Pheta

I'm not sure why you're trying to make a zero-sum argument here. Nothing in life is black and white, and just because Biden couldn't measure up to your standards doesn't mean we need to, or should, replace him.

Also, nobody is required to argue or refute any claims or points you're trying to make. Biden didn't face the same problems that Obama did. He doesn't have the same faults or struggles, so why are we trying to make an apple-to-apple comparison when that's not even what we're discussing?

Personally, Biden's executive orders read as very well intentioned, and I personally have directly and indirectly benefited from many of these. There are some things Biden has done that I have disagreed with, but overall, the executive orders and ruling policy of the Biden administration is a positive. If you read some of the executive orders, it's pretty clear that Biden understands the issues that ail the public in most, if not all, sectors.

Gotta shout out a thanks to @naught for getting me interested in reading executive orders. For anyone curious, you can find it here: https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/joe-biden/2023

Really interesting stuff.

What a treat of a read. Always nice to see a new story like this pop up, thanks for sharing!

Unless they can't see the difference between the dickhead and themselves.

When you're playing a fighting game, like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, sure. It's in the best interests to have both sides be similar in skill level so the matches don't end with one side steamrolling. But the games that suffer from completely even matches are the ones that aren't meant to be competitive. This could range from a casual game mode in a game like League or Dota 2, to more commonly accepted casual/ for fun games like Call of Duty. The whole point of even matches means that there will never be situations where skill levels are imbalanced. In a fighting game, that's good since it can let you develop skills and really push your gameplay to shine or be memorable.

But in a more casual game where you're playing with a team of players, it can really hurt if you're attempting to make progress. In the case of Call of Duty's progression based unlock system, not having a game where you have an advantage means that it's difficult for the average player to make progress on certain goals. This could be something as simple as 'get 10 headshots' or 'knife kill 10 enemies in a round'. If you're in an even match, you likely aren't going to be incentivized to actually try for those goals, as by handicapping yourself like that, you give the enemy team an advantage and thus put you even further away from completing that goal.

In the above example, it creates a sort of negative feedback loop, where the only way to complete a goal like this is to basically get lucky. Whether that's just luck from being in the right places at the right times, or from the matchmaking service messing up or accidentally DC'ing an enemy player, the only other method you have besides 'get lucky' is just sheer brute forcing the situation or playing long enough that such a thing happening is a statistical inevitability.

I'm not saying you're wrong for feeling that way, but what I said doesn't really apply to fighting games, since htere isn't a distinction of 'casual' or 'competitive'. By the genre's very nature, arcade fighters are competitive. In other games, if improvement is your goal, you're aiming for competitive play, and that's where SBMM really does shine. In casual matches, it can become a sort of double edged sword. People don't really like losing, but any multiplayer game really will always have wins and losses. The important part is making those wins fun enough to offset the negatives of the losses.

Pt. 2 since my response was longer than the 5000 characters alloted for a reply.

Anyways, back on topic, because these games are so competitive in nature, it requires them to have those new players, and to avoid potential newbies from trying it out, the barrier to entry should be as low as possible. Meaning, that most new accounts shouldn't be restricted necessarily from an older account. This seems kind of counterintuitive, but if they make the game where time spent playing directly correlates to their power and ability to dominate, new players drop off sharply as time goes on. Think of it like a brand new MMO that comes out, where if you're not the first one discovering something or being the first in something, some people will just quit because 'there's no point', or, 'I've already fallen behind and can't catch up'.

There are a few games that don't implement the SBMM system like TF2. In these instances, the idea is that if the skill imbalance is too great, players will just leave the server themselves until they eventually settle into a server where games are at the player's intended experience, whether that's a casual just shoot things and have fun, or they opt to test their skills.

Still, intentionally smurfing is considered a harmful activity, and while most games try to avoid directly punishing this behavior, there are some, like Dota 2, where it is a reportable offence. Most games do try to take a softer approach to this. I'm of the opinion that this is due to two reasons.

One, they are trying to dismantle the reason why someone would smurf in the first place (e.g. if they just wanted to have fun playing instead of playing seriously) and ensure that the hassle of repeating these steps (creating a new account, going through new account tutorials) becomes not worth it when compared to the pleasure generated from playing that first match, two, or five of easy wins.

Two, I also think it's because that it is a new account. Because there's no good way of ostensibly saying that an account is a smurf before they've even demonstrated the skills that are the calling card of the smurf, it's tough to say if if they're a smurf or a new player. It's hard to say if a new CS:GO account having great aim is because they're a smurf, or because they played 5000 hours of TF2 and the skills are transferrable.

A lot of this is just observations and conjecture with a little bit of actual learning I did when SBMM became talked about due to its implantation in more casual games aiming to be competitive like Call of Duty and Battlefield, so this might not be the most objective piece, but then again, I am just a random stranger on the internet, so grain of salt and all that.

Oh joy! I do love ranting, so apologies if I run on. You see, smurfing is just as described, 'a skilled player creating new or low-level accounts to play against less experienced opponents'. This happens all over the place, from highly competitive games like League of Legends and Overwatch, to games aimed at casual matches and more classic experiences like Halo and Call of Duty. However, the systems they use and even genres are completely different. I'm sure you can understand that players get used to a game's quirks, learn valuable skills like decision making, metas (an acronym standing for Most Efficient Tactic Available) and prioritization.

However, a lot of games, including the ones mentioned, understand that it's an issue, and it impacts the most important members of that game's community: the new people, as like any game, without new people sticking around, there won't be anyone to actually have a match with, and this is typically a sign that the game hasn't solved that critical underlying problem for far too long.

Games like Overwatch and League of Legends have a hidden mechanic called 'ELO'. Think of this like a numerical ranking amongst all other players. This is a complicated formula that takes into account multiple things, from your individual performance like Kills, Deaths, and Assists that match to other metrics the game might think is important. In a FPS game, this might include your accuracy, or even compare movements to other players. Games like the above mentioned Dota, this might include gold earned, or how quickly you earned that gold. You may also have heard this referred to as 'skill based matchmaking, or SBMM for short.

Most multiplayer games implement this kind of system, whether they declare that overtly, like a ranking system or they hide it to avoid players abusing the system. You may have heard in the past of developers filing copyrights for such systems, and there is a stigma for what this kind of system can do, as the potential for abuse is very real, but I'll leave that for a different time.

Now, games do try to combat smurfing, as well as other bad behaviors to avoid the worst case scenario of a game dying out, but even games in the same genre do try to innovate on approaches to this strategy. Like I mentioned with ELO, it was a system that tried to identify a good player and 'balance out the teams' so to speak. It was a system, in the purest sense, to balance out matches as evenly as possible.

This is part of the reason why if you've ever talked to someone who's played multiplayer games recently, or watched videos about it, they might refer to games with people 'tryharding' or the lobby being full of 'sweats'. Because every game is balanced, it's not like the game has that natural flow to what would be a minorly imbalanced game, so people have to literally 'try harder', hence the moniker in order to win. As an aside' tryhard' is an old term but been kind of warped in recent times because the old focus was that they were too focused on trying harder to win and not enjoying the game, while today's definition more alludes to people taking a game too seriously, which is ambiguous and has mixed connotations, for me at least.

Regardless, These systems are actually kind of varied. Take Call of Duty's leveling system with new guns and attachments being unlocked as you play. Now, a good player might be able to play really good with just a basic gun given to a starter account, but the different guns and attachments do give a edge to that less experienced player, and if the smurfer does stomp as they intended, they'll level up rapidly and won't be playing against newer players for long.

Other games that make use of the SBMM system I talked about earlier take note of the kind of performance that indicates smurfing, and rapidly pushes that player up the ranks until they suffer losses, ensuring that even if they do play a easy game, it once again, won't be for long. That, 'won't be for long' isn't a common reoccurrence by chance, by the way. These systems are mostly used in what would be competitive games as a whole (not going to get into how lobbies are changing as the people who are in them are either adults now, or new children being shown directly what doors this hobby can open, but it is worth pointing out). This is partially because competitive games need that constant influx of new players to keep popularity surrounding the game and interest generated for the competitive leagues that these companies try to generate, as it presents a massive revenue stream if it works out, as Overwatch and League of Legends have shown directly.

Yeah, this is a very good definition of what smurfing is. Just in case you had any apprehensions. There's a whole discussion about smurfing and other ways people try to ruin a game. Nice job on learning, and I mean that unironically, something new. I could elaborate on how smurfing works and how games handle it, but are you interested? Just don't wanna throw a wall of text at you if you're not.

Typed out a whole thing because I didn't really agree with you that it's not just the people up top, but also this perpetual growth, zero sum game most C-suite level people seem to think the world operates on.

Most of my points ended up agreeing with you, but I do want to add that profit seeking isn't a bad thing, but that the constant desire for more profit, 'growth' is where the real evil lies.

I think that's where his point kind of lies tho. Don't get me wrong, I share the same sentiments, but scale doesn't necessarily translate to production costs. Larian has been in the CRPG genre for a while, and they have engines, proprietary tools, and design philosophies based off their past successes and failures. Other companies won't really have that edge, and will likely make many of the same mistakes that earlier titles did, which is what Rami Ismail is probably fearing.

There aren't many other ideal solutions to deal with this tricky problem. Capital like engines and tools aren't really built so easily, and even when they are built, there's tons of tiny little details that CRPGs make, ranging from camera to how dialogue is handled, to control schemes, character building (I don't think Larian got away with utilizing the 5E system without a hefty licensing fee) and plot.

Not to say all these things need to be at quality and comparable to BG3, but that due to it's popularity and success, it will be a frame or point of reference when thinking about another CRPG, and thus when a game doesn't do anything new or drastically different, it'll be framed as a 'lower quality BG3' because it won't have anything to help it escape that direct comparison.

As for doing something different, using a different TTRPG system, or other unique quirk that set it apart drastically enough to free itself from that looming shadow, that's a pretty hefty risk for a TTRPG or studio to take up, with no guarantee that the game itself will come out okay. You only need to look at Shadowrunn Returns, a CRPG for Shadowrun a cyberpunk fused fantasy world. Sounds like a great time, no? Well, I wouldn't say it did badly, but that it didn't do well enough for the people making or funding to entertain the risk of a sequel, and thus the 'tightening of the noose' that he's referring to.

With a step down in price, or for new entrants to enter a market, we'll either need to understand that new games likely won't have the same polish or quality of current ones, but they will still need to earn a profit from these games. This either translates into enough sales (which I doubt people would do as people generally don't care about things unless they're incredibly passionate, which naturally limits the quantity of people) or a high enough price to still make a profit with a lower amount of sales, which means that smaller scale 20-30$ CRPG is just not feasible if they don't have some other way to raise funding or keep costs down. You'd basically be looking at maybe 5-10 hours of gameplay for that kind of price, and the quality still would not be the same, missing a lot of things we take for granted in a AA or AAA setting.

It's not really about consumer interest in a genre or style of game, it's more to do with people's flawed perspective that games are constantly getting better, and while it's not to say new ideas aren't being tried, and those can be done with indie teams, they just need to be either completely distinct when compared to it's competitors, so the flaws aren't fixated on, and accepted as a form of the medium, or reinvent the wheel in a way to subvert the genre they're currently in. I could go on all day, but this is already a wall of text, and you get my point.

So, I get where you're coming from, and it might make sense for an Aussie, who's consumer protections are very strict. However, most of what is being discussed exists in a completely different environment.

That being said, when you work for someone, it is your choice. However, for the sake of understanding the situation, let's say that companies in the local area all pay very little. Perhaps enough to pay rent, food, and utilities, but not much else. Now, you might be aware that the products you sell are being sold for much more than you make. This isn't a fair pay, and you know that. According to your other statements, you should go find a job that pays well and treats you with respect, right?

But that's based on a premise that that job and company exists. If the current jobs that aren't paying you fairly are all that exist around you, that idea falls on its head. So what do you do then? Not work? You can't afford to save with your current income, and you will starve without it (I cannot stress this point). Move? This article should be telling (https://myelisting.com/commercial-real-estate-news/1334/most-and-least-expensive-cities-states-to-rent-compared-to-income/). No place in the US is going to change your situation, as you're more than likely going to end in a worse spot, if you move without any savings, even with another job lined up. If your next argument is to move out of the country, once again, how would you do so without any savings? Sure, there are people who manage to do it, but immigration in any country is not a quick process, and employment isn't always guaranteed for unstable citizens like immigrants.

So, left in this situation, we are left to ponder the initial question; are crimes of greed (I haven't even gotten to discussing what exactly this might entail) actually worth codifying into law, and having criminal penalties attached to them? I say yes, for many reasons. Crimes of greed are typically what we perceive as immoral or damaging actions due to either unchecked, rampant white collar crime, or the actions of companies that previously would have been unthinkable, but due to eroding regulations and dulling the fangs of the enforcement of surviving regulations, the risk is mitigated enough to justify the profit of these 'greed crimes'.

Pt 4.

Yes, if you throw democracy in the trash, ignore the rights of the unpopular, and pass any law that appeals to today’s public morality, then you’ll have lots of options.

Great extremist response to a more moderated opening of discussion.

I just don’t want to hear you guys complain after this idealism gets spun to fuck you over by corporate lawyers more skillful than your populist politicians.

You've just talked shit to basically everyone in the room, ignored the discussion going on around you and decided you were right in your own head, structured arguments to take down discussions going on to justify your own conclusions, and now you try to pretend to have a semblance of morals?

But fuck me for pointing out the logical inconsistencies in the useless seething groupthink machine, I guess. Apparently I only have rights if the public likes me.

I mean yeah. Fuck you. Fuck you for coming into a discussion, arguing in bad faith while tossing around assumptions made in bad faith and building bad faith arguments off that. In a forum setting, you only have someone's ear if you actually make sense instead of having arguments so poorly worded I'd believe it if a geriatric wrote it for you.

Also, great to have a clean, easy way to wipe your hands of any actual discussion after you came in and shat all over the place with your existence. Just go 'yeah, fuck me I guess' when things don't seem to be going your way and walk away from a conversation, sure to go over great with anyone you get into an intellectual debate with.

I know you're probably not going to read this far (luddites, amirite?) but this kinda seems like you're worshipping corporate law in either the hopes you become one, you already are one, or you just don't like the idea that white collar crime is starting to become a serious issue that people are understanding needs severe rules and regulations around, and there needs to be severe penalties for. Which in that case, I'm not quite sure why that idea bothers you so much. As they say, ' if you've got nothing to hide, why are you worried?'. Finally, you may just be arguing from a standpoint that is just factually false, trying to justify it like some kind of religion. In which case, I sincerely hope you either learn to know better from educating yourself, experiencing it yourself, or fall out of the population as fast as possible.

Intellectual debate is pretty important, and intentionally arguing and acting in bad faith is just as serious to making sure young voters understand why things are important, as well as laying out the thought process for them to understand. Instead of just giving false promises if you buy into their cult of corprotology, teaching people and encouraging them to learn about issues they feel strongly enough to argue in bad faith or make an effort talking about is so important.

Pt 3.

You go after organizations whose bread and butter is legal entanglement, using legal entanglement as your only weapon. You make the regulatory environment more difficult for startups and SMBs to compete in, and you do nothing but give your (supposed) worst enemies more political tokens with which to negotiate advantageous positions in that environment. Why do you think these corporate elites flush hundreds of millions of dollars sponsoring progressive media outlets?

Again, we're not writing law here. Nobody has even propositioned any concrete plan, or even an actionable statement to get this riled up about. The 'legal entanglement' you're speaking of is just fretting about the semantics of a law neither you nor anyone else has defined, and how if this hypothetical law is hypothetically written poorly; Which is a strawman you've created, deluded yourself into somehow being convinced is the most logical and reasonable stance to take, and the most accurate interpretation of events is both baffling, and really underlines how you're not here to discuss, just argue in bad faith and say, 'no this is bad because what if, if, if, ad infinitum.'

We’re talking about criminal law. Can you clearly, objectively, without arbitrary valuation of goods or services, define a legal principle which identifies the point at which a health plan cut becomes a crime?

We discuss a general idea and intentionally leave the actual wording of the hypothetical law unsaid because that is none of our (including you) job to make, and to intentionally assume it's going to be written poorly or demand details like what you've argued above is really, once again, putting a nail in the coffin.

Also, nice hyper-focus to the literals instead of the practical argument being made. Nobody ever defined if we were discussing civil or criminal law, or even what classification it should be. So, would you mind explaining why you thought the example given would be inferred as a criminal offense?

Do you think they’re stupid?

Do you think anyone else but you is this stupid? Seriously, this is some piss poor arguing.