PoT's and perception of over power.

I think they will be much higher and not obtainable through a vendor.
Mind you portalarium at some point said that everything bigger than a row lot needs the backup of a guild to obtain.
If it goes that way I can understand why people would prefer pax lair over Drakenhof.

 

That makes sense.

When I first saw these prices (and I agree they probably will be higher at launch), my first thought was "why do I need an NPC Housing Merchant in my town if all the deeds are going to be taken?" The NPC shops in POTs seem like a huge waste to me, but the housing one is the worst.

 

I'm not following this logic. We can have guilds and POTs in SOTA, thus both are sanctioned or in game by Port's choice. What guilds or POTs do in game is up to the players themselves. I do not see why a POT or guild would be perceived differently from each other. If anything you can at least see how the POT has directly funded the game all players will play. Surely most players can see how that is a good thing.

 

Very true.
So @rune_74 in other words the moment I bought my PoT I was sure the way it stands by itself it will fail.
If I want to draw people to my pot I will have to be creative. Compared to Rat's Nest (just picking it because Drocis is in this thread) I have NOTHING to offer from the game engine side.
Even if I would want to charge gold it wouldn't work. Because if people are willing to pay gold to live in a pot they will pick a pot with more benefits.

 

You're selling yourself short.

Rats' Nest for example, will have perhaps as many as 10 guard towers and NO NPC shops. So if people really like NPC shops and think that's important, you could have an NPC shop in your town that would make you different than Rats' Nest and perhaps other towns in the area. You could also pick a Shrine (that we know little about how that works) that might give a bonus to crafting or combat that people would care about.

 

Its not going to be very good for players if there are a lot of POT ghost towns all over the map, though.

At this point, POTs are a done deal, but I'm concerned,
- POT owners aren't being given enough tools to make their POTs great spots for players to want to visit and hang around. Deco limits are pretty low and some type of decorations aren't available yet. The devs said they want to enable POT owners to do anything they can do. We'll have to wait and see on that. In principle, though, the selling point of POTs should be that they make the game better for all players, by creating rich environments for players to role-play and live in. The point of POTs shouldn't just be to have housing spots and hold events. POTs should be able to be beautiful places to live and visit. The devs need to make sure this happens.
- That if there are no players in a town, it'll feel empty. Vendors and POT NPCs currently all look the same, have no personality, and no daily routines/schedules.
- Still about some decoration restriction issues such as biome-specific buildings or spelling out words on the ground with tomatoes. I'm guessing some POT owners will police that, but really players shouldn't feel forced to go into a POT to avoid these things. I don't think those things should be issues for NPC towns either.

 

You must be doing something right people a flying there in airships.

 

Sure, there is always a way to raise the interest. Maybe Rat's Nest wasn't the best example ^^ so lets say pax lair with all the shops and buffs.

 

Hehe thanks man. Trying my best and having a LOT of help.

 

Yes this is a worry. When i merged my first POT with Jat's all I really wanted to do was avoid the land rush and the only special thing I wanted was the highest bunny density in Novia but they may not even have animals in POTs. I did not want them to harvest I just wanted many cute rabbits around. Everything is better with bunnies as the old saying goes.

 

I've always said that I was concerned about this from day one. I believe we're supposed to hear more about the Shrine system for POTs soon. I personally can't wait, I think that's going to be a huge way that POTs attract players.

Even for the smallest POTs if there's a niche where they can, for example, make their entire POT about Forestry...that would be great for roleplaying and wonderful for people looking to become the best woodsman or develop a supply chain to make the best wood crafted items.

 

We haven't seen the shrine system yet. I'm hoping that there are MANY options. Pax Lair only has 15 NPC buildings so what we really need is like 100 options. Maybe your town and Pax has the same shrine but they give different buffs, that would do it.

 

Still they have 15 and I have 1.
Sure maybe I pick the one that's missing but what if I don't want that building? No, that's a battle I will always lose.
I don't grief them for it though.
I just have to find other ways. Already have a few in mind.

 

I know it is wishful thinking but I'd rather enjoy having content or items that are accessible in game and don't accept a credit card. Like a vendor for a town that needs to be rescued from a dungeon or a house gained through having blades, bludgeon, polearms and shields at 100 or something. So far everything is pretty much accessible depending on your credit limit

 

The problem is, as Rune very clearly explained.....players won't stay if they perceive that there is an unlevel playing field. And without players the game will not continue. For me, that's a huge problem.

I do agree that this is not completely accurate. The POT I am in allows us to put real cash in and it is used for purchasing improvements / updates for the POT. It's quite transparent so I know our owner is not making extra cash off the players. We also all get a vote on what is purchased.

There is quite a bit of emphasis put on 'being part of a POT' right now. Everyone is feeling it. Geez, you go just about anywhere (including the Forum) and all you see are Flyers/Posts about "Come Live in my town" or "Come join our Guild" or "Come be a part of our Consortium". I have a DVR where I can purposely ignore the advertisements on TV and Ad Blockers on every PC I own for the same reason. Hopefully this constant and extremely annoying advertisements will end once the 'new' has worn off. As long time backers of this initiative we need to act responsibly about keeping the game enjoyable for everyone including (and probably more importantly) the new players. That's our job as founders. It's not to start exploiting the game before it even is a game.

But these are just my opinions - and everyone has an opinion. At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves, what exactly do WE need to do to ensure this game is a Great, Long Lasting, Fun experience for EVERYONE. Not just for those who have put lots of money into the game. That is exactly the message that is getting around everywhere in the gaming community as Enfo said

. And I ask you, is that what we REALLY want for a reputation for this game that we have put thousands of dollars into and have spent long hours (months / years) testing? If it is, then WOW, I don't know this Community very well at all.

Let's get this game back to what it should be - A Game - and not an Enterprise for the Players.

 

@amaasing
The playing field will always be unleveled.
Older players are better than new players. The one that has THAT epic item is better than he who doesn't have it.
This IS a problem. As you can see in eve online that has no solution for this gap. Or in WoW where they throw max level and epic items at every new player.
If i have to choose I prefer the eve solution. Because in the end I know all I achieved I achieved by myself and not by the game gifting it to me.
Non the less there has to be a better solution. I just don't know it.

 

While I don't agree there's a pressing power problem with POT owners, I'm glad these concerns are being put out in this phase of the project.

I don't own a POT, won't get it anytime soon, and in any kind of too-much-decision-power-to-seller, I just question the role of buyers.

Anyone forcing people to purchase from other players at gunpoint?...

 

I knew when I made this post that it wouldn't be a popular topic. Unfortunately that doesn't make it a non topic.

I agree with what you said here.

I do question though the part you can put real cash into the PoT to get upgrades...what's stopping said individual from kicking you out afterwords....or just pocketing the money?(not saying he will, just hypothetical.)


The other argument I see a lot in the forums is: You don't need a house or need a PoT...there will be plenty of other things to do.

The issue with this is so much time is spent on developing said housing system that it is a central part of the game and if you are not using it you really ARE missing out.

Well not exactly, but if there is a limit on housing availability isn't that basically what you are doing(no not a gun but a giant "you really have no choice").

 

That's not about popular or not. You have concerns. The fact that PoT owners like me don't share them doesn't invalid them.
We are into our PoTs head over toe so we might miss the downsides of this part of the game.

 

Well, right now you can't and you don't know what is and is not a POT until you enter it. That's two loading screens I could really do without when I'm off exploring. A visual indicator before entering a POT would be helpful. Better yet, give us an option to hide them.

It doesn't matter in the least what anyone here thinks about that. It's what prospective players perceive, which will determine if they ultimately participate.

Um...OK. Please tell me that was in jest.

Also, what land rush? Once POTs were introduced the rest of the villages have become ghost towns. Unless there is a significant influx of players there will be no issue at all getting land in NPC towns. Also, with the perception outside of this group that the game is turning out to be P2W, I wouldn't really count on that changing much.