Abraxus

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.

Duh! And you're calling them disconnected from the internet? They have stated an age restriction and you have to click to agree. If someone underage gets on, that means they lied to do so and that's beyond their control. I mean, oh my god, there are literally thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of games and apps out there with this kind of stuff. Have you been under a rock the past 20 years? Hey now, maybe he's just old and doesn't understand this newfangled interwhatsis thingy. In his day they didn't need to restrict nothing. In fact, you were too busy working 36 hours a day down at the mine, after hiking naked in 6 feet of snow uphill both ways, to play some videe-o game. (as opposed to me who's old and remembers the pre-interwhatsis thingy, and trying to untangle your phone cord enough to stick it in the phone-shaped modem holder and THEN go work in the mine since it would finally be connected by the time you got home, if you were lucky...) Tru dat! This from a fellow ancient gamer who also knows what a dangerous place the web (and associated games) can be for a kid. Anyone who thinks otherwise is naive, or not very realistic. As for how the devs here handle it, how about letting the people (the aforementioned devs) whose asses are the ones actually on the line if it all goes south, decide what legal maneuvers they have to jump through in order to keep doing the volunteer work that, in turn, keeps us playing this FREE game?

Why? Are they so noticeably overpowered that they would scream "Nerf candidate"? So much so, that they would jump to the top of the priority list?

Honestly, it wasn’t about learning more. It was a good way to get up to low to mid 30s to test out a new powerset combination. Many, perhaps even most, of us are veterans from live. The low levels are boring and a lot of people do t want to slog through then just to see if their powerset combination is worth investing more time into. Getting to mid 20s quickly and having a bit more of the build gives a better (though still incomplete) picture. The reasons for nerfing it was silly. People running through DFB to however many levels they wanted wasn’t hurting others. The mass majority of complaints I see from anti DFB posts were: - People should do the content instead just like me. Nothing is stopping people from doing the content if they so wish. - People doing DFB makes it harder for me to team. Again, no it doesn’t. Never had a problem filling a non-DFB team quickly. - It’s annoying seeing DFB advertised in LFG. LFG channel is for looking for group. So why shouldn’t people use it to fill a group for DFB. If you don’t want to join just ignore it. I don’t have a problem ingoring the myriad of LFG posts that I don’t feel like participating in at the moment be they for DFB or otherwise. - People shouldn’t level up so fast. Again, why? Why does this hurt someone who wants to do it slowly? It doesn’t. Nothing prevents people from leveling as slowly or as quickly as they want. None of these reasons are compelling in my opinion. Most of them are about restricting how another player enjoys playing the game, even though it has no bearing on how they themselves are able to play. It does not enhance other content. It just restricts a popular content. I always like more options. Not less. And this does not open up more options. The alternatives were always there. People just chose not to do them. This also will do nothing about getting people to play more story arcs or other similar content in lower levels. The same people who wanted to get passed the low levels quickly will still do DFB or AE, or find a power leveler. The same people who want to do Kings row story arcs will still do those. And they will still complain about people leveling too fast. So I’m the end, I highly doubt it will change any behavior (although the venue may change somewhat). People will still complain about people playing the game a different way than they want them to. All this does it make DFB less rewarding for people who enjoy leveling up new alts quickly. None of the root behaviors are changed and thus it is a meaningless nerf. Even so, the devs are the boss and I’m playing their game. So I will take it in stride. I have no intentions of leaving and very much appreciate all that they have done. I’m bound to not like some decisions made, but honestly that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I still get to play, for which I am very grateful. This is a situation where knowing someone with a private server can be of great benefit. As I stated before, on a private server you have GM level access to everything. So, characters can be boosted to whatever level, missions can be run, and knowledge may be gained to see if this is something they might want to pursue on the "Live" server. Hopefully, there are enough folks doing private servers that this is an option for anyone using DFB to do research on powerset viability, and unhappy with the reduction in the XP curve.

Bye I have to wonder why Crysis, or anyone he has recruited to his private server even worry about regular game play. There, they have the ability to boost themselves right to L50, give themselves every accolade in the game, and all Incarnate powers. Game over. ;)

My experience to date has been nothing but positive. When I don't have any of my SG mates around, I form teams to do what I'm in the mood to do. I have had no issues with doing that, or with the folks I have teamed with during that time. I'm pretty sure it was said already in this thread, but I think the majority of the folks they are referring to in that article are on the Reddit, and COXG servers. They touted it as "The wild, wild west", and I'm sure it lives up to that. If you go there, and don't know that about their servers, 1.) you need to do more research. 2.) Perhaps Homecoming wasn't that bad a place after all, huh? ;)

I played the game from 2004 through early 2012. By this time, my gaming group had moved to SWTOR, and I followed them. I tried to stay in CoH alone, but there just wasn't time for 2 MMOs in my life. In the ensuing months, the shutdown was announced, and I was faced with trying to spend time with friends where they were, or try to get in some game time in Paragon City before it left (presumably) for good. I stayed with my friends, and that is my big regret. Because, not long after that, they pretty much stopped gaming altogether, so I was left in SWTOR alone too. I could have been playing somewhere I would have been much happier, on the whole, and felt like I had a chance to say a real good-bye. Now, I have my second chance, and I could not be happier, or more grateful! Thanks guys! You gave this old gamer another chance to play the only game that ever really mattered to me, before or since.

As I understand it, there is no legal precedent for a company going after players on a "grey area" server.

Here's a thought... How about we let the good folks running this show figure out what they have to do to keep afloat from a legal, financial perspective, and ask for our help when necessary. Other than that, our options are really easy. You either dig what's going on and play here, or you don't, and you go elsewhere. Complaining about folks doing volunteer work on your behalf is just kinda silly, and you are not paying ANYTHING to play here, so let's keep things in perspective.

Roger that!

I believe this situation is like so many others where folks have found grounds to voice complaints, and lodge allegations against the Homecoming team. If this place isn't to your liking, there are plenty of other servers out there which apparently would are more to your liking. So, what are you still doing here? Please avail yourself of the opportunity to exercise a stealthy exit, and godspeed to you! In your absence, we will be playing the game we love in a friendly environment with rules preventing obnoxious play tactics, and behavior. Not to mention, any illegal activities which would obviously draw the kind of attention we don't need here.

It's an attitude that pervades far too many aspects of our society. It's typically not enough for someone to believe strongly in something. They tend to believe it so strongly that they become convinced it is the only real truth, and that everyone should think the same way. Anyone who doesn't is obviously a moron worthy of ridicule. It's as if they think "If you would just think the way I do, everything would be fine!". They go so far as to not just advocate their position on this, that, or the other thing. They foist their views on others, which is where I draw the line. It's regrettable.

The big difference here, as opposed to other MMOs when folks don't like what's going on (whether it is a real issue, or just a perceived one), is that they have alternatives where these issues, real or perceived, don't exist. So I am puzzled why you would stay here if you are unhappy, and complain that this site, is not like those sites? As much as I hate seeing the community fracture because there are alternative servers that cater to those with different preferences/play styles, it is an option which does not require any resignation from this site, or announcement that one is doing so, or even a manifesto for extolling the virtues of the other servers, while trashing this one, as so many seem to want to do. You just stop coming here, and just go there. Pretty easy really. No hard feelings, and I hope you find the grass is actually greener over there. My guess is, that it actually won't be, for one reason, or another. But, most will either stay there because coming back would mean admitting they were mistaken, or they'll just quite outright. In any case, let the process begin when it will, and end where it will. Then the rest of us can continue enjoying what we have right here. Please, and thank you.

These nerfs affect only a certain segment of the player base, and certainly not the majority. We really have to start looking at things in proper perspective. If doing things to preserve performance, and encourage folks to enjoy the game, rather than using exploits to skip to the end is all it takes to create dissatisfaction, then some really gotta ask themselves why they play CoH in the first place. "Youse nerfed mah ability to exploit the exploits! I'm outta here!". *eye roll*

Hells yeah! I love everything. Even the dreaded Layer-Cake cave map! I love that I have the option to loath it once again! I am using different characters to experience different parts of the game. One is endeavoring to experience as much content as possible. Others are venturing out to the various zones, and methods one can use to get through the formative levels. Atlas, Galaxy, The Hollows, DFB, Perez Park. I want ALL of it, even the ignominious defeats that are inevitable! I LOVE this game. It has, and always has been the only one I wanted to play after the first time. In the years it was gone, the other games I played only served to make me miss CoH even more. Now that it's back, I want it back forever!

It's funny. But, when NCSoft/Cryptic made changes to the game, not everyone liked the changes, but since it was the only place to play CoH, they played anyway, and found ways to have fun. Or, they left the game. But, now for some reason, if we don't like the way things are, it's perfectly OK to lament the fact that the place they apparently don't like anymore, has the largest player base, and advocate for advertising alternatives so that we can fracture the community even further. Sorry. Not on board with that. It just floors me how quickly we are able to just take for granted the fact that the game is even here, and available to play. Now, our micro-attention spans have turned to complaining, rather than playing. It's this kind of thing that gives me concern about the long-term future of the game. We stated off all in the same place. Now, we are scattering to the winds. Does that sound like a long term solution for a community that is nowhere near large enough to facilitate being spread that thin? You have suggestions, the lines are open. You have demands, and you'll find most folks unsympathetic.

There were almost 10,000 players on during the busier hours of the weekend, and the numbers keep growing. Seems like folks are rightfully happy to see the game back, and available. Figuring out when, and what changes will come to this implementation of the game will come eventually. I feel pretty comfortable that the Homecoming Devs are being open with the player base, and listening to what they have to say. As someone who has played this game since the very beginning, I can't say I understand the objections to the I25 content, but I acknowledge folks right to feel that way, and encourage them to remember that there are servers that are running i24 content. So, there is really no need to advocate for some regression, or changing the game to accommodate things that most don't find to be an issue. I believe the future is forward, rather than backward, but to each his own.

I think the points being made here have one thing in common. You have the ability to make the game what you want, and how you want. So, please take more time to appreciate that we have the game at all, and try to refrain from requesting game changes to accommodate your personal style of play, or preferences for such. I know not everyone will be able to take that to heart, and will want things they way they want them, and will leave Homecoming for one of the other servers where they feel more represented. That's going to happen, and there is nothing we can do about it. My hope going forward is that we continue to attract new players who will ask about how to make the game play to their style, and that more former players find out that we are here. Somehow, the word had not gotten out to all of them yet, and I'd like to find a way to get them the word, and find their way here if they wish.

We also have to keep in mind that in the time before the shut-down, this game was a "for profit" venture. Things were intentionally sparse to begin with, to keep folks paying month to month, in order to get to that next reward, and to make it a long-term commitment if at all possible. Now, that is obviously no longer the case, so everything is available much earlier, and it becomes more contingent on us to determine for ourselves how best to use (or not use) these things. I hope to see the community grow to the point where there is a flavor of server to accommodate anyone's taste. But, in these early stages, let's just play, and support what we have until the future of the movement becomes more clear, and refrain from complaint about something that we are darned lucky to have in the first place. Things will change. We just have to have the patience to see how it changes, and make our moves accordingly. 8)