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Distro Issue 18 explores the life of Ron Wayne, Apple's lost founder
Some have pegged Ron Wayne as unlucky; not only did he lose big by backing out of one of the most successful companies in consumer electronics, but a set of documents he once sold for a reported $500 recently demanded $1.6 million at auction. Earlier this month, Brian Heater spent two days in the Nevada desert following Apple's third founder, a man known best for his proximity to two guys named Steve and notoriously unfortunate timing. In this issue of Distro, we'll get a glimpse inside Ron's world -- a place occupied by slot machines, antique firearms and collectible coins -- and discover what he really thinks about his onetime business partners. Also in this issue, we'll double your pleasure with a pair of LG smartphone reviews: the Nitro HD and DoublePlay. Dana Wollman will rip through Jawbone's troubled fitness device, the Up, and take Lenovo's IdeaPad U400 for a spin. Ross Rubin will serve up his opinion on "WebOS' Open Sores" and we'll explore the gadgets we can't let go of in IRL. So get to downloading!
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Seven years of city life, part one
It's the seven-year anniversary for City of Heroes, and that feels just as strange to type as I imagine it feels to read. Seriously, I remember when the game had just launched and was receiving rampant praise as the next big thing in MMOs. In my mind, the game is still part of the new guard of MMOs alongside other games like Ryzom and Guild Wars, games that are trying something different instead of the tired EverQuest-era rehashes. This is in sharp contrast to the fact that the computer I am running the game on now could not have existed when the game launched. But this isn't about how old I am (or feel); this is about seven years of our favorite superheroic MMO. Last year I had the unenviable task of trying to sum up six years of progress in the game, but this time around we're just looking at the stuff that's changed since April of 2010. But that's still a lot of ground to cover, so for today I'm going to look back at the first two patches City of Heroes received over its past year of operation... because there's a lot to unpack even there.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: 2010's roguish review
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.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Community timing
Welcome to this week's installment of A Mild-Mannered Reporter, where we will not be talking about Going Rogue. Well, OK, that's a lie -- but we're not going to be doing our big analysis and in-depth look at the entire expansion. As of the time I'm writing these words, I've not actually even played the game. (This will have changed by the time you are reading the article, but that's the wonderful part about writing ahead. I'm sending messages to the future from the past!) So while there are going to be several community threads for City of Heroes in this column, there will not be any of the biting commentary you might have hoped to see. You can at least check out my first impressions of the expansion, if you'd like -- which also isn't written as of the time that I'm writing this, but will be by the time you read it. (Editor's note: Eliot's first impressions of Going Rogue launched Tuesday.) You know what, just jump past the break already -- I'm giving myself a Lost headache thinking about all the time travel.
An early release for City of Heroes Going Rogue
City of Heroes players had been looking forward to August 17th for quite some time, ever since it was announced as the release date for the game's new expansion, Going Rogue. It looks like they got their treat a day early, however, as Issue 18 has gone live today. Issue 18 is the patch that coincides with the expansion, and sure enough, players who have pre-purchased the expansion are reporting that they do indeed have full access to all of the expansion content. The official word from Paragon Studios is that the "soft launch" was done as a part of extended maintenance in order to facilitate a smoother launch day process.. Either way, there's no indication that the game is rolling back the live push, nor does it seem likely for a few hours of early release. The patch is quite large, so City of Heroes players are advised to start downloading early -- and as soon as it's done, they can start enjoying Going Rogue just a bit ahead of schedule. [Thanks to Skystreak for the tip!]
Time for City of Heroes players to get ready for Issue 18
Are you ready for Issue 18 of City of Heroes? There are only a few days left to get oneself ready for all of the updates coming just to the basic game, even without counting the fact that it coincides with the launch of Going Rogue. But just in case you're not quite ready, the team at Paragon Studios is going to help get you ready by allowing players to pre-download the patch before next Tuesday. Even beyond that, players are being given the option to move characters, redo their costumes, or even change that most sacred identifier -- the global chat handle. All players with an active account at the beginning of next week will receive a free costume change token and respec token for all characters on the account. Players will also have the option to change their global chat handles, which are normally locked after the first change. On top of all that, the no-charge server transfers from earlier in the year will be back for the first week of Going Rogue's release, allowing City of Heroes players a chance to put everything in order to optimize their play experience. So if you're not ready now... it's time to get ready.
City of Heroes returns to the Cathedral in Issue 18
We know that Going Rogue is going live for City of Heroes players in August, and that means a new major patch for the game. We know that the update will be Issue 18, followed by the much-discussed Issue 19 that finishes the Incarnate System and expands the endgame. What we haven't known until now is exactly what Issue 18 will contain other than expansion content -- and while it's unlikely that many of the game's players would be skipping out on the expansion, there's always the chance. The development team has broken that silence, however, revealing some of the additions to the game with the new update, including the long-awaited return of the Cathedral of Pain. Yes, Issue 18 will see the return of the Cathedral of Pain trial after a nearly four-year hiatus. Players can expect the trial to have been heavily rewritten while maintaining the same basic framework, the location itself being one of the core sanctums for Rularuu the Ravager. Beyond that is the addition of the Tips system, additions to Mission Architect, and the ability to trade inspirations between heroes and villains. Take a look at the official site for more previews of the next free update to City of Heroes, and take a look at the gallery for some more shots of Praetoria and the revamped Cathedral. %Gallery-97111%
City of Heroes explores crime and punishment, Praetoria style
We're getting closer and closer to the launch of the second major expansion to City of Heroes, Going Rogue. While the official site has been a bit silent of late, no doubt in focusing on the game's six-year anniversary, it's just updated again with another look inside the utopia of Tyrant. The most recent update focuses on both a group and an individual, as has become the norm, with players getting a clearer look inside the head of Marauder and the ruthless criminal organizations that form the Syndicate. When Tyrant made his push to eliminate all crime, he succeeded in driving the crime families and organizations nearly to ruin -- but they've banded together to form the Syndicate, to continue their illicit trades while striking out against Cole's government. Marauder, meanwhile, is the perversion of the jovial Back Alley Brawler. Also known as Praetor White, he leads the Powers Division, the team of super-powered individuals that take on threats Praetoria's police force cannot. Take a look at the official site for more information on both of these potential allies and enemies, and keep your eyes peeled for more information as City of Heroes rockets toward the Going Rogue launch date.
PAX East 2010: City of Heroes panel reveals many things
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.
