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MMO Mechanics: Three fair ways to distribute loot
I mentioned last week that players throw their precious characters into the MMO meat grinder in the pursuit of higher levels, new achievements, or shinier gear. We gladly jump on the seemingly endless PvE treadmill, cranking up the speed with each new patch in an attempt to catch the dangling carrot of character perfection. Of course, we don't just punish ourselves like this to say we overcame some previously impossible challenge; there's shiny new loot to be had! The best booty usually comes from completing group activities like dungeons and raids, but not everyone can agree on how to share the spoils of joint pursuits. Several different loot distribution methods have been devised over the years to solve the problem of fairly distributing the swag, with most methods starting life as player-made agreements that weren't officially supported by hard-coded game mechanics. Players have long since rolled for gear or took turns to claim items round-robin style, leading developers to implement the most popular methods as actual game mechanics to avoid ninja-looting and then the inevitable public pity parties associated with player-led arbitration. In this edition of MMO Mechanics, I'll break down three of the most equitable loot distribution systems used in MMOs today and look at why this age-old problem doesn't have a one-size-fits-all solution.
Bloomberg blames iOS device thefts for NYC crime rise
Crime in New York City is trending slightly upwards this year, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg has picked a strange culprit to blame the rise on: Apple's iOS devices. In his weekly radio show, the mayor pointed out that New York City was home to 108,432 "major crimes" this year, which was 3,484 more than 2011's total. And thefts of Apple products rose by 3,890 in that time, which Bloomberg says put the city over the top. "If you just took away the jump in Apple, we'd be down for the year," according to the mayor's press secretary. Hizzoner himself said that while there are lots of new smartphones and cellphones in New Yorkers' pockets, this is specifically an Apple phenomenon -- he didn't include thefts in this total of other devices, including the Samsung Galaxy. New York City thieves have discriminating tastes in the smartphones they steal, apparently. All kidding aside, Bloomberg also reported that homicides for the year were currently totaled at 414, which puts the city on pace to see the lowest total murders since it began tracking numbers back in 1963. So that's great news. Now if only New Yorkers could be sure to keep their Apple devices secure, we'd see some real drops in "major crimes" next year. [via GigaOm, photo by MSG on Flickr]
The world's first shipped RED EPIC gets stolen in home break-in (update: $100k reward now offered!)
Remember just earlier this month when OffHollywood studio head Mark Pederson became the first man to own a RED EPIC? Well, now his $58,000 über camera is gone. According to REDUSER forums, the EPIC was heisted last night along with some cash from Pederson's chalet in France while he and his family were sleeping. Pederson shares on the forum that "there was a forced entry through the front door. The thieves actually entered the master bedroom while my in-laws were sleeping, and standing a foot from their bed - emptied wallet and purse. There were 6 children and 8 adults sleeping in the house." That's a scary caper worthy of a Hollywood script for sure, but thankfully no one was hurt. Here's hoping the movie-like storyline continues now with law enforcement gumshoes actually cracking the case. In the meantime, maybe Peter Jackson can lend Pederson one of his 30 RED EPICs until his own baby returns. Update: We just got word that RED honcho Jim Jannard is offering $100,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to the recovery of the device and a conviction of the thieves. In his words (from the RED forums): "We are now offering $100,000 for the safe return of EPIC #00006 and the rest of the system including the media with Mark's files... and the arrest and conviction of those that broke into Mark's chalet in France. We will ONLY pay this amount if there is an arrest and conviction of the parties as we are not interested to be ransomed by thieves." Now that is seriously putting your money where your mouth is! [Thanks, Derek and Cory]
Burglars going after LA Apple Store customers
I better be careful next time I walk out of my Apple Store here in Santa Monica -- apparently burglars are targeting Apple Store customers here in the Los Angeles area. Over 100 customers have apparently been targeted after leaving the store and keeping a computer or other purchase in their car. The thieves wait for customers to walk away from Apple Store bags in their car, either at home or at another store, and then they break in and take them. For some reason, no computers have yet been returned, either, which makes cops think that they're possibly being "shipped out of the country or fenced right away." But of course that would require an organized ring, and police aren't even sure these are all related yet. How to prevent this from happening to you? Don't leave an expensive computer unattended in your car (duh), or just make the Apple Store the last stop on your list. I've made a few pricey purchases while driving around out here (most recently, I picked up a PS3), and no matter what the neighborhood, I didn't feel safe about leaving it unattended. Even when I'm just carrying my iPod around, I always lock it out of sight in the glovebox before parking the car. As with all of these types of situations, a little bit of care goes a long way.
Thieves steal $10,000 of gear from an Apple Store
Thieves broke into an Apple Store in Palo Alto, California, and within two minutes had nabbed $10,000 worth of gear, including six laptops (gotta be MacBook Pros, right?) and two iPhones. And apparently they trucked right over to Los Gatos, and did the same thing about an hour later. There's no dollar figure from the second robbery, but more laptops and iPhones were stolen.It's actually surprising this kind of thing doesn't happen more often, though I'm also surprised the thieves were able to duck in and out of the store in two minutes -- I've been to many Apple Stores, and I don't think I could carry out $10,000 worth of stuff and be gone in just two minutes.But I guess as long as there's something expensive around, someone will try to steal it. Cops have a car description on these guys, and having gotten away with two robberies already, it's probably a good guess they'll try again. Only a matter of time before they're caught.[via Techmeme]
English crooks relieve trucks of $2.1 million in Xbox 360s
T'is the season for gift giving, friends and family, spreading yuletide cheer, and...multi-million dollar electronics heists? Proving that Monday's daring theft of over $12 million worth of motherboards and CPUs (now rumored to belong to Intel) from a Malaysian warehouse complex was no fluke, robbers in Staffordshire, England have succeeded in liberating about $2.1 million worth of Xbox 360s from a pair of delivery trucks -- in two separate incidents that occurred nearly a week apart. Although police have so far refused to make a connection between the lorryjackings, the fact that both trucks belonged to the same company -- Hellman Worldwide Logistics -- suggests that the bandits found security so lax on the first go-round that they decided to strike again while the iron was hot. According to reports, the most recent heist began after thieves tricked the truck driver into pulling over due to an object caught under his wheels, where they proceeded to drag him out of the cab, deliver a beating, and leave him injured on the side of the highway. Police are also speculating that, despite their success, the robbers were still of below-average intelligence, which is the only explanation as to why they would try to jack Xbox's instead of the much more lucrative PS3. And, in completely unrelated news, Amazon was somehow able to offer 1,000 360s yesterday for only $100 each.[Via digg]
Organized bandits make off with $12 million worth of PC components
In a daring early morning heist that could just as easily have been a scene from a movie like, um, The Heist, 20-plus well-organized robbers infiltrated a Malaysian warehouse complex on Monday, immediately subdued all 17 employees, and proceeded to steal over $12 million worth of microchips and motherboards. The thieves were able to gain access to the facility through a classic Trojan horse maneuver, wherein drivers of a truck that rolled up to the MASKargo Complex gate in Batu Maung, Penang tricked customs officials into believing that they were doing an undercover sweep for illegal immigrants. Once inside, the rest of the bandits lept out of the back of the vehicle and used chloroform to knock out the passive workers and sticks to beat down the non-compliant ones. It took the team nearly an hour to load up an astounding 18 pallets and 585 cartons full of components belonging to an unnamed multi-national corporation based out of Bayan Lepas, after which they sped off into the night with their valuable, high-tech booty. Police claim to have already captured two suspects in the case -- both were, shockingly , workers at the complex -- and are in the midst of hunting down the rest of the gang that pulled off what was clearly an inside job. As for the copious amount of missing PC hardware, officials speculate that the bandits will either sell them to shady OEMs on the black market, or, more likely, use them to build a supercomputer for leapfrogging to the top of the Folding@Home rankings.[Via The Inquirer]
