The Sunset Group
The Sunset Group is a Country Estate and a Destination Resort. A place to visit when you've had it and need to just sit for a while, watch a Sunset, and Rest your Soul. We have some very nice venery tours that showcase the RSO Sunset area, a full complement of Thought and Art Tests, and the equipment that you'll need to dabble in some technologies that perhaps you've never explored. Papyrus Lore is our unique expertise.
The area is beautiful, especially so at Sunrise and Sunset, and includes the highest mountains in Egypt. The mountain area includes a Sculpture Garden, a Pilgrim Shrine, and a Venery on some really tough terrain. See Sunset National Park for the details of what we're trying to accomplish.
The park is a perfect location for a Papyrus Drying Complex.
The Sunset Group Papyrus Drying Complex is located about 22 minutes (1400 coordinates as the avatar runs), directly West of the Red Sea Oasis Chariot Stop. Just follow the Aqueduct to the Nile, dogleg across the bridge into the Sunset Area, and continue on to the West. Voila, our Drying Complexes!
If you prefer open country that usually has a few cicadas, you can also come directly East from the Desert of Shades Chariot Stop. You can strike out across open country and let your F3 popup be your only guide, or you can follow the road for about 30 minutes. Surprisingly, you can run right up the West side of the Mountain if you use the large grassy area.
Looking ahead to Tale 3
We are currently experimenting with a Tale 3 guild configuration.| Guild | Purpose | Initiate | Kinsman |
| Sunset Papyrus | Mentoring | Show up | 20 or more Grilled Fish with 20 or less Wood |
| Sunset Enterprises | Residence | Build your Tent, preferably in a guild alcove | build a Quarry with 2 gearboxes, or something similar for the Guild |
| Sunset Projects | High Volume Production | none | Very heavy lifting on significant guild projects |
Our Sunset Enterprise model compound is located at 1400 2440. Assuming that Sunset Mountain doesn't get ruined for Tale 3, we'll have a similar setup for Tale 3.
- The Papyrus compound, focused on Clay/Flax/Glass, will still be on the riverbank but will shift a bit to the south at about 1470, 2280
- The Enterprise compound, focused on more advanced technologies, will be to the east and west of the road at about 1440, 2275
- Private residences will be scattered throughout the hills, west towards the caldera.
- The Art and Thought park, controlled by Sunset Enterprises, will be to the east in the caldera at about 1260,2260.
- The Drying compound, owned by Sunset Papyrus, will be located on the highest of the local mountains at 968, 2432.
- Sunset Papyrus will focus on mentoring, including members who move on to other areas but still want to maintain contact with their Sunset guildmates.
- Sunset Enterprises will offer substantial support to those who wish to live in the Sunset area.
- Sunset Projects will include Sunset Elders and Kinsmen who are heavily involved in current projects.
Trading Philosophy
The following forum post nicely illustrates what we are attempting to accomplish.Take a jaunt out to the Sunset Area in western RSO, and see how we've set up our Sunset Enterprises compound at 1415 2394.
We have a garishly ornate compound with 14 alcoves. Each alcove has two Large Chests labeled "Trade Chest xx" where xx is 1-28. Each trade chest is set up for Pubic View, Public Statsh.
There is also space for a tent in each of the 14 Alcoves, and they are labeled "Trade Tent 14 - MarvL and Seshat", etc.
When a new member arrives, the first thing we do is give them a trade chest, "Trade Chest 8 - sandcalc", and at that point it's a private chest with Public View and Public Stash. We drop a care package into the chest: 11 Cooper, 1 Iron, 2 Leather, and a Jeweler's Pick, as those are the chokepoint tuitions for Exploration, Navigation, and Mineralogy.
We explain that the new member needs to come up with 1 board, 25 twine, 250 thorns, and 100 wood, and then make a school/university tour to pick up the above skills, plus Fishing, Foraging, and Compound Construction.
We also explain that the chests and tents have two purposes. You are encouraged to "shop" the other trade chests and tents, and bargain for what you need. (more in a minute) While you're certainly encouraged to build a compound, there is no immediate need, and if you never build any of the Island Equipment, that's good. The guild has plenty of production clusters that are far more efficient. The guild production facilities are set up to collapse many of the time sink cycles. In our flax compound, for example, we have Linen, Canvas, and Rope in the same chest as the Flax Seeds. The understanding is that guildies can take the finished goods that they need, plant some more Flax, and/or process the Lint/Tow that's in the intermediate chests. We have both Kinsman (reserve) chests and smaller Initiate (at risk) chests. We've never had any problem with guildies being "fair" about the use of the complex. They understand that the Linen/Canvas/Rope isn't "free".
The problem, actually, lies with convincing folks that we would rather that they blow through the lower rungs on the tech tree, instead of "paying as they go." The guild nicely replenishes supplies once folks get interested in production techniques rather than just producing what they need for a particular project.
Now, getting to the point of your promisory notes.
We have them. They're called "Private Chats." But a deal between two people, if one of them bails out, is sort of worthless.
Folks typically use guild chat to set up trades "Does anybody have some nails??" "I do! I'll trade for a hatchet, or look in my trade chest/tent and see what you have that I need."
There's nothing formal about it, and if a trade falls through the Guild Elders will absorb the losses and deal with the issue, but we truly don't have any sort of problem with folks reneging on trades. It's just too convenient. It would be crazy for someone cut their own throat.
So, at the Guild level, trade is alive and well. The guild is the "guarantor" of the trade, and the guild chat is the transaction record.
Now - a subtle detail. Sunset Papyrus is a mentoring guild. Building a tent in one of the alcoves is the entry requirement for Sunset Enterprises which is our Residence and Advanced Technology guild. When folks build their tent, they release their trade chest for the next new member.
Consequently, clicking down Trade Chest Row provides a handy list of new members, and if somebody on a trial account hasn't been back for 14 days, we just DPA that chest. If a paid account has to leave they usually guild their tent, but if they just expire - then we can DPA the chest/tent. It's typically a modest recovery - but it takes the edge off of the loss and reminds the active members that we need to go clean up any abandoned compounds.
Now - can somebody else DPA one of the chest or tents in our compound? Sure - but that would take a lot of shitheadedness, and we'd probably notice it first anyway.
So - I agree with you about the promisary notes. If Teppy provided us with a "Bus Station Locker" building, where you could rent a combination lock chest, I'd have a Sunset Emporium Guild and Compound set up near the RSO Chariot Stop within hours, and it would work pretty much as I have described for the Sunset Papyrus Mentoring Guild. Take a look at http://wiki.atitd.net/tale1/The_Test_Of_Trust. The code base for combination lock chests already exists, and we'd just have to generalize what could be placed in the lockers.
Tale 2
For Tale 2, the Sunset Group sponsored several closely linked Guilds.
| Guild_Size_____ | Emphasis | Promotion to Member/Kinsman |
| Sunset Papyrus (200 slots) | Agriculture, Glassmaking, Art Appreciation, and Mentoring | Use a stoked Bonfire to grill 20 or more Fish using not more than 20 Wood |
| Sunset Venery (60 slots) | Veneries and Flowers | Improve your camera skills, pass the Initiation to Thought, and sign up for the Test of the Venery |
| Sunset Foundry (20 slots) | Mining, Metalworking, Marble, and Pyramids | Make an Anvil product that's 5K or better |
| Sunset Enterprises (253 slots) | Advanced Technology, including Mining, Cooking, Fumeology, Beer, and Wine. | Contribute a Quarry with two gearboxes, or something of equivalent significance |
| Sunset Elders (26 slots) | Stewardship of Sunset National Park, major Artworks, and Management of the Sunset Group | Complete a major art project |
Sunset National Park, a 41 by 41 coordinate area marked by Ritual Torches, is centered at the top of the ramp at 960, 2440 on the upper slopes of the mountain, The Sunset Elders Guild provides Stewardship of the park, and manages it for the benefit of all Egypt. Sunset National Park has two Papyrus Drying Complexes, a very nice Venery, and a Pilgrim Shrine. We're gradually building a Sculpture Garden, , a Gliderport, and other items that are appropriate to the area.
The Sunset Group is working very hard to ensure that all player built objects in Sunset National Park are assigned to the Sunset Group, including Art pieces that are no longer needed for passage of a test, so that the Park can be managed effectively. For more information about what we're trying to accomplish, check Park.
The Sunset Group's core facilities have intentionally been kept away from the Chain of Lakes to the South of the ramp.
Guild members are encouraged to post their compounds on the locator maps for the individual guilds so, as our members are welcome to live anywhere they please, you'll find guild owned facilities throughout Egypt.
Application Requirements
The equipment and mines owned by the Sunset Group (including limited cycle machines such as Hackling Rakes, True Kilns, and Carpentry Benches) may be used by Anyone. We even keep a supply of loaner Linen, for visitors to use, near the public Paper Presses. Guests at our Quaint Historical Farm, are encouraged to meander about, use our facilites, and ask questions.Papyrus isn't owned by anyone, and the dynamics of gathering and replanting Papyrus is a dandy social puzzle.
Many of our guildmembers stop by for the occasional long weekend, when they need Papyrus, rather than actually living in the immediate areas, so you'll find guildmembers all over Egypt.
Only guildmembers have access to our inventory chests, but the chests are all set to View Contents and are stashable by Anyone. We're generally willing to rent convenience items like Anvil Tools to non-members for a percentage of the action, or to make small trades. We have several "for hire" chests in the Flax Compound that you can use for personal storage rather than cluttering up the landscape.
There are a few secure chests for Kinsmen or Elders, and we use them for high value items like Cuttable Stone and potent Herbs, but our general approach is that guests are encouraged to enjoy their stay at our Quaint Historical Farm, and are welcome to dabble with all of the technologies. The fundamental reason that we only keep a working inventory in the initiate chests is that it's far too easy for inexperienced players to accidently browse everything in a chest, and then drop the items (just like the menu suggests) when they're overloaded.
- The Sunset Guilds accept new players, including players on Trial Accounts, although most of the support for new members is focused on the Sunset Papyrus Guild.
Expanding a Guildhall is expensive, so some time within their first few weeks each new guildmember is expected to add to the Guild building fund. The nominal size for our Guilds is 100 members, so each guildmember's share is:
- 201 Boards
- 401 Bricks
Sunset Papyrus Guild
Sunset Papyrus is dedicated to the preservation of "wild" Papyrus along the Nile. This is an entry level Guild for new members, for more experienced members who are not yet familar with Papyrus, and for effective mentors. Initiates in Sunset Papyrus are provided with an opportunity to learn
- Papyrus Preservation
- Fishing
- Flax Processing
- Agriculture
- Basic Glassmaking
- Bonfire Skills
- Art Appreciation
We want everybody to enjoy the Sunset area. Our mood is that of a Quaint Historical Farm. We understand that more advanced techniques are available, but we enjoy churning our own butter.
Papyrus
Papyrus preservation requires an understanding of how Papyrus grows. In our area Papyrus appears 200 coordinates to the North of where you planted it, 30 /time minutes (about 10 Teppy minutes) after planting. Use your F3 map to find the coordinate offset, and use the /time command to track the delay. Our recommended papyrus run starts at the Sunset Obelisk at 1476, 2242.We have a nice Venery, the Sunset Papyrus Tour, that is designed as an introduction to Papyrus Lore, Game Mechanics, and Guild Facilities, near the Papyrus Loop. Newer members are expected to run the Venery. The Glass Torches that mark the transition points on the Papyrus Loop are also used a starting points for the three branches of the Sunset Papyrus Tour.
To cut down on misunderstandings and arguments when visitors don't quite understand how Papyrus works,
the four corners of the Papyrus loop are anchored by a sculpture that's entitled
Sunset Papyrus Guild == Promoting a Shared Harvest Model
Our guildmembers routinely overplant Papyrus, so "wild" Papyrus can often be found standing on the Nile between 2440 and 2640. If you don't find any "wild" Papyrus to get you started, type /info Sunset Papyrus and /chat <guildmember>. We'll probably ask you to run the Sunset Papyrus Tour venery, with 100 Papyrus Seeds as the "prize" for finishing the Venery.
Papyrus grown during mid-day in our area, 10:00am to 5:00pm, will have an apparent average Papyrus yield of about 2x Papyrus per Handful of Seed. Papyrus still grows at other times of the day, but the apparent yield isn't nearly as high at night because the Papyrus is dispersed over a much wider area, X=550 to X-1550, during hours of darkness.
The most fertile area is on the West Bank between 2700 and 2800 (just South of the upper bridge). If you plant the greater portion of your seeds between 2500 and 2600, your yield will be in the 3x Papyrus per Handful of Seed range.
The Sunset Papyrus Guild is promoting a Shared Harvest model on the portion of the Nile between 2440 and 2800. While everyone is welcome to plant and gather in the Shared Harvest area, if it bothers you when someone else picks "your" Papyrus before you can gather it, please light the Torches as you move around to loop so that other can be advised that you prefer to have exclusive use of the loop for a while, or consider planting your Papyrus Seeds in a more isolated area. The area immediately to the North, between the bridges at 3200 and 3600, actually has higher yields than the Shared Harvest area. The "T" shaped arrangement of the lakes crossing the Nile to the North makes the area to the North quite interesting for Exclusive Use efforts, especially at night.
If you have plenty of seeds, and only need to make Papyrus Paper, the Karnak Nile around 0,1500 has much better yields than the RSO area if you include the easterly lakes, and there's a public complex with 10 Paper Presses at the south end of the loop (take your own linen). Sunset Papyrus guildmember can use the 40 Linen that's in an Initiates chest.
The RSO Sunset advantage is the proximity of the River and the Mountain (for Dried Papyrus and Seeds), and we're not very far from the RSO Chariot Stop. We have 25 Flax Hammocks, a Student Loom, 2 Paper Presses, and 32 Loaner Linen that you can use. There's also a kitchen for cracking Coconuts. Please don't give us any more coconuts.
A Papyrus Hieroglyph Structure, entitled
Sunset Papyrus Guild == Promoting a Shared Harvest Modelsets the tone and marks each corner of the Shared Harvest Papyrus area. The Sunset Papyrus Guild encourages its members, and others, to use the Papyrus loop as an Initiation Sculpture Garden, although we haven't had much luck as yet.
The Sunset Papyrus Guild regards "wild" Papyrus in the marked Shared Harvest area as a Shared Resource. Guildmembers routinely overplant Papyrus in the Shared Harvest area, so that visitors will have "wild" Papyrus to get started on their Papyrus skills, even when nobody is around. The expectation is that everyone who uses this area will leave some "wild" Papyrus, and will replant as much as they gathered once they've had an opportunity to dry their Papyrus and obtain some seeds. The Guild recovers far more in donated seed than we ever "lose" because a visitor is excited about finding "wild" Papyrus, and the Guild uses most of the donated seed to replenish the "wild" Papyrus in the Shared Harvest area.
Our Papyrus Drying Complexes are at the top of the mountain, at 978, 2462, near the ruins of the River Plains University of Body. The more convenient of the two complexes has
- 18 Flax Hammocks
- 1 Hand Loom (200 Dried Papyrus -> 1 Papyrus Basket)
- 2 Papyrus Paper Presses and 32 loaner Linen
All the buildings and facilities of the Sunset Papyrus Guild, other than the Chests and a few items like Sheep Pens that are targets for vandalism, are set so that they may be used by Anyone.
You're welcome to stop by and chat, try out the facilities, and take a run through our Veneries. The area is beautiful, especially so at Sunrise and Sunset.
Additional information about Sunset Papyrus, and a map of Guild owned facilities, is available at Papyrus.
Promotion Test
You're ready for the promotion test once you have the skills to:- Use Bonfires to produce 20 or more Grilled Fish using 20 or less Wood.
- As a matter of policy, you have to gather the wood and catch the fish for your promotion test. It doesn't actually matter where you learned your skills, although the skills are a part of the Sunset Papyrus curricula.
Sunset Venery Guild
We have a lot of space to play in. The Sunset group and UNITY have uncontested use of the area from 500,2000 to 1500,3000. The RSO Sunset area includes a fantastic mountain with a lot of complicated foothills, and the various Sunset Venery Tours take full advantage of the Canyons and Crevices in the Sunset area. For historical reasons, we refer the area to the north of the mountain as the Gastronomy line, and we have more than 300 sectors of buildings sprinkled about in that area that we use as a part of the Sunset Obstacle Course. All of our Veneries begin near the Sunset Obelisk at 1475 2240.
- Sunset Papyrus Tour covers Papyrus Lore and visits the important Sites along the river.
It's designed as a self-guided tour for newer members and first-time visitors to the RSO Sunset Area. - Sunset Mountain Tour is our showcase venerey. It's a puzzle Venery on some very tough terrain.
The Sunset National Park area is beautiful, especially so at Sunset and Sunrise. - Sunset Obstacle Course is a challenge for advanced players. The Obstacle Course is all about camera skills,
and it's unlikely that you'll be able to find everything on your first try. And not because you're lost, either.
Additional information about the Sunset Venery is available at Venery.
Promotion Test
- Promotion to Kinsman has a very simple requirement. Pass your Initiation to Thought, we have a Set's Ladder, and get signed up for the Test of the Venery, so you can become a Venery Designer.
Sunset Foundry Guild
The Sunset Foundry Guild, which supports the Quarries, Mines and Metalworking complexes owned by the Sunset Group, exists because the mining skills are too complicated to be managed effiectively as part of the mentoring guild. Most of the Guild owned mines are listed at Sunset Foundry. The mines may be worked by Anybody except when we're in the middle of an experiment. The Quarries are only for Guildmembers.
Promotion Test
- Mine the raw materials and create an Anvil product that is 5K quality or better.
Sunset Enterprises Guild
The Sunset Enterprises is a residential Guild. The Enterprises compound support all of our mid-range and advanced technologies.
Promotion Test
- Contribute a Quarry with two gearboxes, or something of similar value, to the guild.
More information about Guild owned faciltities is available at Sunset Enterprises.
Sunset Group Facilities
|
F3 Map Location
Guild or Name
Emphasis |
| F3 Map Location | Guild or Name | Emphasis |
| 960 2440 | Sunset National Park | A 41 by 41 coordinate area centered at the top of the mountain ramp is managed by the Sunset Group for the benefit of all Egypt. Sunset National Park includes the Papyrus Drying Complex, an Art Museum, and a Sculpture Garden. |
| 964 2446 | Pilgrim Shrine | A (Papyrus) Basket tithe is required, but the Shrine is public so you can recover your basket, and loaner baskets are available if your group creates at least one basket using local resources. The Shrine is located at the top of the ramp up to the park, just above the waterfall. |
| 978 2462 | Papyrus Drying Complex | By cycling between the Nile and the Drying Complex you can easily triple your Papyrus holdings each hour. (The Guild gets a lot of donations when folks realize that they've harvested more than they can carry.) |
| 1476 2242 | Sunset Obelisk | The Obelisk is the start of the Papyrus loop that we use, and is also the starting point for most of our Veneries. |
| 1450 2340 | Sunset Papyrus | Our entry level mentoring guild focuses on basic skills, including the Preservation of Papyrus, Fishing, Growing Flax, and Grass Production |
| 1020 2499 | Sunset Venery | You can see the Welcome Banner for the Sunset Obstacle Course but you'll have to look pretty hard to find the Guildhall itself. The Sunset Obsacle Course plays with the canyons and crevices of the Sunset Area. The Sunset River Tour and the Sunset Mountain Tour are linked from the guild page. |
| 1080 2469 | Sunset Foundry | The Foundry is concealed to the right of the mountain ramp, and is on the backdoor route to our main mining area and metalworking complexes. The Guild has a full set of Tools and Metalworking equipment, including Pinch Rollers, the various furnaces, and two Anvils. |
| 1397 2451 | Sunset Enterprises | Enterprises is our residence Guild. |
| 2318 2283 | Red Sea Oasis | From the Chariot Stop, follow the main road to the West, and across the Nile. Sunset Papyrus will be on your left, you should be able to see the Welcome Banner. The Drying Complex is still further to the West, at the end of the road shown on your F3 popup. It's about 20 minutes on foot from RSO, following the road. There's an Expedition site near the UConflict. |
| -1418 2769 | Desert of Shades | From the Chariot Stop, head East into the desert. You'll see mile after mile of mile after mile. There are, however, some wonderful little pockets in the Desert of Shades. If open space appeals to you, it's about 30 minutes on foot, across open country, or you can simply follow the road. |
Additional facilities, especially production compounds and guildmember compounds, are shown on the relevant guild pages. Sunset Group mines, and a few other recommended Public Mines, are shown at Foundry.
