The Welcome Committee

[XPelargos]

Hi all,

With the next FF installment somewhere on the horizon, I think we should plan a small "welcome committee" for the newbies who are trying out the game.

Anyone who clicks on "Find Servers" and sees a bunch of 0/22 will leave and uninstall forever.

To prevent this, I propose that we leave the pickups behind for a few days and just focus on filling some pubs. Critical mass could take over if we get a large enough group to stick around and keep on playing.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns?

P.S. - Don't kick their asses TOO hard. We need fresh meat. You can go back to kicking my ass in pickups when everyone ragequits a few days later.

[CaptainAhab]

Sure, I'd be down to pub exclusively for a bit after my exams to make the game at least look somewhat alive.

More than once I've heard the "well I was going to play but there was only one populated server and it was locked" (the pickup server) story.

I've seen a handful of people try out the game and really enjoy it... a good sign!

Hope 2.5 comes sometime soon. Early summer?

[XPelargos]

Ahab, you are a saint amongst men. Let's do this. I honestly can't wait to do some proper AvD. Haven't had a good Dustbowl match in ages!

[KubeDawg]

This is a fantastic idea. When does the 3v season end, because that could be a good stopping point for pickups, at least temporarily.

IMO though, I think for FF to succeed, both pub and pickup play are needed.

We need pub-friendly maps as well as maps that people can learn to transition into eventually playing pickups.

[CaptainAhab]

Originally Posted by KubeDawg

IMO though, I think for FF to succeed, both pub and pickup play are needed.

We need pub-friendly maps as well as maps that people can learn to transition into eventually playing pickups.

I often wonder just how many newer players will eventually end up getting into the whole pickup thing... I've seen a fair number in the past week hop in and say "wow awesome game" and have actually come back a few times already, but I question what percentage will ever feel the desire to go beyond the casual pub to the more competitive pickup scene.

[KubeDawg]

I wonder the same thing all the time because when I played TFC, that's all I did. I love playing in pubs, I only really play competitively because there's not a big pub scene. If we had a successful pub community like when :e0: was still around, I think we'd have a lot more player retention, and that would lead to more people playing pickups as well.

Right now everyone who is new to the game or genre thinks even pub games are daunting at times. Imagine how they would feel if they joined a pickup and played with a bunch of TF vets... Hell, I've been playing for a long time and I still feel puny compared to some of the FF greats.