It's been pretty slow the last week or so. Most of the same people are logging on but for shorter times and they aren't as active. This is really pretty typical of our history and there are a lot of reasons for it. The BIG thing, though, is we need to do something to boost both the numbers and the activity level.
We would ask for "audience participation" except you guys AREN'T an audience - an audience is generally there to be passively entertained. This is a community and its success depends, in large measure, on its members.
Here are two points. I haven't done a lot to promote the game on the internet (like social networking). There's a really good reason. If we bring in total strangers, they are completely lost. It takes an hour to orient them, and that's an hour that I can't spend working on things that enhance the game experience for everybody. There's a risk involve, too - even if I spend an hour, they don't have any real reason to stay other than "some nice person on the net" and that won't really last long.
On the other hand, if you bring in people who are already familiar with YOU, then YOU can get them started. You spend the time with them, and after you've showed them around and taught them how to play, they have a REAL friend online. Ten people orienting ten people means twenty people online. You all have friends, schoolmates, relatives (younger siblings, cousins, kids and grandkids). There are big-world examples of games that "went viral" because of social networking. We don't need/want to "go viral" but the impression I get (and this goes back to 2003 and 2004) is that SOA is something of an "embarrassing pleasure" - that is, you guys love it, but you're a little hesitant to say to your friends, "Hey, look at this really fun game I play". On the other hand, millions of people apparently suggest games far sillier and more juvenile to their friends. If you guys have ideas about this, by all means, let's discuss it.
The second thing is that for years people have complained about how there aren't shopkeepers in the stores and you can't get certain weapons in the game. When crafting was implemented it was almost instantly a problem. People could make items far faster than they could get them from monster drops. The shopkeepers were deluged with items for which they paid a third to half of the retail value. Players amassed a huge amount of money very fast - so fast, in some cases, that their files actually crashed. To counteract this, B. dropped the buy-back price on most metal items to 10 gold. Although that took care of one problem, it created a host of others.
We agonized over these issues for literally years without seeing the very obvious answer. Players who have excess items they want to sell need shops.
So buy a shop. Sell whatever items you want. Set the price wherever you want. If you find you get a lot of competition from other shopkeepers, or if that area is particularly attractive, you can raise or lower your price to accommodate the local market. A lot of the buildings in the towns were built specifically to house player shops (look at Rhine!). Why complain about the lack of shopkeepers in Thrashorn when you can have one yourself? If you think our cash price is too high for a shop, talk to me. There are other ways to get cash items (like win them in contests or do some service for the game).
But then, you might say, "Why should I buy a shop when there are only 25 people playing?" That's already answered at the beginning of the post.
So I would encourage you guys to get more active. This IS your game.
