(Suggestion) The Luna Teleporter Hub

[WarderDragon]

It was previously suggested that a township teleportation hub might have to be located in Luna because other locations have the potential to clash with future shard fiction and because such a central location would be more accessable to visitors and those who don't otherwise know that Britain is the unofficial capitol of the Baja Shard.

While I agree that something needs to be placed in Luna for these folks; I vehemently disagree with a move that would locate something so integral to the roleplaying and township community in a city roleplayers on our shard avoid. So I have a better suggestion.

On Siege Perilous there was an addition to the Main Temple Keep of Luna built for the Community Collection. (See Below.) I suggest the event moderators design something similar or identical to this for a community teleportation hub.

On the eastern edge there are four tiles. You can place a teleporter on each of these. (We'll identify them north to south as 1-4.) You can also replace the benches with four more teleporters. (We'll identify the northern set where my character is sitting as A and B; the opposite set as C and D.)

Teleporters

1. The Skara Brae Faireground (Trammel)
2. The West Britain Bank
3. Castle Britannia
4. The Skara Brae Faireground (Felucca)

A. The Township Teleportation Hub (I have a suggestion for this location too.)
B. The Offices of Kullervo Nystad (ANTR)

C. The Partisans of Chaos Tower on Verity Isle
D. The Court of Truth in Yew

I think anything would be better than despoiling our future township hub with a central location in Luna. This would make event locations accessable to visitors without taking a step backwards and emulating the larger shards.

 

[Lord Gareth]

Not trying to over step here. I work with a good amount of people from here on a variety of projects between Chesapeake and Baja. I know Baja is not my main shard but I still play on it when I can. I am just wondering why the teleport hub location is being discussed right now. I know it is best to discuss things ahead of time and I do not wish to offend the Baja community or its EMs. I have a great respect for all of you and I hope this gets taken the right way.

Doesn't Baja Townships still need to petition for recognition first? Await their acceptance. Wait for the banner regulations to be released. Then design a banner, wait for approval and wait for the banner to be constructed? Wouldn't the teleport hub be the last step in this whole process?

 

[SuperKen]

I think the plan is that some of the Independent Kingdoms from the Casca storyline will be granted townships anyways, so there are a few of us who are kinda pre-approved.

Also, it seems like folks really dislike Luna.

Can we get some screenshots of what the teleporter hubs on other shards look like? How big of an area will they take up, and are they used quite regularly?

I worry what a teleporter hub to Cartel Island will do. I don't want to see the teleporter hub being used to grief people who come visit the island, but I'm almost 80% sure that that is what will happen. Does anyone have some ideas of how teleporter hubs to dangerous areas in Fel are handled on other shards?

 

[EMSeppo]

Warder: Where would the hub be?

Gareth: It will have to happen, sooner or later.

SK: Usually, there is a big warning sign that indicates. "Danger, you might come face to face with a red Super Ken by going through this".

 

[Lord Gareth]

Can we get some screenshots of what the teleporter hubs on other shards look like? How big of an area will they take up, and are they used quite regularly?

When I get home I will make sure to post the township hub picture on Chesapeake here. I am halfway done pieceing the picture together. Griefing wise I have not heard of any townships complaining. The area size depends on how many townships ya have. Chesapeake's is one LOOOOOOoooooong line along the wall of Luna.

As Seppo said, have to discuss it sometime and I still stand by my original idea when we were in discussion and that is to build it in New Haven. New players can find the townships and so can off shard visitors. RP wise I would say Moonglow.

 

[SuperKen]

Thanks EM Seppo.

Cartel gets a lot of bad PR (of course, some of that fault lies with ourselves) and there have even been a few people who have gone out of their way to grief me and the Cartel publicly on these forums, mostly on completely non-related issues.

The last thing we need to do is be known as the guild who signed up for a township for the sole reason of ganking the visitors that come through.

Gareth,

I woud love to see those pictures. You guys have done all kinds of wonderful work with the Township program and I'm ashamed to say that I haven't made a character on Chesapeake yet to see some of it for myself.

 

[Brytt]

Doesn't Baja Townships still need to petition for recognition first?

On Baja, sometimes it takes us a little while to get going so I don't mind when conversations start early. It's not that we're making presumptions as much as trying to allow that as many people can participate in kicking around ideas as possible. Sometimes it takes several weeks on Baja to get a good sample size of perspectives.... We have a few folks glued to the boards but I'd say most people fall into the once-or-twice a week category.

 

[Brytt]

Oooh!

What about.....

a small teleporter on the lawn opposite the Luna Moongate with a small tasteful sign that says Township Travel Hub and maybe some non-dyed plants (some of those hues just don't look natural) that whisks people to something like the 2nd floor in Trinsic that Warder posted in the Baja thread about Trinsic Summits, where all the heraldric banners hang.

Best of both worlds?

Low risk of conflict with future global events? (We've already had one Trinsic war, and already wiped a city from the map)

EDIT: Realized that's what you already proposed above, although in a different location. Sorry. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet.

 

[Lord Gareth]

*Ponders the idea of the Dev team add a section to the moongate that says "Township Teleport Hub" that takes you directly to the hub.* Obviously everyones hub would have to be in the same spot on the shard but it would be really easy to find if you use the public moongate system *Hides*

 

[Brytt]

That's a great idea, Gareth. Though, I wonder if it's beyond the scope of what this program could offer.

Here's me having fun with photoshop and an idea for a transport hub teleporter in Luna, which would take you to Trinsic:

 

[Brytt]

Teleporters

1. The Skara Brae Faireground (Trammel)
2. The West Britain Bank
3. Castle Britannia
4. The Skara Brae Faireground (Felucca)

A. The Township Teleportation Hub (I have a suggestion for this location too.)
B. The Offices of Kullervo Nystad (ANTR)

C. The Partisans of Chaos Tower on Verity Isle
D. The Court of Truth in Yew

Personally, I'd vote to put something like this in Trinsic, too, rather than Luna, maybe just away from the player town hubs. Doesn't make sense to me to have a hub in Luna for community areas and another hub in Trinsic for player areas. Go go gadget superhub.

**Again for those who might think we're being presumptuous, we're just kicking around ideas. It's great to think about the imminent, but it's fun to think beyond that, too.

 

[EMSeppo]

Guys, it would be the same issue with Trinsic as with Britain.

We cannot anticipate what might happen in Trinsic in some future global event. It is not so easy to keep track of what is where on each shard, especially down the road. If there was another Magincia type of event but in Trinsic (JUST AN EXAMPLE), then it would cause issues because Baja has its teleportation hub there.

By having it in the same location on all shards, it becomes easy to keep track of it in the future. That is one of the reasons why the only realistic choices at this point are Fairgrounds and Luna. Luna because thats where everyone else (for better or worse) decided to have it. Fairgrounds because it is already there and its also a permanent fixture to the shard.

I am not sure if I will get permission for any other place, especially in a city.

 

[Brytt]

*curls a paste-on handlebar moustache*

Curses! Foiled again....

*runs away to think*

 

[WarderDragon]

Guys, it would be the same issue with Trinsic as with Britain.

We cannot anticipate what might happen in Trinsic in some future global event. It is not so easy to keep track of what is where on each shard, especially down the road. If there was another Magincia type of event but in Trinsic (JUST AN EXAMPLE), then it would cause issues because Baja has its teleportation hub there.

That rationale we should tear down the Skara Brae Faireground and move ours to Luna because Skara Brae is suppose to be destroyed and conquered in Ultima VI-VII.

And because that is what everyone else does. That is a bad idea.

 

[Amber Witch]

I really like Gareth's idea of using the moongate system that is already in place. I know you said it couldn't be located in Brit but could the Britain town moongate accommodate a hub? If it can't maybe you could explain the technical reasons why? I'm just trying to understand the mechanics.

As much as some, for various reasons, don't care for Luna I think it makes a lot of sense to have it there if the above isn't an option. I still think that its a good location that would be accessible to the most players. I bet 90% of the shard's population goes there often as it's effortless. That's my concern. I'd like to see as many people as possible get involved and get excited about this and use it.

To have to run to one teleporter to get to another teleporter starts to frustrate me. I'm a firm believer in keeping things clean and simple.

 

[UltimatePower]

This is what the Hub looks like on chessy.

People should really go take a look. There is a whole system in place, and its similar on most shards. The different color statues on the tables represent different facets. Red means its in fel etc. The whole point of the hub is to take you to and from player run towns, click the statue on the thing to get to there, and at each town banner there is a item you click to get back to the hub.

 

[Amber Witch]

I think we all feel that same passion for positive change otherwise we would not be putting our opinions out here for others to scrutinize. Lets not put a stop to the creative juices that are coming out here. We all have thoughts and ideas. People before us have also thought out this process. They can be an advantage to us. Some things will work for us, some won't.

I have many fond memories of Trinsic from long ago but for me it tends to look a lot like Luna with the exception that Luna has the one thing that we need. People. Its the people that make this shard. Not the empty towns, not the empty stores. The people. I want those people to become more involved, in what ever way they can in the events that happen. EM and player events.

As much as some of you dislike Luna, and I honestly don't know the reasons, it has more vitality consistently than any other town or area. We can't make people make Britain home. It has been tried time and time again. My town guard has spent countless hours standing at the guard shack playing her role with no one around. Same goes for the other guards.

This is why I thought of taking the top floor of the main Luna building and reworking it. It could end up being a vital and alive place for all people to congregate. Unless Luna does burn down, and we know that is not going to happen soon, people will not move to another location. People have been congregating for years there. It's established.

Those are some of my thoughts today. I hope they help you form some ideas that you'll share here.

 

[Lord Gareth]

It can become very large *Grins*

 

[SuperKen]

Thanks for the pictures, guys. Holy crap is my first reaction.

That isn't at all what I imagined it would look like. No offense to anyone, but it's rather plain and doesn't seem like it would make for much of a cool meeting spot. I assume part of the reason it can't be in a more aesthetic enclosed area is because there are simply too many townships to fit in.

Seems like it might be a case of function over form. In that same regard, Luna functions better than most other cities. I'm not sure when a poll was ever taken to decide if Baja citizens like or dislike Luna, but as it stands, it is both the most logical and functional place to put a teleporter hub.

Can we have a whole new area created, that would be practical and good looking, and the teleporter hub to that would be in both Luna and Brit? Don't tie it to any city, just a big empty space, like how event areas and the PvP house in Fel were created. I think if we really opened up some kinda vote for a city to be chosen, we'd never get a direct answer and there'd be too much confusion (not to mention the city could be involved in an event in the future).

 

[Brytt]

Does anyone else not care for the hued bar counters? To me, they seem to take too much attention away from the heraldric banners, which IMO should be what your attention is drawn to.

 

[Amber Witch]

Our shard - however small it may be - has some of the most accessable roleplay and community events on any shard.

Would thrusting a roleplaying and storyline device on a body of players - folks who have expressed no interest in the story outside what rewards they can receive - change them?

I don't believe placing a hub on the second floor of the Luna main building equates to thrusting anything on anyone.

 

[SuperKen]

Tell me more about thrusting.

 

[Lord Gareth]

Tell me more about thrusting.

Thrusting can cause the following symptoms

Tongue cut out
Pushed off the dock
Sea serpents spawned around you while in the ocean
Zapped by lightning
and Torture for as long as you play UO

 

[Brytt]

This is why I thought of taking the top floor of the main Luna building and reworking it. It could end up being a vital and alive place for all people to congregate. Unless Luna does burn down, and we know that is not going to happen soon, people will not move to another location. People have been congregating for years there. It's established.

The 2nd floor perimeter (specifically, I'm thinking about the north and west walls) of the main Luna building are half-walls. I wonder if these were to be made into full-walls whether that would give us sufficient space for banners?

As much as I dislike Luna, I dislike the banners on the outside of the castle wall even more. I like the thought of them at least being within the city somewhere.

 

[WarderDragon]

I deleted an above post of mine. No point in arguing.

Lets shift this discussion to how we're going to turn something that has the potential to be atrocious into something that embraces medieval realism and looks pleasing to the eye. And let us craft a tale that makes this a believable and applicable addition to our shards fiction and lore.

The Fortress of Luna was once depicted as a Bastion of the Light. But unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade you know that the independent nation state has fallen far. It is no longer a place of Virtue. It is now dominated by corrupt merchants and scheming tradesmen dealing in the most illicit of goods. Weapons. Drugs. Flesh.

Greed. It makes the world go 'round.

Kullervo Nystad - the functional leader of the push to record and recognize the heraldric pennants and monuments of each nation state - chooses Luna due to its neutrality and its position as the 'Crossroads of the World.' The Marshal and the Trade Barons commission thaumaturgists to craft runic doorways (I'd prefer portals to tiles) in an effort to expand trade between such divergent capitols as Britain and the Northern Kingdoms.

The suggestion that this (the portals) is about trade makes it a believable part of the fiction. I can live with it if there is a good story to accompany it.

 

[Noble Beast]

I can live with it if there is a good story to accompany it.

I agree whole-heartedly. I was originally worried as to how the township recognition would be introduced as an in-game/in- character idea. I thought that bringing in Kullervo was a great lead-in (the official name can be changed, according to Seppo). Perhaps, Aino had confided in her brother her desire to recognize the townships that assisted her (and that she assisted, later) before her unfortunate death defending Queen Dawn. This introduction to the township recognition, to me, made perfect in-character sense & I was glad to have participated in the EM events leading up to the end of that story-arch.

The trials of the Independent Nations have sentimental meaning for me; it was when I pulled out of my secluded game-play & entered the global world & politics of Baja. This time period also demonstrated that this Shard could be affected by the actions & feelings of its player-base. We were listened to, challenged, and perseverance to our cause was met with victory. I say all this because I can only imagine the attachment that veterans & long-running RP'rs have for this community.

*gets off the tangent & back to the original subject*
Unlike some, I actually like Luna. Perhaps, it is the ancient Roman in me. I love the activity, the seediness, and utility of Luna (everything you need is within a few paces). It is kind of like a convenient store- you pay big prices for not having to shop all around Sosaria. I think that having the hub there makes sense to accommodate the whole player-base.

 

[WildStar]

ONE - I am posting this design because I know that people are concerned about the appearance of the future Teleport Hub and this design shows several decorative elements that can be added to the area to make it more pleasing on the eyes and incorporate elements that reflect the history of Baja with regards to the "Independent Kingdoms".

TWO - I AM NOT proposing that this design be used. EMs Seppo and Crysania and Lady Mesanna will most likely design it.

WildStar

 

[Brytt]

Wow... amazing that a little cobblestone and plants starts to make things look hospitable.

Nice work, Duchess. And fairly realistic too. Although Luna seems to exclusively use sandstone pavers, I'm sure the city administrators can't afford to use it everywhere. Outside the city, poured gravel or cobblestone would likely have been used, as it would have been the more economic choice.

 

[SuperKen]

Gosh, that's pretty.

*stares*

Great work, Wildstar.

Also, I had to chuckle when Luna was compared to a convenience store. That's spot-on.