Where Players Found Us: November 2014

[Talia]

Raw data for November

Total new accounts created:  278 (compared to 233 for October)
Duplicates (created multiple accounts out of confusion/staff accounts/etc):  7
New accounts minus the above: 271 (compared to 229 for October = +42 = +18%)



Where people came from
(noteworthy results mentioned, some might be concurrent)

Topmudsites:  14 (compared to 16 for Oct)
Themudconnector: 103 (compared to 111 for Oct)
Google: 23 (note that these can probably be attributed to either TMS or TMC or may be otherwise concurrent with the above)
Search/web: 42 (these also can probably be attributed to either TMS or TMC)
Friends/other players/family/co-workers/homies:  37
Reddit:  4
Wikipedia:  3

A smattering of some miscellaneous answers:
"I read the wikipedia entry on it and it sounded pretty rad"
"SomethingAwful traditional games MUD thread."
"Searching for RP MUDs that actually RP. Found you on Google."
"#1 on TMC! I'm here to see what it's all about!"



Login data

Made account but did not create a character: 132 (49%) (Oct was 47%)
Created a character: 139 (51%) (Oct was 53%)
Created a character that was approved but didn't play: 73 (27%) (Oct was 8%)

Actual logins (created a character that was approved and they logged in):  66 (24%) (Oct was 75 = 33%)
-- 1 hour or less in playtime: 21 (Oct was 30)
-- 1-2 hours of playtime:  11 (Oct was 9)
-- 2-6 hours of playtime:  13 (Oct was 16)
-- 6-20 hours of playtime:  13 (Oct was 10)
-- 20+ hours of playtime:  8 (Oct was 10)

Of all these, appear to still be playing in the first week of the next month: 22 (8%) (Oct was 34 / 10%) (these came from a mixture of sources, but mostly "Friend" and "TMC")

Are you a new player with comments about how you found us and how the game has been for you so far?  Feel free to chime in here!  Getting your perspective on things will hopefully help out future players.

[creeper386]

THANK YOU !

[aeglaeca]

I had an existing account from a good while back but never managed to get Arm to stick for me until now. So I'm not sure if I'm counted on this or not. (Probably not, since it wasn't a new account.) The first time I tried Arm, I gave up in less than an hour.

Arm is overwhelming. I've played a lot of mu*s, but Arm is the only one I've seen that doesn't have any color, which makes it hard to pick out what is important in the room and is overall a slightly jarring experience.

Stuff I had/am still having a lot of trouble with:

* Figuring out who was a PC vs an NPC. Actually, I still have some trouble doing this.

* Retaining information I read prior to creating a character. There is a huge amount of reading, and the site isn't the easiest to read re: color scheme, information organization, picking out important information vs fluff. It would be nice if a cleaner version of the site was available, as well as more condensed, easy to read bullet point lists of Important Things.

* Getting involved outside my existing circle. I am really enjoying the place my character is, but I feel a little distanced from the rest of the population in my character's town. I have tried sitting in awkward silence in bars. Which is, well, awkward. I realize this is at least half my fault, but I still get 'aw, crap, I'm such a newbie' feelings when I sit down and attempt to make conversation.

That all said, I really enjoy where I am and especially think my character's group leader is pretty magnificent at getting RP going. I've also enjoyed an attempt or two at bringing my PC in on outside stuff, which is pretty cool, too!

[valeria]

Welcome back!  I agree that Arm is completely overwhelming at first.  But gets easier as you go on.  As for a bullet point list, I suggest the "Intro" tab on the main page.  Also, don't be afraid of the helper chat.

[Harmless]

Arm is overwhelming. I've played a lot of mu*s, but Arm is the only one I've seen that doesn't have any color, which makes it hard to pick out what is important in the room and is overall a slightly jarring experience.

In my opinion, the lack of color is fine, but I think many of us have spent time wondering if making some basic color options available, at least just for your prompt, room exits, and a few other critical bits of information might be a good idea. In the end, I use colors with my client. I use tin.tin. I know that many clients allow for customized Highlights. I have been playing with my own colors for so long I don't even notice arma technically lacks color. But even when I log in with the flash client, which has no color, I don't mind it much. The formatting of emotes, says, and other important things are consistent so I get information quickly by that method.

If you're not already doing so, I highly, highly recommend playing with a "monospace" font, such as courier, though there are several other "monospace" fonts that assure equal spacing. This helps for readability MASSIVELY. I do not recommend playing with a font that isn't monospace like "arial." It ends up making everything look crappy.

Stuff I had/am still having a lot of trouble with:

* Figuring out who was a PC vs an NPC. Actually, I still have some trouble doing this.

The tall, muscular man is standing here.
A sharp-eyed prostitute is slouching here in the corner.

The word "the" precedes EVERY PC's short description (aka, an 'sdesc') no matter what. And, by default, PCs have simple "long descriptions," aka the 'ldesc,' which is either "is standing here, sitting here, siting at (table), etc". This is probably obvious to you by now, but I am posting for other newbies too who might read this thread. Use 'change ldesc' to mix it up! It's a great, very capable command.

* Retaining information I read prior to creating a character. There is a huge amount of reading, and the site isn't the easiest to read re: color scheme, information organization, picking out important information vs fluff. It would be nice if a cleaner version of the site was available, as well as more condensed, easy to read bullet point lists of Important Things.

Good feedback. I agree with Valeria's suggestion, and wonder if maybe this should go into the very top of the page as a link or micro-bulleted list.

* Getting involved outside my existing circle. I am really enjoying the place my character is, but I feel a little distanced from the rest of the population in my character's town. I have tried sitting in awkward silence in bars. Which is, well, awkward. I realize this is at least half my fault, but I still get 'aw, crap, I'm such a newbie' feelings when I sit down and attempt to make conversation.

That all said, I really enjoy where I am and especially think my character's group leader is pretty magnificent at getting RP going. I've also enjoyed an attempt or two at bringing my PC in on outside stuff, which is pretty cool, too!

This is also a common experience. All of it is still something veterans struggle with: breaking outside your social circle, breaking the silence in bars or other public settings, and "damn it, I'm such a newbie." Been here 7 years and I feel all of them at times.

I think this comes with the territory of "high fidelity" RP that arma enforces. It's tough to get things started, but once they get started, they feel ridiculously realistic and immersive. That challenge of figuring out what to do, what to say, etc, is one that does require a lot of thought, background knowledge, and some planning. HOWEVER! Don't be afraid to be spontaneous. If you roll up a PC with a personality that is consistently spontaneous, then you will find RP everywhere you go.

Look at half-giants you may see in game. Many of them are rovers, say things that come to mind quickly, and interact globally by virtue of being too dim-witted not to. There are also quiet giants, but you should be especially wary of those, especially in the wastes, where you may suddenly find yourself the victim of attack. But half-giants tend to be experienced players anyway (or they don't last that long), and they use principles for RP that any other character is free to use as well. Say what's on your mind.

If you don't want to put yourself out there, use the THINK and FEEL command. Even just minimally, it's a huge help. It'll help you formulate your reaction to things. Think things about people your character sees, and have feelings in reaction to things. Maybe an immortal will notice your feelings and thoughts and give you something in response. Maybe an NPC will be animated and help by suddenly injecting some interaction. I have seen this on multiple occasions.

Anyway, this problem is a common one, but it is both a difficulty and its own reward at times. It's kind of the nature of the game; you're hitting on something central to roleplaying in arma. Think about improv actors. They usually use multiple cues to keep the scene moving. Sometimes something random keeps it moving. It's a cooperative effort. When others around you seem to be putting in no effort, that's tougher. But don't lose hope. You will find amazing scenes and depth if you stick with it, form friendships, and enemies. It sounds like you're in a good clan to help you get there and learn that, so just keep at it!

[slvrmoontiger]

Hello and welcome back, glad you're giving it another chance.

Color can be helpful, but in some instances it is really distracting to me and at time unreadable. I cannot read with a white background in my client or terminal. I need background to be black. The bright white of a background causes my eye to hurt and gives me a migraine. There are other people like this. I'm also mildly colorblind, dark green on black or dark blue on black I cannot read, other people are also like this. So I understand for some colors are helpful, for other's they make things more overwhelming.

Harmless gave a good example of distinguishing NPC from PC (for the most part) I have seen NPCs that have their sdesc start with The and also just say is standing here. The other thing I'd encourage you to do is to immerse. Believe that Armageddon is a real world and you are that character you are playing. Is your character going to ignore most of the population (NPCs) because they don't talk back? Sure after they don't talk back he/she might, but at first you might try to engage anyone you see. This also depends on what your character's personality is like too.

I agree there is a LOT of stuff to read and learn about. I know even after playing on and off since the mid 1990's I don't know everything there is to know about Armageddon... In fact I probably don't know 1/2 there is to know. But as you do things and use commands and play you start to remember things and eventually most things become second nature. Sure you'll forget things from time to time that's why there help files (they work IG too, though I'm sure you know this already)

I understand the whole "can't get out of my circle" thing. It's difficult sometimes depending on clans and other issues. I personally, didn't like the Byn because I felt like I was cut off from characters that weren't in the Byn. It was always training or going on contracts and on the days there were days off I was either not logged in or low and behold a contract was being run. It was a struggle to get from the compound to a tavern my character likes and even sit down for 5 minutes (RL) to talk to someone before needing to run off to get back to the compound for training. I know the Byn can be helpful for new players because there's a lot of chance to learn a lot of new things. For me being an older player and my primary reason for playing Armageddon is exploring and social interaction with a wide variety of players (characters) the Byn wasn't for me. I would encourage you to learn as much as you can if you are in a clan, most of them are good for teaching and helping. Then when you've learned some things set out and do something different. As long as your character doesn't life-swear they can pick up and move on any time.

Taverns (even ones without PCs in them are loaded with NPCs and VNPCs) are great places to interact and to learn about things. Don't just sit there being awkward and don't try to read everything and react to everything it will get confusing and overwhelming. Focus on one thing or watch for people trying to communicate with your character and then write back. Emote about things going on around you. Nothing says you have to use pre-emotes in your talk or tells (yes they make things more interesting), but it can be overwhelming for new players to do this. Just interact as you can and in time you'll be able to do more.

There's my 2 'sids worth, take it leave it.