Less Ports/More Traveling:
As said before, less ports. I liked the convenience of getting to any city I wanted within a few minutes ... but the wonder and fun quickly faded. The road outside Port Silver in the new world is very well done and enjoyable to travel on. Even if in a rush, horses are quite fast.
Economy Standards:
Having only been on the server a short while, in the middle of the Exodus, so I ask you bear with me in case some of this is to be re-implemented in the new world.
I've also noticed that I haven't had much reason to travel to other cities other than the ease of access from all the ports(reference above). As a farmer currently, my only reason to travel to "the nearby town" would be to sell my wares and purchase goods. Trade brings people together. In my opinion, Port Silver should be a hub of trading ... but only for 1. high nobles 2. the lazy (so nobles *joke*). Just like the crown has set the standard that one emerald equals twenty radiants, so should Port Silver set the standard for most in-game goods. The market in the Sorrowlands is a good example. Since I, a farmer, can sell sixty-four wheat (1 stack, about twenty-one loaves of bread) for two emeralds, that's a standard at which all players must buy my wheat for or I'll just go to the market. The market sells eight loaves of bread (twenty-four wheat) for one emerald. Therefore, if I, a farmer, wanted to sell my bread, I would have to follow the standard and sell at least 8 loaves of bread for one emerald. If I've done my math correctly, a farmer can sell about ten loaves of bread for one emerald (twenty radiants, a fixed standard since buy and sell are offered). That (21 loaves / 2 emeralds)/20 radiants = 0.525 radiants per loaf of bread. However, if someone is buying bread from the market, they are paying the fixed price of (20 radiants/8 loaves) 2.5 radiants per loaf of bread. The gap is amazing for players. I currently have a chest shop set up that sells 1 loaf of bread for 1 radiant. As a farmer, I am making about 0.475 radiants profit for every loaf sold while the customer saves 1.975 radiants for every loaf bought. It's a win/win, but what's the catch? Traveling. To get the better deals, you need to travel to the other cities. Port Silver has all the goods in the game for sale and to buy, but you're losing potential profit with your one stop shop. Farmington(fake name) literally has the best deals on all things grown from the soil or in a pen. However, unlike Port Silver, you aren't going to find a potion shop nearby ... or if the town has managed to get one to move into 'Farmington', the prices will be either 1. have to be exactly the same as Port Silver or 2. A little less so the seller makes maximum profit in a low profit town.
Now some may say, "That's what the auction house is for." The auction house is great for getting lots of materials or buying those rare items that don't justify opening an entire shop for. However, the goal here is to get people to move around. When I have a reason to go to Scholarton, home to their famous University ... it shouldn't be, "I hope there is rp there ... but even when I get there, I have no purpose. How should I strike up a conversation?". An example of what should go down is:
"Scholarton has many alchemists, potion prices will probably be low there." As soon as I get there, "Hello, do you know where I could find a shop with low priced health potions?" "Why sure. Bartlebee's has the finest potions you can get, and it's right on main street ... However, in the far back by the College of Magi, I know a shop that sells health potions pretty cheap. What do you need them for?" "I ran into some bandits waiting for me along the road on my way to Port Silver. Next time I want to be prepared." "Bandits you say? There's a sword shop in Mightyton that has great swords. Best to be well armed." "Thanks for the tip. Say, are you from the University?" "Why yes. I'm a student there studying ++" etc. etc.
From my experience, purpose is a powerful "flint and steel" for the netherrack that is rp. There are many ways to do this, but money is an excellent one.
Specialized City/Town Economies:
Playing off the previous part, only Port Silver should have all my needs in one place. Farmington should be very agricultural and filled with plains of wheat as far as render distance is set. Scholarton should be a college town, lots of homes with a few shops all centered on the university. Granted, cities have undergrounds and other aspects, but their economies should be specific. Just because it's not too hard to make potions in-game doesn't mean every city should have fully stocked alchemy shops. Hopefully, if a town allows for lots of farms, then commercial competition will play its role and keep prices low on bread and leather. But items like enchanted books and swords don't require vasts amount of land, they can be made anywhere. Perhaps this is Government getting its hands into the free market, but maybe the "standard price" should be altered depending on the region. The Crown or leading House, could set up a designated shop that has a lower selling / higher buying price than Port Silver, the current standard. This deters the selling/buying of that products by shops in the region.
Tl;dr Less ports allowing for traveling between cities. Allow for standard items (bread, iron, swords, etc.) to be bought and sold at prices in Port Silver that are high and low, respectively, to allow the difference to stimulate economies in other parts of Altera. These economies should also be specialized in different fields to stimulate trading across Altera.
( Wes also needz continent names, or a fully detailed map of Altera. :3 )
also you can sell and buy horse from other person.
