Friday with Means - January 30th, 2009

[Camatt]

Just a quick thank you!

I like the idea completely the way it is.

I own a city. I will no longer have to remember to put money in the CC. I will happen automatically from the org bank. The org bank is mine as I pay the rent ect. The little from the shops in no way covers rent.

I like that the city plots are small. It will devalue my city some, but I am more then ok with it as it will allow for others to have what I have.

It will lower the value of ai armor! I have about 8 bill on multiple toons of armor. I am still more then ok with it and love the idea that equipment alone will not determine outcome of pvp!!! Everyone will be able to afford it!!! So my armor is going to be worth less, in the grand sceme of things, it will improve the game immensly!

It will allow the farmers that want to farm ai a way to keep their rent down freeing up city plots to orgs.

As for shops, I may get a lot of hate mail, but I also like the idea that an instanced city will not have shops. I am sorry but there does need to be some distinction between instanced and old. Players can still do it the old fashioned way they have been doing it since this game came out.

I see this as one of the most significant things in the game since AI. I don't see any real negatives unless you want to farm a huge amount of bots and are looking to sell with the current prices as such. For any org that either can't afford or cant find a city, it is a win win. For the player that wants to farm, it is a win win. For the player that wants ai armor and doesn't want either, it is a win win.

Please Means, stay with the plan. It is the best I have heard in a long time regarding cities!

[Macrosun]

Does this mean an org with an old city can also have a new city, and control them both?

You can only have one city.

[aleah]

Advantages will no longer disable due to controller charge being low.(Old cities and new cities.)

This is HUGE!!!
I can finally stop sending those love-letters to some of my org mates! Thank you so much!

May I request that "surprise" raids from over-filling the CT can be history, as well?

I don't see how the value of CRU would lower. If the charge of the CT goes too low, too soon, you don't get a General. Failed raid.
With these changes, you can have a failed raid & not have to deal with the wrath of your orgmates.

I also don't see the problem with the rent payments. Maybe I'm missing something.
Rent money is currently placed in the "upkeep account" and is deducted every month.
The only change is that the money will be deducted directly from the Org bank, right? That sounds handy.

[Accomplice]

Does it mean - I could use free accounts to create 4 "ghost" orgs to possess 4 different instanced cities, and then can use one of my paid account to jump from org to org and do countinous raids?

[egadsrk2]

So if you can only have one city, and you can get advantages from a fake city. You know.. I really don't see much advantage to having a real city. Unless of course this instanced small plot is physically incapable of holding a Large HQ at all. It'd probably have no gridhouse as well. I mean.. if you dont get there through the grid.

The reason being that if you lose an instanced one in 6 hours, big whoop. If you lose a real one, not only is it gone, but you probably know the wanker who took it.

Although another solution is allowing two org banks. An org bank which anyone can add to, and presidents can remove from - as is. And an upkeep bank that anyone can add to, and noone not even presidents can remove from. It'd be a tower in a different shape eh. Even better if it has a loose limit. I'd love to dump a billion credits into upkeep and not have to worry for a year. And I'm sure I'm not alone on that one.

But regardless of all this chatter, its far too early to panic. This is what half of FWM is about - farming feedback. This here thread has a lot of potential for us players to influence the way this is implimented.

However, the days of major orgs having cities used for farming is pretty much over. Roll six froobs, choose faction, maek org, recruit real toon, boot'n'delete six froobs. Org for one. Just pop it in the microwave for 9 minutes and its done.

[bungerman]

Does it mean - I could use free accounts to create 4 "ghost" orgs to possess 4 different instanced cities, and then can use one of my paid account to jump from org to org and do countinous raids?

This. Technically farmers now only have one city. How is this going to deter those practices?

[lugoman]

Thanks for the answers but I think you have made it pretty clear that if your city goes boom and you fail to reclaim it before someone else that you loose access to shops full of items. Yeah some big org is going to get screwed and several members are going to scream bloody heck.

That's the way it is now and it doesnt seem to happen very much. All your members going on vacation? Make sure you put enough creds in the bank before you go. Dont have/make enough for the upkeep then you cant afford that city. Sell it and buy a smaller one.

New instanced cities wont have shops so this situation doesnt apply.

[pumpkinguyii]

No matter how stupid people will say this sounds.

Be able to reset base abilities using single IPRs. As simple as that. Dont make a player create a toon to high enough level just to figure out that they didnt ever need to put any IP into strength and not be able to reset it.

[Nuclearsmeg]

The reason being that if you lose an instanced one in 6 hours, big whoop. If you lose a real one, not only is it gone, but you probably know the wanker who took it.

You still need to buy the plot and build the buildings. This instanced city won't come pre-built.

[Myreyliib]

Does it mean - I could use free accounts to create 4 "ghost" orgs to possess 4 different instanced cities, and then can use one of my paid account to jump from org to org and do countinous raids?

This. Technically farmers now only have one city. How is this going to deter those practices?

It ain't and what is preventing these farmers from doing so today (given they have the means to acquire the cities to begin with)? But why should the rest of us care? Since the instanced cities are....well instanced, there is in theory an unlimited number of cities avaliable to all players, farmers and nonfarmers alike.

So what if someone decides to farm city raids 100 hours straight? Let them.

They are not hogging content.
They are not preventing anyone from doing the same.
They are not cornering the market on ai armor.
They are using cru at an accelerated rate, which may drive marketprice up. But again: Noone can stop any of us from running missions for cru.
They will be getting more bots to sell, but if we don't like the prices, we could spend some time farming some ourselves.

Yes, I more or less wrote the same thing at least 3 times, but some seem to be struggling with the concept (looking at the body of posts on the forum).

The only downside I see at present is the possible consolidation of the fragmentation of the playerbase across orgs (read it again, the sentence kind of makes sense). But that may be an acceptable trade-off, since that weren't likely to change anyway.

[Klodovik]

So... Now, everyone will have a chance to make an org and get a farm city for himself?

[Jick]

Just gief us a damn option to buy directly from GMS. If I wanna explore I will explore RK without being forced like this .

[Nuclearsmeg]

Just gief us a damn option to buy directly from GMS. If I wanna explore I will explore RK without being forced like this .

No.

Please FC - no insta-GMS buy.

[Jick]

Why not? except the lame excuse people wont explore , those that want will do it no matter gms or not .

[Berinda]

So if you can only have one city, and you can get advantages from a fake city. You know.. I really don't see much advantage to having a real city.

Large buildings and GMS terminals.

[Hacre]

Lol, what exploration?

Whompa whompa, auto flight (check forums or watch TV if a long flight), de-yalm and go into the shop?

Or, like I do, map open while yalming towards the shop?

Perhaps it's the heavy exploration of the Grid/FGrid people are trying to protect?

[Jick]

exactly...

[AbsoluteZero]

I'm mainly concerned with the 6 hour timer before the city goes boom. I'm in agreement with those the suggest a 1 week warning system.

[Jick]

If i got it right the new system will take money directly from bank right? If that is the case just give a person 50mil who is mainly online every day, just in case, so if shiz happens for him to be able to pay.

[Technogen]

or, you know just do /org bank add 50000000