Advantages of town centers in Eco Strange Loop Games

Eco by Strange Loop Games is sometimes pictured with a nice city town hall, white bridge and other community features. I did my fare share of random servers and let's just say player-made town centers rarely look like this, if there are any. In fact, the absence of town centers is odd considering their advantages for a community: I blame minecraft :)

First, I will describe town centers as a cluster of lands belonging to different active players who are not engaged in a closed team. Generally, a town center features a town hall, a common research center, a contract board, a distribution station and similar landmarks. For practical reasons, the average lot size is about  3x3 or 4x4, except for community buildings.

On servers where the number of active players is over 8 and on large maps, you should expect more than one town center. In this case, they won't all have administrative landmarks.

The cooperative nature of Eco and the numerous advantages of proximity for players should make towns abundant on most worlds. If you read this, you probably discovered there are few challenges to such a project. An Eco world is an ecosystem and players are the most important part of it. So if we want players to work toward the idea of a town center, we need to understand what dynamics drives them toward that goal. I say this as if I knew for sure...

Reasons to build a town center

1) Save time

Eco is a cooperative game and proximity can be a huge time saver when it comes to transport of exchanged goods. Buying hewn logs from a store far away may cost you more than getting it for a higher price nearby. A small test by Lazarus on Guardians Gaming shows that running takes 2 minutes per kilometer on road and 6 minutes per kilometer on rough terrain. And he is running, not pulling a cart. AN interesting comparison when you know that you can gather hundreds of wood logs, plant fibers, crops or stones in 10 minutes.

2) Opportunities for trade

Proximity also seems to brings opportunities for trade. Early trade of basic resources in particular has a huge impact. Also it is tempting to get stones from the store next door rather than digging yourself. It's not just about the time saved : there seems to be something appealing about the fact that items are already there, packed and ready for your projects. You won't have to spend food, you won't have to repair : items are just there....waiting...take them...yes...take them now.

3) Save on roads

Proximity also means you need a smaller road surface to link players. You get stone roads faster, travel faster and save precious time, mortar and stones for research and other projects.

4) Landmarks

A budding community will eventually need a town hall and starting road layout. You may wish basic structures such as common research center, contract board and distribution station. Expert communities will have DIY crafting stores and public workshops. An early town center proposal is a perfect opportunity to share with your fellow citizens a vision of these landmarks...and have a place for them.

5) Esteem value

When designing products, it is important to consider other functions than the obviously useful ones. In fact, professional design methods such as functional cost analysis contain a step where the esteem value of objects are considered. For example, a small LED line on the side of a computer does not contribute to performance, but provide aesthetic value for the consumers. You may notice many items around you have features that are not actually useful, but have value to you because they are funny, cute, prestigious, etc.

Me real man. Me think flowers are useless and want to smash them. Wow, look at that nice car!

This kind of affective or aesthetic aspect is important in Eco too (and often neglected). Town centers brings citizens together in the same territory. It is a small space easier to decorate and where citizens can laugh at clever signs, for instance. Slowly, it becomes their territory, a shared territory where they belong. Sense of belonging, another basic human psychology aspect to include when you expect people to dedicate hours on a world, almost everyday and for 30 days.

6) Climbing the cooperative tech tree

I played with a clever player named Syhrus who said : "Getting people who don't know each other to work together is half the challenge". He is mostly right...except maybe it's more than half?

Seriously the key here is work together. But it doesn't happen if there are no incentive and goals for cooperation. A town center is a low-risk and easy project with a positive interdependence structure: building a town center only happens when individual citizens successfully establish their building in the area. Since a town center project has bigger impact when done early in the game, the incentive of working together efficiently right form the start adds up to the basic interdependence structure.

Every time people try to work together is a great occasion to see how the other players contribute. Better learn right from the start who is a valuable partner and who has competitive issues, rather that 30 hours later. For example, your carpenters and masons may try to take advantage of the community project by making profits. You then have an opportunity to discuss crucial things such as views about profit margin, which I believe to be one of the top cause for economic inequality and server death. Basically, cooperative projects such as town centers are the means by which you can unlock milestones in Eco's secret tech tree.

Reasons for not building a town center

There are nice advantages to a town center. But, why does it seems to be a difficult project on many servers?

1) Resources location

People tend to settle at locations that fit most their personal goals. Think about farmers who seek specific biomes and the smith who stays in the desert or the mountains. Unless you are the manager of a well-established server that brings many active players, like Guardians Gaming, La Cité Perdue or GreenLeaf, it is risky to load maps bigger than 2 km when your goal is to create a town center. The main reason is that big maps generate big biomes that are far apart and people are likely to settle in this fashion too.

2) Aggressive/beginner expansion

It is tempting to claim large patch of lands as a safety precaution in order to secure resources or make sure no one will hinder your expansion (the minecraft syndrome). Wary beginners and competitive players are more likely to claim a single very large territory. Since Eco is about working together, this behavior sends the wrong message and tends to drive others away. There are exceptions with players seeking to make large, nice domains. But this still an individual approach and doesn't promote collaboration much. But hey, most of the best players I met preferred domains.

3) Stranger things

It is common courtesy to keep some distance between lands and many players will not settle close unless invited. What if your carpenter neighbor comes back online and react badly because you are sitting on the ideal spot for oak trees ? Therefore, people tend to build far from each others.

As I write this, I am witness to a mason who just spend 30 minutes digging a trench and a dirt wall around a farmer because he "took his lands". The farmer is not even online and is unaware of the problem! As in real life, Eco is a game with a fair share of territorial disputes and aggressive reactions.

Working with strangers is a source of risk and uncertainty. Therefore, it seems normal for players to settle apart and act cautiously. A town center may be a too big commitment for many players until other players show them otherwise.

4) Early abandon

The first 2-3 days of a server are busy with newcomers. After 4 or 5 days, the list of active players is shorter already. This phenomenon led many people to believe that you should wait a bit to see who will be the active players before thinking about building closer and engage in town building. I personally prefer the early advantages of a town center and gain from the synergy of everyone. Few days later, we just remove the claims of those who left.

5) Availability of building material

I feel building materials are more often a problem in 9.0 compared to earlier versions. For instance, a carpenter prior to 9.0 only had to choose the hewing profession for an immediate 50% reduction on materials. He could then reach 82% cost reduction within few hours. Since 9.0, I consider this carpenter normal if he can get a basic upgrade module 3 on the second day...and it's just a 40% reduction.

Since 9.0, I see a lot of players struggle for days before making 4 decent rooms for their home. Upgrade modules unavailability, greedy profit margins on basic items and unskilled crafting are common. Players just tend to keep building materials for their home and workshop. It is hard in such context to convince everyone to make another building downtown.

5) Independence

Some players just did not get the memo about this game : cooperation. They settle generally far and don't interact with the community. These players usually don't last long. Small teams of two or three often have bolstered confidence about their ability to do everything alone. Sometime they succeed, especially if they play 8+ hours a day. There is no reason to join a town center in this context. Servers with heavy rushing teams don't survive (as a community).

Solutions to build a town center

The previous ideas show that players have many reasons (or not) to focus on their individual goals at the beginning and postpone community projects. While each player add value to his little isolated patch of heaven, they miss several opportunities to develop trust and cooperation habits. Eventually, it becomes more difficult to join a town.

So logically, one way to promote town centers is to work against the cons and make sure everyone sees the pros. Easier said than done...

1) Ze map

The admin chooses the map, hence he/she is the first player with the power to make towns. Such project will be easier if the map has one or two central places near the following biomes :

• big forest
• desert close to water (for blast furnace)
• mountains (cold forest, tundra, ice)
• flat surface

Players are always gauging benefits over costs, so flat surface are usually better for town centers as they require less terraforming. On small worlds, carefully check the location of key crops to avoid building over the only suitable growth location in the world for these crops.

Hint : Plan 2 town locations, mark them and look at the effect on the number of active people and general health of your server.

2) L'invitation

Experienced players of Eco know the benefits of a town center, but beginners may not. The servers's description is a good place to invite people.

Sample server description : Join up only if you want to be part of a cooperative community. Our first objective is to create a town center. You are invited to claim a small 3x3 patch of land along the central boulevard marked with construction posts. Please, keep at least 2 spaces between neighbors at this location.

Note how the above description also contains general guidelines for settling and in-game references.

3) Prepare the infrastructure

Have you ever noticed that many villages and towns in the real world have a Main Street? A main street is useful in Eco too and can be easily done by leaving marks on the map or beginning a crude road infrastructure. I personally leave a dozen construction posts placed along a line. The main road should be at least two plots wide. When I feel motivated, I make a 3 land plot wide boulevard with decorations in the center. 

Some administrators will make the town center layout by claiming several land plots. They might even spawn stone roads. If you do this, just remember that every community project is an opportunity for interactions and relationship building. Therefore, why not wait until 3 players log in and discuss the location together? If they agree, you will get a sufficient town center layout with their contribution, they will help you inform new players and you won't need to cheat by creating additional land papers.

As early as possible, create a common research center (so every player downtown save room volume and reduce parallel research) and a contract board. This basic infrastructure will further indicate where downtown is located.

This being said, big servers with experience, a supporting community and a trading-oriented goal will find advantages in pre-claiming downtown and selling plots.

4) Set an example

You would be surprised to know the number of administrators and players who ask for a town center and don't bother to claim land over there. Some even propose locations next to their own large plot and factory. Seriously, set an example by doing what you ask of others.

5) Build smart

A single 2x1 area is enough for a building with a store and a crafting station (ex. carpentry, masonry, butchery table). If you make a joint building, you get extra space for a research table right from the start. A 2x2 area can easily get you 100 cubic meters, which is enough for a basic setup (Satsuki, 2020).

Keeping this approach, we seldom need more than 9 plots for a base during the first days. This is true for every profession (I challenge you to find one that isn't). Of course, this is for vanilla worlds and people who don't play all day long. In any case, you may add additional floors when you need housing bonus, which is also a good way to save on materials. 

By the way, the game gives you 10 land papers...

Therefore, it is both easy and efficient for every player to settle downtown. My advice to farmers and smelters is to claim 4 plots downtown and use the remaining 6 outside the town. You may even use the roof of the downtown building to farm. 

6) Salads and hewn lead the way

Chefs, more than any other players, can settle anywhere on the map and only need a small space. When I pick this profession, I make a single 10 minutes gathering mission early in the game. This gives me enough ingredients to make 200 salads (with extra crops), which adds about 50% more food XP bonus compared to the best unskilled recipes. Therefore, chefs are in a unique position to start a town center and use food as a magnet.

Logging experts are also in a good position since they need about 400 logs to make a DIY hewn machine with a basic module. The store buys wood at 1 credit and sells hewn at 1.85 if a good chef is near (to be lowered with better upgrade modules and skill). This allows everyone to quickly get their first room and leapfrog new players later. Since logging players have a clear advantage over all the others players, there is some kind of social expectation for them to make the townhall and research center as well.

7) Law incentive

If you quickly work on the government building or you have a government from the start, it is possible to create a downtown district and create law incentives. For instance, money can be given to players who settle in or you can have reduced tax for stores located in the downtown district for a short while. A special demographic tag given to city dwellers can give them access to buildings, government position or any other advantage as well.

The key word here is incentive or something to motivate people to create a downtown area. Powerful and permanent incentives might disrupt the community: being in a town is already a bonus.

Before you go

I hope that at least one idea here will help you. Don't hesitate to tell me about your own experience. Happy cooperation !