First off, If while Reading this you're thinking that some of these suggestions are based off things i just want for EMC, You would be Partly right, as these are the things i am most well informed about, thus meaning i am most capable of good suggestions in these Areas Suggestion 1: Make Empire games a Top priority, why you may ask? Active Player base Empire games will bring back older players and those more hardcore players who like a challenge (i have already seen evidence of this, *waves at kevdudeman* ) as well as possibly bringing back friends with them, And lets face it, its been 5 years since the last one lol Suggestion 2: Keep staff applicants informed i have heard Maaaaaany people wonder about there Applications for Staff, Mainly the lack of communication as to weather there Application is still Pending or was Denied, now im not saying send them Daily Messages about Every Step but telling players there application has been denied, would help players quite a bit, not know after 6 months weather your application was denied months before really isn't ideal Suggestion 3: Probably the one i will get the most flack for but i would like you to hear me out This is something that i got the idea from pokemon cards, When they release a promotional card for a championship etc they often do 2 versions, 1 for attendees and 1 for the Employees and Volunteers that help run it, the 2nd version is virtually Identical to the 1st except it has a Gold stamp on it saying "Staff" As you might expect these Staff Versions are Rarer and often cost a premium over the normal version Why bring this to emc? Staff versions of ONLY the common items Available to everyone via /promo would have this 2nd version and the reason is for a small variant that allows for Everyone to get the promo like always but also gives collectors (like me ) something to keep ourselves Occupied with Obviously there's a Couple issues with this, Firstly being Staff that don't wish to have players asking them about it the ability to Opt out The 2nd being Players Applying for staff for the purpose of getting these special versions, the best way to prevent that, from what i see is to Limit the ability of Mods in training to this until they are Full Mods I know some people will be agens't this idea, but we need things to keep Everyone busy and having fun, which for some people is collecting Please Post Any and all comments, concerns or other things that come to mind, everything helps
Obviously #3 would be very difficult to implement and the dev team has enough on their plate as it is right now but maybe in the future yeah? On #2, I initially thought that would be a great idea, then I realized it would take time away from the staff that review them from actually reviewing them. I have no doubt they get many of these applications and only accept a couple at a time. I would assume there is much debate behind the scenes and a daily message to each applicant could slow the process down a little. I think this process should be private to the staff until they are ready for a decision. I do quite like the first idea since when Empire Games first came around I was too new to really understand so I never took part in it and I would like to! Thank you for suggesting though! Good things to think about.
I really don't like the idea of 3, and don't really see a point in it. The way that I see it is that it would be extra work for staff to create a different lored version, while only helping people who have a ton of rupees and can afford to buy them. The majority of players would see no benefit from it. I like one and two
1. It is a priority, but I need staff first so that popped to the top. Still testing and fixing things. 2. See the staff application post for this answer. 3. No. Plain and simple, not going to happen. I know you like your custom items, but the issues about staff applying for the wrong reasons, etc is very much an issue, and one that we've discussed and denied privately in the past. Senior Staff are the only staff members that have custom items created, and that's for a reason.
you are missing an option in the poll: i don't like any of them. games server just seems an extension of staff hosted events and the previous pvp arena. otherwise it's mostly abandoned. I see no reason that there should be any kind of dominos delivery app "where is your pizza" for staff applications, simply unnecessary. We don't need more special items, we already have plenty of useless ones. If anything I would think people would want USEFUL custom items... like the presidential pen if it actually worked xD
ooooohhhhhh, I see. Still think there are far more important things on emc that should be focused on that would increase the playerbase far more than "Empire Games" like... empires, or dragon tombs lulz OR 1.13? *shrugs*
Empire Games is my area, as it's an event and doesn't take real coding. The other stuff you listed is Aikar's area. It's my understanding that everything in this suggestion post is geared towards items in my control, and not Aikar's.
ok then, new player retention training new mods, educating current mods, having a new player tutorial that doesn't get people to quit before they ever actually see emc. still lots of things that emc needs more than empire games being a priority. seems like there aren't as many "events" either, staff or player hosted.
so be it. i dont really agree with with your assessment of 3# but i know i wont change your mind arguing it
After reading your post I'm under the impression this is mostly just about things you want. Nothing wrong with that, and I'm glad you admitted it early on in the op - but I personally don't agree with some of your suggestions. Hear me out.. Empire games won't revive the player base. Events are held all the time, and player base is still lower than it has been in the past. Many factors attribute to the lower player base you're experiencing, kids are in school working through finals, most of the old-hardcore EMC player base "grew up" and started their lives, and new players are overwhelmed from the learning curve of EMC. (not to mention 1.13, but hey - that's not just emc facing that issue). The Empire games were an AMAZING time. Some of my best memories on EMC are from competing against and interacting with the community in the games. Would hosting an Empire Games bring back some players? Yeah, for sure. Should they host an Empire Games next month? No way! Let's plan accordingly for the community and player base, how about mid-late Summer when the new mods are trained and everyone is relaxing for the Summer? Making suggestions is great as it facilitates conversation, but with suggestions should come with something to at least argue. And the SADDEST part of this whole thing - kevdudeman (and friends) will never come back. Ah, one of the most classic rules regarding the staff app - NEVER ask about your staff app! I was young, motivated and dedicated to EMC - so I, of all people, can relate to this the most. I don't know whose complaining about their staff app statuses, but don't worry about it. If you think you deserve staff then take your time filling out the app. Take a day, take a week, heck - take 6 months to work on your application. It's certainly not something you should be doing in an hour, let alone less than that. Do you know how long it took for me to get a reply regarding my staff application? (not sure if this is allowed to be talked about, but if it is i will edit it in - a LONG TIME) Pretty much what I'm saying is if you're applying for staff and worried about your application - work on yourself and your application and maybe you'll get a reply one day. If not, don't fret, don't complain, just work everyday to improve yourself and status on EMC. (in a good way) Alright - we've gotten to the point of the post which made me breakout my laptop. Take everything I've said with a grain of salt - I am just more emotional regarding these topics as it's something I once went through, lol. I'm sorry but - what?? A staff version of "common promos"? So when we release we an awesome promo to the public - which already gets thrown into the promo resale market most of the time, we give 30+ extra out to STAFF ONLY?? Ok staff - here's a million dollar item, you're the only one to get this cause you're staff . Being staff shouldn't be rewarded with items, EVER. I would never want something like this as a staff member. Do you know how many contest winners are PM'd for days after they win a contest for their promos? Or when I won my mob arena blade/bow? Or when I was staff and was constantly, constantly asked for my head/signature? It's just not something that's appropriate for our server - we don't give special handouts to the staff, they're volunteers and rewarded more than enough through other awesome ways (GETTING TO HELP THE COMMUNITY!!). I don't want to get personal with this, but this just seems like you want more exclusive items to somehow collect / profit off of. There's nothing wrong with that in anyway! I just think you're going about it the completely wrong way by associating it with staff. Let's completely remove staff from the exclusive item equation - they should never be associated with exclusivity or treated above the average player. Here's a great idea of how you could get a large player event AND giveaway an exclusive item: YOU GET A GROUP OF PEOPLE TO FIGHT MOBS IN A ROOM! Last one to survive wins all of the loot from the others. If you're the last to live and eliminate all the mobs - you're rewarded with a special item. Maybe call it a Stadium Sword?? What do I know though? Thanks for participating in the forums, it's the best way to engage with the community and spark conversation for growth!
Only got like 15 minutes to write but il try to respond to all that Firstly, I dont really see a reason to jump down my throat when i suggest something, Its a Suggestion Not a Demand and not everyone will agree with them, and in the end Some suggestions are good, some were destined to not work out, but you wont know which one it is if you dont put it out there for people to think about Ok for the first one... i have seen Evidence of Players Returning after Events and Updates On EMC and i other games, And Yes I would Love to see this event happen, ive been waiting since 2015 when i joined EMC to participate in it, and there's nothing wrong with me voicing my Excitement and Belief we should have it soon, For the 2nd one, this one wasnt really for me, i have not Applied for Staff this time around, and i dont know if i will, I did once before well over a year ago if i remember right, but i remembered week after week not hearing a peep about it and framkly it was frustrating not knowing if i had ever had a chance, and i have Seen Many Many other players say Similar things, just from being in game and reading Community Chat and finally the one i think you have the most issue with, Why did i suggest this? as i said i got the idea from the System Pokemon has in place, where they do something very similar to how i described, and from what i have seen it works pretty well, giving collectors 2 options, the normal one and the rarer one which is almost mo different from the original but gives to hardcore collectors something to collect, And yes, I love collecting on EMC, its one of the main reasons i stayed On EMC when i joined, but thats no reason to for lack of a better word Villianize me, Lots of people collect, Im just a little more Vocal About it, I will say more later if needed but im being told im going to be late for school!
I'm sorry you feel as though I'm attacking you or being at your throat - was just simply adding my opinion to your discussion, which happens to be the opposite of yours I think you bring up some serious problems EMC has, and I think comments like yours are very beneficial to solving this problem. It's no secret EMC is at low point of it's career - and how do we fix this? This is obviously a very complex issue, but I think the simplest, and most interactive solution lies within the community. Am I playing daily to foster a good in-game community on SMPX? No. I complain that there is no one online, say hi to one or two people, and log off. But what if instead of complaining I stayed online, invited friends, welcomed new players and fostered a sense of community? If a handful of hardcore players did this, say 10-15, then we'd ultimately grow the in-game population without the need for updates, large-scale events, etc. I think I've gotten quite off-topic regarding your post - but I just want to clarify what I said earlier about exclusive items. Everyone loves exclusive items, but it shouldn't be associated with staff in anyway. I'm sorry for making it personal to you, but I figured offering my anecdotal experience and "jokes" would lighten my earlier post. I think that wanting exclusive items to collect and hoard is a great goal for EMC, (one of my former goals) but these items should be outsourced to participating in events and open to the whole community of course. Side note: I see your activity on the forums and it's awesome to see how dedicated and accomplished you are on EMC - you have quite the nice promo collection! Don't take this as me attacking you, just participating in your discussion and wanting others to join in to help the server/forums grow to what they used to be.
I think the main difference, which is quite a large one, between EMC and Pokemon is that Pokemon doesn't have an economy for those kinds of items. Introducing alternative rare versions of promos in a market that's already far too dominated by promos wouldn't have a good effect, in my opinion. If it could be done in such a way that it's associated with profile and not a tangible item, that could be an interesting idea. Sort of like a badge for attending events.
Sorry if i was a bit grumpy haha, i didnt sleept well and had to get up earlyer than normal for the staff item thing, I made a post before about custom items where i addressed the decline in the amount of of special event items and staff made it clear they didnt wish to release as many of these as they used to, But we still have demand for these which as alot of collectors know has Driven players to Pay littarly whatever it takes to buy any when they come up for sale, im sure you have seen this with the recent auction of the voters block jumping from its previous price of around 600k to now well over 3,000,000, which is quite a leap So part of the reason i suggested this staff one was as an Alternitive to event items, rare but differently- part 1
