2011-12-07, 06:57 PM
To be fair, the social aspect has been weakening long before BB came. When I first got into Maplestory, people hung out in places like weapon and potion shops (in towns other than Henesys), tree dungeons in Ellinia and at the Sleepywood Sauna. Two or three years in, that became a rare sight. Just before BB, many of those places were already deserted. A lot of the players training were always focused and cold.
When potential (and eventually cubes) came around, Maplestory attracted, more than ever before, players who had seeing big numbers as their main or sole priority (and didn't mind investing real money for it). I think that played a huge role in transforming the community to an even more hostile one.
With BB came the reorganization of party quests and the condensing/removal of popular maps, and that pretty much hit the final nail in the coffin. I can't count the number of amazing people I met in the old Ludi PQ, which required players to communicate to complete. The new Ludi PQ, most parties can breeze through without saying a single word. Comparing the parties I PQ'd with many years back to the parties I PQ with these days, there's a glaring difference - a lot of players these days just don't talk (and why should they if they don't need to?). And of course, Henesys Hunting Ground 1 was no more.
Easier levelling and new elements that spoon-feed newbies makes the game more appealing to younger, and/or more impatient players, which probably further contributed to the transformation of the Maple community.
Okay, that's enough speculation backed by exeperiences for one day.
When potential (and eventually cubes) came around, Maplestory attracted, more than ever before, players who had seeing big numbers as their main or sole priority (and didn't mind investing real money for it). I think that played a huge role in transforming the community to an even more hostile one.
With BB came the reorganization of party quests and the condensing/removal of popular maps, and that pretty much hit the final nail in the coffin. I can't count the number of amazing people I met in the old Ludi PQ, which required players to communicate to complete. The new Ludi PQ, most parties can breeze through without saying a single word. Comparing the parties I PQ'd with many years back to the parties I PQ with these days, there's a glaring difference - a lot of players these days just don't talk (and why should they if they don't need to?). And of course, Henesys Hunting Ground 1 was no more.
Easier levelling and new elements that spoon-feed newbies makes the game more appealing to younger, and/or more impatient players, which probably further contributed to the transformation of the Maple community.
Okay, that's enough speculation backed by exeperiences for one day.