It’s a bold claim and it’s not 100% true. To be fair, some aspects of the Internet have helped the film industry. For example, it is much easier to check when and where a movie is playing and far easier to buy tickets. The days of checking the newspaper and buying the tickets on-site are gone.
The benefits the Internet provides to movies end there. Trolls and jaded fans are the reasons the Internet ruined cinema.
I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of social media. They began as a means to stay connected with friends and colleagues and allows us to expand beyond our borders. Lately, however, people only use it to whine and complain about the latest movie or political fiasco. It can also harbor creeps and perverts, so I’m careful, especially on Facebook. These are my Facebook rules of engagement.
It’s been years since I have written a “tech talk” post, however, this doesn’t really count as one. In fact, this is probably a bit more like a SoapBox. The latest fad in tech is Chat GPT and OpenAI. I work in tech but I have not so much as performed a Google search for Chat GPT. As a programmer, I love automating simple tasks in my life but it’s overcoming challenges that help us grow. Asking an AI to write something for me is not something that needs to be automated. Chat GPT and OpenAI are making the world a lazier place and contributing to the decline of society (which began with social media).
We already live in a world where there is an entire generation that doesn’t want to do anything for themselves. They feel entitled to everything without doing any of the work to earn it. I’m surprised they have the brain capacity to articulate what they want Chat GPT to write for them. The fine art of creative writing and composition has been cannibalized. Chat GPT and OpenAI will make lazy people lazier and more fraudulent.
This is a soapbox with the Star Wars fandom as the theme. Honestly, this can easily apply to any other fandom (i.e. Marvel, DC, Star Trek, Doctor Who, etc). Do not let the Mike Zeroh’s and Star Wars Theory’s influence the kind of fan you are. Be Your Own Fan! The guys at Rebel Force Radio said that on one of their podcasts a couple of weeks ago and it really resonates with me.
I saw a meme once that said (I’m paraphrasing) Star Wars is like a new restaurant, you don’t have to like everything on the menu. I want to expand on that and add that you shouldn’t insult the things that people do like. My eight-year-old can understand that concept so an adult shouldn’t have any problem with it. Personally, Star Wars is like Portillo’s, I love everything on the menu.
I don’t talk a lot about sports on this blog; it’s not really a genre that is common in the geek and gaming subculture. However sports is heavy on statistics and numbers, which is right up the geeks alley so I guess it’s not that far out of reach. The baseball season this year is unique because of the covid (much like everything else). I’m having a hard time deciding if the covid MLB season is even worth it. In the end, will it even mean anything?
Bernie and a Stormtrooper catching a Royals game
It does feel a bit normal to have baseball on the television again. Hearing the crack of the bat and the cheer of the crowd always makes me think of summer. However, this year the crack of the bat is met with silence. The lack of a crowd in the stands reminds us again of the state of the world right now. I do admire how the ball clubs are trying to have a little fun using cardboard cutouts and teddy bears to fill the seats for some much needed levity.
There are only 60 games this season; that’s 102 games fewer than a normal season. Initially I thought removing that many games cheapens the season. However my brother-in-law pointed out that now every game has meaning. This is true and something I hadn’t considered. Everyone watches the first 20 or 30 games of the season. Around the time of the All-Star break everyone’s interests peters out a little bit. As we approach the end the season everyone’s interest is restored, especially if your team has a shot at the playoffs.
However, without a full season and only 7 innings per game, a championship will feel ill-gotten and unearned. Players are getting sick and games or entire series are getting postponed. How can it feel like an earned win when you aren’t playing a team at its best. There are some teams that are so far behind their 60 games I don’t know how they are going to catch up. Will some teams only play 53 games?? That doesn’t seem fair.
As a baseball fan, I get it. We’re just glad to have some baseball to watch (or any sport for that matter). However, even if the Cubs were to win the 2020 World Series, it just won’t feel as glorious. I will feel “meh” about it. In the history books it will forever be known as the shortened, pandemic season. I also get it from a corporate perspective. Baseball is also a business and a business, just like all the other businesses in the country, has to meet certain stakeholder obligations. Honestly, this baseball season is more about the corporate bottom line and less about the fans.
After much consideration I’m still of the opinion that the 2020 MLB season should have been cancelled. At the minimum they should have at least cancelled the championship. I’m not excited about it, even with the Cubs in first place. I don’t care about the World Series. I waited 108 years for the Cubs to win, I’m content with skipping it this year. We didn’t have one during the 1994-1995 Baseball Strike, I think we can manage not having it again.
/cheers
In August Blizzard will deliver on a promise they made at Blizzcon. Live servers of WoW Classic will go online. So many players are eager to get back to basics; and I don’t understand WHY! The only answer I have is nostalgia, but I think even the nostalgic vanilla vets will be quickly reminded how awful questing is. The other group that may be drawn to Classic are all those that began playing WoW during one of the expansions. These people will be among the first to bail and they will come running back to the current game faster than Barry Allen. Ultimately, I think WoW Classic is a classic blunder; I give it 6 months and the numbers will dwindle.
Honestly, I think this is a money grab. I think Blizzard is trying to rekindle their old subscription numbers by luring back old players. They might succeed. Players who cancelled their subscription several years ago will come back to play classic, and perhaps check out the current state of the game. Perhaps some of those players will keep playing the current game.
Its a “classic” business ploy – see what I did there (•_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)
The first thing everyone will be reminded of quickly is the utter lack of quality-of-life. For example, looting quest items while in a group. For every mob that you kill, the loot belongs to one person, and one person only, including quest items. Therefore the total number of mobs you have to kill, assuming a guaranteed drop, is equal to the number of mobs needed times the number of players in your group. It could literally take an hour to get 10 items for everyone in your group.
Also, to make that grind feel extra special tedious, you will have to RUN …. EVERYWHERE, for 40 levels. You will not be able to use a mount until you reach level 40, and that is assuming you can afford it (which means grinding for cash on top of everything else). So grab a book, bind the auto-run key and … get a few chapters in while you quest in Desolace.
This is just the tip of the ice burg of the missing quality-of-life mechanics in Classic. Here are some additional low quality-of-life items:
When you reach level 60 you will have nothing to do, especially if you are not raiding. You could traipse around the world and complete every quest you can possibly find. ◉_◉
You could use the LFG channel and grind through dungeons. ̿’̿’\̵͇̿̿\з=( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)=ε/̵͇̿̿/’̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ̿
Or you could start an alt and do it all over again. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
Ultimately, your level 60 character will simply collect dust because the only end game content WoW Classic offers is raiding. Oh, and if you thought grinding levels was grueling, raiding in Classic is a whole new level of grinding.
If you want to raid in classic you will be forced to join a raiding guild, unless you are lucky and find a frequent raiding group on the LFG channel. Raids in WoW Classic are 40 man only. Raiding will be a daily occurrence if you want to progress. I remember in vanilla there were raid teams meeting 4 hours every night to complete Molten Core. Remember, in Vanilla there are no lock out extensions. You must complete the raid before it resets.
You will need to grind, a lot, to have the consumables and gear. You will need sufficient bag space to hold extra gear because you will need to farm fire resistance armor for Molten Core. For example, if you’re a hunter you will need bag space for ammo, pet food, consumables and fire resistance gear.
I think Blizzard is standing up these WoW Classic servers as a stop gap for current players. They don’t want to lose subs because of another lackluster expansion so they are giving players, who are caught up on current content, something to do. I think they are also doing this as a stop gap because the next expansion is probably over a year away and 8.3 will be the final patch for Battle for Azeroth.
Also, for the record, I am a “Vanilla Vet”. I created my first character, a Night Elf Hunter, in vanilla, but I leveled my paladin before they launched Burning Crusade. I am not feeling so nostalgic that I want to grind through it all over again. I did try the open beta and after 2 hours of grueling quests, I uninstalled the game. I might try it again, when I’m really bored, but it won’t be when it launches. In fact it will probably be several months after it launches before I subject myself to that kind of torture.
The most baffling thing I’ve heard is that some players are, allegedly, abandoning the current game to exclusively play WoW Classic. I understand if some people think that the current content (while a little weak in story) does feel like a daily grind. However, why would you trade one grind for an even larger grindfest?!? At least in the current game there is some choice and the choices change daily. WoW Classic will never change.
In one year, when we are on the next expansion, WoW Classic will still be exactly the same. When we are two expansions into the future, WoW Classic will still be exactly the same! They can’t change it, or update it, otherwise it can no longer be called “classic WoW”.
If all of that sounds exhilarating to you, then power to ya. I’m quite content with my spoiled quality-of-life World of Warcraft.
/end soapbox
If zombies attack the world, everyone will run and hide. Except for us gamers, of course. We’ve been waiting for this all our lives!
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