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Partnering with NEVERDIE on their ICO for Etherium Block Chain Tokens

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by Lord British, Jul 20, 2017.

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  1. Lord British

    Lord British Lord British SOTA Developer

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    New Britannians,

    You may have seen our recent press release about a joint exploration with our friends over at Neverdie Studios. They believe, as do we, that the contributions of players within virtual worlds is of great value that should be rewarded with real value. Neverdie is currently creating a set of universal tokens built on the Etherium block chain with plans to reward players with these in-game tokens.

    We find this idea fascinating and potentially very important for the future of your long term identity in virtual worlds, especially Shroud of the Avatar. This is a long term project, not something you will see impacting your gameplay experience in the short run. What we have agreed to is to explore and further refine this idea with Neverdie. We will be looking to you for additional ideas and feedback as the project moves forward.

    Fear not, for now we will not be changing anything fundamental about your current gameplay experience. We do think that, in the long run, this could be another very exciting way to repay contributors for their creativity and hard earned labor within virtual worlds.

    Let us know if you have any questions on this latest partnership!

    - Richard "Lord British" Garriott
     
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  2. Bow Vale

    Bow Vale Avatar

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    I always had a feeling you would do something similar to this (mentioned it once years ago), and i always hoped you would. Although i am not a great supporter of a cash shop ( more for subscription personally) i believe this is a unique way to attract and as said reward players for their time and commitment. I do hope that this wont be a currency that can be purchased, but only gained from within the world, as this will make it especially valued imo... This makes the world to a degree real, work/play and get paid, and i see this as being very attractive to new/old/ALL players overall. There will be some that don't like it of course but i think its a great idea and will make this game kinda unique(Entropia aside, although there you can buy the currency and get it rewarded in game).....Always knew there was something special in the bottom of the bag...

    Edit: After reading the website i do have some reservations now. Not as i had expected(hoped)...post below....
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2017
  3. Jens_T

    Jens_T Avatar

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    Thank you for the statement.
    My personal opinion is that I prefer a clear separation of games and real value transactions between players. I am fine with companies making a revenue out of providing services by either charging directly or selling eye candy, but the dynamics between players change when real value becomes involved more prominently. For me this is a game, not my virtual life.
    To a certain extend this is IMO why myself and many players are fine if a mob kills their character but have issues if it is another player (or pk). It changes the interaction dynamics.
     
  4. Sheamus McGuinness

    Sheamus McGuinness Avatar

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    YES! Amazing idea @Lord British ! I have been getting into crypto currency a lot lately and have already seen how this can work in an online game. I think it makes perfect sense that COTO's would be used like this SotA and then just convert all in game assets to part of the blockchain.

    Check out my blog on some of this stuff: http://www.cryptostache.com
     
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  5. Bubonic

    Bubonic Avatar

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    I would say the odds of this are pretty low.

    :/
     
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  6. Vyrin

    Vyrin Avatar

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    Are we talking about grinding/crafting/buying and selling as the "contributions of players"? If so, it won't seem to get at the best contributions, in other words, all the things that players do to make it a living world. For example, POT setups, deco, PvP trainers/tourneys, new player acquirers/supporters, player-run quest creators, event coordinators, testers, role players. Better make sure that what is considered a "contribution" is aligned with what Port wants the community to be.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2017
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  7. jammaplaya

    jammaplaya Avatar

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    I'd prefer in-game player vendors having the ability to do direct RMT sales via paypal.

    But as the poll for my thread about that suggested, that's basically just me and a few other ppl. :) (or is it??)
     
  8. redfish

    redfish Avatar

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    What is the 'etherium' referenced in the thread tags?
     
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  9. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

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    This has a Ready Player One vibe to it. I'm extremely interested in finding ways to celebrate and maintain virtual identities across a universe of worlds. As well, I'd like to explore more ways to value contributions made by players that may not have a direct monetary value.

    Looking forward to hearing more.
     
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  10. Bow Vale

    Bow Vale Avatar

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    Yes i have just read the website they are talking about. This just therefore makes it another form of premium currency.

    I can understand the attraction for developers to go this route...BUT....looking at the long picture.....Wouldn't it be better to attract players to the game with a generated currency, they get for playing/working/trading etc in the game, tied to the game but can be spent inside or outside the game, with no purchasing of it, thus devaluing it as anyone with cash can just buy it. It devalues it imo..Bitcoin cant be bought, it is generated for all i know( not an expert) so there's a limited amount in circulation. By being able to purchase it will imo make it mostly worthless.

    So how would this be of benefit to the game if the developers don't sell it themselves? Well..imo...it would attract players to the game in droves, thus they would be buying the game and then paying a subscription( my ideal) or purchasing from the cash shop etc to make revenue. The developers would have to generate it themselves, costing them money, but this would be like paying out dividends to their players who can then sell it, swap it buy things with it etc. Uber don't make any profit, they are billions in debt, but they are attracting a market and a consumer base, and in the end will/can charge what they like...Or...go to driverless cars and then they will have no costs really in wages and have a massive client base already.....long picture....

    If it will be just a new form of premium currency, that can be traded in and out of game, i do see the appeal but i think you are missing a big unique play, and not doing anything particularly revolutionary or will be looked on in a great light...
     
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  11. LoneStranger

    LoneStranger Avatar

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    Once you start directly linking economies between games, doesn't that create a potential large problem? What if, say, one of them has an exploit where someone earns more than they should and before they are caught, it gets converted into another world?

    Or am I not understanding this fully?
     
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  12. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

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    How times change! Wow!

    MMO gamer heads used to explode if people harvested gold to entrepreneurially sell it to fellow players. Now we need new global currencies so we can earn and trade value for all parts of our adventures across all games.

    For the future, to be fair, this does seems like an emerging idea to pay attention to. After those of us with gray beards and exploding heads get too old to play, I could see this becoming a norm for a next generation of gamer.

    But back in the present, I'd share that my first reactions were : "Why do I really need this as an SOTA player or buyer/consumer of games in general?" "Now my dollars aren't good enough?"

    Real life selling experience makes me skeptical. In leading a $170M business, I've seen plenty of grand ideas die unceremoniously. The chief reason? The team pitching a lofty idea was basing it on their notion of what the market should want, not what our clients actually needed and were compelled to buy. Few ideas succeeded where there was not a compelling and urgent need for a client to buy. The truly 'out there' concepts required a real value-creation hook to succeed

    So this topic somewhat blindsided me today in that regard. While I got the gist, the article and press release failed to educate me, as a typical gamer, enough on why I really need this now or should get excited about it for the future. If the article and press release replaced some of the buzz words and esoteric technical terms with a more practical value offering, it might have worked better for me as a fairly general 'joe' of the gaming world. Just being honest!

    Cheers!
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2017
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  13. Lazarus Long

    Lazarus Long Avatar

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  14. Womby

    Womby Avatar

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    This seems like it could be a way to encourage player activity that is not normally rewarded in-game. The making of training videos, the provision of external but game-related news and entertainment, the staging of plays, the creation of player run quests, game-related machinima, etc. are things that spring to mind.
     
  15. Daevin Aruth

    Daevin Aruth Avatar

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    Etherium value is too volatile and the initial market to actually make a reasonably substantiated profit has already passed. Do your homework.
     
  16. Creb Darkenie

    Creb Darkenie Avatar

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    Just think, all I wanted was another Ultima... Sorry this is to rich for me.
     
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  17. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

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    Question: What does support mean? Does 'support' mean financial contribution from funds raised through the current Portalarium public offering?

    Not sure I can ask that here, but when this news comes as a press release on the heals of an initial public offering it makes one wonder!
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2017
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  18. Bubonic

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    my exact initial thought.

    personally, it seems like it would be a better idea to deliver an excellent product first, THEN switch the focus to becoming a publisher.
     
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  19. Merlota

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    My interpretation of this is that any fund flow at this time is from neverdie to port. Neverdie needs to drum up a reason for people to use their currency over the established alternatves and are thinking maybe that can position themselves as a cross game premium currency.

    But I could be completely wrong.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2017
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  20. Tahru

    Tahru Avatar

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    I support the managements right to do what they feel is right. However, I feel more money in the game is the last thing I want as a player. I am going to take some time to evaluate if this will still meet my criteria of a fun game anymore. I am feeling a little sick at the moment.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2017
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