While I agree to an extent with Crawdaunt, and I see the pitfalls, if I have the time to invest into 3 knights, which will be using 3 times the amount of gear / money / energy, isn't it fair they have 3 times the amount of mist energy as someone using 1 knight? Even if my end purpose is to sustain one knight with triple the income. Getting to that point would take a lot of time and money.

Also if someone is making multiple knights I think for the most part they would be doing so to try out different gear / styles / start over?

Sorry just to add one more thing, it's a free to play game correct? I assume when it goes live, all you need is an email to play. What is to stop anyone from just having multiple accounts and doing the same thing?

I mean I could have signed up for a second beta invite couldn't I have? And just be doing all this stuff anyways.

Why not just allow each of your characters separate mist energy.

@Aeca, doesn't crafting Cutter also take materials, even if its not much? You would have to be doing quite a bit of farming anyways. But still I guess you are using your Knight solely for its free energy to generate crowns.

Since Mist Energy is the same shared pool for all accounts on the same computer (as said my Aeca) you can't rattle off mule accounts to abuse the system. All those accounts would just share the same pool of 100 Mist Energy a day. In depth discussion of how this system works and any ideas for circumventing it is a topic that will get threads/posts erased and a possible official warning.

So the limitation of sharing between knights on the same account is a carry over of this abuse protection system.

Keiya,
It would be nice if things could work out that way, yes. I cannot think of any reasonable way of mending the lore to incorporate this Mist pooling. I suppose for now we just have to pretend that it's not part of the lore at all, and that our other Knights spontaneously drain Mist Energy. (o_o)

Decrous,
Yeah, Mist Energy is shared amongst all "free" (non-charged) accounts logging in from the same machine. I don't think it's even the same IP, because my Laptop apparently has the same IP as my Desktop (same home network), but both have separate pools, save the actual account itself (from what I've noticed). I just tested this with my account at 89 Mist on my Desktop, and my brother's account at 100 Mist on my laptop. (This is starting to confuse me now, because my account is paid, so maybe that's not a perfect assumption.) I'm not sure how TRD monitors this, nor am I truly concerned.

To clarify: CE (purchased Energy) is not shared amongst accounts, it is only shared amongst Knights on the same account. If you buy CE on an account, it is located only on that account, only for the Knights on that account. (Though, you can trade CE freely amongst other Knights.) Also note that the instant you buy CE on an account, the account you purchased it on receives it's own Mist pool as well, and it is no longer considered a "free" account, but rather "paid".

Unless there is some odd fingerprinting of the computer, the fact that Mist is shared between accounts on a single computer suggests to me that the Mist energy amount is stored locally. Especially if other computers in the same house (with the same public IP), have separate Mist pools. This would logically tell me that the computer itself is the "mist holder" and not the account.

Again, if they do fingerprinting and can tell one computer from another (think windows activation, etc), then my theory is shot.

If not, then it's a serious oversight on the dev's part. At some point, if the mist energy amount is stored locally, someone will find where it is stored and edit the value.

The fact that there are several shared computers in a large sized family home share energy is utterly crazy.. If the kids play o three computers in the afternoon, and the teens get on in the evening, what of the parents in the late night.. If everyone shares the computer (meaning today I might use the MAC or the XP computer, of the VIsta machine,) but if I dont use that same computer later and someone else played today.. then Im stuck with what they left in the tank. Im just saying by what you are doing your basically limiting your customer base to how many computers are available in each house. From my understanding there are often more people per household than computers, and in family situation your rules are becoming a subject of great debate. SO you all would sign up to be passed over by familys that game together. I personally have kids that dont live with me that play online games.. As well as a group of individuals that stay with me that also game heavy. With your system two people have to watch the other play for that day. which kinda defeats the purpose of us all playing. Savy? I operate a home business. I play during the day.. when the kid gets home he wants to play after he finishes homework.. and his mother well she likes to wrap it up last.. Savy? On the weekends we like to all play same time.. My point If we only had one computer avaliable per day we would be loosing. Accessing my account on their computer I notice energy changes.. If the kid plays on my computer and Ive used half of my energy but he hasnt played his account for days ... why is he only allowed to use 50 energy.. So not only are u limiting your customer base trying to hold onto 20$ but your telling us now if we have one computer and three diffrent accounts we will really only be able to play like once every three days..
We love the game and Ive been making accounts for my buddies so that when they have time we can all play.. its just your all cramping our style.

Surely you can understand how it is worse business to give away too much playtime for free (unlimited accounts for perhaps just one person) than it is to inconvenience a handful of families in which members share computers. Thankfully, OOO has made it easy and inexpensive for you each to get your own mist tank, even if you share a computer.

For as little as $0.75 you can have your own mist tank. Once an account has paid for energy with $ - even for the smallest package - it will no longer share mist with other accounts on the same computer.

If your household has a multiple knights sharing a given computer, I recommend you each buy a CE package. From then on, you will have separate mist tanks.

that you could use to exploit mist energy, which I don't feel should be shared here/at all, but would be 3x more advantageous if they had diff mist.

"Daddy, can I have this? Pleease?"

seacoug turned away from the groceries on the conveyor belt to look down at his two beautiful children. His elder eagerly held up a candy bar, desperate for his father's approval. He couldn't help but smile at the simple act -- oh, to be young again, when all you needed to be happy was a bar of chocolate purchased by your father. "Me too, me too!" his younger chimed in, holding up another from the rack. His heart swelled as he looked into their pleading eyes, their hopeful smiles. How could it not? They were his pride and joy. He would give anything for their happiness, but all they asked for was a gift of candy.

"Welllllll", he said with mock hesitation, delighting in how even this was enough to get them to hold their candy bars aloft with renewed vigor, silently pleading their case to him, "I suppose just this one can't hurt." As his children cheered and hugged their hero and protector's legs, he reached into his pocket where he always kept his six quarters.

And found nothing.

No... no. NO! That was impossible. His fingers brushed back and forth again. Surely they must be trapped in the lining of the coat? They couldn't be gone, they just couldn't! But they weren't there. Sweat prickled his brow. His other pocket? No, not there either. GONE! He risked a glance downward as his children, still smiling obliviously up at him. How could this be happening? How could...

THREE RINGS.

Regret slammed into seacoug's heart like an Alpha Wolver's bite combo. He remembered now, the callous ease with which those bastards had reached right into his pocket and taken his one US dollar and fifty cents. His stomach turned. It wasn't his fault, he had told himself. They tell you it's free. They lure you in with the promise of lush visuals and charming gameplay. Who wouldn't be seduced? Who wouldn't put their trust with the smiling gentleman who assures you, yes, yes, absolutely free, forever! How could any man resist the call of the Clockworks? What harm could it do? And then all of a sudden you're in your home, staring at an empty Mist Tank, and a Three Rings "associate" is cracking his knuckles and telling you that if your children ever want to see their Spiral Knights (have independent Mist Energy Tanks) again, you'll pony up the dough. I guess instead of an "associate" it's actually an FAQ, but me and seacoug are willing to bet that the guy who wrote it totally cracked his knuckles when he did so.

They tell you it's free. They don't tell you that their definition of free is "free", and then as a footnote, "but a one-time payment of $0.75 will make it easier to play with multiple accounts on the same computer". Not until they've got the knife up against your heart.

Just then, as if by narrative convenience, a man walked by the grocery store window. A man that had never met seacoug; The man that had ruined seacoug's life. The CEO of Three Rings.

THREE RINGS!!

Rage built up in seacoug's heart like a level 10 Sword with full Skolver set. America called itself "The Land of the Free", but this bastard... this monster was allowed to develop and host an MMO and then name his price for playing it. They'll tell you it's legal to make a product that people want and then charge them money for it, but does that make it right?? YES! Wait, I mean, NO!

And as seacoug watched, (WARNING: THIS NEXT PART IS PARTICULARLY GRUESOME. THOSE OF GENTLE DISPOSITIONS MAY WISH TO CLOSE THE THREAD NOW. THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE.) the CEO smugly reached into his pocket (OH NO!), pulled out his iPhone (OH GODS, DON'T SAY IT!), called up the iTunes store (I'M GOING TO BE SICK, HURKKK) and _purchased a song_ (THAT MONEY WAS FOR THEIR CANDY BARS!! THEIR CANDY BARS, YOU AWFUL, AWFUL, HORRIBLE PERSON). As the ill-gotten mp3 downloaded, the CEO turned to seacoug and shot him a smirk (OH NO, OH NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO). He waggled the screen at him through the window (NO. PLEASE NO.). On it, in black, emotionless text, read, "Finished Downloading: I Want Candy."

seacoug's children burst into tears.

"Why, daddy? Why?"

There are times for civility, for deferral, for meekness. For cowardice. There are times when a man doesn't have to stand up and be a man. Indeed, there must be. A father doesn't need to always strike back against the thieves and thugs that menace his children. They're only his children, after all. Surely, if seacoug had chosen then to simply curl up in a ball of his own wretched impotence, history would not have found his utter failure as a human being particularly noteworthy.

BUT: That was not the path seacoug chose.

"How dare you!!", seacoug typed angrily from the comfort of his computer chair, "How DARE you set the price on your product? What makes you think you have the RIGHT to decide the terms and conditions under which I and my children play Spiral Knights? What makes you think you own Spiral Knights, hmm? HMM?! Do you think just because you make a product, you can tell me that isn't absolutely 100% free for me to play forever and always?? When you take my seventy-five cents per child, you're taking my blood, sweat and tears themselves. I demand... no, WE, the people of this great nation, DEMAND that you leave open an obvious loophole that would cut into your ability to recoup the money invested in developing Spiral Knights. Your naked greed insults that most sacred of all values, the guiding light of humanity, the watchword of every good man, woman and child: My Convenience. "

"You got your hooks into my family, Three Rings, but know this: I will do anything for my children. Anything. But apparently paying half of a single dollar per person for a game we enjoy is some kind of big deal that warrants a whiny forum post."

"Also if anyone has any of the new five-star Flourish recipes for trade, let me know, the Rigadoon line in particular looks really cool. I'm Knight-of-Entitlement, feel free to send me a mail if I'm not on. Thanks a bunch!"

"P.S. STILL VERY ANGRY."

Oh....wow. I need to bookmark this thread for the story value.

+1 for taking the 5 minutes to type up that story -1 for dissing on a dad making a good point.

'Fraid you're just breaking even my boy.

While I sympathize with frustration at the lack of documentation on the issue (it took me a little while to figure it out myself), I think it's pretty apparent that seacoug is being woefully melodramatic about a perfectly reasonable measure taken by the developers.

That last line seems like it should be read whilst twirling one's moustache.

"This better be important," said the man rolling a ball of C4 around between his hands. "You put me on a redeye from Rio for a job, it better reeeally tug at my heartstrings."

He was the sort of man used to occupying a room. Not in the sense that he was used to being indoors -- but when he happened to be indoors, he tended to occupy the entire room, regardless of the size, contents or even other occupants. It was partly his size, and partly the way he always had one kind of explosive or another in his hand. He looked like the kind of guy who could and would shove a mortar shell up your nostril for making the wrong kind of eye contact with him.

And yet, in this room, he was simply one of many dangerous men. The most dangerous at all, sitting at the head of the table, somehow outdid the brute's massive personality simply by being. Only rarely did he find it necessary to dominate the space with a slight lean, or the jerk of an eyebrow. In this case, Jerakal allowed himself a small smirk. "Specs," he said, addressing the shadowy figure on his left, "why don't you fill Cyclone in on the job we found? I feel we've left in him suspense long enough."

The crisp sound of paper being snapped straight was the only signal Specs ever gave that he was ready to speak. "At 9:25pm on May 1st, my crawlers picked up word of what initially appeared to be a standard case of extortion. The case fit the standard model: honest family man, in over his head." With the subtlest flick, photos slid across the jet black conference room table, each pile neatly stopping in front of its intended recipient. "I had already prepared a basic bank transfer virus to rectify the situat..."

The ball of C4 was pounded flat on the table. "So goddamn what?! You pulled me offa beach for some small potatoes mafia job? You have any idea how goddamn long the..."

"Three Rings."

There was a sudden silence, like sound itself had excused itself from the room. Every spine in the room tightened, slightly. A certain kind of fear took root, the fear that one feels at the edge of a cliff, the kind that you tell yourself isn't also maybe just a bit of excitement from peering over the edge...

Cyclone lowered himself back down onto his chair. "Alright." He said. He worked his jaw, chewing his thoughts carefully. "Alright, so not small potatoes, sure. But I'm also not sure I want to get myself killed just because some schmo with cute kids got himself a little over his head in the doubloon market."

"You know this isn't about the energy," Jerakal said. He held his gaze level with Cyclone's, an impressive feat given Cyclone's habit of nervously adjusting the pins on the hand grenades strapped to his chest. "This is about justice."

Cyclone leaned back, his eyebrows smugly forecasting sarcasm: "Sure. Just how much justice?"

A crisp snap of paper. "At the present time: One dollar and fifty cents. US."

The fear was gone. Fear is the body's way of telling that mind that it has entered fight or flight mode. It's easy to forget that -- it's easy to think your brain decides on an emotion, and the body just does what it's told. But bodies have been around far longer than minds. When the body responds first, all the mind can do is try to keep up. And now around the table, hands were becoming fists of their own accord. Mouths bared their teeth, eyes narrowed. The mind is a powerful tool, but when the heart speaks, it always gets the final word.

Paper snap. "I've run an analysis. With two computers and three players, that debt should stabilize at that amount. However, if the number of players were to increase again..."

"The man is already seventy-five cents short of being able to send each of his kids to college," Jerakal interrupted. "Let's just make sure he can put food on their table tomorrow." He snapped his fingers, calling up a 3d model of the Three Rings headquarters. "So we're going to do the job the police won't do. We're going to carry the torch of Justice into the abyss that lawyers and politicians won't touch. We're going to bust in there and recover every last honest penny they took from that poor man, of which there are exactly one hundred and fifty!"

"So, gentlemen. Plans?"

"Smash and Grab," Cyclone started. "I bring down the north wall, you snag the guy in the swankiest suit in there. Those elitists are bound to be carrying at least two one-dollar bills on 'em, which..."

"Brute force is out. I just got T3 access, I don't want them deleting my character."

Paper snap. "Cause and Cure. I bring down every server on the West Coast, then offer my services during the clean-up. If I inject a backdoor into my..."

"Bring those servers down, and my guild's gonna have to cancel their Jelly King runs this weekend. Next."

A new voice: "Why doesn't seacoug just, you know, refrain from buying literally any one thing for himself?"

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to the new voice. "What the hell are you trying to say, Sanity?" Jerakal demanded.

"Well, the guy's supposed to be a good father, right? Maybe he could sacrifice something he was planning to buy so his kids can play a game they really enjoy. Maybe he skips a bottle of coke one day. Or doesn't have the french fries with his burger. It seems like the most basic thing a father could do for his children."

"Are you saying..." Cyclone stopped. His fist was gripping the C4 so hard it leaked through his fingers. "Are you saying that just because Three Rings makes something that entertains his kids, he should give them his money?"

"Goddamnit," Jerakal hissed. "He's a dad. We can't let them diss his..."

"That's just it," Sanity continued. "He's a dad. If anything, we should hold him a higher standard! Never mind what he's teaching them about tipping or charity -- why pay the street musician, no matter how much you enjoy his music, if you don't have to? -- He's teaching his kids that he will only begrudgingly pay a pittance for their sake. What kind of father does that?"

"Do we really want to teach the next generation that we are entitled to the work of others, that our own personal convenience is more important than protecting the livelihood of artists, that there is nothing worth paying for if you can have it for free?"

"Oh." Jerakal said. "That actually makes perfect sense. "

"......assuming that you're a spy for Three Rings!"

"CURSES!" Sanity screamed, shedding its human disguise. "How did you know?!"

TO BE CONTINUED......

tl;dr

I just picture that when you switch knights they take a blue canister out of thier backs and toss it to the outgoing knight.

then wouldn't it be possible to play your main knight with a full mist tank just by going and playing on a different comp?

That does not work. Discussion of how to circumvent the Energy system is not forum appropriate discussion.

Not quite. It keeps track of ME subtractions for free accounts (on all free accounts on the local computer), and also reports ME to the server (so it is the same on any computer you log in to).

The previously stated solution is the best one: if you have two accounts on one computer, buy some CE for at least one of those accounts. OOO is ridiculously good about accepting different payment types. You can even send them cash, for GMs' sake.

Okay, kids.
Here is the Energy FAQ on the wiki: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Energy_faq
If there are questions that you want answered and the FAQ needs to be updated, make a thread about it here.

This thread is a few months old, and I think it is time for it to rest.

Oh hey, I forgot about this thread. I'm glad some people liked the story! Second one never worked out, though.

Anyway, Doom: If you've got two computers and two accounts, they shouldn't share Mist Energy as long as you restrict each account to its own computer. If you've already used one account on both computers, you can delink them by simply buying any amount of energy on either account. The smallest amount currently for sale is 750 Crystal Energy for $2.45.

If that doesn't work, contact Three Rings -- paid accounts aren't supposed to have their Mist Energy linked to any other account. Good luck!

e: removed reference to IP addresses

i have been directed to that link many times
the page u directed me to is no help.

-doomeh

@DoomMuncher

Perhaps http://www.hookedonphonics.com/ or http://www.eslgo.com/classes.html will help more.

@Coranho
You store it in your mist tank which you carry around. It's like a Urine Pouch.

DoomMuncher

If you read the provided link you will see that two free accounts on their own separate computers never have to worry about sharing. If you log on with that account on the other person's computer then you are back to the first outlined scenario where the system will default to the account or computer that had the lowest amount of Mist Energy.

If you cannot understand that from the Wiki please give me some pointers on how it may be more easily understood. So far I am not aware of any native or fluent as a second language English speakers having trouble with it.

As also stated, the only way to separate the mist energy when sharing a computer is for the desired account to become a paid account. There is no separation Mist Energy per request. SEGA is the publisher for this game and offers no community support, that is not their role.