Killing the community, one game at a time.

[Kamoba]

I think I was a cog at some point. I was the left Engie on a SLUG Mobula captained by a friendly guy named Cheeseness. I requested a Hades on the lower gun mount, and he happily obliged. He gave loadout suggestions which I happily followed. I won't say I carried the team, because I definitely didn't. But I learned my way around a Mobula, and Captain Cheeseness even learned a Hades' arc. So I wasn't really a cog, I was a crewman.

You was a cog which connected to your machine and another cog.

[Koali]

The funny thing is that Cheeseness was like lvl 40+

[Ightrril]

The funny thing is that Cheeseness was like lvl 40+

I know I'm often learning different arcs for different guns on different ships, especially Mobulas and Squids. If you're not used to flying a certain ship, or you've got guns in different positions than usual, then good communication with whoever is on the gun(s) will certainly help the pilot learn the arcs.

[Alexor Huxley]

Most of my discouragement has come while on the forums. There are a few very vocal elitists here who repeatedly say "lul h8 pubz, prvt match 4tw". If I get stomped by an all-clan team or something, I take it as a bad match and keep playing. It's when I get on here and realize the aforementioned people are so pretentious that I go a little stir crazy.

It's like this one time when I played chess with a guy who was totally into it. I play chess for fun, for a mental exercise. He looked angrily at my apparently arbitrary movements and said, "I don't recognize this strategy. Do you know how to play?" There's a difference between tic-tac-toe'ing with squares, X's, and O's and enjoying the game without breaking it down into a precise science which, when deviated from, people freak at the noobs. Playing three-corners is significantly less exciting for people who are about playing rather than winning.

But again, I've only ever seen people freak on the forums, so. There's that.

[Richard LeMoon]

But again, I've only ever seen people freak on the forums, so. There's that.

That is a rather dubious generalization. Perhaps you are only looking for the freaking out?

[Schwalbe]

Believe me, when stacked crew see that enemies are, well, stupid, the stacked crew is pissed as well. The difference is, that experienced people have some class, dignity, and sort of a sense of dignity not to say that during match, not to discourage new players, that may come to learn something more in the future.

I'd rather say these are new players, not aware of the fact, that from every failure you can learn a lesson, but most of them refuse because of sheer lazyness.

[Kamoba]

Alexir. The problem is not that it is only only the forums, it is that the forums is the place these things should be discussed, infact it was this very thread which encouraged a few members of the community to get together and increase ways to learn the game, it has also helped encourage more players to manually balance matches or take "less than meta" builds when in unbalanced matches.
More higher level crews and clans are putting their members out of their comfort zones and throwing them new weapons, lumberjacks, Hades and flaks appear more than gatling mortar and carro flamer in the unbalanced matches. People are taking other ships too, more veteran operated spires and squids are cropping up, because the vets want to avoid the reputation which certain members are giving us.

3v3 stacked lobby by chance, we offered to balance the match, the enemy refused, and even gave some strong words assuming we were all new too, so we took three squids, one triple gatling one triple flak and the other double carro or something, we each had specific roles and everyone was out of their comfort zone, the match was a win to us but it was close, when they saw the levels at the end of the match their overall attitude changed and the two new.player ships.stuck around for more.fun games.
Happy days.

[Dutch Vanya]

I'd rather say these are new players, not aware of the fact, that from every failure you can learn a lesson, but most of them refuse because of sheer lazyness.

I always say getting your ass handed to you is the best way to get better at something.

[Kamoba]

I'd rather say these are new players, not aware of the fact, that from every failure you can learn a lesson, but most of them refuse because of sheer lazyness.

I always say getting your ass handed to you is the best way to get better at something.

Also known as "Practice makes perfect." And "Trial and error." "Learn from your mistakes." And "Don't charge that galleons broadside!"

[Koali]

The funny thing is that Cheeseness was like lvl 40+

I know I'm often learning different arcs for different guns on different ships, especially Mobulas and Squids. If you're not used to flying a certain ship, or you've got guns in different positions than usual, then good communication with whoever is on the gun(s) will certainly help the pilot learn the arcs.

Yeah, it takes some time to get used to the fact that the Mobula's side guns are mounted at a slight outward angle. Every slot was an Artemis (which has one of, if not the, widest arcs in the game) until I requested a Hades.

[Alexor Huxley]

But again, I've only ever seen people freak on the forums, so. There's that.

That is a rather dubious generalization. Perhaps you are only looking for the freaking out?

Oh no, I didn't mean that that's all I see on the forums, I meant that I've only seen hostility toward noobs on the forums as opposed to in-game. To say it a different way, no matter how frustrated elites are in-game, they're almost always chums about it. I only ever experienced anti-new-player sentiment on the forum. Like looking at one surface and finding certain bacteria, and looking at another and finding different bacteria. It doesn't mean the latter species is all that exist on that surface, only that it's a new environmental factor that I hadn't noticed previously.

Make sense?

I think the more than educating new players on all the ins and outs of being a pro airship crewman, the community needs to find and accept a balance of player interest levels. I'm a full-time college student with an internship and two jobs. I understand it's a small community, and there are a lot of influential, highly skilled members here, but sometimes it feels a little like a religious conversion. Get good fast, or you're wasting our time in-game. Or, join our super awesome clan so you can one day be super good and compete with us - but I can't in good conscience sign up for something I won't be able to carry through on.

Now, I certainly won't stop playing, and this definitely doesn't apply to everyone here. To the contrary, as I said before, just a few very vocal individuals, but it's still a little jarring for new members visiting the forums.

[Kamoba]

I actually find it funny to think these forums are considered jarring... They're the nicest community I've met and had the pleasure to natter with... Many... Oh so many forums are filled with members who make even our "most toxic" look like saints in comparison..

[Richard LeMoon]

I see. Though, I have seen some pretty harsh anti'noob'ism in my time in the game. Most of those people don't last much longer once they start doing that. It may be that you don't see it in the game because so many people use crew form now just to avoid MM.

Then again, there is not a strong elitism sense in any part of the game. Most players seem willing to give new people at least one chance.

[Squidslinger Gilder]

Yeah not really jarring. This place is rather tame. We maybe have a toxic member come through once a year. Toxic players just return to LoL or CoD before they bother with this game.

I don't hate noobs, just idiots and trolls or people not willing to listen to reason. Noobs can actually grow and learn and want to get better pending they are responsive and listen. Trouble is many of the vets have been burned by lots of bad ones. I don't want to bother teaching them anymore unless they show they are decent human beings. Heck I know CAs who got fed up with these sorts of people. They'd be kind and nice and the new player would treat them like dirt.

Then theres the idiots who sit there in lobby making horny possum calls and think its funny. Or in a game which requires voice chat, they'll have all sound off cranking out music full blast.

I'm very honest and up front with noobs. I'll take you on my ship and you'll have a blast, but you better: 1: communicate, 2: listen to instruction, 3: your gunner class does not exist unless I say it exists, and 4: like mines...oh and 5: if you harass females players, I'll make it my goal to see you either banned, or mined till rage quit.

[Alexor Huxley]

I'll make myself a little more clear before bowing out since this obviously isn't a popular opinion:

I have encountered exactly two people who I would call jerks - or freshmen in high school without hobbies, it remains to be seen. These people rebutted pretty much every post I made for the first few weeks with "Lul, whatever noob, gonna go back to winning. PEACE!" These people made a noob feel unwelcome because the three numbers under my name seemed to invalidate my ideas. These are the elitists of whom I speak.

That's all. No need to enter elaborate explanation on why you're all awesome. You are. That's not what I'm disputing. Merely that some people who like winning more than having fun lurk in the community and are jerks to newcomers. It's simple.

G'night.