Abraxus

I believe what they were asked to do was to have a policy in place, and a mechanism for enforcement. However, the degree to which enforcement is applied is a matter of some interpretation, just as it was in the live game. I don't believe it will actually affect that many, contrary to the degree of outrage that's been expressed so far. There is no war on those with less creative instincts, or tendencies. In fact, I believe there has been a lot of supposition on the potential effects of this change, that have created a degree of unnecessary fear. History does love to repeat itself, so we will wait patiently for those who were concerned about the ramifications to find through the passage of time, that it's not as impactful as they feared. That's not to say that NOBODY will have their character genericised. But, I don't believe we are seeing, or will see, the degree of action that many envisioned. Things will settle back to normal, and we will go on. Hopefully with everyone still on-board, and more to come, especially if the deal succeeds. Carry on heroes, villains, and everyone in between!

I don't see anyone encouraging that kind of behavior. If that's what you derived from all of this, I can empathize, but not sympathize. While there might be some who engage in this kind of behavior, intimating that Homecoming devs, or the majority of players are disposed to do things like this is just untrue.

Given all the debate over, and quoting of various Copyright, and Trademark statutes just in this thread, I'd say getting an item for item explanation will be darned near impossible. Too much room for interpretation, and evaluation of the individual pieces that make up the whole. It's basically going to come down to their call, if reported. You could likely inquire about what exactly they see as how a specific toon crossed the line, but expecting anything beyond the general approach already stated is probably unrealistic.

Plenty of prettier games. Good games...not so much.

A friend of mine has an adage that applies to most legal matters. "When the lawyers have made enough money, then things will get done". Might not be 100% true, but I feel like it covers the vast majority of these types of things. 😉

I don't believe any characters will be deleted, but some could get the generic treatment for name, costume, bio, or any combination of the three. 🙂

I'd love to think this was a check-box item that had to be completed before being able to move to the final stages of the deal making process. But, the truth is, we won't know for sure until we can look back on it, and say "Yup! That was the final piece right before it all fell into place!". Until that point, there's just no knowing. 🙂

I think the bottom line is, there are challenges out there to be found if you want them. 😎

...and here we GO! Again. 😉

There was a previous thread discussing this very topic a few weeks ago, which dragged on for many pages, with passionate responses on both sides, and that was just when it was just theoretical! Now that it has been instituted, those that expressed concern in that thread will no doubt see their fears realized, and those that didn't care will be conversely unaffected. Actually, none of us will be adversely affected in the larger scheme of things. It's just that some might have to make adjustments to the name, or appearance of their toon. Certainly not as traumatic as having the entire thing shut down, as it was 7 years ago. As I said, If the generic-bat hits my tribute character (again L50+++), then I'll adjust, and keep on playing him with a more heavily applied guise of parody.

I have a tribute character that could easily be judged as too close to the mark. It's not a comic book character, but it is recognizable. I just checked, and he's still him for the moment. But, who knows how long that will last. 😉 He's L50+++, and if he gets reset, it ain't gonna be the end of my world.

How it happened is less important that the fact that it did indeed happen, and because of that sequence of events, we find ourselves potentially on the brink of legitimacy, and all that entails. Including, enforcement of a rule that applied to the live servers back in the day. Clue there? I certainly hope so! 😉

Perhaps as an act of good faith to prove they are serious. Who knows. We won't know the details of these talks until it's a done deal, so no use in speculating. But, this is exactly the kind of thing I would expect NCSoft to insist upon before granting their seal of approval.

I'll put it another way. This might have come up during the negotiations in the manner of "Ummmm...by the way. There was this thing about copyrighted characters/costumes/names, etc., that we are gonna need in place before this can happen. Ya know...legal stuffs and all". Or something to that effect.

Those that have used those kinds of names will find out quickly enough, and I have no doubt they will report back quickly. Then we will start to get an idea of where those kinds of interpretations come down.

Perhaps a preparatory step in the process of becoming a legal server?

Agreed! In total, I believe the degree to which folks are willing to provide assistance here is driven not only by their positive character, but also by their love of this game, and their desire for others who don't understand it as well, to love it too. That can only happen when they gain a level of comfort with the game so as to become more self-sufficient, and hopefully gain the same level of appreciation we share for this game. There is a threshold for every new player, where they go from being totally lost and frustrated, to gaining sufficient understanding of the game to motivate them to know more, rather than give into the despair. The more folks we can help cross that threshold, the more dedicated players join our ranks, rather than giving up, and leaving.

Back in the days of live, when everything was profit-driven, things that were perceived as driving subscriptions would have always been given priority over "under the hood" kinds of improvements. Now that subscriptions, and profit are no longer part of the model, these kinds of things will likely get more attention.

I'm sure they'll get around to improving things on the graphics front. But, there are probably more pressing things that will come first, not the least of which is the whole deal with NCSoft thing, which will have a huge impact on the game, regardless of which way it goes.

Wow! Immortalized in the game I love. I could think of no better lasting memorial for myself! 😎

We are still dealing with a game, whose basic mechanics were built around a "for profit" motive. Things to entice folks to subscribe. We know there is no such thing now, but a lot of those mechanics remain, and the game is pretty much as it was then, in that regard. Now that there is no such thing as subscription, and the game is unlikely to be changed to the extent that the remnants of that era are erased, or even minimized, there apparently will remain folks who believe that going outside of the normal progression through levels is wrong, and the only legitimate way to play is to go through the available content like most others. They believe this so passionately, that they tend show a degree of contempt for those who don't. I don't believe it is pervasive in the player-base of the current game, but it is still a factor. There is an even smaller contingent among them, who feel empowered enough to foist their opinions/preferences of proper game play on others, as we have seen discussion in other threads on that very topic. Their voices are thankfully few, but tend to be the most noticeable because of the impact is has on players subject to it. There isn't much we can do to totally eradicate this issue, outside of reporting it when it does happen. Other than that, play however you feel is most fun in this game, so long as it does not adversely impact someone else's enjoyment of the game! In the words of Mark Twain, "Your right to swing your fist ends, where my nose begins.". I think that applies to many things in life, and certainly in this situation. Folks are free to do as they will, have fun as they will, and interact with other players as they will, until it crosses that line. Just my .02 of a dollar's worth.

It was the first entry back into the CoH world. Next came Paragon Chat, which allowed for the created characters to interact with each other, though there was still no NPCs, and still no enemies/combat. That's what we lived on for quite some time before Homecoming went live in April.

Character creator, and empty cities to take characters out to tour. No NPCs, no enemies, no combat.

It's hard for something like that not to have an effect, and I wish I could help you deal with in in ways that don't just sound like so many platitudes, and cliches. So, I won't go down that road. But, I hope you are able to put it in proper context, and don't let it define, in any way, this game or the majority of its players for you. It is absolutely not an accurate representation. If I had any advice, I'd say block that wretch, and seek out those who are representative of the majority, and a joy to play with! 🙂

Wuh?