The Clanbase: Why It's Important.
Rapier7
Join Date: 2004-02-05 Member: 26108Members
Join Date: 2004-02-05 Member: 26108Members
Reading about halfway through the "What needs to happen" thread that Nadagast made, I felt that we had to talk about something else.
The clans.
And why they are important.
Anybody ever remember CS in its early beta stages? When it was still just a nobody mod? Who carried that through, who recommended that to their friends, who created the servers that people can go to? That's right, the clans.
I'd go so far as to say that the NS clan base is the single most important entity to acknowledge, simply for what they do.
Most clans consist of a few people who bite the bullet together and purchase a server. You have the clan members filling up the server at first to attract the casual pubber, you have the clan members creating the servers, you have the clan members who are the most fervent in spreading Natural Selection to the masses and the most diehard when it comes to player expansion.
Take a look at the Steampowered stats page. Natural Selection has the lowest ratio of servers to players ratio. It's a problem, a big one. While you never need as many servers as players, you have to acknowledge the fact that clans in NS contribute a big part of the servers currently available right now.
I'd like to say that right now, I am a pubber, I don't participate in scrims or matches that clans engage in, but I realize what the actual, legitimate clans do. The way the clan base is like now, pretty soon we'll have an almost nonexistent clan base, and that means less servers, less players, and less expansion. It's always the clans who carry games from their crucial early beginnings to their mainstream success. Granted, Natural Selection is pretty entrenched right now in terms of player base, but the clans are still a very important part of the Natural Selection community that needs to be acknowledged.
Please, think of the clans, seriously.
The clans.
And why they are important.
Anybody ever remember CS in its early beta stages? When it was still just a nobody mod? Who carried that through, who recommended that to their friends, who created the servers that people can go to? That's right, the clans.
I'd go so far as to say that the NS clan base is the single most important entity to acknowledge, simply for what they do.
Most clans consist of a few people who bite the bullet together and purchase a server. You have the clan members filling up the server at first to attract the casual pubber, you have the clan members creating the servers, you have the clan members who are the most fervent in spreading Natural Selection to the masses and the most diehard when it comes to player expansion.
Take a look at the Steampowered stats page. Natural Selection has the lowest ratio of servers to players ratio. It's a problem, a big one. While you never need as many servers as players, you have to acknowledge the fact that clans in NS contribute a big part of the servers currently available right now.
I'd like to say that right now, I am a pubber, I don't participate in scrims or matches that clans engage in, but I realize what the actual, legitimate clans do. The way the clan base is like now, pretty soon we'll have an almost nonexistent clan base, and that means less servers, less players, and less expansion. It's always the clans who carry games from their crucial early beginnings to their mainstream success. Granted, Natural Selection is pretty entrenched right now in terms of player base, but the clans are still a very important part of the Natural Selection community that needs to be acknowledged.
Please, think of the clans, seriously.
Comments
Right now, the big pub communities are probably the most important entities in the health of NS, as they have the resources to pool donations and advertising to provide servers (and players) for both the pub and clan communities. This is why Nadagast's arguments regarding them are a crucial issue to discuss. Bringing the two groups together in agreement regarding scripts and strategy is in the best interests of NS as a whole.
Actually is see alot of empty Servers around.
a good example of a game like this would be TFC, where for a while where it was seperated from the clan/pub scene (Steam/WON) clanning numbers began to shrink and almost essentially killed the mod. although i don't play it anymore, TFC hasn't fully recovered from the seperation and may never fully recover.
the learning curve is high but NS hasn't been out for very long relative to other longstanding online games, so there isn't <b>that</b> much of a skill gap between experienced and new(ish) players. people can still catchup if they wish to, especially considering things oriented towards learning/improving like #nspug and #nslearn (both on irc.gamesurge.net) available.
people who are even remotely interested in competitive play have no reason to say "they aren't good enough" or "can't get in a clan". practice some where it matters and you'll be playing (and surpassing) people you currently think are 'really good'
While I don't doubt the separation did some damage, I highly doubt that it was the causal effect for so many people leaving. I would argue that the separation allowed more people to find other, better games to play. Without such a stimulus the people would have only been irritated to the point of yelling on forums yada yada yada about more servers needing to be put up.... or make the switch themselves. Instead, they found another game that replaced their time with TFC. The same thing has happened with me and some newer games. With CS:Source, UT2k4, Doom3, DOOM, NWN, FFXI, and a wide variety of betas (most of which I thoroughly enjoy) occupying my time, I have all but abandoned my favorite NS, DoD, CS, Soldat, AvP, AvP2, WC3, or Q3 servers. I'm lucky if I get around to playing a single round on the weekends. Simply put, there are other, better (IMO) games to be played... not by any conscious decision... but I can't ignore the facts.