City Of Heroes Beta Evaluated As Game Goes Gold 95
Thanks to GamersWithJobs for its detailed impressions of PC-based superhero MMORPG City Of Heroes, given just after the game reached gold master status, with an "official launch [of] April 28", and a (slightly inflationary?) "monthly subscription fee of US$14.99." The preview, from a "long time tester and fan of the game", notes: "When I entered City of Heroes for the first time, one of the things that quickly grabbed my attention was the scale--the towering statues, the twenty story buildings", before discussing the action-oriented gameplay: "Unlike almost every other MMORPG out there, combat in City of Heroes is designed to be fast paced and fun" The author concludes: "It's not a perfect superhero game, but it's a very good superhero MMORPG."
Re:If there was a game only for /.ers... (Score:3, Funny)
No capes!? (Score:4, Funny)
Gah! No capes! That's like a street-racing game with no oversized wings and Type-R windscreen decals, or a shmup without a spread cannon!
No capes! Gah!
Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2, Interesting)
Granted, it's not nearly the same as PvP in normal environment, but at least it was considered.
Has this changed from the up and coming release, or is it still a planned way off?
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
I agree, some games do not need PvP. But others would benefit from it immensly.
We're talking about a game with superheros. It's the whole "Need evil to define good" thing. Especially when it's superheros.
And making the villians PCs as opposed to NPCs makes it that much sweeter. For every one hundred "run around and kill people" PCs you'll have maybe 5 PCs who are truly roleplaying evil (and trying to kill you) that will make it worthwhile.
From someone who once RP'd a sli
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2, Funny)
Rival factions of villians.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1, Informative)
They were fighting over drug turf in New York. They used single combat to avoid having a protracted gang war.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2, Insightful)
For two, Evil characters (Villians) can level against anything. Good guys, bad guys, neutral guys, you name it. Besides, in City of Heroes, you don't level just against Super-Villians, you level against normal thugs and s
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Your silly analogy proves nothing; other than you don't even fundamentally understand the issue.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
But if you don't sell the new flavor, you can't know how much revenue can be generated by it.
Your silly analogy proves nothing; other than you don't even fundamentally understand the issue.
I fully understand the issue, it's the same one that faces music and movies and most other industries. Companies would rather stick to proven formulas rather than try new things.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
And for MMORPGs it isn't an "issue", they are making money. If they would have to spend 2 million to get your 9.95 per month, its pretty clear they know exactly what they are doing.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Wow, this "research" stuff sounds great. I bet with it you never have any surprises -- either successful or failures. Everything always happens exactly according to plan.
And for MMORPGs it isn't an "issue", they are making money. If they would have to spend 2 million to get your 9.95 per month, its pretty clear they know exactly what they are doing.
And what of the recent articles claiming the MMORPG market is NOT growing? New games are basically cannibalizing the old use
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
It is and it does. But hey, when you are playing with your own tens of millions, feel free to piddle them away however you want. Until then you are just another internet loudmouth.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
You're kidding, right? If not, thematic with the topic of discussion, I suggest you return to whatever planet you came from.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
I wouldn't say that the sims online is a wild success. EA was shooting for a userbase of 200,000 the most I ever read them having was around 80,000 and they are down to 50,000 now. I would also say that MMO's aren't bringing in new users at all. That is because the players that want PvP (Probably the majority) are playing other games. Most games are based on pla
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:3, Insightful)
Further, allowing PvP makes the game exceptionally difficult to balance so a few people don't run roughshod over the others.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
Again this is a falsehood brought on by the whiners that now populate MMO's. People don't pay to lose? Tell that to all of the people who have dropped money playing any 2 player arcade game. Tell that to half of the counterstrike, ut2k4, Q3 fans. The majority
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
It's not a falsehood. You're in denial.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
What is the subscription fee? Most of them are like $10 a month. Give me a break, people drop that in an arcade easily.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
It's not the fee that matters here. It's the time investment that they care about.
Players don't like to spend 9 hours camping the zombie-lord for a bone-necklace +3 only to lose it when a higher-level PKer jumps out for a mugging.
In online Quake or arcade Tekken, the game world isn't persisent. When somebody kills your character, you've lost only 15-90 seconds of your life. The XP loss from an MMORPG death can equate to days of wasted le
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:3, Interesting)
No matter what game it is you play, even GTA, the player is always viewed as 'the hero.' If a player was considered to be 'the bad guy' or 'the villian' then his goal would be, presumably, to 'destroy the world' or 'take over the world'.
So what would happen if a clan/guild of 'bad guys' actually went out and succeed in that? The servers go down and never come up again, game over? Considering there are players in MMOG
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Clearly. Because when you beat a game, you can never, ever play again. Of course, WWII Online has players that are on the "Axis Team" (AKA: the Bad Guys), and when one side wins (it's been the Axis side about half the time, I believe), the game starts over. Or they just shut down the servers forever. I can't remember which.
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
The struggle for control of a virtual world would be never ending. Even if one clan managed to rise to power and control the world in some way, you don't think there would be rival clans and people looking to k
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:1)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2, Insightful)
Most of us, however do NOT. That's why it's not being included from day one in several current and pending games.
I'd only play a game that included PvP if it was completely consensual, and there was NO content that required PvP activity to access (IOW, if it doesnt' affect me AT ALL, I dont care if it's in game).
I'm not going to pay a subscription fee to be someone else's victim, and I have no desire to victim
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
Point well taken I would submit to you that MMORPG's need some type
Re:Another MMO with no PvP (Score:2)
If I were into PvP and clans I'd still be playing. EVE is, in my opinion, no good for the casual solo player. For those that like that sort of thing it can't be beat.
Pvp in expansion (Score:5, Informative)
I am also playing in this beta, and things I have to say about are "wow". The beta is more stable than any of the day 1 releases I've played in, and I've played in pretty much all of them. The devs are making changes based on suggestions people are making (holy crap, devs that listen?).
Its also fun, because you can pop on and play for thirty minutes and quit. If you're friends are hella high level because they play religiously, no sweat... you have the Mentor/Sidekick system. So basically, ANY levels can group together... no more getting left in the dust by your friends who have no lives. ;)
Re:Pvp in expansion (Score:1)
Obviously you haven't played in many betas. Normally, even during the last days of a beta (the 'stress test' days), the game plays far more stable than it does on the first days after release. Also, I would remind you that the day 1 release of Dark Age of Camelot went without a hitch and is widely considered the best launch of any mmporg. It wasn't until people started reaching the Realm vs Realm levels that the servers began to crunch.
I've been playing this game from alpha, and while I love it, I wont
Re:Pvp in expansion (Score:1)
I enjoy this game a lot and am having a ton of fun leveling my char up. I am only a lvl 12 with my highest character (Homer Simpson), but I have enjoyed every minute I can get in to play that ga
Re:Pvp in expansion (Score:2)
Honestly, if you are dishing out $50 to get this game, then $15 every month, then getting on for 30 minutes isn't worth the cost of the game. That's why MMORPG's will eventually die. They are too ex
Article (Score:5, Informative)
Introduction
City of Heroes - long touted as the last, best hope of comic book fans everywhere, this MMORPG is finally nearing release. After years in development, a major change in the game's fundamental design, and fears of vaporware, comic book junkies everywhere will finally have a chance to get their gaming fix. Before I begin, a disclaimer: I am not a critic, or a professional reviewer, and this article is in no way intended to be an objective review of City of Heroes. Neither am I in any way associated with or employed by Cryptic Studios or NCSoft. I am, however, a long time tester and fan of the game. I've been waiting for this since I signed up on the City of Heroes forums in October of 2001. It's been a long wait, and to my delight I'm not disappointed.
In the Beginning
When you start up the game for the first time you have to create a character. Character creation is definitely one of the high points of City of Heroes, and most people will spend a lot of time making character after character. I know I did. I managed to fill up all eight slots on each of my two beta accounts (closed and pre-order).
The first decision is to pick an Origin. The Origins are Natural, Technology, Magic, Science, and Mutant. At this point, Origin has little effect on gameplay other than to determine who your first enemies will be, and what enhancements you can use. This may change at a later date but at this point it's more of a role-playing, character concept choice than anything else. I decided to pick Science, as it fit my character concept.
The second decision is to choose an archetype. There are five archetypes in the game, which roughly correspond to the basic classes of other games. Each archetype has a primary and a secondary powerset. The primary powerset is the defining power group for the character, and represents their most powerful abilities. The secondary powerset is used to supplement their primary abilities, and isn't as powerful. The archetypes are as follows:
Tanker:
City of Heroes' immovable object. Tanks are designed to soak damage for their team, and do so far better than any other archetype in the game. The Tanker is also an able bodied meleer, able to dish out decent damage at melee range. Tankers get to choose a Defense powerset as primary, and a Melee powerset as secondary.
Scrapper:
Equivalent to a light tank, the Scrapper specializes in dealing out mass amounts of melee damage as quickly as possible. Scrappers are more fragile than Tankers though, so don't really want to be the focus of enemy attention. Scrappers get to choose a Melee powerset as their primary, and a Defense powerset as their secondary. One quick note here--the powers available to Scrappers and Tankers are different, with only a few sets overlapping. Both have access to the Defense powerset Invulnerability, but all Scrapper melee sets are unique to Scrappers, as are their other defenses.
Defender:
Defenders are the closest thing you'll find to a cleric in this game. Healing, while nice, is not a necessity in City of Heroes, and many Defenders don't even have healing powers. Defenders get to choose a Buff/Heal powerset as primary, and a Ranged attack powerset as secondary. Sadly, the Buff/Heal powersets available to Defenders are exactly the same as the ones available to Controllers, except that the Defender powers are stronger in effect.
Blaster:
The ranged damage king, this is City of Heroes' nuker archetype. As fragile as most mages,
Its a great game (Score:3, Informative)
Ive played about every mmo game which came out since uo and non makes such a good first impression as COH.
If they will play their cards right and give trials versions to everyone and their mom it will be big.
The game is basically a GTA gone online. Everyone is a super hearo ( obviously ) and gets the super power he desires easily. At level 6 you can pick up powers like flying or hulk style super leaping ( they mean it, you will jump over buildings ).
When you just walk around in the very busy streets you will see gang wars you can break up or see old ladys beeing robbed of their purse. You pick up missions ( unfortunatly pretty simple ones ) from your different contacts who usually put you up against different villain groups.
Fighting is the best part of the game by far, Its amazingly action packet and moving while fighting actually can give you an advantage. It absolutly statisfies my need for action, i don't have to fire up a FPS after a long play session to get my balance back
anyways, give it it a try if you can, chances are you will enjoy it. The game will not put you up against rats I promise
Re:Its a great game (Score:1)
Worth the costs? (Score:5, Insightful)
The one thing I am concerned about though is the price. I'm not really interested in dishing out $49.95 for the game (and one month of playtime) and then $14.95 a month thereafter. That's just too much for cash for me to justify. I'm not anywhere close to poverty stricken, I make good money and can afford to spend that much on a game. Unfortunately as much as I'd like to participate I don't see it as *worth* my money. Am I alone in this thinking?
Droping $49.95 and having 3 months worth of online play, that seems worth it in my books (I'm still thinking high, but I'd pay it), but this cash grab just strikes me as unreasonable.
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:3, Insightful)
I understand fully that it costs "resources" to maintain servers, but $15 is just waaaaaaay too much for me. Particul
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:1)
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:3, Insightful)
When I purchase/subscribe to a MMORPG, I'm not renting a movie, I'm not GOING to a movie, and I'm not going out to dinner. I'm buying a GAME. Don't compare prices to other types of entertainment, compare prices to other GAMES!!
I can buy UT2004 for $30. I can play UT2004 for as many hours a day as I want. I can play it online, or offline. I get free content updates from the developers, not to mention there will be a constant inflow of user-created c
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:1)
OT - Compare? (Score:2)
O.K. But what if we compare it everyone's favorite FPS movie serial [redvsblue.com]?
Oh, wait. That doesn't compare well either. Never mind.
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:3, Insightful)
Who modded this Insightful? If I had a large business that was pulling down $50k a month, or by your assumptions 50 cents per subscriber, I'd be damn sure that my company wasn't publically traded. We'd get absolutely killed in the market with
Work on your reading. (Score:2)
While you're at it, have a look at how all that user-created content is delivered. Players have to go out and download it and install it in what can be a confusing process if the module uses lots of custom content.
MMGs deliver their new content (except outright expansions) to all the players automagically with no outside work required. Not in the same league.
Yes, worth the costs (Score:3, Insightful)
First, let's get the money out of the way. You think $50k profit on 100k users is impressive? That's $6/year per customer. That's a shameful amount for any business. Many companies make at least that much profit off a customer in one visit without the costs of developi
Re:Not to me. (Score:1)
My initial post in this thread may not have described it properly, but I have no issue with a monthly subscription charge. For this kind of game I actually *
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:2)
1. expansion packs... games like everquest don't give you added content for subscription fees. they require the purchase of expansion packs.
2. if the game is so great already to warrant the $15, why do they need to immediately add new content? If it doesn't need to be immediately added, then why are current users paying for added c
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:1)
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:1)
But all this is moot anyways, captalism rules here; if you don't want to play, don't. But your sense of 'value' certainly isn't mine; I have no problem whatsoever paying the monthly feel. Unless the game is a Diablo II or Half-Life, there'
Re:Worth the costs? (Score:2)
Recuring fee games aren't my thing either. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm currently playing the online version of the Lord of the Rings CCG [decipher.com]. This game does have the unfortunate CCG pricing model (i.e. the more you pay, the better options you have) but it's certainly possible for a player with a good idea of what
Re:what the hell? (Score:2, Interesting)
preorder? (Score:2)
Thanks
Re:preorder? (Score:2)
Re:preorder? (Score:5, Informative)
The pre-order box does contain a CD. It does not contain the game, though. The preorder CD installs a registration program and a nice little Macromedia-esque intro to the game. If you follow their instructions correctly, at the end you will be pre-registered for the game. Write down your login name and password. You get a different username for the beta bulletin boards than for your game login, so write down both and both passwords. Otherwise you might not be able to log in later. It is a little awkward and confusing.
After an indeterminate amount of time, you should get a letter from NCSoft saying that you can download the Beta Client installer. Its a bit over 1GB, so plan for a long night if you are running dialup.
Once the beta is installed, run the Update application. It will ask for your login name and password and then will download all the current patches. Once that is done, it throws you into the game login. Once in, then you get to spend a bit of time creating a character. Its fun, but time consuming. Be VERY careful what you name the character in your first slot. That is the ONLY name that is guarenteed reserved. When the game goes live, you don't get to keep your Beta characters, but you do get to keep the name in the first slot.
Its a great game and I am already addicted. Its got the ease of play of a traditional MMORPG, and is a fast-paced combat oriented. The missions are well thought out and fun. Getin a big group at any level and you will have a great time blowing up, frying, whacking, pounding, freezing, and otherwise causing big hurt on Bad Guys.
Cheers,
I.V.
Love This So Far (Score:2)
There are server issues (well, it is a beta) but it is pretty stable.
One annoyance though is that you pick your name AFTER the creation process, so you might not get the name you want, making that big G on your chest sorta useless if you can't get your name.
Anyhow, back to playing!
Re:Love This So Far (Score:1)
And usually, I'll start with the costume creation screen, and once I find something I like, go back and choose the archetype and origin. I tend to pick rather unique names, so I haven't run into any name conflicts yet.
The WoW beta (months from release) is less buggy (Score:1)
Just today I saw multiple bugs in CoH - broken quests, getting stuck in the terrain, people exploiting hover combined with ranged attacks, mobs with no pathing that wouldn't move to attack you, to name a few.
Not to mention the massive changes they are making to various powers in a seeming last minute attempt to balance the combat system, and quests that take hours to find the overcamped spawns y
Re:The WoW beta (months from release) is less bugg (Score:1)
Why god why?? (Score:1)
I read in a thread that its $49.95 for the game (including a month online), and $14.95 per month, after a year of an and off playing, it'll cost you $214.40 USD. Imagine that. That is ridiculous.
RETARDED EVEN!!!
Besides the cost, there is an idea at work here that I just find nauseating, and should no longer be co
Re:Why god why?? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why god why?? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Why god why?? (Score:1)
Re:Why god why?? (Score:2)
I see people on boards and free-trialers complaning about subscrip
Re:Why god why?? (Score:1)
-Jeff
NCSoft will be Busy (Score:1)
This game has a dress code... (Score:1)