When a week’s vacation ruins everything you’ve worked for, I think an extension is in order.
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Easy solution…take your Xbox on vacation with you. 
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My hardware blew up and I was without a computer that could run the game for 15 days. It’s a good thing my single-player game doesn’t have active Decay.
Disasters like this are, of course, exceptions, and I don’t expect a gaming company to prepare around players’ computers melting. Now, if I had been playing on a server with active Decay, I’m sure I could’ve found a computer on which to log in in less than two weeks… but less than seven days for someone with a full-time job and social responsibilities would’ve been a challenge.
I understand why the decay system exists the way it is, but I also understand why people dislike it. If there was no option to turn it off in single-player, I would never have got into this game to begin with. (And of course, if there hadn’t been a single-player option I wouldn’t have got into the game to begin with.)
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The exact point is they are not inactive, if you take 3 months off from school for summer vacation it doesn’t mean you’ve dropped out or don’t care, you are just on break.
This is a game for adults we all have adult lives that may need attention above a game. I had to go to CA for business a while back for 9 days. I had a timer that for about 400hrs yet when I came back all was deleted. That is and issue in and of itself but the bottom line is I stopped playing then.
I’m only here now considering starting again as it is free on PSN and I may play with my brother but why start only to loss everything again. I just had to leave the country on business for almost a month and just got back, had I been playing all my stuff would have been gone again and I couldn’t even use my PS4 where I was even if I wanted to, which I didn’t as I was too busy.
And that is why this game will fail if they have your mentality, concerning yourself with inactive users “benefiting” isn’t smart. First, how are they benefiting? They are simply not losing their work. If anything you are benefiting as anyone who is playing or comes back after a break is a potential consumer and that is the ONLY thing that keeps a game going.
Without players paying money for new content no game can survive, so how is running players off smart. I haven’t played in months and with the attitudes on this board I’m not sure I even want to come back.
It’s not as if the servers are crowed with droves of players, they are barren because we are getting run off, that isn’t helpful to anyone who claims to like the game as you do, it only hurts you when people leave and the game can’t support making new content from lack of players.
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Well even if they extend the decay to two weeks, if you go away for a month you are still losing everything. So what then?
What you aren’t considering is the effect this would have on the official servers.
People who stop playing the game and only come back from update to update, with a month-long gap in between.
So the servers should have to keep their stuff that whole time, hogging server resources, because they don’t care about the game enough to keep playing it?
While it is unfortunate that people have real lives that take up their time, you can’t realistically expect your stuff to stay on here forever.
Even two weeks is about as far as should be allowed.
Another possible solution could be (other then take your console with you on vacation) to make an app that lets you login. App would reset your decay timer one time until you log back in from console/pc. That would give you an extra week if you’re out. Anything past that then you better call someone at home and have them login for you when they go to feed your pets. 
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Tbh i’m not sure about what i’ve read. I mean, sure loosing a base is sad & can be tilting, but the important part of the story stay the lvl of your character (and unless the server disapear you’l keep it as it was)
And with the lvl you can rebuild and grab as much ressources in one week than you ever had before.
The point stay the game, not the build or the stuff^^
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Based on the info I got, the decay system is a form of a diminishing return variable (sort of), but it might be a bit too efficient within its single time frame (I do private solo coop so grain of salt). If so, I would test if a series of multiple shorter time frames could work and within each frame the base deteriorates a relatively small portion at a time (gradually becoming deserted and ruined over time). This way the base still decays, but getting back isn’t as punishing as it would otherwise be.
Edit:
Another way would be to allow players copy their bases to their cloud storage and let them set up their shop again where they were when they get back, in case the location in the designated server isn’t claimed by another player. If so, they could claim their location in a fresh server in case this is viable.
Edit2:
If needed, the cloud storage backup feature could also prompt a note to which we write why the whatever base there is copied for (the point, that is) in case we forget the context, especially if multiple bases can be copied.
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I would still see in game a base tier, like a t1, but weaker, for the starters, but lasting much less long. Also ravaged by sandstorms and such. Just a basic shelters for a night or two. You have to rebuild it or repair nearly completely if you want it to stay.
I think this would also avoid some starter clutter, and wipe the old starter shelters especially the long the river.
But at first of course the current decay-system should work without bugs. Main reasons i see people post about are still some bugs, then people not understanding the system, the stability in building, then only is coming the timer properly.
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A tent?
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