Hey guys, I'm taking a break from my Uncharted marathon to post here since I've been thinking about TU. Some of these things, we as players can fix, while others require Mit to handle as he wishes. Anyways, there are some problems and I have some suggestions that could make this game a bit more enjoyable. These are just suggestions and I know this game is back in Alpha mode, but I still feel the need to put this out here. If we don't say anything, nothing can be fixed.
1) Introduction world is probably what is keeping the playerbase quite low. It's more like an obstacle than a tutorial. The problem is that people log into the game and their first impression is "wow, this server is empty." Not only that, but I'm not even sure it would give me enough information to complete it before I got bored.(10-15 mins) if I didn't already know how to play. There's two solutions to this problem.
A) Mit changes the default world to Zion(gets rid of intro world), sets it up similarly on the other side of Zion, away from the economy.
B) Some of us players go there and wait for new players to join. Even just a few of us being AFK and checking chat every hour or so would help a lot. AFK people are WAY BETTER than none at all.
2) Our playerbase seems a bit spread out for how few of us there are. I don't get to log in as much as I would like, so I mainly stick to Zion, with occasional trips to Xebec. Which planets are people going to, and which is the best? If the best isn't in the same system as Introduction, that makes it so much harder for new people to find where the action is. People aren't flying around much in the newb starsystem, so It appears pretty empty aswell.
3) We need some events to keep us in the game. I know Trippillx and a few others are trying to get an event going on Xebec, and that's awesome. I hope that I get to be a part of it, and maybe even record it and put it on youtube. We as players have the ability to make this place as fun as we want it to be. We just have to cooperate and make things happen. It would be great to have a "Fight Night" like the old days. Maybe we could have a space battle and fly to Zion for minigames or something. It sucks that I can't get on as often as I would like, and I never know when I'll be on. Maybe we can work together to have a good time.
There are a few minor things I think need tweaking, but I'll leave them for another time. Let's get some players in here and have some fun.
Suggestions, Concerns, and Such.
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ultramarine
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:56 pm
For those of you who do not know.
Lightmun and I have been sorting out the details for a war on xebec, that will take place on a to be build island city. This city is going to serve as the more or less center point for a "permanent" bridge to New Zion with lots of trees to destroy, since this is taking place on a strip of land in the water, you'll be able to use your war galleon to cause havoc to bridge builders. however it is expected that the city will be fortified and harder to destroy.
Xebec world building limit needs to be set in accordance with the new allowable building limit for worlds, then construction can commence.
I had a date in mind but I don't think it will be possible to set the stage by that time.
it would be nice to know what players are interested in taking part in this, i want to do it on a Saturday, however i'd like to do it on a saturday that will allow the most players who want to take part to be around. So let Lightmun or myself know if you are interested.
keep posted on current events around the galaxy including updates on the status of the new island city, permanent bridge and conflict that will soon ensue at
http://www.thegalacticenquirer.tk/
Lightmun and I have been sorting out the details for a war on xebec, that will take place on a to be build island city. This city is going to serve as the more or less center point for a "permanent" bridge to New Zion with lots of trees to destroy, since this is taking place on a strip of land in the water, you'll be able to use your war galleon to cause havoc to bridge builders. however it is expected that the city will be fortified and harder to destroy.
Xebec world building limit needs to be set in accordance with the new allowable building limit for worlds, then construction can commence.
I had a date in mind but I don't think it will be possible to set the stage by that time.
it would be nice to know what players are interested in taking part in this, i want to do it on a Saturday, however i'd like to do it on a saturday that will allow the most players who want to take part to be around. So let Lightmun or myself know if you are interested.
keep posted on current events around the galaxy including updates on the status of the new island city, permanent bridge and conflict that will soon ensue at
http://www.thegalacticenquirer.tk/
Hi wes, thanks for your thoughts & comments.
Regarding the intro world.. i disagree about that being a big issue.
Determining the best approach to an intro is very hard to judge subjectively, particularly as the audience arrives with a range of very different perceptions and pre-conceptions and especially because the range & nature of this game is quite hard to convey - hence the best method is to rely on analytics and user behaviour comparisons with as much relevant data as possible.
Every time a new player quits the introduction world without completing it, logs are made and analysed. Via logging and a series of updates to the script and gamecode, as i mentioned elsewhere, the percentage of new people joining then leaving within 5 minutes has dropped from 90% to 22%. A high percentage of players complete the intro world.
Of course they are just statistics (quite likely weighted by having a proportion of returning players with new accounts) and there's always improvements to be made, but I feel the intro world does a pretty decent job at setting the tone and etc atm. (Well, except it needs a really amazing exit cutscene that i could probably spend months on). Yes, it can give the impression of being an empty server, but that's using the assumption that a new player expects a populated one. (Many game studies show a player preference for starting single player and only being introduced to others when they feel more familiar with the game) Of course, if it became apparent that a lot of people were joining then leaving without moving on I'd look to change the flow.
Sitting on the world is fine if you can be responsive, but I disagree that a bunch of AFK people is way better than none at all - I think joining a multiplayer environment where there are lots of unresponsive names can give a worse first impression than an empty one. (Indeed i'm tempted to make the intro world a completely 'offline'/single-player one - but that takes more work :]). Over the years watching logs and player behaviour, the frequency of new players saying 'hello?' to a bunch of AFKers then leaving soon after is much, much higher than the number who leave the intro world while it is empty.
(As also mentioned elsewhere) it is not "the intro world that is keeping the playerbase low") it is primarily that there are very few new players coming to the old game (or the website) at all atm, and I wouldn't expect more until the game is better and it gets marketed. (Which needs to come in that order).
Regarding events - totally agree there. I've been coding a few things up with that kinda thing in mind. It needs to be easily manageable because they can become quite a time sink (as i found out in chapters 1 and 2) - and easily discouraging when the playerbase is small .I'm hoping that with the right tools maintaining a regular timetable of 'Fun Things To Do' and special events can be something that some dedicated vets might be able to organise if there are people willing to take it on. Ultra's stuff is an excellent start
Regarding the intro world.. i disagree about that being a big issue.
Determining the best approach to an intro is very hard to judge subjectively, particularly as the audience arrives with a range of very different perceptions and pre-conceptions and especially because the range & nature of this game is quite hard to convey - hence the best method is to rely on analytics and user behaviour comparisons with as much relevant data as possible.
Every time a new player quits the introduction world without completing it, logs are made and analysed. Via logging and a series of updates to the script and gamecode, as i mentioned elsewhere, the percentage of new people joining then leaving within 5 minutes has dropped from 90% to 22%. A high percentage of players complete the intro world.
Of course they are just statistics (quite likely weighted by having a proportion of returning players with new accounts) and there's always improvements to be made, but I feel the intro world does a pretty decent job at setting the tone and etc atm. (Well, except it needs a really amazing exit cutscene that i could probably spend months on). Yes, it can give the impression of being an empty server, but that's using the assumption that a new player expects a populated one. (Many game studies show a player preference for starting single player and only being introduced to others when they feel more familiar with the game) Of course, if it became apparent that a lot of people were joining then leaving without moving on I'd look to change the flow.
Sitting on the world is fine if you can be responsive, but I disagree that a bunch of AFK people is way better than none at all - I think joining a multiplayer environment where there are lots of unresponsive names can give a worse first impression than an empty one. (Indeed i'm tempted to make the intro world a completely 'offline'/single-player one - but that takes more work :]). Over the years watching logs and player behaviour, the frequency of new players saying 'hello?' to a bunch of AFKers then leaving soon after is much, much higher than the number who leave the intro world while it is empty.
(As also mentioned elsewhere) it is not "the intro world that is keeping the playerbase low") it is primarily that there are very few new players coming to the old game (or the website) at all atm, and I wouldn't expect more until the game is better and it gets marketed. (Which needs to come in that order).
Regarding events - totally agree there. I've been coding a few things up with that kinda thing in mind. It needs to be easily manageable because they can become quite a time sink (as i found out in chapters 1 and 2) - and easily discouraging when the playerbase is small .I'm hoping that with the right tools maintaining a regular timetable of 'Fun Things To Do' and special events can be something that some dedicated vets might be able to organise if there are people willing to take it on. Ultra's stuff is an excellent start
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morbydvisns
- Posts: 1889
- Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:51 am
Thanks for reading. I'm glad you set up logs and it sounds like you know what you're doing. I agree that the game needs a lot of work before we go attracting a ton of players and that's why feedback is important.
By "AFK" i meant checking the chat every once in a while and coming ingame if anything happens.
Maybe I'm different. When I download MMOs(most are horrible) I expect to see other players playing. There can be a tutorial within a world that has people on it playing on it. Most of the single player tutorial stuff is meant to halfassedly throw in a storyline and get a player familiar with basic controls(and more importantly how to access the game's store and buy junk with real money).
I totally would like to organize some events in the future, but right now I never know when I'll be on. In the end, I think it's the community here that really makes this game worth sticking to. No other online game allows players this much of an impact on how much fun there is to have. Whether it's the times where zaroba would spawn everybody in vehicles with weapons and have a deathmatch or the "faction wars" causing drama in the game, the community has always made the game an interesting place. This game in a way is a sandbox. You've given us tools to have spontaneous fun, and that's what separates TU from any other online game. We have planets with gamerules and all, but at a moment's notice we can drop all the seriousness of playing by the rules and have a little fun. We just have to make that happen.
Mit, you're doing a great job and thanks for reading.
By "AFK" i meant checking the chat every once in a while and coming ingame if anything happens.
Maybe I'm different. When I download MMOs(most are horrible) I expect to see other players playing. There can be a tutorial within a world that has people on it playing on it. Most of the single player tutorial stuff is meant to halfassedly throw in a storyline and get a player familiar with basic controls(and more importantly how to access the game's store and buy junk with real money).
I totally would like to organize some events in the future, but right now I never know when I'll be on. In the end, I think it's the community here that really makes this game worth sticking to. No other online game allows players this much of an impact on how much fun there is to have. Whether it's the times where zaroba would spawn everybody in vehicles with weapons and have a deathmatch or the "faction wars" causing drama in the game, the community has always made the game an interesting place. This game in a way is a sandbox. You've given us tools to have spontaneous fun, and that's what separates TU from any other online game. We have planets with gamerules and all, but at a moment's notice we can drop all the seriousness of playing by the rules and have a little fun. We just have to make that happen.
Mit, you're doing a great job and thanks for reading.
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morbydvisns
- Posts: 1889
- Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2005 12:51 am
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ultramarine
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:56 pm
there have been a number of us that have been working out the infrastructure problems on aramathea, i think we are there, and i know that aramathea is a lot more playable then when i arrived, thanks for your efforts team.
i have some finding of my own.
my motivation for building fort valor was as a sort of preparation grounds for more co-dependent worlds and buy some really lucky chance i managed across the perfect subject.
robin a brand new player right out of intro world who accidentally crashed into xebec and thus his journey begins, and my experiment starts.
when robin joined we chatted and i sold him a house with some food but i had to go before i could really give him the run down and he didn't know how to gain access to his house so when he logged off he died and the house was lost.
another day i see robin again and i am not happy about the house and the food, but when he explained that he didn't know how to gain access to the house i felt bad that i didn't have the time to correctly teach him how to play. worst i still didn't have the time as i had to get ready for work, but i did have time to be dissatisfied with his skill choice (the unfinished fort valor needed industry) so i asked him to re start and take a new skill and to play some more with out any guidance with only the promise that he's probably going die a lot and that i would be able to play more full time when i was off from work.
i did not up the town to produce scientific glass...
a few days later to my surprise robin returns and tells me of his trials on xebec, and then i finally have the time to really teach him about the game, about buildings and investment and hunger and thirst and a lot of the other details as they come up as i helped him integrate his business into the town.
this training would be invaluable on aramathea, as robin was prepared for the more demanding environment and with in two weeks he's a staple member of the community on aramathea, xebec, zion and zoric.
i have some finding of my own.
my motivation for building fort valor was as a sort of preparation grounds for more co-dependent worlds and buy some really lucky chance i managed across the perfect subject.
robin a brand new player right out of intro world who accidentally crashed into xebec and thus his journey begins, and my experiment starts.
when robin joined we chatted and i sold him a house with some food but i had to go before i could really give him the run down and he didn't know how to gain access to his house so when he logged off he died and the house was lost.
another day i see robin again and i am not happy about the house and the food, but when he explained that he didn't know how to gain access to the house i felt bad that i didn't have the time to correctly teach him how to play. worst i still didn't have the time as i had to get ready for work, but i did have time to be dissatisfied with his skill choice (the unfinished fort valor needed industry) so i asked him to re start and take a new skill and to play some more with out any guidance with only the promise that he's probably going die a lot and that i would be able to play more full time when i was off from work.
i did not up the town to produce scientific glass...
a few days later to my surprise robin returns and tells me of his trials on xebec, and then i finally have the time to really teach him about the game, about buildings and investment and hunger and thirst and a lot of the other details as they come up as i helped him integrate his business into the town.
this training would be invaluable on aramathea, as robin was prepared for the more demanding environment and with in two weeks he's a staple member of the community on aramathea, xebec, zion and zoric.
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ultramarine
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:56 pm
i think one of the points in there.... is that as experienced players we tend to take it for granted that players know certain things, and it's hard to experience the game through new eyes again and to see what pointers need to be given
if you take a stroll through ambar then a stroll through fort valor the difference is night an day and i'm not talking aesthetics, things work in fort valor, buildings have buy and sell prices, and investment. this isn't the case in ambar it sort of changed after the fact of fort valor, however more people dropped off, few buildings remain around the world.
i set out to build a city as an example to other players a working model so they could model from it and use it to assist them, not to discourage them and to have them quit playing. i don't want to destroy my town because i see value in it and what it stands for to enable others to get what they need to progress or to be as self sufficient as they can.
if you take a stroll through ambar then a stroll through fort valor the difference is night an day and i'm not talking aesthetics, things work in fort valor, buildings have buy and sell prices, and investment. this isn't the case in ambar it sort of changed after the fact of fort valor, however more people dropped off, few buildings remain around the world.
i set out to build a city as an example to other players a working model so they could model from it and use it to assist them, not to discourage them and to have them quit playing. i don't want to destroy my town because i see value in it and what it stands for to enable others to get what they need to progress or to be as self sufficient as they can.
When I was playing through the intro world I did think it was a little.. drab. In hindsight, it was actually pretty cool. the idea was that you're stuck on a deserted island, and it really does feel deserted.
It was a very immersive experience, and I really like how things in TU are gravitating towards that aspect of the game. You really did feel like you were escaping this lone, solitude world and you feel like the universe is your oyster. And the silence is an amazing part of it all.
In my opinion, if there were any changes made to it, it would be best to change the Intro world's name from Introduction to something a little more creative.. And the space tutorial would probably be a little better if it helped you navigate the trade menu by selling something left in your ship's cargo bay and earning your original 10 credits that way.
But these are really minor things. I'm just happy things are running again!
It was a very immersive experience, and I really like how things in TU are gravitating towards that aspect of the game. You really did feel like you were escaping this lone, solitude world and you feel like the universe is your oyster. And the silence is an amazing part of it all.
In my opinion, if there were any changes made to it, it would be best to change the Intro world's name from Introduction to something a little more creative.. And the space tutorial would probably be a little better if it helped you navigate the trade menu by selling something left in your ship's cargo bay and earning your original 10 credits that way.
But these are really minor things. I'm just happy things are running again!
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flametard
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ive been mining alot recently, trying to level up. so I guess you have to mine water AND uridium together, like to get at the uridum you have to go thru the water. but it kinda doesnt make sense to have to jettison the water.. losing those crates. each time. but thats not really my concern. i mined 20.. intermittely and didntl level up. the game crashed a few times due to sticky keys. my machine cant go into small and back without crashing the game. i managed to figure it out and mine 20 in a row... one time freaking cause my uritium was full and was like why is it 'skipping' the uridum and only filling water? was frusterating. so i get 20 in a row and still didnt level up. i clicked on the rank thingy and it said 'downloading' idk. ill try again.