Dancer Archive
Thread: For the health of ALL the entertainer professions a hot fix request!
Page 1 of 1
Reachwind
Thu Jun 10, 2004 7:36 am
#1
Please request a temporary removal of the /join command to stop AFK entertainers from cornering the market on mind buffs.
The reason for this temporary fix is just to keep the game working for people that actually play the entertainer character they have skilled up and wish to play. Obviously once the needed fixes for our professions are in place the /join command could be reinstated but temporarily this command should be disabled.
PoetDancer
Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:27 am
#3
Are buffbots fair? Of course not. Are buffbots symptomatic of a broken game? Of course. Can you beat the bots? I do it every time I log on.
Because I'm afraid to say that SOE will do nothing but protect the right to bot. And if botting breaks the EULA, or breaks any common sense rationale of why we play the game, they will be willing to forgo all of this just to protect the bots. I know its sad and silly that they do this, but its simply how it is now and in the forseeable future.
But rather than say like the anti-entertainment trollers who come here often do that you are powerless to make your in-game lot better, I'm saying that you can. You have what it takes today to beat the bots. And how do you do it? Don't focus in on the things the bot does. Focus on the things the bot cannot do: provide attentive service. Provide showmanship. Provide an immersive, live performance.
Now some would argue that these things are not valuable. I would argue that its the only valuable thing we do. Because if the things we do are not valuable, then how is it I or any other live entertainer can earn tips at all? Because I can tell you a story of how my 0/0/2/2 self was standing right in between two master-level buffbots at Dantooine Mining Outpost, and how I walked away with a substantial sum of credits not two hours later.
Now how could one such as myself possibly do this? After all, I was hardly /watched at all. But just because I wasn't /watched doesn't mean I wasn't watched, and while they were getting their buff from the buffbots, they nonetheless tipped me. Pretty sneaky, eh?
See why its a good idea not to tell others how much you are getting tipped?
See why its a good idea not to tell others how much you are getting tipped?And it was satisfying too. Because I know that they only tipped the bot because they felt they had to do so. But I knew that they tipped me because they wanted to. Because I don't go into this business to get /watched. I go into this business to get watched.
Because bots are boring. They know it too. All they have is the mechanics to justify a tip. Butif you stickaround enough then you start to understand that mechanics alone will seldom be a sufficient rationalle in a player's mind to justify a player tip. Because the cantina is a boring place, and its up to the dancer to make it more exiting. Is it easy? Its the hardest job in the game. Can you do it? I believe that you can, Reachwind. Bots don't care about this boredom. We do. That's OUR advantage, and its what we must work with in order to compete with the bots.
The dirty little secret that we live entertainers are loathe to share is that we cannot dish out game mechanics as well as a bot.
The dirty little secret bot owners are loathe to share is that people don't like to tip them. If they do it at all, they do it because they have to, or out of a sense of obligation, but NEVER because they want to. Because bots are an entertainer of last resort, not of first preference.
And even with all the changes, nerfs, and rampant unattendedness, I still believe in the power of this class and the people who play it. I believe in YOU, Reachwind. And I only ask that you believe in yourself that you can go toe to toe with the bots and win.
picklesSW
Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:31 am
#4
I personally don't give a rat's buttocks about 'beating' the AFKers, or whether or not they're stealing my tips. It's not all about the money, Sirii.
Reachwind
Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:33 am
#5
I seriously can not believe you took the time to type all of that out. I am floored that you care so little about our profession that you wouldn't back this simple easy to code request for help.
To hell with this forum it hasn't changed since June. You are all still killing yourselves and unwilling to change.
picklesSW
Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:00 am
#6
Hopefully you're not talking about me. I'd love to see that change, I just don't see them doing it, now or ever.
Auraveda
Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:03 am
#7
PoetDancer wrote:The dirty little secret bot owners are loathe to share is that people don't like to tip them. If they do it at all, they do it because they have to, or out of a sense of obligation, but NEVER because they want to. Because bots are an entertainer of last resort, not of first preference.>
That is very true. There's often a music-bot in the bestine cantina on Bloodfin. Over the last few weeks the spam he spits out has gotten progressively grumpier. He currently threatens to discontinue his service if people don't start paying.
Occassionally doctor-buff bots appear in Coronet or on Dantooine, they generally only stay for a couple weeks before they dissapear. I would suspect the number of folks who actually pay isn't enough to cover the expense of the buff packs.
Anyway, I suspect that it's a lost cause trying to get them to alter the /join command, even temporarily. They'd probably run the risk of breaking groups alltogether if they do that, and that'd piss off pretty much everyone. The bulk of the AFKers will be going away soon. Most of the buffbots, if they're smart, will relocate to private residences with entry fees to ensure they get paid. Chill out, and heed PoetDancer's advice. It's good stuff
PoetDancer
Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:46 am
#8
Its not about the money for me either. Its about being appreciated. Some show it in terms of tips. Some show it with a kind word. I got BOTH at the Dantooine Mining Outpost. Is it about the principle of the thing? I couldn't agree more. Bots are symptomatic of a broken game. But until SOE comes to their senses and stops protecting exploiters of the macro system, what are we to do in the meantime?
Because the bot thing is beyond my control. Unattendedness is out of my control. And quite frankly, its out of the control of all of us on these boards,no matter what colour your tagmay bear. All I can do is what I have done all along: perform.
Its easy to get down when you see the current situation on the servers. I am guilty of it myself at times. But rather than get flustered about what I cannot change, I'd rather concentrate my efforts on what I can do better.
People come here and say that the things we do as live performers are futile and pointless. That our performance aspect counts for nothing. They are not saying this because they are right, they are saying these things to try and justify the value of their buffbot's boring play. They are trying to make entertainment aboutsystem functions, when entertainment really has nothing to do with system functions.
Because right now, today, dancers are trying to find out some kind of reason to log on and dance. And all I'm suggesting is that if there is any reason at all to dance today that it has to be about the performance. What other choice do we have? Sit and complain about a broken system?
I did that for awhile. Ended up quitting the game over it. You did too, Javier. I can understand the frustration. But rather than get despondent about our lot and end up quitting again, let's make it clear to the other dancers here that the things we do in the game are not futile. Because they really aren't. Players who come to the cantina generally appreciate what we do.
Now there is that occasional nasty /tell that seems to overshadow the nine or ten appreciative responses. I don't deny it. But we have to forget about that one and move on to the next cantina denizen. Because I would argue that we'd get that heckler whether we have an unattendence problem or not. There are a lot of nasty and disrespectful people on the servers.
AndI would think SOE would be smart if theydisabled auto /join. No argument here on that score. But you and I both know that we can't pin our hopes on it. Panthubelieves the developers care about our needs. But then again, doesn't every new correspondent? They may care. They may be placating her. And there is no guarantee that whatever solutions they come up with will make our difficulties any easier. They may in fact make things worse.
I don't believe the developers will solve our problems. I don't believe our correspondent can solve our problems. What I do think can solve our problems is vest our hopes in entertaining again. Vest our hopes in what we have been doing all along. To have confidence again in ourselves that our performance makes a difference.
Message Edited by PoetDancer on 06-10-2004 11:48 AM
Kreistor
Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:19 am
#9
Besides Reachwind, this has already been asked and rejected.
NEXT!
Electro
Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:28 am
#10
As I've pointed out before, disabling /join only stops one type of buff-bot anyhow. And while I would support removing it 100%, I think in a lot of ways Sirii is right in what she's saying. No one is going to help us but us. Entertainer is what you make of it, pure and simple.
Panthu
Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:48 am
#11
Reachwind wrote:
Please request a temporary removal of the /join command to stop AFK entertainers from cornering the market on mind buffs.
The reason for this temporary fix is just to keep the game working for people that actually play the entertainer character they have skilled up and wish to play. Obviously once the needed fixes for our professions are in place the /join command could be reinstated but temporarily this command should be disabled.
I don't know, I think we need Dev help here... saying we should handle this on our own doesn't sound very fair to me. We have less options with BuffBots, pure and simple.
I'm not sure if the Devs care about all of the non-Ent players that would be mad to see their Bots no longer be able to join, but I'm not sure if we really need that kind of lashback.
It's one thing to say "we are willing to put more effort into our Healing and change our Profession so this will no longer be an issue"... that's an active request for improving our Prof... it's a different thing to say "please take this game command away from everyone because we want these people stopped"... that would be called a nerf.
*shrug* I'll ask, but I don't think this is the best way to do this.
Page 1 of 1