Winning, you know, its like, better then losing

[PanamaLane]

Without turning this into too much of a rant. My character died last night to some real shady mechanics. It happens to the best of us, in fact it also happens to the worst of us and we've come to accept that sometimes you just have to deal. But in this acceptance, I began to ponder, how often do these set backs and karmic kicks to the balls happen compared to good old victories?

It seems to me that I fail far more often then I succeed in this little world of ours. I understand the game is set up to be challanging, but its also supposed to be fun, you know? What happened to the win? Where have the good times gone that make playing the game worthwhile? They are still there, I suppose, but it often feels like I don't have time to get back on the horse before something knocks me off it again. I lose enough in my real life, it just pains me that much more to lose at my fictional one as well. Am I alone in this assesment?

Rewards! Fun! Victory! I'd like to see more of them. Not just for me, but for everyone. Because in the end, its just a game and the joy we feel for it should outweigh the pains.

[Cruzel]

Just fail less, obviously.

That's how you win.

[Metro_Pack]

My character died last night to some real shady mechanics.

Wasn't me

[PanamaLane]

Just to explain a bit, I ran past a group of nightrisers invisibly. One saw me and attacked. My resulting -auto attack- revealed my location to all his buds. My character would never have done that, you know? But I had to live with it. It moved me from 300 to 7 back down to 5. It was a kick in the balls, right square, and it made me want to quit.

What happened isn't really the point though. I just wanted to voice a feeling of failure. Its a familiar one, more so then success, and that confused me because if I can't even succeed in my dreams and fantasies, then where can I? My life's tough enough, I just want to have fun.

And if i thought I was the only one out there who felt this way, then I wouldn't have mentioned it.

[Pup]

Maybe I've just been lucky, or maybe I've gotten better at online NWN.  Probably both, but I've been finding it easier to succeed (and reap the rewards of success) in our new setting than I ever did in the UD. Dreaded mechanics glitches and the Lag Demon still get me from time-to-time, but as Panama said, it happens to all of us.

I will admit, however, that there were several times in the past that I felt the same way as PanamaLane.

[Caddies]

When I see veterans die horribly all the time despite playing this game for four years or more, I always wonder why this happens. EFU:A is a story told through the the NWN medium; if you can't string together the simple concepts and do the simple maths behind NWN mechanics, expect to fail. If you're serious about succeeding -because yes, success does often depend on your grasp of the mechanics- then learn the game.

Its not as though its quantan physics, or that the information isn't readily available to you:

http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

[Talir]

True, sometimes it would seem one fail more than one succeed. I know there's a lot that I have failed to accomplish and you can bet it sets my enjoyment back a bit, but sometimes it is the small victories that are enjoyable. Sure, you don't get to make that great building/faction that you hoped for, but still you managed to draw interest and someone reacted to your character. Everytime a character of mine is able to draw a reaction from someone, no matter if it's good or bad, I count that as a victory; for I see then that I have made an impact, no matter how insignificant, on the other character. The reactions, the small cheery tells, the interest and the fun I have while playing alongside others; these are all victories that keep me going and make me enjoy this game tremendously.

[BoneScreech]

Success greatly depends on the players around you. Sometimes your success is due to their failures and even your own success is due to their success.

[JackOfSwords]

I die horribly like that at least 3 times/week.

While I have considerably adjusted my attitude toward playing over the past year or two, it DOES ultimately make my RP suffer, as I try not to get too invested in any of my characters, knowing they'll be snuffed out in a silly manner any day now.

Before I sit down to play, I always ask myself one question: "Do I care if die within 30 seconds of logging in?"  If I say "yes", I don't play.

[9lives]

Wasn't me

[efuincarnate]

Just slap up a "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" banner and declare yourself the winner, Panama! Then you can get back to the drudgery of constant assaults on your hopes and dreams! Simply redefine victory and your good to go! ...on a serious note, what would be winning? I always imagined winning a good death. I ask that question in all seriousness, what would qualify "winning or succeding" in EFUA?

[9lives]

There are many, my friend- Escaping, fulfilling your character's goals, enjoying yourself while playing.

The greatest, though, is neither nebulous nor unattainable. Simply post an angst-ridden goodbye, decrying all and sundry (bonus points for The Man!), in the off-topic forum.

[PanamaLane]

Victories is probably a better word for it.

Listen, my characters have these all the time as well. From being elected, to successfully slaying one enemy to sleep with another. These victories are why I play the game. Dying well is a victory, one of the best in fact. These kinds of occurrences only mature after a long hard fight and that's partly what makes them so great.

But in between to you have to deal with so much bullshit sometimes. It's nobody's fault, mind you, I'm just calling it like it is. Its the random things life throws at you that knocks you back. It hits you more mentally then anything else and will turn even the toughest of men into a little bitch. It exists in the real world, so its presence in Archipelago is also assuredly there.

The difference is where we have to live with it in the real world, we don't -have- to in Archipelago. With a few mouse clicks, we can change this world and make it better, shinier and tastier then the one from whence we came. We could be more rewarded from our experiences here.

I'm not sure how either, maybe its just my own state of mind that needs to change. Mostly I'd just like to hear what you have to say about it.

[Vlaid]

Being a continual bed-fellow with failure in EFU, I know what you are feeling all too well. But more often than not it is the pain of losing xp due to a small mistake or glitch, rather than a feeling of being defeated.
 
Victories come in the plots, schemes, and RP of the server, not in the victory of making it past that little party of nightrisers invisible.
 
At least, that's how I try to play.

[Metro_Pack]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRG8NNqqeqE