What is the general consensus on server emptyness?
By
3dent,
Posted on: 2010-07-09 07:05 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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Granted, but I'm still not seeing the logical path that would cause someone who is in an argument, or being harassed by someone (ie Rude Tells), to skip right to learning about hide without first learning about the options that actually directly address the problem.|
Originally Posted by Catwhoorg
Hiding from searches is not the same as hiding from everyone.
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I'm not saying it never happens, but rather if that is the evidence indicating casual players would know as much about hide as a forum regulars (which was the cause of this tangent) then that evidence isn't very strong.
If that is acceptable I could use similarly weak correlations to prove that casual players know as much about IO's and Mids as forum regulars. I sincerely doubt that is the case though.
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Why do you keep assuming people are skipping over the other stuff and only going to /hide. We explain all their options to them when asked.|
Originally Posted by Frosticus
Granted, but I'm still not seeing the logical path that would cause someone who is in an argument, or being harassed by someone (ie Rude Tells), to skip right to learning about hide without first learning about the options that actually directly address the problem.
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1. We explain how to petition people harrassing them
2. We explain how to use /ignore and /gignore
3. We explain how to use ignore spammer and what it does
4. We explain how to set their flags
5. We explain how to turn on their chat logs
6. We explain how to use Notes and the Star rating feature
7. And we explain how they can use /hide to avoid some of the irritating people.
Besides the /hide feature stops many of the problems before they have a chance to start or escalate to the point where someone gets ignored and/or petitioned.
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Because I've never once seen anyone have that half hour conversation.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Why do you keep assuming people are skipping over the other stuff and only going to /hide. We explain all their options to them when asked.
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I have however seen people ask (someone frequently) in broadcast how to get rid of a spammer/annoyance and the single line response is:
/ignore
followed by:
thx
Considering that likely resolves the issue 9 times out of 10 the progression to inquiring about the /hide function as a result of receiving a "rude tell" is unlikely.
The only thing I'm assuming is that people generally won't drop an atomic bomb when a firecracker will suffice. If your typical response to a simple question is to submit an essay then that is fine. I just don't think what you consider typical is necessarily common. I could well be incorrect though and this could be a specific scenario that defies human nature.
My point is (and has been since this tangent came up) that /hide is not a special case. It is just like binds, IO's, Mid's, AE, SG's, Player events and everything else that forum goers are more likely to have a stronger working knowledge of than a non-forum goer.
My second point is that it is also largely irrelevant. The numbers for this game are low enough that even if 15% of players were actually hidden and you selected 30% for that aspect it won't really skew the results that much. It is however something to be aware of if it ever did become relevant.
Then our experiences are different. When I run into these situations I give the new players as much information as possible. One question leads to another when the new player realizes he found someone willing to stop and explain things, rather than get blown off with the shortest reply possible.
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Ya I guess so. If I ask someone how to get to the supermarket it is unlikely I require an explanation of how to operate my car and very unlikely I require the complete history of the automobile.|
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
Then our experiences are different. When I run into these situations I give the new players as much information as possible. One question leads to another when the new player realizes he found someone willing to stop and explain things, rather than get blown off with the shortest reply possible.
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Granted maybe you run in to people that don't know how to drive and it is necessary. Is good that you have that information to share.
I don't personally see answering a simple question with a simple answer as "blowing someone off". I just see it as mirroring their personality style, which most people prefer. Of course if they want more information they are free to ask and it will be answered. I've just never seen anyone continue seeking that information in the specific scenario that they are trying to avoid a single person that is sending them "rude tells".
The great thing about life is that we all have different experiences. I can accept that your experiences have led you to believe that non-forum goers have the same understanding of the /hide mechanic as forum goers. I don't have to agree with it, but I can accept that you believe it.
I wasn't necessarily trying to get you to change that belief, but was more trying to understand the logical pathway you were taking to reach that conclusion.
Making the assumption that only a small percentage of the game population uses the forum may well be an erroneous one, which blows out of the water the idea that only a few people know how to hide. Look at the forum population. At this moment there are 6,100 people active on the forum. Just under 2,000 of them registered users (and glancing across the list of those user names I see only a handful of names I've ever seen post).
Yes, only a tiny percentage of players actually post and participate on the forums. I think you all underestimate how many players read the forums, however.
@Doctor Gemini
Arc #271637 - Welcome to M.A.G.I. - An alternative first story arc for magic origin heroes. At Hero Registration you heard the jokes about Azuria always losing things. When she loses the entire M.A.G.I. vault, you are chosen to find it.
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When I'm playing I try to be as helpful as I can to other players. No one likes being given a hard time when they are trying to relax and have fun. Here on the forums we can disagree and bicker back and forth, but I keep that out of the game if I can.|
Originally Posted by Frosticus
Ya I guess so. If I ask someone how to get to the supermarket it is unlikely I require an explanation of how to operate my car and very unlikely I require the complete history of the automobile.
Granted maybe you run in to people that don't know how to drive and it is necessary. Is good that you have that information to share. I don't personally see answering a simple question with a simple answer as "blowing someone off". I just see it as mirroring their personality style, which most people prefer. Of course if they want more information they are free to ask and it will be answered. I've just never seen anyone continue seeking that information in the specific scenario that they are trying to avoid a single person that is sending them "rude tells". The great thing about life is that we all have different experiences. I can accept that your experiences have led you to believe that non-forum goers have the same understanding of the /hide mechanic as forum goers. I don't have to agree with it, but I can accept that you believe it. I wasn't necessarily trying to get you to change that belief, but was more trying to understand the logical pathway you were taking to reach that conclusion. |
I usually start off by saying that there's several options they can choose from. I tell them how to ignore first and add if they feel it's necessary they can follow up with a petition. I then tell them there's a few other things they can do if they're interested. Most of the time they're receptive and I explain the other things I listed.
A lot of times these talks end up with us teaming and doing a few missions while answering questions. I even get added to their friends lists. Thank God we have the Notes feature now because I used to have a hell of a time remembering them. Now I can give them some good stars and line or two to remind me where we met.
Edit: Thinking back I apologize for using the term "blown off". I was thinking that the brevity of a response gives the impression that it's the only option they have and they may not ask if there's anything else.
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Not saying everyone on this thread is being so disingenuous but when someone is representing that a server is alive well when said server can't even muster up a Hamidon raid for a month at a time|
Originally Posted by SwellGuy
On allegedly "dead" servers Protector, Pinnacle, and Triumph I see many people while I am out and about on the streets. Granted on Freedom and Virtue there are so many they create clutter and get in my way and the broadcast channel is always popping but the other "dead" servers are far from dead.
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http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...hlight=hamidon
because the few people are taking a break, its not that healthy. A reasonable person might even call it dead.
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i don't see anything in that thread that leads to believe that the server is dead. all it shows is that the leaders were going to deal with RL and wouldn't be around to lead.|
Originally Posted by Another_Fan
Not saying everyone on this thread is being so disingenuous but when someone is representing that a server is alive well when said server can't even muster up a Hamidon raid for a month at a time
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...hlight=hamidon because the few people are taking a break, its not that healthy. A reasonable person might even call it dead. |
" alive or dead man, alive or dead.... dead.... wrong hoonnkkkk."
Assuming that we have come close to the mark with a population estimate of 60,000 - 70,000 subscribers(not saying that this is dead on accurate), is that a really healthy population for COX?
Assuming that all the people who subscribe even bought GR.
That's $30 X 65,000(approx.) = $1,950,000
Does that even come close to GR production costs? Just something I'm wondering. I haven't factored in people who never played COX who might buy the game because of GR.
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Just because most of the players on a server can't be bothered to waste their time on a pointless raid that has a reward which in their opinion is of little or no value doesn't mean that a server is dead.
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Originally Posted by Another_Fan
Not saying everyone on this thread is being so disingenuous but when someone is representing that a server is alive well when said server can't even muster up a Hamidon raid for a month at a time
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showt...hlight=hamidon because the few people are taking a break, its not that healthy. A reasonable person might even call it dead. |
I was just on Freedom and I saw this when I did a quick search of Atlas Park.
Freedom's Dead! The devs should shut it down so players can focus on enjoying more populated servers.
ummm..... i think something is wrong there.... not sure what, but i know my keyboard isn't happy with me right now. 
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If somethings wrong then the Search tool is unreliable and can't be trusted. As to your keyboard, have you tried cleaning it after you visit the pron sites?|
Originally Posted by Sharker_Quint
ummm..... i think something is wrong there.... not sure what, but i know my keyboard isn't happy with me right now.
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J/K
But back to the pic, I was just on to pay rent on my base and it was very quiet, and having posted in this thread it made me curious what I'd find if I searched. I wasn't expecting what I found and couldn't resist a screenshot to post here for S&G's.
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That's nothing to kid about. He should definitely clean the keyboard after visiting those sites. |
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
If somethings wrong then the Search tool is unreliable and can't be trusted. As to your keyboard, have you tried cleaning it after you visit the pron sites?
J/K |
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I too prefer the lower population servers with Triumph as my main. |
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
Most problems seem to be people not using server channels (mostly out of ignorance). I've pointed that out in many threads over the past couple years, and even made sure to add a "Welcome to Victory" thread to help out people with those on my home server.
When most people find out about those, the problem is almost always solved. |
My only complaint is the limit with server channels (a complaint that has been brought up before).
With many of these channels being invite only, it's really too much hassle to drop/add channels for each different server I'm on. So, my characters on Triumph, Protector and Liberty usually have any TF/SF I want on them. My characters on other servers would probably have a lot more if I had the ability to double my channels.
My Characters
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lol. no. i spit soda all over it as i laughed at seeing only 2 peeps on freedom. i think thats cause everybody was on the forums checking them out... |
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
If somethings wrong then the Search tool is unreliable and can't be trusted. As to your keyboard, have you tried cleaning it after you visit the pron sites?
J/K But back to the pic, I was just on to pay rent on my base and it was very quiet, and having posted in this thread it made me curious what I'd find if I searched. I wasn't expecting what I found and couldn't resist a screenshot to post here for S&G's. |
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Well it's not like anyone said Freedom was heavily populated. Just more populated! |
Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
I was just on Freedom and I saw this when I did a quick search of Atlas Park.
Freedom's Dead! The devs should shut it down so players can focus on enjoying more populated servers. |
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That's a valid concern - if someone handed me GR as a project, knowing only what I know right now, I'd estimate around 10-12 people for 8-10 months. Or around 100 man-months. In the Silicon Valley, that probably puts your cost around $750,000.|
Originally Posted by Slashman
Assuming that we have come close to the mark with a population estimate of 60,000 - 70,000 subscribers(not saying that this is dead on accurate), is that a really healthy population for COX?
Assuming that all the people who subscribe even bought GR. That's $30 X 65,000(approx.) = $1,950,000 Does that even come close to GR production costs? Just something I'm wondering. I haven't factored in people who never played COX who might buy the game because of GR. |
On the face of things, that's not too bad. But we need to remember that not everyone is buying the digital download. Physical boxes cost money to make and the retailers take a big chunk as well.
While I do think that GR is likely to be profitable, I think NC needs a significant number of new/returning players to pick up the box to make the ROI look good in the end.
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Maybe Hamidon raids aren't the big attraction to most people that they are to you. I really don't think that this one activity is a valid metric of server 'aliveness'.
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Originally Posted by Another_Fan
Not saying everyone on this thread is being so disingenuous but when someone is representing that a server is alive well when said server can't even muster up a Hamidon raid for a month at a time
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Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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I've mentioned in the past that my personal threshold for a "healthy" server is the ability to log in and (within reasonable time) do whatever it is I feel like doing.|
Originally Posted by Ironblade
Maybe Hamidon raids aren't the big attraction to most people that they are to you. I really don't think that this one activity is a valid metric of server 'aliveness'.
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I generally find that if there is ~1k people online at the same time as me that is generally a realistic happenstance. Now I rarely desire to run Hami, so that helps, but pretty much any other content is fair game from Mothership Raids, to a Doc Q, to the all but guaranteed ITF. I like to be able to just log in and be reasonably confident that no matter what content I might desire to run that day, some other people are likely feeling the same way at roughly the same time.
Actually 1k seems to be the very bottom of that spectrum just based on the random fun sessions I've had where I fire up search at the beginning.
Like I said though, that's just me and I like having lots of options open to me because just like how this game encourages altitis I feel it also (should) encourage widely varied content.
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It may look dead, but most of the people in the thread are just on hide. |
Originally Posted by Westley
I can't believe that this thread isn't dead yet.
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Zing!|
Originally Posted by Harbinger
It may look dead, but most of the people in the thread are just on hide.
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Hey, if 5 people can keep a server alive they can easily keep a thread alive!
Every single one of you missed the point. Some of you got so upset that you felt the need to insult me and send me harsh PMs. One of you even concluded that I was a wifebeater. Truely a great way to contribute to a discussion and a community!
The point I was trying to make was simply "It does not SEEM as populated as it used to be and it is kind of disheartening." I used to be able to log into Guardian and see costume contests in atlas 24/7, people flying around and just chilling on rooftops. Now(or i may just be unlucky) I hardly see any people in atlas. NOT saying this game is dead, or that this game is dying, but the population is so spread out between servers, zones, factions, and with GR coming out the population is going to be spread out even more is might be disheartening to NEW PLAYERS.
I love the game and have been playing since Issue 4, got my girlfriend into it more than a year ago, and will probably stay with the game til the end.
Maybe I'm missing something, why did my original post deserve hate messages?
In time, I'll come to forgive you.
Hide Options
For example option 2 will put a muzzle on an annoying pest long enough to discourage him without having to clutter up ones ignore lists and it will still allow one to be seen on searches.
Option 1 will stop annoying blind invites leaving one free to turn it off when one decides to accept a politely worded tell looking for a teammate.
Option 1 and 7 are perfect for the soloist seeking peace and quiet.