Housing Expiration

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Haldarthir, Feb 28, 2018.

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  1. Haldarthir

    Haldarthir Avatar

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    I guess this is on me for not noticing, but I hadn't expected our lot claims to expire before launch. With launch coming up I logged back in after an extended absence to start playing again only to find out my claim on my housing lot had expired and someone else had taken it. I am rather disappointed, and I guess there isn't much point to this post since I assume nothing can be done, but it would be nice if that information had been surfaced better, I wasn't even aware that lot claims expired at all.

    Now I don't feel like playing at the moment, which is an issue for the game if other people are coming back from extended absences for launch only to find themselves in the same discouraged boat.
     
  2. Weins201

    Weins201 Avatar

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    Been in the instructions and been about a post about this every month, Sorry for you loss
     
  3. Spoon

    Spoon Avatar

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  4. Kara Brae

    Kara Brae Avatar

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    @Haldarthir
    I am sorry this happened to you. It must have been a real shock for you if you weren't expecting it.

    I remember learning long, long ago that even tax-free lots would expire after a certain length of time of absence from the game. I think my tax-free village lot deed (that came with my Edelmann level pledge) can claim a lot for 4 months of inactivity before I lose the lot claim. Higher pledges have a longer amount of allowed inactivity time.

    If you think about it, claims really do have to expire at some point if a player stops playing the game. Otherwise many lots would remain unused and blocked for all eternity.

    However, your post led me to search for the information about claim expiration, and I was surprised to find no mention of claim expiration time in the current Player Instructions. In the add-on store you can currently only purchase taxable POT lot deeds and there is no mention in the description of any claim expiration date not related to paying taxes. I looked in the Housing section of the FAQ on the main SotA website, but found no mention of expiration of claims due to inactivity. If the information is available and I just couldn't find it, that means that others won't be able to find it either.

    When you click on a lot marker, the length of the claim is displayed, but it is understandable that lot owners don't necessarily click on their own or others' lot markers.

    So ... my conclusion is that too little notice is being given to lot owners regarding claim expiration due to inactivity. I think the Devs should make this information much more easy to find.

    I realize that it is small consolation to you, but looking for a new home can be a very rewarding experience, and no matter where your original lot was, you can be sure there is a better one available in the game even today if you are willing to consider moving to a POT. According to Darkstarr, there has been a large migration of folks from NPC towns to POTs in recent months, and now the population is about even in both kinds of towns. People have come to realize that the benefits of living in a POT are considerable, and if one doesn't work out, hey, there's an even better one down the road.

    Good luck and I hope you decide to continue playing! If you need help or advice, feel free to contact me.
     
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  5. DarkStarr

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

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    Our apologies that this information about expiration for tax free lots due to inactivity was only included in the original announcement and was not included in the player instructions. We are fixing this now.
    • Ancestor, Navigator, Developer: 4 Months
    • Citizen: 5 Months
    • Edelmann: 6 Months
    • Knight: 7 Months
    • Knight Marshal: 8 Months
    • Lord: 9 Months
    • Lord Marshal: 10 Months
    • Baron, Baron 2, Baron 3: 11 Months
    • Duke: 12 Months
    • Lord of the Manor, Lord of the Manor 2: 13 Months
     
  6. Mykll

    Mykll Avatar

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    If there are masses of players waiting for release a KS update should have been provided (along with Name Entry) and not be buried deep in a long Release Instructions.
     
  7. Jayfire

    Jayfire Avatar

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    I actually a week ago posted the exact same thing, in addition to the fact that everything goes into the bank and overloads the bank account makes trying the game out impossible until you find a new lot and get your bank back down
    @DarkStarr
    We had made a suggestion in my other forum that someone linked to you that perhaps instead of when your lot expires everything goes to bank but it gets moved to an empty magic mover so that returning players can come back and try out new features without having such a huge obstacle in there way. I fear this obstacle will only get worse for returning players unless it is addressed.

    Also I did find a new town and lot to move to but, moving my bank over is extremely time consuming as well. I'm a casual player atm and it is taking a week of just looking and moving to just beable to get back in and play again. It definitely can be discouraging if your just trying to pop in and try out a new feature real quick to see if you wanted to dive back into the game.
     
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  8. Beaumaris

    Beaumaris Avatar

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    I wonder if there is an SOTA marketing hook to be had here, with a system detecting long-absent players with lots and sending them a friendly 'please come back and save your lot' email.
     
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  9. Haldarthir

    Haldarthir Avatar

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    Thanks for the advice everyone, and hopefully adding a warning to the player instructions will keep at least one person from sharing my fate (if it isn't already too late for them).

    Ugh, I didn't even think about this. I have a massive amount of items in my bank. That increases the barrier for getting back into the game even further.

    Possibly the worst part is the person that owns the lot now looks like they turned it into a greenhouse, probably to supplement the other lots they may own!
     
  10. Mykll

    Mykll Avatar

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    I was going to ask where your lot used to be. I saw one close that went poof but it hasn't been turned into Farmville.
     
  11. smack

    smack Avatar

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    Actually, it's been in the FAQ:

    Is there an upkeep cost to Lots?
    Lots have an in game currency tax that must be paid or the lot reverts to being unclaimed, and the Lot Deed is returned to the owner. If you have a pledge at Ancestor level or above, you will receive a tax free place anywhere lot deed, while if you have a bundle at a 2-Story Row or above, you will receive a tax free Player Owned Town lot deed. The lot can still revert to unclaimed after an extended amount of inactivity. All tax free deeds have 120 days by default. Accounts with a Citizen pledge or above get an extension of 30 days per tier.

    But I agree, this shouldn't really be buried in the FAQ, especially under an upkeep section that refers to both taxed and tax-free deeds. Perhaps this can be better split out to two different questions?

    Yeah, great suggestion. Similar ideas have been made in the past and I do hope that they revisit this to maintain player engagement.
     
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  12. Barugon

    Barugon Avatar

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    When you double click on the lot sign or marker stone, it says how long you have before it expires.
     
  13. TheBalance

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    This is a huge dropped ball and make no mistake, you guys are going to take a hit for it.

    What's the plan to reimburse these players for the inconvenience mostly related to a lack of information? Hard to get behind putting even a little bit of the blame on them for not seeing the one place this info was provided.
     
  14. Barugon

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    How many people were reimbursed for loosing their house in UO?
     
  15. Vallin Tregres

    Vallin Tregres Avatar

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    [​IMG]

    Really? o_O


    ...


    Really? :confused:


    At any point was it ever stated all claimed lots before launch wouldn't expire or was this just an assumption?
     
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  16. Haldarthir

    Haldarthir Avatar

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    It was in Brittany Fields.
     
  17. Haldarthir

    Haldarthir Avatar

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    I think asking for reimbursement is a bit much, but I do think it is a problem as the game is in prerelease and there are likely other people like me that were not paying close enough attention due partially to that fact. Yes it is the fault of players like me, but I imagine its an easy mistake to make that will hurt player engagement which thus impacts everyone that wants the game to do well.
     
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  18. Cock of the North

    Cock of the North Avatar

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    Tax Free Perma Lot Blocker would be a really good thing to implement. I agree.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  19. TheBalance

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    This is not UO, this has nothing to do with UO. Please don't derail my comment, thank you!
     
  20. TheBalance

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    That's the point. It's not about punishing players for not being up to speed on mechanics - it's about garnering goodwill to players that invested in your game combined with the fact that there's a post from the developers in their thread clearly stating that they could've done better communicating this, and that it was only made available once, in a place returning players weren't likely to review.
     
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