Small Ideas - AIN'T NO COMBAT THREAD

Fezzix

I think there ought to be some lore based gatekeeping behind access to some classes. Otherwise things get too diluted. All we have right now are the Dominion and tethers, let's not lose what little we have left.

Toz

The trouble is, the Dominion is in bad shape. Leadership is monolithic, and entrenched. It ALSO controls BL in part. In a guild, if you want to change it, you get a small group of people on your side and contest. If you win, you got the guild.

In the Dominion, you have to do that 4 times to get Primus, because it takes 4/5 HLs to replace one. So you have to coup 4 orgs, and there sure are a lot of dormant people who show back up when they think an election is happening. I don't have proof, naturally, but coincidences sure do stack up. I think two HLs have been in charge for over 150 IG years each, if not more.

So you can't change the Dominion. And if you join, they have control over you. THAT would be fine too, except they have our only beckon skill, and only permablock. So if that org doesn't produce pkers, we're screwed- I can't multiclass into it and play fill like I do for all our other needs.

Tl;dr Dominion has issues, is impractical to fix, and the class is a staple. If you want to keep the uniqueness of the org, spread their group utility out to elsewhere.

Toz

Let me clarify too (edit on phone is awful so new post):

Regardless of how good or bad a House is, or a HL is, you don't matter. You need a significant (4/5) amount of HLs on your side to force change. So long as Primus doesn't do anything, they can't lose their spot or be replaced- the status quo is safe, and doing ANYTHING risks making a House or two cause trouble, while doing NOTHING means all the Houses do their own thing as long as their own thing doesn't interfere with another House. Also each HL wants different things and does things their own way.

So let's take an example I'm definitely just making up off the top of my head. Let's say we can declare a target, since we're the fighty House. We can call ourselves something weird like Sebre'Neir. So we are like "Ok Moghedu can't one-bang us with a crossbow for the first time in 5 RL years, and there is an event there. Perfect time to flex as the BAD GUY ORG of the game." So we declare a Sanguine Excursion. And according to Dominion roles, we called a target so people are supposed to rumble! We make a public post and everything.

Then 4 people total show up and they're like all from 1 House. So you're mad right? Like you did your IC role and OOC disappointed aside, your role is to do this IC and people ignored you. So like any leader, you take them to task. "HEY" you write. "WE HAD A SANGUINE EXCURSION AND YOU ALL IGNORED IT". And then 3 other Houses collectively go :middle_finger: . So you can't do your role, because they don't listen to you for your part. So you go to the Primus.

The Primus looks at 3 Houses pissed at you and goes "Nnnnnnope" because they can only be replaced if they rock the boat, so why would they rock the boat?

How do you change the above scenario? You don't. You can't. Its design means everyone does best if they keep to their kingdoms and do nothing, change nothing, touch nothing. If you draw attention or start conflict, it's in their best interest to turn on you because the status quo is safe and ideal. You would need to coup 4 Houses and hold them with people who believe the exact same as you on all things and appoint a Primus. Then you HAVE to hold 2 Houses so you can permablock replacement of your Primus.

Inertia is synonymous with the Dominion. It can't be moved without metagame. And vamp class being tied to an org that is set up in a way that encourages being unable to rock the boat means anyone who wants to play that class can't rock the boat either.

Fezzix

I agree that the Dominion structure is bad and is a recipe for deadlock and inaction. I see your argument for this point, but I'd rather see that structure fixed than a class be more available to the masses. This would keep the idea of prestige and elitism in vampire RP/class access (which is one of the oldest staples of the game) while giving a shot in the arm to that org and foster some activity.

Making vamp accessible outside the Dominion just makes the org even MORE irrelevant and dilutes Bloodloch's purpose in the grand scheme of the game. Keep the prestige, fix the org, and keep the lore structured so it remains appealing to newer players and doesn't just become a meaningless mash of people just making up their own lore and clans. That's what happened with shifters and why packs are meaningless.

Iazamat

Primus can also vote in House elections and has the ability to exile anyone in the Dominion, leading to a pretty significant malus (think Duiran controlling concoctions back in the day). I don't know if the exile power can be used on HLs, but I wouldn't be surprised at this point. 

Iazamat

Fezzix said:

I agree that the Dominion structure is bad and is a recipe for deadlock and inaction. I see your argument for this point, but I'd rather see that structure fixed than a class be more available to the masses.

Classes should be available to the masses. We're a game, and I think tethers and class exclusivity are an active detriment to the game. 

Toz

Fezzix said:

I agree that the Dominion structure is bad and is a recipe for deadlock and inaction. I see your argument for this point, but I'd rather see that structure fixed than a class be more available to the masses.

Well, fixing it is a whole 'nother mess. IMO fold it into a single org. Everyone votes for Primus with vote weight based on blood rank modifying base rank. Encourages voting "blocks" for political backstabbing goodness. Simple majority makes it competitive. Each House becomes a path, with the HL as the sect head. You can only belong to one sect at a time, and each sect can only vote for their own sect head. No more htells, or House anything. Nebre'seir is the PK sect and gets x, Bahir'an gets treaty writing privs, and y, etc. Popular vote for Primus means you have to balance better, all one org means you have to drive the boat SOMEWHERE or risk losing it.

But in the meantime, aoe beckon (bay serenade) and Syssin permablock please.

Iazamat

And give it a guild structure, so vampires have to choose Dom or another guild, not both. 

Toz

Also wildly unrelated: whirlwind enchant/tentacle tattoo artifact that doesn't have to be wielded and city credit sale automation system please. I hate reinking mid fight and I feel like a vending machine. 

Iazamat

Fezzix said:
This would keep the idea of prestige and elitism in vampire RP/class access (which is one of the oldest staples of the game) while giving a shot in the arm to that org and foster some activity. Making vamp accessible outside the Dominion just makes the org even MORE irrelevant and dilutes Bloodloch's purpose in the grand scheme of the game. Keep the prestige, fix the org, and keep the lore structured so it remains appealing to newer players and doesn't just become a meaningless mash of people just making up their own lore and clans. That's what happened with shifters and why packs are meaningless.

Most non-vampire players don't care about vampire's roles in BL, especially since the incredibly stale vampire elitism RP has done nothing significant for BL or its orgs in years and years.

And what happened with shifters was that they were released without their new lore, factions, and mechanics being fully done. In fact, that still was never completed. If it had been, they would be in a completely different situation. It wasn't the lack of exclusivity that damned that class, it was the foundation not being in place at go (or even being drip-fed over a period) that put them in their current position. 

Sklax

I wanna wear more pouches. Small idea - let more things be worn onbelt as an option for particular clothing types.

In essence, I submit the idea that I want more slots to wear on my clothing. PLZZZZZZ?

Iazamat

I know that we can filter design lists with the use of tags, but is there any chance DESIGN LIST could get a sorting system similar to INVCAT? With it, I'd be able to create a category, filter designs into that category, and then DESIGN LIST and have it show something like this:

Design#  Appearance                      Status      Owner        Months
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Outfit:
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49

For Sale:
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49

Misc:
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49
    321  a pair of lightweight, beig...  Approved    Iazamat          49

Tags are somewhat unwieldy to me, and I don't have enough items to really necessitate using them, but having DESIGN LIST (my go-to command for dealing with crafting) broken up into much more easily read categories would be fantastic. Pretty please?

Arbre

Can we get initial statpack assigned based on class and not race? Something simple and useful for the beginner, like Normal or Typical.

Aloli

Would it be possible to show the aura of defilement on COOLDOWNS or give it its own command to let us know how long it has left?

Rhyot

Is there any chance or possibility that the CONFIG MAPRADIUS can be expanded up to like 15 or so?? 

5 seems too small anymore when youre planning things out and the mudlet mapper sucks at getting updated.

Benedicto

Previously, the number of slots available for use on FIRSTAID for curesets was sufficient because multiple classes were mirror images of each other to a large degree. Zealot/Monk and Sciomancer/Ascendril.

With the recent spate of class revamps, there now aren't enough cureset slots to cover all the new classes. Would it be possible to get an expansion to the number of slots available?

Alathesia

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a command for breeding hounds to be added. HOUND PUPPY REJECT ALL. After grabbing the ones we want we can reject the rest in one command instead of using -hound puppy reject <#>- thirty times. PLEASE!

Akimoto

I agree with Alathesia it would make it quicker to clear all at once! @Keroc

Keroc

Alathesia said:

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a command for breeding hounds to be added. HOUND PUPPY REJECT ALL. After grabbing the ones we want we can reject the rest in one command instead of using -hound puppy reject <#>- thirty times. PLEASE!

Akimoto said:

I agree with Alathesia it would make it quicker to clear all at once! @Keroc

Added!

Rhyot

With the newest changes to production and the OBSCENE rates that buildings cost, can the gold drops for hunting and corpse questing get bumped back up to pre-nerf levels??

It would be a good fix to a long term game of gold sinks.

Kyna

The loan system for cities was introduced as the buffer, and alternative, to forking out that much gold at once for Production buildings. The buildings and their upgrades have been designed to take some time to get, and upgrade. It’s a slow burn sort of endeavour. 

However the loan system allows you to get them as soon as you’d like, provided you can repay the Esterport bank back!

We will not be adjusting gold drops at this point in time. 

Rhyot

Not everyone will want to (nor be able to) pull out a loan to setup each facility at a rate of an immediate 20% loan cost. Thats 6 million gold for level 1, 9 million gold for level 2, and 12 million gold for level 3. This equals out to 27 million just for a SINGLE maxed out facility. 

You have 3 buildings. (With farming alone). We have 0 idea what the Mining buildings will cost, how many buildings there are going to be, and what the upkeep on them will be. Additionally, there is a third Production skill that we dont know anything about at all. Providing all 3 skills have 3 buildings each, each having the same costs per level... That comes out to 243 million gold (194.4 million in normal costs). 

If you are paying that back by 10k each Howling, thats going to take 24,300 RL days (810 RL months/67.5 RL years (not that Aetolia will be alive for another 67 years but hey... Math) to pay off at a daily cost of 90k per Howling. 

Sure... You could increase the base rate higher than that to pay if off faster (because EVERYONE hates being in debt). But that just increases your daily Howling cost in general.
Being able to maintain a daily influx of 90k+ gold will be exceedingly difficult as not everyone does things to generate gold.

Flipside of this is if you DONT level up all the facilities to max, it puts your city as a severe disadvantage. Less workers to help, slower production times, etc. People are less likely to want to a) join your city, b) craft/produce for your city. Which in turn... Allows a city to get shut down. 


I understand that it's a slow burn, and thats fine. But I dont see the general problem of rebuffing gold payouts for bashing and corpse questing when we have an absolute MONSTROUS gold sink that is going to take literal MONTHS to build up or pay back out.

Razmael

I think increasing individual gold gain to offset large city gold sinks is off the mark. Given that production is city-centric, we can look at other ways for cities to gain gold or increase the gold they already gain (e.g. quotas) if we determine it's needed, but it's still way too early to consider that yet.

Kalinaar

@Razmael that makes sense. I think increasing the city reward from quotas would be good. A debt system in my opinion isn't the best answer though. 

Aloli

Maybe certain milestones can be created to generate gold for the city on a regular basis?

Rijetta

i, for one, can't wait for sapience to fall under total crippling debt.. and i'll be there, aetolia's very own alexander hamilton, demanding we open a city-state line of credit and turn our economy from a gold-backed stable economy into a credit economy where money is all fake and represented by paper

in other words, A+

Neoma

@Razmael You set up the GUILD TITHE, does this transfer the gold without the 2% fee normally charged? And if it does, is it possible to have this for House clans also?

Razmael

GUILD TITHE doesn't charge the guild a 2% fee, no. It's a straight transfer of funds. There's no plans to expand this to other organizations right now, but I might consider removing the 100k withdrawal limit for all clans since they don't hold the same importance as other orgs that we would need to protect their gold in such a way.

Neoma

Yes please and thanks

Sklax

Small Idea - Crossbows, perhaps reduced in some manner (so classes that focus on it can still have an insular edge), would make more realistic sense if they were treated like normal weapons that everyone could use.