Yeah, even if I hit 2 rares in 1 day I’d still think, and feel the same way about this.
Knowing that 98% of everyone else that didn’t hit - many of them will be saying “Just one more hour” “Ok, one more hour.” “Surely it’s coming, an hour more.” “I’m in too deep, I can’t quit, all in.” A lot of people can’t help but think like this - that’s my concern, nothing else.
The general denial around the point that this is what is happening concerns me that the token response is:
“you’ve got much bigger problems if that’s your problem.” and that’s exactly the point, a lot of people here myself included are “problem gamers” the event in this fashion encourages that beyond the level that’s already there for a lot of players here.
I’ll probably make it my goal to double my effort but half my play time going forward, a lot of people won’t be able to do that because of the psychology I described above.
That’s purely the point I’m making, not about me not hitting the first weekend. - I could care less if I ACTUALLY hit, because the chase is where the fun is, not the actual hit, that’s what a lot of you fail to understand about addiction.
The impact on support roles would only be limited to the 4 months that rares are obtainable, though. So for me, personally, I think using the word “undermining” is a bit too harsh as surely it’d revert back to its previous state after the chance to receive rares on weekends has passed.
This game is more than just a low-pop MMO to a lot of us. Personally, it is a huge aspect of my social life. I think a lot of us feel like we are invested into what is the ‘early’ part of what will ultimately grow into a larger, more populous game.
For the sake of authenticity, if you were there in 2004, you either had a rare or could obtain one (or numerous). It wasn’t until years later that they became priced out to normal players.
What a lot of us are feeling is FOMO, knowing just how valuable these could be in 2-3 years, when the average player count could be 10x what it is now… But this isn’t about an imaginary bank account being inflated by a super-rare, it is more of a trophy, a symbol that we were here in the beginning stages. So I’m grinding until I get one, and I hope my entire friends list gets one (and not because they didn’t grind for it)! That is my hope for rares, and this game.
Thank you Pazaz and team for an amazing game, I am very grateful for this server.
Yeah but Josh would sometimes have weekend streams of upwards of 12 hours (with recommended breaks), nobody wants to run ess or even runecraft on weekends if there’s a limited time slot for rares and the community has theorized that simply running is not a time-efficient weekend activity.
With 12 hour weekend streams, we would hit our collective goal of 91 much sooner. We are trying to get it done ASAP, especially before much larger updates like Slayer, Barrows, and Fremennik, when new players are more likely to join, that way we have one of the best money makers in the game. That’s why players have already invested upwards of 100 in game hours running ess. #runwithJosh
Correct, you are feeling FOMO, but it’s misplaced. You are here! You’re doing it! You’re not missing out, you’re exploring the event and learning how it works with your community! This is exactly the point all along!
The game’s more than “just” a low-pop. MMO for me too, and I didn’t for a moment imply that that’s all it amounts to. But that is what it is. It’s.an online video game that 1000-2000 people play, and this event is a fun community-focused timeline shared to all with passion and consideration. I’m clearly talking about the event itself, not downplaying the significance of Runescape or harping on the playercount of Lost City.
You say this low-pop. MMO is a huge part of your social life. Sure, isn’t it thriving for you then? This is one of the major social eras of the server so far, overshadowed only by F2P/P2P launch. So why, then, do you mention FOMO on the potential value of these items, but also say ‘This isn’t about my bank worth’? Okay, you say you’d want to see these holiday items as a symbol indicating you were here early on. Moving past skills being a fine way to show how long you’ve been playing, wanting “veteran” or “OG” prestige proof seems somewhat reasonable. So would you be fine with every player getting a holiday item then? They are all here too right? When would be the cutofff so that the veterans and OGs can flex their account age on new players? What if the cutoff was before you started playing?
You say this is a huge part of your social life. Sure, isn’t it thriving for you then? - It hasn’t been the same since when it was 1k player count, but having built out my friends lists, and especially the youtube streams, i spend a lot of time socializing through 04.
Why, then, do you mention FOMO on the potential value of these items, but also say ‘This isn’t about my bank worth’ - The value isn’t the gp, there is tremendous value in saying to a new player 2 years from now that you were here from the beginning, and having the discontinued item(s) to prove it. As of now these things (the wearable versions) arent being sold,it would be foolish to do so.
Moving past skills being a fine way to show how long you’ve been playing - (lot to say about this)
Would you be fine with every player getting a holiday item then? -Yes at least one per player would be no issue in my mind, especially with there being 15 different options.
They are all here too right? - yes, that is what the minimum level req. is for, though it would be nice to know if I’m even eligible…
When would be the cutofff so that the veterans and OGs can flex their account age on new players? -4 months seems reasonable given the expected updates around that time.
What if the cutoff was before you started playing?- i would rather my REAL og friends get rares before me (check my first hard casket)… I came into the game after members released, I would have no issue if players like JoshBrown and Tranquil (amongst many others) were walking around in 3 years with their favorite color party hat, mask, and a Santa for Christmas time. I want to see the players that have poured their heart into this server get rewarded before I do, they deserve it in my opinion.
I also would be happy if everyone currently playing got multiple rares, because we are here and involved right now. The rarity factor to me isn’t about them being rare now, its about them becoming rare after they become unobtainable. However, if it’s estimated that 10% will receive them then they seem to be close to unobtainable as it is. I know its only been one weekend, but I know people who stayed online for over 24 hours and didn’t receive one. (The health factor of that is a whole other issue that was already discussed and I’m not really here to talk about that aspect of this.)
The FOMO aspect is more along the lines of not being acknowledged or included. Sure its fun to “take part” in this event but it truly stings to invest so much time and energy into something and not have any tangible results. So rather than “taking part” it feels more like being on the baseball team and wearing the uniform and then 2/3rds of the team not being invited to the team pizza party after the game. Just watching the a few team members eat delicious pizza from outside.
I also love the aspect of being able to have a visual marker to show that I was around for this. Just gaining levels doesn’t really do that. I personally also feel like it would be cool for this to be a way of acknowledging the people who kept going on this server for the literal love of the game. The game started small, then grew to over 2,000 people, and then died off a bit again. The people playing now are mostly the people who stayed around and I think that’s worth something regardless of the fact that this game is not primarily focused on the player count but more towards preservation. It just seems like a generally nice thing to do.
Secondary to all this, I think trying to recreate the rarity aspect of these items was a miss. Because they were plentiful at the initial event. Recreating an environment where most people don’t have them has no other outcome than a majority of unhappy players. Technically it will visually look more authentic to how it was in 2004, in the sense that most didn’t have these items, but its inauthentic to the drop of thems itself. They were extremely plentiful and worthless on release. People sold them in shops and gave them away. Its only when the game grew and more people joined after the event had already taken place that their value went up. I think its more authentic to the release to make them much much easier to acquire. This will make the og regular players happy for the reasons mentioned above, and down the line it will become similar to how the actual game panned out. The players here now for the event will have them and new players will not, just as it happened originally. Plus the players that joined after 2002 were not upset that they didn’t have these items because they were fully aware they weren’t playing during the event. However, we ARE playing during this games event.
I know this is long and this topic has been controversial. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I respect and love Pazaz and the others involved in this server. I know its a lot of work and take time, money, and energy out of their own lives to make this all happen. I also know that a lot of thought went into this event and whether to put these items into the game at all. I am just very invested in this server and really love and enjoy it and these rares mean a lot to many current players including myself.
Ultimately I really hope that the rates get tweaked. It doesn’t hurt the server in any way for the regular player base to have a fun visual marker to celebrate their being here now. These things don’t need to start at millions and millions of gp, let their value reach that naturally and let the current regular player base have some fun and be rewarded rather than having some invisible lottery that rewards only a small fraction of the people.
I keep seeing the point that they were “worthless on release”. Surely people realize this innocence can’t be recreated. Even if they’re super common, no one is going to sell them to shops today. Personally, having rares I want but don’t have/can’t afford would be authentic lol.
although I wouldn’t consider this weekend a miss per say. Pazaz is also doing a little contest for the first ones:
“If you are the first player to receive that rare, you’ll be recognized and get recorded in our server’s history. There will be a bounty prize pool for the first winners!”
As it currently stands it’s basically a lottery right now with everyone that is eligible to have a chance. No matter if you sweat or not.
Perhaps the rates will change after this contest when all unique rare slots are filled.
Interesting theory. It would also explain why the different rares appear to have a uniform distribution (no real pattern to which are rarer than others) now.
