Guilds...same ole same ole...or something relevent?

I've tried to keep up with the latest news and interviews about SotA, but one thing that I have not heard anything about is how the game will handle guilds. I come from a guild that has been around for over 20 years on various games. What I have found over this time, is that many players stick to games not because of the game mechanics, but because of the social aspects and personal bonds that they develop. A good portion of the socialization and bonding comes in the form of guilds. Once a game is fairly well established, I have also seen the continued growth of a game become very dependent on new-player friend guilds (EVE University comes to mind as one of the premier growth-driving guilds out there for a game).

The latest trend for MMOs is for the developers to do what I consider the bare minimum - a chat channel, very basic security roles, and some sort of shared storage. Game developers seem to overlook the important of guilds, and develop no real systems around guilds.

Have the developers mentioned if they will be doing anything beyond the norm for guilds? Any guild vs guild systems? Ranking systems and bonuses? Prestigious guild halls?

 

Yes. See the $2m stretch goal from KS.

 

I am not sure your pledge level but there is a discussion about guild started by one of the Devs (Chris) in the Dev+ section. It is being talked about

 

The 2M Stretch Goals:


$2M: Players Take over the World!!!

Castles & Keeps effectively a new “Town Type”, where the structure is ownable by players or guilds
Guilds can declare war against other guilds
Guilds can declare as full time PVP
Guilds can earn a guild house and guild bank
Guild Tabbard/Shield/Flags useable by all members
Minimum of 5 castle types added to the game
Castle merchants with unique merchandise
Castle defense scenarios for most castles which can be played offline as well as online

The social aspect of SotA seems to be one of the priorities for both players and Devs, I believe it will be better than "same ol" off the start and if we can get further changes in then much better. But then, I suppose it depends on how you personally define same same and relevant!

 

For the low low price of only $2,000,000! lol I do think the guild shield is an interesting idea, I can't wait to see what those will look like. I expect a lot of shields with boobs and penises running around.

 

lol, yes, the TtP is pretty quick these days! My guess is, it will be a bit like Stronghold Kingdoms, pre-batched templates you can mix and match to create one. Maybe better templates depend on unlocks like guild size/age or something.

 

Thanks guys! The only thing I remembered from the stretch goal was the guild PvP flag system...which while cool, doesn't really get me too excited (in those types of games, I always end up making TWO guilds...one for the PvPers and ones who don't want to be involved in guild PvP but still want to socialize with us). I completely forgot about the castle system and other goodies! And I'm glad to hear the Dev+ folks are discussing it too.