Dancer Archive
Thread: What was it like before Buffbots?
Schardour
Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:36 am
#14
You know, I wasn't an entertainer when buffbots weren't around, but I still spent a large portion of my early game in the Kor Vella cantina messing around with Candie and others, or bouncing from dive to dive with no purpose but to see the people that were performing there. Once players began to play while afk, I made sure to have a few live ones in the Crimson Republic at all times, and used them for the most part. I couldn't stand the changes that seemed to take place overnight. One day I was throwing pillows and waterat friends, the next I was surrounded by complete silence.
That's when I joined the GCW. It was a place I could interact with fellow players and have a good time. Why would I spend my time in a cantina if the majority of the men and women were going to ignore their guests? Seemed stupid to me...
I enjoyed finding the live players while dancing these past months, though. My respect for them hasn't changed a bit, but I can now admire their fortitude. I didn't realize just how tough it was to keep up the charade until Ibecame one of them.
Thank you Deila, Orocici, Esharra. It was fun.
Sakura-Ikari
Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:54 am
#16
DarkY0da wrote:
What was it like ?
There was almost always a full group + extras that would form up a second group. They were all ATK. Anyone went afk for more then 20-30 minutes and they got booted. AFKers went off into the backroom or the side rooms and they didn't have spam going every few seconds. And anyone that AFKed their way up was really looked down on.(which is why most people didn't do it)
We all talked in Spatial mostly. We had players hang around the cantina while they crafted. Or while they waited to form up a hunting group. Or to try and sell stuff to the players that came in. It honestly was the HUB of player interaction. If you wanted to make connections and find info you went to the cantina.
Players would come in to get healed up and often times would suddently find they had just spent an extra 30 minutes there. HAVING FUN. Players would take their first shot and trying to Roleplay a character in the Star Wars universe. And they would have fun doing it.
You would have regulars that would just come in to hang out after their daily fighting. You got to know them and they got to know you. You would get random tips in the form of loot and clothing(far more often then it happens now). People would gladly invite you to come along and do a little hunting with them. Just so you could have a break from the cantina and the split credits from missions was nice as well.
So what was it like ?
It was what a MMORPG is supposed to be like. Fun and lots of interaction with other players. Players that were there to have fun and interact. I mean why else play an MMORPG ?
/agree
this is the dancing I remeber from day one when Arashi was mastering dance. We had a blast. And if someone was AFK for more than 10minutes they were kicked from the group. I loved your comment about the "item" tips too - i had a guy once come in to Keren (yes i used to dance in Keren and people actually came there to see me!) and tip me 3 ugly smocks and a headwrap and then ask me to marry him. You should've seen me in my guild chat begging the guys to come rescue me. It was cute.
Bottom line - before the hologrind and buffs - entertainers ENTERTAINED and cantinas were social hubs. Some servers are getting back to that though. On Tarquinas Theed Cantina has become RP central and the entertainers that frequent theed are TRULY entertaining. We can fix it... just gotta be patient.
Ikewe
Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:54 am
#17
Made me cry and I'm not even on the same server.
By the way Til don't forget there's a party at Ikewe's Inferno tonight. If you can't make it on short notice be sure to come by some time and take a look at the special display in the alcove.
hugs,
Ikewe, Master Dancer Shadowfire
Schardour
Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:59 am
#18
Esh, Ikewe, stop it! 
Ikewe, I'm sorry, I can't make it to Shadowfire tonight. I have two different meetings this evening, both at 9 eastern.../boggle. I'll try to stop byyour placetomorrow though.
Love you guys. Have fun tonight 
SpinningCloud
Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:51 pm
#19
I remember when entertainers used the inside of the cantinas...not the front entry.
Psionic_Maji
Sat Jan 29, 2005 2:52 am
#20
The front entery thing i feel is an interesting topic. I think it is the cause of the buffbots to be honest. They wanted to compete with each other, and the first one seen was the first one used, then all the other entertainers realized that because of these bots, they weren't getting any healingexp, as usually you would always heal to full in the time it takes to get buffed. The entertainers then had to hang out inthe front to compete for the attention of these buffbots so they could get their healing XP.
I'm a combatant, this thread does bring back old memories of the times i used to hang out in the cantina's. I was one of the medics then a Combat Medic healing you guys with area stims. Good times.
Pappi
Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:11 am
#21
oof, the posts are too long 
short version:
before buffbots and hologrind, entertainers got a lot more respect. folks weren't as wealthy so tips are generally less, but it was much more fun. cantinas were actual communities.
short version:before buffbots and hologrind, entertainers got a lot more respect. folks weren't as wealthy so tips are generally less, but it was much more fun. cantinas were actual communities.
PoetDancer
Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:05 pm
#22
Imagine if people tipped you even if they had no wounds to heal, simply because they were grateful for you being there.
It was a job somebody had to do, rather than a job that was filled by non-players. I kid you not when I tell you that entertaining in the cantinas was a way to earn credits if times were tight in those days. But you had to do what entertainers were expected to do...and it had nothing to do with healing BF efficiently. Imagine if you were paid on the basis of how amusing you were, and imagine if groups came to the cantina and offered some credits to go along on an excursion to the Corellian interior. In short, imagine if the players treated you like an entertainer, and not as a mechanics beacon. Imagine if you had this everyday you logged on, and imagine if you had the potential to earn a living through your skills anywhere there was a cantina. Imagine if you couldn't wait to go back into the cantina, rather than try and find excuses not to perform there. Imagine if you could make a better living inside the cantina than you could outside of it.
Ah...those were good times.
LeBob
Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:11 am
#23
I remember when cantinas at places like Anchorhead, Theed, Coronet each had two to three full groups of Live Entertainers... some of them were combatants dabbling in dance, music or ID... This does not mean they were using alts so that they could buff (very few people knew about Ent buffing back in the day, because it was not officially documented) or heal their combat mains... they were true dabblers... in it soley for the fun... I remember the first time I ever stepped foot in the Mos Eisley cantina, and I was like "OH MY GOD!"
It used to be really awesome... I think it can be again...
sweatyclimber
Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:20 am
#24
i think there has been many great accounts of what it was like..... I remember launch when it was all new and shinny as well. The comrodery between entertainers was second to none. We all relied on each other for everything but mainly for fun. I remember that we would pay one entertainer all of our tips in the first few weeks to train. They would run and get it and train everyone else. If someone was making an "off world" trip it was a big deal.
For entertainers specifically, you had many bands all over the place. On ahazi, if you went to Eisley, you KNEW it was Fuzzy Logic's cantina. If you went to bestine you KNEW it was the (at that time) Awi Weu experiance featuring the famousFATWOOKIE band. If you were in corronet, it was the Corrillian corovettes ect ect.... Cantina's were "owned" by bands and the players knew it too. I remember getting tells that someone was on Yavin "OTW back to bestine to get healed". I remember taking tours to see the other bands and visa versa. It was an honnor to be invited into bands of other servers to play with them.
Mastering was a big deal! We would have "master Ceremony's" whenever someone would make it. Those people would always brag that "so in so" musician made their instraments "and you know they were the X master on the server" Every single band that I know of had their sights set on getting "their own cantina" which would be a house of some sort. Customers asked for autographed items or tour T-shirts. Their was a party on the servers EVERY weekend somewhere where bands were requested. At one point on ahazi there were 4 big name bands and we were all booked all the time and would compete for the gigs.
As the first holo's were found, more people went searching for them and soon were too busy to go to "parties". However player events were on the rise. In fall of '03 we had hundreds of gig requests. Then the xmas holo's came out and suddenly everyone was too focused and busy to "worry about player events". We went from about 200 requests or more to about 70 in consecutive quarters (course we were happy cause we didn't want that many anyway hehe). When not doing this, we could be found in med centers giving the ATK docs some entertainment as they healed the billions of wounds that came through.
If I had to say what contributed this would be my input.
1. lack of corpse runs
2. doc buffs and no need for grouping
3. Holo craze/ jedi craze
4. Player cities
5. Vehicals
6. Lower shuttle times
7. Problems with PVP
8. Nessesity of mind buffs (in their minds)
9. Change in cloning/ insurance req.
1. lack of corpse runs
2. doc buffs and no need for grouping
3. Holo craze/ jedi craze
4. Player cities
5. Vehicals
6. Lower shuttle times
7. Problems with PVP
8. Nessesity of mind buffs (in their minds)
9. Change in cloning/ insurance req.
with these, people didn't need other people as much. They could get everywhere faster. They saw our buff as their right and requirement. The simple fact is when hunters need to group and pvp is "fun". The entertainment proffession will see a social rise. But that is assuming they don't see mind buffs as the must have or cant play. They need to see grouping as that... When people ran for their corpses and couldn't get them, the parties that went after them would all come back with a story and beat up. But with cloning as it is, that will only be somewhat true. No one hardly ever comes in with all black bars (all ham not just mind) anymore. To me, player interdependance very important, but without combat player interdependance a lot of the social side will be lost stil.
LeBob
Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:27 am
#25
Aemoem18 wrote:
before buffbots there was no buffs unless u paid 20k lol
... actually long before Buff Bots, Entertainers never asked for money for buffs, because only a few people knew for sure how buffs worked........ it was not officially documented anywhere...
Sakura-Ikari
Sun Jan 30, 2005 9:17 pm
#26
Pappi wrote:
oof, the posts are too long
before buffbots and hologrind, entertainers got a lot more respect. folks weren't as wealthy so tips are generally less, but it was much more fun. cantinas were actual communities.
QFE!!!
SpinningCloud wrote:
I remember when entertainers used the inside of the cantinas...not the front entry.
believe it or not, on Tarquinas (which sadly is not the server my dancer is on *sigh*) the whole "foyer dancing" thing is still highly frowned upon in Theed! Tarq Theed Cantina rocks!