Politician Archive
Thread: Are Player Cities supposed to be the huge money sink they are?
Don't see that many people 'chomping at the bit' to be mayor, especially as the politician profession does not do enough to encourage people to master it, or even retain the skills once the desired city layout is acheived.
Deleting your city so someone else can be mayor ? Madness - you obviously have no consideration for other players !!
If someone else wanted to be mayor in my city - all but one player who has just left the game would vote for my oponent if I asked them to ..... don't have anyone to run against me tho !!
Just because your city is a thriving metropolis with a huge income does not mean that a 3 week old city will be similar. Perhaps you could think back to when your city was only a township 3 weeks after being started ?
35 people, no shuttleport, few vendors ........
Unless your city is sponsored by a Master Architect, or several wealthy individuals, then it will be a struggle at the start. I don't have an issue with this or having to put some effort into it.
However - the basics of a city should be sustainable by using the taxation system if you want to and not have to rely on donations.
Some good ideas have been posted in many threads about these taxationissues - and they all point to the fact that the costs of the city far outweigh it's ability to create a proper income.
Wow I must say i am saddened by some of the responses in this thread, a person asks a legitimate question and for some suggestions and some of the responses are very cold and unfeeling, not everyone in the game has the same drive, ambition or resources as others but is that any reason they shouldnt be able to enjoy what the game has to offer?
Frankly I see cities as another object of the game that has overlooked the casual players, seems all we are good for issitting in the background and funding those that can play alot more then us. I am a member of a small guild, 12 players of friends, we are all professional working people that have limited time to play the game but enjoy it just as much as those that play more then we do. We do not choose to be part of large guilds or large cities due to our lack of playing time. We like our small group.
We reside on Tatooine and for a long time, I wanted to be a politician and have our own city, was so looking forward to it. I even carried around my city hall deed for months, finally i was able to place it and our city was born. I was so excited, but that excitment soon wore off. Although i had the 10 citizens to keep our new town, I soon found out there isnt much of anything i can do with it and still remain small. This truely saddens me.
I dont understand the logic and i am sure i need to read more on politicians, but it seems unless we invite more people to our outpost and grow which we didnt want, we cant put any buildings, like a cantina or decorations down. As for politican experience , well i will die of old age before i get much of that. I have to say for the first time since playing this game i felt let down and disappointed, to the point i logged off.
But my point is, that if caps are in place because of database problems, and you have people that want to keep towns small, why are the restrictions so high on placing structures? Why is experience so slow? Why is it so expensive to place any structures?Shouldnt the cost of buildings be relative to the size of a city? I mean like city hall, shouldnt it be cheaper to have one for a outpost or township then a metropolis? If some of these restrictions were eased up on, then I can tell you, our town would stay small and still be something we could be proud of. Sorry for the /rant, I was just feeling very let down for something i worked so hard towards and yes i know i should have done more research. I can only hope some of these issues are being looked into.
kandee wrote:
Wow I must say i am saddened by some of the responses in this thread, a person asks a legitimate question and for some suggestions and some of the responses are very cold and unfeeling, not everyone in the game has the same drive, ambition or resources as others but is that any reason they shouldnt be able to enjoy what the game has to offer?
The orginal question was legit. However, it had the beginings of that extremely irritainting Whining sound. That sound grew into a resounding crescendo of high pitched whines.
Frankly I see cities as another object of the game that has overlooked the casual players, seems all we are good for issitting in the background and funding those that can play alot more then us. I am a member of a small guild, 12 players of friends, we are all professional working people that have limited time to play the game but enjoy it just as much as those that play more then we do. We do not choose to be part of large guilds or large cities due to our lack of playing time. We like our small group.
I agree with this whole heartedly, and since my ealier comments failed to adequatly account for this demographic, let me explain. I really don't have any time for private cities. They are welcome to exsist, but don't change the parameters to cater to them. If you have been to Mos O, then you know that it is a free, public city. Just about any non-imp is welcome to join, and even Imps are welcome to visit and shop. Granted, the city was founded and initially funded by two well-to-do guilds, but it rapidly became self supporting with out anything but a 5% sales tax. The city is TAILOR MADE for the casual gamer. No cost of living, no prerequisites or guild affiliation required (except being non-imp).
We reside on Tatooine and for a long time, I wanted to be a politician and have our own city, was so looking forward to it. I even carried around my city hall deed for months, finally i was able to place it and our city was born. I was so excited, but that excitment soon wore off. Although i had the 10 citizens to keep our new town, I soon found out there isnt much of anything i can do with it and still remain small. This truely saddens me.
While I can understand your angst, I can not empathise with you. As you said, the shine wore off pretty quick. So why do you continue with it? I used to hate it when my parents "knew what was best for me", so I know this will sound patronizing... but why should you get all the perks of a big city with only a handful of folks?
I dont understand the logic and i am sure i need to read more on politicians, but it seems unless we invite more people to our outpost and grow which we didnt want, we cant put any buildings, like a cantina or decorations down. As for politican experience , well i will die of old age before i get much of that. I have to say for the first time since playing this game i felt let down and disappointed, to the point i logged off.
Same. Big city = big perks. This make perfect sense to me. Walmart sure as heck would never build in my home town of 1500 folks. On the reverse side, if you want small, private, and quiet, why would you WANT all the big city things? Seems to me that that would only draw people to disturb your peace and quiet.
But my point is, that if caps are in place because of database problems, and you have people that want to keep towns small, why are the restrictions so high on placing structures?
Try to see it from the big cities point of view. We have really worked to create what we feel is a positive addition for everyone on the Flurry server. Our reward for that work is a master politician mayor (yes, the profession is pretty broke), all the best facilities, maxed out decorations and structures, and a really steady flow of visitors. We have a waiting list of folks to become citizens because we want to preserve the layout of the city. While it causes me pain every time I have to ask a potential citizen to wait a little, there is enough turn over that folks don't have to wait all that long. I really wish I could get rid of some of the ghost houses to make room for MORE citizens. The truth is, I pretty much play the game to manage a city so others can benefit from that city. It is what I LIKE to do.
Why is experience so slow? Why is it so expensive to place any structures?Shouldnt the cost of buildings be relative to the size of a city? I mean like city hall, shouldnt it be cheaper to have one for a outpost or township then a metropolis?
The city hall DOES get more expensive as your city is promoted. As to the other expense, it is all relative. Granted, there is something screwy with an economy that charges more for a box of booze than it does for a car. It all boils down to "what are you willing to pay for your dream of owning a city?" Experience is pretty clear... more citizens to manage get you faster experience. There IS a need for more ways to gather experience. In the mean time, I think it is fine that it is the only profession in the game that you can not GRIND.
If some of these restrictions were eased up on, then I can tell you, our town would stay small and still be something we could be proud of. Sorry for the /rant, I was just feeling very let down for something i worked so hard towards and yes i know i should have done more research. I can only hope some of these issues are being looked into.
If some of the restrictions were eased up, there would be a bunch more private guild cities scattered around the planet. I view the limited number of cities as public property. I do not view myself as the owner of Mos O, rather, the manager. The catch with giving mayors more power is the potential to make cities even MORE private. As long as there are caps, cities need to get over the "mine" and "me" mentality.
As to your /rant, that wasn't a rant. You just framed your opinion in a well writen post. I happen to disagree with much of it, but it wasn't a /rant.
It's enlightneing to notice that the two(2) people that say their city is self-supporting where both metropolin in size.
One of the cities I know, and is active 24 hours a day. Their tax base is gigantic. So the question is, how are small cities supposed to get to size 5 without the 'support of 2 PAs', like most cities seam to be?
My poor little size 1 city (9 days old) can't even set taxxes yet, so COMPLETLY dependant on donations. Fortuantly I've citizens and friends that are supportive, but I had to tell people that streetlamps are the LAST thing to go in, our lack-of-budget says we can't afford their maint. for a long long time........
Message Edited by Siddalee on 03-30-2004 04:37 PM
jemelby wrote:
I know and respect you. So lemme clarify.
I respect you as well
kandee wrote:
Wow I must say i am saddened by some of the responses in this thread, a person asks a legitimate question and for some suggestions and some of the responses are very cold and unfeeling, not everyone in the game has the same drive, ambition or resources as others but is that any reason they shouldnt be able to enjoy what the game has to offer?
The orginal question was legit. However, it had the beginings of that extremely irritainting Whining sound. That sound grew into a resounding crescendo of high pitched whines.
I agree alot of posts can sound like a whine session, I guess I try to give a benefit of a doubt..LOL
Frankly I see cities as another object of the game that has overlooked the casual players, seems all we are good for issitting in the background and funding those that can play alot more then us. I am a member of a small guild, 12 players of friends, we are all professional working people that have limited time to play the game but enjoy it just as much as those that play more then we do. We do not choose to be part of large guilds or large cities due to our lack of playing time. We like our small group.
I agree with this whole heartedly, and since my ealier comments failed to adequatly account for this demographic, let me explain. I really don't have any time for private cities. They are welcome to exsist, but don't change the parameters to cater to them. If you have been to Mos O, then you know that it is a free, public city. Just about any non-imp is welcome to join, and even Imps are welcome to visit and shop. Granted, the city was founded and initially funded by two well-to-do guilds, but it rapidly became self supporting with out anything but a 5% sales tax. The city is TAILOR MADE for the casual gamer. No cost of living, no prerequisites or guild affiliation required (except being non-imp).
Unfortunately most of the player cities are run by one or two guilds or groups, very few are just open cities, even Mos O. It cant truely be an open city if there is a non-imp requirement. So it also has parameters. So far I havent come across a single city that i was turned away from or asked to leave, so in that definitition they are all open cities to me.
We reside on Tatooine and for a long time, I wanted to be a politician and have our own city, was so looking forward to it. I even carried around my city hall deed for months, finally i was able to place it and our city was born. I was so excited, but that excitment soon wore off. Although i had the 10 citizens to keep our new town, I soon found out there isnt much of anything i can do with it and still remain small. This truely saddens me.
While I can understand your angst, I can not empathise with you. As you said, the shine wore off pretty quick. So why do you continue with it? I used to hate it when my parents "knew what was best for me", so I know this will sound patronizing... but why should you get all the perks of a big city with only a handful of folks?
LOL, why do I continue with it? I have only been mayor for 1 day, I think I still have time to decide if it is goign to work for us or not. And as for getting all the perks of a big city without being big, that is not what i am asking for. Perhaps I didnt explain clearly enough. Regardless of requirments on structures, you are still limited to the city size and can only place so much including your residents. So therefore even if structures can be placed in any size city I am still going to be limited based on my city size then a metropolis would be. I dont see harm in allowing an outpost or township the option of placing certain structures, to do so you have to make sacrifices due to size restrictions. I do agree some structures should be reserved for the larger cities, mainly becasue of size and rank, but the basics, like a bank, cantina, etc. I would like to see available to even level 1 cities if you have the room.
I dont understand the logic and i am sure i need to read more on politicians, but it seems unless we invite more people to our outpost and grow which we didnt want, we cant put any buildings, like a cantina or decorations down. As for politican experience , well i will die of old age before i get much of that. I have to say for the first time since playing this game i felt let down and disappointed, to the point i logged off.
Same. Big city = big perks. This make perfect sense to me. Walmart sure as heck would never build in my home town of 1500 folks. On the reverse side, if you want small, private, and quiet, why would you WANT all the big city things? Seems to me that that would only draw people to disturb your peace and quiet.
But wouldnt you have liked it if wal-mart had built in your town provided there was room? And are you saying that in your small town that running water and septic would be a perk? I mean why go to all the trouble to have them for just 1500 people? Again due to size restrictions I can not place that many structures, but maybe since the main flux of our town is merchant and business being able to have a bank there would really help boost sales. And why do you choose to live in a town so small it cant have a wal-mart? The privacy I would assume, the quiet, but still it is nice to have some convieniences.
But my point is, that if caps are in place because of database problems, and you have people that want to keep towns small, why are the restrictions so high on placing structures?
Try to see it from the big cities point of view. We have really worked to create what we feel is a positive addition for everyone on the Flurry server. Our reward for that work is a master politician mayor (yes, the profession is pretty broke), all the best facilities, maxed out decorations and structures, and a really steady flow of visitors. We have a waiting list of folks to become citizens because we want to preserve the layout of the city. While it causes me pain every time I have to ask a potential citizen to wait a little, there is enough turn over that folks don't have to wait all that long. I really wish I could get rid of some of the ghost houses to make room for MORE citizens. The truth is, I pretty much play the game to manage a city so others can benefit from that city. It is what I LIKE to do.
And again i am asking why is that only the mayor of a large city should have the fun of being a politician? Maybe i want to be a mayor, just a mayor of a small town, not a large metropolis. But i stillwould like the opportunity to beautify mycity. I have as much price in it as you ave in yours. Again I could never compete with your city, nor should i be able to, but I also shouldnt be penelized especially even if i work to expand the city chances are the next size is capped anyway.
Why is experience so slow? Why is it so expensive to place any structures?Shouldnt the cost of buildings be relative to the size of a city? I mean like city hall, shouldnt it be cheaper to have one for a outpost or township then a metropolis?
The city hall DOES get more expensive as your city is promoted. As to the other expense, it is all relative. Granted, there is something screwy with an economy that charges more for a box of booze than it does for a car. It all boils down to "what are you willing to pay for your dream of owning a city?" Experience is pretty clear... more citizens to manage get you faster experience. There IS a need for more ways to gather experience. In the mean time, I think it is fine that it is the only profession in the game that you can not GRIND.
I did see in reading the forums that i was wrong on this point and the cost is relative to the size of the city, so ther i stand corrected. All I am asking is that there should be more ways to get exp then just votes, but even at that I am willing to take my time to get exp if i choose to stay in a smaller town.
If some of these restrictions were eased up on, then I can tell you, our town would stay small and still be something we could be proud of. Sorry for the /rant, I was just feeling very let down for something i worked so hard towards and yes i know i should have done more research. I can only hope some of these issues are being looked into.
If some of the restrictions were eased up, there would be a bunch more private guild cities scattered around the planet. I view the limited number of cities as public property. I do not view myself as the owner of Mos O, rather, the manager. The catch with giving mayors more power is the potential to make cities even MORE private. As long as there are caps, cities need to get over the "mine" and "me" mentality.
Again it is unfortunate but this mentallity is and will be present. Once the abilityhave a guild was in the game there will be private areas restricted whether they are an official city or not. It would be a concept to say cities are public property but that just isnt true for most that are run by large guilds. They worked hard tog et where they are and I do not fault them for owning their city. Basically what a city did was grant alot of the guild areas the ability have structures. I am sure that not all of them would have chosen to make a city if they still could have placed certain structures. But these are the game mechanics we have been dealt wit and people adjust them accordingly to fit their needs.
As to your /rant, that wasn't a rant. You just framed your opinion in a well writen post. I happen to disagree with much of it, but it wasn't a /rant.
Thank you for not consideringt his a rant, as I said i am only 1 day old as mayor and am still learning. Decisions will have to made on if or how we want our city to grow. I am not asking to be handed the same abilities as a large city, i agree that acheivementshave to be worked for and earned, but i feel that lower level cities need a few more perks is all.
