Request: More help with my settlement?

[OXOFiniteOXO]

Good evening, all.

Since my last post here, I have been busy with other things outside the game. Recently, though, I decided to try and get back into it. I’ve been doing weekly achievements and such, slowly working on leveling up my characters. I have 10 on this one account, and each range from like 37 to 50 (my one character just hit level 50 minutes ago).

I am grateful for the help I received in my last post, and have put it into practice, when I can. I haven’t removed much of the pre-existing blocks and plots, but made sure when adding more plots, they were doubled and tripled up so as to avoid the issue of ‘roads’ vs. ‘settlement’ designated plots.

Now to my current state and the problem I have: My settlement, which is NOT directly connected to any other, is somehow still incorporated into another.

Okay, I have it pretty zoomed out, but I’ve been trying to recreate the plot mapping in the game, in an excel spreadsheet.

This is sort of my ultimate goal. It’s a 64 x 64 plot square area. Minus some beacons that I do not control.

The first image shows the current state, with more detail. I tried to use cell outlines to show where the end goal is, overlayed on the present. I filled in black plots that are not controlled by my account, and color coded/labeled the beacon plots of each of my characters. I have much work to do, but given I’m a FtP player, it’ll just take a while. I have run into some issues, occasionally, of “beacon compactness” which seems to be a newer addition to the game, but I have worked around it.

What I don’t get is how no beacons outside my 10 characters are lined up side by side (except in the bottom right and top right, with too few plots to be incorporated into any settlement), but yet my 10 characters’ beacons are all incorporated into “Hollow Falls”.

I’ve had the issue before where I fought for my independence. I had to un-claim a bunch of plots so that they weren’t connecting/bridging a settlement, let the beacon get incorporated into my own settlement, and then re-claim the plots so that I would be an independent settlement, and still able to claim the territory I had.

It seems the rules of settlement incorporation have changed, and now I worry if I will have to re-map my entire set-up to try got the 64x64 square, or see if Hollow Falls can un-claim plots and move away from me. Last I checked, none of the plots within 5 or 6 of my left most border had any structures in them. Those plots are claimed somewhat haphazardly, and are completely empty.

So, can someone explain what is going on? Is there any advice someone can offer, or am I just SOL and have to deal with being sucked into someone else’s settlement?

[VSDalSheron]

you may have accidentally aligned a beacon to the settlement, check on them to see which ones are connected to the settlement, I have seen this before but it’s been a long time.

[Buugi]

Good luck.

[OXOFiniteOXO]

I know a few weeks ago, the name of my settlement changed. I had it named “Unnamed Settlement.” on purpose, and it changed to Hollow Falls. The odd part was that it listed Jelfast, who at the time had the most prestige in her beacon, and thus was the warden of “Unnamed Settlement.”, as the warden of this new “Hollow Falls”. I checked the master beacon control, and it listed my settlement as only having the 10 beacons. I assumed that somehow “Hollow Falls” had collided with mine, I got incorporated, then they deleted their bridging plots, and thus my 10 beacon settlement was left with the name change, and with Jelfast back as the warden.

Now, in the past week or so I think, it lists “HFS Hollow Falls” as the warden. And I don’t know how to get out of their settlement, because somehow all 10 of my beacons, listed #5 with Vii, to #14 with Mezrah, and all those in between are the characters on my account (Jelfast, Firstuschia, Cresha, Sidiabon, Acinia, Zelphine, PunkyPink, Neghellac).

If somehow my master beacon control for Jellfast, or now Vii, was aligned with this settlement against my will, how would I change it? How am I still incorporated when the beacon plots are not actually connecting?

[DKPuncherello]

Where on the map is hollow falls? Or did I miss a legend

[OXOFiniteOXO]

On my excel spreadsheet map, Hollow Falls would be the black beacons to the left/west. I just marked them as black as I don’t control them, and thus, cannot claim plots there.

To the northwest, though, my beacons, namely Cresha’s, is older, so she could claim plots in the reserve area around that beacon. But because she claimed plots after that beacon was there, her beacon cannot reserve those plots, simply claim the unclaimed areas. To the west and southwest, those beacons must be older than mine, namely Sidiabon’s, as I cannot claim any plots within their reserve area. And they were claimed before I got that far to start claiming the zone south west of Jelfast’s beacon, which was the first one in that area.

As such, I don’t know how any of my beacons got pulled in under "Hollow Falls’ " settlement since none of the plots actually border one another. They don’t physically touch. But the reserve areas over-lap. Are settlements now able to conglomerate other beacons based on reserve areas?

[AdolaminKevgrator]

I had this issue for a while as I intentionally joined a settlement and then decided I wanted to solo build a city. I kept the other persons settlement name and kept being listed as part of their town. In the end I went through all my beacons (I say all… It’s only 3) and changed their settlement names to match my city. It turns out one of my beacons had kept the settlement name of the one that I previously joined. As soon as I renamed it I seperated.

[OXOFiniteOXO]

Hmmm… This may have been what VSDalSheron meant by “aligning” a beacon to a settlement, but I was looking in the beacon options about “alignment” and not finding it. I thought I was just dumb and too tired.

“Just re-name the beacons” … I will try this and update if this works. And I feel a bit dumb for not having just tried this myself. To be honest, the “Hollow Falls” name came with two cloud emoticons on either side. I thought it looked kool, and that’s why I didn’t change the name. Duh. Thanks for the advice. I’ll brb.

[OXOFiniteOXO]

I re-named every single one of my beacons. So far no change in status of getting out of the Hollow Falls settlement. Thanks for the tip, but it didn’t seem to work for me.

[Tmmk]

If im right the part I circled red is your problem.

From what i can make up from your layout that part is the only one that “touches” the settlement that is influencing yours.

Settlement zone carries out by 1-2 plots (from the plotted area) thats why the reservation border is 2plots.

Your top left corner is touching the plotted area (2corners touch) resulting in settlement merging.
There is 1 solution and that is creating a guild settlement (zone).

[Tmmk]

Creating a guild is fairly easy as you only need to make a guild control, place it down and create a name (which you can change when ever you like).

Sign in your characters to that guild and align their beacons to it.
After giving the rights with the head guild member to all your characters you can “lock it” or just remove de controller and no one can join your guild. (Unless you place a new controller down and align it).

[edit] this creates a settlement zone within a settlement.

[Tmmk]

See also just now the green is also touching black (below).

[OXOFiniteOXO]

Hmm. I thought settlement rules dictated that to conglomerate, the beacons needed to full on touch side to side, including elevation, and the corners touching would not matter. But my predicament indicates otherwise. So, taking your hypothesis, what if I un-claimed the top most 6-8 plots, waited a few minutes, let my settlement return to normal, change the settlement name, and then re-claim those plots? Would that work?

I honestly have no idea about how to or if I should make a guild. Looking at the settlement list, though, thee are atleast 3 different guilds in this settlement. If I made my own guild, and linked it to the settlement, could I detach myself? or is there going to be more to it?

As for the green touching black in the bottom right, the 6 blocks represent the entirety of that beacon, last I checked, and that small beacon was not connected to Hollow Falls in any way. That is why I ignored it.

If I created the settlement zone within the settlement, I would still be linked to that settlement, though, yes? and not solo?

[Tmmk]

@OXOFiniteOXO

So, taking your hypothesis, what if I un-claimed the top most 6-8 plots, waited a few minutes, let my settlement return to normal, change the settlement name, and then re-claim those plots? Would that work?

That won’t if that is the problem area you wil merge again as soon as you reclaim the area.

As for guild “settlement” yes it will still be in the “current settlement” but you will have the ability then to rename your “zone” as an other settlement. (A settlement within a settlement).

So to answer your question it won’t be solo then as long as you are connected.

[JaceyLive]

If you have plot protection on then it shouldn’t connect to another persons settlement

[Tmmk]

Depends on how/when which plot was plotted first. But it can’t be changed after the fact. If he was first he can turn it on but when the plot is removed it loses first plot.

[OXOFiniteOXO]

I don’t think I ever turned Plot Protection off on any of my beacons, but I can double check. I know I had to give permissions to my other accounts to build within them, but I only did it for the 9 other alts on my account within each of the 10 beacons.

I’ll see what I can do with the guild zone, and the de-claiming/re-claiming of plots, and plot protections/permissions. If this all fails, I either live with it, or see if I can contact Hollow Falls and ask them to back away. Honestly, they have not used any of those plots for anything, and have a ton of other land in the opposite direction, with massive buildings, portals, etc. Why they would want to include me when all I have is a growing platform of refined stone, I don’t know.

[Tmmk]

Did you claim first on that corner or did you come after. Problem there is that it already “touches”. But if you came after…

Just saying if you plot and “protect” first come first serve. But it isn’t going to help you now as the claims basically touch. The reservation goes to the side that has “first right”.

I see only a few options and they are,

• stay as is and create guild settlement.
• remove claim at problem area(s).
• move to a new location (have to rebuild but moving stuff with reclaim fairly easy).

Again if the black below (at green) isn’t the cause, its that corner. Reservation on or not isn’t going to help there either as its within that 1-2 reservation barrier resulting in merge of settlement. If the settlement has active protection (purple doted plot border) you lose plot right if you un claim there (if you where first protection border shrinks).

[edit] I would chose one of the 3 given options.
(Chances are i would do the move dit it several times before).

[OXOFiniteOXO]

Well, I don’t want to move. I have the origin! In the middle of the square of Mezrah’s beacon is (0,0) of Beckon! I thought this neat and decided to hold onto it.

First, I un-claimed the 10 plots in the top left of Cresha’s corner. This detached me from Hollow Falls. Then, I did make a guild. I added all 10 alts to it, and did permissions, added beacons, made the settlement within a settlement, renamed the over-all settlement, everything was fine. I then re-claimed the the 10 problem plots. For a time, everything was fine. 5-10 minutes later, I got re-absorbed. So, you are right. And the settlement conglomeration rules have since changed. I think this frustrating, and unnecessary. Honestly, if the beacons aren’t going to touch, why should they be considered on contiguous settlement? Ugh.

So, What I am going to have to do, to remain isolated, is peel back some of the plots in Cresha’s Corner. From there, I will leave the corner with the bite taken out of it, similar to Sidiabon in the south. Then, I will need to find a way to contact Hollow Falls and see if I can get them to back off. Honestly, the plots are currently not being used, and have not been touched for months to a year.

Thanks for all the help. It seems I went over-board, and still couldn’t quite get it the way I want, but I know now the rules of the game, to a better degree. sigh Now I have to ask a whole set of 3 guilds and then some to play nice and give me space. Yay.

[OXOFiniteOXO]

Ha, after a little experimentation, all it took was a SINGLE plot at the top left most corner.

Thanks for all the help. Now, it’s time to see if I can get them to remove themselves from the south west corner.