Originally Posted by robocpf1
The innate issue with this is that at the end of the day it's also a game, and an enterprise for SOE. It still has to be fun and not frustrating. Or more specifically, if it is frustrating, it needs to be other players and the war itself that is the frustrating part, not the game's interface or any player tools.
What's the problem with a LFS list? What's the problem with targeting tools and waypoints and the different hack beam colors and all these things that "dumb down" the game? They don't make the game any easier to win, they just make it easier to organize a group, and that's the crux. The group itself still has to make itself rise above the rest, to truly shine; but there are people that play casually, remember, and not in highly organized outfits - and these people are expecting modern game interfaces and tools.
I for one agree that it's a beautiful thing when players organize themselves. To a certain point, no, we don't "need" these systems in place to organize. But why not have them? It's technology, it's advancement, it makes the dull administrative work easier on us so we can focus on the things that actually make the game and the war challenging and fun. I don't want to sit in sanc inviting members to my platoon manually when I can list three squads and get everyone into them in a matter of seconds.
I believe there is truly a difference between a game mechanic that "dumbs down the game" and a mechanic that makes the game better. Improving the interface and giving us organizational tools, in my opinion, makes the game better because it makes our experience better; it helps us quickly and efficiently find the information we need and carry out the administrative tasks necessary to running a squad/platoon/outfit/unit. Now, something that would "dumb down the game" would be something like auto-aim, or third person camera for everything, or a mine proximity sensor, or something like that. Whether you're in a squad you made yourself or a squad you listed doesn't really affect how the game plays out or who shoots what, that's still up to the outfits to determine through skill and a deeper level of organization than a squad list can provide, and that's the difference between good outfits and great outfits.
I think an outfit should be able to completely prove themselves through what they accomplish playing the game - it's certainly impressive to be able to organize without any of the tools given to us, but it's also highly inefficient and wastes time that could be better spent getting into the fight and enjoying the game.
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Whoops. So, topic at hand, totally agreed on everything I see here about leadership. I put it on my resume, too...something like "Director of Operations for Online Community" or "Chief Administrator" or something. Video games are a very important method for today's youth (and not youth, for that matter) to experience personal relationships in a less intense and less consequential manner, and that's crucial. It lets one experiment and try things out that they'd be too shy or bashful or not confident enough to do in real life. If it works here on the internet without people laughing you off, it might work in real life to the same effect.
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