Tokens raining from the sky

[Protozo]

Tokens used to be a symbol of dedication and hard work (if you can call gaming hard work). Now they are so plentiful that everyone is swimming in them, from dailies to the item store. Their status symbol has been eliminated. For a couple of bucks, you can save thousands of hours of playing time and just buy the tokens from the store. I didn't even pay cash (had points already magically) and I was able to buy 1000 tokens to max mine out. I feel cheated, but compelled to save time.

Oh, and say bye bye to the "token bags" market. People are selling item store token packs, which is akin to ebay credz buying, except the cash goes to Funcom. How wrong is this? Need credz? Pay Funcom some cash, then buy the token packs and sell them on the market! Instant real cash for ingame credz!

Now that everyone has waaaaaay more tokens than they need, how about introducing some more token boards? As long as we're paying cash for power, may as well make the ones with the biggest wallets the ones with the most powerful token board.

[Siyra]

People were buying tokens with real cash for a while already. Would you rather the cash be going to a person taking part in illegal activities who doesn't give two ****s about AOs future? Or to Funcom who can use the money to make AO better?

From the sounds of your post, ie your distaste at Funcoms actions, you'd rather they not sell tokens for real cash and instead revert it back to the other people getting the cash.

Token gun sellers? They can find another way to make cash, there's plenty in game, or perhaps they'll survive because not everyone can/is willing to pay real cash for tokens just so they can sell em for in game credits. Furthermore the game is constantly making new characters (be them alts or newcomers) who need tokens, the supply of tokens for real cash won't stay forever, people will eventually come to the point that they'd rather return to farming token guns then keep spending more and more money to get them.

[nitr0]

the OP sounds like he is selling token bags.

[-Stage-]

you can save thousands of hours of playing time

That's thousands of hours that would have sucked.

The removal of tokens as a status symbol is comparable to AXP changes. What you're saying is perfectly true, these things used to be status symbols and now nobody's really impressed by them, but really, how was that status earned? By doing very repetative things long, long after you've become extremely bored of them. That's not really a great thing about the game in my opinion, certainly not something that should be preserved at the cost of the game's future.

While I can see that it's very sad for people who put in the time and effort to do things the hard way, it simply seems more important to me that people are more likely to plan, roll and play toons without feeling overwhelmed by all the boring crap they have to do to get their toon into shape.

If the challenge of getting 2.5k tokens (or AI30 for that matter) was more about using skill and powerful toons to overcome dangerous obstacles rather than just putting up with a ridiculous amount of boredom, then I might feel differently, but the "status symbols" earned by completely mindless grinding are not worth preserving.

[Protozo]

If you don't like the grind, there are other things you can do. Don't like tokens? Buy token bags. Can't afford token bags? Do something to make cash. Is making cash grind? If you think so, maybe you should be playing another game. Actually I hope not too many people say yes to that, lest Funcom start selling credz directly, they gotta compete with the credz sellers right?

I just hate seeing Anarchy Online being turned into Entropia Universe.

[trollingstones]

People were buying tokens with real cash for a while already. Would you rather the cash be going to a person taking part in illegal activities who doesn't give two ****s about AOs future? .

Please name those people who used those illegal activities,if you dont know then please tell what do they look like.

[-Stage-]

By the same token (ha!), nothing is stopping you from doing things the old, hard, boring way. If that's the sort of thing you enjoy, go ahead, knock yourself out. People might even be impressed that you'd be crazy enough to do so, what with tokens "raining from the sky" for "a few dollars" (2k tokens is around $50 or something iirc? Bit under six month's subscription cost?).

[Siyra]

Please name those people who used those illegal activities,if you dont know then please tell what do they look like.

I don't know their names. But I know they're there due to the fact that credit sellers wouldn't still be around if nobody ever bought from them.

I do know a few people who used to buy credits before they quit the game.

[Protozo]

At least make store items NODROP!

And we need more token boards.

[-Stage-]

Now that everyone has waaaaaay more tokens than they need, how about introducing some more token boards? As long as we're paying cash for power, may as well make the ones with the biggest wallets the ones with the most powerful token board.

And we need more token boards.

Now you're actually supporting greater power for RL creds. Have you considered old-school players who got their 2.5k tokens the hard way, long before daily missions and whatnot? Should they be punished for sorting out their tokens long before it was easy, and be relegated to having a WORSE token board than fresh 220s, who may well have in excess of 4k tokens without trying?

My crat is a fresh 220 with almost 5k tokens. The president of my omni org has played I think since beta, and I think has closer to 2.5k tokens. Am I entitled to a better token board than he is?

[trollingstones]

By the same token (ha!), nothing is stopping you from doing things the old, hard, boring way. If that's the sort of thing you enjoy, go ahead, knock yourself out. People might even be impressed that you'd be crazy enough to do so, what with tokens "raining from the sky" for "a few dollars" (2k tokens is around $50 or something iirc? Bit under six month's subscription cost?).

That is the truth right here.boring old way,that means everything you know.
In old boring ways people had fun tuning their characters and learning how to play those which made for example tokenfarming much more enjoyable but because its so boring to tune your character and learn how to be a better player its cool to buy happiness.
That is so funny how people thinks that bought victory is same as earned one.
And this is the thing what means did to this game,he thinks he can sell winner feeling with real cash in a game not to mention APTs or way too overpoweted tools what you can get way too easily nowadays.
There he fails soo badly you know,because he removed the real feeling of success and the happines what comes from it.

[Techmagos]

the "status symbols" earned by completely mindless grinding are not worth preserving.

QFT

Don't like tokens? Buy token bags. Can't afford token bags? Do something to make cash. Is making cash grind? If you think so, maybe you should be playing another game.

the OP sounds like he is selling token bags.

proto, i think you should find something new to make creds on.

i only had 2 tl7s with 2500 boards before the buyable tokens, and the token grind was enough of a ballache that i certainly wasnt looking forward to doing it a 3rd time. anything to encourage more finished endgame toons with less brainless repetition is great in my book.

[-Stage-]

I don't think Means had any choice in the matter. I doubt he considered trying to explain to his bosses that the item shop would erode the "soul" of his game for very long.

I really don't like the game shop. It offends my principles. But in practical terms, it really has done so very little. It lets people pay to avoid playing a game they pay money to play. Those people were never any fun to play with anyway.

[Gunfytr]

I really don't like the game shop. It offends my principles. But in practical terms, it really has done so very little. It lets people play to avoid playing a game they pay money to play. Those people were never any fun to play with anyway.

that

[Kari]

I don't think Means had any choice in the matter. I doubt he considered trying to explain to his bosses that the item shop would erode the "soul" of his game for very long.

Who said he didn't want to do it? double-dipping customers in subs & the shop is the latest mmo bandwagon ( Eve have been attempting it in the face of subscriber riots too ), why should it be faceless FC bosses handing down edicts to the guy in charge of this entire game rather than him & his board of developers pushing it?

Funny how AO & Eve are both trying to introduce item shops using almost exactly the same language, which paraphrases to "it's what everyone else is doing". I respected both games for sticking it out, NOT doing it and daring to be different. Respect ( and willingness to pay ) for both is rather plummeting atm. Pushing it in my face every login in the last couple of days is not helping either.

As for the op: tokens were falling from the sky before the shop arrived. I've pulled an obscene number out of s10 for alts, for instance, and when I was idly farming for my shade not so long ago even just hanging around a tokengun site wasn't an exactly slow supply. Few hours a day for a few days would have given plenty. What you seem to be complaining about is your market changing, and... well that's the world. Thankfully if your enjoyment of this particular life is diminshed enough that you don't want to be here, you can just walk.

[-Stage-]

Who said he didn't want to do it?

Nobody, that's entirely my assumption. I assume he wouldn't want to do it because it's a crap thing to do.

That said, I can forgive a lot in the light of buyable IPRs

[drainbamage]

That is the truth right here.boring old way,that means everything you know.
In old boring ways people had fun tuning their characters and learning how to play those which made for example tokenfarming much more enjoyable but because its so boring to tune your character and learn how to be a better player its cool to buy happiness.

Hahaha what

The old token grind nearly killed all interest in this game for me by the time I finished it. There was zero challenge or learning involved in farming the same random missions for the 100th time. It was a sadistic grind that you were forced to partake in if you wanted to be the best you could be.

Same goes for AXP. Killing tens of thousands of near-identical aliens is not going to make you better at the game.

That is so funny how people thinks that bought victory is same as earned one.
And this is the thing what means did to this game,he thinks he can sell winner feeling with real cash in a game not to mention APTs or way too overpoweted tools what you can get way too easily nowadays.
There he fails soo badly you know,because he removed the real feeling of success and the happines what comes from it.

When I finished farming tokens I didn't feel like a "winner". I felt like shooting myself in the face.

I refuse to buy things from the online store in general principle, but I'll be damned if I can find fault with anyone wanting to bypass that garbage.

[Gatess]

i'm happy

[trollingstones]

Hahaha what

The old token grind nearly killed all interest in this game for me by the time I finished it. There was zero challenge or learning involved in farming the same random missions for the 100th time. It was a sadistic grind that you were forced to partake in if you wanted to be the best you could be.

Same goes for AXP. Killing tens of thousands of near-identical aliens is not going to make you better at the game.

When I finished farming tokens I didn't feel like a "winner". I felt like shooting myself in the face.

I refuse to buy things from the online store in general principle, but I'll be damned if I can find fault with anyone wanting to bypass that garbage.

Imnot going list all those suggestions what people suggested to means soo many times soo many many many times many many many great ideas how to make more challenges and why.point is he didnt.what he did is just the opposite,from the day 1.

[Gatess]

You never worked with a dev team in a corporate environment, i take it.

I only blame Means for exposing himself too much and increasing the troll-debate, but thats a risk you have to take in order to get more feedback.

Take a step back and look at the big picture... it used to be a 15'' B/W TV now its a 42'' Plasma. Maybe one day it will be even better.