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CO's Xmas spirit - are we dying?

pion01pion01 Posts: 758 Arc User
edited December 2012 in Champions Online Discussion
All lockbox jokes aside, we're not even getting new stuff to be gouged on for zen, Cryptic is recycling 3 year old stuff and pricing it the same as a travel power?


Are we not even worth robbing anymore?

Or is it that we as a playerbase are so readily giving up our cash they don't need to put in the effort?


Either way, that's some sad ****.
Post edited by pion01 on
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Comments

  • quasimojo1quasimojo1 Posts: 642 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Sure seems that way.
    LTS since 2009. Author of ACT parser module for CO. Founder of Rampagers. Resident curmudgeon.

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  • jonsillsjonsills Posts: 6,315 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Or is it that so few are giving up the cash (seen so many "I'm not giving Cryptic any money until they do what I want" posts) that PWE/Cryptic just doesn't see the point in trying any more?

    Hard to say, without hard data. Heck, for all we know, they've got some huge new thing just waiting in the wings - without communication, there's no way to find out...
    "Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"

    - David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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  • kenpojujitsu3kenpojujitsu3 Posts: 1,320 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Curtain call is coming, at least that what it feels like. There's not much new to do or buy. Goodness knows I'm not averse to throwing my money to Cryptic (despite my numerous misgivings currently) but...there really isn't anything to throw money to...unless I want to convert my real money to zen...to convert to questionite...to grab...some mildly interesting stuff.

    Yeah, I'm with you Pion.
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  • pion01pion01 Posts: 758 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    jonsills wrote: »
    Heck, for all we know, they've got some huge new thing just waiting in the wings - without communication, there's no way to find out...

    lawlz. No. We've said that before, for like, a year now. Unless it's some new revamp to find new players to get money from, it's not gonna happen. Whenever Cryptic has something good they tout it as the next big thing because they desperately need it to be for CO.




    The travel powers were sweet tho, I'll say that, but considering it's an F2P game based on microtransactions and there's no micros, and few things to transaction....

    Really, how much affordable repeat purchases exist in the store that are worth having? None. I can say that pretty confidently seeing as how I've bought pretty much everything in the store. Prices are ridiculously inflated for items that are almost completely unecessary even as a luxary.

    I'm genuinely scared Cryptic isn't even trying anymore.
  • somebobsomebob Posts: 980 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Well, CoX died and what did CO do to bring in the loads of players who left the game?

    A double EXP weekend. And a sale. But no bug fixes.

    Yay?
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  • canadascottcanadascott Posts: 1,257 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    There's a lot I could say, but I'll hold off for now.

    Anyhow, I'm in until at least April, unless unexpected things happen. But the silence is deafening.
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  • seismecaseismeca Posts: 47 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    somebob wrote: »
    Well, CoX died and what did CO do to bring in the loads of players who left the game?

    A double EXP weekend. And a sale. But no bug fixes.

    Yay?

    There was a double EXP weekend?! whoa!

    But no, seriously this is pretty much me.

    I mean really, you're only competitor is gone, do something.
  • bwdaresbwdares Posts: 1,517 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I dont want to give them my money cause it wont go back into this game, however the only travel power I have not bought YET is the leaf teleport, and I have all the costume packs. i love costume packs and while I dont want to shell out money to this game because of the above reasons, costume pack will get me to do so.

    Or SG bases like the hideoutsm i forked out money for those as soon as they came out.

    They are putting anything for us to buy cause they just plain are not putting alot of effort into this game.

    Disagree? Then they can say something.
    #Mechanon!(completed) #New Zones! #Foundry!
  • vikaernesvikaernes Posts: 137 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    It's like those jerk parents who take a toy you happened to forget about, re-wrap it, and give it back to you as a christmas gift.

    \:D/
  • bwdaresbwdares Posts: 1,517 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    vikaernes wrote: »
    It's like those jerk parents who take a toy you happened to forget about, re-wrap it, and give it back to you as a christmas gift.

    \:D/

    My parents have admitted to doing that lol.

    I am actually excited to see the new steam punk set.
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  • smoochansmoochan Posts: 2,564 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    jonsills wrote: »
    Or is it that so few are giving up the cash (seen so many "I'm not giving Cryptic any money until they do what I want" posts) that PWE/Cryptic just doesn't see the point in trying any more?

    Hard to say, without hard data. Heck, for all we know, they've got some huge new thing just waiting in the wings - without communication, there's no way to find out...

    This is a big part of what's causing a lot of the doom. They dropped that big until report on us like half a century ago, and since then we've been steadily plummeting into the dark ages. If the empire doesn't send a few legions around to deal with these barbarians soon, we're just going to have to assume they've abandoned us and form our own militias that end up fighting one another and.... oh wait.... damn.

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  • baroness1980baroness1980 Posts: 268 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    seismeca wrote: »
    There was a double EXP weekend?! whoa!

    But no, seriously this is pretty much me.

    I mean really, you're only competitor is gone, do something.

    This!


    I mean seriously... do something... show us something... TALK TO US!!!

    Want to give the playerbase of the defunct CoH? well... look how the playerbase interacted with devs there... start giving signals!!


    I'm willing to pay for expansion, improved nemesis (more missions, custom minions, maybe exclusive paths for different types of nemesis.. mystical, tech, gangster...etc)

    Many are also willing.. and yes we all know some people will want improvements without dropping a dime... so what? people will always complain about it... if we want this game to survive as much as City did, then the devs need to start working on it a lot more and we ened to open the wallets... but 1 thing can't happen without the other.
  • bwdaresbwdares Posts: 1,517 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    At this point I would be fine if they got on and said "Dont expect anything until NWO is done" and as long as they gave devs back I would be fine with it.
    #Mechanon!(completed) #New Zones! #Foundry!
  • pion01pion01 Posts: 758 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    bwdares wrote: »
    At this point I would be fine if they got on and said "Dont expect anything until NWO is done" and as long as they gave devs back I would be fine with it.

    Word.

    Seriously, there is almost no effort coming through.

    We need a show of good faith of any kind.

    There's been almost no work except tidbits here and there, a chance came like a gift from the heavens to straight up poach an entire active and eager MMO community with nowhere else to go but here and all they gave was a "sup?" There has literally never been another opportunity like that in the history of history.

    ..........

    I've always been against calling people out on the forums... ahem... >.> generally... but seriously,

    Brad Stoken - what the hell, man? Like, for reals, no corporate BS nonsense... straight up, what the hell? (is it even Stoken any mare? I don't even know.)
  • spyralpegacyonspyralpegacyon Posts: 383 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    smoochan wrote: »
    This is a big part of what's causing a lot of the doom. They dropped that big until report on us like half a century ago, and since then we've been steadily plummeting into the dark ages. If the empire doesn't send a few legions around to deal with these barbarians soon, we're just going to have to assume they've abandoned us and form our own militias that end up fighting one another and.... oh wait.... damn.

    I'm not sure if its understood out here how badly Reloaded did would affect production back at Castle Cryptic. It was three weeks from the unveiling of the Takoboxes to Reloaded. Its now been over a month and no new boxes and no new jetbikes. Given how tepid the market for vehicles turned out to be, they could very well be re-building the system to make it more profitable. At least that's my optimistic view...

    'course it would also help if we actually had at least smoke signals or something from the home office. I know Cryptic isn't exactly as open as Paragon was, but they also still have as open the position for a comic content designer, so we're not completely abandoned. Just throw us a bone here to keep us excited and saying good things.
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  • nextnametakennextnametaken Posts: 2,212 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    seismeca wrote: »
    I mean really, you're only competitor is gone, do something.

    CoX has been available on Steam for years, never showed up once on the top 100.

    DCUO has been on Steam for one year, its held a steady spot on the top 100 with 1500 to 3600 player count everyday for that entire period, maybe dipping to 900 one day.

    Champions online left the Top 100 at around 560 players in July, it hasn't regained that many players from Steam since(no advertising, no front page, because no new content, which DC pumps out ever two months it seems).

    The influx of COX players has basically doubled the hourly population of what we had this time last year when there was a major drain after the F2P summer rush. The week CoX was crushed into dust we had seven zones of MC during a weekend afternoon, this weekend we had six zones, I estimate an overall average of five zones through midnight server time, when we usually see a big drain.

    Anyway, Xmas spirit...
    Ho.
  • c3rvand0c3rvand0 Posts: 403 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    pion01 wrote: »
    All lockbox jokes aside, we're not even getting new stuff to be gouged on for zen, Cryptic is recycling 3 year old stuff and pricing it the same as a travel power?


    Are we not even worth robbing anymore?

    Or is it that we as a playerbase are so readily giving up our cash they don't need to put in the effort?


    Either way, that's some sad ****.
    Curtain call is coming, at least that what it feels like. There's not much new to do or buy. Goodness knows I'm not averse to throwing my money to Cryptic (despite my numerous misgivings currently) but...there really isn't anything to throw money too...unless I want to convert my real money to zen...to convert to questionite...to grab...some mildly interesting stuff.

    Yeah, I'm with you Pion.
    There's a lot I could say, but I'll hold off for now.

    Anyhow, I'm in until at least April, unless unexpected things happen. But the silence is deafening.

    When guys like you 3 say things like this, I know the end is nigh. I really can't believe it has gotten to this. If CO were a dog, it would be put down. Is it really too much to ask for some decent non alert content? Hell even a lair review would be welcomed now. I could even live with the many existing bugs if there was a good reason to play this game.
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  • target1onetarget1one Posts: 30 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I hate to say it, but this game is already dead. Or rather, it is in "maintenance mode", which for an MMO is the same thing.

    Seriously, I see post after post after post of people begging, pleading, for new content, and absolutely zero response from Cryptic, either in the form of forum messages or in game updates. And it's been this way for many months, if not a year or more. If that's not a hallmark of a game that isn't seeing any further development, I don't know what is.

    Sure, we got vehicles, but I suspect that's only because Cryptic had been working on them for some time before the decision was made to cease development, and the devs were able to wrap up the majority of their work on the feature before being pulled away for other projects.

    And while the building of Neverwinter might be taking up most of the company's resources, PW/Cryptic is more likely to move those developers on to "the next big thing" after NW, than to bring any back to CO. Frankly, if PW were interested in keeping THIS game fresh, they would find a way to put some effort into it, which clearly they are not doing.

    No, we're not going to see any further real development of this game. No new zones, mission arcs, villains, or anything else content-wise, much less the addressing of bugs (beyond absolute show-stoppers and/or the "low-hanging-fruit" of easy-to-fix ones).

    Might as well just enjoy what content is already in the game, while it lasts.

    Personally, I'm going to continue to subscribe for now, but only because (a) I locked in the discount on three-month subscriptions (this game is worth an effective $10/month to me, but not $15), (b) Silver accounts are far too restrictive in their abilities, and (c) I have no place else to go for superhero-themed MMO action. (DCUO is effectively a console game and plays as such, it's sorely lacking in customizability and other MMO features; Marvel's upcoming game won't even let you create your own heroes from scratch.)

    Target1one

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  • biffsmackwellbiffsmackwell Posts: 4,739 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    target1one wrote: »
    I hate to say it, but this game is already dead. Or rather, it is in "maintenance mode", which for an MMO is the same thing.

    Seriously, I see post after post after post of people begging, pleading, for new content, and absolutely zero response from Cryptic, either in the form of forum messages or in game updates. And it's been this way for many months, if not a year or more. If that's not a hallmark of a game that isn't seeing any further development, I don't know what is.

    While it does seem that we've had a skeleton crew for a while, it's a bit far reached to say the game's been in maintenance mode for over a year. It's only been since shortly after Reloaded that all hands seem to have gone to Neverwinter.

    Crummy situation, but you're blowing it out of proportion, I think.
    Sure, we got vehicles, but I suspect that's only because Cryptic had been working on them for some time before the decision was made to cease development, and the devs were able to wrap up the majority of their work on the feature before being pulled away for other projects.

    And while the building of Neverwinter might be taking up most of the company's resources, PW/Cryptic is more likely to move those developers on to "the next big thing" after NW, than to bring any back to CO. Frankly, if PW were interested in keeping THIS game fresh, they would find a way to put some effort into it, which clearly they are not doing.

    If anything is to be learned from the past, we will get developers back onto this game.
    No, we're not going to see any further real development of this game. No new zones, mission arcs, villains, or anything else content-wise, much less the addressing of bugs (beyond absolute show-stoppers and/or the "low-hanging-fruit" of easy-to-fix ones).

    Might as well just enjoy what content is already in the game, while it lasts.

    Personally, I'm going to continue to subscribe for now, but only because (a) I locked in the discount on three-month subscriptions (this game is worth an effective $10/month to me, but not $15), (b) Silver accounts are far too restrictive in their abilities, and (c) I have no place else to go for superhero-themed MMO action. (DCUO is effectively a console game and plays as such, it's sorely lacking in customizability and other MMO features; Marvel's upcoming game won't even let you create your own heroes from scratch.)

    A lot of us have been all doomy and gloomy recently, but I think it's too early to make a call just yet.
    biffsig.jpg
  • thalast1thalast1 Posts: 78 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    jonsills wrote: »
    Or is it that so few are giving up the cash (seen so many "I'm not giving Cryptic any money until they do what I want" posts) that PWE/Cryptic just doesn't see the point in trying any more?

    Hard to say, without hard data. Heck, for all we know, they've got some huge new thing just waiting in the wings - without communication, there's no way to find out...

    Jon is right.

    If only you ungrateful people spent more money on the Zen store instead of complaining about the Zen store would things get better in champions.

    I think the most beneficial thing you guys can do this christmas is buy at least 50 dollars of stuff off the zen store, it might make the foundry come even faster. (in neverwinter!)
  • bwdaresbwdares Posts: 1,517 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    thalast1 wrote: »
    Jon is right.

    If only you ungrateful people spent more money on the Zen store instead of complaining about the Zen store would things get better in champions.

    I think the most beneficial thing you guys can do this christmas is buy at least 50 dollars of stuff off the zen store, it might make the foundry come even faster. (in neverwinter!)

    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
    What koolaid are you drinking?
    ANY money spent in the Z-store here will go to Never Winter, its that simple.
    If money spent here stayed here, then I would put $50.00 into the Zstore.
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  • knightfalzknightfalz Posts: 33 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    target1one wrote: »
    I hate to say it, but this game is already dead. Or rather, it is in "maintenance mode", which for an MMO is the same thing.

    There are many ex-CoX players that would disagree with that assessment, who would very much have liked to have a maintenance mode rather than death.

    I remember before the closure announcement that many threads on the CoH boards had many complaints related to the game. After the announcement that quickly shifted to appeals to keep the game open, even if no further development or changes to current elements of the game were to ever take place.

    It will be interesting to see if there will be a shift here from complaints to appeals for continuance if a closure of this game is ever announced.
  • bwdaresbwdares Posts: 1,517 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    knightfalz wrote: »
    There are many ex-CoX players that would disagree with that assessment, who would very much have liked to have a maintenance mode rather than death.

    I remember before the closure announcement that many threads on the CoH boards had many complaints related to the game. After the announcement that quickly shifted to appeals to keep the game open, even if no further development or changes to current elements of the game were to ever take place.

    It will be interesting to see if there will be a shift here from complaints to appeals for continuance if a closure of this game is ever announced.

    It probably wouldn't chang much, the complaints would just be about the closure, and i think most would just leave. Since Cryptic doesnt listen to us, why stay to try and talk them into not closing the game?
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  • ariesmajorariesmajor Posts: 394 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I've been waiting to give these guys the rest of my money for over a month now....wtf man. I WANT TO SPEND MY MONEY!!!!
  • jonsillsjonsills Posts: 6,315 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    bwdares wrote: »
    LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
    What koolaid are you drinking?
    ANY money spent in the Z-store here will go to Never Winter, its that simple.
    If money spent here stayed here, then I would put $50.00 into the Zstore.
    I, ah, think you may have missed the part in black text at the end of his post there...
    "Science teaches us to expect -- demand -- more than just eerie mysteries. What use is a puzzle that can't be solved? Patience is fine, but I'm not going to stop asking the universe to make sense!"

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  • blumoon8blumoon8 Posts: 430 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    For me.. there were two areas where the game failed to deliver. The first was hideouts. Yes they were interesting but I couldn't dare say that they lived up to the costume creator. When hideouts were announced, I prayed for something akin to the SG bases of CoH so I could play endless hours just moving rooms and getting everything right. That didn't happen. I actually have a unity building token on one of my toons. It's from a bug but I think they had something like that in mind, or at least the option for the hideouts to be attainable in game. Something changed. How often are the hideouts even bought? They are interesting but they could have been so much more. Let's not even talk about the crafting and training rooms that will never be...

    THEN, vehicles. We all know they suck and don't live up to Champs name. They could have been so much more. At the very least a miniature version of the costume creator. Not a chance. Worse then hideouts, you have to gamble for the best of them. They're a joke >.>

    I hope the game has a turn around... I have a feeling it might and we'll be surprised... but I'm completely reluctant to give into it... So let's see what happens

    I say stuff and I say things, sometimes together but only when I'm feeling adventurous.

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  • knightfalzknightfalz Posts: 33 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    bwdares wrote: »
    It probably wouldn't chang much, the complaints would just be about the closure, and i think most would just leave. Since Cryptic doesnt listen to us, why stay to try and talk them into not closing the game?

    NCSoft didn't listen much either. Yet, some continue to fight for CoH long after its closure. Emotional attachment and loss can overcome logic.
  • angelphoenix12angelphoenix12 Posts: 313 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    knightfalz wrote: »
    NCSoft didn't listen much either. Yet, some continue to fight for CoH long after its closure. Emotional attachment and loss can overcome logic.

    ill tell ya what city of had from its devs. devcared about making it better, they cared about thier players. pwe it seems like they do not. i understand they need to get neverwinter out. but they have all but said to co "bugger off".
  • biffsmackwellbiffsmackwell Posts: 4,739 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    ill tell ya what city of had from its devs. devcared about making it better, they cared about thier players. pwe it seems like they do not. i understand they need to get neverwinter out. but they have all but said to co "bugger off".

    PWE maybe, but the Cryptic employees, I wouldn't pass them off as not caring. Some of them are really great guys who seem passionate about it.
    biffsig.jpg
  • ashensnowashensnow Posts: 2,048 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    PWE maybe, but the Cryptic employees, I wouldn't pass them off as not caring. Some of them are really great guys who seem passionate about it.

    Agreed.

    Generally even when I disagreed with certain balance decisions it was clear to me that the dev responsible was trying to make the game better.

    As an example, I've seen Ame online working in game and on the forums from early morning to well past midnight.

    'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
  • lestylolestylo Posts: 375 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    pion01 wrote: »
    All lockbox jokes aside, we're not even getting new stuff to be gouged on for zen, Cryptic is recycling 3 year old stuff and pricing it the same as a travel power?


    Are we not even worth robbing anymore?

    Or is it that we as a playerbase are so readily giving up our cash they don't need to put in the effort?


    Either way, that's some sad ****.


    I don't think the game is dying, simply going into a sort of stasis. F2P games, especially the ones that utilize the model PWI and other similar game companies are using update slowly. It sucks but oh well. I would be more worried if things were like this after Neverwinter is up and running. I will admit that, due to all the other projects going, this game is probably not a high priority now.
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  • sistersiliconsistersilicon Posts: 1,687 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    PWE maybe, but the Cryptic employees, I wouldn't pass them off as not caring. Some of them are really great guys who seem passionate about it.

    True that. Ame, Splosions, et al are doing their level best with what they're given to work with.

    Brad Stokan, on the other hand, is an absentee landlord.* Never a good thing when the boss has nothing to say.

    *: Feel free to read that in your best Al Pacino impression.
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  • smoochansmoochan Posts: 2,564 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    knightfalz wrote: »
    There are many ex-CoX players that would disagree with that assessment, who would very much have liked to have a maintenance mode rather than death.

    I remember before the closure announcement that many threads on the CoH boards had many complaints related to the game. After the announcement that quickly shifted to appeals to keep the game open, even if no further development or changes to current elements of the game were to ever take place.

    It will be interesting to see if there will be a shift here from complaints to appeals for continuance if a closure of this game is ever announced.

    I think there would be a whole lot of "told ya so" going on. The "everything's fine, they're doing a great job" crowd would either be silent or pointing fingers.

    Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
  • itsbrou#5396 itsbrou Posts: 1,777 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Not all of us...
    Brou in Cryptic games.
  • baroness1980baroness1980 Posts: 268 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    knightfalz wrote: »
    There are many ex-CoX players that would disagree with that assessment, who would very much have liked to have a maintenance mode rather than death.

    I remember before the closure announcement that many threads on the CoH boards had many complaints related to the game. After the announcement that quickly shifted to appeals to keep the game open, even if no further development or changes to current elements of the game were to ever take place.

    It will be interesting to see if there will be a shift here from complaints to appeals for continuance if a closure of this game is ever announced.

    You seem to forget the context... CO is sorely lacking any major content update, no new stories, no new areas in a long while...

    Since going free to play CoH had 3 new areas released, new TF, new trials, new storylines, new powersets, new costumes and it was not even 1 year since goign free to play and they announced the closing... That is the amount of development the game has... they were in the brink of publishing issue 24, with major mechanic changes for Blasters and a lot of story progression... one of the major villains of the game was having a face turn. They were already halfway working on a new area for i25 and they had plans up to i28.

    http://www.onrpg.com/MMO/City-of-Heroes/interview/Metas-Verse-Interview-with-Melissa-Bianco-and-Matt-Miller-on-City-of-Heroes

    After the closing was announced we pleaded to at least keep the game on life support but that was WHILE we could work on getting a new house for the IP...

    But let me reiterate the situation is not the same... not 2 weeks before the closing we got a new powerset released... the amount of content released was increased after going free to play... and as you can read from Matt Miller's comments on the interview I linked, they were making far more money than with just the subscription model
  • lokikinlokikin Posts: 624 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I loved this game when I first played it in beta and I still do, despite the neglect...

    And those that know me know that I'm not a doom and gloom type of guy...

    But I gotta say, I'm nervous. I predict that, within 6 months of Neverwinter's launch, CO will either experience a revival as devs return, or CO will be shut down...

    I pray for the former, but I fear the later is the road we're on...

    I think Cryptic may put a lot of stock in saying they're a single studio running multiple MMOs; that may be what has kept CO alive so far. Once NW is launched... well... two is still 'multiple'...

    :frown:
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  • jennymachxjennymachx Posts: 3,000 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Dying? Nah. On life support? More likely.

    Nothing huge is being planned. The lack of SotG's and UNTIL reports should be indicative of that. If something in the same scale as Vibora Bay was being planned, they would have already hyped it to us long before. It seems that we'll have to be content with the occasional new alert that they obviously can manage to cook up being limited as they are in the development area as those are bite-sized, not to mention new shinies at the Z-store.

    I'm keeping my expectations at minimal and can at least enjoy the game for what it is currently, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't feeling bummed about it at some level.
  • lestylolestylo Posts: 375 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    knightfalz wrote: »
    There are many ex-CoX players that would disagree with that assessment, who would very much have liked to have a maintenance mode rather than death.

    I remember before the closure announcement that many threads on the CoH boards had many complaints related to the game. After the announcement that quickly shifted to appeals to keep the game open, even if no further development or changes to current elements of the game were to ever take place.

    It will be interesting to see if there will be a shift here from complaints to appeals for continuance if a closure of this game is ever announced.


    I honestly think the some would probably err on the side of silence since they would have quietly moved on. I think those people regard this game with a tiny bit more disinterest than some others. Not to say they don't care about the game but it just looks like they are looking for something to have fun with. If not this, then something else to fill that role.

    If anything, I think the mostly vocal groups now will be vocal later. Some will say "told you so" but at the same time, is there any satisfaction to be derived from doing this? Others will point fingers but is there any point to be derived from that? In any case, most likely people will lament and ask for the game to be spared. I've seen a few games close down and it's always the same scenario played out. I'm beginning to think I'm a bad luck charm as far as games go.

    But in any case I don't think the game will be closed down. Life support with increased time between big time updates is what the game has in store for it. In stasis really. It reminds me of some Korean mmos in how it is being handled, content and all that. I'm fairly certain it's cheaper to let the game run than shutting it down since it probably still brings in some revenue. The situation with CoX was an odd and unique situation as opposed to a purely "not making enough money" issue.
    "I tried to look at that page but saw only inane comments."
  • seiberkagenekoseiberkageneko Posts: 70 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    seismeca wrote: »
    There was a double EXP weekend?! whoa!

    But no, seriously this is pretty much me.

    I mean really, you're only competitor is gone, do something.

    Their only competitor is gone, so...why?

    Seriously, CO is the creepy guy in the parked van next to your broken down car with a smug grin saying "Well well well, look who just ran out of options".

    They're not going to release anything else. They don't have to. What else are the players going to do? There is no alternative anymore. No competition. Know what that makes? A monopoly, which means they can essentially do whatever they want, or in this case, they don't have to do a thing because it's either their way or the highway.
  • jennymachxjennymachx Posts: 3,000 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    lestylo wrote: »
    But in any case I don't think the game will be closed down. Life support with increased time between big time updates is what the game has in store for it. In stasis really. It reminds me of some Korean mmos in how it is being handled, content and all that. I'm fairly certain it's cheaper to let the game run than shutting it down since it probably still brings in some revenue. The situation with CoX was an odd and unique situation as opposed to a purely "not making enough money" issue.

    Add to the fact that NCsoft has had a history of shutting down their MMO titles at a moment's notice prior to CoX, and also to be noted that those games were still using traditional $15/month to play with no free to play option, and not a great deal of focus on cash shops like CO is currently.

    PW has kept a good number of their older games running for years now and it seems that unlike NCsoft, they're just not keen in doing any closures. I'm guessing if there's a good amount of cash flow coming from the Z-store then that's reason enough to keep CO running.
  • lestylolestylo Posts: 375 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Their only competitor is gone, so...why?

    Seriously, CO is the creepy guy in the parked van next to your broken down car with a smug grin saying "Well well well, look who just ran out of options".

    They're not going to release anything else. They don't have to. What else are the players going to do? There is no alternative anymore. No competition. Know what that makes? A monopoly, which means they can essentially do whatever they want, or in this case, they don't have to do a thing because it's either their way or the highway.

    Que? DCUO and other mmos still exist.
    "I tried to look at that page but saw only inane comments."
  • seismecaseismeca Posts: 47 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    lestylo wrote: »
    Que? DCUO and other mmos still exist.

    Well, DCUO exists. As this and it are the only superhero themed MMO's currently on the market.

    The problem with DCUO is that unlike CoH and CO, it wasn't built with customization in mind. It has a barebones selection of powers, barebones selection of costumes (75% of which you unlock as character-locked pieces while playing, making the initial creation of your costume pointless) plus a lack of convienent chat interface, and clunky controls that were obviously made for a console, just make DCUO...somehow worse off than CO.
  • fudgemonstafudgemonsta Posts: 1,591 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Just want to throw some information into the boat...

    When I was chatting with TT a while ago about the Anniversary Levelling Contest, and he made note to let me know that I probably wouldn't be getting the piece of art for a while since the CO team was about to get slammed with a bunch of work.

    Now, mind you, he could have meant that they were moving some people to NWO where a lot of work was being done. But I'm going to stay optimistic here and say that something is being worked on for CO at least.

    Feel free to take this as you will, but a tidbit of info for those who want it.
    @HangingDeath

    Deliciously nutritious!
  • twg042370twg042370 Posts: 592 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Curtain call is coming, at least that what it feels like. There's not much new to do or buy. Goodness knows I'm not averse to throwing my money to Cryptic (despite my numerous misgivings currently) but...there really isn't anything to throw money too...unless I want to convert my real money to zen...to convert to questionite...to grab...some mildly interesting stuff.

    Yeah, I'm with you Pion.

    No! It's because they haaaaaaattte us! I know! I saw them whispering in the corner. Any talk of the game no longer being able to finance itself is fanboy talk.

    Wharrgarble!
    _________________
    Wait? Whaaaa..?
  • knightfalzknightfalz Posts: 33 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    You seem to forget the context... CO is sorely lacking any major content update, no new stories, no new areas in a long while...

    Since going free to play CoH had 3 new areas released, new TF, new trials, new storylines, new powersets, new costumes and it was not even 1 year since goign free to play and they announced the closing... That is the amount of development the game has... they were in the brink of publishing issue 24, with major mechanic changes for Blasters and a lot of story progression... one of the major villains of the game was having a face turn. They were already halfway working on a new area for i25 and they had plans up to i28.

    http://www.onrpg.com/MMO/City-of-Heroes/interview/Metas-Verse-Interview-with-Melissa-Bianco-and-Matt-Miller-on-City-of-Heroes

    After the closing was announced we pleaded to at least keep the game on life support but that was WHILE we could work on getting a new house for the IP...

    But let me reiterate the situation is not the same... not 2 weeks before the closing we got a new powerset released... the amount of content released was increased after going free to play... and as you can read from Matt Miller's comments on the interview I linked, they were making far more money than with just the subscription model

    I don't "forget" anything.

    The context you detail is simply irrelevant to what I put forth.

    What I was speculating on was the end situation, in particular as to how CO players would react if they were suddenly confronted with a closure of this game, and if the nature of their posts were to change after such an announcement.

    My speculation had nothing to do with the situation before the imagined announcement of a CO closure. The actual events leading to that situation if it happens are unknowable at this time and thus can't be compared to the situation before CoH's closure.
  • beldinbeldin Posts: 1,708 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    True that. Ame, Splosions, et al are doing their level best with what they're given to work with.

    Brad Stokan, on the other hand, is an absentee landlord.* Never a good thing when the boss has nothing to say.

    *: Feel free to read that in your best Al Pacino impression.

    Question is .. when have you read the last time something from Ame, Splosions or any other Dev
    so that we know they are still working on CO ? Personally i have the feeling they are all gone.


    Heck .. just look at the latest PTS Note .. yeah Santa got a new Bio .. that says all for me :rolleyes:
    R607qMf.jpg
  • knightfalzknightfalz Posts: 33 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    lestylo wrote: »
    Que? DCUO and other mmos still exist.

    I find it amusing how quickly and often DCUO is dismissed around here by many. They are indeed competition for this game, and are certainly not holding back on the expansion of their game in the coming year. The soon to be added player bases should be interesting, as well as the announced league bases to come later.
  • thalast1thalast1 Posts: 78 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    beldin wrote: »
    Question is .. when have you read the last time something from Ame, Splosions or any other Dev
    so that we know they are still working on CO ? Personally i have the feeling they are all gone.


    Heck .. just look at the latest PTS Note .. yeah Santa got a new Bio .. that says all for me :rolleyes:

    God so ungrateful.

    You aren't a game designer, you have no idea how much work goes into changing a bio in a game. Be more open minded!

    Not to mention proofreading the bio, and coming up with something interesting to read :)
  • beldinbeldin Posts: 1,708 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    thalast1 wrote: »
    God so ungrateful.

    You aren't a game designer, you have no idea how much work goes into changing a bio in a game. Be more open minded!


    Ups .. sorry .. forgot about that :redface:

    Now i bet the next "major" content update is a new Bio for Kevin Poe :tongue:
    R607qMf.jpg
  • knightfalzknightfalz Posts: 33 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Their only competitor is gone, so...why?

    They're not going to release anything else. They don't have to. What else are the players going to do? There is no alternative anymore. No competition. Know what that makes? A monopoly, which means they can essentially do whatever they want, or in this case, they don't have to do a thing because it's either their way or the highway.

    Your view is only correct to the extent customers believe CO has no competition and customers would be at an extreme disadvantage by not using the service.

    Thus, it is false.

    Even if one believes CO has no competitor, there is no great disadvantage in not having this service. It doesn't provide anything essential or extremely helpful to life. It's not like anti-rejection drugs, for example, where if you don't buy and use them you will harm and eventually lose your transplant, which will have a serious quality of life repercussion.

    The only way they would be able to maintain interest in this game over time would be to toss the dog a bone at least once in awhile, so they would still have to do something.
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