Valid points, but as it currently stands only plain griefing is considered a valid reason to remove someone’s plots. The exact guidelines might be good to state somewhere more official than a random forum topic though, what’s considered griefing etc. That’s what I understand you’re after and I agree. But to make it a whole process doesn’t sound good, if somebody is griefing, I wouldn’t want to wait for a time period for the person to possibly answer the inquiries.
A week before someone can swoop in and steal reserved land?! Sometimes I don’t log in for a week even when I’m active. I disagree with the process entirely anyway but this specific timescale is just silly. If something like this went live I’d steal and deface all the beacons I could just to show how unfair it is.
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@schasm raises a good point. The suggested process could lead to even more damaging griefing than what we have now. Just wait for players to go on a break or over holidays and times when they might be too busy and steal the beacons out from under them. Sounds like a great way to gather resources and grief other players.
I am afraid I will agree that there really does not need to be any change to the process. I think allowing the developers the freedom to do a case by case analysis versus allowing players to decide when beacons should be removed is best. I do not think the developers should have to spend time to layout some complex “plot resolution process”. Do we want them developing or having to be involved in some long drawn out process over every (some legitimate and a lot not so legitimate) complaint or developing and improving the game?
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Leave things as they are…
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If it was as simple as you word this, then I might tend to agree. However, it’s still unfair to the player who is busy, sick or away from Boundless for other reasons.
Edit
As others have pointed out above, it would also be open to massive abuse by griefers and greedy people.
Nothing needs changing.
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It seems a lot of people disagree with my “ability to request ownership” suggestion, which is fine. Given this, I offer an alternative suggestion that would at least partially solve the issue.
Allow players have the ability to pm beacon owners by interacting with their beacons (similarly to interacting with mailboxes)
I have a feeling that many people could come to a friendly agreement if they were simply aware that someone else was interested in their plots.
Now this obviously doesn’t solve the issue of players taking extended breaks, but i can’t think of a practical solution to that other than what I’ve previously suggested.
I havent caught up on all the discussion here so not sure if someone suggested this or not. What if a system was implemented where after say 3 months, if a user hasnt logged in their plots can be flagged as inactive by other players. This would only apply to beacons that do not meet the 10,000 prestige threshold. If you have 10,000+ prestige your items should be safe for as long as you have gleam club.
After that 3 month period they have 1 month to either log in or respond to the email saying yes I still want these plots or no unplot them for me. No response would mean unplot after 1 month.
This would apply to anyone, even gleam club members. This is mainly to combat the people who have paid for years of gleam club and quit the game or forgot about plots they’ve reserved in a now developed area.
I feel like leaving cases like these unchecked (where a plot with little to no prestige just sits in an area where people are building) hurts the active playerbase more than one person plotting an area for the view. Only to come back and that same view no longer be available.
Again, if you have over 10,000 prestige on your build you would be safe for as long as gleam club lasts.
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I’ve only skimmed the thread. The problem is really narrow so the solution should be highly targeted. All the issues arise from ppl with stacks of gleam club sitting on empty plots and, this second part is key, other ppl wanting that land. Without all those conditions the game and rules work just fine.
On the one hand we have a player whose build intent is unknown and who has paid the developer for extra privileges. On the other we have a player who wants something they can’t have. The resolution is simple. If you want someone else’s land, talk to them. If they don’t want to talk to you or aren’t around, you can’t have the land. Work around it.
There’s no way to “judge” an absent person’s use of land and there will never be a fair way to do it. Plotting empty land to sell it or to preserve it are two examples of legitimate land use which don’t touch the prestige system.
If you want to change something, the only thing to change is gleam club. You can spend real world money for privilege in Boundless and that privilege is (basically) forever owning land. For less than the cost of a console game you can own thirty acres outside Ultima for over a year. Your problems are with gleam club.
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I do not agree.
So if I have GC and don’t have 10k prestige, I don’t have a right to keep my plots?
Then the terms of Gleam Club would have to change and there would be no point in purchasing it. 16 week beacon fuel would be the only thing worth using.
Some people beacon areas for future builds, for farms, for the view, a resource, quick portal access, etc. They won’t get 10k prestige. Not everyone is interested in becoming a settlement/city/etc. If you have to have 10k prestige and risk losing your plots because someone thinks you build too slow or doesn’t like what/why you plotted…that’s not very Boundless IMO. (aside from obvious greifing)
Regardless of Gleam Club…I don’t think players should have any input regarding someone else’s beacon/plots/builds, unless they are directly griefed. Then the devs can look into it and take action if it breaks ToS/CoC.
There are 48 planets and over 16 million plots.
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I wasn’t thrilled with gleam club and agreed it would lead to huge amounts of stagnation but we had the problem in EA as well. There were many plots that were locked and people would come refuel the beacons because they hoped to play again one day while they waited for new content or something else… So without EA we might lose some old plots but they will still exist.
Really it comes down to people that are wanting this plot removal just don’t understand the core problem and other components of the game like footfall that created the issue of people wanting to hold plots.
1 Like
It seems you missed my later response:
I think it would be fine if they added this feature, but some ppl purposely hide/bury their beacons. I was greifed by a person that did just this. With help from friends we eventually located the beacon, which was buried down in a mountain, and were able to report it.
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If you havent logged in or responded to an email in 4 months chances are you’ve quit the game anyway. Logging in would reset the 3 month timer.
Not in this genre of game. People often take breaks in these kinds of games.
As you can see from the forum posts “Hey guys, I took a break and I’m back, what’s new”, a lot of people burn out and go play another game, then come back later.
This happens in all MMO/MMORPGs that I play. I would be (&@^^%@# if I came back and saw that my club/house/build was removed.
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I think you can report beacons without actually seeing it by just standing in the area and going to the places menu. Also if you bury your beacon, you’re obviously not going to listen to civiliced discussion, the suggested pm would just filter out a subset of those beacons where the intent wasn’t bad.
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requiring login might not be for the best as people do get burnt out and leave. i for one don’t pariticpate in the forums whenever i have not been playing the game therefore not having a login durring those times in the past in upwards of years. gleam club is kinda buy it and forget it for those who want to (or have it) take extended breaks both from the game and can indirectly (or directly?) include the forums. (as well as convenience)
edited: for clarification.
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The best solution than would be the ability to pm the owners of plots when standing in them in a similar fashion - This would help settle plot disputes by allowing the owner of the plots to decide if they should give up them up, as opposed to the devs, or the person wanting them deciding.
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I’ve never understood why you have to physically see a character to add them as your friend either, is there an explanation for this?
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I eventually bought 6 months of gleam club even though I log in almost every day (usually just for an hour in the evening) I got it mostly to save me from having to run around to the half a dozen beacons I have scattered about and on occasion I have put the odd beacon down under a mountain while out mining, with gleam club I could easily forget about those odd beacons unless I make the effort to go through my beacons list once in while to clear them up. Hopefully those beacons aren’t seen as grieffing 
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@majorvex @RatofTime I agree with yall but that’s where the email part comes in. But I guess a lot of people don’t check their emails either. 10,000 prestige is very easy to get but it might be too late to change the rules at this point since the way gleam club works has already been established and people have already paid and taken their breaks.
I always try to find a middle ground but being this is a game primarily about building a sense of security is good to have. Even if that 500 plot beacon in the middle of your city with 5 prestige doesnt get touched until 2021.