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City of Heroes offers some Hero-Con highlights
If you were one of the many City of Heroes fans who wasn't quite able to make it to Hero-Con, we offer our condolences. Even though you know that the information revealed there gets disseminated as fast as possible, there's still a sense of missing out on something big. And even though that event was a couple months ago, the sting probably hasn't quite worn off yet. But fret not, as Paragon Studios has given you loyal but not-necessarily-traveling fans a little present. There are now several podcasts available on the official site with recordings from the celebrated event. The available podcasts include the opening ceremonies along with the Going Rogue preview, discussions of power and archetype balancing, and the panel regarding the ongoing storyline of the game among others. Audio quality isn't perfect, but for a recording of a live event there's little to complain about. If you'd prefer to listen on the site, there's a built-in player, or if you'd rather have them on your iPod (or other mobile player) they can be downloaded on the same page in MP3 format. It's not quite the same as being there, but it certainly beats missing the experience entirely if you're a longtime fan of City of Heroes.
Hero-Con full schedule announced
Hero-Con begins in just a few days, and it's time to start planning what you're going to do while you're there. The full event schedule, as well as a list of panels and workshops was released on the official site yesterday. Fans can kick off the event Friday with Board Games and Bevs With the Devs, then enjoy the rest of the weekend as well: participate in the live mission event as well as the costume and trivia contests, get a sneak peek at Going Rogue, and do some shopping. The panel and workshop schedule is guaranteed to force some tough choices. Everything is covered, from breaking into the industry to art design to game mechanics. On the lighter side, there are panels on player-run activities, a look at some Going Rogue characters, and several more that promise fun. Whatever your interest, Hero-Con seems to offer a panel for it. If you've not purchased tickets yet, they are still available -- check the official site for more details.
Hero-Con contests revealed
With Hero-Con less than a week away, Paragon Studios and NCSoft look to be living up to their promise of a bigger and better Hero-Con this year. They've promised closed beta keys for the upcoming City of Heroes expansion Going Rogue to all attendees, and even created a mission arc in-game that ties into the convention. They've also been hinting at some great activities at the convention, and yesterday they gave us all the information we've been waiting for.It's a fan convention near Halloween, so nobody should be surprised to hear there's a costume contest Saturday night after the banquet dinner. Five winners will be chosen, and they just ask that you leave any realistic (i.e. dangerous) weapons at home, and skip the costumes that are trademarked outside the CoH universe. There will also be trivia challenges running throughout the day on Saturday -- 30-minute qualifiers leading up to an on stage trivia competition between the six highest scoring qualifiers. The big fun, however, looks to be the live mission. Teams of eight will compete in a series of missions to be the first to find the 10 keys of the M.A.G.I. vault. You and your team (make your own PUG joke here) can sign up at the registration area on Friday.Good luck, have fun!
Save the convention, save the world
Ok, so perhaps our title isn't as catchy as Heroes season one, but beyond that, there's still a convention (and a time stream) that needs your help!City of Heroes has put up their Hero-Con mission arc, "How To Save A Convention," and they need well armed heroes to go and put a stop to a villain that threatens time itself! While this mission line will probably be a lot of fun for all City of Heroes players, it will have a particularly strong meaning for anyone attending Hero-Con this year. The mission line supposedly ties into the live mission that will be going on at the convention (and it also hints at a big announcement being made at Hero-Con this year), so pay close attention to all of the details presented!If you're looking for the mission, you can find it stored with the many other missions at Architect Entertainment.
CoH: Going Rogue beta keys offered at HeroCon
Back in August, Paragon Studios and NCSoft revealed that they were expanding HeroCon into a two day event, and offering plenty of physical and virtual gifts to attendees.Now, Paragon Studios has sweetened the deal even more by announcing that attendance at HeroCon will guarantee access to the closed beta of Going Rogue, the upcoming alternate universe expansion for City of Heroes. Registered participants of HeroCon just need to be at the Doubletree Hotel during event registration to fill out a Going Rogue Non-Disclosure Agreement. (Of course, the usual rules apply: you need to have an active CoH game account, be a US resident, over 18, and must not work for a competitor or any of its affiliates.)Tickets for HeroCon can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets, and a full list of events (which includes a first look at exclusive content from Going Rogue) can be found at the official site for City of Heroes.
NCsoft announces Hero Con '08
If there's one thing that characterizes the City of Heroes community, it's the willingness of the developers and community staff to interact with the players and fans. Following on from the success of previous Meet and Greet events, CoX players now have details of the long-awaited Con in the Bay Area, Hero Con '08. The gathering's set to fill a day and a night, and will include ringside seats for Lead Designer Matt 'Positron' Miller and NorCal studio manager Brian Clayton's latest Annual Community Address. Will they let slip any details of coming Issues? They haven't said, but the players are hardly likely to let them keep quiet about it - and it's hard to see what else the 'exclusive upcoming announcements' could refer to.NCsoft are providing experienced counsel as well as entertainment, with 'Q&A, Round Table Discussions, and Workshop sessions provided by "City of Heroes" game creators and players'. This not only offers a chance to get an insight into the games design process, it also raises the exciting topic of player designed content once again. After all, with the player generated content system described by Alex 'Lighthouse' Von Minden as 'chief among the coming features' that will be heading to CoX in the near future, what better brains could aspiring content designers pick than those of the developers themselves?HeroCon is set to run on Saturday, October 18, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Santa Clara.
