04-25-2004, 07:08 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-25-2004, 07:24 AM by CelticHound.)
It happens that I read that part of the FAQ over at the AB the other day, and I have to admit that my initial reaction was "I don't think so".
I believe it's all because they are a much larger community.
My understanding, from what I read, is that if two people (or three or seven for that matter) are in a game together, muling and chatting, anyone who enters that game may demand that they stop muling, and the others must comply or leave. (Actually, it's more than that - the explicit permission of all existing players and any future entering players is required.)
They way the rules are written, every single item that you bring back to town, except consumables like potions, even down to a cracked sash, must not be sold, but must be dropped on the ground for later party examination and sale and the proceeds of any sales must be divided among all the players.
Also as I recall, frequent trips to town are discouraged and unless the pace is too fast for a player to feel safe, lagging behind is a black mark.
I'm a kind of pokey player who likes to kick every basket. Some nights, I even like to haul every last bolt and arrow back to town to sell, and use the frequent trips to town to refresh the vendors for shopping. (Though I am trying to break my habit of being a complete stick picker.) So the best way for me to play in AB games would be to simply make private ones.
Again, I think it's all because they are a much larger community and, I assume, have to deal with a constant influx of new members. When you matchmake games with strangers, perhaps you can't know what oddball characters they might be playing or have a good feel for what items might be interesting or what might be safe to sell. And for the sake of the newcomers, you want to keep the rules as clear-cut, direct and simple as possible.
In a small community, I can be pretty confident about selling the Glowing Cap or the crappy rare, while saving the ring of Holy Bolt charges for GGG. We can drop items that are green, gold or just possibly interesting in town, and be pretty casual about muling. (We can even get into reverse arguments - "No, you take the Annilus - you don't have one yet - but be quick before b.net eats it!") But all that may not scale into a larger community.
On the other hand, I think arrunique's melee character and reflexes argument was pretty weak.
-- CH
I believe it's all because they are a much larger community.
My understanding, from what I read, is that if two people (or three or seven for that matter) are in a game together, muling and chatting, anyone who enters that game may demand that they stop muling, and the others must comply or leave. (Actually, it's more than that - the explicit permission of all existing players and any future entering players is required.)
They way the rules are written, every single item that you bring back to town, except consumables like potions, even down to a cracked sash, must not be sold, but must be dropped on the ground for later party examination and sale and the proceeds of any sales must be divided among all the players.
Also as I recall, frequent trips to town are discouraged and unless the pace is too fast for a player to feel safe, lagging behind is a black mark.
I'm a kind of pokey player who likes to kick every basket. Some nights, I even like to haul every last bolt and arrow back to town to sell, and use the frequent trips to town to refresh the vendors for shopping. (Though I am trying to break my habit of being a complete stick picker.) So the best way for me to play in AB games would be to simply make private ones.
Again, I think it's all because they are a much larger community and, I assume, have to deal with a constant influx of new members. When you matchmake games with strangers, perhaps you can't know what oddball characters they might be playing or have a good feel for what items might be interesting or what might be safe to sell. And for the sake of the newcomers, you want to keep the rules as clear-cut, direct and simple as possible.
In a small community, I can be pretty confident about selling the Glowing Cap or the crappy rare, while saving the ring of Holy Bolt charges for GGG. We can drop items that are green, gold or just possibly interesting in town, and be pretty casual about muling. (We can even get into reverse arguments - "No, you take the Annilus - you don't have one yet - but be quick before b.net eats it!") But all that may not scale into a larger community.
On the other hand, I think arrunique's melee character and reflexes argument was pretty weak.
-- CH