Hello forums,
I wanted to start a conversation about outposts. A type of player housing which was mentioned before (I think by Aradune, but I don’t have the patience to find it, I tried.)I was talking with my husband about these temporary outposts players could build and we already ran into a few issues we thought about and came to conclusions but I still wanted more input and idea's.
So the idea I think which was floating around I wanted to try to cement more.
You as a player want to go out and adventure. You have to get prepared
Now that you have all these things to be prepared you spend an hour or more traveling out into the wilderness which is far far far away from civilization. Now that you are out here you can group and do the content you want to which will help you advance your character. But now that you have to call it a day, where do you go?
There’s no city nearby to go to. There is no easy teleport or hearthstone function to get you back home. And why would you want to? It took you HOURS to get to where you were. That’s where I think the temporary outposts come into play.
Players can build a campfire which can be placed on the ground. The campfire is the start of the outpost. This campfire will persist for a set amount of time unless another player adds onto the outpost. The next player adds onto it and more of a ‘camp’ starts to appear.
o The cooking pot now allows players to cook very basic food (return to a city for better crafting)
o Repair your armor, deconstruct weapons/armor into simpler pieces (return to a city actually forge gear)
The more players add onto this outpost the larger it becomes and the more benefit players will have to seek these places out within the area’s they are adventuring. Perhaps camping at this location will give you a well-rested buff? Who knows.
One of the neat things about these player made outposts is the location can be different for every server. There can be some restrictions but it would be nice to have a different feel for each server. Not to mention these outposts may fall into disarray. What if players stop adding onto the outpost? Perhaps every hour a tent disappears, or the merchant goes away, the anvil disappears. After a few days the outpost could be gone. Perhaps the players created an outpost somewhere else because they were tired of the Griffin coming by and killing everyone sitting at the outpost or players logging back into a high-traffic ‘train’ area.
Some of the problems I have thought of in regards to this idea are.
1) Having too many outposts would ruin immersion for me.
2) Outposts right next to enemies camps doesn’t make sense, wouldn’t the enemies notice and put a stop to that nonsense?
3) Designed locations for outposts to ‘begin’ doesn’t sound as organic, but may be a fun discovery if done right.
4) Outposts could be riddled with bonuses if enough players join in. This could be a problem when players build an outpost together just for the sake of the bonus and don’t actually talk with each other or use each others special skills.. It may be a better idea to not give any bonuses and let the natural bonus of ‘players being in the same place’ be a bonus in and of itself. An outpost could simply be an area which is lit up better when the night grows very dark and enemies are hard to see … and you are without a party.
I know player housing was the original thought behind these temporary outposts, and I know player housing wont be there at launch. But these outpost idea’s sound very fun.
My immediate honest thoughts on this are. This COULD be fun. But when players need a safe place to log out and go through their bags etc etc, the players will find them and congregate. The developers sometimes have no idea where those safe places which are popular will be. It may be safer to stay away from this type of player housing. But I'm not going to ignore the fact that since the developers are 'making the world' they may know where that safe place will be. And when players populate that area the more it will have 'features' pop up which can bring in more people. I think this is how eastern commons might build in every zone. Temporary Outposts.
What do you all think?
Is this chancy stuff which doesn’t add very much to the game? Or do you feel its something which will bring players together and make them feel they are building something together which Is unique?
-Todd
I think that this is a cool feature that if implemented well could add a lot to the game. The outposts are mentioned briefly now in the updated FAQ under the "will there be player housing" section, and refer to guilds owning them I think? You bring up good positive and negative points, I think it would be cool to be able to put a vendor in your outpost too, and be able to get a bit of a cut from the profits deposited into your guild bank. I think something like this could be done instead of guild halls, and could be another form of horizontal progression offered in game.
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/2092/rest-area/view/post_id/36774
I knew what to search for as I comented on it a long time ago, Aradune also responded.
I think it is great idea. But if you wantthe safety of a group while you are offline and the benefits that come along with it I think you need to add a little of the danger that comes with "camping out". Lets say you are here and you logoff for the night. Anything you cratfed an earned from the buffs will be lost if a band of orcs, goblins etc raid the camp. You would also die- after all you are asleep- and awaken at your spawn point. Otherwise you can just go behind a rock and log of and you will relog there. no added buffs or items but you are safe. Quid Pro Qho