Something radical, Something wackey!

[HedgeHug 2049]

I still live!

 

 

Sup nerds,

 

so... after a night of  drinking and banter, much to the bemusement of @Wrynn and others, one thing lead to another and the topic went to LotC. Seeing things from the angle I have obtained (a third person perspective as an old member that has since left the server for an undetermined period of time) it pains me to see the server suffer as it does now.

 

A generation of good staff moved on, and a new generation moved in. On top of which a new map is to come soon. Big times, times where possible changes can be made.

 

This thread will mainly serve as a series of quite radical concepts of changes to the server, staff and just how things go. It'll take some nuts to actually push for them from both community and staff but ah well, we'll see how it goes. I present the following:

 

 

 

Hedgehugs radical changes that will benefit the server in future times

 

1. More staff control - less conformism

Right now I get the feeling staff doesn't have as big of a grasp onto the server as it should. For if radical change is to be made, it will be met with great resistance. As of now too much is controlled by individual players and the player bases that support these individuals. The player has too many liberties that have too big an influence on the server. On multiple levels.

 

take away the privilege to build and expand freely - cease endless expansions of empty nations and ensure build quality by assigning designated builders per nation + Event Builders

This will end the problem of too many empty hubs and will push rp into more centralized spots. On top of this: spread, growth and size of nations is now more limited and is easier managed by server staff.

 

Q: "B-but muh immursun! staff inturveining with muh roleplay?"

A: Yes, for the betterment of the server certain decisions need to be made. In order to make the (sometimes radical) changes necessary, staff must have the authority and power to do so. Even if that invades roleplay safespace. ******* shitposters.

 

2. A static map

as simple as it is. Make the map static.

 

- prebuild nation capitals, settlements, fortresses and roads that are managed by designated nation individuals and staff builders.

- keep resource isles but for the value of these resources. NPC shops in the prebuild cities will: Sell related goods (a carpenter will sell furniture, a blacksmith will sell armor) and buy raw materials for minas (wood,crops,iron etcetera.) nations get rich through taxation.

- houses in these prebuild cities will get their own regions so a player can still add furniture and decorate it (via the region system) as in a regular MMO. Nation leaders can then assign mayors and stewards to hand out these mini regions of houses to players that buy or rent them.

 

Creativity-limiting and anti-expansion. yes. yes. yes. In order to centralize roleplay we need to fight the spread of it. By creation of a static map there is full control of it. A set amount of nations will be made on top of which few neutral/all-race places will be made. The playerbase of each nation dictates the size of it's capital and any additional settlements. Also quality of build is ensured as I mentioned before.

 

Connecting roads will serve as transportation routes, no fast travels. These roads can be upgraded via the Credit System

Nations can still expand and add things to their nation such as villages, fortresses, border patrol etcetera. These are also upgraded via the Credit System

 

(also remove nexus, without building and with NPC shops for armor, gear and whatnot this is no longer needed. Lumberjacking, mining and farming will just work as vanilla and can be upgraded by the Credit System

 

3. The Credit System

Nation leaders and their related council get access to a variety of Global Credit. This resource is given by staff and can be spend in various ways. There are tiers to these credits and so with different types of credits come different types of upgrades for the nation. Think of it as a board game/MMO type a system that will simplify expansion for nation leaders, and make it easier to manage by server staff (and of course with staff handing out these credits, they have the necessary control over roleplay spread)

 

Types of credits(not in a creative mood to figure out special names, it's a concept damnit!):

 

- Tier 1: Playerbase

credit obtained by active player numbers

- Tier 2: events

credit obtained by completing nation-related or global quest-lines / event lines

- Tier 3: conquest

credit obtained by conquest, skirmish and other victory

 

types of upgrades:

 

- Logistics Tech. research

road upgrades (add speed 0.5, I and II to an upgraded road for faster travel!)

- Labor Tech. research

bigger tree-plots, richer mines, better harvests

- Structures

Add communal buildings to the capital that will also benefit the citizens or can benefit the nations safety (a keep outside of the capital) and even new villages.

- Defense Tech. research

Stronger walls to protect your capital, village or strongholds. improved defensive artillery

- Offensive Tech. research

improved offensive artillery

 

These are but few of many potential ideas. And this can also bring roleplay. For if nations get to decide what to purchase, they can hold elections, they can vote on how to spend these. You can have different senators supporting different things and then hold a vote, idk just giving some ideas.

 

The cost will then depend on the upgrade, if it's a grand one it will require a Tier 3 credit, if it's simple then it'll cost less. Simple as that. By doing so you still have a means of nation-expansion whilst still keeping it fun, interesting and non-destructive for the servers playerbase. I take inspiration from generic MMORPG aspects, because I find these interesting. Isn't this supposed to be THE  minecraft MMO RPG experience?

 

4. Event Team, Wiki Team & Application Team

The event team will take a more focussed aim at nation-related events instead of "hopping online to find some people, do an event to meet quota". Of course you can have smaller events or even player-directed and then ET-assisted events. But with the credit system comes a need for nation-wide events.

 

Remove the Wiki Team

 

remove the wiki and update / improve the forum-lore registry

 

 

Remove the Application Team

 

Take the application process out of the forums and make it ingame:

 

Players will spawn in a grand tutorial isle that will guide them through a part mandatory and part optional tutorial. In this tutorial they'll be taught the basics of the realm, roleplay, OOC important things, the forums etcetera. Either via ingame text, forum links or both. Optional would be information on history, magic and whatnot.

 

This will be a lengthy process of no longer than 30 minutes, a minigame which will test not only willingness to learn but also patience, time itself being a filter of the unelligable. 

 

To then test their obtained knowledge they'll be put through a quiz. This will be a series of questions answered A, B or C. The questions shall be randomized from a pool of 100 questions (and about 10-15 each quiz)

Should the applicant fail they are to start the tutorial over with access to a button to immediately re-try the quiz. 3 time failure results in a 24-hour timer for any new quiz attempts.

 

after this you get ingame character creation with the same type of tutorial for the races and subraces. Namegiving, age giving, choice in one of two genders and boom - fresh spawn

 

This requires some work but will improve the flow of new people into the server. Especially by taking it away from the forums, where an applicant is to be judged by staff and thusly risks to wait hours for their app to be reviewed

 

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Scenario's

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So here is how I imagine some of the things I mentioned to work:

 

Nation A has an active playerbase of 70 players, 1 capital and 1 outside settlement.

Nation A gets an X amount of Tier 1 credit

Nation A invests these in upgrading the roads to paved roads: Speed I is applied if you walk over them

 

~

 

Nation B gets plagued by drake attacks.

Nation B finishes an eventline where the elder drake is killed

Nation B obtains an X amount of Tier 2 credit

Nation B then decides to invest these in upgrades: construction of a keep to protect the separate settlement

 

~

 

Nation C and Nation D are at war

Nation C wins the first skirmish against Nation D

Nation C obtains an x amount of Tier 3 credit

Nation C invests in siege technology

Nation C wins a siege against Nation D

Nation C obtains more Tier 3 credit, Nation D looses credit

 

Nation D forfeits from the war, it's government is replaced by people from Nation C and Nation D now pays taxes to Nation C

 

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Though mere concepts, you get the idea. Something Radical, Something Wackey. Something new.

 

A reform has come upon the staff. A new map is coming. There is room for (radical) changes to LotC in order for it not to die.

 

Because I fear it will, sooner or later.

 

Hedge out

 

 

tl;dr

 

Make LotC more MMORPG like with a static map to ensure more staff-control, purge the WT and AT and take the App process to the game through a tutorial.

 

[Cat Evocation 3728]

How drunk are you Hedge?

[HedgeHug 2049]

I'm sober now, you sodd @Tox

[Ford 1996]

1 minute ago, Tox said:

How drunk are you Hedge?

0

 

 

How RIGHT are you Hedge?*

[HedgeHug 2049]

1 minute ago, Ford said:

How RIGHT are you Hedge?

I'm actually a marxist so....

 

but I do agree with a lot of right opinions, especially our borders

 

 

fookin' kebabs

[Vaynth 3005]

16 minutes ago, Hedgehug said:

Remove the Application Team

Honestly though, I would be open to something like this. It's a big project, but with a lot of effort and time put into it, it could work. I would imagine the AT turning more into an in-game new player assistance team, rather than being disposed of completely. A big issue with retention and even simply getting people to initially apply, is that the application process itself is boring to them.

[HedgeHug 2049]

Just now, Vaynth said:

I would imagine the AT turning more into an in-game new player assistance team

 

Making this is also a job for the AT, after that you just filter out the forum AT's and keep the ones that are actually willing to do **** ingame

[Nug 2011]

Further restricting players through convuluted and unnecessary systems, removing the easiest-to-comprehend database for players (especially new ones), destroying any sense of economy with NPCs, removing the application process, etc. to make it more of an MMORPG is ridiculous. We've been headed in the MMORPG-esque direction for a while, which was only resulted in less RP and more dulling restrictions, and are only now (hopefully) escaping it. These ideas wouldn't create RP, but only continue to hinder it and even remove the feeling of being on Minecraft. The only things good mentioned are the removal of Nexus and better controlling the expansion of playerbases/nations. These might sound okay on paper, but I couldn't see anything but hell in-game.

 

(on my phone, would've elaborated more if I wasn't and it wasn't so late, but I felt the need to comment)

[HedgeHug 2049]

8 minutes ago, Nug said:

and are only now (hopefully) escaping it

and where is the server headed?

 

Change is needed, a new map simply won't do

 

8 minutes ago, Nug said:

remove the feeling of being on Minecraft

I don't see how this is a bad thing as there's plenty of servers that do this with great succes (looking at you, wynncraft)

[Nug 2011]

3 minutes ago, Hedgehug said:

and where is the server headed?

 

Change is needed, a new map simply won't do

 

I don't see how this is a bad thing as there's plenty of servers that do this with great succes (looking at you, wynncraft)

0

 

The server isn't only considering a new map, there's been countless mentions of new systems (regions, etc.), events/antagonist stuff, etc. The plugins aren't the only thing that make the server and with the current amount of restlessness and negative feedback in regards to the state of our primary plugins, I'm pretty sure changes will come soon or with the next map.

 

Also, Wynncraft is meant to be an MMORPG with classes, NPCs, questing, all that stuff found in themepark MMORPGs, and sure, they might do it well, but the comparison is pointless when you consider that LoTC is meant to be a roleplaying server, where people can play characters, interact with the world, etc. LoTC fully returning to being a roleplay experience is the right step, further limiting players and creating the intensely restricted feel of themepark MMORPGs (grinding, etc.) is definitely not the right step and will only forcibly dullify roleplay, which we've seen with Nexus.

 

I agree that change is definitely needed, but a lot of this only contributes to further molding LoTC into what we're actively fighting against.

[HedgeHug 2049]

20 minutes ago, Nug said:

 

Radical change is bound to have opposing views, as per usual within this community.

 

I find it funny that you contradict yourself by stating LotC is meant to be a roleplaying system and then refute the concept of a static map, something that can only contribute to the betterment of roleplay centralization controllable by staff.

 

LotC right now already has become a grindfest, the NPC market ruins the economy so why not do it right? Take building out of the equasion and what is nexus for? pvp. Redirect the means of obtaining gear to a market system of NPC shops and only have resources there to be mined, chopped and gathered in exchange for money. Money to be spend on either pvp stuff or decorations for your home.

 

don't even dare to bring up the trading roleplay, it's non-existent. Proper grinders all have their contacts and control the market / purchase everything in bulk out of roleplay.

[InfamousGerman 1553]

 

roleplaying as an avocado hell yeah dude

[HedgeHug 2049]

 

@InfamousGerman

[LatzMomo 2088]

I'd rather see Wolfkite in the administration.

[Boomzerang 515]

4 hours ago, Hedgehug said:

I'm actually a marxist