MMO: Why do people not play together?

~Our Fellowship and Life of the Party~!'
Unless it's at the level of monsters where a party is needed, I enjoy seeing my friends out while hunting, yet it's the chit chat life of the party that overwhelms the hunt.
At a dance party, there's no danger, much dancing and great fun. Yet when hunting, if there's no actual danger, then a community party of chit chat begins.
"But when there is a real and present danger, then the true meanings and needs of Fellowship causes the action which is the life of the party".
~Time Lord~

 

Mostly SPO for now while I'm grinding. But I keep an eye on guild chat while in SPO. After I level a bit I expect to do much more group hunting/socializing.

 

Uhhh...and a bad Memory... @Cally you remember my call during 28 or 29, when I gather people here in the forum to do a quest?

When I realised the same evening that only 6 or 8 peopel were allowed and you had to stay alone? Thats a pretty bad memoy of mine to have failed.

--

And...you dont get to meet the people you pass by. For example: I cant go and help another player in need. My healing doesnt affect them, if I attack their mob, chances are they get 0 xp and no loot. There isnt the "woaa, thanks man, you saved me...have time for some adventuring?"

So chances to make friends, in the game itself are "medium" at best.

And I am the bard standing in Resolute...you think anyone stops by and says hi? Guess again

The big difference between SPO an MPO is...well, you get to see others and have less Mobs/resources at your disposal. But you dont get to play "with" them.

 

Same old drum being banged just a different thread title. Don't play a multiplayer game if it upsets you so much. Otherwise get in game and start chatting and grouping with people. There are many friendly people in game.

I talk to random people almost everyday that I'm in game. I've also grouped up with people I've never met before. Even people who are in different guilds. Sometimes I like to play solo while online because I'm focused on a mostly solo activity but enjoy chatting with other sota friends. E.g. only really I can layout my pot so for now it is a solo effort.

 

As a crafter I gather either in friends only or SPO. Get more resources that way.

 

The harsh truth of MMO gaming is that in most cases, people who play constantly get what nongamers would call a false sense of accomplishment from their in-game adventures. Their lives aren't what they would consider stellar, so they escape into a fantasy world where that feeling of accomplishment is easier to achieve, maintain and where failure is less punitive.

This manifests itself into a level of pride in their characters which in turn leads to a virtual superiority complex and before you know it, (as a progressive trend) it's no longer an MMO, it's a solo game that happens to have other players in it that they use to benchmark their own "success" within their new found reality which in perfect circle fashion, feeds their false sense of accomplishment. Keep in mind this mentality can easily exist for someone who has a large following or is always in a big group, they are seemingly community oriented but always competitive with peers and always have to be the loudest person in the TS.

You'll always recognise these people as the ones who have big egos and big personalities in game but arent fit and are very withdrawn in real life. Their introvert personalities can only force an outward charisma when called to do so, but its a ploy, a defense mechanism to hide their fear that they wont be accepted for their true selves and after a while its back to their own world where they feel safe and they can shine.

That gameplay ego also feeds the forum, "my opinion is more important or more correct than yours" attitude. They won't accept or consider diverse perspectives and they become baligerent with others when their views or their methodologies are questioned.

These traits are of course varied in extremity from player to player. The thing to look for in good friends in an MMO are things like selflessness, (not to be confused with self promoting selflessness) logic, open mindedness, and consistently balanced moods.

-Grave

 

The lack of different servers but one server for all makes it necessary to install several instances which are - in this case - online solo and online friends. Removing these would crush areas because of the packing of ppl in a small space. Additionally I always play with friends in "online friends" and we enjoy this way of playing.

 

The only things that bothers me about friends and solo online modes are how resources and loot can be injected into the online MMO economy. I'm clueless on how Portalarium makes use of all these different styles of game play for balancing... I really can't make any sense of it. The economics of this game really bother me - how they've already announced set tax rates across the map prior to any balancing really bothers me. I feel like online modes outside the MMO should not be part of the multiplayer experience and definitely not be part of the MMO economy.

But with all things being as they are...

I tried grinding in SPO. The grind seemed basic enough; although it was strange being in a Shardfall when there was no one else around. After it was all said and done, I felt like logging into SPO just to grind wasn't ever going to do it for me... seriously, I get more pleasure from reading the news. I like the MMO side of the game, and I'll likely run through all the story lines in the offline mode at some point. I think all online modes other than multiplayer need to be completely divorced from the MMO economy. After that, we'd all likely see a ton more folks playing the game in multiplayer.

 

This is so true and well written, I agree!

 

This is a social media problem.

Usually in MP games you need to cooperate to win. You just need to get rid of stupid people dragging your group down. Just like in real life, success comes when talented and cooperating people come together to do sth. Truth is you have more total newbs nowadays, so it became a quicker way to just rush the progress alone and then find others that did likewise.

 

The MMO-Part is the cash-cow for Portalarium. Splitting this already small amount of active players in different groups, means the MMO-Part will die first - nobody wants to play an MMO alone.

 

There are different personality types. There will be different people with different values playing, and a game designer will usually (not always) attempt to make the game such that the introvert can have just as good a time as the extrovert. Most people are somewhere on that spectrum between introvert and extrovert, so they will vary in their desire to group and aggregate. Each is equally valid a preference. However, extroverts, gregarious people, and people who desire control of others will argue that only people who want to group should play an MMO, but their argument is valid only for those who enjoy grouping. Introverts find value in being around other people but prefer to be so at a distance. There are also the independent ones who consider the grouping tool as an expedient solution appropriate only for occasions where a desirable objective is achievable only through cooperative play. There is no 'right' type of player in an MMO. There are arguably 'wrong' types, but those are the few who find value in imposing themselves most on people who they discover can be annoyed.

So far I am enjoying SoA greatly, but I haven't found any encounter that required me to group. I think it is ideal to have scenarios where grouping is encouraged, but improper to have necessary scenarios that require grouping. Forced socialization is anathema.

 

Sir, while I find your post well written...it is filled with polemik and analysis of people that you dont know in 99% of those cases.

And about my quote of your post...Sir...do you play since yesterday???? I Play since maybe 20 years and about 8 to 10 years with more or less the same buddies (some leave, some fill the gaps...) and those people, when online (including me) are NOT the same people you would meet in live. They react different, they are everything else then in a consistently balanced mood...and yet they have kids and jobs and in some cases at the head of international companies...and yet...when you hear em you wouldnt think they are older then 10.

And thats ok...we play to stay young. The trick is to have young spirit in an old boddy...and gaming is a hugh help.

IMHO of course.

 

And then the question...

...have you ever seen a thread derail?

 

I find it interesting that you feel so reactively passionate about my post rather than treating it objectively, must have hit a chord.

You're correct here when you say people we meet in game are not the same people we would meet irl and that is the major difference between anti-social vs sociable behavior. Most people are forced into a stressed, more aggressive or dominant state when at work and tend to relax their dameanors when at play. This is 100% normal and healthy. The red flag should go up when a person is more aggressive while at play because that means they hold a feeling of inadiquicy or subjugation in daily life. When it manifests itself in an extreme case, it's unconscious social animosity at its core and isn't healthy for the person who displays the behavior or people that are subjected to it.

 

Multiplayer is for showing off all the stuff you got in single player.

 

I don't agree at all
I play EVE solo most of the time, same as SotA.
I always look for online games because, despite of playing more like a PvE style (player vs. environment), real players make an immensely more interesting , unpredictable and rich environment.

 

not really...or maybe, dont know, possible since you write for all MMO players and I am one of them.


And...just writing something like you did...and grab the first one that answers to it with "must have hit a chord ehh" is well...if its your thing, then enjoy. My ex GF used the same argument in disputes, good thing its over

Good luck to you Sir.

 

Uh huh. Good luck.

 

I wouldnt have written your text in the first place.

Simply because I have a ton of friends...and most played MMOs...and they have bad day, good days, stressful days...they are human beings...that I never would analyse or event comment...nor state that i saw through them.
You analyse...me for my answer, others for their behavior and you state things that are dangerous from a social point of view...without ever having met one of them.

And thats ok...if its your thing. Its about respect...imho...about being accepted and accepting others...and for that you dont need to analyse. I dont for my part...gaming is part of my free time and .


Yes...I wrote more what went lost due to this server showing me the middle finger

have a nice day guys...your great.