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--- faq [2023/11/23 00:01] – [No UE, you don't understand, MMOs must be popular, it's the whole point of "Massively" in the term MMO. Why don't you get that?] unhandled
+++ faq [2024/04/16 15:15] (current) – [Is the VIP subscription pay to win? (P2W)] unhandled
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 Now, the flipside of this might be that we are ultimately playing a game that is primarily from the imagination of two main developers (there are now more developers, but the original idea was from two former Asheron's Call devs). When this game does eventually go into release, it'll be a unique one that was primarily made by only two people who had an idea and saw that idea to fruition. If you feel like you won't be able to enjoy experiencing such a game until it is completely finished, then please wait, I think you'll be pleased with the final result.
+==== This game is too grindy if I want to do everything that it offers and it offers too much. Why is it so grindy? ====
+One of the big draws to MMOs in the late 90s and early 00s was that they were like the MUDs several of us at the time were already playing, only they were much much bigger. Or at least it seemed that way. They were 3d. They had more skills. They had complexity between the skills. They had more players. They had seemingly endless content.
+When making one of these more popular early MMOs, Everquest, the name implies what was going to be unique about it. Instead of players playing through the game and then moving on to some other game while waiting for new content like they did with MUDs, the plan was to make the game very very hard, so you were constantly questing. The idea would be that the "end game" would be gated by hundreds of hours worth of play, and new versions of the game would be released slowly over time giving them more content. Only if players did several of the same things over and over, would they actually get to anything resembling an end. Thus they could be like Ultima Online and charge a monthly fee on top of the game's price.
+Some years after it came out, a graduate student wrote a paper about Everquest that said it used a "carrot on a stick" method to generate dopamine in the brain and keep players doing the same really hard things over and over in the game. Instead of portraying this as a good use of a player's time, to make the end result a huge accomplishment, the paper instead seemed to mock players that grinded for rare gear in the game.
+It didn't help that this all happened around the time World of Warcraft came out, which was one of the most ambitious MMOs. It had a "grind", too, but it wasn't as unforgiving as games like Ultimate Online, Everquest, or Asheron's Call.
+The end result is that, over time, the word "grind" became part of the common vernacular of MMO players, and everyone hated it. Or at least, they thought they did. What they got instead became progression through the appearance of progression, with "dailies" and weekly raids, and other things that rewarded the player for "not playing" the game, but rather for sticking with a monthly subscription.
+I personally, would like to see things in the game stay grindy rather than add daily and weekly progression systems that give more per event than for those willing to simply do the same thing over and over. Some of us actually like the idea of a grind, and you should too. It makes the achievement all the more rewarding, and shows that you really committed to the work instead of committing to just a subscription.
+That said, there *are* dailies in this game, too, but they are simply events that help with revenue generation instead of experience or gear. They *do* help in getting certain types of Transmutation and Augmentation skills up in level, but these are going to level anyway if you do a normal grind, too. There are also "weekly events" in that there is a Poetry Jam where free buffs are usually given for the people grinding Crafting skills. So if you wanted to do everything there is to offer in the game, there's certainly plenty there for you to do as well as ways to help speed it along.
+The beauty of PG is that after you get to combat level 90 or higher in skills you can determine if you really want to stick around to get your crafting skills to 90+ as well. You certainly don't have to. In fact, a lot of players essentially do a "reset" once they hit level 90+ in their first two skills and many choose to play as an animal so its an entirely new experience for them!
 ==== This game isn't popular. Why should I play it? ====
-I'm going to guess you are either in your teens or early twenties. Don't think of that as an insult, but I'm going to reveal a secret to you that I didn't learn till I was in my late twenties or so as a gamer: Popular does not necessarily equal Fun. Also, a game can still be Fun and Popular, but it might not have longevity.
+I'm going to guess you are either in your teens or early twenties. I know you don't think so, but you're still kind of young as a gamer. Don't think of that as an insult, but I'm going to reveal a secret to you that -- as a lifelong gamer -- I didn't learn till I was in my late twenties or so as a gamer: Popular does not necessarily equal Fun. Also, a game can still be Fun and Popular, but it might not have longevity.
 If you measure a game's value to you by how many Youtube or Twitch viewers watch it, you're never going to be happy with a game like Project Gorgon, but you're also going to miss out on plenty of other games you might find very fulfilling, too.
-Some of the most popular games in the world right now are pay-to-win mobile games, but I am guessing the type of person reading this right now finds this kind of game not fun, right? Why do you find them not fun if they are so popular? Think about that. One reason might be that the mobile games at the top today will be old news within a year. After all, does anyone remember Facebook games like Farmville? How about Words With Friends?
+Some of the most popular games in the world right now are pay-to-win mobile games, but I am guessing *you* (or the type of person reading this right now) find mobile games not fun, right? Why do you find them not fun if they are so popular? Think about that. One reason might be that the mobile games at the top today will be old news within a year. After all, does anyone remember Facebook games like Farmville? How about Words With Friends?
 So now apply that to your own gaming habits and the argument that a game isn't popular right now.
+(Please note I wrote what is below in September 2020)
 Do you really see yourself playing Among Us two years from now with the same group of friends you play it with today? Did you know the basic idea of Among Us was done almost six years ago by Town of Salem and was super popular then, too? Did you know even that game was based on a meatspace game that was popular at sci fi and fantasy conventions in the 1990s? Very few gamers today even realize that several games that seem to be unique, fresh and "new" today were based on ideas that were already popularized and played (sometimes to boredom) in the past.
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 Plenty of people are online right now playing and you'll run into them at any time of day. Overnight, only the players from the Pacific and Asian regions get on and it will drop under 100 concurrent players, but it seems like it is always easy to find a group since there is really only one server and there's always someone on during prime time. I'd recommend joining with a friend or two though, as this is a much more enjoyable game to play with friends.
-Lastly, if you are an engineer, systems analyst, or someone that likes to tinker with systems regardless of how used they are, you can definitely play this game solo and appreciate it for what it is and the unique interactions of skills. It's fun to level certain skills and watch how they all affect each other.
+Lastly, if you are an engineer, systems analyst, or someone that likes to tinker with systems regardless of how used they are, you can definitely play this game solo and appreciate it for what it is and the unique interactions of skills. Brewing, for example, has an "explore your options" system that is unique to every character and not found in any other MMO. It's very similar to how the original spellcasting in Asheron's Call felt before people provided guides to every spell in the game.
-==== No UE, you don't understand, MMOs must be popular, it's the whole point of "Massively" in the term MMO. Why don't you get that? ====
+Plus, with 100+ skills in the game and many of them having synergy levels, it's fun to level certain skills and watch how they all affect each other.
+==== No, you don't understand, MMOs must be popular, it's the whole point of "Massively" in the term MMO. Why don't you get that? ====
 Well, gee, okay, I guess you got me there, but I have a question in response. What is your favorite moment in your entire MMO history? Was it something a streamer did or was it a specific thing that you learned about a game on your own or something hilarious that happened with your friends online? Was a spur-of-the-moment community event? Was it a huge PvP battle where you or you and your friends clutched that win from the jaws of defeat? If you are like me, was it discovering the depth of the game mechanics in an otherwise simple-looking game?
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 There are certain MMOs that focus on competitive multiplayer and/or having large massive battles, and I'm going to let you in on a little secret. **I still play those games, too.** I play PG in my downtime though, or when I want a fun grinding exploration and crafting game with a community I enjoy. If you want to play a more competitive or popular game, go for it, just keep PG in mind for when you are bored of that and want to play something that ticks that exploration and old school MMO itch. :D
+==== The game doesn't look good. Why would I play a game that doesn't have AAA graphics? ====
+There are a number of original games you can look at that focused more on gameplay over graphics. PG is one of these types of games. Minecraft looked like 90s graphics when it first came out and still looks like an old game. Valheim has a dated graphic style, but topped the Steam most played charts for over two months, more than any other modern game, even those not by independent developers. The reason why these kinds of games exist is because the graphical changes are almost always secondary to veteran gamers, and many devs target the veteran gamer over the newer gamer or the gamer who only plays perfectly polished games.
+In some respects, the game actually can be very pretty. Some of the end game dungeons look very nice. Also, there's a clear difference between biomes/zones in PG unlike some other independent games. Keep in mind there are only two developers, and if they hired a team of modelers, skinners and riggers for those models, they could probably update the graphics without too much effort in the span of a year, it's just not their focus right now. As the game gets closer to being "complete", it's possible they could get an influx of cash to essentially finish it with these touches.
+I don't want to discourage you from not demanding better graphics for your games, though. Some MMORPG gamers just flat out don't like games unless they meet a certain minimum criteria for graphics quality and I understand that. It's possible this game isn't for you if so.
 ==== Is this game worth the money ($40)? ====
 As someone who bought a Horse Lord package, I've spent actually $540 on the game. But I mean, I *really* *really* like it, obviously. I am writing a guide on it, after all.
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 ==== Is the VIP subscription pay to win? (P2W) ====
-So, the short answer to this is "No", of course.
+So, the short answer to this is "No", of course. You can't pay for levels, you can't pay for better gear, you can't pay for experience, you can't pay to get an increase in the rate of XP, etc.
-The longer answer involves going into what you get with a paid VIP subscription, however, and this is where if you are certain type of person that hates people that spend money on games, you might think the game is P2W.
+The longer answer involves going into what you get with a paid VIP subscription, however, and this is where if you are certain type of person that absolutely hates that people spend money on games, you might still think the game is P2W.
-When you pay for VIP, you should approach it as if you are donating money to help develop the game faster. It's not like this game has hundreds of thousands of VIP players, after all. It's also not like the developer is just going to walk away with it unfinished when there's still a small but dedicated community. It's a labor of love for a game both developers always wanted to make and many of us really enjoy playing.
+Rather than redoing some Kickstarter or Indie funding option, which they used to offer, the devs decided to allow people to purchase "VIP" monthly to do ongoing donations to the dev team to keep the game updated. For a while, VIP paid for a UI (user interface) programmer who has been doing some great work with making crafting and other UI stuff work very well.
-Rather than redoing some Kickstarter or Indie funding option, which they used to offer, the devs decided to allow people to purchase "VIP" to do ongoing donations to the dev team to keep the game updated. It has paid for a UI (user interface) programmer who has been doing some great work with making crafting and other UI stuff work very well.
+What you actually get for VIP is +15 inventory slots (including in transfer chests for transferring items between characters) and the ability to learn specific skills very slowly from your friends while offline. If you paid for a specific backer package version you get a free horse and a free house, both of which will be available in game for a small cost plus a very easy quest. This brings the VIP package in line with the old Kickstarter offer that was proposed a long time ago and was available to earlier players.
-What you get for VIP is +15 inventory slots (including in transfer chests) and the ability to learn skills very very slowly from other players while offline. If you paid for a backer package version or prepay, you get a free horse and a free house. This brings the VIP package in line with the old Kickstarter offer that was proposed a long time ago and was available to earlier players.
+As someone who has gotten the horse lord package and prepaid for $500 worth of VIP, I can tell you the single best thing for VIP by far has been the +15 inventory slots. That said, if I didn't have that, I'd survive now that we have other storage options like the small box of space and the saddle, so inventory space is mattering less and less at the higher levels, at least, it's still a grind to get there, but that's the fun of these types of old school games.
-As someone who has gotten the horse lord package and prepaid for $500 worth of VIP, I can tell you the single best thing for VIP by far has been the +15 inventory slots. That said, if I didn't have that, I'd survive now that we have other storage options like the small box of space and the saddle, so inventory space is mattering less and less (at the higher levels, at least, it's still a grind to get there, but that's the fun of these types of old school games)
+In my honest opinion as of 2024, None of the VIP "perks" make it anywhere even close to P2W. They provide very minuscule benefits.
 So I guess it comes down to how much you think a non-competitive game like Project Gorgon can be "P2W".
-I personally don't think a game where there isn't some form of PvP can be considered P2W, but I understand that some people like to compete on how well they perform in PvE, and to them, the advantages that a VIP get could be easily seen as "Winning". I don't think the grind in this game is ridiculous, though, and most MMOs with what I would call P2W elements, nerf the XP gain so that you have to buy packages in order to get XP at a reasonable pace. That's definitely not what is happening here.
+I personally don't think a game where there isn't some form of PvP can be considered P2W, but I understand that some people like to compete on how well they perform in PvE, and to them, the advantages that a VIP get could be easily seen as "Winning". I also don't think the grind in this game is ridiculous, though, and most MMOs with what I would call P2W elements, nerf the XP gain so that you have to buy packages in order to get XP at a reasonable pace. That's definitely not what is happening here.
-So yeah the short of it is: IMHO, it's not P2W and it can't be considered P2W because this isn't a competitive game. Even if you did ignore that it wasn't a competitive game, the advantages are very minor, especially at end game.
+So yeah the short of it is: IMHO, it's not P2W and it can't be considered P2W because this isn't a competitive game. Even if you did ignore that it wasn't a competitive game, the advantages are very minor, especially at end game and none of the benefits directly give the players levels or XP.
 ==== My screen stutters when I play and I have tried everything, what can I do to fix it? ====
-I have tried SphereCull and other [[graphicsbugs|graphics changes]] and could never get the game to work completely well for me on one of my computers. Unfortunately it is even one with a good video card and on the latest drivers. I actually have no idea why since I basically turned down or off everything. This issue used to happen specifically at the Serbule Keep area where the vendors are, though it does occasionally happen in other areas that have nothing to do with vendors, specifically right now it seems to happen with Gazluk after the tree draw distance nerf.
 An animation update fixed most of the other graphics issues many players had with animations, but specific driver and OS combos can sometimes still be problematic. I would recommend getting driver updates and/or contacting a guide in the game or using the Help channel if you have specific questions. Also, if you did update your drivers, please do a restart before contacting a guide, just to make sure those new drivers are actually loaded and your client (and Steam) is updated correctly.
+There's a few things you can do. You can turn off "particlespam" and you can use "spherecull" in the special graphic changes part of the special options window.
 ==== Why can't I trade as a Demo player? ====