Join the new world

I spent the last few days contemplating what to write for my next newspaper article. After much deliberation in the conference room, SladeCash and I agreed on an interview with some influential members of eRep discussing their memories of being a new player. With that in mind, I came up with two perfect candidates for this interview.

First, I contacted Molly Emma, the popular, intelligent, and to quote AE Roland, "Federalist Party resident sex pot".



Also, I contacted the President of the eUSA, Oblige. Oblige's interview will be posted by the Director of the Press Corps, run by George Armstrong Custer. I will attach a link to that interview when that is posted.

Here is the interview with Molly Emma:

1. Who or what helped you the most when you were a new player?

Gnilraps. He, sort of found me and showed me how to get involved. I also had a mentor who, I am sure, would have been equally helpful had I utilized his services more.

That and I’m a pretty pro-active person who is always open to learning. It was an odd thing at first to “play eRep but not with the eRep interface.” Keep an open mind though. Forums and IRC kept me coming back after I got started.

2. What is the biggest mistake you made early on?

I blew all my money on buying food and fighting until it was gone every day. A more conservative approach would have served me better.

3. What do you think would be the most valuable tool for new players to have?

Friends. Friends and a little initiative. Friend request everyone you run across. Take part in conversations and ask questions. Join a party and make friends there. Find a common goal you can get behind and ask how you can participate. Most jobs in this game don’t require that much time or effort, but once you decide to be a part of it, it becomes much more fun.

4. What should new players not waste their gold/money on?

Tier 3 training and full-price company upgrades. Gold may seem to come pretty fast at the beginning, but that stops fairly quickly. Consider carefully before spending it.

5. What is the difference between the in-game and meta-game interface? How have they affected your game play? Which would you prefer if given the choice?

In-game is the backdrop for eRep, but the real game(meta-game) is essentially a role-play game environment that exists nebulously in many different places. The most important are forums and IRC. That’s where all the action happens. Discussions about elections and game mechanics, help for new players...all on forums and IRC. Those things have very little presence in-game and you have no introduction to them except your initial welcome letter from the CP.

eRep provides the backdrop, but I find the game itself rather boring. The meta, where the community hangs out, is the really interesting and fun part. If given a choice, I would choose the meta-game in an instant.

6. Name one thing a new player can do (or has done) to impress you or get your attention (in a good way).

Be proactive. Find something you like to do, take it on and make it your own! It will get noticed.

7. Players have said/claimed that eUSA is mostly ruled by a small group of "elites" who have acquired enough power to manipulate the system so that this power group is essentially closed indefinitely. How do you respond to that?

If it is ruled by a small group of elites, I have managed to get pretty close to a lot of them in less than 5 months of playing. The reason that most of those people are at the level they are is because they work hard and are willing to put in the time to do great work. Often that work is for the benefit of their detractors.

Follow up: Is there a realistic chance for a player just joining today for the first time to be successful at the highest levels of this game in the long term. If so, how?

Depends on what part of the game you are talking about. The only way you will ever be a top soldier in-game is by attrition. There is currently almost no way to catch those guys at the top as long as they continue to be active and train.

Making huge piles of gold/currency takes patience, but it can be done with diligence.

Those parts of the game are the boring part, though. Do your in-game clicks every day, but play your game in the forums and IRC and you will see much faster results. Be flexible and don’t take it too seriously. The object for me is try to have fun every day. If it’s not fun, I look for other places and other ways to find it in the community.

This is definitely not a traditional game where goals are laid out for you. There are many ways to play and the only way to gauge yourself is to compare yourself against your own expectations.