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So, what are we thankful for (in MMOs)?

Discussion in 'Coffee House' started by Anaogi, Nov 27, 2019.

  1. Anaogi

    Anaogi Active Member

    It's almost Thanksgiving here in the US, and I got to thinking...I kvetch about these games a lot. Heck, we all do. It's natural and understandable considering the state of things. That said: I've been playing these things for 15 years now, and, well, grumbling is a constant. If it was really that bad we wouldn't be playing these things!

    So then, what about these games are we thankful for? For me it's the social aspect, the friends I've made, the way they helped me through some hard times in my life and made my days a little brighter. Also some great memories along the way, of course. And those I'll always be thankful for, no matter what else.
     
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  2. Cindrax

    Cindrax Active Member

    Since memories and and the social aspect already been mentioned, here is what I am thankful for when it comes to gaming (not just mmo's):

    - Non greedy companies that focus on releasing good games/updates/expansions that focus on the game play and not p2w mechanics. A great example is GGG (Path of Exile), they just announced PoE 2 and ALL the stash tabs and eventual sparkly things you bought for PoE will be included so you don't have to pay for them again.

    - Quick bug fixes and clients that don't crash over and over

    - Regular balance updates

    Edit: - Challenging content that you can't watch Netflix doing ;)
     
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  3. Mermut

    Mermut Well-Known Member

    For RPGs:
    A rich engaging story where your choices make real differences that also has fully fledged NPC characters that interact with each other as well as the PC
     
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  4. Tkia

    Tkia Active Member

    I'm not sure I could actually handle this now. I've got into a real habit of having something running on the other monitor to relieve the tedium of normal gameplay :confused:
     
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  5. RhodrisNZ

    RhodrisNZ Geographically Challenged

    I'm a NZer, so we don't do Thanksgiving. But I am extremely happy and grateful to (finally, after 3.5 months) have a job, and will be moving into a place of my own in 3 weeks and get my gaming rig back!! It's all in storage with the rest of my effects while I am staying temporarily with cousins.....
     
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  6. Zhaanish

    Zhaanish Active Member

    I'm thankful for great memories of the past of groups and guilds. I'm thankful for having something that both my husband and I enjoy. I'm thankful LOTRO is still a lot of fun and heavily populated after all these years and especially thankful I bought a lifetime subscription at it's inception.

    I do have great memories of the social parts but at this point in my life that is non-existant. I either solo or duo with my husband mostly due to time constraints. People will say "why not play a stand alone game?", but I still do enjoy moving around in virtual world with real other people. You see a certain randomness you won't find in a stand alone game. Plus the sheer complexity of these older MMOs is still astounding. I love going to a festival in LOTRO put on by players where coordinated groups of people are playing recognizable songs on in game instruments.
     
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  7. RhodrisNZ

    RhodrisNZ Geographically Challenged

    I am also extremely thankful for my bestest friend (to me, he is my adopted brother), brought to me through EQ2. He is a 20+ year veteran of the Australian Navy, still serving. He also has severe PTSD, and there have been several times throughout the years I have known him where I was 'waiting for the call', as he was in a really bad space. So, I am incredibly thankful that he is still here.
     
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  8. Caam

    Caam Member

    I, too, am thankful for the social aspects of the game. It's great to know that you share a bond with folks all over the world.

    I am also thankful that Feldon has chosen to stick with this with all the reasons he shouldn't. The game would not be the same without the things here at eq2wire.com.
     
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  9. Alarra

    Alarra Active Member

    Yeah, I hear that rents are pretty bad at the moment in NZ. Like 2/3 or 4/5 of your money goes to the rent and even then you have to share with other people just to live in a house. Depends where you are I guess.

    What is the average rent where you are Rhodris? or have you gotten enough for a deposit?

    Living in Japan I am thankful that I could buy a house(loan) real cheap. (around $140k, add around 20%-30% for $NZ) You can buy some ramshackle to mediocre places for $30-80k if you want as well. (you also need residence or someone with residence/citizenship to buy though)

    When we were renting here, we were paying around $350 a month for a 2LDK apartment. That would be like half the NZ weekly rent if I remember.
    (It is much more expensive in Tokyo of course)
     
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  10. RhodrisNZ

    RhodrisNZ Geographically Challenged

    Yes, rental properties are horribly expensive here in NZ now, and house prices have skyrocketed. I've moved back to my home city of Auckland (largest in NZ), and the median selling price for a very average (nothing startling, nothing flash, 20-30 years old) 3brm house here is around $850,000. I will be paying $380 per week in rent for a 2brm farm cottage, on the rural outskirts of Auckland, with a 2hr commute each way to work. The commute is worth it for the reduced rental (average rent for a 2brm is around $550-580/week in the city and surrounds itself). The mortgage:income ratio is around 7-8 at the moment - your mortgage is 7-8 times your annual salary.

    I definitely can't afford to buy anything at the moment, and won't be able to for some time while I get back on my feet after spending the last 3.5 years working on a PhD (defending the thesis on Saturday afternoon - all positive thoughts and vibes from my EQ2 family VERY welcome!!). My rent is only around 39% of my weekly take-home pay, which is extremely good for Auckland!

    Edit: All figures in NZ$.
     
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2019
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  11. RhodrisNZ

    RhodrisNZ Geographically Challenged

    NZ$850,000 = US$545,000
    NZ$380 = US$244
    NZ$550 = US$353
    NZ$580 = US$372

    At today's exchange rate of US$1=NZ$0.6419.
     
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  12. Alarra

    Alarra Active Member

    That must be like 2/3rds the way to Whangarei or halfway to Hamilton.

    Very cheap rent for Auckland.
    Good luck on your Thesis defence.
     
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  13. RhodrisNZ

    RhodrisNZ Geographically Challenged

    Thanks - apparently it's pretty much passed and all that needs "negotiating" is the extent of the revisions. I graduate in May as Dr Rhodris!!

    Yes, I am currently almost exactly halfway between Auckland and Hamilton. The cousins I am staying with for the moment are in Te Kauwhata, a tiny rural township of around 5,000 people, surrounded by a lot of farmland, and several vineyards.
     
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  14. Anaogi

    Anaogi Active Member

    Not to be That Guy, but the math's turned around there...still brutal rates, though.

    Oh, and congratulations!
     
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  15. Meneltel

    Meneltel Active Member

    Say, Doc... I have been having these back pains whenever I bend over... *grins*
     
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  16. RhodrisNZ

    RhodrisNZ Geographically Challenged

    Thank you - I'm a historian, not a mathematician. I work with words, not numbers (and it was late here when posting)! But you got what I meant :)
     
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  17. Anaogi

    Anaogi Active Member

    Out of curiosity, what hikes those rates up so high in that area? Major availability issues?
     
  18. RhodrisNZ

    RhodrisNZ Geographically Challenged

    A combination of things - lack of supply (and other than new builds, the existing housing stock is of poor quality), significant increase in migration pushing demand up, very loose laws (since tightened) around overseas investors being able to buy real estate here while not actually being resident here, overly bureaucratic red tape around the process of use of land and building new houses which further restricts supply. The costs for building consents are high, and the local council who issues the consents do not make it easy (taking far too long to check and issue, then adding extra conditions not originally signalled for the first consent, which then adds extra cost in architects and builders' costs, then more filing fees to the council for another application for building consent, which may then generate more condition changes.....a vicious, expensive circle).

    So basically a supply-and-demand problem.

    Adding to the mix, NZ is a low-wage economy. Our previous government, who are basically Tories, significantly increased the number of low-skilled migrants permitted to come here to live and work in order to keep wages down.
     
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  19. Miauler

    Miauler New Member

    I enjoy MMOs for two things, the social and the escapism.
    The real world I treat seriously, so approach it rigorously and carefully.
    The MMO world. Hell, I play a cat, a rat and a frog, get to be an airhead and also let out the clownish childlike side. I consider that paying for therapy! :)
     
  20. Zynt

    Zynt Active Member

    I'm thankful for the amount of time that EQ1 and 2 have been around for decades and kept me entertained for hours upon hours for a minimal investment. I'm also thankful for the friends I have made along the way, more than a handful who are actual, for really real, real life friends now as well. I mean there's not a lot of folks that can say they've shared Thanksgiving dinner with Sk8r Nome, not that anyone would even remember that name now.
     
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