]

I bet people pay to get into Pere Lachaise, or however you spell it. This game is not a "graveyard." Its more like an amusement park.... regardless, all rewards for free, concerning a game in maintenance mode sounds peachy to me.

Why cant they earn a little money with the freebies, and charge us a sub? I'd totally be down for that.

They could also make it clear that while some of the sub was being used for the server upkeep, the rest was being used for developing CoH II

[Serpine]

I live with it in CO and STO, doesn't mean I don't still despise it.

Out of curiousity, what brings having global associated names all the way to "despise" (that's a pretty strong feeling)? Is it just that having more then one person named Peerless Girl is that unthinkable? I'm just wondering what the mechanics are behind the feeling.

In any case, I'm mainly bringing this thought up since its very likely they will have to rewrite parts of the account (and thus possibly name) handling system anyway. Account functions are distant enough from the engine that the likelihood of it being one of the "what is available for sale" sticking points (and the reason account data can't be retrieved) rings strong to me.

That and I *personally* have no issue with sharing character names if it means I can still keep mine intact (and never have to change it, even if servers merge).

[r00tb0ySlim]

Why cant they give us the freebies for free, and charge us a sub to play? I'd totally be down for that.

I will definitely sub...gladly mind you 

[Ohioknight]

Worse yet, ending up as "Peerless Girl1", is practically unthinkable.

But you would have to do that anyway if you moved from Infinity to Virtue (for example) and there were already a "Peerless Girl" on Virtue -- and these will necessarily be new servers -- any character recreation would be a "move".

Also, if you didn't like the possibility, you wouldn't have to participate -- the worst possible outcome would be somebody paying 20 dollars for "Peerless Girl" -- why would somebody other than you be willing to pay 20 dollars for a "Peerless Girl" as you built her?  Especially since they could simply BUILD an exact copy of Peerless Girl and play her (if they got to the name first).

[Peerless Girl]

Out of curiousity, what brings having global associated names all the way to "despise" (that's a pretty strong feeling)? Is it just that having more then one person named Peerless Girl is that unthinkable? I'm just wondering what the mechanics are behind the feeling.

In any case, I'm mainly bringing this thought up since its very likely they will have to rewrite parts of the account (and thus possibly name) handling system anyway. Account functions are distant enough from the engine that the likelihood of it being one of the "what is available for sale" sticking points (and the reason account data can't be retrieved) rings strong to me.

That and I *personally* have no issue with sharing character names if it means I can still keep mine intact.

I had..major philosophical discussions with Pohsyb during the beta in which the global function calls to get someone's global were introduced, to the point that he didn't see my point for the potential for abuse and messiness it could cause, we ended up actually getting pretty heated and agreed to disagree, then I felt bad for ruining his playing evening (since I'd been in tells with him while he was hidden). In the end, he was right, it really didn't get abused, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be, I was of the opinion that globals needed to remain more or less secret, and only given to those one trusted (like the "old days" of CoH). I had that same disagreement and issue during COs beta, and lobbied hard not to use the shard/megaserver/character@global system they went with. I have a lot of "baggage" attached to all of those fights and discussions. And yeah, it does basically boil down to "I can't fathom anyone else using my name on the same server" that may be archaic and "old" but I'm tied to my character strongly enough that anyone else using her (or any form of her) tends to drive me to...issues.

[HEATSTROKE]

I hpe the next update we get is either.. ITS ON.. or ITS OFF..

the rampant speculation is getting to me..

[Peerless Girl]

But you would have to do that anyway if you moved from Infinity to Virtue (for example) and there were already a "Peerless Girl" on Virtue -- and these will necessarily be new servers -- any character recreation would be a "move".

Also, if you didn't like the possibility, you wouldn't have to participate -- the worst possible outcome would be somebody paying 20 dollars for "Peerless Girl" -- why would somebody other than you be willing to pay 20 dollars for a "Peerless Girl" as you built her?  Especially since they could simply BUILD an exact copy of Peerless Girl and play her (if they got to the name first).

To be fair, I *was* Peerless Girl on Virtue, and I would never move. In all honesty I personally just don't think we need to create a new community of "haves" and "have-nots" and that everyone should begin on equal footing, and any have/have-notting comes from what they put in (be that effort/time or money). Will I live with whatever gets decided, sure, but I may not like it. Also, I honestly would rather start at 1 as opposed to 50, I think. By that same token, no one else should ever be able to use my name/build on that server.

[Ohioknight]

To be fair, I *was* Peerless Girl on Virtue, and I would never move. In all honesty I personally just don't think we need to create a new community of "haves" and "have-nots" and that everyone should begin on equal footing, and any have/have-notting comes from what they put in (be that effort/time or money). Will I live with whatever gets decided, sure, but I may not like it. Also, I honestly would rather start at 1 as opposed to 50, I think. By that same token, no one else should ever be able to use my name/build on that server.

But... will you abandon "Peerless Girl" if the "Peerless Girl" from Infinity (hypothetically -- I have no idea if anyone else used "Peerless Girl") creates her character on the new server before you?  Just curious.

[HEATSTROKE]

I dont see why anyone gives a crap what someone else has or has not.. Play the game and enjoy it.. period...

[Peerless Girl]

They could also make it clear that while some of the sub was being used for the server upkeep, the rest was being used for developing CoH II

The problem is, while most of *us* would be more than happy to simply pay $15/month, a pure-sub model basically doesn't work in the MMO space anymore (with the exception of WoW, and it doesn't even entirely do that anymore). A hybrid model is a better model, or even a full F2P/micro model. There's a reason Secret World couldn't hold up a pure-sub model (and built their store with that possibility in mind in beta) there's a reason ToR nearly failed trying to do it (despite that the Doctors of Bioware were deeply against it). There's a reason 99% of all other games have gone to a Hybrid and/or F2P model. There's a reason CoH did it when they did it. The vet reward system just happened to give way too much to most of us "old timers" to the point that we didn't need to buy much, and didn't even really need to sub at all unless we were doing Incarnate content. That didn't help the game in the end either.

Let's not start this one out on the wrong foot, hmm?

[Sophronisba]

I hpe the next update we get is either.. ITS ON.. or ITS OFF..

the rampant speculation is getting to me..

Me too! I have gotten sufficiently hopeful that I dug up my old character spreadsheet. I haven't looked at it since October 31, 2012. (If I have now totally jinxed the revival efforts, I sincerely apologize. I held out as long as I could.)

[Peerless Girl]

But... will you abandon "Peerless Girl" if the "Peerless Girl" from Infinity (hypothetically -- I have no idea if anyone else used "Peerless Girl") creates her character on the new server before you?  Just curious.

The chances of someone getting to it before me are...extremely low, I'll do everything I can to make sure of it. If I have to pay someone off to prevent it, I will. If I have to pay for early access, I will. It breaks immersion to see someone else using your name, if you're a hardcore RPer, at least for me. Let's just say I'll make it happen by hook or by crook.

[HEATSTROKE]

The problem is, while most of *us* would be more than happy to simply pay $15/month, a pure-sub model basically doesn't work in the MMO space anymore (with the exception of WoW, and it doesn't even entirely do that anymore). A hybrid model is a better model, or even a full F2P/micro model. There's a reason Secret World couldn't hold up a pure-sub model (and built their store with that possibility in mind in beta) there's a reason ToR nearly failed trying to do it (despite that the Doctors of Bioware were deeply against it). There's a reason 99% of all other games have gone to a Hybrid and/or F2P model. There's a reason CoH did it when they did it. The vet reward system just happened to give way too much to most of us "old timers" to the point that we didn't need to buy much, and didn't even really need to sub at all unless we were doing Incarnate content. That didn't help the game in the end either.

Let's not start this one out on the wrong foot, hmm?

Disagree to a point.. I subbed for 8 years.. straight.. no breaks.. and I spent plenty in the Paragon Market.. bought Super Packs all the time... bought costume pieces.. bought IO's especially when they went on sale. Bought XP boosters..I spent more than I did just subscribing..

[Sophronisba]

It breaks immersion to see someone else using your name, if you're a hardcore RPer, at least for me.

I don't mean this as a criticism in any way, but this argument always surprises me. I mean, in the real world people have the same name as you all the time. I have an unusual first and last name, and I have still run across someone else with the same combination. (I remain hopeful that they have a different middle name.)