If the portal networks all merged into one there would be less footfall and less money to go around. It would be a direct hit to the economy. Oort, which is the Boundless version of oil, would crash and burn in price without multiple networks competing and contributing to demand. Selling oort is one of the key driving forces to the Boundless economy. Footfall generates coin, but Oort moves the coin.
I would like to thank all the portal network owners. Without you, Boundless would not be worth playing - and I donāt mean that in a negative sense. You ARE the game!
If you need 18 conduits just to get to the planet you can make it 36 and it would still cost the same. At a certain point it will always drain the same amount. Pretty sure itās 18 and up is the same. Tho I could be wrong and it might be 21 and up.
There are many portal networks because people want to build them.
Wanting to build a network is not congruent with a desire to play with everyone else who also has a network. Everyone has their own style, vision and ideas. The game supports that and I think many portal networks is awesome they are cool.
Agreedā¦ we built the TNT network simply because we thought it would be a fun project, had some ideas on how we might do it differently, and wanted to see if we could actually pull it off.
Im sure there will be many more too, and personally i cant wait to see what other peoples creativity can add to the game. Thats what its all about.
Footfall!
Everyone wants to the massive footfall associated with a high traffic portal network.
A network is required to bypass the poor travel mechanics in the game. So at least one must exist.
After one was created people saw two thingsā¦
High foot traffic is highly profitable, and you donāt get higher foot traffic than a Portal Network.
Some people wanted slightly different things out of their portal network.
[PS] uses a conservative approach (centralized travel hubs) to reduce costs.
Others created portal networks for farming locations specifically
Others (TNT) created a hub with direct connections to all portals for less hops, though this comes at a much great cost to maintain.
The ones that work well remain, the ones that canāt generate enough foot traffic will fail and die due to the massive upkeep costs. But it comes down to people wanting to make money, and differences in desired benefits for the portal networks.
Fighting for resources is a real thing. In a free portal market anyone is welcome to open a portal hub and I think the Devs want it to be free.
Those that can afford the Oort upkeep will continue. Those that canāt will disappear. The portal industry, aka āBig Portalā survives on footfall, Oort donations, hunts for Oort, and buying Oort. If thereās an Oort shortage and prices go up, the wealthiest portal hubs will continue on as the others lose out. Thatās just how businesses work. If you prefer one portal network over the others you can run your own hunts and donate proceeds, or host Oort charity events etc.
Just thought of an exo auction with all proceeds going into Oort and being donated to a portal hubā¦ O_o
Because as we see time and time again the kids canāt play together in sand box sometimes and itās all fun n games until one kid flicks sand in the other kids eyes!!! Then those kids go find a new sand box!!
I think there are two main patterns: centralized, and low cost (distributed). so at the very least there will always be 2 popular networks. Beyond that I think it could be a group that thinks they can improve on one of those patterns. someone who is not getting adoption from the existing network, or doesnāt care to try to get adoption, or doesnāt think they wonāt be rewarded for their idea from the existing group, or doesnāt realize all the issues and solutions that have gone into existing networks.
PS is always folding new ideas and feedback in, and weighing factors against eachother. Other distributed networks in the past have failed to do this. Ultima has chosen a middleground between the two, which seems to be leading more people who prefer centralized to choose TNT. Iām not sure what I think about that pattern, but I thinks will keep changing, and people will keep trying to compete.
Creating a portal network is one of the great challenges of boundless. I think itās crazy to assume players wonāt want to create their own. That would just be expecting people to pay the giants that already exist and accept that theyāll never be able to accomplish the same. I donāt think itās about greed or footfall or petty disagreements at all. I think portal networks are a goal post and players want to reach them. Aside from that, I agree that the good ones will stay and the bad ones will fade
With the way the permissions are set up & from watching previous disintegrations ā¦ I think itās a bad idea. Plus people are peopleā¦they get tired of playing or get mad at someone and take it out on the whole hub/town. No thanks lol
Neither is it for the Portal Seekers, the network is build with a vision to create a good hub in our eyes. Cost effecient and organised.
When it was still Moebius Plaza the place to be, i got always lost true the portals, being from all the planets and running around in circles XD
Thats why we decided to give player portals a 2x1 size. so theya re fromt he planet they are hooked on.
Same with the shops eventhough that is more centrulized
But yeah thats the reason why there shouldnt be one portal network. a monopoly doesnt fuel innovation. a solo network will result all the capitals will be around those hubs and a big lose in the economy. If there was one network the demand for oort will drop and that is one of the stable income items of the game.
And dont forget that those lands around the hub will be camped be people who want a spot. While some spots will be idle for months because the owner isnt active anymore but still buys gleamclub. And how are people able to connect to the hub? Do the devs need to put time and effort in those hubs to maintain them? eventhough i rather see them doing stuff for the game machenics.
Do leaders need to maintain them? how are they picked and what happens if they dont get along. There have been some struggle between guilds eventhough thats none intention .
Eventhough iām a portal seeker , i sometimes like to see how other hubs look like and what they came up with.
Everyone their own tasteā¦ everyone can decide which road t hey take
The networks are an important part of the game which is alot of fun!