OK, point taken.
Altho in all fairness, I'm just as free to express my opinion as the next person. Taken in context, my original comment points out that I support BB making the decision to have the new islands cost gems and also points out that it's entirely possible to attain them without spending any money, which Bi0hazzard cheerfully illustrates later on in the thread.
So which came first? The complaining? Or the complaining? (Or the complaining?)
"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking." ~ Marcus Aurelius
The game is free to play. There are (as far as I have found in the last five-plus years) no aspects of the game that *require* you to pay for anything.
Certainly there are things that work faster if you are willing to buy Gems, but Gems are freely available simply from logging on or using (among other things), the Excelsior system.
I've earned Gems, and I've purchased Gems. The former because I can, and the latter because I want the game to survive so I can keep playing it.
I accept that there are things that will only be purchasable with Gems, and that some people will be unhappy that the game doesn't hand them everything. As someone who has worked in a games design capacity, I understand what the BB folks go through trying to balance out the mess to engage as many people as possible. Sometimes they get it right...and other times they end up with the Colony/PvP system. :-/
TSO is a game that offers the complete game without cost. It also offers the ability to speed up advancements by spending money. Where exactly that line actually falls vs where it should fall will always be disputed by players.
Instead of opening the entire Archipelago at the same time, I would have liked to see getting access to a new Island/Sector at each new level after L50, but the folks at BB went down a different road and here we are today. Going forward, it would be nice to see at least half the new Islands/Sectors purchasable with something other than Gems (Stalks/or maybe a new resource in the RPH that uses high-end resources like Platinum). That way the people who have plenty of money can spend it as they see fit, but the rest of us could still eventually earn the Deeds through other means.
BB could even make 'normal' Islands/Sectors (typical space, average deposits, etc) available through the 'either/or' system, but reserve the 'better/premium' Islands/Sectors (more space, larger deposits, more water space, unlock new Quests/Ventures or Excelsior/Pathfinder options) for Gems only.
aw ty - i didn't see that out of order #
ciara
When does the maintenance take place? It just says the 22nd but no specific start time as far as I noticed. Is there no downtime for this update?
It would seem reasonable if the 4 Islands are going to cost Gems, why not increase the amount of corresponding Gem Pits that are available? An increase of 1 Gem Pit makes sense to me to achieve the same balance we had before. Thoughts?
Be advised currently the deposits on the new islands are not deposits but spawn locations! That means if you find a new one there you wont find a old one on current islands! This is under investigation by BB as to which they are supposed to be..
In my opinion this makes buying the new islands with spawn locations advertised as additional deposits a disadvantage.
Mad scientist.
So Im conquering the archipelago atm. Sent out explorers to clear clouds from new sectors. Suddenly POOF! the sector im attacking is again covered in clouds! What kind of sorcery is this?!
The explorers cleared the clouds again. Do i dare try once more?