What would be YOUR initiative to make it happen ?
UncleCrunch
Mayonnaise land Join Date: 2005-02-16 Member: 41365Members, Reinforced - Onos
Mayonnaise land Join Date: 2005-02-16 Member: 41365Members, Reinforced - Onos
Hi,
I'm a little bored by "the game is dead" threads. So instead it's may be beneficial to share some ideas about how to get the number to a stable level. Here is the thing. Everyone explain his idea and "agreed" and "awesome" make the votes.
For visibility sake; i post here.
Make people play more maps than the S.T.V. (Summit Tram Veil) shortlist
Why ? : People think custom means bad quality most of the time. I tend to disagree.
How ? : Maybe if maps weren't tagged as custom it may be better than what it is today.
They would be more likely to vote it like any official map.
Make servers with more than 18 slots exclude rookies. Say 100hrs limit.
why ? : They won't learn anything with that. My PC have some FPS drops when everyone is in a hive (not happening anywhere else) . So i guess a rookies will undoubtedly having more lags/FPS drop than me.
How ? : Configuration
Rookies do need some kind of preparation before getting in that kind of server. It's a little messy to say the least. Also it would force to seed the other servers. More crowded server is more pleasing the eye in the server list. It would be a goal to reach for them.
A boot camp system
why ? : Learning the game with vets or experienced player is better than being alone and pretend not to be a noob. Or worse being silent.
How ? : It takes developments.
Server with bots
Why ? : Rookies could fight against bots. So they can test on their own weapons lifeforms
How ? : We have the bots. I believe it would not take years to develop a solution for that. We saw many kind of it until now (pre game etc). 1 team of rookies against a bot team. No stats. They would not learn the mechanics fast but at least be more ready than what we see today when they go on server full of rascals.
2015-03-29: Title change, people get it better
I'm a little bored by "the game is dead" threads. So instead it's may be beneficial to share some ideas about how to get the number to a stable level. Here is the thing. Everyone explain his idea and "agreed" and "awesome" make the votes.
For visibility sake; i post here.
Make people play more maps than the S.T.V. (Summit Tram Veil) shortlist
Why ? : People think custom means bad quality most of the time. I tend to disagree.
How ? : Maybe if maps weren't tagged as custom it may be better than what it is today.
They would be more likely to vote it like any official map.
Make servers with more than 18 slots exclude rookies. Say 100hrs limit.
why ? : They won't learn anything with that. My PC have some FPS drops when everyone is in a hive (not happening anywhere else) . So i guess a rookies will undoubtedly having more lags/FPS drop than me.
How ? : Configuration
Rookies do need some kind of preparation before getting in that kind of server. It's a little messy to say the least. Also it would force to seed the other servers. More crowded server is more pleasing the eye in the server list. It would be a goal to reach for them.
A boot camp system
why ? : Learning the game with vets or experienced player is better than being alone and pretend not to be a noob. Or worse being silent.
How ? : It takes developments.
Server with bots
Why ? : Rookies could fight against bots. So they can test on their own weapons lifeforms
How ? : We have the bots. I believe it would not take years to develop a solution for that. We saw many kind of it until now (pre game etc). 1 team of rookies against a bot team. No stats. They would not learn the mechanics fast but at least be more ready than what we see today when they go on server full of rascals.
2015-03-29: Title change, people get it better
Comments
if a player join >> Kill that bot and replace with new connected player ^^
Good idea , and if im developers i will do match making like CSGO ( simple is put everyone that have test ping <250ms to one server)
Games don't succeed because they're free, they succeed because they're good. 500 players peak may not seem like a lot, but some other games get barely 10 players: http://steamcharts.com/app/96300
The game needs a new way for people to get into games.
Most matches barely last 10 minutes. Trashy game.
Individual waypoints should become the last resort, with the new system more like designating how many people should go where. They should appear on everyone's map.
2. Change gameplay and implement features such as iron sights.
What?
It's the UWE decision and only their decision. It has been discussed many times and always go to the same end. It's not the topic.
Seems clearly on-topic to me.
Nothing could be done before some issues such as hitreg aren't fixed. Once done, you might try to bring back players with advertisings or something, and so forth. No need new content, besides maps at most.
The final word is on UWE. And if i can speak my opinion on that : NS2=23€ (25.37USD); PC to run it smoothly =>1000€. Pls refer to those F2P thread also. The topic is well covered.
Let's focus on what can be done not only by CDT/UWE but also somethings that modders/mappers/vets can contribute to. It won't be the effort of one person and / or 1 bug fix that will make new players come (and come back for those who left).
This is complete nonsense. My PC was able to run the game at a decent framerate at launch, when the game was much more poorly optimised than now, and nowadays I get 100 FPS in early game and 60-70 in late game. My PC cost me 1300 euros when bought FOUR YEARS AGO, and downtoning things like an overkill PSU, overkill case and an SSD that the game isn't even installed on, the price would have dropped well below a 1000 euros. Today, the parts relevant to run the game smoothly would go well below 500 euros.
You may have noticed that the Euro has been lowered (purposefully) recently to get closer to the dollar. So every part in a PC that i bought in 2013 is now more expensive (as they are imported). I have I7-3770k and it is close to be 1.6 times the price i paid in 2013. This kind of things has its importance, especially in this era of economic despair.
Still... 500 > 23. The price isn't relevant at this point. If you can invest that money in a PC (or 1.3K€ as you said), you can pay a 23€ (25$) bill. This price isn't even close to the price of a "good restaurant".
We don't need more players, but more player that will actually stay.
Pls let's get back to the topic at hand. I'm sure it didn't escape your eagle eye sight that we probably have to organize concerning the "decrease in the numbers".
Playerbase is at dangerous levels (as evidenced by Aussie community dying). That's what prompted this discussion. F2P belongs here just as much as any idea. So lets get back on topic.
CDT is trying to improve performance and hitreg, which is the better thing to do right now, along with the new discounts and advertising and new content (maps). Let's just hope the game won't die before that
That's the question.
The game is cheap already. 'Been said many times by many.
One thing F2P enthusiasts don't get is how "free" is perceived :
-"If the game is free it is probably considered to be so bad that it has to be free". I wouldn't say that about NS2.
-"It has a counter part like leaving an email and get spammed for the rest of the email address life". "Or getting to pay for having a better tank" etc. I'm afraid NS isn't about having the bigger gun because you bought it. And we already have skin/reinforced packs if you wanna buy something.
Then :
Who pays for what ? Do you really think all the on-line NS2 servers are actually paid by UWE ? I'm sure all server-admins would accept Paypal and Visa donations right now; no questions asked. Cost of a server for a year is about 400€. Not to mention the time needed to seed.
Every F2P game has a mean to get revenue. What would it be if every server-admins say : "Hey you got the game for free, but not the server access. Visa number please...". Let's say we get a contract with UWE. Say they get 10% of all revenue on a server and you get the game for free... would you subscribe to that??? A tip : it's a trap.
You have all this because gentle people are already paying for your entertainment while UWE don't get involved and don't get a cent if people play the game or not. Once a copy is sold it's over for them.
Ho and, If you could provide (pay) for servers too and seed these servers when they're empty, it would be nice.
So yes the 25$ NS2 price right now is irrelevant as :
-Your PC worth wayyy more than that
-This precise price do NOT cover for all expenses to make this game live more (actually). Meaning UWE would pay for more servers etc...
-This game have been subject to "sales" on steam (2 to 5 bucks) and free trial (2 if i remember correctly). It's a good indicator that it's not working well (player retention). Rookies waves fading away in one week isn't getting the game anywhere, is it ?
-Some special pack did provide an extra key that could be given.
The price isn't the problem. It's far from being close to the core of it.
But the more players the merrier, so:
1)(based on steam reviews) Polish the game a bit. Loading duration is laughing stock on steam (especially the first map load after install takes 5 mins). Performance and hitreg will help (though admittedly people are tight basterds, when it comes to buying HW - I play it myself on Celeron and am proud of that :P )
2)(based on steam reviews) Stop being jerk-faces when newbies go comm. Or make some technical solution to prevent conflicts. Maybe make part of the tutorial the proper procedure to go comm(announce going comm, negotiate being newbie comm, wait for players to join teams and balance, log-in). The newbies rage-quit the game and never come back, if they get kicked.
3)(based on steam reviews) Some on steam do claim they bought it and it is dead. Yeah do matchmaking or some superior server finding. Stop these threads to perpetuate that reputation. Make the game free, cheaper, make bumper stickers or dunno - just make this claim go away by all and any means neccessary!
4)(based on steam reviews) People rightfully make jokes this game is about waiting to start. Again i prefer match-making / lobby / smart quickjoin and team-making or however you want to call it. But again do anything to make this problem go away.
5) Yeah make it free at least for a week. There must still be bilions who haven't even heared about the game. @UncleCrunch you underestimate the power of not haviing to pull your wallet out. When I buy a game I need to send money to my Paypal, wait indeterminate amount of time, convert it to dollars, find some server who offers the game for reasonable price to not get screwed by Steam, register, pay for the damn game, unlock it in steam, then play. Imagine that process goes away, the only thing I have to do is click Play in steam and then can enjoy it. Also it has advertising effect - it is more likely people are looking and considering having such game. Eagerness to pay lot of money to have a game works only when it is new and hyped up by massive advertising.
6) Make three sets of servers. One for 0-100 h players (0-30 h are the most likely to quit the game, do expose them to somewhat experienced player, so the games have some culture but keep 1000 h boasting, arogant, stomping players out). Second for 40 h up for more serious games. Third training only servers - something like permanent pre-game.
7) Get combat and other mods played again in the game. I havent played any since summer.
8) All of the above and enjoy avg of 2000 players (am I naive?)
Infestation and Power Nodes need to be un-linked from EXPANSION. These should be a CHOICE, which opens up distinct POSSIBILITIES, like more commander active ABILITIES. There's no reason that either team should be stopped from building anything, anywhere, at any time.
Secondly. I will do anything you wish, if you can demonstrate that this is the reason the majority of players are not playing NS2. I find it difficult to believe that anyone would leave for that reason.
Hard to demonstrate. Just makes the game linear and less fun. It's the biggest restriction placed on the game. I can't code though, so it's pretty useless to ask me to demonstrate, eh?
sigh. what ever, nevermind.
Don't do anything. Let it die. The playerbase is full of immature people uninformed on the basic concepts of communications, which results in lacking in the skill of self-expression, such as blatant insults of others and failing to perceive anything outside. In my 6 month experience of managing siege day to night and absorbing every inch of feedback coming across my way, it's no longer rewarding to maintain such an environment that yields no reward other than crafting something and having players experience my vision. Babysitting these people is a joke. I no longer have Siege set in the expected direction, and I don't care if it dies because I want the mod to be what I want it to be despite how others may feel.
Can you prove that it's not the problem holding the game back?