Ragnarok
2012-01-18 |  | Idea to help Normal/Slow |  |
As players of slow/normal are painfully aware, our pool of players is small (even by GC standards) and slowly shrinking. As a fed leader, I`ve seen over and over again how players end up getting bored with the game cuz they can`t clear the obligatory exploration/basic research phase, which often takes up to 2-3 months of research on slower servers.
This is far too long to wait to start to have fun and start working with fed-mates on the slower servers, and most folks just get bored and quit (or never even bother signing up, like on slow) rather than putting in the time. Exploring/basic research is BORING, battles are FUN. I want to minimize the boring and maximize the FUN!! :D
So here`s my big idea:
Use a combination of stats, attack wins, rankings, empire age, account age and other criteria (as deemed appropriate by the staff) for a variety of rewards and prizes. To claim the reward new players must contact admins/guides who will then determine if the player deserves it.
These prizes MUST emphasize FREE BASIC RESEARCH.
If you can get new players in the habit of FIGHTING from the start, they WILL stick around. I have observed this many times as the leader of successful and powerful feds as well as the mentor of several new players myself, and firmly believe that this is a big part of new player retention.
Staff, I know this will require upkeep and create a lot of work which is why I emphasize SLOW/NORMAL and ONLY for NEW players after a certain date. If you can commit to this, deliberate on appropriate (but MOTIVATING) rewards for new players to fight and get "set up" quickly on slower servers, you can really revitalize Normal/Slow. You can even limit it to ONLY new empires under 120 days old or less with "newbie like" stats.
Just make it generous enough to entice newbies and the folks who don`t currently play Normal/Slow server to join and stick around. A promotion like this would be a boon and well worth it i think.
Edited by Renegade on 2012-01-19 |
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AdmiralSarek
99+ day(s) ago | Maybe let people cash in turns to start a new empire (with all the turns from research in credit) when the servers are merged so that they can change empires if they want when the change goes in. This will spice up the turn based servers as well. |
AdmiralSarek
99+ day(s) ago | maybe the 48 hours DP servers should be merged, and te 24 hour dp servers merged. increase the turn rate and storage to incentivise new players. Or new players start with all ships/colonies researched (other than the guardian k class) |
Apollo
99+ day(s) ago | i vote on shutting down ultra, but im ok with slow (maybe even normal) going away |
Ragnarok
99+ day(s) ago | Still, you would make people leave regardless because of a variety of reasons. One of them being DP times (for me anyways), which is a key reason i never play fast, ultra or RT servers. Just can`t handle the 24 hour DP times.
But again, you may as well say close down at least two of the least populous servers (slow, and ultra) and compensate folks who join other servers.
The most healthy server by far is RT. If Stephen started closing down GC servers, RT would be the last to stay open. |
Ragnarok
99+ day(s) ago | That, or simply allow people to have multis, but have the person choose one empire and effectively deactivate the others. If the person wants to do another race with a current deactivated account, then he can deactivate the active account and reactivate another account.
Deactivation necessarily means the loss of all planets, minerals and artifacts, naturally. Better than a restart actually, cuz you can go back to an old income path if you wanted to and not lose all the research levels, but you can only work on them one at a time. |
AdmiralSarek
99+ day(s) ago | IF you merged servers people with account on both would have the turns from research and all the cash and resources merger together, so when they login for the first time with the empire they want to keep they have say 5000 turns to add from all of the research from the dead empires. Or just add all the turns and resources together and let people start from scratch if that is what they want |
Ragnarok
99+ day(s) ago | Exactly, which is why it`s better to suggest the reverse, which is to make it faster (potentially, for those who work for it) for players to clear that initial hurtle of decent land c2, basic research and 25-30 research levels. |
Renegade
Game-Admin
99+ day(s) ago | Heh, That idea has been brought up a lot. Personally I think it`d be interesting, but so many people would quit instantly if you restarted em :P |
grantweep
99+ day(s) ago | Oh and by reset the TB servers, I meant only reset the server that had the UW go through. |
grantweep
99+ day(s) ago | I got a better idea. Reset the TB servers whenever a successful UW goes through.
Just do it. I dare you. |
Ragnarok
99+ day(s) ago | Agreed, "merging servers" and forcing folks to choose between accounts isn`t viable since lots of folks play multiple servers. Stephen would sooner turn off slow and other servers than do something like that. |
Travvivian
99+ day(s) ago | Infernal
"Then what happens to people who have accounts on all tb servers, e.g. dm?"
A very valid point. I may be less than inactive, but I`d be a lot less likely to pick things back up if four empires, one of which is among the oldest active remaining in the game- Suddenly went "Poof!" |
Infernal
99+ day(s) ago | Then what happens to people who have accounts on all tb servers, e.g. dm? |
Apollo
99+ day(s) ago | +1 admiralserek
heres your TB server
the turn regen of ultra
the storage of slow
48hour DP |
AdmiralSarek
99+ day(s) ago | Actually my 10cents worth is to merge all the turn based servers into one, and make it the speed of the fastest turn based server, but with 48hours DP so that you don`t have to log in each day.
That way you get more research and can get your empire up and running quicker. And also more players so there is something to do, I stopped 3 turn based servers when I needed borders but there was no one to attack and lost empires. |
Ragnarok
99+ day(s) ago | Staff, if you could edit out the "FREE PLANETS (even clusters)" bit, it would be appreciated. It`s clear to me that this just distracts from my overall idea and inhibits constructive discussion. |
Ragnarok
99+ day(s) ago | "Rag, you don`t cherish what you`ve been given for free. Such players won`t last..."
"I`m not sure though, since on these servers you really cherish every accomplishment in the early-going."
I`m not advocating FREE, and I`m not even advocating EASY. I`m advocating spending as many turns fighting as they otherwise would get from EXPLORING. If you spend 300 turns exploring, you MAY get 1-2 high land barrens. What if those 300 turns were spent fighting instead? Same effort, same work, but MORE FIGHTING with slightly or significantly better rewards. And again, just enough to get people hooked, but you must WORK for it. Just like the missions, but with better rewards and targeted to promote the slower servers that others might not otherwise play.
Again, FOCUS on the first line of my idea and the BASIC idea that FIGHTING (not EXPLORING/RESEARCHING) should be emphasized. : "Use a combination of stats, attack wins, rankings, empire age, account age and OTHER CRITERIA AS DEEMED APPROPRIATE BY STAFF for a variety of rewards and prizes."
All I care is that the newbs don`t get hooked on exploring and miss out on all the fighting, because I firmly believe that telling newbs that they must spend the next 6 months exploring and researching before they can even start to play the game is the worst possible thing you can do. Anything to make the "slower" servers faster in the beginning would be a huge boon.
But please guys, don`t just say "it won`t work", at least TRY to be constructive in your criticism. Say stuff like "overall your idea is good, but planets make a bad prize for X reason" so staff knows where established players stand and don`t risk a backlash. |
Crack
99+ day(s) ago | However much i would love for a bigger base of player for tb server, this idea of free planets seems like a doubled edge sword..
Think it through rag.. u give quite a few feasible ideas.. this plainly is not it, though it might wake me up from my slump in slow server if the player base is a bit bigger..
So sorry.. |
Fuzzy
99+ day(s) ago | Free planets to new players is a bad idea, and only encourages newbie-hunting. Basic research, on the other hand, might help normal and slow...a boost to 25 total levels might be appropriate in the first week (up to 769 turns). I`m not sure though, since on these servers you really cherish every accomplishment in the early-going. |
Infernal
99+ day(s) ago | While I would love for more people to join slow, this won`t work |
