Will PRTs survive much longer?

All of the neo-PRTs (the ones with an actual town center) have teleport signs. But it would be nice if they could have an entrance chooser.

Only because so many POT-only deeds have been put out, especially in bundles. PA deeds are available for a moderate increase in price on the COTO vendors (row lots are 99 vs 85 COTOs, about 16% more). The big difference in price on the RMT market is going to be in TF PA deeds, since you can't get those anymore.

I know there's a big minefield with making new TF PA deeds, but it could maybe reinvigorate both PA lots and bundles. Perhaps if newer bundles (the ones that will appear after current expirations) could have POT+PRT TF deeds? Or if TF POT deeds were retroactively made POT+PRT?

Really, the only thing that will bring PRTs to life is likely to be an increase in population AND appropriate deeds.

With the exception of the final assembly of the book, the entire Path of the Oracle can be done in a party. It is only the first three paths that have significant solo-only sections.

Absolutely no. Tax free deeds were specifically given for 3-diigit and higher support of the game, in lieu of 2-3 years worth of lot taxes.

 

Only if we also get to re-do the land rush at the same time so that everyone can be inconvenienced equally "for the good of the game" instead of just cherry-picking sacrificial victims and expecting them to be consoled with leftovers.

 

A new land rush would be great! It would give the devs the opportunity to remove all housing from NPC towns so it's either PRTs or POTs. But that's less likely to happen than winning the lottery at this point.

Given that the devs have already removed about 10 PRTs since persistence, it's only inevitable at this point once more lots decay and the PRTs are truly empty.

 

I just think there's no incentive to living in a PRT.
While a few PRTs have forged communities out of neighburs, most of them are as stated - ghost towns.

Part of its the need for the PA lot.
There's little non-resident traffic and no real reason for anyone to visit any of them
No devotionals or ability to put devotionals
The NPCs in the scene don't offer better prices...
The layout of most of them ranges from inconvenient to bad
Honestly the only reason I can think of to live in a PRT is if there's no available space in the NPC town you want to use your PA deed in, and/or if there's no POTs around wanting residents, which is unlikely.
PRT would be at best overflow areas if the game population spiked.

I would suggest: Put the npcs that pay better prices - this would give them a leg up on POTs. Make pot deeds work there. Many other good suggestions already mentioned.

 

[QUOTE="Elwyn, post: 1175721, member: 160002"

↑
How about this suggestion.
New players start with a housing deed for a POT. Taxed.
If they want to convert it to a tax free deed, they need to complete the storyline.
Absolutely no. Tax free deeds were specifically given for 3-diigit and higher support of the game, in lieu of 2-3 years worth of lot taxes.

.[/QUOTE]

What is your alternative suggestion.

I presume we're talking about PRT's needing people which means new Outlanders having a reason to join.

Two things I always hear from them.

How do I get gold.

How do I get a house.

 

My opinion is that PRTs arnt as popular as POTs because the Oracle deed is the first real opportunity players have to acquire property without a large output of funds. If they wanted to offer a $20 service voucher to upgrade that (and only that) deed from POT to PA, that would give players an upgrade path.

That said, I think PRTs have a place in the game. Making them more customizable, with players putting down their own markers, is a great idea. There are other good ideas in this thread too.

 

On both these points, I completely agree.

I agree with you as far as this looking like it may be the way things are going, but that's why I'm trying to speak up hoping for that course to change because I don't think it's either optimal or right. People currently in PRTs are there because they genuinely want to be there and paid just as much as anyone in an NPC town for that right. They shouldn't have to worry about the risk of losing homes they care about without compensation just because they're not a voting majority in their residential choices.

What about just changing the town icons on the map to be more diminuitive like a small hut or something and call them villages or outposts or homesteads, etc, to temper visitors' expectations accordingly. There might even be some positive effect to reframing them like that, like if I was a new player running around in a game I was really enjoying I can't imagine being bothered at all by seeing lots of land still available to claim.

Maybe I'm just weird, but I would find that exciting and all the more reason to jump in and invest myself, so I'm more inclined to think of a "ghost town" feeling being more indicative of a problem with gameplay than a problem with housing. Because when someone is enjoying what they're doing, the visible availability of places to get more involved with it should be more likely to register as opportunity than abandonment. And if the root problem is gameplay, then chances are pretty low that it's going to be fixed by changes to housing.

 

adding a nice set of devotionals to prts such as crafting fishing and combat would be interesting.

and along with that something interesting to consider is that they are/were working on the idea of pots getting fishing bonuses perhaps that tech could be applied to give certain prts buffs to crafting different things or even growing while in that town to make them more sought after locations based on professions.

 

I will say it again - the worries being discussed here are not PRT problems; they are population problems.

Port is not going to kick anyone out of a PRT or remove any PRT with one or more residents; there is no logical reason for them to do that to anyone.

We need more new players to fill out PRTs; period. If you make PRTs buffed somehow, that just leeches players ftom from NPC and POTs towns. So you solve one problem and create another. The only solution to this issue is more new players that can be retained.

 

yeah a lot of people keep pointing out its about player retention.

getting players a deed earlier in the story to feel they have a stake in the world as soon as possible.

changing prts to accept pot deeds or even changing to only one type of deed so new players are not locked into what could be perceived as p2w lordlings looking down on their virtual peasants. I am not kidding this is a big turn off to some.

removing some empty or nearly empty prts and spreading out the pop a bit (prts using pot deeds, improving prt design, amenities) so early impressions are not its a dead game.

other ideas not relating to prts or housing would just further derail this thread, but ideas like low and mid range daily and weekly quest would help using a system like the obsidian trial coins for interesting rewards based on storyline towns.

 

Actually, yes, those too should be up for discussion.

 

I agree, but I feel it's all related. An influx of thousands of users in and of itself won't solve the housing problem (in PRTs, NPC towns, etc). You also have to solve the cost barrier. To do that, you also have to look at the economy, and also the grind required. The 99% are dirt poor. I would love to get an update from the devs regarding wealth distribution, as the stats were pretty sad last time. I don't think enough has been done to solve this.

So all these problems aren't going to be solved overnight and it will take some time, especially if the mindset is that housing should be achievable over time, not overnight. So while we should solve all of the above, the situation will still remain: there are over 5000 empty lots in the world -- it's been that way for 2+ years, and will remain that way for the foreseeable future unless other actions are taken. Be it collapsing dead PRTs and/or solving the problems mentioned above in some ways.

I agree, I don't think they will force this. They've been waiting for the PRTs to be empty before removing them. But the point of this thread is to put a spotlight on how empty the PRTs are and it doesn't hurt to discuss ways to solve it. Regarding relocation, some folks might not even care where they are. But yes, some folks do care and they aren't going to forced out. Perhaps asked, but not forced. I don't think there was any suggestion to forcefully do that.

We also need to fill out the NPC towns -- there are over 1500 empty lots in those. So retention strategies is one thing -- you also need to solve the cost barrier and economy to enable even more folks to obtain housing. The POT deed for completing the Oracle quest is a start...but that does nothing for NPC towns and PRTs.

I wonder how often they are looking at the metrics for least visited scenes and re-balancing them (rewards, deaths, etc) to make them more desirable places to visit. Or they could simply remove some for the time being in keeping with the theme of addressing population perception.

And I think I already touched upon how dead the Public Vendors are inn other threads and how little they are utilized in 99% of all towns. That is definitely something they should revisit.

 

If PRT's had full NPC services, they would be a lot more viable. Otherwise, they are just a place to stow your house.

 

Some PRTs have full services - the older ones even lack mailboxes. So, your mileage may vary on the PRT of choice

 

they're a quick place to find basic adv and crafting trainers without having to load/walk through a whole npc town that may or may not have quick travel signposts near them. i use them OFTEN when leveling a new char.

 

Who Runs the Player Ran Towns anyway ??? I and my rl wife have a few props in Aldwater (sais PRT ) we have no idea who runs it
but, if offered I would gladly do so just to increase the residents there. Maybe something they can look into granting to have players that have been ingame for years to
hold ralleys or events for resident increasing to incentivize bringing in new players. ?

 

I understand the concept to be POT owners' run their town by placing lots, deciding what vendors and services are there, and driving the overall ethos of the place by control of who moves in, the pvp levels, and so on. PRTs were intended to be 'run' in the social and community sense, where the basics of services and lots were pre-determined but the community would develop to provide the general social feeling and environment of the town, essentially the 'core services' are fixed but the activity and general tone oft he place was for us to decide and make. I think the core concept was 'let the players have the opportunity to develop what community they want' in PRTs.

I fear it's not gone well - I don't know of many (any?) PRTs that have developed much in that way, I felt Elad's was the most prominent in terms of forum activity if nothing else, but I believe even they are rather short on active citizens as well. Perhaps it's partly a result of Portalarium getting way more POT owners than they ever expected, thus increasing the likelihood of finding a town with a playstyle you liked in the POTs available, rather than the much harder option of trying to build a community by 'social agreement'.

 

Elad's Lighthouse is not a PRT. It's a regular NPC town and has story associated with it.

 

My mistake - though the differences between non-story towns and PRTs remains unclear (or to be more honest pretty artificial) to me.

 

It sounds like such a cool idea when you explain it like that. If the residents of a PRT were to somehow organize, great things could follow. I would love to participate in something like this.