Development Cycle Archive
Thread: Design Topic: Player City locations
Our PA started placing houses for all of its members in anticipation of player cities more then 6km from the nearest NPC city. Currently the run from the closest city to the PA Hall and back is a bit of a drag, but when player cities go live and we have secured a remote location with a shuttleport near attractions, it will make it all worth while. Besides having your residence in a remote location for now does not mean you have to keep running out there, unless it is to pay maintenance.
Our city has been planned out for some time now. We are roughly 2km North of Theed, but with the addition of Shuttleports to our great city Camulodunum we may very well migrate farther from town. The spot we have picked out will likely remain the spot regardless of our advancement as a city (so far just guild members of the Trinovantes Dynasty). It is a nice spot on a penninsula where we are all pretty comfortable. With shuttleports, the distance from a major city becomes nothing shy of a simple ride. Myself and a number of my guildmates did a lot of running and searching to find the spot that we are currently at, repleat with palm trees, an ocean view, and a nice sandy beach.
We have had other ideas as well. For instance placing a city near a POI on certain planets so the people who are visiting them will have a place to heal, stay, and purchase their wares rather than having to truck 8km across a desolate planet like Tatooine just to go see a couple of stone arches, or something to that effect.
We also have plans for small city/outposts on planets that we mine on so we can have semipermanent guild residents there to look after the harvesters, thereby saving them and the guildmoney on travel costs.
All in all, the cities are a great opportunity for anyone to be able to live where they want without the long treks across planets to get where they want to go, especially considering that the advanced ones will be able to have starports.
I was griefed by a PA that sprung up around my shop. They wanted me to move out of their city. I ignored them and eventually the PA split up. Now one of the guys who harassed me wants me to vote for him for Mayor! Like that's going to happen.
My PA has a city located on the no build zone in Talus. But I don't like Talus so I'm not sure if I'll even join my own PA's city.
It looks like some cities will have to recruit members to be able to advance. I may just go city shopping.
Ok lets look at this from a current game perspective.
How many of you travel to every city on every world just cause they are there?
I have been to less than half the cities in the game and I have been on since day 1 and I think I do quite a bit of traveling.
How many of you have been to cornet on corellia because it is the hub to get to everywhere else?
I'm there almost daily.
My point here is that I am never going to travel to a player city unless there is a real reason to do so.
In other words only those cities which are placed near a major attraction and which have a shuttleport will be cities which I will visit. Will I buy good there or use services? That remains to be seen. What will the costs be? That is the real question.
Now lets look at the future.
Mounts and vehicles.
Do I care if something is 5k out if i have a mount that can get me there in under a minute and I can not be attacked by anything along the way?
One the Devs introduce mounts and vehicles to the game player cities become almost useless. Perhaps only really remote areas 10k or more out might benefit from a city but otherwise I will just take my speeder.
Ok my point to this post.(finally)
There really needs to be a lot more incentive to a player city other than shuttleports and a place to sell things.
The citizens need to get some real benfits out of it. Maybe reduced housing costs or special warehousing buildings for storage. I know there will be banks and bazaars but unless these actually attach to the ones in the game cities what is the point. For instance I should be able to be in Theed and buy stuff from the bazaar in City X.
So I guess my point is with few exceptions I think player cities will end up a failure unless something is changed about their basic usefullness.
Many people have placed their player houses as close as they could to major cities so that they would be relatively near to existing shuttle ports. Advanced player cities will be able to have their own shuttle ports. I’m wondering if you think new player cities will develop in remote areas thereby putting shuttle locations around the entire planet or do you think they will just start up where players already are?
As stated previously in this thread, numerous times, shuttle ports will be KEY to the development of a successful city - for the average player. There will be those groups/guilds that have no desire for the use of a shuttle port, but by and large I think most players would use this feature. Having it where it is in the skill tree, however, discourages the use of Player Cities in remote areas. Player city placement will be limited by the number of politicians so I dont quite understand the logic associated with having placed it so far up in the skill tree - if that, in fact, was a deciding factor. My opinion is -If you can afford the maintenance (as an outpost/town/city), then allow the structures. Big guilds/groups will be able to afford more with less individual burden, while smaller groups will have to pick and choose what features they really want in the Player City to make the experience enjoyable cost vs benefit wise. I think the idea of a starport at the high end of politician is a better incentive.
Also do you already have plans for your player city or are you going to look for one that other people have built?
It depends - Player City establishment, as it looks right now, seems to lend itself to either being a power player (gamer), or belonging to a decent sized guild. I play with a group from work (there are about 7 of us). We have the resources (credits, and environmental resources) to at least maintain a small outpost and/or village, and yet, we propably wont due soley to the lack of a shuttle port option relatively soon after placing a city hall - for a couple of reasons:
- Need/desire to be in a remote location to avoid being over-run by a large group intent on taking over and to avoid a rapid expansion in the city. The idea of limiting city expansion via the politician skill tree is imperative, but I will discuss that later.
What is going to motivate you to join one city over another? City Perks (shuttles, banks, cloning centers, etc)? Tax Rates? Location? Neighbors? Local attraction (battlefield, themepark, dungeon)? Faction of most of members?
Location/size, neigbors, faction - in that order.
The idea of limiting the expansion rate of a city is of ultimate importance, without removing the functionality. My ideal Player City would be a small trading outpost, but with full amenities. City Hall, Medical Facitlity, Cantina, Shuttle Port, small Vendor Tent area (limited on the number of vendors). If I want all the terminals (bank, bazaar, cloning) or the trainers - then require an increase the size of the town. If you want more than one of a basic city structure type -then require an increase the size of the town. Allow Starports as the high end reward vice a shuttleport.
Establishing a Player City requires a significant investment in resources and time- and a signifcant amount of risk, from the begining with very little in return (initially) and almost no control over the outcome. Controlling growth is esential. Doing it by limiting key structures available to a new Player City is not the way to accomplish it, in my opinion.
We of the Triad (non-PA) are planning on building a city NW of Mos Espa, Tattooine. We are hoping to be a jump off point to the far NW unreachables. But I am afraidit will die without a shuttleport since it was to be our advantagebeing that there is no civilized life that far out.
We are currently 2400m N-NW of Mos Espa, but now it doesn't look like that is far enough out.
If you would like to be part of a neutral-leaning-to-Imperial-non-PA-based city, please /tell me.
Sco'chaik
Twi'lek Bounty Hunter
Triad, Tattooine, Lowca
We have the makings of a players city that is almost and exactly even disatnce between to game cities. if you die in front of our PA hall you clone in one city and die behind our PA hallyou clone in another city. I think housing and structures that are as close as possible to an existing city for the sake of convenience are basically suburbanites.
We have a few beta testers in our guild and they knew that cities were in the works so we made one in a remote location planning to eventually have our own shuttleport. It is near a PvP battlefield and another remote popular hunting area too so hopefully that will generate some tourist traffic and we can get our shops some business.
My PA on the Valcyn server has lived out in the sticks since launch 
Waiting for player cities, we already have industrial, commercial and residential zones, with streets and the like, and all we are waiting for is a SHUTTLE PORT!!!! The location of our city is at: Talus, 2935 1460
I must agree with several comments here that having the shuttleport reserved for the larger cities would doom several smaller ones trying to get off the ground. A shuttleport will be key to the more remote cities. I feel this would be the best way to spread the population out, otherwise, there will be dozens of suburbs to the existing npc towns. I would also like to cite the "outposts" as examples of small locations with shuttleport/starport access. I'm not asking for a starport in my small town, just the shuttleport.
Our player city was started over three months ago near wayfar (hopefully not too close). We are really looking forward to having a shuttle port.
-Tsunamiii Redrum
Tuskens Bane
Chilastra