Decline in the number of players

[SirMaverick]

- Ba dsd 8v8 ruins everything

Not true. I like such games and play them from time to time.
Since 1st of April I played/spectated about 100 games (at least 3 mods, mostly ZK). Only 3 games were 8v8BADSD.
Licho is announcing ZK games in #main.

What should you do? Do the same: play the games you like and announce them. This way you show new players different games. If you don't it's pretty likely that they just look in battle list and join a BA DSD host because they are popular.

current situation: 4 full 16+ players hosts, 2 (3 some minutes ago) BA DSD autohosts (both full, only one is DSD only); in the last 2 hours 2 games were announced in #main: zk and a a game (ba?) with non-dsd map

[Hobo Joe]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Nothing Spring-related should be promoted until it is stable, playable and all the holes have been ironed out. Otherwise you're wasting effort attracting players that may have stayed around if there wasn't a huge poo sitting right on top of the engine.

People have been saying this for years and at the rate we're going, it will never happen. We can't just wait forever to tell people about Spring.


Only chance is if Mr. Bob and pyra finish their project and behe ties it all together with a lot of new and shiny effects.

[knorke]

Only chance is if Mr. Bob and pyra finish their project and behe ties it all together with a lot of new and shiny effects.

Where do you draw the line?
some time ago it was we need midgame player rejoin and automatic map download and an ip free version of BA and nicer ui. We have all that now.

[smoth]

I used to do that mav but it makes it so that your game is dependant on begging people to play. Not hosting on their own.

also you get the ba crowd who cannot comprehend why they need to download a big assed map or game when ba is 20 megs and why they cannot greenfields/speedmetal/whateverothermapispopularwithkidsthesedays. When they finally get in the match, even if presented with the 2 minute how to play gundam video... it really is 2 minutes. they refuse to watch it and instead spend 30 minutes in game asking how to play.

You can hand hold and beg these guys to play but in the end most of the spring players will reject that which they are unfamiliar with. I find it disturbing that all these people talk about how great ee was and how much it was played. like 90% of the matches had forb, deci, fang, flint and I, some combination if not all. Much of the time that is how it was. You could name the main EE players on 2 hands.

Even gundam which has had people wander in, play it and comment, wow this looks so amazing and so fun... will get frustrated by elements that are contrary to what is essentially ba gameplay. and that is after I get them to finally download the maps and game.

PLAY MY GAME PLAY MY GAME is not a solution as games stop the moment you are not there adverting. I would rather be MAKING new stuff than spending all day begging people to play.

[knorke]

PLAY MY GAME PLAY MY GAME is not a solution as games stop the moment you are not there adverting.

dont stop adverting. works for zk.

[smoth]

And those customized complete game installers, at the moment they cause more trouble then anything. It is always a matter of finding out what the newb has installed ie this thread http://springrts.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=21865

this comment doesn't make sense. that guy couldn't play ba either, it has nothing to do with the installer.

I still don't understand this point knorke?

[Iz3]

Decline in the number of players

These youngsters nowadays... playing Wii Dance and don't give a f* about a 10 years old game, so bad.

[smoth]

Decline in the number of players

These youngsters nowadays... playing Wii Dance and don't give a f* about a 10 years old game, so bad.

TA is >10 years old. Spring engine is only 6.. sup noob 0/10 troll attempt. Would do an image macro but I'll just go back to what I was doing.

[knorke]

this comment doesn't make sense. that guy couldn't play ba either, it has nothing to do with the installer.

does not matter what was the real problem in the end. not many people are familiar with what is included in the installers, with that maps they come, where they put their files (user folder, mixing with other installers?) if they maybe leave out some files like certain lobbies, ais etc.

[smoth]

it does as you are saying that "And those customized complete game installers, at the moment they cause more trouble then anything. " The installer is not responsible for this.

not many people are familiar with what is included in the installers, with that maps they come, where they put their files (user folder, mixing with other installers?)

Does it matter? my installer creates a shortcut.

if they maybe leave out some files like certain lobbies, ais etc.

mine doesn't

I don't understand.

[knorke]

mine doesn't

gundam installer includes all the native AIs?*
imagine newb in lobby asks "how do i play BA vs bot?"
someone answers: "open battle, add RAI"
but newb does not have RAI. (which lobby people do not know)
Now maybe newb should not try to play BA with a gundam install. Thing is, he might try to.

[smoth]

Players make assumption about content.
ba doesn't include all it's shit that it needs
^ how is this my problem?

[TradeMark]

I find it disturbing that all these people talk about how great ee was and how much it was played. like 90% of the matches had forb, deci, fang, flint and I, some combination if not all. Much of the time that is how it was. You could name the main EE players on 2 hands.

hmm? well maybe you should have joined other games too, like mine, i used to play EE all the time, and we had lots of games with various people, it WAS popular back then, multiple games on all the time etc.

i think the problem was that fang wanted to make a game for himself only, he turned it into something not many people liked anymore, and all the units started to look the same and he was thinking too much about realism. it just lost its feeling it had before...

maybe we could make E&E alive again, if someone took the first versions and made some magic to the units (looks kinda crappy these days when i looked again, back then i loved the units :D especially the plasma mechs.)

i think it could be a good mod if it was fixed a bit... someone could revive it. do the same as what was done to AA, let the community tell what should be changed in it, if any changes needed.

main reason i played EE was because it was DIFFERENT but it still was very similar to AA, easy to catch. it just felt fresh, i was bored of AA and wanted some change. nowadays we dont have such options anymore, since theres not as popular & different mods among BA anymore.

[smoth]

The first version... you need to clarify because I was in on the early early alpha when it was just urc and still I was not in on the first version that was played.

[zwzsg]

The version before "epic" range. Before units were tinified. We liked it better.

[knorke]

Players make assumption about content.
ba doesn't include all it's shit that it needs
^ how is this my problem?

players try to help players. neither has any idea of how stuff works so they must make assumptions.
^ is your problem if you just lost a player to that?

[smoth]

I wouldn't. gundam doesn't rely on engine ais. It includes everything the player needs. If they are playing ba instead of gundam they are not playing gundam, not my concern.

[knorke]

other way around: players trying to find the rapid tab in zkl to download gundam. it is hidden.
your concern?

[Hobo Joe]

Only chance is if Mr. Bob and pyra finish their project and behe ties it all together with a lot of new and shiny effects.

Where do you draw the line?
some time ago it was we need midgame player rejoin and automatic map download and an ip free version of BA and nicer ui. We have all that now.

That's my point exactly. I'm saying there's no reason to wait to advertise until we hit some vague 'finished' line. There is no finish line. There's the current state, and whatever we can hope for but certainly not be guaranteed in the future.

Waiting to reach some undefined goal accomplishes nothing.

[zwzsg]

If an installer for a game that isn't *A include RAI (or any AI beside LuaAI, actually), then it's confusing because newbie is tempted to use the AI, not knowing the AI will either crash or do nothing.