Q&A Answers (Aug-Sep 06)

[Wiseman]

Nice to see all these questions answerd, in one way or another.
Also, nice to acctually see Marco some days ago Ingame.
For a noob as me, just feels good in someway.

[Lukester]

I almost lost intrest from the halt on anwers from MA. Now I want to play again. Thanks EF for brining me back to EU!!! I have been playing for 2 years but make me feel like I just heard of this game and want to start all over. A BIG smile in my face.

[Scorpion]

Good questions everybody and thank you Marco for the replies. This thread reminds me why I want to hang around this game for a long time to come

[JackFree]

I think with all the criticism towards Marco as of late (from me as well), we need to give him credit for taking the time to answers that long list of questions.

While I can understand that you cannot answer every question, or make everyone happy with your replies, you did manage to give us some interesting information and a few hints of things to come.

Thanks Marco

Cheers

[Tangine]

Originally Posted by Look

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* Participants asking for a long time for the implementation on a lending system. Can we expect this in the near future ?

No. We don't believe a general lending system will be beneficial to Entropia Universe, and the security around it is very complex. The indications we have are that if a lending system is introduced it will create monopolies and remove a large part of the fun factor from Entropia Universe.

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Sorry, but do you imply that introducing operational leasing to the real economy in 20th century created monopolies ?

We tried to implement an in-soc lending system with a soc fund to buy mid level items and then lend them in soc with serious collateral (130% of market value). But as we were a newbie society full of non depositors, newbies felt that they wouldn't be able to benefit the system, which is partly true, and claimed the items would in the end remain de facto among top soc members anyway. The discussion turned into a student vs teachers (we are structured as a "university"), and society exploded completely.
I am still fully supportive of the system however : i think that the possibility of borrowing an item intead of buying it would simply decrease the value of the items. Why ?
Because at the moment, market value is a value of possession, not of usage. But if you make the item availabe through lending, because you don't need to use it at all times, then all of a sudden, the item becomes more available : in fact a lending system would increase the practical supply of uber items. People would borrow the item for skilling purpose, then give it back, with a small compensation. Therefore, since there would be more supply, and (in my opinion) same demand, price of uber items would go down.
Then what ? Mindark doesn't like it, that's one thing. Price going down = less deposits probably. Second move : ubers would react maybe and stop lending items. that's a form of regulation. They would lend only to friends, just as it is the case now. And would sell only for an incredible amount of money, just like now. But i think things would go different for mid-level and good items : stuff worth around 500 to 10000 peds : it would make it available to a lot more people : and we know that mid level and good avatars are probably the most stable and main part of depositors. It would not affect newbies economy i think, or uber economy (it's too exceptional to really be stable) : it would touch the core of the player base. If you got 50 angel sets in the lending system, it will be very rare that someone actually buys one... it will just move from friend to friend... IMHO...

[Tangine]

Oh and by the way, thanks Marco for the replies. Some of them help a bit, some are disappointing, but i think we all appreciate the effort. Hope to see more and more with time, with real communication with player base.

[Tangine]

Originally Posted by AkiranBlade

I would also like to suggest the creation of a GPS-Satellite device (non Limited item - Limited BP) which utilises Batteries (Limited item - both types of bp) so that a player can set a way point and actually see in real time who is in a particular location by 'zooming' in on the satellite. Obviously the decay on this would be fairly pricey. (View would be top down only though).

Awesome idea !!! +rep for this one
Hope MA hears you

[Tangine]

Originally Posted by craw

Marco responded to the following question:

I'm sorry Marco, I do enjoy the game and am a long time player, but I really wish the cost of play were only 1 USD per hour. I just now returned from a Longu/Atrax hunt where the loot was really poor (which is more often than not) and lost over 6 USD in one hour. I keep precise records of gains and losses which I'd be happy to share with Minkark.

My calculation is based on this formula:

gain/loss = total loot - (cost of ammo + cost of decay)


Most of the loss is in "no loots" and frequent misses (when the mob couldn't be any closer).

I think Minkark needs to really evaluate the loot balancing if $1 USD/hour is a true goal.

Do you test this business plan aim?
If so, how often do you test this aim?
Do you test it on different levels of mobs or just beginner mobs?

I understand that Minkark is a business and needs to make a profit and I think $1/hr is fair. Unfortunately, I rarely see $1/hr in practice.

Resellers and sweaters actually play for 0 USD an hour. In order to balance the system, it means hunters, crafters, miners have to play for more than 1 USD an hour, right ?
Try to scan the auctioneer for about one hour : that costs 1 USD with tt scanner. Honestly, that is the only skilling activity i can think of that costs 1USD an hour. All the rest is way more expensive.
Would that mean that auto-clicking with scanner is the ultimate achievement of Mindark's business plan ? Who knows ? Hum... This is puzzling... Ah... i'm back MF healing anyway, just to change the scenery before my eyes

Edit : seems i can't quote a quotation... the question was about how much it costs to play PE...

AND SORRY FOR MULTIPOSTING but I am reading the whole thread lol

[Hurrikane]

Originally Posted by Tangine

AND SORRY FOR MULTIPOSTING

Easier to just not do it

[NFG]

First, thank you Marco for being willing to offer a Q&A and then taking the time to answer. I know that you are very busy and painting such a bullseye on your chest either shows a lot of guts or a momentary lapse of judgement.

Second, let's not forget to thank Mindbuster and those who donate to this forum. I'm not trying to float my own boat, I didn't donate enough to earn the right but every little bit helps.

For those who complain about the costs. Yes, you were suckered into this game like I was, with hopes and dreams of actually earning something for your time. How often do you see commercials that tell the honest truth? There is always something in the ad that makes you believe things will be better than they likely are. After spending about $40 and much more time than I had available I really had to evaluate what I was doing. I never pay more than $50 for a game and seldom pay more than $20. What I learned was that this isn't just a game, it is entertainment like going out to dinner or going to see a movie. Once I understood that and looked at what I was willing to spend per month I found that I was having a lot more fun without spending more than I could afford. Remember, if it sounds to be too good to be true then it probably is but also remember that every cloud can have a silver lining if you just change your point of view.

For those who say "let the people who know the realy answer speak". Don't forget that Mindark is a small (but growing) company. Marco wears a lot of hats, not just PR. He knows a lot more than you are giving him credit for but he also knows when to keep his mouth shut, even when it is not popular.

For those who are concerned at how long it takes to get things fixed, it is about to get worse. If Mindark is hiring more development staff then it will zap the time of the experienced people they already have while they train the new people. That is the perfect time to focus on smaller projects like bug fixes which is exactly what MA seems to be doing. The good news is that, if done right, it will benefit everyone in the long run.

Personally, I am looking forward to watching EU grow over the next several years. They will do some things right, and some things wrong, but then again don't you do that too?

Have fun,
NFG