Final Wipe and Lot Selection

This isn't directed at you specifically, SeleneNoctua. The quote above was just a good launching spot for me to make the following point.

This is my frustration with the "tensions". It's a land rush, we have limited housing. This is how it's always been described since day one of the Kickstarter. There's been some minor changes a long the way, but the core plan of limited housing and land rush have stayed 100% the same from the beginning.

No one has ever been guaranteed to get the spot they wanted. To assume at any point in this game's history that you (I'm using this word collectively here) were going to get the exact spot you wanted or even a "good" spot, was just wrong. It's just a fairy tale. There's never been a guarantee, not ever. And that's really what the problem for some people appears to be. They want a good spot. That's really what it comes down to. I have yet to read a single complaint that doesn't appear to be based on that precise concern "I want a good spot and all of them will be taken".

Which is to say that even though that might not be true, and even though a "good spot" is a very subjective thing. For example, I'm at a Duke tier and I could care less about that spot in Ardoris. I feel like all of the "tension" is really just a byproduct of having a land rush with limited housing. And we've known about that from the beginning, so what's the problem? Yeah, some people are worried about getting a good spot. No kidding.

 

*takes away all his sharp points* I was trying to cheer everyone up, Mister Grumpy Wumpy. (I kid, I kid.)

Anyway, I understand how some people feel like the sky is falling. It's hard to let go of expectations sometimes, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that things will not be the way you want them to be, no matter how hard you try. The current situation is an opportunity to try something different... That is why I suggested the PRT option. I really think that once people are done with quests in an area, the NPC town advantage kind of goes away. Once players without pledges with vendors can "rent" vendors for use on properties, the public vendors will become even less important. Add with this more advanced property permissions, and player vendor malls will be out in full force!

For example, Holtrot is really a better map location than Owlshead. It's centrally located and has less fluff and NPC shops that will mainly be irrelevant in a player-driven economy. Even trainer locations become irrelevant when the majority of the player base is end-game. If someone set up a "town" there with well stocked vendors near the zone-in and advanced crafting stations, they could easily lure most of Owl Head's foot traffic away. Before the POT explosion, I remember when guilds/future towns would take over a PRT. They were fun! They had great events! That could totally happen again. I can't wait to see what people come up with in this regard.

 

Here, this might fun!

Pick your spot in the land rush!

 

Save that the Devs have always maintained that there would be NPC/PRT lots to cover all lots awarded through Pledges and those sold through the Add-On Store +30 (to 50) percent. It's one of the subjects about which they've been entirely consistent. And I also question the assumption that we have all the information as there are still people upgrading pledges, buying new pledges, and purchasing Add-On Store lots. "All of the information" won't be available until such time as they suspend those activities and all of the NPC/PRT towns are actually in game.

 

Like I've already stated (more than once), this is inaccurate. They have always said there will be enough lots, yes. There is no confusion regarding this. What was never said was the amount of npc lots available. Like I've already stated.

I agree with this 100%. Which is why I take issue with being told that we should just be quiet and move on.

 

I will say this Bubonic,

I'm concerned as you are here, I'm right in that sweet spot of "spent a lot to get screwed, but not enough to get a lot I really want (lord level). "

I do think that this team will make it right once we've voiced our concerns, they have generally (in my opinion) been pretty malleable to the players input regarding most feasible items.

I think the issue that really needs to be brought to their attention is that PRT and POTs are NOT NPC towns, there is a dramatic difference in organic foot traffic, I know the mid tier backers would love a bone thrown their way (by no means do I advocate this at the expense of baron, duke, or lotm players) in this regard.

 

I hope you're right. Honestly the only way I think they can alleviate a lot of the current concerns would be to make PRTs a very desirable place to live. I'm not sure adding a small market area with a few NPCs is going to do the job, but hopefully they will also flesh out the templates and make them much more interesting.

I guess we shall have to see.

Fingers crossed.

 

I disagree with your assessment.

 

Fair enough.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the PRT 2.0 plans. I have a feeling Starr will be including those in the PoT post he has been compiling.

 

Concur.

 

Nope, I don't

 

You think the minimum time required to log into the game should be longer than 4 months?

 

Unlike others I will not debate with you on your opinion versus mine. My statement was very clear......regardless of the amount of time that is required, the player will still have to log into a game on a regular basis that they have no desire to play until the game is live. So move on to some other post - because I will not engage with you.

 

Ok, I didn't catch that in your first post, my bad. I didn't realize you were concerned that someone will need to log into the game after the wipe and before the launch. That's certainly a different concern than I thought you had in my original reply. I'm not sure how the developers would effectively change that however. That has been the plan for a long time, and I personally think it's a good one because it avoids property being used up by people that die, have no intention of ever playing the game again, or simply squat on the land for the sake of it. That's the reason that mechanic exists.

I'm not trying to go back and forth on it. You're welcome to your own opinion.

 

This is a fantastic list of updates, thanks Starr!

 

I want to say I was one of the advocates behind "the decision" and I still feel that "at the time" it was the right one. The reasoning "at the time" was if a high paying backer wanted to "forgo" a shot at prime realestate of a larger house and accept a smaller one then that should be their privilege. But at the time they would be forgoing it. They might be able to move into a larger location later but it was a gamble and their gamble to take.
One of the arguments I've seen against this is the idea that high level backers could band together and as a group claim a lower pledge levels lots knowing there's would be collectively safe for a while. While I'm sure some strategising and scheming will go on that scenario is extreme and frankly insane. Take the "smallest" group for example. The LOTM. There's maybe what 40 of them? Most of them have had the opportunity to actual meet each other in person (not something you could say about other groups) and collaborate. Can you imagine all 40 of them making a deal to not claim any castle lots to they can all grab lower level lots they can instead so they can sell them for gold and have their own personally scheduled land rush later? Organising that, policing it... Taking the gamble that no one in the group would betray the arrangements and grab the prime castle realestate while everyone else is holding off... I can't see everyone going for it, and it needs everyone to go for it or they are competing for scraps anyway. Take this to the lower levels and you are exponentially gambling more and more against players raising the gold for a regular lot deed to claim the space before you get back to it.

No. That would not happen. So realistically the only high level backers you'd see taking smaller lots are the ones that actually wanted to live in the smaller lots. In which case more power to them.

HOWEVER... And it's a big however. Look at it, all caps and everything.

This entire equation went out the window when POTs were introduced. Alone the decision was reasonable and no problem... Combined with POTs it's a monster. Now you don't need the group, if you own a POT or have an arrangement with a POT owner you don't have to gamble anything. You can rush out with your deed and grab a smaller house without fear of losing the lot you want. Heck it's a double whammy because as a POT owner/resident you can go out and grab full sized house you don't want just to sell it and grab a smaller one with your secondary deeds, sell the lots and do so again and again until the market is saturated knowing full well the lot you want is still back at the POT reserved for you for when you are done. Players aren't just competing with higher tier backers. They are competing with backers in their own tier who don't even want the house they are rushing.
Before there might have been a tiny handful of backers who took that gamble... But now... How many POTs are there? How many do they house? It adds up to more secured lot hunters then all the lots larger then village combined. We are talking hundreds of players lot speculating without consequence. In other sectors (like domain parking or patent trolls etc.) this behavior is almost universally reviled. But here we are supposed to just treat it as one of the perks of being a backer?

I can only vouch for a few people, but we thought that when we pledged more to get into a higher housing tier we were doing so with the expressed purpose of avoiding that crap.

 

+1

 

Yes.
But then again, I have a very active imagination, and several posts in this very thread have confirmed such individual intentions already.

I agree though, that PoT's will make this much, MUCH easier. And by this, I mean poaching & reselling, not the land rush in general.

 

Will people who own POT's still be able to upgrade their towns after the final wipe?