Fixing the MyVMK Economy

Gianorail

Disney Enthusiast
#1
For those of you know that know me, you know that I'm very outspoken when it comes to this topic as I feel a lot of new players are being turned away when they see how it's practically impossible for them to progress in the game considering how far along everybody else is. Even moreso, while some players are very generous to new players to help them catch up, there are still many players who are quick to avoid these new players just because they don't have anything. MyVMK is not a clique, and anybody should feel welcome anywhere in the kingdom. The problem is people get greedy and as a result have completely blown up the economy in a game that takes place in a virtual Disney park. While this obviously isn't target towards everyone, I feel like there are things we could change regarding this issue to improve the game and its community. I have a few proposals as to how this can actually be done:

Regulating Trade:
I'm not here to say we should get rid of trading credits because that would cause an uproar and I believe everybody has the right to choose what price they want to sell or trade their items for. However, I think there needs to be some rules implemented regarding trading especially when it comes to auctions. It's obvious that one of the bigger problems with the game right now (in my opinion) is how almost every player spends hours in auction rooms which is what undoubtedly has been turning many new players away. I've seen countless players come on for the first time, wander around main street and the other public rooms only to ask "where is everybody?" Only to then join auction rooms where they can never afford what's up for bid. The problem with these auction rooms is that items end up getting sold for thousands more than what they're actually worth which then turns into a game of other players selling items with the excuse "oh but so and so sold theirs for this", ultimately resulting in values skyrocketing. While I admit I dont have too many solutions this particular problem, I think there should be SOME type of regulation that prevents players from ripping other players off. Unpopular opinion, but i wouldnt even be opposed of a ban on auction rooms altogether IN FAVOR OF a more practical and fair way for players to sell their items.

Rereleasing Old Items:
Most of the "damage" on the games economy is irreversible in the sense that values are at an all time high and certain players still have managed to build up millions of credits. One way to prevent this problem from getting worse would simply be to rerelease old items! It's common sense that if more of these items were put into circulation, they would drop in value and players wouldn't be able to take advantage of hoarding rare items anymore. Believe it or not, not everyone wants items simply for their rarity. A new player may simply be looking to get an outfit based off their favorite disney movie, only to find out the pants alone are worth 25k. By all means, there should still be rare items in the game but it wouldnt hurt to bring back a few favorites now and then if not permanently in the shop then at least as a temporary prize of sorts. It would even be cool for every shop to have "specials" year round instead of just one shop hosting specials a month.

Raising Prices
Probably the most simple solution, if you cant fix what's already been done then the game should at least adapt to fit these changes. If people are going to pay thousands for items, then at least raise the prices in the shops. Likewise, minigames should be giving out more credits as well and SITS pins should become more common. Players have accumulated so many credits since the game started that they have practically an endless amount. What does a mere 500 credits from Haunted Mansion matter if you already are in the hundred thousands? That's why nobody plays these games anymore and another unpopular opinion but yes- I think friendly POTC should be banned. The only time people play pirates is now is when it's friendly, and unless your part of said players clique they just kick you out of their match. There's literally no reason for it aside from farming credits/keys which I dont see how that's any better than say, using clones on the fantasyland dark rides to improve their chances of getting a pin (which there is now rules against because it creates an unfair advantage, further proving my point) I'm getting off track but the point is, if the economy starts to inflate we should see an increase in shop prices and rewards as well so that nobody has an unfair advantage.

In conclusion, my ideas arent necessarily the best and i know people will disagree with them. In fact I encourage you to, because i want to see what other peoples thoughts on this manner are. Anyways, these are just a few ideas of mine to create a more welcoming and fair environment within the game. Hopefully some kind of action is taken because it goes without saying the game is changing but that can either be for better or for worse.
 

shel050

Well-Known Member
#3
For those of you know that know me, you know that I'm very outspoken when it comes to this topic as I feel a lot of new players are being turned away when they see how it's practically impossible for them to progress in the game considering how far along everybody else is. Even moreso, while some players are very generous to new players to help them catch up, there are still many players who are quick to avoid these new players just because they don't have anything. MyVMK is not a clique, and anybody should feel welcome anywhere in the kingdom. The problem is people get greedy and as a result have completely blown up the economy in a game that takes place in a virtual Disney park. While this obviously isn't target towards everyone, I feel like there are things we could change regarding this issue to improve the game and its community. I have a few proposals as to how this can actually be done:

Regulating Trade:
I'm not here to say we should get rid of trading credits because that would cause an uproar and I believe everybody has the right to choose what price they want to sell or trade their items for. However, I think there needs to be some rules implemented regarding trading especially when it comes to auctions. It's obvious that one of the bigger problems with the game right now (in my opinion) is how almost every player spends hours in auction rooms which is what undoubtedly has been turning many new players away. I've seen countless players come on for the first time, wander around main street and the other public rooms only to ask "where is everybody?" Only to then join auction rooms where they can never afford what's up for bid. The problem with these auction rooms is that items end up getting sold for thousands more than what they're actually worth which then turns into a game of other players selling items with the excuse "oh but so and so sold theirs for this", ultimately resulting in values skyrocketing. While I admit I dont have too many solutions this particular problem, I think there should be SOME type of regulation that prevents players from ripping other players off. Unpopular opinion, but i wouldnt even be opposed of a ban on auction rooms altogether IN FAVOR OF a more practical and fair way for players to sell their items.

Rereleasing Old Items:
Most of the "damage" on the games economy is irreversible in the sense that values are at an all time high and certain players still have managed to build up millions of credits. One way to prevent this problem from getting worse would simply be to rerelease old items! It's common sense that if more of these items were put into circulation, they would drop in value and players wouldn't be able to take advantage of hoarding rare items anymore. Believe it or not, not everyone wants items simply for their rarity. A new player may simply be looking to get an outfit based off their favorite disney movie, only to find out the pants alone are worth 25k. By all means, there should still be rare items in the game but it wouldnt hurt to bring back a few favorites now and then if not permanently in the shop then at least as a temporary prize of sorts. It would even be cool for every shop to have "specials" year round instead of just one shop hosting specials a month.

Raising Prices
Probably the most simple solution, if you cant fix what's already been done then the game should at least adapt to fit these changes. If people are going to pay thousands for items, then at least raise the prices in the shops. Likewise, minigames should be giving out more credits as well and SITS pins should become more common. Players have accumulated so many credits since the game started that they have practically an endless amount. What does a mere 500 credits from Haunted Mansion matter if you already are in the hundred thousands? That's why nobody plays these games anymore and another unpopular opinion but yes- I think friendly POTC should be banned. The only time people play pirates is now is when it's friendly, and unless your part of said players clique they just kick you out of their match. There's literally no reason for it aside from farming credits/keys which I dont see how that's any better than say, using clones on the fantasyland dark rides to improve their chances of getting a pin (which there is now rules against because it creates an unfair advantage, further proving my point) I'm getting off track but the point is, if the economy starts to inflate we should see an increase in shop prices and rewards as well so that nobody has an unfair advantage.

In conclusion, my ideas arent necessarily the best and i know people will disagree with them. In fact I encourage you to, because i want to see what other peoples thoughts on this manner are. Anyways, these are just a few ideas of mine to create a more welcoming and fair environment within the game. Hopefully some kind of action is taken because it goes without saying the game is changing but that can either be for better or for worse.
You should apply to be staff :D
 
#4
i think this is a well thought out post, and i do agree with most of it. however, i think upping the prices in the shop while also upping the credits you can receive in a minigame cancel each other out, because those higher prices would ultimately make them worth even more in the future and would lead to the same problem there is now. but, it would be nice to have rare items circulate in shops every month or every few months for a set period, that way it can remain it's rarity. plus, only few people who frequently play have a good amount of rares, while the rest are in accounts that haven't been used for years.
 

Gianorail

Disney Enthusiast
#5
I think this is a very long post.[DOUBLEPOST=1533325900][/DOUBLEPOST]Gian for prez 2020
Such a way with words, what a charmer ;P[DOUBLEPOST=1533327066][/DOUBLEPOST]
i think this is a well thought out post, and i do agree with most of it. however, i think upping the prices in the shop while also upping the credits you can receive in a minigame cancel each other out, because those higher prices would ultimately make them worth even more in the future and would lead to the same problem there is now. but, it would be nice to have rare items circulate in shops every month or every few months for a set period, that way it can remain it's rarity. plus, only few people who frequently play have a good amount of rares, while the rest are in accounts that haven't been used for years.
Yes completely agreed! That suggestion was more of a last resort type of situation
 

Klimt

lover of art
#7
I'm definitely a fan of the idea of re-releasing old items. A lot of people I've met in-game only joined in the past one or two months. As a result of the wild economy, I've found myself along with others pouring hours of time into doing friendlies, just to catch up to those who have been here for even longer and have exponentially more items. I came into the game and found that a black cowboy shirt was going for 40k. And that's just for ONE item that I wanted as a new player. So I grinded and grinded, and quickly I found the NEXT item I wanted was also going for 40k. As a new player it was disheartening, but I was willing to put in the work. However, I believe not everyone should feel like they have to sacrifice that much time (especially for dc over the weekends) just for one item. Some people grind for credits and then find that no one is even selling that item that they've been working towards. Also yes, I agree that a lot of players who no longer play are holding onto a lot of the old rares, thus making the inflation even worse. The idea of any item in the game being worth over 500k makes me cringe. Something over a million credits? No way is that even on the table for me.

Now, I'm about five weeks into the game. There are several items I still want but the demand is often so high and the supply is so low that I'm losing hope that I'll ever get them. And I notice this also happens a lot to other players! For instance, a lot of people have been wanting the skeleton leggings lately, and I saw them go in auction a week ago for over 70k. So, re-releasing items would be a great way to keep new (and some old) players motivated! There have been so many releases since the beginning of this game, and while I'm so thankful for the staff that contribute their time to creating new items, I would LOVE to see old items in the shop! Do a throwback Thursday every two weeks, where maybe one outfit is available for twice the price it was originally. Or, since a lot of people wish there were more quests, have the staff create a fun new one every once in a while with an old outfit as a prize! Also -- MOST NEW PLAYERS come in wanting OG cowboy pants. Why can't that become a permanent item in the shops? I think if new players can experience the nostalgia from the get-go, they'll be more likely to stick around.

However, I disagree with you on some points, as I'm personally not against friendlies. I've met so many great people through them, and I don't think it really hurts anyone since the majority of people playing them don't have as many credits as other players. I also think that people are playing ship battle a lot more since they've fixed many of the bugs, so I think it's unfair of you to say that only cliques play and always boot other players. Just my opinion though from what I've observed in the lobby though as of late!

I'm also against raising prices. Again, since I'm still relatively new, I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of credits on items that should be readily available to any player regardless of economic status. I'm not sure how I feel about auction rooms being banned, because that's a pretty extreme regulation. My stance overall on the auctioning issue is mixed, but I'd love to see more people interacting in public rooms. (my personal favorite place to chill recently has been New Orleans Square! :D)

Anyways I'm kind of rambling a bit, but those are some thoughts from someone who's still relatively new. :)
 
#8
unpopular opinion but yes- I think friendly POTC should be banned. The only time people play pirates is now is when it's friendly, and unless your part of said players clique they just kick you out of their match.
I dont believe it should be banned, I personally play friendly. I somewhat agree with SOME cliques not letting you in to their game, but sometimes when people join games that were already full then yes you are going to be boot because there are other people already playing just trying to get credits.The thing about playing jungle cruise is that you are alone which gets old and boring and some people are bad at haunted mansion or just dont like it. I have made so many good friends playing friendly that i dont know if i would have if we didnt have that time playing and getting credits. Maybe a fix for this problem is to have a friendly lobby and a ship battle lobby if you dont want to see only all friendly games. I agree with what Klimt said:

I also think that people are playing ship battle a lot more since they've fixed many of the bugs
I have also noticed this too. But honestly not many people play pirates on a normal day during the week i have such a hard time finding any full enough pirates game to play. And I will be the first to tell you that I suck at ship battle and thats one of the reasons i dont play it and everyone else would just demolish me, I know the only way to get better is to play it but then we go back to the clique problem you were talking about. Most people already have a set ship battle team set when they go into the lobby.


This was longer than i was expecting but my point is punishing people for wanting to socialize and get credits isnt really fair.
 

riddleguy

Well-Known Member
#11
I agree with everything except banning friendlies and raising prices. Prices should be cheaper then whats players are selling for t drive that prices down but not be made too cheap either. Like lets say the staff re-released the 40k black cowboy shirt, i think 4k would be a good value to set it at.
 
#12
Unpopular opinion, but i wouldnt even be opposed of a ban on auction rooms altogether IN FAVOR OF a more practical and fair way for players to sell their items.
Yeah I disagree with banning auction rooms lol, it's not for everyone of course but it's one of the few ways people can trade unwanted stuff and save/gain credits for whatever next their hearts desires.

If you are wanting a fair way there is also forums, if you are looking for an item you can put up an offer and if anyone agrees then bam. Both parties win, of course there is also auctions on forums but in many cases if something gets too high you can usually find another post elsewhere. Like how I saw some destiny ears going for 40k but with a bit of digging I was able to snag them for 20k from another seller.

A more practical way would be to have some sort of flea market in game, I've seen a prototype that looks good before but I can't remember where it was, but if anyone's played Maplestory kinda like that? You have items and you put a sales price on it, and if someone wants it they can buy it on the spot and everybody wins.

As far as rereleases it's a good idea but staff has made no effort to do anything of the sort tbh even tho every player in the kingdom is begging for it. The one time I seen anything like that was on April 1st and it was a cruel joke from Amy where she posted rares like Black Flip, OG Stitch, etc. And had the price tag to where not even the rich players could buy anything. It wasn't funny cause they know how much the players want rereleases and it was more like dangling a carrot in front of you where you can see it but it'll always be out of reach.

But hopefully with the fact more of these topics are rising up maybe they will finally listen to what the community wants. Here's to hoping
 

Amiko

Well-Known Member
#13
I'll say that I don't think that fixing the economy is going to completely keep new players around. In my opinion, I think the main reason why new players are leaving is because the game is boring. At least half of the regular MyVMK players are all grouped off, and have their own little friend groups. As a new person, I think it would be incredibly hard to fit in to this game. Even as a returning player that's been gone for 3 years, I'm finding it difficult to stay because there's nothing keeping me here. What part of this game is entertaining if you don't have people to talk to? Mini games are the only other entertaining thing. But barely anyone plays Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise gets boring after a while, and POTC is mainly friendlies in which people either don't talk or only talk to their friends. And I'll completely agree with the OP and say that some friendly groups can be ruthless. I played with a group of people for multiple rounds and they randomly booted me out so their friend can join. Most of this community can be very cliquey, and it's not very inviting to new players.

What's dropping the value of credits is things like double credits every weekend and being able to sell Marvel plushes (that we had the chance to get for free for an entire month) for 200 credits. When Marvel plushes became sellable, people went crazy spending credits. In reality, 25k or 40k isn't impossible to get... it's incredibly attainable when we have the opportunity to farm for credits playing friendly pirates on the weekend.

I'm completely for auction rooms. Yes, the prices during auctions can be outrageous sometimes, but auction rooms are playing a really big part in trading right now. It feels like there has been a decrease of people selling items on the forums. Auctions keep older (and by older I mean any item that isn't currently in store) items rotating. MyVMK's economy is completely supply and demand; and unfortunately most of us are hoarders and/or are too afraid to sell anything because we don't know the value of it. If anything, auction rooms seem to be your only chance and possibly getting the item you're looking for these days.

I'm not completely against rereleasing items, but I don't think it should be done frequently and it needs to be approached slowly. I'm almost positive that this concept would upset the players that have these items. If this were to ever happen, the staff needs to approach it by rereleasing a less rare item and slowly working their way up. Another thought to this if this were to ever be implemented, maybe only have the item sold for a day and if possible put a limit (maybe 2?) on how many a player can buy. With a shorter window of availability and a limit on how many a player can buy, the item will still have a chance of holding some value.
 

riddleguy

Well-Known Member
#14
I do agree that there needs to be something done to the inflation of prices for rares and ultras. However, I dont agree that banning auction rooms or raising prices will solve these issues.

Re-releasing older, rarer items in the store every once in a while may be a viable option but they should be sold for larger amounts in order to keep both sides, those who are buying and those who are selling, relatively content. My fear for the option of re-releasing items is that although more people in the "middle class" will have access to desired items, this also might cause an unforeseen backlash. "Richer" players will continue to hoard these items and be less likely to sell them because they won’t be making a profit. I’ve seen both sides to this argument because I’ve obtained multiple rares and ultras then traded them all away before going on hiatus, then doing the whole thing over again.

Double credits every weekend has definitely played a role in creating this huge surplus of credits and i do think slowing that down may help.

I’ve been playing since the end of 2013 and have heavily traded since. I’ve seen the economy fluctuate through the years and I honestly don't believe that there will ever be an end-all-be-all solution to the inflation. We have to change our mindset about trading in order to change the economy and that’s not easy. Following through with drastic measures that have been mentioned recently may help the issue short term but history will repeat itself.
I think the solution is simple. Re-releasing items select items permently or as perm quest prizes to bring their value down while preserving the values of others. The problem with this games economy is that nothing seems to go down in value. In a healthy economy things go up and down, if players suspect its going to go down in value then they should try to sell it before it happens. Some dissapointment is to be expected but ultimately i think this is what the game needs.

One potential way to do it is for the staff to make some initial items permenant shop releases to bring down the value and then give players notice beforehand. They can say something to the effect of "we have been listening to the community and will re-release select items to bring down the value on (insert date)." Then they make more items go down in value as time goes on by making it a perm/temp quest reward or perm/temp shop release.

@Amiko I do think the economy is a big issue worth fixing but the biggest issue is lack of quests. We need more perm quests and quest kiosks working again.
 
#15
@Amiko I was actually going to suggest limiting amount of buys, too, but wasn't sure if that was possible in the game. similar to the disney resorts, when LE pins go on sale guests are only allowed to purchase 2 (I believe). the only problem with this is people creating multiple accounts to attain these rares or using their clones, so unless there was a way to limit it per IP it might be hard to actually make a limit effective.
 

Fotogirl

Well-Known Member
#16
I do think something needs to be done to help the economy in this game. The credit prices for items has skyrocketed in recent months. More recent but retired monthly specials could have, at one time, been obtained a few months after they were in the shop for 3k-5k. In auction rooms I have seen recently retired shop releases go for 10k or more just two or three weeks after they are sold in the shop. I have sold some older clothing items at auction for high value but I also have sold some of the older things I have to newer players for a discount/reasonable price in order for them to have some retired items and maybe encourage them to stick around. My inventory of older extras I have is starting to dwindle however and with fewer players like me who have played since almost the beginning the opportunities for obtaining these items is also dwindling. I think limited time flash sales in the stores of older retired items would be a welcome thing in the community. It could be done like the Hide and Seek games with an announcement on the Twitter feed something to the effect of ... "Beginning at the top of the hour we will be selling Capt Hook outfit and Lilo outfit in Shrunken Neds Shop for 4 hours." Prices could be set slightly higher than normal releases and limited in the number allowed per person like was done with the Seagull hat and Simba hat when they were originally sold.
 

Amiko

Well-Known Member
#17
@Amiko I do think the economy is a big issue worth fixing but the biggest issue is lack of quests. We need more perm quests and quest kiosks working again.
The more that I think about it, the more I can see how bringing back quests could help. It can bring back some of the older/rarer items, keep the quantity of said item low, increase the use of public rooms, and potentially increase player interaction outside of friend groups. And correct me if I'm wrong, but there used to be a prize tier feature in OG VMK, right? Where the quest would only be active for so long and when it was over whoever completed the quest the fastest got the best prize. If the tier could be implemented again, that could also be a really great way of rereleasing rares without OVER releasing them.

Even if no official, staff sponsored, quests happen... I do think player sponsored quests could really help the overall environment of the community. It makes the game more interactive, and gives the community more of a chance to show off their creative side.
--
I do like the idea of flash sales like Fotogirl suggested. With how spontaneous they could be, there is a larger chance of items holding their value since people might not get a chance to sign on or they simply don't have the credits prepared. My biggest concern with this idea is timezones and equal opportunity though. Nearly all the host events are centered around EST, and it sucks for everyone outside of that timezone. And while I did mention that one of the pros of flash sales is people not getting the chance to sign on for it... if all the flash sales would occur during a time that's best for people in EST it would be incredibly upsetting to be constantly missing out on desired rares while all the EST players are decked out with them. I'm also afraid that with this in place it would cause even more problems with the economy. Since if an item would only be available for a couple of hours, only a part of the community might be able to get it and it could end up being sold for much more (lower than what it's currently valued today but much higher than it was resold for in the store).
--
Overall, I think the concept of rereleasing rares is a very sensitive concept, and it needs to be well thought out before a decision gets made. One wrong decision and the economy can get even worse than it already is. We can cause even more inflation and/or potentially cause the "richer" players to quit (which isn't good for the community or the economy!! We'll have even less players and all the rares that may never get rereleased will be sitting on an unused account).
 

Fotogirl

Well-Known Member
#18
I do like the idea of flash sales like Fotogirl suggested. With how spontaneous they could be, there is a larger chance of items holding their value since people might not get a chance to sign on or they simply don't have the credits prepared. My biggest concern with this idea is timezones and equal opportunity though. Nearly all the host events are centered around EST, and it sucks for everyone outside of that timezone. And while I did mention that one of the pros of flash sales is people not getting the chance to sign on for it... if all the flash sales would occur during a time that's best for people in EST it would be incredibly upsetting to be constantly missing out on desired rares while all the EST players are decked out with them. I'm also afraid that with this in place it would cause even more problems with the economy. Since if an item would only be available for a couple of hours, only a part of the community might be able to get it and it could end up being sold for much more (lower than what it's currently valued today but much higher than it was resold for in the store).
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I would expect if they did do occasional flash sales for rereleasing some older items into the game those sales would be at different times of the day and done with minimal notice just like the hide and seek games. 15-30 minute notice via tweet done at various times could get a few items out there without them being over sold.
 

Fruits

Well-Known Member
#19
This has been discussed numerous times. With the same exact ideas in mind. Yet nothing will most likely be done.

The idea of a new form of currency has also been suggested. They began working on it with the newly released Buzz game but I do not think they are doing anything further.

My suggestion.... reset the entire game. Fresh and new economy where items are carefully released/planned.
 
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#20
My suggestion.... reset the entire game. Fresh and new economy where items are carefully released/planned.
While good in theory it would never work, items are sporadically planned, like last month week 3 items got delayed to week 4, then week 3 and 4 items got delayed to last day of the month and that was pretty badly planned.

Also with your current more active players if you just "Skededle Skedempty your inventory and wallets are now empty" I see more players quitting than anything. Cause lets say everyone, from day one players to players joining today just got everything taken away. What are you left with? Nothing, all those hours spent grinding credits, playing events, trading and etc gone down the drain cause admins broke the economy. You wouldn't even compensate anyone cause you want EVERYONE to start off the same. It's like Communism but not communism, it's Totalitarianism. So yeah rip.

Bringing Maplestory up again, if there was a choice of a second server then that would be interesting. Like Scania is the main server and the first one EVERYONE sees and joins for the most part, but after playing the game and dealing with overpopulation, inflated ingame economy, toxic people, etc. Me and friends moved to one of the more quieter servers called Windia and wasted our lives there instead. So like if something like that were to happen

Server 1 = Current broken state of the game
Server 2 = A new server for people wanting to start fresh/not in the broken economy of Server 1

But also this would not work cause you'd need more staff to be playing on both servers and we barely have enough staff for the one server right now. Anything from Server 1 would not be able to transfer to Server 2 so anything from before the birth of server two would more than likely never make a return for the new server and the new server would be stuck with only the newer stuff.

So mainly what I'm trying to say is yes the economy is still broke and it's better than trying to start a brand new economy cause that will get just as broken cause I don't think players will like having to start from scratch all over again.
 
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