Posting Game Suggestions Everyday Til JC Acknowledges Salem

[pistolshrimp]

Dear Mr. Carver,
This is our first month anniversary of my posting suggestions and you of having eagerly read each and every one of them.

I understand at the moment you are still too shy to express your feelings in words. No doubt you have started to write elaborate posts detailing what you hope to do with Salem (and maybe me?) multiple times, but each time you have become worried and scared that perhaps I will judge you, lash out, or even worse, ignore you once I have gotten what I want. It's okay John. Take your time, I am here for you in your timidness as well. I am here to earn your trust. I don't want to force or coerce you into showing us your Roapmap, I want you to want to show it to us willingly. It doesn't have to be very big. I won't judge. No matter the size I want to take your roadmap gently in my hands. I want to feel its weight, the gravity of it if you will. Then I will get down onto my knees, worshiping it some might say, my mouth slightly agape in awe and appreciation, and then... well maybe it's best if I stop here.

In any case, happy 1 month anniversary John I look forward to you reading your post when you're ready.

============

Day 31: How to Make More Money With Salem - Part 1 The Problem

*In Part 1 I will explain the problem with Providence's direction and how we can shift it. Part 2 I will explain how a new shop system with buying options. Part 3 I will explain how all these parts come together to help advertise the game cheaply and effectively.*

I briefly mentioned direction when I was listing what I thought the major problems with Salem were, but didn't do a great job of elaborating at the time. I may not always have the best words so I will try to explain as much as I can in examples.

Fast Zombies vs Slow Zombies this is my first example and is what Expeditions vs Providence should be in my mind. With Fast Zombies the enemy is the zombie for sure, they just comes running at you, you survive them only by skill or luck. Slow zombies the enemy isn't simply the zombies but yourself as well, your complacency, you getting lazy protecting yourself, or just being plain stupid is what kills you.

Expeditions should be the Fast Zombie and Providence the slow. And admittedly we are not too far from this, but we have diverged in some ways that detract from each.

I think Expeditions are pretty much on point, other than they should probably be a little shorter and more frequent. The major directional issue is just that they have historically incorporated too much community projects. Spending time or resources for the good of the whole are antithetical to winning, so its not fair to expect people who want to win to sacrifice anything for the good of the community.

Providence is a little more confused. I think there has been an anti-arms race to protect people's shop investment while making the game still seem harsh. The problem is that these "harsh" mechanics have historically mostly just punished and pushed away new players which makes it hard for Salem to grow financially and therefore puts even more emphasis on protecting shop investments.

One notable consequences is that pure cosmetic shop items have been mostly moved away from and replaced with shop items with game value. IE tools, instruments, Momento Mori, Last Will, etc.

These are not inherently bad an definitely have their place, but it not doubt contributes to stagnant sales as new players need to get through the steep investment of learning all the "harsh" mechanics in order to even make use of those items. What I mean is a new player might conceivably want to wear a fun hat right off that bat, but do they want to buy a Momento Mori? What use will they get from a Pitchfork before they learn to grind, a rolling pin, etc?

What I am proposing is that we walk back from making Providence harsh. We let Providence be the Slow Zombie where complacency kills you. This means changing mechanics like Hypothermia and insanity, and making early game easier and more intuitive. Then we put more emphasis on PVP over raiding bases, which means we make waste harder, but make theft and murder easier, we find ways to let players be stupid, encourage them to leave their bases and explore. Encourage them to fight, die, get mad, but at the end of the day they can still generally keep their base without having to spam a thousand braziers.

I get that this is going to be controversial, but I think its important for me to note that for as much harder as raiding is made PVP and theft should be made that much easier. Death is the ultimate consequence. And dosing you **** because you were stupid and didn't lock you gates is much easier to understand and move past than you didn't spam enough braziers. Raiding should still exist on Providence, but for the most part be much more the focus on Expeditions.

[Ronch]

Dear Mr. Carver,
This is our first month anniversary of my posting suggestions and you of having eagerly read each and every one of them.

I understand at the moment you are still too shy to express your feelings in words. No doubt you have started to write elaborate posts detailing what you hope to do with Salem (and maybe me?) multiple times, but each time you have become worried and scared that perhaps I will judge you, lash out, or even worse, ignore you once I have gotten what I want. It's okay John. Take your time, I am here for you in your timidness as well. I am here to earn your trust. I don't want to force or coerce you into showing us your Roapmap, I want you to want to show it to us willingly. It doesn't have to be very big. I won't judge. No matter the size I want to take your roadmap gently in my hands. I want to feel its weight, the gravity of it if you will. Then I will get down onto my knees, worshiping it some might say, my mouth slightly agape in awe and appreciation, and then... well maybe it's best if I stop here.

In any case, happy 1 month anniversary John I look forward to you reading your post when you're ready.

============

Day 31: How to Make More Money With Salem - Part 1 The Problem

*In Part 1 I will explain the problem with Providence's direction and how we can shift it. Part 2 I will explain how a new shop system with buying options. Part 3 I will explain how all these parts come together to help advertise the game cheaply and effectively.*

I briefly mentioned direction when I was listing what I thought the major problems with Salem were, but didn't do a great job of elaborating at the time. I may not always have the best words so I will try to explain as much as I can in examples.

Fast Zombies vs Slow Zombies this is my first example and is what Expeditions vs Providence should be in my mind. With Fast Zombies the enemy is the zombie for sure, they just comes running at you, you survive them only by skill or luck. Slow zombies the enemy isn't simply the zombies but yourself as well, your complacency, you getting lazy protecting yourself, or just being plain stupid is what kills you.

Expeditions should be the Fast Zombie and Providence the slow. And admittedly we are not too far from this, but we have diverged in some ways that detract from each.

I think Expeditions are pretty much on point, other than they should probably be a little shorter and more frequent. The major directional issue is just that they have historically incorporated too much community projects. Spending time or resources for the good of the whole are antithetical to winning, so its not fair to expect people who want to win to sacrifice anything for the good of the community.

Providence is a little more confused. I think there has been an anti-arms race to protect people's shop investment while making the game still seem harsh. The problem is that these "harsh" mechanics have historically mostly just punished and pushed away new players which makes it hard for Salem to grow financially and therefore puts even more emphasis on protecting shop investments.

One notable consequences is that pure cosmetic shop items have been mostly moved away from and replaced with shop items with game value. IE tools, instruments, Momento Mori, Last Will, etc.

These are not inherently bad an definitely have their place, but it not doubt contributes to stagnant sales as new players need to get through the steep investment of learning all the "harsh" mechanics in order to even make use of those items. What I mean is a new player might conceivably want to wear a fun hat right off that bat, but do they want to buy a Momento Mori? What use will they get from a Pitchfork before they learn to grind, a rolling pin, etc?

What I am proposing is that we walk back from making Providence harsh. We let Providence be the Slow Zombie where complacency kills you. This means changing mechanics like Hypothermia and insanity, and making early game easier and more intuitive. Then we put more emphasis on PVP over raiding bases, which means we make waste harder, but make theft and murder easier, we find ways to let players be stupid, encourage them to leave their bases and explore. Encourage them to fight, die, get mad, but at the end of the day they can still generally keep their base without having to spam a thousand braziers.

I get that this is going to be controversial, but I think its important for me to note that for as much harder as raiding is made PVP and theft should be made that much easier. Death is the ultimate consequence. And dosing you **** because you were stupid and didn't lock you gates is much easier to understand and move past than you didn't spam enough braziers. Raiding should still exist on Providence, but for the most part be much more the focus on Expeditions.

I do already know the answers to the questions that I pose below, so I am just offering them here for your benefit.

Averaged throughout the week, are you getting at least 7 hours of sleep per day ?

What makes you 'assume' that JC needs (or even wants) to make money with Salem ?

Why do you "assume" that JC somehow owes you any sort of reply at all ?

Have you noticed that each of the pretension(s) in your post totally ignore that this is a free game ?
...Or, do you 'feel' that all free games owe its players something for playing it ?

Do you "feel" like you've been chosen to represent and defend your fellows from imaginary threats ?
...And or "feel" the constant need to be recognized for defeating those said imaginary threats ?


PS:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_complex

[pistolshrimp]

some weird stuff

Brah...

The idea of you reading a post that starts with an elaborate fellatio joke then getting so triggered you google messiah complex and post a link to it makes me genuinely sad for you.

I will clarify for you one last time. I don't take myself or my suggestions that seriously. I don't take JC that seriously. I am just a guy having fun posting suggestions that may or may not have substance to them. JC is just a guy who is also a missing dev that has the ability to filter, pick, choose, or ignore things he does not like.

You seem to take yourself and your opinions so seriously you can't imagine anyone wouldn't do the same, but the truth is I struggle much more with feeling this thread is a pathetic and desperate waste of time, not that I think am going to save Salem. At BEST I think some of my ideas could benefit Salem if they were reworked by someone with more Developing experience. That's it. This thread is a shot in the dark shout out to a missing developer, not a recipe book. That's it.

And I get JC doesn't NEED to make money from Salem but if you don't think he'd LIKE to, then I don't know what to say dude.

Look you want to fight the content of a suggestion go ahead, that's fun. But man, if you want to attack me, just make it funny or something. This borderline word salad post is so boring and serious it's killing my motivation.

[Taipion]

I am just a guy having fun posting suggestions

I guess his problem is you having fun where he can not.
That is something that quite frequently happened in the long history of Salem.

[Ronch]

Brah...

I'm not your Bro.
Just some guy offering you to consider a different perspective as to how you've been presenting your position and opinions about Salem and about JC frequently veiled inside of your "suggestions" here.

PS: I can quickly find and share some more links to clarify further ?

I guess his problem is you having fun where he can not.

Salem is fun.
With or without JC's presence, or his attention.

[pistolshrimp]

Just some guy offering you to consider a different perspective as to how you've been presenting your position and opinions about Salem and about JC frequently veiled inside of your "suggestions" here.
PS: I can quickly find and share some more links to clarify further ?

I haven't been veiled at all. I've been explicit. Hell, I made a long post about all the problems I see with Salem. You commented on it. However I don't know JC enough to have opinions on him. If you feel otherwise I can assure you it is simply you reading into things too much. The nuance is, which you can't see, is that I can still really like Salem and not agree with every single aspect of the game.

I like you and I know your heart is in the right place, but it pains me how literal you are. It makes these exchanges between us pointless because we will never truly see eye to eye, even if at the core of what we want are the exact same thing.

I don't need you to to give me examples. What I keep trying to tell you is there is nothing to prove. There is is no right or wrong here. Even if you were to convince me that JC in fact doesn't want to make any money on Salem I would continue to think it would be cool for the Developers to make money on Salem and would keep my suggestion.

I'm not your Bro.

Also if you took a moment to think about it, you would realize how ridiculous this clarification is.

[pistolshrimp]

Day 32: How to Make More Money With Salem - Part 2 Store Changes and Seasons

I HUMBLY suggesting two major changes to the structure of Salem which can accommodate increased revenue. This suggestions are based on modern gaming standards and psychology. I am not suggesting Salem become more like any other game, but rather it take some aspects of financially successful games and make them it's own. I will explain the why along with the proposed changes.

Major Change 1: Create Seasons of Play.
I propose 3 seasons each year for Salem, 4 months each. Everbloom, Autumn, Coldsnap. Leaderboards now have Season Leaders and All-time Leaders. Seasonal Leaders reset each season. All-time never reset. Awards are given out for the end of season leaders.
Seasons are a staple in many modern gaming for 3 reasons, they are a source of low-effort change helping make things feel less stale, are soft-resets giving new players a feeling that they can catch up, (this is purely psychological of course, as they are really in the exact same position as before since its not a hard reset), and thirdly it adds a time-frame for store content, making it possible to have limited time cosmetic items which appeal to collectors (I get that it is possible otherwise but this comes much more naturally).

With seasons and the slightly redefined Providence server, and the slot adder I proposed at he beginning, Devs can focus more on cosmetic shop items. Mystery Hat Boxes and Coat Hangers can now be seasonal with some hats moving onto the next season but a certain amount of the Hats and Capes being "retired" at the end of each season.

Additionally season Passes can be sold. This one doesn't feel 100% to me, but I'm going to explore it any way, so take it with a grain of salt. Season passes can include a certain amount of Hat Boxes and Capes as well as include the Season's Item (or items), taking the place of the Store Reward gifts the devs now manually hand out and the support the patch items.

Major Change 2: Secondary Store (In-game store)

This change is for purely psychological reasons. It isn't easy selling items to people who may die and/or have those items permanently stolen, this main goal of this is to address this.

This change will create a new currency Gold Pieces, that can be used to buy exclusive items through an in-game shop, each shop purchase also gives you Gold Pieces. I'd imagine there would also be a few ways to make a small amount of Gold Pieces in game as well. The essence of this change is to make that loss seem not so bad and works off the same reason stores refund on gift cards, it makes you invested in returning. In this case the fact you lost your shop item but still have Gold Pieces makes you invested in continuing to play Salem. I imagine through this shop you can also buy mystery boxes (it's important that coins should not even be close in value to dollars, it's not a 2 for 1 deal. I imagine that the value is something like 10 to 1, where you buy 10 mystery boxes for instance and you'd be able to buy 1 more with coins. I also envision things exclusive to the Gold Shop, like barber tickets, or hair dying, or even items. Note: 1 dollar should not give 1 coin. It should give multiple coins, it should be like 10 coins, it has to feel like its different than real money and FEEL like more, even tho it's not.

The ability to create Gold Coins in-game also helps with any feelings of Pay to Win (which admit-ably aren't too much a problem with Salem, but it still helps) I imagine 1 gold bar = 5 Gold Pieces.

[pistolshrimp]

Day 33: How to Make More Money With Salem - Part 3 Advertising and Crime Changes

My take on Advertising is that if you have to do it past the start of a game or new season, something is amiss. In other words a functioning game should more or less advertise itself. One simply needs to go on twitch, reddit, youtube, and there are near countless videos of free advertising for most successful games, many of which arguably worse then Salem

Providence has been kind of a have your cake and eat it too server. Trying to cater to both carebears and raiders, and I totally get why JC is trying to do this, but neither have felt particularly balanced.

Raiding has always dampened large scale streaming and sharing of content on Providence. Additionally it has affected artistic expression, or at least the sharing of it.

Look at Animal Crossing, you don't really do anything in the game but there is a boatload of free adverting simply geared around artistic expression. Salem has many of the same features, some even better, but even when the community was in a good place people weren't sharing. I know for a fact there are a lot of really cool houses and bases, designed in really neat ways. I'd like to see more of it.

So I think Crime needs to be altered in a way that preserves consequences but encourages free streaming and otherwise content sharing. The idea is to make raiding harder, pvp and theft easier, reduce brazier spam, in order to better encourage streaming and content sharing without getting rid of consequences for failing to protect your base in some meaningful way.

Crime Changes:
These are going to be serious changes that I'm sure will make most people mad. They might be bad, and that's okay, they are just a suggestion.

All Braziers and Baby Braziers deal a percentage of bile damage with each shot. (In other words move crit damage to main damage). This damage is still reduced for each other Brazier in range.

Water no longer damages Braziers.

Torchposts work like braziers but deal vastly less % damage.

Drain for Trespassing is removed. Larcenry and Trespassing do not trigger Braziers. Larceny still triggers torchposts. High Cloak and Dagger and Criminality bonus add a small chance to not drop scents when stealing.

Whipping now lowers the Criminal's Status for a week related to how many whips the criminal received rather than dealing humour damage and adds a scaling debuff that prevents that character doing more crimes until it wears off. Tomatoes and Fruit thrown at criminals adds the FF debuff still, but as FF works different with New Gluttony, FF is now for X number of days relative to how much food is thrown. Max FF would cap at 5 days. Passive Insanity has been removed, and whips no longer add insanity as well. Add Thief Shirt option to stocks, a craftable shirt which can be given to any character in the stocks like the way infecting with a Tick works. This shirt is a "T" for thief with 0 slots and 0 thermal which cannot be removed. When the whipping related debuff wearing off the Thief shirt disappears.

Stocking a character returns any stolen items to their owners, so long as the scents are active. All other inventory item that would be otherwise dropped are given to the person stocking them.

Assault and Battery no longer drop any scents. Murder changed to unlocked with madness and Momento Mori removed from the store. Overall should be easier to obtain Cain and Able through normal means, but not so easy you can buy it. Aggravated Assault is no longer summonable.

A scent can only be used to send a person to the stocks once, after that is consumed. Kin cannot send you to the stocks.

Trail by combats now indestructible. Prevents porting from Base under it's shadow until the criminal participates. Participation is done by right-clicking the trial and selecting participate. After 5 minutes Participation sends both parties to the docks in Providence, with a server announcement. A criminal who loses a trail by combat is automatically sent to the stocks. Chop Leg and Gouge Eye to added to Revenge Options. IF the accuser is not online when the criminal participated, the criminal wins by default. Scents related to that crime are destroyed. If after 24 hours the criminal doesn't participate they are sent to the docks knocked out, and then after the accuser chooses to enact revenge or not, sent to the stocks. Revenge does not leave any scents.

[ZoddAlmighty]

@Pistolshrimp
Bud, why are you talking or discussing anything with Ronch? The guy has NPC moments, would be wise to ignore him.

[pistolshrimp]

Day 34: Preparing for Sea Changes - Part 1 Beaches

*These changes are nothing serious, I'm sure a welcome relief from the past few suggestions. The goal is to add more depth and diversity to water biomes and to ultimately suggest "New Sea/Water Vessels" while also giving players a reason to use them.*

Beaches now split into 3 separate biomes, Ocean Beach, Freshwater Beach, Rocky Beach.

Most of the current unique events and forageables in game should be moved to just the Ocean Beach. Salt, Beautiful Sea Shells, Driftwood, Horseshoe Crabs from digging, should all be Ocean Beach specific. Dead Whales should be Ocean Beach specific.

Train Oil Changes:
New Structure: Iron Lamp-post ---> 2x Glass, 8 wrought iron. Can only be built outside. Holds 10L of train oil. Each week a lamp-post uses 1 liter of trian oil. Is a source of light and other objects can be lit off it.
New Item: Hurricane Lamp ---> 1 Glass, 1 Firbe, 1 Bar of Copper. Works like a torch, but hold 1 liter of Train Oil. Burns 8 hours for each .1 liter of train oil.

Rocky Beaches
All types of stones are found on rocky beaches. Digging on a Rocky Beach gives Gravel. An inspiration similar to sand except that it has a unique pavement texture.

Freshwater Beach
Digs for sand, but no Horseshoe Crabs.

Lilypad bulbs no longer spawn in Salt Water. Lilypad bulbs can be boiled to make Boiled Lilypad Bulb Lilypad bulbs be planted in a Gardening Pot that has water in it, but does not have hummus yet. It will grow into a random colored Water Lily. Water Lilys are a perfect efficiency inspirational, which each color being a different proficiency type. Water Lilys cannot be replanted. Water Lillies count as any flower and are also a perfume item.

When picking Lilypad bulbs there is a chance to also get a Brain Bryozoa, a rare 7 use inspirational.