Community Update #1

[Joe Joe]

Though I wouldn't consider the economy descale in isolation an 'essential' change that would bring back the server, it will (very probably) have many long term benefits if deployed alongside the right updates.

As Centurion hints to, I think diversification of, and support for, newer 'fun' and more 'interesting' money making methods (not just general updates) could be paramount for the change to actually provide the benefit of getting existing players playing again for the long haul.

This would raise player numbers, and make it more likely for new players to join the server, whose retention can be targeted by future changes, for server growth.

However, if after the change is made, people have to result to the same boring and tedious money making methods as before, I doubt anyone would go through with it, and it would do more harm than good.

Though, I'm sure more features specifically tied to the economy and money making are being worked on behind the scenes!

Bingo, your first line summarises it all. Essentially the economy reform is seen as an essential step as part of our plan. It will end up coming with other updates not just on its own as that achieves nothing. When I started writing it a few months ago we were looking at whether its worth keeping the economy as it is now and increasing prices massively (Which would look highly unrealistic), or hyperinflating the current economy and only marginally editing prices.

As such we went with the latter. Equally when looking at new players and retention if we chose the other option new players would join and see the extortionate prices of items and feel demotivated and unable to work towards them and achieve them. With the system currently the existing players will hopefully realise the new true value of items and for newer players it will look like less of a challenge to obtain items.

Very similar situations have happened in other online games, like GTA V (Albeit by default its not a roleplay game) where they chose the option of allowing money to continuously be pumped in and now new items cost millions and millions but the old systems pay-out the same - this is something we want to avoid.