Server activity

[Txboy1234]

I'm sure as we all know our server including the others have lost alot of traffic within them but our zombie server has noticed the biggest decline in them. Now i've been hearing talk about this is the end of blocktopia and classic as we know it. So I went along on the minecraft server list and looked up other zombie servers and I notice they are full while in ours we have 6 people yes that is correct we have 6, they have 35. There is something wrong with this picture. I think it means we are doing something wrong that isn't bringing people here. Sure the other servers have bad rules which include allowing pillars and such but that can't be keeping people from coming here.

We have to come up with ideas to bring people back here, nothing like the halloween stuff. I'm not sure what we can do but we have to do it.

Is there any chance that the rollback in the server could have effected people being able to connect to our server? Is there a chance that alot of former banned players that used to come to this server that were unbanned are banned again?

I went to the Ablocks server and I notice they have a new texture pack in that server, maybe we could give that a try?

Any thoughts on this? I just thought of this not long ago and decided to post this.

 

[Wink]

Well, over my time here at Blocktopia a thing I've grown to love is the playerbase. Maybe its not everyone's cup of tea, but the members of our playerbase just pull me in for some reason, an attraction of sorts. Perhaps why our server activity is dwindling is a lack of new players who are attracted to our playerbase.

Now, as you said, event announcements are surely not getting to players who aren't part of our playerbase already. Maybe inviting friends when the population is low may help attract other players on, since the server is fuller. Or maybe we need to dig deeper.

 

[Txboy1234]

I agree with Traps deal with other zombie servers and their /store. That should be seriously looked at for future use.

 

[Mccuish]

i'm not sure if zombie really needs a store

 

[Awwwyea]

Not because the server is boring, no not at all.

Life is going downhill fast. I'm too scatterbrained to explain why right now but I'll try my best if you really want to read a rant of mine.

 

[Txboy1234]

Winx said he is gonna bring in a new ranking system soon that once you reach a certain karma your rank will change.

Edit: Go ahead Awwwyea

Edit #2 @trap's post about pointless awards and such. I lmao at that and it's all true. It's all pointless in life but yet most people want to get those awards.

 

[Trap_Wolf]

THERE WAS A LOT OF STUFF I POSTED AND DELETED. IGNORE ME.

 

[Awwwyea]

Mmm, nah, because of that I'll pass. When someone quotes their own post because they don't trust what I said (being the truth even), I don't think I'll waste the time. Sorry.

 

[Duffie]

When I lost interest of Zombie Survival, it all started out from being unable to play Zombie Survival. I guess you could say what kept me going was my on-going playtime with the server. Soon after, though, WoM changed, which made me sad. I was also demoted for inactivity, so I basically just left Zombie Survival.

I checked out the Alpha SMP server, played for a while, thought it was cool. I didn't really start playing SMP until Beta, due to how laggy it was.

But, the main thing is, I left due to change... I guess you could say.

Perhaps the playerbase is just moving on.

But don't worry. As players move on, players move in. I believe that Zombie Survival is just unheard right now, or currently having the inability of access for some people.

More likely the latter, if you ask me.

 

[Mikey]

The years have I been in [Blocktopia] Zombie Survival - it's always been the most popular. aBlockz is are real competitor, but who gives a shit. Most communities don't last as long as ours anyway, give it some time after this reset and will gain some more people.

Rotation - yes Trap said it all, update it!

Staff - be active for god sakes, that counts for Controllers+

Staffing - This is something I have been seeing so much lately, I'm not sure if this scares people off - but if someone breaks a rule they have 16 people telling them not to do it, Lava had a rule that said don't backseat staff - kinda can be put into use for here, after an Op says something, it doesn't need to be repeated 10 more times to attack the rulebreaker that may have done it on accident. If an trusted+ doesn't see it, tell them to handle it, if their not on, then you handle it. Moreover, I feel the other servers staff a tad more lenient, I'm not saying don't warn someone for spleefing or being unreachable, but if they call someone a noob let it slide, this isn't a school, children want to have fun.

Store - ehh. I don't know we've had one - the surviving ranks wouldn't be a terrible idea though (trade in karma for rank) mm? 500 human karma 75 zombie karma = beginner?

Overall, I don't think it is time to worry quite yet as we have an average of 15 - 25ish people on.

 

[JWB101197]

This has honestly been worrying me for a long time now.

Looking at other servers and how, even though they almost all use that crappy MCDZienny software, they somehow manage to have 30+ players most of the time even at day during my timezone, when we have about 5 people on at most.

While I may be taking this to the extreme, I believe that something drastic needs to happen if our server is to regain it's high traffic, which it used to have.

I often hear complaints from other players on different servers, like 'oh their rules are too strict' or 'there are too many rules' etc etc. This is the kind of thing that could possibly bring more traffic to the server. For example, the no camoflague skin rule, I personally think that that rule is, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. When I first joined this community, there was no problem with camo skins. Sure, not everyone could or would use them, but the people who did didn't immensely benefit from them, they of course used it to their advantage in some way, but they sure as hell weren't game-changing. And while I understand that the players who haven't purchased the game can't use them, should it really matter? The skins aren't so incredibly overpowered and anyone who knows how to scan for names can just as easily find them as someone wearing a normal skin. The only tactic that people with camoflague skins can use is to hide against a wall of their textured skin in the open. But this leaves them exceptionally vulnerable, and it's often done just for fun.

I also agree with Trap, we need some kind of incentive to reward players. Pre-fixed titles, some kind of award or emblem, perhaps something as simple as different emoticons for titles and different coloured titles. Nothing that affects gameplay, but is purely for aesthetics. Perhaps you could earn different titles when you reach certain milestones in regards to karma, etc. And you could switch between these titles that you've earned when you like through a command that would show you all the titles you've earned. The majority of our playerbase WILL get bored of the same old gameplay over and over again without any incentive to keep playing. All aspects of the /board are fastly becoming unreachable by any new players, as we see experienced players skyrocketing up the /boards. A new player has not a hope in hell of getting even on the top 20 when we see people already on 4000+ human karma. Some kind of point system in exchange for certain pre-fixed titles or even ranks which could grant you more titles, and access to some very basic building commands, like /paint. We could even think of implementing more commands that vary gameplay in a round, commands that are somewhat like /powerpill or /hardcore. Different commands that could completely alter the gameplay of a round, or even possibly a new gamemode if plausible. We need unique maps that offer a completely new style of gameplay. A skydive map, thousands of blocks high with a portal at the bottom that would bring you back to the top. Or a vastly long, yet narrow map that players have to race through to get to the portal which would then teleport them to a map above. Maps like sewers, nobuildfog and 8bit are all great examples of maps that offer incredibly diverse gameplay and vary survival strategies and zombie strategies.

Something really needs to be done as it's a chain reaction, the less people on the server, the quicker the people who still play will get bored, then they themselves may leave due to boredom, thus leaving us with little to no players. This may be taking it to the extreme, but we could even get some sort of petition going to properly re-add classic back to the minecraft.net homepage, not that crummy 'looking for minecraft classic?' but a proper page for it. Who knows, one day we may even see our server get back to how it was in early 2011, 35/35 almost all the time.

EDIT: Something that I personally feel should be implemented is a much more simpler way to appeal. Something that is actually on the homepage of blocktopia.net, not something hidden away as a forum section that can only be accessed after going through the registration process. There should be a button on the homepage that a user would click on that could lead them to a google docs form, which would contain the current ban appeal format, possibly in many different languages, and the user would simply fill out the form, provide an e-mail address and be told to check their e-mail over the next week or so to find out how long they will be banned for. They won't be required to respond to the appeal and it will all be handled internally between the operators+

 

[Hardneck]

I don't know what's been happening here or at aBlockz in the past few months, but I noticed that at least, minor or not, that there are quite a few maps in the rotation which do not really leave a good expression for the server. This might be the case with some of the new maps. I'm not going to bash specific maps, but either they completely lack any gameplay at all, meaning their structure is too simple, or they frustrate new players, mostly as zombies, because they can't catch any humans (have to mention blockfactory here). Actual runner maps, smaller maps with shorter round times and occasional balanced maps (i.e babel, reactor etc) are the way to go imo. Aside from that, I agree with a lot of stuff that has been suggested here.

 

[Nottykitten]

I often hear complaints from other players on different servers, like 'oh their rules are too strict' or 'there are too many rules' etc etc. This is the kind of thing that could possibly bring more traffic to the server. For example, the no camoflague skin rule, I personally think that that rule is, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. When I first joined this community, there was no problem with camo skins. Sure, not everyone could or would use them, but the people who did didn't immensely benefit from them, they of course used it to their advantage in some way, but they sure as hell weren't game-changing. And while I understand that the players who haven't purchased the game can't use them, should it really matter? The skins aren't so incredibly overpowered and anyone who knows how to scan for names can just as easily find them as someone wearing a normal skin. The only tactic that people with camoflague skins can use is to hide against a wall of their textured skin in the open. But this leaves them exceptionally vulnerable, and it's often done just for fun.

When it was allowed, we mostly had one or two adminium/bedrock skinned people. They would stand against walls like the walls on narrows, and none would see them from a distance.
Ofcourse as you say this is not that much of a problem. But soon after that the number raised to 10 people with bedrock skins, or even more. This was pretty rediculous as they just won by standing against those walls.
I think its been changed as alot of people used/abused it.

I also agree with Trap, we need some kind of incentive to reward players. Pre-fixed titles, some kind of award or emblem, perhaps something as simple as different emoticons for titles and different coloured titles. Nothing that affects gameplay, but is purely for aesthetics. Perhaps you could earn different titles when you reach certain milestones in regards to karma, etc. And you could switch between these titles that you've earned when you like through a command that would show you all the titles you've earned. The majority of our playerbase WILL get bored of the same old gameplay over and over again without any incentive to keep playing. All aspects of the /board are fastly becoming unreachable by any new players, as we see experienced players skyrocketing up the /boards. A new player has not a hope in hell of getting even on the top 20 when we see people already on 4000+ human karma. Some kind of point system in exchange for certain pre-fixed titles or even ranks which could grant you more titles, and access to some very basic building commands, like /paint. We could even think of implementing more commands that vary gameplay in a round, commands that are somewhat like /powerpill or /hardcore. Different commands that could completely alter the gameplay of a round, or even possibly a new gamemode if plausible. We need unique maps that offer a completely new style of gameplay. A skydive map, thousands of blocks high with a portal at the bottom that would bring you back to the top. Or a vastly long, yet narrow map that players have to race through to get to the portal which would then teleport them to a map above. Maps like sewers, nobuildfog and 8bit are all great examples of maps that offer incredibly diverse gameplay and vary survival strategies and zombie strategies.

Agree, but not the reward part. The part with the unfair balance of pro/new players.
Someone with 4000+ human karma is almost impossible to pass, unless you spent more than 200+ hours on the server within a few weeks. [Is much]
Therefor I think it would be better to also have things like Karma/hours. The amount of human/zombie karma you have gotten within your time of gameplay.
[Example: One has 4000 Human karma and 500 zombie karma. And 200 hours timeonline. His Human/hours
would be 4000/200 (= 20) and his Zombie/hours would be 500/200 (= 2,5)]
I think this is a way to equal the system more so if you have alot of skills, you can get high up there too. And it doesnt rely on timeonline anymore.


Also, the server isn't really that much dieing. I see a white zombie join perhaps 3 times a minute. [Atleast 1 a minute] And then the Ops would have to change its color. But really, 3 new players a minute? That isnt like we are dieing out. As its pretty much. I think the reason they dont come back is the low playerbase.
Why come on a server with usualy 12 people on it?
I think if we can keep the average people on the server 30+ for a few days, newer players will stick around and the server will have atleast 20 players again. And that in its reaction will attract more, and eventually perhaps get us back to 30.

If that makes any sense to you...

 

[Night_Slayer_]

I'll go undercover on other servers and report back

Ablocks:

Spoiler

Unlimited blocks.
Its not a german server so could it be connnection?
Its at the top of the classic server list..more advertisement?

 

[HarmakAnna]

Here's what I think happened.

When the link to the Classic server list was removed from the front page, almost every server experienced some sort of drop in players since everyone went to play the demo. However, something that they did brought more players back and playing. Something we didn't do.

Maybe implementing the above might work?

 

[Notme]

It already happened to Lava.... Premium servers are now much more addicting since Adventure Update...

Now WoM isn't working, so this may be cause of playerbase drop.

So servers are still alive, but players simply shifted to Premium.
Classic servers are very stable, and Premium keeps evolving month-by-month.

So this was my $0.02

 

[Chillingworth]

Honestly, I think it's because our server doesn't show up in the WoM list for some reason. I have to direct connect on WoM.

 

[Txboy1234]

Earlier I was told Ablocks had crashed, 5 mins later we had a full server. Then about another 10 mins later it was back down to 15 .-.

 

[Theodorre]

I agree with the posts above. I also believe that player familiarity plays an important role in a popular server. We recently lost quite a lot of our regular players, and since then, obviously, we've had very little traffic. During that period in early October, when we couldn't access our ZS server, I visited some other Zombie servers. And to be honest, I hated them. But the players there all seemed to know each other. Players are more likely to regularly play on a server where they know others.

I believe that the server is just going through a rough period and will eventually become more popular again. :)

 

[Hahaha00000]

I visited some other Zombie servers. And to be honest, I hated them. But the players there all seemed to know each other. Players are more likely to regularly play on a server where they know others.

And with that I have something I want to say
Some of you might not know me but I was a regular player once. After what had happened in October a lot of things have changed. Not talking about status or every other stuff, but about the people whom I play with.
Some time later a lot of the operators resigned and I was greeted by a lot of new operators whom I don't really know, not to mention that quite a lot of my friends quitted ZS as well. I'm greeted by an entire group of new players (well not entirely) which I will have to find the motivation to introduce myself and get to know each of them.

This is much like the feeling you get when you visit a new server and try to meet up with new friends, except that the server was once a place you loved and belonged to but is no longer. I still support ZS but I'm afraid that the warm, fun and friendly atmosphere has left. Maybe we can try to restore it somehow?

 

[JKangaroo]

Spoiler

There are probably a lot of aspects that are at work here.
We've been seeing activity, basically on every classic server, not just zombie, decrease in previous, and most likely in the preceding months.
And in fact, there are probably so many reasons why that this is the case, that we probably can't think of them, or even discuss those topics anyways.

Honestly, how hold is Minecraft anyways?: It has to have been going on for at least 3 to 4 years now. Minecraft was still relevantly new back in 2011 and 2010, and as people were still skeptical about buying the game, Classic was always a nice choice in trying out Minecraft before actually purchasing either the Alpha, Beta, or now, to an extent, premium.
Even what Raxo said, Mojang's attempts to slow down traffic to classic servers, and their increased push for players to join into premium just go to show that Minecraft has shifted in a new direction, and that players most likely aren't going to waste much time dabbling in a lesser version of a game; especially one that the main company barely supports.
Now; despite my thoughts and belief that this idea is absolute bollocks, it is a strong possible reason, though I do feel there are a lot of points against this.

I don't consider the wiping of stats to be that much of a case of complaint honestly in terms of the server's decrease in activity. Obviously this is biased, but seriously, look at it; you shouldn't be playing on the server just because you want to continue playing just for the stats, but you should be here for the fun and the community, and not the silly, fake statistics; though they are a very, very nice goal to look forward to and attempt to gain.

But going on that fact: You should be here for the fun and the community.
What was it that Hahaha00000 said on that the server has just a bit of a less friendly atmosphere?
Well, really WHO are playing on the server now anyways?
In my opinion, I believe there are a number of factors to this.
From what I have seen, the majority of our current playerbase are either Operators who are playing (which tend to be many), as well as a large number of trusted.
We seem to have an over-saturation of staff on our server at the moment, and as these Operators / Trusted tend to be friends and apart of this group, many of the newer players (Though of course, many are just as likely to be terrible trolls that we don't especially want to join the server) can be turned off by this closeness, and feel left out.
I am not entirely certain where this idea can go, or what I was believing would come out of stating this, but I do feel this saturation of staff has an effect on what the server is becoming.

I agree with the idea that our server, like Lava did, needs more variety again. The same old Hide and Seek formula seems to be getting stale recently, and with how most maps lately are either overplayed to the point of becoming sick of them, or a variety of not as up-to-par maps being submitted into the rotation, there is a problem with this.
Although Powerpill and Hardcore have normally, and always been mainly used in small doses and in moderation, we have, at least in my experience, barely have seen these in use, which is a shame.
Powerpill and Hardcore pose unique challenges that can really spice up gameplay greatly.
If possible, it would be extremely nice if we can have automated times when Powerpill or Hardcore Mode are set off, and if possible, there can be just a new whole series of maps created just for the purpose for these styles of gameplay that is possessed.
And honestly, 10 second panics are terrible. I've seen tons of complaints from players who aren't used to them, and whenever they do occur, seeing the way our WoM traps are designed, most players tend to be slaughtered in seconds. It is an unfair, and honestly, extremely annoying thing. It should not be considered an alternative to adding variety to the server.

Anyways, I think JWB has a point, again, we do possibly need a new gamemode that does not include Powerpill or Hardcore.
WinX64
I don't know what engine / version you created this on (Like McForge.), and I know this doesn't entirely provide a different or unique experience that isn't already included in the normal Hide/Seek game-play style that is already incorporated into Zombies, but in any possible way your old Freeze-Tag Server can be somehow incorporated as like a small, more hectic version of the basic Zombie Survival formula? It was a solid piece of gameplay from what I, and the other testers experienced back when it was supposed to be for Epsilon.
I know this probably isn't the place for such a suggestion, and you probably need permission from some of the HC's for such an implementation, additionally it may not even work with the current engine that's running the Zombie server in the first place!...
But as the thread is basically on thoughts on the activity of the server, perhaps this is a relevant statement of you, and perhaps it may be a good addition, though it is just as likely that I do not know what I am talking about here and may just be a waste of time, but it is just a thought, and I would like your own thoughts based on that request / idea, if that is not too much to ask.

I feel I basically took some of the existing discussions from other people, and I also rambled (quite) a bit, but I feel some things needed more emphasis or just some things to talk about.

 

[Nillbugwtw]

This isn't simply a phenomenon within Zombie - all Classic servers are experiencing a slump. This is, in large part, due to(quoting KS):

1) Mojang changing where the link to Classic is on minecraft.net. (Which lead to quite a few complaints and they partially reverted the change).
2) Mojang changing the heartbeat server. (Which the conspiracy theorists would say was intentionally Mojang trying to get rid of Classic servers)!
3) WorldOfMinecraft failing to update, leading to skins not working and servers having to change in order to be seen on the WoM server lists.
4) Players coming on and seeing 3-4 players online and then leaving because not many people want to play a game with a relatively low amount of players on.
5) Classic is 3 years old on November 10th. When we think of all the changes between the current game which Mojang are selling, and the Classic version, it surprises me how long we’ve survived already.

I'm not particularly worried - activity comes in swells, and the holiday season has always been a swell. Moreover, we have plans for updates/events within Zombie, as well as plans for Classic servers as a whole, both of which should theoretically increase activity. Let's take a deep breath, people - nothing's coming to an end any time soon.

 

[Theodorre]

Not that this means a @#!*% of a lot, but ZS had over 20 players on yesterday, which was the first time I've seen it since we reset stats.

 

[hihihilolHI]

I don’t know about you guys, but I found most of my games through Youtube. That’s how I found out about Minecraft. I propose that there be an official Blocktopia Youtube account that has videos of gameplay and stuff of all the servers, to attract new players. (THIS CALLS FOR STEIBEN)

 

[JKangaroo]

I don’t know about you guys, but I found most of my games through Youtube. That’s how I found out about Minecraft. I propose that there be an official Blocktopia Youtube account that has videos of gameplay and stuff of all the servers, to attract new players. (THIS CALLS FOR STEIBEN)

There is an effect Youtube tends to cause that fairly defeats the purpose of using it to attract to players.
Have you noticed how many popular Youtuber's or communities tends to have a fairly large, and fairly loud presence of unsavory individuals who tend to ruin the experience for a more then silent majority, though that may not always be the case.

If a Youtube channel is truly a good idea, even if it possibly attracts some people to the community, you can't just place any random videos that involve gameplay of the server and other aspects; such things normally just appear just like any other random, Minecraft-video maker normally with bad audio and quality. There needs to be a standard to the production of the videos.
If videos are truly produced, which I doubt as a Blocktopia youtube channel has been brought up before in the past and I believe was not entirely used to an extent...

The channel should mainly include things such as
-introductions to the servers, explaining what each and every one is about, so newer players can obtain a grasp of the rules and basic concepts.
-Possible summary and explanations of maps, showing possible routes used by more active players, and providing tips for that specific map on its specified server, such as good ideas on where to hide on certain Zombie maps, good positions to attack the opposite team on TNT, and so on.
-Possible overviews of current staff explaining the process of becoming a staff member or trusted, explaining certain Op's personalities so they can feel more connected to the staff and feel comfortable being around them, which in turn will make them feel more at home in the community as a whole
-Gameplay, though not entirely that fantastic of a choice, is still a very good option when done correctly; though ones with commentary normally tend to be bad. Videos involving gameplay tend to give a better view on what each and every server is like, which is one of its major boons.

A youtube channel is by no means a fantastic choice in order to gain more recognition and gain more players. It is extremely hard-working, and takes up a large amount of time; this is why you normally see most popular Youtubers do this as a full-time job, since it does take up the majority of their time.
Again; if this is a choice, you need standards to actually show that we can be a good community. Sloppy gameplay videos in my opinion, ruins the point in a channel in the first place.

But... I always love it when someone suggests a youtube channel. Thank you for that. <3