No more hearth secrets - brainstorming

[MagicManICT]

Well, more like the extension of "Snake" with the Tron light cycles.

[epicless]

Perhaps they will build crossroad outposts in-between? Nothing stops them from walling in roads except for the sheer amount of time and the lack of botting (at the start of the world). Arguably, raiding can involve making small breaks in-between the walls to ambush travelers. There isn't any practical way to patrol all of the walls around the roads unless they literally walk along the road. And that removes the point of fast travel along the road.

[Granger]

Roads are death traps

It's not as if the only implementation option we have is to drop you out of warp at the exact point of obstruction; we could just as well do it so that you stop 4 milestones ahead of the obstruction or whatever. Not that we've decided exactly how to do yet, I'm just saying.

As long as it is predictable someone will find a way to abuse it.

[mvgulik]

I'm sure Loftar considered adding a little randomness to it. But I figure that can easily tip the balance to far to the other side.

[HarryDresden]

I'm interested in giving this system a shot, it will encourage you to try new things, meet new people, and work harder in the world. This is a fairly interesting way to combat alt abuse and bot spammers, even if it will be an overall detriment to the playerbase, especially expanding it; "What? You mean I have to WORK to have fun?!?! Fuck that, I'm out."

One suggestion I would make that might be a decent compromise is to have multiple "Main Area spawns", something like a mass initial Charter Stone that new characters could spawn at. Something like 5 points, 1 center, and one at each cardinal point of the map. Players can't be attacked within 150 squares of it, and it would be beneficial for bigger groups to patrol these area to keep PK'ers low, as well as to waste griefers and potential enemies who are looking to cause trouble ganking bambis. Just a suggestion though, feel free to expand on it or call me a moron.

[TeckXKnight]

Safe zones get walled in and griefed, without exception. You have the right general idea though -- broad areas that players spawn in together. World 3 was kinda like that, the center 9 grids had virtually all players spawn in them. My suggestion would be an echo of what I'm sure others had said before: make time sensitive broad spawning areas. So, for example, a single supergrid will be where everyone who starts today spawns and a few days later it swaps to a new area. This reduces population density, allows friends to start around one another, and with a bit of randomness can prevent areas from being stripped barren by new players or griefed by older players. Remember, new players are fucking locusts, so don't group too many together or you'll create a zone of desolation.

Sure, with this idea friends still have to find each other but navigating a supergrid, with directions, takes maybe half an hour. Really what's going to be vital is having distinguishable landmarks that players can use to navigate, like constellations, giant mountains, etc. so that it feels like players are accomplishing something awesome while they achieve their goals.

[Amanda44]

One suggestion I would make that might be a decent compromise is to have multiple "Main Area spawns", something like a mass initial Charter Stone that new characters could spawn at. Something like 5 points, 1 center, and one at each cardinal point of the map. Players can't be attacked within 150 squares of it, and it would be beneficial for bigger groups to patrol these area to keep PK'ers low, as well as to waste griefers and potential enemies who are looking to cause trouble ganking bambis. Just a suggestion though, feel free to expand on it or call me a moron.

I just feel that doing something like this would encourage players to hang around it to kill new spawns, it does in other games that have a similar system, I'm not sure that bigger groups would patrol it.

Lol, answered in more detail by Teck, but yeah I agree with what Tecks saying.

[venatorvenator]

How about killing one of your own combat alts, spawning a heir in the spawn area, buying all combat skills with your inherited LP, and then killing the actual fresh spawns with your superior skills?
If that's possible any kind of spawn area seems like a bad idea to me.

[Potjeh]

You guys are forgetting that after you ambush somebody on the road the road is still there for his reinforcements to arrive. I predict that people won't dare to camp roads near major towns because chances are pretty high they'll wind up fighting like 20 guys. And camping backwater roads will be too boring for most people because they'll have low traffic and most people don't like waiting for hours for a potential target.

[HarryDresden]

One suggestion I would make that might be a decent compromise is to have multiple "Main Area spawns", something like a mass initial Charter Stone that new characters could spawn at. Something like 5 points, 1 center, and one at each cardinal point of the map. Players can't be attacked within 150 squares of it, and it would be beneficial for bigger groups to patrol these area to keep PK'ers low, as well as to waste griefers and potential enemies who are looking to cause trouble ganking bambis. Just a suggestion though, feel free to expand on it or call me a moron.

I just feel that doing something like this would encourage players to hang around it to kill new spawns, it does in other games that have a similar system, I'm not sure that bigger groups would patrol it.

Lol, answered in more detail by Teck, but yeah I agree with what Tecks saying.

Safe zones get walled in and griefed, without exception. You have the right general idea though -- broad areas that players spawn in together. World 3 was kinda like that, the center 9 grids had virtually all players spawn in them. My suggestion would be an echo of what I'm sure others had said before: make time sensitive broad spawning areas. So, for example, a single supergrid will be where everyone who starts today spawns and a few days later it swaps to a new area. This reduces population density, allows friends to start around one another, and with a bit of randomness can prevent areas from being stripped barren by new players or griefed by older players. Remember, new players are fucking locusts, so don't group too many together or you'll create a zone of desolation.

Sure, with this idea friends still have to find each other but navigating a supergrid, with directions, takes maybe half an hour. Really what's going to be vital is having distinguishable landmarks that players can use to navigate, like constellations, giant mountains, etc. so that it feels like players are accomplishing something awesome while they achieve their goals.

Both fair points, but only end up ruling out various solutions. I like the idea of the moving spawn points however, that could be interesting. You have the chance to spawn in 1(x) Supergrids within (y) amount of time. Perhaps an initial timer like Baby Blue Eyes, that means you can't engage with Black Skills for 24 hours Game time, that means both the player and the outside world, but still be affected by environmental forces, like animals and drowning.

That would prevent people from being able to spawn a new character, buy all the black skills, and then kill various people.