Article
I have had a rather long tenure here, and before I go, I want to explain my reasons for leaving. There have been many articles criticizing railman's actions in regard to this "New Era", but none I have seen have expressed my own sentiments.
To begin, the repeated and brazen betrayals of the players since the first announcement of the secura server. I won't completely rehash these events, but most of us came here to escape the mediocre pay-to-win model that the venture capitalists forged out of eRep's carcass. railman promised us an alternative, and then eventually lost his way.
Second, the horrible mismanagement and lack of communication for at the last year or so. Staff has no idea what Developers are doing, game-breaking bugs go unfixed for weeks, useless and sometimes negative "improvements" to graphics and the UI, and spending large quantities of money to bring new players into a game with an actively hostile userbase before addressing much more pressing issues. Another point Amerikans in particular can relate to is the often abusive, untrained, and incompetent Staff.
And finally, we come to the reset. A move which supposedly "levels the playing field". Let's break this down:
#1 - railman claims this is to help with the retention of new players
#2 - railman seems to think the main reason new players aren't sticking around is because they have no way to catch up with old players in stats and wealth
#3 - His answer to this is to reset the four core stats, shuffle national resources, and reset borders
Let's assume #1 and #2 are both accurate. Players see ES of 23 and just quit immediately. railman is resetting and it will solve this problem.
What then, shall he do in another year's time? Will this just become a cycle of resets? I can't speak for everyone, but I really don't see the appeal of a game like eSim with regular resets built into the timeline.
But are #1 and #2 both true statements? I would argue that the pervasive negativity in the community does more to drive away new players than anything else. Other worthy candidates are the limited gameplay, Engrish, and broken or unclear missions.
In addition, how does resetting everyone's strength, damage, XP, and ES solve this "inequality problem" when all other assets are being left intact? Massive economic empires will make it through this reset doing better than ever. Full Q6 equipment sets? No problem there.
Further, this simplistic solution reeks of laziness and incompetence. Is the persistent ES gap a problem? Absolutely. Should it be "fixed" by resetting everyone to 0 and doing the same damn thing over again?
What about capping ES at 20? Redesigning the formula to remove infinite linear gain? Adding an increased gain with Premium like we now have for strength? Any of these options would have been not only better, but an improvement to the game mechanics.
Instead, railman is completely disrespecting his oldest (and thus, most loyal) players, avoiding a real solution to this minor problem, actually exacerbating the issue he wants to fix by alienating and decreasing his users, and potentially destroying the only server with a cadre of experienced, dedicated, and valuable players.
And that's why I'm quitting. Not because my life depends on my ES of 22. Not because I can't imagine playing with my rank reset to Private. I'm quitting because this is the final straw in a long history of poor and incomprehensible decisions, and even in my wildest imaginations, I can't see things getting better around here.
tl;dr the reset is an ill-informed, misguided, and ineffective measure which will be enacted for no real reason and probably end up killing this game. I cannot imagine a more fitting end to primera.
See you in Oblivion,
-Vladimir
P.S. http://youtu.be/gEzE-6ZS5TY
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Cumulative WW Records (11 years ago)
About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
