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DISGRUNTLEDPANCAKE122

I remember when... 08/11/2016 10:54 PM CDT

...there were 2,000 people playing Dragonrealms
...there was always a large group of people hanging out just outside of the bank, selling goods, pickpocketing, and just hanging out
...the Empath guild always had Empaths in it
...there were always people on the ferry
...there were people in every city, no matter how remote

I remember when Dragonrealms felt alive, like it was a community in the game. I recently came back when it went F2P, excited they had finally taken this path. I've played a bit now, but it just feels so... empty, compared to what it use to be. I could see myself paying the premium subscription if there were 2,000 people playing, like there use to be. Even with the F2P, it just doesn't seem like the game is growing.

What is your take? Is Dragonrealms growing? Or is it just dying a very, very slow death? What do you miss most about its 'heyday' and do you think it will ever get back to what it was?

TEVESHSZAT

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Re: I remember when... 08/11/2016 10:56 PM CDT

>>...there were 2,000 people playing Dragonrealms

This was never a thing. I think the peak number I ever saw was low 800s, which was during some major something-or-other.

That said, outside the bank was neat.

Uzmam! The Chairman will NOT be pleased to know you're trying to build outside of approved zones. I'd hate for you to be charged the taxes needed to have this place re-zoned. Head for the manor if you're feeling creative.

ABSOLON

Email Author

Re: I remember when... 08/11/2016 10:59 PM CDT

<<This was never a thing. I think the peak number I ever saw was low 800s, which was during some major something-or-other.

We've had this conversation before. 1500+ was a common peak number back in MSZone days. I would not have been surprised to have seen 2000 on a fest day or other event.

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DISGRUNTLEDPANCAKE122

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Re: I remember when... 08/11/2016 11:05 PM CDT

This doesn't quite answer the question I was posing though. Will Dragonrealms ever return to form? Will it ever have the former glory of a thousand players simultaneously online again?

TEVESHSZAT

Email Author

Re: I remember when... 08/11/2016 11:05 PM CDT

>>We've had this conversation before. 1500+ was a common peak number back in MSZone days.

Maybe. I don't recall those numbers at all during MSN Zone days. Either way 2k+ was never a thing.

ABSOLON

Email Author

Re: I remember when... 08/11/2016 11:48 PM CDT

<<This doesn't quite answer the question I was posing though. Will Dragonrealms ever return to form? Will it ever have the former glory of a thousand players simultaneously online again?

Your question isn't worth answering, since it's just a "DR is dying" thread. They pop up every so often when someone gets disgruntled over something.

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GOLDENOAK

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Re: I remember when... 08/11/2016 11:49 PM CDT

>>This doesn't quite answer the question I was posing though. Will Dragonrealms ever return to form? Will it ever have the former glory of a thousand players simultaneously online again?

No it will never return to those glory days for so many reasons.

One the introduction of games like Everquest and WOW ate up the market share because who wants to read words when they can see bright flashing lights and all.

Two the majority of the community in DR is scattered and/or uninterested in interaction with other players. The main places where people gather these days are for zombie classes and zombie script training.

Three there is not enough developmental support for new and exciting things that keep people interested. Because of lack of GMs and over commitment of existing GMs to things like Fests and such which are becoming more and more about the Simubucks they make than anything else.

Also, just as a note I remember the 1000 player days...and also those odd days when it would occasionally shoot up to 2000.

ABSOLON

Email Author

Re: I remember when... 08/11/2016 11:55 PM CDT

Here's a screen grab of a player site from 2004 showing 968 players logged in at the time, fwiw.

http://tinypic.com/r/25apxc6/9

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LADYSABLE

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Re: I remember when... 08/12/2016 12:51 AM CDT

> One the introduction of games like Everquest and WOW ate up the market share because who wants to read words when they can see bright flashing lights and all.

::raises her hand::

~Aislynn

SHAWN255

Email Author

Re: I remember when... 08/12/2016 01:19 AM CDT

I don't remember MSN Zone for playing DR (other games yes).. but I played on GEnie (and there was no where near 2000+ people on back then).. and then I played on AOL.. (and I remember 800+ regularly.. but not much beyond that...) and once the game went to the web in like 1997 it wasn't uncommon to see 800+.. but I never recall a time where it was regularly 1500+, much less 2k+.

But yeah... surprise surprise.. a text based game in 2016 where the big focus is VR technology(which I will argue is Hyped ridiculously and dooooomed as well... at least this current iteration of it, except for things like education lol), is slowly dying.. lol.

I love DR... played it for ages.. took a decade off.. came back... and am enjoying it again. But it will never be back to the numbers of the 90s/early 2000s. The appeal even as a niche game isn't there... and DR, and all simu games, frankly charge outrageous amounts compared to all the other MUDs/onling games out there... and that has only grown worse with the microtransaction business model they are pursuing. You can pay less and do a TON more in WoW than you can playing DR.. and I am not comparing them.. they both have their appeal.. but even with F2P, it is a hard sell.

I think F2P helped.. but it will never recover to what it once was when the competition is cheaper/faster paced/easier to get into and catch up with friends/visual/etc.

And while it is dying.. it is a very slow death and has a lot of life left. It could get better.. especially if they actually paid the GMs a salary so that they could focus on development, and hire more... but meh.. that is a completely different discussion.

ABSOLON

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Re: I remember when... 08/12/2016 01:50 AM CDT

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SHAWN255

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Re: I remember when... 08/12/2016 03:40 AM CDT

I'm just telling you what I remember from using WHO in game. I never saw the player population, using WHO in game, anywhere near 1500. But again, I took a break around the end of 2003 for about a decade.

By 2000 DR was accessed through their own website... so I am not sure why or how anyone would have used the Zone to access it anyways at that point. Not saying you couldn't.. but not really sure why you would. I would also question the validity of the Zone's information unless they were getting direct access from Simu.. and I am not sure why simu would give that info in 2000. Just random thoughts. You could be very well right.. though the screenshots you posted are a far cry from 1500+... and much closer to everyone elses 800+ and were probably more representative of events than normal prime time.

Meh. Who knows. game is still a far cry from 800+, much less ~1100, and neither is 1500-2000... and I can't see it ever reaching those numbers again as it is. Especially for the amount the game costs to play (even more so in comparison to what you get for the price of playing..)

ABSOLON

Email Author

Re: I remember when... 08/12/2016 03:51 AM CDT

<<so I am not sure why or how anyone would have used the Zone to access it anyways at that point.

The zone gave free trials, and when it was up you could just create another account using fake details and keep playing, albeit with a new character from scratch. It also had its own game lobby where people could chat while playing, and it was always super active. I did this for a while when I was a starving student playing out of computer labs.

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ABSOLON

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Re: I remember when... 08/12/2016 04:00 AM CDT

<<though the screenshots you posted... were probably more representative of events than normal prime time.

This is not correct. The waybackmachine took random snapshots of the website over several years, and the non-peak numbers were around 3 to 400. There were very few in between values. The chances that the archiving just happened to occur only during major draw events and not at all during standard peak times, which is what would have to happen for ~1100 to be an inflated representation of peak times, is incredibly small. 1500 is probably a good estimate of what a big draw event would have pulled.

It's certainly not inconceivable, since GS drew that many people in one of the snapshots, and the population of the games was not that far apart with it even being a bit lower than DR at times.

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DR-ANNWYL

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Re: I remember when... ::Thread Over:: 08/12/2016 08:07 AM CDT

We just had this one a few months ago. Read back in the old thread to get a sense of replies.

This one is over.

Annwyl
Message Board Supervisor

If you've questions or comments, take it to e-mail by writing me at DR-Annwyl@play.net.

DR-ANNWYL

Email Author

Re: I remember when... ::Thread Over:: 08/13/2016 12:22 AM CDT

Still over.

Annwyl
Message Board Supervisor

If you've questions or comments, take it to e-mail by writing me at DR-Annwyl@play.net.

DragonRealms · General Discussions