...we removed platinum from the game. That material is not currently used for crafting, but just used as a money making machine, so we prefer to avoid it until the economy is more stable.
Hold the phone. That makes no sense at all to me. The only purpose for platinum IS for making money, ingame or in real life. There is no useful 'craft' you can make with it in a medieval setting. High tech, yes, but not dark ages stuff. So, going by that, unless you plan on making jewelry and plat gilding part of the crafting system eventually, platinum would be useless in the game in an IC manner. No one would want it. But removing it now is just going to force more folks to 'camp spawns'.
In roleplay terms, the mining of materials and not turning them into a product is very realistic. Most raw stock is sent off to a place that specializes in purifying it, then it is shipped back. Therefore, not all materials need to have an immediate use. The thought of a blacksmith mining his own stock, smelting it, crafting it into a product, then selling it himself is a ridiculous concept at best.
In another note, combat is used for not much more than a money making machine as well. Should that be removed as well? But then, that would negate this game's purpose as a MMOPPG, wouldn't it?
