VanCorp
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Posts posted by VanCorp
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On 7/19/2020 at 9:16 PM, Latex said:
There was/is plenty of news articles signalling the 'return of City of Heroes' and the like.
https://massivelyop.com/2019/05/22/perfect-ten-helpful-tips-for-returning-to-city-of-heroes-in-2019/
https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/after-a-secret-server-shocked-the-community-100000-fans-are-finally-playing-city-of-heroes-again/
https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/17/18411040/city-of-heroes-score-private-server
There was an awful lot of controversy about it all because the server was running for a long time and kept quiet. But the cat is out of the bag now and other teams have reverse engineered things- I remember seeing the Code Documentation book for the entire game and it was like reading the Bible, it was very interesting, the sticking point of all this is that City of Heroes is never going away, even if every private server currently running gets nuked the code and everything needed to run it is out in the wild already.The risk here is of course being the largest, most popular server attracts the sights of legal teams so they can set an example. I think everyone that was (key point was) an old veteran of the legacy game has already checked it out, some stay, some go, some tell their friends, they come, they go. Player retention was a large issue for the legacy game too, it's just the way MMO's are, almost universally.
As far as my own circle goes, you're spot on. We all knew when Homecoming went public. We made accounts, played, relived the old days . . . and then pretty much all decided that our love of playing MMOs was a thing of the past. Heck, we don't even play WoW anymore. It's just not what we look for in gaming anymore. The past few years, we've been playing games like Overwatch, Paladins, and Dead by Daylight.
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On 12/6/2019 at 7:06 PM, DougGraves said:
I have been soloing a bit lately and noticed how I use my bonus powers like black wand into my 20's. I cannot remember what it was like playing with just brawl and your powerset attacks but it must have been painfully slow.
I am generally opposed to making things easier, but I would not go back to playing without those extra attacks at lower levels.
City of Heroes was actually a little faster than leveling in a lot of other MMOs during that era.
But keep in mind, that was 7-15 years ago. The gaming industry has changed in that time, and gamers' tastes and expectations have changed in that time. There's a reason the P2W Vendor in Homecoming sells free XP-boosters, nowadays. -
On 12/12/2019 at 9:20 AM, Fista said:
Comics? Pssh. Read the novels. Web of Arachnos and Freedom Phalanx.
I have all the comics (both Blue King and Top Cow) and both novels still tucked away from back in the day.
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On 8/29/2019 at 8:47 PM, PaxArcana said:
Or, you know, just living without. It's not like food, water, medicine, or shelter (which are absolutely required for survival). It's games, which are just entertainment ... and there are plenty of other options out there for that, without having to resort to thievery. 🙂
Precisely, as an author who makes a living by selling his novels, and has had his novels found on pirate sites, the people who pirate their entertainment, I don't care if it's just video games, can go rot in Hell.
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On 8/28/2019 at 10:41 AM, Blackbird71 said:
Frankly I find such apathy disturbing, and unfortunately all too common. Enjoy your game.
Sorry, but I'm not going to avoid playing a franchise I enjoy because some suits at the game company took questionable behavior against a YouTuber. So far in previous Borderlands, I've enjoyed the work the Devs did on the games, the work the artists did on the environments, the work the voice actors did on the characters, et cetera. And the wife and I are going to continue supporting that work through our purchases. Including for any new Devs, artists, and voice actors on Borderlands 3.
On 8/28/2019 at 11:24 AM, Apparition said:I've learned a couple of decades ago to separate art from the artist, or you'll never enjoy anything.
This is precisely it. For example, I'm an author, and I never preach my personal politics even on social media. I keep them private. That said, there are many authors who do so on social media. In some cases, politics I don't agree with, and in a few cases vehemently oppose. But you know what? Their fiction entertains me (as long as they aren't authors preaching through their fiction), and I continue to buy and read their books.
I might not agree with their stances or actions on some things, but their work entertains me, and their work is what I'm paying for.
Now, if they endorsed sex trafficking or pedophilia or racism, that would obviously be different. There are always lines in the sand. -
On 8/7/2019 at 2:18 PM, Blackbird71 said:
Are you sure you want to do that? I can't verify that any of this is true, but if it is then there are certainly some shady dealings going on at 2K Games:
I'm not a Borderlands fan, but if I were, I would be looking into this further before supporting this company. Engaging in bullying and intimidation tactics to cover their own mistake is despicable.
Oh, I'm familiar with the whole thing. They've said their piece, the YouTuber said his piece, I've read and watched it all. And I honestly do not care. The wife and I enjoy the Borderlands franchise and pre-ordered the game. There are just too many scummy companies out there, even in the game industry, that we aren't going to bother ourselves with it all. Our bottom line is this: Does the game, or game franchise, entertain us? Do we enjoy playing it? If the answer is "yes," then we buy the game or new franchise addition for our entertainment time.
I'm almost 47 years old. A vast majority of the time, I don't even pay attention to video game industry news anymore. I simply do not care. I just play whatever games and franchises I enjoy.
As far as the OP, while I've no real interest in Classic WoW, as I stated in my much earlier post, I did resub to retail WoW within the past week. I hit level 50 in CoH and the nostalgia was nice and all, but I still have BFA stuff to do, yet. I'll always have fond memories of CoH, but Homecoming showed me and the wife that they're memories. We realized what made CoH for us was the friends we had back then and the super-group we ran with them, not the game play. Many of those friends did not return for Homecoming, and those that we kept in contact with on social media over the years returned but did not stay. The fire for the game for them was gone, after seven years of nothing.
CoH: Homecoming made me realize the same thing about Vanilla WoW. It wasn't the game play, it was the guild and friends I had back then. Many of which are long gone from WoW and/or MMOs in general. I'll just stick with retail WoW, as far as WoW is concerned, and the play style I have now, in 2019. I enjoy current WoW, where I can play for only 90 minutes or so and feel like I did something, be it a dungeon or two, an LFR raid, Island Expeditions, Warfronts, World Quests, a few PvP matches, or what have you. My play time is very limited, and I don't play only one game title, so the "Classic" MMO design no longer appeals to me. -
On 8/18/2019 at 2:37 PM, Abraxus said:
I will admit though, if Champions was more of what he thought was a good game, then it is a good thing he left when he did. I would hate for him to have stayed, and pushed CoH in directions that Champions embraced. Just not a fan.
Not only Champions, but then he left that and moved on to Daybreak Games and became the head of DC Universe Online. I enjoyed that game, but the changes he caused in DCUO finally caused me to uninstall and not look back.
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On 7/14/2019 at 12:47 PM, Charistoph said:
Depending on how it happens, the death of WoW could put Activision in to the hairs of EA or find itself breaking apart.
Actually, per their own investor reports, WoW hasn't been their big money maker, nor tent-pole title for a couple of years now.
Activision-Blizzard has too many of their eggs in the Overwatch basket now, and with the mega-investors for the Overwatch League. And they're expanding on that League format next year with the CoD League in the same OWL format. Some team slots have already been sold for the CoD League to mega-investors for $25 million per.
If either of these Leagues fall apart too early for investors, then they might be in trouble. If both do, then we might see some very serious issues for Activision-Blizzard.
WoW, though, is no longer in a position to sink them.
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If I'm going to be honest, it isn't Classic WoW in August that will severely cut down any play time I dedicate to City of Heroes, but rather Borderlands 3 in September. The wife could not get back into CoH with Homecoming. In a lot of ways, the old magic is gone since what made CoH for us was our SG, the people, and the friends we made.
In the 7 years from sunset to Homecoming becoming public, those people are long gone. The couple we remained friends with through social media have aged the same as we have (I'm 46). We're not the same people anymore. We don't even game the same anymore. One of them returned to Homecoming for a while, but time had simply moved on.Borderlands, though? We're big Boderlands fans. That's where our play time will be in September. Probably replaying BL 2 a bit as well.
We actually don't play WoW, or Blizzard games at all, anymore. The Bnet launcher was removed the day Overwatch announced forced 2-2-2 Role Queue going live on September 1st. -
On 8/1/2019 at 3:55 PM, Black Zot said:
Meh. "Classic WoW" was basically "WoW before Blizzard learned how to make a genuinely good RPG". I've played WoW intermittently from Vanilla all the way to present-day, and frankly Vanilla was garbage compared to Wrath-and-onward.
As someone who's played Blizzard games for 25 years (since Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and every title since), I'll take that old Blizzard over the Activision sock puppet that did Diablo 3, HoTS, Overwatch, and the last three WoW expansions.
Especially with the absolute crap happening to Overwatch on Sept 1st.-
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I will always have fond memories of my 8+ years in City of Heroes. I jumped into Homecoming in early May. The first two weeks or so, it was great for me, revisiting old times. Then I realized that the magic was gone for me. What they're doing with Homecoming is fantastic, don't get me wrong. But I realized about three years ago that my interest in the MMO genre was at an end. Though I'll always love my CoX memories, at 46 years old, I realize that it's true for CoX as well: I just don't have an interest in MMOs anymore.
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I'm trying to figure out what there is to trust. Are we paying a monthly fee or in some other way financially investing in Homecoming? And keep in mind, donating on any given month is purely optional.
When the servers are up, and if I feel like it, I login and play that night. It's fun while it lasts, but I came into Homecoming with the solid understanding that it could end at any time. Whether it's from donations for servers drying up at some point, or NCSoft finally deciding to shut them down, or whatever reasons may come. This could end tomorrow, next week, or whenever.
Enjoy it while it's here and for what it is.
I personally could not care any less about what a group or a few individuals are saying about whom as far as who's operating what servers. It has absolutely no bearing on my wallet or everyday life. And if the game were to shut down? Well, hell, I'd keep doing what I do on nights that I don't play Homecoming. I'd log into Overwatch or Paladins or Dead by Daylight or whatever other games I play.
I neither trust nor distrust the folks behind Homecoming. I simply don't care enough either way. If the servers are up, I'll play it. If not, life goes on. Just like it did in 2012.
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Pixie Knight - I feel the same way. When I first started playing - it was magical, and I got into a SG with a bunch of people interested in role-playing similar to me. We supported each other. I would either be working, or working and playing, or playing, or playing and eating, and occasional breaks for sleeping. If I wasn't in the game, I would be scanning the forums.
Now I am back, and I'm more excited about a game than I have been since I first started playing CoH in 2004. But in some ways, the magic just isn't quite the same - maybe it's because I have more responsibilities...I dunno, but I'm confounded by the level excitement and familiarity I am feeling.
Maybe it's because I haven't really found a group to team regularly and role-play with. But that's on me - I need to try harder...
Pretty stream of consciousness here, but mostly just wanted to share that your post really resonated with me! +1 Inf
I can relate. Back when CoH was in retail, while I was still an author (have been for over two-decades) I worked in the table-top RPG industry. And at that time, I was licensing Mutants & Masterminds 2e for my super-hero setting, so I had a lot of my fans from that table-top game in CoH with me, in my super-group, and so forth. The social aspects were fantastic.
Fast forward to Homecoming, and while it's fun to play again, it isn't the same by any stretch for me. You simply can't recapture that past magic, and nostalgia is only going so far for me. Now, I've since retired from the RPG industry and returned to full-time fiction writing. Although three of my four kids are grown adults and on their own, I yet find myself with very little MMO time due to my career. I left MMOs back in 2016 due to that and moved on to focus on games that I can play more effectively in bite-sized chunks, such as Overwatch, Paladins, and Realm Royale. I'm finding my game-time hasn't changed in 2019, and committing to an MMO, even CoH again, just isn't as fun as it once was for me.
All in all, I love CoH and will always love CoH, but like I suspect will happen for many with Classic WoW this August, you simply cannot go back in time. And even for CoH, I also think my real interest in MMOs might be a thing of the past, too.
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Ah, thank you, I'd never heard of him. Japanese Ultraman was the only one I'd ever known about.
Yeah, the Ultraman version of Superman runs (or ran, I stopped reading DC Comics about a year into the garbage known as New 52) the Crime Syndicate.
They even covered him in the DCaU animated movie "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths," that came out on DvD in 2010. DC Universe Online also did an Episode DLC about Earth-3 in late 2017.
The whole concept of Praetoria and the evil Cole/Statesman, et cetera, is basically a nod back to that DCU Earth.
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I still have the entire Blue King run, the Top Cow run, and the novels.
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I'll wait for Blu-Ray. As someone else said, the early 2000s Supreme Power had shades of it, then there was Irredeemable by Mark Waid (BOOM Studios), and others over the 40 years I've been reading comics, that the idea of an "evil superman type," isn't fresh enough to me that I'll go to the theater for it.
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Back in 2004, I was 32 years old. At the time, I was an author for well over a decade already, worked in comic books and television, and had just entered the table-top role-playing game industry. Matter of fact, it was with a product line for the Mutants & Masterminds Second Edition license, and many folks in my Virtue SG joined because they were fans and knew me from the M&M forums.
Later, I licensed the Savage Worlds RPG, which is under Pinnacle Entertainment. Pinnacle is owned by Shane Hensley, who did most of the mission writing for City of Villains and used the Prince Mako name. Got to know him, as well as some other folks that worked on CoX.
Fast-forward, and I'm now 46 years old. Still an author, but retired from table-top and all other game related work in summer 2017. As of 2019, I returned to fiction full-time.
During the CoX days, my kids were all kids, too. Now they are 26, 21, and 19 years old, with the youngest being the only "kid" left. He's 9 years old.
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I pinned Tequlia to my start menu, and had no issues after a Win-10 update this weekend.
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The screenshots folder should be in the same place where all the other CoH stuff installs. However I've heard of some people having issues where they aren't saving properly. When you start Tequila there's a "Screenshots" button. Try that. If that's a bust we will have to delve deeper.
(If you are using Island Rum you will have to wait for Mac gods to appear.)
It is now. It wasn't working at first, but after I clicked screenshot on the launcher, which showed an empty folder, now it's saving screenshots. All good.
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You mean yes.
Have you not clicked that LFG tab? Sure, if you're just a low-level scrub you'll only see Drowning In Blood there, or maybe one other trial if there's a holiday event running, but it is a queue that you can just join and get added to a team for the Trial if you want. You could also gather a team, or even a League, and then join the queue, but you don't have to.
Oh bloody hell. Was that in retail? Because if it was, yet another thing I didn't remember the game ever having. Wait, then again, I ran a large SG back then, so wouldn't have noticed.
Either way, I gladly stand corrected.
Yes.... But also kinda... It exists, but isn't very good...
The LFG finder doesn't always grab a full group if you queue solo.. It'll often go with the minimum and for much of the game content, is not enough folk to complete the mission.
I've tried it a couple of times and it often sticks me and one other unfortunate soul into an un-winnable situation. (I never used it back when the game was live, only on homecoming)
Best bet is to join or start a team to take on the contect you want. - Old fashoned, but its going to work better everytime.
Oh, I see. So it doesn't necessarily do the complete job that one would expect.
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I'm lost on this one. In Homecoming, when I make a screenshot, does anyone know where it's saved to? I'm on Win-10 if that makes a difference.
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Is there a dungeon finder or any type of group finder?
You mean like that button that says "LFG" at the top of your chat window? ;)
I believe he means the queue systems found in WoW, SWTOR, DCUO, and other MMOs.
And the answer to the original fella is: No.
City of Heroes is bit more old school in MMO design. You use the LFG channel to assemble your team. While it might have eventually gotten such a queue system, City of Heroes was originally shutdown in 2012, before such queue systems became a staple of design in MMOs. You have to remember that while WoW had it even back then, games like SWTOR and DCUO didn't get them until later. And to be honest, there's nothing wrong with the old way of doing things. I remember when MMOs were much more social than they are today, and CoH was especially a social experience. That social experience was a major draw for a lot of us that played it during its retail era.
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Welcome! Feel free to hit me with any questions in-game at @VanCorp.
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Ah, thanks. Yep, found 'em. :)
Map Servered.. How many until calling it a day?
in General Discussion
Posted
Been getting mapservered more often the past few days on Everlasting.