Abraxus

I'll be darned! There's actually a phrase for that? I guess this day, and age, there almost had to be! 😉

Aye! Hat's off ladies, and gents! 💝

I really need to jump back into the Red Side content again. I have been exclusively Blue Side since returning in May, so it may be time to create a solo-able character over there (so I don't have to necessarily depend on teaming), and just do it. I remember really enjoying it back in the "live" days. Hopefully, it has only gotten better!

Welcome back! I think 10 years is more than enough time to not only appreciate the game once again, but also to have gained enough maturity, and self-discipline to keep oneself from going at it so hard, that it becomes something you have to walk away from. We are all a little older, wiser, and have the benefit of hindsight when it comes to the game (hopefully, for life in general as well), which helps keep things in proper perspective. I feel it is a lot more fun now. I play when time permits, and am quite content with that. It was an obsession way back in the day for me too, and I much prefer the approach I have now.

I hope I get the opportunity to call you on that someday soon. 😉

Thank goodness another attempt at a fix is on the Pineapple server! You sound like someone whose feedback on the fixes would be invaluable in making sure that it does what it's intended to do. If the bug has made your characters on "live" unplayble, copy one over to Pineapple, and see if the fix over there cures that situation. The more testing they get, the higher the likelihood that it will REALLY be fixed the next time they update "live'. 😎

The pain of working through the back-end stuff is something that has to be faced sooner, or later, by ALL of the respective servers running out there. Homecoming chose to do it sooner, to provide a stable platform, that will stand up to future OS changes/updates for many years to come. They are dealing with the pain up front, rather than kicking that can down the road. If Microsoft said they were abandoning the 32-bit platform tomorrow (not gonna happen, but hypothetically), Homecoming would be in great shape for that change. Other servers would have to scramble, and probably be relegated to catering only to those that refused to upgrade, until such time as they could do similar work on their own client. I'm not denigrating, or casting aspersions on the other servers out there. They are doing good work on their own development tracks, and perhaps someday, some of that can be adapted for use here in some way. However, when it comes to a choice of doing the hard stuff first, and saving the good stuff for later, when things are future-proofed to the extent possible; or having our dessert first, I choose the former. I suspect a lot of others would too. It's hard to have patience while they are out there doing the stuff that looks more fun. But, it will all pay off in the long term, and that's the way I look at things these days.

Travel powers become available at level 4, via Power Pool selection. Until then, you are just running/jumping to get where you need to go.

Sometimes, when the concept is really strong, I even have something of a backstory established, which is great when it happens. Makes the rest much easier. The character you see in my avatar is my main (the one I've been going on about), and it was that way with him.

I always start to form an image of my characters in my mind while creating them, of approximately what I want them to look like. Then, it is a matter of finding the costume pieces, and effects that bring that closest to fruition. Then, selecting the powers that complete that image. Once those are done, the image before me usually helps me find a name. That's my process in a nutshell, though when doing it, things don't go quite as quick as it might seem. 😎

It took me three hours to create my first character, and that was 2 weeks after the game went live, when the choices weren't as expansive as they are today! So, I completely understand. I played that character off, and on for the 8 years that the game was around in it's first life, and I recreated him here when Homecoming sprang into existence. I just recently got him to L50 again, and am now working towards getting his Incarnate, and I/O enhancement, and set bonus configuration planned, purchased, and built. I guess the thought there is, your first one is always special. They will probably go through changes over time, but that's part of the fun of it. Likely, that character will always be your favorite, and an active part of your collection.

There is also a Discord server for Homecoming. There should be a link to it somewhere here in the forum, but if you're interested, and can't find it, I can post it here.

Welcome to CoH on Homecoming! The most populated server right now is Excelsior. The rest run a bit lower, but all of them have plenty of folks who are willing to lend a hand if you put a question in the "Help" channel in-game. Out here, this forum has a lot of guides, and archetype-specific threads to browse through, to get a better idea of what to do. Also, there is a link right at the top of the page for "Paragon Wiki". Lot's of good information there too. But, if you have specific questions, or don't know where to go. Hit me up. I'll be glad to help, or at least let you know where you can find it if I don't know.

Which is exactly what Homecoming is doing, and probably the main reason why NCSoft has not launched any legal efforts to close things down thus far.

Perhaps, someday the answer to that mystery will be known as well. Though, it sounds like about the same odds as the question I asked, so don't be in too big a hurry. 😂

I'd love to know the thinking on their part, regarding not just divesting themselves of the IP for cheap, and being done with it. I'll probably never get the satisfaction of knowing that, but it does seem counter intuitive that they would resist any efforts to sell the IP when the offers have come (and there have been a few), when they clearly see it as a western-player only kind of game. Why not sell it to a western-based group who had a genuine interest in making something of it in the only area(s) of the world where it could succeed? They could have washed their hands of all of this years ago, but didn't. There is a business reason for it. I just can't fathom it, because I don't have all the information at hand to do so. But, I'd dearly love to know before it's all said, and done.

Probably easier to just remain camped at Pocket D long enough to get the Pocket D transporter. Much handier than a tunnel that you must find on a map. 😎

I agree completely that legitimacy is, and should be the preferred scenario. However, I disagree a little with the latter part of your post, about the feasibility of shutting things down wherever it might show itself. Yes, they could choose to pursue every pop-up that shows itself, or work to bar hosts from allowing it to function. But, all that costs money, and corporations don't like spending money on anything that they don't deem high enough priority. It all cuts into the almighty bottom line, which is, of course, their number one priority. Always has been. Always will be. There are a lot of variables that would go into calculating whether it would rise to the level of priority to devote any significant resources. Especially when one considers that the ingenuity of the combined population of the web is practically limitless. There would be ways of playing, albeit perhaps more limited if they decided to really be aggressive. But, it would all be rendered moot if the negotiations are successful, so let's hope that's the way it goes, so we never have to find out for sure how the alternative plays out. 😎

Sorry. I had "Sony" on the brain, when I knew it should be Nintendo. But, the thought remains unchanged. 😉

Well, in all fairness, Sony is a LOT bigger than NCSoft, and their legal department likely a lot bigger too. It's possible that NCSoft could, in that scenario, be more vigorous and manage to prevail in a game of legal "whack-a-mole", but their interest in the property prior to Homecoming bursting on the scene looked to be pretty minimal. Anything is possible, but I'd still consider it less likely that NCSoft would be as aggressive as Sony.

Consider, perhaps, the possibility that rolling back is a harder option for them than continuing their attempts to fix. If we assume good intentions, which since the game is no longer profit driven...I do; it is logical to assume that any actions they take are done with the intent of improving the game, and making the players happy. Not, screwing up the game, and making them unhappy. So, I wouldn't take their reticence to just roll-back to a previous version as any kind of disregard for yours, or anyone else's enjoyment of the game, and that there are likely other reasons why they proceed as they do. I empathize with your dilemma, but a little patience will very likely be rewarded soon.

You guys are the best!

So true. And the satisfaction associated with giving is more a personal thing, rather than something to be displayed for the rest of the world to see. At least, that's how I feel about it. Others might feel differently, and that's OK too.

Nothing wrong with that. Things change, and so do we. For myself, I love knowing it's here when I have the time/opportunity to play, and even better when friends who play, have the time as well.

Hopefully, this will give those that miss the donation windows every opportunity to get in, and contribute to their heart's content!