Sunday, June 20, 2010

Insert Sigh Here

You know, yesterday was not a great day, but life is generally bad enough that even decent feels good.

I was hoping for a repeat today... but when I couldn't go back to sleep after less than seven hours down time, I knew it was going to be another normal day; and I was right.

Couple days ago, someone posts a comment to the RR master entry, that basically amounts to "my game doesn't work help me".

Sparse details, no mention of other mods or load order... the individual couldn't even be bothered to get the cell name correct.

Nonetheless, I try very hard not to be a complete ass without cause, so I offered some help; as did a couple other people.

I suggested my standard trick to check for corrupt save(s): start a new game, and see if it still crashes. If yes, the problem is a hard conflict or corrupt texture/mesh. If no, your save is fuxx0red, as the kids today say on the intarwebz.

I also mention that cleaning of the save will be required if it is a savegame issue, and how to get back into the Vault (hopefully) to collect possessions.

Flash forward to this morning. I check the entry, and the comment boils down to "the new game worked, what do I do now?"

Insert the sound of my forehead connecting with desk here.

Now I know good Goddamned well I have not screwed up and slipped into speaking Deutsch or Welsh, since several of you can apparently understand me. My Japanese isn't good enough to rant in, and if I had lapsed into Spanish many of you would probably still be able to muddle through.

So... I have to wonder. Am I speaking some weird form of "High American/English" that's only understandable by folks with a triple-digit IQ, or do half of these fucks just not pay attention to anything other than a bullet-pointed set of instructions to hold their hand through the whole mess?

I'd be willing to cut people slack, but this is not esoterica of the highest order, secreted away in a most jealously guarded grimore.

To whit, I typed "fallout 3 cleaning save" into Google, and was rewarded with this.

Entry #2 is Arwen's save cleaning tutorial. Not the best of explanations for the process I've ever read, but one should get the gist of the process.

Seriously. Like ten seconds worth of trying. This doesn't even count the amount of data in that labyrinthine mess they call forums, both on the Nexus and at Bethsoft (really, one is much like the other).

Ugh. I wanna go back to the range, where the only idiot I have to worry about is me...

2 comments:

  1. And this is where I would normally go into a rant about not only the reading comprehension skills of the last few generations but of their writing and speaking skills as well. But I'm gonna skip the long lecture on literacy and diction mainly because the one person it isn't directed toward would likely be the first person to see it. So I'll just say to you Matt that I strongly believe this is one of the main sources of these problems and I doubt that there's anything you or I alone can do to fix it. Unfortunately, we just have to either live with it or try to ignore it.

    And of course the other main problem is sheer laziness, something I'm probably just as guilty of as anyone else so I'm speaking of what I know. As you said, it only takes a minute or two to Google something and look for a solution to your problems. But why bother opening a new browser tab when the links to pester the mod's creator are right there with the mod? Oh, the extra mouse clicking on our poor fingers... how will we ever manage? I do it myself, as you well know. But at least I endeavor to keep the questions out of the realm of total ignorance and stupidity.

    But I also have to play Devil's Advocate for a moment, because years of counseling for substance abuse and other emotional issues has taught me to always try to see the opposing point of view. We can't expect everyone to be expert modders. I only know the few tricks I know from downloading and experimenting with other people's mods since the days of Morrowind. If you have access to the web and can drop the game disc into your drive to install the game, you're ready to download a mod and have absolutely no idea what to do with it. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that these are the perils and pitfalls of what we do, and all we can do is post readmes and FAQs and hope to fend off a percentage of the pestering. And, unfortunately for you Matt, I'm afraid the more complex a mod is the dumber or I suppose I should say the more ignorant the questions are likely to be. But I do have to say that personally I dropped the RR mod into the Data folder and played it without a hitch, so I really don't see what's so hard about it.

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  2. Hey, I'm not implying everyone should be a walking tome of modding and/or general game knowledge. Far from it.

    I don't mind helping folks who give it an honest go and just can't figure it out.

    No big deal there.

    What bothers me are the people who won't even try.

    My younger brother is the same way. The boy can't articulate a thought. And why should he? He's never had to. He's totaled seven cars and always gets handed another, got mysterious extra credit in high school to graduate with an average of 60.2% (my theory being that the teacher(s) couldn't stomach the thought of him another year), has had two felony conviction fines/restitutions paid for by his dad, got six grand worth of braces he didn't even need.

    Shit, being a worthless twit apparently gets you ahead in life, as far as I can tell.

    I understand why these people are who and what they are, and how they got that way. That doesn't mean I have to be happy about being expected to clean up after them, though.

    ...

    Excuse me, I need to bite my tongue and head off a (further) tangent.

    For what it's worth, I understand what you're trying to say. I just wish more people would put forth an effort and "give me something to work with".

    If your best isn't good enough to finish the job? So be it; at least you tried, and you can then seek help without shame.

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