I’m prefacing this entry with a tl;dr warning, because it really is.You can say this is a continuation of my comments on the top up system I talked about in my previous post.
Theory on the top up system I’ve only begun to play recently, so I can’t really guarantee if I’ve got the correct idea about the g-points system, but I believe the cards were originally planned for the pay to play (p2p) format, that is, these cards not only have g-points, it guarantees play time for you for up to a certain period. If that’s the case, then it explains - not very well, but hey, at least it serves as a workable theory - why the amount of g-points per card is quite low. But GE has not been a p2p game for a while now, so why has this not been changed?
Now my problem with this, if this theory was correct - and this can only be a theory without further confirmation, and you can ignore this whole section if it isn’t - is that when they became free to play, why couldn’t they have announced a plan that after a certain date, all GVC card will have an increase in g-points value, and offer a similar premium item scheme similar to the enhancement booster premium item bonus for those who have already loaded up? That way anyone who was going to buy gvcs or codes could decide not to load them immediately, and wait till the new GVC values were up, while keeping the players who have topped up already satisfied that they’re not losers in the bargain.
This option is actually readily available to them because they can for all intents set the value of the gvcs at any time, and their only consideration would be to keep the playing field balanced at any point in time.
I guess there is a very simple reason is they get more money this way, or assume they do. In fact, changing their system would probably generate a higher amount of income, but they’d need a more accurate projection of profits than something an ordinary player will say. What a capitalist thing to do at the expense of their customers. =(
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GVC Cards scarce So let’s turn our attention to what most people complain about, which would be the lack of GVC cards in most areas here in the Philippines. when GE first came out and I had no interest in MMOs, I saw GE cards in every net shop by my house. And as I live practically in the middle of nowhere, that’s saying something! These were the 50 to 100 cards actually, and I remember this because they were very pretty and I was actually curious about the game it was for. It was strange that even when those cards were available, there were virtually no players of GE in the area. A few months later there were no more cards available, but then everyone was too busy playing RO.
I remembered this because one of the excuses I heard about the lack of GVCs is that the stores returned cards because they couldn’t be sold. I guess that even word of mouth and a dedicated set of players in one area wouldn’t be enough to get the distributors to promote their cards again to the netshop owners.
But then, why must the players be the people to act to bring GE to the shops? Players are essentially customers, and they rely on the top up system to make their playing experience better, paraphrasing Leticia the premium item dealer. But what does it really mean to have a better playing experience? What do the other side - the players - get while topping up? I’ve come up with a list of reasons why players would most likely top up, based on what I do.
- for experience. Purchasing combat manuals to speed up the vetting process, since I’ll be using them to power level my other characters, like the elementalist and Adelina.
- for trading premium items for vis. Mysterious powders, enhancement boosters and tranquilizers, barracks slots and warp slots fall into this category. It always helps to be rich in-game, because you’d never know what you’ll have to buy. (Why hello there, Catherine’s pelvis)
- to make ‘em pretty and unique. (I want to know how many guys will admit to this!) Premium costumes like the school look and the different costume boxes fall into this category, but this sometimes overlaps with reason #2, because with enough g-points you can make a brisk business for the eyewear, Karja, and Andre boxes.
In lighter news: My fighter, wiz, and scout have all reached 58! Still at Torsche leveling in the hope of getting (not buying) the elusive Cath’s pelvis, and still vacillating at doing the Intruder Alert! quest.