Karellean

Whilst undoubtedly some bans may of been justified... This game is rare, in that it has a LONG history.... and that dumb kid running around at age 16 screaming swear words and slaying all your prize chickens with an exploit... Id dare say a few of those have grown up now, and are likely not to offend. More concerning to me, and a good way to what put me out of the game, is that some of the bans made over the years, were just absolutely pathetic, over trivial matters that got blown way out of proportion. Many were also downright unfair, or a direct result of a personal bias. THAT simply killed the will to play of at least a dozen players I know directly. Therefore that figure could be a hell of a lot higher ... possibly 50-100 players, even more if that is applied to people I didn't know well, and who received unreasonable bans. --- Problem is the game is rapidly approaching (some would argue it is there already) the lack of critical mass, to see the enjoyability that the game used to over. Numbers breed numbers, and returning experienced players are often worth three to four noobs that often dont stick around. I think some outside the box thinking is needed to regenerate the population, and a blanket unbanning, with a watchful eye could be the shot in the arm that will see the game come back to life. --- PvP Even more radical thinking is needed to fix this space. So many years of "Windows of Opportunity" when certain stats were found easy to grind have lopsided the PvP communities accounts something beyond reasonable. Personally, I think Wurmageddon of the PvP servers AND there characters is the only way to rejuvenate that space. All existing Characters are moved to Freedom. -- 60 days to clear out the old servers if you want to keep stuff, and shut them down. Replace with a modest sized single new map - no home servers -- totally fresh toons... Accessible to both steam and legacy players. Cram people into a tight space and have them compete for resources. Rollback the Stupendous underground deeds, that are completely unraidable, and whilst at it... make life interesting with significant reduction in the maximum slope limit to something like 80-100 to kill off the dirt walls too. Personally I think maps designed for 6-8 months use... better still, maps with VICTORY conditions that force a wipe would see regular interest renewed every so often. Partial wipe of stats only on map renews -- reduce anything above 50 back to 50... (anything below remains as is) -- scale body stats back to a fixed limit as well. That way you do not have to do all the painful really stupid stuff on a map reboot... but can get quickly into the war. Victory conditions could be Territory % / PvP Kills to reach a score -- and/or Perhaps even construction of a "wonder" requiring ludicrious amounts of resources and crafted items... also needing some RARE materials only available in scattered locations from all across the map. --Rejig the Master Plan, Unban them all, reset the ledger... and watch the old schoolers tumble in

The recent "nerf" hit to favour links from additional priests has now created a vast imbalance between the kingdoms. The heavily populated Kingdoms have been able to use their larger population and multiple links to reach a extremely high value of channelling. It will take priests from the lesser populated Kingdoms well over a month to close that gap. INSTEAD of blanketing the favour regen penalty across ALL links... Surely it could be coded so that the first TWO links do not suffer this penalty and any subsequent links... result in the 5x penalty that has just been released. Either THAT --- or perhaps just cap it at two links per priest... The solution now is VERY poor. in that one kingdom has run away with a huge head start by being able to effectively "exploit" the old mechancic, and the replacement "fix" makes it impossible for the others to ever catch up. I have no argument with the links required to be reduced/"nerfed" ... but the degree to with this has been done, is too steep, too quickly.. We now have our first serious imbalance and "Window" of opportunity that has been closed ... which will affecting the outcome of the PvP servers for some time... (Note: An alternate adjustment would be more severe, but the Highest Channeling in each kingdom could be looked at... and ALL priests over whatever the lowest value of the highest channeling in any given kingdom is.. could be reduced to that value.. to ensure evenness) IF ARCHERY skills can be rolled back due to receiving unintended gains -- Channeling could also be rolled back as per above suggestion Please Consider Kare

A building though is an additional obstruction... The more obstructions there are, the harder it is to raid.... Underground building not only creates additional obsticles below the surface, it adds a greater density of obsticles above the surface (as the land area above is no longer needed for functional purposes) There are already too many obstructions to the token,/reaching loot and your post quite effectively implies that... Given the first two points cannot effectively be argued against, they are factual... I find the majority of your posts supporting reasoning seems to be in conflict with itself....

When I said "add hassle" I was simply being mild and kind in an intro... To be Clearer: I genuinely do like the addition of the feature from a cosmetic and functional point of view for PvE --- but it is not suitable at present in conjunction with the other mechanics in place to a practical and thriving PvP environment. If you go beyond the first line of the original post, I explain how the underground building feature clearly breaks the PvP experience for the greater majority at present. No argument that some part-timers unable to build their nuclear proof bunkers may head to the PvE server.... but longer term that will be a far lesser loss, than losing what is realistically a last chance to consolidate a PvP community who will drift off after a few weeks, if the environment is allowed to remain static if the underground mechanic goes ahead. The moment the environment in a game becomes static, people can and will leave in droves. ------------ @DarklordsThankyou for the consideration, and also exactly as you suggest, the fact that this cannot be effectively reversed, only increases the importance of considering this in the short time now before launch... Id suggest contact the leaders of the 5-6 large pvp groups that I am aware of representing 30-50 people each I would be surprised if more than one of them voted against removing underground buildings -- For those with a genuine PvP full-time mindset this feature unfortunately does not work well with the overall current mechanics Disabling it, until there is a consensus that the PvP game is ready for it, would be in my view, sound foresight. With other tweaks down the track over time... It may even be possible at some point to reduce that raid timer from 8 hours too... removing underground buildings would be a HUGE step towards that, as to be blunt... 8 hours is nowhere near enough for a properly set underground deed to be raided.

This. Firstly.... I have NO issue with Underground building for PVE -- its adds variance.. and looks cool... but for PvP ... it simply adds hassle.... -- As it stands: With underground PvP deeds, you can now dedicate 100% of your surface area to defence. That means more dirt walls, spikes, More donut houses. more rings and layers of defence...than ever before.... You can basically build a blob of junk on the surface holding no loot whatsoever that will take 4-5 hours to get to the token. Even if you make it through that then you probably have to bash a couple of mine doors.... add another hour each... you will be lucky to have an HOUR to push underground... and that is likely taken up by bashing at 4-5 walls/gates on a ramp... before wait... oops sorry.. the raiding 8 hour window is over... your times up. Also Everything is rebuilt in about an hour.... --- By rolling back to force all housing to be surface side, farming surface side, breeding surface side... This means the new 150/60 slope.. at least provides opportunity to raid... It means those who cluster and horde stuff, actually have to build a town... instead of simply knocking out a hole in the ground and throwing a few gates up. As it stands now... the underground meta... You can build a practially impenatrable blocker or holding deed very very cheaply. IDEALLY underground buildings should be back on the not allowed list for PvP servers, IF that is not a easy option, then at the very least Simple Fixes: Animal Breeding timer does NOT tick if the animal is underground. Not a perfect solution but creates a lot of micromanagement hassle for those who try otherwise. Crop Timer does not tick underground - period. Force some activites back surface side... Kare

Your abolutely right... its not that hard.... so you can have 1 blocker deed... pay another 5 prems for the next one... you have two ? .. Sure... keep in mind most kingdoms and several players will have already used their ALT up for their "Safe Zone Storage Deed", let alone any contributing to a wardeed, boat deed and whatver else the kingdom needs to place... If you need to MAINTAIN 5 premiums at all times, for that raid protection to fire off each day, your kingdom is going to get stretched pretty fast. Its not that you cant have these blocker deeds, its at least that they dont enjoy the same raid protection of a deed actually being lived in... and nor should they.. Note on this too @Darklords -- If coding up the must have 5 active prems in the village to enable raid protection check, be sure to add an exception clause for the Safe Zone, new players paying their own deed there should not be hit with that requirement... they need the raid protection.... But then if as I also suggested those Safe Zones get a QL cap on goods and skillgain.. (to encourage them to progress out of the safe zone at some point) . then no-one will really want to raid them anyway... not worth the effort...

Not Clear exactly on what you mean by this, but if a Deed needs 5 Premium Citizens in order for its Raid Windows Protection to Activate... that becomes an expensive process very quickly to maintain a deed for area denial purposes. Also Forcing one of those 5 "likely" accounts to log in at least once every 24 hours is also a pain. We are looking to STOP the proliferation of one person/area denial/storage deeds here.... the criteria above does that to an extent (albeit obviously pay2win players with decent bankrolls ---could- fund 5 accounts... it does become expensive for them to pull this blocker stunt more than once....

Whoa, Area Denial.... very very very good point... Compeltely overlooked that impact. Those tiny blocker deeds at choke points that nobody actually lives at. They are painful to deal with as it is, let alone on a raid timer.... Hmm Im thinking about possible solutions now... Early thoughts: Possibly Only have Raid timers if a Village has X (5?) or more premium Citizens... Would not affect genuine settlements that way, would deal with the storage and clustered deeds to an extent as well. AND also set a rule that at least one premium Citizen must of logged in within the last X (24?) hours... -- Again would not/should not affect genuine settlements.

Thanks for the Updates Darklords. The extended raid timers is an improvement, and you have eliminated the war deed scenario. It still does not address exploitation of raid timers for deeds placed in very tight clusters. Im sure you are working through a lot of the feedback, and processing it takes some time. I will be interested to see what comes from the SAFEZONE feedback, as that becoming a giant storage yard is almost a certainity without further review. If the object is to genuinely progress players through their to PVP, I really can see no other way other than quaility limitations and damage to equipment over a QL cap... to avoid abuse and progress people to move out fro beyond the safety provided, once they reach a certain skill level. Kare

Mostly Good Changes. However three items I see as significant issues where more work is needed, than simply dumping in the proposed setup. 1. Starter and Safe Zones -- Quality Level Caps for ORE/SKILLGAIN/ITEMS IN STORE required. (Issue: Storage Deeds) Without any limitations put in place, these are destined to become storage/hoarding hot spots. I have no issue with these being in place in principle, to attract and allow transition and adjustment to PvP life..... HOWEVER.... it needs to be exactly that... a TRANSITIONAL environment. To put these in without any drawbacks of living or having a deed there, turns the whole area into basically a storage locker yard. Doubling Expense and the suchlike is not the answer, that is down the ill-fated pay2win path, that the whole reset is trying to move away from. The solution has to be meaningful and impactful, directly addressing the problem. I cant see anything short of hard coded Quality Level Caps countering the storage deed effect. I would suggest a 50 QL maximum on any resources generated in the area. NO Skillgain or Improvement beyond 50QL is possible whilst in this area, and lastly and most importantly.... Damage to Items at a Significant Rate until they are reduced to a 50QL Equivilant. The Starter Deed should be even Lower... with 30QL caps. Quality Level Caps on Starter and SafeZone Deeds, will remove the risk of raiding these almost entirely, as (after the first few weeks) 50QL equipment is a waste of time raiding for. The drawbacks I have suggested are sufficient for genuine starters and player wanting to transit to PVP... .and ensure they move THROUGH the Safezones... and not get stuck in one... 2. Raid Windows - Highly Exploitable, Makes Raiding Redundant/Impossible The introduction of this effectively stifles PvP and gameplay. The proposed window is so short, that any half reasonable architect can design a deed that will take a least that long to get to the token, even if undefended, let alone break into any mines and actually loot items. To break into a reasonably well crafted deed and get returns takes about 6-8 hours, given that actually looting any large deed also takes 2 hours after that. Anything short of an 8 hour raid window, will put the majority of deeds in the untouchable bracket. This is before even moving to the exploitable arrangements: The Four Neighbours Arrangement: Four Neighbouring deeds, so close that they are effectively one large deed, each have a different raid window -- Lets say 6 hour blocks because it is neat, and a linking set of tunnels underneath, which are well reinforced. A dedicated wagon or two, with core loot can roll around every few hours, avoiding any exposure to being raided. Shorter Raid Windows only mean this loot wagon only has to roll lest often.. And in order to expose this wagon of loot in this arrangement... even for the briefest of moments you would need at least 18 hour long raiding windows, at which point..... why bother.... You cant really lock this arrangement down.... Items need to be made accessible to owners at all time, they may need to defend with these. You may have people from different timezones in one group (lucky you), each wanting their own place, living right next to each other in a cluster. Don't say it hasn't happened, because that is exactly how my group have always setup....Adjacent to the capital, often tunnel linked with our own deed. The War Deed from Hell Arrangement Nothing more pleasant then seeing a 30x30 deed plonked right up in your territory, and you being able to do nothing about it for potentially 18 hours. Whilst it is true that Rome wasn't built in a day (we never quite finished it), there was a fully functional war-deed on Epic... Build with the whole 300 slope walls, and a reinforced mine system from scratch in just 18 hours.... And you may have a laugh at the way the next line is presented, but its "technically" true... Raid Windows are racist..... The vast majority of deeds will inevitably their raid windows open at only Euro or US hours.... Australian/Pacific players will -effectively- not be able to participate in most raid activities due to the hour of the day. 3. PMK's and the Return of Infighting, Spy/Grief Alts and the complex permissions The introduction of PMK's neatly solved a lot of the issues presented by Public Kingdoms. Public Faction Infighting: Takes just one unfortunate accident to end up with a numpty king, and an entire kingdom can be rendered dysfunctional pretty fast. I recollect a couple of players getting run out of the game, as a result of that. PMK's removed many public spats that reflected poorly on the game and its community. "Grief" Alts (Or I prefer "Dissatisfied Subjects"): Few may remember the ongoing torment that can be inflicted by a just handful of very talented "grief-alts". Personally I consider these fair game, players are just RPG'ing rebellious, possibly patriotic individuals protesting against society, has happened in the real world since the dawn of time.... Its a valid life choice if your not happy with authoritarion regimes.... Despite my acceptance of "Grief-Alts" though... the majority did not enjoy the experience, and PMK's effectively put a stop to the practise for the most part. Complex Permisssions and Trust: Setting permissions can be a pain at the best of times.... At least with PMK's you had the increased trust level, that didn't expose you to losses incurred by either forgetting or accedentally setting bad permisions. You could take a more open stance, and open more of the buildings and kingdom up to more players, than is possible when in a public Kingdom. PMK's reduced the risk of theft and damage, due to errors, and provide greater inclusiveness for its kingdom's subjects as a result of being a closed Kingdom/society. ----- I want to be able to come back and enjoy the game, but I am not entirely sure that I will stick around, with the proposed raid Window and Safe Zone setup..... I may possibly even get more satisfaction out of playing a "dissatisfied revolutionary," than playing for a kingdom with those restrictions in place. Kare

Probably 700e-800e With the depreciated market.... Whilst it has outstanding stats... Not SOTG or 70med which is what the recent high end sales have been looking for. Most the accounts that are going in the top end price range of late, are often geared with 100-200e of stuff.. which is what drives them to the 600+ mark Yours will stand that high on stats... but without gear/silver/prem or something else.... stats alone wont push it past that...

Your statement is incorrect.... Epic skillgain to actual stats is actually HARDER than on freedom/chaos.... The curve Epic utilizes, just allows you to imp stuff higher with lower skill. Also, why I say harder... is that the ticks for skillgain are also based on the curve.... meaning the ticks are LESS FREQUENT than they should be relative to the skill E.G Skillgains from 70 on epic, are as slow as the gains from 90 on chaos/freedom.....

Thx Elleanne, appreciate the paitence when we suffered some delays getting there... +1 Bump

Yep this.... exactly why you cannot have a simple overwrite where all freedom stats prevail... Theres some old choas accounts that crossed at the start of epic... The merge needs to have the /transfer option..... Those with dual stats will need to have the option to choose one or the other.... and for many.... that in itself is pretty a hard pill to swallow... i know a few accounts that would be worth over 200e based on either their epic or choas stats.... let alone having both at that kind of value... I own an account like that.... and I still vote to merge the servers up... for the good of the whole PvP community...

Surely I cannot be the only one who suffers from hours upon hours of endless droning fire sounds, whenever another villager starts a coal pile... Probably leading in some permanent hearing loss... Note: Work sounds do not disable this... Also note: work sounds are useful for locating people.... and they are usually short bursts of sound.... not long tedious and health hazardous background noise.... So ideally if Forge/Coal Pile/ Fire sounds could get their own disable that would be great. Appreciation for your considering this in advance, Karellean