Radio NErfing!!

[Moonflame]

Here are some points I like the most so far, in pretty colours:

One of my characters life basically revolves around the radio, not sure what to do with it if the system doesn't work anymore and it won't be fixable.

The amount of work it took for my character to help and the elation that came forth when all three islands were finally able to hear one another..there are no words. And now for it all to be destroyed, seriously?

There is a continuity problem here, it's not satisfying or rewarding for some of the players we love the most.

I suggest you consult the player base before making a huge change to the game play.

I remember the initial discussion about removal of radios on GAB forums, which started about three years ago and was slowly going since then.

Three years of discussion, fairly sudden implementation and no consultation of the playerbase. Of course players are not going to receive this well. They feel a lack of control and involvement with something that will affect them. For these reasons, GAB should not feel surprised or annoyed that they do not have full support here.

why not implement a cheap level of fuel maintenance for anything with a circuit board?

Problem being that people are so passive and this won't change it. It will just put more work on already active ones and not on a good way.

This is always a good point in any Cantr-related discussion. We like that viktor's suggestion would give us a reason to move around, to keep radios going. But the general thought is that too many characters are passive, it would be a chore, it would be would be worse than just accepting radios aren't a thing, or just accepting radios are a thing.

This will make piracy and raiding much easier though.

It will open up new opportunities and new things to do as someone else already said - travelling messengers for example.

We're speculating. We can't really know exactly what will happen. I don't expect a sudden increase in newspawn thieves or murderers. We don't know if carrier pigeons will be implemented, how they will work, whether we will really use them.

What we are seeing here is that there is going to be a change. I think despite all the negative, we kind of like the idea of a shake-up. It is in my personal favour because I prefer not to use radio. If it is decided we will keep the changes, we will need to adapt as a playerbase and shape the game ingame. That's what cantrians do.

Any thoughts on which islands will be affected more by this? Fu with the distances between towns? Tiny Teregotha, isolated, or would radio nerf unite these towns? What could you do with this change?

[Rmak]

Moonie that post needs an Epilepsy alert!

I hope carrier pigeons can be intercepted or shot at and at least these flying rats allow us to collect dung. (They could also be used to spread disease)

Fu, Aki and Raj communications are now poked and collecting radio parts has been a complete waste of time.

[Aduah]

Any thoughts on which islands will be affected more by this? Fu with the distances between towns? Tiny Teregotha, isolated, or would radio nerf unite these towns? What could you do with this change?

Terregotha wont be effected much, I think, all the radios are town to town and such a small island it is easy to cooperate.

Fu, on the english side has little to no communication by radio. There was once a plan to have a radio network reach from Midgar to Scarab Haunt since the english communities on Fu are pretty isolated from one another, but I guess that impossible now since they want to remove repeater to repeater transmission.

Raj, I dont know how it will effect Raj. I dont use the radio much there and the 3 communities I know of that have english players are pretty spread out and dont communicate via radio.

I think it will MOST effect treefeather (at least of the islands I have characters on). Because of Dragonloft, Klojt, Olip areas & and Greenwood (longinazy pen.) areas being quite active areas, and there being a lot more trade and traveling on the island. Cantr island, IMO, wont be effected MUCH because there doesn't seem to be a lot of radio chatter between towns on Cantr island.

I am most concerned, honestly, for the newspawns. Its already really really rough for a newspawn if they spawn in a less active town.

[Arval]

I am most concerned, honestly, for the newspawns. Its already really really rough for a newspawn if they spawn in a less active town.

There's been a discussion in some other thread about changing the spawning algorithms so that the system does not spawn according to the number of characters but of messages-activity. That could solve your concern.

[Chemosh]

It will hit Raj's polish community hard I think. It is a massive network that spans over every bit of the island my character has explored and from places mentioned over it I know it spans quite a bit I haven't explored. It also has some sad implications for a certain small town who while not thay active on the radio are English speakers in the middle of Polish territory who already have little contact with the English as it is.

[Rmak]

It will hit Raj's polish community hard I think. It is a massive network that spans over every bit of the island my character has explored and from places mentioned over it I know it spans quite a bit I haven't explored. It also has some sad implications for a certain small town who while not thay active on the radio are English speakers in the middle of Polish territory who already have little contact with the English as it is.

Its multi-island too

[Aduah]

There's been a discussion in some other thread about changing the spawning algorithms so that the system does not spawn according to the number of characters but of messages-activity. That could solve your concern.

Yes, I was also talking about that a while back. Frankly if this actually happens (a change in the spawning system), I'll be even less concerned about the radios. I just feel like if this radio thing is for good other things should probably be adjusted to help 'balance' the change. Travel times, spawning, other forms of communication, ETC. We can at least hope that the carrier pigeon 'travel' times will be faster than cars, and wont be based on distance 'per tick'. Maybe something like distance like a set time per pixel of travel and it isn't reliant of ticks. That would be nice. So even if there isn't 'instant' communication, the communication wouldn't become completely bottlenecked by travel ticks.

[Mafia Salad]

In order to allow time to prepare for these changes, we will delay implementation for some days. We also hope to be announcing more new features and game changes soon.

So... Does this mean we can play as if our characters are aware of the coming radiopocalypse? Or is this just an OOC warning to keep players from freaking out?

[Millhouse]

I was wondering the same. How would our characters even know radios don't work the way they used to unless "OOCly". From their perspective, it would probably just seem like a repeater was taken out after some time,and a lot of "Does anyone hear me?" messages.

[Mafia Salad]

There should be a solar flare message in game at the moment of implementation.

Circling back, the closest previous in game change I can think of was the implementation of fuel. And I left before it happened so I can't recall if people played like their characters knew it was coming or not.

[Armulus Satchula]

The population of cantr has dropped significantly and I feel that this will only distance the player base. Major changes will only cause to irritate players, some of which may be pushed to the edge of quitting.

Decreasing the ability to communicate in a society simulator seems like a poor choice. If you simulate society, allow the world to evolve and grow. It's been stagnant too long. Time could be better spent on thing such as:

increasing the player base.
introducing resource rot to prevent stock piles (get people moving around more again)
introducing projects that are big, long resource hogs to deplete stockpiles (great monuments were an excellent idea)
building decay / repair
some brand new mechanic to cantr that might spark player interest. (automation, electricity, invention, research, flight)

[Genie]

As I said in another post even the active areas had issues with radio connections and this looks like censorship more than an adjustment. Trolls abused the radio and all the game community has to be punished for that. Perhaps some think more pirate activities will bring spark to game, but what will violent role players do after emptying off several towns and killing helpless citizens just for the glory of it? Maybe I am unable to understand the benefits of this kind of changes and too naive to think such things must be argued widely before bringing them out.

[viktor]

the radio networks are not even capable of being global.... there are 2, 3 island groups each on their own network, there are other island groups of different sizes close enough to make their own networks or even already have(I just haven't lived those areas), these regions are still separate this way, as I mentioned in a letter to staff, I'd rather they shift entire continents to break the network link, than to nerf the radios as they plan.

[Snickie]

I don't have much to say except for some ideas on how to usher in radio change and possibly a new age.

In-game lore: the natural electricity of the land is being drained from overuse of electronics, and the first thing to go are radios and lighthouses. Lighthouses must have been the first sign, as they didn't used to require fuel and now they do.
How do we make enough of this resource to keep up functionality?
OR
"Green" groups rise up calling for the dismantling of radios because "they are destroying our beautiful, beautiful world!"

ProgD action: Slowly nerf the range and functionality of radios. Move all radios and other stationary electronics to a type that requires a fuel input if they don't have one already (ovens, furnaces, etc). Allow car radios to continue to function normally as long as there is fuel in the tank. Leak just a little fuel for each radio message sent or received.

Implement new location structure: power generator
1 per town
Includes a large fuel tank which should be able to provide electricity to a largeish town like Klojt for no more than 2-3 years from a full fuel tank.

New structure: ship power generator
1 per ship
Smaller fuel tank, more insulated from.water.
Would otherwise function similarly to a land-based power generator

New projects: "hook up electricity"
One per stationary electricity-compatible device per room per town with a generator
Requires small switchboard, copper wires, whatever else you think is needed
Requires fuel to add electricity
Effects:
* adds "electric" tag to front of item name
* removes or dramatically reduces direct fuel input requirement for larger appliances
* allows electronic items to function with just input from the power generator
* radios function as before the nerf as long as they have a running power source
* adds on/off switch button and tag to items so as to not use up fuel by only passively being on (i.e. it will be possible to actually turn off the radios, not just switch it to a silent, presumably unused channel)
* in-game notification when the lights go out (fuel tank is empty) in every room in the town affected

Simultaneously implement carrier pigeons

Electricity and radios are now even more expensive than the capital originally required to make them. There's an ongoing investment to maintain them.
Increases demand for rich town stuff
Increases use by active towns only
Increases demand for travelling maintenance workers
Increases demand for carrier pigeons
Brings Cantr to the Modern Age

[Millhouse]

I would be totally fine with there being maintenance needed to make radio networks work. But what we really need to know is the driving forces behind the change. Right now we have "...these and other reasons". What are the other reasons?