Ask ncsoft if you can charge 15 a month. Profit beyond what is needed for server

[nhisso]

Goes to ncsoft. Our admins/mods/devs provide proof of payong for servers bills, show how much theyre raking in, and the rest to ncsoft. Im willing to pay to play.

[Piledriver]

Then in a couple of months, almost everybody here gets bored again (even making the game optionally free to play the average population was much smaller in 2012) and leaves these guys holding the bag with a licensing commitment to NCSoft?

 

Some kind of truce with NCSoft is desirable, allowing servers to remain operating out in the open like this, that is the best possible option. Licensing would just betray anyone else who might run a private server and result in another kerfuffle when, very soon, NCSoft decides the time has come for Sunset two-point-oh.

 

Even a truce I wouldn't count on. Just get used to the fact we're involved in criminal activity here (the morality may be debatable, but the law is clear), and prepare for the likely eventuality of all servers having to disappear into the dark web.

[Rylas]

Just get used to the fact we're involved in criminal activity here...

 

Heroes being criminals. Maybe I need to start making them Vigilantes.

[nhisso]

Then in a couple of months, almost everybody here gets bored again (even making the game optionally free to play the average population was much smaller in 2012) and leaves these guys holding the bag with a licensing commitment to NCSoft?

 

Some kind of truce with NCSoft is desirable, allowing servers to remain operating out in the open like this, that is the best possible option. Licensing would just betray anyone else who might run a private server and result in another kerfuffle when, very soon, NCSoft decides the time has come for Sunset two-point-oh.

 

Even a truce I wouldn't count on. Just get used to the fact we're involved in criminal activity here (the morality may be debatable, but the law is clear), and prepare for the likely eventuality of all servers having to disappear into the dark web.

 

NCsoft and cryptic are both aware of our servers. But it wouldn't even really be a licensing agreement. It would be a contract that says we can only pay you what we get after the PROVEN cost of running the servers. If people get bored and the game becomes barren again, then so be it. Hopefully NCsoft is paying attention to the SWG legends and other private servers of sunsetted MMOs and realize they could make a little profit for literally doing nothing. They dont have to help, offer new content or do any thing else. Let amateurs create content just modding for elder scrolls/fallout games (and so many others). Not to mention the create a adventure options. It can be done without some sort of licensing contract demanding payment for x amount of time.

[Sulhythal]

Never happen, because that would make them quasi represent NCSoft, but without being under their thumb.  The best we can really hope for is to be intentionally ignored, which would like go out the window when money starts changing hands

[Kaelon]

Then in a couple of months, almost everybody here gets bored again (even making the game optionally free to play the average population was much smaller in 2012) and leaves these guys holding the bag with a licensing commitment to NCSoft?

 

Some kind of truce with NCSoft is desirable, allowing servers to remain operating out in the open like this, that is the best possible option. Licensing would just betray anyone else who might run a private server and result in another kerfuffle when, very soon, NCSoft decides the time has come for Sunset two-point-oh.

 

Even a truce I wouldn't count on. Just get used to the fact we're involved in criminal activity here (the morality may be debatable, but the law is clear), and prepare for the likely eventuality of all servers having to disappear into the dark web.

 

Agreed.  However, the beauty of the open source server software here is that it is now entirely feasible for anyone to spin up their own COH server, at a colo cost of under $5k a month.  Let the software proliferate, as it is currently doing, and the hardware costs will continue to drop.  Personally, I'd even be happy running my own private family-only server. ;)

 

[Ozium]

there numbers willing to play for free and those who would pay are quite different, and yeah give it couple months to weed out the looky loo's

[renegade0]

That will never happen. That's just not how businesses operate. As soon as money is involved, their lawyers will swarm in like locusts. Asking them directly would lead to trouble too because then they'll just think "well they want to make money from this because they're asking. time to shut them down".

 

It makes sense, what you're saying, but that's not how these businesses and their lawyers think. They don't about the community or the game. Just their IP and the money being made on anything they own.

[Silk]

Just no.