Ideas to bring in some more players

http://www.easyhits4u.com/?ref=vadio
i promote arkadia site here 200 daily visits from me

 

I love arkadia, the mobs,guns the storyline everything. I even camped huon for about a week a month back. The only reason I had to leave and go back to calypso was that I couldn't find any more weapons to buy on auction. This is where I see the major problem, I dont have the peds right now to invest in a ul sib weapon and don't want to spend 130%+ mu for a gun with same dps as lr32/41. So my choices are to either use ul non sib weapons or travel between calypso and arkadia whenever I run out of guns...

I spoke to a pilot before going back to calypso and he told me that he has had many weapons on the auction and they mostly expired without anyone buying them so he took them to calypso to auction them off. The best way to solve this issue is for shops and stalls to sell weapons/armor/faps etc.

Things will become easier once the economy becomes established.

PS I a gonna go grind away at the iron evic mission on Calypso but will return to Arkadia def after I am done.

Cheers Mord

 

Hi,

Before I left for Arkadia, I used to hunt big snablesnots near Argus, religiously. Yes, it didn't work too bad, but it was boring at no end. They never ever will loot anything of interest. They'll fill your storage with stuff nobody wants. Anything even worth thinking of selling or using yourself has been taken away from the loot since ages (A103?).

Argonauts, similar. I've literally killed bazillions, and I had more Kango masks that ever would be needed in all the Entropian Universe. I had my good share of globals, but have I ever looted at least 1 thing where you'd be really happy? Never. Anything you'd be happy to loot drops from maturities like Raider and above, and the common Entropian will run screaming as soon as such beast enters view.

There was a change, some years ago. I have once looted a Bravo from a Young Atrax, Nemesis gloves from a Faucervix Guardian, and ESIs from young Caudatergus. But this are tales from the past.

If this stuff really loots from such mobs anymore, it's this extremely rare now that you better don't think of it. I've got my share of good loots, I'm not complaining about the value of loot, but the times of looting something useful & valuable seems to be over.

As long as you hunt "small mobs".

You need to go for boring beasts like Atrox, where you can use your auto-tool to whack down the insane HP, and the regeneration, and watch a movie meanwhile because they don't do close to no damage anymore. I've mined Amenthera with an escort of a few young Atrox, in plain Shogun, and rarely had to FAP ...

Only with these high-stake mobs you may hope for good loot, for items to make you yell of joy, for stuff making it worth the grind. If you cannot bet several - many PED at least on a single mob, abandon all hope that you'll ever loot something nice.

Not hunting above your level is a lesson that has to be learned, isn't it? But stuff dropping, enabling the "next level", isn't this what makes you so much happy when it happens?

At least for me it was. I remember the few times when I got something that was actually useful, I'll never forget when I got my Bravo, or just a Gremlin or Vigi part I hadn't yet. I sat at my computer screaming of joy, and flooded the Soc chat with my new toy.

The last remarkable thing I looted was a FAP-50. I used such ages ago, donated mine to a Soc guy I don't know when. I got this from a mob that required heavy use of my 2600. I don't even more remember what mob this was, and when. You understand?

I often have this problem. Having a quite nice stack of stuff, realizing that, maybe, I'd be able to sell it earning a few PEC above auction fee, or, maybe, if not sold, losing half a PED. The benefit to getting a few PEC more (translate this in real money!) usually isn't enough to take the risk of not selling.

I can deposit to refill my PED card. Does it really make sense to spent valuable time to earn a few crumbs, risking a loss? If I use this time for RL work I'll be able to deposit a vast multiple.

Guess a lot of the problem is that there's nearly no street trade these days. We need more players. We don't need anything else but more players. More people, more trade, more fun, more communication.

Have a good time!

 

Just FYI I am finding that I am looting just about enuff weapons on Huons that I dont need to buy more. Cap 303 and 303J, Asi 30 and 30A. These are pretty eco (with a decent amp) and good dps for the mobs also.

 

Hi Xandra

I guess it depends on what you think of as useful. Snables loot pixie parts which u can use or sell for good MU. Berys loot gremlin and some limited armour I forget. I got an esi from a merp young !!!. When I hunt argos, I am going for iron for the MU. Similarly I hunt drones for gazz - occaisionally u get some aurora armour that I sell anyways.

But the main thing is to aim to enjoy yourself whatever you do.

On the issue of weapon drops I quite like the way Arkadia seems to be set up with drops appearing to be of weapons that you would consider using on the current mob. But I guess thats just my preference.

On the issue of auction etc, its true you need to exercise some judgement and risk assessment. Low turnover low MU you may choose to take the certain loss of TTing rather than the possible loss of TTing after wasting an auction fee. I can understand that. I have to say that a lot of common loots do not fall into this category. If you price oils reasonabley you can always sell them. Paints, on the other hand, I will mostly TT cos there just isnt the demand for them. And weapons I would either keep to use for myself or take to caly for good MU. Local sales are a bit hit and miss.

However I am not sure that it is particularly time consuming to make an assessment and then put something on auction. Yes it can take time to sell but its not like you have to be there. Player to player trading, offers the other scenario. No risk of loss but you can sometimes waste a lot of time finding a buyer. So I feel you are either risking a loss or risking a waste of your time but not both.

But yes things would be better with more street traders, shops etc.

Regards,
KikkiJikki

 

Just My Opinion...

Ok this is a little simplistic..But here goes...

#1 PVP Ring for new players to play in and have fun in a traffic area where they can socialize and exchange advice..game..team up for hunts..make friends.
#2 Bring in Daikiba maybe
#3 have some big loot dropped in low level mobs to keep interest.
have sweat recycle terminal(instant ped for amount of sweat deposited)
#4 a oil rig set-up kind of place and PVP zone

 

PVP ring would be fun
(and then ofc we need brawler weapons to fight with too )

No Calypso mobs here please, there are plenty of better mobs in my mind here, Ostelok, Jori and Halix as examples or large Oro/Halix for large Daikiba
(this is no caps lock PP without imagination or talent)

There have dropped a smuggler gun from a young oro, and I hope to loot smuggler knife from Halix

There is one already, Trade Terminal. To increase the sweat cycling we need more players and more uses instead. (at least players I think we will get )

Not sure what is planned but some sort of pvp area are planned for the future, sure miss it sometimes to get some frustration out but then the drama coming from those places is annoying...

 

Great response Jenny..
Yes PvP ring and zones get a bit of drama.but demographically speaking for age of new players 17-24 year olds, are shall we say more at an aggressive age, and I think that ring would really hold their interest and keep them hanging around and socialize and really get excited about the game if achievements can be won that way..

(ok the Daikiba one was purely my favorite,just threw that one in there..heheheee)

The Oil Rig PvP place would be cool so they could storm someplace and get oil.(does get a bit of drama but keep them involved)

My wish would be that at some point globals and Hofs from other planets could get their own feed in=game too..would inspire it to be sought after if they knew everyone and society members on other planets and Arkadia could see it..(another one of my wishlist suggestions)..LOL!

 

I've been on Arkadia now for nearly 2 weeks, after my nearly 2yrs of break from EU, mostly to see and test out the waters... I'm now seriously considering sticking around.

My observations and opinions regarding player retention directly revolve around the "need" to deposit over the "choice" to deposit and I'm going to use hunting as an example profession since "most" players either dedicate themselves or go through this profession during their EU lifetime.

-- All this IMHO and experience --

Back in the day.... many, many, many moons ago...

When many of us started playing, if not depositing yet, we would sweat for a week or two and were able to afford opalos and ammo from the TT. We could then go out and mini-hunt with opalo and make enough peds + loot to sell and at the very least equalize our investment for that hunt after selling our loots. If you were lucky enough to loot an a10X amp you've opened up to skill and hunt higher lvl mobs. There were many ways to achieve that and I'm not going to get into how we did it, but as a player, you would "see" the potential of growth and it would motivate you to deposit and invest to secure that growth OR expect the occasional trips to Camp Phoenix. Granted everyone has different ideas to what their "fun" is worth in $, but I think we all agree that sweating has not ever been that much fun. End result, way more users and a good >50% of those were depositing.

now.... a few planets later...

Many new players find themselves sweating for an unholy amount of months, to the point that I've seen high ranks in sweat gathering profession, and many are finding the beginning of their experience as a preview of things to come. Many get bored and get tired of EU thinking that this is just too much effort for the fun much less be motivated to invest with deposits. But let's say they get passed that idea and finally get into hunting as an example. They go out and skill a kiwio/opalo just to find that most everything they loot at their level has a 100.25% to 105% markup, considering they even drop, and realize that in order to sell to equalize much less make profit for growth they have to succumb to lowering the cost of their efforts with traders, most of which influence and are responsible for the lowering of the markups, and still they face the possibility of more sweating to hopefully not take steps in the wrong direction much less motivate to deposit. End result, alot less in the population depositing. Mostly those that do deposit now either deposit a set amount as a monthly pay of support or simply have money to burn.


We, the player base, share responsibility for turning away perspective long-term Entropians.

- When in the past you would find many veteran players @ PA "paying it forward" to new players and offering TP runs, now we have vehicle owners selling rides to space or TPs @ PA. Arkadians have advisers that have taken it upon themselves to fill this role.. alot of respect to you guys and I may just volunteer myself to help out there once I get a firmer grasp on everything in Arkadia.

- Crafters on Calypso are placing ridiculously low %% on auction orders which facilitate the traders to make a quick Ped by exploiting ignorant new hunters to fill these and succeeding in lowering the overall markups. Arkadians be just in your orders if you place them or this will invite the less desirable elements in to the planet. Understand that all professions have losses when skilling and don't try to capitalize on BS skilling runs. Work with the markups of your products, not the markups of your materials. Actively reach out to these new hunters/miners and show them that you're open to receiving specific items for lower markups off the markup system. If shop owners do so as well, seek out these shops.

- Shop Owners on Calypso sell low level items at ridiculously high markups reinforcing the auction system as the primary source for anything. From my perspective shops should have always been the "main source" of commerce and trade over the auctions system. Shop owners should also involve themselves in reaching out to hunters/miners/crafters and unload their products for sale on their shops. New players need this as a way to unload low qty's of items and save themselves the auction fees. This will also preserve the markups to a reasonable level maintaining economic growth.


--- Dev team ---

- Try to not release any more Arkadian materials into the pool until after the BPs that use them are available for looting themselves. They will undoubtedly be traded and end up with a false %% markup and when when need for them actually surface some crafters will end up paying too high or too low an amt equivalent to the crafted product. Not to mention that although pretty to look at, they take up loot value of items that can be traded or consumed.

- Develop a true "Twin Peaks" equivalent with a central TP. If it exists, it's not readily apparent to those that come to Arkadia, it isnt to me. I would suggest it be developed close by to wherever new players spawn. If that place truly is one of the firebases, perhaps where that outpost in between them stands now would be an adequate location. It gives new players easy reach to trade without having to jump through hoops to get there. Perhaps think about an area for vehicles there too and not allow vehicles to spawn around close too the TP. lol


Dave..

I've got nothing but respect for you brother... from the limited ingame interaction I've had with you, you've always been a stand up guy and wish you nothing but fortune and success with the Arkadian Project.


These are my personal rants and opinions of what should be watched out for. I don't claim to be the know it all guy and normally keep my opinions to myself. Other than the fact I have the tact of a sea urchin which is why you never see me post really anywhere.

 

Yay!! Welcome Back!..great post +rep!

 

A critical difference, of which you may not be aware, is that a TP run costs nothing but time, whereas a single flight to space costs the pilot 10-15 ped, depending on the type of ship and cost of thruster, not including the cost of the ship, which is often substantial. MA has decided that—except for hangar owners who received free unlimited thrusters—space flight is NOT cheap. I would advise any new player to examine an offer of a "free space flight" very carefully. Some of these "free flights" have resulted in the noob being stranded on one of the space stations, awaiting rescue by yours truly.

 

Thank you for the warm welcome guys...

Hmm.. perhaps I may be mistaken, but after having read my post I don't believe to have suggested free space flights. And yes, I know the costs. In my society we have 2 Quad and 3 Sleip pilots, and while some of us are doing the "Space Taxi" thing, I've done a few of the trips splitting the 7 ped cost with my passengers unless they were new'ish and I was going the same way it didn't cost me more to just take them. Not saying everyone should do this tho.

--

What I was trying to convey was the 'de-evolution' and greed of Calypso's current playerbase (which is currently failing Calypso) compared to the past ('03-'06 Which influenced many of us to stick around) and some key points that I felt is avoidable and is already starting to happen in a growing new planet. You look through the Arkadian auctions and can already spot the buyer names and match them with seller names trying to either make a ped or manipulate the markups of Arkadian items. It's particularly noticeable in the BPs, which are extremely important to Arkadia right now to keep the momentum going.

In regards to "depositing players" I believe focus should be about Planet Partners encouraging and motivating players to deposit instead of making them feel obligated to do so as FPC had started to do and MA the PP has done and proven what an utter failure that has been. I'm fairly sure this is achievable with the state of EU as is now with an astute few and a strategic dev team (which both are apparent in Arkadia).

Arkadia already has that "feel" and camaraderie that existed in Calypso when we were still in beta and we were only a few thousand players then. I've personally only been playing since VU4.0, about a year b4 the TI purchase, and a few of the older players here know what I'm talking about personally. That recipe was proven to work and we the players had a big part of it.

MA's EU platform is ultimately a tool and PP's are the ones wielding it to create this world and take part of the universe.

 

Hi,

at first, wb & thanks for your great post!

This is an important point. Yes, we have changed. Maybe we have adapted to the current state of the game?

From my view (that might be subjective) it's much more important now to count every single PEC. Back then in the "good old days" I deposited ~ $25 every month for my playing (and sometimes a few bucks more to buy another fancy item ...), running around with some 2x0 axes, whacking small Atrax all month long. Most often this amount of money was by far enough, sometimes I didn't even need it all.

In these days it was no problem to invite any nOOb I'd met in the wilderness to join my hunting, even if it just had a rusty Jester and no armor. Not once we had nice globals doing this, and for sure we had a lot of fun. Quite often a few days later this nOOb whispered me, proudly telling me of his first deposit.

Today I'm easily able to lose these 250 PED in 2 or three days. I tried it again before I came to Arkadia, Atrax Iron Challenge, with ways better skills, and using my UL Embra instead of the un-eco axes - I burned the money in less then a week.

It's not this easy-going anymore. It's all about eco now, MU, holding together your PED. The game has changed, we have changed, and we have lost a lot.

Most people these days are usually whacking the high-HP mobs chasing their ATH, watching movies while the auto-tool does its work. I do my mining, carefully working with spread sheets and maps, chasing my tiny profit. I don't know the current team settings anymore, I haven't been in a hunting team since ages. When I see a green dot out in the wild any other month it's usually another miner. Hf & Gl!

Note that this is very subjective, and only my 2 PECs.

Agree. People seem to be ways more happy if you treat them with a candy stick, instead of a whip ...
But:

I'm quite sure that even the best Dev team in all EU (the Arkadia team ) can't do miracles. They have to rely on MA to offer the basic game mechanics, they have to live with MA's "balancing", and MA seems to be very slow doing this.

For instance, I can imagine the situation in the A-Team HQ: They must be sitting on glowing coals - their planet is up & running nicely, they are just waiting for some long overdue game mechanics to finally get implemented, Treasure-Hunting, textures etc.
They want to start their marketing, they want to bring in new players, but they don't want to do it while some key-feature isn't implemented yet.

It must be a terrible situation - they need a steady income from the planet to run it, but due to MA's incompetence they still haven't the tools needed so urgently. I could imagine that it was a similar situation with the SEE disaster, maybe they just hold back the payments because MA didn't deliver in time?

This is why I moved here completely. I feel more "at home" here on Arkadia as I did on Calypso during the last years. I enjoy the nice and friendly community, and I enjoy the breath-taking landscape in wide areas. I just miss my beloved Atrax!
:shrug:

But there's movement. No idea what this means. I'm very sure the Arkadian Authorities will keep on doing the great work we're accustomed by them, my best wishes to them. A few weeks more until the next big VU, let's hope that MA has finally done its homework. This VU could be a turning point in the Arkadian history.

Have a good time!