Holdfasts and wasted space

I feel that there is such a waste of space in our holdfast instance. The only building that can be done is on one stone slab while the rest is useless expanse. Sure we disnt build a metropolis but i'm sure the square footage constraint could have included other areas in the instance. One size definitely does not fit all.

 

I wouldn't disagree.

I'm looking forward to seeing new templates (not biomes) and also it would be fantastic if the exit areas could somehow become moveable so an owner could almost scale their town to size based upon the part/parts of the scene they wish to use for their town.

 

You can't place anything out of the stone block. Makes for pretty unusable scenery. The instance size may work for a metropolis but not for a holdfast

 

Ideally, Portalarium would make templates for all biomes in all sizes.
I don't think we're going to see that happen for a good long time.

If we're going to have a limited selection, I'd rather have the metropolis size space to work with.

I have placed row and village lots well outside the stone block plaza of the desert template.

One advantage of having the metropolis size template is that I can upgrade from the holdfast and not have to change templates or move things I've already placed.

It works for me.

 

There is talk of having 2 templates to choose from. I think it would be good to make the second one a smaller template to give lower size PoT owners an option.

Right now the current templates are big enough for a Metropolis. So a half full map would roughly be a Crossroads Village (little less I know).

Using this same model, the new template should be big enough for a Village, because half full it would be roughly the Holdfast size.

 

Repost from the OP's other thread:

Place is not a waste rather a possibilty to decorate. So what we need is more items (add-on store and craftables) that are freely placeable within a pot and a much higher itemcount for pots (holdfast). This coincidentally will generate more funds for SotA.

 

Personally I like having all of that extra space but perhaps they'll add smaller templates as an option for those that want them.

I purchased a scene, not a town. At least that's how I choose to think of it and how I plan to treat it, so the more space the better. Perhaps I'll have 2 separate settlements in my scene and treat them each as a village. Perhaps one of my scenes won't have any buildings at all. I certainly wouldn't think of it as a town in that case. I hope the devs give us the flexibility to use these player-owned scenes in more ways than one.

Update: Now I remember why I started thinking of it as a player-owned scene. Yes, I want to own the entire scene!

 

I'm not sure why we can't just cut out a holdfast sized section of the metropolis sized templates and make that available. I think it would make a lot of people very happy.

Maybe technically it doesn't work that way, but the concept is what's important to me here.

 

I understand your view on the matter as it works for your future plan of expansion, but for those looking to keep a small town, all I see now is a an expansive run from the entrance of the instance down a mountain and through a forest that doesn't quite make sense for where our seaside town sits, to the "stone slab of building". It doesn't feel quite right and really accentuates the size restriction of the holdfast. I see a limited amount of material that comes with the town for decorating purposes (aside from spending more cash in the add on star for many items that should be available for free with a hefty town purchase); I believe that walls to give the towns structure, roads and guards/guard booth, town center (the number depending on the size of your town) should be included with a town and not add-ons or part of your NPC building restriction. Nickel and diming in the add-on store for town decorations seems to be a bit much seeing what people have paid for the POT's. I see a bland dock when compared to the beautifully decorated seaside promenade of Kingsport. Could some of that art work and design could have possibly been utilized in the POT's? Allowing for dock based building like the warehouse in Kingsport would have been nice too. With respect to a holdfast, I see two islands across the water across two bridges and woodland that can hold no future significance because they are off limits in terms of building placement / decorating. Overall I am enjoying testing time during the pre-alpha's and I understand that there is still lots to be done for SotA to become viable aside from player towns, but the purchases of these towns that many people have made are helping make the rest possible as well. Hopefully some revisions will be in the works.

 

I don't have any plans to expand. It's just that the option is currently there for folks that want it.
Even as things stand now, I have a landlocked town location in the middle of a desert (right where I want to be.), but in my town, I have a beautiful ocean view with a dock and an island. It doesn't make sense, but I'm ok with it. Other people would say it breaks their immersion. Those people need to lighten up. The island has a house on it. In the desert template, the river is dry, but I have a house on the would-be island to the west. I also have a row lot placed in the remote southwest corner.
I did say it would be ideal for Portalarium to make templates for all biomes in all sizes. I just don't foresee them getting to that for a good long time. Likewise, I don't see them putting much effort into fleshing out the templates with walls and guard towers or any other structure.
I expect they will put those items in the store and nickle-and-dime us.
Maybe later they will dedicate some resources to making new templates, but I am not holding my breath.

 

From the Spoon archives of possible solutions. (Yes I've proposed these before)...

How to solve the issue for those that feel the template scene is too large:
A) best solution
Let owners place 'fade to black' borders where they want.
Let owners select from a predefined list of entrance points.

B) most bang for the buck solution
When designing a template Portalarium places Entry/Exit gates in a lot of places.
Add functionality for owner/steward to right click any of the gates and set it as The Entry point. Add a 24h count down before taking effect. This moves the player spawn point and the town crier to its designated spot right next to the entrance.



Both of those would solve most of the issues people have with unused space and while I prefer A, I can see if they would rather go for B.

People mostly don't mind if the scene extends beyond the center. What people hate is having to run for miles from the entry point to even realize where the center is. Plus the conveniently hidden town crier in the middle of the Forest01 template.

 

Owning a holdfast myself I don't feel any obligation to build on the paved area. What I would like to see though is the ability to retexture that area to dirt or grass.

Would it not be interesting and fun if town owners had access to paint their own terrain (limited by the biome of course).

 

The paved area seems to be the only area where structures are able to be placed. It would be nice to pick a plot like you can in other instances: On hills/in the woods/grassland/a structure that can be part of the dock area etc.

 

We need the ability to do things like pave roads without it cutting down a ridiculously low decoration limit.

 

Go to the bank.
Search for the map of a forest template.
Put it in your inventory and then on your hot bar.
Enter your POT and double click the map in the hot bar slot.
Check out the different green areas.

I stay well away from the parking lot in the middle and I have no problems placing all available housing elsewhere.

 

I agree that there is also need for freely placeable decorative items throughout the POT instance but where even those are placeable seem to be constrained . And unfortunately as a lot of decoratives seem to be sold in the add on store, it can add a pretty penny to the price of the alredy not cheap POT.

 

Or having roads suddenly pop up in the add on store for $. some things should be included with a POT. Roads, street signs, street lamps...things that add to the ambient appeal of a POT. Otherwise I feel that the philosophy of SotA can begin to feel like that of a a cell phone APP game that dings you in the wallet for every little upgrade.

 

There are plenty of places all over where lots can be placed. I haven't had any such issues. Soon as you enter my holdfast my buildings are just to the right.

 

Yes, definitely.

And I'd comment on that again by saying its not really about the POT owners and residents. They have their lots, guilds, events, etc. Its really about POT owners being able to create nice places for the entire community to enjoy. What I worry about is that if even the basic things like roads are done in the cash store, that not every POT will have them, and that will degrade the quality of POTs as spaces to enjoy.

 

Redfish brings up a great point. You run into a POT here, a POT there and more often than not, everything looks the same. Albeit this is a test phase but giving town owners the basic tools to design their towns without worrying about breaking the bank will add to the aesthetics of the world as a whole. As it is I don't think street lamps, which are already in the add on store, should be there. well decorated (and well...well lit) POT's would be much more of a draw to newer players exploring the world as opposed to cookie cutter instances