The only reason I would like to receive diamonds, would be to build some of those beautiful premium buildings. Spending them to reach the end of the current game sooner just doesn't make any sense to me. There
is very little content and that is why I would argue the following:
The sixth section of the game ( Dwarves ) was created for you to spend mega bucks buying diamonds to be able to progress. I've been sitting on the Dwarven Style Armory research for 2 weeks now, do you know how demoralizing this is ?
Well, that is not entirely true. At least not in my opinion.
The reason the tech tree
had to become incredibly slow to advance in is because there are too many players who are really active and playing everything this game has to offer without the devs having the time to actually release new content before these active players reach the "endgame". Spending diamonds earns the devs more money, but it doesn't buy them more time. In fact, using diamonds (whether bought, acquired through events or in-game as proposed here) actually decreases the time the devs have because those fans are more likely to want more even sooner by reaching the endgame faster than the majority of the rest of the community. If you give everyone diamonds, then everyone potentially reaches the endgame faster and they really have less time for developing new features.
Way back in June/July the devs had stated that they plan to release new content that will make Elvenar quite different than a common city builder. First, they would have to build upon a strong foundation though. It's safe to assume that foundation is nearly complete and only requires a few final touches (such as the inventory we're getting soon). Then the devs can concentrate on bringing new features to the table.
It's taking a long time. I agree. But there is a reason this game has the option to produce 1 or 2 day productions. Game designer Timon himself mentioned making use of 1 day productions in the February Episode. This isn't a game intended for really active players, most certainly not at the game's current stage (and I doubt anyone is disputing that). It's a game that is intended to be playable for free and have (casual) players enjoy this magical world. If you want to progress rapidly through use of diamonds you may, but you also do so at your own risk. It is very possible that one might regret having spent diamonds on something specific in a couple months time. The game isn't finished, so things will be changing as time goes on. Or should I say, there will be more things to do in the future, and along with that, more ways to achieve the things that might currently only be possible by using diamonds.
So to end this "back on topic": We don't need free diamonds to enjoy the game in my opinion. If you want some though, then there are plenty of opportunities to gain some through forum events. The team have many events planned, so just keep a look out!
We have a few competitions lined out each month, some are individual based and some will be fellowship based. Hopefully we will see you around for those!
- Aider
PS: If you think of other competition ideas, please feel free to post them or message a moderator.
We love to hear ideas from you all.