We are now under 400 english characters

[sanchez]

That's not true, Doug.
We don't have a shortage of new players. There are as many as 50 or more applications for new accounts each day, though there are markedly fewer for English now. We are just not at all successful in retaining them. And old players are leaving, too.

[Doug R.]

I'm only repeating what I've been told. Since the reports are broken, I don't have access to any hard data. We have 50 per day now, but how many did we have 4 years ago?

[Dudel]

50 in a day should be fine as long as 50 stay. Cantr is sadly horribly horribly broken on its basic lvls and so no one wan'ts to keep playing.

Thats what the general concensous it anyway. I honestly don't see how its indeed 'broken' but I do see the need for improvement. My brain says that the MD should not be trying to recruit new players untill things are generally fixed in game.

Cause if the problems do get fixed and its the game that people wan'ted to play the first time they won't come back. I almost didn't... just happen to like the pemeise more then the game play. And I have lots of time to kill. *Angers Watch Dog*

MENU DIVING! Its a sport no ones good at!

[Doug R.]

In my past experience as a game admin, the retention rate for most games is below 1% (measured as people who sign up and stay - people like us). That's normal. Cantr has problems, but any game you're not paying for has problems. People sign up looking for something very specific, drawn in by the appeal of the banner yet having no real idea of what they're getting into. The second they find something they don't like, they're gone.

Does Cantr have room to improve? Yes, considerably, but expecting a massive retention rate is not very realistic.

My brain says that the MD should not be trying to recruit new players untill things are generally fixed in game.

This is often heard being muttered. I thought a parable would be a good way to address this.

There were three combat medics - a doctor, a nurse, and a paramedic.

The paramedic's job was to insert and hold an IV.

The nurse's job was to assist the doctor with all of the technical things he had to do.

The doctor's job was to patch up the wounded soldiers and keep them alive.

While operating on a patient in the medical tent, a mortar hits. The doctor is blown to pieces. The nurse, covered in carnage, suffers a breakdown, rocking the dead doctor in her arms and babbling incoherently. The paramedic and the patient, however, are left unharmed by the blast.

Without the doctor and nurse, the prospects for the patient looked very grim. The paramedic had a choice: The enemy had obviously locked onto their position. He could abandon his post and leave now, save himself, knowing that the patient was probably doomed anyway, or he could remain at his post, dutifully holding the IV providing life-sustaining fluid to the patient, even if it cost him his life.

What is the moral thing to do? What is the noble thing to do? What is the right thing to do?

[DylPickle]

I think you should keep it up Doug. Plain and simple, games need players. I still think one of the biggest problems in cantr right now is that it is way to big right now, for the player base. Earlier, it seemed like the world was opening up more as more players joined. Now that active players are on the decline, we're all spread out and can't talk interact. Now we have the wiki, so people don't need to interact. More than half the characters are foreign language group chars, and (in my opinion) it's just not fun to play a text-based game with someone you can't understand.

A lot of people groan about interface problems, but most people that are interested in games with role play are probably used to it. Just look at all the forum based games and all the text muds out there.

[Rebma]

... More than half the characters are foreign language group chars, and (in my opinion) it's just not fun to play a text-based game with someone you can't understand.

A lot of people groan about interface problems, but most people that are interested in games with role play are probably used to it. Just look at all the forum based games and all the text muds out there.

Agreed. And agreed, I hear people complaining all the time, but I really have little to no issue with the interface. I'm here for the role-playing baby!

[Russell of Los Angeles]

The way to really know whether it's mainly lack of new players or old players leaving is to compare the numbers to previous years. A graph plotting new accounts and total players over time would be sweet.

The interface has been getting a lot of heat lately, but it can't be much worse than it's ever been, right? The old players played with it "back in the day," right?

[Rebma]

Russell is right. I was thinking about that, and aside from minor things here and there, the interface hasn't changed much from when I started playing in '04 or '05. No one was complaining and huffing then about the interface. Everyone loved it, and loved the game.

But suddenly its getting to be noticeable that there aren't as many people as there once was playing in the English parts, and people decide they're gonna blame it on something, anything, (Ooh! Interface, bingo!), and then they're gonna point fingers.

The only major change to Cantr is the numbers playing.

Doug you're handling the finger pointing very well, I must say.

[Dudel]

Okay... I have no problem with the interface besides having tickes taken away for stupid stuff. (Complained about this several times now)

I was repeating what I hear/read from other places I go to. I personally think that if you wan't players to join and stay joined. Play the odds! Whore the site www.cantr.net anywhere you can as many times as you can. Don't worry about getting them to stay just worry about getting them there in the first place. Tell them to keep in game for about a week before bailing. And make them spawn in an active location.

Last one can't be done by MD.

Another thing: We as the player base should be more welcomeing and less violant about bad rp. Let the spelling errors and grammer go! It annoys yes but tell you what annoys more then that. Being yelled at for it! You know what they are saying/trying to say. So interact accordingly.

One more thing tword the player base. <b>BE MORE OPEN!</b> Don't shut out other players ideas. Be it that they talk funny or have an obtuse idea about something. Half the time I see this something like this the town gets angry and kills them or no one interacts with them. Then if your character interacts with them your character gets attacked or ignored. <b>BE MORE OPEN!</b> Lots of players wan't the unique opportunite to make an 'awsome' character and if lots of other characters assume them crazy and start getting all agro and violant. They are going to quit because then infact they can't <i>be anything!</i>

I have seen this since I joined about 20 times and I only have 5 characters! Someone spawns with a unique view of their world and they are locked up or killed rather quickly. Oh and recourse jailing... WTF! People are new to the game and BOOM! They are in jail. How is that fun for them and how does that encourage them to keep playing?


Last thing I promise. DON'T STARVE YOUR CHARRIES! I don't care if you didn't wan't to spawn there. PLAY ANYWAY! Letting the charrie starv also descourages players from playing. Well if they just let the thing starv... screw this! You don't like the town... or feal your spawn local is a CRB... MOVE! Take your naked little legs and walk to another town... Is that hard? Starving while there is an abundance of food is indeed <b>BAD RP!</b> Who in there right mind willingly starves? Have you ever heard of someone committing suicide by starvation? I know I havn't!

Okay that was it... those are my 100% honest opinions about this game. Those are what I see are the real problem and they are player problems sides the spawn thing and whoring the site. Mostly the gripes I hear are about how negativly awful the players are. And I've seen it several times. It really puts a damper on a new guy/gal coming into the world if they can't even get food because they forgot to read the rules and were dragged into a dark building never to be heard of again.

None of these thing has happend to me but I've seen the chacater die of a heart attack or somthing similar several times and it needs to stop somehow.

[joo]

Hmm... Dudel, I believe I may have inferred something from that tone of that post...

Pillsbury much?

If this is the case then I hardly think you could call it a "unique" view of their world, lol.

And the very first character which I spawned was indeed thrown into jail shortly after spawning, but he had a very... interesting time with another woman who was in there too. So being put in prison because your character did something wrong doesn't always have to be a negative experience for the player.

[Dudel]

Hmm... Dudel, I believe I may have inferred something from that tone of that post...

Pillsbury much?

If this is the case then I hardly think you could call it a "unique" view of their world, lol.

And the very first character which I spawned was indeed thrown into jail shortly after spawning, but he had a very... interesting time with another woman who was in there too. So being put in prison because your character did something wrong doesn't always have to be a negative experience for the player.

Dudel is not the failure that is Pillsbury... sorry to burst your bubble.

Edit: Well I'm sure that most people don't have the um... pleasure that you did while imprisioned. (Made myself laugh) I would also like to repeat that I have yet to have a character thrown in jail. I've had one killed but he was an a-hole and needed to die! (Why did I spawn him anyway?)

[joo]

Hmm... I'm still hunting for whoever was responsible for that... creation.

[Rebma]

Hmm... I'm still hunting for whoever was responsible for that... creation.

Somebody knows... I forget who said they know the player.. Maybe Naru? Idk. But dealing with him in three locations drives one NUTS.

Maybe that is why Cantr's numbers are low, its Pillsbury's fault. Lmfao.

[Dudel]

Hmm... I'm still hunting for whoever was responsible for that... creation.

Somebody knows... I forget who said they know the player.. Maybe Naru? Idk. But dealing with him in three locations drives one NUTS.

Maybe that is why Cantr's numbers are low, its Pillsbury's fault. Lmfao.

I did say blame the players... only one player works too.

[Doug R.]

I have no idea who Pillsbury is. I guess I'm fortunate.