I believe the purpose of this thread can be seen in the very first word of the title. Asking the question; why does this area exist?
There are no conspiracy theories here, thanks for agreeing that we do not know why this place exists and we should ask for more information from the devs.
So we agree that if he is using it for testing then neither of us would have a problem with that. Great, then let's wait to see what the answer to the question is. I am sure that if this is for testing they will be happy to give us that answer. It would be interesting to know that this game that is now launched with a paid subscription and no plans to wipe again is having a developer test things in the live player sandbox areas, wouldn't you agree?
Thanks for the response Mondlicht. I believe this question is important to ask because it sends a strong message about the stance the developers take around their in game presence and how it impacts the ecosystem and playerbase. Specifically, when their in-game characters are using developer tools to impact the player sandbox.
We can be certain that the way these 37 tiles were acquired was by using developer tools, a means outside the scope of a normal player character. If the developers will be playing the game using in-game characters, what rules if any are in place internally to restrict their usage of developer tools to benefit their in-game characters or any organizations they belong to?
Unlike some in this thread I do not feel it is necessary to jump to conclusions about the purpose of this area of the game, or if it is justifiable because the developers can do whatever they want. I believe the people who say that would not feel the same if a developer banned them tomorrow on a whim, surely "they can do whatever they want" would suddenly not be defensible.
In the end we are all now paying customers and we were sold a vision of a player-driven sandbox. If a developer is also playing the game as a player, there is an expectation that we are playing on an equal footing; knowledge of the game not withstanding.
