So, the Gym. A largely time-consuming feature which also has a bearing on some key aspects of the game, such as requiring certain levels to hold guns, lowering timers and giving you the opportunity to further protect your account through the store. But are the current benefits we see from our hours spent at the Gym enough? Could the feature be further developed to offer more reward? We engaged in an interview with Mika, to see what suggestions he might have and what his thoughts were on this, largely regarded as dated, feature.
We started by getting the Moderator's viewpoint on the current set-up and relation to other areas of the Gym feature. He told us, "Currently the Gymnasium is not as tied in as it could be, I think. Given the amount of time it costs to work on those statistics, it would be fair if good Gymnasium statistics had more benefits for your account apart from being able to buy a gun and being able to carry booze." So Mika is not adverse to admitting that the Gym needs work. Current benefits are often minimal or not related to the goals or ambitions of a users account. So expanding potential for benefits seen from training would surely be supported by many?
We went on to ask Mika what, given the opportunity, he would propose as updates to the Gym feature. He was tight-lipped, merely saying, "Nothing that hasn't been discussed within the Elite Guard yet." We were not going to let that be as much information as we got for you however and continued to press, eventually gaining a worthy response as Mika said, "I cannot go into full details, but if what was suggested is incorporated then training in the Gymnasium will actually be useful for your account with each of the three fields giving your account advantages that would make you more durable and could even save your life if you were shot and injured, and would cause you to die if you are untrained or not trained that well." An interesting suggestion and one which will more certainly promote discussion in the community. Should the Gym be relevant to the safety of your account? Or is the training of it allowing you access to higher levels of protection enough? Perhaps agility will allow you to escape your killers shots, who knows. What would you like to see from any potential Gym updates? We want to hear from you, all suggestions weird and wonderful.
But as for the feature as it stands, is it realistic? Should a user have to train to high levels of strength in order to wield the best guns? Or should you need super agility in order to own the best protection? We put these questions to Mika, who despite admitting the current system could do with an update, showed support for its original basis, saying, "I think that it was an original addition to have users need to train before they can buy weapons and protection. In order to be fully worth the training I think the Gymnasium should be tied into the game a bit more, for which plans exist. If those are completed then it will be well worth the effort. As for right now, I don't think training takes too much time. It does take some effort, however." Indeed this view may be shared by many, whom believe that it could be made harder for uses to get to a stage where they are able to shoot using the best guns or protect themselves with the hardiest of options.
But how can these updates be implemented to fairly offer an increase use of the Gym to all types of accounts? We asked Mika, who was not giving much away but, told us, "If balanced correctly it will take activity from every player, seeing the advantages gained by training can be undone (in whole or in part) by being well trained yourself." So the future could see the Gym training levels which a user holds proving a pivotal factor in survival or death. Was this therefore a suggestion that the games balance would in part artificially restored by proposed updates? Mika distanced the proposed updates from this claim, saying, "Expecting incorporation of the Gymnasium into the game to restore balance would go too far. But it should make things more diverse and interesting overall." Very much a time will tell answer.
The question of time is of course a tender one. Realistic time frames for updates have long been out of the window and lost, not just in this but rounds and rounds previous. But what are your thoughts on the Gym as it stands? Does it need updating? Should it be more rewarding? Do you even use the feature?! We want to hear your thoughts on these questions and Mika's answers! We would also like to thank everyone who partook in the Buzz Game Forum topic for this Community Picks article. It is also worth noting, that due to several suggestions and lack of week-on-week public demand, this article will now be dropped down to a four-weekly occurance.
