Steam launch was a failure

[Avu]

Hear me out. In terms of server crashes and the like it was fine, pretty good actually even though I was expecting massive lag and crashes and the need to open up a new server very soon. And that is the failure part. The game has failed to attract the massive influx of players one usually expects with a steam launch. You could argue "But you're back" and yes but nothing has really changed and it wasn't my first choice coming back and I wanted to be here for the lulz of failure of a massive influx of players that would see all that is dysfunctional with the game and then leave but we're not even getting that. Now for the reasons of this failure I think it's because despite steam this game been around for a long time and people that were interested at any point either tried it and ended up quitting or realized it's not for them. But the biggest culprit as ever it's the full on pvp bullshit that ALWAYS creates the most despicable playerbases one can get and people simply value their time and nerves too much to even bother. To be honest even a PVE server might be too late at this point. It is what it is. Devs made their bed now they can sleep in the straw instead of goose feathers so to speak.

[Hasta]

full on pvp bullshit that ALWAYS creates the most despicable playerbases one can get and people simply value their time and nerves too much to even bother

This.

Devs made their bed now they can sleep in the straw instead of goose feathers

Also this (but it's ultimately their choice and I respect that, it's just they made it seem like they are ready for some gradual change and prepared to embrace a wider community, though in fact nothing cnahged and senseless PvP-enshrining psychopats are still the catered part of this game).

[pagsiu]

Ah, another "PvP is le bad" thread. I think there are other factors that contributed to this "failure", for example the lack of a proper tutorial, scarce and obscure in-game descriptions of various mechanics, outdated wiki, forums being purely shitpost etc. I saw more people complaining about the lack of info than crying over their naked ass being ganked. Most of my neighbors quit because they don't have any idea how to progress further. I'd suggest to abstain from calling it a failure until we get some player retention graphs in a few months. The drop-off rate during first weeks always has been chaotic.

[TheServant]

Ah, another "PvP is le bad" thread. I think there are other factors that contributed to this "failure", for example the lack of a proper tutorial, scarce and obscure in-game descriptions of various mechanics, outdated wiki, forums being purely shitpost etc. I saw more people complaining about the lack of info than crying over their naked ass being ganked. Most of my neighbors quit because they don't have any idea how to progress further. I'd suggest to abstain from calling it a failure until we get some player retention graphs in a few months. The drop-off rate during first weeks always has been chaotic.

true, biggest problem is the lack of proper guidance, which is apparently a feature from the devs.. id say its cringe that popular games must be that obvious with radars, directions, and what else... haven is good but its not mainstream =/

joy of discovery ftw

[Hasta]

the lack of a proper tutorial, scarce and obscure in-game descriptions of various mechanics, outdated wiki

You are most definitely a hundred percent right on this, these were also the factors. Most of newcomers crashed into the learning curve.

And those few who did manage to pass the reefs were promptly wiped out by "core ganker community". The end.

Ofcourse we should wait until some comprehensive data gets collected to make definitive claims, but it surely leaning the way OP stated.

[Executioner]

losers gonna lose



keep crying ladies

[Ganhart]

Hear me out. In terms of server crashes and the like it was fine, pretty good actually even though I was expecting massive lag and crashes and the need to open up a new server very soon. And that is the failure part. The game has failed to attract the massive influx of players one usually expects with a steam launch. You could argue "But you're back" and yes but nothing has really changed and it wasn't my first choice coming back and I wanted to be here for the lulz of failure of a massive influx of players that would see all that is dysfunctional with the game and then leave but we're not even getting that. Now for the reasons of this failure I think it's because despite steam this game been around for a long time and people that were interested at any point either tried it and ended up quitting or realized it's not for them. But the biggest culprit as ever it's the full on pvp bullshit that ALWAYS creates the most despicable playerbases one can get and people simply value their time and nerves too much to even bother. To be honest even a PVE server might be too late at this point. It is what it is. Devs made their bed now they can sleep in the straw instead of goose feathers so to speak.

The game is not designed to be loved by everyone.
Every good player was a sprucecap shitter at some point but they overcome the challenges and learned. It's hard for me to see why the experience for new players should be any different.

[Hasta]

Every good player was a sprucecap shitter at some point but they overcome the challenges and learned. It's hard for me to see why the experience for new players should be any different.

It does not have to be different - unless the game is looking to grow and expand it's playerbase. Steam release signified, that "expanding the playerbase" is preferable. But the game mechanics did not comply with that.

[Kaios]

radars, directions, and what else

I had a lot more fun when custom clients were less common or not as advanced, players used to be able to actually hide behind objects and successfully go unnoticed either when ganking or trying to avoid someone. That's definitely not something anyone can do these days considering it's impossible to hide behind a bounding box. I do appreciate the wide variety of quality of life features available now either in custom clients or the default client, but I don't think it's a good thing to lose out on options like those those that allowed for other possibilities and dynamics in relation to how players can utilize the mechanics.

It's possibly one of the reasons why the default client has/had lacked many features for so long, I do think it was originally their intention to offer as little information as possible but given their stance on custom client development and usage it's obvious it was never going to remain that way.

[Executioner]

It does not have to be different - unless the game is looking to grow and expand it's playerbase. Steam release signified, that "expanding the playerbase" is preferable. But the game mechanics did not comply with that.

Would you say the same thing about Rust? The new player experience in Rust is probably way more brutal. PvP is a genre that exists. I doubt streamer like jonahveil would even take a 2nd glance at this game without pvp.

If its not your cup of tea just go to the pve games that exist