Freelancer

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How about making /ghide be a persistent global hide, and extending /hide to a) be persistent (if it isn't already) and b) hide that specific character from Global Chat as well.

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I thought about that, but I'd like to be hidden from Global Chat but still be findable for teams. /hide takes you off of EVERYTHING, so you don't show up on the Find Team dialog, even if you have LFT set.

OK, I think we've established that sharing accounts is against the T&Cs and that protecting the fragile little minds of your children is your own responsibility.

So, the devs probably aren't going to be worried too much about these issues with regard to Global Chat. BUT the issue of 'I like to hide my alt' is still valid in my mind.

Please, all we need is for the Hide functionality (/ghide) to be done on a per-character basis.

Statesman has said in the past that when the game launched, he was surprised at how many different characters people created. Some people just do it for the variety of playstyle and powers, but others do it to play different characters, which exist seperate from their other alts and may well have a different circle of friends. Bringing every alt under one global Handle is convenient in some ways, but can also detracts from the sense of presence in the game. In an RPG, just like in any other virtual environment, presence is important. Being able to 'opt-out' of global chat by Hiding is useful, and the meachnism to do so just needs to be made a bit more user-friendly for it to work really well.

From the testing I've done, it seems that:

1. /ghide is persistent across sessions. When I log out and log back in, I'm still hidden. That's just fine with me.

2. /ghide applies to ALL characters. If I log out and log in to a different character, that character is hidden as well. This is NOT fine with me.

Why don't I like this? Well, I have a character that when I play them, I don't want my other Friends from knowing I'm online. Call it my 'escape' character. I always want to be hidden from GC whenever I play this character. ALWAYS. Right now this is easy, because we can turn the Global Chat system on and off entirely, but that won't be the case when the system is no longer in beta.

With /ghide working the way it does now, I will have to remember to toggle myself to and from hidden every time I switch character. I can see this becoming a severe irritation, especially when I forget. What I would prefer is for /ghide to be a per-character setting, like the normal /hide command. Is there any chance this might change before the full launch?

I like the proposals. I certainly rarely use the ctrl+num binds, but I do use the shift+num binds quite frequently - as a FF Defender I often spend my time buffing every teammate in order every 4 mins and if I'm chugging back some juice with my mousing hand when that happens, it's nice to be able to do the whole thing on the keyboard. Of course, whatever the change, a player can set their own binds if they don't like the defaults.

I especially like the idea of adding little numbers to the team list. Counting teammates during AV fight = brain hurting.

I stopped playing computer games 2 years ago as I just couldn't find one that could hold my interest long enough for me to make satifying progress. I had never played an RPG as I'm not really into the fantasy genre and had heard bad stories about most of the non-fantasy ones.

6 months ago my housemate bought CoH and I was hooked within a week. I got my own account shortly after and later joined EuroCore, one of the best clans/groups/whatever I have been with in any game. My main is now lvl 44, just experienced her first Ancillary powers that made her as giddy as a schoolgirl, and I have several alts I play regularly.

I'd say that's quite an acheievement for someone who stopped playing games 2 years ago. And it's all the Devs' fault. Keep up the good work.

I've got a tenner that says the price will be set at £9.95.

And you see, this way, I'll be up 5p for a month. It will still annoy me though, because the exchange rate right now means that this month's play cost me a mere £8.31. I'm also thankful that my American wife doesn't keep any savings in her US accounts...

/wildspeculation

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I STILL believe the whole Euro server idea is a bad bad bad horribly awful bad idea.

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There is actually a strong case for European servers when you look at it from a purely techincal perspective: ping times. Transatlantic ping times can be fairly high at peak hours and if the rest of your gaming system (both PC hardware and internet connection) is top notch it can be frustrating to see the game being 'choppy' due to transatlantic network performance, and it can affect gameplay. A geographically closer server helps to combat this problem.

The other main benefits seem to be:

1. Language localisation. However, this could just as easily be done on a 'global' server. Plenty of French speakers in Canada, guys...

2. Better support for the physical servers during the European peak playing times, since the support staff will be working European hours.

3. Server events in peak European hours.

4. Possible minor gameplay differences that would require a different version of server code ("we have some ideas for 'goodies' similar to those in the US DVD Edition." - Bridger).


So it's not like the whole idea is bad. I think the real question everybody is asking is, do the benefits really outweigh the disadvantages? Obviously Cryptic thinks "yes", or we wouldn't be having this discussion, but it is also obvious that some players disagree.

Segregation is a word being thrown around a lot. Let's not forget that right now the entire player base is 'segregated' across 11 different servers, with no way to interact between them in game. The real issue is that if we want, we can reroll on a different server (and hopefully one day transfer characters between them). Ignoring the technical feasibility of it, that option will simply not be available to us once the European servers exist - our choice of server will be largely determined at the time and place of purchase, with seemingly no way to reverse that decision without paying out again.

Simple answer (and I realise this is easier said than done): give the players a choice, and give them the option to change their mind. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the current policy is like saying I have to buy the game again if I wanted to play on Protector instead of Victory.


One last point on server numbers. Bridger, you've said there will be 'at least' 1 server per language. Right now I have enough alts that I have to spread them across 2 servers. If I wanted, I could create 99 different characters; I don't want that many, but it's nice to know I'm never in danger of running out of slots. If we only get 1 English-speaking European server, a monolingual English-speaking European player would only realistically get 9 slots to use. That would be an issue to me. Yes, just one server is unlikely, but my point is again about choice; another 9 English servers is unlikely, so our alt's numbers will be more restricted than players in the US. The disadvantage could well be marginal, but it will be perceived to be greater by some.

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...if it is unavoidable to split the two, then at least give the "overseas-ers" an option to keep their account on US server, but register as Eurpoean players, and thus be able to pay in their currency, get the comic, etc.

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Ooh, now this IS a good point. If I decide to stay on the US servers, I will be peeved if I still don't get my comic. Hopefully eligibility for the comic and competitions will be based on billing address and nothing else. It would not surprise me if European-game accounts were still held on the same NCSoft server as the US players (in a previous post I asserted that EU data protection laws, specifically the UK ones, do allow this) so hopefully regardless of which servers we use, we will still be eligible for the goodies.

In short: want comic want want want!

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"We are currenty working on the char transfer system, for everyone not just euros, and we are aiming to make it free"

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That sounds good to me, and I hope that is definitely the case. But remember, giving us free character transfers to Euro servers doesn't preclude them from charging us to access the servers in the first place...


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Perhaps Bridger will enlighten us to the real facts when Jack rips the tape off his mouth.

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Surely it was Gaffer that put the tape there?

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I know the UK at least has extremely protective privacy laws. Might require a different login system to meet the regulations there.

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Don't think so. I know this law (the Data Protection Act 1998) better than most and I can say without a doubt that nothing in the current system breaks these laws as long as the data we provide is not exported outside the EU without permission. If Cryptic/NCSoft wanted to export it, this permission could be easily given via the ToS agreement. Most banks here in the UK do exactly this so they can offshore their call centres.

OK, it looks like we need some rumour control here...

1. The only definite policy we know of is that we will currently have to buy a European version of the game if we want to play on European servers. This is 100% official policy, although hopefully the players will be listened to and it will either be changed or an alternative worked out.

2. Yes we have a European Community Moderator, but that doesn't neccesarily mean we will be 'segregated' into having different boards. Just as CuppaJo looks after the server specific forums now, I imagine Bridger will be the one looking after the English-speaking European forums. Doesn't mean we won't be sharing the General forum with the international community just as we do now. Of course, this may happen, but no-one in the know has said it will.

3. No-one official has said we will be getting a 'different' game. The chances are, the game will be identical but for technical details such as what to display in the server list. There may be some minor storyline changes. I would be surprised by any major alterations.

4. No-one official has said there will be anything like the 6-month delay with patches that is being bandied about right now. I would expect English language patches to be available very soon, if not immediately, after the US release, with maybe a few days to a week delay for translations into other languages. Just because other companies are slack with internationalisation doesn't mean NCSoft will be!

5. No-one official has said the 5th Column are being removed because they are illegal in Germany. This rumour is based partly on the recent Paragon Times article about a possible takeover, but is mostly based on a loose knowledge of German law which prohibits the use of Nazi symbols such as the swastika. There are no swastikas in the game currently. NCSoft always planned a European release and have legal people who would have pointed this stuff out. It was pointed out by players during beta. They know what they are doing, guys!

6. And lastly...

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Whens the launch-i heard from PC Gamer Nov 17th 04?

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PC Gamer obviously do not know jack. The same official post that informed us of their 'gotta-buy-again' policy (see above) says that the European release will be in 2005.

Remember, everything you read here apart from point 1 is simply opinion, just like every any other player's forum post. Unless an official NCSoft source can be quoted and referenced, anything you read is by no means set in stone. (And btw, if I've debunked something here that has been stated as fact by a dev, please correct me, but AFAIK they are all rumours). Indeed, many things you will read in these boards could not be further removed from reality.

Take it with a pinch of salt, people. Let's stick to what we know until we hear otherwise from a red name or other official source.

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one of which is that I want my comic and another is that I want to pay in sterling.

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Damnit, I want the backissues that I should have got too...

As for paying in Sterling, they may not offer that at all. They could easily just have the price set in Euros since much of Europe has already adopted the single currency, but they may still include Sterling as an option.

And along with the performace and new community benefits, yes, it would be nice to be eligible for competitions.

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Will those of us in Europe who are playing on US servers ever be able to switch our characters over to a European server? Will we have to buy the European version of the game to do this?

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NCSoft have answered this one already in the FAQ. They say:

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When the European version of City of Heroes is released in 2005, players who wish to use the European servers will need to purchase a European version of the game. Those with North American versions of City of Heroes will not be able to access the European servers, but will be able to continue playing on the North American servers as usual.

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SO basically, no we can't, unless we want to buy the game again.

I would like to comment on this policy.

It is bad. Bad bad BAD.

When all my real-life friends in the UK start playing on the European servers, I will be tempted to switch, but there's no way I'm paying the upfront purchase price again to do so. I'm currently in a European based SG, but even if many of them switch to the European version, I won't. I will simply cancel my subscription altogether due to losing my favourite teammates.

I strongly encourage NCSoft to come up with an alternative option. I suggest at the very least being able to make a 1-time switch of our subscription to the European servers, but with NO extra cost*. We've paid for the game already. The European release won't give us anything new, it just gives us a different community to play with. I don't see the logic in making us pay that upfront fee again; it's just like saying that I would have to buy the game again if I wanted to play on Protector instead of Victory!


Welcome to the community Bridger, and let me be the first to say that if you can give as much to the community as CuppaJo does, we can be thankful. I would repectfully ask that this issue please be somewhere prominent on your list of priorites, because I think it will genuinely upset a lot of players.



*Any nominal increase in the subscription fee due to exchange rate differences would be acceptable.

You had Rikti in your cape mission? Mine, and every other person's I've helped with, was againt the Lost... has it changed? Does it vary? Am I just being plain dumb?