Interesting Analytics

[kayza]

When addressing problems it's probably best to be clear what those problems are, and what ideas you might have to fix it. Reading your post a few times and I'm really not sure what the problem is you're seeing. I never found the list of races and hguilds particularly "daunting" And when I was a nooby I didn't really suspect anythign elitist about the game either.

Well that's the issue you don't see it cause you are use to it.  But being introduced to a game where right at the start it seems like you are not equal to everyone else on an OOC level is difficult to get accustomed with.  Yes as you play you realize that is not true, but in the beginning I feel that is what is portrayed.

While I somewhat regret writing what I did, the fact is.  It's true but people don't want to hear that the game is a bit cruel on new players.  If I felt it as a new player in the past, as have others.

Again I do regret saying it cause I think a lot of you take offense to something like this.  As it is an unintentional byproduct of how the game works.

[RogueGunslinger]

There is a 'Newbie Hall' now, that you can point to? That should help! I haven't tried it...but...I assume....

And the Byn IS good...on peak. Maybe an off-peak Byn Sarge would help? I dunnoooo.

Any clan is bad off peak. The game is not as fun when there isn't anyone to interact with. The Byn is great as a newbie clan simply because of the amount of traffic it gets.

[Jeshin]

If I was going to give advice to a newbie. I would actually point them towards partisanship in Tuluk. The concept is broad enough to envelope all manner of characters and is involved enough to provide guidance without limiting future options seriously.

[Delirium]

^ that.

[MeTekillot]

Playing in Tuluk can be excessively obtuse for anybody who is not obscenely familiar with their culture.

[Delirium]

You don't have to deal too much with that as a low-level grebber, though, and it is a smidge easier to survive in as a n00b.

[RogueGunslinger]

When addressing problems it's probably best to be clear what those problems are, and what ideas you might have to fix it. Reading your post a few times and I'm really not sure what the problem is you're seeing. I never found the list of races and hguilds particularly "daunting" And when I was a nooby I didn't really suspect anythign elitist about the game either.

Well that's the issue you don't see it cause you are use to it.  But being introduced to a game where right at the start it seems like you are not equal to everyone else on an OOC level is difficult to get accustomed with.  Yes as you play you realize that is not true, but in the beginning I feel that is what is portrayed.

While I somewhat regret writing what I did, the fact is.  It's true but people don't want to hear that the game is a bit cruel on new players.  If I felt it as a new player in the past, as have others.

Again I do regret saying it cause I think a lot of you take offense to something like this.  As it is an unintentional byproduct of how the game works.

Maybe I'm just mis-remembering. But as a newbie I didn't really feel what you're describing. Perhaps I did and forgot, but generally as a noobie the only thing that was daunting to me was getting a handle on the lore and OOC things that my character would generally know about the culture. And that my roleplay would suffer a bit because of that. I just accepted it as being a noob though.

This is why I'm curious to know exactly what you're experiencing when you say "elitism" because It's never something I considered. I never thought I wasn't getting my fair shake as a payer just because I was new. OR that other players wouldn't include me because I was new, or anything like that.

[Maso]

I started in Tuluk. It was scary. It's -still- scary.

It actually only really takes one interesting person to be around enough to keep you entertained off-peak (thats what got me through). So having a super off-peak Byn Sarge could technically be very beneficial. One noob joins. They keep each other company. Then another one joins...because hey! There's two people! And so on..

[Maso]

When addressing problems it's probably best to be clear what those problems are, and what ideas you might have to fix it. Reading your post a few times and I'm really not sure what the problem is you're seeing. I never found the list of races and hguilds particularly "daunting" And when I was a nooby I didn't really suspect anythign elitist about the game either.

Well that's the issue you don't see it cause you are use to it.  But being introduced to a game where right at the start it seems like you are not equal to everyone else on an OOC level is difficult to get accustomed with.  Yes as you play you realize that is not true, but in the beginning I feel that is what is portrayed.

While I somewhat regret writing what I did, the fact is.  It's true but people don't want to hear that the game is a bit cruel on new players.  If I felt it as a new player in the past, as have others.

Again I do regret saying it cause I think a lot of you take offense to something like this.  As it is an unintentional byproduct of how the game works.

I think what might have occurred...is that you stumbled across elitist characters, or it was simply your own lack of self-confidence in a new game. Most Arm players are pretty awesome, down to earth and friendly folks. Their characters however.... >.>

[BadSkeelz]

The last MUD I played had immortal characters who could, by their players cutting the devs a check, obtain godlike powers without significant in-game effort. Arm seems downright egalitarian after that.

My first character never made it into the Byn because I wasn't able to connect with any of the Sergeants. But they did find some other cool clans that were operating in my playtimes and things took off from there. I'd say that better advice for newbies is to get out and explore the world, or even just tavern-camp asking around for job opportunities from players and NPCs. The Byn might be a good newbie fit because it's relatively simplistic in operations, but finding a clan that's active when you are is so much more important than finding one you can be successful in right off the bat.

I also think newbies should be strongly recommended to make their early characters as ignorant as humanly possible about the world beyond the cities. Have some excuse for not knowing a whole lot about the more exotic parts of the world and needing to find out.

I really like the idea of NPCs dispensing useful (and timeless) tidbits of information with >discuss rumors. It's a command that seems sadly underutilized.

I also took one look at the docs page, saw that Tuluk seemed to have 100% more cultural nuance docs than Allanak, and took off running in the other direction.

[Patuk]

I started in Tuluk. It was scary. It's -still- scary.

It actually only really takes one interesting person to be around enough to keep you entertained off-peak (thats what got me through). So having a super off-peak Byn Sarge could technically be very beneficial. One noob joins. They keep each other company. Then another one joins...because hey! There's two people! And so on..

I think it's more the other way around, unfortunately. It's a vicious circle: a clan has no offpeak people, so the people who aren't offpeak are in charge, so no offpeakers are recruited/bother to join, so no offpeaker gets to be in charge, which means that no.. I've seen in happen in one clan at least, and I don't doubt that it happens elsewhere, too.

[Maso]

I started in Tuluk. It was scary. It's -still- scary.

It actually only really takes one interesting person to be around enough to keep you entertained off-peak (thats what got me through). So having a super off-peak Byn Sarge could technically be very beneficial. One noob joins. They keep each other company. Then another one joins...because hey! There's two people! And so on..

I think it's more the other way around, unfortunately. It's a vicious circle: a clan has no offpeak people, so the people who aren't offpeak are in charge, so no offpeakers are recruited/bother to join, so no offpeaker gets to be in charge, which means that no.. I've seen in happen in one clan at least, and I don't doubt that it happens elsewhere, too.

I mean...sponsored roles...to kickstart it.

[kayza]

I think what might have occurred...is that you stumbled across elitist characters, or it was simply your own lack of self-confidence in a new game. Most Arm players are pretty awesome, down to earth and friendly folks. Their characters however.... >.>

Actually I tend to think the player base is awesome and when I hear people complaining about shit I am wondering where they are in the game cause I don't see it.  It was who I rped with that made me stay.    I don't consider myself a great rper, but I think I do well enough that I don't ruin people's immersion.  Sometimes you run into some players and I feel like a noob.

But what I said previously is unimportant. 

On newbie areas..
My first character I am sure was an elf in the Rinth.  And my first Clanned character was in House Kadius.  I have never played a Bynner, but that is something I will change one day.  I agree with rogue that activity is what makes it a good newbie clan not what it is.  At the time Kadius had great people to RP with.

[John]

We already go through first-time Apps and review/edit/sometimes even write up a whole new description, instead of rejecting them.

I remember a dwarf who had clearly had this done for him. Alas the staffer forgot to change his sdesc in addition to his mdesc. The black bearded dwarf will always be remembered.

The GDB's hive mind often seems to turn out the notion that the Byn is a superb place for new players to play their first character. Thing is, it sucks if you're off-peak and new, unless there's some large amount of off-peak players in the Byn at the time. My first character joined the Byn, and my playtimes were off-peak.

It's gotten better. I once had a templar FORCE me into the Byn in game. Suffice it to say the character quickly fled to the desert or 'rinth where he promptly died. As an off peak player I didn't want to join the Byn.

[Maso]

My first character I am sure was an elf in the Rinth. 

Oof! You really made it easy on yourself huh! :p

I think my first clan was Borsail. And then maybe Kadius. I've always been kind of drawn more toward Noble houses, because they are often smaller and less diluted across the Known, less players but if you pick the right one at the right time, more interaction and tighter relationships. But Merchant houses can be awesome too.

[Aernis]

I'm reading this thread with interest.

[Barsook]

I'm reading this thread with interest.

[Incognito]

A while ago, I wrote up 'The Concise Guide to ArmageddonMUD for Newbies' - which is meant specifically to inform and retain first-timers to Arm.

Maybe Staff could edit it (as/where required) and include it in the email which is sent out to new accounts - just so that the newcomers know what to expect from Arm and in what time frame.

Most new applicants are probably seeking "instant gratification" from a new mud they visit - but I have a feeling that if we inform them of what they should expect in a summarized bulletin format which isnt too extensive to digest for them initially, then we may have a better chance at retaining them.

[Barsook]

A while ago, I wrote up 'The Concise Guide to ArmageddonMUD for Newbies' - which is meant specifically to inform and retain first-timers to Arm.

Maybe Staff could edit it (as/where required) and include it in the email which is sent out to new accounts - just so that the newcomers know what to expect from Arm and in what time frame.

Most new applicants are probably seeking "instant gratification" from a new mud they visit - but I have a feeling that if we inform them of what they should expect in a summarized bulletin format which isnt too extensive to digest for them initially, then we may have a better chance at retaining them.

This : http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,33910.0.html

+1

Or mansa's or the one on the site...or is that too much like you have said.

[Ender]

I'm reading this thread with interest.

For all the debate in this thread on how to keep newbies, whatever we're doing right now seems to be working in the long run.  Data is telling the story that our pbase is growing.  

And that makes me happy.


What the data could really be used for in the future is to figure out when we should do newbie drives, and how successful they were when they're over.  Or if a new initiative really made  a difference or not, etc.

From what I can tell, September, December & June are probably the best times for big newbie drives.  Anytime where there is historically a big dip or spike in active players.

[Maso]

I'm reading this thread with interest.

For all the debate in this thread on how to keep newbies, whatever we're doing right now seems to be working in the long run.  Data is telling the story that our pbase is growing.  

And that makes me happy.


What the data could really be used for in the future is to figure out when we should do newbie drives, and how successful they were when they're over.  Or if a new initiative really made  a difference or not, etc.

From what I can tell, September, December & June are probably the best times for big newbie drives.  Anytime where there is historically a big dip or spike in active players.

The average unique account log in per week...has gone up...by 1...in a year?

But with 30ish new accounts EVERY WEEK...that could be a HELL of a lot higher. What is happening to all these players? Are any of them even making it into the game? I think improving retention would be really valuable, to increase the playerbase a little quicker...the turnover here is also quite high. I'm mostly thinking about the poor off peakers! They need more buddies!

[Archbaron]

How did Gimfalisette get Ender's forum account?

[IntuitiveApathy]

How did Gimfalisette get Ender's forum account?

How did you read my mind?

[Nyr]

FYI, there is a subforum specifically for publicity efforts.  If these kinds of statistics interest you and you are also interested in doing more than talking about them (and instead would like to help augment them), please see this thread to see how you can contribute.

[Ender]

The average unique account log in per week...has gone up...by 1...in a year?

But with 30ish new accounts EVERY WEEK...that could be a HELL of a lot higher. What is happening to all these players? Are any of them even making it into the game? I think improving retention would be really valuable, to increase the playerbase a little quicker...the turnover here is also quite high. I'm mostly thinking about the poor off peakers! They need more buddies!

Well, that's drawing a conclusion without all the data.  We get a ton of new accounts every week, but we don't know how many existing accounts didn't log on in a particular week.  The new players that retain are more or less outbalancing the older players that leave it seems.

I know an average of only 1 more player a week seems low, but considering that Arm is a 20 year old game the fact that it's continuing to grow is amazing for a number of reasons.