Player Retention

You wanna know why people stop playing KAG? Because its (almost) always the same.
The same gamemodes for the last year. (ADD MOREEEE)
Not a single thing has been ADDED, only items has been chanced/bug fixed.
If you really wanna make the game better:

• Make singleplayer way longer and harder(with different missions) (I sure wanna help with that).
• Make co-op for the long singleplayer.
• Different gamemodes. (something with a king because thats what the name stands for.) (the 4 gamemodes we have are over an year old)
• make the menu new, it looks old.
• make sure there is some level system so people KEEP playing, not that they are finished after 20 hours. (note: when you are a certain level you can get heads, bodys, certain weapons, etc.)

If all these things get added, i can guaranty you that more people will start playing this game and KEEP on playing...

 

I'll take this one step at a time.

First off, it has been the same for so long. So why are there people that have been playing the same game for over 3 years? I mean, I have probably played the same exact match at least 4 times in the last month, and yet I continue getting closer to 550 hours. It's just that people don't put enough work into it to enjoy it as much.

With the Singleplayer, THD has now brought @Skinney in to work on some single-player stuff, maybe even working on a new Builder Wars gamemode (see the respective thread here).

With there being Co-Op, one can easily just bring the gamemode into multiplayer with hosting, I would imagine.

As others have said, things can only be cosmetic, but then people will ruin the game by trying to get achievments instead of trying to win. There will be kill-steals, Minecrafters, camping archers, Boat-spammers, etc etc, unknowingly destroying the game that most of us hold sacred.

These menus are more Nostalgia than anything, and they are such a small thing that I don't see it being changed anytime soon.

 

He is right that we need more stuff, the game is supposedly in "beta" and isn't getting updates anyways, I mean there's a lot of things THD could add and a lot of current things they could make better somehow but they haven't, and I think challenges could be swapped for a new Destroy the Core type game mode at the least, cause admit it, no one plays challenges.

And yes, I know Quality > Quantity but adding and changing current things for the better will help the Quality of the game, because when there isn't a large Quantity of content in games or simply not new content is added or current content isn't changed in a while, it gets repetitive, and this is probably the biggest reason for player retention, because they think "dang, this game's devs are like dead, i'm not gonna play something as repetitive as this."
Personally KAG never gets old for me, saying the variety CTF and TTH matches can have, but a lot of players never experience this.

I mean, the most shocking update we've had in a while is the addition of archer shotgun triple shots and a hanful of other nerfs

 

It's no longer in Beta, it's been release since Steam (saying this before Geti comes in and gets medieval on your ass).
Also, as they have said, they are not adding anything big into the game, AKA no more game modes, no more game-changing content.

And if the game is getting old for people, that's not the dev's fault. They can't help if people get bored, and thus they have no obligation to "fix" the game for those people that don't like this niche game.

 

Sorry, it's just the fact that stuff like this is what brings people in, pathetic IMO cause people should like a game for what it is and how fun It is not it's graphics or content like a lot of other games...

 

if they didnt add any big things into the game, then why adding useless things like ships wars or something, and mechanism stuff.
If you dont like to play the new game modes, than dont, because capture the flag will just stay the same, and i agree with @J-man2003 this time.

They need to add stuff into the game because thats why people leave. Why do you think minecrap is still popular? Because they keep adding new things into the game.
the game will STAY the same, but only with a few new gamemodes and levels and stuff. That doenst chance the old capture the flag, or THH.

 

You agree with J-man....................................... I don't think you read it all.

 

Builder Wars is awesome idea. Would keep the players here like a trap!

 

Achievements would do an even better job of that.

 

Yea achievements and unlockable heads would be fun.
Triple boulder kill? Elf hat head unlocked.

 

That would be an awesome achievement. Unlockable heads would be a great reward that would keep people engaged, too.

 

Heck, I agree with him

Hehe, nice pun

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 1, 2014, Original Post Date: Dec 1, 2014 ---

"King of the Halls": Successfully helping/capturing by yourself 3 halls in one game. unlockable: King head

"Slash of Mass Destruction": Kill 3 players all in one instance with one slash. unlockable: roman knight head (different from current one.)

 

That doesn't seem to be correct though. In "Dead Game is Dead" we're told that the game is still in beta and we shouldn't expect perfection. In this thread now it's not beta and we shouldn't expect big updates. I think the best way to decide the matter is this: Has there been a major update since the steam release? No. There hasn't.

Here's a suggestion: Don't give us anything big, as it's never going to happen. Just stop ruining the game with pointless pandering tweaks to try and draw in crowds you'll never get, and rightly so at a million sales and refusing to update on the beta game. The devs should also stop siding with the tiny minority (now seeming larger due to alienating all the other players away) of active community members with hundreds of hours that seem content to drown out all criticism of the handling of the game in the last year because they would probably play no matter what was done to the game and they're at the top of the KD chart anyway so that's all that matters to them. I bet the devs are thanking their lucky stars that they've gotten in during the early access boom, which will be stopped dead in its tracks when the majority of devs start acting like THD (this is a certainty, unless all these devs have somehow managed to motivate themselves into doing very vague work they've already been paid for) and try and make a case for how they won't be finishing the game because everyone already paid for it. I'm pretty sure that's the overarching theme here and in many games, with the words used to get there altered: You already paid for the game, so we won't be finishing it.

And for the love of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, who actually believes singleplayer will do anything to retention and player gains? Have you tried any of the suggestions players have been screaming at you to do, rather than the ones you can get others to do? Because given the quality of the updates given, I hope there is a huge amount of stuff you've had to shelve because it was just too ground breaking, otherwise I will be lead to suspect you've just implemented everything you've ever coded up because it took time and why wouldn't you, having promised those grubby early access gamers regular updates.
ADD MORE HEADS, ADD MORE MODES, STOP TRYING TO GET THE COMMUNITY TO DO EVERYTHING.

 

In response to adding variety via subtle means like seasonal changes and other perks in order to better retain players
[prepare for a text wall- grab your metaphorical kegs or bomb jump over it. It may be long, but I think it is pertinent]:

As silly as it sounds, I began playing KAG out of my deep seated love for open world interaction. Minecraft hooked me, but it was lacking that brutal and frantic edge I desired since I first experienced online games like Battlefield 1942 and the like. Although I tried it to fulfill this small need, what I got when I played KAG was still completely unexpected-- I felt as if I was taken back to the days of playing Warcraft II, Diablo, and even Warlocked, where mystery and terror of the unknown affected my gameplay, where venturing into the world meant facing a host of enemies who were out for my blood. And yet, because of the influence of open world games on the development of KAG, I now could dig away from danger, build a shelter, and aid in repairs of the castle walls. I could take orders from more experienced players, and sacrifice myself in every useful manner to give us that extra push, no matter how small. This combination of elements made /makes it utterly addictive.

For the first 6 months of KAG I only played as a builder, huddling in holes, attempting to be a sapper, learning every tidbit of useful information I could, and trying (unsuccessfully so) not to aggravate anyone in the process. This immersed me in the world that each map provides, and allowed me to appreciate the game more when I began playing consistently as the knight and archer classes.


The long winded point tunneling within this shoddily constructed wall of text is that I think the tiny details can still matter.

To most, adding weather elements, biomes, other types of materials, expanded campaign modes, map editors, seasonal changes, new map forms, etc. seems superfluous. And justifiably so: too many of these changes muddle and destroy the game's core appeal / mechanic, as Geti aptly mentioned earlier; KAG is amazing in its simple and beautiful design, and deserves far more recognition than it has already received for this consistency. Modders have filled some of the unrelated gameplay needs so far. Given great care though, minimalistic things like, for instance, the optional addition of weather changes or map types / biomes in-game or in-editor has the potential to subtley appeal to a whole new generation of people who will love the game for any number of unconventional reasons like I once did.

As a crafter, I came at this game from an angle many seem to loathe, but it doesn't change the fact that this appeal exists for some as an integral part of the normal gameplay experience. Regardless of what happens, I never plan on leaving the community.

Sincerely, and with love,
Mush Lt. Danecki

 

Beautiful post, thanks Danecki.

 

We don't need tons more crazy stuff since the game is fine the way it is but we do need some more content. Instead of keep nerfing and tweaking current things. We need a gamemode that is what we need. A simple one but very fun. I was thinking about a King Of The Hill gamemode ( I really want that) since it really fits kag style and isn't hard to do. Also progression, unlock able heads is something we really need. Achievements is also something to hook on to for players. Especially if there are some really hard ones like maybe 10000 kills or 1000 kills as builder. This gets people to work towards a goal and feel amazing when they achieve it. It stretches the amount of play time dramatically. We need to start getting people to tell other people about it or maybe even start some youtube channels that could help lure people in. Also one reason why a lot of people don't stay is because better players keep rekking them. No one likes constantly being killed by higher leveled players. I don't know how that problem could be fixed but if we dedicate our brain power to it then i am sure it will work out. Next up I want to say that the challenges gamemode is just pathetic, I have tried to get them popular a bit by creating custom challenges (if someone wants to host them then let me know). I say we need more challenges and maybe more enemies and vehicles for only challenges. The singleplayer isn't great either and should be made way longer, maybe with levels? Adding co-op would be a great idea too.


I think if we can do what i mentioned then we will have both more players and a better game in general. Devs please take the time and consider about what i said thank you

 

Yes, but, this thread is about player retention silly, and new content or changed content will do, I agree that adding a new item to the knight shop every month or something like that would be ridiculous, but the game is lacking needed content, such as an actually good 4th game-mode to replace challenges would be nice, saying the game is lacking either a AAD (Attack and Defend) game-mode, which would be hard to balance with 2 teams that have totally different roles, or a DTC (Destroy The Core) type game-mode. Why? because a new game-mode would be a huge retention magnet for players that are thinking about leaving the game or players that just joined. Why would a new game mode do that? Because it would give more options to players, instead of having basically 2 major game-modes (in which TTH is most of the time not considered one which is stupid IMO.) I think the same could be said about anything that's added or changed and not game-breaking unbalanced. (like bomb arrows currently) Although I don't think they have to add a new tile every 4 or so months like Minecraft.

I agree that tiny details matter, a lot, and are the basis of this game really, winning or losing or just plain fun, but the game is lacking content, yes, I know perfectly well that Quality > Quantity, but like I said above, Quantity adds to the Quality of the game, honestly, I've played games that have little content, and they get boring. Fast. Why? because there's no mystery, you learn everything that's in the game, you memorize the every entity and tile and those entities and tiles get repetetive. Although, I've played games that have little content and are very fun, but eventually they tire out, and yes, I think KAG is a content full game, but it's lacking minor cutting around the edges when it comes to major changes with adding/changing, even removing some things.

To be honest, KAG is very fun and a revolutionary idea, but like any MC noob would say: "eet neades moar." Content or changing alike.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 1, 2014, Original Post Date: Dec 1, 2014 ---

I mean dang, if achievements were added I would stay playing this game longer, assuming that some time in the future I may leave this amazing game.