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[Lonelylurker]

Fonline is not, and for legal reasons cannot be, a pay-to-play MMO.

While good in many ways it means that there is no way to restrict number of accounts per player. This leads to some serious problems:

1) Endless specialized alts for every purpose.

2) No meaningful way to sanction or remove problem players. Griefers, exploiters, trolls, and outright cheaters can act with impunity to spoil the game for legitimate players because even if they get caught and banned they can just make another account and be back in business.

#2 in particular drives people away and seriously jeopardizes the long-term future of the game.


My proposed solution is to require a modest, say 10USD, deposit to register an account. This could be sent by paypal and would be refundable, with the resultant closure of the account, at any time while the account remains in good standing. If an account is suspended then the deposit will be frozen for the duration of the suspension. A banned account has it's deposit forfeited as a donation to the keep-the server-running fund. The TOS agreement signed as part of creating an account would authorize such measures.

This would restrict the number of alts running around and drastically improve the play quality of the game without violating the not-for-profit nature that enables it to exist. No money is being made, even the forfeiture for being banned is donation, agreed upon in advance. 

[Slaver Snipe]

This seems like a silly way to keep people from playing tbh, many who play are young and might not be able to afford it to hold 10$ in escrow, or the fact that not everyone uses pay pal.

[Senocular]

Wow, you seem to be new here, let me show you around the place...


Alts aren't an issue just because people can have them but because they HAVE TO have them.
-need more than one tent? get an alt
-need ammo supply? get crafter alt
-want to do some pvp? get ape alt
-want to get from NCR to New Reno in less than an hour? get outdoorsman alt
-want have more proffessions? can't do, get another alt

Alt-per-player ratio will lower not if you restrict one account per persona, but if you encourage people to play with one character. With the current number of players, that is - roughly 200 during a day, with your dumb idea implented will lower to maybe 10, if we are lucky. Not to mention how easy your concept is abusable. You know WoW? Yes, it is p2p game, yet it doesn't stop anyone from multiboxing:

[Lonelylurker]

Actually I've been around quite a while, I just don't post much.

You do not HAVE TO have alt's, they are useful for all the reasons you mentioned but not NECESSARY, It's just that currently there's no reason NOT to have them so everyone DOES.

I'm all for encouraging people to play with one character but as long as alts continue to be such an easy way to specialize in EVERY possible way simultaneously who will?

While it's true that people could still get multiple accounts at there would a break on how prevalent they would be. As for multiboxing, well a $10 forfeiture every time you get caught should cut down on that some too, or at least pay for the server.

Your claim that a small deposit would drastically lower the player base seems unlikely as well; $10 is hardly a prohibitively vast sum, just enough to make you think twice before throwing it away. It's people being raging a$$holes in the game without consequence that makes most people quit.

[Tomowolf]

OH please don't tell me we will have a paid game which isnt even completed.
and its like "TIS TEHARD AGIN" about alts and whining.
Its not even good suggestion, and stop complaining about game - If you don't like somewhere are SDK files , go make your own server with this system, and we will see how much people will play there :>.

[Senocular]

You do not HAVE TO have alt's, they are useful for all the reasons you mentioned but not NECESSARY, It's just that currently there's no reason NOT to have them so everyone DOES.

Of course no one is forcing anyone, but if you want to do more than just mining iron ore you need alts.

I'm all for encouraging people to play with one character but as long as alts continue to be such an easy way to specialize in EVERY possible way simultaneously who will?

Everyone would. People would love to play with one character because it's less frustrating, you don't have to bother with login cooldowns and shit. The point is playing one character only is pain in the ass.

Your claim that a small deposit would drastically lower the player base seems unlikely as well; $10 is hardly a prohibitively vast sum, just enough to make you think twice before throwing it away. It's people being raging a$$holes in the game without consequence that makes most people quit.

You really expect people to pay 10$ for JUST ONE character? You expect anyone pay for simulator of cooldowns? Not to mention people who can't use paypal/don't have credit cards and shit.

But luckily devs can't charge any fee for the game even if they wanted to so stop trying.

[Floodnik]

This suggestion... Sorry for posting the same picture over and over, but I just can't find anything more appropiate.

[Wichura]

You do not HAVE TO have alt's, they are useful for all the reasons you mentioned but not NECESSARY, It's just that currently there's no reason NOT to have them so everyone DOES.

I'm sorry, but you are wrong, sir. Well, yeah, you can play with one character only, I was playing this way for a long time. But if you want to have more than 4 professions (or two 3rd level professions), if you want to buy more than one base or have more than one tent, if you want to fight with other PvP apes using your own ape - you HAVE to have alts, unfortunately. Profession requirements are insane, playerbase (unless you already have bunch of trusted people around) is full of trolls, griefers, assholios and other scum, which you cannot trust at all - so sorry, but no interaction other than *pew pew* can be done. That's sad.


And about these ten bucks for account - typical Yankee, all issues wants to solve with cash.

-1 to this suggestion.

[OskaRus]

- Feature like working auction or market. Would eliminate need for every crafter alt for single person cause you cant trust anyone.
- Allowing char to make many tents or introduce parking lots would eliminate about 90percent of alts.
- Allowing faction to have many bases would eliminate lots of alts with many other problems included.

everithing suggested zillion times and neglected.

[Haraldx]

You want to make a game that has copy right issues, is still in beta a paid game? Sorry, but beta testing has it's purposes.

[Lonelylurker]

OH please don't tell me we will have a paid game which isnt even completed.

But luckily devs can't charge any fee for the game even if they wanted to so stop trying.

And about these ten bucks for account - typical Yankee, all issues wants to solve with cash.

You want to make a game that has copy right issues, is still in beta a paid game? Sorry, but beta testing has it's purposes.

As I said in the OP this would NOT be a fee, but a deposit. NO money actually changes ownership unless someone gets banned and that would be a pre-agreed donation.

As far as 'solving everything with money' I don't like it either but when it's impossible to verify weather the same jerk that was just banned is the one applying for a new account then how, other than requiring some sort of collateral for their good behavior,  do you make the griefers, trolls, etc either cut the crap or gtfo?

- Feature like working auction or market. Would eliminate need for every crafter alt for single person cause you cant trust anyone.
- Allowing char to make many tents or introduce parking lots would eliminate about 90percent of alts.
- Allowing faction to have many bases would eliminate lots of alts with many other problems included.

everithing suggested zillion times and neglected.

I like all of these ideas but as you noted there not happening.

 JUST ONE character?

I wouldn't mind every account having 3-5 slots or something, the point is that if you get banned with 1 it applies to the whole account.

[jan0s1k]

My proposed solution is to require a modest, say 10USD, deposit to register an account.

28 PLN for playing on 2238? Jeez...

This could be sent by paypal and would be refundable, with the resultant closure of the account, at any time while the account remains in good standing.

Not everyone has a paypal account.

This game cannot be paid in ANY way due of Fallout license, you can just donate, if you want do it instead of making topic to force people to pay for game 

[Haterade]

to be honest, more than half of players wouldnt be playing anymore...

[Haraldx]

This is a beta test, and no beta test has paid stuff (unless it's dumb DICE with it's asshole Battlefunds shit, or MineCraft, but MineCraft atleast is more than 80% working). Open beta means it is open to everyone. If we implent your idea, this would be more like a paid beta test, people would be leaving, developers have almost no testers to test the game, the players get bored because nobody plays, they leave, FOnline dies. What's there not to understand?

[Lonelylurker]

This game cannot be paid in ANY way due of Fallout license, you can just donate, if you want do it instead of making topic to force people to pay for game 

If it isn't a license violation to donate towards server upkeep now then how would it be one to commit to a donation at a future time if you get banned?. Also eliciting deposit forfeitures isn't the point, reigning in the griefers is. Ideally no such forfeitures would ever occur because people would stop offending.

to be honest, more than half of players wouldnt be playing anymore...

Are you assuming that more than half of the players would be unable to make the deposit? Or that more than half Are griefers?

If we implent your idea, this would be more like a paid beta test, people would be leaving, developers have almost no testers to test the game, the players get bored because nobody plays, they leave, FOnline dies. What's there not to understand?

People are being driven away from the game all the time by the actions which this is all about preventing. If gratuitous troublemakers could be held responsible for their misbehavior then they themselves might leave but the player base overall should expand.