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Stats Website - Keep Offline People Engaged
Tyrsis
Member UncommonPosts: 13
First of all - im really excited about the potential of this game. I played DAoC for about 6 years and chalk it up as my greatest gaming experience. However, I like to keep things in perspective so my suggestion here comes with references to other games - not just DAoC. I understand this isn't DAoC 2.0. 
So here it is.
In all the MMOs I have played one of the biggest disconnects has been regarding what happens when you're not in game. How do you stay informed and engaged when you're working from 9-5? Forums? Meh. Armory profiles? Stale. It's been done and after a while the novelty of having access to that info wears off. There is a time and place for your VN forums of the world, but that's not what keeps people playing - they're more likely to write an "I Quit because" post than anything else.
In a PvP game people want to know who is on top. Who is doing well. Who is terrorizing the realm. I've seen a handful of games that have provided this type of information well, and some not so much. Having a content-rich website is a lot of work, but when it's populated by game-driven data it runs itself.
I will firstly use DAoC as an example, then another game to supplement. The site that people used to visit every day was camelotherald.com. Who was the top ranked Mercenary in the game - for my server? Top guild? Who owned the relics? Was there a relic raid underway? How many kills and deaths did a player have? People got lost pouring over this site and one of the biggest hits the game took was how inaccurate it became and its subsquent removal.
Additionally, there's a game I have been playing since 1995 named Subspace. There is a league in the game played by the best - and for a couple of years it utilized a stats website. Once that site was taken offline the population greatly dwindled - even though the league was still running. We recently brought it back and people are now re-emerging and pouring over it again because it's a way for them to access the game without having to actually be in it.
I really think for Camelot Unchained some sort of consideration should be given towards this. I understand we don't have the specifics regarding realm progession or anyhng of that nature, but it's extremely important to keep people engaged. It needs to be an intuitive and easy to use website as well. WAR tried to make something similar but it was very dry and had a poor user experience. I'm a UI/UX Architect by trade and I can tell you from experience that providing the information is one thing, but making it accessible and desirable is a completely different thing. I would be willing to help out if necessary.
Comments
Roses are red
Violets are blue
The reviewer has a mishapen head
Which means his opinion is skewed
...Aldous.MF'n.Huxley
The technical term for that is, "WILSON!" Yeah that will no doubt happen if there are stats. But it's still worth it. Checking the Camelot Herald frequently was something I did a lot when I played DAOC and wasn't in game and it enhanced my enjoyment of the game and desire to keep playing. Too bad it's been broken for years as I'd love to see where my toons rank even today.
DAOC Live (inactive): R11 Cleric R11 Druid R11 Minstrel R9 Eldritch R6 Sorc R6 Scout R6 Healer
Technically this was in regards to mobile app access, but it spawned a herald-like discussion as well I believe.
Anyway, there's Andrew's take
MJ has hinted to another Herald-like tool during an interview, so I am sure it will be full of all sorts amazing and useful data like the old one. :-) I wouldn't be surpised to see a mobile version too, since 8 years nowadays have iPhones!
Edit: @belatucadros, good find!
Aspiring Game Musician <<>> Inquiring ears, feel free to visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/vagarylabs
No matter what the objective there will always be people who try to circumvent the rules. I think stats are a huge driver for the PvP crowd. Sure - everybody wants to win, help their realm, etc - but you don't get there without being mindful of stats in one form or another.
In DAoC you could generally tell someone ran with an exclusive/elite group because they would hold a high average IRS. Knowing that guy/gals name and connecting the dots when you're in-game lets you know who you're fighting. Sure, there were ways to get a high avg IRS through cheating, but the efforts you had to go through to achieve that were not worth the risk.
Same thing applies to other games ive played. You can try to fly under the radar and take the easy route to prestige but it's easy to pick up on.
This is a MUST!!! It made SUCH a difference to me as a player who could access the site while not home and playing to see how everything is going.
If you are stressing that people WILL care. Give them more reason too
Bit of a twist on the Stats Website idea, but how about this? A Stats Website for Game Development Progress?
One of the most frustrating things about waiting for a new game is the lack of information we potential players get while the devs are working nose to the grindstone, even if MJ or one of the tech leads does blog posts etc.
So... how about a website that has graphical representations of where you're up to? Graphs, percentages, bar charts. Just general bumph that would fill our fix for knowledge of the developing game.
We'd be able to see the progress, and it might mean that CSE would get less spam mail, stupid questions etc.
As the percentage bar got closer to the end , the anticipation would rise.
Oh yes.. and of course, a countdown clock
CLICK: »»» http://CamelotUnchained.net «««
Keep in mind that these sort of update are part of a successful kickstarter campaign.
As much as I'd like to see a sort of herald for the early game, it may end up a duplication of effort because they should be updating kickstarter as well.
If they have a system like in Eve. Then I see no issue with stats being posted.
For those who do not know, in Eve, you can plug pull, logout or CTD, but you will not get out of the fight. Once you are engaged, you can not despawn till death or end of combat. Ihave a friend slowly kill some guy who kept trying to logout or plug pull. Just to end up begging to not die in the end.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
The reviewer has a mishapen head
Which means his opinion is skewed
...Aldous.MF'n.Huxley
A Herald type page is great. But what I really want is a site where I can sign up for text message alerts on important attacks against my realm.
It would be great to see a few people leave work early just after I see one of the alerts
Nanulak
I'd rather see push notifications from the app itself. SMS needs to die.
I guess a lot of it depends on what stats will be seen as valuable in CU. The core of what camelot herald provided from a stats standpoint was based off realm points. If the RvR rewards in CU are drastically different it will be interesting to see how that information is made available.
Realm points were definitely a driver for most people in DAoC. Seeing that big RP number for killing someone was addicting. I really hope they can capture that in CU. Furthermore, I hope they can not only capture it but present it in such a manner that makes the website valuable.
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
But you look also at others, better than you and compare yourself or sometimes you want to kill them more than the others. That's the thing that creates community too.
So what you're saying is that you never checked out your player profile on a site like camelotherald before? You just went straight to the Realm War map and hopped in game? That's a bit of a stretch. No matter how much of a team player someone is there's always a part of them that wants to see how they're doing individually.
The orginal Herald stats were great
Top 25 Overall, For the Week, Guild, Alliance, Class and IRS score.
Beyond those stats for personal use would be Keeps taken/defneded and player kills split by realm.
Not so sure about this one. There's a limit to how far the game should extend. An overpopulated realm would have an overwhelming advantage, probably exponential, with something like this.
I'd love text alerts for relic raids, hah.
God did not create from the the foot of man to slave her, he did not create women from the mind of man to control her but he created women from the rib of man because it is closest to his heart.
Camelotherald is essential.
"KDA" isn't something people should bash on. Some players literally play for KDA. That's fine. [i]Let them.[/i] [b]More power to them.[/b] Let players play how they want.
Just make sure there is a "total RPs" also available -- some players prefer to die to rack up bigger totals rather than maintain a ratio.
Make sure there are stats for guilds as well. Some players play for their guilds, and not for solo KDA.
The important part is that any such website should have a wealth of stats. Heal output. Total RPs. RPs per guild. RPs per guild member. Total and last 7 days. Damage output. Leader kills, GM kills. Warhammer's stat tracking was pretty solid too, although late and seemed to have fewer stats.
Anyways, basically a super-sized scenario scoreboard, or a 2013/2014 update of camelotherald.
I remember an old FPS I played had a scoreboard at the end of every match that highlighted the #1 scorer for a ton of different categories -- most blocks, highest accuracy, most kills, best kda, most damage done to structures, most buffs used, most orders followed, most gold accrued, most spent, most NPCs killed. That stuff is plain fun to see.
CLICK: »»» http://CamelotUnchained.net «««