Tyger42

It's not always a gimmick. Sometimes it's actually put to good use. Avatar was a good example. I hear the 3D version of Up actually did so as well. But, yes, in most cases, 3D is just there because it's the new hot thing and doesn't really add anything to the movie experience.

I will say, though, that today's 3D is a lot better than the old redandblue glasses 3D.

Don't sweat it. It's probably best for your sanity if you skip the movie anyway. Seriously, if I were in Gary Friedrich's shoes, I'd be showing up at Marvel's office with a shotgun for whoever approved that movie. The first one was better, and that's saying something. ( Granted, the motorcycle in the first one counted for a LOT )

Did I say it was directed at me? But anyone who dismisses the opinion of someone who happens to be taking Paragon's side as an "apologist" without even actually bothering to refute their argument isn't worth listening to.

Irrelevant, because this doesn't fit the LEGAL DEFINITION of gambling - that being where money is staked and money is the prize ( Or anything that can be directly exchanged for money such as poker chips ). Otherwise, M:tG cards would be illegal.

Well, you've just demonstrated the worth of your opinion with that last bit. Thanks, I won't sweat it anymore.

If you look hard enough, EVERYTHING about this game is "preying on psychological habits of the customer". Random chance with uncertain outcome/rewards? That's every attack, every mob defeated in hopes of a purple drop/shard/thread, every trial completed hoping for a rare, etc. That's how all MMOs operate, it's how they keep people playing. Trying to make it sound like some sinister plot is just plain pathetic.

Yes. One is unethical, the other isn't. In spite of your weak attempts to word it in a way to make it sound like it is.

"Letting Paragon Studios off" WHAT hook? They're not on any hook. There's absolutely nothing shady going on here, and trying to twist it into a situation that looks like there is is, frankly, rather shady on YOUR part.

And my statement that you're desperately reaching remains. You're implying with that statement that they're somehow deceiving the customer, which is utter ( udder? ) BS.

And I remember when new power sets and costumes came out a couple times a year at best. Oddly, that was the same time...

Yes, but the buyer knows he's got no guarantees there. Thus, it is perfectly clear what he is buying. Random chance. Or, if you prefer, gamble. But not the illegal kind. So to say that the buyer is being "misled" or that Paragon isn't being clear on what they're selling is a desperate reach.

That's a really pathetically desperate reach and you damn well know it.

$15/month.

Intentional. Because it was pretty obvious the person I was replying to didn't see it and I wanted to make sure he did.

I'm not talking "value to you". I'm talking retail value. Obviously to anyone not intentionally trying to spin-doctor.

By that logic, every time you engage in combat in the game, you're gambling. Every swing you take or the enemy takes, the results are left up to random chance. If you want to be nitpicky technical on the definition, you don't have to be spending money each swing for it to be gambling...

But, here's something to consider: Even the absolute worst draw from a Super Pack has more than a buck's worth of consumables, merits, and such. Kind of a piss-poor gambling system when you're guaranteed to get more than your money's worth every time, isn't it?

It's not impossible. You have a choice: Spend the money on the packs or don't. Hell, keep your VIP and burn some of your free points every month. Or your reward token. You'll still get all the costume pieces ( relatively fast with the drop odds. Most get them all in 15-20 packs... ). Just not right away. But, I guess patience is too much to ask from the younger generation these days.

Yes, business. Did you not realize that's what Paragon/NCSoft was? The game is the product they produce. Everything on the market? Those are products they're producing as well.

If anyone here needs a trip to reality, it's yourself. $100 a month? Not even remotely necessary. If you don't want to spend that much, don't. Getting bent out of shape because there's some totally optional content ( that's, really, all fluff ) for additional money is just childish and selfish.


Key words: LEGAL CODE!!!!!

Not this argument again. Get a fracking clue. This isn't gambling by the legal definition. If it were, friggin' Pokemon cards would be illegal.

First, the point of the game is most certainly NOT to have all the costume pieces. Seriously, that statement is just plain idiotic.

What is with people getting so offended by a BUSINESS offering a purely optional but desirable product to entice people to spend their money? The whole point of a business is to do just that, you know. Welcome to this little thing we call "capitalism".

/em gibbsmack

Oh, god, no, we're not. And it boggles me that anyone can even begin to think we are...

The fact that the buyer determines the price more than the seller is control enough. It's not the sellers that are inflating the prices, it's the buyers.

Yup. A pretty generic stock sound effect.

And, yet, the answer we get when we ask for individual player housing is that we should make a solo SG and make a basic base if we want a private "house".

Thank god. It always irritates me when a minority of players seems insistent that the devs need to step in and manipulate prices on the player market just because they can't afford something.

Now those do look good. But the bacon's actually -cooked- in those pictures.

This a million times. It's been something that I've thrown out in the past. People whining that there aren't any "natural" travel powers, but refuse to justify it as anything that's not specifically displayed on the screen. Folks, they can't code in every single possible option and angle to "Manifest" a power. Granted, they've been adding stuff in lately, but it would have been fine without them. We don't need an actual motorcycle graphic to justify superspeed as being a motorcycle, for example.