SokMunki

[ QUOTE ]
Likewise the idea that "no news is good news" is a very bad idea. No news means no feedback, good or bad. That means people don't care enough to say something. That's a bad place to be.

[/ QUOTE ]
...or it means they're too involved in what they're doing to say anything. I know my own habits in this regard, at least: If I go to a restaurant and the experience stinks, I'll gripe quite a lot. If everything's reasonable... I'll eat, pay, thank the waitress, and leave. If everything was fantastic... I'll eat, pay, thank the waitress, tip more than normal, and leave.

I've been making an effort to drag people's managers over to let them know that their suboridnate has done a heck of a job and deserves a raise, or write complimentary emails... but it requires far more deliberate thought than to take the time to gripe.

In short, people that are happy tend to keep doing whatever's making them happy; people that aren't happy complain.

EDIT: Also, would someone PM me a few links to what they consider to be reasonable complaints or criticisms with overblown flaming in response? I'd appreciate it.

[ QUOTE ]
23[ QUOTE ]

Looking at the average for the fairly consistent numbers between I2 and I5, we were going at a little over three updates a year (117 days per update).
What does all this mean? I have no idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll tell you what it means... that number, 117, has been following me around for more than 25 years. It's getting spooky.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's really strange, although fnord probably just a coincidence. Once you start noticing it you just can't stop.

If you drop in the Release - I1 and I5-I6/CoV numbers, though, the average drops down to 92, so run with that if it helps.

Just 'cause I'm a nitpicker, I figured I'd check to see how many days there were between releases. Using Plasma's dates:

I0-I1: 63 days
I1-I2: 79
I2-I3: 110
I3-I4: 120
I4-I5: 119
I5-I6: 58
I6-I7: 221
I7-I8: 169

I split the odds for Cov/Along came a Spider and put that at 10/28/2005 and put I8 for tomorrow (doubtful).

Looking at the average for the fairly consistent numbers between I2 and I5, we were going at a little over three updates a year (117 days per update). For the average of I6 to my tomorrow "estimate" for I8, it's a little under two a year (195 days per update).

What does all this mean? I have no idea.

[ QUOTE ]
Hi gang,

I just wanted to comment that this isn't a scientific foray into poll making Cricket and I have been talking more about doing more regular Forum Polls and we put this one together to see how things would go over.


[/ QUOTE ]
Ah, OK. I was just a bit confused because some of the items, such as PvP, are fairly broad and applicable to many MMOs, whereas items such as "Bases" are pretty specific to CoX. I'm wondering if that's skewing numbers here to a degree. "I love the idea of Bases" vs. "I love how you guys have done Bases", for example. I think you're asking the latter question, but it sounds like some people are answering the former question.

And yeah, it's best not to get people's hopes up with polls. "We said we loved costumes. Why haven't you cloned Jay yet? I pay my $15 a month..." Etc., ad nauseam. Not knocking this, it's interesting, I'm just glad you clarified the thinking behind it.

[ QUOTE ]
As far as pvpers go, some check the boards, most probably dont. As far as tips and tricks, you wont see many of value on the blue boards. why? because people dont give up their secrets, or experience that easily. Its a competative envirnment to some degree. It takes many a butt whoopin to get good and learn pvp. Serious pvpers know that. They arent going to hand their skills and experience on a silver platter so others dont have to put the hard work in themselves.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's an interesting point; I never thought of it that way. From an outsider's perspective it looks like the PvP crowd is a particularly vocal and enthusiastic bunch around here, so I figured that in-game PvPers were on the forums in larger numbers, proportinally speaking, than the playerbase at large.

I could be wrong, though.

[ QUOTE ]

LOL. Activism really doesn't work with the PvP crowd. Reading forums isn't what most of them do. Frankly, I'm amazed that there's even 10% (atm).

[/ QUOTE ]
That's interesting; I'd suspect that, given the competitive nature of PvP, that PvPers would frequent forums more in order to pick up tips and tricks on how to tweak builds, defeat/use various tactics, and so forth.

I also think that the PvP crowd feels somewhat slighted and marginalized here, particularly compared to "badge-hunters" or "costume fans" and thus they'd use this poll as a way to make their voice heard... even if they like "costumes" the most in CoX currently.

Perhaps I'm wrong... but I'm with you, I'm surprised about the 10% number, because I really don't think that 10% of the playerbase overall really focuses on the PvP gameplay compared to the other items listed.

[ QUOTE ]
[ Poll isn't done yet and I won't say that the poll is absolutely representative of the player base, but I think you can assume there's more than 1 or 2% interest in PvP.

[/ QUOTE ]
...or that:

1) There are more PvPers on the forum, proportionally, than there are in the player base at large, and

2) There's a level of 'activism' going on with PvP that isn't there with the other categories. I rather doubt there are threads on other forums rallying people to "Save costumes! Make your voice heard if you care about the future of helmets in the game!" I'd be curious to see what the results of this poll question would be: "Do you think the developers should spend additional time working on PvP?"

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Your favorite overall game aspect may not be listed, but please, choose your favorite from the list

[/ QUOTE ]

The list is incomplete.

Powers, Powersets, Builds, Leveling ... advancement, progress, unlocking new capabilites ... whatever you want to call it. To some people, like me ... that is the -content-. Its what we play for.

I'm disappointed it was overlooked.

[/ QUOTE ]
Like others, I suspect they picked the specific items for a reason. They've probably got a handful of ideas cooking and want some input on which one they emphasize, and an answer of "PvE combat" or "Levelling", while accurate, wouldn't actually tell them anything they want to know.

Othwerise I would've picked "Super Powers" hands down.

[ QUOTE ]
So 77.3% of people that didn't go vote for costumes, badges or bases obviously prefer to play PvE over PvP.

[/ QUOTE ]
I think that's one conclusion, but another one is that they've very disappointed in the PvP implementation here. They love PvP, but for this game they don't think it was done well so they voted for, oh, Costumes instead.

While I don't think PvP would ever be "what I like most", PvP and bases would rate far higher with me had the developers handled them differently.

[ QUOTE ]
It's all about the storyline. Without the story, a game is just Dungeon Hack.

[/ QUOTE ]
At the risk of derailing the thread, does any other MMO out there have as much of a focus on the storyline? I haven't played many other MMOs, but City of Heroes' fixation on plot development seems much stronger than I remember from DaoC and is far, far beyond anything I encountered in SWG.

Anyhow: costumes crammed the hook in my mouth, but it was the storyline focus of the gameplay that reeled me in.

I'd started a long rant about my disappointment with the direction PvP took -- we started out with the potential for focused, goal-oriented, instanced PvP, and instead went to free-for-all zone PvP, which in retrospect looks like a colossal waste of time and resources -- but instead I'll simply say that bugfixes are a good thing and ongoing bugs, even minor ones, are pebbles in the shoes.

So, yeah, stomping bugs should be a high priority.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
... I don't want to see a scene in which Darth Vader is dancing in a pink tutu and smearing jam on himself ...

[/ QUOTE ]

Then sTaY oUt oF mY BRaiN!!

[/ QUOTE ]
Your brain came through, but there was some things lost in the translation. Still, we managed to record this, which is... well. Something, anyhow.

[ QUOTE ]
The Column Mek is worse. The Column doesn't make actual combat robots that size, so capturing one and reprogramming it is out of the question. So once again, we have a hero building a robot - and let's face it, the Column are Nazis. Making the effort to build one of these things - complete with Column symbol on the chest - is pretty much the same as crocheting swastikas onto your cape.

[/ QUOTE ]
Enh. I look at it as parody.

Having a poster of <insert your most loathed politician here> wearing a diaper, sucking on a pacifier, and making a "I'm about to cry or fill this diaper" face isn't an endorsement of the politician.

I view the widduhwest Mek Men in the same way.

[ QUOTE ]
We just keep losing Red names quicker then we seem to be hearing about news ones.

[/ QUOTE ]
In unrelated news, my Strawberry Shortcake Zombieland MMO has just filled out its development staff; expect beta invites to go out soon!

Can't say I've read the whole thread, but I figured I'd mouth off anyhow:

Bases? Huh? I have no idea how they work. I've been to my supergroup's base, of course, and I've even clicked that "Add personal Item" button a few times. It's been grayed out, so I gave up on it, espeically since I've never been told that I have a personal item to add. I futzed with the Enhancement crafting salvage stuff, but all I was told was that we didn't have the right table.

My point, Jack, is that there's nothing about bases that entices me, Joe Grunt Member, to give two spits about the thing. I'm invited to a SG, asked to be a little Prestige machine, and apparently I get squat out of it. If there is some benefit it's something I need to rummage the web to find, and frankly I'd just rather play.

Part of the problem is that there's nothing in a base that's mine. Near as I can tell I can't add my own personal rooms, I can't display my souveneirs, I can't name anything I drop in it. It's all about the group, except that the control seems to be in the hands of some often-offline SG member. Basically, I give someone else my Influence in the form of Prestige and I get... well, bupkiss.

If I do get something, then please, please, please have the game tell me. Even if that something's merely a virtual trophy room.

[ QUOTE ]
Interesting point! Some people can see your base, but it's so much easier for people to see your costume.

[/ QUOTE ]
I have no base. My supergroup has a base that I apparently have absolutely no control over. I do control my costume. Very important difference.

[ QUOTE ]
But costumes don't provide ANY gameplay function and people care a WHOLE lot about them? My point: bases cost too much for what players think they deliver. What they currently deliver is the ability to create a social space for Super Groups that's potentially customizable to the group's theme/background/etc.

[/ QUOTE ]
See above. I think you seriously overestimate the general populace's feeling of investment in some tribe/clan/group without also having an ability to add to that group.

Put another way: if the entire playerbase is in a SG, and the average supergroup is 10 people, and one person has contol over the Base, then Base content is targeted to a mere 10% of the playerbase. I'm going to guess the reality's closer to 5-8% of the playerbase. Costumes, meanwhile, are in the control of 100% of the playerbase.

[ QUOTE ]
But it shows human behavior (and this was the point of my talk): people LOVE individuality. They're willing to express it. But they won't consider (in game) it worth a lot of time/effort to create a space that's customized for group identity.

[/ QUOTE ]
...except I, one of the SG's infantry, can't customize it, or if I can that functionality's hidden to me.

Example: My "group home" in SWG. Two real-life friends of mine and three other people we met in the game decided to all move into the same house. We each had our own room in the house as well as a couple of common areas. We each got to decorate our individual rooms and we all tossed our stuff into the common area. Decorating the house was much fun, and it was always interesting to come 'home' and see what new doodad someone else had found.

In short, the group identity was an aggregate of the individual identities. In CoH, that's not the case. I get to invest in someone else's control of the group identity and I don't get anything I can point to and say, "I added that."

I'll take my Influence, thanks.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Oh I'm sure one of the "detectives" around here will dredge up something from ages ago where you used the words "Greek" and "mythology" in the same message, and then claim that it is proof that you promised a game about such.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wellll... my dredge-fu is weak, and there was definitely no promise... but Jack did mention doing a MMO based around Classical mythology in a "gee, wouldn't it be neat if" sort of way.

Mithras and Minotaurs Online, I'm guessing.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, he mentioned that he'd *like* to do a game based on ancient mythology, (IIRC), not that he *was* working on one.

O.o

[/ QUOTE ]
Hence the "gee, wouldn't it be neat if" part.

[ QUOTE ]
Oh I'm sure one of the "detectives" around here will dredge up something from ages ago where you used the words "Greek" and "mythology" in the same message, and then claim that it is proof that you promised a game about such.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wellll... my dredge-fu is weak, and there was definitely no promise... but Jack did mention doing a MMO based around Classical mythology in a "gee, wouldn't it be neat if" sort of way.

Mithras and Minotaurs Online, I'm guessing.

[ QUOTE ]
I want to stess this:

We are NOT working on a Greek mythology game. Or an ancient history game. Just want to kill that rumour!

[/ QUOTE ]
That's a shame. I think that'd be an excellent setting for a sandbox-style game. Besides, Greek stuff is cool.

Good to hear that the 16th Century Mesoamerican fantasy game's back on the table, though.

Glad to hear that Teleport will get fixed up! (Happy about the sound loop bug, too, but it was Teleport that I was peering at the most.) I think it's better that you delay I8 and get these guys patched up first -- I just hope you folks make sure none of the bugs are still lurking in the I8 publish of the code...

"Don't build a house on a shaky foundation" and other pithy sayings.

Anyhow. Yay.

EDIT: I PMed Cricket about this, but I figure since you're posting here -- once the Teleport bug is fixed, are there any plans to improve teleport (fix the red reticle sensitivity, in particular)?

[ QUOTE ]
Trust me, I wasn't projecting *my* personal gameplay style on others. Mine doesn't exclude more "interactive" items - I just want to see them do more than appear decorative. I'm not paying $14.95/month to play the superhero version of The Sims - THAT'S MY POINT.

[/ QUOTE ]
Nerf badges.

[ QUOTE ]
Ok, so player apartments are supposed to serve what need exactly: having an in-game "MySpace" 3D account?

[/ QUOTE ]
Filling the need for loot you can show off, mostly. Call it a trophy room if you prefer, but it'd engage people for similar reasons that badges engage people, except that you could interact with the badges in different ways. You could add furniture as an influence sink; you could add decorative items as "loot." I'd start with converting the existing souveneirs into actual objects then add more.

I know that I spent many enjoyable hours futzing with my house and furniture in SWG. (It helped that my character built much of it, and there was arguably little fun to be had elsewhere, but anyhow.) I'd love to put an end table in a room somewhere then set some flowers on it, neatly potted in the Psychic Clockwork King's head-jar. "Earned by Defeating the Psychic Clockwork King 20 times" or the like.

There are plenty of things I think are more important, certainly, but I'd still like to see this. Right now I go to the base just to say, "Hey, here's a base." Something to give me a sense of ownership and control about it would be nice.

EDIT: And, as people are noting in the Suggestion Forum the problem with the personal base solution is that you either get your own space to putter with or you are part of a larger SG: very rarely both.

[ QUOTE ]
Yes - I am still going to PAX - someone organize a meetup Friday night after the con - somewhere near to the place they are holding it and I'll be there. Just tell me where and when.

[/ QUOTE ]
Please forgive if this is emblazoned on the PAX website somewhere, but are you attending the con in some official capacity? Will you be stationed at the Tabula Rasa booth or something along those lines? If so, is there a time when you'll be free to go slouch about?

I'm hoping an actual Seattlelite will take up the mantle of barcrawl organiz-- errr, post-con meet-n-chill, but until then I'll feign competence.

First thought:



Second thought:

[ QUOTE ]
Now I'm really going to play Tabula Rasa!

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure if people are replying to me or just happen to be clicking on the most recent post, but I'll prattle on here presuming the former.

I am not defending or attacking any particular change. There have been plenty of power downgrades that I think were overdone; I'd even call a couple of them "nerfs" in the "rendered practically useless" definition. (I don't buy the argument that any reduction in power = nerf = unwarranted = worth complaining about; if you do (the general you, not the Kisaragi you), fine, I refuse to even try and convince you otherwise.)

All I'm saying is that we were having a laid-back discussion about etymology and semantics until Positron had to come in here and open his fat yap. Then the discussion veers off to people complaining about Burn and Global Chat, claiming that "reduction in effectiveness" is somehow an obfuscatory phrase rather than being a flat description (which it is), and so forth.

This, in turn, makes me sigh and want to wallow in the relative comfort of some AASQ thread.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I wonder if this is why Dev's don't post as much as they used to.

[/ QUOTE ]
It's starting to put me off of the concept, I'll give you that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Horror stories about Devs being torn limb from limb by their playerbase notwithstanding, I haven't seen an instance in this thread where a Dev has been treated any worse (or better) than any other poster saying the same things. Deciding not to post based on this instance, I find unjustifiable.

[/ QUOTE ]
I think the thread would have remained on the discussion of the origin of Nerf meaning "power downgrade," with a couple of side comments about how nerfing here and there, had Positron remained silent. As soon as he posted, particularly about this topic, the whole "burn is broken" and "when are you going to fix global chat" posse arrived.

I'm not commenting on either issue, but I believe we would've avoided the griping and negativity had Positron not commented.