NCSOFT & Homecoming License Announcement

[Doc_Scorpion]

9 minutes ago, retiarius said:

I think that to some degree, the collar has always been there - it's just a question of who is holding the other end of the leash.

Not really.  The collar has always been there, and NCSoft has always held the other end of the leash.

[Ulysses Dare]

1 hour ago, Jordan_Lee said:

 

What about from that underground server? I remember someone had a copy of accounts and toons, and if you had access to that server you could get them back. I've remade most of my favorite toons but I would still love to see all those old characters again.

Supposedly that data was either erased or turned over to NCsoft as a sacrifice to keep them from coming after SCoRe once word got out.

[Hyperstrike]

1 hour ago, Jordan_Lee said:

 

What about from that underground server? I remember someone had a copy of accounts and toons, and if you had access to that server you could get them back. I've remade most of my favorite toons but I would still love to see all those old characters again.

That stuff was purged back in 2019 as a goodwill measure for NCSoft.  To set the stage for HC's existence.

It doesn't exist anymore.

Sorry.

[gabrilend]

1 hour ago, Doc_Scorpion said:

Not really.  The collar has always been there, and NCSoft has always held the other end of the leash.

 

If it was open source, then we could hold our own leashes.

[Conviction]

On 1/5/2024 at 5:05 PM, nyhm said:

 

Wait, I'm currently running the Island Rum launcher for MAC. Is this the third party version or Tequila? I know nothing about these sort of things...

Island Rum's future itself is TBD. But, we will still support MAC regardless.

[Radionuclide]

18 hours ago, Vanex said:

uhm, if they can shut it down...they already did when was still profitable...they can do (sooner o later)

and now allow it for free? there's for sure a catch (or multiple),

especially since in their quarterly reports...sales are declining

let's hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

 

Except they neither gain nor lose anything by licensing it for free. They aren't paying for the servers, they aren't paying for developers, community managers, support staff, etc to support the game. They don't really have any financial incentive to shut down Homecoming even with declining sales unless they think that the game would generate enough profit so as to change that for their investment in all of the above, for let's be honest a niche, (almost) 20-year-old game. Could they shut it down? Yep, they own the IP. Will they shut it down? At least not in the immediate short term unless Homecoming messes something up and breaks the license terms. Longer than that, say at the end of the terms of the agreement, we don't know there. Hopefully, they just renew the terms for another period (however long that may be) because there is still really nothing to lose or gain by doing so.

Edited January 7 by Radionuclide
typos

[Garymathers]

42 minutes ago, Conviction said:

Island Rum's future itself is TBD. But, we will still support MAC regardless.

Much appreciated!

[Skyhawke]

On 1/5/2024 at 10:51 AM, Jimmy said:

We couldn't agree on how to best nerf Regen.

 

 

The answer is "Yes". Duh.

 

Also, what if this is all a Nemesis plot? What if it isn't? But...but...if it isn't, that usually means it is, but that's totally what Nemesis wants you to think, but he always plays 8th dimensional chess, but yes, pineapple on pizza is gross. Whew. Brought it back to sanity-land.

[Neogumbercules]

11 hours ago, gabrilend said:

 

If it was open source, then we could hold our own leashes.

Don't threaten me with a good time.

[Jordan_Lee]

13 hours ago, Ulysses Dare said:

Supposedly that data was either erased or turned over to NCsoft as a sacrifice to keep them from coming after SCoRe once word got out.

 

12 hours ago, Hyperstrike said:

That stuff was purged back in 2019 as a goodwill measure for NCSoft.  To set the stage for HC's existence.

It doesn't exist anymore.

Sorry.

 

Thank you, I didn't know that. Bummer 😞 Would have loved to gone through them once again.

[OmegaOne]

13 hours ago, gabrilend said:

 

If it was open source, then we could hold our own leashes.

No - NCSoft still has the leash as they are the IP Holder. You would still be living by their good graces.

 

You may be envisioning a world where CoX servers keep popping up like weeds (despite the technical and financial difficulties), and if they are feeling like it NCSoft can play whack-a-mole with the servers. But that situation is not good for the players of an MMO either. No permanence, no progression, no community - all vital for an MMO. Even if the populations are kept small and server kept secret (like 2012 to 2019), you don't have the "massive multiplayer" of the game, just a wilted, sickly plant kept in the darkness.

Edited January 7 by OmegaOne

[Ladienyte]

My husband and I started playing CoH/CoV in 2004 and were there when it went dark. Last night, we remade two of our favorite duos and played until the wee hours of the morning. Our oldest son (now 23), who was 3 when we started playing, and a group of his friends (all new to CoH) joined us in game. What an awesome experience! I quit playing MMORPGs when CoH went dark, so this is extra special for me (and my husband, who is thrilled to have me back in a game)!

 

HUGE Congratulations! Thank you, HC, for keeping the game alive on behalf of those of us to whom it has meant so much!

[Grouchybeast]

Wow, awesome news!  Gratz on finally getting the reward for all your patience and hard work on HC.

[Chance Jackson]

That is incredible, really stellar 

[Yuro]

On 1/5/2024 at 10:30 PM, Mythus54 said:

Yeah, I read the FAQ. That doesn't answer my question. "Our hope is they will consolidate" and "We're the only officially licensed server" is all that's said. 

That doesn't say what happens to other servers. Are the Homecoming team now legally obligated to report any other servers they know about to NC Soft? Can Homecoming issue a C&D on behalf of NC Soft? These are things we do not know. 

They said a bit more on this to MasssivelyOP a couple days ago.  See https://massivelyop.com/2024/01/05/city-of-heroes-homecoming-talks-funding-the-city-council-and-the-impending-content-drop/.

 

Specifically,

 

Quote

Which servers will be included in the City Council? Which won’t? Will servers not part of the Council be at risk? (There’s considerable panic going on in some of the rogue server Discords that NCsoft is going to crack down on anyone who doesn’t toe the line on this. Folks are really concerned about the “consolidate our userbase” line.)

Homecoming, Victory and Paragon will be part of the City Council. When we talk about consolidating, we’re just talking about those servers.

Will any of the City Council servers be brought under the Homecoming umbrella/launcher?

That’s the plan, yes. It will take some time as it’s not a simple process 🙂

 

Edited January 7 by Yuro

[Glacier Peak]

@Homecoming @City Council [that should @ all the members of the City Council in my opinion!]

 

Are you, or perhaps can you, put together a list of all of the news articles or announcements in media or entertainment publications that wrote about this announcement? If that is too much trouble, perhaps some of the bigger publications? I'd love to read some interview questions from some gaming publications and the City Council's responses.

 

Thanks!

[PeregrineFalcon]

20 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

Are you, or perhaps can you, put together a list of all of the news articles or announcements in media or entertainment publications that wrote about this announcement?

Type "City of Heroes license" into Google and read the articles. Don't you think that the Circle of Twelve has more important things to do than to post the results of a simple Google search for you?

 

I don't mean to be a jerk, but do you not have Google in your country?

[Glacier Peak]

9 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

Type "City of Heroes license" into Google and read the articles. Don't you think that the Circle of Twelve has more important things to do than to post the results of a simple Google search for you?

 

I don't mean to be a jerk, but do you not have Google in your country?

I figured they'd know what publications they gave interviews to. Wouldn't that be something you'd want to share if you just announced something major or exciting?

[Cipher]

1 hour ago, Glacier Peak said:

I figured they'd know what publications they gave interviews to. Wouldn't that be something you'd want to share if you just announced something major or exciting?

 

The only one to ask for comment from us directly was MassivelyOP.

[Troo]

On 1/5/2024 at 7:51 AM, Jimmy said:

On 1/4/2024 at 12:35 PM, Snarky said:

But seriously….what took so long?

 

We couldn't agree on how to best nerf Regen.

 

so harsh

 

[Troo]

okay, that does dull the pain and takes some of the sting away.

[Nostromo21]

10 hours ago, OmegaOne said:

No - NCSoft still has the leash as they are the IP Holder. You would still be living by their good graces.

 

Yes and no. If they floated it into the Public Domain (not just made it Open Source), a fine distinction as it is, it would then be completely leash-less for all to use and enjoy as they please, possibly just with the one caveat of 'not for commercial profit'.

[lemming]

57 minutes ago, Nostromo21 said:

Yes and no. If they floated it into the Public Domain (not just made it Open Source), a fine distinction as it is, it would then be completely leash-less for all to use and enjoy as they please, possibly just with the one caveat of 'not for commercial profit'.

Just because you have the source code, doesn't mean you can say it's Open Source and voila, it's open source.  The original owner still has that decision.   It's a bit more complicated with code added onto a closed project and that is probably somewhere in the discussion with the legal stuff.

 

There's a bunch of other stuff, but even when a company is willing to release something legally into Open Source, there's a few extra steps.

[Nostromo21]

30 minutes ago, lemming said:

Just because you have the source code, doesn't mean you can say it's Open Source and voila, it's open source.  The original owner still has that decision.   It's a bit more complicated with code added onto a closed project and that is probably somewhere in the discussion with the legal stuff.

 

There's a bunch of other stuff, but even when a company is willing to release something legally into Open Source, there's a few extra steps.

 

I've been in IT for almost 40 years. Ask me what I don't know about OS and PD usage and rights ;).

[Bionic_Flea]

25 minutes ago, Nostromo21 said:

Ask me what I don't know

 

Do you know what's in the agreement between NCSoft and Homecoming?   Safe guess is that you don't regardless of all your years of experience.