Star Wars: The Old Republic will kill WoW

Yeah, they make it so resources respawn everytime faction control shifts, and expect people to not benefit from it because it's the LAW!!

End of line.

I sincerely hope that SWTOR and WoW will expire simultaneously while choking the living shit out of each other.

It's been standard practice in MMOs for quite some time now. Not only (very often pre-order grade) subscribers are forced to beta test LIVE, released games for few months but also get severely punished for accidentaly (or not) breaking made on-the-fly rules. Because it's usually impossible to guess how to translate TOS drivel into gameplay mechanics - it's basically trial and error. And the smartest, most creative members of community get fucked in the arse with banhammer. The epitome of cynicism.

It's a knowingly implemented policy. Devs realise that in the time of trouble they can safely cede making any concessions towards community because this obvious arrogance will be either ignored or forgiven - with no impact on subscription money flow. The initial fact of unfinished or bugged game element should rise an alarm among playerbase. Instead, it is mainly ignored - few whiny threads on official forums bare no impact. Then, when dev, oblivious to the state of their own game, is informed of a problem proceeds to precautionarily ban the whistleblower. This is not a 'stupid' move as you say. This is the easiest, cost- and labour-effective thing they can do - it requires no research as to in what circumstances a player (accidentaly or not) overcame some in-game confines. Devs don't have to show remorse or acknowledge that fault is theirs, they don't have to thank gamers for identifying design errors. They don't have to fix anything in-game when they can just threaten with ban. Therefore it's cynicism.

Subscribers are either blind or blissful. Both to their detriment. Chief reason of 'the decline'.

This at RPS

What is this fucking joke? Next thing you know they'll ban you selling an item above market price on the AH. If it's allowed in the game, it's allowed. If it's an exploit, patch it later. I cant begin to understand who thought this was a good idea, what idiots at EA. How hard was it to pay a programmer to introduce a patch that level-locks planets?

But it's probably fake.

I should frequent this section more, I always knew that MMOs are teh decline, but at least they are more lulzy than SP games.

That one has to be fake. It's just too absurd...

MMOs have their own economies, everyone knows that, but you know what I just realized? MMOs of today are similar to a totalitarian communist society: Everyone is the same, stripped of their own individualism, creativity & entrepreneurism discouraged, heavy handed, opaque & callous rule, secret GM police watching your every move, massive propaganda campaigns to convert "believers" to their side, more propaganda campaigns for outside PR, and of course, a planned economy.

Boy are we lucky to live in 2012 and experience such games!

From my understanding, after first glance, it looks like objection to using low level alts as inventory and auction mules. You might be allowed to game the market with your main. But again, it's solving the shortcomings of the game design with banhammer to the face of a creative playerbase.

Good analogy. Playerbase, similarly to communist society, is even convinced that their voice has any impact on decision making. Only widespread dissent with actual subscription cancellations, comparable to system-wide protest of oppressed society, leads to concessions from developer (government). Main difference, though, is that you can quit an MMO.

This leads me to think: maybe a 'democratic' system of running an MMO is a way to win over monopolist's (Blizzard's) playerbase - something like Eve's Council of Stellar Management but which is not an afterthought (and not an oligarchy or 'representative' democracy but a participatory one) but an advertised game feature? With popular voting on most of game improvements, future content, design direction, forum policies, punishments for offences is an actual game feature. It also offers the devs all the tools of a modern democratic government: steering the hoi polloi in desired direction with false dichotomies, fear, promises, bread and circuses.

Accurate comparison would also be egg-laying chicken business. Subscribers produce eggs with minimal amount of care from the carer, packed into cramped cages with other clones (in-game ban on creativity, small sharded game worlds, characters differ only slightly from each other) just enough to keep them alive and producing. Improvements to conditions are only made after animals start dying (slump in subscriptions).

And there's more!

I don't even consider PVP seriously in any WoW-clone. Because the fundamental mechanics are so obviously designed for PVE play, PVP in such a game simply means spamming your highest dps skills or highest healing skills (using even less strategy than in a group dungeon). And this is why Guild Wars succeeded in having thoughtful PVE AND PVP play, and GW2 should also follow the trend.

After a minute I still can't figure out how "Gash" is supposed to be profane.

I think you described capitalist non-domestication of snowmen there old boy: the snarling Black Cats twittering in packs on the sidewalk dressed all the same, buying what they are told to buy; CNN, BBC, Fox propaganda; protectionism for the wealthy or bankrupt monopolies; the lie of the 'free' market; Homeland Security, War on Terror, everyone a suspect....

You don't know that the female genital area is known as a 'gash' among the less educated?

Gash=vagina.

Hence the UK nightclub men's toilet attendant's traditional cry of 'No splash, no gash!' 'No spray, no lay!' and occasionally, 'Freshen Up For Punani', sung to the tune of 'London Bridge Is Falling Down'.

Not sure if trolling or just retarded.

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