Q&A Answers (Aug-Sep 06)

[Lem]

Originally Posted by AkiranBlade

Maybe utilising the objects rarity properties (the figures which determine an item's rarity) you could define a maximum item ownership, so for something Like a Mod Merc, the most anyone one person could own is two. As an example.

Might not work so well if you owned a shop trying to sell them though? But maybe thats a good thing??

[AkiranBlade]

Originally Posted by Lem

Might not work so well if you owned a shop trying to sell them though? But maybe thats a good thing??

über items are such for a reason

[Pirx Danford]

Originally Posted by phrozenRa

I see it this way. Why would you need to buy an imk2, when you can lend one and go hunt for 24hour and make proffit with it ....?

Lending system = less money deposited... aka not good for the business

As MA controls the amount of rare and especially cost effective items I really doubt that as reason.
These items may be very cost efficient, but I very much doubt that the little money lost here would be of any impact.

What is far more important and what I believe to be MAs reason for that decision is, that it would be a resellers dream come true.
Look at it that way: if today a reseller manages to get hold of a large stock of rare items (maybe even all of one sort) he has a short amount of time in which prices will rise very much.
After that time prices will surely sink very much again as at some point people will lose interest in items that are a pure "myth" - at some stage questions like "are these stats on pewiki for real? never have seen such an item" and such would start to happen.
So the reseller cannot hold on to items for too long.
Buying and hogging all Mod. FAPs for example would be crazy - it would be dead capital with a probable huge loss after some time.

But with a lending system in place it would be sensible to get a hold on all rare items of a type at nearly any costs.
It would even make sense to try and buy not so rare items and make them become rare, even if nobody would pay the huge markup you could just loan out and with the profit of that you fund to put the stuff on auction for month after month at silly markup rates.
Imagine someone holding all Mod. FAPs and just lending them out.
What then? Should MA just "drop" some more? Or just "take them away" from the player?
It would take any control from MA about it and ALSO any control from it that the market currently has.

Reseller is a swearword already, but I would predict that "Loaner" would become the swearword to top reseller in no time.

At first I thought about how cool a lending system would be,
but now I am happy they decided like they did.


But while writing all this...
what would happen if such a system would be only available at certain timeframes?
Maybe like active for one month and then again inactive for one month?
This could maybe be a very cool control mechanism for the market.
But as MA has very limited resources as it seems this will not happen as it just would be an experimental thing and for such its not sensible to use up development time with it.

Edit:Someone was faster than me. *g*

[NoBion]

Originally Posted by DarkFire

I fail to understand MA's logic on this point also

You understand it wrong..

What marco meens, are that some ppl will buy up all the imk2's or most of the ML-35, and as he got the most. ppl is needed to lend it to get to use one..

its kinda realistic.

[DarkFire]

Originally Posted by NoBion

You understand it wrong..

What marco meens, are that some ppl will buy up all the imk2's or most of the ML-35, and as he got the most. ppl is needed to lend it to get to use one..

its kinda realistic.

or not. if you owned an imk2, would you sell it?

[Vedder]

Originally Posted by DarkFire

or not. if you owned an imk2, would you sell it?

I *think* that would depend on the price

[NoBion]

Originally Posted by DarkFire

or not. if you owned an imk2, would you sell it?

Nevar! The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters.

[DarkFire]

Originally Posted by Vedder

I *think* that would depend on the price

it wouldn't for me. well, maybe if i was offered enough to buy myself a nice little house in greece and retire for the rest of my life

to put it into perspective, take land areas: there is only a limited number of them, and they are "rented" out to hunters and miners. monopolising them is just as possible as monopolising imk2s


Edit: and to make further arguments for lending system, would you lend out your imk2 just on trust? would you lend it out if the system was in place? i think it would be great for the community

[hooters]

Well, i read it all and most of the stuff had nothing surprising, but their was still some good information in there.

Thanks a lot Marco and hope their will be another Q&A session in the near future!

[Cameron Vayle]

* How many real active players do we really have ingame?

We don't publish that figure for business confidentiality reasons.

How very interesting that you DO post uch a number on your home page for EU. So you are stating that this number is in fact a lie?

Also...nice job on being so evasive on so many of the questions. I really like the one that you stated "I don't know". If you don't know then the logical thing would be to find someone that does. That is generally how it works in customer service.


Please note Darkfire showed me the error of my ways The number on the site is not for active but overall accounts. OK...how about we get this number changed to reflect reality Marco?