OT: Blues Forum Lounge (Home of All Things OT) - Part XIII

[The Note]

There CFO has made some of the dumbest comments recently. They make it too easy lol.

Completely derailing this thread has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

And Yelich is signed to a really team friendly deal for the next five seasons. Stanton is obviously the sexy name but Yelich would be one hell of an acquisition.

 

[wannabebluesplayer]

My bad for it as well. Sore situation as I love Star Wars and EA has brutalized it. I hope Disney takes the exclusivity rights away.

 

[bleedblue1223]

The College Football Playoffs really should be expanded to 8 teams. I’m not sure how the logistics would work out, but if they were to make it 5 spots for the Power 5 conference champs and then 3 at large bids, they could eliminate the OSU/Bama drama. And the OSU/PSU drama from last year.

Can't have loses like OSU had and expect to make it.

 

[wannabebluesplayer]

Can't have loses like OSU had and expect to make it.

That Iowa loss is what destroyed their chance. No one to blame but themselves, no matter what people think. I think it's funny that because it was Ohio State who won the conference championship this year, the conference champ should be in, but last year when PSU won it...it was the " best teams" not the conference champs argument.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

Cardinals signed Miles Mikolas out of Japan. 2 years for 15 million total. Don't know much about him but have heard he apparently was lights out in Japan over the last three years.

 

[Evocable Manager]

Completely derailing this thread has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Can you detail a thread dedicated to the discussion of whatever you want?

 

[EastonBlues22]

Can you detail a thread dedicated to the discussion of whatever you want?

The post was moved from the AHL thread.

 

[bleedblue1223]

The post was moved from the AHL thread.

I argue it was on topic. The AHL team is doing Star Wars night, and then Star Wars was discussed.

 

[Bye Felicia]

Yelich is a highly underrated player on a fantastic contract. I would be willing to entertain any Cardinals prospect in a potential deal for him.

As for Mikolas... Eh, why not. It's just a two-year commitment for not that much money and that could fill a need. Even if he doesn't work out as a starter, he could be a valuable arm out of the bullpen.

 

[EastonBlues22]

I argue it was on topic. The AHL team is doing Star Wars night, and then Star Wars was discussed.

Deviating course for a couple of posts is usually fine, but EA/loot box/BF2 a big issue currently and the discussion seemed to be gaining momentum as an independent topic. This is the place to give it room to grow should people wish to continue down that path.

Personally, I've been steering clear of EA for a long time. My wife bought Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2, but I haven't touched an EA game besides that one since NHL 95. I'm glad that this controversy is making big waves, and I hope that it leads to a shift in the landscape moving forward. Consumers have been far too tolerant of this exploitative nonsense, IMO.

 

[Majorityof1]

This is a place for discussion about loot boxes? I thought this was the Cardinals baseball thread

 

[bleedblue1223]

Deviating course for a couple of posts is usually fine, but EA/loot box/BF2 a big issue currently and the discussion seemed to be gaining momentum as an independent topic. This is the place to give it room to grow should people wish to continue down that path.

Personally, I've been steering clear of EA for a long time. My wife bought Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2, but I haven't touched an EA game besides that one since NHL 95. I'm glad that this controversy is making big waves, and I hope that it leads to a shift in the landscape moving forward. Consumers have been far too tolerant of this exploitative nonsense, IMO.

I was just messing with you. Obviously it got off-topic.

 

[BangarangxRufio]

Yelich is a highly underrated player on a fantastic contract. I would be willing to entertain any Cardinals prospect in a potential deal for him.

As for Mikolas... Eh, why not. It's just a two-year commitment for not that much money and that could fill a need. Even if he doesn't work out as a starter, he could be a valuable arm out of the bullpen.

Something interesting no one here has mentioned...the last major league pitching coach Mikolas had before jumping leagues was Mike Maddux. IDK if that is THE reason we signed him for 2 years, but you have to think it is A reason.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

There are so many Facebook GMs going ballistic over Mikolas talking about how he sucks and DeWitt is being cheap. We're willing to take on more than 250 million of Stanton's contract but he's totally cheap right?

I'm going to wait and see how the entire offseason goes before judging. Mikolas seems like a decent buy low candidate though.

 

[Evocable Manager]

I buy the EA NHL religiously.

But outside of that, nothing. I think the last one I bought was Battlefield 3.

 

[TheDizee]

all the afkers on battlefront 2 is funny as hell to watch LMAO

you know your progression system is screwed when people afk on a CASUAL shooter. That sort of things should only happen on MMOs

 

[bleedblue1223]

all the afkers on battlefront 2 is funny as hell to watch LMAO

you know your progression system is screwed when people afk on a CASUAL shooter. That sort of things should only happen on MMOs

Yeah I saw a video of a guy in Heros vs Villians (4v4), and 3 of his teammates were doing the rubberband cheat. Just annoying at that point, but I don't really blame them for doing it.

I mean, is it that difficult to have rewards based on actual in-game performance, and make someone that would have an end game score where they clearly didn't do anything earn almost nothing? If the only points to your score are being killed, then you don't get a reward. Then have a credit multiplier based on where you end up on the overall rankings of the game.

 

[TheDizee]

Yeah I saw a video of a guy in Heros vs Villians (4v4), and 3 of his teammates were doing the rubberband cheat. Just annoying at that point, but I don't really blame them for doing it.

I mean, is it that difficult to have rewards based on actual in-game performance, and make someone that would have an end game score where they clearly didn't do anything earn almost nothing? If the only points to your score are being killed, then you don't get a reward. Then have a credit multiplier based on where you end up on the overall rankings of the game.

IMO they want to pander to less skilled gamers and little kids. that why everyone gets the same rewards roughly. plus this way it makes the grind longer for EVERYONE, increasing the odds that they buy crystals with real money down the road.

its basically a socialist system ingame. spreading the wealth instead of rewarding the people carrying the team. modern gaming is pretty much dead a this point lol. every game has to have loot crates, be a boring lifeless open world or leave content out so they can put it in the "season pass"

 

[wannabebluesplayer]

It's amazing to me how quickly this all gained traction because it happened to a Star Wars game. I think if this had occurred to any other IP, I don't know that it gains the same traction.

As far as the points/rewards system, it's definitely a flawed system. If you're the defenders and you win the match before the attackers can even get past the 1st point, you don't get more credits. You actually hurt yourselves by winning quickly. I really think the credit system is based on how long it takes to play the match. Plus, why did it move to 1st through 5th positions now in the end screen? What happened so showcasing who played the objective more, who killed more, who assisted more, etc.? I didn't see a problem with that or rewarding players based on that. I am on board with bleedblue1223. It should be more of a merit system and in game performance when it comes to rewards.

EA will NEVER get a dime out of me for loot boxes. The only reason I have bought any recent EA games was because I love Star Wars and I love the Mass Effect series (thanks for f**king that up to EA). So far, they have ruined those IPs for me. Hopefully, they start listening to their developers more and maybe there won't be the backlash they have been receiving.

 

[Majorityof1]

IMO they want to pander to less skilled gamers and little kids. that why everyone gets the same rewards roughly. plus this way it makes the grind longer for EVERYONE, increasing the odds that they buy crystals with real money down the road.

its basically a socialist system ingame. spreading the wealth instead of rewarding the people carrying the team. modern gaming is pretty much dead a this point lol. every game has to have loot crates, be a boring lifeless open world or leave content out so they can put it in the "season pass"

I really like the stand-alone expansion model that a few companies are using to get more profit from single player games. Naughty Dog and Bethesda are specific examples. They release a AAA single-player action game with no DLC or loot crates. Game design is too expensive for that to make enough profit, unless it sells like crazy. Unfortunately, 10-20 hour narrative driven games rarely sell at that level. With the stand-alone expansion model, the team uses the assets, engines, etc from the first game to create a smaller stand-alone sequel/expansion hybrid that retails for half price. However, since it is recycling work done on the first game, costs are much lower than half. Naughty Dog did this with Last of Us (Left Behind) and Uncharted 4 (Lost Legacy). Bethesda did it with Wolfenstein: New Gods (Old Blood) and Dishonored 2 (Death of the Outsider). Insomniac did it with both Infamous games. This greatly lowers that production costs of the 2nd game and allows gamers to get more of a game they liked. However as it often tells a story featuring a unexplored character in a shorter manner, it therefore diminishes fatigue of yearly iterations of the same game. While a small team is working on the pseudo-sequel, most of the team can be working on creating a newer game that pushes the envelope in a different direction allowing more innovation in the sequel than most yearly iterations get.

BTW, I finally got around to Lost Legacy which Dizzee recommended here a little while back. He was right. Good game, and probably better than Uncharted 4. But it still suffered from some of the problems that have plagued the more recent Uncharted games. I'd like to see them innovate that series and really rework the formula a good bit. I can always predict whats going to happen with Dizee like accuracy (maybe that's why he likes it). Enter a big open space, about to have a fire fight. Make a big jump to a ledge, its going to crumble. Walking across a rickety bridge...be ready to jump free of the collapse. On a unstable structure of some sort, be ready to push forward and occasionally tap x as you run through a giant crumbling set piece. Finally find the artifact, cue the bad guy to take it from you *yawn*.

 

[Bye Felicia]

There are so many Facebook GMs going ballistic over Mikolas talking about how he sucks and DeWitt is being cheap. We're willing to take on more than 250 million of Stanton's contract but he's totally cheap right?

I'm going to wait and see how the entire offseason goes before judging. Mikolas seems like a decent buy low candidate though.

That's goofy. Why would anybody be upset about this? It's not like signing Mikolas impacts the ability to get Stanton. And if Stanton doesn't sign in St. Louis, it's not going to be DeWitt's fault that Stanton didn't waive his NTC for St. Louis.

Mikolas isn't some pointless, low hanging fruit type signing either. He is potentially a mid-rotation starter, and there have been other guys who came back from Japan at his age and put up really good seasons in the MLB (Colby Lewis comes to mind).

 

[wannabebluesplayer]

That's goofy. Why would anybody be upset about this? It's not like signing Mikolas impacts the ability to get Stanton. And if Stanton doesn't sign in St. Louis, it's not going to be DeWitt's fault that Stanton didn't waive his NTC for St. Louis.

Mikolas isn't some pointless, low hanging fruit type signing either. He is potentially a mid-rotation starter, and there have been other guys who came back from Japan at his age and put up really good seasons in the MLB (Colby Lewis comes to mind).

Whether or not they get Stanton, I think this was a smart move by the front office and it's no coincidence the last pitching coach he had in NA is the same one the Cards have now. I partially hope that even if they get Stanton, the Cards also find a way to get Chris Archer and Alex Colome from Tampa. Martinez, Archer, Wacha (if he's here), Weaver (if he's here), Wainwright, Mikolas would be a solid set of starters/potential starters. You also probably still have one of Gomber, Hudson, or Flahrety as well.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

The College Football Playoffs really should be expanded to 8 teams. I’m not sure how the logistics would work out, but if they were to make it 5 spots for the Power 5 conference champs and then 3 at large bids, they could eliminate the OSU/Bama drama. And the OSU/PSU drama from last year.

It would be so much nicer to make it simply conference champs like that (and a couple at large). I'd throw one spot to the best Group of 5 team.

I'm not a OSU fan, but they are being penalized for playing Oklahoma in the nonconference, compared with Alabama's lackluster schedule and less conference games. But if its straight conference champs, then you're not out of it until you are eliminated from winning the conference. It makes every game more relevant and one single loss of any fashion is not that big a deal.

I think there is too much money at stake for it to continue like this. If B1G and P12 are shut out, while SEC gets 2 teams in, it won't be going this way for long.

 

[TheDizee]

It's amazing to me how quickly this all gained traction because it happened to a Star Wars game. I think if this had occurred to any other IP, I don't know that it gains the same traction.

As far as the points/rewards system, it's definitely a flawed system. If you're the defenders and you win the match before the attackers can even get past the 1st point, you don't get more credits. You actually hurt yourselves by winning quickly. I really think the credit system is based on how long it takes to play the match. Plus, why did it move to 1st through 5th positions now in the end screen? What happened so showcasing who played the objective more, who killed more, who assisted more, etc.? I didn't see a problem with that or rewarding players based on that. I am on board with bleedblue1223. It should be more of a merit system and in game performance when it comes to rewards.

EA will NEVER get a dime out of me for loot boxes. The only reason I have bought any recent EA games was because I love Star Wars and I love the Mass Effect series (thanks for f**king that up to EA). So far, they have ruined those IPs for me. Hopefully, they start listening to their developers more and maybe there won't be the backlash they have been receiving.

you are right, it wouldnt have gained traction if not for star wars, in specific, disney for stepping in and telling EA to knock it the hell off.

EA has been doing this garbage for years on all of their games, including series like mass effect. activision does it with destiny, cod and others. ubisoft does it too. all these scumbag publishers are doing it and its pathetic. i have seen people spend thousands of dollars on these loot crates, its beyond sad lol.

but disney called EA up and told them to stop damaging their golden goose in star wars or risk losing the star wars license and EA clearly backed down big league.