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The Soapbox: Rooting for the fail

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, Humor, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

I'm going to start this with a strange admission: I love MMOs. I love them as a lumpy, imperfect collective; I love specific ones immensely, and I love being a fan of the genre. I feel that I have to clarify my stance when I sometimes -- often -- see people who apparently follow MMOs quite closely become a neverending fount of bile and venom toward these games. Apparently, not all MMO fans love MMOs, and that perplexes me.

Odd as that may be, whatever, I can accept that we live in a topsy-turvy world. What I really don't get are the folks who hate specific games so greatly that their entire bodies and minds have been honed into a dedicated game-loathing entity. Mention that title anywhere on a forum, a blog, or in a post, and these people come out to scream through clenched teeth how this MMO sucks beyond the telling of it and that we are all fools, fools for getting anywhere near it.

They aren't just content to say their piece and be done with it, oh no; their vitriol literally knows no end. They will rant, they will attack, they will laugh with derision, and above all else, they will root for the fail. Their greatest desire in life is for this specific game to die so that they can rend their clothes and let out a blood-curdling victory howl. And I don't get it. I feel like an alien in their presence, perplexed at their rage and fixation. Why do people root for MMOs to fail with such intensity? What motivates them and what do they hope to achieve?

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The Soapbox: Rooting for the fail originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What do you hate about a game you love?

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Humor

Loving someone doesn't mean you lose the ability to see flaws; if anything, close proximity makes flaws all the easier to spot. The same is true for MMOs. Your six-year playtime in City of Heroes isn't coming to an end any time soon, but you still loathe the way the game handles experience post-30. You've been playing Star Trek Online since launch, but the time it takes to get out of the starter ship rubs you the wrong way. You'd never say no to Warhammer Online, but you hate the mono-gendered classes.

We all find it easy to say sweepingly negative things about games that we dislike on principle, but if you play EverQuest II and not World of Warcraft, you probably have a clearer picture of the former's failings. So today, think about your favorite game and say what it is that you don't like about it. Even if it doesn't break the game for you, what do you hate about a game you love? You'll feel better for getting it off your chest. Really.

The Daily Grind: What do you hate about a game you love? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Here comes your nineteenth system meltdown

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Academic

We play enough games on the computer to know better than your average user. We're fully aware that the machine doesn't hate us, for one thing. But we sometimes turn it on, and suddenly find that our graphics card has decided to turn into a miniature sun within the plastic case, melting all of our valuable components into a reasonably-sized dinner plate at a time when we can't really drop the thousand-odd dollars on a new machine. Thus begins the process of pulling things out, confirming that they're dead, calling tech support and being told that you should buy a new computer, and you wondering where your pleasant evening has gone.

Perhaps you didn't find your computer going nova. Maybe it decided to just fail to boot for no reason, necessitating a hard drive replacement. Or perhaps it was your connection erupting in a shower of failure followed by a string of support techs claiming to dispatch new people and lying. Whatever the case, in a hobby that seems to be constantly subject to a particularly draconic form of Murphy's Law, we ask you: what's the worst meltdown you've had? Was it the most costly to fix, the most inopportune time, or just frustrating and stressful for some other reason?

The Daily Grind: Here comes your nineteenth system meltdown originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Forums, MMO industry, Opinion, Anti-Aliased

There's so much anger in the consumer market these days. It seems like when a new product comes up, there has to be this bandwagon of people who roll in and start nerdraging over the product. Oh, APB isn't up your alley? Better nerdrage about that! You don't like Warhammer Online? Rev that nerdrage engine nice and loud so your neighbors can hear it.

Everyone's a critic and gaming consumers are far from an exception. Some of the comments around these parts are some of the most spiteful sentences that could be constructed. You have console hate, game hate, genre hate, even particular MMO genre hate. But, honestly, why? It obviously doesn't help anyone except maybe the person doing it. A catharsis, perhaps?

So what's this Anti-Aliased about? Honestly, I need rant article that's all about ranting. A hate article on game hate. Do two hates make a happy? I dunno, but I'm interested enough to try it out. So here's a few reasons why you should cage the hate and think twice before you open your trap on the forums you love so much.

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Anti-Aliased: A few reasons to cage the nerdrage originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting out in Vana'diel: See no evil, hear no evil, smell... no evil?

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Game mechanics, Guides, Leveling, Tips and tricks, Grouping, Consoles

Hola mi amigos! Hoy es la dia de Vana'diel! *clears throat* Ahem, sorry about that. Hello adventurers, and welcome to another edition of Starting out in Vana'diel! Today's topic is actually one that I find quite cool about Final Fantasy XI, especially when you compare it to other MMOs. It's the mechanic that puts the fear of Promathia into every adventurer's step.

Today's column is all about the different monster aggro types -- yes, there are different types. You want to find out more? Come, follow me, and let's find out more!

Continue reading Starting out in Vana'diel: See no evil, hear no evil, smell... no evil?

Starting out in Vana'diel: See no evil, hear no evil, smell... no evil? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE provides further clarification on EQ2's Fighter revamp

William Dobson — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Classes, Game mechanics, Patches

Whether you're fully behind them or not, the changes to EverQuest II's hate system are quite significant and will have an impact on gameplay for all classes, not just the Fighters. Testament to the enormity of the overhaul is the fact that SOE has put out yet another summary of the changes, available on the EQ2Players community site. This latest clarification does not get quite as specific as Aeralik's take last week, but it does include an explanation and pictures of the new hate meter, which will form part of the standard UI when the patch goes live.

If you have aggro on a mob, your meter will show the figure '100'. For everyone else, the closer their number is to 100, the closer they are to pulling a party foul and stealing aggro. This makes it much easier for DPS and healers to see when they are in danger of drawing an NPC's attention, and they can either remove themselves from the fight for a while, or hit a de-taunt ability (which has an instant effect on the hate meter number). The EQ2Players write-up also includes a list of the changes to fighter's abilities, but for a more detailed analysis and community feedback, Aeralik's thread is where you should head.

SOE provides further clarification on EQ2's Fighter revamp originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Significant aggro changes on the way for EQII

William Dobson — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Classes, Game mechanics, Patches, Grouping

There's a fairly hefty set of changes to EverQuest II's hate/aggro system currently being ironed out on Test, and they aren't to everyone's liking. Due to the the complexity of the changes, developer Chris "Aeralik" Kozak has offered up a summary for players to wrap their heads around. We'll attempt to boil it down even more for you, at the cost of including some of the finer details.

The problem with the aggro system begins with the fact that hate has scaled linearly as the game has progressed, and damage has scaled exponentially with gear and new skills, making it hard for designated aggro-holders to keep control of mobs. One of the changes on Test has given taunts the chance to hit critically, just like damage spells, and there will be a base and normalized amount of threat from taunt abilities.

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Significant aggro changes on the way for EQII originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Habbo aims to erase hate in online communities

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, in-game, Habbo Hotel, Free-to-play, Politics, Casual, Education, Virtual worlds, Kids

Let's face it, being a teen is not easy. With the ever-growing mountain of potential pitfalls teens may face, the last thing they want to deal with is the hatred, discrimination and bigotry that seems to be plaguing our online environments. To help combat this problem, Habbo has joined forces with the Matthew Shepard Foundation in a project they call "Erase Hate".

Beginning July 7th, the Matthew Shepard Foundation staff will make appearances twice a week in Habbo's InfoBus to discuss those issues concerning young people in a safe environment. Main topics will include bullying, discrimination and any other forms of hate experienced on and offline. Not only will these teens be taught how to deal with these concerns, but they will learn how to encourage respect among peers. "It is a mission of the Foundation to support young people and provide them with the resources to lead healthy, productive, hate free lives," said Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. "Our partnership with Habbo will allow us to have ongoing conversations with young people about what they can do in the fight to replace hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance."

Habbo aims to erase hate in online communities originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Which MMO should go away?

Akela Talamasca — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Forums, Opinion, Massively Meta, The Daily Grind

People love to hate things. Whether we're talking about sports, religion, politics, lifestyles, or goulash recipes, there are always at least two sides in opposition to each other, and frequently many more. Those on one side will sing the virtues of their choice, and decry the faults of the other side, sometimes with virulent verbiage. Nowhere is this activity more evident than in the forum of your favorite MMO.

Gamers will yell at each other over the slightest perceived insult, and heap abuse on any who dare to assert the primacy of anything that isn't in line with what they love. And that's the sort of energy we want to invite! So, Precious Readers, which MMO do you hate the most, and why?

The Daily Grind: Which MMO should go away? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SOE exhibits 20 new pics of EQ2's Game Update 44

Samuel Axon — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, EverQuest II, Events, in-game, Patches, News items

The official EverQuest II community site has been updated with 20 screenshots of the forthcoming Game Update 44. The screenshots illustrate the new features that were announced a week ago. There are quite a few shots of the new Shard of Hate instance and its related events, as well as the updated trade skill facilities in Freeport. You can also see the two new warg mounts and an oh-so-titillating shot of the new "Show Ranged Weapon" option for Rangers who'd rather show off their epic bows than their melee weapons.

Once you're done looking over those, you can go read some snarky, sarcastic remarks about all the new Game Update 44 content in a pretty amusing commentary titled "Island of the Patch People," provided by EQ2 players RazorX and Coyote over at Ten Ton Hammer. All patches can be nitpicked at least a little, even the awesome ones!

Gallery: EverQuest II Game Update 44

SOE exhibits 20 new pics of EQ2's Game Update 44 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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