POT draw

What, other than RP community will be effective in drawing traffic to a POT? I honestly cannot see a reason to ever click on one of the on map POT towns, let alone the hidden ones. The way the economy is panning out, without a global chat or global auction, I cannot envision even an economic draw for the larger community. How in the heck will someone even know that your POT has vendors with low prices? It will be a shame if POTs are simply RP communities, or just collections of like minded individuals plopped around the map with no effective interaction with the larger community. I do not own a pot, so am making assumptions about the mechanics from the outside.

 

Nice spaces to enjoy, for one. Its one of the reasons I've been insistent that the POT owners need a lot more tools to decorate. If POTs are just spaces for housing lots, then they're mostly just for residents to enjoy. Its decorating the POTs beyond the housing lots that make them spaces for the entire community to enjoy.

 

A place to put your house?

How in the heck will someone even know that your POT has vendors with low prices?
Because you went in to look or heard about it from someone?

 

Hopefully later on we'll get bulletin boards in the game which will serve many purposes: as a jobs board, asking for help, as a news board, but also for advertising.

 

A lot of people will click on towns just to see what's there.
I've only seen a few towns that are trying to develop trade. Most that I've seen are just places for individuals or small groups to live privately. Groups of friends or small guilds that don't really care to be involved in the larger community.

As Balec says, players will discover interesting places and cheap vendors, and word will spread.

 

I think the OP is asking why people would go in to look in the first place, other than general curiosity. Not sure of numbers but I believe there will be well in excess of 100 of these towns, with potentially dozens of vendors in each, so no-one has the time to keep updated on what they all stock.

I'm curious myself as to what options will be available for POT owners to get their place noticed. I don't doubt that curiosity will get some people in but it's a fairly superficial draw. Player-made quests will doubtless help with caches that can be placed in a POT. Similarly 'trade missions' where players request a certain commodity or item, if the commodity has to be delivered to the requesting player's house.

It's just occurred to me, if the bulletin board can be accessed from the overland (as though it were at the town entrance, before you go in) this would really help bring me into more towns.
I'm unlikely to check a global board (which would be swamped) and I'd only rarely go to the effort of loading a player town, running inside, finding the board, reading it to see there's nothing of interest to me, then waiting for the overland to reload.
But if I can stand outside the town and click a 'Bulletins' button, allowing me to quickly scan for highlights before committing to enter, I'm far more likely to find interesting things that I would otherwise run past.

 

How long list do you want?
In my traffic schemes doc I have about 60ish different ideas and concepts. Although most of those I wouldn't necessarily want to share...
...and most events are not RP events. The most frequent and reoccuring events so far is actually PvP and other "sports".


But there are few things that are generic while most are specific for specific POTs. The first and foremost being their location which could give a natural traffic depending on local POIs close by. For instance for the PvP POTs then closeness to other PvP scenes is a boon.

etc

 

Great suggestion. Perhaps a mouse-over pop up would be appropriate. Hopefully there are non-economic reasons for the casual passer by to enter the pot also.

 

I agree, it can be overwhelming at first if your goal is to keep track of everything...and in my limited time in game I choose carefully where I want to go which frequently is not a POT. But it's a big world and it's there for you to explore. I know for a fact that I randomly found a great mace last release for sale at some random player vendor (NPC town, to which the same OP argument applies to some degree - why go in?) and I've walked around a bit POT and NPC looking for a similar value this release...but frequently I find nothing I'm interested in and move on.

 

Btw, as for the economy, and hearing or reading about player-run shops from others, I think its an important reason we need shop signs, street signs, etc. Otherwise, people will just be going from vendor to vendor. A little off topic, but I think relevant to the thread.

I'm sure a lot of players will also use their lots for things like taverns, gardens, theaters, libraries, museums, etc. that will be fun to visit, but I figured that fit into what the OP meant by 'role-playing'.

Also, the statues at one point will give blessings, right?

 

I think certain POT's will draw interest and become popular hubs of sorts... based on what they choose to provide as services to the public.

For instance, if a POT owner and it's residents want to draw shoppers of crafted goods, then the town would be better off with:

1. A convenient layout with easy to find vendors
2. Both cheap items and high end items to satisfy all ends of the spectrum
3. Know what types of things are in demand and have them in stock as much as possible
4. To be located near good gathering zones so that the crafters have easy access to resources (less time to get there = more time gathering = advantage over other crafters)
5. Being close to an NPC town to make the POT more noticeable and easier to find
6. Host events to draw crowds to the towns for fun (PVP and Gust ball tournaments, RP events like plays and such, Music and Dancing, Player made Quests, Cool things like mazes and creative creations out of in-game objects, Giving out Prizes!, etc.)

The key is to be efficient and fun. Get crowds to visit once or periodically for entertainment purposes. They will look around and check out the vendors while there. Then you keep them coming back by giving them good values and/or sought after items.

 

POT's do need a draw... I avoid all POT's due to loading time, and wonder if there's a point in looking for vendors within.. that would take a long time to look in a few POT's, longer than it is to kill things and make your own stuff. Loading times are one big issue, sheer number of towns is another.

I wish deeds were cheaper, my in-game cash flow is slow, it will take me a very long time to earn either deed.. so again, POT's are pointless to me for now.

Maybe when the game is in full swing, then the POT's and vendors will become useful. I feel sorry for those vendor's owners hoping to sell stuff.. and I'd just use the central vendor in Owl's Head or Ardoris... passing by all the vendors in those big cities feels awkward lol

 

The New Britannia Business Directory, of course!

 

So to harken back to an older game: early Star Wars Galaxies had town development tools, but they also became places where cantinas were placed, could get a shuttle service, and if you had the faction points: build an Empire or Alliance base, which had its PVE and PVP draws to attempt raiding and defending it.

There was also a system of quest givers/scene props you could buy with the faction points and design fairly elaborate quests.

I think the Portalarium devs eventually want to create similar tools, but yes, it may be an episode 2 or 3 fulfillment...

 

Totally agree. Good post.

 

Massive open areas for snowball fights.

 

I'd like to see POT Sieges, where a successful campaign could net you a portion of their lot deed taxes!! I'd be happy to visit them all if this were the case

 

I cannot see any reason I would want to visit any POT.
Because:
1 If I want to PvP I can do it anywhere if I flag for it.
2 If I want to play online sports games (gustball) I would not be playing in a Medieval/ Steampunk/ Modern festival SIM run in a player POT creation that someone thinks looks good.
3 The Overland map is not that big and only a few of the Hexes are fully DEV created scenes, and if the POT is embedded behind another why would I volunteer for a couple of extra loading screens. So using the excuse that it might be close some resources or POI is just a PR stunt hoping to drag in some renters they can rule.
4 With 80+ player owned housing in Each town I will already be overwhelmed with player vendors to check out. To me a Pot will just be an Out of Town empty Mall complex not my idea of gaming.
5 I'm not interested in watching a bunch of toon's do a jig in their underwear wearing silly masks & hats or see how many wardrobes someone can stack on top of each other.

To me POTs are just overpriced overhyped vanity products for the few. And if that's what they like to do good luck to them, but I do not think they should be looking to get Portalarium to give them extra powers to make them become part of the overall game.

 

I own a metro and I feel the same as you, honestly. I want there to be a way to hide all POTs from the map when I'm playing. And just because I coughed up $6k doesn't mean I magically earned the right to force/bait you into visiting. I look at POTs are more of guild homes so not everyone is spread out, or personal places to rest your hat and not have to deal with anyone else. I am the only resident of my POT and it might just stay that way. I went with a metro so I can have the 15 NPC buildings. I think you shouldn't have to even notice my pot as existing if you don't want to.

I understand my post comes across as sarcastic, but it's not.

 

in star wars galaxies, players had barkers in major cities,and in star ports to advertise. players had ways of advertising on the over head map too.
I hope that at some point, there would be a NPC vendor that would allow us to place parchments of advertisements and can be purchased for 1 Gp. kind of like the barter guy but all this is for is advertisement of pots and events possibly in them or what ever.
This Npc would be placed in taverns or inns. where ever they fit in best.