Unofficial Estimation of Player Activeness
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 16:48
We can use the mineral deposits into closed gate as a proxy for player activeness pre and post patch.
This isnt the most accurate way, but probably the best way to estimate it for now.
The mineral deposit aspect has not really been affected since the latest patch.
Give it a few days lag, due to we can deposit materials way before the gate opens, and that some players had left over minerals from last week.
The current gate has around 50k for each type in stratum 1, and if one week later the gate about to open has the same amount, then player activity remained the same pre and post patch.
If its significantly lower, keep doing what u're doing, and 3 Ring's will be forced to undo the changes or at least do something else to make their players happy, or else they'll only keep on losing profits over the most critical part of the game's life cycle.
If the numbers are significantly higher, some gm's must be adjusting the results.
Also I expect this topic to be closed, but guess what i dun really give a flying f*** bout this game anymore.
When facing a significant loss of customers after one change (purely my assumptions based on forums / friend list / guild / in game chat ), if you don't plan on doing anything to restore it, you might as well ignore any bug fix. I think the most important thing you should do is prepare a fancier report to your board members / corporate investors. Since u're not getting as much from ur customers, you should at least try to get that from ur investors.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 16:55
#2
Three Rings has the numbers
Three Rings has the numbers and I'm sure they're watching closely to see if the population drops, stays the same or rises also I'm sure they're watching CE sales too I know lots of people who said they'd still hang around but would never buy CE again.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 17:02
#3
@kbe2k11 i'm sure they have
@kbe2k11 i'm sure they have the numbers, but do we have them? no. is three rings likely to share that info with us esp after such a fail patch? i don't think so.
my way was for anyone who's interested in monitoring the changes, and like i said in the title, its unofficial, and purely estimation.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 17:05
#4
What's your point the only
What's your point the only people the numbers matter to is Three Rings and their investors if they're loosing people and making less profit than before obviously they're doing something wrong.
What good will the numbers do us? What do you want to do rub it in their face if the population has dropped.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 18:59
#5
Six old hands or half a dozen new hands...
I know that people are leaving the game, and that with the announcement about an unbinding some of them -may- come back. I'm also pretty sure that the number of people leaving over the update is not more than 10% or so of the playerbase. With new players coming in every day, I would expect the population a week after the update to be roughly the same as before the update. Most players will simply adapt. OTOH, many more are vowing to go on only as free-players and not indulge in cash CE anymore too. I expect that vow to not hold out for more than a month or so.
More damaging to three rings bottom line is the damage to the reputation of the game in the wider 'net. If people hear on other gaming sites about such money-gouging tactics instead of hearing about the good things, they are less likely to try the game and are more likely to look for fault if they do try it. However, that reputation damage should fade within the quarter. So the only long-term problem is those of us who stay on, but with a bitter taste in our mouths over this update and a reluctance to spend cash on CE. (Granted, I vaguely planned to spend only $10 or so and only once, but, others may have more generous wallets and the same bitter taste.)
(By money gouging tactics, of course, I mean the increased CE crafting costs. Everything is an arguable matter of game design balance, that you can like or not like but doesn't directly affect cash flow. Crafting costs would have been too, if the materials required or crowns required had been changed instead of the CE required, but instead they made a bid to multiply their income per player.)
It's frustrating, but given the small party nature of the game, it doesn't need a large playerbase to thrive, so even if half of the playerbase -did- quit over this update, they'd be replaced. I do believe that three rings values loyal customers that are around from the start, but this update and pre- and post- handling of it isn't really showing that... I only have that opinion because I've played other three rings games and assume the spiral knights team has much the same culture. (Some of them came from the puzzle pirates team, after all, to move to spiral knights.)
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 19:09
#6
Is this of that much importance?
True, te update has made the game considerebaly less fun, however the playability isn't so different. If you didn't give a flying F about it, then why did you bother posting? If you don't like the game, don't play.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 19:31
#7
Guess its time to start a
Guess its time to start a dedicated blog.
I for one will play the AH, and buy as much CE as low as I can get it. Less CE in circulation the better. CR is pretty worthless anyhow unless your buying from AH; you also need less now for recipes.
Haven't paid a cent and not planning to after this patch. Glad i held out to see how the developers would handle things.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 19:47
#8
Senshi - Alot of the players
Senshi - Alot of the players who vow to play free may aswell, if they still have a decent stockpile of CE from before they patch then they dont need to pay. Aslong as running a tier is still profitable compared to the energy used, why would they pay.
The update as it was, without warning just sets the standard of how things may be in the future, and any reason why you pay now might be removed at any given point in the future without warning.
The initial shock of this update is one thing. Knowing it could be repeated at any time, time and time again is something that will remain in peoples minds.
It also seems that jacking up the price of CE/use of CE while not actually adding any legitimate content is the focus of new developments.
There were plenty of suggestions on how to make things better, ways to prolong the game life as things stand now(before actual content is added) some good, some not so good. All of which seemed to be ignored for the easiest / most profitable solution. From a business standpoint, you can see why, from the players standpoint you can see why the forums have lit up.
As you, me and a lot of others have mentioned, they know we're replaceable, and by their announcements and responses, even theyre basically saying we're replaceable.
There is a balance between profit and how it affects players that a alot of games are able to work with.
-Incremental patches that slowly introduce the new rules so it isnt 1 big hit
-Warnings and transperency of what they wish the game to be and future plans.
-Testing updates before they release them, removing the problem of multiple bugs after every update.
-Better handling of the communities negative responses to updates that dont come off so arrogant/dismissive.
We all know that games do need to make a profit, some games do so without blindsiding their playerbase.
On a side note, im wondering if all these posts against 3rings and these updates will stay in graveyard where any new player can read them, or will magically disappear.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 20:03
#9
On a side note, im wondering
On a side note, im wondering if all these posts against 3rings and these updates will stay in graveyard where any new player can read them, or will magically disappear.
You can read all sorts of commentary all the way back to October that had various levels of post intelligence. Unless you're raging, insulting or downright profane a post and its thread will be visible for a very long time. Three Rings does not moderate intelligent and critical thinking.
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 20:43
#10
^ good to know, i dont mind
^ good to know, i dont mind them pruning or censoring a few posts if needed, but the threads in their majority should stay
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 07:37
#11
kinda suspicious how they
kinda suspicious how they removed the counters eh?
"Also I expect this topic to be closed"
You couldn't get through one post without acting like a child?