Suggestion My Suggestions / Rant

Arkadia is by far my favorite planet for a whole bunch of reasons, from the cool music, amazing scenery, awesome weapons, armour and fantastic creatures.


However I always here from non-Arkadians that they do not want to stay on Arkadia for any long period of time for several reasons:

1. The creatures do not loot enough.
2. They do not get enough or any globals.
3. There are not enough missions or challenges.
4. Most of the creatures are too big for most people.
5. There are just not enough people around so its a bit boring.

Most of the issues I hear about are due to the low population of Arkadia. A low population means low loot and low globals.
Low population also means that there is less money coming into the company and so they are not able to develop things as quickly.

I believe that this can be solved relatively easily.


The biggest thing is to get traffic on Arkadia even if they are not permanent. But high traffic means higher spending, more loot and more globals.

Getting the higher traffic is no easy task but it is achievable none the less.

I have had some thoughts on this aside from what the company has been doing so far.

I joked about Planet Arkadia hiring me as a marketing person in-world to bring people to the planet, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense to pay people in-world to do this.
Give a select few people a range of the best Arkadian armour and weapons that they are able to use and send them off world to recruit. If more people see the cool armour and weapons in action they might be more inclined to come.
Also, why not get some pilots to do free trips from Calypso to Arkadia for a short while. If they are not charged to come here it is even more reason that they should at least come and have a look.

But a big problem is not just getting people here but also enticing them to stay, especially the newbies that arrive on Arkadia.
I have found that Arkadia is a very heavy depositing planet and this is not very newbie friendly. I know that the company has to make some money, but surely there is something more to help the new players get off the ground.

Now in building this awesome economy of hunting, crafting, mining and tourism, we also need to get efficient shops and market places up and running fairly quickly.
Now I say efficient because all of the mall areas I have seen on other planets are an absolute joke.
The malls are not full of open shops and quite a few of the shops that are open never have very much in them.

This is a problem for several reasons.

• The person controlling the mall does not get much profit on sales if the shops are not good or busy.
• The company does not get as much profit as they can.

The thing with shops around the universe is that people or companies come in and buy up a whole heap of them and the resell shops for ridiculous prices. Most people are not going to pay 17k-40kPeds for a shop, so you get a mostly empty mall.

How about having a reasonably priced lease system on the shops where the land owner or planet company can set the terms, such as ..

• The shops must have a reasonable amount of stock in them at all times.
• They must have a certain percentage of sales in a month or quarter.

If you make it affordable to have a shop you will find better economy growth and stability.

Well that’s about enough from me for one day, so how about I save the rest of my suggestions and rant for another day.


If you got this far in my epic speech then than you.

 

1. probably in there low periods, cant see the loot being less here then on Calypso, in fact had my highest mining claims ever here on Arkadia as well as globles from hunting.
2. spend more ped thats the "advice" they give people back on Calypso so why they dont take it themselves always eludes me :/
3. ask them to get some imaginations what did they do before missions made it into the game?
4. Explore the planet, there is plenty of mobs for all different levels. (noob: Carabok, ostelok young, Halix young /adv noob: Zadul, Tiarak, Oro / uber noob: Hadraada, Bokol, small Oratan / low med: higher maturity of all mentioned mobs, Oweko, Madana / med: Kiana, Huon, Teladon // there you go some tips to tell them about)
5. Which we all are working to change I guess...

Tell them you get all access to entropia tracker if you run the client for 15+ hours/month on Arkadia, payed by the A-team

Dont think this is a good solution to be honest as it will just light up the usual "why him/her and not me" and if you get great free stuff like this it will likely end up as a failure due to the wrong persons and wrong motives behind it.

There is no malls on Arkadia, but the shops will be at the bottom floor of the apartments buildings

This has been discussed before, but to repeat myself:
Who will decide what a reasonable amount of stock is?
Who will decide what a reasonable % of sales is? And what if no one knows where your shop is and you cant afford to advertise it as all your ped is in the stock required?
Should shops only be for the wealthy even if it's a lease system?

Personally I like a shop at some time but then I like to own it same with apartment if it's lease I'll probably never even try it, but I know the A-team is or have been working on all these issues as they know the game they develop

 

another big problem is getting rid of those people that shoots at the back of others when travelling to arkadia.

 

Give it a rest already Fishfood. MA wont change space and to be honest this entrire repetitive thing is getting quite anoying already.

 

I agree, Jenny.. I'd like a shop and apartment on Arkadia, too. But a lease system might make it not worthwhile, I think... Guess it depends on the cost of the lease, but it doesn't sound like such a good idea to me..

What gets me is that people come to Arkadia expecting a fully functional economy... And when there isn't, they leave. How do they expect an economy to be built if they won't stay??

 

Isn't that what I was saying?

 

Thank Jenny for keeping an open mind about this!
I expected more than put down from an Ark Adviser.

1. Im sorry but you seriously cant see the difference in loot?
2. This is exactly my point. More money needs to be spent here.
3. Imaginations? Come on! If I am going to make a comment don't shoot it down with a poor argument please.
4. I think you need to compare mobs a bit better with other planets. For one the Oro can be as hard as Argos and that can take a new player a little while to get to.
5. Yes we are, but it still needs work...

This is not going to bring traffic to Ark. Its cool that they are doing this, but its not a huge attraction,

OK .. so you have a better idea. Lets hear it then.
This is how the real world works and business. If you are going to do this protections like basic contracts can be put in place but thats for non trusted people.
I would expect that the people getting this stuff would probably people like the advisers who are supposed to be trusted.

Malls were just an example, I did not want to go into the many types of shopping areas.
But on that note... do you really think people are going to go around every apartment building just to look at shops?
This may be a game but people are creatures of habit and what they do in the game is a reflection of what they do in real life. People do not go around looking in this type of building just to see if there is an open shop in it.

Im sorry that I was not privy to you previous discussions.... but if this has come up before then that suggests that the current system on other planets does not work.
The company can decide all of this so its fair for everyone.

Yes the sales % is probably not going to work that well, I was just thinking of what actual malls do.

The shops now are only for the wealthy. Whats the point your making?
If there is a lease system then at least owning or running a shop is more achievable for most people. OK maybe a lease system is not perfect but its a suggestion that can be altered to come up with a better solution.

Oh and advertising a shop is more than placing an add. You need to walk the beat and tell people, if they just place an add and think that's going to work then they wont make any money anyway.

Yes they know the game they develop, but they ask for ideas and what people would like.... so im giving some ideas

And I apologize if it looks like im attacking you.. im not but I also do not appreciate being talked to like that, especially from an adviser.
If someone gives an idea please don't meet it with arrogance and sarcasm otherwise they might not give any more ideas and that does not help anyone.

 

No, not entirely. You said there weren't very many here, sure.. You also said that a lot of people come and then leave... Which I also agree with. However, I think the point was missed that they were expecting an economy. I also talked to one newcomer some time ago who said he liked the description of Arkadia better than Calypso, but he hadn't planned on pioneering a planet. I though that was the whole premise of the game to begin with... So he went to Calypso.. Complained that Arkadia didn't have infrastructure and cited the "lack" of TT weapons (which doesn't exist).

I agree with a lot said, but I feel it's important to point out that a lot of people want an existing economy... And while shops and apartments *may* help, that's not the most important part. The most important part is for people to realize that's what it's going to take to jump-start the Arkadia economy and no amount of shops are going to help that.

So I guess I was agreeing with you and putting it a bit more simply? Maybe not as detailed, and pointing something out that wasn't really said...


And I have to say one thing: Jenny has a point about missions.. What did people do before missions? They hunted, right? They went mining? They went crafting? What's different? Rewards for doing certain things. Is that required to play now? Has the community become so dependent on missions for entertainment that they can't think for themselves?

More missions are coming in, so my questions are more rhetorical. But I think it still gets the point across.

 

You are right.. people do expect the economy to be fully working and yes there is some work to be done to get it. Shops are only a small part of that economy but without shops that work properly the company wont make as much as they should to keep the economy going well.

Again you are completely right on that there are TT weapons, but not only just TT weapons but the best TT weapons. The TT weapons are so good that they are exported to Calypso. lol

Yes Jenny is right that people should be able to have fun without them and they do.. and my point is a bit moot if there are more comming.
I was just repeating what ive been hearing people say.

Please dont think that im just putting Arkadia down. Im not I love it here, the story, weapons, creatures..well everything. I just want more people to come and enjoy it too.

The more people come...the more the company makes money...the more cool stuff they put in.

 

I understand you're not putting it down, and I was trying not to sound like I was putting you down. According to the last release video (about Ostelok, etc) the shops and apartments are coming in 4th qtr 2011. That's another thing.. people are impatient (not saying you are, just generally) and think everything should be released all at once.. And to be fair, most stuff would be out if Arkadia hadn't gone back and overhauled the whole economy after space was lootable.

 

Sorry, I was still a bit annoyed after Jenny's post so I probably came off a bit harsh.

Your right most people are impatient. And yes i suppose I am a bit too.
I just want more people to go to Ark and enjoy it the way I do. I would give people free flights to Ark but I cant afford the thruster decay.
If I spend any more money than I already do my wife WILL kill me.

I dont expect the shops to come quickly, but I would like the shop system to work better than it does on Caly. I am so tired of going to a mall or apartments and the shops are mostly empty or only have a couple of things in them. And I would love to have a shop but at the prices on Caly who can afford them. The lease system was just one thought I had on a way I could afford it and others too.

 

Another thing about using leases (I don't know if it was mentioned yet) is that if leases are used, it will not only make shops more within reach of the average player, but it will increase the number of "active" shops... which is exactly what we need. If shops are sold as a simple sale, shop owners aren't "penalized" by letting their shops sit empty for months on end. A shop owner who has a lease will see the peds he's wasting every month when his shop is inactive and be motivated to make better use of it.

 

Exactly! And you will see more Soc shops where there is heaps of stuff for sale.
Everybody wins.

 

I agree Snape.
And in-game marketing is a very useful and very cheap tool as well.

Im not saying that the A Team does not know what they are doing because that's not true but there are other avenues too.

Players like to spread the word on a good thing and that can be used and I don't necessarily want to steal players from other planets but it would not hurt to have a regular flow of tourists.

 

My first visit to Arkadia was this last weekend. I stayed 2 days and mapped the TP'a then went back to Calypso. It's a very nice place and the scenery was a plesant change. Probably because it was so new to me. But I had to go back. Evrything I own is on Calypso. Everyone I know and do business with is on Calypso. All my crafting skills are associated with Calypso prints. So as you can see...there isnt a huge reason for me to come back.

But I intend to come back. Might not be for a couple weeks but it is something I intend to do. Several times I think.
The reason is, I was invited, by a complete stranger to me, to hunt those very fine Huon ( I think thats what they were). Popped a 170 something global and in a matter of 30 min. was given enough information and "training" so not only survive the trip back, with some of the loot, but to make the rest of my stay productive and entertaining. I cant help but wonder as I read this thread, if thats the missing link. Not that there is really anything missing...but a group of people that were dedicated to introducing newcomers to the planet, a tour agency, could set the mood and give the people a reason to come and at least visit. 20 min of instruction is all it will take for an experienced player to get the layout of the land. If I had a clue that something like that existed I might not have waited all this time to visit.
And its exactly the reason Im coming back. That first impression is forever burned into my mind.

 

Thats exactly what we need. Thank you for your input.

I personally would love to do tours of Arkadia, the only problem for me is the Peds to do it.
I would also love to help newbies out too, show them the lay of the land so to speak.

 

I think there could be some issues with PP devs paying players for services.

Regards,
KikkiJikki

 

Oh, that kinda sux then.
Maybe they have to use their own avatars then, but I was hoping that we could all save them some time.

 

I dont recieve a fee or charge for the knowledge I pass on the newcomers on Calypso.
All of us in The Knights of Calypso give the knowledge they have away for free.
Doesnt cost us a thing. Dosent cost them a thing. And the information I was given this last weekend didnt cost anything.
Someone nice did something nice. That is the part they will remember forever.