Multiple Macroable Auto Level Environments.

SPO is only Single to you... not the dev team or the tools .

 

I easily see this thread going 12 different directions, talking about commodification and secondary economies, how and whether it's even possible to remove botting as a phenomena. I think even if you DID somehow come up with a fool-proof way of making sure there was always someone AT the computer, then you'd just have people farming at the computer. Over-seas. It doesn't save the "economy" either way.

I'm not even sure how much Portalarium cares about it, at least in higher principle, because literally this entire game is a pre-emptive attempt to monetize every single thing that becomes emergently valuable in an online world. In UO and other games, the chartered purpose of the game administrators and designers was to ensure a fair and level playing field. The company derived revenue from a single fee from all players, and whatever you acquired in the game was through your "work" as a player, and as such a secondary economy flourished. SOTA has a vastly differently revenue model. ( This isn't a criticism btw! But I will be curious to see whether it works. ) In SOTA, we've commodified and monetized everything up front, to the extent that, it is questionable whether there will be anything remaining FOR a secondary market. If the company starts selling iron ore and gold, etc, the way EQ Landmark does, I think they'll find the player cease to value their own time in game ( there is no longer a reward for industriousness since the company will have established a monopoly ). I mean I GUESS if you want a game where people play but just don't give a crap enough about it to feel their time and labor IN IT has external value, then that's exactly the game you'll have. But don't be surprised when the non-invested player stops playing. That's my two cents.

 

The OP concerns hot spots of extreme abuse... not macroing in general

As you state, there's little to be done about general macroing, but they have created a few spots that are insanely easy to power level/power loot...

 

That second paragraph is a depressing read to me.

I'm definitely not upgrading in light of those observations. You say your post was not intended critically. I think it should have been, assuming that's really how the system is intended to work.

 

To my knowledge, Portalarium wants to support a strong 2nd-hand market in SotA. That's why the forums even have a 'market' thread. Portalarium doesn't sell anything on there, it's all for players to share and trade things with one-another. So claiming SotA doesn't want a flourishing secondary economy would seem to be quite mistaken. Having an add-on store rather than a monthly subscription, simply means that Portalarium can get a piece of the pie, to ensure they are making money too, and deservedly so, seeing how it's their game and their assets everyone is trading.

 

I agree.

 

Exactly. You are still online and they see what you're doing. Single player offline mode will be completely separate and resources will stay offline.

 

I wasn't making an assertion, and I didn't mean to dissuade Coolwaters, it was just a thought and a warning spoken aloud. Pixels alone have no value. For a secondary economy to flourish there has to be a real game at its foundation. There is room here for monetization, but it can't be "harloted" out by the company entirely and to the exclusion of players. I can say that if I as a player I see no room for any type of personal enterprise, then it kills a very valuable retention tool and draw. Maybe I think about MMOs "wrong" and should be skipping with the Elves, writing medieval poetry and studying the virtues, but the truth is I very much value an industrious role, farmer, crafter and creator of value. I enjoy the economic meta-game. And if I can participate in a secondary economy I'm more likely to spend my time doing that. At 42 years old, I really need to justify how my time is spent.

So my thought here is simply, the game company has all the responsibility of government within their virtual space, and if they want that space to flourish economically, they should look to the real world. In the USA ( traditionally ) we have valued entrepreneurship and private enterprise. The function of government is ( supposed to be ) to protect the market, keep the currency sound and encourage economic activity. We must have sound policies that promote growth and participation, as opposed to stagnation and a sense that the system is fixed. It's odd in a way because we have to ask Portalarium to "leave money on the table" and not get into the business of selling Everything, but I really believe there has to be some sphere of activity that they protect but do not tamper with, or else the player is left looking at this like just another game.