If I were to start bushtarion from scratch I would...

[Coruba]

* 883 IDs in this world have been registered to date this round.
* 358 of those IDs have actually been deleted.

And this is a big drop out rate which imo could be worked on.....starting right here

 

[Alcibiades]

I did not really find anything wrong with the way Garrett worded his initial post. He explained why it hadn't been implemented before, then made his opinion known about solos and solo play in general. I think you (Coruba) should relax just a wee bit, and give some people the benefit of the doubt next time.

Anyways, moving on I would definitely not encourage people to play solo in this game. I would want them to join an alliance, meet some people (good and bad) and learn the game from people, not from struggling around in the dark grasping at straws.

Promote Alliance play, not Solo Play.

Work on improving the alliance features of this game, to enrich the social atmosphere of the game, and improve the manner in which the game functions as an alliance based game. Solos are, and should remain, an afterthought in this game.


Edit: The Dropout rate probably has more to do with people signing up, playing solo because there are hardly any worthwhile alliances, and not knowing WTF to do, getting landraped, finding out how difficult/long the game is to play, and what a steep learning curve it has. You could drop this rate significantly with an increase in the social aspects of the game, with a playerbase willing to teach and group together randomly to form new friendships, meet new people etc. Solo play is actually probably not a benefit to decreasing the dropout rate.

 

[Garrett2]

look, forums aren't what bring people here... and they aren't what keep people here either.

to get the kind of gears going for more players on the scale you are thinking/wanting takes more than a couple nice words on the forums and a couple fluff pieces.

a) serious mechanics need worked on b) getting out the word needs to happen from people running this c) updates to the current routes are needed since it's been 10+ rounds since that's been looked at...

all good places to start. you moaning and taking this thread offtopic is definitely not. so at this time please reevaluate your need to continue to derail this thread please.

(i'm not changing for you, get over it.)

edit: didn't see alci post before i posted this. stating this cuz i didn't post to pile on further. plus see a/b and c for contributions.

 

[Coruba]

Atm 160 allied players. Whether you like it or not solo players actually make up more of the player base then allied players do.

 

[Garrett2]

that's only in relation to time and decline of the game. not due to mechanics nor meaning that solos 'should get their due'. fix the game and solo can go back to obscurity. get my drift?

 

[Alcibiades]

Atm 160 allied players. Whether you like it or not solo players actually make up more of the player base then allied players do.

That doesn't make them a good thing for the game...

 

[LuckySports]

The game is more competitive and fun when you can play with a group of friends. That is what will keep people coming back. As has been said, solo was not the main design behind the game. Back when the game was the biggest, There was no AR mod, it was a straight 1.45x their score to trigger, and land didn't count towards your score as much as it does now. It was acres x 1000.


An idea, is to have all solos randomly assigned to alliances at the beginning of the round (with an option to opt out of course) to help encourage ally play.

 

[Dax]

My idea for the solo portal would be a hidden mechanic that would earn them the 'Portalicious' award at round end. I never intended for there to be a statistical table whilst the game was ticking.

Basically, it's purpose is to list the top 5/10 solo's of the round in the portal listings, in the same way that Eff/BH/Score does now. It gives recognition to players that work hard (people like Yochoko & Edd, who work fantastically hard as solo players), and gives them a portal place if the top 50 are occupied by allied targets.

It's a simple endeavour that is not meant to encourage anything, just give solo players an aim of their own (as the top solo players clearly do not want to join an alliance).

 

[Davs]

Would be nice to have a world ranking feature for solos - maybe not based on there round name but maybe on their username?

Yeah I think this has been discussed, and a top 5/10 portal was mostly agreed upon. An idea that should have been implemented a long time ago, really.

Presumably like Alliance Stats, the rankings wouldn't actually kick in until a bit into the round? So solos weren't inordinately targeted before intel really "allows" it?

My suggestion was that it would only be visible after the end of the round (so it only appears in portal). Although I agree with whoever suggested that each individual could see their "solo rank" (and their rank only) during the round.

 

[Yochoko]

i encourage people to get allied especially when you make your debut in this game and/or when you still feel you are 'lost' in the game. it's the best and the shortest way to learn the game. butttttttt i do love playing solo for more relaxed, non-commital way of playing (but can put in some decent effort and play well/high ranked at the same time) and also for just hanging around in the game without actually completely being away from it (be it for a round or a year). i don't think we need to 'omit' completely the existence of solos.

on the other hand, i don't really see why solos want their own ranking list. if you are solo and so aware of the ranks, it means you are very commited in playing solo actively and care about your own rank and other solos' ranks too to.. compare? then, i think you can make the list yourself very easily from the general ranking list 'coz you should already know who your rival solos are. also, if you are in the top 50 as a solo among other allied players, then, probably worth a mention, but anything outside of it isn't with the current playerbase, i think (for those who like to brag about how well you play as a solo).

i just think we don't need to separate the two worlds. playing high ranked solo is like a challenge for one, perhaps. but it stands out becauuuuuuse of all those allied players.

 

[Polo]

If people think we should have a separate solo ranking list, surely that means we should have a separate allied ranking list too?

 

[tobapopalos]

Good idea in theory just go solo at beginning - get list then go allied. Apart from that I like your thinking.

He said you could see only your own ranking, so it would be impossible to use it to get a list.

However, I'm not sure a solo ranking is that big a deal. If a solo player has truly excelled they will be in portal anyway. If not, they don't deserve it. It's not like it is that difficult to portal.

 

[edd]

Good idea in theory just go solo at beginning - get list then go allied. Apart from that I like your thinking.

He said you could see only your own ranking, so it would be impossible to use it to get a list.

However, I'm not sure a solo ranking is that big a deal. If a solo player has truly excelled they will be in portal anyway. If not, they don't deserve it. It's not like it is that difficult to portal.

What Toby said. If a solo player wants something to work for then surely it is portalling with the allied players rather than basically being given a portal position since there aren't that many solo players who play actively and competitively.

 

[CFalcon]

Garrett/alci are usually bastions of logic around here, but in this case Coruba is right.

Assuming an active and capable admin who can implement any and all beneficial ideas, it is a false dichotomy to say that improving the solo experience must be harmful to alliance play.

Although I do agree this is an alliance game, it does no harm to keep as many solos interested in staying as we can.

EDIT: apologies toby, I thought you'd said more than you actually did. My bad.

 

[tobapopalos]

I didn't say it would be harmful, I just said it wasn't a big deal. I wouldn't mind if a solo ranking was added.

The only problem I have with adding new rankings is a devaluing of the current rankings.

 

[Garrett2]

when you give everyone a new niche to shoot for, it takes away from the main mission.

conan, what is best in life?!:
to crush your enemy
see them driven before you
and to hear the lamentation of their women (or in this case forum users)

 

[CFalcon]

when you give everyone a new niche to shoot for, it takes away from the main mission.

conan, what is best in life?!:
to crush your enemy
see them driven before you
and to hear the lamentation of their women (or in this case forum users)

Whether it can even be counted as a new niche rather than an aesthetic touch-up is debatable. And you assume the 'main mission' cannot also be proportionally enhanced.

I do not lament.

 

[Alcibiades]

Garrett/alci are usually bastions of logic around here, but in this case Coruba is right.

Assuming an active and capable admin who can implement any and all beneficial ideas, it is a false dichotomy to say that improving the solo experience must be harmful to alliance play.

Although I do agree this is an alliance game, it does no harm to keep as many solos interested in staying as we can.

EDIT: apologies toby, I thought you'd said more than you actually did. My bad.

I was speaking currently, in the case of bushtarion being in the way it is, small-ish. At this stage, it would be harmful to encourage solo play I think. I could be wrong, a good balance is always best, but a focus on alliance play should be paramount atm.

I have no problems with giving solos "awards", although it does seem a little silly to me (a serial ally player) but it certainly isn't harmful, assuming a healthy game and playerbase.

I guess I got too excited about the theory of the thread. Assuming all things healthy, and a capable admin, giving solos things to shoot for assuming you can do it without making alliance play worse, is a good thing! I guess I don't really see the point to playing solo, but that's full on a personal bias. I may have been hasty in my earlier assumptions. If it doesn't detract from alliance play, then let it roll!

 

[Garrett2]

when you give everyone a new niche to shoot for, it takes away from the main mission.

conan, what is best in life?!:
to crush your enemy
see them driven before you
and to hear the lamentation of their women (or in this case forum users)

Whether it can even be counted as a new niche rather than an aesthetic touch-up is debatable. And you assume the 'main mission' cannot also be proportionally enhanced.

I do not lament.

I wasn't speaking of you specifically. perhaps maybe some sort of honorable mention (for the solos) rather than actual portal rankings of solos 1-whatever?

alot of solos also end up portalling or what have you cuz someone or someones in a rank 1 or 2 (or sometimes both) alliance let them live. as was the case with toast and his pnaps last round. (cept for zhouj and edd) however for the most part toast and his pnaps were given a wide berth to grow and do what they wanted.

i see it as rewarding poor game play.

 

[Dax]

alot of solos also end up portalling or what have you cuz someone or someones in a rank 1 or 2 (or sometimes both) alliance let them live. as was the case with toast and his pnaps last round. (cept for zhouj and edd)

Actually, this was more down to general laziness/incompetence by the time they had grown substantially enough to be targetted by enough of the more useful members.

Zhouj was also in HC last round, not solo.