Quarter timers

[Xarge VI]

I'm not sure how widespread my sentiment is but to me the 7 day quarter timer is often too short.
Even though I play actively when I'm on land- as a seafarer by trade 7 days without internet is commonplace when I am working.

I understand that there needs to be a timer to make sure quarters aren't hogged by inactive players. However the 7 days timer is in place even on cheap/non special quarters which usually aren't that sought after. For example on my current character I've had to repurchase the quarter after a turn at work, but fortunately no one has purchased them while they have been available.

It has become a bit difficult to keep playing as I usually get demoralized to play the character after losing a quarter and all the special rp items within. If the timer was 14 days for lesser quarters it would ease these troubles a lot.

[chris a gogo]

I dislike it to.
I always have to give up everything when I go on holiday as I never go for less than a week.

[Xerah]

There are some 14 day timers (check in the heartwood), though it might be good to make them universal on these sort of places..

[Emotionaloverload]

I would love to see more quarters with an increased timer. It would really help casual or busy players.

Thank you,

[Tabby]

I agree on this aswell.

[LurkingShadow]

Would it be possible to invest maybe upfront, an higher sum to keep em for a bit longer? Like once a year and then an app or something if there need to be some kind of timer which I think is good to have but might be bit short.

[Babylon System is the Vampire]

I get the sentiment, but there is a lot of bad that comes with this too. For example, last summer there was a store in Guldorand that was empty for a month, not because anyone didn't own it but because twice in a row a bid was won by a character that never actually claimed the store. And that's not even getting into the extended periods of playing alts while owning property someone else would be using on their main.

I think a better solution (if possible) would be a scripted "vacation mode" that you can use twice a real-life year on a property that extends the duration for a week or something.

[LurkingShadow]

I get the sentiment, but there is a lot of bad that comes with this too. For example, last summer there was a store in Guldorand that was empty for a month, not because anyone didn't own it but because twice in a row a bid was won by a character that never actually claimed the store. And that's not even getting into the extended periods of playing alts while owning property someone else would be using on their main.

I think a better solution (if possible) would be a scripted "vacation mode" that you can use twice a real-life year on a property that extends the duration for a week or something.

The issue with that shop would happen either way, no? And usually shops do get a pointer from the proper minister to seize or lose the store probably.

[Babylon System is the Vampire]

My point was that if you just raised the length, now instead of being 1 month without an owner its two. And no, while I'm all for trade minsters cracking down on bad shops, someone not showing up to claim it is not a place where you can really do that. What if they are busy too? That's kind of the point of this thread lol.

I just think the bad far outweighs the good with just extending it, mostly because barring extreme circumstances it's not that hard to at the bare minimum log in once during a weeks' time for 30 seconds to click refresh. And if those extreme circumstances happen often, maybe you don't really play enough to justify owning some properties? Not really for me to say, just food for thought.

As a side note, I am all for extending properties that aren't at a premium for people who have to take long breaks for real life reasons, just not a blanket extension on all properties.

[backlands]

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

[Kessarin]

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

While I'm glad that people who might need an occasional time extension will have it, will there be any measures put in place to prevent the "logging on once every week to refresh" technique that lets someone maintain a quarter while the PC isn't being actively played, often for months at a time? There seems to be plenty of this happening already, and now these people have to be involved with their quarter even less.

With available quarters being far fewer than the PCs who want them, I'm concerned that this change will exacerbate the issue.

[Ruzuke]

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

While I'm glad that people who might need an occasional time extension will have it, will there be any measures put in place to prevent the "logging on once every week to refresh" technique that lets someone maintain a quarter while the PC isn't being actively played, often for months at a time? There seems to be plenty of this happening already, and now these people have to be involved with their quarter even less.

With available quarters being far fewer than the PCs who want them, I'm concerned that this change will exacerbate the issue.

This is something which worries me as well as I continue to look for a place to live in my desired settlement only to find all the rooms are taken.

[backlands]

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

While I'm glad that people who might need an occasional time extension will have it, will there be any measures put in place to prevent the "logging on once every week to refresh" technique that lets someone maintain a quarter while the PC isn't being actively played, often for months at a time? There seems to be plenty of this happening already, and now these people have to be involved with their quarter even less.

With available quarters being far fewer than the PCs who want them, I'm concerned that this change will exacerbate the issue.

This is something which worries me as well as I continue to look for a place to live in my desired settlement only to find all the rooms are taken.

This is already monitored by the DM team with warnings and releases of quarters done when it is abusive behaviour. If anything with a longer timer we can even more actively monitor it as a log in every 2 weeks to refresh a quarter is even more egregious behaviour than it occurring every week.

Rest assured we will continue monitoring for this sort of behaviour as we always have.

[Biolab00]

Extension of quarters of 7 days to 14 days, no matter how it looks to me, is simply bad move for popular places, especially within settlements.

There're just too many players that are waiting to own a property (House not Room) and DM's monitoring of 'abuse' of these quarters, rather than non-existant, is simply just too /slow/

The reason is because you may won the quarter and effectively neglect it and the only way to prove this neglect, is after /months/ of hogging. It is even more prevalent if the player won the quarter and decides, for whatever reason to disappear completely for the entire period and log in back to refresh it 'once' and disappears again. This might be /abuse/ but i do not believe that DMs will take action but simply give a warning (probably) and perhaps that is even months after.

As Babylon wrote above, if you do not spend enough time and actually can't even have the time to refresh your quarter once a week ( considering there're so many methods IRL as long as you're willing to find an internet access with a computer and just login ), you might just not play enough to justify owning the property (House not Room).

Even from the supply and demand standpoint whereby there's already shortage of quarters within popular settlements and instead of creating more properties (House not Room), you've extended the current lease for non-active players and cause even more shortage for those willing to invest and be more active.

One Month simply consist of 4 weeks and close to half week. There really isn't any justification why you can't just click and refresh IF you are playing.

But of course, it's up to the Admin/DM Team to decide what they like to do about the timer, in case that they overlook the fact that properties (House not Room) within Settlements are already insufficient.

Edit : And I do not know because Suggestion board is already closed. There're so many pending suggestions that are not even taken up, approved / pending / reviewing, I simply do not see why this extension of quarter timer justify such special treatment.

[perseid]

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

Will this apply to ships and other strategically significant quarters as well?

[Algol]

Perhaps having a ln expensive option (like 100k rent a month) for increased refresh timer would help people going to an occasional holiday while preventing hogging by inactive characters

[facesmash]

I feel like its already impossible to have a good property to go up for bid.

[Hin_Justice]

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

Will this include the Settlement bid properties like Darrow Deep and Gloom? It seems the timers on them are wonky and not synced with the new IG ticks.

[Cthuletta]

Yeah, quarter hogging does happen. This is gonna happen whether the timer is one week or two, there's not much way around it when you're a player. Considering those who do so are doing it for months, I'd take a guess that those who log in only once every TWO weeks are actually gonna be easier to monitor for the team since they'd be coming in even less than before. The number of people who ARE hogging is also probably lower than one might think, taking into account they might be casual players who just don't log in during X Timezone hours.

That said, I've known quite a few people who get saddened because they're going on vacation, like a honeymoon or moving house, or a work trip to a place without a lot of internet... and they have no choice but to just let their quarter lapse. These are active people who contribute and WILL come back to play regularly, but real life takes precedence for all of us.
I rather not see good folk punished for having lives, just because a few people are being dingleberries.

10/10, I look forward to the Quarter time being extended.

[backlands]

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

Will this apply to ships and other strategically significant quarters as well?

No, only regular quarters. This will not affect ships or "infrastructure" such as taverns/barracks.

We've looked into this suggestion and the discussion around it and have decided that it is time to make this change. I'll be working on updating database records for Quarters with a one week timer to have a longer two week timer across the board. Note that this change will not affect Shops, they will remain with their existing one week timer.

Please be patient as I make this adjustment, it is a rather involved process that I have to go through for each quarter so you may not see the change immediately. I will update this thread once I have completed the work.

Will this include the Settlement bid properties like Darrow Deep and Gloom? It seems the timers on them are wonky and not synced with the new IG ticks.

No, this fits with the "infrastructure" noted above and will not be changed.

---

As for other comments here we will be keeping an eye on things after this change and if we find that it is having a detrimental effect we always have the option to rollback the change and return to a one week timer. Keep the discussion going, we will keep reviewing this thread for thoughts of the rest of the community. If I didn't include you directly in a response it isn't because I am ignoring it, I have read all of this thread, just have limited time to write responses at the moment.

[Dijhin]

This is such an obvious take so forgive me for stating it but if the two-week timer is going into effect, I think what would obviously help a little bit would be for there simply to be more desirable homes added to settlements.

Right now, the supply vs demand is an underlying issue that will naturally be more of a problem as the timers are extended. I fear that if you currently have a good home, this idea of extension is likely a great one for you. However, those that are still struggling to win a bid on a property that isnt just a small room are likely going to be turned off of this idea. Both points have their merits but both also have their detriment.

I know building solid homes takes a lot of effort and time but I truly do believe there are a lot of unused aesthetic doors, npc-occupied spaces, etc. in settlements that could be turned into more options for player bidding. I would have liked to see a handful more properties added prior to upping the release timers; But alas.

[Kessarin]

Since we've been invited to give additional feedback...

IMO, most of the supply and demand issues stem from every PC wanting a home simply to have a chest for storage. I'm sure there would be plenty of families, factions, etc. who'd share a home if they could all have a storage chest. When I played a PC with three other family members and we all had properties in a settlement, there were IC complaints about us "hogging" all the properties - but we'd have gladly shared a space if we could've each had storage. It's in no way fair to chastise people for having a group by saying that they don't deserve to have the same amenity as non-related PCs receive.

If there was a way to "add someone to the lease" and pay a fee so that person could have a storage chest in the same residence, I imagine several places would come on the market again. I realize that's probably complex to implement and could pose its own problems, but it's something that seems logical from a narrative sense.

Irongron has said that he wants the server population to grow, and there have been new canon noble Houses implemented - all of whom want their own space. The amount of available properties has to increase at some point to accommodate these changes / planned changes. A two-week timer all but guarantees that anyone keeping a property just to keep it will have it for months before action can be taken. (As stated above, first there's a check - now at a month - and then likely a warning after that, which will prompt another month of infrequent logging in before the next step can be taken.)

I'd rather see something implemented like was proposed earlier: someone who needs the extra time can pay for an extension, which would be on some sort of cool down timer.

[Xerah]

IMO, most of the supply and demand issues stem from every PC wanting a home simply to have a chest for storage.

I'm not sure that is true. While it is true for me for most of my characters, I don't think that view is that common, otherwise, places like the arcane tower wouldn't be empty all the time.

[Kessarin]

IMO, most of the supply and demand issues stem from every PC wanting a home simply to have a chest for storage.

I'm not sure that is true. While it is true for me for most of my characters, I don't think that view is that common, otherwise, places like the arcane tower wouldn't be empty all the time.

While I do understand your point, the Arcane Tower is also limited on what classes can have rooms there, so it's somewhat of an outlier when it comes to rooms being empty.

And it may be that the majority of PCs do want their own space! There's no way to tell without a poll, and even that will be skewed towards active forum participants. I simply think that some of the existing properties would become available if people could cohabit and still have their own storage.

It may be easier dev-side to create new housing options, though. I know some places used instanced systems, so maybe that's a possibility.

[Definately Not A Mimic]

It had been in the suggestion forum that there be a way to add people to the lease and increase the chest by 10-20 per name. But that would count as the only quarter that the player could hold even though they were sharing as it were. I think that suggestion was turned down but I can't remember.
I agree though, there have been many times of playing a sibling or a couple or even a faction that a nice house was shared and someone still had to take another space to have storage. And while yes, settlement storage is great, it can't be accessed by a group wanting to share supplies or pass things back and forth.

As to the topic, I'm not a fan at all of extending the time out to two weeks. One seems enough but if you want to cover it for say someone on a vacation then go 8 days.. or 10. Time to check the place, leave and enjoy, come back and check the lease again. Giving them two weeks feels excessive.