Well done Sim-Tech

[Cochese]

We will therefore run a free preview round for two weeks in between round 9 and 10. This will give you all the chance to see the product for yourself in advance and make your decision then, should you so choose.
It is our hope that this will similarly attract new players into the
community for Round 10. If this proves to be the case, we will certainly consider making this a more frequent activity

This will go a long way in creating trust between the community and the ownership...as well as, hopefully, offering new players a chance to see the "future" of Planetarion--and pay to play with us in round 10.

I'm pleased to see this suggestion (something various players have suggested for awhile now) being implemented, and that the ownership is commited to creating the best possible game and community.

[Barrow|Pony]

Do they monitor these boards? Or is there a different way to make suggestions...email or summit?

[AlbinoSquirrel]

"too little, too late" is what comes to mind.

I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

[Rocklobster[Dok]]

they just killed off one more pice of the remains of pa.

sadly

[Barrow|Pony]

how?

[gzambo]

just wondering when do we get to say

i told you so

just after the signups for rd 10 are completed or just after the ticks for rd 10 start

[Cochese]

I think Spinner passed on the suggestion to them...to my knowledge, which is admittedly limited on this subject, they don't actively monitor these boards (or read them at all).

good news. I wonder if a few weeks will be suffecient to draw people in - especially since it won't be a serious round. But this is definately better than nothing. Have no idea what rd 10 gameplay will be like, maybe 2 weeks will be enough...maybe it'll work - I hope it works

[Rocklobster[Dok]]

i'm sorry to say this but i think that the need more time then 2 weeks, and if they think that 1week will do and just speed up the ticks then I think that they are wrong. Faster ticks makes it to another game and just a week or two will not atract many players to the game, I think they will need atleast 4weeks so the new players really can try the game out.

[Cochese]

If you can't pick it up in 2 weeks, you're certainly not going to pay to play it when the freebie round ends.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

[Dave]

PA is little more than a re-anmiated corpse.

It would suprise me if there are more than 3k planets in round 9.

[Scaggydo]

Originally posted by Rocklobster[Dok]
they just killed off one more pice of the remains of pa.

sadly

heh, wtf are you talking about? this is the most positive move sim tech have ever made.. (hums kelly osbourne "blah blah blah shut up.. etc" to Rocklobster[Dok])

pld jolt/simtech/whichever creator read the boards and went to the aforementioned company(s) with the very astute observation that this is blatantly needed..

wonder how the 2 weeks will work? quicker ticks? reduced build times? something like that.. heh, so as to geta feel for the game in a developed state and not when everyone still has small ships and 5 roids..

*toddles off to announcements..

I assume your talking about experienced players cochese. I think it is much different for new players. I am a good example - I am 100% sure i would NOT have payed to play if i only got to try the game out for 2 weeks when I first began playing. Now I am 100% sure I am paying for round 9. In fact, if I played this game for only 2 weeks to try it out, I probably would have left this site and never gave this game a second thought the moment I had to pay.

But round 10 sounds like it will be a new kind of game - maybe 2 weeks will be suffecient to try the game out. Hope so.

[Jaret]

The sound of it is quite good.

If done right these 2 weeks can be enough to be able to get to know and like PA. Trust me ... I started during r4 ... within 2 weeks I was adicted !

What newbs need is someone to show them how things are done ... what irc is ... why you need an alliance. Think about some 14year old kid (or some 38old women j/k) to stumble across PA while searching the net for "science-fiction".... He see´s "Free Prewiev Round" ... and hits the button and signs up ... its for free so why not ... but of the game he knows nothing.

It was like that for me during r4 ... my luck was an friend invited me to join his gal ... and our GC rocked ( lo Diebi ). He talked me into irc ... and showed me all the basics. I played 3 rounds of PA since then ... 2times as GC ... and once as MoW ( lo 7:12 ).

I would very strongly suggest that all Preview Rounds are random only !!! So that the veterans are mixed with new players ... and maybe alliances should step back during these Preview rounds too ... and level the playingfield to Galaxies and cluster/parallel alliances. ( would be a very nice move, me thinks)

Also an very important point is ... THE MANUAL ( :eek: sorz for the caps) ... it must be available before/during the Preview or new players will be lost !

What would also help new ppl would be an ... large, good visible, good readable link to an irc guide. *hint**hint*

I belive 30minute ticks and slightly reduced production/research/construction times would be best for those preview games.

[Haer]

The problem as I see it is, is that PA needs to build up a large user base - 2 weeks wont be enough time to attract the players.

I dont think it can be denied pa has the potential to attract a lot of users when free(Round4,etc), but 2 weeks just is nt long enough.

Imo, Pa should have started r9 as free, and gradually phased payment in(ie Start limiting free accounts in round10, and have them totally gone by round15 or so, with the odd short free round to maintain user levels). Unfortunately this would mean running Pa at a loss first, and assumes it can cover this loss and turn a profit in later rounds.

[Cochese]

Originally posted by Tolin
I assume your talking about experienced players cochese. I think it is much different for new players. I am a good example - I am 100% sure i would NOT have payed to play if i only got to try the game out for 2 weeks when I first began playing. Now I am 100% sure I am paying for round 9. In fact, if I played this game for only 2 weeks to try it out, I probably would have left this site and never gave this game a second thought the moment I had to pay.

But round 10 sounds like it will be a new kind of game - maybe 2 weeks will be suffecient to try the game out. Hope so.

When I started playing back in round 3, I had never played any game on the internet before...hardly "experienced". I created my planet and played for almost 24 hours straight. Had it only been a trial, I would have paid after that initial 24 hours.

If it can create a life-long customer out of a complete newbie in one day--with a massive, unrelenting universe and unbalanced ship stats--I can only imagine what a well-rounded, balanced, alliance-controlled game will do to more experienced gamers and potential customers.

i agree with jaret about the manual and IRC...about the ticks though - I think it might be better if research comes completed - or near completed and give everyone a basic number of roids and resources - kinda like a deathmatch game - and let everyone go at it with normal ticks. If ticks are accelerated, I'm afraid people would get scared off by the chaos that could develop (think fleet etas and newbies getting bashed before they finish dinner).

Granted a deathmatch creates a chaos of its own, but it gives players response times, an idea of what the game will be like, and no waiting for research to finish. Though with either suggestion, I would advise that galaxy mates NOT be allowed to attack each other so people can get an idea of working with others and so that people don't get bashed really quickly.

Not allowing paras or clusters to attack fellow members may be interesting too - so that maybe alot of people can work together - and further encourage IRC. Course maybe this round will be so different none of this stuff will apply :P

[Not_RIT]

Originally posted by Cochese
When I started playing back in round 3, I had never played any game on the internet before...hardly "experienced". I created my planet and played for almost 24 hours straight. Had it only been a trial, I would have paid after that initial 24 hours.

If it can create a life-long customer out of a complete newbie in one day--with a massive, unrelenting universe and unbalanced ship stats--I can only imagine what a well-rounded, balanced, alliance-controlled game will do to more experienced gamers and potential customers.

I agree, back in round 3 after 24 hours I was hooked. But this isnt round 3, and we dont have the large numbers of players. In all fairness I think Sim-Tech could be flogging a dead horse.

yes cochese, I'm sure 2 weeks will increase the player base some as people like you would join and pay...which is a very good thing...but how many more people would be like me. Others in this thread voice the same concern - i believe there are alot of players that would require more than 2 weeks to commit to paying for the game. Still, 2 weeks are better than nothing.

[Cochese]

Originally posted by Tolin
Still, 2 weeks are better than nothing.

That was mostly my point. I'd love to see a free round, or even more of a true free "mini round" ( 6 weeks or something) but it's just not possible.

Maybe if turnout for the free trial and income from r10 is high, we could see a longer free run between r10 and r11.

We have to start somewhere, and this isn't too bad imho.

[Tactitus]

I think this is a good idea. I don't know how many new players it'll bring it; but it can't hurt.


My only concern is this: what kind of shape will R10 be in 2 weeks before the start of R10? If the past is any guide, it may not be in very good shape at all. :/

Or... are they just going to open up the beta and call it a free round?

Originally posted by Cochese
That was mostly my point. I'd love to see a free round, or even more of a true free "mini round" ( 6 weeks or something) but it's just not possible.

Maybe if turnout for the free trial and income from r10 is high, we could see a longer free run between r10 and r11.

We have to start somewhere, and this isn't too bad imho.

agreed

[Scoot951]

That's their plan? That's how they're going to spread the word of Planetarion far and wide to attract new customers? A 2 Week free period?

*sigh*

flaws:
1. New players won't neccesarily know about the game before it starts (most people, in fact, will have no ****ing idea, as only the people who read this forum and their IRC friends will know). Any new players that take a look at the game at any time other than those two weeks will get the usual "Sorry, gotta pay if you want to see it".
2. They're still relying on word-of-mouth to populize the game...when there's a lot fewer mouths. 3k now, and likely less after R9's done.
3. Prices are still going up. (I don't have a list of the exact prices from before, but I know the package I usually got costs more, even for piddling R9) I know that for that price I could *yadda yadda*, but I would rather *yadda yadda* than play PA for that price. Seriously.


It's a start...but they're really going to have to do more if they want to save PA.

[Cochese]

Word is, there will be legitimate advertising for this free trial period.

Obviously it would be pointless without proper advertising, and Sim-Tech has the assets (unlike FSAS) to do it.

[Chax]

There are several groups of potential customers for round 10 that this will have an impact on if round 10 is indeed as good as they say it will be.

1. The old players, the ones that have quit will be informed by their froends and will flock back to the game to see if they can experiance that old thrill once more. I know I'll get 3-5 people that quit to play the free 2week trial and that most likely 2 of them will pay to play again no matter if it's as good as we're hoping, and if it is they'll probably all play.

2. People that are currently playing the free clones yet haven't tried the original will surely give it a shot and get hooked on the real thing and ask for more.

3. People playing other online games in which PA alliances have a community presence and/or individual PA players play secondary. I'll certainly inform my kingdoms and communities to come try out this great game.

[Rumad]

Its a good start. but some sort of mid round addition of legitimate free players needs sorting.

Good start though and I thank spinner for championing this.

[isildurx]

Originally posted by Rumad
Its a good start. but some sort of mid round addition of legitimate free players needs sorting.

Good start though and I thank spinner for championing this.

[hAl]

Off course coding a new round is a very sensitive thing as many thing will be untested still and the performance for large number is often difficult to predict.

So the two weeks have double advantages. We get to preview the round and learn how to play it. PA can stabelize it's game and tune it's performance. Advantages for both parties.

Good idea. Not sure if it will attract many new players but I certainly think a few of the old guard might have a small look to see what is happening. Also thias is a good way to get the game reviewed by independant gaming portals and gaming magazines where you need to recreate the interest for the game.

hAl

[randal]

i guess its not a bad idea, but if it has the desired effect is the other question.. 2 weeks isnt very long, regarding that the aim is not to get 50 players but many more in..
i think it also takes a good way to let people play round9 for free to get at least a little bit closer to a acceptable number of players..
sure they can have disadvantages and all, but they shouldn't be limited with crap like the 3m limit of 2 rounds ago..

(last thing i know is that r9 was pay to play only.. if not, ignore that..)

[gzambo]

Originally posted by Tolin
i agree with jaret about the manual and IRC...about the ticks though - I think it might be better if research comes completed - or near completed and give everyone a basic number of roids and resources - kinda like a deathmatch game - and let everyone go at it with normal ticks. If ticks are accelerated, I'm afraid people would get scared off by the chaos that could develop (think fleet etas and newbies getting bashed before they finish dinner).

Granted a deathmatch creates a chaos of its own, but it gives players response times, an idea of what the game will be like, and no waiting for research to finish. Though with either suggestion, I would advise that galaxy mates NOT be allowed to attack each other so people can get an idea of working with others and so that people don't get bashed really quickly.

imo if they take the universe average at the end of rd 9 and use that as the basic starting point for anyone trying the free preview between rd 9 and rd 10 then maybe it can work
basically anyone that trys teh preview starts off with the average score roid /count that was the average at end of rd 9 this will give both new and experienced players a chance to see how rd 10 will be without having to introduce faster ticks and everyone sees the game on an even playing field, then and only then can i see it being off benefit to the game and teh community as a whole

[Scaggydo]

Originally posted by Cochese
Word is, there will be legitimate advertising for this free trial period.

Obviously it would be pointless without proper advertising, and Sim-Tech has the assets (unlike FSAS) to do it.

aye, advertising is a must for this 2 week trial. otherwise they are counting on ppl stumbling across it to boost the playerbase. heh, and with only a small % of those playin for the first time during the trial, paying for r10, it will need a large no. of ppl knowing about the trial to be able to boost the playerbase for rnd 10 by any sort of appreciable number.

[RealJames]

This two weeks free trial is only really going to serve any purpose if the advertising before it is damn good. Else the same players will just play these two weeks, bitch about the changes, and there will be little or no growth, thus putting off income from R10 by two weeks. Ideally they'd like to make it longer, but they're going to need those R10 subs, and the sooner they get them the better.

Personally I don't think ticks should be shortened, since this does not reflect the game a new player would be playing. My personal preference would be to start with partially developed planets (or at least have the option of doing so) so that people can get into the thick of it straight away, and experience what PA is all about. I also think this trial should be totally random, so that the new players get to meet some of the veterans of this game, and hopefully will be further encouraged to join our community.

[[Smurf]Pies]

hmm just scan reading a few posts with ppl saying like it shoudl be 30min ticks coz of it only been 2weeks, thsi wotn help the newbs get into the game as they will have to be online ALOT more time to cope with the ticks. i think it would only end up as a mess around for the experienced players who could be botehrd to play, forming small alliances most likely and crusing all the small/new people in the first few days.

tbh unless r10 is radically diffrent nothing will help new players come into the game with a chance of doing well.

[Scoot951]

Faster ticks appeals to a smaller audience (PA freaks) rather than the larger audience they need.

[Scaggydo]

indeed faster ticks would have disadvantages.. all i was worried about was how the trial could offer an idea of the fully advanced universe and tactics used.. but like realjames stated, partially developed planets would be an alternative for this..

[SpazMonster]

before people start putting conditions on this and that and the other thing, something we all need to remember is round 10 is going to be totally different from past PA. The res/constr times might be increased/reduced/removed, roids starting could change drastically, scoring is going to be totally different, etc etc etc. So for the time being, the people trying to qualify 2 weeks as 'not good enough' look like the type of people who just like to bitch and moan about everything. Positive suggestions as far as game mechanics goes aren't going to be feasible till after more details are available, so please stop acting like you know what you're talking about and try to go into this with an open mind and view this for what it is: An attempt to get more players into the game and to show the old players the ropes in a totally different setting. Anything beyond that is straight bull****.

btw, I think it's a great move and has the potential to be very beneficial.