In-Game Name:

LegendaryTrio​

What part of EcoCityCraft is this suggestion for?

Main City Server​

Short title for your suggestion:

Spawn Map-Rental Applications​

What are you suggesting?

The founding of an entirely new application for the rental of dedicated custom map-making regions that would allow users to advertise anything and everything on the map created by the blocks placed in that space, which would become available to all players, free of purchase at selected ChestShops at spawn, not dissimilar from renting a shop station at /warp market​

Why is this a good addition for EcoCityCraft?

This would be an entirely "new" idea, requiring little to no input or effort upon the part of staff or developers, as no additional plugins are required besides the ones already available to them in-game. Given the opportunity to commit to something creative without being an extreme burden to implement is primed for success, and hopefully others think so as well.​

Other information:

Four things are necessary in order for this suggestion to be actionable.

First Objective - Dedicated Land Space
A regular map represents an area equivalent to 128x128 block area (8x8 chunks). Due to shading and shadows to differentiate heights of blocks, a 130x130 is best suited to fit custom map-making areas. (It should be noted that there are pre-assigned chunks when making maps, so a matching set of 8x8 chunks must be chosen). Seven of these dedicated areas seem appropriate, with two being reserved for advertising server sponsored events, and five being reserved for regular player use. To avoid a lack of standardization, the base layer of all map-making regions shall be gray concrete, which cannot be edited.

Second Objective - Admin Shop ChestShops
Currently, there exist three ways in which to generate an infinite number of a selected item. Essentials offers the ability to make [Free] signs that give the user with whom it interacts any amount of an /itemdb item for free. However, due to the limitations of Essentials, it cannot create copies of a specified map of a selected 128x128 block region. Essentials also provides the means to create /kits and [Kit] signs, yet this too is contextually limited for the same reason as before. The only remaining and viable option is the purposing of Admin Shops as defined within ChestShops. Admin Shops are normal player Chest Shops except for the fact that they can produce infinite copies of items with custom /iteminfo IDs. Whomever creates these Chest Shops would only be required to do so once, as the custom ID of any particular map does not change. Maintenance of the physical Chest Shop would be handled only in extreme cases where it either has been destroyed accidentally or a technical glitch has caused it to fail. Upkeep of map images when rentals expire would also be dealt with rather easily - a ServerAdmin would simply have to remove the map in question from the corresponding Chest Shop, update the image by flying over the matching 128x128 block area, and return the map from whence it came. If users had concerns about the increase in entity-induced lag from the addition of more Chest Shops or the lack of available free space near /warp spawn from implementing this suggestion, they should find them to be nearly negligible in these circumstances. Player-rented market stations located at warp /market take up a grand total volume of 22,200 blocks. Seven Chest Shops, however, take up only 14 blocks of space; a barely noticeable edition to spawn. This can also be equated to adding another market station to the /market. The minimum number of Chest Shops required for one market station according to server regulations is exactly seven. Limitations, in practice, are nonexistent. Admin Shops, therefore, are the most ideal candidate when attempting to solve the problem of distributing custom-made maps to everyone in-game.

Third Objective - Spawn Map-Rental Application and Governing Rules
If a comprehensive structure for spawn rental applications is already widely known and backed by several years of relative success, why deviate away from the status quo? Due to its clear orientation towards marketing player shops, user-run events, and town plot purchases, it would be appropriate for the required rank to apply for a spawn map-rental application be Mayor+. This does not prohibit Residents or Builders from be able to advertise whatever they deem suitable, it merely inhibits the ability of newer users from hijacking the intended purpose of custom map rentals. As such, Builders or Residents could create a contract in which a Mayor+ ranked player applies for a spawn map-rental and agrees to let said Builder or Resident determine what will be "drawn upon the canvas". For the purposes of promoting a map building market, the custom map rental applicant will be made a region owner of one of the 130x130 block areas, in order to add and remove users as region members to help create vibrant artwork. If it is found that an applicant has added other region owners not clearly denoted on their initial rental application (maximum two), their access to their map-making region will be immediately revoked with no refund awarded. Final approval for what is to be displayed on the custom map before being placed for distribution at spawn is to be determined by the staff team (either from a GameAdmin+ or, if not available, three Moderators/SuperModerators with one being at least a SuperModerator). Although building inappropriate structures will be discouraged by "screening/filtering" questions listed on each spawn map-rental application to be answered by the map renter, anything blatantly inappropriate will be grounds for removal (based on a three-strikes system). If the applicant is to be removed from their rental, 72 hours will be given for the region owner to collect their things. A sample "Spawn Map-Rental" application can be reviewed below (see Appendix).

Fourth Objective - Expiry Thread and Rental Timeline
A distinction must exist between map rentals and market rentals. As long as a player "owns" a shop and has the appropriate funds to maintain weekly renter's fees, nothing prevents that user from "permanently owning" that station. Henceforth, map rentals should be limited to a maximum allotment of 10 weeks. This would presumably establish a higher turnover rate for varied advertisements from different users than "permanent ownership" would. Working on inference therefore, players must be prohibited from sharing and selling map rentals amongst themselves, otherwise stagnation will occur - applications are the only means for which to acquire map rental spaces. Taking guidance from market rentals, map rentals shall work according to a 2 to 4 week scheduling system with a maximum rental allotment as mentioned above. Weekly prices should be set at a premium to differentiate players who just want to make a random “drawing” from users who actually want to create something compelling with their rented map space. A suggested starting price should be placed around $25,000 ECD per week (calculated by taking $10,000 ECD rent per week per prime market station and multiplying by a factor of two (10 stations to 5 map rental spaces) and added $5,000 ECD as rent per week per regular market station). A queue system waiting list should be introduced so as to lessen the randomness with which players acquire an empty map rental. Maps become available on a first-come, first-serve basis, but organized in a way which is fairer to those who cannot always be the first player to file an application. To ensure players are using map rentals as intended, if after one week of rental ownership no visible progress has occurred at the staff team's discretion, the map rental area is cleared and the applicant's rental agreement is void (no refunds are credited to the applicant's account). An expiry thread should be pinned on the forums for this purpose, noting both when the map rental is set to expire and when the 10 week maximum allotment will have happened.

First Conditional Objective - Suggestion Approval Pending MainNorth Launch (For the Purposes of Tile Entity Lag)
Of paramount concern proceeding the launch of MainNorth is maintaining full data capacity to decrease network downtime to an absolute minimum. Generating an infinite number of maps via Admin Shops obviously jeopardizes that target to the detriment of everyone. Theoretically, the launch of MainNorth would resolve this issue, in which case Admin Shops should be considered for the implementation of this suggestion.

Second Conditional Objective - Admin Shops Prohibited for Non-Player Use (Server Events Only)
If the above objective seems unrealistic, it would be preferable to permit the use of Admin Shops exclusively for select server events. Player-based map rentals would be managed by applicants. Staff would provide a single stack of empty maps to distribute around to players, and any more an applicant wishes to create shall be of their own accord (copied maps keep the original map's custom ID number if the original map is place in a crafting table next to an empty map, thus the Chest Shop sign would not need to be constantly changed). Chest Shop upkeep (such as price setting and map replacement) would fall under guidelines similar to market rental protocol - if a user's Chest Shop has remained empty for more than 72 hours or they have been offline for more than 7 days, that applicant will be removed from their map rental space. Also notable in this scenario is the creation of five separate 2x2 L-shaped block regions that allow for the placement of one Chest Shop per applicant. To eliminate the need to purchase a map unless a user demonstrably wants to retain a copy, an item frame with the applicant's map shall be placed on a block above the Chest Shop for all travelers to see.

Third Conditional Objective - Admin Shops Prohibited Indefinitely
If the use of Admin Shops are banned indefinitely, it is extremely preferable to develop seven separate 2x2 L-shaped block regions that allow for the placement of one Chest Shop per map rental space. Otherwise, this objective is the same as the one above.

Appendix - Sample "Spawn Map-Rental" Application Format
In-Game Name:
Do you have the applicable cost in your balance?
How did you make the funds for this application?
Have you read the "Spawn Map-Rental" building rules and application regulations?
Are you starting a new map rental or extending the lease on a current one?
How many weeks are you ordering?
If this is a new map rental, what do you plan on advertising or distributing? What images or ideas will you try to represent on your custom map? Will you be writing anything, and if so, what will the map read?
Will you be adding anyone else as an owner of the map rental region to help you construct your custom map (maximum two)?
Processing time is 1-7 days:
​

Plugin or custom addition:

ChestShops, WorldGuard, WorldEdit, Xenforo​

One suggestion per form:

I Understand.​

 

You did not read the entire post... Please refer to the "Conditional Objectives" section of my suggestion.

 

The point of this suggestion is to "establish" a "new" server "feature" that requires as little effort as possible on the part of the ServerAdmin+ team to implement (creating fourteen WorldGuard regions, a new application in an already existing forum section with prepared questions, an expiry thread, and a few rules similar to Spawn Trade-Shop Rentals on the Wiki) and that provides a creative and unique outlet for users to express themselves.

By working within the confines of what is already possible in-game, I emphasize heavily the fact that I am trying to "found" something interesting and exciting without requiring custom plugins, new game modes, or dedicated servers to complete the task.

For the "Town of the Month" prestige that was recently added in-game, were there not several weeks of preparation and service that went into executing such a project? As a /warp portal had to be created at spawn, the Star Casino entrance had to actually be moved in order to make room for said construction, and an information signage area cleared. A FAQ thread was established for comments and concerns related to this new prestige, and a monthly nomination thread now needs to be reinstated every month by the ServerAdmin+ team to help determine who will be awarded said prize. A "Town of the Month" forum medal also had to be illustrated and configured in the Admin panel on the server's Xenforo.

Did the four current PvP arenas not need to be divided into WorldGuard regions and laboriously constructed by players and monitored over by the staff team for months? Has the upcoming PvP-related prestige not in development and in need of implementation still? And what, if any, ideas have been transcribed or detailed by the ServerAdmin+ team or suggested by players? The project itself isn't entirely finished yet.

Do these things require less effort than what I have tried to explain above? Do they require any less thought than what I have conceived?

Why do we necessarily need a "server" PvP area? Could a user not simply build a giant PvP arena inside of a town and hold events? Why waste the time of the ServerAdmin+ team to undertake such an endeavor in the first place? Why bother implementing a "Town of the Month" prestige when a user could simply show off how awe-inspiring and breathtaking their town is on the forums with pictures, videos, and user reviews? Why bother having the ServerAdmin+ team continually and manually update this information? What's the point?

Similarly, if taken to the extreme, why do we bother having a Spawn Trade-Shop rental area? Tradition? Longstanding continuity? Why not just force everyone to acquire a town, make a shop area, and funnel people there to buy or sell their goods? What makes a spawn marketplace so necessary? New players will know when and where to go to buy things? Could the same not be said for people advertising /warp highgarden, /warp apex, or /warp bedrock? Why could a player make the "premier" shop town and control the tides of the economy? That would be less server involvement and mean more personal time for the staff team. Maybe we have a Spawn Trade-Shop rental area because there is user interest in such a development. Maybe it's because it's considered a server "feature" that requires just a few outlined WorldGuard regions, an expiry thread, a shop rental application, and some building regulations and rules on the Wiki.

I completely and absolutely recognize how the rhetorical devices I employ in my response overstep many personal boundaries and seem to be in poor taste, however, they serve as recourse to logic and sound reasoning for those opinions recognized at the beginning of this post.

That's one way to put it. Minor correction though - 130x130 block regions and a 28 block "map-only shop area" at spawn.

 

@EtherealSquid I concur that implementing this project before Main North's release would be rather foolish. I posted this suggestion prior to it happening as I wanted people to engage with the general concept behind it, not when it would be put into practice. The suggestion's approval should not be pinned to whether or not its approval is acceptable for immediate release at that time. Once the Main City server has been updated, lag should not present as much of an issue as it does now.

Terms of the suggestion are open to change, and if it would appear to be more appropriate, the number of map rental spaces could be lowered to three for instance, and an auction format could be utilized for allocating openings versus a first-in, first-out queue format (making it a larger money sink than it would be otherwise). Everything is up for debate, hence why I tried to cover all bases with the excruciatingly long initial post.

Although andrew gave the go-ahead the Town of the Month prestige and PvP arenas, they were ultimately suggestions started by players before being given that approval.
https://ecocitycraft.com/forum/threads/main-city-server-suggestion-pvp-arena.183694/
https://ecocitycraft.com/forum/threads/main-city-server-suggestion-town-of-the-month.183869/
Neither of these suggestions started out with the intent of being a prestige-exclusive "game mode," and didn't necessarily introduce progression or competition into the game. They were alternative, creative outlets for people to establish a new server feature.