Author Topic: From The Rulers Channel on Discord - Small realms  (Read 19669 times)

PolarRaven

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jitney | BlueLast Friday at 12:12 AM
Infrastructure period is very expensive, anywhere. If you want to be an effective realm it takes months to develop something viable
Abstract | Foote FamilyLast Friday at 12:12 AM
The idea I had was for OS to get Keffa and Nova Wudenkin. Which is why you got letter about a hypothetical situation Plaraveen.
Nova doesn't want to move though and the push in OS is likely to fail.
PlaraveenLast Friday at 12:14 AM
If an attractive enough offer can be made to the players it may be more palatable to more people?
Abstract | Foote FamilyLast Friday at 12:14 AM
Maybe. People are resistant to change though.
When I initially brought up the idea of OS moving back in about December I was told that this is a PVE island. This type of mentality presents a BT unique issue. You see it in Grehkia as well.
Nomad:

"As some may recall, nomad status was given to realms during the Freeze and Close of Western Dwilight events to migrate to new homes. As a reminder, nomad status grants the following bonuses:

*No distance from realm penalty for troops
*Troop payment costs 10% of normal and no troop payment after the capital is lost
*Can take over regions without bordering them
*Can be given regions by other rulers without bordering their realms
*A special drafting option for more soldiers being drafted in exchange for higher morale cost to the region
*Takeovers complete twice as fast as other realms
*Takeovers require a third of what other realms require to start a takeover"

https://forum.battlemaster.org/index.php/topic,8569.0.html
PlaraveenLast Friday at 12:23 AM
Considering that this (to my knowledge) is a feature that has been mostly unused, I think it may need to be adjusted to make it more appealing.  We all know that something must be done on BT, so I think it may be worthwhile to adjust the Nomad feature for this case to make it more appealing for the players to do "what is best" for the Island?
Abstract | Foote FamilyLast Friday at 12:27 AM
This feature hasn't been used since it was reintroduced. I'm not sure if giving additional benefits to the feature would result in it being used but it might.

Vita: "So do you think we need changes to nomad to allow some transition of infrastructure?"

Maybe. I think it would help make moving less costly but not sure it would be enough to get people to move. I see the infrastructure as just one factor in people not wanting to move.
PlaraveenLast Friday at 1:17 AM
Might it be possible to raise some of the lands se of former Fronen, at the cost of sinking some of the OS lands to the south?  I don't recall the area specifically, but I amfairly sure there was a fair chunk of land there before it sunk.  It could help to concentrate the players and still make the area appealing to more players.


GreybrookLast Friday at 3:06 AM
Last year when @Abstract | Foote Family brought up the OS move up north, I was against it. However, wiser with BM age, it isn't good for the island to have such a large part of the player base so far away.
It seems that the difficulty is that without changing the map, what can be done? Like Rines is one of the richest cities in game. So moving to a X<1500 city is hard to swallow
I have always been prepared to do what needs to be done for the better of the game but there is alot of heritage in the OS realm which people need to be sure that it isn't worth nothing.
HarteYesterday at 10:23 AM
Fronen is in a terrible spot. Middle of everything. Absolutely need Tindle because of the food supply but it borders so many regions and is one of the main regions to travel from the north to south and vice versa. So many rogues. Wudenkin isn't all that wealthy and has near 50k? peasants. The Rines is located on a little island away from the major wars because it's a very nice city. Just like Eno was in the Kingdom of Alluran. I think Eno was better than the Rines and even easier to defend since it was located at the very southern tip.
I have always supported a map-changed on BT. Ever since the blight happened, I've highly disliked playing on Beluaterra.
But that would need an invasion to happen cause map changes only happen during continental-wide events
PeregrineYesterday at 3:16 PM
@Plaraveen I have a character in Hrehkia because said character has a mission to check out every realm on BT. Caelint is a graveyard, btw.
PlaraveenYesterday at 4:29 PM
@Peregrine Is Grehkia in any better shape than Caelint?  Caelint, at least is actively involved in a war.  I understand that many players enjoy RP's, but not everyone is playing BattleMaster for the RP interaction.  RP's is only one element of the game, but many people seem to feel it is a requirement to enjoy the game.  I have been playing for about 10 years now and have quite thoroughly enjoyed myself without actively participating in the many RP opportunities that have been shared.          Fried Chicken???  Really???  I am not saying that this has no place in the game, but I believe that there is more to be gained from fighting an active war than discussing a fried chicken restaurant chain.  (I do not mean to pick on whomever is involved in the fried chicken discussion, it was just the first notable example that came to my mind.)
jitney | BlueYesterday at 4:37 PM
We have had little RP in Thal. A few battle RPs. Nothing big or frequent. Just more conversation. More activities, side quests, etc.  And I involve everyone with as much of everything as possible. Lot of work, lot of reward.
PlaraveenYesterday at 4:42 PM
I think it boils down to WHY are people playing the game?  For me, the war aspect is far more exciting than sitting in a realm sending stories back and forth.  For many others, it seems, they would be happy to sit in an isolated realm on the edge of humanity just sending RP's back and forth.  Before Obeah split, what was there really available for the players there to do other than send RP's back and forth?  So, that version of OS worked for many of the players who enjoy the RP aspect, but what action was available for those players that would prefer "action" to "story telling"?
RakaaroxYesterday at 4:44 PM
Ideally you have both
PlaraveenYesterday at 4:47 PM
It seems in recent times, the measurement of FUN has been measured by the amount of messaging that occurs in a realm.  To measure "RP fun" in this matter would seem acceptable, but I believe that it is a poor way to measure the fun that all people are having.  A realm is deemed as not fun when the players there are not actively sending letters on a regular basis.
I agree @Rakaarox but lately it seems that a realm with few nobles and little communication is considered bad for the game and no fun for the players.  Yet, these small realms that are not flooded with tons of messages every day still exist.  People still join and/or stay in these realms.  If these realms are so bad, WHY are there still players that have nobles in these realms?  No one is forcing these players to have nobles in a small non-talkative realm, they choose to be there.
RakaaroxYesterday at 4:54 PM
Little communication is different to almost zero communication
And that is the bigger issue
jitney | BlueYesterday at 5:03 PM
Agreed. And you CAN have communication with no action, per se. And I think that is where the ruler and council come in
Creating that kind of fun, wars, things to RP. That's on us to a degree
We are literally starting a war over a unique item.
PlaraveenYesterday at 5:03 PM
I am not sure what actually happens in Madina, but it is often a realm that is "picked on" and considered "bad".  My question is, why do people bother to stay there/ move there?
jitney | BlueYesterday at 5:04 PM
Yeah idk... Can't answer that one
PlaraveenYesterday at 5:04 PM
There is obviously some sort of appeal to some players that keeps Madina alive.
RakaaroxYesterday at 5:06 PM
Stuck in their ways
Like the income and power without having to do anything
They are bad because if new players join the game in realms like that, they won’t stay, they won’t bring new players
I got rid of Fissoa for that reason
PeregrineYesterday at 5:13 PM
@Plaraveen Grehkia is also terrible. Caelint still worse though. You don't even get orders in time in Caelint. There's no way a new player will have a decent experience in a small realm. You do you though.
PlaraveenYesterday at 5:16 PM
Income and power.  I can't say for the income, but what power does the ruler of Madina really wield?  Only one person, the ruler, is on the wealth list (and 15K gold is not much compared to others).  Madina has (in my opinion) no real affect on the overall situation/politics of Dwi.  So, no real power or income to make it worthwhile.  I can't say why Madina still exists, but I doubt it is for the income or power.
RakaaroxYesterday at 5:17 PM
Nostalgia (misplaced)
It’s not the original Madina
jitney | BlueYesterday at 5:18 PM
Wealth farming perhaps
And occasional rogue fights
Albeit minimal wealth
But it's enough to keep the family from going broke
If you're investing elsewhere
RakaaroxYesterday at 5:18 PM
Not going to be around for much longer though, has voted to merge with D’Hara
jitney | BlueYesterday at 5:19 PM
That's good
PlaraveenYesterday at 5:22 PM
My character on Dwi has a comparable amount of gold as Madina's ruler.  He only recently took on a Lordship more to help the realm than to be a lord (which is actually an inconvenience to him).  So I really doubt that gold farming is the reason that Madina still exists.
RakaaroxYesterday at 5:23 PM
Misplaced nostalgia... as I said
PlaraveenYesterday at 5:41 PM
I understand the need to retain new players for the game.  But at what cost?  I have played for almost 10 years and have finally managed to form a realm of my own design (I was a ruler previously, but was elected into the position of a realm that already existed).  I have no problem with my realm failing due to a military defeat, but I feel it is sad that I may loose my realm/investment because others feel that it is too small and not "chatty" enough.  It is not like we get 50 new players joining every month and then deciding not to play because the realm is too quiet.  I believe that "rogueing" smaller realms because of the shortage of nobles/messages in them is more likely to cost more in long-term players than the benefit of not having them will give to retaining new players.
Even if I decided to leave Caelint and join Thal or Obeah, there would be no overall change in my messaging habits.  Just because the players of the smaller realms join a larger more chatty realm, does not imply that they will be more actively involved in messaging.  There are players that are more active (regardless of the realm they are in) and there are players that are not as active.
From the BattleMaster Home Page:
"Depending on your desires and your characters' tasks, you can spend as little as 10 minutes per day on your characters, or over an hour based on what you want to do, roleplay, and achieve each day."
There are those who will often spend hours each day with their involvement in the game, while there are those who may not even spend the minimum 10 minutes each day.  Who is to say which one is having more "fun" in their gameplaying style?
jitney | BlueYesterday at 6:37 PM
A fair point at the end there... Though the declining player count seems to indicate there's less fun being had all around
Delvin AnarisYesterday at 9:06 PM
@Plaraveen actually, what we do get is just about 50 players joining the game each month
and about half leave
jitney | BlueYesterday at 9:19 PM
Hmmm. Do you know if the ones who leave end up in realms with low activity? Is there a trend? Just curious.
PlaraveenYesterday at 10:33 PM
Well, it is good to know that I do get lucky with throwing out random numbers once in a while.  :smiley:
Thinking about it, your statement would imply that our player base is growing at about 25 players per month minus the old guys that fade away...?
« Last Edit: September 08, 2019, 10:28:58 AM by PolarRaven »