I'm gonna dive straight into it. Yes, I agree that Jewels are not really Phase-2. I agree that a lot of things announced previously have not yet arrived including what-not - EPLs, Chloropeth, New country!?, the list is almost too big.
BUT.... the foundations have changed! And that's what the community needs to account for before pointing out - hey you said this is coming and that is coming - but where is it? when is it? What we need to understand really is - the promise about what will be the color of the paint or the design of the drapes, becomes irrelevant or a lesser priority, when you are changing the whole architecture of the house. When something like this happens, the only priority at that juncture is to ensure that the house has a good stable foundation to support the new architecture.
Something similar is happening with Earth-2. The dev team was smart enough to acknowledge that for Earth2 to remain competitive over the long term, it needs to embrace the trend, embrace blockchain and do it right. I think the whole website/game is being rewritten to accommodate blockchain integration. Well you asked for it Earth2 - and now you are getting it - be patient! There is really no point in holding on to stuff (esp timelines) said in December, Jan, Feb even until recently maybe. Most of it (rather all), including elements of gameplay, will need to be reworked per the new model which supports the blockchain integration. And its quite possible that a ton of originally planned features may get deprioritized or come with a later timeline.
We need to remember one thing - the E2 team probably has just ONE shot at getting the blockchain design and integration right - ONE shot! Let them take the time to ensure its done flawlessly and for Earth-2 to remain competitive in the sea of metaverses.
Lets flip this - what would you rather have :
A) Original design, features and timelines WITHOUT blockchain OR,
B) Blockchain integration
I'm sure most of us wanted and even vociferously asked for 'B'. Its unreasonable to expect all of that to arrive on the same timeline as originally envisaged or even anywhere close to the original timeline. And frankly any new timelines given (whether under pressure from community or not, and I hope that's not the case) will likely overshoot - the dev team may not have completely assessed yet the magnitude of changes needed and what all has to be rewritten. It may also mean that certain features may need to be pushed at the back of line - and frankly its ok. Lets set the foundation of the new house - we'll worry about the paint when the time comes! However, all said and done, the execution is the real deal and I have written about it before. (https://www.e2.news/post/e2-is-a-great-idea-but-execution-and-team-culture-will-determine-success)
Coming to Jewels - its actually nothing more than a gesture to reward the early supporters. Earth-2 didn't have to dole out free resource production boosters. Most games require you to pay for any kind of in-game boost.
I guess Earth2 community should just be grateful for this free advantage, which I suspect will make a meaningful difference as the game develops. If we want to call this a distraction (which its not) - I love this distraction, it makes my account more competitive - so thankyou! But hey, its not Phase-2 so lets leave it at that and get our heads back in the game.
Summing up all this - Failure to deliver? Well I think the delivery has actually re-started/ re-booted. Let E2 set the foundations of all it can be - the best blockchain integrated metaverse, the size of a planet. Its one thing to change the architecture of a house but needs a completely different level of effort and time to do that for a whole new virtual planet. I'm not saying speed is not of essence, but its more important to get the new architecture right and focus on the right priorities. So we will have to be just a little more accommodative when we want an entire god damn planet delivered - albeit new and improved!
ZEU$ out.
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