So yet another unannounced change.

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and this very well may be the fund raising stage, however, they made this change now, so a bunch of people (in theory) up their pledge to duke to get a keep (we'll exclude LotM here) then, 3 months down the line, they realise they are going to end up with a ton of empty plots that they cant do anything with, other then to open up keep plots to in game purchase. Now, you have backers you spent money, they didnt have to. Does that make for a happy content player base? No. does that show Port has the community in mind? Not really, it implies they are just after money. (note personal opinion here)

And to everyone, sorry if you think me taking a stand against Portalarium changing their mind regarding things that have been already said in the past, is nothing but hate mongering or something of the such. I want the game to succeed, but this continual changing of things, does nothing to help their reputation. Yes, I am willing to be the negative voice on this topic, and I am more then happy to do so. If i get a temp ban, or even a perma ban from this, then so be it, I dont have a small amount of money invested in this game, and i'm honestly not worried about loosing it over this. However, it needed to be said, and port needs to be held accountable for things that they have said, and not just keep falling back on the "Don't lawyer me bro" like its some get out of jail free card.
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Ok I still don't get it. But that's fine I don't have to. It's just it sounds like you are thinking anyone knows what they are doing, do they really, well no. Where's the flexibility? Oh well you will be happy or not as others will. I am as strong for this game as you and I want it to get the money it needs and I don't care that things change. I will care if I don't get my features, but of course that is why I am here. you can have my castle lol except I don't have one, but just as a point, in game stuff will be interesting to find out, once we know. I can't cheer you up probably but I do wish you well and no offense. I mean it. ****cheers****

 

I still don't see the problem. A Duke or LotM can choose to live anywhere they want -- be it in a story-based town or in a player-owned town. In either case, the lot will be empty until a Duke or LotM claims it, so it would be in the best interest of the player-town that they design the town with or without a prior agreement otherwise it's wasted space. Furthermore, we already know that Dukes and LotMs will be somehow written into the backstory and will likely work with the devs to choose where they're going to live. There's nothing to say they would like to live in a player town vs. living in a pre-existing town on the map.

 

LOL well of course I never thought you weren't nice, we are just communicating. So when I click the link it does say forbidden but if you read down it does mention the cost of games to make during different years. So hopefully you can see that part. I never claimed to be an expert, but it just gives me example of my own.

 

I told myself initially i wasnt going to step in to this but I decided to do so. I do not believe this negative light painted at Korvash is warranted.

I am the one whom originally asked this question to Darkstarr, and was fully open in saying in that pm thread that i would and did share this initial response with the IRC Chat. I had no clue it would start a firestorm, for the devs and the players i apologize for that. I would like to point out though that it has been stated quite often leading up to where this game is now that the various house types could be obtained via in game means. And though i cant find the exact quote, ive even seen the developers quoted as saying that a castle could be obtainable in game. Now before you bash me in any way, please understand ive got no skin in this game. I am OK with this setup, though a bit dismayed at the answer - i do accept the answer for now.

I fully intend to build out my player town, though the size of said town i upgrade to may be effected by this decision. However, I think that there were a lot of people who very much thought the developers would provide a special keep/castle to those backers... But that didnt mean that castles and keeps were precluded from being obtainable via in-game means. Its the having access to those lot types more i think than actually having those types of buildings which irks some.

I think the comment trying to be stated on the topic of the games overall budget is yes they did, during the kickstarter, state their estimated budget and their stretch budget. And there are some who have concern at the fact we still seem to be in a fundraising rush.

Do I have concerns? Ehh... yes i do. Is it swaying me away? No, im still spending my money, but it will likely have an effect on the faith of the team a small degree in the future. I imagine those who recently got news at the dev+ tiers are also even more dismayed. I have no right to speak to that so I wont... But I say yes keep calm, but this is not a non-issue for some people. I fully recognize not everyone has the means to be able to buy what i can. That does put me at an advantage, but i would almost feel wrong for having whole parts of gameplay or lot sizes available to me that no one who cant afford what i can would ever be able to have a chance to access.

I think in the end cooler heads should prevail, but perhaps this is a topic that we need to revisit with portalarium. I trust they will do what they can to ensure they uphold the very tenets the studio was founded upon. Having said that, I think those upset may absolutely have a reason to be.

 

This is a genuine question, as I have seen no info on this. But Dukes are now getting written into the story? I know LotM were, but not seen anything about Dukes.


And to your point about the Duke/LotM choosing where they live. As mentioned else where, Port, will have to design, based on the fact that each Duke?LotM will live in a non-player owned city. Or even those who say non-player town at the start when they are asked. Then say 1/4 decide they don't like the non-player cities, and buy, after release, a player town. You now have 18 ish keep/castle lots, just sitting vacant in the world.

 

Thank you for speaking up WrathPhoenix. I was quiet happy being the target here, either way.

 

Korvash

Be careful, every time I have pointed out the deceptive conduct, even when I have specific examples and proof to back it up I have been banned for "Slander" which is a laugh considering Slander is:

Which is a bit hard when its true.

Transparency, what a joke

 

Ok if you feel insulted I do apologize. I never want to do that. consider the post erased on my end. I just get a bit excited sometimes.

 

From this transcription of the video chat with Richard and Tracy on May 23, 2013:
But the Lord Mayors so to speak of the town, the person who has contributed that Duke level and we're building, not only are we building really nice palaces for, but we've been starting to poll those people for personal aspects of their, either real life on Earth or their fantasy life so we can write parallel stories to that to guide their presence in the game. So, but so anyway if any of you are, thank you. Any of you might want to be literally written in the game that way, you know come join us at the Duke level and we'll do something extra special for you.

Yes, that is correct. There's nothing stopping players from moving whenever they feel like or are you saying that Dukes and LotMs can never move? Or you know, they can fill in the empty space with an NPC and develop a story and quest around it. There's a million ways to solve this non-problem of choosing where you want to live initially and moving afterwards.

 

This is why i have been carefull to make sure to include "my opinion" in all my statements along those lines.

That wasnt aimed at you marjoria70, that was aimed at the comment a few above, accusing me of spreading hate, and being insulting about it. I wasnt going to quote it, as it could very well be removed/edited.

 

... I'm not saying there's a problem. I'm saying it is currently ambiguous whether or not keep or castle lots will be allowed in a player owned town.

I'm not a duke. I'm not a lotm. Why then would they allow me to put a keep or castle lot in my town should I buy one? That would make no sense.

You do not know right now if I could arrange my town that way or not. You are speculating on that point. What I am asking for is for official clarification on the matter. I thought I was clear on that when I posed the original questions.

Player towns are separate from pledges. Now keeps and castles are exclusive to pledges. Should duke+ be able to put those lot sizes in a town they purchased. Sure. But they were not clear how the change in policy effects player towns.

 

Again, more ambiguity. There is so much misinformation here regarding the budget. First it was tens of millions, then it was 0.5 mil from the goal needed to successfully funded, now it's going to "cost more". That link itself talks about computer game trends. It doesn't specifically outline SOTA which already cited as approximately $5 mil +/- $2 mil.

I want those extras too. That's why in addition to my initial pledge which included the base game and all 5 episodes, I deliberately pledged several hundred dollars more hoping to push the game well past its base goal to ensure all estimated goals were met. Then I suddenly find out that contribution is meaningless because additional stretch goals were added requiring even more. Unless I pledge thousands, I miss out on exclusives that my gaming abilities cannot obtain and as a community member I become a glorified beta tester. I can't even influence the game unless I throw money at it.

Then the community begins to segregate and categorise itself based on fiscal contributions. Then the cash shop evolves again with many items becoming limited, exclusive and in some cases (this topic) unobtainable for the majority. People are ranked before the game is even out yet. Pure metagaming.

And don't get me wrong, I want this game to grow. And this is why I directly refer to communities like Star Citizen. Because those guys have got it right. Exclusivity doesn't exist and stretch goals and big items (such as these houses and plots) are still obtainable yet people will contribute.

There is no need for Portalarium to take such an elitist and metagame approach. People, such as those in this thread, will contribute for the sheer possibility of a great game. There is no need to morph the clientele.

 

Ok, i missed that bit with Richard and Tracey, and thats fine. its been said, i have no issues there.

And no, i wasn't trying to imply they couldn't move. But more the fact that, if/when they move there is a vacant lot. Your suggestion, though interesting, and i will even say good, presents the issue of addition development time, that would then need to be spent on creating specific NPC's, and/or adapting the housing system, so that keep/castle lots were auto populated by NPC's when a player abandoned them. Which, to everything that we get from Portalarium in reference to new and/or unplanned features, would require additional funding, and potentially delay the game.

 

Will the Keep lot in a citizen town, occupied by a backer be tax free?

 

@Korvash lol Ok I will leave it especially since mentioning the boating and stuff made me just want to go boating lol and find treasures. I can't wait. Ok and to anyone else, I always said my 20-30 was approx. and that I do not know. I do think the number will be higher than we have now for all the features we want though. It will be an exceptional game with tons of features.

 

Old transcript but interesting never knew that. Must of missed it back then or just didn't think I would ever reach that level. Wonder if that still goes on with writing Dukes into the story.

 

And i am by no means saying what smack quoted/referenced is false. However this does go to prove the point. Changes are being made, yet no official public notice is being made about this. However, in this case, we could be wrong. Maybe it was just a reference, and Dukes, don't get written into the story. As I said we have no real official statement on the matter, so we simply cannot say.

And Dean478, I will just say thank you. You have worded my concern 100x more eloquently then i did in my initial post.

 

Yes but they soon became devalued to $45 and available to anyone a year after Kickstarter Finished.
The new Row house plots have just been added as rewards so are they now unavailable for in game gold, or is exclusivity only for those that can afford to buy it.

 

I have to say the shifting goal posts of the funding needed is ridiculous

This is what Kickstarter says about its funding goals

https://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter basics

So what do you call it when the team signed a legal agreement stating they required $1,000,000 to make the game
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/portalarium/shroud-of-the-avatar-forsaken-virtues-0
and then after they have received this money, received in fact that multiple times over we are told, NOT that they were wrong and they under budgeted but rather that they always needed more money than that 1,000,000 and that they hid that fact from Kickstarter and those people who pledged on Kickstarter

 

And lo a mountain arose where once a humble mole hill stood. The aggrieved looked upon his creation and was pleased with himself. From his lips a cry of 'gotcha' was raised unto the wind for all to hear and bear witness.

In all seriousness, this is a non-issue and I can't believe that someone is actually complaining. For shame!


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