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Do you like theft in Achaea?
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Comments
I remember! This is another bad anti-theft argument though. It is not the case that theft is "bad" because the "resources are bought with real money". First: not true of all relevant resources. Items are gifted, gold even can be gifted, or earned through attainment (House items, order items). Second: the distinction between resources bought with "real money" and effort/gameplay is not as meaningful as people sometimes think. I am now at an age, and stage of my life, where I would far, far, far rather have a genuinely free hour than I would... let's say $20. I would be much "angrier" if I lost an hour's worth of effort in a game, than I would if I lost that kind of investment. Money is just a form of exchange really - there are many types of "value".
Secondly, there's an underlying assumption to this type of argument that something bought with "real money" somehow retains its connection to that "real money" once it is in game. That there is some kind of continuing connection between the money you spent and the "money" you bought. There isn't. You haven't bought money. What you have bought is access to an imaginary item that only has effect/meaning within the game, and that is subject at all times to the changeable rules of the game. And the whims of the rule-makers. Now those rule-makers are rational business people (usually) and so they probably won't do anything too radical or something that entirely dissipates the value of the relevant item, but they don't have to. Nicola could declare tomorrow that gold would no longer be an acceptable currency for anything and we'd all have to suck it up (mostly - you could run some kind of shadow player currency for some stuff).
The argument you should be making is the one I made above - proportionality. There should be proportionality of risk/consequence - there is no bright line. There is no "this is wrong, because someone in a game is affecting my real world money". That's a category error, and it's a bad argument.
ETA: Not even really a bad argument though. It's hotly debated whether gacha counts as gambling, and I think it's been to show the same signs of addiction, so that argument wasn't made, but it certainly could be.
He did not claim that theft takes money directly from another player's pocket, but that it's bad because it includes things people paid real money on.
Also, no item in Achaea is imaginary. An item in Achaea is as real as a Netflix subscription, access to an ebook, rights to an MP3, etc.
And you won't understand the cause of your grief...
...But you'll always follow the voices beneath.
It's true that if you take all the rare minerals I got from paid promotions, that you have not stolen money from me.
However, you have taken something I paid money for, and it would be natural to be upset over that. At that point, whether you're robbing the character or the actual player is debatable.
Really, the fact you can use real money to buy anything in the game that's for sale, albeit indirectly, muddles everything up.
The argument is to the extent thievery should be allowed to steal these player investments. That is why I proposed above that we take away the ability to thieve items and set a cap for the amount of gold that can be stolen from an individual across a certain time period. I don't know about the numbers, that can be completely open for debate. That seems reasonable in my opinion, or is it not?
Career thieves should be hunted constantly. If you can hit them, you can set them up to be robbed better than an innocent victim. Use the tools you have to punish them! Interaction happens when you interact. Training new thieves is rare, 'cause casual pickpocketing ain't worth it and breaking into a shop is.
The ability to see loss as narrative gain is what fills out a story. I lead an Evil spy house in an isolationist city, so my perspective is different. I'm used to the bitter pill. Likening theft to perma death is disingenuous, unless you think dying in Minia is interesting.
Reaching down with a massive hand, Sartan lifts your head and draws a taloned finger across your throat, the wound closing as He does so.
The discussion around theft has been going for over two RL decades! So let's get honest here: Theft in Achaea isn't only broken, it's irreparable.
It's the single most damaging thing that Achaea suffers, in terms of player retention.
The mere fact that this thread exists, is evidence enough that theft should become one of those things no one even remembers was a thing.
You read and remember all the I quit threads in the past five years?
Aegis, God of War says, "You are dismissed from My demense, Astarod. Go forth and fight well. Bleed fiercely, and climb the purpose you have sought to chase for."
The fact people even try to defend theft in this game is honestly baffling. It's some legacy shit that needs to die. The same shit that used to fly back when you kept your class skills in dragonform doesn't fly today. It's game evolution.
I don't buy credits at all unless I plan to convert it into gold and [typically] kill some time at roulette. If I bought 100 credits and turned them into gold and disconnected suddenly and got back on to see I was pickpocketed clean out of a legitimate $40? I'd quit this game so goddamn quick it'd make the last ~14 years of my life tremble (since I started Achaea at all.) You tunnel vision people don't realise we have players that aren't in areas of the world with Godlike internet and pings, who have regular and consistent lag, disconnects and shit. Why should they be the prime target of something so detrimental to gameplay?
Tl;dr - Most of the people that voted Yes are people that are 99% likely to never even have to worry about theft to begin with. Theft is fucking stupid. It should have been taken out back and shot a long time ago.
Half the people who voted "yes" are at my level or worse! A lot of very good combatants hate theft too, using it as a metric of any kind isn't useful. It may be relevant if every person who hit "yes" was a known thief, but I see, perhaps, 4? in that list. Theft can remain, but it does need to ensure protections against stealing things that have had RL money put into them, even non-resetting items should be safe from theft, if they have been paid to be non-decay.
Results of disembowel testing | Knight limb counter | GMCP AB files
You know, I got a good job, new house, wife, hang out with friends a bit more, do more than sit infront of my computer nonstop, etc. All sorts of crazy shit that occupies a lot of my time. It doesn't take too much in life to take a step back and realize some shit is just straight up toxic. If I can manage 4 hours a week of doing more than standing around chatting with folks on my phone while I have some downtime at work, it's honestly surprising.
Theft is some toxic shit. I'd hate to imagine someone with my amount of available time trying to play this game just for the chill and rp while having to worry about their shit getting stolen. This is why I said - present me? I'd 100% quit if I got robbed, cus it would only be when I was super vulnerable or dc'd. Life can change your opinions and open your eyes to things when you consider people from their own perspective. But, Achaea has always had a playerbase that screams me, me, me! I'm guilty of being part of that at one point. However, it has nothing to do with me trying to get any of you people to like me, trust me.
Edit: Oh, and yeah. Two years ago I worked at a trash job, lived with my parents, chainsmoked cigarettes, my grandpa was alive, I had one less nephew, my uncle was alive... shit, I can go on and on about what changed over two years. A lot of things can change your outlook over that amount of time. So yeah, bitch move on bringing up some old stupid shit like that. The only thing you accomplished was making me cringe at my edgelord past self and how selfish and shitty I used to be.
@Minifie I have no clue what list you were looking at. You and maybe one other person are the only ones that don't fit any of my three options.