John UM
R Star released a beta version of “Wild Dart OL” this week. After GTAOL’s great success, fans finally got to play R Star’s next big online game. Most of the feedback received during the past few days was positive, but the currency system in the game has received widespread attention. Price is too high? Or is it too difficult to get? Is it fair for players who are not willing to participate in in-game purchases? It is certainly too early to make a final conclusion, but for now, the currency system of “Wild Dart OL” is somewhat unbalanced. In this regard, well-known foreign media Kotaku published their views
As early as the launch of “Wild Dart OL”, players were worried about the micro-transaction content in the game. Some players joked that they would launch a “wolf card” (the virtual currency recharge card in GTA is called a shark card), and pointed out that the shark card is one of the reasons for the soaring price of new content in GTAOL games
However, RDROL’s monetary economy and GTAOL differ in some key ways. The first and most obvious difference is the ratio of the rewards earned by the player to the price of the merchandise sold. Many of the products in the OL are only sold for a few dollars or even less than one dollar in the game, and this is loyal to the economic conditions of the old Western countries. Many tasks and activities are only rewarded with three or five dollars. With GTAOL, transactions are astronomical
Another major difference is that there are two different currencies in RDROL. Cash dollars are the easiest to earn, as well as rewards for completing missions, competitive modes and reselling prey. The other currency is gold bars. Gold bars can be used to buy special look items, unlock items faster, and even reset the player’s honor value. Players can now play a blind or a justice cowboy according to their own minds
Once R Star has released the game in the game, gold bars can be purchased in the future, but there is no pricing information for gold bars at present, and there is no information on how to sell them. In the current Beta version, players can complete Nuggets Golden Beans by completing missions, treasure hunt or PVP, and a gold bar that can be exchanged for 100 pieces
Getting gold bars is a problem at the moment. The discussion strings on Reddit calculates that most players need an average of 8 hours to get a gold bar. Parts of in-game items and weapons can only be purchased using gold bars, which is very expensive. For example, suppose the player wants to completely replace each accessory on the initial rifle, which requires a total of 30 bars, or about 200+ hours of play time. Another insurance that can only be purchased with gold bars is horse insurance. Although your first horse can be insured without spending gold bars, the next horse will require 5 gold bars. Insuring horses allows them to heal freely at the time of death; otherwise, the resurrection of horses from death requires cash and two minutes of waiting time
If the design is reasonable, the advanced currency can provide developers with the space to price more eccentric, refined or unnecessary attire, without interfering with the entire economy of the game. The lack of another high-level currency in GTAOL is one of the reasons for price inflation: players can win the only currency in the game no matter what they do, making it easier for players to find ways to brush money and use them to get high-end items. In terms of design, high-level currency is a way to make players use it for special purposes in games. But items like horse insurance don’t seem to be the object of gold bar payments, it’s important and necessary for the gaming experience. But it is locked behind a hard-to-get high-level currency
R Star once said on the official website that gold bars will be used to unlock custom items, such as decorations in camps. But in the current Beta version, small items such as bait can also be purchased with gold bars. These items will not break the balance of the game, but have been separated from the scope of custom items. This made people start to worry about R Star’s future opening of gold bars to unlock equipment. If it is not properly balanced, it will cause large-scale players to slap civilian players
Community players have also complained that there is currently a lack of high-return tasks, while the pricing of in-game items is not cheap. Especially expensive, such as the Mauser pistol, worth $1,000. After a player played for 15 hours, he found that his wallet contained only $380. Completing tasks and duels generally only rewards $5-10, and even the perfect fur or big fish obtained by hunting is just enough. Many fans believe that the internal economy of the large-scale OL will not be adjusted. For example, some users on the GTA forum shared that a can of beans is more expensive than a gold ring in the game. “When we make money, it seems to be in 1899, but the price of everything is at 2018. God, if I play games, I also deal with poor income/expenditure ratio, I am better off coming out of the house.”
The frequent daily expenses in the game also add to the players. In RDROL, players must purchase gun oil to clean weapons, buy ammunition, feed horses, and pay for camps. The expense item is so much that many novice players have to let go of other experiences they want to enjoy in order to survive, and focus on making money to make money
Of course, the Beta version is now available to players, and it is believed that R Star will bring huge changes. The number of existing tasks and stories is still very small, and in the future it is likely to add other high-reward activities such as robbery, bounty missions, and poker. Even these tasks may become a way of getting gold bars to solve the current problems. R Star may rebalance and balance the entire economy and currency system, such as price cuts or increase the rate of gold bars
Now, a lot of players who have entered the “Wild Dart OL” have felt that the game content is less, which is similar to the feeling that GTAOL just gave when it was online. At that time, game mad people would have a few hours of high-priced liver tasks, just to buy a flat. In the end, GTAOL added more ways to make money, but as the way increased, the price of snowballs has been too expensive for many civilians. I hope that “Wild Dart OL” can be carefully balanced to avoid this situation
“Wild Dart OL” has been opened to all players who own the game today. The influx of more players will provide more feedback cases, let us wait for the update and balance of R Star
