Dancer Archive
Thread: Let's Do Something Else
Hobbytla wrote:
".....
/bloodcurling scream
So, Devs, before trying to solve the "problem" with Entertainers get RID of ALL AFK so people start to PLAY the game again, flaws and all, those we can deal with in due time. NOW! Snappy movement, snappy movement! CHOP CHOP!"
DarkY0da wrote:
Yes one would think they wouldn't waste time coding and pushing things live that they knew were going to be useless and they were then going to remove later.... One would think that. One also could be very very wrong.
*shrugs*
For all we know, those new songs /dances could have been finished a year ago, because there were always rumors around of multiple new ones already done.
And the fact that they (very quickly, I might add) fixed the base dances NOW as a reaction to the outcry about the jukeboxes seems to suggest that they could have done that all along whenever they wanted to...
I guess they'll still want to throw us a minor bone every now and then to keep us around - hey, it's more money to them - but we'll never be a viable profession. I've given up on that thought already. And I don't even believe anymore that they'll ever remove buffbots - the outcry by the combat toons would be just too great, and they surely don't want to lose all those alt accounts. In the end they'll take the easy way out as always, especially if that's also the way that brings in more money. Game quality doesn't count for SOE.
Mystyrys wrote:
Hobbytla wrote:
".....
/hero
What Hobbytla said. Can't say it any better than that.
Thanks, again..... /blush
Although, I just found a YEAR old thread in the entertainer forums, with a very good and in-depth discussion in the "10 Questions Asked" or something thread... and nothing seems to have changed in this last year in terms of the discussion! Sigh. Disheartening - I didn't even play a year ago and I at least had the romantic notion that it was better back in the day. But, that thread was very constructive I think in terms of pointing out long standing issues and how the entertainer professions are lacking in some ways. And it has given me some ideas... as to the "Let's Do Something Else" which was the original point of this thread.
I'll submit them for critique and nitpicking when I've done a little bit more thinking... but basically - the entertainer professions need to be more active. I think there is no other way around it. As far as a passive profession goes, this class has basically failed. As an image designer I've never felt threatened or unhappy (or poor - and I only made master three days ago after working on it off and on for... eh.. months), despite some of the more annoying bugs that plague the profession.
Because
1/ ID require me to be ATK no way around it from a mechanical point
2/ There is a secure payment window (I only charge people a fee for stat migrates, the rest is tip only, I tried to be nice and ask tips for that, but ultimately, people don't want to pay for the things they actually need, only the things that they want)
3a/ Who would want their hair and makeup done bysomeone AFK?
3b/ Being an image designer requires skill of the Player, not the Character
Is it possible to use this successful experiment to turn the other entertainer professions around?
I believe so. At least, I'm willing to give it a go. But as I said, I want to think a little bit more about it.... in the meanwhile, I thought I'd throwmy "starting point"out here in this thread, in case it helps anyone else.
IMHO there is need for mission which are not insulting the the Players skill, (you could make highpaying missions - dance for an hour and you will be paid 400k, but essentially it would still be insulting to the player, no matter how financially viable the character would be),
there needs to be active participation from the person playing to get access to content (atm I can't think of any real way of doing this other than moving from cantina to cantina for instance, I'm not sure that would be appealing to most people though or alone, even to me...),
and there need to be something in the profession which other player WANT, even if we keep the functions which they feel that they NEED. And this WANT needs to be something which you have to be ATK to get, even if it's only for the duration of this "mission" or "function".
There might be a day when afk goes away, but I don't want to trust that to any mechanical function, or any policing (be it by CSR or Stormtroopers). I want it to be built into the professions. And with keeping the artistic creative side of it. Because the "social gameplay" which came up in the discussion in this thread was found to be not enough a year ago according to the thread I just read. I suspect that the people who are enjoying the social side of it will do that no matter what.
Now I'll sleep on this... (I'm in Europe, not a granny in case you were wondering)