TMC Player Reviews: DragonBall: Infinity

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Rendo] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

If you're going to do a review, at least have the bravado to use your
game name and not an alias that's never been used in the game.  On 
to my point now.

Playerbashing by the Imms at DBI does occur to some extent.  It all 
depends on the situation.  If a person, and I think I know who you 
are, is constantly asking an immortal to break our own rules and help
them with a quest and then go on an INSANE rant and start bashing 
themselves, you can bet an Imm will bash back.  We don't spend
countless hours trying to make DBI as fun and enjoyable as we can 
only to have people call us assholes and other expletives.  Respect 
is a two way street and if you don't earn it, don't expect to be 
treated with it.  That's a life lesson, not just a DBI rule.

Secondly, the IT quest and any other quest on DBI.  DBI implemented 
the NO QUEST INFO rule for a variety of reasons.  Quests are a good 
way to advance your character with skills and or some of the best 
gear in the game.  DBI isn't some widescale game like World of 
Warcraft.  We have a general playerbase of 10-25 people at any given 
time, and our feelings are that quests should be done on your own 
without any help.  It's a test of YOUR abilities as a player, and if 
you can't complete a quest, then maybe you're lacking the skills to 
think abstract.

The IT quest is far from impossible, in fact a lot of other DBZ based 
MUDs have the area files for the quest, FOR IT, so get used to it 
somewhere else.  The quest is excellently written, requires a little 
bit of common sense, and reading comprehension.  All quests in DBI, 
not just the IT quest, are completable.  It's up to you look for 
clues and make sure you SPOT them when an NPC tells you things you 
NEED to know.

I take negative and partially biased reviews seriously.  I am the 
owner of DBI and I make sure to set the record straight.  DBI has its 
problems, but what MUD doesn't?  We try our best to offer the best 
DBZ mudding experience and I and the playerbase feels that's what 
we've accomplished.  Take Cherice's review at face value.  S/he got 
upset that they were unable to complete a quest, openly admitted in 
their review that they ASKED people on messengers, and then got mad 
at the staff when we enforced our own rules of not revealing the 
information and more likely than not, defended ourselves from their 
verbal assault.  Come try DBI for yourself and make your own opinions.

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Keyan] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

Cherice's review is right on.

I got to the IT quest myself, it is impossible to complete in the 
manner in which the administration demands. Besides it being a STOCK 
area, it was never an area designed to be designated as a strict, you
can't talk about so and so, area. It was an area designed on freely 
shared information between players, guiding each other along, perhaps 
even with help from immortals. Basically, the area if you judge it as 
a stand alone quest area is trash. There are no descriptors and the
keyword for the final stage of the temple does not exist unless you
look at the source. There is no indication speech is required, in fact
the quest is misleading. Moonbase is very poor. Most of the 
areas are trash when judged upon questing area criteria. They were 
never supposed to be that. 

The players don't even answer questions when you ask them about 
syntax, everyone on the mud just ignores you if you are talking about 
a quest even if you don't ask direct quest information. Yes, just 
turn away from this mud and better yet, start up a new Saga clone 
that is more true to the original. Aka, not trying to be elitist in
you can't have this skill because you're obviously not good enough to 
get this. Speaking as an old Saga player, I have to say 'lol'. This 
is the way people with no real achievements, feel good about 
themselves. Or are a veteran and know what they are doing from 
beforehand, from the old Saga. The only reason Dragonball Infinity is
so small is because it IS an elitist fest, so yeah, if you are a
new player to a 'Saga clone' and/or lack knowledge of the DBZ 
universe, then look elsewhere.

Besides the above admin just blatantly calling the player stupid for 
not figuring it out in the first place, aka, unable to deal with 
'abstract reasoning', you have just seen Dragonball Infinity right 
there for what it is. Yeah, it's not them, it's obviously you, the 
player, who has the problem. Stuck-up administration. For a stock 
clone, with nothing new, that for the most part sticks to the 
original Saga (and this is the only piece of the game that shines),
the direction they are trying to take the game is not only laughable 
but downright offensive to players who like a friendly, helpful 
athmosphere in which to play and have fun in. And RP freely to their 
heart's content. Not have fun dictated upon them.

YOU WILL DO IT OUR WAY OR NOT AT ALL AND YOU'RE GONNA LIKE IT!

There is no freedom in this game to just have fun and play, because 
of the incredible attitude of the administration regarding quests, 
none of which are their own. The admin even points a player out to 
look into stock area codes instead of being allowed help from fellow 
players in game or even themselves, in order to fully participate in 
the game; it is a very small yet definite gaming experience that 
relies on player cooperation to be as fluid as possible, which is an
absolute necessity in this type of unlimited PL type codebase, for 
which the game was originally designed to work.

This is what is most outrageous, this sort of dictatorship, over 
content that is not even their own. I think they were even trying to 
take donations a while back. If any mud should have gone down over
lawsuits (as the original Saga), it should be these guys.

Rendo, you fail.
And please don't call every new player that comes into the game, 
'Rendo's wife'. It's not cool.
Saga is dead, and the vultures gather.

Dragonball Saga was a true innovation and the mudding community has 
lost a true asset with its demise, it has many immitators but no true 
successor. After looking around at these clones, I salute the old 
team, Viola, etc, you know who you are. Yes, Saga is missed. :/

You all did a fantastic awesome job in both creating, maintaining and 
running the codebase in the manner in which was your vision.

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Rendo] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

First off. LOL!!!!!!!!

Alright, back to business.  Once again we have another 'coward' who has
to use an alias to post their comment.  Keyan has never been a playerfile
on DBI, so that right there should be clear indication of this 'players'
intentions.  So let's go over some of these 'issues'.

For starters, the IT quest is not a STOCK area.  It was created and designed
by Kilan, and has been used in many if not all DBS based MUDs.  It is an
original DBI area, not STOCK.

Not only does the ENTIRE area have descriptions, but the quest is 100%
able to be completed.  It is my, and my staff's view that quests should be challenging,
so where exactly is the challenge if you just find out how to do it from
another player?  How does this improve your skills on DBI if you can't
even figure out one of the more SIMPLE, yet complex quests in the game?

Regarding syntax, if it's related to a quest, you will not receive help,
as per our rules.  I'm sorry if you find them too strict, but as I previously
said, if it's too hard for you to do, then don't do it.  We recently
offered an RP Reward that allows you to obtain skills for RPP, so you
can buy Instant Transmission if you're unable to complete the quest.

As for the 'elitism' and 'size' of DBI.  DBI has one of the most consistent
and active playerbases out of all DBZ based MUDs.  Our players are also
some of the most mature, loyal, and helpful players you will find.
They do answer your questions, but if you act like a child, why should
they help you?  What makes you think you have any rights to information
if you log on and treat people like crap?

As for our 'stock' code.  Saiyr, and you should know who he is, for those
that didn't he was one of the coders for the original DBS, stated MANY
years ago that DBI is the most advanced DBS derivative there is. So you 
can only imagine that over the years more code has been added.  We have
a custom skill/race system that allows us to create whole races in game
without the need to code.  We've had many requests for this code as it's
one of our most powerful features.  If you call that 'stock' then you 
surely live in a faery tale world. :)

99% of the areas and code are DBS/DBI based.  We've used a few snippets
here and there and given credit where it is due.  So your absurd accusation 
is unfounded and fictitious.

Once again, we have a case where a player, or quite possibly a 'rival'
admin from another DBS based MUD, has posted a review about DBI.  They 
fail to use their REAL player name, because it's easier to post anonymously 
and hide behind their wall.  Please take their comments, and even mine, 
as pure bias.  Come witness DBI for yourself and see who's telling the 
truth here. :)

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Veritas] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

There are a few things in these reviews that I do not agree with, and
I would like to share that with the TMC Community.

Firstly, DBI has had a no quest help rule for a long time now and
that is not going to change. It's the way our MUD is run, it's the
only way that makes sense based on many of the quests in the game.
What's the point of having quests and forcing people to play for
their in-game rewards if everyone gives everyone else the answer? We
might as well just line up a row of merchants and have them sell every
item and skill in the game for free.

Quests are important, they are meant to give players something to do
and fun ways to expand their characters. That being said, they are not
all easy.

The IT quest is NOT a stock area. No idea where anyone got that idea.
It was built by Kilan specifically for DBI2.0, was installed then and
was even voted on by the players as the best area in the game. You may
be able to call it 'stock' now because DBI has allowed other clones
and codebases to take and use the area, or because the DBI codebase
has been leaked a couple of times.

But it was not a stock area, it was specifically built for DBI, and
YES, IT IS HARD. Seems to me that a very large percentage of our
playerbase has completed it though. Seems to me there were other
players completing this quest at the same time these players were
complaining it was impossible. I, myself, made and ran a test mortal
player through it to make sure that it worked properly and that these
players weren't experiencing bugs, which they weren't.

Quests are not always just 'go here, do this, get this, take it
back'. It is not DBI's fault if that's what you are used to. The IT
quest requires INVOLVED READING of room descriptions, item
descriptions and much out-of-the-box thinking. Again, this quest has
been part of DBI for a long time and I can guarantee you that 95% of
the playerbase that attempts it does complete it, without any help.

Now, when you spam questions after being told that asking about
quests is against the rules, you're going to get silenced. When
you're silenced, create a new character to bash the imms, that's
punishment evasion and some imm bashing...You don't expect to be
treated the way you're treating others? I'm sorry, but you get what
you give on DBI. I was there, I saw the whole thing, I was involved,
and this is just a story of a couple of players who didn't want to
accept that something was working properly, simply because they
couldn't figure it out.

It's always the kids who get picked last for baseball that don't
like playing the sport.

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Kilan] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

First, the IT quest. You make wild assumptions that the area is a
'stock' area not designed for solo-attempts, not to mention, by
definition of 'stock', the area is not. I designed the area for DBI,
and it was released during one of the few codebase leaks, and almost
immediately snatched up by whoever wanted to try their hand at running
a MUD.

I'd like to point out that upon implementation of the area, due to
the quest being that which the ultimate goal is an almost critical
skill, I put those rules in place. The ultimate expansion of 'no
quest info' resulted from those rules. There are plenty of clues
scattered through the areas, and like Rendo said, you have to keep an
eye out for them and(as most quests are) PAY ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING
SO YOU DON'T MISS A CRUCIAL PIECE OF INFORMATION. Some parts of the
quest require common sense, which is apparently not as common as it
should be. Other parts of the quest require exploration - namely the
Moonbase - which isn't a very difficult concept to grasp. So the
overall quest isn't easy. Big deal. It wasn't meant to be.

As for most of everything else, I won't even bother getting into
mostly for the fact that it has already been covered and resolved
elsewhere. I will say this, though. Read carefully.

WE ARE NOT TRYING TO BE DRAGONBALL SAGA. We don't care what DBS did,
we don't care what DBS wanted to do. We're doing what we want with
the MUD, the way we feel things should be done. If you don't like it,
don't play here. I say that with no hostility. There are plenty of
other MUDs out there you can play. I'm sure you'll find one that
suits your desires, whether it be mindless soloing to level up as far
as you can, or a basic chat room where senior players and staff alike
throw around insults and pretend they're the greatest thing since
sliced bread.

I'm sorry you found DBI so displeasing. But know that we aren't
going to change how we do things just because you couldn't figure
something out. Confusing quests in actual video games cause the same
problems, and you don't see the staff of Ubisoft or Square Enix doing
anything to make it easier on you. DBI is not a MUD in which you can
train easily then idle around, screaming 'I R TEH BETTAR DEN YUO,
TUCH MI PEEN'. It is challenging and, at times, thought-provoking.
Not your cup of tea? Oh well.

(The following review comment is the opinion of the comment's author [Nithron] and in no way represents the opinions of this website or its staff).

It's foolish to think that the instant transmission quest
is what DBI revolves around. It certainly isn't a hard one
to figure out if you've been gifted with an adept mind.
However, for those who just want everything thrown at them
without actually playing and experiencing, maybe even going
back three or fifteen times to find something you might not
catch onto the first time, I would say is a ridiculous demand.

So, I suppose it's a shame in most who are reading this' mind
that here at DBI we won't fork over every little detail and
actually make you think and explore to go complete something.
Although, I could be wrong...