Overzealous Moderators Suck: Infogrames

airspirit · 03-04-2003, 11:28 AM

I've been hanging around in the MOO3 forum over there, and recently I've had the displeasure of attracting the attention of one of the nazi moderators.

My first account was killed because I complained that the game sucked. I stayed calm, rational, and factual about it, and since the devs wanted a list of what to work on for the next patch I gave it to them. I ended up getting banned and censored for my comments, like many others on that site. Half of the people that have posted on that site have been banned or censured in the last week ... the problem being that this prevents you from logging on to ANY Infogrames forum for any of their games (UT2K3, NWN, etc).

After I got banned, I made another account and decided that I'd keep a low profile, just so I could see what was going on in the mod forum (the only chance of getting this game patched is by the fans doing it themselves), and because I mentioned one of the mods in one of my posts describing something he said, I got 6 warning points (15 is insta-ban). I PM'd him asking him wtf I did wrong and asked for contact with his supervisor (he's a volunteer). He said he passed it along and basically cursed me out and called me a liar and such.

I wrote back QUOTING the post that he made and compared it to the post I made (identical) and he still sat there calling me a liar and stupid and such, and then gave me 6 more warning points for another post in which I quoted him (not from a PM, but from another post).

The asshole refuses to give me contact information for anyone in charge of that site, and I want to pass this information along so this guy can be taken care of. I don't know about anyone else, but if I were running a PR site for an international corporation, I wouldn't want some childish volunteer publicly attacking my customers, and cursing them out through personal messages. It's ridiculous.

I just thought I'd come here and vent. It seems that there is more that IG forums has in common with the [H] than I originally thought.

g.l.amour · 03-04-2003, 11:34 AM

i can't comment much about it, except that after your first post concerning that subject i went out to search some screenshots of that game. hmmm, i haven't seen any game where it has been that hard obtaining some shots. i mean, all that managment talk and almost no screenshots.

that leaves me to wonder, what is the reason that you bought that game, were the previous versions that cool? why haven't i heard anything about that game? they must have some impressive legacy to build on.

airspirit · 03-04-2003, 11:55 AM

MoO and MoO2 were classics in the TBS/4X genre. They DEFINED space empire building strategy games ... and then they killed the series with MoO3. The reason you won't find many screenshots of MoO3 is because the graphics are terrible. Even the screens you do find are typically of race selection or diplomacy graphics, since those are the only ones that don't look like a 3rd year CS project.

I picked up the game because of what was promised to us by the developers and publishers. As it turned out, the combat grapics they showed us really were pulled from the opening movie, the AI was completely fscked (the challenge is trying to lose: it is impossible), and the UI was terrible. The beta testers described this easy to use system and ultra-tough AI, and it was a complete lie. Basically, thousands of people bought the game on the basis of what was told to them by the developers and the beta testers, only to find out that everything they were told was a complete lie.

Of course, mentioning any of that on the official boards will get you banned and publicly ridiculed. Even the most virulent fanbois have started turning against the game when they realize that it is impossible to lose on the hardest difficulty settings. All you have to do is press "next turn" repeatedly to win.

g.l.amour · 03-04-2003, 04:17 PM

well, then u have been screwed buying the game. the developpers however will be screwed even more, because marketing will get u some bogus sales; after that, mouth to mouth... none.

it is funny but understandable that they ban you. it is like the titanic sinking and the moderators trying to get the water out with some buckets. they might as well do nothing , but heck they are trying.

edit: this genre isn't mine, but i hear a space strategy freak at work saying that haegemonia is a blast. don't make it my word though, don't know the game.

airspirit · 03-04-2003, 05:57 PM

I've heard good things as well ... I'm going to take a look at it, methinks.

As far as the situation on that board went, he decided it would be easier to ban me than have me talk to someone in control over there, and then slandered me all over the forum wherever I posted. Fsck him ... it's not worth it. I'm not going to buy anything from Infogrames anymore, and certainly not anything related to Quicksilver.

jaydee · 03-05-2003, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by airspirit
I've heard good things as well ... I'm going to take a look at it, methinks.

As far as the situation on that board went, he decided it would be easier to ban me than have me talk to someone in control over there, and then slandered me all over the forum wherever I posted. Fsck him ... it's not worth it. I'm not going to buy anything from Infogrames anymore, and certainly not anything related to Quicksilver.

Got a link to the thread? I got over 1,000 posts on those boards. They have been getting a little hostile. Mainly because all of their new games are not up to par with what they spew about them.

Seems to be the trend for all game developers though. Standards are high and they just don't know how to make their newer games better than the old.

I run a UT2003 server and about ready to drop it. Everytime I get the thing running smoothly they drop a new patch. This time they are FORCING all server admins to upgrade or our servers will not show up on the main server board or in stats.

Nor will the future bonus pack work. I was pretty disapointed by the game overall. The graphics are better somewhat, but the gameplay is worst than UT1.

airspirit · 03-06-2003, 11:21 AM

Nearly all of my threads have been deleted and closed. That seems to be SOP over there when they decide that someone isn't toeing the line. What is hilarious is how he'll accuse people of flaming (he doesn't know the definition, obviously ... basically to him, flaming = not agreeing with me), ban them, and then flame the living bejeezus out of them while they can't respond.

Sencho = cowardly hypocritical mod.

Brians256 · 03-06-2003, 04:37 PM

Sad. Someone who cannot take criticism is doomed to decay. I can see where mods need to keep people being polite, but if the forums are only open to fawning bootlickers, what's the point? Genuine users will go elsewhere for a sense of honest communication.

It's just like the black market. When the controls on a market become too tight, the real market will surface somewhere else. Unless you kill everyone.

airspirit · 03-07-2003, 12:06 PM

Yeah ... a crappy forum can do a lot to chase fans away. Even around here, though we have some heated debates, we all can usually work it out ourselves without babysitters. I wish others could realize that you don't have to be censor-nazis to make a forum work.

Though if you want to see a fscked up forum, check out www.r33t.org forums. That is some messed up shiz.

Bignuts · 03-07-2003, 02:45 PM

JIHAD!

03-04-2003, 11:28 AM	#1
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Overzealous Moderators Suck: Infogrames I've been hanging around in the MOO3 forum over there, and recently I've had the displeasure of attracting the attention of one of the nazi moderators. My first account was killed because I complained that the game sucked. I stayed calm, rational, and factual about it, and since the devs wanted a list of what to work on for the next patch I gave it to them. I ended up getting banned and censored for my comments, like many others on that site. Half of the people that have posted on that site have been banned or censured in the last week ... the problem being that this prevents you from logging on to ANY Infogrames forum for any of their games (UT2K3, NWN, etc). After I got banned, I made another account and decided that I'd keep a low profile, just so I could see what was going on in the mod forum (the only chance of getting this game patched is by the fans doing it themselves), and because I mentioned one of the mods in one of my posts describing something he said, I got 6 warning points (15 is insta-ban). I PM'd him asking him wtf I did wrong and asked for contact with his supervisor (he's a volunteer). He said he passed it along and basically cursed me out and called me a liar and such. I wrote back QUOTING the post that he made and compared it to the post I made (identical) and he still sat there calling me a liar and stupid and such, and then gave me 6 more warning points for another post in which I quoted him (not from a PM, but from another post). The asshole refuses to give me contact information for anyone in charge of that site, and I want to pass this information along so this guy can be taken care of. I don't know about anyone else, but if I were running a PR site for an international corporation, I wouldn't want some childish volunteer publicly attacking my customers, and cursing them out through personal messages. It's ridiculous. I just thought I'd come here and vent. It seems that there is more that IG forums has in common with the [H] than I originally thought. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

03-04-2003, 11:34 AM	#2
g.l.amour Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: on da case Posts: 933	i can't comment much about it, except that after your first post concerning that subject i went out to search some screenshots of that game. hmmm, i haven't seen any game where it has been that hard obtaining some shots. i mean, all that managment talk and almost no screenshots. that leaves me to wonder, what is the reason that you bought that game, were the previous versions that cool? why haven't i heard anything about that game? they must have some impressive legacy to build on. __________________ yo soy un tiburón

03-04-2003, 11:55 AM	#3
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	MoO and MoO2 were classics in the TBS/4X genre. They DEFINED space empire building strategy games ... and then they killed the series with MoO3. The reason you won't find many screenshots of MoO3 is because the graphics are terrible. Even the screens you do find are typically of race selection or diplomacy graphics, since those are the only ones that don't look like a 3rd year CS project. I picked up the game because of what was promised to us by the developers and publishers. As it turned out, the combat grapics they showed us really were pulled from the opening movie, the AI was completely fscked (the challenge is trying to lose: it is impossible), and the UI was terrible. The beta testers described this easy to use system and ultra-tough AI, and it was a complete lie. Basically, thousands of people bought the game on the basis of what was told to them by the developers and the beta testers, only to find out that everything they were told was a complete lie. Of course, mentioning any of that on the official boards will get you banned and publicly ridiculed. Even the most virulent fanbois have started turning against the game when they realize that it is impossible to lose on the hardest difficulty settings. All you have to do is press "next turn" repeatedly to win. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

03-04-2003, 04:17 PM	#4
g.l.amour Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: on da case Posts: 933	well, then u have been screwed buying the game. the developpers however will be screwed even more, because marketing will get u some bogus sales; after that, mouth to mouth... none. it is funny but understandable that they ban you. it is like the titanic sinking and the moderators trying to get the water out with some buckets. they might as well do nothing , but heck they are trying. edit: this genre isn't mine, but i hear a space strategy freak at work saying that haegemonia is a blast. don't make it my word though, don't know the game. __________________ yo soy un tiburón

03-04-2003, 05:57 PM	#5
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	I've heard good things as well ... I'm going to take a look at it, methinks. As far as the situation on that board went, he decided it would be easier to ban me than have me talk to someone in control over there, and then slandered me all over the forum wherever I posted. Fsck him ... it's not worth it. I'm not going to buy anything from Infogrames anymore, and certainly not anything related to Quicksilver. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

03-06-2003, 11:21 AM	#7
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Nearly all of my threads have been deleted and closed. That seems to be SOP over there when they decide that someone isn't toeing the line. What is hilarious is how he'll accuse people of flaming (he doesn't know the definition, obviously ... basically to him, flaming = not agreeing with me), ban them, and then flame the living bejeezus out of them while they can't respond. Sencho = cowardly hypocritical mod. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

03-06-2003, 04:37 PM	#8
Brians256 Pro/Staff Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Klamath Falls, OR Posts: 1,439	Sad. Someone who cannot take criticism is doomed to decay. I can see where mods need to keep people being polite, but if the forums are only open to fawning bootlickers, what's the point? Genuine users will go elsewhere for a sense of honest communication. It's just like the black market. When the controls on a market become too tight, the real market will surface somewhere else. Unless you kill everyone.

03-07-2003, 12:06 PM	#9
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Yeah ... a crappy forum can do a lot to chase fans away. Even around here, though we have some heated debates, we all can usually work it out ourselves without babysitters. I wish others could realize that you don't have to be censor-nazis to make a forum work. Though if you want to see a fscked up forum, check out www.r33t.org forums. That is some messed up shiz. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

03-07-2003, 02:45 PM	#10
Bignuts Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 155	Only allah is perfect JIHAD!

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)