42 replies to this topic

[duktayp]

[DoctorT]

I don't see how naming a character first off or later or will make a whole lot of difference, TBH.  Maybe I'm missing something here, but naming my character when I start a new game is an extremely important step to me.  What gets me started on a game and keeps me going, however, is how the game is introduced, how the devs of said game have set things up to teach me how to play it.  And I try a lot of new games all the time.  No, I'm not looking to replace FS, I don't think there is a game out there that ever could.... but I do play many games.  And I do prefer to be able to personalize my character first off when  I start a new game.  It helps me to feel that I am part of things, and that I will fit in.  I think that feeling is an important one for any newcomer.  Maybe I'm wrong, IDK, just saying.....

BadPenny, this is actually a really good observation, and I think it holds true for a lot of online gamers.

 

personally I don't see why delaying the naming of your character is going to make a difference, if you still have to submit an email in the registration process, typing out your most likely already unique gammer tag that you probably already use for all the games you play is not that big, or time consuming for that matter, of an extra task. expecially considering the sign up process for FS is already extremely short. if anything its adding another step to the process and making it more difficult for new commers. but that being said is just my opinion.

 

i suppose if this is what HCS wants to implement into the game then it's just going to happen and theres not much to be done about it. BUT with that being said you gotta be able to make it possible for other players to to be able to lend a helping hand with their expendable resources. be it gold, buffs, equipment, or potions. Because i know without having that extra helping hand when i first started i would have been completely lost, even after completion of the tutorial.

[DoctorT]

this made my night, literally have been laughing for 10 minutes now

[yghorbeviahn]

What drives me crazy when trying new games is to choose genre, race, class, sub-class, visuals, work, favorite color, distribute points and everything else before I even saw the game...But FS really have nothing of that, you just need to put a name and email...So, for me, there is no problem...and as we can see on this post, that's bringing more problems than solutions.

[cyrus7]

update just attempted to send 100,000k to guest player "Guest#556372", in my log it showed up as

  19:02 13/Jan/2015 You sent guest 100,000 gold.

thought i would confirm that the problem still persists. and i was right, its still doing it.

And if you click the quickbuff box on the profile page of one of those new guys, you'll see it even shows that "guest" user in the top part where it shows the target player, instead of "Guest#whatever".

 

 

This happens since the URL sees the # symbol and everything after it as basically another parameter, one that isn't used in this, so it just takes "guest" as the username and disregards the rest. Buffs and 'send items to' use player name as the target identifier, while player profile page uses the player ID number for the URL.

 

Meanwhile... "guest" is getting rich.

[Hoofmaster]

That should be the profile page links fixed for the send gold and quick buff etc.

[cyrus7]

That should be the profile page links fixed for the send gold and quick buff etc.

Ah good, changed name to id I see.   And so now we see the correct target.

 

 

Thanks for the fix, Late Night Lurking Hoof. 

[Morgwyn]

I really wonder why this update was made? Picking a character name never stopped me from playing a game. As Badpenny pointed out for most players out there it is an important step, adding to the fun.

 

I have done many recruiting sessions, and finding freshly joined players never was much of a problem. So don't look for problems there, your real problem/challenge is to make them keep them playing.

 

Focus there!

[bloody18]

After years of failed log in attempts and  forgotten passwords YOU CAN,

 

Edited by bloody18, 14 January 2015 - 10:16.

[vastilos]

Not to be rude or negative but what was the point of this update? Delaying someone on choosing their name while they decide if they want to stay or not? The only reason why new players don't stay in the game is because there is no fasable way to make fsp to upgrade your character (unless you buy fsp) and that is the real problem. Who is going to spend money on a game they just started knowing that they might not stick around? Plus as I have pointed out in many other threads (which admins refuse to even look at or acknowledge) the "bang of your buck" on this game isn't worth it anymore. All other MMO's allow you to buy game currency for a cheap price, here it's roughly 10-20x more expensive for game currency than any other MMO, which is why I personally only donate once every few years. The other MMO's I play for $60 ($75 after I have to convert my Canadian currency to what ever it's converted to) I can get 100,000x the rewards and more items/stuff/gear/upgrades and most importantly, game currency. Heck in every other MMO I've played you get rewards just for logging in. Here you get nothing.

If you're aiming to keep players, change what you give to players who donate. Heck, even make it easier for the newer players to get fsp so they stick around. It's not that hard and you won't lose anything. Infact, you might actually KEEP new players.

Also remember, when running a business (I don't know if a single person at HCS is educated in business or anything business related) you have to spend money to make money.

Add more fsp rewards (and I'm not talking about those garbage shard offers). Make in game activities that give fsp rewards, or upgrade rewards (allowing someone to upgrade max stamina 5 or 6 times, giving someone 3-4 bp slots) and that type of enticement might actually KEEP players from leaving, and might actually entice players to spend some money on you guys.

The way to do things is pretty easy, but you admins make it seem so impossible and I fail to understand why (and I know a LOT of other players who don't understand why either).

Edited by vastilos, 14 January 2015 - 18:43.

[WWWolf]

I think most of us have been in a similar situation...

 

Having the Guest account names does help to let the player later choose a name if they are even going to stick around at all.  It also helps to minimize the number of "good" names being used up by players who get on, play for 10 minutes and leave, never to return.

 

Personally, I would love to see a purge of accounts that are lower than level 20 where the player has not logged on for more than a year, effectively freeing up a bunch of wasted usernames...

[yghorbeviahn]

Not to be rude or negative but what was the point of this update? Delaying someone on choosing their name while they decide if they want to stay or not? The only reason why new players don't stay in the game is because there is no fasable way to make fsp to upgrade your character (unless you buy fsp) and that is the real problem. Who is going to spend money on a game they just started knowing that they might not stick around? Plus as I have pointed out in many other threads (which admins refuse to even look at or acknowledge) the "bang of your buck" on this game isn't worth it anymore. All other MMO's allow you to buy game currency for a cheap price, here it's roughly 10-20x more expensive for game currency than any other MMO, which is why I personally only donate once every few years. The other MMO's I play for $60 ($75 after I have to convert my Canadian currency to what ever it's converted to) I can get 100,000x the rewards and more items/stuff/gear/upgrades and most importantly, game currency. Heck in every other MMO I've played you get rewards just for logging in. Here you get nothing.

If you're aiming to keep players, change what you give to players who donate. Heck, even make it easier for the newer players to get fsp so they stick around. It's not that hard and you won't lose anything. Infact, you might actually KEEP new players.

Also remember, when running a business (I don't know if a single person at HCS is educated in business or anything business related) you have to spend money to make money.

Add more fsp rewards (and I'm not talking about those garbage shard offers). Make in game activities that give fsp rewards, or upgrade rewards (allowing someone to upgrade max stamina 5 or 6 times, giving someone 3-4 bp slots) and that type of enticement might actually KEEP players from leaving, and might actually entice players to spend some money on you guys.

The way to do things is pretty easy, but you admins make it seem so impossible and I fail to understand why (and I know a LOT of other players who don't understand why either).

Agreed vast, couldn't say it better.

The only reason I see to be against it it's because some old players who spent a lot of money will fell hurted about it, and HCS don't want to deal with this problem...don't know.

I would love to see a Global Event which gives a Container with 5 Stashs:
1 - +1000 Max Stamina.
2 - +8 Stamina Gain UPGRADES (not going further than 25 upgrades, as now).
3 - +13 BP Space.
4 - +10 AH Slots
5 - +14 XP Gain UPGRADES.

Of course, not more than 2 containers for Ruby Tier, maybe even just one and one more for Top 100, but that will give so much tools for players to work with. 

Or maybe just find a way to create a 200 Phantom FSPs as reward, that'll need to be spend on Upgrades once you got then.

[Pardoux]

I would love to see a Global Event which gives a Container with 5 Stashs:
1 - +1000 Max Stamina.
2 - +8 Stamina Gain UPGRADES (not going further than 25 upgrades, as now).
3 - +13 BP Space.
4 - +10 AH Slots
5 - +14 XP Gain UPGRADES.

Of course, not more than 2 containers for Ruby Tier, maybe even just one and one more for Top 100, but that will give so much tools for players to work with. 

Or maybe just find a way to create a 200 Phantom FSPs as reward, that'll need to be spend on Upgrades once you got then.

 

Hahaha...

 

You don't want much, do you .... 2 (3 for top 100) containers (for Ruby) both giving approx 1000 fsp worth of upgrades ???

+1K Max Stamina = 200 fsp
+13 Bp Slots = 195 fsp

+10 AH Slots = 200 fsp

+8 Stamina Upgrades = 200 fsp

+14 XP Gain Upgrades = 210 fsp

 

If you want that amount of upgrades, PAY for 'em ...

Why on earth would the cows give away that amount of lost revenue ? - they're a business ffs, without income, they cease to exist..

[yghorbeviahn]

Hahaha...

 

You don't want much, do you .... 2 (3 for top 100) containers (for Ruby) both giving approx 1000 fsp worth of upgrades ???

+1K Max Stamina = 200 fsp
+13 Bp Slots = 195 fsp

+10 AH Slots = 200 fsp

+8 Stamina Upgrades = 200 fsp

+14 XP Gain Upgrades = 210 fsp

 

If you want that amount of upgrades, PAY for 'em ...

Why on earth would the cows give away that amount of lost revenue ? - they're a business ffs, without income, they cease to exist..

Sorry if my low english skills confused you, but I mean 1 Container for Ruby and 1 more for Top 100, and for lower tiers, less upgrades.

And I've separeted the Container in stashs because you should be able to CHOOSE JUST ONE of the upgrades, OR give 200 FSPs of Upgrades that should be spend right away, the "Phantom FSP" I said, players will be able to buy 200FSPs worth of upgrades, but without the real FSP on hand, just it...

Or the Container which you choose ONE of the upgrades, or the 200 Phantom FSPs that allow you to upgrade as you will...That is NOT game breaking at all.

[Pardoux]

Sorry if my low english skills confused you, but I mean 1 Container for Ruby and 1 more for Top 100, and for lower tiers, less upgrades.

And I've separeted the Container in stashs because you should be able to CHOOSE JUST ONE of the upgrades, OR give 200 FSPs of Upgrades that should be spend right away, the "Phantom FSP" I said, players will be able to buy 200FSPs worth of upgrades, but without the real FSP on hand, just it...

Or the Container which you choose ONE of the upgrades, or the 200 Phantom FSPs that allow you to upgrade as you will...That is NOT game breaking at all.

 

Chosing one from the list is better, but I still think it's a lot - but, that's not for me to decide, it's for the cows. I VERY much doubt they'll just give players 200 / 400 fsp as a reward - and, personally, I doubt they'll offer this extent of upgrades (because players, being players, will want more next time and more the time after that).

 

I think that the "free upgrades" from global events is a can of worms best left unopened - lest it spiral out of control rapidly

[yghorbeviahn]

Chosing one from the list is better, but I still think it's a lot - but, that's not for me to decide, it's for the cows. I VERY much doubt they'll just give players 200 / 400 fsp as a reward - and, personally, I doubt they'll offer this extent of upgrades (because players, being players, will want more next time and more the time after that).

 

I think that the "free upgrades" from global events is a can of worms best left unopened - lest it spiral out of control rapidly

Yeah, but I believe something needs to be done to help the ones who are not very experienced on the game, I know a LOT of people who just pop in like 1-2 times a week to do a quick hunt, don't know arena, titans, pvp, BB, Composing or anything else where they can make some ingame currency, and that's the marjority of players, really...we need to keep those players on the game, people like me, you and most of the forum already know the game and like it (not much the bugs/problems/etc lol), and we will stay on the game for a good time, and I really don't care about paying 200FSPs for 1K stamina, but those people who only do ocasional hunts will appreciate it a lot.

The game is very expensive to play, that we need to agree other games have a lot less investment to become a high tier player (on any aspect tho).

Edited by yghorbeviahn, 14 January 2015 - 21:02.

[Pardoux]

The game is expensive IF you want to continually upgrade your character and advance rapidly (and, even then, this isn't always the case - there are examples of players at EOC who are proud of never having donated once).

 

There are ways to earn in-game currency in-game - donating is just one of them. Farming, Inventing, Titan Hunting, Potion Making to name but a few. OK, these are, for the most part, less lucrative than they used to be, but obviously they are still viable, or people wouldn't do those activities.

 

I'm 100% behind trying to figure out how to increase player retention - I just don't think that giving them stuff on a plate is the way to do it. From my perspective, I'd like to see the game get HARDER again - when I first started playing, you had to work out what gear to wear for EACH LEVEL - now, you can wear gear for hundreds of levels without a 2nd thought.

 

The quests now are exceedingly boring rinse/repeat variety (I accept that's partially down to the increased demands for content ..) - there need to be more quest arcs and (yes, I've said this many times before) quests with consequences where you have to chose "path A" or "path B" and that affects the reward given (at the simplest level) up to future quest arcs (at the most complicated)

 

Clean up the game, remove scripting, sort out the lag once and for all, fix PvP / Ladder ... yada yada yada

 

All of these things will have, IMO, more chance of player retention than simply the cows giving more and more away and thus earning less and less ...

Edited by Pardoux, 14 January 2015 - 21:12.

[Hoofmaster]

Just fixing the issues with the other 'Guest' links identified today and also the FS Guide.

 

BTW. We are going to look at different rewards for global events (and other mini events), but not giving any details out just yet

 

As for why shifting the character name was important, I feel it was a hurdle to joining the game. I know myself if I play an web / mobile game and if the first thing it asks me to do is name a character that I have no affinity with it can make me just not bother. Also I might like to try the game before deciding what to call my character. We'll know by looking at the stats in around a week as we track how many players complete the tutorial each day etc and I'll be happy to share if it's had an improvement or not with you

[yotwehc]

My experience as a new player that almost caused me to quit wasn't because of eoc player levels or the ROI on donations. It's because of how I had no clue what to do and where to go. The tutorial helps to figure out how to do the very basics but that part was easy to learn. Where to go next? Auction house? Buffs? Guild? Pvp? Stats? Etc. speaking to legitimate new players in global chat or guild, they seem to have the same issue. Once they start to "get" the game and like it is when they want the upgrades. Changing the prizes for GE top 100 does absolutely nothing for new players and just makes huge stam bank players richer. My humble opinion

[Hoofmaster]

That's the guide back online and the links that we're broken due to the # symbol being in the Guest name's should be fixed now (if you spot any more that aren't working please let me know )