It has come to my attention that people these days are whiny girls. It was always the case on these forums that people pointing out anything they like in the game, or generally things that are good, are ridiculed and shunned, while people throwing dirt are regarded with high respect. The common argument, of course, is that whining about stuff is good for the game.
Well, I would say - it depends on what it is that's whined about.
It's definitely not good for the community. As for the game, there's whining and there's criticism. Criticism's good. Well worded and thought-through criticism even better. But I think that devs' willingness to cater the critics and to discuss the direction of future development enthusiastically did the game a great disservice in the end. It made critics think devs are obligated to heed and resolve personal problems people have with the game. In other words - they turned critics into whiners.
There are many objective problems with the game. But there is also a road map and the remaining two thirds of the development ahead to be considered. That fact alone makes whining about missing features pointless. Valid, maybe, but stupid nonetheless.
Bugs are a similar story. The ones easily squished are, not surprisingly, easily and swiftly squished. The ones not so easily resolved are added to the list and dealt with, once related game features are worked on. For the rest - the immediate personal game-braking issues - there is an awesome and tireless support team, always standing tall.
But the whining I am most disappointed with isn't related to the development state of the game or bugs. It's the people blaming the game for their own mistakes, ignorance and incapability to think (in general).
As a person invested in helping newcomers how ever I can, I am getting increasingly frustrated by this.
Not the real newbies, confused about everything. They are fine. They will learn if they are willing to. And I can help to speed up the process. It's actually satisfying and a real part of my emergent gameplay. Despite the fact that 80% of the "problems" can be resolved simply by quoting the manual. All that is required is their willingness to play the game, accept its rules and mechanics and be free-minded and inventive enough to be able to blaze their own trail.
What really grinds my gear, though, are people ignoring all that. Instead there seems to be a trend of trying to somewhat emotionally blackmail the devs into changing the game, according to player's personal needs. Elite enables so many ways to play it, that it is really surprising to see people, inventing so many ways they can't play the game. And complaining about it. I have never seen this before in any other game. The game is what it is. You either like and play it or you don't. It's really that simple. Suggesting new features and helping with making the game bigger and better is good. It shows the love. But not like this. Demanding something so aggressively is incredibly and stupidly selfish.
The truth is, I'd feel safer flying stock Sidewinder through Cubeo in the afternoon than I do on these forums.
Elite is awesome. The amount of work on devs' part and the sheer amount of stuff and possibilities it lays within the reach of player's fingertips makes my mind boggle. It is absolutely unfathomable for me, how someone can accuse this game or people behind it of fault or laziness.
Ultimately this isn't just about Elite, I guess. It scares me, because I am starting to see this trend everywhere in the world. People taking the service and luxury for granted, people, who consider everything uncomfortable to be offensive. Sometimes it seems that a good half of the forum are lead designers and shareholders of Frontier. Sometimes it seems everyone feels the world owes them something just for their ability to breathe. To cultivate this mindset is dangerous beyond comprehension.
Well. Look at me whining away like a child, rambling inconsistently. How very selfish of me, being offended by other people's actions. I learned form the best.
o7
