Number of POTs - too many, too few and the dilution problem it may present.

If all of the 59,146 backers (current, as of this post) only lived in one of the over 300 PoTs (nested or otherwise) (and let's say 350 PoTs because it proves my point more), and not in any NPC town, PRT or otherwise, that would mean every PoT gets 169 residents.

I wonder how many will stick with Row lots....

And I know some will only play single player offline...but if we stay at only 59k backers after Final Wipe and Launch, then we have other problems...

So, how many non-PoTs are there? Another 350? Probably not.

Even if there were, that's 85 residents per town.

That's a lot.

I see no problem.

 

I don't know if that has come up already, but does anyone expect the goldfarmers to appear when the game starts? I expect them anywhere, camping around the clock and securing many lots only to sell them for a huge amount of real money. It seems so easy and will frustate many ppl for sure.

 

i fully intend to have a VERY select few invited into my pot. if you are in my guild, you have already been vetted, and have already been offered a slot. - if you want in the pot, you gotta go through the very same vetting process.

we want it to be laid back and not busy.

 

Good point, thats assuming that all 59,146 backers are happy with the product when its launched, and doesnt take into account any alts, or future backers either way doesnt look too bad. I would be ecstatic if there were 85residents per POT however unlikely that is.

I work with numbers for a living, and there are the numbers on paper, and there is the reality, unfortunatly they dont always line up.

 

I certainly know what you mean. I think my mindset about it is that 100k active players is not hard to achieve, even for a niche game.

 

I doubt there will be a need for instancing for 99% of the POTs

 

Sorting is the key word.
Sorting isn't in yet, but it will group PvP folks with other PvP folks, and PvE folks with other PvE folks. So, it will effectively divide us.

 

Very highly doubtful with the team controlling how, who and when these are released. More in formation on that process coming.

 

Early on, I was concerned that an elite few (the "in" crowd) would end up with the better lot placement, and the rest of us would be in the back, with effectively invisible homes/lots. Happens a lot in smaller games with tight knit communities. The early, pre alpha releases cemented that feeling for me. All testing stuff, etc, etc...

When the PoTs roared in, I began to sense that a person could actually build his dream castle, village, megalopolis, without having to take the week off to jump on a lot. One could build a private chateaux hideaway, village inn+tavern, or a PvP scene to beat all. This involved people's creativity, teamwork, planning, and dreams to create. I am lucky enough to have joined n with some sterling folks who all actively imagine, and discuss, and have supported, our PoT.

I'm sure many PoTs are not designed to attract visitors, much less additional occupants. Others compete in the forum for homesteaders, touting the advantages of each PoT.

Some will be all but vacant, some extremely popular spots to visit and or shop. Some will host parties and other events. NPC towns will be transportation and quest hubs, with some specialized vendors. These high traffic areas will attract homes for personal vendors.

Lots of places, people moving all over. The more option, the better IMO.

 

I think POT's are a great way for Port to receive additional funding for the game, people are free to buy one or not. Its not for me to say how people spend their money or decide where someone should live in game.

 

Agreed. Nevertheless I'm concerned about the distribution of the collected money. In most of the rpg you have to pay a monthly fee and the team gets a steady stream of money which helps to support the game on a regular base. Theses pledges and crowdfunding are a warm rain of money for sure but not a steady stream. If - as stated in this thread by some others - ppl start to get disappointed the money will more and more cease to flow. A complex game like a rpg is not to compare with f2p-games including play2win-elements in android- or ios-games.

 

This is assuming that everyone who plays the game will want a house... and that everyone who do will log regularly to keep lot ownership.

And then there are special cases where people will share housing. In my case, I don't care one bit about houses (because all I ever need is a bank) but I'll own a spot because I know my brother(s) will want one; so I'll be giving them edit access.

 

I was going to write a long, waffling respond, however Bones has petty much captured what I was about to say. The other side of the coin is that with all of these POTs pretty much anyone has the space to live out their own dreams, which brings a bit of variety to SOTA. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the odd lone house on a grassy plain on my travels, it adds to the feel of the game.

There will be a certain level of responsibility on land owners to keep their dreams alive, however, it's what they're signed up for and ultimately what they've paid a large sum of money to do. Most will, some won't, suppose that can't be helped really.

 

All of these conversations, in my experience, seem to consider that the nearly 60 thousand backers are in some way a fixed number. No one ever seems to consider that there may well be, and hopefully will be a large influx of new Avatars once the game nears completion, and Portalarium begins to actively advertise it. Many of those will want a place to live, and the Player Owned Towns will provide that to a great number of people, far in excess of Portaliarum's original plans.

 

The bottom line is the original process of the POT was different than what we got. Portalarium bit off more than they could chew (and now will be charging the backers for POT change requests) resulting in overly expansive cookie cutter scenes and now shifted responsibility to players with dynamic POT's to be in charge of decorating and designing their own towns by spending more money on decorations. Saying "we thought 20-30 would be sold" seems short sighted i think caused a major hiccup in the SotA production.

 

Personally, I'm happy with the Dynamic Template and am very glad that it's an option, even with the added expense. I get to build what I want to build and change it as needed to fit changing circumstances. I still haven't completely ruled out a Custom Static scene, and Portalarium will be honoring their commitment to produce a custom template for anyone that wishes to wait for it. I need to see how some of the promised tools are implemented before I make my final decision on which way to go.

In brief, the Dynamic Template is a New Option that wasn't conceived when the Player Owned Towns were introduced. They have not in any way shape of form backed off on their commitment to anyone that wishes a Custom Static scene. They are still honoring that original commitment. No one is being forced into one or the other.

 

Of course not but it's a necessary shift in responsibility to deal with the overwhelming number of POT's

 

I know this is a minority opinion, but too much development time and resources are being used to evolve player owned towns. It's not even a feature that will be relevant for all game modes. These are time and resources that could be spent improving core game mechanics. *cough*combat*cough*

 

This.

 

I really think they should have limited it to the amount capable of overland access.

They essentially created unlimited instanced housing but without calling that and putting a price behind it.