Changing to Platinum...? (A)

[Medievalia2000]

I can't recall the instructions for how to change to platinum and can't find the notice either. Could someone refresh my memory please?  

[Ishnia]

of course! go under "my gaia: account settings"
and scroll down to general settings

the option should be right under footer display
 

[Medievalia2000]

Ishnia

Thanks, Ishnia! I don't know why I didn't see it the first time I looked but thanks to you I couldn't miss it! smile  

[Ishnia]

NorRainForest

Thanks, Ishnia! I don't know why I didn't see it the first time I looked but thanks to you I couldn't miss it! smile

haha, it happens! i'm happy to help  

[Galactic Pretty Boy]

I'm a returning user after like 5ish or more years gone, I don't understand the platinum switch... I feel shortchanged after the conversion? All my accounts have a flat 500 and everything is still expensive it seems in the marketplace... confused  

[Medievalia2000]

Galactic Pretty Boy

I'm a returning user after like 5ish or more years gone, I don't understand the platinum switch... I feel shortchanged after the conversion? All my accounts have a flat 500 and everything is still expensive it seems in the marketplace... confused

It can be disheartening to see your gold tally expressed in terms of platinum because it looks like so much less than when you see it expressed as gold. You can still use gold if you prefer. If you look down the first column of your settings page you can change your preference. Changing to Plat has done absolutely nothing to stop ever rising inflation. Not sure but it might have actually made it easier for inflation to grow. I'm told that the Plat change over was not meant to handle inflation, only to make it easier to express in digits as it grows, lol!  

[Galactic Pretty Boy]

Auriga La Shock

Galactic Pretty Boy

I'm a returning user after like 5ish or more years gone, I don't understand the platinum switch... I feel shortchanged after the conversion? All my accounts have a flat 500 and everything is still expensive it seems in the marketplace... confused

Oh boy, you missed quite a lot =O I'll try to keep this short and simple.

During the years you were gone, there was a huge amount of inflation. Nowadays, if you stay in gold currency, you'll see that the amounts are in the billions and trillions. In order to give an alternative to those who didn't like dealing with all those zeroes (six, nine, or twelve of them), Gaia created platinum. Platinum just converts gold into smaller numbers to get rid of that old hassle.

You might feel shortchanged simply because of the fact that you've been gone for so long, and thus your old gold count is poor compared to today's standards. The platinum change, making that already low number even smaller, is probably what's rubbing you the wrong way. Just remember that although the numbers are smaller, you get more money using platinum rather than gold.

Once you start posting, voting in polls, playing games, etc you'll find it pretty easy to get platinum. Those expensive prices your seeing in the MP eventually won't look as intimidating. And don't discount the gold shops. There's still really good items in there that are super cheap.


tl;dr
It's just a visual thing that you're not used to. Platinum is pretty easy to make once you start actively using the site.

Even after recovering my accounts it feels like items I had of what I thought were valuable are really cheap now.  

[Galactic Pretty Boy]

Auriga La Shock

Galactic Pretty Boy

Even after recovering my accounts it feels like items I had of what I thought were valuable are really cheap now.

Unless the items you had were 03 items (Angelic halo, OMG, etc), then they probably have deflated a lot over the years. There could be multiple reasons for this, so it really depends on the item. Most likely, however, they decreased in price because they are visually less appealing than the newer items. You'll notice that the items being released today have better shading gradients, arm/body mods, and so on.

I see... It also looks like a lot of old stuff can be alchemized? now...  

[Galactic Pretty Boy]

Auriga La Shock

Galactic Pretty Boy

I see... It also looks like a lot of old stuff can be alchemized? now...

Not too many, but yeah they did release some formulas for a few items. You'd have to check the bifrost to see which ones.

Some old items do get released in bundles (four or five items you can purchase at once, usually created in a certain theme), so that's brought more quantity back into items that for whatever reason became scarce in the MP.

Is it just me or does the user base feel more dead as well...

Sorry for the of topic sweatdrop  

[Galactic Pretty Boy]

Auriga La Shock

Galactic Pretty Boy

Is it just me or does the user base feel more dead as well...

Sorry for the of topic sweatdrop

The site usually gets pretty quiet at certain times of day. Right now it's pretty late so there aren't that many on. But yeah, in general the community has definitely gotten smaller over the years and we really do need a wave of new users for the site. Gaia has to do some more advertisements for people. We're speculating that they'll do that once they get the mobile app up and running. For the time being, don't let it discourage you. There's a really strong group of users that visit and use the site daily.

lol It's fine. I don't think the OP will mind. Besides, this is the questions and answers forum of the guild. I have to head to bed for now, but if you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to message or quote me. I'll get back to you tomorrow (or later today, idk what your time zone is).

Goodnight and thank you for the help. It's weird feeling like a new user lol