Starting from October 5, 2009 Virtonomics won’t be free-to-play any more. The new game model will be Shareware, which means that free playing will be possible for 14 days only.
There will be 2 options provided for Virtonomics players:
1. Subscribers game – “Anna” realm has been opened on September 29, 2009. (Here are ).
- all enterprises and game functions (except for decorative, like office decoration) are free
- game situation updates require payment
- the minimum cost of monthly subscription is $8.25 (in case if purchase the whole year)
2. Game with obligatory minimum payment for services – “Mary ” realm (Here are .)
- game updates function is provided in addition to purchased game services
- 1 game point spent by the player for any kind of game needs will ensure 6 full-scale game updates (but no more than 90 in total). It means that every player must spend at least 5 game points per month to ensure himself a normal game process
- the player can choose any kind of services or enterprises to spend game points required for game update
There will be two different game modes: Demo mode (DM) and Full mode (FM)
I. Regulations of DM
a) For 14 days starting from the moment of registration, the player can play the game in demo mode for free;
b) Every time the player spends game points, it will change his mode from DM to FM for 6xP (P = number of spent game points). However, the total duration of paid period can not exceed 90 game updates. The rest of unspent free period will be added to the duration of FM, when the player switches from DM to FM;
c) When the player loses his DM status, he keeps all his actives, qualifications, achievments, etc.;
d) Every new expenditure of game points will add to FD duration 6xP updates. However, the total duration of paid period can not exceed 90 updates;
e) In case if after 14 days of DM the player didn't switch to FM, his game character will be expelled from the realm;
f) The DM companies have following restrictions:
- it is forbidden to take part in competitions and promo-actions of the realm;
- it is forbidden to use massive messaging function.
g) The restart will return 14-days DM period back to the very beginning;
h) Registration in the game is only possible after e-mail confirmation.
II. Procedure of FM conclusion
a) In case if the comapny officially goes bankrupt, it WILL NOT disable the rest of the utilization regulations;
b) 10 and 5 days before the end of paid period, the player will receive a notification;
c) After the first non-payment, the company will be "frozen":
- all the workers will be set on vacation;
- advertising campaigns will be suspended;
- sales of all enterprises will be cancelled (except for auctions);
- all the market offers on technologies and licenses will be cancelled;
- all the market requests for licenses will be cancelled;
- all the offers for goods sale will be closed;
- all the contracts will be zeroed.
The player will receive a notification, his access to company will be partially blocked;
d) After 5 unpaid updates, the company will be ultimately terminated - the contracts will be cancelled;
e) After 90 unpaid updates, the game character will be expelled from the realm;;
f) The restart will return all the counters back to zero, and bring the company to the regular 14-days DM..
III. Procedure of switching to the new system
a) Counters of DM and FM will be activated on October 5;
b) All players registered before 28.09.09 , who had spent game points, will automatically get a paid period of 6xP updates (P – number of spent game points) and a 14-day bonus. However, the total duration of paid period in FM can not exceed 180 updates;
c) The players without any spent game points, will also be switched into DM, their assets won’t change.
IV. Other changes, related to the new game model
a) First payment bonus is cancelled;
b) Restart in FM will bring the player back to the step of company creaction, without any restrictions on the validiy of FM. The player will get back half of game points, spent for qualification, in form of undistributed points, which can be spent on qualification growth ONLY;
c) It is forbidden to post any kind of announcements about credits, sponsoring funds etc., as well as requests for credit. Credit-related announcements will be deleted, their author will receive a warning. Violators can be blocked or expelled from the game;
d) VIRTs and bonus points (gained as a prize in competition, etc.) are equal to paid points, and therefore can be used for Full Mode prolongation.
V. The expected modifications
1. Within the nearest 180 updates (until the end of November) some will be implemented. Besides, we’ll introduce a system of several characters amalgamation (subject to they belong to the same player).
2. In future we’ll introduce non-manufacturing business industry.
What a joke!! Get everyone into the game and waste their time building up their companies and then make everyone pay to continue playing. Maybe we should send them a bill for all the time we've wasted here! I for one will not be sticking around because i cant afford to pay.
Hello, friends. Why do you say about 8 or $ 18 a month? This is the price for the game on the server running on a subscription business model.
Reread, please take notice)
You're all playing on the Realm "Mary". Now, to continue to play in full mode you need to spend just $ 5 a month:
"- 1 game point spent by the player for any kind of game needs will ensure 6 full-scale game updates (but no more than 90 in total). It means that every player must spend at least 5 game points per month to ensure himself a normal game process
- the player can choose any kind of services or enterprises to spend game points required for game update"
Tomorrow I'll try to comment further on the reasons for our decision to change the business model.
Sincerely, Virtonomics Team
1.10.2009, 20:17
and that means also that there will be in the near future thousends and thousends of mines and sawmills and farms...thid is ridiculous
1.10.2009, 20:52
Somewhere in the Virtonomics Team HQ I hope that there is a fervent tapping of calculator keys, a lot of knitted brows and wringing of hands and mumbles of 'Team we've made a mistake introducing a new charging plan'.
Whether it cost $5 a month or $8.25 a month the price is still TOO HIGH!
As has been pointed out many times in previous posts - this game needs players to survive. Without players, the game dies and so does any revenue the game is currently or might in future raise.
Other game sites such as this have adverts in a column down the side which raises revenue for the developers and also allows players to continue using the game - in short, everybody wins. It seems that option has not been considered by the Virtronomics Team, who would much rather the money come from their players pockets.
Some players have also pointed out that no matter what the charges they will not be able to continue playing as payment options for their country of residence are NOT AVAILABLE.
I have no objection to paying a token amount on a monthly or yearly basis, but I won't be ripped off, and even $5 a month is a rip off.
Virtonomic Team, I urge you to seriously rethink your decision before your game (and any dreams you have of making money from it) disappear down the drain forever.
Can't you do Advertising? like place Ads ($$) and a function to pay to have those ads hidden that will save the game P2P means the end of Virtonomics even if im going to pay for it then only a few people are going to pay for it and then the people that are paying will stop paying too so then the game is dead
1.10.2009, 22:50
Last time edited : 1.10.2009, 22:52
I think what's being said here, is that any monthly fee is too much. Even one penny. The reality is that most people don't pay, and that won't change.
These people do, however, provide something valuable (even priceless!) to the game by increasing the vital player base and are the most powerful advertiser available. Have you ever seen any advertisments for RuneScape? I don't think so. But the majority of players don't pay for it. It's word of mouth.
If you lose them, you simply can't sustain a game with any number of players, especially such an unfinished game like this. It becomes an empty shell, and even people who were willing to pay, won't.
Alot of people buy Game points that makes money too they should put Ads on their own game instead on every other game out there
2.10.2009, 00:46
Mary's reaction much quiet... , probably i leave it too sad...
2.10.2009, 03:11
MEN
Hello, friends. Why do you say about 8 or $ 18 a month? This is the price for the game on the server running on a subscription business model.
Reread, please take notice)
You're all playing on the Realm "Mary". Now, to continue to play in full mode you need to spend just $ 5 a month:
I can't speak for everyone else, but I was aware of that. However $5 per month=$60 per year=more than I am prepared to spend on an online game. It is my honest opinion that if you want to maintain a healthy player base then you will need to halve that at the very least.
Is there any possible way that admin can change this?? This is a huge error that you guys are making. Just do some calculations and you will see why everyone is against it. Everyone has perfect sense.. why doon't you admins??
2.10.2009, 05:48
I´m playing an online game who costs me 1 euro per month, cause I want to play in full mode...
Why don´t you low this prices? More people will pay and play, and the whole world of Virtonomics will run like today.
It´s better that 100k people pay $1 than 20k pay $5, or $8!
I was developing a database to organize my information in game, but now I will wait for good news, or try to forget Virtonomics exists!
Hello, friends. Why do you say about 8 or $ 18 a month? This is the price for the game on the server running on a subscription business model.
Reread, please take notice)
You're all playing on the Realm "Mary". Now, to continue to play in full mode you need to spend just $ 5 a month:
"- 1 game point spent by the player for any kind of game needs will ensure 6 full-scale game updates (but no more than 90 in total). It means that every player must spend at least 5 game points per month to ensure himself a normal game process
- the player can choose any kind of services or enterprises to spend game points required for game update"
Tomorrow I'll try to comment further on the reasons for our decision to change the business model.
Sincerely, Virtonomics Team
Thanks for your reply MEN. Its good to hear a few words from you about the situation.
Yes it is correct that to play in Shareware basis, we only need to spend $5 a month. This is affordable to some of you who happen to be in countries that uses British Pound, Euros, and US Dollar currency. Although, it isn't the same for my case. The currency that I'm using is Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) which is of a lower rate compared to the first 3 currencies I mentioned. So like in my case, after conversion, I will have to pay MYR 17.37 a month not including conversion fees. With that amount of money, I can keep myself fed for the whole day.
The other thing is that, the $5 a month is for game points that later on, we will have to spend on something inside the game. The reaction that you get on this will be a little hostile because customers does not like it when you say that you must buy something, even though they don't want to buy it. If we're buying $5 amount of game points just for updating is fine, but to force us to even spend it on something in the game? I think that's going a little bit too far. If I'm buying game points, I would like to keep them until you have a new feature/service that comes out in the near future that I want to purchase with the game points. Can't I just spend the game points on "Updating" alone?
I'll be looking forward to your reply for the reasons why the team wishes to change to this model. Thanks for reading.
I think you made a great game and it has a great potential. But, success of a project depends on the market, not only the producer. This game is on world stage and serves many different income levels; many players are needed to attract one Craminu. People who paid in the past... will keep paying if they find satisfaction with the game. People who paid in the past but who do not like to be FORCED to pay, and most of them who didn't pay until now will be LOST. Even i'm fine pay some from time to time, i'd rather play with 3000 others who play for free than being forced to pay to play with 30 players who can pay whatever they like.
There are many good ideas and suggestions above, i'd like to add my 2 cents:
a) keep your face and keep mary free, all the players have joined because they trusted you that the game will remain free as advertised
b) reduce the amount of game points needed for certain things, for example the innovations, to something like 0.5 or even 0.1 game points (lower price attracts more sales)
c) add regular competitions where people can win game points
d) add regular competitions where people must pay/invest virtual cash and win came points in return
(participation can for example be limited to player's asset value)
e) sell game points for virtual cash
f) make another realm (asside of Anna) which costs 5$/month, 45 per year
g) offer a good deal for people who paid for mary and are willing to pay more/switch to another game world
h) find a moderator for the forum and see that questions from a player is replied properly within 12-24 hours
i) add google translation engine to the forum so russian players stop posting at their own board
i) finish all translations, spend some time to improve the interface to SAVE time for the player and make it more appealing and playful to attract other people who are currently not playing because the game is to dry
Please Sergo be reasonable, don't only put the money in focus, this is a game and it should feel like it.
You're all playing on the Realm "Mary". Now, to continue to play in full mode you need to spend just $ 5 a month:
"- 1 game point spent by the player for any kind of game needs will ensure 6 full-scale game updates (but no more than 90 in total). It means that every player must spend at least 5 game points per month to ensure himself a normal game process
- the player can choose any kind of services or enterprises to spend game points required for game update"
Tomorrow I'll try to comment further on the reasons for our decision to change the business model.
Sincerely, Virtonomics Team
Thank you for replying and letting us know you are paying attention.
I look forward to hearing your side of recent developments.
his is not good 
, probably i leave it too 
sad... 
