Improving Player Retention

[Pool]

The one thing that bothered me with the server when I first joined was its difficulty. Fresh off the boat and with no idea how things worked, I walked right into a Well quest because some guy with an axe walked up to me and said there was trouble afoot.

This quest was then spiced and I died several times as a starter character, on top of getting robbed by some dude who I can't remember that looted my pack while I was dead. If it weren't for friends inviting me onto this server, I probably would've just left.

Maybe a warning of EFU's difficulty would be beneficial, maybe somewhere in the quest journal? Mention how magic weapon is necessary on a variety of enemies that don't regularly require it in stock NWN, how enemies have not been scaled to a player's level and that there is a random factor in what spawns?

[granny]

oh... and update the initial site with all the nasty stuff in a meaningful and organized way!

this was one of the things that most helped me into being around EFU when I came to here. our site was one of the most complete and more organized around servers of the same kind.

to explain clearly the mechanical changes, perks, familiars, summon system, animal companions, tweaks, special things that only we got, screenies, efus skills and so on would be a must!

[Meldread]

I think Blast9thewarrior had a really good suggestion about breaking up the OOC room a bit more.  There is quite a bit all jammed in there, and that can be a bit overwhelming when you're new.

TheTurboNerd also made a really good point about inside knowledge.  Once you've run through things once as a character, it becomes easier to excel.  You start to learn what quests you need to do, you know more about the setting in general, about the major ongoing plots (both PC and DM), and all of this makes it so much easier to integrate.  

What I think we need from new players is immediate by-in to the story of the server.  We need things to be zeroed down to the most basic essentials:  you're one of the few survivors of an event of apocalyptic proportions, huddled in an underground city with the last known free-thinking peoples of your kind.  

It would be interesting to try out some very generic scripted preludes, that give people an opportunity to get a feel for the tone of the server, as well as a chance to integrate their characters into it.  I'd also include a cutscene introduction similar to how things were setup in EfU:M to introduce people to the server for those taking the generic preludes.  It would give some basic background history of recent events (the rise of the Red Star, the Darkening, and the coming of the Dread Empire) which would give a player a good idea why their character came to be in such a grim position for the prelude.

Another thing I'd do would be to create IC and OOC incentives for DM factions and associations to involve new character arrivals (regardless of whether or not they're new to the server).  OOCly those who get their Sanctuary Rings should appear on an OOC list for DM factions and associations when a character logs in.  They'd sit on that list for a week so long as they're flagged by EFUSL as actively playing characters.

There would be two lists:  New Characters (with Online / Offline indicators) and New Characters Introduced (along with Online / Offline indicators).

The list could be accessed at any time by typing /c newpcs.  

The new characters listed as offline are characters PC's should keep an eye out for to see if they spot them, and those listed as online are the characters PC's should ACTIVELY be seeking out.  Finally, the New Characters Introduced list are people who've become "known" by a particular faction.  We could treat that like IC rumors, allowing faction PC's to "spot" someone who has recently been introduced to a faction and introduce themselves.

Examples of what it could look like in combat chat log:
New Characters:  XXXX [Online], XXXX [Online], XXXX [Offline], XXXX [Offline], and XXXX [Offline].

New Characters (Introduced):  XXXX introduced by YYYY [Online], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Online], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Offline], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Offline], XXXX introduced by YYYY [Offline].

The Spellguard and their Agents would want to introduce new arrivals to the Auxiliary, as would other members of the Auxiliary itself.  The Watchers are actively looking for new recruits, and would want to inform new arrivals about the law.  The Civil Servants would want to get a new arrivals name, and some basic information about where they've come from for their files and records.  The Society would want to get new arrivals to sign up for their Crusade.  The Scriveners are going to want to get your last will and testament, because - well, you're going to die, and they need to inform you of this fact.  Finally, the Stewards are going to want to try and sway people away from the Machine and Sanctuary.

Basically, it would be setup as a fetch quest for faction PC's where they actively go out, look for new players, and bring them back to their faction base.  For doing this they'd receive some XP and gold.  It's a quest that could be done at any level, and an unlimited number of times.  (With rewards scaling appropriately based on level to maintain server balance.)

This is valuable because it provides new arrivals with the opportunity to get involved in plots, as well as to learn about Sanctuary and its surrounding environments from other PC's.  It also provides ample opportunity to become a member of an association:  Oathsworn to the Society, a member of the Scriveners, a member of the Civil Servants, a recruit of the Watchers, or a member of the Spellguard Auxiliary.

[Kinslayer988]

One of the things that would hook new players is showing them the potential of EFU, perhaps by showing them what successful PCs have done and what you can do on the server.

Example: Make an archive of some achievements you have seen from the player base. Characters who have done monumental work, built their own conflict, built upon the server, or achieved something magnificent.

Listing a few characters on my mind:
Qadima
Sorngol
Proverson
Saint Mororn
Hectaxius
Akreaya
and many many more

And then of course the factions that have changed the server:
Sanqites
Elf'qada
Brotherhood of Mercy
The Iron Halo

The only thing that I fear of this is that some players may view it as favoritism and react with jealousy and anger but on the other hand it shows what can be accomplished if you put your mind to your character and try to have the most fun you can while including plenty of other characters.

[Inquisitor]

The only thing that I fear of this is that some players may view it as favoritism and react with jealousy and anger but on the other hand it shows what can be accomplished if you put your mind to your character and try to have the most fun you can while including plenty of other characters.

It's exactly what will happen, concerning the angst.

[Pentaxius]

Another thing I'd do would be to create IC and OOC incentives for DM  factions and associations to involve new character arrivals (regardless  of whether or not they're new to the server).  OOCly those who get their  Sanctuary Rings should appear on an OOC list for DM factions and  associations when a character logs in.  They'd sit on that list for a  week so long as they're flagged by EFUSL as actively playing characters.

This is an excellent idea, the first step to help out new players is to be able to find them IG. We should add an option in the starting area, to take a special ''newplayer'' portal* that would flag you as such for the purpose of this list. Likewise, we could create a list of Veterans willing to help out newcomers by IC and OOC means that a newplayer could directly have access to IG.

[VanillaPudding]

I fear that some manner of system that pairs people together would only be good here, on paper so to speak, and not work so well in practice. Notably due to different play styles that may actually be a deterrent towards the new arrival rather than a welcome.

Secondly, whenever I personally jump into a new game or world then that is in fact exactly what I want to do, jump right in. I do not want to spend a great deal of time reading little tidbits or being forced to do things that appear somewhat "outside" of the actual world. The current intro system is just fine for this (though maybe a slightly cleaner approach would be best) as it provides the optional means to gather more information while not forcing some lengthy and likely dull process upon them.

There are some great ideas in this thread, but overall I think the best idea is to quite simply tone down the difficulty and randomness of the content designed for new characters (or players) and provide a more gradual learning curve.

[Howlando]

I built a new start area. Check it out (after a reset) and please let me know if it seems more accessible/less intimidating for a new player!

[Chronicler]

I support RwG's sentiment- sometimes you can wander around and not find any players in Upper, Lower, the Canal Wards or the Inns. If you have your heart set on being a Lower Rebel (4 lyfe) you'll have a terrible time finding people to hang with (I'm speaking from experience)- most of the time I end up just logging off, because I cannot figure out where people are.
 
If you're unlucky enough to log on when some event has drawn the entire player crowd to one area, perhaps some ambient messages to guide players there might help?

[Vlaid]

Checked out the new starting area, looks great.

Might be a good idea to put some kind of reminder near the shops that you'll lose the majority of unspent gold though (if that is still true).

[WeAllGonnaDie]

I support RwG's sentiment- sometimes you can wander around and not find any players in Upper, Lower, the Canal Wards or the Inns. If you have your heart set on being a Lower Rebel (4 lyfe) you'll have a terrible time finding people to hang with (I'm speaking from experience)- most of the time I end up just logging off, because I cannot figure out where people are.
 
If you're unlucky enough to log on when some event has drawn the entire player crowd to one area, perhaps some ambient messages to guide players there might help?

Take it for what it is worth.  This is why I stopped playing.  With limited play time, I would log on, try to find someone or something to do, find no one, even with 30 people on and just log off.  Repeat enough times and thats that.

I am afraid that this will be seen as criticism, but, the thread asked for input.

We all have different time commitments in life but EFU has seemed to me, to be too much effort for much too little fun.  I log in, cannot find anyone to play with, no one responds to my sendings and EFU becomes then much of a time commitment.  I also think, which may be a justifiable fear considering how hostile the setting is, that many people are too prone to only playing or adventuring with their friends.  They log on, form a band among those they know and trust and set off.  No sending, leaving those without any real connections left out.

This makes sense considering how dangerous the setting is and how much your life depends on your traveling companions, but, again, it leaves people out.

I also dislike how hard it is to get supplies.  EFU:M may have had too much, but I fear it has gone way too far in the opposite direction now.  Just because some people, quite a few people in fact, mastered EFU:A and EFU:M and knew how to run quests optimally and get massive, ridiculously huge stockpiles of gold and supplies, does not mean everyone else did.  You log in twenty times, only manage to find something interesting to do four of those times and the two of those times you log in and find actual adventure, you spent much more in supplies than you started with.  The response to that is, to save you the effort of writing it in advance often is:

1.  It's not about the loot!  Have fun with the adventure!
2.  You suck!  (Phrased in a more polite tone)  Try harder to find loot!  *I* find loot easy! I ROCK!

As to those:
1.  I agree.  Adventure is fun.  I want to explore and fight monsters and go do cool things.  And if you keep dying and have no supplies, you will not have much in the way of adventure.
2.  I don't think I need to really respond to this, do I?  Only a minority of players say this, but it has been said enough times to really bother me.

Simply put, I think it is too hard for more casual players to get groups and even harder for them to get enough supplies to adventure.


Edit:

Howland,

I like what you did to the starter area and I appreciate the effort.  I think it makes it a little more approachable, but I do not think that it addresses the underlying problem retaining new players.  I fear that many who come find the server, can't find anyone to group with and when they do, rarely actually profit by the end of their adventure, the same concerns I have.

[PlayaCharacter]

I think my starting story might be instructive here. Outdated though it may be, I think it's a good illustration of the kinds of totally off-base assumptions a new player will make in the absence of hard information.

When I started playing here waaay back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth I actually thought the server was kind of boring and unfinished. There was nothing worth buying in the shops, what was worth buying was super expensive, and there was no obvious way to get gold. The only indication I had that there might have been more than meets the eye was the fact that nearly every object in the game had a description. I must have spent my first couple of weeks here just walking around and looking at the descriptions for everything. I just assumed that "low magic" meant there was no decent loot in the place at all, and thus it kind of reminded me of a better designed version Fraghaus Krynn.

Two things hooked me and completely changed my perspective of the place.

The first thing was an OOC conversation I had with Dr. Dragon, the result of which was my character becoming a thrall to Inryzz. It never occurred to me before that you could just ask the DMs to do things for you, like possess an NPC and have a conversation with them. I was used to role-play servers where the best way to get DM attention was to sit in a locked room with another PC and spew paragraph-long emotes that were essentially borderline cy0br. I then spent the next few weeks becoming disillusioned that the DMs were not responding to my every request to talk to an NPC. What, do these people not like me any more? Did I not role-play well enough that one time? All right, to heck with these DMs, I'm just going to learn this place and have my own fun doing that.

I abandoned my thrall PC and rolled up a character specifically designed to explore the server and uncover every little secret I possibly could. By this time, I had discovered a secret door, which I suppose was another sort of hook. This was the first place I'd ever seen where the search skill was actually useful, and I was excited at the idea of finding more secret doors.

Are you following me here so far? The point I want to get across is that I was surrounded by some pretty high-brow content and was utterly oblivious to all of it. This was during the Tigereye rebellion, and rather than getting involved in that I was wetting my pants at the prospect of finding hidden doors. I still found the server to be pretty flat and the role-play uninteresting. I had no notion at this point that the Tigereye situation meant anything important, it just struck me as primarily a contest over paper doll uniforms that would soon be replaced by another one and quickly forgotten. There was no reason that I could see for me to care.

About a month or two into my new character, I had found myself some more secret doors. Mission accomplished. I was getting kind of bored again, and just on the verge of going back to play somewhere else when my character got ambushed by an NPC possessed by Sternhund who started my little throwaway character on a DM plot that would end with the biggest schism between the Spellguard and the Watch since the Bresleys were alive. I can't even say what exactly happened because to this day, 6 years later, it still constitutes a spoiler. I played that character for another year, and he didn't finally die until the start of EfU:A.

At each step of the way, the thing that consistently hooked me and transformed me from a boring townie scrub to an active contributing member of the EfU community was exposure to possibility. The possibility of on-demand DM interaction, the possibility of uncovering secrets, the possibility of becoming a secret agent of destruction and despair, and finally the possibility of changing the course of history. I went from thinking this place was flat and featureless to finding myself immersed in a rich terrain of intrigue and suspense. At the introduction of each new possibility, my imagination was suddenly flooded with new ideas, new character concepts, new ways to make an impact and have fun.

I can remember that back then, it was very popular on the forums for people to say "you have to make your own fun here." I always resented it when people said that, not because it isn't true, but because you have to have some initial sense of what is and is not possible here in order to know where to start. I had previously come from an epic-level server where PC lichdom was possible. It took me about three months of frustrating trial and error to really wrap my head around what EfU is all about. It took another three years after that before I finally learned how and when to fetch a DM without having to apologize for something afterward.

This was back in 2006-2009 and things are so much better now for new players. But I still see newbies walking around and I sometimes get a strong sense that all they need to trigger their imagination is some kind of sense of what is possible. I try to give them that when I can, and I must have done all right since several of them are still playing here today. But when a player is treading water, there's nothing quite like having a DM toss them headfirst into the deep end of the pool.

[Gregor]

The DMs and less-than-controllable factors like server populations at different times of the day can only do so much to hook new players onto the server or disappoint them.

New players will have the most interaction with other players, and so I think it should always be kept front of mind that new players are most likely to be hooked on EFU by the quality of the interactions they experience between their PCs and the PCs of other players.

As much as Howland and the other DMs try to do, it will primarily fall on us to make new players feel welcome.

[Crimsonchamp]

I'm new enough, at least to the veterans. I think I've been here around a month now and a half now, almost two I think.


When I started, I wasn't quite sure to expect, I got brought in by another friend who'd just recently joined. He actually stopped playing so much, having been used to so much dm attention from previous servers.


I don't actually mind this. While I had difficulty finding my niche, and my way for characters to interact with others, it was the actual rp with other players that kept me around. Most of my dm interaction has been a few messages here or there, I think I was part of a few tiny events that had little to do with anything, and just random exp for rping and attending player run events.  Even that tiny exp is an encouragement, because its not the amount that matters, but it shows that you are doing good. I'm sure there's plenty of events out there too, just that they seem to focus on the more established characters they've already come to know.


I think, the best way to keep player retention is of course, to find ways to force new players into meeting with others, though I think this has been said. Its very difficult for some to fit in, I felt that for a good whiles and I'm only now starting to get comfortable that I'm starting to recognize players, and their characters. Hell, maybe recommend to new players that their first character should be a bit more open to socializing, just to get into the swing of things.

The difficult thing about playing something outside of the sanctuary though is the actual finding of other players, which keeps you here. Perhaps we should let that be known to other players? It seems to me the most successful 'outside of sanctuary' groups would be a group of people who come together and make characters towards that idea, rather then a single, hoping to find others and THEN establish a group of sorts. That way, they do have a base.

Sorry if my thoughts are a bit disorganized, kind of scatter brained atm.

[Knight Of Pentacles]

The first few hours a new player spends, from what I've noticed, decides whether they stay or not.  I once invited a friend who tried to play but became discouraged after about an hour or two because he claimed he couldn't really understand the intricacies.  This was in EFU:A and I've tried getting him to play since but it always ends in him become discouraged and logging out.  

It'd be cool if as soon as a new character enters Sanctuary a message was sent to a Clerk of the Civil Service informing them that this character needs to be oriented.  Perhaps then once the Clerk has oriented the newly ringed character they can use a tool on the character that asks them if the Clerk was "helpful". If they click "yes", the Clerk could receive some sort of benefit to reward them.