Bethesda, ESF, and your roots...

[dongle]

The two of these together sparked a great interest in the Codex, so I went back and had a look around. To tell the truth, it scared me a bit, so I left again and returned to TESF.

Ha, signature worthy, that is. :D

 

[Data4]

I guess you could say I came from the ESF, but I never considered myself a part of that community. I was an old Daggerfall fan that tried to like Morrowind, and was hopeful that Oblivion would be a return to roots. However, I think Codexers are born, and I might just be one of them. My cynical disdain for the fanbase started creeping in when I saw the retardation that was going on in the mod scene. While there are some excellent modders who have tried and succeeded to make Morrowind a bit more enjoyable, I wanted to tear my hair out at all the gay, fucked up S&M and Goth bullshit that people just thought was so great.

There were something like a dozen threads devoted to what they dubbed "randy skimpiness". I call it pathetic whackoff material.

I began to see that these people didn't want an RPG; they wanted to play dress-up dolly and prance around in bonemold thongs. That set my disgust into motion. Then I wandered over to the community forum and promptly puked. I started picking up hints about the Codex being a place that "hates everything". I came over, and with the exception of a few smartass remarks over at the ESF, haven't looked back.

-D4

 

[Spectacle]

I guess you could say I came from the ESF, since my first visit to the Codex was by following a link from ESF to those oblivion comics (with frankie the horse, don't remember who did them). I've never been a member of the ESF though, I just read it occasionally to numb my mind when I was supposed to be studying.

Anyway, I've since found that intelligent discussion with likeminded people on the Codex is a more satisfying way to waste my time.

 

[TruthDecay]

I found my way to the Codex very shortly after I learned that Bethesda was going to be making Fallout 3. I didn't post there much since I am a lurker at heart, but boy, the flamewars when the news was announced were glorious. I never played Fallout, but I wanted to see why this mysterious Codex was so angry at Bethesda, who made a "great game" like Morrowind.

Back then, if you had asked me what a good RPG was, I would have said good character customization, a compelling story, and NUMBARZ! Initially, the only reason I stuck around was because of the... "personality" the forums had, but after a while, I started to actually listen to what people were saying in the posts between tubgirl traps and Exitium's bitchfests. I picked up Fallout and found it to be a fantastic game. I then realized what I had been missing out on, and after being unable to find games very similar to Fallout, I picked up the DnD sourcebooks and got heavily into PnP roleplaying games.

In other words, I have learned that RPGs are not all about combat and how many places you can put numbers into, but about giving a player meaningful choices in the game that let them effectively roleplay their character's personality. I'm no longer looking forward to NWN 2 because it lets me be a power-munchkin in DnD 3.5e format, but because the toolset will let me make the game (even if it has to be in module form) that few, if any high-profile, high-budget studios are willing to.

 

[Ahzaruuk]

I first heard of the Codex from the TESF. After A while, My curiosity was starting to pick up and I joined. Still A TESF regular though.

 

[VenomByte]

Yes.

I originally came here about a year ago, because I wanted somewhere to vent my feelings on the directions Beth/Oblivion seemed to be going in.

 

[Top Hat]

Apart from the few links I've dared click on here, I've never been to TESF.
Sometimes when I do I think I'd have preferred a tubgirl.
But now we have pubgirl - the worst of both worlds.

 

[User was nabbed fit]

I'll admit that I was sucked in by all the hype over Oblivion, so I joined the ESF... soon after joining I heard of this evil place called the "RPG Codex" which was besmirching Oblivion's good name!
So I came over here and was shocked at the barrage of negative news comments about Oblivion that were being posted (me being used to every website sucking its cock)... of course the game hadn't yet come out back then, so I couldn't understand all this and dismissed everyone here as being alarmist.
But then I started (it didn't take me long) actually trying to understand where everyone here was coming from with all this 'hate'; I started to actually read the points, and it all started making sense to me... more sense than the sugar-coated BS on the ESF anyway. Finally, the game came out, and everything was confirmed. The Codex was right all along.

I should probably clarify, as others did, that I'm no "refugee", though... I haven't even been warned once. Probably because I don't actually break any rules, or troll on any 'secondary accounts'.

Although one of these days I'll probably be banned once they'll have had enough of me. You see, I like posing questions that trouble people (because they can't give a rational answer)... usually the fanboys get frustrated and the BS they come out with is quite amusing. Sophism always is.
A bit like Aristotle wandering through the streets of Athens, and questioning the most respected people in the city, publicly reducing their often proud wisdom to ignorance... asking such things as "What is God?" to religious figures, or "What is honor?" to generals.
The ESF fanboys are much like the people who Aristotle questioned; they claim to have the answers (to what an RPG is, for example), but they really just have their heads up their asses.

 

[Balor]

Heh, if even I joined TESF before I joined Codex, it's not related altogether.
Not really sure how I stumbled upon it, though... but certainly stayed for intelligent discussions and the overall atmophere, heh.

 

[OverrideB1]

I, on the other hand, am a refugee. The sheer banality of the posts, the puerile level of discussion, the complete and utter lack of understanding of what a cRPG should be about -- even on the part of some of the devs (yes MSFD, I'm looking at you): there's no way on god's green earth that I'd return there.

 

[Lord Chambers]

I made a thread on ESF that asked the question "why does an action game (Morrowind) have such a deep backstory?" I spent next 12 pages establishing that the only supported gameplay in Morrowind was combat, and that to be a monk or diplomat or ninja cartographer one has to supply the gameplay with one's own imagination. This point, falling on deaf ears, resulted me killing an innocent ESF member and then getting a message that it had been witnessed by unseen forces. Now I work for the Codex.

It turns out that members aren't the only thing the Codex is stealing from Bethesda, but plotlines as well.

 

[Walks with the Snails]

Outstanding. This will save the effort of heating up the pokers and prepping the rack. Let the purge begin.

 

[Grandpa Gamer]

I followed a link here from RPGdot.com.
Something about the future of the Fallout series I believe.
I think it was around the time it was first announced that Bethesda had bought the Fallout license.
Have been popping by from time to time to read some posts since then, and decided to join on a whim. Basically to raise the age average here... And to put the Bethesda bashing in some prespective... (Yeah, right)

Been playing computer role playing games since the early Ultimas and the Gold Box-days.
Figured Bethesda was the future when I played Daggerfall, but they have failed to live up to that legacy. I think Gothic 3 is the best game to come out in quite some time now.

And I was never on the ESF (or any other games related forum for that matter. RPG Codex is the chosen one! :D

 

[WittyName]

I stumbled upon the site about a year ago while doing a google search for rpg game reviews since I disdain the commercial sites like IGN, Gamespot, etc. Nothing of substance, just crammed with ads.

Been a lurker up until recently, just figured I'd join the conversation.

 

[Voss]

And now they're making fucking polls. The disease gets worse.

 

[TheGreatGodPan]

Like I've said earlier, I've never had an account at ESF. I don't remember what brought me here. I posted at ttlg before that, and they did have a section for Morrowind, but I never ventured in there and I still don't know why they have it (no connection to Looking Glass/Origin/Ion Storm or whatever). I've never had an account at DAC, NMA, bioware, obsidian or any other dev site. I'm going to go search my post history to see what my first post was in case it hints at what brought me here.

I think we should make those Oblibion comics Chefe made a sticky or something.

 

[aweigh]

Circle the wagons!

 

[Xi]

I lurked ESF back in 2000 when Morrowind was on the development platter. I was somewhat disapointed in Morrowind but had hopes for OB. All the mentions of returning features of DF had me psyched. I migrated here just before OB was released and have pretty much made complete migration to this site. I found myself more or less posting in the Hardware Section of ESF because the average poster there is a fucking idiot. The early years of ESF were far more invigorating. ESF was like a weak version of the codex back then. As time progressed, namely after the release of Morrowind and the addition of the xbox community, I found it easier to just help people while I lurked. Anyway, I come here for the news and very opinionated reviews and write-ups. I liked the fact that this site wasn't selling out like everything else. The codex firmly stands its ground above all else. There is no grey area here.

I guess I'm one of those poster children for this poll. A man can't be afraid of his roots though. He's just got to deal with them. This site really opened my eyes to an entirely different realm of RPG discussion. I think I have come to a realization about what it means to roleplay within games now. I can distinctly tell a difference between showboats and the actual thing. The Codex was just a good fit. I mainly lurk anyway.

<-- Learned that at ESF

 

[Nutcracker]

Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "civis Romanus sum." Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Codexer."

- Vault F. Kennedy

 

[aweigh]

http://www.time.com/time/quotes/0,26174,1547493,00.html

 

[whitemithrandir]

THE REVOLUTION HAS COME!

UP AGAINST THE WALL, NOW!

 

[Shagnak]

Oh for fuck's sake.
Make it stop!

 

[Stark]

I can't recall where i came to know of this site, but it was about the year 2001 or 2002.

I lurked for years before deciding to create an account to chat abit.

for those who seem to think there are intelligent discussions here: there is a fair share of stupid people and dumb comments too.

the more interesting discussions have more or less exhausted themselves years ago, so now a days we keep reading recycled threads like "what is an rpg", which frankly, gets tiring.

I still visit here regularly to read about AoD, and the (occationally) witty insults. I do not even get time to play rpg anymore these days.

 

[dongle]

There were something like a dozen threads devoted to what they dubbed "randy skimpiness". I call it pathetic whackoff material.

You know, I really think the heavy-handed moderation contributed to the downfall of the scene on those boards.

I'll recall a specific incident; Someone posted some new models, some plant meshes they'd imported from somewhere or another. I checked 'em out, replied that I thought they looked nice, that correcting the smoothing groups would make them look even nicer, but overall good job. Complimentary, polite, and with some constructive criticism (For those of you that don't know; In 3D Studio Max correcting this can be as simple as finding the right menu and clicking a single button) I got my head flamed off for it. "How dare you criticize another's wonderful contribution!"

Personally if I create something I want honest feedback, and tips on how to do better next time. But, nope, the only possible on-topic post there is 100% positive. So, you get these incredibly inane puerile efforts posted and everyone gushes over them, not because they think that's a good direction for mods to head in, but that's the only response allowed. And it snowballed. Not to say there no goofball kiddies there, there were, but there were some talented folks too.

For me it got old after a while, knowing that whatever I posted would be roundly praised regardless. Kind of like playing Oblivion, really. 100% Guaranteed Success == No Gratification.

--------

But, no, I'm no TESFer grafix whoore, what gave you that idea? :D

 

[Nog Robbin]

Yes, I came here originally from TESF. I had joined there shortly after getting into MW, having no real interest in computer forums before that. During the development of OB, however, I became somewhat annoyed at the apparent direction the game was taking, and the lack of decent conversation that went against any decisions made. So I joined the codex where at least any conversation is valid regardless of opinion. Of course, after OB was released the TESF forums became significantly more retarded. I still may pop back now and again, normally after following a link from here, and only to berate the game and it's fans for mindless stupidity.

To me the best conversations here are those discussing game mechanics, and game concept. Like no doubt many here I was a budding games designer in my teens, only, no doubt also like many here, that didn't pan out Doesn't stop me having ideas or wanting to discuss similar things with others.