What Can Be Done to Recruit Players?

[BurtHutt]

On 5/3/2022 at 4:41 PM, Snarky said:

I seriously hate to interrupt the crap slinging monkey fight over....what the heck are you people slinging feces about again?  Oh nevermind.

 

LOOK It's an idea to recruit players!   So....today I happened to be at Dark Horse Comics warehouse.  I mentioned to a young woman there that there was a super hero game that you could create almost any super in....  She was interested.  I told her about CoH Homecoming.

 

Go forth and educate the geeks!   

 

And, um, if you are not going to stop throwing fecal matter at one another at least start a thread dedicated to ...whatever you are arguing about.  This topic is important, and that ain't helping.

There are a couple of good points amongst your...crap...here. I have also talked to friends about the game. They didn't seem to love it after a few tries. One mentioned there is no 'loot'.

 

I get that but I tried to explain IO drops etc. I get what he means though and I did once suggest additional drop types and customization ideas that would be simple adds. For example: add a few costume pieces as drops? 

 

Another system I suggested was a an arms dealer. Here a player could buy additional items for their toon that are not much more than cosmetic. So, you can pick up a sword, gun, shield, machine gun, bat etc that is not much more than a temp power but just permanent unless removed (and the weapon could be customizable). It wouldn't be huge damage but would be a fun look and maybe an extra little attack at lower levels.

 

I am not sure if this will help too much with new players but it is a new system that ALL players may enjoy.

 

I also feel the Devs need to look at what is popular right now and maybe work off that. The DFB style mission is fun and repeatable. Adding a bunch of those might be a good idea (at varying levels). It's quick, a bit different and repeatable. 

 

I really hope the Devs start to think outside the box. As I write this, the game has less than 1 000 total people playing right now. Le sigh.

 

Others have complained about graphics and dated look etc. I think people will play if the game is fun. There are a few games out there that have meh graphics but are quite popular.  

 

It is tough to get the word out about this game when it's a rogue server and all. Putting it on Steam would be an interesting experiment but I don't think that's a viable option right now. Maybe having Devs do some interviews on popular gaming sites etc may help. I don't think there is one idea that will cure all. It will be a variety of efforts that win the day.

[Without_Pause]

2 hours ago, BurtHutt said:

As I write this, the game has less than 1 000 total people playing right now. Le sigh.

You wrote this around noon Eastern time on a Friday. Considering how much of traffic for this game is driven by the US, I can't imagine numbers being all that high during that time period.

[Ironblade]

6 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

If people that play 50's want to support the game, they need to take some time each week to play with players that play lower level content instead of trying to rush new players into the the end-game.

Half BS, half accurate.

 

"they need to take some time each week to play with players that play lower level content"

That's the BS part.  This isn't a job.  They can play however they damn well please, at whatever level they prefer.

 

"instead of trying to rush new players into the the end-game."

And that's entirely accurate.  No one should be pushing new players to play in ANY particular way.  Let them figure out for themselves what they want to do.

[PeregrineFalcon]

13 hours ago, Bill Z Bubba said:

I'm not saying I disagree. I've been asking for the same thing for ages but I rather doubt the work involved will be anywhere near "trivial."

Yeah. I think that balancing the power sets is a lot more complicated that simply adjusting all outgoing damage to match animation time.

 

What about those sets that have more AoEs? If damage for all powers just flat matches animation time then sets with more AoE attacks are going to be far above other sets.

 

What about something like Energy Melee, where most of the attacks suck except for Total Focus and Energy Transfer? Those two attacks make the set worth taking. If you normalize their damage to match their animation time you basically ruin that entire power set.

 

Balance also has to take secondary effects into account. If Cold Blast or Energy Blast does the same damage as Fire Blast then those two sets will be objectively better because they offer some measure of safety in addition to damage.

 

TL;DR: I agree. Properly balancing power sets would be a lot of things, but 'trivial' is not one of them.

[Player2]

This game needs strip clubs and streetwalkers.  Sex sells.

 

But... family friendly environment, so you've just got to find something else to appeal to the masses with.

[PeregrineFalcon]

2 minutes ago, Krimson said:

Realistic expectations is not negativity.

I agree. And frankly this is something that I try to explain to people all of the time.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Krimson said:

But out of curiosity, what do you think will happen with this thread aside eventually being buried and forgotten?

If my experience is any indicator it will either 1) erupt into a flame war and get locked, or 2) people will lose interest, stop posting in the thread and it'll drop into the pit and be forgotten.

 

And no. I do not believe for a moment that a single person who reads this thread is going to be motivated to "get the word out" about Homecoming.

[arcane]

42 minutes ago, Player2 said:

This game needs strip clubs and streetwalkers.  Sex sells.
 

My understanding is that whether you want to twerk, strip, or identify as a furry, Everlasting has it all.

Edited May 13, 2022 by arcane

[Saikochoro]

5 hours ago, UltraAlt said:

The game is the first 50 levels.

Other contents are add-ons to that and end-game content.

 

I won't argue with the power-leveling part. I made that quite clear in what  you quoted me post.

 

"Most F2P gamers are in for an insta-fix.

That is why they can't take the time to play the actual game and want to be PL'd/Farmed/Door-sat to level 50."

 

That, however, isn't part of the game. It's a method of bypassing the game to get to the end-game as I stated.

 

It is fine that we disagree on that point.

 

 

But there are ways to play the game that keep players more engaged than others.

Part of that is teaming because teaming and being part of a community fosters deeper connection to the game.

 

 

In fact, that is the core game.

There are other things you can do to keep you busy, but the core of the game is running missions and task forces.

 

AE was not designed as a power leveling tool.

Homecoming has taken steps to decrease the extent that power-leveling can be done in the game.

 

When you have to struggle to overcome something, the reward means that much more when you achieve victory

If you play your way to 50, you get that ding spread out.  You worked for each ding. You feel triumphant with each ding. With each ding, you link deeper to your character and to the game.

If you door sit, ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding means nothing. No effort. No emotional reward for the ding.

No "The Tsoo have to be avoided or tricked because those sorcerers are out of hand" becoming 5-6 levels later "We sure showed the Tsoo!"

Lost. Entirely lost by door sitting 50.

 

I understand what being L337 is about.

I don't think someone that power-levels to 50 is very L337. It takes no skill to be power-leveled to 50.

In fact, to me, power-leveling means anyone can be a 50 so being 50 is no big deal.

But still, many will assume that they are better than other players that play lower level content ... like new players that are trying to learn how to play the game by playing it.

 

When level 50's power level players that are new, they rob the experience of the game from those players.

If people that play 50's want to support the game, they need to take some time each week to play with players that play lower level content instead of trying to rush new players into the the end-game.

 

You don't have to agree with me. That's where I'm coming from on this.

Nope. Pretty much all of that is just wrong. It is the same basic rhetoric spewed by players that think there is only one correct way of playing the game. That notion is unequivocally false and toxic and is a disservice to the community. 
 

Saying that it is the correct way of playing for you is 100% fine. I have zero issue with that. Saying that your one narrow view of playing the game is the only correct way of playing for everyone is just plain wrong. 
 

If someone has logged into the game and are spending time in the game, then they are playing the game. If someone sits in one spot and just plays the auction house whenever they are online, then they are playing the game. If someone explores the character creator for hours and only logs in briefly to see the end product before going back to the character creator, then they are playing the game. If someone doesn’t nothing but power level, then they are playing the game. If someone just plays their one brute farmer in fire farms, then they are playing the game. If someone just street sweeps, they are playing the game. If someone only teams, they are playing the game. If someone only RPs, then they are playing the game.  It doesn’t matter. It’s all playing the game. 

 

Playing the game is playing is playing the game. There is no one right playing. There is no “this is the game” and everything else is “add on”. It is all the game.  It is all playing the game. 
 

You end by saying “you don’t have to agree with me”, but in reality your opinion and how you present it is that players have to agree with you because only your way of playing is correct. 

[Ghost]

37 minutes ago, Krimson said:

Realistic expectations is not negativity. But out of curiosity, what do you think will happen with this thread aside eventually being buried and forgotten? Check the dead threads in the suggestion forum for clues. 

Nothing will happen with this thread, everyone knows that.
 

 

Now for you - are you married?  Have kids?  Have a job? Have possessions?

Why?  You’re going to die anyways.

 

Pointing out the obvious in take away the joy others get in something trivial, is negativity.  Sorry.

 

For the record, I wasn’t and am not telling you how you should be.  If you look up to perefrinefalcon, and want to be him when you grow up - that’s your choice.  I was simply making an observation.

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Ghost

[Bill Z Bubba]

21 minutes ago, Ghost said:

Why?  You’re going to die anyways.

 

You just answered the question. Kids are born so that they can deal with all the unnecessary crap we accumulated in life! Maybe make a couple bucks for their never retirement.

[ShardWarrior]

49 minutes ago, PeregrineFalcon said:

And no. I do not believe for a moment that a single person who reads this thread is going to be motivated to "get the word out" about Homecoming.

 

I have been telling a few people about it.  The kids have told their friends about it and they are checking it out.  In my experience, getting people to try it is the easy part.  Those same people finding something in an 18 year old game that holds their interest is another. 

[Bleuception]

On 5/2/2022 at 11:16 AM, Bleuception said:

Here are some novel concepts, since apparently certain individuals cannot help throwing blame on certain game play styles because they personally dislike/hate that style of gaming.

• Nobody is obligated to play the way you do. Their fun is not wrong.
• This is an MMO.  This means there are a variety of activities to partake in. PvE, PvP, Crafting, Storylines, Solo, Group Content, Farming for Inf/Merits/XP/Salvage/Recipes/Etc., Contests, Socializing, Role Playing, Badge Hunting, Temp. Power Hunting, Seasonal Events, and so on so forth.
• Focus on YOUR own game experience. This is a game. The way people play the game can only annoy/harm you if you get involved with these people in groups or go out of your way to police how others play. You can play with people who share similar likes/dislikes without raining on somebody else's parade.
• If a certain piece of content were to be deemed harmful for whatever reasons, it would be removed by the ones in charge of the game. The ones who actually have access to data pertaining to the servers/shards/player population. So, is it in the game? Has it been there for a long time? Have the devs labelled it as an abuse or exploitation of heck or whatever? No? Then it's fine. Just let it go.

 

 

I am sick and tired of every other thread devolving into a whole mess of "You're playing the game wrong".

Stop it.

 

You can dislike something without badgering strangers on the internet about it.

 

 

 

 

I am very tempted to keep a copy of this post, because this particular "discussion" is sure to come up again and again. I hate PvP, yet you don't see me claim it's evil or something. I don't engage in PvP. End of the story. All is good in the world.

 

Now how about them ideas for recruiting players?

 

 

 

Oh, look!

 

My prediction was correct, so here's me quoting myself, and in doing so, literally every other player who has also voice this very same concept. That concept being:

 

Bruh.

How 'bout you let others enjoy the game how they want?

 

 

Turns out that players policing how others should play the game will never help with player retention/recruit.

Now how about ideas for recruitment?

[macskull]

17 hours ago, DarknessEternal said:

Nonsense.  We know how power data is stored.  It would be trivial to update them all according to one formula.

You'll notice I did not say changing the damage formula would be difficult. That part isn't hard at all and it's been done before (for PvP, and look how that one turned out). The nightmare is the follow-on rebalancing of every powerset and enemy group that would be required after such a sweeping change.

[ZeeHero]

On 5/12/2022 at 2:08 PM, ShardWarrior said:

Star Trek Online is currently running their Delta Recruitment Event, which got me to thinking - why not hold a recruitment event here to generate some interest?  Come up with some fun activities for new players to experience while diving into the game.

 

Might be fun to hold a mass Giant Monster event where there are dozens of Kronos Titans and Babbages invading Atlas Park or Mercy Island.  The story can be that the villains are banding together into a new Axis of Evil Doers and the current heroes are not enough to fight them.  Some kind of event that can be advertised on social media and MMORPG sites to entice some new players.

 

This can be combined with player run events.  We used to hold regular Supergroup Faires on Triumph back in the day.  SGs would run costume contests, sewer runs, badge tours etc. 

This would work if it had a way of tracking special rewards for completing objectives like in STO. for instance "Level a Defender, Corruptor, or Tanker to 50" or "Defeat 100 Malta" you'd need to know what STO's recruitment events are like to understand.

[ShardWarrior]

1 hour ago, ZeeHero said:

This would work if it had a way of tracking special rewards for completing objectives like in STO. for instance "Level a Defender, Corruptor, or Tanker to 50" or "Defeat 100 Malta" you'd need to know what STO's recruitment events are like to understand.

 

I am very familiar with how the Recruitment Events work in STO having played the game since BETA and participated in every recruitment event they have run over the years.  I was not suggesting coding a whole slew of new rewards to be unlocked by various activities, rather just some kind of fun events that can be run as a way to attract new players.  Rewards/perks like STO have in their recruitment events would be nice to haves, not requirements.

[ZeeHero]

Well if it would be too hard to do yeah you gotta find something else. but rather than just big zone events maybe something that spices up the leveling and solo experience for everyone somehow while making it optionally easier (or harder) for those who choose it?

 

For many, leveling up is a painful chore. for others, they love pain so they want it to be harder. why not let both have what they want?

[ShardWarrior]

1 hour ago, ZeeHero said:

Well if it would be too hard to do yeah you gotta find something else. but rather than just big zone events maybe something that spices up the leveling and solo experience for everyone somehow while making it optionally easier (or harder) for those who choose it?

 

For many, leveling up is a painful chore. for others, they love pain so they want it to be harder. why not let both have what they want?

 

This is what the double XP boosters and other P2W perks are for. 

[ZeeHero]

Weren't you suggesting just a minute ago to have something else too?

[ShardWarrior]

19 minutes ago, ZeeHero said:

Weren't you suggesting just a minute ago to have something else too?

 

Yes, I was suggesting some sort of in game zone events coupled with player run events that can be advertised as a recruitment event to help attract new players to come and check out the game.  I was not suggesting any complex programming for unique sets of rewards and/or various account wide unlocks such as what Star Trek Online offers in their recruitment events.  I said that the latest recruitment event in STO got me to thinking about a recruitment event here.

 

As to your earlier reply, players already will have options to allow them to play as they like.  They can slow level and run all the story content or they can purchase double XP boosters and speed through whatever they like.  There is no need for programming anything new.  This game already has quite a lot to offer and as many have said here, all the content is going to be new to a brand new player.

[UltraAlt]

17 hours ago, Ironblade said:

"they need to take some time each week to play with players that play lower level content"

That's the BS part.  This isn't a job.  They can play however they damn well please, at whatever level they prefer.

 

You are correct that it isn't a job.

But, if the player base wants to attract and retain players, it is on them to spend some time doing it.

 

Yes. Players can do whatever they want, but that apparently isn't attracting or retaining other players.

 

what is this thread about again?

 

17 hours ago, Ironblade said:

No one should be pushing new players to play in ANY particular way.

 

What do you think no stop recruiting for farms does?

Players are pretty much always telling other players how to play.

 

I've been playing since a week before Episode Two and players are still trying to tell me how to play. (most of it is from level 50's dying in lower level content that I'm able to survive). So don't even act like that isn't constantly going on in-game.

 

And I will admit it. If a team is dying all the time because they keep rushing in, I will yell out "more pulling, less rushing in!" (and, amazingly, if they listen, the team stops dying as much ... because some players are going to run in and die regardless  ... in my experience, most of those being level 50's running content at lower levels).

 

[I'm not saying that all level 50s are jerks when they run lower level content, but, wow, it really stands out when they do it.]

 

17 hours ago, Ironblade said:

Let them figure out for themselves what they want to do.

 

I agree.

Let new players yell out for farms if they want.

They will probably end up being flash-in-the-pan players, but I guess we aren't trying to retain players... oh wait....

 

Your posts has nothing to do with this thread other than to attack my views.

It expresses no views on how to "recruit players".

[UltraAlt]

15 hours ago, Saikochoro said:

Nope. Pretty much all of that is just wrong.

 

It's pretty much all correct from where I stand.

 

It's called the "end-game" for a reason.

The Market, Areana, base building, and AE were all added as "time eaters" to give players something to do if they didn't want to play the game. Sorry, but that is a tried and true subscriber-keeping tactic in game design. Just because you don't understand it, that doesn't mean that it isn't a fact. All of those were added when the game still subscriber based. It didn't go F2P (City of Heroes :: Freedom) until after all of that was going on.

The Incarnate System (end-game content) was already released before City of Heroes went F2P ... which was release after the Market, Areana, base building, and AE were all added.

 

The game IS the first 50 levels. Everything else is add-on.

There weren't even 50 levels when the game was first released.

 

I'm not saying that I don't market (... don't look at me, over there... look! ... something shiny! for 80 mil! ca-ching! Thanks!), base build (I only have like 8 of them at this point), write AE stories (yeah, actual stories instead of farming content - I haven't asked for more than 3 slots, but I hear you can support ticket for more if they aren't for Farms), go into pvp zones or battle in the arena from time to time (even though the PVP zones are pretty much empty when I'm here and I only play in the arena is someone else actively wanting to do that,

 

The progression post-level 50 is vainglorious. "Look at me! I'm a godling!"

[The Incarnate System was built to gain additional revenue from the player-base as much as it was to give end-gamers and L337 players something to grind.]

 

The first 50 levels are about becoming a hero (or villain, or confused citizen in a dystopia), exploring the city, ,fighting to stop crime (or commit it, or struggle to survive in dystopia), and rising to overcome obstacles that were seemingly impossible only levels before. The path funneled from distinct starting points for each origin into being more unified game play as you approach level 50.

 

I said "It is fine that we disagree on that point."

Apparently, that isn't okay with you that we disagree.

 

I said "You don't have to agree with me. That's where I'm coming from on this."

You don't have to agree with me.

If you want to have a discussion with me, don't start with an attack against me.

 

You could have stated points for why what you believe is real, correct, or whatever, but you felt the need to start with an attack instead.

 

I see where you are coming from. I won't take time to read more than the first sentence.

From my point of view, your attitude is not a place that will recruit new players nor retain them.

And that is what this thread is about.

[Neiska]

8 minutes ago, UltraAlt said:

The game IS the first 50 levels. Everything else is add-on.

There weren't even 50 levels when the game was first released.

 

Respectfully but strongly disagree, which might be the crux of the argument. For many of us, the game "starts" at 50, and everything leading up to that is more or less a long, clunky, unnecessarily grindy prelude to where the real game and fun is. I am not saying you are right or that I am wrong, only that not everyone agrees with "everything after 50 is filler." Maybe its filler to you. It isn't to me.

 

And if we are going by "when the game was first released" argument, then by the same logic anyone who plays added ATs/Powersets/Story Arcs are also "playing the game wrong?" I hasten to add that you didn't precisely say those words, and I am not trying to "put words into your mouth." I only extrapolate for context of your point if it was applied to other things.

 

As far as the topic itself, personally I feel that the troubling number of "you are playing the game wrong" stances might be in fact driving people away, and certainly doesn't "attract" new players.

 

And I still stand by my original point that perhaps the best bang for the buck would be for the HC staff to start a social media account, perhaps even as one of the characters in the game. Like a Ms Liberty or Recluse twitter page, which has possibility to be not only free recruitment but highly amusing as well. I am unsure of the legal grounds of such a thing, but if that is murky then still a plain HC social media might do some well to shine a light on the servers.

[Troo]

ima out of popcorn..

[Troo]

34 minutes ago, Neiska said:

For many of us, the game "starts" at 50, and everything leading up to that is more or less a long, clunky, unnecessarily grindy prelude to where the real game and fun is.

 

please explain the 'real game' that starts at 50, maybe I'm missing something.

[Bleuception]

1 hour ago, Neiska said:

As far as the topic itself, personally I feel that the troubling number of "you are playing the game wrong" stances might be in fact driving people away, and certainly doesn't "attract" new players.

 

 

This. Right there.

That is precisely how I have felt.

 

This is part of the reason why I became disillusioned with the HC community. A community which I have often seen touting how much better they are compared to other CoX servers. Trash talk anybody who felt different for their own reasons. People who have went to great lengths to spread rumors and otherwise act like this is some kind of highschool drama. People who want player retention but then go about wanting to quite literally control how others (as in, people they have no ownership over) play the game, micromanaging them every step of the way, doesn't make this fun. At all.

 

 

Pardon me for being rude and blunt, but holy shit. Those who fall in this category need to wake the hell up. If these are the people who try to represent HC, they're not doing it any service.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Bleuception