Rats Nest

You're welcome to stop by an hang out anytime. I don't know how much help I'll need though. This is really just another phase of testing. Once I get all the lots up, perhaps this will be a more inviting scene.

Here's a new day time shot. I still have about 75 lots to go. This template is horrible for what I'm trying to do. Can't wait to use a new one. If I wasn't trying to create such dense urban sprawl it would be fine, but there's just so many hills in the middle of no where messing up all my plans.

 

it looks more like a rats resort now - wink.

 

HA!

This is the first I've really had a chance to sit back and enjoy what has been an all day event. I have all 525 lots in place now. That took me about 12 hours, at least.

This is surprisingly a lot of work. I didn't even put real detail work into it either. This was just moderately attempting to line everything up well.

It's too bad I can't get an aerial view of this. You could see all the nooks and back alleyways - nasty stuff. 500+ residents? Someone's always going to be about waiting for their next victim. I can't wait!

 

Problems with Rat's Nest Entry and Exit points, explained in this bug report.

 

Just a quick post to first thank the great Baron Drocis Fondorlatos for his personal tour of the fabled Rat’s Nest and graciously granting me the use of a lot and then describe the wonders I saw. So I thank you Lord Drocis and beg your leave to share a few things.
The baron met me himself at the docks and after introductions led me along a picturesque path crossing a stream, passing and waterfall and going uphill. Once at the top of the hill we could see the great metropolis. Such a sight to behold, I have never seen so many houses in my life. Small perhaps, but numerous beyond count. He led me through a maze of streets and alleys until my head was spinning. One could become hopelessly lost in such a labyrinth for there were many dead ends on fairly wide (for Rat’s Nest) streets and passages so narrow it was hard to squeeze through that opened to some of the most important areas of the city. Speaking more of dead ends, I’m sure I would have come to an unfortunate ending indeed if not for the Baron’s protection. The locals revere him and no one would be so foolish as to cross swords with him. Not that he dressed with much more splendor the other inhabitants, his sartorial skills allowed him to blend in quite well with his people, but they knew him. Brief nods, strange (to me) hand signals, the touching of a cap and the swoon of many a lass greeted him as he passed. Eventually we made our way to the banking and main market area and it was a vibrant as even the largest cities of the Tantalus Consortium, I was stunned and decided to tell Duke Jatvardur immediately upon my return to Vanguard of the wonderful trading opportunities that the Rat’s Nest offered. I was so excited in fact that I begged the Baron on the spot to rent a property from him. This leads me to the best part. Not only did he grant me my request but he allowed me to let a building close to his own home. Knowing my fondness of Obsidian architecture he invited me to his tower, without question one of the best restored and maintained I have seen. From the top of the tower I could see most of the city and observed that even the guard towers had protective walls made from reclaimed stones from the Baron’s obsidian ruins. Now I have an eye for such things and am a harsh judge when obsidian is used but I was impressed, truly impressed; I may have seen its equal but never it better. For the obsidian works alone Rat’s Nest is a must see for any refined and cultured folks, but do not go without the Barons leave lest you be warriors of great renown. I can say no more as I must return quickly to Vanguard to report to the Duke and other trading partners other than one last thank you to the Baron for his hospitality. Nay, perhaps my very life because there were looks and at times I did feel almost if I was looked at like a very ripe cheese by some of the “rats” I walked by.
p.s. Sometime after it wrote this i had a mid morning morsel at the tavern. (one must work one's once girth to show one customers one is a serious merchant and consumer of ones own wares). I met a traveler having a refreshing repast, a much needed one it turns out. He sadly did not have the benefit of the good Baron's companionship. Soon after entering "the nest" he became uneasy. Shifty eyed men watched him, people out of windows, unsavory cloaked characters followed him in growing numbers. Then the crowd began to jeer at him. "Who will cut the cheese?" it turns out was not the start of a flatulence contest similar to the beer and belching contests so common throughout Novia in the low brow areas. No indeed they actually drew out their knives and cornered the poor man. They cut one of his money bags off his belt and would have sliced him to ribbons if not for the timely intervention of the city guard. This tale so frightened me i nearly soiled my silks and needed to pat my sweating brow with my handkerchief and fan myself until the the barkeep was able to fortify and steel my spirit with spirits.

 

Update: Rat's Nest, The Horned Society and Corvus Peak will now be connected together!

 

Nice time/Nice Jump with Malachi, Flip, Frederick and Drocis in Rats Nest to night !!!

Your guys Rock The Casba !!!

 

I finally made it to Rat's Nest and left you a little something in the public cache chest. It was a harrowing but fantastic experience walking through the town like trying to get through one of 4B's mazes. I got lost and ran around in circles for what seemed like ages. It took me over half an hour to get to the access point in Norgard from Ardoris (yes, I got lost even using a map ), but it was worth the trip.

In the town I experienced the same kind of lag that I experience in Ardoris. I was able to run around without any problems, but it took ages for the gate and house doors to open when clicked on. I hope that performance enhancements will fix that.

Needless to say, I met no one in the town, otherwise I wouldn't be alive to write this post.

 

Glad you could make it.

I find that it takes about 1 to 2 minutes on my machine to load up the entire town. I'm using 32 GB's of RAM though, so performance will surly vary.

Once you get past whatever threshold your machine has, you shouldn't have problems with doors and gates. I hope the devs have a plan to minimize lag further, I'm sure they do as they seem very receptive to the challenge that is Rats' Nest.

 

Hi there.

Yesterday I was traveling Novia and saw Rats Nest not so far, so I headed there. After a while, I felt like sharing some of my thougths with you.

Do you know EVE online? Even if you (or someone else) don't suffice to say that it is a huge MMO game where anyone can attack anyone. "Safe environments" are "granted" only in high-security areas where the police come and save the attacked ones. But note my quotes, because there is no safe place and your security is never granted. This is a huge PVP environment with no instancing. All players in the same place will always see each other. You might not want PVP, but PVP wants you.

I am not interested in PVP. Yet EVE online is to me the reference MMO game. Does it make sense? You bet.

I don't want PVP because I focus in other tasks than fighting. Odds are I will be the weak in the fight. So I will flee if I feel threatened. So I always have to keep an eye on a dangerous and unpredictable environment. It's not like a silly AI I can learn the trick to avoid. Smart players always look for smarter solutions in order to try and catch you. That's a living world, and I cannot imagine playing in a solo environment in EVE. It would be tremendously boring and pointless.

This is a bit what I felt when I entered Rats Nest. I had to keep my eyes open. Well, there was absolutely nobody there, but that doesn't mean you can relax too much. At any time anyone can show up with who knows what intention.

Does it mean that I sould spend the day avoiding players and running away from death? My theory is: not really. I think the fight would only happen under circumstances. Different levels: check. They will engage me. A point in fighting: depends. No fight for resources, no previous argue. I can be looted, yes, but you never know if it is worth the effort. When the city is crowded, I don't think the fight will be all the time either. I mean, fighting is probably fun, but if it was the only thing someone wants to do, there are more more focused PVP games out there. I think SotA has other interesting things to do.

So I imagine myself walking to the bank or to the merchants with my eyes open, watching an unpredictable crowd, but walking most of the time, not fighting. People will notice that if you make living too difficult, people will move and the town can get empty at some point, and this is not what a PVP player wants. You have to get some fish, but you also have to leave some of it in the water, or you eventually there will be nothing to fish.

Having said all of the above, I think, being the least PVP focused guy in the game, I would give Rats Nest a try, for the same reasons I like EVE Online. And because I like that sentence there is somewhere: "You don't live in Rats Nest because you want to, you live there because you have to". The meaning is in the above paragraphs. And because I don't want PVP, but I want PVP to want me.

One final word: you state that public buildings are a waste. Let me disagree. Give me a reason to move around. I want to go to the bank to get my stuff, but I also want to take the items I crafted in my basement and sell them to the merchant, I want to buy armor from them, even crafting tables can be fun in the middle. Etc.

I'll see you in Rats Nest at some point, Drocis.