Introduction
This thread pretty much serves to outline my thoughts and opinions on the new Essalonia spawn, and hopefully get some input from other community members on the subject.
Progression
I like the idea of the camp slowly developing into a settlement, however that is with focus on the word slowly. I feel as it is now, the spawn has no resemblance whatsoever to the original layout, a skyline rivalling that of Regalia, and streets so incredibly wide it makes no sense for a small settlement of a couple streets in a pre-car world. I feel it would have made much more sense slowly building up a new house here and there and upgrading some of the old stuff every week for a few months to make the expansion feel more natural.
Ease of travel
But that is of course entirely subjective, however the next few issues I have area slightly less so. A nice aspect of the old spawn was that you were able to leave from effectively any angle due to the low wall with probs placed cleverly to allow parkour over it, however the new spawn severely limits travel, and as a central hub of the factions world this seems counterintuitive.
Wasteland
This last point is more of a personal observation, however I know massive often looks to outside sources for inspiration on what works, so let me suggest also looking at what doesn't work. It seems to me, (and this is of course just entirely anecdotal,) that a big unpopulated spawn often drives new players away, as the server appear more dead and deserted, killing any spark for adventure they may have. If I had been in charge of such a development, I would most likely have consulted with the quest department, and as stated earlier slowly add new things over time, and as the spawn expanded, implement NPCs and quests to make the final product a more dense feeling area with lots to do, rather than just empty streets and empty houses.
This thread pretty much serves to outline my thoughts and opinions on the new Essalonia spawn, and hopefully get some input from other community members on the subject.
Progression
I like the idea of the camp slowly developing into a settlement, however that is with focus on the word slowly. I feel as it is now, the spawn has no resemblance whatsoever to the original layout, a skyline rivalling that of Regalia, and streets so incredibly wide it makes no sense for a small settlement of a couple streets in a pre-car world. I feel it would have made much more sense slowly building up a new house here and there and upgrading some of the old stuff every week for a few months to make the expansion feel more natural.
Ease of travel
But that is of course entirely subjective, however the next few issues I have area slightly less so. A nice aspect of the old spawn was that you were able to leave from effectively any angle due to the low wall with probs placed cleverly to allow parkour over it, however the new spawn severely limits travel, and as a central hub of the factions world this seems counterintuitive.
Wasteland
This last point is more of a personal observation, however I know massive often looks to outside sources for inspiration on what works, so let me suggest also looking at what doesn't work. It seems to me, (and this is of course just entirely anecdotal,) that a big unpopulated spawn often drives new players away, as the server appear more dead and deserted, killing any spark for adventure they may have. If I had been in charge of such a development, I would most likely have consulted with the quest department, and as stated earlier slowly add new things over time, and as the spawn expanded, implement NPCs and quests to make the final product a more dense feeling area with lots to do, rather than just empty streets and empty houses.
