What's Wrong?

[bojo2736 1016]

Ales has said the reason the game is not keeping players is because there is no advertising. That may be part of it. But not the whole picture.

I have nearly 1800 hours in this game since it went up on Steam. I am a big fan. I have been working hard, along with my friends, to promote active cooperative PVE. I think I have some "cred" to share the player perspective. Bear in mind, I mean this constructively.

One of the major failings of this game is multiplayer as it is now.

Yes, yes. There is lag. Ships are glitchy. There are a lot of things needing fixing. I am confident they will be fixed.

What concerns me, and what is driving players away is the multiplayer. Especially the official servers.

It's not that there are too many. There ARE too many at least at this point. They are not being used.

Have any of the devs visited them? They are wiped with updates. But it doesnt take long before they look like crimes against humanity have happened at spawn. 

You can't easily bury bodies and they never go away. This happens when new players spawn in and nope out. Who wants to be greeted with such a grisly welcome?

It also happens as a form of passive griefing. 

But what causes players like me to leave is the active griefing.  This has driven me off the official servers.

Even complaints of hate activities and racism, with proof,  have not been dealt with. Even though we were assured by Devs that it had been.

Drop in to Explore NA 9. You will see that the Hitler wannabee not only thrives,  but has managed to drive off at least 4 players. Those players include me and @kimbuck.  

We were assured this player had been dealt with. As far as I can see he was just granted a new name. But you see, I have his number. Literally. 

I don't have any problem with PVP, but the system we have now on the official servers doesn't work. It rewards bad behavior and leaves good players to the mercy of a$$holes.

There needs to be some way to police the official servers. 

I think this game skews to a more mature (not just oldsters like me, but younger folks here for this amazing little game.) There isn't a lot of tolerance for the jerks who just want to destroy and intimidate for the lols.

The new Fallout 76 MP has some interesting ideas of how to deal with it that turns it into game play.

Devs, please take thus seriously. Or you could lose your core.

[kimbuck 746]

This  game  is  great for  creative minds ... those of us who like to explore,  create and  develop ideas.  I see all the ones  that  are leaving are the   "shoot-them-up" types that  prefer to run around  going  "bang-bang" you're dead ... and  just  don't have the  ability to  make anything  that doesn't look like a   roblox cube.

So far the only  safe playable pve games are on private servers that are moderated.. maybe if  BI  made some  better moderated  pve official severs,  the  crowds  would  return.

Leave a  few  PVP servers for the unruly  "bang-Bangs"..thats their  choice, but make it  more enjoyable  for the  create  and  explorer types.

Actually, i would like to see more   flora...ie  flowering trees and  shrubs  for   base  decoration, and also  non  predator  animals   like  sheep,  deer... etc .. but i  guess  i will have to wait and  watch the  game develop.

 

Edited August 27, 2018 by kimbuck

[bojo2736 1016]

You bring up a point I forgot to mention, @kimbuck. There needs to be ways for players in game to protect their things.  Being able to make items under the barrier to be unpickable in game. 

Also a way to allow friends access to the protections and building under the barrier, so that cooperative groups can truly play together. 

[bojo2736 1016]

I took these screenshots just a couple of days ago.  Seriously, go check out Explore NA 9.  You can see this for yourselves.  Well, until the server wipe tomorrow.

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

BB has been a great friend & she is so passionate about this game and even more passionate about the user base. She invests her heart and soul into the PVE community she leads. 

People who play this game LOVE the art style and the concept but there are some issues driving people away that need fixing. 

1) The multiplayer lag -- Poor BB poured her heart and soul into a map which was great and I loved it a lot. Sadly, in a week the lag was so bad it had to be reset. It was a stock map with a few small builds added. The lag and resets drive people away. 

2) Concept & mechanics clash. I think what BB is saying is that the game is marketed as a tropical getaway. The art draws you into a relaxing world, a release from life. Sadly, many people coming from other "survival" games like rust see it another way & ruin the fun for the chill players. 

I am worried that if the lag & reset issue is not thoroughly dealt with before release, it will make marketing efforts futile. Word of a Q4 release scare me. 

I am extremely hopeful about the future of this game and I think I speak for all of us at P1 (BB, Kim & others) when we say we are rooting for the whole team. 

Thanks for letting us be part of your journey. 

[bojo2736 1016]

Q4, does that mean this fall?  Oh dear lord.  It's so not ready for primetime.

[TheSparkPlug 128]

Multiplayer issues will not make or break this game.  BI provide those servers to test, and they should not be expected to maintain them. In fact, from the sounds of it, they would be better off just taking them all down and making it easier for people to set up the own dedicated servers.

It's the performance and instability - be it in mulptiplayer or single player - that drives people away. Another factor may be the constant removal of items/features from the game. Classic examples would be: the blocks that disappeared because the 'didn't fit into a category'; devaluing gold ore; making the crafting potion 5 times more expensive while 20 times less effective; and - last but not least - the threat to remove the ability to edit explore worlds.

For me, it was having my world of 500 hours replaced by a much earlier copy which did not exist on my machine... that and the Dev's reluctance to explain how that could happen... or why the logs were looking for games long since deleted from my machine!

Sadly, it seems that while the game was originally designed to be fun, we were clearly having too much fun and that needed to be stopped  

[RedEagle_P1. 905]

1 hour ago, TheSparkPlug said:

 

Multiplayer issues will not make or break this game.  BI provide those servers to test, and they should not be expected to maintain them. In fact, from the sounds of it, they would be better off just taking them all down and making it easier for people to set up the own dedicated servers.

 

I think we all agree with this. Few or no Official Servers would lead to a more moderated, unique, involved, community-focused experience for those who play. 

1 hour ago, TheSparkPlug said:

For me, it was having my world of 500 hours replaced by a much earlier copy which did not exist on my machine... that and the Dev's reluctance to explain how that could happen... or why the logs were looking for games long since deleted from my machine!

Sadly, it seems that while the game was originally designed to be fun, we were clearly having too much fun and that needed to be stopped  

I am very sorry for your loss, I know how you feel. I think we have to give the devs credit though. They are not trying to break stuff and are responsive and seek to fix this stuff the best they are able. 

[bojo2736 1016]

@Ane you asked about problems in multiplayer. This topic is relevant.

[mid endian 37]

We are also missing tools to help manage the servers. There is no god mode for the admins, no way to call up objects without need of a creator cube,  not even a way to get a creator cube. If we are not able to edit exploration games once this is out of Early Access, we need these tools before that ever happens.

Like, several patches ago.

[XXon 31]

My multiplayer suggestions.  Create a new multiplayer Sharegame (or other) world using all the options of the Editor "generate" feature, then use a DENSITY slider to adjust amount of flora/fauna/resources. Use a DIFFICULTY slider to adjust hit points, damage, etc., but also proximity of main resources (flint) to spawn point and a respawn timer on hostile animals. You cannot plant anything, more temperature sensitive, whatever. Just the two sliders, but lots of effects when it is cranked up. Just Create and you have a unique multiplayer game in minutes.

Right now is like an enjoyable demo of a game. That's mostly because it is way too easy. Within 30 minutes you have iron armor and lance, you can melee anything in the game. No challenge at all, just a building game really. Not PvE, there is no E. Not PvP, either, unless you count ganking. This changes dramatically once you remove flint from the spawn island. Or clay, or trees. Crippling the tech tree is currently the only way to get anything resembling a game and it works to an extent, but the tech tree is not currently designed around this. It could be, with a few changes. It isn't quite lineal enough, some resources open far too many options up (clay, flint).

Properly done, one must make and use every armor type and every level of weapon and work your way up to the next one. Bows are OP and should come much later. Melee a bear with a mace and leather armor first. Crippling the tech tree allows this to happen naturally. You can do much of this already using the editor, but it is very time consuming and Multiplayer is by nature disposable, due to griefing, lack of respawn, etc. I have spent many hours messing around with all of these ideas in game, that's my opinion.

If you don't agree, try my scenario Frostbite Hardcore Survival. It is simplistic and very unrefined, but by limiting resources it forces you to really use various armors and weapons, repair them and salvage them. Also, it adds a time factor due to the cold and a very real risk of losing all of your gear and never surviving long enough to recover it. These add much needed drama to the game. Risk and difficulty are vital, but having a slider keeps everyone happy and interested. Right now it is really boring because it is way too easy.