Announce post #3097: Housing/Customize

Autoposter

5/16/2020 at 23:50
Tiur, the Gnosis
Everyone
Housing/Customize

Milestone credits have been available for a couple months now, which has given us the opportunity to observe how they do, or don't, effect the game overall.

For the most part, it has absolutely been one of the greatest things we have introduced! Players are able to progress their characters with skills, flare and artifacts like never before and that is something we all agree is helpful for the game overall. Who doesn't love being able to ride around on their newly acquired mount due to now being able to justify spending credits on horsemanship?

On that note, however, there are two things it has impacted negatively, and they are customisations and player housing. This is due to the ease of acquiring a house or customisation, due to milestones. This has presented a few challenges: It takes away how special they are, it negatively impacts our sales and the extra time investment spent on the influx is not sustainable.

On that, for a short period, we will be closing the acceptance of both down while we revise on how to approach them. Things in the queue or my email will continue as before, grandfathered in.

Thank you for your understanding
-T

Penned by my hand on Gosday, the 12th of Variach, in the year 488 MA.

Escelika

Autoposter said:

5/16/2020 at 23:50

Tiur, the Gnosis


This has presented a few challenges: It takes away how special they are, it negatively impacts our sales and the extra time investment spent on the influx is not sustainable.

I would like to disagree with that line, the first part at least. Just because someone has a house or a customized item doesn't make it special. I don't think that they have ever been regarded as special. Customizations and houses have always been readily available, easy to get, and so commonly abandoned that it's more special to see an actively used house/item than the opposite. It's nice to see a good customized item or house, but it only matters for the owner, who gets the majority of the enjoyment.

I don't like that the post is implying that the goal within the pools is to make that point true when it has never been true. In my opinion, of course.

Every house and customization is different and special because there is nothing like it. If every player had a single customized item or house, that would still be special and cool because we'd have over a hundred customized works of art to view. The existence of it is not the special part, the work put in by the creator is the special part.

On the other points, I understand. The game needs to continue to make money and not place labour on something that isn't generating revenue. I don't know how big of an influx it is but I know that the team is already so small that even a slight percentage increase in work would have a big impact in other areas. I have some suggestions I'd like to offer if there is a thread or request to offer suggestions.

I worry that with the idea of making them 'Special' the change will make getting houses/customizations not worth doing, due to price or difficulty. It's not a huge worry, I should add! Just a tiny one, which I bring up only to see if it's shared by others and NOT because I doubt the team in the pools. This is just so the pools can have some feedback and I'd personally feel bad not speaking up.

As always, all the work the pools does is greatly appreciated. It definitely isn't easy to deal with so many needy people all the time. Myself among them. No matter what the choice is, I feel that feedback from us will allow some shaping of it and that is really all I need to feel confident in the game.

Oonagh

With the amount of unused customization certificates out there it’s something that had been readily encouraged and drastically underutilized. The customization queue has been historically slow, though truthfully so is orgreqs and every other system that requires modifications or customizations. I know I waited 2 real life years on an orgreq myself and I surely can’t be the only one.

I’m not trying to be ungrateful for the hard work but I am trying to put it into perspective.... we as players do plenty of approving in different manners and review designs and projects for Celani/Admin.

Perhaps having celani go through those volunteer only queues in the same manner players work through design queues as approvers or builder projects as mortal builders with equivalent enthusiasm as we do as unpaid volunteers as players for projects these might be done as well in a timely manner.

It goes both ways honestly.

Rebra

Take all the time you need to figure out what is most sustainable and workable for you guys. Thank you for all you do!

Xavin

I likewise don't want to be ungrateful for the ability to customize but I can't help but think that less of this comes down to customizations being less special and more of a realization that people are less inclined to spend real money on some forms of customization since it's a minor thing that can largely be earned in game now.

To put it in perspective, everyone already has the ability to customize their character's possessions in the form of crafted clothing, weapons, armor, shields, jewelery, etc. The customization system really only allows for explicitly magical effects and even then, there are mundane commodities in game that allow for some of those already. But even more...let's look at what all can be customized.

The following classes get a free customization:
Teradrim - golem
Carnifex - warhounds (I'm not sure how much this comes into effect since I admittedly don't know how management of hounds works)
Luminary - angel
Sentinel - one woodlore companion, further woodlore animals at a rate of 50cr per.

After the first customization, it's 50cr per for each of these.

Class items, like the archivist codex, shaman quarterstaff, and zealot chain are 100 credits per customization.

Everything else that can be customized is a significant purchase of at least 150 credits, up to 500+ for a new pet, with a charge of 50cr to revise or change customizations on anything. Considering most of these things were fairly easily earnable in game before the milestone credit system, I hope that whatever system you guys come up with doesn't end up requiring a lot of irl investment, considering how much you can already customize with literally just a trade skill, how much is given just as a courtesy, and how little impact customizations actually have on the game.

Ehtias

Getting golems to a level they can be customized at is a pretty decent time investment also since they have a level requirement.

Axius

@Ehtias to tack onto your comment. It doesn't change the "time" investment part, but I also feel like its worth noting: I ended up able to level my golem somewhat just by fishing. Dunno if it's a bug, or what. But it was gaining XP whenever I'd be fishing. It probably helped that it was set to auto-cure prone any time the wind knocked me over though.

Drystin

@Tiur Asking for a friend, what about people who bought a house deed in the current promotion before this announcement? 

Tekias

Idea: Is there a relatively pain-free way to code in a difference between Platinum-bought credits and regular credits? I imagine this would be the best way to not cheapen customs by keeping them in a 'can only be bought with paid funds (whether by $$$ or gold)' ecosystem if the coding wouldn't be a nightmare.

Aishia

This for sure feels like it could be bad for the game health though, constantly see players raving about how cool their custom stuff is, showing it off, etc. It's a HUGE value add and one of the major things that makes people feel attached to their characters is having cool unique stuff. Hope this gets worked out soon.

Sibatti

Feel somewhere in the middle here. I understand how taxing it is to get through customized things, but I also feel much more attached to my character when I can express her through cool stuff. I don't know what the solution is but I can't help thinking what a cool problem this is for Aetolia that so many people feel this passionate about the game that it's overwhelming to get through all the requests.

Didi

i love my stuff thanks muchly

Yedan

Houses are still very special to me...

Ensis

Any status on bringing the system back?

Also, whatever system is put in place, can default wears, attires, and so forth be described and applied? I've leaned on crafting and applying my artifacts more because of this, but there are some things that have to go through customs.

Tiur

We'll post shortly, finally came to a good medium decision.

Can you rephrase? You mean like, a way to add wear locations to the design when you submit it? And attires?

Ensis

DESIGN # ATTIRE description

I double checked, it's the default attire description that I kept asking for. Artifacts should ignore slot limits, so wearloc may not be important.

Thank you Tiur.