The Resident Cynic is back at GameSpy with a detailed story on whining from gameplayers. He says he hated EQ but is now defending the developers and that game players are spoiled and a pack of ungrateful morons. But other than that it is full of sarcasm and wit. My favorite quote is this, "If I were a developer on one of these titles, I wouldn't know whether to laugh or scream." Game Players Are Spoiled Thoughts On "Fan" Chats... By - Christopher Buecheler EverQuest Fans to Developers: "We're a pack of ungrateful morons" Whattap? So I was cruising by GameSpy Daily, and caught site of an "Fan Chat" interview clip from PlanetEverquest. Now, I tried EverQuest, back in late '99. I purchased the game for $45, installed, signed up, played for eight hours, canceled my account, uninstalled the game, and sold it in disgust for $15. So it might seem strange that I'm going to defend the developers of a game I believed, and still believe, to be nothing more than a glorified IRC channel with ugly textures and misshapen models (the new expansion sort of fixes these latter two problems, if you've got the gig of RAM necessary to run it well). However, the interview clips simultaneously amused and appalled me. I know that relations between Verant and its gamers are not exactly the best that have ever existed between a company and its customers... but the level of animosity that shows up just in a small sampling of "Fan" questions is remarkable. And it's mostly the fans' faults. Take a look at this example from the interview, and see if you get what I'm talking about, here: "Gordon [sic] is quoted as saying he wished they never made the spell. Well that makes us mages hopeful for anything doesn't it? You made it. Now use it." Excuse me? What may not be obvious from that quote, if you haven't read the full "Fan" chat over at PlanetEverQuest is that this guy is ticked because the developer has told him that Verant chose to make certain zones "non-Call of the Hero compatible" (whatever that means). The reason they chose to do this? Because the spell allows the user to skip completely through large chunks of the content present in the new zones. So what we have here, then is a player not requesting, but demanding, and rudely at that, to be allowed to skip over the content he is paying for. What he is saying is "You made it possible to cheat. So let us cheat. Now." Ahh, the MMORPG scene. Gotta love it. If an exploit exists, accidentally or no, it is their God Given Right(tm) to use that exploit, and to howl when it is taken away. EQ fans will tell me I'm full of it, but to me this is the same as someone complaining that the 2015 guys released a patch that made Medal of Honor servers not default to having the cheats on... which was initially the case. If I were a developer on one of these titles, I wouldn't know whether to laugh or scream. Attention: retarded chimpanzees - Just because something is possible, does not mean you have the right, or the reason, to do it. I can hear the arguments now: "But we paaaaayyy for the game. We should be able to do what we waaaaannnnaaaaa...." I pay for my apartment. A lot, actually. Does that mean I get to turn the stereo up in the middle of the night simply because I have an incredible urge to bust out some Massive Attack? No? But I pay for it! I should be able to do what I want to! Gimme a break. Accept the fact that an online RPG, by nature, must change and evolve on a constant basis. Accept that you're going to find exploits, or that spells are going to be released that end up more powerful than they're going to be. Expect adjustments, tweaks, changes. And if you simply must ask questions about it, try not to be a complete jackass in your questioning. It makes your whole community look like The Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. Original thread with pictures and sarcasm here.