Discussion of Our Current Spawn

[Elt]

Someone could always try. There was talk of doing it once, but no IC attempts have been made to clear the old corruption as far as I know.

I mean, I may just be speaking for myself, but I honestly have no idea how that'd work out without a fairly major event to facilitate it. Players can form groups, yes, but clearing out the Corruption just seems like an incredibly daunting task that'd only be possible - again - if there was a huge IC event and incentive to. I can definitely see it happening through the Aeon campaign, and as Mitchh already said, HollowWorld seems to presently not hold enough players for scattered RP to be effective.

I was a new player after Port Silver was already destroyed, but OOCly exploring the ruins and hearing so much about it makes me wish there was a central hub like that, again, in place of an inn that makes starting RP incredibly awkward if your character has little reason to be there.

Again, though: I can only speak for myself.

 

[Cymic_]

Similar project was discussed, on the old temple in the jungle. Boiled down to no one knew a safe place to put the corruption after digging it up, that and the logistics of moving it from there. No one would want it dumped in there region, water elemental doesn't want it in his ocean, and nether is dangerous.

I think i remember dicussing something like that in the keep.

 

[Ced]

I second bringing back a big hub city and getting rid of tutorial island. Also, let's go back to the old warp system. It made exploring fun.

 

[Snerus]

I don't usually tend to post much on threads like this. Usually that's because I don't have enough experience on HollowWorld or a Minecraft RP Server similar enough to it that I feel like my opinion wouldn't be as grounded or as valid as some of the more senior members. I'll be honest, right now I still don't, but I think there is still something that needs to be said.

In my personal opinion the main issue with the Crossroads isn't that it is boring or there is very little to do around there (Though that definitely doesn't help), but rather the severe lack of faction leaders, region owners and people like that who are actively attempting to get newcomers to join their regions or factions. The biggest draw that I've found for a new player on a server is a way to not only get established, but to also get involved. Involved with the ideals and politics of one of the factions in Altera (Of which there are many), and to get involved with interacting with the other roleplayers on the server in a way that is far more meaningful and deeper than just "I had a drink with the dude and we talked about our life stories."

I don't think the Crossroads was built to be an RP hub. If it was, then it has done a very poor job of that. At the same time, I also don't think the Crossroads was built as a place for players to just hang around until they decided to wander off themselves. Seeing as the nearest active settlement (Tambry) is like, 1000 blocks away, then I'd think it has also done a very poor job of that. I think the Crossroads was built as a general place for unaffiliated newcomers to stay until the more affiliated old-comers dropped by and scooped them up and gave 'em something to do, and that simply isn't happening right now.

You really only need to read up to here. The rest is just me elaborating.​

On that note, something Mitch said in his first post really caught my eye, and that was that Grafjell, Tambry and the Arget Isles were currently the most active regions RP-wise. To the best of my knowledge, Grafjell is by no means a city that's actively looking to increase its population. IC wise, at least. It's distrustful of new arrivals and strangers, so its quite odd that there would be so much RP occurring there. Likewise, I believe a vast majority of Tambry's recent RP has happened near the slums quarter of Cochran, mostly due to the bloom in activity of the Thieves' Guild there. Arget Isles, lastly, to the best of my knowledge only allows Silver Elves and their blood relatives as well as close friends to inhabit it. Recently, it has also been in a state of lockdown.

From my perspective, only a very minimal amount of RP that happens in these places has included the very new arrivals in Altera. That isn't me criticizing those regions or their owners, but rather an observation of the extent that I feel like the established player base, particularly the ones that have one-man regions and single person, inactive factions are neglecting the newer, fresher meat that comes by the (literal) boatload to Altera.

And just as a quick last statement, - I'm saying that this is somehow the fault of people who want to have the more exclusive, private regions, or the more exclusive, private factions. This is more an issue of concern, once more, for those who actively want more people to join their regions and their factions.






tl;dr - Recruit from the Crossroads. Make people belong.

 

[Smurf]

I second bringing back an big hub city and getting rid of tutorial island. Also, let's go back to the old warp system. It made exploring fun.

Yup. All of the yups.

 

[Sizzix]

I don't usually tend to post much on threads like this. Usually that's because I don't have enough experience on HollowWorld or a Minecraft RP Server similar enough to it that I feel like my opinion wouldn't be as grounded or as valid as some of the more senior members. I'll be honest, right now I still don't, but I think there is still something that needs to be said.

In my personal opinion the main issue with the Crossroads isn't that it is boring or there is very little to do around there (Though that definitely doesn't help), but rather the severe lack of faction leaders, region owners and people like that who are actively attempting to get newcomers to join their regions or factions. The biggest draw that I've found for a new player on a server is a way to not only get established, but to also get involved. Involved with the ideals and politics of one of the factions in Altera (Of which there are many), and to get involved with interacting with the other roleplayers on the server in a way that is far more meaningful and deeper than just "I had a drink with the dude and we talked about our life stories."

I don't think the Crossroads was built to be an RP hub. If it was, then it has done a very poor job of that. At the same time, I also don't think the Crossroads was built as a place for players to just hang around until they decided to wander off themselves. Seeing as the nearest active settlement (Tambry) is like, 1000 blocks away, then I'd think it has also done a very poor job of that. I think the Crossroads was built as a general place for unaffiliated newcomers to stay until the more affiliated old-comers dropped by and scooped them up and gave 'em something to do, and that simply isn't happening right now.

You really only need to read up to here. The rest is just me elaborating.​

On that note, something Mitch said in his first post really caught my eye, and that was that Grafjell, Tambry and the Arget Isles were currently the most active regions RP-wise. To the best of my knowledge, Grafjell is by no means a city that's actively looking to increase its population. IC wise, at least. It's distrustful of new arrivals and strangers, so its quite odd that there would be so much RP occurring there. Likewise, I believe a vast majority of Tambry's recent RP has happened near the slums quarter of Cochran, mostly due to the bloom in activity of the Thieves' Guild there. Arget Isles, lastly, to the best of my knowledge only allows Silver Elves and their blood relatives as well as close friends to inhabit it. Recently, it has also been in a state of lockdown.

From my perspective, only a very minimal amount of RP that happens in these places has included the very new arrivals in Altera. That isn't me criticizing those regions or their owners, but rather an observation of the extent that I feel like the established player base, particularly the ones that have one-man regions and single person, inactive factions are neglecting the newer, fresher meat that comes by the (literal) boatload to Altera.

And just as a quick last statement, - I'm saying that this is somehow the fault of people who want to have the more exclusive, private regions, or the more exclusive, private factions. This is more an issue of concern, once more, for those who actively want more people to join their regions and their factions.






tl;dr - Recruit from the Crossroads. Make people belong.

While I heartily agree with the meat of your message, ie "recruit people from crossroads" I really don't feel that the area that Crossroads is as a spawn promotes recruiting in any big way. There is virtually no IC reason for people to recruit there and there are some aspects of the area itself that just doesn't make it advantageous at all to do so. Firstly it's just not a big enough space to fit all those different personalities in the same space, and secondly there is no neutral rule to keep opposing factions from straight up slaughtering each other when those personalities butt heads. You can't expect people from the thieves guild to try to be recruiting people in the same five square feet as warriors from Anhald, for example. It's just not wise to do so for the characters involved in those factions.

 

[Centurion]

Glados Nikolaos Heie Ali This looks like a job for the Hospies. Too bad most of us are dead or injured. Boo.

It was going to be

Then my politically neutral faction was pulled into politics and ruined

 

[Bartooliinii]

Hmmm I do agree.

I think we should have a spawn in which you cannot get lost / you need to be able to find your way.
Though, that said, a spawn should offer the best of places for all kinds of characters.
There need to be a tavern, of course, for the neutral people.
But also dark streets for thief characters or evil people.
But also a library for intellectual people.
But also training grounds for friendly fights between combat people.
Etc. you get my drift.

So I totally agree on having a spawn that speaks more to the imagination and can facilitate any kind of player.

EDIT: and a big WOW to Snerus ' point. It is /so very/ true that people leave because they have no purpose. Having a place where someone who knows the ins and outs of the server can pick up a new player and give them something to do, a reason to spend time online, is I think a very important and undervalued key aspect! such an eye-opener Snerus!

 

[NIAH]

Hmmm I do agree.

I think we should have a spawn in which you cannot get lost / you need to be able to find your way.
Though, that said, a spawn should offer the best of places for all kinds of characters.
There need to be a tavern, of course, for the neutral people.
But also dark streets for thief characters or evil people.
But also a library for intellectual people.
But also training grounds for friendly fights between combat people.
Etc. you get my drift.

So I totally agree on having a spawn that speaks more to the imagination and can facilitate any kind of player.

Teeechnically, the current spawn has training grounds for friendly fights, a library, a tavern. It also has the secret undertavern thiefy dark characters and like 12 escape tunnels and passages. 12 may be an exaggeration, but there are several. ^_^

 

[Bartooliinii]

Teeechnically, the current spawn has training grounds for friendly fights, a library, a tavern. It also has the secret undertavern thiefy dark characters and like 12 escape tunnels and passages. 12 may be an exaggeration, but there are several. ^_^

Technically, yes. But it doesn't feel that way. The library is empty, no real books to read, so not much to be done there. To get from spawn into the tavern was for me, when I was new to this spawn, a challenge alone. Having to pass through the stables to find the tavern didn't make sense at all. And the training grounds I only found a few weeks later, by circling the entire thing when I was bored and had nothing to do. I think spreading these things out a bit more with perhaps sign posts where you can read which way to go would be an improvement. It's all cramped.
Another example is the royal quarters. Which you can only access by climbing over the bar, passing behind jack, and opening a door. It was a part I only discovered this week, by parkouring OOCly over the roofs of the crossroads, because I didnt know how to get into that central garden. There's so much space there that isn't used, just because it doesn't make sense spatially.

 

[Naelwyn]

Nothing said here wasn't already said by me in the staff chat.

There's even a remodeled spawn design sorta sitting there.

Might make my own thread in response to this.

 

[Bartooliinii]

In response to this, and being tagged (ey frostie boy my man), I fully agree with the points made above, and won't repeat them as that's already been done several times, my opinion would just be Mitch's/Rygan's/Frost's/Deester's/Lirra's opinion in a different type of wording. However, I personally would /love/ a new major hub town to be build, like Frost suggested. Involve the players as much as you can. Hell, perhaps even hire IC architects, construction builders and whatnot, make it big, make it something everyone can join either OOC'ly, by donating and whatnot, or IC'ly, through hiring and designing and lord knows what else. Demolish the Crossroads in an event for all I care, or have something big attack all of Altera making everyone come together and go "we need to make something big and good to fight off" and thus the city was born. I dunno, plenty of possibilities.

(Edit: Sniped by Elz and TheDeester )

I'm sorry for suddenly spamming all over this thread but this is such an incredibly good thread
That idea... is worth more than just a like.
Like frostguardian said as well: Let's get together, all of us, and make this a staff-meet-player-meet-staff project. Where everyone has a say.
I was admin once, was terrible at it, but I am proud of one thing I done in that time: The Garden of Games.
I merely made a framework of roads, and then I let other people fill it in. There were people doing fountain designs, making small gardens, making labyrinths and a lot of the different games that you can still do there were created by players who were granted creative mode for to build that stuff. And I still like walking around there! It is proof that players and staff can come together and create something fun that also creates positive energy. The idea of creating a spawn together where whoever can contribute at least 1 thing and also evolving characters in it through Roleplay is MIND BLOWING. I LOVE IT!
EDIT: and let's not make it a competition, but let's give every single person who is interested a chance to contribute.

 

[Bartooliinii]

Gah there's so much positive things to say! I promise this'll be the last comment I post for now.
But on the topic of the port system.
I suddenly remembered that it became important to have political meetings between political leaders.
The alliances made in the old days were so much more profound. But why? Then it dawned to me:
If you did not ally yourself with a large house, you wouldn't have a port!
From spawn, there were about 5 boats going to the major houses' regions.
And from those regions, smaller boats went to their vessels. The smaller houses.
It was a tangible system where being part of a larger alliances actually meant something and became part of the identity of your house as well as your character.
On top of that, having to travel to the major house's region first, also made it clear that this was an important house.
And your own house was of secondary importance.
The more ships you had at your docks, the more important your house was.
The moment you had your own vessels, whilst being a vessel-house, that was how you'd climb up that social ladder.
MAN I miss that!!

 

[Naelwyn]

http://hollowworld.co.uk/threads/open-offer-organizing-people-to-fix-up-spawn.36406/

 

[Solus]

I'd first like to say- Thank you for the wide interest and consensus in a spawn town. We know how important it is and yes, we've been talking about it for several months now. At the current moment, the whole of staff's focus is on several different projects that players themselves have wanted us to take up and that we've swooped up to take responsibility of for the past year to months- So I won't be able to provide a reply without seeing what is able to be coordinated, if possible, with what projects are already ongoing. Please keep continuing being amazing people as you are with the support you've given to each other and us with projects.