Sunday, October 11, 2015

CFF?

For once I'm posting about something that isn't CCSF news. There'll be more coming soon enough though, don't you worry. 

Instead, I'd like to talk about what's probably an unpopular opinion of mine, and it concerns a certain breed update that seems to be rapidly becoming the new standard: the CFF. In the time since I last posted about that, the CFF genome was finalized and released with a bunch of new features. 

What does this mean for future breeds from me? Nothing. While there are some edits from the CFF that I like and have already incorporated into my most recent breeds, otherwise my breeds will never be full CFF.

The reason for this? Quite simply...I just don't like the CFF.

It's partially because I see most of the CFF edits as fixing what isn't broken. I'm easy to please as far as my creatures go. As long as my creatures can take care of themselves I'm happy, and I don't see most of the CFF edits as really necessary to meet that goal. For instance, I'm not bothered by my creatures not having a lot of curiosity, or the fact that they don't freak out if they're drowning or otherwise low on a vital chemical. 

While I do admit that some of those edits do help (why else would my breeds have some of them?), the CFF just don't meet my definition of "mandatory upgrade." That's something their predecessors, the CFE, match much better. Their edits are a massive improvement upon the base genome: they're much better at taking care of themselves than the base genome, and they can't become immortal to boot. The changes the CFF bring to table, in comparison, are cool but not really a must-have.

Which brings me to the main reason I don't like the CFF: a little pair of phenomena called Hype Aversion and Hype Backlash

I may not see the CFF as a must-have. However, it seems everyone else does. The most adamant supporters constantly post stuff like "the CFE are stupid compared to the CFF! Use CFF!" whenever something like a wolfling run or a breed project is brought up. It's irritating as all *arg*.

Making matters worse, I can't help but be a little worried that my breeds won't be as popular for the simple fact they aren't full CFF when everyone else is using CFF. I've always been a little slow to embrace new standards (hence why my grendel breeds weren't full CFE until recently), but I'd hate to have my breeds judged for something that, again, I see as ultimately optional.

I won't judge anyone who really does think the CFF are a must-have. What they do with their games is really not my concern. I just don't think the CFF are really all they're cracked up to be, and really hate all the shilling they're getting.