Building the Metropolis of Beran's Reach

Discussion in 'Player Owned Towns' started by Vallas (Beran’s Reach), Jul 21, 2014.

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  1. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

    Vallas (Beran’s Reach) Avatar

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    It'll be ready when its ready :p
     
  2. Logain

    Logain Avatar

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    I really like what you've done there!
    Some questions though. First of all, if the inhabitants rely on their port, woldn't they at least use the big green 'wood space' outside their castle walls for farming (e.g wheat and other fields) in order to supply a minimum food locally?
    And given that the port is the main weak spot for an attack, wouldn't one of the 'cliffs' that reach out to protect the harbour naturally contain some sort of tower with cannons?
    Did you profile the scene on various bottleneck locations? I'd be curious for the results, especially of the spots where the waterfall isn't being culled from a far distance.
    Do you plan on providing a walkable webplayer demo, in order to encourage more direct and specific feedback?
     
  3. DavenRock

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    Great work!

    There are of course many ideas that come to mind when one thinks about providing constructive criticism. However, you guys have a whole team devoted to it, so have at it! It's going to be awesome!

    One thing I noticed is that the bear tavern seems to be hidden. The one way to offset that would be to have a pathway going up the middle of the NPC zone towards the tavern. Just an idea.

    Also I dont know if you guys had this planned or not, but maybe you could put in a scenic stop halfway down the winding beach path or something. Idk.
    Keep up the good work!
     
  4. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

    Vallas (Beran’s Reach) Avatar

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    No worries about serious questions, it gives us a challenge. :)

    In regards to why it has a port, the first point is its location. Beran's Reach's coastal location makes having a port, even if it's a small one, a benefit that's too good to pass up. Since it's a large settlement, a port provides a good entrypoint both for travellers and for goods and supplies. A bit of a must-have for any trade hub. Secondly, the Metropolis is effectively a huge fortress, designed to withstand attack. We're still writing up what we hope will form the basis of a certain level of canon. However, a port in a defensible position provides a good alternative route in should there be a siege. Even if the port is also taken, it's position at the base of steep cliffs makes scaling upwards almost suicidal.

    We're still waiting to see what Portalarium does with its builds, however a gun emplacement would make sense. I'll feed that back to our designer. :)

    There are three major bottlenecks which should make being part of any invading army extremely unpleasant. Firstly, as covered the cliffs would be number one (not a good option). Secondly, there is a small secondary exit which runs along a narrow path before leading up to the gate via some narrow steps. Known as "The Forlorn Steps", you can probably guess why. Thirdly, the main gate is situated on the eastern wall along a gradient. This is the primary entranceway in and out, guarded by a gatehouse and towers. If anyone wants in, it's going to be via here, something which will be easier said than done. as it has plenty of defensive space internally.

    Our designer is having a bit of time off due to RL. However, he's working up a web viewer of the build. We plan to see what we can do to host it as part of future updates. :)
     
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  5. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

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    Feel free to throw up any advice!

    We're waiting on Portalarium to a degree to define NPC housing placements within the NPC zone. We should have a substantial market area which will be a mix of player and NPC areas. On top of that, we plan to support as many businesses operating out of home plots as possible!

    A scenic stop sounds like a nice touch, we'll look into it.
     
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  6. Logain

    Logain Avatar

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    Oh, nono! I didn't wonder why the scenario has a port, but rather how easy it is to siege that port and how much the food income relies on the port. I really like how much thought you've put on the design, especially from a defence point of view, but if I'd be set to siege the village, I'd simply send in three ships, take the port and wait till everybody staves or surrenders.
    There is a large area of wood right infront of the gates, so in a 'realistic' scenario it would either be settled, or (even more likely) used to produce food. And the cliffs to the north and south of the port simply yell 'place a tower here', that'd blast any ship that wants to enter apart :)

    Looking forward to webplayer version! Shouldn't take you more than a few clicks to deploy (incase the scenario already features proper collisions, which would seem a must have for a drag and drop solution).
    Any word on profiling the scene?
     
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  7. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

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    We've been pretty careful with regards to the design so far. There has to be a function for everything, just simply chucking down some walls and a moat isn't going to provide an interesting locale which people will choose to love in. Defensive measures may just end up as window dressing, depending on the choices Portalarium make, however it not we plan to make Beran's Reach the final word in strength and security. Giving any would-be infant ever in a besieging army something to dread is a good start!

    We'll look into that gun emplacement idea again. ;)

    The area outside of the walls is a tough one. Luckily, it's very conceivable that generations of administrators have simply been over zealous when it comes to planning permission. It's a big city, so emphasising Beran's Reaches security could be maintained. We may shove the stables outside of the walls or perhaps place something leading down towards the highway, we'll see how our build goes.

    Profiling? Care to explain?
     
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  8. Logain

    Logain Avatar

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    Unity Pro comes with a built in Profiler, in order to spot tricky locations in your scene that might just not be able to make it into the game. Scene design is half art, half technical knowledge on how to avoid spots where the framerate drops to values where players are no longer happy (especially in a game that offers PvP). You've got to consider that even though the scene runs stable right now, adding thousands of items and especially light sources can drastically increase the number of draw calls. Typically spots where you could see a waterfall from afar and have a wonderfull view on the whole town/scene are cases where (if you ain't careful), you could end up with 3-10 FPS ;)
     
  9. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

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    Ta. I'm just the ideas man, however I'll bear that in mind. Thanks for the info. :)
     
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  10. Akimotos

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    looks very nice :) This is so different then Star Citizen or ArcheAge.
    i'll be sure to check this town out. In real life i'm working my ass off to get me a Lord's house.... need to put is somewhere.
     
  11. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

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    You're welcome to join us! We've just completed our guild and business registration system, so it's a good time to get involved.
     
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  12. Akimotos

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    I'm honored by your open invitation and will check out the guild and business registration system.
    indeed these are good times to get involved!
     
  13. Akimotos

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    I tested the guid and registration system... i was surprised by enjin. that i already had an account. (enjin account for Star Wars - The Old Republic) After logging in i applied for a slot and the guild.
    It should have been guild first and then slot, but i was a little confused by the login system of enjin. :)
    upped my pledge to developer. I am working to make it to lord marshall in 2-3 months.
     
  14. Akimotos

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    Although i'm a member of the Bear Tavern, i still want to thank the members of the "Order of the Dragon's Flame" for their understanding in my sudden departure and support afterwards. I'll be sure to visit you one day and I hope to see you sooner or later in my house as honored guest or even as friends. I salute you all, members of the Order of the Dragon's Flame!
     
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  15. Sole

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    Was fun to play with you and Im looking forward to meet you again in the game! I'd rather be your friend than honoured guest btw :)

    Later...
     
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  16. Akimotos

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    Thanks :) i'll search for you so we can have some fun in R10 !
    looking forward to that :)
     
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  17. blaquerogue

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    Make sure you have a tavern/Inn down by the cove for weary fishermen Sea faring types and traders, low grade of course :) A nice one wouldn't look very good in the port area! But i love the setup and design!
     
  18. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

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    A good suggestion. :)

    We've plenty of space for new arrivals, with our next batch of plots up for allocation (no charge).
     
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  19. Vallas (Beran’s Reach)

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    We've got plenty of space for individuals, guilds and businesses. If you fancy finding somewhere to live that will both interesting and busy (with no doubt an array of shops to suit your needs) then Beran's Reach is for you. If you'd like to find so,eh we're where you could stake a claim and make a difference, please feel free to visit!

    If you have any questions that you'd like to ask, feel free to ask em here.
     
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  20. Duke William of Serenite

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    Well here is my 2 cents. There are some real life Hamlets with Castles that have smaller housing around it. First of all I recommend building the city on a hill with the castle up top on the hill. If you look at castles online that is what you see. The castle is always nestled on a hill and the smaller town below has houses literally strewn about with little care for OCD.

    The castle on a hill offers the defending army an advantage. It also makes it the focal point of the city. It also is the reason the city exists. There is a Duke or Baron in that castle that has guard and protects the tennants below in their homes.

    Now you can roll across the side of the city and really enjoy its beauty . Instead of looking at walls I can see this castle waaay up top surrounded by the tenants of the manor homes which look gorgeous. Might I add that this game has the most gorgeous homes ever, big kudos to the development team.

    [​IMG]
     
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