Endless Journey and new players - feedback and thoughts
Hello there!
The "Forum Feedback" section, I presume, is for feedback on the forum and not the game. So I'll post here instead!
I came back a week or so ago, after a long break (familiar story I think, lately!). However, I never really "quit" - I just stopped logging on. So I have all my stuff, house etc.. great!
In the 8 years prior to now, I have met various people throughout my social and work circles - and some of them actually seem to want to play, subsequent to my posting about EJ on Facebook. However, the feedback I have had so far from people makes me think that there are too many restrictions on EJ accounts. I guess what I am really interested in is this:
Why is there *so much* restriction for new players? This is not just about returning players; it is about those who are new to the game. I can completely understand the logic behind why you wouldnt allow a free account to own a house - from a business you would want people who pay have *some* reason to do so; but also you can just imagine how many houses would pop up otherwise! But with just two characters and a bank that can only hold 20/28 items - with no way to access storage at a friend's house - I think this could really harm some new players' experience.
At least two people have commented to me on the restrictions and so I have to - already - tell them to throw away things like the book or the candle or those 10 chairs you found at the bank. This is, in some sense, quite sad; your new player experiences should be about fun and not powergaming - the time when you mess around, store things and try to train in every skill and keep all the tools necessary. The new player experience already arguably omits some really fundamental parts of the game to new players and - coupled with a small bank box and only two characters - you have no space to explore and develop in the way that new players would prior to EJ.
This isn't my asking "can you fix this in the next few weeks" - I have no idea what Broadsword's plans are for UO's long term strategy and how churn/new player onboarding and player retention factor into the development forecast. However, I really love UO and want it to succeed - I am just worried that the restrictions might serve only to cause frustrations for those genuinely interested in playing rather than to achieve what such a cautious approach may hope to combat.
Ultimately, I am not a product manager or an MMO marketing expert - and I don't wish to sound negative - but the release of Endless Journey should have been a MASSIVE fanfare moment across the internet with every provision made to entice people into the game (both new and returning players). There's only one real shot at something of such a magnitude and I might argue it could have been better to have had only the house restriction initially (and then add restriction later) rather than have to scale back the restrictions over time (by which time, people's interest has been momentarily piqued across the net before fading away again).
All of the above is based on my own thoughts and observations of two new people, so this is really limited and subhective - but I do think things could be tweaked a bit. Maybe it needs more time first to wait and see - but that email has already gone out to everyone and I think that there's a finite amount of time that some of that new-buzz energy surrounding EJ can be used. Either way, I am sure its brought a fair number of people back already - and hopefully they (we!) will stay, even if just to play somewhat more casually than we did years ago!
The "Forum Feedback" section, I presume, is for feedback on the forum and not the game. So I'll post here instead!
I came back a week or so ago, after a long break (familiar story I think, lately!). However, I never really "quit" - I just stopped logging on. So I have all my stuff, house etc.. great!
In the 8 years prior to now, I have met various people throughout my social and work circles - and some of them actually seem to want to play, subsequent to my posting about EJ on Facebook. However, the feedback I have had so far from people makes me think that there are too many restrictions on EJ accounts. I guess what I am really interested in is this:
Why is there *so much* restriction for new players? This is not just about returning players; it is about those who are new to the game. I can completely understand the logic behind why you wouldnt allow a free account to own a house - from a business you would want people who pay have *some* reason to do so; but also you can just imagine how many houses would pop up otherwise! But with just two characters and a bank that can only hold 20/28 items - with no way to access storage at a friend's house - I think this could really harm some new players' experience.
At least two people have commented to me on the restrictions and so I have to - already - tell them to throw away things like the book or the candle or those 10 chairs you found at the bank. This is, in some sense, quite sad; your new player experiences should be about fun and not powergaming - the time when you mess around, store things and try to train in every skill and keep all the tools necessary. The new player experience already arguably omits some really fundamental parts of the game to new players and - coupled with a small bank box and only two characters - you have no space to explore and develop in the way that new players would prior to EJ.
This isn't my asking "can you fix this in the next few weeks" - I have no idea what Broadsword's plans are for UO's long term strategy and how churn/new player onboarding and player retention factor into the development forecast. However, I really love UO and want it to succeed - I am just worried that the restrictions might serve only to cause frustrations for those genuinely interested in playing rather than to achieve what such a cautious approach may hope to combat.
Ultimately, I am not a product manager or an MMO marketing expert - and I don't wish to sound negative - but the release of Endless Journey should have been a MASSIVE fanfare moment across the internet with every provision made to entice people into the game (both new and returning players). There's only one real shot at something of such a magnitude and I might argue it could have been better to have had only the house restriction initially (and then add restriction later) rather than have to scale back the restrictions over time (by which time, people's interest has been momentarily piqued across the net before fading away again).
All of the above is based on my own thoughts and observations of two new people, so this is really limited and subhective - but I do think things could be tweaked a bit. Maybe it needs more time first to wait and see - but that email has already gone out to everyone and I think that there's a finite amount of time that some of that new-buzz energy surrounding EJ can be used. Either way, I am sure its brought a fair number of people back already - and hopefully they (we!) will stay, even if just to play somewhat more casually than we did years ago!
Comments
They had to be publicly shamed into posting when they added something new to the in-game store, and even that was like pulling teeth. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
re:Bank boxes - Since you can create an infinite number of EJ accounts, they had to limit the bank boxes or else the house/storage incentive of subscribing wouldn't be much of a draw.
However, there will be an account-wide vault system added "soon™" that EJ will (supposedly) have access to for a per week/month gold fee.
Not at all - I am actually now only thinking of new players here. With regards to returning players, I think its a very clever strategy to allow people to log in, sit around and reminisce about UO if they want to and allow them to take short breaks rather than a full blown quit in future. Its already got some people subscribing again and that's great.
But I still believe that new players are important to UO - and that's the thing I am concerned may be harmed, moving forward. People could still make many EJ accounts and I wonder if 10 account creations really is less resource heavy than having 1 account with no bank restrictions.
The vault sounds ideal really; one of the people who I know who has started has made a few million already by obsessively killing turkeys and selling their feathers and has already managed to GM blacksmithing in a day; all in the space of this week. If he has that kind of gold, he can pay for extra space in this vault system; but when I suggested he could just get a subscription, he wasn't sure if he would keep playing UO or not yet to justify having a subscription to something new.
Part of me is amazed at how quickly he's managed to accumulate skills and wealth; but then UO today is not the same as it was in the early 2000s. What I might consider to be an advanced character doesn't correlate with the experience of the *player*. The example person above hasn't explored around properly yet. Money seemed so easy to make, yet he has no idea about spending it; he managed to buy a 120 archery powerscroll and use it - yet he may never make the most of it. This is still his first week or so as a new player - and no matter how much you manage to do, you just won't "get" it for a while.
The problem is that whilst these restrictions hook returning players, there is now a gap in the new player model. I cannot see why it wouldn't make sense to return to the system where your first month (or fortnight) is the same as a regular player's - but entirely free (and with an added restriction of no housing). After that month, you then are switched to the EJ system. It allows players to get that bit more hooked and pay to get back what they had, rather than forcing them into it just to be able to spend more time exploring whether or not they want to play the game as other people experience it.
Or perhaps I am missing something; can you add a credit card and have a 1 month free proper "trial", still?
Remember when we all started 20 years ago and we RP'd a Female char cos male chars couldn't help but give free stuff to you....like they thought they were chatting up real women or something??? LOL
Ahh....so much free stuff back then. lol
Most of the restrictions are to either encourage a subscription or to try to curb script abuse of free accounts. EJ is not really a free to play model, intended for long term use, and Broadsword has tried to make that clear. I do however strongly believe that UO will eventually need to gradually transition to a proper F2P model. This may not ever happen, but if it does it has to be sloooooooooow.
While the no-access to house containers is understandable (many resource scripts call for dropping off their load at a house to continue), I would like to see other restrictions lifted. Books, Bulletin boards, public dye tubs and other services, etc. I am hopeful these things will come along over time.
EJ cannot speak here, so we the subscribers must ask for these changes.
I think their highest priority right now should be making veteran accounts whose EJ banks are overflowing have some way to clear out the bank. As it is, tho, many of those folks subscribe out of frustration in order to do so, and this influx of subscriptions might be giving the impression that it is not a big deal. However, I think many more take a look and just log back out instead of playing a bit more and seeing the good side of UO.
It is regrettable that there is not at least a section of the official forum for EJ to post, but understandable. And there are other, very well established, outlets for them to share their experiences or ask questions. I actually kind of think this is a good thing, because I don't want to see a certain other site that has served Sosaria faithfully fall into disuse.
They say on the EJ description page for vet accounts to subscribe to access their bank, and they have now moved on to the bugfix publish. This leaves me with the impression that vet EJ bank boxes are either on the back burner now or off the table entirely. In any case, returning players ARE subscribing so I guess it works (for now).
Cheers MissE
Cheers MissE
It is not designed or intended for long term use, but I do think that EJ can serve as a free to play model - it just requires some investment to get a veteran account ready. Subscribe, then clean out the bank (load up a fresh EJ or 2). Set up a new character to play while the main account goes dormant for 120 days, or just come back to UO later. Make sure the char you intend to play has your things that you cannot use from a public service house, but work just fine in your bank or backpack. (Dye tubs, luck statue, etc.)
Crafters have it rough as EJ, with the restrictions on com deeds, BOD books, and farming colored resources. But EJ has the same limits as everyone else on gear, skills, where they can go, quests, and chat. EJ makes for a hard working, simple lifestyle, but that can be fun for a casual player who just wants to enjoy the game itself.
Cheers MissE
I still got no answer why EJ players can enter public houses but no private houses.
I made an EJ account at the end of May (account down for two days til pay day).
when I created the char she had the usual items upon creation, regs, dagger & sextant. when I opened the bank box the only thing that was in there was a young player ticket. I remember thinking there was no Mininova Fireworks Wand in there. I thought maybe they decided to not use them any more & actually forgot about it.
I gave the char a suit and some supplies she would need to do cartography. I spent all day buying scrolls and filled my bank box (20 items) with 9K blank scrolls. I thought about having my hubbys char take all the scrolls back to my house at the end of the day but was too tired. I thought I would be able to just pick up where I left off.
The next day I log in and the wand is in the bank box. I am now over the limit of items and now can't take out of the bank box. So now I have 9K of blank scrolls that I can't access cause an item wasn't in my bank box on the first day.
My friend told me to contact a GM, which the only option EJ has is contact an Advisor. they thought maybe that they could help take it out. so I used that option & I received an email telling me that to report it as a bug. I had already did that with the in game option & received an email. The email said that its not supposed to be doing that, that all items appear at time of creation. It also stated that they aren't to receive bug reports at that link & they provided a link for bug reports. (I think they should change it that the in game option of bug report to go to the real link)
Not sure if this has happened to anyone else but the items didn't all appear at creation. I can screen shot my bank box.
Another thing about EJ account is young status. I played constantly for two days and I'm still at 40 hours. So you can play endlessly and always teleport back to Haven?
Cheers MissE
Another poster said the wand will come tomorrow. Dont fill the bank. They made that mistake. The wand made it overflow.
Cheers MissE