Player Statistics

[jaune]

Oh, i didnt even realize that people could read it "backwards".. but now that i think of it, i guess turning it to go from left to right would be a bit more clear.

[trying]

I think you should use a pie chart instead.

[egamma]

I think you should use a pie chart instead.

+1. It would make a whole lot more sense this way, as long as the pie shapes are in order by year, and not size. So that people can add up the slices to say "40% of players have been playing for 6+ years".

[Vellos]

Tom, graphics tip:

Make it a pyramid up instead of a slope down. So a base at 0, the 1s on top, the 2s, etc. Like classic population demography charts.

Also, as a stats nerd, what I see in this graph is that BM isn't struggling to retain new players that much: if we get'em, they stay for a year. Where we're struggling is the 1-2 year range. We get people for a year, then they drop out. That's NOT the story we've been getting from talking on the forum, asking peoples' perceptions, etc.

Alternatively, maybe the 2-years-ago group was outrageously big, or maybe the current year group is abnormally small.

[Phellan]

Tom, graphics tip:

Make it a pyramid up instead of a slope down. So a base at 0, the 1s on top, the 2s, etc. Like classic population demography charts.

Also, as a stats nerd, what I see in this graph is that BM isn't struggling to retain new players that much: if we get'em, they stay for a year. Where we're struggling is the 1-2 year range. We get people for a year, then they drop out. That's NOT the story we've been getting from talking on the forum, asking peoples' perceptions, etc.

Alternatively, maybe the 2-years-ago group was outrageously big, or maybe the current year group is abnormally small.

Was thinking the same thing as Vellos.  the X and Y Axis should be switched.   

[Tom]

Also, as a stats nerd, what I see in this graph is that BM isn't struggling to retain new players that much:

Wrong. I cut out accounts that were less than 30 days old. There are a LOT of people who play for a few days and then disappear.

[vonGenf]

Wrong. I cut out accounts that were less than 30 days old. There are a LOT of people who play for a few days and then disappear.

That will always occur: people try out the game for a day or two and figure out it's not for them, it's normal.

It would be a problem if the player count dropped at 2-3 months, this would mean people are initially interested in the game, take the time to actually play it, but actually drop after a few weeks out of disinterest.

[Vellos]

Wrong. I cut out accounts that were less than 30 days old. There are a LOT of people who play for a few days and then disappear.

So we have a drop at 1-3 weeks and a drop at 2 years. IMHO, the 1-3 week range isn't a crisis... every game will have people who try it out and aren't interesting. Shifting that number would be good, but I'm very curious about that 2 year mark drop.

That will always occur: people try out the game for a day or two and figure out it's not for them, it's normal.

It would be a problem if the player count dropped at 2-3 months, this would mean people are initially interested in the game, take the time to actually play it, but actually drop after a few weeks out of disinterest.

Right. Instead people stick around and play for two YEARS, then something happens. Or, as I mentioned, we have some really lumpy inflows of players.

[Tom]

Right. Instead people stick around and play for two YEARS, then something happens.

The resolution of the graphic is only in years. I don't think there's a sudden drop, I'm fairly sure if I were to resolve this to months, it would be a fairly level decline.

And quite frankly, 2 years is pretty good. How many AAA games have you played for 2 years? I'm pretty sure I can count them on one hand.

[Gustav Kuriga]

The resolution of the graphic is only in years. I don't think there's a sudden drop, I'm fairly sure if I were to resolve this to months, it would be a fairly level decline.

And quite frankly, 2 years is pretty good. How many AAA games have you played for 2 years? I'm pretty sure I can count them on one hand.

Rome: Total War
Freelancer
Red Alert 2
Team Fortress 2
Halo
Medieval: Total War
Borderlands
Sins of a Solar Empire
AstroEmpires (not a AAA title, but might as well include it)
Battlemaster (same as AstroEmpires)
Empire: Total War
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Mount & Blade: Warband
Chess
Checkers
Rummi
Poker...

Shall I go on?

[Anaris]

Rome: Total War
Freelancer
Red Alert 2
Team Fortress 2
Halo
Medieval: Total War
Borderlands
Sins of a Solar Empire
AstroEmpires (not a AAA title, but might as well include it)
Battlemaster (same as AstroEmpires)
Empire: Total War
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Mount & Blade: Warband
Chess
Checkers
Rummi
Poker...

Shall I go on?

Good heavens, how do you have time to do anything else?

[Geronus]

Zing!

He has a point though... You surely don't play all those games every day, or even every week, for two years straight. How often do you log in to Battlemaster?

[Gustav Kuriga]

Every single day. Often multiple times. Its gotten to the point where I don't have time for my college, so I forcibly removed myself by pausing most of my characters, leaving only my drone character.

He didn't ask me what games I played every day, or every week. If we were to include that requirement, It would still include all the Total War games, Borderlands, AstroEmpires, and Fallout 3/New Vegas

[Tom]

He didn't ask me what games I played every day, or every week.

Everyone with a cooperative approach to communication did quite well understand what I meant. You are just being a smartass and love to contradict people. That attitude, precisely, is what makes the forums such a hostile place to be. Playing the "I interpret things you say in a way you didn't mean and we both know it" game is fun amongst friends where body language and other non-verbal clues tell you when to stop. On a forum, it is just destructive communication.

[Vellos]

The resolution of the graphic is only in years. I don't think there's a sudden drop, I'm fairly sure if I were to resolve this to months, it would be a fairly level decline.

And quite frankly, 2 years is pretty good. How many AAA games have you played for 2 years? I'm pretty sure I can count them on one hand.

Two years is indeed pretty good, you're right: but BM is a game that can so obviously keep people for longer. And it might still be level across that period, but it won't be level across the whole period, though maybe it's a kind of bell curve.