Oh hey, big game companies - MY TAX BILL IS HILARIOUSLY LARGE BECAUSE YOU WON'T PAY YOUR FAIR SHARE YOU UTTER BASTARDS.
Ahem.
Folks, as you might have guessed, the taxman has visited and I've gotta find six grand from somewhere. Emily and I live month-to-month, we don't have owt saved up (which is how we paid the similar tax bill last year). I'm gonna do the sort of one-time-only bundle deal that you just can't pass up for Memories in Places, but I could use some more ideas for ways to get Fast Bucks. We've got nearly eight thousand players and we only need six grand, this shouldn't be hard. Help?
Might I suggest a 2012 Tax Bundle that would grant you a slip of paper along with a mild assortment of Lodge items. The paper would increase your bank interest for a single DK or something.
Or possibly, for 1,200 SP (or whatever varied amount you'd like) a cig box with 100 cigs, because I'd buy that over the 75 cig box.
Also, I can easily throw a decent sum of money at you; but which is better: Throwing a large lump some, or small ginger amounts.
Wouldn't it be nice if ordinary people could evade taxes as well as companies and millionaires can...
Good luck, CMJ! If you want to make more sales in the Lodge, then there were quite a few ideas here.
Another totally random idea: make some medals or something for awarding to the most generous donor/s. Perhaps people who donate more than X amount can, for the next month, get entered into a draw to win a small Lodge thing. (Might donate.)
And ... people who donate over X amount get to vote on which thing/s you will work on next? (Obviously from your choice of things. Would buy.)
And ... people who donate get to see pictures of your lions? (Would buy.)
(I would also guess that an MOTD would get noticed more than an Enquirer thread. Might be worth it casting the ideas-net and donation-appeal wider.)
...which is better: Throwing a large lump some, or small ginger amounts.
Might I suggest a 2012 Tax Bundle that would grant you a slip of paper along with a mild assortment of Lodge items. The paper would increase your bank interest for a single DK or something.
...which is better: Throwing a large lump some, or small ginger amounts.
The husband will grumble, but I just chucked a 20 in the hat. Wish I had more to give. Working in a bookstore means little cash. 
As for items well...ummm....
You know what would be awesome? Just pure, super awesome awesome-sauce?
Something I would HAVE to throw money at? Just because it would be necessary to my SURVIVAL?
A stuffed spiderkitty doll.
I don't...I don't know how it would be possible. BUT I WOULD NEED ONE.
-moo
PS: Especially if it had a little joker hat or something.
The husband will grumble, but I just chucked a 20 in the hat. Wish I had more to give. Working in a bookstore means little cash.
As for items well...ummm....
You know what would be awesome? Just pure, super awesome awesome-sauce?
Something I would HAVE to throw money at? Just because it would be necessary to my SURVIVAL?
A stuffed spiderkitty doll.
I don't...I don't know how it would be possible. BUT I WOULD NEED ONE.
-moo
PS: Especially if it had a little joker hat or something.
*Gasp* are we discussing physical meatspace objects?!
You should sell Requisition tokens! Watcher's face glowering on one side, FailBoat, SpiderKitty, the Drive or Harebrain on the other! I'd buy... some, depending on the price.
Super Sneaky Bastard Message: Or you could sell chainsaws...
He's still got pride of place atop my telly.
*Gasp* are we discussing physical meatspace objects?!
You should sell Requisition tokens! Watcher's face glowering on one side, FailBoat, SpiderKitty, the Drive or Harebrain on the other! I'd buy... some, depending on the price.
Super Sneaky Bastard Message: Or you could sell chainsaws...
You should sell Requisition tokens! Watcher's face glowering on one side, FailBoat, SpiderKitty, the Drive or Harebrain on the other! I'd buy... some, depending on the price.
You could sell Barn Raisers in the Lodge. I'm certain that there's people who would just jump on the chance for some of those. And as Buddleia mentioned, I'd suggest making a MOTD about this too.
Donations are the route to go for this tax conundrum, you lot -- in-game item suggestions and/or detailed plans for bank heists are more useful (and immediate!) to the puzzle than merch suggestions.
People would spring for Barn Raisers, yeh.
Donations are the route to go for this tax conundrum, you lot -- in-game item suggestions and/or detailed plans for bank heists are more useful (and immediate!) to the puzzle than merch suggestions.
People would spring for Barn Raisers, yeh.
Idea.
People like those stupid thermometer things. You see them outside of fire houses and so forth when people try to raise money. A big DR MARIO looking...thing...that fills up as people donate.
You could add one (I know I know I'm always thinking of ideas that make more work) and it would help keep people watching and maybe they'd kick in that little extra as it crept up to certain milestones?
Maybe make it sorta kickstarter-y? As much as it sucks to put more things on your plate maybe promise that for certain milestones certain things happen? Or...maybe make special things that only exist for those that kick in 100 or more.
Like those donation drives on NPR.
I used to listen to This American Life, and Ira Glass always fucking got me to donate. I don't know how, but he did. He just made me feel so...good about feeling bad that they needed money...or something. Granted, I never could afford to donate enough to get the fancy bag or the mug that says Wait Wait don't drink me!... but the business model seems sound.
-moo
Surprise Packages/Joker Boxes/Lost Luggage.Buy one, get a random item (or items). Maybe they're someone's lost backpack, and they've got some random Eboy's Items. Maybe it's a small bag of req, or a pack of cigs. Or a weapon from Sheila's. Or a Memento of some sort: "I opened this random box and all I got was this lousy Lio-ARGHRAGHAG!" Just...a box with a surprise inside. And do not tell us what's on the possible list of items. General category? Sure? Specifics? No. And maybe change them up from time to time.
I'd buy favour/a way to get off the failboat without triggering a new day.
2. Name Tag - A one-time-only name change.
I would love to be able to buy an Extended Bio as a Hunter's Lodge item - I think it's one of the few donators' perks (or the only?) that can't be bought and gifted, and I can see it being useful for alts and friends and the like.
Also, a way to buy and gift chronospheres to others.
An item that allows people to redistribute their DK points.
I'd buy favour/a way to get off the failboat without triggering a new day.
I'd buy favour/a way to get off the failboat without triggering a new day.
An item that allows people to redistribute their DK points.
Donating for people is kind of bunk if you're just wanting to spend 25 - 50 USD cents on them.
- Colours. There are days when I'm dying to use a cotton candy pink or a really vibrant red. Sadly the game doesn't offer those colours in favour of seven different shades of black. It might be something to consider to make these colours donor-only, perhaps for a limited time. Yeah, I'd pay good money for the privilege of making your collective eyes bleed.
- I love each and every one of my clannies, but sending each and every one of my lovely clannies is a pain in the behind. Dear Caveman, can you help me buy their love?
- The map of the Island, at 2000 req, is still a bit steep if you're really new. Perhaps it'll be a nice 50 cent item? I understand it won't get you your six grand, but at least 50 cents isn't a loss in paypal fees. The idea behind that is that, while no one is going to donate 50 cents, they will donate maybe a bit more than that.
The first donation is the most difficult, so increase the benefits for first-time donors. Perks like the Commentary Export (R.I.P.) and the bigger bio make that first donation more tempting, and once you have the first.. more can follow. Besides colours, other perks could be:
- A special memento with a donor-only attribute (can't be gifted or dropped, only discarded for those that wish to remain anonymous).
- If you buy me a pint, I'll buy you a pint.*
- Longer retention for distractions.
- A sent box for distractions.
*One-time offer. Only redeemable at the Prancing Spiderkitty.
Yeah, I'd pay good money for the privilege of making your collective eyes bleed.
I just thought of another item you could sell in the Lodge that people would probably be willing to donate for: the ability toovr their place. I have a few places that I'd be willing to donate some money to move.
I had another thought! An auction to have a character of your choice be immortalized as a kissing booth NPC! Naturally, most people would choose their own character, but whatever.
I had another thought! An auction to have a character of your choice be immortalized as a kissing booth NPC! Naturally, most people would choose their own character, but whatever.
I'd really like a one-time (or just really expensive) name change tag thing. I (and a lot of other people I'm guessing) would probably spring for that.
I also like the idea of an HP-reducer, though it doesn't seem quite right that that would be a donator item. A lot of people would love a DK point refunder gadget, too, I'm sure.
edit: Oh yeah, a dwelling mover thing! Maybe limit it to once per dwelling, though. A mobile bingo hall might be the last thing we need.
Building on what was mentioned before: a vote on the next feature (from choices)? Each dollar donated is a vote?
I had another thought! An auction to have a character of your choice be immortalized as a kissing booth NPC! Naturally, most people would choose their own character, but whatever.
Maniak: You're a beautiful human being, but, NOOOO. NO. noooooooo. We've had too many stints of unreadable Bright Primary Colors and Eye Melting Neon pages.
Seriously. I can remember `imonths`i where i had to skip most in-character text because it hurt.
FML (which still makes me giggle, 'cos it reminds me of Fuck My Life): I'm wit'chu, brother. Donations for Kissing booth changeups!
A few ideas to get CMJ some cash:
Another sale in the Hunter's Lodge- When Boxes and Health Certificates were at half price, I know a bunch of people (myself included) who donated somewhat generous lumps of money all at once.
C&Cs that affect the outside of a Place. These might work differently than regular C&Cs, so they could be purchasable in the Hunter's Lodge.
An item, C&C, or something purchasable in the Hunter's Lodge that would allow chat in Places to not expire over time, instead being limited by page numbers, or having an extended amount of life time.
An item, C&C, or something purchasable in the Hunter's Lodge that would allow you to export chat again.
Either an item to help bring down threat level in Outposts, break breaches (already suggested), and/or an item purchasable somewhere that allows you to send out a "call to arms", displaying messages in Outposts for a certain amount of time that X character is kicking arse and taking names in X outpost and could really use the help of other contestants.
This next idea I must say I have not tinkered with Thoughts yet very much, so if what I'm about to suggest is already doable with Thoughts, please forgive my ignorance:
A Place Memory, in the sense that it doesn't store values for Players, rather for the Place itself, and remains constant until changed by some method (most likely C&Cs or through the Master Settings)
Teleportation between Places (Might need to be careful with this one, since it could potentially be exploitable). A different type of Teleporter Beacon that would allow for travel between Places that contain this type of Teleporter Beacon. The Beacon itself could be purchasable with SP, and then need to be charged with cigs, or costs an OST to use. This would be very handy to transfer materials from one Place to another without triggering a NewDay if you have a Barn Raiser or Builder's Brew active. Alternatively, simply make this a feature that costs some SP to use in the current Teleporter Beacons. (The suggestion itself is for a way to travel between Places without having to exit a Place and trigger a NewDay)
First off, for a quick bit of cash that might be very easy to do, why don't you bring back the Emily Bundle? That was an excellent value for the money and a lot of people missed out on it due to lack of funds (including me).
Another thing to bring back would be the Requisition Multipliers....by goodness I LOVE those things!
The outpost-clearing items would be a TON of help for those outposts that constantly get breached, so I really like that idea.
How about a nifty item that helps out a veteran player like the Cookies do a Rookie? For example, a brownie....or Veteran Pie? Such an item would grant +50% hit points for Game Day, maybe a +50% Stamina Boost, and a straight up +50% Attack and Defense Bonus? Charge maybe....250 Donator Points for that one.
If Islanders want to have something more permanent and physical to show their fondness of the island, what about Improbable Island Shotglasses or Pint Mugs? If a design could be reached for say, The Prancing Spiderkitty or BOOZ, I believe something like that would take off pretty easily. Hell, I don't even drink much at all, but I'd display a set of shotglasses.
If trains DO come back, you might be able to sell train passes in addition to the players collecting cards...say, 100 Donator Points for a book of 10 Passes, 250 Donator Points for 1st Class, and 500 Donator Points for The Sleeper/Dining Car...where players can actually rest on the train as if they slept in a Single Bed and got a meal randomly determined from the various diners on the Island.
I LOVE Maniak's suggestion of having more Colors Available, though paying for individual colors might be a bit much....why not offer a secondary color palette for say....1,000 Donator Points....and include 8 to 16 colors in each? As time goes on, come out with more palettes.
What about Picture Frames in Places...that work similar to Clatter in The Prancing Spiderkitty? So if you type in "Look at Spiderkitty Painting", you actually get to see it? With all the programing touches you've made in the last few months, purchasing several picture frames and a lot of creative programming, one could make games similar to that, which would add even more entertainment value to the places!
Another place feature that might be worth spending Donator Points on: Restaurants and bars that actually SELL FOOD AND DRINK! As in real stamina boosts! The money would probably not go to the people running such places (operating costs, labor even at minimum wage, ect), but imagine the sheer variety that the lot of us could come up with. A single Restaurant License might run a player say...500 Donator Points and allow them to throw in a menu of maybe 6 Food Slots to create...throw in some parameters for the stamina gained, and this might work. I know in Carter's Cottage alone there are at least a dozen places to eat and drink. But how cool would that be...seeing all sorts of cuisine and booze combinations, from Pope Tarts to Camel Piss (I.E. Mountain Dew in the LARP I used to play in...)
One last thing in my little brain dump here....Gift Boxes...I LOVE them, but what if you're an Insane Gifter like me who dumps out maybe 50 to 100 gifts a week....maybe more than a few to the same person....it's not much, but it could add up. Giant Gift Boxes for 10 Donator Points each....with 5 Item Slots. Want to send a friend a bunch of Monster Repellents for that Bastard Rank? These would be perfect, and it would cut down on the time the present giver would need in the Gifting Station.
I hope some of these ideas help out...let me know if you need any more! 
--Scott Matthew
AKA Chef Albert Carter
I'd love to donate, but (are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.):
I usually use my laptop for II.
This morning, the house-rabbit struck a blow against the bourgeoisie by neatly nipping my power cord in twain.
I'm now on my iPad, hence I'm using the (a) mobile version.
This version doesn't come equipped with the terribly attractive keyhole graphic.
Since my memory is filthier than a three year old can get whilst dressed in their best clothes, wrestling with a pig and eating a chocolate ice-cream, I can't remember if I'm supposed to hit the Author box or the other one.
No, the rabbit yet lives, but he's been talked to very sternly and I've taken away his copy of Marx.
TL;DR? Short version: which box and you may want to throw a reminder for idiots like me on the MoTD.
TL;DR? Short version: which box and you may want to throw a reminder for idiots like me on the MoTD.
Thanks, Trowa! On the non-mobile version, an explanation comes up when you hit the coinslot (not "keyhole"...need more coffee), but not on this particular mobile version. Off to donate!
I support most of the proposed ideas, especially my own.
FML (which still makes me giggle, 'cos it reminds me of Fuck My Life
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
CUSTOM TATTOOS, dammit.
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
CUSTOM TATTOOS, dammit.
What would custom tattoos, well, do, exactly?
We idea, how about an anti-thieving midgets (anti-taxman?) certificate that makes it so when you get fail boated you don't lose your reqs. I'm sure many people, especially those that dive into breached outposts, would spring for one of these.
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
CUSTOM TATTOOS, dammit.
We idea, how about an anti-thieving midgets (anti-taxman?) certificate that makes it so when you get fail boated you don't lose your reqs. I'm sure many people, especially those that dive into breached outposts, would spring for one of these.
And I still don't know what the point of custom tattoos would be.
The website is down? No warning given?
The website is down? No warning given?
That's a relief. Thought it had gone belly up. Passed on. Kicked the bucket. Shuffled off this mortal coil. Run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!
Teleportation between Places (Might need to be careful with this one, since it could potentially be exploitable). A different type of Teleporter Beacon that would allow for travel between Places that contain this type of Teleporter Beacon. The Beacon itself could be purchasable with SP, and then need to be charged with cigs, or costs an OST to use. This would be very handy to transfer materials from one Place to another without triggering a NewDay if you have a Barn Raiser or Builder's Brew active. Alternatively, simply make this a feature that costs some SP to use in the current Teleporter Beacons. (The suggestion itself is for a way to travel between Places without having to exit a Place and trigger a NewDay)
I'm pretty sure someone's said it already, but I want a giant tacky fundraising thermometer. giant. Tall and skinny. I want donating a fiver to make an observable difference. That'll get me to scrape my wallet out.
Teleportation between Places (Might need to be careful with this one, since it could potentially be exploitable). A different type of Teleporter Beacon that would allow for travel between Places that contain this type of Teleporter Beacon. The Beacon itself could be purchasable with SP, and then need to be charged with cigs, or costs an OST to use. This would be very handy to transfer materials from one Place to another without triggering a NewDay if you have a Barn Raiser or Builder's Brew active. Alternatively, simply make this a feature that costs some SP to use in the current Teleporter Beacons. (The suggestion itself is for a way to travel between Places without having to exit a Place and trigger a NewDay)
Better yet, make them actually have a chance to explode!
...which is better: Throwing a large lump some, or small ginger amounts.
Here's an idea that cropped up in another current thread: an enhanced version of the Take Memento contraption -- one that could stash the memento in the inventory of a different Place.
Why it's good: it would allow for Multi-Place Errands (Wongo's clever suggestion) to be set up to be (almost) self-maintaining.
Would buy.
Couple things that come to mind...
Memento contrivances only work with mementos you created. I think you can get around this if you make a mould and give the mould to someone else. Then they should be able to use a Memento contrivance for that memento in their place. Basically, you have to pass the mould around to everyone who's going to use that as part of their programming. I haven't tried this, though, and I don't know if anyone else has...
No, I think that what Sessine would like is to have a Contraption that when put in Place A will take mementos and put them in Place A's inventory. I think that Things (as mentioned in another thread which I'm too lazy to find right now) might do the job instead though.
No, I think that what Sessine would like is to have a Contraption that when put in Place A will take mementos and put them in Place A''s inventory. I think that Things (as mentioned in another thread which I'm too lazy to find right now) might do the job instead though.
No, I think that what Sessine would like is to have a Contraption that when put in Place A will take mementos and put them in Place A''s inventory. I think that Things (as mentioned in another thread which I'm too lazy to find right now) might do the job instead though.
I threw in a few bucks, and oh man, if they make custom tattoos, I'd make one for every single one of my characters. And anyone who knows me knows I'd do it.
I'd be the one asking for money.
Please, sirs, I need just one in the shape of an amoeba. And then I'll only need 35 more.
And I'm with Rose, if we can somehow get that Spiderkitty in mass production, even if we shrink down the design to Beanie Baby status, I would buy the crap out of that.
Another Idea is some new posters.
-The 'staff' of the Island- The Watcher, Corporal Punishment, Mr Stern, other NPCs that I know are in CMJ's head, even CMJ himself.
-The 15 (I think it's 15) forms of the Lion.
-A bulletin, much like the ZAP grenade poster, that announces Dr. Improbable's latest invention.
-'Postcards' of all the Outposts. 'New Pittsburgh-Wish you were dead.' 'Squathole-Get out.'
Did someone explain to the Person Of Limited Imagination why custom tattoos are a good idea? Because I really don't know how to put it any other way. They're custom tattoos. They are tattoos, that are customized. Um.... That's it.
Did someone explain to the Person Of Limited Imagination why custom tattoos are a good idea? Because I really don't know how to put it any other way. They're custom tattoos. They are tattoos, that are customized. Um.... That's it.
FML, lots of people are already paying to get a custom race, a custom title, a custom name colour, an extended biography, an avatar, a mount customiser, a custom weapon description, a custom armour description ... and all of that could go in the biography too. (Via links if necessary. Some people already add links to their bios.) And yet, people are still willing to pay for more than what they could squeeze in to the defaults. This is a suggestion for one more way of customising a character; several people have already said they would pay for it. Maybe I wouldn't, and maybe you wouldn't, but is it really necessary for you to keep questioning it? This is an ideas thread.
Back on topic, more suggestions:
Budd I totally agree with your ideas about (well LOTS of things but specifically this):
(Come to think of it, maybe there should be a whole submenu for Buy Place Improvements, rather than tacking them on to the current menus/pages.)
Impulse buys are good. There'd be a lot fewer Instant New Days sold if people had to buy them beforehand in the Lodge.
(Not to mention Chronospheres... I'm sure I'm not the only one who has racked up an embarrassingly large number of those gorgeous purple-swirly glass spheres. Gets me every time: "Damn, out of days! Do I have to stop playing? No! For just $2.50 plus a mere handful of (mumble) dimes, I can be the Energizer Bunny and start all over again!")
So yeah. Add my voice to those saying "Aye!" to this. In-Place purchase of Place-related gadgets would totally work.
...I heard that Pinrut wants 18 squares of II. 72 dwellings. With 200-300 rooms each. That'd be 7200 cigarettes, at least. And over 216000 rooms.
If only that effort was supported by donations! XD.
...[insert swaggering and boasting gossip here]
If only that effort was supported by donations! XD.
...[insert swaggering and boasting gossip here]
If only that effort was supported by donations! XD.
I'm pretty sure someone's said it already, but I want a giant tacky fundraising thermometer. giant. Tall and skinny. I want donating a fiver to make an observable difference. That'll get me to scrape my wallet out.
...[insert swaggering and boasting gossip here]
If only that effort was supported by donations! XD.
Hmm. All of a sudden, I'm seeing a dwelling called Great Expectations.
I honestly think cobblestones need to be used for more than just copying mementoes at the moment, and my idea is to use them in conjunction with supporter points as a new material for building and jobs in the same manner as mementoes. Say, 10 cobblestones and 1 supporter point can replace 1 wood or 1 stone if any player is having trouble (or just can't be arsed) getting those materials because for instance they have to lug them through a breached outpost when they teleport in.
Linking them to building in this way will make the cobblestones much more useful, and motivate perhaps even more players to donate their time to the World Community Grid as well as cough up a little more cash in exchange for DP used for building.
Many awesome ideas already...
Some use for the cobblestones would be much appreciated - whether as weapons, armor, building material, jewelry, edibles or having a literal rock concert. Temporarily allowing 1,000 cobblestones to = 1 cigarette or some such comparable exchange rate would also be awesome, even if there was an additional real world fee attached to activate this option.
In the meantime... Since Spiderkitty plush does not seem very likely at the moment... With your permission, would it be okay to attempt to design a Spiderkitty tee shirt? We could submit the design to threadless.com. They pay for designs if the designs get made. Deciding what gets made takes voting and anyone can join to vote. So if the design was good enough and had support here, it would help. If the design gets made, that would be a donation of two grand for this site. Plus two hundred if you didn't want a gift card for threadless.com. And a new shirt would be available for fans to advertise the site with. Does this sound reasonable?
With the place building bundle, I see it as an extremely great value.
However, with the weightless wood and stone amounts being the same (1000 each), I have one slight problem:
Places typically use up more wood than stone.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still buy the bundle if there weren't more wood than stone, but it just seems somewhat counter-intuitive to have the same amount of wood and stone given out when stone is used less than wood.
Then again, the fact that most dwellings are close to a forest might balance that out, but with costs of wood being at least twice as much as the costs of stone (in jobs that require stone) this doesn't quite seem right.
Perhaps raising the amount of wood supplied would be a good idea.
Still... that is a lot of wood and stone.
With the place building bundle, I see it as an extremely great value.
However, with the weightless wood and stone amounts being the same (1000 each), I have one slight problem:
Places typically use up more wood than stone.
Don't get me wrong, I'd still buy the bundle if there weren't more wood than stone, but it just seems somewhat counter-intuitive to have the same amount of wood and stone given out when stone is used less than wood.
Then again, the fact that most dwellings are close to a forest might balance that out, but with costs of wood being at least twice as much as the costs of stone (in jobs that require stone) this doesn't quite seem right.
Perhaps raising the amount of wood supplied would be a good idea.
Still... that is a lot of wood and stone.
There ar a decent number of beacon's out there.. if you just find one with a nice public one you can build around it rather easily. The titan's watches for instance I've noticed they have beacons to help titan hunters get to titans but as they are rather open they are quite useful to use to fuel and use for building near... if your of a mind.
Spiderkitty may be good place to start but wanted to add that this wonderful game of yours offers many other potential ideas for tee shirt designs. I, for one, would love a Friend of Hedgehogs or Crazy Audrey themed shirt to advertise this site with. Am sure that other players who have spent more time here would have all kinds of design suggestions. Maybe a shirt with the rock-paper-scissor mutant? Maybe some angry midgets? Maybe one of The Watcher or the Failboat? Only to be done with your permission, though.
It would be a donation of two grand for the site each time a design got made. Plus an additional donation each time the design got reprinted. And that may not be much, in the grand scheme of things but perhaps it could help - yes? Granted, threadless.com would take a share of the profit from any shirt design they made but they'd also handle production, advertising and distribution - so maybe this balances out? *shrugs*
And how about 5,000 cobbblestones = 1 cigarette, if a small fee is paid to activate this option?
I can predict this right now:
If I get the bundle, I'm going to run out of wood really quickly.
No, seriously, the version of the place I have in the Places Testing server has already used more than 1000 wood. Heck, I think using over 5000 isn't an unreasonable estimate. And I will probably never finish the top floors on that server. The real thing won't be quite as big as Stonehenge, but it will be quite the feat.
Still, you've got a good point, Sessine.
I can predict this right now:
If I get the bundle, I'm going to run out of wood really quickly.
No, seriously, the version of the place I have in the Places Testing server has already used more than 1000 wood. Heck, I think using over 5000 isn't an unreasonable estimate. And I will probably never finish the top floors on that server. The real thing won't be quite as big as Stonehenge, but it will be quite the feat.
Still, you've got a good point, Sessine.
And how about 5,000 cobbblestones = 1 cigarette, if a small fee is paid to activate this option?
And how about 5,000 cobbblestones = 1 cigarette, if a small fee is paid to activate this option?
Here's another idea, and this one actually has a use. How about selling in the Hunter's Lodge:
A BIGGER COOKING PAN.
How about a pan that holds 50, or 100 bites of meat? Then those of us who can fight well over 200+ rounds per day, and don't mind defending ever-besieged outposts without food, could actually feed ourselves. 20 bites of French hen even 50 fights or so does not keep a warrior going.
And, game-world-wise --- it's really something that would happen. People would contrive themselves bigger cooking pans so as to be self-reliant.
(To FML: once your objection was voiced, I understood your query better. To which I reply: tattoos you proclaim yourself to have, aren't real.)
Here's another idea, and this one actually has a use. How about selling in the Hunter's Lodge:
A BIGGER COOKING PAN.
How about a pan that holds 50, or 100 bites of meat? Then those of us who can fight well over 200+ rounds per day, and don't mind defending ever-besieged outposts without food, could actually feed ourselves. 20 bites of French hen even 50 fights or so does not keep a warrior going.
And, game-world-wise --- it's really something that would happen. People would contrive themselves bigger cooking pans so as to be self-reliant.
(To FML: once your objection was voiced, I understood your query better. To which I reply: tattoos you proclaim yourself to have, aren't real.)
)
The game Dwarf Fortress is being programmed by 1 man with his brother for idea and business support. The developer subsists entirely on donations from the players who download and enjoy his pre-Alpha versions of the game, and if I remember correctly, brings in about $30-35k per year.
Recently, due to a very long period without a new version update (in order to completely restructure the internal code), he held an "Animal Donation Drive" for a month, where people voted with their donation dollars on which animals they wanted to see get implemented into the game as a wildlife creature. (This went beyond just making a whole bunch of creatures--each creature brings in another industry for the Dwarves to work with, like beekeeping, ivory-crafting, ink-sac-harvesting, etc.)
CMJ needs money to live and enjoy doing what he's doing, and I understand that. I'm always loathe to encourage any sort of donated in-game benefit that reduces challenge/complexity, because it breaks the integrity of a level playing field in a game by awarding advantages to the deepest pockets. I think a "Feature-Drive" might be a solution that helps incentivize players into giving their money--players love adding their own ideas to the game, after all. This, of course, is by no means an easy solution on CMJ's side because it shifts away attention from the current list of bugs to fix and features to add, but the 70+ animals are being added a few at a time in each standard bug-fix release. It's possible to balance "a little bit for the donation drive and a little bit that I intended to work on anyway".
Of course, animals were more limited in scope for that game than simply broad "features" on Improbable Island. If we can narrow it down to something that's acceptably reasonable yet still people are eager to donate for, that would be cool.
I reread this and I'm not sure I'm being clear, so let me use a hypothetical example:
CMJ says, "Hey guys, I'm gonna replace the Joker in-combat suit-based card drawing with more specific cards. I'm gonna need 50-60 card suggestions of a minor bonus or penalty (cig, 20 req, lose 5 health, deal half damage on this turn) accompanied by a single line of up to 70 characters of flavor text (roll the card into the cig, pull the coins from the monsters' ears, papercut, distracted by playing card turning into a dove)." The forum thread racks up about 150-180 suggestions. After a week, CMJ locks the thread and prunes any of the least-likely or unpalatable suggestions with excessive buffing, and then announces on the MOTD for people to donate with a message that tells CMJ which suggestions they want to see implemented as an effect, 1 dollar per vote. The top 50 or 60 suggestions that were donated for get implemented. Joker combat is forever a little more interesting, and many players delight to see their own permanent effect on the game. CMJ gets money. And no one walks away defeated, dejected, and deflated.
By the way, this forum moves WAY slower when I'm not around to stir up unnecessary debate.
By the way, this forum moves WAY slower when I'm not around to stir up unnecessary debate.
It's so lonely on the internet, when you guys go away. 
So stir away, Mr. Fred. Then I can experience some more fleeting human contact on the fantastic forums of this fantastic game.
Super Sneaky Bastard Message: And the gallery is here, too!
There ar a decent number of beacon's out there.. if you just find one with a nice public one you can build around it rather easily. The titan's watches for instance I've noticed they have beacons to help titan hunters get to titans but as they are rather open they are quite useful to use to fuel and use for building near... if your of a mind.
And how about 5,000 cobbblestones = 1 cigarette, if a small fee is paid to activate this option?
Could also be a Sneaky Lion identification shirt with many pictures of objects that do not in any way whatsoever resemble a lion....
What about Picture Frames in Places...that work similar to Clatter in The Prancing Spiderkitty? So if you type in "Look at Spiderkitty Painting", you actually get to see it? With all the programing touches you've made in the last few months, purchasing several picture frames and a lot of creative programming, one could make games similar to that, which would add even more entertainment value to the places!
Ok, so CMJ, you said that you needed to sell 240 Creator Bundles to pay off the Taxman. I still see 122 in the Lodge. That means that you only sold 178. That's damn near 70 shy. I'm curious if still made enough money to take care of your tax problems. And if not, what's the next step and what can we, as players, do to help?
Ok, so CMJ, you said that you needed to sell 240 Creator Bundles to pay off the Taxman. I still see 122 in the Lodge. That means that you only sold 178. That's damn near 70 shy. I'm curious if still made enough money to take care of your tax problems. And if not, what's the next step and what can we, as players, do to help?
The Improbable Island Enquirer - Forum
http://enquirer.improbableisland.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=27136