tl;dr:
We've changed gangs/turfs to be permanent. That is, they are now remembered between you logging off and logging back on.
We've been looking to make gangs and turf wars a more significant part of gameplay on LW's. Before, gangs had gotten some use, but mostly so that people can use gang chat and have the same color, and not for any real goals. Meanwhile, turfs were pretty inconsequential, as they barely earned any money when you capture them, and were forgotten anyway when your gang disbands as you leave the server.
So with that in mind, some changes...
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 is now 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 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've raised the gang bank limit from $3 million to $5 million
- All newly created gangs start with a negative gang balance of -$2.5 million. This is partially to compensate for new earnings from turfs (below).
- Only registered members are 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!
- ** Gang names can only consist of letters, numbers, and the underscore, and they must start with a letter.
TurfsTurf wars 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 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 generate money that goes into your gang balance, even if no one in your gang happens to be online.This is $1 per turf per second right now, 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.
I've also added two new turfs at the pirate ships. New turfs are pretty easy to add so I'll likely add more, too.
Hope you enjoy
Credits to Spitfire, blewert, SKY, Habdel, and Aryan for helping with testing.
VC-MP: 
