I dont know if this topic already exists.
Privacy mode, the ability to log in a not be seen as online and maybe even appear invisible to your friends and guildies.
How would you feel about such a mode.
I would like this mode, now i know this is a community game based on interactions with others, but i dont think any can deny sometimes you just want your space.
Sometimes you dont want to log in and have guildies asking you for help or even ingame friends.
Maybe its just me, but i love privacy.
I also like my privacy, but I'm against privacy mode. I'd rather have ability to display messages under our name in friend list - ie "AFK" or "Too drunk to talk!" ;) However arguably better would be making nothing and just either informing at guild chat of our mood (or lack of it) or just keeping quiet.
I allways found odd that when you were in /anon in EQ, even your guildmates wouldn't see you (with /who all guild) due to the absence of interface back then.
That allways sounded very antisocial to me, and favored players secretly going raiding with other guilds under /anon, for theses reasons I'm against such a mode, as it's not promoting social interraction.
Hiding your class or level, why not, even the zone you're in from the outside. But beeing a complete ghost even to your guild...
I do like the idea of being able to be anonymous. But then again even in Pantheon I support the ability to be antisocial - thus my repeated suggestions that we be able to solo when we don't want to group, so long as solo play is slower and less rewarding.
I may want crafting alts in the guild I am in for various reasons - not least because there *may* be a system where character achievements help the guild. But I also may want them anonymous so I can switch back and forth fairly often when there is a need without the guild being barraged by "Dorotea logs on" "Dorotea logs off" "Dorotea1 logs on" "Dorotea1 logs off" etc.
dorotea said:I do like the idea of being able to be anonymous. But then again even in Pantheon I support the ability to be antisocial - thus my repeated suggestions that we be able to solo when we don't want to group, so long as solo play is slower and less rewarding.
I may want crafting alts in the guild I am in for various reasons - not least because there *may* be a system where character achievements help the guild. But I also may want them anonymous so I can switch back and forth fairly often when there is a need without the guild being barraged by "Dorotea logs on" "Dorotea logs off" "Dorotea1 logs on" "Dorotea1 logs off" etc.
Perfectly said, just because you are anonymous doesnt mean you can't be seen with your game tag anyway, in case your are found at the local Inn during raid time :)
dorotea said:I do like the idea of being able to be anonymous. But then again even in Pantheon I support the ability to be antisocial - thus my repeated suggestions that we be able to solo when we don't want to group, so long as solo play is slower and less rewarding.
I may want crafting alts in the guild I am in for various reasons - not least because there *may* be a system where character achievements help the guild. But I also may want them anonymous so I can switch back and forth fairly often when there is a need without the guild being barraged by "Dorotea logs on" "Dorotea logs off" "Dorotea1 logs on" "Dorotea1 logs off" etc.
Designing solo content has nothing to do with the social issue (some may argue it, but it isn't really about that). Being able to solo (ue solo designed content) creates numerous issues with player progression as it allows players to grind easy content to level and discourages emegent play. Now as has been discussed in the past, you can say "but make it hard for solo" and the problem is that when you design solo content, you have to design it for the "lowest common denominator" which means that some classes will destroy the solo content without any effort.
With group designed content, "some" classes may be able to solo and often it will be with difficulty, which will be slow in process and limited in selection. This creates emeregent play as players try to figure out how to do things they were not designed to do AND it keeps the world dangerous and focused on the need to rely on more than ones self to excel in many areas.
If someone wants to log on anon, it has nothing to do with them being social or not. They may want to play with only a select few, or maybe they just don't want to be pestered by people for various things. Point is, it isn't being anti-social.
Hegenox said:I also like my privacy, but I'm against privacy mode. I'd rather have ability to display messages under our name in friend list - ie "AFK" or "Too drunk to talk!" ;) However arguably better would be making nothing and just either informing at guild chat of our mood (or lack of it) or just keeping quiet.
Privacy mode is a mode that is to be used rarely when you just want some me time.
I dont see anything wrong with this.
We all are humans and i think vast majority is able to understand lack of mood for talking or an excuse like "sorry mate, today is my crafting and selling only day, i'll help you next time". But if someone being online is more than half of a time "hidden" and only comes out when HE wants something then he shouldn't really be in a guild or create one for people with same tendencies. And there is nothing wrong with grouping with randoms. Besides - you are afraid of others taking you the wrong way when you refuse to help them from time to time, but in my opinion it is much worse situation when you have status "offline" but your friends/guild members spot you in game. And do you honestly belive that it won't be overused?
I am ok with this as long as it is done with an in game item. You loot a cloak of cloaking which hides you for X hours and then you have to get another.
Or even better yet an item that is crafted but takes loot to make.
I see a strange bunch of arguments about "if I say I wanna just chill it will not end well", I'm sorry but it never ended an issue for me. I allways could chill out and do my stuff when I wanted to, withouth hindering my social links or whatever. Of course if I ended beeing "available" only for things that benefited me and left others hanging when they needed to, then the problem is not the group but it would be me and they would be right to react bad.
An anon mode just looks to me a way to escape any guilt or responsability in social mechanics. Chilling out and taking time for yourself is one thing, beeing rude and selfish is another, to me.
MauvaisOeil said:I see a strange bunch of arguments about "if I say I wanna just chill it will not end well", I'm sorry but it never ended an issue for me. I allways could chill out and do my stuff when I wanted to, withouth hindering my social links or whatever. Of course if I ended beeing "available" only for things that benefited me and left others hanging when they needed to, then the problem is not the group but it would be me and they would be right to react bad.
An anon mode just looks to me a way to escape any guilt or responsability in social mechanics. Chilling out and taking time for yourself is one thing, beeing rude and selfish is another, to me.
True but not everyone is the same. There were times when I would go anon in my guild because I wanted to group with people and not field questions every few minutes asking to join them, or buff them, or whatever. I also had alts no one knew about, save my RL friends, because I wanted to play EQ but not deal with guild politics. Just because one person doesn't feel the need for anon another may. Someone else going anon doesn't negatively impact my experience so I have no issue with it being added.
Why are you concerned with players skipping out on guild duties with this feature. Create a well respected guild with like minded individuals who are all on the same page.
This shouldnt even be an arguement. If I dont want people to know I'm online i should be allowed to do so. I honestly dont even understand some of the mentalities of people.
Anon is a must IMO. Sometimes I just want to play without being bothered; Sometimes logging into an MMO feels like going to work when as soon as you walk in the door you get people asking you to help them, or buff them, or what I am up to later,... "can I just make it to my office and have a coffee first people?!"
Maybe I'm just logging in to check mail/auctions or message someone - and now I'm being guilt tripped into a 6 hour guild raid.
Anon is a must IMO.
I'm against an anonymous mode that makes you appear completely offline, even to guildies.
Certain statuses you can set, like AFK, Busy, Do Not Disturb, etc... sure. That's fine.
Otherwise, just log on and do your thing, and if someone messages you, just... hmm... communicate? "Hey, just doing my own thing right now, thanks."
Something similar I would suggest is "Streamer Mode," which among other things could prevent anyone from sending you tells, etc. to try to keep streamer's sane while playing. With the climate of gaming changing by the year, it is essential that Pantheon keep up with things like this to keep things pleasant for everyone.
Bazgrim said:Something similar I would suggest is "Streamer Mode," which among other things could prevent anyone from sending you tells, etc. to try to keep streamer's sane while playing. With the climate of gaming changing by the year, it is essential that Pantheon keep up with things like this to keep things pleasant for everyone.
I would agree with this. I think we are at a point where it makes sense to plan features around making it a viable game for twitch. I'm not saying design the whole game around it, but simple things like streamer mode would go a long way.
Actually not a bad idea. It would certainly come in useful for e.g. guild officers, especially when a guild becomes way too large. I recall constantly being bombarded with, "hey can you help me with this that or the other thing", or "Can you show me how to do this quest", "Can you give me a port to abcxyz", "Can you give me a buff, I'm in TD", "Can you sort out this guy who's trying to ks me ?", and on and on and on. Seriously often I couldn't get anything done personally at all upon login. I would be jumping from one spot to another non stop just helping out. And before I knew it, it was time for bed cos work tomorrow morning. It got to the point that a few of us literally created unguilded toons just so we could actually play the game together every now and then.
Maybe with the additional ability for guild leaders to see everyone irrespective of going invis/anon totally. That way at least there's someone to monitor the situation if necessary. As for people going anon to join another guild's raids, I don't personally see an issue here. Perhaps, the guy has a friend in that other guild and went on the run just to lend a hand ? Or maybe they love the social aspects of their current guild but just aren't moving fast enough as the other guild in terms of raids but he doesn't really like the people in that other guild, but got invited on a run anyway.
In any case, this sounds like a good idea though.
I for one would enjoy an invisible tag while soloing. I'm very shy and only want to group when I feel like it, but when I'm in a pitiful or solo mood I play to relax and distract from my busy or overwhelming day, and don't want any tells or chats to interrupt the distraction, not even from the public channel, certainly not from raid leaders wondering why I'm not tagging along tonight even though I did last Saturday. It would be nice to have an invisibility cloak for chat and guild presence, for people who use the game as a peaceful haven from real life.