Save TW - Collaboration Time! - Click ME!

[not in game]

Yes, I agree rivalries and hate do make the game more interesting if you've been playing for a solid amount of time. However, to newcomers, whom I believe 24 is addressing, are quickly turned off by the hate. The things we become attached to invite us through good, positive things. No employer goes, "hey, we're give you about 3 projects at a time, and you must finish all within the first 2 months. If not, you're fired." to lure you into the job. The beginning has to be inviting for us to become attached to it.

But as we grow accustomed to it and comfortable, that's where the negativity does good. Yes, the rivalries drew crowds. But, did you notice the crowd was filled with players who have been playing this game for a long enough time to understand what was at risk here? They know the important players, the ones with things on the line. Who didn't want to see Royce fail? (completely unnecessary line yet added anyways)

I'll delete this post if I'm misunderstanding something.

[Twenty Four]

Yes, I agree rivalries and hate do make the game more interesting if you've been playing for a solid amount of time. However, to newcomers, whom I believe 24 is addressing, are quickly turned off by the hate. The things we become attached to invite us through good, positive things. No employer goes, "hey, we're give you about 3 projects at a time, and you must finish all within the first 2 months. If not, you're fired." to lure you into the job. The beginning has to be inviting for us to become attached to it.

But as we grow accustomed to it and comfortable, that's where the negativity does good. Yes, the rivalries drew crowds. But, did you notice the crowd was filled with players who have been playing this game for a long enough time to understand what was at risk here? They know the important players, the ones with things on the line. Who didn't want to see Royce fail? (completely unnecessary line yet added anyways)

I'll delete this post if I'm misunderstanding something.

No Keep it. You got it right and thanks for your input.

-24

[Pressure Drop]

i dunno as far back as i can remember there has been a big element of hostility and assholes floating about here. In fact when i first started playing i was surprised at that, as i wasn't used to the internet at all and in real life most people are generally respectful by default

however i also remember there was alot more 'ns' and 'ty' thrown about and respect between players in pubs to than i see nowadays. Still personally i've always tried to be helpful and answer ppls questions in pubs and i see others doing the same.

so i'm not saying the hostile environment is overly helpfull but i think the main reason is that it's harder and harder to draw ppl's attention to anything on the internet and since there is alot of money in games there is a saturated advertising environment . So having new gamers find this and stay is harder than it used to be + tech and games move on so a smaller % will be impressed with what they find and stick around rather than WoW or something

still the community could help more and as the games population is drying up squads should try to include newer pub players and weaker lines being played in TWD and not be afraid to loose a few games there. This was tried in a big way by a few players but seems to ultimately have failed but lets hope it sparked interest in the players involved.

[Facetious]

im also kind of drunk and i didnt really read the thread but has anyone suggested the idea that laptops killed this game?

when the game was really in full swing most people played on desktops because laptops were expensive and they sucked

now, the vast majority of people i know have laptops as their only computer, and you cant really compete on this game with lower res

so the people that stick around and play tend to be the people who still own desktops in this day in age, and i think those types of people are a lot different than the playerbase that made this game fun back in the day - the kind of dudes that liked to stop in and play a real simple game for an hour or two, and then return to their somewhat active social lives.

[Twenty Four]

im also kind of drunk and i didnt really read the thread but has anyone suggested the idea that laptops killed this game?

when the game was really in full swing most people played on desktops because laptops were expensive and they sucked

now, the vast majority of people i know have laptops as their only computer, and you cant really compete on this game with lower res

so the people that stick around and play tend to be the people who still own desktops in this day in age, and i think those types of people are a lot different than the playerbase that made this game fun back in the day - the kind of dudes that liked to stop in and play a real simple game for an hour or two, and then return to their somewhat active social lives.

That's an interesting concept, but I don't think we can blame the "downfall of SS" on any one thing. I play competetively on a low resolution anyways, so switching to a laptop wouldn't effect me negatively, and it sure wouldn't keep me from playing this game. It's pretty clear that there are several factors contributing to the lower population and decrease in gameplay.

-24

[chars]

I'm already making the difference....

I accepted the fact that i'm playing in same squad of ph... jesus i hate this stupid dickhead but i still accepted that.

im so awesome
ty

[Summa]

Quite honestly, I believe you have this all entirely wrong. The social atmosphere of continuum has progressed more towards a trash-talking demographic because that is who is still around. Attempting to forcibly change that atmosphere will just appeal to a demographic of people who no longer play. You can't please everyone, so attempt to please the majority of the player base you have left.

Now you will probably read that first paragraph and say to yourself, "wow he is entirely sidestepping my point that trashtalking kills this game and does not allow new players to join". You would be correct on that, because I think you're flat wrong. Have you met the 12-25 age demographic? Ask them what is the most important thing in a video game, and I bet you my left testicle that 80% or more will respond "graphics" or some variant of the word. The fact is that this game is outdated and obsolete. Further, we lack sufficient funding to advertise well enough to draw in new players (if they would even like to come). It will die simply on the grounds that it cannot keep up with the times. We don't have a giant dev programming team to revamp continuum into the 2010s (although potentially pitching this game to a company who would consider re-developing it is a possibility), so it will fall by the wayside as the rest of the computer and console gaming world creates a seamless UI that can depict a fuckin forest laden ravine like its str8 outta god damn fantasy land.

Some other factors that I think are prime contributors to the diminishing population:
1) This is not a game for most people who play it still. It is a glorified chat client. When 1 person who is the cornerstone of a social block leaves, they all begin to fade. Take the majority of pallies for example: the higher ups moved on to WoW, and soon pallies was all but gone. I am in a similar situation. If JAMAL, stabwound, PL, and ph quit (spastic's core), you would see my ass right behind theirs. It sucks, but its the truth.

2) A dead/ineffective staff. For those who haven't been staff, it blows. Particularly the higher you get up in staff. You do the majority of the work to keep this game afloat and running smoothly, and get bitched out nearly incessantly for it. This has driven some really good staffers away, particularly riistar. There is no compensation for what staff does, so it breeds little motivation. This has led to what plagues staff the most: inactive and ineffective members. The inactive portion has been cut down as of late, but there used to be piles upon piles of dead wood in staff, and that just can't happen. As for ineffective members, these are members who are active, sure, and answering tons of calls; however, they really aren't doing much for the zone. Simply being there isn't contributing to the zone in a very positive way. I understand that most people say "I give what I can", but if all you can give is 20 help calls a month, then please make way for someone who is willing to run a league like when I started TWDT again. Also...dev died with riistar and dads revenge...unfortunate development.

3) What, I believe, drives most people away on their initial impressions of the game is the learning curve. I have been playing this crap since 1999. I was 9, about to turn 10, playing cuz my cousin and my brother were and I thought it was the new coolest thing. That said, most people who are still here have been playing for at least 6 years if not more. The art of Javs has been honed to damn near perfection, wbs there seems to be some wiggle room nowadays, and basing was honed to such an art of perfection that they removed the cram blocks and now it is dying. It takes years to get on equal levels with the low level TWL players, and your chances of rising to the top if you start now essentially don't exist. People would much rather play an MMO which just requires a modest time input to rise to an equal level as the best, with little skill involved; rather than a game that only rewards you based on the development of your skills over a considerable amount of time.

Please allow yourself to heed my words. I will make no effort to attempt to curb my assholeish tendencies when I am not running TWDT/TWL, because that is who I am. Forceful attempts to curb that kind of behavior will only bring about an alienation of stalwarts of the major social groups in this game and an even more rapid deterioration of the population.

[Dabram]

^i think the player base is declining because of walls of text being written on the forums about why the game is dying


ps. i'm just pissy no one ever left because i did.

[Twenty Four]

Quite honestly, I believe you have this all entirely wrong. The social atmosphere of continuum has progressed more towards a trash-talking demographic because that is who is still around. Attempting to forcibly change that atmosphere will just appeal to a demographic of people who no longer play. You can't please everyone, so attempt to please the majority of the player base you have left.

Now you will probably read that first paragraph and say to yourself, "wow he is entirely sidestepping my point that trashtalking kills this game and does not allow new players to join". You would be correct on that, because I think you're flat wrong. Have you met the 12-25 age demographic? Ask them what is the most important thing in a video game, and I bet you my left testicle that 80% or more will respond "graphics" or some variant of the word. The fact is that this game is outdated and obsolete. Further, we lack sufficient funding to advertise well enough to draw in new players (if they would even like to come). It will die simply on the grounds that it cannot keep up with the times. We don't have a giant dev programming team to revamp continuum into the 2010s (although potentially pitching this game to a company who would consider re-developing it is a possibility), so it will fall by the wayside as the rest of the computer and console gaming world creates a seamless UI that can depict a fuckin forest laden ravine like its str8 outta god damn fantasy land.

Some other factors that I think are prime contributors to the diminishing population:
1) This is not a game for most people who play it still. It is a glorified chat client. When 1 person who is the cornerstone of a social block leaves, they all begin to fade. Take the majority of pallies for example: the higher ups moved on to WoW, and soon pallies was all but gone. I am in a similar situation. If JAMAL, stabwound, PL, and ph quit (spastic's core), you would see my ass right behind theirs. It sucks, but its the truth.

2) A dead/ineffective staff. For those who haven't been staff, it blows. Particularly the higher you get up in staff. You do the majority of the work to keep this game afloat and running smoothly, and get bitched out nearly incessantly for it. This has driven some really good staffers away, particularly riistar. There is no compensation for what staff does, so it breeds little motivation. This has led to what plagues staff the most: inactive and ineffective members. The inactive portion has been cut down as of late, but there used to be piles upon piles of dead wood in staff, and that just can't happen. As for ineffective members, these are members who are active, sure, and answering tons of calls; however, they really aren't doing much for the zone. Simply being there isn't contributing to the zone in a very positive way. I understand that most people say "I give what I can", but if all you can give is 20 help calls a month, then please make way for someone who is willing to run a league like when I started TWDT again. Also...dev died with riistar and dads revenge...unfortunate development.

3) What, I believe, drives most people away on their initial impressions of the game is the learning curve. I have been playing this crap since 1999. I was 9, about to turn 10, playing cuz my cousin and my brother were and I thought it was the new coolest thing. That said, most people who are still here have been playing for at least 6 years if not more. The art of Javs has been honed to damn near perfection, wbs there seems to be some wiggle room nowadays, and basing was honed to such an art of perfection that they removed the cram blocks and now it is dying. It takes years to get on equal levels with the low level TWL players, and your chances of rising to the top if you start now essentially don't exist. People would much rather play an MMO which just requires a modest time input to rise to an equal level as the best, with little skill involved; rather than a game that only rewards you based on the development of your skills over a considerable amount of time.

Please allow yourself to heed my words. I will make no effort to attempt to curb my assholeish tendencies when I am not running TWDT/TWL, because that is who I am. Forceful attempts to curb that kind of behavior will only bring about an alienation of stalwarts of the major social groups in this game and an even more rapid deterioration of the population.

I don't disagree with anything you've said here, in particular the "learning curve". I've always said this is the hardest game most people will ever play. You enter the game and automatically get killed 100x by even the worst players before you can figure out how to shoot. Also noone is there to help you out so why continue to play. Have you seen how many people download this game on a monthy basis? Quite a bit, noone stays though for several reasons, most of which I haven't pointed out and a few that you quite successfully have.

I was simply pointing out one aspect, and as you pointed out there are many more. Your post actually made me smile as I recognized the truth of your words. Regardless, I'll enjoy my over-glorified chat client as much as I possibly can for as long as I can.

Back to my original point; everyone can try to be nicer. It doesn't hurt anyone and helps everyone. How that isn't appealing to the people we do have left is beyond me.
-24

[Summa]

I don't disagree with anything you've said here, in particular the "learning curve". I've always said this is the hardest game most people will ever play. You enter the game and automatically get killed 100x by even the worst players before you can figure out how to shoot. Also noone is there to help you out so why continue to play. Have you seen how many people download this game on a monthy basis? Quite a bit, noone stays though for several reasons, most of which I haven't pointed out and a few that you quite successfully have.

I was simply pointing out one aspect, and as you pointed out there are many more. Your post actually made me smile as I recognized the truth of your words. Regardless, I'll enjoy my over-glorified chat client as much as I possibly can for as long as I can.

Back to my original point; everyone can try to be nicer. It doesn't hurt anyone and helps everyone. How that isn't appealing to the people we do have left is beyond me.
-24

What I am saying is that you're misdiagnosing the problem. I think that staff needs to become more professional and probably more friendly, however the general population is cynical dickbags now. Being nicer does not appeal to them, and we should do what we can to keep who we have around, since new players won't be coming in by the dozens anymore.

[Exalt]

I don't disagree with anything you've said here, in particular the "learning curve". I've always said this is the hardest game most people will ever play. You enter the game and automatically get killed 100x by even the worst players before you can figure out how to shoot. Also noone is there to help you out so why continue to play. Have you seen how many people download this game on a monthy basis? Quite a bit, noone stays though for several reasons, most of which I haven't pointed out and a few that you quite successfully have.

I was simply pointing out one aspect, and as you pointed out there are many more. Your post actually made me smile as I recognized the truth of your words. Regardless, I'll enjoy my over-glorified chat client as much as I possibly can for as long as I can.

Back to my original point; everyone can try to be nicer. It doesn't hurt anyone and helps everyone. How that isn't appealing to the people we do have left is beyond me.
-24

They just don't understand the glorious sadism that is trenchwars. If they ever discovered this truly magnificent piece of heaven, they would never want to leave, but instead get hooked on it like phonics.

[Exalt]

What I am saying is that you're misdiagnosing the problem. I think that staff needs to become more professional and probably more friendly, however the general population is cynical dickbags now. Being nicer does not appeal to them, and we should do what we can to keep who we have around, since new players won't be coming in by the dozens anymore.

I vote Summa for the new Dean of staff. If ara thought like you, we might have a game that is worth playing again! Summa, please rise the ranks of staff swiftly and with a purpose. TW needs you running the show.

[chars]

3) What, I believe, drives most people away on their initial impressions of the game is the learning curve. I have been playing this crap since 1999. I was 9, about to turn 10, playing cuz my cousin and my brother were and I thought it was the new coolest thing. That said, most people who are still here have been playing for at least 6 years if not more. The art of Javs has been honed to damn near perfection, wbs there seems to be some wiggle room nowadays, and basing was honed to such an art of perfection that they removed the cram blocks and now it is dying. It takes years to get on equal levels with the low level TWL players, and your chances of rising to the top if you start now essentially don't exist. People would much rather play an MMO which just requires a modest time input to rise to an equal level as the best, with little skill involved; rather than a game that only rewards you based on the development of your skills over a considerable amount of time.

PERFECT.

I don't disagree with anything you've said here, in particular the "learning curve". I've always said this is the hardest game most people will ever play. You enter the game and automatically get killed 100x by even the worst players before you can figure out how to shoot. Also noone is there to help you out so why continue to play. Have you seen how many people download this game on a monthy basis? Quite a bit, noone stays though for several reasons, most of which I haven't pointed out and a few that you quite successfully have.

I took 2 weeks to realized that I could open game main menu just pressing ESC when I started to play.

This game is dying cause of graphics not cause of community. The only reason I still play this shit is cause of community and e-friends. Thats all

[Twenty Four]

This game is dying cause of graphics not cause of community.

That's just silly in my opinion. There's just a different group of people that we need to appeal to. Obviously 10 year olds aren't going to want to play this game, but 25-40 year olds probably would enjoy it. Think of how many people play solitaire, or mahjongg. They do it for the game-play; it has NOTHING to do with graphics.

Do a Google search on if people "miss playing older games". You'll see there are a LOT of people that really do. They miss the fact that it was simple yet entertaining, and difficult to play.

Graphics DO matter to a certain group of people, but not to everyone.

-24

[Frightful]

Do a Google search on if people "miss playing older games". You'll see there are a LOT of people that really do. They miss the fact that it was simple yet entertaining, and difficult to play.

Graphics DO matter to a certain group of people, but not to everyone.

-24

First 2 Google Image results