General Forum
So tom/blame 8 replies
Any plans to ever promote this website...even a little?
Getting a player base would be nice. I miss playing Nations.
Getting a player base would be nice. I miss playing Nations.
[Added at 11/29/2013 02:08:08 by Sal]
Title supposed to be Tom/Blake*
How would you recommend they promote it? As of right now it wouldn't be worth tossing any money into promotion.
I think right now if you want the site promoted, its going to rely on users to spread the word and bring their friends here. Toss up status updates on Facebook, or random forums. If the 15 or so active Nations players recruited 2 or 3 each you'd have a half decent top 50.
The only other thing I can think of as far as promotions go would be to somehow link a game to facebook to get traffic. But that would require a bit of work.
I think right now if you want the site promoted, its going to rely on users to spread the word and bring their friends here. Toss up status updates on Facebook, or random forums. If the 15 or so active Nations players recruited 2 or 3 each you'd have a half decent top 50.
The only other thing I can think of as far as promotions go would be to somehow link a game to facebook to get traffic. But that would require a bit of work.
Wouldn't that bit of work be worth it? I mean right now the Admins have literally no incentive to do anything for this website because it's legitimately dead.
Are the games outdated? Yes. Are they still playable tho? Definitely. TL is a good clicker for people bored at work. Nations is a nice little game that's kind of like all the really big browser strategy games out there currently except much more straight forward and way less time consuming.
Maybe you guys can also bring back that dragon game. I don't quite remember the full name, but it was fun.
If anything, there's gotta be websites where you have to pay little to nothing in order to be part of a list of games people search for, etc.
I'm just saying, with such a small community, we kinda have to promote it or kill it.
Are the games outdated? Yes. Are they still playable tho? Definitely. TL is a good clicker for people bored at work. Nations is a nice little game that's kind of like all the really big browser strategy games out there currently except much more straight forward and way less time consuming.
Maybe you guys can also bring back that dragon game. I don't quite remember the full name, but it was fun.
If anything, there's gotta be websites where you have to pay little to nothing in order to be part of a list of games people search for, etc.
I'm just saying, with such a small community, we kinda have to promote it or kill it.
For starters they could make the site mobile friendly! Then they could promote on social media. If they promoted now it'd be a waste because it's such a pain on a phone
So what's the point of promotion?
Even if you successfully recommend this site to a million people, not one of them will stay unless there was some sort of incentive for them to do so, and at the moment, there is none. And for good reasons.
This site is an absolute wreck.
The community, which is the reason *I* stayed, have been on life-support for the past few years. I can confidently say that it's finally dead. Only the core still remains, and only just barely.
The games will surely attract new members, but only if you rolled back the clock fifteen years and return to the late 1990s. In this so-called Gaming Era, do you seriously expect Nations or Terran Legacy to capture the minds of the new generation who grew up with Halo and WoW? My phone have better games than this site. Now I'm not saying text-based is purely dead, but unlike Dwarf Fortress, neither of these games are very challenging.
The forums itself is extremely limited, as it couldn't even support a simple image upload or an actual edit function. The homepage is a joke... Oh look. Chat's dead again. Oh darn.
But the worse aspect of this site has to be the admins. I like Tom and Blake, I really do, but since I've left in late 2011, have they implemented any serious changes to this site at all? It's been two years. Wars have been started and won in less time than that. They must have twenty or more ideas to save this site, but such was the same situation in the late 2000s, when they amazed and dazzled us with great concepts that went nowhere. It appears that the trophy system, which was introduced shortly before I quit, hasn't even been properly integrated with the site yet. All they've essentially done is dangle false hope in front of us and then yank it away. I've seen this happen more than I would have like. But I know how hard it must be to find inspiration to do so much for a site that's likely already dead so I don't really blame them.
I don't know which direction this site should take to be successful again, but I firmly believe that before promotion, this site has to change. Otherwise, if you can't hold onto them, it'll just be a giant waste of money.
This has been Jing, and that is my last post for the year. I really don't expect a full 180, but it's always fun to rant a bit, so there is that.
Ta.
Even if you successfully recommend this site to a million people, not one of them will stay unless there was some sort of incentive for them to do so, and at the moment, there is none. And for good reasons.
This site is an absolute wreck.
The community, which is the reason *I* stayed, have been on life-support for the past few years. I can confidently say that it's finally dead. Only the core still remains, and only just barely.
The games will surely attract new members, but only if you rolled back the clock fifteen years and return to the late 1990s. In this so-called Gaming Era, do you seriously expect Nations or Terran Legacy to capture the minds of the new generation who grew up with Halo and WoW? My phone have better games than this site. Now I'm not saying text-based is purely dead, but unlike Dwarf Fortress, neither of these games are very challenging.
The forums itself is extremely limited, as it couldn't even support a simple image upload or an actual edit function. The homepage is a joke... Oh look. Chat's dead again. Oh darn.
But the worse aspect of this site has to be the admins. I like Tom and Blake, I really do, but since I've left in late 2011, have they implemented any serious changes to this site at all? It's been two years. Wars have been started and won in less time than that. They must have twenty or more ideas to save this site, but such was the same situation in the late 2000s, when they amazed and dazzled us with great concepts that went nowhere. It appears that the trophy system, which was introduced shortly before I quit, hasn't even been properly integrated with the site yet. All they've essentially done is dangle false hope in front of us and then yank it away. I've seen this happen more than I would have like. But I know how hard it must be to find inspiration to do so much for a site that's likely already dead so I don't really blame them.
I don't know which direction this site should take to be successful again, but I firmly believe that before promotion, this site has to change. Otherwise, if you can't hold onto them, it'll just be a giant waste of money.
This has been Jing, and that is my last post for the year. I really don't expect a full 180, but it's always fun to rant a bit, so there is that.
Ta.
When games like cookie clicker and candy box are making a killing out there, yes I think TL and Nations can still hold up as "I'm bored out of my i love you mind" games.
In my opinion, a web site with deprecated CSS, HTML, and the lack of communication and frequent updates shows enough about the publisher's and owner's responsibilities of keeping this site modern.
Fact of the matter is the site stopped being modern in the early 2000's and, as Jing said, in two or so years noone wanted to spend more than 48 hours of time working on any aspect of this site.
Given, I also believe a problem stems from the fact that there is no valid ownership or way of offering services to build upon this site. In other words, nothing is open sourced and there is no application to become a networker, or programmer, or anything at all for that matter.
I do frequent Netnexus to see if anything changes, and I'm still even sad to see that the text editor I'm using on the forums is not even a modern text editor (WYSIWYG) that allows me to post images or do any other cool things that could easily be integrated in a modern web site using more simple CMS's. Then again, this site was never a content based site, but if it is trying to be a site that offers games, then I'd have to say it's been trumped for over two decades by sites like addictinggames, miniclip, and anything else that transitioned into the Java/Flash/Multimedia age before Netnexus even got to getting an admin to make an announcement post about any "actual" changes and not just "planned" changes.
End of rant, part deux.
Fact of the matter is the site stopped being modern in the early 2000's and, as Jing said, in two or so years noone wanted to spend more than 48 hours of time working on any aspect of this site.
Given, I also believe a problem stems from the fact that there is no valid ownership or way of offering services to build upon this site. In other words, nothing is open sourced and there is no application to become a networker, or programmer, or anything at all for that matter.
I do frequent Netnexus to see if anything changes, and I'm still even sad to see that the text editor I'm using on the forums is not even a modern text editor (WYSIWYG) that allows me to post images or do any other cool things that could easily be integrated in a modern web site using more simple CMS's. Then again, this site was never a content based site, but if it is trying to be a site that offers games, then I'd have to say it's been trumped for over two decades by sites like addictinggames, miniclip, and anything else that transitioned into the Java/Flash/Multimedia age before Netnexus even got to getting an admin to make an announcement post about any "actual" changes and not just "planned" changes.
End of rant, part deux.
This may sound a bit harsh, so I apologize in advance.
Sal, you can't just point to a successful clicker and say that if they can do it, if they can be popular, so can Nations and Terran Legacy. They are the exception, not the general norm. In fact, Cookie Clicker is not even text-based. It's flash/java. Furthermore, unlike the games on this site, both are relatively new, which means they are the most recent flavors of the month. Remember Winnie The Pooh's Home Run Derby? So popular it became a meme? Or Minecraft? Super popular during beta, not so much now that it's finally released. Yeah, kind of like that. Hype will slow down and the novelty will wear off, then they too must adapt or die.
Not only is Nations riddled with problems and imbalances, also lack of players, it's over a decade old and it absolutely shows. I can't say the same for TL, since the last time I've tried to play it seriously was in the late 2004s, but I'm going to assume that it has even less replay value than Nations. No real builds, no special weapons. MP arena is... okay. But the moment you reach the top, there's no reason to start all over from the bottom. Because what will you do differently now? Is it worth it to grind dozens more hours just so you can say you have two characters who are exactly the same? Or do you take sadistic pleasure in slowly rotting your braincells with endless grinds? At least in Nations, there was actually some level of competition, even if it boils down to a popularity contest and whoever can afford VIP. Good luck trying to attract new players with those credentials.
As stated before, this is a Era of the Gaming Industries. Back in the 90s, our choices were severely limited by demand and availability. Now, people have options. Tons of. Computers aside, I really have more games in my phone than this entire site. Some of them are even free.
No one wants to waste hours in Space Invaders when you can play Mass Effect instead. Or Wolfenstein rather than the legendary Last of Us(or GTAV for the rest of you). This is what Nations essentially is now, outdated and irrelevant. For every game like Nations out there, there are a hundred more games that are a hundred times better. All of them newer, flashier, but most of all, often heralded by devoted and active programer(s) with a general idea which direction to strive towards for success. Fresh blood.
Whether you know it or not, Netnexus have to compete with THEM for gamers. Everyday. And competition grows larger each year. The outlook is grim no? To make matters worse, this site is failing to adapt and now it's likely going to die. It is still sustained by nostalgia, but memories have their limits, even good ones.
In theory, Netnexus have a chance to rebound from this and become successful, but it won't be because of Nations or Terran Legacy. Their time came and went in the 90s or 00s. Instead, it would be largely decided on what the admins and mods will do in the coming years. What will they change? What new games will they introduce? Will it be enough. Or will they just scrap their plans and sit around as they have done so so many times in the past?
Unfortunately, I do not have a time machine so I have absolutely no clue. But no pressure, right?
TL;DR
You're wrong, Sal.
This is Jing's long lost brother so technically he didn't break any promises. This will be my last post for the year too!
Sal, you can't just point to a successful clicker and say that if they can do it, if they can be popular, so can Nations and Terran Legacy. They are the exception, not the general norm. In fact, Cookie Clicker is not even text-based. It's flash/java. Furthermore, unlike the games on this site, both are relatively new, which means they are the most recent flavors of the month. Remember Winnie The Pooh's Home Run Derby? So popular it became a meme? Or Minecraft? Super popular during beta, not so much now that it's finally released. Yeah, kind of like that. Hype will slow down and the novelty will wear off, then they too must adapt or die.
Not only is Nations riddled with problems and imbalances, also lack of players, it's over a decade old and it absolutely shows. I can't say the same for TL, since the last time I've tried to play it seriously was in the late 2004s, but I'm going to assume that it has even less replay value than Nations. No real builds, no special weapons. MP arena is... okay. But the moment you reach the top, there's no reason to start all over from the bottom. Because what will you do differently now? Is it worth it to grind dozens more hours just so you can say you have two characters who are exactly the same? Or do you take sadistic pleasure in slowly rotting your braincells with endless grinds? At least in Nations, there was actually some level of competition, even if it boils down to a popularity contest and whoever can afford VIP. Good luck trying to attract new players with those credentials.
As stated before, this is a Era of the Gaming Industries. Back in the 90s, our choices were severely limited by demand and availability. Now, people have options. Tons of. Computers aside, I really have more games in my phone than this entire site. Some of them are even free.
No one wants to waste hours in Space Invaders when you can play Mass Effect instead. Or Wolfenstein rather than the legendary Last of Us(or GTAV for the rest of you). This is what Nations essentially is now, outdated and irrelevant. For every game like Nations out there, there are a hundred more games that are a hundred times better. All of them newer, flashier, but most of all, often heralded by devoted and active programer(s) with a general idea which direction to strive towards for success. Fresh blood.
Whether you know it or not, Netnexus have to compete with THEM for gamers. Everyday. And competition grows larger each year. The outlook is grim no? To make matters worse, this site is failing to adapt and now it's likely going to die. It is still sustained by nostalgia, but memories have their limits, even good ones.
In theory, Netnexus have a chance to rebound from this and become successful, but it won't be because of Nations or Terran Legacy. Their time came and went in the 90s or 00s. Instead, it would be largely decided on what the admins and mods will do in the coming years. What will they change? What new games will they introduce? Will it be enough. Or will they just scrap their plans and sit around as they have done so so many times in the past?
Unfortunately, I do not have a time machine so I have absolutely no clue. But no pressure, right?
TL;DR
You're wrong, Sal.
This is Jing's long lost brother so technically he didn't break any promises. This will be my last post for the year too!
I totally agree with the above. In all honesty I think the age of the text based games has come and gone.
That being said, Nations and Terran Legacy are good games in principle. If they were given a facelift with interactive graphics, and some additions made to the gameplay itself, there could be hope. Especially if the admins were willing to spend the time to add social media integration of some kind.
That being said, Nations and Terran Legacy are good games in principle. If they were given a facelift with interactive graphics, and some additions made to the gameplay itself, there could be hope. Especially if the admins were willing to spend the time to add social media integration of some kind.