Cottage Rule

[Snarky]

Ron Swanson is a demigod

 

[Troo]

6 hours ago, Snarky said:

Ron Swanson is a demigod

 

 

This explains sooooo much.

[ivanhedgehog]

22 hours ago, Troo said:

 

Arguing semantics is pretty weak.

Anything in lawyer speak is in my opinion gross.

Getting told in lawyer speak to go-play-somewhere-else is lame.

 

 

It also does absolutely no good for the game as a whole. we dont need lower population so that a few dont like their purity test challenged

[Psi-bolt]

On 6/8/2025 at 7:07 PM, Troo said:

 

..at least until the inevitable Super Strength revamp where Rage, Hurl, Hand Clap, and Foot Stomp are "addressed" in order to proliferate the set to Stalkers, Scrappers, and Dominators.

 

I actually wonder more what they would feel the need to do to Knockout Blow.  

[BasiliskXVIII]

20 hours ago, ivanhedgehog said:

It also does absolutely no good for the game as a whole. we dont need lower population so that a few dont like their purity test challenged

 

I'm not telling Troo to leave because he failed a 'purity test.' I'm pointing out that what he's asking for, namely, a version of the game where he doesn't have to trust an external development team, is fundamentally incompatible with how shared, developer-managed games work. No one is forced to play Homecoming. At this point, you're not even forced to play Homecoming if you want to play City of Heroes, unlike, say, Diablo IV, where playing the game requires using Activision-Blizzard-King’s servers. Choosing to participate in this environment inherently means accepting that the devs have final say. That's the general idea behind that EULA you agree to every time you log in. That’s not gatekeeping. That’s just the structure of the game.

[Snarky]

1 hour ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

 

I'm not telling Troo to leave because he failed a 'purity test.' I'm pointing out that what he's asking for, namely, a version of the game where he doesn't have to trust an external development team, is fundamentally incompatible with how shared, developer-managed games work. No one is forced to play Homecoming. At this point, you're not even forced to play Homecoming if you want to play City of Heroes, unlike, say, Diablo IV, where playing the game requires using Activision-Blizzard-King’s servers. Choosing to participate in this environment inherently means accepting that the devs have final say. That's the general idea behind that EULA you agree to every time you log in. That’s not gatekeeping. That’s just the structure of the game.

Did Troo fail a purity test? 
 

Troo, send me some of your blood.  Inquiring minds want to know!

[Skyhawke]

I googled "cottage rule", got the following AI definition and now I really want a cupcake from a church bake sale...

 

In Virginia, the "cottage rule" refers to the Cottage Food Law, which allows individuals to produce and sell certain non-perishable, homemade foods directly to consumers without needing a commercial kitchen permit. This law provides an exemption from standard food establishment regulations for specific types of food items. 

[Troo]

6 hours ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

No one is forced to play Homecoming.

6 hours ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

you're not even forced to play Homecoming if you want to play City of Heroes

6 hours ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

Choosing to participate in this environment..

 

All versions of "if folks don't like it they can leave" from just one post.

 

The illusion of choice is not really a choice at all.

[BasiliskXVIII]

8 minutes ago, Troo said:

 

All versions of "if folks don't like it they can leave" from just one post.

 

The illusion of choice is not really a choice at all.

You are insisting on a condition that is incompatible with the structure of a shared, developer-managed game: namely, that you should be able to play Homecoming without allowing the developers' judgement to direct development. That is not how this, or any comparable platform, works. You are free to offer feedback, as we all are, but the final decisions rest with the development team. A fact to which you have given explicit consent to every time you log in and agree to the EULA: 

 

Quote

8. FEEDBACK OR SUGGESTIONS

...You are welcome to give us feedback, suggestions, improvements, constructive criticism, or ideas you have in connection with the game, our website or forum, or to improve the City of Heroes Services generally (“Feedback”) – in such case you can contact us via a private support ticket at https://cohhc.gg/support. We appreciate your Feedback, but we may choose not to use or accept them at our discretion.

To frame this as an “illusion of choice” implies coercion where there is none. Participation is voluntary. Declining to participate is an available and consequence-free option.
 

To illustrate: if someone were to demand that City of Heroes be made playable on a Game Boy Color, it would not be unreasonable for the developers to respond, “That isn’t in accordance with our development goals.” The fact that the demand cannot be accommodated does not make the existence of choice illusory. It simply reflects the limits of what this particular platform is designed to support.

 

Expecting a collaborative space to conform solely to one individual’s preferences, while dismissing the needs of others, is not a viable model for any shared experience. That is not persecution; it is simply how collective systems function.

[MTeague]

I don't think anyone, not Basilisk, and not me,  is saying "Troo, shut up or get out."

I will say that I recommend acceptance of this new reality, rather than railing to bring back what was. 

 

Are the HC devs infalliable? Not in my eyes. Their biggest mistake, in my opinion, and which I mention from time to time, is allowing Incarnate powers outside of Incarnate content. It makes the 45-50 game a near joke where no ones primary or secondary even matters as long teams are rotating Barrier, Judgement Nukes, and Lore Pets. It's a huge reason why I avoid late-game teams. But as much as I dislike this and disagree with their choice, it was their choice to make. And that particular ship, has not only sailed long ago, it's circumnavigated the globe at least a thousand times. I feel they were mistaken, but I hold no expectation that that decision will ever be reversed. Their vision for the game, does not full agree with my own.

 

I still like enough other aspects of this game, that I remain, and I still enjoy playing here. I just avoid all 45-50 teams, except, for actual honest-to-god iTrials. That is my choice, my bargain that keeps me content. 

 

I'm not saying you need to like everything that changed in the recent patch. I am saying, there's a point where it's not worth working yourself into a fever pitch if the devs simply don't agree with your feedback. 

[Troo]

21 hours ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

..that you should be able to play Homecoming without allowing the developers' judgement to direct development.

 

um.. I haven't insisted on this.

This is a Cottage Rule discussion. A  d i s c u s s i o n.

 

You continue to throw out there various versions of if folks don't like it, they can leave. We get it, go ahead & restate it a dozen different ways like this gem below.

 

21 hours ago, BasiliskXVIII said:

Participation is voluntary. Declining to participate is an available and consequence-free option.

 

Still lame.

 

 

Edited June 24 by Troo

[Snarky]

[Forager]

Y'all arguing about arguing in here?

 

This isn't a complicated issue and there's not a lot of possible stances on it... you either think that they should keep the basic premise of a power intact when making changes... or you don't?

 

Is there even a specific change up for debate?

[Snarky]

1 hour ago, Forager said:

Y'all arguing about arguing in here?

 

This isn't a complicated issue and there's not a lot of possible stances on it... you either think that they should keep the basic premise of a power intact when making changes... or you don't?

 

Is there even a specific change up for debate?

I will throw one at the floor. The intangibility in Black Hole. I am using it the other night on Devouring Earth with Justice Superteamers (we are on Discord) and it was still hard to communicate about the emanators being intangible, or the swarm. In a kill all.  It was not good.  The rework of the power offers very little and keeps the worst part, semi randomly.  Even if you know what is happening, communication with a team about it is just… difficult if not impossible.  

[Forager]

So Black Hole sucks and doesn't do anything except waste people's time... 

 

Soooo.... definitely not a Cottage Rule violation, right?

[Troo]

28 minutes ago, Forager said:

So Black Hole sucks and doesn't do anything except waste people's time... 

 

Soooo.... definitely not a Cottage Rule violation, right?

 

Okay.. that was a little funny.

Something working semi randomly with little rhyme or reason would be frustrating.