Sunday 1/7/2024 Post

 The Green Bay Packers are off to the play offs!  The Bears Still Suck.  Let's see what Bing's AI image generator has to say about it!

The Dangers of Cheating in Online Games: Beyond the Pixels

With cheating running rampant in The Finals I figured I'd let ChatGPT tell us why cheating is bad.

Introduction

Online gaming has become a global phenomenon, connecting players from different corners of the world in virtual realms where competition and camaraderie thrive. However, the rise of cheating in online games poses a significant threat to the integrity of these digital spaces. Cheating not only undermines the spirit of fair play but also tarnishes the gaming experience for everyone involved. In this blog post, we will delve into the reasons why cheating in online games is detrimental to the gaming community as a whole.

1. Unfair Advantage: Cheating grants players an unfair advantage over their opponents. Whether it's using aimbots, wallhacks, or other malicious software, cheaters gain an edge that goes against the principles of fair competition. This not only frustrates those playing legitimately but also erodes the sense of accomplishment that comes from genuine skill and effort.

2. Erosion of Trust: Trust is the foundation of any healthy gaming community. When players suspect that others may be cheating, it creates an atmosphere of distrust and suspicion. Genuine achievements are called into question, and players may lose faith in the legitimacy of the competition. This erosion of trust can have long-lasting effects on the community, making it less enjoyable for everyone involved.

3. Deterioration of Sportsmanship: Online games provide a platform for players to showcase their skills and sportsmanship. Cheating, however, undermines the very essence of fair play. It replaces the thrill of competition with a cynical pursuit of victory at any cost. This deterioration in sportsmanship not only affects the cheater but also influences the behavior of others in the community.

4. Financial Implications: Many online games have thriving economies, with in-game items, skins, and virtual currencies having real-world value. Cheating can disrupt these economies by flooding the market with illegitimate items or devaluing the efforts of legitimate players. Additionally, game developers invest significant resources in creating anti-cheat measures, diverting resources that could be better spent on improving the gaming experience for all.

5. Negative Impact on Game Developers: Constant efforts are required to combat cheating in online games, diverting valuable resources from the development of new content, features, and improvements. As developers struggle to stay ahead of cheaters, the overall quality of the gaming experience may suffer, affecting the enjoyment of honest players.

6. Legal Consequences: Cheating in online games can lead to legal consequences. Many game developers have strict terms of service that prohibit cheating, and violations can result in legal action. In extreme cases, cheaters may face fines or even imprisonment, highlighting the severity of this issue.

Conclusion

Cheating in online games is not merely a violation of the rules; it represents a threat to the very essence of fair play, sportsmanship, and community trust. As players, it is our responsibility to foster a gaming environment that encourages skill development, camaraderie, and healthy competition. By understanding the negative impact of cheating, we can collectively work towards creating a gaming community that thrives on integrity and mutual respect.

Some AI Blog Banners!

 Playing around with Bing's AI generated images; prompt "heartlessgamer blog banner". Results below.  What do you think?

What Surprised Me In 2023

 To go along with my 2023 disappointments I wanted to share some surprises.

 The Finals

 The Finals surprise launched in December and I've not stopped playing since.  It is one of the most refreshing FPS games I've played in a while and I have fun every time I log in and play.  My teenager is also playing now that he has his own gaming PC and is the first FPS we've played together.  I'd recommend the game to anyone that is interested; it is free to play.

 Throne and Liberty Turn Around

 Throne and Liberty (T&L) blasted onto the scene in 2023 with an amazing trailer and lots of promise as "the next big MMORPG" only to follow up the initial hype train with a train wreck of a beta test where a completely different game seemed to have appeared.  Littered with mobile-game features like auto play and static combat the game was written off as "another Asian pay 2 win grinder".

 However the T&L development team took the harsh feedback to heart and re-engineered major aspects of the game.  Auto play was removed, the grind was significantly reduced, and combat was updated to be more fluid.  It is still a tab-target combat system but gone is the static combat where you were stuck in place.  Characters now can move with most of the combat abilities and from all accounts the system is better for it.

 T&L also launched in Korea in December... with the changes noted above.  Again that is a big turn around from the development team.  From various folks that jumped into the Korean launch it also seems like the game is in a good spot and the changes have addressed many of the initial concerns.  

 I am adding T&L to my "want to play" list for 2024.

 Blaugust 2023

 I didn't know about Blaugust until I came across it via Mastodon (gamepad.club instance specifically).  I had a lot of fun with my posts last August and look forward to Blaugust 2024!  You can see my Blaugust 2023 tagged posts here.

 

 

2024 Blogging Stuff

 I posted in early 2023 that I wanted to avoid the normal "year in review" and "prediction" posts and instead covered a few things I wanted to get done in blogging during the year.  Before I set goals for 2024 let's look back at the 2023 objectives:

• 5 posts per week
• Share more "this was my experience in a game" posts
• Do some video content

 Other than the video content I hit each of these objectives.  I hit more than 5 posts per week (5.5 per week average) and I had plenty of simpler posts just sharing a screenshot or an accomplishment from in game (mostly New World because... well... that is mostly what I played this year). 

 I do still want to do video content so we'll add that as the first item for 2024: do some video content.  I have an outline of how I'd want the videos to flow and a tagline of: "To the point. No filler. Gameplay footage." with an asterisk of *Not a pro gamer.  We'll see if I can get there this year!

 I am going to stick with the 5 posts a week for 2024.  This works well for me.

 As far as content this year?  I want to continue to share my gaming adventures, but I also want to spend some more time on other game bloggers blogs and using their posts and prompts for my own posts.  I really enjoyed Blaugust 2023 and look forward to it in August 2024, but I don't need a special event to journey out more into the blog-o-sphere.

 Lastly I want to see if I can drive some comments on the blog.  10+ years ago I used to enjoy hundreds of comments per month and then I started posting sparsely and even though I post regularly again the comments have not followed.  I have some ideas here; more to come.

 Stretch goal: I am debating if I want to try and do some monetization of the site.  I do the odd Amazon affiliate link here and there but maybe a sidebar ad.  I don't like ads but I also want to offset the cost of domain registration.  Also I have seen folks with far less traffic than this blog enjoys earn a decent amount of ad revenue.

Sunday 12/31/2023 Post

How 2023 started:

How 2023 ended:

 

Win next week and the Green Bay Packers are in the play offs!

What Disappointed Me In 2023

 I can confirm that 2023 was a year and with it came some disappointments.

Starfield (game)

 Starfield is ending the year with "mostly negative" reviews on Steam and it 100% deserves them.  This loading screen infested mess of nothingness is an embarrassment to gaming.  I was so hyped when the original trailers came out, but they were misleading to the extreme.  The game in the trailer is not the game we got.

 With that said the game we got is what we should probably have expected. It is the same game engine behind their other games, like Skyrim, and performs exactly the same.  The challenge with Starfield is it's not a single terrestrial world and thus ends up with far more loading screens to get players between planets, ships, space, buildings, etc.

 Add onto the loading screens a combat system that is lackluster, a story that is nonsensical, and a myriad of systems that never make sense when brought together and you have the biggest gaming disappointment of 2023 and possibly the last decade.  How this game sold 10+ million copies is beyond me.  Had I not gotten my copy with my new graphics card purchase I'd of hit refund on Steam within the first hour. 

Rebel Moon (movie)

 If you told me Rebel Moon was a movie about Starfield I would believe it.  Story that makes no sense? Check. Every cliche under the sun (ha!)? Check. This movie doesn't deserve the words I've typed let alone more words.  Such a disappointment.  Do better Netflix.

New World (live service game)

 Some may find this surprising considering 91% of my game time this year has been spent playing New
World, but I can't help but admit that the end of year really soured my mood on the game.  We did get the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion which did bring amazing features like mounts, but it was very lacking in content.  The five extra levels (cap raised from 60 to 65) were laughable as far as effort-required and the new story + zone lasted all of an hour.  I hate to admit it but that was NOT enough to be worthy of the title "expansion".  I'd rather have had this delivered as a seasonal update.

 The lacking expansion would have been fine as it was coming right before a big set of new features that were listed on the road map.  Then the road map was updated -- and this is why New World is on my disappointment's list -- they literally canceled the majority of the road map and delivered almost nothing.  Instead of the expansion being a launching pad into the future it was a speed bump that most players were done with the first week it came out.  I am still a huge New World fan but find myself less interested each update.  

 To cap it off we did not get a 2024 road map yet and instead have been asked to come back in May for "something big" which is mind boggling considering the number of items that were good enough to put on a road map before and are now many don't even sound like they are being considered.  How does that happen?  I can get a one off feature being dropped but the majority!?  What the heck.

Green Bay Packers Defense (supposedly a football team)

 What can I say.  We entered the year worried about whether Jordan Love was the future QB of the Packers.  Little did we know the age-old Green Bay Packers "worst defense in the league.... again" was the real worry.  If we make the play offs... it will be a miracle.

 

My teenager's new gaming PC

Proud gamer dad moment getting my teenager (yikes!) set up on his first custom built gaming PC.  Some new parts and some hand me downs. Was fun watching him build it.

Merry Christmas

 

Sunday 12/24/2023 Post

Fire Joe Barry.