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No more DP for points? PDF Print E-mail
Written by Wollongong   
Monday, 23 August 2010 06:32

Greed gets the better of Chedburn

A while ago, a new voting system was introduced. A system where you would no longer be rewarded for your votes, other than by the chance of winning 10,000 points. Surprisingly, this was not very popular: people didn't feel like spending a LOT of time for no reward.

Chedburn[1] pointed out that the voting would give merits. But as we all know: short-term rewards usually do a lot more than long term rewards.

So, instead of making the voting system more attractive, Chedburn[1] decided to remove it alltogether. In his words: "Due to the unpopularitity of this system, we've taken it down".

Never mind that, even while unpopular, it still served it's aim at getting TC in the top of most rankings. Chedburn continues complaining that this system could have doubled the income of Torn, but wonders at what cost.

UPDATE: it later turned out that the system taken away was not the voting system, but another experimental system. However, the remark about removing the option to swap 100 points for a 31 day donator status still remains undenied.

Now Chedburn is looking at other ways of getting more donators. "Removal of the donator pack for points in an option we have to look at. With more real money - there's no end to the size Torn can become. Unlimited employees, updates and features is one of the things we're aiming for, but we can't achieve this without more users and more donators."

Even though Chedburn tries to reassure us that every cent goes back into the game, I cannot help but detect the emergence of greed. No longer is it enough, apparently, to just build a game and have some fun with it, making a few pennies. Now it has to become some sort of multinational, huge corporation.

But at what cost?
Removal of the DP for points will destroy many of the unique characteristics of this game.

Gap

One of the unique factors of Torn City was that the gap between paying and non-paying members was a little smaller than that in other games. Meaning that as a player not paying real currency, you still had a chance at becoming something. This was one of the things that kept me in Torn. It's not that I cannot afford to pay US$ 5 a month, it's that I have better things to do with my money. Remove DP for points, and you destroy this, and increase the gap between paying and non-paying members. This will drive people away, and reduce the number of participants. And it is exactly that, the sheer amount of people, which makes Torn unique. Read the works of Chris Anderson ("The Long Tail" and "Free") to understand the importance of the non-paying layer in any community.

Destruction of points market

What is the most important use for points? Indeed, Donator Packs. Remove this option, and what am I gonna use my 7000 points for? Refills? That'll take me a year! Demand for points will collapse. As will the points prices. This will reduce the number of points sold by Anonymous, and reduce the amount of money going out of the economy. There we are again: inflation.

Inflation

Speaking of inflation, obviously, DPs will rise in price again, as supply drops. This is not bad in itself, but it will, once again, seriously disbalance the game. Newcomers will not be able to purchase a DP. I remember struggling for months to get the 35K I needed to buy a DP. How would a newbie, who plays the game properly (without the weekly 50K per point for voting) ever be able to do this?

Money talks

We also will see the return of an old TC problem: achievement is not a matter of being good at the game, but a matter of pumping in as much RL money as you can. We've seen examples in the past of people pumping hundreds of dollars into DP's, to sell them to get to their PI quickly. Chedburn, without a doubt, loves these people, but to the rest of us, they are despicable. Buying your way in success is not what winners do, and for newbies, seeing that to get all the stuff you want, you need to spend all your pocket money is not going to motivate them to do anything...except move on.

Solution

Want to solve this problem in an easy way? Then take a few steps:

  1. Return the voting system, but provide guaranteed rewards. Vary the reward per voting-site: some give points, some give cash, some give you 10 energy, some give... be creative
    • This will keep people motivated to vote, and drive that much-wanted traffic to you.
  2. Keep the 100 points for a DP
    • Because simply, there's no reason not to.
  3. Increase the point cap a bit.
    • This helps in several ways: it helps those newbies selling their points (I hate it, but this is not about what is good for me, but about what's good for the community). It also increases the amount of cash taken out of the economy (which is also good, for combatting inflation, but also other purposes). And it increases the intrinsic value of a DP, thus encouraging some to put more DP items in the market, which they bought with US$ first.
  4. And of course, do not forget the thing I've been saying for years: increase the amount of things to do which take money out of the economy. Less money = less people buying huge amounts of points = more people buying a DP with cash (or buying an item which was bought with cash).

What do you think? Leave a comment and be part of the discussion.

Last Updated on Monday, 23 August 2010 11:25
 
Real women, real crime PDF Print E-mail
Written by SpoiledBrat[1045054]   
Saturday, 14 August 2010 06:03

 

The Babes of TC

We all tend to focus on the evil men in this city and forget some of the truly kick ass women that are even more capable of deception and manipulation. In some ways we are even more dangerous than the wanna-be mobsters running around this city playing with their guns and counting their money.

If someone attacks us, within 5 minutes our inbox is full with white knight thugs looking to show us how tough they really are. Well I thought I would say thanks boys for wasting your money and energy even though it’s not going to get you anything but an “awww thanks” and a cyber wink.

Criminology has treated women's role in crime with a large measure of indifference. The intellectual tradition from which criminology derives its conception of these sexes maintains esteem for men's intelligence and force of character while pointing out women for their weaknesses of compliance and passivity.

Women who conform as pure, obedient daughters, wives and mothers benefit men and society. Those women who don't conform are simply the ones who question their established role or who decide to take the roles of men, or even commit a crime. These women are doubly damned and doubly deviant. They are seen as 'mad' not 'bad'.

These behaviors frequently lead to interpretations of being mentally abnormal and unstable. Those doing the defining, by the very act, are never defined as 'other', but are the norm. As 'men' are the norm, women are deviant or scandalous. Women are defined in reference to men. Sexual difference is one of the ways in which normal is marked out from deviant. So why do these differences exist within the criminal justice system and society as a whole?

Up until the turn of the century, women were primarily perceived as sexual objects and expected to remain within male dominated ideals such as homemaker, and nurturer taking second place after men. Well not anymore ladies!!! We can jack cars, carry guns in our thigh highs, seduce all the right men out their paychecks, and I promise, we won’t be the ones losing all of our $$$ in the casino.

So don’t be confused by our Gucci bags because I guarantee, in this city, it’s holding more than lipstick.

 
The low quality standards of the TC Times PDF Print E-mail
Written by Wollongong   
Thursday, 05 August 2010 09:55

It has long been known to the majority of TC residents that the quality of the TC Times is not the best around. Often articles have appeared which were biased, pro-staff, or just imagination. Not once has yours truly seen an article which showed the least bit of criticism towards the authorities. Censorship is a big word, and I won't use it throwing around allegations, but fact is that TC Times is surprisingly positive about everything.

Today, we have experienced a new low in the quality standards of the TC Times. In an article written by FordPrefect[778561] a claim is made:

"(...)the newspaper has always been the greatest source of information. Proof lies in the fact that no other, player-run newspaper (and we have seen many over the years) has ever succeeded. In fact, most last only a week or two, and peak at a readership of less than one hundred."

Here at torncitycomplete.com standards for journalism are high. This results in fewer articles than TC Times, because we simply do not publish anything which is not supported by several independant sources, or unescapable evidence. Apparently, TC Times does not value this rule much, as this bold claim clearly ignores the fact that Torncitycomplete.com has been running an independant news-service for over 5 years. Which is a bit more than the two weeks the author mentions.

 
WIN: 5 Xanax PDF Print E-mail
Written by Wollongong   
Friday, 13 August 2010 14:27

Handy with paint or photoshop? Then get moving and go here for a nice new graphical contest. First prize: 5 Xanax!

Last Updated on Friday, 13 August 2010 14:30
 
Museum Shop (items for points) PDF Print E-mail
Written by Wollongong   
Saturday, 10 July 2010 17:35

Once you have completed the History Studies, you can trade items in the TC Museum. Items will get you points.

Here's the list:

Read more...
 
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