City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

For whatever its worth

Abraxxus

By Abraxxus,
Posted on: 2009-05-25 15:37 in Justice

 

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btw...For What Its Worth is a good song...

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^^^

Also:

I don't want to bore you guys with a lengthy rumination, as I'm tired and this topic is exhausting to talk about, but I don't want to see people go either. I'm sad to see so many people I like and respect make what appear to be hasty decisions over a screw up that isn't fully resolved. Anyone who's been here longer than ten minutes knows that nothing around here moves quickly.

The devs are not faceless, impersonal entities that float out in the ether and lord over this game. They're real people, and as real people, they make real screw ups. I have met a few of them, and have interacted with them my five years in the community, and I have every confidence that they genuinely have the best interest of the game and it's community in mind. And more importantly, they're one of us, too. They play just as we do (sometimes with us, unbeknownst to us), and I think that in the end they will do right by us.

We just have to have some patience.

@Arwen Darkblade
Proud Member of Hammer of the Gods and Sanguine Syndicate
Arc ID #86194 "Cry Havoc"
Arc ID #103934 "Dr. Thomas' First Day"
[URL="http://tobyfife.blogspot.com/"]Hero Girl[/URL] - my geek culture blog

 

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I just had a vision of BaB and Posi on youtube.

 

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I just had a vision of BaB and Posi on youtube.

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You know, I almost made my last line a link to this very video.

OUTTA MY HEAD PUM!

@Arwen Darkblade
Proud Member of Hammer of the Gods and Sanguine Syndicate
Arc ID #86194 "Cry Havoc"
Arc ID #103934 "Dr. Thomas' First Day"
[URL="http://tobyfife.blogspot.com/"]Hero Girl[/URL] - my geek culture blog

 

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What lucas is trying to say...

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HAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA. I was trying to find that song earlier today for this thread.

@Ba'alat/@Zizka

"Plausibility is nothing compared to nerdrage." --PumBumbler

 

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darkly intriguing

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@Ba'alat/@Zizka

"Plausibility is nothing compared to nerdrage." --PumBumbler

 

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GW was a great man though

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ummmmm Ghost Whisperer is a woman.

Back me up here Merm

My LotG sold for 65mil and I'm spending it all on hats

Needlepoint and Hobbytex Champion 1984

Blaming others since 2003

 

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The only reason I log into this game at all now is to talk with friends. My friends (you know who you are) have made this game the most enjoyable gaming experience of my gaming career. If it wasn't for all of you I would have unsubscribed long ago. While I understand the pain associated with friends parting ways, I know that if we really want to continue a friendship outside of this game; it's more than possible. Skype, Teamspeak, Ventrillo, Yahoo and MSN messenger, just to name a few - Im on all of these. If you want my details, all you have to do is PM me.

Unfortunately, I wont re-subscribing any of my accounts. The only good news for my friends is that my main account has been pre-paid and doesn't run out for quite some time. As Ive stated in previous (possibly deleted) posts:

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I cannot believe wtf is going on here. The dev's are temp banning people and deleting their toons on a whim. We cant even openly discuss the matter 'coz its against the forum rules. Posts are being deleted. Threads are being locked or deleted.

Kinda makes me happy that Ive unsubscribed all of my accounts. [u]NCSoft will never get another cent out of me.[u]


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To my friends, you haven't seen the last of me and to the rest of the Justice community, Thanks for teh lolz.

 

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DD will make sure Con does not touch lucas.

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pizza is good.


water is wet.


con touches lucas.


Some things in life are guaranteed.

Duel me.
I will work on my sig pic more when I have time.

 

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Is it sad that I remember watching that?

"His Imperial Majesty's Minister of Restraints and Leather" -LHF

Two naughty acronym teams / Ascension / Convenient / Artic and the Chillz / Fap / Other teams I can't remember (sorry.. mind is goin')

 

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I haven't advocated that people quit the game, although I do believe some real, substantive changes need to be made in the community outreach department.

For the players and community, one thing that I can be certain of is that the game will go on with or without you, even if you do leave. I'm not certain that I'll be staying or leaving myself, as I'm paid up until next year.

In a sense, the people that will be hurt the most are the people who are leaving and the ones they leave 'behind'.

I know this because I left for almost 2 years when the troller nerfs and ED were imminent. In the time I left I tried WoW and found it to be slow and pretty boring. The biggest problem I had was that my friends, who had left 3 weeks before me, were so far ahead I couldn't catch up to them, and without a sidekick system, it was pretty pointless to play with them.

It was pretty much no community = no fun.

And while this game will survive without those that depart, it's certainly not as much fun to have a house that is half empty when it could be bustling and alive with energy.

Certainly everyone has their own reasons to go, or stay, but the only real way to effect improvements in this context is to work with the developers and community to make things better.

And while I do acknowledge and realize that this event has been a genuine catalyst for change, perhaps everyone should ask themselves how much of the game has been 'broken' for them by recent events and changes. What percent of the game was 'working' for you? Everyone has a different answer for this, and if the total amount was more broken than working, perhaps a fresh start would be better for you. Just don't forget to include us, the community, in your equation.

If the game is still 'working' for you, then maybe you're in a boat that's similar to mine. Just keep bailing.

When I left before i5 went live, the thing that I realized most was that the game itself became less and less important to me, but the community I left became more important. The insidious draw of joking and hanging around with my friends was more important than the game mechanics itself.

The game did not have to be perfect, but good enough for us to have fun. Nowadays my friends always bug me about my substandard toons, especially given the amount I play them. Many of them are still equipped mainly with SOs and missing accolades, and I always claim to be too lazy to slot them with anything better. Truth is, most of the toons I have don't matter as long as I can play them (half decently) with my friends. I'm not obsessed with having the uberest set bonuses or upping my Level 50 count.

If I was solely here to work the mechanics of the game, I think I would have been bored or maxed out my slot count years ago. But I do enjoy tweaking or breaking the game when I can. It's simply part of human nature to explore and experiment, and then optimize. For others, the game mechanics do have an important bearing on them, especially when massive changes are made.

I didn't have this attitude when I left the game, it only came over me gradually as I felt less attached to the game and more to the community. Note that the community had changed massively when I returned, but enough people were still here that I still felt 'home'. And with time, I made more friends and things were rocking again.

For the devs and mods who do read this (if ever), I give you this advice. It is the community which is your greatest strength and hidden asset. The greybeards and veterans here are the ones you need to keep and hang onto; they are the ones who pass on the best parts of the game itself.

Let's face it, the documentation of the game hasn't been updated since i1, yet somehow new players are able to learn the game by interfacing with the community to find out how things work. Without the community, new players would be hopelessly confused and frustrated by the many issues that haven't been documented.

Yes, the mechanics of the game are important, but just try to keep a thick skin and realize that 'most' of the attacks directed at you are trying to provoke a reaction. People that don't feel like they are getting heard/recognized will just go to more extreme measures just to feel like their voice counted.

Those that feel like they can't be heard will feel helpless and will have no choice but to quit. And that's a shame because some of them may never return. I think the game suffers the most when you've lost people who were willing to volunteer their time to help others, or give aid and advice to help their fellow player.

While you might feel that there are existing structures to handle things as they are, it is evident within the rank and file here that the existing structures didn't work in preventing such calamities. Something has to change.

Perhaps appointing community ombudsmen, individuals within each server who play regularly and with many other players, and are not a part of any existing structure or organization, whom you will regularly meet with and chat, would be a good start. It would help get you an ear to the ground in a way that a formal structure wouldn't necessarily give you. I'm not sure how this would be done, but conceptually I think it would be a good starting point.

Now obviously we all know that the people leaving here won't tank the game, but those people will not help make it a success either. Most everyone has heard the term 'Star Wars Galaxies survivor,' and no one wants to have a phrase like that for this game. Yet those who leave disappointed or bitter may have such a term. I believe that you have the opportunity and ability to make this game great, bigger than it was originally. I believe the management at NCSoft and you see that as well, else there wouldn't be a big push to grow the game into what it could be.

Just remember that in order for this game to grow into the vision that you and NCSoft may have, it will take the coordinated efforts of the community to help you achieve your goals. Just don't forget that we're here.

 

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tl;dr

Ok, I did.

 

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/agree (w/ Pum)
/signed
/S.W.A.K.

 

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Swark?

 

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but the only real way to effect improvements in this context is to work with the developers and community to make things better.

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I think for this to work, there needs to be an open line of communication between development and the playerbase. When I first joined the game, the game had a fantastic dialogue between the devs and players and it showed through what was added to the game during that time. Granted that the current communication between development and the playerbase is still better than that of other MMOs, it just isn't what it used to be. I don't know what happened, but the posting activity from the devs has dropped off dramatically since the time of about HeroCon...we just don't hear from them as much anymore. I don't know about other players, but I feel far more distant from the devs than ever before. And it feels like they are pretty distant from us given some of the stuff that has occurred since HeroCon. I think for real change to happen, the developers need to be allowed to reopen a dialogue with the community.

 

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Swark?

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S.W.A.K. = Sealed With A Kiss

Didn't you S.W.A.K. your letters that you sent mom and dad while at camp?! =-o

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I think for real change to happen, the developers need to be allowed to reopen a dialogue with the community.

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Just send a gift basket.




ok ok, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist, but I completely agree with Manoa. After the i13 PvP Changes, I heard about the dev's and players having a vent/skype conference. Why couldn't we have something like that?

 

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FWIW, those of you that leave will be sorely miss in one sense or another. It's been a strange and satisfying 5 years on CoH. I hope ya'll just take a short break and change youre minds.

When I was gone from the game for a year and half due to a deployment to Iraq, I often thought back upon some fond memories. Obviously, I had bigger priorities while over there but reflecting upon those "good times" was an escape from the day to day life of being in a combat zone.

However, coming back from my 4th deployment did provide me with a different outlook upon everything. This is just a game. It's a form of cheap entertainment. $15-20 a month is cheap considering how many hours is spent playing verse a night out at the movies, bar, club etc. It doesn't mean I haven't met some really good people over the years. Many have left long ago (i.e. Leibnz, Tanker Toy, Fone, etc) and many have remained (Kat, Eep, Con, Bleyz, Lu Lu, Posi to name a few). You all have left your legacy within this community in one form or another.

If you leave, the game will go on but those left behind will be the ones hurt; not the Devs, NCSoft, etc.

What the Devs did is wrong. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I hope ya'll just take a break and come back refreshed. Nedia and I will still be here.

@Ra Ra

 

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You don't have to go back anytime soon, do you Ra?

"His Imperial Majesty's Minister of Restraints and Leather" -LHF

Two naughty acronym teams / Ascension / Convenient / Artic and the Chillz / Fap / Other teams I can't remember (sorry.. mind is goin')

 

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I really hope people rethink quitting a game over what was probably a huge mistake by the devs.

The friends ive made playing this game are why I still play years later, trust me its not to do another ITF.

I just hope people take a break and come back with a fresh approach to the game we all love. But don't leave angry over one stupid move by the devs when they gave us so much fun over the years.

Even I am putting one of my accounts on hold (this one) just for awhile to have more time for other games but im not leaving.

Please dont leave me alone with con, he touches me.

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It's not that people are leaving for 1 mistake the devs have made. The mistake is a symptom of the attitude the devs harbor. And that is the problem. I love this game. I have committed a lot of time and money to it. I payed for 5 accounts at one time, just to experiment. But unless I see an apology, or a change in command, I think I will stick with one account and a monthly payment schedule so that I can quit as soon as something better comes along. I can't tell you how sad that makes me.
I would have given anything just to hear Positron say that anyone can play this game how they wish. And that we should all have fun. Hell I would have bought 5 lifetime subscriptions had he said that.