I think what @jwpwns was meaning is, have an additional person to assist in running the server. For now, it seems like andrew decides everything, if there was some kind of delegation to yourself, maybe even an additional person, then we could work more efficiently on improving the server.

 

Yes exactly nicely worded and @JamieSinn sorry if i sound like a annoying dick sometimes i just like to get to the point lol i care about ecc and have had alot of fun on here over the years i would hate to see it all go to shit after being up this long.

 

I feel like this conversation has strayed a bit off topic

 

Let's say that a particularly wealthy individual steps up to the plate to individually cover server costs or at least a significant portion of them. How would this change the dynamic for decisions made regarding feature prices and server development priorities?

Suggestions For Future Improvement​

1. The immediate appointment of a special staff member whose one and only responsibility is to improve the administration's public relations.
   • Duties may include but are not limited to: a) the planning of special server events (not the generic variety of drop parties, lotto events, boss battles, building competitions, etc ad nauseum; b) the dissemination of official information from the administration regarding future development goals and plans; c) the liaison between the community and administration; d) the oversight of administration-level efforts to understand trends in community displeasure.
2. The immediate creation of a committee consisting of veteran players (>three years of activity) whose one and only responsibility is to survey other veteran players to document the various reasons that motivate their long-term dedication to ECC.
3. The composition of an independently developed administration-level analysis on the state of the economy at all strata (new players to established builders, residents, mayors, land-owning mayors, presidents, the wealthy class, the ruling class, etc.).
   • Are there disparities in the quality of the gameplay experience at different strata? If notable disparities exist, are they practically significant factors that affect vital ECC gameplay mechanics?
4. The facilitation of a serious discussion about a sprawling economic overhaul and the development of unique economy mechanics tailored specifically to ECC.
   • Do we wish to proceed with the status quo model of 'grinding for fiat money' in static markets established by the server or would a more realistic pseudo-market system (see footnote) be better and more enjoyable?

Footnote:

I don't know what a pseudo-market system would entail other than dynamic pricing for goods sold and purchased by the server on the basis of supply and demand. General idea, the less a specific resource is sold to the server by players, the greater the cost of that resource in the server marketplace. Conversely, the more a specific resource is sold to the server by players, the lower the cost of that resource in the server marketplace. This would obviously need enormous amounts of work to sort out the avenues of exploitation. However, if a certain wealthy individual could cover some of the server costs, then surely they could also hire a graduate economics student.

 

Mendi , appreciate you offering to completely support the server costs by yourself so that all features would be free for everyone! Does that also include refunding everyone who has donated to the server? Even those of us that have paid money because we appreciate having this server? :p
All kidding around aside, I think your ideas are sound and hope they are given some consideration.
I think all of us would appreciate our player count increasing and keeping good players that love to play minecraft in a server environment around.
It is a fact that a hardcore economy server requires dedicated players in order to survive and for us to be successful here.

 

I’m probably out of the loop a bit with this, but what if Andrew has a person like Physyy again

 

Phys was a complete figurehead. Did nothing more than the standard SA did. Andrew still did everything as normal during that time.

 

Just play vmr then m8

 

Even so, would Andrew be willing to have sort of a protégé to assist him and make the work load easier on himself

 

I've politely said it several times, but this will be last time I'll say it.

It's not something that can happen due to the way that andrew does work. It's just not feasible.

Sorry.

 

Sorry Jamie. I should've read that

 

Nothing againsed you 2 but all we are trying to say is this is the reason ecc has been stuck in a rut for past 2 years if andrew likes to do it all his self but doesn't have enough time anymore or is sick and cant let others help. Maybe its something you two need to put some thought into 1 day and be a little open minded or ecc will never change.

I am going to stop here gl ecc.

 

ummmm.

 

We have sales for a reason.

 

Well not that it really matters but this has always been mine and many others opinion.....

The reality is that we can’t do much at this point. In the beginning there was valid reason as most long time players are aware. As the server grew the cost followed causing a further need to find revenue. Unfortunately in some cases it went to far and became a more “pay to play” environment ruining the true vanilla feel. Certain features took away from donators like anvils... if I paid $100 for enchanted repairing and we allowed anvils I would be a bit salty... then ofcourse we went the route of star tools which most already no my very public opinion on (search forums if you want, I’m not going to go into it here). For me it feels as though eventually we got to a point of no return that just took away from the traditional experience of Minecraft and couldn’t do anything without pissing off many long time players who put a lot of time into donating for features.

No in defense of how the server works.. granted it’s not for everyone and doesn’t promote new players as it once did, however for people who are willing to put forth the effort and time... the experience can be well worth it in the end. That’s why many have stayed. Granted like anything we do we can get tired of it.. but you can always come back to ECC and get right back to work. The players who have what they want in features grinder and/or spent their money to get them. They deserve to have them.

I feel like I have been here long enough to experi nice just about everything that this server has to offer. I take breaks... come back and see what’s going on... play for a while until I’m bored and leave. Although I can’t say I have agreed with everything that has been done... the experience is by far been worth every penny I’ve spent here. I remember many 2am conversations with Andrew while he was working... I still think he never sleeps.

It would be great if we can get more players like we had years ago... absolutely... it’s clear that regardless of what is happening Andrew is still working hard as he has always been to keep players interested... that I do know..

 

Just gonna back up @JamieSinn here.
Paypal has fees. Going cheaper on prices is just something they cant do.
I know this from firsthand experience of making small income off of my Buycraft store because of the fees.
Relax a bit guys, it costs a lot to run the server. They dont even make any profit I believe.
And the fact that they've gotten this far without making any income proves that they do more than we give them credit for.
BY 'they' I mean andrew, jamie, sa's.

I rest my case.

 

It's worth noting that the situation is not nearly as dire as some people believe. I am confident that the problems could be solved fairly easily, even without new dev work, given that the community actually wants to change.

I've been keeping tabs and notes on what I've seen happen with ECC over the course of the past few years. I know this will sound extremely cringeworthy/pathetic, but ECC is very important to me on a personal level. I started playing ECC almost 6 years ago. I have never 'taken a break' from ECC; I was active on ECC throughout High School; I was active on ECC while working on my first college degree, and I remember how my friends congratulated me after I graduated. ECC and my Epicure friends were the only people who reassured me when I was doubtful of my ability to teach at the college level. I was the youngest undergraduate instructor in the history of the department, and I managed to teach two sections of Human Anatomy and Physiology while taking 18 credit hours of classes. And, there is the op algae story for another day.

TL;DR

ECC is the only game that I play. I'm very confident in our ability to resolve the issues in not only the community, but also the underlying gameplay.

 

Less people = less donations = shorter life span. Just like any other business, if people don't go eat at your restaurant because it sucks do you think you're gonna stay open very long even if you were open for 20+ years. The simple answer is no. So if this server needs donations to run then that means you need more players to donate. Its basic statistical math. What ever you say to defend that doesn't matter its a simple equation. So in the long term it doesn't look pretty when the server tops out at 55 people on a good night. Now i just started playing and don't know a whole too lot about whats going on but I like the server and its a nice community, but i hope luck is on Eco-city-crafts side.

 

Any business knows that it's far easier to retain current customers than to acquire new ones. Your restaurant doesn't need to constantly be bringing in new people to stay afloat, it just needs to cater to its current base. If ECC can continue to provide a great experience for its current players, then those people will continue to support the server. As long as the inflow of new players is at or above the outlfow of current players, the server will have a steady income.

It's a simple equation

 

Have you ever seen how a restaurant runs? Its like any business. I actually know a business slowly going down hill because it can only support its regulars, it can't support new comers because new comers think its trash. Oh and that business is for sale because they can not stay afloat with the same people. Its business and economics, as well as basic math.