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Tired of having homes ruined by city redesigns

Discussion in 'Release 43 Feedback Forum' started by Presto, Jul 8, 2017.

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  1. Presto

    Presto Avatar

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    First I lost the use of my Ardoris Pawn Shoppe to the placement of a wall right in front of my vendor row. Unbelievable. To lose use of a property that I had invested so much in really hurt, but it happened at a time that I wasn't playing much so I just kept my mouth shut and assured myself that, "I still had Celestis".

    Now the Celestis redesign had massive changes (we were always told these would be otherwise). The entire town square was moved, and the prior focal point, a crasfting center, was moved from the town center to the effin docks, cuz I have no idea why. Now where we had a nice-looking, organized town square we have a large, empty area, some bamboo populating a rectangular area, and some huge building that looks nothing like the everything else in the area. (used to be a town square with a well-placed crafting pavilion, and a nice inn-style tavern/shop)

    In addition to the particular ugliness or incohesiveness of these pixels, we lost function. I run a carft house that got a lot of use because it was centrally located and right outside the door I had a craft supply merchant and a crafting trainer available at the crafting pavilion. Pavilion was moved so now I have no way of resupplying folk with fuel items.

    It was especially offensive to here the description of these changes during the telethon as, "minor changes". The Celestis changes were well-beyond look and feel upgrades, they were transformational.

    I would like to have these issues addressed respectfully please, but I have one more example and a point I would like to make because frankly, I am losing faith in the dev community's ability to perceive when they are exercising a change that should be done with care.

    The other example is the Thorn Bow change the way it placed as decor. I had come up with a particularly beautiful use for these and made large investments buying bows I needed for decor, then I logged in and what was once horizontal was now vertical ans COULD NOT be restored to its prior state.

    This is supposed to be a persistent world. I understand the issue presented by the cloned scenes, but you made a commitment to keep changes in layout to a minimum. You broke your word on Clestis and Ardoris as far as I am concerned, but the more important question is, "Didn't anyone in the development community, or supporting communities as well, note that you were making a change that may impact player plans? I mean, did anyone LOOK at the world we had built as input to their changes? Why not?

    We need to know when we can trust the persistency of this world. I am playing in this world, without my friends because they already lost patience. I am trying to build a community using the tools *I* have to entice them back. When you pull the rug out from under my feet I don't even feel like visiting any more.

    (In addition to the Thorn Bow, the Moondial changes that were done to the original moondial design crossed boundaries. This isn't to say I do or don't like the design, but you didn't honor persistence on a decor item that people spent reall dollars on.)

    I have worked as a project manager for 18 years. I know that you've got, "It's our game, not his" on the tip of your tongue. Bite it back and reread. I am a supporter of this game, heavily invested, and you need to understand that your activities are not appealing to your player base. Time and time again I hear Lord British praise the creativity of the player base in decor, activities and costuming. We need your commitment toward reliable persistence so that we can continue to amaze. That is what a lot of us our hear for...
     
  2. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

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    Very understandable frustration :rolleyes:~TL~
     
  3. FrostII

    FrostII Bug Hunter

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    Pics would reinforce an otherwise excellent post.... ;)
     
  4. Matt Harris

    Matt Harris Avatar

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    I have to agree - Celestis was easy to get around and well-laid out. It is a pain. Seriously considering moving.

    Alaric Mondragon.
     
  5. Mugly Wumple

    Mugly Wumple Avatar

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    I live in Celestis and I'm quite happy with the design - except for the placement of the crafting pavilion. There is a big, blocked-off building (part of the bank) where the crafting pavilion used to be. I'm hoping that a second pass at Celestis will restore the crafting stations at this position. Please Mr. @DarkStarr ?
     
  6. Senash Kasigal

    Senash Kasigal Avatar

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    I disagree.
    I have a Row in Celestis, previously at the crafting stations, now across the bank.
    I like the changes.
    They wasnt small, but i like the new design. :)
     
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  7. zyxe

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    I have to agree with the idea that a lot of the redesigns may be stunning at first glance, but have stripped away functionality from the towns. I know that our lots are not permanent and of course we can move them or lose them over time, but I really hope that the design team takes some constructive feedback from the players who have been in these towns for a while (I've had my spot in Point West since persistence with no intent on moving...unless of course some funky redesign ruins my lot's location, which should NEVER happen because these "beautifications" should make the town better in most senses).

    Quite simply, putting huge walls for no real reason up against a lot edge, putting obstructions in front of players' door, including fences (we buy our own fences from the add-on store IF we want a fence, and putting in fences right against the property line gives no choice!), blocking view of our vendors which cost a LOT of money, blocking beautiful views that were present pre-uncloning and making major layout changes to the town are poor form. I do recall being told that uncloning would not change your lot location and would not drastically change the town. Moving the town square, crafting pavilion, exits and such can negate the reason we took certain lots. It wouldn't be such a drag if serious money weren't involved and if there were tons of prime properties to choose from and move to, but the way the game has been designed gives relatively few ideal lot locations. Why is that, by the way? Shouldn't towns be easy to navigate and use such that lot placement and the number of desirable locations are maximized?

    Edit: I don't want to get too negative here. I'm just dismayed that there are so many beautiful things that have been created in these uncloned towns, but at the expense of functionality (Xenos comes to mind, some of the most beautiful things are way out of the way, but then the interior of the city is maddening to navigate just to find some of the core stores). I think that future towns can have both functionality and the beauty that the designers are so skilled at, so I hope they look to the community for guidance.
     
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2017
  8. Matt Harris

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    I was also hoping that Celestis was too far north for the Asian themed design as it didn't reach Soltown.
     
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  9. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

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    I think Soltown is more like a refugee camp town, more than it's a town. It doesn't look like it's as old or established as Celestis or Ardoris. So I think that's reasonable to assume that Soltown's inhabitance sought out a place between them to feel much safer, without becoming the homeless within either Celestis or Ardoris.
    ~Time Lord~:rolleyes:
     
  10. Numa

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    This is one of the hidden risks in having your lot in an NPC/PRT town or city. If the town is in the uncloning lists then it's inevitable that some people will be impacted by the change once uncloning is implemented. We have a lot of debates on NPC vs POT lot placement and the NPC option is always touted as being the "safer" or more secure option. This point hardly ever comes up in the dicussion but it should come more often so people are aware that this is a possible downside to the NPC town choice.
     
  11. Ravalox

    Ravalox Chief Cook and Bottle Washer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    I don't mind the changes overall; though I did select my lot based on the tall trees that were in place. Now it seems that the bulk of the island is bathed in light throughout the day. I think it would be nice if there were some additions of taller regional trees, instead of relying on bamboo so much.

    https://www.monumentaltrees.com/en/records/jpn/
     
  12. Hazard

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    Church of Craft is one of the most distinguishable and well designed player owned features that has been there for as long as I can recall. I was actually surprised to see the crafting pavilion moved from directly in front of his location.

    Get back on his lawn!
     
  13. Mishikal

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    I agree that the crafting pavilion relocation was really odd for Celestis. For the rest of it, I would note that persistence never meant release. The game clearly notes it is not finished/finalized. I had similar issues with two village lots I had in Estgard, when they added a wall around the entire city. It is part of the price we pay for getting early access.
     
  14. zyxe

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    I would totally agree with you except for the fact that we were told that changes would not be severe, and that we had to pick our lots with the start of persistence which was long before much of the uncloning process began. Now, if we want to move, finding something similar to what we *thought* we were claiming will be extremely difficult if not impossible.

    I do love a lot of the little touches. I just need to see some balance of those beautiful details with functionality of our lot locations that are already claimed.
     
  15. DarkStarr

    DarkStarr Executive Producer SOTA Developer

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    I can completely understand your frustration at these changes specifically related to Celestis.

    I have reviewed them and specifically the changes in locations of the crafting stations and bank should not have been moved that far. We will be fixing this in Release 44. Normally we would have caught and fixed these changes during our regular map reviews but since I was still out sick when this particular map got reviewed we let these changes slip through.
     
  16. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

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    [​IMG] Thanks Darkstarr:)~TL~
     
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  17. Brass Knuckles

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    @DarkStarr

    One thing ive noticed and love is the stteet signs added to pots and many npc towns. Yet many prts and several story towns dont have these yet. Is this by design or are they coming?

    One of the best things you have done for towns is add these for people.

    Add on request, it would be cool as a town owner to be able to relable them.
     
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  18. Stryker Sparhawk

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    Just a wild guess, but this is probably something that should be it's own thread, with specific examples..
     
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  19. Brass Knuckles

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    Well there is a tie in here, these signs might help when scenes are adjusted, make up for any movements by adding a sign location. Example the celestice area was pushed back add a sign jump to the central area it would make the OP location valuable once again.

    Multiple threads seamed like over kill felt the piggy back might be the way to go.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2017
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  20. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

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    Indeed! :rolleyes: I'd like for us to be able to zip to different locations within cities using the signs to teleport us there :) It just makes for much better good gaming :D~Time Lord~
     
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