Why is this game not more popular?

[Omega Sirius]

What's the real reason this game isn't more popular? Obviously it's still thriving and the dev(s) continue making updates, so what's the problem?
There's no game like this on the market, and yet it still has a dedicated player base.

This game needs to be studied. This game series needs to be studied. I feel like there is some kind of anomaly here.
Is there not a marketing team? This game and the first Dead Frontier has been around for years and years. Is there not enough money for marketing and advertising?

Seriously, I really want to know why this game isn't more popular, because the devs obviously has enough resources and time to develop a sequel to Dead Frontier 1.

PS: Before anyone yells any nonsense, Dead Frontier 1 was probably the first MMO game I ever played. So I am pretty familiar with it.

[Underdog]

At the end of the day, the issues at launch and "canceling" the game for about a year seem to be a lot to get over. Like everything in life, first impressions are everything. I also think the "first hour" or so of the game is really rough with how terrible melee and movement speed are. The game being more survival horror focused also limits its reach to some degree.

That being said, once you get over the rough introduction, the game is fantastic; an MMO version of Resident Evil 2 remake in my book. I stuck with the game because of my history on df1, but it's hard to blame people for bailing on the game after the issues in the first year or so of the game's life.

It being free to play, and "free to review", also lends itself to get review bombed by people who don't understand what the game is, so it frequently teeters between recommended and not recommended on the Steam store, which is unfortunate. Most gamers don't know what survival horror is anymore, so people will download it thinking "yay zombies minecraft" and write a bad review once they realize it's not that

Take this riveting review, for example. It's a darn shame Steam even allows someone with 0.2 hours to write a review.

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561199106902230/recommended/744900/

This is also more of a personal view that doesn't align with most people, but I think the competitions in this game and end-game content in general are pretty awful. Not randomizing mission items and allowing them to be completed with a "guide" was such a poor decision to me. Competitions are mostly who can run through a guide the fastest. I feel bad for dumping on it because those mission guide people do crazy work every single day, but the game should not be like that in my eyes. In addition, I think end-game content and some holiday event content is geared way too much vs 1 way to play (1000% jog/movement speed), whereas the rest of the game is balanced between the open skill trees, which are really fun to experiment with. But the end-game/holiday content is really geared around 1 play style which is unfortunate to me.

I really love the game the way I choose to play it, but it's hard to ignore the problems that others could find with it

[Bored and Tired Gamer]

I play both Deadfrontier games and the older ones I had played back in time. Allmost twenty five years through many mmos/rpgs including DF games. I humbly buy membership or credits at times to support the development of the game whenever I revisit.



The best side of the Oldest text based Deadfrontier was the story telling. Letting the gamer making choices and then at 2D the well defined Outpost defense action which was a head of most other browser based games.



Meanwhile games evolved alot in time. Story telling , questing, roleplay, sandbox, world building, outpost building ,defending, gamers travelling through trade routes at vast open game world at live mmos; npc or player bandits chasing caravans. Surprise appearences and action taking place whle wandering at the open world.

A bit more peacefull personal outpost/home design for gamers who prefer daily log in and maintain outpost, raise crops, craft , get out to wander as an alternative way to play real time survival mmos.

Player chatting and enjoying the virtual scenery gathering for activities at Main servers/Instances often. Global events which any player can join in to socialise and have fun and chatwith others at the same time.



We can now see all these at many other games out there. Deadfrontier games ,sadly, left these behind and focused too much on continiously adding higher level of monsters and the overpowered gear that can compete them, served only for a small community of gamers. Achieving the gear is much harder. The skills and the character doesnt develop further. The gaming world and alternative ways to play survival cease to exist. But only rushing and shooting through an allmost top anti social environment.






The OP gear bonuses and unlimited ammunition spam and exagarated sprint/jog spam defines allmost anything from dps to tanking and more.


In the beginning Df2 used to be much better than DF1 since the gap between players were allmost non existant. It was baesd on player skills and then gear. Gear and skill set was more balanced.


As new levels get added the gear power grew for the extremes and skills of the character which meants to define the gamer's choice and roleplay options shrinked in to nothingness. Which is a big negative.


Players could solo and team up at main worlds with a bit of preparation now it is too much on gear and too expensive for majority of the gamers. It is not about reasonal amount of grind and socialising; nor interactive gameplay ; but straightforward involves cash.


Market requires some sort of a fix for prices. There should be highest and lowest price limits for anything including the credits. Defined carefully by the Dev himself. When gamers can not afford what they seek even when they grind 7/24 and for many months, it turns them off.


The Main game instance was full of gamers playing together and teaming up. Goods and bads but there was living srvers full of people. Now it is Lobby instances full with random teams and bots. (Bots are at the market aswell)


When gamers see a tiny elite society , created behind a paywall, no one at the main server/instance playing together ; nothing else to do then shooting monstrous npcs, they leave the game after a short time.


The most succesfull mmos including the horror and action ones have got a virtual life going on live action servers nowadays. Not only loading up on gear and fighting.





Old Deadfrontier gamer and fan wishing better and full with high hopes for the good old Deadfrontier gaming universe.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUuE6_LdL7s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqvo7JRjEYA

[Gibolin]

Once you played 2 hours it looks like you already did everything. The gameplay loop seems way too small to keep a huge playerbase. The only thing added to this small gameplay loop is characters aethetic and its locked behind payment. But to be fair, even if you could transmog your character for free, that wouldn't help much with the game population. The gameplay diversity is way too scarced, the combat system extremely basic, the skill tree not that huge.

[Overheadace]

All of my friends dislike the melee. At launch the melee was basically stand still to hit while also either getting hit or practically getting hit. The melee is almost the same its not like Warframe melee when you can move and swing at the same time etc, the gun play is pretty basic i believe. I find the game fun to just shut off brain and go boss hunting, but for many its clunky. I like weird games so its fine for me Two worlds is another one for me.