Yes this I do agree with. We need to do work to make the economy in Boundless to be better and important for those that play it. But, we can’t build a game where it is a forced option that people must participate in - at least not until it really works for all people. Even then I don’t think we should make it a requirement.
Personally I am still in the camp that it isn’t good for this game and needs to be changed on many levels or removed.
On the bright side, aside from exo planet warps people can go from lvl 1 to Viceroy of a planet by simply using iron hammers and portal networks in the beginning without using the economy if they so choose. I did recommend at minimum to buy those first couple advanced power coils to make new players able to craft their own.
With the repair update, basic power coils could potentially become relevant again since they no longer need to be repaired individually - I’m going to look into this.
Actually, you’re spitting bare facts here - the amount of regen farms and free stuff you can get it must be easier for a new player these days to get their foot in the door than if that same person started playing Sept '18
Edit: also prices were mental high compared to now days, 20k advanced powercoils for example - I didn’t bother back then lol
U have some rly good points, but i just wanted to say (at least i didnt see) no one wanted to make it a must do thing, but more of must have, you dont have to use it or be in it, but there must be an economy there, i personally would quit the game if coins would be deleted, or anything economy breaking… since i want a lot of things, but cant posibly manage to get all of that alone, so i do some stuff i know pays off and i buy others that i rly cant get alone, so for me PERSONALLY (did the caps just so no one gets it wrong, just sayin my opinion on it) it is a must be and must have thing.
Also if there was no coins anymore, devs would need to literally kick out shop stands, request baskets, shop finder etc. since it would be useless from that point, also trading would be much harder… since you would need to meet in person or talk on discord, set time and place and what and how much… also if you need anything really fast, counting the player base you wouldnt be able to get it by trading in most of the situations… so you can see how much actually it is important, i dont mind grinding and i dont rly spend a lot of coins (at least for me) but forging i dont rly like at all so i need to trade it/buy it also some resources are not available all the time (exo, gleambow oortmas etc) so i want to be able to get them when i want them/ need them and if the economy part was shut down, i would need a lot more time to get to it…
Also about the footfall, idk what is wrong with it now? too much money, not enough? exploits? cuz i think its just where it should be, since its not too much not too little, and i dont rly know who is so desperate to rly exploit the foot fall so much… i would rather gather/mine stuff than sell it for the time i “exploit” the footfall (if its even posible, i dont know rly)
Exactly. I mined with a chisel and iron hammer for my first diamonds on SERP to make my first coils. Took hours to get 80 diamonds for a few basic coils. Now you can buy advanced coils for less that 1000c. Or buy an Aoe hammer and get a stack of diamonds in an hour.
My points were not to say that it should be removed and I would fight any plans like that. It just needs to be made better so it can be used as an option for people. Of course the original point was to explain that it wasn’t the only way to do things and in my view not an objective part of the game - option an option for people.
Ye, i know what you said, but there was few ppl up there who said that it wouldnt hurt the game at all
This. An open economy (while engaging and fun?) is inherently the enemy of many progression aspects during the discovery-phase of an MMO-journey (once the community is established, which it is.) This is the double edged sword that has slain the population. One can now purchase the game and accomplish the status that the majority aspire toward within weeks. They are not invested because large swaths of progression were bypassed and thus they migrate on to other titles. The solution for long-term play-ability has to be found in meaningful raid content and exclusivity of items and character stat customization and skill-sets. A generic economy, to me, has always missed the mark and leads to an unstable populace. Unfortunately, Boundless wants to hang its hat on being an economy-driven MMO; I see this as barking up the wrong tree. (Forgive my mixed metaphors.)
So everyone who joins a sandbox universe a year in to the worlds and communities developing, should have to progress for a year to reach the same level of progression? I think catch up mechanics are essential, if someone leaves the game because they don’t enjoy grinding with everybody on the same playing field, they would’ve quit anyway when they hit the gem wall with unforged tools. The open player driven economy is the catch up mechanic in this game.
I would be totally screwed without this. I was able to catch up with the majority thanks to player economy.
Other games don’t have this and it’s a struggle to see everyone with fancy gear while you have to use a stick to lvl up
If you’re expecting players to come to the game armed with all the knowledge that they need to know to make the most out of their time then it would definitely be quicker now. It’s not in any way realistic to expect that, but sure.
Which brings this back to the title of the thread. Why is the population so small? Because apparently we’re also relying on new players to go out of their way to gain knowledge beforehand. Have you considered that perhaps the small population represents the comparative amount of people who do this when they start a new game?
Oh wait, it gets better. “It’s fine because people give newbies things to make it fine”.
/sigh.
I never said anything about expecting people to look for information on how to do things before hand. Buts it’s much more readily available now than it was when I started at PS4 launch.
Also if someone likes a game. They’ll know immediately whether they’ll stick with it or not. This game FOR ME is about the building. Coming from minecraft playing in a flat world creative mode by myself. It was a great upgrade with a huge pallet of blocks to choose from and the ability to chisel. Then the fact that now people can actually see the things I made is what drew me in and kept me here for hours and hours. The community is great and generous. Hence me bringing up giving stuff to people. Most people want to see this game become huge and want to help the new players. Not just with just giving stuff. But giving the knowledge they’ll need to get to where other people are in game. Inviting people into there guilds helping them find the part of the game that suits there wants and needs.
If your objective is to gain coin in game. All the power to you. But it will get boring quick. Especially when you reach your goal. Then what? Quitting time?
Because they havent played Dodge Bombs yet. Tonight 6pm Est! Tell your friends!
Well said. And I find it hard to argue against your logic. I can only speak from personal taste and experience and to me the game and community seemed more robust with less, (and more long-term endearing without shortcuts or catch-up measures established.)
WelL well well, he is in the shadows. 
. Miss ya man!
True. But suggesting that it’s ‘available’ by virtue of being provided by older players, therefore explicitly not available in game, heavily implies that they will have to look for it to find it… no?
Don’t get me wrong. I get that this is a community focused game, but that should be a bonus. If a game can’t stand on its own two feet without the community needing to get involved to coax and cajole enough people into staying, isn’t that a problem?
Not necessarily. Games tagged as MMO have a reputation for not even really starting until you hit the endgame. But putting that aside, given how many people bought Boundless (and/or trialed it during free weekend) compared to how many people have stuck with it, it seems to me like too many people’s first impressions leave them in the ‘or not’ side of that.
For me it’s first and foremost a building game too. Actually, I don’t think any other system is fleshed out enough yet to call it anything else. And yes, I said ‘yet’ because I too would love Boundless to grow into something great.
But on it’s own being a ‘building game’ doesn’t mean anything. That’s why you continue to sink hours into it (presumably) because you enjoy it as it is, whereas I have essentially stopped playing because I didn’t enjoy spending more time not building than building in a building game. It still boils down to how each player feels about the specific implementation, and arguably how precious their free time is to them.
I like the catch up mechanics.
I much preferred being able to become my friends’ levels in division 2 in like 2 hours (or helping powerlevel friends) compared to it taking 2 weeks in destiny 2.
Still grinding away towards that 960 light level.
This has cost the game numerous players:
A player plays Boundless for hundreds of hours. He or she has a good sized base of hundreds of plots, lots of materials, lots of money, and so on. They eventually get burned out and there is no way to prevent them from losing their inventory unless they invest in Gleam Club.
Well guess, what? Many are not going to invest in Gleam Club. They are burned out. They no longer want to invest any more time in Boundless.
If they do not want to invest time, it is unlike they will invest money. They are, at the time, mentally done with the game.
Months later, they want to play again. Their inventory is all gone and the though of starting all over with nothing too hard to overcome.
(Withdrew my previous suggestion due to the fact that people paid fifty dollars for the game. It would infuriate too many players)
Honest question, what would be the real difference? I could spend my time creating characters and doing the same thing, or I could just have my character that after a decent period of time can do it all with the same one. authorityapk.com tubemate
If you’re asking “what’s better, having multiple characters specialising in different things OR have one character who, over time, can have multiple skill pages and therefore can do everything” - go for 1 character, so much easier.
Past level 50 (50+) you get 4 skill points per level (200,000 xp) so they come very quick. I’m level 110ish and have 3 skill pages plus 40 points that I can put into a new skill page if I come up with a new thing I wanna specialise in.
Imo it’s ‘Instant gratification vs working towards something’