I have only posted once on this forum, and was severly dissappointed by the lack of discussion or follow up by the community at large. In my post under "Neverdie" I pointed out some discrepencies in what was publicly stated and what is publicy recorded. Since then, I have been trying to understand how our "virtual" economy works and what is gained by the "Project Entropia".
What I do know is that the game is not as advertised. What I don't know is why. I am once again posting in an effort to understand what was briefly enjoyable, but now feels more like fraud.
I do not take the word fraud lightly. However, classic pyramid schemes are often structured in a similar way as Project Entropia appears to be.
The CNN report that drew me to this game claimed that this was a virtual world with a "real cash economy". In the real world, economies are transparent and data regarding that economy are available to the public for protection against fraud/monopolies, etc. What I find disheartening is that the "real cash economy" does not appear to have any checks/balances and seems to elude even the most advanced user in exactly how it works.
Upon first starting the game, I made a small deposit upon which I was charged a fee. This was not a problem for me, as I understand that the overhead and profits must come from somewhere. This would appear to be a valid place for that in a "real cash economy".
Next I found that decay is a real dollar cost, and no one seems to have the straight answer on what percentage of a deposit that fee will be. The posts and statements I have read have all stated that this is MindArks profit for the game. Ok, I thought the charge for the deposit was covering that.
So now we have two identified fees for playing the game, an initial fee, and an ongoing fee unless you do nothing but trade or craft. Well, this is double taxation in a real cash economy. Now I am really concerned about what I have invested time and real money into.
Next is the trade terminal. To hunt you either use ranged or melee weapons. A ranged weapon requires ammo which is sold solely by the game developer, and a melee weapon decays. Ok, logically I assume that all loots are generated by the purchase of ammo at the trade terminal, and distributed back to the general population by some mathematical equation set into the game. BUT....big but here, does a melee weapon individual contribute to the loot pool when he/she repairs their blade, or are they contributing to the costs/profits of the game developer via decay? Hmmm
Decay is agreed to be an operating expense...but why this contradiction? Are we a transparent community that can grasp and make educated decisions based on public knowledge? Or are we a group of individuals being frauded out of real dollars in a vain attempt for fun, social interaction and heaven forbid a little profit?
Ok, I can't understand the hunting system, so I won't participate. No big deal, there are other things to do in PE. So let's try mining. But wait, probes/bombs are sold only through the Trade Terminal. Are we going to experience the same inconsistencies that we saw with ranged/melee? We do. There is no proof that each bomb/probe is put back into the economy of PE. Again, a "real cash economy" that has no checks or balances. And alot of people with high skills are complaining in the forums about the loot system for mining also. So something might not be right here either.
Crafting? Well, someone with 50k engineering on this board has stated that the crafting is so messed up that they will not participate anymore. And as a crafter with 100 qr on bps, I can say personally that there is no sense of what the cos is, or how to make a sound decision based on it. Again, failures go directly back to the game developer, and are not ensured to be poot into the loot pool. No checks and balances here ither.
Now we get to active players. MA does not release how many are online at anytime, only how many have registered. And reports I get are that some inactive avatars take years to be deleted. Their own reports and the general agreement is that only 3-5% of all new players deposit and play the game. 350,000 registered accounts at that figure mean 17,500 regular players. Lets say 24 million dollars is the amount deposited in the last fiscal year. That means that each player is expected to deposit $1,450 someodd dollars each year. That means each and every regular player can on average expect to pay $1,500 per year for this game. With a quick hunt costing 100 ped in ammo, it is easy to see how some avatars can deposit many times more than this per year.
Now, where do I get the feeling that fraud may be occuring? Well, a classic pyramid scheme rewards those at the top (first players) by giving them a portion of the payments of those on the bottom (new players). This system keeps repeating itself with more and more levels until the whole thing collapses. With no way of knowing how many users are logged into the game at anytime, how are we the paying public to know if this might occur?
Many of you have invested much more than the $1,400 per year into this game. I have heard you talking about depositing 500-1,000 per month personally. This is real money with no accountability. And it is advertised as a "game". Best case scenario, I view this as gambling with a neat social inter-action. Worst case....well, how many of you have had the same doubts I am expressing?
If this is in fact gambling, shouldn't a warning be posted like on-line gambling sites? Shouldn't an age verification be required so as not to take advantage of young people who are not yet capable of making sound judgements financially? Or do you, the users, condone the exploitation of youths? In as pleasant an environment as PE, I find that hard to believe.
Basically, I am expecting, and require, some debate regarding these topics. As a depositer, my decision on whether to pursue other avenues will be based on what occurs in this thread.
What I do know is that the game is not as advertised. What I don't know is why. I am once again posting in an effort to understand what was briefly enjoyable, but now feels more like fraud.
I do not take the word fraud lightly. However, classic pyramid schemes are often structured in a similar way as Project Entropia appears to be.
The CNN report that drew me to this game claimed that this was a virtual world with a "real cash economy". In the real world, economies are transparent and data regarding that economy are available to the public for protection against fraud/monopolies, etc. What I find disheartening is that the "real cash economy" does not appear to have any checks/balances and seems to elude even the most advanced user in exactly how it works.
Upon first starting the game, I made a small deposit upon which I was charged a fee. This was not a problem for me, as I understand that the overhead and profits must come from somewhere. This would appear to be a valid place for that in a "real cash economy".
Next I found that decay is a real dollar cost, and no one seems to have the straight answer on what percentage of a deposit that fee will be. The posts and statements I have read have all stated that this is MindArks profit for the game. Ok, I thought the charge for the deposit was covering that.
So now we have two identified fees for playing the game, an initial fee, and an ongoing fee unless you do nothing but trade or craft. Well, this is double taxation in a real cash economy. Now I am really concerned about what I have invested time and real money into.
Next is the trade terminal. To hunt you either use ranged or melee weapons. A ranged weapon requires ammo which is sold solely by the game developer, and a melee weapon decays. Ok, logically I assume that all loots are generated by the purchase of ammo at the trade terminal, and distributed back to the general population by some mathematical equation set into the game. BUT....big but here, does a melee weapon individual contribute to the loot pool when he/she repairs their blade, or are they contributing to the costs/profits of the game developer via decay? Hmmm
Decay is agreed to be an operating expense...but why this contradiction? Are we a transparent community that can grasp and make educated decisions based on public knowledge? Or are we a group of individuals being frauded out of real dollars in a vain attempt for fun, social interaction and heaven forbid a little profit?
Ok, I can't understand the hunting system, so I won't participate. No big deal, there are other things to do in PE. So let's try mining. But wait, probes/bombs are sold only through the Trade Terminal. Are we going to experience the same inconsistencies that we saw with ranged/melee? We do. There is no proof that each bomb/probe is put back into the economy of PE. Again, a "real cash economy" that has no checks or balances. And alot of people with high skills are complaining in the forums about the loot system for mining also. So something might not be right here either.
Crafting? Well, someone with 50k engineering on this board has stated that the crafting is so messed up that they will not participate anymore. And as a crafter with 100 qr on bps, I can say personally that there is no sense of what the cos is, or how to make a sound decision based on it. Again, failures go directly back to the game developer, and are not ensured to be poot into the loot pool. No checks and balances here ither.
Now we get to active players. MA does not release how many are online at anytime, only how many have registered. And reports I get are that some inactive avatars take years to be deleted. Their own reports and the general agreement is that only 3-5% of all new players deposit and play the game. 350,000 registered accounts at that figure mean 17,500 regular players. Lets say 24 million dollars is the amount deposited in the last fiscal year. That means that each player is expected to deposit $1,450 someodd dollars each year. That means each and every regular player can on average expect to pay $1,500 per year for this game. With a quick hunt costing 100 ped in ammo, it is easy to see how some avatars can deposit many times more than this per year.
Now, where do I get the feeling that fraud may be occuring? Well, a classic pyramid scheme rewards those at the top (first players) by giving them a portion of the payments of those on the bottom (new players). This system keeps repeating itself with more and more levels until the whole thing collapses. With no way of knowing how many users are logged into the game at anytime, how are we the paying public to know if this might occur?
Many of you have invested much more than the $1,400 per year into this game. I have heard you talking about depositing 500-1,000 per month personally. This is real money with no accountability. And it is advertised as a "game". Best case scenario, I view this as gambling with a neat social inter-action. Worst case....well, how many of you have had the same doubts I am expressing?
If this is in fact gambling, shouldn't a warning be posted like on-line gambling sites? Shouldn't an age verification be required so as not to take advantage of young people who are not yet capable of making sound judgements financially? Or do you, the users, condone the exploitation of youths? In as pleasant an environment as PE, I find that hard to believe.
Basically, I am expecting, and require, some debate regarding these topics. As a depositer, my decision on whether to pursue other avenues will be based on what occurs in this thread.
like I have done 3 years 
used to be anyway 
