Friend or Foe we should never revel in the downfall of another. (not that a short ban on an internet forum is any sort of actual downfall) He is a fan of the game and puts a lot of energy into his ideas, it is sad that he is unable to express them appropriately most of the time.
Which is strange since he professes as a politician. Oh well. At least it's safe to say we are all fans of the game for as long as we still login, play, or just can't dissociate ourselves anyhow. We can criticize as much as we want (I have my peeves, too), but to keep returning while lamenting it's actually impossible is a bit hypocritical. I still play and MA makes it possible, even though I think they can shove their wabbit pest and a few other things up where the sun don't shine. So I must be a fanboy, too.
I have read his "Why every MMO enthusiast should have an Entropia account" And this is my opinion : Can it be anymore fake ? Seriously, if you have no idea about Entropia, like all the mass media out there proves every year, again and again, then it does indeed sound glorious, unqiue and like a great sci-fi MMO with RCE factor where you can make money from. Looking at the timeframe between 2009 and 2016, MA did not produce any mentionable content or updates and the amount of broken promises and lies got to a new all time high. CLD return became a joke and the annual report only offered a tax return...thank god. Im not saying the game is dead, the dozens of hardcore addicts still have a full credit card, but this game lost even more of its charme, its depth and fun factor. Not just to me. And it is not a solution to point me towards other games. I do play other games. So Im probably a fanboy too. ;D The reason I still play is because I play for free (cant say it often enough) and because some of the friends of 2004 are still playing or tried to return and always offer a great chat. Mainly about the past of the game. :p But the standard shoot & loot or dropping bombs or trying Explosive BPs for "fun"...isnt what I experienced in the alienated sci-fi MMO of 2004. It became dull. You all know that. Events isnt everything...but MA made it so.
I read it and cringed, too. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with you on the rest, though. EU did experience progress. New systems were introduced (i couldn't name them, but that's primarily because I don't care about the systems, but introduced they were). Yes, every single one of them is in beta stage, and potentially will be for years to come. We both have come to expect this from MA. But, stuff still changed. MA seems to be in the business of selling 100 USD Christmas trees. A lot of people want one, even if they do not believe. The marketing is great, but Ma's version of the tree starts shedding needles even before it's in your house. However, if you just pay, the needles might drop slower, and you might win a chance to win back more needles that perhaps causse your tree from looking more shitty than when you bought it. Except, that doesn't happen a lot. But hey, if you spend 500 USD on this "needle application device", your 100 USD tree will now last a bit longer. In fact, it will last almost as long as if you would have bought the 200 USD tree to begin with. But wait, for the 300 USD spent, you gained 150 USD worth of skills. If you can sell those to someone for 100 USD, you will only have lost 200 USD worth for 60 minutes of absolutely boring clicking of buttons. A PURE STEAL, especially you are able to extract the remainder of your "investment" 3 months later, and then install the game and play a game that is actually fun with what you got back out. I am so fucking angry right now. I wrote a fuckload of shit about MA and their partners, but I figured I'd delete it. I will instead approach the individual PPs with what I know, and see if they want to give any comments prior to publishing. Either way, I'm no longer looking for MA favours, so frankly,there's nothing to loose anymore.
You dont have to fully agree with me, but as Im already aware of your toughts, everything is cool. ;) Delete your stuff ? Did you change your mind(ark) ? Did they threaten you via phone already ? ;p Dont do that. I wouldnt want to call "buffs" and "tiering" new systems, really. Its just cloned korean MMO crap to throw money at, in the hope to become better and stronger then others. Pay2Win...by not really winning a lot, except you share the Terminator with 5+ guys. ;D The "system" still works though, no matter how monotonous the "trees" become. (Strongboxes, Explosive Ammo crafting etc.) Come on, what other "real systems" are there, except for the 3 main professions "hunting, mining and crafting" ? Piloting ? -_- Exploring ? -_- Robot Investigator ? -_- Animal Tamer ? -_- The rest is so incomplete I wouldnt even want to call it early alpha. Just one example, "herd behaviour", which they announced 10 years ago. That might have added some spice to hunting. But not with MAs coding abilities. ;) Or the "promised" Asteroid Mining, THAT might have added some spice to space. But not with MAs coding abilities. ;) Or what about the dozens of promises that might have added spice to Entropia...no...it stayed the monotonous grinding. Tied to a fancy 3d chat. The "system" works and it seems it is enough for MA and their investors to stay alive not doing any (mass)advertisements since 10 years, because their servers would lag to death with the "millions of users" anyway. And sadly your "tree story" is just how micropayment works these days in any Korean MMO or any Candy Crush "derivate". Pay 10.000$ for a game, thats maybe worth 19,99$. With the exception that you might "cash out" a rest after you are fed up with Entropia...if there is a rest left. But one does not simply stop the one armed bandit...thats whats left of Entropia, in my opinion. And these are only chunks of things that are foobared. MU anyone ? Still Im here, but I play for free. In the end its nothing unqiue anymore and ofc it can be found anywhere inside of Entropia. Too bad it became the "main thing" though, instead of adding a decent alien world with depth and a nice progressing storyline attached to it. Only the cash out option stayed unqiue. And strong boxes and Explosive Ammo became "main professions" these days. Still, most other MMOs or mobile games that also dont have 200+ employees and dont have RCE, and dont offer cashout...are making wayyyyy more profit and have a waaaayyy bigger clientele. MA had 16 years to gather a big clientele. They didnt do it and it feels like they are doing it on purpose. What I admire and hate MA for at the same time is their "ability" of stalling people (addicts) with "new things". Just one example. The CLD estates...invest and wait...and wait even longer...noone cares. Then something "new" gets introduced...fuckers x'D
