What we need is young blood

[De-Legro]

You really sell the younger generation short if you think all of them care only about graphics. If that were true, Minecraft wouldn't be a thing. The Binding of Isaac is a 2D dungeon crawler of the old school variety, and it is incredibly popular.

Both of which are far more graphically advanced then BM, but is also ancillary. I used graphics to demonstrate part of the evolution of games in general. Their are numerous area's that BM needs work in before it will broadly appeal to most demographics. Regedit and other such groups are full of games with promises, and many without that did not resonate at the time of their posting and subsequently were largely ignored. BM is in the ineviable position that we need more players, yet the game is not perhaps in the best shape to attract those players. A push to early will only lead to disappointment from those new players, push too late and we may no longer have the player base to generate the in game content

[Constantine]

Being newbie is an immense drag nowadays. Most realms barely acknowledge you, you have no idea what to and where to do it. It's no wonder so many of them give up a few days after playing. Back in the old days, being a newbie was decidedly easier. You started in a region, became a vassal of that particular lord, your taxes came automatically and you were part of an army.

I dunno... That's not really fair.
I've started on a new continent where I didn't know anyone and became a Marshal in like a week. Be active and don't antagonize the entire realm at once and people will actually start giving you spotlight.
As a newbie you can also assign yourself to an army and take up any estate you wish, I see no problem there.

Their are numerous area's that BM needs work in before it will broadly appeal to most demographics.

Let's be honest, that will never happen.
Just polishing out what we already have should be enough. No new features please while the realms are still destroyed by crippling bugs.

[altamira]

I agree with constantine, became a duke and marshal within a few weeks of starting playing. And naturally both were on my most active character. I do love the new silent protest function, my first character had been stuck in a realm where one barely active player ran everything with an iron fist and 2 characters to split all the realms power between.  This became so frustrating I would have quit if I wasn't enjoying my other characters so much.  After coming back I think the worst parts of the game are when your suspension of disbelief is shattered, whether it's from a known bug, or ooc bickering.

Battlemaster is still a great game and after coming back I like MOST of the changes and feel like the power structures are a lot more fluid.  So kudos to the dev(s). That being said I think what you've done will help new player retention but not acquisition or neccessarily old player retention. But keep up the good work we're enjoying it and we appreciate it.

[De-Legro]

Let's be honest, that will never happen.
Just polishing out what we already have should be enough. No new features please while the realms are still destroyed by crippling bugs.

That is what I refer to. New features are not required, making the game we have more consistent, more accessible and squashing bugs definitely are. How can we retain new players when rumours abound on several continents that the Dev's deliberately introduce bugs to favour there own realms.

[Indirik]

Fwiw: silent protest is not a new mechanic. It has existed for over nine years.

[Sacha]

It really falls to the players themselves. Nobody is going to stick around in a realm where nobody talks or even acknowledges your existence, except those rusted in place. The majority of realms I've joined recently full-on ignored me. No welcome message, nobody telling me what to do or where to go, no Lords seeking my servitude. Even when I did get an estate, the Lords just kept ignoring my existance. THAT is what drives new people away.

[GundamMerc]

It really falls to the players themselves. Nobody is going to stick around in a realm where nobody talks or even acknowledges your existence, except those rusted in place. The majority of realms I've joined recently full-on ignored me. No welcome message, nobody telling me what to do or where to go, no Lords seeking my servitude. Even when I did get an estate, the Lords just kept ignoring my existance. THAT is what drives new people away.

This, so much. I've had several people from roleplaying backgrounds (so not likely to care one way or the other about mechanics or graphics) quit because their realms were too quiet.

[Constantine]

On the other hand, I've seen (just recently) gamist players who quit the realm because there was too much drama in it (which I personally quite enjoy).
You can never please everyone.

[Indirik]

The majority of realms I've joined recently full-on ignored me. No welcome message, nobody telling me what to do or where to go, no Lords seeking my servitude. Even when I did get an estate, the Lords just kept ignoring my existance.

They must know you. 

You are right, though. When new players join, hey need to be welcomed and invited to engage.

[GundamMerc]

On the other hand, I've seen (just recently) gamist players who quit the realm because there was too much drama in it (which I personally quite enjoy).
You can never please everyone.

IC or OOC drama?

[Eldargard]

Mechanic wise, I think it leaves too many people wondering. After playing this game for years, I still need to ask the dev about many things.

Maybe in time, things can be more clear cut instead of leaving people to figure it out over years only to have them changed to relearn things again.

Also, since we are talking about the game being not newbie friendly, why not make every new character start in the capital while allowing people to pick up an estate before starting their characters? That way, you don't have to tell new players to get to the capital. I've seen a number of people quit while they travel to the capital.

Regarding the first point, I recall this as being a part of the culture/game when I first tried Battlemaster ten years ago. You were not supposed to know the inner workings of the game and what you did know was supposed to come from playing and experimenting. Half of the questions being answered today would have been given a simple response of "Go try things out and let us know" back then. Then again, perhaps my memory is off here.

Regarding the second, you can pick an estate before starting. I can not recall where you start though. Might be the capitol and it might be elsewhere. Where never bothered me much to be honest.

[Eldargard]

I agree that most of the mechanics/features are already here and everything is pretty awesome as they stand. I also think that some refinement and fixing will help but I do not think that any of this is the real trouble new players face. To me it is all about education.

1. Players can just take any estate that they want.
    a. How easy is it for new players to find out what estates are, how one would benefit from having one what having one entails or which buttons to push to make it happen?
2. Players can assign themselves to an army.
    a. This seems to be a particularly well hidden gem and as above new players have to know that armies exist, what they do and what buttons to push.
 3. Be a duke within weeks.
    a. Perhaps this is different with elections but the wiki and my memory suggests that one must first gain a fair amount of honor and prestige before this can happen.
    b. Gaining this H/P can be quite challenging for new players. I have no idea what some of you are doing but I have had characters take RL months to gain enough prestige for a lordship before.
4. Every realm is different and none is perfect for everyone.
    a. Again, how to change countries or even move between continents may not be known to new players. Even that it is OK and possible might not be something the know.

Do we have the mechanics/features needed to make an awesome game? Sure. Do new players know about these cool mechanics/features up front? Somewhat. Depends on the feature and the players willingness to research/ask.

[Sypher]

Regarding the second, you can pick an estate before starting. I can not recall where you start though. Might be the capitol and it might be elsewhere. Where never bothered me much to be honest.

To the best of my knowledge you start in the region your estate is. Would be nice to be able to choose to start off in the capital or your home region. But, the feature I'd really like to have (back) is the ability to take an estate without being in the region. If a region lord could offer an empty estate to a estate-less noble that would ease one of the annoyances of the game.

[Kai]

Whole getting an estate is incredibly boring for a new player. Was better when taxes were automatic and the first action in game is recruit/enlarge unit and go fight. Everyone should start in the capital so that they can recruit. What kind of game is it that the first action is to travel for multiple days to get a decent unit.

The guy who was proud of becoming a marshal on a new continent is the attitude of the problem. That's nothing like a new player it's just dumb.

The whole discussion in this thread about how much power is technically possible for a "new" player is the problem. All the player base are title whores. They can't even name or comprehend other ways to play than to accumulate as much position in "duke" or "marshal" as possible.

[Eldargard]

I would really rather not start with a unit at all or at least have it be optional.