User talk:Quizzical/Random Thoughts

Nice thoughts! Some of mine in return: ''Suppose that you could instantly complete any mission, quest, dungeon, or title by typing “iwin”. Would you do so?'' Yes, just to try it out. In defense of circumventing challenges: GW has some linear gameplay, mitigated by side quests (and, actually, running past missions in Prophesies). I am in the happy circumstance of coming to the game late, so when I get fed up with one storyline, I travel to another campaign and play there for awhile. Having iwin for titles would get rid of some peer pressure for some. That said, in general I advise people that if they can't do this challenge now they won't be able to do the challenges after either, and they'll be in a place where learning to master them is more difficult.

Why is it that when one player congratulates another in the game, it is usually for getting a lucky drop? As a habit, I congratulate people on leveling. In the case of farming, getting a lucky drop is the reward for persistence, so people who farm as part of their playing style are more likely to gratulate for that, I suppose.

There is no such thing as a "fair" price -- well, yes, there is. Apart from coffee, a fair price is one that is not too far out of market equilibrium elsewhere in the game (buying black dyes in Ascalon for 100g is unfair), and a fair price rewards a player in proportion to the effort required to aquire a certain article. Subjectively, of course, another player's effort is often viewed as less than one's own, and thus stems your perception that other people's selling prices are too high while one's own are too low.

Therefore, the level cap should be low. I don't see how that follows from the premise. mendel 09:01, 30 May 2008 (UTC)


 * As a habit, I congratulate people on leveling. That's even worse.  Having a lot of free time is not an in-game accomplishment, and usually not much of a real-life accomplishment, either.  And if having a lot of free time is not an accomplishment, anything that is based almost entirely on time spent isn't much of one, either.
 * a fair price is one that is not too far out of market equilibrium elsewhere in the game (buying black dyes in Ascalon for 100g is unfair) You're arguing essentially what my quote said.  There is no fair price apart from market equilibrium.  For someone to claim that somewhere between the vendor buy and sell prices of black dye is a fair price is merely claiming that market equilibrium is the right price.  That's well and good.  The problem is when someone comes along and (to take a common example) declares that the fair price on trade contracts is 300g each, even though a vendor will essentially pay far more than that for them.
 * As far as the last one, that's why in my edit summary, I said it was a non sequitur (Latin for "it does not follow"). Quizzical 07:12, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Why do you use "therefore" if you know it's non sequitur? You could strike the word, just juxtapose the sentences.
 * Free time. Hmm, I probably shouldn't congratulate anybody on anything they do in their free time then: winning at monopoly or at amateur sports. A game of monopoly can easily last upwards of two hours, which is more than you need to level in Guild wars. All their free time that amateur athletes spend training which could be better used to watch TV or just, you know, feel free! Bah, only achievements that you get paid for and that actually benefit other people are to be congratulated; where would we be if people did things that benefitted themselves.
 * You get rewarded for what you accomplish in appropriate ways: if you spend your time in GW, you get an occasional "congrats"; if you spend your time making money, you get money (and an occasional "thank you" from your co-workers or customers). If a person chooses to forego the latter rewards, why is that a reason to deny them the former? mendel 09:01, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Congratulating someone on leveling is analogous to congratulating someone on playing a game of Monopoly. Congratulating them for winning is entirely different, as playing a game hardly ensures that you'll win it.  In constrast, how many people have ever spent a significant amount of time trying to kill monsters for experience and failed?  Possibly zero, and if not, then very, very close.  Quizzical 17:48, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Quite a few people drop the game before twenty, as quite a few people drop out of school. Most people make Lvl20 and graduation, and they get congratulated for the latter, even if their soul wasn't in it and it represents no achievement for them. With the game, for many people it means something to level (at least the first time around), and those that I am in the position to congratulate to do not do so on the Plains of Jarin after level 5. It is an outward sign of achievements accrued over the playing period, a time to sit back and notice that on laying you have achieved progress, and a congratulatory message can trigger that. If you want to know more, read my upcoming paper on The Morals of Congratulation. mendel 22:16, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * If you wish to congratulate newbies, then how about for beating The Frost Gate, Zen Daijun, Consulate Docks, or various other such missions? None of those are hard, but they at least require some basic competence, unlike mere leveling.  It's not that I'm against congratulating people; I just think it ought to be for something more meaningful than dumb luck or a lot of time /played.  Quizzical 22:40, 31 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Those are usually reasons to /roar or /goteam. :) mendel 22:51, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Seasonal content
Eg. Rollerbeetle Racing and the Shing Jea Arena and Dragonball and...stuff. (T/C) 05:45, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Free to Play
In evaluating these, I always try to getto the "Item Mall" or whatever these things are called, figuring out which monthly items are necessities if one doesn't want to suffer through the game. For example, anything that helps you pick up loot probably is needed. Mayn of these games hide this store from people who have no account, and likewise the cost for these in-game points. The monthly totals must needs be more than regular subscription-based games, but you do have the advantage that you're not locked out completely if you take a break and no longer pay. I hear good things about the runescape free play, but can't get account pricing from their site. :-( --◄mendel► 07:15, 20 November 2008 (UTC)
 * RuneScape is trash. If you want prices for accounts, just hang around in LA/Great Temple of Balthazar/etc outpost, eventually you'll see someone willing to pay for an account. -_- [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 12:08, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Farming
Well, it's not an "expenditure" problem, it's more of achieving a balance between income and expenses. However, if farming is so soulcrushing that you feel you need to reward yourself for it by buying things, then it may cause more (desire for) expenditure than income. -- ◄mendel► 05:53, 13 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Why do people farm? Because they're broke.  Why are they broke?  Because they spend everything they get as soon as they get it.  Will farming fix that?  Quizzical 05:56, 13 May 2009 (UTC)