Rak'Shiri changed colors

[Pike]

Ultimately what it comes down to for me, is something akin to this (to clear up any communication issues):

1.) You acquire something for its color/looks/other superficial reason
2.) Over the years you develop a "bond" with said object because it experiences life with you and you learn to love it.
3.) The color/looks change.
4.) You get thrown for a loop. "Is this the same thing I fell in love with?" you ask yourself. Insert mini-versions of the stages of grief here.
5.) You finally realize that the object is still the same object that you loved all long and you now love for its soul, and accept it.

That is how I have been the last day or so with the Rak'Shiri change. I have gone from utter shock to grieving to realizing that Locke will always be the Locke that did millions of Karazhan and Heroic Mech runs with me and was the butt of so many guild inside jokes, regardless of his color. Thus, while I would still prefer not to see the color change happen for superficial cosmetic reasons, it's not the end of the world, because I do not want a new "replacement" cat just for a color.

Now we toss in my obligatory "Yes I know it's just pixels, and I accept that" disclaimer.

That is all probably the best summary of how I feel at the moment.

P.S. Pent - Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper is AWESOME

[Senna-Umbreon]

Does... nOt... coMpuTe... oVeR-hEAtiNg... iNEVitABLe...

But seriously... alright. I get what you are saying, but a skin is a skin.

I am wondering if a psychiatrist could help you out to a point where you thought a rhino was your Duma.

All joking aside and mainly not to get you any more upset with me or my views... I GET what you are saying, but I see it differently.

Is it still allowed to think differently? I wonder if Blizzard knows this.

I'll open a ticket.

Hey, try actually reading what I said. I never said that you weren't allowed to think differently, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I just said that you shouldn't let it go to your head and make you think that everyone should think the same way just because you said so.

[Ryai]

For some reason I just can't quit petopia. There's either some thread or some post that brings me back and I just have to comment.

And right now here, it's this.. complaining.

People, all you're doing is crying over a few pixels. Yes while i can understand the heartbreak as I myself have had to rearange a few stable slots after being forced to abandon some pets and all that, from what I've seen almost all the people want Rak'shiri reverted back without thinking of the consequences.

Rak'shiri come the change will be the only white tiger available to non new nelves. Reverting her back to her blue skin won't solve this. It'll make it worse; You could maybe suggest that the striped cats around Frost Saber rock be changed. Or hell, all of them baring the cubs [to keep atleast one white lioness skin ingame] should be changed to riding tiger models! And perhaps it could be Shy'Rotam who has a different skin, or perhaps Rak'shiri could be made into different blue. A better blue- since there is no way to tell Rak apart from Shy- oh wait.

Now there is a way to tell her apart; she is a different skin come cata. This might also be the same reason Duskstalker and Shadowclaw are being changed. Because they are rare, yet look exactly like non rare mobs.

Perhaps Blizzard decided to start rewarding lowbies sooner than Northrend, that camping for a Rare doesn't always have to wait till you're 80 to be rewarding.

Please, just, people, tone the whining down a bit? Things change, and who's to say that Rak'shiri didn't just suddenly age and turn silver/white. Perhaps her blue coloring was just a curse or something. Etc etc etc. Blizzard has gone way, way out of their way to reward us Hunters, and if we start all a sudden clamoring about something like this they may not try and throw in any more rewarding treats for us.

TL;DR, if it concerns you so much, those with Beta access, TICKET IT. Suggest Rak'shiri be returned and the striped cats be made into Riding Tigers. Hell all of the stripped white cats- it would make Bangladash be unique then!

Go forth and ticket.

[Slickrock]

As for the 'just go tame a different pet with the same looks'? Yeah... NO. My first special pet was a cheetah. Dishu, to be exact. His name was Duma. I adored the little kitty.. He was my main pet. Always with me. No matter what quest I was doing. Fast foward to about a month after WotLK released.. I did something really really stupid. I got a Dreadsaber from the Basin to replace Duma. Well, not really replace. He had the same name. I had come up with a story to explain it.. But even then, it was not him. And so for the last two years, I've been repeatedly re-taming Dishu.. No matter how many times I get him again.. It's not Duma. Same skin. Same model. SAME DAMN MOB. BUT IT'S NOT DUMA.

Well...

It seems we fall into 3 categories.

1) In love with a skin

2) In love with a skin tied to the original tame (time/date/event) and following events

3) In love with the time/date/event of a tame, and perhaps the following events.

The folks in category #2 are always going to be in for heartbreak, because things change and shit happens. If a pet accidentally got zapped, I'd never ask a GM to restore, because it wouldn't be the same. And in this case, with the skin changing (and the folks with the scarlet hyenas), what are you going to do? You'll never get that pet again. Not a healthy way to look at a video game.

The folks in #1 and #3 can adapt to the changes. I prefer to think that the spirit of the original tame can come back if I retame at a later date. Or the idea that the pets "molt" when skin changes happen. There are plenty of those happening this go around, so, we need to deal with it one way or the other.

Speaking of which, an old friend has returned, which I'm quite happy about...

[Slickrock]

That is how I have been the last day or so with the Rak'Shiri change. I have gone from utter shock to grieving to realizing that Locke will always be the Locke that did millions of Karazhan and Heroic Mech runs with me and was the butt of so many guild inside jokes, regardless of his color. Thus, while I would still prefer not to see the color change happen for superficial cosmetic reasons, it's not the end of the world, because I do not want a new "replacement" cat just for a color.

Then how do you think your pet feels if you race/faction changed/transferred?..

[Pent]

Does... nOt... coMpuTe... oVeR-hEAtiNg... iNEVitABLe...

But seriously... alright. I get what you are saying, but a skin is a skin.

I am wondering if a psychiatrist could help you out to a point where you thought a rhino was your Duma.

All joking aside and mainly not to get you any more upset with me or my views... I GET what you are saying, but I see it differently.

Is it still allowed to think differently? I wonder if Blizzard knows this.

I'll open a ticket.

Hey, try actually reading what I said. I never said that you weren't allowed to think differently, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I just said that you shouldn't let it go to your head and make you think that everyone should think the same way just because you said so.

Whoa, calm down, mon ami.

I won't be mean... I'll just tell you to please reread what I typed. I never said you said that I wasn't allowed to think differently. Read the line right above where I said, "Is it still allowed to think differently? " That line is the reason I typed the next line. That line also said that our opinions differ.

See?

I apologize if I made you upset.. it was not my intention.

[Pike]

Then how do you think your pet feels if you race/faction changed/transferred?..

Oh gosh I would never do that, that would be weird and would mess up the stories I have in my head for all my characters. Plus it would massively outdate my FigurePrint, haha.

Guys I'm loving having this discussion with you, I'm new to the forum and am having a lot of fun talking to you all And I see people keep talking about "complaining" but I haven't seen much going on in this thread? I'm enjoying the rhetoric <3

[Senna-Umbreon]

Well GOOD FOR YOU, Slick. My god, must you rub it in peoples' faces that you've gotten an old friend back? Jeez.

Also, yes, I do fall into category #2. I see nothing truely wrong with that. I get attached to my pets in WoW. And because I regretted doing something so stupid, I tried to set things right. And I keep trying to do so. I miss Duma. There is nothing wrong with that.

I have problems with moving on. Simple as that. And no, I don't see it as a mental disorder. In fact, I don't see why anyone would. So what if I miss a pet from a game? He may be 'just pixels', but just because I cannot be in physical contact with him does not mean he's not real. He's a group of pixels that exist in a program, hence, he is real. And he's real in my mind. Got a problem with that?

[Pent]

Am I real?






edit: forgot the faces.

[Pike]

Am I real?






edit: forgot the faces.

And suddenly I want to draw a picture of Rak'Shiri saying "I think, therefore I am", or something *coughs*

[Slickrock]

Well GOOD FOR YOU, Slick. My god, must you rub it in peoples' faces that you've gotten an old friend back? Jeez.

Also, yes, I do fall into category #2. I see nothing truely wrong with that. I get attached to my pets in WoW. And because I regretted doing something so stupid, I tried to set things right. And I keep trying to do so. I miss Duma. There is nothing wrong with that.

I have problems with moving on. Simple as that. And no, I don't see it as a mental disorder. In fact, I don't see why anyone would. So what if I miss a pet from a game? He may be 'just pixels', but just because I cannot be in physical contact with him does not mean he's not real. He's a group of pixels that exist in a program, hence, he is real. And he's real in my mind. Got a problem with that?

Whaa?... rubbing it in? I'm merely making the point that I see the "spirit" of the pet coming back when I retame.

And I hate to say it, but you make my point. Folks in #2 are going to have problems with any change. (Scarlet tracking hounds becoming mastiffs, or whatever).

I don't have a problem with it, but what you are attached to is a set of pixels, plus a record in a database, and your memories attached to the record in the database.

But I'll ask it this way, what is more important, the skin, or that record in the database. Being attached to both is looking for frustration.

What is going to happen when WoW folds up shop someday?

[Slickrock]

Oh gosh I would never do that, that would be weird and would mess up the stories I have in my head for all my characters. Plus it would massively outdate my FigurePrint, haha.

Well, considering your attachment to the history of your pet, and that particular record in the database, I would imagine you can come up with an interesting story regarding why the color changed... (perhaps something bad in ICC?)

[Mania]

We're beginning to go around in circles. Let's back off a bit on the personal rhetoric.

And Pent, your questions are interesting but perhaps a little academic for this discussion. Feel free to start a new thread to discuss the reality of hunter pets and our emotional connections to them.

[Slickrock]

3.) The color/looks change.
4.) You get thrown for a loop. "Is this the same thing I fell in love with?" you ask yourself. Insert mini-versions of the stages of grief here.
5.) You finally realize that the object is still the same object that you loved all long and you now love for its soul, and accept it.

Kinda like when wrinkles, love handles, and grey hair show up?..

[Senna-Umbreon]

Whaa?... rubbing it in? I'm merely making the point that I see the "spirit" of the pet coming back when I retame.

And I hate to say it, but you make my point. Folks in #2 are going to have problems with any change. (Scarlet tracking hounds becoming mastiffs, or whatever).

I don't have a problem with it, but what you are attached to is a set of pixels, plus a record in a database, and your memories attached to the record in the database.

But I'll ask it this way, what is more important, the skin, or that record in the database. Being attached to both is looking for frustration.

What is going to happen when WoW folds up shop someday?

And? Is there something WRONG with being attached to a set of pixels? Cause honestly, I can't say that I see anything wrong with it.

As for what is more important? I dunno. Honestly.. I'm attached to both. I adore the cheetah skin, and I adore the pet that I had... Sure, it gets frustrating.. But doesn't everything in one way or another?

And.. I'll be sad once WoW finally dies. But hey, so will everyone else. I'll still remember Duma, though.

[erwil]

Kinda like when wrinkles, love handles, and grey hair show up?..

You beat me to it. Most people are terrified of change and anything new or different. But there's absolutely no reason for it in most cases.
But, topic, derailing.

[Lupis]

the pet that I had

I can relate to this.
I had a pet, King B, named Sorrow. I loved him. I learned to play with him by my side.
At 71 I abandoned him to tame a new Northrend pet. I don't know why.
Ever since, I've missed him, badly. I tamed a new cat once, and even named him Sorrow, but he wasn't the same.
I tried several more times. It never worked.
I've moved on and tamed new pets, but I've come to a conclusion: As much as I loved both the skin and the pet, what I missed in the end was the memory of the pet I had. No new identical cat can fill in for Sorrow. He's gone. He'll always be gone. And as depressing as that may sound, I got new pets and, because of Sorrow, grew bonds with them, too. No matter how many new cats I tame, none will be the cat that taught me how to play, but he's still there in my memory. And as much as I miss the memory Sorrow, no cat can ever be that memory. I've moved on as a person and I'll never feel right with Sorrow by my hunter's side again. The pet that I had is exactly that - a pet that I had. Not have. Never have.

Yeah. And now I remember it's a game, and feel like a dork. >.>

[Pike]

3.) The color/looks change.
4.) You get thrown for a loop. "Is this the same thing I fell in love with?" you ask yourself. Insert mini-versions of the stages of grief here.
5.) You finally realize that the object is still the same object that you loved all long and you now love for its soul, and accept it.

Kinda like when wrinkles, love handles, and grey hair show up?..

Haha you could say that. I will probably end up changing Locke's "story" (I don't really RP, but I do love to come up with stories and things) so that he aged and is now a grey-haired ol' kitty. I may possibly tame Shy'Rotan and make it a kitten or something. We'll see.

Now that the discussion has segued into the idea of abandoning and re-taming, I have actually done that. I had a pink raptor named Wash waaaay back in the day who I had to abandon because of stable space issues (this was back when there were only three). It was probably a good year or two before I retamed him and now he is my Pet of Choice and has raided/instanced with me throughout all of WotLK. I love him to bits. I don't really spend a lot of time dwelling on whether or not he is "the same" Wash because that doesn't affect my love for him.

Now if it was Tux, my first pet EVER that I made on my first day of WoW EVER, then I might feel differently, because I'm a sentimental dork like that.

I apologize if I've meandered way off topic now, just wanted to say... retames represent, I guess? Haha.

Edit: OMG LupisDarkmoon, my dA buddy! *hug*

[Slickrock]

And? Is there something WRONG with being attached to a set of pixels? Cause honestly, I can't say that I see anything wrong with it.

As for what is more important? I dunno. Honestly.. I'm attached to both. I adore the cheetah skin, and I adore the pet that I had... Sure, it gets frustrating.. But doesn't everything in one way or another?

Nothing's wrong with being attached to a particular piece of artwork, or the memories that are involved with the experiences with that artwork.

But if you can make the logical leap that the particular record in the database isn't important, it's easier to move on when things change.

For Flameclaw, there are memories of the corpse-run to the BE starting zone to tame him. But I set him free when I had to, and I race-changed, and now have retamed since I could. The record in the database doesn't matter at all.

But if Duma just isn't the same for you, then you have to find some way to move on, or find a new pet to bond with.

[Lupis]

*Derails even more momentarily*
Hiii Pike!