Excraft

I'm not the one who suggested that they're not professionals and couldn't handle larger scale projects. Aren't they actively looking for more people who can work on development? This may be true for now, but it doesn't mean larger scale things cannot be taken on in the future. Again, I think you're selling the HC team very short.

Out of curiosity, have you ever read any of the posts from the HC folk about the technical aspects of that topic?

Well for starters, I can agree or disagree with changes being made to the game since I'm an individual with my own individual tastes, just like you and just like everyone else. Second, yes, it is my opinion the folks here can take on and handle larger projects if they chose to do so. Just read through some of the more technically oriented threads any of the HC folk working in the code have posted over the years and you'll see quite clearly they have a very good understanding of how things work. I'd even go so far as to say they know it better than the original developers did. Given their knowledge, experience and understanding of some of the more complicated issues the game engine has, I do think they have the talent and skill to take on larger projects and make major changes and code upgrades if they chose to do so. I'm not in any way saying they must do those things and I am in no way dictating what they should or should not work on. Most all of the stuff they've accomplished over the years has been wonderful and I'm very thankful they've devoted so much time and effort into it. Their hard work and dedication is truly appreciated. That doesn't mean I agree with or like every change that's been made and as far as I'm aware, we're all allowed to express our opinions here if we don't care for something. If you don't think anyone should question anything or be allowed to post anything other than lavish praise, petition the HC GMs to change the forum rules to allow "praise and affirmations only". No idea where you're getting any of that from as I never said anything of the sort. I'm certainly not demanding anything of anyone at HC. Your misrepresentation of my posts are definitely more a you problem than a me problem. Your post seems like you're looking to start an argument for the sake of starting an argument for the sake of arguing. Thanks, but no thanks. Not interested.

They are actively looking for more developers.

I've read that thread already, thanks. Perhaps you might want to give it another read though, especially the post where it says there's a chance (albeit a small one) the issue won't be resolved by more hardware alone. So yeah, maybe looking at doing some code architecture improvements are worth it. You've essentially said they're a volunteer staff and can't take on large(r) projects due to manpower. I disagree. I think they can manage it just fine as they look to have a firm grasp of the code and architecture of the game. I'm not suggesting stuff like new costumes, powersets and such should be put on hold completely in favor of larger scale back end code improvements. Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

Well from everything we've seen here over the past few years, the HC folk are able to turn out all kinds of new stuff and improvements, so your saying they aren't "professional" enough or lack the talent/skills/knowledge to make larger changes is demonstrably false. Again, from what I understand based on comments from the HC folk, the stuff I mentioned isn't impossible for them to do. Tricky/difficult yes, impossible no. Also, as I understand it - and I could very well be wrong - but the tools to add in brand new animations and such to create brand new powersets with unique animations and such no longer exist. I think you missed this part of my post. Here, I'll re-post it for you and increase the font size a bit for you to make it easier for you to read. Let me know if you need further clarification. Thanks. I seem to recall otherwise. I'll try to locate the posts, but I distinctly remember there being a stated desire to bring in new players and grow the game. Sadly no. I'm sure you're aware of why Double XP and Rikti Raids were enabled on other less populated servers to prevent Excelsior from crashing and collapsing. I can link to the HC post about it though if you aren't aware.

You're not telling me anything I or anyone else already doesn't know and hasn't been repeated over and over and over again. I know they're volunteers doing this in their free time and I appreciate their dedication and hard work, just like everyone else. From my understanding on a couple of the topics I mentioned, based on HC folk comments, they're difficult/tricky, but not impossible to do. Who knows what they may be able to do with more volunteers they have been actively recruiting? The game is struggling as it is with the small number of players it has at the moment. If the goal is to grow the game and the playerbase, something has to be done to attract and keep people who are more used to the QoL features that exist in every other MMORPG on the market.

Not as I remember it, but admittedly I started tuning out whenever she was on screen. I just don't like her character and her extreme narcissism at all.

How is the game going to grow and evolve to compete with more modern games if it doesn't? If you ask me, nonsense like "team diversity bonuses" and recycling of powersets ad nauseam can pushed very far to the back of the line in favor of things like account based storage and properly correcting unique character name issues. Again, Cryptic had corrected this problem in their second generation engine a long time ago.

Never said I was holding my breath, and yes, the HC folk said it would be difficult, not impossible. Their simple and easy fix was the lackluster "name release policy". Were they to tackle issues such as this to really bring the game up to speed with modern games, tracking and releasing names would be a non-issue.

Having played them both within the last week, Star Trek: Armada and Star Trek: Bridge Commander come to mind. Its not like HC is unique in this respect.

This is something that I sincerely hope gets corrected in the future - names being unique. Cryptic changed this in their next generation engine after CoH. They're going to have to do something about this if they want the game to evolve.

It's always been very unlikely that NCSoft would shut anyone down or pursue legal action against any of the pirate servers. Aside from the bad PR it would cost them, it makes perfect sense given the solid reasons @Bionic_Flea points out above - especially that the code is out there now. Shut down one pirate server and another (or more) will crop up to take its place. It's a costly proposition to try and legally go after all of the pirate servers out there. Why would NCSoft bother with that hassle and expense? Instead they drew up a standard "license" agreement (which I have no doubt they will in turn charge a fee for in the future) and have any of the pirate servers sign it if they want to be declared a "licensed" server. Instead of a legal expense, a dead IP can be used to make a few bucks for NCSoft without NCSoft lifting a finger or costing them a dime. Smart move on NCSoft's part. Also, the NCSoft name and logo are still associated with the game, so its free advertising for them. Win win for NCSoft.

You missed the community base - TORCHCS-5949. I think there's a couple more you've missed on TB. Let me try to locate the codes and I'll post them here.

That isn't what I said at all. There's nothing in the announcement about the new "license" that expressly says HC is now the one and only "official server" and that HC will be the one and only "official server" from now until the end of time. Again, it's just the only server who has a "license" at present, which means HC has an agreement with NCSof, and from the sound of it isn't something thats exclusively only for HC. There's doesn't look to be anything preventing other servers from pursuing the same "license" agreement with NCSoft to operate their servers if they wanted to, nor is there anything saying other servers need to shut down and stop operating because HC is now the "one and only official server." If you want to believe it is, go right ahead.

Well no it's not "the official server", it just has permission via NCSoft now via a "license." As I understand based on the official license thread, HC is the only server at the moment to have a "license". There's nothing preventing other servers from getting the same from NCSoft should they choose to pursue it.

HC operating as a non-profit doesn't mean NCSoft can't make money. NCSoft doesn't have to take a cut of any profit. Their "license" could be a flat dollar amount based on number of servers in operation or whatever. That cost would then get passed down to the people making the donations to cover along with other expenses. It wouldn't be any different than what HC is doing now. Like I said, NCSoft is smart. They've made this into a money making opportunity for themselves instead of a legal expense in chasing after servers all over the place.

NCSoft has known about HC and other servers for years. NCSoft has known for years some have been taking player donations to keep everything running and NCSoft didn't lift a finger to stop it. They've already "been caught" and NCSoft didn't shut anyone down. People shouldn't assume what the motivations are for other servers as well. I know various discussions with people on other servers that some of them don't really care about having a client on Steam or wanting a huge number of players. They prefer the peace and quiet and flexibility of staying small and more casual. Heck I even know a couple of people who bit the bullet and stood up their own personal servers for family and friends to avoid all of the drama here. I think it more having to do with not wanting to bother with trying to fight an endless legal battle on multiple fronts. NCSoft turned this into a future money making opportunity for themselves without needing to type a line of code or maintain anything. Win win and smart business decision on their part.

I don't know anyone running the other servers on a personal level. I know there's players talking over on other servers about what this new license thing means for them in that they don't want to get involved, don't want to have to get one and don't want to be forced over here for various reasons. Can't say as I blame them in that regard. Other servers have been doing fine doing their own thing for years now, so there's no need to get involved with a "license" or have the hassle of dealing with NCSoft. I certainly hope that other servers and the players on them aren't in any way going to be "encouraged" to stop what they're doing, shut down and be forced over here. That would create a whole lot of bad will here. That much is an absolute certainty. The game could still go away at any time for any reason NCSoft wants. Also, having a "license" doesn't mean HC or the new and improved "City Council" won't implode at some point and shut the whole thing down from their end. So NCSoft isn't the only one that can cause the game to go away again. I also don't think that having a "license" really changes anything. I mean, maybe it goes from a .000000001.1% likelihood of getting shut down to a .000000001% chance. Not sure that's really all that big of a deal to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the HC folks here on getting that done. I just don't see it being all that important.

Why would they want a license? They've been doing fine without one and don't want/need the added expense. What exactly won't they be able to do that they haven't done already?

Not sure that makes any sense. They've done work on arcs here that involved "official" characters and such. I agree with you that having a "license" doesn't make it more likely they'll get shut down now. I was just suggesting that the chances of that happening were slim to none before for various reasons. Also, I don't like that people are now referring to other servers as "illegitimate" or "out of scope" or whatever other vitriolic derogatory term people feel inclined to toss their way. Other servers have been doing their own thing for years now too and having options for people to try is a good thing.

I don't disagree, however it was already very highly unlikely that NCSoft would've shut down any of the rogue/pirate servers. History proves this out. How many years has it been now the game is in the wild and all of the servers are still going? It was too costly for NCSoft to go after all of the pirate servers and cheaper to just let them exist unless the people running them did something really stupid. Nor would NCSoft take a chance on garnering even more ill will by shutting the game down again. HC and other servers have been doing development for the past several years on new story arcs, new powersets, new costumes etc. without any license. Other servers are still developing without a license. Having a "license" doesn't really change anything other than increasing expenses here to pay for the new license. Smart move on NCSoft... collect some money without lifting a finger from a dead IP, garnering the free good will for "blessing" the server with a license and not shutting anything down. Winning all around for NCSoft.

Might be a good idea to update the dual boxing policy. That could help curb all the people who are dual, triple, and quadruple (and more boxing) to take some more of the load off.

I liked season 2 and the series as a whole. I don't agree with a lot of the criticisms I've seen about the Loki series though. Only beef I have is in the writing for Sylvie this season. Once she knew that doing what she did at the end of Season 1 would lead to the destruction of literally everything, you'd think she'd change her ways. Not changing a lick despite that makes her a narcissist to the extreme and truly an unlikable character. She's the worst part of season 2, if not the whole show IMO.

That's fair, although don't most people have alts on various servers? From what I can tell, people who didn't want to wait in a queue just switched to a character on Torchbearer to avoid the login queue. Seems that at least some would be doing that organically. Probably not enough though.