I have some comments about the future of Alleg and these posts.
Here is some of my background as a player, if you don't know who I am. You can skip this part. Some of you guys know me and some of you don't. I've played Alleg on and off for years! I played it from the beta and was a paying AZ member. I was there when Solap told us M$ was giving us the code. I had my own squad in my AZ days. Joined XT after Az died and had always been a happy member. You could say I've been following Alleg from day one. I'm not an active player anymore. I have my times when I come back play for a few months leave and come back again, etc. When I don't play I do check the forums now and then. I've liked Alleg on FB. Just to see what's going on. I'm still a fan of the game. I love space sims.
Alleg is in a game genre that hasn't been popular for years. Not because space sims are old or not fun. Mostly because no one is making this game type anymore. A lot of gamers have no idea what a space sim is. No one is googling "space sim" or "free space sim" That has just changed I hope!! A few days ago the king of space sims Chris Roberts announced his new space sim. It's called Star Citizen. A lot of people seem to be interested in this. It made the front page on Gamespot for 4 days. This could help build up Alleg. We should look to get some ads on Star Citizen fan sites. Sites like
www.wcnews.com is full of space sim players.
Alleg the game:
The game itself has stood up pretty well over the time. A lot of that has to do with all the work that has been put into it.
A few things new players will look at:
1. is it easy to install?
2. Will it run out of the box on any version of Windows without jumping through hoops.
3. Is the game easy to pickup.
4. Can it be easily played with a mouse? Joysticks are a thing of the past! The mouse and controllers rule the PC gaming world.
5. Is it fun?
6. Is it replay-able.
7. Other players friendly.
Alleg has to meet the above items for it to gain traction. I think it does most of that list pretty well.
Items where I think Alleg lacks:
1. Friendly players ... I think a lot of the Vet players take this game to much to heart. It is a game!! You guys are hard on new players. Calling them noobs, kicking them, stacking, yelling at them when they mess up. This is something I remember at least from the past. That would/has left a bad taste in new players mouths.
2. The Forums ... they are out of control and always have been. Everything time I check them all I see is people bitching about something. This sucks, that sucls, this one sucks, blah blah blah. I have no problem with freedom of speech. The problem I have is it's always up front right there. I look at the first post in the general forum and it's full of people bitching. I think you need to make a Vet forum or something. This game needs a place where the Vets can talk there mind but new players are not exposed to it 24/7.
3. Admins ... I see a lot of posts about the admins being inactive. To be honest I have no idea who runs this game anymore. Honestly it doesn't matter!!! As long as the game works, servers are up, I can get help when I need it I would be a happy player. I looked to see how many players are online the last time I checked was 12am EDT. There was 0 players on a Saturday night at midnight?? Is there this big need for these very active admins?
4. Social Media ... this game lacks exposure. Social Media needs to be added to the site, forums, etc. Players need to post as many videos on youtube as possible. Build up the game on Social Media from the current active players.
5. Email? Crazy question I assume there is a huge list of players from past and present. Send them ONE email saying hey this game is still around and we want you back!! It can't hurt!
6. News letter... email users on a monthly basis just talking about upcoming events at least to keep Alleg in there mind now and then.
These are just some of my thoughts. I want to see this game last for another 10 years. Alleg is a game I do care about, I hope to play again in the near future.
BTW one area I can help out with is web hosting if needed. I run my own business.
I don't expect a lot of players to like my post. I do expect players to bitch about it.
