Filed under: City of Villains

How much is riding on City of Heroes: Going Rogue?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Business models, Expansions, MMO industry, Opinion

At the six-year mark, City of Heroes is still moving forward, with City of Heroes: Going Rogue targeted for release in the second quarter of 2010. It's certainly not the oldest game to receive an expansion, but Vicarious Existence has an interesting point to be made: exactly how much is riding on the success of this expansion? In true heroic sense, it may well be the fate of NCsoft West and of NCsoft's entire western presence in the market.

It's no secret that NCsoft West has had a difficult time in the market, with the first rumbles having been made clear with the sad tale of Auto Assault. And it's hardly necessary to dredge up painful memories about the games that have also gone the way of the dodo. But as the post points out, there's not nearly as much revenue coming in from the western branch of the company as they'd like, even with the success Aion has been having in the marketplace. (If that sounds cynical or as if it's expecting too much money, Adam Martin has an excellent explanation of why NCsoft could and would be so draconic about profits.) To be fair, the post is a bit alarmist, but it does posit that there could be a great deal of trouble on the horizon for City of Heroes -- and perhaps the whole studio -- based on the performance of the expansion. And even if the idle speculation is wrong, it certainly does put you in the right mood for the expansion, doesn't it?

City of Heroes brings heroic treats and villainous tricks

by Eliot Lefebvre Oct 14th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, in-game, Previews

Facing off against legions of werewolves and zombies is certainly not out of the ordinary for a character in City of Heroes... but facing off against hordes of them in alliance with Jack-O-Lanterns, Eidolons, and Shivans can only mean one thing. The annual Halloween event is kicking off once again, with both Paragon City and the Rogue Isles feeling the effects and summoning their residents to defend their homes. This year, however, a new wrinkle has been added.

Every so often, a Haunted Sigil will appear, which is the cue for nearby heroes and villains to smash it and prepare for wave after wave of relentless foes to retaliate. Lest you wonder why you'd do such a thing (aside from instinct for heroes and general misdirected aggression for villains), when all of the enemies have been dispatched, a "ghoulish surprise" is promised for the successful defenders. The event will also feature badges, special temporary costumes, and various other enjoyable nuggets for anyone looking to enjoy a bit of holiday-themed mayhem. City of Heroes players visit Ravenwing Cabbal's Annah or Granny Beldam in Croatoa or Nerva Archipelago, respectively, to learn more about the year's festivities, and look forward to the event running from October 20th to November 3rd.

Guest author missions launch in City of Heroes

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 13th 2009 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry, News items

Today's October 13, and that means it's time for a mission full of awesome! Do you have what it takes to aid the great Captain Dynamic? Can you handle working along side the LOLBAT, the superhero with the power of internet memes? Or, would you prefer working to help a civilian find some super powers?

It's your choice as of today, when three guest author missions are unleashed into the Architect Entertainment systems. Stories by Rooster Teeth Productions (continuing their Captain Dynamic character), Scott Kurtz from the webcomic PvP (the writer behind LOLBAT), and Bill Willingham (the writer behind Irena Faust and her quest for magic) are all available for your consideration and play time.

If you spend some time in Architect Entertainment today, be sure to drop your opinions on the three new missions down below in our comment box. Inquiring minds want to know how the missions are!

CoH: Going Rogue beta keys offered at HeroCon

by Rubi Bayer Oct 6th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, real-world, Expansions, News items

Back in August, Paragon Studios and NCSoft revealed that they were expanding HeroCon into a two day event, and offering plenty of physical and virtual gifts to attendees.

Now, Paragon Studios has sweetened the deal even more by announcing that attendance at HeroCon will guarantee access to the closed beta of Going Rogue, the upcoming alternate universe expansion for City of Heroes. Registered participants of HeroCon just need to be at the Doubletree Hotel during event registration to fill out a Going Rogue Non-Disclosure Agreement. (Of course, the usual rules apply: you need to have an active CoH game account, be a US resident, over 18, and must not work for a competitor or any of its affiliates.)

Tickets for HeroCon can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets, and a full list of events (which includes a first look at exclusive content from Going Rogue) can be found at the official site for City of Heroes.

Double experience and account reactivation weekend coming to City of Heroes

by Seraphina Brennan Sep 30th 2009 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Patches, News items

It's a whole new spectrum of experience, like a rainbow! Sorry, we felt the need to say that somewhere in this short article. But to celebrate the release of Issue 16: Power Spectrum to City of Heroes, all accounts are being reactivated and all heroes and villains will be netting themselves double experience this weekend. Plus, if you were a little short on spending money, influence/infamy is doubled this weekend as well.

So, if you were a City of Heroes/Villains subscriber in the past, this weekend is your chance to re-download the game and check out the cool new additions like Architect and Power Spectrum. Customizable power colors! Finally!

The "weekend" begins next Thursday (October 8th) at 12 PM ET (9 AM PT) and will continue until 3 AM ET on Monday (Midnight on Sunday, if you're of the Pacific Time persuasion.)

City of Heroes opens Issue 16: Power Spectrum

by Tateru Nino Sep 16th 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: City of Heroes, City of Villains, Patches, News items

NCsoft has deployed Issue 16 for City of Heroes/Villains, bringing in a bunch of delicious new options for Paragon City's finest (and the Rogue Islands' worst). Powerset proliferation is ongoing, bringing formerly barred powersets to archetypes that were previously denied them.

This issue brings a particularly pleasing improvement: Being able to jump from one part of the character creator to another, without having to complete it all in a fixed-order. That's a huge help for players looking to refine their look and character-concept during design.

City of Heroes announces Guest Author Program for Mission Architect

by James Egan Sep 6th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, News items

No doubt it's Champions Online that seems to be getting the superhero MMO headlines of late in the gaming press, both for the new title's release and for some of the issues they've had in relation to that launch. But competition is generally a good thing from a gamer's perspective, and City of Heroes is also stepping up their game, particularly in regards to the Mission Architect.

When the devs introduced the Mission Architect to City of Heroes, it was their first step towards embracing player-generated content and adding new dimensions to the game experience. They've announced that the next step with Mission Architect is to have a Guest Author Program where "comic book notables try their hand at mission design." NCsoft says the program will "invite influential writers and aspiring game or story designers" to collaborate with the City of Heroes devs and bring these missions into the game.

City of Heroes Issue 16 now in open beta

by James Egan Aug 27th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, News items

We've been writing about the new level of customization coming to City of Heroes with Issue 16, but the time has come to jump in and check out the next content update for yourself. NCsoft announced that Issue 16 "Power Spectrum" is now in open beta.

If you're interested in checking out the ways you'll be able to extend that signature City of Heroes depth of avatar customization to your powers as well, see NCsoft's instructions on how to get into The Training Room (the City of Heroes test server) and you'll be tweaking the look of your Electric Armor and Psionic Assaults in no time.

NCsoft and Paragon Studios announce HeroCon 2009 for October

by Lesley Smith Aug 12th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, real-world, Expansions, News items

Paragon Studios and NCsoft today announced that HeroCon has been expanded to a two-day convention and will be taking place on 24th- 25th October. This year's event, which is taking place in San Jose, California, is the 2nd HeroCon and offers a chance for fans of City of Heroes to meet up and share their passion for the game. As if you needed anything else to tempt you into attending, the tickets cost $79.99 and there's even a goody bag which includes a special con t-shirt and an exclusive in-game item.

The event promises pre-con activities on the Friday night as well as developer panel discussions, live mission event and contests, social events with the development team and there's even a rather posh-sounding banquet dinner with live entertainment and an awards ceremony. As usual Matt "Positron" Miller and Paragon Studios head, Brian Clayton, will be doing a community address as well as the usual round of interesting announcements – hopefully including something about the Going Rogue expansion.

For more information on the event and where to stay, check out the official site.

Score some cheap NCsoft game time

by Krystalle Voecks Jul 31st 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Aion, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lineage, Lineage 2, News items

If you, like us, are always looking for a way to save a few dollars in your monthly MMO budget, then you may be glad to hear this news. After all, replacing all those robot minions when they get trashed can be really expensive - or maybe that's just us. In either case, if you're an avid City of Heroes or City of Villains, Lineage, or Lineage II player, then you'll be glad to hear that our friends over at GoGamer have a great sale on NCsoft time cards going on now. (We'd assume they'll work on Aion as well, considering their site lists these cards as being valid for Auto Assault....)

Right now, you can score two months of prepaid game time for the seriously cheap price of $18.90. While there is a shipping cost, the charge becomes very minor compared to the overall savings when you stock up on multiple cards. Of course, if you don't really want several months of cheap game time, you could always go in on an order with friends - or just send them to us. We'd gladly take any spare pre-paid time off your hands. Expensive robot minion replacements and all that, you know.

SDCC 09: City of Heroes devs on the future of player-created content

by James Egan Jul 26th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Massively Interviews

This week marked the annual pilgrimage to Comic-Con International in San Diego for the comics and gaming faithful, and a number of superhero MMO developers were there as well to whip the fanboys (and girls) into a frenzy. When you think about it, comic conventions are as big for superhero games as other events like E3 and PAX. Massively was on the ground at SDCC this year and among the games we took a look at was, not surprisingly, City of Heroes.

We caught up with City of Heroes game designers Joe Morrissey and Matt "Positron" Miller who shared with us a bit about how things have changed in the game in recent months, and gave us some info about the content and features on the way in Issue 16: Power Spectrum.

Gallery: SDCC09: City of Heroes

Loyola University professor drives City of Heroes/Villains players crazy, all for sociology

by Seraphina Brennan Jul 7th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, PvP, News items, Academic, Virtual worlds

Twixt was one of those names on the Freedom server of City of Heroes that would just drive everyone nuts. He was a PvPer who would find some of the craziest ways to annoy the heck out of his opponents, such as teleporting them right in front of the Longbow agents at the hero base in PvP zones. A year ago, however, the man behind the keyboard finally drew back his mask to reveal a sociology professor from Loyola University outside New Orleans.

Now his study on City of Heroes/Villains is finally coming forward, revealing a controversial look at how defying the cultural rules of a population can turn a person into a social outcast. The study's goal was to play only by the developer's rules, ignoring any extra rules that might be created by the population. For example, the concept of "kill stealing" and "fair fights" are thrown out the window as they are created by the population, not the game. Think of it like EVE Online -- if the game allows it, he does it.

While the study is intriguing in the fact that it covers the "new frontiers" of virtual worlds, it also brings into question some of the ethics involved with working undercover in a population, such as causing undue stress via what we consider to be griefing.

For a full report, check out the story as reported by The Times-Picayune.

[Thanks Petterm, Scopique!]

The 5th Column returns as City of Heroes Issue 15: Anniversary goes live

by James Egan Jun 29th 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game mechanics, Patches, News items

It was only a few weeks ago that we wrote about the City of Heroes Issue 15 beta testing, but this latest update to the game, Anniversary, has gone live. Issue 15 brings a host of improvements to City of Heroes particularly in terms of hero and villain character customization. There are 20 new character faces to choose from, two new costume sets, and costume change emotes, which provide flashy transitions between costumes for your characters.

Issue 15: Anniversary also marks the return of The 5th Column and The Reichsman, and thus new missions at levels 45-50 -- with Villain Strikeforce and Hero Taskforce arcs, depending upon which side of the law you're on. NCsoft has more info about Issue 15 on their Anniversary overview site, and asks, "What does the opening of the Omega Team Time Capsule hold in store for Paragon City and the Rogue Isles?" The answers, we suspect, should be clear as City of Heroes and City of Villains players explore the new Issue 15 content.

City of Heroes dev blog talks character customization

by Dev Blogger Jun 10th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Game mechanics, MMO industry

Massively is proud to host a new dev diary from the folks at Paragon Studios. This particular dev diary was written by Christopher Bruce, Senior Lead Animator/VFX Artist for City of Heroes, and it pertains to the character customization options that have been improved with Issue 15. Enjoy!

In addition to supporting the two new task forces for Issue 15, we also wanted to focus some attention on expanding our character creation system. Character customization is a hallmark of City of Heroes and we're always striving to improve and expand upon our players' ability to create a truly unique super powered hero or villain.

For Issue 15, there are two new costume sets available to everyone, created by the newest addition to our character artist team, Cheryl Austin. "Vines" is a new pattern while "Ulterior" is a new texture set, both of which work with most of the existing costume pieces. Cheryl has also created over twenty new face textures, something we haven't done since City of Villains launched. While our options for individual costume pieces and sets have continued to expand over the years, our selection of faces hasn't received the same amount of attention. Her goal was to create a set of new face textures that were a bit more subtle and realistic and while also working well across our full range skin tones.

Gallery: City of Heroes Issue 15: Anniversary

City of Heroes senior designer Bruce Harlick on return of The 5th Column

by James Egan May 29th 2009 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lore, MMO industry

Massively mentioned yesterday that City of Heroes Issue 15: Anniversary has gone into open beta testing. Along with that announcement and an overview of the Issue 15 features, Paragon Studios senior designer Bruce Harlick has written a developer diary titled "A Circle of Fifths: Designing the Ultimate Fifth Anniversary Task Force and Strike Force"

Harlick writes that when Paragon Studios was hashing through ideas for the game's strike force and task force for the City of Heroes 5th Anniversary, bringing the 5th Column back to Paragon City seemed the right thing to do. It also lets them bring The Reichsman into the game, leading to some interesting mission arcs. Harlick writes, "I didn't want the two arcs to be simple mirrors of each others, with the villains doing something and the heroes stopping it." He adds, "I wanted the villains to succeed with their plan and to deal with the consequences, and I wanted the heroes to deal with an emerging big problem."

Have a look at Bruce Harlick's developer diary on City of Heroes Issue 15: Anniversary, for more about what he describes as "a story that's worthy of the return of one of the biggest threats to ever hit Paragon City and the Rogue Islands."

Gallery: City of Heroes Issue 15: Anniversary