Messages

[did]

Believe it or not, we did think about this.

All wounding changes on the Colonies are doubled in magnitudeâ€"so if you get better, it's like you got better twice in a row, and if you get worse, it's like you got worse twice in a row.

So my character has failed to improve six times while worsening twice before that?  Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket, or at least a scratch off.

Or do you mean that if she actually improves this coming turn change (not holding my breath), she will go from seriously to lightly wounded?

Is there a different algorithm for recovery from wounds on the Colonies?  What I mean is since there is only one turn per day, does the chance of success for improving from the wound increase more than on the two turn per day islands?  My character is going on Day 4 of being seriously wounded without any sign of improvement in the in-game messages, and this occurred after a "random" regular to serious wound deterioration the same turn as the initial wounding.  As the character is a realm ruler who just started a conflict with another realm, a slightly inconvenient situation (but one that would have created some good RP after the recovery) is now getting very frustrating.

Don't get me wrong, after over 10 years in the game, the Colonies are now my favorite island to play, but this inability to recover from a serious wound is the type of issue that loses new players...and considering half of the realms on the island have less than 10 nobles, maybe this issue should be looked at in a wider context of player retention and activity.  The Colonies without conflict is, to roughly quote another player in my realm, "a slow death spiral," so a tough wounding recovery system is a big detriment on an intentionally slower-paced island.

Here is the exciting transcript of my last four days:


Wounded!   (3 days, 10 hours ago)
You have been wounded during the battle in Bode Batura.

Wounds Worsening   (3 days, 10 hours ago)
personal message
Unfortunately, the helaers say your condition is deteriorating.
Your wounds have gotten infected, and they're going to have to operate soon or you could die.
Your wounds are still very serious, and you are slipping in and out of consciousness. The healers are doing their best, and say they think you will probably recover, but they cannot tell you how long it may be.

Wounds Unchanged   (2 days, 10 hours ago)
personal message
The healers have kept your condition stable, but haven't been able to make any improvements yet.
Your wounds are still very serious, and you are slipping in and out of consciousness. The healers are doing their best, and say they think you will probably recover, but they cannot tell you how long it may be.

Wounds Unchanged   (1 day, 10 hours ago)
personal message
The healers have kept your condition stable, but haven't been able to make any improvements yet.
Your wounds are still very serious, and you are slipping in and out of consciousness. The healers are doing their best, and say they think you will probably recover, but they cannot tell you how long it may be.

Wounds Unchanged   (10 hours, 8 minutes ago)
personal message
The healers have kept your condition stable, but haven't been able to make any improvements yet.
Your wounds are still very serious, and you are slipping in and out of consciousness. The healers are doing their best, and say they think you will probably recover, but they cannot tell you how long it may be.

Well my character is on the Colonies, so if you want to sprinkle some of that magic Beluaterran rain, I would gladly welcome it!   ;D

Has anyone else had this experience before?  My character was wounded in battle and the first post battle message that same turn said the wounds had deteriorated and suddenly the wounds became serious.  In 10 years this hasn't happened to any of my characters before, but maybe I have just been lucky.  Trying to be a good sport, but three days later still seriously wounded, which, like being imprisoned for too long detracts from the enjoyment of the game.

On a related note, and I no longer have any infil characters, with the decreased number of islands, deportation for banned infils will likely not be as frequent of an option.  While execution is always an option, I wonder how this is going to affect the game of the players with infils and characters on all the islands.

So when is the official start date for the character limits?  If the implementation date hasn't been explicitly and unequivocally specified before, then this should be done as soon as possible to be fair to the players.

A cute notion, the part where the 'stale' islands should just sit back and wait for death. My nobles and I are preparing to light up FEI like a christmas tree and one final campaign for old times' sake, for justice and the world's ending!!!

If you think that is what I meant, then you need to read my post again.  The Devs think that limiting each player to one character per island will decrease the amount of stagnation in the game; I argue that it is all of the ridiculously ancient (100 year old+ characters) occupying realm council and lord positions that actually produces as much, if not more, stagnation as well as frustration for newer players that we are hoping to retain (but usually don't).  So while I will begrudgingly accept the character limit, I would hope that the Devs would address the very real issue regarding the stagnation caused by no life-span limitation.  Sure there are reduced hours and waiting for 1-2 weeks to heal from wounds, but many of these ancient Dukes just sit in their city, avoid combat and pad their family gold; this makes them much more a "drone" in many cases than a second character on an island.

Dear Dev Team,

Clearly you have made up your minds on the one character per island, so pick a day to implement the changes and be done with it; courtesy would dictate at least a few weeks to prepare for the actual change.  Of course, this change will grind to a halt, for a time, all of the recent diplomatic and military activity on some of the "stale" islands (like Atamara), but hey, why let that get in the way?

Why you are at it, you should make a change that would actually have a larger effect on stagnation, and put in a natural death code to prevent all of those 100+ year old characters who occupy realm council and Duke positions.  There is nothing meaningful left to accomplish RP-wise with characters of that age, and it would actually give new players a chance to rise to positions or power, especially the coveted Duke/Duchess position, where they can split to form new realms.  And yes, I know of at least one Dev who had a 99 year old Duchess, but I am sure they were the exception to the "nothing meaningful left to RP" crowd.  In my experience since joining the game almost 10 years ago, these old characters are just as likely, if not more so, than a second character on an island, to be a "drone."  Combine this with the one player per island, and a player's own "replacement" can't be groomed from their character list.

While I am not a fan of the character limit change, mostly given the timing related to the recent events on Atamara, if it is inevitable, then announce the change and be consistent in taking steps to reduce stagnation and promote the enjoyment of new players by having a mass plague on all the islands that kills characters who are, at a minimum, over 100, with 85 probably being a better cut off.

"Back in the day," invasions were basically mindless unbeatable uber-spawnings that eventually just ended while a bunch of nobles huddled behind whatever walls remained on the island.  No talking monster champions, no necromancer, no daimons or children of the light...just lots and lots of undead everywhere.  Plus, the scrolls don't seem to be triggering any type of significant spawnings yet.

So, rather than continuing to be dismissive and acting as an authority on everything that the Dev team and Tom are thinking, maybe you can let them respond to a reasonable and workable idea for going through with the sinking of Beluaterra using existing mechanisms and doing it in such a way that is more likely to retain players than piss them off...unless that is one of the desired goals.

That requires too much work. Better to spend it elsewhere.

Since all of the mechanisms for my suggestion exist, I would think that a goal of the Devs would also be to try and keep players from wanting to quit as a result of the changes to the game.  Many of the players on Beluaterra moved there specifically for the invasions.  Personally, if the Devs let my character and the rest of the island go out in a blaze of glory, I would be happy and much more likely to give a chance to an island, like the EC, that previously hasn't appealed to me in the last 9+ years.

How about closing Beluaterra in a way that would likely be palatable for most of the players on that island?  Turn on mortality for all characters, turn off immigration, and launch the end of times undead invasion.  This would be a fun historically appropriate way to close the island, and the players who decided to stay wouldn't be cursing the Devs names...too much.