First of all, I would like to start by stating that all of this is my personal opinion.
These opinions will be about following underlined lines in Terms & Conditions.
These opinions do not mean in any way that I dislike the game or the work Jux does. I would not have invested in the game if I disliked it. It is Jux's game and he is free to do so whatever he wishes with it. These are mere opinions.
I discussed some of my opinions with @foxon, which I need to clarify that he is not an official representative of the game, yesterday but he did not really change my opinion about the term. There is some merit to the term but it is a bandaid solution to the real problem behind it. But before we discuss the real problem, let's talk about the current issues of the term.
While I was discussing the terms with foxon he said that this term was in place due to the game having a difficulty curve at the start and players sending cards or STARBITS to each other will make that curve easier and offer an advantage. This is sensible of course. But currently, giveaways, which I would argue that they'll offer the same advantage to players who win them, are exempt from this term.
Another thing is that from the wording of the term, it seems that you would be allowed to convert your STARBITS to SWAP.HIVE and then send those SWAP.HIVEs to another player. foxon alluded to that not being the case, and that it would be a bannable offence. It is not clear where the line is drawn here, what if I sent a player some HIVE that is not in any form got earned from RSG. Would that still be considered an advantage gained from not playing independently? I don't know and it is not clear in the terms, it should be clarified.
Now, let's talk about the real problem behind the term; Inflation of STARBITS. Players having an easier time at the start of the game makes them grow faster than someone who plays independently provided that the independent player does not buy packs which makes them also have the same relative ease at the start of the game. This faster growth causes more STARBITS to get printed and conversely causes the price of STARBIT to fall. If there were no increase in inflation then there would be no real advantage to getting an easier start.
Inflation has been a part of many F2P even P2P games. Those games use sinks for their currency to curb inflation. Consumable items, harder new zones, and repairing equipment are a few examples of those sinks. There are currently no mechanics like that in RSG. If there were mechanics like that at higher levels then having an easier start would not make that big of a difference. I had shared some of my ideas with foxon but they were just surface level anyway, so I am not going to share them here.
Well, I shared everything about what I think about the term. Thanks for reading, and please comment your own opinions about it so we can discuss it at large and create solutions that might be picked up by Jux.
