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Author Topic: Future of ElTank? [Locked]
Churi-ya  2 stars
Posts: 278
Registered: 2002-7-9 03:42:57
Well, having now DL'd, loaded and played with the other plug-ins out there, I find that my enjoyment of the game WILL substantially plummet, violently, when Tank stops working. Getting used to these new plug-ins isn't the issue. I can get to know them intimately, and give them every chance to do all they can - and they won't compare to the functionality, diversity and overall well thought out quality and ease of use that El Tank provided.


To hell with the ability to UCM with it - take THAT away completely - and I will simply be lost without it.


Now - lost MAY seem like a huge word - but, while I can play without the benefit of something playing "for me", and have done so for years - many of which did not involve the use of Decal at all (ask my first Patron and Monarch) - I stubbornly refused, adamantly, to use Decal, but eventually I got tired, dead bone tired, weary, bored and frustrated with endlessly looking for, and subsequently not finding that damn Ralirae character.


Then El Track opened a new world of ease of play for me.


And I found that elusive Aun and got my skill credit thank you very much.


I found countless corpses, not only my own, but of friends and even complete strangers in places I'd never been.


I found Plaguefang.


Twice.


I found The Pure One before he would spawn every 5 clicks....


Self buffing and the countless other inane and useless repeatative things required just to play - were eased significantly. El Tank does it all from directions to loot profiling to salvaging and sorting to usting to buffing both self and friends; to healing and staming self, friend and fellows - it's uses are brilliantly conceived and myriad. And cannot be replaced by anything else out there currently. Not effectively, not as conveniently, no matter how cleverly you configure or combine. The day Elgar announced his retirement, whatever his reasons, I DL'd as many plug-ins as I could and used them in as many combinations I could, using what seemed to make sense and using input from many many others and found that the game simply sucks without that ease of use I have come to rely on utterly.


Asheron's Call and El Tank are as far as I am concerned - one.


Now I find it noble, kind and honestly surprising to see how many people here are wishing El the best and thanking him for the things he has done for this community. And I have already stated my admiration for his contriubution and given my thanks for the petulant whining he has had to endure each and every month when they prop the game and Decal for a short while is down - and our precious Plug-in cannot be used.


But, while I am both grateful and thankful, and do wish him the very best in his pursuits, I have limits to the amounts of hypocracy I can stomach. Not Elgar's, and not any of yours - those of you reading this either. Instead, I find myself filled with loathing towards myself - as frankly with all these kind words and pleasant platitudes, not very deep down, no, actually simmering right on the surface, oh what the hell, roiling forth in a twisted raging mass is one ass load of pissed off.


Pissed off that something that I have come to rely on to play this game and MAKE it enjoyable for me, is going away.


And pissed off enough to state plainly that in my opinion, regardless of whether it is wanted, warrented or even right - that You Elgar, in your "I don't support Turbine anymore" stance, that walking away isn't going to hurt Turbine in the long run. But, let us assume a worst case scenario. Yes, if enough people DO walk away and quit the game because that ease of play they've come to count on, people like me have come to count on, then Turbine loses revenue. Hell, if they lose enough revenue, they pull the plug entirely. And I concede that if it comes to that, you will have dealt Turbine a death blow. The Biggest Global Ever. But I'll be damned if that's who you've really hurt. Everyone seems to be tip-toing around the fact that it's us, the countless players who will lose the ability to USE this plug-in, THOSE are the ones that are getting hurt here. And if an El Tank free AC kills AC, then guess what, you've deprived all of us the game we love. Speaking worst case mind you.


For me it would boil down to responsibility. As a Monarch, I have a responsibility to my clan in this game. I have friends who want to play newer brighter games. They push and prod me tirelessly to join them. But I have a responsibility to those who remain here, friends and clanmates all. I don't want to talk them into going anywhere else, to do anything else, because this is where their fun is. Along these lines, for me, if I had the ways and means to MAKE a plug-in as wonderous as El Tank, and I had thousands of people that relied on it for their enjoyment of the game - then I would feel an obligation to them as well. Aye, you're not bringing it down today, or tommorrow. Aye, you've not made paying on Pay Pal a mandatory thing - and you've put up with enldess grief from a thousand different directions while providing an oft times thankless service, all for free. And yes, you'll give us time to seek out other solutions to our needs, and yes, yes, there are other plug-ins out there that at least vainly attempt to do what El Tank can. And ultimately, of course, we could remove decal completely and do what god, country and Turbine always envisioned, and play the game as is - 3rd Party App free.


But again, speaking for myself, and not anyone else:


I don't ever want to go back to that day. Not ever.


And finally I'm pissed because it looks like I will have little choice.

 

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Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - DM for 28 Years!
Asheron's Call: Bleys Icefalcon; Monarch of Renaissance - on Harvestgain
If you want someone to be politically correct, I suggest not engaging me in conversation.
Gones_Mage  2 stars
Posts: 448
Registered: 2004-7-8 07:11:11
THX for the time with El Tank.

It made ALOT of GREAT friends for me.... Being able to chat and hunt....What a concept...


GL in whatever ya may do.


IF was my baby too.......I'd take IT with me as well

 

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Gones
Clan Takada
30x275!
hobartbouregarde  1 star
Posts: 79
Registered: 2002-5-12 13:16:24
Can we come up with a fund to keep ElGarls accounts active so he can test?

 

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Hobartsun 200+ Mage
Hobart Bouregarde 130+ Axe
Abju 130+ Sword
Obju 150+ buff bot/tinker
Drakier  4 stars
Posts: 1,486
Registered:
That goes against what Elgar said.. he doesn't want to support Turbine at all.. by someone else paying an account for him, it would indirectly contribute funds to Turbine which would in turn support them.


It's a matter of principle and I see where Elgar is coming from. I respect his decision. Why can't other people just let it go and respect his wishes as well rather than trying to convince him to change his mind, or pay for his account?
ElgarL  2 stars
Posts: 332
Registered:
Drakier is correct. Someone else paying for my account is going against my desires. I refuse to support Turbine in any way, unless we get at the very least a dedicated Dev team.


You must have seen the latest teaser pic for the next patch? It's the drudge disco. It's not even new, It's years old. It's just an ancient dungeon being opened up again. Thats not content. It's fobbing the players off with changing around already existing content and attmepting to pass it off as new.


Actually the Drudge Disco has been in the game since the days of Beta. Everyone had a party there when they closed the server on the last day of Beta. It was revamped and used later in the Martine/Gaerlan story arc, and now is being opened up again as supposed new content.
migrax  1 star
Posts: 55
Registered:
Maybe this is signifying the end of AC???


I remember the last night of beta and the disco, at the time I thought it was the coolest thing, but that isn't content, it is 1999 era eye candy.


It doesn't matter. Maybe the game needs to be retired. I'd like to see it go out with this last surge of players than to see it just whimper away like AC2 did. Then I can rid myself of these laggy forums too.


migrax
Drakier  4 stars
Posts: 1,486
Registered:
forums? lag? where?
Yula_the_Mighty  1 star
Title: Lore Master
Posts: 235
Registered: 2004-1-25 06:01:16
Numerous people have been wanting Turbine to allow us access to some of the old content that we can not get too. Turbine goes and does a simple change to let us back in the End of Beta Disco Hall. People freak out because Turbine listened to their customers.


Could we wait until we see what all the October content is before napalming Turbine?


Or better still prep the flamethrowers to use on Frelorn's rump. We can search the October content for a bug or spelling error. I heard Frelorn likes it hot. So there is a good chance that Crowley and company left something for us to find so that we have a valid reason for flaming Frelorn.
Arch_Magi  3 stars
Title: The Lord of Chaos
Posts: 827
Registered: 2002-10-31 14:31:20
Yula_the_Mighty posted:

So there is a good chance that Crowley and company left something for us to find so that we have a valid reason for flaming Frelorn.



Since when do we need a "valid reason" to do that?
-Zalliun-  1 star
Posts: 89
Registered: 2002-1-30 14:07:47
-People freak out because Turbine listened to their customers.


Wonder why , we want housing , we want pkl was all great players ideas.


Polishing up old content isnt content , they should just go to 2 or 3 month cycles if they dont have the manpower.


A new Aerlinthe or Queens Quest would be amazing , new as in same complexity not polished up old Aerlinthe with new monsters, and just cap the levels at 60-80 so people could make a char and actaully have a challange trying to go though it for once.

 

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Fake it till you make it

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