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| Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 |
| Issue: 59 |
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Editor: Air |
| The Return of Safehouses |
MikaVerLeth |
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The Establishment page was off line. Players that wanted to go there got a page with text saying: This page is currently disabled for testing and development.
The Game Forum was filled with speculations regarding the reason for the development. Sabin himself had already said he would be adding a new building. Which, of course, he did.
The return of Safe Houses was received with enthusiasm by the majority of the players. Most of them still remembered the old Safe Houses which prevented you from being found and thus made it impossible for players to kill someone who was inside one. Most known example will probably be that of The Family. Previous round, only a couple of players owned two Bullet Factories and a crew spot. They could not be killed due to their Safe Houses and managed to stay on the stats for a while till Establishment was removed as a feature.
However, this time, Safe Houses are a little different from the old ones we used to know. Sabin himself explained the newly added feature in a Game Forum Sticky. This new building will allow you (and others that you invite) to hide out with greater safety, he said. Being in a Safe House will increase your protection level to an extent greater than any protection you can purchase, and will make it more difficult for a Private Detective to find you.
This is the first change, compared to the old Safe Houses, as the Private Detective was unable to find anyone hiding out. This has changed and makes players in Safe Houses less vulnerable, but vulnerable nevertheless.
We can only guess as to how vulnerable people inside Safe Houses are. No information has been given out regarding the costs of being inside one or how many people can stay inside a Safe House. On Monday the 28th of January, the first Safe Houses will be finished and it is on that day this information will be revealed to the players.
Yet, do not forget. Safe Houses give you better protection, but you can still die inside one of them. Through all of this, Sabin said. You can still die inside of a Safe House, but you're a lot safer than you would be without it. He must have realized this kind of protection is very valuable and it would allow State- and Nation Don(s) to acquire an even better security. To cope with that, the price for staying inside one will differ per rank. While the cost is quite reasonable for lower-ranked criminals, the masterminds will have to pay considerably more for Safe House usage, Sabin said.
With this new addition, there are two buildings available for players to build on their land. By the looks of it, most players want to build (and are building) a Safe House. By limiting it to one building per person, it adds an element of strategy, Sabin said. There are a lot of one building in my state, should I destroy my building and switch? What if other people are switching? he explained. The garage may not be a great money-maker, but it's better to have some minor income, plus a safe place for your cars.
So what will you do? Will you build a Safe House or a Garage? Do you choose for a low income or for a save place to stay? Sooner or later, you will have to choose. However, you might want to keep in mind one last bit of information. And remember that as more people build Safe Houses and other future buildings, garages will become more rare and valuable, according to Sabin. This would mean there are more buildings on their way. Which shows we haven't seen the last Establishment update yet.
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