lemon-fresh's recent activity

  1. Comment on Hearthstone player banned from Grandmasters Tournament for voicing support for HK protestors in ~games

  2. Comment on Fitness tracker recommendations? in ~health

  3. Comment on Fitness tracker recommendations? in ~health

    lemon-fresh
    Link
    I probably am not understanding your question fully but in regards to swimming could you just measure and record how long it takes for you to complete X number of laps. I think most pools have a...

    I probably am not understanding your question fully but in regards to swimming could you just measure and record how long it takes for you to complete X number of laps. I think most pools have a wall clock with a second hand which should provide plenty of resolution.

  4. Comment on Rediscovering Old Games in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Huh, I thought the "Gex" series was relatively well known for anyone that owned a ps1 or n64 around that time. I personally didn't play it because it wasn't really my thing (most 3d platformers...

    Huh, I thought the "Gex" series was relatively well known for anyone that owned a ps1 or n64 around that time. I personally didn't play it because it wasn't really my thing (most 3d platformers from around that time didn't really do much for me).

    Also looks like it's still available to download via the playstation network on ps3. :)

  5. Comment on What are your unsolved programming problems? in ~comp

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Awesome, glad to hear your use case supports a NoSQL solution for the long term. :)

    Awesome, glad to hear your use case supports a NoSQL solution for the long term. :)

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What are your unsolved programming problems? in ~comp

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    I find a big gotcha with NoSQL is recognizing when it might be time to start migrating over some/all of your data to a relational data store because certain things like enforcing data schemas and...

    I find a big gotcha with NoSQL is recognizing when it might be time to start migrating over some/all of your data to a relational data store because certain things like enforcing data schemas and referential integrity start to become a nightmare as your business, data model complexity and code base grows.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    I would tend to agree regarding a meta-economy. It is also very hard to determine if these overwatch skin prices are even reasonable ($10+ when they have been sold individually). Which is kind of...

    I would tend to agree regarding a meta-economy.

    It is also very hard to determine if these overwatch skin prices are even reasonable ($10+ when they have been sold individually). Which is kind of the crux of a lot of the articles math in regards to the game becoming a lot more expensive if lootboxes were to be removed.

  8. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Agreed. Although I feel like there are much more straightforward ways for people to responsibly purchase content. Especially when we have no insight into the costs to keep overwatch running and...

    Agreed. Although I feel like there are much more straightforward ways for people to responsibly purchase content. Especially when we have no insight into the costs to keep overwatch running and the profit margins on lootboxes/skins.

    Why not keep unpaid lootboxes in the game and allow players to purchase skins for a "reasonable" price, there are many other fully fledged games that cost less than these skins ($10+). I have no idea how feasible this is because there is no insight into how much money is being made off the consumer in the completely activision controlled economy which makes this articles analysis less convincing.

  9. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Yup, they could have made a mistake. I was simply replying to the notion that I'm the only one who has a problem with this practice.

    Yup, they could have made a mistake. I was simply replying to the notion that I'm the only one who has a problem with this practice.

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Good point, I see what you're getting at here. Let me provide some further justification of why I disagree with this article... All the numbers are based off of prices from an economy that...

    Good point, I see what you're getting at here. Let me provide some further justification of why I disagree with this article...

    All the numbers are based off of prices from an economy that Activision completely controls. If there were any official published numbers regarding the profit margins on loot boxes and skins as well as the operating costs to keep the overwatch ecosystem running I think the article would make a much more convincing point as to how much it could cost the consumer to remove paid lootboxes.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    The virtue that I believe that loot boxes inherent gambling mechanics are not consumer friendly. The article is justifying practices that I think are not consumer friendly. This further...

    The virtue that I believe that loot boxes inherent gambling mechanics are not consumer friendly. The article is justifying practices that I think are not consumer friendly. This further perpetuates the idea that loot boxes done this way are ok which could lead to more loot boxes showing up in games.

    I also said that they can publish whatever they want... I'm still allowed to disagree with the article.

    1 vote

  12. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    With countries banning the practice i feel like it may be more than just a "me" problem.

    With countries banning the practice i feel like it may be more than just a "me" problem.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Justifying large publishers questionable business practices is the slippery slope we are on and have been for quite some time. Lootboxes inclusion (cosmetic or otherwise) in games ALMOST became...

    Justifying large publishers questionable business practices is the slippery slope we are on and have been for quite some time. Lootboxes inclusion (cosmetic or otherwise) in games ALMOST became standard practice until there was a large outcry.

    I also feel like the article makes a few assumptions in it's justifications. I would recommend taking a look at the supplementary youtube video i posted for a full breakdown and some thoughts on the issue that closely mirror my own.

    1 vote

  14. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Technically not everyone gets the same content since you have to gamble with your time and money to unlock the skins.

    Technically not everyone gets the same content since you have to gamble with your time and money to unlock the skins.

  15. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    "This article is specifically about how Overwatch has reached a balance where other games didn't, in the author's opinion. You responded with something about lootboxes in general. But, again, the...

    "This article is specifically about how Overwatch has reached a balance where other games didn't, in the author's opinion. You responded with something about lootboxes in general. But, again, the article makes it pretty clear that other games do lootboxes improperly. So it's not like you were opposing this article's general premise, this article's talking about a notable exception."

    I disagree that overwatch is doing a better job at lootboxes vs other games. Based on the premise that all lootbox practices are particularly predatory due to the fact that they are built around gambling mechanics (I should have made that more clear in my original post).

    "What's wrong with a major press outlet publishing an unpopular opinion? Newspapers and publishers have been publishing opposing editorial pieces for centuries."

    The only wrong thing I see them doing is perpetuating the belief that some paid lootboxes are ok (see above for why I think this is not the case). They can publish whatever they want but I think this particular narrative is damaging to the consumer.

    "Having a different viewpoint on the issue does not mean you should replace its title when presenting it to others with your judgement of the article."

    Yup, my bad. Deimos helped me out and corrected the title within hours of posting. :)

    2 votes

  16. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Agreed. We also have the whole "lootboxes only contain cosmetics so no big deal right everybody?" narrative to further downplay the issue. Even in the light of countries outright outlawing their...

    Agreed.

    We also have the whole "lootboxes only contain cosmetics so no big deal right everybody?" narrative to further downplay the issue. Even in the light of countries outright outlawing their inclusion because it is equivalent to gambling.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    " The amount of content the players get with only a $40 game is a lot better than most other games, and I think Blizzard should be commended for their monetization model. I hope more companies...

    " The amount of content the players get with only a $40 game is a lot better than most other games, and I think Blizzard should be commended for their monetization model. I hope more companies follow their example, and stop making incomplete games where the players have to shell out even more money to unlock all the content."

    By all means charge $40-$60 for your game but please just let me buy the skins i want WITHOUT HAVING TO GAMBLE FOR THEM. I also don't think being forced to grind for hours just to have a chance at getting a decent skin for a character you like to play is somehow commendable. There was a time when this stuff was just included in the game...

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Skins for me are just as desirable as play 2 win mechanics (maybe even more so?). I have definitely thought about spending way too much money on overwatch loot boxes just to unlock some of those...

    Skins for me are just as desirable as play 2 win mechanics (maybe even more so?). I have definitely thought about spending way too much money on overwatch loot boxes just to unlock some of those sweet skins.

    When they hook up your ability to get the skins to gambling mechanics it just makes it even more insidious imo.

    4 votes

  19. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    One thing to also consider is that it appears that EA has pulled a 180 on IAPs and lootboxes with battlefield 5. They say all additional content will be free and there will be no lootboxes/pay2win...

    One thing to also consider is that it appears that EA has pulled a 180 on IAPs and lootboxes with battlefield 5. They say all additional content will be free and there will be no lootboxes/pay2win mechanics.

    There might be some hope for consumers.

    2 votes

  20. Comment on Want Overwatch to get rid of loot boxes? It might get more expensive. in ~games

    lemon-fresh
    Link Parent
    Sorry about that, thx! :)

    Sorry about that, thx! :)

    2 votes