Prometheus-
Progress in this game requires equipment, which is gated by cities, which are gated by upkeep, which requires crops only available through farming done by cities. In the past tests we have seen how problems with the crop economy effects the entire test. As such I feel it is no exaggeration to say that the crop economy is the foundation of the game economy. Considering the next test is going to be a continuous beta that only ends shortly before release the initial state of the crop economy is going to be very important to the city development and player participation as any misstep early on will have cascading effects. The information given in spotlights are our only indicators as to what that starting condition may be. As such it is important that information given is valid or clearly not meant to be taken as true.
Thanks for the confirmation that the numbers shown are not the numbers that will be used for the beta. Fast growth rates and short upkeep times make sense for beta/alpha testing, good to know that. Still some concern that in launch the cereal threshold will be a major barrier for those interested in starting a city... but I guess that it will be less if they can buy that starting crop needs from another established city.
On the citizenship issue... It seems really harsh to say that you can start play in one of three worlds but only get to have a residence in one...
I can see that only having one home forces a decision on where to focus your attention and is a decent counter to independent players who might otherwise have a house in all three worlds and just trade with themselves.
However any group of 3 or more players will still be able to do that. In essence you are just punishing players who have complex schedules or are loners, but still want to experience all the game content offered in each world.
The lone player is already going to have to split their time, attention, and coin between three places for upkeep. Is that not already a sufficiently high opportunity cost?
