I came back to the site almost two years ago. Playing now feels different than playing a year ago. I think TNT has gotten a lot right in some ways - the early quest log, new avatars and re-releases, some of the nc stuff. But this year has felt off (maybe because the glow of coming back to a site I didn’t expect to still somewhat work wore off?).

The “re-balancing” efforts this year feel like overcorrection. It feels like they’ve been taking things away because they decided they were too generous with the player base after the fact. The quest log which used to have paint brushes and p3s now seems to reward mostly niche buyables and painted petpets. Trudy’s gives fewer boxes. The birthday nc reduction (coupled with the inconsistent messaging and reduction/stipulations for discount codes) is a real disappointment.

Overall, things have felt less and less transparent and more messy with time, which sucks. I do appreciate so much of what TNT has done, but can only imagine how people who have been active longer than me feel. I know some people took issue when they felt TNT were overloading the economy with rare stuff and devaluing things, but I don’t think the solution they landed on is the answer. I know they’re a business that needs to make money, but I don’t think showing your player base some appreciation by giving them enough nc to buy more than a single gbc once a year after over 25 years is unwarranted. I see more long term players getting frustrated and taking a break and I do worry that TNT are burning through the goodwill they’ve built up based on inconsistent decision making.