Upset at New Lands Placement (With Analysis)

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Datendrache, Feb 24, 2020.

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  1. Datendrache

    Datendrache Avatar

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    @Chris @Vas Corp Por @Elgarion

    Why, for the love of all that is Virtuous, WHY place the new lands in the furthest, most inaccessible location on the entire map? Furthest from all the new players, and arranged in as close to a true pecking order as humanly possible without creating a straight line?

    I've shared this info with a few players who urged me to post this. This doesn't say anything that isn't completely obvious:

    The New PoTs are in the absolute worst locations they could be on the map.

    Analysis: The three starting points are Highvale, Blood River and Perennial Coast areas. Circles are adventure zones: Purple = 5+, Blue = 4+, Orange/Yellow = 3, Brown = 2, Green = 1. The area around Eps 2 is almost exclusively Tier 4-5.

    Illustration:
    [​IMG]

    These are NOT lands that a new player is going to be like, "Oh yeah! I've seen that along the way", they are in the "Go AWAY!" part of the map. With a hard to see boat to cross. And another bigger boat that's hard to see from the road to Harvest.

    Assuming a player lower than Tier 5 even knows Eps 2 is there and is somehow talked into joining a community with their row deed from the outskirts areas, there is a ton of wasted time running between locations for players who only want a home and a community....

    This video shows that a straight run by a normal player w/o a Fleet Flute, wolf-speed potion, etc. takes 3:40 seconds to go from Soltown to the new lands which is a TON OF WASTED GAME TIME THAT COULD BE SPENT DOING SOMETHING LIKE... I DON'T KNOW... ENTERTAINMENT???



    This is a massive, inexcusably huge gift to the senior players that will have their PoTs showcased by the long run between the new player area and the new lands. They don't need this boon, they abandoned the new players long ago. Here's what the area for PoTs at the Perennial Coast looks like right now:

    [​IMG]

    And let's talk about PoT VALUE more a second. We have about 150 PoTs going in, so here's a quick analysis of how prominent they are based on the layout:

    [​IMG]

    When you enter, you are on a beach with three narrow roads. Its about as close to a PECKING ORDER for placement as it gets, with #1, #2, and #3 being almost equal, but drops in value quickly. Because of the mountains on either side, the zone in point is one of the LEAST most dense areas for PoTs on the entire map, aside from reserved areas.

    Green Zone: Thirteen PoTs are special -- they will almost all have their names appear on center of player's screens because they can't possibly avoid them in the narrow roads. To the left of the zone-in is a walk that accesses MOST of the other PoTs in the game. To the right is the short-cut to the Serpent's Head which should be the most heavily traveled by non-residents. Middle is.. well.. beautiful and goes to a few highlighted adventure scenes. These are HIGH VISIBILITY PoTs that have great first and lasting impression appeal.

    Yellow Zone: 37 PoTs that aren't outright annoying to walk to from the zone in point. As part of the closest cluster, they have some possibility of being part of an active community.

    Red Zone: Everything else. 90 PoTs. You'll be walking past a lot of other towns to reach any of them, 80 of them require a boat click. Advantages are they have biome diversity, a few have adventure markers nearby. 50 of them are in the southern island crammed together tightly.

    With only a single zone in point, there really just more walking around and boat access for the majority of the new PoT owners. Almost everyone will try to get a location in the center mass close to the zone-in, which is largely just a large tropical biome, and doesn't lend much diversity (although Festival will be placed #4 so prepare for "Yo Ho Ho" to meet "Ho Ho Ho".)

    I'd assume its common sense to be trying to make the RED ZONE as small as possible and the GREEN Zone as big as possible. Not the other way around. By making the RED ZONE smallest, you maximize the chances those players will put MORE MONEY into the game.

    Here is what you should be doing:

    [​IMG]

    And keep in mind, this is just a quick fix because you guys are acting like its imperative to push the Land Rush selection process out immediately. There's probably far better answers than this, including but not limited to engaging NPC dialog in Soltown and/or Outskirts areas to make players aware of these lands as early as possible.

    Sincerely,

    An extremely frustrated Engineer.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2020
  2. CarlNZ

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    I don't know, the world is pretty small, it's not that long to run from one end to the other. 3:40 is like running from Westfall to Redridge in Wow. And that's just one zone.
     
  3. Kabalyero Kidd

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    Are those numbers all POTs? If so then that's a guarantee of at least 150 players in the new lands everyday.
     
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  4. Bayard

    Bayard Avatar

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    As governor of the Outlander Welcome Center near Soltown, I definitely see your point as the OWC has the distinction of being the major POT farthest away from Mistrendur. I'm hoping sometime soon I can buy a teleporter so new players can go there quickly if they desire.

    I see your point about the zones and generally agree. Even so, I see POT placement in Mistrendur as a roll D20 since we don't know which areas will become popular other than the obvious entry boat, NPC towns, adventure areas, resources or special events. I'm #14 so may not be able to set up in a high traffic area but will make the best of what's available.

    Of course, I LOVE the idea of an Ardoris to Mistrendur boat and heartily agree it needs to be announced beforehand if considered!
     
  5. Brass Knuckles

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    Nice write up engineer...

    a couple of points, I like the boat by ardoris idea.

    second it takes me under a minute to travel the whole map and that’s not counting teleport scrolls. It’s been a while since I’ve even seen the map because of scrolls.

    travel in this game is a joke even worse when mounts are in I think.
     
  6. Alleine Dragonfyre

    Alleine Dragonfyre Avatar

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    I mean....
     
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  7. Stryker Sparhawk

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    Don’t new players have to pay currently for Episode 2 content (maybe not POT or overworld access)

    Why is this not being talked about in your formula for access?
     
  8. Tailz

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    Teleport to zone scroll nulls all reasons to move anywhere, unless you want overland access and currently do not or are in a region for RP purposes.
     
  9. Dyonisys

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    I personnaly enjoy taking trip on map even tho i could teleport. Gives me the chance to meet new players and see life in game.

    You guys need to take time to enjoy travelling and seeing/meeting the world. I took a break off sota recently and learn i enjoy this game more taking my time tha rushing only where i need to go to grind :)

    I will own a pot with a friend up in new zone and i dont mind about current situation. Will make people see the sota world :)
     
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  10. Stryker Sparhawk

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    I have one POT that is very very close to UT.

    Is it filled to the brim with residents even though it’s ‘closest’ to the once leveling hot spot of Novia?

    not hardly.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2020
  11. Paladin Michael

    Paladin Michael Bug Hunter

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    Not against more boat connections :)

    Keep in mind, please:
    Currently, Episode 2 access is for players with (EARLY) ACCESS to Episode 2 content.

    New players seems to get lost very fast when starting Episode 1.
    So why should they travel to Episode 2 lands that fast... ?
    I saw alot players not knowing, what to do next after starting with Episode 1 in the Perennial Coast ;)

    I am not against more boat connections, it just should be restricted to use them, for example: until reaching an Adv.level of -X-
    Also a hint could be given, if someone enters a boat, that it leads to Episode 2 content ...

    Of course it also should not be possible to enter Episode 2 content, if you haven't bought Episode 2 ...

    And if we are talking about sea connections:

    Maps, showing those connections, would be appreciated, too :)
     
  12. Dyonisys

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    Not against it either :) but with ep2 new quest system it will give a much better first impression of the game for new players! I also hope they will have a link between quest so it bring interest for player to go in ep 2 :)
     
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  13. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    i believe there's supposed to be a boat from the hidden vale, too
     
  14. Paladin Michael

    Paladin Michael Bug Hunter

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    We don't know anything about the new quest system yet.
    Anyways: I assume a new player can't enter Episode 2 content with a lvl 1 Character ... I suppose they will start at least with Tier 4/5 ...
    And finishing Episode 1 should be required to go on with the storyline ...
     
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  15. Beaumaris

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    I dont see the problem.

    Players are paying for these locations. If players want to pay to be in a remote corner of the map, more power to them.

    The gaming experience for players, including new players, otherwise should stand on its own. We should not need to rely on any POT locations to have a quality gaming experience here.
     
  16. Kara Brae

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    Is this true? I assumed that Episode 2 would be a stand-alone game that anyone could start out with. I was actually looking forward to some new EASY content. Now that you mention it, I guess the vast majority of experienced avatars only want high level scenes. I managed to complete the initial three paths in Episode 1, but I'm not even going to attempt to complete the final quest to obtain the Shroud of the Avatar. If Episode 2 is only for advanced avatars that have completed Episode 1 I guess I needn't bother with it. :(
     
  17. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    the shroud quest is in general easier than the love path as the hard parts are not forced solo like malice is.
     
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  18. Elgarion

    Elgarion Dev Emeritus Dev Emeritus

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    A birdy told me there might just be a galleon at Ardoris, Jaanaford, and Aerie very soon... and ALL galleons might be gaining a strange ability... known as... a... drop-down menu! They'll be able to interconnect to each other no matter where they are. So, more galleons with kung-fu dropdown lists coming soon ;) Thank @Sannio on that one.

    I hope to have a better description for the release notes. Might say "will be patched in during R75".
     
  19. kaeshiva

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    I still think the entire discussion of land rush is premature.

    With zone scrolls and such I agree, its no longer about visibility or who is closest to the portal or how long it takes to get someplace.
    For me its about using a POT as my home, as my home base, and what amenities/facilities are nearby, what adventure scenes are nearby.
    For example, where are the closest trainers? Where are the closest optimized NPCs for selling junk?
    Again, you can always just burn 2 zone scrolls to "get to selling place", "get to training place", etc. but its nice if you are able to put yourself somewhere that this is conveniently accessible.

    Scoffer claimed a house once in a POT that when you zoned to Novia, you were stood literally right on top of his favorite adventure scene. That was the entire selling point. What towns were nearby was irrelevant, it was about easy in and out to the place he was going to spend most of his time.

    Unfortunately with just the map and none of the scenes or NPC towns implemented, there's no way to know where is going to be a good place. Which towns will have the 'good' npcs? Which will have skill trainers? What will their layouts be like? Some towns are easy in and out, others you may have quite a walk to the npc you need. And just knowing the relative tier of an adventure scene tells you nothing about whether or not it will be worth visiting - consider that almost all activity in the game occurs in a dozen or so scenes despite there being what, over 100 other places to go? There's just not enough information to know where those scenes might be, if they will be lucrative, and then try to guess where to put your POT.

    It would make a lot more sense to start allowing POT placement once the continent is set up, the npc towns are in, the adventure scenes are in, and then "okay go." This was the case in the initial landrush in that people had a really good idea of what they wanted convenient access to. I certainly wouldn't want to commit to a location in the absence of this information. Unless they're going to give us all a free move voucher.

    Regarding accessibility - yeah, it is a long walk, but I think no matter which coast they put it off of, its going to be a long walk from somewhere. I have less of an issue with 'new player visibility' because well, its Episode 2. Again, not having information about what's going out there hurts this. If they're going to be putting anything on these islands under Tier 5, there needs to be a way to get people over there before that content is trivial/obsolete.
     
  20. Numa

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    Thanks @Elgarion for the heads up on galleon gates :)

    My memory is rusty, does anyone know where the other galleons are outside of Ardoris?
     
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