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GAME STATE: MR, Other Projects and You. | Started by: Squishy on Nov 16, '11 00:10 |
When drastic changes happen in the game that result in us being further away from being able to cover our bills, then we have 3 options to us. We can wait and hope that we can stay alive financially long enough to weather the storm - We can make code changes to try to counteract the imbalance - We can segregate the income from our various projects and just allocate what a particular product earns back into itself. I think that it is in the best interest of the company to isolate our projects and their man-hours from each other. Running at a loss is fine, but it quickly eats away at the date where we have to start sacrificing quality of service or loosening up our ethics on not giving advantages to those who purchase credits. All of our financial woes would be solved by treating the game as a cash cow and exploiting it at every turn. We have shown extreme restraint on creating a level playing field. Simply changing MIA daily limits would solve all of our financial problems, but, it would push into the realm of "someone with real life money has a distinct advantage over a hard worker". This is a direction that I do *not* wish to go towards. It is incredibly important to me that everyone, regardless of if they financially support the game or not is afforded the same opportunities to advance to the top. |
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I understand, with times like today, we have to do what we must in order to keep everything on track. |
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Reply by: Heavy at Nov 16, '11 00:13 | |
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I echo Heavy's sentiments. |
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Reply by: Lola_Delaney at Nov 16, '11 00:17 | |
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I would personally like to thank the game administration for all the hard work that they do, particularly in stressful times like the last 48 hours. |
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Reply by: Musketeer at Nov 16, '11 00:26 | |
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Scott, I must say from the bottom of my heart again and again, Thank you. I have been involved in this game for 2&1/2 years and in that time, the only reason I have felt that game play was in danger was because of the users, not the staff. I know I probably sound very much like an ass kisser right now but this game is one of the very few outlets I have. As a single mom with two children who suffer with mental illnesses, I'm not afforded a lot of "me time." MR has provided a place, a sanctuary for my sanity. I try to do my part when I can to financially support the game because I believe THAT MUCH in it. In addition to that, I have had the extreme pleasure of meeting with you face to face and I can honestly say that you and your team make one feel as welcomed and loved out of the game as they do in the game. |
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Reply by: Scarlett at Nov 16, '11 08:12 | |
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You know, reading this makes me proud and happy to be part of this community. |
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Reply by: ManicStreetPreacher at Nov 16, '11 12:57 | |
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Only people that would disagree with what you've said there are arrogant greedy people that don't care about their fellow human being, that being said...
If you guys ever hit a rough patch letting the community know outright is a good way because most of us will be able to support this and you'll get the help you need.
Also I remember when you guys needed to raise cash fast the promise of Durden spawn and mapping in relation to donated dollars seemed like a smashing success so you guys always have that to fall on when you really need an influx of cash. (I realize its not feasible to do this often and would off set the balance of the game)
People will always support what they believe in and I know that even though theres times users and staff will clash its because we know you guys can do some great things and thats what we've come to expect, so keep up the good work and we'll show our support! |
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Reply by: JoeyBagaDonuts_ at Nov 16, '11 13:46 | |
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For me, I always thought the game was a hobby. The players played it for fun. The coders coded it due to enjoying coding and the interraction it bought them. When I returned and discovered that the world was no longer being run as a hobby, but as a business, I feared the worse, and was proved fairly right. Whilst I understand the need to raise money to cover server/admin costs, as well as some compensation, I feel the move to try and make the game generate incomes for numerous people is misguided. It caused the admins to code features to create more money, then features that make the game more enjoyable. The game is good at the minute. It does not need more options. It does not need more things to click. Therefore it does not need a lot more code. It is good the game has been 'handed over' to the gamers, as they can continue to expand it. No amount of code will attract more players. Only advertising and fellow players making the world exciting will.
I have seen amounts up to $10,000 a month that this game generates at its peak. This is crazy. I look at stats such as those which you have provided. 12.9 hours coding for the game. How much of a salary was taken for these hours? Does MR really need 3 coders and 2 other staff? Maybe the issue is more with the business model of the game? Anyway, I digress. It will be interesting to see where the players take the game without much outside interference and code changes to react to ig changes. |
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Reply by: FattyFats at Nov 16, '11 19:29 | |
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I think FattyFats touched on an excellent subject; which is that this game thrives when it... thrives. That sounds moronic, but activity fuels activity in this game. Increasing incoming players (which, I realize that a text-based MMORPG isn't what a lot of gamers are looking for now-a-days), and increasing retention rates would bring a seriously positive effect to the game, and could actually solve some serious problems that we're facing. If we brought in enough players; we could leave "the good of the game" up to the admins and play how we wanted. |
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Reply by: Pharol at Nov 17, '11 04:40 | |
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you said it pharol. |
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Reply by: Philli-Stein at Nov 17, '11 06:53 | |
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The game has generated $10,000 a month!!!! I would be amazed if it has done that consistently over a prolonged period. |
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Reply by: Manu at Nov 18, '11 12:13 | |
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Manu, I agree that there was a point when the game was taking over that a decision had to be made to make it a business. The issue I have is when it comes to the 'business plan.' Is MR on the correct one? Are they looking long term? Or are most of the decisions they make short term? etc. etc. And also, is there the user base for a business to be run off the game? 400 users will never generate a great deal of money. Therefore should it be taking up so much time that they need to move into being a business? Or does the user base dictate that it should only be a coders hobby? |
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Reply by: FattyFats at Nov 18, '11 12:46 | |
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That is a mute point in all honesty FattyFats. |
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Reply by: Manu at Nov 18, '11 14:11 | |
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True story. |
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Reply by: Grin at Nov 18, '11 14:12 | |
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Manu, where have I bitched? I have actually said that the admins have taken the correct decision in focusing there energy on other ventures. I have actually said this game is maybe as big and good as it can get. I am happy with there decision. Do we need 3 coders, 40 hours a week? No. Probably not. It is a waste money. A waste of resourcers. Like I said, good look in there new venture! |
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Reply by: FattyFats at Nov 18, '11 14:47 | |
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Having also had the great pleasure of meeting Squishy, Kendra, BillyBathtub, Belle and such, I can see their dedication to the game and it's inspiring. Even on his "holiday" period where I was visiting, he was happy to sacrifice a few hours to resolve issues that happened to surface on MR during this period. It's times like those that you realise that despite the redirection from hobby to business, Squishy and co. have dedicated more time and personal hands on attention to users than any other game that I know of. |
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Reply by: Asshatch at Nov 18, '11 19:39 | |
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Minimum $20,000