Posts made by Bardikens

We are still alive, friends and compatriots! As more information about the beta drops, feel free to stop by and check out our mission and goal within the world of Fractured.

@spoletta said in Markets and Merchant Guilds - A Reimagining of the Current System:

I'm a huge fan of Spice and Wolf novels, so I obviously love the idea of Merchant guilds in Fractured as a second power parallel to nations, but until we know in which scenario they are going to deployed, we can't understand if they are a good idea or not for the health of the game. That's where my concern lies.

I absolutely love those books. It's also what basically convinced me that trading and merchanting in games needs more depth and gameplay initially.

@spoletta said in Markets and Merchant Guilds - A Reimagining of the Current System:

I can see the merit in something like this, but I have the following concern.

It is too soon to talk about this.

This is really just taking what they announced and reimagining it in a way that puts more gameplay in the hands of the players.

We'll, of course, have to see how everything plays out, but my idea in Fractured is that there needs to be rewarding gameplay loops for different types of people and organizations.

@GamerSeuss said in Markets and Merchant Guilds - A Reimagining of the Current System:

@Bardikens Although your suggestion is interesting, it goes against the concepts the Devs have stated for the game.

They want a player driven economy, where individuals need to spend the time going from place to place to get their goods. The one allowance is the fact that merchant minded players can physically buy goods in one city, physically transport them to another city, then fulfill orders/list goods in the new city, and thus create trade routes.

This is fully possible in my system. In fact, this just expands upon what is already in the game and allows there to be fully codified gameplay for people that dont WANT to pvp or PVE and want to spend their time trading.

In no other way do they want to have a linked marketplace. Shoot, the Global Wallet might even end up going away once they put the current mode into practice, or the ability to search other markets might go away. Finally, the Global Wallet might get changed somehow to restrict it to only Merchant transaction funds being deposited by the Marketplace, but Deposits go into the bank's Gold fund, not the Global Wallet, and the Gold Fund remains local, so you can't as someone said in another thread, 'Search for something on the Marketplace, get the price and quantity, deposit enough gold to cover that exactly, run to the new city, and then purchase" thus keeping the Gold itself safe during the travel aspect of commerce.

I am fully against the global wallet AND fully against marketplaces that can be searched globally. The system I created is a compromise of the two systems already in play. I am a proponent of the most realistic, simulator-based hardcore gameplay you can imagine (I would want crafting to be full fledged mini games that take lots of time, for example.)

What my system does is take what is in the game already and puts in the hands of the player rather than just allowing for a global search by default.

They DO NOT want to turn all the merchanting over to merchant guilds and guild charters, they want individual players to do the work whenever possible. The marketplace is more for selling off your excess locally, and encouraging trade, not for making it easy to get those things that are rare in one area, because someone else joins up with a Merchant Guild to deal in them.

Again, my vision doesn't really go against this. What we NEED in Fractured are ways for people to live out second lives in game. If they never want to go out and PVP and want to spend their entire life crafting, they should be able to sit around hammering out steel and have just as much fun as someone grinding monsters.

The only way in my eyes to do this is to codify gameplay that will encourage these niches to exist. They DO NOT functionally exist in any other game (excepting perhaps Star Citizen which is a second life simulator) with any true depth.

What I am proposing in no way takes the individual responsibility from the game - just gives more options to those who are playing. You could dump off your wares on the merchant guild for a pittance knowing that you have guaranteed money, or you could run it to another town yourself and make full profit but assuming all of the risk.

You can even still put your stuff on the local marketplace. Those would be truly local as in previous tests. Previously a lot of the "trade" in the game was between polities (aka guilds set up for conquering and owning land) buying and selling to one another to fund their war chests or PVX requirements. This system adds an extra wrinkle with more opportunity for non-polities to have something to do in the game by adding guilds that aren't focused on death and destruction specifically.

The "rare" in one area bit will largely be a farse once larger guilds dominate the land and send their 200 hive-members to bully others out of their local resources anyways. The Devs said no one would walk halfway across the map to get resources not in their area but we see how that worked out last test.

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No, this would incentivize Guild play, and deincentivize solo play...there are already a ton of advantages to guilding up, and the Devs have said they want to make the game equally encouraging to solo'ists, yet even if you allowed a guild of one to join a commercial charter, what town is going to allow a solo guild to join their charter if they have limited charter space? The solo'ist gets annexed out again.

Just to respond to this point, I believe the merchant guild would be limited in charters. The idea would be to have a network of linked cities with different merchant guilds so that one or two could not have a truly "global" marketplace.

Also, we should be encouraging guild play as much as possible in an MMO. The solo opportunities are still there in my system, but guilds who work together for a common goal should easily be able to crush a single soloist with regards to time and efficiency.

That's how it always works in MMOs and what differentiates MMOs from single player games. This does not prevent you from becoming the most powerful trade baron in the lands - it just adds the ability for people who want to play as a merchanting guild to do so and be rewarded for it.

We may fundamentally disagree on solo/guild play in MMOs.

After reviewing the most recent Fall 2021 Alpha feature video, I’m proposing a change that I believe will encourage a better sandbox for our pails and buckets.

Fractured has advertised itself as a relatively hardcore, intricate sandbox MMO experience; a game for guilds, communities, and solo players alike.

Given the prevailing MMO gaming attitude, however, it’s important for Dynamight to systemically encourage niche playstyles… lest Fractured become yet another clone of Albion Online.

Though economies thankfully remain local, the augmented marketplace in the upcoming Fall 2021 Alpha test allows users to view the wares of other cities (the developers are rightly committed to requiring players to travel to these cities to complete transactions).

I’ve long advocated for steps to be taken that promote niche communities and groups and allow them to prosper, distinguishing Fractured from other generic MMOs. To that end, I suggest the following to Prometheus and Dynamight:

• Create a system mechanic that allows regional Governors to charter merchant guilds/companies

• Multiple regional Governors could choose to recognize the chartered merchant guilds/company, thus establishing a commercial relationship between those cities

• The chartered merchant guilds/companies would be able to display their wares between/among the cities that recognize their charter, creating a linked market

I believe this system would create unique, complex, and rewarding gameplay loops in the form of relationships between multiple parties: the merchant guild/company, the Governors and citizens of their patron cities, and consumers:

• Commercial-minded players who want to be merchants now have systems in place that actively encourage and reward their niche playstyle

• Governors would be encouraged to seek out or sponsor such groups for the benefit of their local economy

• Consumers who only see the exchange of wares as a means to an end would no longer have to dedicate as much personal time to trade and transactions

• Those who don’t want to interface with merchant guilds/companies could still use the local marketplace to buy and sell wares locally… without the benefit of the linked market view or the infrastructure provided by the merchant guild

• Merchant guilds/companies, not the player, must then execute transactions between buyers and sellers, even in other cities (thus assuming the risk of transporting goods and funds in an open PvP environment)

• Regions could generate revenue by taxing the activities of these guilds, to the benefit of city maintenance and upgrades

• Governors and merchant guilds/companies would be incentivized to have a healthy, reliable relationship; otherwise a Governor could revoke a charter or the merchant guild/company could close shop, depriving that city of linked market view… until the Governor replaces the merchant guild/company

I just thought of this today so I admit to not having all the details perfectly ironed out. However, I believe the concept is worth considering and debating.

Some additional concerns/questions I present to the community include the following:

• Should the merchant guild/company have to purchase the wares from the seller and then become the seller themselves?

• Should the seller keep the wares but pay the merchant guild/company a flat fee to list the wares and make them viewable among the linked market?

• Should the seller/buyer hire the chartered company to execute the transportation and transaction of wares and funds?

• Some sort of mini-skill or tech tree to merchant guilds/companies to better facilitate and incentivize their actions?

• In order to avoid monopolies by merchant guilds/companies, I propose imposing artificial caps on the number of charters a merchant guild/company may accept
  In order to incentivize niche playstyles, merchant guild/companies should be their own organizational type, subject to unique rules (e.g. a merchant guild/company should be unable to directly siege a city).

Let’s discuss!

@spoletta said in Meridian's Spring 2021 Alpha test feedback - OPEN DISCUSSION ENCOURAGED!:

I used a lot harbors this test. They are my biggest money sink so far.

There definitely need to be money sinks to help with inflation, so I have no issue with that aspect of it.

They are really good for group content, when you organize to go to some very distant place to explore an area or hunt a legend. Most of the players of this game have a work and many times a family, If you have to travel 30 minutes to go there, then some activities become outright impossible. I feel that the current implementation of those is fine.

I feel like harbors, while you are correct in their time-saving convenience, may make long distance travel a little too trivial. If anything, I'd rather there be more diverse and exciting content in the every part of the world where you wouldn't feel the need to travel from one side of the continent to the other, except for specific reasons (exploration, siege, trade, special boss monsters, etc.) and in those specific cases, harbors as they are implemented would seem to trivialize it a bit.

Some things should take a long time to do. Travel should be inconvenient sometimes and play a role in how you decide to spend your time in game.

I would like to note here that if harbors were ever connected to systems such as actual boats, having to sail yourself, or some other means of "speeding up travel" but it not being instant, I wouldn't mind as much. It would be best if those events also allowed for counter play so that people could intervene/stop an army from getting to the nearest harbor, have pirates, etc..

They are quite costly, you use them only for important events.

As for cost, I think they are only costly if you are doing things that don't return gold, you die, or the prices adjust with inflation. Other than that, I can see with the current prices, that harbors could be utilized for pretty much everything after more money flows into the game. Since most crafted items are light (i.e. can fit in your inventory) I could see their prices adjusting to fit into harbor travel in order to guarantee delivery or something similar.

Although, the thought of "Meridian Prime: Guaranteed 1 day delivery" does make me chuckle.

One final note: we didn't have food issues in the start of the test, because there was the possibility to gather wild wheat (and there was also the starting town wheat exploit). After that was removed, gathering food has become much harder.

We were just pointing that out as something to keep an eye on in the future. Outside of a few ranks to get off the ground, food scarcity needs to be pretty much instantly an issue. It still may be, but I think it is worth noting nonetheless.

Wholly agree with @Alexian and @GamerSeuss on this one.

These things should feel impactful in game and should be decisions that are considered carefully.

There is some issues with a corner piece snapping into place on the south side of Zenith. We could get it to snap, but then it would not let us actually place the item.

It may be too close to the edge of the "city" zone because that is also a primary area where we get the "you must be inside of the city" bug as well.

Temporary work around is to walk out and back in the city, but it doesn't fix it permanently.

Item:

Herbal Remedy - CD: 6 Seconds.
Bandage - CD: 6 Seconds.

Situation:

While in combat with spiders, removing poison with the Herbal Remedy works as intended. The item is then placed on a 6 second cooldown.

Using the bandage to heal places the bandage on a 6 second CD.

Problem:

Using the Herbal Remedy then following with a bandage immediately resets the CD of the Herbal Remedy and it can be used again.

I'm not sure if that is intended or not, but I'll leave it here just in case. Thanks!

Hope everyone has/had a lovely holidays!

@AjaxHeadsplitter For you, we have room for 3 more. Welcome, my friend.

@GamerSeuss said in What is your biggest want in this game?:

@Razvan it's pretty much up to the player base how big the alliances get. Even if the Devs put a limit on things like Clan/Guild sizes, that doesn't stop players from forming coalitions outside of the game of multiple Clans/Guilds to still build what they want, so this is a hard, if not impossible ask.

This is why there needs to be some form of friendly fire, even within alliances. Yeah, you can do it, but you'll have to think about it and manage it.

@Dordolio said in Zenith (Meridian) - a nexus of community, diplomacy & trade:

@Bardikens King? nice... self proclaimed or chosen?

I'll let my loyal subjects decide which happened... So long as they choose the correct answer. -narrows eyes-

@Morbeous

Progress! One frame at a time

Meridian hopes that everyone is able to enjoy the free weekend stress test. We have had fun helping to break, remake, and break the servers over and over in the name of progress! Enjoy it out there!

Dùath diddy diddy dum diddy dee.

Thank you, @LilCassiopeia for your contributions thus far for the betterment of the Principality and furthermore for helping to contribute to an atmosphere that is constructive and productive for all members and future members of the Fractured community.

@SunderCats

I replied to your PM. Well met indeed.

It has been a couple of weeks, but today we are discussing the options for entertainment and fluff activities in the game. These activities may not provide large end game benefits for some people but are means by which people can enjoy themselves outside of the daily grind, even if they are a grind as well.

As usual, the entire document can be found at:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qrD2MwlirFeuFF3U88XVUcvPa3yVbbslkbImYow0XJk/edit?usp=drivesdk

Entertainment/Fluff in a Sandbox

What does Entertainment mean in a Sandbox?

Often times, people assume that sandbox MMOs, especially the hardcore ones, are for one of two people: A) The loud PVPers and B) The roleplayers. While these groups certainly are a part of this community, there is obviously much more involved behind the scenes. To accompany the presence of people who are want to get bored, there should always be activities that are outside of warfare and work inside of these games in order to allow for people to have a little bit of fun with their guild mates, fellow hermits, or just to blow off some steam. Many games do this in various ways, and I would say that their only flaws are that they are put into the game and then forgotten about. If you want people to enjoy your content and to utilize the tools that you provide in game, you need to encourage them to do so, especially in a sandbox.

What should entertainment look like in Fractured?

• Entertainment doesn’t have to be the highest priority because you have around a month after a game launches where people will be entranced and diligently working on whatever they want to achieve their goals in the most efficient way possible. Also since this is a game that adds some light survival mechanics and a touch of realism, we should really have fun with the entertainment possibilities.

• Since the world is so big, there should be player built and maintained Inns and taverns at certain points in the roads. Perhaps they pay a fee to the local lord for protection, but they also provide beds, campfires, and are in constant need of food at wholesale prices to sell to the weary travellers. Using an Inn in your travels should provide better and more rest than sleeping outside on the ground with just a campfire.

• There should be hunting contests held by the NPC towns, where a specific area of the map is marked off and contestants will hunt special spawning deer, rabbits, etc. in the area. The winner receives a sizeable allotment of currency and some crafting materials.

• I like the idea of having mini-games in the game, such as dice or cards or what have you, but I’m not sure how to get more than a handful of people to actually do those things for fun in their downtime, as these things tend to be abandoned fairly quickly by some people. Perhaps tournaments, etc.

• NPC sponsored duel tournaments; Massive, multi-event tournaments hosted by either NPCs or the devs themselves where people are allowed to enter one or more competition. Participants of each competition (perhaps armed, hand-hand, magic, etc) would receive healthy cash sums or special titles. Make it where the NPC set a buy order for food, gear, and goods so that people have to work together to see the event play out (while also eliminating some items from the economy in the process).

Why?

Is it really necessary to have these things in the game? Perhaps not, but they do increase the longevity of the game, especially for those people who come into the game not wanting to pvp or fight monsters every single day. However, I think any sort of event, so long as it is backed by the devs and encourages the players to participate, would work here. My examples are just things that I personally like and would like to see how they would translate into a sandbox MMO.