The "all year round" scenario question.

[Gyson]

I'll start off with just saying the problem: whether it's the result of a communication/translation hurdle creating a statement that is open to multiple interpretations, or simply discussing their ideas before they've had a chance to fully flesh them out, the developers tend to offer explanations on their designs that don't always match reality.

As a quick example, this is how they initially described the "settlement phase" of seasons.

"Players emerging from the fray will then enter the season's Settlement Phase. During the Settlement Phase, players are free to continue exploring the open world, complete any remaining season challenges, explore Strongholds, hunt for Riddle Spots across the map, or simply sit back and relax with friends. When they are ready, players can also choose to sign up for a new season, and embark upon their next Once Human journey."

Now, understandably, this phrasing left some players with the impression that they could remain on a completed scenario server indefinitely. And while common sense revealed how unlikely that was, more recent updates have clarified that the loitering is limited to 4 weeks.

Which brings us to one of the more significant statements made in their recent announcement: "Additionally, a regular scenario that can be played all year round will be available in the future."

This, to me, is another poorly worded statement. Some people are already taking it to mean a permanent scenario free of any progression wipes. And while that is certainly one interpretation of it, it's not exactly what they said.

I am curious to hear what everyone thinks this latest statement actually means. Are they, in fact, talking about a permanent scenario free of any progression wipes? If so, why would they user the phrase "can be played all year round" instead of something more definitive like "can be played indefinitely"?

Do you think that it's a scenario that lasts for one year and is then wiped? That, somehow, seems worse than a 6 week wipe.. because if it bothers you to lose some of what you've obtained in a 6 week period then I can't imagine you being happier to lose some of what you've obtained over a 52 week period.

What other ways can that statement be interpreted? Feel free to add your own speculations.

Beyond that, statements likes "available in the future" are meaningless. That simply means we may get the scenario some day, provided the plan doesn't change before then. Until players have played a beta of this "year round' scenario and the release date is imminent, I view it as just a statement that can be easily said to entice some players to stick around longer.

[Delenca]

You don't want a never wipe server since you won't be able to updated it without possibly breaking peoples content.

Even if it only lasts 12 months then you get the years worth of updates each reset with new biomes and such.

[Gyson]

Originally posted by Delenca:

You don't want a never wipe server since you won't be able to updated it without possibly breaking peoples content.

I'm not understanding what you're saying here, since content updates can be executed without wipes. How are you "breaking peoples content"? Even right now we have multiple phases within each seasonal scenario that, over time, allow players to access additional content.