Post
by Kitsune » Wed Mar 18, 2015 3:40 pm
Color me surprised to hear such a response. I always pictured BZFlag more as a place where people with too much free time and a development-ish mindset gather and work on it as some sort of a fun development project over it being a game that's trying to compete with other 3D download-able FPS. That is because the latter won't be achieved in any way whatsoever where the game stands now, with there being multiple good reasons for that. To add to your list of examples, a strong factor is also relatively hard creation of maps (bzw) and then actually running a server (bzfs). To you, it might seem like a piece of cake. But you must assume that gamers are usually stupid people that many times don't know the difference between hardware and software. Just this one factor alone cuts the percentage of people staying by a lot, as many prefer mindless enjoyment from shooting other tanks down. This can be seen with Apoc always being the top map - fast tank and shot speed as well as insane killing speed is preferred over tactical play, with the latter being the only place where BZFlag excels over other FPS games. Yet, the current regulars lean towards the former despite the fact.
The matter of needing to register on the forums to gain additional rights in-game is quite useless, to be frank. There could be a single-purpose database set up where you could register your name as well as password and that would be that. Forums would be external entirely, which means that GroupDB wouldn't be handled via the forums either. This gets especially nasty when the GroupDB and registration for in-game additions (voting, optional chatting, etc.) are handled the way they are now, as heavy subjective ideas come around. I've seen hate or disliking towards specific users which then led into them getting banned on the forums, which directly connected to in-game activities and status. That's not how it's supposed to go. In-game registration and GroupDB should be entirely objective, not directly connected to a community hangout with its own rules and staff.
But to get back to the topic, I would drop the idea of seriously trying to compete with other games. Additional interfaces won't really change a thing at this point. One of major factors that prevents people from staying around is the basic structure and type of game BZFlag is in itself. Many other games get the players ready to face others in one way or another. Via tutorials, difficulty-orientated maps, rank-separated players, and whatever that makes the game challenging just at the right intensity. BZFlag is a total opposite in this aspect. Veterans dominate and new players get dominated, badly. I, as someone who has been around for around a decade (don't mind the registration date), many times go easy on others just so they stay and play on the map. But not everyone's the same as me - rare are. The unreal difference in game knowledge and approach makes newer users uninterested in playing, as the basic rule that applies for all FPS games applies here as well: you hate to lose. But you keep on losing. Because you don't have the drill down yet. Even though that's the case, the game itself does not have a sort-by-rank server system that would help players play against others of similar rank, with which newer players would play against each other and veterans against veterans as well. But all this is meaningless in the situation we are now, as there is too little active players around to even consider splitting them even further.
So, what do we do. Change, yeah. By chance have that change be an improvement. As said, I won't say anything against a change in the interface other than me personally not being a fan, but that's just me speaking for myself alone. A crucial factor I would say needs giving a little bit of thought is game accessibility. Messing up with installation, additional lines inputting and so on already makes the game not worth it in many eyes. People want a game that's a click away, and that's just not what BZFlag is at the current. People that dislike such lazy players can hate on them all they want, but that won't change the fact that such type represents the majority and if we assume BZFlag as more of a game than a project, we will have to serve them one way or another. A change in the interface that would make various features easier to use and access might indeed not be bad for a lot of users out there, but I highly doubt it is as major in relation to other changes that could be made. Good luck, however.
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