Some questions:

[celestialiar]

I am on my phone so bear with.

I still haven't paid my hundred, but am planning it when I get home this weekend. But! I have questions.

Question one: since you supposedly need to be tied to a settlement in order to progress, how much power does that give them over you? Can a settlement say, for instance, if you wanna be with us, you have to mine x amount per day or we're kicking you. I won't comment on whether I feel that's right or wrong, just wanna know if its possible.

Question two: will there be other crafts such as... alchemy, dye, cooking, fluff clothes, jewelry, etc?

Question three: there are fewer races and classes available now. Is there a chance to respec when such things do become available?

I suppose that's all. Thanks.

[Valkenr]

1. The most common form will likely be taxation. Though some settlements may monitor you contributions and reward you accordingly. You don't really need game mechanics to do this.

2. Yes

3. Each character gets 1 racial change. There are no classes.

[Stephen Cheney]

celestialiar wrote:

Question one: since you supposedly need to be tied to a settlement in order to progress, how much power does that give them over you? Can a settlement say, for instance, if you wanna be with us, you have to mine x amount per day or we're kicking you. I won't comment on whether I feel that's right or wrong, just wanna know if its possible.

Potentially. Our goal is to make your presence give some essentially passive benefits (like your company getting Influence whenever you get an achievement), so settlements hopefully won't feel like you're mooching if you don't do exactly what they want, and kicking you frivolously may not be in their interests. But certainly some settlements will be much bigger micromanagers than others, just like some guilds in other MMOs are.

Quote:

Question two: will there be other crafts such as... alchemy, dye, cooking, fluff clothes, jewelry, etc?

Alchemy is in now. We have a dye system designed out based on alchemical dyes, but it may be a while before anything more than a very basic color-change system makes it in. We've punted on cooking for the time being, because it tends to quickly become the crafting skill that's as complicated as all the other crafting skills put together and thus a huge time investment, so we may or may not have a cooking system eventually. We have a plan for social clothing and jewelry (essentially as your gear for the social combat system), but it may be a while before we get the social combat system in. Non-social jewelry is in now, primarily for the (hopefully soon-to-be-implemented) enchanting system.

Quote:

Question three: there are fewer races and classes available now. Is there a chance to respec when such things do become available

I believe the stated plan from Ryan is that you'll get one free race change to any of the core races that we don't have in when you make your character (e.g., gnome, half-elf, half-orc, and halfling if you start with one of the three available at the beginning of EE). Ryan would have to expand on that if I haven't gotten all of it.

[Tyncale]

Stephen Cheney wrote:

celestialiar wrote:

Question one: since you supposedly need to be tied to a settlement in order to progress, how much power does that give them over you? Can a settlement say, for instance, if you wanna be with us, you have to mine x amount per day or we're kicking you. I won't comment on whether I feel that's right or wrong, just wanna know if its possible.

Potentially. Our goal is to make your presence give some essentially passive benefits (like your company getting Influence whenever you get an achievement), so settlements hopefully won't feel like you're mooching if you don't do exactly what they want, and kicking you frivolously may not be in their interests. But certainly some settlements will be much bigger micromanagers than others, just like some guilds in other MMOs are.

Does that mean that a player who is not a member of a Company, but is a member of Settlement (currently called "Free Agents") does not contribute in any passive, mechanical way to the Settlement? I remember something about every settlement member adding a little something to the DI of a Settlement.

Apart from such a direct, passive bonus to a Settlement, there are other ways that Free Agents can contribute to Settlement, like through taxes. Direct taxes, or a trade-tax for putting up items(and selling them) on the Marketplace.

When I read Ryans statements about membership numbers required for a Settlement, it seems to me that only the very wealthy and crowded Settlements can become picky about members (that do not cause any disruption or rep-loss off course, those members everyone can do without).

[Wurner]

Excuse me but I don't believe I've heard mention of a "social combat system" before and now I'm really curious, so:

What is the "social combat system"?

[Black Silver of The Veiled, T7V]

Wurner wrote:

Excuse me but I don't believe I've heard mention of a "social combat system" before and now I'm really curious, so:

What is the "social combat system"?

You are invited to an 'elite' or aristocratic party. While there it becomes known by the royal maidens that you are a renown hero. Soon after this knowledge is spread, you are bombarded by 3rd and 4th daughters looking to marry someone that can boost their status in aristocratic circles.

There is the "social combat system" as you try to avoid getting lured into bed and blackmailed into marriage.

[randomwalker]

Bluff, persuasion, sense motive and perform are already on the skill list.
Factions are on the to-do list.
Aiding (and controlling) escalations are on the wish list.

[celestialiar]

Thanks for replies. I say:

Boo taxes.

Boo no cooking, if that happens. I love systems to figure out.

And cool at race change.

I am excited.

Please add cooking! I just think for flavor (nopun), it will help. Especially if there are enough harvesestable things and animals to cook.

[Tyncale]

celestialiar wrote:

Thanks for replies. I say:

Boo taxes.

Boo no cooking, if that happens. I love systems to figure out.

And cool at race change.

I am excited.

Please add cooking! I just think for flavor (nopun), it will help. Especially if there are enough harvesestable things and animals to cook.

Ah, but taxes are supposed to be a thing that the settlement decides on. I think. So you could find a settlement that has no taxes at all! But may require other efforts from your side.

In any case, I hope Stephen can clarify wether free citizens automatically give a boost to the DO of a Settlement, or if that only works through the Influence someone in a Company is gaining for their company.

[Guurzak]

Tyncale wrote:

Stephen Cheney wrote:

Our goal is to make your presence give some essentially passive benefits (like your company getting Influence whenever you get an achievement)

Does that mean that a player who is not a member of a Company, but is a member of Settlement (currently called "Free Agents") does not contribute in any passive, mechanical way to the Settlement?

"There are some X including Y" does not mean "Y is the only X".