[Tyhm]

My ideas are getting buried in the Lifetime Classic thread, so I'll start a few new ones.

Newbie World
Purpose: to convince players to stick with Graal long enough to want to upgrade.
Options: We can use an existing world, we can make a new world, we can make it the hub world, we can hypothetically make it the new Gold world with modes for Trial, Classic, and Gold players. We can set it up so Trials can play but can't send packets to the server, set it up so they can save via password like the old Nintendo games, or set it up so they're treated almost as well as Classic players up to the End Of Disc One - Upgrade Now To Continue (though Hackers will be an issue)
Expansion: Yeah, I got nothin'
Requires: another server, special rules on Trial Players for that server, possibly permission to let Trials use passwords to pseudo-save

I think this is the big thing Graal's been lacking over the past 3 or so years. Ever since Classic stopped being free - I haven't seen the numbers, but I can't imagine that newbie subscription rates have been all that high. And why not? Because they come to the site, assuming they navigate to downloading the game (the site has its own discussion) they're thrown at the server list, they guess a world at random and play a heavily disabled game they can't get invested in (because nothing they do is even remotely recorded), they probably guess a world that's hard to get into and/or is geared at people with -80ac and level50 weapons that complain that worm lords only give a measly 3000xp, and ultimately these newbies decide that if the game doesn't want them they'll leave. So we need to make a world like what I tried (and failed, I know) to do with Classic - a world where you always know where you're supposed to go, a world where the shy kids have something to do until they inevitable get drawn into the online community and where the social kids can't wait to get their account unlocked so they can be just like everyone else.

Since I'm talking to players rather than admins here, I imagine few of you are going to take exception to the thought of just giving away access to newbies - but what Are your concerns?