Twitter announcement as of 3 hours or so ago:
Quote:
CoH_OCR
CoH OCR
Play City of Heroes through the new NCsoft Launcher and get an exclusive Wisp aura! More information on this here: http://bit.ly/g8GgK9
That link takes you
here.
That in turn points you to a separate download link... >>READ EVERYTHING
Oh crap. I launched COH a few hours ago and got a patch... did I just install this thing?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
No Bob... its a completely separate program. You will know if you installed it. Trust me.
NCSoft Launcher.
What the patch was for was the Wisp Aura.
Transitioning to the new launcher will be mandatory soon -- they don't define *how* soon, but, soon. You can choose to let the launcher run in the background or you can tell it to kill itself when the game closes, which is good.
Also, for dual-boxers, you can go into advanced settings and configure the launcher to allow multiple sessions. Which is also good.
It appears to use your IE proxy settings, if you have them defined, regardless of what browser you actually use. This is likely more Microsoft's fault than NCSoft's, but it's lazy programming and a known issue regardless. This is bad, but manageable IF you know it's a potential issue.
It wants unrestricted access on port 80... not sure why. I'm neutral on that one.
The *really* bad is that there appear to be some nasty bugs, going by forum posts, with the launcher itself -- mostly caused due to old installs of NCSoft Launcher (like if you had Auto Assault or Dungeon Runners or whatever) and what read to me like firewall issues. There are some, though, where it's not as clear cut, and the devs don't seem to be in rapid response mode on the issue. I counted all of three (I think) redname posts in the announcement thread where people are venting their frustration.
On the third hand, there are about as many people reporting all's well as there are ranting take-my-ball-and-go-home types. So I dunno.
Me, I'm going to hold off a bit and see how it continues to shake down.
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
Speaking personally...having used the NC launcher a fair bit in the past, my issue was never with it failing to work, but rather the thing in and of itself even when it works. It's a larger and clunkier programme than the relatively minimalist and efficient CoH launcher. I don't need or use all the bells and whistles the blanket launcher provides. So all the additional resources it uses and the longer loading time...it ain't hugely worse, but it is irksome. Now that said...I can understand why NCsoft would want players of all its games to use one master launcher. They want people to be playing NCsoft games - in general. Not just the one. I get that. I just don't like it.
-- Acyl
I think i'll wait a few weeks, so then I can see/hear all the good and bad.
then, cuz i'm weak and CoX is my crack, instal the damn thing as fast as I can
Likewise.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
The longer the delay for the mac version, the happier I'll be.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make
anything explode.
So far, for me, the installer isn't too bad. It takes about twice as long as the old updater to get going and launch CoX, but I've got it set to shut down on launch, so no memory drag there.
I haven't had to acctually update the game with it yet, so I'll reserve comment until then.
On another note, Wisp Aura is neat.
Any sign of unwanted bits tagging along with it?
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make
anything explode.
Not that I've noticed, but I am admittedly not the best at finding problems like that.
Well, whoever thought of the idea of "Hay, make the move early and get a shiney" should get a bonus. its the only reason I migrated before being forced to.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by
Echo's Children
Okay, despite my wait-and-see thing, I figured, what the hell, I'll check it out. I'm savvy enough that I can restore my old install should it muck things up on me (ah, the wonders of image software).
So... I'm actually impressed.
The EULA is, as usual, full of mealy-mouthed lawyerese, but, near as I can tell it's basically the same one CoH has been using all along, with bits updated to reflect NCSoft instead of Cryptic/Paragon Studios. There is disclosure about their ad-serving company (Double Fusion); however, that's been there since in-game advertising was introduced and I don't think anyone's seen problems yet.
There is no mention of, nor any evidence of, malware masquerading as useful bits, like browser enhancements or so on that are typically packaged with this deal. It doesn't appear to need administrator access to install, either, so long as you don't install it to a protected directory (I don't usually). It didn't require a reboot, which almost everything that rootkits your system will require, and I don't see any hidden nasties hiding in the registry waiting for my next restart. The options to disable background processes and to make it exit upon launch are clear and easily accessible, and when I check running processes after launching the game with it, it has indeed killed itself as promised.
Unlike Steam, it has not installed itself as a service (though to be fair, Steam warns that it will and you can disable that, too, if you like).
I see no evidence of port shenanigans -- it's not listening on any port that I can see when it's actually running, and as mentioned, it kills itself properly when you tell it to, so nothing there either. It patched CoH much faster than the old launcher did, but it takes longer to start up, so that might be a wash in the long run.
Color me guardedly impressed. I was not expecting this -- I'm a cynic, I was expecting Punch The Monkey-level hijinks.
--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs
ok, neat tip for the new installer that I just stumbled upon:
click on the little arrow at the right of the 'city of heroes' entry. Right clicking on the entry should also work
One of the options is to create a shortcut
you now have a shortcut that will auto-launch CoH, and (if you have configured the launcher to do so) quit the launcher.
I like this. One less click for me, and I don't have to look at all the games/whatnot that I don't care about.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
sweno Wrote:you now have a shortcut that will auto-launch CoH
so.... i have to have the instaler, but you can press a button and never have to use it? O.o
it will create a shortcut that:
1) launches the new installer
2) auto-selects and launches CoH
3) (if configured) quits the installer
so your still using it, just in an automated fashion.
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy