SERVER SETUP SUGGESTIONS

Started by endureroph, Nov 21, 2017, 04:38 AM

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endureroph

Hi everyone,

I just want to ask for suggestions when it comes to running a server because to be honest, I have one of my own and it's my first and probably the last (since I don't plan on shutting it down) I want mine to last for years and even though our community is small, i'm still happy because they are all supportive and friendly. So my question is, what setup should i do with my server since i think that is the reason why i only have a few players? I've spent a lot of  money on facebook ads, manually reply to people here in RMS looking for servers like mine. My server is truly a non-donate one and you really don't have to donate just to get stronger since almost everything is farmable. What gimmick or setup should I do to attract more players? Currently we have about 20-25 active players only and it would be fun to atleast get a 100. Thank you and I hope this message finds you all well. God bless everyone! /lv

jacobo_bobo

I think the most important skill an administrator can have is to be resourceful and be able to find the answers to their questions on their own. To be honest, 99.5% of the questions and bugs you will ever come across have already been answered many times, including this one.

I recommend you put your search and google skills to work and find one of the many topics like this ones that have been answered in the past.

Good luck  /no1

Nova

I don't mean to be rude, but you should have thought about that before you even started your server. Private servers have been around for years and you have many many examples to learn from. Your server rates are 100/100/20 with max 99/70 and you have disabled MVP cards and some mini-boss cards as well as god items. I would imagine that drives quite a few players away and doesn't help your population growth. Especially since people reach the late game that much faster in a (high)midrate server. So, apart from PvP and bragging rights for WoE, what really is there in your server that makes people stay and provides longevity?

I am not associated with NovaRO.

endureroph

Hi Nova

Thanks for taking time in reading my post. Yes, we've already thought about the setup and we're actually doing fine now. New players coming in every other day. We disabled MVP cards but they could exchange it for PODS and one mvp card with 1% drop rate is equivalent to 10 PODS or $20 if you donate. We've already taken into consideration not to disable mini-boss cards as this will still make the game balanced but we decided not to enable some of it such as Ghostring, Angeling, etc.

What's in our server is FAMILY. Even though we're still small (currently with 30 active players, give or take), everyone's helping out and promoting the server. Everyone's having fun playing the server and interacting with different kinds or people. What makes people stay in our server is how genuine we are as Admin/GM when it comes to event prizes (not spoon-feeding them though), how open we are to their suggestions and what they want, and how willing we are in helping new players and old players with their problems in and out of the game. We always think and find new ways to make the server fun and lively. We look for ways to bring excitement to the players, and here I am, asking for suggestions. Also, we always do trial and error here in our sever. I'm merely just asking for gimmicks, that's all.

Do you have your own server? If so, what's in your server that makes people stay and play? :)

Adam Don

i will reply very very honestly..
i hope it doesnt hurt you..

but to be honest,.. your as you said your server is already launched and you have around 25 players..
its going to be very very very difficult for you to gain players.

as people don't wait and play,.. until  you will get more players on your server.

its like .. each player who wish to join your server feels that "ohh only 25 players online, not sure if players are going to join this server or not, why to waste time in playing here, if yes really good server i will keep eye on it if players count increases then and then only i will join and play"

now imagine, if all players do this .. none will join and all of them will be watching if there are players or not.

in such case you will never get more players.. and current players number will also decrease with time.

the only way to success is .. the 1st day population..
always remember the 1st day population is very very important..
if people see 200+ players are playing .. yes i think i should also join .. and then if you keep advertising and players also do the same to support your server..
it may increase..

1st day boom is very important.
i am sorry to say,.. but in my opinion you wont get more players hereafter..

what you can do is .. relaunch the server .. just wipe everything for now .. take at least 40 to 50 days of time for relaunching announce the same on Facebook / forum .. RMS..

advertise a lot .. try to get and ask player to pre - register on website and your forum ..
so that you get a rough idea,.. about how many players gonna join your server on day 1 ...

the formula is like .. 1000 game accounts before server launch = 150 players gonna join your server on day 1 and then it depends on your server features etc.. if more players will join or the current players will stay at your server..

opening a server is not easy as it seems .. its way too difficult ..

every player will have different opinion about the features .. and you cant fulfill everyone's needs.

your strength is no donation server.
now a days there isnt a no donation server.

if you plan to open a server at 100x pre-renewal.. player those who are going to join .. usually have mindset of getting stuff easy and fast .. to play bg and woe..

you need to constantly keep adding stuff which will make your server more and more interesting . .
~Web Developer~

skype :- yuglighting

discord :- yug-webdev
#8417

rubie123

@Adam Don: Well said! This is absolutely correct, I have been through the same with my servers. The amount of players you get on the launch date is what will determine your server's life span.
--------------------------------
RMS NEEDS A MAKEOVER!

endureroph

Hi Adam!

Very well said. Thank you for the tip! I know what you're trying to say it sucks but i think we really did lack in advertising our server. We're thinking of relaunching the server BUT without wiping it. Think of it as a welcome to all new players. Will run another race to 99 event, freebies, etc. Again, thank you very much for your input regarding this matter. God bless!

Parachute

#7
Quote from: endureroph on Nov 30, 2017, 09:25 PM
i think we really did lack in advertising our server. We're thinking of relaunching the server BUT without wiping it. Think of it as a welcome to all new players. Will run another race to 99 event, freebies, etc.

Being a heavy RO player myself before becoming an admin, understanding both veteran and noob gameplay, it's hard to gather players if you have no clear idea what playerbase/audience you would like to cater. Do you want your server to cater pure Veterans, pure Newbies, or compromise of both? As the later part usually is the hardest one to achieve. You simply cannot decide what direction your server will go in the middle of it launching, be visionary before the server even starts.

Also, the reason why admins usually just relaunch the server than "relaunching but keeping the items" is because it is just not appealing for new players. If they want to join a server, players tend to join it fresh, meaning everybody starts from 0.

As mentioned above, first day impression is BIG. If you have the mindset of "I will launch now and expect the population to rise in the next few days/months" you're getting it all wrong already. RO Servers is not an increasing slope. Instead, it's declining. At least that's 90% true. Usually you join a server with 100 or 250 or 500 or 1000+ players on day1, but you always lose players than obtain in time. By saying that, make advertising BIG. it's necessary. Sometimes even the best admins/most OP dev couldn't achieve success if they all lack advertising/social media skills.

Sziadan

So I decided to take a peek at your server website, forum and briefly your Facebook page to build myself an opinion on as to why you may have issues getting players.

I will mainly address your website in this post, since getting a player to sign up and download your client should be step 1.
If everyone is turning away before even walking up to your door then you have no hope of ever increasing your player base.

But first I wanted to address this:
QuoteMy server is truly a non-donate one
The fact that people can donate to get an item in game that holds value means it's not a "non-donate" server.
If donations gave no in game rewards or perhaps purely cosmetic rewards (like a special hat that have 0 stats) then there would be no pay-to-win element.
Perhaps your donation rewards aren't as bad as they are on some other servers, but based on what I saw in the reward list people can still pay to get rich thanks to the gold.
(I'll get back to the donations later).

Moving on from that, your main issue with your server is lack of information and, mainly, making the information easily available and digestable.
As a new player, if I happen to come across your server some of the info I would instantly want to know BEFORE I decide to create an account and download your client are:

  • Rates - Which you are showing in relevant places.
  • Donation rewards - No mention on the website, have to dig around on the forum to find (partly).
  • Rewards for Vote for Points - Couldn't find any information on this at all.
  • Player count, preferably even a Who's Online page - No such info and no links to a Who's Online page (though changing the url to ?module=character&action=online will give you it, if you truly want to keep it hidden then you may want to fix that ;)).
  • Information on custom items - Couldn't find any information on what kind of custom items exist and for the few items that I saw mentioned, there were no information on what they did or what they were used for (specifically thinking about those "POD's" here).
  • Available Commands list - Players are adviced to "Just type @commands for more info" without any prior info being given on what commands exist.
  • Server Rules - No where were I able to see what kind of rules you have on your server.

These are some of the things I can think of at the top of my head right now.

As for point number 5, regarding custom items.
I mentioned POD's, but this also goes for the Vote for Points currency, I'm assuming you trade these in for other items.
A list of these items should be available on the website then, since those are effectively the donation items then.

You need to understand that as a player who knows nothing about your server and have a lot of servers to pick from, if I'm looking at joining a new server I do NOT want to create an account and download your client just to find out whether or not you offer something I like or dislike. The list above needs to be answered before I even consider creating an account on your server.

Quote[..] near official-like gameplay [...]
I saw this quote on your website, yet your "lite installer" is 322 MB. Obviously you're have some heavy customs on your server, otherwise I find it hard to justify a 322 MB download for a vanilla like experience.
If you have custom items, custom cities or custom dungeons then that kind of information should be listed some where.

QuoteWe're thinking of relaunching the server BUT without wiping it. Think of it as a welcome to all new players. Will run another race to 99 event, freebies, etc.
Sorry but something like that will not work, if you want the "new server launch" benefits then you have to wipe everything.
As a new player, if I were looking to join a "fresh" server that is about to launch, I would expect everyone to be starting fresh.

Neffletics

As a previous server owner, I can confirm that the responses above are accurate and correct.

I also checked your site and Facebook page, they're are all dead; no interesting post, no news and events listed in the homepage. And yet you still expect your population to grow?

If ever you relaunch your server and fortunately had 200+ online players on its first day, you must be ready for drama. When I say drama, I'm referring to unavoidable arguments between known players or guilds that will surely destabilize your server if not properly handled.

If you'll relaunch your server as it is; same features, same rates, same everything, I doubt it'll be successful regardless of your perseverance and effort. You must implement something interesting that will keep your players occupied.

As what the other guy said, you must be envision what you'd like your server to be in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and so on.

tl;dr: more people = more responsibility = more events should happen = more time for brainstorming = more newcomers = more complains = more drama

Good luck!
solacero rip