Post by leohorseman on Jul 19, 2020 20:11:16 GMT -5
Hello everyone,
What I have here today is a proposition – a proposition for expansion.
As we all know, CoD UO is dying. The fact it has lasted this long at all is mind-boggling. CoD 2, 3, and even 4 have far less players, if any at all, than UO. Needless to mention the CoDs without dedicated servers. The fact is there is a uniqueness that UO offers that can't be found in any other game throughout the 17 years after its release.
So why does this matter? A multiplayer base can only exist through its servers. Ironically, the flip side is true as well; servers can only exist through the multiplayer base. While many may believe the number of servers is declining due to lack of players, I'd argue that in this case it is the players are declining due to a lack of servers.
While there are probably about 1-200 dead servers still running, they will never receive traffic for 2 main reasons:
1. They are not maintained routinely by admins
2. They do not offer reliability or consistency in maps, game types, and traffic times.
Another thing that is hard to come by are servers that are clean and un-modded. Modded versions of the game are practically entirely new games all together, and the players want to play UO, not some random dreamed up fantasy shooter developed 10 years ago by some forgotten developer and his wildly bad ideas.
With that in mind, those who are trying to hold onto UO really only have 2 options, Historians, and {RA}. The fact that {RA} is even still around is a mystery in and of itself. They constantly play nothing by Poker Table and Tenchu, and a great deal of players are banned – a dangerous thing to do with an already thinning player base. So if you are a returning player who prefers CTF over BAS and you're no longer able to play at {RA}, or you are sick of the same 2 maps, you're probably going to be tempted to play other games and drop UO altogether.
By now you probably know what I am thinking, and I'm crazy right? Well I've being doing a lot of research. Many of these "dead" servers still attract stragglers, 2,4 or maybe even 10 players at a time. These are not players who ever play at Historians or {RA}. I've seen them and spoken to them and they don't play at these two servers because they either don't like the management or, in your case, the BAS game type. Two server examples are OTS and QRS. Not only they get traffic, but some of the very players who go to {RA} prefer these servers when they are busy simply because they try new maps. Their 2 fatal flaws however are that they: 1 - use ridiculous mods, and 2 - for that reason don't get consistent returning players.
Historians has the brand name that will snag in players no matter what. Your server has guaranteed reliable and consistent gameplay for over 10 years. But, how much longer can BAS on 5 different maps truly last?
What UO players need is a server that does what {RA} can't. The reason UO is still played is because the new maps constantly make it feel like a new game, but this is something {RA} neglects. Players need to be able to play the game without risking permanent bans over suspicion of petty crimes like team stacking, accidental snap voting, or heat of the moment spawn killing. Every banned player expedites the death of UO. A lot of times when {RA} has 0 online players, I would just join the server to see what would happen. It's funny that when someone sees that "1/(32)" players, they join only a few minutes after I take the initiative, and pretty soon that number because 2 then 4 then 8 and a full server. People want to play the game, but when they don't see the players, they will lose faith in the player base.
As you may know, recently I was banned from {RA}, so they will no longer see that "1/(32)", hence a populated server can be detrimentally less likely. What this old community needs right now more than ever is a reboot. A strong robust dedicated CTF server, with organic CoD UO gameplay (no mods), both familiar and fresh new maps and a server brand name that is trustworthy, reliable, and does not ban players for no reason, discouraging them from playing their favorite game.
Here is the plan:
1. We include the players – I met players on the OTS server, QRS server and even Historians who are all banned from {RA}. They need a new go to server where they can depend on reliable and consistent gameplay and traffic.
2. We keep things fresh – The main reason games die is repetition and predictability. Recently I convinced the admins of {RA} to include a fun map, Casa_De_Austin. After struggling a lot to persuade them, they gave in. The map is from at least 2009 (Austin Servers) but none of their players had seen it before. They loved it so much that they kept calling votes to change to that map, and now it is part of their rotation.
3. We advertise – Our efforts may have to be taken outside the game itself. Practically all of these people who played this game in '03/'04 are still alive, they just aren't playing because they think the game is dead. I stopped playing in 2014 and didn't even bother looking back into it since June because I had assumed the community was gone. I spoke to other players on other servers and they still wear their clan tags and in many cases they still have contact information for some of their old clan members. On {RA} there is even a 17 year old kid playing! We don't just need old players, we could get new ones too. If some players could even stream on Twitch or upload to YouTube, that could also attract new players easily since the game is so easy to get on Steam.
4. We run on donations – A second server could be costly, but if we run some messages on the server asking for donations, that could change. The trick to ask for a donation is by asking an amount. $0.99/month is cheap and enticing. $1 a month from 20 people is much more than $5 a month from 2.
__________________
All I ask is that you consider this idea. The server wouldn't be hot right away, but we can monitor our progress over the course of a month or so and reexamine it from there. This may be the last chance to revive the game. In my eyes, Historians is the only one who can take on that mantle of responsibility.
What I have here today is a proposition – a proposition for expansion.
As we all know, CoD UO is dying. The fact it has lasted this long at all is mind-boggling. CoD 2, 3, and even 4 have far less players, if any at all, than UO. Needless to mention the CoDs without dedicated servers. The fact is there is a uniqueness that UO offers that can't be found in any other game throughout the 17 years after its release.
So why does this matter? A multiplayer base can only exist through its servers. Ironically, the flip side is true as well; servers can only exist through the multiplayer base. While many may believe the number of servers is declining due to lack of players, I'd argue that in this case it is the players are declining due to a lack of servers.
While there are probably about 1-200 dead servers still running, they will never receive traffic for 2 main reasons:
1. They are not maintained routinely by admins
2. They do not offer reliability or consistency in maps, game types, and traffic times.
Another thing that is hard to come by are servers that are clean and un-modded. Modded versions of the game are practically entirely new games all together, and the players want to play UO, not some random dreamed up fantasy shooter developed 10 years ago by some forgotten developer and his wildly bad ideas.
With that in mind, those who are trying to hold onto UO really only have 2 options, Historians, and {RA}. The fact that {RA} is even still around is a mystery in and of itself. They constantly play nothing by Poker Table and Tenchu, and a great deal of players are banned – a dangerous thing to do with an already thinning player base. So if you are a returning player who prefers CTF over BAS and you're no longer able to play at {RA}, or you are sick of the same 2 maps, you're probably going to be tempted to play other games and drop UO altogether.
By now you probably know what I am thinking, and I'm crazy right? Well I've being doing a lot of research. Many of these "dead" servers still attract stragglers, 2,4 or maybe even 10 players at a time. These are not players who ever play at Historians or {RA}. I've seen them and spoken to them and they don't play at these two servers because they either don't like the management or, in your case, the BAS game type. Two server examples are OTS and QRS. Not only they get traffic, but some of the very players who go to {RA} prefer these servers when they are busy simply because they try new maps. Their 2 fatal flaws however are that they: 1 - use ridiculous mods, and 2 - for that reason don't get consistent returning players.
Historians has the brand name that will snag in players no matter what. Your server has guaranteed reliable and consistent gameplay for over 10 years. But, how much longer can BAS on 5 different maps truly last?
What UO players need is a server that does what {RA} can't. The reason UO is still played is because the new maps constantly make it feel like a new game, but this is something {RA} neglects. Players need to be able to play the game without risking permanent bans over suspicion of petty crimes like team stacking, accidental snap voting, or heat of the moment spawn killing. Every banned player expedites the death of UO. A lot of times when {RA} has 0 online players, I would just join the server to see what would happen. It's funny that when someone sees that "1/(32)" players, they join only a few minutes after I take the initiative, and pretty soon that number because 2 then 4 then 8 and a full server. People want to play the game, but when they don't see the players, they will lose faith in the player base.
As you may know, recently I was banned from {RA}, so they will no longer see that "1/(32)", hence a populated server can be detrimentally less likely. What this old community needs right now more than ever is a reboot. A strong robust dedicated CTF server, with organic CoD UO gameplay (no mods), both familiar and fresh new maps and a server brand name that is trustworthy, reliable, and does not ban players for no reason, discouraging them from playing their favorite game.
Here is the plan:
1. We include the players – I met players on the OTS server, QRS server and even Historians who are all banned from {RA}. They need a new go to server where they can depend on reliable and consistent gameplay and traffic.
2. We keep things fresh – The main reason games die is repetition and predictability. Recently I convinced the admins of {RA} to include a fun map, Casa_De_Austin. After struggling a lot to persuade them, they gave in. The map is from at least 2009 (Austin Servers) but none of their players had seen it before. They loved it so much that they kept calling votes to change to that map, and now it is part of their rotation.
3. We advertise – Our efforts may have to be taken outside the game itself. Practically all of these people who played this game in '03/'04 are still alive, they just aren't playing because they think the game is dead. I stopped playing in 2014 and didn't even bother looking back into it since June because I had assumed the community was gone. I spoke to other players on other servers and they still wear their clan tags and in many cases they still have contact information for some of their old clan members. On {RA} there is even a 17 year old kid playing! We don't just need old players, we could get new ones too. If some players could even stream on Twitch or upload to YouTube, that could also attract new players easily since the game is so easy to get on Steam.
4. We run on donations – A second server could be costly, but if we run some messages on the server asking for donations, that could change. The trick to ask for a donation is by asking an amount. $0.99/month is cheap and enticing. $1 a month from 20 people is much more than $5 a month from 2.
__________________
All I ask is that you consider this idea. The server wouldn't be hot right away, but we can monitor our progress over the course of a month or so and reexamine it from there. This may be the last chance to revive the game. In my eyes, Historians is the only one who can take on that mantle of responsibility.
