What's the point behind week long upgrades???

[TboneX]

I'm trying to puzzle this one out, and have been for over a decade. Because this isn't the only game where I've seen this 'feature' though that's a genuinely kind word for what I really think of it.

What is a valid reason to lock down a player's production for a week while a building upgrades? It's a lot more restrictive with chains like the barracks than it is with other chains, but the question is posed as a general one: why would you think that this is a good idea?

I can see arguments for realism, for encouragement of planning, etc but none of them actually weigh in very well against the fun lost by players when this occurs. It's a forced timeout for the player from an activity that they expressed a desire to have more of by paying the material costs for the upgrade process in the first place. So they're stopped from engaging in that process, whether it be building soldiers or grinding flour.

And I wonder about player retention during such forced timeouts.

Is there a metric in place to even see how many level 30-somethings who finally manage to get the resources for that first level 5 building and start the upgrade only to discover a different game to play during that week-long timeout and never come back to Settlers Online?

I have to ask because I can not for the life of me understand why you would want to force people to not play?

(I didn't mention the possibility of gem buyout because I don't know anyone who has used it for a week-long upgrade. Seems like a real longshot of an answer to the question. I doubt there's much revenue in that stream....)

So - hit me with the answer. What is it?

[Ceruhe]

The answer will hang in the air, we can just point and say it's a waiting game and call it a day there...so that's that. In the end, this is how the mechanic is being done and you get to decide if you want to cope with that or not...just like in some games where you can't block attacks when dual wielding...makes no sense to me either, but that's how it works.

Gem buyout has happened with those with a big wallet, others will just have to sink that time somehow...eventually adventuring will cause you cancer and blocking your barracks feels like the best thing to ever happen lol

[Raubhautz]

One thing to consider with the long upgrade(s) in question - they only have to be done once.

[TboneX]

While I accept that the mechanic exists and understand that it only needs to be done once per building per level, this isn't what I'm trying to get to with the question.

Someone, somewhere thought that this was important enough to code for and put it in place. And enough people agreed with them that it made it in and is still there. Resources were spent creating this process and it's something that has to be maintained every time code is added or changed that might affect it.

So I'm looking for the WHY of the matter. Why does this mechanic exist?

[SweaterPuppies]

One thing to consider with the long upgrade(s) in question - they only have to be done once.

*Twice

[Hobknocker]

So - hit me with the answer. What is it?

By investing more of your time in the game, you become more invested in the game. And therefore retention goes up.

I bet for every person who wanders away during the first 7-day upgrade, 50 people stick through it. And I bet the ratio is 100% for the 2nd long upgrade. Because we've already invested that time to get here.

[Aiel]

It is about profit.

By it being annoying they are tempting you to use gems for the quick upgrade.

[Wimpy]

Been this way since the closed Beta.

[Troll-Phu]

It is about profit.

By it being annoying they are tempting you to use gems for the quick upgrade.

@ 47,115 gems to take the Elite Barracks from 5 to 6 instantly i'm pretty sure that it was not made like that to make money, but to have you invest the time in the game

[Moonlime]

That's the easy way of creating flow and "engagement" to keep you online longer looking at the countdown with a skewed timer.