I don't know if there's any intention of having guild halls in Pantheon, but having a cash shop that allows you to deck out / upgrade a guild hall could be a very viable option. I would recommend against having the guild hall provide in-game perks of any kind, but rather just allow for a cool spot for people to hang out. In addition to not being pay to win, if someone (or a collective of people) decide to shell out some cash to the devs, it would likely be benefitting numerous people in doing so.
In doing such, also, a guild hall cash shop could inherently be set a higher price point. I get that this may put smaller guilds at a disadvantage in terms of "how cool" their guild hall is, but maybe that makes sense, and is therefore okay? Also also, in my books, this would be the lesser of the two evils when compared to a player skins cosmetics shop.
Just a thought - would love to hear opinions.
Sorry to post on my own post, but another thought came to me. There appears to be a gazillion people in WoW that buy gold, including almost all the guild leaders. Given that VR is putting such an emphasis on community, perhaps it makes sense that this type of person would be a prime customer that's willing to pay for a cool guild hall. Having a system by which gulid members could contribute even small amounts to bettering their hall could also spark that type of family/community within guilds.
This model would also mainly target "whales" or people that are super down to drop those phatty stacks on video games.
May I ask why you can't post the solution to cosmetic cash shops in the cash shops thread?
Anyways, the issue is that if they add cash shops, it may start innocently enough but it's a slippery slope. Today it's a guild hall. Tomorrow it's a guild hall stacked with convenience trade skills. The day after it's a guild hall that offers merchants that sell unique equipment. Day after that it's a guild hall that sells XP boost potions and so on.
I do not trust a for profit company, even VR, to implement cash shops and throughout the lifespan of the game keep it so it doesn't unbalance the game.
bigdogchris said:May I ask why you can't post the solution to cosmetic cash shops in the cash shops thread?
Anyways, the issue is that if they add cash shops, it may start innocently enough but it's a slippery slope. Today it's a guild hall. Tomorrow it's a guild hall stacked with convenience trade skills. The day after it's a guild hall that offers merchants that sell unique equipment. Day after that it's a guild hall that sells XP boost potions and so on.
I do not trust a for profit company, even VR, to implement cash shops and throughout the lifespan of the game keep it so it doesn't unbalance the game.
Perhaps I should have put more emphasis on the guild hall not providing perks, but that's the idea. Personally I don't see tradeskill merchants as a big deal, but the thought is to make it cosmetic only. I think at the end of the day, though, you need to trust the developer of the game you want to play.
Cleric said:bigdogchris said:May I ask why you can't post the solution to cosmetic cash shops in the cash shops thread?
Anyways, the issue is that if they add cash shops, it may start innocently enough but it's a slippery slope. Today it's a guild hall. Tomorrow it's a guild hall stacked with convenience trade skills. The day after it's a guild hall that offers merchants that sell unique equipment. Day after that it's a guild hall that sells XP boost potions and so on.
I do not trust a for profit company, even VR, to implement cash shops and throughout the lifespan of the game keep it so it doesn't unbalance the game.
Perhaps I should have put more emphasis on the guild hall not providing perks, but that's the idea. Personally I don't see tradeskill merchants as a big deal, but the thought is to make it cosmetic only. I think at the end of the day, though, you need to trust the developer of the game you want to play.
I beleve his point is, they ALL start that way, "guild hall not Providing perks" and thats your intent, but then along I come 3 months down the road and say "There is no reason we can't have X on the cash shop for our guild hall!!" not YOUR intent but so it goes and it has repeatedly for many games (all while saying ..."were not going to have a Pay To Win cash shop")
What I can't understand is all the players being "concerned" with how Visionary Realms is going to monetize their game, thats their busness. For any of us to say "I suggest they do this to make extra money" when we don't even know if there going to need extra money, to me that says "I don't want to spend my time playing the game to build this guild hall I would rather just buy it with cash".
And to me thats taking away some of what I would want to be part of the game. Earn a guild hall as a guild!
Don't get me wrong. The ideal situation is for there to be no need for a cash shop. Just saying I'd prefer a cash shop to be a collective effort, instead of everyone running around with flaming swords they paid cash for.
Sicario said:Guild halls are one of the worst things that can be implemented into an MMO, they kill populations in cities and the feeling of community.
Well, exactly. One thing I've said for years on this forum is that it's really up to the developers on if they want to keep players together or not. Building out guild halls and new cities on far away contenents really splits up the player base which results in starting zones that are empty of ... everyone. At least if high level players had to continue going back to their starting city, new players would see them when they start playing and think the game is still well populated.
Interesting theory about how bad guild halls are. In a game that is intended to focus heavily on socializing with guilds being a major part of that.
Other games give people incentives to spend time in guild halls - by giving crafting benefits or improved abilities to sell or buy things. Let's assume that Pantheon does none of that - a guild hall is a place to go if you want to be with members of your guild and to admire and see the decoration or outright building effort the guild put in. So it isn't a matter of the game giving incentives to get people off of the streets and out of sight.
Is it so bad if people are not in public view 24/7 while talking to friends and guildmates?
For that matter is the underlying theory that all housing is bad, because it makes us less visible. and guildhalls are just a subset of that?
