If I've spent X points to gain X benefit I want to keep that benefit. Having an upkeep of Y to keep the X benefit and then lose it if I don't "pay for it" because it's
realistic just makes me not want to do it, because to me at least it's not worth the effort.
I don't really care about realism, it's a videogame, y'know? Since
there's no other skill degradation, it feels weirdly punitive "because the dev said" to this one specifically.
About paying the debt triggering the next quest, I get it, although I don't agree with the rationale.
It's like
AkiranGaming said: having the quest trigger when the MC got enough skill / reputation / money would represent a presence large enough to draw attention.
Then again, it's your creative decision.
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What can I say? I'll start again, but now I'll begin by training the bots and getting higher parts some
weeks before the deadlines arrive after I let money pool by paying nearly all the debt but a small sliver of it...
...Aka, I'll
game the system this time to keep playing, which is something that demands that me as a player to "know" about the next step before it arrives.