Ns Slipping In The Rankings?

nipnip Join Date: 2003-11-12 Member: 22670Members, Constellation
<img src='http://nip.blogs.com/photos/junk/capture.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
From: <a href='http://www.steampowered.com/status/game_stats.html' target='_blank'>http://www.steampowered.com/status/game_stats.html</a>

Tonight was the first time I have ever seen TFC with more players than NS. What's up with that?
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Comments

  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    TFC has a lot of bots. As in a loot of bots. While NS may have 20 or less bots at any given time, TFC has 200 or more. The bots are counted, I believe, because otherwise only a few people play tfc anymore.
  • ThrillhouseThrillhouse Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3178Members, Constellation
    edited April 2004
    People play 2.1 <b><i>BILLION</i></b> minutes of CS a month? What the hell? Do they not realize there are better games? Or just not go outside?
  • xqninexqnine Join Date: 2004-01-18 Member: 25454Members
    thats 2.1 billion min. of play made by players, there are only 1-1.5 million steam accounts.
  • nopeace4unopeace4u Join Date: 2003-02-14 Member: 13553Members, Constellation
    that minuits played <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • nipnip Join Date: 2003-11-12 Member: 22670Members, Constellation
    However, I have never seen TFC within 25% of NS...even last night. Yet tonight it is suddenly leading... Thus, the bots theory doesn't pan out unless there was a big bot invasion tonight. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • xqninexqnine Join Date: 2004-01-18 Member: 25454Members
    don't know about the bots counting, since steam can tell the diff. from bots and players.
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    Go to servers. Go to TFC for game, and uncheck any filters. Right click on the panel with Servers on it, and check the bots thing. Click it. Scan through how many servers currently have bots.

    Tip : the exact same game time means it's a bot.
  • CabooseCaboose title = name(self, handle) Join Date: 2003-02-15 Member: 13597Members, Constellation
    Nah, NS is ahead again.
  • ThrillhouseThrillhouse Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3178Members, Constellation
    I find it funny that over 5000 people were stupid enough to buy CZ.
  • CabooseCaboose title = name(self, handle) Join Date: 2003-02-15 Member: 13597Members, Constellation
    No, that's the 5000 people stupid enough to buy it playing at that one time.
  • SjNSjN Join Date: 2003-01-07 Member: 11983Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    almost every NS server has bots =/
  • LastLast Join Date: 2003-10-06 Member: 21463Members
    I blame beta 3, the alien biased combat and marine biased ns_ games are really throwing off a lot of potential players, imo. I hope the next patch can bring NS back up <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->.
  • DrakkenDrakken Join Date: 2003-11-12 Member: 22728Members
    edited April 2004
    I blame beta 3 as well... and mostly combat...

    Out of all things, combat pisses people off more. You can't have as much fun because it is just straight out killing with no strategy involved... rambos must thrive in combat...

    Oh yeah.... NS hasn't gone retail (and I pray god that it doesn't) so it isn't as well known as the other mods are. If you look at the servers as well, CS has about 25,000 more servers than NS does. TFC has more servers but less people play it.
  • DelarosaDelarosa Naturally Custom Join Date: 2002-11-29 Member: 10214Members, NS1 Playtester
    look at the amount of moinutes played.. NS is still ahead of TFC... *coiughbots*

    you have to remember, with every patch/month there is a fall and rise in the amount of players... it was shortly payday here in the states... (~ 5th and ~ 21st) many ns players go out and do things... where as CS players.. generally don't.
  • e_Nadagaste_Nadagast Join Date: 2003-10-30 Member: 22149Members
    edited April 2004
    Even though NS has more pubbers, TFC has many more clanners... I believe STA alone has like 90+ clans... Compared to CAL for NS with only 40 or so.


    Moral of the story: Make more clans people! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • l3igDl3igD Join Date: 2003-11-20 Member: 23262Members
    Most of the time I only play on 1 server when I play Ns. So, Last night I thought I would play on some random server. I tried out 10 diffrent servers. THEY ALL HAD RR BOTS!!!
  • UKchaosUKchaos Join Date: 2002-08-10 Member: 1132Members
    Its always amused me the amount of hate and vitriol that people have towards <i>popular</i> mods like Counter-Strike. Its not enough that they dont like the game, they have to convince the rest of the world to agree with them too.

    In many ways CS paved the way for Natural-Selection, in that respect, you should be thankful for it.
  • FCCFCC Join Date: 2003-07-16 Member: 18218Members
    Let's not forget that people, like me, still play Natural Selection 2.0 on WON. So there is still another 100 players uncounted for.

    But then again, like 200 players play Team Fortress Classic on Won. So what is the point of this post? To get my 100 post.
  • UKchaosUKchaos Join Date: 2002-08-10 Member: 1132Members
    FCC paused his discussion about Player Numbers to admire his Post Counter.

    A perfect example of our insane obsession with statistics. <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • PseudoKnightPseudoKnight Join Date: 2002-06-18 Member: 791Members
    edited April 2004
    I'm actually keeping a record of these kind of statistics over time and there was a steady decrease in the number of players from around Feb 23 to March 19. Other than that it has remained pretty even at around 100,000 players a month since. It peaked at around 137,000 players a month in mid-February.

    The whole bot thing can be a problem when you don't know if they're including them or not, but that's the best estimation you can make. It seems the Steam numbers DON'T include bots from what I see. I'd have to pay closer attention for a couple days to make sure.
  • Soylent_greenSoylent_green Join Date: 2002-12-20 Member: 11220Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    That mod last in the list, natural selection, is that a steam install of ns 1.0 or something?
  • th0r0nth0r0n Born again n00b Join Date: 2003-06-12 Member: 17313Members
    Yes, you can play 1.04 on Steam, and it works very well <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • XiileXiile Join Date: 2003-02-22 Member: 13818Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Drakken+Apr 6 2004, 12:42 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Drakken @ Apr 6 2004, 12:42 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> CS has about 25,000 more servers than NS does. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    And 24,000 of them are de_dust 24/7 servers... <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • Diablo_fxDiablo_fx Join Date: 2003-02-21 Member: 13793Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Last.+Apr 6 2004, 05:49 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Last. @ Apr 6 2004, 05:49 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I blame beta 3, the alien biased combat and marine biased ns_ games are really throwing off a lot of potential players, imo. I hope the next patch can bring NS back up <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    True :/
  • SavantSavant Join Date: 2002-11-30 Member: 10289Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    I've been saying this for a while...

    The increase that we saw latesly was the curious that saw NS on the list and decided to nab it.

    However, in my opinion, the overall numbers have seen decline because of one simple but important reason.

    The game just isn't that FUN to play right now.

    People talk about balance as being important, but you can't sacrifice fun for balance or you will run people off.

    Look at those who play the older versions. Those versions were not as balanced, but they are more FUN. That's the attraction.

    If NS wants to run a public beta they need more and frequent patches, not to mention more work making the game fun.

    Aliens tend to lose the big games and win the small games, but playing aliens is a chore. You feel like it's work not play. Marines is a bit different, but it can get frustrating in small games when you feel that the game is over once the first early fade/onos shows up because you can't kill it even when every player on the team is firing at it...

    Expect to see these numbers decline further, until something is done to address these issues, I don't see this changing anytime soon.

    Regards,

    Savant
  • Umbraed_MonkeyUmbraed_Monkey Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9922Members
    b4 is just around the corner guys. Just wait till that comes around and see what happens then. If there isnt anything under the 'fun' department, then ****(b-word for whine if that gets filtered out) about it after the release.
  • ForlornForlorn Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2634Banned
    edited April 2004
    <!--QuoteBegin-Savant+Apr 6 2004, 07:55 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Savant @ Apr 6 2004, 07:55 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Aliens tend to lose the big games and win the small games, but playing aliens is a chore.  You feel like it's work not play.  Marines is a bit different, but it can get frustrating in small games when you feel that the game is over once the first early fade/onos shows up because you can't kill it even when every player on the team is firing at it... <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Gee Savant, if playing the game is such a chore and frustration, maybe we should just all quit

    Personally I find the struggle to be challenging and therefore fun


    Oh btw look at CS, is that exactly 'fun'? If you are a poor player at that game you have to sit out 5+ minutes wating to respawn on large servers, and yet CS is the most popular pub game around.


    Maybe challenge is what makes a game fun after all...?


    I think NS will have a huge surge in popularity when it gets put on the 'mygames' listing in steam.
  • WirheWirhe Join Date: 2003-06-22 Member: 17610Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Last.+Apr 5 2004, 11:49 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Last. @ Apr 5 2004, 11:49 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I blame beta 3, the alien biased combat and marine biased ns_ games are really throwing off a lot of potential players, imo. I hope the next patch can bring NS back up <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    So true <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    *Sigh*

    "Beta-quality" is an execuse that will take only that far...
  • TalionTalion Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 28Members
    Alright Forlorn lets look at CS...

    This is a game in which a newbie can - if they are lucky - kill faster than most more skilled players by using the 'spray' factor. Sure at the high end this ceases to be true, but the majority of games are not played with players at that high end. With the addition of the shield incidently a newbie can survive even longer in the face of superior shooting. Also the battles tend to occur at choke points, and the newbies tend to arrive after the experienced players, so at the very least they are not the first to die.

    Getting back to the point. Some people have fun based on the challenge, but some people have fun in other ways. Some people like to power trip, they have fun when the game is unbalanced; some people like to concentrate on the tactics, they have fun when there are a wide variety of options (see the chambers debacle).
    There are people who compensate for certain elements in the game by agreeing not to use them (common in RTSs) because they perceive them to be unbalanced, these people then cease to 'have fun' when someone plays against their rules.

    My point is this, there is not only one true way to have fun. Stating that you have fun in a particular way doesn't really justify what you are saying.
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Tails+Apr 6 2004, 09:14 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Tails @ Apr 6 2004, 09:14 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-Last.+Apr 5 2004, 11:49 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Last. @ Apr 5 2004, 11:49 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I blame beta 3, the alien biased combat and marine biased ns_ games are really throwing off a lot of potential players, imo. I hope the next patch can bring NS back up <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    So true <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    *Sigh*

    "Beta-quality" is an execuse that will take only that far... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    And if Flayra kept it to private testing, I'm sure many of the same people whining about balance would whine that it's not out.


    Beta quality is not an excuse, it's exactly what it says. If you'd like a balanced NS, I'm sure you'll hate any new things Flayra adds.

    Depending on what this system is, it will cause balance issues, which will be solved in the next patch.
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