The West (a western themed browser based RPG)

[FrogMan]

Been in a big browser based RPG "gaming" mood lately (see this thread) and this is the game that started it all, thanks to my son who told me about the French version of it. I've since started new characters in two different English worlds.

The game is simply called The West and it's fairly simple. You are a cowboy in the far west and you try to earn a living doing jobs. Each jobs have some levels of difficulty that you can cover by adding your score in five skills. You character is rated in 20 different skills categorized in four big attributes (strength, mobility, dexterity, charisma). So for example, is a task requires the skills of construction, vigor, toughness, dexterity and leadership, and has a difficulty level of 20, you will be allowed to do that job once the addition of your scores on the five skills comes to 21. The higher you stand compared to the difficulty of a job, the more money and experience you will receive from doing the job. Your skills can also be enhanced by the clothes (hat, shirt, shoes) you wear. Some job will require some clothes than others don't need. Sometimes you also find stuff while doing jobs, or you can buy it from towns (more on that in a moment)

You can't do the same job over and over however, because your character loses a little motivation every time he does a job, and doing so, will not ear as much experience/money until he stays away from that job for a little while.

Everytime you level up, you get one attribute point and three skill points that you can use wherever you want. An attribute point adds 1 to every one of the five skills under it.

The game is heavily quest based. You get your quests from the saloon and each quest is linked to a job to do or something to bring back to the quest giver. Quests are usually grouped into arcs, and new quests appear as you level up.

Once your character achieves level ten, you can pick one of the four following character class: worker, adventurer, duellist, soldier. Each character class has its own advantages. For example, a worker will regain motivation in building up town building faster than the other classes. Same goes for a duellist who will regain his motivation to duel faster than others, thus be more effective in his duels.

Towns are also founded and you can join them although it is not necessary. You can also found your own town if you want. The main advantage of being part of a town is in the price you pay for items which is 1/4 of the price to non-members of the town, and you get to sleep in the town's hotel for free. The main disadvantage of being part of a town is that you can get attacked in a duel, something that cannot happen when you are a free going loner. It goes the other way too, you cannot duel somebody else if you're not part of a town. You also cannot be attacked when you are sleeping in the hotel of a town.

That being said, if simply leveling up your character is what you want, you can play as a loner and ask town founders for shopping invites. Many town will give you and invite if you say you will deposit $100 or $150 in the town's treasury. That way you can pay $350 ($250+100) for a hat or shirt instead of the requisite $1000.

What I like about the game is that it's not very time consuming and I can get tons of stuff done playing it for free. I log in before going to work, set my character to work for two hours on a job (you can set for 10 or 30 minutes or 1 or 2 hours) and send him back to the hotel afterward. If you play if for free, you can set two tasks at a time. That way, when I get back home I log back in just before dinner, my character is well rested (100 rest points are available with every hour of work spending 12 points) and I set him for two 2 hour jobs. Sometimes I hunt after quest items, sometimes I simply need money or I see I'm about to level up, so these other times I go after high money or high experience jobs. I don't think I would gain anything by being able to play more often because my player runs out of rest points on weekends anyway.

Here's also a very helpful web site called The West Stats that can import your inventory and skills and tell you what jobs you can do, and what piece of clothing or equipment to use to make get that best skill rating for it. Makes the game even easier to figure out and helps in filtering/sorting for high money paying or his experience jobs.

I'm Known as "Ole Dirty Froggie", a level 28 worker in World 7 and a level 21 adventurer World 8 although World 8 is the one that started most recently of the two. The world you're signing up for is showing up right above your character's name. Just went to sign up and it offered me world 8 by default. careful not to pick world 9 because people cannot have a character in both these worlds at the same time. All 7 other worlds are open for everybody, but they've been going on for quite longer...

FWIW, this game is by the same people who did Tribal Wars, which I know some of us have played in the past. I just restarted a village in the French version.

Anyway, that was long winded. Post here if you play the game. I've been around a bit, maybe I can help if you got questions.

FM
=====================================
The Big Census of FOFCers in World 8 is now updated online at...The home of the FOFC Empire

where you'll also find information about our towns, what's available in our shops and such...


Helpful links to enjoy the game more with some FAQ

Useful tools to make the game easier:
- The West Stats - has job calculator and database of items, jobs, quest. Need you to register and import your skills and inventory
- The West Insider - job calculator with no need to register, can take into account motivation and the money from expected items

How do I find the FOFC towns?

Who can send me an invite to one of the FOFC towns? (FOFC/West names)
- Troutville: chinaski/Van Zandt
- El Dolado: BrianD/Nunzio, FrogMan/Ole Dirty Froggie

How do I donate money to the town treasury?

How do I leave town?

Who can upgrade town buildings? (chart will need updating at some point but still gives a rough idea of how labor points work)

Can I join a town, donate money, check in to the hotel and then leave town without having to pay for the hotel? Short answer is no...

Discussion on the worth of the gold nuggets. (start with that post and keep reading down page 18)

Is there a way to respec my character's skills at some point? short answer is yes

[Lathum]

looks interesting.

cost?

[FrogMan]

free

You can buy some gold nuggets for some advantage, but I've never paid a dime for anything it's just as fun. Some quest will unlock some of the payable advantages so you can try them though. Like "automation" which allows you to put 4 jobs in your queue, or "extra sleep" or whatever they call it, where your character rests more ever hour and has 150 rest points instead of 100. Simply a way to boost your character, same way it's possible with games like Goal Line Blitz...

FM

[dolfin]

I was wondering if anyone else played on here. I've had a lot of fun with this game and it really doesn't take up much of your time.

I'm a level 40 Adventurer in World 3.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Luke Warmwater is now scaring birds off the field in world 8

[Schmidty]

World 8 - JasonSchmidt.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dumb question but ... once you've done some work & have a wanted poster or a tobacco leaf in your inventory, how do you convert them to cash?

I'm going to guess I have to visit a town and find some sort of store or something (other than wherever that first bartender guy giving quests is located, he just seemed to magically appear for me) but darned if I'm sure. In the meantime I'm just picking some sugar cane hoping to get enough XP to reach level two.

[Calis]

I'm in for about any Western-themed game. Gertbeef is now prowling World 8.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Dumb question but ... once you've done some work & have a wanted poster or a tobacco leaf in your inventory, how do you convert them to cash?

I'm going to guess I have to visit a town and find some sort of store or something (other than wherever that first bartender guy giving quests is located, he just seemed to magically appear for me) but darned if I'm sure. In the meantime I'm just picking some sugar cane hoping to get enough XP to reach level two.

yeah, find a town with any type of store in it and you'll be able to sell your stuff there. You don't need to be a member of said town and members don't even get better money for whatever they sell.

The saloon people (there'll be more as you grow, up to four people in there) are always available by clicking the Quest icon on the left menu.

FM

[FrogMan]

dola, and I guess you have figured out that when you have the required item for a quest, you simply have to visit the saloon again and finish the quest with the correct NPC...

FM

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

dola, and I guess you have figured out that when you have the required item for a quest, you simply have to visit the saloon again and finish the quest with the correct NPC...

Yeah, that part I got from the tutorial, which seemed kind of clunky to me when I was going through it but it actually works out pretty well in hindsight.

Thanks for the help. I'm not entirely sure about the game itself just yet but the setting is one that's really underutilized IMO so I'm hoping it'll engage me.

[JonInMiddleGA]

dola - Is the general plan here that there might be an FOFC town at some point?

If I understood things correctly, there's actually not much drawback to having a relatively small town that grows slowly if we go that route.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Yeah, that part I got from the tutorial, which seemed kind of clunky to me when I was going through it but it actually works out pretty well in hindsight.

Thanks for the help. I'm not entirely sure about the game itself just yet but the setting is one that's really underutilized IMO so I'm hoping it'll engage me.

Yeah, the quests system is pretty straigthforward once you've tried it a couple times. One thing to be aware of though. There will come quests that will simply tell you to do a certain job for a certain period of time. Make sure you accept the quest BEFORE you start working on a job. I've done it a couple times where I started a job for two hours only to come back and see I had not accepted the quest first. Happened last night as a matter of fact. Need to "build a bridge" for 5 hours, so I set my guy to work his first hour, and when it ended, saw I had not accepted the trade. Oops...

As for the game itself, as I said, it's not very time consuming and I found that with the multitude of jobs you can do, all of them getting tougher and tougher as they appear in the game, you can build your character in a many, many different ways and still have a lot of fun.

Then you get to a point where you start seeing nice clothing items that could really help you and you stop chasing quest items to make some money.

FM

[ntndeacon]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

dola - Is the general plan here that there might be an FOFC town at some point?

If I understood things correctly, there's actually not much drawback to having a relatively small town that grows slowly if we go that route.

How far along do you need to start a town. Just started in world 8 as ntndeacon

[Yellow5]

Signed up for world 8 as.... Weemus McToots

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

dola - Is the general plan here that there might be an FOFC town at some point?

If I understood things correctly, there's actually not much drawback to having a relatively small town that grows slowly if we go that route.

Originally Posted by ntndeacon

How far along do you need to start a town. Just started in world 8 as ntndeacon

Don't know that we've set a general plan per se, but yeah, that could be cool.

As for founding a town, not too sure what the requirements are other than paying the $500 (or is it $300?) and waiting the 8 hours for it to appear.

One thing's for sure, we'll need somebody to dedicate to becoming a worker, that is putting a lot of his skill points in construction as the "improve building" job requires with construction, construction, construction, then repairing and I think leadership. Every hour worked to improve a building costs $120 from the town treasury, so it goes without saying that you only want your people high on construction point working on improving the buildings, and others simply depositing money in the town treasury.

Hope this is not all too confusing. Gets easier once you have been part of a town.

I could found the town if we'd all come to agreement, but it would start with a max of 5 spots, until we'd be able to improve the residences. 5 people per level of residence is how it goes. I could build stuff for now, but my guy is an adventurer, and whatever construction points I have is what I put in to do the main quests, and I'm not optimized to build a town on my own...

Before founding a town though, we'd have to decide where we'd want to found it. There are lots of uncharted territories to the West, while it's a bit crowded in the eastern squares...

FM

[hawk4669]

Just joined....World 8. Name (not original or very realistic): Hawk4669. Just completed the tutorial, etc.

Edit: I don't mind being a worker.

Cheers!

[BrianD]

Nunzio is in World 8 as well.

[DeToxRox]

DeToxRox in World 8

When can I attack people? FOFC company excluded .. Promise.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

World 8 - JasonSchmidt.

You know, it'd be really nice if you could get healthy and start earning some of that money we gave you.

[Danny]

I guess I am DanKD on world 8, I didn't know our character name would be our account name

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Danny

You know, it'd be really nice if you could get healthy and start earning some of that money we gave you.

Well played.

[mrkilla22]

Signed up as mrkilla22 in World 8.

[Crim]

CrimBronco on World 8.

[DeToxRox]

Someone make a town.

Not it.

Also how do I buy shit.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

DeToxRox in World 8

When can I attack people? FOFC company excluded .. Promise.

you need to be part of a town in order to be able to duel other players.

FM

[chinaski]

Van Zandt is alive and slinging in World 8

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Also how do I buy shit.

visit a town that has one of the following three stores: tailor, gunsmith, general store. You'll pay 4 times the price for a town member, and there'll be some item you won't see, but that's how you can shop around...

FM

[DeToxRox]

Thanks FM.

I just need a damn fishing pole for this quest.

[FrogMan]

you get the fishing pole by doing some stream fishing, with only 3% chance of finding one. It's not available through a store...

good help here:
The West Stats and Tools

FM

[Schmidty]

All of the activities take so long. Can you accomplish anything else while you're waiting 30 minutes tending pigs? I'm getting bored.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

All of the activities take so long. Can you accomplish anything else while you're waiting 30 minutes tending pigs? I'm getting bored.

Try playing some long toss

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

All of the activities take so long. Can you accomplish anything else while you're waiting 30 minutes tending pigs? I'm getting bored.

nope, you set your guy up and go do something else.

FM

[Danny]

I'm on my third try now to catch a trout for the quest, am I doing something wrong or just been unlucky?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Danny

I'm on my third try now to catch a trout for the quest, am I doing something wrong or just been unlucky?

The percentage shown for an item on a job is the chance of finding said item in a 30 minute period. The trout is 50%. You say third try, but how long. Third two hour try? you're being really unlucky, as the expected turnout should have been 4*3*.5= 6 trouts. If you mean third try of 10 minutes, it's normal. You will probably never find an item in 10 minutes.

Third try of 30 minutes, expected should have been 1.5 trout, you are being just a bit unlucky, try again...

hope this makes sense to everyone...

FM

[Danny]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

The percentage shown for an item on a job is the chance of finding said item in a 30 minute period. The trout is 50%. You say third try, but how long. Third two hour try? you're being really unlucky, as the expected turnout should have been 4*3*.5= 6 trouts. If you mean third try of 10 minutes, it's normal. You will probably never find an item in 10 minutes.

Third try of 30 minutes, expected should have been 1.5 trout, you are being just a bit unlucky, try again...

hope this makes sense to everyone...

FM

Thanks, it's third try of 30 minutes.

[Danny]

What happens when you find an item, does it pop up?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Danny

What happens when you find an item, does it pop up?

it'll show up at the bottom of your work report.

FM

[Danny]

Ah ok, I did get a raven feather when I scared off the birds.

[Danny]

If you have higher skill, does it make it more likely you will find something?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Danny

If you have higher skill, does it make it more likely you will find something?

I think so but I'm not sure. I know you do get more experience and more money. For exemple a 20% money job with net labor points of 30 might pay more than a 25% money job with only 5 labor points. I'm making this up, but you get the idea...

FM

[Danny]

I asked because the trout is at 60% instead of 50% for me.

[FrogMan]

sorry, my bad, it's 60% for me too.

The higher skill wouldn't change the chance shown though, would probably increase it by some calculation...

FM

[Schmidty]

I tended pigs and got nothing. What's the best place for an early character to go get XP?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I tended pigs and got nothing. What's the best place for an early character to go get XP?

Picking cotton was the best for me so far, which matches what I found at
The West Stats and Tools

Depends on what jobs you have the skills for best I can tell, but I can do anything up through difficulty 3 I think. Of those cotton had the most XP.

[Danny]

Next quest was to reach level 2, but Im only like 3/14 of the way there. How do I level up without it taking me 4 days?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I tended pigs and got nothing. What's the best place for an early character to go get XP?

the job calculator on West Stats is the best way for you to figure out the best job you can do, for whatever you want to do.

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Danny

Next quest was to reach level 2, but Im only like 3/14 of the way there. How do I level up without it taking me 4 days?

some early quests will give you some experience points when you finish them. But it's definitely not a sprint...

FM

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Danny

Next quest was to reach level 2, but Im only like 3/14 of the way there. How do I level up without it taking me 4 days?

I got there this afternoon, the cotton was key for me.


From my "Report" here's what it shows after the tutorial tasks
Putting up posters - 1 hour/ $3 / 3 XP / 1 poster
Picking tobacco - 1 hour/ $3 / 0 XP
Picking sugar cane - 2 hours / $6 / 4 XP / 4 sugar
Picking cotton -1 hour / $3 /6 XP --- gained one level (to lvl 2)
Picking cotton - 1 hours / $3 /4 XP / 1 cotton (lost 3 hp to sunburn)
Picking sugar cane 1 hour / $4 / 2 XP/ 2 sugar (This was a quest task)
Shining shoes - 1 hours / $3 / 2 XP

[Danny]

Ah ok