I'd like to know what region, because being mistaken for Canadians was always Alaska's schtick, last I checked. Most Washingtonian stereotypes I know of seem to portray us as a bunch of hippy stoners and ****** that ride ferries and drink coffee in the rain.
Except for eastern Washingtonians which are a whole different breed:
Ahh so he is French then sorta...so why the hell does he hate Gambit so much then? >_>
Because the only real men of French origin became Cajun.
I am Cajun and I approve this message.
Also, charging people out the wazoo to 'force them to quit smoking because it's bad for them' is terrible, especially considering that obesity is a bigger contributor to death than smoking- and the first time someone mentions government-regulated food programs people go nuts and start a revolutions.
So, no- that is not full of win. It's exploiting consumers to line the pockets of politicians.
Because the only real men of French origin became Cajun.
I am Cajun and I approve this message.
Also, charging people out the wazoo to 'force them to quit smoking because it's bad for them' is terrible, especially considering that obesity is a bigger contributor to death than smoking- and the first time someone mentions government-regulated food programs people go nuts and start a revolutions.
So, no- that is not full of win. It's exploiting consumers to line the pockets of politicians.
well that has to do with more then 3 things,
1. fast food places like McDonalds etc don't even use meat and load it all with fat and sugar, and french fries that don't rot after 6 months make me question what exactly they are made of.....
2. GMOs are a huge factor in this as well, that's why people need to start up their own gardens, and check where you leave a lot of cities and towns have bylaws that allow you to raise hens and have a beehive, i know in my city you can. (OR support your local farmers market and cut out the middle man and give the farmers money directly from their products you can find all kinds of goodies there)
3. and your last comment is more true then you know, its more the CEOs of big companies that get the money then the lying politicians that behave like little kids
1. fast food places like McDonalds etc don't even use meat and load it all with fat and sugar, and french fries that don't rot after 6 months make me question what exactly they are made of.....
2. GMOs are a huge factor in this as well, that's why people need to start up their own gardens, and check where you leave a lot of cities and towns have bylaws that allow you to raise hens and have a beehive, i know in my city you can. (OR support your local farmers market and cut out the middle man and give the farmers money directly from their products you can find all kinds of goodies there)
3. and your last comment is more true then you know, its more the CEOs of big companies that get the money then the lying politicians that behave like little kids
I raise my apparatus legal in the states of Colorado and Washington in salute to Cryptic North who will end the reign of high fructose corn syrup and the horrors of diabetes.
"Russell Williams: Yeah, we went full speed ahead in January of 2013...."
So in 6 months we've gotten Moar Vehicles, an underwhelming story arc and Bullet for Biselle is STILL broken.
Rah rah rah! :rolleyes:
On the bright side, PW Executive finally admitted in a public forum that CO does indeed exist AND we got a sale.
When I read this I read it as when the studio actually started to function. They are only a 12 person team, there will probably be a pretty significant gap between when work starts and when they can actually release polished content. The timing of the announcement is also interesting, as as far as I can tell it was really recent.
Thats the problem Marvel change origins more than I change my underwear.
Look at Spiderwoman she had the most awesome original origin of being a spider that was evolved into a human by the nutcase The High Evolutionary. It was hinted she might have even been the bug that bit Parker. BUT then Marvel thought that was to much awesome and changed it to something completely more **** and boring U_U"
You never changed your underwear in millenia. By the way, do you have some, under you dusty dry mummy bandages?
A real spider becoming a human-like was too modern, too advanced for the minds of this time.
About the thread's topic: as many, i'm in a let's wait and see mood.
At first I thought it was only good or neutral news. But later I thought it may be a way to test investissement (some new team of devs) and what comes back from it (sorry, no financial vocabulary here) or not.
Usually I'm calling myself realistic but I'm rather pessimistic. I won't hoping or expecting, just waiting. With results I will be optimistic. Or not.
When I read this I read it as when the studio actually started to function. They are only a 12 person team, there will probably be a pretty significant gap between when work starts and when they can actually release polished content. The timing of the announcement is also interesting, as as far as I can tell it was really recent.
Well, Paragon Studios went through a rather lean time. They were down to fifteen devs and they still managed to pump out two "issues" a year. Fairly certain this went on for at least two years. They called them "The Freem Fifteen", iirc.
Cryptic has a dozen on Champions now? Should be a piece of cake to turn out at least ONE major content (read: NOT TEMPORARY) item per year. Should.
Well, Paragon Studios went through a rather lean time. They were down to fifteen devs and they still managed to pump out two "issues" a year. Fairly certain this went on for at least two years. They called them "The Freem Fifteen", iirc.
Cryptic has a dozen on Champions now? Should be a piece of cake to turn out at least ONE major content (read: NOT TEMPORARY) item per year. Should.
indeed, the freem 15 was when cryptic pulled people off coh to make the marvel mmo that later became this game. so from post cov to issue 12 that was the deal. if we got something like issue 10, with a revamped zone, lots of missions, an endgame raid, and new costume items. we could use something very much like that. again, i'm hopeful given that they tend to make champions sound like their current priority but pragmatic due to getting burned before..a lot.
Well, Paragon Studios went through a rather lean time. They were down to fifteen devs and they still managed to pump out two "issues" a year. Fairly certain this went on for at least two years. They called them "The Freem Fifteen", iirc.
Cryptic has a dozen on Champions now? Should be a piece of cake to turn out at least ONE major content (read: NOT TEMPORARY) item per year. Should.
True True, but they are new to the game and to the engine and to the company. I would give them a little more time post announcement before judging them. We have no idea what is expected of them or what they are working on currently or how long they have been working on it. At least nothing i can find. It it gets to the end of the summer and there is still silence.... well...
As I stated before, I'm giving them a full year to show progress. A lot can happen in a year, so surely that's a more than generous offering.
You're more generous than I am; I've only given them until mid-September to announce something (something more than the existence of Cryptic North, that is).
Of course, if they fail, that just means I won't be arguing against doomsayers any more. I'm still going to play the game, because I still have fun at it.
"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 am hoping to at least hear a "State of the Game" from them or something before that lol.
Now that's a hashtag I can get behind.
#StateOfTheGameNOW
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
You're more generous than I am; I've only given them until mid-September to announce something (something more than the existence of Cryptic North, that is).
"Announce?" I'm not talking about announcements; I'm talking about actual, tangible progress. Any company can make an announcement and promise things, but it takes actual work to deliver those promises. I could care less about announcements.
"Announce?" I'm not talking about announcements; I'm talking about actual, tangible progress. Any company can make an announcement and promise things, but it takes actual work to deliver those promises. I could care less about announcements.
Cryptic would NEVER make an announcement about something just to make a baseless promise to their players. Telepathy: On Hold
im giving them a year to show any intrest in this game... we've always been the red-headed step child of cryptic since sto. please forgive me for not being so positive
im giving them a year to show any intrest in this game... we've always been the red-headed step child of cryptic since sto. please forgive me for not being so positive
If the new devs show themselves to be good at CO, they'll probably be moved into Cryptic's other games.
If the new devs show themselves to be good at CO, they'll probably be moved into Cryptic's other games.
unfortunately that might be true..... its happened in the past after all i did say we have been the red headed step child since STO all the devs that used to be with us is over there and in NWO. i higly doubt anything will be done to this game other than a shut down in a year.
The fact remains that these guys have yet to make an announcement on this forum after 6 months tells me flat out that they are a 'maintenance crew' and to expect little.
unfortunately that might be true..... its happened in the past after all i did say we have been the red headed step child since STO all the devs that used to be with us is over there and in NWO. i higly doubt anything will be done to this game other than a shut down in a year.
Spoken just like all the guys who said Champions would shut down 6 months after launch. Or was it 3?
If the new devs show themselves to be good at CO, they'll probably be moved into Cryptic's other games.
I should add -- this might not even be a bad thing. It means that CO contributes positively to Cryptic (it gives new hires training wheels in a low stakes environment) even if the title's not raking in piles of cash.
I should add -- this might not even be a bad thing. It means that CO contributes positively to Cryptic (it gives new hires training wheels in a low stakes environment) even if the title's not raking in piles of cash.
Which means we're continuously stuck with trainees that don't know how to do anything, we'll keep getting costumes that don't have the right materials, low-rent foundry-style missions that take a few minutes to do, and meanwhile our version of the game engine keeps getting cobbled together and farther away from the "real" game engine, which is present in Star Trek and Neverwinter, to the point where if they want to share any of their neat new additions to the engine, our version is so out of date that they can't risk adding anything without breaking everything.
No, I don't see Champions as a training grounds being a good thing at all.
...low-rent foundry-style missions that take a few minutes to do...
I'll have you know that you'd be hard pressed to find a Foundry mission under a half hour. Most average between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. I've even known a couple to be in the 3 to 4 hour range.
I'll have you know that you'd be hard pressed to find a Foundry mission under a half hour. Most average between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. I've even known a couple to be in the 3 to 4 hour range.
I'll be hard pressed to find a Foundry mission of any length in a game where the Foundry doesn't exist.
Given the recent announcement that Cryptic Studios is creating a new subdivision in Seattle, Washington, called Cryptic North, we asked Daniel Stahl what affect this new company may or may not have on Star Trek Online and whether or not he is expecting to increase the team's head-count or use the personnel in Seattle in any way.
Stahl replied by saying that his team is very much looking forward to working with more experienced MMO builders in Seattle. He reiterated that many of the new company's employees come from Flying Lab, the team responsible for Pirates of the Burning Sea. Many of those team members are already familiar with the Cryptic engine as there was a time Flying Lab was "interested in using the [Cryptic] engine" for itself. In fact, he said, "one of the unknown parts of that story is that [Cryptic has] actually been working with them for quite some time."
Be that as it may, Stahl did note that the new company opens numerous avenues for new game development and maybe even Gateway development for Cryptic's existing games by utilizing the talent already in place in Seattle.
Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
I'll have you know that you'd be hard pressed to find a Foundry mission under a half hour. Most average between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. I've even known a couple to be in the 3 to 4 hour range.
Tell that to my 11-minute Foundry mission?
Honestly, the three missions that led up to the Lemurian Invasion could have been created in one working day, maaaybe two or three, by a guy with no knowledge of the Foundry. I'm using personal experience here. Everything I know about the Foundry I figured out on my own, just by creating a mission.
What was the first mission in that event? Something like "go beat up the disguised Lemurians"? They didn't even have to build an instance for this. They dropped some mobs over by the UNTIL building, told you to go kill them, and called it a day.
Second mission was, to my memory, just about the same thing, except here you had to pick up one of them little drill thingies. Hardly inspired.
The third mission you had a hallway and three or four rooms. Place a couple crates here and there, some shelves with boxes with them like you see in the King Pong mission, and call it a day.
Ah yes, they did add that cutscene and dialog, and tore a hole in that last room and added a tunnel which the Lemurians came from.
All together, 15 minutes worth of content delivered to us over (correct me if I'm wrong) six weeks?
I'll stick with my assessment that using Champions as a training grounds is not good for us or the game.
Not really, no. You'll note the question wasn't what CrypNo would be working on; it was specifically how the creation of CrypNo would affect STO in particular. And Stahl isn't going to say that this big announcement from his company isn't going to matter much to his team one way or the other - that's not the corporate way. Instead, he made bland, generic statements about "looking forward to working with this team..." Now, had he made a statement along the lines of having to move his family to Seattle, or STO's dev team getting season tickets to the Seahawks, I might have taken this a bit amiss, but as it stands, the official position is still that CrypNo is concentrating on CO with a bit of STO and NW stuck in here and 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!"
OK, Seahawks or Sounders tickets are a bit of a stretch, but he would have been more directly singing their praises, rather then "looking forward to working with" a team that has been, at least reportedly, working with Cryptic for 6 months.
The STO producers seem pathological in their unwillingness to mention the existence of CO. The only time I can recall them interacting with us was to deny emotes to CO players, even though they had no apparent problems with their inclusion in Neverwinter, and raiding members of the dev team. Their gratitude to the players who helped fund the development of their title knows every bound.
The STO producers seem pathological in their unwillingness to mention the existence of CO. The only time I can recall them interacting with us was to deny emotes to CO players, even though they had no apparent problems with their inclusion in Neverwinter, and raiding members of the dev team. Their gratitude to the players who helped fund the development of their title knows every bound.
I will be playing the wait and see approach as well. My inability to have faith in Cryptic is only based on their track record. So they will have to show me something actually big that will get this game off in the right direction.
not Alerts that they say are epic then end up being only temperary.
I want some none key or vehicle contant in the Zen Store for us to buy. I want anything none Lockbox associated. I want them to start using the Champions source materials for once. There are soooo many Big Villains who have not shown up in this game.
The fact that Mechanon is nowhere to be seen is down right embarassing.
The STO producers seem pathological in their unwillingness to mention the existence of CO. The only time I can recall them interacting with us was to deny emotes to CO players, even though they had no apparent problems with their inclusion in Neverwinter, and raiding members of the dev team. Their gratitude to the players who helped fund the development of their title knows every bound.
Hence the sig.
We had to hear about CNorth second-hand from Gamasutra instead of hearing directly from Jack and/or Russell. Meanwhile, Dan Stahl is now publicly trying to poach them a week after the announcement. Stahl's ambitions aside, Cryptic as a whole seems to have no interest in rebuilding trust with this community, so why wouldn't I assume the worst-case scenario now?
I was saying "wait and see" last week, but you know what? We've been waiting and seeing for an entire f***ing year.
Choose your enemies carefully, because they will define you / Make them interesting, because in some ways they will mind you
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
From a business standpoint, which of your products would you give priority in promoting? The ones that you've had good success with, or the ones that are the best reminders of your failed ventures?
I started a company in alaska. We made a building, and put people in there, and those people are working hard to make your sunny days more sunny. So, if you notice your sunny days being sunnier, that's us! If you don't notice sunnier sunny days, that's because we're working on the next batch of sunny days.
So you can feel at ease continuing to purchase more sunscreen and beach towels from the sunny day cash shop, because the news I just gave you assures you that those purchases will be worth it.
I've never lied to you before, and I certainly don't have a track record of screwing over my playe...I mean, sunny day enthusiests, just to keep that cash flow flowin'... so you can trust this news.
Also, an added bit of exciting news: We're coming out with a new exclusive limited time only pair of baluga whale swim trunks! Pre-order the Sunny Day Founder's Pack to get this exclusive pair of swim trunks that will never be available again!
This message courtesy of the Sunbrella Corporation.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
So there seems to be a lot of doom and gloom going on. I'm a little concerned that at these levels it's self-destructive. As I see it, you all have 3 options:
First, Believe that this announcement will have no impact or even somehow make things worse. You continue to stick around despite this belief and make yourself miserable. Worse is that the more you try to convince everyone that this is the case, the more likely it is that the game will never get any better and in the end all you've gained is the knowledge that you got one last chance to be right.
Second, you can believe that this might make things better but it might not. This is the cautious take and is basically hedging your bets. If you believe this, your best bet is to take a wait and see approach. If things do get better great, if not, then at least things aren't worse. At least there is potential gain with this approach.
Lastly, you can take the optimistic approach that the fact that Cryptic his making some kind of change with CO is a good sign. This could be the turning point for CO. A fresh set of eyes may be what this game needs. There's the risk of disappointment if things ton't change in the foreseeable future, but at least for the moment you're happy. And there's always the chance that you can make a showing and spark some motivation in the devs.
So which are you, and how will you choose to proceed? We can't control the devs or Cryptic, but you can control your own attitude and actions.
So there seems to be a lot of doom and gloom going on. I'm a little concerned that at these levels it's self-destructive. As I see it, you all have 3 options:
First, Believe that this announcement will have no impact or even somehow make things worse. You continue to stick around despite this belief and make yourself miserable. Worse is that the more you try to convince everyone that this is the case, the more likely it is that the game will never get any better and in the end all you've gained is the knowledge that you got one last chance to be right.
Second, you can believe that this might make things better but it might not. This is the cautious take and is basically hedging your bets. If you believe this, your best bet is to take a wait and see approach. If things do get better great, if not, then at least things aren't worse. At least there is potential gain with this approach.
Lastly, you can take the optimistic approach that the fact that Cryptic his making some kind of change with CO is a good sign. This could be the turning point for CO. A fresh set of eyes may be what this game needs. There's the risk of disappointment if things ton't change in the foreseeable future, but at least for the moment you're happy. And there's always the chance that you can make a showing and spark some motivation in the devs.
So which are you, and how will you choose to proceed? We can't control the devs or Cryptic, but you can control your own attitude and actions.
I know exactly what's going on from a financial standpoint. And it IS good news for the game because they are making an investment in its future and mitigating the risk to the greater PWE brand.
That being said.. living for tomorrow is a very bleak way to live. All you have is the today. If the game is worth playing NOW then you should enjoy it NOW. Take it from me.. 10 months ago I felt on top of the world.. Telepathy was Imminent and it was Awesome. Then the future became the now.. and there's still no telepathy update.
I left the game then.. I am tentatively back now (to test mostly). And if the NOW isn't enough for me then I will not spend my energy hoping for a future in Champions Online.
So there seems to be a lot of doom and gloom going on. I'm a little concerned that at these levels it's self-destructive. As I see it, you all have 3 options:
First, Believe that this announcement will have no impact or even somehow make things worse. You continue to stick around despite this belief and make yourself miserable. Worse is that the more you try to convince everyone that this is the case, the more likely it is that the game will never get any better and in the end all you've gained is the knowledge that you got one last chance to be right.
Second, you can believe that this might make things better but it might not. This is the cautious take and is basically hedging your bets. If you believe this, your best bet is to take a wait and see approach. If things do get better great, if not, then at least things aren't worse. At least there is potential gain with this approach.
Lastly, you can take the optimistic approach that the fact that Cryptic his making some kind of change with CO is a good sign. This could be the turning point for CO. A fresh set of eyes may be what this game needs. There's the risk of disappointment if things ton't change in the foreseeable future, but at least for the moment you're happy. And there's always the chance that you can make a showing and spark some motivation in the devs.
So which are you, and how will you choose to proceed? We can't control the devs or Cryptic, but you can control your own attitude and actions.
Or there's option 4... pretend you're above it all and tell other people what to do.
You also forgot option 5, which is the one I'm choosing: Remember all the nonsense that has happened in the past, not give a sod about the future since crystal balls don't work, and just keep looking at what's going on NOW. This is easy to do, since the past and present line up pretty well.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
So you're saying that Dan wants to incorporate Cryptic North's focus over to STO from CO?
No, in point of fact no one is saying this, not even Stahl. Well, no one except you...
"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!"
So which are you, and how will you choose to proceed? We can't control the devs or Cryptic, but you can control your own attitude and actions.
What I'm doing: Wait and see if the things I've said are remotely true and hope I'm proved wrong.
The optimist in me sees that this is great news. The realist in me says "If it's such great news, how come we didn't hear about this amazing new studio just for us six months ago, how come we still haven't heard from Cryptic that this studio exists, and lastly, if this were such a great thing for Champions, don't you think the people in charge would want to hype this up to us, since the game has been on maintenance mode for like a year now?"
The fact that no one at Cryptic seems to give a wad enough to announce this to us makes me feel that it doesn't really pertain to us. Like I said before, I think what Cryptic North is going to bring us is "Business as usual since January 2013."
Comments
"Russell Williams: Yeah, we went full speed ahead in January of 2013...."
So in 6 months we've gotten Moar Vehicles, an underwhelming story arc and Bullet for Biselle is STILL broken.
Rah rah rah! :rolleyes:
On the bright side, PW Executive finally admitted in a public forum that CO does indeed exist AND we got a sale.
People are broken. - Lum the Mad
Regional humor. You either get it or you don't.
I've already answered this. In that very post itself.
Because Gambit is a cajunjerk.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
I'd like to know what region, because being mistaken for Canadians was always Alaska's schtick, last I checked. Most Washingtonian stereotypes I know of seem to portray us as a bunch of hippy stoners and ****** that ride ferries and drink coffee in the rain.
Except for eastern Washingtonians which are a whole different breed:
Because the only real men of French origin became Cajun.
I am Cajun and I approve this message.
Also, charging people out the wazoo to 'force them to quit smoking because it's bad for them' is terrible, especially considering that obesity is a bigger contributor to death than smoking- and the first time someone mentions government-regulated food programs people go nuts and start a revolutions.
So, no- that is not full of win. It's exploiting consumers to line the pockets of politicians.
well that has to do with more then 3 things,
1. fast food places like McDonalds etc don't even use meat and load it all with fat and sugar, and french fries that don't rot after 6 months make me question what exactly they are made of.....
2. GMOs are a huge factor in this as well, that's why people need to start up their own gardens, and check where you leave a lot of cities and towns have bylaws that allow you to raise hens and have a beehive, i know in my city you can. (OR support your local farmers market and cut out the middle man and give the farmers money directly from their products you can find all kinds of goodies there)
3. and your last comment is more true then you know, its more the CEOs of big companies that get the money then the lying politicians that behave like little kids
The Nemesis system needs fixing and here's ideas:
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. Henry Ford
+1 for truth.
Go Cryptic North!
When I read this I read it as when the studio actually started to function. They are only a 12 person team, there will probably be a pretty significant gap between when work starts and when they can actually release polished content. The timing of the announcement is also interesting, as as far as I can tell it was really recent.
You never changed your underwear in millenia. By the way, do you have some, under you dusty dry mummy bandages?
A real spider becoming a human-like was too modern, too advanced for the minds of this time.
I did it twice last week and it works perfectly.
About the thread's topic: as many, i'm in a let's wait and see mood.
At first I thought it was only good or neutral news. But later I thought it may be a way to test investissement (some new team of devs) and what comes back from it (sorry, no financial vocabulary here) or not.
Usually I'm calling myself realistic but I'm rather pessimistic. I won't hoping or expecting, just waiting. With results I will be optimistic. Or not.
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@Moustic in game.
Gold since 2009. Lifetime since May 2012.
I play with freeforms AND archetypes.
Well, Paragon Studios went through a rather lean time. They were down to fifteen devs and they still managed to pump out two "issues" a year. Fairly certain this went on for at least two years. They called them "The Freem Fifteen", iirc.
Cryptic has a dozen on Champions now? Should be a piece of cake to turn out at least ONE major content (read: NOT TEMPORARY) item per year. Should.
Occam's Razor makes the cutting clean.
indeed, the freem 15 was when cryptic pulled people off coh to make the marvel mmo that later became this game. so from post cov to issue 12 that was the deal. if we got something like issue 10, with a revamped zone, lots of missions, an endgame raid, and new costume items. we could use something very much like that. again, i'm hopeful given that they tend to make champions sound like their current priority but pragmatic due to getting burned before..a lot.
True True, but they are new to the game and to the engine and to the company. I would give them a little more time post announcement before judging them. We have no idea what is expected of them or what they are working on currently or how long they have been working on it. At least nothing i can find. It it gets to the end of the summer and there is still silence.... well...
I am hoping to at least hear a "State of the Game" from them or something before that lol.
Of course, if they fail, that just means I won't be arguing against doomsayers any more. I'm still going to play the game, because I still have fun at it.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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Now that's a hashtag I can get behind.
#StateOfTheGameNOW
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
"Announce?" I'm not talking about announcements; I'm talking about actual, tangible progress. Any company can make an announcement and promise things, but it takes actual work to deliver those promises. I could care less about announcements.
Telepathy: On Hold
unfortunately that might be true..... its happened in the past after all i did say we have been the red headed step child since STO all the devs that used to be with us is over there and in NWO. i higly doubt anything will be done to this game other than a shut down in a year.
Spoken just like all the guys who said Champions would shut down 6 months after launch. Or was it 3?
There's guys like that for every MMO.
Which means we're continuously stuck with trainees that don't know how to do anything, we'll keep getting costumes that don't have the right materials, low-rent foundry-style missions that take a few minutes to do, and meanwhile our version of the game engine keeps getting cobbled together and farther away from the "real" game engine, which is present in Star Trek and Neverwinter, to the point where if they want to share any of their neat new additions to the engine, our version is so out of date that they can't risk adding anything without breaking everything.
No, I don't see Champions as a training grounds being a good thing at all.
I'll have you know that you'd be hard pressed to find a Foundry mission under a half hour. Most average between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. I've even known a couple to be in the 3 to 4 hour range.
I'll be hard pressed to find a Foundry mission of any length in a game where the Foundry doesn't exist.
Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
Tell that to my 11-minute Foundry mission?
Honestly, the three missions that led up to the Lemurian Invasion could have been created in one working day, maaaybe two or three, by a guy with no knowledge of the Foundry. I'm using personal experience here. Everything I know about the Foundry I figured out on my own, just by creating a mission.
What was the first mission in that event? Something like "go beat up the disguised Lemurians"? They didn't even have to build an instance for this. They dropped some mobs over by the UNTIL building, told you to go kill them, and called it a day.
Second mission was, to my memory, just about the same thing, except here you had to pick up one of them little drill thingies. Hardly inspired.
The third mission you had a hallway and three or four rooms. Place a couple crates here and there, some shelves with boxes with them like you see in the King Pong mission, and call it a day.
Ah yes, they did add that cutscene and dialog, and tore a hole in that last room and added a tunnel which the Lemurians came from.
All together, 15 minutes worth of content delivered to us over (correct me if I'm wrong) six weeks?
I'll stick with my assessment that using Champions as a training grounds is not good for us or the game.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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Part of the problem since December, 2012.
The STO producers seem pathological in their unwillingness to mention the existence of CO. The only time I can recall them interacting with us was to deny emotes to CO players, even though they had no apparent problems with their inclusion in Neverwinter, and raiding members of the dev team. Their gratitude to the players who helped fund the development of their title knows every bound.
Oh so true or so it seems
not Alerts that they say are epic then end up being only temperary.
I want some none key or vehicle contant in the Zen Store for us to buy. I want anything none Lockbox associated. I want them to start using the Champions source materials for once. There are soooo many Big Villains who have not shown up in this game.
The fact that Mechanon is nowhere to be seen is down right embarassing.
Hence the sig.
We had to hear about CNorth second-hand from Gamasutra instead of hearing directly from Jack and/or Russell. Meanwhile, Dan Stahl is now publicly trying to poach them a week after the announcement. Stahl's ambitions aside, Cryptic as a whole seems to have no interest in rebuilding trust with this community, so why wouldn't I assume the worst-case scenario now?
I was saying "wait and see" last week, but you know what? We've been waiting and seeing for an entire f***ing year.
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
So you can feel at ease continuing to purchase more sunscreen and beach towels from the sunny day cash shop, because the news I just gave you assures you that those purchases will be worth it.
I've never lied to you before, and I certainly don't have a track record of screwing over my playe...I mean, sunny day enthusiests, just to keep that cash flow flowin'... so you can trust this news.
Also, an added bit of exciting news: We're coming out with a new exclusive limited time only pair of baluga whale swim trunks! Pre-order the Sunny Day Founder's Pack to get this exclusive pair of swim trunks that will never be available again!
This message courtesy of the Sunbrella Corporation.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
First, Believe that this announcement will have no impact or even somehow make things worse. You continue to stick around despite this belief and make yourself miserable. Worse is that the more you try to convince everyone that this is the case, the more likely it is that the game will never get any better and in the end all you've gained is the knowledge that you got one last chance to be right.
Second, you can believe that this might make things better but it might not. This is the cautious take and is basically hedging your bets. If you believe this, your best bet is to take a wait and see approach. If things do get better great, if not, then at least things aren't worse. At least there is potential gain with this approach.
Lastly, you can take the optimistic approach that the fact that Cryptic his making some kind of change with CO is a good sign. This could be the turning point for CO. A fresh set of eyes may be what this game needs. There's the risk of disappointment if things ton't change in the foreseeable future, but at least for the moment you're happy. And there's always the chance that you can make a showing and spark some motivation in the devs.
So which are you, and how will you choose to proceed? We can't control the devs or Cryptic, but you can control your own attitude and actions.
That being said.. living for tomorrow is a very bleak way to live. All you have is the today. If the game is worth playing NOW then you should enjoy it NOW. Take it from me.. 10 months ago I felt on top of the world.. Telepathy was Imminent and it was Awesome. Then the future became the now.. and there's still no telepathy update.
I left the game then.. I am tentatively back now (to test mostly). And if the NOW isn't enough for me then I will not spend my energy hoping for a future in Champions Online.
Or there's option 4... pretend you're above it all and tell other people what to do.
You also forgot option 5, which is the one I'm choosing: Remember all the nonsense that has happened in the past, not give a sod about the future since crystal balls don't work, and just keep looking at what's going on NOW. This is easy to do, since the past and present line up pretty well.
Champions Online: Be the hero you wish you could be in a better game.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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What I'm doing: Wait and see if the things I've said are remotely true and hope I'm proved wrong.
The optimist in me sees that this is great news. The realist in me says "If it's such great news, how come we didn't hear about this amazing new studio just for us six months ago, how come we still haven't heard from Cryptic that this studio exists, and lastly, if this were such a great thing for Champions, don't you think the people in charge would want to hype this up to us, since the game has been on maintenance mode for like a year now?"
The fact that no one at Cryptic seems to give a wad enough to announce this to us makes me feel that it doesn't really pertain to us. Like I said before, I think what Cryptic North is going to bring us is "Business as usual since January 2013."