Abraxus

I hate the Discord website/PC interface quite intensely. No idea if it's any easier to use on an 'app'. I think it is, but your mileage may vary.

Actually, Discord gives the admins the ability to pin important posts, so they are always easy to find. It's just a matter of them doing it, and you finding them to be helpful/informative. The other thing Discord offers that forums don't, is built-in voice connectivity. Makes it easy to coordinate play times, and get on a voice channel, all in one. I know there are other ways of doing it, but the group I play with has their own Discord channel, so we chat there, and use the voice services during play. It works out well once folks get all of the audio stuff working.

I remade 13 of my mains! I had 25 at L50 when it all ended, and now half of them are back! I don't have time to play them all, but I have time to move them around to new Day Job locations once a week to keep the names from slipping away. In time, so long as things stay as they are, they will all have their time to shine.

Yeah, it would seem like combing forces between the Reddit, and 4Chan servers would be a good idea to bump up the player population. But, they 4Chan server would have to have some kind of warning about what to expect as far as player conduct. Other than that, sounds like a solid idea. Just not sure how jazzed the folks running those servers are about the concept.

"You now have the power to run your own server!" ignores the massive necessity of the "massively multiplayer" bit of "MMORPG" which at the moment homecoming is monopolizing. So yes, we're allowed to criticize them for running their servers poorly. Agreed! It's not monopolization if people choose to be here, and if so many choose to be here, then perhaps they need to concentrate more on finding things to make their server(s) more appealing, and stop looking for ways to make Homecoming appear less appealing (unfairly, I might add).

Played Earth/Earth Dominator through a few TFs this weekend, and it was a blast! It has become my favorite toon! As an Earth/Storm Controller I can confirm. Tons of fun!

Probably not a bad idea in general, but as fast as these donation events raise the entire month's projected cost; even if they had to do another to cover something unexpected, it would probably be covered in 30 minutes, or less. 8) I love that the community is so willing to support the game we all missed for so long, and want to stay around as long as folks want to play it.

One of these months, I'm gonna get it quick enough to give a little back, for all I get out of this game. For now, I guess my sincere thanks will have to do.

I'm always civil. ;D Just a personal note on the new name policy. Today, I logged in and noticed that most of my characters had not been accessed in 8 days. Knowing that I left them all at Day Job locations, I went into each, and moved them each to a new Day Job location. The whole thing took about 10 minutes. I have 13 characters. While I know that some have more than that, I wanted to point out that, for 13 characters, it was not a time consuming, or exhaustive effort to log into each one, and move them somewhere that was advantageous for them to just stand around. Get enough of these, and there are accolades, and they get to keep their super cool names that I don't want to give up. Since I had 25 or more Level 50 characters at the end of the 8 years of the original run, I think I am being honest is saying that each of these, and any new ones I create down the line, will have their time in the spotlight. I wish I had time to play all of them constantly, but I don't. So, the idea is to keep them doing something productive until their particular time comes.

Nothing is perfect. But, I have always believed that the benefits, and the fun factor (and let's not overlook the social aspect because of the great community) greatly outweigh any of those flaws. It is truly an example of something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

I think I heard that there was a bug in the 1-10 XP, and that it was being looked at for a fix. So, it doesn't match the intent at the moment, but I feel like a fix is coming soon. They are probably just gathering other things to make the patching/downtime effort worthwhile.

The only concern though is that then because the ping pong ball has bounced back over into the ae side of the net, that they'll further pop it etc etc etc. I get server stability concerns that were had due to the AE map server stuffs but the congregating to the trial was the direct result of that change. Limiting choices in the short term is what leads to folks being funneled into something else. Speed of leveling should not be a worry for the team, really outside of server related issues. We're not in the epistemic bubble days of the NC folks needing to figure out how to eek out as much time to play in the game to maintain transactions and subs etc. Its a different perspective now. Personally, my only concern is that there is a desire to continue to maintain nc's previous thinking (or a reluctance to let that go for what ever reason). We're seeing a few of these decisions now and while trying to think of them in the context of the now, it still is compelling to have concerns of the direction that it may continue to go towards. *shrug*. I understand what you're getting at. But, I guess I'm just not accustomed, or familiar with being that tied to the stats the game, that any change would change how I feel about playing it. I love the game, I love the lore, and I love all the things one can do in a such a mature game. Mostly, I like sharing that play time with friends on-line, which also makes it a social thing. So, there is very little that could be done to make me want to play anything else. I have played "anything else" for the past 7 years, and all that ended up being was marking time in the faint hope that this one would come back. Now it has, and I couldn't be happier. It's a RARE second chance that I won't be wasting on worrying over what I consider minutia. I know others feel differently, and that's their prerogative. But, please don't accuse those of us who are perfectly happy playing the game we love, as being deluded, or viewing things with rose colored glasses. Some of us have been around long enough to realize what really makes us happy, having tried many other things. This makes me happy. But, for those of you who still need to make that journey, I understand. I was young once too. 8) :)

Proof positive that if XP is really all you're after, there are still ways to do it. I'm sure there are those who will point out that it isn't the same, which is true. But, in total it will make the difference between taking less than a day to get to from 1 to 50, and possibly adding a few more hours to the total. Might seem like light years worth of difference, but in the grand scheme of things, it's really not.

Just a thought for those that objected to the DFB changes on the basis of using it to level-up toons quickly to try out different powersets for viability. I believe that has now been addressed with the addition of the beta server.

There are some who expressed disappointment, and did it without threatening to quit, or criticize the Devs unduly. Then again, there were those that weren't as courteous, and making them out to be fun-killing, unsympathetic individuals who were just out to ruin the game for them unnecessarily. As I have said, I support their right to say that, but I don't agree with the sentiment. The game is still awesome if you're willing to be flexible, and creative in finding workarounds to perceived obstacles.

The change to the XP Curve for DFB, unless I am mistaken, was part of yesterday's patch.

Plus, if you pop an XP pill, and run it, you're not really losing that much at all. I have said from the beginning, there are ways to compensate. But, we just can't seem to move beyond the fact that it happened.

Truth! ^ No change(s) is every going to be good with everyone. As I have said many times, it is then that those that are unhappy have to decide what to do about it? Since it is unlikely that their concerns will be enough to change the outcome (no matter how many times they say it, or how emphatically they say it); do they see it as a step too far, or do they find a way to adapt, and overcome? That's really what it comes down to. Everything else just becomes a circular argument that we have already seen play out here on this thread, and others that accomplishes nothing more than pointing out what everyone already knows. No changes please everyone. I don't begrudge you the right to state, and re-state it, but I do point out the ultimate non-effectiveness of doing so.

Is there absolutely no trust that perhaps the Devs had legit reasons for doing the things they did? Judging from a good portion of the responses, I'd say that's a "No" in those cases. We may think we know, and we tend to supposition our own reasons for what was done, based on how it affected us personally. One thing I'm pretty confident about. They didn't do them just to change your play experience to the extent where you get mad, and leave. I tend to believe that these things are done for the good of the many, rather than catering to the needs of the few. Sometimes, things must be done for long-term viability. You don't have to like them. You just have to decide for yourself if you can still find in yourself to play under these conditions. If the answer is no, then by all means, go to one of the servers where this is not an issue. You have that choice now, where it did not exist when the game was live. Or, set-up your own server where CoH can be whatever you want. I'm not trying to tell anyone to leave, but if you're not happy with the conditions here, isn't that better than complaining about decisions that have already been made, and there is little chance of changing without empirical evidence (not emotional) that it should be changed? I get that some are unhappy, disappointed, or whatever. However, I think the points have been made, and the truth is that most of us are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes, and we really don't have enough information on which to complain effectively, beyond the obvious. Adding to that, this is all run by volunteers who are under no obligation to serve this community, save for their love of the game, and the community; and it makes even less sense.

We do both enjoy the game differently. Neither is wrong, and neither is necessarily right for everyone. However, I keep in perspective the degree to which any changes like this affect me, which is mostly not much. I don't think these things are being done to corral anyone's play style, as much as doing things to make things more realistic across the board for the large population we have now, as opposed to the small one for which these server set-ups were originally done. Things had to be more rewarding in an environment like that, and now with a robust population, these things are achievable on larger teams, and might require 4 runs instead of three to get into your teens. I don't believe there are any nefarious plans afoot to be a fun killer. Just doing what's necessary for the whole, rather than a segment of the player base. I love this game. I have always felt since the first day I played it, that it was the best thing I ever played, before or since. And really, there is very little that could be done that would dampen my enthusiasm. I simply come up with different ways to accomplish my goals. I am flexible. I have found in my years that without that, the inevitable change that comes to everything we do, is that much harder to deal with, and lessens our enjoyment of things to the point where we don't do them any more. That's when we begin to die a little every day. When we can honestly say that's the last time in my life I will ever do that thing. I'm not here to preach to anyone how to play. But, I will go so far to say that we have all been given a second chance, and within a month, we are able to take this gift for granted enough to complain about the manner in which our volunteer benefactors are providing it. Saying that our play style is permanently damaged, and I am leaving. Are our attention spans so short? I hope not, because I am enjoying every aspect of this game, even the maps, and missions I detest. I enjoy detesting them again! After hanging out in Paragon Chat for years, being in the live game is a gift that I personally will not take for granted. I want to do EVERYTHING again, and I look forward to learning again all the stuff I forgot (and it's a lot more than I would have thought). I will play this game for as long as it's available, and I will adjust to whatever changes are necessary to keep it alive.

Still all kinds of bite-sized stuff one can do. Between doors, radio missions, and just jumping on a PuG for a bit, it is possible. I know, because I do it. If you are limiting your enjoyment of the game to one thing, you aren't getting all there is to be had from it. 8 years of content, all available right off the bat. This is a mature game, and there is plenty to do if you know what to look for.

Surely, these changes couldn't be for the long term balance of the servers, and players. No, there HAS to be an ulterior motive that involves castrating your game play experience, because that's really what they enjoy doing. I believe you are taking it too personally, and associating rationale that doesn't exist. Perhaps it will encourage folks to go out and seek the MASSIVE amount of content that is available, even at the lower levels, and see what the game is really about. I'd be willing to wager that even most veteran players have not done all the mission content in all of the level appropriate zones, and there is a lot to do at any level.

Yup. All of the above!

And this is the part that is relevent. The only one for the end user, really. The end users worried about getting in 'hot water' by 'the man' over playing this game are simply wasting thier own energy. Stress kills. After 7 years of no game, maybe you could try to understand how some people are anxious that the game could disappear again or they could be banned for some legal loophole? Such is the nature of life my friend. Things end. The idea is to enjoy it while you have it, rather than wasting undue worry on how long it could last. Now that the code is "in the wild", the game will never disappear again. However, until the legal matters are more clear, anything can happen. So, play like there is no tomorrow, because sometimes...there isn't. 8)

So, whoopie for you? How about stopping the trolling as well as the playing then? :) Continuing this charade of 'holier than thou' morals while we are all playing in a grey area is just hilarious. So, the Leo thing still bothers some folks, huh? I'd have thought we were past that, but obviously not all of us. Personally, what happened over the 7 years when SCORE ran their own server is what allowed this to happen now. Would it have been nice to have it happen sooner? Sure. But, I don't see that recriminations for something most of us would have done in his position are necessary at this point. Also, bear in mind that he was also the one who had the experience to make all of this happen as soon as it did. Without his expertise, it would have been months before anyone was familiar enough with all of it to get things going in such a sustained way. So, bottom line is...no story really, and moving along.