Ive only ever seen crafting work right on RP muds, because on those muds there is more of a market for "useless" items.
I think we need a statish thing like defiance, only instead of affecting defense against prestige mobs, it ups defense against other players, and it should be a large base, with very few, hard to get items that raise it. I am a fan of pk, its a reason to get bigger, and is a fun challenge. Its something to do other than exp but without having to gain a whole new set of skills or raise a whole new set of masteries. Plus, the new stat baseline will help keep newbies alive if they walk into a room with a highbie AOE
State of the Game: 2012
Moderator: Moderators
Resilience, huh?... I honestly don't know if I want the game to move in the direction of more player vs. player combat. While it would give another "thing to do", the biggest issue is that current balance of the game is not at all centered around player vs. player. Events like gladiator are messy enough - even if everyone in game was level 100 with billion xp totals and good eq, there are some guilds/builds that just don't have a fighting chance versus other ones. Fixing that would be a monumental undertaking, which I do not think is a wise idea given the current lack of resources (wizards).
Speaking of which, I would agree with the earlier suggestion (which I have seen repeated again and again in various forms over the years) to let players have some sort of limited powers to fix small things in the game such as typos and innocent bugs.
The biggest issue, in my opinion, with wizard process in Icesus is that our MUD is simply a very complex and different game. You have to stick around and play for a good chunk of time before even being able to begin to get a handle on everything. This is directly related to the issue of being able to attract and retain new players (potential new wizards!).
Therefore, what we end up with are a lot of veteran players who are too invested in the game to want to become wizards (since you lose your mortal character, etc) and a lot of new players who are too inexperienced for the job.
Players in the middle are perfect for small jobs like minor typo and bug fixing. They know the game relativey well and haven't spent years of their lives on it, yet. But since it's still an all-or-nothing transition from mortal to wizard, it's not worth the cost for most people. That's how I feel about it, anyway. Even though I only log on once in a while to refresh my locker, there is so much content that I have yet to experience in Icesus. I don't want to throw away that opportunity to take a wizard position, no matter how much it might benefit the MUD overall. Sure, it's possible for wizards to become mortals once again, but then it's starting over from the very beginning. It's like getting that legendary failed reinc, but without keeping your items and money.
I dunno. I know why the system is the way it is - you have to prevent abuses between developer and live worlds. I'm not the only dev wizard who has gained some slight advantage in the real MUD (however small and insignificant) from being able to see how things work dev-side.
But something has to change, one way or another.
Speaking of which, I would agree with the earlier suggestion (which I have seen repeated again and again in various forms over the years) to let players have some sort of limited powers to fix small things in the game such as typos and innocent bugs.
The biggest issue, in my opinion, with wizard process in Icesus is that our MUD is simply a very complex and different game. You have to stick around and play for a good chunk of time before even being able to begin to get a handle on everything. This is directly related to the issue of being able to attract and retain new players (potential new wizards!).
Therefore, what we end up with are a lot of veteran players who are too invested in the game to want to become wizards (since you lose your mortal character, etc) and a lot of new players who are too inexperienced for the job.
Players in the middle are perfect for small jobs like minor typo and bug fixing. They know the game relativey well and haven't spent years of their lives on it, yet. But since it's still an all-or-nothing transition from mortal to wizard, it's not worth the cost for most people. That's how I feel about it, anyway. Even though I only log on once in a while to refresh my locker, there is so much content that I have yet to experience in Icesus. I don't want to throw away that opportunity to take a wizard position, no matter how much it might benefit the MUD overall. Sure, it's possible for wizards to become mortals once again, but then it's starting over from the very beginning. It's like getting that legendary failed reinc, but without keeping your items and money.
I dunno. I know why the system is the way it is - you have to prevent abuses between developer and live worlds. I'm not the only dev wizard who has gained some slight advantage in the real MUD (however small and insignificant) from being able to see how things work dev-side.
But something has to change, one way or another.
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solar
- Supporting Member 2020
- Posts: 541
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 17:30 pm
- Location: Kalajoki/Oulu, Finland
itchy zap-fingers
Nod. Quite true.allanon wrote:Therefore, what we end up with are a lot of veteran players who are too invested in the game to want to become wizards (since you lose your mortal character, etc) and a lot of new players who are too inexperienced for the job.
But since it's still an all-or-nothing transition from mortal to wizard, it's not worth the cost for most people. That's how I feel about it, anyway. Even though I only log on once in a while to refresh my locker, there is so much content that I have yet to experience in Icesus. I don't want to throw away that opportunity to take a wizard position, no matter how much it might benefit the MUD overall.
I dunno. I know why the system is the way it is - you have to prevent abuses between developer and live worlds. I'm not the only dev wizard who has gained some slight advantage in the real MUD (however small and insignificant) from being able to see how things work dev-side.
But something has to change, one way or another.
I too feel like having to let go of a mortal character is a pretty damn discouraging aspect of wizardhood. This might be an old tradition, but it seems... well, weird.
Yet, there is much damage a 'rogue' wizard can do to a game. One of them is a potential unfair advantage they can, should they choose to, get over monsters by being able to see the facts behind myths, and then exploiting them to their fullest with a mortal character... discovering secret places, or syntax monsters and sharing the information with a friend of theirs, who might share it with yet another one and so forth - you get the point, I hope. Spoiling can ruin the joy of discovery for some, and spoilers on public channels do not generally warn the reader beforehand that the channel message might share information that the reader would rather find out for hirself.
Then again, the cost of giving up playing is one way to 'test loyalty', so to speak. Person willing to give up playing and take more responsibility for the sake of many gets more than a gallant tip of the hat in my book. People who go through with that are definitely baptised by fire and do it like they mean it.
Yet, even that motivation will eventually dwindle and die away, but... if they still had their mortal character, would they stick around? Full wizards with no mortal safety net seem to just vanish.
Internet tough guy
Icesus is not just my life - it's the lack of it.
Icesus is not just my life - it's the lack of it.
The wiki (http://icesus-wiki.studt.net) was set up by me and is hosted by Misrobo, although I have access to upgrade and such stuff. If you have any suggestions about it feel free to tell me. There was a big problem with the open registration of users since spam bots loved that. Currently you need to have been registered for some time before you can post, but if there's a good way of preventing stuff like that I'd like to know.. I'm not really an expert on that software 
Not sure what's going on, a year ago I posted a page and it worked perfectly, I tried to add a possibly outdated list of what races can be monks, from the monk leader when I tried to join as a Saerka, to the monk mage, and it wouldn't allow it. Don't remember the list anymore, but I think it's been verified that you can't have more then 2 arms and 2 legs, and no other limbs if you want to be a monk.
Re: State of the Game: 2012
This is, IMO, a large part of the problem. There are a few people who will stick around even without new content, but quite a lot of players get tired of killing the same mobs with the same skills and will eventually fall away without new toys to play with. Another large part seems like it is the lack of friends to play with, but that is a self-inducing phenomenon so I don't know what we can do about that other than try to get players by other means.zohlor wrote: 1.) Lack of Wizards
- There's a horrible lack of wizards in the game at the moment. People move to different things and life brings changes,
so it's understandable that the current Wizard staff find other things to do and/or don't have the time to put into the game.
It's okay, things change!
- What's unfortunate is that we haven't had a single new Wizard in some time.
I have heard that there's a few people who have wanted to wiz, but they haven't been
answered to when asking about it.
It is possible that MUDs are simply on a decline that we can't stop, competing for gamers' time against any number of 3D gems. However, there are things that MUDs can do which are nowhere near as feasible for graphical games. The most notable thing is content: new areas/guilds/features can be developed lightning fast without having to worry about graphics. I can't imagine how fast the content would flow if the time invested in modern graphical MMO's were directed into a MUD; it seems likely that content would be created about as fast as it could be explored by the players.
Also, Icesus has the best character development with our skill/mastery/reinc system I have ever seen in any RPG I've played, giving it an effectively endless playthrough value. This seems like it would be doable for any RPG, but nobody else invests the time to implement such a system in their game. This one could just be personal preference, though, I guess.
So, I guess in summary, I would say: more players through more general activity?
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solar
- Supporting Member 2020
- Posts: 541
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 17:30 pm
- Location: Kalajoki/Oulu, Finland
2 cents
Partying, and thus connecting with other people from the community, is a decisive adhesive to keep the players coming back for more. I find it very alarming, long-term wise, that soloing is more encouraged than partying ever has been. Sure, some eqmobs need teamwork to gun down and it is fun to make exp with a regular friend-party, or so they say, but even then this is (or seems to be) mostly a single-player game for anyone who has X hours of free Icesus time each day, or at the very most, single-player dragging a nosepicker def.
Seriously now, karma is a good start to heal the wretched mutilated mass that used to be a multiplayer community, but I'm not convinced that there isn't anything else we, or anyone else, could do.
Also, keep voting, so new players will get new players and form parties with each other, so they'll hopefully stick around and maybe even wiz at some point.
PS. Klarh wants to be a wizard, but I'd rather see him play some more!
Seriously now, karma is a good start to heal the wretched mutilated mass that used to be a multiplayer community, but I'm not convinced that there isn't anything else we, or anyone else, could do.
Also, keep voting, so new players will get new players and form parties with each other, so they'll hopefully stick around and maybe even wiz at some point.
PS. Klarh wants to be a wizard, but I'd rather see him play some more!
Internet tough guy
Icesus is not just my life - it's the lack of it.
Icesus is not just my life - it's the lack of it.
Although I wouldn't consider myself a 'power player' by any means, I have enjoyed the game quite steadily for a few years now and the decline in members of late has been worrisome. I'd like to propose a few things that are at a little different angle than some of the suggestions that have already been thrown out there. I don't consider these cure-alls, but I do think they are important in one of the most pressing issues aside from gameplay issues--attracting a new userbase.
Now, obviously, this isn't 1998 anymore. Icesus does NOT need to change its core offering--in fact, its uniqueness, its 'hardcore'-ness is its strongest selling point. And there are people, I know, who are looking for this. However, what possible ways can people find out about Icesus in the first place?
Simply put, the mud referral sites are not what they used to be in terms of traffic, and in 2012 should not be the primary way to attract new users.
People who are interested in MUDs like Icesus have to be reached in different ways--particularly with social media. Icesus getting a Facebook page would be a great start. Make connections with players--and build out a network of referrals (based on people's friends) that way.
(And Suomi24--did I spell that right?)
Start a Twitter account. Make connections with other MUD fans.
Finally really look at search engine optimization for the main web site. You'd be surprised, with little tweaks, what a huge difference it can make.
Look at the first paragraph people see (keeping in mind the perspective of a person COMPLETELY new to the MUD):
"Icesus is a multi-user online roleplaying game (MUD) focusing on combat, character development, player interaction and economy. More than 1000 players enjoy playing this completely free, text-based adventure every week. Icesus MUD is maintained and operated by a non-profit association."
With respect, there is nothing there that really tells the story of Icesus. It should capture what makes the game unique and fun.
Keep in mind this is only the FIRST hurdle for getting more active players. There are many more (and with other solutions--getting newbies acclimated to the game for example). But if the stream of POTENTIAL new players is only a trickle at best, then it's only going to be diminishing returns all down the chain of retaining players.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
Now, obviously, this isn't 1998 anymore. Icesus does NOT need to change its core offering--in fact, its uniqueness, its 'hardcore'-ness is its strongest selling point. And there are people, I know, who are looking for this. However, what possible ways can people find out about Icesus in the first place?
Simply put, the mud referral sites are not what they used to be in terms of traffic, and in 2012 should not be the primary way to attract new users.
People who are interested in MUDs like Icesus have to be reached in different ways--particularly with social media. Icesus getting a Facebook page would be a great start. Make connections with players--and build out a network of referrals (based on people's friends) that way.
(And Suomi24--did I spell that right?)
Start a Twitter account. Make connections with other MUD fans.
Finally really look at search engine optimization for the main web site. You'd be surprised, with little tweaks, what a huge difference it can make.
Look at the first paragraph people see (keeping in mind the perspective of a person COMPLETELY new to the MUD):
"Icesus is a multi-user online roleplaying game (MUD) focusing on combat, character development, player interaction and economy. More than 1000 players enjoy playing this completely free, text-based adventure every week. Icesus MUD is maintained and operated by a non-profit association."
With respect, there is nothing there that really tells the story of Icesus. It should capture what makes the game unique and fun.
Keep in mind this is only the FIRST hurdle for getting more active players. There are many more (and with other solutions--getting newbies acclimated to the game for example). But if the stream of POTENTIAL new players is only a trickle at best, then it's only going to be diminishing returns all down the chain of retaining players.
Anyway, those are my thoughts.
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solar
- Supporting Member 2020
- Posts: 541
- Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 17:30 pm
- Location: Kalajoki/Oulu, Finland
propaganda
I've been thinking of making/getting someone to make cool propaganda fliers for Icesus. Then scatter some of them around the local university. Might attract new players that way. I just have no experience in making fliers, so that has been postponed for now.bargo wrote:--attracting a new userbase.
At least the local university students have a monthly quota of 'free black-and-white prints' (100 sheets), so I could print a lot of them in the summer when there are no studies.
Basically, my idea is a double-sided print that is then folded in two, allowing 4 "pages" of content for the flier. The first page has a visual trap that sparks the interest of passers-by (a meme face with an Icesus/MUDding themed quote/statement etc), the other three would have something else, including but not limited to Icesus website address and a brief description. AND OF COURSE REFER SOLAR COMMAND to get a newbie starter package! ":D" (which of course does not exist!) (Whaaaat? Did you think I am a charity worker?!)
Internet tough guy
Icesus is not just my life - it's the lack of it.
Icesus is not just my life - it's the lack of it.
