Thank You, Ratalaika Games

[Undead Wolf]

Honestly, I'm getting tired of hearing about this company. They are getting way more attention than they deserve. Don't get me wrong. I think it's important that they are exposed for exploiting those of us in this trophy hunting community who are weak-willed and have an unhealthy obsession with increasing their plat count, but it makes me sad to think about all the genuinely great games that get very little attention in this community and are quickly forgotten about, all because they're actually trying to sell a game and not an easy platinum. Meanwhile, Rat Games have their name plastered over the front page of this site almost constantly with new trophy thoughts threads, giveaways, etc. 

 

2 hours ago, SnowNinjaRaccoon said:

As much as I agree with the witch hunt on Ratalaika Games, there is one thing everybody seems to ignore. They weren't the ones to start the easy/no effort plat bullshit. Did you guys forget about all the japanese novel stuff, where you basically press a button here and there for 45 min to get a plat? I personally see no difference between novels and ratalaika stuff. If you want to get all those plats just to pump up your plat-count... well... good for you I guess? I prefer to play good games.

 

I agree that it has been possible to get plats for very little effort and time investment for a while thanks to visual novels and the ability to skip through them, but the biggest difference I see is the cost. Visual novels can be quite expensive, especially if you're importing them from Japan, so for most people this wasn't really an option, at least not in large quantities. Thanks to Rat Games and others, trophy whoring has been opened up to the masses since they're selling these games for cheap and creating lists for different platforms/regions. For the price of one visual novel, you can probably get like 10+ platinums these days in games targeted at trophy whores.

 

Also, let's not forget that visual novels weren't made for the sole purpose of padding your trophy stats. There are many people including myself who actually enjoy reading them. People can claim to enjoy the shit Rat Games put out all they like, but when they're done with it in less than an hour, let's just say I highly doubt that. I've said it before, but there's a big difference between playing a game for fun and having fun popping trophies.

 

20 minutes ago, x1001x_Puppys said:

You are technically always paying for an increase in trophy count, whether you spend 200 hours for a Witcher platinum or 10 minutes on a Ratalaika platinum.

 

Except that people aren't buying The Witcher 3 to increase their trophy count, they're buying it because it's a great RPG with lots of content. Trophies are an insignificant part of their decision to buy the game. However, I'm willing to bet 99.99% of the people buying Rat Games are doing it for quick boost to their trophy stats. The game itself is insignificant. Make no mistake about it: Rat Games are selling trophies, not games.

[MooseSketts]

2 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

Honestly, I'm getting tired of hearing about this company. They are getting way more attention than they deserve.

 

I share your sentiment.  I, too, am quite tired of hearing about RatAttack.
 

I'm also having a hard time understanding why it's okay to shit on the Triple-A companies and not the indies (publishers, porters, or otherwise).  

 

My understanding is that Ratalaika's main objective is entertainment (according to their website).  I can't get past the fact that porting companies like Ratalaika who dish out over 6 or more stacks for the same game are mainly doing it just for the entertainment.  I do not enjoy seeing the same game posted 3+ times with the same trophy list.  The issue that I have is most of the games ported by this company do not deserve a platinum because I feel there needs to be a some effort involved in obtaining a platinum trophy, such as beating the game.  Most of their ported games should only be 100% lists like Plantera.

[Undead Wolf]

6 minutes ago, MooseSketts said:

I'm also having a hard time understanding why it's okay to shit on the Triple-A companies and not the indies (publishers, porters, or otherwise).  

 

This is something I've noticed as well. People are perfectly fine shitting on companies like EA, Activision, etc (and rightly so), but they're weirdly defensive towards indie devs/publishers when they step out of line. I see this whole Rat Games thing as something just as exploitative and shitty as the lootbox/microtransaction stuff bigger companies are doing.

[Im_Jeck]

34 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

Hey everyone - I know I murdered that guy, but come on! Hitler killed so many more.

Bit of an exaggeration ?

[AJ_Radio]

1 hour ago, adam1984123 said:

Don't understand why people just don't play what they want to play and not worry about what everyone else is doing? 

 

Personally, I don't play these games (I have done a couple of "easy" plats in my time, but not too many) and I just play what I want to play and "hunt" trophies in those games, trying to complete as many of them as I possibly can. 

 

The only reason you'd be salty about others playing these games is because you care about the leader boards - even if you say you don't. Believe me, trophy hunting is much more enjoyable if you don't give a shit about the leader boards.

 

You missed one important detail. These threads are popping up quicker than you can say “free platinum”.

 

The guy who constantly makes threads advertising Ratalalika Games isn’t fooling anybody. I think there should be a limit to how many threads you can make on games, especially ones where anybody can get the platinum. 

 

Yeah, guides for games that are more linear than the first level of Super Mario World. A 5 year old kid can do those. 

 

@starcrunch061 said it. Put these threads onto a subforum or remove them.

 

1 hour ago, x1001x_Puppys said:

I skimmed through the replies, but as many others have said, trophy hunting is what you make of it. If you enjoy increasing your platinum count, then play these games...And if not, don't. You are technically always paying for an increase in trophy count, whether you spend 200 hours for a Witcher platinum or 10 minutes on a Ratalaika platinum. I've never felt like the platinum count of other users have meant anything anyway, even before the whole wave of ezpz games. Those who have more time and more money will always have more trophies, regardless of what they play. 

 

I doubt anybody here bought The Witcher 3 almost specifically just for the trophies. If you did that and decided to rush through the game then you are playing it wrong. 

 

Here Ratalaika doesn’t even make you go anywhere near finishing the games. You just have to do a few levels at most and boom, there’s your platinum. 

 

Pretty pathetic to be honest. 

[SuchRemorse]

3 hours ago, Leenewbe said:

i ment trophy wise.

 

@Gommes_

 as bad as that game was at least they did it for a purpose, they used the money to back a project that they were already working on 

And we still haven't seen that game! Or have we? 

[DeadStanley]

2 hours ago, xZoneHunter said:

PSNP has had this for a while too, https://psnprofiles.com/leaderboard/rarity . It calculates your trophy points based on the rariy they have on PSNP.

 

This is what I'm referring to, however I find that the rarity ratio has more relevance than the adjusted point value of a players trophy collection. For instance, all or most Ratalaika games on TT will have a ratio of 1.0 (rounded to the tenths), meaning you're actually hurting your rarity average by earning them, whereas games with more difficult to earn trophies will have a higher ratio, thus bringing your average up. Rogue Aces, for example, has a 2.89 trophy ratio. Having that average alongside your name in the trophy card or on your profile page would help offset the "quality" of a profile's trophy list against the rest of the community, for those who care.

 

Regardless I agree with some of the others about how we're feeding the Ratalaika machine by buying into their games just for easy trophies. It's only going to encourage them to keep releasing poor trophy lists. I'm guilty taking advantage of them myself and I HATE stacking even though I do it, but I have many obsessive compulsions that drive me to feed into the madness, as I'm sure others on this site do. It's a shame that the publishers are banking on those compulsions in order to sell their software.

[DrHambone]

1 hour ago, SuchRemorse said:

And we still haven't seen that game! Or have we? 

 

Chromia? Nah, still in development. Smart of them to make a game with easy trophies to get funding.

[Rally-Vincent---]

4 hours ago, STARLOVE said:

From opinions you can derive what is wrong or what is right, what is true and what is false. But no, being centrist when there are clear sides to be taken is lazy thinking, or stupidity.

 

I think you are looking at the subject with a narrow mind. There are more than two points of view on the matter of easy-plats. It is perfectly valid no to care about impact on "the trophy system" in general. Other priorities in the field of gaming are not laziness.

[djb5f]

The only one I have played at this point is FullBlast and it was fun for the price.  Nice old-school experience.   I am sure I will pick up others on sale.

 

 

[Quink666]

5 hours ago, Gommes_ said:

You don't care so much that you put your profile in your signature for everyone to see. ?

 

Can you read? I said don't bother about other people profiles only your own....

[Stardroid]

45 minutes ago, Rally-Vincent--- said:

 

I think you are looking at the subject with a narrow mind. There are more than two points of view on the matter of easy-plats. It is perfectly valid no to care about impact on "the trophy system" in general. Other priorities in the field of gaming are not laziness.

I disagree, anything that has something of value should not be met with apathy. Even though only the trophy system, is it a hobby I enjoy. You are arguing using false points by the way. Claiming I am looking at it too narrowly as there are more than two points, then you sum up literally the third point I argue next to being before or against, namely centrism in this particular case. You are just talking shit at this point, mate.

[xZoneHunter]

1 hour ago, DeadStanley said:

 

This is what I'm referring to, however I find that the rarity ratio has more relevance than the adjusted point value of a players trophy collection. For instance, all or most Ratalaika games on TT will have a ratio of 1.0 (rounded to the tenths), meaning you're actually hurting your rarity average by earning them, whereas games with more difficult to earn trophies will have a higher ratio, thus bringing your average up. Rogue Aces, for example, has a 2.89 trophy ratio. Having that average alongside your name in the trophy card or on your profile page would help offset the "quality" of a profile's trophy list against the rest of the community, for those who care.

 

I was personally never really fan of the average ratio on our profiles here. Mostly because if you play games with a lot of common trophies regardless or not the plat/100% was hard, your average rarity would go up. 

 

I feel that a rarity leaderboard is the way to go. It doesn't affect how things are now, and it give difficult trophies more value. 

Edited April 22, 2019 by xZoneHunter

[starcrunch061]

6 hours ago, STARLOVE said:

To give you an analogy. A while back, a bunch of homosexuals were executed for religious reasons. A lot of people were saying "it's their country, live and let live!" It is people like this who can not condemn obvious bad things that are a major cause of the degeneration of all sorts of things. Now, before you go or some other people who can't comprehend what an analogy means go like "DiD YoU JuSt CoMpaRe TropHiEs To aN ExeCutioN?" No I didn't, it's to demonstrate that you can not be affected by things and still take sides and you should.

 

Oh, plenty of people comprehend your analogy...and they recognize it as a steaming pile. The entirety of your blathering derives from the "fact" that somehow, easy Ratalaika plats "degenerate" trophies as a whole (a word you've used multiple times in this thread). You then forward the narrative with an absurd context for your analogy, and follow that up with some, "If you don't like it, you must be too dumb to understand it!" Give me a break.

 

It is absolutely the case that a person who is not affected by a choice can still take a side in that choice. It is absolutely NOT the case that they should feel compelled to do so. And with regards to Ratalaika games, no I'm not taking a side against people who whore them, or against people who deplore them.

 

But I damn sure take the side against pseudo-scholars who create specious narratives to forward their own opinions.

 

10 minutes ago, xZoneHunter said:

I was personally never really fan of the average ratio on our profiles here. Mostly because if you play games with a lot of common trophies regardless or not the plat/100% was hard, your average rarity would go up. 

 

A poster here had an idea that the rarity of a game should be tied to the rarity of the rarest trophy earned in that game. Obviously, the platinum in a (non-DLC) game is the rarest trophy, but if you don't earn it, you still will have one trophy rarer than the rest. 

 

This game rarity was then averaged across the games such a player has played. This allowed a player to get lots of commons in a rare plat game which had one hard trophy, and still get full credit for the rarity of that plat.

Edited April 22, 2019 by starcrunch061

[Stardroid]

6 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

 

Oh, plenty of people comprehend your analogy...and they recognize it as a steaming pile. The entirety of your blathering derives from the "fact" that somehow, easy Ratalaika plats "degenerate" trophies as a whole (a word you've used multiple times in this thread). You then forward the narrative with an absurd context for your analogy, and follow that up with some, "If you don't like it, you must be too dumb to understand it!" Give me a break.

 

It is absolutely the case that a person who is not affected by a choice can still take a side in that choice. It is absolutely NOT the case that they should feel compelled to do so. And with regards to Ratalaika games, no I'm not taking a side against people who whore them, or against people who deplore them.

 

But I damn sure take the side against pseudo-scholars who create specious narratives to forward their own opinions. Let me first explain to you what an analogy

Holy batman strawman arguments my dude, where do I start.

 

Let me first explain to you what an analogy is. The key factor of an analogy is not the absurdity of the story in itself, it's to draw paralel lines from that story to prove a point.

The purpose of this analogy is to show paralel lines that it doesn't mean that because something does not affect you that one should be apathetic to it. And that one should be centrist. The aburdity holds no bearing on this point and does not discredit it. And yes, it's a shame I have to put that disclaimer out there because often people would react exactly like that, not understanding what an analogy actually is, or what its purpose is.

 

I disagree with that last statement. I think it's a fair deduction to say that Ratalaika plats devalue the trophy system as players pay for trophies, rather than games for a cheap way to boost their level. This is reasonable. You can counter this argument, or you can be that dude being like "meh, I don't really care" and that's fine too, you are allowed to do so. But in my very, very humble opinion, that does further degenerate the trophy system for reasons I have explained. When people sit around saying nothing, bad trends continue.

 

Now, you can counter this argument, or you can pin down more of this nonsense labeling me as a pseudo scholar of trophies lmao. C'mon dude, get a grip.

Edited April 22, 2019 by STARLOVE

[Gommes_]

51 minutes ago, Quink666 said:

 

Can you read? I said don't bother about other people profiles only your own....

 

Sure I can. So what is the purpose of these signatures? Some people click on them to get encouraged by it, try out games they see, maybe even compare trophies. Whenever I click on these tags, that's what I am interested in.

 

So you just have this signature for the sake of it, so others can check out your profile but it is totally out of your world to look at other profiles? I think you should remove your signature, otherwise I am tempted to click on it and nobody wants that.

[Hieronymus_Kosh]

Just plat games you enjoy and maybe don t take trophy hunting so seriously

[EightBitArtist]

i dont mind easy plats, but i do think the whole multiple stackable lists is absurd. case in point, inksplosion is on sale for like $2 and i contemplated getting that cuz i like twin stick shooters, but to buy the game 6 times for 6 plats is corny as fuck imo.

[starcrunch061]

Just now, STARLOVE said:

Holy batman strawman arguments my dude, where do I start.

 

Let me first explain to you what an analogy is. The key factor of an analogy is not the absurdity of the story in itself, it's the draw paralel lines from that story to prove a point.

The purpose of this analogy is to show paralel lines that it doesn't mean that because something does not affect you that one should be apathetic to it. And that one should be centrist. The aburdity holds no bearing on this point and does not discredit it. And yes, it's a shame I have to put that disclaimer out there because often people would react exactly like that, not understanding what an analogy actually is, or what its purpose is.

 

I disagree with that last statement. I think it's a fair deduction to say that Ratalaika plats devalue the trophy system as players pay for trophies, rather than games for a cheap way to boost their level. This is reasonable. You can counter this argument, or you can be that dude being like "meh, I don't really care" and that's fine too, you are allowed to do so. But in my very, very humble opinion, that does further degenerate the trophy system for reasons I have explained.

 

Now, you can counter this argument, or you can pin down more of this nonsense labeling me as a pseudo scholar of trophies lmao. C'mon dude, get a grip.

 

The whole point of your "argument" was to show that people who say, "Live and let live!' are being apathetic, and (in your words) are "a major cause of the degeneration of all things". What a load of garbage. Seriously - that is garbage, plain and simple. The fact that I allow others the freedom to make choices for their own trophy hunting/whoring needs in no way makes me "a major cause of the generation of all things".  

 

These are YOUR WORDS. And you double down on them multiple times in later posts. It's bullshit, plain and simple. You have decided to harp on a triviality (Ratalaika devaluing the trophy hunt!), and used a painful analogy to make your point. You need not explain what an analogy is; I recognize clearly that you put forth an analogy, so let's leave off the internet "straw man" talk, or the completely unnecessary definition of an analogy.

 

The point is that it's a shitty analogy. Seriously, it's a steaming pile. The fact that someone doesn't take a stand in this silly, pointless debate on trophies does not disqualify them from taking a stand on more meaningful arguments, such as the heinous treatment of homosexuals in the world. The fact that someone doesn't take a stand on one issue doesn't mean that they don't take a stand on any issue. You want to make such illogical stretches to forward your reasoning? Be my guest, but don't expect to do so without pushback.

 

My wife doesn't think that the type of cat food she buys is important. She literally doesn't take a stand on cat food purchases. I highly doubt that this has contributed to "the degeneration of all things". In fact, I highly doubt she contributed to the degeneration of cat food purchases.
 

Now, painfully pulling us back to the thread, I don't care if someone likes Ratalaika games. Live and let live, I say. I am completely apathetic about this. I literally have no opinion on any aspect of this. And I have not, in any way, shape or form, contributed to the "degeneration" of trophy hunting due to my Rat-apathy (thanks, @DaivRules for the term!). 

 

Sitting on the fence for this "issue" doesn't mean I fail to "condemn obviously bad things". (So, you see how bad your analogy is now?)

 

 

1 hour ago, Quink666 said:

Can you read? I said don't bother about other people profiles only your own....

 

So, you put trophy cards in your signature because people...shouldn't care about your profile?

 

I swear, my brain is going to break if I keep reading this thread.

[temp-910724]

6 hours ago, STARLOVE said:

Let's be honest here though, paying for games purely because of trophies is absolutely laughable. Don't get me wrong, it's your money and you do with that money whatever you please. But I find it absolutely laughable. Not only are you paying for games you mostly likely won't enjoy for some cheap plats

This isn't something that just the guys going after plats are doing. Look at the some of the guys going for trophies now. Trash like in space we brawl, grinding orcs must die for 200H. Buying a racing game from 2010 despite having none of the other games in the series. I doubt it will be long before a rarity hunter buys the tickets for elemental monsters. Competitive people will always be competitive 

 

There are very, very few profiles that have put in a good amount of time into trophy hunting and also stayed away from some sort of stat padding, whether it be rarity padding or platinum padding. I can only really think of one

 

As for stop buying the games and blaming the players, it's kind of a stupid mentality IMO. How many guys are realistically going to take a hit in rankings in an attempt to stop production of these games? A lot of the top guys share these sorts of games, alongside the sheer amount of codes given out it has to be the casual hunters keeping them afloat so I really doubt the Rat, ugh, "hate" threads are going to change anything 

 

As for me, I'll continue to be king of trash, whether it be for easy plats, easy 100%s or easy rarity  Stats and competition are life

[Stardroid]

11 minutes ago, starcrunch061 said:

 

The whole point of your "argument" was to show that people who say, "Live and let live!' are being apathetic, and (in your words) are "a major cause of the degeneration of all things". What a load of garbage. Seriously - that is garbage, plain and simple. The fact that I allow others the freedom to make choices for their own trophy hunting/whoring needs in no way makes me "a major cause of the generation of all things".  

 

These are YOUR WORDS. And you double down on them multiple times in later posts. It's bullshit, plain and simple. You have decided to harp on a triviality (Ratalaika devaluing the trophy hunt!), and used a painful analogy to make your point. You need not explain what an analogy is; I recognize clearly that you put forth an analogy, so let's leave off the internet "straw man" talk, or the completely unnecessary definition of an analogy.

 

The point is that it's a shitty analogy. Seriously, it's a steaming pile. The fact that someone doesn't take a stand in this silly, pointless debate on trophies does not disqualify them from taking a stand on more meaningful arguments, such as the heinous treatment of homosexuals in the world. The fact that someone doesn't take a stand on one issue doesn't mean that they don't take a stand on any issue. You want to make such illogical stretches to forward your reasoning? Be my guest, but don't expect to do so without pushback.

 

My wife doesn't think that the type of cat food she buys is important. She literally doesn't take a stand on cat food purchases. I highly doubt that this has contributed to "the degeneration of all things". In fact, I highly doubt she contributed to the degeneration of cat food purchases.
 

Now, painfully pulling us back to the thread, I don't care if someone likes Ratalaika games. Live and let live, I say. I am completely apathetic about this. I literally have no opinion on any aspect of this. And I have not, in any way, shape or form, contributed to the "degeneration" of trophy hunting due to my Rat-apathy (thanks, @DaivRules for the term!). 

 

Sitting on the fence for this "issue" doesn't mean I fail to "condemn obviously bad things". (So, you see how bad your analogy is now?)

 

 

I did not say in all cases. You are again misrepresenting me. People like you are the reason why I have to pedantically and carefully explain to people what I actually mean. But no, the analogy was to show that showing apathy to a scenario that is obviously and logically a bad thing contributes to perpetuating it. So are you going to start arguing with this or continue just misrepresenting what I am actually saying.

Strawman number two. I literally said that people can spend their money on this, I won't change that. I never said that people should not enjoy the liberty of buying and platting these games. Even though I think it's wrong, it's not such a world first issue that I'd like to stop people from buying trash.

 

You label the analogy as painful, but you have yet to explain what makes it painful? Did it not convey the argument well enough that looking away from bad things and not caring perpetuates them? I mean, I am sorry to say this my dude, but you are not bright. I 5 minutes ago said that the point of an analogy is not the severity of the story, yet you are comparing this to the heinous treatment of homosexuals. That has no value in my argument.

 

Sitting on the fence is a result of reasoning both sides. Saying live and let live is not a result of this. Dude, you are really just making poor argument after poor argument and you're doing it with a version of things I do not claim. So to put this discussion more on tracks, I'd like you just stick to the topic at hand and answer

- What about the analogy does not argue the point correctly keeping in mind that the purpose of an analogy is not the severity of a story, but the drawn paralels.

- How does being "whatever" about people buying games for trophies and not actual games to boost their own rank not negatively impact the trophy system and why should we tolerate it? And if it is established that it does have a negative impact, how fault is the argument saying "listen, if something is obviously bad, you should speak out against it instead of being like whatever".

 

 

2 minutes ago, midgetstrawdog said:

This isn't something that just the guys going after plats are doing. Look at the some of the guys going for trophies now. Trash like in space we brawl, grinding orcs must die for 200H. Buying a racing game from 2010 despite having none of the other games in the series. I doubt it will be long before a rarity hunter buys the tickets for elemental monsters. Competitive people will always be competitive 

 

There are very, very few profiles that have put in a good amount of time into trophy hunting and also stayed away from some sort of stat padding, whether it be rarity padding or platinum padding. I can only really think of one

 

As for stop buying the games and blaming the players, it's kind of a stupid mentality IMO. How many guys are realistically going to take a hit in rankings in an attempt to stop production of these games? A lot of the top guys share these sorts of games, alongside the sheer amount of codes given out it has to be the casual hunters keeping them afloat so I really doubt the Rat, ugh, "hate" threads are going to change anything 

 

As for me, I'll continue to be king of trash, whether it be for easy plats, easy 100%s or easy rarity  Stats and competition are life

I am more concerned about more companies banking on these people and more trash is being created because of it rather than focus more on making actual quality games.

Edited April 22, 2019 by STARLOVE

[temp-910724]

4 minutes ago, STARLOVE said:

I am more concerned about more companies banking on these people and more trash is being created because of it rather than focus more on making actual quality games.

Sure, that is an issue, but people have to play them for rankings and such, regardless if they actually want to or not. Blame players > players got to play because rankings. It's never going to work out how you want and just creates this sort of divide we have going on now. 

 

[Stardroid]

Just now, midgetstrawdog said:

Sure, that is an issue, but people have to play them for rankings and such, regardless if they actually want to or not. Blame players > players got to play because rankings. It's never going to work out how you want and just creates this sort of divide we have going on now. 

 

Personally I would not care about the rankings if it meant a likely increase of devs actually trying to create good games. I do however agree that now that we have these rankings and to stay there they need to complete these games. However, having to do this and talking about the impact of these games rationally are still two seperate things. It's as Spaz said a while back, he has stacks too but he realises it's bullshit. That's cool with me. All I don't like is people pretending they are too cool to care about this. Which is fine, but imo it's just a very poor attitude to have. Especially since we are on a trophy hunting website and this trend directly influences what we love to do, game. Not caring doesn't cut it for me.

[temp-910724]

6 minutes ago, STARLOVE said:

Personally I would not care about the rankings if it meant a likely increase of devs actually trying to create good games. I do however agree that now that we have these rankings and to stay there they need to complete these games. However, having to do this and talking about the impact of these games rationally are still two seperate things. It's as Spaz said a while back, he has stacks too but he realises it's bullshit. That's cool with me. All I don't like is people pretending they are too cool to care about this. Which is fine, but imo it's just a very poor attitude to have. Especially since we are on a trophy hunting website and this trend directly influences what we love to do, game. Not caring doesn't cut it for me.

Fair enough, I strongly agree with that. 

[DDAM]

49 minutes ago, STARLOVE said:

Multiple blah blah posts

 

What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.