Topic

Some thoughts on the ancestral lands

I like them. They're pretty, and they speak to my inner Glitch.

Visiting them also tends to pay off pretty well. Maybe too well?

I like the presence of the Juju Bandits, and I wonder if it makes sense for there to be more of that in the ancestral lands... potentially some high payoff, but also more risk.

Also, I wonder if maybe we should be able to go there just once a game day. (Though it has been helpful to my butterfly project to go there more often.)

Posted 16 months ago by clare Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • The pay off is spectacular, but the danger is minimal, imo, that is the problem.  I would rather it be riskier than restrict access even more (only once a game and and only for a few minutes at that? urgh).

    juju's are adorable.  I just want to eat them up, literally, because they look like upside-down jello cups.  They don't need to be scarier, just better at their jobs.  Also, I think that once made effectively avoidance-worthy, one should be able to escape them by hiding in holes and doing some MacGyver type set of actions--you should have to make something to ward them off that can only be made while in the nostalgia land, to keep the pressure of the timer still effective.
    Posted 16 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I would like there to be a bigger penalty for staying in too long. I remember getting stuck, realizing I couldn't get out in time and being really worried about what would happen. When I just got kicked out with no other significant impact, it was kind of a letdown, frankly.
    Posted 16 months ago by Chronicler Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Excellent point, Ysabela, it's kind of like that timer turns into your mom, nagging you to come empty the dishwasher.  You can totally ignore her, and periodically holler "Ok, be right there" to buy more time (the verbal equivalent of getting a vacuole) until she comes and stands at your door and then you get whisked back to Dishwasher street.  But it's really not that big a deal.

    ETA: @StarBryte and TJF OMG that is right!  It's been too many years since those things were stuck in between my teeth at the movies.  
    Posted 16 months ago by Nanookie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The payoff felt huge for me when I was below level 20. But once skills are higher, the payoff isn't as good. I often already have most of what the homelands give me. So, I like keeping it as it is without a huge penalty. It's a great way for newer people to get some treats and learn about other items in the game. (I didn't learn much about herb seeds until the homelands gave me some, for instance.)

    Agreed that juju's look like upside-down jello cups. They are candies -- Jujubes: http://www.marblehead.net/amy/jujube/
    Posted 16 months ago by StarBryte Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Nanookie They look to be honest like Jujubes, a candy that's been around for about 130 years or so.  We used to get them at the Theatre as a kid because they were chewy once they softened and took forever to eat.

    @Starbrite Darn my slow typing! 

    I don't know if I like it or not, I frankly mostly enjoyed Glitch because there was no "monster-slaying" or standard RPG issues here.  It was to me a game based on the gatherer/crafter mentality.  The Rook and now the JuJu's are changing the atmosphere of the game for me at least.

    Honestly I don't like the ability of anything to reach into my bag and come out with something.  I can't even do it (open my bags) while mining how can a knee high confection do so as I run past them?

    Are they cute?  Sure and the first time I saw them I LoL'd.  But the stealing from my pack was old the second time it happened.

    The "flags" take far too long to reset as well in my opinion.  I was getting 1 flag out of 40 or so (at work I don't have my numbers handy) and the ratio of reward for Juju stealing (admittedly if I hit a flag was the only time they popped) was not good because of that.  Had there been more flags for me to personally hit I don't think the JuJu's would have been quite so annoying to me.

    ~~TJ Fuzzybut
    Posted 16 months ago by Thaddeus J Fuzzybut Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Love the JuJu's and find that there are just enough.  I don't find them *Jujus* on any street that there are no blue thingies (gosh what are those things called) to pop.  I had to laugh like a maniac when I got approached by TWO jujus at once.. didn't know which way to go.. trying to dodge one the other got me and my knee jerk reaction allowed the other one as well to get me.  The payoff in the long run is well worth the few times that I just can't avoid the jujus.    I love going to the ancestral land when I'm low on energy and have sometime left before start of new day... I rack up the all sorts of goods then. 
    Posted 16 months ago by MzMunchken Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The savanna is definitely OP.* It's not that once you get to level 20+ that you have better ways of making money. It's that levels 8-15 go by REALLY REALLY FAST if you figure out that the savanna exists. If I were a level 3 player, I could probably blaze to level 10 (which is like, 50% of the game right now) simply by using my first teleport to the Savanna and spending 10 minutes there.

    I don't think the savanna should be nerfed** that hard though -- I just think it should be harder to enter, with less frequent opportunities to visit. (Maybe twice per day. Once-per-day is too harsh or you'd never be able to get every location on the whole thing.) A good solution would be to create Gates to the Savanna that require a special item you'd have to build and that very few players under level 15 would be able to build. Perhaps you could tie this in to Jethimadh tower, since you need to be level 12 to enter there. 

    * OP = overpowered
    ** nerf = to decrease the power of
    Posted 16 months ago by The Crepeist Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I am missing some streets so this test I made a list.  I figured some of the missing streets were in the Ancestral Lands so I spent a lot of time there this test checking off the streets.  I accumulated a lot of Booty including an Orb.  I encountered jujus maybe 3 or 4 times only.  Once I stood there and let one take my paper.  Poor fellow.  I figured if he needed paper bad enough to steal it I would help him out.  I received a number of time boosts from the dust traps but it still took me several trips to check off all of the streets.  I was rewarded by finding about 4 streets I had missed previously.  Now, until something else is added, I have no more reason to go there until after the reset.  I may go anyway.  I also like the scenery and the jujus are cute.
    Posted 16 months ago by Brib Annie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Maybe if the juju tagged you you have to play the game of crowns with the object he is trying to steal! except they can jump. and it would take time from the nostalgia. Ok probably not... But just sayin'.
    Posted 16 months ago by Djoe6897 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • thing is ... ONCE you reach the max quoins for the day - no matter how many times you go back or stay there during that day.. you will not get anything more except what the blue thingies give you .. when you find one....
    Posted 16 months ago by MzMunchken Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have been playing less than a week, and am level 23 or something, with primarily the savannah to thank. Ok, i did a lot of cooking and other grinding too. But i spent lots of trips going. Once you get teleportation it's too easy to get everywhere. The blue things are fun but they feel a little spoilerific when you get high level drinks and plot items from them. I'd have to recommend nerfing them. Reduce the payout on the blue things and say you can only go once daily. Jujubes are perfect tho. Theyre slow enough to enjoy the art, and to deal with them if it's laggy.
    Posted 16 months ago by FlirtyvonSexenhaven Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Brib - you may be interested in the location checker script linked at beta.glitch.com/forum/gener...

    You'd need to be running a browser that has Greasemonkey to use it.
    Posted 16 months ago by Spong Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I lovelovelove the savanna lands. 

    I mostly go for the quoins and think of the blue traps as a bonus of shrine donation material. Hands down, the best place to recover from a trip to hell once you get to a point that it takes a half a bag's worth of food & drink to get your mood & energy up. 

    Actually, I go mostly because I still feel like I'm exploring out there even if it's the place I probably visit most often/regularly... I make a bit of a challenge to hit as many different streets in as many different areas as possible. 

    Perhaps because I view the traps as a bonus, I'm not troubled by how often (or not) they reset. Sometimes I'll fill a bag and it seems like too much. Other times I'll only get a few things and it seems like not enough. But, it averages out to feel just about right, to me. 

    I love the look of the jujus but I do wish they posed a bit more challenge. It's incredibly rare that they manage to get something from me. For a while, I enjoyed messing with them - but they're so easy to get around, that lost it's fun factor rather quickly. If I'd change anything about the lands, though, it'd be making the jujus more of a challenge.

    That and, to alleviate some of the balance concerns - it might be good to have the traps give items based on level. Lower level items for lower levels, but with a slight chance to give something bigger/better. Same thing with the quoins - have them scale with a slight chance for a super bonus. 
    Posted 16 months ago by Vera Strange Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think when your timer runs out, you should either die or your energy and mood should start to drop like in the wintry places. It's too hot (whereas in wintry it's too cold). The juju's jumped out at me, and I was able to LOL and outrun them. I never actually spoke to one or dealt with it. 
    Posted 16 months ago by Chester Mcfester Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like going up there, but I confess it's mostly for free stuff and energy/mood boosts. I wish the flags would reset faster. Sometimes I'll go through five streets and come up empty handed, while other times I hit every single one. It's a real hit or miss thing, but that's ok.

    This past week I was cornered by THREE JuJu bandits on the same street. That was not fun. I wished I had some kind of meditation spell to throw at them or something.
    Posted 16 months ago by Saraphim Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Saraphim: Like if you could maybe use Martial Imagination on them or something, that'd be helpful... though, TBH, I have only ever been accosted by one JuJu, and got away from it pretty easily.
    Posted 16 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That would be VERY helpful ;) Though, sometimes I wished they would move a little faster. As it stands all you have to do is walk away or jump over them. Not much of a challenge to keep your stuff.
    Posted 16 months ago by Saraphim Subscriber! | Permalink
  • what is this *payoff* that ppl are talking about? I went walking about there last game day and sometime before the end of test and didn't run across any activity and hardly any other players (i can't remember ANYONE at all)
    Posted 16 months ago by r0gu3 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Saraphim- It would at least give people practice using it- I've got it, have seen nary a Rook, and don't really know at the moment why I decided to learn something that isn't really helping me that much.
    Posted 16 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • When I visit the Baqala etc I often use Spinach to walk faster and perhaps get more "?" sign posts, which yields more goodies / payoffs in the end.

    I too feel that this area is too easy to benefit from and needs more robbers and penalties for not getting out in time... perhaps a loss of energy/mood or items if you do not leave before the timer ends?
    Posted 16 months ago by c0mad0r Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @c0mad0r- I dunno; it's easy to get turned around in there, since all the streets look pretty well the same, so getting out could become a real pain. I could see maybe losing energy or mood, I guess.
    Posted 16 months ago by Djabriil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think that being punted out to Dishwasher Street would be a fine penalty.

    XD
    Posted 16 months ago by Jennyanydots Subscriber! | Permalink
  • r0gu3 the quoins out there give >100 of whatever they are (except favor, which is usually in the 20s). So travelling in the savanna lands will yield enormous amount of energy/XP/mood/favor for each quoin compared to the rest of Ur where quoins usually give between 10 and 20 of their respective stat.
    Posted 16 months ago by Skwid Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like the scenery in the savannahs, and the butterflies are a brighter blue (maybe just in contrast to the environment). I like the rewards from the quoins and signposts (the blue pop-down signs), but I'm going for the challenge of travelling to the edge of the world!

    I've only encountered a couple of Jujus, one at a time, and they aren't much challenge. Also, I have lots of paper, and so far that's all they've taken.

    With the time limit on being in the savannahs, I think once per game day would be too limiting. Maybe a longer recovery time -- one hour instead of 30 minutes. I'm just hoping my pre-set teleports work when the world re-opens (one of them is in the savannahs, near the farthest street I've reached).
    Posted 16 months ago by kastlin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ Sprong - Thanks!  I do have the Location Checker but according to it, I have been to every location.  It does not Update as it used to and I am reduced to making lists of streets and housing.
    Posted 16 months ago by Brib Annie Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Those little blue thingies are called dust traps, I believe.

    I'm a fan of the jujus.  Their angry little faces crack me up.  The big quoins are great (I regularly get huge mood boosts, though after one or two of them, my meter is full; perhaps that's why it seems that you only get +20 or so, Skwid?), and of course it's fun to find random objects in the dirt, but I mostly find that the traps have already been sprung by others.  When I do find a full one, it usually gives me either ten more seconds or paper... and I really don't need that much paper, or more time to find more paper. 
    Posted 16 months ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love going for the increased quoin yields.  Especially XP pts.  Since we can't use gurly drinks to sing to butterflies any more a few laps around the Ancestral Lands really helps!  I've lost Orbs, been gifted Orbs, purple snocones and gems.  Mostly i get time and paper.  I've been accosted by 4 Ju Jus once.  Usually it's just one who gets out run or gets some paper.
    Posted 16 months ago by Marla Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Brib Annie - I did the same as you this last test, lists and checked places not shown now on the locations, seems none of the new streets/housing are showing on locations even without the checker.
    Posted 16 months ago by Teena Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ahhh thanks glum pudding!  At my age I'm happy to just find the Glitch website each day :)
    Posted 16 months ago by MzMunchken Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Do people actually find anything other than dirt or loam in the dirt piles?  I've only ever gotten dirt or loam and felt that the time it took me to dig slowed me down too much, so I've not bothered...maybe I'll dig again if there is actually something there...
    Posted 16 months ago by ~Pink Flamingo~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @ beach Bum i think people are talking about the blue traps you can spring when you walk over them, not digging in the dirt. The traps  give you random rewards orbs, food, gems etc. etc.
    Posted 16 months ago by Phochai Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Beach Bum If you have maximum Soil Appreciation there is a chance you'll get something special from digging them I believe. Otherwise, there really is no point unless you're planning on making blocks.
    Posted 16 months ago by Skwid Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @glum pudding: No, you're totally right. The quoins out there in the savannah give huge rewards, I meant that the Favor quoins there are the exception since they only give around 20 favor each (which, lets be honest is pretty OP, it's more than 1.5 awesome stews!).

    Outside of the Savanna lands I pretty much just ignore quoins, but up there I deliberately try to avoid the mood quoins (and often the energy ones since they fill me up so fast!).
    Posted 16 months ago by Skwid Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I discovered the ancestral lands through a quest and big thanks to whoever created that quest/idea.

    I say don't nerf it or make it riskier.  That's the only place I know of where the floating bottles of favor, energy, mood, and xp have sweet payoffs.  So why not have one region in the world like this?  Makes the game more fun and joyful, like a happy treat.  Besides, I have a feeling that by the time you're at a higher level, you have learned of other ways to advance and find less of a need to visit the ancestral lands.

    I don't see the harm in it since we're not in competition with each other on how we choose to level up and how fast we do it.
    Posted 16 months ago by oli kins Subscriber! | Permalink