MissInformed

While additional "loot" did increase the number of players doing it, it wasn't something that you had to "seek out" to see before. Long before recipes there were loads of people doing it. I remember my Empath and level 46 characters getting countless tells asking to SK people in the Chimera mission, the Wolf mission, and the Dreck mission, etc etc. Every one fo those missions was changed long before recipes and other loot entered the game. How can you say farming "didn't exist (in any great way)" when we have a laundry list of missions that were altered just to prevent it? People did it for SOs and influence. People PL'd for levels. All before what we think of as "loot" entered the game.

It doesn't matter what the "stuff" is, if there's stuff to be had, there are always people who focus more on that than on anything else. That stuff can be badges, enhancements, influence, etc. Remember when Katie Hannon gave out one SO each time Mary was defeated? That was also way before recipes.

Don't insult the person who said you need to do your homework. You didn't and we're calling you on it because it shows.

This. I remember people farming the demons spawning from portals for influence and SOs somewhere around Issue 2. I remember all the players gathered outside of Portal Corps looking for people to PL them since... well, since Issue 1, I guess. Shortly after they added Portal Corps, at least. I remember the first level 50 in my first SG who offered to SK and PL people.

None of this is new. People who are motivated to get to the end quickly have always existed in this game and others. As long as that's their motivation, they're going to find a way and they're going to find it before you can get to level 10.

These things are "by-produts" of gaming and, going broader, human nature. Some people are motivated to get to the top as fast as possible or have the most stuff. That's always going to happen, whether it be video games or your place of work. It has very little to do with the actual game and everything to do with the desires of the individuals.

We'll be excited to have you visit!

That made me giggle.

I think that y'all should just find a tall building in Galaxy and take turns jumping off until you have one HP left, then healing each other. All night long!

Yes, but he spent last week at a Holiday Inn Express...

Can Talia invite?

Yes! I think that's one of the most frustrating things I encounter sometimes. There are some people, both in game and on the forums, who come asking for help, but provide few/no details, don't communicate their problem or need clearly, and then get upset with us for not helping them or not helping them quickly enough. They somehow think we can read their minds or figure out their secret codes and will hop to with an answer like we have nothing better to do. I've spent entire evenings doing nothing but answering questions in the help channels, but if you're not willing to try to help me help you, I'm not going to try. I'll meet you halfway, but if you're not there when I show up, I'm not waiting around.

This. Just like movies sometimes push releases out because they don't want to compete with other big movies being released on the same date. Just like anything else in the news disappeared as soon as people started talking about how Michael Jackson was dead. (Sorry, Farrah!) Many of us didn't really need to get an update on that every minute of the day for the next week+, but since that's what was happening, it made it more difficult to find the information we were interested in.

It's not about who cares about WoW and who doesn't. It's about good positioning and timing.

That's true for you. It's true for a lot of people. For a lot of others, it's not. For many people things are very much about the destination and not the journey. That's up to each player, not for us to determine for them.

Some people like to say, "Once you're 50, there's not much to do anyway." That's also completely up to an individual. I play my level 50's more often than any of my other characters and one of my 50's has logged more hours of play after level 50 than before.

If you're here for the journey, excellent. If you're here for the destination, also excellent. There's room for everyone in this game. Some nights I team, some nights I solo, some nights I play the market or make inventions, and some nights I talk to friends for a few hours and my character never leaves the spot she logged in on hours earlier. Find what's fun for you and, as long as it doesn't include griefing others, do what's fun for you.

Once y'all get Fortitude and Recovery Aura, you'll think it's very nearly the best idea ever.

It's the weird male grunting that does it for me. I have a few male concept characters I've made, but most are still stuck in tutorial zones. I did get one male character to level 8 or 10, but all the grunting wigged me out. I'm not supposed to be hearing those sounds when I'm alone in my room. Creepy.

I'm female and all the characters I actually play are female. I nearly always play with the sound on, hence the annoyance over the weird grunting. I occasionally play without sound, but it's harder to locate glowies and I also tend to get disoriented. Besides, leaving the sound on sometimes clues me in to what's around the corners or on the catwalk above me. Those juicer freaks are loud!

I really hate that. As I used to tell the preschoolers I worked with, "Use your words." I shouldn't still have to tell you that when you're 14, 26, or 43 years old.

That's one of my favorites, too.

I've never given out rep because someone was "popular." I've given it out because a specific thread was helpful, insightful, funny, etc. In other words, because the person did something to add to the conversation. I almost never "sign" my rep because I don't want people to feel like I'm trying to get them to "scratch my back" or to feel obligated to give me points. Any rep I get I want to feel like I've earned.

I've never asked for rep or exptected it. It's nice to get positive feedback from someone based on something I've said, not because of who I am. By begging for rep, you either invalidate that completely or it becomes diluted so that you can't tell what's actual appreciation and what's "you green dot me, I'll green dot you."

If you think it's all only about "being popular," then I feel sad for you. Being "popular" isn't the same as having something useful to contribute or being a valuable member of a community. While some people may be both, they're just not the same thing.

You may be right about people taking freedom for granted, but you're also making an incorrect assumption that everyone lives in a place like you do. I frequently see gay people walking around holding hands in the city I live in and they don't need a special day and a parade to do it. Actually, I'm not sure the city has a Gay Pride celebration at all. (But I moved here from California and my sister used to work the San Francisco parade, so it's possible I just miss the one here because I'm used to something so much bigger.) I'm sorry you feel the need to hide who you are in the place where you live, but not all places are like that. Prejudice can pop up everywhere, but there are places that are more tolerant, too.

It doesn't always work that way. In fact, I think your case is rare. I have a character who automatically gets a new face every time I open the cotume creator and I have to set it back to the original. Other characters who have pieces that were renamed, moved, or changed opens the creator and is automatically assigned a different outfit. The original miniskirt, for example, was altered, then moved. Whenever I open the costume creator for my first character, she's wearing tights in the costume creator, even though she wears one of the original miniskirts outside the creator. I believe it's the same with the original suit jacket.

The norm seems to be that once you open the creator, you get a "default" costume piece and are unable to replace it with the original.

"Instant Karma's gonna get you. Gonna knock you right on the head" ~John Lennon

Yep, it can be really tricky to find, especially if you don't have your map open. Remember to head upward, into the fort, not down around the water. I remember times when I was the only "vet" player on a team and I'd be at the Ferry door trying to give direction to the other 7 members of my team wandering all over the map.

I think working on other activities is a good plan, but I wouldn't focus too much on any one activity, like a fitness routine. People who become addicted to things like games usually do so because they have an addictive personality. Depending on the extent, some people are likely to just swap one addiction for another, never really getting cured of anything. There are people out there addicted to physical fitness/working out. While it may seem like a "healthy" thing to be addicted to, if it precludes someone from other normal acitivities, interferes with family life, etc, it doesn't matter if it's exercise versus gambling versus gaming; it's bad news.

That would only work if the person had the ability to control his or her desires. I think it's safe to assume anyone in rehab has admitted the inability to do so. Sure, they could have computers you needed supervision to use and some sort of locking system, but then you're investing time and money into the systems, the personnel to monitor them, and other personnel to monitor all the residents to make sure they're not sneaking around or trying to hack whatever system is in place.

Granted, I think it's true one of the reasons rehab doesn't work for many is because it puts them in a bubble where they're not confronted by the temptations of their addictions and don't know how to handle them outside the bubble. But I think it is more beneficial to break the cycle of the addiction first, then gradually expose the person to the temptations with a support system in place than to hope the person will be able to cut back slowly at the beginning. That doesn't work for most people and they won't be able to establish a reasonable amount to cut back by or stick to it.

I don't care if you blur or not, but that logic is as crazy as these bios. I have characters who are 5 years old and have the same costume. Sure, they have additional costumes, but they're primarily seen wearing the first costume slot option. A Hero's signature look is the signature look, no matter how long he's been around. You don't see Superman running around in a purple suit with orange thunderbolts because he's tired of red and blue.

The two new ones, the Reichsman TF and SF, also let you start with a team of 4, but I've found it extrememly difficult to complete the final mission in each with very few players.

Do they automatically add an extra 18% gratuity to the bill for banquets? I think that's standard practice. (It's also standard practice for everyone to forget that until the very end and 3/4 of the people have paid and left, so I thought I'd bring it up now.) If so, all those prices will be +18% unless you already included it.