In response to all the cheater bashing and the legitimate players who are trying to back-up their hard-earned characters, Sega themselves are stepping into the ring. Many have gone out of their way to state that the practice is illegal (i.e. there was no terms of agreement signed at account set-up et al.); others applaud their effort to maintain the integrity of Sonic Team's creative license. The jury is still out on the topic. I know you guys have been tossing this subject around for ages, but I'd like this thread to carry honest opinions and not base reprimands or childish comments that frequent other posts.
This is where I preach:
At first my initial stance on the issue was that all cheaters/dupers need to cease and desist because they are ruining the integrity of the game. For anyone who has put a significant amount of time into the game, it's like a blow to the gut to see a newbie
running around with Soul Eater or Twin Brand and an MechaChao MAG or Opa-Opa.
I was playing the other day and when a lvl 30 RAmar joined my team, he was sporting a Spread Needle, Heaven's Punishment, and a Pian's Heart MAG to boot.When asked about his..toys.. he responded that his friend gave them to him. Funny, how his compatriot, who had an arsenal that would make Wren proud, was barely lvl 26. Then they asked me if I wanted to trade for Mag cells.....
My 168 hours of hard work and perseverence wilted like a blossom under a foot of ash. It took me 87 hours to find my own dual saber, 150 hours to find a guardian armor with 4 slots, and here were two obvious neophytes trying to trade Mag cells with me...I've never even SEEN a Mag cell...I was beyond disgusted. To kick me in the nads even more, they begged for me to play medic as they item hogged every box that fell, in my own blessed team.... At first I thought this behavior amusing, but the selfish greed of it all, on top of their "modified" characters made me swear off the servers for a week.
Don't get me wrong, there is no greater pleasure than helping a young one through his first few missions, or the exclaimation when he sees you wield Soul Eater for the first time, or his profound gratitude when you bequeath him his first 4-slot armor with a God power to boot for his courage. But no self-respecting high level character would just hand over something as rare as a Twin Brand or Spread Needle. to a newbie without GREAT reason, much less to an item-hog.
Even in my younger days (before the hacked characters were even possible) as a lvl 65 HUnewear, I adventured alone with "Kage", a lvl 91 RAcast into the maw of Dark Falz himself on V. Hard because the other party members fled because they were more concerned with their items than their glory. For my valour in combat, Kage gave me my first dual saber+20. He almost brought a tear to my eye for his generosity, for he stated that I "earned" the blade. And if a sense of accomplisment doesn't equal joy in PSO, then I don't know what does.
As far as sharing rare items, I must admit, I've held on to powerful items for friends, but only items I couldn't use or didn't need. And if one of them fought below their whit in combat, then none of these stored treasures were to be had. Call me a stickler, but if it takes me 115 hours to find an additional dual-saber, I'll gladly give it to a teammate and friend, when he has proved himself worthy. Working towards a goal is what it's all about.
Back to the inital point of this post.
As a counterpoint, I myself have been the victim of the BSOD and have lost a lvl 150 MAG, 650,000 meseta and a Kaldagog (the pain), so when players use duped items to recreate a long lost character that fell victim to the BSOD, I can understand. But, does that make it right? I understand the frustration of having your character, this work of art that you've crafted over weeks, blow away into nothingness. The binary fizzle is crushing, and has left many a PSO veteran bitter and resentful, but to become what they they loathe the most?
The point of the game is to persevere for that next rare item, the next level, the next MAG evolution, and let's not forget the joy of playing with others, and of teamwork and partnership. With Sega attempting to police the boards, it's a step in the right direction, but with so much mistrust brewing online with the corpse looters and trade-and-run bandits, they are another unknown element for us to watch for.... Can anyone with the title "PSO staff #X" be trusted, or is it some creative theif trying to fleece you in broad daylight? We just don't know. I know that it hasn't put much of a hamper on my online playing, but it's an element that exists, among others that have the potential to make this once enjoyable escape, an exercise in frustration. I'm sorry if my post is long winded, and self-righteous, but I'd like to know what everyone thinks about the issue as a whole? I've seen so many lobbies filled with password protected games that it makes me feel that PSO has lost much of it's "community", and that upsets me more than all the theives, looters, dupers, and hackers combined.
[addsig]"E-Branch".
Adventure with a team, not an excuse...
<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Arliman on 2001-03-18 03:38 ]</font>
<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Arliman on 2001-03-18 04:51 ]</font>
<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Arliman on 2001-03-18 04:52 ]</font>
<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Arliman on 2001-03-18 04:55 ]</font>
<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Arliman on 2001-03-18 06:29 ]</font>
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