Questions from 2/4 to 5/23 2011

Gandhi Asks:

I know there will be a soft skill cap in game. But does that mean, that you can be for example both: a really good crafter and a really good fighter? Ordo you have to choose, if you want either be a good crafter or a good fighter? I hope, that you have to chosses, because if everyone is able to do everything, there would probably be no need for specialized crafters.
There currently is a soft skill cap but it needs balancing. The goal is slow gain both within and across skill groups so that players will tend to focus on either combat, actions or crafting and specialize in particular weapons or crafts. This will be balanced after our combat revisions are done.


mrwooj Asks:

As a solo player will i be able to claim some land and build on it, knowing that it cannot be taken away in a heartbeat. If i cannot, then what is the point of me playing. i would forever be building and losing, or i would give up on owning land and building, at which point i would surely leave the game.
Yes, you can currently claim a homestead which is safe.


STAR_GOD Asks:

What happens if I take holiday and dont wanna pay but like to deactivate account is there such option to deactivate account for some time without loosing toon?
What happens if I stop miss date of monthly subscription? Do I get automaticly deleated, deactivated and what implications are there to totems?
Characters are not deleted if your account subscription is deactivated either intentionally or because of a skipped payment.

What happens if I deactivate account and I am tribe leader does that mean I lose totem?
Currently, nothing.

How are you dealing with people that have totems placed but have left the game? Does it get deleted and tribe automatically disbands or leadership gets passed on? what about homesteads do they disapear?
We will implement totem decay for abandoned homesteads and tribes in the future, but this will take into effect only for players that have been completely inactive for a long period of time (6 to 9 months for example). All players will be informed of this before it is implemented.


Volcom Asks:

Anymore info on safe zones and territory control? A lot of people looking at this waiting to see how he handles it. To me this could make or break the game. You need something to fight over.
Our first step will be to add expansion totems and resources that can be fought over.


Tredo Asks:

So if I set up a tribe and its neutral or good aligned, and I know gates are coming, can the gate be set so that "evil" characters can't use that gate???
Gates will be set so that only your tribe can use them. Tribes will also be able to allow allies to use the gates if they desire.


Can I section off a part of the tribal area where only certain people have access? Set like a pass phrase you have to enter for the gate to open? or have to be set a certain rank in the tribe to able to go past that gate?
This is a good idea and has been added to our suggestions list.


vagabond80 Asks:

Do architecture buildings that require multiple components allow for differences in colour/fabric?

For example a lumberjack tent, can I use 1 red wool 1 green linen and 2 blue denim tarps? Or do they all have to be exactly the same as in 4 green linen, 4 blue denim etc.

Considering the vast area (I quite like this) of cloth and colours this might make architecture a bit more difficult than it needs to be.
Right now this requires the same type of cloth, but we plan to add patchwork cloth tarps in the near future.


De7ilx Asks:

What will be after prelude? Is the game going to be in different ERA-s starting with the prelude?
If so will the game go into modern civilization like it is today and beyond into future ?
If it will be in ERA-s and we reach into modern civilication then the features that are in Prelude will be still in?
Like New players starting in Prelude age and evolve into future? For example older players have modern guns and you only have knife and axe? Like future vs stoneage ?
After the Prelude the game will be released in expansions that will add new lands. The plan is to introduce new parts of the world and cultures with each expansion.

Will there ever be customizable houses and buildings? Like castles and keeps where we have many floors and you actually can walk inside and build additional parts of the castle, expand it and build new floors on it? Something like in Sims franchise has - custom build houses not pre made models.
Yes. The basics for this are already in place. Soon we will add more walls and component parts such as floors, roofs and stairs. Eventually we would like to create smaller tileable component parts similar to the Sims.

Will the game graphics will stay same or replaced with more better one in future?
As our team grows and time goes on we will of course improve and update graphics.

Will there ever be terraforrming like making holes into mountain? With some kind of drilling machine? Tunnels mines etc ?
We would like to add this, but it will require major changes to how we store terrain data. It won't happen any time soon.

Will there ever be boats/ships? That can be built and used to move on water?
We plan to have boats, but they won't be in game for a while (after summer for certain).

Will there ever be structures like bridges that could be placed over the rivers?
Yes. The models for a few bridges are already created. We will add these to the game soon.

Will there ever be possibility to expand the Tribe territories (after the maximum user limit is hit) with some kind of land control towers? (Just like in Settlers 4)
And the claim towers would be vunerable to attacks and when destroyed the land would be lost? (The structures inside that land would became vunerable to attacks)
Yes. This is basically what our expansion totems will be.

Will the game world be expanded further into different landscapes than the current one is ? Like sea and other continents where u possibly can get only with boats/ships?
If so will there be weather conditins like storm on sea that could sink the boats/ships?
Yes. The first expansions will cover other areas of California and Nevada, but we plan to expand to other parts of the world as time goes on.

Will there ever be introduced Mining where you could get materials like Gold, Silver, Bronse, Iron and many other materials ?
Yes. Should be during the Prelude.

On the loading screen of the game there is 2 man sitting on a camp fire and background there is huge modern skyscrapers. Are this is the part of where the game will go or just random picture not related to future game content?
There will be modern ruins in the future and we've built models for these. We will implement them once we design a mechanism for how these can be destroyed and manipulated.

Will we ever be able to build skyscrapers just like on the loading screen of the game?
Possibly. We will have limits on building construction initially and need to test to see what effects on loading and rendering huge structures will have.

If the game goes into the future will be able to eventually build skyscrapers etc? What would happen with the current game landscape?
The current landscape will stay the same with terraformed changes.

If the game would go in to the far future will there be features like space, other planets, spaceships, space warfare, crew inside spaceships etc?
No plans for this. One day at a time.


Joph Asks:

When new skills are added to the game that use Charm will our stat points be refunded so we can realocate them?
Yes, we will allow for shifting of stats when Charm and Spirit become more useful.


Hellaciouss Asks:

Question 1. The "Dirt" System. Currently you are required to have dirt in your pack to raise land and when you lower land dirt goes in your pack. This system is very inconvenient to the player when a player just needs to lower a small hill, or raise one. I don't quite see a reason for the "dirt" other then a slight "realism" factor that adds a lot of inconvenience. What is the worry about not having the dirt? Couldn't some system be implemented that when a totem is destroyed/removed all land is put back to its original levels? If the Dirt System is kept in what keeps someone from just filling a bin, walking down the river and dropping the bin off? Do bins vanish after a certain time on non-tribal land if they aren't interacted with? If not would you rather have tons and tons of bin filled with dirt all over the game world?
This is something to think about and has been noted in our balancing notes for the future.

Question 2. When are "Gates" going to be put in that we can open and close on our walls to keep people out?
Yes.

Question 3. When are more items going to be added to Masonry and Bonecraft? Cooking?
We don't have any immediate plans for this. We may shift some wall recipes over to Masonry.


mrtastycakes Asks:

when are you adding gates to are bases so people cant just log in and the pking system for evil vs evil tribes...
Should be working by the end of June. We will be testing these this week.


coca Asks:

Have you considered limiting the total number of recipe types per character?
Yes, but as we plan to add many more recipes in the future, we haven't set any limits yet.