29 replies to this topic

[Cizjut]

I don't know if the devs or Russ read suggestions or actually ACTUALLY visit the forums anymore, but gotta post this

Why don't you guys do a simple "Invite a Friend" program with referral codes?

I'm a salesman by profession.

I keep inviting my friends to try the game. If I gave them a code that assured them something in-game after their cadet bonus, like a mech, a paintjob, MC or anything just for trying it, and I recieved something for multiple referrals it would be an incentive to spread the word of mouth of the game.

I was on another forum and discovered people actually LIKE MWO it just that it isn't popular because it's "not finished". You know it's not finished, Faction Warfare is barebones and that should be the meat of the game. It doesn't even have ranked matches.

But the core gameplay itself is unique and no other game is even CLOSE to MWO ambience, detail and gameplay or lore. It's sad to see a game I like very much is not getting recognition becausethe bad rep it got years ago.

Because it IS a good game, but just NOW.

So embrace your customers and trust them to help you spread the business.

[JediPanther]

That wouldn't really do much to get people to play the game or keep playing it. When you can't do simple things like create and drop a group of just you and a new friend and play without ending up in the 6-8-10 mans. No one wants to be gang r--- while still learning how to move their mech. Sure you could in theroy do it with private matches but that assumes the new person is willing to spend the money required for premium time.

I've had ten people I've tried to guide and teach how to play but every time the above happens. We get rolled a few matches in a row,normally,three at best, and they say fu-- this and leave. joining a unit helps for sure with a lot better sucess rate of players getting into the game and saying.

Besides the group problem you also have most the trial mechs are trash plain and simple. Under armored, no skills on the skill tree, going up against mechs fully kited out with all the upgrades, and locked into a build. One of the best things this game has for it is the very fact you can customize mech loadouts yet a newbie can't even experiment with it at all.

Assuming the new player makes it past the cadet phase you hope their first mech is one they really like having ran all the trial mechs. Mechs are not cheap except for the light mechs and they still require substantial upgrades on the is side to really shine. The only good thing I can say about the trials is you keep the xp indefintly on them as my brother has technically mastered all the jenners just by playing the trial version. He owns none of them.

[Zerberus]

If the game is not popular becasue it´s "not finished", then giving out freebies will do nothing to keep new players here.

Finish the game first, THEN give out free candy tp get the kids in the store. Otherwise they`ll simply come in, take their free candy, and leave, just like tehy do with thousands of other games every day.


BTW @ Jedi: A proper light mech is just as expensive as most assaults... yeah, you´re not spending 2.5 million on weapons.. but you are spending 4 million on an XL engine that teh assault doesn´t need.

Edited by Zerberus, 07 March 2016 - 02:40 PM.

[J a d e P h o e n i x]

I agree.
I want an invitation program as most my friends are given codes to redeem for bonuses and help aid them in to the game. Usually helps my newbs stick around longer or eventually stay.

Wargaming has a fantastic "invite a friend" program, even down to rewarding you if they play AND buy from the store. The invitation also adds my friend directly to my list so there's no chasing around their username.

PGI should take a couple notes.

[RestosIII]

First of all, I normally dislike referral systems, but they DO get you more players so I'd be fine with it.

Second, you said MW:O has lore.



Good one.

[Juodas Varnas]

I don't have friends.
But i guess something like this could bring more new players into the game

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Devs dont read any of this (PGI does not make enough money to pay for all the therapy they would need) so...
Good luck.

[Deathlike]

Besides raising a necropost from the dead, the problem is the New Player Experience (NPE) is effectively a sieve... as retaining players is not something PGI has been successful with at all.

Even if such a system is implemented (assuming PGI stops being a total scrooge on these matters), you still must improve the NPE to have any measurable impact.

Using the excuse that the game is "niche" is also weak. Other games strive to find ways to do something for their customers when referring a friend (not all of them will do that of course, but it's usually a method of getting people interested that usually helps in getting more players/customers).

While you only see like 2 posts per topic created in Facebook... it's hard not to find a complaint there... and Facebook is usually a cheap effective free way to spread the word on things... but it's kinda doing the opposite.

Oh well. I'm sure our community manager will get right on the case.

Edited by Deathlike, 25 September 2016 - 01:12 AM.

[Peter2k]

Ehh
The overall idea might be OK
But PGI is kinda afraid giving away digital content that has no real world value
Like C-Bills
Could be a redeem code for 20 million

Anyway
This game is not in a state that I would recommend it to anyone who is not a (diehard) Mechwarrior fan

Those are already here, or rather left again
Or are migrating next spring to BT

---------------------
I remember how steep the learning curve was
And that was in 8vs8
With no double heatsinks or clans


If anything new players should be kept in 4vs4 on the old maps PGI took out
Until >50 matches; then 8vs8
And at *some arbitrary number* 12vs12

[RAM]

Juodas Varnas, on 25 September 2016 - 12:23 AM, said:

I don't have friends.
But i guess something like this could bring more new players into the game

Sympathy like


RAM
ELH

[627]

I bet they'd be too afraid of people faking new accounts to collect the bonus.

On the other hand it took them ages to invent their gift shop and even now with it it is impossible to gif a certain mech or color or camo to another player, something that should be build in from day 5. You could earn money here PGI...

[Kotzi]

Dunno if its a great idea tossing them into group queue.

[LordNothing]

i tried to get one of my cats into the game. after she played one game she said "meow" which translates into "i aint got time for this, ive got better things to do" then she went outside, ate the grass, came back inside and puked all over the floor. then she said "meow", which translates to "my time is valuable". she then spent 3 hours chasing a fly.

Edited by LordNothing, 25 September 2016 - 05:34 AM.

[Mycrus]

Cizjut, on 07 March 2016 - 02:18 PM, said:

I don't know if the devs or Russ read suggestions or actually ACTUALLY visit the forums anymore, but gotta post this

Why don't you guys do a simple "Invite a Friend" program with referral codes?

I'm a salesman by profession.

I keep inviting my friends to try the game. If I gave them a code that assured them something in-game after their cadet bonus, like a mech, a paintjob, MC or anything just for trying it, and I recieved something for multiple referrals it would be an incentive to spread the word of mouth of the game.

I was on another forum and discovered people actually LIKE MWO it just that it isn't popular because it's "not finished". You know it's not finished, Faction Warfare is barebones and that should be the meat of the game. It doesn't even have ranked matches.

But the core gameplay itself is unique and no other game is even CLOSE to MWO ambience, detail and gameplay or lore. It's sad to see a game I like very much is not getting recognition becausethe bad rep it got years ago.

Because it IS a good game, but just NOW.

So embrace your customers and trust them to help you spread the business.

I wouldnt even invite enemies to this game... let alone a friend... there is no place for you to teach them the ropes..

[TLBFestus]

I'm pretty sure that if PGI actually thought that a "Invite a Friend" program was a good idea that they'd find a way to totally botch it.

They'd probably give the invited player a "starter kit" that included;

4 machine guns
4 flamers
12 single heat sinks
6 cool shots (the pay MC kind)
5 MC
1 free pilot skill, Pinpoint.
1 free color, chartreuse
1 day free premium time (which started immediately 24 hours ago)
1 free crate key


Heaven forbid that they give away something useful that might keep a player around. Ya gotta WANT top be here, they don't want any softies.

[Deathlike]

Mycrus, on 25 September 2016 - 06:01 AM, said:

I wouldnt even invite enemies to this game... let alone a friend... there is no place for you to teach them the ropes..

If only teaching them through Private Matches were a viable free option... lol nope.

[Yellonet]

So, invite yourself, make new account, profit on main account?

[Hunka Junk]

If anybody has friend invites from any finished games, please shoot them in my direction.

[TheArisen]

This is a simple & common sense thing. +1

Maybe a tiered reward system, a reward for 1 person invited, a better reward for 2,3 & so on. That provides an incentive to continue inviting ppl.

Deathlike, on 25 September 2016 - 08:23 AM, said:

If only teaching them through Private Matches were a viable free option... lol nope.

A simple solution would be to give the inviter a sizeable chunk of premium time.

[TheArisen]

An extra thought, this could be extended to not only bring in new players but reactivate old players.