i dont know how good idea this is since i am by no means a builder, but i started wondering how builders choose their places, and the only thing i could think of was that it was either pretty or fitting, maybe both, but what if it would be taken a bit further? like having certain areas with bonuses for a reason to colonize there, and kinda encourage people to spread further out than gathering in a clump around the capital.
an example would be that an ancient oort artifact was stuck in the ground in an area, the artifact was made back in the day to enhance growth, which means that any crops planted in an area of 41 x 41 area or so would grow twice as fast, making it a great spot for a player or even a guild to make a base and place a farm at that area.
it could be done with other bonuses, but generally ancient artifacts left in the ground which you cant remove and gives a bonus. it might also give a player buff of lets say +5% exp for everything, for the next 1 hour and then it would have a 1 day cooldown for the given player. such a thing could easily be in the center of a city. so everybody living there can get the buff each day. or if its only 1 person who got to it, he might decide to make a shrine in which people have to pay to enter the beacon, which would encourage people to go to that area to get the buff.
there could be lots of possibillites for this that i cant think off atm, but again, this is a discussion for the builders and planners of the game, would you like something like this? or do you feel that instead of giving a bonus for those who build around it, it would just punish those who doesnt?
I know when I’m gonna build, I’m gonna have my home there and a shop set-up, I’m thinking in a cave’ish area with a waterfall near the shop and an area nearby where I can cultivate my livestock and make food for others to purchase when wandering by as well as other goods I will sell. I have it thought out. Maybe I’ll doodle a picture. lol
not a problem. a discussion. i do enjoy a discussion, in short do you believe it would be a good or bad idea to have certain areas that had buffs to them of some sort, to encourage planting a city.
could also be something like a great ancient forge which would make stronger weapons than any normal forge. something like that.
Well thats nice… but it has nothing to do with the discussion you know? i am talking of actual bonuses that could be done, so you had other reasons than just ‘‘it looks pretty’’
Look at it this way: great design always asks, “what is the problem we are trying to solve?” before coming up with solutions (problem like math problem, not an “issue”). So breaking down the problem:
Players approach building in many ways.
• Some players like to build in isolation, and try to find faraway and hidden locations.
• Some players like to build socially, and try to find populated areas.
• Some players like building on specific location types (cliffs/lakes/caves/beaches/deserts/etc), and will seek out those locations regardless of the proximity of other players.
• Some players don’t have any preference where they build.
• Some players have other approaches that I won’t list – point is, there is a variety.
This could result in a scenario where each world has a densely populated capitol and a sparsely populated rest of the world.
• Is this a problem? Why and why not?
• Consider that organic growth is probably most important; the game shouldn’t make anyone feel compelled to build somewhere in particular (hurts sandbox feel).
So, taking your Oortian artifact as an example – there are definitely ways the game can influence how and where players build. But what is the right way? Is there one?
I feel like this almost forces players to build where the game tells them to and in a way almost punishes them for not building there by not giving the buffs. It almost takes away freedom to build where you want which freedom is a pretty important component in a sandbox. Now I say “almost takes away” because, yes the person doesn’t HAVE to build there. But any player in their right mind would understand how valuable those buffs are (especially in an mmorpg point of view) so they would want to build in these spots or it is a handicap.
Ya, not everybody is going to build where alot of other players are, but that wont stop them from interacting with others if they wish to. I don’t think there is much of an issue, I say have people build where they please.
I like the idea. Like maybe you can designate some biomes in the world to have buffs. I know when I design worlds, I wish there was some way to tell people that I designed a certain biome with buildings in mind and others just for scenery.
Generally I’m guessing most cities are born in this game because someone has an awesome build or clean house making skills, and people are either attracted to that location or they invite some friends. I like that people choose their own homes and I don’t believe there should be any sort of bonus for building in a particular area as some may not like the look of the region they are in. Yes this game is currently highly visual and later maybe less so, but there will definitely be builders in this game and fighters and crafters.
I prefer what @Squidgy says, cause there is another problem how are you going to find these artifacts? will there be a massive beacon saying “HEY GUYS COME GET ME” or will it just be a case of luck, but i prefer the biomes approach maybe if you are in a dense jungle the ground is more fertile therefore its better to farm there (maybe a 1.5% growth speed) as to the desert biome which will be slower to farm there (For Example 0.5% Growth speed) or if it is a snowy area (0 Growth speed its too cold for crops)
But when your thinking about why people build in those area look at @DarkRepulsor reply but ive got some additions
First, it may be due to strategic location (my city is a port city on a island so i can see anything coming towards me)
Secondly, It may be due to resources like in irl most scottish towns were born due to coal mining, i build where i find the materials i need for example wood, stone, sand, clay, gleam.
Thirdly the builder may just roleplay i do it alot i build things that fit towards a theme i don’t build space ships in a game that would not have that technology ill build boats. cause 1 it looks nicer, 2 space ships don’t fit the time period. but by roleplay some people like to play in the form of their race say they were a dwarf they may pick a mountain, if they are a elf they will pick a forest, goblins will choose caves, water breathing races will choose the seas.
