Salem

I mean for a single shard / server game, and only one town, I should never see boston completely empty, but lately I have. Its really sad, and kinda boring. This game could really use an injection of noobies Jorb, and Loftar. Can you guys release some new keys or do some kind of half assed advertisement please. Its really really getting boring. There is no end game content in the game, but teaching a teaming sea of noobies the game, at least would be entertaining. Also it would inject some life into these forums, which are about dead, aside from the chief, and the few trolls from hnh, that never leave your side. Thanks, bored tester.

Btw: so this isn't just a whine thread, torches should go out, when swimming, kinda silly how they stay lit.

there isn't enough content to hold people for a long time

I would have to say the #1 reason is the slow pace of development at the moment. As soon as the multiple server support is completed, we should be back on a regular update schedule.

a63ntorange wrote:I mean for a single shard / server game, and only one town, I should never see boston completely empty, but lately I have. Its really sad, and kinda boring. This game could really use an injection of noobies Jorb, and Loftar. Can you guys release some new keys or do some kind of half assed advertisement please.

Unfortunately many, many beta-keys have already been given out. The problem is that, in my opinion understandably, few players stay with the game. In my opinion the game's not even remotely fit for "commercial beta".

I fear that many of the people interested in sandbox MMOs have already tried Salem - and left the game soon after. It's called the "crafting" MMO, but in reality there is little "crafting" in Salem. For a new player it's the "run-around-for-hours-on-a-boring-map-and-gather-stuff" MMO - I reckon not many people call that interesting game-play.

a63ntorange wrote:Its really really getting boring. There is no end game content in the game, but teaching a teaming sea of noobies the game, at least would be entertaining. Also it would inject some life into these forums, which are about dead, aside from the chief, and the few trolls from hnh, that never leave your side. Thanks, bored tester.

The forums are just like the old H&H forums. The "Help" section is pretty useful and frequented by new players, apart from that it's usually the same 20 posters. Sadly many of these 20 posters are also the most rude, impolite and hostile posters one can find on an Internet forum.

a63ntorange wrote:Btw: so this isn't just a whine thread, torches should go out, when swimming, kinda silly how they stay lit.

Agreed. In the same vein: why does a campfire burn 2 hours with 4 branches of wood while a stove only burns for 15 minutes with the same fuel?

Being a sandbox game, I don't expect Salem to ever have "end game content."

As was said, the game is still in development and with two developers it will be a while before it is really ready to turn the game loose on a teaming sea of newbies. As closed beta testers, we expect the game to be unfinished and underpopulated as we help the developers make it ready for the masses.

I think its a design issue, as I said waaay earlier in the development process. Salem doesn't have any self-perpetuating mechanics, which is crucial for a successful sandbox. In laymen's terms: Salem doesn't allow for a meta-game [A game within a game], or if it does, it does so really poorly. While it advertises itself as a sandbox, your interaction with the world and its inhabitants is limited by what the devs have programmed into the game, which in reality is a themepark MMO. Players have very little ability to "create", you can't mix different mechanics in the game to receive unexpected results, there is very little procedural gameplay. Yeah, the map is procedural generated, but since it doesn't change besides wipes, to a player it's simply the equivalent of a designed map with less soul. Every mechanic that the devs have released so far, has added absolutely nothing new to the game.
Oh cool, a fishing patch! What does fishing let you do? Gather fish. What can I do with the fish? You can turn them into food, or dry them and turn them into better food. So fishing is just another way to get food? Yes. Even though there are already a crapton of ways to get food? Yes. So you have just added another way to do something, which everybody was doing just fine already? Yes. The only actual meta that exists in Salem is trading, but its like calling a McDonalds a "fine dining" restaurant.

Not that I blame the developers, designing a good sandbox is a lot of work, and unlike most games you can't really "design as we go along." You have too have a pretty large concrete foundation. EVE, arguably the only really successful sandbox in today's market essentially lives of the meta-game. The designed content and the game itself is in reality boring as *****, but its because people can setup a quasi-Mafia extortion racket (http://www.minerbumping.com/) that the playerbase keeps coming back, not because the devs have introduced a new way to "mine ore"! On the otherhand, in Salem you do what? Build up a village with your buddies, level everything to max, pimp your characters costume, and then what? Sit around and wiggle your thumbs? Risk losing the character you've put hundreds of hours of work into, to try and find a fight? Wait for the devs to release something new, so you can get bored with that and have this issue over again?

tl;dr: Salem doesn't facilitate an environment for a deep meta-game, which essentially makes it a themepark MMO that's pretending to be a sandbox MMO.

Why labor and toil for two months only to be bug raided one night while your asleep because Stax checks your ip and figures out your timezone and when you sleep?

You wouldn't.

This is not City upon a Hill or HoB. No slander allowed. -staxjax

I was complaining about the lack of Content already some Weeks ago and i think the Situation is not gonna change until 2013.
H&H was a great success because it was completly free and there were no expectations.
Now they try to do same , with the same amount of Developers (1-2 Guys, right? ) and the Game has already a Cash-Shop and is part of one of the best Publishers i know (Paradox).
I think they made to much Hype for this Game and are now overwhelmed, because the basics are very great and attracts a lot of players but after 1-2 Months most of the Ppl's ask them self "and now?"
They have their home ready, they almost skilled any skills and they can prodcue/craft almost every Item and ya ... the game starts to be boring.
Some people stop , some try to join a city or raise the Purity of Metal/Farming and that's it.

There is a endless Content called PvP , but rightnow most of the Guys don't enjoy it because it doesn't fit their style of play. Perm. Death is a really nice Feature but it doesn't mean everyone is gonna be raiding like a "retarded " Gosu and there are also no benefits to raid other Pp'ls rightnow. It's connected only with disadvantages, because if you start raid somone you can be sure you loose your Maincharacter for like 90%.(Rangers, ppl's start whine in Irc and ask for help or post in Forum)
As is said there is no real benefit to risk such a Task because the Main-Char is more worth than 20 bars of iron, Silver or any Stuff what you will receive from the Raid, so if it isn't worth to raid other Ppl's most of the Guys won't do it.
I guess i'm not the only one dislike all the Trolls from the "House of Brugesse" Thread , it's not just Fun, they take it seriously and that will simply destroy a good community (just look at all those Guys like Dallan and co. )
There are some funny Reports but like i said ppl's tend to take it to seriously and become annoying idiots.
I think there would be a lot of way's to implent new Features in a very short Time by just asking the Communty what they like to be changed but after my experiences the Developers aren't really intrestet in our opinion.

Alltough it's a nice Game and i think it's worth to wait a little bit until it becomes really nice.

There's no new content because they *have* to finish the multi-server thing first, and it's taking a lot longer than expected.