Hyperstrike

And you know this...HOW?

Never mind that there's been some tacit confirmation of some behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing between NCSoft and the former Paragon Studios...

Johnny being upbeat?

Did someone tweak tanks while I wasn't looking?



Just kidding Johnny. Welcome back to the Dark Side.

Niiiice!

And yeah, they're not going by the billing info in your account now. They're going by the account they drew the funds from in the first place.

So, people, if you paid a while back, your bank/credit card expired and you were issued a new one, there may be a need for you to talk with Support about that. Give them a couple more business days to get it sorted.

Why ask why?

This is a small imperfection in the map border in this area.

It's also the last way I know of (outside of dev hacks) into the "Matrix Room" below the Arena.

You used to be able to get below the map to get there by logging off at a submerged door on Monkey Island. The devs removed those doors and it no longer works with the few that remain (you log back in stuck in the terrain).

This imperfection allows you to get outside the war wall boundary though.
Do this while running. Flight will set you off enough that you'll hit the zone to Talos instead.

1. Head to the extreme SE corner of PI.
2. Follow north along the east wall until you run into a barrier (a small "corner").
3. Back off just a little bit then jump up on it.
4. Maneuver around until it lets you run outside the war wall boundary.
5. Run to the easternmost edge of the map. You'll fall off and hit bottom.
6. Open up your mini-map and select the Arena.
7. Run (again don't fly, it'll cause you to pop back up above ground on PI) towards the arena.
8. While you're below ground you'll see two large cubes. A blue one, and a smaller black one. When you're standing below it it looks like a blue square with a black square inside it.
9. When you're below it, type /stuck. This will take you to the nearest door, which happens to be the Matrix room.

The fact that NCSoft is no longer going to be the publisher of CoH doesn't mean they simply want CoH to dry up and blow away. This is why there are actually talks going on right now with NCSoft about the future of the game.

If NCSoft was actually trying to kill the game, they'd have rebuffed talks on the subject.


Yes. No. Maybe. Corporate strategy and politics are as murky as their public bretheren.

Yes. Some day, CoH will probably be turned off for good. At this point, it's not because it wasn't making money. And, if NCSoft and the people talking with them can come to terms, it won't be in the near future either. And, if and when that day comes, hopefully a worthy successor product by the same studio is already in use.

Nobody is asking for NCSoft to remain the publisher. A new publisher is needed, someone with a more personal stake in the game.

It is damaged by the closure announcement. Had NC let people at Paragon know they were considering closing the title before making the announcement, the dealings we're currently talking about could have happened out of the public eye and there simply would have been an announcement that Paragon Studios had been spun off into its own entity.

Still, a LOT of advertising "hay" can be made of a game that was saved by the heroes it spawned.

That's if NCSoft were to remain the publisher. That's not going to happen. And that's really not in their or our best interest. A new publisher needs to be found (or formulated). Again, said publisher should have some kind of personal tie to the game.

Easier said than done.

Again, easier said than done. Both sides have rules about how their funding systems may be used. Something like that could inhibit a kickstart campaign.

Also, how do you legitimately assign ownership when essentially one person is in charge of the funds?

Also, are you stepping all over any possible dealings by Paragon to rescue themselves?

Coordination like this doesn't come easy or fast.

Also, did it occur to you that NCSoft might be interested in things besides just raw dollar signs?

Wow. Now we need a business version of the standard code rant.

Sorry, but armchair-exec'ing here doesn't help.


You've glossed over so many "brass tack" issues it's not even funny.




Setting up a corporation is relatively easy. Sure.

Actually setting up a business organization to RUN things is harder.
And negotiating with a property holder who has demands beyond the strictly monetary harder still.

Never assume.

And, honestly, you don't want your developer as the person in charge of the business aspect of the game. Sorry. You just don't. You hire someone who knows how to run a business. Who actually can sit down and count the beans when necessary. Not the guy who goes "I have code to get out, maybe later."

Hit up the Titan forums. Something like this is already in the planning stages.

Okay straight question for you. Do you, you Durakken, know how much it costs to start up a studio? Do you know what's INVOLVED in starting up a studio?

Yes. Some of the things involved can be made to go away simply by throwing money at it. Others can't.

You're forgetting there has to be coordination between the developers and the community for something like this to happen.

Going out, buying something, and then giving it to someone else and telling them "here, get to work" doesn't always fly.

Also, what happens the first time they make a decision one of these people doesn't like?

Again, it's not always a matter of just throwing money at something.

Not that hard to do? The reek of bovine feces is overwhelming me here.

Okay, you've just proved you know jack squat about the dev team.

What's the term? Oh yeah. "Willfully ignorant."

Like I said.

Well, that and the general internet has an attention span that makes a hummingbird seem like some ancient master in a cave.

Actually he's more Terry Silver.

I've got an Ice tank over on Justice who's purty durable. I can probably help you out on Thursday. Wednesday, I dunno, I have a mothership raid on Protector about that time. I'll see if I can ping your global after that.

9PM Central.

Give this a little more time guys. I know it's hard as hell waiting right now. But this isn't a done deal until the former Paragon devs come back and tell you "Yeah. We tried. Didn't happen. Sorry."

Negotiations are still ongoing. The situation only LOOK bleak because they aren't in a position to talk with the community about anything yet. We still have a couple months here.

Ever think that some of those strange people in the SaveCoH movement might actually succeed?

We have not heard a final "Yeah. Sorry. We tried, but no deal." from Paragon.

As for the point refund cutoff date. NCSoft had to set some kind of cutoff date. I'm willing to bet that several lawyers had a chance to rake them over the coals for their opinions on the most advantageous, but still legal date.

Well that's understandable. I can totally see howHEEEEEYYYYYY!

Those credits! Oh dude! Killer! And I made it in! The oversized dude running air guitar!

Hey! How come I'm the only four star player?