How to make that game more popular?

[Mecca]

Having to login by manually typing a command (where your username is case sensitive) that isn't entirely obvious, is silly when you have servers that require you to authenticate to log in. It really isn't obvious to new players to know how to log in, or to scroll up through the wall of console text to find the 1 line that says "You need to authenticate to play".

As a new player, if you go into a server and can't play, why bother wasting time? It's confusing. The game takes like 5 minutes to download and get into a server. I don't think anyone is going to think twice about just closing the game and forgetting about it. It's not like anyone waited for the game to download overnight, took 30 mins to install it, and then waited hours for it to patch.

I agree with Phyto's post. If the new player doesn't grind, play around it. You people that kick and suspend players that don't play the way you want them to are probably the most destructive to potential long-term players.



What would make this game easier for newbies to get into:

-Require anyone that plays online to log in.
-Have a link to the registration form on these forums from the client, so new players can register easily. (just throw in an option to hide GID for people who like to fly under the radar)
-Sort servers by gametype as a default setting
-Don't be meta divas. Players don't have to play the way you want them to. The only divas around here are Cody, Chrisd, and I.


Also...

High rubber is a terrible newbie game mode. It is so far against the basics that new players are expecting. People expect to SEE 90 degree angle turns, not hear these ridiculous micro digs, abusing rubber to trap other players. New players expect to explode when they hit a wall, which doesn't really happen in HR.

and

Has anyone tried making fort spawns so that teams are already grinding? Is that easily possible? I'm pretty sure spawning players at the exact same point is a recipe for disaster; but adjacent to each other and close enough to grind well? Would that be worth trying out?

[vov]

- "Login to Play" is a server owner's choice. Talk to them if you want it removed or changed.
- The Message Of The Day is fullscreen in 0.4 (I think it's not in 0.2, not sure though). If the "we need auth" message is not there when it should be, contact the server owner.
- I agree to phyto and you on the letting new players play how they want issue, especially in public fortress. I also tell everyone in-game, maybe you should too.

- I do not agree with everyone having to log in. I really really like the fact that it takes "5 minutes to download and get into a server", so why mess that up with a "you have to register here" intervention? I feel *that* would actually drive away new players.
- There are discussions about "sorting by game type" somewhere on these forums, you can search for those.

- High rubber is what people apparently play. I very rarely see anyone in a low rubber non-fort/sumo server. Promote those servers then. Anyone for some N9?

- Fortress formation spawns can be adjusted "your way" with spawn_wingmen_side and spawn_wingmen_back. Sounds really crappy to me though if it's the only change you do. If it's low rubber fort though, it might actually be a nice setting to adjust.

[Mecca]

- "Login to Play" is a server owner's choice. Talk to them if you want it removed or changed.
- The Message Of The Day is fullscreen in 0.4 (I think it's not in 0.2, not sure though). If the "we need auth" message is not there when it should be, contact the server owner.
- I agree to phyto and you on the letting new players play how they want issue, especially in public fortress. I also tell everyone in-game, maybe you should too.

- I do not agree with everyone having to log in. I really really like the fact that it takes "5 minutes to download and get into a server", so why mess that up with a "you have to register here" intervention? I feel *that* would actually drive away new players.
- There are discussions about "sorting by game type" somewhere on these forums, you can search for those.

This is the problem. The server owners run their servers quite differently, and that makes this game extremely confusing for new players that are unfortunate enough to enter a fort server, or a server that has reaches its maximum amount of players.

It is extremely easy to bypass the message of the day by mistake, and players who don't read it on purpose are equally screwed. Any new player that doesn't read it will have no idea why they can't play. If they do read it, and then know they have to authenticate, how clear is it to them that they have to register on these forums and then come back, and type in a specific command? It's not.

Having to register is almost expected when playing games, especially those that require you to download a client. This will not drive away new players.

Should they have read the message of the day? Sure, but to make a game more popular, you can't expect new players to want to do anything other than play.

[Z-Man]

and players who don't read it on purpose are equally screwed.

Rightfully so!

0.4 has the experience system. Servers requiring authentication are not suggested as first stops to new players and sorted to the bottom of the server list. They can ignore the information, of course, in which case, see above.

We do not keep persistent information on players. There should be no need to create an account.

Now, I do agree to the implicit suggestion that there should be an easy in-client way to create a new account and directly set the client up to use it for the case where it is needed.

[takburger]

Do anyone think the website looks a bit old ?

Here is another game I used to play and which is open. The website was a bit similar to the one in armagetronad.net but later on they changed it a little: http://www.warsow.net/

Maybe we can find players that would be glad to make it more attractive, if people think so of course.

[sinewav]

There was a site redesign back in 2009, but it was never finished and we are stuck with the 2004 look. This is the domain of Tank Program, who is rarely available.

[Concord]

PSA: the beautiful forum component of that redesign is available and implemented. It's armaunified in your board preferences section of the control panel.

[ppotter]

The main site would probably be more attractive in the armaunified type of style but I'm really not a fan of the forum theme at all.