The pampered experience group (deferential players and forward GMs)

[ELance]

It has been my observation on Project '99 that, unlike classic, one group will often dominate uncontested a very large number of spawns relative to the number of people in the zone seeking something to do. It is my assertion that this is brought about by forward GMs on Project '99, who act more eagerly than they did in classic, and deferential players, who unknowing of the rules voluntarily restrict themselves from what in classic would have been theirs, out of fear of punishment or simply the involvement of GMs, which often happens immediately when someone petitions and is not generally a positive experience for anyone. I have seen a few situations like this, and here is how it usually goes.

One or two players in a group are short-tempered, irrational or what have you. They see someone not in the group take something they feel is theirs, and they bristle up. Sometimes they will say something in OOC in an effeminate way, such as "Please don't take our spawns. Thanks." When their vain aggression is ignored, by people who like to play without a headache, mock courtesy quickly and predictably turns to petitions and reports. Here is where I think things are handled improperly and have a negative effect upon Project '99.

But first, some background. In classic, we know that GMs generally only responded to repeated kill stealing and deliberate training, not minor disputes over camps. Usenet is rife with anecdotal evidence that they seldom responded at all, and the likelihood of their response was proportionate to the number of petitions they received with regard to it. I was once told by someone on here that times have changed, signifying I suppose that players today are wilder and more unruly than they were, but I think not. As I assert most here are deferential, it is my conviction, and truly beyond dispute, that this server is placid compared to classic. But let me provide two examples, not to show the state of camping disputes in classic (because, as I say, these were generally left to players), but to show the vast difference in incidents in classic and now.

"Example: I was after a Chittin Shell Shield to increase my AC and just
for the cool looks (it matches my outfit), so i went down to Guk and started
camping for one. At level 25. the mob who drops it was blue to me so I was
getting exp and i had a chance at a cool item to loot. All of a sudden, a
mid 30s KSer (scumbag by the name of Cendar Fireheart) walks up and starts
attacking the mob i was after. I asked what he was doing and he says
"Killing, and you?".
After i explained to him that i was there first and he should wait his
turn and he said "There is no name on it.. whoever gets it, gets it" I
petitioned and was basically told too bad. " 9/13/99

"Hah, Rivan and Trevor on The Rathe CONSTANTLY trained DVinn, King Crush,
and their band of orcs through the newbies, and steal kills constantly as
well. On purpose.
Everybody in the damn zone (and Crushbone is always FULL) /petition'd and
/feedback'd them, and last I checked they're both still in the game. As
far as I can tell, GM's only ban for exploits, nothing else. AFAIK they
didn't even get a warning." 4/5/99


It is obvious that GMs on Project '99 are not like the ones in classic. Whether that is good or bad is for another thread (and maybe not these message boards), but it does bear on this in one way. GMs here do act on minor camping disputes, things that were resolved before by players. That is to say, if one person out of twelve petitions, I have seen no reason to believe a GM will not intervene and very quickly. I think very few good persons wish to involve GMs in disputes. It is irrational. In classic Everquest, presuming a GM did respond to a camping dispute, the guidebook told him simply to tell the players to work it out themselves. And then he left. In other words, the irrational players were reminded to be reasonable. It is nice Project '99 says in the rules players should work things out themselves, but it is important to understand that one or two people do not represent everyone there. Working things out means sharing or moving on, generally. I was in a group the other day, and one person ran through it pulling for another, and someone in one said, "Don't do that again or I'll report you". The words of a child? No--they are the words of someone with power. The GM came immediately. It is my assertion in this thread that this is bad.

I will cut this post short with my proposed solution. Supposition: camping dispute, a few players become irrational, they petition because mobs they feel are theirs, in a crowded zone, are being taken. Solution: GM receives the complaint and monitors the situation lightly. Maybe he troubles himself to remind them they should work things out themselves (better handled in a tell to the petitioner than the apperance of a GM in the middle of a group, which alarms people). GM only intervenes if the situation escalates to intentional trains or repeated killstealing.

Project '99 has been around a while, and so there must have been some objection to this solution, which it seems to me is most reasonable. I simply close by reminding people this is a massively multiplayer game. Players such as myself put up with rampant spoiler site usage, toilet humour and juvenile lingo, others need to put up with those who are not deferential. Otherwise it will not be a massively multiplayer game in the way classic Everquest was. Here are some opinions of players from '99. Do you think these people play on Project '99? I would wager not.

"You guys, get off it. it is Sony's responibility to make sure bugs are being
handled correctly, and that servers are running smooth. the online GM's are
there to ensure FAIR gameplay (as in to cheating ie finding safe zones etc.
and to get peoples stuck bodies out from a wall...)
They are there NOT to run around listening to whiners. about he sent me a
train. (boo hoo)

If they are pissing you off, then be smart, do something back to them. bring
trains to him, or if you are too wimpy, then go elsewhere and hunt.

The only time ithink a GM should intervene is if the rude player is
following you around.... thats all..." 4/7/99

"Clearly, you dont understand the concept of the GMs on Everquest. First of
all.. I paid money to play this online rpg, which is a rareity. I play MUDs
and they are free, and I might actually fear (a teensy bit) the IMMs doing
somehting bad to me if I was being "unethical". But, since I paid cashmoney to
play EQ, I don't fear that at all.. they have to have a really good reason in
order to talk to me (or even think about booting me from the game.)

GMs are mostly there to cover up EQs bugs. If somehting bad happens, they will
fix it. If someone finds a bug, they report it to the GM and it gets fixed. If
someone is exploiting a bug, they will take care of that (alot faster than
anything else actually..hehe.)

HOWEVER, they don't have time nor the brainpower to listen to all you ---
--- ----- about me utilizing the games features at its fullest. I am not 14,
I am in fact alot more mature than you think. If you don't like they way I
play, get out of my zone. If you feel like getting revenge somehow.. declare
against my guild when I make one and try to kill me. "Telling on me" is not
the way to get my to be nice to you." 4/1/99