[zenith]

Got this from a player who has been with us awhile. I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on this...

Quote:hey Zen,

Just thought I'd drop a quick mail about some concerns which you may or may not be aware of. Over the past few weeks, myself and a few others have noticed a growing trend of high scale donators basically dominating the game.

Now he's an anomaly, since he's donated way more than anyone to my knowledge. [They] have the power to basically make the game their playground through donating. I'm not saying this in anyway to slight them- if you've got the money to donate like that, great.

The problem is, there is no physical way for non-donators to keep up. I'm currently paying off a large loan for a course, and saving for a new course starting this year. I've got insurance on car to pay out, tax+MOT, not to mention house bills. All this on a not so great wage. Much as I wish I could donate like they do, donating anymore than $10 a month is simply not an option. And I know there's people in worse situations than me.

I'm not asking to take donator benefits away- but what would be nice is a way of evening the playing field a little so non-donators DO have some light. My main idea would be to give levels more worth again- level ups provide a stat increase for crimes and attacking, so if you're hitting 5/10 levels above or below- there's a serious penalty or boost. Levels can still be achieved quicker through donating and using energy refreshes, but infinitely slower than training- an active non-donator stands a decent chance against a donating energy refresher. If all the emphasis is on stats, a non-donator has literally no chance- since without at least lv 15 on endurance, you can't compete. And buying that much using game cash is practically not an option- it's doable, but means you have to forsake everything else you need, travel expenses, stim packs, surgery now (which donators can pay for far easier) and houses. Everything at the moment is geared towards stats, which is something only donators can train at great speed.

The other option, which will obviously be less preferable to you, is setting a limit on donations- say $100 a month. To me, that is still a great deal, but it'd stop the crazy $500 in one go, or whatever people do, which is totally tipping the game over the edge.

I wasn't sure how much you know about people's opinions here, but I know that I'm gradually getting turned away from the game, because donators are literally taking it over. Without a little balance, people will still play- but very rarely, and only those that can afford to donate $100 a month or more will remain.