Player Housing Update: Player Owned Towns, Player Run Towns, and Water Lots

Greetings Avatars,

The recent post about Final Wipe & Lot Selection raised a lot of questions about Player Housing and this update will cover 3 of those topics: Player Owned Towns, Player Run Towns, and Water Lots.

SECTION 1: PLAYER OWNED TOWNS:

I wish to thank all of the town owners for your generous support of the game and the community. I also want to thank you for your incredible patience as we have gone on this crazy quest to push player driven content as far as we can (given our constraints). As we have mentioned previously, we were completely surprised at the popularity of Player Owned Towns (PoTs). We anticipated selling 20–30 and ended up selling 10 times that number.

This success made us reconsider our original strategy of building each town as a custom static map based on templates. We call this type of town a “Custom Static” town. While we still plan to honor that commitment, we have also been steadily investing time in a different direction that would allow Player Owned Towns to be fully dynamic and customizable by player owners. We call this kind of town a “Dynamic” town. Town owners now have the choice between these two options on the town submission form.

An unforeseen consequence of this success (and our rapid introduction of over 300 towns into the game) is the overhead related to change requests. More than 50% of the time we spend on Player Owned Towns each release is devoted to changes of name, location, template, connections, etc. We do not believe this is the optimal use of the pledge dollars and this is not a cost we had factored into the original price.

Therefore, effective immediately, we are changing how we handle change requests and the sequence of when we add PoTs to the game. Previously, we would integrate them as soon as basic information was entered into the form. From now on the owner must first “lock” the submission form, then and only then, will we implement the submission. When "locked" no more changes can be made to the submission form, unless unlocked (see below)."Note that this also means that changes to the form cannot be made until the form is unlocked. We are in the process of adding a new button named "Submit & Lock" and expect it to be ready by R28. The submission form can only be unlocked either by upgrading to a larger size or by purchasing a service voucher (larger change requests may require additional service voucher purchases).

It is worth noting that currently most change requests can only be accommodated when we wipe, so it will be up to 90 days before you will see any changes go live after requesting them. After the final wipe, we will have tech in place that allows us to make changes without wipes, of course. Also, note that transferring ownership of a town will not unlock the submission form. Please note that NO forms will be locked until the owner locks it. This means that if you are waiting to see more templates or more tools come online then DON'T lock your form (but also understand that no interim changes will be made).

As part of this we are making improvements to the submission form by adding descriptions and screenshots of the various templates. We have also made it so that if you select Dynamic we turn off all the sections that are irrelevant (NPC Buildings, Lot Selection, etc.)

Custom Static vs. Dynamic PoTs: The following outlines how the two town types differ and describes the cost/benefit analysis of each as well as the process and schedule.

Custom Static:

• Benefits:
  • These scenes have the potential to look more unique, even though they are built off existing templates. For example you could request that we completely wall off your town even though it is on multiple elevation, something that can't be done currently with walls in dynamic towns.
  • Once in game, owners have very little work to do other than unlocking lots.
• Process:
  • Owner fills out the PoT submission form completely, including proposed layouts and customization requests.
  • Owner locks form via “Lock & Submit”.
  • Portalarium consults with player about the submissions.
  • Portalarium builds a custom scene using the selected template and modifies it based on player submissions beginning sometime after final wipe.
• Costs:
  • Scene is completely static, it cannot be modified by the player once it is in the game.
  • PoT Decorations cannot be placed in Static Towns.
  • Any desired changes after implementation will require purchasing at least one service voucher, including conversion to Dynamic. The only exception is upgrading to a bigger town size.
  • Building of these will not recommence until August 2016 and will be delivered on a monthly basis.
  • Build order will be based first on PoT size and second on PoT purchase date.
  • Change requests to existing Static towns (including size upgrades) will not be fulfilled until all Static towns are complete (except for conversion to Dynamic which may be sooner)
  • All towns currently in game will remain dynamic until we are able to get to converting them to Static. This means when the town transitions from Dynamic to Static at later date all residents will need to reclaim and redecorate. Advice for owners would be to constrain population to residents who understand this.

Dynamic:

• Benefits:
  • Owners can modify just about anything at any time:
    • Lot Locations / Orientations
    • Lot Sizes
    • NPC Buildings
    • NPCs
    • Scene Music
    • PoT decorations (walls, pavers, trees, etc.)
  • PoT will enter the game possibly as soon as the next build after the submission form is locked with just basic information of: name, template, and location chosen
• Process:
  • Owner fills out form with name, template, location, connection(s) and add on store building selections (if eligible). NOTE: All other fields are irrelevant.
  • Owner locks form via “Submit & Lock”
  • Portalarium implements Dynamic Town within 90 days of submission (but often as soon as the next month’s release).
  • NOTE: If your town is already in game and you are eligible, right after you Lock your form for the first time you will receive your selection of Add-On Store Buildings. (See details below).
• Costs:
  • Towns are non-modified versions of the templates.
  • Nothing will be modified on the template by Portalarium. For example this means that all PoT connections happen from the same place using the same visuals (boats, wagons, manholes, etc.) in each template and cannot be modified.
  • Unlocking the form to make changes will require a service voucher.

Pre- versus Post-Wipe: Below, you will find a comprehensive list of all items we hope to have online before the final wipe, as well as any items we plan to support after the wipe. Anything not listed below is not currently being considered for Episode 1. For instance, Owner customization of PoT connections is not something we plan to support for Episode 1.

Pre-Wipe Features & Content: The following is a list of all content that we plan is planned for implementation before or for Release 32 in July.

• Templates: 14 Templates based on 5 Unique Layouts/Terrain Sculpts that cover all 8 biomes (current count is 12 Templates, 4 Layouts, 7 biomes).
• Town Permissions: Ability to designate various levels of delegates to help run the town (working in game now).
• Lot Permissions: Ability to flag lots as open or designate for specific players (working in game now).
• Add-On Store Buildings: PoTs purchased prior to January 4, 2016 receive a selection of certain Add-On Store buildings. These will be delivered to the owner after their submission form is locked and the PoT is present in game. Goal is to have this functioning no later than Release 29 (April). Please note that for Episode 1 there are only two City sized homes: Twin Spires Manor and Adobe 2-story Keep. Due to an earlier error in communication qualifying PoT owners, village size and above, who do *not* choose the Twin Spire Manor, may opt to choose a smaller house and qualify for a free Adobe 2-story Keep. For example, the owner of a Metropolis can earn up to 4 additional Adobe 2-story Keeps.
• Giant Pavers: In game craft-able and add on store versions to better facilitate roads.
• Dynamic Towns: All PoTs with locked submission forms by Release 30 (May 26) will be present in game for Release 32 on July 28.
• Dynamic Town Tools: These are the tools owners can use to modify their towns:
  • Lot Marker Placement: Working in game now.
  • NPC Building Placement: Working in game now.
  • POT Decoration Placement: Working in game now but current placed decoration limits (including lights) will be doubled (at least).
  • Scene Music Selection: This will be done via an ingame wax cylinder jukebox. Hope to have this working in R28 or R29.
  • NPC Placement: Working in game now.
  • NPC Renaming: Working in game now

Post-Wipe Features & Content: The following items will come online in the monthly releases AFTER Release 32.

• Blessings: Certain structures placed in PoTs, like Titan Statues, will convey blessings to players who visit that town. The duration and/or strength of the blessing is tied directly to the occupancy of the town. We do not yet have any other details about how blessings will work, but do not fear being locked into any one structure/blessing because Dynamic Town owners can change any of their decorations and buildings at any time (note that there may be a timing constraint to how quickly and how often you can change your blessing).
• Dynamic Overworld Visuals: The number of buildings will indicate size and occupancy levels of the town. Smoke from chimneys and/or lights in windows will indicate if players are currently online in that town. Particles will indicate the presence of a blessing and possibly indicate which exact blessing.
• Templates: 20 Templates with at least 10 Unique Layouts/Terrain Sculpts.
• Town Public Gardens: The ability for any player or town dweller to plant in a public garden area will come online shortly after Public Gardens come online in the rest of the game.
• NPC Behaviors: We hope to support behaviors beyond simple conversations and merchant function for NPCs. For instance we hope to allow POT NPC Guards to act like all other NPC guards where they will eventually patrol player towns and they might notice stealing or combat and fine players for infractions.
• Dynamic Town Tools:
  • Highlight Flat Areas: this will allow owners to see nearby flat areas to ease placement
  • Snap/Align to Adjacent Lot: This function allows town owners to snap lots together, especially helpful when placing row lots (note we hope to provide this function for walls/fences too).
  • Entry/Exit Point Locations: Owners will be able to select from a list of possible locations. Note that this will NOT be the ability to place an entry point location anywhere.
  • PoT Connection Locations: Owners will be able to select from a list of possible locations. Note that this will NOT be the ability to place a connection anywhere.
  • Town Crier Locations: Owners will be able to select from a list of possible locations. Note that this will NOT be the ability to place a town crier anywhere.
  • POT Decorations/Structure Lockdown: Anyone who has accidentally grabbed a guard tower from underneath themselves will appreciate the ability to lock structures and decorations.
  • NPC Visual Variety: We hope to provide a wider visual range of NPCs (clothing, facial features, equipment, hair, etc.) so they are not all so identical.
  • Lawn Mower: An object that lets players remove trees and foliage from areas without requiring object or lot placement.

SECTION 2: PLAYER RUN TOWNS:

Player Run Towns (also known as Mixed Settlements): These are towns not owned by players, not named on the cloth map, and not part of any story.

• To facilitate the number of lots needed for all players we are going to increase the number of these settlements in Novia and Hidden Vale
• These will be loosely based on the Player Owned Town templates so we can have a variety of biomes.
• They will now also include an NPC core that includes some basic amenities (like bank, basic trainer, crafting stations, crafting supplies, and general goods shopkeeper)
• Increased variety of lot sizes, especially for larger lots

SECTION 3: WATER LOTS:
The recent announcements about lot selection raised some questions about water lots that have been confusing to everyone. Please note that all of these lots expired with the Fall 2015 Expiration event.

Water Lots: These are waterfront lots that can be placed along shorelines, piers, and docks. These are limited to Village, Town and City lots.

• Water lots can only be claimed with Founder Deeds (pledge rewards for Founders and Royal Founders) starting with the Citizen pledge
• Can be found in almost any town that has open water (lake, river, ocean, canals, etc.)
• Currently can be placed in Dynamic Player Owned Towns along natural shorelines but currently does not work with manmade areas like docks and piers but we hope to have this fixed post Final Wipe.

Island Lots: These are lots not attached to shore directly (like the regular water lots above). They come with a Keep or Castle sized plot of land.

• Island lots can only be claimed with Founder Deeds (pledge rewards for Founders and Royal Founders) starting with the Duke pledge
• These can be found in towns with very large open water areas (ocean mainly)
• Please note that these are actual pieces of land in the water (i.e. islands) so players will place land homes on them, not water homes on them.
• There are currently none of these in the game. We just recently fixed some technical issues that were blocking us implementing them and we plan to have them start appearing as soon as Release 29.

Water Homes: These houses can be placed on Water lots only.

• Village Size:
  • Waterfront Cabana (Citizen)
  • Waterfront German-Style Cabana (Edelmann & Edelmann – All Digital)
  • Waterfront Lighthouse (Knight)
• Town Size:
  • Waterfront Houseboat (Lord)
• City Size:
  • Frigate (Baron 1)
  • Galleon (Baron 2 & 3)
  • Waterfront Castle (Duke)

Island Lots: There are no specific homes associated with these. Any land based home can be placed on them. As mentioned above these are not in game yet.

• Duke Island (Duke)
• Lord of the Manor Island (Lord of the Manor 1 & 2)

 

Ok. Off to the races then.

Will Duke Island's be available in POTs?
and if so, what POT templates will support them?
How do you get out to the island?
and finally, when do you expect to have them for POTs?

Thanks Darkstarr

Cypher Black

 

I think I skimmed over that part and didn't realize before that upgrading your Founder Ancestor now to Citizen gives you a Benefactor Lot. My assumption had been you could purchase the water house from another founder and use it on the lot you've claimed.

(Realizing this now is a little disappointing to me, though I am not personally affected.)

 

Edit redacted because of dev+

 

Thanks, @DarkStarr , I know myself and many others were asking for a clear guide for everyone.

 

Claiming is tied to the deed, not account. So as long as you have a founder deed you are fine. Or am I missing something?

 

Edit: Added Underground 01a

Yes but not until post-wipe.

Following current Templates will support islands:

• Desert 01
• Desert 01a
• Forest 01
• Forest 01a
• Swamp 01
• Swamp 01a
• Island 01
• Underground 01a (not yet built)

As mentioned above Post Wipe. No exact date yet.

 

It says Water housing AND Water lots expired which implies to me your deed couldn't claim a water lot (in addition to you not being granted a water house).

1) So if you take a Founder Ancestor and upgrade the Founder Ancestor to Founder Citizen today - can it claim a water lot or not?

and

2) If you take a Founder Collector and upgrade to Founder Citizen, does the Founder Citizen have a Benefactor Deed or a Founder Deed?


If any Founder account upgraded to a pledge that holds a Deed is still a "Founder" Deed I think an additional note that says you can still claim a water lot with your deed would be good (though you would need to buy a water house from someone else).

 

Doh! I added a question! How do you get out to them?

Cypher Black

 

As it states here both homes and lots expired: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=53350
If you were not a Citizen prior to the cutoff then you no longer receive a Founder deed, you receive a regular tax free deed, which means you cannot claim a water lot.

 

So anyone who had a Founder Ancestor Deed had their deed converted to a Benefactor deed? Or was there no distinction to the deed type for Ancestors prior? Thanks for answering questions for the nitty gritty to understand it fully.

Just so nobody takes this quote out of context, when you say claiming is tied to the deed, not the account, you are referring to the water lot access, but your pledge still determines your lot order. So a Royal Founder Ancestor who upgrades to Royal Founder Knight gets a regular tax-free deed but claims during the Royal Founder Knight claiming window.

 

Irrelevant question because Ancestor is Row lot which there are no row water lots.

Correct. Your account determines your selection order, not the deed.

 

The same way that you would get out to the smaller island in the current island template, or in the island areas like Brave Coast, Estercove, and the like:

On the mainland, you will find a dock with a boat. You click the boat and are teleported to a dock on the island plot.

 

@DarkStarr thank you for this post. I appreciate the fine line you walk to do what is right for a diverse group of backers with all kinds of viewpoints and expectations. There are so many details to keep track of! When I say, "I don't know how you do it," I *really* mean that.

I will stand here and testify, shout it from the forum rooftops: Here walks a man who listens to others, considers their views, adapts with grace and implements changes when points are valid.

/respect
/trust
/hugs
/<3

 

Ok so this may or may not be tricky.. I was a knight for a long time early on.. (technically prior to the cutoff).. now I'm a Navigator (melted to get a town) pledging back up to Knight Marshal. I never seemed to lose my Dev+ status at least in the forum. So I'm a little unsure what my account status is going to be as my situation seems a little more unique than most. It looks like I'll still have my founder status when I finish my upgrade.

 

@DarkStarr, I believe under Dynamic, Process, Owner locks form via “Update Town Description.” should be Owner locks form via "Submit & Lock."

 

Is there any chance we can see trainers removed from the prt/mixed settlement locations so they're exclusively in npc towns? makes more sense doesn't it? Just curious

 

good catch. Fixed

 

Hush Duke Violation. High Iron would love to have a basic trainer.

 

+1
@DarkStarr My head hurts after reading through all these threads. I can't begin to imagine what yours must feel like. Thanks for all the effort.