The Zone

[JEDI OUTCAST]

i was talking to the zone testers in jedi outcast and i asked how is it going and they said it is going great

[P129]

Well that's nice to hear. Though I will probably not be playing through the Zone myself.

[Emon]

I know, the Zone is where n00b clans will hang out and complain that they cannot host a 16 player game with all 56k connections and get below 3,000ms ping all day.

 

I'm sticking with dedicated servers, and POSSIBLY the Zone IF they have dedicated server listings like ingame, but I would only use it for the sake of my friends being on the ZM.

[Belgirion]

Emon,

 

everyone in JO is a "n00b." the game isn't out yet so we can't be experts

[B0MBER II]

Why do you people say the Zone is for NEWBIES?

 

I've been in the jk clan world for years (6 years to be exact) and I feel like the zone is better for recruiting.

 

What exactly makes the Zone NEWBISH?

 

 

5 minutes til EP2 trailer on fox

[Belgirion]

I agree bomber...my clan may only have 2 people in it but that doesn't mean were a noob clan!

[digl]

I had forgot about the trailer!

I'll check sw.com

[DeathBoLT]

Originally posted by Belgirion

I agree bomber...my clan may only have 2 people in it but that doesn't mean were a noob clan!

 

Your clan could have a 150 people in it and it could still be a newbie.. just look at WLP

[Bartolo_JCS]

er, hi

 

hehe

[Lucky]

6 years? games been out 3 and change, close to 4 if you count demo time.

[TRA_KiE]

I play lots of diff games on it... XvT is where i'm normally at... and i think it's a cool place to hang out, chat and play games. Also as couple ppl already said recruiting is easier on it.

 

N00bieness is a state of mind.....

 

 

KiE got you flying high!

[Obi-Wan X]

To tell the truth, im sick of the stuff im hearing on the zone JO room. I hear bout tourneys, I hear about ownage...im just sick of people thinking there going to own JO. Some of them don't even play mods, or anything. Thinking they will own JO basically because of there skills in the regular JK2. Fortunatley...in JO. Being leet will mean more than running at each other, missing, turning back around, and swinging again....thus repeating the process untill some kill is made.

[Kurgan]

Not to play devil's advocate here, but I'm kind of getting sick of hearing how the people who 0wn3d in JK aren't going to 0wn in JK2. ; )

 

I mean I agree with the logic that just because a person was good at JK, doesn't mean they will AUTOMATICALLY be good at JK2. Nobody should think that being good at one game will make you good at another without putting in the practice to learn the nuances and differences in the new game.

 

It's possible they won't even like the changes in the new game. But chances are, if they were able to master the first game, they will have the dedicated to be able to master the second. Basic FPS skills don't change that much between games in the genre, and they will have an advantage over newbies who come in cold with this as their first FPS game.

 

It takes time and patience to learn all that there is to learn in the game, and I agree, people who's egos are that huge tend to turn me off (what ever happened to playing for fun?) but still, if they want to get into a competative mindset that's fine.

 

If their over-confidence is their weakness, you can "0wn" them when the game does come out, and laugh about it to yourself.

; )

 

I guess the reason I never joined a clan and never took them too seriously, was because of the widespread trash talking and boasting that almost always goes with it. Everybody thinks their clans is the best thing since sliced bread just about, and it is rather funny sometimes. So yes, we'll all be newbies, and some of us will be good, etc.

 

However, I predict right now that there WILL be people who complain about some weapon/power being "cheap" or "takes no skill" etc. and people will accuse each other of cheating (even when they are not). People will be petty and annoying and trash talk each other.

 

How do I know this? Because JK2 won't be anything special when it comes to the people who play it... these kinds of whiners, sore losers, and hopelessly misinformed beginners are present in every FPS game community you can think of. We'll just have to do the best we can to educate them when necessary, ignore them when possible. ; p

[Kurgan]

And if you want my opinion, now, it's ignorant to say that the Zone is all Newbies.. obviously there are people there of a varying spectrum of skill levels, from barely know how to play to incredibly good. Yes, it is silly to say you're elite in a game that isn't out yet, but who is really saying that?

 

The view of the Zone as a "newbie magnet" I think comes from the fact that it appeals to the lowest common denominator. It's the "AOL" of gaming services.... every copy of JK has shortcuts installed to it on your system, every game box includes stickers and ads for the Zone all over it. The Zone hypes itself through the products. For a long time, it was the ONLY place to play JK.

 

Thus like AOL, their size and popularity was not due to their quality, but their stranglehold on advertising and their first place in line (that was bought and paid for with MSN's vast mountains of money).

 

I bet a lot of people don't even know any community exists for JK/MotS outside the Zone. THAT is what I think people mean when they say it appeals to newbies. Because these people haven't seen anything else. They may think that playing a four player FF/NF deathmatch with the basic levels is all there is.

 

If it's not on the Zone, they don't play it or know about it.

 

I've met many such people over there. That's also why some people associate the Zone with cheaters. Regularly I'll see "H@X" games posted and people whining about cheaters. I'll tell them about Kicker Helper and they'll be like "what's that? where do I get it?" Not everyone mind you, but a lot of people.

 

Last year when I was there, there were still 50 people in the DEMO room playing, believe it or not!

 

I think you'll find fewer newbies playing outside the Zone than in it. Am I right? I know a few people really like the Zone and it appears to be a touchy subject, but I for one have no problem ditching it in favor of what I consider less tedious connections to the games I want to play. The less friction between me and the games themselves, the more I like it.

 

PS: Don't forget JK was released in October 1997, so that's 4 1/2 years, even if you count the demo.

[Bowen]

Originally posted by B0MBER II

Why do you people say the Zone is for NEWBIES?

 

I've been in the jk clan world for years (6 years to be exact) and I feel like the zone is better for recruiting.

 

What exactly makes the Zone NEWBISH?

 

 

5 minutes til EP2 trailer on fox

 

I'm not trying to be rude or anything but Jedi Knight has only been out since 1997; that would be 5 years. The first game (Dark Forces), Kyle did not have any Jedi abilities did he? I played it but it was quite a while ago so I'm also asking everyone else. He was just an Imperial Officer who then joined the Rebellion and didn't develop any Force abilities until Jedi Knight.

[DeathBoLT]

Nor could have he been part of any clan world relevant to JK as Dark Forces didn't have multiplayer...

 

[ReAcToR]

I agree with what Kurgan has stated about the Zone. I think it goes a little deeper though and I'm not afraid to offend anyone.

 

Bad things about the Zone:

 

* Sysops: Let's be realistic. With a company that makes as much money as MS, are you going to tell me that they can't afford to pay some decent programmers to create scripts that will automatically boot people that cuss/flood?

 

* Censorship: While some people would argue that this can be a good thing, I would argue that it can be a dangerous thing. I couldn't count how many times I've been banned from the Zone without any given reason/explanation. I remember two occasions when I was banned for posting links to Qtracker and Gamespy Arcade. I've had my share of what you folks would call "valid" bans, but there were quite a few that weren't.

 

*Passports: Give me some of whatever the guy who came up with this idea was smoking. Haven't been on the Zone lately? Try it out. For those of you that have been on the Zone, you know what I'm referring to. This Passports stuff is the most inconsiderate thing that they've done yet. I don't have 3 extra minutes to spend logging onto some stupid passport account that I don't friggin want in the first place. If this doesn't bother you, you're smoking crack.

 

*Chat-lag: I've been using IRC and similar programs for god knows how long. I have never encountered chat-lag that is as bad as what we experience on the Zone. Yes, I'm on a 56k modem, but who cares? Jedi Knight came out when a 56k modem was a damn good connection. Don't know what chat-lag is? Well, host up a game of Jedi Knight, close the game and come back to your room. You can't see what you type and you can't see what your visitor is typing either. This is chat-lag. This simply doesn't happen with decent programs like mIRC, unless of course, you're on an Apple II with some defunkataded modem that I've never even heard of.

 

* Zone Help: Have you ever went into the Zone Help rooms to try and get yourself unbanned because you were banned for a reason unknown? No? I have. Do you know what they tell people like me? Contact the ZMaster. Contact the ZMaster? I don't want to contact anyone, I want to play Jedi Knight. I'm banned for some unknown reason (usually), some power-hungry sysop out there is sitting in front of his computer with an evil grin thinking of yet other ways to screw me over, and they want me to contact the ZMaster. Ok, fine...

 

* ZMaster: Have you ever tried to contact the ZMaster? I have. Did you get a reply? No? Same here. Who is this mysterious ZMaster anyways? Is it Bill Gates? I don't know and I don't care. I just want to play Jedi Knight and this is the only guy who can help me (unless I want to reformat or edit my registry - which I don't believe even works with these new Zone bans, because it's all server-side). I've contacted this Zmaster person on numerous occasions, but he doesn't seem interested in replying. I do recall getting a message from him once, but I think it was automated. He sure responds quickly when you cuss him or threaten to kill him though. A few buddies of mine were banned from the Zone (yes - for things that they actually did), they contacted this ZMaster and either cussed him or threatened to kill him (I can't remember), but he responded quickly, with a big phat year long ban. He doesn't have the time to help those in need, but he sure has time to ban people and read death threats.

 

* Zone Messenger: Time and time again I've seen strange people actually claiming to like this program (even people on this very forum). I know...it's difficult to understand...they're amongst us...watch your back. This Zone Messenger is the crappiest instant messaging program that I've ever seen/used. Not only is it crappy, but it's super-crappy. I'm not a fan of AOL, but even AOL's Instant Messenger is better than this. Even ICQ or mIRC. Hell, I can't think of a program that isn't better. This program is straight-up ghetto. Wow, it has an option for ignore (which actually requires you to type in the persons name!). mIRC has that. It has a way for you to fo AFK. mIRC has that. It has a way for you to go Do Not Disturb. mIRC has that. Then what does this Zone Messenger have that mIRC doesn't have? It has the most aggrevating popup window when someone messages you, that I've ever seen in my entire life. Not to mention a beeping sound that would drive any sane person crazy.

 

* Main Chat: Have you ever went into the Nar Shaddaa room on the Zone? No? I dare ya. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany." I won't go into the specifics, but just imagine a few hundred teenagers/young adults all trying to act as dumb as possible, at the same time. Don't get me wrong, there are a few people out there that use the Zone, that don't fall into this category, but you have to look harder for those. To be fair, there are people like this in every game and every chat room of this size, probably on the planet, but Nar Shaddaa is worse because you have to deal with this behavior while using the primitive program known as the Zone. I hear the word "community" used when Zone-advocates describe the Zone. Is that what you call it? If Nar Shaddaa is in some screwed up way, a type of community, I never want to belong to a community again. Thank god that I know better.

 

I don't think I need to go any further. The list goes on and on and on. Hopefully you get the clue. I won't even begin to go into the limitations of the Zone vs. an internal server browser or Gamespy 3D with IRC as chat.

 

Good Things about the Zone:

 

I'll get back to you on that one, when something becomes available.

 

Traditionally, those games that have dedicated servers, that the Zone does support, have been chalked full of low-avg skilled players. Need an example? Go into the Zone Quake II room. Have you ever seen any of the top players in new games playing on the Zone? Only when they're drunk and felt like some target practice. Some may argue that there are good players there, they just choose not to compete. That's fine. Just keep telling yourself that. Whatever makes you feel better. Everyone starts off at the bottom of the rung. That bottom is the Internet Gaming Zone, MPlayer and any number of other cheesy programs.

 

There is nothing wrong with playing on the Zone, if that is what you wish to do. I'm just glad that the Zone won't have a monopoly over JK2 like they did with JK. My experience may not have been like yours. In some sick, demented way, you may actually enjoy the Zone. More power to you. I think new games are all about options. I hope everyone gets what they want. I'm getting what I want...I'm getting the heck away from the Zone.

[SaberPro]

Originally posted by B0MBER II

Why do you people say the Zone is for NEWBIES?

 

I've been in the jk clan world for years (6 years to be exact) and I feel like the zone is better for recruiting.

 

What exactly makes the Zone NEWBISH?

 

 

5 minutes til EP2 trailer on fox

 

Did you see a guy fighting with 2 lightsabers? Purple and green? Darth Tarsomething??

[Kurgan]

That's cool.. two more saber colors are now "canon".. pink and purple.

 

And btw ReAcToR, that last Zone rant was sheer brilliance and you have my respect... I confer upon you the honorary title of "Force Long Post Master" ; )

[Desslock]

Zone banned through the registry?!

 

 

Solutions Developer my ass...

[JaG|Kaiser]

Good post Reactor. You've summed up a lot of my grievances with the Zone. Those are the reasons why a lot of us are pushing for the IRC/Gamespy combo vs. The Zone. IRC will provide the meeting place, and Gamespy will provide the vehicle to find the games. I hope Gamespy support is brought about quickly after the game is released.

[Locke101]

Personally, the only thing i really enjoy about the zone is the easyness to find your friends and the ablility to join clans easier and to recruit people. I mean, in the in -game browsers don't have those types of things like messaging to other people. Unless Lucasarts changes that and makes it kind of like C&C Red Alert 2 where you sign up and then there are games and you can instant message people and stuff. That would be cool.

 

[Agen]

You pointed out laods of excellent points Reactor but here's a few reasons for these strange things

 

1) ZF- People use the dman thing only because it seems to be the only way they can communicate mainly because there is loads of messengers and they'd havwe to get them all to talk to everyone so they use ZF.

 

2) Sysops - If it was automattic to boot people for swearing and thing then there'd be loads more (and thye already have billions) complaints. Sysops are people sao they see reason. I know some of them are complete assholes *cough* FireBird *cough* but some are completely cool and will help you out if you need it.

 

Otherwise eveything else you said is right (goodien about the ZMaster) and the .net password crap is the worst idea ever so carry on

[digl]

* Zone Messenger: Time and time again I've seen strange people actually claiming to like this program (even people on this very forum). I know...it's difficult to understand...they're amongst us...watch your back. This Zone Messenger is the crappiest instant messaging program that I've ever seen/used. Not only is it crappy, but it's super-crappy. I'm not a fan of AOL, but even AOL's Instant Messenger is better than this. Even ICQ or mIRC. Hell, I can't think of a program that isn't better. This program is straight-up ghetto. Wow, it has an option for ignore (which actually requires you to type in the persons name!). mIRC has that. It has a way for you to fo AFK. mIRC has that. It has a way for you to go Do Not Disturb. mIRC has that. Then what does this Zone Messenger have that mIRC doesn't have? It has the most aggrevating popup window when someone messages you, that I've ever seen in my entire life. Not to mention a beeping sound that would drive any sane person crazy.

and after it launches the configuration of my mouse wheel changes

why?ask m$

that zm thing a piece of crap

 

But I don't care at all about the zone because I just won't play there

[DeathBoLT]

the thing that made zf so useful for recruiting was because everyone had it if they were on the zone. some turned it off, but for the most part you had a reliable way of telling someone you wanted another game with them or thought they were pretty good and would be interested in talking with them some more.

 

in game irc support, an decent in game game browser, and some sort of messaging system that everyone has(unless they conciously turn it off)would completely surpass anything the zone had.