Re: Conserns / Predictions

There are lower point auras people can use as well if they have hard time keeping outpost at 100 points. I really don't see the problem here.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Well people complain there is no solo activity in this game. Ninjaing Sap loot or even taking the sap can be a highly profitable activity for even the solo new player. And seriously if you intend to own an outpost, some level of defense is required. I think most reminiscing about old battles forget what made them memorable was the number of people involved, not the mechanics that brought them together. Any intrusion system would suck when the population in this game is less than 100 logged in.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Cassius wrote:

Well people complain there is no solo activity in this game. Ninjaing Sap loot or even taking the sap can be a highly profitable activity for even the solo new player. And seriously if you intend to own an outpost, some level of defense is required. I think most reminiscing about old battles forget what made them memorable was the number of people involved, not the mechanics that brought them together. Any intrusion system would suck when the population in this game is less than 100 logged in.

The old mechanics encouraged larger fights more than the current mechanics do. The problem is precisely what you say. Ninjaing SAPs is a solo activity that involves no interaction with other players, which seems pretty bad for a 'PvP' territory control mechanic.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

There seems to be a major disconnect to what you think is happening, to what is actually happening.

The Gifter
Top  Killer 2013  - 01: 334 -- 17 -- 317  : Merkle
Top  Killer 2012  - 01: 027 -- 472 -- 445 : Merkle

Scarab Kill Count - 13

80 (edited by Dazamin 2014-04-04 22:42:05)

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Merkle wrote:

There seems to be a major disconnect to what you think is happening, to what is actually happening.

Maybe its changed idk, but the kb doesn't suggest that. People made the same argument you made ever since the system was changed, the problem is, (and I'm sure there's an old thread around somewhere with some stats) that kills and activity went down once the new system was implemented, so its pretty hard to argue it was an improvement in any way.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Merkle wrote:

I dont think this game is even nearly stable enough to support what you think is coming.  We already run around with borderline lag issues, teleport lag, unable to dock undock.  Issues Issues Issues.   Have someone pay for the game just to have them get kicked off the sever really goes a long way for player retention.

Coming True to a Internet Near You!

The Gifter
Top  Killer 2013  - 01: 334 -- 17 -- 317  : Merkle
Top  Killer 2012  - 01: 027 -- 472 -- 445 : Merkle

Scarab Kill Count - 13

Re: Conserns / Predictions

This game already has all the components needed to be successful. What it will need is understanding and commitment from the existing players and management to make it work. The recipe is actually quite simple: you need to engage players. People in real life and in games rally to specific causes, and that emotional drive is what engages them.

You need these things:
1) An evil empire. This requires willing players that will not mind being perceived as evil. (Syndic and Ville are already so damn good at this!). But this needs careful thought and balance, as griefing players will make them leave.  The game management needs to be aware and supportive, and therefore sometimes turn a blind eye, or sometimes be perceived as to take sides to punish the evil empire. Case in point: M2S (although they really did some nasty stuff, they caused a rally and a decent war.)
2)  The good empire. The counter balance that carries the flag against the evil empire. This needs to be carefully balanced not to over run or crush the evil empire. You want a long and engaging war, you want to fight over the same territory or assets regularly. Both CEOs (and possibility the devs) needs to watch over this carefully.
3)  Engage the free market. Self sufficiency is bad, both sides need to create a culture of consumption. This will grant opportunity for the pure PVE types (care bears). It also means that there needs to be places/areas managed by smaller 3rd parties where industrials can gather resources and build in safety. Don't hog all the Betas and Gammas, leave some space and manage your killboard whores to remain mostly "hands-off" those areas. For balance those areas needs to be roamed, and carebears needs to lose some stuff - you need the QQ on the forums.
4) PVE content needs to be balanced. Any player should be able to recoup losses easily. The formula is quite simple: a player needs to be able to lose his bot and rebuild it in one play session. This balancing the devs will need to look at. In my opinion the PVE content to enable this is lacking, especially for an average skilled player. This absolutely needs to be solo-able on 1 account. When you "require friends" or a second account this is broken.
5) 95% of MMO players are casual players. They have lives, jobs, real friends, and many other reasons not to login. Corporations and the game content needs to support this. (BTW this is why WoW is so successful.) Whether a person plays for one hour or 8, there needs to be some engagement, something to do. They need to feel some form of achievement for that duration. Whether they mine or build or mission or PVP, there needs to some goal achieved for that 1 hour of play (this is why Eve is marginally successful). That is why they will login tomorrow, else they go watch Game of Thrones. Again this needs careful balancing by CEOs and the Devs.

What kills MMOs? Boredom. Repetitive Grind. Losing gear that can be expressed in real monetary terms. This is lack of content, lack of engagement. Most of the MMOs that failed in the past failed due to this. The key to success is the Sandbox, the ability to do anything, go anywhere. Real reward for taking risks.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Me & Ville are neither good nor evil, it's complicated. lol

[18:20:30] <GLiMPSE> Chairman Of My Heart o/
CIR Complaint Form

The Imperial Grand Wizard of Justice

Re: Conserns / Predictions

I can take the good guy position if it's still available.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Volunteering for the 95% casual position

Proverbs 23:20-21 warns us, “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."

Re: Conserns / Predictions

wall of text... should i try reading it?

True Pros make a Podcast to influence the Devs minds, 
The rest of you guys are Hacks tongue

PS. I got my Highways & stopped playing b4 they came in & have never used them! ...... Irony much ? tongue

Re: Conserns / Predictions

No he just states the bloody obvious like he squats and produces pearls of wisdom.

Proverbs 23:20-21 warns us, “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."

Re: Conserns / Predictions

I stopped reading when he wrote "You need these things".  Didnt know there was a manual on how everyone should play a mmo lol

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Jita wrote:

No he just states the bloody obvious like he squats and produces pearls of wisdom.

I'm sure Syndic appreciated someone else doing it for once, he needed a break.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Squint wrote:

1) An evil empire. This requires willing players that will not mind being perceived as evil. (Syndic and Ville are already so damn good at this!).

I cry a little on the inside, not for them being evil, but out of love and happiness for celebrating the greatness of our comrades.

[16:03:43] <Mara Gossep> syndic.....and get your *** spy out of our corp

Re: Conserns / Predictions

I do not think anyone is evil. I simply comment on perceptions.

Generally when I squat and deliver pearls, I get paid a consulting fee. But for all my Very Best Virtual Friends the service is free.

There is no manual for playing MMO. There are however proven practices that makes them successful or die.

Anyway it is an opinion. Read or don't, flame or don't. Pixels are serious business.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Also Merkle edit your title, I know your from Murica and probably believe in creationism but misspelling concerns makes you look like your suffering from a mild ***. You have many faults but that isn't one of them.

Proverbs 23:20-21 warns us, “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Squint wrote:

I do not think anyone is evil. I simply comment on perceptions.
Pixels are serious business.

No one is evil, such things matter not, just the greatness we inspire to.

Pixels are shiney lights, and we hairless monkeys do like our shiney lights.

[16:03:43] <Mara Gossep> syndic.....and get your *** spy out of our corp

Re: Conserns / Predictions

This game needs more Beastmodes and less soft ***.

Steam achievement Unlocked:  Being a Badass
http://www.perp-kill.net/kill/239407
Dev Zoom: I think its time to confess, Ville is my alt
Dev Zoom: Ville can be sometimes so sane it's scary.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Ville wrote:

This game needs more Beastmodes and less soft ***.


If you were around my front yard at 3:00am, you would not need to worry about a soft ***.

[16:03:43] <Mara Gossep> syndic.....and get your *** spy out of our corp

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Cassius wrote:
Jita wrote:

No he just states the bloody obvious like he squats and produces pearls of wisdom.

I'm sure Syndic appreciated someone else doing it for once, he needed a break.

If you miss me squatting and squeezing out some pearls of wisdom for you to consume, you only need to ask... tongue

[18:20:30] <GLiMPSE> Chairman Of My Heart o/
CIR Complaint Form

The Imperial Grand Wizard of Justice

97 (edited by Crepitus 2014-04-20 17:36:34)

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Squint wrote:

4) PVE content needs to be balanced. Any player should be able to recoup losses easily. The formula is quite simple: a player needs to be able to lose his bot and rebuild it in one play session. This balancing the devs will need to look at. In my opinion the PVE content to enable this is lacking, especially for an average skilled player. This absolutely needs to be solo-able on 1 account. When you "require friends" or a second account this is broken.

They *** this up years ago, particularly with the enormous industry nerfs, and apparently left it broken in my 2 year absence.  I agree 100%.  Before the nerfs, mechs were ~1.5-2 mil, assaults were ~400-600K.  The research redo, at a cursory glance, looks like was a step back in the right direction but not nearly enough. 

Look at the market.  It's still just as *** and there are still hardly any people playing.  The sad part is it seems AC still hasn't learned, and it looks like another wave of new players will be a missed opportunity, just like rock paper shotgun and monocle gate.  Yes a few stuck around; most didn't.  I think what you said above and below here are the main reasons.  I hope I'm wrong (for my own sake having just dropped $150 on my accounts wink).

squint wrote:

5) 95% of MMO players are casual players. They have lives, jobs, real friends, and many other reasons not to login. Corporations and the game content needs to support this. (BTW this is why WoW is so successful.) Whether a person plays for one hour or 8, there needs to be some engagement, something to do. They need to feel some form of achievement for that duration. Whether they mine or build or mission or PVP, there needs to some goal achieved for that 1 hour of play (this is why Eve is marginally successful). That is why they will login tomorrow, else they go watch Game of Thrones. Again this needs careful balancing by CEOs and the Devs.

Absolutely, it's really bad when, and this is done in EVE as well, people log out for hours waiting for something to happen in game and sit by the bat phone.  If there were more content this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

squint wrote:

What kills MMOs? Boredom. Repetitive Grind. Losing gear that can be expressed in real monetary terms. This is lack of content, lack of engagement. Most of the MMOs that failed in the past failed due to this. The key to success is the Sandbox, the ability to do anything, go anywhere. Real reward for taking risks.

I think you should add bugs, terrible latency, unstable servers, and most of all, lack of population to this list.  I've played a number of stillborn MMOs, they all have these things in common.

EDIT: I think the Spark system is also a good step in the right direction, as travel grind is intense here too, but the extension is extremely pricey, especially for a new player and won't help them much.

Population graphs

<GM Synapse> please don't abuse our fresh players before blowing them up. And for god sakes, don't do that after it!

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I have been involved in successful and failed MMOs, and a few times as more than just a player. So I have the benefit of seeing things from both perspectives, and have learned a few lessons along the way. I believe in the end we can all agree that this MMO is not stillborn, and do have a few things in place that could make it great. It also has a few negatives (dommon mistakes/problems) that can be avoided and fixed.

I think we all realize that if the Steam release does not work out, this MMO might be shut down. The success is up to the players as much as the developers. Maybe it is time to help them, maybe it is time to apply some of your real life skills and make rational and realistic suggestions. Or be negative and let this game die.

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Squint wrote:

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I have been involved in successful and failed MMOs, and a few times as more than just a player. So I have the benefit of seeing things from both perspectives, and have learned a few lessons along the way. I believe in the end we can all agree that this MMO is not stillborn, and do have a few things in place that could make it great. It also has a few negatives (dommon mistakes/problems) that can be avoided and fixed.

I think we all realize that if the Steam release does not work out, this MMO might be shut down. The success is up to the players as much as the developers. Maybe it is time to help them, maybe it is time to apply some of your real life skills and make rational and realistic suggestions. Or be negative and let this game die.

Well said. And agree 100%.

100 (edited by Jita 2014-04-21 12:48:04)

Re: Conserns / Predictions

Squint wrote:

Maybe it is time to help them, maybe it is time to apply some of your real life skills and make rational and realistic suggestions. Or be negative and let this game die.

There is something about your posts that make me want to take a fire axe to your skull.

Maybe the game has been going for years and has had people making rational and realistic suggestions. Maybe the devs have been working really hard to implement them among their own great ideas. Maybe they understand the deficiencies of their own game but unless bill gates comes along and gives them 200 coders and ten million dollars it has to be an ongoing work in progress.

The Devs in this game, HHN that they may be, listen and react more responsively than any game I've ever heard of. While I don't agree with every change the onward steady progress has been undeniable and given their small size and diet of basement toast it's remarkable that they had the will to go this long. I truly believe that we are around the dark side of the moon and on our way home, ready for entry.

Proverbs 23:20-21 warns us, “Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."