Will we ever see the new things that Cake is getting?

[Soloshot360]

First and foremost, I love the homecoming team, its servers and most of all its player community!  That being said, I am a little jealous of the things being brewed up on We Have Cake.  I don't see a lot of new content being discussed on these servers, but I'm assuming that some things must be in the works.  The Incarnate slots opened through Omega, the new character classes like Freakshow, Shield Fighting and Patron all look very interesting to me.  Does the Homecoming team have anything this brazenly new in the works?  Just curious about what we are doing here for the long term growth of the community.  Thanks!

[Leogunner]

I was actually curious if the various teams ever collab about changes. Maybe offer up content that one team has worked on to another team or test certain changes and share the data. 

[Ruin Mage]

Different cores/codes.
HC is specialized, where as WHC and others are i24

[Jaguaratron]

6 minutes ago, Leogunner said:

I was actually curious if the various teams ever collab about changes. Maybe offer up content that one team has worked on to another team or test certain changes and share the data. 

Will always end in disaster, opinions will differ and egos will clash while value of contribution will be opinionative and quality of work will differ.

 

[Abraxus]

Nobody here can speak for what the Devs have in mind for the future of HC.  However, we know that they have been concentrating on two main things for the past few months.  Getting folks weaned off the safe mode client, and over to the 64-bit, which has been (and continues to be) a lot of work.  They are also working behind the scenes on their negotiations with NCSoft for legitimacy.  I'm sure there is a lot that they'd like to do that is contingent on the successful out come of that process.  Both of these are unique to Homecoming, as is the fact they they are running the I25/26 code, while everyone else went with I24.  So, their development tract will inevitably be different from the rest.  Some of those things could come our way at some point, though perhaps not in the same order, or priority. 

 

What I do know is that Homecoming is working on the long-term viability of CoH as a presence in the gaming world, as well as the future-proofing of the code, and the client.  So, while they might not be doing the sexy stuff that other servers who are not concentrating on the same goals, they are playing the long game, rather than the short-term.  They have done some mission works, some AT stuff, some new power pool, and some tuning of powers.  I think that, in addition to everything else they are doing is a lot for a group of all volunteer developers, who do this for love of the game, rather than reward.

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by Abraxus

[Lazarillo]

15 minutes ago, Shadeknight said:

HC is specialized, where as WHC and others are i24

Cake, for what it's work, uses the same base that HC does, AFAIK.  The other two main communities did stick to the i24 code, though.

Of course, as development is done on both, that base may have sufficiently separated anyway.

 

That all said, I think the HC folks have said in the past they're trying to avoid following the leads of some of the other communities, just because of the degree to which having them stir up drama of being "ripped off" or the like isn't worth it when there are other things they could do as well (and I don't blame them for not wanting to put themselves into that, frankly).  That isn't to say HC can't/won't fill in from some of the incomplete stuff that's still hiding about the way the other servers did (like with Force of Will); it's not unthinkable stuff like Wind Control and the like might be completed.  But I don't think we're going to see things carried over part and parcel, even from Cake, which uses the same code base.

[Soloshot360]

All very interesting.  I don't know the cake people, or play on cake so I am only basing my envy on a couple youtube videos that have cropped up.  I think HC is the best long term community and the most legitimate.  Cake looks like a bunch of fans doing fan things, and where that might be fun, I don't know if it is actually viable long term.  I guess more than anything, I would just like to see the people running HC come down from the clouds and say "YES, WE WILL MAKE THE SEXY HAPPEN TOO...."  

[Abraxus]

Probably hard for them to make specific promises, or commitments before the negotiations are completed.  I have no doubt they WANT to do the sexy stuff.  But, these things require the roadblocks to be cleared before they can talk about them, let alone get our hopes up about them. 

[Shred Monkey]

The very idea of comparing/contrasting two different versions of this game gives me an instant headache.  Seriously, nothing good can come from this.  

[NNDeepdish]

10 minutes ago, Soloshot360 said:

All very interesting.  I don't know the cake people, or play on cake so I am only basing my envy on a couple youtube videos that have cropped up.  I think HC is the best long term community and the most legitimate.  Cake looks like a bunch of fans doing fan things, and where that might be fun, I don't know if it is actually viable long term.  I guess more than anything, I would just like to see the people running HC come down from the clouds and say "YES, WE WILL MAKE THE SEXY HAPPEN TOO...."  

Were they to do so, that's opening up a can of worms that I would never want to deal with, especially with this community. Threads complaining about "lack of content" for a game they didn't even make are bad enough already.

 

Can you imagine making a promise of things to come and not being able to deliver? This community would absolutely implode. 

 

The HC team is doing exactly what I would be doing were I part of the team. Homecoming is a preservation of City of Heroes (with some cool enhancements thrown in), that's how I'd present it and that's what I'd always adhere to.

Maybe we're working on some surprises (illusion MM pet character clones), maybe we're working on stability. We're doing our best. Anything you get is icing on the cake.

[Leogunner]

So if their goal is legitimacy, once achieved, does that end up making the other shards illegitimate? 

[quixoteprog]

2 minutes ago, Leogunner said:

So if their goal is legitimacy, once achieved, does that end up making the other shards illegitimate? 

It could I suppose. I am thinking what will happen is that NCSoft will insist on some basic promises of good behavior in exchange for not getting sued out of existence. Things like:

 

1. Promise not to allow copy-written characters, that would get NCSoft sued in tern for allowing people to use their code to infringe.

2. No porn/racist/violent/fetish related content. They want to offer family friendly games and being associated with some inflammatory content of any sort, even indirectly would make NCSoft made.

 

So, whatever the final agreement looks like anyone will probably be allowed to signs on to the full package of restrictions, and do whatever they want, within those restriction, whatever they may be. Mainly because I don't see a non-profit like Homecoming having the resources to go after other private bootleg servers and the whole reason why NCSoft is not already suing Homecoming and everyone else is likely because they don't relish the idea either. Not to protect software they abandoned 7+years ago.

 

That will happen only if it becomes a threat to their current bottom line.

[Blackfeather]

20 minutes ago, Leogunner said:

So if their goal is legitimacy, once achieved, does that end up making the other shards illegitimate? 

I think 'shard' refers to the different game servers within a specific group (e.g. Homecoming shards of Excelsior, Torchbearer, etc.), while 'servers' refer to different communities where you can play the game.

 

With that out of the way...I guess that means all of the servers are at this point in a "not quite legitimate" state in the first place? Hence Homecoming trying to get out of that state, I suppose.

[golstat2003]

6 minutes ago, Blackfeather said:

I think 'shard' refers to the different game servers within a specific group (e.g. Homecoming shards of Excelsior, Torchbearer, etc.), while 'servers' refer to different communities where you can play the game.

 

With that out of the way...I guess that means all of the servers are at this point in a "not quite legitimate" state in the first place? Hence Homecoming trying to get out of that state, I suppose.

Well yeah, that part is kind of obvious. NCSoft never authorized anyone to run COH. So anyone running one is not legitimate.

 

EDIT: With that said I'm glad the code got out there and if any of the servers go down (including HC) the COH bottle is out in the wild. Maybe not a version that has things like customizable PA, but definitely a version that folks can run themselves. Ultimately the best thing would be if the negotiations go well and some legitimacy happens. Which is why I like the approach that HC is taking.

Edited February 6, 2020 by golstat2003

[Rathulfr]

The other COH server hosts are much smaller communities with different developers that have different priorities.  It seems to me that the other hosts are focused on attracting attention by making more obvious, more visual, changes.  The HC team seems to be focused on making changes that are more fundamental (64-bit client) or more subtle (tweaking AT/powers), which aren't as "sexy" (to borrow someone else's euphemism).  The former seems to be looking for short-term gains in population, while the latter seems to be looking for long-term gains in stability.

 

[Abraxus]

17 minutes ago, Rathulfr said:

The other COH server hosts are much smaller communities with different developers that have different priorities.  It seems to me that the other hosts are focused on attracting attention by making more obvious, more visual, changes.  The HC team seems to be focused on making changes that are more fundamental (64-bit client) or more subtle (tweaking AT/powers), which aren't as "sexy" (to borrow someone else's euphemism).  The former seems to be looking for short-term gains in population, while the latter seems to be looking for long-term gains in stability.

 

👆 Yup.  This!

[RubyRed]

I actually prefer the slower pace of homecoming. I'd rather get changes that are incremental, balanced, and thoroughly tested rather than whatever toy looks flashy this week.

[Snarky]

I am kind of salivating iver more incarnate powers (and cake!). 
 

but honestly i am so grateful to the Homecoming team for being the team that is really making an attempt to do it quality and correctly

 

i am all in here. My backup game is WoW. I still am subbed but have not logged in for months. I only went there after CoH shut down. The community there us just about toxic as can be imagined. I solo and think about CoH whenni am there lol. i stay subbed so i have a place to run in case NCsoft goes crazy (again)

 

I am just glad to have my villains heroes and community back. 
 

Thank you Homecoming Team!!!
 

 

[Queen Nefertiti]

36 minutes ago, Snarky said:

I am kind of salivating iver more incarnate powers (and cake!). 
 

but honestly i am so grateful to the Homecoming team for being the team that is really making an attempt to do it quality and correctly

 

i am all in here. My backup game is WoW. I still am subbed but have not logged in for months. I only went there after CoH shut down. The community there us just about toxic as can be imagined. I solo and think about CoH whenni am there lol. i stay subbed so i have a place to run in case NCsoft goes crazy (again)

 

I am just glad to have my villains heroes and community back. 
 

Thank you Homecoming Team!!!
 

 

If you unsubscribe it just means you can't play for now. If you decide to go back then your account is as you left it. Or does WoW work differently to other MMORPGs?

[Haijinx]

46 minutes ago, RubyRed said:

I actually prefer the slower pace of homecoming. I'd rather get changes that are incremental, balanced, and thoroughly tested rather than whatever toy looks flashy this week.

New ATs seem to appeal to some players sense of novelty.

 

So they push them without any sense for how or even if they actually fit into the game.

 

Those players should get over that shit. 

 

 

[Williwaw]

Plus... as far as I can tell, none of them work with Island Rum (and all the other launchers like Tequila and Cream Soda and Sweet Tea and Chocolate Milk and Vodka Straight No Chaser — I may have made some of those up — don't have Mac versions), so Homecoming is the only game that runs on a Mac.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Williwaw

[MunkiLord]

51 minutes ago, Williwaw said:

Plus... as far as I can tell, none of them work with Island Rum (and all the other launchers like Tequila and Cream Soda and Sweet Tea and Chocolate Milk and Vodka Straight No Chaser — I may have made some of those up — don't have Mac versions), so Homecoming is the only game that runs on a Mac.

Gin > Vokda

[MunkiLord]

5 hours ago, Leogunner said:

So if their goal is legitimacy, once achieved, does that end up making the other shards illegitimate? 

I think it will play out one of two ways if a deal is reached. NC Soft will either send a cease and desist to the other servers, or they will mandate accepting whatever terms the HC team agrees to in order to stay open without fear of lawsuit. I could see it easily going either way depending on NC Soft's plans for the IP.

[DougGraves]

5 hours ago, Leogunner said:

So if their goal is legitimacy, once achieved, does that end up making the other shards illegitimate? 

the other shards are illegitimate now.

[RubyRed]

2 hours ago, Haijinx said:

New ATs seem to appeal to some players sense of novelty.

 

So they push them without any sense for how or even if they actually fit into the game.

 

Those players should get over that shit. 

 

 

I don't think anyone needs to "get over it," new things like ATs and power sets and whatever else are certainly exciting and can only help the longevity of the game. I get excited about the possibilities myself! But I would hope that everyone could also realize that the other part of ensuring the game's longevity is not just throwing new things in the mix just because we can, since that could easily disrupt the stability and balance that players want out of a live service game that we hope will run for many more years.