Originally posted by Jabas

When i try this "game" 5 years ago i only see a "online casino" with some kindo of a mmorpg skin.

That's exactly what it is everything you do is in the balance, every shot fired at monster will it hit/miss, will it no loot, if it loots how much loot will you make. I just found that I might as well go play online bingo, pretty much the same just a smaller client... 

Originally posted by marinrider

... And to base this game on a SUB would basically call for an entire rewrite of many core systems.  I dont think that would work.

What I'm most interesting in is the question if the game would be sub-based (despite the fact that it wouldn't work in your opinion) would you still play it then? Or in other words: is the game fun enough in itself or is the real money currency a vital part of the fun?

Originally posted by picommander

Originally posted by marinrider

... And to base this game on a SUB would basically call for an entire rewrite of many core systems.  I dont think that would work.

What I'm most interesting in is the question if the game would be sub-based (despite the fact that it wouldn't work in your opinion) would you still play it then? Or in other words: is the game fun enough in itself or is the real money currency a vital part of the fun?

Absolutely. It's the closest thing I've ever found to Pre-NGE SWG.

If the game was easy I would not play.

What is the point in playing something that isnt a challenge? You may as well play solitare :/

The consistant ped drain is what pays for the game development as well as what makes it so challenging and fun.

IF you tried to convert it to a subscription model then there would no longer be a challenge and it would be like any of the other bajillion games that I read all the ADD game hoppers going from one to the next every couple of days.

I like the system in place, I played successfuly as a non depositer for 6 months and had a blast. I have since then been playing as a depositer for the last 3+ years and have had even more fun.

The variaty in options as well as the upcomming updates have me pretty excited. With 4 plantes and space already and another 3 about to be released in the comming year (one is any day now,) There is more gameplay and areas to explore than I will be able to keep up with if they maintain this pace of updates.

What I see in this thread is a very classic example of the two types of people who try the game out, and given what they put into it (energy, research, attitude) it is easy to predict how they will end up both in terms of success and in terms of enjoyment.

Player 1 expects to play for free and make money and ends up pissed off and dissapointed. (not saying the OP is that extreme but its the classic example)

Player 2 expects nothing back, puts in a little with expectation of loosing it for entertainment, and does a ton of research realizing it cant be played like the other childrens games out there. He enjoys it and playes forever or untill it interfeers with his family/work life and has to slow down for a while.

Having just finished a 3week long event in the game, I am representing the second catagory :P and need to slow down now that its over, my wife and I will both continue playing a few hours each day untill I get into hardcore mode again sometime.

Loving the game and it keeps getting better :P

narfi

I definately had to chime in on this one. Im going to put it in very simple terms. MA is doing it right. EU is nothing short of hardcore, and by that i mean, just about every mouse click involves risk. NFC (not for carebears)

Ive been "participating" in EU on and off for years now, close to 5 i believe. I deposited 50 USD in the first month, just to give it a good trial period. One thing you must understand is that it is pretty much impossible to gain a return from MA, and not doing so will spell doom for you from the start. I can happily say that i did infact gain a return, but this was only from other partipants. Over a years time, on and off, i eventually pocketed 500 USD. My enjoyment comes from interacting with the "real world economy". On top of this, especially with cryengine implemented, the world is extremely engaging and immersive. People will always label anything and everything, but it is yourself who must decide if these labels are justified.

It takes a certain kind of person to enjoy the fact that everything you do in this world has a price. MA has provided a foundation that allows its participants to make their own entertainment. The community has not only survived, but thrived. And with almost no marketing AFAIK. It is what you make of it, except when you expect to make a dollar out of fifteen cents.

Originally posted by Donev

Holy crap, you're right. I never realized that. Don't I look like a fool? lol

I'm willing to bet that has something to do with combat related stuff, to keep people from switching out armors and what not too much. 

The armour 'tax' was introduced to 'prevent perople from lagging down others by constantly changing their armour'. It was a typical MindArk solution to solve a minor issue ;)

Originally posted by willo248

Mindark claim that they have a real money economy that acts like a real world economy. No it doesn't. In entropia your money is permanantly been sucked out to an external place, be it repairing decay, taking on and off armour. In a real economy money would circle through the players/people. This is why destroying money in the real world is illegal.

you want to know something?

imagine the 1% of the world containing all the money now, and compare that to Mindark and its richest players.

Mindark is politics, the richest players are bankers, landowners...

lol