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Duderonomy

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  2. Malik Shabazz

    Posted

    Finding meaning in the struggle is generally how I make it, Margie, but I can understand the despondence when you look up and see riches among those who've never struggled to make it. What you often don't see is the debt-slavery that those riches are bought with. Stores sell credit cards because no one wants a customer anymore, they want a subscriber. They want someone who will make payments so the store can have a regular income, even if they have to front you merchandise.

     

    I highly advise anyone despairing their situation in life listen to Terrance McKenna. He may have been an old hippie and didn't always have a rigorous methodology, but he does a great deal to shake the chains that society puts on you, until you realize that modern culture has been constructed so that no one can completely win. Needs are manufactured one hundredfold by the media, and it's important to take a step back so that your mind can reset to your actual life and real needs. You might be amazed at how much it differs from the needs forced on you by TV shows, movies, and celebrity gossip.

     

    To use CN as an example: modern culture would have you struggle for NS to the detriment of all else. When you look up and see DBDC, you know there's no way to get there. It's too late for any new players to reach that level. But that's just one metric of value, and you might find that it isn't the one that resonates with you the most. There's warfare (aka "the struggle"). There's relationships. And there's searching through the player base for new and interesting personalities.

     

    I don't know enough about your life to give you any valuation of it. But try testing your values, first, before you judge life too harshly. You might be surprised to discover things that you had forgotten.

  3. kingzog

    Posted

    I agree with most of your points KZ, although I disagree on minor errata. Part of my redneck upbringing is that I'm obsessed with the utility of things, rather than what they symbolize. Everything in society is oriented to counter this because, quite frankly, the economy would come to a complete stop if everyone only bought what they could use. Technology has put most people in fluff jobs that really don't provide a lot of added value. That's the real reason for income inequality, and there isn't a pure, moral way to fix it besides discouraging population growth.

     

    I've only ever had a cell phone, so I look at land lines the way you look at cellphones. Of course, I have rules of propriety about cell phones that don't make me popular (never answer when I'm talking to someone, only call back if someone left me a message), and texts are often far more convenient than phone calls because of their brevity and purpose (there's no time wasted with the typical small talk before a request). While I resisted the change to smart phones for years, I'll admit that they make down time more useful, although I have to make sure I resist the temptation to always be on.

     

    Cable TV, of course, is the most useless "essential" that exists nowadays.

     

    I will vouch for live sports, even though I don't typically value sports. Watching something as part of a friendly crowd can be cathartic, whether it's a play, an opera, or a live sporting event. However, I can't imagine a bigger waste of time than watching sports on TV by myself. I'd rather be at a bar.

  9. Steve Buscemi

    Posted

    Depends on what you're actually expecting to get out of the game. The inevitable problem with nation simulators is that it attracts people that are in it for the power fantasy, rather than interactive fun. They choose to hide off-OWF and chuckle while planning to roll anyone who bothers posting anything close to controversial. Which will always in a politics-based game. It's the raised nail that gets hammered down. The nail either accepts being level or gets acclimated to the beating. Or the nail just quits.

    That's what you're seeing on the OWF. While I have IC contention with them, OOC I applaud NpO, MI6, and DK for taking in more controversial players. It's risky, but for the good of the community to keep those players around and give them opportunities for growth. That's what keeps mid-tier exciting, because it's possible for borderline obnoxious posters to get there.

    I don't think it's just a symptom of the game dying, since a lot happens off OWF. Also, there's a lot of casuals that can grow their nation and fight wars with the 5-10 minutes a day that it takes to do so. I'd say the low amount of time needed is part of the appeal of CN over your Clash of Clans clones (and is part of the reason I quit another nation simulator). CN has a lot of options, but you don't get too far behind if you take a few days off, at least in a larger AA. And honestly,micros are only for those players with time to kill.

    The question to ask is what you really want out of CN. Fancy graphics are out. Power fantasy will lead you to nothing but boredom as all of the good villains get rolled out of the game/tier and you only have friends left. You've got RP and the challenge of growing, fighting, and regrowing left. And I'm well aware of NG high gov's opinion of RP.

    Methrage, Rey, Tywin, et al might be obnoxious, but one thing wrestling will teach you is that you need a good heel or the action means nothing. Given their current power levels, expect high tier to be boring forever.

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