Zenless Misadventures, Day 30

#ZZZ #Lucia

Lucky Pouches? No Problem, Been There, Won That.

I didn't get stiffed by the 2015 Lucky Pouches this weekend on Pangya Global. Decided to buy five pouches and ended up winning my first set of Elemental Ears and a bath towel set for Spika. Yay, so now Spike can finally golf barefoot on my main account! She joins Kooh and Nell as the golfers who can golf in the game with no shoes or socks on. If only Madoka can join them as well. Combine with winning three other rare items off Premium Memorial Coins, I went 5/8 this weekend, which is pretty good given how much I get nerfed by Pangya's RNG.

I've gotten some nasty complaints about the RNG and it's amusing at times to read the feedback. Here's one you'll like.

---

Hello,

first: sorry about my english, it isn't that good, i hope you understand.

i am really, really, really mad at this game. i am so mad, i think about quitting forever. seriously.

this day i spend 50 (FIFTY!!!!) euro for premium memorial coins and lucky pouches.

i had 19(!!!) premium memorial coins and 6 lucky pouches.

what i won? i guess it was 1 set. ONE. ONE DARN SET! out of 19 PREMIUM(!!!!!!!) memorial coins!!

are you kidding me pangya?! seriously! 50 DARN EURO FOR ONE SET!??!?!

btw i got NOTHING in my 6 lucky pouches!

really, i feel fooled. i feel Pang!, Pang! FOOLED!

i will never again spend ONE darn euro in this game!

thanks for NOTHING!

---

You know, some players have won nothing from their run of pouches. So the fact that I had won something from these pouches means that it was money well spent. Oh yes, and did I mention that I finally got that Band Set (H) from the Opened Spinning Cubes? Hair looks great with a swimsuit. Reminds me of Juri from Aikatsu or something.

Up next, I think, should be another character Grand Prix event, or the Valentine's Day promotion. I may consider keeping some cash to buy my alternate account some chocolate boxes to accelerate the training of the caddies and get them to Level 4. Alternatively, I hope they bring back the Choco Sticks for this one. I never got a Choco Stick because I wasn't playing the game the last time they had it, so bringing this back would be fantastic.

A Change Is Gonna Come

There was talk recently in Thailand that Pangya was going to have a massive, new update regarding the characters. I've only played this game for nearly 10 months, I've won a glut of trophies in a few days, and my main character is Hana, although I do play as Lucia and Nuri on occasions. More often, I play as Lucia because I have her feline, which allows for a better Pangya success rate. Once upon a time, my main character was Kooh. It took one swimsuit set and a change of heart to make Hana my main.

But back to the point. All of the characters are supposedly going to grow up by two years. Nuri and Hana are a couple, according to the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue, and to now see Nuri look like Max Changmin from DBSK is a breath of fresh air. I think the new Hana that will come out looks too much like Ako Atarashi, but that's just me. No more ponytails for Hana, it seems. I'll miss that, and her trademark frame. Then again, Sweet 16 had its charms.

As for Azer, he's now a bit older, one of those guys fit for the PGA Senior Tour. He's also a bit leaner and trim. Ah, the power of the Atkins Diet. Now it's going to be his wife Cecelia that dons the ponytail. Strange how the times change. Tough work aboard the Cannon. Law enforcement, military, national security, etc.

Max hasn't changed in terms of his charms and demeanor. But now he is looking more like David Beckham in his prime, which is scary. At least now, he is fluent in two sports: tennis and golf. As for Kooh, now she finally has a chest, even though it's still flat. Kooh, arguably, is one of the most popular characters in the PangYa universe because of her loli charms and the badass mentality. So for her to finally grow up is going to be something.

As for Arin, she's now beyond college age and is now a full-time working class mom. Well, logic would suggest that she and Max are married and have toddlers that are watching the matches on the island via TV. Or maybe checking out some anime show that is not meant for them to watch. Kaz, meanwhile, is more badass than ever. Now of college student age and one who is aware of who he is, Kaz is going to be a hit with those who want to conquer Deep Inferno. Or any other course. He's not my main, though; I just started buying clothes and accessories for him recently.

As for Kaz's wife Lucia (yes, Kaz and Lucia ARE a pair), she's now in the prime of her life. By this point, if she was mainland and didn't hit the links, she would be selling platinum albums, winning awards, starring in movies, learning different languages. Oh yes, and she would also be a mom as well. Ah, the mystique of adulthood. As for Nell, she doesn't age too much but she does get a little bit taller. Yes, she IS a girl. Any of you who argue she is a boy must drop the strong stuff immediately; it's affected your thought process to no end.

Finally, there's Spica. She's also entering life as a young adult. If she was in college, all the hot men would go after her, and she would find the right keys to a man's heart. Or, maybe it's the other way around. Spica was meant to be loved in all the right places. A shame she isn't paired up with anyone. I also hear that a new character may be coming to the Pangya universe. Suddenly, Spica may not be so lonely after all. Hang in there, Spica! The man of your dreams is coming; hold on tight!

Why? (Keep Your Head Down)

[윤호] Keep your head down U-Know time ([창민] Max)

[윤호] You know what time it is?

This is return of the king

[윤호] (모두 끝나버렸다) 난 시작도 안 해봤는데

(헤어져 버렸다) 난 이유조차 못 듣고

주변 사람들 모두 하나같이 날보고 너 왜 그래 왜 그래 왜 그래

난 이미 나쁜 놈

[창민] (죄라면) 널 사랑한 게 죄라면

(그게 죄라면) 진실했다는 게 죄라면

(나는 Keep it low 나는 Keep it low)

난 참아내고 내 자릴 지켜

([모두] Keep your head down)

[윤호] 넌 정말 예쁘지만 너무 다른 너의 속이

난 너무 두려워

([모두] Keep your head down)

[창민] 사랑했다 하지만 난 이제 널 놓겠다

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 날 그렇게 쉽게 떠났니

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 내가 쉬워 보였던 거니

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 내 가슴은 찢어지잖아 ([모두] 왜?)

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 모두 한순간의 꿈이었다면

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 바로잡을 시간이 있었다면

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 제발 네가 행복하길 바랬다 ([모두] 왜?)

[윤호] 나 언제나 언제나 너를 가진 걸로 충분했고

세상이 뭐래도 같은 꿈을 꿔서 행복했고

지금은 널 보내게 됐지만 어차피 내 길을 갈 뿐이고

([창민] Now I’m just chillin’, Feel like I’m healing)

[윤호] 늦어버렸다 넌 다시 돌아갈 수 없단다

네가 없다면 난 무너질 거라 믿겠지

예전부터 넌 그건 착각이라고

내가 왜 그래 왜 그래 왜 그래

널 타일렀잖아

[창민] Hey 난 정말, 정말 슬펐다 철이 없던 네가 혹시라도 나쁜 사람 만날까

Why? Baby

([모두] Keep your head down)

[윤호] 넌 정말 예뻐 근데 그뿐이야 네 가슴에

중요한 게 없는걸

([모두] Keep your head down)

[창민] 사랑의 아픔을 참는 가슴에 못 박고

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 날 그렇게 쉽게 떠났니

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 내가 쉬워 보였던 거니

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 내 가슴은 찢어지잖아 ([모두] 왜?)

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 모두 한순간의 꿈이었다면

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 바로잡을 시간이 있었다면

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 제발 네가 행복하길 바랬다 ([모두] 왜?)

[윤호] 하, 그렇게 너 사람 갖고 장난, 장난 치지 마라

내 앞에선 요래조래 거짓말만을 늘어놓고

누가 봐도 누가 봐도 넌 정말 이중적이야

([모두] 왜왜왜) [윤호] 수정 같던 마음들이 언제 그렇게 탁해졌니

[창민] 사랑을 끝냈다 널 보낸 가슴이 텅 비워졌다

하지만 내 미래는 마치 일어나서 웃으라고 손짓한다

[윤호] 너를 보낸다 정말 행복하게 살아 ([모두] 왜왜왜)

[윤호] 먼 훗날에 먼 훗날에 그냥 편하게 웃고 싶다 하하

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 왜 ([모두] 왜?)

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 사랑을 그렇게 쉽게 놔버리는 너를

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 누군가 걱정할 거란 생각은 해봤나

([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 네가 놔 버린 게 너는 뭔지 ([모두] 왜?) [윤호] 아직 모르는 것 같아

([모두] 왜?) [창민] 그대로 머물러 나를 지켜봐 ([모두] 왜?) [창민] Yeah

([모두] Keep your head down)

[윤호] 지워졌다, 사라졌다 내 가슴에 네가 죽어 [창민] 모두 타버렸다

([모두] Keep your head down)

[윤호] 지워졌다, 사라졌다 내 가슴에 네가 죽어 [창민] 너는 이제 없다...

Superstar

I wanna be your Superstar. oh my girl . listen

見つめる瞳 灼熱の flash

夏の太陽 電光石火のｽﾋﾟｰﾄﾞ

君をｴｽｺｰﾄ ah ah summer time love

出会ったふたり 始まってゆく story｡｡｡ok

we got shout like a eeey-oh! kiss and dancing eeey-oh!

you are my girl girl 燃えて get down down

ｱｹﾞて boom boom 騒いで 愛に急いで

目もくらむほどに まぶしい Superstar Superstar Superstar Star

暑すぎる everyday に stop the 温暖化

oh それじゃあ いっそ脱いでしまえばいい

ありのままに 自由になって

戯(たわむ)れたい ﾚｯﾄﾞｶｰﾍﾟｯﾄの上

we got shout like a eeey-oh! kiss and dancing eeey-oh!

you are my girl girl 燃えて get down down

ｱｹﾞて boom boom 騒いで 愛に急いで

目もくらむほどに まぶしい Superstar Superstar Superstar Star

夏は mystery mystery いつでも

君を everything everything 抱きしめ

甘く mystery mystery 溶けそう(crazy in love)

だから everything everything 求めて

come on kiss me my baby 広がる magic 銀河を駆け抜けろ(on fire)

we got shout like a eeey-oh! kiss and dancing eeey-oh!

you are my girl girl 燃えて get down down

ｱｹﾞて boom boom 騒いで 愛に急いで

目もくらむほどに まぶしい Superstar Superstar Superstar Star

we got shout like a eeey-oh! kiss and dancing eeey-oh!

you are my girl girl 燃えて get down down

ｱｹﾞて boom boom 騒いで 愛に急いで

目もくらむほどに まぶしい Superstar Superstar Superstar Star

wanna be your Superstar Superstar

oh baby you’ re my Superstar

oh baby you’ re my Superstar...

I Was Never A Hacker To Begin With.

When it comes to playing games online, I never hack. Everything I win or buy is earned. I never was into hacking or using trainers that allowed me to have an unfair advantage. I never got into that stuff. On Pangya, I'm just an Pangya Researcher Level II. I don't play Pangya to compete in tournaments or anything like that...I only do it to do pang farming and spinning cube farming in places like Wiz City Hole 6 or Pink Wind Hole 6 to gain experience points and pang. But if I have to take part in a contest, I do my best to just finish it off, even though I will get killed doing it. It is against my belief to quit a match that I have to play in. I am that much of a purist. Heck, I don't do a lot of special shots or use the power-ups. I just play golf the way it's meant to be played: without calculations or trainers or hacks.

Just hours ago I had sold a Kyouko Sakura wig for 1,000,000 Pang. I spent 700,000 and change on clothes, accessories and power-ups, then put 300,000 away in Dolfini's Locker, never to be touched for the long haul. Now I only have a thousand pang. So I look poor, but I'm well off; I just happen to be a big saver too.

So now I wanted to go ahead and share some suggestions this one Pangyateer made back in 2009. It's worth a read. I think his suggestions were put to good use in later editions of the game.

Hello, ladies and gentlemen, players and admins as well as NtreevUSA and whoever are the Snorlaxes doing the programming for this game on both client and server sides.

I am General Starr, and I really have one thing to say - that I am sick and tired of seeing the hacker cancer killing Pangya not to mention FAILGuard letting them through, the scammers scamming the crap out of noobs (srsly they still get scammed up to this day? And i'm like HOW DO THEY DO IT when the Gifting system is down?) and hearing them BAWWWWWWWing in the lobby about it (I aint even sure anymore if they really got scammed or just trying to give someone bad reputation), the foreigners who keep speaking Klingon or whatever language they are using and need to download and use Rosetta Stone [EN] from The Pirate Bay (after all, they pirate pretty much ANYTHING, even their Pangya hacks... curse them script babies), and the problematic noobs who can't find their gift items in the mailbox or whatever theyre looking for and cant even bother to go to the site FAQ cause they need2learn2Alt+Tab Pangya/IE:Memory Leaker, FurryFox, Chromium, whatever. We need to get rid of this cancer before I lose it, call for /b/lackup and end this shipment of FAIL. PRIMARILY THE BLARSTED HACKERS.

PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT SUGGESTION OF ALL TIME:

Suggestion #1 : Server-side antihack by Maximum Value Allowance Limit (This should be somewhat easy to implement lol; call your tech-savvy staff to get the gist of it)

What I mean by this is taking whatever data the player's client sends to the server, compare the data to a preset value table and verify it hasnt gone over the 'limit'. For instance, it is a known fact that it is IMPOSSIBLE to earn 2K worth of Pang on one single hole with the exception of a very select few holes on certain courses, although this would require verification and the right conditions (i.e., Clash, Recovery or whatever multiplier could possibly allow the player to obtain more Pang from that hole.) Here is an example (if you are not technicaly oriented or dont understand this, dont even bother trying - and BTW, I dont really know if the client-server data exchange is really like this, this is just an example)

Course#6 HoleData: HoleNum=10; HoleAvgTurn=3 Hdist=236y; HHeight=5.24; WindDir=35deg; WindStr=4m; /*This says that this is Blue Moon Back hole 10*/

PlayerStat: Pwr=31; Ctl=21; Acc=15; Spn=7; Crv=9; PlayerRange: 200+(2*31)=262y /* Here the player's power can be verified if correct */

Caddie=1; CaddieNum=5; CaddieSkin=1; PowerGagePercAdd=30% /*33% needed for a powershot amirite*/

SpecCond: PwrShotUse=0; PwrPot=0; PwMilk=0; Add15yPot=0; BallSpinUsed=7; CurveUsed=0; PwrPerc=99=260y; Effect_BackSpin=1; SuperPangya=0; SpecialShot=0; ClashBonus=0; RecovBonus=0; /*This section takes care of all possible alterations to things such as potions used, making sure only one is used, Player's FINAL club distance, and any other variable that may increase the Pang earned by the player*/

ShotTurn=1 ShotFinalDistToHole=0.00y /* if u dont get it, means HIO lol */

EarnedScoreThisHole=-2 TotalScore=-2 EarnedRegPang=1127; EarnedTotalRegPang=1127 /*Some lower range people may get a little more*/

EarnedBonusPang=55; EarnedTotalBonusPang=55 /*No way you can earn more than 200 Bonus Pang in one shot, is there? (Except for Clear Bonuses)*/

CLIENT SIDE SENT DATA

*****************************************

SERVER SIDE RECEIVED DATA

EnvData:Course#6; HoleNum[10]&HoleAvgTurn[3]:Y /*This is to kill any 'hole number switcher' hax*/ PlayerStat_Pwr=31[200*(2*31)=262y]=Player1WClubDist[262y]:Y /*to kill any distance/power stat hax*/

ShotData: ShotTurn[1]&FinalDistToHole[0.00y]:[HoleInOne] = HoleHIOAllowed=1:Y /* and/or */ ShotData: (ShotTurn[1]) - (HoleAvgTurn[3]) = HoleScore[-2]: Y /*Just maybe... a combo to kill HIOing Impossible to HIO Hole scores (as determined by legitimate player scoring) and Earned Score Manipulation (You can only earn -2 if you HIO a par 3, etc.)*/

EarnedPangTable: EarnedRegPang[1127] < MaxAllowedHoleRegPang(Course#6,Hole#10)[2120]: Y /*This kills any Pang hacks by limiting the Pang earned per hole with a preset value - the maximum earned pang without 'not-so-common mulitpliers' such as Recovery Bonus. BTW, these maximum values are just examples.*/

EarnedPangTable: (RecovBonus=1;)EarnedRegPang[2245] < EMaxAllowedHoleRegPang(Course#6,Hole#10) [3090]: Y /*An adjustment if Recovery Bonus and any other multiplier IS PRESENT. As for ClashBonus...*/

ClashBonusMaxLimitX=16 (?) /*We might need to limit this. I am not sure but I have received intel that some methods of pang hacking use this multiplier to increase earned pang. Although, the Pang Limit Per Hole (just above) pretty much defeats that. However this is indeed a gray area, even if the odds of some exceedingly lucky player getting a ton of ClashBonus and HIOing that same shot is almost impossible and nearly negligible, it may be taken into account.*/

In essence,this is a server-side limiter that NO HACKER can possibly hack, killing them and their hacks in droves. I suggest an IP/+Account tempban/suspension that goes into effect when game ends, pending investigation as to how the player made the values false (e.g. hacked, maybe got lucky shot, etc.) and contacting player telling him his acc is tempblocked cause he went past a maximum allowed value for Pang, HIO-to-hole relationship, whatever. Optionable for this is enable Ghost Data(Recent) for all players and any number of holes - essentially creating 2 Ghostdata files; one for LastGamePlayed and one for the actual PlayerGhostData for that course (if 18 holes); because it is likely that most players cannot provide proof that they did not hack, exploit or do anything. A GM or Moderator/Janitor can review these GhostDatas by playing them and seeing if there is any inconsistencies with in-game gameplay limitations. Although it may either reveal that the player hacked or got really lucky, it should NOT be made primary evidence if player can submit proof that it was not a hacked play.

By the way, for the people who will post that some players can pull off really awesome shots involving massive amounts of pang earned and difficult if not impossible HIO/chipin shots: We are not dealing with uber-professional Pangya players; we are dealing with pathetic noobs who use hacks to make up for their lack of skills.

Suggestion #2: Enable a Non-Playable Character to handle ingame trades. This reminds me of a trading system that was used in Ragnarok Online, where the players can see what they're getting for whatever they are trading with. Essentially, the NPC can be in every Lounge room near a spawn point (where players initially appear) and have both trading characters near the NPC. Both talk to the NPC, and are given a selection list to choose which player to trade with. Once this is done, a window that has a tab for choosing which item in their inventory to trade, a value box for Pang trading, and a visual of what they are getting from the other player. Buttons: OK, Trade, Cancel.

Any change on the items or Pang value will reset the OK button, and they will not be able to trade until both players approve. Equipment stat upgrades and cards used on them should be viewable. There should be no limit on item value in relation to Pang allowed, because some people may trust their friend enough to let him borrow his equipment for a while. Optionally, If a 'borrowed' flag is inserted on the item, essentially it is 'bound' to return the the player who owns it in a preset amount of time, and any stat changes on it are reset back to the value they initially were when traded. Pang is pretty much given, but if you enable a 'borrow' option for it, the lender can set up to 5% interest... wait, never mind that. Given/bought=stat changes are kept, specially clubs; borrowed=stat changes applied by borrower are reset.

This might get you beggars sitting in lounge rooms and acting like hobos but it's somewhat better than people getting scammed or some other similar crap.

Suggestion #3: Alien language Prevention

- 3a: Ingame wordfilter commonly used non-English words used in speech. (WILL potentially make non -English players rage)

- 3b: Include an English Proficiency test (dont make it too simple) for new account registrations (will weed out Non-English proficient players

- 3c: Notice/TOS on website posted for all languages (require them to scroll down to read before allowing registration. Main Languages are probably going to be English (of course) and every other language that is used incessantly on lobby. So when you suspend/ban a persistent non-English speaking player, refer him to the miltilanguage TOS, emphasize the lobby language rules part.

Suggestion #4: Create an in-game accessible FAQ. I know you guys have an FAQ on the website, but the number of people asking where Cadie's Cauldron is, are cookie items tradeable, etc. seems to suggest that some players are either too lazy or too underage to read the website FAQ for the game or are not English speakers and cannot understand the regular FAQ on the site. Guess where they end up cluttering questions on: the lobby. It gets several times more annoying when the questions are not even in English, and it gets over 9000 times more annoying when a GM / Moderator is present - they end up getting ambushed and bombarded with questions, requests, etc. to the extent that they can'y do their job very well. I has seen them in acton and they do great work, but they dont stand a chance against the multitude of noobs that ask questions that can be answered by RTFM. (reading the friggin' manual [in this case, FAQ])

I might have more but it can get rather long so this is all i can suggest for now. I hope you can consider these.

Regards,

General Starr

Update on #2:

Never mind the NPC, char-to-char trading in Lounge should have been the suggestion. Once again, both parties can see what they are getting in return, and can either approve or reject the trade at the last moment. Any changes in the items (add/subtract) resets the trade approval status.

There should be NO limitations whatsoever on tradeable items, but a passcode system similar to Dolfini's Locker should also be in place for trades as an added anti-account item theft feature. (Either same passcode or different). Essentially, you have to input a passcode before you can trade; this may be an inconvenience to some players but I think it is a great way to go.

In any case, if Ntreev can't do anything to get rid of the hacker cancer,  I just MIGHT cross over to the dark side and take over some silos. God have mercy on the hackers' souls then. Either that or call for some srs bsns /b/lackup.

Once again, as I like to say on GameRage and on Pangya, "I'm just a Pangya Researcher. See you around."