Those imbalances don't matter much as anyone can get credits.
Other imbalances which have historically happened in IRE games out of the gate are the closed beta testers can snap up or corner resources, honours, quests, and positions in game (staff favortism). These things have on occasion been far greater imbalances then credits.
This is why it appears to me that having some sort of open beta to even the field and then a full reset would be the fairest approach.
As someone who didn't get into closed beta, I kinda just feel like them's the breaks. I'm reasonably confident that any advantage others have over me thanks to a two weeks head start is one I could just as easily recuperate given two weeks to catch up. I'd be surprised if by the end of the month any 'beta cliques' that may have formed still care who did and didn't play with them during closed beta, I really would.
Besides, doesn't everyone want to check out the new guy? For all I know people are getting rather bored of their beta peeps by now. Might be they're looking forward to getting some fresh blood.
"They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty." — Oscar Wilde
"I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before." — Margaret Atwood
Those imbalances don't matter much as anyone can get credits.
Other imbalances which have historically happened in IRE games out of the gate are the closed beta testers can snap up or corner resources, honours, quests, and positions in game (staff favortism). These things have on occasion been far greater imbalances then credits.
This is why it appears to me that having some sort of open beta to even the field and then a full reset would be the fairest approach.
As someone who didn't get into closed beta, I kinda just feel like them's the breaks. I'm reasonably confident that any advantage others have over me thanks to a two weeks head start is one I could just as easily recuperate given two weeks to catch up. I'd be surprised if by the end of the month any 'beta cliques' that may have formed still care who did and didn't play with them during closed beta, I really would.
Besides, doesn't everyone want to check out the new guy? For all I know people are getting rather bored of their beta peeps by now. Might be they're looking forward to getting some fresh blood.
I mean it all depends really, I know someone irl that was in the gw2 beta and made a massive amount of money in game through trading at launch because of the advantage. There's a plausible advantage to knowing where to harvest resources and rushing for them in the early days before other players also figure that out (competition/piracy)
Same with knowing bashing zones, unless we have some command to show them, being able to quickly and effectively grind up levels does provide a slight edge as does having a head start on PvP.
It's mitigated by the beta testers who'd share what they've learned in CB as they can help the rest of us catch up, but others will just enjoy the advantage of their early knowledge.
Long term, I don't think it will make that big of a difference for a handful of players to have any sort of advantage at the start. A few weeks from release, information will have gotten out to the general populace and mitigate it. If you're the sort that likes to "win" in a MUD and are worried about a "beta bonus", you're thinking far too short-term. Always play the long game.
I've also found that mud-players are generally helpful and willing to share what knowledge they have of the game to everyone's benefit. They had to struggle with learning things (some of which admin will have told them, other from just trial and error) that they won't hesitate to share and make everyone's learning pains smaller.
*shrug* the first couple of weeks are the only time not openly sharing everything you know might have an impact because if you can get ahead in an aspect of the game you can likely turn a profit when there's lesser competition.
Like, if you know the most efficient way to level quickly, you may be able to avoid the competition of the potentially hundred or more other people trying to also level at the same time. Which you can then turn into profit by selling drops to the wave of people behind you. Which can converts into ships or the like which can convert into more profit. Or it could convert into early credit market purchases given the topic is about some players having more credits than others.
I was around for the opening of both Lusternia and MKO, started playing both within minutes of opening. In neither case were people hoarding knowledge - quite the opposite. We were all teaming up to see what we could kill, sharing anything we'd learned on CT. Just figured I'd throw out there what past experience has shown.
Even though I really look forward to Starmourn, there's a good chance I wouldn't actually get too invested in it without the retirement aspect. I've never been particularly wealthy, and absolutely nothing about credit buying is cheap. Every purchase was a considerable one for me, even if overall they're pretty minor on the scale of what you can actually buy.
I also have to consider that MUDs just aren't going to have the same place in my life that they used to. I'm much older now, and there are so many other (and more important!) things that draw at my time, money and attention. In fact, I've already effectively quit the game I "invested" in quite some time ago, for several reasons. I can't even bring myself to play it anymore.
Though it's just a fraction of what I spent on the character I'm left, that would probably really rub a sore spot sorer if all of that felt "wasted." I'm really glad IRE acknowledges and appreciates that enough to let some of us have a bit of past purchases still matter, when I want to find out if I'm really ready to "waste" my money on them again.
Racing to be at the top is fine, but one has to be careful just how you're actually racing, and what really is the "top." Some races cannot be won.
I was around for the opening of both Lusternia and MKO, started playing both within minutes of opening. In neither case were people hoarding knowledge - quite the opposite. We were all teaming up to see what we could kill, sharing anything we'd learned on CT. Just figured I'd throw out there what past experience has shown.
Have you forgotten the hording of commodities, the price fixing, the favoritism of admin towards beta players?
I was around for the opening of both Lusternia and MKO, started playing both within minutes of opening. In neither case were people hoarding knowledge - quite the opposite. We were all teaming up to see what we could kill, sharing anything we'd learned on CT. Just figured I'd throw out there what past experience has shown.
I was there at the beginning of MKO and Lusternia too, and I know for a fact a lot of knowledge was being horded. People were hiding all types of information concerning abilities, locations that gave good experience & gold, plus quests. The initial best fighters had a leg up a lot of times because they were also the ones who already had all of the captured lines in combat, and already saw what abilities various classes had. Many also knew which classes were overpowered in the beginning, and flocked to them to gain an advantage on the less informed players.
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Besides, doesn't everyone want to check out the new guy? For all I know people are getting rather bored of their beta peeps by now. Might be they're looking forward to getting some fresh blood.
"They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
— Oscar Wilde
"I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
— Margaret Atwood
There's a plausible advantage to knowing where to harvest resources and rushing for them in the early days before other players also figure that out (competition/piracy)
Same with knowing bashing zones, unless we have some command to show them, being able to quickly and effectively grind up levels does provide a slight edge as does having a head start on PvP.
It's mitigated by the beta testers who'd share what they've learned in CB as they can help the rest of us catch up, but others will just enjoy the advantage of their early knowledge.
Like, if you know the most efficient way to level quickly, you may be able to avoid the competition of the potentially hundred or more other people trying to also level at the same time. Which you can then turn into profit by selling drops to the wave of people behind you. Which can converts into ships or the like which can convert into more profit.
Or it could convert into early credit market purchases given the topic is about some players having more credits than others.
I also have to consider that MUDs just aren't going to have the same place in my life that they used to. I'm much older now, and there are so many other (and more important!) things that draw at my time, money and attention. In fact, I've already effectively quit the game I "invested" in quite some time ago, for several reasons. I can't even bring myself to play it anymore.
Though it's just a fraction of what I spent on the character I'm left, that would probably really rub a sore spot sorer if all of that felt "wasted." I'm really glad IRE acknowledges and appreciates that enough to let some of us have a bit of past purchases still matter, when I want to find out if I'm really ready to "waste" my money on them again.
Racing to be at the top is fine, but one has to be careful just how you're actually racing, and what really is the "top." Some races cannot be won.
Have you forgotten the hording of commodities, the price fixing, the favoritism of admin towards beta players?