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Win a year's subscription by making a blockbuster City of Heroes poster

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Super-hero, City of Heroes, Contests, Events (In-Game), Free-to-Play

Want to make your mark on a game world and get a year's subscription at the same time? Sounds like an achievement only a superhero would be capable of, right? Fortunately, Paragon Studios has an entire legion of super-powered imaginations at its disposal.

The studio has launched a contest in which players are challenged to create a City of Heroes-themed poster worthy of a blockbuster marquee. If you're interested, you have to be 13 or older and use non-copyrighted material to make a good-looking movie poster on your computer. Submissions have to be turned in by April 10th, at which time Paragon will choose a first-, second-, and third-place winner out of the heap.

Each winner will have a chance at seeing his or her poster put into the game itself, and all will win free subscription time (first place gets a full year, second place six months, and third place three months).

This contest may be part of a larger plan for City of Heroes. In her latest producer's letter, Melissa Bianco wrote, "We're already on our final push for Issue 23 polish, in pre-production on Issue 24, and putting some exciting new content into place for the summer. You may have heard whispers, but it will be fun. Think: popcorn."

Win a year's subscription by making a blockbuster City of Heroes poster originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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War Witch conjures up a new producer's letter for City of Heroes

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Patches, Previews, News Items, Free-to-Play

If you've been missing the wit and wisdom of Melissa Bianco, better known to City of Heroes players as War Witch, then you're in luck. The game's newest producer's letter is penned by none other than Ms. Bianco, revealing that she has just recently been moved into the role of producer for the game as a whole. But there's more to the letter than just revelations about her recent career moves -- there's also more information about what's coming for the game beyond Issue 22.

Masterminds can look forward to a new powerset, Beast Mastery, hitting the Paragon Market at some point in March. Everyone can also look forward to new temporary powers and minipets as well as the conclusion of the current featured story arc. There's also a teaser about something else exciting coming along for the summer, although the letter remains mum on what the next two major patches will bring for the game. Fans will no doubt want to read closely between the lines to see if they can tease out any other nuggets of information, but it's clear that the team at Paragon Studios has plenty of irons in the fire.

War Witch conjures up a new producer's letter for City of Heroes originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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City of Heroes interviews discuss content development and Incarnate raids

Brendan Drain — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, Patches, Endgame, News Items

At the start of the month, City of Heroes released the massive and potentially game-changing Issue 20 update. Codenamed Incarnates, the update introduced a series of large raids designed to continue the story established in Going Rogue in a new way. In an interview with PC Gamer, lead producer Nate Birkholz discussed how the new group instances have been received. Issues touched on include difficulty scaling, the new Incarnate powers that can be earned and lessons learned from developing the new system.

In a contrasting interview over at Gaming Angels, lead designer Melissa Bianco discussed content development and her career at Paragon Studios. The interview covers some important issues, asking why City of Heroes has enjoyed the ongoing success it has and what exactly goes into zone and instance design. Melissa also has some tips for anyone looking for a job in the games industry and provides a little insight into the development process.

City of Heroes interviews discuss content development and Incarnate raids originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Between the lines of PAX

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events (Real-World), Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

I think that the first year of PAX East spoiled me for any and all future City of Heroes panels. At the time Paragon Studios held that panel, there was a new expansion due out in that marvelous sweet spot when it's just far enough away that a lot of questions are unanswered but not so far away that we can't be told all of the cool parts. Every panel since then has had a bit less to share, but really, that's kind of the nature of the beast. Until we get expansion number three on deck, we aren't going to have another panel with that much information and that many surprises unloaded all at once.

Still, another part of my brain can't help but feel as if the most interesting part of this year's presence for City of Heroes wasn't the panel itself but the other elements surrounding the panel. (Considering that I already wrote up what happened there, this may also serve a stunningly convenient purpose for writing a column about the convention.) There's certainly no hints of a big revelation around the corner, but there were little elements hither and yon that piqued my interest for various reasons.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Between the lines of PAX

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Between the lines of PAX originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Moving forward and upward

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game Mechanics, Launches, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

As I write this, DC Universe Online's launch is a day away. By the time you're reading it, it'll have already happened. Not coincidentally, I also had a chance to interview Melissa Bianco again, proving once again that Paragon Studios knows full well how to step up its game and strut its stuff when necessary. Unfortunately, this puts me in an awkward position, because there's interesting stuff between the lines of that interview -- but there's also a nagging question that people have been asking me about why I seem to care so much about DC Universe Online.

I should note that everyone who has asked that question has done so in such a way as to remind me how wonderful my regular readers are -- polite, respectful, and genuinely curious. Seriously, give yourself a pat on the back; the comments from the column are always a joy.

In truth, though, I think the interview partly answers the question. It should be clear from Paragon's burst of new information that the City of Heroes team has been keeping an eye on DC Universe Online, and I take that as a sign that the team knows how to run a darn good game. You can't honestly think it's a coincidence that we got a new groundswell of information and promises of more just before another superhero game launched, can you?

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Moving forward and upward

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Moving forward and upward originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The road ahead for City of Heroes: Our interview with Melissa Bianco

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Interviews, MMO Industry, Interviews (Massively's)

Last year was undeniably a pretty good year for City of Heroes -- it boasted a six-year anniversary, a new expansion, and a newly improved graphical engine to make the game that much more attractive. This year... well, it's still up in the air, but it's still kicking off with a brand-new competitor for the game, which adds a whole host of new challenges for the development team at Paragon Studios to overcome. Not to mention that when you've just come off of a good year, you're faced with the question of what you can possibly do to top it.

But the team behind the game is prepared for the challenges of this year and already looks forward to raising the bar again in 2011. We had a chance to talk with Melissa Bianco, lead designer of City of Heroes, about what's coming next for the game and how the team plans to face new and ongoing hurdles. Check on past the break for our talk about potential sequels, the upcoming issues of the game, and what we can expect to start seeing in the next few months.

Continue reading The road ahead for City of Heroes: Our interview with Melissa Bianco

The road ahead for City of Heroes: Our interview with Melissa Bianco originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: 2010's roguish review

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events (Real-World), Expansions, Game Mechanics, Patches, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

I joked once, long ago, that I should never answer WRUP truthfully, because it will invariably result in a total lack of doing what I announced. Lo and behold, I had the time to play through a single Mission Architect mission amidst an intensely obnoxious virus (just at that level where you're sick enough to know it but not sick enough to avoid work) and the preparation needed to get my house ready for hosting an entire family.

For the record? Never agree to do that for your family, no matter who your family is.

So instead, we're going to take a look through the big news of the year, the five biggest stories that have affected City of Heroes in the past 12 months. I had originally planned to save this one for next week, but I doubt that we'll get an enormous piece of news between now and next week. It's been an interesting year for the game as a whole, so between an expansion, major updates, and tumultuous times in the larger MMO world, let's look at the five biggest stories pertaining to the city.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: 2010's roguish review

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: 2010's roguish review originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community dancing

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Game Mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

It's really hard for me to log in to City of Heroes recently, I have to admit. I know there are so many nifty things coming with the next patch that really, I just want to wait for Issue 19. I've got a baby Praetorian brute that will benefit from baseline Fitness to insane degrees, and it's really hard for me to convince myself that I should spend another minute leveling on a character without Stamina like an animal. Of course, I also have really been enjoying the game lately, so it's a difficult balance between the two opposing forces.

That certainly hasn't kept me from enjoying the discussion about City of Heroes going down of late, nor has it stopped me from logging in to take part in our livestream event for the game. Click on past the break to see this week's highlighted discussion, and in case you missed the stream, I took the liberty of embedding it right there at the end of the column. If you were already watching, well, you get another chance to listen to my dulcet tones after reading. Aren't you lucky?

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community dancing

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community dancing originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NYCC 2010: The City of Heroes Issue 19 panel

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events (Real-World), Patches, Previews, News Items

It's the end of the convention season, and City of Heroes fans on the East Coast managed to get one last treat -- another chance with the development team that had long been anchored firmly on the other side of the country. The team's panel in March at PAX East saw the revelation of several new facts about the game, including the first announcement of Kinetic Melee and Electric Control, and the panel that closes out the year at New York Comic Con contained several interesting new facts as well.

Melissa Bianco, David Nakayama, and Jesse Caceres were all in attendance, with the panel overseen by community representative Tia Parurahi. With Going Rogue having been out for nearly two months, this panel focused on the upcoming Issue 19 and what the changes mean for the game, as well as how much the development team is ramping up production to improve the game all around.

Continue reading NYCC 2010: The City of Heroes Issue 19 panel

NYCC 2010: The City of Heroes Issue 19 panel originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: All the news that's fit from PAX

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events (Real-World), Expansions, Patches, Endgame, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

The revelations at PAX East were pretty darn big for City of Heroes, but they had a big advantage over PAX Prime. At the time we sat down in Boston, Going Rogue was months away, and we knew almost nothing about what it would bring us. This time around, it's been out for a couple of weeks, and most of the fancy pieces of knowledge are pretty well established. It would be hard, if not impossible, for the development team to hit us with the same one-two punch.

I wouldn't argue that the team quite managed that -- there's no comparison to revealing two new power sets, the endgame system, and video demonstrations of much-awaited sets -- but Paragon Studios sure did manage to drop quite a bomb on us. As I've done frequently in the past, we're going to take this point by point, with a full collection of neat pieces of news that leave me wondering just how much interesting stuff is yet to come from the development team.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: All the news that's fit from PAX

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: All the news that's fit from PAX originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Places to go, questions to answer

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

It's hard to believe that in just two weeks, all of the debates about whether or not Going Rogue will revitalize City of Heroes will be out of the land of theory and into the realm of practice. And while we've still got another week in the land of theory, right now we're taking a trip... well, still into the land of theory, but into the land of theories you asked for. Which is different, in a way! I have a hard time writing these introductions.

Haggs asked:
"...now that you're getting new lower-level content, why would you want to go through it as fast as you're going through the old content?"

It's not always a question of "want." Levels 1-20 in City of Heroes are not nearly as slow as the later levels -- they don't start to really feel long until you reach the 30s, but it's much faster to go from 1-20 than from 20-30 even if you're just playing casually. The flow of leveling appears to be tuned so that players will be able to hit a level of moderate competence fairly quickly, spend a bit of time fleshing out their powers, and then spend quite some time filing off any rough edges via the 40+ powers.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Places to go, questions to answer

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Places to go, questions to answer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SDCC 2010: Melissa Bianco on lessons and innovations in City of Heroes Going Rogue

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Previews

There's less than a month left before the release of Going Rogue, something that many City of Heroes players are looking forward to with heavy anticipation. The team at Paragon Studios has been anything but stingy with information about the upcoming expansion as well -- they've been more than happy to share just how impressive the features are going to be. We had a chance to catch up with the the team at SDCC 2010, which gave us the opportunity to take a closer look and get a few more insights about the game's development.

Melissa "War Witch" Bianco was on hand to share several details about the game's upcoming improvements, and while many of the elements previewed at the convention are familiar to players following Going Rogue, there are some new revelations beneath the cut. If you're allergic to cuts, you can at least take solace in the confirmed fact that the expansion will feature seven new costume sets, including the Praetorian Police costume and the Resistance outfit. For more on missions and how they'll be implemented in the upcoming City of Heroes expansion, click on away.

Continue reading SDCC 2010: Melissa Bianco on lessons and innovations in City of Heroes Going Rogue

SDCC 2010: Melissa Bianco on lessons and innovations in City of Heroes Going Rogue originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reminder: City of Heroes developer chat today

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:30:00 EST

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

They've got an anniversary coming up, but no one can accuse the team over at Paragon Studios of resting on their laurels. The studio responsible for City of Heroes is hard at work on the next major content update, several anniversary celebrations, and they're still stopping to reach out to their fans.

In not very much time at all, it will be time for a live chat with the development team of City of Heroes via their forumspring.me page. A few fans submitted questions to us, and we passed along three of them to the development team -- but that doesn't mean that there's no chance of getting other questions to reach their ears.

So hurry on over to the City of Heroes question submission page, fire off the best question you can think of (after enabling JavaScript if you've got it turned off), and keep your eyes peeled for all of the answers. With Melissa Bianco, Matt Miller, Jesse Caceres, and David Nakayama all fielding the questions, there's sure to be some interesting information to be had.

Reminder: City of Heroes developer chat today originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Big celebrations coming for six years of City of Heroes

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Contests, Culture, Events (Real-World), Events (In-Game), Patches, News Items

City of Heroes has been running for six solid years, and whether you're a current or former player (or someone never that interested in superheroes for some reason), that's a running time to be proud of. Paragon Studios certainly thinks so, which is why they're hosting a full month's worth of anniversary celebration. The party kicks off in full force on April 28th -- not just the day of the anniversary, but the launch of Issue 17 and all its varied improvements. But that's just the beginning, as are the badge, free respec, and free costume change token being given to players on the anniversary.

Monday and Tuesday before the anniversary itself promise some exciting and chaotic content, quite possibly including a special title for participants. The test servers will also be remaining open to give players a chance to play with the dev team on the anniversary itself, followed by an in-game address from Melissa "War Witch" Bianco at 8 PM EST (5 PM PST). With the promise of an upcoming contest to promote your loyalty a la Guild Wars 2 and with Going Rogue just around the corner, there's never been a better time to enjoy City of Heroes.

Big celebrations coming for six years of City of Heroes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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City of Heroes hosting a live Q&A with developers

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST

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

If you missed out on PAX East, you missed the chance to twist the ear of the development team for City of Heroes. (And other things, probably.) Or, at least, you missed your chance for a little while. Because the team is giving the fans another shot at connecting with them live, even if it's not in person. Using the forumspring.me tool, which has been steadily growing in popularity over the past several months, players will be able to ask questions of the development team and have them answered in more-or-less real time.

The actual session will take place on April 23rd between 4 and 5 PM PST (7-8 PM EST). Melissa Bianco, Matt Miller, David Nakayama, and Jesse Caceres will all be in attendance, the same team from the PAX East panel and the brain trust behind the newest content additions. If you can't or don't want to take part in the actual questioning, the highlights will be addressed on the game's official Facebook fan page. It's an excellent chance for City of Heroes players to get answers to their most urgent questions, so mark the date on your calendar.

City of Heroes hosting a live Q&A with developers originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Question and answers go retro

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Classes, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

It's time to head back in time, back through the many views and opinion of the past month, and see where we've gone with questions from far and wide. And as long as we're going back in time, why can't City of Heroes go back with us? Seriously, where's the time-travel arc where everyone has to team up with their Silver Age counterpart in bell-bottoms and bad hair? We've long been missing that from the game, and now that I have the time to think clearly it's a problem which should be immediately addressed.

Of course, we do have that new Doppleganger system coming up. It could happen. Also, questions should probably be answered before I deviate too far.

Zsazsa piped up with an obvious question about the PAX information:
"Was anything said about new maps located in space for level 50 characters?"

Possibly? When talking with the inimitable Miss Bianco, she mentioned that there were new maps we haven't yet seen... emphasis on those of us in the playerbase. It's very possible that there are, in fact, maps set in space which will be used for the Incarnate system (which requires level 50 and Going Rogue to be playable, so there you go). But as it's implied here that they already exist, wouldn't we have seen them by now?

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Question and answers go retro

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Question and answers go retro originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX East 2010: Our interview with Melissa Bianco of City of Heroes

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Opinion

Melissa "War Witch" Bianco is without a doubt one of the leading ladies of the MMO world, a title she said she could definitely get used to. But as she says it, that hasn't made an impact on her in some ways, because she never felt there was a bias to overcome at either Cryptic or the current Paragon Studios. "I don't know if I just happened to be in a company that wasn't like that," she says, "or if I'm just so awesome it didn't matter."

We would certainly believe either. Bianco is riding fairly high on success at the moment in the eyes of many players, having a solid track record of revamped and improved zones coupled with a highly-anticipated expansion on the way. We had a chance to speak with her after the City of Heroes panel to talk about more future plans for the game, aiming for several of the more outlying areas in the game's development. Read on past the cut for her answers ranging from the immortal warehouse map to the possibility of new epic archetypes.

Continue reading PAX East 2010: Our interview with Melissa Bianco of City of Heroes

PAX East 2010: Our interview with Melissa Bianco of City of Heroes originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX East 2010: City of Heroes panel reveals many things

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events (In-Game), Expansions, Game Mechanics, Endgame, Opinion

Unpacking the City of Heroes panel at PAX East is a big deal: there were huge amounts of information being thrown around, and a lot of new pieces of information to process. For that matter, there was far more than anyone expected, with information about the full spread of new issues up to Issue 19 and the reveal of Matt "Positron" Miller's heretofore unrevealed new endgame system. The panel as a whole featured a huge breadth of information about the game from concept into the future, and was filled with people long before the official start time, with fans vocally professing their adoration for the team the whole way through.

We had the good fortune to be front and center at the theatre, and once we started taking notes we didn't really stop until the event was over. At the panel were lead designer Melissa Bianco, former lead designer and current lead system designer Matt Miller, art lead David Nakayama, and development producer Jesse Caceres. They opened off with a discussion of the game's history from launch back in 2004 to the present. The changeover from Cryptic to Paragon Studios was discussed in brief, mentioning that four of the major launch employees (Miller, Bianco, CW Bennet, and Brian Clayton) were still with Paragon even after the change.

Continue reading PAX East 2010: City of Heroes panel reveals many things

PAX East 2010: City of Heroes panel reveals many things originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Return of community news

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Events (In-Game), Expansions, Game Mechanics, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

There's quite a bit to crow about in the City of Heroes community of late. Since the last time we've taken a look at the community, we've had a huge amount of new information about the next expansion, a double XP weekend, and the usual regimen of alien invasions and parallel universes. (July's release of Going Rogue will greatly increase the parallel universe portion.) And if you live on the east coast, you also have the opportunity to meet the Paragon Studios crew without traveling to the other side of the country!

Have I mentioned that I live on the east coast?

So next week, expect a very weary me to be dishing out a whole bunch of news from PAX East, as I'm going to be following the crew around like a forlorn puppy. But that's then and this is now. Today, we're going to be looking at some of the interesting community threads that have popped up over the last month, from the serious to the amusing.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Return of community news

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Return of community news originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Death to the warehouse map!

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Game Mechanics, Endgame, Opinion, A Mild-Mannered Reporter

If you've played City of Heroes from levels 1 to anything, you already know the map I'm talking about. The more levels you've been through, the more you've seen it. Heck, you probably knew exactly what map I was talking about just from the subject line, because... well, it's the warehouse map.

As I was thinking about this week's column, I was trying to figure out why it is that City of Heroes gets criticized as often as it does for being "repetitive." I'd gladly concede the point, but the follow-up question becomes, well, what's so inherently different between the gameplay here as opposed to World of Warcraft, or EverQuest II, or Lord of the Rings Online, or even Dungeons and Dragons Online? How is killing X of critter Y for questgiver Z in any way less repetitive than punching the Fifth Column around for the hundredth time?

But with the recent addition of Melissa "War Witch" Bianco as lead designer, with her promises of "more content," I formed at least part of an idea of why that pointless accusation will not go away. And I believe the blame can be laid squarely at the feet of that stupid warehouse map.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Death to the warehouse map!

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Death to the warehouse map! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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City of Heroes unveils new lead designer

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Expansions, Interviews, News Items

It's been a quiet week on Lake Salamanca... well, actually, all across City of Heroes, when you get right down to it. For those of us not on the inside, it looked as if nothing of interest was happening with the game. But that's apparently quite far from the truth, since it appears there have been quite a few internal shakeups over the holiday season and most of the month.

Matt Miller, longtime lead designer of City of Heroes, has passed the mantle on to Melissa Bianco. Miller is continuing to work on the game, but will be involved in rather vaguely-described endgame systems as well as some undisclosed projects. Bianco (also known as "War Witch" in keeping with the developer nicknaming scheme) has already given an interview on her plans and the state of CoH, with promises of new content before and after Going Rogue goes live.

And speaking of Going Rogue, we're promised more frequent pieces of information on the expansion, which has seen very little revealed since its announcement. There's also an opportunity to take part in a community Q&A with Bianco. The quiet week seems to be over... which is really for the best, when you get right down to it.

City of Heroes unveils new lead designer originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft Europe's 2nd podcast, featuring War Witch

Akela Talamasca — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Podcasts, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Culture, Interviews

The second episode of the Official NCsoft Europe podcast (called that because no one's been able to come up with a better name, apparently) is up, and concerns itself mostly with a revisiting of the Ultimate Heroic Weekend. From all accounts, it was quite the bash, and next year's event is not to be missed!

Additionally, there is an interview with Melissa 'War Witch' Bianco, one of the more famous developers from City of Heroes and City of Villains, recorded during the final days of the event. Hosted by Stephen 'Rockjaw' Reid, the podcast is a worthwhile listen, especially if you're a fan of CoX. Listen to it on their site. And as an aside, man, is there anyone who doesn't play Rock Band?

[Thanks, Aero!]

NCsoft Europe's 2nd podcast, featuring War Witch originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively Event Coverage: The NCsoft Europe Heroic Weekend

Krystalle Voecks — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-Fi, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events (Real-World), Events (Massively's Coverage)

This column comes to us from our new blogger, Adrian Bott, reporting in from the field. Adrian is joining our team as a City of Heroes and City of Villains fanboy aficionado extraordinaire, so keep an eye out for even more in-depth CoX coverage here at Massively!

"I cannot believe how polished this event is," confided visiting City of Heroes developer Melissa 'War Witch' Bianco, during a lull in the frenzy. Nor could we. NCsoft Europe knows how to throw a party.

As we crossed from the gloomy streets of central Birmingham into the blazing techno-sanctuary of Omega Sektor, the professionalism and sheer hard graft of the NCsoft team gleamed from every splash-panel surface. Amid the sounds of hordes of happy Super Group members meeting up in the flesh for the first time, video screens showing looped footage of NCsoft games, and the wibbles and whoops of more than four hundred individual PCs, we struggled through to the admin desk.

The organizers and their blue-shirted 'sidekicks', buoyed up by who knows what inhuman energy source (they had already been doing this for two days and showed no signs of flagging) gave us the rundown. There were PvP events, task force challenges, 'death races' and sundry other in-game activities. And huge, padded, Gladiator style superhero suits for real-life PvP. Seriously.

Continue reading Massively Event Coverage: The NCsoft Europe Heroic Weekend

Massively Event Coverage: The NCsoft Europe Heroic Weekend originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CoH's Hollows gets a facelift

Eli Shayotovich — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Game Mechanics, Patches, News Items

The Hollows. Long a zone of contention for those who don the tights and cape in the City of Heroes. This zone quickly became a bane to every low level toon for several reasons: it couldn't be soloed, players were forced to go there to get missions, it was a pain to travel through without getting whacked multiple times, framerates were often poor... the list goes on.

Well, Melissa Bianco (5-year veteran Level Designer on the CoH team) wanted to change it... and change it she did. In fact, there are so many changes it's impossible to list them all here. You really need to go check Melissa's new dev diary to get the full rundown. Needless to say, veteran players will love the new and improved Hollows. It's been simplified, streamlined and now reflects the style of Striga, Faultline and other zones in that it's more of a hybrid zone (part city spawns, part hazard).

Continue reading CoH's Hollows gets a facelift

CoH's Hollows gets a facelift originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft Europe's Ultimate Heroic Weekend!

Akela Talamasca — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:15:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Dungeon Runners, Lineage 2, Contests, Culture, Events (Real-World), Expansions, Guides, PvP, Tips and tricks, News Items, Tabula Rasa, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Consoles, Events (Massively's Coverage)

UK residents, NCsoft loves you! And to prove it, they're holding a 4-day social gaming event appropriately entitled the 'Ultimate Heroic Weekend'! Starting at 8 PM on Friday, March 21st, and continuing until 8 PM on Monday, March 24th in the capacious Omega Sektor in Birmingham, the UHW will challenge and satisfy gamers of all types with a veritable cornucopia of superhero-related joy.

Similar to their recent convention, yet much more -- dare we say -- massive, the fun all starts on Friday with a meet and greet with Melissa 'War Witch' Bianco, who will remain for the entire weekend and provide details on the upcoming City of Heroes expansion, Issue 12! There will also be prizes for Best Heroic Costume and PC and console gaming until midnight.

And the event truly kicks off with a bang on Saturday ...

Continue reading NCsoft Europe's Ultimate Heroic Weekend!

NCsoft Europe's Ultimate Heroic Weekend! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WarCry interviews Melissa "War Witch" Bianco

Tateru Nino — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Interviews

Melissa "War Witch" Bianco is the World Designer at Cryptic Studios for popular Super-themed City of Heroes/Villains. Popular in the community for her forum participation, accessibility and a number of interesting and entertaining easter eggs hidden throughout the MMO zones, War Cry has a community-driven interview with Bianco.

Bianco gives detailed answers across six pages on community-provided questions covering many aspects of zone design, approval and testing - all in her signature style: informative, interesting and engaging. If you're interested in City of Heroes or City of Villains, or you just want to see how the professionals really do it, it's worth your time to go and take a look.

[via WarCry Network]

WarCry interviews Melissa "War Witch" Bianco originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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