Why we REALLY need playerbase growth
Well the best tutorials imo are those integrated into a single player campaign mode, and not too basic because 'right click to move your unit' is just annoying. Obviously there is no campaign in allegiance, however the controls themselves are unintuitive enough so any player trying to get into the game will immediately have to go into the clunky change controls screen. By having both training missions and unintuitive controls you've got people bored to death because of tutorial and then extremely annoyed by clunky controls (and controls screen). If that isn't a strong deterrant, I don't know what is.
"For save the world from this epic gay, Clint have this hope : he would put something great and big in his ass."
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Bard
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Well, a nice easy fix for that would be an external app that edited the inputmap1.mdl file in a nicely-sized easy-to-read window OUTSIDE of the game before someone launched for the first time. It would:
1) Give them the opportunity to SEE the controls
2) Allow them to change what they wanted
3) Not require modification of the Allegiance Source Code
1) Give them the opportunity to SEE the controls
2) Allow them to change what they wanted
3) Not require modification of the Allegiance Source Code
Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit.
Ok here comes the wall of text, feel free to flame me if you strongly disagree with my opinions:
While some of you might disagree, clunky controls and poor tutorials are one of many reasons why allegiance isn't a popular game and one of the reasons to this game's ultimate downfall. For many of you (particularly vets from 2000 or close to) it might seem stupid that stuff like tutorial is even mentioned, but the truth is people are different. While you may not care for the default controls, plenty of people (in particular casual gamers, to which this game would most likely appeal) are drawn to games which are accessible without the need to spend 15 min reconfiguring 100 controls and another 30 reading about the gameplay mechanics.
Add the fact that you have a tutorial broken down in 5x 5min (?) parts, explaining controls which are simply horrible and need to be remapped anyway and you've got a problem.
However, it is only one of many problems that plague this game, with others being for example outdated graphics, little room for individual success, fact that for majority of the time in a day there aren't any games running, a community that is easy to turn hostile and is filled with people who enjoy belittling others, no newbie-plays-with-newbie system, Core Wars that turn plenty of players away from the game, lack of will to create new, exciting content, only one real game mode (or perhaps not enough people to utilize and enjoy different game modes),
the fact that there are games easier to enjoy than this one.
Some of those problems are easier to remedy than others, unfortunately it seems to be too late, even if people did something about this, the community seems to be smaller with each passing day. I'm a tiny bit annoyed because I know that even if (and when) people throw all this stuff in your face nobody would do anything because if it worked until now, why should we change anything? That was the reason behind not adding in new content - it would unbalance the game, and the game works without it. For the record, I do realize that OH is 'the new content', but I hardly see how it actually adds anything apart from new models.
Maybe I'm just full of @#(!, but I do believe that if people have had removed that tutorial, remapped the keys, integrated the high res textures in models from the start, made it possible to choose a damn reticule from the game instead of having to search the sites almost as old as this game, made some kinda of a system in all this newbie server bullcrap, got some kind of moderation on the amount of @#(! people throw at each other and newbies in game, and generally made this game a little bit less of a pain to actually enjoy from the start...
Gg, I enjoyed flying with you when I did, but then I stopped so now I'm here ranting about human nature and stubborness, silly me. So unfortunate that it's hard to keep a player-driven game going.
While some of you might disagree, clunky controls and poor tutorials are one of many reasons why allegiance isn't a popular game and one of the reasons to this game's ultimate downfall. For many of you (particularly vets from 2000 or close to) it might seem stupid that stuff like tutorial is even mentioned, but the truth is people are different. While you may not care for the default controls, plenty of people (in particular casual gamers, to which this game would most likely appeal) are drawn to games which are accessible without the need to spend 15 min reconfiguring 100 controls and another 30 reading about the gameplay mechanics.
Add the fact that you have a tutorial broken down in 5x 5min (?) parts, explaining controls which are simply horrible and need to be remapped anyway and you've got a problem.
However, it is only one of many problems that plague this game, with others being for example outdated graphics, little room for individual success, fact that for majority of the time in a day there aren't any games running, a community that is easy to turn hostile and is filled with people who enjoy belittling others, no newbie-plays-with-newbie system, Core Wars that turn plenty of players away from the game, lack of will to create new, exciting content, only one real game mode (or perhaps not enough people to utilize and enjoy different game modes),
the fact that there are games easier to enjoy than this one.
Some of those problems are easier to remedy than others, unfortunately it seems to be too late, even if people did something about this, the community seems to be smaller with each passing day. I'm a tiny bit annoyed because I know that even if (and when) people throw all this stuff in your face nobody would do anything because if it worked until now, why should we change anything? That was the reason behind not adding in new content - it would unbalance the game, and the game works without it. For the record, I do realize that OH is 'the new content', but I hardly see how it actually adds anything apart from new models.
Maybe I'm just full of @#(!, but I do believe that if people have had removed that tutorial, remapped the keys, integrated the high res textures in models from the start, made it possible to choose a damn reticule from the game instead of having to search the sites almost as old as this game, made some kinda of a system in all this newbie server bullcrap, got some kind of moderation on the amount of @#(! people throw at each other and newbies in game, and generally made this game a little bit less of a pain to actually enjoy from the start...
Gg, I enjoyed flying with you when I did, but then I stopped so now I'm here ranting about human nature and stubborness, silly me. So unfortunate that it's hard to keep a player-driven game going.
"For save the world from this epic gay, Clint have this hope : he would put something great and big in his ass."
Agree with most of what you say Sealer, and I'm one of those as well that just sort of stopped playing.
Some of the problems are inherent to the way the game works, though.
Newbie servers are just a mess. Newbies playing with newbies in a game this complicated just leave them all confused, and/or wanting to comm main after their SY vs SY noobfest and then quitting for good when they are strongly deterred.
I really do hope the game recovers from the current slump, but this is definitely a low in my 5+ years in the community. The ratio of frustration to fun is too high for me personally to keep going, but I love the community enough to stay in the forums.
There is a point of critical mass, below which the player base will basically disintegrate as there won't be enough people to populate primetime games reliably and the occasional players will just stop trying. I'm afraid we are close to that point but don't really have any ideas how to fix it.
Some of the problems are inherent to the way the game works, though.
Newbie servers are just a mess. Newbies playing with newbies in a game this complicated just leave them all confused, and/or wanting to comm main after their SY vs SY noobfest and then quitting for good when they are strongly deterred.
I really do hope the game recovers from the current slump, but this is definitely a low in my 5+ years in the community. The ratio of frustration to fun is too high for me personally to keep going, but I love the community enough to stay in the forums.
There is a point of critical mass, below which the player base will basically disintegrate as there won't be enough people to populate primetime games reliably and the occasional players will just stop trying. I'm afraid we are close to that point but don't really have any ideas how to fix it.
Terran wrote:QUOTE (Terran @ Jan 20 2011, 03:56 PM) i'm like adept
Broodwich wrote:QUOTE (Broodwich @ Jun 6 2010, 10:19 PM) if you spent as much time in game as trollin sf might not be dead
Oh yes, absolutely. That's why I said some of the problems are more difficult to solve.Icky wrote:QUOTE (Icky @ May 19 2011, 08:54 PM) Agree with most of what you say Sealer, and I'm one of those as well that just sort of stopped playing.
Some of the problems are inherent to the way the game works, though.
Newbie servers are just a mess. Newbies playing with newbies in a game this complicated just leave them all confused, and/or wanting to comm main after their SY vs SY noobfest and then quitting for good when they are strongly deterred.
Newbie servers would require @alleg or @help attention, and few people have enough time for this kinda stuff, especially in a community as small as this one. I'm sure with some planning/will this could work out. Or with a code genius who would create a commander rating system, a commanding help system for newbies. In reality it might be better to create a fixed deathmatch newbie server for them to $#@! around, and if we had enough players and a few voobs who would like to command newbie vs newbie games where they could $#@! around and not get yelled at for doing stupid @#(!. As I said, the community is too small for this.
Another thing, lack of individual success is directly related to the game mechanics, however through different playing modes that people bothered to play that could be somehow balanced. If instead of playing 30v30 $#@!fest people had bothered to have a 6v6 deathmatch (and a dm ranking system!) and a 'real' game, situation might look different. We all know this game isn't balanced for 30v30 anyway (not that there around players for that anymore).
"For save the world from this epic gay, Clint have this hope : he would put something great and big in his ass."
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Axel Kolle
- Posts: 167
- Joined: Thu May 19, 2011 2:54 pm
Regarding the community, I have found them to be helpful. A modicum of respect goes a long way. What is a bit intimidating is that it is a tight community as well, and thus there are times when one feels on the backfoot. But I think most vets are acutely aware of personal relations.
As I go back to the old glory days of flight sims, I am perhaps not the typical member of the 3 C generation (Cash, Car, Cell phone) I also don't drive a BMW, who are THE rudest road hogs imaginable.
For what it's worth, the community is not such a problem, but that the potential audience has changed. Zombie is not far from the truth. I mean, games with a 30 page A5 manual?? Come on.
As I go back to the old glory days of flight sims, I am perhaps not the typical member of the 3 C generation (Cash, Car, Cell phone) I also don't drive a BMW, who are THE rudest road hogs imaginable.
For what it's worth, the community is not such a problem, but that the potential audience has changed. Zombie is not far from the truth. I mean, games with a 30 page A5 manual?? Come on.
Don't call me a scout whore, I am a scout courtesan.