Open the Game Forum at any random moment of the day and chances are that you’ll run into a topic discussing a reset and whether or not it should happen now. This debate has been going on for weeks and there are basically two ways to go here: either leave the game unchanged and reset now, or wait for the updates to be ready and reset as soon as they are. This begs the question which of these two options is best for the game. Let’s start by addressing the current situation first.
Resource lock-in
Some time ago, I introduced the concept of a ‘resource lock-in’ situation in one of the many debates about a reset. A resource lock-in is the situation where one group controls a vast majority of the resources in the game, money, points, and bullet factories. Some people believe the game is over the moment we have the same State and Nation Dons for some time, but in reality, a resource lock-in is barely related to the ranks this controlling group has. Think of it this way: if they were all to be shot, what damage would that really do except for them losing their ranks? The current round is in a lock-in situation.
Identifying a lock-in is hard for those who do not have access to all information. The other day I read a claim on the forums that the current situation could have been avoided if the current high ranks were shot on their way to power, but is that a realistic statement? I, for one, believe the current situation is down to the lock-in having existed already, rather than the lock-in appearing only at the moment people were starting to die more often. After all, the lock-in is about resources rather than ranks, which in the end also means such a lock-in situation can occur without anyone knowing it.
Looking back into the history of the game, one can identify that ever since round 5, the game ended in a lock-in situation, causing people to leave, damaging the game. Before round 5, resource lock-ins barely existed and were much less extreme if it did at all. A sensible explanation for this trend could be the decline in players which continued steadily over the last six years. After all, a smaller group is easier to control. Although one could argue that the popularity of online text games has declined over the last ten years, there are still plenty examples available that prove otherwise. So, what’s in it for Bootleggers? What should we do now?
The need for a reset
As mentioned earlier, the number of topics regarding a possible reset has grown explosively over the last months. Although motives for wanting a reset may differ, I think it’s absolutely clear the game needs a reset right now. In fact, I believe the game should have reset a long time ago already, as should have happened in round 5 and round 6. The day the game moves into a lock-in situation, visibly or not, should in my opinion always be the absolute last day of a round. Go beyond this day, as happened in current and previous two rounds, and it will significantly damage the game. What’s the point in starting a football match five goals behind in the 90th minute?
All sorts of difficult discussions arise too, when does the killing become too much? When is the continuous killing damaging the game? None of these discussions would have been held if the game had reset already. In the end, some people are going to be more powerful than others and that is perfectly fine as long as a round is not run beyond its lifetime. Due to a great number of reasons – another debate entirely, which I’ll leave untouched now – this lock-in situation occurred over the last few rounds. Round 5, 6 and 7 have all been run beyond their feasible lifetime, hurting the game badly. As such, there is no question about the need for a new round.
The Reset Dilemma
Having established the need for a reset, the initial reaction would be to reset straight away. However, this debate is not as simple as it might seem, and where you stand in this debate is depending on your view of the game. There are two scenarios: either reset right now without changes, or wait for the changes to be ready and reset once they are. Let’s look at both scenarios in a bit more detail.
The first scenario, reset the game right away, would solve the current lock-in situation and people who left because of it would return to stay. This means an increase in users for the short-term. Looking beyond that, however, people who left for other reasons are not likely to return to stay once they realise the game has not changed at all. Furthermore, a similar scenario is likely to appear based on past and current rounds, which does not make this a sustainable option for the long term. However, resetting the game again before another lock-in would appear would remove some of the issues. Overall though, it seems a temporary solution mainly focused on the short-term.
The second scenario is to wait for the updates to be ready and reset afterwards. Doing that will unquestionably means that we have to continue in the current situation, which definitely won’t be for the better on the short-term. Resetting the game after updates are ready means that two groups of people are likely to come back to stay. The people who left the current round because of the situation would return because it no longer exists, and the people who left for other reasons would also return to see what has changed and depending on their judgement of these changes they will either stay or leave again. Although this looks to be a sensible strategy for the long-term, the key in this scenario is the changes. If they do not work out properly, for one reason or another, this scenario is doomed to fail as it would damage the game in both current and future round.
At this point you may be wondering if there isn’t a third scenario where changes are implemented halfway through a new round. This would get rid of the current round right away, and seems to combine the best of both scenarios. But does it? I think this would partially work if the changes were incremental: not having a big impact on the way the game is played. Although people who’d find no changes after a reset would leave again, they might return if we provide accurate information on what’s to come. However, the far bigger part of the changes are radical and would change game play to such a big extent that implementing them halfway through a round would seriously mess things up. I’ll take one of these radical changes most of you are aware of as an example: the crew update. This update will not simply change a few things on the current system. In fact, the term update is misleading as it is a complete new feature with a completely new crew structure, which will completely change the role of crews in the game. Right now, it’s effectively hardly more than paying a price (crew tax) for an extra forum, but in the future, it will be a key in playing the game. And these changes are not just limited to crews.
The necessity of changes
Another question you might have is the necessity of these changes. Does the game really need the changes we have in mind? After all, it didn’t change that much over the last few years, so why wouldn’t it work again as it did before? I think the main answer to this question lies in the economy of the game. Over the past rounds until round 6, attempts were made to decrease inflation within the game, changing the balance of the game for the worse.
To illustrate this point, I’d like to go back to the lock-in situation of last round, where almost all shooters simply received money, did OCs and shot other people. They usually had less crimes, GTA and booze than all of their victims, and why? Because $100 won’t make a difference if your crew earns tens, or hundreds of millions a day. Plenty of other examples are available, too. Crews have no power to defend them against individual underground shooters, actual wealth is not visible, people can spend a few minutes a day online and still profit from the same interest as people who spend ten hours a day. A lock-in situation displays the actual flaws even more.
What’s next?
A few days ago we discussed the two scenarios above with the entire Elite Guard and we’re currently aiming for the second scenario. This will unfortunately mean that we’ll have to stay in the current round for a bit longer. Unlike some people believe, we – and most importantly BSF - are aware of the current situation and are fully convinced that a reset is required. Looking back on previous and current round also proves something else, a wrong approach to the game by the Elite Guard. Having reset too late ever since round five has hurt the game badly. Rather than starting to work on changes when it’s too late, we should be ready to push the reset button any day we like.
Although I believe avoiding that trap would be easier once flaws within the game have been addressed properly, it is worrying that round 5 and 6 did not warn enough to not let it happen again in the current round. In that regard there’s a lot left to prove, especially since round 5 reset over four years ago. I believe things aren’t completely lost yet but we are getting closer to that point each day we continue in the current situation. Choosing the second scenario has two critical keys for success, the updates must work, and they have to arrive in time, time that is running out. Let’s act now.
