(1) I personally don't care if VO is $10, $15, or $20 a month. At the moment, my upper limit of tollerance for what I'm getting is $20, but I could see $25 once the game is...if not finished, then much closer to perfect in terms of substantive content, purpose, and ability to affect RP elements and plotline via ingame actions.

(2) Why not run a quick poll of userbase to gauge whether a $15/month charge would create a net gain or loss?

Oooh yea. Because, as we all know, an extra ten bucks a month does all the hard work of actually finding and managing new developers AUTOMAGICALLY!
BEHOLD! The power of a tenner!

guys seriously- the smack talk should occur in-game-this actually is a pretty serious discussion and hits very close to home with the DEVs- i dont think taljin meant to bully the devs and say they are stoopid for making the choices they have- Taljin disagrees with the situation because he wants this game to be done and rocking so he can play GUILD's VISION of this game- as we all do-
--i must say that i do NOT agree with Taljin's point of view though- there is history here- and we are all part of it-
JOhn told us the situation- that is the way it is- we accept that and continue to play- as a team/ us and the devs- i really feel part of this- as i think we all do- Taljin i hope you are part of this game because you enjoy it- and hope that you stick around- and be part of the team

I agree with Spellcast on this one, I am not a VO customer, I am an investor. I support VO because i believe that in today’s increasingly wired world 4 guys, an office, and an nice net connection CAN succeed as a business operation. (If anyone doesn’t believe the previous statement I would like to direct you to the best-selling book by Thomas L. Friedman called The World is Flat . It is a great read for anyone with an interest in economics. It’s good stuff. In fact, I’d recommend it to the Devs.) Taljin, you talk a lot about “smart business” but have you ever run a successful business yourself? Started with nothing but an idea and a computer to build a self-sufficient MMORPG? If you have, then I apologize. But it certainly doesn’t look like you know what you’re talking about. Allow me to enlighten you (Devs correct me if I’m wrong), Guild HAS made a “smart business” move in development, customer relations, and marketing. By keeping VO in Guild’s hands the Devs have the ability to do what they do now, interact with supporters, listen to them, and work at their own pace. Yes, development would probably speed up with a bigger team, but at what cost? That interaction and responsiveness i mentioned earlier would disappear if Guild sold VO. Currently, that interaction between Dev and player is a very big part of the VO experience, and removing that aspect would likely push the hardcore supporters away from the game. Additionally, even if Guild could get a loan to pay a new dev how long would that loan be able to cover the new dev’s paycheck? What if revenue didn’t grow as fast as expected after the new dev was hired? Guild would end up paying interest on that loan, interest that they wouldn’t have to pay if they waited and hired the dev when they had the money to do so on their own. In short, Guild would sacrifice some control of its financial management by obligating itself to pay back the loan. Finally, marketing, why did Guild hold off? Simple, it is a waste of money to try to market a game which is constantly under development to a market that expects a nice, shiny title from a major publisher that is “finished”. The Devs have done the right thing by waiting to promote VO until it is “ready” to meet the demands of that broader market I mentioned. When the time does come to get the VO name out in the market the devs will have more funding available than they would had Guild promoted VO in the early phase of its public release. In summary, by taking it slow and safe in a market dominated by massive publishers Guild Software has given itself the best thing a business its position could ever have, time to grow a devoted user-base and plan for the long-term.

taljin, you make typos to. Don't be a fool... AND just to point out taljin "buisness" is not the correct way to spell it. And since you did the same typo 4 times i would think you don't know how to spell it. And if you dont know how to spell that word id doubt your above 16 years old. And if your 16 years old or lower how would you know ANYTHING about businesses...?

BURNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forrest , your point of view seems to be the consensus here . But what you folks fail to see is , this game is not a success as it is now. In the future it may be , but right now the Devs are barely able to stay afloat . Now you can all go on and call me names and be all dramatic , but it's not gonna change the fact that something big needs to happen to this game. The ideal thing would be to get investors in your business* (thanks Tna for the correct spelling).
How long are the Devs gonna suffer thru this before they find either a higher paying job , or hire a larger team and get this thing rolling the right way. My opinion is my own , don't get your panties in a wad , I'm not meaning to insult anyone.

taljin.. this isn't a business decision for the devs to remain open anymore, its a labor of love. I highly doubt they would just up and leave for better jobs at this late of a stage.

probably the "smart" decision would have been to just close up shop when they couldnt get any additional funding back around christmas of 2003. But they want thier creation to see the light of day as they truly intended it to be, so they are doing the best they can with what resources they have availible.

as for investors, apparently you are having some trouble absorbing the reality of the situation.

i'll quote from incarnates post

""-We have not had much luck finding serious independent investment......You cannot get "loans" on a software company, as banks desire collateral that they can sell in the event of company failure, and would have no idea what to do with a few hundred thousand lines of source code.-""

[Flame removed. The author is reminded to look at the "Be Nice" page.]

Okay, this thread has come to its functional terminus.

[sealed with a $15,000,000 padlock]