megopie

Sleep is important

in an era where many systems are always-on and suspend/resume working more reliably these days

… do people not turn their computers off when they’re done using them?

They make a good point about how massive multiplayer games shouldn’t try to compete with wow, nor to try and implement every feature that wow has, but I think it goes beyond that. I think they need to question the pre existing assumptions of what an MMO is. Like, fundamentally, it’s a mass multiplayer online game, but so much of what gets associated with that concept is not really inherent to it.

Quests, bosses, grinding NPCs for equipment, ect ect. What the shape of content even looks like for these kinds of games.

There is so much potential in the concept of a big world with lots of players all interacting and it is held back by attempting to hew to a certain formula that looks very similar to WoW. Specifically the reliance on NPCs to fill out the world and to act as a source of resources.

Someone brought up foxhole and I think that’s a really good example. It is made by a small team(like… 10 people if I recall?) and it completely lacks a lot of the stuff normally expected in an MMO. No NPCs, no leveling or skill points, no quests or missions. All of the purposes those systems normally fulfill are handled through largely player driven dynamics. It’s a profoundly collaborative game built on team based PVP and an entirely player driven economy. Importantly, you are not playing a hero or unique character, nor collecting particularly valuable equipment overtime. You are cannon fodder, and you will die. In some ways, you are the NPC. Some parts of it definitely share heritage from the genre, but it expands on a lot of stuff that I feel is under developed in most.

It’s a departure from the normal formula and I think it shows that the potential audience for MMOs is actually much larger than the current crop, as a lot of people who play were never into other MMOs. The genre has pigeonholed its self by attempting to chase an existing audience that are used to a certain dynamic, but there is so much more potential that is left on the table.

Yah, I think foxhole is a really good example of why the idea of “reinventing the MMO” is a really good discussion.

Before foxhole I had largely bounced off of MMOs because a lot were overly focused on “quests”, boss fights, loot tables and other spreadsheet nonsense. The sword and sorcery setting of many also just didn’t grab my attention.

Foxholes focus on collaborative logistics, supply chains, and large scale persistent warfare, not to mention being more grounded as a setting, actually engaged me and got me involved in teamwork and collaboration that was very fun.

Also blue team rules green team drools.

In a lot of cases they’re not actually saving much money on these systems. They’re not cheap machines, require expensive outside contractors to be repaired, and also still require an employee overseeing them.

It might seem cheaper in the sense that one cashier can oversee 6 customers using the machines instead of serving one customer at a time, but most of the time, there’s only going to be one person checking out. The only time that 1:6 ratio comes in to play is during narrow periods in the day when the store is very busy, like around 5~7 when a bunch of people are finished with work and on their way home.

Perhaps it would save money if they were keeping every check out lane open all shift long without these machines, thus requiring 6 people who’s sole job is to stand there idly most of a shift, but that’s not what they did. There is a lot of other work that needs to be done in the store, straightening shelves, refilling empty slots from overhead, helping customers find stuff. So most of the time 5 of those “cashiers” would be going around the store doing that when things weren’t busy, and then just staff the registers during those rushes. Those staff are still there, doing other things.

The machines are actually more expensive and shrinking margins, but they give management more direct control over the employees, since they can task them strictly to certain things and not have to worry about them getting pulled off ad hoc to staff registers. The additional cost is passed on to consumers, in a functioning market customers would avoid stores that raised prices, but since most stores do this, customers don’t have much of a choice.

Recursively force delete the listed directory, so not just delete the directory, but go through anything below and delete that too, and the / is the root directory. So it deletes everything.

I think in the case of Utah it’s something beyond just wanting to spy on people. I think the LDS(Mormon) church legitimately wants to stamp out porn all together among it’s members. The first step to that is of course, getting a comprehensive list of everyone viewing porn, via ID collection. Then hand that list over to the LDS church, who can name and shame members they find on it.

Now, they probably will not be able do this everywhere, but, in Utah, it is absolutely with in their power given how much power it has over the state government.

Gee it’s almost like this is not a modern issue but rather a condition that has always existed and only become seriously problematic recently due to the narrowing of type of work and accomplishments that are valued in a modern economy. Almost like the issue isn’t people who have all these mental health conditions, but rather an economy designed to only be suitable for a fairly small number of personality types.

Yup, some groups in the conflict have developed some really interesting methods for producing usable parts from off the shelf commercial components.

A stockpile pile of such things is not particularly useful without the ability to source the input. Rounds, spare parts and lubricants.

As well as all the organizational elements needed to make use effectively. None of which can be planned around without a clear idea of goals and the conditions they are expected to be used under. Arguably knowledge and tools to produce such things with limited resources available is more useful than a massive easily targeted stockpile.

“jUsT uSe A cHeCk LiSt”

I TRIED THAT! GUESS WHAT? I KEPT FORGETTING TO CHECK STUFF OFF!

For a theory to be useful, there needs to be a way that it can be proven wrong. If there is no way the theory can be proven wrong, then it’s not a theory. Something that can’t potentially be proven false also can’t potentially be proven to be true.

The problem with this kind of off the cuff “but what if” stuff is that not enough thought has gone in to it to even know what could be tested.