The Outage

My internet has been connected to an "outage" for the past six days. Outage is highlighted because that is the word Comcast used to describe my problems. Last week Friday my problems began. The online light on my surfboard modem was a blinky-blink-blinking from time to time. Websites loaded slow or not at all.

IPConfig showed a connection and trace routes ran fine... err when or if they ran. My games like EVE Online, World of Warcraft, Battlefield 2, Guild Wars, and so forth just would not stay connected if they managed to get connected at all.

So it was about a six day "outage" of non-reliable connectivity. You would think since I called on the first day of the problems and followed up two other times during that period I would be entitled to some form of a discount this month.

I spoke with a customer service rep today at Comcast about just such a topic.

The agent was able to confirm my account was no longer connected to an "outage", but only after refusing to believe I correctly power cycled my modem. Three calls this week confirming I was still connected to the "outage" and three different agents walked me through turning the power on and off my modem. BTW there is NOT ONE, BUT TWO automated messages before you can even talk to an agent that describe in detail that most common problems can be solved by power cycling your modem!

The fact that this outage was days old wasn't really that frustrating to me, but the fact that they knew I was connected to an outage and failed to contact me with any information regarding it is frustrating. If their system could identify that my connection was part of the affected area then how damn hard is it to auto-generate an e-mail to tell me or call me based on the fact I reported the issue?

Of course I was denied my refund and I asked to speak to a supervisor. But when I spoke to one, no luck. To add insult to the "outage" the manager ensured the technician walked me through power cycling, checking PC drivers were installed, running IPconfig, running a trace route, and making sure my modem was pinged. Then I told them the technician could see I was connected to an "outage" as soon as I called.

Now the supervisor was respectable, but seemed to be reading off the "How to be annoying and repeat everything the technician did" checklist. Long story short... I was denied any form of reimbursement because a) I do not have a small business contract and b) it was not an outage of more than 14 days.

The major things I took away from this.

1. Never once did Comcast e-mail, call, or snail mail me to inform me that my connection would be connected to an outage for an extended period of time.

2. If you're calling Comcast support chances are its well beyond power cycling the modem, but the Comcast agent will never believe you're actually capable of power cycling it without their step by step guidance.

3. Asking for a refund for services not received is like a trip to the dentist. Your hesitant before you even get there and you probably have a headache when you leave.

The Difference between Everquest and Ultima Online players

For many MMORPG veterans the first MMORPG they played was either Everquest or Ultima Online. Now obviously these were not the only games on the market, but they held the lion’s share of players and are also recognizable icons of the early days of truly massive graphical MMORPGs.

There is a difference between the player mentality between both Everquest and Ultima Online. Not only in the way they play, but in also how they talk about MMORPGs.

Everquest

Everquest gamers in general always talk about what "their guild" did back in the glory days of Everquest. It is about "them" slaying the dragon and about how "they" used to camp dungeons.

Everquest was a grouping enforced game. You played to group. You grouped to play. There were classes that could solo, but in general you did not solo. Any "I did this" statements are usually followed by "because my group/guild did that."

Weak players banded together and formed guilds. This team effort usually strengthened weaker players, but didn't always make them better players. A weaker player could survive because of the team. This isn't to say Everquest lacked stronger players, but stronger players went off and made their own guilds and groups.

Ultima Online

Ultima Online players usually state what "I" did. "I" used to own a castle. "I" was a tamer with five of "my own" white wyrms. "I" was a dread lord.

These players still refer to most of their accomplishments as "I" accomplishments. "I" owned a house in the "city that we built". While the group provided a goal overall it was still the individual that defined their life. What "I" did defined "my" experience in game.

Weak players in Ultima Online were weeded out relatively quickly. If "you" couldn't cut it "you" were pretty much inclined to stay in the safety of the NPC guarded towns. Weak players either quit or became better players.

The middle ground didn't really exist in Ultima Online until the release of Trammel in the Renaissance expansion. Trammel was the "safe" mirror of the world where no harm could be done against another player. Weaker players found a home here, but just like Everquest they no longer had to become better players to experience the game.

Weak players eventually did form guilds and build towns, but in general there was a group of stronger players that held the guilds together. There is a small sect of Ultima Online players that do talk about what "they" did together as a guild. These are the players that built towns together and most likely defended these towns as Anti-PKs. This was more a creation of player actions than game design.

So where does this difference lead us to?

I don’t want to say which game is better. Everquest and Ultima Online were two different games with two different play styles. The debate about which was/is better will never end.

What we can look at is what has happened since the early days of these games. World of Warcraft is the new “must play” game and Everquest 2 is quietly gaining steam. Both games follow in the Everquest mold (which is truly the Diku-inspired model of years gone by). A dozen other MMORPGs have launched and a few others have closed down since then.

Most (if not all) have followed the Everquest mold more than the Ultima Online model. It seems that the teamwork approach is an integral part of the Massive Multiplayer aspect of MMORPG.

However, as we are starting to see with World of Warcraft there still is a strong player base that demands solo friendly “I” content. These players are still looking for the friendly world where they can enjoy the “I” content along with the “team” content.

I conclude that players like to play together with friends. They enjoy having things to do with friends, but when friends are unavailable they want something they can do alone. Accomplishments are both defined by what “I” did and what “we” did. The future of MMORPGs is a careful melding of Everquest and Ultima Online play styles.

EVE Online Update

I have subscribed to EVE Online after my 14 day trial. What won me over was potential. Potential for being a great game later on. Currently the game is boring as I log in only to set new skills to train. I am bored with the missions that the agents task me with.

What I want to get into is some combat. Both PvP and EVE Online's PvE known as "rat" hunting. Rats are NPC pirates that are worth a pretty penny to gun down. Grouping with a few friends and jumping into a pirate nest is a sure fire way to have some fun and come out with a profit.

Even though my skills are lacking currently I can still learn. I've applied through Ethic of Kill Ten Rats to be part of Ars Calestis corporation. So hopefully I am picked up.

I am more than willing to work hard for any corporation that needs me as long as I know they have my back in a dog fight. AC seems to be a newer corporation, but that does not bother me. It will be nice to be growing up as the corp grows stronger and stronger.

I am also working on a 14 day trial review for EVE Online for Gamergod.com (now defunct) so look for that within a week or two.

Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post, removed broken link, and applied label.

Newb Cabbage and the Basatard Sword of Slaying

Via Xfire

Heartless: omg you play WoW
DookeeDookee: yes
DookeeDookee: and I like it
Heartless: newb
DookeeDookee: don't hate
Heartless: so what server/level/class?
DookeeDookee: I'm level 10
Heartless: mega-newb
DookeeDookee: Alliance Destromath
DookeeDookee: Gnome Warlock
Heartless: O M F G mega-newbage
DookeeDookee: did someone have a bad day?
Heartless: no just bored. almost time for work.
Heartless: you know I have to keep the hoes in line
DookeeDookee: just because you had a bad day; don't take it out on me.
Heartless: newb
DookeeDookee: so
Heartless: Alliance = 10 newb pts
Heartless: Gnome = 100 newb pts
Heartless: Warlock = +1 respect
DookeeDookee: whats an infernal?
Heartless: dude your newbage stinks like cabbage... newb cabbage

[Bastard Sword of Slaying]

It's 3:41 in the afternoon and I've already answered the door once today to let the pest control guy in. I work night shift so this is my primetime for sleeping. The banging on the door is not going to stop until I open it so I head down the stairs with my [Bastard Sword of Slaying].

I open the door to a quivering young man of no more than 16. "Ummm hey... yeah... ummm do you ummm... want to umm... help me be the... top of ummmm... of my class?". Flashes of red dance inside my head, but I hold the void. "All you have to do is ummm... buy a magazine... ummm and I ummm... get points."

"No thanks. I don't need any magazines." Still holding strong.

"Ummm I have cup holders." he says as he flips through his little flip book. I notice its entitled How to Sell Things.

"No thanks. You can try my neighbors." I can feel my inner rage releasing.

"Aww man... come on..." was all that escaped as his body slumped and his head flopped lifelessly on the cold pavement of my driveway. The strike had been swift and deadly. The [Bastard Sword of Slaying] had performed its duty. Closing my door I returned to my bed and to the Land of Dreams.

It was 4:14 the next time I awakened to the cat calls of a female outside my window. My roomate, Nitro, was outside talking to the buxom beauty. Nay; he was engaged in mental battle. Then like whispers on the wind I heard her utter the words "...buy a magazine...".

Rage is a thing of beauty that no woman can match. The rush and eventual release is nothing a pen to paper can describe. A feeling that must be lived to be understood. It was all a blur from this point on. Red flashes and the feel of my [Bastard Sword of Slaying] fluttered in my mind, but no solid sequence of events could be convened. There was two bodies in the driveway now.

Half Life 2 - Singleplayer

After setting some skills to train and hauling a load of veldspar back to station in EVE Online I decided to boot up the single player campaign in Half Life 2. I originally never bothered with it simply because I bought the game for Counterstrike Source and other Steam apps.

I am glad I waited until now because I have a kick ass computer to run it on. The game is simply amazing. The puzzles are unique and are definite exercises on the brain. There is usually just enough information presented to figure out each one without making them too easy or frustratingly hard.

The story line is great even for those unfamiliar with the events of the original Half Life. The real joy so far has been the interaction with pretty much anything in the surrounding areas.

Having played a bit of Half Life 2 Deathmatch and Lost Coast I am aware of many of the weapons I will get to play with later. The standard crowbar is king and the grav gun is its slave. I can't wait to get the grav gun in game and can't wait to see some of the puzzles it is used in.

Now if I am really feeling in the Single Player mood I may just crack away at the Call of Duty 2 SP experience.

OId School : Space Invaders

HINT: Look at the belly.

Also the superbowl sucked... Seahawks should of beaten the Steelers! Not to mention the commercials were a borefest.

Update: 6 Nov, 2006 - Applied labels.

EVE Online, not playing is better than playing

Right now in EVE Online I have nothing important to do other than log in and set my skills to train. Running NPC missions has gotten stale. Exploring new space has gotten boring. Chatting in game has been nice, but I really have no clue what most people are talking about.

I have the ship I am going to be taking into battle. I have a bank account with 4.5 million ISK in it. The only thing lacking right now are the skills to do what I want and a corporation to join to put my skills to use.

EVE Online for all its awards and praise is a pretty shallow game if you aren't into the PvP, trading, or political game. Sadly the game does little to direct you in a feasible direction. Most corporations have steep application requirements. On top of this if you don't follow some sort of EVE players guide your first character is a toss away.

Luckily I have followed a good guide and my first character should last. I also hopefully have a corporation lined up once I am out of the free trial period. All that is left is getting the skills to outfit my ship to perform the basic PvP function of "tackling". Tackling is equivalent to being the "crowd control" class in other MMORPGs.

A "tacklers" job is to do nothing but keep a target from escaping from or moving freely around the battlefield. It is an important role I am ready to fufill, but waiting is killing me. I am playing EVE Online for the rush of war and the potential of politics.

So right now not playing EVE is a hell of a lot more fun than actually playing it.

0.3 and beyond!

I came to a realization today in EVE Online that I created my character wrong. I followed this Arsclan guide. While this is a great guide it omits one very important step in the character building process

After the first three selections in building your skills you are prompted with Advanced Command, Starship Captain, and another one I forgot the name of. The guide stops with Command being your last choice which is the third choice. It does not mention what to pick at the 4th selection. Applying my common sense I chose Advanced Command as my 4th selection because the guide says to pick command last. I needed to take Starship Captain!

Well that has now set me back about 5 days worth of skill training just to get my Racial Frigate up to level 4 and Starship Command up to level 3. I instead have a leadership skill at level 3 which I will not be using anytime soon.

While this is not terrible or end of the world type stuff... it is still a setback of time I could spend training my learning skills higher. I could just get my learning skills higher, but I want a better ship sooner than later. Within a couple days I should have a much larger and better ship.

0.3

I also ventured into 0.3 (low security) space today for the first time. I ran a quick drop off mission for a few thousand ISK and the six jumps were uneventful. While in 0.3 I decided to do some mining to see what sort of possibly better ore I could find.

During my quick mining stop I was attacked by a pirate. It was taking me down, but I was able to do a good bit of damage to it. Unfortunately if I had stuck around I would of lost. It was a much larger ship than mine, but I held my own. Luckily I had just filled my cargo hold full of ore and was able to warp away in time. I didn't make much more than a single mission would of netted me, but it was fun and a learning experience.

Now I really need to get frisky and venture out into some 0.0 space!

Why should I help open the AQ gates in World of Warcraft?

I found this thread over at Gamergod.com (now defunct, removed link) that asks "Why should casual gamers help hardcore raiders open the gates of AQ?"

From the post;

"As a casual gamer, I and many friends wonder.. Why should I help? Why bust my cute butt helping to just open more raids? There was a good article about this in the New York Times of all places, the fact is and im hoping the developers see it, is that to most casual gamers, which do make up the majority of most every mmo focusing on only raid content isnt going to make the fanbase happy."

Darniaq provides some insight into a reason why casual players might;

"In a way, it's an example of how everyone's just a cog in the great machinery of Life, or in this case, a player society. If everyone does their little bit, they all can benefit. If some people rely on others to get it done, due to complacency or laziness, well, we see that in real life too so there's no surprise there.

This unlocks access to more raiding, but it's also part of the Lore for the expansion, which comes equipped with something for everyone. Sometimes I feel people can get so focused on an incremental event they forget the larger story it's a part of. Not that this would make me partake of this uber grindfest of course. It's just academically interesting to see what sorts of people are a part of it and what sorts are not."

But I find Darniaq's reason pretty weak. I can read lore on a webpage instead of wasting my valuable in game time grinding foolishly on a quest that will never help me outside of a few reputation points and I can play the expansion whether I help with this quest or not.

So I repeat what the article says... why help the hardcore catasses with a quest that only benefits them in the end? This should hopefully be a stick in the side of Blizzard to finally step up and recognize that the gap between hardcore and casual is nearing the point of no return.

The Burning Crusade expansion may start to close this gap, but it is going to consist of finite content. Will Blizzard catch up before the casual MAJORITY is level 70 or will Blizzard just let the gap keep on growing with new catass dungeon after catass dungeon?

Update: 29 Nov, 2009 - Edited post, corrected spelling, removed broken links, and applied label.

EVE Online : Slowly, but surely

Skills

Skills in EVE Online are confusing to get started with. I was, and to a point still am, confused about which skills I should be training. I know in the long run that training my Learning based skills will reduce training times, but that makes for a pretty dull experience in the beginning.

My strategy so far has been to train several skills to level one while I am logged on. They are quick and easy to train, so I am online to switch the next skill active. When I have to log, I set my longer level 3+ skills to train. Luckily, I have plenty of skills that take 7-10 hours to train; perfect for work and sleeping.

100,000 Skill Points

I crossed the 100,000 skill point barrier earlier today. That meant updating my clone. Fortunately I am still well in the positive cash flow and it was no more than a drop in the bucket.

Unfortunately, the only station with cloning capabilities was six jumps away. I probably just missed one closer, but I am a newb and newbs make mistakes. I have a clone that saves up to 120,000 skill points, but I am by far in no rush to break it in.

Goal

I have a goal now: to train to Spaceship Command 3, Gallente Frigate 4, and Gallente Cruiser 1. Then I will look into purchasing a cruiser to fly around in. If anyone has any better ideas let me know!

Update: 8 Jul, 2007 - Edited post and applied labels.