Official AQ3D Discussion Thread

Snowy, you are a wise sage in the ways of business.
Would it be a good thing if AE were bought up by a larger company? Do you think the game would be positively affected or would it just end up costing the players more money (ie in-app purchases?)

 

I think people always complain about money without ever thinking about the people that have to produce the content in the first place, and it tends to be kids or just gamers in general. Usually these people grow up playing games and spending their parent's credit card without ever realizing how the economy actually functions, and then in their early adulthood, they invest in gaming rather than a career and believe that life's unfair, sometimes demanding games to be free, and they sometimes put themselves in a bad spot economically. I even think those that invest in a career like being a Twitch streamer (rather than investing in higher education) hoping to become popular put themselves in a bad spot, because then they don't have other viable avenues for income. And it's a big problem here in America where the youth believes that socialism would instantly solve everything, and it even correlates with psychological and mental issues.

I think it's normal for in-app purchases to exist, just as long as it's not some egregious request like $1,000 for some DLC or feature. Every developer has to make money somehow, just to provide for their own livelihood. And I'm not saying that companies like Blizzard (or AAA companies) should be able to acquire some indie game; rather, I'm saying that companies that are in a strong position (not in debt and not facing bankruptcy) could acquire a small indie game (maybe even merge together) to build a stronger foundation; in other words, they would be more like a mid-tiered company. I wouldn't be a fan of AAA companies acquiring small games since it tends to kill diversity, but you also have to realize that the gaming industry is already diverse and that the pressure makes it immensely difficult for newer games to set up or build a foundation for success.

But when it comes to whether a game will be "positively affected" or "negatively affected", it tends to be a matter of opinion. And sometimes even the negatives are a good thing in life. I've always asked, "what is 'good' if there is no 'bad'?" You really can't have something good, if you can't compare it with the bad in the first place, and I think the yin-yang, and even philosophy in general, illustrates well that symbolism. And I think companies that have so-called "paywalls" are doing a service to society, because people need to recognize that nothing is 100% free and that status is earned in life. People can't just rely on video games to give them satisfaction and hope that everything goes their way.

 

I agree with the whole yin-yang thing. In my life, special things become less special when done regularly. The good things need to be balanced with bad things to seem as good. A life in moderation is a better life, in my opinion.

In-app purchases aren't a bad thing. Everytime I buy something with DC on AQ3D I remember that I am buying someone's artwork. This is something they have invested time and effort into. This is not just money thrown away, but invested. The money you spend will go back into the game and further it and make it better. I hope you didn't feel that I think that in-app purchases are all bad. They are not. It's just that some games are pay-to-win. In order to succeed you need to pay the price through in-app purchases. The thing I love about AQ3D is that you don't have to buy anything in order to enjoy the game. I went for quite a while as a free-to-play player. There were a lot of perks to buying guardian for me. The free tfs, extra vault space, access to the tower, etc. But the thing that really made me want to make that upgrade was the fact that this game had provided me with hours and hours of enjoyment and I feel that $20 was a small price to pay back into it. If anyone ever asks me if guardian is worth it then I would say, "yes." Not just for the perks but also because you are making an investment back into the game.

I hope that AE doesn't have to get bought out by a bigger company. But if they do, I hope that it results in a better game that is still accessible to f2p players and has the resources to put time into more elaborate storylines.
I am a big fan of Star Wars. When I first heard that the franchise had been bought out by Disney, I was disappointed. I didn't see how in the world this could be a good thing. But in the end it has been a good thing. We have had more content then we ever would have had with Lucas still at the helm. There are some people who would disagree with me but sometimes there is a good future in a merger, especially when the buyer is a fan of the franchise and works to keep the same spirit behind it, while having more resources to expand it.

 

I have a different perspective about video games. I think people tend to exaggerate pay2win as some bad thing, and it pressures small game companies that are just trying to make a living, but games I've played that are like that aren't as bad as people say they are. It tends to be the bigger game companies that present the problem more, especially when those companies cut back in the quality of their game just for a quick buck. I'm not a fan of games where people just pay "by brand name only", because it reveals complacency for the game itself. In fact, I tend to notice more quality in mid-tiered games where you pay a price, even if people say it's "unfair" due to some advantage, because I can at least expect a better outcome out of those games. I'm not saying free games have some bad quality, but years worth of endeavor into developing a game with little income is a terrible approach to game development.

When it comes to AQ3D, there used to be a lot of things I would be hopeful for early in the game's development, but the game just never gained the momentum it needed. Sure, AE still pushes out releases, but it never feels complete; it has always felt like the company's been trapped in a bubble for years trying to figure out what the next biggest hit would be. Sometimes AE does experimental things and players will generally perceive that as a good thing, but AE never really pushes their boundaries enough, and that could just be the limitation of their company size and investment to the game. I'd like to see AE work with another game company, because AQ3D just isn't going to get far as it currently stands. The game just hasn't had a strong growth, and that's just from their content alone; whenever the game does grow, it's usually from events (like concerts) and that tends to be temporary. I still see a lot of players that aren't really thrilled by the game itself, but only stay around for the community.

 

From a player's perspective, pay-to-win is bad if you don't have money. There is nothing worse than seeing gamers with a lot of stuff or ones who can beat you just because they have more money than you. I guess from the business perspective, not so bad but I am seeing it from my perspective. If you need items with better stats then you need to pay X amount of money, etc.
If pouring money into a game makes it better then I guess that is a good side. I like the AQ3D philosophy that rewards people who pay with better cosmetic items, which don't affect gameplay, but just asthetics.

 

Except it's not as bad as people say it is. People that work generally don't have that much time to play anyway, and it's really discouraging when video games attempt to drain people's time away. Whenever I see a game that's overly repetitive and tries to suck players into hours and hours of gameplay, but have paid features to lessen that time, I start considering what the real problem is... is it actually paid players that's the problem or is it the game itself (and how it presents the gameplay in general) that's the problem?

Whenever people complain about games having paid advantages and shortcuts (outside of PvP), it usually reveals that it's the game that's the problem. If you can't have fun playing a game, because other players enjoy spending their money on a game, then it's likely that the game itself isn't as interesting. And people can always argue about socioeconomic issues, but I think it's irrelevant; people should think about how they play and enjoy the game rather than grow envious on other players that are having fun. I'm just not a fan of people that refuse to spend money on a game trying to tell other players how to enjoy a game, or tell developers how they should run their game, because that tends to ruin other people's experience or bog down the game even more.

I've played countless games that people would call "pay2win", and very often, those people would experience social issues in life (maybe they live in war-torn areas or economically disadvantaged areas) or just can't enjoy a game since money is the only way to truly experience a game. And often, I would tell them to just find another game to play since there are over thousands of games out there. You're not going to find a game that's "free" without caveats. I often tell people that a $60 game that you only pay once for is far better than a subscription-based games, even if the game has mediocre ratings, because once you pay for a game, you don't have to worry about paying again. There are far better things people can do than worry about money, like just enjoying life and appreciating the things they already have.

But I will never put myself in the position to call a game "pay2win" just to argue that a game is bad or to complain about players that enjoy paying for a game. If I don't like a game, I just won't play it. I can still review a game and give valid criticism on a game, but I will never raise money as my concern to a game. I can, however, acknowledge malpractices when I see it (e.g. games endorsing gambling and/or manipulating children).

And AQ3D is no different than any other game. Personally, I don't find it as enjoyable, with or without spending money, but that's because of AE's poor planning into game development after the annulment Flash, not so much of whether the game feels pay2win or not. On the flip side, you'll still see people complain about AQ3D and other AE games being "pay2win" for various things (e.g. DC-only forms give speed advantage, Guardians getting bonuses, having to pay DCs to speed up crafting or buy craft items, etc.). It's not all about cosmetics, and I'm not even a fan of cosmetic items in generally just because I see it as an opportunity for AE to be "lazy" and "complacent" to even bother adding stats at all.

I do think people complaining about a game being "pay2win", especially during initial development, are doing more harm to that game and community than anything else; AQ3D still struggles to get over 2,000 players most of the time to this day, so what good does it do for AE to try to make the game more free? You're just not going to get a successful game with socialist or anti-capitalist ideas, because it's the distribution and circulation of wealth that encourages growth and innovation. Not a lot of people understand that, because they're still too young or haven't truly understood economics.

 

I think you guys are talking about two different versions of pay2win though. One being, save me time. The other being, if you have money you can be stronger than someone else period, full stop. Now, of course these can be mutually exclusive, but often aren't.

You can have simple pay money to get better gear that others can never get unless they pay money, and that is terrible pay2win IMO. Then you can have the former but allow those with no money to reach that eventual level of power after much time and effort, less bad, but still annoying for players with no cash.

The way AQ3D does it currently makes it simply a time saver sometimes, and that's fine for most people. But they also make cosmetics that you can never get without cash, but it isn't pay2win, so again that's fine. Once they introduce PvP, if some people are able to out right buy more power than others can ever achieve, it will be a major issue IMO.

 

The cosmetic items can cost dragon crystals but it is a possibility (for mobile users) to watch ads for dc. This takes more time and is more difficult when items are available for a limited time. But it is possible to earn cosmetic items by spending time, instead of money.

 

Well, when you think about it, having a stronger item saves time, too. It takes less time to kill a monster when you have stronger gear and you don't have to go through all of the crafting just to obtain that item. I always think about it this way: If you're busy working and you make money from your job, then you should be able to spend that money on whatever game you want just to catch up.

Pay2win is usually a problem when there's player interaction, like with PvP, but right now, PvP isn't even complete yet.

 

Hello everyone, today the game had a great event promoted by our Guild (SKN). There was live on you tube, and we also had the presence of gold raven at the event!

 

Good evening, do you know any news about an event that will take place in the next few days?

 

Today Santa Claus did the right thing! lol

 

Did the map of Atlantis surprise you guys, or not?

 

I agree with you, so far the game has been dealing very well with the pay2w issue, and I hope it continues like this, because many games manage to deal with the pay2w very well at first, but then they get lost in a sea of greed, as per example some blizzard games.

 

I read the posts nowadays and I keep recording these things at the time lol

 

I'm loving the final part of atlantis!

 

I miss the events of the game ogre in the game. Anyone from 2017 still here?anyone who was at this event here?