Americans...no fun :PFollow

OK,

I know for sure I'm going to get flamed on this post, but please dont rate me down, I'm just saying as I see it.

I came to EQ2 from SWG where I played on a European server. My guild in SWG was full of Brits, French and Norwegians with a smattering of Americans. From logging on to logging off, guild chat was hilarious. The talk occaisonally got crude but generally it was a bunch of people just having fun as they went about their gaming. Even outside the guild, people you met were more likely to respond humourosly (sp?) to things that were said. In fact, it was this aspect of SWG that kept me playing for a lot longer than I should have been!

In EQ2 I didnt manage to get a slot on the runnyeye server and ended up on Steamfont. I joined a guild straight away...the only one that was shouting out for members, and whilst everyone in the guild is nice enough, there seems to be no humour at all! I have on the odd occaision cracked a joke and got nothing back but stony silence and even on occaisons whilst grouping with non-guildies been told to shut up! Even looking at the OOC chat, everyone is so damned serious. I end up soloing a lot more than i intended to because of the lack of 'fun' when grouping.

I have certainly noticed that the whole game is taken way too seriously on this US server. in my SWG guild we had some degree of order, having elections for posts on the guild website and fortnightly meetings to organise events, but the guild I am in are talking about interviewing for posts!! Interviewing!!! It's a game!!! not a job!! (excuse my excessive use of !!!).

Maybe it's the same on the UK server...who knows...but I get the feeling that the 'game' is more than just a game to my American chums. Are there any of you out there prepared to have a laugh?

Anyway, if there are any European guilds out there in Steamfont, give me a shout. Or anyone who wnats to start a fun guild then contact me...Minky (Steamfont). I am currently trying to get my old SWG buddies across to form a guild but until then I will hang around in the one I am in to see if things lighten up.

Let the flaming begin

Minky

PS. I have nothing against Americans 'per se'. I have lots of buddies from there that I met whilst serving in Bosnia and a cooler bunch of peeps I couldnt wish to meet :)

I played FFXI for about two hours before dropping it like a hot potato, so please explain your cryptic message :P

Cheers
Minky

honestly I think it may just be your server.. the three I'm on all tend to be rather humerous and I myself am known for a joke or two and a somewhat biting wit.. ^_~

however, there ARE a good number of people who take things far too seriously.. it's not just the stigma of FFXI.. though the harsh penalties for failure in FFXI (extreme xp loss and possible de-level) or even being slightly outside the box in FFXI (which results in your being almost totally ignored for party) does create scary personalities..

honestly the only thing I really come down on is absolute crass talk in /ooc, since there are kids playing the game.. even though they may have heard most of it before.. they won't hear it from me.

anywho, do what I did.. I created three characters and tried out 3 different servers.. one of which is a RP server which honestly there's not nearly as much RP as I would have liked. ;_; it doesn't seem that much different than a regular server... but oh well, now I know.

Hmmm I just didnt try creating on Runnyeye because it said it was full. I didnt realise I still could. Anyway, I have spent a fair bit of time on my character on Steamfont and fancy sticking it out. I just hope the general population chill out and treat the game for what it is...fun!

I'm hoping its just because we are at the start of the game and people are just concentrating on getting ahead.

Thanks for the opinions. I was worried I would get a load of response shouting about how running a guild is a serious business and ooc chat is for use in order to advance in then game and not to have lively OOC chat! >>>tempting fate there!

Cheers
Minky

I love bumping into French players in game and blinding them with my awful French....I don't think I could manage on an all French server though. That would just give me a headache thinking in French all the time :)

Minky

Have you actually ever played FFXI? You can level as many jobs as you like on a single character.

Yeah, right...

I am from Vermont(like my name says) its a realy small state in the north eastern usa (right next to ol' canada) i play on the faydark server and most of the peopl i have met there are very quit and have no sense of humor. but as the game goes on more and more people will lighten up (i hope).

DocSnuggle...wie gehts? :)

I have to admit, help when in need has been forthcoming on the server. I don't have any problem with that at all. It's just the seriousness of everyone that gets me down. I actually have a couple of friends from my old SWG guild join me on Steamfont and I amuse myself chatting to them mostly.

Minky

Before I say this, I just want to make sure you know that I love EQ2, and I will probably never go back to FFXI. I'm not trying to make you play it, or saying it's better than EQ. I just think you're being unfair to it.

I feel that I must stand up to this FFXI bashing. I don't currently play, but let's just say I spent my fair amount of time in Vana'diel. Lordofthefacts is definitely stretching the truth in some of his statements. Not that he's outright lying, but he's pulling a Michael Moore and only telling you things that support his case.

For example, as for the "cookie cutter" comment, the reason that a person with an odd job/subjob combination, or a person with bad gear can't get a party is simple. They don't help the party as much as someone who has good gear and a "cookie cutter" (a.k.a. "not retarded") job combo. You have to learn to put the party before your independent spirit and resist the urge to take a stupid job.

Also, the main reason that people have to farm for weeks on end to get certain items was that the items served a very important purpose to the party. For example, I had to go through hell to get Dispel. There were more expensive items, but at level 30-something Red Mage it was damn expensive. Sure it wasn't "necessary" but it sure helped the party to level faster. The same holds true for most high-priced items. They aren't absolutely necessary, but people like to gain levels faster so they want you to have them.

Another reason for all the farming is that FFXI has a wonderful economic system, which is very realistic. It's basically player-run through the auction house, where things that are rare cost more, and things that are common cost next to nothing. I am disappointed that EQ2 did not fully use this idea. I know they added something similar, but in my opinion what they did sucks much *** because they didn't fully utilize it like they should have.

Anyway, that's my defence of FFXI. I do agree with the OP on this one. I miss my autotranslator. Both because I could communicate with people who spoke a different language, and because it let me say long sentences to english or japanese speakers with about 3 keystrokes.

I admire khorbin's pride in standing up for FFXI, but I largely agree with LotF's post. I loved FFXI, but the higher level I got, the harder it was to find parties. I would indeed log on for weeks at a time just to kill hundreds of monsters 20 levels below me for a fairly meager income. Having a "real" economy isn't necessarily all that great. I come home from a job I hate and just want to play a game, not worry about being poor in a virtual world. I can do that well enough without ever turning on the computer. And the general attitude of the population was definitely awful. After playing EQ2 for a week, I canceled all eight of my FFXI characters. People here are helpful and mature.

As far as the OP is concerned, I'd have to say it's probably fairly mixed. Server populations, while totally random in theory, are often very, very different. I've been in plenty groups thus far that have been pretty humorous. Really, how can you not laugh at that "dance" emote?

Also, props to SOE for not making people delevel. Most deaths in my groups have been taken with a grain of salt, whereas in FFXI, people would get really angry and leave the group. I don't know if that has to do with the attitude difference, or the fact that leveling in FFXI is so incredibly time-consuming.

I can't fault the OP for joining a guild recruiting in OOC, though. I've not yet been guilded, as I know absolutely no one in the game, and have only made a couple casual acquaintances from the random group. I've actually been on the lookout for a guild, any guild, to join, but so far with little success.

Yes, I came from FFXI. I played it since the US release for PC.

Now, I agree.... there are a lot of uptight people. I had a great LS - for the most part. There were a few people on there that got a bit too...elitist...about what everyone had to be doing, but I ignored them, and instead had some pretty insane conversations with the rest of the crazies from Whispering Wind. So it's not just "Americans"...it's people in general. Either they're humorous, or they're not. Try a different guild.

i'm on Unrest server and from what I've experienced things are quite different. I've been looking for a guild to join and recently got an invite from a player a grouped with. I joined them because I enjoyed playing with them. If you don't like how your guild play the game and bothers you, maybe you should lok for another guild, or perhaps move to another server because I can assure you things could be very different on other server. try out different servers and see which one you feel most cofortable with.

that's my 2cp :)