How robocraft unleashed was the start of a downfall

[Arbus Arbus]

I did some research as I was curious of the effects of that one update I could not remember the date or name that killed the game for me.
This update completley changed robocraft, on the day of 28/07/2015 freejam released this game changing update source: https://robocraftgame.com/robocraft-unleashed-2/
This update wiped the game of most of its past and replaced it with a totally new idea that has evolved into todays game.
I wanted to see what affect this had on the games player base and found the info, in the month of july 2015 32.36% of the player base left, that was 2,327.0 that left the game. the following month only 8.32% of the player base joined the game.
The charts show that the game grew for a bit after this update but after that the game never peaked that high again, the highest peak on the chart 26,598 was in 2014 a year before the game started to go down hill, now the latest report shows only a peak of 5,364. source: http://steamcharts.com/app/301520#All
If one of the staff told me in a earlier disscusion about what happened to the game that it was "better now" why are the charts showing a overall decline in player base?
I hope to simpily inform people that the game has been on a decline since 2015 and not to slander robocraft, that is why I have linked my sources so those who think I am lying can see the evidence.

[GameDotExe]

I came back to check out what happened since I left. I was one of the fabled "vet" players. Really makes me sad to see a game I enjoyed so much change so drastically. I'm scared to log on and take a look at what I do and don't own anymore and how everything I made is completely worthless now.

[DapperSpino]

blah blah blah "robocraft was better 2 years ago" blah blah blah "we should return to the old days" blahdy blah.

If you're not gonna add anything good on here don't post at all.

[GameDotExe]

Blah blah blah.. obvious shill or troll.. blah blah blah.

[Ramagar]

He brought numbers and relevant post. You brought salt. Consider that.

[__]

Ramagar の投稿を引用：

He brought numbers and relevant post. You brought salt. Consider that.

What about non steam numbers?

I liked the old game but the small choice of items, overtier h sealclubbing made me quit. I like the current game far more.

[GameDotExe]

ALPHAFERT の投稿を引用：

Ramagar の投稿を引用：

He brought numbers and relevant post. You brought salt. Consider that.

What about non steam numbers?

Is there a way to see those?

[__]

Surpriselove の投稿を引用：

ALPHAFERT の投稿を引用：

What about non steam numbers?

Is there a way to see those?

Not that I know of but fj discord is about as full as steam forum with non steam players. I have heard of many having less issues woth non steam launch or that don't like steam.

[GameDotExe]

ALPHAFERT の投稿を引用：

Surpriselove の投稿を引用：

Is there a way to see those?

Not that I know of but fj discord is about as full as steam forum with non steam players. I have heard of many having less issues woth non steam launch or that don't like steam.

Without evidence to the contrary I think it is safe to admit that similar player declines would result on all platforms at the same time. There is no logic that reinforces that steam would be the sole platform affected negatively when it came to player base. Since we have chronological markers tied to both changes in game and playerbase decrease we can assume that 1) the majority of players disliked the changes 2) a hardcore group will always exist tied to the game through money or extreme enjoyment 3) new players will be drawn constantly to a free game. The real question is whether or not the developers believe that the hardcore group and new players create enough of a player market to offset what would be larger numbers. If those two groups provide enough in game purchases it really doesn't matter to the development team that the player base is a fraction of what it could be because the fraction that exists is meeting their profit margins.

So what does this mean? It means that the game may not be Pay 2 Win, but relies and caters to the Pay 2 Play premium market over the popularity of the game. This results in a heavy imbalance to new players who will feel a need to Pay 2 Play and thus a feeling of Pay 2 Win.

So there we go. The game is made for the minority who spend the most money and built in hopes of ensnaring a handful of new players to do the same. Those who fight against the majority outcry are heavily invested in the game or seem fanatical, ignoring things like numbers, etc. I understand that the developers can do as the please, obviously, and that the general unhappiness is an opinion as the game is fuctional and complete in its current form. The response, or lack there of, to the outcry really provide the most revealing information about the game and the direction the developers are taking it. Safe to say, if you love the game as is you have nothing to worry about, however if you currently do not enjoy the focus that exists you will most likely not find solace in anything that is to come.

[__]

I will agree that numbers on stand alone launcher are most likely similar but your pay to play or p2w argument is total bs. Here is why. When my main account was lvl 68 I was struggling to fill my 3rd bay & constantly grinding for tech tokens. I have had premium on this account pretty much the whole time I have played on it. My free account started around the time of ELO is level 68, I have 11bots plus a lot of inventory mostly rare or up & my mmr is G4 (partially due to not playing league). It may not seem like it but you get further faster in the new system.

Back to numbers though. Here is why I'm not worried about a drop.
1)Awesomenaughts came back from less than 200players
2) Devs said they planned on a lot of these changes but wanted to section them out. Some of these changes were huge, imagine all of them at once. All these players saying they do nothing for vets but the step process eases vets into new game. I have a feeling they expect these "growing pains" & once we get through the major changes the up/down player base will become more steady.

3) For pretty much the top half of the US we are busy soaking up vit D, vacations, mowing lawns, pools, gardens, sports, camp........will be back in October.

4) Its hard to play a constantly changing game. Many may be waiting till release. I have a few friends that won't touch an early access game.

5) Your claim of the "majority outcry" is speculation. Many won't touch the steam forums. When I started a group to help new players it turned into "steam forums but less salty". Some even avoid fj forums for that reason. This is more of a "complaining forum" than discussion. I have seen quite a few "check out my bot" threads just get trolled. On the other hand I have seen some that came back & posted rc being unfair, helped them understand damage/mm & they now play more than post.

[GameDotExe]

And by everything you said you are indeed the minority who is always premium and seemingly content with the changes. Just because someone plays does not mean they are happy with the changes so I can very easily say the majority of players weren't happy. At best estimates only half are dissatisfied. You might still puff out your chest and call my claims over the top but you have to consider ONE THIRD of the player base dropped the game AT ONCE because of a single update according to the top post. If you check out the Steam Charts it is actually much worse.

• Last 30 Days 3,252.6 -245.7 -7.02% 5,364
  
• June 2017 3,498.3 -207.4 -5.60% 6,678
  
• May 2017 3,705.7 +300.5 +8.82% 9,477
  
• April 2017 3,405.2 -436.5 -11.36% 6,362
  
• March 2017 3,841.7 +286.3 +8.05% 8,861
  
• February 2017 3,555.4 -681.1 -16.08% 6,591
  
• January 2017 4,236.5 -172.3 -3.91% 8,470
  
• December 2016 4,408.8 +560.1 +14.55% 9,499
  
• November 2016 3,848.7 -194.2 -4.80% 8,207
  
• October 2016 4,042.9 +264.9 +7.01% 7,780
  
• September 2016 3,778.0 -892.5 -19.11% 7,433
  
• August 2016 4,670.5 -900.3 -16.16% 7,755
  
• July 2016 5,570.8 -232.5 -4.01% 8,851
  
• June 2016 5,803.3 -928.5 -13.79% 11,439
  
• May 2016 6,731.8 +1,747.7 +35.07% 16,527
  
• April 2016 4,984.1 -1,774.3 -26.25% 15,520
  
• March 2016 6,758.4 +483.5 +7.70% 16,704
  
• February 2016 6,275.0 +1,083.1 +20.86% 14,608
  
• January 2016 5,191.9 -193.9 -3.60% 10,248
  
• December 2015 5,385.8 +995.9 +22.69% 14,280
  
• November 2015 4,389.9 -413.8 -8.61% 9,974
  
• October 2015 4,803.7 +207.9 +4.52% 11,588
  
• September 2015 4,595.8 -672.9 -12.77% 13,723
  
• August 2015 5,268.7 +404.9 +8.32% 9,499
  
• July 2015 4,863.9 -2,327.0 -32.36% 9,975
  
• June 2015 7,190.8 -1,695.2 -19.08% 14,343
  
• May 2015 8,886.0 +1,468.2 +19.79% 18,422
  
• April 2015 7,417.9 -2,136.9 -22.37% 16,642
  
• March 2015 9,554.8 +124.8 +1.32% 22,814
  
• February 2015 9,430.1 +868.3 +10.14% 21,673
  
• January 2015 8,561.8 -700.7 -7.57% 15,495
  
• December 2014 9,262.5 +371.1 +4.17% 18,691
  
• November 2014 8,891.5 +505.9 +6.03% 20,311
  
• October 2014 8,385.6 +438.1 +5.51% 19,760
  
• September 2014 7,947.5 -6,110.5 -43.47% 21,101
  
• August 2014 14,058.0 +6,018.2 +74.85% 26,598
  
• July 2014 8,039.8 - - 20,954

Check out http://steamcharts.com/app/301520 if you don't believe me. This game has fallen HARD in the last three years and the only explaination is the changes and updates. If there is an overwhelming amount of players bringing up the exact same points as to the decline of the game you can't dismiss it offhandedly. As of now only ONE FIFTH of the peak number playerbase exist today. The 2017 numbers at best are just over half of the worst numbers in previous years. At the current rate, taking average loss per year into account and the constant decline, next year the game will be lucky to have three thousand players.

[DonMoozer]

pure BS post !!

[GameDotExe]

Any other under level 10 Steam accounts wish to give a useless counter argument against the continuing and inevitable decline of Robocraft?

[Serangel]

If we are going strickly off player numbers, I'de have to say salty vets destroyed the game. The game changed, vets didnt like it and their sodium intake went through the roof, they quit leaving negative reviews and constant "game sucks now" forums posts, new players looking into the game see nothing but "game sucks" "game is pay to win" "game is dying" ect so they never considered trying the game and the player base never recovered.

Minus the match making, the new system is way more new player friendly now than what it was, like ALPHAFERT said, back in the old system, overteiring and baby seal clubbing (while extreaming fun if you had the club) was aweful. Espcially when you only got one robot per match that you may or may not sit there in a hole for 10 minutes as a seat and one block till the game ended.

I dont beleive the update itself hurt the game, the game had a disclaimer stating that it was subject to considerable change in the future, I fully beleive the players that did not like the changes who left disuaded new players from coming in with all of the negativity.

[GameDotExe]

No, you are absolutely right.. which makes ignoring the vets an incredibly bold and foolish move in the long run. As of today this game lost 20,000 players. TWENTY THOUSAND. Considering that just over 5000 play today that is massive. And today's numbers include new blood. That is twenty thousand people to leave negative feedback and five thousand to defend the current state of the game steam side alone. We have no idea what non steam numbers look like because they are not released. I understand the disclaimer of change for an early access title but at what point do the developers go "Woah, hold up. People really don't like where we are taking this.. maybe we should revert key features but keep trying to improve the game in otherways." It is like they went to their own forums, chatted it up with maybe one or two fans at 2am about how great the game is and then doubled down on their current developement direction instead of trying to touch base with those tens of thousands who left.

I mean.. I got some time. Guys, come talk to me. I beg you. Let's have a chat. I'm not going to get mad or yell, I just want you to listen or at least give a reason for the current state of the game. Anything really.

[Arbus Arbus]

Serangel の投稿を引用：

If we are going strickly off player numbers, I'de have to say salty vets destroyed the game. The game changed, vets didnt like it and their sodium intake went through the roof, they quit leaving negative reviews and constant "game sucks now" forums posts, new players looking into the game see nothing but "game sucks" "game is pay to win" "game is dying" ect so they never considered trying the game and the player base never recovered.

Minus the match making, the new system is way more new player friendly now than what it was, like ALPHAFERT said, back in the old system, overteiring and baby seal clubbing (while extreaming fun if you had the club) was aweful. Espcially when you only got one robot per match that you may or may not sit there in a hole for 10 minutes as a seat and one block till the game ended.

I dont beleive the update itself hurt the game, the game had a disclaimer stating that it was subject to considerable change in the future, I fully beleive the players that did not like the changes who left disuaded new players from coming in with all of the negativity.

If the game was so new player unfreindly in the old days why was it growing?
It was only at the start of 2015 when the quality of updates started to degrade that people begain leaving, the one block and a seat was an issue but it was rare, the game changed the teirs pretty early on to prevent a super op robot from being in low ranks like 1 block of helium and a sniper from being in a level 1 fight, the whole idea of picking on the lower ranks was fixed and the game was pretty balanced sure some issues got through but every game has issues.
The game rewarded you alot for doing well and it was rewarding when you where doing good, you could not be bad at the game cause it taught you how to do well.