Hopefully I’m not the only one whose finger hovered dangerously close to the “resubscribe” button after viewing this.
Happy sixth birthday, City of Heroes!
Tag: NCSoft
Cryptic Cleans Up: BBB Rating Rises
A long time ago, two months to be exact, I did a little bitty about the Better Business Bureau. When I wrote up the article, I wanted to put an emphasis on the points that the bureau does not have authority over businesses, despite how the name may sound. More importantly, as I noted, the BBB is very lenient with the scores that it offers businesses, due in part to the company’s response to complaints sent to the BBB, and then forwarded to the company, that matters. Not responding will put you in a hole, and quite a few people take the BBB for its word.
I did run quite a few developer names before posting my list, and something I did not expect happened: The article was passed around by a few websites, and through each discussion ultimately Cryptic Studios became the center of attention in each instance. Cryptic, noted punching bag for MMO Fallout, was rated an F by the BBB, who noted:
“We strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for its fraudulent business practices.”
So either Cryptic is not responding to complaints, or they are fraudster identity thieves who might just kill you if you talk bad about them. One or the other, your guess is probably best. Yes, it is a cut and paste for each company, but I can’t read that without risking severe damage due to my eyes rolling back into my head.
Well, if anyone paid attention to that old article, apparently Cryptic was one of them. Forgoing the past 36 months, a recent view of Cryptic’s BBB page shows that they have been bumped: To a C+. Not the best, but that does put them above NCsoft. Why have they bumped up? Because they, wait for it, actually responded and worked out complaints! Of the 61 complaints, 43 have been resolved according to agreements, 2 are fully refunded, and only three are “refused.” The final 16 are still unanswered, but we can always hope.
Now I obviously can’t claim all (read: any) of the credit, due to the likes of people (read: anyone) who are far higher up on the MMO spectrum who either reported similar stories or re-posted my own. I can, however, make a bet: If this worked on Cryptic in just two months, let’s start harping on NCsoft for being the new bottom of the barrel. Perhaps we can get that C- raised to a C?
More on businesses and which are better, as it appears.
Welcome To The Crew: Aion Opens Test Server
Test servers: Perfect for the developer who wants to publicly test things. Throughout history, or at least the past decade, test servers have been used for everything from stress testing to gauging player interest, to using player feedback to balance updates. In more recent years, a majority of developers have discovered the uses of a test server, and the number of MMOs that do not use these servers have dwindled substantially.
Surprisingly, however, players will not be given pre-made characters, and it appears that they also will not be able to copy existing characters over to the test server (a common practice in MMOs), but instead the characters that they do create will be placed in super-xp-mode, where leveling is quick and drops are jacked up for maximum efficiency. Whether or not this will slant feedback is up for grabs, but we will know that when the test servers launch next week.
More on Aion as it appears.
City of Heroes 2 Confirmed?
Companies register trademarks all the time for products they want to secure, but not necessarily release. So when I say that NCsoft has registered City of Heroes 2, I want to be completely clear that this is not to be considered confirmation that a sequel to City of Heroes is in the works. I am, however, creating a new section for City of Heroes 2 in the Rumored category, just in case any news appears on the title in the near future.
Meanwhile, the original City Of is still going strong. NCsoft is still regularly updating the title with new free issues, the game received the graphics upgrade this year, and the expansion pack Going Rogue recently went on preorder.
If anything appears on City of Heroes 2, you’ll hear about it here.
Best of April Fools 2010
While doing Kevin Bacon’s usual rounds of Topeka searches for MMO news from my favorite Kansas city of Google, Kevin Bacon checked the calendar and realized: It’s April 1st! The glorious day of the year where, at least in Kevin Bacon’s experiences, news stories fall into one of two categories: Companies either announce something insanely exciting, only to link you to Rick Astley or a well-designed news page, or something horrifying. If you’re a skeptical optimist, like Kevin Bacon, you usually end up looking at everything in the first week of April as if it might spring from the page and stab you in the face. Kevin Bacon is not completely sure that this article itself is real.
With every April Fools that comes and goes, it is important to remember that for every generation of gamers that are used to the April 1st jollies, there are plenty more who fly off the handle when Blizzard announces that World of Warcraft is shutting down due to low subscriber numbers. So, for better or worse, here is the Best of April Fools: 2010 edition.
- Earth Eternal is ready to make fun of their status as a “kiddy” game, with weapons and graphics removed (but purchasable in the cash shop).
- Runescape is finally ready to announce the grand opening of the Wet & Wildy theme park! I wonder how long before the popcorn is nerfed, those kernels are overpowered.
- Blizzard hopes you have fifteen grand to drop on a virtual reality helmet, and let’s be honest: Who doesn’t? This new technology will allow you to experience Battlenet and World of Warcraft in ways you only dreamed possible. A deal, and lasts for months on end before needing a replacement, that’s longer than your average battery!
- Ớ̸̥̗̝̼̙͕͉͙̇̆͑̔ͥ̃͒ͦ̓ͤ͂͌͋̌ͦͨ̓̂͟h̶̢̧̛̟̥̠̘̱̼̳̭͒̄͋̎͗̉́ͣ̌̽̒̑͊͗̃͝ ̸̨̛̭̼͖̺̹̝̪̯̓̈́ͣ͗̉͊̈́̀͗̐̈̚g͒͑̓ͦ͂̔͊̑ͥ̿̽̔̃̈̊͏̸̡͖̯̼͉̜ͅͅǫ̴̪̟̠̟̪̩̼̤͕͂̆̿ͩ̿ͧͬ̇͑̉̑́̚̚͝d̡͈̙̰̠̩͍̺̗̣͛́̉͗̑̔͑̂̃͒ͭ͢ ̭̗̠̳̲̬̻͍̜̭͖̘͇̄͒̏̒̽͘ẉ̘̲͍̪͍̭̝̯ͣ̏̆̎̃ͮͧ̃̊́̉̀͢h̟̬̩͈̟̖͉̞̭͙̤̼̺̖̲͓̩̎ͫ̈́͌̃ͧͣ͐̎ͣ͆ͮ͆̒̚͜͠y̸̷̛͂̉͆͐̆̓̏͏̗̟̙̘̟̪ͅ ̶͓̘̜̺̺̭̥͕͛ͩͯ̿̕͟d̹̱͇̦̮̤͙̙͕͖̀̈̽͋ͮ͐͆̑̽͛̔͐̾̎͗ͣ͌́͢o̸̢̨̥̳̠̰̘̖͈̓ͭ̆̈̓ͭ͑̽ͮͬ͌ͮ̾̒̒̾ͮ̉̚͠ ̵̧̰̯̦̼̻͚͍̠͙̫̦̠̰̦ͣͦ̓̈̾̊̒ͥ̽͗̏̅̏̿͊̃̀́̚̕ͅͅṱ̶̶̛͔͕̲̫̤̣͕̤̞̭̳̲̣̘̬̘ͣ͌ͣ̉̅͛̏̈͂͑͐̋ͭ͐ͪ́̚̕h̼͕̠̹͔͙͓̱̫̬͔͛ͪ̎̔̄ͧ͒͒̄́̚͟e̛͈͖̞̼̬̪͉̞͔̯͎͊͂͒̅ͩͩ̒̋̌̐͒̈́ͣ̆͑̓ͬ͞ͅy̝̪͙̰̰̬̜͒ͬͫ̈́̊ͭ̂͛͐̿̒͌ͮ͗ͫ͜͢ ̧͓̳̣̠͙ͥ̃ͥ̾ͦ͂͛͟h̶̶̵̪̤̻͉̹̖̗̤̜̼̖̣̜̿̊̉̒̚ų̶͍̖͍̰̙͕͉̀ͥͫ̀ͯͪ͛͐ͨͤ͑̉ͅͅŗ̖̼̟͕͔͎͉̰͍͍̪̞̱̯ͪ̃̂͗ͩ́̈͒̓ͦ͛̉͢͢͞͞ͅṫ̶̡̩͚̮͍̮̈́̓ͩ̀ͫͣ͆ͦͤͣ̈̆̉ͯ̆ͩ͟ ̷̨̻̤̬̟́̀͑ͫͫ͗̋̂ͧͭͮ̃ͤͮ̒̆̃ͯ͜s̨̛͎̳̺͓͉̦̍͆̆̉̏͑̅̑̀͑͂̆̓̊́͢ͅo̷ͦͦ̿̐̄ͩ̽͏͏̖̤̘̻̟̗̤̪̭̞̝̦̱͔̤͘͝ ͈̭͖͟ͅb̧̢͍͉̭̣̗̻̠̓ͩͮͬ̅̐ͪ̒̏͆͘͠ȁ̷̵̯̹͈̰̣̥̼̟͔̯̟̟̠̰͖̘͍͌̋́͛̐̓̉̌̿͌̽̔ͪͮ͋̅͟d̛̄͆̋ͣ̒̅̃̓̋̇͒̈͂̃̏̄͟͏̮̥͈̳̭͓̕ͅͅļ̲͚̼͈̏̿ͬ̀ͯͨ͒̔ͨy̡̗͍̳̟̩̐̓ͩ͊̍̓̑͆ͩͣͫ̊͐̒ͧ̀̀ ̝̹͖͎͉ͧ̇ͧͣͥͭͫ̊ͭ͆̈̿ͨ̋͗̾̚̕̕ô̸̯͙̬̯͍̗̗̙͉̠̖̼ͬͯ͑͆͒ͤͫ͐͘͘̕͝h̷̢͖͚̤̠̫̿͆ͪ̔̽̔ͫͣ̄ͦ͛̓̿ͩ͘͜ ͔̦̺͔̟͎͖̤̲̜̙̙̳̙̞͖̦̩̟͋̆͗̌̀̓ͫ̉ͣ̏͋̇̐̉͑͒̎̀́̚͜g̲̭͙̣̺̗͈̰̙̦̲̯ơ̶̳̦̰̠̱̥̹̰͐̉͆͒̓͌ͤͬ̍̑ͯ͂ͭ̐̅̚d͇̥̮͚͚̺̳̏̋͆ͨ̂ͨ̊͞
- Bioware wants you to check out the latest class revealed for The Old Republic: The Sarlacc Enforcer. Not content with simply shooting your prey? Experience the joy of planning up to a hundred thousand years, waiting cautiously for your food to get within range. Don’t worry, you’ve got time.
- NCsoft is ready to bring the next expansion to City of Heroes. No, it’s not Going Rogue, it’s City of Sidekicks. Be the person always screwing up the mission. In fact, the more you screw up, the better you do!
- Atlantica Online shows jokes the door and calls for a real event. Logging in for an hour will grant you the Fool title, as well as a small buff in attack and defense.
- Fallen Earth would like to offer you an uber edition. What is so uber about this edition? It comes in a gold sleeve. How many other games offer gold sleeves? Huh? That’s what I thought.
- Guild Wars wants to answer your pleas. When you think of mini-pets and their owners, why are the mini-pets small and the owners tall? ArenaNet thought exactly that, and today your characters are small and your pets are tall.
- Turbine is also getting into the spirit of the year. Forget Tibia as the most popular mobile MMO, just wait until Lord of the Rings Online makes its way to the Iphone and Blackberry!
I’ll be updating this page throughout the day, as soon as I deal with this incessant mouth-breather. No, you may not blog. I do not care about your blog. Get back in the box. My speech and typing functions appear to be overlapping, I should shut them
Guild Wars: Xunlai Tournament House Dies On Operating Table
Guild Wars players are likely fairly angry at the news that, after nearly a year of operational work, the Xunlai Tournament House will not be returning. A web-accessible portion of Guild Wars, the tournament house acted as a betting spot, where players could attempt to predict the outcome of the game’s player vs player tournaments.
“After much analysis and discussion, we’ve decided to permanently retire the Xunlai Tournament House.”
Unfortunately, at one point during ArenaNet’s seven month trump through the game’s code, it was determined that the entire tournament house would need to be rebuilt from scratch, pulling resources away from Guild Wars 2 that could not be afforded.
I don’t think this news is too surprising to Guild Wars players, although the fact that the house died to support Guild Wars 2 may disappoint and anger some, but hey: Stuff happens. More on Guild Wars as it appears.
Unsurprisingly: NCsoft Record Profits
If MMO Fallout were a physical entity, I’d have a lot more fun searching through its records, what with the shelves of documents and that ladder on wheels I’d get to ride around. Going back to the earlier days of Aion’s coverage, I discovered an announcement that the MMO had hit the three hundred thousand preorder mark, along with a reminder that it’s all about the retention rate.
So it comes as no surprise that NCsoft is reporting record profits over the past quarterly report. Profits are up over one thousand percent, while sales are up nearly one hundred percent. Unsurprisingly, Aion made up 48% of those sales. Surprisingly, however, Lineage and Lineage 2 are still selling very well, at twenty seven and twenty percent respectively.
NCsoft’s rebound is very welcoming to the gaming community, especially after the company’s net income plummeted 50% in quarter 3 of last year, shortly before Aion was released, and even more so as NCsoft attempts to suppress the memories of Tabula Rasa, whose failure hit the company hard this past year.
So good work NCsoft. Keep being who you are, and keep that sweet sweet cash flowing in.
Help Doctor Aeon: Get City of Heroes Graphics Update Early
Dr. Aeon needs your help, presumably apart from constant wrong numbers trying to reach Aion’s customer support. In his war on television, and the “facts” they use to slander him, Aeon is calling on the best and brightest heroes and villains alike to help him spread his propaganda. Help him, and he may have something of far more value for you: A jump start on the upcoming City of X graphics upgrade, for all players.
Hopefully this news straight from the mouth of an insane roleplaying GM is more of an indication that the much needed graphics upgrade will be coming sooner rather than later (later still being sometime before Going Rogue goes…rogue). City of Heroes will be celebrating six years running this April, and six years has taken much of a toll on the title.
Next to Aion, City of Heroes still stands as one of NCsoft’s more profitable titles after all of these years, and the graphics upgrade is just icing on the cake at this point. Whether or not the fan reaction to the “event” will actually have a toll on release is unknown, but it is likely Dr. Aeon just knows something that we don’t.
More on City of Heroes as it appears.
City of Heroes: Free Transfers Until Feb. 28th
NCsoft would like to remind you that the free character transfer program, unlike some developers, that was originally scheduled from December to the end of January, should not be taken as a preclude to any servers shutting down or merging. That being said, NCsoft would also like to announce that said free transfer program will be extended until February 28th.
There are certain limitations to the transfer, however. You will have to change your name if it is taken on the new server, only six characters may be transferred per week, you cannot transfer between North American and European servers, not all possessions will transfer and you will lose super-group affiliation, prestige, and your supergroup base items. If you need more information, it is in your best interest to ask on the forums, as the knowledge base link NCsoft has provided is currently dead.
For more on City of Heroes and its not-preclude to a server merger, stay tuned to MMO Fallout.
Why Not A Cryptic Pass? NCsoft Pass? Turbine Pass!
Whatever you think about Sony, you can’t deny the deal they have going for their titles. For the price of only two MMOs per month, you can access virtually any Sony game you own. Everquest, Everquest 2, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard, Free Realms, and that console Everquest game. That’s 8 games for the price of two!
Going over Sony’s station pass got me thinking: Why don’t other developers have a similar deal? I would love to see an NCsoft Station Pass, that could bundle Aion, City of X, Lineage, Lineage 2 in one package. Or possibly a Turbine deal, a package of Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and Asheron’s Call. How about a Funcom pack, with Age of Conan and Anarchy Online in one deal?
Now, some will say that developers will be losing money on this, but I wholeheartedly disagree. In fact, Sony’s Station Pass has shown to be a way to coerce people into spending more than they normally would on subscriptions. To believe that even a fraction of the players who have the Station Pass would spend the over hundred dollars a month on each game’s subscription separately is absurd to say the least. Having such a pass could also breath life into the older titles on the list.
Jagex has an offering similar to this. Although not an MMO, players can subscribe to Runescape and FunOrb for a discount. When Stellar Dawn is launched, it is expected that players will be able to opt for an additional discount.
This may all be wishful thinking, but I would certainly pay for a Turbine Station pass.
MMO Fallout 