[CHANGES ] Levelling Station & CXP Usage

Continuing the discussion from [EXPLOIT FIXED] - Compost Bins and Overpowered CXP production:

Due to the recent discovery of game exploits discussed here [LINK TO DISCUSSION ON COMPOST BIN], we’ve changed how player stats and the levelling station now operate.

Members used to ask us what the purpose was of levelling our character beyond what we needed to obtain new recipes for our given profession. My answer was that there was no real known value to levelling up, and your CXP would have been better spent updating your stats.

As you see from reading the exploit found with our compost bins here, with the amount of CXP earning potential, players could create characters with no cap to any of the stats. This allowed characters to have upwards of 60+ in constitution and characters with upwards of 1000 hitpoints and 1000 energy.

The cost to level any given stat was ((stat level) x 150cxp). This resulted in stat increasing to be relatively cheap. For example, a player wanting to level their character constitution from 60 to 61 would only need to spend 9,000cxp which could be earned with one compost bin.

Whereas, to level a character, the cost is ((Player Level) x 500 cxp). So, for example, to have a character go from 60 constitution to 61 constitution, in this case, would require you to have a character with a minimum player level of 50 and cost you upwards of 25,000cxp.

The above has completely imbalanced what we intended for player characters and removed any weaknesses and strengths from picking specific races.

We’ve made a few changes to the levelling station and how the stats work as follows:

  1. Players will no longer be able to upgrade individual stats using CXP earned.
  2. Players will earn the ability to increase one stat each time they level their character. Each time you level your character, you will be given a stat point and can spend it on levelling any stat up to its cap for your race.
  3. There is now a maximum cap to any specific stat, and that is ((Race Base Stat) + 15). So a race with a base stat of 10 strength can have a maximum strength of 25, while a race with a base stat of 6 strength can have a maximum strength of 21.

I will spend the next few days reviewing our player stats and resetting everyone back to base. You will be credited the value of the CXP it would have cost to level your stats to where they were. You will also have your player levels checked and stat credits awarded to your profile to allow you to increase stats for your character up to your current player level.

Once you reach a point in your character that you can no longer upgrade any stats, there would be no point in further levelling your role beyond that unless you are changing professions and required to level up to access more recipes.

Enjoy the opportunity to rebuild your character, and if you encounter any other issues in the process, please let us know.

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So in order to gain a stat point its costs a stat point and we have no choice as to which point we have to give up!!! I have been reduced to a 0/0 Thirst LOL… and now get dehydration messages which I can’t resolve - WATER!

You had me along until the capping and tying character stats to profession levels (if I understood that correctly.)

@TemujinCalidiusAssuming you guys (creators of SLC) don’t object, I intend to give my things (like cows, cook station, basketweaving station, trees, bushes, etc) to the Seven Hills Community to give or use as they choose, and using my CXP to buy some things from the CXP market (like kale, caffeine, etc) to likewise pass along to them in gratitude for being great trade partners and in anticipation they’ll adapt to these changes just fine.

As for me, to be specific so those who want to know can…

I spent months building my character’s stats to more closely resemble my thoughts/ideas of her backstory and abilities beyond her chosen profession (cook) and now, even though you’ve given back the CXP I used to build her, as I understand it, she may never be as I had her… (For easy reference, I chose Nephilim, a half-angle race… starting stats for strength, constitutions, dexterity are all 12… so by the example, it could be that Nephilim caps at like 24… I had those stats at 28 & 30, with intelligence, wisdom and charisma around 20-25 if I recall. Level 8 cook at the time of this post… and though I did/do have intent to enjoy fighting scenes in the future, I’d yet to actually use the sword I got. My character never so much as swung at a rock, fist or sword because she had no need… I felt like someone needed/wanted to know that detail.)

Anyroad.

I’d only tried out and continued playing SLC because I saw it as a potential piece to the game I am building… So, while I know I COULD adapt to these changes-- they ARE reasonable changes --, I realize with these changes (a character’s stats being tied to their current and past professions only up to the race stat caps ) it’ll no longer work for the game I am building (which includes more creative freedom, even within race choices and their abilities/stats) and if I want what I want (and I do) I need to move along from SLC’s, so I am (because my instincts tell me your minds have chosen for the best of SLC’s future. xD)

Thank you for your brilliant and thoughtful work, I did enjoy playing it! And I’m grateful to be more clear about what I want for my game and what it’s going to take to make it, thank you!

May you guys and your game continue to thrive and provide fun for those who play!

Remmy

NOTE: As I post this, I am going to begin packing up my SLC things for transfer/gifting, but I will respectfully not buy from the CXP market, incase you guys feel like that’s abuse of your returning the CXP. I don’t feel comfortable assuming one way or another on that one. Thank you for letting me know as soon as you’re able/willing!

3 Likes

So it’s bugged out? Shouldn’t cost a stat point to get a stat point…

You get a stat point when you ‘level’ and you use a ‘stat point’ to increase a specific stat?

What are your stats at on your meter website profile?

Good Morning. :slight_smile:

First of all, the online player stat profile has never matched the meter stats in world.

These are my stats as I wrote this:

  • Different

In World Meter>>>>>Web Profile

Health: 280 >>>>>> Health: 280
Energy: 170 >>>>>> Energy: 170
Hunger: 0/110 >>>>>> Hunger: 0
Thirst: 0/0 >>>>>> Thirst: 0
Blood: 180/180 >>>>>> Blood: 180
Fatigue: 2/30 >>>>>> Fatigue: 2
Sick: 0/210 >>>>>> Sick: 0
Strength: 22 >>>>>> Strength: 19 *
Dex: 6 >>>>>> Dex: 8 *
Con: 28 >>>>>> Con: 25 *
Int: 0 >>>>>> Int: 5 *
Wis: 14 >>>>>> Wis: 12 *
Chr: 0 >>>>>> Chr: 5 *

Is there an explanation as to why the two meters don’t match?

No idea why the meter stat does not match HUD stat. Weird and will look into that.

I’ve added your thirst back to where it should be, let me know if that bugs out again.

1 Like

They have both been fixed, I forgot to add modifiers on the website

Ok but according to my in world meter it looks like I have lost 6 levels worth of CXP and stats with this reset and based on the cost of leveling, that’s around 70Kish. CXP!

Now I have no idea what “modifiers” are or how it impacts my CXP allocations but I do see that these modifiers have resulted in the loss of 3 levels of strength, 3 levels of constitution, 30 points of Health, and 5 points of Energy which is a bit disconcerting considering everything that has transpired over the last 24 hours - LOL.

Is it possible to reset all my character and stats levels along with CXP to yesterday’s reset levels so I can reassign my refunded CXP using the leveling system that is now working properly opposed to yesterday’s malfunctioning Leveling Station?

I have spent a year and a few months getting my characters levelled up not only in their professions but their experience. Today I woke up and it is all gone, back to day 1 standings. I worked VERY hard to get my guys up to the level they were. One guy was at 850 Energy and is now at 100 like the day he started. As I progressed, and was able to handle more chores without having to sit at the campfire for hours on end looking silly and doing nothing, I also purchased more fields, more trees, and a ton of other items. Now I am back to Day 1. I also never got back any CXP for all my hard work as you said was going to happen.
How was the compost bin an exploit? I would spend 8 HOURS PER DAY collecting dung from 56 pigs I had rezzed. Exploit? I put in the time and work. Sure I got alot of cxp when I made 800 dung into fertiizer. Do you have any idea how long it takes to collect 800 dung for that fertilizer? Also, unless you were a level high enough with enough energy, you could never use the compost bin to plant 400 dung as you would not have enough energy to do so.
Instead you made an arbitrary decision to just rollback everyone to Day 1, and supposedly give people their cxp back which took 1.2 years to invest. I never got mine back at all, yet 1 of my players got 1.4 million cxp back. It was a colossal mistake what you did.
I invested so much money in this BETA game, made so many inputs on gameplay, found so many bugs and REAL exploits such as doubling your inventory with the chests. Fortunately nobody else found that exploit and it wasn’t taken advantage of by anyone, including me. Today I woke up and feel robbed, I literally feel stupid having paid so much money for items that are now useless.
You have in my opinion destroyed something that was going in the right direction but also needed some tweaking as do all BETA games. I have seen a few people leave already, Patron people cancelling their Patron support, and I think you will find anyone who has ever progressed at all in this game will also leave.
It is unconscionable that you would make such a major decision such as this without any input from people who actually play the game for 8 hours a day. It is a VERY SAD DAY INDEED.
One added note, all of those high powered food creations and potion creations I did are also useless, I hade 1 that would give 576 energy, I made tons of them, used my time and resources to get them. Not to mention each ONE took 1 and half hours to create. Now they are useless, useless.

2 Likes

It makes me sad to read this, I sympathize with your sadness.
Not even my country being kicked out of the World Cup by Croatia touched me so much.
But the day is dark for the situation of the SLC today.
Hope we make it through!

1 Like

I agree with what you are saying.

I was developing a warrior class character and spent countless hours and $$ leveling my toon’s stats. To have it all wiped away is, to say the least, madding!

But in defense of the Devs, this a Beta phase which means there will be bugs, exploits, and database changes that will impact your character. Could this change been handled in a better way, in my opinion, yes!

However, coming into a Beta Phase of any game has it’s challenges and unexpected changes, and as a Beta Tester, you agree to accept all those challenges and changes - good or bad - because that is just the organic ebb & flow of game development.

Have faith that there will be additional modifications that will balance things out and Balancing classes is one of the most difficult things to do because the devs will never be able to make everyone happy -LOL!

3 Likes

But to invest REAL WORLD Dollars is real and not Beta. I fell like a RL bait and switch has happened. I don’t even want to see how much I invested, it will only make me feel even more silly. But it is over 50,000 L. Not to mention all my parcel rentals to allow 16 fields, 48 trees, 56 pigs, all of the craftable items such as the forge, mill, etc etc. My monthly rent on properties to support SL Colonies is over 8K L per month. But I was enjoying it. I had so much stuff because I worked hard everyday for over 8 hours that I had 16 Community chests. I just feel stupid now. As 1 person mentioned earlier, what is my exit strategy,? Use my 1.4 million cxp that was ONLY awarded to my second highest guy and go buy a whack of cows and then sell them over time to recoup 1/1000th of my investment? My highest level guy with 850 energy did not get any cxp refunded back. Hmmm, weird, but it points to a knee jerk reaction that was massively ill thought out and horribly executed.

I feel your pain: I am close to that L$ on SL Colonies products and I modified my entire sim to create a SL Colonies RP environment. In total, not counting my monthly sim tier cost, I have spent at least 150K L$ redesigning my sim around SL Colonies. The bottom line, if I am not happy with how the system evolves, I will simply pull out of it. Until that times comes, I will not spend any more L$ on SL Colonies products and I will defiantly not become a Patreon until this CXP/ Leveling mess has been cleaned up and properly dialed in starting with loosing the stat caps!

I believe the Devs should of just left it as is for the development of a hybrid Farmer/Warrior Class and if you wanted to PVP, you better be prepared to shovel a lot a pig poop - :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like

I could not agree more. I really like Drahhkis and Mr. T. They are responsible, wonderful people. I have gotten to know Drahhkis on a more friendly level. He is working his butt off, he really cares and is SO knowledgeable it is beyond belief. We have spent so many hours discussing this and that, sometimes heated as I am not a patient person and sometimes say stupid things. But I can assure you they really tried hard to make positive progressions in SLC, and cared about our input. It seems however there was ZERO input here, just someone working a full time job away from SL and making arbitrary decisions on a knee jerk reaction, to a problem that didn’t really exist (compost bins). Sure it needed a bit of tweaking, but who spends 8 hours a day collecting dung from 56 pigs? NOBODY, but I did. And then they call it an exploit. Anyway, I would give them a few days to work this MESS out. Until then, please enjoy your SL experience.

I had a farm of 54 pigs and a lot of dung to collect, but few composters. I made many daily logins for this! Today I killed half the pigs… I lost CXP and at least there are prims left in the land for other things now… maybe some cows when I get my credit from the composters I returned… oh yeah, I got scrap hides too…

Bonus, and sorry about Brazil losing, that was horrible. I used to live in Sao Paulo , so was always a Brazil Fan. Maybe we can wake up tomorrow and pretend today never happened lol.

1 Like

Pelo menos demos umas risadas agora! :wink:

I promise, I did not want to comment… But now that I have to wait for the little green bar to go up so I can continue my harvest mhhhh hahahaha…

First of all:
I’m very thankful to Microsoft for making me fear any system change and for teaching me to think 20X before any new update… (my slc cabinet is old but it holds up and I won’t change it (ecologic reasons ^^).
secondly:
the work invested on slc by the creators and scriptwriter is just remarkable and I can only have gratitude for that given all the good moments and friends it brought me (Hi tessy :slight_smile: ). So don’t take things personally. I have a lot of respect.
We all have the choice to turn around and risk having to join hades (that will please satanic vision) or face with acceptance what is coming.

It reminds me of windows in many ways… Arbitrary decision, where some people feel trapped by the hardware expenses and refuse to leave even if they don’t like it anymore. or quit and move to linux. It doesn’t concern me directly hahaha I only had 2 stat at +23…but if there is no option to continue to increase my energy significantly… The game is “finished” (maximum production attained) and therefore no need to buy trees (I like trees). (and I have both linux and windows by the way). This is how I feel, maybe it is interesting for you to know…

If one day I am asked if slc is a good result… I will answer yes, unbelievable, they made 95 98 xp…and 7. :slight_smile: I will never compare slc to vista be reassured. But don’t forget (arbitrary and personal advice) that with 8 of 11 or (God forbid) 12…the attendance will decrease maybe… or increase with fake avatars that serve as energy statistics hahaha…we would think we are in Europe ^^

With love diligances and thanks

Your devoted Mathilde adviser and cook of nameless

P.S.
Was designed to make public debat interresting reflexion only.
not designet to creat hate or other negative energy
Created also for all the thank you I never say.
Not designed to say thigs are wrong…who know the future and who really know wath is good or not?

Translated with DeepL Translate: The world's most accurate translator (free version)

I feel really unfairly treated.

I got my stats by doing alchemy and compassing my butt off. I built up my meter so I could compass longer without sittng around or pick fruit in a faster time because I have time limitations.

I didn’t get any points from fertilizer. NOW - I’m knocked back to 100.

Yes, yes - I know this is beta and you have the power to do this - but this was nothing but God Mode type penalty - with no warning and no consultation. What’s the point of working myself up for anything if - over night - it all gets wiped to the ground.

I am really disappointed.

2 Likes

Thanks for everyone’s input.

I understand that some of you will feel unfairly treated and that some of you have built your characters a certain way.

And I understand some of you enjoyed the benefits of having characters with such high stats, which meant that you could do many more things with your time.

We must all remember that we built this game around the concept of being a ‘Survival’ game, requiring you always to eat and drink to stay active. The game was initially designed around 100 of each stat. The ticker timer was based on a character running out of thirst/hunger in 8 hours, energy in another 8and health in another 8, making it a total of 24 hours worth of life:

Yes, this was hardcore for some, and then we enabled different races with strengths and weaknesses to their Primary and Secondary stats.

We built into the database a table with a maximum stat cap of 18 at the time. However, making that work got lost in translation, and the cap never came into effect. So this feature is two years old, laid dormant, and never made active as intended.

In the focus of pumping out products, coming up with new ideas, working, and going on vacation, we focused on bringing you all these new things. But unfortunately, we didn’t focus on watching our player progression in the database, so we saw characters get to 800+ on primary and secondary stats when it was too late, as this was never an intention of the system.

I understand those who got to those levels have gotten comfortable with them, and it’s daunting to think that you have to go back and start over. But know now that this was never an intention to allow in the making of this system.

On the brighter side, the caps are not 18 across the board; they are +15 based on your base stat, so you can still hit over 25 on some stats, depending on your race.

You can all expect that when we have released our final products and are happy with where the product line and features stand. We will be going through all races, all stats, all progression, all professions and everything else and ensuring that we are balanced fairly across the line before we give our tick of approval and change all our products to v1.0.

There won’t be any surprises there. Expect it to happen, and you will remember that this game is in development, and instead of worrying about such things, you will enjoy playing within your communities. Just be happy that we did not decide that everyone would start over at Level 1 Colonists having to work their way back entirely, as that’s common in games under development.

Please continue to understand the above fact. I know it is your choice to support us or not in progress, to put up with the good times and the anguish. Whether or not our choices mean you would be a patron doesn’t affect our decision-making process; it’s as simple as whether or not you enjoy SLC and wish to support us in the process, giving you a few extra benefits as listed in the tiers.

I will also mention that what I do for a living outside of SLC has nothing to do with how I see development (nor is it anyone’s business). This system was created with a vision and will always follow that vision. I always look into how it will work in my sim creations in a large community with multiple players taking on specific roles without using alternate characters to do the mundane tasks. We have some extravagant communities already in our game that are doing just that and loving working together as active communities having their economies, lores and stories.

I wish you all the best over the festive season and thank you for your continued support.

1 Like