Housing: Mailboxes

Xith

A friend and I actually brainstormed this idea for a new MUD we were starting to design. A lot of it just consisted of things we'd like to see different from Achaea.

Premise: Player housing is underuseful and underused. People don't have a reason to visit on a regular basis.


Currently the mail is delivered by birds (midgets for Mhaldor), which is convenient because it guarantees it will get to you as long as you're out in the open.

Change #1: Deliver mail to the post office by default, where a player must CLAIM MAIL for 50-100gp. Players will be notified of new post office deliveries by message or a messenger boy that makes the same appearance as the birds would have.

Change #2: Players can opt for air delivery (identical to before) for either a yearly fee or by tipping their owl delivery bird per parcel. (Yeh I drew from HP for that one.)

Change #3: Players can purchase a mailbox/letterbox on their plot or inside, which makes mail free to receive at that box. (keyword: mailroom, 1 room credit)

Trey

 

Bluef

It's a great gold sink though. I'd totally buy this. I hate random letters sailing in when I'm in the middle of some RP.

Ellodin

then why customise silver whistles

Addama

Or how about we tax TELLS unless you own a house, and for a housing credit you can have free TELLS via a TELL-A-PHONE?

Bad joke, I know.

Bluef

Ellodin said:

then why customise silver whistles

Silver whistle: 500 credits

   - Allows you to REQUEST LETTERs and POST mail from anywhere.

     Additionally, this item may be upgraded with a customised mail

     delivery message for an additional fee. Email

     customisations@achaea.com for further information.

Requesting and sending letters, not receiving them. Plus, customisation costs (at minimum I was told) another 500 credits. I love Achaea but I'm not paying 1000 credits for a portable pigeon. :wtf: 

Xith

Well that's why it was initially brainstormed for another MUD, because circumstances in Achaea are such that your character might not have access to the house being enemied. But for characters with stable diplomatic ties it's a cozy element that adds to the appeal of a home.

And a gold sink.

Of course then people would probably use messages more often so we thought of a monthly limit on number of messages sent.


But this is one of a number of things that could improve houses. Thinkin about:

- a magic food chest of stasis (refrigerator)
- a bed of sleep recovery 

You know. Stuff you could use here and there but wouldn't turn you into an absolute hermit like all of us players. Adventuring is the name of the game, after all.




P.S. I invite you all to yell out "Honey, there's no milk in the magic food chest of stasis!"
Assuming you have a honey.

Trey

Like, I get where you're going with this, but I think that Achaea is not the right MUD for this. We've got the Harry Potter mail system already, and if it ain't broke,  don't fix it.

Greys

Well first, having people have to pay gold for mail if they don't have a house is a tax that will hit the novices first.
Second, the main reason people don't make use of their houses is that you want to go someplace to relax.  The subdivision is anything but unless you have heavily invested in it. You are going to be targeted by enemies if you are in your sub home leading to far greater a cost than ever to use it.  Pretty much the same thing applies for house halls which is why most people never use them either. It could get fixed if it was cut off like the sewers are as then there is no intrinsic value of going there (sure you can go back and forth as a base of operations but its would be just as easy to do so from your home city).

Sena

Since the ranged changes, subdivision houses are much less of a security issue, since you can't hide in the subdivision and spam choke/thurisaz/cataclysm. They basically don't matter for raids, so now you really only have to worry about people breaking in to spy/steal/troll, which isn't all that common.

Kresslack

Bluef said:

Ellodin said:

then why customise silver whistles

Silver whistle: 500 credits

   - Allows you to REQUEST LETTERs and POST mail from anywhere.

     Additionally, this item may be upgraded with a customised mail

     delivery message for an additional fee. Email

     customisations@achaea.com for further information.

Requesting and sending letters, not receiving them. Plus, customisation costs (at minimum I was told) another 500 credits. I love Achaea but I'm not paying 1000 credits for a portable pigeon. :wtf: 

I think someone may have lied to you about the customisation cost, I'm not sure, but that sounds a little exaggerated. I'm fine with the mail system the way it is, especially since they introduced parcels. Gods knows people still default to messages more often than not. Being able to receive letters anywhere means information is steadily flowing and people can stay up to date with important mail (especially things that would be impractical to send via messages due to length and rp reasons), and some of it you may be able to get your hands on. Start limiting that, and people will just rely on messages more than they do now.

Ex:
[spoiler]
City leader: "Did you get started on the project?"

Clueless: "Uhh...what project?"

City leader: "The one I mailed you about a few months back."

Clueless: "I've been sailing trying to rack up on trades. Haven't checked my mail in forever."
[/spoiler]

Tharvis

Kresslack said:

Bluef said:

Ellodin said:

then why customise silver whistles

Silver whistle: 500 credits

   - Allows you to REQUEST LETTERs and POST mail from anywhere.

     Additionally, this item may be upgraded with a customised mail

     delivery message for an additional fee. Email

     customisations@achaea.com for further information.

Requesting and sending letters, not receiving them. Plus, customisation costs (at minimum I was told) another 500 credits. I love Achaea but I'm not paying 1000 credits for a portable pigeon. :wtf: 

I think someone may have lied to you about the customisation cost, I'm not sure, but that sounds a little exaggerated. <snip>

actually. The cost is accurate. 500 credits for the whistle, and 500 credits to customize the messages.

Kresslack

Tharvis said:

Kresslack said:

Bluef said:

Ellodin said:

then why customise silver whistles

Silver whistle: 500 credits

   - Allows you to REQUEST LETTERs and POST mail from anywhere.

     Additionally, this item may be upgraded with a customised mail

     delivery message for an additional fee. Email

     customisations@achaea.com for further information.

Requesting and sending letters, not receiving them. Plus, customisation costs (at minimum I was told) another 500 credits. I love Achaea but I'm not paying 1000 credits for a portable pigeon. :wtf: 

I think someone may have lied to you about the customisation cost, I'm not sure, but that sounds a little exaggerated. <snip>

actually. The cost is accurate. 500 credits for the whistle, and 500 credits to customize the messages.

Ouch...that's insane. I'd be good with just the whistle in that case.

Xith

Well I rest my case. 
But if it happened at some point in the future they could just make letters 50 and picking up mail 50, splits the cost. Mailbox probably wouldn't be worth a room credit now that I think about it. Should be like 15,000 and you stick it on your plot or something like a ticketbox.

I did think it was better suited to a MUD where houses already mattered, but Achaea's made some progressive changes and Dr. Logos has said he has certain regrets about design. I just wonder if this was ever one.

Addama

Letters already cost something to send/deliver where messages don't, which discourages a pretty neat form of IC communication for something that is basically OOC communication.

Adding more cost to letters just adds to this problem.

Kresslack

Addama said:

Letters already cost something to send/deliver where messages don't, which discourages a pretty neat form of IC communication for something that is basically OOC communication.

Adding more cost to letters just adds to this problem.

Yep. I personally use letters as often as possible, even for little things, since I invested in a stationary kit and a taper/signet set. I regret nothing.

Amarillys

I'm carrying like 50 letters around. They are used plenty >_<

Xith

Addama said:

Letters already cost something to send/deliver where messages don't, which discourages a pretty neat form of IC communication for something that is basically OOC communication.

Adding more cost to letters just adds to this problem.

The point of this thread was partially to reduce the bias toward messages. I think mail is cool and should be used more.

Addama

I don't understand why you disagreed with my post, then.

Ellodin

i didn't bring up the silver whistle because i didn't understand how its function was different from the suggestion, i asked why customise them because custom delivery messages would be irrelevant if pulling mail from a mailbox anyway. like all artefacts, the function isn't worth the cost to many people, but my customised silver whistle is my favorite artefact despite its low mechanical advantage.

if this idea was implemented, though, i think mailboxes would be worth far more than one room credit, just as silver whistles are currently worth far more. player housing might not be as widely used as some prefer (though I'd disagree with this because i don't like the idea of promoting insulation), but i don't think having to go home to pick up mail is a particularly scintillating way to encourage that.

Kresslack

I concur with Ellodin. I don't want mail and newspapers stacking up outside my residence so that shady people like @Antidas know when I'm not home and can break in and steal my Y300 Scotch that I'm saving for any mildly significant occasion ever.

Xith

Addama said:

I don't understand why you disagreed with my post, then.

Addama said:

Letters already cost something to send/deliver where messages don't, which discourages a pretty neat form of IC communication for something that is basically OOC communication.

Adding more cost to letters just adds to this problem.

Adding cost to letters while decreasing the availability of messages. I can only think of limiting them to 5 per day or something. Either way though, if it was 50 to send and 50 to receive, that's not an increase. It's redistribution of expense. Cause I'm a filthy mhun communist.

Kresslack

Limiting letters to 5 per day seems a bit pointless, and making the recipient eat half the cost (no matter how miniscule) is both unnecessary and inconvenient.

Sena

Kresslack said:

Limiting letters to 5 per day seems a bit pointless, and making the recipient eat half the cost (no matter how miniscule) is both unnecessary and inconvenient.

He's suggesting (or rather saying it's the only suggestion he can think of) that messages be limited to 5 per day, not letters.

Messages are far too important for OOC things to be limited like that, though.

Addama

Xith said:

Adding cost to letters while decreasing the availability of messages. I can only think of limiting them to 5 per day or something.

Then people will circumvent this by using forum messages or something.  It's not going to actually encourage people to splurge on housing, it's just going to make their lives arbitrarily more difficult.

And I know that you're presenting this in the context of "It's for a game that is not Achaea" but it's difficult to address your ideas in the context of a game I've never seen or played or know anything about (except that housing is more important in it or something).

Kresslack

I think if a suggestion or idea is going to be pitched, it should be in, of. and about Achaea, and stay within the already working concepts and context of the Achaea environment. Limiting messages or letters isn't going to happen because it limits communication, which IRE has already suggested they have no intention of doing (i.e. cross plane/continent communication).

Xith

It is for Achaea. It was originally a concept for something better than Achaea.
It would limit out of realms communication to sending mail, something more IC. But just a thought. Either way mailboxes alone would be a personal choice

Amarillys

I see possibility here, but I think it would be entirely optional. You can buy a mailbox for your plot and choose to have all your mail sent there. If you don't your mail can just be sent the way it is now. This has the upside of mail not being able to be pickpocketed from you if you get the box but you can't have things sent to you in an emergency. 

Xith

Ah another good point. Mailboxes would be more desirable if theft mattered.

Nim

This idea would work well only in a hardcore roleplaying environment, which Achaea is not.

Addama

Nim said:

This idea would work well only in a hardcore roleplaying environment, which Achaea is not.

Sorry, is there another roleplaying environment in which people have invested literally tens of thousands of real-life dollars in text objects that I'm not aware of?