115 replies to this topic

[Vassago Rain]

Leroy Jenkens, on 20 December 2012 - 03:39 PM, said:

They do it in EVE because the more openness and communication you have with your playerbase the happier your playerbase is.

If you don't believe me go to their forums and read their patchnotes (that come out weeks before release) and also read their devblogs. Then after that read all the comments that accompany these (which we don't get) and while you do that notice the level of interaction in the thread between the DEVs and the commenters.

That is what keeps a pretty crappy monthly subscription game growing (just broke 450,000 subscribers) for coming up on 10 years.

Eve isn't like any other game out there. You shouldn't compare it to things that have worked for literally centuries, until more games manage to succeed using its methods.

[headbasher]

Look I like the game but to me , personally , I do not think it looks good or reflects well on the game to not have the counter up there when it used to be . I have thought about it and unfortunatly the only reason I can think of is the numbers arent as good as they want them to be, its that simple.

Edited by headbasher, 20 December 2012 - 03:50 PM.

[Raidyr]

Arparso, on 20 December 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

If you don't trust a developer's words, why would you trust a player counter implemented by the same development team you seem to have no faith in? Maybe I just fail in logic, but this seems really absurd.

Part confirmation bias, and partly because it feels accurate.

Was in vent the other day and hypothesized that around 5000 people play the game at peak hours, just a random guess from how much I see the same people. Friend I was with explained that before they removed the counter he said it never went above 3000-something at peak hours.

oh.

[MrPenguin]

Arparso, on 20 December 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

If you don't trust a developer's words, why would you trust a player counter implemented by the same development team you seem to have no faith in? Maybe I just fail in logic, but this seems really absurd.

If you think THATS absurd, you should read some of the other posts in this forum.

Edited by MrPenguin, 20 December 2012 - 03:55 PM.

[Leetskeet]

I remember when it was reaching 2000-3500~ or so, and then slowly trickled down to sub 1000

And then it was gone and the open beta started

[Vassago Rain]

headbasher, on 20 December 2012 - 03:48 PM, said:

Look I like the game but to me , personally , I do not think it looks good or reflects well on the game to not have the counter up there when it used to be . I have thought about it and unfortunatly the only reason I can think of is the numbers arent as good as they want them to be, its that simple.

No game you'll find tells you how many players are on. It's poor business sense to give away your secrets. With MWO, you don't even need a counter.

It's got a small, mostly stable community, that's growing as of the last three weeks. I don't need metrics to see this, and you don't, either.

If I could have numbers, I'd want numbers on the MC shifted, what mechs are truly popular for real, and other such things. Think I'll ever have any of those at my disposal?

[Woodpeckr]

+1 to Bryan Elkman for even posting at all in this thread

another +1 for explaining it to the forums for reasons that should be pretty obvious.

Basically, little or no good can come of this number from a business standpoint. It's largely meaningless to most when it's increasing, but when it's decreasing it makes the game look like a failure. I think the reason people ask to see it in the first place is to provide some confirmation of their suspicions that the game is indeed hemorrhaging players.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

MrPenguin, on 20 December 2012 - 03:55 PM, said:

If you think THATS absurd, you should read some of the other posts in this forum.

on both sides of the arguments lol

Leetskeet, on 20 December 2012 - 03:57 PM, said:

I remember when it was reaching 2000-3500~ or so, and then slowly trickled down to sub 1000

And then it was gone and the open beta started

If I like this post that one guy wont read it lol
damn out of likes for the day

[KovarD]

Arparso, on 20 December 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

If you don't trust a developer's words, why would you trust a player counter implemented by the same development team you seem to have no faith in? Maybe I just fail in logic, but this seems really absurd.

Man, you just killed every single doomsayers arguments...

[Major Cockburn]

KovarD, on 20 December 2012 - 04:04 PM, said:

Man, you just killed every single doomsayers arguments...

I disbelieve the dev's statements, but as you'll recall I've been stating that any numbers they put out will be pointless since they can manipulate them at will.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

KovarD, on 20 December 2012 - 04:04 PM, said:

Man, you just killed every single doomsayers arguments...

funny when the ones crying doom ARE him and his

Major Cockburn, on 20 December 2012 - 04:06 PM, said:

I disbelieve the dev's statements, but as you'll recall I've been stating that any numbers they put out will be pointless since they can manipulate them at will.

"I believe them but they could be lying at any time and we'd never know"

lol talking out both sides of your mouth much?

[Major Cockburn]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 20 December 2012 - 04:07 PM, said:

funny when the ones crying doom ARE him and his



"I believe them but they could be lying at any time and we'd never know"

lol talking out both sides of your mouth much?

dis·be·lieve

/ˌdisbəˈlēv/
Verb

• Be unable to believe (someone or something).

You clearly need to work on your reading comprehension.

Edited by Major Cockburn, 20 December 2012 - 04:10 PM.

[Leroy Jenkens]

Vassago Rain, on 20 December 2012 - 03:47 PM, said:

Eve isn't like any other game out there. You shouldn't compare it to things that have worked for literally centuries, until more games manage to succeed using its methods.

I'm not comparing anything. I'm trying to point out the importance of simple communication and how it can lead to success. This simple principle not only applies to games but also all business in general. McDonald's loves to boast of the billions and billions served.

Who's going to invest in a company if they don't know their financials and sales data? Well not me.

The number of online players serves as a heartbeat of the game. Too few not healthy (matchmaker is not going to work well) and too many is bad as well (probably going to be laggy and buggy w/ random crashes) but if the number is in the sweet spot then you get the best matchmakers wich leads to a fun experience.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Major Cockburn, on 20 December 2012 - 04:10 PM, said:

dis·be·lieve

/ˌdisbəˈlēv/
Verb

• Be unable to believe (someone or something).

You clearly need to work on your reading comprehension.

sorry missed the dis part lol

M A L I C E, on 20 December 2012 - 04:11 PM, said:

If you look at the idiotic doomsaying in this thread,

ah like all the guys yelling they cant put up the numbers cause ppl will QQ about them?
those are the only doomsayers here so far lol

and the argument that they shouldnt release them because ppl will qq is self defeating as ppl will qq because theyre not releasing the numbers too. Hence this thread.

Edited by Mechwarrior Buddah, 20 December 2012 - 04:17 PM.

[zmeul]

Comguard, on 20 December 2012 - 02:27 PM, said:

There was a thread were we monitored the new user accounts (you can see the numbers at the bottom of the main forum page).

You can read it here (the thread was eventually closed):

http://mwomercs.com/...h/page__st__160

yes, they closed down my topic without any shred of actual proof in numbers, just talks
they said the number of registered forums users does not reflect the number of actual accounts created because of a "flaw" in the forum's coding, but they didn't provide a source for that either

the numbers monitored by me showed, in fact, a growth, a small one, but still a growth
it also showed variations in daily and even weekly registrations

Bryan Ekman, on 20 December 2012 - 02:22 PM, said:

Chances are we (PGI/IGP) view the numbers differently than you (players), because we understand better where the numbers should be, and why they are what they are. We can look at other indicators, like matches played, unique logins, MC sales, etc etc, and see positive trends where others would assume negative trends.

to "translate", he is basically saying the numbers are low, as predicted
growth in active player base is still growth, why hide it on purpose? unless the numbers are not what they expected them to be at OBT

Edited by zmeul, 20 December 2012 - 04:19 PM.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

zmeul, on 20 December 2012 - 04:15 PM, said:

yes, they closed down my topic without any shred of actual proof in numbers, just talks
they said the number of registered forums users does not reflect the number of actual accounts created because of a "flaw" in the forum's coding, but they didn't provide a source for that either

the numbers monitored by me showed, in fact, a growth, a small one, but still a growth
it also showed variations in daily and even weekly registrations




to "translate", he is basically saying the numbers are low, as predicted
growth in active player base is still growth, why hide it on purpose?

precisely
because it would be bad for business
which is pretty much what he said back there when you translate it

Edited by Mechwarrior Buddah, 20 December 2012 - 04:19 PM.

[PropagandaWar]

Leetskeet, on 20 December 2012 - 03:57 PM, said:

I remember when it was reaching 2000-3500~ or so, and then slowly trickled down to sub 1000

And then it was gone and the open beta started

That is false. It would only be at 1000 certain times of the day.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

PropagandaWar, on 20 December 2012 - 04:21 PM, said:

That is false. It would only be at 1000 certain times of the day.

doesnt look to me like he specified any time and if it dipped below 1000 at any time (given that he didnt say peak hours) that makes his statement true not false

[Vassago Rain]

Leroy Jenkens, on 20 December 2012 - 04:14 PM, said:

I'm not comparing anything. I'm trying to point out the importance of simple communication and how it can lead to success. This simple principle not only applies to games but also all business in general. McDonald's loves to boast of the billions and billions served.

Who's going to invest in a company if they don't know their financials and sales data? Well not me.

The number of online players serves as a heartbeat of the game. Too few not healthy (matchmaker is not going to work well) and too many is bad as well (probably going to be laggy and buggy w/ random crashes) but if the number is in the sweet spot then you get the best matchmakers wich leads to a fun experience.

If you're investing, you'll have access to these numbers, and even more of them. If you're just another player, you don't have access to them.

It's business 101. When the numbers drop, the game is obviously tanking. When the numbers increase, the game is obviously doing superwell. Right? RIGHT!?

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Vassago Rain, on 20 December 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

If you're investing, you'll have access to these numbers, and even more of them. If you're just another player, you don't have access to them.

It's business 101. When the numbers drop, the game is obviously tanking. When the numbers increase, the game is obviously doing superwell. Right? RIGHT!?

if the game is going great you should totally hide the numbers and pretend everything is amazing "Right? RIGHT!?"