Why your player count dropped.

[iMagicBae]

Its going to be a long... long time until era starts hitting the 3k and 2.5k+ players they used to hit in a daily basis, and there is several reasons why, the majority of which im pretty sure you have already realized.

- Basing “Rework”:
It has come to my attention that the top 3 forting gangs of era before the basing rework was applied have all disintegrated and ceased to even attempt to make a comeback, this is solely due to the horrible nerf that forting received. It is of no surprise to anyone who attended forts even casually that Neo Forts were by far the least attended ones. The idea of spawning so far away from the actual forting area just to die 3 seconds after being inside and having to do everything all over again was just cynical and if it weren’t for the huge amount of money 1st placing gangs received everyone would be ever so glad to let Neo Forts rot in a hole.

On the other hand, i can totally understand how this new mechanic would help out basing, but the era management team (or whoever was in charge of allowing this change to happen) failed to realize that Basing and Forting are but in the same side of the page, both being [for the most part] devices used by players to more easily gain kills by attending areas with a more dense amount of players to kill. Consequently affecting one will immediately have its effects on the other, in this case those effects were mostly negative.

The only people that benefitted from this were the minority of ‘forters’ who stuck around long enough to realize that killing players outside of the base was more or less better than having to continuously die inside the base or quitting altogether.

What the rework caused (both positive and negative)
- Forters quitting. [-]
- More people started buying Chemical Guns to PK outside of the base. [-]
- Less people are became interested about forting. [-]
- New Forting gangs were formed. [+]
- More people are doing PK arena [-]
- Players are getting less kills from fort [-]

Lack of rewards:
For graal nowadays it isn’t rare for people to have around 30k-40k spar wins, or 300k plus PKs and we are running out of rewards to achieve, either it be hats or weapon rewards, to keep us playing like the good ol’ days when we thrived to get our first P2K or to be amongst the first people to get vector or M4a3. There are players who already hit 800k or 900k player kills, having almost twice as much as the highest PK reward there is; there are players with around 60k-70k spar wins already, not to mention Recurvez who almost has 3 times the highest spar reward there is. I suggest we put our minds together and come up with rewards for 750k, 1M and 1.5M kills; 75k, 100k and 150k spar wins. That should keep the staff team out of a dying player community for at least half a decade. And im not just speaking hats and masks, im talking about guns, melees, rooms, skins, achievements etc.

This is our game and the player’s voice should be heard either equally or louder than the staff’s. Don’t let any staff member monopolize ideas and integrate their own vision of how things should be, because when we shut voices to mainstream others that is called tyranny.


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[iHit]

You forgot the major gun nerf... A great amount of people wasted IRL cash (like more than 70$, which is enough to buy The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Game of the year edition aka the best game of all time 3.5 times, considering you get it on sale) just to have their guns nerfed to the point where a gun costing much less can be better and more worth the investment. 2 of my at the time best friends quitted the game cause of that gun nerf and still have not came back.

[iMagicBae]

You forgot the major gun nerf... A great amount of people wasted IRL cash (like more than 70$, which is enough to buy The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Game of the year edition aka the best game of all time 3.5 times, considering you get it on sale) just to have their guns nerfed to the point where a gun costing much less can be better and more worth the investment. 2 of my at the time best friends quitted the game cause of that gun nerf and still have not came back.

I decided not to mention the gun nerf because it didnt do anything, bar is still the mainstream pay-to-win gun and chem is still used even more now since it can only be used for pking outside of bases


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[Zany]

**Sorry this is so long! This isn't targeted towards anybody, just a open response **

I think that with time, this will always happen to online games. Population fluctuates and after a long time, it will decrease because it's original primary population is gone. Although that may be apart of it, I think everybody has their reason for leaving the game and admittedly, very few people are able to go cold turkey and go from active to never touching the game in a day; normally they end up coming back soon thereafter (I see this happen a lot). Graal is the type of game you gradually stop playing over time until you decide it's history for you.

I know from being in meetings that player's ideas are always kept in mind, however there will normally always have to be revisions to the ideas so they can realistically be implemented to the game. If it's not a direct idea from a player, then it's inspired by what the player's say they want more of.

Another thing you have to keep in mind as well though, is originality can only span such a long time. Since Era works with new staff coming and going, ideas, styles, and quality is going to fluctuate. Unlike most online games you could draw for comparison, this game is run by people volunteering to do their work for the game. Most any other online game with a sustaining playerbase typically has a paid team where whoever is making the update does what they're doing for a living, went to college to do it, that kind of thing. The staff in Graal are all people who originally played the game and decided to apply for the team and volunteer for free (basically) to do so. That plays a huge part in how much the quality and originality of work fluctuates. Since the staff don't do this as a job, they don't always have the proper time to devote to it (it's not specifically integrated into their life as a real job would be with hours, and they're typically in high school to college, busy with life and school).

Personally, with this in mind, it's kind of impressive how well the game is still running. Another problem could also be lag, and putting out small and scattered updates, or huge and centered updates, will always cause lag. So until that's no longer a problem, certain things might not be put out, although I believe that's a smaller part of it. There's a lot of things in store for the future you'll have to be patient with, developers have been crazy, crazy busy and I know how hard these guys work. They deserve so much more credit.

I know there's a lot of things players wish would happen, and wish didn't happen, but in a game like this one with it's special system of working things, you have to be patient and let trial and error run its course. Developers try their best, and try to add little things here and there like the players want (which still leads to resistance). That's one of the main reasons that staff don't reveal what's being worked on; expectations are already very high for what can be done realistically and telling people what is being made makes those expectations grow. An example would be Countryside; huge hype was built around it, but it had a lot of problems and the main people working on it grew busy. So now people are salty over it and constantly use it against staff.

I think the game population will do what it does. Ultimately, it has too many influences in many forms to definitively know why the playerbase dropped. Blaming the current staff and every decision they make (Not to say that you are of course ) is unfair because they can only do so much, and it's not easy to please everybody, especially when no matter what is put out, even if it is what people want, it's met with extreme, harsh criticism.

I agree though, it's a shame. It may be one staff's fault, it may be a few updates' fault, it may be lag's fault, it may be players not getting what they wanted within the game. That's irreversible. The best thing the staff can do is listen to the players and do the best they can with what they have and can do. The best thing the players can do is support what is being made, whether you agree with it or not, because it's not an easy job, and be patient. Things are always being planned and in the process of being made. It just takes time to make it, and let trial and error run its course.

I'm always hopeful there's room for improvement, so long as we allow there to be. You're right to an extent though iMagic, and I don't disagree with you.

[LYK08]

There are several more reasons why the player count dropped.

1. Weapons Rebalancing

After Sam changed the stats many players were unhappy that their guns were not as good as it should be, given the price that they've paid.

2. Mass Resignation 2017

The Mass Resignation and removal of several popular and important staff such as Anero, Kirzey, Reno, Zenthor and Vendhin and the subsequent replacement of them with other lesser known staff has alienated many of the old players. With news of HW's poor management being leaked to the public, it will definitely not garner the support of old players.

3. In game toxicity

The toxicity in game has risen with more players, and many old players have mentioned that the Era isn't what it used to be anymore. Many quit because of the poor environment.

4. GST and "lag abuses"

From what I understand, GST this year was rigged because of lag abuses. It definitely wasn't as lit as last time when Anero hosted them.

[Tasim]

**Sorry this is so long! This isn't targeted towards anybody, just a open response **

I think that with time, this will always happen to online games. Population fluctuates and after a long time, it will decrease because it's original primary population is gone. Although that may be apart of it, I think everybody has their reason for leaving the game and admittedly, very few people are able to go cold turkey and go from active to never touching the game in a day; normally they end up coming back soon thereafter (I see this happen a lot). Graal is the type of game you gradually stop playing over time until you decide it's history for you.

I know from being in meetings that player's ideas are always kept in mind, however there will normally always have to be revisions to the ideas so they can realistically be implemented to the game. If it's not a direct idea from a player, then it's inspired by what the player's say they want more of.

Another thing you have to keep in mind as well though, is originality can only span such a long time. Since Era works with new staff coming and going, ideas, styles, and quality is going to fluctuate. Unlike most online games you could draw for comparison, this game is run by people volunteering to do their work for the game. Most any other online game with a sustaining playerbase typically has a paid team where whoever is making the update does what they're doing for a living, went to college to do it, that kind of thing. The staff in Graal are all people who originally played the game and decided to apply for the team and volunteer for free (basically) to do so. That plays a huge part in how much the quality and originality of work fluctuates. Since the staff don't do this as a job, they don't always have the proper time to devote to it (it's not specifically integrated into their life as a real job would be with hours, and they're typically in high school to college, busy with life and school).

Personally, with this in mind, it's kind of impressive how well the game is still running. Another problem could also be lag, and putting out small and scattered updates, or huge and centered updates, will always cause lag. So until that's no longer a problem, certain things might not be put out, although I believe that's a smaller part of it. There's a lot of things in store for the future you'll have to be patient with, developers have been crazy, crazy busy and I know how hard these guys work. They deserve so much more credit.

I know there's a lot of things players wish would happen, and wish didn't happen, but in a game like this one with it's special system of working things, you have to be patient and let trial and error run its course. Developers try their best, and try to add little things here and there like the players want (which still leads to resistance). That's one of the main reasons that staff don't reveal what's being worked on; expectations are already very high for what can be done realistically and telling people what is being made makes those expectations grow. An example would be Countryside; huge hype was built around it, but it had a lot of problems and the main people working on it grew busy. So now people are salty over it and constantly use it against staff.

I think the game population will do what it does. Ultimately, it has too many influences in many forms to definitively know why the playerbase dropped. Blaming the current staff and every decision they make (Not to say that you are of course ) is unfair because they can only do so much, and it's not easy to please everybody, especially when no matter what is put out, even if it is what people want, it's met with extreme, harsh criticism.

I agree though, it's a shame. It may be one staff's fault, it may be a few updates' fault, it may be lag's fault, it may be players not getting what they wanted within the game. That's irreversible. The best thing the staff can do is listen to the players and do the best they can with what they have and can do. The best thing the players can do is support what is being made, whether you agree with it or not, because it's not an easy job, and be patient. Things are always being planned and in the process of being made. It just takes time to make it, and let trial and error run its course.

I'm always hopeful there's room for improvement, so long as we allow there to be. You're right to an extent though iMagic, and I don't disagree with you.

Hey Zany for the most part I agree with everything youve said however there have been some bigger problems within the game that have failed to receive any attention or very little. I have made several posts and responses to this, that being the basing rework. While the project and idea for the most part is being worked on by one person, the problem is significant enough that we need immediate action taken to stop some of the bleeding that has occurred due to the problem being left neglected. When things like countryside come up those are important updates in their own right, however they are not one of the fundamental features that defines the game. The fact one person took up this workload with 0 other staff taking initiative to create quick fixes while the project is being worked on to me shows a lack of care. Now I get that not all staff have the ability to do something about it and thats fine, but doing absolutely nothing just allows the problem to continue to grow rampant and creates more of a dissatisfaction within the community. I guarantee you if someone took a day or two to offer a quick band-aid type solution it could be implemented and would help the quality of the game and happiness of the playerbase. as the project is drawn out longer and longer, more players will begin to leave.

[Zany]

Hey Zany for the most part I agree with everything youve said however there have been some bigger problems within the game that have failed to receive any attention or very little. I have made several posts and responses to this, that being the basing rework. While the project and idea for the most part is being worked on by one person, the problem is significant enough that we need immediate action taken to stop some of the bleeding that has occurred due to the problem being left neglected. When things like countryside come up those are important updates in their own right, however they are not one of the fundamental features that defines the game. The fact one person took up this workload with 0 other staff taking initiative to create quick fixes while the project is being worked on to me shows a lack of care. Now I get that not all staff have the ability to do something about it and thats fine, but doing absolutely nothing just allows the problem to continue to grow rampant and creates more of a dissatisfaction within the community. I guarantee you if someone took a day or two to offer a quick band-aid type solution it could be implemented and would help the quality of the game and happiness of the playerbase. as the project is drawn out longer and longer, more players will begin to leave.

The problems were most definitely not band-aid type ones, that’s for sure. And multiple people were working on countryside, however it was a particular staff’s “baby” if you will.

My comment was mainly just to be multi-sided and explain other ways of viewing the slowing player count.

These problems are being worked on but keep in mind how big they are and how many other things are being worked on at the same time.

Sorry if that’s going off topic though. ^

[iHit]

Another thing you have to keep in mind as well though, is originality can only span such a long time. Since Era works with new staff coming and going, ideas, styles, and quality is going to fluctuate. Unlike most online games you could draw for comparison, this game is run by people volunteering to do their work for the game. Most any other online game with a sustaining playerbase typically has a paid team where whoever is making the update does what they're doing for a living, went to college to do it, that kind of thing. The staff in Graal are all people who originally played the game and decided to apply for the team and volunteer for free (basically) to do so. That plays a huge part in how much the quality and originality of work fluctuates. Since the staff don't do this as a job, they don't always have the proper time to devote to it (it's not specifically integrated into their life as a real job would be with hours, and they're typically in high school to college, busy with life and school).

So staff does not get paid??? This game is what it is because of good staff members and what do they get in return?? Not even a thank you?? This game is the biggest pay2win sht I have seen so far and most people have invested well above 70$ into this game and all the money goes to people that don't give a sht about the game and just count the profits while they wait for the game to die?.. Like seriously tho. Why are staff members not speaking up about this?

[imaginary]

So staff does not get paid??? This game is what it is because of good staff members and what do they get in return?? Not even a thank you?? This game is the biggest pay2win sht I have seen so far and most people have invested well above 70$ into this game and all the money goes to people that don't give a sht about the game and just count the profits while they wait for the game to die?.. Like seriously tho. Why are staff members not speaking up about this?

Everyone knows that you’re not gonna get paid with real money they sign up for the “job” for entertainment

[XXKIDXX]

Blame unixmad