The Normal Cycle needs a jolt
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by Teodor.Radescu
We all have witnessed a sudden expansion of the eRepublik phenomenon in the past couple of months. Judging by what we see on the home page before logging in, we stand at over 330.000 active players, around one hundred thousand of them have joined us in the last 30 days or so. At first glance, these figures look great and the future of eRepublik seems to lie in the hands of new players, players with fresh and rested minds and with tons of enthusiasm ready to be brought in each of our e-nations.
But if we stand back and observe from a distance, the situation is a bit different. In almost all cases, the same few people (or few groups of people) have been in charge for months on end. Old players (i.e. old accounts) have amassed large groups of followers in the long period of time playing this game. Old players benefit today from the votes of other old players (but also newbies) based on what they have done 6 months ago or more. Old players rule the economy simply because they had time to get together large sums of money. Old players (i.e. tanks) equal the damage of hundreds or even thousands of babies.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want that all accounts older than 6 months to be deleted but we are faced with a big issue that we all have to think about. The cycle of bringing new players up to power and of letting go of the old players surely exists in eRepublik but it is working too slowly and, also, I feel that in the past few months it stopped altogether. First, we have newborn players that want to advance through the rank as quickly as possible. Secondly, we have players that have been continuously active for the past year or so and that want to stay in power. Lastly, we have very old players (over a year old) that have stopped playing the game and, now, they have resumed activity partly because great numbers of players appeared suddenly and they lack someone to rule them and partly because, in eRepublik, history is almost forgotten after around 6 months.
Why should a new player have to wait for one of the old ones to stop playing? Why should someone wait for someone else to get a girlfriend/boyfriend or to get a job or even worse, to get married and start a family? Why should someone wait for a decisive moment in someone else’s life? Why should any of us wait for other people to forget about the game or to be constrained by Real Life events so that they will stop playing? Why should I bring my friends into this game since they will not be able to become country presidents or battle heroes? Ever!
Why should we have to wait around the corner for the right moment to seize our “15 minutes of fame”?
The passing of power and responsibility has to be done in an active manner by the people that hold it today. They have to be more conscious of the big picture or else they will be left alone in this game just one year from now.
Hey, Old People! Let others play this game! Let them enjoy it just as you enjoyed it 6 months or a year ago. Let them make mistakes and then learn from them. Let them create and destroy empires.
Stop being selfish! We are a growing community and I would like to continue in this manner.
Teodor.Radescu
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Erm... Publishing the same article in different countries is illegal nowadays... Admins said so...
It doesn't matter! I won't play this game anymore if the status quo will not change in the following months. I have to say that I feel bad, now that I realised this.
NIce Article 🙂
Becoming battle hero is very unlikely indeed, but the rest isn't.
It often is the old guard that does not want to become CP. And if you are a good writer and stick to it long enough you can of course mecome media mogul.
You want to create a big industrie empire on your own? That will not happen unless you buy gold. But why don't you find a few friends and invest together in a bussiness?
vote+sub
Becoming battle hero can be achieved by anyone...
Being President is a bit harder, but one has to realize that the advantage is not so much permanent age difference (as in, 2008 accounts are better, or 2009 accounts are better) as it is simply the level of experience, clout, connections, demonstrable commitment, and so on that the player brings to the table... which take time to develop.
Everybody's going to have to wait months to be "a leader" and possibly years to become their country's President. But with hard work and determination, ... and, say, some talent for networking... it can be yours.
Great article, I agree. Votat.
I agree with a few statements. But I feel that it is the government/parties responsibility to get new players more involved, and get them into structures to give them a better future. eSouth Africa has done very well with this!
gr8 article..full support for it
It took me two months to become Minister of Finances in the UNL (okay, not that big - that's true). Maybe I would even have sufficient support to make it to president (I just don't want to 😉 )
What I am aiming to say: there are opportunities for new players. Just be active on the forum, understand what happened in your country, write articles about game characteristics that interest you (that's Finance for me) and get feedback on them, be on the IRC a lot.
That should get any player started.
Just don't think that you'll become president by running for president. You'll need more than that and start smaller than that. Just like IRL 😉
(So I don't agree with you... still voted though, for bringing up the discussion!)
I'm still to new to give out judgments, but my feeling is that achievement should be backed by merit not game mechanics. In that sense I can't agree altering game mechanics to favor one group/type of players over others.
Also becoming the president of a country should be a hard feat and only possible to be achieved by the "best"😢as much as best can be subjective still).
However I do agree that younger players, should have other avenues where they can perform more and demonstrate their excellence better. This could be a middle tier of "responsibility", be it a military structure or the possibility of building up "organizations" with their own structure.
Old players will always have the advantage in games of accumulation, not only because of superior knowledge/experience but because they have amassed a greater amount of social status and social power which they can utilize on will. This is not something that can be changed in any game because it is something that is transferred from human societies. What can be eliminated in games is the "material" discrepancies between individuals at the start, which gives a much greater chance for one to realize their ambitions than real life.
Vote + Sub Newest Scripts
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/newest-scripts-1143163/1/20" target="_blank">http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/newe[..]/1/20
Good article.
I am looking forward to the new module and hope that it will bring the gap between the old and the new closer.
Nice discussion.
Being a new player I feel that part of the phenomenon you've described is accurate, concerning military participation and financial investments. Nonetheless for political participation it may not be as hard. Stay active and lend your helping hand to the government is always a good starting point -- and with your talent it's not difficult to get up the ladder of political influence.
More importantly, I always think that new players will bring refreshing ideas for the society. So new players, stay active and we'll rule one day.
If newer players want an advantage they can always buy gold to level faster.
I find that in eAustralia, newer players who are active on forums have a good chance to get voted into power and rise to the top no matter what their level.
agreed, a little different in the Uk because i am quite old but we give newbies just as much respect as any player.
Newbies are welcome
V+S
vs and supported. There are chances for new players to rise up the ranks first but they hve to be active on the forums and IRC. I agree with u on the concept old players much of the time command respect just because of their experience.
Hey, I really liked your article. I am also a new player but I fought a lot in the last week to bring about 400 players in this game, and I did it. I have already an organization and 2 companies. I tried to get involved in the government, but each time I ask at a Department, or even the president, if I have a chance to help them in some way, my message is completely ignored. So I guess this game is for those who are old in it and we the new people don't have much options but to play our own game, staying away from politics and from government business..