The fatal flaw with the current business model.

While I agree with your point that the game is increasingly not skill-based, it's absurd to argue that you're being scammed by the game somehow. You don't have to play. You don't have to buy any NX.
It seems to me that you're reaching for straws to grasp because you're in a bad situation that resulted form a bad turn of luck. You're trying to shift blame and responsibility for those actions to another party. This is immature.

It is true that nobody has to play.

But what gets people so worked up and frustrated is that Maple Story itself is kind of a fun little game. Sure, it's a pretty simple, repetitive RPG thing, but if it were really that terrible as a game, why the heck are we all still here?

And that's what kills us. We want "Maple Story, the game" back. Instead, all we have is a former shell of the game that's devolved into "Maple Story, the microtransaction business". While I get that businesses don't host games completely for charity and have to bring in some form of income, it shouldn't be so focused on income that it completely overshadows the actual game itself. And that's what Nexon's done over the years. Maple Story, short of going rogue and joining a private server, is pretty much gone in terms of gameplay because it's turned into Cash Shop Story instead.

We really want our game back. We like our simple little 2D MMO with the many classes, but in a world where grinding and putting hard work into the game can actually accomplish something meaningful.

Sure, it's a pretty simple, repetitive RPG thing

That is a deathly insult to RPGs. Maple is a 2D side scrolling adventure game. It is most definitely not even the barest shadowy pretense of an RPG.

While I agree with your point that the game is increasingly not skill-based, it's absurd to argue that you're being scammed by the game somehow. You don't have to play. You don't have to buy any NX.
It seems to me that you're reaching for straws to grasp because you're in a bad situation that resulted form a bad turn of luck. You're trying to shift blame and responsibility for those actions to another party. This is immature.

You don't have to buy NX to be scammed. Hell you don't even need to be scammed to feel scammed.

While I agree with your point that the game is increasingly not skill-based, it's absurd to argue that you're being scammed by the game somehow. You don't have to play. You don't have to buy any NX.
It seems to me that you're reaching for straws to grasp because you're in a bad situation that resulted form a bad turn of luck. You're trying to shift blame and responsibility for those actions to another party. This is immature.

Who are you addressing?
Yeah, you're right. No one has to play. And each passing day more people choose to stop. Populations have dropped so much we've had to merge eleven servers into three. "You don't have to play" isn't the proper response to this. Every player is valuable in a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG.
"You don't have to pay" isn't right either. Even if the profligate "whales" spent enough to completely offset all the lost revenue from players that would otherwise have spent small amounts of money, it would still be a better situation for an equivalent distribution of many small-spenders and almost no "whales".

Who are you addressing?

http://www.southperry.net/showthread.php...ost1183832

That is a deathly insult to RPGs. Maple is a 2D side scrolling adventure game. It is most definitely not even the barest shadowy pretense of an RPG.

Eh, depends on how you judge the game. I tend to think of adventure games as "clear this area and move on". Maple Story is all about leveling up and increasing your characters stats and skills. That's more of the RPG genre than anything. But regardless, not really the point of what I was saying.

If Maple Story weren't a fun game, nobody would even care. There are plenty of games out there being over-monetized and abused and driven into the ground, but then nobody really cares or misses them when they're gone. However, if you take something people actually LIKE and screw it over, then you get all sorts of community backlash like you have here.

Eh, depends on how you judge the game. I tend to think of adventure games as "clear this area and move on". Maple Story is all about leveling up and increasing your characters stats and skills. That's more of the RPG genre than anything. But regardless, not really the point of what I was saying.

If Maple Story weren't a fun game, nobody would even care. There are plenty of games out there being over-monetized and abused and driven into the ground, but then nobody really cares or misses them when they're gone. However, if you take something people actually LIKE and screw it over, then you get all sorts of community backlash like you have here.

The problem is that most "RPG"s aren't actual Role Playing Games; they just contain some of the aspects of role-playing games, namely: character levels and stats.

The problem is that most "RPG"s aren't actual Role Playing Games; they just contain some of the aspects of role-playing games, namely: character levels and stats.

Those aren't technically aspects of role playing games, just character development schemes that many genres of game use. An RPG is exactly what it's name says - a game where you take on the role of a character or characters during their story. Leveling is a mechanic and nothing to do with the actual game itself, which generally revolves more around the story and characters than anything else.

Final Fantasy is a good example. Dozens of different mechanics for progressing characters. More focus on the story than anything.

Maple Story does actually have story. It's just not forced, because that isn't a good way to go with the whole "MMO" part of it. I mean, look at the backlash to Zero's "mirror world" that they can't escape for a considerable time.

However, if you do follow the story for certain characters, it's not THAT much different from some classic RPG's from back in the day. Okay, Maple Story wasn't crafted in the early 90's, but the storyline does fit the conditions to be a classic RPG.

The story is not the priority, therefore it's not an RPG. We're going to agree to disagree.

Maple Story does actually have story. It's just not forced, because that isn't a good way to go with the whole "MMO" part of it. I mean, look at the backlash to Zero's "mirror world" that they can't escape for a considerable time.

Why isn't it a good way? Could you reference some of your experiences that lend some credibility to this assertion? Could you define to what degree you mean "forced"? Mabinogi is reasonably successful, and its story campaigns are arguably forced.

Also, analyze the backlash to Zero. Who were the vocal protestors? What grievances did they find with it? Was it because they wanted to just take their instantly-level-100-character and jump in with the rest of the maplers?
I think this whole "another world" gimmick is refreshingly unique, and even more, is how Nova should have played out.

The story is not the priority, therefore it's not an RPG. We're going to agree to disagree.

It's strangely ironic that this is the case in a game called MapleStory

Well the problem with Zero is the sheer amount of forced story. Like, Cannoneer has a forced story in a place where only Cannoneer beginners can be. But you do that in 5-10 minutes and bam, you're in Nautilus with the rest of the Maple World. Zero has a bunch of chapters that they must complete before they can go out into the main world and get EXP from monsters. The backlash part was...okay you can go to the Maple World, but then you can't train there? It doesn't take away from the people who like the story to give the option to simply train with other people in the regular Maple World.

...but that isn't what's killing Maple Story, lol.

While I agree with your point that the game is increasingly not skill-based, it's absurd to argue that you're being scammed by the game somehow. You don't have to play. You don't have to buy any NX.
It seems to me that you're reaching for straws to grasp because you're in a bad situation that resulted form a bad turn of luck. You're trying to shift blame and responsibility for those actions to another party. This is immature.

...There's a quote function to specify who you're speaking with. If you're referring to coogi's post, then you're wrong, you can't even fall back on "it's my opinion", you're just flat out wrong. Nexon doesn't force you to play, Nexon doesn't force you to spend NX, but when a player decides to, I feel as though there is some obligation they hold to you, as a customer. I will digress that Nexon's actions are definitely leaning to the opposite effect, but it becomes a hobby which you enjoy.

When you're cheated out of all your work, essentially everything, not out of something as asinine as "bad luck", then you feel scammed for even participating. There were exploits that were out of our control. Hell [MENTION=2054]Eos[/MENTION]; challenged someones claim to break into his account, and he did it what, a day later? That's a Nexon issue, that isn't a frekin "I'm irresponsible derp derp". They should hold proper accountability for something clearly in their error.

I got hacked from something out of my own control, it wasn't even that damaging to be honest, I still had massive amount's of meso/nx/equipment to easily recover, but it was the principle. Their response was to give me worthless items, they considered "top tier", that were untradeable, unpotentialed, unscrolled, and gave me dark scrolls to attempt to scroll them, even after recently hosting an event with GM scrolls. That was their "compensation" for billions of mesos' lost. Not even timeless gear, reverse for christ sake, and to be quite frank, if I wasn't funded I wouldn't even be able to wear them. A year and a half later players who got hacked by an exploit in Nexon's error, level 45-70 characters got up to half a mil of NX points as compensation.

Hell Eos challenged someones claim to break into his account, and he did it what, a day later?

It wasn't quite that quick, but leaving the Stick Nose on me to show they'd been there was a nice touch.

"You don't have to pay" isn't right either. Even if the profligate "whales" spent enough to completely offset all the lost revenue from players that would otherwise have spent small amounts of money, it would still be a better situation for an equivalent distribution of many small-spenders and almost no "whales".

It seems like you're describing the micro-transaction model. Oh wait...

It seems like you're describing the micro-transaction model. Oh wait...

The model that Nexon has abandoned, yes.

The model that Nexon has abandoned, yes.

I kinda like microtransactions... I make microtransactions!

Don't have the will or money to cube a single item for 100 dollars.

I kinda like microtransactions... I make microtransactions!

Don't have the will or money to cube a single item for 100 dollars.

You pretty much know the microtransaction model is gone when you see packages being sold containing multiples of an item for a total of over $30.

I kinda like microtransactions... I make microtransactions!

Don't have the will or money to cube a single item for 100 dollars.

Nexon is raising a generation of future gamblers

You pretty much know the microtransaction model is gone when you see packages being sold containing multiples of an item for a total of over $30.

Yes! I never quite understood the reasoning. With gach tickets I suppose it was one thing, since they were 1,000 NX.

As a side note, does anyone kind of think this is somewhat hilarious? I mean, when you really break down how Nexon makes their money, the whole concept is absolutely ridiculous. I'm kind of beyond the point of being pissed off; anyone interested in taking bets on how this will all end?