Improving Player Retention

[Vendayan]

I just wanted to throw this in there.  I've been a longtime player, only "new" to EfU:R.

I believe that the best part of the server is when players can have an impact on it.

First problem is that players are too secretive.  You never know who you might cross and you don't want stomped out while you're low level if team good catches on to a team evil plot too soon.  Or vice versa.  This is understandable, but it becomes VERY difficult to involve other players into a plot if you can't talk about it openly.


Second problem (I doubt my opinion will be popular) is when DMs spend too much time "spicing" quests.  It's a waste IMO.  A spiced quest is more fun than the usual grind, but it's usually more difficult as well.  This greatly increases the risk for newer players and/or weaker characters.  There have often been times when a quest was going well until the spice came at us and I either died or had to abandon the quest.  Either way, I usually have the same thought every time.  Call me a jerk if you want, but here it is:

"Where was this DM an hour ago while I was sitting in the middle of town, bored out of my mind just trying to think of a way to move my character closer towards his goals?  I finally give up on plotting and now I'm sitting in the fugue with a dire bear chewing on my corpse.  Had I known that this quest was going to turn entirely bad without notice, I would have sat on the steps and sulked this one out."

Quest spicing should almost always be done in a manner which can somehow directly promote a character's plot.  Otherwise it's just a relief from the usual grind and only entertaining until the quest is over.  Plus, there's a balance to it.  Too little spice isn't entertaining.  Too much and the characters get killed, suffering them financial/mechanical setbacks towards their goals.

Instead, I would personally like to see DMs spending more time introducing themselves to new characters/players.  Take some time to stop and ask players what plots they might have had in mind.  I know that there are far too many of us to catch and remember everyone, but DMs will always be the best guides.

If you can catch a new player on his first day and give him some advice about his plot, perhaps even help them along the way a bit by "plot spicing", you will inspire the !@#$ out of them.  Most new players probably don't even know how far their efforts can go towards changing the server.

My advice is that any time a DM might be thinking of spending 30 minutes spicing a quest, they should first look around the middle of town for new or idle players and consider some motivational "plot spicing" instead.  If you don't know the characters or their goals, by all means ASK.  Even a discussion about a character's plot can easily inspire or perhaps motivate people to get up off the steps.

[goate]

I'd suggest some way to mark new players.  I can never tell if a player is really new, or a veteran hiding under a psuedonym.  I'd like to think that I would spend more time introducing a new player to the Dunwarren if I knew right away I wasn't wasting time on a vet.  I kind of think showing new players around is fun - I get to show off all the useless but interesting lore I've collected over the last 7 months!

Also, my current main PC is level 7.  Any quest that the both of us could go on would result in their death.  Maybe insert some kind of quest that requires a new player in the party, and fill it with some of the richer mechanics to ensure that the new person's PC would get to use each and every niche skill they have.  Traps, locked doors, climbing, search, maybe some novel use for a familiar, a helpful NPC that must be healed, a scrapper that must be traded with, you name it.  The veteran player could lead the new player through and showcase the richness of the game, teach the new player how to navigate some of the obstacles, and maybe come out with some kind of reward themselves.

Just a couple thoughts.  I love the game in it's current state, although more people of the same caliber as the current population would be awesome.

[putrid_plum]

I think DM interaction with players is key.  EFU:R is awesome and the DMs are active and supporting players.  What I mean though, is I think sometimes it's not the DM plot or the DM spice on a quest that makes the module so much better.  What I personally enjoy is when you see NPCs doing what they might do, if they weren't just random NPC # 456533.

For instance, it would be cool to have maybe a DM controlled Watcher go around and hassle people, search them, maybe get in their business?  Or a Spellguard Agent pop in on some dude in the Machine somewhere.  Maybe see some prominent NPCs interacting with the 'peon' adventurers or something like that.  I enjoy when the server feels more alive and you can get a feel for prominent NPCs and factions IN GAME without relying on some OOC descriptor on a webpage that someone might or might not read.

For me, long ago I saw this guy had lost his pack in the sewers.  No one would help him, the poor fellow.  Then here comes Baron Bilby who take the fellow into the sewers and gets his pack!  Things like that really make EFU appealing to me.

[SN]

Things such as doing Sinister Enclave with Gaeseric & Gundahar...
.. Or Gnolls with Thrask Morv ;)

[Caddies]

Bin Ninelives as a DM and the player floodgates will open 100%.

[Ommadawn]

Bin Ninelives as a DM and the player floodgates will open 100%.

OMG Caddies

[9lives]

Bin Ninelives as a DM and the player floodgates will open 100%.

[MaimedGod]

This server is definitely really, really hard - and the many times I've died have been disheartening - but the roleplay is also really, really good, and that's what's important. As a new player I've been welcomed by almost everyone and I already feel like a part of the community. Thank you so much everyone, honestly.

[rodomontade]

Yeah, the biggest issue for me is the difficulty. The hardcore aspect really adds a lot to the atmosphere and world, but  it also demands a kind of time-investment that can be a bit daunting.  It's taking some getting used to (thanks to my janky connection I've died to some pretty questionable situations) but the roleplay has kept me from giving up entirely.

Seriously, the DM team is fantastic and just about every player has been pretty cool - even ones with whom my characters didn't get along. I'm gonna try and tough it out a bit longer, maybe try to figure out a laggy-player-friendly character build (if such a thing exists) that remains fun to roleplay.

Keep it up. You guys are all swell.

[Condescending Dogma]

I can see where the difficulty would be a problem for people who aren't vastly familiar with NWN mechanics.  In a way I am lucky, I spent more time than I am willing to admit playing this game since it came out.  I also played a number of characters on City of Arabel, which is arguably near the same level when it comes to being unforgiving for making mistakes or even just being unlucky (an enemy with a greataxe is guaranteed to 1 hit someone).

I've been out of the roleplaying scene in general since about 2008 and decided to try to get back in to things now that I have a bit more free time these days.  I actually spent a fair amount of time reading about the mechanics changes and what I could find about the setting before rolling a character.  There is still a lot I don't know about, but that's inevitable when joining a server with this kind of history.

One thing that has been mentioned and that I have seen before is the phenomena of a server having 30 players but only seeing about 5 or 6 of them in the town's common area.  I get cliques, and it's inevitable if the server vets have been here for a while, but it is a little discouraging because I know how that song and dance works.

I've only played for about two days, so I'll withhold any further judgement until I've given this some time for things to flesh things out.

[PositiveSingularity]

Cliques have always been an issue since shortly after beta, perhaps even before though I didn't notice it at the time. Hard to tell people they can't hang out with their OOC friends though, and given the challenge of the server and the potential for opposing dogmas and alignments amongst PCs, cliques are to be an expected outcome for good or ill.

I thought the thing that leveled you to 6 over time (character advancement system?) in EFU:M was good. Gives those social butterflies a bit more staying power and a level 6 PC really is just barely strong enough to stretch his legs without leaving a red smear outside the city gates, either in the UD or in Ymph. Not sure what brought on the change to 3 or 4, whatever it is now, but that sucks.

New players getting some free respawns would be cool. If you're going to shell out $10 for new CD keys every week then have at it, I just don't see it being an issue.

LPFF had some good observations. Not sure I'm 100% on board with all of the suggested changes since they'll change what EfU has become (the majority of the vets seem to like it, after all). I'd probably be for anything that takes the edge off the learning curve while leaving all the vets on the plateau of awesomeness.

I thought it was funny someone else noticed the pseudo-arena thing too. Nothing for it - it should have been an expected outcome given all the elements in play.

[Siren]

I hope that my contribution to this thread is still relevant/pertinent, given its date of creation. I'm a "new player", currently thinking about leaving the server, and since I saw this thread, I figured I might explain my motives for doing so, since others before me might have been faced with the same problems.

Do bear in mind that the post will be extensive, since I will detail my EFU background prior to elaborating why I'm contemplating whether the server's right for me.

I first found out about EFU two or three years ago, during a short-lived attempt at returning to NWN. I found the mechanics of the server very appealing, aswell as the setting. The dungeons were very well-done and just the whole atmosphere was gripping, so it was definitly my favourite PW out of the few I managed to try. I recall that at the time I convinced a friend to try out the game and visit EFU with me... he was very discouraged by the harsh death penalties and eventually said he didn't like it. Different tastes for diferent folk, I guess. I personally enjoyed it because it sat perfectly with the server's atmosphere, a sense of hopelessness and impending doom. Sadly, time constraints got the best of me and my activity fizzled out, leaving me to come back to play early last year.

When I returned to the server a few things had changed, such as the trade building in Mistlocke having been blown to bits and the place just felt a lot more chaotic. This time around I had my boyfriend trying out the server with me (coincidentially, he had played NWN before so he didn't get quite as overwhelmed as the previous friend I brought in), and we really enjoyed it. We met a few great PCs and had a fun time discovering the server's many secrets together... I will never forget the time we inadvertently wound up in the Forbidden Forest, it was simply one of the best roleplay experiences I've ever had and I think that was when I realised that this server was something special. I recall we commented on how pro-active the players were and that there was always something going on in Mistlocke. If any server was ever close to being perfect, EFU was it, at least last year, for me. Sadly, we moved onto other things because we couldn't quite get into the loop of the server. There were so many things going on at the time and it seemed as if you had to be inside a specific group to do most things. This, along with the fact that I'm not a fan of writing applications and prefer for everything take place in an in-character fashion, led to us eventually abandoning not only the server, but NWN in general.

I learned a couple of months ago that EFU opened up its new chapter, so I promised myself I'd come check it out. Sadly, this time entering the server alone, but with a lot more time to spare and dedicate to the game. Comparing my introduction to Mistlocke and my introduction to Sanctuary, I have to admit that Mistlocke was more impressive and overall more polished. The quests at least felt easier to find and more streamlined, whereas on Sanctuary I was greeted with a feeling of being completely lost after the delivery quests were done with. I more or less knew how the server worked however so it wasn't too hard to adapt, but things did indeed get a little more overwhelming.

I was delighted to see that the areas still look magnificent, the quests are still interesting (whoever devised that puzzle room is a genius), but I now find myself faced with a very off-putting pet peeve to overcome... the community feels a lot more cliquey and way less new-player-friendly. Granted, nearly everyone here's an excellent roleplayer, but sadly I can't say the same about everyone's courtesy and conduct. There have been multiple instances where I felt completely ignored whenever attempting to interact with certain people. I'm capable of discerning when things are IC or when things are OOC; this wasn't my character being ignored, this was my attempt at initiating roleplay being ignored.

The three times I answered to sendings for aid with some type of quest/plot, I was always the one left out of the group. Mind you, it's not because I steal loot, not because my character smells, not because my character's a freak; fact is, nobody present knew my character, who happened to be a fairly mundane human.
On the first instance, I was simply asked to leave and didn't take it to heart, I figured there was a full party and that was it. On the second instance, people apparently forgot to do a head-count and asked me to leave or wait once we arrived at the dungeon's entrance; nevermind the fact that I was the first person to answer the sending and that the roleplay from my part went without trouble.
On the last incident, I joined a party, assisted them in completing a quest, agreed to go on another but upon arriving at the square someone else got recruited and I was, once again, sent away.
Now, mind you, this didn't happen because they're a group IC and I'm sort of an outsider. If that were the case I'd have seen it as standard procedure. The problem for me was that most of these PCs were complete strangers towards one another and everytime I tried to join a crowded party, my PC was the one being sent off. To put it simply, it felt like their username was worth more than mine, regardless of our characters.
Can't help say things feel cliquey and in these instances discriminatory. I wish I had only good things to say about EFU because I love the vibe of the server, I'm a genuine fan of all the little details and stories in the server, it's truly a world of its own, but these happenings really rubbed me in the wrong way. The last incident specially was so discouraging that I stopped visiting Freedom Square for the most part and now opt to wander around, relying on the off-chance that I'll meet a PC that's not busy and is willing to strike up conversation.

I will be honest and say that I have started looking at other PWs, because I'm becoming demotivated about continuing to play here. I didn't want to be the person writing this kind of post, but it saddens me because I'm well-aware that EFU is the richest PW out there and other servers just don't get the same level of attention to detail. I must also say the roleplayers are very talented and that makes me want to be here, but not at the expense of feeling excluded. Mind you I have also met some great people on here who were very helpful, so I'm not aiming this post at anyone in particular, much less at everyone in general, because there's a lot of kind-hearted players out there, but I still felt like pointing this out because I do get a lot of bad vibes from a few players and it gets hard to ignore all the time.

On the off-chance that the three incidents I listed above were a mere coincidence and that I was unfortunate, I'll chime in another example of poor player conduct that I experienced today, so that hopefully people can get what I mean...

An undead invasion had just happened on the in-between ruins of Sanctuary. Once it seemed to be mostly over, or dealt with, a few of us started heading towards the staircase leading to Upper Sanctuary. Upon arriving there, the battle song kicked in, and one specific "veteran" player turned back and started running. I found it to be pure metagame but regardless, I acknowledged the behaviour IC and proceeded to run after her while yelling that it's not prudent to go back like that... She sprinted in heavy armour around the entire zone, aimlessly, disregarding my attempts at roleplay, until she stumbled into the group she was looking for, who were now on their way back. To make it more hilarious, the moment she spots them she changes to walk mode and carries on roleplaying with them, never stopping for a second to acknowledge my character.

So, that's my experience on this chapter as a new player. I really want to enjoy the server because I understand that it's great... but how am I supposed to when I'm invisible?

[Paha]

I am very sorry to hear this, Siren.

When it comes to polished server, much of the feeling is intentional. Naturally being quite a new chapter, where Mistlocke was continuation of a surrounding that already existed and had been worked over years, we have still much to grow in new and different location. We will keep working on it to our best effort with the time allotted to us.

I would hope I could do something to the behavior that has seemed to gone in worse direction since the new chapter, where we hoped and demanded better. Somehow it has turned to worse in many aspects. Yet, there's a lot of newer players and people that have done great work. I would like to think these incidents were rare and unfortunate cases.

If only I would know how we could encourage people to do better, as we want that from everyone. These things, though, tend to come in waves and then people see their mistakes and end up correcting them little by little. Hopefully it will improve, but before that, I am open to suggestions.

If it's something we can do to newer players, I will try with my current limited situation.

[LiAlH4]

As a very brief suggestion, Siren, I would strongly recommend you seek membership in one of the factions in and around Sanctuary, or even one of the player factions. They will increase your character's exposure to the server and make it much easier to mesh into the community. EFU is often a trial-by-fire for new players because of the difficulty and the issues you have mentioned, but sticking around is well-worth it.

"Cliques" are never good and we seek to avoid those wherever possible, but as you say, some adventuring groups have trouble rationalizing bringing someone who is completely green into the underdark! I honestly hope this is more of an IC issue than an OOC issue. Patience pays off and OOCly (via tells) informing players that you are new and would like a bit of help will almost always net you positive reactions!

[Capricious]

I hate to come out and report but I've witnessed this behavior as well. And I know of a few players, some vets, who play less or not at all because of it. I personally have decided to avoid playing in Sanctuary proper just because I get tired of the focus on supplies and quest optimization. Not that I have much of an issue with either, but when it gets to the point where it's leaving people out (and it is) then I just don't want to be around it. I personally feel that the players need a wake-up call about this very problem.

I agree with LiAIH4's suggestion. If you tend play US evenings you'd be more than welcome to join my concept, and I can assure that you'd be included in what we're doing. Here's the link to player faction post:

http://www.efupw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88147