I Didn't Do It -- and other cases of schadenfruede

You'll see a blank post for a moment if you popped on my blog, but I just had to react to a couple things I saw today as I now wait for our little CAD group to do CoP 5-2 next week...

1) I Didn't Do It...

LBR got hacked and infected today, apparently. Rectified by now, blah blah blah...

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people. Really... I've felt this way since I realistically saw what this player-base (and, largely, those who represent it, in the eyes of Square-Enix -- this isn't just LBR (tack PFCheater and the wiki people onto it, for starters) feel about legitimate play: Anyone who can take these sanctimonious bunches of lol-cats down a few pegs gets a mark in my book.

If you think I have Piece of Respect Number One for the rank-and-file player-base of this game, you are real fucking funny. Doubly so for our supposed "Community Site" podcasters. About all they do is give me good ammo to put me to sleep.

And, before anyone starts: The only reason someone hasn't hacked my account is that I am considered too "gimp" for the process because I don't cheat my motherfucking ass off and lol anyone who isn't me...

On what would probably be a semi-related note...

2) Did Square-Enix just try to nail the Windower bitches a couple of notches??

Did we get our second (some of the crash-points in Shantotto Ascension progression being the first) real attempt to knock these illegal players for a loop??

If you haven't noticed, there has been a (at least somewhat-stealth) portion of the latest updates to the POL Player (about the biggest being that there's an extra screen, showing the "T" Rating to the game, after the "Get A Life" screen).

Sounds as if some of the code got our wittle cheating-ass friends pissed off by nerfing some of their add-ons.

KISS MY ENTIRE ASS, FUCKERS!!

The day they ban the Windower crowd will be Day One of the possible survivability of FFXIV.

Things which want to make you scream:

1) All the people claiming they were one number away. I got my Shadow Lord Statue and wasn't close to anything else.

2) UIA messiness. 1/3 on runs this morning. The two DD were not quite up to enough speed (and didn't have RR on either -- neither of them) to get it done. And still I almost got my run -- I was like one more spell away and my feet were like cement and couldn't run fast enough.

3) CoP 4-3 is a bitch. All the Fomors, and we got out with only a minimum of deaths. Still, though...

So, we'll be on 5-1 (Promy-Vahzl) when we reconvene sometime in February, schedules being a problem before about the 8th to get enough of us together.

More unsolicited ranting: Subject: Server Consolidation

Hopefully, tonight, I can finally clear CoP 4-2 -- several members of CloakAndDagger are trying to get Sea in the relatively near future. Hopefully, I can help them out.

Today's rant is basically from another source I am banned from (Hell, I'm basically banned from everything FFXI except for this blog and FFXI itself!! :P ). LBR decided they wanted to take a poll and ask people about the need for server consolidation, and that got me ready to rant again.

When it's clear that there are major portions of the game no longer realistically playable more than 3-4 days a week (Friday-Sunday, and maybe the occasional Thursday), it's time to look at server consolidation.

I have been doing something ever since I noted someone posting something similar to this on BG. First, I would do a "/sea all". Then I would calculate 1/3 of that number, and then do "/sea all 1-74". The number I would have calculated and the number I would see would be VERY close.

For example: 5:47 PM PST 1/28/10.

/sea all: 1252

Computed: 417-418

/sea all 1-74: 399

Basically, this says that it's no longer realistically worth it to start in FFXI, if you already don't have a 75, since the fair majority of the non-75's in that 399 either:

1) Are mules of 75's.

2) Are lesser jobs of 75's.

or 3) are RMT spammers and their ilk.

Then, you add the complete death of much of Whitegate for several days of the real-life week. I mean, it used to be that you couldn't filter out all the shouts quickly enough, and, now, you go to any realistic website pertaining to FFXI, and you find the same thing: Whitegate is dead.

Basically, even try Campaigning for the better part of the early weekdays and it's a real hit-or-miss operation (unless you're in Sandy or something)...

So, of course server consolidation is going to be needed. The real question is: How is it going to be effected?

I can see only 2 real possibilities:

1) Wait for FFXIV and slice the servers then...

2) Follow through on your Dec. 24, 2009 admonition, throw the banhammers, and force about a third of the servers to shut down here and now.

It's becoming evident that you can't really play FFXI to the fullest unless there are a certain number of live players on the server. For many servers, this is no longer happening.

One quickie Tuesday morning update...

Busy week for good ol' Starcade of Siren so far...

During the last couple days of the storms out here in California, I decided to do some Fields of Valor and get my SAM to 40 and my WAR to 20.

Helped a couple CloakandDagger'ers get CoP 3-5 Monday night. Plans are to try to do Ouryu later this week and start us on the road to Sea in earnest.

Down to about 230K or so to fully merit DNC.

Sunday night was BC night for C&D, as we did a bunch of Solo Your Own Scorpion ODS (got a D.cloth in my drop pool), and then we munged a BSTX3 UO, for which I got a Ni for getting us almost all killed all three runs. Was better off as the kiter when I used to do this BST/BLU/BLU on Asura.

And, just as I was going to bed, I noticed a JP group needing a few for the Mithra fight I was 0/4 on in Moogle Kupo d'Etat. Well, I found Keichan, and we went out as a group of 5 -- and won the damn thing!! Got a rather meh necklace for the honors, but at least through that son-of-a-bitch once and for all!

Anyhow... Off to bed.

So it's been a year already...

Yes, today (Friday) is my 41st birthday. Don't even try to tell me I don't act my age, because I fucking don't.

I learned something a long time ago about myself: I don't play nice with people who don't play nice. I learned it, and, frankly, it's probably the only reason I'm still here and kicking 41 years in.

I don't know what this next year will bring for me personally, but I hope it's better than the last 12 months. The last 12 months were a trying time for me and my friends, especially my roommate. But we're still here, and they haven't gotten rid of us yet.

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Of course, people (especially FFXI players and followers) will know January 22nd for a very different purpose: The day that, despite even Square-Enix' continued efforts to promote FFXI to this day (and to their Feb. 28, 2010 VanaFest in Tokyo), FFXI died at the hands of nearly a thousand cheaters whom Square-Enix could no longer ignore.

And we all know, even to today, how much Square-Enix continues to ignore massive fraud, theft, and illegal (in-game and law) activity in Vana'diel.

So we're a year past the Salvage Bans... What have we learned?

Those cheaters who haven't quit have dug in against the Terms of Service and Square-Enix, leading to several update nerfs (fishing, gardening, NPC sales, etc.), as well as the December 24, 2009 statement against third-party programs (which I feel Square-Enix doesn't have a prayer of enforcing unless it can figure out how to immediately slash the number of servers in half...)

Don't believe me? I discussed that at length about three weeks ago.

That said, it's clear that I have been branded everything from RP (a role-player, whom, to most of FFXI, is a bad name!) to so many names behind my back that it would take a decade to finish the list (and they're all derogatory!!).

But the one thing I've learned is this: I have to look myself in the mirror while I'm in the game and while I'm not. (I actually found a $100 bill on the ground during my work, while doing all the "Flamage" posts and the like. I had to seek out it's owner. Why? Because if I'm going to talk it here, I have to walk it there.)

And the day that what I say has absolutely no value (and that's not something the vast majority of the players -- those who cheat -- can declare (nor, really, can I)), then they better decide to deal with me in the most forceful way possible, because I know what I can do if I ever felt (like most FFXI players) that the right thing to do is no longer necessary or even possible.

A year ago, this game was exposed as a motherfucking fraud: Fraud by the players, fraud by the company, and fraud by the community (yes, I'm talking to you, Chinchilla and Pet Food Cheater).

If Square-Enix is serious about refuting that statement, ban every App and NASA user at minimum, and try to deal with Windower once and for all.

Stop the theft and start prosecuting RMT, wherever they are.

Make the efforts you have to make to even try to make FFXIV a purportedly reasonable game, and not the cheating non-starter it appears as if it's going to be.

As for me, I'll raise Hell til they lock me up. God put me on this Earth 41 years ago, and there's days I truly believe that this is the purpose for which I was put here.

This is what happens when you have a server who gives a damn...

... and not too many me-firsters at 3:20 AM in the morning, PST...

Doing a middle-of-the-night Besieged, keeping an eye on the weather while my roomie sleeps (expensive computer equipment for Net projects + lightning = too much chance for disaster!). Trolls come in to the undefeated server of Siren at 3:21 AM.

They leave at 3:38 AM!!

SEVENTEEN MINUTES -- _FIVE_ item refills... This for (obviously) a max-force Besieged...

So what's the quickest victory you've ever seen?

Quick Update while I squeegee some more rain water out...

We damned well need a lot of rain, but this isn't natural...

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SAM getting to at least 38 before I get to bed. Do -- not -- want -- to -- have -- thunderstorm -- and -- wake -- roomie.

Superior Private Rank achieved in Mercenary Rank. Why did they have to put the Hoofprint in the middle of where all the damn imps are?

Just got DNC merit #14 (No Foot Rise #3). 300K to go.

One day short of the first anniversary of the Salvage bans.

VanaFest ideas, and a little note to cheating bitches: I can do math...

I guess I can start at what has finally gotten me to log off for the night...

Tia, I ain't fucking stupid. I saw you basically take the five best items out of a nine-item union lot. Just the two I got over 900 on (a 975 and a 911), the odds of winning just those two even if I'm the only opposition are less than 1/400. In fact, pulling out the calculator: about 450-to-1.

That, and the three other best items in the Union pool (with several other opponents)? Look, if I'm going to do Campaign just to get Limit Points, I can go farm in the Promies some more, cheater bitch.

I know there's bots out there to compromise the lot system. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining...

If that's legitimate luck, Final Fantasy XI should be the LAST game you should be playing...

Shyeah and right...

Oh, and while I'm at it on the Campaign noise: The hiders seem to be out in full force on Siren, and Bastokan battles are taking the better part of an hour each. I hope you fuckers are satisfied when we have maybe one zone in four hours.

And on top of THAT: It seems we have people who want to nudge the Campaign mobs just enough so that we can't lock on to them for a kill shot...

What, am I playing YOUR game, instead of mine?

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So they finally announced a Japanese FanFest (VanaFest) for late February.

Tickets through lottery, and you had to be playing since Dec. 2008 to get one.

Look, I know that they want us to believe FFXI is not dead, but I came up with a list of ideas for the "big announcement":

1) I like the one idea that said that this is where the banhammers would show up. :) On top of that, probably an announcement halving the current number of servers would be nice.

2) Probably release dates on XIV and a first beta look (another hint to that: 1,114 tickets available... XI XIV)

3) A look at the proposed "Walk of Echoes" WotG End Game zone...

4) New anti-RMT measures, since the present ones DON'T FUCKING WORK!!!

5) No more skillups in Besieged, due to abuse and cheating.

I'm sure I'll come up with more...

Good News, Bad News kind of day...

Yo, to the last person who I just rejected:

Just because you try to insult me twice with nothing to add to the conversation doesn't mean the second comment (identical to the first) is going to get approved.

And as glad as you are that I'm off Leviathan, I'm twice as glad to be off that server. See my "Good News" for yesterday as an indication, twit.

Yo, Kaliboi:

Fuck thyself. We're trying to win the damn battle, last I checked.

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OK, those flames out of the way:

The Bad News for Thursday (Other than my roommate losing a Net project, at least temporarily, because of some stupidities with those running the project (or is it ruining it??):

Starcade has paid 20,000 gil.

Starcade gains Temporary Effect: Inventory Space -10.

Starcade soon to gain 1 item: Shadow Lord Statue.

The Good News was about an 8-hour session yesterday afternoon and evening.

Those of us in CloakAndDagger were discussing Zilart, for some odd reason, and at least 3-4 of us hadn't really started it. I was on ZM3, and we got Firekiss, Kimiko, and two others to join us. Kimiko already has Sky access, but decided to at least get us ZM4 and ZM5. Firekiss couldn't stay til the end, and got as far as beating the Delkfutt fight.

But, yesterday, I went all the way from ZM3 to Sky Access in one sitting.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go to bed.

Haven't posted in a while...

Just not much to talk about in the last few days (the first few days of 2010 -- God, it's like this first couple of weeks has just flown by (was at a convention last weekend and it felt like Friday and Sunday were next to each other...).

Anyhoo, quick updates:

DNC Merits are now at Step ACC 4, Rev Flourish 4, No Foot Rise 2, Closed Position 2. (Goal is all 4 at 5)

Crafting: Alchemy is roughly at Fewell level, which is where I wanted it. Cooking is at 28.

Not many other levels... Been a little burned out from Bah Humbug...

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Couple of other things:

1) Mark McGwire, take your steroid-ridden ass out of our sight.

2) Sounds like the league does want Brett Favre to get another ring. How much more blatant of a face mask do you need to call it? Not quite as bad as The Tuck Rule, but CLOSE...

Here's a hint for you BG Windower/FFACE cheating scum, free for the New Year...

Sounds like the theme of 2009 has started into 2010.

I go to BluGartr for the regular comedy, and am not disappointed to see that one of the (if not THE) major assister for developers of ILLEGAL ADD-ONS to an ILLEGAL THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE versus FFXI.

I state these for emphasis. The people who made Windower are scum. The people who use it, not much better.

And now you're surprised that not only is the person who is putting out this ILLEGAL assister for ILLEGAL software (and probably criminally as such, too...) effectively charging you for his service, but is now taking an important piece of your account information and storing it, perhaps for nefarious use??

Here's a hint, free from me, for 2010:

How about you just not play with any fucking third-party software whatsoever and play with the only legal modes involved in Final Fantasy XI? Or would that be too much for you fuckers?