derpyderpz
New member
- Joined
- May 15, 2015
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 35
Impressions of a new player
(yes, I wrote this when Pearl was down and I was bored xD)
Hello Padventures. Some of you know me already, while some of you probably have no clue who I am. My name is Alex, and my character in game is Derpy Derpz. Some of you probably know me as 'that gringo' from spanish chat.
I started playing this game about a month and a half ago now. I have played different iterations of this same idea of game in the past, as well as being an off and on Tibia player from 1999-2015. I have been a guild leader, part of massive wars involving hundreds of people, and I reached level 305 in Tibia. Before getting banned for a week in Padventures, in just over a month I started in Pearl and reached level 126 with 92 catches. I donated a fair amount, as well as having the help of my real life friends Trev and Samm.
My point is - I am experienced in playing these exact kind of games. I understand the complex sociological concepts that MMOs are based on, along with the effect that technical and functional have on the sociology of an MMO community. I think that because I have this unique perspective, I am able to give relevant and accurate feedback regarding Padventures.
Before I get into this - I want to point out the other reason why my feedback may be valuable: I am a NEW player.
As a new player, I can observe that <B>much of the time and resources of the staff is spent on end game content, while there is a dangerously low influx of NEW players to the game</B>. This is a problem, and this kind of stagnation can be the death knell for an MMO that is reaching maturity.
There is an attitude that almost always emerges from maturing MMOs from the older more experienced community. It could be described as saying "too bad, that's how it is", or "I worked that hard for it, so you should also have to work that hard". This attitude is not necessarily constructive to the forward progress of the game. As the game ages, more and more money is introduced, and inflation dramatically affects the prices of items that were once expensive.
The fact is that yes, the game is going to be easier than when you started. There is no way to avoid that, however that does not mean that it's a bad thing. Keep in mind that new players are always playing catch up - <B>since there is so much more content when they started compared to when you started, learning all of the parts of an already mature world can be incredibly intimidating</B>
<B>A lot of what I'm going to talk about is how the lack of focus on early game content is turning off MANY potential players.</B> I think we can all agree that a vibrant community benefits everyone - marketplaces become more active, there are more people to make friends with and interact with, donations increase, and hopefully provide more resources for the developers of Padventures.
1) <B>Most players enjoy a challenge. However, there is a difference between a CHALLENGE and something that is simply difficult, frustrating, and in the end not worth the time.</B> So, let's take a look at the difference.
Challenge: Catching a rare pokemon
- It's difficult, but possible. The chance that you might get lucky almost makes it feel like a lottery. This is exciting!
- Because it is rare, this gives the pokemon value. Not just financial value, but feeling attached to it. Every player favours a pokemon they caught over one they traded or bought, because it's cooler.
- Even if you don't catch the pokemon, you still recieve loot and experience points. Generally you don't feel like you wasted your time, either way.
Frustration: Quests that don't make sense (ex: Low level quests with 50HD rewards)
- The quests are either too difficult to complete for the rewards provided
- A good rule should be that <B>if you can make more money fishing in the time that it would take you to complete the quest, the quest's reward needs to be adjusted.</B>
- Some quests have become irrelevant due to other changes in the game. EX: As more money is looted and introduced into the game, inflation causes the value of money to drop. So - 3 years ago, a reward of 50HD may have been worthwhile. Now, it is not.
- Higher level quests tend to have rewards that are worthwhile, where as lower level quests are lacking. This puts new players at an automatic disadvantage
- For a new player, quests provide direction. I have introduced about 5 of my friends to this game, all of which have spent hours completing a low level quest - only to find the reward so small as to be almost useless. For them it was a very frustrating experience, and I have experienced that same frustration.
2) Zones that are creating too much competition
Yes, I am talking about Cloned Island. This place is a great concept, that is HORRIBLE in reality. My first visit to Cloned Island was inspired by accidentally clicking the ticket, so off I went. The 2 days that followed were not something that I enjoyed in any way. I caught my one cloned pokemon for the achievement, and decided to never return again. I would rather spend exorbant amounts of cash that I farmed than experience the amount of stress that I did there.
I know I am not the only person who experiences this, so I will explain my experience so you can understand:
- Enters island, excited to explore.
- Explores island, island is tiny with more players than pokemon on it.
- Stay up until late at night hoping it will be quieter
- <B>A much higher level player actively followed me around for 4 hours, KSing me and outkilling everything I attacked because he had better pokemon</B>
- I logged out, and return only to <B>have the exact same experience the following day<B>
I was informed that this was against the rules, but the truth is that stopping this kind of behaviour is <B>nearly impossible</B>. The players who are in fact the ones causing the problem will lie and create false reports against the people they are harassing, and for a game master it's incredibly difficult to discern who is being truthful. It's a nearly impossible situation for rule enforcement.
In the end, I wasn't able to get any assistance from staff in getting this guy to leave me alone. So, I started doing the same thing to other people. Of course, why wouldn't I if I wasn't able to kill any pokemon otherwise? My point is that this kind of behaviour creates a toxic environment. It doesn't just end with one player being nasty - it spreads and creates a very unpleasent atmosphere.
This zone is not fun. It creates a toxic environment that is in no way beneficial to the social health of Padventures. The game masters and tutors do the best job they can; but perhaps instead of focusing on increasing rule enforcement it would be more efficient to take a look at some of the areas in the game that are creating the most conflict between players.
3) Certain parts of the community are much louder than others
OK, I want to address something that's happening here that is common in maturing MMOs. Certain parts of the community are MUCH more vocal than other parts, which makes the feedback that you are recieving skewed and not necessarily reflective of the entire community.
I understand that many of the long standing players of this game are pillars of the community. They are what is keeping this game going, and of course it makes sense to make them happy. However, there is a noticable absence of the voice of <B>almost every other part of the community besides those concerned with pvp changes</B>. There has definitely been more of a focus on that recently obviously because of the pvp tournament and the rebalancing, but I honestly believe that <B>much of the community is not very concerned with pvp at all</B>. I know that I'm not, I may be someday but right now PVE is my focus.
I imagine that the older players will probably oppose this point but - I would just ask you guys to ask yourselves. What is more important, the success, health and longevity of the game you've invested so much time (and probably money) in - or trying to have all the most OP Pokemon?
I am NOT saying that PVP is not important, because it is. My point is just that there are many other parts of the community that are not engaging with feedback at the same volume as some of those who are focused on PVP. This is something that should be taken into consideration when evaluating feedback.
4) Leveling up low level pokemon takes too long
I used almost exclusively ONE pokemon to exp from level 35 until level 80 (Xatu). I got into the habit of having 1-2 pokemon to switch out, because Xatu would barely out level me.
I think this creates a major problem in the low level experience and economy: <B>many of the low level pokemon in the game are simply not being used at all</B>.
Here's the thing: It is just takes TOO long to level up lower leveled pokemon (10-30). For new players this is discouraging, because for them to have a full pokemon team, it takes a signifigant investment of time. I can see no reason not to increase the exp recieved for pokemon under level 30 by 50-100%. Here's a few effects this would have:
- Since there are SO MANY pokemon, it would give newer players a chance to experiment with different types
- Higher leveled players who want to level up a lower pokemon to try it out will be able to do some more easily
- It will help to decrease the massively inflated value of ultra rare pokemon from boxes (riolu, turtwig, etc.) because they will not be as difficult to EXP
5) This game is almost completely invisible online
OK, so this one is a little bit different. I'm not sure who handles your SEO content and searchability, but you guys are almost completely invisible. I spent (not joking) roughly 10 hours searching for this game, and after being unable to find it. Luckily I remembered a friend that played, so I got the information from him.
I understand that you guys probably want to fly under the radar a little bit. The existence of this game is definitely on the borderline of copyright laws. However, that doesn't change the fact that you are almost totally unsearchable.
I also understand that there isn't a lot of advertising going on - I would be happy to give some input or help out with some free/extremely cheap advertising methods if you guys are interesting in bringing back the low level community. That kind of stuff is part of what I do for a living in real life, so I have some experience there that might be helpful.
6) Website is confusing and inaccesible
Simply put, the website is confusing and weird. The news section on the website itself that is rarely updated should just be outright removed unless it's going to be attended to, because it makes the game look like it's inactive for a person who is visiting the website.
I think that most news is being posted on the forum instead, where mainly only players who are already involved in the game know to look is not helpful for new players. There is a Facebook feed, but not all of the news is posted to it. And links or not... the landing page for the website needs a modification. Something like a big red button that says "CREATE AN ACCOUNT, NEW PLAYERS HERE" is important and is lacking. Almost every player I've introduced to this game has been confused by the account creation interface.
7)Too many restrictions on chat
This one is pretty simple. There are too many restrictions on the chat. On Pearl, I rarely see anyone speak in the english chat, and when they do half the time they accidentally post a trade message, and then get muted in a channel that <B>nobody has spoken a single line in for 8-12 hours</B> (also - why is Help chat not multi-language? It's supposed to be 'english only' but 4/5 people asking for help do it in spanish or portugese. Just make Help multi-language.)
I understand that tutors and game masters serve a purpose. They keep order, and the punish people who get out of line so that others don't commit the same mistakes. HOWEVER, I would encourage the attitude that instead of "stopping people from breaking the rules", that we look at it more as "policing the community". Let me explain the difference:
Stopping from breaking the rules:
- It doesn't matter if it was unintentional, the offender will be punished
- Offender may feel angry and that the punishment was not needed
- Offender will not participate in future chat due to frustration
Outcome: Nothing very positive, except frustration.
Policing the community:
- Punishment given is appropriate to the level of intent in the crime
- Offender will usually admit to it if they are caught in the act
- Offender understands why the punishment was imposed
Outcome: Higher level of respect for tutors/GMs because of intelligent discretion leading to less overall conflict, players who deserve to be punished are still punished
I know you guys (tutors/gms) work hard, and I appreciate that. My intention is not to be critical. I see many members of the staff using intelligent discretion when it comes to rule breaking already, and I think you have a great team.
8) Final Note about low leveled quests
I'm not sure I totally understand the motivation for having such low monetary rewards for many low level quests, but perhaps there is a half way solution that might address a few other things. Why not have lower leveled quest give 'owned' pokemon (untrade-able, like the starter pokemon) in addition or instead of cash rewards? There's a few things this would affect:
- It would give lower leveled players more of a chance to try different pokemon
- If the exp rate below level 30 was increased, it would allow a new or lower leveled player to have a more diverse team
- Lower leveled players would be more encouraged to level up their pokemon themselves, and will become more attached to them
So, these are really just some of my observations from the past few weeks, combined with my thoughts on the health of an online community.
I have mostly tried to avoid saying things like "Change this feature into this feature", because I admit that I don't have the solutions to all of these problems. I do have some suggestions, but I would prefer to hear some feedback on what I have said so far before suggesting anything.
After all, I have only played here for a bit more than a month so I recognize that my perspective may be limited!
Anyways, I know I have said a lot but I think that all of these things are important for the health of our game. Let me know what you think!
(yes, I wrote this when Pearl was down and I was bored xD)
Hello Padventures. Some of you know me already, while some of you probably have no clue who I am. My name is Alex, and my character in game is Derpy Derpz. Some of you probably know me as 'that gringo' from spanish chat.
I started playing this game about a month and a half ago now. I have played different iterations of this same idea of game in the past, as well as being an off and on Tibia player from 1999-2015. I have been a guild leader, part of massive wars involving hundreds of people, and I reached level 305 in Tibia. Before getting banned for a week in Padventures, in just over a month I started in Pearl and reached level 126 with 92 catches. I donated a fair amount, as well as having the help of my real life friends Trev and Samm.
My point is - I am experienced in playing these exact kind of games. I understand the complex sociological concepts that MMOs are based on, along with the effect that technical and functional have on the sociology of an MMO community. I think that because I have this unique perspective, I am able to give relevant and accurate feedback regarding Padventures.
Before I get into this - I want to point out the other reason why my feedback may be valuable: I am a NEW player.
As a new player, I can observe that <B>much of the time and resources of the staff is spent on end game content, while there is a dangerously low influx of NEW players to the game</B>. This is a problem, and this kind of stagnation can be the death knell for an MMO that is reaching maturity.
There is an attitude that almost always emerges from maturing MMOs from the older more experienced community. It could be described as saying "too bad, that's how it is", or "I worked that hard for it, so you should also have to work that hard". This attitude is not necessarily constructive to the forward progress of the game. As the game ages, more and more money is introduced, and inflation dramatically affects the prices of items that were once expensive.
The fact is that yes, the game is going to be easier than when you started. There is no way to avoid that, however that does not mean that it's a bad thing. Keep in mind that new players are always playing catch up - <B>since there is so much more content when they started compared to when you started, learning all of the parts of an already mature world can be incredibly intimidating</B>
<B>A lot of what I'm going to talk about is how the lack of focus on early game content is turning off MANY potential players.</B> I think we can all agree that a vibrant community benefits everyone - marketplaces become more active, there are more people to make friends with and interact with, donations increase, and hopefully provide more resources for the developers of Padventures.
1) <B>Most players enjoy a challenge. However, there is a difference between a CHALLENGE and something that is simply difficult, frustrating, and in the end not worth the time.</B> So, let's take a look at the difference.
Challenge: Catching a rare pokemon
- It's difficult, but possible. The chance that you might get lucky almost makes it feel like a lottery. This is exciting!
- Because it is rare, this gives the pokemon value. Not just financial value, but feeling attached to it. Every player favours a pokemon they caught over one they traded or bought, because it's cooler.
- Even if you don't catch the pokemon, you still recieve loot and experience points. Generally you don't feel like you wasted your time, either way.
Frustration: Quests that don't make sense (ex: Low level quests with 50HD rewards)
- The quests are either too difficult to complete for the rewards provided
- A good rule should be that <B>if you can make more money fishing in the time that it would take you to complete the quest, the quest's reward needs to be adjusted.</B>
- Some quests have become irrelevant due to other changes in the game. EX: As more money is looted and introduced into the game, inflation causes the value of money to drop. So - 3 years ago, a reward of 50HD may have been worthwhile. Now, it is not.
- Higher level quests tend to have rewards that are worthwhile, where as lower level quests are lacking. This puts new players at an automatic disadvantage
- For a new player, quests provide direction. I have introduced about 5 of my friends to this game, all of which have spent hours completing a low level quest - only to find the reward so small as to be almost useless. For them it was a very frustrating experience, and I have experienced that same frustration.
2) Zones that are creating too much competition
Yes, I am talking about Cloned Island. This place is a great concept, that is HORRIBLE in reality. My first visit to Cloned Island was inspired by accidentally clicking the ticket, so off I went. The 2 days that followed were not something that I enjoyed in any way. I caught my one cloned pokemon for the achievement, and decided to never return again. I would rather spend exorbant amounts of cash that I farmed than experience the amount of stress that I did there.
I know I am not the only person who experiences this, so I will explain my experience so you can understand:
- Enters island, excited to explore.
- Explores island, island is tiny with more players than pokemon on it.
- Stay up until late at night hoping it will be quieter
- <B>A much higher level player actively followed me around for 4 hours, KSing me and outkilling everything I attacked because he had better pokemon</B>
- I logged out, and return only to <B>have the exact same experience the following day<B>
I was informed that this was against the rules, but the truth is that stopping this kind of behaviour is <B>nearly impossible</B>. The players who are in fact the ones causing the problem will lie and create false reports against the people they are harassing, and for a game master it's incredibly difficult to discern who is being truthful. It's a nearly impossible situation for rule enforcement.
In the end, I wasn't able to get any assistance from staff in getting this guy to leave me alone. So, I started doing the same thing to other people. Of course, why wouldn't I if I wasn't able to kill any pokemon otherwise? My point is that this kind of behaviour creates a toxic environment. It doesn't just end with one player being nasty - it spreads and creates a very unpleasent atmosphere.
This zone is not fun. It creates a toxic environment that is in no way beneficial to the social health of Padventures. The game masters and tutors do the best job they can; but perhaps instead of focusing on increasing rule enforcement it would be more efficient to take a look at some of the areas in the game that are creating the most conflict between players.
3) Certain parts of the community are much louder than others
OK, I want to address something that's happening here that is common in maturing MMOs. Certain parts of the community are MUCH more vocal than other parts, which makes the feedback that you are recieving skewed and not necessarily reflective of the entire community.
I understand that many of the long standing players of this game are pillars of the community. They are what is keeping this game going, and of course it makes sense to make them happy. However, there is a noticable absence of the voice of <B>almost every other part of the community besides those concerned with pvp changes</B>. There has definitely been more of a focus on that recently obviously because of the pvp tournament and the rebalancing, but I honestly believe that <B>much of the community is not very concerned with pvp at all</B>. I know that I'm not, I may be someday but right now PVE is my focus.
I imagine that the older players will probably oppose this point but - I would just ask you guys to ask yourselves. What is more important, the success, health and longevity of the game you've invested so much time (and probably money) in - or trying to have all the most OP Pokemon?
I am NOT saying that PVP is not important, because it is. My point is just that there are many other parts of the community that are not engaging with feedback at the same volume as some of those who are focused on PVP. This is something that should be taken into consideration when evaluating feedback.
4) Leveling up low level pokemon takes too long
I used almost exclusively ONE pokemon to exp from level 35 until level 80 (Xatu). I got into the habit of having 1-2 pokemon to switch out, because Xatu would barely out level me.
I think this creates a major problem in the low level experience and economy: <B>many of the low level pokemon in the game are simply not being used at all</B>.
Here's the thing: It is just takes TOO long to level up lower leveled pokemon (10-30). For new players this is discouraging, because for them to have a full pokemon team, it takes a signifigant investment of time. I can see no reason not to increase the exp recieved for pokemon under level 30 by 50-100%. Here's a few effects this would have:
- Since there are SO MANY pokemon, it would give newer players a chance to experiment with different types
- Higher leveled players who want to level up a lower pokemon to try it out will be able to do some more easily
- It will help to decrease the massively inflated value of ultra rare pokemon from boxes (riolu, turtwig, etc.) because they will not be as difficult to EXP
5) This game is almost completely invisible online
OK, so this one is a little bit different. I'm not sure who handles your SEO content and searchability, but you guys are almost completely invisible. I spent (not joking) roughly 10 hours searching for this game, and after being unable to find it. Luckily I remembered a friend that played, so I got the information from him.
I understand that you guys probably want to fly under the radar a little bit. The existence of this game is definitely on the borderline of copyright laws. However, that doesn't change the fact that you are almost totally unsearchable.
I also understand that there isn't a lot of advertising going on - I would be happy to give some input or help out with some free/extremely cheap advertising methods if you guys are interesting in bringing back the low level community. That kind of stuff is part of what I do for a living in real life, so I have some experience there that might be helpful.
6) Website is confusing and inaccesible
Simply put, the website is confusing and weird. The news section on the website itself that is rarely updated should just be outright removed unless it's going to be attended to, because it makes the game look like it's inactive for a person who is visiting the website.
I think that most news is being posted on the forum instead, where mainly only players who are already involved in the game know to look is not helpful for new players. There is a Facebook feed, but not all of the news is posted to it. And links or not... the landing page for the website needs a modification. Something like a big red button that says "CREATE AN ACCOUNT, NEW PLAYERS HERE" is important and is lacking. Almost every player I've introduced to this game has been confused by the account creation interface.
7)Too many restrictions on chat
This one is pretty simple. There are too many restrictions on the chat. On Pearl, I rarely see anyone speak in the english chat, and when they do half the time they accidentally post a trade message, and then get muted in a channel that <B>nobody has spoken a single line in for 8-12 hours</B> (also - why is Help chat not multi-language? It's supposed to be 'english only' but 4/5 people asking for help do it in spanish or portugese. Just make Help multi-language.)
I understand that tutors and game masters serve a purpose. They keep order, and the punish people who get out of line so that others don't commit the same mistakes. HOWEVER, I would encourage the attitude that instead of "stopping people from breaking the rules", that we look at it more as "policing the community". Let me explain the difference:
Stopping from breaking the rules:
- It doesn't matter if it was unintentional, the offender will be punished
- Offender may feel angry and that the punishment was not needed
- Offender will not participate in future chat due to frustration
Outcome: Nothing very positive, except frustration.
Policing the community:
- Punishment given is appropriate to the level of intent in the crime
- Offender will usually admit to it if they are caught in the act
- Offender understands why the punishment was imposed
Outcome: Higher level of respect for tutors/GMs because of intelligent discretion leading to less overall conflict, players who deserve to be punished are still punished
I know you guys (tutors/gms) work hard, and I appreciate that. My intention is not to be critical. I see many members of the staff using intelligent discretion when it comes to rule breaking already, and I think you have a great team.
8) Final Note about low leveled quests
I'm not sure I totally understand the motivation for having such low monetary rewards for many low level quests, but perhaps there is a half way solution that might address a few other things. Why not have lower leveled quest give 'owned' pokemon (untrade-able, like the starter pokemon) in addition or instead of cash rewards? There's a few things this would affect:
- It would give lower leveled players more of a chance to try different pokemon
- If the exp rate below level 30 was increased, it would allow a new or lower leveled player to have a more diverse team
- Lower leveled players would be more encouraged to level up their pokemon themselves, and will become more attached to them
So, these are really just some of my observations from the past few weeks, combined with my thoughts on the health of an online community.
I have mostly tried to avoid saying things like "Change this feature into this feature", because I admit that I don't have the solutions to all of these problems. I do have some suggestions, but I would prefer to hear some feedback on what I have said so far before suggesting anything.
After all, I have only played here for a bit more than a month so I recognize that my perspective may be limited!
Anyways, I know I have said a lot but I think that all of these things are important for the health of our game. Let me know what you think!
