I've written about the wonders of modern life right? Well, one of those wonders I've had the pleasure to enjoy is online gaming. I've never been a fan fo things like World of Warcraft, where you have to be glued for days to make any progress, so I've stuck so far with arcade like things like shooters and so.
One game that has gotten my attention so far is Monster Hunter Tri. I've played other games fo the franchise so I was expecting it for a long time. I've almost dedicated this blog post to the game in particular. Almost is the key word.
In online gaming, many things are prone to happen, and that along with copious amounts of gameplay, that amount to weeks and months, even more things. I've simply felt the need to share these experiences with you, my fair readers. I'm also at liberty of telling tales from some other people here.
Online etiquette, or netiquette, as once I heard. is a matter of discussion nowadays. Pretty much in between "if you don't act like a douche in real life, why should you do so online" and a signature in GameFAQs that I found pretty hilarious: "I thought internet was like a multiplayer notepad, so nothing I say will matter".
Online gaming is no exception, I'm sure many of you have found the displeasure of kids playing Halo 3, and their motor-mouth-never-ending cussing in high pitched voices. I'm not against cursing, I mean, I do so more than I'd like to, but when a kid spews bad words like there's no tomorrow...
Alas, I digress...
The point is, as no one likes these things happening, analog situations happen in Monster Hunter Tri.
First and worst: the oh-so-ungodly questjoin.
Imagine you're playing with some dudes that aren't half-bad. They know the game, what are they facing, and the key to survival. You're doing fine until some random guy appears and then follows like this:
*RandomN00b entered the city*
*RandomN00b posts a quest* (Usually their urgent or something they want to farm)
RandomN00b: quest
*Nobody gives a damn*
RandomN00b: join
*RandomN00b left the city*
If your city is labeled "Everybody welcome", that's pretty self-explanatory. You don't (mostly) mind who enters the city. But at least have minimal manners and ask for help. Don't just post a quest and expect people to help.
But it really brings things to a boil when you're in a room labeled "Playing with friends", "Event quests ho!" or in recuiting servers. When I read "Playing with friends, I read these guys know each other, and want to play with their true and tested companions, not with any random that chances upon the room. And you'll find yourself asking them "nicely" to leave when faced with the above situation. I've heard cases where people go to the most remote server in the most remote city and people STILL find their way into "Playing with friends". Does this mean that these folks actively search for those cities?
Same thing applies for events. Event quests happen just once in a while, and some of them yield pretty good and collectible weapons and armor. So imagine someone posting another quest, like in the oh-so-ungodly questjoin.
Recruiting servers allow you to state the specific monster you wish to hunt. And now pair it with questjoin. See my point? In these situations, you get three angry hunters for the price of one. Talk about a deal. The icying of the cake is when the other guy, pissed at everyone else, just calls them noobs, or idiots.
Next, we have the "vet".
I'm sure that if my fair readers have played online, you have seen the guy who claims everyone else is a noob, and the feel free to tell them how to play the game.
It's ok to give advice every now and then. In games like Monster Hunter, it may even get the job done, as helping a fellow hunter means helping the entire hunting party. Just don't call people retarded just because they don't play the game like you do.
Third: the "leech".
I'm sure the term was made popular somewhere else, but horrible to deal anywhere. For those unfamiliar with the term, leech means someone who waits for the battle to be over, and swoop the loot they didn't win for themselves. In Monster Hunter, these guys simply wait safely in the next area, while their teammates, with enough skill, avoid getting pummeled and return when the deal is sealed.
Once I heard a story of a High-rank guy who came down from heavens to help other hunters with whatever troubles plagued them. He chanced upon a room with guys trying to do 2*Urgent quests, which is needed to further advance in the game. He pretty much tore the monster by himself, with some help of the guy who tried to do the quest in the first place. The other two guys simply observed in the distance. When the job was done, these two jerks simply moved in to get an easy loot. The high-rank guy, pissed off at this cowardice, prevented them from carving their loot. As expected, they were outraged too, and demanded an explanation. He stated that they pretty much did nothing but watch, and therefore didn't deserve rewards. After this whole mess, these guys claimed that my acquaintance's name would be smeared all over the internetz. A second guy came in, but far to their demise, he was a friend of his. Same story happened, but with an awful twist. Here you can "end via subquest" meaning you can finish with minimal reward and the job not done. Guess what happens when this guy faces two leeches.
The honorific mention goes to playing with randoms. Many times you expect people to at least be able to carry their own weight in battle. But you always have the risk of teaming with noobs, which is especially annoying between High-ranks. I still wonder how did some of them archieved such high rank, when they can't even hold their own in easy quests. So my advice in this matter is: play with friends you met beforehand.
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I still feel like writing a small note on online gaming from the three sides of the actual console war. So, enjoy.
1.- Nintendo WiFi Connection.
Currently, the system I own.
First and foremost, IT'S FREE! That means no ugly-butt Xbox live subscriptions. Which by the way, I'm still looking for the way to cancel it, making the Wii very convenient for cheapskates like me.
It tends to get kind of laggy, but only in certain games. Unfortunately, one of those games is Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which I enjoy thoroughly, and yet only locally. Boo hoo.
Other games like Mario Kart work just fine, especially playing with randoms. They seem to have an inconvenient one way or another, but games in general are enjoyable nonetheless. Also you're free to use an USB Keyboard for your communication needs.
Did I mention it's free? I did? Well, it is.
2.- Xbox Live.
Quite popular. A friend request system takes off the annoyance of the Wii's friend codes. A nice voice chat system too. I kinda dislike you have to buy a special keyboard for those needs. Overall, pretty well thought out, if you ask me. You can also download updates for games, which is good. I played the lost chapter for Gears of War 2, and I felt good to be able to play it.
Still, because it seems to be popular with kids these days, it's fairly easy to cross with a cussing kid, which is more annoying than a die-hard Twilight fan.
I must also complain about the subscriptions. If I wanted to renew my subscription, I'd say so in the first place. Thanks, Microsoft jerks, I owe my pal a month of Gold subscription.
Still, if Monster Hunter Frontier is confirmed for the US, I'd buy an Xbox in a heartbeat. Overall, I feel the general structure for Xbox Live compared to Nintendo WiFi Connection would be better. Not that the Wii is bad, just would be a tad easier to manage. Then you can renew my subscription.
3.-Playstation Network:
Actually, I've haven't had enough time to tinker with the ins and outs of PSN. And I've only played one game. BUT, so far, the one I've liked the most. I played Battlefield: Bad Company for a while, and it felt almost lagless, if any at all. I really liked how you can enter the game at any given moment, or even quit without making a fuss, and that makes it quite impressive. And I love when the Russians toss grenades. Overall, it seems to have all the good things of Xbox Live, and a bit more. The only thing I've noticed so far, is that either my friend's sound is rotten, or voice chat isn't very clear.
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There, after a long rant, I can say I'm finished for now. So if you meet a guy named Diablo in Monster Hunter Tri, say hi. Make sure that he's Diablo, the official Russian Dog of the Clan Tantalus. If you find some of my clanmates, say hi to them too.
-From Zim's Olde Desktop