Community Input: Starting Location

[Actual Slime]

Why not rotate around each area with something to make cash with in each of the starting systems?

[sindroms]

I would suggest keeping it where it currently is, but introducing a few specific features. New players come and go like we have a revolving door installed and nobody wants to play on a seemingly empty server. We have Penny connected with New York because when people enter the more familiar setting of Liberty (where most re-plays of Freelancer both start and end as people remember that the SP for the game wasn't good), they are greeted with the currently most active house in the mod.

This is a good thing, in case anyone is wondering.

What Penny needs is a do-over in terms of assets. It has a generic mining field. Great. What it needs is also a non-generic field the bonus of which you can get only when you get to know the mining system with the combinations. It also, mind, needs to be a transit system. It needs to be a place where regular players visit regularily in order to prevent Penny becoming an oorp mess. Moreso than it already is. Players need to be exposed to other players, but to other newbies - as little as possible.

As a certain old master said about learning. And imho it is a good saying.

Dumping them in a new location that is not populated by experienced players would be devastating.

The current startup for newbies is what I would say ''good enough'' though as already discussed before - we can swap the restart-beginner with the current blank-map start and call that one ''hardmode''. Currently new players have been given additional sellpoints for them to get things started easier, but this might also not be enough.

Moving Penny outside of Liberty is counterproductive.
It would, however, be a good idea to perhaps merge Penny with New York. The map is only 500k across, after all. I am sure it can fit.

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[BaronOfLeeds]

A rotating spawn point between the house systems would be ideal if it wasn't too complicated to pull off. That way every region gets a chance to have a small boost by newer arriving players, and the game doesn't spread out activity unnecessarily.

[Emperor Tekagi]

A dedicated system for new people to explore and cut their teeth outside of the houses, then one way jump holes to the House Capitals and Outer rim.

Was proposed countless of times. There were many good detailed plans for this. It should finally happen.

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Me watching the daily drama turn into yet another Disco-doomsday discussion:

[Sylvie557]

An alternative would be an extra system, a hub, so to say, with one-way jump holes to the capitals of each house and some bigger factions. Place a fat station in the center of the system, something like Durban Station with parts of Cayman's station models and make it the beginner station. No way leads back to that station.

This, I always felt that would be a good way to start out and fix the situation with all new players starting in Liberty

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[nOmnomnOm]

Devil's advocate: Some people want to be thrown into some action rather than mining helium for hours. perhaps it is wrong to 'protect' new players in a sheltered system. Additionally, some new players get the impression that helium mining is the best and dont leave for a while until they get bored. why not place players on their toes than getting them too comfortable?

Additionally, Gallia is a good place to start I would say. Players that are vets should treat others well anyway, so lets not have that as an excuse.
Gallia is out of the way system and needs some love, but if people start populating it then it will bring people to start making some groups and then evolving.

Again, the atmosphere is great and not boring like Pennsylvania. great views, great bases. Why not?

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[Emperor Tekagi]

An alternative would be an extra system, a hub, so to say, with one-way jump holes to the capitals of each house and some bigger factions. Place a fat station in the center of the system, something like Durban Station with parts of Cayman's station models and make it the beginner station. No way leads back to that station.

This, I always felt that would be a good way to start out and fix the situation with all new players starting in Liberty

I remember this concept from another mod where it worked just great. Set up with describtions of where each jump-hole leads to and all. Yeah.

[Antonio]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Pennsylvania works just fine, and if anything should be changed it's upgrading and making Pennsylvania more appealing rather than starting all over again in a location that's not guaranteed to work.

Curious you picked Cortez though. In a way it reveals your plans regarding Gallia and their invasion of the system, seeing as in order for it to be the new Penny it can't be Gallic-occupied which'd mean Gallia won't be successful in the assault (California as well, it cuts off a house from the "new Penny" if it falls).

Personally not a fan of this.

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[WesternPeregrine]

Note: I have considered other systems or methods of starting players, and Cortez has the best present perch. Having a randomization process that includes Curacao in Cortez, Ames in Kepler, and Atka in Hudson would be preferred in some ways, yet we are currently not able to implement such. Similarly, a selection process in character creation would be an interesting change that is beyond our means at the moment. Creating a beginner-only system with outgoing JHs only is feasible, though draw and give cash commands, plus being outside of the main roleplay environment, would be detrimental. Also, other systems like Sigma-17 and Tau-29 deserve an honorable mention here; I am bringing up all of this so that you are all aware that we have considered more options than just Cortez. That in mind, please keep this thread on topic to the merits of Cortez and Pennsylvania. Compare, contrast, and give us your opinion on whether you think either, both, or neither are good starting locations.

Instead of Cortez, I would have suggested Baffin. One could improve the Alien organisms field there to be a new rookie bait, and the sufficient zoner influence would allows the system to be a good linking point to some regions, without being a contested place on itself.

As for the jh only system, and the FL base startups, maybe merge both, with a empty start system with jh leading to Baffin/Cortez, Kepler, Hudson, an Omega system and a Sigma system, and let the new characters decide where to start and who to deal with first. Would get rid of the "Liberty for Lols" reputation, and would also avoid giving a region/factions primacy in the "new player" first experience.

So in Summary: improve Baffin (or do Cortez (or move Penn to the area near Cortez and reform)) as an alternative starting point, and implement the "starting system -> one way jumps to various regions" method.

Definitely move the starting point out of that Liberty cul-de-sac.

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[Croft]

Gallia can own Cortez without it impacting the starting of new players, if anything it would expose them directly to the storyline and raise a lot of questions that would prompt exploration and learning. Penn at the moment acts like a bubble, isolating newcomers to a daycare system that's away from any new developments and the day-to-day interactions of our community.

Cortez would do away with that by throwing new players directly into the story and offering several options to explore, plus as the main trade route between Liberty and Bretonia they would also have the potential to meet a lot of veteran players, both lawful and unlawful, due to its position beyond House borders. It would however need the various factions to get up off their backsides and actively help out new players with their questions, the primary reason why the Angels were disbanded.

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