The Phoenix Project, a volunteer effort to produce a spiritual successor to City of Heroes®, reveals the official name of its upcoming multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG).
Welcome to City of Titans.
The Kickstarter to fund the game goes live on 12:01 AM Eastern, on Wednesday, October 2nd.
It has been a long and painful journey, both for the team and the fans supporting it, with a false KS start and many struggles. And the Kickstarter will not be the end of them. Instead, it is a first step on an exciting new journey, together.
The Phoenix Project, the overall name for the search for a new home for fans of the fallen City of Heroes, spawned Missing Worlds Media, Inc., late in 2012 to manage and maintain development and operation of the game that became City of Titans. Active development began December 1st, and has continued through engine changes, personnel difficulties, and a request from Kickstarter for a gameplay video that delayed the planned launch from September 8th, the anniversary of the City of Heroes Unity Rally in protest at the announcement of the closure of the game.
President of Missing Words Media, Inc, Sara Quinn, said: “The delay was frustrating for us all, but it was a necessary evil, and we have used the time to put together an even better campaign.
“We are immensely grateful to our community for their continued support and understanding at this somewhat fraught time. They have been amazing, and without the morale boosts they provided, this would have been much harder on all of us.
“There were a massive assortment of names that were considered, and a good number of finalists, but we are now pleased to announce that the Phoenix has risen in the form of City of Titans, a name that at once contains a nod each to the game that brought us together and the community that so welcomed and supported us when we began this effort, and leaves us and our players free to tell stories of heroism, villainy, and anything in between.
Chris Hare, the Project Lead for City of Titans, had this to add. “Our goal is not merely to replace City of Heroes. The things City of Heroes was known for were innovative thinking and groundbreaking gameplay, from sidekicking to badges to instanced missions. Our goal has to be as far reaching and innovative as our inspiration.
“There will be new things. There will be amazing things. And they will all be fun. This will be a new world of superhuman gameplay, and it will be playable with anyone with a capable computer and a little money saved up. Don’t just read adventures, or watch adventures. Live them. Write them. Be the hero. Together, we can fly.”
[color=#ff0000]Public Relations Lead[/color]
[IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/24ypdt0.png[/IMG]
"This will be a new world of superhuman gameplay, and it will be playable with anyone with a capable computer and a little money saved up."
Why do you need a little money saved up, thought it was FTP.
[color=#ff0000]Tech Team and Forum Moderator[/color]
[img]http://missingworldsmedia.com/images/favicon.ico[/img]
Now that's an announcement! Gratz to getting to this point, MWM!
It may be FTP but the devs would rather have subscribers?
Spurn all ye kindle.
Cue the flood of 'Shut up and take my money' images... ;-)
Of course we would, my point is that this might be misleading/offputting to potential freebies.
The way I read it was that it would not be fun if you didn't pay, and I know that is not the intention.
[color=#ff0000]Tech Team and Forum Moderator[/color]
[img]http://missingworldsmedia.com/images/favicon.ico[/img]
The current targeted model is more akin to The Secret World, up-front purchase but free to play thereafter with an optional VIP subscription which would grant you things like beta server access and a stipend to the cash shop which is more than the cost of the subscription. The up-front cost would be the same as a subscription (the number of months tbd) and would include a subscription for a period of time equal to that cost. In effect, you pre-pay for a subscription and get the game. This is still very much up in the air, mind you, so don't consider this set-in-stone.
Technical Director
Read enough Facebook and you have to make Sanity Checks. I guess FB is the Great Old One of the interent these days... - Beamrider
if its buy to play with optional subscription, then its like The Secret World... if its just Buy To Play with store transactions, then its like any other computer game out there really that you have to lay upfront cash for (GTA5, Guild Wars franchise, Mass Effect franchise that style...)
(opinion personal not official)
This is my preferred model for anti-spam purposes, although I favour not too large a purchase price.
I presume optional sub is on the cards from what I saw of the KS rewards.
[color=#ff0000]Tech Team and Forum Moderator[/color]
[img]http://missingworldsmedia.com/images/favicon.ico[/img]
We're keeping things up in the air a little, and not settling on a final business model for as long as we can. We're watching Final Fantasy and WildStar, we're going to run some marketing surveys, and get the best rate-for-return, so we can give you guys the most game for the least outlay.
But something of that shape is pretty much what we're looking at. The Anti-Spam measure Minotaur mentioned is critical. Spam, banned griefers, and so on. A little speedbump up front causes a much better play experience in the long run.
Any questions about that?
[color=#ff0000]Project Lead[/color]
That would be a nice way to prevent Spammers, even if it's something like $5 or $10. In the end, that allows our mod teams to focus on assisting players with bugs and glitches as opposed to having to spend so much time dealing with spammers and bots. I'd gladly pay $10 to have that assurance.
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[color=#FF0000]Recording Engineer/Foley Artist[/color]
Tough decision
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"Listen, and understand. City of Titans is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely [i]will not stop, ever,[/i] until we are live!"
Warcabbit
I've been a fan of the upfront purchase, free to play there after system in GW and GW2. I would probably also jump on a subscription if the benefits are worth it.
One question though, would you be open to players exchanging the money-store currency with each other in any capacity?
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I never set anything on fire accidentally!
The Titan Legacy - Defender of the Inner Flame
I'll be subbing no matter what. I like the upfront purchase. That way everyone has some skin in the game so to speak. My hopes are high that we will back in the sky some time in 2015.
I was happy to remain subscribed to CoH for 7 years, so I'd be the same here, as long as the rewards were similar. Are you considering anything more as a reward for loyalty beyond a monthly stipend? What about vet rewards?
Spurn all ye kindle.
So - kinda like the CoH model at the end? I would be down with that - I don't mind paying for the "box" and I'll sub for the stipend and the support as long as there is lots of good stuff to spend my virtual money on.
We have a bunch of ideas, we just need to sort through them all, see which ones are good, are not good, what other games do for comparison, etc. The stipend and beta server access are just the "we know we'll have this."
Technical Director
Read enough Facebook and you have to make Sanity Checks. I guess FB is the Great Old One of the interent these days... - Beamrider
A pure assumption on my part is that any 'up front' fee will depend on how much content is available at launch. If the KS is phenomenal and we can bang out 50 levels full of good stuff, then, yeah, an up front fee is justifiable. OTOH, if we decide to go Live with just 30 levels and promises of future patches, well then, maybe an upfront fee isn't so justifiable, or, it would be very small.
Former Online Community Manager & Forum Moderator
[img]http://missingworldsmedia.com/images/favicon.ico[/img]
Ideas:
$10 - Basic Game (F2P)
$20 - Basic Game with 1 month sub (assuming 1 month of Subs costs $15 - so you save $5)
$30 - Premium Game (F2P with extra's - ingame extra's)
$40 - Premium Game with 1 month sub
Want more months of sub, buy the basic or premium with sub then buy more after from the Titan Store (buy in bulk and save? :))
Obviously if you take part in the KS you already get the Basic or Premium based on which Tier Rewards you paid for.
The Phoenix Rising Initiative Rules Lawyer
I am a little surprised nobody noticed my little announcement at the end of 'What Has Gone Before.'
[color=#ff0000]Project Lead[/color]
$10 tends to contradict Free To Play...
The spammers we had on CoH weren't bots, they were real people. And if they can make thousands of dollars from people, they may decide $5 or $10 isn't a problem.
Steve
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"Listen, and understand. City of Titans is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely [i]will not stop, ever,[/i] until we are live!"
Warcabbit
Only from a certain point of view. Many games are Pay to Buy but Free to Play, others are F2B and F2P.
The Phoenix Rising Initiative Rules Lawyer
Oh, sorry.
I was thinking $10 a month. You mean $10 to download the game, then free to play. :)
Steve
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"Listen, and understand. City of Titans is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely [i]will not stop, ever,[/i] until we are live!"
Warcabbit
I joined CoX during the second week or so, and I was there when they turned out the lights, and I had a subscription beginning to end. So yeah, I think I am going to be subscribing. :-)
As to the "buy in" cost of the game, I like the model of a moderate price (say $35.00) that includes three months of VIP access (which would be say $45 if bought individually). Right around the cost of buying a console or PC game, is a marked deterrant to spammers/botters, and gives 3 months to "set the hook" that a VIP subscription is a good deal, yet have f2p be a viable option if not.
I would also like to see subscription bundles (15/month, 35/3months, 65/6 months, 100/year) be available as a matter of course (not having to wait for them to be "on special")
"Yes they do Otto, they just don't understand it!"
I am Tempest; Tempest Master in my previous life, and known as Temp to almost everyone that knows me.
Way to go, MWM! Now THAT'S a launch! I'm really impressed with the pitch and like what you have to say about the motivation and focus of the project. Very, very nice work.!
I also loled at "The more you love us, the more expensive it’s going to get." :-)
Wait; what? Which? Where??
OK, now a serious question. I deeply respect the MWM team and I'm convinced that City of Titans will be a good game. (You just HAD to give us a third meaning for CoT, didn't you?) However, respected developers can make good games that are still not something I would want to play. (For example, Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon.)
I understand that many design decisions have yet to be made, but since I'm not a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist, I'd like to be pretty confident that I will want to play this game before contributing funds. Having tried many other MMOs that sounded good but ended up being not for me, I've learned that there are some specific design decisions that can turn me off a game quite quickly. I also have learned from various CoH forums that what one person sees as the "feel" of that game can be very different from another player's view, so the statement that CoT will be in the spirit of CoH still leaves some questions unanswered. I suspect I'm not alone here.
So my question is this: what's the best way for MWM and the potential player base to discuss design questions that will help decide how they respond to the Kickstarter? I see the Ask a Question button on the KS page, but wouldn't it save time if we started a sticky "Design FAQ" thread that indicates where decisions have been made, where there's a strong leaning, and where it's still wide open? I know there are plenty of individual threads discussing various topics, but they are just discussions; very few of these have definite answers from rednames. Ideally, this would have a post at the beginning that would be updated by rednames with the official status of design elements so that someone looking for an answer wouldn't have to scroll through the discussions just to see MWM's position.
If you prefer, I'm happy to ask my questions privately or in a separate thread, but I just thought it could help the KS effort and save you time if you didn't have to answer these questions over and over.
I'm very excited about this project and very much hope it will result in the kind of MMO I can love again. I just need to know a little more.
P.S. I want to be Blockman's sidekick!! I hope he can teach me his signature power "Fall a Very Short Distance." I think it might be a travel power, from the look of it.
Spurn all ye kindle.
The way it's going, you all might reach 4 million the first time around and have all the cash you need to do what ever you all want and need to do. AKA funding will no longer be an issue. Keep it going. Dont stop getting the word out there even if it hit 5 million by the last day. Go for 6 million. No matter how good it go, dont get complacent. Stay hungry, keep the drive, and even if the game in the end reach WoW level popularity, keep pushing it like it's nothing.
I'm still mulling it over on donating. A little skittish about the not "pay to win" thing. Now I know people dont like like "pay to win" and pay to win probably isnt the best system to have as the sole system but in the COX community "no pay to win" usually means everything is lucked based like a casino.
If possible, just in case I'm wrong, can I get a little clarification on how much stuff and or if everything will be luck based and or a system where one have to get lucky good drop and play a market to make decent amount of inf to buy stuff? And if there will be any other system in place that is not solely luck based? I live about 20 min from a casino/major horse race track, but only went there for the food as I dont care too much for gambling much. A little here and there but it usually dont hold a fun factor for long period of time.
If it's lucked based I'm not saying it's bad, or it should be changed or it sucks and etc. before people who get lucky regular jump on the case. If that is the chosen system, so be it. I just dont want to think something is luck based when it may not be or plans for other systems besides depending on luck is in the works.
That is one heck of a first day for the Kickstarter! Less than 24 hours and we've already surpassed a third of the goal. I shall keep spreading the word to everyone who will listen about City of Titans.
I believe it is an early version of Teleport as there appears to destination rings before the little guy zaps himself over to them. :P
I cannot say enough about how stoked I am for this.
When CoX went dark, my husband and I lost the ability to say to people, "Let me show you where we first met!" Having that spirit back is going to be amazing.
Let me know where the Roleplay Server is at, and I am THERE!
I hope all goes well with the Kickstarter, and you guys just SMASH IT OUT OF THE PARK like Star Citizen did, (though I'm not sure that was through KS-- I'd have to ask my husband). Gather your team together-- get people close to you, GOOD people: developers, artists, moderators, everyone-- and hold them close. Take my pledge, and spend it well.
I will stand with this project! Make us proud!!!
*Brevity of Grace* - 50 Emp/Archery Defender
[url=http://cityoftitans.com/forum/grace-just-grace]Backstory - Just Grace[/url]
*Hematitan* - 50 Grav/FF Controller
[url=http://cityoftitans.com/forum/allison-morris-hematitan]Backstory - Hematitan[/url]
Star citizen raised $2.1million on kickstarter... the other $18million or so that it has raised in the past year has been via donations on its website, and selling stuff for the game already (as in you can already *buy* ships to use in the game)
Is there going to be a Trial version of the game like CoH had before going Hybrid? I would never have gotten into CoH if it was pay-before-you-even-try, and even now I don't want to buy a game before I know whether my computer can comfortably run it.
Well first off, if you've pledged $50 or more in the KS, you already have bought (assuming KS success) a copy of the game.
But still, I imagine them either having a free trial (like CoH before Freedom), or they have free trial periods. GW2 is just finishing one right now I think, and as that is a buy upfront then F2P game, it is a good example.
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I never set anything on fire accidentally!
The Titan Legacy - Defender of the Inner Flame
I am not in on the meetings where they figure out pricing and stuff, but I know that a final income model hasn't been decided on yet. You should hear about it when it is.
We are also looking into various continued revenue streams to keep the money rolling in between the Kickstarter and Launch. Stay tuned!
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IANAL, IMHO, WYSIWYG, YMMV, IIRC, AFAIK, ETC
[color=#ff0000]Composition Assistant Director, Composition Team[/color]
[img]http://missingworldsmedia.com/images/favicon.ico[/img]
My thoughts exactly ... although if they offer a lifetime subscriber fee I'd be interested.
[i](Lord of the Rings Online did a $200 founder fee during beta, and while they were not F2P until about 3 years in, I kept my benefits for being a subscriber)[/i]
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I got the Lifetime Subscription then also. Since then they are received about $40 for the first expansion from me. I am not on a huge amount because my video card crashes if I stay on too long, but I do still play. The $240 I have invested has been great for me, but has really sucked for their cash flow situation. I don't want CoT to have the same kind of situation. FTP, with subscription options of discounts for paying ahead like COH look like a lot better deal for the game in the long term.