I have had more and more complaints and issues regarding users having several minecraft accounts to play on this server. Those are of various types, be it that people used it to circumvent bans, to get more money through multiple voting, to get more lots any other privilege that is limited to a single user but that can be increased by having several accounts.
I so far tolerated that because it was originally not huge issue, but in the mast months I had to either intervene or counsel other users on how to deal with these issues. People saw this as unfair advantage for users being able to afford several accounts.
I also do not have a clear policy about this so far. I prevented people from getting their secondary accounts being ranked up in user votes, but I never prevented anyone from using secondary accounts from doing anything else (which is a bit contradictory, what’s the difference between someone having 2 Architect or 4 Settler accounts?). I even recommended some people to get a secondary account if they felt that a ban was unjustified. I was not able to check which accounts are from the same person and jerks would be jerks and just get banned again if they have not learned their lesson.
The issue with banned users however was always only a marginal one. For the rest of this discussion, I will ignore this therefore.
The main issue is that people, once they play a lot, feel that the game rules limits them. How fast they can get money, how many homes they can have, how many lots they can have and so on.
The problem here is that the current setup of the server is linear and limited. With every increase in level, you get a certain amount of privileges, and once you are elder, that’s that. Except for additional Kingdom lots that you can buy, you are locked in.
So in general, I do not like people having more than one account. I rather setup the server in a way that this is not needed anymore. One way for that is to make resources and privileges for sale (with Uncs). You might for example buy home slots instead of getting them ONLY through user levels. (Your user level might limit how many you can buy instead). Voting might get you more money if you are a higher level. You might be able to buy empire lots even. (It’s not that we do not have the space). But then, every additional lot should also cost more. Se there might be a price multiplier for every additional lot, home, deposit slot etc you want want to buy
This would only work if we actually limit every user to one, single client account. And yes, I still cannot check 100% if a user is using multiple accounts. But on the other hand, if there is a doubt that someone is using several accounts, I can still force them to prove to me that they are actually different people unless they would be banned.
So this is up for discussion. It would take some time to implement and balance this, but I would see this as a valid alternative to make sure that people do not spend real life money for accounts in order to get themselves an advantage on the server over people who do not have the cash,
Comments & feedback welcome.
I don’t have an issue with people being able to buy certain things from the server such and homes or lots.. I think it could also help support the server by allowing them to do more then just donate. But i also agree it should be balanced and somewhat limited and not the only way to get those extra perks. I hate the pay to play thing that is so big now..
Just to clarify, when I say “Buy” then I mean with UNCs, not with real cash.
Im glad to hear that. :) but if I may ask being someone with only one account. What’s the difference between being able to buy with cash 2 extra homes (that supports the server) verses having 6 accounts from Microsoft.
There is no difference. But I do not like both. People should not be forced to spend cash for homes on this server.
I agree.. I was just bringing up the fact that I personally would rather support a server then buy accounts. Thanks
I super appreciate some clarity on where the official standpoint is on these issues.
My personal thought is that more accounts (real world cash) shouldn’t equal more opportunities for a player. My thoughts are outlined below as to why and what the best solutions might be to the issues surrounding this.
> More accounts = more homes.
A port to more rare biomes, spawners, farms etc.
Additional homes for sale to each user with a multiplier is best solution IMO.
I propose a 2k, 4k, 8k, 16k, 32k, 64k, 128k scaling model for additional homes, this leaves the lower tiers very accessible by most regularly voting players whilst still having brackets for high end gaming.
> More accounts = more votes = more Uncs.
This is the trickiest issue and one that many, many people have issues with in my experience.
Personally I would like to see this solved by scaling rewards relative to playtime. Maybe a player who has 0 playtime in the last week gets no uncs/rewards for voting, up to 100uncs for 5+ hours played in the last week. Not sure how feasible this is with regards to the mods handling votifier rewards, I would have to go looking in the source code. It does have an advantage in that it is a mostly self regulating system, but also needs automatic regulation with regard to successful anti afk mechanisms. There would probably still be some users who would game 10+ hours a week across two or three accounts, but I see this as far less of an issue than the power gamers currently voting 14+ accounts. ie 1500uncs a day (three accounts * 5 votes) is more acceptable whereas 7k uncs a day (fourteen accounts * 5 votes) is a new kingdom every day and a half and distorts the economy.
> More accounts = more lots
A non issue in my opinion. Kingdom effectively made the number of lots uncapped for high end players. Additional empire homes for sale on a multiplying scale is a good idea i support however as another good money sink in our economy. I think the same rules about requiring players to utilise any land they purchase remains in place.
> Ranking up of secondary accounts
I think the current system works well, but I would love a way to visibly brand a secondary account of a player with the name of their “main” account if known. Half the time you’re not even sure who you are talking to. If there is some method of automating such a process, I’m all ears as this would also prevent users nominating their own accounts for ranking (which is just a sensible division of power to prevent power gaming)
Rebuttal of counter points:
“but votes are good for the server!”
Yes, as long as the server list owners don’t clue up that multiple accounts are evading their IP logging mechanisms to effectively vote fradulently and penalise the servers scores as a result.
The extra cash in the economy also screws with market prices on desirable items, ie somebody voting a single account has a much higher opportunity cost of purchasing items at market than a player voting fourteen accounts.
Thats a real first step to prevent users to take over the/our game. Maybe it will be possible to keep 1 second account that was registered before this idea came up.
I think allowing 2 accounts but no more would possibly be an idea, also i do like the idea of purchasing extra homes but still limiting the amount of homes per level.
I myself have 2 accounts and one is used to be a caretaker (treishalla) for my kingdom lots and i still use that account, but i do not vote for the server on this account or try for any level ups.
I do understand that having multiple accounts can cause problems when it comes to purchasing lots and also giving an unfair advantage over other players.
Another suggestion maybe to limit only the 1 account so that after a certain level say, Architect or Designer they could then add another account, but that could seen as too harsh by other players especially some of the newer citizens.
I have no issues with multiple accounts. I have issues with multiple accounts being used to evade gameplay mechanics to gain unfair advantage, effectively creating a pay to win scenario.
I think making the gameplay mechanics on the server equally rewarding to play as a single account versus fourteen accounts is a great starting point to discourage this type of behaviour. Personally if you want to use multiple accounts, ie one to manage your kingdom lots versus one for your normal lots that makes perfect sense to me.
But somebody else could just as easily use a single account to manage the same lots is the key in my opinion, as the multiple account angle is effectively negated.
I have multi-accounts and do not have any complaints or issues regarding users having several minecraft accounts.
I like that the economy of Uncovery is fundamentally tied to voting for the server to generate Uncs. The votes generate advertisement for the server and brings new players which I consider our life blood. The shop functions to enable productive players to make more Uncs and others to acquire materials for their convenience. The purchase of lots and vanities allows Uncovery to capture Uncs and prevents rising shop prices from becoming a problem. This has worked remarkably well with good price stability in the shop.
If we move to a single client account model I would like to see less priviledge for rank rather than more.
I dislike the idea that a higher ranked player would get more Uncs to cast a vote than a Settler.
I like the idea of making resources and priviledges for sale, but prefer that they be near equal across ranks.
Personally I think the idea of a change in model away from privileges being tied to ranks as sleeping suggests has great merit.
I think the massive improvements in the lot management and code base for the server now lends itself far better to free form purchasable rewards than it once did, and maybe this is an option to be considered. Really the only reason we promote users nowadays is as a form of grooming the player base for moderation duties while also giving them public recognition for their achievements on the server (which could be handled differently).
These be bold concepts, but I like the thoughts behind it.
I also dislike the idea of higher ranked players being rewarded more for voting as sleeping mentioned. Equality and a perception of fairness is really critical to any changes made.
Keeping the privileges as they are currently is fine, i agree with psiber that giving more uncs to the higher the rank i also dislike, it would not and is not fair, also the only added privileges under discussion right now is whether or not to allow extra homes to be brought but still limiting the amount that can be purchased.
I am still holding and still like the idea of a limit of 2 accounts per player and only one being allowed to vote, as much as i understand that having more votes for the server is good especially when it comes to attracting more players, but is it not cheating when there are multiple votes coming from the same player, that person is technically voting 2 possibly more times and essentially ‘stuffing the ballot box’ thus gaining more uncs and having a disadvantage over other players by accumulating more uncs.
You can vote with 10 accounts for the server, you just won’t get the money for it if we do not allow the accounts to be used on the server. I find it hard to say that 2 is ok and 3 is not. Why and how do we make this judgement?
I don’t care how many accounts people have. If they want to pay for another account great. I have more than one account i don’t usually vote on it much because voting for it every day is hard because voteing sites go off IP addresses so unless i have someone else vote for it on another IP i cant vote for both accounts. But most people who have more than on account I dont see a Prob with. They put the hours in for the account. They work just like anyone else.
id like to see everyone on their main accounts but with the same lot permissions so its easier to identify who people are.
in principle I also agree with this. People playing their main accounts rather than jumping through secondary accounts is a good thing. Makes a server feel a lot more alive to newer players to see regular faces.
I also agree with this – “jumping” through multiple accounts (buying 2nd accounts for more homes and easier movments on e.g. high towers) isnt fair for me. Maybe its also an option to give people more lots to buy (in kingdom).
Any solution that involves the ability to purchase more homes is awesome. Unc, your commitment to keeping this server from becoming a pay-to-play situation is really awesome of you.
Besides /homes, other privileges include the number of lots available and deposit slots per player.
Real money donators get lots preserved upon absence, and disguises.
Commands available above Settler rank include:
/seen
/tpa
/tp
/tpahere
/tptoggle
Yes, there are other topics too.
I do not think I will touch the commands available per level.
However, I might treat the deposit slots the same way and also implement rising costs for additional lots.
I most likely will not take away stuff that people have already on their main account however and also make a transition period for consolidation. I cannot do this as a big bang anyhow but instead implement this step by step.
I understand that people got additional accounts to circumvent limitations. I do not plan to take stuff away from people. I want to allow people to get what they wanted by using the system, not abusing it in any way.
I really dont want to loose my second accounts lot in empire. It connect to my nephews lot. Its really important for me to keep it. Am I going to loose it
You will be able to buy them for Uncs.
Just another thought I donated just for my alternate account too so the lot wouldn’t get reset. And if were not going to be able to use it its kinda of disapointing. But i will deal with what ever is decided
Ok so: Please let’s stop talking in the tone of “I used X accounts for doing Y and if this happens that it’s bad, but whatever.”. You are just throwing a problem at my feet, turn around and walk away.
Can we please instead discuss WHY you used a second account, HOW the change will impact you and, most importantly, WHAT we can do to fix the issue.
Propose a solution. For this example, we could simply transfer the donation from the 2nd account to the first.
So please stop complaining, understand that we have a problem here and that we need to find a solution. Help me find a solution to your problem. I am willing to help. If I was not, I would have simply banned ALL your accounts for multi-accounting, if you like it or not.
But I did not ban anybody. I am trying to find solutions. Please do so, too.
Sorry if i have overreacted Just wanted to point it out. I will try for more solutions.
I wasn’t playing minecraft back when this discussion was taking place. I just came across it while looking back to see what I might have missed.
What was the eventual resolution of this?
I have 2 accounts and would like to know if that is still allowed or if I should be doing something to purchase the empire lot from my second account to my primary account. The only reason I used the 2nd account was to connect my lots with the lots of 2 friends. I donated on the second account and then really don’t use it. Sometimes I might log in with it for a few minutes, but that’s rare.
-Hyland
Looking in lot manager, I see that there is no way to purchase an additional lot, but I do have a lot available. I could simply call dibs on the lot my 2nd account owns and then let that account get reset. That account is still a donator, perhaps the donation status could be moved to my main account? Not really necessary, it will just take longer otherwise.
A long while back, I realized that if you want to expand to whatever size base you really want, just build WAY out in the darklands. Unfortunately that backfired on me when I was away and the DL was reset, but I always knew that was a risk and items are always replaceable, so no big deal. Just giving ideas to people who want to build in an area larger than they’re allowed in empire (if they can’t afford kingdom).
-Hyland
Yeah calling dibs and let it reset is probably the best right now.
I can move your donation status to the other account. For that I need a ticket from the donator account.
I will start working on purchasable empire lots some day, hopefully before summer.
Please stick to the kingdom for now for larger builds. Also, empire accounts for purchase will be more expensive than the kingdom since it’s highly desirable space. People really should stick to the kingdom. If you cannot afford that, I recommend voting more regularly.
Also, please do not use secondary accounts for anything at all.