I may well update this as things go along, might compile it into a subpage perhaps. Any contributions of (unbiased, if possible) coverage are welcome :]
<To be read in 'big brother' stylee voice>
Day 1
<thats quite enough of the silly voice>
The founding fathers of Zion spent the first days on their new island plodding up and down and up and down the feckin path between ore mine and steel refinery, buying the ore cheap and selling high and very slowly building their supplies of cash. All feckin day long. It was either brilliant or pointless or pointlessly brilliant. Or brilliantly pointless. Or pilllessly boiling.
Im gibbering.
The names of these frontiersmen, Bobalobmitchell, Tom, scrag, Kilimo, Dilli, HenryPitchFork, matthew, the ever-perturbed neocat, to name just a few, may well live long in history. Or they wont. Which is more likely.
Anyway, thru hard work and a lil bit of violence in the partially set up robocrows they were eventually able to build the first tractor, taken by Tom and ruthlessly exploited to earn him enough to buy the ore mine and the oil drill. (A wise investor he).
Day 3
The ethereal governors of Zion were pleased to see such industry, but also wanted to ensure all the newcomers had a shot at wealth and glory, not just Tom, tho wise and resourceful he is. So they passed a number of laws restricting the accumulation of an individual's wealth, the limiting of building ownership and the reduction of building tax. Which Tom will no doubt ruthlessly exploit, or complain about loudly if he cannot. <Insert smilie here>
While all this was goin on, lots more steel was being made and transferred, a small number of other players have gained vehicles and the island economy and wealth continued to slowly grow.
Day 4
A biplane has been made by the console aircraft factory. Its ridiculously overpriced and no-one can afford it. But Sales tax is down and the town of console is for sale so Life is Good.
Zion Commentary
Day 5
Tom, Dilli, Matthew and Killimo own buildings on the island. The government is now paying 2s9d of any wages, making it much easier (practically free) for new business owners to keep employees. Vehicle owners may start to notice a change in the balance of the game, as i bring in the element of fuel being a constant requirement. The prices and learn times for new skills have been lowered.
Here are the current scores and stats for the island. 109 players have been on Zion since it started on saturday.
Congratulations to Tom, Matthew, Kilimo, Dilli, HenryPitchFork, Bobalobmitchell and Fooli for doin well in the first stages of the island.
Tom, Dilli, Matthew and Killimo own buildings on the island. The government is now paying 2s9d of any wages, making it much easier (practically free) for new business owners to keep employees. Vehicle owners may start to notice a change in the balance of the game, as i bring in the element of fuel being a constant requirement. The prices and learn times for new skills have been lowered.
Here are the current scores and stats for the island. 109 players have been on Zion since it started on saturday.
Congratulations to Tom, Matthew, Kilimo, Dilli, HenryPitchFork, Bobalobmitchell and Fooli for doin well in the first stages of the island.
Day 6 - 8
Both a quiet and turbulent time over the last few days.. There have been a number of periods where trading possibilities and investment were short (particularly as there are less government-owned buildings now) and also quite a bit of that classic tractor 'politics' involving leading luminaries of the island and the odd 'government agent'. :]
(Full, conflicting details will be available later, in tedious political memoirs called stuff like 'Behind Closed Doors' and 'What really went on in Zion', once all the fighting has stopped :] )
IronReaper was the first to make a player-built building on the island - the fuel store in FreeTown. This was followed not long afterwards by the first Fuel Refinery on the island, built by Matthew in the industrial heartland of Console.
Both a quiet and turbulent time over the last few days.. There have been a number of periods where trading possibilities and investment were short (particularly as there are less government-owned buildings now) and also quite a bit of that classic tractor 'politics' involving leading luminaries of the island and the odd 'government agent'. :]
(Full, conflicting details will be available later, in tedious political memoirs called stuff like 'Behind Closed Doors' and 'What really went on in Zion', once all the fighting has stopped :] )
IronReaper was the first to make a player-built building on the island - the fuel store in FreeTown. This was followed not long afterwards by the first Fuel Refinery on the island, built by Matthew in the industrial heartland of Console.
Day 9
There is only one 'government' building now left on the island. The limits for building ownership have now been increased to allow more player owned buildings to be constructed.
So far, the island treasury has taken 982s4d in sales tax & a bit over 1000s in building construction tax, and paid out 3023s in unemployment benefit, 983s in wage grants and over 9000s in investment added to government buildings.
A 10s grant was given to all inhabitants today to celebrate the arrival of a new bottle of whiskey on mount zion.
Wage grant has now been increased to 5s9d per employee and minimum wage to 6s. (Meaning it still costs the same - practically nothing - to have employees, but now they get paid more). Wages are paid monthly (every 6 hours or so realtime), so if you've got a 6s job you will now be earning about 25shecks per realtime day for doin nothin cept helping out the business owners.
There is only one 'government' building now left on the island. The limits for building ownership have now been increased to allow more player owned buildings to be constructed.
So far, the island treasury has taken 982s4d in sales tax & a bit over 1000s in building construction tax, and paid out 3023s in unemployment benefit, 983s in wage grants and over 9000s in investment added to government buildings.
A 10s grant was given to all inhabitants today to celebrate the arrival of a new bottle of whiskey on mount zion.
Wage grant has now been increased to 5s9d per employee and minimum wage to 6s. (Meaning it still costs the same - practically nothing - to have employees, but now they get paid more). Wages are paid monthly (every 6 hours or so realtime), so if you've got a 6s job you will now be earning about 25shecks per realtime day for doin nothin cept helping out the business owners.
Day 10-17
Another quiet period of island-building for these few days. The cost of producing all of the island's products and buildings was reduced (a reflection of the increased technical 'knowhow' of the inhabitants, to follow the storyline.. :] ) and therefore tractors, hovers and the planes are now much cheaper. All the main government buildings have now been sold, which'll mean the plodding along trade routes that the founding fathers of the island were forced to do will become less of a focus with the island.
Congratulations to Matthew, IronReaper, Moppeux, Kilimo, neocat, Henk, Magicfinger & Kitchen for picking up the buildings in this stage, and thank you to everyone who has continued to play on the island. I know it aint quick to progress and not everyone's cup of tea, but enforcing a slow growth regime like this has helped enormously in the testing and development of the game, and has led to the addition of a number of important features. (Call it an extended stress-test if ya like..) Hopefully, those involved will eventually be able to look back on these early days with pride (and say 'I remember when all this was fields..')
The next few weeks should hopefully see many more buildings being built and there will continue to be gradual economic changes to encourage this. Sometime in the next few days the vehicle rules will be changed too, so that bounty-hunting will become a more significant part of the game. (Which itself will no doubt necessitate even more fixes and additions to the game).
As a rough guess, id expect Zion to last for something around 3-4 months - The player with the most cash at the end of this period (whether thru trade, bounty-hunting, crowfighting or whateva else happens to become an earner over the next few weeks) will be rewarded with control of a world in the next cycle. And dont despair if you're not one of those rich people yet.. these things can change :]
Another quiet period of island-building for these few days. The cost of producing all of the island's products and buildings was reduced (a reflection of the increased technical 'knowhow' of the inhabitants, to follow the storyline.. :] ) and therefore tractors, hovers and the planes are now much cheaper. All the main government buildings have now been sold, which'll mean the plodding along trade routes that the founding fathers of the island were forced to do will become less of a focus with the island.
Congratulations to Matthew, IronReaper, Moppeux, Kilimo, neocat, Henk, Magicfinger & Kitchen for picking up the buildings in this stage, and thank you to everyone who has continued to play on the island. I know it aint quick to progress and not everyone's cup of tea, but enforcing a slow growth regime like this has helped enormously in the testing and development of the game, and has led to the addition of a number of important features. (Call it an extended stress-test if ya like..) Hopefully, those involved will eventually be able to look back on these early days with pride (and say 'I remember when all this was fields..')
The next few weeks should hopefully see many more buildings being built and there will continue to be gradual economic changes to encourage this. Sometime in the next few days the vehicle rules will be changed too, so that bounty-hunting will become a more significant part of the game. (Which itself will no doubt necessitate even more fixes and additions to the game).
As a rough guess, id expect Zion to last for something around 3-4 months - The player with the most cash at the end of this period (whether thru trade, bounty-hunting, crowfighting or whateva else happens to become an earner over the next few weeks) will be rewarded with control of a world in the next cycle. And dont despair if you're not one of those rich people yet.. these things can change :]
Day 18,19
Last couple of days have been quite busy ones (in Zion terms :] ). Firstly, congratulations to Henk, who now has the first player-built town, called "Boone", just west of console. Perhaps in reaction to this, another member of the 'Zion aristocracy', IronReaper, sold his westerly town 'FreeTown' for a cheap price to new player 'airdisc', and then built a new steel refinery in console. Steel prices (and hence the production costs of vehicles) have dropped significantly as this market is finally opened up to competition.
Good news for the economy, particularly has the promised 'vehicle will be lost when destroyed' setting will definitely be activated very soon...
Approximately 150 separate players have been on the island in the last 7 days.
Last couple of days have been quite busy ones (in Zion terms :] ). Firstly, congratulations to Henk, who now has the first player-built town, called "Boone", just west of console. Perhaps in reaction to this, another member of the 'Zion aristocracy', IronReaper, sold his westerly town 'FreeTown' for a cheap price to new player 'airdisc', and then built a new steel refinery in console. Steel prices (and hence the production costs of vehicles) have dropped significantly as this market is finally opened up to competition.
Good news for the economy, particularly has the promised 'vehicle will be lost when destroyed' setting will definitely be activated very soon...
Approximately 150 separate players have been on the island in the last 7 days.
Days 20 - 27
Phwrr, where were we? ..
4 weeks in and the island is starting to run a little more like a 'normal' one. (Albeit slower and with slightly less action :] ).
We're probably starting to approach the halfway point in the lifecycle of the island, and currently we have 4 main contenders for the crown of Zion.. Matthew, Henk, IronReaper and Moppeux. Behind them are a group of players including airdisc, Kitchen, hedgehog, VDZ, puggy, magicfinger and many more not far behind.. all with a chance of catching & overtaking the 'aristocracy' with a good buy, a bit of luck or a windfall of one form or another.
One such windfall, the weekend robocrow tournament, is currently in progress and has resulted in much activity in the skies of Zion. At the halfway mark, the battle for 'best crowfighter' is currently being closely contested by Spider and Sticks, with ratings of 3.00 and 3.03 respectively. Sticks is also close to the top of the 'most kills' chart (227) which is currently led by Songi (274).
Meanwhile.. on the island, a storm is brewing... Houses are being built and weapons are being stocked in stores. Whatever could it all mean.
Phwrr, where were we? ..
4 weeks in and the island is starting to run a little more like a 'normal' one. (Albeit slower and with slightly less action :] ).
We're probably starting to approach the halfway point in the lifecycle of the island, and currently we have 4 main contenders for the crown of Zion.. Matthew, Henk, IronReaper and Moppeux. Behind them are a group of players including airdisc, Kitchen, hedgehog, VDZ, puggy, magicfinger and many more not far behind.. all with a chance of catching & overtaking the 'aristocracy' with a good buy, a bit of luck or a windfall of one form or another.
One such windfall, the weekend robocrow tournament, is currently in progress and has resulted in much activity in the skies of Zion. At the halfway mark, the battle for 'best crowfighter' is currently being closely contested by Spider and Sticks, with ratings of 3.00 and 3.03 respectively. Sticks is also close to the top of the 'most kills' chart (227) which is currently led by Songi (274).
Meanwhile.. on the island, a storm is brewing... Houses are being built and weapons are being stocked in stores. Whatever could it all mean.
Day 28 & 29
The robocrow tournament over the weekend meant most of the recent action on Zion has been in the skies, and the economy changed little. There was, however, the first instance of vicious vehicle destruction, when VDZ cruelly deprived Sticks of his tractor by shooting him with a machine gun. How nice :].
Economic news : On friday of this week, the players on the top 10 networth will be 'knighted', which will allow them to give cash to other players and to change the town type of any towns they own. The number of buildings a player can own will also be increased slightly later this week.
Economic news : On friday of this week, the players on the top 10 networth will be 'knighted', which will allow them to give cash to other players and to change the town type of any towns they own. The number of buildings a player can own will also be increased slightly later this week.
Days 30 - 36
Heres the current top 10 networth and wealth tables..
Unfortunately, one of the Zion nobility, Matthew, decided to leave us recently, giving stunner the opportunity to claim most of his inheritance, but also meaning that the normally regular supplies of oil from his refinery started to dry up - and a minor fuel crisis ensued. Supplies are still short and the cost of fuel has risen in some places. Many druids were seen wandering around on sunday night complaining about the shortage and wondering if they'd ever get to drop bombs from their biplane again.
Heres the current top 10 networth and wealth tables..
Unfortunately, one of the Zion nobility, Matthew, decided to leave us recently, giving stunner the opportunity to claim most of his inheritance, but also meaning that the normally regular supplies of oil from his refinery started to dry up - and a minor fuel crisis ensued. Supplies are still short and the cost of fuel has risen in some places. Many druids were seen wandering around on sunday night complaining about the shortage and wondering if they'd ever get to drop bombs from their biplane again.
Day 37, 38
.. but then fishing was invented and everyone was happy, particularly when a new shop opened up that bought freshly caught fish at 5d per, enough to make a small but comfortable living for any extremely dedicated fisherman. Many fishing umbrellas were seen scattered around the lakes of zion.
Tripp built a new oil drill in freetown which will hopefully help things along fuel-wise, but nevertheless, fuel is still in short supply, and the only 2 oil refineries are still failing to meet the demand.
Other news : New technology means bombs are now slightly cheaper to produce, and both bombs and bullets will shrink in size shortly, allowing more to be carried in your average vintage aircraft. Rumours of druid-compatable jetpack technology have yet to be confirmed.
.. but then fishing was invented and everyone was happy, particularly when a new shop opened up that bought freshly caught fish at 5d per, enough to make a small but comfortable living for any extremely dedicated fisherman. Many fishing umbrellas were seen scattered around the lakes of zion.
Tripp built a new oil drill in freetown which will hopefully help things along fuel-wise, but nevertheless, fuel is still in short supply, and the only 2 oil refineries are still failing to meet the demand.
Other news : New technology means bombs are now slightly cheaper to produce, and both bombs and bullets will shrink in size shortly, allowing more to be carried in your average vintage aircraft. Rumours of druid-compatable jetpack technology have yet to be confirmed.
Days 42 - 56
Alll a blurr..
Sorry for the lack of commentary atm. I'm very much afk at the moment, except for the odd bit of local-server coding and forum browsing during lunchtime at work.
Last time i was around, it was pretty quiet on Zion, but as always theres occasional opportunities to earn a bit of cash, do a bit of crowing and have a lil fish, which is what the Zionites do. At some point in the near future a new subgame will be added to the island that'll allow you to generate a bit of extra cash from capturing and holding key buildings, no promises when. Then sometime in June the last stage will start, where players will be encouraged to gather their cash in time for the final judgement.
Alll a blurr..
Sorry for the lack of commentary atm. I'm very much afk at the moment, except for the odd bit of local-server coding and forum browsing during lunchtime at work.
Last time i was around, it was pretty quiet on Zion, but as always theres occasional opportunities to earn a bit of cash, do a bit of crowing and have a lil fish, which is what the Zionites do. At some point in the near future a new subgame will be added to the island that'll allow you to generate a bit of extra cash from capturing and holding key buildings, no promises when. Then sometime in June the last stage will start, where players will be encouraged to gather their cash in time for the final judgement.
No longer a frontier island, Zion has gone through its first phase of decay and neglect. Those buildings owned by irregular, broke or careless players have decayed to dust. The lack of steel (and many new players) has led to quite a drought in activity and profit, despite the still large number of regular visitors (They're just not staying for long.. ) and the fairly large amount of wealth floating about in the economy.
But there are still a number of players who've maintained their buildings and are continuing to increase their wealth. Congratulations particularly to Henk for having the most money after about 3 months of play, and to moppeux, tom and kitchen for keeping their businesses alive. A free world, and a chance to name a star system and a world in the galaxy will be awarded as prizes to the top players shortly.
Because of the general quietness, building decay and restore costs have been reduced appropriately (though both are still a significant factor). The rate of growth of the economy relies primarily on the number of new players, and the number of jobs.. hopefully both will be encouraged to grow..
On the galaxy, Zion has the highest potential rewards available (specifically because it is so difficult to make money here) so continuing to build your character here will, in the long run, make buying some nice space equipment a lot easier..
But there are still a number of players who've maintained their buildings and are continuing to increase their wealth. Congratulations particularly to Henk for having the most money after about 3 months of play, and to moppeux, tom and kitchen for keeping their businesses alive. A free world, and a chance to name a star system and a world in the galaxy will be awarded as prizes to the top players shortly.
Because of the general quietness, building decay and restore costs have been reduced appropriately (though both are still a significant factor). The rate of growth of the economy relies primarily on the number of new players, and the number of jobs.. hopefully both will be encouraged to grow..
On the galaxy, Zion has the highest potential rewards available (specifically because it is so difficult to make money here) so continuing to build your character here will, in the long run, make buying some nice space equipment a lot easier..