Where Players Found Us: September 2014

[MeTekillot]

I think the best time for player run plots was when a player could become a Red Robe or start their own merchant house feasibly. Without, uh, getting stored.


EDIT: well, wrong thread.

[Reiloth]

It would be cool if there were 3-5 stock descriptions they could choose from, and they came with a matching generic sdesc. The tall, muscular man, the rangy, sinewy man, the brown-haired, green-eyed man, the towering, hale man, and matching ones for women. I think sometimes the 'effort' is what turns people off at character generation, combined with needing to wait for approval. Also include 3-5 stock backgrounds. I am a farmer, and I am coming to the city for the first time. Actually fuck it, make it a required background for beginning players, and vague enough that you could start in Tuluk or Allanak.

Since these are stock descriptions, sdescs, and backgrounds, make approval immediate.

[nauta]

Give players two choices at character creation.

1.) Create a "real" character.
2.) Enter the game as an arena combatant using semi-randomly generated desc, background. Give them the ability to choose a race and such. Allow mantis and gith. Maybe allow muls for the cost of 2 or 3 tickets.
--Create a limit of three run throughs before the game forces experienced arena combatants to make a "real" character afterwards.
--After the player has played a real character, give them an "arena combatant" ticket to use for after they die.

Rinse and repeat. Also, give all old players 3 free arena combatant tickets when this feature is added.

kudos to nauta for stimulating me to suggest this.

Actually, I think all pre-generated backgrounds should just be: A whore.  Or maybe: A whore from a farming village, with good teeth.

[BadSkeelz]

Yeah let's try to not creep out our potential new players by forcing them into a sexualized background.

[Malken]

If Malken comes back I promise to write his next PC's mdesc for him. I will include the tapered waist and the flowing long hair, and he can grin boyishly at all the ladies in Tuluk once more.

Aw, you know the way to my heart so well ^_^

I miss grinning boyishly at all the ladies in Tuluk.

[Nyr]

If auto-approval with an existing concept were possible for a brand new player, I think it would have to be funneled somehow so it could be managed and wouldn't overwhelm the playerbase with PCs played by players that truly do not know what they are doing.  Keep in mind that for the past year or more, there have been (usually) 200+ applications per month.  That's a lot of people to add to a game...each month...without knowing the caliber of player you're adding to the game.

[MeTekillot]

Let them have the auto-accept accounts be funneled into a new player area where they interact with each other before being thrown into the game proper? Helpers/Extremely bored storytellers could pop in to set up scenes and stuff for them to roleplay around, or they could just do this while they wait for their real apps to be accepted/denied.

[Harmless]

That's why I like the idea of using the arena to cage in this new class of player. Of course regular PCs can interact directly or indirectly with them as their own combatants or as audience members.

[MeTekillot]

Well, I don't know about that. . .

Code Select Expand


The tall muscular man says, in sirihish:
     "look ebon"

The tall muscular man looks at you.


The tall muscular man attacks you.
The tall muscular man hits at you, but you dodge out of the way.
The tall muscular man hits at you, but you dodge out of the way.

This x 100.

[MeTekillot]

Maybe we can let people see how many players are online when they connect to their account, so new players can see that we're a moderately populated game.

[BadSkeelz]

What would this"new class of player" actually bring to the game? Other than padding our numbers?

[MeTekillot]

More realistically large clans, for one, I think, instead of Kadius's public front being like, six dudes.

A Templar being able to pick a random shitheel from the crowd without him being more than likely waist deep in fourteen plots because there's only so many PCs.

Making the world seem more alive in general.

[Reiloth]

Boots.

Many boots.

[MeTekillot]

More open clans in general might happen, so staff stop doing that "We don't want to open too many clans because players will be spread too thin" thing.

[BadSkeelz]

No I mean what does an endless stream of newbies hacking and slashing in the arena get us

[Malken]

Re-open the Atrium and when they create their first few characters, ask them if they prefer the adventure/combat oriented role-playing or a more social/politics type of role-playing and depending on their choices, either send them straight to the Atrium or the Byn.

Also, if you are clanned as a leader of your clan, then make it so that anyone with a leader flag will be alerted when a new player shows up in the game. I think we can trust the leaders of our game not to just lead newbies into the 'rinth and gank them for their n00b coins.

[RogueGunslinger]

No I mean what does an endless stream of newbies hacking and slashing in the arena get us

While I'm not the biggest fan of the arena idea...

Those newbies eventually become regular players like the rest of us. The problem is only 46% of people are even making a character. That's a whopping 54% of people who never got into Armageddon simply because of character creation. But if they get in, have a good time with their stock character, they actually get to see the game for what it is, and hopefully make a new character.

[Lizzie]

No I mean what does an endless stream of newbies hacking and slashing in the arena get us

While I'm not the biggest fan of the arena idea...

Those newbies eventually become regular players like the rest of us. The problem is only 46% of people are even making a character. That's a whopping 54% of people who never got into Armageddon simply because of character creation. But if they get in, have a good time with their stock character, they actually get to see the game for what it is, and hopefully make a new character.

You don't know why they never got into Armageddon. Maybe they never intended to get into it.

Count me in as another person who'd rather see an increase in quality rather than an increase in quantity. This game has a steep learning curve. I'm glad it has a steep learning curve. I've played in games that didn't. I play here, because here is not there.  As in all things - a mud is only as good as its worst player. When we let an unending unfiltered stream of new players in, we become a game of unfiltered new players, with a few seasoned veterans struggling to keep the RP going.

I'd rather see a game that maintains its difficult entry requirements, to weed out the people who have no intention of giving a shit about RP and only want to come to see what some other forum is ranting and raving about, or to find "something to do" while their usual mud is down for maintenance, or because a google search on "mudsex" showed a whole lot of hits on the GDB and they assumed that meant this was a mudsex game.

The entry to get "into" the game isn't impossible. If it were, none of us would be here. We managed to get in, and to play, and to come to love the game, with high standards and high expecations of each other. I don't want to see those standards lowered just for the sake of increased numbers. If it's too hard for John Doe to figure it out, then maybe John Doe doesn't have what it takes to play and we should be glad he went somewhere else. If John Doe doesn't want to have to use his imagination and creativity to make his first character's mdesc and background, then maybe we should be glad he chose to go elsewhere, because if he can't be bothered taking that first step, then he probably won't be interested in contributing much of anything else either.

[nauta]

No I mean what does an endless stream of newbies hacking and slashing in the arena get us

I agree with Nyr about the numbers... which should give pause.  However, I doubt the newbies would be all Hack und Slashen.  (There are some pretty serious warnings at login about how this is RPI, and let's be honest, who resorts to a text-based world for hack-and-slash nowadays?  Actually, I have no idea...)

All I was suggesting is that  - at least for me, maybe others - the initial slog through chargen was a turnoff.

If we have a streamlined chargen for "tourists", I think it'd get some people in who otherwise would just get to the 12th screen and go 'meh' (or go 'meh' after waiting for the app to be approved, or more likely, rejected.)  

[wizturbo]

The entry to get "into" the game isn't impossible. If it were, none of us would be here. We managed to get in, and to play, and to come to love the game, with high standards and high expecations of each other. I don't want to see those standards lowered just for the sake of increased numbers. If it's too hard for John Doe to figure it out, then maybe John Doe doesn't have what it takes to play and we should be glad he went somewhere else. If John Doe doesn't want to have to use his imagination and creativity to make his first character's mdesc and background, then maybe we should be glad he chose to go elsewhere, because if he can't be bothered taking that first step, then he probably won't be interested in contributing much of anything else either.

I would consider myself a pretty decent arm player candidate, and I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't bother going through the chargen process for Armageddon if I didn't already understand it and realize it's worth the investment.  Maybe if I had a friend who just couldn't stop talking about the game to motivate me through it...maybe.

The amount of people who are still into playing MUDs is not exactly overwhelming...  If someone is searching for a MUD to play at all, its safe to say there's a high likelihood they're potentially someone who would add value to this game.

Making it easier for them to get into the game and see why it's awesome isn't going to ruin anything.  I think the newbie starting area concept is fantastic...but admittedly a lot of work to build.  I don't want to repost all of my ideas from page 1, but I think a newbie chat channel could also work wonders for helping people with the mechanics of the game.  Eve Online has one, and it got me through the learning curve on that behemoth of a game...it could work for Arm too.

[RogueGunslinger]

No I mean what does an endless stream of newbies hacking and slashing in the arena get us

While I'm not the biggest fan of the arena idea...

Those newbies eventually become regular players like the rest of us. The problem is only 46% of people are even making a character. That's a whopping 54% of people who never got into Armageddon simply because of character creation. But if they get in, have a good time with their stock character, they actually get to see the game for what it is, and hopefully make a new character.

You don't know why they never got into Armageddon. Maybe they never intended to get into it.

Count me in as another person who'd rather see an increase in quality rather than an increase in quantity. This game has a steep learning curve. I'm glad it has a steep learning curve. I've played in games that didn't. I play here, because here is not there.  As in all things - a mud is only as good as its worst player. When we let an unending unfiltered stream of new players in, we become a game of unfiltered new players, with a few seasoned veterans struggling to keep the RP going.

I'd rather see a game that maintains its difficult entry requirements, to weed out the people who have no intention of giving a shit about RP and only want to come to see what some other forum is ranting and raving about, or to find "something to do" while their usual mud is down for maintenance, or because a google search on "mudsex" showed a whole lot of hits on the GDB and they assumed that meant this was a mudsex game.

The entry to get "into" the game isn't impossible. If it were, none of us would be here. We managed to get in, and to play, and to come to love the game, with high standards and high expecations of each other. I don't want to see those standards lowered just for the sake of increased numbers. If it's too hard for John Doe to figure it out, then maybe John Doe doesn't have what it takes to play and we should be glad he went somewhere else. If John Doe doesn't want to have to use his imagination and creativity to make his first character's mdesc and background, then maybe we should be glad he chose to go elsewhere, because if he can't be bothered taking that first step, then he probably won't be interested in contributing much of anything else either.

I don't feel this way about the average MUDer. And certainly not the average person who reads about Armageddon and seeks the type of roleplay that is here. I really just don't see it being anywhere near as severe as you do.  Would we possibly get a few bad apples? Sure, but I'm confident staff and the playerbase knows how to either straighten out or weed out those types of players.  I really wouldn't worry about it diluting the playerbase. It would certainly be worth the small instances of someone stepping out of line and getting told what they're doing wrong to have more players.

[wizturbo]

I think the best time for player run plots was when a player could become a Red Robe or start their own merchant house feasibly. Without, uh, getting stored.


EDIT: well, wrong thread.

I enjoyed this too.  I recognize that senior leadership roles can create some challenges for staff and the game, but they also motivate people, and add a ton of color and excitement.  

Senior Nobles and Merchant House positions particularly seem like they should be allowed.  They're powerful and important, but I would imagine no where near as challenging as a Red Robe in terms of raw power they wield.  Maybe they are allowed?

I'm also under the impression that players CAN start their own merchant houses if they're extremely determined.  I know this was absolutely not allowed at one point, and I recall having a lengthy discussion (i.e. whining) with Nyr about it...but then I saw this page which suggests otherwise:  http://armageddon.org/help/view/Starting%20a%20Clan.  I'm not going to lie...that page may have contributed to my interest in returning to Armageddon....

[MeTekillot]

Senior Nobles and Merchant House positions particularly seem like they should be allowed.  They're powerful and important, but I would imagine no where near as challenging as a Red Robe in terms of raw power they wield.  Maybe they are allowed?

nope

[Adhira]

Senior Merchants and Agents have always been allowed.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

I love all of these ideas in spirit. I like the auto-gen idea. Here's how we could make it work even better.

Auto characters could be generated, as has been suggested, but let's use the custom tat guy as inspiration for this. When the player says let me in, they get generated with a four sentence desc, matched to sdesc terms. But the only background you get is criminal. You are a criminal, sentenced to fight in the arena. Now, what Militia Leaders and Templars can do is 'release' the ones who display enough drive to be trying to RP. This makes the entire process completely in character.

Scripting in the rooms of the Holding Pens (which are already built, by the way), could be used to 'release' combatants to the arena. The actual Pens could utilize either a calm state, which allows no fighting, or non-lethal take downs by the NPCs there, so we don't instantly turn off the newb when he dies. The Holding Pens could also be turned into a 'school' of sorts, so that when the player is not fighting, they can learn.

Militia Leaders and Templars could be alerted when new players have been in the holding pens for more than ten minutes, so that they can go choose to interact with them if they want to.