Feature Cut: Buying Regions

[Tom]

 This is the first of probably many such topics. Since the Dev Team is in the process of considerable overhauls, I think we should remove some features that add more complications than gameplay.

All ideas presented here have already been discussed very shortly within the Dev Team and we found no obvious reasons why we should keep that particular feature. However, we ask for feedback from all players for a reason: If it turns out that the feature is beloved by the players, we may keep it for that reason.


I'd like to remove buying regions. It is never played as intended (i.e. most players don't accept it as a legitimate title), and I don't think it really adds all that much to gameplay. I do believe that it can be replaced by something better, in the future. And for the moment, I don't think many will miss it all that much.
   

[Nosferatus]

I fully agree, also with the general goal to streamline the game into a more understandable whole.

[Revan]

The only reason I agree is that it's something entirely beyond the means of most players to do. Feels like a stacked game. Not all of us get handed plush Duchies and lordships with which we can furnish our family coffers, y'know?

[vonGenf]

Not all of us get handed plush Duchies and lordships with which we can furnish our family coffers, y'know?

No, most of us had to fight for them!   

I do agree with the change, mostly for the reasons Tom said. I like that things can be done with family money. Otherwise, why would you seek it for?

[Peri]

Personally, I am undecided. It is something that happens so rarely that removing it will not modify significantly the gameplay, in my opinion. I also agree that most of the times nobles do not recognize the claims obtained through corruption. On the other hand, however, in more than one case there have been situation where buying a region led to very interesting consequences that would be a pity to lose. Also, as vonGenf said, it really gives some more sense to hoarding family gold.

In conclusion, if deleting it helps the devs with the coding, then it is not a big deal losing it. If the reasons for removing it are mainly tied to gameplay reasons, I think it could be kept.

[Galvez]

It was very interesting during the CE - Carelia war when Carelian noble bought the title of Duke of Shalk.

[Jens Namtrah]

Keep it.

1) One of the most interesting conflicts on Atamara in quite a while just happened because of it. Nearly changed the whole face of the war there.

2) What is the point of family gold then? You build it over time to create power for yourself - with nothing to spend it on, we revert to the old "who needs gold", all-for-the-realm giveaway game.

3) Who cares if they accept the legitimacy of the claim? You are trying to force how players think too much. The fact is, he is the lord at the moment.  Half the realms in the game don't play by your idea that the region belongs to the claimant anyway, and act like it is property of the realm.

4) Something beyond most players to do? Then get some ambition! My family runs a trading empire for the sole purpose of converting it to a rich region someday so they can get richer and more powerful

[Peri]

giving a second thought, I believe it's pretty hard to fit a region bought by someone within the new hierarchy structure given by the new estate system. Perhaps remove the chance to buy rurals and allow only townslands/cities to be bought and automatically create a new duchy out of it? that seems one possible way out..

[Revan]

Thing is, family wealth isn't like anything else in the game. Fair enough, you can say things like becoming a world class infiltrator require a lot of effort, sacrifice and all that, but that's a decision you take with a character and anyone can come along and have a crack at it. If you want to hit several thousand family gold and have the option to buy a region, that's a decision you're really taking as a player, and something you're utilising all your characters towards for some meta-goal. Sure, there should be perks for enriching your family, but I don't think it should be a right to buy out a duchy whenever you feel like it. Why shouldn't just anybody have the chance to get some dubious claim to a region recognised? Or is that our punishment for not being 'ambitious' enough?

[Sacha]

Remove it. There are other ways of snatching regions out from underneath your enemy's nose without having to meta-game your way to 5000 family gold, as Revan pointed out.

[JPierreD]

Won't be a great loss, IMO.

[Draco Tanos]

I'd say it's something to remove for now and consider revisiting later, to balance it out some more and make a tad more sense.

Right now, it's probably just old code you don't want to have to touch.

[Jeckyl]

I've actually been playing one of my characters so that one day he would buy a duchy. He is never first in line to be appointed, and in elections its always nobles who have been in the realm the longest that get the cities. He has taken this resentment and is amassing wealth in order to do this.

I doubt I'm the only one actually wanting to use this feature, but finding a good opportunity is hard. My only real concern about removing this feature is that we'll have nothing to spend all this family wealth on. Whats the point in having it, aside from bragging rights?

[Indirik]

1) One of the most interesting conflicts on Atamara in quite a while just happened because of it. Nearly changed the whole face of the war there.

To say that the war happened because of Skalk is not true. Skalk was bought because of the war, not the other way around. The war would have happened even if Skalk had not been bought. It definitely would have played out differently, though.

[/quote]4) Something beyond most players to do? Then get some ambition![/quote]
I do agree with this.

Also, if everyone in the game could, and did, buy regions, then you'd have regions being bought every day. There are some things that not every will ever get a chance to do. Or may only do after playing the game for two or three years. Anyone who cares should be able to build up a few thousand gold in two or three years if they want.

[Indirik]

Fair enough, you can say things like becoming a world class infiltrator require a lot of effort, sacrifice and all that,

No, just lots of gold and hours at the academy.

Why shouldn't just anybody have the chance to get some dubious claim to a region recognised? Or is that our punishment for not being 'ambitious' enough?

Because if everyone can do something, then it stops being a meaningful achievement. There need to be things in the game that not everyone can do. Or that take a significant amount of effort to achieve.

I'm not saying that this particular feature should be one of those things. I'm saying that the argument of "Why should we have a feature that not everyone can use" simply doesn't hold water.