Driven to Develop

I’ve been pretty busy lately so gaming has been kept to a minimum, or at least to late nights, but I’ve had a shift in what I’m playing.

While I wouldn’t really call Project Entropia a “scam”, I’ve got some issues with it. It appears that the groups of folks who pump the most money into the game are the only ones gaining anything in the game and rewards are certainly not comparable to what is going into the system. I didn’t interact with any of these “ubers” except via the forums but it seemed like everyone I talked to was putting around $20-50 a month into the game just to keep their character going. OUCH!! You could pick up a smoking habit and it would be cheaper. It really snowballs too – you can only sweat so much before you get capped and then you’re forced to put money to keep playing. I just see it as becoming a big black hole for money and I’m not willing to fall into that one. However, I have to say that I met some really great folks while in game. Everyone seems to be pretty nice (I didn’t venture to the PvP arena so things may be different there) and were generally helpful but I’m grateful that I never dropped any money into it so I don’t feel bad just walking away.
It also doesn’t hurt that I’ve gotten into Battlefield 2. I’ve finally ventured on to the multi-player servers and haven’t been to bed before 1am on any night that I’ve played. While I’m certainly not Rambo yet, I’m getting better and completely addicted. (My current profile)
Lastly, I’ve been really remiss in playing UO – while I’m still technically a GM over a Montis Draconis, I’m not quite sure how I keep that job. I’ve only hopped on for a few minutes here and there and certainly not contributed near as much as I should. Although it had been rather quiet when I have been on, I’m hoping that I’ll have some time this weekend so I can get a few things done.