<<It seems to me like combining niche items into one shop would save a ton of GM time on room design/shop deployment. Besides that, it's more user friendly. When someone asks, "Where is this map found?" What would you tell them without a player-driven shop list? "Oh, go look in 1 of these 4 shops?"

And yet there's a ton of shops for clothing. Should they start being put all together in one shop? There's a ton of shops for armor. Should they all have to be put into one single shop?

From a QC'ing standpoint, I'd MUCH rather go through a shop and QC the shop area and 30 or so items to be sold than the shop area and 100+ items. It is also MUCH easier to break it down into smaller tasks. Especially if you only have X amount of time to QC at any given point. You're also way less prone to missing things when you do smaller amounts at a time; or at least I am.


<<I assume you have seen the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC combo stores? My favorite is the Dunkin' Donut/Baskin Robbins combo.

Yes. And they are absolutely gross. There's even a Taco Bell and a Long John Silver's together.

<<It's called a food court. :D

Food courts don't share the same KITCHEN, though. Which makes it nasty, in my opinion.


~Aulis
Forums Manager
QC'er

I don't have anything against maps or think that all maps need to go in one shop.

I do think everything that is zesty in any way or has any special properties should have a sign labeling it as such if the GM behind the shop wants them to sell. There were days in GS3 when players had the time and silvers to purchase everything in sight to "test" the item properties, but with 100+ shops and 6 event days (even with an extra shopping week), it's simply not feasible or possible. Who do you think is going to donate their silvers to buying random items, anyway? Most people can't even be bothered to find their way to a shop or location these days if it's not mapped out and spoonfed to them with a Lich ID. If it's not clear or previously teased/known what something is, people will likely assume it is not zesty, which doesn't help sales or the silver drain.

I do think there is a lot of filler, but this is a fine line because it is also nice to have some items that look nice off the shelf. Perhaps some of the filler that could be removed are things like the shop that had only a dozen belts of different colors on a table. Not to single anyone's work out, but did this serve any purpose?

When I use the terms, here's what I mean (for festivals):

RP/Fluff events - The services would be things like custom swears. New scripts would be fluff in nature. There might be a story line or theme to go along.

Mechanical - These would be events selling/raffling/auctioning items with primarily mechanical benefits. Services (things provided by live GMs) would be things like enchanting, enhancive permanence, etc. Things that offer a MECHANICAL benefit in game.

Service events - This is an event that primarily focuses on the live GM services, as opposed to having a lot of shops, games, etc.

Merchant events - Similar to service events, but more focused on alterations, tattoos, features, what have you... things you might get from a live merchant in the regular game environment. Often includes shops.


Obviously most events are a combination of some or all of the above, but some are more focused on one area than others.


>>We also got to stop assuming that just because a service was there one year, it will be there again.

If you're not sure, ask on the boards. I'll tell you if it will be there, or if I don't know because it hasn't been approved, or if it's flat out not going to be. So will Wyrom. So will Tamuz. We're not trying to hide anything, so if you're interested in a specific thing, post it up!


~Liia
APM, Events & World Development

Dear My Favoritest Liia,
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my barbie-loving soul can reach... (even when you set me on fire)
~Issalya

What festival do I need to attend to get enchanting, padding, and nice items like 4 person tents that can't be found anywhere else?

I don't think I'm alone in my quest to try to acquire just one really epic item in the course of my gemstone career, but I am also cheap so while I realize pay events are the best bet for achieving this, I generally only get to attend 1 maybe 2 pay extra events each year. In the past, EG seemed to over enough teasers of amazing weapons and gear to make me believe I had a chance of getting lucky and winning an epic item. Over time, I have seen a decline in enchanting services offered, unique/mechanically beneficial scripts (prophecy masks, switchable flare weapons, crate whistles, large tents, etc.) In recent years, I've had more success getting things like grobey zests added to my shield and special items like star maps and luukosian deathwort poisons at free events like festival of the fallen, gramwood, or the persimmon festival. Given the availability of premium points and the simucoin store to buy extra stuff, is it unfair to question the value in festivals like EG where its really unclear (imho) what we are paying for that is of higher value than items our normal subscription fee gives us access to?

I don't mind paying to attend and event for item unlockings provided there is a reasonable expectation that I could at some point get it fully unlocked, (see gambling kits, theammer weapons, vahmyr bandoliers, climate wear cloaks) or that once fully unlocked, additional tiers won't be added on later that I can never get added to my existing item that has had so much time put into it already. I'm not sure if this is as constructive as I had hoped, but my experience with the 2014 EG made me decide this wasn't the venue for me given my goals.

Archales

I think that is the rub right there, from my observation. There is not one event that will do that for you. You will need to dig deep and attend 4 events to fill that list. likely over the course of two years.


- Guards haul off the stupid corpse. -

>Maybe this is the wrong folder for this, but since it's relevant, I also think any item past a certain enchant/ensorcell threshold, or any auction-quality item, should be attuned to the owner and require a sort of "reattunement charm" to work on someone else. All items get 1 free attunement, and must be attuned before they work. Just like transferring a character from one account to another, this becomes a revenue stream. And yes, I understand this isn't a popular suggestion, like most of my suggestions, but players - you ask for the game to thrive. These are basically prestige items, becoming either a fundamental part of the character or just an item to be resold. And, in theory, other income streams like these will reduce the pressure on the monthly subscription fee, and without all the overhead involved in setting up paid events.

No, it doesn't become a revenue stream. I guarantee attunement would kill high-end events in general because many people play with more than a single character. If an item isn't usable and readily able to be transferred among multiple characters, especially for Premium players, I guarantee that would kill any desire to acquire said item or service. They are not "prestige" items. "Prestige" items are high end fluff.

Similarly, if Premium exclusive services ever get sold a la carte, that would negate any need to have Premium subscriptions at all, much less multiple Premium. This isn't to discount at all the work that GM Jainna puts into making Premium so amazing, but it's simply economic fact.

>I think this process would add revenue and encourage people to play with high-end toys responsibly.

Nobody spends the money or silvers they do on high-end toys so that only a single character can use it at any given time without jumping through additional hurdles to change attunement. It's a non-starter. The interest in said items would be very low in general unless they were given out for next to nothing. This kind of thinking only comes from people who don't own high-end toys, but attunement would do nothing to help those people get access to them.

<<<<< This kind of thinking only comes from people who don't own high-end toys, but attunement would do nothing to help those people get access to them.

Very true Fleur... course these people also normally advocate for the items to be practically free so they too can get them. Basically.. the Occupy Elanthia Movement.

>To contrast, if something new was released that gives a pretty decent combat or stat bonus for $5/mo, sort of a "hero ring" or pin, would you consider buying it?

No, I definitely wouldn't. I don't need to pay any more subscription fees. I think the base fees are quite enough. When I buy something, I need to own it. Renting in perpetuity makes no sense. It's the same reason people try to own real estate in real life.

This line of thought makes no sense if people think that even events cost too much.

>>I would like to see attunement used more. More high end items released but become attuned to the winner.

I'm not sure why this is suggested as a fix to high-end item influx. It helps when the item is set to a fixed location after release, but it still doesn't solve the fact that it exists. A healthy gaming economy is good for a game, so the idea that you can sell or trade an item isn't the reason why you don't see more items. So making items attuned would definitely not translate to more items get released. Item attrition would mean more items get released.

---

~Wyrom, APM

>>They call him Wyrom, not afraid to get dirty; work all day, in game by 5:30; loresongs eloquent, item embellishment, double speed development... ~Silvean

Rtcf may not of but the DR did in my opinion. When you are seeing 5x weapons go for 50k....the economy is way off.

Duskruin.

Duskruin hopper had so many 5x weapons in it it wasn't funny. Heck, I couldn't even sell some at 50k. In fact, i think i still have a pile of golvern ones sitting around. And don't get me started on runestaves... I had hundreds of the things. So many rare wood ones I could have built a house out of them. Even 6x runestaves were not as rare, more like uncommon from there.

>Item attrition will just never happen in this game.

Well, I guess we see how Simu has decided to achieve item attrition. The only problem is it's going to cause character attrition at the same time, so good luck with finding people left willing to invest in events when it's obvious your money is likely to be completely wasted at any given time in the current direction the game is going.

Wyrom, since the SimuCoin store already exists, a good part of the overhead cost of micro-transactions and add-ons is already in place. The rest of the answer depends on which example we're talking about:

a. For society powers, if they are simple and flat in effect and cost, and are available only upon mastery and there is no extra quest or step involved, then the cost to create them is in coding and testing the powers themselves. Most of the overhead cost should be up-front. Players who want to use them then buy access for their characters. The benefit here is really direct - combat prowess => possible ability to up-hunt => easier experience, better treasure, etc. Rather than having to buy a token for each use, I'd make it a monthly cost to access them, so people can just add $3/mo and use them like the other powers. It's too easy not to buy more when you are buying a handful at a time, but it's human nature to try to maximize the value of something you're paying for.

b. For premium services, mechanics are generally in place because premium accounts have been using them. It's just a matter of extracting one or two of them from premium-only and making them available a la carte via the store, with the understanding that some may be harder to do this with than others. The trick is not to make them monthly subscription costs, not a one-time thing. More players might buy part of a premium account than a full premium account. Locker slots might be popular if they were monthly and not so expensive. Players might be willing to rent private workshops and forges for a small fee, though these are taking the idea beyond what exists today. It was noted in an earlier reply that this type of change needs some research to ensure the premium account still has more bang for the buck, to encourage regular accounts to buy a la carte without substantially reducing the number of premium accounts.

c. For item attunement, although this is an unpopular idea: Once again, most of the overhead cost is up-front - creating a token in the SimuCoin store, a binary flag on an item that stores whether the item qualifies for attunement; a field that stores the character it's attuned to, or blank if unattuned; a date field needed if a trial period is allowed during attunement. One or two of these fields may already exist. Once attuned, it can't be unattuned again without a new token, but it could be passed to several characters for testing during the trial period. Then, adding a verb or modifying the existing attune verb to do the attune/unattune process. The challenging part is figuring out "when" and "what happens" with an unattuned item. This might be more straightforward for a weapon, but can an armor be worn if unattuned, but provide no benefit? Can a container be worn but have no pockets? Maybe there's already a fluff flag that can be set temporarily on unattuned items so they provide no benefit. The goal here is to create a revenue model that pays for the long-term support costs of items. Anyway, this isn't the simplest suggestion, even if it was just for new items, and there are others that are more palatable.

d. I haven't mentioned yet any of possible enhancive/fusion benefits, other combat abilities or maneuver bonuses, increased reward using the adventurer's guild, player shops, extra gifts or gameplay mechanics, bypassing cooldowns, reducing stamina or mana costs. Many of these were released as a regular part of the game, but in a freemium model would have an option to increase. Good candidates are central to play, things that don't need staff intervention to use or update. Toss a flat bonus on top for a $2/mo cost, and see who's interested. # of fusion slots in an item would have been great for this.

In any case, these are just suggestions for generating revenue. If kept simple, the cost to implement and support should be low. Paid events are fun and the unique places, rare things, and social interaction in them are far more interesting than just a boost in mechanics. These are ideas to supplement revenue from paid events with other sources that are closer to the monthly subscription model, purchased OOG and used IG.

<<Outside that, there isn't much we'd break apart from Premium. But I am curious as to what Premium benefits are wanted.>>

I would imagine FWI access would be desirable.

Drauz

>As that is one of the only reasons people ever have multiple Premium, or any Premium for cross-realms transfers and spell-ups, that is never going to happen.

Seriously. If anything, they should invent new benefits to give to premium, THEN break those off as individual transactions so premium accounts don't feel like they're being shorted.

>With the steady decline in membership making it easier for the economy would be excellent. Instead of the current, oh you're in the landing? Well i'm in Illistim. Looks like someone is going to be walking for an hour to get/sell an item.

Premium members subsidize most Basic/F2P subscriptions and events. With significantly fewer Premium accounts, you can expect Basic to go up a lot because a lot of Premium accounts would be lost with giving FWI access to everyone or on an a la carte basis.

There was something like that... and they squashed it because it technically a premium only benefit. If you make that available to everyone... (Like they did with bankbooks and locker manifests) you take something away from premium. Which makes it even less worth having.

They already sell some of the better premium benefits in the store. Lockers, for example, in every town, and locker boosts. You can already buy extra character slots regularly. I don't count the locker manifest, that don't even need to be there anymore what with the new verb in game. -grumble grumble-

There really isn't much they could sell. Other then FWI access, PP's, the new Premium teleport, or Private Homes. Selling PP's would really crash the economy. With enough cash, everyone could have 10x gear, and 10x padded armor. If you thought enhancives were bad now.. people could easily achieve max enhancives with simucoin store PP's.

Honestly, I doubt most players use all 15 of their extra slots.. unless they are a hoarder and still have 348 pinatas from EG from 2004. The char slots, and the lockers are prob the biggest bulk of the value in premium... and you can already buy them. Selling the other benefits would just ensure people dropped premium.

>>Maybe you are not ready to say yet, but what does this really mean? That there won't be "ticket" events in the future, and events will generally be more like duskruin? Or that events will be more like Duskruin, where the player decides how much to participate? I just ask because if there are no more box office ticket events, that is just another removal of a basic premium feature in the last year or so.

At this point, what it means is that we're exploring new models. There's something to be said for the idea that people can pay for as little or as much of what they want out of an event, and we'd like to go in that direction a lot more. Obviously, for some things there will still be limited releases. How we go about doing all this is still in the development stage, and there will likely be different methods tried over time.

Just as Wyrom tweaked things on Duskruin over each new run, we will continue to tweak event models as we see what works well and what is less popular. What we are NOT doing is looking to cut Premium benefits.







~Liia
APM, Events & World Development

Dear My Favoritest Liia,
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my barbie-loving soul can reach... (even when you set me on fire)
~Issalya

I agree i work A LOT 60-70 hrs a week. I can not sit in rooms for hours to win stuff. I don't have time to walk around for hours to figure out mini quests. Thats my problem and stuff like the mini quest are neat for people who have the time. But locking items behind them isn't neat.I spent 35$ on a ticket i think i should be able to purchase more for my money or get more services then some random over priced junky 4x gear or scripted fluff. I got nothing from this event that was good. 1 4x weapon and 1 cloak. No enchant no alterations no special item. So i wont buy another ticket to an event i do not know nothing about or this one i do it isn't worth it for me. Id rather spend my $$$ on silver then my silver in player shops and get what i want for my money. Also how hard would it be to put some info about the items in the shops. Some do a good job some are just a total crap shoot to what your buying. You know what people want to know. So put it on there.