Toreava

Yea -- you're right. I'm just getting a bit nervous here. Not knowing if things are okay is worse than knowing. Being an idiot when it comes to knowing what it takes to accomplish a rollback, I'm just anxious to see whether or not I have survived. I'd rather roll into sleep knowing I'll roll into the game with 48 hours gone or just plain back to 0. G'nite, Toons.

Okay -- so I read they got the lost toons back, but is the server up? If not, eta?

There were a few problems. The server was actually working while showing offline. Right now there is a 48-hour rollback being performed. Something happened which caused toons to simply disappear. Fortunately, we have a database to which we can revert. Those that lost their toons should get them back, and the rest of us can redo the last two days right. Here's hoping everything works out. In any case, I think it is important to see if backups can be applied in realtime to correct problems. Testing 1, 2, 3...

Oh boy, I remember mechwarrior. I think one of my sons stole my disc and I was sooooo mad. I know which one it was because he slambroke almost everything he owned. He doesn't live here any more. I chose not to play it online though. I knew I had limitations.

Boy I miss those server indicators. Net7 keeps saying it is offline. Is it?

Like I said. It's up to the bosses. And as for school, I was right on top of that. Raising kids is a constant job and a fun one at that. I think I discovered more about the world and about myself with my children at my side. It was great. I'm saying I did not rant. That's an outright lie. I mentioned it, saw the ragging that was going on, and bowed out of the conversation. If people don't like something they can go on and on for hours. I did not do so. I want to have fun and play the game. But some people would rather grid issues into the ground. As you can see, they are still grinding. ) Some people have nothing better to do than to make a comment a full out fight. If the big guys want to allow what was becoming excessive profanity, I will deal with it. Life goes on. Again - like I said - it's all in the chat logs. I have nothing more to say on this issue. It's not my ballgame.

Hey -- thanks for the info. I did not have config set to administrative -- also the creator.

Okay – so I am one of the people who thinks the "F" word is unacceptable. Seems to be going on a lot in New Players channel. You're right – I'll just shut it off. And from now on, I'll say nothing. I'll just report the incident. I'll let the devs decide if they want to do something about it. I am a parent. My sons have played online for years. If you guys have no concern for whether or not kids are online.... No more comments – snapshots and reports only. By the way... I find the language offensive. If you want to twist the TOS up in knots.... Gods of EnB – perhaps you might want to sort this out somewhat. Where do you want to draw the line in the sand? I'm happy to follow the rules just as you wish. I point out the language, shut up, and others go on for hours about language police. I'll forward you my chat log so you can see just who was ranting. It wasn't me. Yes folks – we have black and white chat logs that show just who was saying what. Watch what you ask for.

I think if I hadn't turned my 2002 machine on to play enb, it'd be dead by now. Also had this happen with a '98 machine. Worked fine when I shut it off and was dying when I turned it on to tornado the files over to my 2002 machine. And that was when I got this one in 2007. I'll be turning my 2002 on more often now that I get the feeling they die of loneliness.

I can now use my big desktop. Nothing seemed to work. I couldn't get enb going on it. I bit the bullet and upgraded to Windows 7 Ultima. Hit the login button expecting megan to pinch out of the screen and dump me to desktop and it didn't happen. I was able to login and play. Hard to get used to a different monitor though. The other was a 2002 flatscreen. This one is a widescreen 22". I had to adjust to the picture out of widescreen and it works fine. Hard to get used to the booming speakers, too. I almost don't like it. Still... I can't expect my 2002 machine to work forever, and it is a relief to get this enb up and running on this one.

I've always been fortunate enough to be able to learn most anything I’ve wanted to learn. Gaming has never been my thing. Earth & Beyond was my first online, multiplayer game that ever held my interest. I tried a few games after it set, and I never played them more than a week. But botting? I can't understand it. The nuances and artistry of this game is what draws me. Okay – so the lower levels are limiting, but it makes finding a way to move freely (without dying every ten minutes) throughout the game so much sweeter. Figuring out what I need to have and to do in order to expand my capabilities in the game engages me in ways I love. A person once accused me of botting while mining, and it was almost a compliment. I've called mining a dance. It's often why I seek places out of the way to mine. But I’ve never botted nor learned how to bot. I get – to some extent – why people bot. But what they don't get is satisfaction of accomplishing what I and others do by paying attention to the game. It is why I am so solitary in the process most of the time. There is so much to learn. The problem with a bot is that you can't teach it manners. It does what it does because it has the interest of account in its programming. It does not care about the efforts of others – bot or not – and it does not care if it rips others off. And botting does, to a certain extent, interfere with real players – yes, I said real players. I enter the world of Earth & Beyond to see the artistry of the process and the visual beauty I see in the improvements being made. There are times the things I see stun me enough to stop my breath. Perhaps if more people stop, to quote a cliché, to smell the roses, they'd be less likely to bot. They're missing so much of the process in general. I do think that people should be limited in how many accounts they should have. I've seen how people running several accounts off of several computers can inhibit and control a solitary player like me. It stinks. And that is the intent – to inhibit other players' play – to beat them out – to get more than someone else. It is to overwhelm the field of play. But perhaps if those of us who do believe in the hands-on approach get together more often, botting and using the game as some sort of tool to bolster one's self esteem will lose its taste – especially if the intent is to become far more skilled in what each individual contributes to the group in such a way that multitaskers are the ones who are overwhelmed. I am, indeed, one of those people who has more time to play. But I guarantee you you would not like to have more time to play because of my reasons. I’d trade places with you any day. So don’t be so quick to wish you were like me. I’d much rather spend my day accomplishing the things you accomplish rather than living in a make-believe world to pass my time.

I guess this gets a nasty point across. Existing players bringing over new players and teaching them how to macro. Love these posts. Macroing does disadvantage those of us truly playing the game. If you want to macro, macro your laundry or some drudge thing you don't want to do. Oh -- there it is... This game is drudge? Don't play. macros.doc

If you'll notice, there's a period after 13. It is not the subject of any sentence. And yes I did read the TOS. I make it a point to read rules. You know people are doing this. I'll give you credit for being able to determine who is doing so. Groups running groups off will not solve this issue. Thanks, Tien, for answering my question.

Many players are running hunting groups all by themselves. There'll be 3 to 5 characters all run by the same person. Don't even ask me how they do this. Don't even ask me how this can be enjoyable. I haven't a clue. But it makes those of us who like the "hands on" play of the game rather outside the game. I like to hunt with one character. I don't want to have my hands running all over several keyboards, driving myself crazy trying to stay alive. I don't remember noticing this in live, but then I didn't hunt much. A problem arises when one player can overwhelm an area and engage in such competitive behavior that things just aren't fun in that area. They look for particular spawns by darting one alt here and one alt there so they can scoff all the really good stuff. What's the scoop on this type of thing?

Wow -- that's so nice. What a great story to offset my experience. Shows us all it can be good.

After my reaction to being Guilded, I was thinking... And then I read your comment above. Not that it was inappropriate in any way, but that it is an illusion. I don't care if anyone tries to take advantage of me in this game. It happens once, I learn about them and I don’t do it again. But RL working on a higher social order is a façade. I am sensitive to text-behavior because I write. Words are my life. And I schooled in how to write because of a decade in which I worked diligently to bring knowledge to some professional communities (and a legal community) in order to right multiple wrongs involving our most delicate of treasures. Then – after I uncovered hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents, and news articles, and medical records and on and on… I found out they always knew. They had always known about some of the things that had happened. They had hidden and sheltered the actions to keep things “quiet.” I had thought the reason they didn’t care was because they didn’t know. But not only did they know, they condoned the actions with their verbal silence and their eventual written silence. Then a nationwide fiasco emerged about another community and I learned even more. The biggest purveyor of secrecy was this community’s DA and his minions. The damage was immeasurable. Many lives were destroyed and further destroyed because they found out that not only did not they matter then, they never mattered at all. So I have learned – the hard way – that people are never to be trusted until it can be proven otherwise. And if it seems a bit paranoid to respond this way, well – you haven’t seen what I’ve seen. And I did start out in a Guild with a blanket trust. It was only when the written word clued me in to nuances that I became a bit confused. Then I remembered how it is in RL and had forgotten how people can be. Now – this other type of thing can’t happen in here with our moderators. Online can be far safer than real life, sad to say…. But the callousness and deviousness I ran up against in real life certainly exists here. I think Guilds inadvertently create a way to bring it out. They create little corners in which people gather. All in all – this was a valuable and fascinating experience on its own. Can this destroy my life? No… phhhffft. It was just a shock to the system to be reminded we are not space cadets, we are real people living in a real world bringing all our baggage into a virtual reality – including me. And I am not sitting here tearful any more, I am sitting here with a huge smile on my face. Fascinating circumstances… I know that may seem odd, but not if you write it doesn’t. You know exactly what I mean.

Guild Politics Please – no. Not here. It’s different, isn’t it? I avoided joining a guild perhaps because I have an idea that isn’t correct. My idea of a guild is one of comradery, honesty and helping one another. It isn’t to create stats. So I avoid joining a guild because I don’t want to be involved in intrigue and competition. I figure a guild is a group of people that like helping each other. I took a group of people to Deneb – showed them the way – helped them get tons of Big Berthas and gave whatever I garnered to them because I have them mapped. I don’t need them. I make enough credits to get what I need. After I get an engine mapped that drops there, I give that up, too. It’s the way it is, but it’s not. And I get begged to do something I swore I wouldn’t do – join a guild. I’ve always assumed that if I need something, I have to find a way to get it myself. It’s the way I’ve lived life. But I’ve always given – always. And I’ve always paid my own way – that means if someone wants vendor price for something, they get it. If something is not feasible, they say so. If people don’t want you to loot, they don’t say, “whatever you want, bro.” (It’s sis, but who cares. And don’t worry, I’m past menopause.) And then when I realize that something I had looted was really valuable, I offered it up. Put it in a vault. vowed to never get rid of it until someone wanted it. If I mention in a hunting group that I will pay vendor price for something, I will. If there is a reason that can’t happen, say so. But don’t get on the market channel after it’s assumed I’m not there and offer it for free to whoever wants it. I was already hunting my buns off getting what I needed myself anyway. I should have just kept my mouth shut instead of saying something on the guild channel about needing it after I had already said so while hunting with people. My mistake – truly. I know better. I know human nature. I shouldn’t have said anything. But maybe someone says something about helping me get something I'd like to map? No? It's what I was doing... Doesn't the street go two ways? Finally – after dropping out of that guild, and having a little taste of what a sense of comradery could be. I find myself sitting here in tears. My God – it’s a game! I got a taste of real hunting with people who are good at it. It was so much fun. I am in learning mode, because I didn't do any serious hunting in Live. Didn’t really do devices – none of that. And I ended up doing my best to save others’ ammo after a while, putting myself at risk – because if I die, I’m dying in a game. I resurrect in seconds. I pay a debt and go on my way. I don’t really expect people to save my butt if I put myself in harm’s way. It’s a game. But it seems it’s not a game. It’s a myriad of personality tangles that get in the way of play. Who knew? I guess I do now.

Yep -- you're right. There are versions of Vista that will not run this client. Tien had listed some sort of fix on the other webpage, but that is gone. Perhaps he will post it again, and you can check it out. I really hadn't played with my computer in any depth for years, and never Vista; but my fixes are seat-of-the-pants problem solving, so I almost never remember what I did to get something working. I have not, however, delved into Vista much. It wasn't until this last server crash that I did any fiddling at all with the Vista laptop. I have never been able to get my Vista desktop to work with this setup.

Yea -- login is becoming more and more problematic. Not blaming anyone -- just posting a problem. I am having to force updates on xp now. My son -- on a vista laptop that has worked fine for months -- has a really hard time logging in and always has to force updates.