suggestions

I saw someone who suggested that it should be removed entirely, so you should be able to shift the stars where you want at any time. I think this doesn't deserve enough attention, so i made a new thread.

I think this should be removed too, or at least be reduced. For new(ish) players that have bought stars and want to play on more bots it is easier for them to move stars around. Also for the old(er) player it quite useful, often you just need stars for a day (or 2) on a bot because armour broke or for freaking.

Also a thought is, when you have the meta account thingy, that you can move stars around freely between your bots in the meta account and a waiting time if you move stars to another player/meta account

Any thoughts on this Ender?

I think every player is gonna like this kinda idea... but it devalues the purchasing of more stars... so it probably isn't gonna be implemented simply because it helps disincentivize purchasing as many stars.

But, yeah... if you have stars then you'd like this...

Mixed I suppose, obviously it's just strictly better for anyone with stars that they use and want to move, but it does devalue them and would make probably a lot less be bought in future.

I mean, it sorta makes any initial stars more valuable. If the playerbase was a bunch of new players coming in and it incentivized those purchases then it might actually be more revenue for Ender in at least the short term. With playerbase being what it is though? I just don't see the idea being very realistic for something he'd want to do.

Good idea... just, yeah. Competing interests of the gamers and game itself, imo.

I think this is a good idea (at least reducing the time lock time frame as 5 days does seem like a lot and quite harsh) though it was mentioned that removing the time lock completely reduces the values of multiple stars greatly as if you can move them freely you would only need a certain amount to cover all your activities.

I'd propose a reduction to 48 or 72 hours would seem reasonable for those with a lack of abundance of stars.

tl;dr: Not planning to make this change at this time.

Thanks Peet for the suggestion and to everyone else for the discussion/revival of it. I understand the appeal of this idea from a QoL perspective. Being able to move stars more freely would certainly make managing bots for short-term needs, like equipping a bot or freaking, much more convenient.

However, my primary concern with significantly reducing or removing the timelock is how it would affect game balance and the "pay to win" aspect of stars. The existing 5 day waiting period, while sometimes inconvenient, creates friction that intentionally limits the power of a single set of stars. If they could be moved instantly or even daily, a player could use the same small pool of stars to expand stash space, bypass showroom camping even further, and get these benefits across many different bots almost simultaneously (or much more frequently). This would dramatically magnify the competitive advantage granted by owning stars, pushing the game in a direction I'm very cautious about.

Looking at the game's long-term health, my current focus is on making the game more fun, competitive, and balanced for everyone first. If and when I consider new ways for players to support the game financially, my preference is to explore features that lean more towards cosmetics, rather than amplifying existing mechanics that provide a direct competitive advantage. That's not to say that's completely off-limits, but I want to be very careful and intentional about anything that provides direct benefit.

On a related note for one of the key benefits of stars, avoiding having to camp the showroom, I also want to remind everyone that the game's IRC bot, Jane, can help with this by automatically stocking items for you periodically. I know most if not all of the people that have replied here are aware of this, but maybe some readers have not. And while this doesn't address the stash space benefit, it's a useful tool that many players already take advantage of for gearing up bots.

So, while I appreciate the suggestion, due to the significant impact it would have on game balance for paying vs. non-paying players, this isn't a change I'm planning to make at this time.