How many House Deeds does a Lord Pledge contain?

The incentive to spend large sums of money would evaporate if they didn't offer anything worth while. People with money to spend would just choose to sit back and acquire wealth from gold farmers once the game was live instead.

 

IMO, the incentive should be that you're supporting a great game. It should never be about getting extra things that others will not have. Now, the people who have donated more than $1500 will even have a direct-to-developer in game chat channel. I feel like this is quickly becoming a rich guy club, and anyone not in the loop will just be a lowly peasant with an entirely different game experience. No game funding method should create such a huge divide between groups of players...

I'm becoming more and more convinced there is going to be two massively separate castes of citizens in this game when it launches (and beyond). In a game like this, where multiplayer is a huge aspect and economy is based on player trade, having players start out on massively unequal footing will make a lot of new players leave the game, and a lot of potential players stay away. Based on reactions outside of the SotA forums, I would say the general gaming population agrees with me on this point.

 

I played a game once that had a special channel as a benefit for certain players. There was absolutely no chatter on that channel. None. No one spoke on it from day one. There was no advantage gained from having access to it.

 

I kinda know where you're coming from Lavos

I use to get upset in games when so many people would be on constantly while I would have to go to bed so I could get up for work in the morning to provide for my Family then get home only to see the same people still on that don't work or work as much as I seem to have this I get to play constantly advantage and get all the rare items armor or the ability to camp a spot dailey until they get what they want ... frustrated the heck out of me .

 

I'm not so sure the houses are a separate deed item.

From the way lots work as of the last release the lot has access to specific houses and as the add-on store doesn't list House Deeds but just Houses it could be that you have a lot deed either thru pledge, add-on store purchase or in-game purchase and then access to houses for that lot based on pledge, add-on store purchase or in-game purchase. This could mean you only have one house per lot and choose from the designs you have available. A bunch of the pledge houses are described as exclusive and if you were able to sell them this would defeat the exclusivity.

Add-on store or in-game purchase homes should be transferable but once you did your access to that design would be removed from the list the next time you went to put a home on a lot.

I'd wait before I started making big plans for all the gold I'm going to make from selling all the extra houses with my pledge.

Just to counter the statements Lavos is making based on his assumptions, the weapons and armour given as pledge benefits are described as 'starter' and I expect as such any advantage they give is short lived as better gear becomes available.

The crafting gear given may have slightly longer advantages but even that will be short lived as the function of expert level crafting tools and stations isn't exclusive to pledge rewards.

I expect very rapidly better than 'starting' gear will be created and expert level tools and stations will also become available in short order.

Sorry to burst the bubble of a doom&gloomer but those are just my thoughts, YMMV

 

I would give $1,500 to charity and expect nothing back but expecting people to do that for a game... that just isn't realistic. In the real world barons, dukes and royalty would spend money to build roads, towns university's, cathedrals etc and live in nice houses. In this game people with those titles would likewise have contributed to game infrastructure and likewise own nice houses. Isn't that more meaningful than NPC's having those titles?

Your issue that some people will have more in-game wealth is a mute point. In EVERY MMO game I have ever played real money can and does buy you in game wealth from other players, that wouldn't stop if the pledge system was scrapped. If your gripe is that some people have more real money which can then used to purchase things in game, well that's just the real world it's nothing to do with SotA.

As it stands students who can spend 8 hours a day playing will have the highest level characters, the most skills and will be the most formidable in combat. What you are suggesting is that those players should also hold the highest titles and own the best estates rather than those who supported the game the most financially. I don't see anything wrong with the older players who made the game possible with large financial contributions having estates and titles, they certainly won't be the ones with the most hours to play... Would you prefer that all the Barons, Dukes and Princes were 14 year old boys in real life with $45 pledges?

 

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Welcome Lavos. I have slowly raised my pledge tier on the payment plan in support of this game, not especially to get the items offered. I want the features that more funding will allow. There are so many ways to look at this and it seems you have chosen yours. We didn't start out with homes in Ultima and for many it was a much richer experience working for that home and all. It is going to be possible in this game too, all the richness is up to the individual. Just because I have a house or multiples does not mean I will be rich in the game, you may very well pass me up. So to perhaps fault others or the game for raising money, and those who have spent money to help develop this game, in some cases some who may be spending more than we should feasibly do, does not makes any difference. There will be so many opportunities in this game to create your own wealth, and to worry about what someone else is doing could possibly take away from ones own enjoyment in the game. Just a thought on this. I have heard this saying that helps me. Anyway I am not trying to criticize you for your viewpoint, and hoping you will just have a blast like I intend to do. ***cheers****
*******************If you only look at what is...........You might miss what could be*****************

 

I'm curious what Lavos would offer as an alternative.

For my part, I plan to use those things that I've purchased with real-world money to provide a place to live, work, and play in game for those Avatar that wish to inhabit such a space. I also plan to make those crafting stations I'll be receiving as part of my pledge open to the public so that everyone who lives in my village or even passes through starts off in game with a full set of expert level crafting stations available for their use. I also intended (Though this is subject to the capabilities provided by Portalarium, and won't be known until we get more detail information on what can be done with player settlement scenes) to have a public market, where any resident can place a vendor.

I shan't be charging rent, as both the settlement, the crafting pavilion, and even my own residence will be rent free. I will be setting out a donation box to go toward the upkeep of the crafting stations, but this will be entirely voluntary. The only in-game expenditure residents will need make is for the rent on their own lots charged by the game should they not own a rent-free lot deed.

The armor and weapons may provide me a short term advantage, true... but as has been pointed out, they are specifically Starter, and I would expect their relevance to be short live, and relegated to display on mannequins or wall plaques soon after the game's release.

So, Lavos... am I paying to win? What are the victory conditions? No one that I'm aware of has defined what those might be. By my estimation, I'm paying real world money to help a few dozen other Avatars. My current plan for my village (again, this is subject to change as more details become available) is to have available for others who wish to live there 48 row house and 27 village lots. Potential housing, crafting, and vendor facilities for 75 other Avatars. Is that objectionable?

 

Lol welcome to America