tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post8284052662093038207..comments2024-03-27T07:57:48.010-04:00Comments on The Grumpy Elf: One Happy ElfTheGrumpyElfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-54072851651942803812015-06-12T16:44:07.101-04:002015-06-12T16:44:07.101-04:00I have been giving myself a few days to collect th...I have been giving myself a few days to collect thoughts on the return of flight to WoW, and feel a little conflicted. Initially, before the release I was a harsh critic of the decision. Promises of faster-direct flight paths and ease of travel, were met by skepticism and me calling the developers “too lazy to do that kind of work”. For three expansions I had seen world travel poorly done. So I feel a fair amount of guilt in regards to flying, in Dreanor you can get to any raid in 35-40 secs just LFG the word “Mage”. I was wrong and we gained a lot of good design because the development team ended up losing flight as a crutch. I would like to see a focus on travel in the next expansion as well, with well designed flight points, easily accessed raids and hubs ect…<br /><br />That said getting flight back is clearly a win, but what I really wanted to see, was the developers learn from this. Since November 2013 they have ceaselessly flaunted their right to artistic license, and have continued to do so all the way up to this weeks announcement. How Blizz thinks restricting the means the game can be experience is a good thing, bothers me. I think it’s a mistake in general to compare video games to movies as forms of art. A camera restricts the view point, free will, environmental interaction in ways relate in no way to a video game. I think developers envy the control director’s have over their medium thinking they have an advantage in story telling. I think video games are closer to books, where the imprecision of words creates possibilities for a reader’s interpretation in the same way a games interactive nature allows players different ways to experience the story.<br /><br />No author should attempt to control thier words after they have published, those characters and stories are unique within the minds of the readers. So Blizz’s out right demands related to dreanor seems out of place. <br /><br />“We believe this strikes the right balance between ensuring ground-based content lives up to its full potential, while providing players who’ve already fully experienced Draenor’s outdoor world extra freedom to “break the rules.” This also provides a general blueprint going forward for content to come. Players will explore new and undiscovered lands from the ground, and then once they’ve fully mastered those environments—a notion that continues to evolve with each new expansion—they can take to the skies and experience the world from a new vantage point.”<br /><br />Yes, this strikes a nice balance, since it grants the ability to fly at 90 account wide. But this strangle hold on the game, and distain for community input is destructive. Also making the ground content that did not satisfy so many mandatory for flight; smacks of ignorance and pride, not humility and self-realization, that hey maybe there is room for two ways to view the world.<br /><br />All that said, it looks like this was the real reason the Lore Question session got postponed. Now the devs get something akin to a controlled press conference. They badly needed a win before speaking publicly to the player base. Too bad, they also really needed to face the questions that were asked over the last two weeks. But now I’d wager three out of four questions they answer will pertain to flying, and no one will raise and eyebrow. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05908688425325574778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-43560197242764275762015-06-12T12:28:48.939-04:002015-06-12T12:28:48.939-04:00Sounds inter sting Rick, I might take a look at th...Sounds inter sting Rick, I might take a look at that as well.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-56155716615823427712015-06-12T09:43:57.402-04:002015-06-12T09:43:57.402-04:00Seedy,
If you are into Fantasy/SciFi/Strategy Game...Seedy,<br />If you are into Fantasy/SciFi/Strategy Games Endless Legend is available on steam. Its basically a 4x with asymmetric game play elements.<br /><br />I can't recommend it highly enough, it has a great visuals and sound track and would be a contender for best 4x if Civ 5 was not so well balanced and paced. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05908688425325574778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-12799189253305341422015-06-12T07:38:04.411-04:002015-06-12T07:38:04.411-04:00Ssshhhh... don't tell.
But I look darn good f...Ssshhhh... don't tell.<br /><br />But I look darn good for someone over a million, don't I?TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-9915285369214790202015-06-12T07:37:23.201-04:002015-06-12T07:37:23.201-04:00To each their own.
I agree I would rather just pa...To each their own.<br /><br />I agree I would rather just pay a little gold for it, but this is a very fair compromise when you consider the other option was no flying at all.<br /><br />Not to mention, there is absoltely nothing needed for any of the achievement other then a time investment. It is not skill based, so good or bad everyone can get it. It is not price based, so poor or rich everyone can get it. And it is account wide which means you only need to do it once instead of how flying was before where each and every character needs to pay for it.<br /><br />FF14 would have (I am sure of it) passed warcraft in active subs if it were not for this flying reversal and releasing 6.2 earlier than intended. If warcraft did not do that, then on the 23rd FF14 would have easily passed them.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-2349407334902291172015-06-12T00:02:25.358-04:002015-06-12T00:02:25.358-04:00Aha! I know your age now, a million eighteen :)Aha! I know your age now, a million eighteen :)Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18173436197557929355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-67536098124375944272015-06-11T18:44:48.130-04:002015-06-11T18:44:48.130-04:00Well I'm finished with WoW for good now.
I ha...Well I'm finished with WoW for good now.<br /><br />I haven't played in months and I'm not doing some shitty crapexis grind in order to get flying. <br /><br />It's like Blizz broke our legs and said "crawl over this broken glass and we'll give you some kneecaps!! You'll love it, honest!!"<br /><br />A cheap stunt to try to keep players subbed for the Q2 financials by dangling a pretty pathetic carrot gated behind the most dull and shitty content.<br /><br />Out of curiosity I wonder how many subs are lost now from this? With FF14 up to 4m then maybe WoW could be toppled from it's throne this year. I would love that.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm finished with MMOs now. Back to sims and strategy games for me. Time to fire up Steam and go through the library looking for cheap goodies this weekend.Seedy Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01901494033614338480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-10549380432631616732015-06-11T12:08:36.966-04:002015-06-11T12:08:36.966-04:00Awesome, it does work? Someone on the PTR said it...Awesome, it does work? Someone on the PTR said it didn't. That is awesome news.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-44798270115043321772015-06-11T12:07:54.324-04:002015-06-11T12:07:54.324-04:00Only write when you want to write. If you write j...Only write when you want to write. If you write just to make content, you will burn yourself out. <br /><br />I try to read them all, but sometimes can't based on time. Interaction matters to me.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-37593217162237646922015-06-11T12:06:22.061-04:002015-06-11T12:06:22.061-04:00securing draenor is easy. you can buy missives wit...securing draenor is easy. you can buy missives with garrison resources to remove the randomness. I think you could do it all in one day if you wanted to.<br /><br />I did 2 yesterday and finished off my achievement.<br />--<br />regards,<br /><br />regardsanonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-73393040769703456792015-06-11T12:04:06.258-04:002015-06-11T12:04:06.258-04:00I too thought wrath was fun. It worked on many le...I too thought wrath was fun. It worked on many levels. Had some ease to it and some difficulty to it if you wanted that. It had great story telling that kept me interested and involved and the areas where not only beautiful but worth being out in.<br /><br />Fun is something that is subjective for sure. I do not find PvP fun most of the time but some people love it. I love to quest but some people hate it. It is a "to each their own" sort of thing. But with this expansion it seems no one is happy. Sure some part of the player base will always feel as if they are being left out, but this expansion seems to make everyone feel as if they are left out.<br /><br />And you mention VP at the end here and I can say if I were to quit, it would have never been over this flying issue. It would be over the VP issue. Removing VP is the worst thing they ever did to the game in my opinion. Not as over all damaging as it seems the flying issue became, but to me, I miss VP.<br /><br />I would like for blizzard to stop removing content. Like removing the heirlooms off garrosh. Why? I would love to go back and do kills to try to collect them just like I ran sunwell a million times for my bow. And the cape, why remove it. I did not do it on a few character on purpose with the sole intention of going back to do it on them when I am bored. Why remove raids like ZA nd ZG to make 5 mans, why remove scenarios when they had a place in the game. I would stop removing content.<br /><br />Then they need to adapt the "if its not broke, don't fix it" mentality. VP was not broke, why did they try to fix it with apexis crystals? Flex was super easy, the new normal is harder than that and not flex as much as they say it is because you can not bring lesser players. My guild used to be a heroic guild, #3 on server, now we can not be because it is 20 players only as mythic, now why even raid? It if ain't broke, don't fix it.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-10129773620007115512015-06-11T12:00:16.801-04:002015-06-11T12:00:16.801-04:00I just said this over on Fiannor's blog but I ...I just said this over on Fiannor's blog but I wonder if the timing of the announcement has to do with June being the end of the quarter. People have 2 1/2 weeks to resub in June and perhaps that would hide the quarterly drop that might have been coming.Lurking readernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-29104890403367094892015-06-11T11:55:40.897-04:002015-06-11T11:55:40.897-04:00I get a kick out of people that say no flying was ...I get a kick out of people that say no flying was not a minor thing. As you said, look at the feed back all over the net, even the replies to this thread in one small blog in the middle of no where. Flying is very important to a lot of people.<br /><br />There is no doubt that they had to have had substantial cancellations to cause them to change something so quickly that they seemed so sure about just a couple of weeks ago. Money talks, loudly.<br /><br />I think the delay makes sense too. I hope it is not that long however. I am guessing anywhere from 1 to 3 months. Hoping for the 1. But delaying it means people don't need to rush to get it. It would be a mad house with people rushing it. Heck, it will anyway because people like me will still want to get it done with as fast as possible.<br /><br />Your no draw back to flight is a real thing. The mistake blizzard did was making flying so fast. They should have had ground mounts go faster and flying mounts go slower but with the ease of flying. That way it would equal them out a little. You could travel really really fast on the ground or you can move in a direct route with no interruptions in the air slower. That would make it a choice. It might also keep me on the ground when I travel. But flying and faster, no choice for me, I will fly faster.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-26073778704561012252015-06-11T11:49:41.671-04:002015-06-11T11:49:41.671-04:00I think I've seen you give that advice before ...I think I've seen you give that advice before and not only it is good, but it was my plan. It's just those last few steps of actually doing it.<br /><br />I know you always do, but thanks for slogging through my comment. One of the things I enjoy about your blog is you seem to make a concerted effort to read and reply to as many, if not all, of your reader. Big kudos to you.Lurking readernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-84932193122712957512015-06-11T11:38:15.033-04:002015-06-11T11:38:15.033-04:00Not only was it a 180 but it has to be the fastest...Not only was it a 180 but it has to be the fastest 180 in the history of the company. I can only imagine how many people unsubbed saying flight was the reason to make them make such a drastic change like this so quickly. It has to be substantial.<br /><br />I too am concerned about the wait for 6.2.x as well. I personally do not care about 6.2, it offers nothing interesting. I want 6.2.x.<br /><br />I too have all the achievement done already and have for a long time. I would think most of the people that have been playing from launch do. If they don't, then I am sure they are not the ones saying there was no content, because those achievement were the only actual content in the game. lolTheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-12379316757298252602015-06-11T11:35:32.676-04:002015-06-11T11:35:32.676-04:00The think the apexis dailies and reputations are t...The think the apexis dailies and reputations are their way of giving in but still playing it off as they did not give in. Slipping us the finger so to speak. But as it is, just to have flying back, I am fine with that for now.<br /><br />Nothing wrong with being grumpy, it just means you care enough to complain. If things didn't matter to us, we not be grumpy about them. ;)TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-51429420140370037572015-06-11T11:34:39.449-04:002015-06-11T11:34:39.449-04:00Grind now is not as bad as it was in vanilla if yo...Grind now is not as bad as it was in vanilla if you ignore the groundpounding needed to get anywhere and the dull monotony of "pew pew, loot, pew pew, loot".<br /><br />I was using the snowflake metaphor subjectively rather than objectively so i'll hold my hands up to that over our varied definitions.<br /><br />Fun though...<br /><br />What is your idea of fun in WoW?<br /><br />I liked Wrath raiding, not too hard and let us have a good chat on TS with the crew while playing.<br /><br />Wintergrasp... could get rewards (gear and looms) from playing at a reasonable rate without a mindless grind of weeks to make any progress.<br /><br />Heroic 5-mans... Likewise. Could get gear upgrades and improve my pally healing technique for the raiding.<br /><br />The Argent Crusade dailies... Not keen as I hate dailies but I did it anyway in between heroics.<br /><br />PvP... I loved AV since vanilla, played it until the end of Wrath where Cata just turned WoW into a steaming pile of crap.<br /><br />The problem I see is that they seem to be trying to recycle redundant lore and cheesing new lore for cheap ideas.<br /><br />There is nothing that is inspiring about the new lore they make. Wrath was the last "Great Lore!!" expansion for me, and they wrote the lore into Wrath perfectly.<br /><br />Cata, Mop and WoD have cheesed lore that is being haphazardly slapped onto "rinse and repeat" content.<br /><br />If I see this in a series of novels (I'm a fanatical fantasy reader) then I'll bin the book and switch to a new author. Blizz are doing it here. Cheesing cheap lore. They need new progress in the story as it's been matching on the spot without any progress for far too long.<br /><br />A New World (Argus? Or a warzone world in the borders of The Twisting Nether where Alliance and Horde clash directly with the vanguard of The Burning Legion?)<br /><br />Multiple paths to progression, not treadmill grinds but grinds with regular progress and bonuses, like VP rewards and sets. Regular new 5-mans and a daily hub for players who like them all integrated with a flexible path with regular rewards.<br /><br />Thinking out loud what I'd like to see and what I liked in the past there. What do you hunger for in WoW?Seedy Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01901494033614338480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-71715893311258070202015-06-11T11:32:01.185-04:002015-06-11T11:32:01.185-04:00Ramble away, I am rather long winded myself so I c...Ramble away, I am rather long winded myself so I can never blame someone for being passionate enough to do the same.<br /><br />I do think that they have damaged their relationship with their customers a lot this expansion. It might even be beyond repair for many. The lack of content, the lies, the changes that no one wanted, the not listening to people after they ask for their input. They really put off a lot of their players.<br /><br />If you decide to do so let me know and I can link you. I started this for me and me only to rant or complain or what have you without ever having any intention of people actually reading it, never the less commenting on it. I like to write and this is what I did to please that desire to write. One word of advice if you do start. Write for yourself don't write for everyone else. As long as you do that it stays fun and doesn't become a "job".TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-83888397134061235222015-06-11T11:27:51.340-04:002015-06-11T11:27:51.340-04:00Good news, you can reach 100 without ever jumping ...Good news, you can reach 100 without ever jumping once. There are close to 300 (that I noticed) treasures and well more than 100 of them require nothing more than picking it up.<br /><br />1) I agree, I love to quest too. Have done every quest in the game and if I ever see a quest marker I jump at it because it needs to get done. The date on my draenor loremaster achievement is the date the expansion was released. Yes, I love questing that much. But I do understand others really hate it. So to them it is just a time sink. But it is a fair one I believe because blizzard said they did not want flying because they wanted people to experience the content as intended and this is the only way they can assure that the people did experience all the content as they intended. So they gave in to flyers, but they still held their ground that they want everyone to see things as intended and I can respect that.<br /><br />2) I agree. I mentioned on beta I thought it was a bad thing to make achievement mandatory. Linking garrison building patterns behind achievement was the beginning of the end. It will just keep getting worse from now on.<br /><br />3) I agree on the 10th anniversary, they should have made it more all inclusive. Seems kind of wrong to have had it for 100s only. Maybe have one thing that is for 100s only, but not everything really.<br /><br />4) That is exactly what they did, they gave in but refuse to admit they were wrong. This entire expansion has been about how bad they are at judging what their players want. Because from what it seems, most players do not want anything this expansion has to offer.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-62006547187416710772015-06-11T11:17:50.877-04:002015-06-11T11:17:50.877-04:00Those grinds were true grinds. That is why I wond...Those grinds were true grinds. That is why I wonder how you can call anything here a grind. There is nothing grind like in anything they asked for the meta outside of reputations and even those you could just go to your local auction house, but 21 medallions, and be done with it. No grind required.<br /><br />Special snowflake is not a matter or perspective. It has an actual meaning. It is when someone does not like someone else having something they have, so they can remain a special snowflake. It has no bearing on this.<br /><br />Now if you wanted to tie flying to killing the mythic end boss only, then you could complain it was a special snowflake situation. Not this. All these achievements anyone that has been playing since launch already has them, or should already have them.<br /><br />I agree, wrath was the perfect balance in the game. It was when the game was in its best state between ease and effort. They have gone down hill since then, I agree.<br /><br />As for "fun" being reserved for the special chosen ones, I would like to know who they are because it doesn't seem to be you, it sure as hell is not me, and it seems everywhere I read it is not most other people from the most casual of casual to the most hard core of them all. There has been little to no fun for anyone this expansion. I think adding flying back is the first fun thing that they did today.<br /><br />This expansion really killed the game for a great many players. And even flying being brought back is not enough to save it, in my opinion.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-44123001609956509222015-06-11T11:10:23.139-04:002015-06-11T11:10:23.139-04:00The loremaster idea just makes the most sense. Th...The loremaster idea just makes the most sense. Their best argument for keeping us keeping us grounded was they wanted us to see the content as intended. Once we did all the quests we did all the content as intended. They added treasures and exploring too, which makes sense. The other two things are just them pushing it a little, but I am okay with it. It makes sense this way.<br /><br />It is amazing that people are still complaining even after blizzard compromised, but some people are never happy. They do not want to have a give and take, they just want to take. Guess that goes back to my "selfish" post the other day.TheGrumpyElfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621615711198405365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-53798859246254508882015-06-11T10:59:56.218-04:002015-06-11T10:59:56.218-04:00a) to everyone of the mind "no flying in Drae...a) to everyone of the mind "no flying in Draenor" is a minor item - look at the size of every forum thread on the subject including this one!<br />b) I'm 100% certain they did a 180 degree turnaround after experiencing a wave of canceled subs in the past 2 or 3 weeks. <br />c) I'm also certain all they are doing now is "damage control" and "trying not to loose too much face". They have told everyone in the past 1.5 years (since the first announcement about no-flying in Draenor) that everything will be fine. Admitting now they are wrong might make them look like idiots to the player base - but that is irrelevant. People like the forums CMs are PAID to take the heat. Far more important is the internal fallout. Whoever sold this idea to management will take a career hit (with a very very big hammer).<br />d) delaying it to a minor 6.2.x patch is IMHO a smart move, because it gives the 80% player group a decent chance to knock everything out without grinding themselves to death. <br />e) funny in my opinion - why did they not implement this scheme in the first place? Grumpy said it a hundred times (well, ok, only a dozen times) - once you've experienced the content there is not reason without flying to ever go back.<br />f) The main problem with flying as I see it - it is not a CHOICE because there is no drawback. You should have a reason to stay on ground, not be forced into it. A simple example might be: "The earth is strong and supports you. For every minute you are in touch with ground you gain +1% to your main stats up to a maximum of 25%." <br /><br />Rauxis, chosen of CAT<br />Rauxisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-68048530636423882892015-06-11T10:04:49.542-04:002015-06-11T10:04:49.542-04:00Explore Draenor: completed 12/19/14 (I never went ...Explore Draenor: completed 12/19/14 (I never went to most of Frostfire until later on so I didn't get this the first week...)<br />Grand Treasure Hunter: completed 12/14/14 (that's the 200 achiev, so only need half that) I had the 50 achiev on 11/15/14.<br />Loremaster of Draenor: completed 11/22/14<br />Securing Draenor: Completed 2/07/15<br /><br />I agree that Securing Draenor is too RNG based and only works because many people already have it by now. In the future, I hope they don't pick things like that.<br /><br />Getting the Tanaan reps to Revered won't take very long, but that shouldn't be there or it should unlock flying in Tanaan. We should be able to fly elsewhere with just the exploration and quest achievs.<br /><br />To appease us even further, we get a Rylak mount for unlocking flying.<br /><br />Total 180 by Blizzard.<br /><br />I'm concerned about the wait for 6.2.x though.<br /><br />I wish things were more objective based though. For example in Draenor, we could unlock flying after establishing our outposts in all the zones. Before that, we're trying to "lay low" while we setup our camps, so we can't be flying through the skies yet. Put some story/lore behind it.Jaegerhttps://twitter.com/makosdvnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-26710809436287314462015-06-11T09:47:53.720-04:002015-06-11T09:47:53.720-04:00I'm totally fine with the "earn it."...I'm totally fine with the "earn it." I'd have left off the reputations this time, but I think that was Blizzard blowing a bit of a raspberry. I have no problem with any of the mini-gates going forward. I just want them to be in at launch and achievable immediately upon reaching max level. If they do that, this is a non-issue. If they delay in any way, shape, or form, this is a short-term hollow victory.<br /><br />Apparently, I'm a grumpy worgen.To Bee or Not to Beehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10929748357206418382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9015737272343810105.post-47522281389346293582015-06-11T09:33:58.700-04:002015-06-11T09:33:58.700-04:00Last comment, and apologies for the ramble, but I ...Last comment, and apologies for the ramble, but I wonder if they’ve broken their fan base pretty significantly. While there were some fair-minded and reasonable anti-flight people, most of what I saw was more toxic than the usual WoW community, especially after they had felt they had “won”. Many were quite smug and seemed to enjoy the pro-flight crowd being unhappy. With this turn around they are angry and some of the worst pro-flight people are gloating. It doesn’t feel as big but they are still there and are equally vicious (and I may be biased). WoW has never had a great community (pockets of awesome in an ocean of scum and villainy) but I wonder if this will make it worse.<br /><br />Unrelated – Thanks for keeping up the blog Grumpy. I’ve been reading you and a few of the people on your side bar (one even commented on this post) and have enjoyed it enough that I’ve been considering starting my own blog. I’m not sure I’m committed enough for it yet, but I’m kicking around the idea and it is mainly due to you and the other bloggers producing good content.Lurking readernoreply@blogger.com