ATLAS week 3 : news and changes (Patreon)

(Yes, this is a lengthy post. Please read the whole thing. Yes, you will find the new password in here.)

 Greetings Buccanneers! 

We're now into our third week in ATLAS and so far our growth has been very impressive. Welcome to all the new folk I haven't had the chance to meet in-game yet. Right, let me just put on my Community Manager hat for a moment...

Item 1 : Shared Ownership

As the server population grows the importance of courteous behaviour toward other players increases. The bay in Port Miggins is increasingly crowded and even something as simple as inconsiderate parking can rub people up the wrong way (I'm unaware of any accidental sinkings yet, but give it time.) This is all quite minor however a couple of items have been brought to my attention, so please keep these in mind.

- Changing the text of people's signs, while obviously hilarious to whoever did it, should stop. 

- While all Bad Company members are encouraged to make use of each others' resources, there are limits to this. 

In the past couple of days several members have reported thousands of materials going missing - frustrating as they were ear-marked for other projects. "But I'm building this for the whole town..." is not a good enough reason to clean people out. If you want to build something, it's your responsibility to harvest the materials or ask for contributions. 

The "open chest" policy we have at present only exists because members trust one another. I've already found a couple of locked doors in town, and while understandable, it does change the complexion of our town for the worse.

To restate the rule more clearly: if you are starving to death, need a couple of hundred resources to finish a project, lack metal, need some ammo... basically if you need less than half a stack of something help yourself to whatever you can find in town. Removing multiple stacks of resources from another player's resources isn't cool unless they've given you permission to do so. You are also expected to repay the favour either by replacing what was borrowed, or by donating something or similar value.

Treat other players as you would expect to be treated.

Item 2 : The Pirates

Our collective nemesis, the pirates, have taken a little longer to find their feet than expected. This is in part due to a couple of pirates not having as much time to invest in the game as expected. As such, they are short-handed at present. I'll approach a few people to see if they'd be interested in taking on a life of crime. Hopefully, this will make the pirates more of a threat than they have been so far.

Item 3 : Ongoing Expansion

Anyone who still wishes to join should do so! The game is on sale right now for $10. If you've never played a survival game before this is the perfect way to learn. All Bad Company members are more than willing to provide tips and help to new players - nobody should ever feel that a question is foolish. We all start off knowing absolutely nothing.

If you join the game and find yourself on an isolated island, use in-game chat to request a pickup. If I'm on I can provide immediate teleportation, if I'm not, there's sure to be a happy sailor willing to come and give you a ride. 

You will learn at your own speed, but by joining the server you'll have a fully interactive Wikipedia at your disposal. Your first question (after "where am I?") is going to be "How do I find water?" Here's the answer:

1. Find a patch of ground with some greenery (ideally a green-hue to the underlying soil/sand).

2. Lie down (press X on your keyboard).

3. Left click.

4. You'll then either receive a message stating that there is no water in this area, or you'll get a bar at the bottom of the screen with a mini-game (stop the line inside the white box). The more times you succeed the more water you'll find.

5. After the water springs from the ground, drink it or store it in a waterskin.

Sounds complicated, right? Well, doing this on the server will mean you can get a live demonstration. You'd probably also be gifted a waterskin. And pointed towards a full water-barrel. And offered a barrel of your own for your house...

I'm going to repeat this regularly, but if you're not already on the Bad Company Discord server it really will help. You can just use the text channel (look for "Survival" in the room list), listen in on the voice chat, or open your microphone and join the chatter for yourself. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/46Jh7CW

It's not mandatory, but you will get involved in more fun by listening in. If you opt not to get stuck into Discord make good use of in-game chat! Hit enter and say hi. On which note: Discord users, when you're in-game, please use in-game chat rather than the Discord text-only room. 

Item 4 : Coming up!

As population expands further we'll look to start a second town, with a second company set up to run it. We're not quite at this stage yet and when we reach that point I'll ask for volunteers to become the founders. The aim isn't for animosity between the two companies (at least to begin with). Instead it's so there's a friendly port on each region server where players can log out in relative safety, get supplies and find some friends.

In the next 2 weeks we will also have the first official sailing race. This will be open to everyone on the server. As with all races hosted by yours truly, your ship will be provided for you - all competitors will be in an identical ship, this is a test of seamanship, not how big your sails are. Each team will consist of 2 crew members. Time and date to follow.

Item 5 : The reason you're here.

The level cap has now been increased to 32 - spend those skill points wisely!

The new password is GreyBeardIsRad

Any questions?

Splendid, get back to work.

-CF