The badge thing really pissed me off. I thought about it, and after a couple of days of looking at the numbers, I uninstalled the game. I love the game, though… We’re all here because it’s incredibly unique. I truly believe it’s one of the few games out there that cater to our creative side as well as our “9 year old kid playing guns” side.
I believe when I announced I’d uninstalled the game, I said I hoped they’d fix it.
Then, there was the “fix” which wasn’t a fix for me.
I understand there’s a 2nd fix coming? Is that true? I’m not following things like I was.
I’m not following things like I was… that’s turned out to be a bit of a big deal.
Here’s a TMI/TLDR for ya… so you “short attention span theater” aficionados out there can just skip to the next thread about tank treads vs. omni wheels & be the better for it.
When the interwebs became a real thing, I was riding the bleeding edge of it. I developed web pages for companies for free just for the opportunity to play with stuff I couldn’t afford. I worked on a plastic surgeon’s database at 14 years old for the same reason (the bewbie pics didn’t hurt, either - considering this was a decade before the 1st pron page came about). The early chat services & forums that grew up in those early years were an amazing way to talk with people from all over the world I’d never have the opportunity to otherwise. It was amazing. I dove in head first & didn’t come up for air.
It was also a double edged sword.
"Getting offended by what people post online…" Yeah, I was at the forefront of that, too. I was both victim and perp… I think maybe we all were back then. It was a different culture online. For you younger bucks, this was before animated GIFs were really a thing. They took up too much data, donthyaknow? Positively pre-historic.
I remember seething all day long over what some lunatic half a world away said online the night before… repeatedly.
I’m not proud of that, but hey…. it be what it be.
At some point, I realized I was far too invested in the thoughts & opinions of others online. These were people I’d never meet, people who didn’t know me, and people who clearly didn’t care about me. Yet, here they were… “living in my head rent-free” as the kids are wont to say nowadays. I learned quite a bit from that. It’s why trolls on here are little more than an amusement. They’re amateurs compared to the stupidity that took place in the early 90s. I was fortunate enough to realize what I was doing and to pull away. I’ve never gotten involved in forums or social media again like that.
I’m a creature of habit, though.
After realizing I’d barely be able to progress in this game, the effort I was spending attempting to get those inane badges for the “complete 40 weekly challenges” seemed stupid. Why was I investing so much time in this? I suddenly realized I was a bit pissed because something that did not matter to my life was being taken away. It’s almost like a replay of the 90s addiction all over again.
So, as I said, I uninstalled the game.
I largely quit coming here, their Reddit, Discord, or Facebook page. I checked in from time to time over the last week to see if they were going to fix it, but that’s it. Mind you, this was obviously a huge shift in my online habits…
Meanwhile, I did other things. I made a point, after flirting with attempting to find other games, to make whatever those “other things” were going to be NOT be on the computer or phone.
I suppose it’s not until you break an addiction that you realize you were addicted.
I won’t name names**, but clearly there’s more than one fellow-XO-addict on here.**
Even if you’re completely stoked about the badge situation…
Even if you’re digging the nerfs & buffs…
Clearly there are other XO addicts on here - and some don’t even play, anymore.
I can’t help but encourage you to take a break.
Don’t take a break from Crossout. Take a break from the daily XBox, PSX, computer, and phone routine.
Take a long break.
I’m still doing that… Join me.
Maybe someday soon, we’ll meet in the wastelands sporting snazzy Lupara builds and chuckle at how much of our real lives we saved by doing so.
