Stealth_Bomber

Thanks for the help. It's not exactly straightforward, but I understand much better.

I've been gone a while, and I don't really understand the relationship between exemplaring down several level and IOs.

Lets say for example, I have a character with a level 50 IO and a Level 20 IO, and I do the Synapse TF. What, exactly, happens? Do I lose the 50? What if the 20 is in a slot I got in the 30s?

I don't know if it will change your CoH experience, since it is directed more at Team Fortress and Starcraft, but Apple is releasing an OS X 10.6 graphics update:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...os_x_10_6.html

You can get it through Software Update.

I'll post if I notice any changes, and of course I would like to hear from other Mac players as well.

I don't know if it will change your CoH experience, since it is directed more at Team Fortress and Starcraft, but Apple is releasing an OS X 10.6 graphics update:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...os_x_10_6.html

You can get it through Software Update.

I'll post if I notice any changes, and of course I would like to hear from other Mac players as well.

First, let me say thank you for all your efforts. We all appreciate them. You have done a fantastic job.

Second, let me ask why the CoH Devs don't just pick this up and add it as some type of an expansion pack? They would be able to keep it updated with their information automatically.

OK, I'm an old-timer, and like many of you I've seen issues come and go, and some weren't so great. But this one? Without sounding too over the top, I think the Devs hit this one out of the park.

The writing on the changing sides missions is really good. The missions themselves are interesting and challenging. In fact, I think you could argue that the Tip means of getting missions should have been part of CoH from the start. Don't Batman and Spider-man get information from enemies they defeat ("OK, OK I'll talk!" etc)?

If there is a foul ball here, its that the system is a little hard for people to get started with. I think, to make it a bit more straightforward, you should get your first Tip almost automatically, either from a contact, or from your first enemy defeated. That would get people pointed in the right direction.

But overall, very well done. I wish I didn't have to wait until tomorrow to finish changing to a Rogue.

Back in the day when the wife and I started:

- There was no debt cap. I had Blasters that had multiple bars of debt.
- Blasters were damage machines. AR/Dev was a beast.
- No one made Regen scrappers. No one knew how they worked.
- Smoke Grenade hadn't been nerfed (in fact nothing had, yet). Then they discovered that there was a "decimal error" in SG's debuff code.
- People argued in Broadcast in Perez Park over other groups "kill-stealing" their Hydra packs. (Yes, we fought over who was going to get to kill them!)
- There was no place called the Hollows.
- I once watched a Fire Tank herd up the entire floor of the Sewer Trial, and single-handedly proceed to use Burn to destroy all the Rikti Bosses. The rest of us (all dead) eventually rez'd because if you were dead when it ended, well, no reward for you.
- You didn't get inspirations during a TF. Period.
- Getting the SO at the end of a TF was a BIG DEAL. You had to remember to empty a spot in your tray while fighting the last battle, or sorry Charlie, no SO for you. Got a Range SO and you are melee? Sorry!
- Ranged powers and Cone/AoE powers used different range extender enhancements.
- No capes. No tailors. Didn't like the way you looked? Reroll, pal.
- No respecs. Don't like that last power pick? Reroll there too.
- 40 was the level cap at the beginning.

I haven't played for months or posted in many more months, but I'm back because the GR side-switching thing looks to good to resist. My wife is back online too. Look for us on Freedom!

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The OP's sense of self entitlement is just astounding....

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It has nothing to do with entitlement. Entitlement is something someone gives you as a result of your status. I just want the ability to pay more and get more for my money. Pure capitalism and pure business.

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have an answer for the problem of pissed customers that can't or won't pay for special access. He ignores that point completely

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Wouldn't want to leave you out, although I've addressed this already: you don't refuse to fly, or go to ball games, or concerts just because some people have better access to those events. The argument that a significant number of people will quit because others have better access is specious.

The argument to "play on another server" is just as weak: If you live in Boston and are an avid fan, and you could go watch a world series game between, say the Yankees and the Red Sox, but access was limited and you would have to pay more, would you go watch the Royals play the Indians in Kansas City instead? After all, its all baseball, right? Same game, there's really no difference, right?

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You've taken a small, simple problem and exploded it into hundreds, even thousands of lost subscriptions for no other reason than you not wanting to branch off to another server.

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Doesn't hold water. Do you refuse to fly because some of the seats are first class? Do you skip every ball game because someone else gets a box seat? Nope. People still fly and go to ball games every day. And yes, the plane seating for everyone else is smaller. The stadium is smaller for the average person because premium seats exist.

As far as the "play another server" argument goes, that's dead. If I want to fly a particular airline because I like the perks or the people or the service or whatever, and I have the resources to do it, I do it.

As far as priority goes, sell a limited number of access slots for each event to the highest bidder. just like box seats. If you have the resources and desire to get a priority, you get it. Simple.

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It wouldn't change the fact that if freedom is capped, you don't get on it.

Why? Because how is a program going to *choose from the people who are already there playing*, which of them to remove?

What if it's someone on a task force just about to finish their last mission?

What if it's someone attending a meeting of their supergroup and getting important information?

What if it's someone who just won 1 million inf in a costume contest and was going to get their prize?

In other words: paying more might get you the nice seat in front and sippy water in a nice glass, but it still makes you look like a complete jerk to the rest of the passengers on the plane.

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I get the idea of not bumping people off; I agree that's kind of extreme. But setting aside priority slots for a higher price is right in the supply and demand curve.

More demand for a desirable resource leads to higher prices. Pure capitalism.

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Please, devs, please, I beg you: add capacity to the servers, especially Freedom and Virtue, BEFORE double XP weekend.

We all know what is in store: problems logging in, server instability, Freedom will crash a time or two. Some people will get dumped during TFs, or some won't get to play when they want to because the server is greyed out due to being full.

So please, this is not out first time doing this. ADD CAPACITY NOW so this will be a fun experience instead of a giant pain.

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I must be psychic. The whining has already started.


Call Uncle Forbin's Psychic Hotline, The future can be yours today. Call me now!

1-800-Bul-Crap



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You are right. I was entirely wrong.

Clearly the solution is not adding expensive server hardware.

It is, in fact, selling priority access to those willing to pay. Just like a first class airline ticket or priority seating at a concert or "express lines" at a theme park. Makes more money for NCSoft, just like Booster Packs. Gets a perk for those willling and able to pay for it, just like every other business.

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...while businesses can charge more for Priority customers, they make their profit off of everyone else.

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Nope. The airplane is still going to Denver. A performer is still going to put on the concert. If you pay more for your ticket just so you can have a nicer seat, the net gain per ticket is higher from you instead of the guy sitting in the back.

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...have to pay to hold their place on a server during an event...

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That's an even better idea, actually. Sell "Event Tickets" that give you priority access to particular dates, times, and servers. Don't want to pay extra? Then don't. Gives those who want to guarantee access to their server the opportunity to do so. More money for NCSoft.

Allowing customers to pay more for more services is one of the cornerstones of a business.

First class airline seating. Universal Studios ticket upgrades. Limited access seating at stadiums and concerts. The list goes on and on.

Not one of these causes the millions of people who don't have that premium access to not fly, or not go to Universal, or not go to ball games or concerts. If you need to fly from Kansas City to Denver, you will, regardless of whether you can afford a first class ticket. Those that DO have the access have a more enjoyable experience because they can afford to.

Don't want to bump non-priority players off? OK, I get that, and it's why I said "maybe". What you CAN do is set aside a given number of server access slots for those players who pay extra, just like a first class seating section. Everyone else competes for the remaining slots just like always. Everyone gets to Denver.

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Priority access, what a stupid concept. But lets have fun with it anyway...

Say it does amazingly well and enough priority players boot off those unworthy pathetic players who both can't afford to pay more and are too stupid to just try another server.

You still grey out the server when it his x players no matter what they're paying.

Are you going to come back begging for another even more uber tier of pricing - super premium to make sure you get in even when its cram full of lowly premium people?

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Absolutely. If you get full, that's proof you didn't charge enough. Charge more the next time. Not everyone gets to sit in the front row of the sold out concert. Those with more resources do. It's business.

Business is about charging what the market will bear, not about fairness.

And this thread just proves how many of you hate Freedom server. Many of you admit it openly. If you were in favor of what is good for the game and its owners, you would want them to make as much money as possible.

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Seriously - you want to pay for "priority access," even *disconnecting* other players who don't play, but you won't use that same money to move to a server where you just *won't* have that problem... or even NOT pay and just roll an alt?

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Yep. Play on another server, you are making a low level alt you will never play again when the congestion clears up. Your SG gets no prestige. Its a waste.

I'm all for fairness in you personal life, but in business, if you are a bigger client you get more perks. Pay more, get more. I can't believe the game owners haven't already done this.

Ok, then this:

SELL ME AND ANYONE ELSE WHO CAN PAY PRIORITY ACCESS.

NCSoft is in business to make money. I have money to spend. Sell me a token, upgrade, whatever you want to call it, that will let me and the hundreds of others with the same resources, have access to the server we want to play on. With priority access, you move to the front of the line of your desired server. No waiting. No grey servers. No questions asked. Maybe you even bump off those who don't pay for priority access.

Don't have the money or desire to pay? No problem, go wait with the rest of the "make an alt play on another less desirable server" crowd. It's just business.

Universal Studios theme park does this every day. Upgrade your ticket, move to the front of every line in the park. Some of the upgraded waiting areas even have air conditioning.

I bet there would be lots of us who would gladly pay.

Memphis_Bill, I really enjoy your posts, and find them helpful. But this is just the "play another server" argument, all dolled up to look prettier than it really is.

My wife and I don't get to play together as much as either of us would like. So when we DO play, we play together. So let's say for the sake of argument, that she successfully logs in, but I'm locked out.

How is that fun for either of us?

There are thousands of friends and family members out there in the same boat. There MUST be a better answer than "Play another server."

Sorry, but the "Play another server" argument is lame. My friends, my wife and my SG all play on Freedom. I left Triumph a few years ago because getting teams was difficult. I have no desire to play on a low-pop server, thanks very much. Thousands of others feel the same way, apparently, so we are not all wrong.

Refresh the server screen? That's your answer? Really? For how long? What's a reasonable time to wait to play a game I'm paying for?

Adding temporary capacity seems perfectly reasonable for high-pop servers. You can see the consequences of not acting from here, a month away. What possible opposition could there be to making this event enjoyable for everyone?

So it's dumb to respond to the frustrations of hundreds or thousands of subscribers? I don't buy that argument.

I'm no guru, but I know you can add to server capacity. Maybe that kind of hardware can be rented.

The problems are as predictable as death and taxes. Fix them now before they happen and maybe this will be fun this time.

Please, devs, please, I beg you: add capacity to the servers, especially Freedom and Virtue, BEFORE double XP weekend.

We all know what is in store: problems logging in, server instability, Freedom will crash a time or two. Some people will get dumped during TFs, or some won't get to play when they want to because the server is greyed out due to being full.

So please, this is not out first time doing this. ADD CAPACITY NOW so this will be a fun experience instead of a giant pain.

OK, this one is simple. You guys have announced double XP weekend. We have been through this several times now, and we all know that Freedom and Virtue will be completely full. Freedom will probably crash once or twice under the load.

There will be complaints from everyone who can't get logged in, or that the lag is unbearable. It will be twice as bad in Atlas with the new AE system.

So, add capacity now, even if its only needed temporarily, before everyone gets frustrated and hacked off. Make this a FUN experience for once instead of a giant hassle.

Please and thank you.