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Radical New Idea To Better DarkSpace |
Bardiche
Chief Marshal
Joined: November 16, 2006
Posts: 1247
|  Posted: 2012-06-05 09:21
And now that I have your attention... what? No, of course there's no radical new idea to better DarkSpace.
Actually I wanted to inquire as to how many people want to play DarkSpace and from there figure out what we, as a group, can do to draw in more players. Yes, yes, "fix the game", some of you might think.
But since we're normal players with normal lives and normal minds we cannot possibly hope to do that, so let's look to advertisement, publicity, word-of-mouth and where the hell did the events team go? ;A;
In any case. Let's push a campaign to advertise DarkSpace and see if we can get more members. A first idea is to approach sites that cover MMOs and have htem do an article on DarkSpace, but I admit to limited knowledge of the social network of the interwebs.
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Fluttershy
Fleet Admiral
Joined: September 24, 2011
Posts: 778
From: Fluttershy
| Posted: 2012-06-05 09:34
Implement a feature that brings up a questionnaire after a player has run and then exited the game.
(Once after running the game for the first time, then maybe again later on after 10 hours of play)
Ask if they ran into any problems, ask what the experience felt like, ask for any improvements or features they want to have.
Just try and get as much feedback as possible, and provide the tools to retrieve it. Find out why new players don't stick around, find out why some have no play time whatsoever.
[ This Message was edited by: Fluttershy on 2012-06-05 09:37 ]
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Bardiche
Chief Marshal
Joined: November 16, 2006
Posts: 1247
| Posted: 2012-06-05 09:40
We'd first need new players to come in, Flutter, and that's what I'm suggesting we brainstorm. Ideally ideas involve things we, as players, can do without the devs doing a thing.
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Fluttershy
Fleet Admiral
Joined: September 24, 2011
Posts: 778
From: Fluttershy
| Posted: 2012-06-05 10:00
I mention this game elsewhere whenever appropriate, and really, the complaint I got the most from the ones I encouraged to play were about the interface feeling cheap and clunky. That's if they got into the game, a couple couldn't run it at all, and couldn't be assed to install the required net framework (If that was indeed the problem)
I should also mention that flying a gnat in a sea of titans is also a huge put off.
Flying big ships is cool, flying little ankle biters is lame.
[ This Message was edited by: Fluttershy on 2012-06-05 10:10 ]
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Cold Death
Admiral
Joined: July 24, 2011
Posts: 106
From: Right behind you...
| Posted: 2012-06-05 10:18
I have an idea as well.
Back in 2002, gamespot did a review on the game.
Link here: http://www.gamespot.com/darkspace/reviews/darkspace-review-2846245/
Perhaps we can get them to make another, more updated review.
Another thing is that some popular youtube people do have these "community interaction" videos where they respond to emails related to gaming and such. Perhaps if we were to write some sort of mail to one of those youtubers using DarkSpace as a prime example people could get curious about "What is this "DarkSpace"?".They would google it, find the site etc. etc.
The problem with that is that we could end up getting TOO much people in. Someone said in the lobby once that the servers have a limit of 500 people or something of the sort.. We could end up crashing the website and even worse: the server.
So yeah, if this does happen, we would indeed get the publicity we need, but perhaps a bit too much publicity..
Edit: Maybe even make another trailer and put it up on more video sites than just YouTube. Even though YouTube is the Biggest Video Sharing, that's exactly what makes small video makers and videos less likely to be seen. It's just too big. But, since so much people go on youtube, other video sharing sites are smaller and have smaller communities which makes a DS video more likely to be seen.
[ This Message was edited by: HeadHunter111 on 2012-06-05 10:23 ]
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The Fridge
Chief Marshal
Templar Knights
Joined: December 13, 2008
Posts: 559
From: In Your Fridge, Eating your Foods.
| Posted: 2012-06-05 11:23
Quote:
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On 2012-06-05 09:21, Bardiche wrote:
and where the hell did the events team go? ;A;
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Already said this, we need a public shaming.
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-(kha-ti the silent watcher)-
Grand Admiral
Joined: September 12, 2011
Posts: 185
From: the land of silent watchers
| Posted: 2012-06-05 11:27
i don't play as much as i used to as i'm sure most of you have seen but i would love to do what i can to bring in more people because i still truly love this game and believe it has much it can do. everyday i have all sorts of ideas for this game.
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Two Face
Marshal
Joined: November 30, 2009
Posts: 145
| Posted: 2012-06-05 12:46
I dont agree with having 'too many players' might spoil the game / server. If there is ever going to be a time when we have many new players joining then surely that would also mean more people likely to buy credits.
More people buying credits = more cash = better servers
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Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black
Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
| Posted: 2012-06-06 03:41
Sup peeps.
IMHO, what this game needs is new visuals.
Spreading the word is always good, but it may only garner temporary interest in the game. Only the more dedicated or discerning gamers, IMO, will actually take the time to delve deeper past their initial impression of the game to discover the mechanics of the gameplay.
IMO, DS belongs to a category of games that I'd consider higher up on the intelligence scale. But this works only if I can get beyond my first impressions.
You see. I first played DS in 2000/2001 when it was still in Beta. Then I was also in DSA for a short while. And then poof. I moved on to other games with better graphics and visuals. All those years, I played RTSes, FPSes, some RPGs and stuff. But I could never find an MMO that I could actually bear to play for long until one fine day when I "rediscovered" DS.
Having played stuff like MW, MOH, Crysis, the Battlefield series, Freespace, etc etc, DS graphics (circa 2010) were a throwback to the early 2000s. I can honestly say that if I had not experienced DS gameplay back then, I would not have probably stuck around.
But I did, and so I continued playing DS.
Not many players these days are tolerant of un-updated visuals. I'm not gonna say bad, lousy or substandard, because the graphics are definitely not one of those. It's simply a bit behind the years.
There are many MMOs out there with laughable gameplay, but get a larger audience, simply because they look great.
DS already has good gameplay. What it needs is up to date visuals. And to this end, the devs are spending time doing game balance because the community is constantly going back and forth on the issue.
Maybe we think it within our "veteran" context. But to bring in fresh blood, you gotta think about it from another angle.
IMO, focus should shift towards bringing the visuals up to the 2010s. If you want a larger playerbase, that's where it's at.
That is all I have to say. 
[ This Message was edited by: Kenny_Naboo[+R] on 2012-06-06 04:22 ]
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Ravendark
Marshal
Sanity Assassins
Joined: July 01, 2010
Posts: 443
| Posted: 2012-06-06 04:38
word, kenny, word!
now, we have anyone with visual experties? we need a QQ silencer, to shut the constant cries about evenything up. a suave talker to tell the devs to focus on the graphics. barbed wire and pizza.
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Cold Death
Admiral
Joined: July 24, 2011
Posts: 106
From: Right behind you...
| Posted: 2012-06-06 04:54
Improving the graphics should be another priority.
But the question isn't how much the devs can change, but how much can the engine take?
It is a pretty old engine.
Also, I have offered this game to a couple of friends interested in space shooters and such, and they all said the same thing: "The graphics seem a bit... old..". then when I try to give them the excuse that it's an 11 year old game, they said they don't wanna try it..
If you do manage to upgrade the graphics, great. That means more people would want to play. Also, I recommend putting some more updated screenshots of the game. The ones currently on the site make the game really look 11 years old. Most of them don't have the new shaders and such.
When I show someone the game at school or somewhere else, I don't really have a laptop nearby.. so I have to use my smartphone to get on the site and show them the screenshots.
DarkSpace has a few problems. Some can be easily fixed, and some not as easily.
But for now, the devs are busy with rebalancing the weapons, shields etc. etc.
I recommend, after the 1.654 update which they say *should* balance the game a bit more, that they focus on things that are not as important, but are needed to get a bigger amount of players involved. Graphics being one of those things.
Also, as I said in another topic related to payments, more payment methods would be nice. "Younger" players who don't have access to a credit card, but still want credits, like to see things such as Pay by phone and such.
[ This Message was edited by: HeadHunter111 on 2012-06-06 05:00 ]
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Klavdivs
1st Rear Admiral
Joined: February 10, 2007
Posts: 2
| Posted: 2012-06-06 06:35
I think a game is more than graphics.
The high quality graphics limits the potential users and the bandwidth.
On the other side I think the problem is not in the game but rather in us players.
I'm in the game since 2005 with some interruptions, I have invited many friends and always ends the same way.
The oldest players and rank, kill him more quickly and that discourages them.
If we want some change, it must be to protect the new players.
Do not tell me to go on scenario, that is not a valid response unless the limits of the game are closed, meaning that anyone under a certain range to access the MV and anyone over a certain range to access the scenario.
I'm tired of seeing players go to the scenario only for capture and prestige at the expense of new ones.
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Two Face
Marshal
Joined: November 30, 2009
Posts: 145
| Posted: 2012-06-06 06:57
I have also introduced this game to a friend who managed to stay with it for a grand total of 2 days. I asked why he dont play any more and his response was that he kept getting blown up lol. I tried to explain to him the role of smaller ships but i think by that point he had already had enough.
Have any of you tried the tutorial? I have to say its pretty pants for such a big complex game.
IMO i think the tutorial needs to be complete instead of just going as far as capturing a planet, and when new players join they are made to do the full tutorial before getting into the MV thus giving them a better chance of survival or at least a better understanding of the game mechanics.
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Azreal
Chief Marshal
Joined: March 14, 2004
Posts: 2816
From: United State of Texas, Houston
| Posted: 2012-06-06 07:32
I have three very radical ideas, 2 of which I am working on myself atm.
And I do mean radical.
Info to come soon....
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Diabolical Bus
2nd Rear Admiral
Joined: March 10, 2012
Posts: 9
| Posted: 2012-06-06 09:13
Quote:
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On 2012-06-06 04:54, HeadHunter111 wrote:
Improving the graphics should be another priority.
But the question isn't how much the devs can change, but how much can the engine take?
It is a pretty old engine.
Also, I have offered this game to a couple of friends interested in space shooters and such, and they all said the same thing: "The graphics seem a bit... old..". then when I try to give them the excuse that it's an 11 year old game, they said they don't wanna try it..
If you do manage to upgrade the graphics, great. That means more people would want to play. Also, I recommend putting some more updated screenshots of the game. The ones currently on the site make the game really look 11 years old. Most of them don't have the new shaders and such.
[ This Message was edited by: TechnoRabbi on 2012-06-06 09:15 ]
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IMO the graphics are fine, if you have a good enough computer you can rock bump mapping, shaders, shadow, HDR, bloom.
It's quite up to par with the newer games imo.
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