Plots, XP, alts, cubits, ya know what I'm talking about!

Suggestions
1

As I see it an XP nerf no matter where is bound to get serious dislikes.

My solution to the situation is kinda simple really.

People want to gain XP for several different reasons:

  1. to level their 1 and only character quickly
  2. to level an alt super quick
  3. to gain cubits so they can get some more plots

Number 1 seems normal and I don’t think low level players should be punished by this, even they now will take longer to level up. Even when I didn’t know how all this worked XP wise I crafted a lot of stones and was happy with any and all XP I got.

Number 2 can be easily solved, we need an alternative method to level our alts. Why not make those XP Loafs or something similar available to be bought with, say, 8 skillpoints (4 would also kinda be fair to me). Having those skillpoints means we already got plenty of XP and that XP Loaf could then make sure we simply level ONCE. Yes, we need to level TWICE on an existing character so we can then level an alt ONCE. Seems no one could have an issue with such a thing.

Number 3, well, if you come up with somehing where we somehow can get plots in a different way other then thru leveling AND one can buy those XP Loafs I talked about above I highly doubt anyone is willing to even want to be doing mindless stone crafting anymore and we can keep it at 2XP.

Perhaps the amount of cubits we receive needs to be upped or perhaps plots need to be cheaper, that might seriously help me at least to not even want to do tedious stuff to gain some cubits. But overall I do feel that decoupling plots from XP gained would be best.

Anyone have any great idea about how one could gain plots without it being XP based?

3 Likes
2

The one requirement is that plots need to be gained thru free play. If it’s tied to XP then we end up in this situation where XP earning must be balanced to match devs’ intended plot acquisition rate.

Another direction some games go is to give a fixed drip. E.g. if the daily and weekly rewards, which naturally have a cap, gave you some cubits instead of receiving cubits from leveling up. Devs have much more direct control over a closed system like that, so less ripples when it needs tuning.

One idea then is to hand out cubits from a more robust improved weekly quest system, continue awarding some cubits from leveling until level 50, and then at lvl 51+ leveling no longer gives cubits. But weekly quest rewards are slightly increased at lvl 50 to compensate. Has a side effect of also encouraging players to stick to one character.

3

If cubits are still the way to get plots then your suggestion seems to be actually way, way worse then what we have now. I wanted a better solution, not a worse one :wink:

1 Like
4

And this concludes me ever participating in your threads again

3 Likes
5

I don’t like artificial timegates like daily logins, doing a random task every day to be able to keep up with the maximum amount the devs intend doesn’t feel rewarding, just another chore to do and makes me less likely to actually play the game the way I like. I vote for no plot timegates.

This I agree with :slight_smile:

2 Likes
6

I believe the XP nerf should be NOT implemented until the Coin Machine James was mentioning is introduced…

2 Likes
7

That is an interesting take on what is happening. How do you feel being able to get coin for the rock makes up for the lack of xp that could be used for leveling and therefore cubits for plots? I do think more coin in the game is a good thing btw.

2 Likes
8

I think they should come up with a solution before fulfilling this nerf. I am totally fine with them nerfing it if they simultaneously release a solution to the problem. However, they see “fast and easy XP” or “exploit” as the problem - Solution to remove 2XP, while we see them removing our best solution to gain plots/exp etc without burning out on this game - Solution needs to be found elsewhere with similar XP rates. Two very conflicting views on the matter sadly.

4 Likes
9

exactly. this is why I quit. --[okay, not anymore. thanks for the update, Devs.]
too many nerfs and not enough to compensate.
we need more coin and we need more xp.
(WAY more coin)
and i don’t want to have to grind MORE for the coin, more coin should be default!!

5 Likes
10

Correct me if I’m wrong but what you suggested would mean that the amount of plots gained will be more limited than what we have now. Or did I miss something?

Let’s disect it then since that’s what you want it seems.

I agree, which is why I want it not to be linked to XP and thus levelling up, which will mean people who want plots will not want to do rock->stone crafting en masse just for plots.

And this means that everyone will get the same amount of plots each day/week since this is still suggesting we need cubits for plots.

I think the amount of cubits gained per level can go down when they are only used for cosmetics (ie. anything other then plots). So if we change this suggestion to plots instead of cubits it would be a daily/weekly drip of plots which in the end means less plots for everyone than we have now.

Since my intent was to make sure people do not want to use rock->stone for plots. Sure removing it completely from levelling up and thus XP does just that. But am sure you also understood from my post that I want to find a way we can get plots in those amounts that we will all be happy. If your suggestion results in less plots all around and perhaps quite a lot less as well since everyone will hit the same plot cap per day/week no matter if you play 16 hours a day or 4 I figure we will end up with way less.

ie. that was not my intent.

Again, still plots with cubits, but then nerfing cubit gain even further after level 50. Weekly quest rewards will probably be way less than even the most casual of players will receive now in plots gained, unless those rewards are crazy high which seems unlikely.

I’m also not a fan of encouraging players to stick to 1 character as the game is currently implemented in such a way that many people, including myself, feel the need they to have more than 1 to do what they want.

Now tell me if my quick summary was way off the mark? I really want to hear it if I was.

Again, I feel like plots we can get thru normal game play is rather low hence why people sometimes (as in my case) do the rock->stone thing to get some more plots. It’s tedious and absolutely unfun and would love it if the game would introduce a way for players to gain more plots in another way than we can currently get thru normal game play. Which incidentally the upcoming nerf actually makes lower even if you’re not crafting stones merely for XP…

1 Like
11

It should not be implemented period. The coin machine will not give me plots UNLESS I can buy plots with coin, then I’m ok with it! :slight_smile:

12

I will say that in my exploring of each planet, and from a builder’s perspective it seems very different from early access. Notably 2 things:

  • There are less “uniform” builds and the ones that are there are smaller in scale
  • A lot of the cities look similar with a grid pattern.
  • The builds overall are smaller and the larger builds usually have more than 1 person

There are obviously exceptions to the above, but for the most part, this is what I’ve seen. It may be the same game but it’s very different at the same time:

  • Cubits limit the number of plots compared with before. Especially since they combine with aesthetics and other extras.
  • Some materials are easier to get due to forging but other materials that are really nice textures are just a pain (like marble)
  • Cities are a grid pattern with limited plot space for people because they don’t have the plots available to make bigger things. Cities then become claustrophobic.
  • Builds are also smaller because they have less plots to work with and it’s harder to get the nicer materials
  • There are less uniform builds because bigger builds need more people

These are the observations I have made at least. I think the system they had in early access may have been better in some ways and I think they should have tested some of these fundamental ideas before rushing them to release because it literally was a “oh, by the way, we’re doing this now” moment on release.

1 Like
13

I wasn’t around during EA how did you gain plots back then?

And yes, I would love to build bigger, but if you see how many plots you need you know you can’t. Heck even 1 tree in the way can cause massive plot loss which is also a crying shame.

Hmmm, silly idea just formed, would it be a nice idea when plots which are above or under an already plotted area be cheaper? Like half a plot cost or a quarter?

Heck, come to think of it, why not introduce a new currency, plobits, that you get instead of plots. Placing a beacon is the first plot you start with there, costs 16 plobits, the ones next to it costs 8 plobits, one above an existing one costs 2 plobits, etc. Stuff like that.

1 Like
14

You earned plots essentially through leveling like you earn cubits now. You didn’t have to decide on whether you wanted aesthetics or extras or plots. There were no “boxes”. It was literally just “You leveled up. Here’s some plots.”

I think perhaps that’s the big issue really. The plots shouldn’t have been associated with the extra stuff in the first place. The system worked well in early access and, after several months now, it’s apparent that this system is sub-par in comparison (at least in my opinion).

Perhaps another thought would be to have plots cost more, but you own the entire area from the crust to the sky. That being said, I think adding too much complexity to the plot system itself might also harm things a bit.

3 Likes
15

You quit ?! :frowning:

16

I also want to point out that I don’t think it’s the plot system that’s the problem, but rather the execution of the plot system: how many plots are handed out, a lack of griefer protection, the connection to cubits where perhaps it could benefit from it’s own system, etc.

2 Likes
17

Yes, i think we need more plots in the game. The reason I bought so many plots in the first place was because of build and grief limitations. And that is the primary problem with plot limitation. Plots also make me decide which builds to keep and which to destroy, which keeps the game a little cleaner. But fundamentally, it is difficult to build epic and to plan epic builds without what i feel is a number of plots not intended by the developers. I see a lot of builds which are crammed up anthills, a lot of builds which are not cohesive and a lot of builds which level off the entire environment to build flat and boring plot efficient stuff. Where do you want to build? Somewhere flat, somewhere without trees, in a mountain where i can make it all one level. This is the only part of the game i feel is really lacking. It has cost me maybe $600 and a TON of level grinding and a guild to be able to think that (we) could now build a city that works with the environment. And even then, we’ve all been so trained to flatten out the land that its been hard to not do it. It felt like excess to make sure unintended treetops didnt regen. And greifing… If you dont plot that spot its fair game… Even if you have to deplot the other 2000-5000 plots and move later. So you better have them plots or not plan big. In the end, I actually like the plotting mechanic, but i think something needs to be done about the critical flaw, and that flaw is limiting epic planned builds.

6 Likes
18

PS Thankyou plots for keeping others from destroying my builds without my permission…

1 Like
19

I like this idea! Initial plot, to “reserve” the 8x8 and then cheaper plots on above and below.

5 Likes
20

In addition to the current cubits system (or other systems), the daily and weekly feats could award plots. That would boost the amount of plots you get. This is timegating plots, but not limiting you by making it the only way to get them or making you do very specific daily quests/tasks.

2 Likes