The respect of time.
I played since beta loved it and am pleased to have purchased it with the DLC.
As a gamer I like to gauge how long I am interested in games and ask myself "Why aren't you playing this anymore?" and this game is no different.
Having played since launch, I noticed my decline in interest and worry that my playtime may continue to decrease. I'd like to present my findings to anyone who will listen.
Argument: The game currently isn't respecting my time.
1) I could spend 5+ hours, wonderfully working on a base. 100% of that time is fun.
Problem #1 - If my game is available to be played for 24hrs or less and only gets one visitor, I have to use more of my time playing other people's bases just to get my base active hoping that someone will play it. This can go on continuously in theory. This is not fun. I know you can't force people to play my base, but I don't want to be forced to play other people's bases so I can just hope someone will play mine every day.
2) The progression of the base is locked behind a raider's ability to generously vote. (resulting in prestige)
Proposed solution: Don't force the players to continually renew their base resources if only few enter. Charge the resources per invasion. This could result in an increase of idle bases and server space. Then compensate for login time. If the player doesn't log in every day, it will time out. The longer it has gone unplayed, increase its resources. Or give it a priority.
Problem #2 - This system doesn't account for bitter or picky players.
a) If a player dies too much, or is bitter, they may quit or just out of frustration as a means to hurt the creator, not vote. (And this is worse if that is the base's only visitor)
b) Picky players have their preferences on what they consider to be good or quality. If you don't like kill boxes, no voting. If you don't like back-door berserkers, no voting. Heck, if you're a speed runner and do not like the design because they can't speed through it, no voting. This prestige problem holds creators at ransom to only create things that people will like instead of trying to be free on how they create.
It's no longer about base creation. It's about prestige pandering.
Not fun for the amount of time we invest.
Proposed solution: Attribute a minimum amount of prestige per invader. If the raider quits or doesn't vote, it still contributes to the creator, just not as much as the others. Additionally, allowing the raider to receive more points/resources by voting. Make it worth their while to vote. Right now, there is no reason to vote for others.
tl;dr
The game doesn't respect the time of creating vs raiding. You can spend more time building with no results. Your creativity is held hostage by how others may or may not vote, which produces a prestige pandering community.
Comments
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"only create things that people will like instead of trying to be free on how they create."
It's a social/multiplayer game, so this is kinda expected.
You can create whatever sadistic, irritating nonsense you like and make it a Social outpost, but if you want to be rewarded for your efforts, you have to give people a reason to reward you.
Kill boxes are not creative. Trying to throw everything at the raider at once in a 'gotcha' or 'checkmate' move is not going to get them attempting your level multiple times or enjoying themselves.
You're not respecting the raiders time.
If you want a successful outpost, you need to make it fun to play. You need to make it look easier than it actually is and give raiders a sense of accomplishment.
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This prestige problem holds creators at ransom to only create things that people will like instead of trying to be free on how they create.
The game calls it "Prestige" but in a lot of ways each prestige level is more like getting one step closer to retirement rather than progressing the Outpost. Prestige exists to get bases that have seen a lot of Raiders out of the way for new bases.
Accolades exist as a way to encourage Builders to create Outposts that are fun for Raiders. That's their main purpose. Builders are free to build whatever they want, you don't have to appeal to Raiders, there's no need to Prestige.
Not being able to Prestige isn't itself a problem, it's just a symptom. The issue is that Outposts aren't being seen, and even when they are seen they're often seen by the wrong players.
Everyone has their own preferences, so you can't really pander to Raiders as a whole. The problem is that Raiders have no way to match up with bases they will enjoy. The game needs a tag system so Outposts can be marked as mazes, puzzles, hardcore kill rooms, speedrunner challenges, platformers, etc. I've had so many boring raids because I end up in Outposts that don't suit me at all. That's bad for player retention, because if Raiders aren't going to Outposts they enjoy, they're going to quit playing altogether.
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