Most Important Server Aspects?
 

So I just realized... I haven't made a poll for anything in a looooong time. I figure now's a good time to fix that.

What I want to know is, what are the most important aspects of a server to you?

I ask simply because I'm curious, and it might be useful for server developers to see what matters most to general players. Since a lot of us tend to disagree on what should be focused on more when creating a server, I figured it would be a good idea to get some concrete demographics laid out on the subject.

I voted for events. Think about it, why else play UN, npulse, babylon,etc? I guesss guild life is important too, but that isnt simething that will keep players on

They're all equally as important as each other (fp4 lol), however; I like interaction between players so I decided on PvP content.

I completely agree. But voting for all of them doesn't really give us a good picture of what the community as a whole cares about more.

They all can be important, but I wouldn't say they're all equally important, especially depending on what type of server it is. On a server like Era, it's hard to argue that roleplaying is as important as PvP.

Take note that you can vote for multiple aspects in this poll. Though all are important to the creation of a server, the key to this poll is voting for aspects that particularly draw you into a server.

For this poll, you kind of have to imagine we're not dealing with any server in particular. Servers that have been previously established already have their own priorities. This is just to get an idea of what developers might want to focus on if they're starting out fresh.
Exactly.

In my experience there are two main elements within which everything else functions; Indirect & Direct player competition. So long as a server has direct competition (PvP) and indirect competition (Influence) it has a recipe for success.

As an example, content is a means to level and acquire wealth so that you may effectively perform in player skirmishes. Roleplaying and leadership serve to influence other players towards your cause.

PvP is by far the most important for me, but WoW proves that you can get away with PvE and suckers will still flock to it because they get some sense of accomplishment fighting an NPC rather than using real skill vs another player.

I've been through a fair number of fights on there that actually require some degree of skill. But yeah, I know what you mean. A lot of PvE content on Graal is just hard to make challenging. The best AI I've seen is the bots on Zone, and even those have some level of weakness.

Quite surprised to see players versus player to be a higher ranked option. Not surprised however by the choice for content updates.

As a player-based poll it's very important to recognize that players do not necessarily understand what they want, especially in younger audiences.

I don't think you can really highlight one aspect over another in this way as they are serving different purposes, which will effect newer and older players differently or have benefits that range between short term and long term etc.
When designing a server it is important to do so around a main hook which will set the server apart, but eventually you need to look at the cumulative effect of all it's different aspects and decide whether there's enough balance, in order to satisfy as many different types of player as possible.

As far as "character customization" goes...it's a shallow pond. Unless you're using custom bodies, it should generally be universal to setbody, sethead, etc. including color optimization. (Discerning hats possibly due to the fact they're used often as items to be acquired.)

Big difference between what players want and what developers think is best, brah. That's the whole point of even putting the poll up to begin with. You and I know very well that players don't always know what's best, and developers don't always give players what they want.
Character customization relates to more than just what your character looks like. It's stuff like being able to make your character faster, stronger, more resilient, and so on.
I do.

Everyone is in agreement that all of these things are important. But there's nothing wrong with preferring a few main things over others.

I'm not saying there is something wrong with having preferences, that is an inevitability. When considering demographics there isn't just one category of potential players, Graal is somewhat split between current players, older players who lost interest but still visit occasionally, migrating iPhone players and then there's any player who visits for the first time in future. So what I'm saying is that you need to form a strategy towards multiple different perspectives, as opposed to rolling everyone into the same general category.

I feel the same way.

You don't think a poll open to everyone samples from 'multiple different perspectives?'

I vote for a non-listed ballot and say "Progression", otherwise i'll put my vote in and say Quest and Storyline with Roleplay.

It was hard to pick specific categories; I was tempted just to check all of them except role playing and be done with it. If you posed the question more simply, such as "Which is your favorite?" and had options like "Competitive PKing", "Friendly Events & Entertainment", etc. you may have more accurate results.

Once your most popular categories are determined you could begin investigating them more thoroughly...

Something I've seen as an aspect of a lot of servers is the need they seem to feel to have a huge open overworld on one gmap. I really don't like this idea much, and would often love to see servers take on the aspect of separate gmaps for separate areas. I've introduced the idea to several servers I've worked at, only to hear "Nah, it doesn't work for nation wars...". Because apparently moving and defending from one area to the next destroys wars while running in a straight line doesn't. o.o

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...f?t=1281008350

Bravo sir! You'd be very surprised what some level links and imagination are capable of, everybody.

What I like is a server that puts effort into the details rather than the whole. Many servers will complete something and release it simply because it's functional, rather than going the extra steps to really make it presentable.

It's worth nothing that this is pretty much the exact opposite of what most players on Graal want, though, even if they won't admit it (at least on Era).

Can you back this up with circumstances that prove this? When did Era players ever show that they didn't like attention to detail?

It kind of interests me to see what Stefan voted on.

Minigames and Events, but not Staff Support and Content Updates. Hmmmm. ;)

Just look at some of the things that have been released lately. There are lots of unrounded corners and broken things (the gang system especially) but they often get lots of positive feedback, especially initially after the release. Much of this depends on the climate (whether people like the current administration), but I think it's undeniable that most players don't care too much about polishing.

I've seen this on more servers than Era, too. Back when Graal was at its peak, lots of servers weren't ran professionally and had pretty bad scripting/images/levels, but were still very popular. I suspect it's simply a side effect of the relatively young audience (especially in the past).

So it's not a case of players not liking detail, but having no problem with lack of detail.

I think the problem is that players are settling without knowing what can be done. Atlantis is a good example of a server that pays attention to the details, and I feel that once Atlantis is finally released that maybe players will be able to appreciate this more. It's never exactly been uncommon knowledge that Graal players seem to have low standards, but that's not really an excuse to settle with just releasing the bare minimum.

Anyways, this is what I mean. I like a server that pushes beyond what they know the players will be happy with and truly try for quality content. iPhone Classic is a example of a server that pushed by with the bare minimum. In fact, when it released there wasn't even interior levels. It was just an overworld, that's it. But it was still insanely successful. But I feel developers should try to do better than just bare minimum. It's the same kind of attitude that separates games like Call of Duty, that will push a game out every year knowing they're still gonna make money, from games like Shadow of the Colossus that takes their time and in the end makes a quality game that pushes the limits of what players should come to expect from games, even if they don't realize it.

Thanks for describing Zolderon. ;)

As of right now it is Questing and Storyline Objectives which has the most votes, which actually kindof suits me as this is the primary focus behind Classic. Then I look at who's voted, and it seems that most of the voters are a developer/staff of a server rather than purely a player, while most subscribed players, aswell as every player without a previously subscribed account due to the fact they are unable, do not use the forum.

I'm glad that a high number of developers/staff see storyline/questing as a solution, but I believe this poll is unintentionally biased and not really a true reflection of the general playerbase, where I would also expect aspects such as Events and Economy to provide a much higher preference. However it would ofcourse be very difficult to obtain an entirely accurate reflection from the general playerbase.

I honestly don't see storylines fitting into MMO games very well, unless planned in a way that fits what's going on in an MMO. You have to remember that the player is entering a world with lots of other players doing the same thing, and the player will eventually want to take on their own role in their own way. Forcing a player down a linear story path that every other player is apparently being forced down makes no sense from the players perspective. So every player is now an orphan who's parents were slain by a tyrannical king and their quest is to take down the king? Every player? What if they don't want to be an orphan? And more importantly, every player in the world is an orphan that succumbed to the same misfortunate events?

I feel in an MMO environment it's much better to focus the story on the history of the world, and on the current world itself, instead of the player. Focus on what happened before the player came along, and what's going on with say, a specific town, or the NPCs in a town. Let the player decide what to do with their own experience and focus on the world that all of the players are inhabiting together.

Say what you will, but we've already got some decent figures regardless of who is voting.
Well, yeah.