After One Month of Playing

[lilmoo]

Hi everyone, I thought I would give my thoughts on the game now that I have been playing for one month. I understand that is a very short time so my comments are going to be very broad based.

I deposited and have been playing a lot over the past month, it has really been about 5 weeks as I spent the first week sweating. I really like this game and have been playing online mmogs since the first Diablo and probably played about 20 different ones since, all the big titles and lots of the smaller ones. I am one of the few who like the option of selling in-game items on ebay so I thought this game would be a good fit for me.

I guess my main concern has been talked about over the years but I have not found any threads. The number one thing I would like to see this game do is go to a monthly subscription fee. They could offer a tiered based system but a monthly fee system where all player funds stay within the game would be a much more open and fair system as long as they also unnerf the skill system which is my second concern.

If the top players have an economic advantage as some say they do, then why on Earth should I continue to play when I can't achieve the same? The players who deposit are getting ripped from the top players which they can't become and then somewhat by the non-deposit players, at least it seems that way to me.

The only way to play this game and really advance without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars at this point is to be a trader and that option will not be around for long as prices seem to reaching a limit and it will become more difficult with more and more (L) items.

I think part of the problem is that MA tries to protect the top players and top gear to much, at the expense of the game itself. I also think the current stance of MA is to get as much money from the player base as fast as possible before the leave, instead of trying to keep a growing player base by returning more peds to them. For example if you go to vegas with $1k and play one hundred hands of BJ, you likely will have between $950-1025 left. This is not the case here at all and that is why I suggest a monthly fee, with all player deposits staying in the game, unless withdrawled.

MA will not like a monthly fee system because it would remove their ability to take funds whenever they like. They would then have to live on a budget and would also have to change and try to keep the players happy so that they would continue paying the monthly fee instead of the current plan which seems to be to take as much as possible and as quickly as possible from the players before they leave.

As for the skill system I don't see why they could not unnerf the system until the new game engine is ready to go and then at that point start an uber skill set which all players would begin and all players could be on an even keel with.

[Smoerble]

The number one thing I would like to see this game do is go to a monthly subscription fee. They could offer a tiered based system but a monthly fee system where all player funds stay within the game would be a much more open and fair system as long as they also unnerf the skill system which is my second concern.

Hello lilmoo,
welcome to EU (ok, a little late after one month). We totally understand your point of view, but let me show you the other side of that argument:


Monthly fee is unfair to adult players
Let's say, I am a family father. I have a job, 3 kids and a house. That means, I can play maybe maximum 10 hours per week, because for me, real life is more important. If I play "the other big MMORPG" (monthly fee based), the following happens:
I start at the same day as my kid, but after one month of playing, he will be too bored to run around with me, as I am still on a total beginner level, while he is already level [xxx].

In an RCE game, it is possible to say: ok, I don't want to do that annoying thing for the next 3 weeks, I rather spend additional 10 US$ and "jump" up some levels.

Yes, a kid cannot do that (as usually kids don't have enough money ), but imagine a game where I cannot do some jumps while spending extra money: these games are totally worthless to me.

Of course there are a lot players who prefere a game where every one has exactly the same possibilities... but if you see "time spent in a game" as a resource too, then a monthly fee game is way more unfair to someone who has a RL job, compared to someone who is in school (half day free) or to an adult without a job (20 hours/day online).


Another thing is: If you Entropia would be monthly-fee-based but you wouldn't have maximum skills, then it is totally uninteresting for a new player to ever start with this game:
You would never have the chance to "catch up" to someone who joined 3 years before you.

[lilmoo]

I mentioned a tier based system, by this I mean a system which allows anyone to continue to play for free but with some type of tax on transactions.

If a monthly fee and tax was used this would ensure everyone paid towards the upkeep of the game, even non-deposit players would put some of their effort towards the game and those who make money from the game would also have to contribute. The way things are now only those who deposit and lose money contribute, which drives these very players away. There would be countless ways to combine a monthly fee and tax system but still keep the game free to those who do not wish to deposit and also still keep the economic advantage to the more experienced players.

As most of us know this game has a pretty bad rep amoung the general gaming community and I think if MA removed itself as the dealer and only remained the house where people play they could become more mainstream.

I read a quote from Mark who I guess is the owner of the game and he said something along the line of "We only expect people to play for 6-12 months before quitting". That is something he needs to try and change and I would bet if you asked players why they leave the number one reason would be the cost of playing the game.

Anyway I am just musing around and without knowing the particulars it is impossible for us to know what is best but I do get a strong feeling that what is being done currently is really only best for a select few and not for the broad playerbase. I hope MA does go public and creates an IPO because if they do I am pretty sure we would see a more player friendly game.

Edit:

Imagine if when MA comes out with the new game engine if they also opened up a brand new game server with an option of having one character on each server or transfering your old character to the new server with a 20% loss on all skills.

What this would do is allow newer players to compete against simular skilled players. Someone with 100 agility would likely not transfer because doing so would mean they would only have 80 agility. On the other hand it might be worth moving if you currently had 50 agility.

It would be a huge advertising point if something like this was done when they are ready to bring out the new game engine and most gaming companies would likely do something like this but MA seems think protecting the small click of ubers is more important then growing their game or making its bigger player base happy.

This is probably because decisions like these are made by these very players who want to keep their elite status regardless of any other benefits to the game.

[Djarro Morgari]

imo, subsciptions suck, you always have the feeling that if you are not playing, you are wasting money on it.

The nicest thing about this is that you can play whenever you want.
I know that evryone profits and doesnt need to deposit, but i have to deposit, and im not ashamed about it, but when i want to play i throw in a few dollars, and i can play whenever i want, how i want anf for how long i want.

Like lotro, you play one month, it is still enjoyable, you buy an another month, and in the first week of the second month you are already bored, with entropia i would say, lets buy an huge amp and go burn miningpeds, and your done, but with the fee you always have the sorry feelings for the money you wont ever spend.

[Dion Red Strike]

A monthly fee will never happen.

But, I would like to comment on your top players taking all the loot'. The simple fact of the matter is, it's not true. This is a common misconception amongst newer players (and some older players). It's a back and forth really, ooo a noob got an ath... ooo an uber got an ath...

But, none the less, good to hear your opinion, good luck on your travels troughout Entropia Universe, and most importantly, have fun!


~Red

[Talason]

Originally Posted by lilmoo

For example if you go to vegas with $1k and play one hundred hands of BJ, you likely will have between $950-1025 left. This is not the case here at all and that is why I suggest a monthly fee, with all player deposits staying in the game, unless withdrawled.

We already can do this(what is in italics and in red), so now why add a monthly(what is italics and in black) fee?

Originally Posted by Djarro Morgari

imo, subsciptions suck, you always have the feeling that if you are not playing, you are wasting money on it.

The nicest thing about this is that you can play whenever you want.
I know that evryone profits and doesnt need to deposit, but i have to deposit, and im not ashamed about it, but when i want to play i throw in a few dollars, and i can play whenever i want, how i want anf for how long i want.

Like lotro, you play one month, it is still enjoyable, you buy an another month, and in the first week of the second month you are already bored, with entropia i would say, lets buy an huge amp and go burn miningpeds, and your done, but with the fee you always have the sorry feelings for the money you wont ever spend.

Unless you have lifetime subscriptions to LoTRO

[Gluepot]

I play this game because it is a free RCE game where I don't have to put anything in, but I can take something out.
Add a subscription and I quit, and so do half the other people who play the game.
Considering only 10% of newcomers stay in the game, I do not consider this to be a good idea.

[Kerham]

Threadstarter is one of the most smart newbies I saw on EF for a long time.

And I must say I am astonished that players who put in game hundreds/thousands of $ are against a monthly fee of say 20$. Yay at the logic.

A system without a kind of general taxation is bound to fail.

There is a reason why IRL we all pay taxes & imposits. This game aims to be RCE, where R stands for real. Try to think economics, not whatever you imagine you understand of the game.

Originally Posted by Gluepot

Add a subscription and I quit, and so do half the other people who play the game.
Considering only 10% of newcomers stay in the game, I do not consider this to be a good idea.

Ye but probabilities are that you and that army leaving would be replaced fast by other players, in bigger numbers.

And between "I quit" from somebody who doesn't pay a subscription and "I quit" from somebody who does pay a subscription, what do you think has more weight?

[Sarah Hawkwood]

Tax system:
auction fee, commision fee, fee for uploading avatar content and posting it, monthly payments for shops, hangars and so on. Even decay is a kind of tax we all pay to play.
What else do you expect? What kind of taxes?

This game is not owned by Marco. Marco is just one of employees of company which developed this game. And where the hell have you find the information that they want players to stay for 6-12 months? Quote your sources plz.

There are many ppl coming to EU from various different universes, thinking it will be the same, just they will be able to make money. No, it is not the same. It is not a game you will be able to hit level 100 within a month of playing. And it's not about having the highest skills and the best gear but about being able to face the challenge.

You say that ubers are the group MA protects... I don't think so. With all L stuff even less skilled avatars can be a competition for avatars being around since 2003. So I would say rather small group of ubers has bad situation. Not only more and more ppl get to skills similar to their's, but more ppl can use cheap L stuff with stats similar to uber toys that cost thousands of USD. Talk with ppl with 200k + skills and ask them if they have any special rights.

Most of ppl who play EU are here because of freedom this universe offers. Yes, there are ppl who dump hundreds of USDs in this game. But there are also ppl who do not pay more than they would pay in monthly subscribtion fee based game. If you want subscribtion, you can have it. You can pay 15 USD per month, no matter what happens ingame. But still, it is your choice.

One of reasons I play EU is the lack of subscribtion. I can have more important expenses IRL and still, my ava is there, I can always log on and play. Noone forces me to pay anything if I don't want to or can't do it atm. I can choose how fast I'm willing to progress to. I can also choose if I want to make money or just have fun.
I know I won't have the same skills as most seasoned avas here within a month. And ok, fine with me, I can handle the challenge and like it. That I won't have uber toys older players have? So what? I don't need them anyway. And yes, I think that if non depositining players (especially seasoned ones) quit, it would be more painfull for the universe than quitting of any person in subscribtion based game. I don't know how long average ava lasts in subscribtion based game, but let's say it's a year. If so, such person quitting means loss of 50-100 bucks for game admin. And such person is easy to replace. If someone quits EU after a year, it can mean withdrawing something like 1k USD and such person doesn't even have to be replaced, as money stay in EU economy anyway. Some other person will buy skills and gear, taking place of such ava. It can be new player, but can be old player as well.

Monthly fee will rather never happen in EU. It's not the best model available. And MA already put a lot of efforts into promotion of "unique economy model". They do realise, that with payments as they are now they make more money and that ppl will turn bling eye for some bugs in the "free" game. And good, as this would mean serious crash of EU and lots of ppl quitting. Gluepot is right here and not only she would quit EU. Many players would follow, not replacable without serious marketing campaingn which would cost MA lots of cash.

[Djarro Morgari]

Originally Posted by Dion Red Strike

A monthly fee will never happen.

It's a back and forth really, ooo a noob got an ath... ooo an uber got an ath...


~Red

LOLOL thats so true ......... its just scary