State of the Island Address #3

[Death]

This month brings on some new changes to tackle excessive pickle farming, improved client and server performance, as well as a couple new features. Let's get into the bad news first.

 

Pickle Farming

Whether you love it or hate it, a lot of players depend on this method of farming to supplement scrap farming. Because of how easy it is to set up and maintain, this has also attracted players who farm well beyond their means that not only cause client performance issues for other players, but it absolutely cripples the player economy.

We've been experimenting with nerfs over the past few months with no success. This month we're trying a different approach, and undoing our stack size buff that enabled pickles to stack up to 500. Their max stack size is now back to 100, in line with other food items. We will monitor the effects of this change and adjust as needed.

Previously, we discussed setting this back to default, which would be 10. I've done some thinking and I decided to simply revert it back to how we had it pre-vending machine nerf. Though we'll also be nerfing the process rate by half, so production will take twice as long. This change will take effect post-wipe, and is not currently implemented.

 

Server Performance

This month we've been hard at work rewriting the entire backend using greatly improved methods to reduce call latency and move all of our custom GUI work to a single dedicated GUI handler. This will not only improve server performance but will greatly improve client performance.

This basically means GUI creation will be handled and cleaned up locally instead of having each instance inside of its own plugin. This will also help with garbage collection, a cause for recent server crashes.

 

Notification System

On our modded servers, you'll notice our hud has yet again been updated. The old wipe progress bar has been replaced with a brand-new notification tray. The old request pop-ups for trades and teleport requests will now show in the notification tray, as well as various other server messages such as NPC bases, server events, and the occasional PSA and server announcements.

You can open the tray by clicking the drop-down arrow underneath the bar. This is a WIP and will likely be improved to be a bit more responsive. Notifications are still being worked on, so expect to see the old pop-ups for the time being. We're still working on updating all of the plugins to support this new system.

 

NPC Bases

To help combat camping, NPC bases will no longer be marked on the map. Instead, you'll receive a vague message indicating its possible position by "near the coastline" and so on. Additionally, we'll be removing the resource drops from the cupboard. This was initially introduced by mistake and was the result of forgetting to clear the TC before saving the building.

We also plan to release a separate update later this wipe that'll allow several bases to spawn at once to ensure more players are able to participate. The resources will continue to drop until a new update is released post wipe.

 

More to Come...

This month will be dedicated to resolving outstanding issues and rework some of the game mechanics to accommodate a bigger player base. More information to come. Additionally, our new black market should be releasing near the end of this month that will feature revolving sell and buy orders, as well as an option to sell unwanted blueprints for credits.

Lastly, we hope to also release our new garage system that will let players store vehicles and replace the old vehicle flare system with a more natural-feeling system. This will work for all vehicles, including the new modular vehicles and the upcoming submarines.

 

Be sure to check this thread for updates as I'm almost positive I've left things out. I will keep this thread up to date throughout the month, and provide a few snek peks of the new features coming!

[rubiks-q-bert]

I tried pickle farming once prior wipe, nope. To damn boring.

In regards to garrisons, even as someone who did quite a few of them, I'm all for it. Much needed change. I love it.

[Nilinx]

The map indication of the NPC bases was useful for flying though so you could look and see if you were going to be shot out of the sky when you take off.

Just another challenge I guess, LOL. 

[rubiks-q-bert]

13 minutes ago, Nilinx said:

The map indication of the NPC bases was useful for flying though so you could look and see if you were going to be shot out of the sky when you take off.

Just another challenge I guess, LOL. 

Was also useful to the campers who put huts all down the coast so they know which one to tp to. Also, those haven't been a thing on garrisons for some time now.

[Kasper]

Now solo players barely have a shot at garrisons.  Teams with the most minicopters who can find and tp to the garrisons now have a huge advantage, like being teamed wasn't an advantage enough. 

[Kasper]

7 hours ago, rubiks-q-bert said:

Was also useful to the campers who put huts all down the coast so they know which one to tp to. Also, those haven't been a thing on garrisons for some time now.

Something everyone in the server was able to do? Now its just goes the team with the most scouts in the air at the top of the hour.

[rerolltoo]

so its ok for people to make loads of net worth as long as they are buying the over priced  PJ's then right?  well i guess  thats it for me i was a small farmer way under 100 composters..but if im being punished for the deeds of the  ones that  get out of control.  I guess i will just move on and find another community.. enjoyed it while it lasted all thanks   for the bang up job  to the Admins on Au. Survival..

 

[rubiks-q-bert]

1 hour ago, Kasper said:

Something everyone in the server was able to do? Now its just goes the team with the most scouts in the air at the top of the hour.

Doesn't make it right. Won't be very profitable soon. TC loot is to be taken out completely. Once they realize it's a loss, they will stop.

Edited July 2, 2021 by rubiks-q-bert

[Kasper]

1 hour ago, rubiks-q-bert said:

Doesn't make it right. Won't be very profitable soon. TC loot is to be taken out completely. Once they realize it's a loss, they will stop.

lol wait so you like the idea of having a useless feature in something? what?

[rubiks-q-bert]

1 hour ago, Kasper said:

lol wait so you like the idea of having a useless feature in something? what?

4 crates still. Not useless at all. From what Death said, it was never meant to have loot in the TC. It's just something fun and extra to do. Not everything needs to be about profit.

[TiffDust]

5 hours ago, Kasper said:

lol wait so you like the idea of having a useless feature in something? what?

it's not useless, it still has the crates unless i read wrong.. and its about the fun (blowing stuff up, using rockets on something) and not about networth (like all the other events/monuments.)

[rerolltoo]

6 hours ago, rubiks-q-bert said:

4 crates still. Not useless at all. From what Death said, it was never meant to have loot in the TC. It's just something fun and extra to do. Not everything needs to be about profit.

why don't it have to be about profit fun is fun but they all about making a profit off us so why cant we want to profit from something in the game which we have to  work for the things to raid it... even with the  garbage in the tc it still honesty isnt worth the waste of time and resources when you can be  making more elsewhere.. just wish the few wouldn't have ruined for the majority of us...garriosons have always only been about fun  when nothing else to do for me anyway

 

[Death]

3 hours ago, rerolltoo said:

why don't it have to be about profit fun is fun but they all about making a profit off us

There is no point in farming credits like this. The only reason players are doing it is because it's easy to do. I can't imagine someone is going to substitute pickle farming with LGF farming when there's no point in it other than to gloat at how many credits you farmed.

[rubiks-q-bert]

Saddened to read announcements and see that people have already found an exploit for pickles... Can we just delete composters now?

[rubiks-q-bert]

6 hours ago, rerolltoo said:

why don't it have to be about profit fun is fun but they all about making a profit off us so why cant we want to profit from something in the game which we have to  work for the things to raid it... even with the  garbage in the tc it still honesty isnt worth the waste of time and resources when you can be  making more elsewhere.. just wish the few wouldn't have ruined for the majority of us...garriosons have always only been about fun  when nothing else to do for me anyway

 

Death pretty much said it for me. But... No one is "all about making a profit off us"... I've read him say multiple times and others backing it up that he doesn't care about your money. 

[rubiks-q-bert]

@Death Related to pickles. Any thought to just altering the vendor to buy compost at a drastically reduced price or just eliminating selling it at all?

[TiffDust]

I observed as pickle farming and garrison TC as it was before (mostly applies to the modded servers); devalued hemp/corn/fish farming. Made it easy enough to buy out all the tech trees so you didn't have to; find/grind, buy, fish, trade or visit a player shop. 

Had players mostly staying inside their pickle farms instead out on the roads, tunnels, skies etc... the social side dropped more so when the free TP to bandit/outpost came in.
Both meant alot of scrap, grabbing the TC of garrison once was enough to buy tons of composters, pickles and farmed lgf to continue the circle of more networth.
The server existed before pickle farming and garrison TC, it will continue on just fine without them.  Players come and go, if you're enjoying an exploit of the game i think it's fair to say it's probably time to move on.

[aNoNiM]

Stating you only had 100 composters I think shows that was part of the problem.

It's not really an exploit on vanilla servers as the stack sizes are so small. You would need to do lots of trips to carry pickles to make it worth while, especially when the vendor doesn't refill quickly. on both purchasing and selling.

 

I do still see this as an exploit with stacks of 100.

[astrumx450]

so why not do what alot of other games do and put a max on things like composters?

 

[rubiks-q-bert]

1 hour ago, astrumx450 said:

so why not do what alot of other games do and put a max on things like composters?

 

He mentioned that in discord day before the wipe. People would just form large teams to maximize how many could be placed and just split the profits. 

[aNoNiM]

Disabling the sale of fertilizer for scrap would be another option. 

[rubiks-q-bert]

3 hours ago, aNoNiM said:

Disabling the sale of fertilizer for scrap would be another option. 

Yeah I brought that one up already. He said the current fix should solve the issue.

[igorcraven]

I've said this before on other issues but once again I think the response to pickle problem was just too extreme.  I think there needs to be some way for players with less resources to make a little scrap/money.  It went from way to much to basically nothing.  Seems like somewhere in the middle there would be an option that would keep the overdoing it down but still provide a way to get ahead for those who do not buy PJs.

[rubiks-q-bert]

12 minutes ago, igorcraven said:

I've said this before on other issues but once again I think the response to pickle problem was just too extreme.  I think there needs to be some way for players with less resources to make a little scrap/money.  It went from way to much to basically nothing.  Seems like somewhere in the middle there would be an option that would keep the overdoing it down but still provide a way to get ahead for those who do not buy PJs.

Road scrap with a tea, hemp farm, do monuments, recycle stuff. Plenty of options. Just those options actually require work which people don't want to do. 

[NaCl]

I do road scrap/monuments until I can either afford or craft some large planters, by then someone has made genetics for 3G3Y in the time I was farming scrap and couldn't dedicate the time to do it myself. I then transition into Hemp/Berry Farming and just slowly expand off the profits and never look back. Every wipe I buy around 20 Pump Jacks, 6 Recyclers, and 3-5 Test Gens all for scrap and still swim in the scrap. Pickles can suck a fat one imo. Never gonna bother placing a composter in a building I own ever again. Didn't even bother with them minus like 5 composters last wipe which I quickly removed. I think the changes to the TC of Garrisons are great as Garrisons are there for the crate loot just like everything else that requires explosives to attack. People need to quit looking at things at a profit margin of min/maxing every single thing they do in a video game and just learn to have fun. Imagine how much more fun you'd have doing a Garrison with friends for fun instead of just TPing to your sleeping bag within spitting distance and blowing the back wall out avoiding all the turrets and literally skipping the whole point of the garrison. At this point it's a free 5k HQM and Garrison Lights for people who are more advanced into the tech trees than the starting players.  If you're already at that point of the game why do you need to get 10k scrap for like 1000 scrap worth of C4? Also humors me that the people who keep complaining about the changes to Garrisons and that it giving more people a chance to do one, are all people I've visually seen spawn at a sleeping bag in front of me within spitting distance of a garrison as I'm running to the garrison and they just pop up at their Sleeping Bag c4 in hand beelining ignoring any conversation or attempt for other people there to join them. hoping they can clear it and TC themselves in and TP away with the loot before anybody else gets there and sees their name not even realizing I'm literally right behind them until I say something to them. Hell, I even had someone show up to one as I ran out of C4 and was waiting for someone to trade me the last 2 I needed to finish the wall to the TC and they ran up blew the wall & TC, dropped their TC blocking me out and took all the loot and TP'd without saying a word to me. The issue isn't with the Garrisons, it's with the people who seem to need to camp them like it's a weekly reset for raid gear in an MMO to grind their useless networth higher than someone to say "I'm more rich than you because I grind harder." We've seen it time and time again and pickles are even an example. Something is put in place, people find a way to abuse it, it gets changed and everyone is like OMG HOW WILL I FUNCTION THIS IS SO UNFAIR MY SCRAP IS IN JEOPARDY! Also to stating this is unfair to solo players and gives groups an edge, maybe if the prior time invested was spent trying to do it with the endless number of people who approached asking to join but they instead get ignored because the min-max is more important than the community experience, You'd probably have a group of people to do Garrisons with on the norm, giving you increased chances of finding one and getting one, but alas everyone only cares about how much scrap they make and how much they're worth and don't want to share anything with anybody.