Is there a Point to SuperGroups now?

[EmmySky]

3 hours ago, MTeague said:

Some thread necromancy for sure.  But hey, why not.  The topic can still be of interest, and the older posts no less valid. 

 

I will probably never join a "real" SG. 

I made my own SG just so my characters would be joined as "already belonging to a SG" so I could stop getting invites and needing to decline them.

• I have zero interest in any kind of "Guild Activites" or "Guild Events". 
• I feel no great desire to have lots of "guild chat" going on.  
• I do not want to powerlevel my characters, and I have no interest in helping PL anyone else's.  I wish them well, just don't look at me as a resource to that end.
• I do not "raid" anymore.  iTrials hold very little interest for me.  I'll do some here or there, but story arcs and alting are what drives me.  
• I am allergic to anything even close to a whiff of a regularly scheduled group.  I'll team when the mood strikes me, and generally I always enjoy it.  But EQ and WoW both ended up becoming full time jobs, and I found them becoming a recurring obligation that was beginning to control my life.  Never again.  Never.
• I'm content to operate on a PUG basis, night-by-night, if I choose to log on that evening.

@MTeague said it so much better than I could.  Ditto.

[Herotu]

6 minutes ago, EmmySky said:

@MTeague said it so much better than I could.  Ditto.

Do you think this is a modern attitude in old MMOs?

 

A lot of stuff used to get scheduled, and some guilds/supergroups did have quite enhusiastic administrators. 

I'm not sure that happens to the same extent these days, bearing in mind the presence of mobile games and the pick-up-and-put-down, zero attention-span, can't be bothered to read the mission text.....

 

 

Ah twas ever thus, I suppose.

[MTeague]

3 minutes ago, Herotu said:

Do you think this is a modern attitude in old MMOs?

At least for me, it has nothing to do with whether current players are fickle or not, nothing to do with whether they read the mission text or not. 

 

I know me. I get very much sucked into thinking if I join some group, I should be focused on what's best for that group, and trying to help out people that group, even to the detriment of my own personal enjoyment.  This was a good attitude to have during the heydays of EQ-Progression-Raiding or WoW-Progression-Raiding. You needed to have hordes of people all logging on at the same time, all team focused, all trying to properly coordinate some pretty tricky mechanics (less so for EQ, much more so for WoW), and some bosses might take the better part of 4 weeks at 3 nights a week, 5 hours a night, just to finally get to the point of defeating that boss ONCE.  Once you got over that hump the first time most people were good at remembering it and doing it right next time, but oh god, guildleaders there had to be MASTERS of Herding Cats, and tamping down egos and dramaqueens. 

 

I still get nostalgic about it.  A lot. 

But I can never allow myself to sign up for anything remotely like that, ever again. 

 

It's my own personal line drawn in my own sand to say "Nope, served my time. From here on out, no more guilds. No more obligations. No more pre-booked anything. I load up whatever game I feel like, only when I feel like it, only for a as long as I feel like it."

 

Other than CoH, I really only do single-player games now. Very occasionally some co-op stuff with my brother if he wants a Steam Achievement for something.

[EmmySky]

31 minutes ago, Herotu said:

Do you think this is a modern attitude in old MMOs?

 

A lot of stuff used to get scheduled, and some guilds/supergroups did have quite enhusiastic administrators. 

For me, its very little to do with gaming and almost entirely to do with a new personality quirk I have developed over the last 10 yrs after divorce.  I find myself running away from any commitment.  That includes running teams and SGs or taking my parents to their doctor appts (which I do anyway).  Kids are grown and I do what I want when I want..usually (work and family are exceptions).  I kinda get anxiety attacks when I feel like I am gonna let someone down who is expecting things of me.

 

I have also noticed a few prominent leaders on our server (for raids and things) have been MIA lately.  Probably hiding on alternate accounts.  But it can get very wearing to be the one people expect a lot of.  I don't wanna burn out on something I love so much.

[Herotu]

 

2 hours ago, MTeague said:

At least for me, it has nothing to do with whether current players are fickle or not, nothing to do with whether they read the mission text or not. 

 

I know me. I get very much sucked into thinking if I join some group, I should be focused on what's best for that group, and trying to help out people that group, even to the detriment of my own personal enjoyment.  This was a good attitude to have during the heydays of EQ-Progression-Raiding or WoW-Progression-Raiding. You needed to have hordes of people all logging on at the same time, all team focused, all trying to properly coordinate some pretty tricky mechanics (less so for EQ, much more so for WoW), and some bosses might take the better part of 4 weeks at 3 nights a week, 5 hours a night, just to finally get to the point of defeating that boss ONCE.  Once you got over that hump the first time most people were good at remembering it and doing it right next time, but oh god, guildleaders there had to be MASTERS of Herding Cats, and tamping down egos and dramaqueens. 

 

I still get nostalgic about it.  A lot. 

But I can never allow myself to sign up for anything remotely like that, ever again. 

 

It's my own personal line drawn in my own sand to say "Nope, served my time. From here on out, no more guilds. No more obligations. No more pre-booked anything. I load up whatever game I feel like, only when I feel like it, only for a as long as I feel like it."

 

Other than CoH, I really only do single-player games now. Very occasionally some co-op stuff with my brother if he wants a Steam Achievement for something.

How interesting. I used to do 40 mans in the same manner you did, until we completed Thaddeus? (The Frankenstein's Monster thing) in Naxxramas - at the same time Blizzard said that all the gear you had accumulated thus far would be worthless in the expansion (Burning Crusade). I dropped the game right there and then and never looked back.

 

I won't ever touch raids now, but I certainly won't rule out coop stuff. We both drew a line, but mine is far less rigid (floppier?) than yours.

[cranebump]

I miss running in SG mode to gain currency for my Old SGs.

 

I liked joining groups that had awesome base builders. 

 

I liked it when “my SG is calling” actually meant something.

 

It’s all good the way it is now, but I still miss those things.

[MTeague]

1 hour ago, Herotu said:

 

How interesting. I used to do 40 mans in the same manner you did, until we completed Thaddeus? (The Frankenstein's Monster thing) in Naxxramas - at the same time Blizzard said that all the gear you had accumulated thus far would be worthless in the expansion (Burning Crusade). I dropped the game right there and then and never looked back.

 

I won't ever touch raids now, but I certainly won't rule out coop stuff. We both drew a line, but mine is far less rigid (floppier?) than yours.

Ah, Thaddius.... the positive / negative fight?  that was fun.  I more enjoyed the fight before the fight though.  Dealing with teh two smaller things that would peroidcally fling the tanks to the other platform. I was one of tanks, and my tanking buddy and I had a macro setup to /wave at the other and chat "High Five!" as we went zipping past each other in the air.

[Herotu]

7 hours ago, MTeague said:

Ah, Thaddius.... the positive / negative fight?  that was fun.  I more enjoyed the fight before the fight though.  Dealing with teh two smaller things that would peroidcally fling the tanks to the other platform. I was one of tanks, and my tanking buddy and I had a macro setup to /wave at the other and chat "High Five!" as we went zipping past each other in the air.

My enduring memory is that when one person (out of 40) lagged out, the whole thing went "Boom!".

[UltraAlt]

I definitely think that supergroups are more for individuals or close friends.

There is a much greater advantage salvage/enhancement storage-wise to have your own base.

 

I saw some of the other posts and I do think that coalition is really the way to get the kind of connection that super groups used to be in THE CITY before the sunset.

 

One function that could work this way as well is having a Global channel for people that tend to game as a group frequently

 

And, of course, these days Discord probably goes along way of having supergroups in its own way.

[justicebeliever]

I had a SG I was really involved with on Live, and I made some great friendships.  The focus was on role play, but role play during missions.  So many SG's that roleplay seem focused on doing RP events that are in static places, like the SG Base, Atlas Park, and Pocket D.  And I personally just don't have the patience to be in the game, but not playing the game.

 

I'm certain there are SG's that still serve a function though for many players, just not me.

 

(Yes, I have a SG Base that I use for transport and storage, but that's the only function it has for me)

[Herotu]

In this new CoH, it seems that the SG is replacing the notion of the Home instance for a lot of players.

 

I get it, and it's cool.

 

What could be special about the Supergroup base then? WHY would you want to share it with others? Was it the expense of maintaining it? I suppose that cost is now seen as artificial and unnecessary expense, but aren't all games artificial in and of themselves? The rules exist because we all agree to them. Argh I'm going off into the realm of philosophy.

 

What I'm trying to ask is ... do we want something to bring players closer together? I have a want to be more communicative with people, but do I have time to spent on these players? Do I even like them? It's really confusing for me.

 

 

 

 

[MTeague]

2 hours ago, Herotu said:

In this new CoH, it seems that the SG is replacing the notion of the Home instance for a lot of players.

I get it, and it's cool.

Absolutely.

 

2 hours ago, Herotu said:

What could be special about the Supergroup base then? WHY would you want to share it with others?

I've seen some "your jaw will hit the floor" creations for SG bases, that I'm sure people are just super proud of and want to share.

I mean, if I had even 1/8th of the skill of Bob Ross or some other painters, Damn Straight I'd be putting my work up somewhere where people could ooo and aaah at it.

 

2 hours ago, Herotu said:

What I'm trying to ask is ... do we want something to bring players closer together? 

Answers will no doubt vary.

• in principle, I don't object to additional community tools. 
• Batman may have his Batcave, but he may allow select other people to visit it from time to time. He's probably never going to have a full on Block Party with the GPS coordinates on an invite posted all around Gotham City though.   Similarly, some people will be selective who they want to come visit their SG (just SG members) and others will actually WANT something closer to a block party.
• that said, these days I'm very reluctant to join permanent guilds or associations iwth other players.  I personally am content to just use the community of Help Chat, and General Chat, and my Friends list. 
• I would probably accept a Coalition invite if one is ever sent to me, but whether or not I would eventually withdraw from the Coalition would depend on how the rest of the Coalition acted. 
  • If it was just another chat channel to socialize in, or "hey if anyone has a free moment, could you do XYZ?", I'd be fine with that. 
  • If someone tried to start beating the Raid Drums and kept telling people to come join their iTrial or Hami Raid, I'd exit the coalition and never look back. 

[Chuckers]

A. I like to know I am playing with like minded individuals.
B. I can't base build for spit, so I like to be able to freeload off someone else's amazing work 🙂

[Helium 3]

On 6/1/2020 at 3:57 PM, Greycat said:

I've done this. I doubt I'll do it again. It can turn into another job all together.

 

If I ever did start a public SG, it'd probably be fairly... unled, just kind of having a theme and a social area, but don't depend on me to pick (or make) content. It can be a really thankless job.

You're right it is a very thankless job and in todays game all folks want to do is just run missions and TF's, of course they all want to be part of a active SG but they just don't want to be active in it, I created a good SG on live and in time I will make this one good as well, just takes time to find the right people, but ultimately I think people have just gotten lazy with the Devs (love them I do) making everything just to easy, nobody in the game has to really put any effort into anything, bases are free, you can solo TF's by doing that they have taken one of the mechanics out of the game that had made it one of the best games around, now I am not privy to the plans of the new devs and what they are planning

[Hotjava25]

Can you give non SG Members permission to add and remove items from storage?  

 

Or is  it just limited to using your teleports and trainers, etc. that you have in it?

 

[ImpousVileTerror]

Good effort on using the search tool, Hotjava, though this particular topic probably wasn't the most ideal.   A for effort, all the same.

 

But to answer your questions:   No.   Only characters in the Group roster may have permissions to use a Group's Base storage items, whether they are Inspiration, Enhancement, or Salvage.

 

Empowerment Stations, NPCs, Telepads, Mission Computers, and stuff like that are all available to any visiting guest, though.

[FrauleinMental]

On 6/1/2020 at 6:35 PM, Herotu said:

Do you think this is a modern attitude in old MMOs?

 

A lot of stuff used to get scheduled, and some guilds/supergroups did have quite enhusiastic administrators. 

I'm not sure that happens to the same extent these days, bearing in mind the presence of mobile games and the pick-up-and-put-down, zero attention-span, can't be bothered to read the mission text.....

 

 

Ah twas ever thus, I suppose.

I won't speak for anyone but myself, but here's my particular state of burnout...

 

Even on Live, my SG was just with a small circle of RL friends who barely logged on.  We had a SG, but I was the one who built the base (and contributed the majority of Prestige, on Live).

 

Nowadays, I have enough going on in my life that I don't want to feel the duty to log on at particular times.  That would be work...and I have plenty of work to do in my real life.  I'll log in a couple nights a week to do Hami raids and/or MSR, but I don't do them every night even if I happen to be on.  This is the main reason I've resisted seeking out a more active SG.

[Hotjava25]

2 hours ago, ImpousVileTerror said:

Good effort on using the search tool, Hotjava, though this particular topic probably wasn't the most ideal.   A for effort, all the same.

 

But to answer your questions:   No.   Only characters in the Group roster may have permissions to use a Group's Base storage items, whether they are Inspiration, Enhancement, or Salvage.

 

Empowerment Stations, NPCs, Telepads, Mission Computers, and stuff like that are all available to any visiting guest, though.

Thanks!  Search led me to this thread.  Thanks for your snarky response 😛  It's not that big a deal.

[ImpousVileTerror]

Sorry, it wasn't meant to be snark, but actually genuine.

[MTeague]

49 minutes ago, Hotjava25 said:

Thanks!  Search led me to this thread.  Thanks for your snarky response 😛  It's not that big a deal.

All good in my book.  Threads with posts within the same month are well within the statue of limitations. 

It when you get threads from June 2019 reactivated that I start mentally hearing the Altered Beast introduction

 

 

[Techwright]

On 6/2/2020 at 11:17 AM, Herotu said:

In this new CoH, it seems that the SG is replacing the notion of the Home instance for a lot of players.

 

I take it that by "Home instance", you mean like the garrisons of WoW or the homesteads of Wildstar?   Actually, that's exactly what I'd like to have in game, so yeah, my "supergroup" base is setup up just for all my blue characters on one server, and I'm hoping to add in my best friend soon.

 

That said, and just a pipe dream here, I know it would be a LOT of work, but the comic superhero theme is rampant with the idea of solo, or small team "lairs":  the Batcave, the Fortresses of Solitude (both Superman & Doc Savage), the Skull Cave (Phantom), etc., so having such in-game would be perfect for today's player mindset.  DC Comics' Watchtower would be the supergroup base in comparison.

 

As to Supergroups, maybe take a page from WoW's Ahn'Quiraj?  Just a raw idea here, but supergroups working through massive checklists, but on players' own schedules, nothing forcing them to leave real life, in order to unlock special content (perhaps big chapters in the Coming Storm saga) and special rewards.

 

As I said, a LOT of work, and a pipe dream, but I'm laying it out anyway.