So. Me and my busted ass pinky (yeah it still gives me problems) have been working on the new and improved Ofcol. I am doing my very best to make this area a town that people would actually like to go to. However, I'd like to hear your feedback. What do you as players consider elements that draw people to cities? Below are a few things I consider good to have, but please don't limit your feedback to those topics alone. I'd like to hear what you think.
New equipment. Hamlet was a move in the right direction. The equipment there was a good boost for getting purchasable equipment for level 30ish. I have more for around level 40, helping in the gear department on the way to pinnacle, and a little leg up for those needing a step between low level gear and winter/gear/desolation type gear. What do you think is needed in the equipment department?
HOUSES! We will be offering homes for sale. Not many. six tops, two larger ones and four small ones. The idea here is that a player can purchase a house, remodel it the way they want to for one price. You will be able to post the room descriptions on the prayer forum, and I will build it. As soon as the char condies/deletes/doesn't log in without notice for 45 days, the home will go back up for sale. And of course, you will be issued a deed that you can sell to another player.
Shops. It's always bugged me that shops hold minimal gold. It gets tough, especially on some classes/alignments to gather gold effectively. There will be a pawn shop with a larger amount of gold for your selling of things, but the purchase price of your item may be slightly less than what you could get elsewhere, for the trade of the shop having more gold and able to buy more of your items.
What else guys? What draws you to a town? What do you think we are missing?
What does a player gain except for that fact that he owns a house, which noone cares about an will never visit?
Here is my idea to make your "houses" more desired, because in their current state, noone will bother with them.
As it was with RP, most will not bother with it unless it gives some PK advantage. So what PK advantage can a freaking house give? - increased regen.
You spend an evening in your house, say from 20 o'clock to 6 o'clock, and you get a boost for 168 hours (1 week) that increases your HP regen. HP regen should be enough to make it useful, but not too much to empower ogres too greatly. Something like 10 + 10%(total HP).
I think having mobs spill some good secrets would be fun too. Tell you were certain eq, weapons, or special items are if you spare their life, almost like the yard. Maybe even introduce tournaments of dice, darts, or card games would be fun. So when you are board you can enter a tournament with multiple people to see who wins. Maybe even a PK arena where many people can enter and only one victor can come out.
What does a player gain except for that fact that he owns a house, which noone cares about an will never visit?
Here is my idea to make your "houses" more desired, because in their current state, noone will bother with them.
As it was with RP, most will not bother with it unless it gives some PK advantage. So what PK advantage can a freaking house give? - increased regen.
You spend an evening in your house, say from 20 o'clock to 6 o'clock, and you get a boost for 168 hours (1 week) that increases your HP regen. HP regen should be enough to make it useful, but not too much to empower ogres too greatly. Something like 10 + 10%(total HP).
I understand completely where you are coming from, but I'd like to think we have enough RP-centric players who would want to purchase a home purely for RP. I may be wrong, but I don't think so.
RP points are a much different commodity than gold. Yes. Given the choice between an oowner best in slot necklace and purchasing a rp pet, most all will go for the necklace and perks. Though as a mort I got one of the pets too, because they were pretty nifty. I still think people will spend gold for a house.
The house idea isn't bad and I would do it for role play honestly. My issue is that I have never played a character that would want a house in or near Ofcol. So if you add them to Miruvhor or Maelbrim... Sure maybe.
I would love to get a little pet item with RP points as well. I'm just afraid of spending them because I may need them in the future for something.. Haha
On houses. This brings up a good point. No one sleeps regularly in FL. We sleep when we need health, mana, and moves. Maybe to let our friend cast a spell on us. There should be a pk bonus for being well rested, as well as a pk disadvantage for being too tired. To become well rested a character should have to sleep for eight hours. In their guild, in a hotel, or in their two room Ofcolian suite! Fatigue should always set in when a character has either dipped health, mana, or moves below 20%. Edit (as soon as adrenaline stops pumping of course)
Player houses are a step in the right direction, but I would actually start with player shops, not houses. Shops create traffic and a player shop will create recurring traffic. One property can affect many players this way.
For stock selection, you can let players spend RP points to upgrade their stock with whatever prebalanced items you allow to be purchased. Put a limit on stock per 'path' of item, say one or two items per tier. Path and their tiers could be limited by align, racial, hometown or class so as to ensure a wide variety of shop items available from different characters. Players should also be able to set the cosmetics of the shopkeeper. It would be easier and better to allow players to set their own cosmetic descs/etc. via in-game editor.
Shops could also provide services instead of items. It would be easy to create a gambling/gaming room, alternative bank/locker/temple services, tavern/inn, equipment/item salvage, preserving, charmie, gate, purchasable starstone/souls/minerals, herb to potion to pill, maze/teleport, container poison or any other service that is offered in game already. Could even be a place to just display a ton of heads to the public ;). The trick is to vary the service somewhat from normal. For example, the gates go to different places, two-way, or instant. Temple services could provide a buff to player or charmies (bless, frenzy, detect magic, etc.). Nouncurse uncursing, socket removal, disenchanting, cabal service type things (reinforce, life-insurance), 'spy'/tracking, and so forth. Maybe even the possibility to respec lores/trains.
The list goes on and on. Player homes could also provide these services privately via bought upgrades at some cost.
I'd approach implementation this way:
Create mechanics for handling buying/sell/auctioning property. This needs to be done without immortal involvement. This requires an ownership mechanic and individual/multiple (clan?) rights need to be established. Access rights also, controllable in some way by the player with suitable checks (what to do if denied player is in property?). Lot placement and size needs to be determined and implemented into relevant game areas.
Create mechanics for customizing said property. Could potentially be limited by lot zone (commercial/residential). Players should be able to customize/upgrade their property somehow without immortal help. Cosmetically this just involves a basic editor for the room and mob. Room/mob balancing should be preset, probably with unkillable mobs (or if more advanced, a defense mechanic: i.g. guards). In terms of offering content, a design document will be needed to outline all the potential paths a property may take and the conditions necessary.
Balance the content. Take each of those paths and balance the initial cost (rp point, whatever), the ongoing cost (cost to maintain stock, provide service), and the return on investment (which should be in a different form than the ongoing costs), if any. Figure out how much stock/gold/service can be provided in a certain time frame at a certain cost. Implement a sink to automatically recycle property (i.g. ongoing property tax, idle forfeiture). Decide what paths can be taken in what places (certain properties require certain areas, e.g. a mine)
Decide if players will be the sole variable or if other in-game forces will affect the property. Weather, NPC shoppers, and any number of 'events or conditions' could be designed. These could be triggerable by staff or perhaps even instigated by a friendly/rival player service. Be very careful with automatic events that are not cosmetic.
Implement the property paths, starting with just one or two (for example, standard player home with a choice of 1-3 services, same with commercial property). Clan home can provide a guard, pit, healer, or channel for example. As the designs/code progresses, keep expanding. Keep just a very few lots available in the beginning.
Initial property can be sold using the implemented auction mechanic, perhaps taking a few real life days with bids posted publicly. I'd choose a high traffic area (esp. Val Miran-Maelbrim-Miruvhor route) first, rather than dead-end Ofcol. I don't think the playerbase size warrants expanding Ofcol into a major city in order to support this project or any other at this time. It might be possible to offer cheaper/large lots in places like Ofcol, but not in the beginning. If you want to make Ofcol unique, provide one or more of the services I offered above in the remake, perhaps using the area to test individual property path implementations through a normal room (not player controlled).
Note: Property can also affect players/cabals (e.g. tribunal tax, poll station, or whatever). It is possible to chain properties/services. The possibility for intermediate products/services thus exists. You can log a tree on one property, process it in another, and sell the product in a third, and you may not own all parts of the chain. This is a complex undertaking and shouldn't be attempted until after the initial implementation. Life will certainly be easier though if it is accounted for early in the design.
If this system is implemented, you've just added a system that:
A. Gives players a reason to log in/check in the game (property management), increasing logins and time spent in game.
B. Gives player ownership/presence in the game, making them less likely to recycle characters/quit the game.
C. Provides additional gameplay available for non-PK heavy players, opening the playerbase to a new niche and is quite different from PK/RP writing.
D. Makes the game world considerably more dynamic. Bonus points if property history is recorded and researchable (I'd like to see the abstract on that lot, sir.).
E. Has no serious penalty for choosing NOT to get involved. Players who don't own property can still utilize services provided.
...in other words, it would be a massive boon for FL.
This merchant shop has exactly what every great adventurer needs to get started! At the astonishing low cost of 33% above other traveling merchants, this wonderful warehouse delivers all to its clients twenty four hours a day. Do not miss out folks, this might be your only chance to get that GREAT deal you have been looking for. Merchant suits without dealing with some unsavory street vendor. Honest businessmen offering honest prices, Merchant's Western Outfitters, in New Ofcol as long as anyone can remember.
I like the rested bonus idea, but not exactly how Foxx put it.
Instead of having it where you get a 150+ hour bonus if you're there from X time to Y time, make the bonus function in one of two ways. First, in your house you have a blanket +mana/health regen room bonus. 110-125%-ish to each. Or start off at 100% and bump it up by 10% at various levels to a max of 150%. Second, have an effect bonus like a cross between mystic healing and reverse time. For each hour you spend in your house, you gain x hours duration of ... +X to health/mana/move gain to a maximum of .... 150 hours. Whatever. These bonuses, base and incremental, can increase with the size of the house purchased if you wish.