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Retrograde

Design a starter deed!

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DeedPlanner Pastebins of the current state of the Starter Deeds:

 

Independence - The Howl

http://pastebin.com/701yEEsV

 

Deliverance - Green Dog

http://pastebin.com/Lb2zLZY5

 

Exodus - Esert

http://pastebin.com/JJEY8Pg1

 

Celebration - Tap Dance

http://pastebin.com/Cx0Tffyy

 

Release - Sloping Sands

http://pastebin.com/5eNq2Lwe

 

Pristine - Blossom

http://pastebin.com/VPwQnKaB

 

Xanadu - Esteron

http://pastebin.com/3HAYSN0s

 

Xanadu - Glasshollow

http://pastebin.com/VRqgZS98

 

Xanadu - Greymead

http://pastebin.com/T0uMMy4d

 

Xanadu - Linton

http://pastebin.com/fw3NiY00

 

Xanadu - Lormere

http://pastebin.com/ZNJ4cLmi

 

Xanadu - Newspring

http://pastebin.com/L8agmJ0i

 

Xanadu - Summerholt

http://pastebin.com/LpWCPV2d

 

Xanadu - Vrock Landing

http://pastebin.com/barht2zQ

 

i don't know how to set the water level in DeedPlanner - anyone mind telling me? ;)

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6 hours ago, Odynn said:

 

  • Offering free beds for SB ? (killing any potentials inns nearby)

 

 

As much as I want to redesign the starter towns... aspects like this are a bit worrisome. If, like me, you are already building a deed next to or near a starter town with plans for an inn, newbie living quarters etc. Incorporating those things into the starter towns will basically make my planned deed, and others, useless. Or at least half of it anyway.

 

Just a thought I had about it.

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8 hours ago, Odynn said:

Then we have a bunch of question to ask ourselves.

  • What is a role of a starter deed :
  • Offering protection ?
  • Offering free beds for SB ? (killing any potentials inns nearby)
  • Offering free access to comodities like forges, ovens, pans in public buildings ? (done by others around before or in newbie starting towns).
  • Having a fake town to shape up the new players mind on how to build their deed ? (farm lands / GM animals statue)
  • Being a center for events ? we used to have servers wide spells / sermons there in the past.
  • Showcasing skill / building possibilities / decorations / bridges ? back to square one on the restrictions and lag.
  • Accessibility and hand helding for the new players ? (points back to the tutorial).
  • Prolly others I forgot...
  • And most important, Can we do something better than the existing ones.

 

Very good questions and an excellent frame to start your design from.

 

The idea of beds would not be free beds, they'd be set to rent by the mayor (deedholder) with a sign explaining sleep bonus and gathering money via botanising, foraging or other activities. Feel free to include the use of some signs in other areas too.

 

The idea is to allow new players the opportunity to learn the game in a semi self reliant way, with some larger scale commodities like a forge, oven and loom to use. Some players prefer greater self reliance and will search for wilderness, some will seek a village right at the start, this is just making another path viable, i aim to continue to do more work with both the tutorial and the way new players enter the game.

 

This is by no means a definitive list, and while some requirements feel stifling, they are what have been passed to me by the development team, so there is a reason behind it.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Retrograde said:

The idea of beds would not be free beds, they'd be set to rent by the mayor (deedholder) with a sign explaining sleep bonus and gathering money via botanising, foraging or other activities. Feel free to include the use of some signs in other areas too.

 

So these starter deeds will now have a player to act as mayor?

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3 minutes ago, JakeRivers said:

 

So these starter deeds will now have a player to act as mayor?

I would assume the current deedholder GM would ask the group what they'd want the bed rent to be and then set it. I could be wrong though.

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i would imagine that the beds are free for the teams building the deeds and set to rent after they are done.

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1 hour ago, Retrograde said:

The idea is to allow new players the opportunity to learn the game in a semi self reliant way, with some larger scale commodities like a forge, oven and loom to use. Some players prefer greater self reliance and will search for wilderness, some will seek a village right at the start, this is just making another path viable, i aim to continue to do more work with both the tutorial and the way new players enter the game.

 

The signs and teaching thing on all those starters deeds might have a better impact on the tutorial, maybe even think of using GV for that, a big starter town for the new players with some hand helding and keep the spawn points as what they are.

 

What will be the case of permanent citizens on those starter deeds, how the area will be impacted by players staying on those deeds, how much can we showcase and how much functions will have to be enabled for those players.

 

If those deeds are meant to be lived on that will kill the ideas of any community built starter towns and will require quite a switch in the current designs.

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1 hour ago, Odynn said:

What will be the case of permanent citizens on those starter deeds, how the area will be impacted by players staying on those deeds, how much can we showcase and how much functions will have to be enabled for those players.

 

If those deeds are meant to be lived on that will kill the ideas of any community built starter towns and will require quite a switch in the current designs.

These are not for permanent citizens. Every deed has a mayor, starter deeds have a mayor that is held by the GM team. The beds will be owned and set to rent by the mayor, the funds wont go anywhere, but simply be a means of avoiding the "free beds" fear.

 

While I agree the signage would be better in the tutorial, again, that's a longer term plan. We can easily remove the signs if the tutorial covers it in the future

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22 hours ago, TheShawv said:

I understand wanting a starter town for new people to live in, but how many people actually stay in or around a starter town?

i pretty much live in a starter town when I'm not on pristine

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43 minutes ago, Stik said:

i pretty much live in a starter town when I'm not on pristine

+1  Spoken like a true vagrant.

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remember that one time when all the elevation start deeds got a redesign except the HotS one?

 

i do

 

dev team's priorities look to be Mol Rehan, Jenn Kellon, Freedom, and last of all HotS

Edited by Alexgopen

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i don't think there was a bias in redesigning the starter deeds back then...

Logi built the Elevation starter deed for HotS and Teutates/Logi did the Affliction one. (i think both of them could use some improvement though)

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Having a deed within eyesight of Green Dog on Deliverance since its opening I have had the opportunity to witness new player activity there. This is why I like the idea presented that new players have the opportunity to use the starter Village until they are ready to move out on their own. Yes, this means indefinitely if they wish. I have seen some new players that are more timid and spend a good amount of time there before they eventually move on and no one has never remained permanently.

 

To accommodate this having large areas for them to farm would be helpful and with the new settings it could be done so that they have no ability to dig the fields into holes. Accessible bins with cotton and nails would be good too. Then maybe even extend the deed tiles to cover one part of the mountain side and let GM's put some low level iron veins in there. They would need to cave in walls and redo much of it then set the tiles so that the floors couldn't be destroyed by mining them down again.

 

Beds, yea they should be free too. I don't see the big deal of allowing new players to sleep within the starter Village for as long as they stay. If this is a problem they could just cross the water and stay free at my own Inn for as long as they want. Why should I care? The thing is that these starter Villages should serve as a functioning shelter for new players until they decide they are ready to move on, then they won't get frustrated attempting to learn the game in a more harsh environment. True, Villages open to new players can serve this purpose and if the new player decides later that they wish to live with other players they will then be more knowledgeable to find a suitable one but remember that there are some players that will never make this choice because they don't want to depend upon others and a starter Village setup to accommodate them for as long as they wish will serve them much better. Really, they won't stay there long anyway, as I have observed for years now.

 

Another thing, whether the Mayor be a player or a GM these starter Villages need someone who checks into them every few days briefly to just tidy things up, since eventually they get trashed up and if they are setup to be more functional for the new player this will happen even more frequently. Mayors should also be able to drag carts off their deed tiles as they were able to in the past (and this means on all deeds) otherwise they will be left abandoned everywhere, especially in these starter Villages.

 

The main point I am making is that these starter Villages should be setup to shelter new players and learn the mechanics of the game before they decide to move off on their own. I believe this would allow players to learn the game at their own pace without feeling dependent upon others. Have no fear, eventually they will move on to other adventures farther away when ready.

 

One more thing. There should be no gates at the entrances so that aggros can be lured inside for the Spirit Templars to kill. Glasshollow on Xanadu was this way and it worked well because the surrounding walls/fencing kept the bulk of the aggros out and usually the only ones that entered were ones that chased the poor newbies inside, or the more experienced player who just didn't want to deal with their interruptions. Don't forget that the settings should be so that players can attack aggros on deed and the poor newbies can at least learn something about fighting until they feel capable to do it alone.

 

Redesigning the starter Villages for esthetic purposes is great too, as that will make a better impression of the game to new players and even us jaded old timers. No doubt it will be a lot of fun for some too that have looked at some tired and neglected starter Villages and wished they could do something about it.

 

Happy Trails

=Ayes=

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I agree Ayes.  I believe starter villages should be able to accommodate new players as their first solid interaction in the game if they so choose it.  Many players strike out early in this game because they haven't the slightest clue what to do with themselves after coming through the portal.  As soon as they have something in mind they have to wander off to figure out how to produce their desires and make them tangible.  Redesigning starter deeds in a way to help this progression by giving them some confidence and security right away could be extremely beneficial.  I don't think anyone wants to stick to a starter deed for any long span of time, as most players want to venture out and create something new for themselves.  All in all, there is nothing wrong with helping them take their first steps if that's how they choose to play.  This idea of improving the starter deeds definitely provides more freedom to play the game how you choose, and at the pace in which you choose.

Edited by Slickshot
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13 hours ago, KaiH said:

(i think both of them could use some improvement though)

:)

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There's been a huge amount of feedback about pros and cons of starter deeds, and it's absolutely awesome.

 

I have had a few raise concerns about restrictions within the building sizes, so we are looking at adjusting that to x number of walls and also eliminating the same material requirement. Not sure if it's a feature within deedplanner to get a wall count, but we'll see about adjusting that requirement

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On 29/02/2016 at 9:10 AM, Ayes said:

The main point I am making is that these starter Villages should be setup to shelter new players and learn the mechanics of the game before they decide to move off on their own. I believe this would allow players to learn the game at their own pace without feeling dependent upon others. Have no fear, eventually they will move on to other adventures farther away when ready.

'

As a new player  i did a bit of research and found Vrock Deed to have little if any traffic so i chose to spawn there...but soon found i didn't know what to do.. and cudos to a newish player for taking me under his wing and providing me with shelter and space and no bed (arsehole!! j/k)...<SmileS> at Bombaysteve over in his house.. still there was a starter village nearby which i missed at that point before signs pointed it out and unmanned so nobody mentioned it to me at that time which is now not the case.. but I totally agree with everything Ayes has said as a not very fresh newbie..so +1 to functional starter towns or more reasons of nearby deeds to take that role like Vrock inn which is a much used resource now "womaned" by Tenania, i have found equipment there, resources , appliances and beds all at the lowest cost possible; free...so either way i strongly agree on both, or one or the other level of back bracing for the newbie..thanks to all who have made my stay memorable ...

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I'm awaiting the new / updated rules on the deed design and how far in usability we need to go, but this start to look a bit better design wise than the previous ones.

 

We still need to clear some points like :

 

  • Safe zones OR totally enclosed area (allowing the new players to lead aggroes on deed to fight them with the templars or not)
  • Usable fields and how to enforce their proper use without griefing AND/OR having grass spread to it. (Settings / Designs ?)
  • Ressources (Clay / Iron / Wood). Some are nearby, some are permanent... and some will have to be taken in consideration. Trees without protections / proper spread rate will disappear from any active starter towns.
  • Design : show case of the server / skill / architecture OR usefull ? Will be hard to do both

 

I strongly believe that a whole fenced in deed wont help to see Wurm beauty (see my mock up deed a few post ahead), as well as a whole functional starter town will kill any attempt from others players to do so. And we cannot afford to loose the human element to help new players to start off in Wurm. Signs or CA Help won't help with the necessary hand holding some needs. Been there, done that, might have failed at it, Wurm retention rate being awfull.

 

I believe (yes, once again, my opinion) we will need open view areas to highlight the surroundings (and their natural feeling) and encourage players to go explore. Show what our servers are, our core value, our struggle with the lands in some case but how we shape it and what being part of our community is. But as well grant some support for said community : inn with a few beds, maybe fields on deed or in the perimeter, enchanted grass for horse (if GMs want to spawn some for any potential events), real grass and not lawn to allow the forage / botanize actions, as well as keeping the history of those deeds intact, respecting the work done previously.

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Dragon problem has been solved on affliction but the starter deed has been destroyed once again. Majority of walls are gone and the deed itself provides zero safety for new folk and old alike.

 

Hopefully this solves our issue in months to come.

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Quote
  • Safe zones OR totally enclosed area (allowing the new players to lead aggroes on deed to fight them with the templars or not)
  • Usable fields and how to enforce their proper use without griefing AND/OR having grass spread to it. (Settings / Designs ?)
  • Ressources (Clay / Iron / Wood). Some are nearby, some are permanent... and some will have to be taken in consideration. Trees without protections / proper spread rate will disappear from any active starter towns.
  • Design : show case of the server / skill / architecture OR usefull ? Will be hard to do both

Fully fenced off to avoid aggros wandering in, define the boundaries. No gates on the roads in and out though.

 

No farming fields, becomes too hard to enforce with other players and ownership.

 

All deeds are either coastal, or have resources close to (clay at least) trees within perimeter for wood (not on deed, to avoid spreading)

 

Whatever you want, go utilitarian or showcase! It's your design!

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11 minutes ago, Lockdown said:

Dragon problem has been solved on affliction but the starter deed has been destroyed once again. Majority of walls are gone and the deed itself provides zero safety for new folk and old alike.

the deed map dump of Blackbone is fresh. no missing walls i could see.

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Hi a question has come up and was wondering . Is it ok for one person to be on two teams or are you only allowed to lay your name to one team. 

Thanks

Booskii

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