Red Storm Ideas:

[BlackMagic0]

I have quite a few suggestions to making it a far better place for people that actually like the area, right now RS seems to be the only village in the game which has gotten almost no attention. Mostly it would have to do with vendors, apartments, and spice traffic. This would assist with the population of actual red storm folks. It'd be realistic! Since now we'd have criminals on the run from the law, spice-hunters, hunters, and all kinds of folks coming by! Breathing new life into the village, when all of these make sense IC. Its a heaven for these sort of people as long as they follow the Sand Lord's laws! Though codely it is rather annoying to even attempt to play these out.

I will also post my ideas here: And edit later to add the rest/more...

New/Old Apartments: I see apartments as you are renting out a home, these are your homes, most families living in here have worked hard to get into them! Most may also have multiple families living in the same shitty room to save coin, since they are all commoners. I believe that a few more apartments should be added to Red Storm, and/or the price of the old apartments should be lowered. New apartments: I would like to see some two room apartments with higher rent cap. Also to drop the old one room apartments down to 250-300 coin a rent-phase! Should be able to rent with more then -one- other person. As this is closest to a third world country, should not be uncommon for 2-3 families to share a living space!!
Apartments in general should not have a max of two people per room.


Vendors: For the most part the market of Storm is good enough in items and stock. They have a wide variety of things, though could do with a few more choices on certain items. The main problem with the vendors in Storm is that there is no vendor to sell spice to. Now with all the 'happy' spice hunter echoes, one would assume you could at least make a living for bread and water off spice hunting. Now there is no Kuraci PC that wants to go down there to support the sifting network, so I think a npc (Much like the one that buys salt in Allanak.) should be added to the warehouse. So spice hunters can sell their spice for a reasonable amount of coin, at the moment selling it is worthless. Its more useful snorted off the ass of a hooker in the tavern! (That is fun regardless but back to the point!)


So these are two of my ideas for Storm at the moment to make it far better for anyone not of a certain sub guild. So all the run a ways, outcasts, and such have a -chance- to survive. Since you should be able to get some work with kurac for the spice-hunting, work in the mills, join the militia, or such things in the virtual world if you are down there for any reason. And many folks have reasons to go hide out or find a new living in Storm!

[IAmJacksOpinion]

Yes.

Two things I never understood about RS.

1) Why are apartments soooo expensive?
2) Why is there no jal-like spice vendor?

It used to be that every few months or so some Kuraci would be around to buy your spice, and give you food and water. Haven't seen one in a looong time, and personally I don't blame anyone for not wanting the role of sitting around bored in RS waiting to grab spice off of people. I personally don't 'play' there (except for starting out, or passing through) because it has no lovin'.

My first character was from RS... aaaahh...

[BlackMagic0]

I've gone out for entire days to sift on old ranger pcs.

And came back with at most 5-6 grains of spice. Its annoying, its not hard at all, its near impossible to survive off of spice-hunting.
I wish the echos would change to spice-hunters being upset and pissy. Not drunk, happy, buying rounds, etc.

It may be because I actually rp? And don't spam 'use sift deposit' till it disappears. Maybe if I stop rping while doing it. 


And the "2 per room" + how expensive always got me.

I'd love to play a simple commoner, who lives down there to spice-hunt, hunt, work in the mills, etc..

[Oleupata]

Please be very careful with posts like this. I edited a few parts that were heavily suggestive of IC information.

[BlackMagic0]

Please be very careful with posts like this. I edited a few parts that were heavily suggestive of IC information.

Sorry about that, Oleupata. Thanks though!

[Nyr]

I did quirk an eyebrow at the poll options--who's going to vote no to "Do you want more ice cream?"

Red storm is a very small location.  The one-room apartments are really all that would be available; I don't foresee us adding more to add further incentive to dilute the playerbase, and really, it's not meant to be a high-volume PC hang out place.  I'd be willing to review the spice sales in Red Storm, but to be honest, there's a sentiment backed by data that more PCs than not manage to make profit (if not unrealistic profit) in this village.  I'd rather look at curbing this somewhat before reviewing spice or apartment prices.  (Somehow the apartments are all full anyway, so I doubt the prices are a major issue.)

[solera]

I like having no profitable way of selling spice to NPC's in Storm.  It's a great incentive to go out and make contacts.

[BlackMagic0]

Good Stuff.

I was hoping more so for people to comment, and not simply go yes/no to be honest. I most likely should have not done a poll.

Though I kind of agree on the unrealistic profits, and maybe if those were balanced out- reviewing spice traffic would not be so bad or lowering apartment prices.
I could give a few ideas on balancing it. Though would be far better emailed then here since would be IC information.

I would like those 'yes' people and 'no' to give their comments, actually ideas. Why? Or Why not?

Please? 

[Sinna]

I love Red Storm.  Very hard to "make it" there, though.

[BlackMagic0]

I like having no profitable way of selling spice to NPC's in Storm.  It's a great incentive to go out and make contacts.

And I doubt Kurac would be very happy with you spice hunting, and making contacts to go sell it on your own. Undercutting their profit on their spice.
This is where the vendor comes in hand. And most PCs will not buy spice nor entertainment. One the reasons I have stored bards, and don't wanna play a beggar.
Many people IC are out for themselves. No one wants to support a 'flavor' role. Aka beggars, entertainers, bards, or indie sellers of useless things- spice included.
And not complaining, simply being realistic here. And actually make sense for most people to be out for themselves- issue is it does not count for the Vworld, and someone would pay for it.

[Ghost]

I'd be willing to review the spice sales in Red Storm, but to be honest, there's a sentiment backed by data that more PCs than not manage to make profit (if not unrealistic profit) in this village.  I'd rather look at curbing this somewhat before reviewing spice or apartment prices.  (Somehow the apartments are all full anyway, so I doubt the prices are a major issue.)

If people are making profit, I doubt it is with spice.  Not only it has 5 item limit in selling, but NPCs also buy them so cheap it is not a feasible way of survival.

An NPC vendor like House Jal's Salt buyer would make a lot of sense.  They could buy infinitely, and pay per weight of it.

[Akaramu]

I agree that if compared to salt grebbing, spice sifting should be more profitable. Or maybe salt is too rewarding. My salt grebber PC made 300 'sid -per run-.

Why should spice be so much less valuable than salt?

[Aaron Goulet]

I remember when Tlaloc gave Red Storm some love back in the day.  He did a great job.

I still think it needs more.

A Kuraci spice buyer that operates like the salt, cotton, and dung buyers would not only make spice sifting the viable career it should be, it would also make IC sense.  Kurac would profit more for buying spice from independent sellers at a low (lower than what they sell it for, at least) price, rather than paying the salary of the gazillion or so in-house sifters it would take to meet the world's spice demand.

[Bast]

I know they likely wont add more apartments in Storm. But it would be really nice if they did.    Or even if they put a couple buildings up in Luirs. Again I would also like to see houses being rent-able again.

[roughneck]

The alleys on the east side of Storm aren't dangerous enough.

[Schrodingers Cat]

The alleys on the east side of Storm aren't dangerous enough.

The dead guy I found there last week would probably disagree.

[BlackMagic0]

Again I would also like to see houses being rent-able again.

Hell yes. Two   faces of agreement.

[Myrdryn]

If people are making profit, I doubt it is with spice.  Not only it has 5 item limit in selling, but NPCs also buy them so cheap it is not a feasible way of survival.

An NPC vendor like House Jal's Salt buyer would make a lot of sense.  They could buy infinitely, and pay per weight of it.

Just to clear things up, the spice should get cleared out once per day, allowing more spice to be sold the next day.  If this isn't working we'll look into something else that allows more spice to be bought.

[Ghost]

Still, it would make more sense if the NPC buyer was coded similar to Jal, I think.

I have not checked if the NPC is cleared in the next IG day.

[BlackMagic0]

If people are making profit, I doubt it is with spice.  Not only it has 5 item limit in selling, but NPCs also buy them so cheap it is not a feasible way of survival.

An NPC vendor like House Jal's Salt buyer would make a lot of sense.  They could buy infinitely, and pay per weight of it.

Just to clear things up, the spice should get cleared out once per day, allowing more spice to be sold the next day.  If this isn't working we'll look into something else that allows more spice to be bought.

From past old pc experience. Its not. Or I have bad luck.

Unless you mean once a RL day?

And even 5 items a day is extremely low and impossible to do anything with.
Unless on all RL day, sifting. And go back every dawn, every hour on. Then could get somewhere.

[Bast]

If people are making profit, I doubt it is with spice.  Not only it has 5 item limit in selling, but NPCs also buy them so cheap it is not a feasible way of survival.

An NPC vendor like House Jal's Salt buyer would make a lot of sense.  They could buy infinitely, and pay per weight of it.

Just to clear things up, the spice should get cleared out once per day, allowing more spice to be sold the next day.  If this isn't working we'll look into something else that allows more spice to be bought.

I haven't done a lot of spice grebbing mainly because I spend more in water looking for it then I could ever profit from it. I have no idea how anyone could make enough just for food and water off spice hunting.

[BlackMagic0]

Stuff....

Stuff....

I haven't done a lot of spice grebbing mainly because I spend more in water looking for it then I could ever profit from it. I have no idea how anyone could make enough just for food and water off spice hunting.

Its mostly impossible, unless I am missing something.
Though not trying to make it easy either, hard is good, challenge is good, though the whole being impossible is not good.

Spice is one my favorite parts of the game and Zalanthas.

[Akaramu]

I haven't done a lot of spice grebbing mainly because I spend more in water looking for it then I could ever profit from it. I have no idea how anyone could make enough just for food and water off spice hunting.

On that note, the price of water being sold in Red Storm really puzzled me last time I had a PC there to check. I wonder if it's intended. 

[Qzzrbl]

It's definitely a hard place to play and try to keep a character in there-- even harder than 'Rinth if you're not a crafter of any sort. There's really not much a newbie hunter could hunt, because beetles or other beasties from around the Silt Sea always pop up and "omnomnom" their ass when they even try. And Spice Sifting, when compared to dung-digging, salt-grebbing, and even obsidian mining, has a retarded risk:profit ratio. It's near impossible to keep a PC alive there if t anyone wants to try to keep a PC there, what with the sandstorms that rangers even get lost in, lack of plants to supplement food supply, nothing to hunt that won't kill you, and beetles almost perpetually lurking a few leagues from the gates and spice deposits. It's really no wonder nearly everyone who makes a Stormer winds up in Allanak, which is really a shame because Red Storm has an interesting history and a unique take on things.

But.... There are no clans to join in Storm, spare a GMH compound or two that nobody really uses. No PC militia at all..... It's pretty much a place for a criminal or raider or rogue magicker to lay low for a while.

I agree that Storm needs a good bit of love.... And if it's not meant to be a PC "hangout" place, then why is it even available as a starting location? Might as well just take it off the selection list and leave the settlement for the odd PC that wants to go there-- like Cenyr.

I personally wouldn't see giving Storm some TLC as "diluting the playerbase", but more as, "enriching the game world".

[BlackMagic0]

A lot of good stuff...
I personally wouldn't see giving Storm some TLC as "diluting the playerbase", but more as, "enriching the game world".

I agree here. Specially on the first part! Though this part left in the quote is the one I wanted to bold out from the rest.

Also this: It makes me sad to see that spice is less valuable then dung/poop, obsidian, and salt! Specially since all three those are fairly risk-free-easy-made-coin for a smart player.