Ulfberht, I figured this was a fitting title and I'll explain why. The Ulfberht was a sword, of which less than a hundred were found to be real, was made of crucible steel. What this means is that it had a remarkable quality, free of slag and forged with such craftsmanship it was thoughtto hold magical powers. This viking sword was not just known for its reputation but largely because it was forged using techniques so advanced that some 800 years later, blacksmiths and steel manufacturers are just now able to recreate it.
The reason I correlate this, especially as my first blog post in Blind Man's Moon - a Dust 514 blog - is because I feel that New Eden is an Ulfberht. Its made with such quality that it has gained a reputation, a mark in history, but beyond that it is not free of imperfection, 'slag' so to speak.
Ive come to notice that Dust 514 is in an odd place. Whereas Eve crafted its place in the MMO genre with something new and innovative, Dust is trying to do the same, but its trying to appeal to a market that already exists. What I mean by this is the FPS community. This isnt bad, but its a market that is very vast and flexible. Players may prefer fast paced, small map shooters like Call of Duty and others may prefer a larger expanse with vehicles such as Battlefield 3.
But Dust 514 is innovative, its different - well, trying to be. The issue, I think, is that trying to appeal to these players has left Dust without a niche of its own, something to dynamically set it apart from the rest. The potential is there, absolutely, with the connection to Eve online, but whenthe community is divided by different playstyles it leads to a sort of dispute.
In essence, I think CCP is on the right path. The community canbe angry to the point of raising pitchforks and torches but inevitably if CCP caters to one side or the other they lose the interest of theother side. The solution? Ignore the whining masses and their complaints and do what ia healthy for the game, because theyre players and almost always self interested.
Its very easy to get caught in themass hysteria, to fall prey and joining the angry mob, but what good will it do? Every morning you get the mail the dog barks, sure its annoying yet you cope because you know that once hes expended enough energy he'll wind down and be man's best friend again. Its all a matter of patience, and you never once had to stop what you were doing.
A player told me that if they keep nerfing (balancing, to us civil types) everything, that he was going to leave. To me, this isnt much of a threat. People threaten to leave frequently and Ive grouped them into two categories.
A. The type that were going to leave anyway, because they honestly arent a good matchwith the game.
B. The type that want to throw their tantrum, get their attention and maube get their way but inevitably keep playing regardless of the outcome.
Thats why I feel that this game is an Ulfberht sword. A diamond, a jewel in a sea of mediocrity and repetition that has its imperfections but largely a practical concept you can have faith is made by someone you can trust.
So, theres my random thoughts. I hate having to type all of this out on a tablet but its all I have.
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