Hydrophidian

Starting with an MMO would be rough, if not impossible in this climate.

On the other hand, 38 Studio, or whatever it was called, had a good basic plan...

Create an IP, and only make games based on that IP, building up to an MMO.

...They mismanaged it, mishandled it, and just blew it all around, but it was a solid approach at the outset.

A superhero IP would readily lend itself to such an approach. It would provide a great platform for the enlisting of known talents (writers, artists), which would in turn generate buzz for the whole thing. Start off with some less ambitious genres, but keep the MMO percolating in the background until it can be fully and properly financed.

This would essentially be an indie approach, and I think it'd work.

Yah, no kiddin'.

That would wipe out number of plays and the age of an arc, which is useful information for people who're looking for something solid to play.

I'd say, instead, wipe out arcs that haven't been touched by the authors in X number of months.

I think it's shaman.

It's shaman, right?

Yeah. Shaman.

I'll take it a step further...

SOME of the players like playing SOME of them SOMEtimes.

It happened. Everyone was playing with MA, so there were no salvage drops, and practically no one was buying low and mid-level common/uncommon salvage with their tickets. Supply dried up, prices spiked.

On the other hand, as I recall, rare salvage actually dropped in price, because people were buying it with tickets specifically to sell.

No, really. You don't.

No, really. I don't.

Yes, I remember. And apparently with more clarity and detail than you do? I also remember the patterns that emerged--the spikes and crashes of this and that--before I14 went live.

With I14, The bulk of the population went and played with MA. No surprise there. This had an impact on the market. No surprise there, either. This doesn't negate my observation, it only enforces it, so I'm not sure what your condescending (and flawed) review was about. The market was affected by what the general population was up to.

Okay, you apparently don't use the market too much, or haven't used it consistently.

Nothing has evened itself out. The market has never been static, and it never will be. Since I14, there have been all sorts of spikes and crashes on various things. When GR went live, the prices on low-level salvage crashed, because everyone was creating Praetorians, which brought about a glut in supply. Right now, low-level and mid-level salvage is being supplied by returning and existing players who're 1. doing a lot of leveling (due to new power sets) and 2. playing the new content found in those level ranges.

If the new I-Trails become popular and if something like Titan Weapons isn't rolled out at the same time, we'll probably see low-level and mid-level stuff dry up again, at least somewhat, because most everyone will have moved to the endgame once more.

Again, the alleged smoothing effect on the market attributed to farmers is something I've never seen manifested. And I've paid a lot of attention to the market. From day one, it has been volatile and it continues to be so. Whatever impact farmers have on it seems to be minimal. At the very least, it is most definitely overridden by the behavior patterns of the general population. As evidenced by the mid-level dry-up that occurred when everyone was off getting incarneraterized. Where was the great farmer supply then?

But, for me, this is neither here nor there. I don't care what farmers are doing. I never did. What I'm recognizing is that the behaviors of certain player niches are clearly getting in the way of one another. Something should be done to address that. Driving farmers out of MA is certainly one approach, but it's not one I necessarily advocate.

I think you might be limiting yourself a bit too much. There's a great deal of diversity amongst the Loa. And then there's Voodoo's source religions, which offer even more ideas. There are very few power sets, if any, that couldn't be made to work with the theme.

I'd suggest approaching it in reverse: choose a combo you'd enjoy playing, then find a fit within voodoo for 'em.

Not necessarily.

An alternative to regular content for character progression was one of MA's primary draws for me.

When it was nerfed to hell and back, I stopped using it. So did a lot of other people I know. As a leveling path, it was already a slower pace (if not farming), and the nerfs made it glacial. Back to standard content we all went.

It might, under present dynamics, but it seems to me that has more to do with the crap UI.

Putting farms on a separate tab would likely accomplish the same increased interest in non-farm arcs.

So would maybe nuking any and all arcs that haven't been touched by their authors in a year... or even six months.

I see this asserted a lot. But, frankly, I don't notice any evidence of it.

What I've noticed is that influxes of supply occur when the community as a whole is focusing on a particular band of content. Shortages occur when those bands are being ignored by the community.

For example, mid-level salvage was quite scarce, and getting silly-expensive, until content was introduced that brought players back to playing in that level range. Suddenly, prices crashed and there was a glut of supply.

While I'm sure farmers have some degree of impact on the market, I think it's oft overstated. In any event, it's certainly not a given, and doesn't seem to come anywhere near the impact level of the general community.

Agreed, I've always found this to be an inane complaint.

Yup. That's too much to ask (not that you're really asking, but hey).

I've been playing this game for over 7 years now. In the early years, I did the PUG thing a lot.

I have many horror stories about player buffoonery from that time. Enough of 'em that I don't really PUG anymore. I hit a saturation point and I backed out.

That's pretty much your only option here. If you don't like the downside of interacting with the general populace, remove yourself from it and build an alternative. There are tools provided for that purpose. Use them.

No, it'd lead to more headache and hassle in a system that already has a bit too much of those things as it is. Not to mention that it'd likely turn away more people from a system that needs a certain level of participation to remain viable, and already seems to be having issues in maintaining that level of participation.

A lot of people just don't share in your level of investment. It isn't their job to conform to your expectations. It's your job to go and find people who're of the same mind you are and do stuff with them.

We're all here to play for our own enjoyment, not yours.

I don't really PUG anymore.

There are reasons for that.

I wonder why this is so hard for some people to understand.

I enjoy the raid content when I'm in the mood for it. When I'm not in the mood for it, I don't do it. I would like progression alternatives for those times: solo and small groups.

It's that simple.

The Well of the Furies/Incarnate Path is laced throughout the game lore. It's already cropped up in new content outside of the Praetorian trials, and will likely continue to do so.

Frankly, from the perspective of someone who's been following the interchange, it seems like you're yanking his chain. It's either that or you really need to work on your reading comprehension.

You got a lot of nerve being all reasonable and level-headed! This is an internet forum, n00b!

"Grouchybeast" indeed!

Ding.

Thank you!

To the degree that most adequately conveys a sense of authenticity, thereby maximizing the immersive experience, which is the fundamental attraction of the medium.

Agreed.

Also agreed. I'd like to see more versatile stuff in general. I think a lot of the sets lately have been "doesn't play well with others" type stuff. Quite grand and not very flexible.

I was so happy when the simple "Tights Slick" option was finally added to gloves and boots. I'd love to see more stuff like that. Like a plain choker, for example.

They could really flesh out "light" packs with things like that.

It's already abandoned.

Yes.

I'm not a casual player, but regardless of how much I'm on, I always play pretty casually.

At this point, I have 11 50s. Only 4 of them are "tricked out". Only 2 of them sport multi-billion inf builds. Only 1 of 'em has all the Incarnate stuff unlocked.

If this seems like a lot, keep in mind that I've been playing the game consistently for as long as it's been around.

Building out a character with spiffy goodies can absolutely be a very gradual and fun process. 'Cuz that's how I do it.

I recommend first trying common IOs.
Then play with "frankenslotting".
Then start getting into sets.
Then start getting into the uber sets.

Take your time with it. There's no rush. And if you don't want to deal with it at all, that's also still a valid option. SOs and inspirations work just fine.

I'm not trying to justify anything. I don't need to justify anything. Don't put words into my mouth. Don't presume to read my mind. Thank you.

What I see in this thread is many of the same authors making the same complaints they've been making for years now. What I see are vested players getting frustrated (again) about a broken system that's been broken from the get-go.

At this point, I think it's safe to assume it's not going to change. I would rather these players remain vested in the game. To that end, it's my suggestion that they move on, or at least use the feature in a way that they can be comfortable with. I use the MA system maybe 3-4 times a year, typically for roleplay purposes. I ignore the AE aspect of it.


That's your option.

Negativity? Really? Please.

It's been almost three years.

It's not negativity it's rationality.

I haven't been stopped either. I just don't bother with the AE system as a source of game content. As such, I find it to be ridiculous.

It's already decayed. They've let it decay for 2 1/2 years. Apparently, no encouragement is required, they've been doing it anyway.

Yah, I've seen this sentiment expressed as an absolute many times in the past. Sorry, I don't buy it. It's been attempted for years. It hasn't worked. I see no compelling reason to think it's going to suddenly start working now.

I'm of the mind that if you continue to use something, you're conveying that you're okay with it as it is. I do not like it the way it is. Therefore, I will not use it.

Maybe if more people walked away, it would encourage the devs to stop the decay and do something to attract those people back to a feature they want to have viewed as a success.

In any event, "you have to participate and show that there is passion" is clearly not getting any results.

I wouldn't expect you to. If you're having fun with it, that's all that really matters. As the system isn't putting you into what is apparently a perpetual state of frustration, you're not really one of the people I was addressing.

That's fine. I'm talking about sexualization specifically, and responding to the apparently common misperception that attractiveness = sexualization. It doesn't.

Overall, I think this game has done a comparatively good job of minimizing the issue, especially when the genre is considered.

A lot of the broader issues in this thread I'd say have as much to do with poor writing and characterization as anything else. I still find all the original signature characters to be flat. They've filled out a little over the years, but they're still pretty bland and shallow. It's like the developers said, "We need a speedster guy!" and "We need an armor guy!" and didn't think much about them beyond that.

It's not lost on me that the one I find most engaging--Numina--was player submitted.