Chase_Arcanum

Getting that too (on Liberty). Twice now. It eventually came back for me, but then I noticed something wrong in the character I created, deleted it, and now... back to this.

Altogether, didn't plan on playing much today anyway... and was just gonna avoid Praetoria until the chaos cleared out... so it wasn't a big deal.... as long as I eventually get the slots back.

Ah, an "alternating attack" system would be nice once we get some variety out there.

Precisely,

Yet some people looking at the quarterly reports have mentioned that a steeper decline may be masked by the people that bought into the 6/12 month promotions that quarter... or the pre-sales in other quarters.

If NCSoft, like my company, does NOT realize that revenue until the goods/service is provided, then you wouldn't see them credit all of my annual subscription right away. You'd see 3 months of it each quarter- ( and heck, due to the deal they provided, it would appear as DIMINISHED revenue that quarter, as the average monthly cost is substantially less than going per-month.) The pre-sales of GR likewise might not be appearing in that revenue report, but would be appearing in the Q3, once the expansion launches.

I'm a fan of the game & I have high hopes for the expansion, but I dread extreme optimism.

This game is being released in a weak economy with low consumer spending and dreary forecasts. It never had even a tenth of the subscription base of the "industry leader" -- even if you count the populations of each only in the area of release that they share. In that perspective, it won't be "industry shaking."

It will, however, be very successful in its own right.

CoH was made with a fraction of the budget of other "leading" MMO's like Eq2, WoW, Age of Conan, Aion, LOTRO, and Warhammer Online-- and that made it's "modest by WoW standards" subscriber base give a very nice return on investment. Going Rogue would have been budgeted with that in mind. It will perform solidly for its market size, but it won't transform the MMO landscape (based on sales revenue and quarterly profits).

That doesn't matter.

We have contracts, we've been paid, and we've delivered SOME of the goods/services. We still have to wait until the month of actual delivery of the REST of the services before we can realize the earnings of it. Much the same can be applied to CoH/CoV. Their earnings for the quarter the pre-purchase applied to MIGHT not show the full weight of that pre-purchase. It might not make it into the quarterly report until the full product is released.

(Responding to the part in bold.)

Not sure how it works in all states, but where I work, we're not legally allowed to report a "pre-ordered" profit as revenue until the service/product is actually delivered. We have millions of dollars contractually bound to us over the next year that we can't "realize" as earnings until the month the service / product is delivered.

If this is normal, it would explain a few things in CoH/V quarterlies:
- A 6-month / yearly subscription promotion like we saw last fall wouldn't result in a "burst" of revenue in the promotion's quarter, because it'll only report the REALIZED revenue of the 3 months in that quarter- not the future yet-to-be-delivered cash.
- Preorders would likewise not be included (though a portion MAY be included, as the preorder did have some tangible immediate product delivery (the powersets)).

It doesn't have to be "be a jackass" - when dealing with non-vent users, sometimes just behaving "normal" comes across as rude, cliqe-ish, and, well... like a jackass. When we're almost-naturally talking to half our group, we can forget that the LACK of communication to the other half can really hinder the fun for those teammates. Nobody likes feeling excluded, out of the loop, and chasing after everyone when it's clear that everyone else knows what's going on. The folks on Vent are just doing what comes naturally... it takes some ADDITIONAL consideration to bring the rest of the team along too.

It isn't just vent--My wife and I play CoH in the same room when I'm at home. We frequently team with rian_frostdrake... and we have to occasionally remind ourselves to actually include him in on the conversation we're having. Of course, he compensates by taking the iniative, rushing headling into the next group, and not expecting any message from us about when we're ready. As we scramble to keep up... well, those are the times we're grateful he can't hear us. :P

Anyway, it's not just a matter of not being a jackass with Vent... its more of a matter of being a little more mindful than normal to keep things enjoyable for everyone.


(That also goes for the non-vent-users. You've got to accept that you won't always be getting timely on-the-fly battle adjustments. You won't be in on every joke. You'll ask a question to one person, and someone else on Vent will answer your chat. You'll run into points where conversations will lapse, and you've got to try not to let it get to you personally. It's a limit of the communication technology-- not a personal slight against you. Be patient & don't read too much into the silence.

Above all else, enjoy the game.

Do we get to pick the Dev?

Very nicely done

A new zone might not be COMPLETELY necessary. A few zone tweaks could bring some color to even some of the gloomier isles.

Port Oakes-- Villa Montrose -- changes to show some classic Family excess in preparation of a "Godfather-style" wedding in the works.

• Brighten the existing architecture -it's been washed (and sometimes sandblasted) to let the natural colors through.
• Do a similar facelift to the stairs leading down to the submarine and extend the dock to accomodate the fleet of guest yachts that may be coming for what's bound to be the crime syndicate's event of the decade.
• Port some of the flowers-- and maybe some of the landscaping concepts from Going Rogue. The host family has a lot riding on making this event perfect- both for the rep gained from his guests AND his pricess-for-a-day (or month... if you've ever seen how these kinds of family celebrations can be...).
  
• Inside the estate wall, maybe add a few high-end cars... a few custom NPC's milling about, representing various organized-crime stereotypes.
• Add lighting to brighten the place, decorations on the main walls and buildings (banners hanging down, flowers, etc) to make the fortress seem more like the princess' palace.

Altogether, all that wealth makes a GREAT contrast to the boarded-up resort hotels on the south side of the island.


Sharkhead-- Villa Requin could be an alternative wedding location, but I'd style it more for the upper-echelons of Cage Consortium. They probably don't LIVE there, but they've got to fly in on occasion and would want to maintain their current lifestyle.

Finish the airstrip, convert an adjoining building to appear more like a luxury hotel-- maybe add some landscaping characteristics to it. The family's presence is still dominant there, but they're making considerable money playing to their new host.

Nerva-- Agincourt --, under Longbow's control, might be showing a good mix of revitalization (investment following a confidence in the new "law of the land" Longbow brought) and destruction (covert Arachnos actions trying to make the residents feel less safe under their new guardians.

The contrasts... both extremes so close to one another... would be a strong reminder of the forces at play here.

St Martial -- North End --
Island cities will have marinas. Tourist destinations will have HUGE marinas... and those catering to gamblers-- they'll be ready to handle the largest of the yachts... the kinds of yachts that the high-rollers use so they can bring all the comfort- and security- of home with them.

These will be more than just piers out into the water- they'll have luxury gathering areas, exclusive party zones, all kinds of services vying to get as close to those with the money as they can.

It'll have the kind of people the Carnies would draw from... and cater to. Private security will be in full force... as will Arachnos middle-uppers making sure wealthy allies are happy... and the Family goes without mention.

Hey, gimme a break already!

I mean, some of us were still venting our frustration. It was tough enough to find a ******* redwood out here, but I live in a congested area, so there're now a lot of naked beautiful women within a mile that I have to satisfy... and eat pancakes for... god, ohsomanypancakes. It's almost to the point that I can't find a moment to browse the boards on my phone (thank God for hands-free voice commands).

Adding Rotgut and a grizzly? Well, rotgut's a given- gotta wash down all those pancakes with something... but when started punchin at the bear in the midst of all... well.... it got a little confusing.

Long story short, I'm now using the aforementioned redwood to fend off an irate pancake-batter-covered drunk amazonian lynch mob and somewhere in the rockies there's a grizzly bear walkin kinda funny.

Agreed.

Sex crimes are in the violent crime index.
It's the only area where women victims Do officially exceed men.

Also, another place that confuses the statistics:


Many crimes are reported by the government based on on when they're reported. Others are reported when there's a conviction- oftentimes after a plea bargain reduces the offense. How these affect the middle ground can really mess the numbers up

A good example comes from the violent crime of "assault." Pretty straightforward. Let's take the classic barfight- two guys duking it out, tuning into 10 guys... event too confusing to decide who may have had a legal right to self defense. They're all booked on a "violent crime" offence, but offered a "disorderly conduct" plea bargain, which they take. Where do they appear on the index?

How about your typical first-time domestic abuse call? Often, the victim, if she doesn't rescind her testimony outright, requests some form of plea deal to 'save the marriage:' if the attacker successfully completes anger management courses, the charges are reduced... usually to disorderly conduct ( recorded as a nonviolent offense).

In these ways, the numbers only tell part of the story.

Was curious-- "Lies, damn lies, and statistics," after all:

The FBI's Uniform Crime Report (2004 most recent I could find) has Total murders at 14,121... 10,990 male victims, 3,099 female victims... 32 unknown. If anything, Venture underreported murder... closer to 3.5x

Regarding Violent Crime... notsomuch. Had to switch sources here, but the US bureau of Justice Statistics gave 2007 data of this victimization:

Victims of crimes of violence. Rate per 1,000 persons age 12 and over.
-Both: 20.7
-male: 22.5
-female:18.9

So, even using the most prejudiced math (ignoring "both") in Venture's favor, men are only roughly 20% more likely than women. Venture WOULD be right if you used 15-year-old data. The alarming trend that rallies people against violence against women isn't that they're attacked more often... it's that the attack rate has gone up dramatically over the decades.

Part of this may be better reporting- things like domestic abuse was something that happened but was ignored... part of it may be a greater percentage of women with more public lifestyles resulting in more social interaction outside the home... but it's still an alarming number.

EDIT: This is offset by the fact that these are REPORTED violent crimes. Studies suggest that crimes involving women go underreported more often than crimes involving men (as both actors and victims.) If you factor that into the violent crime stats, it's pretty likely that women ARE more likely to be victims of violent crimes than men. This doesn't affect murder numbers, obviously... just the others.



Keep in mind that driving test requirements are managed on a state-by-state basis. Some states are ridiculously easy... some have been getting increasingly strict.

When I took my test (in Pennsylvania), I had to only do a verbal exam... which could be as many questions as the instructor wanted (minimum two required). I memorized the question list, interrupted the instructor, finished the question, and answered it... so he quit at three questions. There was also a "driving test" in what amounted to a parking lot.

Today, There's a written test and a much longer driving-on-real-road requirement.

Arcanaville's account matches more of my own... and you can make a good case that "anonymity" shouldn't be confused with "accountability" here. Usenet groups have been widely studied sociologically-- they're one of the few early moments where we could see an emerging social exosystem form with near-perfect historical records (logs).

It's been shown that there were reputation societies there-- identities- even if just pseudonyms - that carried weight based on their conduct within that community. Didn't matter that the identity was false-- it was still valued and held in value by the holder. There were other places where the users' identities were well known.

If the assumption that "anonymity matters" were true, you'd expect to see a corresponding increase in flamewar activity among the long-term anonymous flamewarror compared to the KNOWN long-term participant. You don't (yes, grad studies have done research on most of the internet "truisms" like this.... I've yet to find one on Godwin's law and haven't dared look for Rule 34 research).

There is some suggestion in the data that infrequently-used almost temporary accounts appeared more often in flamewars. You could argue that these were "masks" that the others used to hide their identity... but that's showing a case that "ACCOUNTABILITY" (or lack thereof) matters, not "ANONYMITY."
The "invested" anonymous accounts and "real life" identities are held accountable for action. The quick-throwaway account will carry no baggage going forward.

fixed, given some of the rumored issues they might've had with their user management system last year

Yes we do.

Found it. There are actually 7 people in the whitepages with the last name of "Spartacus." What better RealID battlecry then getting a bunch of people to declare "I'm Spartacus."

Right.

As long as you're making a new account.

Which I would be... since I never played the game, but want a front row seat for THIS train wreck.

EDIT: So do I go for a generic "norm" identity, a political identity, or a random celebrity identity?

I just checked battle.net

- Even without a credit card number, the login requires a valid shipping address, complete with full name, address, and primary telephone number. Again, it is a TOS violation to provide false data there.

- You can add more than one shipping address, make it primary, and delete the new ones you made, but it doesn't appear that you can delete the original shipping address or change your name in it.

So you'd need to use a false name, false address, false phone number, and a prepaid card to get around the system, it seems.

Well,

Your ReaID is tied to your unique CD key(s) for the games there. If you don't have a CD key, you won't have the ability to post on the boards at all, apparently.

You could register your BattleNet ID under an assumed name, but if your ID there doesn't match the credit card info (or come close, in the case of a minor) the account will be flagged for review. If fraud is suspected, your account could be suspended under a ToS violation. Heck, it'd probably be even less effort to just put the burden on you to prove that the name-mismatch is for a legit reason...

Of course if you get a prepaid debit card, you can probably get around any chance of detection by that method...

I want to take this and post it at several other places. Beautifully written & Frighteningly true.

Heck, You got the name and phone number, why stop there?

You know those stealth "free ringtone blah blah" ads... where the fine print signs you up for a $9.99/month "service" charged directly to the phone bill?

Sign em up!

It's easy. Last I heard, there was a bot that'd do it for you... hit something like 30-40 of these services in 5 minutes.

Sure, they can dispute the charges on the next bill, but the phone company says you gotta dispute it with EACH of the separate service companies... not them. And you can bet those services have STELLAR customer support availability... and that they probably already charged for the NEXT month by the time you get through... and even if they're gonna be refunded, your phone company will be charging you fees if you don't pay the current bill in full....

Yeah. Traceable crank calls... too much work.

Helpful hint:

People act like that IRL too... the "online bully, IRL coward" is more often myth than reality. They're more concerned about audience (behaving well around the boss, or parents, or family), not whether they'll get hit (common attitude with the IRL Jacktards I know is "good, I can sue the pants off him" )

This hurts the people that are already socially sensitive... who might have an overdeveloped sense of caring what others think-- that don't have the thick skin to shrug off the Jacktards they encounter... and now they lose the only security blanket that let them actually feel comfortable enough to actually participate in the community.


You're gonna lose FAR MORE of what makes a community WORK with RealID than what makes a community fall apart.

Pretend I'm one of those ill-tempered maladjusted sociopaths.

Some of you see no need to pretend.... I'll ignore that.... for now.


Ok, so you just used your masterful wordcraft to make me look like a fool on the wow boards.... we'll ignore the fact that it was more my own words that made me look like a fool.


I blame you.

On these boards... there's not much I can do without some digging. Your name may or may not be easy to match to reality (My forum name's pretty easy to match to my personal name, but my real life ID's has enough "honeypot" flags that most ID thieves would know better. Those that don't, learn otherwise). There's SOME degree of uncertainty.

On WoW's boards, I have your name.

I have switchboard.com
- It might come up with a few dozen numbers or just one.

I have facebook.
I have LinkedIn.
- People have been fired when harrassers call the workplace.


I'm a few steps closer to getting you back than I'd otherwise be.