My fear about this game

[Gravitus]

I think I speak for a lot of vets of CoX when I say I was thrilled beyond words to see this game actually come back. Not just come back but come back proper.

 

That being said, because this game is simply being run on charity, my fear is that in a couple of years or less that the hype will start to die down and folks will move onto  other games. This will eventually lead to the game dying again due to lack of funding, maintenance and just all around support.

 

Please please please try to get your friends, family or significant other on this game if they love games and haven’t played this before. I’d love to have this game around another decade or so.

 

Hopefully my fears are unfounded. So far I’ve gotten 3 new players hooked on the game .

 

Happy gaming and I’ll see you all out there .

[Herotu]

1. Some commercial games don't have as many hardcore fans as CoH.

2. Commercial games shut down very often. You only have to read MassivelyOP to know that!

3. Thus, I recommend that you enjoy it while it's here because it could shut down at any time, just like it was a commercial game.

[Legree]

The only thing that may bring Homecoming to an end is action by NCSoft.  Since they've done nothing so far I like our chances.

 

Aside from that, while I do think that we're at peak population now I don't see any decline going so far as to make funding an issue.  If the community as it is now can raise 5K in 20 minutes then I'm sure that even if we ended up consolidated onto one server we'd be able to meet the lower running costs required.

 

Sure people will come and go, but five years from now there's still going to be new level 1s running around Atlas (or Mercy) fighting Hellions (or Snakes) because as we all know there's no such thing as a final character, there's just the next character.

[Zolgar]

I think I speak for a lot of vets of CoX when I say I was thrilled beyond words to see this game actually come back. Not just come back but come back proper.

 

That being said, because this game is simply being run on charity, my fear is that in a couple of years or less that the hype will start to die down and folks will move onto  other games. This will eventually lead to the game dying again due to lack of funding, maintenance and just all around support.

 

Please please please try to get your friends, family or significant other on this game if they love games and haven’t played this before. I’d love to have this game around another decade or so.

 

Hopefully my fears are unfounded. So far I’ve gotten 3 new players hooked on the game .

 

Happy gaming and I’ll see you all out there .

 

Just to point out:

 

This game was shut down almost 7 full years ago.

A team got the code within a few months of shut down, and built a secret server.

A secret server that was run by the same core of people for 6 years.

The community of a 6.5 year dead game exploded when the news leaked of the secret server.

 

I don't think there is much concern of in a couple years it shriveling to nothing.. Sure, I expect we'll see a decline in players, but .. if the SCoRE server is any indication, we'll be going strong for many years to come.

[daHob]

Everything ends. Enjoy it while you can and let tomorrow take care of itself.

[Murcielago]

Make your own server if you're that concerned with this version of the game shutting down. That way you'll never have to worry about losing it again.

[Nafsmar]

How long has this server been open. I'm here for the long haul by the way.

[Xeres]

My feeling is I try not to worry about things I cannot control.  If people keep or lose interest is beyond what I can control so I'm not going to worry about it.  All I can do is just play and donate and be thankful that these servers are here now.  Should the servers shut down, I'll deal with it then.

[jubakumbi]

Humans just love to feed their own FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt).

I try not to let my 'nervous passenger' rule the roost, it's hard sometimes.

 

Not all of us care to alter the trajectories of those around us, but prefer instead for them to make their own choices.

Some of us are _really_ not social and have no desire to talk to people.

 

As other have said, nothing is certain, and to add to that, IMO/IME, playing with fear is no fun, except when that Diablo sound gets me at night.

 

There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

[natewest1987]

The fact that this game has returned after so long, and has returned this strong, is proof of its longevity.  I mean, look at P99 for Everquest, for instance.  Those people are literally still playing a game designed to model an era almost 20 years ago.  That's donations based too.

[Nafsmar]

As a longtime P99 player I can confirm what you just said. Not only is it going strong but it's getting stronger as the population keeps growing.

[Primantis]

It's worth noting that they can scale back hardware depending on the actual player base, lowering the costs. So long as the same overall percentage of players donate we should be okay.

[Sothoth]

Don't live in fear of what you might not have tomorrow, live in the joy of what you have today.

[chigiabelo]

Please please please try to get your friends, family or significant other on this game if they love games and haven’t played this before.

 

Not that I think that there is a credible threat that the game might go away again since the code is out in the wild now, I actually think that growing into a bigger mass of players paints a larger target on it. Think about it: if you were NCSoft, would it be worth your time to sue a small group that has a few hundred players and who are hosting their servers outside a territory where you have more legal power? What would you gain? How much money could such a group have to go after? Now, if the player base increased to 200k, that's something that may be worth taking over.

 

If you were Marvel or DC and you wanted to either keep more players playing Marvel or DC games, or maybe you have plans for a new superhero themed MMO, wouldn't it annoy you if you had 100k or more potential accounts that won't buy or play your game because they can make the Hulk for free in CoH and nobody is preventing these players from creating these characters the way NCSoft used to?

 

liek I said, I'm not really worried about it, but we should be aware that having a higher profile may increase some risks.

[srmalloy]

Not that I think that there is a credible threat that the game might go away again since the code is out in the wild now, I actually think that growing into a bigger mass of players paints a larger target on it. Think about it: if you were NCSoft, would it be worth your time to sue a small group that has a few hundred players and who are hosting their servers outside a territory where you have more legal power? What would you gain? How much money could such a group have to go after? Now, if the player base increased to 200k, that's something that may be worth taking over.

 

This is why the Homecoming Group shuts down the donation page when they reach their monthly cost goal. Whether there are two hundred or two hundred thousand players, what's the cost/benefit tradeoff for them to sue a group that has no more resources than what's needed to keep the servers running for another month?

[Gravitus]

These are pretty good responses. Thanks for helping ease my worry.

[Extor Prime]

Download and set up a private server.

 

We are all playing on borrowed time. I am tremendously thankful to the Homecoming team for making this whole thing happen, but they are a handful of unpaid volunteers that run, maintain and manage a game with a rapidly growing player base. Eventually they might get tired of it, and nobody can blame them - running a multiplayer game is a rather thankless task. Human factor might also get in the way - people disagree, people leave, people take stuff down because they don't like being disagreed with (see: Rebirth). And there is no company with salaries, benefits and stakeholders that would prevent that from happening.

 

On the other hand, tomorrow NCSoft might decide that we all have had quite enough fun and shut this whole shebang down hard. They will never quash the small-scale private servers, but they can easily go after the bigger ones like HC.

 

So, play and have fun like tomorrow the servers won't be up anymore. And have a back up strategy - a private server - in case it does happen, so you can scratch your CoH itch later.

[justicebeliever]

The only thing that may bring Homecoming to an end is action by NCSoft.  Since they've done nothing so far I like our chances.

 

Aside from that, while I do think that we're at peak population now I don't see any decline going so far as to make funding an issue.  If the community as it is now can raise 5K in 20 minutes then I'm sure that even if we ended up consolidated onto one server we'd be able to meet the lower running costs required.

 

Sure people will come and go, but five years from now there's still going to be new level 1s running around Atlas (or Mercy) fighting Hellions (or Snakes) because as we all know there's no such thing as a final character, there's just the next character.

 

This.  Had I seen this post in time, this would have been almost my exact response. 

 

We've already hit peak population and are already declining, but if they could keep the server running with 3,000 ppl for 6 years...I'm not worried.  It's unlikely that they would shrink smaller than what they had when the server was secret, so I think we are OK.  Besides they always get complaints when donations happen from people who missed the short window and still want to give, so it's not like they are anywhere close to begging for funds.

 

NCSoft is truly the biggest threat, and I really wouldn't try to predict what they are going to do, since we aren't privy to their internal conversations.  But it's very clear they know about this, and have already sent one C&D regarding sharing the binaries.  Given that they clearly know about this, and haven't done anything yet, and given the population is now declining, I would ere on the side of thinking it's going to be OK.

 

Finally, I also agree with everyone who said - play it while you got it, because we really just don't know

[Solarverse]

I think I speak for a lot of vets of CoX when I say I was thrilled beyond words to see this game actually come back. Not just come back but come back proper.

 

That being said, because this game is simply being run on charity, my fear is that in a couple of years or less that the hype will start to die down and folks will move onto  other games. This will eventually lead to the game dying again due to lack of funding, maintenance and just all around support.

 

Please please please try to get your friends, family or significant other on this game if they love games and haven’t played this before. I’d love to have this game around another decade or so.

 

Hopefully my fears are unfounded. So far I’ve gotten 3 new players hooked on the game .

 

Happy gaming and I’ll see you all out there .

 

Fear not...I'm not leaving. There is nothing out there that can pull me away from this game.

[Scarlet Shocker]

SCORE servers ran in secret for a number of years with pretty good numbers.

 

Sure, some of the new servers will fall by the wayside. Darwin predicted this. Indeed some already have for varying reasons. The game will continue for as long as people are prepared to keep it going. It's a collective effort.

[Sailboat]

Khitan General: My fear is that my sons will never understand me... Hao! Dai ye! We won again! [Cheers] This is good. But what is best in life?

 

Khitan Warrior: The open steppe, a fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.

 

Khitan General: Wrong! CoHnan, what is best in life?

 

CoHnan: To crush the purple cons, see them knocked down before you, and to hear the ding of the level-up!

[Thorazine]

While I hope it does stick around I play everyday telling myself, "nothing gold stays"

[PSLAnimal]

That being said, because this game is simply being run on charity, my fear is that in a couple of years or less that the hype will start to die down and folks will move onto  other games. This will eventually lead to the game dying again due to lack of funding, maintenance and just all around support.

 

Please please please try to get your friends, family or significant other on this game if they love games and haven’t played this before. I’d love to have this game around another decade or so.

 

Hopefully my fears are unfounded. So far I’ve gotten 3 new players hooked on the game .

 

Happy gaming and I’ll see you all out there .

 

Maybe.  Maybe not.  Life is water, not stone.  If we can get enough people to keep it going, great, I'd sure love to see that.  But, for everything there is a season.

[Without_Pause]

SCORE servers ran in secret for a number of years with pretty good numbers.

 

Sure, some of the new servers will fall by the wayside. Darwin predicted this. Indeed some already have for varying reasons. The game will continue for as long as people are prepared to keep it going. It's a collective effort.

 

I figure if it ran in secret for years it can run in public for even longer. I still feel like them going non-profit is the way NCSoft allows for it to remain.

[JnEricsonx]

Khitan General: My fear is that my sons will never understand me... Hao! Dai ye! We won again! [Cheers] This is good. But what is best in life?

 

Khitan Warrior: The open steppe, a fleet horse, falcons at your wrist, and the wind in your hair.

 

Khitan General: Wrong! CoHnan, what is best in life?

 

CoHnan: To crush the purple cons, see them knocked down before you, and to hear the ding of the level-up!

 

 

That is good!  That is good.