We call them a Deadman's cable up here, and sadly they're still quite frequently used in the northern rural areas because it costs almost $2,000 to have a dedicated bypass switch installed(generator hookup) so nobody does it, they just throw the Main and hope they don't put too much stress on the internal lines.
Is it legal? Hell no but they do it anyway
Yeah, like OneDrive which was supposed to be off by default, Skype which was supposed to be off by default. They love their "Off by defaults" , because for the first few updates they're off and then suddenly during a major update you have 20 new processes running because they all have services that run even if the program's off
Last I knew it wasn't even encrypted, unless they realized how stupid that was
Is this even legal in some other countries outside of the US and Canada lol, I know there is some countries out there with quite strict consumer protection and I'm pretty sure second hand Market is one of the more regulated ones
I mean if it's cheap I would definitely do that too
sorry, I am just now realizing I misread your post. I thought you had meant first party content when I originally read the reply. Yea I agree that there are a far good amount of fan made mods and content, it's still prevailed into the current field. I love when games launch with steam workshop support. I disagree that that content doesn't exist anymore though. I still play quite a few games that have a store system and have a functional mod workshop on the side.
I do agree that some companies are lowering their access to their API services, or having that as a secondary thought, but thankfully they aren't at the point where they just won't allow for third party content period. Well mostly anyway, there are a few oddities out there that have cheat software in place that won't allow it but thankfully those are few and far between. I'm currently struggling against the urge to mod my elden ring run myself, because I know that trips the multiplayer AC which will remove networking features.
I might have to look into the older game systems I guess i did indeed miss a few of the old school systems, It's not like I missed most of the gaming era though, my first PC I ever used was a Windows 96, then an XP which I fell in love with (gearhead garage is still one of the best mechanic game you can find[but you'll have to virtualize it for it to run], same with flight sim 04 and train simulator 1 in terms of simulators). and I grew up with every playstation and nintendo(which I now boycott) product made so far. Basically every system I've used has had the ability to buy DLC or expansion packs though, with the exception of the ps1/2, I guess I just don't see how thats that much different from the current day MT's. buy it once in bulk via an additional disk with a serial key, or buy it individually, but I can't say I remember any of my games giving the amount of content that games now have without any extra cost. It's always been either super basic cosmetic customization, or a paid DLC
I just haven't had that experience with the games I've played. It's always been the opposite for me. Maybe it was for the best. Every once and awhile I boot up my ps2 cause thats the oldest system i still carry, but like the simplicity of that platform just doesn't do it, the nostalgic feel can only go so far.
Fully agree, I like gear progression in games, its been a bit since ive played one that relied on it but, it added stuff to do. I'm not saying that system shouldn't exist as well. I also can't think of any games that used that system that removed it when adding the store.
I never said you can't have Community armor unlocks, and I can't think of a single game that I've played out there that has actively removed quest rewards From the game when they added the microtransaction system. The only thing I've seen is an increase in items available on the game via the micro transaction system.
Then again I haven't really played the monster hunter games either, I never found them appealing
I have to apologize in advance, cuz I haven't played a monster hunter game since the PS2, I started playing world but I just didn't like it. That being said I know the PS2 version of Monster Hunter didn't have a whole lot(in terms of cosmetics) but again it's PS2. And I know that monster hunter world had some items available, and that rise is where it apparently was really hit with microtransactions. But from what I understand with monster hunter rise they gave the base cosmetic sets that they normally would have gave with the game, they just offered the paid expansion for the additional skins. Now being as I never actually played rise could be dead wrong on that but Google searching it seems to have given me the same answer.
That's just it, you have more items in the games with microtransactions than what you had originally.
At the end of the day you gain more items by having the system in place meaning you have more content, now at the end of the day it's optional content usually and by all means you don't need it but to say that this content would have been in the game regardless just isn't true.
I'm going to use Call of Duty as an example because that is what I saw microtransactions in the most growing up, and even that didn't start until the I think it was ghosts(?)
they still provide standard Cosmetics that you can put on your guns, there's still supplying your standard skins and now you have the option to purchase more skins, that is content that they would not have added to the game otherwise, it wasn't until they introduced that microtransaction style system that most the options hit the table
Hell RuneScape even had microtransactions, and that games 23 years old now(granted it's a hybrid F2P). You need to purchase in game currency to be able to do specific things and afford some of the items
The proper way of doing it is using what's called a generator bypass switch, basically it's a physical switch that runs before your fuse box, and it makes it impossible to have both the main and the generator being fed at the same time, so you can either have the main on or you could have the generator on. This prevents the electricity from your generator back feeding into the line and killing a line worker trying to restore power.
Sadly, like the other comments have said people tend to use these male to male cables in order to not have to pay the $2,000 to install the switch and instead choose to just turn the main breaker off and plug that cable in. But since it's possible to have both the main and the generator on it's not legal because if you forgot to throw the Main or if you did it incorrectly you could be putting workers at risk
Even disregarding the safety risk of using such a cable, not having a dedicated switch installed also means that you're plugging your generator into usually an outside socket of the house, and those power lines aren't usually meant to have a high load so you risk creating a fire from over straining the line as well