A critique of GemStone IV posted on reddit

[Gelston]

What a mess. OP is one of those guys you start talking to at a party and then you pretend to have diarrhea to get out of the conversation.

The best way to deal with that is to say "I'm going to stop you right there.. And go." and then just walk away.

[Avaia]

It never ceases to amaze me how much vitriol can sometimes be created in those who don't want to play the game anymore.

Don't want to play for whatever reason? Ok, that's fine, don't.

[rolfard]

Upgrayedd spells his name U-P-G-R-A-Y-E-D-D. The two D's are for a "double-dose of pimpin".

[hamsquatch]

The best way to deal with that is to say "I'm going to stop you right there.. And go." and then just walk away.

You're opting out of some potential entertainment, with my way you can just pretend to diarrhea any time you want.

[Amerek]

First rule of MUDs: Avoid the paid ones.

[Amerek]

Gemstone was a pearl. Then its operating model forced decisions like nerfing legacy (like native spells) in order to p2w them. That is a thing that you can manage.

Then, once or twice a year, an event with god auctions. And people, here comes the madness.

A text based item like boots that allow yourself to hunt without losing some buffs. (term in Gemstone to go in a zone and kill critters till you're maxed in exp and then you go rest).

How much you'd say? 100 real bucks? (HELL OF A PRICE HUH?) No. 28 000$. Twenty eight thousands american dollars. Real money.

People handling the game got greedy and that trend just kept on going. Now you can buy exp potions with real money. You can change your profession with real money and so on.

They (Leadership team) are drying their whales until they are gone then will probably leave.

A shame but oh well, game is 30 years old, must be a good reason, huh?

The comments are gold. Can't really argue with them.

[Tgo01]

The comments are gold. Can't really argue with them.

Yup. The best critiques in that discussion is that in the current state of GS most people are capped or near cap and the GMs seem to cater exclusively to this crowd because that's where all of whales are at. As a result actual new player (like for real new players, not people who haven't played in years) experience seems to be ignored because why bother? At best if they stick around for a few months they'll bring in 15 bucks a month (or zero dollars if they remain free to play), meanwhile some people are dropping thousands of dollars a day during paid events.

Let's be honest, the GMs are all about making sure the whales are happy and don't seem too concerned with anything else. All of these class change potions, bard nerf rampage, and a myriad of other changes they have been shoving through lately never would have even been discussed a decade ago when most of their revenue came from subscription fees. But now as long as they aren't pissing off the whales the GMs don't really seem to care who they piss off and again because why bother? They can easily say "Bye, Felicia!" to a lot of people who are only paying them 15 bucks a month as long as they have the people dropping thousands of dollars.

This isn't to say the game isn't fun, I still have fun with GS, but this is a legit concern that people seem to pretend isn't really happening.

[Taernath]

The comments are gold. Can't really argue with them.

I'm still waiting for GS to make it into one of those Top Ten Overpriced Items in Videogames lists. GS would probably hold half the entries.

[Neveragain]

The comments are gold. Can't really argue with them.

I keep the link to the $28,000 text boots on my desktop to show people from other games. It became a meme for a while during raid nights.

[mgoddess]

The comments are gold. Can't really argue with them.

Definitely this.