If you only wanna play by default rules, then matchmaking is probably great for you.

Otherwise, hard disagree with that. I always like playing with community rules. Like, for instance, back on the first CoDs (1, UO, and 2) my favorite way was to play with only bolt action guns (got those not in the know, they mostly had small clips (5 shots (10 in 2 loaded clips on the British gun)), and each shot was fired singularly, and had to be manually rechambered, meaning there was a delay between shots as well. So it wasn't just run in and hold down the trigger and hope everyone was dead before you gun stopped shooting kinda game (felt super lame), but actually required aim and accuracy.

That was never a default rule, and while I could still pick that gun on almost any server, the bullet spam (especially against players on the Russian team, og CoD players know exactly what I'm talking about) made it a voluntary nerf unless they were really bad.

So everyone playing with those guns was highly preferable IMO, and that couldn't happen with matchmaking.

Or for a different example, while "gun game" is a fairly popular mod now (the one where everyone starts with the same gun, and when you get a kill you move on to a new gun, and have to complete a set list of kills first, and usually the last few weapons are harder to get a kill with, and getting a melee kill would set the victim back a weapon), but back during Counter Strike: Source's era, it was fairly new (not sure where it actually started, but that was the first game I experienced it) and was only available on community servers.

Maybe you're fine with the "default" experience, but even with a browser list, most servers run default (or very close to), but I like seeing what mods get traction and seeing if any of them are something I like.

But everything has a battle pass now, and lots of battle pass progress is tied to it.

I wanna go back to a world with zero overall progression and battle pass stuff. Hell, I don't even want achievements. They can release skins, but should probably be just all free, it maaaaybe tied to playing and doing a version number of things that you would commonly do, maybe with a time window. But really, all DLC should be free extra content. Absolute zero cost to all DLC.

Games should not be put out with intent to continue profiting from MTX. There shouldn't be any MTX.

I can rant all day, but zoomers will never know the peak of online gaming. It's already history.

I miss server browsers. I remember (in the days before it completely turned to trash) when Black Ops 2 went to a lobby system, even on PC. It was the last CoD I ever bought. (I was gifted mw3 later, put like 4ish hours in and never went back)

Then around that time (I forget what year that was exactly, I wanna say about 2014) every other game started doing the same thing as that generation of console started to mature and really take off in the DLC world, and the land of MTX started to become an issue, choking innovation and value. Gone were the days of just buying a game and having it, and I'm came the era of splitting it up and charging for every little piece.

Personally, I'm completely against extra skins and cosmetics being sold at all, in any way, period.

Adding a huge chunk of a new campaign or new missions or something sure, but just buying different jpegs to slap over a gun model should be highly discouraged, if not outright illegalized. (insert obligatory "fuck capitalism")

Anyway lemme get off my soap box. I forgot I still had that rage about how the industry went in that time period.

But yeah, official servers are fine, and even having a lobby thing is fine, but server browsers are how you build community in the games. Back then clans and guilds could rent (or own) their own dedicated servers that could set their own rules and such. You would find rules and maps and gametypes you liked and just hang out there, and organically get to know the other people that frequent that niche.

Now you just get randomized groups and (at least in my experience) rarely ever run into the same people more than once. I think this promotes anger and negativity, since (again, my experience) players rarely blame themselves ever, and if they have no emotional stake in treating the person at the other end of the connection, it turns into total blame game. Somebody will then leave in a huff (often in the middle of a game) and even the even tempered, relaxed players will get upset that "is happening again". But if you (using the royal "you" here) know at least some of them, you tend to treat them as humans more often.

It's just a better system overall.

Ah, Mulder and Scully...

Gay best friends that are straight only for each other.

Everybody should take down all of them.

Almost willing to say hang out there for the guy to come replace it and beat him just shy of disablement.

That's a little severe, but stupidity should be a crime. And with a job like that you're either a bad guy or a stupid good guy. Or if your forced to work there somehow, you should be dismantling it from within.

My siblings were debating issues with it and about how willing they were to just deal with it.

I'm just shocked at how addicted everyone is to it that it could probably say "Trump is watching all users' front cameras while the app is open" and kids would still be like "hmmm what are the odds he watches me though?

But everybody's a zombie.

I mean I downloaded it, back really early, to take a peek. After 15 minutes, I decided I hated the short format, and peaced out.

It seems to largely be a generational thing. Millennials are (in my perception) mostly on it just to make money, zoomers just want that crack IV drip.

Obviously this is just a trend, and there are counter examples everywhere, but that seems to be more true than not. At least from the outside looking in.

And given it's totally obnoxious censorship rules, now I have to deal with hearing about people getting "unalived", or "adult fun time", and "p 3 dee oh" from creators that multistream. Even without being there, I'm forced to experience the cancer secondhand.

That's my main problem with it. None of the other problems affect me directly much since I've always avoided it, but that is smeared all over my shit.

Billionaire tax should be 99%, no breaks or deductions. Boom I said it.

Even double digit millionaires shouldn't exist.

There is no context in which having that should be street legal.

They need to get the fuck out of the "people who breathe" group tbh.

The absolute least offensive person in their ranks is the worst racist anyone knows. So I'm fine with racism being a kil on sight offense, at least if they're wearing their robes- I mean uniforms.

And every single individual that had anything at all to do with this should get guillotined. For the smallest bit of involvement.

More painful and/or humiliating deaths for everyone more directly involved.

And not just for this, for everything involving life and death decisions, one single intentionally wrong decision should be death penalty. Bar none, no mercy, first offense.

You cannot just decide to unilaterally kill people because they "might" have drugs. Get the chair warmed up, there's a line forming.

Yesss

I just said this in another thread but I'll repair it here.

Once no one is rich, everyone will be.

If there was any justice, he would have to pay out double the entire amount (including bonus) to the devs.

If you swap "says" with "hints", it works though.

I mean if I had them I totally would.

Is there a word for that gesture that he keeps making with his fist there? I feel like he thinks it's a flex but just outs him as a dictator.

I hope his body tortures him on the way out. Actual complete suffering and conscious awareness of what is happening. And do it in 4k.

Any time someone has a bad day, show em him screaming in pain before he goes limp. Makes everybody feel better every time.

I'd rather turn Amazon warehouse into ICE graveyards.

I support actually doing this.

As in literally taking the money straight out of the billionaire funding pockets. But not in parity with the amounts used for AI funding, I just mean all of it. And not simply "all of it", but actually all of it, to the point where they're in soup kitchen lines and panhandling, hoping to get enough to pay for dinner.

Take all that money and put it in science research, charities, etc.

If they can't get enough from the charities back to keep breathing, then oh well. Sorry people that deserve it got it instead, oh well, we'll make a note that we're all doing great on the money that was yours.

Imagine what being found 30 million years later would've felt like tho.

I'm inches away from saying just execute all conservative politicians period.

Hey do that and come here and Bob ours next, and if you're still feeling frisky, bomb the pop up ICE headquarters next.