Benjamin Ben Coyote here, and I am writing this post to mainly bring up a rather disturbing topic that is really starting to manifest itself in Entropia Universe.. and this is from the observation of a person who studies social psychology...
Frankly I think this issue needs to be discussed because to be hoenst, it's starting to hurt not only MA, and the PP's but the players in general.
I'm refferriing to the fact that this game has started to show some rather disturbing trends in anti-social behaviors here, and that these behaviors are causing some players to be unhappy, and some who are becoming arrogant, and even anti-social in nature..
And this is in fact my own observations and not that of the players, Planet Partners or MA in general, but in specific, the social psycholgoy as a whole..
Now granted this game was designed as a real cash economy game, don't get me wrong, a real cash economy game is a good thing to have, but it has it's more deeper and darker sides to this too..
Frankly this game is all about the money.. No questions asked.. but a lot of players who come into this game are usually in it for "The short haul" and not "The Long one.." What I like to call "The Get Rich quick schemers".
The reality is I've sen a number of new players come in and start asking how they want to earn money and do it quick.. I mean it's okay to dream, but without putting in a lot of work into this game, you aren't going to go very far..
Case in point. I've started to see a lot of players who are not starting to put a lot of work into the game and start to beg for items.. and remember these are adults who are in fact over the age of 18 and some players who are under it..
In real life some would refer to them as "Slackers' or "lazy Bums" or even "Welfare queens". And in fat thi ssis starting to show in game.. the non-depoers who can't depo or can but usually are taken by another type fo player the ones who hurt this game.. The scammers, resellers and Pirates. the Thieves as you will call them of this game.. (and yes I know who you are.. Someof these people are in fact are bt doing the real research here and in fact are learning to act this way in public (Granted this is just a game, but what stops them from doing this in real life? One simple thing is the fact of the police or law enforcement, but then some of these people decide to challenge authority here, and that can be a dangerous trend too.
Then there's my favorite topic.. Greed.. In this game, the trick here is to make sales, and not ask too much of another player .. In short, things should be affordable to players, the auction houses should have very little on the auctions on all worlds. but instead i see a major glut of materials and product that go unsold or are returned to their owners. Including sweat..
Seems a lot of players come into this game thinking that there is only one commodity for them to produce.. and that is where they are sadly misinformed.. ther eisn't 1 product rut rather 78 or so products that can be produced with this one commodity alone.. and yet resellers and con artists are actually buying this commodity at 1 ped a k and at best 2 ped a K.. The reality is.. some of the commodities that make more money are in fact the ones that burn up sweat by the ton.. Take welding wire for example.. This is a commodity that uses sweat (even thought it's 10 bottles per click) as well as toher materials and in fact this has an effective markup of about 180% (Give or take 10%) and yet the resellers who are buying this are informing players that sweat is really 1 ped a K and are producing items that are selling for 50% less than welding wire..
They're lving in the past, not the present here..
And then there's the players who tell other players to sell to them, rather than the trade terminals, and in fact these people don't use these items but instead put them up on the market and mark them up to high prices that no one can afford.. so then they lose their acuction fee in the process.. The ore and Enmatter buyers? Cut 5% off a players income, and you've effectively taken out an additional 10 drops of bropes for them.. do this 15 to 20 times and you see no one doing it..
In short, Greed cuts both ways here like a sharp knife.. and it hurts both eays.. Without the influx of new players into this game and without the potential depositors in game, the loot pools do indeed become smaller and players complain.. a lot..
Then there's the anti-socials.. the ones who literally mock and put down the new players as well. the ones who are sexist, bigoted and ven just down right rude to players.. and they themselves are akin to someone who wants to comitt financial seppaku They are the ones who turn players away from the game rather than allowing others to enjoy the fun..
And speaking of fun.. where the hell is the fun? It's definitely not here in the game anymore.. No one laughs, no one smiles, No one throws parties, In fact all I hear from players now are how bad their loot is, how bad their mining runs are, and how poorly the crafts are coming up.. but laughter? Smiles/ There's hardly anything of that nature now..
And let's get back to the money aspect again, and this time we're gonna talk about hunting, and how many are being played into a sucker bet.. and it's this allure of get rich quickness that is really hurting htem..
Quick show of hands, How many say sweating is boring? It's not.. It's essential to gettin gthose skills you need to reduce the decay.. and what about sweating in armor? Granted 3-4 years ago, this would have been a folly, but if you want to get your armored Tiered, maybe the best way is to sweat in armor (Once you get your evade up to a high enugh level (Say Level 3-4). Because of this players are not tierin gup armors, and this is really hurting them if they want to put enhancers into it..
Hunters, let's ge to that sucker bet of yours..Do you really know how much it costs tto kill that big mob you want that global you so deseperately want? It might surprise you.. even when you're huntig in a team..
For example I was watching the Oratan event on Arkadia yesterday and I was cross comparing information I knew with that of the returns and I hate to say this but you got owned.. big time cause of the poor Loot table design.. an Oratan Lancer Titan takes on average 15 ped per person in a 12 man (or woman) team to kill. it.. so yes it's about as costly as a scoria, or a longtooth, and let me ask you this.. what kind of returns did you get? Good ones or bad ones?
Let's move on to the next part, the players in general.. I'm seeing less and less of the old time players why? Cause many of them are becoming extingt, there's no guidance here for new players to learn from no experience to take the time to sit down and teach.. Mentoring in my opinion has in some ways become a joke.. out of the 6000+ mentors in game , only 16% acutally teach.. but the rest? They farm... and what is more disturbing is that many new players don't know that there is an escape clause in teh contract between mentor and disciple... it's called " Go to the Mentoring page" and kicking them.. sure youlose the skills, but you might find someone better to teach the game. After all question your mentor, and I mean really ask questions..
As for the mentors, treat your disciples like employees in a company, pay them fair wages, and in all learn to answer questions.. correctly.. Do the research.. cause many of you are turning out poor students who leave and then you lose a little more ground for each failure..
To the people who own vehicles I say this.. It's okay to own 1 or 2 vehicles of each type but whe you own 20-30? That's like an exhibitionist showing off the private parts of his body.. You've become an arrogant pervert with thinking like that.. You're just showing off how many toys you have and you can't fly all 15 sleipnirs at the same time, or the 30 to 40 cars or aicraft ou own. can you? Do you know whati do with the 4 pit bulls I own? I use them for storage.. and brother I got a lot of materials I am willing to trade with others.. that's why I have them, not to show off.. In short I use my vehicles for practicality not arrogance..
Also, stop being so damn serious.. You say "It's just a game, but you guys are really taking this game too seriously. Don't see more humor in this game. It's almost like I' m living in a monestary or a nunery, or a cult compound, rather than a fun vibrant universe..
Now as for the PP's I say this.. Listen to your palyers, and remember they're your customers.. oh wait for some it's already too late.. but for at least 1 or 2 there is still time and hope Be a bit more proactive, get on the hron to MA if they don't want to deliver the goods.. and above all be assertive and not just a bunch of acceptive people, a bunch of yes men as you call it. if you think something is amiss question the main company..
Oh and to MA I have something to say too.. Treat your customers with respect, answer their questions.. Don't be stingy on the answers either.. you give customer service that is bad? You lose 11 more players each time.. You give good customer service and you will have repeat customer.. Also focus on fixing the game, not just addin in bells and whistles.. Sure a social network is okay but fix things first, fix glitchs and make things more enjoyable, and less costly.. Show that you care.. (but then I guess here i'm preaching to the choir cause the choiir has their own tune to sing.. it's called "Money Money Money..") But then if you fix the problems and not ignore the players then you're going to have more playes come into game, not less ( Unless your ulterior motice is to sell off the game to someone who might take the ideas and make them better than you ever could.. Stop being so darn finicky and start listening openly.. after all In this world No bucks mean no Buck rogers..
In short, if you want to start blaming people you can only blame the game developers so far, you can only blame the planet partners so far.. and stop living in denial too, you're also to blame.. even I'm guilty of this and yet I come back not to force players out, but to teach them not to make the mistakes I've learned from so many others..I think a lot of it deals with Bad choice of game engine, bad design, bad choices by planet partners, and yes even worse choices by some players.. After all a few bad apples are souring the entire barrel of potential fun.
You want the old players back? Then start showing people the real side to this game.. the fun and the enjoyment of it.. anyone who is not, should be really waking up now and smelling the coffee (or the catfood). You want to change things, speak up and don't be afreaid to do it.. sure the support cases are overloaded but point MA and the PP's to sthis post and then show them the flaws of this game.. and be ashamed if you don't do something.. cause it's your game here, as well as the planet partners and MA's..
I'm not quitting this game, not in the least until either it goes bankrupt or the players all leave.. I'm also saying that new players shouldn't be forced out, that old players should learn to adapt and teach new players and above socializing is more fun than hunting alone. (Some players who are older have become more wise and are relearning and adapting but many others/ They're leaving and in droves..
You want a positive look at this game? Look no further than the Marriages and the friendships you make (and the enemies who hate your guts). After all The reality of this game is that the distance between real life and Virtual is quickly narrowing.. soon the "Just a game" folks will be suddenly asking.."Why are so many people being so anti-social? Maybe it's because in today s world of technology we've become so anti-social.. some of us are being turned into nutcases by the lack of social interaction.. maybe it's time to reverse the trend.. and start cchanging things..
After all sure we can't control the people who run this game, maybe we can't change our ways, or maybe we can.. that's a question that is really going to be answered or not here.. not by just the people who troll the forum, but the real logical thought out players who do care about what they do, and how they act, and also can enjoy the fun..
After all it's not aobut the money, it should be about the fun.
Fun.. the one thing this game is seriously lacking..
Sure you can get away with murder, conning people and what not in this game, but what's stopping you from doing this in the real world? Want to steal? Go mug someone or rob a bank. Want to Kill someone in a PVP? Go get a real gun and kill a real person.. in cold blood.. see where these actions of "Just a game" get you. They usually leave you ending up Deade or in jail in real life..
In closing I say this.. This is from the observational standpoint of a person who has been studying this game long and hard.. for 5 years. heck If I had someone to puclish this into a psychological journal, they're probably be appalled at what they see. some pyschologitsts would tell you to go seek help.. some woud go out and social lize. and for osme you would be told to get help from either AA, GA, or a trained psych.Maybe as a whole we should stop living in the denial here, and start treating this game more than a game.. Treat it as a game that imitates real life.. the only difference in this game is this.. In this game, you die, you come back.. In real life, when you're gone, it's game over..
But please, do the research, question,a adn even challenge people and even the PP's and MA, after all you want it better? Stop talking about the ATH's and the HOF's and focus on the fun and friendships you make (or don't/.) It's really in the end, your choce..
with that' I'm done.. Go ahead an Neg Rep me if you want Or pos rep me if I am speaking the truth here. Frankly I don't take offense to anyone who does. This is just one players observations over 5 years and who has seen a lot of players come and go, and it's time to clear the air on the social aspect and stigmaof the game..
So then.. want to ignore it? Don't reply.. or challenge me and defend your positions.. Cause now the cat is out of the bag.. so deal with it..
oh and to those who do reply, feel free to add to this.. maybe it'll give a little more insight into what this game The real way people thing, and how the game and your enjoyment of it is.. also if you thik that someone like a PP or an MA official should see this, maybe it's time to point them to this and have them asking the questions.. of what they did right or wrong, and why the game is like it is..
It's time to stop this madness and time to start asking questions.. Not about money or material things, or stuff in general, but rather ask a simple question..
"Where's the real fun in this game and what does it mean to you?"
Benjamin Ben Coyote.
a.k.a. "The Blind Sniper" (and yes folks I'm really legally blind Poor vision no holds barred..)