Raging Against the Machine

Day 1,085, 13:09 • Published in USA USA • by PigInZen


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APmUWC8S1_M


Take the Power Back

Look, I know I haven't been back for very long, maybe about two weeks, max. But there's a couple of things I have to get off my chest. A few... observations about matters that have been rolling around in my head like a BB. Since rage articles seem to be all the, ummm, rage these days, I thought I'd join in on the fun. 'Cause nothing says fun like a middle-aged oldfart who plays browser games on the internet getting all worked up about imaginary, umm, stuff.

Except that I'm not all worked up. At least, not like the rest of you seem to be these days. I mean, holy cripe, get a grip, wouldja? This is a simple game and yeah, despite my absence from April to late October of this year I've been playing since May of 2009. So I'm pretty old in game terms (not just in real life, kids!). Was I a bit pissy about seeing my strength converted to 435 when others my age were over 1500? Yep. For about an hour. Then I got over it.

You see, I had already made the decision when I returned about WHY I like eRepublik. It's not because of my character's stats, my character's medals or any abstract crap like that. Nope, it's because of people like Harrison Richardson, Emerick, Hadrian X, GoalieBCSC, BradleyReala, Gates Schellinger and the countless others that comprise my group of online "friends." Sure, I could probably find numerous reasons to quit this game for good as seems to be the thing all the kewl kids are doing now. Fine, opinions are everywhere. I won't knock yours but do us a favor and stop rioting, OK? How many articles are going to be posted that discuss the same complaint about those who run and develop eRep?

I hope that we can collectively come to realize that the latest admin change to the strength attribute and the conversion thereof could actually help things. Hear me out: v1 was unsustainable. There was no possible way that new citizens could graduate to the higher eschalons of damage dealing. I remember many times sharing complaints with friends about how we would get close to the strength minimum for a certain branch of the US military and then that minimum would be raised. Why was it raised? Because so many higher strength citizens had increased their strength at the same rate we were. It was a demoralizing and sobering thought - here we saw the true titans of v1 dealing damage and knew that our names would never be included in the same category.

Now there exists the glimmer of hope that, yeah, I *could* achieve that level if I so desired. Of course there will always be the group of heavy hitters that trains at the same rate that I do but I'm willing to be that not all will do so. It's now in my hands, and, by extension, everyone elses. This is a Good Thing™ and if you're stuck on raging about your relatively weakling strength, well, I doubt there's not much I can do to convince you otherwise.

Let's also take into account that this is fundamentally and supposedly a PROFITABLE business. Or at least it's trying to be. By providing citizens with the choice of purchasing gold to pursue their dreams as opposed to playing for free and finding other challenges in the game, eRepublik is being smart both business-wise and gameplay-wise. The more choices of this the better. Let's remember that this is a game that has lost about 1/2 to 2/3rds of its active population just this year. Anything that can be done to reverse that is good for eRep the company, and, by extension, eRep the global simulator.

Yeah yeah yeah, gold sinks, exploitation, blah blah blah. Spare me. If you don't want to play this game in that manner THEN DON'T. I realize that you could probably purchase a copy of Civ 5 and happily wargame/roleplay to your heart's content. I could too, but feel that eRep presents me with a deeper yet briefer method of gameplay. It's my hope that everyone will feel the same but I acknowledge that some won't. I'm content, however, to try to make things as good as I can for myself and my friends THAT CHOOSE TO PLAY.





Moral Play and Role Playing



If I wanna Role Play I'll get my wife to dress up as a nurse.


You know one of the things I've noticed since returning? There was hardly a peep in our national press about the recent attempted PTO of Russian. Time was when such a suggestion would provoke a firestorm of debate, originating from that segment of eUSA society that believes that this game should be about "being better than the other guy." I, for one, am THRILLED that this has changed. Whether it has changed because we've collectively wised up or because those interested in moral-based role playing have either quit or moved abroad, so much the better.

Now this is going to get me in hot water but I could give a flying universal adjective. Astra Kat G, for all her great work and dedication in the eUSA Congress, was a moral-based role player. Instead of recognizing that countries like Russia (which has NEVER been cordial towards the eUSA) would take whatever opportunity to gain an advantage over the eUSA presented itself need to be aggressively dealt with by all legal means at our disposal, moral-based role players would rather debate the "ethics" of PTO operations at all.

Let's remember what happens to countries that don't organize and present an aggressive stance to countries that seek to occupy and subjugate: those countries get occupied and subjugated. It's in our interest to keep those countries that are not interested in openness, free trade and cooperation at full arm's length from not just the eUSA but our allies as well.

Of course, we could just let Serbia back into Asia and allow Indo to PTO Australia again. I'm sure if we don't PTO them that they'll play nicely with us. Get real. Stop treating this as your idealistic playground with regards to morality. There is no morality outside of one's own national borders. Only quid pro quo.





One More Observation...



Seems to be less of this going around


Is it just me or are there fewer trolls in IRC and the eUS forums (when they're operating...)? I suspect this is a byproduct of the reduction in population and a mass exodus of American citizens abroad. Whatever the reason, I find it a welcome development. I try not to be 2srs but man, sometimes the discord that we experienced back earlier this year just drove me nuts.

Given that we have a reduction in both moral-based role players AND juvenile trolls I think that's a WIN-WIN for the eUSA. Typically moral-based role players got trolled easily by the latter group and the resultant fallout spewed crap all over the rest of us that really dragged down morale.

Riddance.





E Pluribus Unum. From Many, One.



Together we have strength beyond measure. Together let's work to make the eUSA the most effective place in eRep. It's up to each of us, we gotta do it together.

Join or die.