The Inspirational System

[RickyP602]

So, I have played Salem, and before it Haven off and on since 2009. I just came back, with some friends, to the Inspirational System and the new Gluttony cool down. It is my opinion, that both of these systems absolutely suck.

First off, time gating a game, with the option of paying to get by this time gating (via the potions) makes the game feel so cheap, akin to a Facebook game or something. Also, I literally started playing the game 3 hours ago, have no proficiency above 1500, not even close to all the basic skills, and am out of Inspiration. If/when I log on in the morning, i'll be able to study a few singing logs before I'm out again. All 3 of my friends have hit the same roadblock, and honestly we didn't realize it was coming till we hit it. I think there are some aspects of this system that do have some merit though. It basically makes it so that you can smash out all of your lp in one sitting without having to log in all day long to reset the quick refreshing curios, but I think the negatives vastly outweigh the positives here.

As far as the gluttony cd goes, it wouldn't be such a big deal, if we were not scrambling to get BB up so that we can get Inspiration up faster. Although, I bet as we progress through the content, this will just get more and more aggravating.

Long story short: Time gating progression, with real money bypass, makes the game feel cheap; a lot like a cheap Facebook game or the like. And it really sucks when your a new player! The gluttony cd would not feel so bad at first without the Inspirational system, since us noobs are rushing to get BB up so that we can study more, and experience content faster.

I understand there needs to be a limiting system. I just think that time gating it is not the answer for a game like Salem.

That's just my two cents, take it or leave it.

[DarkNacht]

Have you tried just using your inspiration more efficiently?
Also there is no real money bypass only a crafted in game bypass for the timers.

[RickyP602]

Have you tried just using your inspiration more efficiently?
Also there is no real money bypass only a crafted in game bypass for the timers.

I have not attempted yet, to use my inspiration more efficiently. Mostly because I've been playing for a hot 3 hours. However, I don't think any new player has so many options as to be extremely picky about what they study. I'm sure once you are established and developed that is another story. That being said I won't be studying any more singing logs if I can avoid it.

As far as the real money bypass, you have a point. However, the truth of the matter is that it is more grey than that, as you need a cash shop item as an ingredient. No matter how you want to talk about go gather some savage charms and whatnot. The fact of that matter is that this is the first thing people see when they hit their first inspiration wall. They are going to look up how to speed up/bypass it. They'll see these nifty potions, then they'll see they need a cash shop item to make them. So, while I may have been a bit to harsh, the point still stands, at least to me.

[JohnCarver]

I have not attempted yet, to use my inspiration more efficiently. Mostly because I've been playing for a hot 3 hours. However, I don't think any new player has so many options as to be extremely picky about what they study. I'm sure once you are established and developed that is another story. That being said I won't be studying any more singing logs if I can avoid it.

As far as the real money bypass, you have a point. However, the truth of the matter is that it is more grey than that, as you need a cash shop item as an ingredient. No matter how you want to talk about go gather some savage charms and whatnot. The fact of that matter is that this is the first thing people see when they hit their first inspiration wall. They are going to look up how to speed up/bypass it. They'll see these nifty potions, then they'll see they need a cash shop item to make them. So, while I may have been a bit to harsh, the point still stands, at least to me.

You do not require a cash shop item to make potions. I'm not quite sure where you got that. The simple fact is that one hour of grinding silver equates to about 450,000 Inspiration worth of potions if you were to buy potions off the market with the silver acquired. There is no time gate, and the throttle is only in place for those too lazy to farm some money and bypass it. That being said, if you are smart and efficiently using the gluttony system you can easily get around 35-40 to all biles before you even walk away with a F&F buff. So unless you have 40 to all stats, and a makeshift wall around your base, I highly doubt you have 'maximized' what the game is currently offering you, this is of course assuming again that you don't want to put in the small investment and effort to just buy the potions off the market with some silver.

[RickyP602]

I have not attempted yet, to use my inspiration more efficiently. Mostly because I've been playing for a hot 3 hours. However, I don't think any new player has so many options as to be extremely picky about what they study. I'm sure once you are established and developed that is another story. That being said I won't be studying any more singing logs if I can avoid it.

As far as the real money bypass, you have a point. However, the truth of the matter is that it is more grey than that, as you need a cash shop item as an ingredient. No matter how you want to talk about go gather some savage charms and whatnot. The fact of that matter is that this is the first thing people see when they hit their first inspiration wall. They are going to look up how to speed up/bypass it. They'll see these nifty potions, then they'll see they need a cash shop item to make them. So, while I may have been a bit to harsh, the point still stands, at least to me.

You do not require a cash shop item to make potions. I'm not quite sure where you got that. The simple fact is that one hour of grinding silver equates to about 450,000 Inspiration worth of potions if you were to buy potions off the market with the silver acquired. There is no time gate, and the throttle is only in place for those too lazy to farm some money and bypass it. That being said, if you are smart and efficiently using the gluttony system you can easily get around 35-40 to all biles before you even walk away with a F&F buff. So unless you have 40 to all stats, and a makeshift wall around your base, I highly doubt you have 'maximized' what the game is currently offering you, this is of course assuming again that you don't want to put in the small investment and effort to just buy the potions off the market with some silver.

Not to be rude here, however maybe I'm misunderstanding the mechanics here?

http://puu.sh/hfKMG/ed13c05e6c.jpg
http://salemwiki.info/index.php/Glass_Bottle

Am I missing something?

I think your misunderstanding laziness for a first impression here.

Of course we don't have an established base, that is part of the point of this post. This is my first impression of the system. One that a lot of new players will probably have also. With the release date coming up soon, I figured it best to voice that now, rather than later.

[Zapt13]

Glass is now craftable by players, can be bought with silver (the in-game currency).

While JC is right, he may be overlooking an interesting fact. The appearance of the time-gate. This is even how it appears to someone who's generally familiar with the game concept, but somewhat new to the particular features of this game and its player-run-market. I've read JC's posts about how the game isn't designed to spoon-feed everyone, etc, and that reading the forums is essential.

In my opinion, the ability to by-pass the apparent time-gate will be unknown to new players. I also must admit that I haven't gone through the tutorial yet, so there may be enough details there to help new players learn what to focus on in order to maximize their efficiency.

Edit: Corrected typo

[DarkNacht]

http://www.salem-wiki.com/mediawiki/ind ... Glass_Pane
Also buying something from a merchant in town is not the same as buying it from the cash shop.

[JohnCarver]

Zapt has a very good point. I think there is something to be said that we should put up a help menu popup that explains to you all that you should be doing once you get the first "You don't have enough inspiration to study that message". This way each new player who hits that road block learns that it is entirely possible to overcome it with a few extra hours of work/effort.

[Lusewing]

There is also no way to buy glass from the Salem store - or any way to buy anything used to push your inspration up - that is one of the things that i love about the Salem cash shop - its not pay to win. Fact is a lot of the time, particualy when you are just starting off, its more like 'pay to lose', because if you dont have a strong set up you might as well paint a big target on your doors saying 'Raid me here, I have loot.'

[DarkNacht]

Zapt has a very good point. I think there is something to be said that we should put up a help menu popup that explains to you all that you should be doing once you get the first "You don't have enough inspiration to study that message". This way each new player who hits that road block learns that it is entirely possible to overcome it with a few extra hours of work/effort.

There is also the problem that if they don't initially understand what they are doing they can run up their F&F and drain their inspiration while gaining so little that they might as well just abandon the character and start a new one.