(05-10-2018, 09:28 AM)Sombra Hookier Wrote: Freelancer is not a free game.
Freelancer the game? Or DiscoveryGC?
Freelancer the game is abandoned by Microsoft support. It is arguable that one can give copies away, but not sell copied versions.
DiscoveryGC is supported by donations and the goodwill of the players. It cannot charge people due to Microsoft owning the copywrite on Freelancer coding - I may be in error. Anyone joining plays for free.
It's a controversal topic, however it is one because of that we can't just tell people "Hey, come here, we give you Freelancer for free!" publicly. And that is one of the problems. People don't know how to get Freelancer in first place. Which is why I tell people on Imgur to look at a certain link or at ebay or rebuy.
Quote:times of 200/200 server loadout were so much better than the current times
255/255 actually, of course they were, because the game's direction was simple and obvious, no tamagochi PoBs bullpoo, no cloaks etc.
Quote: limited to people who are to roleplay on this server
Some people are like 99% PvP and 1% RP. Must be they are non-existent.
Quote:The graphics are nice to us, but not to people who play stuff on consoles. The gameplay is tedious, especially at the beginning when you grind millions and billions for months.
Who's "us"? To those who truly consider this game as sport, there's no need in any graphics and it's always on 0.
For those who are more casual, well, current graphic mods seem to be pretty much faithfully done, what else would one ask for, I'm wondering.
Grind millions? What for? You mean that typical newbie would consider owning caps to be the actual end-game? Half of them might, maybe even more, but not all of them. Proper mentor would direct them the right way right from the start though.
Quote:You are required to roleplay on this server, which is nice for us but significantly reduces the amount of people interested in this.
RP itself can be pretty basic. Understanding the game itself may take years, especially the combat.
You can RP in EVE, you can RP in WoW even, that's not what makes this game truly different from the others. What does make it actually is it's genuine combat system, there's still no rivals to it after like 15 years.
Depends on what you call new.
For instance, caps are kind of a fresh discipline, at least compared to snubs, so it's possible to invent something new, why not.
However, when it comes to small craft, I doubt someone would manage.
Quote:times of 200/200 server loadout were so much better than the current times
255/255 actually, of course they were, because the game's direction was simple and obvious, no tamagochi PoBs bullpoo, no cloaks etc.
Quote: limited to people who are to roleplay on this server
Some people are like 99% PvP and 1% RP. Must be they are non-existent.
Quote:The graphics are nice to us, but not to people who play stuff on consoles. The gameplay is tedious, especially at the beginning when you grind millions and billions for months.
Who's "us"? To those who truly consider this game as sport, there's no need in any graphics and it's always on 0.
For those who are more casual, well, current graphic mods seem to be pretty much faithfully done, what else would one ask for, I'm wondering.
Grind millions? What for? You mean that typical newbie would consider owning caps to be the actual end-game? Half of them might, maybe even more, but not all of them. Proper mentor would direct them the right way right from the start though.
Quote:You are required to roleplay on this server, which is nice for us but significantly reduces the amount of people interested in this.
RP itself can be pretty basic. Understanding the game itself may take years, especially the combat.
You can RP in EVE, you can RP in WoW even, that's not what makes this game truly different from the others. What does make it actually is it's genuine combat system, there's still no rivals to it after like 15 years.
As a matter of fact, many people look at "roleplay" and first think of either people jerking off to each other in cosplay outfits infront of a webcam or LARPs in the city park. Like it or not, foreigners will see "You need to roleplay here" and instantly don't give the server a chance. You need a certain open mind for it, and gladly most people here have it. It's nice that you try to explain to me what I already know, but newcomers and foreigners will probably not read that post of yours.
In case you didn't understand me, I was not suggesting to change any of this.
It's not only an issue of advertising. Advertising isn't even the main issue.
There are first time players in Pennsylvania almost 24/7. Players who not only already own the game, but also went through the trouble of installing the mod. This being the only remaining active multiplayer server, most of those who wash up in Pennsylvania are actually highly motivated to try playing for at least a few days or weeks. But most stop playing after a few days or weeks.
The main issue is that the game progression for those first time players (called Noob in the following) to the kind of players the game is meant for (lore and rule abiding sociable non-destructive role players with popular characters and friends that keep them here, called Fonzies in the following) is not enjoyable, and not realistically feasible unless you're very lucky. The main actionable reasons are:
1. Refusal of many influential community members to understand that people's behavior isn't only shaped by their prior "real life", but that their behavior here is also affected by their experiences here, as well as by what the mod is actually offering or not offering. They think you're either born as a Fonzie or you aren't, and those who aren't should be chased away. There has therefore been very little effort (from the side of influential people) to even try to help Noobs become Fonzies, apart from some screaming and shouting about those terrible Noobs everywhere (commonly called lolwhuts by those who do it). The lack of more enjoyable Noob2Fonzie progression also had a negative impact on Noob/Fonzie ratio (and therefore gameplay) when population was high, resulting in much drama and contributing to bittervet syndrome.
2. The mod doesn't satisfy what the typical Noob wants and expects to find when coming to the server after playing the SP campaign, thinking that it's an improved multiplayer version of the single player game.
They expect/want:
a) exploration as fear of the unknown and reward of find something new
b) gear gathering
c) ship/character development
d) diverse ways to improve and build your ship/characters: reputation, ship, gear, mapping, trading, mining, missions, bribes
e) a feeling of accomplishment from achieving something from your own efforts
f) space combat
g) be free and choose your own destiny
h) eye-to-eye level interactions with other people
i) friends
But they find:
a) restarts and and interactive navmap that show you everything without effort
b) technerfs that make gear gathering frustrating and useless
c) the need to create multiple anonymous ships that you dont care about in order to have a decent credit inflow
d) characters are made needing nothing but credits and restarts
e) everything is handed to you for accomplishing nothing but doing a boring and unfulfilling credit grind
f) NPCs that don't spawn during peak times and players against whom you never win
g) lots of restrictions that are not based on realism but were part of a now obsolete and counterproductive strategy of spreading players out among IDs
h) players who whine about unfairness although they have a 10/1 kill/death ratio, who throw sanctions over lengthy and hard to read rules at you, and who destroy what you built because the mod offered it calling it "community policing"
i) long time players who are happy with the amount of friends they already have, and who don't want new people on their side because it means losing PvP, having to teach people the same stuff over and over, and taking flak for their actions from parts of the community. And there are also many long term players who purposely destroy emerging groups of new friends through acts of "community policing".
All of these things exist because they are more convenient for long time players, but they gradually destroyed the experience for new players almost completely. Noobs are frustrated and feel cheated, and someone who feels frustrated and cheated isn't going to behave like a Fonzie nor stay long enough to turn into one.
(05-10-2018, 02:58 PM)Megaera Wrote: It is threads like this that will scare the new players off.
But its the truth. Seen what Karlotta has said time and time again.
"In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views." Einstein
why dont we just reduce pvp skill gap between new players and veterans? It is pretty easy thing to do if you play with balance little bit.
Discovery Freelancer pvp not good for newbies, it is designed for veteran players. Not even talking about hidden tactics and pretty sure there is more hidden tactics waiting to be explored