[SUGGESTION] Website Derelict Warning

Inspired by this thread.

Method 1
I am suggesting a simple message (doesn't even have to be where I put it) on the user's homepage that tells them that their residence(s) are in danger of going derelict.



Method 2
This second method makes it a bit more personal and could be more difficult to code than the first, but it would catch the user's attention easier.

The user would receive an automated message from a forum account, let's say "EmpireMinecraft" for this example.



Reasoning
This is my personal reasoning, for those of you who operate many alt accounts like I do you will understand the struggle of keeping up with all the derelict timers.

I sign onto almost all my alt accounts regularly on the website, but do not go in-game as often with all of my accounts. A message showing that one of my alt's residences is about to go derelict would help a lot considering I don't bother to /p my alts or forget how many days they had last until they go derelict.

+1 from me, mostly due to the fact that I am not always online

+1 PC Problems > Me

+1. It is always great to know when you are going derelict.

If you can visit the Forums and see an Alert you can also see the Vote links and follow them. I think it is unlikely that someone who doesn't log in or vote often enough to keep their Residence would visit the Forum often enough (to see a message suggesting that they log in or vote to keep their Residence). If you want to log in just often enough to keep your Residence and need an alert on your phone or PC, there are plenty of Calendar apps that will do that.

Bump!

IMO this is a good idea, I indeed have an alt who almost went derelict because I simply forget to log on using him. A friendly alert/message will help me keep track of the timer +1

+1

For alts it would be easier to see the status on a (friends) list.
Isn't typing /p <name> quicker than logging into the forum?

This is actually a pretty great idea! especially for those players who still play on EMC, but not actively and sometimes forget the last time they've logged in. Sometimes people forget, I know I have multiple times (especially on my alt account) but if this is implemented, it would definitely reminded me that it's time to vote or login again! I'm quite mad at myself that didn't come up with this first honestly!

I think this is definitely something that should be taken into consideration! +1

It happens that players are active in the forum and inactive in the game for some time, easily for longer than a month.

+1

I never go derelict...oh well.
+1

I know most of the people who have commented so far believe this to be a great aid, and I can even see the merit. However, we must not forget that there is already something in place for those of us who might be afraid of losing a residence. It is called Supportership. It is also because of the benefits of being a supporter that I feel this may not be implemented.

Why would I take time to write extra code to prompt people to log on to alternate accounts ( which could be seen as a way around supporter purchase if all you are interested in is acquiring residences) to notify you that you might lose your residence when I have already given you 30 DAYS from the last time you logged on?

I have been the world's worst at forgetting stuff. Many days when my dad dropped me off for school I would actually forget my books or homework sitting in the car next to me that I had just got out of, and had to run down the road to flag him down so I didn't have deductions for late work. So I really do understand the forgetful thing.

I think this may sound good in theory, but is not really practical for the real development the Empire so eagerly awaits. As for your residence went derelict, I know many residences around my smp neighborhood right now if I had available residence slots that I could force claim, but many of those have been there for several months already. This only proves there is actually extra time available beyond the 30 days.

After thinking about that statement, I actually took a few moments and took a stroll around the neighborhood to locate some of those residences. Here is what I found:

Residence #1a



Residence #1b - This pic really shows off the improvement to the town made by this resident.



Residence #2a



Residence #2b - Notice that Resident #2 is next door to resident #1 in this pic



Resident #3a - If you look close you can see resident #3 is next to resident #2, and can still see resident #1's contribution to the community on the other side.



Resident 3b - At least this resident planted more than one tree.



Each one of those resident examples were over 100 days since last login, which means they have gotten at least 2 extra months to login or vote. I have, however, seen another residence that was in similar status, but it contained a unique build and had lots of stuff inside of it. I rode by it also to see if it was still derelict,but to my surprise, they logged in just 5 days ago. I could have gotten an extra res for my nephew and taken that particular one, but suspected that when 1.9 came out this person will probably return. The location of that particular residence is actually near my family's plots and would have fit nicely due to the close proximity, but out of simple respect for the build, I did not take that one. I am actually happy to see that neighbor active again.

The Empire could have the residence reset automatically upon becoming derelict, but they don't. I think they are doing a pretty good job with the way they have things set at present. Some changes I might make would be some random pre-built houses and maybe even a skyscraper or two that they could plop down on empty residences until they are claimed. Just to give the town a fuller feel, and get us away from the little house on the prairie look that much of the town sports. I also personally think the derelict policy is too lenient. 30 days to go derelict and 30 days of being derelict should be enough time to decide what you want to do. I do also know there are exceptions which are allowed such as military deployment and other events which a player can notify staff that they won't be able to play for a certain time-frame.

As for the pre-built building idea, I know it might be odd seeing similar buildings around town, but if it worked for Sim City it could work here too. Who knows that idea might even warrant an event to make the builds to be used. Well, I am clearly tired. Pulled another "All-Knighter" and have begun rambling. Not to be negative, but I don't see it happening.

Good Luck though.

And never think to vote or login? I don't recall seeing anyone who is active in the Forums complain that they lost a Residence. Perhaps someone who lost interest for awhile then came back, but never while they were active. Either way, if you can manage to hit the Forum page once a week, you should be able to vote while you are visiting.

I didn't play yesterday, but voted and am voting again while I check the Forums today. Last year around this time I didn't play from around May until September-ish but kept up on EMC events and kept all my Residences. I could have voted less but remembering to do it sometime every morning is easier for me.

I forgot to log in and now my beautiful res wide wool cake is gone
+ all of them

+1 from me. Derelict has never been an issue for me simply because I'm very active. On the other hand, for those of us who aren't online for a extended period of time probably don't remember when they were last online, thus they need an advanced warning.

I'd like to put in my input too: Maybe give a far advanced warning. The statements below should be followed by the statement "Please logon to the server or vote for the server to protect your residence(s)." Have the website give you a warning 2 weeks from when your residences go derelict (for derelict times that are 15 days or less this wouldn't appear). Have the 2 week warning perhaps say "Your residence(s) are less than 2 weeks from derelict!". At 1 week before you go derelict perhaps say "Your residence(s) are less than 7 days from going derelict!"

I have neighbors that keep disappearing and I wish they had some sort of warning before their residences went derelict and disappeared.

There is 1 issue I have with this idea, and it's some players don't log into the forums often, if not at all, so for the ones who go offline and don't even have an account for the forums, it wouldn't do any good.

However, for the players who can go on the forums but not in game for some reason, this would definitely be a huge help and reminder.

All in all, wonderful idea, +1 in the end from me.

if a player doesnt connect ingame nor on the server that would probably mean they left...

Well after all it is 12:53am, I haven't been thinking right. Thanks for pointing that out.

bump