Back to the Future

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

After an interesting little conversation with Xarr, I'd like to publicly ask GOA (yes... it's one of those "Answer GOA or I'll send Sigurd" threads) - where are all our new players? Fresh blood? Newbies to torture?

German and French servers are packed. GOA had to actually add servers to manage the large numbers of players.

In Germany the game is being pimped by the most popular games magazin. DAoC has been in the RPG top ten since release day and is a recommended "best buy".

Possible new french players have the possibility to download a one week trial version - don't really know about magazine wise pimping.

The English servers... stagnating, hardly any new players - if you meet a "newbie", it's an alt of an Excalibur/Prydwen player...
If it hadn't been for the free beta client PC Gamer supplied on their CD in their December issue, you could substract another 50% of the existing English server community simply because no one would know about the game...

So, with SI on the horizon and two ever stagnating English servers, I would like to ask Kemor or Zargar to kindly take part in this discussion.

 

[old.Xarr]

excellent post, summarizes it all up nicely and neatly.

/agree 100%

 

[nume]

Was shocked when I rolled my latest new alt at how few new players there are. When hunting at low levels when i started 5months ago, I never used to have trouble finding a group at peak times. Also then lowbies were majority main char, not prydwyn players on holiday or higher level alb alts...

I think with GOA (Thanks to Mythic) missing xmas for SI release, a huge opportunity has been missed. Also they need to put money into more Marketing/Advertising (is there any atm?), and then some more money for good measure. There are also relatively cheaper options if expenditure is a problem. The classic is the free offline demo/preview, surely a new one introducing some elements of SI could be put together by Mythic (there may be one already in the US?). Another way could be as the first poster suggested, a free trial given away in PC Magazine.

edit: With new players there is only one drawback for existing players.... possibility of more rude kids...
(any offense caused to the "maturity impeded" is soley intended and can only be commented on by those who work for a living )

 

[old.tRoG]

those offline demos really DO work. I have a friend who recently got the Neocron offline demo, and one week later he had bought the game.

However, I think DAOC is more of a team-game, and it would probably be better making a small server for an 'Online Demo' where players could only level up to, say, lvl 10.

They could then, possibly, transfer their lvl 10 char the Exc/Pry.

 

[SFXman]

Agreed 100%.
They have told about here in Finland in a number of magazines but as for demos? Hell no...
GOA really should advertise it in the "english server countries"... when SI comes around it would also be nice to receive a larger population on Prydwen.
Although many will return when SI comes around...

 

[Ragnarok1978]

Well, I don't know if the situation is the same for some of you other ex-US players as it was for me.

Back when I was on Palomides there were LOTS of european players around, when I heard of the EU release I was very exited (OoO, RvR earlier than 03:00 hrs), and I made it clear to people that I was gonna join EU, ended up giving my items to the guild and taking a time-out till EU release. However, other than myself and a friend, only a select few decided to switch from US to EU that I knew of.

As a result, I think at least 50% of the potential english speaking Eu residents are still playing on US, and just why should they be lured back when they have their patches 3 months earlier, as well as their expansion?

If I had to choose between GOA and Mythic there'd be no doubt I was still on US, but to me the game is so much richer here on the EU servers, simply because of the timezones.

 

[Stekkerdoos]

that part about the beta is very true for me, if i didn't played the beta, i'm almost 100% sure, i wouldnt be playing daoc at all at the moment.

And for magazines, i can only remember a review on daoc in one magazine here in the Netherlands. And i have not seen any promotion of the game in any form here

 

[Blood]

Same here, i got into the game by a friend telling me that he was playing a cool new game, and i could get into the beta for free.

I wouldnt have shelled out 350 dkr. for a RPG game if i hadnt tried it before.

 

[breon2]

I think its not just an advertising issue. I got a few people into the game and when they tried to buy it not one shop had it in stock or would get it in stock. I hear its quite common in the uk that there are virtualy none on the shelves.

 

[SFXman]

I think I signed up for this game for the hell of it at some point... then got an e-mail saying I am in a beta and I asked someone what this game was that I got into the beta of... strange...
Without the beta I would not be here now. Most likely my high school would be going well atm but oh well, great game.

 

[Cap'n Sissyfoo]

See? See? I bloody asked this question last week and got fobbed off with some lame reply, like they are all hunting in DF. Pfft...

I rolled a sorc a couple of weeks ago and I have never seen the Plains, Keltoi or Catties more deserted...EVER. When I was leveling my Wizard about a month ago I had no trouble finding groups. There was bitch fighting in all the major camping spots about who was pulling what and if I got bored of a group I could move onto another. Simple.

Now its pretty bloody hard to find a group. There is simply noone around anymore.

Having said that, there are a few newbs in our guild now and we help them out a lot more than normal simply because they have trouble finding groups as well.

One of the reasons is that this game is not getting any coverage in the shops or magazines. I spent several hours wandering around town looking for a copy of this game and in the 12 shops that I went to I couldn't find a single copy anywhere. Grr! In the end I had to order it online which took a further 2 days to arrive. Double Grr.

Most people wandering around the shops looking for a MMORPG to buy will probably pick up the first good looking game that they see and not troll around dozens of shops looking for a specific game.

~sigh~

A way around this could be for the player base to spam sites like MPOGD.com (sp?) or send e-mails to computer magazines recommending the game. I know its not our responsibility but if people want to see a new player base then we should probably do something about it...mebbe?

 

[Aileanara]

Originally posted by breon2
I think its not just an advertising issue. I got a few people into the game and when they tried to buy it not one shop had it in stock or would get it in stock. I hear its quite common in the uk that there are virtualy none on the shelves.

absolutly True spent most of saturday looking around Nottingham not "unknown town in the middle of nowhere" for a copy for my Mate who wants to play. And could not find 1 copy. I have had to order from Amazon (which I dont mind at all).

Also worrying is, that it seems Everquest has again re-released in shiny new boxes.
Making the choice clear for potential new players.
"Um what should I buy.....DoAC or Everquest.......um. Hang on one I cant find a copy of and I dont know exists, the other, I can see everywhere I look."

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

... checked on the weekend here in Nürnberg.

Every gamestore had at least two copies, department/electronic stores had at least four or five copies available.

Something is wrong, isn't it?

 

[old.job]

Yes , haven't seen a copy in any shops locally, also went to a huge hypermarket in France, found every single RPG you could want, but no DAOC.

 

[Motowntheta]

I think the main problem is that GOA don't have the resources to keep DAOC going with more people.

I think they a have a small set-up which can just about manage the current amount of users... look at the trouble they are having setting up an English only PvP server.

If GOA were to advertise in the UK.... and say got an extra 1000 players, they would a) have to start a new 'normal' server, which they don't have the staff to do and b) have to spend more time answering right now complaints.

If the system was staffed properly then the system would have such in game help as /appeal, which is sadly lacking.

No GOA understand what they are doing at the moment, they are running the system with just enough staff to keep it going. They are not interested in getting new staff unless their churn rate (rate of players leaving vs players joining) increases.

They are happy to sting people along with promises as it keeps people subscribing for that month longer, and allows them to rake the cash in a bit more.

They do not own they game, they have no interest in seeing it improved, they consider that Mythics job, they see it as a business. In that matter GOA are performing very well considering the set-up that they probably have.

GOA are in the game for the money, that is the bottom line, don't think they are in here for the players they just want the cash. They see the German and Frence market as important as they have sole control over that market... english speakers always have the option of going to the US, and they factor that into their business plan.

Therefore they probably don't employ that many 'native' english speakers in their setup as they don't need to gear that way. Keeping the english numbers down also keeps the patch now lobby down

Anyway I don't mind... I like the game but will probably move to the US for the SI / COOP servers as I won't loose much, as I'll be creating new charaters anyway

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

As I mentioned in my first post - Kemor and/or Zargar are more than welcome to join the discussion.

I would say it is still more than flame free - just avid players being concerned about their hobby.

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

*bumpity bump...*

 

[)nick(]

*looks up*

No pigs yet. Who knows.

 

[Zargar]

I have forwarded this thread to the marketing department. Thank you for the (flamefree) feedback.

 

[Fafnir]

I bought my copy from a english online game store. Have not seen it in any of the computergamestores ive been into. EQ i've seen in them all.

And the articles in computer mags here in sweden have been very small. at the bottom of the page some where in the middle of the mag, i heard of this game from my brother who at release lived in the US.

 

[old.Xarr]

Originally posted by Zargar
I have forwarded this thread to the marketing department. Thank you for the (flamefree) feedback.

goodie

feel free to post any reply from them here

 

[old.tRoG]

DAOC got alot of bad press from PCGamer (The main PC Games magazine in UK) when it started, but this was around march time when the game was, to be frank, rubbish.

This must have put alot of people off, and it will be hard to regain some respectability without having that magazine on our side.

but we'll do it

RaAaAaAAAAaAaAaAaaR!

 

[Uncle Sick(tm)]

Originally posted by Zargar
I have forwarded this thread to the marketing department. Thank you for the (flamefree) feedback.

Thank you - I hope it gets them working on some insane marketing strategy (Kemor and Zargar dressed up as trolls, running around in London or something like that...) to improve player numbers on the English servers.

 

[krait]

Possibly a great way to advertise DaoC would be if Goa made some DaoC Movies and distributed them to gaming magazines as well as put them on the main website.
Most of us have probably seen some of the DaoC movies at some point and they do show how good this game can be to play.

Although just seeing the game on the shelves would go some way towards getting new blood into the game.

 

[old.tRoG]

Ah yes, pop a few Aladora movies into a PC-Mag demo disk somewhere and we have action

 

[Ewul_Krypt]

Ehem

Just think... you all nearly didn't meet me, Krypt !

I saw a review in a games mag..

I spent like 3 weeks looking for DAoC in stores, I give up.

On the 4th week I was out in Blackburn, I happen to see 1 copy of DAoC on the shelf, I jump at it and hand over my cash.

I spend a few hours geting my account subscribed, then teh ravid Krypt entered the online gaming world, RARR!

Anyway.. bit off subject there =p.

Imo, GoA should have advertised a lot more. If I didn't see the games review I would NEVER have got DAoC, Even the games review wasn't that good, loads of things on it were wrong ect.. anyway, runs off to get himself unbanned from #daoc.prydwen.




<edit> You know other people can post intelligent posts like Stick

 

[ghoul]

!

By the gods sicko!

So nicely said that I actually have to say: pwn4g3!11

agree with yee friend!111 :]

- Glibbah

 

[old.Eynar_Vega]

I even had to order it in a store, and had to wait like 2 weeks before i got it. I ran to numerous stores all over Belgium meanwhile, and couldn't find a single copy...

 

[Ewul_Krypt]

Also... Most people are lasy and cba to travel all over every day for 4 weeks to get a frikin CD so i guess, goa lost a lot of customers there

 

[ghoul]

a

and concerning the marketing strategies sicko, id rather dress up Zargar in his Angry Goblin suit :]

Remember him with 50 polearm on gorre, when special trainer was there, he killed me.. then ressed me :] no ressill!