So the development team said that they are creating an ecosystem that is self sufficient and that the only time the equilibrium is interrupted will be when players enter and cause that imbalance. I believe that we can assume that the NPCs will be used as a way of helping maintain that equilibrium. IE, they will ensure that the land is taken care of until it is discovered by players. I also believe that NPCs will be consumers as well as producers. You have to have + and - in order to maintain a balance.

I believe that they also said in the same thread that if we cause something then we will have to fix it. I am sure though that the development team will put a safety net in where, over a much longer time, the environment will return to equilibrium; however, the odds are low because of player involvement.

You'll have to wait on the hunger information. I do know that depending on what you do will depend on your diet and what your body type will be. IE if your are rarely in a city, you will probably be leaner because you eat more proteins because of that being your primary food source. I would expect that the more active you are, the more that you will have to eat.

i just remember hearing somewhere wither from a dev journal or a Q&A that only around 25% of players will be able to be fighters/adventurer types. and the rest will need to be city or townsfolk. this jsut raised a concern regarding the influx of players from less survival based games join in expecting to be able to run from one side of the world to the other killing everything in their wake producing nothing but for themselves.

i am just hoping there will be a surplus of food at launch so that players have a substantial grace period to settle into their new roles as elyrians and wont be struck by a famine before learning how to farm and form a stable economy.

on the other hand i could also see this specifically not being avoided. mass famines would cause a decent amount of story, political turmoil, civil unrest, discontent with current management, and other strife. nothing says sandbox more than fiscal responsibility. and nothing builds teamwork and pride more than solving problems together.

hmm

Keep in mind that a player takes over an NPC when they start in the world. Therefore an influx of players won't be an influx of mouths to feed and in all likelyhood, players who want to be adventurers won't want to be born into a poor farmstead and even if they do and they leave the farm, the NPC will probably have other NPC family members who will take over the farm.

I don't think there will be many abandoned farms in fertile lands. Now, there might be some oversight by SBS in the NPC coding that causes a food shortage, but I don't think this will be a problem for long.

This answer assumes the information we've been given about wards and NPC families stays the same.

it was my understanding that caspian wished for the world to be completely NPC free at some point, so this would lead me to believe that most players will be required t fill the roles of NPCs, thus taking the NPCs role out of the game and replacing it with someone who would much rather be a wanderer or a deviant, or fighter. might not be an issue, but could become one. just expressing a concern.

Posted By annfrank at 09:55 AM - Sat Jan 14 2017

it was my understanding that caspian wished for the world to be completely NPC free at some point, so this would lead me to believe that most players will be required t fill the roles of NPCs, thus taking the NPCs role out of the game and replacing it with someone who would much rather be a wanderer or a deviant, or fighter. might not be an issue, but could become one. just expressing a concern.

That is a point, but supply and demand will most likely shape the end result. We know there are people out there inclined to take an interest in all manner of things.

That aside, if you enter a game where 90% of the players want to explore and fight, there will likely be a serious food shortage. As such, farming could become a lucrative profession with massive profits to be had.

It's fair to say people are often attracted to wealth. If opportunities arise and demand increases sufficiently, you can be sure people will exploit it.

Posted By Oracle at 03:14 AM - Sat Jan 14 2017

That aside, if you enter a game where 90% of the players want to explore and fight, there will likely be a serious food shortage. As such, farming could become a lucrative profession with massive profits to be had.

indeed, i imagine barons and larger cities would be the hardest hit if they cannot establish enough trade routes before launch. but like i said earlier this could be by design, nothing makes story quiet like a famine would. build a world and a hope in the player base only to design the world you built to fail. giving people a taste of what the world should be and a desire to build it to its former glory and boom, story.

Towns will exist throughout the lands, all you need to do is visit one along your travels and go in and eat something. Farms will already exist and will be getting worked on by NPC's

As I understand it inventory is limited so You just can't run around all the time and carry all Your belongings with You. You need to have a home and a place to store stuff. And be part of a family+community.

I can also imagine that there are some beeries to pluck and some small animals to kill out in the woods to get some food in case of hunger and being too far away from settlements.

yep it will be a thing and it will take some planing for the kings and such about this.

personally i planing on building a town founded on food production as every one has to eat so it will provide a solid income. exporting Flour is just one of my aims.

depending on the options i would also be intresting in Apple farms and thus making cidar and such. another good export product.

but yes as long as each KD has a few towns of Villages dedicated to some food production it should help relieve the stress.

that being said when the 3month seeding period ends and all the standard subs start yes i see us having food shortages for a while till more producers come online or those like me who are dedicating the town to food production notice the shortfall and ramp up production.

also hate to say this but some Growers whistles innocently may choose to halt exports of food in order to drive up prices.... not sure who would do such a evil thing but ha thats economics...

Indeed. Origionally i was thing of being a builder and having my town play as they feel. But i fear the famines will be harsh. I imagine the devs will make it this way on perpous. Caspian does have a psych degree... would not surprise me to see experaments such as this be a regular part of the games design. Look at banished as an example a town builder but near imposible to beat but that is what makes it so addicting.

I may change my plan and try hunter gatherer town development.

https://chroniclesofelyria.gamepedia.com/Non-Player_Characters

"There will be NPCs who hold towns where no player has been, so that as the players explore new, uncharted lands they will encounter established communities. NPCs will also help fill out roles in player-run cities. NPCs can create quests for characters - for example, an NPC shopkeeper may have a contract available for a player to bring them supplies."

Here is the link to why I believe NPCs will be able to help keep the equilibrium.

I'm nearly 100% sure that when players first join the game there will be huge changes to nearly every supply/production aspect of it. While the NPCs will probably be suited to help keep a balance in the world, it would be an odd design to make them be the perfect + to our - so unless we get a large portion of players who are happy to fill the rolls of the NPCs they take over we may have shortages in everything. Food of course will be more important than many other commodities.

The same way that most people who talk of their past "reincarnated" lives as being either Caesar or Cleopatra, statistically they were more likely to have been a pyramid building slave. The same will hold true here if a true finite based ecosystem is what is being built. So mechanisms will have to be built, whether thru the npc system, or thru the players own actions, that will promote this. Supply and demand perhaps? Some type of incentivisation by the ruling classes to support the peasants to create political and economic stability? Capitalism? Communism? Socialism? It will be interesting to see what works and what does not.

You have all covered most of the aspects of first generation so i'll focus on second generation.

The NPCs will be supporting communities during first generation but since players are going to take their children, the biggest problem will come with the second generation, when the NPc crafters and farmers will not be replaced by their children because those will be PC adventuring and fighting all around.

That is when we will feel the strongest impact of players choices.

Well, the assumption with that is that players will equally fill those roles. Although, what I do see happening is people hiring NPCs to work on farms to help "mass produce" foods. By that time we should have a much more effective understanding of NPCs and their capabilities. Saying this, I would not be surprised if we see some type of Kingdom Monopoly on specific production lines like food/bestiary.