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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9698 Posts |
 Posted - 08/08/2006 : 11:06:58
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I bought Guild Wars last week and have been playing it some.
During the Sunday Chat, dglas and I started playing together, and now I thought that maybe some other Skeptic Friends would like to join us.
One of the key differences between World Of Warcraft and GuildWars is that in GuildWars, you don't have to pay by the hour. Once you have bought the game, online playing is free.
So, what about it? Anyone else intrested in playing?
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26034 Posts |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 11:30:07 [Permalink]
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Dear God people, save yourselves! Abandon ship!
I purchased Everquest in 1999. I woke up three years later in a ditch, clothes tattered, my beard and hair had grown into one clump, I had strange scars and an unspeakable rash.
I have seen divorces and near suicides over these open ended games, I highly suggest not even looking at a computer screen with one of these games on it. Luckily for me my computer had a massive coronary and I was able to quit. The other addicts however tried to drag me back by offering to buy me a new computer and/or pay for my account indefinitely until I changed my mind. To this day I do not have the internet in my home.
Spore however is damn near irresistable to me and might just knock me off the wagon, thankfully it is not like the others, where you can substitute a virtual social life for a real one.
After four years in EQ I knew people who had over 500 full days of playing time logged, this could be you!!!!!! JUST SAY NO TO MMORPGS! |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 12:00:43 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Dear God people, save yourselves! Abandon ship!
I purchased Everquest in 1999. I woke up three years later in a ditch, clothes tattered, my beard and hair had grown into one clump, I had strange scars and an unspeakable rash.
I have seen divorces and near suicides over these open ended games, I highly suggest not even looking at a computer screen with one of these games on it. Luckily for me my computer had a massive coronary and I was able to quit. The other addicts however tried to drag me back by offering to buy me a new computer and/or pay for my account indefinitely until I changed my mind. To this day I do not have the internet in my home.
Spore however is damn near irresistable to me and might just knock me off the wagon, thankfully it is not like the others, where you can substitute a virtual social life for a real one.
After four years in EQ I knew people who had over 500 full days of playing time logged, this could be you!!!!!! JUST SAY NO TO MMORPGS!
I play City of Villains most of my waking hours. Am I "addicted"? Of course not. I could quit any time, but choose not to.
In my case, I get very little social contact in my real life. My social interaction via TeamSpeak with my online Super Group ("guild" in generic MMORG terms) is actually my primary daily contact with other people. I have gradually improved the dexterity of my left hand from zero to about 50% since my stroke a few years ago, mainly though playing this game. So I suspect that CoV is actually a plus in my life.
I come to SFN to tune my mind. I go to CoV to tune my coordination, and to destroy prissy, self-righteous heroes by having Cartoon Devil throw hellfire on them.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 12:14:47 [Permalink]
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Yes but could you have improved all/more of your motor functions even better by not having spent "most of your waking hours" playing CoH/CoV.
Also you just defined mental addiction, so Im not swayed by your crafty use of italics.
Im not saying it isnt fun, enjoyable or socially rewarding at times. Just like heroin.
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On a related issue, did anyone see the 'Discoverys this week' where they showed that videogamers were 40% better at performing lathroscopic surgery that the non-gamer surgons. That 40% is time to complete and fewer errors. Super Monkey ball is the shizzle for developing fine motor skills. (Gamecube, not Playstation. The PS joystick is too loose for the really fine movements IMO) |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 13:10:39 [Permalink]
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I know a guy that lost his house to online gambling. I'm sure he thinks video poker is evil. But it's not the game that's the problem, it's the personality of the person playing it.
I've played MMOs on and off for years and I've never become "addicted." I've never been part of a hard core guild and I'm not a power gamer. As a result, I miss a lot of the "uber" end game content. I usually solo a few characters to cap and then quit. I've played DAOC, COH, and WOW, which was by far the most fun, but even that got tiresome after awhile. I've never had a problem just walking away.
I played GWs for a short time and then gave my copy to a friend. Recently I purchased Guild Wars: Factions, which is the 2nd stand alone game in the series, although if you own both copies you can transfer existing characters from continent to continent. If any of you GW players ever pick this expansion up, let me know.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
| Edited by - H. Humbert on 08/08/2006 21:33:52 |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13481 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 18:19:18 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
I'm going to abstain, just because I don't want to piss off Kil. 
Good plan... |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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dglas
Skeptic Friend
Canada
397 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 19:21:14 [Permalink]
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I don't understand - how can CRPGing piss Kil off?
Guild Wars is definitely not the game for solo play. Forget pre-searing - that's a cakewalk compared to what's coming. In this game you learn to become a specialized, tight, team player or everyone dies - repeatedly. I have a pre-searing character (monk/elementalist). I am THE n00b helper. My other characters have completed the prophesies campaign. I might snag some funds from my other toons and build a guild and hall for us, if there's enough interest.
I have a long (25+ year)history of role-playing. I've even offered to run a Feng Shui series for folks here, if there's interest. For me co-op play is much more rewarding than the xp or wealth grind. We are using skype for in-game voice-chat, on which I am dglas26.
Oh, and Mab's not kidding; his accent actually does sound kinda British in v-chat. ;)
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- dglas (In the hell of 1000 unresolved subplots...)
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The Presupposition of Intrinsic Evil
+ A Self-Justificatory Framework
= The "Heart of Darkness"
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26034 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 19:48:17 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by dglas
I don't understand - how can CRPGing piss Kil off?
It pisses Kil off when our weekly scheduled chats consist of little more than people talking about how well or poorly they're doing in games that they're playing during chat. I believe you've even seen that happen, dglas. Remember Nanaca Crash? |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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dglas
Skeptic Friend
Canada
397 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 21:06:02 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
quote:
Originally posted by dglas
I don't understand - how can CRPGing piss Kil off?
It pisses Kil off when our weekly scheduled chats consist of little more than people talking about how well or poorly they're doing in games that they're playing during chat. I believe you've even seen that happen, dglas. Remember Nanaca Crash?
Hmmmm. I'm not sure, but I think there might have been a hint in there somewhere....nope. I was wrong. Nevermind... ;) |
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- dglas (In the hell of 1000 unresolved subplots...)
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The Presupposition of Intrinsic Evil
+ A Self-Justificatory Framework
= The "Heart of Darkness"
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 21:42:36 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by dglas
Guild Wars is definitely not the game for solo play. Forget pre-searing - that's a cakewalk compared to what's coming. In this game you learn to become a specialized, tight, team player or everyone dies - repeatedly.
Yeah, when I could no longer progress using the hired henchmen is about when I quit. I hate wasting time forming a group only to have people quit in the middle of a mission or get all huffy when we wipe. I like games where I can just progress at my own pace and not worry about grouping. That's why World of Warcraft was such a blast. I could solo all the way to cap yet still group occasionally when the mood struck. It wasn't a requirement. Until you hit 60 that is, which is also when I quit that game.
Another big flaw in WOW's endgame was PvP. I would have been more than content to skip 40 man raids and just hit the battlegrounds, but the gear gap and the ladder system just made pickup groups pointless in PvP. A shame, really. They had a good game up until that point. I still would be playing Dark Ages of Camelot if they didn't muck up end game balance with their horrible expansion pack.
The next game on the horizon that I've been keeping my eye on is Warhammer Online. They seem to be focusing on PvP matches as their end game, which is fine by me. We'll see how friendly it is to casual gamers when it ships.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 23:49:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
I still would be playing Dark Ages of Camelot if they didn't muck up end game balance with their horrible expansion pack.
Ditto.
WoW pvp = useless piece of shit unless you can spend a solid three months of your life doing nothing but playing the game for 15 hours+ a day.
I play WoW currently, but am also keeping an eye on warhammer online.
I've been playing these damn games for 15 years, but the people with whom I participate are all around my own age (most of them are real life friends of mine) and we always have a policy, Real Life Comes First. At any hint of people ignoring their responsibilities to the real world, we remorselesly ridicule them. We all just play casually, to mentally cool down after work or school. We always seek out groups of like minded people though, and at our own slow pace we manage to deal with the end-game content of these games. We just do it slowly, and never commit ourselves to more than a few hours a week playing. Currently, in world of warcraft, we have 2 of the endgame instances on "farm" status (the molten core and onyxia's lair), we do molten core in one 4 hour raid a week, and onyxia's lair in one 1hour raid a week. Then we work on the next instance (Blackwing's Lair) on another night for 2 to 4 hours. Add another 4-6 hours a week just goofing off and chatting, and that is it.
We all had a max level character or two by about January this year, so we started spending one night a week learning the end-game instances, and we have done quite well on progression through them.
Personally, the MMORPG is my substitute for TV. Instead of watching 20 hours a week of the boobtube, I play the game with friends (from across the world) for a few hours a week instead.
Anyone who ends up with hundreds of days played in a year or two should think about seeking some kind of professional help though. There are plenty of people out there who don't do anything but play these games, and they are usually nasty little trolls with less than no social skills. If you know one of them, go kick their ass and drag them out into the sunlight.
Anyway, I enjoy these games. They are ammusing, and probably better than staring at a TV for hours.
(Half: I tried to play CoV and CoH, but the game was to much of a repetetive grind to me. Verly little variation in the quests and instances, excessive time requirements to achieve the max level, etc. Couldn't stick with it.)
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9698 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2006 : 07:28:43 [Permalink]
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We clearly need to set some ground rules, in regard to Guild Wars and regular chat sessions:
No game-related talk in chat, other than deciding time for off-schedule chat and gaming sessions. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2006 : 08:07:38 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.
quote:
Originally posted by dglas
I don't understand - how can CRPGing piss Kil off?
It pisses Kil off when our weekly scheduled chats consist of little more than people talking about how well or poorly they're doing in games that they're playing during chat. I believe you've even seen that happen, dglas. Remember Nanaca Crash?
Or Urban Dead? Ugh. |
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Topic Locked
