EVC pricing chat

I have gotten two credits from the fountain. Only once, but it did happen.

ooo interesting... i can't remember if i ever have, it probably depends on what option you pick i suppose? i've gotten auto-show and auto-care a few times through the horses wish.

thank you for this, I don't know if you can get EVC from the fountain, but I always wish for money to hopefully afford that day's training. I think capping credit sales is too easy to get around as you said, so regulating would just be a waste of time. Maybe if there was like an % based tax like the daily income but backward, if you charge too much, you'll lose a small amount of profit. If you find the 'sweet spot' you don't charge a whole lot but still make a tidy profit.
Instead of making some deluxe features free, maybe for the week of Christmas as a gift, we all get some deluxe features for free, as a sort of teaser to get people to upgrade and support EV. Maybe for that week, we all get to set a custom tag and use 'quality-of-life' features like the Repair All button in the tack shop, and the daily interest boost. Not create stables bc at the end of the week we'd have a ton of stables that take you to the 'Oops' horse for running out of deluxe.

i do agree regulation could just get messy, i don't see it as entirely off the table but there's plenty of ways it can go wrong.

hmm i think that nearly everyone who both wants to spend irl money on EV and can do so already is though? i don't know if a free deluxe trial would make more people want deluxe, many want it anyway without ever trying it beforehand and i've only seen maybe 1 or 2 people say having a deluxe turned out to be a waste in the end.
giving people a chance to be deluxe for a bit might be a nice little event to have, letting them try out the features for a bit before spending saved up credits or irl money. but lots of people just see basic and deluxe players as having way too much of a gap between them regardless. still, keeping a very exclusive and desirable aspect of the game as something you can buy does give it support... there's quite a bit to talk about on the part of deluxes.

•What are some ways we could add to earn EVC? So far many people seem to agree we should have more ways, that there are too few chances to earn it compared to how many ways to spend it. Ideas include having a rare chance on trail rides to find an EVC, and having them as a level-up bonus. An idea i've seen before is player quests, perhaps some harder quests could reward a credit? Player milestones have also been suggested, maybe those could reward credits if you achieve a very difficult one? (also isn't EVC a rare drop from the fountain or am i mixing it up with EVC purchasables like auto-show?)

Milestones and horse achievements (not low-level achievements, tho. only higher-level ones should give out credits). Personally, I hate any passive drops of credits like foundation and daily progression. Right now, I appreciate those freebies because there are no other options but I feel like credits should be earned not be handed over as freebies. But that's just my opinion. 

•There's been debate about regulating and/or capping credit sale prices for years. What are people's thoughts? On one hand, having huge prices on your EVC means few people will buy it. So the argument that driving EVC prices up is not profitable and doesn't work into the seller's favor can be made, but on the other hand there are a few people who will buy crazy high EVC, which in turn means selling credits for a high price is worth it if the seller is patient. In turn it will keep happening and continue to make credits inaccessible. Another argument is that people don't want to be restricted and want to have the right to sell as high as they want, additionally it's been brought up that the credit sales page can be regulated all we'd like but people can still sell for larger prices through the forums, PMs, and trades. Should credit sales be regulated even in those areas?

In my experience, it's quite easy to sell credit for 300k. I sold them within a week so it wasn't even that long. I know a friend who sold for 500k in a similar timeframe. The market is in the seller's favor right now since the wealthy players are willing to pay the price. So yes, I do support some kind of cap/regulation. I do think we also need to regulate the forums/trades. However, we will need more active mods and a better system for that. In my experience, most games discourage players to sell credits outside the credit sales. That helped them regulate things easier since everyone use credit sales instead of selling credits all over the game. As for PM, we can't do anything about that. It will be at their own risk as they will be not using any proper trade system. If they get scammed, too bad.

•One of the biggest reasons people seek credits is to have a deluxe. Reasons for having a deluxe vary, some want to create shows, some want to run a stable, some just want a pretty tag, some enjoy the extra EVD perks you get from having a deluxe. Many want all of the above. Should some deluxe perks be given to basic players as well, such as allowing all player types to have custom tags or the ability to run shows? Would that ease the demand for credits? And would that in turn impact the game negatively (ex: by having less people buy credits and support the game) or positively (ex: less demand = less people buying at outrageous prices) or both?

No comment on this.

Last edited on 2022-11-23 at 21:04:58 by 𝕷𝖚𝖈𝖎𝖆

I like having tiny passive drops of credits. Getting just two credits in the time I've been playing hasn't changed things much, but it has made me more excited about the idea of credits? Suddenly the idea of certain features, like a month of auto-showing wasn't impossible...and it made me want that feature even more. So, I would be more likely to buy credits in the future. 

$300k is still a pretty common price to see people buying at, by high prices i meant around the $600k-$800k range we've been seeing on the credit sales. those tend to not really go anywhere, so it's very easy to sell credits at $150k-$300k because of those prices. it's probably making people feel like they're getting a deal when they see anything lower than $500k or so even though it's still kind of high.
so technically one can sell 'overpriced' credits quickly as long the seller is staying quite a ways under the highest price while maintaining a higher figure than what the playerbase is actually looking for.

@Bubbles I know that I can't afford Deluxe and am still on the fence about whether it really is important, and I'm sure many people would appreciate this, especially if it's added as kind of an acknowledgment that we don't have to spend our time playing EV, but choose to anyways, almost as a sort-of thank-you I guess, I'm not really sure how to explain it. But I am curious: what is the current Christmas event? I joined in the middle of the Pumpkin seed one, so I'm really curious. If it's like the past 2, I'm guessing we collect snowflakes or something for a winter shop?

@Kali Pickles Horses: yes, we also are put in teams to throw snowballs at each other and open the shop before the event deadline. there's quite a few fun traditions around it, we make silly posts about our teams and color themed art for our teammates. c: you can read about the event itself in the news post from last year here. it's pretty similar to the newer summer balloon event as well i think?

the valentine's event involves putting candy hearts on player pages to show your appreciation to them, so we do have a sort of event to give a gift to someone else. the thing is events have always been pretty simple, snowball/water balloon is probably the most involved one so far? so the idea of a much bigger event giving out EVC or deluxe all of a sudden may not run well by everyone, though it has been brought up by other people before in the past i'm pretty sure.

Thank you!! I'm so excited!! And I get what you mean about people not liking the idea, and maybe there's a way to make it smaller, with only the income bonus and Repair All button c:

I've been gone for over a month (real life being hectic) and wow!! what have I missed??? I was reading through the forums and, to be honest, I can't help but put my own two cents in (I need to find another phrase). Sorry for the long post...ooops!!

I like to think that I'm a well-known player, and I do actively take part in both the horse side and the art community within EV. When I go on hiatus, this community and all the lovely people I have made friends with always bring me back, more so than the horses, the art, or anything else. I actually don't mind if our member numbers are low, I can easily recognize players that I know, and I like to think our community is small but tight-knit. 

In saying that I don't sell art, (I get easily overwhelmed). However, I will occasionally do small orders for people if they ask or if I am in the mood. I like to think my prices are fair (they are on my page), and to be honest I don't really mind lowering the price if people ask. I will however regularly buy art, and I often don't mind the price, if I like something I will buy it. You can probably see my name pop up on most sales...I love supporting the community, and players, and I love getting art for my little fuzzy-wuzzy pink unicorn. I believe the art community is going well, and if people want to stay just for the art, then I say "go for it" nothing or nobody is stopping them or holding them back. 

By regulating the art community, you are basically telling everyone involved in it "no sorry, you cannot do that" and honestly you will be turning away SO many people, that have come together to enjoy something they all love. You''ll probably find that by limiting or restricting players from enjoying it, they'll simply leave the game, never to be seen again. To be honest, EV is not in a situation to be turning away players or limiting players, it wouldn't survive and by doing so you'll just be forcing the game to close (something I am extremely worried about) not just because I'll lose all my precious pixel-ponies, but I'll also be losing this supporting community, which I said is something that always brings me back to the game. 

In terms of the actual horse side of EV, I have only been playing for three years (equiversary 14th of December) and I started not because I wanted to be the best player, but because I was playing another game and someone suggested it. I had been looking for a solid online horse sim for years (I cannot stress that enough) and when I logged into the game for the first time I was blown away by how nice and friendly everyone was. 

To put that in perspective, (I remember it like it was yesterday), Feather gifted me one of Maple's Andulsians because I wanted to buy it but couldn't afford it. Olympea taught me the ropes on showing, and gifted me HEAPS of fully upgraded tack for my horses. Hermes Stud I talk to on a regular basis and we have a breeding partnership together. Nowhere else have the players wanted to help me like these people have and honestly I am still so very grateful to everyone of them. Without them I would not have stayed.  

The fact that I am one of the top players, is because I log in nearly everyday, care for my little ponies, and show them everyday. The only time I don't is when real life get's in the way, I have tried other online horse games but honestly they are NOTHING like EV in terms of the amazing player base and therefore because I enjoy the game I will honestly say, yes I do buy a TON of credits for no other reason then I think I am helping the game survive. 

I have bought that many credits, for no other reason, and sometimes I have too many I just increase my deluxe hence why I have 500+ days of deluxe. I also sell a lot of credits, but I DON'T do it to turn a profit. Like others have said it's the art community that have the final say in how much credits are worth. 1 EVC usually equals to 75k to at the very most 150k. I like to think that by putting my credits up for a maximum of 150k I am at least helping someone out. 

I also don't horde credits either (shocking I know), but I regularly gift them to players that I know need them (mainly my friends) but to be honest if someone was to straight out ask me, like a few people have I am more thank likely to give them to people. It's more so the people that are trying to turn a profit and I hate to say it but those that are greedy that are trying to sell 1EVC for nearly 1 million dollars, and because one person does it, a lot of other people do to. 

I'm pretty quiet and keep to myself...unless I'm in a talkative mood on discord, but I feel like I had to write something as you cannot just limit a few players because they are not intrested or play the game the same way as someone else. Which is another reason I love it so much, players are not locked in to play just one way. I believe, we should just come together and celebrate this amazing game and I am more than happy for people to voice their opinions but I feel that EV has more good things going for it, than bad. And I have to say, it is probably the best game I have played....EVER!!!

•Why are EVC prices constantly going up?
I'm going to take a shot and say that's mostly because of new EVC sinks, like Auto-ride being introduced. They are very helpful in managing a large herd, so there's another item to buy regularly. If You have a steady influx of EVD it's more tempting to fill a hole in Your pockets using EVD, which increased the demand for EVC for sale.

•How have EVC prices affected the playerbase?
I haven't noticed it, but I think it's likely that some players would be more likely to go on hiatus, especially if they're not likely to buy EVC with money and they have many horses.

•How have EVC prices affected the game as a whole?
It's been too short to see real consequences.

•How do artists affect EVC prices?
Honestly I don't think they do. Art is something extra, it's not a game functionality and in opposite to the Deluxe account and Deluxe tools, it's not essential to keep playing on a certain level. It's a luxury item, You pay for it if You can afford to do so. 

•Should artists be restricted more?
Heavens above, no. Why would they? They don't considerbly affect the EVC market and the freedom to create and legally sell Your design on EV forums makes the game more colorful and pretty much unique in this approach. Besides, it gives artistically inclined players a way to pay for the items in-game with their skill instead of rl money. (I purposefully underline that artists ARE paying for the EVC and consequentially, for the items in the game - with their skills and their time they spend on creating tags, character art and so on).
 
•How does buying EVC with real money affect how EVC sales are priced?
More EVC in the market = potentially lower prices, if people want to sell them.

•Should EVC prices be regulated harder?
No, it's a fair competition. Other factors that influence the price, like the number of EVC sinks may be manipulated.

•Is being able to buy EVC with irl money too much of an advantage?
No. It's necessary to keep a game running and to pay for servers. The easy access to EVC gives players advantage, but it isn't pay-to-win, as much as it's pay-to-play. The EVC-bought tools are pretty much necessary if You have a large breeding herd and want to involve Yourself in some community projects like owning a club, but aside from that, Your horses don't get any tangible benefits or advantage in shows nor conformation due to You having a deluxe account or EVC-bought items. Most of them are aestetics - based and are more for the player's pleasure and advancement in term of color breeding - something which is not included in the leaderboard.

•Should anything be done if lots of currency is lying around on an inactive account?
No. One of the upsides of EV is, You can lay it off for some time, come back after weeks, months or even years and Your progress doesn't change. If someone paid for it, why should anybody take it away from them? It's one thing if one day the devs decide that there's so many inactive accounts that there must be a threshold of inactivity after which they are deleted, but why take specifically the EVC away from an existing account? It's unfair and I don't even think that it would help in any way, as EVC isn't a real-world currency. It isn't finite, You can generate it ad infinitum. Yes, it helps if there's more of it circulating in game, but some people having more than others isn't a problem - if You have too little You can always go and buy some more with irl money, and it doesn't subtract from what other players have.

•edit: Should there be more ways to earn EVC besides the log-in bonus?
It would be nice, but they should still be rare - it's worth remembering that the game still has to fund itself.

Also, I think I'm qualified to say something about artists on EV, since I'm one and the art is my main source of EVC on EV. I have pretty high prices for EV, but they're still very, VERY low in comparison to how people price their art on art sites. The average price for a custom tag or a recolor is still very low.
Just to put things in perspective - 1EVC translates to 50 irl cents - and sometimes You can buy a recolor with Your character, which took skill and time, for that price. If You look around on an art market here, people usually don't earn ridicoulous amounts of EVC in comparison to how much effort they put in. Granted, it is a way to earn EVC, but EVC are not useful outside of the game anyway. What use would they have for it, if they wouldn't want to spend it someday?
I think it's a little unfair to think about artists as if it's a game-breaking way to get rich fast on EV - if someone pays for the art, then in the end those EVC had to be bought - and as I mentioned, the eventual hoarding of them doesn't decrease supply, because the supply is virtually unlimited.
I'd hate to see the art community restricted - it promotes creativity and keeps people in the game, no matter if they actively breed horses or not - keeping the community alive is a major contribution to the game itself staying active and paying for itself.

Last edited on 2022-12-03 at 17:46:50 by Thunder

Personally, I still go by 1 EVC = 50k EVD. That's all I have to say about this.

Edit: I lied.

•Why are EVC prices constantly going up? Because EVC is real money currency and the entire world is in a financial crisis right now. People don't have the luxury to buy things for games when that same money needs to go to bills, gas, food, rent, etc.

•How have EVC prices affected the player base? EVC to EVD ratio has gotten higher, but it shouldn't affect the players all that much, considering what you buy with EVC is primarily mods that you can play the game just fine without using.

•How have EVC prices affected the game as a whole? I'm not certain that it really has. You don't need EVC to play.

•How do artists affect EVC prices? I can't really comment on this as I don't pay attention to it that much. If I can't afford it, then I don't buy it. No skin off my nose.

•Should artists be restricted more? No. Artists are just as much part of the game. Some people are here for the art. Some are here for the gameplay. Why does it have to be either/or? Porque no los dos? 

•How does buying EVC with real money affect how EVC sales are priced? Real money will always dictate the value of real money currency. When the world economy is bad and people are struggling to make ends meet, the price they'll sell their real money currency at will inevitably go up. It's a bit like stock trading, to be honest. Buy low, sell high. That's just how real money works.

•Should EVC prices be regulated harder? Maybe? I think that'd be too difficult since real money currency usually reflects real-world economic issues.

•Is being able to buy EVC with irl money too much of an advantage? No. Every game out there has real money currency. It's just a fact. As far as EVC goes, there's nothing that can be bought with it that makes an actual difference to gameplay other than gene and breeding mods. But that doesn't ensure your foals will look how you want, or that your horses will show any better. It's really just down to cosmetics really.

•Should anything be done if lots of currency is lying around on an inactive account? No. Those people earned that money or bought the EVC fair and square. What they do with it is their business. What if they were to come back after a hiatus only to find all their money gone? That'd be a huge problem, especially since it's effectively stealing real money currency.

•edit: Should there be more ways to earn EVC besides the log-in bonus? No. What would be the point of real money currency if you could simply earn it easily like in-game currency? That would defeat the purpose.

Last edited on 2022-12-04 at 12:58:08 by Mouse

Long time player here, who falls into each category of "Wealthy," "casual/inactive" and potentially "artist", I'm just going to throw out a few dollars worth of my two cents.


•Why are EVC prices constantly going up?

When the EV sales clear out, people are free to choose their own price.  Some price high, which make others price high too.  Desperate players who can buy them, so sellers know they can sell at that price and have limited motivation to price for lower. 

There just isn't enough to spend EVD on, and more ways to earn it, so EVC is in more demand than EVD.  That means that players keep buying EVC at higher EVD prices because they need the EVC more than the EVD regardless of cost.



•How have EVC prices affected the playerbase?

Can't speak for all players, but I've gone on hiatus more and more when my time is limited.  I prioritize games with more to do or more going on in them when my time is limited.  If I don't progress my account on here, I don't lose days on EVC purchased services like auto-care and auto-show.  It's much cheaper to just not play much than it is to work towards the EVC.  I mostly only play at the two holiday events I like the prizes for - December and February.  The rest of the year, I'm pretty much AWOL.  (Currently progressed on my non-deluxe side account just so I don't lose days on my deluxe, just to check in because I check news posts and such from here for that reason)


•How have EVC prices affected the game as a whole?

Again, I can't speak for other players, and I'm not social or active enough to see changes in forums or other sales and interactions.  But I imagine it's made people change their priorities and strategies to maximize the time they get on their credits and promotes more time away from the game until there's a double benefit of being active, like events. So, overall, I'd expect a less active player base when credit prices are exceptionally high.


•How do artists affect EVC prices?

I can't speak for the market as a whole, but I'd have to say they don't impact the price that much.  Artists will price their work based on current market trends, just like any other seller of goods or services would. 

Now I said I kind of fall into the artist category.  I am NOT an artist on this game, but I am an artist in general, and I do sell art on other games.  The reason I don't sell art on here is because it's not worth it to me.  Unless you actively play, and therefore actively need the in-game currency, there is not a lot of reason to sell art for it.  I get enough EVD and EVC from other sources to cover what I do on this game.  So I focus on getting currency from other games I find it more useful in.  If artists here sell actively and want credits, it's usually because they're planning to use them themselves, usually on game items or services.  Pure hoarding isn't usually a goal with that kind of time investment.


•Should artists be restricted more?

No.  Why should they?  They're taking their time to provide a product for sale, they deserve to get paid.  Their pricing is a product of the market.  Their choice of what they spend their funds on is their choice. No one is required or prevented from purchasing art for game currency.  And no game mechanic forces any player to use or not acquire game currency in any other manner. 

I've made a lot of in-game currency from a lot of non-art activities.  I've got quite a large stock of both EVD and EVC.  I built it up over many literal years of selective gameplay and income focused strategy.  None of it has to do with the art market.  I've never once sold art on Equiverse, and I'm probably one of the larger currency hoarders.  Is the problem art sales, or hoarding?  Those are two different topics. Keep in mind, if artists are spending their EVC on game items or services, you will never know how much they actually hold or how much they're actually spending.


•How does buying EVC with real money affect how EVC sales are priced?

USD price of EVC doesn't impact the EVD price of EVC.  However, the EVD price of EVC will impact if players choose to spend USD buying it from the game, or EVD to buy it from other players.  At some point, the EVD price will be too high and players will either just not buy, or will find a way to buy with USD directly from the site instead.


•Should EVC prices be regulated harder?

While I'd very much like to see a return to cheaper EVC for EVD prices, I'm going to have to say no.  Player to player markets are determined by supply and demand of both the offered item, and the availability of the buying currency and are impacted by every change in the game. When the banks gave more interest, prices rose from old Equivers to the recode launch.  Then Riding schools made EVD a bit easier to get, so EVC prices started going up around then too.   Rather than restricted, there could instead be some sort of premium item or service with both an EVC price and an EVD price, so players would have a more "Game sanctioned" exchange rate.  That would regulate prices without actually restricting player activity.  But this is a very delicate thing for games to try to balance, especially as supply and demand change with every game change.


•Is being able to buy EVC with irl money too much of an advantage?

Too much of an advantage as opposed to what? 

Honestly, the fact that a player-to-player market exists at all actually advantages people who can't buy EVC with USD.  Could you imagine not being able to get EVC at all unless you specifically purchased it yourself with USD and literally no other way? Or too much of an advantage as in there should be no premium currency at all?  No deluxe, no auto-show/auto-care, nothing like that?  I think not having those would actually disadvantage the game in terms of growth and player activity.

If you mean is it too much of a pay-to-win style advantage, I just have to ask - what's wrong with that, exactly?  Someone without time who wants to play will use a cash shortcut to get tools like auto-show.  People who want more horses than they could manually handle will pay cash to be able to handle more.  But it doesn't mean they instantly dominate the market in any way, so they still have to actually play, earn stats, breed for colors, etc.  The world runs on paying money to save time.  We buy bread at a grocery store to not spend the time and effort to make it ourselves each day.  Games function under the same principal.  You either buy the game itself, or the game is free and there are shortcuts/perks that you can buy instead.  And there are not so many premium services or items that can be purchased that really change the game that much.

Personally, I think it's harder to make EVD since the recode than it was before.  The bank and riding school has helped balance that out, but it's still difficult to get enough to feel like you're really thriving in this game when you just start out.  The inflated price of EVC doesn't help this.  I doubt I could have gotten to where I did as quickly if I hadn't been playing before.  But it's still entirely possible to build up an account successfully without EVC.  It'll just take a lot of effort and time, and a lot of going without or playing a limited strategy.  I can't blame someone who has the means to take advantage of shortcuts like buying EVC, even if it's perfectly possible to build up without it.


•Should anything be done if lots of currency is lying around on an inactive account?

Yes, it should be left just where it is.  Someone purchased or earned that currency at some point.  Just because they're not currently using it doesn't give someone else a right to lay claim and take to for themselves.  Nor does it give the game and parent company a right to repossess it arbitrarily.  Players could return any time.  There would have to be  a set definition of when an account becomes "inactive" and a player would have to be warned several times their account would be forfeit before anything could be taken even then.  It would have to be in the ToS people agree to when sighing up for the game.  It's a whole kerfuffle.  Only if the account is permanently disabled in some manner, shape, or form, should anything happen to that currency.  And in that case, it should be deleted like the account.  There is no right for anyone, including the game company, ore repossess and redistribute it.  Don't even consider currency on inactive accounts.  Even if something where to be done about it, it would not be given to active players, it would just be removed entirely, so it's not worth thinking about.

I've honestly never understood this mindset anyway.  No one from Nintendo comes and repossesses my SNES to give to some other random person who wants it just because I haven't turned it on in several years.  But if I take a long enough hiatus from a breeding sim, people I've never met before want to be able to take stuff from my account and give it to other people I've never met before randomly?  It just doesn't make sense.   Nothing in the world works that way.


•edit: Should there be more ways to earn EVC besides the log-in bonus?

I'd love to see it show up in some of the less-popular site event shops for the event currency.  I think that would encourage people to be on the game more in "off-seasons" as it were.  Yes, yes, the bigger and more active players would be able to get enough event currency to buy more EVC than the smaller or less active players, but those bigger players are also the ones who can pay the increased EVD prices for EVC too, so is it really enough of a difference to complain about?

Comparing a SNES to inactive currency is highly illogical, my apologies. Might as well have said, "Big lick is an abusive sport, so horse riding is abusive as a whole, we should ban it". I think accounts should be deleted after a while, with warnings. And the money would be destroyed as well, it could help with circulation. Think about it, if you train a horse at an inactive player's arena, it's just going into their bank account and then sitting dormant, usually that money would've been spent and continued circulating. It just gets spent on training, then stops and that's the end of it, so the rich get richer and the money doesn't move. If it's your own money yo rightfully earned, keep it. But if it's from training and such, that's not right. The lesser wealthy pay to train there but their money then collects dust, when the receiver didn't do squat to earn it, not so much as lifting a finger.