Coordinated by the European Commission, the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) has launched an enforcement action against Star Stable Entertainment AB to ensure a safer, more transparent experience for players of the Star Stable Online game.
As I remember it: It’s an online game, so you need a monthly subscription to play. That is a set price in whatever real-world currency as normal. But you can buy as many months as you like in advance; and if you buy more than you need you can sell them in-game for whatever you can get on the open market which is controlled by players.
It was a long time ago, no idea if it still works that way. But it seemed to me like a good system, for a game in which in-game market trading between players is a big part of it.
P.S. Actually come to think of it I think they went free-to-play at some point. I wonder if my account still exists.
When I played, 1 plex = 1 month but they eventually converted it to 1000 plex = 1 month or something?
You can use ISK (in game currency) to buy plex and sell plex for ISK. The exchange rate of plex to ISK fluctuates depending on market demand so putting a hard real world currency equivalent value would be tough.
Most people earn their currency in-game, which would make it awkward to have a real-world conversion attached to everything—especially when there’s no way to pull it out so it’s not really meaningful.
It’s already hard enough getting people to undock and risk their internet spaceships, it’d be even harder if there were little real-world price estimates attached to everything.
A better solution would be to attach the prices only to PLEX (the premium currency), since that’s what maps directly to real-world money and would be what you’re spending your money on. They could also post the going exchange rate for euro to isk on the market itself without having to attach price tags to every individual item.
As I remember it: It’s an online game, so you need a monthly subscription to play. That is a set price in whatever real-world currency as normal. But you can buy as many months as you like in advance; and if you buy more than you need you can sell them in-game for whatever you can get on the open market which is controlled by players.
It was a long time ago, no idea if it still works that way. But it seemed to me like a good system, for a game in which in-game market trading between players is a big part of it.
P.S. Actually come to think of it I think they went free-to-play at some point. I wonder if my account still exists.
When I played, 1 plex = 1 month but they eventually converted it to 1000 plex = 1 month or something?
You can use ISK (in game currency) to buy plex and sell plex for ISK. The exchange rate of plex to ISK fluctuates depending on market demand so putting a hard real world currency equivalent value would be tough.
Just putting a reasonably-up-to-date real-world value estimate next to any price in parentheses would be a big step forward though.
Most people earn their currency in-game, which would make it awkward to have a real-world conversion attached to everything—especially when there’s no way to pull it out so it’s not really meaningful.
It’s already hard enough getting people to undock and risk their internet spaceships, it’d be even harder if there were little real-world price estimates attached to everything.
A better solution would be to attach the prices only to PLEX (the premium currency), since that’s what maps directly to real-world money and would be what you’re spending your money on. They could also post the going exchange rate for euro to isk on the market itself without having to attach price tags to every individual item.