The Philosophy of Xgold (The Economics of 3dxchat)

Introduction

Most multiplayer online games have an in game currency and many have multiple currencies. There's gold, silver, xp, steel, oil, dubloons, etc. You name it, it's a resource.

It's easy to see why game designers do it as well. In game currencies provide players something to strive for in a way that's easy to implement.  It needs the simplest of accounting systems to manage and the in game resources often provide players with options on how they spend it so essentially, they reward themselves. It doesn't involve the balancing that a tech tree involves for example.

The other benefit of an in-game currency is it can be linked to a real world currency making it a possible revenue stream as players purchase the currency to accelerate the process of obtaining the benefits.

Xgold

The in-game currency for 3dxchat is Xgold and that's it. There's just a single currency and  it accumulates over time via logins. A daily login accumulates it at the rate of up to 300 per day.  Purchases of xgold are available for real world money and the purchases are one way - not surprising as they give it away for logging in.

Xgold has a number of limitations, though in some respects, view these less as limitations and more design decisions. 

The first and most obvious is that there's no way to gift existing xgold on your account to another player's account. You can purchase xgold for other players and we'll come back to this but the implications of being unable to gift (or more accurately, trade) xgold in game has a number of implications.

First is that there's a limited in game economy which I have to say is a good thing. Trading in game currency for goods and services from other players may seem like a good thing but in a game like 3dxchat, that's likely to end up in one place - prostitution. There's some prostitution in 3dxchat but from what I've seen (and I haven't explored it in detail yet) it seems fairly limited and low level. Contrast this with a game like Achat where A$ can be exchanged and there, prostitution is not just common, it's mature and well refined. In 3dxchat, apart from a few brave souls who ask for the purchase of xgold, most escorts (as prostitutes on 3dxchat seem to refer to themselves) require payment in gifts. Given gifts have no further on-trade value, they represent the termination point for the expenditure of in game currency which means the value provided to the escort is simply one of status. 

My limited experience with escorts are that they don't have the same level of maturity or refinement as in a game with a freely tradable currency. When I have spoken to them some talked in indistinct terms about what they will do with gifts. In one case when I took it to the level of transaction, I get what for what, they went silent. Contrast this with negotiation in Achat where it's X A$ will give Y services for Z period of time. To be honest, sometimes it feels that 3dxchat escorts are hustling rather than escorting. Some are specific on their profile and I can only assume that's the benefit of experience.

 

The two areas that 3dxchat allows you to spend xgold are for profile and Identity.

Xgold and Profile

Spending for profile takes the form of gifts, where I expect most xgold gets used. Obviously the gift more enhances the profile of the receiver than the giver, although it can be used as a way to pay for services. Players with high gift counts are obviously longer in game than those with lower.

Profile can also be enhanced for rooms with 300 xgold (a day's login wages) can boost the ranking of the room. 

Enhancing profile using xgold is really the only way xgold can be applied in a way that affects other players (either their profile or the ranking of their rooms). In both of these cases, the spending is terminal, the xgold consumed and no longer in the system. The resulting benefit cannot be transferred onwards.

Xgold and Identity

A more costly place to spend xgold is on identity either enhancing the name tag of the player, altering the name and gender of the avatar or establishing an additional avatar. These are purely actions where users can only affect their own account and therefore consume in game currency without any opportunity to generate an onwards transaction or further in game economic activity.

Subscription versus Micro-transactions

While we are at it, xgold is a much more limited resource than A$ in Achat in terms of what you can do with it. Again I personally consider this a good thing. In 3dxchat, you pay a subscription and you get access to 100% of the wearables, 100% of the body modifications, 100% of the actions. Achat you get very limited starting amounts of each and then are expected to make up the rest in micropayments. To top it off, there's no in game source for A$ except other players. I thoroughly recommend the 3dxchat approach.

Summing this up

It feels that 3dxchat is driven by the subscription model rather than an unpleasant Micro-transaction model. Overall, you can get into the game a lot faster given all of the in-game options are available to you. The lack of ability to transfer xgold and the lack of Micro-transactions makes me feel that the subscription model is what drives the game meaning players can jump in to the full virtual world experience much more quickly.

The Philosophy of Colds (It's not about you, It's all about them)

I've been visiting colds rooms quite a bit. They fascinate me, not just because of the promise of easy sex but also the human side of it. As I've been told a few times now, behind every avatar is a real human. Now, granted, that human could have been AFK for several hours and be so close to an NPC or bot that's it's indistinguishable, but, it was a human decision that attached them to that pole to start with (stripper poles attract AFK players).

About Colds Rooms

An early observation I made about colds rooms is they are very busy. Actually, not always busy but the busiest rooms in 3dxchat usually includes a colds friendly room or two. 

There's several types of colds friendly rooms, the first and usually most popular are what I'd call blended rooms. There's a mixture of areas and usually that includes a dancefloor. The Bassment is a perfect example of a blended colds room with the dancefloor usually having the most people. These rooms tend to do well as the dance floor pushes the overall numbers up. 

In these rooms, especially the Bassment, the colds aspect seems to be an enhancement for the entertainment of the dancers. Avatars may go there with no intention of accepting cold invites but presumably enjoy the atmosphere. 

The second type is a dedicated colds room designed just for fucking. Here, there's not really any areas that would seem to have distinctive uses. These rooms often have a large amount of seating, beds, stripper poles and even some BDSM elements. Frequently these rooms are a lot smaller than blended types. Even the largest of these, such as the Nude Apartment, have the main interaction in a small area.

What are Colds

How colds work. At the simplest, a cold is a request to partner with no prior communication. Usually these are frowned on with many profiles proclaiming 'no colds'. It's generally accepted that in most rooms colds are actually pretty rude and antisocial. Colds rooms essentially give licence to this otherwise undesirable behavior. That doesn't mean people who don't like them suddenly do. It merely means people who go there know colds are more likely.

And that's the crux of understanding colds is understanding why someone came to that room. For blended rooms, there's a good chance they are there for some other reason and the presence of colds adds to the atmosphere. If they aren't heading into a colds zone, any request is unlikely to work.

For dedicated fuck rooms, it's a little simpler but the person may be there to meet someone, have a kink that doesn't include your skin color or simply be there out of curiosity.

Fuckdoll Colds

First thing to check is name and profile. For example, I met a cold, FeeuseCumBunny which is a name that most definitely invites colds. A quick check on her profile showed that there waa even a running count of colds making FreeuseCumBunny is a pretty safe bed for a partner request. She may have refused if she was about to log off, in a discussion she wanted to carry on but generally, a partner request would probably land. So how do I deal with these types of cold?

In this situation, my approach is:

1. Quickly scan the profile to decide a message

2. Send the partner request

3. Send the message

4. If the partner request is accepted, choose a pose that has either her hard or mouth on dick (but avoid throat fucking) to make intention clear but give scope to progress

The reason to send the partner request is that, in a lot of times, the girl is already hanging off a dick by the time the message is sent. 

Non Fuckdoll Colds

If there's an avatar with a more conventional name that you're looking to assess, then check for context. Clothing, location, and position. I'd recommend look for at least two out of three.

Clothing to look for includes any clothes that exposes intimate skin such as breasts, ass or pussy. Other items to look out for are lingerie or no clothing at all.

Location is simple, is the avatar in a colds area? Look for proximity to other couples fucking. Girls on a stripper pole can be a good sign, just slip into a couch in front of them. Be aware that stripper poles are a favorite hangout of escorts or afk players. Escorts are easy to spot from their profile. AFK players are simply a case of deciding when you've waited long enough.

Position, is also a good sign. There's a few poses that have a bit more allure to them and that can be a sign that there's an available cold. 

If at least two of the three are clearly present, my approach is:

1. Quickly scan the profile to decide a message

2. Send the partner request

3. Send the message

4. If the partner request is accepted, choose a foreplay pose, hand on dick usually works

Otherwise, if it's not as clear then my approach is:

1. Quickly scan the profile to decide a message

2. Send the message

3. Send the partner request

4. If the partner request is accepted, start with a non intimate foreplay, sitting on a couch together is good

If only one of the indicators is present, then I:

1. read profile

2. send message and then

3. follow the direction of the conversation

Rejection

Rejection happens. If the cold isn't accepted, move on and be nice about it. There's no point burning a bridge just to feel better about rejection. Again, it's probably about them rather than you. Perhaps they are already in conversation, afk, need to log off soon or are looking for a partner with different physical  attributes.

If you can't wish them well, then move on. Don't forget, if your intention for handling rejection is to piss them off, you'll not only burn any bridges the them, you're probably burning bridges with their social community. 

Conclusion

Really what I've found is that it's best to use the evidence presented to identify the best approach.  It really is about them. Now people who have beem playing longer than I may have information to add and I'd welcome hearing any but this approach seems to work best based on my experience. 

Taranada: Hot Porn Slut in from the Cold

In from the cold

TaraNada was a cold from The Bassment. I first saw her standing near the entrance halted just outside the room where all the other colds were fucking, perhaps deciding whether to go in. She looked incredible, her brunette hair framing her gorgeous face. Her slim body was covered by a white t-shirt on top of a sexy short mini-skirt that gave an amazing view of her long legs. Legs that were wrapped delightfully in pink fishnet stockings.

I colded her hitting her with a partner request then sent a message, "wow, you look amazing." Pretty basic opening lines but in the world of colds, speed is everything.

She accepted my partner request and replied, "thank you."

An accepted partner request and a reply in chat in a colds room is good start and the important thing is to keep it moving. I send a pose that had took us to the couch in the public fucking zone within the Bassment. She accepted, and within a few seconds, I was sitting on the couch, hands on hair, her head in my lap and my cock deep in her mouth. Unfortunately the little mini-skirt disappeared in the pose change because she looked amazing in it.

She also looked amazing in what was left and I told her so. "I love your choice of outfit," she said.

"Normally I wear something a lot more slutty," she replied.

"It's super sexy just how it is," I replied. You look incredible. 

I changed position, kneeling on the couch, TaraNada on all fours in front of me sucking me off. 

"I want to see more of you," I said. "Take your shirt off and let's see."

TaraNada took off her shirt exposing the fishnet stockings that went all the way up to her tits. He body was clean and graceful with amazing curves. I looked at the angles and curves as she sucked me.  "I'd love to take you on a photoshoot," I said, admiring her.

That piqued her interest, "what's that?" she asked. 

"I have a blog and I have a photoshoot on it, a girl by the beach," I said. I gave her the address to look it up. "You're body is amazing, I'm sure it would look good."

"I've always wanted to do porn," she said. 

"Take off your stockings and your bra," I said, as if it would make any difference. From what I'd seen, I already wanted to use this woman in a porn shoot and just wanted to see her naked.

She complied, stripping off, then leaned over completely naked to suck my cock. Her ass and pussy on display for all to see as my cock slide in and out of her mouth.

"What sort of shoot do you want," I asked. "Studio or beach?" I'd updated my studio and Cheating Wives was also open so I knew I had those options. "Or a boat," I added remembering the boat at Cheating Wives.

"You're the expert," she said.

"Studio," I replied. I wanted variety on my blog and I had a beach cabin covered already. "I'll invite you," I said.

A few seconds later and we were standing in the studio in front of the sets. I walked towards the bedroom set and looked over my shoulder at TaraNada. Stockings and bra off please, I said. They were out of character for what I wanted to include in the shoot. "Hop up on the bed," I added, "and strike a pose."

She jumped on the bed her knees apart. 

She didn't have any panties on giving me an excellent view of her pussy. Before I could get the shots going, she changed positions onto all fours looking over her shoulder alluringly. 

The effect was incredible, the white t-shirt and mini-skirt making her look like some college student posing for porn for the first time. 

This of course made me hard as fuck so I took the opportunity to take a shot from behind, directly into her fuck holes. I hardened knowing where this would inevitably end up. She looked so innocent but I knew she was dirty as fuck.

"Top off," I said.

She obeyed immediately pulling the t-shirt and dropping it behind the bed out of sight. She resumed her position on the bed on all fours in just her mini-skirt. With her shirt off, her tits were amazing, full and firm, just waiting to be grabbed.

As innocent as she looked, underneath she was really a slut. The way her eyes settled on the bulge in my pants told me how badly she wanted it.

She flipped onto her stomach and gave me a look that longed for her to be fucked. I imagined her as the innocent college party girl who secretly fucked all the boys.

That was enough for me. Much as I liked the mini-skirt, it had to go. This bitch needed to be appreciated naked. "Skirt off," I said.

She wiggled out of the tight skirt and then returned to her position on the bed, teasingly looking over her shoulder giving me a fuck me now look. Her fully nude body was beautiful and inviting.

Give me another pose, I said. Then without hesitation, she reached around slipped her fingers into her ass. I nearly exploded on the spot.

Trying to hold it together, I suggested we head down towards another set and take some kitchen shots. We took a few, showing off her graceful lines but I couldn't hold it off. This was going from a photoshoot to a pornshoot. 

We went back to the bed and took some shots with me and her together. Me clothed and her my naked porn slut with me. Whatever pose, she looked incredible.

But I wasn't to stay naked long and TaraNada was quick to demonstrate what sort of a vixen she was. The crouched over me, taking my dick in her hands and guiding it into her soft, warm mouth. I gasped at the touch of her lips.

I got some close ups of my cock in TaraNada's gorgeous mouth, the look of concentration on her face saying it all. The was giving it her all focusing completely on my pleasure. 

TaraNada turned out to be a champion cocksucker completely ready for her porn debut. We put her on her hands and knees while I slid my fingers into her hair and guided her head down onto me. She needed almost no guidance however, her neck arching as she thrust her head forward taking my whole length.

No porn shoot would be complete without a classic blowjob on her knees so we did just that. It didn't take much prompting, its obviously a position she's used to. Look at how her hand expertly wraps around the base leaving the whole length available for her mouth. There's nothing like a girl on her knees sucking my dick to make me hard as a rock and ready to fuck. You're a blowjob Queen, TaraNada. 

TaraNada waa special in another way as well. She's my first. My first photomodel with an available pussy. Here you see me exploring it with my fingers, making sure it was slick and wet, ready for me. She was, you can just see it from the look in her eyes. 

The camera always comes first in any photoshoot even when it comes to the delicious moment of sliding in between the wet folds of fresh pussy. I asked TaraNada to slide down on me so the camera could see everything. With everything on display as the camera clicked, TaraNada rode me.

It seems TaraNada likes to be taken from behind. "Get on top of me," she said. 

Always willing to please a girl, I did just that taking her pronebone and pinning her to the bed. The look of aroused contentment on her face making it all the more beautiful to watch.

I asked her how we should pitch her in the photoshoot, would she like to be pitched as a supermodel, pornstar or whore. 

"Why not, two," she said, selecting pornstar and whore.

Well that helped a lot with the shoot. A girl can't be a pornstar whore if she hasn't been taken by behind and had a guy pull her onto his cock by her hair. We fixed that problem and I'm sure you'll agree, TaraNada is a perfect example of a pornstar whore.

If course, the camera comes first and I made sure to give the camera the perfect view of her face as my dick hammered into her. 

"We need some shots that show everything," I said. And we most certainly did need those shots. The camera greedily took in her face, her tits and her cunt with my cock sliding in and out of it. She came hard on my cock, he moans filling the studio.

It's a personal favorite of mine too, looking down on this hot, sexy beauty and seeing me slide in and out of her slick, glistening folds. It was too much for me, and I couldn't hold out for long.

So I didn't, putting TaraNada back on her knees, the reached out and pumped my cock with two hands, her mouth open and waiting. I shot a huge load onto her face and another onto her tits.

She took it without flinching holding onto my cock and coaxing out every last drop.

TaraNada is a beautiful woman and that beauty even shone through a faceful of my cum. We took extra care to capture her face from multiple angles.

She played with herself as I watched, my cock in her hands.

Here she is, cum on her face as she thanked me. "Thank you, TaraNada," I said. I think we can all thank her for putting on such a good performance.

With any photoshoot, I like to capture the moment so I posed with my delightful cum covered pornstar whore, delighting in the what my cum splattered on her face.

That was a wrap. The photoshoot done we took a rest, TaraNada in my arms.

The look on her face says it all. The contentment of a hard fucked pornstar whore. Definitely a model I want back. 

Room Review: The Bassment

Summary

Theme consistency: Good though there's an area out back that's a bit out of character

Build Quality: High

Size: Medium

Navigation: Good

Use of Space: Excellent

Introduction

The Bassment is a colds friendly room with good music, a great dance floor, and an industrial feel. The club almost looks like it's been renovated from a factory or power station. The walls and floors show clear signs of age giving the whole place a run down feel which adds to the atmosphere. It was by far the most populated room at the time I visited with a particularly full dance floor. The room, like most, has areas and I'll step through each of those in turn. Given the room is entirely inside with a roof, there was no opportunity to freecam for a vertical map view.

Start

The start is very basic with a small number of avatars parked in it. It's basically in a small corridor that leads to the main area. Because there's a small turn to the dance floor, it's out of view for the majority of the players. Another key element is that it's very close to the main parts of the room so there's no long walk required when entering the Bassment.

The Colds Zone

The area closest to the start is a colds area a short walk forward and immediately to the left. This is a long thin room with two entrances, one close to the start and the other near the far end. This area has a wall full of couches and beds. Each of the couches has a stripper pole in front of it for any girls that need to attract attention to themselves (they won't be waiting long). Note they can be used as an avatar park. One of the poles had the same escort dancing the whole time I was there, her rates posted in her profile. 

Mostly the stripper poles were empty but that was only because most people in there were too busy fucking to spend time with the poles. On average there would be three couples fucking at any time and sometimes there were more. Occasionally, there's a naked guy sitting on one of the couches waiting for the next female to arrive.  All in all, if colds are what you are after, this is a good place to go. At some point I'll explain my in depth experiences and observations of colds and how it works but that's a topic for another post. See the end of this post for some observations of colds in this room.

Escort Area

I don't know if it's fair to call the area straight ahead the Escort Area but one of the poles was taken up by an escort who circled seductively the whole time I was there. There's two platforms with a pole in each and seats scattered all around. I didn't spend a lot of time here. It seemed fairly well populated with guys (mostly) in the chairs. It looks like a great place to meet in between the colds friendly fuck zone on one side and the full dance floor on the other.

Dance Floor

By far the most populated part of the room was the dance floor. This was large and was the single largest use of space. It was full of dancers, many singles a few couples slow dancing and the odd set of dancers moving in sync.

A full dance floor is really what makes the room. It grows the population so it becomes more attractive to people looking for a room to enjoy. I didn't join in any of the dancing (again something for another time) but there were plenty of people to meet if you were so inclined. 

Behind the dance floor, along the back wall on the side opposite to the start was a bar. This had stools in front with some avatars sitting either alone or occasionally as a couple. I have no idea what element of the game involves sitting at a bar, staring at a crowd of dancers but they didn't seem to move much so were obviously happy there.

Sex Room

Behind the bar are what looks like a couple if holes in the wall. Beyond these is an area with a metal floor and glowing red trim. There's some seating, a cage and a few private rooms with red curtains. This area was deserted so the name I've given the room is just a guess but there doesn't seem to be much other purpose for it. It did seem out of character with the rest of the Bassment.

Stripper Zone

Across the dance floor, opposite the bar is a platform with two stripper poles and seats scattered all around. The seats are spaced further apart making it less populated than the seating in the escort zone. This is where I met a stripper who was accompanied by her manager. The conversation soon turned to giving a gift for a putting in a good word. When I asked for specific rates, what for what, I was met with silence which brought the conversation to an end. I'll look into the escort economy at some point but not today.

Friend Zone

Behind this area is a couple of spaces with couches arranged in a square with a stripper pole in the middle. The people in here seemed to know each other with many married and their spouses present. I didn't spend long here but it looks like a good place for friends to hang out.

Second Floor

There's two stairs that lead up to a second floor.

 There's not a lit up there but it provides a private space for those who prefer not to fuck in public. Over the cold zone are three rooms each with a selection of beds and couches for couples to fuck on.

Over the friend zone is a space that also provides some privacy and I have seen a threesome being carried out up there.

Colds

Colds were somewhat consistent with a few takers. One disappeared when I started to chat. All in all, my usual approach is to chat then invite but what I found is either they weren't interested or they already had their lips wrapped around a dick by the time I'd sent my message. Best results were to cold when a woman entered the colds area. Black guys seemed particularly favored so if you have dark skin my may be luckier. In saying that, I met an excellent fuck, Taranada, fucked in the Bassment, my apartment and cheating wives.

So The Bassment gets a big thumbs up from me.

Conclusion

The Bassment is actually a very well designed space with most of it well used. It's easy to get around in with the spaces being different enough to be put to different purposes. The cold zone is  close to the entrance so any females just out for some quick dick can veer in and ger hooked up. There weren't a lot of guys waiting so the supply of pussy seemed to be keeping up. The dance floor was loaded meaning the walk past the cold zone can't be that bad.

I'll be going back for sure.