There’s all sorts of drama going on lately about the City of Heroes rogue server and it’s an uncomfortable topic for me. I tend to come across really snotty and stuck up when it comes to my opinions. This is my blog though and if that’s not the place for my own opinions then where is.
I am against rogue servers, of any game. That includes CoH, WoW, and the speculated WildStar one. I don’t believe it’s right to steal game assets (that’s what you’re doing) or that you’re showing love and dedication by playing on these servers. You’re doing a disservice to the people who created those games, you’re illegally using their artwork and that’s not alright.
Having permission is a different matter. One of the best examples is the P1999 server that runs for EverQuest. It is a server that is well known and the developers and community of EverQuest spend a lot of time talking with the owners. In that one example I feel an exemption from the norm. They haven’t been shut down and the EverQuest team has actually reached out and worked with them on several occasions.
We are lucky that we get to play these games while they exist, and yes, it sucks when they are shut down (Glitch was one of my favourites) but in a lot of instances we don’t choose to support the game until it’s too late. The support is required while the game is active.
A lot of friends are playing on the rogue servers, and I just stay out of the conversations. To each their own, it’s just not something I’m OK with. I don’t know if it’s because I worked for Carbine/NCSoft and I know first hand about the passion those people put into their games, but it just doesn’t sit right with me, for whatever reason.