[Ranylyn]

Let me preface this discussion by saying, "I've attempted to recruit many people I know to SL2. And only one has ever stuck around (and even then he's like a 5 times a year supercasual.)" This begs the question of why, and the main answer is simple: the game is severely lacking in content, INCLUDING players to interact with. Yes. Players are indeed content in terms of any online experience, regardless of if it's allies for PVE, opponents for PVP, or even random schmucks you casually talk about the weather with in an RP game. So quite bluntly, the lack of players is pushing players away.

This brings us to the first issue: how can we get more players if we can't keep players, and how can we solve the issue of lag when there's too many players? Well, for starters, I'd like to point out that more players = more people who are likely to donate = affording a better server. So really, I think this issue will sort itself out, if we can take care of evereything else. Right now, the peak number of players usually doesn't get too high above 50, and that's with multikeyers. So I'd like to set us a challenge: Let's help Dev improve the game enough that we can aim for 200 without mutikeying. Let's bring back older players who left by fixing some issues that pushed them away, and encourage newer ones to stick around.


So. Let's start by addressing several issues a lot of people I know have talked to me about, and ways to improve them. I'll post one new issue per week, so we have ample time to go over several ideas.

1) The world is too lifeless, with too litte to do.

There's a good number of cities already, but the entire world feels lifeless when everyone congregtes almost entirely around Cellsvich/Arena. Using Tannis as an example, 99% of my Tannis Roleplay, for example, has either been in player houses (I used to live there, on multiple of my characters) or Beast Raids. Tannis is basically just there for the password for the Mine, and more player houses. There's nowhere to sit, nothing to do, no reason for players to stick around and interact at all. Unlike Dormeho, which offers fishing, mirrors, and multiple quests, Tannis has nothing to offer. Meanwhile, Dormeho RP is STILL decently rare, despite all that and more. This is largely because the Arena has legal PVP, rewards for fighting, the fastest access to an Inn in the game, the fastest access to weapon repairs in the game, etc. And,as the starting town, Cellsvich is just more convenient than every other city by default for meeting people. Yes, with less players, this is indeed a convenience; if you want RP, you go to the Arena or Cellsvich. But it's not good for expansion and getting a bigger playerbase.

As for the main quest... it's obvious Dev has plans. As a writer, myself, one doesn't simply plan this much lore with no idea where anything is going. A good solid storyline would be a good reason for people to play, but due to all the other things that need work, advancing the story just doesn't happen often at all. To give you an idea, I joined shortly after Kensei was implemented. I believe the Ashe fight was already in, at that point. It's been over two years, at this point, and the story has had one singular update, since. Now, while it IS true that going through the story is basically something that happens once and that's it, I don't see the issue with it if the story is a decent length and has some decent rewards for doing so. "So? That's Dev's fault!" I'd actually like to point out that it's very likely Dev would have been further along in it by now if not for all the requests we make, so we can actively help by easing off on the suggestions/ balance fu/ etc for a little bit.

And let's talk dungeons. Randomized BDPs are fine and dandy, but we also need more statics. And I mean STATIC statics, like the Jammer Cave, Goblin Cave, Old Iron Mine, and Chinotoa Mines. Locations we can use for missions and, to an extent, even roleplay (I see a good amount of RP in the Jammer Tunnels and almost none in the others, due to mobile mobs.) I'm not knocking the work it takes to make a proper functional randomizer (I've tried coding one out of curiosity. 2/3 of my layouts were unbeatable.) but there's a big difference between exploring a new location with curiosity and excitement, versus "yay, randomized layout #37, just gotta find my way through."

So let's talk fixes, shall we? A few ideas I'd like to possibly discuss are...

- Tweaking the Arena's layout so while it doesn't suck, it's not the epitome of convenience that makes the rest of the game suck by default. Perhaps an indoor environment similar to the Final Fantasy 6 arena, where you need to walk up to the services instead of them being right in your face as soon as you enter. (For a mental image, take Oniga's inn, the first floor, and the rooms in the back being Yuna's forge and Remedia's clinic, and Tarson in the middle at the entrance to the combat area) The important thing is to not make the Arena suck, but to change it just enough that it's less tempting to be the singular central hub for the entire game. (The fact that it's also smack dab in Central Sigrogana does NOT help, either.)
- Zeo is also the single fastest pawn shop to access upon entering a town, as well. Just saying.
- Optionally changing starting location based on various criteria, such as a combination of race/class/history trait, with an optional questline surrounding your backstory. Sure, if you really wanted to just happen to be from Cellsvich regardless, you could, but this would be a way to immediately help get more players in different locations, and give more life to the NPCs. For example, once Karaten is added, a Karatynn Mage with the Magician history would have the option to start in Karatynn as an apprentice, for example. I'd give the game a lot more of an identity than "everyone just shows up at Cellsvich for some reason have fun."
- Just giving Dev some time to do story stuff could indeed lead to new dungeons and more stuff to do in towns, so that's a thing.


Stay tuned for a more controversial topic next week, "Meta vs Everyman: When the endgame impacts a new player's experience with the game."