RIP - Ascendant

One of the players that made a name for himself in City of Heroes was the one behind Ascendant.   Ascendant was a character, blond  in a white and blue costume, very traditional.    But what set him apart was the use of the bind tools provided to set up a self refreshing script.    He would stand in front of a pay phone and have conversations with his agent.  Even though you only heard one side, if you happen to run through Atlas and catch him running of them they would be a riot.  Well written and tight, they would be the bizarre side of heroing.  The agent would have his action figure equipped with gear he never used, riding dinosaurs and such.  Or putting his equivalent of Green Kryptonite in every box of his Ascendant-O's cereal.  These became so legendary, Ascendant showed up in the City comic books that were put out.  Even Paragon Studios gave him a nod when occasionally a NPC you passed by would be answering their phone "Ascendant, who? I'm sorry, you have the wrong number."

Over the years I've run into him a handful of times.   Frequently at the Atlas Park train station.  In later years a couple times at Pocket D events, at least one of the Golden Age Festivals the Gods of the Golden Age put on. 

Sadly the word is circulating that the player behind Ascendant has passed away.  I first ran across this on a a supergroup website.   Tuning into THE CAPE, they were running a memorial of sorts.  Further searches show the story popping up on Twitter.   Even an article in OnRPG has to be seen.

Strange that he touched so many people he never met in person, and that despite the absence of that game, the word has still gotten out so quickly.

I leave you with another one of his phonecalls -- of sorts.

Or more traditionally

Ascendant: Hello, are these the offices of Saul Rubenstein, Agent to Paragon's Elite?
Ascendant: Great. Can I speak to him? I'm a client.
Ascendant: Ascendant. No, with an A. D-A-N-T.
Ascendant: Ok, I'll hold.
Ascendant: —lor said "Brandy, you're a fine girl, what a good wife you would be, but my life, my love and m—
Ascendant: Hello, Saul, it's Ascendant.
Ascendant: No, the one with an A.
Ascendant: I'm glad you asked. I've been going over these products you've sent me—
Ascendant: Right, for the merchandizing campaign...
Ascendant: Well, no, they aren't. That's why I'm calling, actually.
Ascendant: I'm not really happy with them.
Ascendant: Well, for starters, there's the breakfast cereal.
Ascendant: Right, Ascendant-O's.
Ascendant: Ok, it says here on the box, "Includes Xenonite, the Secret Source of Ascendant's Power."
Ascendant: Well, for one thing, Xenonite is NOT the secret source of my powers.
Ascendant: No, Saul... No, it isn't. Trust me on this.
Ascendant: Saul, Xenonite TAKES AWAY my powers.
Ascendant: Yeah, it does. In fact, if I'm exposed to it too long, it could kill me.
Ascendant: I dunno. It's got something to do with radioactivity, I think.
Ascendant: Anyway, I poured a bowl of Ascendant-O's yesterday to see what they taste like and nearly died before I could finish adding the milk.
Ascendant: Well, if the cat hadn't come along and eaten it all, I would have, Saul.
Ascendant: My point is that we aren't going to be selling Ascendant-O's...
Ascendant: Because, Saul, I'm not putting on a lead suit every time I have to go to the cereal aisle in the grocery store.
Ascendant: I don't care if you have already have a lot of pre-orders for it.
Ascendant: Really? How much?
Ascendant: From who?
Ascendant: Ok... Right... Yeah... Uh huh... Him, too? Really?
Ascendant: Yeah, well the problem here is that all those guys you just mentioned are supervillains, Saul.
Ascendant: Yes, even him. I just beat him up like an hour ago for trying to poison the city's water supply.
Ascendant: I don't care if his check cleared, Saul. That's not the point...
Ascendant: Well, of course they're going to use it to try and kill me, Saul.
Ascendant: Why else would a bunch of supervillains want a kid's cereal laced with the one rare radioactive element I'm vulnerable to?
Ascendant: No, I don't think they just want a well balanced breakfast.
Ascendant: Ok, as far as I'm concerned, this is a dead issue, Saul. Big NO on Ascendant-O's.
Ascendant: Moving on: The Ascendant action figure.
Ascendant: No, I'm very disappointed, actually.
Ascendant: Well, for starters, it comes with a laser sword and a talking dinosaur that I supposedly ride into battle.
Ascendant: I don't have either one of those things, Saul.
Ascendant: I don't care if the focus groups thought it would be cool.
Ascendant: That's utterly ridiculous, Saul.
Ascendant: Yes, it is. For one thing, where am I going to get a laser sword? Or a talking dinosaur, for that matter?
Ascendant: Fine, whatever. Anyway, I'm also a little concerned about the fact that it features "Burning Halo Action..."
Ascendant: Right, but aside from the fact that I don't actually have that power—
Ascendant: No, Saul, I don't.
Ascendant: I'd know it if I did, Saul, trust me.
Ascendant: Aside from the fact that I don't have anything like a Burning Halo power, do you really think it's a good idea to sell kids an action figure that can spontaneously burst into flame?
Ascendant: I see... Well, we're going to hold on that until I approve a redesign.
Ascendant: Moving on. The Ascendant Cave Action Playset.
Ascendant: Yeah, I actually like this thing. It doesn't look anything like my apartment, but it's pretty cool, I guess.
Ascendant: What do you mean they changed the name so it could fit on the box?
Ascendant: Well, sure, I guess Ascendant Cave Action Playset is a little long, but couldn't they use a smaller font?
Ascendant: Fine, so what do they call it now? The Action Cave? Ascendant's Lair? What?
Ascendant: The A-Hole?!?!?!
Ascendant: Why on Earth would they call it the A-Hole, Saul?
Ascendant: Yes, I understand the A is short for Ascendant, you moron, but why not call it the A-Cave? or the A-Lair?
Ascendant: Uh huh... Yeah... I see...
Ascendant: Well, we're NOT calling my secret headquarters the A-Hole, Saul, and that's final.
Ascendant: Because I don't want people to hear the word "Ascendant" and immediately think "A-Hole."
Ascendant: Ok, moving on. The Ascendant Action Hour TV Show.
Ascendant: Right. I actually like the opening animation of me that you've put together.
Ascendant: Right, the one where I'm sheathed in a burning halo of flame, riding around the city on a talking dinosaur, hitting bad guys with my laser sword and eating chunks of raw Xenonite.
Ascendant: I mean, that's still not anything remotely close to real life, but I guess it looks pretty cool and the theme song is pretty catchy, so I'll let it pass for now.
Ascendant: It's the rest of the show that I have problems with, Saul.
Ascendant: Well, for one thing, outside of the opening theme part, the show itself is apparently just old episodes of Nightline, except every time someone says "Ted Koppel," you dub over it with "Ascendant."
Ascendant: I don't care if each episode only costs $22.50 plus shipping to make, Saul. In fact, I don't think you can even legally broadcast it.
Ascendant: What offshore Pirate transmitter?
Ascendant: Saul, that's a federal offense.
Ascendant: Yes... Yes, it is.
Ascendant: Yes, someone WILL care... They've called the FCC, Saul.
Ascendant: Look, Saul, I've got to fire you.
Ascendant: I don't see where you've left me much choice, Saul.
Ascendant: You're selling cereal that can kill me to my archenemies, you've made my action figure not only ludicrous but potentially lethal to kids, and you're committing felonies by broadcasting illegal transmissions of Nightline from off shore.
Ascendant: Oh, and I almost forgot, you're selling an action playset which proudly proclaims on the box that "Ascendant stores all of his most precious items inside his incredible A-Hole."
Ascendant: And worst of all, my name is stamped all over all of this, Saul... I'm the one who's going to be sued, or killed, or arrested... Maybe in that order, too.
Ascendant: Saul...
Ascendant: Saul...
Ascendant: Stop crying Saul...
Ascendant: Look... I know you tried your best.
Ascendant: (Sigh)... Ok, Fine...
Ascendant: Look, Ok, but just one more chance, Saul....
Ascendant: Just don't do anything more until we can have a meeting, Saul.
Ascendant: No... For the last time, NO Broadway musical! Don't even MENTION that idea again.
Ascendant: Ok, bye.

Biopic - Thoughtwave

An early mind controller, one I made on a low population server.  I never got back to playing him, but he survived on my account for nearly the full 8 years.  I can't think of many more attemps at playing a mind controller.  I was always annoyed by most of the abilities on that powerset being interruptable -- It made it impossible to play with some other gungho players.   But it was also one of those controller type sthat was difficult to play solo.

Biopic - Fatal Overdose

One of two Villain Masterminds -- this one was a poison/thug. 

The fight goes on...

Gaming wise I've gotten back into Skyrim lately a lot.  I started another few characters , each unique.  But some of it is getting old.  The Elder Scrolls online game can't come out fast enough.

I even tried a little bit of Fallout3.   I used to play that to death -- but it now seems clunky and dated.   Not as bad as Oblivion or Morrowind.  Try as I might, I still can't get into Oblivion due to the interface.  I can't make heads or tales out of what is set or not -- so I don't know what is going on. Listing to Elder Scrolls Off The Record podcast it sounds liike I'm missing something in not playing the games.

Picked up Gunslinger (Call of Juarez) -- cheap but fun so far.   Tricky , lots of cliche's.  Like the way the work stuff in to the story by having the storyteller have to work against the dime novel versions of the story and show BOTH ways the story would have played out.  

Tried a little of Defiance and Champions.  Neither is really pulling me in.  Maybe ESO will break the MMO blight I'm suffering from now.

That being said I've come to a realization on the NCSoft actions versus City of Heroes.   It hurts, but  I think I see what THEY see.

They want as many BIG titles as they can in their roster.  They want big numbers.  Not just profitable, but something that brings in the money.  World of Warcraft numbers of old are a Holy Grail as it were, and probably aren't doable because there aren't that many MMO players in existance.  Or at least not enough that actually have funds. 

I think that when DCUO and Champions hit the market they expected City's numbers to fall, and then they could get rid of it.  But that didn't happen.  To NCSoft the numbers weren't high enough to justify a sequel, but not low enough to outright cancel.   I think they expected City to fade away to the point they could get rid of it easily.  But City proved to be the game that would not die.  It had a high equilibrium of numbers that didn't fall far enough for NCSoft to declare the party over.

Paragon Studios probably helped with that.  Ultra Mode graphics and stuff made the engine less dated and the game look far better.  At least to the point it could contend with more modern games.  I have to wonder if NCSoft was clear on what they were doing.  The end result gave the game more life.

I think the Free to Play approach was something else NCsoft probably thought was a game-ender.  But there was too much that made you want to pay to play DESPITE it being free.  Vet awards, new content, and other perks kept people paying and playing.   How many Free To Play players came in that way and eventually started paying so they could join in on that fun?   And even for those not paying, they were in the form of micro-transactions so they could get those precious costume pieces.   It kept that level of profitibility high enough that it was't a superhit -- but it wasn't a failure either.

I suspect that NCSoft desired to get rid of it and try something else better suited for success.   Look at their current offering.  Wildstar excepted, it is ALL variations on a theme.  I don't hold much hope for Wildstar.  Unless it goes superhit, under NCSoft I expect it to be axed in under 3 years.  Maybe even 2.

So we get to the point last year -- NCSoft finally decides to get rid of City.  They can't publicly say why becaus that would show how easily they could justify the termination of ANY game.    They can't sell the property because it has a history.  There might be legal implications -- Remember Cryptic had owned it originally, and other companies got involved when comic books were made.  And Novels.  The cost of clearing everybodies hold on the property might up the cost of selling to the point it would lose them money.    But selling it might mean that someone else could remake it into a superhit.   A non-NCSoft City of Heroes 2 would have been a night mare for them if it got popular.    Can you imagine them explaining stock holders that a new competitor is using their old product against them?   So City gets an "execution" date, less than 2 paragraph of say-nothing nonsense as "explanation", and that's that.  Right?

Not so.  The Unity rally a week after their annoucment spawned the 33 zones of Atlas Park. in hours.  Despite the somber last days of the game, people still played up to the end.   I saw more people on that last day that I've not seen in years than ever before.  

But now we have Heroes & Villains, The Pheonix Project, Missing World Media, Icon 5, etc. all focused on bringing together a new Super hero MMO in the likeness of City of Heroes.  And it looks like they are further along than I would have thought -- going strong.   We might just one or more of these things seeing the light of day. One can only hope. 

Most of the people I knew in City have shown up in Champions.  While not the same as City, it is the closest of the two remaining Superhero MMOs. I've seen several characters inferring City concepts quite cleverly.  There is a City of heroes global channel on Champions that is ALWAYS busy with ex-City players talking away.

And if you go to social media like Twitter, check out posts involving @NCSoftGames.   You'll find it MOSTLY posts by City supporters who do not support NCSoft, and still daily demand their game back or the IP released. Such steady negative publicity against NCSoft is not going to go over well indefinitely.   Check out #SaveCoH #CityofHeroes #AvengeCoH and others.  People aren't happy and still demand to be heard.   

How long can NCSoft ignore it?   They tried the MMO equivalent of a Scored Earth policy to make sure this game was history.  And expected players to accept that.  And that in itself is the problem.  If you make these artificial worlds you are obligated to keep them running until it isn't possible.  NOT until you don't feel like it.   City was the game that wouldn't die -- so they tried to bury it.  Alive.    They've got to be confused if not appauled that it is not only still kicking in its own way, but that it is spawning NEW properties they don't control.

Eventually I expect NCSoft to speak out again.  Whether that is in defense of its actions, to quell complaints and anti-NCSoft commentary, or to sue someone for use of their property, I do expect them to come out again.   I expect the players to continue to revolt against them.   I expect NCSoft to become less and less a big name in the business and more a pariah to be left alone and not touched at all.   In essense, trying to kill City only started them down a path to their own corporate demise.   At the very least I expect them to DITCH the now stained NCSoft name and come up with a new name & logo, hoping they can hide behind that mask.

I don't see anything working for them now.

Still another COH tribute video

Another tribute video -- For players some may find it emotional.  

Nine years ago...

Nine years ago I first logged on to City of Heroes.  Thanks to a snafu with my credit card, I couldn't get online until then, even though I was ready and trying 3 days previously.  I had not been in the beta so it was completely fresh to me.

Thinking back, it was a different game.  For one, the max level was 40.  Nobody knew any tricks, so leveling was SLOW.   No capes were there -- even the flag on the Atlas Park City hall was rigid and static.  No one did costume contests back then -- there was no market, no inventions, no Architect missions, No Pocket D, No villain player characters, no badges.  No veteran bonuses -- so everyone had to get to level 6 and get that prerequesite travel power and work their way to 14 before they could TRULY fly, run, or leap.    I remember the strain it was to get enough influence to buy enhancements for my powers.  Those beginning characters were eternally broke.

I do remember the wonder of it.   The first time I was in King's Row and saw someone superleap away from me.  I remember the frustration of people trying to hover up the sides of King's Row buildings, moving ever so slowly.  I remember my first trip into Perez Park seeing Circle of Thorn torture fire circles inside the trees.   I remember one of my first characters, Cyrex, a half alien Illusion/empath controller, getting Invisibility and wandering around upper level zones.  I took screenshots standing next to groups that could have easily killed that toon. But it was SO much fun.

It seems a pity that NCSoft took the action with the game they did.  

Players are celebrating this week, according to Massively, so keep an eye on Twitter.

Top Superhero MMO?

Another website tackles this -- including some future games.  And still look what tops the list!