1. Here you will find official announcements and updates. These announcements are also linked in the Official SotA Discord server.
    We encourage comments from the community! To keep the announcements official, we ask that comment threads be created in the General forums for player input.

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New Pledge Rewards, New Pledge Tiers, Player Owned Towns & Stretch Goal Store Megapost

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by DarkStarr, Jun 5, 2014.

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  1. DarkStarr

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

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    Greetings Avatars,

    As you can tell by the title of this post, I am here to discuss some very broad and sweeping changes including new pledge rewards, new pledge tiers, a new housing type, and a stretch goal store. In this post I want to share with you how and why we came to this place. In the process I will end up sharing information with you that on any other project would be insane to make public - but we are not any other project! We have the most transparent, and I would argue healthiest, relationship with our community of any other project on the planet. That makes me confident that sharing ALL of this will be a good thing. There is a ton of information here to digest. Please read ALL of it and consider the whole picture, not just the individual pieces that may affect your particular interests. As always this data is current thinking, plans always change during implementation. “Don’t lawyer me bro” on the details of these proposals, if they change due to feedback or implementation reality.

    These changes will start to take effect Friday June 6, 2014. At that time you can begin making purchases of this new content including add on purchases, pledge upgrades, stretch goal purchases (mounts only at first), etc.

    CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS:

    Recently a poll was posted in the Dev+ forums about the desire for new pledge tiers specifically aimed at folks who might be interested in upgrading but might not want to make as big a jump between tiers as it sometimes takes. Additionally after we provided a Castle Lot to the Lords of the Manor, the Duke’s began campaigning for a lot that was twice City sized. Also there was continuing negative feedback on our visual quality which we realized we had to address. We could not stick to the budget nor schedule we had originally planned and still make a product that satisfied our backers’ visual standards.

    While all this was happening our original Founder pricing was expiring and we had our two best fundraising months since Kickstarter! This steady increase in fundraising let us expand our team and double down on increasing the quality and level of detail in the product.

    As we expected there was a big drop in funding after the original Founder pricing expired, so we quickly realized that we needed to set new goal posts for our fundraising. This challenge inspired us to analyze where we were and then build what we feel is a great plan that increases value for our backers.

    ANALYSIS:

    All of the above led us to do a critical analysis of our fundraising efforts and consider ways we could improve things. We felt very strongly that were we to pursue any different strategies they had to include some compensations for our existing backers along with new content to incentivize upgrades and/or additional purchases.

    We started by looking at the numbers of pledges at each level. There has been a lot of interest in our exact pledge numbers and I am happy to provide that information here. What we discovered is that there are some very obvious places in our pledge structure where people stall out on upgrading. In the chart below, peaks represent the biggest spikes in pledge purchase. The valleys represent where we have big drop-offs in upgrading of pledges.

    [​IMG]
    * NOTE 1: Pledge data from May 11, 2014; Does not include Guilt Pledges or Unassigned Tier Pledges
    * NOTE 2: Long term we plan to add this detailed information to the Campaign Stats page.

    NEW PLEDGE TIERS AND NEW REWARDS:

    Based on your direct desires have bridge tiers and our desire to fill in some of those valleys we decided to make two new pledge tiers while also adding new pledge rewards across the board to make each pledge feel equally compelling. We specifically targeted pledges we felt did not offer a strong enough incentive to upgrade to or which did not represent a good enough perceived value. We also targeted the two biggest valleys and the most requested fillers for those valleys between Knight and Lord and between Lord and Baron.

    The addition of these new tiers required us to rethink how we were allocating lots for each pledge. To make these new tiers work we realized that we had to either add a whole bunch of new lot sizes, and therefore increase development time/cost and possibly decrease the overall number of lots OR we could start giving multiple lot deeds at higher level tiers. As you will see below we chose the latter, and now starting with the Lord, pledge backers will receive an extra Lot Deed in addition to the deed that they originally received!

    We also noticed that many of you questioned our decision to only allow one character per account when many of you wanted to explore a variety of play styles and skill builds. We decided that adding second and third account slots to some pledges would satisfy this need to better explore all the character options while also adding value to those pledges. At the same time, we wanted your choices to be meaningful and your pledge rewards to be easily accessed by all your characters. That led us to decide that all characters on a single account share the same reputation, last name and are automatically marked kindred so they can share housing and items.

    While all this was happening we were hanging out with our friend Ernie Cline who wrote the amazing book Ready Player One (go read it now, trust me). Ernie’s a huge Ultima fan so the respect is mutual of course. He kindly offered to let us put a couple of items from Ready Player One into Shroud so look for them in the new pledge rewards below.

    NEW HOUSING TYPE: ROW HOUSES:

    We then looked at our current property distribution and the relative sizes of the lots against each other. We went back to older post like this one that talked about higher density housing in the cities. We realized that if we came up with a new smaller lot size and houses that directly connected with each other that we could increase the number of lots in the game by literally thousands and at the same time push property ownership lower down in our pledge structure. At the same time we realized that performance in these areas of the game would be fantastic due to all the culling that these closely packed streets could provide.

    All of this led us to create a new house and lot type we call Row House. These are houses and lots that are contiguous like New York City, Paris, London, Amsterdam, etc. While the lot they sit on is only 10 X 15 meters (¼ the size of a village lot) the house fills the entire lot so it provides a tremendous amount of living space. Row Lots only allow the placement of Row Houses, but Row Houses can be placed on regular lots (Village and above). Also “Empty Lot” is not an option for a Row House Lot. Other than that, Row Houses operate just like every other house. Additionally, larger lot deeds can be used to claim a Row House Lot. We will be adding Row Housing to our pledge tiers as tax free deeds and we will be adding taxed row lots to the add-on store. We will also be creating Row Lot sized basements.

    PLAYER OWNED TOWNS:

    While we were thinking about housing we talked about Player Towns. We love what we are seeing with how the players are creating their own towns (Pax Lair in Valemark!) and we brainstormed how we could further facilitate these activities and offer the players even more control of those towns. At one point we discussed these as pledge tiers beyond Lord of the Manor but after discussing it with our Dev+ backers we quickly moved away from that and are instead going to make these Add On Store purchases.
    • New Add On Store Items:
      • There are a new set of Add On Store items that allow you to buy a scene and keys that lock/unlock all the lots in that scene
      • You do not get lot deeds with these purchases
    • Locked Lots:
      • Owner of the keys can lock and unlock lots at will so they can actively control who gets to live there
      • The key owner can evict an occupant and lock the lot using the key
      • Note that players will still need lot deeds to claim the lots once the town owner unlocks the lots
    • Houses:
      • +X Free House(s) of appropriate size from Add-On Store
    • Design Session: with Team to define details:
      • Lot Selection: Which lots of which size they want
      • Biome: Forest, Mountains, Grasslands, Swamp, etc.
      • Name of Town
      • NPC Building Definition (inn, smithy, etc.)
      • NPC names and stories
      • Location: Roughly which quadrant of the map. Exact hex will be determined by Port
    • Lot Variance: There will be more lots than can be claimed in each town (limit set by town size), much like the player towns we have prototyped so far.
    • NOTE: There will be a path to achieve this in game via in game gold purchase but the ownership of the scene will incur a rental fee.
    Lot Sizes in Meters (for reference):
    • Row: 10 x 15 = 150 sq
    • Village: 20 x 30 = 600 sq
    • Town: 30 x 40 = 1200 sq
    • City: 40 x 60 = 2400 sq
    • Keep: 60 x 80 = 4800 sq
    • Castle: 80 x 120 = 9600 sq
    Town Sizes in Meters (for reference):
    • Braemar = 18,000 Square Meters of Player Lots
    • Kingsport = 19,800 Square Meters of Player Lots
    • Wooded Player Village 1 = 25,800 Square Meters of Player Lots
    • Wooded Player Village 2 = 29,400 Square Meters of Player Lots
    • Owlshead = 63,000 Square Meters of Player Lots
    Player Owned Town Sizes:
    • Holdfast: $750
      • Keys to 12,600 Square Meters of Player Lots
      • NOTE: Does not include the lot deeds
      • Sample Layouts:
        • 21 Village
        • 5 Village + 1 Castle
        • 20 Row + 1 Castle
        • 13 Village + 1 Keep
        • 13 Village + 4 Town
        • etc
      • Keys = number of lots chosen
      • Central Square with 1 NPC owned building
      • 1 Add On Store Village House
    • Hamlet: $1200
      • Keys to 19,800 Square Meters of Player Lots
      • NOTE: Does not include the lot deeds
      • Sample Layouts:
        • 33 Village
        • 17 Village + 1 Castle
        • etc
      • Keys = number of lots chosen
      • Central Square with 2 NPC owned buildings
      • Add On Store Houses
        • 2 Add On Store Village Houses
      • Example in game town: Kingsport
    • Village: $1500
      • Keys to 25,200 Square Meters of Player Lots
      • NOTE: Does not include the lot deeds
      • Sample Layouts:
        • 42 Village
        • 26 Village + 1 Castle
        • etc
      • Keys = number of lots chosen
      • Central Square with 2 NPC owned buildings
      • Add On Store Houses
        • 2 Add On Store Village Houses
      • Example in game town: Wooded Player Village 1
    • Crossroads Village: $2000
      • Keys to 33,600 Square Meters of Player Lots
      • NOTE: Does not include the lot deeds
      • Sample Layouts:
        • 56 Village
        • 40 Village + 1 Castle
        • etc
      • Central Square with 4 NPC buildings
      • Keys = number of lots chosen
      • Add On Store Houses
        • 2 Add On Store Village Houses
        • 2 Add On Store Town Houses
        • 1 Add On Store City House
      • Example in game town: Wooded Player Village 2 (plus a bit more)
    • Town: $3,000
      • Keys to 50,400 Square Meters of Player Lots
      • NOTE: Does not include the lot deeds
      • Sample Layouts:
        • 84 Village
        • 68 Village + 1 Castle
        • etc
      • Central Square with 6 NPC buildings
      • Keys = number of lots chosen
      • Add On Store Houses
        • 2 Add On Store Village Houses
        • 2 Add On Store Town Houses
        • 2 Add On Store City Houses
    • City: $4,000
      • Keys to 67,200 Square Meters of Player Lots
      • NOTE: Does not include the lot deeds
      • Sample Layouts:
        • 112 Village
        • 96 Village + 1 Castle
        • etc
      • Central Square with 10 NPC buildings
      • Keys = number of lots chosen
      • Add On Store Houses
        • 3 Add On Store Village Houses
        • 3 Add On Store Town Houses
        • 3 Add On Store City Houses
      • Example in game town: Owlshead
    NEW PLEDGE STRUCTURE DETAILS:

    We were then ready to assemble all these ideas of new housing, new pledge tiers, additional characters slots, and more into a master plan. Below you will find a list of additional pledge rewards per tier as well as the new pledge tiers: Knight Marshal & Lord Marshal. Please note that these two new tiers place their lots in the same pre-launch window as the tier below them (ex. Knight Marshals will go with Knights). This decision was made to preserve the lot selection sequence of the original pledge tiers. Current thinking about lot selection sequence can be found here.

    This represents over 70 new rewards (or upgrades to existing rewards). Many of these are just initial concepts with more details and visuals to come later.

    For existing Pledge information prior to this change you can refer to here, here, and here. Please note that all of these are Benefactor rewards, we will not be adding any Founder rewards as part of this restructure.
    • Adventurer: $45
      • All existing Rewards
    • Immortal Adventurer: $55
      • All existing Rewards
    • Founder: $65
      • All existing Rewards
    • Royal Artisan: $90
      • All existing Rewards
      • Double Starting Recipes: you start with twice as many known recipes as other players
      • Artisan’s Box of Plenty: Generates a random resource / reagent once per week
      • Starting supplies sufficient to craft four of each starting recipe in the book
      • Non Combat Clockwork Pet: Choose 1 of 3. NOTE: This is in addition to the other non-combat pets you receive from other tiers.
    • Virtual Collector: $110
      • All existing Rewards
      • Second Character Slot (Rent Free): Marked as Kindred and shares reputation and last name. Character slots purchased via Add On Store will be charged a monthly rent via in game currency that if not paid will prevent login with that character.
      • Puzzle Box: Once per week this box presents the player with a puzzle to solve. If solved the box will generate a random thing (money, weapon, resource, etc).
    • Explorer(s): $135 - $140
      • All existing Rewards
      • Non Combat Clockwork Pet: Choose 1 of 3
    • Collector: $165
      • All existing Rewards
    • Patron: $220
      • All existing Rewards
      • Fyndoro’s Tablet of Finding: Once per day can be used to find a player by writing the name on the tablet. A version of this item appeared in the book “Ready Player One” by Ernie Cline
      • Magical Printing Press: Once per week a Patron can use this object to publish a book in the world for free (publishing normally costs a fee per copy)
      • Non Combat Clockwork Pet: Choose 1 of 3
    • Ancestor: $275
      • All existing Rewards
      • Third Character Slot (Tax Free): Marked as Kindred and shares reputation and last name. Character slots purchased via Add On Store will be taxed
      • Ancestor’s Cloak: cloak with the Ancestor symbol
      • Rent Free Row Lot Deed
      • Stone 2 Story Row House
    • Navigator: $375
      • All existing Rewards
      • Novia Map Atlas: All the minimaps in one compendium (other players have to collect them individually)
      • Rent Free Row Lot Deed
      • Stone 3 Story Row House
      • 1 Story Row Basement
      • Phonograph: Plays wax cylinders of music
    • Developer: $450
      • All existing Rewards
      • Rent Free Row Lot Deed
      • Stone 4 Story Row House
      • 2 Story Row Basement
      • Wireless Device: Plays streamed audio content
    • Citizen: $550
      • All existing Rewards
      • Wind Power House Deco
      • Reagent Plant: Choose 1 of 3 that grows a common reagent. It must be watered each day. Once per day (if watered) 24 hours later it will generate a reagent
    • Edelmann(s): $570 - $575
      • All existing Rewards
      • Birdbath: attracts flocks of birds when placed in yard
    • Knight: $800
      • All existing Rewards
      • Sword of the Ba’Heer: Starting level weapon that includes precious metals and jewels that can be used to enchant the sword. Comes with permanent enchantment of being a light source. A version of this item appeared in the book “Ready Player One” by Ernie Cline
      • Knight’s Cloak: Cloak with the Knight’s symbol that has golden & silver thread woven into it that can be used to enchant the cloak. Comes with permanent enchantment of being a light source.
      • Reagent Plant: Choose 1 of 3 that grows a common reagent. It must be watered each day. Once per day (if watered) 24 hours later it will generate a reagent
    • Knight Marshal (NEW TIER): $1200
      • Rent Free Town Lot
        • NOTE: Knight Marshals will place their lot during the same pre-launch window as Knights. See lot selection post for more details.
      • Knight Marshal’s Tower Keep
        • 3 Story + Roof
        • Same footprint as Knight’s Keep but taller
      • 2 Story Town Basement
      • Title: Knight Marshal
      • Knight Marshal’s Winged Helm: Starting level helm that includes precious metals and jewels that can be used to enchant the helm. Comes with permanent enchantment of being a light source.
    • Lord: $1600
      • All existing Rewards
      • Rent Free Row Lot Deed (new)
        • NOTE: This is a 2nd Lot Deed which can only be placed after all other Pledge Reward Lot Deed selection windows are over (currently this would be at the same time as Add On Store lot deeds).
      • 3 Story Stone Town Basement (upgrading from 1 story)
      • 5 Story Row Basement
      • Lord’s Cloak: Cloak with the Lord’s symbol that has golden & silver thread woven into it that can be used to enchant the cloak. Comes with permanent enchantment of being a light source.
      • Noble's Magical Discourse Orb: Object that gives access to a Nobility chat channel. All Game Devs have palantirs as well so are on the same chat channel
      • Reagent Plant: Choose 1 of 3 that grows a common reagent. It must be watered each day. Once per day (if watered) 24 hours later it will generate a reagent
      • Royal Scepter: Once per month grants one lot deed 50% rent discount for 1 month
      • Royal Orb: Once per month grants one vendor 50% commission discount for 1 month
      • 5 Indestructible Crafting Tools: You will receive five (5) starter-level, indestructible, crafting tools for the skills of your choice. Note: This reward does not stack with previous tiers
      • 4 Crafting Stations: Four (4) total Expert level crafting stations for your home, uniquely identifiable as Benefactor's crafting stations. Note: This reward does not stack with previous tiers
    • Lord Marshal (NEW TIER): $2200
      • Rent Free Town Lot Deed
        • NOTE: Lord Marshals will place their lot during the same pre-launch window as Lords
      • Rent Free Village Lot Deed
        • NOTE: This is a 2nd Lot Deed which can only be placed after all other Pledge Reward Lot Deed selection windows are over (currently this would be at the same time as Add On Store lot deeds).
      • Lord Marshal’s Great Hall
      • 5-Story Town Basement
      • 2-Story Village Basement
      • Lord Marshal Title
      • Lord Marshal’s Automaton Servant
      • Drinking Horn
      • Lord Marshal’s Throne
      • Great Hearth
      • Helmet with crown: Starting level helm that includes precious metals and jewels that can be used to enchant the helm. Comes with permanent enchantment of being a light source.
      • 10 Indestructible Crafting Tools: You will receive ten (10) starter-level, indestructible, crafting tools for the skills of your choice. Note: This reward does not stack with previous tiers
      • 8 Crafting Stations: Eight (8) total Expert level crafting stations for your home, uniquely identifiable as Benefactor's crafting stations. Note: This reward does not stack with previous tiers
    • Baron 1, 2, & 3: $3800
      • All existing Rewards
      • Rent Free Village Lot Deed (new)
        • NOTE: This is a 2nd Lot Deed which can only be placed after all other Pledge Reward Lot Deed selection windows are over (currently this would be at the same time as Add On Store lot deeds).
      • Baron’s Cloak: Cloak with the Baron’s symbol that has golden & silver thread woven into it that can be used to enchant the cloak. Comes with permanent enchantment of being a light source.
      • Talking Mirror
    • Duke: $5300
      • Rent Free Keep Lot (new): The lot size for Duke’s will be increased to equal two City sized lots
      • Rent Free Village Lot Deed (new)
        • NOTE: This is a 2nd Lot Deed which can only be placed after all other Pledge Reward Lot Deed selection windows are over (currently this would be at the same time as Add On Store lot deeds).
      • Duke’s Cloak: Cloak with the Duke’s symbol that has golden & silver thread woven into it that can be used to enchant the cloak. Comes with permanent enchantment of being a light source.
      • Duke Island Castle: The Duke Island Castle will be revisited to add an actual island around the perimeter now that the lot size increase will support this change.
    • Lord of the Manor: $12,000
      • Rent Free Town Lot Deed (new)
        • NOTE: This is a 2nd Lot Deed which can only be placed after all other Pledge Reward Lot Deed selection windows are over (currently this would be at the same time as Add On Store lot deeds).
      • Additional Honorific Title Options “Prince” / ”Princess” / ”Highness”
    STRETCH GOAL STORE:

    Not satisfied with a complete overhaul of our pledge structure, new housing types, and player owned towns, we decided to revisit the concept of stretch goals.

    As some of you may remember I was actually an opponent of stretch goals. I felt that they had the potential to cause us to over commit and they could take up time we could otherwise spend on responding to feedback. The other flaw we had with stretch goals is that not everyone was in favor of every stretch goal - some of you might not want us spending time on mounts or VR.

    Then Chris Spears had the truly brilliant idea of creating a Stretch Goal Store that operated differently than stretch goals normally do. It was a way to have players vote with their money on exactly what features we should add to the project while at the same time receiving in game goods, regardless of whether the funding goal was met!

    These are stretch goals with immediate rewards! When you purchase the item you will get it as an in-game reward, even if the goal is not met. These rewards are completely unique. They will not be sold in the add-on store, in-game nor as a pledge reward. Once the goal is met we will begin work on the functionality and all the items purchased would gain some function related to the goal. For instance the foal from the Mounts stretch goal would grow into a horse that you could then ride. Each goal will have a progress bar underneath tracking the progress. General philosophy is that these items cost more than equivalent items because they are linked to stretch goals. NOTE: stretch goals will only get completed AFTER all the other Kickstarter goals are reached.

    Horse Mounts will launch in the store first with additional goals being added on average once per week.

    In order for this to be a successful fund raising mechanism it would have to be separate from pledges and add on purchases so therefore the rules would have to be slightly different including:
    • Stretch Goal purchases cannot be melted down
    • Add On Store credit cannot be applied to Stretch Goal purchases
    STRETCH GOAL STORE ITEMS:
    • Horse Mounts (non combat): Goal = $250,000
      • Description: Players can ride horses around the game!
      • Rules:
        • There will be some kind of summon mount emote / key
        • When mount appears you automatically vault into the saddle
        • Cannot fight while mounted. If you are hit / enter combat while on horseback you are knocked from your horse
        • Mounts cannot be ridden indoors or underground
      • Mounts Stretch Goal Full Package: $100 (package discount)
        • White Foal (baby horse) non-combat pet: $20
        • Black Foal (baby horse) non-combat pet: $20
        • Buckskin Foal (baby horse) non-combat pet: $20
        • Riding Outfit Female: $20
        • Riding Outfit Male: $20
        • Saddle House Decoration: $10
    • Elves as Playable Race: Goal = $300,000
      • Description: Players can choose Elf as a playable race during character creation. Elves have a natural affinity for Lunar Magic, Ranged Combat, and Forestry Skills.
      • Rules:
        • Each race will have a slight affinity for 1 magic, 1 combat, and 1 crafting skill. Affinity would equal something like cheaper skill costs or % increases in effectiveness of those skills.
        • Will require specific customization options like heads, hairstyles, and skin tone.
      • Elves Stretch Goal Full Package: $150 (package discount)
        • Elven Cloak: $20
        • Elven Bow: $20
        • Elven Warrior Armor: $20
        • Elven Archer Armor: $20
        • Elven Mage Robes: $20
        • Elven House in a Hill: $75
    • Pack Animals: Goal = $100,000
      • Description: Pack Animals will help you carry all your valuable goods around the game
      • Rules:
        • Pack animals are basically mobile storage
        • Pack Animals cannot engage in combat nor can they be targeted
        • Pack Animals life/death state is linked to the owner’s. When owner dies the pack animal dies
        • Killing a player with a pack animal doubles the number of items available for loot/ransom
      • Pack Animals Stretch Goal Full Package: $40 (package discount)
        • Cria (baby llama) non-combat pet: $20
        • Foal (baby donkey) non-combat pet: $20
        • Saddlebags House Decoration: $10
    • Boats: Goal = $500,000
      • Description: Players can sail boats around the waterways of New Britannia. From rowboats to Frigates, the world is your ocean
      • Rules:
        • Each Boat will have a Captain’s location. Standing/Sitting at that location will give that player movement control of the ship
        • Boat owners can set permissions much like housing:
          • Public: Anyone can go on the boat but they cannot change anything or control the boat
          • Private: Only boat owner can be on boat
          • Friends: People on owner’s friends list can get on the boat but not control it
          • Kindred: Kindred can enter and steer the boat
          • Guild: Guildmates can enter and steer the boat
        • Boats cannot engage in combat but players can fight on ships
        • There will be at least 4 sizes of boat
          • Rowboat: 2-4 people
          • Longboat: 6-12 people
          • Frigate/Galleon/Houseboat: 20+ people
        • Larger boats can double as houses (including the boats that are in the Founder pledges)
      • Boats Stretch Goal Full Package: $100 (package discount)
        • Admiral’s Hat: $20 alone
        • Admiral’s Outfit Male: $20
        • Admiral’s Outfit Female: $20
          • same as male but with skirt at bottom vs. pants
        • Rowboat House Deco: $10
        • Anchor House Deco: $10
        • Longboat House Deco: $10
        • Spyglass (aka Telescope): $20
          • Fully functional, view distant objects up close through the science of lenses
    • Flexible Placement: Goal = $250,000
      • Description: Players can now place multiple structures on a single lot. Players can also rotate and move structures versus a fixed location. This will be a GREAT stretch goal that will allow player built towns to really look amazing, for example: On large central lots of town, guilds could build shared services and town squares, on castle lots, players could host an array of guest structures and services in their courtyards, even more modest lots could be built out as twin towers versus a single house.
        • Note: These objects will be decorations for your yard that are NOT decoratable themselves. If the stretch goal is met these will then become decoratable objects.
      • Package: $200 (package discount)
        • Garden Shed: $30
        • Small Knight’s Tent: $30
        • Large Knight’s Tent: $40
        • Greenhouse: $50
        • Stables: $65
    Huge thanks to our Dev+ folks for helping us come up with this plan. They gave great feedback on all the details.
     
  2. Violation Clauth

    Violation Clauth Avatar

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    Yay! Looking forward to all this new stuff and E3 :) I hope we get to see a lot of new backers come in with some of the new housing options.
     
  3. jiirc

    jiirc Avatar

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    @Darkstarr, aren't the lord Marshalls placing at the same time as lords? Your post states knights.
     
  4. Amber Raine

    Amber Raine Community Ambassador (FR)

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    Thank you DarkStarr, my Liege - This is just a sign that Portalarium does indeed listen to the community, are working hard to try and accommodate everyone and has not hidden anything. I am super excited to dive into so many new things tomorrow :)

    Good Luck with E3!

    P.S - Elvin community - time to rise and shine!!
     
  5. Net

    Net Avatar

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    I might be upgrading soon :)
     
  6. enderandrew

    enderandrew Legend of the Hearth

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    For the Stretch Goal store, if the goals aren't met, then the purchases we make become non-functioning items. If I spend $20 on a foal and we don't get mounts, then I can't ride it. If someone buys a pack animal and the stretch goal is not met, they can't use it.

    Given that backers have to guarantee money on a proposition with risk (that the stretch goal may not be met) how will that be offset?

    Can these be melted down and the credit applied elsewhere if the stretch goal isn't met? Could these purchases count towards pledge tiers?

    There are only 35,000 backers roughly. About 11,000 of them are below the $45 tier. I'm assuming that it will mostly be the 1,800 or so at Citizen or higher that might open their wallets again for the stretch goal store. And it is unlikely those 1,800 backers can bear the burden of successfully funding those 5 stretch goals. With voting dollars being split, I can't see any successfully being funded given the current model. How might that be addressed?
     
  7. enderandrew

    enderandrew Legend of the Hearth

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    Can we get a clarification on if the "Flexible Lot Placement of Structures" stretch goal is met on whether or not that specifically would allow Citizens to place both a house and their cabana, or Knights to place both their house and the lighthouse for example?
     
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  8. DarkStarr

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

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    good catch. bad cut & paste. Fixed now
     
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  9. DarkStarr

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

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    Yes this would accommodate that
     
  10. Bubonic

    Bubonic Avatar

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    if elves have a bonus in certain areas, does that mean they are deficient in other areas? or do humans have advantages that elves do not? otherwise who would choose a human character?
     
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  11. DarkStarr

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

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    The items will still have an in game function, just not the stretch goal function. The foals are unique and rare pets for instance. Also remember there is no time limit on these so eventually the added function will arrive
     
  12. By Tor

    By Tor Avatar

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    Darkstarr stated in the post that all items in the stretch goal store will be unique and not offered in the add on store or in game. So, if the goal is reached (or not reached by game release).. does that mean the store is officially closed? What if, say, the horse goal is reached. Can we then no longer buy the foals in the stretch goal store? Will we have to wait to buy a different kind of horse in game or in the add on store?
     
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  13. Bubonic

    Bubonic Avatar

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    you're saying that you could place both a light house and a regular house on the same lot? how would that be possible considering a lighthouse has to be on a water lot, but a regular house needs a land lot?
     
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  14. DarkStarr

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

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    That is why the description says "Each race will have..." meaning humans will also have an affinity
     
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  15. Violation Clauth

    Violation Clauth Avatar

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    I vote against :( sorry.

    <3 the work here! you guys are great! :)

    this!
     
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  16. Sardonyx

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    I'd like to make the suggestion that Elves just be a visual character model and that all characters have the same attributes regardless of race. Having race / class abilities goes against the idea of a classless system.
     
  17. NirAntae

    NirAntae Avatar

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    Overall, I am super excited about this and can't wait to see it implemented1 There is one thing, though, that seriously bothers me. That being, that adding the Knight Marshall and Lord Marshall tiers at this point is rather unfair for Founders and especially Royal Founders financially. I really feel like there ought to be at least a small window during which Founders/Royal Founders can upgrade to KM for $1150 and LM for $2100 since it was not available before the expiration of Founder pricing. This is not a discount, exactly, but rather allowing them to upgrade for the same $400 or $600 that Benefactors will pay to upgrade, rather than $450 and $700.
     
  18. Biblik

    Biblik Avatar

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    @DarkStarr are you saying that if you are a founder you will or will not get a lot and house at the lower level now? For example if I am a founder at the $275 level and you added a row level lot and house I still get that or only new pledgers?
     
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  19. Rufus D`Asperdi

    Rufus D`Asperdi Avatar

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    Founders still get the Founder And Benefactor rewards.
    Founder Developers will still get a Row House Lot.
     
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  20. Sardonyx

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    You get the house. The statement that these are Benefactor rewards is meant to clarify there are no Founder exclusive items being added. Founders still get them because they get all the Benefactor rewards too.
     
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