I have refrained from publicly giving an opinion on this matter because, like I stated before, I don't have access to the information necessary to even begin to consider a solution for this problem. Yet again, I am adamant about the fact that the answer is in the data (statistics) that MindArk has.
There were several mentions of data analysts and how more than one would be necessary to work on this. I don't know how much the people who suggested data analysts know about data analysis but you absolutely don't need more than a single capable person whose sole purpose should be handling the data. I deal with data analysis on a daily basis and have been doing so for the past eleven years and the size and scope of the data in question is far greater than that of Entropia Universe. So I am positive that a single data analyst who knows what they're doing is enough for the job. However, without the guidance of an economist, they are highly unlikely to succeed. I have seen great analysts over the years, great in the technical sense but unless you have a clear goal in mind, any amount and quality of data is useless. This is where the economist jumps in. This is a team of two people who could do wonders.
This is doable, no doubt about it. As grim as things may seem today, this can be fixed and Entropia Universe could become better than it ever was as a result. This, however, leads to the next question, is MindArk truly capable to create the big picture plan? By "big picture", I mean a plan that spans at the very least a few years. In order for the aforementioned team to be able to do any good for Entropia, they would need this end goal.
To the point of the Mayhem vendor, I see that opinions are heavily divided. The bottom line, on the other hand, is very simple. The flooding needs to stop. Reading through the comments I wasn't convinced by either side given how the ideas were formulated. However, both sides had good suggestions. Take this with a grain of salt but if we are speaking about the Mayhem vendor, I would say that it must go in its current form. It's not doing any good for the game, yet I strongly believe that it doesn't need to go overnight. This can have a multi-phase solution which is fair and transparent, after all, the attempt is to repair a world of damage inflicted on the game so a bit of transparency would be a welcome change.
Bear in mind that this proposition comes from someone who has a LOT of tokens and I stand to lose more than most if this were to be implemented. Yet, I would accept that temporary loss if it means a brighter future for Entropia Universe.
Phase 1 (after the current Merry Mayhem):
- Make all Mayhem Tokens and Rare Mayhem Tokens tradable;
- Announce the date but not items of one final restock in the form of an auction for that restock (not through the vendor, create a separate system for this purpose);
- Try your best to balance this restock with between 5 and 10 items total (no duplicate items eg. 2 Mod-Nanos);
- Announce the items and start the auction that would run for X days.
Phase 2 (after the auction has ran its course):
- Keep the current vendor in-game until the end of the year with pills only;
- Make an announcement that on 31st December 2025th the vendor will be removed and all outstanding tokens will become useless.
Phase 3 (removal of Mayhems as we know them for the time being - in parallel with Phase 2):
- Make an announcement that Easter Mayhem and Halloween Mayhem will not be coming back;
- Hite a team that will be in charge of working on the long-term plan.
Phase 4:
-This is the time when the new direction can begin to take point and this can mean anything that was already mentioned in this thread (a completely new Mayhem (once a year, not event after event after event) system that would have a different vendor with a variant of L bps that were discussed in this thread at length) or something entirely different, as long as it's sustainable in the long term;
- The emphasis must be on the economy, healthy markups can only become a possibility when all three major professions have a place in the universe and this can be achieved by stimulating the economy with new blueprints for both UL and L items;
- This will be the challenge for the data analyst and the economist. They need to create a system that would stimulate the economy without flooding / oversupplying it. One that can exist for a very long time with clear progression paths planned in advance that can be introduced over-time (over the course of years, not months or weeks as MindArk has been doing recently).
Phase 5:
- Once the above has been achieved (not after 10 years but as soon as the new direction has been decided and things have started to move in the said direction), MindArk can begin planning great events that would cater to the people who want UL items as a result of those events and most importantly, balance the rewards, balance the amount of rewards, keep track of the economy. A person who knows what they're doing can do this, once again, I have no doubt in my mind about this.
I know it's a wall of text and I am sorry for that. The reality is, what I said above is just scratching the surface but I think it puts things in perspective and gives a certain order of how things should be changing. I am not saying that the proposed changes are the alpha and the omega but the same principle would apply to any other model:
1. Stop everything that you're doing that you know is wrong;
2. Take a step back, deeply consider everything;
3. Make a plan and hire the appropriate people to execute the plan;
4. Stick to the plan but make minor modifications along the way, it's unrealistic that a 5 years plan can be followed to a T and it doesn't need to be as long as there are no huge messes along the way so tread carefully. Once again, no need to be overly ambitious and try to make an overnight change of EVERYTHING in the game, do it one step at a time. It's amazing how far one can get not by making a thousand steps per day but making a single step in the right direction every day.