Abraxus

Another hero has found their way home through the reaches of time! 7 years is a long time, but not long enough to snuff out the fire that burns eternal in Paragon City!

What are your hopes for our home for CoH in the coming year? We've had discussions about what we'd like to see feature-wise in the game. But, what's on your wish list for the game as a whole here at Homecoming? For myself, I'd love to see the successful conclusion of the NCSoft deal, which I believe will open the floodgates for the kinds of real changes in-game that we have been waiting for, and to see the game flourish in the wake of it's new officially sanctioned status. It would also lift the specter of the gray-area legality which the game currently operates beneath, and with it, the underlying fear that we could wake up one day, and see it all disappear. I imagine that just from a resource perspective, completing that prodigious task would free up a lot of time that is currently dedicated to the legitimacy efforts. What would you like to see in 2020?

Nobody's perfect, and we certainly shouldn't be judged by anomalous examples. Stuff happens. Sometimes it boils over into the forums. We might not be as good as we sometimes think we are, but I don't think we are as collectively bad as we are being painted here either. 😉

Welcome back! I don't think there have been any organizational changes within Homecoming since the whole "Tony V. Departure" thing, and the negotiations are still going on last we heard. One tangible indicator of the on-going negotiations is the legal fees included in the monthly donation goals. Outside of those things, which are known, I'm sure there is a bunch of stuff going on behind the scenes, just ready to be announced, and we all live in breathless anticipation each day for some of that information to drop. At least, that's where I am.

As I have stated, I am SO happy just to be able to play the game again, that even the parts that I detested before (Orenbega, Malta, and tri-level cave anyone?), are an absolute pleasure to experience again!

I agree on both counts. One has to bear in mind that, unlike the game prior to shutdown, the emphasis in game design now is no longer to drag things out in such a way to keep you playing, which also kept you paying. Since subscription/profit is no longer the motive, the emphasis can be on having fun, rather than making money.

It didn't suck, because we didn't have the comparison that we have today. It just was, what it was. I would say though that as things were back in the early days, it definitely made the thought of starting new alts a less attractive alternative than it is now. As the game matured, more QoL features started being added, more inherent things, Veteran Rewards, etc., that made creating a new alt much less of a daunting thing.

I actually like playing on TFs that are comprised of ATs that are not necessarily balanced, or overpowered. I prefer being at something of a disadvantage, and having to overcome that disadvantage with strategy, or folks that know their capabilities, and using them to make up for it. That typically ends up resulting in more deaths than some folks feel comfortable with. But, I feel like if it's too easy, and nobody ever dies, it's not as challenging, and therefore not as fun for me. However, the bottom line is to play what you have fun with, and when you see a TF looking for members, shoot that requester a PM. 9 times out of 10, you will just get on the team. In some rare instance, you might get a question about AT, and that might be a clue that they are looking for that perfect (and again, for me, less fun) team, and might turn you down. But, another TF will form soon after, and hopefully that one won't be so discerning. 🙂

You guys rock! Thanks for everything you do for us!

We're not perfect. But, we collectively aspire to be better than we are, and better than other places we have been. Perhaps, that's the real difference.

I could not bring myself to log in on "Last Day". I was never sure if I was really regretful of that, or not. I'm just not sure I could have stood by and watch as each server's lights go out, one by one, presumably forever. I hung around the Titan forums, reading about hopes for a resurrection of some kind, but it became apparent after a while that it wasn't happening. Hope was all but lost, but the smallest ember refused to be extinguished. Through the years, there were other conversations about trying to bring the game back, but they never went beyond dangling false hope. That's when I found out that what Bane told Bruce Wayne in "The Dark Knight Rises", was absolutely true. True desperation is not the loss, or lack of hope. Rather, it is to be given hope, only to see it taken away. That was where I was for the longest time, with regards to CoH. Then one day, I heard about "Icon". I was SO excited to be able to recreate my mains, and fly them around the various zones. But, once the initial excitement had toned down, all that I heard was the deafening silence of those zones. It was the loneliest nostalgia I had ever experienced. Then came "Paragon Chat". Finally! I could not only recreate, and save all of my heroes, and villains, I could finally interact with others who felt the same about CoH as I did! For years, I got in as often as I could. Hunted badges, did the modified Halloween event, and did as much as I could within the boundaries that existed there. But, the population grew sparse as the novelty wore off there too. Many would show up to special events, and that was a joy to behold. But, for the most part, it was "Icon", with the possibility of running into someone on occasion. Then, on a drive back from a weekend trip to the beach in mid-April, my phone was blowing up with talk of the old SCORE server, and the existence of the game code out in the wild! My heart practically skipped a beat when I realized that we might be just a hairs breadth from seeing an actual game server created! A few days later, that very thing happened. Like a newborn star, created from the chaos, and the unstoppable forces at play, the first iteration of the live game sprang into existence! It was hard to believe that it was real, until I downloaded the client, and logged in for the first time in 7 years. It was a surreal experience. All this time, all the disappointments over the years. I just kept thinking "I'm going to wake up any moment now, and this will all have been a cruel dream". But, it was real alright. While those early days were pretty rough going, we now have our game back, and I could not be happier, or more grateful for a second chance that is so very uncommon in life. So, on this, the 7th anniversary of "Last Day", I still can't believe that I am back in my beloved Paragon City! The only place I wanted to be, and the only game I really wanted to play these 7 years past. I am very happy to be back in my city, and so excited to see what the future brings. It looks like a bright one!

Yeah, these days the target goals are higher, due to the legal fees being incorporated. Lawyers are expensive, and with something as complex as what is being negotiated with NCSoft, I'm guessing that represents a significant amount of hours. We all have our fingers crossed that it is successful (and hopefully, soon), but if there is a silver lining to be had, the higher monthly goal allows the donation windows to stay open longer, and thus, more folks have the opportunity to donate! 😎

There is no due-date per se. The donation window stays open until the amount needed is reached. Then, it automatically closes. 🙂

Got mine in!

The unfortunate part of our American holiday season, is that, to the world it appears that it's all about the commercial aspect. The shopping, the eating, the unadulterated consumption. However, this time of year is also when our charitable efforts are at their highest levels of the year. A lot of people realize that "Thanksgiving" also means helping in some way for those who cannot do for themselves, and the Christmas season is not one necessarily of self. Our philanthropic impulses peak at this time of year, and the mechanisms that allow us to easily donate in many ways, are in full swing, and do a lot of good. Granted, it should be a year-around thing, and we need to do better as a society. But, this time of year does bring us a little closer to that high ideal.

I didn't track stats back in the day, but I feel like the population on the Red side was always lower than the Blue. Without something to compel Blue-side players to spend more time in the Rogue Isles, it will likely continue to be that way. However, if the NCSoft deal were to be completed, allowing for a much more broad advertising campaign about the existence of Homecoming, the population in both places would rise noticeably. It might not fix the problem, but it should help with the sparse population there. As far as development, well it's hard to know what is possible. We all want more, but resources are much more limited than they were back in the days of live. But, I plan to be around to find out, and see what happens!

Hurray for the Winter Event! But, I mapserved 30 seconds after logging in. Not a good sign.

Evolution is, for sure, three things. 1. Inevitable 2. Typically painful in some way 3. Absolutely necessary In order to remain viable from a support/development perspective, changes become necessary that will only be possible if certain parts of the code are improved/modified to the point where it won't work for everyone. In the end, improvement is realized for the greater good. For those potentially left behind, it will require some evolution on their part. There will be some that won't be able to do so for various reasons, and while I dislike that eventuality, said improvements can't be held up indefinitely to accommodate, and I don't think anyone would reasonably expect that to be the case.

I am thankful for the friends, and family in my life. I am also very thankful to be back in Paragon City, and for that feeling of confidence that it will be there waiting for me any time I can find the time. This has been an unbelievable year for the game, and the community. I hope to see things continue on the course that has been set, and thrive.

Such a strange conundrum. Folks want the shiny new features, and to see the game advance/grow. But, when that kind of advancement comes with the cost of legacy support, then things change a bit. Bottom line folks. CoH will undergo changes, because that's what we constantly ask the Devs to do for us. The price of that change will be moving the line of legacy support up a bit to allow those changes to be implemented using modern tools. It's been great having that legacy support go back as far as it has to this point. But, that was never going to last forever if we wanted the game to grow. Some will be left behind due to inability, or unwillingness to upgrade to keep up. That is regrettable, as I don't ever want to lose a single player. I want to see us grow always. But, in order to move forward, lines inevitably have to be drawn. Nobody is being targeted, or marginalized. It's simply a matter of keeping up to minimum requirements, or not. Other games, and newer versions of games always raise the bar. There is no reason to expect that CoH would not be the same.

I was actually more concerned that it was some kind of DOS attack from folks who don't care for Homecoming. I hope that was not the case.

I love it when another hero (or villain) finds their way home. Hopefully, all of them will eventually hear the city is alive once again, and come home as well.

The donation window will open in the morning hours of November 30 (relative to your timezone). During that window, you can contribute, and it stays open until they hit their goal for the month, which varies in size from month to month. Once the goal is hit, the window closes, and the next opportunity will be the last Saturday of the next month. 🙂

I'd be fine if the presents, and the Winter Lord started appearing the day after Thanksgiving, much like my Christmas spirit. But, that's just me. 😉

I hope they are able to find a way to ensure anyone who wants to, can play for as long as they want going forward. But, like you said, I'm just not sure how feasible that hope would be, especially since I don't know what changes would need to be made to implement the features that they hope to bring to the game.