CO will not be closed by Cryptic/PWE because it serves as a proving ground for new tech needed for other projects.
This is their research and development project, it will never improve, but it will be never closed as well.
Examples are:
Vehicles, especially bikes -> prototypes for NWO mounts
Mods ->prototypes for NWO enchants
On Alert gear system -> prototype for NWO socketed gear
Announced but never introduced sidekicks -> I'm sure that their final forms are NWO companions. This one thing will not be implemented to CO because it has no longer any nees to be tested before placing it in NWO.
Specialisations -> NWO feat trees.
Look at it more closely and it's obvious that On Alert was introduced not to make CO better but to test things for NWO.
There are few other CO things in NWO as well.
It's pretty obvious that CO is needed because of being an unofficial PTS for all games using Cryptic Engine.
They dont need CO Online to keep Copy/Pasting everything from it.
They need a number of rats in a maze testing their new toys. This is why in CO we have a PTS-like amount of bugs and never finished things but NWO is more polished.
Best idea ever - people are paying them subscriptions for priviledge of being game testers. :X
Now, I'm not very surprised that CO isn't used for testing Legacy of Romulus for STO. But only because STO has real working public test shard.
Meanwhile CO is expendable and can be broken with testing shinies for NWO. Nobody cares anyway.
Well, Spore also has crippling DRM issues. It's totally the game I should love, but it's been such a nightmare to get working on machines (I had really cool stuff that just never propogated to Sporepedia), that I just... gave up.
And I bought the supplements to it, too! (Galaxy thing, packs, etc.)
Sigh.
At least CO is easy to access.
Campaign: The Fenwick Cycle NWS-DKR9GB7KH
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
Well, Spore also has crippling DRM issues. It's totally the game I should love, but it's been such a nightmare to get working on machines (I had really cool stuff that just never propogated to Sporepedia), that I just... gave up.
And I bought the supplements to it, too! (Galaxy thing, packs, etc.)
Sigh.
At least CO is easy to access.
Quoted for truth. Limited installs and too much security is the biggest reason for Spores downfall, unfortunately theyve done it on Batman Arkham City too...although you get 10 installs instead of 3, its still wrong
I wont even go into the rage that is my utter contempt for the new Sim City.
I don't think CO needs to close, I think they just need to stop disappointing its players. If that means improving ****, improve ****, but more realistically, if that means just saying we're going into maintainance mode unless something changes, just be up front. Just say, "No, we don't have devs, but we want to keep this game going."
Its the lies, failures, disappearances and disappointments that are killing this game.
Jay, if you torch a building, you'll find, perhaps to your disappointment, that phoenixes are mythical. All you'll have is a pile of ash and rubble.
And if CO were to be eliminated, there would be no phoenix rising in its place - just a corporate decision that people don't want to play superhero games after all.
If you really dislike all this as much as you say you do, the answer is simple, and as good for the OP as you - just uninstall the game, delete this forum from your bookmarks, and go on with your life, content that as far as you're concerned this place is dead.
It's what I've done with those games that have horribly disappointed me - and while there are things (a lot of things) that could be done better here, CO has yet to horribly disappoint me the way other games have.
"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!"
I don't think CO needs to close, I think they just need to stop disappointing its players. If that means improving ****, improve ****, but more realistically, if that means just saying we're going into maintainance mode unless something changes, just be up front. Just say, "No, we don't have devs, but we want to keep this game going."
Its the lies, failures, disappearances and disappointments that are killing this game.
If I were running it, I would never announce "maintenance mode". One, because it's a somewhat subjective term, and two, because there would be no positive results. If they made such an announcement, there would be a dramatic increase in outrage posts and "i quit" posts, as well as "the game is shutting down!" posts. Anyone daring to make a post along the lines of "well thanks for being honest" could expect a great big pile of flame to fall on their head.
Apart from the forum effect, it would also cause people to stop playing the game, and defenitely cause people to reconsider any purchases they were making. It would be a fairly stupid move on their part.
If you're running a pizzaria, you don't tell your customers that you're going to be making cheaper pizza for a while. You make it, and let the customer decide if it's worth it to keep eating there. Telling them that you're making cheaper pizza is basically the same as saying you want to go out of business.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
It IS the biggest problem...we've been told (by devs, officially) that X is being done and X is coming next and etcetc...
Then nothing happens. The worst is trying to hide your head in shame by hiding the Calander (which had what was coming in a deadline format) and pretending there never was one.
We arent stupid.. Every milliscule tiny change, we find it. We know about if very VERY quickly
Comments
This is their research and development project, it will never improve, but it will be never closed as well.
Examples are:
Vehicles, especially bikes -> prototypes for NWO mounts
Mods ->prototypes for NWO enchants
On Alert gear system -> prototype for NWO socketed gear
Announced but never introduced sidekicks -> I'm sure that their final forms are NWO companions. This one thing will not be implemented to CO because it has no longer any nees to be tested before placing it in NWO.
Specialisations -> NWO feat trees.
Look at it more closely and it's obvious that On Alert was introduced not to make CO better but to test things for NWO.
There are few other CO things in NWO as well.
It's pretty obvious that CO is needed because of being an unofficial PTS for all games using Cryptic Engine.
They need a number of rats in a maze testing their new toys. This is why in CO we have a PTS-like amount of bugs and never finished things but NWO is more polished.
Best idea ever - people are paying them subscriptions for priviledge of being game testers. :X
Now, I'm not very surprised that CO isn't used for testing Legacy of Romulus for STO. But only because STO has real working public test shard.
Meanwhile CO is expendable and can be broken with testing shinies for NWO. Nobody cares anyway.
And I bought the supplements to it, too! (Galaxy thing, packs, etc.)
Sigh.
At least CO is easy to access.
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
Quoted for truth. Limited installs and too much security is the biggest reason for Spores downfall, unfortunately theyve done it on Batman Arkham City too...although you get 10 installs instead of 3, its still wrong
I wont even go into the rage that is my utter contempt for the new Sim City.
Its the lies, failures, disappearances and disappointments that are killing this game.
And if CO were to be eliminated, there would be no phoenix rising in its place - just a corporate decision that people don't want to play superhero games after all.
If you really dislike all this as much as you say you do, the answer is simple, and as good for the OP as you - just uninstall the game, delete this forum from your bookmarks, and go on with your life, content that as far as you're concerned this place is dead.
It's what I've done with those games that have horribly disappointed me - and while there are things (a lot of things) that could be done better here, CO has yet to horribly disappoint me the way other games have.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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If I were running it, I would never announce "maintenance mode". One, because it's a somewhat subjective term, and two, because there would be no positive results. If they made such an announcement, there would be a dramatic increase in outrage posts and "i quit" posts, as well as "the game is shutting down!" posts. Anyone daring to make a post along the lines of "well thanks for being honest" could expect a great big pile of flame to fall on their head.
Apart from the forum effect, it would also cause people to stop playing the game, and defenitely cause people to reconsider any purchases they were making. It would be a fairly stupid move on their part.
If you're running a pizzaria, you don't tell your customers that you're going to be making cheaper pizza for a while. You make it, and let the customer decide if it's worth it to keep eating there. Telling them that you're making cheaper pizza is basically the same as saying you want to go out of business.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
Then nothing happens. The worst is trying to hide your head in shame by hiding the Calander (which had what was coming in a deadline format) and pretending there never was one.
We arent stupid.. Every milliscule tiny change, we find it. We know about if very VERY quickly