Give a Fish or Teach to Fish

First, thanks to everybody (especially EO) for the $2T in Security Council funds.

That said, I received an in-game message that at first irritated me and then I got over it and thought about it some more. This particular message was regarding the voting for these same emergency funds (or whatever they are called) and a particular person's (doesn't matter who) opinion. They thought that I didn't need the money I just needed help in learning the game. Now, this is my second trip through SC... though the person wouldn't know and it's been 10 years... so I KIND OF remember the ins and outs of the game, but not really. So, I got to thinking that homeboy (or homegirl) was kind of right but kind of wrong. I think what could help is a SIMPLIFIED starter guide that highlights what a new player should do to get a country up and running. There are so many pitfalls to fall into as a new player that if you don't do it right, you'll probably go broke and never recover without buying a bunch of gold coins. Now I'm all for buying gold coins and supporting the game, but I want to use my GC on population, not cash. Cash comes with population and a little patience (and the Security Council ). So, I agree with the dude or dudette that help is more important than money, but the only "hard" part of this game (considering there don't appear to be any more wars) is the start. If you want more players, you can't let them get frustrated with the start. Even the bonuses (cash and pop) a new player get can mess things up when that cash dries up and they realize they're actually LOSING money from then on and the pop influx can present employment/education challenges.

But, all that said - the game is pretty tough from the start, especially for new people. Give them the security council cash AND make a new user-friendly guide. The UI and gameplay are probably going to turn most people off as it is. If you want to increase the number of players it's going to have to come from community help. By the way, I've been popping into the chat room and haven't seen anybody since I started a week ago. I know dubstar and Jan do the Discord thing. Is that the new chat? I doubt that would be apparent to new players.

Anyways, just a few thought I wanted to share. The place looks a little dead at the moment. Figured we could discuss, or maybe I'll just talk to myself.

BorderC

I agree-

Click on the "Now What" button and see how helpful that is.lol

TM

Since you brought it up I went ahead and checked it out. Looks like there is a new automation feature that will, over time, purchase what's required to increase indices to 120. Not sure if limited automation is the way to go. Doesn't really teach you what to do, but better than wrecking your empire by piddling with the various numbers?

I still think a guide that explains the BASICS of employment, education, managing pop growth, and setting up corps would be better. Something like Wildeyes guide but targeted to setting up the starter country.

BC

Hey Border C, I recognise your name from before. You make a valid point about the UI. I hate bitching about the game but the new UI is awful, has to be said. That bright white screen new players start on is an eyesore and the options to change aren't very appealing. There's to much info on the screen for me, and it's all condensed in the centre which is a waste of my widescreen. Not to mention it's buggy as heck.

The old UI was much better, less cluttered and more appealing on the eye. And more user friendly.

I agree there is room for UI changes and better tips and guides. In the interim, if anyone's ever interested in my thoughts about how to play, feel free to message me. I love the discussion and sharing of ideas and tips.

However, if a player thinks 2T in "DEVELOPMENT AID" should be replaced by "learning the game," I wonder why a player can't do both things? If this particular player messaging BorderC thinks you can easily make that money, then why does it matter if a brand new account gets that money? Surely that's an insignificant amount for someone who has learned the game and already has plenty of assets? The game is more fun when you can... do things? When you can play, right?

I strongly disagree with such a selfish mindset from whoever that was.

I don't think it was selfish. I think it was sent with good intentions. But I agree with you. The message is we should find a way to help new players in whatever way we can.

Off topic, but I can't imagine new players show up that often. Something that surprised me when I came back was the number of empty countries. 10 years ago it had to be that 80% of countries were occupied. I assumed that SC just had bots rolling with most of them given how only ~5%-10% really participated in chat, forums, or anything social. I guess that wasn't the case. They must have had a steady number of people finding the game back then...

Fair enough - thanks for the clarification. You got the message, not me. It just reads like new players shouldn't ask for aid, which is the part I disagree with. Everyone can use a boost - and if someone is actively messaging players to tell them they don't, that isn't my favorite thing.

Your point about how many countries are around illustrates why I'm so eager for players to get that boost. The social aspect of the game benefits from keeping them around.

Speaking of the amount of occupied countries, I'd be totally on board with merging planets. maybe 1 peace and 1 war?

I have no idea how it'd work, and it'd be a really messy task, but it would be cool to have all that activity pushed into one planet and one market.

I agree ZNathanss, what is the use of all those planets when there are like 300 active people? I don't actually know how many are active, but I bet if you were to combine the worlds you'd be hard pressed to occupy more than 1. Maybe a combo, war, econ, and mixed so you'd know what you were getting into at the start. Clean up all the worlds, get people migrated, and make everything more efficient.

I agree with consolidation, but I wonder if there is a mechanism to do that fairly so that folks don't get too pissed off...