The Way Forward

[Anaris]

You're on point with this one. I wonder if the forums suddenly went down & closed, if BM would see a renaissance of amazing roleplays and storylines?

Nope. It would see a lot of its most active players get disgusted and either cut back their BM time considerably or leave.

[Zakilevo]

Valid points, but don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Just because something's not an ideal fix, doesn't mean that it can't help. Instead of sinking an island, which I would consider the nuclear option, we should first explore "lighter touch" solutions that could alleviate the problem.

• More characters = More stuff happens = Players are more engaged = More fun = Less stagnancy = Higher retention rate.

Also, don't assume that all players are spending all of their available time already. BM is pretty slow-moving game by design, and the amount of time people spend trolling these discussion boards is evidence that some people have extra capacity.

Not necessarily. More characters can actually lead to less time per character and that can result to more silent zombies.

[SaDiablo]

I see child boards all the time, why not just put Roleplay under it,  I believe it needs to be kept separated from OOC Discussion.  It would actually be easier to moderate also as you only have 2 places to check.  Having all the islands under one tab is not end of the world and can be worked with imo.

[Indirik]

Fwiw - I read the forums by checking the Unread Posts function. I don't know or really care where a post appears. Changing the organization of the child boards, or where specific things are posted would have absolutely no effect on how I use the forums. I imagine there are quite a few others who do as I do, by placing specific boards on Ignore, and reading everything else.

Reorganizing the boards is a pointless exercise that gives you a good feeling, but accomplishes nothing whatsoever.

[Jaden]

I think one of the purpose to reorganizing the Locals was that it was seen as more of an open forum to non-forum users. And i think that it may change the perception of the locals and the possibly how people react and act in the locals

[Buffalkill]

Not necessarily. More characters can actually lead to less time per character and that can result to more silent zombies.

I'm sure there are some players who do have the time and would gladly invest in an additional character given the chance. Those who don't, are not required to do so.

You can come up with a list of criticisms for any suggestion in the abstract. The dev team has floated its solution which has pros and cons, but like I said before, why not try to come up with some  less heavy-handed measures first and try them out before using the nuclear option?

[Jaden]

I think we should just bring back the 3 noble characters for new players, then perhaps make it easier to get the 4th noble?
1) 10? fame
2) 5? medals
3) 2? years

[flames]

Not necessarily. More characters can actually lead to less time per character and that can result to more silent zombies.

This is right. But new players probably should have possibility for more chars. Because when you know nothing about the game and you occasionally pick the realm which is inactive and boring - it is discouraging.

[Vita`]

Though I also espouse such radical ideas as everyone getting one noble slot per continent, I do think that a return to three starting nobles for new accounts, like it used to be, would be a great step for newbie retention. I'm also hesitant as to whether new players should be given adventurers right away, considering BM is a social game and the advy game is very quiet. It used to be 30-90 days since account creation iirc and I think that should return too.

Tom, please please please let new players have three starting nobles, not two.

[Penchant]

This is right. But new players probably should have possibility for more chars. Because when you know nothing about the game and you occasionally pick the realm which is inactive and boring - it is discouraging.

That actually is being worked on so that you get to know a little bit more about the realm, its activity, opportunity, and war in the last 30 days measured in various ways that I don't recall at the moment but I could give more info about it, when its actually done or when I am at least not tired. Thus that should be less of an issue in the future.

I think we should just bring back the 3 noble characters for new players, then perhaps make it easier to get the 4th noble?
1) 10? fame
2) 5? medals
3) 2? years

It currently 5 fame for 3 nobles, 20 fame for +1 active character, +1 active character for 5 medals, which I am unsure of how that is easyish, +1 for donating although thats limited timewise based on how much you donated, and instead of 5 medals you can also be a long time player, although it doesn't say how long is a long time player.

[Buffalkill]

It currently 5 fame for 3 nobles, 20 fame for +1 active character, +1 active character for 5 medals, which I am unsure of how that is easyish, +1 for donating although thats limited timewise based on how much you donated, and instead of 5 medals you can also be a long time player, although it doesn't say how long is a long time player.

Does anybody get medals anymore?

[Kwanstein]

This is right. But new players probably should have possibility for more chars. Because when you know nothing about the game and you occasionally pick the realm which is inactive and boring - it is discouraging.

In order to get medals, you either have to befriend people with lots of medals or else post really really awesome roleplays where they can see. Doing these things will probably get you the medals you crave, after one year.

[Ketchum]

Does anybody get medals anymore?

Got, I just give those medals to people who are talking in the realms and those I found interesting, fun and trusted. So go on, continue talking in the realm and make things interesting in game, who know, someone will reward you with medals

Back on topic though. Roleplay as a Sub-Board on its own is nice, it used to gather a lot of followers back then. Under Local board, people may not read it as people have their own islands preference to read...

About closing island. Do take the Uniqueness of islands into account and each other players input. For example, some islands have like 1 turn a day is good for older players or those who prefer playing slow. Maybe we can drown those rogue regions instead, redraw maps though I know this likely to be rejected.

[Atanamir]

Tom, please please please let new players have three starting nobles, not two.

+1
This is very important to return.
Based on the feedback I get as well from mentored players.

[Gustav Kuriga]

Not necessarily. More characters can actually lead to less time per character and that can result to more silent zombies.

You are not required to use every noble slot you have available, you know. Up until the last few days, I had only one noble around because I was having time issues, and I'm able to have 3 nobles (still... after 3 years on this account).