Author Topic: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?  (Read 11078 times)

Offline Lada.Rear.Drive

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Some stats first.
New player accounts with stats (played on game server) since the master server reset. http://www.762-ranking.de/fh2stats/

I did some seeding.

Server population at the moment.


Where do all the new players go? They join in once to the only populated server and find it running some ancient Afrika map, get sniped a few times, disconnect and never come back?
I wish we had a server that would run only the best of the best. The greatest hits. Top ten at ten.
I know all you FH2 purists hate this kind of thinking but how many of you actually play this game any more?
Thoughts?


Offline McCloskey

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #1 on: 17-06-2014, 20:06:51 »
I lol'd at the pic.

Offline Ts4EVER

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #2 on: 17-06-2014, 20:06:20 »
This mod has been "dying" for years. The community is small, but stable and I doubt it will increase significantly, considering we are on an engine that is almost a decade old. On top of that, new players are basically cannon fodder for all those "quasi cheaters" out there (people who don't cheat, but the end effect is the same for the rest of the player base).

Offline Jimi Hendrix

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #3 on: 17-06-2014, 20:06:24 »
 They need somewhere else to go.

 The server crashes or restarts at least 5 times a day & their map list sucks.



 I did like the Mappack 762 put together. It was refreshing  ;)



 but, 762 does it their way or the highway.


blah blah blah.....
 ;D
« Last Edit: 17-06-2014, 20:06:03 by Jimi Hendrix »



Offline Mudzin

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #4 on: 17-06-2014, 20:06:16 »
This mod has been "dying" for years. The community is small, but stable and I doubt it will increase significantly, considering we are on an engine that is almost a decade old. On top of that, new players are basically cannon fodder for all those "quasi cheaters" out there (people who don't cheat, but the end effect is the same for the rest of the player base).

How do you know that they don't cheat?

Offline LuckyOne

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #5 on: 17-06-2014, 21:06:29 »
The best of the best? Ok, smartypants, how do you define the "best of the best"?

Public poll? Won't work, not really a representative sample...

Admin decision? Like players, they all have different opinions... Let's take Sidi Rezegh for example... I consider it to be one of the most awesome African maps - and FH2 maps in general - others find it utterly boring and shi**y.

Dev decision? Well I'm sure they are somewhat biased, and everyone loves his personal map the most.

Voting on an ad hoc basis? As in, if the players seem to be getting tired, run a mapvote - problem is that people who dislike the map that wins leave instantly after the round ends.

There is no silver bullet solution. The community just needs to be friendlier towards newcomers, and we need people (especially squadleaders to step up, and help the newbies learn the ropes).
This sentence is intentionally left unfinished...

Offline Roughbeak

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #6 on: 17-06-2014, 22:06:29 »
First of all, whose to decide what maps are the best?

I like all the maps the devs map, some are worse than others, but hey, show some appreciation of all the their effort and time into it.

Of course there are maps that some players hate, but that is just a few, maybe others will join instead and like the map better than them.
For an example (like LuckOne said), Sidi Rezegh is a very well done map, others will take the devs work for granted and call it crap, I disagree, I like the map.
Another example, Operation Supercharge, this map is better played when 70+ players, less than that - it gets very boring to be honest.

As far as I'm concerned if we play the "best of the best", many will get tired of the same maps because they play over and over again. Variety of maps is essential for many players when 762 is basically the only server that is bracing FH2, and also WaW has done a great job on playing maps for Thursdays and Fridays.

People have different opinions toward maps and we should respect that.




Offline TASSER

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #7 on: 18-06-2014, 00:06:03 »
Thanks very much for the post Lada, I fully understand where you're coming from.

The learning curve for FH is steep, and someone brand new to the mod has a very tough time getting up to speed, especially when they're facing vets who have been playing for 7+ years (when you include FH1). Pair that frustration with them running around some God-forsaken stretch of desert with a name they've never heard of before, and you have a somewhat lousy experience for a newbie.

The problem is, FH was designed from the ground up to be a "purists" game. FH's general player base is around not because they can play maps depicting the very famous, well known battles of WWII over and over again; but because they get to visit new areas that they may never have heard of until the new map is announced (Battle of Keren). They get to handle weapons that weren't used extensively throughout the war, but may have played a role in a particular theater (AT rifles).

Some compromises are made for the sake of game play, it is a computer game after all, not a "life in Europe, 1944" simulation, but in general Forgotten Hope is a realism focused game made for those who can really appreciate its message.

HOWEVER, although there aren't droves of new players blasting through we do need to make sure steps are taken to try to retain them. Really, the best way to do this is through in-game help. Efforts really need to be made to help teach these guys and get them in the swing of things. If you've got a big brother to show you the ropes, you'll get way more out of the game :)
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Offline Musti

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #8 on: 18-06-2014, 00:06:33 »
This mod has been "dying" for years. The community is small, but stable and I doubt it will increase significantly, considering we are on an engine that is almost a decade old. On top of that, new players are basically cannon fodder for all those "quasi cheaters" out there (people who don't cheat, but the end effect is the same for the rest of the player base).
Yeeah, that's a serious problem with a small and dedicated playerbase like this one, when a new guy joins a server he not only has to deal with FH2 difficulty curve, but also with the fact that 90% of the players are veterans who've played the game for years. That could turn some people off.
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Offline Jimi Hendrix

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #9 on: 18-06-2014, 02:06:19 »
HOWEVER, although there aren't droves of new players blasting through we do need to make sure steps are taken to try to retain them. Really, the best way to do this is through in-game help. Efforts really need to be made to help teach these guys and get them in the swing of things. If you've got a big brother to show you the ropes, you'll get way more out of the game :)

 Spot on TASSER. I enjoy the game & enjoy helping new players. The list is extensive of players that I am friendly with & in return I have earned their respect........and they get a little better every time.

 Thr Combat report I posted about Pointe Du Hoc (weekend highlight thread), those were all newbies except StoreDyr & they had a blast!

http://fhpubforum.warumdarum.de/index.php?topic=19688.15

 Rough makes a good point as well......look I appreciate 762 I really do, I suppose there really isn't 1 simple solution, its a combination of several.

 ;)




Offline Leopardi

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #10 on: 18-06-2014, 05:06:24 »
With eastern front release, and preferably have eastern front and western front on different servers for a while as there will be enough players to populate both.

Offline The Nanny

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #11 on: 18-06-2014, 16:06:24 »
As a new player to FH2 (I bought BF2 just to play this mod a month ago), I'll provide a bit of my 2-cent new-guy perspective on this issue.

- When you are new to this game/mod, with one exception map choice and rotation doesn't really matter.  They are all confusing and all amazing.  You get lost, don't know where the kits are, don't know the choke points, or good hiding spots.  Desert, forest, city...doesn't really matter.  "Better maps" in the rotation IMHO don't make a difference because MP is soooo different from single player, that until you figure out the ropes the environment doesn't add/takeaway from the experience.  The exception is night-time maps, where clearly some veteran players change their video settings and the advantage over new guys is amplified further, and becomes frustrating to the point of being discouraging.

- Abuse from veterans...there are a few vets who make sport of ripping on noobs and calling them out for not knowing what to do.  Some people sluff it off, others just don't return.  Perhaps when this happens in the chat, other vets could provide encouragement instead ...if they care to keep servers populated in future.

- Team-stacking...although annoying, to be honest when I was new I barely noticed: everyone seems like an expert next to me.  Winning is barely a goal...just trying not to get killed too often becomes a more immediate goal.  And when playing against stacked teams, frankly I saw tactics used that over time helped me understand the game more.  I guess IMHO the best way to combat team stacking is to form/join a squad and start working like a team. 

Again, this is just the perspective of a relatively new guy.  There are many polite helpful vets on the servers that make the experience more accessible rookies and help keep us around.  People constantly ripping on and abusing inexperienced players is very discouraging.  Just my 2-cents on keeping the mod alive and accessible for new people.

cheers!
« Last Edit: 18-06-2014, 17:06:57 by The Nanny »

Offline Erwin

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #12 on: 18-06-2014, 16:06:37 »
You cannot please everyone.

Some will like, some will hate.

Someone dislikes 762 servers, others love them.

There is absolutely no way to satisfy every player. People will always find new ways to complain.
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Offline Alubat

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #13 on: 18-06-2014, 17:06:59 »
I think ther is to many big maps in rotation and map cycle changes to often to other maps. So you dont really get to know a map well before it is out of rotation.
i came back to this game 16 months ago and in some maps I still feel like a retarded granny noob

I mostly enjoy this game when server is maxed out 100-128 players or when only 10-20 people is on
Would love to play with less people on a small server more often if possible in future
 

Offline FORGOTTENKEVINOHOPE

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Re: Player base development - How do we keep this mod alive?
« Reply #14 on: 18-06-2014, 20:06:22 »
I think ther is to many big maps in rotation and map cycle changes to often to other maps. So you dont really get to know a map well before it is out of rotation.
i came back to this game 16 months ago and in some maps I still feel like a retarded granny noob

I mostly enjoy this game when server is maxed out 100-128 players or when only 10-20 people is on
Would love to play with less people on a small server more often if possible in future
 

every thursday night on waw server.....