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2017 Update?

2
AuthorMessage
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Jasmine3429 on May 29, 2017 wrote:
How do they expect to bring in new players with 0 advertising. As it stands now, even when someone new does show up and create an account they are out of stuff to do after a few months.

KI needs to do something to bring new players to pirates, not just the player base. I think their main mistake was expecting a lot of crossover from wizards in the first place, the battle system is just too different for a lot of those players. Not sure anything can be done at this point to salvage the game sadly, but I doubt a simple side world would help any.
You're right, a single world update wouldn't attract new players or bring back the older ones.
I've said this again and again - side content is what we need here. By giving us older players a reason to log on and play plus giving newer players some extra things to do once they run out of free content, then KI would see a resurgence of numbers.
Having Leah Rubin ( Professor Falmea ) post more often, even if its only to say "We haven't forgotten you. We're still hard at work in making new content." would do much to calm players fears.
Gunner's Mate
May 08, 2010
270
I wouldn't rule it out, but if I recall, wasn't the ranked PVP update a Do or Die update for them? if it worked, they'd stay open, if it failed, goodbye pirate101? I wonder if KI is waiting for a good time to make a gamble (Now would be good with the new POTCO movie, honestly) I expect some sort of update by P101s 5th birthday.
Ensign
Jun 09, 2016
42
It's hard to refute that Pirate is a preserved corpse when compared to Wizard (which if I recall, is one of the ten biggest MMOs as of now). But I don't think the problem is with the playerbase; I think the problem is the lack of updates. This is what's driving players away, and KI knows it. I wouldn't call them lazy - far from it, actually. But I think they're trying to be like Valve, where employees can work on any projects they like. KI isn't big enough to be like Valve in this regard. They're either following Valve's philosophy, or treating Pirate like a side project. I sincerely hope it's the former, because the latter terrifies me. I'm not saying money is bad, but you must understand that you've invested money in two sister games. You clearly have a favourite child, and the other child is being mentally destroyed because of it.

EDIT: This is the only time you'll ever see me talking about this topic. It makes me feel immensely uncomfortable, and that's all I'll say about it. Apologies if this sounds rude, but don't be surprised if there's a lack of responses (if any at all).
Captain
Jan 17, 2012
672
EviTheEccentric on May 30, 2017 wrote:
It's hard to refute that Pirate is a preserved corpse when compared to Wizard (which if I recall, is one of the ten biggest MMOs as of now). But I don't think the problem is with the playerbase; I think the problem is the lack of updates. This is what's driving players away, and KI knows it. I wouldn't call them lazy - far from it, actually. But I think they're trying to be like Valve, where employees can work on any projects they like. KI isn't big enough to be like Valve in this regard. They're either following Valve's philosophy, or treating Pirate like a side project. I sincerely hope it's the former, because the latter terrifies me. I'm not saying money is bad, but you must understand that you've invested money in two sister games. You clearly have a favourite child, and the other child is being mentally destroyed because of it.

EDIT: This is the only time you'll ever see me talking about this topic. It makes me feel immensely uncomfortable, and that's all I'll say about it. Apologies if this sounds rude, but don't be surprised if there's a lack of responses (if any at all).
I disagree. It was clear after the first world update in 2013 that gave us Aquila, that P101 was not getting the interest hoped for. They tried advertising. Nothing. While W101 had usage in the tens of millions after only six months, P101 has had, at most, 5 million. The subject matter simply did not generate the interest.

The problem is not the playerbase. The problem is not lack of updates or advertising. The problem is a pirate MMORPG just does not garner the interest that other genre do.

KI is hoping that the players can help revive the game after they have already exhausted every other means necessary to raise awareness of the game.
Dread Pirate
May 27, 2009
2131
Max DeGroot on May 31, 2017 wrote:
I disagree. It was clear after the first world update in 2013 that gave us Aquila, that P101 was not getting the interest hoped for. They tried advertising. Nothing. While W101 had usage in the tens of millions after only six months, P101 has had, at most, 5 million. The subject matter simply did not generate the interest.

The problem is not the playerbase. The problem is not lack of updates or advertising. The problem is a pirate MMORPG just does not garner the interest that other genre do.

KI is hoping that the players can help revive the game after they have already exhausted every other means necessary to raise awareness of the game.
When Pirate101 launched, there may have been an over-saturation of pirate-related stuff going on. Other pirate games have closed, and Pirate101 lingers on. To me, that says Kingsisle did the best at setting up a pirate-themed game that has staying power. It's easy enough for general populations, it's not as violent as most, and it had the excellent writing team it did at the very beginning. However, they were so enthusiastic in giving us a lot of companions for our crews, that they overloaded us -- at least many of us. They couldn't continue to add so many at the same rate, so they need to figure out what to do.

The game has staying power. We have staying power.

Ensign
Jun 24, 2013
40
anecorbie on May 29, 2017 wrote:
You're right, a single world update wouldn't attract new players or bring back the older ones.
I've said this again and again - side content is what we need here. By giving us older players a reason to log on and play plus giving newer players some extra things to do once they run out of free content, then KI would see a resurgence of numbers.
Having Leah Rubin ( Professor Falmea ) post more often, even if its only to say "We haven't forgotten you. We're still hard at work in making new content." would do much to calm players fears.
To be truly honest side quests are just time consuming not something that is used to spark interest. So I disagree with both of you that said "what we need is more side content
'. That is just blasphemy.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
stormtrooper1231 on May 31, 2017 wrote:
To be truly honest side quests are just time consuming not something that is used to spark interest. So I disagree with both of you that said "what we need is more side content
'. That is just blasphemy.
By side content, I didn't mean side quests. The side content I'm referring to is: crafting, fishing, gardening & daily assignments - anything that gives a player a reason to log on and PLAY!
Lieutenant
Mar 23, 2012
184
I feel that side content such as crafting and gardening won't be enough to bring back old players or bring in new players. Neither will side content like the tower, regatta, or the dreadnought. For a while after aquila I got bored, cancelled my membership andquit the game having maxed out 2 pirates. But I still stayed on the email list and reactivated my account when Valencia part 2 was announced.

Now I've maxed a third pirate (and milked the game for all the playtime I could) and started a 4th pirate, but I find that the game is getting boring again because there isn't any new direction to go. So when it came time to do the budgeting, I didn't feel conflicted about cancelling again. This time it's also going to take either a side world expansion pack like grizzleheim or arc 2 to be announced to get me to buy membership again.

I know that there are die hard fans out there like anecorbie, who if memory serves me paid for the zones to the entire game in crowns and then purchased monthly membership (which I feel has earned her a spot on Ki live's next broadcast) but if they want to bring in more people, then they need to be more vocal about the development of this game, rather than going dark about future plans.
Admiral
Oct 27, 2009
1439
stormtrooper1231 on May 31, 2017 wrote:
To be truly honest side quests are just time consuming not something that is used to spark interest. So I disagree with both of you that said "what we need is more side content
'. That is just blasphemy.
When Anecorbie said we need side content, I don't believe she was referring to side quests specifically. Usually those would show up with new world updates, anyway. I think she meant activities like fishing, gardening, crafting, montrology, and daily quests in Wizard101. So if you finished all the main and side quests and are waiting for an update, but you still feel like playing, but are not feeling like running the same dungeons, or helping other pirates. What then? Right now, we can work on training our pets and farming arena and fights for snacks, or pvp. What if you don't like doing those, or you already have the perfect pet? Some people power through the quests so fast, that they have finished the new world with multiple pirates before others have run it once. If there is something else that gives them a reason to log on and check in with the game to grow a garden or try to craft gear, they might be more likely to stick with the game till the next update, rather than cancel and maybe return when the next update happens, if the hear about it.
One thing no one is saying here, "I don't want the story to continue." We all want to find out what happens next. In a way that's encouraging.
First Mate
Dec 29, 2012
479
anecorbie on May 20, 2017 wrote:
So you assumed that they were going to give 3 new worlds. ( Well you know what they say about assuming... )
Well, one could theoretically assume that at least three worlds were scrapped.

1. Blind Mew confirmed that we were scheduled to visit El Dorado in Book 20.

2. Book 18 had us tracking down Erika the Red's map piece, which forum speculation has predicted her location in Grizzleheim (and there are Grizzleheim resources in the game).

3. Polaris still has a stormgate in the game and I highly doubt that was intended for Arc 2. It was very likely intended for Pirate101 in the later books of Arc 1, before the resources were probably used in Wizard101. He specifically mentioned that "another world" was intended as an interlude in Book 15 before we returned to Valencia (I suspect this was originally Polaris given the stormgate location).

Finally, Blind Mew hinted that multiple worlds were scrapped when he mentioned, "You'll note I didn't use any world names. That's very deliberate" in a post were he clearly did mention names of places we had visited before like Valencia, the Machine, etc.

...but like you pointed out...it is all speculation and assumption at this point.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
King Crimson on Jun 1, 2017 wrote:
I feel that side content such as crafting and gardening won't be enough to bring back old players or bring in new players. Neither will side content like the tower, regatta, or the dreadnought. For a while after aquila I got bored, cancelled my membership andquit the game having maxed out 2 pirates. But I still stayed on the email list and reactivated my account when Valencia part 2 was announced.

Now I've maxed a third pirate (and milked the game for all the playtime I could) and started a 4th pirate, but I find that the game is getting boring again because there isn't any new direction to go. So when it came time to do the budgeting, I didn't feel conflicted about cancelling again. This time it's also going to take either a side world expansion pack like grizzleheim or arc 2 to be announced to get me to buy membership again.

I know that there are die hard fans out there like anecorbie, who if memory serves me paid for the zones to the entire game in crowns and then purchased monthly membership (which I feel has earned her a spot on Ki live's next broadcast) but if they want to bring in more people, then they need to be more vocal about the development of this game, rather than going dark about future plans.
I had to stop buying membership so I could get my Death Wizard to max & Mirage ( I HAD to go to Mirage! )
So, yes, now I have bought all zones in P101 ( twice over ) and Wizard101!
Ready for my close-up, Tom!
Admiral
Nov 01, 2013
1413
anecorbie on May 31, 2017 wrote:
By side content, I didn't mean side quests. The side content I'm referring to is: crafting, fishing, gardening & daily assignments - anything that gives a player a reason to log on and PLAY!
Craaaaaaaaaaaaftiiiiiiiiiing!
Captain
Feb 11, 2010
644
anecorbie on Jun 4, 2017 wrote:
I had to stop buying membership so I could get my Death Wizard to max & Mirage ( I HAD to go to Mirage! )
So, yes, now I have bought all zones in P101 ( twice over ) and Wizard101!
Ready for my close-up, Tom!
Every area in BOTH games???? Goals.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
CaptainBlackWolfBo... on Jun 14, 2017 wrote:
Every area in BOTH games???? Goals.
Well, not quite every area in W101. I haven't finished the Aquila dungeons ( and I really don't care if I do. ) But, yeah, every area except that.
Admiral
Jul 07, 2013
1124
Helpful Aurora Par... on May 22, 2017 wrote:
Yes. Esperanza also means Faith in Spanish (close enough) and it autocorrects to Resistance every time! Go Resistance!

Dashing. Leading. Reckless. Accurate. Resistance soldiers at large.
Now I'm getting the whole faith, hope, and love reading....

Virtuous Dante Ramsey
Admiral
Jul 07, 2013
1124
witchdoctor of awe... on May 30, 2017 wrote:
I wouldn't rule it out, but if I recall, wasn't the ranked PVP update a Do or Die update for them? if it worked, they'd stay open, if it failed, goodbye pirate101? I wonder if KI is waiting for a good time to make a gamble (Now would be good with the new POTCO movie, honestly) I expect some sort of update by P101s 5th birthday.
The new pirates movie is terrible it won't help this.

Virtuous Dante Ramsey
Admiral
Jul 07, 2013
1124
I can honestly say I am happy with just playing a run through of the story once. It doesn't hold interest for me if I know what is going to happen. I also find the other job classes boring to play.

Virtuous Dante Ramsey
Dread Pirate
May 27, 2009
2131
DuranteRamses87 on Jun 17, 2017 wrote:
I can honestly say I am happy with just playing a run through of the story once. It doesn't hold interest for me if I know what is going to happen. I also find the other job classes boring to play.

Virtuous Dante Ramsey
That's too bad -- I'm the opposite. I've re-watched movies and re-read books countless times, so my three accounts worth of pirates are always interesting somewhere.

Each class gets unique quests, each starter companion gets unique promotion quests. Not everything is strictly repeat.

Commodore
Feb 02, 2013
838
Needs multiple worlds, minimum 10 level expansion, 5 levels arent worth paying for unless i get like a team vs at lvl 75, needs side activities such as crafting which should be super difficult and take awhile to get the best, and needs new ranked stuff like arenas, changing royal so it doesnt count as a win towards champ too many boosters
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
zuto4011a on Jun 17, 2017 wrote:
Needs multiple worlds, minimum 10 level expansion, 5 levels arent worth paying for unless i get like a team vs at lvl 75, needs side activities such as crafting which should be super difficult and take awhile to get the best, and needs new ranked stuff like arenas, changing royal so it doesnt count as a win towards champ too many boosters
Ok on most of these. Crafting should not be "super difficult" ( we want to encourage players to try it, right? ) but for higher level gear, items , ships/equipment, houses, then it should be harder. ( I crafted my Deer Knight spell in W101 and that had to be the most challenging one yet! )
Battle Royale should be for the fun of it ( and of course the scrip ) I agree it shouldn't count toward Champion, bit maybe have it's own category of a championship?
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