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    Captain's Log 22: March Milestone & Official Server Wipe

    Ahoy Pathfinders!

    This Captain’s Log will go into some of the finer details of what we shared during our livestream earlier today. If you didn’t have a chance to watch it, you can check out the full VOD here, which also includes live gameplay of some of the upcoming features:

    In previous logs, we stated that we would be visiting some major design aspects of the game which make it more accessible for smaller groups and solo players, along with reducing the steep climb necessary to experience some of the later game content. There is a lot that we want to do over the coming months, and this update will be the first of many to help resolve these problems. However, before we get into that, we’d like to talk about something pretty important.

         :anchor: Official Network wipe :anchor:

    Please note that this wipe will not be forced on Unofficial Servers, however the old claim flags will disappear and you’ll have to replace them or allow them to naturally populate.

    With the release of this first milestone, we will be wiping all our Official Networks. This is not a decision we’ve taken lightly, however we believe based on a number of reasons that this will be the best move for the game, moving forward. 

    First of all, the changes we are planning for this update are huge. We are completely redesigning the world layout, introducing new island types and biomes, adding new playable areas beneath and upon the ocean along with completely revamping the claim system. Due to the impact of these changes, we believe a wipe is the best course of action so that you can experience the update in a fresh environment, without being influenced by any of our legacy or deprecated code. 

    The wipe will allow us to see whether the changes we’re making are heading in the right direction, or whether we need to sit back as a team and further adjust our design for the game. We believe that these systems, which we’re going to discuss in more detail, are some of the most important and core aspect of ATLAS. Using your feedback, insight, and creativity, we want to build on the foundation of the game throughout Early Access and we’re willing to make the changes necessary, no matter how large, to get them to work. Whether that means more content, complete redesigns, or wiping the network when big changes have come in.

    Secondly, since ATLAS launched as an Early Access title, there have been a number of bugs, exploits, and patches made to the game that have had a significant impact on the state of the persistent world. A number of players have benefited or have suffered grievances due to these various since-fixed issues, whether they were taking advantage of crafting exploits, alpha babies, duping, or had their boats sunk by Gatling Ship of the Damned.

    As such, being a game that is focused on players building an empire, claiming and ruling over what’s theirs, and being the hero or villain they were meant to be; we believe that a wipe is necessary to put everyone back on an even playing field.

    Furthermore, we’ve been a little more soft in some cases when it came to players taking advantage of these game exploits. After the first wipe has taken place in March, that will no longer be the case. We will still prioritize fixing issues/bugs/exploits, so we encourage you to work with us when you’ve discovered something that could be exploitable. That is our mandate, fixing and resolving game problems, however we’ll be taking a more firm stance against the serious cases where a company has used an exploit without coming forward which could result in company-wide and or alliance-wide punishments. 

    Finally, at the end of March, when this update drops, we’ll be commiserating those of you who have taken part in ATLAS’ first iteration. We’ll be rewarding all players who have ever logged into Official ATLAS prior to the wipe with a special cosmetic item that you’ll be able to keep post-wipe. Please keep an eye out for our announcements for when the deadline is, so you can be sure to get the cosmetic!

    large.891083673_CosmeticReward.jpg

         :anchor: March milestone :anchor:

    large.March_Milestone_8.png

     

    With this patch, the team have a number of primary and secondary objectives. With our primary and biggest changes we hope to address the following:

    • Players not being able to find land to build a base on both PvP and PvE
    • Offline Raiding
    • Incentivizing large companies to work with smaller and solo groups
    • Players not being able to connect/spawn on a server

    We recognize that these aren’t the only aspects of ATLAS which need to improve. There are problems with the new player experience, how punishing it is to recover after you’ve been defeated, server performance during large epic battles, viability of creatures, weapons, boat builds, etc. The list can go on and these are things which we plan to address, and more in the coming months ahead.

    This patch, however, will primarily be focused on the points we mentioned above, and will hit our PTR/Test Live Environment a week before it makes its way onto the main game, so you’ll be able to get an early look at it and experience it on that network.

    Please let us know your thoughts about this upcoming update, we value your feedback and insight. We don’t claim to be omniscient, and you may raise attention to something we hadn’t considered which will either result in us adjusting the design further, or we’ll consider how to tackle those concerns at a future date.

         :sword: claim revamp and war system :sword:

    General Rules

    • Players can now build anywhere, without owning a Settlement (an island which has been claimed).
    • An island which has been claimed is now known as a Settlement.
    • Only one claim flag can be placed per island, and the owner (player/company) is the owner of that Settlement.
    • There will be a hard limit on the total number of claim flags.
    • Islands are given a rank based on their location, size and how valuable they are. These rankings will be used to determine upkeep, as well as identify the Top 10 Companies which will be a sum of all the islands that Company has claimed.
    • Structures that are built on islands that are not Settlements can be raided at any moment. 
    • Fog of War and Shroud of War have been eliminated, so the entire ATLAS will be shown to everyone.
    • World Map will now show the name of an Island (which can be changed by Settlement owners), who a Settlement is owned by, the current tax rate, and the current war status of the island.
    • Islands will have colored overlay for ownership (Owned by you, an ally, or non-ally).

    Company Updates

    • NPC crew on offensive/defensive seated structures will no longer count towards the tame limit whilst seated.
    • Company limit has been reduced to 250 members
    • Group ranks have now been increased to 10
    • Alliance changes will now be logged in the Company Log
    • You can now sort the Company log to display entries from top to bottom
    • A new group setting which can grant ‘owner’ permission for company members, which can only be set by the owner and unset by the owner. Members with the ‘owner’ permission will not be able to remove the actual Company Owner from the company.
    • An alliance now only contains a maximum of 4 companies
    • A company can only be in 2 different alliances at a time.

    Claim Flags

    • Sea Claim Flags have been eliminated
    • Claim flags can no longer be used to steal structure ownership on land
    • Claim flags can no longer be merged into other companies
    • There will be a hard limit on the total number of claim flags per company. For example, 20. Numbers can be adjusted.
    • A claim flag cannot be placed without a tax bank.
    • Claiming an island will take a fixed amount of time plus an additional amount per claim flag owned. For example, 1 hour to claim and +1 hour per owned claim flag. Numbers can be adjusted.
    • Declaiming will always take a fixed amount of time. For example, 2 hours. Numbers can be adjusted.

    Claim Flag Upkeep

    • Claim Flags now have an upkeep cost which is paid from the tax bank
    • The upkeep cost will be an assortment of resources.
    • The upkeep cost will scale on the size of the island, the total number of claim flags a company has, and how many different companies/players are building on the island.
    • Players can only place items into a tax bank that go towards upkeep
    • Claim Flag will have a grace period after successful claim to allow resources to gather in a tax bank before upkeep is charged
    • The claim flag will visualize if the upkeep will not be met, so players are able to contribute directly to the Tax Bank. The Tax Bank will now stack resources like a ship resource box.

    Settlements

    • Settlement owners must set a window of vulnerability, currently set to 9 hours, where their island is raidable. Outside of this window, players, structures and ships will not take damage from other players. 
    • There will be a timer on players before they receive the invulnerability status.
    • Anchored boats or docked boats will follow these same rules, if they are in the radius of a Settlement
    • Non-settlement owners who have cannons on ships and are anchored shall not be allowed to fire cannons outside of wartime.
    • Settlement owners can freely damage other characters and structures on their island. 
    • Settlement owners can set taxes on their island which will automatically be deposited into the Tax Bank
    • Structures that are built on a Settlement which do not belong to the Settlement Owner will have a decay timer.
    • Player Run shops which are placed on islands can also be taxed by Settlement owners

    Declaring War

    • Players can purchase a war token (significant cost) which can be used to declare war on an island.
    • When war is declared on an island, players must select a schedule time in the future (3 days to 1 week)
    • Only one war can be scheduled at once
    • There is a cooldown after a war has ended before another war could be declared on that island
    • Declaring war is per-island, so it is possible to declare war against multiple islands at the same time.
    • The UI will indicate whether an island is experiencing Wartime soon or is currently in Wartime.
    • Wars will last a fixed period of time
    • When an island has been deemed warlike, building rules no longer apply. After the war has ended, the normal rules are enacted again. 

    Settlement Build Rules

    • Only the owner of a Settlement will be able to build offensive structures (mortars, cannons, and swivels) on their island, outside of Wartime.
    • Other companies can build defensive structures (puckle) at any time.
    • Other companies can build offensive structures ONLY during Wartime. Outside of Wartime, these structures are non-functional (inactive and unusable)

    Notification System

    • Players can sign up for email notifications related to company log activity
    • Company Logs that have any physical in-world location shall now include the grid and GPS. (e.g a boat was sunk on K5 at 50 50)
    • Discord Webhook for in game company notifications

    Lawless Servers

    • Will continue to operate like normal, no islands on these servers can be claimed.
    • Reduced structure placement rules
    • Damage decay added over time on all structures

    PvE Network

    • No claim flags
    • Damage decay overtime added to all structures
    • A new auto-repair structure which players will need to upkeep to prevent structures from being destroyed by decay.

    :map: world redesign :map:

    This milestone will also introduce some world changes to the ATLAS itself. The overall objective from these changes is to provide players with more land to use for their bases, as well as a general update for our current biomes and introducing new areas to explore.

    • Over 200 islands added to the network, approximately 1 additional island per grid.
    • Players can now set any server as their home server. Following the wipe and the potential for freeports to be overloaded, we’ll be temporarily enabling setting any ATLAS server as your homeserver. Additionally, we’ll most likely create a respawn on current server option too.

    :pirate_mask: full notes for march milestone :pirate_mask:

    - New Vehicle: Submarine. Explore the depths of the ocean in this small scouting submarine. No weapons on board, but it does have claw arms to help harvest the ocean floor and explore (demolish) shipwrecks

    large.Submarine.png

    The submarine can also light up its surroundings, and will require fuel to run. The fuel cost will be based on movement, so the more it moves, the more it uses. Additionally, there will be a higher cost for movement that is lateral (forward/backwards) compared to longitudinal (upwards/downwards). The submarine will not outclass ships as you’ll need to pay a lot in fuel costs to be able to travel far, the intention is to use them in these underwater deeping-diving scenarios. It’ll be unlocked and can be driven by defeating the Kraken, though players will be able to be passengers in other users submarine’s without having completed the Kraken quest.

    - New Environment: Deep Ocean Trench. A new area to explore, guarded by powerful underwater creatures and home to the new Giant Crab.

    large.1093801945_UnderwaterTrench.png

    The trench will be found on the Golden Age Ruin servers and contain 8 new power stones which can be used to unlock fight a more difficult version of the Kraken. It’ll be an area where players can find new resources, new creatures, such as the Crab with more to come in the future.

    - New Creature: Giant Crab. It can heavy loads, along with players, tames and wild creatures

    large.Crabs.jpg

    The crab can be found in the Trench and it is a tamable creature. It’ll have the ability to carry and throw other players/creatures, and it can also jump very far. These abilities may change over time as we progress further into ATLAS’ development.

    - New Environment: Eastern Tundra now has its own visual design, no longer using the Western Tundra style

    large.1437529941_EasternTundra.jpg

    We’ll be updating the eastern side of the Tundra to have it’s own unique design!

    - New Structure: Guillotine. Hanging your foes in a noose taking too long? Off with their heads!

    large.Guillotine.jpg

    When you behead another player, the game will remember their facial appearance and hairstyle, which can be used as decoration on wallhooks (on gunmounts too)!

    - New Feature: Curses. Tied to the execution of players

    When executing a player, you’ll now receive a % of their experience points. This will have a cooldown, so it cannot be used to quickly drain/transfer experience, and some general experience will be lost when the transfer occurs. We’re not intending for this to be an incredibly aggressive feature, but something more fun which occurs when executing players. We’ll be expanding the curses system more later on.

    - New Feature: Squads (ships) of the Damned will now come in multiple size variations with different stats and difficulty levels.

    large.1951006312_ShipoftheDamned.jpg

    Ships of the Damned will now appear in squads! They’ll contain an assortment of various types including Galleons of the Damned, Brigantines of the Damned, and Schooner of the Damned. These types will determine their difficulty, and the loot will scale based on the level of the damned, as well as type of damned that the squad is comprised of. For example, a Squad containing 2 Galleons is going to reward better loot than a Squad containing 5 Schooners. Loot will be rewarded on a per-ship basis. The intent behind this change is to make the fight less predictable and a more interesting experience out on the seas. We are not planning for them to be killing machines or an immense threat, they’ll still maintain a reduced targeting ranged and players will have the choice whether to engage in battle or to flee. However it should be noted that they will now share the same target when attacking.

    - New Cosmetics: Peg Legs and Hook Hands.

    large_Hook.png

    These will be acquired through the cosmetic vendor in freeports, as they won’t be providing any stat benefits, we prefer that they are readily available for players. You will not be able to equip both the left hand and left leg (or foot) at the same time. Additionally, it will not be colourizable nor can it be used on naked characters but we are working on both of these aspects.

    - New Cosmetics: Multiple Armor sets to customize the look of your company and crew! Provided as a permanent unlock for completing the Quests in addition to skill rewards.

    large.982918069_HideCyclopsArmour.pnglarge.Heavy_Hydra_Armour.PNGlarge.Fur_Hydra_Armour.jpglarge.1841105216_ClothCyclopsArmour.png

    Rest of the Notes

    - New Feature: Player shops in freeports. Players can set up automated shops in each Freeport, listing loot for sale and naming their own gold coin prices.

    Balance Changes

    - The higher quality shipyard used when building a ship, the more level ups a ship will be able to obtain.
    - Ships can now level up their total damage output (which effects all cannons on a ship) and their total resistance, as new upgradable stats.
    - All tamable creatures will be made breedable, with no exceptions except for Mythical Creatures.
    - Vitamin Rebalance
    - Various spawner adjustments & fixes across all islands

    QOL Changes

    - Territory map will now display allies as teal-coloured
    - Character creator now has a Height slider to make it easier to set your character's desired height
    - Any dead ships (shipwrecks) from your Company appear with a unique icon on your map now, so you can find the wrecks
    - Global territory message updating
    - Currently contested claims will be indicated on the minimap
    - Players can now mount a sail to directly control the sail's open/close amount and rotation settings in a more intuitive way.
    - Pistol Reloading now changed to have the mini game appear back to back, rather than through various points of the animation.
    - All servers can now be set to a home server and have unique spawn points
    - Players can also respawn on the server they died on
    - Grappling Hook has been revamped, better physics & rappelling mechanics, and players will be able to realistically swing using them.

    As more changes are made to the patch, these notes will be edited to include them. 

         :skull: Anarchy Update - v20! :skull:

    With our planned changes for March, the game will be heading into a more rule based system, so for the next few weeks we’ll be making some changes to experience what it would be like if we took an alternative route. 

    We’ll be releasing an update tomorrow which includes the following changes:

    - 6x Rates - Harvesting, Taming, Experience, and Gold.
    - Claim flags will no longer prevent enemy building. You can now build anywhere, and only structure build radius will prevent it. This is a non-default, which will be enabled on our PvP Networks. Unofficials can also use this as a custom server-side config.
    - All servers, other than Golden Age Ruin servers, can be set to home servers, allowing players to respawn at them.

    Game.ini:
    [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
    bDontRequireClaimFlagsForBuilding=1
    bIsLawlessHomeServer=1

    This is what we’re enabling on all our non-Golden Age ruin servers, but please note that you must also flag the corresponding grids as homeservers on the servergrid.json

    This patch will also include:

    - Whispering voice hotkey
    - Server side config that allows you to alter the distance for the 3 voice modes: Whispering, Normal, and Yelling.

    Game.ini:
    [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
    ProximityRadius = 8500
    YellingRadius = 22000
    WhisperRadius = 2000

    - Removing the Destruction Mesh on Lighthouses
    - Increased the limit of folders in inventories from 20 to 40, and 80 in Bookshelves
    - Treasure Map names now includes the grid for easy filtering

    These changes will allow us to see how the game would pan out if we didn’t have the claim system affect build rules, which helps us collect more feedback on playstyles.

    :anchor: released patch notes :anchor:

    Complete Patch Notes

    :skull: up to v19.62 :skull:

    v19.62
    
    - New style Claim Flag with improved flag physics
    - Improved mini map X icon for visibility
    - Added chat tabs
    - Reorganized claim flag notifications (requires updated server)
    
    v19.52
    
    - Fixed multiple cases where inpulses would be stacked causing players or creatures to be launched into the distance.
    
    v19.51
    
    - Disabled the use of some client side console commands which could be used to gain an unfair advantage in PvP
    
    v19.5
    
    - Army of the Damned Soldiers and Crew melee attacks now properly hit.
    - Fixed an issue with servers that could have stalled them out for significant periods of time (5+ seconds)
    - Improved general server performance
    
    v19.4
    
    - Further optimized server performance
    - Fixed issue where Buffs were not being added (drinks and such) if you were on a seating structure, or if you were encumbered.
    
    v19.3
    
    - Significantly improved server performance when unstasising structures (50%+).
    - Fixed the bug where picking up stat'ed Structures would eliminate quantity of existing structures in your inventory.
    - Fixed a case where server-side Spoiling Times were incorrect on preserving bins.
    - Whale corpses now last 30 minutes
    - Giraffe harvesting now yields 6x thatch
    
    v19.21
    
    - Doubled maximum server physx substeps to maintain more consistent ship movement at low server framerates.
    
    v19.2
    
    - 2x Harvesting, XP, Taming and Gold enabled on the Official Network until Monday 25th.
    - Bookshelf added to organize your maps, blueprints, notes, and songs. You can learn it from the Esotery of Building skill.
    - Signs/Canvases can now be placed on storage boxes and bookshelves to help indicate what they're used for.
    - Note added to the game to leave each other messages. You can learn it from the Secrets of Building skill.
    - Company UI now displays last online time for members
    - Significant server optimizations (company network data is now replicated more efficiently to clients)
    - Maximum ship level is now 52.
    
    v18.97
    
    - Fixed Melee damage application to Army of the Damned
    - Fixed NPC crew disappearing for a fraction of a second when mounting on cannons 
    - Prevented climbing of the Kraken barrier wall 
    - Improved Cyclops movement to allow it to clamber over rocks better

    :map: Dynamic atlas maps roundup :map:

    The ATLAS Dynamic Maps is a system that monitors live in-game territory ownership and indicates which companies dominate over the lands. 

    Each week with our Captain’s Log, we’ll be including an image to monitor the progress of the maps, taking note of any exits or new arrivals and any drastic changes in the overall claim. 

    Those who will come to dominate the ATLAS may very well become clear in the days and weeks ahead, though maintaining a large Empire will likely come with its own longer-term challenges…

    The companies that have occupied islands for a certain period of time will soon gain the automatic privilege to name them on the in-game and web maps, as it is their land! 

    Remember you can don your Company’s company flag by stylizing it in the game with a paintbrush! Upload your own images or design it how you like, with the top company flags always being visible on https://map.playatlas.com/

    [EU PVP] The Whale's Wrath

    large.1399027072_EUPVPTheWhalesWrath-Week10.png

    Held: French & Ships, The French Monkeys, IVANARMY, Eternal Diamond, CHZ!!**, Kraken, Dark Project Armada, Frogue One and Stray Cats.

    Arrivals: Just Look for Merge

    Departures: Enslaved

    [NA PVP] The Kraken's Maw

    large.1232175594_NAPVPTheKrakensMaw-Week10.png

    Held: Dynasty, TPG, CSTG, OwO, The Federation, No No No, Uganda, SoV, Bobs of the Seven, and Team Casualty.

    Arrivals: Slam Whales

    Departures: CSTG

    And whilst there isn’t active PvP on PVE servers, we’d like to recognize the following Companies for their claims!

    [EU PVE] The Siren's Call

    large.949384360_EUPVETheSirensCall-Week10.png

    Held: Compagnie des Indes, Rum ueber Bord, Future Company (HUN), SouL SanD, SwiftS.RU, Black Hand, Phantasia, M.E.R.C Spirit, and mochi. 

    Arrivals: War Bradaz

    Departures:  DoS Bros$

    [NA PVE] The Hydra's Den

    large.1229272131_Week7-NAPVE-TheHydrasDen.jpg

    Held: Scales & Sails, Atlas Shrugged, The Exiles, East India Trading Co, Sons of Orion, Without Divide, Lotus, Poets and Pirates, and Darksea Dawgs.

    Arrivals: Paragon

    Departures: TPG

        :pirate_mask: SHOW 'N' TELL #5 :pirate_mask:


    We’re still collecting entries for the Show ‘n Tell! So you have a little longer to astound us with your creations, be they your fleets, building designs, imaginative tatts, entertaining videos, original fanart or scenic screenshots. Don’t be shy and head to the submission thread for a chance to win some booty in the form of a cash prize!

     

    :wheel:

    Alrighty, that ’s it for this log! Thank you so much for becoming a part of our crew and we can't wait to show all you scallywags, landlubbers, captains, and seadogs what lies ahead!

    Happy Sailing,

    Grapeshot Games

    🏴☠️For the latest dispatch on #playATLAS keep yer one good eye trained on this here information🏴☠️

    Natter n' chatter on Discord: https://discord.gg/playatlas
    Navigate ye olde Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/playatlas
    Hear ye, hear ye on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sailtheatlas
    Watch us scallywags on Twitch: http://twitch.tv/sailtheatlas
    Plus ye can band with us Pirates on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playatlasgame

    Edited by Jatheish

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    Who cares about being taxed in a game where mats can be gathered in 100k range quickly regardless?

     

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    Why you don't make a big PVPVE cluster? it's the best option for an mmo.

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    2 minutes ago, Asanna said:

    I'm already in game prepping my city for the party, making the race tracks and everything!

    I am looking forward to it now!! I will bring a crap ton of flares!! 🎉🎆

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    1 minute ago, Urthor said:
    One of the best ideas that came up in a recent stream with the Dynasty and Sexy Cat Alliance leaders was the idea an island's claim flag should be contested on *water* not on land.

    Ship to ship combat being the funnest part of this game, why not make ship to ship combat the most important thing, where you have to contest an offshore claim flag to take an island, not the unfun running around on land business from Ark
     
    Food for thought
     

    you're trippin balls

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    Have various areas pve other pvp... seemed like the best option since they just killed pve anyway.

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    1 minute ago, StarWhispers said:

    I am looking forward to it now!! I will bring a crap ton of flares!! 🎉🎆

    I didn't even think of that! I'll make like 6 chests just full of them!

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    3 minutes ago, Urthor said:
     

    It won't.  Large alliances will set up a network of smaller alliances and "unofficial" alliances to get around the limit.  

     

    Okay?

    And how do they tell their AI to not attack these "unofficial allies"? And good luck using spyglass every other 30s in the middle of intense naval battles to tell the difference. There'll be a lot of crossfire. 

    Edited by Nicolas
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    @Jatheish 

    i really hope you will make real PVE rule because with your new way, the spam of pilar for blocking other player will be the only rule on PVE 😞 

    player are Selfish, dont forget this universal rule on a MMO 

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    14 minutes ago, ReilanT said:

    @Jatheish 

    i really hope you will make real PVE rule because with your new way, the spam of pilar for blocking other player will be the only rule on PVE 😞 

    player are Selfish, dont forget this universal rule on a MMO 

    People* are selfish, its a universal rule of life*.

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    I hope that the update of the map editor will occur earlier, along with the launch of the test servers.

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    15 minutes ago, MattOfSmith said:

    People* are selfish, its a universal rule of life*.

    This is a very true thing. PvE will essentially be nothing but entire island completely blocked off by pillars and foundation, disallowing ANYONE but the major company (PvP state servers being the owner company) of the island to be able to build. If the owner company needs to expand...oh look, pop pillars and foundations not attached to the main inhabited areas.

    Also, my company is in the same grid, different island, of MattOfSmith and are allied. Given that the island Matt's company controls is a major island for fiber in the grid, I'd be more than happy to pay his tax whether it be 10%, as it is, or 30%.

    My company owns a fair amount of another island in the grid. People that complain about not having space to build or to call home we've been reasonable in setting land where our main facilities are not located, primarily our main trade warehouse, bestiary, and shipyards. Those that have asked nicely have places, within land claim regions, to build and to use as their own. Those that have come in and have been complete ***hats about not being able to find land and attempting to steal out land from our company or our allies, or those that afk macro park on an area we're currently trying to clear from another company and block any activity from happening, who's not even been in game long enough than other to reset their claim timers, when we've been able to. This being primarily to reopen resource areas of the island or to reopen shoreline spaces or areas that are ideal for residential construction for company and/or even solo players.

    Players being able to build anywhere under this new system, as it's been mentioned several times, is only going to promote pillars and foundation blocks to be placed every 5 steps to prevent people from other companies or solo players from building...at all. A good current relation to this is look at Lawless servers. Another major downside to this is with this being a thing that's, not possible to happen but will DEFINITELY happen, is every single conceivable server is going to become a massive lagfest. Every piece of construction outside system map assets is tracked and managed by the servers. 10,000 pillars blocking off an island, no matter where you are in the server, is gonna put the server to a complete performance crawl.

    Edited by Roknori
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    54 minutes ago, Irisa~moon said:

    I really wish you would allow claim flags for PVE.  This sounds like basically all of our servers will be like lawless.  That means that people can come in and kill out spawns or prevent you from building by blocking and then there is the fact on lawless rocks and trees will spawn through the foundations.  I really do hope you rethink PVE version of this.  I feel we are getting crapped on.

    I second that. Grapeshot needs to realize that PVE isn't about killing other players. Land trade and resouce control is a large part of that. By allowing everyone to build everywhere you essentially destroy a market for resources.

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    - Claim flags will no longer prevent enemy building. You can now build anywhere, and only structure build radius will prevent it. This is a non-default, which will be enabled on our PvP Networks.

    This is probably the worst thing you can do to the PvE scene. You need to open up the entire map on PvE aswell so you can see firsthand what the no-claims will be when you drop the update.

    As others have said it will be pillars and foundations everywhere not only to block others from building, but to prevent resources from spawning. We already see it on multiple places out in the world where people come in and place a single foundation with a bed on it right in the middle of metal node spawns - or even worse close to mineral oil nodes essentially blocking them off preventing anyone else from getting said material.

    You already have a new claim system in place for PvP why not let that same system be on PvE and hardlimit it per company to a very strict number that can be changed later on if needed - 3 would be more than enough even for the largest company since they can claim the biggest island they can find and hold it, this way we dont need to farm like mad just to keep our structures alive due to the natural decay but it will still allow people to build on the island and it will allow for some repairupkeep to be gained passively which helps smaller companies that hold smaller islands.

    I really hope you reconsider on when the PTR goes up as 1 week wont be long enough to see the actual changes and how it affects the game on a larger scale and i hope that it will be one with the PvP settings and one with the PvE settings since the two will play out entirely different.

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    1 hour ago, Enki Anunnaki said:

    im really digging it. i feel for those who will lose their pixels but damn this was needed. i can't wait to test it on the test server.

    I am with you on that. I have over 400+ hours of game play so losing our company's stuff sucks, but I really looking forward to testing the changes and new things on the test server!

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    I've never seen a company as tone deaf as Grapeshot. You literally have hundreds of suggestions on the forums and reddit - some good, some bad, some feasible, some impossible...and this is what you give us?

    You guys manage to do literally the exact opposite of what the majority of your player base wants, damn near every time.

    People LIKED the claim system due to it stopping the griefing that was so prevalent in Ark. What they didn't like was that a couple companies could take over the whole map and not leave any room for anyone. Instead of limiting PVE claims to a reasonable number,  like you are in PVP, even 10-20 per company, you get rid of the PVE claim system entirely, and leave everyone open to foundation/pillar spam griefing, resource blocking, ship blocking, etc - with the added kick in the teeth that its not Ark - if there are douchebags who pillar/foundation the most desirable areas to stop anyone from having them, you can't just find another server with a lower assclown ration.

    You're even adding over 200 new islands for people to pillar and spam to unusableness. You have a pissed off playerbase, with a lot of time on their hands. Do you really think that a portion of them aren't going to make life as miserable as possible for anyone who attempts to keep playing?  If you would re-think this to something like limit claims to 10 per company, 20 per company with at least 25 members, and 50 per company with 50+ members, as well as opening the 200 new islands, and even open lawless to be claimable, that would open more than enough land for anyone currently playing, and anyone who wants to play in the future.

    People didn't want to be tenants because they had 0 protections against landlords pulling their build rights, which killed that dead in the water. Instead of fixing it so that people had a reason to be tenants, with basic protections, it turned into 'Nope, burn it all down..."

    People wanted to be able to trade easily and efficiently, for all kinds of goods, taking all kinds of payments. They wanted reasons to go visit other people's lands, they wanted to give people a reason to visit their land, and reasons to go to far off lands, acquire goods, and easily re-sell them to their neighbors for profit. Nope, you get vendors in freeport, for gold only.

    People didn't want the wipe, due to discovery points, etc. Bases, resources, blueprints, etc...yeah, they suck to get and rebuild. Instead of just a land and item wipe, Nope, clean slate. - this isn't as bad as the others, but, still going to cost more players than just the land/item wipe would have.

    This has been a consistent theme, all the way back to the ship weight griefing. People wanted their ships to be safe when they logged off, and suggested that if the ship was at anchor, it wouldn't take overweight damage. Nope, we get magic fly traps.

    Yeah, I know, these are all PVE concerns, because thats mainly where I play, but I know that the PVP side is just as pissed about having to pencil wars in their date book, among other things.

     

    The people who compared the games trajectory to No Mans Sky, or Rust, saying that "Oh, Grapeshot said they're listening to the players now. They're going to turn it around.", aren't doing that so much any more. I'm kinda scared to see what the Steam review are going to look like going forward.  When we asked you to listen to the players, we didn't mean to listen to what we were saying, and decide to implement the opposite, or the most half-ass way of what we were asking for.

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    so what i just read was there will be no point in playing until the end of march. and smaller pve servers should just quit now.    ship squads are a bad idea being ships of the damned already spawn out of control or in squads as you are now calling it on most private servers and make it insane to get from one island to the next. making the sub a kraken kill only is dumb for pve players. once that is dead whats left to do  play with a toy sub?   you guys tell us we can have a trade market soon but take away claims to kill any chance at a working fruitful trade market.  please stop spiting on us PVE players all we want to do is build a really cool world and kill the damned and monsters of that world with a few friends. 

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    We will see how it plays out.

    However, you (devs) would be wise to have a backup plan in place and ready to implement before the wipe if the feedback on the PTR servers goes nuclear.

    Also, never announce a surprise wipe this far ahead of time. Either give it a set schedule out of the gate or announce it 24-48 hours before it happens, but never give people just enough time to decide nothing's worth doing in the game and get hooked on some other game between the announcement and wipe.

    Edited by Kidori
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    You are aware that the more you relax, the fewer simultaneous connections you have.

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    To be able to make a ship easily means that you will need more shallowness to keep that ship. It would not be enough to add 200 islands.

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    I dont realy see why no to left claim flags be on pve servers. all what is needed is to add upkeep cost for them.

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    This is so stupid. 350 hours for nothing. Hope you allow refunds cuz this is not the game i bought.

    Enjoy new players and lose the one you got..

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    Two Massive Mistakes :

    1. Wiping characters... well mostly their Discovery Points. The time and effort that goes into finding those is immense. You really know how to annoy a majority of your customers off. 

    2. Under no circumstances announce a complete wipe so far in advance. You pretty much just drove the nail into the coffin of the players base for the next 3 weeks. A lot of players are going to wander off and during that time many are going to find new games to play... they won't be coming back.

    If you are going to wipe that far in advance, at  least let people keep their DP's as it will give them an incentive to keep playing for the next 3 weeks.

     

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    My ideal PVE server - a larger radius for the flags. 3 flags per person and less per corporation, i.e. let's say a corporation of two - 4 flags, 3 + number of people is good. + unkeep cost for each flag, put resources in the flag, otherwise it falls in a day.

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    Can we start a pool on how many days after launch before the first entire island on PVE is 100% enclosed in 1 company's behemoth gates?

    Edited by MeatSammich

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    3 hours ago, Jatheish said:

    These rankings will be used to determine upkeep, as well as identify the Top 10 Companies which will be a sum of all the islands that Company has claimed

    So there will be no Top 10 Companies on PvE servers, and no way to track them for the dynamic maps.

     

    3 hours ago, Jatheish said:

    World Map will now show the name of an Island (which can be changed by Settlement owners), who a Settlement is owned by, the current tax rate,

    Again, PvE players get shortchanged.  No owning land, not tax bank....

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