WoW...Blizzard is really making me miffed

[Schizm]

3-4 minutes to log in? I feel sorry for you. It almost never takes me more than 60 seconds to get into WoW. The reason FFXI patches are downloaded so quickly is because they are small. It is a much smaller, much less complicated game than WoW. Yes, I have played FFXI for several months.

I couldn't care less if you can login in 60 seconds. It's all the BS I hear about people sometimes having to wait in line for like 5 minutes or sometimes upwards of an hour based on server activity. If Blizzard would take a hint from Square-Enix with FFXI, they wouldn't have this problem. Even if it happens only once in a long while, on FFXI, it never happens. Not to mention, the only lag I could receive would come from my own computer. But I could play during peak hours and there still won't be any lag. There is no server-side lag with FFXI. Even the original servers only have around 6-7,000 people on at peak hours.

Much smaller and less complicated game? It can take you 2 years to make the level cap of 75. How long does it take to make the level cap of 70(previously 60) in WoW? I've heard it could take 6 months and that's for someone's first character with no outside help. Just grind all the time.

You can solo to the level cap in WoW. Good luck with that in FFXI. Except for a couple of classes, in FFXI, you have to party once you hit 14 or 15 or the exp will be extremely slow. It will be almost nil once you hit 40. Sure, you go with your guild and raid dungeons when you are at lvl 70, but that's basically the only time you are required to group with other people to get something done. Am I wrong?

Tell me, how long does the story in WoW last? Does it take you 2-3 years playing to finish the story? And I mean upwards of 200-250 days of playtime to actually finish it? And you said FFXI was short. You said you only played it for several months. That isn't long enough to reach 75, do RoZ missions, do CoP missions and ToAU missions on top of doing your nations missions. Not to mention you need to level subs and it's also good to have several jobs leveled besides you main just incase it's needed.

Also, to get certain things unlocked, you have to do a ton of quests to up your fame and plenty of the quests add to the story. Is the story of WoW as in-depth as the story of FFXI? Even though I've admitted I haven't played WoW, I doubt they have a story as in-depth as FFXI's.

In my opinion the graphics in FFXI are bland and boring. WoW's "cartoony" (read: artistic) graphics style is much better suited to the fantasy environment of the game. Overall it is my opinion that WoW looks much better than FFXI (of course, with something of this nature it is very much based on personal opinion)

I can agree with you on it being based on personal opinion. I think WoW's graphics are too cartoony. I believe FFXI's graphics look nice. But honestly, graphics aren't everything. Gameplay is more important.

No, please do, so I can continue to shut you down on every uneducated point you try make.

I'm sure I seem totally uneducated on this whole subject. Sure, you've played FFXI, but I'm sure you haven't played it long enough to reach end-game content. The length of time you played FFXI, I bet you reached end-game in WoW in that same amount of time. But I'm sure that this is just another one of my "uneducated" points.

 

[DarkLegacy]

Ah here we go lol. I kind of figured FFXI would find a way into the thread sooner or later. I played FFXI myself for about a year. I would admit that the servers ran great & the patches went smoothly but it also doesn't measure up to the popularity that WoW garnered. When I left FFXI it was late 05 & I think the userbase was just about to hit 2 mil. Considering how long the game had been out, that was considered decent. Then WoW just flys right by them in under 1 year pretty much doubling them in terms of users. It was also the first game to make the everquest userbase decline over the past few years. FFXI did not accomplish that. FFXI was an excellent mmorpg that was aimed towards the more hardcore kind of player.

Now regardless of how much money blizzard is making off of the game, I pretty much expect them to have problems with the servers. Not many were up at the start & they got slammed right off the bat. Now here is the problem. Many new servers have been added over thw span of the game. A majority of these servers filled up overtime by new players coming in & the game recommending them to the newer servers. With that however, a lot of the older servers faced lag issues due to overcrowding & to many players being on. I NEVER faced any major ingame lag at all. When I first started playing the game, I made my warlock & was recommended to Aeris Peak. That server runs smooth as hell & I hardly ever had a queue in there. Blizzard has been offering free tranfers to many of the less occupied & newer servers but most players refuse to take advantage of having that choice. Which makes sense since most would prefer sticking with there guilds. So the decision of staying on a lagrific & overpopulated server falls on the player sine most don't want to leave the servers. When the split does happen to those targeted servers, no one will have the right to be upset with blizzard. They've worked as hard as they can to work things out, offered free transfers to better & newer servers & not many people took advantage of that.

 

[Frosteh]

I play WoW... abotu 7 hours a week, said that earlier... im not defending anyone in particular, just saying attacking someone and being ignorant is stupid... you think his 500 dollar graphics card is stupid, he thinks wasting your life playing a game is stupid... i think CASUAL play is all well and good, but letting a game take over youre life is pathetic...

Depends exactly what you mean by this.

Taking over your life, if it effects work, and has negative effects in your personality and the way you treat people then yes probably.

But theres no reason why you cannot put all of you spare time into gaming and still not let it effect those things, I wouldn't call a pro footballer who does nothing all week but play football an unbalanced person, they have found something they love above all other things and it makes them happy so they do it as much as they can, theres no harm in that if you have some self control.

People are too worried about looking/feeling "normal"

You know what I don't game as much now a days, but I used to (a lot) and I loved every second of it, if anyone has a problem with me or anyone else spending as much time as they can doing something they enjoy, then they can just go to hell.

 

[Schizm]

Depends exactly what you mean by this.

Taking over your life, if it effects work, and has negative effects in your personality and the way you treat people then yes probably.

But theres no reason why you cannot put all of you spare time into gaming and still not let it effect those things, I wouldn't call a pro footballer who does nothing all week but play football an unbalanced person, they have found something they love above all other things and it makes them happy so they do it as much as they can, theres no harm in that if you have some self control.

People are too worried about looking/feeling "normal"

You know what I don't game as much now a days, but I used to (a lot) and I loved every second of it, if anyone has a problem with me or anyone else spending as much time as they can doing something they enjoy, then they can just go to hell.

I agree completely. lol

On my days off from work, I spend most of my free time playing video games. Nothing wrong with that. I still schedule time to go to the gym and I don't let it interfere with my job. I don't call in sick just because I didn't get any sleep by staying up all day(I work nights) playing a game.

If it did start to interfere with my life, I'd hope someone would slap some sense into me. Preferably by hiding my disks to the games on my computer and taking my PS2 and Gamecube away and hiding them.

 

[Direwolf20]

I couldn't care less if you can login in 60 seconds. It's all the BS I hear about people sometimes having to wait in line for like 5 minutes or sometimes upwards of an hour based on server activity. If Blizzard would take a hint from Square-Enix with FFXI, they wouldn't have this problem. Even if it happens only once in a long while, on FFXI, it never happens. Not to mention, the only lag I could receive would come from my own computer. But I could play during peak hours and there still won't be any lag. There is no server-side lag with FFXI. Even the original servers only have around 6-7,000 people on at peak hours.

Good for you, but as you've said, you've only HEARD people complaining about queues. Its true they exist, but its not nearly as bad as you claim them to be, and you obviously don't know what you're talking about since you've "Never played the game", in your own words. So if you wanna berate a game, play it first.

Much smaller and less complicated game? It can take you 2 years to make the level cap of 75. How long does it take to make the level cap of 70(previously 60) in WoW? I've heard it could take 6 months and that's for someone's first character with no outside help. Just grind all the time.

And in my opinion, thats a bad thing. 2 YEARS of hardcore playing just to hit the level cap? Most people I know don't LIKE the grind from 1-75. They enjoy the end-game at 75+. Thats how it was in EQ, and many of the MMORPGs that I've played in the past.

You can solo to the level cap in WoW. Good luck with that in FFXI. Except for a couple of classes, in FFXI, you have to party once you hit 14 or 15 or the exp will be extremely slow. It will be almost nil once you hit 40. Sure, you go with your guild and raid dungeons when you are at lvl 70, but that's basically the only time you are required to group with other people to get something done. Am I wrong?

Not wrong at all. Thats also a positive in my opinion. You're not FORCED into grouping. I had friends who played FFXI (admittedly I never have). They described it like this. "You HAD to group, you couldn't do anything if you didn't group, and if you weren't the right class, you didn't get a group too easily. When you did get a group, you were lucky if it didn't break up after 30 minutes." This came from my roomate of 2 years who played a lot.

In WoW, you CAN Solo all the way to 70, if thats what you choose to do. You can also group and do instances starting at level 10 and going as high as 70. Theres about 2-3 instances available to you at any given level, and thats where all the better loot is. So get this, you have a choice. You can play the game the way you want to play it. If grouping is for you, then FFXI is good and WoW is good. If you hate grouping with other players who are often idiots, and you like to solo, than FFXI is NOT for you, but WoW works just well.

Tell me, how long does the story in WoW last? Does it take you 2-3 years playing to finish the story? And I mean upwards of 200-250 days of playtime to actually finish it? And you said FFXI was short. You said you only played it for several months. That isn't long enough to reach 75, do RoZ missions, do CoP missions and ToAU missions on top of doing your nations missions. Not to mention you need to level subs and it's also good to have several jobs leveled besides you main just incase it's needed.

Funny, I've been playing for over 2 years, and....there are plenty of things I haven't seen. Golly gee batman.

Also, to get certain things unlocked, you have to do a ton of quests to up your fame and plenty of the quests add to the story. Is the story of WoW as in-depth as the story of FFXI? Even though I've admitted I haven't played WoW, I doubt they have a story as in-depth as FFXI's.

I haven't played FFXI, but I have played WoW, and I can tell you the story in WoW is VERY good. There are BOOKS written on the lore and the universe. 8 of them I count at wikipedia. Sounds like theres a SMALL bit of a backstory. Heres something fun, in the expansion theres a couple dungeons within the "Caverns of Time", where you go back in time and help with pivotal moments in the WoW storyline.

No storyline, I lol'd.

I'm sure I seem totally uneducated on this whole subject.

Ya think?

Now I'm not sitting here trying to say WoW is better than FFXI. Know why? Because its opinion. Thats like saying Apples taste better than Oranges. Yea, I guess apples do taste better than oranges to some people, and other people, its the other way around. If forced grouping with a steep leveling grind and 2-3 years of gameplay needed to reach the end-game is what you call fun, then WoW is obviously not for you. FFXI is obviously not for me, because all that sounds like more work and less fun than its worth.

I'll keep playing WoW, and you keep playing FFXI, and please stop making threads telling us how much WoW sucks, especially when you have NEVER played the game before. I don't care how much you enjoy FFXI, WoW is still a good game.

 

[Schizm]

And in my opinion, thats a bad thing. 2 YEARS of hardcore playing just to hit the level cap? Most people I know don't LIKE the grind from 1-75. They enjoy the end-game at 75+. Thats how it was in EQ, and many of the MMORPGs that I've played in the past.

I don't feel like paying $20 for a game, $40 for the expansion and then $15 a month to play a game that takes me to level cap in less than 6 months. No matter how much content there is. But hey, that's my thing. I want my moneys worth. I pay $30 for FFXI and all expansions in one box and $13 a month. Takes me a while to reach level cap, but also there's tons to do in between lvl 1 and 75. I'm sure there's lots to do in WoW, but I feel better when I take a while to get to lvl cap. I feel like I actually did something. It takes skill to reach lvl cap. I don't mind parties. You make good friends in-game that way.

Not wrong at all. Thats also a positive in my opinion. You're not FORCED into grouping. I had friends who played FFXI (admittedly I never have). They described it like this. "You HAD to group, you couldn't do anything if you didn't group, and if you weren't the right class, you didn't get a group too easily. When you did get a group, you were lucky if it didn't break up after 30 minutes." This came from my roomate of 2 years who played a lot.

I admit, sometimes a pt can break up after 30 minutes, but it's not hard to get a new pt. If you can't get invite, make your own with other people who are searching. If you know party dynamics, and by lvl 20 you do, you can make your own fairly easily.

In WoW, you CAN Solo all the way to 70, if thats what you choose to do. You can also group and do instances starting at level 10 and going as high as 70. Theres about 2-3 instances available to you at any given level, and thats where all the better loot is. So get this, you have a choice. You can play the game the way you want to play it. If grouping is for you, then FFXI is good and WoW is good. If you hate grouping with other players who are often idiots, and you like to solo, than FFXI is NOT for you, but WoW works just well.

I do like soloing, but I got bored of it when I played Ragnarok Online. I don't want to repeat it with another MMO. If a game makes it really easy to solo, then I most likely will. But I don't want to solo to level cap because by the time I reach it, I'll be tired of the game. No matter how much content it has.

Funny, I've been playing for over 2 years, and....there are plenty of things I haven't seen. Golly gee batman.

Well, good for you and everyone else. It's good to see you're not totally wasting your money.

I haven't played FFXI, but I have played WoW, and I can tell you the story in WoW is VERY good. There are BOOKS written on the lore and the universe. 8 of them I count at wikipedia. Sounds like theres a SMALL bit of a backstory. Heres something fun, in the expansion theres a couple dungeons within the "Caverns of Time", where you go back in time and help with pivotal moments in the WoW storyline.

No storyline, I lol'd.

Luckily it has the previous Warcraft games before it. FFXI has no other games before it. FFXI has it's own universe and story in one game. Not something brought over from 3 games before it.

Now I'm not sitting here trying to say WoW is better than FFXI. Know why? Because its opinion. Thats like saying Apples taste better than Oranges. Yea, I guess apples do taste better than oranges to some people, and other people, its the other way around. If forced grouping with a steep leveling grind and 2-3 years of gameplay needed to reach the end-game is what you call fun, then WoW is obviously not for you. FFXI is obviously not for me, because all that sounds like more work and less fun than its worth.

I'll keep playing WoW, and you keep playing FFXI, and please stop making threads telling us how much WoW sucks, especially when you have NEVER played the game before. I don't care how much you enjoy FFXI, WoW is still a good game.

You don't need 2-3 years of lvl grinding to reach 75, you can do it in a year, but it's all the stuff you can do besides leveling is why some people take so long to do it.

I never made a thread about WoW. I didn't make this thread. I don't go out of my way to bash it either. I just said my thoughts on it. In fact, this is the only thread where I've talked about the differences and why I prefer FFXI over WoW. I don't have to play it to know I won't like it. Same thing why I don't play Madden games. I know I won't like them.

This thread also reminded me why I never participated in these threads before in the first place. I admit I said a few things that may have been wrong since I've never played it and I don't think as bad of it as I once did.

I guess I'll leave this as my last post. I don't want to start a flame war because that's what always happens when FFXI and WoW end up in the same thread since most people who play one don't like the other.

 

[lost0822]

That doesn't matter. Women are more into the idea that a man has money and or power than they are about the actual stuff they can buy. Don't fool yourself either, she will consider it her money to once you say I do. Women, especially the married ones seem to feel some kind of sense of entitlement to various things in a man's life.

I hope you did the smart thing and preppared a good prenuptual agreement and had your lawyer look it over. Anyone who gets married and does not do this is a fool.

Before anyone says "You don't know her, my wife is different, she isn't like that." You can just bite your tongues. (Fingers in this case.)

Marriage changes women. It twists them. They become evil and self-serving. Perhaps it's just their true nature revealed? Additionally while I am generalizing, I know there are EXCEPTIONS to this rule. They are few and far between.

Before some blubbering vagina says "but Dan.........................you are generalizing and stereotyping." Just shut your hole.

Stereotypes are valid. They wouldn't exist if there wasn't a significant percentage of the population that contributed to the images the stereo types project. It's when you judge individuals by these stereo types that you do anyone an injustice.

Before someone says "you've judged this particular woman and have gone against your last statement." To that I say, "SHUT IT."

The fact is I am not judging this woman. I do not know her, or him. What I am saying is that I advise caution. You would do well to head this advice.

That is all. (I will refrain from going off topic again.)

this is the dumbest f'ing post i've seen in a while.

your obviously someone that either has had one too many bad relationships or a failed marriage that ended nasty.

please....no one take his advice.

 

[Draax]

this is the dumbest f'ing post i've seen in a while.

your obviously someone that either has had one too many bad relationships or a failed marriage that ended nasty.

please....no one take his advice.

Jaded people are funny IMO.

I mean saying that all women are evil and self serving, and any that aren't are the exception is pure comedic gold.

 

[Dan_D]

this is the dumbest f'ing post i've seen in a while.

your obviously someone that either has had one too many bad relationships or a failed marriage that ended nasty.

please....no one take his advice.

It's off topic, but I am a realist. I've also never had my money and life sucked dry by an ex-wife. Nor have I gone through nasty divorce proceedings. I don't let emotions overrule my judgement.

I'm not against relationships in any way. I think that if you are going to get married, you need to do it right. Protecting your assets and earnings is VERY important. You may not be worth squat now but down the line you could be.

Say you come from a family that's well off. Say you know that a relative of yours is likely going to die in the next 10 years or so and you think you might get a large some of money. Ok. Now say that this relative dies in 7 years from the date of your marriage. You inherit thousands, hundreds of thousands or whatever. Ok, now say you get this money and your ball and chain wants a divorce. Ok, now she wants to take half. Why the hell should she have any rights to money left to you by your family? Not her family, but YOURS. You didn't really earn it, and it wasn't earned through fruits of her labors and you didn't earn it as a couple. Do you think your dead relative wants the vile bloodsucker of an ex-wife to have that cash? Can you really afford to trust a woman scorn who said she'd never act like that before you got married? I wouldn't.

Would you not be wise to protect this money and your assets BEFORE this happens?

I simply plan for worst case scenarios. If I ever get married, I'll only do it once. Hopefully I'd choose a woman that I can be with until death. However, you can not predict the future and for all you think you know someone, you don't know what actually goes through their minds. People change, and certainly they get greedy.

My advice is sound and hurts no one. Any man following this advice will protect his assets and ensure his future. Keeping the would be bloodsucking money grubbing whores at bay is a good idea. You'd be smart to do the same.

Again we are straying off topic, but I felt I needed to respond to that comment.

On the topic of WoW, my girlfriend is thinking about taking it up. I am not sure how I feel about that.

 

[Rich Tate]

Let's keep it on topic please fellas.

If you want to discuss wives or Dan's thoughts on relationships, take it to GenMay.

On topic, my wife does play WoW and enjoys it. She doesn't play a whole lot. Maybe 3-4 hours a week, but enjoys her time with the game immensely.

 

[Dan_D]

Let's keep it on topic please fellas.

If you want to discuss wives or Dan's thoughts on relationships, take it to GenMay.

On topic, my wife does play WoW and enjoys it. She doesn't play a whole lot. Maybe 3-4 hours a week, but enjoys her time with the game immensely.

Agreed. My unconventional views on the subject are quite unpopular. (Not surprising.)

Regardless, I am simply concerned that if my GF starts playing that game, it will consume her life. She's not terribly strong willed. Though her inability to concentrate could in fact be the saving grace that would get her off of it from time to time.

 

[Gambit]

Here's my take on WoW...but first a tiny bit of background

I started playing Diablo II (having never really even *seen* Diablo 1) probably a good year after it came out. I was hooked on it damn near immediately. It wasn't that it was so much of an addiction, it was just a cool game; I had never really gotten into RPG's before and this was just a good first. So, my best friend came over and we both played co-op style.

After beating the game, we went to open battle.net for a while and put up with all the hacks. I later convinced my friend that we should move to the more hack-free environment of closed battle.net. I think it was around this time I eventually got a second friend involved. Sitting next to each other and playing this RPG together was a *huge* blast. We eventually got into PVP'ing and that's when it *really* started. I remember starting to play in the early afternoon and playing continuously until 3 or 4 in the morning no problem. Along the way there were always dropouts, lost items, banned accounts, etc. During this time, I had heard about WoW being in development and was really looking forward to it. Of course, in true Blizzard fashion, it was delayed for quiet some time.

After seeing some of the actual in game footage near it's release I wasn't all that thrilled. Combat seemed too much like the characters were taking turns, not fluid / dynamic. After WoW finally hit stores I was interested, but not *that* interested. By this time, we hadn't been playing Diablo 2 for quite some time (shortly after the 1.10 patch killed dueling) and they had no interest in paying $15 a month to play WoW. I figured WTH and gave it a shot. My impressions are it looks like a fun game, especially if you can play it with other people, but that's been my impression of other MMORPG's as well, such as DAoC. If you get to play with someone, it can be fun, if you're soloing... well, it kinda sucks. The graphics being "cartoony" don't bother me and having to wait a bit to log in don't bother me.

I had mentioned to them if we all had the time to actually *play* the game (working 60+ hour work weeks kills your social life), I might not mind actually paying their subscription fees so we could play. Of course, they said they might try it then... but of course, we don't have the time to play now.

So... do I think games can be addicting? Of course I do. Do I think people are "stupid" for letting games control their lives? No... they're addicted. It controlling their lives is part of the criteria for *being* an addict.

As for being miffed at Blizzard. Let's look at some numbers:
WoW has 7+ million accounts if what I read is correct. Let's tone that down to 4 million (obviously population would have increased over the years, not stayed constant) Let's assume all of the accounts are prepaid for a year, which I think lowers the monthly payment to $10 / month. That's $120 per account, per year.

4,000,000 * 120 = $480,000,000 per year in subscription fees

To get a game key, you have to buy a copy of the game. We'll also price it conservitively at $30 a copy.

7,000,000 * 30 = 210,000,000

Now I don't know how many employees Blizzard has, but let's assume they had 1,000 employees working on Wow, each making $100,000 a year, that's $100,000,000 per year in devel. Let's say 5 years in devel, so... $500 mil, which is just about covered by the first years fees. The copies of the games sold should easily cover server / internet costs. The game has also been out several years and has just released an expansion.

Do I think these numbers are accurate? Of course not. I have no idea what their development or operating costs are. But it gives you an idea of how much money they're making with sketchy numbers. My point is, I'm sure with the popularity of Starcraft, Diablo, Diablo II, D2XP, WC3, WC3TFT and WoW, I'm sure they could probably afford to get a few more authentication servers to shorten the login lines.

 

[MrFace]

REgarding hitting 70 in wow. Someone on my server is 70 ....the server opened on the 16th.

 

[Martyr]

REgarding hitting 70 in wow. Someone on my server is 70 ....the server opened on the 16th.

probably 3-4 guys playing a character on rotation.

 

[Wrench]

Wow ton of hate towards wow and mmos in general reading through here.

To level 1-60 originally took me 4 months playing around 3 hours a night and rarely on weekends. Do quests and kill everything you see. So far 61-63 has taken me a week playing sporadically doing the same thing plus running a few instances. If you can find a GOOD relazed end game guild you can play casually still and get gear and still do end game stuff.

As for beating WoW it's tough I did it once though. I beat a warlock and the credits started rolling

 

[Rich Tate]

As for beating WoW it's tough I did it once though. I beat a warlock and the credits started rolling

ZOMG nerf warlocks!!

 

[Martyr]

im just happy my druid finally has some balls

 

[Dan_D]

Wow ton of hate towards wow and mmos in general reading through here.

To level 1-60 originally took me 4 months playing around 3 hours a night and rarely on weekends. Do quests and kill everything you see. So far 61-63 has taken me a week playing sporadically doing the same thing plus running a few instances. If you can find a GOOD relazed end game guild you can play casually still and get gear and still do end game stuff.

As for beating WoW it's tough I did it once though. I beat a warlock and the credits started rolling

I don't hate WoW specifically.

I do dislike MMO's for a number of reasons.

1.) The quests seem flat. They lack depth and are relatively repetative.
2.) Story. There is none. It seems like an essential, yet missing element found present only in single player RPGs.
3.) Repetative gameplay. Because standalone RPGs are story driven, the repetative nature of them is broken and if you are sufficiently interested in the story, it acts as a driving force to keep you interested in the game. Well balance titles like the KOTOR series has a perfect balance of grinding, and story driven gameplay.
4.) No ending/No reward. Basically with no story, and no conclusion, there is little to no reward I can see in playing a game like this. There is a diminished sense of accomplishment in such a game setting. Yes you get more gear, but eventually that has to get old.
5.) Balance. I dislike the idea that a lvl 1 character has no hope of defeating a level 20 character. With real life, the most experienced and hardened veterans can get sloppy and die. Not to mention, someone young and inexperienced could get lucky and kill a total badass by sheer chance. I dislike the fact that MMO and RPGs rarely reflect this. It also creates an environment in the game that is unfriendly to newer players. Even if PvP isn't an issue on a given server. It just seems to be an illigocical farce to me. A human body takes xx amount of damage. Experience and knowledge doesn't change how many hits a sword takes to cut you limb from limb. Simply put, I dislike the general damage/level up/character model used in these types of games.
6.) Themes. 9 out of 10 of these games are based around D&D style themes. Wizards, magic and so on. I generally dislike this theme even though I am quite fond of sci-fi, and see the often drawn connection of the two. I prefer science ficiton and technology, to magic, demons and swords.

That's all I can really think of right now.

 

[lost0822]

It's off topic, but I am a realist. I've also never had my money and life sucked dry by an ex-wife. Nor have I gone through nasty divorce proceedings. I don't let emotions overrule my judgement.

I'm not against relationships in any way. I think that if you are going to get married, you need to do it right. Protecting your assets and earnings is VERY important. You may not be worth squat now but down the line you could be.

Say you come from a family that's well off. Say you know that a relative of yours is likely going to die in the next 10 years or so and you think you might get a large some of money. Ok. Now say that this relative dies in 7 years from the date of your marriage. You inherit thousands, hundreds of thousands or whatever. Ok, now say you get this money and your ball and chain wants a divorce. Ok, now she wants to take half. Why the hell should she have any rights to money left to you by your family? Not her family, but YOURS. You didn't really earn it, and it wasn't earned through fruits of her labors and you didn't earn it as a couple. Do you think your dead relative wants the vile bloodsucker of an ex-wife to have that cash? Can you really afford to trust a woman scorn who said she'd never act like that before you got married? I wouldn't.

Would you not be wise to protect this money and your assets BEFORE this happens?

I simply plan for worst case scenarios. If I ever get married, I'll only do it once. Hopefully I'd choose a woman that I can be with until death. However, you can not predict the future and for all you think you know someone, you don't know what actually goes through their minds. People change, and certainly they get greedy.

My advice is sound and hurts no one. Any man following this advice will protect his assets and ensure his future. Keeping the would be bloodsucking money grubbing whores at bay is a good idea. You'd be smart to do the same.

Again we are straying off topic, but I felt I needed to respond to that comment.

On the topic of WoW, my girlfriend is thinking about taking it up. I am not sure how I feel about that.

well good luck...but i'm sure you'll never find a women who loves you with an attitude like that.

a marriage is about NOT being selfish....and right off the bat your showing a lot it.

 

[Dan_D]

well good luck...but i'm sure you'll never find a women who loves you with an attitude like that.

a marriage is about NOT being selfish....and right off the bat your showing a lot it.

Whatever. I've actually done quite well with women over the years. I am not married today because I don't want to be.

You have to protect yourself and your things. Everyone who is being idealistic and traditional about marriage usually gets burned. I won't be. Many of my friends balk at my advice until they end up going through their divorces. The bulk of my friends all tell me the same thing, if they get married again, they'll plan for the future as I've suggested.

If I get married and make a mistake, I want to minimize the impact of that mistake and the damage it does to my life.

 

[MrFace]

To back up Dan. My coworkers mom just died, now his wife suddenly wants a divorce AND his mom's house. You have to be selfish, otherwise women will pull shit like that.

 

[Wrench]

I don't hate WoW specifically.

I do dislike MMO's for a number of reasons.

1.) The quests seem flat. They lack depth and are relatively repetative.
2.) Story. There is none. It seems like an essential, yet missing element found present only in single player RPGs.
3.) Repetative gameplay. Because standalone RPGs are story driven, the repetative nature of them is broken and if you are sufficiently interested in the story, it acts as a driving force to keep you interested in the game. Well balance titles like the KOTOR series has a perfect balance of grinding, and story driven gameplay.
4.) No ending/No reward. Basically with no story, and no conclusion, there is little to no reward I can see in playing a game like this. There is a diminished sense of accomplishment in such a game setting. Yes you get more gear, but eventually that has to get old.
5.) Balance. I dislike the idea that a lvl 1 character has no hope of defeating a level 20 character. With real life, the most experienced and hardened veterans can get sloppy and die. Not to mention, someone young and inexperienced could get lucky and kill a total badass by sheer chance. I dislike the fact that MMO and RPGs rarely reflect this. It also creates an environment in the game that is unfriendly to newer players. Even if PvP isn't an issue on a given server. It just seems to be an illigocical farce to me. A human body takes xx amount of damage. Experience and knowledge doesn't change how many hits a sword takes to cut you limb from limb. Simply put, I dislike the general damage/level up/character model used in these types of games.
6.) Themes. 9 out of 10 of these games are based around D&D style themes. Wizards, magic and so on. I generally dislike this theme even though I am quite fond of sci-fi, and see the often drawn connection of the two. I prefer science ficiton and technology, to magic, demons and swords.

That's all I can really think of right now.

Nope I hear you entirely on all counts. The thing is aside from a couple MMO's ( 1 specifically comes to mind is SWG ) there are few that really get questing done well.

The one thing I really loved in SWG was every month ( or near that time ) they had a quest line that evolved on the server depending on which faction succeeded in the last months quest chain. So for example it started out with some scientist that discovered a drug or something that gave a unique benificial buff. over the course of the chain both factions sought after this NPC. Whoever " scored " the most completed quests for that month got the benifits of the buff for the next month. ( basic summarization ) This basically gave a feel for REAL competition and evolution on each server as it varied server to server which faction actually won. IMO if WoW pulled something like this off aside fromthe PvP zone buffs ( which change from hour to hour who has it ) it's be a VAST improvement and give everyone a goal. Would also improve, IMO, the quests and give a real purpose to doing them. As it stands now you get an item or gold. It is repetitive.

The one thing I REALLY wish would go into WoW is a player bounty system. I think it would be a really cool thing for PvP servers. Also make a point to PvP. Maybe not even player controlled system just if you gank X amount of lower levels ( maybe 5 levels lower ) you get a price on your head.

As to the realism, MMO's and RPG's are more of a fantasy thing I suppose. The hero isn't supposed to go down after 1-2 hits. I guess this is one thing that will probably never really change.

Balance: This is just forever going to be an ongoing issue in any online game. It seems the more you tweak things or add things you won't know what will happen until you release it on the masses. Of course than you have folks that aren't "really" that good that can't accpet maybe their tactics are bad and they always lose to class X. SO they say class X is over powered etc... As to being unfriendly to noobies. MMO's i think will always have this stigma.

I REALLY wanted to get into DAOC a year or so after launch. Everyone I knew told me I wouldn't have fun because it would be harder for me as a new guy. I suppose it's the same with almost all of them. WoW I think is a little different. It's relatively easy to pick up and play. Albeit without friends the game gets old fast.

However the same can be said as to FPS's RTS's or any genre with online competition really. Noob's get owned in any game. The ones that stick it out and improve are the ones that get their money's worth in the end.\

And your right we really need a bad ass Sci-Fi MMO something like planet side only better.

 

[Dan_D]

To back up Dan. My coworkers mom just died, now his wife suddenly wants a divorce AND his mom's house. You have to be selfish, otherwise women will pull shit like that.

I agree. (Obvously) I know that not all women are like this. If you've chosen wisely in regard to the person you married or are going to marry, this type of thing shouldn't happen. Unfortunately, it does happen. It can happen, and frankly, is it worth the risk? I am not saying don't get married. I am saying that if you do, take a few steps to ensure your future and protect yourself in case things change.

You can argue that this type of precaution and thinking will lead to a divorce, and you can also argue that protecting yourself lifts a certain weight off your shoulders and allows you more room to feel comfortable in knowing that you are protected in the future. It also lets you know that you can leave if you need to. This prevents you from staying in a bad marriage because you are afraid to leave because of the consequences that would arise from the divorce.

Nope I hear you entirely on all counts. The thing is aside from a couple MMO's ( 1 specifically comes to mind is SWG ) there are few that really get questing done well.

The one thing I really loved in SWG was every month ( or near that time ) they had a quest line that evolved on the server depending on which faction succeeded in the last months quest chain. So for example it started out with some scientist that discovered a drug or something that gave a unique benificial buff. over the course of the chain both factions sought after this NPC. Whoever " scored " the most completed quests for that month got the benifits of the buff for the next month. ( basic summarization ) This basically gave a feel for REAL competition and evolution on each server as it varied server to server which faction actually won. IMO if WoW pulled something like this off aside fromthe PvP zone buffs ( which change from hour to hour who has it ) it's be a VAST improvement and give everyone a goal. Would also improve, IMO, the quests and give a real purpose to doing them. As it stands now you get an item or gold. It is repetitive.

The one thing I REALLY wish would go into WoW is a player bounty system. I think it would be a really cool thing for PvP servers. Also make a point to PvP. Maybe not even player controlled system just if you gank X amount of lower levels ( maybe 5 levels lower ) you get a price on your head.

As to the realism, MMO's and RPG's are more of a fantasy thing I suppose. The hero isn't supposed to go down after 1-2 hits. I guess this is one thing that will probably never really change.

Balance: This is just forever going to be an ongoing issue in any online game. It seems the more you tweak things or add things you won't know what will happen until you release it on the masses. Of course than you have folks that aren't "really" that good that can't accpet maybe their tactics are bad and they always lose to class X. SO they say class X is over powered etc... As to being unfriendly to noobies. MMO's i think will always have this stigma.

I REALLY wanted to get into DAOC a year or so after launch. Everyone I knew told me I wouldn't have fun because it would be harder for me as a new guy. I suppose it's the same with almost all of them. WoW I think is a little different. It's relatively easy to pick up and play. Albeit without friends the game gets old fast.

However the same can be said as to FPS's RTS's or any genre with online competition really. Noob's get owned in any game. The ones that stick it out and improve are the ones that get their money's worth in the end.\

And your right we really need a bad ass Sci-Fi MMO something like planet side only better.

We do need a badass Sci-Fi MMO. I have high hopes for Star Trek Online, but sadly I have low expectations for it based on my past MMO experiences.