What is the purpose of a test server mechanic but to test the mechanics?
If they want to implement some form of ship rebuy purchase, using whatever currency they want (real-life or in-game) then it's mechanics will need testing. The only reason they would be testing such a thing is if they had a plan to implement it.
It smells a bit like Dungeon Keeper.
Yes. That's why they are calling the test currency aUEU where the "a" is for Alpha. Once they are done testing and do the wipe, it's aUEU --> UEU (which costs money)
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As someone who works on software as part of my job, I'll disagree with this. It's what we'd call a stop-gap implementation.
Besides, they're testing the purchasing system, and they have to have an ongoing cash sink of some type or everyone would just end up with so much money that they'd stop using the purchasing mechanics.
Wrong. It's called iteration and/or proof-of-concept prototyping. In this case, they are implementing and testing an in-game mechanic which will later become part of the core mechanic.
Nice try.