I played half a decade ago and came back today but i wondered something. Is anyone still playing? Or is it empty compared to then? No offense to the devs but i don't wanna play an empty game where i can never find anyone. Back then it seemed to be surprisingly populated with people almost everywhere that was useful.
We are still playing and, looking on statistic numbers, I would say we are about the same number of people as then, but a bit lower density since we're now spread on a few more planets (think Arkadia, Cyrene and Toulan were not existing half a decade ago).
Here's a more accurate statistic 1 old player for 1000 noobs 1000 pets for each noob 100 bugs for each pet
People are still playing. But deterioration on some of the "planets" as well as some obvious attempts by MA to make more money (Explosive Projectile crafting using only mats from the Trade Terminal) make the economy slower, especially for newer players. I have found a good amount of fun and success so far on Arkadia (started on Caly and moved here ASAP) as well as a nice, active community. It's tough to "kill 10000s of stuff" and not spend though. I'm happy spending, but it's certainly more difficult to sell what you loot .
Yes, old players are still here. And some of the old players moved semi-permanently to Arkadia too As others have said: location can make a big difference, but I find I see people in most locations I go to on Arkadia, regardless of time of day. And there are very definitely locations which are high in traffic (Aakas, Celeste Harbour, Celeste Quarry, and others spring to mind) So I think you'll find population is just as surprisingly good as before, if not even better. Let us know though.
The economy isn't very good thanks to the explosive BPs which were introduced a year and a half ago, but the population is decent. You won't find populated trading hubs anymore. Due to the new channels, people don't have to be in one location to advertise trade messages.
Two key channels to join are #arkadia and #arktrade. That will allow you to keep in touch with the local community without being next to them.
