Category: True Life

Okay, it’s childish, I know. And rude. And probably not good for my mental or moral health.

But I am still really, seriously, sorely pissed at NCSoft.

Since the announcement about City of Heroes closing down, I haven’t played the game. At all. Simply … couldn’t.

In the past few days, though, I’ve been running around taking screen caps and staring various memorial pages. And I look at all the characters  created — ones I ran up to 50, and ones that were along the path — and it just freaking chaps my hide.

Margie got on tonight (as she was doing her own screen caps) and saw she had a toon that was just short of dinging 50. So she finished it up. She was working on it as I came back from my NaNoWriMo Write-In.

And it was, like, I want to do that. I want to play with these characters, in this world. I want to fiddle around with the combinations we created, enjoy the array of power sets, the different story arcs …

And, of course, I could … until Friday. Sometime … Friday.

Or not, since I have other things I need to do between now and then, and, of course, why freaking bother when it’s all going to go away when the plug is pulled?

(Note: one could consider this a microcosm of the moral / mental considerations of what one evaluates of the reality of the Afterlife. If there is nothing beyond this world, is there a use in going on?  If there’s no CoH after Friday, is there a use in playing the characters? Discuss.)

I try not to wish ill of people, because, as Spider Robinson said, “Vengeance is counterproductive, always. Not to mention the fact it gets your soul all sticky.” But given how the game was terminated, without explanation, at a time when it seemed from all indications that the game was doing okay — not spectacularly, but profitably — and in a way that basically left the fanbase hanging and the dev all out of jobs … I really do wish, sincerely-truly, that anyone in any management position in NCSoft who had anything to do with this decision finds themselves unemployed very, very soon. And stays that way for quite some time.

Yeah, I know, kind of a weak beer curse. But it is, after all, only a game.  But I also am just really frelling pissed at those (I’ll assume) guys, for taking away something I enjoyed, something I (and others) were willing to continue to spend money on, something that’s been a part of my life (and my life with Margie) since almost 8 years ago.

Oh, yeah — if they all suffered a bout of explosive diarrhea, at a maximally inconvenient and embarrassing moment, would be nice, too.

Rrrg.

(Yeah, and, btw, life is too short, and I have no need to ever spend any money ever again on any product from NCSoft — and will, of course, be more than happy to advise others likewise. Eat Hamidon Goo and Die, NCSoft.)

Or maybe the bottom line is that advancement in CoH was more about the achievement  and reaching the goal than the journey. Because I confess I am utterly uninterested in hopping onto CoH and doing any gameplay.  Which I feel like a kick in the gut whenever an opportunity that would have previously been, “Hey, I’ve got some time, maybe I’ll do a bit of CoH” or “Hey, Honey, want to do some Game?” comes up.

I have gone in to take some character screencaps, and I want to do a server-by-server “In Memorium” set of posts.  But right now — I can’t bring myself to go in and play with any of these people who will be evaporating in 2+ months.

As formulated by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross relating to how people react to terminal illness or to any other personally catastrophic news.  I saw all of these in the CoH community since the word came down yesterday that the game was being shuttered — including all of these comments or variants thereof (well, not much of #5 yet).

1. Denial — “NOOOOOOO!” “I don’t believe it!” “I feel numb.” “This makes no sense.” “It’s a fake to increase interest in the game.” “Someone else will buy the game and keep it running.”
2. Anger — “It’s not fair!” “NCSoft is screwing us!” “I’ve put all this time and effort in and now they just take it away? Unacceptable!” “Why are they doing this? I demand an explanation!”
3. Bargaining — “Isn’t there anything we can do?” “Petition NCSoft to keep the game running!” “Petition NCSoft to make the game open source so someone else can keep it running!” “Petition Sony to buy the game!” “Can’t they just let the servers run without any extra change or growth in the game?”
4. Depression — “I’m never going to play a game again.” “”Nothing will ever be as good as CoH was.” The game will be over soon, so what’s the point of playing it with any of my characters?” “I’ll never be able to think of how I met my spouse in the game without being sad now.”
5. Acceptance — “It’s going to be okay.” “There are other games out there — what is everyone else moving to?” “It’s had a good run and I’ve enjoyed it. Time to move on.”

It’s the money, stupid.  The game is doing okay, but in context, it’s not in NCSoft’s interest to keep it up and running.

Based on their Investor Relations report (PDF) of August 2012:

1. NCSoft considers CoH an MMOG, which has a life cycle of 5-10 years.  Introduced in 2004, that makes CoH 8 years old, close to end-of-life. (p. 4)
2. CoH revenues are a tiny fraction of NCSoft’s income, vs. Aion and Lineage 1 and 2 — about 2% of sales. (p. 7 and 13)
3. North America and Europe sales are a tiny fraction of NCSoft’s revenue (p. 13)
4. CoH saw a tiny increase in sales over the last year, but as  The Escapist notes, that with the change-over to the blended business model “City of Heroes Freedom,” which was meant to significantly increase revenues — which didn’t happen. (p. 13)
5. NCSoft profit and net income is way down. (p. 20)
6. Company focus is on two big launches this year, Blade and Soul and Guild Wars 2. (p. 16-18)

Bottom line (so to speak), City of Heroes and, more importantly, Paragon Studios, was a distraction for a company in financial trouble and focused on upcoming releases. The revenue stream was small and going nowhere.  From a purely business standpoint, it makes all the sense in the world for them to pull the plug.

But it still sucks big-time for the players.

Well … dammit.

This morning we announced that Paragon Studios will be taking to the skies of City of Heroes for the last time.

In a realignment of company focus and publishing support, NCsoft has made the decision to close Paragon Studios. Effective immediately, all development on City of Heroes will cease and we will begin preparations to sunset the world’s first, and best, Super Hero MMORPG before the end of the year. As part of this, all recurring subscription billing and Paragon Market purchasing will be discontinued effective immediately. We will have more information regarding a detailed timeline for the cessation of services and what you can expect in game in the coming weeks.

That … just … SUCKS.

It’d hard to express in words how much City of Heroes has meant to me.  It was the first MMORPG I ever played.  I met folks there. I ran a supergroup of friends and acquiaintances.  I gave a sub to my wife for Valentines Day, and the two of us have logged weeks worth of  time over the years.

I came in at I3, when things were in a nascent stage.  I remember mad dashes through the Hollows … go-hunt-killing Skulls in Kings Row … endless jogs through Steel Canyon to the missions before hitting that magic Level 14 when you could get a travel power …

The expansion of content, of character types and powers, of Quality of Life features kept it all fresh and new, yet still familiar.

We had a stable of characters on different servers, spanning everything from toons in their teens (level-wise) to retired Level 50s, and in an array of powers and synergies that playing the same missions back to back (e.g., the Signature Story Arcs) never felt like a dull grind, but a series of wargames with differing conditions.

I wrote a novel. Well, half a novel.  That I still plan to get back to.

We tried different games — DC Universe Online, Champions Online, Star Trek Online, and (and Margie and Kay still play this, too), Lord oft the Rings Online.  But we always came back to CoH.

It made us feel super. Especially together.

And now … after, what, 8, 9 years? … it’s going away.

The team here at Paragon deserves special praise for all that we have accomplished over the last 5+ years. These developers are some of the most creative and talented people in the gaming industry. By now, we’ve all been given this news internally, but to anyone who may be reading this message after the fact; know that your hard work and dedication has not gone unappreciated or unnoticed. To any potential studios looking to grow your team; hire these people. You won’t regret it.

The Dev community on CoH, including their accessibility through the forums, was always one of the cool aspects of CoH.

To our Community,

Thank you. Thank you for your years of support. You’ve been with us every step of the way, sharing in our challenges, encouraging us to make City of Heroes better, more than everyone else thought it could be. We couldn’t have come this far without you. I implore you all, focus on the good things of CoH and Paragon Studios. Don’t dwell on the “how” or the “why”, but rather join us in celebrating the legacy of an amazing partnership between the players and the development team.

Thank you, and I’ll see you in the skies, one last time.

I don’t blame the Paragon Studios folks. The direction for this is clearly about NCSoft. I’ll be curious as to what news comes out about what’s driving this decision.

Regardless, it’s sad. Depressing. Grief-making. Like finding out the restaurant you liked so much, where you go every few weeks, where you know the staff’s names, where you proposed to your wife … is not only closing, but being torn down for a WalMart.

Ugh.

I had a chance to hop on one of the Google Hangouts that Paragon does periodically.  I was pretty much the only one on with Zwillinger, which meant we got to chat on a bunch of items.  Specifically:

1. Though the retro space gear given in the user selection poll is all on male models, there will be versions for all three body types.  There are also specific female costume bits that have already bee selected.
2. More signature arcs are on the way, dealing with “different sorts of stories” than before, and also with the repercussions of Statesman’s death.
3. The premature “spoiling” of Statemen’s death was driven at least in part by the need for formal publicity set up with various gaming sites and mags, and because of concerns of spoiling  by others.  Zwillinger did note that it was a concern Paragon had heard of from a number of sources.

In discussing stuff, I came to realize that I’d been playing since Issue 3 (!), which makes some seven years now.  Crikey!

It’s a shame there weren’t more people in on the Hangout.  It’s a fun way to discuss things with the Paragon folks.

Number one question I forgot to ask: When are leveling pacts coming back? Margie and I were just starting some new toons last evening, and I hated that we were dinging at separate times (esp. since it now brings up the level sidekick dialog).

Friday was my 7-year anniversary with City of Heroes — 28 January 2006.  I don’t have a “first post” here on Blog of Heroes because …  well … I was a bit reluctant to let on about it publicly.

Margie started playing in February (I gave her a subscription for Valentines Day).

On the one hand, that seems like a huuuuuge chunk of time — seven years, OMG!  On the other hand, so much has happened in my life during that tenure on the game, and so much has changed, it seems like it’s been much, much longer.

I started in Issue 3, by the by.  And when I think back to the game at that time — no crafting, no “no use slotting more than three of anything into a power” (ah, the days of Perma-Haste), the introduction of so many zones and other game mechanics …

I’ve drifted to and from the game over the years.  And pretty much nobody I know who played it — with the exception of Margie, of course — still does.  But it remains fun, new content keeps being added, and new alts and powers keep things pretty darned fresh.

Don’t know if I’ll be playing it in another seven years, but don’t feel any particular itch at the moment to stray.

(As a personal trip down memory lane, this listing of alts I had in late February is fun — two of them (Psi-clone and Torchielle) eventually dinged 50; one (Velvet) stalled in the low 30s; the rest got deleted at one point or another …)