Active Player Count?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Lord Blackthorne, May 19, 2017.

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  1. Lord Blackthorne

    Lord Blackthorne Avatar

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    So... when I heard DarkStarr say in a recent interview (regarding SeedInvest, so it is quite recent) that there are quite a few players playing regularly... where is that data? Because Steam is a very large platform and many people play through it exclusively. They reference Steam in the interview, making me think the numbers are an even more relevant reflection of our current player base.

    I'm curious as to why people think there will be some boost, especially to Darkstarr's predicted tens of thousands just because of Ep 1's launch. Hmm :/

    I'd love to see some moderator input here, as I know they have access to more concrete data. Also, this thread is not meant to be negative - simply factual and to give us players an idea of how many people really are playing.
     
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  2. Lord Blackthorne

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    Here are the latest steam metrics:
    Last 30 days...

    Avg Players:
    126.9
    Peak Players: 231

    What? :/ For real?

    And the ALL TIME peak was only 603. How is this possible? :(
     
  3. Creb Darkenie

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    I used to play sota, but now am playing Albion Online.
     
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  4. MrBlight

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    Thats steam only.

    Last month? AMA on reddit, SOTA dev's confirmed that they have about an average of 500 or so players logging in each day. With peaks and drops based on releases/issues.

    So thats on par with most previous estimates that guess the player/test base is currently 500 or so on an average day.
    Everyone that was arguing more / less then that were doing so just for the sake of argument. ( duhh steam says 100, but i bet theres 5000 on right now on their launcher! )

    At one point Chris said roughly 20% of their user base uses steam. So that puts those numbers right around the 500-600 average mark.

    Unless thats changed since the reddit AMA, but i dont see any reason that would have.
     
  5. The Unwanted

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    This all could be simplified if we had facts. To argue over speculation is cannibalizing ourselves. We have the steam facts and we have what portalarum has told us. If portalarium gave us facts like steam instead of being reclusive, then we could have honest debate. Looking forward to Portalarium beibg more upfront.
     
  6. Lord Blackthorne

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    Exactly. I would like to see spreadsheets or concrete data. The only true metrics I have right now are those from Steam, Shroud's chosen platform, and they are bleak at best.

    My question is... what is being done with the $11.8m entrusted to our Devs to see that the game isn't a failure? I'm no marketing genius, but a TOP peak of 600 players after four years of existence seems difficult to dodge. Heck, include the "multiple accounts" argument being thrown around and it looks even worse.

    Again, I'd love some concrete information from our Devs if they're willing to answer this head on. I'd be really grateful, and it seems like a great opportunity to put some fears to rest if they (the Devs) are able to answer us straight on.
     
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  7. Ristra

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    I don't play through steam. There. Now your true metrics are less true.
     
  8. Kabalyero Kidd

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    +1 also not playing through steam :D
     
  9. Merlota

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    I tend to look at it from a minimum player count standpoint. How many players are needed to support the game at some reasonable amount spent per month ($10-$20 or so)? That number is much higher than any current estimate of player count (early-access, pre-alpha, etc) and gives an idea how many are needed after Commercial Launch. Time will tell, we're reaching endgame.
     
  10. Nikko

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    My good friend and I don't play through Steam. I know... that doesn't mean much. However, the ability to play this game through Steam was developed/allowed quite a while after many thousands of people pledged and started helping test this. I would guess that most of the original backers from that first year or so never logged into this game once through Steam. Those original backers are likely the most dedicated, as well.
     
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  11. fonsvitae

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    I don't play on Steam. On Steam I don't play. Play I don't on Steam.



    And the active daily player count is approximately 500 as per Portalarium. This does not mean that approximately 500 persons are playing, this means that approximately 500 persons log in daily; this could be from a pool of 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000... who knows. The 100 or so daily log ins from Steam make up 20% of the 500 figure, just as Chris said.

    There are 200k plus accounts; even factoring in the many persons w/ multiple accounts (not including myself), many, many persons are, like Cthulhu, dead but dreaming - waiting to jump on in when the stars are right.

    That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2017
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  12. Mykll

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    Active player count is 500, or active account count is 500? 2 completely different numbers for the number of end users in a seat logging into the game.
     
  13. Lazarus Long

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    According to Port. Steam accounts for less than 5% of their player base and is NOT their chosen platform.
    It's been said several times that if they could do it over they prob would not have went the steam route.

    Laz
     
  14. Siobahn

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    This is correct. I would guess that a lot of people log in their alt accounts daily for the 10k xp and oracle money and log them off and on each day. So as to how many people of those 500 are alt accounts, who knows. Hopefully, people are just waiting for release to come back and play, and those numbers will rise. :)

    https://www.reddit.com/r/SotA_Offic...richard_garriott_aka_lord_british_creator_of/

    SotA_AtosSotA Developer 8 points 1 month ago

    We have been averaging around 500 concurrency with upticks in the evenings and weekends and also in the new release weeks. We expect to stay in that range until we actually start to promote the game and we near launch. Someone had pointed out that our number on Steam have been lower recently and I believe this is because more and more new players have been entering the game through the free trials rather than through Steam. Only players playing the game on Steam show up in the steam concurrency. Also, I believe our recent improvements to the speed of the patcher has resulted in more players playing the game using the non-Steam patcher.
     
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  15. Sir Cabirus

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    I am one of the original KS backers and I play via Steam - even though I am NOT a big steam fan - because of the very slow update process of the original client. I guess I'm not the only one ;)
     
  16. DeadnGone

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    Yeah, I don't play on Steam for SotA either. I have it, but I do not use it for this game anymore. There are many who do not use Steam as stated in the posts. My wife, brother, and I got our links directly from SotA in emails back in 2014. Perhaps a lot of old UO players didn't use Steam or went about it the old fashioned way when following progress of a game and looking for early access. I wouldn't even worry about the Steam statistics unless you're just wanting to cast doubt on the game.
     
  17. Solazur

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    I'm not a KS backer but I backed fairly early on; I have more than one account (more than basic accts) and I own a couple things in the game. I 'm also an investor in the seed invest so that should speak to my optimism .
    I have been mostly using Steam for quite some time because patching was brain dead easy and fast. I also like the FPS overlay... doing the /debug annoys me.
    As to the steam numbers.. I don't see why people are having kittens unless they're just bored. Port is sayin ~500.

    Steam is showing 180-200 or so

    I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers Chris is lookin at had similar patterns. I think there *has* been a bit of a downward trending for a number of reasons. I also think the folks at Port are keenly aware of it and are taking steps to turn that around.

    At the same time though.. I think they sometimes suffer being their own worst enemy. For example...the new focus on the NUE including the building of the new Outskirts zones: that's definitely a step in the right direction however...releasing a buggy product at the same time you are offering trial accounts is a bit off. It would be far better to get it dialed in and then offer the trials. You don't get a second shot at a first impression. I mean hey, I took my newbish alt out there.. I'll confess.. I didn't log all the bugs.. as that would have taken far to much of the limited time I had to play. Quest's all muffed up and a lot of buggy mob AI. WHile these are not things that'll make me quit I dunnno how impressed Id be if it were my first look. On the flip side of that though.. I was impressed a long time ago with a lot less polish... I'm sure there are some who will see past the bugs but still.. better work that **** out a bit first.

    All in all, here's what Sol's crystal ball says. The Seedinvest will garner enough support..the game will launch.. things will pick up.. perhaps a bit slow at first and then...in about 14 months we'll be hearing from the current naysayers who will talk about how they knew it was gonna fly from way back when..


    I DO hope they get rid of a lot of these annoying persistent bugs though. and sooner than later. That.. performance and loot and the base will begin to rise.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2017
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  18. majoria70

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    Also not playing through Steam. We did not start out with Steam. For 3 years of development there was no steam options at least 3 years. You will probably find many original backers not on these forums or even waiting for the game to release and not playing it yet who do not have steam either. So it is a preference. Most games I have ever played have not been on steam either. Like Wow, FFXIV, Vanguard Saga Of heroes, Lotro, Aion, Archeage, Star Wars Old Republic, Fallen Earth. Perhaps some games maybe be available on Steam, it doesn't matter really. I won't switch to Steam, but that is just me.
     
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  19. Sir Cabirus

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    But why not? Think a moment about it. If everybody would play via Steam, this should increase the Steam chart of SotA dramatically and show the true potential of the game. This could also have a positive impact of the SeedInvest campaign. But we should hurry, time runs out.
     
  20. majoria70

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    Oh sorry I am not a huge Steam fan for myself. I want to just click on my icon on my home page and off I go. I don't have to log into anything other than the game or deal with Steam stuff ;) I actually do have a steam account and I have it linked so it should count me then anyway even though I don't log in that way.
     
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