Is the magic still here?

[Blackbird71]

Watch as the AMAZING SPECULATOR pulls numbers right out of THIN AIR!

 

Crap, now I have to go make a character....

 

I'm not sure how serious you are, but I love moments like these when inspiration strikes.  Just the other day, I was listening to the radio while driving home, and Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" came on.  As soon as I got home, I had to make a dual pistols character named "Young Gun."

 

And there is the magic.  The virtually endless possibilities for creativity are at the core of the experience for me, and it's still there. Even more so than during live, if that's possible, as more options are open to all players than ever before.  The last few weeks since discovering Homecoming have been one of the best outlets for my imagination than I've had in a long time.

 

 

[jubakumbi]

Crap, now I have to go make a character....

 

I'm not sure how serious you are, but I love moments like these when inspiration strikes. 

 

Totally.

The Amazing Speculator, a Time/Something/Time prestiditation genius.

[Blackbird71]

Crap, now I have to go make a character....

 

I'm not sure how serious you are, but I love moments like these when inspiration strikes. 

 

Totally.

The Amazing Speculator, a Time/Something/Time prestiditation genius.

 

Can't wait to see it!

[RikOz]

I first discovered this game in 2011, at 45 years old, having played video games since Asteroids. CoX was the game I had been waiting for my whole life. It convinced me to cancel my WoW subscription after about six months of paying for both games.

 

And then the whole thing got yanked out from under me after I'd only gotten to play for a bit more than a year. I was heartbroken, and went sadly back to WoW.

 

When it came back this time, it only took me three days to cancel my WoW sub. I'm where I belong again, and I couldn't be happier.

[Nic Mercy]

If anything there is even MORE magic than before! Base building has evolved into something more epic than it ever was on live, we have new powersets, new AT's, and I hear we even have the ability to add new animations now so some really unique stuff could be forthcoming!

[JnEricsonx]

I dunno, the game is utterly free, and has a ton of stuff that a lot of us never got to work with.  Uh....yes!

[momentarygrace]

I mean let's be real, who doesn't want to be Thanos kicking around the Avengers?

 

Me.  :P

[Branr]

I mean let's be real, who doesn't want to be Thanos kicking around the Avengers?

 

That...doesn’t end well.

[Saikochoro]

The magic is definitely there for me. I’ve always been a gamer, but the last year or two I’ve been kind of burnt out on them. I would think, “maybe I’ll log into GW2” and then I realized I didn’t even want to put the effort into opening up my computer to do so. Or I’d think, “maybe I’ll do a couple rounds on overwatch” and then still not be motivated enough to even open up my computer.  I hadn’t even opened up my computer at all for 3 months straight before my friend told me COH was back.

 

Then my friend texted me a screenshot of homecoming and I didn’t believe it was back. I questioned him like a police detective. Trying to get him to confess that he was lying. That it couldn’t possibly be back. Because in the years since Sundown, every few months I would think “man I wish I could play COH”. Especially in the last couple years. So, I came to the homecoming forums. Created a forum account. Downloaded tequila. Created a game account and waited for the download to complete. All the while believing that this wasn’t really true. Then I launched the game. Made my first new toon. Loaded into Atlas Park and saw something like 20-30 people around Miss Liberty. And I knew it was true. I felt like crying. My eyes watered and I got that lump in my throat. Kind of like when you watch a particularly emotional scene in a movie, but you don’t want to show that it actually affected you.

 

I proceeded to play for 5 hours straight. That’s the first time in years I have done that. Probably the first time since I was a teenager.  I have managed to moderate my play time finally, but find myself wanting to log in every day if I can. At first it was like gasping for air after holding your breath under water. Now it’s more just having fun instead of devouring the game like a starved wolf.

[Sorth_31]

I'm still really enjoying it personally. There are numerous things I never got to try out before it shut down and I'm always up for making new characters just to potter around at lower levels before inevitably finding something else slightly shinier that catches my attention power set wise.

 

Even back on live when totally burned out on the game it was STILL the only game that, no matter my mood, I could just boot up and zone out in. Choose my own activities, set my own pace and either blitz content to relieve stress or just chill out and relax while taking my time. No other game has ever been able to recreate that feeling in me and I'm happy to say it's not diminished over the years.

[WumpusRat]

The moment I booted up CoH and saw the splash page, the login screen, and then character creation, I was home again. City of Heroes was my all-time favorite MMO. Nothing else rivaled it. After it shut down, I've tried out dozens of MMOs, but none of them recaptured the same feeling that CoH had. The same "magic".

 

And now it's back. I get to run, jump, and fly around Paragon City and the Rogue Isles again. And maybe Praetoria, once I get done running all the CoH/CoV arcs a second or third time. Who knows!

 

But for me, it's still enough to captivate me and make me play for hours every day.

[rochrist]

I think we have about as many people now as we can expect to ever have.  I don't think this game has much long-term appeal for new players, the landscape of MMOs has changed a lot and people's expectations have changed.  Nowadays it's all about a pointless run up to max level where the "real" game begins, which is not what CoX is.  CoX is about the journey, so my newer friends who blasted to max level inside a week stopped playing almost immediately afterwards.  Meanwhile, I and my veteran friends are still playing and haven't actually gotten to max level yet.  And even I realize my attitude is different now, either by playing other games in the last 7 years or just plain getting older.

 

Is the magic still there?  Yes, and no.  CoX is just as fun as it used to be, but the players have changed.  Considering a big part of that magic *was* the players, we've lost something that most likely can't be replaced.

 

I disagree. If the modern MMO aesthetic is so compelling, why do almost all of them fail so miserably?

 

What CoX does right that the others have forgotten how to do is allow players to HAVE FUN.

[WumpusRat]

I disagree. If the modern MMO aesthetic is so compelling, why do almost all of them fail so miserably?

 

What CoX does right that the others have forgotten how to do is allow players to HAVE FUN.

 

I think one of the problems with most "modern" MMOs is also that too many of them fall into the trap of "quest hub syndrome". In CoX, you don't have quest hubs. You have individual contacts, that give you missions to go on, and most of them have at least one story arc, if not two, rather than just a bunch of "busy work" missions. In most MMOs, you go to a new town/village/roadside flophouse, grab the 4-5 quests that are there, usually not bothering to really read the quest dialogue (because most of it is incredibly trite and pointless anyway), then go out and do the quest, usually to "kill 5 X" or "retrieve my lucky chicken from bandits" or something similar. You come back, you get your reward, and you move on. Nothing changes. Hell, most of the time the NPCs don't even recognize you if you come back later. Just "Hi there traveler, I don't have any quests for you" if they say anything at all.

 

I like the contacts in CoX because they all have their own story. A doctor trying to find out where an illness is coming from, and it turns out it's a curse caused by a bunch of Circle mages. A cop trying to put an end to Superadine. A newbie hero group that you join up, have a couple of missions with, and then things fall apart and they go their own way. That sort of thing. It makes going on missions interesting.

 

Which is much more fun.

[_NOPE_]

Is the magic still here?

Yes.

[DSorrow]

IMO, the magic is still definitely there. I've only tried a couple of MMOs since CoX was shut down and all of them failed to grasp me for a multitude of reasons including: playing the fantasy hobo until you get your matching sets at end game, endless busywork collecting squirrel tails for your quest givers, the insane grind required to buy gear and cover repair/travel costs, the huge time commitments required to do end game stuff, endless frustration with RNG...

 

CoX is the only MMO where I'm completely free to do things at my pace and that's what I love most about it. Some weeks I'm really busy or don't feel like playing games, but I don't feel like I'm missing out on progress because I couldn't complete my X weekly things that are the only source of progress. Other weeks I'm totally hyped about a new / maxed out character and spend hours leveling up / doing end-game content. An additional thing I really like about CoX is that every type of content gets you progress at any level: even on a busy week doing a couple of regular missions on my lvl 50 gets me some influence that can eventually be converted into the purple IO I want, whereas on other games if I don't have time to commit for the weekly reset activities, there won't be any progress at all towards anything.

 

Besides those, I like being able to play any type of character I want. Sometimes I want to be a mage, other times I want to be Superman and sometimes I just want to be an undead janitor who commands an army of military grade roombas. In general, CoX is just a very relaxing game to play because most of the content doesn't press you to perform optimally because putting in only 95% isn't enough. Yet, if I do want to challenge myself to the max I can attempt to build characters who are able to solo silly stuff like the ITF or something similar, but it's an important distinction that I'm not required to do that in any of the normal content.

[craggy]

I feel the magic. I hear the roar. Raar. I don't know that I can add much more than others have said but yeah, I'm loving the homecoming on Homecoming. I've played other MMOs before, and since, CoH but none have had the freedom, or given me thee enjoyment of this. Few games in general fill me with such fond memories and playing these past few weeks it still holds up.

 

There have been a lot of times since the official closure where I dreamed of logging on and playing again. Treading old familiar ground again or going off the beaten path and exploring something new to me in the most welcoming, and enjoyable game I can think of. I've created a few alts (and honestly the character creation is one of the best bits of this game, which is not saying it lightly) and got my old main back on the road (think I'm about 20 now) and it's just a great time I'm having.

 

Thanks to everyone involved in bringing back a game I love.

[WanderingAries]

Yeah, I think for now we're mellowing out around the 8k mark, but as time rolls on and some of the spawn of classic CoX players enter their intro to gaming I think we'll start to see a gradual uptick. Part of the issue is that many of us have the sad reality of adulating and the simple fact that other games (my poor, abused consoles) exist.

[Healix]

What are these 'other games' you speak of? There are games other than THIS ONE?? *giggles and runs away*

[VanCorp]

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.

[WanderingAries]

Crap, now I have to go make a character....

I'm not sure how serious you are, but ...

 

Yeah, often an alt comes out of the randomness that is chat or when a new AT/Power is introduced.

[WanderingAries]

I mean let's be real, who doesn't want to be Thanos kicking around the Avengers?

That...doesn’t end well.

 

Well ACTUALLY it Did all but in one path. Just ask keeper of the Time Stone ;)

[arcanaville]

I mean let's be real, who doesn't want to be Thanos kicking around the Avengers?

That...doesn’t end well.

 

Well ACTUALLY it Did all but in one path. Just ask keeper of the Time Stone ;)

 

 

Just one.  But because of him, also the only one.

[Zep]

The magic is still there.

 

So is the Science, Mutation, Technology and Natural fun too.

[EggKookoo]

The magic is still there.

 

So is the Science, Mutation, Technology and Natural fun too.

 

As the cool kids say: +1

[Burnt Toast]

CoH is about the journey.... to you.. not everyone. I played from start to sunset with two accounts... always been about the end game with me. I have 9 50's already... most of my friends have 2-6. We play for the end game. I've done the stories and all that jazz many times over - it has absolutely no appeal to me. We focus on accolades, badges, itrials, etc... not "the journey."

 

I think we have about as many people now as we can expect to ever have.  I don't think this game has much long-term appeal for new players, the landscape of MMOs has changed a lot and people's expectations have changed.  Nowadays it's all about a pointless run up to max level where the "real" game begins, which is not what CoX is.  CoX is about the journey, so my newer friends who blasted to max level inside a week stopped playing almost immediately afterwards.  Meanwhile, I and my veteran friends are still playing and haven't actually gotten to max level yet.  And even I realize my attitude is different now, either by playing other games in the last 7 years or just plain getting older.

 

Is the magic still there?  Yes, and no.  CoX is just as fun as it used to be, but the players have changed.  Considering a big part of that magic *was* the players, we've lost something that most likely can't be replaced.