Deleted

[God-eater]

@Nutduster et al : 

 

So many good points made here, too many for me to comment on and no real point as I wouldn't be saying anything all of you haven't. 

 

What I will add is my theory on why it is how it is, and why R* will never, ever do anything to discourage the toxicity. And you all know where I'm going with this, and I've said it many times before. 

 

Because Shark Cards.

 

The current model sells Shark Cards like heroin. R* is counting on the toxicity of the playerbase to limit income, to waste our time in pointless (and expensive) free roam battles, to use the cheapest, most overpowered tactics available to us to destroy each other. In short, they want us to get frustrated enough to reach for our credit cards.

 

The thing that surprises me most is how we rise (or sink, I suppose) to R*'s expectations so readily. 

 

We can pontificate all we want, or wish for a better Los Santos. We won't get it. All we can do is avoid it as best we can. R* doesn't care about our fun, entertainment or enjoyment. We're just cattle to them.

 

Remember, the guy that essentially created GTA Online, fought for it and made it happen, got fired by Take 2 for "failing to properly monetise" the game. Says it all, really.

Edited May 10, 2021 by God-eater

[JB94]

29 minutes ago, God-eater said:

Because Shark Cards.

 

I'm almost certain that this is the biggest contributor to the player base being as terrible as it is. When Online launched, I never knew it to be even a fraction as bad as it is now. In the long space of time between 2013 and 2020 (when I returned to Online), Fortnite took off in the biggest way and this generation of players, (funded my mum and dad) have also come along and dragged down the GTA player base as well I fear, evidenced through the lack of maturity and distinct lack of ability/ skill as well, heh ':/

 

There are some shark card adult players as well, but the ones that I've come across all mind their own and spend the money on flexing (cars, boats, bikes, planes). While I'm not a fan of microtransactions, I have no qualms whatsoever if you're not using the system as a pay to win because you lack the skill, ability or decency to work with people to make money (the latter point now becoming somewhat irrelevant, thanks to the CP heist).

 

I consider myself a bit lucky, knowing how to make money fast without resorting to grinding, modding, hacking or shark cards. Keeping this in mind, I definitely don't have to care about kids talking trash in freemode, but I (and usually the other people in a freemode session with me) do enjoy when I display my credentials and politely tell them to sit down In other instances, just telling the children that nobody needs to hear the nonsense that they're spewing normally works; the benefits of being the adult in the room I guess

 

Although both of my characters are retired, I do try to help out players that get targeted by the toxic players in freemode, by getting them enough money to start making good money solo through a heist or two.

 

Spoiler

If B2B heist method counts as cheating, then colour me guilty, but in my defence, it's a flaw in the game which they've had years to fix

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by JB94
Spoiler

[God-eater]

@JB94, in 2013, GTA Online's currency was engagement. They just wanted us playing.

 

Since The Benz was taken out back and shot and Der Fuhrer Zelnick got his way, GTA's currency is, well, actual currency.

 

It's a very different Los Santos out there, my friend. The game only exists now as a mechanism for selling Shark Cards. 

 

I'll go one further - if 100% of the community stopped buying the accursed things today, we'd have GTA 6 within a year, no matter how many people were logging on each day.