Port Characters from the Original Game?

[CalvinistDadfly]

I cannot believe that CoH is back online.  Impossibly great to find it.

 

Is it possible to port in my character builds from the original game?  I have a handful of Incarnate characters that I spent way too much time building and I would love to get them back (the easy way). ;-)

[Lunar Ronin]

Nope.  You have to start over from scratch like everyone else, but it's fairly quick and easy these days.

[Sovera]

10 minutes ago, CalvinistDadfly said:

I cannot believe that CoH is back online.  Impossibly great to find it.

 

Is it possible to port in my character builds from the original game?  I have a handful of Incarnate characters that I spent way too much time building and I would love to get them back (the easy way). 😉

 

Welcome back!

 

You can't, but, there's double XP and a solid economy where no one needs to spend a billion for a single enhancement. Even taking it easy in two weeks you can be fully geared with incarnates and all.

 

Check the guide in my signature for stuff you might find use.

[Haijinx]

NCsoft did not bring the game back. 

 

So no.

[lemming]

The data from live is lost to us.   (For a bunch of reasons)

 

However, it's is much easier to build up the characters than it was on live.  Biggest thing would be badges to redo, but they're all attainable over a course of a year (pesky event badges, but you are here in time for the anniversary ones...)

[Greycat]

If you have character *builds* (like mids files,) you can probably use them as a guide - not sure how much the current Mids would like the old file versions.

 

But as others have said. Characters themselves? No.

[Biff Pow]

The good news is I doubt anyone has taken the name Calvinist Dadfly.

[Sanguinesun]

7 hours ago, CalvinistDadfly said:

I cannot believe that CoH is back online.  Impossibly great to find it.

 

Is it possible to port in my character builds from the original game?  I have a handful of Incarnate characters that I spent way too much time building and I would love to get them back (the easy way). 😉

 

Welcome back.  Few things then to consider/understand.

 

1. Home Coming servers are not the original live servers. Over the years since live went dark, HC has modified, changed, added many things.  To that end, it is best to consider that its in some ways a new game so that you do not get hung up on the "but thats not what it was on live" potential frustrations or disappointments.  Then again you may find all such changes and additions pleasing to you as well.  But the point is, just consider yourself learning things anew.

 

2. HC servers do not have access to the original server databases that would've stored your live character.  Originally HC was from a clandestined(if you will), rogue server code that was then for years not public and played by a select set of people only; and then years ago, it went public.   You're going to essentially, as others pointed out,  have to recreate your original characters as best as can be from memory and with the changes/additions that HC has.

 

Not to worry though(as again others pointed out).  The Live slog of leveling a character doesnt exist on HC. You can in effect get a toon to 50 in a matter of hours, days or a couple of weeks depending on: 

 

-Solo, group, pleveling(as people do this too still) etc forms of play.

-Using exp boosters that can go up to double exp of the base rate of the server(which is also faster base rate than live was).

-Playing on one of the low population servers that have also an inherent double exp rate (thus with boosters stacked is even faster).

- And other variables.

 

In other words, its currently very casual/relaxed, easy to level toons.

 

3. Your next concern then may be also earning influence in order to support kit'ing out fully any toon with sets and more.  Methods to earn influence easily even from level 1 exist; and once 50, any toon doing content even below level 50 earns at 50 level influence and incarnate rewards. 

 

4.  You'll eventually come to find that unless you're someone seeking to play HC's hardcore mode 4 star task forces or similar content, most level something to 50 with gen pop invention origin enhancers(not sets) and then play casually the same 1-50 content.... and/or some post 50 content just with those IO's and do not even bother with fully incarnating or set slotting. This is because the content allows for people to choose to enjoy at such a casual pace. People have pages and pages of 50's that they even just enjoy the climb to 50 then park a toon at 50 to make a new one with different powers and play.

 

Remember that the slog to level and incarnate was artificially and intentionally slow on live servers so that you paid to keep your subscription going to play.  That doesnt exist anymore obviously.

 

However again if you're intent on incarnates, playing the more challenging post 50 content and just sticking with a few toons in such a manner, it too is not a slog per what was already mentioned.

 

5. You may remember patrol exp and day jobs.  Finding explorer badges on a toon now earns explorer exp vs the flat exp from live. In essence, this means more overall exp as time goes on and if you choose to stagger hunting exploration badges as you get into the later levels.

 

6. In relation to point 5, this month you also get a 5 uses half a level of patrol exp per use temp power for just simply logging in for the month on a toon.  Best uses of this are to either use them in your last 5 levels of climb to 50 OR post 50 while trying to earn incarnate levels.

 

7.  Upon hitting 50 on HC and training your toon to be 50, you can start earning incarnate exp to unlock your slots and arent required to hit the incarnate starter mission for it. Again the incarnate exp and resources can be earned doing any content at any level even if you're exemplared down as well.

 

8.  Familiarize yourself with the START vendor and all its free powers, enhancers, and other items(you can purchase later if you choose) which can help you with your climb to 50 or post 50 with some of those items. Also this vendor is the one where you get your exp boosters from too(free).

 

9. Grab the mids reborn hero planner from the subforum section here to not only help you plan toons but also familiarize yourself with some of the details and changes that exist for characters.  Additionally too of course read the different AT and related subforums here for info in a similar regard.

 

10. While pvp is very niche on servers for the most part(ie really not many bother), you can make instant 50's for the pvp zone access only.   Additionally, the beta testing server allows you to make instant 50's and actually fully kit them out for free with all the best enhancers etc too in case you wanted to test out things more from what you planned on mids as well.

 

All in all though again, welcome back and dont worry on what you lost from live.  Just look forward to what you'll have on HC.

Edited May 12 by Sanguinesun

[Ghost]

I wonder how playable a toon would be from live, if plopped down in the middle of todays game.

 

[Glacier Peak]

4 minutes ago, Ghost said:

I wonder how playable a toon would be from live, if plopped down in the middle of todays game.

My Ice/Cold Domination Corruptor plays easier as I have access to more options to make it easy mode, though if I desire I can increase the difficulty to scale so that I can experience a challenge. Basically, the skill ceiling is lower and the skill floor remains the same in my opinion. 

 

Edited May 12 by Glacier Peak

[momentarygrace]

39 minutes ago, Ghost said:

I wonder how playable a toon would be from live, if plopped down in the middle of todays game.

 

 

My broadsword/regen scrapper from live would probably be just as gimped (as her current incarnation on HC!) and I would love her still.

[Doomguide2005]

13 minutes ago, momentarygrace said:

 

My broadsword/regen scrapper from live would probably be just as gimped (as her current incarnation on HC!) and I would love her still.

I got one of those!  One of the first characters recreated by memory from the Live Retail servers.

[Greycat]

5 hours ago, Ghost said:

I wonder how playable a toon would be from live, if plopped down in the middle of todays game.

 

 

Aside from possibly dealing with some power changes, I'd say perfectly playable. There's nothing so massively changed that a (say) issue  4 character with SOs couldn't play through the game. No, they wouldn't be joining multi-star hardmode TFs, but there's nothing that would make it particularly difficult to play.

 

Now, if they were used to dumpster diving with a zone full of mobs, they'd find the play*style* had changed, sure. But playability itself? As someone who (a) had a character who still had original stamina in a build on live at the end and (b) has played "emulate early issues" (TO/DO/SO only, adhere to original limits for when you could pick - say - travel powers, pick some throwaway powers to emulate taking the Fitness pool at the proper levels) - didn't really have any issues playing.

[Scarlet Shocker]

6 hours ago, Ghost said:

I wonder how playable a toon would be from live, if plopped down in the middle of todays game.

 

 

A lot would depend on when in live you played, to what level, and what content you were trying to play.

 

But the short answer is almost certainly "quite readily"

[Haijinx]

As long as you stayed close to the group, there is so much leadership spam on most teams a Hamster would do fine. 

 

 

[Eiko-chan]

6 hours ago, Ghost said:

I wonder how playable a toon would be from live, if plopped down in the middle of todays game.

My Bots/Traps MM is still basically the same exact build she had on live and she still solos AVs at x8. (She probably could do +4, but I don't like playing at +4. It feels too much like making enemies just hit point sponges.) 

[srmalloy]

On 5/11/2024 at 6:22 PM, CalvinistDadfly said:

Is it possible to port in my character builds from the original game?  I have a handful of Incarnate characters that I spent way too much time building and I would love to get them back (the easy way). 😉

The character database from the original servers is not available, so there's no way to recover your characters from Live, even assuming that the HC staff would allow it to be done.

 

As an indirect method, if you used the Titan Icon program to save your characters off of the servers in advance of the shutdown, you can use the build description in the files that it saved to create a new character and use your old build as a template as you level it up. There is even a tool that will extract the costume data from the Titan Icon saved character data as .costume files that can (mostly) be loaded in the Icon character edit screens.

[CalvinistDadfly]

Thanks to all who have responded.  I have rebuilt my old Calvinist Gadfly and am enjoying the nostalgia of this reboot of this classic game with gusto!!