Where Players Found Us: September 2014

[Nyr]

Are we still sending out the emails to our veterans who quit the game to ask them why they left and what we could do to get them back?

It was one of these emails that got me playing again actually after I quit for over two years.

I sent one out earlier this year.  Only to folks identified in the where survey as having started in the past 6 or 7 years.  Beyond that I'd have to get some better tools to find older player accounts.

[BadSkeelz]

...and some players are trying to figure out how to attract the particular set of newbies that would find chargen to be too hard and therefore should get auto-genned characters and backgrounds?

So then they get their first PC PKed the first day, and gen up more of that 10-50% of rejectables - thus driving the rejectable percentage up AND making more work for the staff, JUST so you can increase numbers without thought to quality?

Blech. Blech and more blech.

Mmm, all those so-easy-to-excuse PKs though....

In seriousness, I think I'm with Lizzie. I would rather us focus our attentions on making our game accessible to those players who might just be daunted by the number of docs, or the format of playing a MuD, or some other mechanic, but really like the idea of playing an RPI. You know, people who aren't going to name their character dick towel and try to kill someone in the Gaj right out of the gate.

[Desertman]

Are we still sending out the emails to our veterans who quit the game to ask them why they left and what we could do to get them back?

It was one of these emails that got me playing again actually after I quit for over two years.

I sent one out earlier this year.  Only to folks identified in the where survey as having started in the past 6 or 7 years.  Beyond that I'd have to get some better tools to find older player accounts.

*nod* *nod*

[Brytta Léofa]

Actual logins (created a character that was approved and they logged in):  43 (22%)
1 hour or less in playtime: 11
1-2 hours of playtime:  11
2-6 hours of playtime:  9
6-20 hours of playtime:  10
20+ hours of playtime:  2
Of all these, appear to still be playing: 4 (all were referred by friends) (2%)

I think we're worrying too much about the people who never logged in, and not enough about the large majority of those who legitimately started playing but then stopped.

17 out of 22 who played Arm for more than two hours didn't come back!  Why?

[wizturbo]

I think we're worrying too much about the people who never logged in, and not enough about the large majority of those who legitimately started playing but then stopped.

17 out of 22 who played Arm for more than two hours didn't come back!  Why?

Intuitively this one kind of makes sense to me...  This game just isn't for everybody.  It's not a hack'n'slash, let loose kind of MUD.    It's perma-death.  Players are often ENCOURAGED to abuse your character. 

I expect only a one in five to stay.

[RogueGunslinger]

In my experience for a wealth of reasons. I believe Nyr actually looked at this before, seeing what each individual player was doing. It seems most of the time the ones who leave never run into another player, or they do and no role-play actually happens, they just stare at nothingness inside a bar.

[nauta]

Actual logins (created a character that was approved and they logged in):  43 (22%)
1 hour or less in playtime: 11
1-2 hours of playtime:  11
2-6 hours of playtime:  9
6-20 hours of playtime:  10
20+ hours of playtime:  2
Of all these, appear to still be playing: 4 (all were referred by friends) (2%)

I think we're worrying too much about the people who never logged in, and not enough about the large majority of those who legitimately started playing but then stopped.

17 out of 22 who played Arm for more than two hours didn't come back!  Why?

Some of it might have the same source.  I'm tempted to think that allowing people to start in the Rinth / Storm and areas where the playerbase is either super low or too cool for school (hidden) is a bad idea, or letting them start as an elf: they'll be like: why nobody playing with me?  Meh.  Quit.  Hence, I'd advocate HUGELY encouraging or forcing them to choose human and choose Nak.  (I'm biased since I like to interact with people on MUDs.)  It's also two jozhals one stone: they only need to read up on humans and Nak, and can learn IG about the rest (or go back to the docs).

[Rahnevyn]

We already restrict starting location to Allanak or Tuluk for a new character, although their character can choose their hometown as 'rinth. Storm, or Luir's as well.

[Talia]

I think we're worrying too much about the people who never logged in, and not enough about the large majority of those who legitimately started playing but then stopped.

17 out of 22 who played Arm for more than two hours didn't come back!  Why?

I just went and looked at the data again and did some cursory poking of the ones who played 2+ hours but didn't stay. It looks like the majority of them logged in multiple times, sometimes for many minutes (45 mins+ at a stretch), but...they were off-peak :/

[Case]

I think we're worrying too much about the people who never logged in, and not enough about the large majority of those who legitimately started playing but then stopped.

17 out of 22 who played Arm for more than two hours didn't come back!  Why?

I just went and looked at the data again and did some cursory poking of the ones who played 2+ hours but didn't stay. It looks like the majority of them logged in multiple times, sometimes for many minutes (45 mins+ at a stretch), but...they were off-peak :/

Could always do like an echo when a new newbie starts out to try and draw somebody over?

[Brytta Léofa]

A bell rings, pealing its macabre glee across the city.

[Talia]

Could always do like an echo when a new newbie starts out to try and draw somebody over?

Code Select Expand

You feel a very fresh victim for your elven scams is surely somewhere nearby...maybe in the Gaj.



Yeah, I don't know. It's a good idea! I do think we all know that it's interaction that will pull people into the game.

[BadSkeelz]

What about some sort of map showing where clusters of players have been in the Known over a 24hr period? Could restrict it to the main cities and have a delay on it. The goal would be to give people an idea of where the players are in their time zone without tipping people off to large movements which might signal plots.

[LauraMars]

Every time you hear some hoots a newbie gets his boots.

[wizturbo]

One of the things I like about pre-gen descriptions is that it identifies the player as a newbie.  I'd certainly be willing to juice up the interaction with a newbie, if I knew they were a newbie and not someone who was just sitting at the bar waiting for dawn, reading the IC boards.

I'll admit, for most my characters it wouldn't be super IC for them to suddenly be chatty to some random guy...  But I'm willing to break character a tiny bit if it means a noob might get a taste of the game.

Maybe some kind of newbie tag could be applied?  That sounds dumb after writing it, but maybe it's not a horrible direction to go?

[Saellyn]

Oh I'll give a newbie a taste of the game...

[nauta]

I think we're worrying too much about the people who never logged in, and not enough about the large majority of those who legitimately started playing but then stopped.

17 out of 22 who played Arm for more than two hours didn't come back!  Why?

I just went and looked at the data again and did some cursory poking of the ones who played 2+ hours but didn't stay. It looks like the majority of them logged in multiple times, sometimes for many minutes (45 mins+ at a stretch), but...they were off-peak :/

Could always do like an echo when a new newbie starts out to try and draw somebody over?

I like this idea.   Offpeak can be DEADLY BORING, and most of the time my PCs just wander around looking in every corner for a PC to interact with. Maybe a NOTIFY command (with obviously the option to opt in) that would tell people opted in that someone is around.  It would only work in certain spots (bars), and scope would be limited to your city (hence: NOTIFY in the Gaj notifies folks in Allanak and its regions and notify in whatever that one up there in Tuluk would do the same).  Wouldn't even have to restrict it to newbies, frankly.  (I'm probably in the minority in wanting this sort of system wide.  SoI has a Notify command that I think is nice.)

[Saellyn]

I think we're worrying too much about the people who never logged in, and not enough about the large majority of those who legitimately started playing but then stopped.

17 out of 22 who played Arm for more than two hours didn't come back!  Why?

I just went and looked at the data again and did some cursory poking of the ones who played 2+ hours but didn't stay. It looks like the majority of them logged in multiple times, sometimes for many minutes (45 mins+ at a stretch), but...they were off-peak :/

Could always do like an echo when a new newbie starts out to try and draw somebody over?

I like this idea.   Offpeak can be DEADLY BORING, and most of the time my PCs just wander around looking in every corner for a PC to interact with. Maybe a NOTIFY command (with obviously the option to opt in) that would tell people opted in that someone is around.  It would only work in certain spots (bars), and scope would be limited to your city (hence: NOTIFY in the Gaj notifies folks in Allanak and its regions and notify in whatever that one up there in Tuluk would do the same).  Wouldn't even have to restrict it to newbies, frankly.  (I'm probably in the minority in wanting this sort of system wide.  SoI has a Notify command that I think is nice.)

The issue here lies in if someone uses notify command often, and then stops using it, then suddenly you don't see them do it anymore...

[deskoft]

Hey there! New player here.

I'm a roleplayer from SA-MP (San Andreas Multiplayer), for five years. SAMP Roleplaying sucks compared to what a MUD with Enforced Roleplay offers (literally). Literally, most of the playerbase of SAMP is made out of roleplayers. I believe if you guys advertised the SAMP public you could probably get a lot of players. Hardcore Roleplayers are really frustrated over the fact that these servers don't offer good experiences (unlike the few hours of MUDing I've received, which has been awesome, I love the details).

G'Day, and very nice MUD. I'm defo staying here for quite a while.

[MeTekillot]

That really is not a source of players that I considered, heh. Who woulda thought? You know you can advertise for us, if you like.

[Kaineus]

Hey there! New player here.

I'm a roleplayer from SA-MP (San Andreas Multiplayer), for five years. SAMP Roleplaying sucks compared to what a MUD with Enforced Roleplay offers (literally). Literally, most of the playerbase of SAMP is made out of roleplayers. I believe if you guys advertised the SAMP public you could probably get a lot of players. Hardcore Roleplayers are really frustrated over the fact that these servers don't offer good experiences (unlike the few hours of MUDing I've received, which has been awesome, I love the details).

G'Day, and very nice MUD. I'm defo staying here for quite a while.

Welcome! You're heading into this game with a great attitude. This game is indeed a role play intensive game, with an emphasis on the intense.

[deskoft]

Yeah, I'm trying to bring some friends from SAMP over!

Thanks for the welcome.

[Agent_137]

good thread. I started playing in 2001 so I guess I'll tell my story too of why I stopped playing.

In short my video game time dropped to about 10 hours a week, and I don't want to spend all 10 of those in Armageddon.

I tried being different flavor characters from the byn, to the wilds, and to the rinth. But I wasn't around enough to make any consistent connections. This game is tough without them. I feel like you need at least 6 hours a week to play. Maybe I should try a beggar next?

Regardless I gave up and just content myself with just voting a few times a week on TMS and TMC.

Anyway, goodluck! Message me for MUSHclient help

[Kol]

good thread. I started playing in 2001 so I guess I'll tell my story too of why I stopped playing.

In short my video game time dropped to about 10 hours a week, and I don't want to spend all 10 of those in Armageddon.

I tried being different flavor characters from the byn, to the wilds, and to the rinth. But I wasn't around enough to make any consistent connections. This game is tough without them. I feel like you need at least 6 hours a week to play. Maybe I should try a beggar next?

Regardless I gave up and just content myself with just voting a few times a week on TMS and TMC.

Anyway, goodluck! Message me for MUSHclient help

We miss you homie.

Come back.