Abraxus

Part of the perception issue might revolve around the information already provided, which alluded to the majority of the big issues already being agreed to, with only the minutia left to deal with. That tacitly implies that it could wrap up quickly. Whether true, or not, it's not hard to imagine folks drawing those conclusions, and setting some mental timelines. Just to be clear, not judging here. I don't possess enough information on which to base an intelligent opinion, or judgement, and outside of the actual negotiating team(s), neither does anyone else. But, in the absence of fact, the vacuum fills with supposition, assumption, and fearful imaginings of all kinds; including the creeping feeling that the longer it goes on, the less chance of success it has. In all likelihood, not true. Just summing things up as I have observed them. Obviously, most of this has already been discussed at length in this thread, and I don't want to spark another wave that becomes a circular exercise. 🙂

Yup. That's pretty much the long, and the short of it. When the legal haggling is done, and the "I's" are dotted, and the "T's" are crossed, then it will be done. Not a second before that. 😁

My son is majoring in Theater, so I've been to a lot of plays that I would ordinarily never seen, over the past few years. I love watching him do, what he does, but it's never been something I yearned to do for myself. I do have a new appreciation for all the time and effort that goes into even the smallest productions, on the part of everyone involved. So, godspeed sir!

On Torchbearer, between the LFG channel advertisements, and the near constant ones that are assembled in Pocket D, I've never had to wait too long to get on one.

I don't mind posting a link to point someone to a place where they can educate themselves, but that is usually the extent of my spoon-feeding. The exception to that would be if I know someone wanting to get into the game, especially if they have never played an MMO at all, and they obviously need some extra help. Then I will take time to tutor them until they understand enough of the basics to have fun, and become more independent. I actually had to do that for one of the players in my Super Group who was struggling to keep up, and was constantly lost. I remembered all to clearly the very first time I logged into the game, after the thrill of spending 2 hours in the character creator on my first toon, the finally connecting with my friends who were Everquest veterans, and already knew the basics, for some team play. They seemed to be moving around maps, and missions effortlessly, and I was silently going out of my mind trying to quickly assimilate the knowledge, and techniques required for basic play. I finally got it, but only after weeks of anxiety filled playtime with them, that should have been fun. So, I made a special effort to take this individual, who reminded me so much of myself in his lack of prior experience with MMO gaming, and spent three hours one day, walking him through the tutorial, and the basics of the game. It was gratifying to help someone who desperately wanted to play with the group, and even more, wanted to have fun while doing that. All that said, it's not something I'd be willing to do for just anyone.

Well, to be clear, when I speak of folks asking about Incarnate stuff, it's typically here in the forum, or in Discord. I don't get a lot of chatter in-game asking for complex information. I know it happens, but I have not personally encountered that situation much.

What a wonderful predicament we have, when folks are unhappy because they miss the opportunity donate to the cause, and look for ways it could happen. 🙂 Not sure if there is a short term solution, but I'll bet there are plans made (or being made) for what happens in the event that the NCSoft deal is successful. I suspect that will open up avenues for a variety of things that just aren't an option in the current state of things. I for one, plan to be around to hear about all of it the minute such news becomes available. 😎

Interesting. Lately, when I see someone talking about Incarnate stuff, I refer them to the excellent guides poster here that go over it in better detail than I could provide. Then, I also recommend they hit the Beta server, create a character, level them to 50 instantly, then craft any Incarnate powers they still wonder about in mere seconds, and actually try them out on the spot! I did this myself on T4 powers I had never taken, but was curious about. As soon as it was done, I went and found a mob to devastate with this new power, and see if it was what I envisioned. If so, then I could shoot for it on the Live server. If not, I knew I wasn't missing anything, and wouldn't waste my time or resources pursuing it. That is a demo you just can't duplicate on the Mids Hero Builder. 😎

Exactly this! 👆

I visited Null just this morning, to bring two Red side toons, over to the Blue side. I had them over there waiting for someone I usually play with, to express an interest to play over there. In 4 months, none of them have. So, now they are where I tend to spend all of my time, and they will finally get their shot!

https://homecomingservers.com/donate/

...AND DONATED!!!

I'm picturing many people, anxiously standing by, waiting to push that button to donate, and thinking "This time, I'm gonna make it!"

MAC User Help Thread

I would think that there are plans for exactly those kinds of things. Anyone working so hard to make a future possible for the game, would also be making plans for that future. I sure would be, and these guys are a lot smarter than I am.

You are a busy, and talented guy!

Yeah, they want to hear the "clash" sounds when the blade impacts something. Only problem is that, the Master Replica versions weren't really designed for much impact. The glue holding the string LEDs in the blade in place, would start to crystallize over time, and they would break free, then go dark in the cases of repeated hits.

The single one, in the small box, is Luke's green one from ROTJ. It is just what is referred to as the "V2" version of it. The one used mainly in the throne room scenes with the Emperor, and shown in close-up on his throne a couple of times. I preferred this version, because to me, it looked like something that Luke would have made from spare parts he found in Obi-Wan's hut on Tattoine, which would have not been all shiny and new looking. But, beaten-up, blasted by exposure to the harsh elements, old, but still functional. Anyway, that was the vision I had in my head when I had it customized to look like that. 😎

I guess I look at it in the context of the Enhancement Diversification changes. We managed to survive a titanic change like that, so in context this one ain't so bad. As for the future, we are always attempting to foresee what's to come based on what we see today. But, I acknowledge that I don't have all the information necessary to form an intelligent opinion on where things could go in the future. There are things that the Devs know, which we don't, for the things coming down the road, and their vision for the long haul. I'd guess that a lot of that is tied up in the outcome of the deal with NCSoft, as it will have a ground-level up effect on everything to do with this server, and the game in general. But, they have earned a level of trust from me, based on what I've seen and heard so far. That trust extends to their judgement with regards to all things game related into an, as yet, unknown future. They know more, and will always know more than I do, and while I can like, or dislike what they do with regards to specific changes, or shifts in direction; I will always look at it in the context of someone evaluating the tip of an iceberg, knowing there is a whole lot more to it than what I can see. And, lets face it. Most of the dissatisfaction comes from veteran players, who knew what things were like before ED, and before the snip changes. The majority of the future of this game, if the deal succeeds, will be players who haven't yet even discovered this version of the game, let alone the sequels that could be spawned down the line if everything goes well.

I think we are in agreement that it was a subject considered by the Devs just prior to, or shortly after Torchbearer came online. There were a variety of reasons they opted not to go there, and those reasons have likely not changed in the ensuing months, and probably won't be changed if the deal is successful. I suppose anything is possible, but I would consider it very unlikely.

Not sure if this subject has been explored before, but I was curious what other free time pursuits folks around here have? For myself, Star Wars has always been one of my passions. To that end, I have an extensive collection of prints/wall hangings, ship models, and combat ready light sabers. Here is an example of a few of those sabers.

You hit on something I had forgotten to mention. The old user database would have included more personal, and financial data than the current one does, since it was a pay subscription game for most of it's original run. I personally would not want to risk having that readily available for someone with the inclination, and necessary tools to harvest for nefarious purposes.

And this without any real, active advertising that the game is back. It's all basically word of mouth, and a few articles in Massively, which not all gamers even read. Imagine when the game can come out of the shadows, shout from the rooftops that it is back, and that all are welcome in Paragon City once more! I think it has the potential to be big!

I understand that much of the snipe changes were under development at the time of shut down, then some of it was implemented in the SCORE version of CoH, and this last change finished the process. It gave the ATs that use ranged attacks one more to add to their arsenal, which I personally like. But, we all know that any change will be viewed simultaneously as both savior, and bane, depending on one's personal use of things effected by said change. No change is going to please everyone across the board. Never in the history of gaming has that ever been true, so while I certainly understand that folks will have their problems with things, and expressing their displeasure will hopefully have the effect of giving the Devs perspective that they might have been unaware of; things will continue to change. Our best way forward, if we still love the game, and wish to continue to play, is to adapt, and find creative ways to integrate change into our play styles. I certainly don't think that anything that's been implemented should be a game-breaker for anyone. At least I hope not. If you stop to think about it, dealing with changes, both popular, and not, back in the days of live was something we did every few months for years. So, in that regard, it's very similar to the days we remember fondly, unpleasant/unwelcome changes included. So, I'm partying like it's the 00's all over again in CoH! That I find quite nostalgic, and comforting in a weird way.

Plus, with the changes that have taken place with the game itself, re-integrating the I-24 version of player databases would likely be a conversion nightmare, and the more changes that are made, the less likely that amount of effort would be worthwhile.