WILL I HAVE TO SPEND MORE TO PLAY THERE?

by  yinki

Question: Will I have to spend more to play There?

Although all submission prices are going up, wholesale prices are more varied, some are rising and some are falling. Whether you will end up having to spend more or less depends on what sort of things you buy.

Overall, any changes will be most noticeable for items which are low-cost and/or low volume. Currently high-priced and high volume items can be less affected by these changes.

The quickest summary would be:

1. Buggy prices likely to rise

2. Bike prices likely to fall

3. Clothing to fall dramatically

4. Builder decorations and structures to rise noticeably.

5. Animated items to rise significantly.

6. Budget and low-volume items affected to the greatest degree (rises and falls) 7. New Builder and Painter items also due.

So you if currently spend about an equal amount on clothes and as non-clothes items, then your spending could remain reasonably flat.  Similarly, the buggy rise is almost matched by the bike drop - so if you happen to buy the same number of buggies as bikes then total spend will not change.

Probably when you see the new pricing your spending habits will also change, but there are price movements in both directions - so it is entirely feasible to keep your budget unchanged.

The Resale market is also significant. Things you hold in your inventory may gain or lose value, BUT if you buy on a strictly replacement policy then the cost of playing should not rise much, since any gain/loss you experience when you sell will simply go towards the price of the new replacement item.

Also worth noting is that there will be BRAND NEW items released for painting and building at the same time as the price changes. These include High Resolution textures for clothes and items, Super-large structures, paintable hoverpacks and hoverboats - and custom modelled hoverpacks and hoverboats.

So there will be a whole new catalog of exciting member-designed stuff to look forward to.

--- background note for anyone interested ---

The new pricing is a change that will, in time, improve the user experience in There. The prices have been set on how much "lag" they can cause. With the new pricing, it is hoped that there will be fewer high-lag items and many more low-lag items in-world, which will help reduce lag for everyone.

yinki

23 nov 2004

(all original price data drawn from Proposal 5ci. The effects on actual market prices are solely the opinion of the author. They represent the author's "best guess" based on all currently known information. Thanks to Schuey for his forum post that asked the original question.)