I thought the point of rereleasing retired map pieces was to make it easier? :angry:

Sumo pass already gone? :x

it costs more because it needs to be fair to the people who acquired it back when it was cheap.

Due to people using it, the map has become scarce and expensive, so re-releasing it would already make the price drop, which for people hoarding the map, waiting for it to be more expensive, is already unfair.

Having the pieces that expensive means only the people who REALLY want it or think they can make a profit from it will buy it, helping keep the natural inflation of the pieces intact.

Also, isn't it better to have them available instead of gone completely forever? c:

What's the point of keeping the natural price intact? What is the point of rereleasing the map then? That makes absolutely no sense.

25 AUs is absolutely INSANE. And yes it is fair for hoarders. Ian has said for years that he's going to rerelease maps. He's already rereleased some. People know the map will come out again so I don't see how it is "unfair" for hoarders when they already know it's going to be rereleased.

It is unfair, however, for the people who have been waiting for ages for a rerelease only to find out that it still isn't any easier. The only purpose it serves is being a massive AU sink.

Also, isn't it better to have them available instead of gone completely forever? c:
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Get what you're saying, but by keeping features on this site so difficult to unlock, they're becoming unworthwhile.
Also, may be more fair to people who have the map pieces already but its a bit unfair to the people who don't. It's asking them to pay more to preserve the value of the items other players bought cheaper.

I know Ian says he tries to keep it fair so that players who buy upgrades don't have too much of an advantage over those who dont, and I admire that, but there comes a point when you're spending real money and having NO advantage over the players who don't.

This has always been done with map rereleases. The point is to get more pieces and not to deflate the heck out of them. It's a balance to try and please both the people who want the map and who have it and paid a ton.

Besides, 25 au is only about 15-16.25m, cheaper than you'd have found the map before the release. This is a fair price for it IMO at least.

"Isn't the point to make it easier?" (Paraphrased bc I'm on my phone):

Yes, it will be a lot easier to find pieces for the map now, it was getting nearly impossible before.

Hmm...not quite sure if I like the map pieces prices. That's pretty steep. If it were ??4 I'm sure there would be more people willing to buy it, but ??25 for the whole set is crayyy.

Every time there is an update I think "easter egg hunt!" lol
dang, oh well. I like this update non the less and glad that the vending machine instructions came back out for alittle bit. :)

Besides, 25 au is only about 15-16.25m, cheaper than you'd have found the map before the release. This is a fair price for it IMO at least.

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I still think it's a vastly inflated price and the feature isn't worth that much. It doesn't really affect me cos I have very little interest in clothing items, but I feel sorry for new players who don't get to use a lot of the features on this site because the prices for unlocking them are so inflated.

And so they become totally unworthwhile.

*Pokes ice cave maps*

That's a choice you have to make for yourself. To some people it is worth that (have you seen the price of bonus clothing? If you use it enough it will pay for itself). If it's not worth it to you, you don't have to buy it. it will always be worth something to someone (I myself will be picking up a set at some point)

Let me just say this: if someone gave me the opportunity to buy the instruction set for 15M last month I would have said "HELL YEAH" and bought it on the spot. The price it's at in AU is a vastly better price (and now easier to buy! ) than it has been since it retired. It's actually a deflated price when you compare it to what the market's been at since retirement.

I guess. It just isn't going to seem reasonable to me, I'm afraid. I keep thinking it amounts to ??25 just for those instructions. I mean, you can buy a whole xbox game for that and content wise it's a no brainer.

But if there are people who think it's worth that then cool. I guess it comes down to a variation in priorities :)

And I was stung by the Ice Cave maps. Wow, what a waste of MP that was >.> I wanna look out for the people who will think that feature is much better than it is, because of how much it costs.

And I know if I was a new user I'd be super frustrated to see the price so high for something that used to be a lot cheaper, so that if I wanted it I'd have to pay a lot more/work a lot harder to earn it. Just because I wasn't around the first time it came out.

Cos that seems a little unfair to me. But you're right about it becoming a bit more available now. I just think it should be a little less steep, is all. I mean, if we're knocking down the price of it, it couldn't hurt to knock it down a little more :)

That's why you can always research what something does before you buy it. I like the ice caves because the magic is useful to me and there's an avatar involved.

Things change. Things are going to go up in price, that's the way it works. Unlike many other games out there, marapets periodically re-releases it. Why should things be the same price as when they were first released? That's not exactly fair to people who spent months tracking something down just to have it come back the next day/week/month for a fraction of the price.

It's all about balance. Making things available for newer members, but also not shafting the older ones who slaved away to raise obscene amounts of cash to access a feature, be it the simerian explorer or the vending machine, etc. 25 AU strikes a really good balance (like I said before it's a steal compared to even last week).

If you don't want to spend real life money for AUs, they're always available from the checklist and multiple other places (temples, etc) free of charge (another thing mara does that you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else).

(edit) just wanted to say thanks for being so respectful in this exchange. People tend to get pretty testy over this stuff (why I have no sweet clue) but I really enjoy having a respectful, even-headed exchange on the forums. : )

Yeah I like having the map and all but it was when the 'large amounts of mp' in the description turned out to be like...300mp a turn. That was a little misleading. I was expecting to get slightly more of my resources back, but hey-ho. Not really a big deal.

Ice caves aside, I totally see where your reasoning is and you're making it seem less outrageous. That said, I love marapets, it helps me to not do any work, but without getting into the world economics of the thing, ??5 for 3 random pieces of treasure map shocked me, I was like "whoa, no thanks."

I'm not saying it should be dirt cheap or anything, I was just thinking that if the random factor was taken out so you knew what you were getting or it was, say, five pieces for five AU, I'd have no problem at all.

But its 5 au for three and it's random, so there'd be all that faffing around with trades and everything. It looks to me like getting the vending machine instructions is like getting blood out of a rock.

Very glad that I'm not planning on doing it :smile: