Posted by 'Nother Ranter on November 2, 2000 at 23:31:59:
In Reply to: Thoughts of the day... posted by Shokai(IMM) on November 2, 2000 at 20:22:39:
First I'd like to address the recent 'cf isn't as good as it used to be' mentality that's being spread around the forum as of late. I disagree, it's easy to look back at 'when I first played' and think, wow...those were the golden days. However, very rarely are things as we remember them. As someone who played in the Midgaard days, left for a couple of years, then came back, I'd have to say that if anything CF has improved over time. The major difference seems to be added complexity. There are more races, skills, professions, areas, quests, imms, etc... Now, whether this really makes the game "better" is a matter of taste, but I happen to think it does. I dearly loved when I knew very little of the game, and had that wild-eyed wonder about it all... Agreed. Now, instead of getting my kicks out of visiting Arboria, I have to trek to one of the 'explore' areas. Heh. Does it make it harder to become 'elite' (whatever the hell that word means, since we -- the general CF populace -- can't even decide on a meaning for the damned word). Yes. Here's my question though, are you playing this game to be elite? Personally, and I think you would agree, this whole idea of "eliteness" is pretty damn stupid. It reeks of the attitude you used to encounter on BBSs. Actually, that's probably the origin of the term (standard English definition nonwithstanding). Granted, there are people who are more skilled at PKing than others, but so freakin' what? Is it actually a source of OOC pride for some people that they can hack most people to shreads in a text-based online game? Sheesh. Or are you playing to have fun? We all want to have a character that is remembered, loved, feared, loathed, etc... I think at some level everyone is playing to have fun, but for some people kicking everyone else's ass is a prerequisite to fun. It's sad, but its true. Maybe its a way to vent frustration from RL...who knows. Back in the Midgaard days I remember this Canadian player PKing me because I made fun of Captain Canuck (a comic book). Should I have brough OOC stuff in game? Hell no. Should he have acted like he did? Who really cares, but it certainly makes me think he had some issues... Personally, my goal in playing is to create a character that is remembered (hopefully fondly) after he or she leaves Thera. I'm not terribly skilled in the PK arena, so mainly I focus on creating a persona and trying to stick to it. A secondary goal is just to learn more about what all's out there. Exploring the Elven Vaults, for instance - something I'd never done before. Finding out where bizarre EQ comes from...that sort of thing. If I ever "figure it all out", I'll probably either leave or try to immort. Creating an area seems like something that would be fun to do...it's got to be more interesting than the crap I write at work. I see the question of 'what's the best race for this class' or 'what's the best cabal for this race/class'...for the love of god people! What class do you want to play? What race do you want to play? What cabal do you want to play? Amen. Though usually I stick to high-int races/classes 'cause I hate practicing so much. Since I'm rambling, I'll also...and as much as I'd like to think it's the last time, I know it won't be, say there are no immortal conspiracies. I'll second this, though I'm certainly not remotely as "in the know" as someone like yourself. My interaction with the immstaff has been good all around. Even when I first started playing and tried the multi-charring thing, when I got caught it never even crossed my mind that there might be some sort of conspiracy. I got caught, I deserved what I got, that was the end of it. Now I just play mages all the time so I can identify my own damn EQ. ;) - Toad the Wet Sprocket btw, I heard some solo stuff from Toad's ex-lead singer the other day. Pretty decent.