My 2 cents: I have a strong feeling that a year ago I was playing the game the way I wanted and I enjoyed it and had fun. Now I am forced by devs to play the game the way they want and sadly I no longer enjoy it that much.
This is the first time ive posted,even tho im an avid reader of the forums i have never felt the need to post before now however i feel the need to chime in,
i've been playing since beta,yes that long
i am also captain of a fleet that goes back to beta,yes that long
from the roster of our two allied fleets we have lost roughly 75% of people that used to be regular players,many were established and dedicated fleet members
from my personal friends list of over 300, i only see 6-10 now after delta and its ensuing aftermath on a regular basis
first and foremost let me state i am not moaning or deriding the game
please take note though cryptic that, recent changes have had a detrimental effect on your player base,it makes me wonder what the future holds
do you or would you make your population metrics available for outside perusal?
i would like to think that the future for sto remains bright and i continue to put a brave face on it and remain positive but we as a fleet are hemorrhaging players like there is no tomorrow
i have also spent years,yes years, recruiting people to both our fleets,recently i (and others who also recruit) have noticed that there are no new players appearing, no lost souls running around the ghetto on Qonos, no pleas for help in finding the shipyard on esd
this is real cause for concern, as, without new blood the future suddenly loses its glimmer
i would like to know what the community managers think of this dilemna
kay
You echo my sentiments most probably better than I could myself.
As I said in another thread I know my/our fleet(s) will live on, I know we haven't been around as long as many (we celebrate our second Christmas this year, and our two year anniversary in March), but I have also seen a massive hit in regular online player numbers.
Many people are logging in, but often only briefly for doffing/R+D, or just to see if anything has changed. Those who do log in and play are mostly head-down grinding the story, or speed farming as best they can.
Another thing I have noticed is how many alts have been abandoned in said fleets;
I have a simple rule = have as many alts as you like, however they must rank up as individual toons (in terms of fc score, our method for promotion for all but our STILL broken FA rank). I keep track of them as individual characters too, in terms of logins and activity and whilst I have dug my heels in and am trying to maintain 3 of my 4 toons I have seen many have simply abandoned theirs, thus hurting just as much as another dead account on the roster. And I speak as a player who has members with (in some cases) 5 alts in one fleet, all top contributing toons, millions of FC each.
Whilst I by no means suggest this is a similar story for every fleet out there I'm sure more than a few from what I'm hearing in-game and reading on here can relate in some way.
Not roster trouble pe say but I have heard of many fleets not being able to fill Dilithium or even EC-centric projects (even more so than before) because of those players that are playing now having ma MAHOOSIVE Dilithium and EC sink.
This alone has been enough to cause some fleets to close and disband, and I get why given the time/effort/money involved in developing a fleet why this loss would cause people to quit the game also.
Still waving a tiny STO flag at heart and standing on my bridge at the ready (metaphorically speaking), but I am slightly concerned at present for some fleets and as a result, overall worry that this is not just an isolated occurrence.
"If this will be our end, then I will have them make SUCH an end as to be worthy of rememberance! Out of torpedos you say?! Find me the ferengi!".
I thought the amount of testers was -1. I guess I'm over estimating by 17 times.
I think they should "crowd-source" their testing and do it on another server besides Holodeck and then carefully consider the feedback, i.e., fix critical game breaking issues and let others slide if they are minor and have tim eot fix them.
Just an idea. :rolleyes:
Star Trek Battles Channel - Play Star Trek like they did in the series!Avatar: pinterest-com/pin/14003448816884219Are you sure it isn't time for a "colorful metaphor"? --Spock in 'The Voyage Home' SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
Don't know you about either...but my fleets (more than 1) are virtually empty. Not the same ebb/flow as seen before with every version (9.5X) or expansions (2x). This close to the holidays and still our rosters took a dump since DR. Some might be really hard core gamers and small fleets made up of those wont see much change. However, those with topping 500 or so would see that LOTs of casual players have given up....human logic...who the heck wants to grind for ever with no end level game in sight...even a mouse catches the cheese.
Cryptic has messed up the game post DR. IMO we might see it Ok thru weekend increases until the winter event ends. Come January this will be a very different game if DEVs nor MR EP listen to the playerbase.
We are all posting about how few players are logging in and we attribute it to how bad DR was about making it feel like you´re getting nowhere fast.
But what if Cryptic attributes the low player numbers to something else? Say, an xpac from the MMO Juggernaut? I gotta say, I was going to hold off on playing through said xpac for a few months but DR being what it was prompted me to give it a try sooner and it really might be the best xpac yet. Perhaps Cryptic is thinking THAT is the reason why their numbers are low and are convinced they can ride it out until their trek fans come back?
My 2 cents: I have a strong feeling that a year ago I was playing the game the way I wanted and I enjoyed it and had fun. Now I am forced by devs to play the game the way they want and sadly I no longer enjoy it that much.
Exactly.
I left the game right around the time the R&D system came out. The doffing UI change bothered me. then the R&D and removal of the exploration sectors bothered me. My main fleet started dwindling away (lots of doffers and explorers). I quit before DR because the game was losing its fun and I could see the way they were going to go with the t5u and t6 stuff. I keep coming back here every now and again because either I have some hope they will do something to fix the game or to watch the train wreck.
Your fleets are dying because you are now elite and as such, you are going stagnate. When you shame your lower ranked members into thinking there is no way for them to climb to the top, of course they are going to leave.
I just came back to the game after a nearly three year absence myself, I joined back up with the fleet I was in before I quit and they are the same people, but now it is ALL about damage output, they talk about nothing else. They use that app that displays the damage done by their parties and on more than one occasion there was someone with them who was embarrassed by how little damage they did. That kind of thing is unhealthy for the survival of a fleet. You cannot be constantly busy if you cannot retain your newer or, for lack of a better term, your "lower class" players. Do not get hung up on this ONE thing though, there are numerous other things that contribute to fleets dying, this is just ONE example.
The same goes for friends lists, you all need to clean house from time to time. You got someone in your fleet that has been inactive for a month with no known excuse? Kick them out and recruit some more, if they come back they will give you a holler, and if they do not call you back then they really aren't invested anyway. Do the same with your friends list, clean house, if you got a "friend" that has not logged in in over a month, guess what, they aren't your friend anymore get rid of them, if they do return and they shoot your a message, add them back, if not, then you will know who your friends really are.
The problems stated in this thread have nothing to do with the game, it has to do with bad fleets. Bad fleets are bad, and they fail as a result. Running and maintaining a fleet is WORK and it is constant, you can never relax.
Also, some said something about no new people? That is just insane or just ignorance(not knowing), Since my return I spent quite a bit of time on the "new" ESD and I see plenty of people asking new person questions all day long, every day. If you are not seeing new people come in, perhaps it is because you are not looking? That would be my guess, you are just oblivious to it, so wrapped up in trying to make money off the exchange or running STFs for marks and currency items, or maybe even have zone chat turned off because of the ESD trolls. Just oblivious to what is going on around you.
I am coming back with fresh eyes though, a fresh perspective. Since my return, I have had a great deal of fun playing this game. Sure, there is lots of grinding, but I have NEVER played a game(online) that didn't have grinding in it. Seriously, if grinding is your issue, then go play a console game or something, play it for like a week and then resell it. I challenge anyone to name an online game with no grind to it. GW2? Nope they got grinding. PWI? Nope, they got grinding. WoW? Nope there is grind there too. Star Wars? You guessed it, grinding. ESO? Come on, grinding!
Personally, I think this thread was opened just out of frustration at the OP's own lack of whatever it is he/she/it is after.
I see people in this game everywhere in every sector, always on the move, always doing something and at any time of the day be it in the morning, midday and even very late at night. People who cannot see activity in this game are just blind.
I did point out that there would be some hard-core fanboys who will say there is nothing wrong, queues are full, ships everywhere and people who are complaining are the real problem Sad to be so na
They are not going to change anything because the official position was and still is "best expansion ever". Period...
Maybe not quite so. In a recent post, Taco stated:
"Note that the "Most Successful Expansion Ever!" comment was something like a day after launch. And yes, at that moment, the day prior had been (at least one of) our biggest sales days ever. So yes, it was. Is it now, 6 weeks later? I don't know..." http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=20901091&postcount=282
So there is hope.
The devs seem to be engaging more with the forums now, I take that to be a sign that they realise that they need to do something to reverse the current exodus of players.
We are all posting about how few players are logging in and we attribute it to how bad DR was about making it feel like you´re getting nowhere fast.
But what if Cryptic attributes the low player numbers to something else? ...
I think they know exactly what is going on.
What they are probably working on now is:
What is the least they can do to bring the players back and,
How to do that while saving as much face as possible.
I think that many of us believe that the least is going to have to be quite a lot!
Maybe not quite so. In a recent post, Taco stated:
"Note that the "Most Successful Expansion Ever!" comment was something like a day after launch. And yes, at that moment, the day prior had been (at least one of) our biggest sales days ever. So yes, it was. Is it now, 6 weeks later? I don't know..." http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=20901091&postcount=282
So there is hope.
The devs seem to be engaging more with the forums now, I take that to be a sign that they realise that they need to do something to reverse the current exodus of players.
Not really. Smirk was all cocky taunting people on another thread saying it was their biggest sale, with the highest number of sub for a livestream, etc... Basically saying it was a huge success, and that was yesterday.
Obviously, even if it was the opposite, he wouldn't say that. It's a PR guy after all. So it doesn't mean much.
Taco is not a PR, beside the first day, and doesn't know the numbers and all, it's not its job. Beside knowing it was an initial success.
As long as they make money, they doesn't care much about our complain. So we'll see what happen in the future.
Not really. Smirk was all cocky taunting people on another thread saying it was their biggest sale, with the highest number of sub for a livestream, etc... Basically saying it was a huge success, and that was yesterday.
Obviously, even if it was the opposite, he wouldn't say that. It's a PR guy after all. So it doesn't mean much.
Taco is not a PR, beside the first day, and doesn't know the numbers and all, it's not its job. Beside knowing it was an initial success.
As long as they make money, they doesn't care much about our complain. So we'll see what happen in the future.
You might be right, though I'm not sure I would trust Smirk, after all, every new lock box is always one of the best ever. And yes, time will tell.
Nope, they're playing the waiting game and counting on Churn to clear out the dissatisfaction, aka 'waiting for it to blow over'.
Yep. That's my take as well. That's why I checked out of the game and will only continue to watch the forums for positive changes for another week or two before uninstalling and leaving long-term.
I can only speak for myself, but for me to come back, it would take a good tripling of the current XP rewards across the board while leaving the current goal posts intact.
I used to have 8 hours/day to grind which is what is needed to make any noticeable progress in the current system, but now I only have a few hours/day to invest in gaming, and that doesn't cut it in this game right now - especially for altoholics like me. So I'm essentially forced out, unless I just want to log in to tread water.
It's all about the fun factor, and logging in to go through the time-gated click-fest of crafting, doffing, and repping, while sitting in empty queues and watching the eliteSTF channel for a group to get in on just is not fun for me. Certainly not fun enough to get me to open my wallet anymore.
ESD is pretty empty too. Sector space map is empty too. They TRIBBLE up everything with grinding and make T5 ships and fleet gear obsolete. Paying 4,5 times for a same ship is that ppl drove away. And in their last stream they were talking about food (pizza, taco-not dev) 99% of the time...enough said.
I had 100 players in my friend list and 1 of them is online sometimes....
My fleets numbers have dropped too. I log once a day to do doff missions and R&D stuff and that's it. For me, the leveling killed STO, I hate grinds and now that's all it is. Do a mission, grind, do a mission, grind. I was expecting 30x the amount of missions available, then they open a dance club instead of you know, actual content.
I've stopped putting money into the game, I used to drop $50 every two weeks, for ships and dil. I really wanted to get the pathfinder but without actual content to enjoy, the ship is pointless. I really hope they get it together soon, I miss STO and my friends that played.
Also mind you that a big player magnet named "WOW" just launched it's expansion, which is finally running stable now after a very bumpy start, and which made it's subscriber base jump by 3.2 million subs. I'm pretty sure that STO also lost a good chunk to them, especially after that disaster that was DR.
Reminds me of the famous scene that's been recreated in "Downfall", where a certain little dictator still thinks he can achieve an "Endsieg", even after the Soviets are less than a kilometer away from his bunker...
Member of a fleet that not only goes back to beta, but the organization itself goes back to SFC2.
Our rosters (Fed and Klink) are higher than they've ever been. Same for our alliance fleet. General consensus is that game changes, you adapt or move on.
Cryptic has the actual numbers, but this is still the 4th most played mmo on Steam. A thread full of anecdotal evidence is just going to turn into a white knight vs dooooom fest.
Cryptic has the actual numbers, but this is still the 4th most played mmo on Steam. A thread full of anecdotal evidence is just going to turn into a white knight vs dooooom fest.
I just want to point out that some MMOs are not even on steam AT ALL. For example SWTOR, DDO, or the MMO I suppose nobody really knows called World of ******** (yes, WoW is not on steam, pretty sure he would be top1 otherwise).
And others didn't used steam for a very long time (longer than sto), and are not featured in the steam first page when they add content (lotro for example).
It almost the same than saying SWTOR is the most played MMO on Origin, and makes some conclusions with that.
And if you bring steamcharts, then you already saw there is a sharp decline in the number of players. It's not as dramatic as some would like to point out, and we are still (slightly) higher than between season. The game is not dead, and is not doomed either. But the expansion was not a lasting success.
I thought this yesterday. When I used to go there, I hated it as it would be so choppy and slow. Now I can run around there with little problem. So either they fixed a graphic issue there or there simply is less people on the map now.
Comments
You echo my sentiments most probably better than I could myself.
As I said in another thread I know my/our fleet(s) will live on, I know we haven't been around as long as many (we celebrate our second Christmas this year, and our two year anniversary in March), but I have also seen a massive hit in regular online player numbers.
Many people are logging in, but often only briefly for doffing/R+D, or just to see if anything has changed. Those who do log in and play are mostly head-down grinding the story, or speed farming as best they can.
Another thing I have noticed is how many alts have been abandoned in said fleets;
I have a simple rule = have as many alts as you like, however they must rank up as individual toons (in terms of fc score, our method for promotion for all but our STILL broken FA rank). I keep track of them as individual characters too, in terms of logins and activity and whilst I have dug my heels in and am trying to maintain 3 of my 4 toons I have seen many have simply abandoned theirs, thus hurting just as much as another dead account on the roster. And I speak as a player who has members with (in some cases) 5 alts in one fleet, all top contributing toons, millions of FC each.
Whilst I by no means suggest this is a similar story for every fleet out there I'm sure more than a few from what I'm hearing in-game and reading on here can relate in some way.
Not roster trouble pe say but I have heard of many fleets not being able to fill Dilithium or even EC-centric projects (even more so than before) because of those players that are playing now having ma MAHOOSIVE Dilithium and EC sink.
This alone has been enough to cause some fleets to close and disband, and I get why given the time/effort/money involved in developing a fleet why this loss would cause people to quit the game also.
Still waving a tiny STO flag at heart and standing on my bridge at the ready (metaphorically speaking), but I am slightly concerned at present for some fleets and as a result, overall worry that this is not just an isolated occurrence.
"If this will be our end, then I will have them make SUCH an end as to be worthy of rememberance! Out of torpedos you say?! Find me the ferengi!".
I think they should "crowd-source" their testing and do it on another server besides Holodeck and then carefully consider the feedback, i.e., fix critical game breaking issues and let others slide if they are minor and have tim eot fix them.
Just an idea. :rolleyes:
SCE ADVISORY NOTICE: Improper Impulse Engine maintenance can result in REAR THRUSTER LEAKAGE. ALWAYS have your work inspected by another qualified officer.
This 100% ^^
We are all posting about how few players are logging in and we attribute it to how bad DR was about making it feel like you´re getting nowhere fast.
But what if Cryptic attributes the low player numbers to something else? Say, an xpac from the MMO Juggernaut? I gotta say, I was going to hold off on playing through said xpac for a few months but DR being what it was prompted me to give it a try sooner and it really might be the best xpac yet. Perhaps Cryptic is thinking THAT is the reason why their numbers are low and are convinced they can ride it out until their trek fans come back?
Exactly.
I left the game right around the time the R&D system came out. The doffing UI change bothered me. then the R&D and removal of the exploration sectors bothered me. My main fleet started dwindling away (lots of doffers and explorers). I quit before DR because the game was losing its fun and I could see the way they were going to go with the t5u and t6 stuff. I keep coming back here every now and again because either I have some hope they will do something to fix the game or to watch the train wreck.
I did point out that there would be some hard-core fanboys who will say there is nothing wrong, queues are full, ships everywhere and people who are complaining are the real problem
Always look on the bright side of life?
Oddly, also one of the most popular songs to play at a funeral... :P
Maybe not quite so. In a recent post, Taco stated:
"Note that the "Most Successful Expansion Ever!" comment was something like a day after launch. And yes, at that moment, the day prior had been (at least one of) our biggest sales days ever. So yes, it was. Is it now, 6 weeks later? I don't know..." http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=20901091&postcount=282
So there is hope.
The devs seem to be engaging more with the forums now, I take that to be a sign that they realise that they need to do something to reverse the current exodus of players.
I think they know exactly what is going on.
What they are probably working on now is:
What is the least they can do to bring the players back and,
How to do that while saving as much face as possible.
I think that many of us believe that the least is going to have to be quite a lot!
Obviously, even if it was the opposite, he wouldn't say that. It's a PR guy after all. So it doesn't mean much.
Taco is not a PR, beside the first day, and doesn't know the numbers and all, it's not its job. Beside knowing it was an initial success.
As long as they make money, they doesn't care much about our complain. So we'll see what happen in the future.
You might be right, though I'm not sure I would trust Smirk, after all, every new lock box is always one of the best ever. And yes, time will tell.
Yep. That's my take as well. That's why I checked out of the game and will only continue to watch the forums for positive changes for another week or two before uninstalling and leaving long-term.
I can only speak for myself, but for me to come back, it would take a good tripling of the current XP rewards across the board while leaving the current goal posts intact.
I used to have 8 hours/day to grind which is what is needed to make any noticeable progress in the current system, but now I only have a few hours/day to invest in gaming, and that doesn't cut it in this game right now - especially for altoholics like me. So I'm essentially forced out, unless I just want to log in to tread water.
It's all about the fun factor, and logging in to go through the time-gated click-fest of crafting, doffing, and repping, while sitting in empty queues and watching the eliteSTF channel for a group to get in on just is not fun for me. Certainly not fun enough to get me to open my wallet anymore.
I had 100 players in my friend list and 1 of them is online sometimes....
I've stopped putting money into the game, I used to drop $50 every two weeks, for ships and dil. I really wanted to get the pathfinder but without actual content to enjoy, the ship is pointless. I really hope they get it together soon, I miss STO and my friends that played.
Reminds me of the famous scene that's been recreated in "Downfall", where a certain little dictator still thinks he can achieve an "Endsieg", even after the Soviets are less than a kilometer away from his bunker...
Our rosters (Fed and Klink) are higher than they've ever been. Same for our alliance fleet. General consensus is that game changes, you adapt or move on.
Cryptic has the actual numbers, but this is still the 4th most played mmo on Steam. A thread full of anecdotal evidence is just going to turn into a white knight vs dooooom fest.
And others didn't used steam for a very long time (longer than sto), and are not featured in the steam first page when they add content (lotro for example).
It almost the same than saying SWTOR is the most played MMO on Origin, and makes some conclusions with that.
And if you bring steamcharts, then you already saw there is a sharp decline in the number of players. It's not as dramatic as some would like to point out, and we are still (slightly) higher than between season. The game is not dead, and is not doomed either. But the expansion was not a lasting success.
Thanks. I read it, then read the responses to it. Very interesting.
I thought this yesterday. When I used to go there, I hated it as it would be so choppy and slow. Now I can run around there with little problem. So either they fixed a graphic issue there or there simply is less people on the map now.