Homecoming's 2nd Anniversary - Echo Plaza, Festivities & The Future

[Jimmy]

Hello everyone!

 

It's now been just over two years since Torchbearer, the very first Homecoming shard, came online, and 17 years to the day since City of Heroes first launched!

 

It's been a very difficult year for all of us, with the pandemic impacting our lives in so many ways. Despite this, we're happy that City of Heroes has been a much-welcomed escape for many of you during this trying time, and we're incredibly proud of how the Homecoming community rallied around our folding@home initiative to aid in vital Coronavirus research. Our F@H team is currently ranked #71 worldwide (out of around 260,000 teams) - well done everyone!

 

Many of us have experienced loss in this past year, including our team. In October, GM_Cyclone - better known on the forum as Robotech_Master - sadly passed away after a hit-and-run accident. Cyclone's main character, Infurno, can now be found in Steel Canyon's library, surrounded by his love of books, and continuing to aid fledgling heroes as they get their career started, just as Cyclone used to both do in-game and on the forums with his extensive catalogue of guides.

 

I'd also like to take a moment to extend an huge thank you to all of our volunteers - both past and present - for their time, patience, and dedication. Without each and every one of you this simply wouldn't be possible. To date, the GM team has answered and resolved over 22,000 support tickets, and they're always just a /petition away if you need anything. We're always recruiting more GMs to help out - if you think you've got what it takes, take a read through this post.

 

The development team has also been hard at work this year, with Page 5 of Issue 26: Homecoming releasing just before the last anniversary, Page 1 of Issue 27: Second Chances releasing in November, and Page 2 releasing just last week. And we're not stopping there...

 

Introducing Echo Plaza

Echo Plaza is a brand new zone that's built from the ground up for hosting events!

 

Along with a giant costume contest-friendly square, Echo Plaza also features a winners podium, an Icon store for making last-minute costume changes, a power-suppressing prison for dastardly players who leave Steamy Mist running, and a hospital for... reasons.

 

Echo Plaza is easily accessible from Pocket D, meaning all characters - including Praetorians - can access it and join in with future events. During official Homecoming events (and the entire month of May), Echo Plaza will also be accessible via TUNNEL portals and by using the Long Range Teleporter power.

 

 

In the vast emptiness of the Shadow Shard, there is a peculiar cluster of debris; discarded attempts at remaking things the Ravager has seen in all the dimensions that he has consumed. One of Rularuu's aspects, Uuralur the Mirror, has organized some of the larger pieces into an area called the Garden of Memories, either out of remorse or for amusement, and populated it with Reflections from the original inhabitants. Not all of these testaments to extinguished life saw use in Uuralur's Garden; some of them were cast off even further into the cold Outer Reaches of the Shard.

 

 

One of these disowned pieces is a large Roman-style Colosseum, considered unworthy of Uraluur's vision. First discovered by the Shadow Shard Expeditionary Force under the leadership of Justin Augustine, it has no activity from the various Soldiers of Rularuu; mostly due to its remote location, but also because the Ravager would rather forget the memories tied to this place. Considered a brief respite during the long expedition, it was filed away in Justin's report as a potential location for Mole Point Echo and never visited again.

 

 

That is, until nearing the occasion of Paragon City's 198th anniversary, when a former member of the Shadow Shard Expeditionary Force was enjoying a few pints in Pocket D and described the place in detail, mentioning the bizarre clash of pieces from different dimensions. After an hour of raucous argument, other patrons and management came to the same conclusion: nothing would come of this until someone "put up or shut up". With the wild stories from the inebriated soldier fresh in everyone's minds, patrons politely asked DJ Zero to open a passage to it, if it could be done. After promising that they would "party hard" and leave their conflicts and troubles at the door, DJ Zero agreed to locate it and open a gateway. It is unclear how long the traffic into this corner of the Shadow Shard will be tolerated by Rularuu, but until then, Echo Plaza is open for business.

 

 

Anniversary Costume Contest

Speaking of events, we will be hosting an Anniversary Costume Contest on the 15th of May. It'll take place at 9pm UTC (click for your timezone) in Echo Plaza on all five shards. There's no specific theme this time - bring your best overall costume!

 

There's huge prize pool available, including a total of 50,000 Reward Merits and 100 Super Packs:

• The overall winner will receive:
  • 10,000 Reward Merits
  • 20 Heroes vs. Villains Super Packs
  • A permanent golden title and the Fashion Victim badge
• The winner on each shard will receive:
  • 5,000 Reward Merits
  • 5 Heroes vs. Villains Super Packs
  • A permanent golden title and the Fashion Victim badge
• And the four runners up on each shard will receive:
  • 1,000 Reward Merits
  • 3 Heroes vs. Villains Super Packs
  • A permanent golden title and the Fashion Victim badge

Be sure to stick around after the contest ends... you may get to make use of that new hospital!

 

17th Anniversary Badge: Legendary

Legendary has been chosen by you as the title for the 17th anniversary badge. Any character that logs in between now and the end of May will automatically receive the badge and 5 charges of the Experienced temporary power.

 

Legendary

 

Additionally, all previous anniversary badges are also available to purchase from Luna in Ouroboros for 100 Reward Merits each until the end of May.

 

 

Invasion!

As you may have already noticed, the Rikti are invading once again!

 

They'll be here for a couple of weeks, and will disappear during server maintenance on Tuesday the 11th of May. Be sure to collect your badges (and debt) before then!

 

 

The Future

And what's next for Homecoming? Well... here's a sneak peak of a few things we've got in the works...

 

 

 

 

 

And that's not all - there's plenty more that we're not quite ready to show off just yet.

 

Remember, we're always in need of help testing these updates. Specifically the thing that helps us the most is well-documented bug reports and feedback based on thorough testing on the beta server. The more of that you're able to give us, the faster and smoother our development process will be - which translates to more updates with fewer bugs! Check out the Homecoming Beta FAQ to get started.

 

This has been an incredible journey so far, and we are truly humbled by all the support you've given us over the past two years. Thank you.

 

That's all for today. We'll see you in-game.

 

- The Homecoming Team

 

[TemporalVileTerror]

I realize I may overuse this image, but it's quite apt to my reaction when I saw Dr. Aeon there at the end . . . 

[Gadzookery]

Stupid Sexy Dr. Aeon

[luficia]

4 minutes ago, TemporalVileTerror said:

I realize I may overuse this image, but it's quite apt to my reaction when I saw Dr. Aeon there at the end . . . 

 

You aren't the only one.

First thought was "Man Dr. Aeon is trying to seduce me."

[GM Impervium]

He just wants to be painted like one of your French girls. His TF involves gathering paint, brushes, and a canvas. Oh, and sinking a giant luxury liner.

...You ARE a villain, after all!

Edited April 28, 2021 by GM Impervium

[Nerio72]

Ooooo...I thought he was hammered 😎

[GM Impervium]

Edit: This is now resolved. Thank you for your patience!

 

IMPORTANT NOTE!

Please do NOT use LRTP to access Echo Plaza at this time! The entry point is currently bugged. Use Pocket D or TUNNEL instead!

We'll fix this soon, though!

[Placta]

7 hours ago, Jimmy said:

Invasion!

 

As you may have already noticed, the Rikti are invading once again!

 

They'll be here for a couple of weeks, and will disappear during server maintenance on Tuesday the 11th of May. Be sure to collect your badges (and debt) before then!

 

And then they'll be back the next week because the LGTF is one of the WSTs.

[ZorkNemesis]

If Echo Plaza is in the Shadow Shard, why is there falling damage?

[SkyeSharpe]

As a kenophobe who is deeply terrified by the Shadow Shard and everything about it, I guess I'm not going to be attending any CCs from here on out.

[Faultline]

2 hours ago, GM Impervium said:

IMPORTANT NOTE!

Please do NOT use LRTP to access Echo Plaza at this time! The entry point is currently bugged. Use Pocket D or TUNNEL instead!

We'll fix this soon, though!

 

This has been fixed now, LRT should now work fine.

[Tacheyon]

11 minutes ago, SkyeSharpe said:

As a kenophobe who is deeply terrified by the Shadow Shard and everything about it, I guess I'm not going to be attending any CCs from here on out.

 

When you port in you are in the Colosseum and can't see around the walls.  Just don't look straight up and you should be fine.

[Glacier Peak]

Love the work, keep at it team!

[ZorkNemesis]

I apologize, I already broke your new zone.  I found a hole in the center island big enough to teleport through.

 

[Glacier Peak]

Just now, ZorkNemesis said:

I apologize, I already broke your new zone.  I found a hole in the center island big enough to teleport through.

 

Can you pm the /loc coordinates to one of the GMs or devs?

[Roland RedSky]

Aeon trying the old "You can't kill me, I'm too SEXY to die!" act, apparently.

[VulnaviaPhibes]

Oh my god... are those new warriors mobs... is that nemesis' pandora lab all busted up....

...

...

Is the illuminati coming back?

[Sakura Tenshi]

You know what the Echo shard could also be used for? Giant Monster summoning parties. just like, a @#$% load of people fighting against a dozen giant monsters at once.

[ZorkNemesis]

1 minute ago, Sakura Tenshi said:

You know what the Echo shard could also be used for? Giant Monster summoning parties. just like, a @#$% load of people fighting against a dozen giant monsters at once.

 

Well, there is a hospital, for reasons.

[Zepp]

1 hour ago, VulnaviaPhibes said:

Oh my god... are those new warriors mobs... is that nemesis' pandora lab all busted up....

...

...

Is the illuminati coming back?

[Tater Todd]

9 hours ago, Jimmy said:

 

 

 

👀

[Clave Dark 5]

5 hours ago, GM Impervium said:

He just wants to be painted like one of your French girls. His TF involves gathering paint, brushes, and a canvas. Oh, and sinking a giant luxury liner.

...You ARE a villain, after all!

I am so there for that.  Sexy Dr. Aeon can sign me up any time!

[ZorkNemesis]

So i'm actually a little curious.  What's up with that chappel-looking building in the northeast corner of Echo Plaza?  I couldn't find a way in but it looks like a nice little lounge area to kick back in.

[starro]

Dr Aeon --- behave!

[Alchemystic]

 

Could it be? Have my prayers finally been answered?!

EARTH BLAST?!