Could people please easen up a bit on the I-know-better-attitude? It's disheartening to read, and I'm sure the torches and pitchforks would come out instantly if we as developers imposed the same attitude. I imagine not many of you have tried building large PWs, so it's not very fitting to lock yourself in the lecturing attitude. And unless we can actually discuss things (as in weighting both sides equally), we are just moving in circles. Don't just tell people how it's going to be like, but bring forward points that might affect how it'll be like.
By personal experience though, I feel the best we can do at this point - where there's lots of arguments for and against - is to acquire some experiences in game. If you want to help with that, try life as a mist-camp hang about for a time, share what you've learned (this will be especially relevant once the new version is up). If you are not up for participating in that, no one is going to hold that against you. We don't want to force anyone in to using the Mist Camp as a hub. We don't force anyone to use the Western Outskirts as a hub either.
Agreed.
(At the end of this long post will be how all this can be applied to the Mist Camp as a mid/high lvl hub.)
Taking some tips from Guild Wars (GW), a game literally made of hubs, there are a few things that every major hub has. (Given this game had thousands of users on at a time and not tens of users, there is still plenty we can learn, and if there's truth in it, it can be applied.)
#1 Is
Exclusive Content. This can be anything, it just has to be very unique content from other areas of the game .
Examples:
Starting Zones (GW had one Starting Zone at the beginning and it got a huge population, and even after seven or so years with the population diminishing it still retains one of the larger populations. Starting Zones will after all feel like home to most players, and they say more often than not that there is no place better...than home. :3 After the stand alone expansions came out, GW had two more Starting Zones, however the third one is different, and probably not for the better, but that is for another time, however it is important to make note, even these starting Zones resulted in a large population in which long time players would return to mingle and assist newbies.)
Atmosphere (This is an excellent one all of you here have succeeded at making work. It is what keeps some players in Dementielu while others stay in Barovia, and others in Har'Akir. I would imagine that if Blaustein had more content to it, to match its atmosphere, there would also be players who want to stay there more often. In GW, simply because of the look of an area, players would go to a destination and stay there, if to do nothing else but go AFK and use the area as an energy hungry screen saver.)
Rewards (This can be monetary, a weapon/armor, consumables or even additional property to your items. As to evidence of the latter reward, there was an area players had to go to upgrade their armor to be "infused". This particular property would allow players to stand a chance against hostile NPC's called the White Mantle. The thing is, the area that this could be done, you would always be able to find people there, if for nothing else, just trying team up to fulfill that property to their armor. Similar to POTM, it is like getting your weapon silver-gilded, only a team effort. As for consumables, every big holiday, the GW staff would throw events, along with the automated quests in which players could go about and earn little consumables that were either, snowballs, cake, fireworks or what have you, however to get these items, you had to visit and participate in activities in the main hubs of the game. For weapons/armor, GW had particular areas one would go to buy the components and the armor, where each of the resulting armor sets had unique looks to them, and improved stats to them. Conveniently enough, these places would be where all the late game major hubs were in GW. For monetary, you would be able to get money rather casually, just playing the game, there were some places you had to earn unique currency, however what I mean most by monetary, is where you would be most inclined to spend your money. And
the most worthwhile place to spend your money would be in the late game major hubs. As for what was bought however, that is for a later section.)
#2 Is
Activities. This one is far too huge a topic, it needs to have its own number. This, in of itself can be anything, and can be widespread or concentrated for effect.
Examples:
Missions/Quests/Overarching Objectives (This particular topic is in large part handled by players and DM's in POTM, however in GW, it was for the most part automated or predestined, and for that reason, players would mingle in an area to complete an objective that was unique to that space alone. However, when factoring in someone like Lizuca, her quest for the casual gathering of five knuckles per pot, her task can be adapted for more worthwhile rewards with of course equal challenges.)
MORTAL KOMBAT! (What I mean by this is pvp. Guild Wars had two different types of main hubs: The storyline hub and then the pvp hub. Depending on the type of Arena a hub offered, you would see a variation in population. The more agreeable the pvp offered the better rate players would find matches. It was all friendly, though persistent and active competition.)
Big Purchases (The biggest and most community encouraging purchase a player could make in GW was to buy a Guild Hall and furnish it to its fullest. The activities that purchased opened up to guild members was well worth the price and time and I think, could
maybe be adapted to POTM, but with the smaller community as is, I have my doubts.)
---There's more but I've been writing this for awhile and I'm running low on juice, but I am going to post this for you all to consider.
How this can be applied to the Mist Camp: Don't make the Mist Camp a starting zone
It is a junction, however to make it a better junction, make it to where there are other destinations people will want to travel from/to. The atmosphere of the camp
everyone is so great at contributing to this aspect. Build it bigger, more spacious, more mist! More room to experience the awe and mystery and potential trepidation the mists should offer, and fulfill that island idea. Rewards, this has been brought up, and I think, when the Mist Camp is better formed in its revised state, the community can better contribute to this aspect. But whatever the case may be, it needs to be more worthwhile to be at the Mist Camp casually, than to be over at Lizuca with her knuckle potions. And for pvp, the Mist Camp is not the place for it, but arenas are a worthwhile social event. If a dev becomes inspired to make an automated, accessible and interesting platform for competition, it would bring in people to the area the arena is set. For big, interesting purchases, it again, doesn't fit the setting for the Mist Cap, but it is an idea for concentrating players to an area. The more attached on is to their purchase, the more they can customize and feel ownership, the more they'll congregate or show attention to their object.
Anyways, keep up the good posts