Will the trolls leave any time soon?

theJoshFrost

This forum was previously my favorite forum on the web. Every body was respectful, creative, and offered various opinions on what they expected from the game and just general interesting discussions. I rarely even saw a swear word, even though to my knowledge there's no repercussions for swearing on this forum.

Though since the release of the game, the forum has been plagued with trolls and idiots. I understand the game does not work properly in it's current state for every one. Though, to be honest, I can't think of ANY PC game that works properly for every one on release but regardless, I get it.

That doesn't give these people license to be douches.

Beamdog has a support e-mail, I believe its support@beamdog.com. If you want your money back, e-mail them and cry about it and maybe something will get done. Stop pestering the forum.

Will the trolls ever leave or are they stuck here now?

Drugar

Hating the haters doesn't make haters hate less.
Ignore anyone you find annoying and move on. The forum will balance out, or it won't. Making "Damn those trolls!" threads isn't improving the atmosphere either.

sandmanCCL

The week or two leading up to release was pretty bad.

Honestly, this kind of thing is expected. Those happy with the game are less likely to be vocal about it on the forums because we're content. Takes someone being pissy to really get worked up enough to make a thread about their opinions on it.

Chow

The trolls won't ever leave, especially if we acknowledge them.

From what I've seen, there hasn't even been too many here. I've only spotted one or two.

Kitteh_On_A_Cloud

@Chow: Have you been paying attention well enough? I've seen tons of troll accounts on the day of release, mostly in the General section of the forums. Accounts with a message count under 20. I know these are probably new players, but man, most of them were behaving like outright assholes during the release of the game. I really wish such people would spend their free time on actually playing the game or go elsewhere to troll. (4chan comes to mind)

theJoshFrost

Kitteh_On_A_Cloud said:

@Chow: Have you been paying attention well enough? I've seen tons of troll accounts on the day of release, mostly in the General section of the forums. Accounts with a message count under 20. I know these are probably new players, but man, most of them were behaving like outright assholes during the release of the game. I really wish such people would spend their free time on actually playing the game or go elsewhere to troll. (4chan comes to mind)

As a 4chan regular, I'll say that usually trolls there are a little less like complete asshats and a little more slick in their approach. But maybe I'm bias.

Quartz

theJoshFrost said:

As a 4chan regular, I'll say that usually trolls there are a little less like complete asshats and a little more slick in their approach. But maybe I'm bias.

Yes, they are slick in their approach in that they think they are super cunning, clever, and witty, and yet their wit has not given them a job, or the ability to move out of their parents' basement.

The same -- and worse -- goes for Reddit. At least people on 4chan can truly be clever once in a while like you say, but Reddit is just a hive mind. It's actually quite disturbing to me.

Btw good post @Kitteh_On_A_Cloud well said

Chow

Being frequently on 4chan as well, I guess I'm just not counting these guys as real trolls and more as just jerks that shout hurtful things. They have no class.

Kitteh_On_A_Cloud

Why the hell would anyone spend their free time on a site...no, not even a site...more like an idiocy fest like 4chan? O.o

Space_hamster

No one is forcing you to read certain threads. Ignore them and move on. This is an open forum for feedback and comments.

secretfire

Yeah, there are a lot of trolls. And a lot of people who just seem to like whining. There was someone in another thread complaining that the spawn rates don't scale with level in the same way as Tutu's...really guys? I guess many of them are not 'hardcore' trolls, and will be completely gone in a month, but its still annoying. There is a legitimate level of complaint, and then there is trolling and/or meanspiritedness.

Kitteh_On_A_Cloud

@secretfire: It might also be people who are new to the game and who are used to COD graphics or the like...Pardon my cynicism...

Chow

Kitteh_On_A_Cloud said:

Why the hell would anyone spend their free time on a site...no, not even a site...more like an idiocy fest like 4chan? O.o

It's not all as bad as people claim it to be. Most of what they claim is true on /b/ alone, and I never set foot to that place, oh gods.

Czarny

The number of people trolling on a subject corresponds to the amount of people that feel strongly on a subject.

And a lot of people feel strongly about BG, simple as that. Some do so much that the problems with the game, minor or major, are overblown to epic proportions in their minds. Plus, now that BG moved into the modern market from it's hallowed fourteen-year-old podium in the closet, it met with the new kind of gamer, one that trolls as much as he plays. It's evolution, baby.

ptonda

Just use fire or acid, guys!

MedullaOblongata

Meh. I suspect eruptions of vitriol happen just after the release of any game. It takes time for things to die down.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Space_hamster

I remember when Master of Orion 3 came out. There was so much Hype, but when the game finally came out, it was practically unplayable, with so many bugs, a dead AI, and other incomprehensible game design decisions. The forums ignited in flames. It got to point where a couple of the developers were firing back angry and spiteful public replies right in the forum. It was truly sad. I'm sure a few of them were on the verge of a mental breakdown!

Nothing compared to this forum of course, BGEE is not a fatally flawed product, just one that needs a bit more polishing and TLC.

Kitteh_On_A_Cloud

Czarny said:

Plus, now that BG moved into the modern market from it's hallowed fourteen-year-old podium in the closet, it met with the new kind of gamer, one that trolls as much as he plays. It's evolution, baby.

Reading that made me fear even more for the gaming industry...Not to mention for the human race in general.

sandmanCCL

There's a sense of entitlement that comes along with being a gamer nowadays and it's pretty absurd. It's to be expected whenever any hobby reaches critical mass market appeal, I guess. People forget the sheer amount of time game devs put in and with significantly larger staffs, and those huge teams still manage to release massively buggy games all the time.

There are so many operating systems, video cards, CPUs, etc. for programmers to worry about when they release a product. It's inevitable a lot of weird issues that couldn't be tested for will crop up. I wish the mass market would understand this and instead of "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE SMASH" they'd calmly post they're having problems and instead of preaching fire and brimstone, they calmly request their money back if they feel the product is unsatisfactory.

I've bought things in person that didn't work, and when I went back to return it to the store, you'd be surprised how helpful people will be if you remain calm and don't attack them.

But, you know, leave it to me to have good advice buried deep into a thread where anyone it'll actually help won't ever see it.

darthchair

It's like Gandalf always said, "Please, don't feed the trolls." I'm pretty sure he said that anyway. To be honest with you...the biggest troll slayer is to literally ignore their post. No one likes their post to be ignored, especially when they take a lot of time into creating it. No one likes to start a discussion and then see that no one has viewed or commented on it. I think it boils down to that human nature part where we want to have a purpose or our life to have some meaning.

I would imagine if your desire is to wreck havoc and contention this would be magnified sevenfold. But unfortunately the reason why trolling is so prevalent is because trolling in itself attacks the things we hold dear, are passionate about, and like to discuss with others of like minds. And that interest is a target. And for some reason many of us cannot comprehend someone going out of their way to besmirch what we hold so dear. And so we react to it. And that reaction, like any chain reaction, can cause more problems than Neera's wacked out spellweaving.

I truly think that Atlantis failed because of trolling. They were the pinnacle of success...and then someone started trolling...and they sank into the sea.

Also...aliens.

ekster

The forums are definitely becoming less pleasant to visit. I understand criticism, complaints and bug reports... but seeing the same old 'omg gieff money back!!! game suxs so bad no game suxs so bad b4!!!' over and over does get annoying. Plus i have a habit of just clicking on latest discussions to see all the sub-forums at once, and I'm annoyed because I know I'm missing good discussions with the constant spam of pointless threads.

HexHammer

I'm afraid the only troll here is the OP, who in vicious dictatorial style abhore any critisism, even if it's well justifyed.

mlnevese

The good old forum is still here. The good old posters are all present and accounted for. It's harder to see the good posts with all the smoke of burning trolls watering our eyes, but it's all still here.

Seriously if you think someone is trolling just do not answer. Send a PM to a moderator and let it be dealt with by the Omnipresent Authority Figure wielding the Flaming BanHammer +6

Also when you find a good or interesting thread, bookmark it or it'll be lost in the smoke.

theJoshFrost

HexHammer said:

I'm afraid the only troll here is the OP, who in vicious dictatorial style abhore any critisism, even if it's well justifyed.

Justified*

theJoshFrost

mlnevese said:

The good old forum is still here. The good old posters are all present and accounted for. It's harder to see the good posts with all the smoke of burning trolls watering our eyes, but it's all still here.

Seriously if you think someone is trolling just do not answer. Send a PM to a moderator and let it be dealt with by the Omnipresent Authrity Figures wieldign the Flaming BanHammer +6

Also when you find a good or interesting thread, bookmark it or it'll be lost in the smoke.

You know, before this post, I didn't even know bookmarking was an option. Sweeeeeet.

Metal_Hurlant

I really haven't seen any trolls. All I've seen is a lot of angry people who believed the game would work at least as good as the product it tries to enhance. If a 1998 version of the game from GoG can work on modern computers, then why can't the 2012 enhanced version using the same core game do the same? These are the sort of things a lot of people don't understand. And justifiably so.

People are angry with all the bugs (minor or major), especially those who can't even get the game running. Also, why would Beamdog take out voice overs? (eg. Bassillus' Oh Brother Thurm..') I really don't understand that decision.

At the very least, it should be better than vanilla BG1 with no cut original content. If they cut content, then they should replace it with something better. Hence, 'enhanced'. At the moment, even Vanilla BG1 is better in some respects than BGEE which is baffling.

So no, people being angry aren't necessarily trolls. Unfortunately, Beamdog have dropped the ball on this one.

theJoshFrost

Metal_Hurlant said:

I really haven't seen any trolls. All I've seen is a lot of angry people who believed the game would work at least as good as the product it tries to enhance. If a 1998 version of the game from GoG can work on modern computers, then why can't the 2012 enhanced version using the same core game do the same? These are the sort of things a lot of people don't understand. And justifiably so.

People are angry with all the bugs (minor or major), especially those who can't even get the game running. Also, why would Beamdog take out voice overs? (eg. Bassillus' Oh Brother Thurm..') I really don't understand that decision.

At the very least, it should be better than vanilla BG1 with no cut original content. If they cut content, then they should replace it with something better. Hence, 'enhanced'. At the moment, even Vanilla BG1 is better in some respects than BGEE which is baffling.

So no, people being angry aren't necessarily trolls. Unfortunately, Beamdog have dropped the ball on this one.

Disagree. For me, Enhanced runs way better than my BG1. Having giant black boxes around every item on the ground, every spell cast, and every button on the tool bar? No thanks. It's up to every individual person's set up how well the game runs. But I go back to, I honestly can't think of a game that's ever come out on PC that works for every body at launch.

I'm a big fan of the Total War games. Fantastic games, but you're lucky if you get some of those games to run optimally EVER, especially not on release.

And I saw obnoxiously hateful threads on the day of release. Within like 3 hours of the game going up, there were people saying Beamdog sucks and the game sucks. That's stupid behavior.

Also, it probably wasn't a "decision" to cut some of the voice work. Maybe the original voice actor didn't want it in, or the file was lost or corrupt. It could have been any number of issues.

Metal_Hurlant

Disagree. For me, Enhanced runs way better than my BG1. Having giant black boxes around every item on the ground, every spell cast, and every button on the tool bar? No thanks. It's up to every individual person's set up how well the game runs.

So enhanced runs better then the GoG version? Do you have the GoG version?

But I go back to, I honestly can't think of a game that's ever come out on PC that works for every body at launch.

I can name a lot of games. All the goldbox games worked on PC on release. Same with Archon Ultra. Similar with Microsoft Golf 3.0 and Links LS 1998.

And I saw obnoxiously hateful threads on the day of release. Within like 3 hours of the game going up, there were people saying Beamdog sucks and the game sucks. That's stupid behavior.

Again, take it in context. If you bought a game that was supposed to be enhanced and the previous version works on your computer and this version doesn't, then wouldn't some people be angry? Whether it's stupid behaviour or not, who are you to criticise other people?

And what is the purpose of this thread anyway? It's arguably a troll thread in itself.

Also, it probably wasn't a "decision" to cut some of the voice work. Maybe the original voice actor didn't want it in, or the file was lost or corrupt. It could have been any number of issues.

No need for speculation and excuses as it doesn't mean anything. As far as the game goes, it's cut original content. Unless Beamdog come out and say what has happened to the voice overs with Bassillus and others, then it will always be regarded as cut content.

bboyhood

Drugar said:

Hating the haters doesn't make haters hate less.
Ignore anyone you find annoying and move on. The forum will balance out, or it won't. Making "Damn those trolls!" threads isn't improving the atmosphere either.

Yep, if everyone stopped feeding the trolls they would all die off.

Lythunyl

As a lurker, I'll come out of hiding for this: I had to smile when reading your comment, because, to me, it seems that at it's worst, this forum is still so incredibly much better than just about any other forum I've ever seen. The signal to noise ratio is immense and the amount of well-thought out insightful posts in a handful of threads is more than most forums can dream of. The only other comparable forum I can think of was the old Ironworks forum, which, amusingly enough, was also a BG forum. BG players are, for the most part, just really nice people I guess.