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Old 01-20-2011, 12:41 AM
Uthgaard Uthgaard is offline
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The biggest problem that I see is with the mentality those of you who want to compete are approaching this with. The current system lends itself to the truest free-for-all competition, for anyone willing to put forth the effort. If you had everything spawning at the same time, you would instead be complaining that {insert desired target} is always chosen by {DA or IB}.

When players compete for a mob with a known window coming up, their perception is that it's not their problem that they couldn't reach a resolution on their own, it's our problem for deciding who was merited the kill.

When players want to lobby for a different system of mob spawning, their perception is that it's not their problem to solve with creativity, cooperation, and cunning problem-solving skills, but that it's our problem to re-arrange the entire system to suit the latest complaint.

Spotting a problem doesn't take any special talent. It's one of the most base aspects of human nature. So is pleading for an advantage, or expecting someone else to solve that problem for you. But what does take special talent, is solving that problem yourself.

And not just saying 'I think this should happen because I don't like what's happening now', but really thinking through the consequences of what would happen if it was changed. Live is a perfect example of listening to short-sighted self-interest.

From a developer standpoint, we can reasonably take ownership of a problem when a player has no ability to solve it themselves. This is not one of those situations. We don't really give a shit who gets the mobs. If you perceive this to be a problem: Brainstorm. Collaborate. Compete. Raid targets are a scarce resource. If you want them badly enough, you will approach it with realistic expectations, find a way to compete for them, and persevere when you fail.

If you expect a higher authority to solve your every problem, and cede all personal responsibility, and externalize all blame, take the time to read this over.

In PDF

On Kindle


It's public domain, and both of those links are free. Read it while you're shitting in your socks.