The MMORPG Chronicles of Elyria sells a kind of Advent calendar with in-game rewards. However, the game is still a long way from release. Many find this calendar to be brazen.
What kind of calendar is this? The “Longest Night Calendar” offers a total of 21 rewards that buyers will receive daily from December 11 to December 31. These are different in-game items, three of which are exclusively available only through the calendar.
The base version costs $60 (from Tuesday $75), and the premium calendar costs $75 (from Tuesday $95). In total, the calendars are supposed to contain in-game items worth at least $175 and $275, respectively.
However, these items are probably still not usable for a long time.
What is the problem? Chronicles of Elyria has been in development since 2015. Over 1 million dollars were raised through crowdfunding, and a release was scheduled for 2017.
But currently, there isn’t even an alpha version of the game. A release in the coming years seems unlikely.
Ambitious MMORPG where the character is supposed to age
What is special about Chronicles of Elyria? In the MMORPG your character will age. Eventually, there will come a point when they die. The lifespan is supposed to correspond to about one year of real time.
Many progressions, rewards, and special titles will be passed on to the heirs. Nevertheless, you will start a new adventure each time with a new character.
What is the current state of the MMORPG? 2019 was supposed to be a good year for Chronicles of Elyria. In a letter to the community in March 2019, it was explained what should be included in the pre-alpha and why it is not there yet.
Since then, the MMORPG has mainly made headlines because a player paid $10,000 but then did not show up again.
Fans defend the calendar, harsh criticism on reddit
How are players reacting in the forums? In the Chronicles of Elyria forum, there are some readers who find the loot box interesting:
- Draguta: “The calendar looks interesting.”
- Medussa: “Cool, I love it.”
- Obento: “Ahhh. I love surprises.”
Some defend the calendar against the criticism that it is a loot box for an MMORPG that doesn’t even have an alpha version. As VioletWinterLynn writes :
The calendar offers the chance to get a random item for less money than at the regular price.
The calendar literally doubles the money that was invested. It is not a loot box because you don’t lose money, but have the chance for items that are much more valuable than what you spent.
Harsh criticism on reddit: In the MMORPG reddit, the calendar for Chronicles of Elyria is not well received. There is also criticism of the game itself:
- IGZO: “The comment section about the game is really fun to read. They even argue against the term ‘loot box’ and how much value can be gained from the calendar. In reality, it is absolutely worthless because the game will never be released.”
- RemtonJDulyak: “They even limit digital content with the discount, that’s the best part about it!”
- emforay216: “MMORPG developers can’t help but shoot themselves in the foot with their games, can they?”
What do you think of the calendar? Is it a cute idea to boost the game’s budget or is it a brazen action?
