On the one hand you’re talking about putting standard NPCs and objects like crafting tables into a small area of an (generally speaking) pre-existing map that you sell access to on the gem store for convenience.
On the other hand you’re talking about adding a bunch of different events to a tiny map.
I don’t really see how they’re related to one another. Or indeed how it’s a one or the other trade-off.
I’m just talking about the resources put into making so many lounges could be put into doing a map instead. I just suggested Claw Island as a full expanded map because so much that could be added to it given the area it’s in. The area on the screen capture I outlined in red could be a map with the blue a vapor portal to LA. Or they could just make it part of Bloodtide Coast.
But Living story maps aren’t pay gated the same way Lounges are. Functionally Lounges are pointless beyond their convenience, but convenience sells more then base content….. and cosmetics sell 10 times that. So if you were looking at things you can sell, but doesn’t have a direct impact on the game….. a place of convenience with multiple cosmetic options is a no brainer, given the amount of high level crafting projects this game has.
More importantly, they can be built on less resources, and built into any other map using a minuscule amount of space. Just look at where all the lounges are…. up high, or off to the side. What would the space where the Lava Lounge be used for? Compared to how much dead space exists in Ember bay, the Lava Lounge is next to nothing in terms of real estate cost. Royal Pavilion is a tiny corner of DR, that shares a space with a whole Wintersday festival without ever getting in the way.
The biggest (in space cost) thus far is probably Mistlock Sanctuary…. and its no bigger, and even less complicated then the Observatory. It also plays with mechanics and minigames to kill time while you’re waiting on something or someone else.
But the main point being is this low cost experimental approach, allows them to offer an extremely diverse set of locations to suit various people’s tastes. Trying to do all that in a single location doesn’t work in practice, as one large “lounge” doesn’t cater enough to individual taste, and lots of small ones in the same physical space is distracting.
Theres also the understated benefit of “People watching” that some of the lounge locations offer, being in visual range of popular travel paths. Theres also the “BF Vantage Point” portal scroll from BL chests, which were an experiment in using scenery/gliding points to gauge community interest.
None of those benefits are apparent if you just shove them all into a common “holding area”. Hidden Village/Convenience style areas have been around in MMOs for awhile…. but theres only a few vectors to give them value beyond simply putting merchants in a small area. Thats why having multiple locations to offer different types of scenery is really the only “value added” that makes any sense.
I honestly didn’t see the practical value of the lounges, given the satisfactory layout of Lion’s Arch; and didn’t assign much subjective value to the locations they’ve had thus far….. until Mistlock Sanctuary. The placement of everything is nice and all…. but low grav, room to glide, and various perches just perfectly scratched an itch for me, and my habit of wandering around the map when watching map chat or listening to Voice Comm while I’m waiting for a group to get together.
