ROYAL RUBY • NIGHTCLUB • BEHEMOTH/PRIMAL

[Keramory]

My experience at these nightclubs/tavern:

Barkeep: Yeah it'll be 5k for our special cocktail

Me: Okay. *trades 5k for... an apple juice?* Da heck?

[Saefinn]

Kind of tangenting a little but while we're talking about paying in gil while at RP venues, I personally have never been to one that DOESN'T make you pay with real gil. If "free" venues exist, they are few and far between. I've seen prices ranging from 3k-500k+ for certain services (not including ERP cause that's a whole other beast). I consider myself to be well off in the game and don't mind spreading the gil around, but asking for 500k for unlimited fake drinks for the night is robbery. Just being honest.

I also feel that a lot of people are getting into running venues because of how much gil people do make if their venue is popular, like without even having any love for roleplay at all. It's kind of sad/gross in my opinion to profit off a community you don't even recognize yourself as part of. But that's just my take on it.

I see you're on Aether and OP is on Primal. This could explain it. I'm on Crystal and Crystal houses Balmung, which has always been the "defacto" RP server (except back in 1.0 when it was Besaid before it merged) and it has spread out to other servers on the data center like Mateus and Zalera. So the core of the RP community is here. Which I guess means you're much more likely to find venues who do it for the sake of RP.

My guess then is people on other data centres realised you can make money off of RP venues? Which makes me wonder if it's legit RP too, because it sounds like RP as a means to an end.

But this may explain why in the space of the last year or so we've been seeing more people trying to pay us real gil at our FC's tavern night, we ended up putting a disclaimer on our menu. It makes me wonder then if there are some that charge on my data centre too.

But I agree, it's robbery. Heck, 300k for a chance to win a mogstation item feels steep to me. I can understand maybe paying something for a chance to win.

However, every one that I've attended in all my years on Balmung I've never been charged for a drink with real gil. I suppose if people figure out you can make money, there's somebody out there to exploit it and it's harder to exploit on a server/datacentre where there's people already doing it for free because they're in it for the RP.
But again, I can understand an immersion thing, but I'd maybe expect up to 500gil max so that's it an inconsequential amount. But 5k for an apple juice, 10k for a steak, 500k all you can drink. It's a bit much.

[LianaThorne]

However, every one that I've attended in all my years on Balmung I've never been charged for a drink with real gil. I suppose if people figure out you can make money, there's somebody out there to exploit it and it's harder to exploit on a server/datacentre where there's people already doing it for free because they're in it for the RP.

Yeahhhhhhhh, Aether's RP scene is full on "pay real gil or get out". Actually had someone that used to be a friend tell me his FC wanted to open an RP venue solely for the purpose of making easy gil because his members were too lazy to make it any other way. Most likely gonna involve ERP in it because, of course. As far as I know of they haven't opened yet but are in the midst of getting their estate ready. It's just...*sigh*.

[Saefinn]

Yeahhhhhhhh, Aether's RP scene is full on "pay real gil or get out". Actually had someone that used to be a friend tell me his FC wanted to open an RP venue solely for the purpose of making easy gil because his members were too lazy to make it any other way. Most likely gonna involve ERP in it because, of course. As far as I know of they haven't opened yet but are in the midst of getting their estate ready. It's just...*sigh*.

Oh jeez, that sounds dire then, it can't be very good RP if people see it as a lazy way to make money. Makes sense how I saw some people compare RP ads in the PF to gil & content run sellers. I mean, I knew that people selling ERP was a thing.

My "lazy" method is map parties. It's easy money when you've got a group of you.

[Keramory]

Yeahhhhhhhh, Aether's RP scene is full on "pay real gil or get out". Actually had someone that used to be a friend tell me his FC wanted to open an RP venue solely for the purpose of making easy gil because his members were too lazy to make it any other way. Most likely gonna involve ERP in it because, of course. As far as I know of they haven't opened yet but are in the midst of getting their estate ready. It's just...*sigh*.

Old man here, so I don't know if this is an okay question for 2021, but does anyone who ERP ever question exactly this? That probably the cat girl in a swimsuit dancing is just some dude behind the monitor trying to get quick cash? Does that bother people? After several nights of spending alone time with the Au'ra named Candy, how would you feel if one day you just get a message of "Btw my name's Frank". Do you then question things about yourself? Just seems like opening yourself up to some weird times.

[Theodric]

My experience at these nightclubs/tavern:

Barkeep: Yeah it'll be 5k for our special cocktail

Me: Okay. *trades 5k for... an apple juice?* Da heck?

Is it really so profitable?

I'm half tempted to remodel my mansion in Lavender Beds and open it up as a restaurant. I could use more gil for Endwalker.

Back when I role-played, any monetary exchanges were done through emotes as it was seen as unfair and predatory to exchange actual money when everything else was 'playing pretend'. How times change, I guess...

[Archpoet]

I’ve sat patiently and respectfully by, all the while maintaining a professional demeanor, as this community has alternated back and forth between defending our right to exist and tearing us apart for our supposed depravity. Some of you have posted well thought out responses both for and against the RP venue concept, for and against posting about it in General Discussion, posting about it period, and all in between.



Further, some would suspect a nefarious scheme behind the scenes in the RP venue community at large, or at the Ruby specifically. To those, I would say this:



We decided early on that, any personal feelings aside, ERP did not belong in an upscale establishment such as we were planning the Royal Ruby to be. And in the planning stage, we did a lot of very recent research into other venues, their offerings, menu, pricing and presentation, and we adjusted ours accordingly so as to be commensurate of the highest quality RP immersive experience that we could possibly offer as a nightclub and fine dining restaurant. Additionally, our raffles are not RNG based insomuch that every night we have a raffle, someone wins. Yes, you enter for a chance to win, but it is not further limited by having to roll > 95. In this way, it is a true raffle, unlike most other venues, whose raffles are actually lotteries. It is the experience you’re paying for, just like in real life, and the prices are tailored to attract a certain type of customer. Even so, they are market value and in line with several other venues. We’re covering costs, and dividing up the gil between the employees based on hours worked per diem, also like real life. As I said, it’s as professional and immersive as we can make it.


The research and planning paid off in that it allowed us to quickly ingratiate ourselves as a high quality brand to the RP community, and because we actually do deliver a high quality experience, we’ve been very successful at providing an upscale RP venue thus far. After only two nights, we had customers tell us that they’ve “never experienced anything like this anywhere else in the game.” So, then, as in real life, I must insist that you do not call up the 5-star restaurant to tell them that their prix fixe menu prices are too high, because you can get Kobe beef cheaper at Sam’s Club— it lacks tact.


For those of a mind to, I invite you to suspend your incredulity, your disbelief, your judgements, and imagine with me that the RP venue community is more than RP prostitution, and gil laundering and racketeering fronts for the RP Mafia, and that it can definitely legitimately exist outside of the Crystal/Aether* datacenter, and outside of all of your expectations.

[Saefinn]

Old man here, so I don't know if this is an okay question for 2021, but does anyone who ERP ever question exactly this? That probably the cat girl in a swimsuit dancing is just some dude behind the monitor trying to get quick cash? Does that bother people? After several nights of spending alone time with the Au'ra named Candy, how would you feel if one day you just get a message of "Btw my name's Frank". Do you then question things about yourself? Just seems like opening yourself up to some weird times.

There's more than one type of ERPer. What you're thinking of would be on the cybersex end of things, where both parties are playing an avatar of themselves, so they're making the connection with the play. But I guess it would be more like it is with internet dating, if you're getting intimate with somebody you expect them to be honest, but people aren't always and is why cat fishing on dating sites is a thing.
But it's not all cybersex. Generally when it comes to roleplay, whether ERP or regular RP a lot of people will have divide between themselves and their character, because they're writing a character and not inserting themselves into a character (I realise my phrasing here is unfortunate) by which point it's more like writing & reading erotica.

snip

As you claim "the highest immersive experience", I feel like that opens me up to be more nitpicky, as a lore conscious RPer who not only runs a venue, but attends many, sees people's IC prices and has been a very active member for years.

I feel like how pricing is approached would reduce the immersive experience. They feel really high for Eorzean standards. The most expensive steak you can buy from a vendor is less than 500gil.

I get that kobe beef can be extremely expensive. But it's not kobe beef you're selling, it's dzo steak you're selling. Kobe beef is expensive because of how the cows are bred and raised. Dzo are free roaming and live in abundance on the Azim steppe and they're huge animals with a lot of meat. They're not an expensive animal, else the Xaela of the Azim steppe would be rich.

But you're doing 5 star Gourmet, so it'd be fair to price it higher. Looking online, I can get one for £40 at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. A local restaurant to me sells steak for £12. So I'd probably expect your mark up to be closer to what a Gordan Ramsay restaurant would serve or other pricey restaurants, as opposed to kobe beef prices.


And taking it a step further, it requires real gil. The issue with that, hypothetically speak, what if I was playing a filthy rich character who buys the everybody at the bar a drink? But as a player I only have 50,000 gil? I am restricted as to what I can do.

So you can see why this feels very alien and suspect and maybe even exploitative to me.

I feel like going by other people's experiences listed here that your market research is based on other RP venues seeing RP as a means to make money. It's your prerogative, but it feels wrong to me to turn RP into a means of making bank instead of doing it for the RP. And on a data centre or server where it seems there's not a lot compared to say, Balmung, it feels exploitative. I'd probably encourage any serious RPers on those data centres to come to Crystal. We have lots of venues where people offer great immersive experiences without charging.

[LianaThorne]

We decided early on that, any personal feelings aside, ERP did not belong in an upscale establishment such as we were planning the Royal Ruby to be. And in the planning stage, we did a lot of very recent research into other venues, their offerings, menu, pricing and presentation, and we adjusted ours accordingly so as to be commensurate of the highest quality RP immersive experience that we could possibly offer as a nightclub and fine dining restaurant. Additionally, our raffles are not RNG based insomuch that every night we have a raffle, someone wins. Yes, you enter for a chance to win, but it is not further limited by having to roll > 95. In this way, it is a true raffle, unlike most other venues, whose raffles are actually lotteries. It is the experience you’re paying for, just like in real life, and the prices are tailored to attract a certain type of customer. Even so, they are market value and in line with several other venues. We’re covering costs, and dividing up the gil between the employees based on hours worked per diem, also like real life. As I said, it’s as professional and immersive as we can make it.

I assume you mean the kind of customer that happens to have a lot of gil if you're charging a 300k to participate in a raffle (please keep in mind that the majority of players in FF don't have over 2m gil at any one point so you're potentially robbing someone of a good chunk of their savings) and upwards of 10k for a steak that will ultimately go to waste unless said person leaves right away to go make use of the buffs it comes with.

Just to also put it in perspective, the best food you can get in the game for legitimate purposes doesn't even come close to the price you're putting on them per serving. You're overpricing by half or more than half. So, saying you're pricing by market value is a bit of stretch when it comes to your menu.

Edit: Actually decided to look at Primal's market prices because I don't like to talk without having proof and yeah, you're overpricing by WAY more than half for your 10k drink (cheapest is 1.5k per at the moment for HQ). Trying to say you're going off market value is a legit lie now.

You can say you're trying to capitalize off the rich people, it's not a big deal. It's just awkward when you say "a certain type" when it's obvious with what you're asking for/what your website shows on the menu and is a part of what makes me question your motives. Also, your VIP service is 100k, you're not hiding it at all (and yes, I also think that's robbery charging people 100k for items they could literally get for 90% cheaper off the MB).

Also, legitimate question, what do you think you're offering to deserve someone to drop at least 400k on your venue in a night? I love to go out to venues with my boyfriend and blow gil but if you're asking for me to drop that much, what sets you apart from the other 10+ venues that are also upscale and do the same thing that you do?

[Zomkei]

Goodness. 300k for a raffle and 100k a month for a ... 3 course virtual meal? I'm very much for RP and RP venues, but this seems highly over priced. You better be giving a stack of HQ current tier raid food for that price lol.