Let's send the farmers upstate!

[Psi-bolt]

Could we have a sub-zone of Pocket D or it could even be a new zone altogether with a MUCH larger Architect Entertainment area.  Something like 30 terminals and multiple contacts and mission entrances.  Or even just multiple AE interfaces.  Now this is probably too much work, but a sunny version of Croatoa's farmlands would be appropriate.   Cooperative zone, of course.  In lore perhaps it's upstate of Paragon City along the US 95 highway.  Add a trainer, START vendors, a general store, etc.  Just a fun farming community outside of town.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  I personally have no objection to farming and this isn't an anti-farming post.   It just gets very crowded in the Pocket D AE. and Pocket D in general because of all the farming.   

[lemming]

How would you get them to go there?  Pocket D is usually because it's so accessible.

Adding one to Echo Plaza maybe?

 

You'd have to incentivize it.

[Yomo Kimyata]

If we made everything free, then no one would have to farm and then we could use Pocket D for its intended purpose -- awkward sexual overtone chats.

 

I am somewhere between 5.0% and 95.0% serious on this.

[DrRocket]

I think it was an error to have AE removed from Atlas, I would think, putting it back would help with this

 

Regards

[Psi-bolt]

3 hours ago, lemming said:

How would you get them to go there?  Pocket D is usually because it's so accessible.

Adding one to Echo Plaza maybe?

 

You'd have to incentivize it.

A portal in Pocket D.  It would be a sub zone.

[biostem]

9 hours ago, Psi-bolt said:

It just gets very crowded in the Pocket D AE

 

People will always find the path of least resistance.  They removed the AE buildings from the starting zone to ameliorate things somewhat, but I don't think pushing people away will help more than it would hinder.  The AE section is already off to the side, so if you don't want to have anything to do with that, then just don't go down that hallway.  If you want to run other AE content without the crowds, then you are free to go to any other zone's AE location...

[Rudra]

1 minute ago, biostem said:

 

People will always find the path of least resistance.  They removed the AE buildings from the starting zone to ameliorate things somewhat, but I don't think pushing people away will help more than it would hinder.  The AE section is already off to the side, so if you don't want to have anything to do with that, then just don't go down that hallway.  If you want to run other AE content without the crowds, then you are free to go to any other zone's AE location...

Like the RWZ. Which has an AE just as co-op as Pocket D's.

[RadiantPhoenix]

10 hours ago, Psi-bolt said:

Could we have a sub-zone of Pocket D or it could even be a new zone altogether with a MUCH larger Architect Entertainment area.  Something like 30 terminals and multiple contacts and mission entrances.  Or even just multiple AE interfaces.  Now this is probably too much work, but a sunny version of Croatoa's farmlands would be appropriate.   Cooperative zone, of course.  In lore perhaps it's upstate of Paragon City along the US 95 highway.  Add a trainer, START vendors, a general store, etc.  Just a fun farming community outside of town.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  I personally have no objection to farming and this isn't an anti-farming post.   It just gets very crowded in the Pocket D AE. and Pocket D in general because of all the farming.   

Between the two, I favor putting in a new dedicated AE zone (without removing the existing AE locations), with:

• Many tiny AE consoles
• SG Base portal right next to the AE
• An NPC to sell stuff to right next to the AE entrances
• Some crafting benches in the back so you can craft your Purple and PVP IOs for the AH

Give Dr. Aeon a whole new zone for his business. 😄

I'm not sure if it's possible to make an AE entrance inside an SG Base, but that could be nice too.

[biostem]

38 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Like the RWZ. Which has an AE just as co-op as Pocket D's.

Sure, but IMO, the Pocket D one is easier to find and already established.  That long awkward hallway in the RWZ is practically a deterrent in its own right...

Edited yesterday at 03:12 AM by biostem

[Rudra]

24 minutes ago, RadiantPhoenix said:

I'm not sure if it's possible to make an AE entrance inside an SG Base, but that could be nice too.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say "no". Because SG base maps are already instance maps, and instance maps don't (can't?) link to each other from within the instance.

[Rudra]

10 minutes ago, biostem said:

Sure, but IMO, the Pocket D one is easier to find and already established.  That long awkward hallway in the RWZ is practically a deterrent in its own right...

Sure, but if word spreads that there is a less claustrophobic AE that is fully co-op accessible, then maybe that hallway, which isn't hard to find and places the AE pretty much right behind the hospital, may become better known and players will find the updated Vanguard base less daunting to deal with/navigate.

[UltraAlt]

8 hours ago, Psi-bolt said:

I personally have no objection to farming and this isn't an anti-farming post.   It just gets very crowded in the Pocket D AE. and Pocket D in general because of all the farming. 

 

That isn't the only AE location with terminals.

You don't have to be in a co-op zone to write an AE mission.

Vigilanties and Rogues can go to both hero and villain side so one quick trip to Null the Gull can allow heroes and villains to become rogues or vigilantes so they can travel to any AE building to participate in AE missions.

 

There is no need to make full zone just for AE use simply for you to enjoy standing in the open world while creating missions, AE mission selecting, and accessing an AE holodeck.

I don't know how many would want this kind of thing, but the AE is probably used for 90%+ farming. Which is a shame because the DEVs original said that they would ban any accounts that used the AE for farming. But it is what it is at this point.

[UltraAlt]

7 hours ago, DrRocket said:

I think it was an error to have AE removed from Atlas, I would think, putting it back would help with this

 

Too hard to find the one in Kings Row?

[Psi-bolt]

5 hours ago, biostem said:

 

People will always find the path of least resistance.  They removed the AE buildings from the starting zone to ameliorate things somewhat, but I don't think pushing people away will help more than it would hinder.  The AE section is already off to the side, so if you don't want to have anything to do with that, then just don't go down that hallway.  If you want to run other AE content without the crowds, then you are free to go to any other zone's AE location...

Of course, that’s why I just am looking for a bigger Pocket D AE.  

[Ghost]

If the AE portals in Pocket D are too crowded for your liking, have you thought about using the ones located somewhere else?

 

 

[Psi-bolt]

3 hours ago, Ghost said:

If the AE portals in Pocket D are too crowded for your liking, have you thought about using the ones located somewhere else?

 

 

 

You all are way overthinking this.  I'm just asking for a bigger AE.   The whole farm thing was just for fun.   Literally they could just make the Pocket D AE area bigger and add more terminals.  But that said, I genuinely appreciate the responses.

[lemming]

10 hours ago, biostem said:

Sure, but IMO, the Pocket D one is easier to find and already established.  That long awkward hallway in the RWZ is practically a deterrent in its own right...

Yesterday, I did use the RWZ AE and found it laid out well.   More terminals. NPCs and handy workbenches as well.

[Lunar Ronin]

6 minutes ago, lemming said:

Yesterday, I did use the RWZ AE and found it laid out well.   More terminals. NPCs and handy workbenches as well.

 

Problem is that people form instanced MSRs in the RWZ, (which makes no bloody sense).  They can, have, and will ask people using the RWZ AE to leave the zone.

[lemming]

1 minute ago, Lunar Ronin said:

Problem is that people form instanced MSRs in the RWZ, (which makes no bloody sense).  They can, have, and will ask people using the RWZ AE to leave the zone.

Yea, I should have mentioned that.   Though TinPex runs into this issues as well.   Though with instanced ones, they'll be outside the zone soon enough.  And some instanced ones seem to setup in the instance and invite people from any co-op zone.

[Ghost]

3 hours ago, Psi-bolt said:

 

You all are way overthinking this.  I'm just asking for a bigger AE.   The whole farm thing was just for fun.   Literally they could just make the Pocket D AE area bigger and add more terminals.  But that said, I genuinely appreciate the responses.

See, that would have made more sense than asking for farmers to be relocated somewhere else.

[Oklahoman]

2 hours ago, Lunar Ronin said:

Problem is that people form instanced MSRs in the RWZ, (which makes no bloody sense).  They can, have, and will ask people using the RWZ AE to leave the zone.

 

I form my instanced MSRs in RWZ so players have access to Levantera and help from other league members to knock out the requirements for Member of Vanguard, and so people can grab an HVAS before the raid. I don't ask anyone to leave the zone, I just put us in the queue when I notice the zone is around 40/50 full and then continue recruiting through the pylon phase. I always start with less than a full league, but maybe others don't which is what causes the problem you are seeing.

 

I've considered forming in Echo Plaza, but I can't put us in the queue until everyone is in zone so if people are trying to get Member of Vanguard we either have to wait on them or kick them and reinvite once we zone in. I've never had anyone complain about me hogging RWZ, but if that starts to happen something like Echo Plaza becomes Plan B.

 

2 hours ago, lemming said:

And some instanced ones seem to setup in the instance and invite people from any co-op zone.

 

And that's Plan C for me. If I wasn't worried about players starting early, and if LFG worked as it should, this might be Plan A for me. Even inviting people into the instance during the pylon phase sometimes Invite to League will try to throw them on, say, Team 5 even though I have space on Teams 1 & 3 and will then kick them back out when Team 5 is full. So then I have to shuffle open spaces around until I figure out what team Invite to League is trying to throw them onto. Not to mention none of us get an error if I am trying to invite you from Atlas or Mercy or a supergroup base or whatever, so I have to deal with that. I want to do that with as few spaces left as I can.

 

Back to the topic at hand, I'm not sure why we can't have one AE zone with portals there from the existing AE zones. It might cut down on people clogging LFG with requests for farms since the more efficient thing might be to go to the AE zone and broadcast.

[Krimson]

19 hours ago, DrRocket said:

I think it was an error to have AE removed from Atlas, I would think, putting it back would help with this

 

Regards

It wasn't because it was causing lag in the zone. It was a performance issue. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

44 minutes ago, Oklahoman said:

Back to the topic at hand, I'm not sure why we can't have one AE zone with portals there from the existing AE zones. It might cut down on people clogging LFG with requests for farms since the more efficient thing might be to go to the AE zone and broadcast.

 

This is why we pay him the big Oklahomabux.  Great idea.

[Krimson]

There's a perfect low-traffic zone to place an AE in: Echo Plaza. 

[Oklahoman]

3 hours ago, Krimson said:

There's a perfect low-traffic zone to place an AE in: Echo Plaza. 

 

It's low traffic except when it ain't, like for costume contests. On those few circumstances those occur you'll have overlapping chatter. Otherwise I'm for it.