Spiral Knights - For those worried about energy costs hurting new players/game growth

For those worried about energy costs hurting new players/game growth

11 replies [Last post]

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 01:12

Pawn

I've seen a lot of these threads where people lament the possibility that game growth will be stymied by energy costs creating barriers to entry for new players.

Just wondering if you guys are doing anything to help. It's really easy to complain that new players won't/can't etc play because of it, so help them out. Help them make the most of their runs through the dungeons. What i'd suggest is make at least 1 one-star item a day and give it to a new player. Today i made a one-star static edge and gave it to someone with no 1-star items. For free. Didn't even ask to be compensated for the 10 energy or 200 crowns or mats. And you know what? He/she thought it was really cool and seemed to really appreciate it.

What made me want to do this? Boredom, lol. But also my brothers 2nd day on the game, someone just gave him a 3 star defender shield. How awesome is that? Very awesome.

Other things you could do to help, every once in a while in the chat type /2 looking to give new players tips. Explain to them they should really try and avoid using energy to revive. LEt them know it's best to only buy those recipes right when they are gonna make the items (at least in the beginning). Explain to them how to shield properly. If you are in a dungeon with them, give them pointers. Hey, you hit this mob once, then block, then you can do your 3 hit combo. Just little things like that.

Anyhow, i think a good cheap start to helping is to spend 200 crowns and 10 energy and give some shiny new player a cool new item! And whenever i do this or something like this, always ask them to pass on the kind deed when they can afford it in the future. Small things like this really make games feel more friendly and less intimidating to new players.

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 01:22

snjchouji

Legacy Username

I agree with you bud. Just

I agree with you bud. Just today I popped into like H12 or H17 to sell a shield to a customer. I saw these three starting players there and they were discussing going for a run of t1. I had some extra Wolver Caps and I just handed them out to the new guys. It's nice and I wish someone did the same for me when I started. It's always good to help out the new guys. They will turn into potential customers (from a crafter's viewpoint).

Melty

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 02:43

Stardrinker

Legacy Username

Bandaid

What you're doing is only a temporary solution, and actually has a very small impact. Just how many people you've helped are actually going to return the favor to someone else. I dare say, hardly any will.

What this game needs isn't a temporary ineffective bandaid, it needs proper permanent changes to the game design. That's something only OOO can do. The players can help by offering suggestions, but you're going to have to wait and see if they actually listen to them. And I'm not talking about adding in a limited channel for trade or small changes here and there, this type of change is on a whole different level.

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 03:28

dukelexon

Legacy Username

Frankly, the claim is utterly

It's a nice thought, original poster, but there's not really a problem here to fix in the first place.

Frankly, the fact that many people keep insisting that this is even an issue AT ALL is utterly absurd, considering that there is a thriving market for "free-to-play" MMOs at the moment, with literally dozens of games out there .... many of which have far, FAR more restrictive content that actually falls under the "free" umbrella, and far FAR more incentives for their player base to actually cross that threshold and become a paying customer.

There's a whole spectrum of what the word 'free' means in these games, and Spiral Knights falls somewhere in the middle. Even some of the extremely limited ones (say, Wizard101, for example) are not just doing well ... they're booming. Where was the mass exodus of disgruntled players in these games, I wonder? Where was the sudden starvation of new players?

Here's reality: Sometimes, "free" just means "try it out, and pay for it if you like it enough once you get to a point you can't go any farther without doing so." And there's nothing wrong with that, and it most DEFINITELY does NOT spell doom for the fate of any game. The industry as a whole has proven that to be a fallacious assumption, years ago.

The thing is .... Spiral Knights isn't even as limited as that. There may come a point in which a really new player, not even out of tier 1 yet, may only be able to play for an hour or two for their first couple of days (waiting on mist to regenerate), but as you progress, your crown profits go up. This is especially the case if you don't just assume your only source for crowns are the actual coins you're picking up off the ground (There's a living, breathing economy in the game. Use it and make more!).

A guaranteed 90 minutes of play a day, with the potential to earn yourself some more for no cost to you (if you bother to spend five minutes learning how to go about it), is ...

JUST.

FINE.

.....absolutely anyone (and I have no fear in making a blanket statement on this particular issue) predicting failure for the game unless it becomes easier to play for free, perpetually, doesn't have a lot of experience with this genre. Go and look at the business models at ..... oh, say, the top 15 titles in the free MMO market .... compare, contrast, then come back and make those claims. You'll be weeping with happiness at just how much Spiral Knights actually allows you to do for nothing.

If a 'free' game like Wizard101 that never lets you leave a bare handful of zones without spending money (and, believe me when I say there's no such thing as an energy market there .... it's dollars or nothing) can attain a million players, and still be growing .... I'm not really sure where people are getting this strange idea that absolute freeness is necessary for an online game to succeed. As far as I can tell, they come more from largely personal biases against the very concept of paying for an online game, than they do from any sort of actual familiarity with the industry.

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 03:52

Pupu

Legacy Username

...

STOP MAKING NEW THREADS ABOUT ENERGY

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 04:56

sasano19

Legacy Username

I gave away like 30 caliburs

I gave away like 30 caliburs the other day but admittedly that was just a desperate attempt to earn Karma points with the % gods.

That being said I help out my lowbie friends a lot, but thats about it, like people have stated before while Im sure the newbie would appreciate the gift it will probably not determine weather they stay in the game or not and it will definitely not fix the CE issues.

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 10:31

Pawn

u missed the point Pupu

@Pupu, This isn't a new thread about energy.
It is a new thread about, 'if you worry about how new players are going to feel about the game...'
And it is a new thread about, 'Stop whining about this or that, and do what you can yourself to improve it...'

It's the difference between going to a forum and posting about how much you hate litter, or going outside and picking up a piece of trash.

@Stardrinker, I think most people will enjoy it enough to craft and give away a 1-star item at some point. Admittedly, it becomes a bit more of a stretch if you are expecting people to craft anything higher though.

@Dukelexon, I agree there is nothing wrong with the system. I actually really enjoy the grind. I find it refreshing when games are 'hard'. Granted in this case it isn't so much a question of difficult to do well, as it is difficult to progress in equipment at times. But anytime i play a game and it's difficult to obtain enough money to gear up and advance, i find it rewarding and i like it.

@sasano19, That's awesome :)

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 10:53

Feynt

Legacy Username

I argue that while the giving

I argue that while the giving of gifts to newbies doesn't fix the "looming energy crisis" everyone seems to think there is, it does improve the public image of the community to draw in new players. You help out someone who's on his first day (tab him part way on a run to level 8 while you unlock that floor for free because he ran out of energy, give him a shocking edge just because, etc.) will likely inspire them to tell their friends, "Hey, I'm playing this game called Spiral Knights, and the people seem really nice there. I got a free sword because I'm new, some guy just gave it to me to help me get started and then took me all the way through to this first town thingy named Moorcroft."

More people means more crafting business. More people means more money for OOO due to CE purchases. And more people means the crown:CE price will drop because of the larger ratio of newbies:midbies:oldbies.

Sat, 04/23/2011 - 12:44

bridgetroll

Legacy Username

Im hurt

Im a new player. Energy too strong... im hurt. HELP

Sun, 04/24/2011 - 15:57

leecadet

Legacy Username

minor impact

I am going to repeat what jeburk said, but I would take it even farther. Players do a lot in this game. Players influence the price of CE. Players influence how the gate are built. Players mold the community.

You may not be able to make mass sweeping changes, but do something. Do what is in your power. Help out a new player. Send them on a crafting quest. Anything. Once they figure out how you did it, they may do the same. Eventually, we may destroy the market for static edges, but as a community will be better off for it.

Getting on a forum and complaining about it is doing something, but I challenge you to do more. I know you can.

Sun, 04/24/2011 - 16:21

#10

Awesomest

Legacy Username

This isn't a new thread about

This isn't a new thread about energy.

lol, funny.

Also, this:

STOP MAKING NEW THREADS ABOUT ENERGY

Sun, 04/24/2011 - 17:07

#11

Hoogie

Legacy Username

I agree with duke. When I

I agree with duke. When I started back at preview, energy prices were at 10k. I thought that I'd never be able to get 5 star equipments and I'd need to get 4 star equipment premade. Didn't stop me from playing. Then as I played, I learned more efficient ways to earn money. I became self sufficient even at 10k per 100ce. I survived through 15 and 20 doing various money making schemes. It wasn't that hard.

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For those worried about energy costs hurting new players/game growth