[Where's the BIG money?? (Story mode)]

1 hour ago, Cokeyskunk said:

Have you finished yet?

Not even out of Chapter IV yet.

I started playing online and got sidetracked by the side quests in the story mode.  Things really start to open up in Chapter IV--and so I've been muddling through everything at an almost glacial pace.

Really, it's the same issue that stalled me out during Chapter II.  I just keep getting distracted.  Eventually, I'll buckle down and grind through the story, but most of my challenges are more than half completed, and the little things continue to suck me in 

Spoiler

like killing the Vampire in St. Denis.  I used my viking hatchet.

I finally isolated the issue with my router that was contributing to disconnects and went deeeeeeeeeeep into the online rabbit hole over the last few weeks.

Then my basement flooded last Wednesday during an epic thaw/rain storm.  So I haven't even touched RDR's story mode apart from a few hours Wednesday night.  I'll get back to it this weekend most likely.  Trying to convince the wife that I don't need to go on the family ski trip to western NY (The Bro Show does not ski nor snowboard: I'm too old, too tall, and too anti-falling over and concussing myself) under the premise that I can stay behind and work in the basement before the rehab folks come in next week.

I'll hook up the projector and play on that in my bedroom if nobody else is around, with a cooler full of porter and stout at my side.

[I Think This Would Make One HELL Of An Easter Egg.]

On 1/19/2019 at 9:56 AM, madfretter said:

That same cave is  also pretty good for catching falling fish.

There's one of those north of Valentine.

It's also where you find the Nevada hat in Story Mode

[Server Disconnects from Rockstar]

There's a secondary resource on R*'s website, which troubleshoots router issues in a bit more detail:

 

What helped me stabilize was activating UPnP.  It didn't eliminate the disconnects entirely, but the connection is definitely more stabilized than it was.  I have a combination Modem/Router, so short of running an ethernet cable, it's the best I'm going to get.

[Hopes, Dreams, and The Future of RDO]

4 hours ago, madfretter said:

They can shelf the war wagon for all I care

Like you wouldn't roll into Van Horn with a posse mounted in your war wagon just laying waste to the town...

[What's Your Favorite Nintendo 64 Game of All Time?]

On 1/9/2019 at 5:29 PM, The Coca-Cola Kid said:

I have a three way tie between Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and WrestleMania 2000. haha

I smoked people using Mayday.  It was fantastic.

And WM2000 was the big one because it was the first wrestling sim I remember being able to fully program and customize a character with that level of detail.

PD was PD, the spiritual successor to Goldeneye.  Fun, but not quite the same.

[Lvl 94???]

20 minutes ago, Qu3ster said:

I have been tempted to reset myself. I am level 39 now I think and that is what is hindering me from doing it but I feel like a fresh start would make me more interested again.

For me it was purely that I never felt right about the face.  Now that I have someone who looks like, "laudanum -addled, overall-clad, shirtless, alcoholic with a heart of gold" I'm good to go, but the last few weeks have been slow going.  I'll get there eventually, but next weekend is a wash for me with The Divsion 2 Beta going live for four days.

I'd better buckle down.

[Lvl 94???]

4 minutes ago, Kean_1 said:

I like tearing up a town every now and again.  What i do is find one where no one is near and start shooting.  ....usually from rooftops, a pier, etc.  It's a way to mix things up a bit and accumulate XP especially once the law begins arriving.  We tore up Blackwater last night and had quite a bit of fun doing it.  ....got killed several times but we really racked up the experience points.

IIRC, you get 5 xp per kill, 5 more for headshots, 5 for targets on horseback, 5 for distance and 5 when you use special ammo (e.g. Express, High Velocity, etc.).  .....so in my case, I'm getting a guaranteed 10 xp per kill and 15 thru 25 on others.   

It can get boring as with anything you do in repetition and your honor level will decrease (if that's a concern for you), but I simply see it as a way to still make progress while trying to mix things up a bit.  You might find it fun but if you don't, there are other ways.

There's so many nooks and crannies in some of these towns or areas where you can park yourself in a tight spot and wait for them to pile up at the door or come up a ladder.  It's fantastic.

There's a train car in St. Denis, the top of the roof at Heartlands Oil, the hayloft at the livestock auction in Valentine.... and many, many more.

 

2 minutes ago, Qu3ster said:

Am I the only one struggling to reach 100? I have never seen anyone over 200 let alone 300 but hot damn... Those people must have a lot of free time. 

I'ts not just you.  I'm only level 11.  I'd be at 50+ but I reset my character about four or five times.

And I roll solo a lot.  That slows me down.

[Have You Bought Gold Yet?]

4 minutes ago, Euphoric77 said:

In short : Griefing is defined differently by everyone and therefore diffcult to balance. 

100% agree.  Although I think we can all agree that shooting someone in the back of the head after they exit a cutscene before they can defend themselves is universally understood to be griefing.

5 minutes ago, Euphoric77 said:

To me griefing is more related to getting killed without a single chance to fight back, getting out of cutscenes or animations etcetera. Also being hunted by a group of players over and over after making it obvious by actions or chat that enough is enough or constant verbal abuse along with it. Most of the above issues would disappear with the auto aim removed for everyone and some tweaks by Rockstar (like not losing your loot when you or your horse get killed).

Nailed it.

I still think a self-toggle for PvP/PvE status with a cool down timer once out of combat is the simplest way to mitigate these specific grieifing issues.

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

12 minutes ago, HuDawg said:

I still say Friendly Lobbies and Private lobbies are whats really needed to have a complete game.

I agree that we need private lobbies, I just don't believe they're a viable solution to PvE gameplay.  They'd be perfect for setting up competitive leagues, private matches, or even youtube channels/machinima content.

 

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

13 minutes ago, Savage_Reaper said:

I care less , but I can see a sea of tears coming from this. " I was just trying to hunt and this 4 man posse appeared on top of me." 

Don't think it will nullify a thing. In fact I see more griefers camping the butchers and shops because they know eventually someone will come by. I honestly think griefing will spike in all towns. People will just camp towns waiting for other players to roll through.  Every roof top will have some tool waiting.

I don't mind open world PVP but you have been quite adamant that others don't. I think this will force them into situations "they" don't want to be in. I like being able to see the whole map. It helps in mission, tracking griefers, seeing what parts of the map has high traffic,etc. The Companion App keeps a lot of players safe and aware of their surroundings as of now. Taking that from them is foolish to me.  

And what server are you on were 31 other players are after you??

 

You know what solves all these issues?  Selectable toggles for PvE and PvP status per player that isn't identifiable.  

And to flip the argument, what server has a PvP player been on that had 31 "Passive" players?

They could leave every other existing element the way it is, the blips, everything, just by adding a toggle that isn't view-able to other players.  The only players this impacts are grief killers and trolls.  Any griefing elements that remain are going to be persistent in both PvP and PvE servers, should they decide to separate them, so why not just make it a toggle and call it a day?

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

@Tenti I merged your posts since we have a prohibition against double posting.  Just thought I'd toss you a "heads-up" in case you wondered what happened to the second post.

Just a reminder to everyone else; I did some thread cleanup and eliminated the double posts where I found them.  I know we're all impassioned on this subject, and we often respond as quickly as we can when things get heated.  So far everything in here is fine, content-wise, but please be mindful of double posting going forward. 

Thanks.

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

16 minutes ago, Renascent said:

Rockstar is like Dutch. They have a plan, it's a good one, but they'll never tell you until the last minute. 

If you read the articles about the working conditions at R* leading up to the release, it's an even more appropriate metaphor.

R* Leadership IS Dutch; they have a plan, but don't do anything to actively further the plan, instead relying on the backbreaking work of a group of underlings to do all the heavy lifting while they sit in a separate tent/office daydreaming about Tahiti, mangoes, and listening to unsolicited advice from Dutch/Youtubers.

[Would you rather be too hot or too cold?]

The answer is cold.

When it's cold, there's more options to warm up, but when you're in extreme heat, your options are limited.

When it's cold, you can go indoors, build a fire, start moving around to generate body heat.

When it's hot, you need either water or AC.  Those are literally your only options.  Stripping down just gets your jibbly bits sunburned.

 

[The most under skilled griefer ever!]

2 minutes ago, Renascent said:

'm not so sure he was a griefer. He might have been a low rank and still learning what they can do in the game. Or accidentally shot once and was like oh hey cool i can shoot like that and tries again. I mean if he chased you then maybe. But I've had some lowbies test out what they can do on me and I humor them sometimes.

It happens.  

The other day, I was raiding a camp by sniping with my rifle down into the canyon, and I accidentally shot and killed another player because I wasn't using the companion app, so I didn't have the map view showing me the other guy.  I just saw the "murder" notification and honor loss, followed by the "Bropollo Creed killed Player X" tag, and literally said, "oops".

Lesson learned.  Now, I keep the app open.

[Rdr2 companion app specs]

The kids have kindle fire 8's at home.  I procure one every night before playing RDO, log in with my credentials, and start going to work.

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

1 minute ago, Renascent said:

I'd change the time it takes to switch modes to like 5 mins. It's very easy to run away and wait out that 30s. But you got a point there though.

I can see the merit in expanding the toggle cooldown time.  30 seconds was an arbitrary number, but there's definitely merit to pushing it out like that.

2 minutes ago, Renascent said:

I am dying to see how this bounty system will play out. Maybe some want to roleplay as an outlaw and try to evade capture/death. Others might want to take up a bounty as a mission and take out that person if they can.

The idea of deputizing players and allowing them to collect a bounty for capturing/killing someone with a bounty is very, VERY appealing.  R* is going to have to be careful how the implement this system, though--the potential for griefers to bait folks into getting a bounty is going to be there (thinking back to how folks in THe Division used to be able to intentionally run into your field of fire to have you slapped with "Rogue" status when you were aiming an NPCs), so I hope they place limits on it, and not make something where some delta bravo with a bunch of cash walks into a sheriff's office and puts a bounty on another player to troll them.

It has to be something that's triggered by the player's activity, like killing too many civilians, or more than two unarmed players in a five minute span.  Again, those are arbitrary values, but the point is, they need to have clearly defined rules for deploying poses/bounties that aren't able to be easily exploited by players for greifing purposes.

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

1 minute ago, HuDawg said:

Its like.. I need to find the guy who in charge of RD O and give him a proper talking to in an Dutch Voice.

You'll probably find the person in charge on a Mango farm in Tahiti.  Be careful when you get there, though; he may convince you there is a plan, and all that is needed is "a little time" and "some faith".

Then they'll turn around and listen to the RDRO Youtubers, the community equivalent of Micah, and ruin it for everyone.

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

1 minute ago, HuDawg said:

Its less about loving ' to watch their backs'.  And just accepting it.  Well that's the way I see it.

 

It allows players really role play..  As a good, bad or evil player.    And creates many good or bad game play moments.

But really, Griefing can really.. really be dealt a blow if R* would alter how stupidly easy it is to find and target players.  

Auto aim + Always on blips is the reason that griefers do what they do.. so easily.  

Also this game needs MORE butchers.    Every region needs two butchers at the very least.

 

This ^ won't stop griefing.  But it sure as hell would make much more rare.  

Very, very true.  I'm not even opposed to some of the griefer tactics (imo, lying in wait to ambush players at the butcher is actually quite brilliant), but shooting unarmed players coming out of a cutscene animation and then spawn killing them before they can even reorient is, frankly road apples.  That's not a PvE versus PvP debate, that's just garbage design.

I also think they need to take a hard look at level banding some of the servers.  pitting someone below level 20 against players in the 80's or 90's is never going to be a fair fight, no matter how good or bad the average player is.  Even the Showdown Series modes need some balancing--like deactivating a player's cards.  I can't tell you how many times I've put a round in someone's head at point blank range in Gun Rush or other modes, only for them to laugh in my face as I get one-shot.  

Again, road apples.  It eliminates any semblance of delineation by ability, much like having auto-aim.  And what's worse, unskilled players with a "wide" auto aim setting and dialed up aim assist can burn you down with one hand tied behind their back.  Hell, Stevie Wonder could play the game with settings like that.

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

1 minute ago, Renascent said:

Pve elements are there to make money not just draw in the pvers. How do you think the pvpers get their guns? By magic? 

I thought it was Belsnickel.

 

[Time for a huge question to be answered.]

3 hours ago, Renascent said:

(I'm at work so I may not have touched on everything you asked for)

Good enough for me.  And I appreciate the level of engagement and courtesy in the discussion overall; this forum has a good thing going, and it's folks like yourself who can engage in a spirited debate without making things personal that keep this place both intellectually stimulating and entertaining.

Pleasantries aside, let's delve into this a bit more:

3 hours ago, Renascent said:

There's no surprise element in toggle pvp when you know exactly who is gonna attack you.

There is if a player's "toggle" status isn't publicly available.  If the player isn't flagged at all, I would think the surprise element is intensified, rather than abated, because you will have no idea what their intentions are.  Not having the status flagged or tagged for others maintains the element of surprise, so you won't know who will or won't attack you.  But self-toggling is almost a way to troll a troll, because they can run up on your and try to attack, only to be met with futility.  In a way, it's almost a perfect system and solution, because it ostensibly maintains the current status quo unless your aim is to attack random players for no reason other than to grief.  As it stands now, literally every player is a threat, so if you're looking to mitigate the chances for a confrontation, all you have to do is avoid anyone and everyone.

Hell, that's what I do now in Free Roam--I open my map and look to where the most open sector of the map is, and then fast travel there to do Stranger Missions. When I want to PvP, I play Gun Rush.  Or rather, I try to play Gun Rush, only making it out of the lobby and into the match about one time out of every 8-10 attempts.  R* needs to fix their game, beta or not, the experience is lacking specifically due to the frequent disconnects. 

3 hours ago, Renascent said:

Then you'll have those people who will use the passive mode to get close to you then go into pvp mode and kill you. 

But only if you yourself are flagged for PvP.  Operating under the assumption that everyone is a threat, much as they potentially are today in the current compulsory PvP Free Roam mode, you constantly treat everyone as a threat.  If a player's status isn't public information, a PvP player is then forced to continue to treat everyone as a threat.  A quick toggle from PvE to PvP isn't a legitimate argument against implementing the system if the status isn't identified by the game, and only known to the individual player.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that your scenario occurs; a PvE player approaches a PvP player, toggles, and then attacks.  What sin has been committed?  If the PvP player didn't want to be attacked, they should have been flagged as PvE.  If the PvE player toggles and attacks, under the proposed model, they'd be unable to toggle back for thirty seconds once exiting combat.  30 seconds is more than enough time to respawn and attempt to avenge yourself.  Under the current map model, your killer is tagged as an aggressor and stays on your minimap as long as they're in a relative proximity to you.  Keeping that system in place allows the recently slain and respawned PvP player to seek retribution.  Tie combat status to that proximity marker for aggressor status, and a player seeking revenge has more than enough opportunity to pursue vengeance.  

A lot of folks maintain that they love "having to watch their backs" or that they don't want R* to dilute the current experience.  That logic is flawed because folks who are playing the game for it's RPG elements and leveling a character will play a Showdown Series or Gun Rush when they want to PvP--they don't actively seek out other players to indiscriminately ambush or murder.  Giving PvE folks the ability to toggle off PvP status (that isn't broadcast to the rest of the players) changes nothing for anyone else on the server unless they're trying to murder that player or troll the PvE players.  The "noble" PvP players who want a pure PvP experience lose nothing because those PvE players don't participate in the activity anyways.  On a 32 player Free Roam server, what are the odds that a PvP player is going to be pitted against more than half a PvE population? 

I suppose if you're worried about being outnumbered by PvE players on a server, there can be quotas for entry based on what you're toggled at when you last logged out, such as no more than half the slots in a server can be pre-toggled to PvE, but more than half can be PvP.  This seems reasonable in assuring the PvP experience isn't watered down, apart from trolls, while providing a PvE experience for those who need it. 

And if the servers fail to populate appropriately, it's just emblematic of the player population's desire for a more PvE than PvP overall, but I doubt that would happen.  But if it did, R* could easily change the quota.

[Clothing Customization]

6 hours ago, Kean_1 said:

I have no idea if it will help but if you think it will then go ahead, create the thread.

Do we pin it in "Online"?  Seems like it'd be a popular topic.

[Clothing Customization]

2 hours ago, redscrew said:

Do you think we should maybe make a thread for clothing customization ideas and requests and send the link to Rockstar? Someone I talk to on another forum did this for some requests they had with the game. I don't know if it would be worth it or not. 

I very much would like to have the Marshall's eyepatch from the online story mode.

[Have You Bought Gold Yet?]

6 hours ago, Born Vigorous said:

My friend shares the same philosophy as you and in their case money is really not the issue. So if the principles align, he will happily spend 3x the cost of the game itself. ($200 on a F2P title to be exact) But wont spend a dime towards Microsoft. So he is what I think of as the extreme of your case.

Sounds like a very reasonable person (and fellow Marvel Heroes refugee... I'm not proud of what I dumped into that game).

[Have You Bought Gold Yet?]

No.

Despite the "special offer" I refuse to give them money for a beta. It's the principal of the matter.  It'd one thing if I was guaranteed that anything I spent my gold on would be retained, but if I decide to, say, delete my character, everything I paid for in gold is GONE.

That's a problem for me.  I'm not keen on renting digital clothing for my character.

[Who do you hate the most?]

23 hours ago, danjou said:

oh you meant story characters...i was going to say casual aimers using varmint with scope in pvp.

It's a blank canvas.  You do you, player.