Crypto Kingdom - 1991 Retro Virtual World(City)

[rpietila]

A short update - PJ has been working all the time, and as he wisely put, "we will need to wait for King to sync our teams before starting game", this exactly is the case. While game development is hard work, and needs to be done fluently, it is still just work, and many popular games are not very stellar designs at all.

Our next stage, Clans, is not just about good design and implementation. It is a make or break situation, but I see it a make or break situation of community, marketing, and organisation, why not even finance, legal and other under-the-hood or backoffice tasks. I trust in my ability to design a game, and PJ's to realise this vision. But what we are trying to accomplish here, is to make it big, and so it cannot be a 1-2 man show any more, and the things I have purposefully neglected this far (to save time for design and hooking in the early adopters), will need to be addressed.

Crypto Kingdom was conceived in October 2014 to be a lure for gamers to become cryptocurrency users, to be a funnel that would filter large numbers of people that have not used any cryptocurrencies before, and make them grow into XMR through the game. The purpose was not to make a great standalone game. That business is done somewhat differently, and is more straightforward and less interesting (and neither approach has any guaranteed success).

The implementation plan for the era of Clans will need to be more organised and less agile than the one so far. More work needs to be done in the fields that so far have not been the focus. Rallying up more people and getting them to contribute useful pieces of the puzzle, is a skilful job, and suited for someone else than me. A community builder is needed to handle the aspects that I cannot manage while simultaneously forcing the development. More work means more money is needed, so the XMR whales will be contacted if they see that the game is worth their participation. The design and staying power are proven with 2 years of history, but this does not guarantee that the window of opportunity to greatly benefit Monero (and the whole of the free world) is still perceived to exist. So in front of us are very interesting weeks, just like in every other point in time so far!

Hardly an hour has passed without my thoughts processing the matters of the Kingdom, so in this sense the holiday has not been completely satisfactory  CK has become such an integral part of my life that as we will now raise the banners and blow the horns for everyone to join the troops once again, it truly feels like a long sleep is losing its grip and the rays of sun make the world living again.

[rpietila]

Heh, hundreds of pageviews after I posted the last one, yet no replies...

I have nothing much new to add, so please read it again. In the Town Council we had the following discussion agenda:

1) there needs to be a reason to do it
2) there needs to be a plan what to do when winning
3) there needs to be a plan for losing
4) there needs to be a plan how to win
5) it needs to be done

Why even have CK in the first place? The reason to "do it" (resurrect from the pause and design and develop Clans to potentially reach 100,000s of players) would be that it is important, even crucial, for the adoption of Monero. And that Monero is a cutting-edge building block of human liberty. Do all of these even hold true any more, after 2 years?

Only after becoming re-convinced of the importance of the mission, it's reasonable to do the planning, and then the execution.

You don't get anything done if you question its validity all the time. But once in every 2 years it is very much useful to check it.

And the lull of the pause has given everyone the benefit of being a little distanced and more objective to evaluate.

As before, I see no reason to hide the important discussion anywhere. So please reply here

[MoneroMooo]

If you believed two years ago that "Monero is a cutting-edge building block of human liberty", then it is so now.

No other cryptocurrency has displaced Monero in that niche (yes, human liberty is a niche, sadly). People flocked to other niches in turn, but liberty is a timeless attraction, which is sure to bring more people in time. I believed Zerocash could top it, but I am not sure now, mostly because they suffer from similar scaling issues as Monero, and because their privacy is optional, and therefore may be treated as prima facie evidence of wrongful intent. So, for the time being, Monero is no less a cutting-edge building block of human liberty as it was then.

Is CK crucial for Monero ? I cannot tell what would have happened if CK had not been here. However, it often takes not much to push past a threshold which makes something self sustaining. Monero is still around, despite all the naysayers. CK is too. Monero certainly helped CK survive and develop. A growing CK will certainly help Monero grow, though at which size this becomes substantial, I do not know.

In the end, as I said on wednesday, as many other things, you can't know whether you will succeed, but you know that if you do not persevere, you will not succeed. I intend to persevere with Monero.

[rpietila]

Cool thanks for the thoughts!

There might be differing opinions on what follows, but the original intention with CK is that it should help and support Monero, and make Monero bigger and more successful. Not the other way round. Specifically, the return on investment should predominantly be the success and increase of value of the players' Monero stash. Even if CK also could provide a positive return, which historically it indeed has done, even in excess of XMR.

After this long period of juggling with a tiny self-supporting community, ongoing game, and evolving design and development spex, we are now in the crossroads. It is hardly truthful to say that a small scale game for a few hundred people is crucial for the life of Monero. So that path, even if easy to take, should not be taken because it avails nothing. It leaves us with a significantly enlarged game, or no game at all.

As I said, "enlarged" hardly means much more features in the software, but it means much more work for the team, in polishing and testing the gaming platform, making it scale, marketing, and all the other activities happily ignored all this far. It does require a conscious decision to do it, and a plan on how to do it. There has to be a number of people committing time and money to it. This is also the community seal that we are doing important stuff. [As previously, nobody needs to commit without expectation of a handsome return if the game succeeds.]

* * *

Why do I suddenly question the very existence of the game? Last summer, we were in dire straits, Town was in debt, there was no gaming platform at all, it had been paused for 3+ months, and much less accounts than now. Most importantly, we did not have a developer. So, why question it now? The answer is:

Monero is 400% up from that time. (fiat terms) We are in the situation with 5x the finances to make the game great. So I am waiting for encouraging PM's from people who want to inject cold, hard cash to the development as it costs them nearly nothing compared to a year ago or any other time.

Enthusiastic community is a must have, in community-based development that this is. While it is understandable that everyone needs a break (also I had one  ), coming back after the break with renewed zeal is quite central. We are not so many, and if everyone ignores the game and becomes wealth managed instead, we don't have a playerbase, and no game. This is not a Poloniex after all. Playing is a part of it!

[generalizethis]

Cool thanks for the thoughts!

There might be differing opinions on what follows, but the original intention with CK is that it should help and support Monero, and make Monero bigger and more successful. Not the other way round. Specifically, the return on investment should predominantly be the success and increase of value of the players' Monero stash. Even if CK also could provide a positive return, which historically it indeed has done, even in excess of XMR.

After this long period of juggling with a tiny self-supporting community, ongoing game, and evolving design and development spex, we are now in the crossroads. It is hardly truthful to say that a small scale game for a few hundred people is crucial for the life of Monero. So that path, even if easy to take, should not be taken because it avails nothing. It leaves us with a significantly enlarged game, or no game at all.

As I said, "enlarged" hardly means much more features in the software, but it means much more work for the team, in polishing and testing the gaming platform, making it scale, marketing, and all the other activities happily ignored all this far. It does require a conscious decision to do it, and a plan on how to do it. There has to be a number of people committing time and money to it. This is also the community seal that we are doing important stuff. [As previously, nobody needs to commit without expectation of a handsome return if the game succeeds.]

* * *

Why do I suddenly question the very existence of the game? Last summer, we were in dire straits, Town was in debt, there was no gaming platform at all, it had been paused for 3+ months, and much less accounts than now. Most importantly, we did not have a developer. So, why question it now? The answer is:

Monero is 400% up from that time. (fiat terms) We are in the situation with 5x the finances to make the game great. So I am waiting for encouraging PM's from people who want to inject cold, hard cash to the development as it costs them nearly nothing compared to a year ago or any other time.

Enthusiastic community is a must have, in community-based development that this is. While it is understandable that everyone needs a break (also I had one  ), coming back after the break with renewed zeal is quite central. We are not so many, and if everyone ignores the game and becomes wealth managed instead, we don't have a playerbase, and no game. This is not a Poloniex after all. Playing is a part of it!

When is the game going to be available for evaluation?

[Sontoloyo]

after readed some article and asks questions, but i still don't know, i don't how to start for this alt, i open official website: http://cryptokingdom.me/ but more than 3 minutes not open in my browser. maybe your website is to hard to loading and too many scripts,

[djjacket]

I have nothing much new to add, so please read it again. In the Town Council we had the following discussion agenda:

1) there needs to be a reason to do it
2) there needs to be a plan what to do when winning
3) there needs to be a plan for losing
4) there needs to be a plan how to win
5) it needs to be done

Why even have CK in the first place? The reason to "do it" (resurrect from the pause and design and develop Clans to potentially reach 100,000s of players) would be that it is important, even crucial, for the adoption of Monero. And that Monero is a cutting-edge building block of human liberty. Do all of these even hold true any more, after 2 years?

Only after becoming re-convinced of the importance of the mission, it's reasonable to do the planning, and then the execution.

You don't get anything done if you question its validity all the time. But once in every 2 years it is very much useful to check it.

And the lull of the pause has given everyone the benefit of being a little distanced and more objective to evaluate.

As before, I see no reason to hide the important discussion anywhere. So please reply here

I will chime in here to say that I believe a successful community game will be a nice introduction to Monero for those who do not know anything about it - both in and out of the crypto community.

I am an example of this and I think there are probably some other current player accounts that are the same.  I knew nothing about Monero prior to my joining the bootstrap stage of the game.  I bought Monero in the beginning for the sole purpose of joining the game.  Since this introduction, I learned more about the technology, vision, community, and development of the coin and feel it fits a needed space in crypto-currency and my view of what a true crypto-currency should be in regards to privacy and fungibility.

The fact that both of them have survived their respective lows over the past 2 years shows the resolve of those involved. 

I have committed time, effort, and money to keep things going growing during that time because I think it is worthwhile and also fun and I hope that the game can evolve to something bigger.  I also hope that others will share this view and continue/help in that effort - after all it is a unique vehicle - a community-funded, community-developed game backed by Monero.

[rpietila]

after readed some article and asks questions, but i still don't know, i don't how to start for this alt, i open official website: http://cryptokingdom.me/ but more than 3 minutes not open in my browser. maybe your website is to hard to loading and too many scripts,

Hi! The website is correct and usually it loads relatively fast.

When you sign up, you will get to see our "Ultima" version of the game, but that one will not come back. We are now paused, and when it ends, we will have "Clans", which is more tailored towards play and less towards wealth management.

Now it is practically not possible to play.

[iluvbitcoins]

I will chime in here to say that I believe a successful community game will be a nice introduction to Monero for those who do not know anything about it - both in and out of the crypto community.
I bought Monero in the beginning for the sole purpose of joining the game.  

Me too  

I would probably never buy XMR if there wasn't of CK  

Support o7

[papa_lazzarou]

I am a bit low on available time atm. So I don't know if I will be of much help besides playing the game, but hey, I'll help with what I can.

[saddambitcoin]

I will play of course, contribute as I can and continue to fulfill my duties in CK.

I started playing CK because I was so excited about Monero's potential but there was nothing to use it on at the time. No XMR.to, no Shapeshift, no MyMonero. Not to mention some very depressing periods of time involving the price, so playing a game at least brought some enjoyment to everyone.

Along the way the game has had many ups and downs in interest, lots of features added and realized, and it has been a great accomplishment. Maybe it even saved Monero from doom in its darkest times.

I am surprised all the CON holders have not chimed in yet but maybe they are too busy basking in the XMR glow, enjoying their summer breaks. 

[generalizethis]

Will play as long as there is a game to play. While I'm tapped out as far as investment--I can contribute a couple hours a day to the project for as long as needed.

[rpietila]

I will play of course, contribute as I can and continue to fulfill my duties in CK.

I started playing CK because I was so excited about Monero's potential but there was nothing to use it on at the time. No XMR.to, no Shapeshift, no MyMonero. Not to mention some very depressing periods of time involving the price, so playing a game at least brought some enjoyment to everyone.

Along the way the game has had many ups and downs in interest, lots of features added and realized, and it has been a great accomplishment. Maybe it even saved Monero from doom in its darkest times.

I am surprised all the CON holders have not chimed in yet but maybe they are too busy basking in the XMR glow, enjoying their summer breaks. 

Thanks for this. From many mouths, I have now heard that CK has been important in keeping the small XMR community from throwing in the towel. Occasionally it has been dark, such as seeing volume in Poloniex at BTC36 per day (now BTC36,000).

NewLiberty also approached me, voicing much support but not currently more possibility to personally invest time. He mentioned also the idea that we could continue to play in the current version for some more time, if escaping out of it in a concerted effort feels too risky. I will comment on the idea more in the meetings that soon begin.

Will play as long as there is a game to play. While I'm tapped out as far as investment--I can contribute a couple hours a day to the project for as long as needed.

This is most precious.

In the cryptoworld, fortunes change very quickly. At the current XMR/fiat rate, the players who also hold XMR, are 3 times richer. I have the feeling that raising the money required for Clans to materialise, is not the main problem. Money is fungible (especially XMR hehe) so it does not so much matter who gives it, when, how and in what kind of sums. On the other hand, the people, the community, are not fungible. So far the only successful key person recruited in the game is Wizard Developer. Since he was found by Thud, I have asked Thud to seek Community Manager and/or CEO. And have actually 2 possibilities from my own contacts. In any case, I believe our "24/7 team" will grow by 1 if not 2 people this autumn.

In addition the admins structure needs clarity, people knowing what they can and are supposed to do, and what they get from it.

The CKG was premined to the King, not to enrich the King (the opportunities to sell it are few), but to be used for the good of the Kingdom. With more people and workhours in the team, it makes sense to diversify the CKG holdings as well.

[goin2mars.]

Happy to read the break hasn't been unrewarding. I have also enjoyed it, lots of time to set up mining rigs and practice charcuterie

I of course have to admit that imagining the taste of CK foie gras got me into it, so I started with some dry cured sopressata. Ducks are on the list.

Admittedly, when we did the pause I was under the impression that clans would be a continuation of the ultima wealth management style we had. Likely my fault for not thinking to ask the question, or realizing it if it was being talked about.

Either way, I like the idea of change, and what sounds like progress.

[luigi1111]

Will play as long as there is a game to play. While I'm tapped out as far as investment--I can contribute a couple hours a day to the project for as long as needed.

Would echo this. I'm still here. Still interested.

I am surprised all the CON holders have not chimed in yet but maybe they are too busy basking in the XMR glow, enjoying their summer breaks. 

Hmm, I guess that's me. Months of no CON payments. 

[Karl Hungus]

Greetings good citizens of Crypto Kingdom! I am still here also, ready to resume playing as best I can, health and time permitting

Discovering bitcoin changed my life for the better in so many ways, but it has been quite a lonely road to travel. None of my friends or family really know anything about bitcoin and crypto currencies, and I've only ever had a handful of IRL conversations with other people about it. Everything I know about crypto, and everything I've managed to do so far I've done on my own, sitting at my PC in my study. I definitely don't mind solitary pursuits, and I know there are plenty of meetups and the like where other crypto people meet in person, but for many reasons, I prefer things the way they are. Crypto is 100% online for me, and that's ok.

Crypto currencies are fascinating, I think they're very important to the future of the world, and learning about them is my hobby, and I've made some money along the way, so I feel very grateful for that. One day I hope to turn this hobby into a full-time income for me and my family, and I hope CK might be part of that.

I approach crypto investing the same as anything else. If I'm buying a car, or a washing machine, or planning a holiday, or making any important decision I do loads of research. Then I digest all the facts and opinions and make up my mind ... what do I think! Doing this with most alt coins leads me to the conclusion most of them will fail, but there'll always be a few surprises, and Monero is one of those. I discovered it early and added it to my portfolio of approx 10 alt coins I think are worth taking a risk on. Everyone reading this knows the reasons why XMR is 'different' to other alt coins, and thus worth investing in.

I was content to invest some funds in XMR and wait patiently to see what transpired, and for a long while in 2014 things looked rather grim. Then I came across the Crypto Kingdom thread - now this was something very different and cool, and I saw loads of potential then, and still do today.

Crypto is my obsession, and like most obsessions, it can bore the socks of anyone who doesn't share that obsession, and the crypto community is relatively small, and the subject matter to most regular people can be extremely complicated and dull. Gaming is another matter though, and Crypto Kingdom provides so many avenues to onboard new XMR users without the vast majority of them knowing any details about things like ring signatures and fungibility.

In my own personal situation it's the only crypto related pursuit that I can share with my primary school aged kids. They got CK instantly (a monopoly type game played with real 'money', set in a Kingdom with unicorns and nobles, with everyone acting out an imaginary 'character'). My kids ask about CK a lot! They know I do this weird 'bitcoin thing', and they like to tease me about that. With Crypto Kingdom, they want details, they want to play!

There's still loads more untapped potential on the finance side of CK as a crypto 'platform' for doing business, but it's the social network and gaming aspects that will attract new users from outside crypto. That's what I'm thinking about anyway!

[JasonXG]

Umm... Why haven't I heard about this game long ago. Man come on I must be living under a rock. I just had a look at the game as a visitor so I dont really know what's going on but I read the OP and I sort of understand the general idea I just dont know how its all implemented. So I will register soon and start playing. I decided I will give it a chance.

[cryptonic21]

Greetings HM and everybody. I am also still here and very much interested in the future of CK.
I am not sure that I will be able to contribute a lot of time, but definitely will try when I can.
Playing it was the really profound experience and good memories are still here in the air.
I understand the necessity of the great changes to help it reach a lot of new people around the world and contribute in Monero adoption as it was originally scheduled.

[zimmah]

I can not type anything in the CLI.   

Also, item descriptions can be edited by me.

[rpietila]

I can not type anything in the CLI.   

Also, item descriptions can be edited by me.

Both are intended. The game is paused, and we want people to be able to edit the item:desc. Please edit them smartly