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Layoffs hit Paragon Studios

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST

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

A rumor has just broken that Paragon Studios, the team responsible for City of Heroes, has just undergone a round of layoffs. This comes following the launch of Going Rogue, the game's second boxed expansion and center of a major re-arrangement for the game. Among those rumored to be laid off is Christopher Bruce, known to the fans of the game as Back Alley Brawler and the senior animation lead for the studio.

While there have been rumors for some time that the team had been expanding and working on an additional project, possibly a sequel to the now-venerable City of Heroes, it's unknown what long-term impacts these layoffs might have on both the existing game and any future projects. We contacted NCsoft and received official confirmation of the layoffs, but the company thus far has been unable to provide information on who, exactly, has been let go. Our condolences go out to all employees affected by the layoffs.

Layoffs hit Paragon Studios originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community guide to City of Heroes

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST

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

Welcome to A Mild-Mannered Reporter, Massively's new weekly column all about City of Heroes! We were originally going to spin you a dynamic yarn about how I had watched my parents die, then spent years training in secret to strike fear into the hearts of criminals by writing about video games, but that was eliminated during the concept stage due to copyright infringement. Instead, we're just going with a column.

For our first installment, we're highlighting a number of sites that are useful in one way or another to the City of Heroes playerbase. While the game has enjoyed quite a lifespan, the web presence on it has been a bit more limited than some other games, probably due in no small part to the fact that it's much easier to simply pick up and play. That doesn't mean there's nothing here, though -- the community has developed a number of excellent tools and community gathering points to improve everyone's experience in Paragon City or the Rogue Isles. Take a look at what we've looked at and see as the highlights.

Continue reading A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community guide to City of Heroes

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community guide to City of Heroes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SI Radio hooks up with CoX's Back Alley Brawler

Adrian Bott — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST

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

With the initial wave of discussion following the announcement of City of Heroes Issue 13: Architect beginning to die down, SI Radio pokes the fire with an interview from PAX. In the spotlight is Back Alley Brawler, aka CoX Senior Animator Christopher Bruce. The interview's not all that long, but fortunately interviewer Chris 'Chaotica' Carkner is on the ball and asks pertinent questions.

BaB ends forum speculation by explaining what Pain Domination will entail. This set, the villainous counterpart of the heroes' Empathy, is being tailored specifically in order to offer parallel benefits in zone PvP to what Empathy offers. It has long been a complaint of villains that they don't have anything comparable to Empathy's buffs when fighting in the level 20-30 PvP zone Siren's Call. Since it's received wisdom in some quarters that the developers not only hate PvP but hate Villains, we wonder what impact this latest announcement will have.

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SI Radio hooks up with CoX's Back Alley Brawler originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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City of Heroes developer addresses scheduling, Issue 13 rumors

Adrian Bott — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST

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

When the City of Heroes Zombie Apocalypse hit the Test Server some days ago, speculation ran wild as to why the developers were testing out a Halloween event so early in the year. Could it be that they would soon need the Test Server for Issue 13?

It was an exciting possibility, but it's not to be. City of Heroes developer Back Alley Brawler, otherwise known as Christopher Bruce, has provided a series of illuminating posts that explain what's actually going on.

A revamped version of the Winter Event, along with 'other surprises', still remain to be tested for the current Issue before Issue 13 will show up. As far as timing goes, it's possible that Issue 13 may not be ready to go live by the time the Winter Event needs to happen, which is why the events are being tested for the current Issue.

Continue reading City of Heroes developer addresses scheduling, Issue 13 rumors

City of Heroes developer addresses scheduling, Issue 13 rumors originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Strong hint at Broadsword for Villains in CoX

Adrian Bott — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:30:00 EST

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

Back Alley Brawler of City of Heroes has made a brief but encouraging comment on the official forums, hinting strongly at a new piece of Powerset Proliferation in Issue 13. Villains who had complained of not having access to the funky new Nictus Sword have been reminded that they don't have the necessary sets 'yet'. Unless this is a cruel tease, this means Villains will be getting broadsword soon - and despite Back Alley Brawler's habit of turning into a shark when he visits the Test Server, we don't think he's that mean.

We already know that more Powerset Proliferation is coming in Issue 13, because Positron and Castle have told us it'll bring the villain equivalent of Empathy (which won't, of course, be called Empathy). Issue 13 is also an ideal time to give Villains the Broadsword set, as it should be bringing Shields, too. We've already learned that Shields will be a defensive powerset, usable with one-handed and unarmed sets; this opens up the possibility of Broadsword and Shield wielding Brutes, surely an obvious combination to go for. The Shield animations are now largely done, courtesy of the Roman NPCs in the Cimerora zone released with Issue 12, so we can't see any reason why they'd miss Issue 13.

Strong hint at Broadsword for Villains in CoX originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New CoX patch puts the wallop back in Martial Arts

Adrian Bott — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: City of Heroes, City of Villains, Classes, Patches, PvE

City of Heroes Dev Back Alley Brawler has been a very busy guy of late. When he's not fending off incoming questions like a tank herding Rikti monkeys, he's working on animations and visual effects. Recently, several powers have seen improvements to their animation speed, allowing players to beat the tar out of stuff much faster than they used to.

Katana was recently improved in this way, and now the set in the spotlight is Martial Arts, which hasn't seen any love for a long, long time. The little pauses have been shaved off, meaning that the kicks and punches now flow beautifully. Forum poster Tormentoso has put together a little demonstration.

Continue reading New CoX patch puts the wallop back in Martial Arts

New CoX patch puts the wallop back in Martial Arts originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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