Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Do players who who play and like no-limit poker the same kind of players who played and liked (pre-t
Tim_Braid
Member UncommonPosts: 36
Hey gang, just in case you didn't guess, I'm a poker player and I love to play. I like playing poker because I love the adrenline rush I get when I win a big hand. I love the risk and reward involved in the game because it forces you to raise your level of play to get the rewards you desire.
It is that feeling of never really knowing what is going to happen that attracts me to games like poker and old school Ultima Online. I admit there are highs and lows but that is all apart of the adventure of the game. When I look at poker it reminds me of the real world. In games like poker, just like in the real world, there are highs and lows, ups and downs and tears and smiles. Life in the world of poker is unpredictable and free flowing. It is life itself but yet on a smaller more managable scale.
I like online no limit poker because of the excitment and unpredictability. I also loved old school Ultima Online for the same reasons. Star Wars Galaxies was fun because it gave the player freedom to do as he or she pleases(sadly the PVP was somewhat meaningless).
So tell me guys and gals, have any of you all ever played poker? If so did you also play and like old school Ultima Online? What about WoW?
I have one more question for you folks. Let's say there is a person who is a loser. This loser spends 4 to 6 hours a day grinding the same instance/quest/dungeons over and over again to get a special item and tons and tons of gold and gear. After 4-6 hours of grinding and questing is this person still a loser or is he now a winner since he or she spent 6-8 hours of play time to get the special item called "The sword of a million lies"?
Now suppose this same person did the same thing but instead of keeping all his items, gold and gear...a PK snuck up from behind him and stole all his possessions. Is this person a loser or a winner?
I think the answer is simple(at least in my opinion), if you were a loser before you got that special item, you will still be a loser after spending 40 to 50 hours a week grinding to get that rare special item. Nothing in your life is going to change.
If somebody ganks you and takes away all your hard earned items and gold...your time still would have been wasted even if you had been able to keep your gold and your rare special item. Sure you might be upset and feel your time had been wasted if some PK'er were to take away all your stuff and gear in a matter of minutes, but in my opinion I think your hours of work would have been wasted anyway if you had kept the items in the first place.
So what was the big deal with old school Ultima Online? Why get upset with losing all your stuff when in reality it doesn't really mean anything. Your time would have been wasted regardless if you'd have kept your items or not.
Thoughts???
Comments
I am of a like mind mate, online no-limit poker player that considers old school UO as some of the best MMO experiences I've had, ever.
I feel the paradigm has shifted, back in those days of UO, items were just that, items. No special powers in most cases, an iron sword was as good as the next iron sword, what mattered is your and your character's skills.
The focus was on 'what to do ?' instead of the modern 'what to get ?'. Items have become a fetish as of late, now it's your glowing sword that's fighting, its the stats that fight, the gear, the DPS that fights. Enemies can recite their gear in chat and the battle has already been fought. Add to that no death penalties, no loss of items, skills, xp, add no risk and you tie the community in neurotic knots, Obsessive, compulsive knots.
'I must better myself' has been replaced with 'I must get new gear', the self-worth of player characters and, by proxy, their players is tied to that 'sword of a million lies', those 'boots of folly', 'the cape of ignorance', that 'shield of bigotry' and above all. the 'helmet of provincialism'.
- Shijeer
Why do you presume that the person grinding the rare item was a "loser" to start with? What if that person was a winner, but had a PK sneak up on him and steal his stuff... does that make the winner into a loser, or is he still a winner, just with some bad luck?
Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy pvp, it is what I tend to focus on in MMOs, but I play with high latency... like 500-600ms that often spikes into the 1k+ range. It is due to where I live and I cannot get better service. Now, in pvp, especially competitive pvp, this is a distinct disadvantage. Does that make me a loser?
Anyway, I think what drives a lot of people away from this type of game system are the attitudes displayed in the first two posts in this thread. Assuming that because you beat someone that they must be a "loser". To most people these games are not their lives.
I know, I know... I am a "carebear"
well...
Skaroth
See the violence inherent in the system!
Relax Skaroth, I was just being sarcastic when I refered to people who play 8 hours a day a "loser." What I am saying is our time is wasted regardless if we lose our "special item" or keep it.
For example, if it took me 2 months, 8 hours a day, 7 days a week to get the legendary "sword of a million lies" and than whine and complain that my time was wasted when in a matter of days some other player stole it from me through theft and tricky. Now if I am able to keep this legendary item, and not have it stolen from me, my time still would have been wasted because of the time I spent getting that item. This legendary "sword of a thousand truths" or "stone of a million lies" is not going to make my life any more fulfilling, it's not going to make you better in bed. Even if somebody steals it from me it's not going to really change anything. So what's the point of getting upset when either way, you end up being the "loser"?
I'd rather use skill, cleverness and trickery to obtain that legendary epic item for a few hours a week which involved a high amount of risk on my part, than spend 6 months and 40 hours a week with no risk(and in essence, no real reward) to obtain that same legendary item. Do you see what I am trying to say Skaroth?
Timmy
I really enjoyed UO in its day... I very rarely play poker, or gamble for that matter.
Suppose WoW was a open ended free for all PVP game, I know it's not going to happen so please don't get upset(I'm not talking to you Marcus I'm talking to those who are against that kind of old school UO play), but what if it was and suppose.......
If one guild, faction or PK'ers are becoming to powerful for the opposing guilds or factions to compete with why not simply use game mechanics to level the playing field, why not add an artificial intelligence as a third faction to keep the powers in order? Sort of like a checks and balances system. In this case guilds will have to use strategy, cleverness, wit and teamwork to maintain their hold over the world, rather than gear and endless grinding.
If this type of system was implemented in pre trammel UO, do you think UO would still be around today?
Timmy