How much longer is this game going to be in early access?

[alleryn]

We'll lose our favor???

https://forum.projectgorgon.com/faq...._characterwipe

"Will characters be wiped at launch?"
"No, there will not be a complete wipe at launch. That said, we will be wiping some aspects of your character including but not limited to: items, currency, NPC favor levels, and favor-quests. However, we don’t plan on wiping most skill levels. Please note, this is subject to change as we progress through development."

[Lasc]

I’ll start by saying, the below statements and opinions are mine alone. I have no reason to believe this will actually be done...

So the primary reason as I see it for a wipe is to reset a level playing field when the transition from beta to ‘live’ occurs
A very basic path to this is remove all currency and items from the players.

Issue 1. Levels in ability and trained skills is more valuable than currency. Now by no means would I suggest resetting combat abilities or trained skills. There would be a revolt. But it’s just a fact, getting currency and items gets easier as you level, then even easier again as you earn more of each... it’s almost a positive feedback loop. Due to this, crafty gamers with the experience and pre levelled skills will have a significantly easier time re gaining wealth and gear.

Issue 2. The path to wealth in a developing market (think after ‘wipe’), is the supply and demand of materials. If you are skilled to be able to gather a wide range of raw materials, you will gain wealth rather quickly, it doesn’t have to even be on a player market..... just sell or use by whatever means possible.

To solve both I would be considering the reset of all skills associated with gathering of raw materials, and fast pathways to coin
So, in addition to wiping gear and items, that would mean resetting the levels at least (don’t have to reset the skills, just level to 0) of the following
Industry
Butchering
Foraging
Mushroom farming
Mycology
Skinning
Tanning
Gardening
Textile creation
Surveying
Mining
Fishing
Ice fishing
Autopsy
Anatomy
.... you get the point.....

The intent here is specifically further hinder fast injection of cash back into a reset economy all because people had done it in beta....

I’d be amazed however if the above happened, too much explanation and community appeasement to cater for what will amount to nothing more than buying time out of people.

[alleryn]

I think an Anatomy reset would be really harsh. The rest is not really such a big deal, but i don't really get the sense that it's part of the plan.

[overtyped]

I’ll start by saying, the below statements and opinions are mine alone. I have no reason to believe this will actually be done...

So the primary reason as I see it for a wipe is to reset a level playing field when the transition from beta to ‘live’ occurs
A very basic path to this is remove all currency and items from the players.

Issue 1. Levels in ability and trained skills is more valuable than currency. Now by no means would I suggest resetting combat abilities or trained skills. There would be a revolt. But it’s just a fact, getting currency and items gets easier as you level, then even easier again as you earn more of each... it’s almost a positive feedback loop. Due to this, crafty gamers with the experience and pre levelled skills will have a significantly easier time re gaining wealth and gear.

Issue 2. The path to wealth in a developing market (think after ‘wipe’), is the supply and demand of materials. If you are skilled to be able to gather a wide range of raw materials, you will gain wealth rather quickly, it doesn’t have to even be on a player market..... just sell or use by whatever means possible.

To solve both I would be considering the reset of all skills associated with gathering of raw materials, and fast pathways to coin
So, in addition to wiping gear and items, that would mean resetting the levels at least (don’t have to reset the skills, just level to 0) of the following
Industry
Butchering
Foraging
Mushroom farming
Mycology
Skinning
Tanning
Gardening
Textile creation
Surveying
Mining
Fishing
Ice fishing
Autopsy
Anatomy
.... you get the point.....

The intent here is specifically further hinder fast injection of cash back into a reset economy all because people had done it in beta....

I’d be amazed however if the above happened, too much explanation and community appeasement to cater for what will amount to nothing more than buying time out of people.

You realize it's not a pvp mmo? These crafty gamers who will be ahead at launch doesn't hurt anyone, and they earned those levels afterall. 5 years after launch or even at the start of launch what difference does it make? what harm can people do to newbies in a non pvp mmo?

[Persipnei]

As a brand new player (started two days ago), I must say this half wipe concerns me.

Players who want to keep everything, will hate it and players who want a full wipe will hate that established players still keep their skills.

Personally, if I had known that there wouldn't be a full wipe before launch, I wouldn't have bought the game. Fresh starts are what make MMO's interesting for me. Being there from the beginning of that particular world has something magical. I'm sure a lot of new players (at least all the ASD's and OCD's like me) are turned off by this and leave after a few days. If I hadn't played more than 2 hours yet, I would refund for this reason, but I can't.

But let me be clear: I'm happy I still have this game. It's a gem and I hope it draws thousands of new players in so it can have a long life, but if newbies get turned of within a day or two, my hopes are not very high.

I guess the best solution to this problem would be launching a 2nd server (a clean one) on official launch day and not wiping the 1st server at all. That way everybody can choose what they want.

The question is off course: are there enough players to open a new server. Steam charts says there are only 200 playing on average with peaks of about 400. I suppose population should be 10 or more times this number before the devs even start thinking about adding a second server...

[Rockdelver]

Why does it matter to you if previous players keep their skills? When I joined the game a few weeks ago, and saw experienced players running around, it had no impact on how fresh the world seemed to me. Personally, I'm very happy skills are being kept, and after a few days of play, upgrading skills, I'm sure you will be too. It's not a cakewalk upgrading skills compared to some other current games!

[Persipnei]

Why does it matter to you if previous players keep their skills? When I joined the game a few weeks ago, and saw experienced players running around, it had no impact on how fresh the world seemed to me. Personally, I'm very happy skills are being kept, and after a few days of play, upgrading skills, I'm sure you will be too. It's not a cakewalk upgrading skills compared to some other current games!

It's not really about other people having their skills, it's more about the big picture, the feeling of joining a virgin world.

Personally when my items, favor and all that shizzle get wiped, I'm gonna delete my character and start a new one. I am mentally unable to continue such character. It must sound weird for people who have no OCD, but for me this is reality. I don't mind if I lost a couple of hundred hours because of this. At least I will be able to play without a feeling that i get shredded to pieces...

[Rockdelver]

It does indeed sound weird, I suppose, but whatever works for you. Partial wipe, full wipe, no wipe, I'm good. It's just a game.