Aion Stuff

Any form of software-based account security can and will be compromised eventually. Any time there is communication, it can be intercepted. What if you could tie your account to your DNA? Obviously this isn’t possible right now, and I’m not saying it’s even a good idea; I’m just wondering what the implications of that might be. Would it improve security, or would we just end up with a scenario where people go through your trash looking for hair and toenails?

(I realize that any biosecurity system would be only as good as the software powering it, but I’m conveniently ignoring that for the moment.)

Thoughts?

There is nothing of substance in this post. If you want to read and reply, that’s your time wasted, but don’t say I didn’t warn you

I give up. I’m keeping my subscription for another couple of months to get the veteran wings, ’cause if a miracle happens (if 2.0 delivers, for example) I might come back. That, and for the next 6 weeks or so, Aion is the closest thing I’ll have to a social life.

Aion just isn’t fun. Somebody will say it’s ’cause I suck at the game, and I do; but I sucked at WoW too (yeah, I know), and I still had fun playing it. It’s not that I’m getting ganked; I have yet to see the enemy faction. It’s just, I dunno, the spark that made WoW fun to play in spite of everything just isn’t there. Not that I’m going back, for several reasons; but lately when I log into Aion, I think, "man, I miss my cow druid."

I think part of it might be the negativity on the forums. This isn’t a qq, just an observation. I show up here and read a ton of frustrated, disillusioned posts about the game itself and the customer service, and I start to think of the game in those terms. I notice and remember the parts that suck, instead of the parts that actually work. I’m not saying Aion would magically be fun if the forums were all rainbows and fluffy bunnies – obviously not – but if this effect is more widespread than just me, then ncsoft probably has a vicious feedback loop going here.

I think I’m going to get back into single-player RPGs for a while. I’m sick of the basic problems inherent to MMOs and seriously jonesing for a good story.

I just leveled my Cooking from 1-70 and didn’t receive a single recipe… do you have to buy them? /confused

I’m having two issues with downloading the latest patch. (I haven’t played in a while.) First, I’m on a 512 MB/day connection for the next couple of months. The patch is about 194 MB, but downloading it uses more than twice that. Is this normal? Anyway, the result is that I can’t download the entire patch in one session, at least not without paying hefty overuse fees.

Second, when I close the launcher and restart it later, the download starts from square one. Every. Single. Time. So: can’t download the update in one session; and must start downloading from zero every session. I think you see the problem here.

Halp?!

I’ve tried to track down everybody who already requested one on these forums, and no one’s gotten back to me, so first request gets it. Please post here first so this thread can die quickly, and then send me a PM.

It drives me nuts! I love the ambient music on the Asmo side, but I almost never get to hear it, because the combat piece keeps playing long after the enemy is dead. I’m starting to cringe every time that electric guitar starts up. I wish there were an option to turn off combat music, but keep the rest, just like the sound effects.

Other opinions?

First, this isn’t meant to be a complaint. I’m interested in how systems work, or don’t, and so I’m sort of morbidly fascinated by the botting/RMT issue. This is to satisfy my curiosity, not to air a grudge.

So now that that’s out of the way…

Assumption #1: NCsoft does not want bots/spammers/RMT in its game.
Assumption #2: NCsoft has the power to permanently get rid of any given offender, but does not necessarily know who they are.
Assumption #3: The players know who the offenders are – indeed, it is painfully obvious to any player with a brain who they are – but they do not have the power to ban.

The solution, so obvious it should go without saying, is for NCsoft to use the players’ knowledge to ban botters and spammers. And they are in fact doing this, or trying to, just like every other MMO company. Obviously, though, the problem isn’t that simple (for ANY game), or RMT would be a non-issue.

So… why is it so hard to transfer information (who the botters and spammers are) from players to companies? Where’s the bottleneck? What are the complications that keep this from working as well as it should?

I rolled Asmodian on Siel because my friends did the same. I haven’t had much time to play, so my characters are pretty much still sitting there shiny and new. My friends have been leveling, though, and now they’ve all left the server because (they say) Benny Lava has the Abyssal Shelf locked down tight, and it’s pointless to try to level an Asmo past 25 or so. One person who stayed, but plans to transfer out later, says he doesn’t even go near there during peak hours.

So… those of you who have played enough on Siel to have an opinion, what do you think? Should I stick around and hope the Asmodians get their act together, or should I leave now, while my characters are all under level 10?