A Thought Provoking Quote

[NotZombieBiscuit 3146]

"A game like this wouldn't be as good as it was if it wasn't for the opponent that was across from me. So, these games don't mean anything unless the other opponent is as good as you or better." - Rapha (Quake Pro)
 

Over the years of APB, mainly these later years, there seems to be a mantra from players that wins should be handed to them. That playing those that are better than them, or even the same skill level, is not fair. A constant complaint that the game is too hard on players, especially those that are newer to the game.

This is in my mind a disgusting mindset to have. It breeds no sense of progression, a lack of willingness to see personal faults, overcome obstacles, and all around improve. Such a mindset promotes being stagnant and disgruntled by your plateaued position with no reason to improve. I find it disturbing that such a need for hand holding has spread not just through APB but much of the gaming industry as a whole. Playing those that are better than you is the fastest way to improve, especially as a new player.

A personal example to this is my minimal hours playing CS:GO. 95% of my short playtime was an entire day spent playing against Oceanic eSports teams. I won a single round in the entire day. ONE ROUND. However this was a huge learning experience for me and due to me being pushed in to such a position I learned the game at a hugely accelerated rate. Those hours were equal to weeks if I had learned the game through regular hand holding.

Now most of you would probably say this is an elitist view to have. That it is bashing casual players and does not apply to them. However I would argue that this applies to everyone as when competition is allowed to breed in this way it is a benefit to all skill levels. 

I urge you all to think about instilling a more positive mindset when it comes to being pushed up against more unfavorable odds for it is at the benefit of your personal progression and enjoyment of the game as a whole.



To add:
APB is one of those games with such a high skill ceiling that I believe the best are still yet to scratch it. Looking back almost a decade ago it is crazy to see how far the top percent have come and I look forward to hopefully seeing that continue.

 

Edited October 7, 2018 by NotZombieBiscuit

[AsgerLund 1271]

As a casual player who is very comfortable with my plateau, my thoughts aren’t really provoked. This post is quite reasonable, and I know you can be much more provocative.

However, the sun is shining today, so I’ll give you a C-.

[SK4LP 62]

the problem is the mechanics of the game,
the teambalance,  macro users, easy teamer, useless voip ... (I don't speak of dethreat because it follows from it and is only a consequence)
we're at version 1.5 of CS, where people still use bunny-hop scripts
(hope CSS is comin soon (wich is far way better than CSGO ;D ) )

[MACKxBOLAN 432]

I agree for the most part, in that; if you are new to this game or this type of game, MMO. You need to take your knocks and learn from the veterans.   Only way to learn.

The dynamics of this game involve a bit more than just wins and losses, with your contact progression, role kills, and cash to spend on, and unlocks; all being really based on your opponent or possibly a group of opponents, and lets add in a bit of lag, a bit of jealousy for our armas 'p2w''s.  Then we add in that with the pop and mm you get the same B'stards who rooked you last time
    I know im they exception in that i only play this one game, and not so much the exception in that i am a 'Scrub' 
And I have no problem owning that imma scrub, im a bit older n slower n i dont gaf as much.
 
  Thats kinda my thing, I dont always wanna work my patootie off. The idea that you should be as good as your team mate or better, or the Ol Classic, Get Gud.  I just wanna drive my cool car, have my old hippie tunes n look like a badass. 
  

[Lato 188]

I hope this post will get into these people head, the ones that constantly complain about their opposition..howhever..there is a big gap between new players and the veterans. Having to face way better players isn't always fun, especially in APB where you have no headshots and objectives to complete, newbies often finish the match with 0 points. I don't wanna say these matches are a waste of time but..they are not rewarding and so encourages people to quit the game/complain.

ps: I love your posts!
 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Lato

[vsb 6171]

wtb green threat

[Akahi 25]

1 hour ago, MACKxBOLAN said:

I agree for the most part, in that; if you are new to this game or this type of game, MMO. You need to take your knocks and learn from the veterans.   Only way to learn.

The dynamics of this game involve a bit more than just wins and losses, with your contact progression, role kills, and cash to spend on, and unlocks; all being really based on your opponent or possibly a group of opponents, and lets add in a bit of lag, a bit of jealousy for our armas 'p2w''s.  Then we add in that with the pop and mm you get the same B'stards who rooked you last time
    I know im they exception in that i only play this one game, and not so much the exception in that i am a 'Scrub' 
And I have no problem owning that imma scrub, im a bit older n slower n i dont gaf as much.
 
  Thats kinda my thing, I dont always wanna work my patootie off. The idea that you should be as good as your team mate or better, or the Ol Classic, Get Gud.  I just wanna drive my cool car, have my old hippie tunes n look like a badass. 
  

I have had a similar experience coming back as far as "getting gud".  For 2 weeks I had every type of death from an assortment of weapons  and vehicles that one of two things would happen. Either I try to figure out a better strategy and stop dying so much or just quit this game and go back into a game where I don't have to worry about getting killed by players.

I have started to get better , I still die alot in some missions but at least I get alot more kills in and sometimes I win a few of those missions.  The recent high point for me in this game was when someone from the opposition (most likely a new player) accused me of hacking! It takes alot of time and very thick skin to become somewhat proficient in this game but it is possible if you are willing to stick with it. 

It also helps if you are somewhat insane as well!

[yood 345]

it makes no sense to play if the opponent has no chance to win . THIS IS NOT A GAME .

[EMilika 41]

how is a leaning against wall and then, prefire enemie is skill.

Csgo isn't like that at all.

Edited October 7, 2018 by EMilika

[NotZombieBiscuit 3146]

5 hours ago, BXNNXD said:

wtb green threat

Just look inside.

[KnifuWaifu 499]

I've never won a CS:GO match, so now who's the biggest loser?

[Pedroxin 107]

9 hours ago, NotZombieBiscuit said:

"A game like this wouldn't be as good as it was if it wasn't for the opponent that was across from me. So, these games don't mean anything unless the other opponent is as good as you or better." - Rapha (Quake Pro)
 

Over the years of APB, mainly these later years, there seems to be a mantra from players that wins should be handed to them. That playing those that are better than them, or even the same skill level, is not fair. A constant complaint that the game is too hard on players, especially those that are newer to the game.

This is in my mind a disgusting mindset to have. It breeds no sense of progression, a lack of willingness to see personal faults, overcome obstacles, and all around improve. Such a mindset promotes being stagnant and disgruntled by your plateaued position with no reason to improve. I find it disturbing that such a need for hand holding has spread not just through APB but much of the gaming industry as a whole. Playing those that are better than you is the fastest way to improve, especially as a new player.

A personal example to this is my minimal hours playing CS:GO. 95% of my short playtime was an entire day spent playing against Oceanic eSports teams. I won a single round in the entire day. ONE ROUND. However this was a huge learning experience for me and due to me being pushed in to such a position I learned the game at a hugely accelerated rate. Those hours were equal to weeks if I had learned the game through regular hand holding.

Now most of you would probably say this is an elitist view to have. That it is bashing casual players and does not apply to them. However I would argue that this applies to everyone as when competition is allowed to breed in this way it is a benefit to all skill levels. 

I urge you all to think about instilling a more positive mindset when it comes to being pushed up against more unfavorable odds for it is at the benefit of your personal progression and enjoyment of the game as a whole.



To add:
APB is one of those games with such a high skill ceiling that I believe the best are still yet to scratch it. Looking back almost a decade ago it is crazy to see how far the top percent have come and I look forward to hopefully seeing that continue.

 

alright, let's discuss the game from a new player's point of view.
after installing the game and making an account you automatically join a server, there's also a chance that you connect to the silver sever which is an instant game killer for a new player so I'm not even gonna touch it.
you have no knowledge of the game and have a very limited arsenal at your disposal.
if you'd get matched against other players in your own position I'd say there's no problem but that's not the case. There's a high probability that you get matched against people who are way more competent at the game, have quite an extensive choice in weaponry and most importantly a great deal of map knowledge. sometimes you're matched against dethreaters and the occasional cheaters. well, anyone would uninstall the game and never come back after this experience, considering the outdated graphics and mechanics, toxic community and the general negative stigma surrounding APB.
You should also keep in mind that most people have day jobs and other matters to tend to, they play video games to have fun, escape reality and forget the daily frustrations, not to add more to it. not everyone is planning to become a quake champion. I think when someone says the game is unfriendly to new players, they're right. if you shift your perspective from someone who played this game extensively to the perspective someone who just installed the game, you'll see that. In my opinion, the "unbalanced matchmaking" is one the most important reasons for the current state of the population and APB's failure to attract and keep new players.  

[NotZombieBiscuit 3146]

Woosh. People assuming my post is about mechanical and imperial differences within the game environment when I was only talking about personal mindset and approach regardless of game.

Edited October 8, 2018 by NotZombieBiscuit

[Lato 188]

1 minute ago, NotZombieBiscuit said:

Woosh. People assuming my post is about mechanical and imperial differences within the game environment when I was only talking about personal mindset and approach regardless of game.

that's okay, you got the upvotes anyways

[Inquitoria 108]

Wow, it's almost as if there's different people who enjoy different things. It's almost as if not all players want to turn their game into an esport.

[Keshi 436]

so engine upgrade?

[CookiePuss 5379]

5 hours ago, Inquitoria said:

Wow, it's almost as if there's different people who enjoy different things. It's almost as if not all players want to turn their game into an esport.

APB as an esport... hilarious.

[NotZombieBiscuit 3146]

19 hours ago, CookiePuss said:

On 10/8/2018 at 6:52 PM, Inquitoria said:

Wow, it's almost as if there's different people who enjoy different things. It's almost as if not all players want to turn their game into an esport.

APB as an esport... hilarious.

BlastinFools as commentator.

[CookiePuss 5379]

1 hour ago, NotZombieBiscuit said:

BlastinFools as commentator.

ngl, Id actually watch that

[NotZombieBiscuit 3146]

On 10/9/2018 at 9:30 PM, CookiePuss said:

On 10/9/2018 at 8:08 PM, NotZombieBiscuit said:

BlastinFools as commentator.

ngl, Id actually watch that

APB eSports Grand Slam 2019

[NotZombieBiscuit 3146]

 

[Hexerin 1140]

There's a difference between playing against someone who's a little better than you are (which encourages personal skill growth) and being shitstomped by people with thousands of hours under their belt (which accomplishes nothing for anyone involved, except maybe the one doing the stomping if they're an asshat).

[ezmegaz68 168]

in a game like this there's no way to win, only try to lose more slowly

[CookiePuss 5379]

6 hours ago, Hexerin said:

There's a difference between playing against someone who's a little better than you are (which encourages personal skill growth) and being shitstomped by people with thousands of hours under their belt (which accomplishes nothing for anyone involved, except maybe the one doing the stomping if they're an asshat).

Dont you have thousands of hours in game?

And dont you play in bronze district?

Hmmmmm

[Liger 1]

I also really enjoy facing people that are better than me. However some counterpoints;

 

- You are not going to learn much from getting stomped by someone significantly better than you.

- People won't see the point at getting better at a game that they don't like. If you get destroyed every game, most are not going to have fun and likely won't see the potential of fun either.

- Not everyone wants to get better at games. Some just want to shoot shit and have fun, and that's fine. Not everything has to be about improvement. Good games cater to both casual and hardcore audiences.

 

Casuals are really important for the population of a game (for instance 55-60% LoL players are silver/bronze.) Just telling them to "git good" isn't good enough. Matchmaking should be fair so it can be fun for both sides . I'm sure you'll agree stomping newbies is no fun either.

 

On 10/7/2018 at 12:27 PM, NotZombieBiscuit said:

To add:

APB is one of those games with such a high skill ceiling that I believe the best are still yet to scratch it. Looking back almost a decade ago it is crazy to see how far the top percent have come and I look forward to hopefully seeing that continue.

This of course is my opinion, but I really don't think APB has an incredibly high skill ceiling. Not compared to other competitive games such as CS, LoL, Tekken etc. Especially since APB does not have headshots, I just don't see it. Not that I'm saying it's an easy game by any means.