This entire post is a big +1 from me, and better than I could put it. The analogy sheds light on the faulty premise of the reasoning behind this update. I, too, would never support that outcome happening to Irongron.Kessarin wrote: ↑Mon May 10, 2021 2:56 pmRecently, the PC owner of Cordor's Nomad held interviews to select the next person to transfer ownership, because said owner wanted someone she felt would bring the place to life. There was so much RP generated from this process, because other PCs were talking about it, saying that they would endorse X applicant over Y applicant, and then everyone discussed the aftermath of when Y applicant was chosen. Some of the applicants met to discuss collaborative plans, or a lack thereof. The whole process was like a mini-election, almost, and it quite fun to see that initial drop in the RP waters create so many ripples.
Such a thing wouldn't be able to happen under the new system, and that stymies RP on what is touted to be a RP server. I'm reminded of a quote by American author Margaret Wheatley: "The things we fear most in organizations - fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances - are the primary sources of creativity."
While I recognize the good intentions of this system, it is not a good system to implement. The massive amount of RP that factions generate because they worked hard, invested time and energy, and did things in the spirit of collaborative RP should not be disregarded so that someone brand-new to the server can achieve Day One what it took the faction players months, years, to achieve. They had to start at the bottom, too, and build their way to their success. And now they're penalized for it? And could lose everything to someone who hasn't invested near as much time or contributed near as much to the server? That will lead to more OOC resentment and far more toxicity than the present system. Where is the incentive to strive for 30 or 40 RPR if your best efforts could be lost? Don't take your long-term players and their investment into this world for granted.
A purely hypothetical analogy: Irongron has been working on Arelith for years now. (A long term faction.) He's built it into a tour de force, but none of this truly belongs to him, because the source game rights belong to someone else. (The property is leased.) What if Beamdog suddenly decides that it's not fair that Irongron has built this comprehensive world of Arelith, because there are newer module creators who want to build stuff, too? And what if, when Irongron eventually wants to focus on other things, instead of getting to choose to hand over Arelith to someone he knows and trusts to keep it alive, Beamdog says... nope, Arelith's going to some random person who is lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time? (This current system.)
Would anyone support that outcome? I know I wouldn't.
Since everything else is automated and recorded, develop a system so that targeted properties are flagged for DM review if they do not have 1) X amount of unique PC touches to the main door, and 2) Y amount of spoken lines taking place within the property by X/3 PCs over the course of Z time. Make people use it or lose it; if they're getting IG only to game the system, then at least make them work for it through RP.
And don't slap the whole of the playerbase in response to the actions of a select few.
Frankly, this is supposed to be a Roleplaying server - and further, it is one that has mechanics and goals such as RPR that encourage better roleplay. That means that IC actions and RP should be the primary factor to strive for - and I would assume 30 and 40 has coupled with it long-term expectations instead of a couple months and roll. What makes Neverwinter Nights so much different (and better imho) than other MMO-esque games is the idea that our actions as characters can collectively impact and leave marks that change the game world around us.
One of these things is the idea of a Guild or Faction. Unlike other MMOs where this is simply a clan of friends playing together, in NWN Guilds and Factions collectively work together to impact the game world in ways the individuals could never achieve alone. If I, as a new player and new character, want to strive to achieve greater status, I need to either put in a lot of effort individually that will take a far longer time and be much more difficult (and it SHOULD be) - or I can find like-minded characters to my own, and join them to pursue bigger and better things than the sum of our parts. This is teamwork, this is generating RP... this should be the easier route.
What makes a Guild/Faction/etc special in NWN is the idea of progressing within it. Leadership may retire, die, move on . . . but their protégé can take up the mantle, continuing and building upon the work and efforts of those before them... and so on. Such things should take a lot of invested time, and effort, to achieve. Such things -can- be regulated to ensure that there is no gamey OOC motivation behind the curtain. However... this Property Sale update further hurts some of the major assets any group/Guild/Faction/etc needs in order to succeed.
As with all things in life, Factions need wealth and coin in order to put their mark on the world. Coin can be achieved by writs, and by hunting... but the real money is in crafting and shops. Crafting and shops require storage. Storage is limited at twenty items. I like to think of it as an old real-time-strategy game like Command and Conquer. Storage chests are power plants needed in order to build and expand. Having more is crucial to success. Each one is +20 slots... +20 means by which to make money. Many on this thread have pointed this out - and I suspect many who have larger quarters do so for storage space above all else.
What this does is threaten that storage space, those long-term assets, those end-game goals... all over Real Life Happening to the wrong person. To me, this puts unnecessary pressure on us outside of the game, as players, to forcibly put Arelith atop other factors in our lives because our friends need to rely on us that much more. Those of us who value the RP generated by faction play take it much more to heart if a lapse hurts our friends. The mention of offering exceptions is nice - until you deny someone. Who are any of us here to say what is or is not more important than the game? Who are any of us to penalize someone for being unable to get online when, say, Texas freezes over for 7+ days (Easy to pull as it is recent), other natural disasters, hospital visits, and a bunch of other things that really is none of our business. The onus is to now put very real pressure on these situations - and hope beyond hope that our reason is satisfactory enough to the staff of Arelith. I do not mean to sound jaded about such things, but we have all had bosses or teachers or professors or 'insert here' in our lives that dismiss our pursuits and time-off requests, that see certain things as less important or not justified enough. Now we have to potentially face that here too?
The solutions offered in this thread to target the actual behavior you want to target is honestly a better option than this. This is actively turning into 'your IC reasons do not matter' when it should be 'your OOC reasons should be regulated'. Generational movement of assets from alt to alt is a problem that should be addressed. Stopping factions from passing down their assets - be it a ship, tavern, house, or manor - to their lieutenants, or members of the faith, or whatever the values of that particular faction may be - solves nothing and begs the question of whether or not that long term, focus-driven RP is really worth it to begin with.
Focusing on the problem behavior, enforcing policies against it, and expanding storage solutions, quarters, and so on is a better way to approach this. Yes, it requires work and it may never seem enough - but you are not alienating your most dedicated player base either.
My example to impart is this. Say there is a group of new players that really want a ship, but there are no current ships available. Instead of penalizing the first person who does not login a week for who knows what reason - and their first mate/crew being shafted - cause that is what that will feel like...
...instead encourage that group of new players to contact the team and seek roleplay, resource gathering, and goal setting to build their own ship. Make it so this process requires them to roleplay with others - be they crafters, local governments, what have you. Instead of beating the current playerbase with a stick and citing 'how dare you not give away your hard-earned assets' - increase the assets to those willing to put the time and effort to earn them.
This server is massive, and the influx of new players is something that is understandable to want to ensure they can see all there is to see... however... I'm sorry but... new players and new characters need to find and earn their way like everyone else. Finding a way that promotes the IC, and the effort, is the best way forward.