The Thoughts of a Returning Player
Nathan Maximillian Stark
You know, there's something about this game which inexplicably, no matter how many times I stop playing, always draws me back to it. Something mysterious, alluring. Having had to deal with loads of RL commitments and school, I had to stop playing. But a couple of days back, while browsing through some of my old bookmarks which had begun to collect dust, I noticed a well-known entry. And I decided to give it a try once more. I don't know whether it's my love for this game that caused me to come back or my hopes that one day I would return, to find it better and improved. Maybe it's simply the fact that I'd finished all games I had on my laptop and watched all TV shows on my hard drive, and now had nothing better to do. It doesn't matter really. The important thing is that I'm back.
And what did I see when I returned? Immediately, my eyes were met with four different ads for spending RL money on this game. War stash, gold packs, special offers... I wasn't really surprised. Although, there was that one tiny, glimmer of hope that the game would stop being pay-to-win by the time I returned. And sadly, that glimmer died the moment I logged in. Some things won't change, I suppose. Next up, I checked the work and train modules. No major changes, really, save the reimplementation of houses. So I did my working and training, like a proper citizen, then joined a party and a military unit (since I was kicked from my last ones due to inactivity). Later on, I checked the war module. It is the way I remember it (however, I now had the opportunity to buy 55 bazooka parts for 2 gold) Having around 100 pieces of each part (except the missiles, which I intended to buy) I thought about trying for a BH medal. Upon noticing that the current BH had dealt 10 000 000 damage, and the battle wasn't even halfway through, I abandoned the notion. I also noticed the implementation of dictatorship, which I think is an interesting idea.
And then, I wanted to read few articles, see what the eWorld was up to. However, there was a problem. There weren't any. The media module seemed to be at a moratorium, only coughing up an article or two every week. That's what made me sad. The realization that this, once wonderful game numbering in tens of thousands of active players, which revolved around the community and interaction, had crumbled to this point. I was never a great businessman or soldier in this game (didn't like spending gold, to be honest) and I wasn't quite interested in politics, but the media module has been my favorite. I loved reading articles, whether they were about the happenings in the game, players or simple off-topic interesting articles. I also dabbled in article writing myself (even though I was never particularly good at it, I admit). But I enjoyed it and really made me feel like a part of the community. And now, that module is on the brink of death, and the community's becoming increasingly lethargic.
I often think about V1. I am an irreparable nostalgic, strongly adhering to the opinion that V1 was and will be the best eRepublik version ever. I remember the epic battles and alliances, interesting and lively community and an immensely enjoyable experience. Even though I was a mere rookie at that time (I still am today, judging by my time of playing/level ratio) I felt like a part of the greater whole, like every action of mine would have an effect on the final outcome of things. Nowadays, I just play for the sake of it. I don't FEEL it, if you know what I mean.
I want us to change this, at least in eGermany. Let us liven this game up once more. Let us be active in our community, on our forums, in our parties and military units. Let us write articles on every topic, encourage new players to keep playing and build our community. Let us be glorious again. I realize most of what I'm saying may sound like the ramblings of a mad man to some people. Maybe it is. Maybe I just have the wrong impression, as I've only recently come back to the game. But I'm certain of one thing. If we are to prosper, we need a more active community. Let us build it together.
PS. Here's something for the 'veterans' of this game, to remind you of the glorious days of V1 and eGermany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghgNJYWgOxA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzOkAz4t-_I
Proud to have participated! o7
PPS. I'll randomly chose one of the commenters of this article (under level 30) and give them a gold bar. So, comment on.
😁
Comments
This is also my second go at the game, so far ive only been 2 clicking for months now, yet somehow i keep coming back...
Anyways, welcome back, im sure eGermany will thrive having regained another enthusiastic player.
o/
Welcome back! 🙂
hi
I also only started some months ago again and the lack of articles and discussion underneath them is what is/was most disturbing to me.
If there wouldn't be some governmental articles(mostly done by Edelmann anyways) from time to time, it would look even worse. And I mean one part of the problem surely is, that it is summer. Even I didn't keep up my article-quota this month as dictator (I will most likely write something bigger after this weekend, just don't have any time atm.), so yeah I can understand when people don't write as much.
Nevertheless it's been bugging me for quite some time that you basically don't see any articles/opinions in the press at all. Most other countries with our size don't really have this problem in such an extent, so I don't know what went wrong.
I mean people don't even comment unless you are offering them some tanks or bullshit like that.
Anyways, I personally will try to contribute some more again aswell, but it is pretty disheartening when you work 1-2 hours for an article and people don't even leave a comment/start a discussion or at the very least give some feedback.
I completely agree with that. The articles which get the most (or in some cases, only) attention are the ones offering free stuff. This lack of community's interest is sadenning. Community and social interaction were the things which made this game intetesting, at least for me.
It's a dictatorship, maybe the people are afraid to lose their heads?
Unfortunately I can't even behead people. Yet another flaw with the dictator module.
Lucky me ; )
great vids...... great music
i can't tell you how many times i've quit.
i guess i'm just addicted but i hope to start on methadone soon.
Send this article to fucking Plato!
Great one!
Welcome back. 🙂
Welcome back mate!
It's the memory of better days and the hope that they will return that brings people back!
V1 ❤
V1 ❤
o7
V1 ❤
Welcome back to the pay2win simulator
thus... my new avatar:
http://s1.www.erepublik.net/images/modules/citizenprofile/profile_avatar.png
ooops... try this instea😛 http://cdnt.erepublik.net/yl4pdP9WqSFkQkq5Ra-_n8ghXt4=/55x55/smart/avatars/Citizens/2009/12/16/bf22527d2a59d6a9e7b29298c7af157f.png?d5690054eec24cdafb6f1f78ed232559
🙂
Welcome back, who would have thought people actually return to this game. 😃
welcome back!
Welcome back. I am now back for maybe half a year. I have to say I likes the old version better as well. For example that even quite new players had an impact in a battle. Nowadays the gap in strength is just way too big and you can only really smile and do your daily clicks.
lol feg so many words nobody will read em just gime tankz
No but really, keep on writing please, I like words.
Lol feg so many words in comment :/ gib tenks!
Successfully transferred 10 item(s) to KTTRS.
quitting is easy, coming back as well. i quitt every day with a curse and am back the next morning
First of all: welcome back. I, too, "returned" some time ago - mostly to write a bunch of more or less stupid articles though. So I do get this urge to once in a while come back only to find out not one of your hopes and dreams for this game have come true.
But what I found the most interesting in this article was this: "I don't FEEL it, if you know what I mean."
I do know what you mean. Judging by our "birthdays" in eRepublik, we should've pretty much experienced the same changes (or should I say "improvements") to this game and in my mind, they all led us to this painful death of our community we're witnessing today: There's NOTHING going on whatsoever. But that is not only the case with regular Joes like you and me - it also happens on a much larger scale. And I still believe much of this comes down to the war module, meaning: War just isn't in any way, shape or form special anymore. When I think about war in this game, I still see myself eagerly reading articles from PHOENIX or EDEN HQ because, as stupid as that may sound, I really cared about those and I wanted to know what was going on. Wars were fought hard but not as often and when they came to your country, you FELT that that was important. But can anyone name 2 or more of the alliances that are around right now? I couldn't for the life of me. And THAT is a problem, because alliances were in the past not only a useful thing when you were going to war, but they were also means of creating a sort of international or intercultural discourse. Another thing that is missing nowadays, sadly.
But before I drift away now, let me say this again: Yep, you're right. This game is dead - and still, we're coming back time and time again because we're idiots. Nice article though.
Thank you. I couldn't have put it better. I completely agree with your points about the war module. I came to this game in a turbulent time. eGermany was a member of Phoenix, and split between eSpain and ePoland. And then this happens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghgNJYWgOxA The course of entire battle changed in the last 5 minutes. THAT was exciting. You'll never see similar battles now. I mean, I remember it all clearly. This battle, the excitement of the liberation of Brandenburg at the hands of Russians (who pulled off the unthinkable at that time; directly attacking ePoland), the grief after losing 'Hello Kitty' (yes, I felt genuine sadness), the absolutely EPIC battle for Rhone Alpes with two hours overtime, the amazing defense of 'Lion King' and the unforgettable battle for Slavonia, when eCrotia lost its original region for the first time in their e-history. THOSE were epic wars and battles. Nowadays, I can't even remember in which battle I fought yesterday. It's simply not important anymore. In V1, wars had a purpose. You fought for high resource regions, important strategical positions, things like that. With the redistribution of resources, all that lost its purpose.
Damn, I could write a separate article about this, hahaha. Thank you for sharing my opinion.
Welcome back.