Its been a while since we’ve had an update from the Homecoming City of Heroes server about a new update to the game and it has been even longer since we had an update about the NCSoft talks but now we finally have a bit of an update on both.
Many people theorized that the talks with NCSoft had stopped completely, much like the last ones had but in fact, according to this update they have been going on for the last year quietly behind the scenes. They have been slowed by the Coronavirus, however, which … yeah, what hasn’t these days? There was more to the announcement than just that they’re still in talks. The big news from those talks is that they will be renaming the server group. It’s a small change though so don’t you worry. It will be going from City of Heroes: Homecoming to Homecoming: City of Heroes. See! Not too bad at all. They have also set up social media channels, though they aren’t actually using them yet. Still, you can find them and follow them here:
Changing Domain
Soon Homecoming will switch over to using a new domain, homecomingcoh.com. You won’t have to sign up again for this new site if you already have an account on the current site. All you have to do is remember your login details and log in to the site.
New Launcher
Homecoming will also be getting a new launcher that is designed to be light and fast with a focus on security. It has a built-in server status monitor, so you don’t have to launch the game and log in only to find out that the servers are down. It also has a usable news feed and it also allows you to selectively install and remove the beta/staging servers. It will work as it is for Windows and Linux while the Mac version requires what they call a simple WINE update. Though they do add that they have an upgrade procedure mapped out for Mac. At the moment the new launcher has had some internal testing but they are hoping to open it up for wider testing in the near future.
Page 6 Teaser
Finally, the update teased Page 6, the next update to Homecoming. The teaser doesn’t actually have a whole lot of information. It’s just two screenshots. The first is some kind of nightmare combination of Vahzilok and Freakshow costume parts, with a random pair of Rikti boots thrown in as well. What does it mean? Is it just a release of costumes or is there something more to it? We will have to wait and see as the Homecoming team is tight-lipped as can be.
The second picture appears to be a sonic power from a player character, though what it means is anyone’s guess. Will Sonic be getting an update? Maybe Sonic is being proliferated to another AT? Or maybe this is a totally new powerset that uses Sonic animations…once again, we just don’t know.
That’s all the update from Homecoming had for us. There were no dates for any of what was announced so it is as Zwillinger used to say coming Soon™.
Update: It should also be added that while Homecoming is preparing themselves with social media accounts and even a Twitch account thanks to the ongoing NCSoft talks, they are still restricting players from creating video and streaming. Though they do know that these are very popular and they will make an announcement if anything changes. You can find the ongoing discussion as well as the initial announcement here.