GF isn't a fan of paying for entrance - though I personally see the appeal. Until now I have never gotten a positive answer for such a request.
Before DM, yes, commander and advertisment. Back then enough money was made via these. But GF was much, much smaller, more money was given via advertisment, and there were more players per universe.
They tried a legacy uni without DM awhile back, it failed miserably. Game Forge has spoiled the players with rapid release of new unis and fresh starts for people that don't make it to the top right away when unis first start. The attrition rate for new unis is ridiculous, as is the decision making processes that GF makes (from a players point of view) with managing existing unis and mergers.
The most successful (in terms of longevity and active players) uni settings have been 1x fleet combined with different speed settings for ECO and RES. Hell, pre-merge Dorado as a 1x all around uni was actually doing better comparatively to speed unis that came after it. Post merge Dorado is an apocalyptic wasteland now...thanks Game Forge.
Not too mention, the disastrous effect that the Disco pirates/aliens had on new unis and the disastrous effect of spamming metal mines, spamming the RES metal packages, and merching it has had. Players, new and old alike see that the top 5 is in the millions, if not hundreds of millions within the first week or so and they lose interest altogether. Then there is the inability of Game Forge to effectively counter scripters and multi accounts.
There is no level playing field in oGame, never has been...even in the old days. In the old days it was he who spent the most time, and spent that time wisely and effectively, rose to the top. Just like you have people complaining about DM abuse now, you actually had people complaining that people had no life or were able to spend more time on oGame than they were. You also had multi account abuse and pushing back then just as you do now.
You are stuck with DM abuse, there is no way around it...this is a business, they need to generate revenue and they don't care that you miss the old days. Play the game as it's presented to you or move on. And it's obvious they don't really pay much attention to what people as for on stomt, or we'd see the market place back with all the stomt comments that have been made about it.
Yes it is a business but ogame has way less players now then back in the days. Im going through the new things currently and i cannot grasp all these new storage packs buys, moonshoots, energy packs and things. It should be a game after all, not a click and enjoy. The class thing is ok i guess. As for the scripting and bots, I would say due to the all new unis that open each month it is hard for the staff to keep track.
Display MoreDisplay More
Display More
Sadly this won't happen.
These days any attempts of having this for free are not granted. Any changes made, any new thing cost developer time thus money, and you can bet that it is expected to bring in more money than it costs.
That said I don't think you are wrong with your wish. It would be nice if there could be a universe like that, less DM options.
Perhaps it could be suggested a uni without the option to buy resource packs but all other DM options are available ?
maybe propose both? DM free uni with just a sub for commanders and a uni with no res packs indeed.
AFAIK in the old days, before DM existed, that was the way to go. And you just had Commander. To make a queue and have empire view. Not even Tactical retreat existed.
Yeah, there wasn't any DM or items, there wasn't even officers, it was just commander and it only gave you a few QoL bonuses, its been a long while but IIRC it was
1) empire view
2) building queue
3) removed ads
4) things like attack from galaxy view, etc
it was 100% nothing that really impacted the game, just made it a bit nicer to play/saved you a little time. Everything was earned at the same rates for everyone, built at the same rate for everyone, etc. This meant that it was a fair and balanced playing field.
We also had GMs that were highly active and would heavily police pushing or rule breaking to maintain that fair play.
Display MoreDisplay MoreDisplay MoreDisplay MoreSadly this won't happen.
These days any attempts of having this for free are not granted. Any changes made, any new thing cost developer time thus money, and you can bet that it is expected to bring in more money than it costs.
That said I don't think you are wrong with your wish. It would be nice if there could be a universe like that, less DM options.
Perhaps it could be suggested a uni without the option to buy resource packs but all other DM options are available ?
maybe propose both? DM free uni with just a sub for commanders and a uni with no res packs indeed.
AFAIK in the old days, before DM existed, that was the way to go. And you just had Commander. To make a queue and have empire view. Not even Tactical retreat existed.
Yeah, there wasn't any DM or items, there wasn't even officers, it was just commander and it only gave you a few QoL bonuses, its been a long while but IIRC it was
1) empire view
2) building queue
3) removed ads
4) things like attack from galaxy view, etc
it was 100% nothing that really impacted the game, just made it a bit nicer to play/saved you a little time. Everything was earned at the same rates for everyone, built at the same rate for everyone, etc. This meant that it was a fair and balanced playing field.
We also had GMs that were highly active and would heavily police pushing or rule breaking to maintain that fair play.
Yeah, have a recicle button for the action page and have the possibility to probe moons. Yeah yeah yeah. That was it.
They were always checking the logs.
GF isn't a fan of paying for entrance - though I personally see the appeal. Until now I have never gotten a positive answer for such a request.
Before DM, yes, commander and advertisment. Back then enough money was made via these. But GF was much, much smaller, more money was given via advertisment, and there were more players per universe.
One could argue that DM has caused less players to play; swings and roundabouts.
I only play 1 Uni now and I always felt I had a chance of reaching rank #1 - not a hope in Sombrero, that chap's CreditCard is not an issue for him.
They tried a legacy uni without DM awhile back, it failed miserably.
Sorry for jumping in , but where was that 
Lets be realistic. Uni without resource packages would be a huge success for normal players. I'd even delete these resource packages completely and give only as rewards in events
Display MoreGF isn't a fan of paying for entrance - though I personally see the appeal. Until now I have never gotten a positive answer for such a request.
Before DM, yes, commander and advertisment. Back then enough money was made via these. But GF was much, much smaller, more money was given via advertisment, and there were more players per universe.
One could argue that DM has caused less players to play; swings and roundabouts.
I only play 1 Uni now and I always felt I had a chance of reaching rank #1 - not a hope in Sombrero, that chap's CreditCard is not an issue for him.
I have always believed that some form of payment for this game was inevitable since any company that produces games needs funding, be it simply advertising or in-game bonuses. I have accepted that I will never reach the top rank, but what I would like to see are two high score lists, one for everyone, but then a separate one for people who do not buy dark matter, or use less than a certain amount of dm each month. I know this will not happen either, but I would like to see it. 
They tried a legacy uni without DM awhile back, it failed miserably.
Sorry for jumping in , but where was that
It was a few years ago. A now former developer has created a server of an OGame vversion from many years ago. But there were some bugs, it was slow, and even though many people joined, they stopped playing and many became inactive.
I agree some people left OGame because of the pay features, and I personally think some less would be better. But it isn't the only reason for a dwindling playerbase. Old game, only one of many browsergames, many bugs and mistakes made, etc etc
It is what it is now ... love to see You and few ,yet, people here and my friends ...concerning this game itself... well there is some promising clone without bugs and with some interesting new features
This new play style ....pay a lot /insane amounts of money to win is pretty strange - what kind of weird transaction is that when You give a lot of real profit/money for a virtual profit/res 
... and post hits with bought fleets that nobody cares for except 2-3 personal friends while ruining others people game/ competition
Anyway, have a nice time Cassandra 
and Happy New Year to You and to all
