TonyV

I've wondered before if a player-run campaign such as various "save our television show" campaigns might work. For example, for reasons I'm not at liberty to disclose, I ran across the Save Our Seeker web site for fans of the Legend of the Seeker television show. They gathered almost $10,000 in donations and used the money to run two full-page ads in The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety magazines. They also gathered over $10,000 in donations to buy DVDs to donate to libraries. What kinds of ads could we run or projects could we undertake to get the game into the hands of new players if we had that kind money to spend on the effort?

On the one hand, I feel like if NCsoft is unwilling to run some of the advertising that the game's fans want, there's really not much stopping us from collecting donations and undertaking such projects ourselves.

I'd be lying, though, if I said that I also hadn't thought that if NCsoft is unwilling to run advertising for the game, do I really want to waste my money on their non-commitment?

The people I really feel sorry for are the developers and reps at Paragon Studios. I really get the vibe that they have little or no control over their advertising budget, that they're simply told my NCsoft, "Here's what you have to spend." Given that situation, all of the appeals even to Black Pebble won't do any good. If they don't have they money, they don't have the money.

Still, I'm not ignorant to the fact that NCsoft is trying to strike a delicate balance between supporting existing titles and investing in new and recent titles in order to generate the most profit that they can. If there's something that we, as players, can do to prove to them that City of Heroes is still worth pouring money into, that could only be a good thing in my book.

Of course, if we did start a player-run campaign, we'd have to quickly decide on a few things up front, such as who gets to decide where the donation money is spent? What endeavors would get the most bang for the buck? What kind of accountability would there be to ensure that money given in good faith would be spent wisely? What community resources would be be able to tap (community writers, artists, machinemists, etc.)? To what degree would we want Paragon Studios and/or NCsoft involved in the campaign, and would they even be willing to be involved? Who would be willing to step up and actually run the thing? I don't just mean who is willing to be a figurehead in charge; I mean, who is really willing to put their boots on the ground and run with it?

When Jackson Nathaniel and the other Irons Brothers (Bobby Ray, Jimbo, Cletus, Billy Joe, and Pervis) showed up for the jewelry store heist, things quickly turned sour when they started fighting over the one set of shrunken heads that, among all six of them, they managed to remember.


If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

You know, when I watch this, it strikes me just how awesome our developers are. I'm impressed by how passionate Matt Miller is about the game. I'm guessing that he got picked on relentlessly when he was in high school, and that a lot of people probably give him grief today about how weird he is today. Well, I live your pain, man. This is exactly the kind of guy I dig hanging out with, and I for one am really glad that he's latched on something he obviously finds so fun and enjoyable, and that in the end, makes him successful enough that he gets to pick on the former bullies who are probably working in grocery stores and restaurants today.

This might sound like an off-the-wall kind of thing to say, but hopefully it's flattering enough to be in a good way. Melissa Bianco is HOT. No, not supermodel gorgeous, but I don't go for those bimbos. Melissa is smart, she's geeky, she's talented, and she's very pretty. Her eyes are absolutely gorgeous. To people like me who view "sexy" as more that just about raw sex appeal (but still, as human beings, at least part of the equation), she's got it going on. Mr. Bianco is a very lucky man. All that, and she's all big and important, too!

Jay Doherty is freakin' hilarious. His "Super Lumberjack" tangent could have been silly, but he pulls it off flawlessly. That line actually had good classic comic timing. I've added it to my signature, something I very rarely update.

Jesse and Chris... God bless 'em, I love the guys. On the forums and in-game, they're awesome to behold, but I feel like the marketing people gave them a sheet and said, "Here, just read off the features." I know this was just a kind of corny marketing video, but I've seen you guys in action. Be more enthused about your projects! That being said, I'm still a Back Alley Brawler fan.

Anyway, Going Rogue looks really exciting. I can't wait for it to get here. I really do hope that you all at some point do decide to revamp some of the existing zones and "ultraize" them. I know you've said you probably won't, and it sounds kind of like a waste of time you could be working on new stuff, but there's also something to be said for a consistent level of quality throughout the game, too. I really do think it would be time well spent. It doesn't have to be all at once, just a building here, a street there, and before you know it, the most well-traveled places will be all shiny and new (or shiny and grimy, as the situation warrants), and then everything will be shiny.

Can't wait for part two of the video!

You know, if one wants a very positive rep, there's actually a simple way to get it. Turn your rep off before posting anything that's out of the mainstream view of what is acceptable. In my case, I'd turn it off before posting any rants against farming or jumping into any flamewars, as you'll always draw negative rep in those no matter what side you're on. If people see that your rep is off, they probably won't bother red dinging you.

When you post helpful stuff, like answering questions in Player Help or posting some news item or making mainstream comments (anti-DOOOOM!-crying is a good example), turn it back on for a day or two and you might get a green ding or two.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards turning mine off. To be honest, it seems to me like the system is there to be gamed, and really, it's like those social games on Facebook--something that I don't really have time to worry about, even for a few seconds here and there.

...And it's claimed. Sorry for the interruption, you may proceed!

That's kind of fun, though. I might have to dig though Tony's Graveyard to see if there's any more stuff I can keep from hauling off to the computer recycling place.

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I usually sell mine on the market for 10 each to get credit towards the Wentworth's badges. They usually don't sell right away, but they do sell, usually overnight or so. Belle tends to hoard them and give them away to other people in battles. I don't think either one of us is very attached to them.

I'll admit that I usually do save the first two I get in the tutorial zone until I'm in a real pinch, though.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a new video card to support Ultra Mode. As a result, I have a (now) old eVGA GeForce 8800 GTX card just taking up space in my office.

I'm not going to lie, by today's standards, it's not as beefy as some cards could be. It can be kind of loud and put out a lot of heat when it's cranked up, but it does do Ultra Mode as long as you're willing to live with some compromises. Here are the detailed specs. On eBay, it goes for $20 or $30.

It's used, of course, and I make absolutely zero warranty for it. If you plug the thing in and it starts smoldering and blows up your computer, please don't sue me. I promise it worked when I pulled it out and put my new card in.

Having said all of that, I thought I'd ask if anyone wants it. This will not probably make you happy if you want to blaze along in Ultra Mode. If you have a card that's more than a couple of years old, or a second machine that's dinky that you wouldn't mind upgrading, let me know. I'm not charging anything for it, it would be yours for the asking, as-is. All I ask is that you actually use it and not turn right around and eBay it yourself, 'cause you'd kinda be stealing it from someone else who might could use it.

Please look at the spec sheet linked above to make sure it's compatible with your system.

Here's my constructive suggestion, and it has actually been suggested before in relation to other powers:

1) Buffs/debuffs should have a "cancelable" flag that is an indicator of whether or not the affect can be canceled by a player. Stuff like the lab map explosion should not be cancelable. Neither should a player mired in caltrops, or who has had speed siphoned by a Tsoo, etc. Stuff like the Mystic Fortune should be cancelable, and should speed boost, inertial reduction, clear mind, recovery aura, that funky ice encasement armor power, etc.

2) Hopefully obvious from the stated description above, players should be able to right-click on a buff and cancel it if they want.

3) A new "affect" is created. This affect is completely invisible and doesn't affect gameplay. I'll call it "Mystic Timer," it lasts 20 minutes, and it is not cancelable.

4) When Mystic Fortune is cast on someone, it checks to see if the character is under the influence of the Mystic Timer affect. If so, Mystic Fortune is immediately canceled.

5) When Mystic Fortune is successfully cast on someone (i.e. they're not under the influence of Mystic Timer), it takes affect and triggers the Mystic Timer affect.

This will keep people from simply getting a Mystic Fortune, canceling it, getting another, etc. until they get the one they want. If they cancel it, they can't get another until the Mystic Timer 20-minute timer runs out.

The deal with Teleport that makes it have to have an acceptance prompt is that it can be used for griefing. And I don't mean, "I don't like being buffed!" griefing, I mean the really bad type. Old-timers like me probably remember this, but when the game first came out, there was no teleport prompt. What happened is that griefers would convince people to let them on their team for whatever reason, or teammates would get pissed off, and teleport others off of buildings or into high-level enemies to get faceplanted. There were even some places where you could only get to by teleporting, like the little tower huts in The Hollows, and players would get irrevocably stuck there. I'm just pointing it out because I don't want people to conflate being buffed by the griefing that led to the teleport prompt.

My personal opinion is that there is one situation under which buffs aren't welcome, when people are doing activities like costume contests or stone tank races, where buffs interfere with the activities going on. I've never complained about being speed boosted, I've never complained about getting a Mystic Fortune, and when they removed the prompt, it was perfectly fine by me. I can understand some contrived circumstances under which it might be irritating, but none of them, in my opinion, rise to the level of having the auto-accept revoked.

These replies are great.
There is just one thing I hate--
Mine came much too late.

Still, if I had to,
I could send a verse to you.
Add it to the queue.

I like my Scrapper:
Dual blades, dresses dapper.
A no-mishap-er.

Spin Artist, his name.
I tried others, they were lame.
I think that's a shame.

He slices, dices,
Gallantly sacrifices,
Handles the crisis.

His motivation
Drives him to inspiration
Then domination.

His willpower shines.
Brightly, his pure heart defines
The hard battle lines.

Evil must succumb,
At least as a rule of thumb.
(Though he loses some.)

Swoosh! Slash! What was that?
He defeats a low-down rat.
Wow! Hey! You see that?

"Enjoy the Zig, creep.
Crime doesn't pay. Don't be sheep."
He must never sleep!

Criminals, beware!
Run, hide, hole up in your lair!
Spin Artist is there!

Um...on second thought,
In missions with danger fraught,
Tankers are well-fought.

Maybe Sun Dried rocks,
He can take many more knocks
'Tis hard, this "thought box."

Woot, congratulations, and great eye on finding the place! And mini-congrats to Kallandra. Even though you didn't win this one, great job on figuring out what the heck that was. My first thought that it was some kind of fancy railing in Croatoa or somewhere. I really wasn't thinking about the chainlink fences until you posted your image.

Ocho, thanks for doing the Right Thing™ on this one. Mephistroth clearly had the right picture, and he definitely should have won this one. Just as a suggestion, though, if you guys want to avoid having people changing their posts and/or pictures in the future, you might want to add that to the rules. Or at least add something like, "if a player submits images of multiple viewpoints or locations or changes the viewpoint or location of his or her submitted image, that player is disqualified."

That would have let Mephistroth edit his picture for size, but would keep the rules lawyers from doing something like going to the right location after submitting a wrong location and updating their post and/or their image.

Speaking of which, when you say that you can review a time and change log of any edits, does that include linked images? That's actually more what I'm worried about than someone editing their post. If I post a link to an image and update the picture behind the link without editing the link itself, you might have a switcheroo happen without a log of it on the forums.

Also, I couldn't help but notice one more rule you really need to add just for clarification, something along the lines of, "The Paragon Studios Online Community Relations team is the final judge of the winner and reserves the right to disqualify any or all entries at its discretion." Hopefully you'll never have to invoke that clause, but in a pinch, it may save some bacon.

It's unfortunate you might need something like this. I'm cool with all of your winning selections, but I'm nice like that.

Just in case they're going to be picky about editing your post, I'll try to scavenge it. The hard part was finding the right gate with that texture as the ground instead of the tiled pavement blocks that the others posted. And yes, that's you in the foreground, still at the scene of the crime.



Oh, and of course:

If I am a winner, I permit NC Interactive, Inc. and NCsoft Europe Limited to use my name, likeness, photograph, hometown, and any comments that I may make about myself or this contest that I provide for advertising and promotional activities. I also certify that I am at least 13 years of age and am eligible to participate in this contest.

A ha! I'm on to you...

Ooh, good eye. I think you're on the right track, but I don't think that's the right gate. (Still poring over locations...)

Edit: Ooh, I think I know where it is! Now to get there...