[BBTS] Bronies Beyond the Stars V4.0

Incidentally, other than, say, the pony pack, what mods (if any) would we be likely to be using? It'd be nice to know what sort of compatibility we could look forward to having (and know we're all seeing the same things) if this actually gets going.
I know I'd want Ore Plants+ if I end up farming, and maybe I could learn more about Bees! if enough others around here want that. Maybe Force Gates if I end up in an asteroid zone. Others I'm not sure about, since I don't know what you're all using or looking for.

 

We'll have to compile a list of mods that people want and then discuss what mods of said list we'll use.
The biggest issue with this is that we are, at the moment, not very active.
Activity has gone up a bit but if we want to actually manage tog et a server up and somewhat active then we need to get a few members back.
We also need to decide on Server admins.
We'll need a whitelist to protect against griefers.
Some set rules about buildings at spawn. I am thinking about different planets having different styles. With the Spawn being more in th style of the show. or atleast Similair.
There's also the issue about the current issues with servers due to them being extremely unstable.
So we'll need a working server gui with automatic restarts in case of a crash.


Back to the mods.
I'd say everyone can suggest up to three mods. Wich will be added to a list.
We can then vote on mods of this list(no voting for mods that you suggested tough)
The 10-15 top voted mods (excluding the pony races) shall be picked.


All of these are just suggestions tough.

Oh and we'll need some farming mods if we want to make that worth the time.
I'd personally pick Frackin' Universe .
And maybe Mighty Music if we'll want to form a band.

Our biggest issue at the moment is the lack of active members.
We are talking about a scale that would require atleast 20 people.
we don't have so many active people.
So we'll need to change that.

 

The fact that this isn't even a question makes me super happy, as Midi and I both worked on the songs in the Ponex mod.
(however since that one hasn't been updated in a while, the most recent versions of the songs are actually in c0bra's pack)

Normally I'm all for Ore Plants, but with the way this server is built, it would make mining moot, and the last thing I feel like doing is adding a mod that makes somepony's job pointless. It'd be like adding a mod that made buildings for you automatically. Normally, it'd be an awesome idea. But in a server that's build around roles, I don't think it's the best idea.

Personally, I would recommend the lightdrones mod. Basically, all it does is add craftible drones into the game that produce, you guessed it, light. Each one requires more materials to build, and as such, provides progressively more light, allowing you to finally upgrade from that lantern on a stick strapped to your back.

I know three people, not including myself, who are waiting for this to be a thing. One of them is lurking around here. The reason there isn't much activity is because there's currently no server, which was kinda the initial draw of the clan. Trust me when I say getting enough people to fill the server won't be an issue. It's simply one of those instances of, "If you build it, they will come."

 

Oh yeah, the Ponex. I created the original spaceship for that.

The name is stupid

 

Contributions, hoooooooooo!

Speaking of stupid names... After coming up with it, I really like the name "Bix" for currency. The name derives from the Equestrian "Bit", but sounds a little more "future-y". On top of that, the x can stand in for either Pixels OR Voxels, depending on which is used for currency. (I still recommend Voxels, as it'll make it easier to manage, store, and should cash flow be regulated, easier to manage than pixels, which are always in flux [plus, should cash flow be regulated, it would allow illegal Bix compressing, and I find that hilarious to think about ])

 

Just for the record, the only reason I brought up Ore Plants+ is that I don't actually know who out of how many of whoever would actually end up being an earth pony.

If we only have one, then mining and armor/weaponmaking and farming and cooking is a bit much for any one pony to handle. If we have at least two, then I've no trouble leaving Ore Plants by the side...mostly. I'd still probably want it for steak plants and (until chickens are tamable) egg plants (which aren't eggplants.)

Those poor things need upgradable ships. (As do the other five races in the pony pack.)

 

I'd draw one up, but spaceships are really hard to draw because they're so big and there's essentially a cutaway section in the center.

 

I can guarantee there will be at least three, myself included. I think we'll be fine. Besides, remember that only pegasi get armor and weapons. Else they would be out of a job.

As for steaks and eggs, trust me, shadowbolts will find plenty of steak, and chickens can be caught in capture pods.

 

They can? I thought they had to be at half HP, and chickens only have the one last time I saw any. Maybe I should cheat/admin out of this system and find some new ones.

 

Pretty sure that only applies to monsters, as the cat in the first mission has full health, but you can still capture him.

 

I'll make a character to /admin my way up to capture pods and go find some chickens, then. Gotta test this out.

 

Technically, there's one in the first mission, provided you have a couple ropes and know the morphball bypass glitch.

Edit: a capture pod, I mean

 

I get so much slowdown, I have trouble getting through the doors at the start. Slideshow quality. If I could get this new computer running, then maybe...

 

Well Duh. We are Bronys. Using pony mods seems obvious.
The Lightdrones mod seems pretty sweet.
We'll have to see how many Miners we actually end up with and if they can sustain the builders with materials.

Why Not stay with Bit?
A Bit is after all what makes up all the data in a pc.
Or we can actually go with Byte.
1 Byte is simply 8 bits.
Why do we even need currency?

 

Hmm... fair point.

It's more a matter of should we have one than do we need one. The way the server appears on the surface, everyone has a job assigned by the higher-ups. But what if there is no job for them to do? What if someone wants something from a member of another race? Sure, in an ideal world, people will help each-other regardless of whether they'll be repaid or not. However, we don't. And neither do the ponies in the show, for that matter.
Now, I'm not going to put my foot down and say "this is how our currency system, if we are going to have one, should work," and that's simply because there are many, many ways with which currency can be handled successfully. However, I do personally think we should have one. Not because it's required, and not because we can't function without it, but because it would add a layer of freedom for the lower-ranked players, which are pretty heavily restricted due to the way the server is currently set up.

 

If we do end up using pixels/voxels as currency it could become kind of tricky, since not everyone would have equal ways of getting it without trading; some would have no way to get it outside of trading or the current line of quests. Anyone doing any fighting could get some easily if slowly, explorers can loot villages or caves, miners can refine excess ore and find underground chests. Farmers could...uh...find a few initial breakable capsules, maybe? After that it's all trading. Builders and bankers are also kinda screwed, although builders might be able to harvest entire alien villages and sell the furniture if we've got a mod for that. Although that seems a little cruel, and better suited to explorers than builders, come to think of it.

There's that mod for growing pixels and voxels, but at best everyone gets their own plant. Whoever spends the most time checking their plant gets the most currency, and the currency eventually become valueless (except for printing furniture and so on. Builders could make good use of pixels if we're planning on builders staying out of /admin mode.)

I mean, what else could we do? Have someone authorized /admin in some currency based on how long we're spending online (which could be just as easily done with the aforementioned money plants) or doing whatever our assigned jobs are? That one leads to troubles if we don't have any assigned work but still want to play often, or if we complete tasks and those in charge don't find out about it.

I suppose a more barter-based system could also work on an individual basis, depending on how strictly we're adhering to the roles. If a farmer wants new crops, they might be able to take time off from their job and go looking for new seeds, or offer a quest to an explorer-type to bring them new seeds, coconut tree saplings, or possibly just the fruit with the right mod, and in payment they can get certain amounts of free food or something.

 

As I said, my initial idea to have currency is for ponies to be able to request goods and services from other ponies without the requirement of it being something required by their leaders. Say you wanted a really nice home base. Or perhaps you need a really high-tier food that isn't normally served. Or maybe you found a really neat weapon blueprint and want someone to craft it for you. None of these would really be covered by the clan normally, so you'd have to ask someone else to do it for you. And unless that pony is really generous, they're most likely going to want something in return. Hence, the whole reason currency was made in the first place.

Also, you're worried about Farmers and Builders? Don't be.
One: Who are you going to have to talk to if you want a Spooky Donut?
Two: Where do you think most of the plant fiber is coming from, hmm?
Three: Why build something when you hate building and can hire builders to help you?

Sure, they won't be getting money directly. However, they'll most likely be financially stable anyways. Plus, that all depends on how currency is distributed.
Personally, I was thinking a sort of "Harvest Moon/Animal Crossing" style approach, where you can sell stuff to what is essentially a bottomless source of income. And that bottomless source of income would be the bank. And the items wouldn't be thrown into a bottomless void, but instead put out for public use.

Also, Bankers was a last-minute thought when I was thinking up how we could re-work the roles with how the game currently works. However, if you'll notice, they don't produce anything, true, but they also don't require anything either. Miners require escorts on hostile planets, Farmers require groceries to make certain foods, Builders require materials, and Pegasi require armor and weapons. Bankers would undertake a very helpful, probably even vital task: management. Managing items distributed to everypony, managing items stored in the bank, managing items needed for clan projects. All in all, they would be crucial, especially considering the prior example of earning currency.

Finally, I don't see why bartering would be a substitute for currency. The two go hand in hand more or less. For example:
I have Cheeseburgers, and you'd build me a restaurant where I could sell those Cheeseburgers so long as I gave you free Cheeseburgers for a week? Heck yeah! What? You don't want Cheeseburgers anymore? Okay, I still want that restaurant though. How about I pay you 50 Bits for it? Yeah? Cool!
See what I mean? Sure, bartering works when both people want what the other provides. But when that isn't the case, currency allows the one providing services to still get what they want out of the deal by using their earned money elsewhere.

 

So only the bankers would have access to the unlimited currency supply, as well as the stockpiles of everything made, harvested, and collected that wasn't being used by someone or in a personal vault somewhere? Sounds like a job for the trusted or the very high-ranked, normally. Not a bad idea honestly, since all they'd ever really need is a lot of storage space and access to the money, and they wouldn't be doing much else (or have time for much else! That's a lot of stuff!)

And in return they keep track of which pony does what, if they're on or not, what's in storage and where, and who's owed what if anything, and what every last pony is actually doing. Big job, actually.

 

How about we make a mod containing two useless items (a one bit coin and a hundred bit coin) that every person who joins the server gets a fixed amount of upon joining, and never gets more, and in order to earn more you need to provide a service or have people buy stuff from you. If there's only a fixed amount per player then inflation can't happen, right?

The problem comes when people join, spend a bit, and then leave.

 

The whole matter is defenitely complicated.
What would builders do with the money?
get supplies from the adventurers that raid Villages?

We should have 1, 10 , 100 and 1000 Bit coins then.
And how would we regulate the prices of services?
But the whole matter seems cool.
I wonder if it would be possible to set up something similair to the steam trading system?
People put up things that they want to sell /Buy and get a message if someone is willing to sell/buy for a specific price.
They then message each other And meet up at the Hub.
Wich can be a place on the homeplanet or outpost.