Tumbleweed
Let's put the question stright. If there were only two options left: Ryzom is dead, or Ryzom is alive, but with cash shop being implemented, what would you choose?
As I understand it, basically there are three kinds of cash shops around.
Pay to win - you pay for some exclusive, frequently imbalanced items, that you can't acquire in game by any means. And those items usually designed to give you some sort of advantage over other players.
Pay to save time - you pay for items that already exist in game and can be acquired by in-game methods. In this case you simply choose what to invest into getting them, whether it's your time or your money. Call me a heretic, but when it comes to Ryzom, i'd rather purchase some supremes or boss mats from the cash shop. Because I see camping supreme spots for many hours or daily runs to the boss spawns as a waste of my time, not to mention it being terribly boring.
Pay to look different - that's obvious enough, all sorts of decorative stuff, whatever is up to your fancy.
I avoid the games with first kind of cash shop (pay to win), but i'm ok with other two schemes. If that could allow the owners make some quick cash and use it for supporting game - sure, why not?
Bitttymacod
I'm in favor of the pay to get neat IRL stuff (i.e. souvenirs) I'd love a plush yubo or a plush kipuka. T-shirts (I trekked from Yrkanis to Zora and all I got was this lousy T-shirt) etc. In game, not only no, but Hell NO.
At this point any kind of cash-raising scheme looks tempting. However:
- Pay to Win has got to be a no-no. I mean, what's the point? You either play the game or you don't.
- Pay to save Time - again, what's the point? If you don't like digging for mats, you can get them off another player by barter or off your guild.
- Pay to Look Different is the easy one. This stuff doesn't give you an advantage over other players. Make a small charge for tattoos, hairstyles etc. OK at the moment we get this for free but if the cost is fair it could work. Maybe keep what we have now in-game free and the paid stuff is not available in-game.
- Souvenir Shop - this would do well, I'm sure. I mean, who wouldn't want a T-shirt or a cuddly toy? The only downside to this is the investment needed to set it up. Not a problem if Winchgate could set up licence agreements to protect copyright etc. and farm out the production side to manufacturers. And T-shirts are free advertising.
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It's bad luck to be superstitious . . .Palta e decata, nan nec ilne matala.
When one goes on a journey it is not the scenery that changes, but the traveller