I've been called a comms bully... a chat hog, a soldier of words. When I start chatting in comms I am always initially respectful and courteous. I'm honest and playful, sometimes callous and blunt. Above all else, I am very critical of my fellow pirates. My opinion is all I truly care about, when I go into a debate or rant in comms. This offends some people.
This is not a difficult game. It requires patience and temper, concentration at times, and a strong sense of self-preservation. You gather resources to upgrade your ships and research technology. It's only a matter of time before everyone has the ability to build what everyone else has. No one is better than anyone else, but sometimes... because more effort (or money) is invested into the game, a player has a strong lead on power.
When I insult someone in comms, it is typically because they have proven to me that they care more about impressing other players than they do about actually playing the game. I find this trivial and stupid. I don't login to the game to make friends (that's what real life is for). I login to the game to be a mean pirate, but I reserve the right to be helpful and friendly.
Typically, people get really offended when I attack them... but their reaction is what sets the tone for the ensuing week of gametime for me. If a player whines and cries like a bleeding carebear.. I'll keep poking fun and hitting their fleets when I login. If a player hits me back and shares my weaknesses in comms, whether insulting or not, I respect that. I don't like losing, but I don't mind learning from my mistakes and can appreciate a loss just as much as a win. I choose my battles carefully and usually don't engage a target till I know whether I can beat them.
My fleets haven't been difficult to design and my base design is an original, but resembles other high level bases... what works, works. I know my gamestyle and I'm pretty good at keeping the game fun for myself. When someone goads me into attacking their fleet or their base, I decide whether to actually attack them based on facts, not emotion.
LOD alliance has moved out of the sector, after half a dozen days of non-stop ridicule and trash talking. They've finally moved on, and took their massive egos and facebook credit balances with them. I have no respect for their alliance, and I made that absolutely clear. I've been called jealous and spiteful because I make fun of coiners. They don't understand at all, but that is not surprising.
Spending money here and there, to enjoy the game a little more is perfectly acceptable to me. But spending thousands of dollars to gain the upper hand is absolutely ridiculous and I cannot and will not respect a level 35 player that acts big and bad in front of his friends after taking my base apart... when his power is derived from buying enough credits to speed up all his ship builds and researches.
If I was to indulge a big coiner in a game of chess, I would expect them to cheat and make up rules in their favor. That is what spending money does for you. It gives you an unfair advantage, and the majority of web-based games offer this incentive so they can make money. It takes away some of the fun of gaming, but I understand the premise. Those that abuse the system by spending more than their opponents in order to win... they deserve no respect and get none from me. I laugh at them while they pretend not to care... maybe they don't, that is fine with me too.
I want to master the game mechanics and excel in combat because excellence feels good, especially when it is difficult to attain. That is a personal paradigm.. a way of seeing things and doing things that is totally mine. I don't expect anyone else to believe or care about my opinions, but I share them whether they like it or not. Read or don't read, believe or don't believe. I enjoy freedom of speech as well as freedom of gameplay.
It's almost time to move away from 356... strangely enough, now that LOD has left the sector, and unforsaken is all but gone, the players that I enjoy talking to and playing with have started chatting again and I'm a peaceful Bondai in sector 356. I'm going to detach myself from exile but keep whatever friendships I've made along the way. Alliances really aren't my thing anyways; I'm on a quest for excellence.
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