>Well, as a relatively new player I believe I have an opinon
>to input. Hastur, you are most definately correct on a few
>points. However.. what you have to remember is that CF is not
>your typical game. It's a ROLEPLAYING game with a PK twist.

That’s where people like you and Hastur, and you and me differ. I see it as a PK mud with roleplaying enforced. My current trend is to play characters that can and will PK other people (hello, spheres Greed, Rage, Combat).

>I look at it like I look at D&D. Sure, it's quite possible to
>make a character and start throwing die everywhere.. but if
>you don't read the books you are most certainly gonna be
>####ed. CF's learning curve is beginning to grow every year.
>Hell, I've only been here for a year and I've already seen it
>growing. However, it adds a element to the game. Amidst all
>those people who would like EVERYTHING, NOW, FAST!!.. there
>are a few people who take the current playerbase as a
>challenge - and wish to prove themselves amongst it. Yes,
>these people have to spend an assanine amount of time
>ranking/wasting time (when they could be RP'ng or PK'ng), but
>they know that once they get to hero or whatever level they
>desire - they know what they are doing.

Agree. I could not even begin to imagine starting CF fresh. When I started in 1997, I didn’t know anything. I had to teach myself everything. (Items can affect your stats? What?) I discovered Dioxide’s and started reading logs. I checked Zulgh’s (or maybe Dio’s by that time) item database. I was in college and spent time on the game – time that I certainly don’t have now.

I can out-PK my share of the current player base and I’m a decent roleplayer when it comes down to it. I will never be the best at this game, but I’ve paid my dues and now am reaping the rewards. A small, selfish part of me wants to see these newbies go through what I went through before getting “good” at this game. While I think helping newbies is a very good thing and good for expanding the playerbase, this game needs a disclaimer saying: “WARNING – VERY IN DEPTH AND DIFFICULT GAME TO MASTER,” or some such. This is not checkers. This is chess.

I think one out of the five people I introduced to this game still play, and him not even that much. The rest did not have the time to devote to learning the nuances of the game.

>I don't agree with the 1 player per character rule. If I want
>to try something else, I damn well better.

I play at most two characters at a time. They are never in the same range. One is typically 30+ and the other is sub 20. I do think a limited number of characters per player is a good thing, though I don’t see an effective way to implement this.

>I agree with the ranking thing, as per my posts below state.
>Ranking in CF has become a minor problem to a huge annoyance,
>even stopping me from making characters (and playing at this
>current time).

I am not even going to touch this. In short, nail on the head. I listed my reasons why in a prior thread.

>I'll throw in an reason and say this - when you
>are new, ranking isn't a problem. You want to see how those
>neat axe skills or spells or supps work, so you don't mind
>spending time gaining the necessary levels to acquire them.
>However, once you've played the game enough and know all the
>little nic's on them.. ranking just becomes annoying. There is
>no reason to rank other then to get to hero, increase your
>stats/numbers and perhaps explore. I just wished the IMM's
>would admit that people rank to get to hero..

I rank because I want the upper level spells/skills and no penalties on exploring. Case in point was my invoker. I got my last skill at level 49 and stopped ranking. Other than a train at level 50, there was no incentive for me to rank higher. None.

>Now with the practice thing.. the IMM's have implemented
>things to stop spam practicing. Personally I have no idea what
>people are talking about, here. I've had two heroes and a wack
>of characters and all those characters come out with the
>necessary perfected skills. However, your latter point is
>valid. Wiether it takes 1 hour or 1000 hours, people will
>always be picky and want 100%. Dropping the time down to get
>those numbers will (logically) allow more time for other
>stuff.

Agree with Hastur here. I perfect certain skills because I want them to work as effectively as possible. My current character parries like crap, one of the reasons why is that I didn’t bother to practice it earlier in life. Even the IMMs admit that some key spells/skills should be perfected. I personally think that the new system is not as good as the old. I liked tanking 20 gibberlings with 3 skill improvements per round. I thought it was easier to do it that way. Nothing I can do about it now though, except plug along. No big complaints here.

>The rest is just stuff I, as a player, wouldn't want to see
>implemented. Exits are very vague and can't determine how big
>a room is. Command flow stacks.. why? You gotta leave some
>#### secret

Agree here. I do not like this idea. I can’t even begin to think why Hastur would bring this up. He’s enough of a veteran player to know how long lag lasts.

As for the ganging, I still think that the best way to stop this is Immortal abuse of the players. ####ty titles is the best example I can think of. Others include:

Derogatory remarks by cabal mobs – a Pattonesque shaming of the coward

Permanent reduction in morale – this person must have low self esteem, as they are constantly calling in others when they should be able to kill someone solo.

Permanent reduction in stats – this player is too dumb to kill anyone unless he has a gang.

>But above all this, my ultimate explaination for the now
>arising disappointment with CF can be boiled down to a few
>things. The most important, I believe, is that the IMM's seem
>very.. foreign to the playerbase. I'm not talking about
>IMMteraction or any of that garbage, I am talking about
>responding to posts and inquiries. I remember when Hastur
>posted all that #### about his number crunching and the IMM's
>said "NO NO NO!".. but then turned around and actually fixed
>pole specs. I think admitting there is a problem is NOT a bad
>thing, Imms.. and right now it looks like the default response
>to something that is up in the air is "NO NO NO NO!". I'm sure
>you guys can remember when you dood's/ettes were players, why
>not throw us a bone and help us out?

Total agreement about the “NO NO NO NO!” thing here. The one distinctive bone being thrown out that pops into mind immediately was the damage type toggle. IMMs were all haughty about how great the new damage types were and why the hell should ANYONE want the old types back. Enough people complained that they put in a toggle. And for that, I sincerely thank you. I didn’t want to calculate whether staggers = toasts = devastates or whatever. Simple is better, in this case.

>I concur with the playerbase on this one.. the IMM's just have
>to stop throwing in areas. New areas are neat, but in all
>honesty - if the player numbers drop what is the point? More
>people will keep traversing Galadon and the 'important-eq'
>areas rather then the new areas with interesting crud.

Yes

>Implement more twists in the game.. more skills, more races,
>different cabals, different IMM's, more religions (THAT
>ACTUALLY STAY!#!) and things that will constantly change the
>game.

More skills: Ok
More races: Mmmm…… pass. Can’t think of anything that would truly be unique.
Different cabals: Ok
Different IMMs and more religions? No thank you, I have seen too many flashes in the pan.

>I personally would rather see changes, CHANGES (bad or
>good!).. rather then careful deliberation and a change once in
>a while. The last announcement on the board was what, 10 days
>ago? That's not enough.. more more more!

I like careful deliberation. It would be cool if the players could be consulted about major changes, but I can see where problems would arrive there.

>Anyways, some constructive criticsm. My time in CF is not
>done, but I am hoping for IT's sake that the game begins to
>change and the IMM's take heed on the playerbase's inquiries.

*old man’s voice* For being a short-timer, you have some good ideas.

>Thanks.
>

Welcome.

Nivek