Chapter 2.5 Inactivity, Destruction, and Decay

Decay
Claims slow down decay compared to constructing on unclaimed land. Buildings in incomplete status will decay at a normal rate until completed, and will gain a decay slowdown on claimed land and wildlife. Each claim has a light source that serves as the claim's hub, this is usually a campfire, torch, lantern, or something else fire based. Players will need to feed the fire to maintain an active status. Players can burn tinder to do this, or burn resources (all resources will have a tinder worth indicated,) or feed their wildlife claim. (Wildlife claims can still accept tinder and burned resources.)

Claim Maintenance
When a claim hub's light goes out, it will decay at a normal rate. The claim will remain until some time, to allow the player one last chance to return to the game. Players can build up resources and allow a long time (months or more based on planning) to pass without needing to maintain resources easily. Construction and tasks will guide the player to unlocking these methods naturally.

Why Decaying Constructions?
Decay is a necessary feature for two purposes. One is to open up world/land/resources for active players, the other is to maintain a visual historical context between active and inactive areas. This allows for ghost towns, decayed constructions, and ruins to form naturally. Which will give awe and respect to larger constructs, towns, and cities that remain standing.

Community, Friends, and Strangers can Assist
Players who can access your claim's hub can help stoke the fire. This mechanic is important because as players become inactive, it should be up to the active players if property starts being in the way or not. This allows for an indefinite amount of claim time if the community or strangers value it and want to provide that service. Players can also repair buildings and constructions/feed your wildlife claim freely if they have access to reach it. You can turn this option off at the claim's hub.

Visual Decay Control
Players will also be able to change the visual themes from their hub intentionally, if they prefer cobwebs and more abandoned/creepy visuals while remaining active.

Interrupted Construction
As long as the workstation, or construction site is still there, you will not lose your building progress unless it gets damaged, for example, by monsters. If it gets damaged, the progress will lessen by the amount it has been damaged. If it gets too damaged, it might turn into ruins, or rubble, which will need some supplies to rebuild, to retry construction.

What is Tinder
Tinder is logs, coal, and other burnable resources that are typically used to keep a fire stoked. However, all resources have a tinder worth, which is an accumulation of their stats, traits, rarity, age. It considers time it took to learn the craft, and time it took to make the craft. Players can burn any resources they don't want, or crafted intentionally to use as tinder. Spirit Relics will only ever use in-game items as a currency, and will never ask players for real life currency, (or any kind of purchase) in-game. In other words, players cannot purchase activity. Only time and experiences in-game can, but in-game supports like character skills, traits, community, and other means can assist players who are more casual.