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[darnokpl]

I think the answer to "who SHOULD be playing salem" is pretty simple:
*Players who are resilient and don't mind recovering from a total loss
*Players who like exploration games, and permadeath
*Players who love politic fueled games, PVP, and drama

Agreed

If you don't like permadeath, you shouldn't play Salem. If you don't like the idea that everything you have worked for can be lost, and requires (usually), starting over again from nothing, you shouldn't be playing Salem.

Again agreed, but single mistake like missclick or lag shouldn't be a cause that you lose 2 months of work?

Fights under town walls and sieges should take few tries and should be splitted for few days.
Not like it is done right now when you have to be online 8 hours or more to raid something or to defend your town!
That is very wrong design, because that only promotes few people that are playing this game. Most of people, very dedicated and good crafters, can't be online 8 hours at any time, because their base is under siege, they got work and RL.
Some people forgets it is game and it should be hard, but not impossible to "win (achieve something and have fun)" even for people that have a job!

[Procne]

The way I see it mechanics promote factions, large towns, proper screening of players before inviting them to towns and proper town design, which would include buffer zones, inner, walled off sections. All of which requires strong core group willing to put a lot of effort to start, manage and maintain it. But with our small community we have only one

With such towns newbies would naturally join them and do their small jobs in town in exchange for protection. Probably there would be no hermits.

All of current town problems can be fixed with more effort and planning. You have to think BIG, and act accordingly. Just almost noone is willing to go through it. Darwoth tried but could not handle it alone.

[Potjeh]

Hardcore players have nothing to gain and everything to lose by recruiting casuals, so I don't see that working out so well.

[Droj]

Hardcore players have nothing to gain and everything to lose by recruiting casuals, so I don't see that working out so well.

^

[Ephemeros]

I suspect the issue with getting players to band together is not so much to do with the casual/hardcore division but more of a trust issue.

A stranger in salem is someone who can kill you and take everything you own. Yes there might be a benefit in trusting them (someone to watch your walls while you sleep) but it is outweighed by the potential for disaster (loss of character (main asset) and property (secondary asset)).

The use of spies to open gates and get locations by some player groups has further inspired an atmosphere of distrust.

The attrition rate is explainable by the degree of loss salem offers. You spend 3 months nurturing a character, looking after him, balancing his humours and building up his home and then BAM, 100% loss of effort (your home is nuked and your character murdered). This is going to give a high attrition rate, the attitude of "well they shouldn't be playing salem if they're going to quit when they lose everything" is going to further enhance this as "who SHOULD be playing salem" is the question that springs to mind, the answer is rarely polite at that stage.

The few players who reach the endgame are going to always stick around. Mostly because they have little fear of complete loss, they might loose a toon or their home but not both (since they will most likely have multiple of the former and possibly multiple of the latter). The attitude of those players is also going to play a strong role in attrition rates, if they're griefing jackasses then you're going to see more midgame losses and more ragequits (and if the quitter is a key member of a community then you will also see others fading out with them). If they are the kind to help other players reach the endgame then this will have an impact on player attrition but I do not think it would offset the main fear of total loss.

Reducing the chance of total loss in some way is going to increase the number of players banding, reduce attrition rate and might just turn the game around. As to how this could be done? No idea. A skill retention system like haven? A way to ensure that raids do not utterly destroy deeds? These have been suggested before and shot down.

Its like this in Rust, can only really trust people you are already friends with going into the game. Most of the time anyone you come across just tries to kill you without even bothering to talk or betrays you at another time. After a while you learn to trust no one and be the first one to strike if given the opportunity.

[imrielle]

Its like this in Rust, can only really trust people you are already friends with going into the game. Most of the time anyone you come across just tries to kill you without even bothering to talk or betrays you at another time. After a while you learn to trust no one and be the first one to strike if given the opportunity.

I choose to trust and try to be nice to most people until I am betrayed, but I'm the minority.

[MagicManICT]

Yet here you have this open world PVP-centric MMO that has a half million subscribers and counting. Only a few are really afraid of recruiting complete unknowns into their groups, and those that don't avoid doing this mostly due to the "time and training" aspects of having to constantly mentor new players instead of them knowing what or what not to do. Otherwise, any 1-day old character can find a group to join.

Why? Tools. A game needs proper tools to manage people. The question is whether or not the developers want to provide those tools. It's one thing when you're creating a world where all kinds of security exists--it's realistic to have all kinds of access protocols for different things--and another where even a simple iron lock can take a blacksmith significant time to hammer out.

[darnokpl]

Its like this in Rust, can only really trust people you are already friends with going into the game. Most of the time anyone you come across just tries to kill you without even bothering to talk or betrays you at another time. After a while you learn to trust no one and be the first one to strike if given the opportunity.

I choose to trust and try to be nice to most people until I am betrayed, but I'm the minority.

But you mostly running and making maps? Try to settle and lose town and/or main farmer then we will talk

[ysbryd]

Also, there will be a few days of safety, (or maybe hours) before anyone has the stats to destroy or kill, so make the most of the next few days, and talk to people more.

[Dallane]

Also, there will be a few days of safety, (or maybe hours) before anyone has the stats to destroy or kill, so make the most of the next few days, and talk to people more.

People will have murder day 1