The City of Penshire

Discussion in 'Player Owned Towns' started by Poor game design, Dec 2, 2014.

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  1. Drocis the Devious

    Drocis the Devious Avatar

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    The City of Penshire, known both affectionately and infamously by its inhabitants as Rat's Nest, will likely be in the Northwest quadrant of Novia. Focused on FREEDOM, the city has a reputation for letting its residents solve their own problems without the heavy hand of local government getting in the way.
    -----------------------------------------------------------
    The following town layout is a conceptual drawing of what "might be" and should not be considered final (although the town has been paid for). I will likely mock up several variants of this layout including a land locked version.

    The City will be OPEN to PVP, but it will also be devoted to trade. The City is NOT a guild. More information on this in the future.

    The current thinking is for the city to be in a Swamp or Grasslands biome.

    Governance for the city is simple. There will be ONLY three laws:

    1. Do not attack the town owner, Drocis Fondorlatos.
    2. Do not disrupt trade within the defined trading zones (The Bazaar, Vendor Row, or by the East Gate)
    3. Pay taxes in full and on time.

    Beyond that, residents are completely free to do what they wish both inside and outside of the town. (Note this must conform to any rules or standards set by Portalarium)

    Lots will be taxed monthly (using only in-game gold) based on lot type (Row, Village, Town, or City) as a percentage relationship to whatever Portalarium uses for in-game home deed taxes. For example, if Portalarium sets Row Lot monthly taxes at 2000 gold, the City of Penshire might charge something like 500 gold per month to maintain ownership of a row lot.

    [​IMG]

    Although the City of Penshire will NOT be taking advanced applications for residence. I would personally enjoy talking to any business owners, guild leaders, or individuals that are interested in this project. Please feel free to comment here or send me a private message.

    A website will be developed for the City of Penshire in the near future. Until then, please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
     
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  2. Jatvardur

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    Good first post.

    I'm mildly surprised you went to the effort of creating a town lay out given the deep dive yesterday. It more or less confirmed what I was suspecting. Too many POTs; devs don't have enough time; customization will be very limited. I'd love to have my lay out properly done but fear that it will not be so.
     
  3. High Baron O`Sullivan

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    is everything.
    lol
     
  4. E n v y

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    I like it........but i'm just thinking of lag :(
     
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  5. Drocis the Devious

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    I have faith in the devs ability to optimize the game (so if you meet the minimum requirements you can visit and live in large towns like Ardoris).

    I can already get through Ardoris without any difficulty using my best computer. By the time the game is launched this should not be a problem.
     
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  6. majoria70

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    lol well what I heard them say is that they don't have time right now for a lot of extra. I took that as a possitive that later lots of good stuff will be possible;)
     
  7. Drocis the Devious

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    I took the information from the deep dive differently.

    I think what the devs are saying about templates is this:

    1. They are not going to create new assets. (i.e. don't ask for special walls or new housing that they haven't already created)
    2. They will not make a town that looks like a triple layer cake during the day and an elephant balancing an umbrella during the night. (i.e. don't get too complex)
    3. They will not code new AI for you. (i.e. guards won't play catch with all visitors that wear a special bell around their necks)

    So what does that leave us? Basic lot placements and general town layouts. I think that's what I've done here. We'll see.
     
  8. Vendetta Beretta

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    This sounds promising. I've been looking for a safe place for me to live.

    I have a few questions though. I might be interested in getting a small lot in this place, but I'm concerned about two things.
    1. How much is the tax going to be? (This could be a deal breaker for me)
    2. I sort of have a high society benefactor. He's one of the nobility who is interested in supporting me. Yes I've earned it. Yet the guy wants to keep our relationship hush hush though, which is why he is getting me my own place. The problem is he will be acquiring a row property deed for me shortly, but he doesn't want to be seen with me. Don't worry I'm okay with that. So I may have to wait till I can get the property deed traded to me personally so I can place the house myself.
    So here's the issue. I don't want huge hidden fees, and he cannot be seen making any property deals directly. So I'm sort of not sure how it will work when it comes time to acquire a spot in the world.... at least for me that is.
     
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  9. Drocis the Devious

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    Vendetta,

    Thank you for your interest in becoming a resident of the city. It was my first instinct to take this conversation to a private room however I have elected to hold it here for the benefit of interested newcomers that may share related questions. Once the city opens I will be sure to offer a number of discrete communication channels through well established and trusted intermediaries. This will allow anyone to maintain an additional level of anonymity as well as being excellent for making business transactions that are not meant for public consumption.

    I would be honored respectful if you chose to use Penshire for your needs. The City of Penshire doesn't care where your gold comes from, only that it arrives in full and on time. The rate of taxation is and will be unknown for some time, but I can assure that it will only be as high as the hundreds of souls in the city are willing to pay. Current thinking is that it will be a moderate percentage of whatever it costs to pay on "rent" for a non-tax free lot deed.

    The city has been designed in a way that should help those that wish to travel unseen, with twisting alleyways and confusing streets (especially for visitors that wander out of the protected trading areas). What is not seen in the city layout is the fog that will become well known for more than just environmental effect. I will let your imagination ponder the many uses for random failures of long range visibility inside of a large city.

    The plan is to support individuals with affordable housing that will never be revoked (as long as the 3 laws are followed), basic services like banking and storage, as well as multiple taverns (the current thinking is 5-6) that can be used to meet contacts and sell services. Trainers in the city will specialize in skills that can best be used by our residents in an urban environment.

    Guilds are welcome and will be supported on a case by case basis. I'm also in contact with several town owners who like the idea of establishing trade routes with Penshire. But I imagine I will be receiving some interesting requests as time moves on and everything is on the table at this early stage of development.

    In addition, the city seeks to be a hub for trade. This may seem counter intuitive with the relaxed governance, but I believe it will work and have deep plans to ensure its success.

    Lastly, I am not a member of any guild or organization. I have no master, I make my own fate. This includes Lord British, the Chaos Lord known as Darkstarr, the Oracle, and any other construct that may wish to pull the strings of those incapable of free thought. What this means is that when you deal with Drocis Fondorlatos, you deal directly with the one in charge of the City of Penshire.

    Please let me know if you have remaining questions. I will be available to answer them in private.


    Drocis Fondorlatos
     
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  10. blaquerogue

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    Congratulations on your POT! I look forward to visiting!
     
  11. Keira OFaolain

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    Congrats
     
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  12. Blake Blackstone

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    Nice work Drocis. I love the layout. Might be a gamble with so many rows but will make for a large population. Grats.
     
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  13. Aartemis

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    I love seeing the Player Town Ideas. Great Stuff, and I look forward to visiting!
     
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  14. Drocis the Devious

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    I've actually considered going all in on row lots. I could have as many as 432 with 1 city lot in the center.

    You're absolutely correct about the risk, especially post launch when players begin to upgrade their houses from row lots to village and above.

    But the main risk as I see it is that the game looses popularity and players become inactive thus creating less demand for housing, leaving me with an empty city. When you think about it though, we all have that problem no matter what the city layout is. Even if someone went in the opposite direction and created a town with only Castle lots, there's no guarantee that they will stay full of active players.

    It's also worth noting that Archeage had over 1 million people playing it recently and housing was almost completely gone within minutes of release. So I think the easy part will be creating the city and watching it fill up at release. The real challenge will be keeping the city full of life as the game moves out of the early days and into the "end game" day to day activity. The Location of the city, the theme, and the buy in from the residents will all factor into its success.

    Thanks for the kind words.
     
  15. Biblik

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    I wonder what the devs would say if you opted to be the last town and lowest priority (possibly even after launch) to allow them to customize a wee bit more in free time as opposed to during active feature development.
     
  16. Drocis the Devious

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    I don't know. I certainly hope I don't find that out. It's going to be important for my City to be ready day one.
     
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  17. Biblik

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    It's all about quality vs speed. Prioritization. Na' mean?
     
  18. Drocis the Devious

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    I know exactly what you mean. But the land rush at launch will never be duplicated, and I can always "redo" the town later if I need to.
     
  19. Jatvardur

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    True, but it will cost. The devs did say that lot placement required the most effort on their part.


    What assurances can you give players that you won't just kick them out? ;)
     
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  20. Drocis the Devious

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    Right, or it could not cost me because I'm comfortable with the results. One of the reasons I like this type of city is that if anything it will make for a wonderful PVP battleground. :)

    I want their tax money. Everyone should understand that.

    I have three simple rules to follow. It's very easy. You don't break those rules and you don't get kicked out. Those rules allow me to conduct business and provide an environment to everyone in the city. The spice must flow. Disrupt my ability to conduct business and you're out.

    Very simple. I believe the type of player that will enjoy this city the most will come to realize how perfect this arrangement is.
    • You pay a tax and do whatever you want outside of messing up the trade area which represents about 1/10 of the city.
    That's about as much freedom as any player can hope to have.
     
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