<What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see? Subscription costs aren't something I can really discuss, but I'd like <to hear what you all have in mind. If you take this discussion to the Promotion topic, I'll meet you there.
<GS4-WYROM
Just off the top of my head:
Three character slots during the free new account period so new players can try a few characters out to get a feel for what each type is like to play. Should they decide to start a paid account, they will have to choose which character they want to play for a prime account, or go premium to still have access to all three.
Have the free new account be switchable between Prime and Premium so the potential new customer can get a feel for what effect each account type has on their game play.
Have travel between the cities and towns be handled by the Travel Agent system using an item that lasts through the free new account period. Always a safe trip no matter what monsters are run into. Let them be able to check out the size of the game world. Perhaps a tour system of some of each towns hunting areas.
There is a lot to learn about this game, Elanthia is not a small world these days as it was back on GEnie in '88. Add to the new player information so it gives them the gist of what the world of Elanthia has for them to experience.
Having someone seriously good at salesmanship do the New Player Introduction routine that a potential new customer runs into when they check out the game would be a good idea as well. One of those salesman types who can become rich selling water to a drowning man. This game has a lot going for it, even being an old style text adventure. The problem is not having a game introduction that hints at all that there is in the game that makes it so fun and leaves the reader wanting to check out Elanthia.
Tanivar Somakre
"Healing, you want it, you shall have it."
RORN
VANKRASN39
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/12/2014 08:15 PM CDT
>they will have to choose which character they want to play for a prime account, or go premium to still have access to all three.
or standard prime accounts could come with 3 character slots which seems reasonable for the cost.
RORN
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/12/2014 08:58 PM CDT
<or standard prime accounts could come with 3 character slots which seems reasonable for the cost.
That would make the $15 a month seem more reasonable to someone browsing for a new game to check out reducing the chance they'd move on to looking at another game over the price.
Tanivar Somakre
"Healing, you want it, you shall have it."
ZENDADA
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/12/2014 09:12 PM CDT
I can agree with that. Most modern games give trial accounts multiple char slots. I'd even go to 5.
Chad, player of a few
Chad, player of a few
GS4-WYROM
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/13/2014 12:49 PM CDT
Outside pricing issues though, is there any other sort of promotion you guys can think of? Free character slots is outside the scope of what I can talk about.
~Wyrom, SGM
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~Wyrom, SGM
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DMWCINCY
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/13/2014 01:28 PM CDT
I wonder on having a major gaming news site/publication do a indepth story on the game to hopefully generate interest mixed with a few months of being able to do a 30 day free account with out card to get that interest into the game and hopefully on a sub.
VANKRASN39
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/13/2014 01:28 PM CDT
>Outside pricing issues though, is there any other sort of promotion you guys can think of? Free character slots is outside the scope of what I can talk about.
I hope this issue isn't being completely dismissed.
one idea is to team up with the Reading Rainbow effort with some sort of donation/promotion tie in. A lot of people who play consider ourselves readers rather than gamers and the age group of people (80,000+) who have contributed to the RR Kickstarter are likely in the same age group that started playing on AOL and have some disposable income.
GS4-QORTAZ
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/13/2014 07:49 PM CDT
<<I hope this issue isn't being completely dismissed. >>
It is absolutely not being dismissed. However, it won't be of any use to talk about it here as offsite GMs (such as Wyrom and myself) have zero control over pricing. Your concerns have been noted and passed along the proper channels.
If you wish to discuss this further, please send an email to feedback@simutronics.com
It is absolutely not being dismissed. However, it won't be of any use to talk about it here as offsite GMs (such as Wyrom and myself) have zero control over pricing. Your concerns have been noted and passed along the proper channels.
If you wish to discuss this further, please send an email to feedback@simutronics.com
GS4-WYROM
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/13/2014 08:47 PM CDT
>>I wonder on having a major gaming news site/publication do a indepth story on the game to hopefully generate interest mixed with a few months of being able to do a 30 day free account with out card to get that interest into the game and hopefully on a sub.
You mean like this?
http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/15/free-for-all-celebrating-mud-may-with-gemstone-iv/
http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/08/free-for-all-an-intro-to-basic-combat-in-muds/
~Wyrom, SGM
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You mean like this?
http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/15/free-for-all-celebrating-mud-may-with-gemstone-iv/
http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/05/08/free-for-all-an-intro-to-basic-combat-in-muds/
~Wyrom, SGM
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ZENDADA
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/13/2014 10:09 PM CDT
How about a Groupon? Spend $10 for a 3 month prime sub?
Chad, player of a few
Chad, player of a few
FIREPHOENIX
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/13/2014 10:21 PM CDT
Wyrom,
If you could share some of what has been seen as popular "Attraction" it would help us build on those suggestions. I know some of the bigger raffles or Frontier Days always generate about a 15-20% boost in population. I think the Topmudsite vote when we managed to maintain the 2nd spot encouraged an influx of characters. We occasionally post storyline stuff on MahGemstoners Facebook, and Gemstone IV ran a returning player campaign during the very beginning of Cross Into Shadows.
What have you seen work best? I remember a promotion/comment from a GM a few months or last year that essentially said certain advertisement is more expensive than the 1 sub they might generate.
It warrants a study though. Who plays MUDs? Is it mostly returning players? Is it people who know someone who plays Muds?
I, personally, don't think 3 character slots means diddly squat. We need to get peoples attention and interest in the first place to roll 1 character and these suggestions are out of scope really. Anything Wyrom can do is about a player base +1 kind of approach. I think some of the comments above just need some support in that generated 15 trials, or that generated 5 accounts, or we saw a revenue increase of about 2% when we ran that and these things will help our suggestion approach.
I'm not of the lower pricing, free account, more trial slots mindset at all.
-Jeramy
If you could share some of what has been seen as popular "Attraction" it would help us build on those suggestions. I know some of the bigger raffles or Frontier Days always generate about a 15-20% boost in population. I think the Topmudsite vote when we managed to maintain the 2nd spot encouraged an influx of characters. We occasionally post storyline stuff on MahGemstoners Facebook, and Gemstone IV ran a returning player campaign during the very beginning of Cross Into Shadows.
What have you seen work best? I remember a promotion/comment from a GM a few months or last year that essentially said certain advertisement is more expensive than the 1 sub they might generate.
It warrants a study though. Who plays MUDs? Is it mostly returning players? Is it people who know someone who plays Muds?
I, personally, don't think 3 character slots means diddly squat. We need to get peoples attention and interest in the first place to roll 1 character and these suggestions are out of scope really. Anything Wyrom can do is about a player base +1 kind of approach. I think some of the comments above just need some support in that generated 15 trials, or that generated 5 accounts, or we saw a revenue increase of about 2% when we ran that and these things will help our suggestion approach.
I'm not of the lower pricing, free account, more trial slots mindset at all.
-Jeramy
GS4-WYROM
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/14/2014 12:14 PM CDT
I don't have the data on what all has worked. We did see an influx of new players on the TopMudSites push. Like honest new faces, even too green to know what a turnip farm even was. And that was nice. Yes, a lot of staff knows that people want free characters. But the biggest issue with trial accounts is they are misused by current players to turn a profit. It's an unfortunate situation. We just aren't huge enough to really do crazy big promotions. Because more times than not, the trial account is AFK scripting to get to a valuable point, and we tend to be testing these players often, which takes several GMs out of the mix from doing other things, all on a free account that we're not even seeing any additional revenue growth.
I read over the concerns on the TopMUDSites on the PC, and I'll just be blunt that I understand why people aren't pushing for the number 1 spot. It's a shame that it seems hopeless over there. But if we could somehow stick to at least the first page, it would be helpful. Some people mentioned how they felt they made up 10% of the total votes. I can tell you I made about 5% of those numbers myself. So that just shows you how little people are actually voting (if we're all accurate on the votes, and if all votes are even being counted).
I'll talk some trial account promotions over with Solomon and Sirina, maybe we can try to do something else. Maybe we can do some out of the box ideas.
I'm not trying to seem negative with a lot of my explanation. But these things have to be considered. We don't have a giant work force of GMs to handle the influx of current players abusing the trial accounts. And if we're seeing legitimate new faces, we want to be able to work with those players, and not get stuck dealing with AFK checking.
~Wyrom, SGM
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I read over the concerns on the TopMUDSites on the PC, and I'll just be blunt that I understand why people aren't pushing for the number 1 spot. It's a shame that it seems hopeless over there. But if we could somehow stick to at least the first page, it would be helpful. Some people mentioned how they felt they made up 10% of the total votes. I can tell you I made about 5% of those numbers myself. So that just shows you how little people are actually voting (if we're all accurate on the votes, and if all votes are even being counted).
I'll talk some trial account promotions over with Solomon and Sirina, maybe we can try to do something else. Maybe we can do some out of the box ideas.
I'm not trying to seem negative with a lot of my explanation. But these things have to be considered. We don't have a giant work force of GMs to handle the influx of current players abusing the trial accounts. And if we're seeing legitimate new faces, we want to be able to work with those players, and not get stuck dealing with AFK checking.
~Wyrom, SGM
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Platinum
Promotions
RORN
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/14/2014 12:56 PM CDT
<I'm not trying to seem negative with a lot of my explanation. But these things have to be considered. We don't have a giant work <force of GMs to handle the influx of current players abusing the trial accounts. And if we're seeing legitimate new faces, we want <to be able to work with those players, and not get stuck dealing with AFK checking.
On current players abusing trail accounts, can the billing system be set up to scan for trail accounts having the same credit card info as a currently active account, particularly credit card number and the name and address on it? There would be only one Geed Turkoff at 1313 Doomwalk in Darkveil, Mudland.
Restrictions that inhibit features that are being abused? Such as nothing magical can be given to a trail account, Trail accounts can only purchase equipment through NPC shops?
Make the new character sprite mandatory for the trail account period as a marker? Spot monitor the activity of trail account characters with sprites and note if they 'know' way more than they should. Rig the sprite to document actions a character fresh off the turnip farm would be unlikely to know about for a GM to glance at to see if the new character is showing old character knowledge. Players could also report overly knowledgeable characters with sprites.
Tanivar Somakre
"Healing, you want it, you shall have it."
On current players abusing trail accounts, can the billing system be set up to scan for trail accounts having the same credit card info as a currently active account, particularly credit card number and the name and address on it? There would be only one Geed Turkoff at 1313 Doomwalk in Darkveil, Mudland.
Restrictions that inhibit features that are being abused? Such as nothing magical can be given to a trail account, Trail accounts can only purchase equipment through NPC shops?
Make the new character sprite mandatory for the trail account period as a marker? Spot monitor the activity of trail account characters with sprites and note if they 'know' way more than they should. Rig the sprite to document actions a character fresh off the turnip farm would be unlikely to know about for a GM to glance at to see if the new character is showing old character knowledge. Players could also report overly knowledgeable characters with sprites.
Tanivar Somakre
"Healing, you want it, you shall have it."
BHTM
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/14/2014 01:12 PM CDT
You could try actually enforcing policy about selling characters and items and ban the people doing it if it causing that much of a problem for staff. Just a thought.
-Richard/Fjalar.
-Richard/Fjalar.
SABLANJM
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/14/2014 02:38 PM CDT
First,
I would like to point out the more than one character per regular account idea as an EXTREMELY valid idea, GS requires a considerable inverstment of time even at the early levels compared to most modern MMO's...I sometimes feel people would be more willing to try a class they may enjoy more, and therefore stay in the game and pay you to play, if they didn't have to either
a) delete a character they have spent a week on without knowing if they really would like the other character more or if it is a case of "Grass is greener"
b) pay two dollars on an already expensive game
even a second character slot would help this problem a lot...it is something I have talked to players who started and left at around level 20 before, they either couldn't justify the extra 2 bucks on a text based game, or they DID delete the old character to start a new one...didn't like the new one, and were mad they lost the old one and left. This needs to be looked at from a new players perspective...it is a major issue from that point of view
as far as outside the box ideas...character bound gift box items for new accounts would possibly be interesting, nothing crazy but perhaps something directly related to the race/class choices of the character..maybe something that would be useful past level 10, maybe even a 4x weapon or something of the like, an Erithian styled dagger for an erithian rogue...something that validates the choices made in the creation of that character, all characters start out with race appropriate and class appropriate gear but it is always junk and generally replaced quickly.
It wouldn't kill the 4x market because, in all honesty, there is no 4x market anymore...and as a character bound item it wouldn't hurt the economy in any major way.
...I am sure this could be abused somehow, but honestly anything less probably isn't enough and the other areas that are brought up are always dismissed as outside so and so's authority to act upon.
RORN
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/14/2014 03:31 PM CDT
<...even a second character slot would help this problem a lot...it is something I have talked to players who started and left at <around level 20 before, they either couldn't justify the extra 2 bucks on a text based game, or they DID delete the old character <to start a new one...didn't like the new one, and were mad they lost the old one and left. This needs to be looked at from a new <players perspective...it is a major issue from that point of view
How about providing the option to deactivate a character and it's kept on the accounts record and can be reactivated by a phone call? I've a list of characters on my account from having been Premium that I can have made the active character on my Prime account with just a quick phone call. It would solve that problem trying out new characters mentioned in the quote above and most of the code required already exists.
Tanivar Somakre
"Healing, you want it, you shall have it."
How about providing the option to deactivate a character and it's kept on the accounts record and can be reactivated by a phone call? I've a list of characters on my account from having been Premium that I can have made the active character on my Prime account with just a quick phone call. It would solve that problem trying out new characters mentioned in the quote above and most of the code required already exists.
Tanivar Somakre
"Healing, you want it, you shall have it."
SPOOKALAH
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/14/2014 04:36 PM CDT
Mudconnect.com is another much used website in the MUD world. It doesn't have a tiered list like TopMudSites does, but it has a place for reviews; and that can be as important. The reviews are updated in batches, so it may take a few days for one to show up. If Gemstone has a listing there, then people can write reviews and they will show up on the left hand side of the main page until it scrolls off.
When it comes to the MUD world, my personal opinion is its still the best medium for cooperative storytelling. Here you can play characters who can change the game environment in dynamic ways through compelling stories. Recently back into the game myself, I can see this Cross Into Shadows event has done exactly that.
I've seen some MUDs use the TopMudSites and Mudconnect forums to talk about what events or roleplay are going on in their world. This lets potential people know that this is an ever evolving world where character actions can and do matter, and it also shows people that the game is constantly updated by a team of passionate GMs. Whenever there is a new plot, tiny or large, starting, maybe a cross-post on one of the other MUD forums talking about it, where its happening, and how people can get involved?
Promotions are always nice, but I think some of this falls to the player base to go out and show their passion for this community. Why do -you- play Gemstone? Why is it worth the cost to -you-? Players should write up some reviews and get them out there, because word-of-mouth may be the best way to bring people in.
Banner ads? I believe Mudconnect posts banner ads on their rotation for free. TopMudSites has a cost associated with it, but it doesn't seem to be prohibitively high.
I guess all the above has been more about advertising and not so much sign-up promotions. For an actual promotion, I think 'New Player Day' once a month might be a good idea. Post on the other MUD community forums that we will be having a New Player Day coordinated with the Mentors (and other players), with games, and teaching how to play the game. For myself, those interactions I have within the first few days of joining a new game are like cement, keeping me in the community. Even if there's 300 people on, if it feels like a lonely experience or if the roleplay isn't out there and easy to find, I tend to move on. We need to grab people and pull them into the fun that this community has to offer, then you get new people -and- retain them at the same time.
When it comes to the MUD world, my personal opinion is its still the best medium for cooperative storytelling. Here you can play characters who can change the game environment in dynamic ways through compelling stories. Recently back into the game myself, I can see this Cross Into Shadows event has done exactly that.
I've seen some MUDs use the TopMudSites and Mudconnect forums to talk about what events or roleplay are going on in their world. This lets potential people know that this is an ever evolving world where character actions can and do matter, and it also shows people that the game is constantly updated by a team of passionate GMs. Whenever there is a new plot, tiny or large, starting, maybe a cross-post on one of the other MUD forums talking about it, where its happening, and how people can get involved?
Promotions are always nice, but I think some of this falls to the player base to go out and show their passion for this community. Why do -you- play Gemstone? Why is it worth the cost to -you-? Players should write up some reviews and get them out there, because word-of-mouth may be the best way to bring people in.
Banner ads? I believe Mudconnect posts banner ads on their rotation for free. TopMudSites has a cost associated with it, but it doesn't seem to be prohibitively high.
I guess all the above has been more about advertising and not so much sign-up promotions. For an actual promotion, I think 'New Player Day' once a month might be a good idea. Post on the other MUD community forums that we will be having a New Player Day coordinated with the Mentors (and other players), with games, and teaching how to play the game. For myself, those interactions I have within the first few days of joining a new game are like cement, keeping me in the community. Even if there's 300 people on, if it feels like a lonely experience or if the roleplay isn't out there and easy to find, I tend to move on. We need to grab people and pull them into the fun that this community has to offer, then you get new people -and- retain them at the same time.
DAID
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/15/2014 08:36 PM CDT
>You could try actually enforcing policy about selling characters and items and ban the people doing it if it causing that much of a problem for staff. Just a thought.
I don't know why this ever became condoned in the first place. Selling silvers is a little difficult to enforce, but come on, transferring characters and accounts is easy. I don't think we're adding anything to the game this way, either.
As to the topmud, I've been running a script at work for about 2 weeks now (does it once a day, with a three hour randomizer). Actually the HTML on that site does not conform to known cgi specifications, so I honestly can't even tell when it accepts my vote or not. Since that time, I can't even find us on the front page.
I don't have a totally clear idea as far as promotions themselves. I've been trying to get one friend to try for awhile. One problem is that there are certain useful resources like a stat cruncher that's more or less required if you plan to keep a character. As far as I know, there's not even an effort to link third-party sites on the homepage anymore, and things like lich and KP are absolutely essential. House Sylvanfair has a great verb list. I heard this was stopped because it was a lot of effort, but actually there aren't a huge number of sites these days like there used to be.
Speaking for myself, when I see new players I really try to help them out. A few months ago I spent several hours working with a new player (not sure if the character is still around...I'm not big on highlighting, and I'm usually in RR not WL). Two days ago someone was asking about twisted wands in IMT, and my wife and I imbued and imbedded about 200 uses of 702 into wands and ranger rods. Actually the huge delay there (a whole day) was finding someone for FWI pickup. And if it weren't for the 3rd party tool of lich (since the amulet still isn't cross-realm), there's no way at all I'd have been able to do this assistance.
Getting people to play/sign up/etc is definitely less than half the battle, in my opinion.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
I don't know why this ever became condoned in the first place. Selling silvers is a little difficult to enforce, but come on, transferring characters and accounts is easy. I don't think we're adding anything to the game this way, either.
As to the topmud, I've been running a script at work for about 2 weeks now (does it once a day, with a three hour randomizer). Actually the HTML on that site does not conform to known cgi specifications, so I honestly can't even tell when it accepts my vote or not. Since that time, I can't even find us on the front page.
I don't have a totally clear idea as far as promotions themselves. I've been trying to get one friend to try for awhile. One problem is that there are certain useful resources like a stat cruncher that's more or less required if you plan to keep a character. As far as I know, there's not even an effort to link third-party sites on the homepage anymore, and things like lich and KP are absolutely essential. House Sylvanfair has a great verb list. I heard this was stopped because it was a lot of effort, but actually there aren't a huge number of sites these days like there used to be.
Speaking for myself, when I see new players I really try to help them out. A few months ago I spent several hours working with a new player (not sure if the character is still around...I'm not big on highlighting, and I'm usually in RR not WL). Two days ago someone was asking about twisted wands in IMT, and my wife and I imbued and imbedded about 200 uses of 702 into wands and ranger rods. Actually the huge delay there (a whole day) was finding someone for FWI pickup. And if it weren't for the 3rd party tool of lich (since the amulet still isn't cross-realm), there's no way at all I'd have been able to do this assistance.
Getting people to play/sign up/etc is definitely less than half the battle, in my opinion.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
SABLANJM
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/15/2014 09:57 PM CDT
You know, I was thinking about this. Having a secondary character slot open on trial accounts would not benefit the script hunter re seller.
They are trying to do two things, get as much silver in the process to roll over into $ conversions and get the character as high as possible in the time allotted for resell purposes, getting a secondary character on the same account is actually not as valuable as getting a separate account character up, and takes time away from the primary character being leveled....after all you can only ever log in one of those characters and a level 40 gets you a lot more than a level 30 on the market....two level 20's do not equal one level 40 as far as resell goes.
However for an actual new person trying to determine which of the classes he or she wishes to play...
I recently went into DR for a month and a bit more, nice game, but I made a separate account to do this (so I could log into GS+DR simultaneously since apparently being logged into two separate games on the same account blows simu computer minds) and found myself making ANOTHER trial account on this account one for the exact reason I mentioned previously, I didn't know what class I wanted to be, I didn't know if I would like the bard class when I was a thief and didn't want to lose all my progression as a thief while I tried out bard, wasn't sure what race I wanted to be...I was straight up newb and ran into straight up newb problems as a result. Having to jerk the system around to do what should be a basic feature is a lot of work, unnecessary work since the same thing can be achieved by simply making more trial accounts which I am sure does not help billing out at all.
DEMGAR
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/17/2014 12:44 PM CDT
I think the biggest thing is advertising. There's a LOT of gamers out there, and many of them would enjoy GS. They just don't know about it and aren't willing to plonk down a fee for an unknown game when there's a dozen Free to Play games begging for their time.
Get some real advertising going, and promote a free trial month! Gift boxes and in game bonuses won't mean too much to someone hearing about GS for the first time, you need to get them in the game and in front of a mentor. A site like The Escapist that has a lot of pen and paper RPG players might be willing to do a feature on one of the longest running MMO's in the world for example, or any other site that caters to cosplayers, LARPers, etc. Get the word out there.
Get some real advertising going, and promote a free trial month! Gift boxes and in game bonuses won't mean too much to someone hearing about GS for the first time, you need to get them in the game and in front of a mentor. A site like The Escapist that has a lot of pen and paper RPG players might be willing to do a feature on one of the longest running MMO's in the world for example, or any other site that caters to cosplayers, LARPers, etc. Get the word out there.
PRAT2
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/17/2014 02:08 PM CDT
That's actually a good point, there are other sites not strictly related to MUDs that might have members of our target audience. www.penandpapergames.com is dedicated to getting RPGers together for table top gaming. I'm betting folks there might be interested.
DAID
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/17/2014 10:53 PM CDT
| I think the biggest thing is advertising. There's a LOT of gamers out there, and many of them would enjoy GS. They just don't know about it and aren't willing to plonk down a fee for an unknown game when there's a dozen Free to Play games begging for their time. |
| Get some real advertising going, and promote a free trial month! Gift boxes and in game bonuses won't mean too much to someone hearing about GS for the first time, you need to get them in the game and in front of a mentor. A site like The Escapist that has a lot of pen and paper RPG players might be willing to do a feature on one of the longest running MMO's in the world for example, or any other site that caters to cosplayers, LARPers, etc. Get the word out there. |
Actually the price to play is pretty absurd. It's surprising I've convinced myself to play all these years, but then again it is a great game.
I wondered about SimuCoins and pay-for events and that accounts still cost money. But the more I thought about it, the more charging for accounts makes sense in some kinds of ways. With free accounts people would infinitely script with IP as the only liability. It would totally negate any locker perks, which are pervasive through the CHE system, Premium, and now SimuCoins. And the internet is infinitely full of trolls. In some very real sense, I pay to keep people out. And that's kind of how it goes for Premium and limited-attendance events, too. You pay so you can have it and someone else cannot.
I know this sounds like a huge, anti-game rant, but I absolutely love this game; however, my love for the game doesn't mean I can't think about the subscription charge and other things rationally. Let's be honest, I run GNU/Linux and believe in Free Software, which is in some ways also quiet at odds with my playing this game, but is totally off topic here.
Having a subscription fee actually makes sense in a number of ways and I'm pretty sure adds something very important to the game. However, what is gained doesn't have very much to do with how much the subscription fee is. A $0.01 fee that required a credit card already adds some ability to track people and would keep out a large volume of the pure trolls; something between $5 and $10 seems personally, to me, more reasonable for Standard, even though I haven't used it in years. I doubt it could immediately attract the number of customers to make up for the direct loss in revenue, but there's obviously no denying simple economics and that the lower the cost of the game, the more people will find it attractive.
I really think the best promotion we have is word of mouth. It's fun playing the game with people you know, and people can "advertise" the game in a way to their friends better than any generalized campaign would ever do. Even the friend I'm (still) trying to get to give the game a shot often has various questions which are definitely not answered any where clearly (but wouldn't clearly fall under an FAQ or other things). In that sense, I kind of want to say a good way to promote is to give more benefits to the players that do the recruiting (which exist but is relatively small). As stated, a Gift Box for the new player is meaningless, because every thing in the game is new so changing the baseline up or down a bit won't matter. But us long time players, we definitely want another of those Gift Boxes that went with the GS3 to GS4 conversion! The only worry I can see is to keep people from adding their own multi-accounts to GiftBox themselves, but I understand Simu has and does some clever account tracking and validation when they need to.
The GSSHADOWS promotion is also pretty clever. Giving new players 1 month or 3 months without cost is insubstantial if they start playing for years. Again we run into problems that present players might abuse these free accounts, which is so bloody depressing...
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
DAID
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/18/2014 01:37 AM CDT
Just a wild idea I had on the way to work, bear with me. This might go better under Game Design, so I'll keep the concept as brief as I can here.
I got to thinking about free play without registering. It carries with it a lot of potentially problematic baggage, without any doubt. It does, however, offer the best theoretical promotion option out there: let people try the game easily. Let them see the world, see what goes on, explore.
I don't think the old Java Client is still around, and eScape doesn't seem to work in any of my web browsers, so a little dev would be needed there. However, bare bones, just like the old Java client I played on when we only had Apple computers in the late 90s and there was no other FE. Black and white text, no highlights, no macros, nada.
What can you play you ask? Creatures and citizens!
What can creatures do? Creatures could be controlled with commands existing presently to animate dead. ATTACK, FOLLOW, STOP, GET, DROP, MAGIC, STAND. Movements should be limited to cardinal directions to keep people from bringing ridiculous beasts into town or doing much more than the present AI would allow anyway (roltons are okay if Sleepy is drinking, I suppose). All action timers would remain the same as they are now.
Citizens can wander around town and maybe have a limited number of verbs. Letting people talk might get dangerous, but being able to access passive inspection verbs and movement verbs, at the very least, would seem difficult to abuse. I guess the worst that could happen is a street urchin that keeps running in and out of TSC to screen scroll people, but it's hard for me to imagine this is really something people would spend their time doing just to troll Elanthia.
One connection per IP address, period. Connection (or present incarnation for a given creature) should have some kind of timeout, too.
This is not in any way a "simple" promotion, as it's actually an entire back end to explore the game world in a totally different way. But I imagine a bulk of the code already exists and just needs to get patched together. (I know I know simpler said than done.)
Is there potential for abuse? Definitely. Someone might spawn certain creatures and try to make it easy for their friend to kill them. But if you randomly spawn as the next spawning creature, probably you can get transported to all kinds of areas. And sure people might try giving human-controlled creatures feras weapons so they can kill innocents, but right there we know which character is dropping feras weapons all around the world so there is liability.
It wouldn't be exploring the game proper as a paying or subscribed player has access to the game, but it also prevents people from scripting to gain money, experience, items, and what all else people might try to do. Literally ban and inhibit scripting and macros of ANY kind on this bare bones platform. No highlights, no controls, just a few simple commands.
During invasions it could be really amazing. It would give people an outlet for whatever sadistic CvC they have in mind too if they get to be the swamp hag and MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC until a lucky Major Ewave kills someone (which was likely to happen anyway). It would be easy to play even on a smart phone while riding the train to work. You can play for just 5 minutes and maybe get lucky and spawn as a war griffin and bare down wrath!
It's a lot more work to implement not just from the backend side but from a design side as well. But the doors it would open for everyone has such glorious potential in my mind. And it would be an absolutely amazing promotional agent if ever there was one.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
I got to thinking about free play without registering. It carries with it a lot of potentially problematic baggage, without any doubt. It does, however, offer the best theoretical promotion option out there: let people try the game easily. Let them see the world, see what goes on, explore.
I don't think the old Java Client is still around, and eScape doesn't seem to work in any of my web browsers, so a little dev would be needed there. However, bare bones, just like the old Java client I played on when we only had Apple computers in the late 90s and there was no other FE. Black and white text, no highlights, no macros, nada.
What can you play you ask? Creatures and citizens!
What can creatures do? Creatures could be controlled with commands existing presently to animate dead. ATTACK, FOLLOW, STOP, GET, DROP, MAGIC, STAND. Movements should be limited to cardinal directions to keep people from bringing ridiculous beasts into town or doing much more than the present AI would allow anyway (roltons are okay if Sleepy is drinking, I suppose). All action timers would remain the same as they are now.
Citizens can wander around town and maybe have a limited number of verbs. Letting people talk might get dangerous, but being able to access passive inspection verbs and movement verbs, at the very least, would seem difficult to abuse. I guess the worst that could happen is a street urchin that keeps running in and out of TSC to screen scroll people, but it's hard for me to imagine this is really something people would spend their time doing just to troll Elanthia.
One connection per IP address, period. Connection (or present incarnation for a given creature) should have some kind of timeout, too.
This is not in any way a "simple" promotion, as it's actually an entire back end to explore the game world in a totally different way. But I imagine a bulk of the code already exists and just needs to get patched together. (I know I know simpler said than done.)
Is there potential for abuse? Definitely. Someone might spawn certain creatures and try to make it easy for their friend to kill them. But if you randomly spawn as the next spawning creature, probably you can get transported to all kinds of areas. And sure people might try giving human-controlled creatures feras weapons so they can kill innocents, but right there we know which character is dropping feras weapons all around the world so there is liability.
It wouldn't be exploring the game proper as a paying or subscribed player has access to the game, but it also prevents people from scripting to gain money, experience, items, and what all else people might try to do. Literally ban and inhibit scripting and macros of ANY kind on this bare bones platform. No highlights, no controls, just a few simple commands.
During invasions it could be really amazing. It would give people an outlet for whatever sadistic CvC they have in mind too if they get to be the swamp hag and MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC until a lucky Major Ewave kills someone (which was likely to happen anyway). It would be easy to play even on a smart phone while riding the train to work. You can play for just 5 minutes and maybe get lucky and spawn as a war griffin and bare down wrath!
It's a lot more work to implement not just from the backend side but from a design side as well. But the doors it would open for everyone has such glorious potential in my mind. And it would be an absolutely amazing promotional agent if ever there was one.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
KOOLED
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/21/2014 07:22 PM CDT
I dont think that it will happen, but I would like to see perhaps the first 30-40 levels have their XP costs reduced and added on the back end. honestly i dont really think its until level 30ish that you really get a solid feel for a class. At that point you have some CMANs, guild skills, spells so that you know what a profession is all about. For me I start to hit 17ish and I keep going....uggg thats a lot to level. I can just imagine how a new player feels. Make sure its in the documentation that XP up to level XX is greatly reduced and after that leveling takes much longer.
The other thing is that GS has a total lack of documentation. Meaning stats and such are explained but there is no user friendly way of looking up the information. Additionally the forums are restricted so a player cant come in to ask questions before they start the trial.
The website needs a new user guide to explain how stats actually work, as in dont put your primary stat high, even thought it makes sense too.
Run a contest to have a new user guide and profession guides created. Give the winners an hour of GM time.
The major issue with the game is that it takes so long to hook someone in.
The real major issue is the pricing of the game, but i dont think anything is going to be done about that.
Player of Malisai
The other thing is that GS has a total lack of documentation. Meaning stats and such are explained but there is no user friendly way of looking up the information. Additionally the forums are restricted so a player cant come in to ask questions before they start the trial.
The website needs a new user guide to explain how stats actually work, as in dont put your primary stat high, even thought it makes sense too.
Run a contest to have a new user guide and profession guides created. Give the winners an hour of GM time.
The major issue with the game is that it takes so long to hook someone in.
The real major issue is the pricing of the game, but i dont think anything is going to be done about that.
Player of Malisai
DAID
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/22/2014 03:58 PM CDT
>I dont think that it will happen,
No doubt. It was a wild idea I had, and not for the first time. It does hold more than mere promotion, though.
>but I would like to see perhaps the first 30-40 levels have their XP costs reduced and added on the back end.
Yes, and no. You can see on the forums how much people love lower level creature coding and antics. This is so lost lately. We even have weird relics like Spell Store (502). Still, I admit it isn't easy to disagree here practically. It isn't the good old days of hanging out in the kobold village. There's a lot of common sense to promote the game in the way most people play it! Even if lots of lower level fun is there, when experienced players plow through the levels, and the game is presently designed for more experienced players, we could benefit to show that game to players. Then again, toss a "noob" in hisskra and I guess 50/50 they quit! But toss them in the Citadel Zoo, 90/10 they keep playing more. It takes a long time to really learn to play the game, and it isn't all about raw power for new players, I don't think. It's really important not to alter our view as long time players for how new players see the game. In fact, and I'm including myself very much here, I think the whole discussion relates to the point that we have no clue how to attract and keep new players. Or at least, we want to discuss it and try harder.
>The other thing is that GS has a total lack of documentation. Meaning stats and such are explained but there is no user friendly way of looking up the information. Additionally the forums are restricted so a player cant come in to ask questions before they start the trial.
I believe I remarked specifically to agree here. The main webpage should, at least, link KP!
>Run a contest to have a new user guide and profession guides created. Give the winners an hour of GM time.
This, more or less, is consistent with my concept that we should run "promotions" for existing players that recruit new players. However, as long as this particular method is mentioned, I can make a joke and ask for it to be applied retroactively. After converting my warrior to a paladin, and then playing him, I was just amazed at how bad KP is for paladins. You can check all the history of pages for yourself, but it was no small effort to bring Paladins up to some basic threshold. Like the entrie profession page...
Personally I did it because I like editing KP etc. It wouldn't be bad to offer rewards, though it could take away from objectivity.
As I finish, I want to say I do like and appreciate your post. Sometimes I get caught up in disagreeing, which is my own fault.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
No doubt. It was a wild idea I had, and not for the first time. It does hold more than mere promotion, though.
>but I would like to see perhaps the first 30-40 levels have their XP costs reduced and added on the back end.
Yes, and no. You can see on the forums how much people love lower level creature coding and antics. This is so lost lately. We even have weird relics like Spell Store (502). Still, I admit it isn't easy to disagree here practically. It isn't the good old days of hanging out in the kobold village. There's a lot of common sense to promote the game in the way most people play it! Even if lots of lower level fun is there, when experienced players plow through the levels, and the game is presently designed for more experienced players, we could benefit to show that game to players. Then again, toss a "noob" in hisskra and I guess 50/50 they quit! But toss them in the Citadel Zoo, 90/10 they keep playing more. It takes a long time to really learn to play the game, and it isn't all about raw power for new players, I don't think. It's really important not to alter our view as long time players for how new players see the game. In fact, and I'm including myself very much here, I think the whole discussion relates to the point that we have no clue how to attract and keep new players. Or at least, we want to discuss it and try harder.
>The other thing is that GS has a total lack of documentation. Meaning stats and such are explained but there is no user friendly way of looking up the information. Additionally the forums are restricted so a player cant come in to ask questions before they start the trial.
I believe I remarked specifically to agree here. The main webpage should, at least, link KP!
>Run a contest to have a new user guide and profession guides created. Give the winners an hour of GM time.
This, more or less, is consistent with my concept that we should run "promotions" for existing players that recruit new players. However, as long as this particular method is mentioned, I can make a joke and ask for it to be applied retroactively. After converting my warrior to a paladin, and then playing him, I was just amazed at how bad KP is for paladins. You can check all the history of pages for yourself, but it was no small effort to bring Paladins up to some basic threshold. Like the entrie profession page...
Personally I did it because I like editing KP etc. It wouldn't be bad to offer rewards, though it could take away from objectivity.
As I finish, I want to say I do like and appreciate your post. Sometimes I get caught up in disagreeing, which is my own fault.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
SILVEAN
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/23/2014 02:00 PM CDT
When people dedicated to tabletop or LARP roleplaying move to a new town, they either look online to find a group to join or head over to the local gaming store.
I recommend assigning someone to create a large database of gaming websites and physical store addresses to target. Then, create high quality flyers emphasizing Gemstone's depth and potential as an outlet for those interested in roleplaying. Send them digitally and physically to the names on your list; give it a week and then make some calls and send emails to touch base with the people you've reached out to in this way.
If you include a promotional code on the flyer, you'll be able to more easily track if any of this works. To be clear, I am making two points here:
1. Take a more direct approach to your advertising.
2. Target tabletop and LARP gamers. I think there are some potential customers in that group.
I recommend assigning someone to create a large database of gaming websites and physical store addresses to target. Then, create high quality flyers emphasizing Gemstone's depth and potential as an outlet for those interested in roleplaying. Send them digitally and physically to the names on your list; give it a week and then make some calls and send emails to touch base with the people you've reached out to in this way.
If you include a promotional code on the flyer, you'll be able to more easily track if any of this works. To be clear, I am making two points here:
1. Take a more direct approach to your advertising.
2. Target tabletop and LARP gamers. I think there are some potential customers in that group.
DAID
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/23/2014 04:10 PM CDT
>I recommend assigning someone to create a large database of gaming websites and physical store addresses to target.
This is a very nice idea. I think in principle players could help contribute to the database, too. Even though I live in Japan, I have a friend who professionally sells Magic Cards, and another who had opened a game store (but since let others take over management). Anyway, something like SW Michigan and some areas near Chicago I could definitely help compiling a list.
To that end, probably what's important initially is if Wyrom (or someone else with staff) can make an API or the format and information being requested for each store. Then players and staff alike could contribute their local knowledge. Right there I think we'd get a lot of the major US cities, and then we can either fill in the details, or just try our luck with a GS-crowdsource list.
In principle we can team up with DR on this, too.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
This is a very nice idea. I think in principle players could help contribute to the database, too. Even though I live in Japan, I have a friend who professionally sells Magic Cards, and another who had opened a game store (but since let others take over management). Anyway, something like SW Michigan and some areas near Chicago I could definitely help compiling a list.
To that end, probably what's important initially is if Wyrom (or someone else with staff) can make an API or the format and information being requested for each store. Then players and staff alike could contribute their local knowledge. Right there I think we'd get a lot of the major US cities, and then we can either fill in the details, or just try our luck with a GS-crowdsource list.
In principle we can team up with DR on this, too.
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
FIREPHOENIX
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/23/2014 11:15 PM CDT
I agree Silvean. If someone wants to draft one and put it online we can do out ourselves.
DAID
Re: "What sort of sign-up promotions would you all like to see?"
06/25/2014 10:13 PM CDT
My only hindsight lamentation about going the route through advertising in physical stores is, literally, what's in it for them?
If it's table top gaming, they sell dice and books potentially. Or they offer gaming space and can sell snacks and drinks, etc.
And if it was a game that required a fast internet connection or a souped out computer, maybe advertise at an ISP or hardware provider...
I suppose the service is they are still being a source of nerd information, and someone looking for a nerd topic and sees our advert for GS and gets hooked will go back to that store the next time they need nerd bait? Just trying to see the business logic here...
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
If it's table top gaming, they sell dice and books potentially. Or they offer gaming space and can sell snacks and drinks, etc.
And if it was a game that required a fast internet connection or a souped out computer, maybe advertise at an ISP or hardware provider...
I suppose the service is they are still being a source of nerd information, and someone looking for a nerd topic and sees our advert for GS and gets hooked will go back to that store the next time they need nerd bait? Just trying to see the business logic here...
>(OOC) Rozy's player whispers to the group, "Spiiiiiderhalfling!"
>Out of no where, a ki-lin gallops in.
