I realize that this update reduces earnings, and I know I wouldn't love that if I were in your shoes. I am always bummed when Splinterlands, for example, make changes to their game that make it harder and harder to earn anything.
Unlike Splinterlands however, I am just one developer, so even though the game so far isn't making much more than to cover the server costs, it doesn't need to pay a whole company's salary. As a passion project, I intend to keep it going indefinitely, even if I end up losing money at the end of the day.
Having said that, one of the most challenging things about a p2e game is keeping the game economy healthy and the token price steady, for the good of all participants. It's a constant balancing act, and pretty much every p2e game I've studied has had to make periodic updates to try to maintain this balance.
In this case, my projections show that while things are going great at this early stage (DCORE price had been steadily increasing), I needed to make a gameplay change to reduce future price pressure on DCORE. I wanted to make sure this got done earlier than later, at which point it is often too late, if other Hive blockchain games have taught me anything.
I can't promise that I won't have to make similar decisions in the future, because I want to maintain the games' economic health for everyone's benefit. However, I will say that I have absolutely no plans currently to make additional changes that reduce earnings. The Insanity mechanic is it for now.
My next updates will all be quality of life improvements, and any monetization plans I have in the near future involve giving players more choice to ultimately increase their earnings, as opposed to limiting earning potential even further.
Thank you for your honest feedback, I do appreciate you taking the time to share your point of view!
I was more thinking of me moving up levels than earnings.
Then we should talk about ensuring you token maintains some value.