tl;dr:
We're changing gangs/turfs to be permanent. That is, they'll be remembered between you logging off and logging back on.
We're looking to make gangs and turf wars a more significant part of gameplay on LW's. Currently gangs get some use, but mostly so that people can use gang chat and have the same color, and not for any real goals. Meanwhile, turfs are pretty inconsequential, as they barely earn any money when you capture them, and are forgotten anyway when your gang disbands as you leave the server.
I haven't entirely finished working on the changes below, so don't take anything written below for granted just yet. (This means that these changes are not yet live, but are coming soon). With that in mind...
GangsWhen you type /gang create [name], you'll create a gang, as before, and in the server, the gang will act more or less exactly as it did before. What will be new is that if you leave the server (/q) while still in a gang, the next time you log on, you will auto-join the gang that you were in before, with the same name. Your gang balance will also be remembered and restored.
If you /gang quit while in a gang, you will have left that gang and will be gangless until the next time that you /gang join (upon receiving an invite) or /gang create.
Gangs will continue to exist in the server's database as long as there is at least one member that hasn't /gang quit from it. For example: You create a gang and /gang invite your friend, who joins. A week later, you /gang quit. The gang still exists in the database, with your friend being the only member. Your friend plays on LWs occasionally, but a month later also /gang quits. The gang will at this point be deleted from the database, as it has no members.
Only one gang with any given name will be able to exist in the database.
Additionally:
- We'll be raising the gang bank limit (currently at $3 million)
- All newly created gangs will start with a negative gang balance. This is partially to compensate for new earnings from turfs (below).
- Only registered members will be able to be in gangs. (As unregistered members are not in the database, there is no way to keep track of which gang they are in.) If you see newbies that might want to be in your gang, encourage them to /register!
TurfsTurf wars will function as they did before. However, now, even after all the members of your gang that were playing on LWs leave for the day, the territories you've taken will remain under your control. This means that when other players enter the territory, they will see the name of your gang. (And, if they are in a gang themselves, will be able to easily capture your territories as you've left them defenseless.)
Additionally, all turfs that your gang owns will generate money that goes into your gang balance, even if no one in your gang happens to be online. Tentatively, this is $1 per turf per second, although this may be adjusted in the future. So, for example, you and a friend from your gang could capture 5 territories, then log off for the night. If all the territories stay under your control, when you log back on 12 hours later, your gang will have earned 5 territories * 12 hours * $3600 per hour = $216,000. Of course, since you've left your turfs undefended, other gangs are free to come along and take them (see previous paragraph), in which case your earnings will be less.
That's a pretty decent overview of the changes. I'll post a thread in the News section when these changes go live that will have more specifics.
Hope you enjoy
VC-MP: 
