Shortages and Boredom

[kobnach]

I never expected this, but I'm finding the new world boring. Some of the reasons should improve in time - but some of the others may be intentional, intended to encourage trade and specialization. Let's see if I can explain it in ways that don't provoke a chorus of posts about me forever complaining

(1) Like perhaps 90% of players, I'm not big enough to win a fight with a level X boar, or probably even escape it solo. I can kill lower levels - even with bad equipment - but there are limits to where I can explore.

(2) Unlike perhaps 75% of players, I have enough con to swim rivers. I do not however wish to die to lag like Brosephine - or to an accidental or lag-induced misclick - so I've chosen not to learn swimming until a no-swimming toggle is implemented and tested.

(3) Like some largish percent of players, I'm a member of a large group, which includes people who had more stored LP than me, with the result that I'm not the top score in my group in any of the new skills. Given what (little) we know about the new skill levels, this means that folks don't want me doing anything that might be affected by one of these skills.

(4) Various resources are quite rare - fibre-producing plants, wool-producing animals, milk-producing animals, mines. Also, at this stage there aren't many domesticated plants, certainly not enough to spend more than a few minutes harvesting and replanting - even if I had the top farming in my group. There's also such a shortage of fibre that the only practical way to get a fishing pole is to create an alt.

(5) With so much unknown about the world, settling permanently seems premature.

So where am I? Not qualified for any of the tasks available, and unable to explore. OK, this isn't quite true - no one's suggested I refrain from making urns, or bricks. Moreover, my group has found a mine, and my industry character is deemed qualified for mining. That puts me one up on (I'd guess) 2/3 of the current player base. And of course I can fish, if I create an alt to get the fishing rod - and some bread to improve my con.

The point though, is that what all these tasks have in common is the boredom factor. With no tea, mining is somewhat of a PITA. (Yes, we do have water - and my companions are bringing in meat - so it's doable.) Fishing is a notorious bore - now made rather risky, if one has trained swimming, due to the risk of (lag induced) misclicks. Clay is equally boring - and equipped with the same risks.

It's a lovely new world - wish I could see it. There are interesting new resources - wish I could use them. And until I get strong enough to solo level X bears and whatever else gets invented, I'm not going to see it - all I'm going to see is the thoroughly humanly made-over areas we're already getting near the ROB.

It will get better. What seeds we've got will propagate, until there's enough for personal farming. I imagine we'll either claim some grasslands or make some - or animal domestication will be released. Either way, my nature character will be able to use farming and cooking. Mines will remain in short supply - and boring, with other activities none too plentiful nearby. (And will I ever have enough smithing that my village mates are OK with me doing more than mining and smelting, at least for common use?)

In any case we'll eventually get settled, whereupon I can start thinking about my own claim - and using the resources I harvest myself, to stave off boredom, rather than making a trade such that someone already having higher skills than me gets the (larger) LP for crafting while I get the smaller LP for primary resource production.

But for now - I'm bored, bored enough that I'm posting this and not bothering to log on. And I suspect that within a day or two this may be a common complaint.

[Jackard]

Well, I must say that I never expected you to find the game boring.

[SynthesisAlpha]

*sigh*

[sabinati]

what was your goal in posting this

[Colbear]

*sigh*

[Brosephine]

(2) Unlike perhaps 75% of players, I have enough con to swim rivers. I do not however wish to die to lag like Brosephine - or to an accidental or lag-induced misclick - so I've chosen not to learn swimming until a no-swimming toggle is implemented and tested.

I'm glad my warning has saved someone. Even if you have more than enough CON to go the distance, a lag spike, crash, or errant mouse click will spell your death. The way things are right now, I would advise everyone against swimming entirely, even if they have 100 CON

(4) Various resources are quite rare - fibre-producing plants, wool-producing animals, milk-producing animals, mines. Also, at this stage there aren't many domesticated plants, certainly not enough to spend more than a few minutes harvesting and replanting - even if I had the top farming in my group. There's also such a shortage of fibre that the only practical way to get a fishing pole is to create an alt.

I mentioned the plant and farm animal shortage this within the first few hours of the new world. wool, flax, and wheat are all essential in the early stages of the game, but there is next to none of it around. It seems incredibly short sighted to create a world such a tiny amount of grassland - which ofcourse inevitably gets claimed, and then no more cattle or sheep spawn on it anyway. If I could notice this within a few hours of the new world, it seems like an incredibly shortsighted design choice to use this map. It seems ridiculous that such basic resources required for the beginning stages of building a settlement should be so rare.

[kobnach]

what was your goal in posting this

Feedback to the developers. This is an alpha.

[kobnach]

I mentioned the plant and farm animal shortage this within the first few hours of the new world. wool, flax, and wheat are all essential in the early stages of the game, but there is next to none of it around. It seems incredibly short sighted to create a world such a tiny amount of grassland - which ofcourse inevitably gets claimed, and then no more cattle or sheep spawn on it anyway. If I could notice this within a few hours of the new world, it seems like an incredibly shortsighted design choice to use this map. It seems ridiculous that such basic resources required for the beginning stages of building a settlement should be so rare.

Yep. I saw your posting - and like all your postings, found it quite insightful - but not needing a "me too" from me. Someone did point out we can make grassland, and sheep etc. will probably spawn on it. I imagine many people will wind up doing that.

My suspicion is that this is part of the long term plan to have animal domestication - and wild livestock extremely rare. They typcially release things half finished, and this time people were bored waiting for the reset and clamouring for the new map ASAP.

[theTrav]

The new world has been around for what, maybe two days? Give it at least a week for the resources to circulate a little more

[Yolan]

34 hours or so ago, we were thrown into what is, basically, the wild. Most of us are living in the stone age. I envy those with wrought iron!

But this wont last. We have to get our hands dirty, start to make the world a human world. Domestication, agriculture, industry, these things will take some getting going. Once basic settlements are really running, roads with form, trade will flow, and people will be able to get the things they need.

As for newbies, I am hoping that Brodgar can become a place where they can rock up, and get some of the basic things they need to set out and be a pioneer if they want.

The restrictions on how people can play, and what they can do, are tough. But the idea is to give rise to networks of complexity that would simply not exist without some kind of resistance, some kind of barrier, to us getting what we want (be it eq, stats, power, whatever).

I gotta sympathise with Kobnatch a bit. Things are pretty rough right now. But I suggest that for those people who can't be bothered, a wait of a few weeks or months will make a big difference. Actually, I would welcome less people, because the server is obviously having a bloody meltdown.